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Bonaventure — commentary on Scripture

📅 September 1, 2026

1 Corinthians 1:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject." That is the wisdom of which Jeremiah says: "They are wise to do evil, but to do good they know not." To scatter this wisdom Christ died, made poor, afflicted, and humble, so that he might teach us to beware of it. Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? — when on the cross he chose the contraries of worldly wisdom. It pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.

1 Corinthians 1:21 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Scripture was handed down for the disclosing of wisdom which is found in it alone. Hence: "For since, in God's wisdom, the world did not come to know God by 'wisdom,' it pleased God, by the foolishness of our preaching, to save those who believe."

1 Corinthians 1:24 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Our restorative principle, Christ the Lord, the incarnate Word, since He is the power and wisdom of God and our mercy, must so powerfully, so wisely, so mercifully, so fittingly institute His Sacraments in the law of grace that nothing whatsoever is lacking for our healing, insofar as befits the state of the present life. For the perfect healing of sickness, these three things concur, namely: the expulsion of the sickness, the introduction of health, and the preservation of the health that has been introduced. Since for perfect healing a perfect and universal expulsion of the disease is required, and the disease is sevenfold—threefold as to guilt, namely original sin, mortal sins, and venial sin; and fourfold as to penalty, namely ignorance, malice, weakness, and concupiscence—hence it was necessary that a sevenfold remedy be applied against these to expel more fully this sevenfold disease, namely, against original sin, baptism; against mortal sin, penance; against venial sin, extreme unction; against ignorance, holy orders; against malice, the Eucharist; against weakness, confirmation; and against concupiscence, matrimony, which tempers and excuses it.

1 Corinthians 1:25 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

"When a strong man armed guards his court, those things which he possesses are in peace; but if a stronger one than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he will take away all his armor in which he trusted, and will distribute his spoils." This stronger one is God, because "the weakness of God is stronger than men." The Son of God was made weak for our sake.

1 Corinthians 1:25 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

You esteem the abundance of riches, and Christ chose poverty; you esteem the experience of sensual delights, and Christ chose the bitterness of suffering; you esteem the ambition of worldly pomps, and Christ willed to be despised and put to shame. And the wisdom of God prevailed; therefore the Apostle says: "The foolishness of God is wiser than men." To scatter the false wisdom of the world Christ died, made poor, afflicted, and humble, so that he might teach us to beware of it. When on the cross he chose the contraries of worldly wisdom, God made foolish the wisdom of this world.

1 Corinthians 1:30 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

All of which comes about through Jesus Christ, who was made for us by God wisdom and justice and sanctification and redemption. Who, since He is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and is the incarnate Word full of grace and truth, brought about grace and truth: He poured in the grace, namely, of charity, which, since it proceeds from a pure heart and a good conscience and an unfeigned faith, rectifies the whole soul according to its threefold aspect mentioned above; and He taught the knowledge of truth according to the threefold mode of theology, namely symbolic, proper, and mystical, so that through symbolic theology we might rightly use sensible things, through proper theology we might rightly use intelligible things, and through mystical theology we might be rapt to supermental ecstasies.

1 Corinthians 2:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

The fourth face of wisdom is the most difficult, for it is without form. Thus would it seem to destroy the preceding faces, and yet it does not. The Apostle speaks of it in the First Epistle to the Corinthians: "Wisdom, however, we speak among those who are mature, yet not a wisdom of this world. But we speak the wisdom of God, mysterious, hidden, which eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man. But to us God has revealed it through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." Paul taught this wisdom to Dionysius and Timothy and other perfect men, but he kept it hidden from others. It is up to us, then, to be perfect in order to reach it.

1 Corinthians 2:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

The third fruit of wisdom consists in contemplating the supreme good which arises from a close consideration of the gifts of grace. For grace can be so great that a man living in it would be existing as it were in paradise. He would have an insight into his inner self, like blessed Paul who says: "Wisdom, however, we speak among those who are mature." And later: "But to us God has revealed them through His Spirit. For who among men knows the things of a man save the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, the things of God we do not know, unless the Spirit of God goes into us."

1 Corinthians 2:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

1 Corinthians 2:9 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Rouse yourself now, O my soul, and lift up your whole understanding and think, as much as you can, of what kind and how great that good is. For if individual goods are delightful, think intently how delightful is that good which contains the joyfulness of all goods, not such as we have experienced in created things, but differing as much as the Creator differs from the creature. For if created life is good, how good is the creative life? If wrought salvation is joyful, how joyful is the salvation that makes all salvation? If wisdom in the knowledge of created things is lovable, how lovable is the wisdom that created all things from nothing? In short, if there are many and great delights in delightful things, of what kind and how great is the delight in him who made those very delightful things? Who will enjoy this good, what shall be his, and what shall not be his? Surely whatever he wills shall be, and what he does not will shall not be. There indeed shall be goods of body and soul, such as eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived. Why then do you wander through many things, O little man, seeking the goods of your soul and your body? Love the one good, in which are all goods, and it suffices. Desire the simple good, which is every good, and it is enough.

1 Corinthians 2:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

The fourth face of wisdom is the most difficult, for it is without form. Thus would it seem to destroy the preceding faces, and yet it does not. The Apostle speaks of it: "Wisdom, however, we speak among those who are mature, yet not a wisdom of this world. But we speak the wisdom of God, mysterious, hidden, which eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man. But to us God has revealed it through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." Paul taught this wisdom to Dionysius and Timothy and other perfect men, but he kept it hidden from others. It is up to us, then, to be perfect in order to reach it. "Forgetting what is behind, I strain forward to what is before," hoping that I may understand.

1 Corinthians 2:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

1 Corinthians 2:10 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

In this passing over, however, if it is to be perfect, it is necessary that all intellectual operations be relinquished, and that the summit of affection be wholly transferred and transformed into God. This, however, is mystical and most secret, which no one knows unless he receives it, nor does anyone receive it unless he desires it, nor does anyone desire it unless the fire of the Holy Spirit inflames him to the marrow, which fire Christ sent upon the earth. And therefore the Apostle says that this mystical wisdom has been revealed through the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

"But to us God has revealed it through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." Paul taught this wisdom to Dionysius and Timothy and other perfect men, but he kept it hidden from others. It is up to us, then, to be perfect in order to reach it.

1 Corinthians 2:11 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

When our mind has been filled with all these intellectual lights, it is inhabited by the divine Wisdom as a house of God, having been made a daughter of God, a spouse and friend; having been made a member of Christ the Head, a sister and co-heir; having been made no less a temple of the Holy Spirit, founded through faith, elevated through hope, and dedicated to God through holiness of mind and body. All of which the most sincere charity of Christ accomplishes, which is poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us, without which Spirit we cannot know the secrets of God. For just as the things of a man no one can know except the spirit of man which is in him, so also the things of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 2:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Gratuitous knowledge is called the knowledge of the Saints first because it is given by the Holy Spirit moving the soul, inspiring and informing it unto holiness. I say by the Holy Spirit inspiring unto the awareness of holiness, unto the delight in holiness, and unto the guardianship of holiness. Whence the Apostle to the Corinthians: "We have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been given to us by God": and in what manner? If we know, we guard and approve the things inspired through the Holy Spirit unto the awareness of holiness, unto the delight in holiness, and its guardianship.

1 Corinthians 3:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Christ is the foundation of this faith. For other foundation no one can lay, but that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus. For He is the cornerstone of which Isaiah and Peter speak: See, I am laying a stone in Sion, a stone that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation. And the Apostle: You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone.

1 Corinthians 3:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

The seventh and last column of wisdom is simplicity in intention. Christ is the fountain of wisdom; He Himself is the foundation and completion of this gift. The Apostle, as a wise architect, says: "No one can lay another foundation besides that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus." As a certain Gloss says, man is related to a tree in the opposite manner with respect to the root: for a tree has its root below, but man above; and a spiritual building has its foundation above, but a corporeal one below. Christ therefore is the foundation of this gift.

1 Corinthians 3:15 — Breviloquium, Part 7

The purgatorial fire is a corporeal fire, by which nevertheless the spirits of the just, who in this life did not fulfill condign penance and satisfaction, are afflicted to a greater or lesser degree, according as they carried with them from this life more or less of what is combustible. They are afflicted, however, less gravely than in hell, and more gravely than in this world; yet not so gravely that they do not always hope and know that they are not in hell. By this affliction inflicted by corporeal fire, spirits are purged from guilt and dross and also from the remnants of sins; and when these have been sufficiently purged away, they immediately fly forth and are introduced into the glory of paradise. And because just men, who are in grace, are worthy of nothing but transitory punishment: and they are worthy of so much greater punishment as they committed greater sins and performed lesser penance: hence it is that they are punished by material fire temporally, some however for a longer time, some indeed for a shorter, some more harshly, some more lightly, according as the guilt of their offenses requires. For one is purged with so much more difficulty as the love of worldly things had clung more intimately to the marrow of one's heart. Since that punishment ought to be purgative, and that purgation is spiritual: the very power of grace dwelling within, aided by the extrinsic punishment, purges the soul itself—already punished for its offenses and relieved of the burden of its guilt—with a sufficient purgation, so that no dissimilitude to glory may remain. And since such spirits are disposed in the highest degree to receive in themselves the deiformity of glory: when the gate is opened and purgation is consummated, it is necessary that those spirits fly upward, in whom is the fire of charity lifting them upward, and nothing holding them back on the part of the soul's impurity or guilt.

1 Corinthians 4:7 — Breviloquium, Part 5

It is also true that no one can boast of merits, because God crowns nothing in us except his own gifts. For God has reserved to himself the gifts of grace to be freely bestowed, so that man may learn not to be ungrateful nor to glory in himself as though he had not received, but to glory in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 6:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

A man is instructed by the gift of counsel to discern what is lawful, what is fitting, and what is expedient according to the judgment of right reason. First a man ought to consider whether it is lawful, whether it is fitting: many things are lawful that are not fitting. Afterward he ought to consider whether it is expedient, because the Apostle says: 'All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient.' Once this threefold consideration has been attained, thoughts are instructed, and wisdom dwells in the counsel of man.

1 Corinthians 6:15 — Breviloquium

To approach Christ is through faith, or through the Sacrament of faith; and the faith of Christ is the same in past, present, and future: therefore the ground of influencing is posited in Christ with respect to all, past as well as present as well as future, who believe in Christ and are reborn in Christ, who through faith are joined to Christ and through inflowing grace become members of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit, and thereby children of God the Father, connected to one another through the indivisible bond of charity. Which just as it is not divided by distance of places, so neither is it separated by length of times; and thereby all the just, wherever they may be and whenever they may have been, constitute one mystical body of Christ, receiving sense and motion from the one influencing head, according to the fontal, radical, and original fullness of all grace dwelling in Christ as in a fountain.

1 Corinthians 6:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

When a worthy admission has come about together with a holy perception, then the soul is rapt in God, that is, in the beloved. "My Lover belongs to me and I to Him; He browses among the lilies," for the soul already feels the union and is made one spirit with God: "he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." And this is the highest thing in the soul: it makes it abide in heaven.

1 Corinthians 6:19 — Breviloquium

1 Corinthians 6:20 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

This is the price of which the Apostle says: "You have been bought with a great price; bear and glorify God in your body." That the price is great, the Apostle Peter says: "You were redeemed not with corruptible gold or silver from your vain manner of life received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood as of a Lamb unspotted and undefiled." This had to be a great price, by which the whole world and the entire human race was to be redeemed; because man could not make satisfaction, since no single man could be worth all men, nor could any creature. Nothing was sufficient to redeem the entire human race unless it possessed human nature and a nature above every creature; therefore it was necessary that it possess both a divine and a human nature.

1 Corinthians 7:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The hands of a woman are bonds to those who touch her, because she holds so tightly that a man cannot be separated from her. Whence the Apostle: "It is good for a man not to touch a woman."

1 Corinthians 7:1 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That widowed continence according to the evangelical law ought to be vowed is shown by authority, as follows. 1 Corinthians 7: It is good for a man not to touch a woman: therefore by equal reasoning it is good for a woman not to touch a man: but this is not a good of precept, but of counsel; and counsels are to be vowed: therefore not to touch a woman is to be vowed. But this is a vow of continence.

1 Corinthians 7:2 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Against the vowing of widowed continence it is objected: 1 Corinthians 7: On account of fornication let each man have his own wife, and each woman her own husband: but that is not a counsel, since it is not a work of perfection nor of supererogation: therefore it is a precept: therefore whoever vows continence acts against this precept.

1 Corinthians 7:3-4 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That conjugal chastity is to be approved according to the evangelical law is shown by authority, as follows. 1 Corinthians 7: Let the husband render to the wife the debt owed, and the wife to the husband. The husband does not have power over his own body, but the wife does: therefore for the husband to render the debt to the wife is consonant with the law of God: but this is done according to the conjugal act: therefore the conjugal act is consonant with the law of God.

1 Corinthians 7:5-6 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Against conjugal chastity it is objected: 1 Corinthians 7: Return together again: but this I say by way of indulgence, not by way of commandment: but no act of virtue requires indulgence: therefore the act of conjugal continence is not an act of virtue.

1 Corinthians 7:7 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That widowed continence according to the evangelical law ought to be vowed is shown by authority, as follows. 1 Corinthians 7: I wish all men to be as I myself: but he himself was entirely continent and bound to continence: therefore he wished that all be bound to continence. But this is done through the vow of continence: therefore widowed continence is to be vowed.

1 Corinthians 7:8 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That widowed continence according to the evangelical law ought to be vowed is shown by authority, as follows. 1 Corinthians 7: But I say to the unmarried and to widows: it is good for them, if they so remain: therefore according to the Apostle it is good to remain in widowed continence; but this good is a counsel: therefore someone can licitly vow widowed continence.

1 Corinthians 7:23 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

Let us not give our body to sin. "We have been bought at a great price. Do not become servants of men" nor of demons nor of sins. If I had redeemed some servant, I would not give him away for nothing.

1 Corinthians 7:25 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

As to the excellence of virtue, it attests to the highest virtue that someone in mortal flesh should lead a life not human but heavenly, should extinguish heat in fire, and in nature should surpass the force of nature: and this virginity does. Hence Jerome to the virgin Demetrias: "Just as in the furnace the fourth one, having the appearance as it were of the Son of man, tempered the immense flames and amid the conflagration of the raging furnace taught the flames to lose their heat and to threaten one thing to the eyes and present another to the touch: so also in the virginal soul, by the heavenly dew and the cold of fasting, youthful heat is extinguished and the manner of life of angels is obtained for the human body. Wherefore also the vessel of election says of virgins that he does not have a precept of the Lord, because it is against nature, nay rather beyond nature, not to exercise that for which you were born, to kill your root within you and to pluck only the fruits of virginity, to know no stranger's bed, to shudder at all intimacy with men, and to live in the body without the body."

1 Corinthians 7:25 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

This counselor, namely Christ, has many counselors, to whom he imparts his counsel. And the Apostle himself says: 'In this I give counsel, but I have no precept.' Augustine says that 'Christ became poor to such an extent that he does not have what the foxes have, because foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head; understand: Christ became poor so that we might imitate his poverty.' The Master says that we should imitate him in giving alms, in humility, in poverty, and in obedience.

1 Corinthians 7:28 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That conjugal chastity is to be approved according to the evangelical law is shown by authority, as follows. 1 Corinthians 7: If you have taken a wife, you have not sinned: and if a virgin shall have married, she does not sin: therefore if one was previously continent without a wife, it seems that one will also be continent with a wife.

1 Corinthians 7:29 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Against conjugal chastity it is objected: 1 Corinthians 7: Let those who have wives be as though not having them; but he who does not have a wife does not use her: therefore he who has one should not use her. But this is contrary to the act of conjugal continence: therefore conjugal continence is repugnant to the law of God.

1 Corinthians 7:31 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Now the figure of this world is said to pass away, not as regards the total destruction of this sensible world, but because through the action of that fire all flammable elementary things will be consumed, plants and animals; the elements will be purged and renewed, especially air and earth; the just will be purged and the reprobate will be burned; and when these things have been accomplished, the motion of the heavens will also cease, so that, with the number of the elect completed, there may come about a certain renewal and rewarding of worldly bodies. Since God according to His most orderly wisdom made this entire sensible and greater world for the sake of the lesser world, namely man, who is placed in the middle between God and these lower things: hence it is that, so that all things may be congruent with one another, and the dwelling may have harmony with the dweller, when man was well established, this world ought to have been established in a good and peaceful state; when man fell, this world also ought to have deteriorated; when man was disturbed, it ought to have been disturbed; when man was purged, it ought to have been purged; when man was renewed, it ought to have been renewed; and when man was consummated, it ought to have been brought to rest.

1 Corinthians 7:31 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

To that objection that those who have wives ought to be as though not using them: it must be said that the Apostle does not there prohibit every use of worldly things; for then it would be necessary for man to go out of the world, and thus no one in this world would be just and good; but he shows there that one's intention must not be fixed on this world, nor should it be loved as an end, but as a way to the end. This is clear from what he adds: For the figure of this world passes away. Hence from this it is not established that one should not use a wife, but that one should not rest in love of her and use of her, since she is not a stable good, but one transitory and perishable.

1 Corinthians 7:33 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Against conjugal chastity it is objected: 1 Corinthians 7: He who is with a wife is solicitous for the things of the world, and how he may please his wife: but solicitude for and complacency in this world is condemned and is contrary to the law of God: therefore so also is conjugal continence.

1 Corinthians 7:34 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The blessed Virgin brought forth that price as strong and holy with the holiness of uncorrupted modesty. Whence in Ecclesiasticus: "Grace upon grace is a holy and modest woman"; and the Angel said: "Hail, full of grace," because she was holy and modest: holy in flesh and modest in mind. The Apostle: "The unmarried woman and the virgin thinks on the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and in spirit."

1 Corinthians 7:35 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Since widowed continence has more in itself of the nature of the honorable on account of purity, more of the nature of the advantageous on account of the removal of impediment, more of the nature of the delightful on account of the removal of burdens which follow upon the law of marriage: hence it is that widowed continence is counseled to all who are unbound; and those who wish to adhere to this counsel according to the dictate of evangelical perfection are not to be restrained but rather encouraged, that is, not only in old age but also in youth. For one is persuaded to abstain from marriage or to be continent, both by the Lord and by the Apostle himself, 1 Corinthians 7: She shall be happier if she so remain, according to my counsel. And the reason for this he himself states beforehand: Moreover, this I say for your profit, not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is honorable, and which may afford the opportunity of beseeching the Lord without hindrance.

1 Corinthians 7:38 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That virginal continence is to be preferred to all others is shown by authority, as follows. 1 Corinthians 7: He who gives his virgin in marriage does well, and he who does not give her in marriage does better: therefore virginal continence is to be preferred to the other differences of continence, according to the authority of the Apostle.

1 Corinthians 7:40 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That widowed continence according to the evangelical law ought to be vowed is shown by authority, as follows. 1 Corinthians 7: If the husband shall have died, the woman is freed from the law of the husband; but she will be more blessed if she so remains: but what is more blessed can be licitly vowed: and this is through the vow of widowed continence: therefore widowed continence is to be vowed.

1 Corinthians 7:40 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

This counselor, namely Christ, has many counselors, to whom he imparts his counsel. Paul said: 'She will be more blessed if she so remains according to my counsel; but I think that I also have the Spirit of God.' Whence to the Corinthians: 'You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor.' And the Apostle himself says: 'In this I give counsel, but I have no precept.' Augustine says that 'Christ became poor to such an extent that he does not have what the foxes have, because foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head; understand: Christ became poor so that we might imitate his poverty.' The Master says that we should imitate him in giving alms, in humility, in poverty, and in obedience.

1 Corinthians 8:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

"Knowledge puffs up, but charity edifies"; therefore it is necessary to join charity with knowledge, so that a man may have knowledge and charity together, so that what the Apostle says may be fulfilled: "Rooted and founded in charity, that you may be able to comprehend with all the Saints what is the length, and breadth, and height, and depth, and to know also the charity of Christ which surpasseth knowledge." This is the knowledge which is a gift of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 8:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Gratuitous knowledge teaches to know and the manner of knowing. Whence, upon that saying of the Apostle: "If any man think that he knoweth anything, he hath not yet known how he ought to know": Bernard says: "You see that the Apostle does not approve him who knows many things, but the manner of knowing: see that he places all the fruit and utility of knowledge in the manner of knowing. What does he call the manner of knowing? To know in what order, with what zeal, and to what end each one learns: in what order, so that one may first learn that which is more conducive to salvation; with what zeal, so that one may more ardently pursue that which more powerfully draws to the love of God; to what end, so that one may learn not for vainglory or curiosity, but for the edification of oneself and one's neighbor. There are those who wish to know only for the sake of knowing, and this is base curiosity. There are those who learn and wish to know in order to be known, and this is base vanity. And there are those who wish to know in order to sell their knowledge for money or honors, and this is base profit. There are those who wish to know in order to edify others, and this is charity. And there are those who wish to know in order to be edified, and this is prudence."

1 Corinthians 8:4 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

An idol is nothing, as is said in First Corinthians, chapter eight: therefore to think that God is an idol and that God does not exist is the same thing: but it is thinkable and is sometimes thought that God is an idol: therefore it is thinkable that God is nothing. The reason a pagan thinks that God is an idol is that his apprehension of God is defective: for he does not apprehend Him as the highest and best, but as something powerful that man cannot be; and hence there arises in him the error of deception and the wavering of doubt, into which error he casts himself by his own obstinacy, so that he becomes utterly inexcusable. Nor yet is he entirely deprived of the knowledge of God, because, although out of his own perversity he wills to worship an idol, he nonetheless has a natural instinct to worship God, against which he fights by casting himself into voluntary error.

1 Corinthians 9:7 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

On that passage in 1 Corinthians 9: Who serves as a soldier, etc.; the Gloss says: "As the Lord ordained, those living from the Gospel ate bread freely given, received from those to whom they preached grace freely given"; but it is called bread freely given because it was not acquired through bodily labor: therefore those exercising the work of preaching are not bound to bodily labor.

1 Corinthians 9:13 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

First Corinthians nine: Do you not know that those who work in the sanctuary eat what belongs to the sanctuary, and those who serve at the altar share with the altar? The Gloss: "Natural reason dictates that one should live from where he labors." If therefore the faithful person who is intent upon spiritual occupations is worthy of being sustained, and such a person is not idle: therefore neither for the sake of avoiding idleness nor even for acquiring sustenance is he bound to work manually.

1 Corinthians 9:17 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

To that which is objected, that such men are imitators of Gehazi, who minister spiritual things for temporal ones: to this the Gloss responds sufficiently enough on that passage of 1 Corinthians 9: A dispensation is entrusted to me: "We ought not to preach the Gospel in order that we may eat, but rather to eat in order that we may preach the Gospel, so that food is not a good which is sought after, but a necessity which is added; so that that saying may be fulfilled: Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you." Hence if someone were to make a temporal thing the end in preaching the word of God, without doubt he would be perverse, because he would make the means into the end, and he would be like Gehazi and Balaam, who loved the reward of iniquity. But if they seek sustenance as a means ordered to the preaching of the Gospel, then they proceed rightly and imitate the Apostles, nor do they depart from the path of truth in any respect.

1 Corinthians 10:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Concerning the allegory of the Head, Paul writes: "I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized in Moses, in the cloud and in the sea. And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink (for they drank from the spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ)."

1 Corinthians 10:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

1 Corinthians 10:12 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

Because humility is the dwelling place of grace, the grace of the Holy Spirit rests upon the humble alone. Whence Augustine, in the third book of On Christian Doctrine: "For this reason the sins of great men were written down, so that that apostolic saying might everywhere be feared: Wherefore let him who seems to stand take heed lest he fall. For there is no page of the holy books in which it does not resound: God resists the proud, but to the humble He gives grace."

1 Corinthians 11:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

The Scriptures call Christ sometimes the Center, sometimes the Head. He is called the Head because all the senses and spiritual motions and charismatic graces flow from Him. This He pours in as being united to the members. For "the head of Christ is God," that is, in so far as He is God; but "the head of every man is Christ," in so far as He is God and man. Hence He pours the Holy Spirit into the members of the Church united to Him, not separated from Him. And since in the human body there is no diffusion from the head to the members unless the members are united to the head, so it is with the Mystical Body.

1 Corinthians 11:29 — Breviloquium, Part 6

In the species of bread and wine Christ is set before us as food, which whoever receives worthily, not only sacramentally, but also eating spiritually through faith and charity, is more fully incorporated into the mystical body of Christ and is in himself refreshed and purified; but whoever approaches unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the most holy body of Christ. Since our capacity to receive Christ efficaciously is not in the flesh, but in the spirit, not in the belly, but in the mind: and the mind does not attain Christ except through knowledge and love, through faith and charity, such that faith illuminates unto meditation, and charity enkindles unto devotion: therefore, in order that one may approach worthily, it is necessary that one eat spiritually, so that through the meditation of faith one may chew, and through the devotion of love one may receive: through which one does not transform Christ into oneself, but rather one is transferred into His mystical body. On account of which it is manifestly gathered that he who approaches tepidly, without devotion, and without consideration eats and drinks judgment to himself, because he does insult to so great a Sacrament. And therefore the counsel is for those who feel themselves less clean in mind or in flesh, or even without devotion, that they defer until, prepared for the eating of the true Lamb, they approach clean, devout, and circumspect.

1 Corinthians 12:8-11 — Breviloquium

Since the Holy Spirit, who is charity and is possessed through charity, is the origin of all charisms: therefore, when the Holy Spirit descended, the fullness of charisms was poured forth for the perfecting of the mystical body of Christ. And because there must be diverse members in a perfect body, and diverse offices and functions of diverse members, and diverse charisms for diverse offices: hence it is that to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another faith, to another the grace of healing, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of words; all these things one and the same Spirit works, dividing to each one as he wills, according to his most generous providence and most provident generosity.

1 Corinthians 12:11 — Breviloquium, Prologue

The origin of Scripture is not through human investigation, but through divine revelation, which flows from the Father of lights, from whom all paternity in heaven and on earth is named, from whom through his Son, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit flows into us, and through the Holy Spirit, dividing and distributing gifts to each one as he wills, faith is given, and through faith Christ dwells in our hearts.

1 Corinthians 13:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

It has been said how the intellect is enlightened by these theories, in order that it may go on to the tasting of its fruit. And this is necessary. As Gregory says, "He who labors only to find out what to say and how, remains empty inside and is devoid of inner devotion," for as the Apostle says, he has become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:8 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

From the foregoing it is gathered that, although from the primary division the light descending from above is fourfold, there are nevertheless six differences of it: namely, the light of sacred Scripture, the light of sensitive cognition, the light of mechanical art, the light of rational philosophy, the light of natural philosophy, and the light of moral philosophy. And therefore there are six illuminations in this life, and they have an evening, because all knowledge shall be destroyed; and therefore the seventh day of rest succeeds them, which has no evening, namely, the illumination of glory.

1 Corinthians 13:12 — Breviloquium, Part 7

In heavenly glory there is a substantial, consubstantial, and accidental reward. The substantial reward consists in the vision, fruition, and possession of the one highest good, namely God, whom the Blessed will see face to face, that is, nakedly and without veil; whom they will enjoy eagerly and delightfully; whom they will also hold for all eternity. The supreme light, which darkened eyes cannot see, cannot be seen face to face without deiformity of mind and joy of heart. Because a mere creature does not have supreme authority, from which there can be no appeal, hence it is necessary that our judge be both God, so that he may judge by supreme authority, and man, so that he may be seen and contend with sinners in a human likeness. The rational spirit can be rewarded and fulfilled by nothing less than God, nor can its capacity be bounded: therefore as a reward there is given to it the deiformity of glory, through which, made conformed to God, it may see him clearly by reason and love him fully by will and retain him forever by memory: so that the whole soul may live, the whole soul may be endowed in the three powers of the soul, the whole soul may be configured to God, the whole soul may be united to him, the whole soul may rest in him, finding in him as in every good peace, light, and eternal sufficiency.

1 Corinthians 13:12 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

It is objected: Everything whose contrary created nature displays is incredible to reason; but every created nature displays the contrary of this, namely that one thing is multiplied in supposits without the form being multiplied: for in any created nature, when the supposit is multiplied, the form is multiplied: therefore if our intellect is led by the hand through creatures to knowing God whether He exists, as is said in First Corinthians thirteen: We see now through a glass in an enigma: since every created nature has a contrary indication to this truth, that God is triune: it is necessary that this be an incredible truth. To that which is objected, that everything whose contrary all created nature exhibits is incredible: it must be said that created nature can exhibit something in two ways: either in itself, or in its cause. For created nature exhibits that it is temporal and mutable and composite, but that its cause is eternal and immutable and most simple. In this same way, although in a creature the unity of form cannot stand together with a trinity of supposits, since supposits in a creature are distinguished by matter and by form appropriated to matter itself; in the Creator, in whom there is absolutely no matter and there is true fecundity, while one form and substance remains, there is distinction in supposits by reason of origin. Therefore, since the creature does not universally exhibit the contrary of this, namely that God is trine, but rather rightly and conformably exhibits the very same: it is therefore more credible than incredible.

1 Corinthians 13:12 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 3

Since, however, the two aforementioned steps, leading us toward God through His vestiges, through which He shines forth in all creatures, have led us by the hand to this point: that we should re-enter into ourselves, namely into our mind, in which the divine image shines forth: hence it is that now in the third place, entering into ourselves and as it were leaving the outer court behind, in the holy place, namely the anterior part of the tabernacle, we ought to endeavor to see God through a mirror; where, after the manner of a candelabrum, the light of truth shines forth in the face of our mind, in which, namely, the image of the most blessed Trinity resplends. Enter therefore into yourself and see that your mind most fervently loves itself; nor could it love itself unless it knew itself; nor would it know itself unless it remembered itself, because we grasp nothing through the intellect that is not present in our memory; and from this you perceive that your soul has a threefold power, not with the eye of the flesh, but with the eye of reason. Consider therefore the operations and dispositions of these three powers, and you will be able to see God through yourself as through an image, which is to see through a mirror in an enigma.

1 Corinthians 13:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Augustine explains the Apostle's words: "But we all, with faces unveiled, reflecting as in a mirror the glory of the Lord:" Not "as in mirrors," that is, from afar, but "as in a mirror." But we still see through this mirror in an obscure manner, for a man who sees clearly is in the state of beatitude.

1 Corinthians 13:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

But how does Paul "announce the good tidings of the unfathomable riches of Christ?" This is how: "So there abide faith, hope and charity, these three." There shines forth a threefold signification in Scriptures, teaching what to believe, what to expect, and what to do. What to believe, in terms of faith; what to expect, in terms of hope; what to do, in terms of charity, which consists in action, and not only in affective dispositions. "If anyone love Me, he will keep My word."

1 Corinthians 14:33 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

The Church is a union of rational men united in harmonious and uniform adherence to divine peace. For the Church in return loves itself. And love is born of obedience to the Law. And so it is fitting that those who obey the Law be loving also. "By this will all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." And the Apostle writes: "For God is a God of peace, not of disorder."

1 Corinthians 15:4 — Breviloquium

On the third day He rose from the dead, resuming the body which He had previously vivified, yet not such a body as it had been before: for before it was passible and mortal, but after He rose, it was impassible and immortal, living perpetually. In order to build up faith, by which we believe Christ to be true man and true God, and by which we also believe that he willed to redeem us through death and was able to restore us to life through resurrection: for this reason he willed to rise again to immortal life, yet with a due interval of time interposed, namely thirty-six hours, in which it is shown that he was truly dead. Nor ought he to have hastened more, lest, if he had risen sooner, it would be believed that he had not truly died but had feigned himself dead. Nor ought he to have delayed longer, lest, if he had remained forever in death, he would be believed powerless and unable to recall anyone to life. And therefore he rose on the third day.

1 Corinthians 15:4 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Since the power that restores us is the power of the whole Trinity and also the power of the passion of Christ, who died and was buried and rose again on the third day: hence it is that in the Sacrament of baptism there ought to be a proper and ordered pronouncing of the baptizing word with a triple immersion for the expression of the death of Christ and his burial and resurrection accomplished after three days. And because both powers operate simultaneously and in the one Christ the Savior, both of these ought to be done by one and the same person simultaneously and at the same time, for the sake of preserving unity in the Sacrament and signifying unity in our Mediator.

1 Corinthians 15:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

These three concurrent visions or certainties, the angelic, the prophetic, and the apostolic, provide the certainty of faith and Scriptures. Paul had all three, for he saw Christ bodily: And last of all, he writes, as by one born out of due time, He was seen also by me. And he was also lifted up to the intermediate and to the highest visions, that is, to the intellectual.

1 Corinthians 15:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

The Apostle, when he said: "By the grace of God I am what I am," adds: "I have labored more abundantly than all of them." Do you then praise yourself, O Apostle? No; whence he adds: "Not I, but the grace of God with me." It is a noble example that some recognize their virtue and do not grow proud of it. How virtuously some act with the grace of the Holy Spirit!

1 Corinthians 15:24 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Nature dictates jurisdictional obedience according to the state of nature as reparable or repaired, and this in the state of the wayfarer, according to that passage in First Corinthians fifteen: When he shall have brought to nothing all principality, etc.; the Gloss: "As long as the world endures, Angels will preside over Angels, and men over men for the benefit of the living: but when all have been gathered together, then all prelacy will cease, because it will not be necessary." For what nature dictates absolutely has perpetual duration; but it is not so of what nature dictates for a particular state: just as in the state of innocence it dictated that all things should be held in common, which indeed it does not dictate in corrupted nature.

1 Corinthians 15:28 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

When these have been possessed, the soul, entering into itself, enters into the supernal Jerusalem, where, considering the orders of Angels, it sees God in them, who, dwelling in them, works all their operations. Whence Bernard says to Eugenius that "God in the Seraphim loves as charity, in the Cherubim knows as truth, in the Thrones sits as equity, in the Dominations rules as majesty, in the Principalities governs as principle, in the Powers protects as salvation, in the Virtues works as power, in the Archangels reveals as light, in the Angels assists as piety." From all of which God is seen to be all in all through the contemplation of Him in minds in which He dwells through the gifts of most abundant charity.

1 Corinthians 15:28 — Breviloquium, Part 5

This unity is now begun on the way, but is consummated in eternal glory, according to what the Lord prays, that they may be one, as we also are one: and I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one: when this unity is consummated through the bond of charity, God will be all in all in certain eternity and perfect peace, and all things will be common through love, ordered in communion and connected in ordering and indissolubly bound in connection.

1 Corinthians 15:28 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 5

Turning back again, let us say: because therefore the most pure and absolute being, which is simply being, is the first and the last, therefore it is the origin and consummating end of all things. Because eternal and most present, therefore it encompasses and enters all durations, existing as it were simultaneously as their center and circumference. Because most simple and greatest, therefore it is wholly within all things and wholly beyond all things, and therefore "it is an intelligible sphere whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere." Because most actual and most immutable, therefore "remaining stable, it gives motion to all things." Because most perfect and immense, therefore it is within all things, not enclosed; beyond all things, not excluded; above all things, not elevated; below all things, not cast down. Because indeed it is supremely one and all-encompassing, therefore it is all things in all, although all things are many and it itself is nothing but one; and this because through most simple unity, most serene truth, and most sincere goodness there is in it all power, all exemplarity, and all communicability; and therefore from him and through him and in him are all things, and this because he is omnipotent, omniscient, and in every way good, which to see perfectly is to be blessed, as was said to Moses: I will show you all good.

1 Corinthians 15:41 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

It is in this way that men enter into contemplation, nor can anyone in the world attain the visions of the Apocalypse unless he understands such things as these. Since, then, according to the Apostle, "there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another of the stars," we, lifted up through faith, are being transformed from glory to glory, and this, with faces unveiled, so that in a sense we are made to become similar to the twelve stars and to the twelve pearls. There are twelve thoughts we have received through faith: these are the notions that God is the First, that He is triune, that He is the Exemplar of things, the Creator of the world, the One who gave form to the soul, and the Giver of life; that God united to the flesh was crucified, that He is the Remedy of the minds, the Retribution of crimes and the eternal Reward.

1 Corinthians 15:44 — Breviloquium, Part 7

The consubstantial reward consists in the glory of the body, which is called the second stole: which being resumed, the blessed soul tends more perfectly toward the highest heaven. And this stole consists in a fourfold dowry of the body, namely in the dowry of clarity, subtlety, agility, and impassibility: which will be in greater or lesser degree, according to the lesser or greater charity previously possessed. Since the spirit is glorified by the vision of eternal light, there must result in its body the greatest clarity of light. Because indeed by the love of that supreme Spirit it is made supremely spiritual, it must have in the body a corresponding subtlety and spirituality. Because by the possession of eternity it is made altogether impassible, there must be in its body complete impassibility both within and without. Because indeed from all these things the spirit is most ready to tend toward God, in the glorified body there must be found supreme agility. Since therefore through these four properties the body is made conformed to the spirit and also subject to it, hence it is that in these four it is said to be especially endowed, by reason of which it has the aptitude to follow the spirit and to be placed in the celestial region, which is the region of the Blessed. For in these properties it is made like to the celestial bodies, and thus the fourfold dowry of bodies renders the body both perfect in itself and conformed to the celestial habitation and to the blessed Spirit, through whom from the supreme head, God, even unto the hem of the garment, namely the body, the fullness of sweetness and the inebriation of beatitude overflows and, insofar as is possible, is derived.

1 Corinthians 15:54 — Breviloquium

In the death of Christ the separation of the soul from the flesh was so accomplished that nevertheless the unity of the person was preserved, and the union of both the flesh and the soul with the Deity. And because the union of the soul with the body makes a man and makes him living: hence it is that Christ was not a man during that triduum, although the soul and the flesh were united with the Word. Whence, because death in the human nature could not induce death in the person, who was always living; therefore death died in life, and through the death of Christ death was swallowed up in victory, and the prince of death was vanquished, and through this man was liberated from death and the cause of death through the merit of Christ's death as through the most efficacious means.

1 John 1:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The third certainty derives from an intellectual vision combined with bodily vision. This occurred in the minds of the apostles. What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked upon and our hands have handled, the Word of Life. And we announce to you nothing else than what we have seen. Wherefore Thomas wanted to touch, and was told: "Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed." And the blessed Virgin Mary, the teacher of the Apostles and Evangelists, came in contact with this Word in her womb and on her lap.

1 John 2:14 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The gift of the Holy Spirit is given for overthrowing the powers of the air. Whence in John: "I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one." This fortitude ought to be in every Christian and especially in the leader of the army of the Christian people.

1 John 2:16 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 2

The devil enticed the woman through a threefold desirable object, namely through knowledge, which is desirable to the rational power; through excellence after the manner of God, which is desirable to the irascible power; through the sweetness of the tree, which is desirable to the concupiscible power. And thus he tempted everything that was temptable in the woman, through everything by which she could be led into temptation, which is the threefold desirable object of the world, namely the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life; according to which three things the origin of every temptation is discerned, whether from the world, or from the flesh, or from the devil.

1 John 2:16 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Since justice arrives at perfection when it perfectly distances itself from evil both as to worship and as to cause: and all evil arises from a threefold root, namely the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life: hence it is that there are three evangelical counsels, perfectly distancing us from the aforesaid threefold root. Which are therefore counsels because, in order that they may perfectly cause one to withdraw from evil, they separate not only from illicit things, but also from licit and permitted things which can be an occasion of evil: and through this they contain not only sufficient, but also abundant justice, according to what befits the perfection of the evangelical law and the exercise of perfecting grace.

1 John 2:16 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

That which most distances us from the world is most consonant with evangelical perfection; but to bind oneself by vow to obey a man most distances us from the world, because all that is in the world is either the concupiscence of the flesh, or the concupiscence of the eyes, or the pride of life, from which we are most distanced by the vow of obedience: therefore to bind oneself by vow to obey another is most consonant with evangelical perfection.

1 John 2:16 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 9

Of actual sins there is one beginning, a twofold root, a threefold fuel, and a sevenfold head or capital sin. There is one beginning, namely pride; a twofold root, namely fear wrongly humbling and love wrongly inflaming; a threefold fuel, according to the three things that are in the world, namely the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life; and a sevenfold head, namely pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust. Among which the five preceding are spiritual sins, while the last two are carnal. For every fear has its origin from love: for no one fears to lose something unless he loves to have it; and therefore fear is nourished by those things by which love too is nourished. Now disordered love regards a changeable good: and since that is threefold—interior, namely excellence; exterior, money; inferior, carnal wantonness—hence it is necessary that there be three radical fuels of actual sins, toward which when the soul is carried in a disordered manner, all actual sins arise.

1 John 3:15 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

Likewise homicide is committed interpretively, and this occurs in three ways: first, by omitting in deed: whence Ambrose says: "Feed the one dying of hunger: if you have not fed him, you have killed him." In the second way it occurs when someone kills another by counseling, or accusing, or disparaging, when he does this from malice of spirit. In the third way homicide is committed interpretively by hating in the soul: whence in the epistle of John: "He who hates his brother is a murderer."

1 John 3:16 — Breviloquium

Nothing more instructs a person toward virtue than the example of enduring death for the sake of justice and divine obedience—death, I say, not of just any kind, but of the most painful sort. Nothing indeed more invites than such great kindness, by which for us the most high Son of God, without any merits on our part—nay, with many demerits on our part—laid down His life; which kindness is shown to be all the greater, the more grievous and abject the things He endured or willed to suffer for us. For God spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all: how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? From which we are invited to love Him and to imitate the One we love.

1 John 4:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

The door to wisdom is a yearning for it and a powerful desire. That is the road by which wisdom comes within me, by which I go into wisdom, and wisdom comes into me, and likewise charity. Hence "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." Such wisdom cannot be obtained without supreme mutual pleasure, but where there is supreme mutual pleasure, supreme yearning must have come first.

1 John 4:16 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

If we consider the fruit, we shall find the union of God and the soul. For every artisan who makes some work either makes it so that through it he may be praised, or so that through it something may be procured or gained for himself, or so that he may delight in it, according to the three things that are among desirable goods, namely the honorable good, the useful, and the delectable. For these three reasons God made the rational soul: that it might praise Him, that it might serve Him, that it might delight and rest in Him; and this is through charity, in which he who abides, abides in God, and God in him, so that there is a certain wondrous union, and from that union a wondrous delight; for, as it is said in Proverbs, my delights are to be with the children of men. Behold how the illumination of mechanical art is a path to the illumination of Sacred Scripture, and there is nothing in it that does not proclaim true wisdom. And therefore Sacred Scripture quite rightly makes frequent use of such similitudes.

1 John 5:3 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The commandments of God are irreproachable, because they contain nothing impossible: whence in First John: "This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome." He premises: "this is the love of God": for to one having charity the commandments of God are easy and sweet, but to one not having charity they seem difficult. And Augustine gives the example of a bird having feathers and a bird without feathers: and he says that for a bird having feathers it is easy to fly, but for a bird not having feathers it is difficult. Similarly, to a man of perverse will the commandments seem difficult, which to one having charity are easy.

1 John 5:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

1 John 5:7 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 2

1 John 5: Three are they who give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one; I say one absolutely, which I say with no addition: therefore they are one absolutely: therefore the trinity does not take away unity.

1 John 5:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. Witness is given by the Three, but it is expressed through the Word, for the Word expresses the Father, and Itself, and the Spirit, and all other things besides.

1 John 5:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

There are two Seraphim established in us through faith, and each one makes the triple exclamation, but refers only once to the Lord God. For the understanding of God is the understanding of three Persons with unity of essence. Wherefore "there are three that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one." And so the intellect is made to resemble a Seraph, that is, it is enlightened and inflamed through faith, and cries out "Holy" three times.

1 John 5:7 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

The words also testify to this same thing, among which, although many there be, that one statement is express which the friend of the Bridegroom wrote in First John five: There are three who give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. Now this testimony is so efficacious and express that it not only makes the aforesaid truth credible, that is, fitting to be believed, but also makes it obligatory, inasmuch as it binds and constrains us to believing it.

1 John 5:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

The incarnation cannot be known unless one is aware of the distinction of Persons. For if you do not know the Trinity, the Father could have been incarnated and have suffered as well as the Son: and this is Sabellianism and Patripassianism. Likewise, if you suppose the Trinity and not the incarnation, you have a witnessing in heaven, but you do not receive it on earth. Yet, since "there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit and the water and the blood." The spirit refers to the Godhead, the water to the body, and the blood, wherein is the life of the soul, to the soul. Through blood, indeed, Christ united the Spirit with the water, for by means of the soul, the Godhead was joined to a body.

1 John 5:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

The fifth middle way is kindness, either in the form of the re-establishment of justice or in that of friendship, which has nothing of malice, but through which a man seeks someone else's good; and here it is necessary that reason be guided. Although the Philosopher says it is fitting to do good to friends and evil to enemies, Christ recommends that every man be loved, and that all men be given things that are useful to them, and not damaging. If I love you and grant you some favor or freedom which you will misuse as soon as you receive it, I am not being kind, but rather malicious: and so, in order to be kind, I will not give it to you. I have a friend, and I have an enemy: the friend will badly use some position of power or some dignity, damaging both himself and the common good. If I give them to him, I am not kind. On the contrary, my enemy will use it well: I will give it to him and turn his wickedness into good. A father does not flatter his son, nor does he speak to him in sweet words, lest he become proud. The world in our days is ignorant of this form of kindness, hence the whole world is in the power of the evil one, for man loves nothing but his own personal good.

1 Kings 3:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

The same is seen also in the example of Solomon who asked, not for gold and silver, but for an understanding heart: and so it was given to him. Hence James: "If any of you is wanting in wisdom, let him ask it of God, who gives abundantly to all men, and does not reproach; and it will be given to him. But let him ask with faith, without hesitation." For one who hesitates is not disciplined.

1 Kings 4:33 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

All men want to be wise and knowing. Yet, soon it happens that the woman deceives the man. But wisdom is the higher, being noble, while knowing is the lower: yet she seems beautiful to man, and he seeks to be joined to her, and his spirit tends to the things that can be known and experienced, and he wills to know them, and to experience the things he knows, and consequently to be united to them. And in this way he is weakened like Solomon who sought to know all things, "and he treated about trees from the cedar that is in Libanus, unto hyssop." And he forgets about the most important, and thus turns to the vain. Therefore passing from knowing to wisdom is not assured: a means must be placed in between, that is, holiness.

1 Kings 6:36 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

There is yet another distinction based upon the elevation and the different levels of ecclesiastics. Now, it is fitting that this distinction be ordained "with three rows of polished stones." Indeed, among the levels, some are cleansing, others enlightening, and others again uniting.

1 Kings 8:27 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 4

Likewise, Third Kings, chapter eight: If heaven and the heavens of heavens cannot contain you, how much more this house which I have built? If therefore the being of God can be contained by nothing and circumscribed by nothing, it must be acknowledged that it has entirely the character of the infinite.

1 Kings 10:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

For the beauty of Wisdom is wondrous, and no one looks upon her without admiration and ecstasy, as it is said of Esther and of Solomon, for "all the earth desired to see Solomon's face"; and the Queen of Sheba "came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon"; and when she saw "the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cupbearers, and the holocausts, which he offered in the house of the Lord: she had no longer any spirit in her."

1 Kings 10:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

1 Kings 10:19 — Breviloquium, Part 6

There are seven orders arranged by degrees up to the priesthood, in which is the standing of the orders, because it belongs to the priesthood to consecrate the Sacrament of the body of Christ, in which is the fullness of all graces; whence the other six are as it were subordinate and like certain steps by which one ascends to the throne of Solomon; and they are six on account of the perfection of the number, because six is the first perfect number, and because the perfection and sufficiency of the office of ministering so requires. For it is necessary that some minister as if from a more remote position, some from a nearer, and some from the nearest, so that nothing is lacking in the ordered ministry.

1 Kings 10:19 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

These six considerations having therefore been traversed, as if they were the six steps of the throne of the true Solomon, by which one arrives at peace, where the true peaceful one rests in a peaceful mind as in an interior Jerusalem; and as if also the six wings of the Cherub, by which the mind of the true contemplative, filled with the illumination of supernal wisdom, may be borne upward; and as if also the first six days, in which the mind must be exercised, so that it may at last arrive at the sabbath of rest; after our mind has contemplated God outside itself through vestiges and in the vestiges, within itself through the image and in the image, above itself through the similitude of the divine light shining upon us and in that light itself, insofar as is possible according to the state of wayfaring and the exercise of our mind; when at last in the sixth step it has arrived at this point, that it contemplates in the first and highest principle and the mediator of God and men, Jesus Christ, those things whose likenesses can in no way be found in creatures, and which exceed all keenness of the human intellect: it remains that, in contemplating these things, it should transcend and pass beyond not only this sensible world, but also itself; in which passing over, Christ is the way and the door, Christ is the ladder and the vehicle, as it were the mercy seat placed upon the ark of God and the mystery hidden from the ages.

1 Kings 10:19 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

Just as God completed the whole world in six days and rested on the seventh, so the lesser world may be led in most orderly fashion through six stages of successive illuminations to the repose of contemplation. As a figure of this, one ascended by six steps to the throne of Solomon; the Seraphim that Isaiah saw had six wings; after six days the Lord called Moses from the midst of the cloud, and Christ after six days, as is said in Matthew, led the disciples up the mountain and was transfigured before them.

1 Kings 10:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

The seventh and last column of wisdom is simplicity in intention. Concerning this it is said that "King Solomon made a great throne of ivory," and he made in it "six steps." The other columns are round about, but this one is the most principal and at the summit. The Apostle speaks saying: "Seek the things that are above;" and in Ecclesiastes: "What has the wise man more than the fool, and what has the poor man, except to go thither where life is?" Surely, where Christ is, and when Christ shall appear, life shall appear.

1 Kings 10:24 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

1 Kings 19:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

He affirms that this ascent comes about through the power and the strongest motion of the Holy Spirit, as it is said of Elias: "A great and strong wind overthrowing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces." It is not for us to have this fire within our power; but if God gives it from above, it is the priest's duty to nourish it and to throw wood on it by means of prayer.

1 Kings 21:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The second flow from the light of faith is the zeal of truth, so that a man be aroused with indignation against anything evil or false and be immediately attracted to anything good. Let him despise every wickedness, like Elias, who foretold about Achab and Jezabel that hounds would devour them. Achab said: "Hast thou found me thy enemy?" And Elias replied: "I have found thee because thou art sold, to do evil in the sight of the Lord," as if he were saying, "Anyone who is against God is against me."

1MA 2:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

This virtue gives nobility to the soul. But because at times a man may be indignant at another, there is need for gentleness, which is the remedy against irascibility and anger—not that man should never be angry at all, but that he should be so only in the right circumstances of place and time. Hence, he must have both the face of a man and the face of a lion. At times, however, you believe a man to be kind when he remains silent while knowing of another's sin. Such is not kindness. Listen, therefore: it is said of Jesus that He was troubled, and that He made a kind of whip. Hence, in the First Book of the Machabees, it is written: Woe is me! Wherefore was I born to see the ruin of my people and the ruin of the holy city? Jesus is the Lamb and the Lion.

1MA 2:66 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

This fortitude ought to be in every Christian and especially in the leader of the army of the Christian people. It is written in the book of Maccabees that "Judas, strong in might from his youth, let him be your prince of the army, and he shall wage the war of the people." Everyone who receives the care of souls becomes a prince of the army; and when the prince is not good, then the army is in great danger.

1MA 3:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

If we wish to describe fortitude rightly, we must note that it is from heaven. Whence in the book of Machabees: "The victory of war is not in the multitude of the army, but strength is from heaven." Therefore fortitude is a gift of God.

1 Peter 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

From Christ is the fruit of grace. This fruit of grace is fourfold: it consists in steadying the soul through faith, blessing it through divine love, lifting it up through hope, curbing it through divine fear. And in the First Epistle of Peter: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy hath regenerated us unto a lively hope."

1 Peter 1:12 — Breviloquium, Part 5

And in these degrees consists the ladder of Jacob, whose summit reaches heaven: and the throne of Solomon, upon which sits the most wise King, truly peaceful and loving as the most beautiful bridegroom and wholly desirable: upon whom the Angels desire to gaze, and toward whom the desire of holy souls sighs, as the hart longs for the fountains of waters. By which most fervent desire, in the manner of fire, our spirit is not only made agile for ascent, but also by a certain learned ignorance is rapt above itself into darkness and ecstasy.

1 Peter 1:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

From Christ is the fruit of grace. This fruit of grace is fourfold: it consists in steadying the soul through faith, blessing it through divine love, lifting it up through hope, curbing it through divine fear. Peter speaks of the second: "Therefore, having girded up the loins of your understanding, be sober and set your hope completely on that grace which is brought to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ." For sanctification consists in this, that virtues, which are the loins of the mind, are transformed in God.

1 Peter 1:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

1 Peter 1:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

1 Peter 2:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Christ is the foundation of this faith. For He is the cornerstone of which Isaiah and Peter speak: See, I am laying a stone in Sion, a stone that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation. And the Apostle: You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone.

1 Peter 2:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The blessed Virgin on account of her sanctity, piety, and sublimity had a crown of precious stone. Who is this stone? Certainly Christ. Whence blessed Peter: "Behold, I shall place in the foundation a precious stone." The blessed Virgin was crowned with this stone in the flesh: seeing in the flesh the glorified body of Christ, seeing in spirit his glorified soul, and in mind his Divinity. Christ was crowned first, and she afterward.

1 Peter 2:9 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 2

From all of which it is gathered that the invisible things of God, from the creation of the world, being understood through those things which have been made, are clearly seen: so that those who are unwilling to attend to these things and to know, bless, and love God in all of them are without excuse, since they are unwilling to be transferred from darkness into the admirable light of God. But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, who from darkness has transferred us into His admirable light, while through these lights given outwardly to the mirror of our mind, in which divine things shine forth, we are disposed to re-enter.

1 Peter 2:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

But whatever Aristotle's opinion, other enlightened philosophers presupposed the existence of ideas: they were the worshipers of a single God, who placed all good in the supremely good God, and believed in the existence of exemplary virtues from which the cardinal virtues flowed, first into the cognitive power, and thence into the affective, and finally into the operative, according to the phrase "knowledge, will and definitive action," as established by the most noble Plotinus in regard to the school of Plato, and Tullius of the Academic school. And so these were seen to be enlightened and to be capable of enjoying happiness as such. Yet, these men lived in darkness, since they did not have the light of faith; we by contrast do have that light. Hence, in the First Epistle of Peter: You, however, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people; that you may proclaim the perfections of Him who has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

1 Peter 2:13 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

1 Peter 2: Be subject to every human creature for the sake of God: therefore the more efficaciously one does this, the more perfectly one acts; but he who subjects himself to another by vow does this most efficaciously: therefore such a person acts most perfectly. Whence Bernard, Homily 42 on the Song of Songs: "It is a small thing to be subject to God unless you are also subject to every human creature for the sake of God: subject yourself to equals, subject yourself to inferiors: for thus it befits us to fulfill all justice"; but this is done most especially by binding oneself by vow to obey another.

1 Peter 2:17 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

In the father there is authority: and in this commandment a precept is given that the father be obeyed, because he has authority. Moreover, everyone who presides over public affairs, or political affairs, or monastic affairs has authority. He who presides over public affairs is called father by reason of authority, such as a prince, baron, count, and the like, and is called father by guardianship or defense; and we ought to honor him as a father. Whence blessed Peter: Fear God, honor the king.

1 Peter 2:21 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, Christ was most imitable according to the state He had on the cross, according to that passage of 1 Peter 2: Christ suffered for us, leaving an example, that you should follow His steps; but on the cross He was entirely naked; whence Jerome to Hedibia: "Do you wish to be perfect and to stand at the highest summit of dignity? Do what the Apostles did: sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and follow the Savior, and follow the naked and solitary cross with naked and solitary virtue": therefore etc.

1 Peter 3:7 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That conjugal chastity is to be approved according to the evangelical law is shown by authority, as follows. 1 Peter 3: Husbands, dwelling together according to knowledge, bestowing honor on the woman as on a weaker vessel; but this is according to the conjugal act: therefore the conjugal act is consonant with the law of God.

1 Peter 3:15 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

That the Lord commands sanctification, that is, rest for the sake of loving, this is a purely moral precept. Whence blessed Peter says: But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, that is, love him. For he sanctifies or makes holy the Sabbath who loves God above all things for his own sake, not for the sake of something else.

1 Peter 3:19 — Breviloquium

The soul of Christ after the passion descended to hell, that is, to limbo, for the liberation not of all, but of those who had departed as members of Christ through living faith, or through the Sacraments of faith. Because the remedy of the passion was most sufficient, it extended itself to celestial, terrestrial, and infernal things. Through Christ infernal things were recovered, terrestrial things remedied, and celestial things restored to wholeness—such that the first of these He accomplished through pardon, the second through grace, and the third through glory: therefore after the passion His soul descended to the nether regions to free those detained in hell. Because that remedy was most efficacious both upon those who preceded the coming of Christ and upon those who follow, who nevertheless approached and approach Christ Himself and were and are His members—and such are those who cling to Him through faith, hope, and charity—therefore that remedy ought to have had efficacy first upon those who believed in Christ, and by believing hoped, and by hoping loved; and on this account He ought to have descended to the nether regions immediately for their liberation. Whence, when the gate of heaven was opened through the passion of Christ—who by making satisfaction removed the flaming sword, by changing the divine sentence—He snatched from hell all His members.

1 Peter 3:21 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Likewise in the time after the cleansing of sin, there were three divisions: the building of the Ark, the showing of the rainbow, and the separation of tongues. For a hundred years, Noah worked on the Ark in which he was saved together with seven souls. And, as Peter says, baptism is the type of this — of water, of desire and of blood. In the New Testament, Clement was saved in this Ark, for a marble temple was prepared for him in the sea by angel hands, while the others were submerged. And out of this there came about a great miracle, that for so many years the sea remained open, until pirates and robbers removed his body.

1 Peter 4:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

The chief of the Apostles, blessed Peter, says: "Each one, as he has received grace, ministering it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Dionysius determines for us the use of grace in the angelic and celestial hierarchy and says that if the higher Angels were to contain themselves and were unwilling to flow into the lower Angels, then they would close off for themselves the way of God's influence. If the good that you have from God you deny to another, and you see one who is poor in life or in merit, you are not worthy of eternal life, and your life is most wretched and swinish.

1 Peter 5:5 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

1 Peter 5:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The soul is disposed to the gift of fortitude through the unconquerable shield of faith. The devil draws man to the concupiscence of the flesh, to the concupiscence of the eyes, and to the pride of life. What is the means of resisting these? Through truth. "His truth shall encompass you with a shield," namely through faith dwelling within. And blessed Peter said: "Your adversary as a roaring lion goes about seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, strong in faith." If we loved truth, we would not fear the devil, because it is written: "The eyes of the Lord behold the whole earth and give fortitude to those who believe in him with a perfect heart."

1 Peter 5:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

1 Samuel 1:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The blessed Virgin is venerative and restorative of the honor taken from God, and a mother consenting that Christ be offered as the price. Therefore "she shall be praised." Anna was praised because she offered Samuel: whence it is said of her: "The woman went her way and ate, and her countenance was no longer changed." She offered her son to serve: but the blessed Virgin offered her son to be sacrificed. Abraham, you wished to offer your son, but you offered a ram! But the glorious Virgin offered her own son.

1 Samuel 2:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

In the Canticle of Anna it is said in the book of Kings: "Let the old things depart from your mouth, for the Lord is the God of sciences, and to Him thoughts are prepared;" not foolish thoughts, which are scattered along the ways of errors, but good thoughts are prepared for the Lord along the ways of truth.

1 Samuel 12:23 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The exercise of the gift of piety consists in the abundance of interior compassion. Of this it is said in Ecclesiasticus: "These are men of mercy, whose acts of piety have not failed." So it was with Samuel, when the people sought a king; afterwards the people recognized that Samuel had governed the people well, and when the people had sinned, they feared that Samuel would not want to pray to the Lord for them. And the people asked him to pray for them, and Samuel said: "Far be it from me that I should cease to pray for you."

1 Samuel 24:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The exercise of the gift of piety consists in the abundance of interior compassion. Of this it is said in Ecclesiasticus: "These are men of mercy, whose acts of piety have not failed." Of how great piety was David, king of Israel! Saul was seeking to kill him, and David had Saul in his hand: he could have killed him, with God not prohibiting it, because God said to him: "I will deliver him into your hands." He could have killed him, with no man prohibiting it, nor the law prohibiting it; and yet he spared him and his house. These therefore are men of mercy, whose acts of piety did not fail.

1 Thessalonians 4:11 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

First Thessalonians four: Work with your hands, as we commanded you, and that you may walk honestly toward those who are outside, and that you may desire nothing of anyone's: Gloss: "Much less ask for it, or take it." But this especially regards the poor: therefore, etc.

1 Thessalonians 4:12 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

First Thessalonians 4: That you desire nothing of anyone: the Gloss says: "That you desire nothing of anyone, much less ask for or take anything." If therefore it is more to ask or petition than to desire, and the first is prohibited as unlawful by the Apostle, namely to desire or covet what belongs to another: therefore much more so to petition. To that which is objected from the Gloss on 1 Thessalonians 4, that one should desire nothing of anyone nor ask for anything: it must be said that someone can ask something from another in two ways: either out of desire for another's property, or out of desire for another's salvation. The first the Apostle prohibits as evil and as prohibited in the Law, where it is said: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods. But the second he does not prohibit, because the law of charity grants this, which is to be nourished by mutual benefits and causes the burden of one to be borne by another. For what is so absurd as to believe that the Apostle denied that anyone should ask from another either benefit or aid or the solace of mercy and fraternal piety? And that this is true appears from what the Apostle says at the end of Philippians about himself, thanking them for the benefit conferred: I do not seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. For according to what Augustine expounds in the thirteenth book of the Confessions, he seeks the gift who delights principally in the thing received; he seeks the fruit who delights in the salvation of another.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

The time of the clear doctrine extended from Hadrian. But how long it lasted, who is able to say, and who has said? It is certain that we are living in it; it is certain also that it will last until the downfall of the beast that comes up from the sea, when Babylon will be confounded and destroyed, and peace will be given. But first, tribulation must come to pass. And here no boundary can be set, for no one knows how long this time of major peace is to last, "for when they shall say, 'Peace and security,' even then sudden destruction will come upon them."

1 Thessalonians 5:12 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

First Thessalonians 5: We beseech you that you acknowledge those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord; the Gloss says: "Just as riches beget negligence of salvation, so want, while it desires to be satisfied, turns aside from justice"; but what makes one turn aside from justice does not pertain to evangelical perfection: therefore, etc. To that which is objected from the Gloss on 1 Thessalonians 5, that want causes one to turn aside from justice: it must be said that just as riches are not at fault, but the cupidity of riches, so want is not at fault, but the impatience of want; and whoever has this turns aside from justice, since in fleeing want he goes after money; and whoever pursues it easily turns aside from justice: for they that will be rich fall into temptations and into the snare of the devil and many hurtful desires. And just as such want is evil, so also begging arising from such want is blameworthy. But when penury pleases more than abundance, and a man out of love of poverty despises the abundance of earthly things, such a one has no occasion of turning aside from justice on account of such want; and such is the poverty and begging that pertains to evangelical perfection. And that this response is correct is clear from the Gloss itself, in which it is said that "want, when it desires to be satisfied, turns aside from justice." For the needy person who desires to be satisfied is the needy person who does not love poverty but satiety, not penury but abundance. And such a one is not the evangelical and heavenly poor man, who begs out of the supererogation of justice; but rather the covetous and earthly man, who begs out of the viciousness of fault.

1 Timothy 1:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

The Church is a union of rational men united in harmonious and uniform adherence to divine peace. For the Church in return loves itself. And love is born of obedience to the Law. And the Law itself commands love: Now "the purpose of this charge is charity, from a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned." And again, "he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law." And this can be proved in the Saviour's own words: "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." And so it is fitting that those who obey the Law be loving also. "By this will all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." And the Apostle writes: "For God is a God of peace, not of disorder."

1 Timothy 1:5 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

For sacred Scripture is principally concerned with the works of reparation. Whence it treats chiefly of faith, hope, and charity, through which virtues the soul must be reformed, and most especially of charity. Of which the Apostle says that it is the end of the commandment, insofar as it proceeds from a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned. It is the fullness of the Law, as the same Apostle says. And our Savior asserts that the whole Law and the Prophets depend on the two precepts of the same, namely the love of God and of neighbor; which two are intimated in the one Spouse of the Church, Jesus Christ, who is at once neighbor and God, at once brother and lord, at once also king and friend, at once the uncreated and incarnate Word, our maker and remaker, as the Alpha and the Omega; who is also the supreme hierarch, purging and illuminating and perfecting the spouse, namely the whole Church and every holy soul.

1 Timothy 1:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

And in this commandment consists the consummation of God's precepts, whether the world accepts it or not — this, indeed, he asserted — that is, in the abdication of all cupidity. And so, as a ninefold series is completed and made perfect by the addition of a single unit, so the nine commandments are made perfect through the abdication of cupidity, which consists in private love and disregard for the common good. Wherefore, as charity is the end and perfection of all the commandments, likewise abdicating cupidity which is opposed to charity is the perfection of the commandments.

1 Timothy 1:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

It should be noted that charity alone heals the affective dispositions. For, according to Augustine in "The City of God," love is the root of all affections. Wherefore love must be healed, otherwise all affections are distorted; but it can be healed only by divine love, which divine love is pure, provident, devoted, and perpetual: pure in regard to temperance, provident in regard to prudence, devoted in regard to justice, and perpetual in regard to fortitude. Charity, then, is the end and form of all the virtues and is from a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned.

1 Timothy 1:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

The eager desire for discipline gives birth to love. Hence the proper attention to discipline is love. For if you love discipline, you love virtue in yourself and in others and in its very Source. Discipline, however, does not have to be servile: it may be free, so that it loves the one who imposes it, and acts out of love, not out of fear. If you are poor as a result of discipline, you must love poverty. And the same applies to the other perfections. But love is observance of the laws. If, then, you love what is good, you keep the law, because "the purpose of this charge is charity, from a pure heart." When you keep the law, you are sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit; and in this you are drawn away from any love that is not God.

1 Timothy 1:5 — Breviloquium, Part 6

The incarnate Word restores no one unless he both conceives it by believing in his heart and brings forth outwardly what is believed by confessing with due confession; of this kind is truthful confession full of truth, which is not only speculative truth but also practical. This moreover is that in which the whole person is conformed to truth according to the understanding of reason, according to the delight of the will, and according to the adherence of virtue, so that it may be with the whole heart, the whole soul, and the whole mind, and may be from a pure heart, a good conscience, and an unfeigned faith: and such is a confession that is whole, pleasing, and intrepid: so that it may be whole by reason of Him of whom it is; pleasing by reason of Him before whom it is made; intrepid by reason of him by whom that confession must be made. Since therefore the fainthearted person is not fit for this unless he is confirmed by the hand of grace from above, therefore for this purpose the Sacrament of confirmation was divinely instituted as immediately following baptism.

1 Timothy 2:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The second exercise of the gift of piety consists in the custody of intrinsic sanctification; concerning which the Apostle says: "I beseech first of all that supplications, entreaties, prayers, and thanksgivings be made for all"; there follows: "that we may lead a quiet life in all piety and chastity." You ought to understand that the summit of the Christian religion consists in piety and purity. For a man can never be piously disposed toward himself unless he has peace. This is the Christian religion, which consists in these two things. The tranquility of peace exists only in the tranquility of conscience. And conscience is not holy unless it is good and pious, namely that it prefers the life of virtue and grace to the life of nature. Consider well: if a man were more attached to his shoe than to his foot, he would not love his foot much. He who would expose his foot to breaking for the sake of a shoe, would he love his foot much and be much attached to his foot? Certainly not. He who for a small thing would expose himself to hanging would not love his own life much. Must not a man guard his soul in holiness? Certainly so. But he exposes his soul to confusion who does not guard himself from sin.

1 Timothy 2:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Note that a beginning should be made from the center, that is, from Christ. For He Himself is the "Mediator between God and men," holding the central position in all things. Hence it is necessary to start from Him if a man wants to reach Christian wisdom, as it is proved in Matthew: for no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and him to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

1 Timothy 2:5 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

1 Timothy 2:5 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

According to the aforesaid modes, one can find in the illumination of moral philosophy the light of sacred Scripture: since the intention of moral philosophy is principally concerned with rectitude: for it is concerned with general justice, which, as Anselm says, "is rectitude of the will." Now the right can be defined in three ways, and according to this the three aforementioned things shine forth in the consideration of rectitude. In one way, that is called "right whose middle does not depart from the extremes." If therefore in God there is supreme rectitude both in Himself, and insofar as He is the principle, and insofar as He is the end of all things: it is necessary to posit in God a middle Person in Himself, so that one Person only produces, another is only produced, and the middle one both produces and is produced. It is also necessary to posit a middle in the egress and return of things; but the middle in egress must hold more to the side of the one producing, while the middle in return holds more to the side of the one returning: just as therefore things went forth from God through the Word of God, so for a complete return it is necessary that the Mediator of God and men be not only God, but also man, so that He might lead men back to God.

1 Timothy 2:5 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Our restorative principle, namely the incarnate Word, restores us insofar as He is the mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus: and insofar as He is Jesus, He has the power to save; but insofar as He is Christ, the Anointed, He has the power to channel the grace of anointing to others: hence it belongs to Him in His Sacraments to bestow upon His members a saving anointing. Since, moreover, the soul, in order to be perfectly healed, needs a threefold kind of health, namely for the vigor of action, for the sweetness of contemplation, and for the happiness of comprehension: and the first belongs to those entering into the battle line of the Church, the second to those presiding in the same, whose office it is to instruct others, and the third to those departing from the same through death: hence it is that the Lord instituted not only a sacramental anointing in confirmation, but also a middle one in the pontifical order and a last one, when the danger of death is imminent.

1 Timothy 2:5 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Since therefore the deformation of the image and the destruction of grace is as it were an annihilation in the being of moral life and gratuitous life; since the offense against God is to be weighed as great as He Himself is; since the liability to eternal punishment holds the character of the infinite: it is impossible for man to rise from guilt unless he is recreated in gratuitous life, unless the offense is remitted, and the eternal punishment released. He alone, therefore, who was the creative principle is also the recreative principle, namely the eternal Word of the Father, which is Christ Jesus, the mediator of God and men, who because He creates all things from nothing, therefore creates by Himself alone without any intermediary. But because He recreates, reforming what was deformed through the vice of guilt by the habit of grace and justice, absolving what was bound to punishment through condign satisfaction; hence it is that He restores us, by sustaining punishment for us in the assumed nature and by infusing reformative grace, which, since it joins us to its origin, makes us members of Christ; and through this makes the sinful soul, which had been an enemy of God, a brothel of the devil, and a slave of sin, into a bride of Christ, a temple of the Holy Spirit, and a daughter of the eternal Father: all of which comes about through the gratuitous and condescending infusion of the gratuitous gift.

1 Timothy 2:5 — Breviloquium

Since the restorative principle in reconciling necessarily has the office of mediator, therefore it is necessary that it have conformity with both extremes, not only with respect to nature, but also with respect to those things which pertain to nature. Since therefore God is just and blessed, impassible and immortal, but fallen man is a sinner and wretched, passible and mortal, it was necessary that the mediator of God and men, in order to be able to lead man back to God, share with God in justice and beatitude, but with man in passibility and mortality; so that thus, by having "a passing mortality and a permanent beatitude," he might lead man back from present misery to the blessed life; just as conversely the evil angel, by having immortality with misery and injustice, was a mediator causing the fall into guilt and misery through his suggestion.

1 Timothy 2:14 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 3

The transgression of the precept was common to both, although from different causes, for it was not the man, but the woman who was deceived; in both, however, namely in the man and the woman, there was a disordering from the highest to the lowest, because first in the mind or in reason, then in sensuality, and lastly in deed. For each was prostrated through disobedience and enticed through gluttony, because each was raised up in pride: the woman indeed by desiring and pursuing what she had not yet received, the man by excessively loving and prizing what he already had; whence the woman believed she would be exalted by eating, but Adam, thinking himself something great and dear to God, believed he would be punished less severely. For he had not yet experienced the rigor of divine severity.

1 Timothy 2:15 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That conjugal chastity is to be approved according to the evangelical law is shown by authority, as follows. 1 Timothy 2, it is said of woman: She shall be saved through the bearing of children, if she shall have continued in faith and love with sanctification: but in the conjugal act there is the bearing of children, and that is consonant with the law of God: therefore the conjugal act is consonant with the law of God.

1 Timothy 3:15 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

The earth which the Spirit has filled is the ecclesiastical hierarchy; he "who weighs the mass of the earth with three fingers," because he founded the holy Church upon the divine utterances. The sacred utterances are for its stability. The Apostle says to Timothy: "I write to you, Timothy, that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth."

1 Timothy 3:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Concerning observance of divine Law, St. Paul writes: "I write these things to thee, my son Timothy, in order that thou mayest know how to conduct thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth." The Church is called pillar and mainstay because it both enlightens the mind and strengthens virtue. Those who come to it are enlightened by faith and strengthened by the constancy of virtue. And divine Law brings about these two effects. Hence it is the column of the sons of Israel, whose motion indicated clearly how they were to act and how to rest. For on this point all Churches are in agreement, on how to observe God's Law, as in olden days the whole people kept their eyes on the moving column. He who does not look upon it does not belong to the unity of the Church, for instance if he does not understand this Law, or understanding it, refuses to obey it.

1 Timothy 3:16 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The second original influence of piety itself is from incarnate Wisdom. Whence the Apostle to Timothy: "Manifestly great is the sacrament of piety, which was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, appeared to Angels, was preached to the nations, was believed in the world, was taken up in glory." The mystery of human redemption accomplished through the incarnate and crucified Word is the great sacrament of piety. He says that it was manifested in the flesh, through the incarnation; was justified in the spirit, on the gibbet of the cross; appeared to Angels, in the glorification; was preached to the nations, in the mission of the Holy Spirit; was believed in the world, through the spread of the faith; was taken up in glory, through the examination of the final judgment. I say that the incarnate Son of God assumed our poverty. What brought this about? Certainly piety. "Whence he ought in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest before God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people." Through piety he assumed flesh, ascended the cross, was raised from the dead, sent the Holy Spirit upon the earth, called the Church to himself, and freed all the worthy from misery through piety. The Apostle to the Romans says: "Do you despise the riches of his goodness and patience and longsuffering? Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But according to your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the just judgment of God." The Son of God offered a holocaust, namely himself for us: this is the great sacrament of piety. This sacrament is repeated daily upon the altar. For these reasons he gave us the Sacrament of the altar, so that, mindful of the sacrament of piety, we might put on the bowels of piety. Cruel is the heart that is not softened by these things.

1 Timothy 4:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

These words are in the first Epistle to Timothy, in which the Apostle shows that there is a twofold exercise befitting man: one bodily, and another spiritual; and he shows that spiritual exercise is to be preferred to bodily as being a nobler exercise and a more useful one. For bodily exercise has little utility; whence he says: "Bodily exercise profiteth little"; but spiritual exercise has the greatest utility. Whence spiritual exercise is to be preferred to bodily: as much as spiritual things are to be preferred to bodily, eternal to temporal, and invisible to visible, so much is that spiritual exercise to be preferred to bodily. Therefore, if anyone is wise, he ought to seek spiritual exercise more than bodily, because bodily exercise profiteth little, for it is useful for the comfort of the body, but sometimes it is the cause and occasion of the contrary. Someone believes he is going to sport, and he goes to war; he seeks pleasure, and finds sorrow. Whence Seneca says: "I have found many exercising the body, but few exercising their minds." Foolish would he be who could dig for gold and wished to dig in mud. Spiritual exercise surpasses bodily more than gold surpasses mud. Of this spiritual exercise, insofar as it is ordered to piety, we must speak. The Apostle Paul, as a good teacher, arouses the concern of our minds and intellects toward the good use of the divine gift. And having presupposed the influx of piety, he invites us to the exercise of piety and sets forth the benefit of piety. If you have received the gift of God, exercise yourself unto piety, lest you fall from the gift; if you do not have the gift of God, exercise yourself to obtain piety. He assigns the reason for this when he adds: "Piety is profitable for all things." Therefore he shows that concerning this gift of piety, three things are to be considered by us, namely the exercise of piety, the benefit of piety, and the original principle of piety. If it is a gift, then it is necessary to know how it is given; if it is a noble gift, it is necessary to know how we may advance in it and exercise ourselves; if it is a useful gift, let us see what fruit we may obtain from it. See, my whole intention is that you conceive the gift of piety in your soul and learn what it is to be pious. The exercise of piety consists in a threefold act, namely in the reverence of divine veneration, in the custody of intrinsic sanctification, and in the superabundance of interior compassion. The first two modes of piety are more deeply rooted than the third.

1 Timothy 4:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

But what is the usefulness of the gift of piety? He says: "Piety is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of the life to come." I do not know what more to add. Do you have temporal goods? Piety is profitable for those; and likewise for spiritual goods. Those who have suffered the slipperiness of the flesh have sometimes been freed through the gift of piety, and afterwards they obtained mercy. For piety is profitable for all things: it is profitable for knowing truths, for avoiding all evils, and for obtaining all goods.

1 Timothy 4:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Someone will say: 'Do you commend to me that I should follow the counsels and enter the religious order?' He says: 'The order is fictitious, newly established, it has outward signs.' Further he says: 'It is a small thing to despise temporal goods; we cannot give them up. Why should we give up these few goods? What is the worth of bare feet? Bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but godliness is profitable for all things.' However much the order may be fictitious and new, it is nevertheless good. And as to what he says, that bodily exercise is profitable for a little, and that it is a small thing to give up temporal goods; I say that these are the greatest sacrifices. Christ did not come for a small thing. It is the greatest thing to live in chastity and poverty. These are the greatest, highest, and noblest sacrifices, and you reckon the counsel of God as nothing, you despise the counsel of God in yourself and in others.

1 Timothy 5:9 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Against the vowing of widowed continence it is objected: 1 Timothy 5: Let a widow be chosen not less than sixty years of age; and in the same place: Avoid the younger widows: therefore it does not seem that widowed chastity should be undertaken except in elderly women, nor this for any other reason than on account of the danger: therefore it does not seem safe to make a vow of continence.

1 Timothy 5:11 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

1 Timothy 5:14 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Against the vowing of widowed continence it is objected: 1 Timothy 5: I wish the younger women to marry, to bear children: but the vow of continence is contrary to this: therefore the Apostle wished the contrary of the vow of continence: therefore continence is not to be vowed.

1 Timothy 6:1 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Since the law of grace considers the origin, fall, and remedy of nature, it belongs to it to approve the threefold mode and distinction of obedience. For it approves filial obedience, Ephesians 6: Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is just. It also approves servile obedience, 1 Timothy 6: Whoever are under the yoke of servitude, let them consider their masters worthy of all honor. It also praises jurisdictional obedience, Hebrews last chapter: Obey your superiors and be subject to them: for they keep watch, etc.

1 Timothy 6:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Piety is profitable for knowing truths. God gives His gifts upon every creature: but the knowledge of truth He gives only to those who act piously. How could one attain to originated things who does not attain to the origin of truth? How would one know the origin of truth who opposes the origin of truth? The Apostle says to Timothy: "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which is according to piety, he is proud and knows nothing, and is sick about questions and disputes of words." It is necessary that a man assent to the doctrine which is according to piety. If you wish to be true scholars, it is necessary that you have piety.

1 Timothy 6:8 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Moreover, nature itself especially makes the way to this, whether instituted or fallen. For man was formed naked, and if he had remained in that state, he would have appropriated absolutely nothing to himself; but fallen man is born naked and dies naked. And therefore this is the most direct way: that, not turning aside from these extremes, one should walk poor and naked, as far as nature can endure. And this is what is said in 1 Timothy 6: We brought nothing into this world, and without doubt we can carry nothing out. And from this he concludes: Having food and covering, let us be content with these. Now this is nothing stricter or poorer than to be content with simple food and covering; which the Apostle urges from the teaching of nature as good and perfect.

1 Timothy 6:10 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

In these two commandments: "You shall not covet your neighbor's goods, nor shall you desire his wife," the illicit interior act is prohibited, and here the concupiscence of the eyes, or covetousness, is prohibited, which "is the root of all evils"; the concupiscence of the flesh is also prohibited, which is the kindling of all sins. Through this twofold concupiscence occurs the transmission of all evils and sins; and therefore the divine law prohibits it, and in this prohibits all evils and all sins.

1 Timothy 6:10 — Breviloquium, Part 5

1 Timothy 6:14 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The commandments of God are irreproachable, because they contain nothing unjust. "I command you before God, who gives life to all things, that you keep the commandment without stain, irreproachable."

1 Timothy 6:16 — Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ, Question 4

In the last chapter of First Timothy it is said of God: *Who alone has immortality and dwells in inaccessible light, whom no man has seen, nor can see.* But everything by which or in which we know is accessible to the knower: therefore that by which or in which we know cannot be the light of eternal reason or truth. — To this it must be said that he speaks of that approach which is to that light in the fullness and splendor of its clarity, in which way one does not approach it through the power of a creature, but through the deiformity of glory.

1 Timothy 6:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

Such light is beyond reach and is yet the closest to the soul, even more than it is to itself. It is also unconfinable, and yet supremely intimate. This can be seen by none but a man suspended beyond himself in a lofty vision; and when we wish to see by means of simple intuition how such art is one and yet manifold, we cannot conceive how infinite it is, except in terms of extension, because the imagination interferes: and so we cannot see by simple intuition, except through reasoning.

2 Chronicles 16:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The soul is disposed to the gift of fortitude through the unconquerable shield of faith. If we loved truth, we would not fear the devil, because it is written: "The eyes of the Lord behold the whole earth and give fortitude to those who believe in him with a perfect heart."

2 Chronicles 19:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Another particle of the perfection of the fear of the Lord consists in perfect promptitude of obedience. Hence in the book of Chronicles: "Let the fear of the Lord be with you, and do all things with diligence": as if to say: do not be sluggish or negligent, because it is written in Ecclesiastes: "He who fears God neglects nothing." If I believed that a thief was going to enter my chamber and carry off my treasure, I would not leave the window open. You must always fear God, because he who "keeps the whole law but offends in one point has become guilty of all."

2 Corinthians 3:5 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

To attribute sufficiency to one's own virtues and free will is a matter of presumption with respect to however small a good, since the Apostle says in Second Corinthians 3: Not that we are sufficient, etc. But to attribute this to divine grace, which one hopes will not be lacking to oneself on account of divine munificence, is not a matter of presumption, but of confidence and of the certainty of hope, by which we believe that God is a helper to the man who wills to adhere to His counsels. On account of which the same Apostle immediately after the aforementioned word adds: Our sufficiency is from God; and the same, in the last chapter of Philippians: I can do all things in Him who strengthens me; and by this hope ought he to be sustained who, inspired by the divine Spirit, not only proposes the perfection of the evangelical counsels, but also promises it by vowing.

2 Corinthians 3:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

It should be noted that the Church was placed in paradise, like the first man, "to till it," in such a way that no one would say "that anything he possessed" was "his own." For it began in a state of great perfection that is observed today in the religious life, for the love of Christ was still recent, and in those days "a large number also of the priests accepted the faith." This Church, meaning the one that began with the Jews, because they were converted at one time by the three thousand, and at another, by the five thousand, possessed the "tree of life," that is, faith, because "My just one lives by faith." It also had the "tree of knowledge," that is, the Law, which remained with them for seeing and reading, and not for eating. Much more: for "the day you eat of it, you must die." And so you may see the tree of knowledge, but not eat of it, or else you would destroy what Christ had done; and death would necessarily come in, for "the letter kills." Hence Paul says: "I, Paul, tell you that if you be circumcised, Christ will be of no advantage to you."

2 Corinthians 3:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

The Apostle gives us to understand that the soul possesses a manifold clarity and ascends from one to another. Whence the Apostle to the Corinthians: "But we all, beholding the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, are transformed into the same image from clarity to clarity, as by the Spirit of the Lord." The clarity of the soul is knowledge; on the contrary, the darkness of the soul is ignorance. He says: "we are transformed from clarity to clarity." Here it must be noted that there is a clarity of philosophical knowledge, of theological knowledge, of gratuitous knowledge, and a clarity of glorious knowledge. The clarity of philosophical knowledge is great according to the opinion of worldly men, yet it is small in comparison to the clarity of Christian knowledge. The clarity of theological knowledge indeed seems small according to the opinion of worldly men, but according to truth it is great. The clarity of gratuitous knowledge is greater, but the clarity of glorious knowledge is the greatest: there lies the final state.

2 Corinthians 3:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

This consideration of the theories exists between the two mirrors of the two Cherubim, that is, of the two Testaments, that shed light on each other, so that man be "transformed from glory to glory." But this germination of the seeds procures the understanding of the different theories through adaptation to the different times; and the man who overlooks the times cannot know the theories. For one who ignores the past cannot know the future. If, indeed, I do not know from which tree a seed comes, I cannot know what tree is to grow from it. Hence the knowledge of future events depends on the knowledge of those of the past. Moses, indeed, in his prophecies concerning the future, was telling about the past through revelation.

2 Corinthians 3:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Augustine explains this power as follows: "But we all, with faces unveiled, reflecting as in a mirror the glory of the Lord:" Not "as in mirrors," that is, from afar, but "as in a mirror." But we still see through this mirror in an obscure manner, for a man who sees clearly is in the state of beatitude. Augustine indicates the form of this mirror in the fifteenth book of his work "On the Trinity," chapter four, where he seeks to show both God's unity and trinity. This is what he says: "It is not only the authority of the divine books that proclaims that God is one: everything around us, including ourselves because of the universal nature of things, manifests the fact that it has a most outstanding Creator, who gave us a mind and natural reason through which we see that the living beings are superior to the non-living, the sensible to the senseless, the intelligent to the non-intelligent, the immortal to the mortal, the powerful to the weak, the just to the unjust, the beautiful to the deformed, the good to the wicked, the incorruptible to the corruptible, the invisible to the visible, the bodiless to the bodily, the blessed to the wretched. And because of the fact that, without any doubt, we place the Creator above created things, it is fitting that we profess that He is supremely living, that He perceives and knows all things, that He is free from death, corruption, and change, that He is not a body but a Spirit, the most powerful, just, beautiful, good, and happy of them all."

2 Corinthians 3:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

2 Corinthians 3:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

This wisdom results from many mysteries of the Scriptures, as out of many mirrors there results a multiplication of light rays and fires. These are the "mirrors of the women" out of which "the bronze laver" was made; this is Scriptures, "with faces unveiled, reflecting as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, being transformed into His very image from glory to glory": from the clarity of allegory to the clarity of anagogy, and again to that of tropology. This wisdom is given according to the measure of faith, "according as God has apportioned to each one the measure of faith." For in the measure in which a man seizes the mind, in that measure does he become wiser—and faith is obtained through humility.

2 Corinthians 4:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

This word is written in the second Epistle to the Corinthians, in which the Apostle Paul, the great doctor, explains the gift of knowledge itself; and he explains the gift itself with respect to its antecedents and consequents. Two things precede the gift of knowledge: one is like an innate light, and the other is like an infused light. The innate light is the light of the natural judicatory or of reason; the superinfused light is the light of faith. With respect to the first he says: "God, who commanded light to shine," that is, he impressed the light of the natural judicatory upon the rational creature, that is, not only the possible intellect, but also the agent intellect. With respect to the superinfused light of faith he says: "He has shone in our hearts," namely through the infusion of the light of faith. God established the rational nature and superadded grace. Therefore there are two antecedents. The consequents are also two, namely clear knowledge of the Creator, and revealed knowledge of the Savior. With respect to the antecedents he says: "God, who commanded," etc.; with respect to the consequents he says: "For the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God," where clear knowledge of the Creator is touched upon; "in the face of Christ Jesus," where revealed knowledge of the Savior is touched upon. The Apostle gives us to understand that the soul possesses a manifold clarity and ascends from one to another.

2 Corinthians 4:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"He has shone in our hearts for the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God." However much a man may have a good natural judgment and along with this frequency of experience, they do not suffice unless there be illumination through divine influence. This light is pure and is with him: no one is illumined with certitude except through him.

2 Corinthians 4:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

But grace which lifts up is obtained through hope. The Psalm reads: "For what have I in heaven? And besides Thee what do I desire upon earth?" And elsewhere: "I say, You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living," so that a man be kept whole in view of this fatherland. Therefore "our present light affliction which is for the moment, prepares for us an eternal weight of glory." For the Lord rejoices in the right. "The delights at your right hand forever." At the left are passing riches, glories and consolations. We must indeed adhere to the right. Hence the rewards dispose towards the third act of grace.

2 Corinthians 5:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Scripture enlightens from above by means of divine promises, for its teaching is concerned with things above. Hence the Apostle writes: For we know that if the earthly house in which we dwell be destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made by human hands, eternal in the heavens. And: "In My Father's house there are many mansions," says the Lord. In the Psalms, it is said: The children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They have their fill of the prime gifts of Your house; from Your delightful stream You give them to drink. For with You is the fountain of life, and in Your light we see light. And in the Apocalypse: For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them, and will guide them to the fountains of the waters of life. And in a Psalm: The delights at Your right hand forever. And so Scripture offers us the divine promises.

2 Corinthians 5:1 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 4

It is indubitably true that we are the end of all things that exist, and all corporeal things were made for human service, so that from all of them man might be kindled to love and praise the Maker of all things, by whose providence all things are disposed. This sensible framework of corporeal things is therefore like a certain house fashioned for man by the supreme Artificer, until he should come to the house not made with hands in the heavens; so that, just as the soul, by reason of the body and the state of merit, is now on earth, so at some time the body, by reason of the soul and the state of reward, may be in the heavens.

2 Corinthians 6:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Grace is more necessary for us than the Law; to receive which grace fruitfully, our mother the Church and the Apostle Paul exhort us. The Apostle Paul in this brief word rouses us to receive divine grace, to guard the grace received, and to multiply the grace received and guarded. He exhorts us not to receive the grace of God in vain, but to receive it fruitfully: therefore he means to say that we should be ready to receive, guard, and multiply the grace of God. But in order that this exhortation may be fulfilled in us, three things present themselves here for our consideration: first, what is the origin of grace; second, what is the use of grace; and third, what is the fruit of grace.

2 Corinthians 7:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The perfection of the fear of God consists in three things, namely in perfect sanctification and cleansing of conscience, in perfect promptitude of obedience, and in perfect firmness of confidence. First, the perfection of the fear of God consists in perfect sanctification or cleansing of conscience. Hence the Apostle to the Corinthians: "Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God." And how shall we perfect sanctification? It is said in Ecclesiasticus: "Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and in his sight will sanctify their souls, saying: if we do not do penance, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord and not into the hands of men."

2 Corinthians 8:9 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, 2 Corinthians 8: You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake He became poor, though He was rich, so that by His poverty etc.: therefore whoever so renounces that he becomes destitute conforms himself more to Christ.

2 Corinthians 8:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

This counselor, namely Christ, has many counselors, to whom he imparts his counsel. Paul said: 'She will be more blessed if she so remains according to my counsel; but I think that I also have the Spirit of God.' Whence to the Corinthians: 'You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor.' Augustine says that 'Christ became poor to such an extent that he does not have what the foxes have, because foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head; understand: Christ became poor so that we might imitate his poverty.' The Master says that we should imitate him in giving alms, in humility, in poverty, and in obedience.

2 Corinthians 8:10 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, on what follows in the same place: In this I give counsel; Augustine in the original: "He was made poor to such an extent that He did not have what foxes have; and in this I give counsel, that is to say, that you imitate His poverty"; but whoever renounces all things imitates His poverty: therefore etc.

2 Corinthians 8:12 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, Second Corinthians eight: If the willing mind is ready according to what one has: the Gloss says: "Let him retain what is necessary, not giving beyond his means": therefore he acts wrongly who so distributes that he reserves absolutely nothing for himself. To that which is objected from the Gloss on Second Corinthians eight: If the will is ready etc.; Gloss: "that he may retain what is necessary"; it must be said that that Gloss is truncated, because immediately it follows: "This is not said as though it would not be better, namely to give all: but he fears for the weak, whom he so advises to give that they may not suffer want." From which it appears that that Gloss rather makes for the contrary than for the proposition, if it be examined with a sound and right eye.

2 Corinthians 8:14 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Again, 2 Corinthians 8: Let your abundance supply their want, so that their abundance also may be a supplement to your want. The Gloss: "Let your abundance of earthly things supply their want, so that conversely the abundance of their spiritual merits, who are devoted to divine things, may be a supplement to your want." If, therefore, it pertains to the perfection of the Lord's body that its members share with one another in the manner of giving and receiving: it contributes to the perfection of the Church and of the Gospel that the just poor seek and receive sustenance from the worldly and imperfect rich. If you say that they can receive but not ask: this amounts to nothing, because the worldly rich can ask for the prayers of spiritual men to relieve the want of their merits: therefore conversely the spiritual poor can ask for corporal alms for the sustenance of their bodies.

2 Corinthians 10:5 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Since truth is to be believed, and a greater truth is to be believed more, and consequently the supreme truth is to be believed supremely; and the truth of the first principle is infinitely greater than every created truth and more luminous than every light of our intellect: hence it is that, in order that our intellect may be rightly ordered in things to be believed, it is necessary that it believe the supreme truth more than itself, and that it bring itself into the obedience of Christ; and through this, that it believe not only those things which are according to reason, but also those which are above reason and contrary to the experience of the senses: for if it refuses, it does not exhibit due reverence to the supreme truth, since it prefers the judgment of its own industry to the dictate of the eternal light; which cannot be without the swelling of pride and blameworthy elation.

2 Corinthians 10:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"Bringing into captivity the understanding unto the obedience of Christ." He who wishes to search sacred Scripture according to the light of his own intelligence thinks the most false errors. In this life we are little ones, and "the learner must believe." For it is necessary to believe God, and especially in sublime matters that transcend our understanding. The first Angel erred because he presumed upon himself. The disordered concupiscible power impedes the gift of understanding; likewise also the irascible, when it is disordered; but when the rational power is disordered, it most greatly impedes this gift. It is necessary therefore that we bring our intellect into captivity, if we wish to receive this gift. He who despises all things is raging mad: he is not disposed to receive this gift, nor is the presumptuous one.

2 Corinthians 12:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

The soil is Scripture which brings forth all kinds of trees pleasant to the sight, as regards the intellect, and good for food as regards the affective dispositions, that is, the manifold theories both delighting and sustaining. In the heavenly paradise, there is no planting, except of eternal reasons, and although there is sustainment in the fact of the predestination of all the saints, I will rejoice rather over my own. And this is what the Lord suggests: "Rejoice rather in this, that your names are written in heaven." Paul could speak of the heavenly paradise, because he was caught up to the third heaven. We do not know, but we speak of the earthly paradise.

2 Corinthians 12:2 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

But the way is none other than through the most burning love of the Crucified, who so transformed Paul, caught up to the third heaven, into Christ, that he said: I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, now not I; but Christ lives in me; who also so absorbed the mind of Francis that his mind was made manifest in his flesh, when he bore the most sacred stigmata of the Passion in his body for two years before his death.

2 Corinthians 12:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

The sixth vision is that of understanding absorbed by rapture in God. Hence, the Epistle to the Corinthians: "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up" in this way. This lifting up makes the soul as similar to God as is possible in the state of pilgrimage. Ecstasy and rapture are not the same, wherefore it is said that they do not have merely a disposition toward glory, but the very act. And as the one vision consists in the common boundary between the way and the fatherland, so the other consists in the common boundary between union and separation from the body. Hence the Apostle writes: "Whether in the body or out of the body I do not know." Why, then, would a man presume to determine what Paul himself did not know?

2 Corinthians 12:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

I know a man who was caught up to the third heaven and heard secret words, that is, assured knowledge by means of ascent to the third heaven, and again, by means of descent to the first through representations of all the heavens. The threefold heavens refer to a threefold vision: purely intellectual, intellectual combined with imaginary, and intellectual combined with manifest bodily vision. The first is found in the minds of angels, the second in the minds of prophets, and the third in the minds of the apostles. The certainty of Scriptures consists in the concurrence of these visions.

2 Corinthians 12:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Now, the fourth seal consists in this, that the soul perceives an incomprehensible consolation that grows so much within it that it is unable both to comprehend it and to explain it to others. The Canticle says of this: "Eat, friends; drink! Drink freely of love!" And this inebriated soul says: The king "brought me into the cellar of wine." And earlier: "The king hath brought me into his storerooms." This occurs when the soul is beside itself, like a drunken man who does not know what he is doing. Hence, Paul did not know whether he was in the body or out of the body.

2 Corinthians 12:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

In this union the mind is joined to God, wherefore in a certain sense it sleeps, while in another it keeps vigil: "I was sleeping, but my heart kept vigil." Only the affective power keeps vigil and imposes silence upon all the other powers; then man becomes foreign to his senses: he is in ecstasy and hears "secret words that man may not repeat," because they are only in the heart. Hence, because nothing can be expressed unless it is conceived, or conceived unless it is understood, and here the intelligence does not speak: it follows that a man can hardly speak or explain anything.

2 Corinthians 12:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

And it must be so, for had he been proud, he could have lost grace and fallen into a reprobate sense. And so it is not without reason that the Apostle was given "a thorn for the flesh"; and he explains: "Lest the greatness of the revelation puff me up." And I say that a man who has attained such a state may order and command other men as did Paul, and also Dionysius, who ordered the Church according to the exemplar shown to him.

2 Corinthians 12:9 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

But if you ask how these things come about, ask grace, not doctrine; desire, not understanding; the groaning of prayer, not the study of reading; the Bridegroom, not the master; God, not man; darkness, not clarity; not light, but the fire that wholly inflames and carries into God through ecstatic anointings and most ardent affections. Which fire is indeed God, and his furnace is in Jerusalem, and Christ kindles this in the fervor of his most ardent passion, which only he truly perceives who says: My soul has chosen hanging, and my bones death. Whoever loves this death can see God, because it is indubitably true: No man shall see me and live. Let us die, therefore, and enter into the darkness; let us impose silence upon our cares, concupiscences, and phantasms; let us pass over with Christ crucified from this world to the Father, so that, when the Father is shown to us, we may say with Philip: It suffices us; let us hear with Paul: My grace suffices for you; let us exult with David, saying: My flesh and my heart have failed, God of my heart and God my portion forever. Blessed be the Lord forever, and let all the people say: So be it, so be it. Amen.

2 Corinthians 13:14 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Whence the Apostle: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen." If you wish to have the love of the Son and of the original Principle and of the Gift of the Holy Spirit, dispose yourself to grace. Grace arises from the Father of lights through the Word incarnate, through the Word crucified, and through the Word inspired. A noble influence, which has its origin from God incarnate. This grace ought to be guarded most carefully: but you lose it through sin.

2 Kings 4:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Concerning this oil of piety it is said in the fourth book of Kings that a certain woman came to Elisha and said that her creditors wished to take her children; and she said: "My husband was a man who feared God." And Elisha said that she should bring all the vessels of her neighbors and pour some of that oil into each one, until all were filled. Why did he command her to bring the vessels of her neighbors? Could he not have multiplied the oil and filled a single jar, so that the woman would not have labored so much? I say that the woman holds the type of the Church, and Elisha holds the type of Christ. When the Church is poor in merits and it is necessary that she repay the debt: by what means will she repay? She must fill the vessels of her neighbors. Do you wish the piety of mother Church to descend upon you? Fill the vessels of your neighbors. This oil of piety ought to be possessed by all.

2 Kings 4:31 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of prophetical revelation, Christ is symbolized by sign, as with Eliseus and Giezi who laid the staff on the child, who did not rise, and then Eliseus himself lay upon him. According to Gregory, this points to the Law and to Christ.

2 Kings 5:27 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

Such cupidity must be tamed by munificence, which includes generosity and magnificence. It is the fountain which pours out water: for the fountain does not keep water within. According to the Philosopher, it is hard to be completely cured from cupidity, for cupidity is delightful in that it makes a man imagine himself to be great, and makes others believe that he is. If a man indulges in excesses, his brain suffers: but a man rejoices in riches because they lead to presumption and reputation. And so, such cupidity infected Giezi, and he became a leper because he ran after Naaman. Even today those who practice simony consider it quite the right thing. Simon came to Peter and said to him: "Accept some money: I have enough. Grant that I may give the Holy Spirit through the laying of hands." But Peter did not consider it right, nor did he have any patience: "Thy money," he said, "go to destruction with thee."

2 Kings 6:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Scripture enlightens in a circle, as, for instance, when it advises us not to flee, because we have protection all around. For we have the Lord and angels about us, wherefore the Psalm: Mountains are round about Jerusalem; so the Lord is round about His people. To the servant of Eliseus who cried out because of the Syrian robbers who sought to capture him, Eliseus said: "Lord, open his eyes, that he may see." And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw. And behold the mountain was full of horses, and chariots of fire round about Eliseus. Jacob too, afraid of his brother, saw the angels and said: "This is the encampment of God." Wherefore the Psalm says: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? And in another passage: Had not the Lord been with us, let Israel say, etc., until the end.

2 Kings 19:35 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

In the sixth time, three events came about: the height of victory, of teaching, and of prophecy. The height of victory occurred with Sennacherib who rose against Jerusalem, and "an angel of the Lord slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand." Yet Ezechias was healed in a manner that opposed the laws of nature, and the sun went backwards. Likewise, in the time from Hadrian through that of Charlemagne who miraculously brought about triumphal victories as if he were an angel sent by the Lord, and the sun, to wit, the tide of tribulations, receded, and there came about the peace of the Church which was later to set up archbishops, bishops and the religious way of life.

2 Kings 20:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

2 Kings 20:11 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

But who will deliver us from these plagues? Certainly there is one alone who came to deliver us, namely Christ, who made ten condescensions against the ten plagues. This is prefigured in the book of Kings, where it is said that the sun went back ten degrees, by which are signified the ten condescensions that the Lord made for the sake of man.

2MA 3:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

It is said in the book of Maccabees: "When the holy city was inhabited in peace, and the laws were very well kept because of the piety of Onias and the souls that held evil in hatred: it came to pass that kings and pontiffs held the place in reverence and honored it with many gifts." Afterwards Menelaus and his men entered the temple, and Antiochus contaminated the temple. I believe that the impediment was that the Holy Spirit was not among the people, because the impediment was in the pastor. The oil of piety ought to be especially in the hearts of pontiffs. Whence pontiffs are anointed on the head, and once anointed, they ought afterwards to purify all of the people. Blessed Gregory was noble and wealthy: he founded and endowed seven monasteries, and in the seventh in the city of Rome he became a monk, afterwards a cardinal, and finally Pope. Blessed Gregory was accustomed, when he was Pope, to have twelve poor persons who ate before him. One day there was among those twelve one who sometimes appeared as a young man, sometimes with venerable white hair. After the meal Blessed Gregory arose and led him into his chamber and asked who he was. He answered: I am that shipwrecked man to whom you showed mercy near the seaport. I said that my ship had been imperiled, and I asked alms from you, by which I might sustain myself. You had fifty gold coins given to me, and afterwards all the silver dishes that were in your house: and then I knew that the eternal God had disposed you for this honor, and that by dispensation you came to this dignity, so that you might give much for God. And Blessed Gregory said: who are you? He answered: I am His Angel. And Blessed Gregory was terrified, because he saw an Angel: and thus he was consoled, because works of piety are so pleasing to God. Martin and Nicholas, because they were men of mercy, therefore from their tombs oil flows.

2MA 6:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The gift of fortitude is given for enduring worldly tribulations. Whence it is said in the book of Maccabees that Eleazar, when he departed from life, leaving behind an example of fortitude for the young and the old, said: "Gladly for love of you do I suffer these things." He could have been freed if he had pretended to have eaten pork; but he refused, nay rather he chose to die and to leave behind an example of fortitude for others.

2MA 6:30 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

2MA 6:30 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

The third grief is that of zeal for the divine honor. Whence in the book of Maccabees: "Thou, O Lord, who hast knowledge, knowest that whereas I might be delivered from death, I endure hard pains of body; but according to the soul, on account of thy fear, I willingly suffer these things." Eleazar spoke these words when he preferred to die rather than to make a pretense of eating swine's flesh. Philosophy does not teach this, that for the sake of a conclusion I should expose myself to death.

2MA 7:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

It is certain that God created all things. And therefore that good woman said to her son in the book of Maccabees that he should look upon all things, "because God created them from nothing." For God is the cause of all things in whole; therefore he produces them not from himself, not from something else, because nothing else exists; therefore from nothing.

2MA 12:45 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The third benefit of the gift of piety is that it makes one attain every good. Whence it is said in the book of Maccabees that Judas considered "that those who had fallen asleep with piety carried away the finest grace."

2 Peter 1:5-7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

To this piety blessed Peter invites us, who was the other Apostle, in his second Canonical epistle saying: "Supply in faith virtue, in virtue knowledge, in knowledge abstinence, in abstinence patience, in patience piety, in piety brotherly love, and in brotherly love charity." What does he mean? He places piety in the middle of two, namely between patience and charity. He says piety is a purple garment, and patience and charity he says are a royal garment. Whoever wishes to be pious toward his neighbor, it is necessary that he bear with him patiently and love him charitably. David bore himself patiently and charitably toward his enemy; so it is necessary that a man bear himself toward his neighbor. Where is piety today? There is no mean, because God has taken away the extremes; so great is the cruelty today that man cannot be satisfied with vengeance; today impatience and wrath reign; man judges badly; even if a man does not offend me, I will nevertheless judge badly of him. Whence comes this? Surely, because I do not have charity. Blessed Peter well knows how to say how I may have charity, because if I have patience on the one hand and charity on the other: behold, the exercise of piety.

2 Peter 1:19-21 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The second certainty existed in the minds of prophets. We have the word of prophecy, surer still, to which you do well to attend, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. This, then, you must understand first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is made by private interpretation. For not by will of man was prophecy brought at any time; but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Yet, the visions of the prophets were imaginary, as was the case with Isaiah and Daniel.

2 Peter 2:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Piety avails for avoiding all evils. Whence blessed Peter says: "The Lord knows how to deliver the pious from temptation, but to reserve the impious for torment unto the day of judgment." The impious are those who do not acknowledge divine piety.

2 Peter 2:21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Blessed Peter says: 'It is better not to know the way of justice than, after knowing it, to turn back.' You will say: 'Many fall.' You ought not to fall with those who fall, but to stand with those who stand.

2 Peter 3:7 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Fire will precede the face of the Judge, by which the face of the earth will be burned up, so that the figure of this world will perish by the conflagration of worldly fires, just as the flood came about by the inundation of waters. Just as the world was previously destroyed and in a certain way purged by the element of water, which is cold, against the heat and filth of lust; so the final world will be purged by fire on account of the cooling of charity and the coldness of malice and avarice, which will reign at the end as if in the old age of the world itself. Because these are of the greatest adherence, it is necessary that the purging agent be of intimate, violent and accelerated action; which is not found in any other element than fire. And therefore, just as the flood was brought about by an inundation of waters, so by the action of fire the face of this sensible world will be burned up.

2 Peter 3:10 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Through the action of that fire all flammable elementary things will be consumed, plants and animals; the elements will be purged and renewed, especially air and earth; the just will be purged and the reprobate will be burned; and when these things have been accomplished, the motion of the heavens will also cease, so that, with the number of the elect completed, there may come about a certain renewal and rewarding of worldly bodies. Since fire has especially the power of expelling an extraneous form, and also has a refining power akin to celestial nature: therefore through it there ought to occur purgation and renewal at once, such that, since it has a twofold efficacy, with respect to the one it precedes the coming of the Judge, but with respect to the other it must follow. And since the renewal is toward a newness that no longer returns to oldness—and thus toward an incorruptible newness, which it is not in the power of any creature to bestow—hence it is that, although in that purgation and renewal fire accomplishes something by its natural power, such as igniting, purging, rarefying, and refining, nevertheless it is necessary that together with that natural power there be a power operating above nature, by whose command the beginning of the conflagration will occur, and by whose power the completion will likewise be brought about.

2 Samuel 6:16 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

On 2 Kings 6, upon the text: Michal, the daughter of Saul, looking out, saw King David leaping and dancing, and she despised him in her heart; Gregory says: "Behold, the one whom the Lord singularly preferred above all others despises himself before the Lord by making himself equal to the least and by exhibiting what is abject. The power of kingship is not recalled to memory; he does not fear to become vile in the eyes of his subjects by dancing. What others may think of these deeds, I do not know; I am more amazed at David dancing than at David fighting: by fighting he conquered his enemy, but by dancing before the Lord he conquered himself." If, therefore, to conquer oneself is a work of perfect virtue, and this is accomplished through self-abasement: therefore self-abasement is a work of perfect virtue.

2 Samuel 6:22 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

A little further on in the same place: I will play and become yet more vile, etc.; upon which Gregory says: "As if he were openly saying: I desire to become vile before men, because I seek to keep myself noble before God through humility." If, therefore, to be noble before God is nothing other than to be perfect, and self-abasement makes one noble before God: therefore it is an act of perfect virtue.

2 Thessalonians 2:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

In the second mystery, that of the punishment of crimes, the Antichrist is represented by Nemrod who was the first to make himself emperor, and under whose command a tower was built that was to reach up to heaven. By this it may be seen that the Antichrist would be filled with the greatest pride, to the point of being "exalted above all that is called God."

2 Thessalonians 2:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The third flow from the light of faith consists in the rapture of love: at such times, the soul always perceives inner joy even in the face of insults and hardships. And it is at its highest when the burning soul feels that the Lord makes it taste the children's bread. Now this is the highest point of faith, the summit: to be inebriated by actual experience and to have no desire for the world. This will be the defense of such a soul in the time of the Antichrist: God sends them a misleading influence that they may believe falsehood.

2 Thessalonians 3:8 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

This same thing is apparent through the apostolic example, Second Thessalonians three: You yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, for we were not disorderly among you, nor did we eat bread from anyone without paying, but in labor and toil, etc.; Gloss: "The Apostle was a model for those who were of slender means among the people, that they might learn not to lose their freedom. For he who frequently comes to another's table, given to idleness, must necessarily flatter the one who feeds him, since our religion calls man to freedom": therefore this is against the Christian religion.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Second Thessalonians 3: If anyone does not wish to work, let him not eat: the Gloss says: "The Apostle wills that servants of God work bodily, so that they may have the means to live and not be compelled by want to beg for necessities"; but this is the way of mendicants: therefore it is not for servants of God to beg, according to the Apostle. To the objection drawn from the Gloss on 2 Thessalonians 3, that the Apostle wills the servants of God to labor bodily, etc.: it must be said that that willing is either not a willing of precept but of admonition; or if it is a willing of precept, it does not extend to all, but to those who wish to be in want; or if it extends to those who wish to be in want for Christ's sake, it extends only to those who cannot engage in greater works. And from this it is not concluded that the life of the poor who eat and do not labor with their own hands is evil, if they are occupied with better and more salutary exercises. For if that word, He who will not work, let him not eat, were simply a precept, then all would be in an evil state who do not seek their sustenance with their own hands when they are able; and this would be to condemn the whole world. That again it does not extend to voluntary and perfect poor, is apparent from the Gloss itself, which says, "lest they be compelled by want to beg for necessities." For such persons do not beg as those compelled by necessity, but as those led by love of perfection. Lastly, that it does not extend except to those who are not occupied with greater things is apparent from the text itself of 2 Thessalonians 3: We have heard that certain among you walk disorderly, working nothing, but being busybodies: now them that are such we command, that with quietness they work and eat their own bread.

2 Timothy 2:6 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

It belongs to those having principal authority to receive support authoritatively, as the Gloss says on Second Timothy 2: The laboring farmer ought to be the first to partake of the fruits: there the Gloss says: "To take for himself what is necessary from those among whom he serves God and whom he tends as a cultivator of the vineyard, or feeds as a flock, is not begging but authority": so to those to whom sub-principal authority belongs, it belongs to them to receive by way of supplication. This the Holy Spirit disposed for the benefit of the Church, so that they might build up not only by the word of preaching, but also equally by the word and the example of humility.

2 Timothy 2:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

We must speak first of the sustainment of the intellect. But, as the Apostle says, the farmer who toils must be the first to partake of the fruit. For the preacher himself must first be filled and sweetened before offering anything to others. Yet, there are many who want to be considered prophets and to be heard as prophets, and their bread or food is tasteless and improperly cooked and cold, and they hold the people, but to little avail.

2 Timothy 2:13 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

From the observance of the law a man becomes reverent, faithful, devout, pious, meek, chaste, generous, truthful, content with his own possessions — that is, liberal in heart and undefiled in mind. On the contrary, from the transgression of the law a man becomes an idolater, a blasphemer, undevout, impious, a murderer, an adulterer, a thief, a liar, covetous, and carnal. Therefore the transgressor of the law and the observer are more distant from one another than hell is from paradise, because the one is at the center and the other is at the circumference; nor can the God of heaven do otherwise, because He is just and "cannot deny Himself."

2 Timothy 2:13 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Since the first principle, by the very fact that it is first, is supreme, whatever it has it has in the highest degree; therefore it is necessary that it be most righteous. Since therefore in rendering retribution it acts according to righteousness—just as it cannot act against itself, nor deny itself, nor assail its own justice—so necessarily, its righteousness requiring it, sin must be punished according to the magnitude of the fault, especially in those who, despising the law of mercy, have through impenitence struck against the severity of justice. Since therefore it belongs to the severity of justice to consider fault not only with respect to the root, but also with respect to the aggravating circumstances, it is most fitting that the just judge exact the due punishments from the impious down to the last farthing, so that the disgrace of sin may not remain without the beauty of justice; and just as power is manifest in creating and wisdom in governing and clemency in restoring, so may supreme justice be made manifest in punishing.

2 Timothy 2:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

And Paul says of it: "You too, were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise." Through this seal, the friends are distinguished from the enemies, free men from slaves, heavenly men from the earthly. This seal is imprinted on the forehead of the contemplative soul and on the foreheads of the elect. This seal was imprinted on those standing upon Mount Sion. In the Second Epistle to Timothy, it is written: "The sure foundation of God stands firm." This is the seal by which "the Lord knows who are His." He knows through an express seal through which the soul calls upon the name of the Lord out of its inner depths.

2 Timothy 3:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Some are content to have exterior holiness, namely in word and gesture and outward conduct; but this is to adorn holiness outwardly, like a man who whitewashes himself outwardly and makes a sepulcher of the dead, which outwardly is whitewashed. But just as "feigned righteousness is not righteousness, but double iniquity," so feigned holiness is not holiness, but rather iniquity. Against such the Apostle says: "In the last times there will be men who are lovers of pleasures, having the appearance of piety, but denying its power." "Having the appearance of piety," "that is, of religion," says the Gloss. Those having the appearance of piety are hypocrites. For such a one is a son of perdition. Of such a one it is said: "With the breath of his lips he shall strike the impious one," namely him who will have the greatest appearance of piety. Therefore the second exercise of the gift of piety is through the custody of interior holiness. But some have no mercy on their soul; indeed, they do the worst they can to their soul. They supremely hate their soul; they could not do worse to it than they do, because they do everything the devil suggests to them. "Have pity on your soul!" And some under the appearance of piety take up things that are against their soul. They say: I will go to baseness under the appearance of piety. What piety is this? Certainly none.

Acts 1:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

The Scriptures in the New Testament are either legal as in the Gospels where commands are established, or historical as in the Acts of the Apostles, or sapiential as in the Epistles of Paul to which should be added the Canonical Letters, or prophetical as in the Apocalypse. Although the Epistles are placed after the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles follow the Gospels immediately. "In the former book, O Theophilus, I spoke of all that Jesus did and taught."

Acts 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

And this is the reasoning Christ used, during forty days appearing to them. "Did not the Christ have to suffer these things before entering into His glory?" Concerning this central position, John writes: "When it was late, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, 'Peace be to you!'" He is showing two things here, the loftiness of the state of glory, in that, being impassible and immortal, He entered as God while the doors were closed; later, He showed them His hands and side and forced Thomas to confess: "My Lord and my God!"

Acts 1:3 — Breviloquium

In order to raise us to hope, he ascended to the heavenly glory which we hope for. But because hope does not arise except from faith in future immortality, therefore he did not ascend immediately, but with an interval of forty days interposed, in which through many signs and proofs he established the true resurrection, by which the mind might be strengthened in faith and lifted up to hope for heavenly glory.

Acts 1:5 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Before the sending of the Holy Spirit, there was neither the full gift of the Holy Spirit for confirmation and public confession of the name of Christ, nor the plenary anointing of the mind for departure; therefore Christ only initiated and intimated these two Sacraments, namely confirmation and extreme unction. Confirmation he initiated by laying his hand on the little ones and by foretelling that the disciples would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Christ was such a Center in His ascension. Hence it is written in Acts: "A cloud took Him out of their sight." Likewise the Christian must rise "from strength to strength," and not stand still at the terminal point of virtue, for by so doing he would cease to be virtuous.

Acts 2:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

At first He had given the Holy Spirit to the world in a secret way, but He did it manifestly after He had ascended on high, for this Holy Spirit was the cleansing, enlightening, and perfecting Hierarch, and the Holy Spirit came down into the heavenly and sub-heavenly hierarchies. And so, "suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a violent wind." The Holy Spirit came down as a means of cleansing: hence, the "violent wind"; as a means of instruction, hence "there appeared to them parted tongues as of fire"; as a means of perfection, hence the tongues of fire "settled upon each of them." From Him come forth the free gifts of grace.

Acts 2:3 — Breviloquium

To appear denotes a sensible effect with express signification, as the Holy Spirit appeared in a dove. And since, just as the divine persons are distinct, so they can be distinctly signified both by signs and by names, therefore any person can appear by itself, and apparition can belong to all, whether together or to any one by itself. Whence that the Holy Spirit is said to have appeared in tongues of fire and in a dove, this is not on account of a new bond or a special effect, but on account of the union which exists between the thing signified and the sign specially and by manner and origin assigned to it.

Acts 2:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Acts 2:38 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Since the power that restores us is the power of the whole Trinity, which holy mother Church believes in the mind, confesses in word, and professes in sign, under the distinction and property, order and natural origin of the three persons: hence it is that for the expression of these things in the Sacrament which is the first of all Sacraments, and in which this power operates firstly and principally, there ought to be an expression of the Trinity in a distinct, proper, and ordered naming, as regards the common form, although in the time of the primitive Church it could be done in the name of Christ, in which the understanding of the Trinity is enclosed.

Acts 4:32 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Acts 6:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

Those who are placed in charge of governing others ought to have mercy. "Consider therefore, brethren, from among you men of good testimony, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this work" of distribution. He would not be a wise steward who would steal the goods of God. If something were given to you to distribute to a household, and you were to steal it and put it in your purse: do you not believe that the household of the lord would cry out against you and call you the worst steward, and the lord would say: "Cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness"? The greatest wisdom that can exist is that the steward fruitfully expend what he has to distribute, and what has been entrusted to him for distribution. Such were blessed Stephen and Lawrence. The supreme pontiffs in the primitive Church did not occupy themselves with these earthly things: now there is concern for having temporal goods, not for distributing them.

Acts 6:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Acts 7:52 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The third high reputation concerns merits, miracles and martyrdom. And this certainty of truth appears when a man wills to die for the truth he preaches, such as Isaiah who was cut up, Ezechiel who was killed, Jeremiah and also the other prophets. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? If heretics claim they too died for the truth and gained merits, yet they do not have the third requirement, miracles. For it was never heard that a heretic performed a miracle either before, after, or at the time of his death.

Acts 7:56 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

If you take a straight look at the leaders of the city, the foremost chief is Christ. In terms of the fight, although the angels and the saints help, yet the principal contender is Christ. Hence, in the Psalm: "I set the Lord ever before me; with Him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed." And again, in the Acts: "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

Acts 8:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

Acts 8:20 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Only a wretched man sells the grace bestowed upon him. Whence did this selling first enter? Surely from Simon the magician, to whom the Apostle Peter said: "May your money perish with you."

Acts 10:42 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The third certainty derives from an intellectual vision combined with bodily vision. This occurred in the minds of the apostles. What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked upon and our hands have handled, the Word of Life. And we announce to you nothing else than what we have seen. And in the Acts: He charged us to testify. And the blessed Virgin Mary, the teacher of the Apostles and Evangelists, came in contact with this Word in her womb and on her lap.

Acts 15:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

This faith is most noble, most solid and most splendid. Many possess it, however, without knowing it, for the face of faith is covered: it wears a kind of dark veil. It turns sinful souls into the most exalted. Hence, in the Acts, "He cleansed their hearts by faith."

Acts 17:27 — Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ, Question 4

Few indeed are those who know that they attain those reasons: indeed, what is more, few are those who are willing to believe this, because it seems difficult to an intellect not yet elevated to contemplate eternal things that it should have God so present and so near, even though Paul says in Acts, chapter seventeen, *that He is not far from each one of us.*

Acts 17:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"In him we live and move and have our being." Augustine says that the Apostle does not speak there of corporeal life, but of intellectual life. Whence he speaks there of God, according as he is for all things "the cause of being, the reason of understanding, and the order of living." He is the cause of being, immediately producing all perpetual things, and mediately temporal things, yet immediately through elemental powers. He is the reason of understanding, because through him intelligences are made certain beyond the mutability of nature. If all creatures were to assail, God is nonetheless to be loved: nor can God bring it about that he is not to be loved. Though all things be corrupted, the certitude of truth remains. God is also the order of living: unless the gift of the Holy Spirit dwells in a man, he will not be governed according to the rule of upright life. Insofar as God is the cause of being, he enters the soul as its principle; but insofar as he is the order of living, he enters the soul as an infused gift: insofar as he is the reason of understanding, he enters the soul as the sun of intelligence.

Acts 20:35 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Acts 20: It is more blessed to give than to receive: but giving alms does not make a man attain evangelical perfection: therefore much less does receiving. To the objection that it is more blessed to give than to receive: it must be said that this is true when the acceptance of alms comes from the necessity of nature; but not when it comes from the supererogation of justice, according to the distinction made in the principal solution. And that this is true appears from what is said in the book On Ecclesiastical Dogmas: "It is good to distribute one's resources to the poor with careful dispensation, but it is better, for the intention of following the Lord, to give all at once and, freed from anxiety, to be in want with Christ." Augustine himself says this in the book On the Good of Marriage, as was cited in the preceding question.

Amos 8:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

In relation to Christ's death, it is said: "The sun shall go down at midday." At midday, the sun falls for the Jews. When Christ was at the highest point of His power, that is, after the resurrection and the ascension, the Jews were blinded.

BAR 1:19 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Transgressors of the commandments plunge into abominable crimes: whence in Baruch: "We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, that we should walk in His commandments, and we have gone away each one into the sense of his own malicious heart."

BAR 2:18 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

No one rightly walks the path of virtue unless he renders the honor due to God: but he who vilifies himself for God's sake is the one who honors God. This is proved by what is said in Ecclesiasticus 3: Great is the power of God alone, and He is honored by the humble: and Baruch 2: The soul that is sorrowful over the greatness of evil and goes bowed down and feeble, and the failing eyes, and the hungering soul gives You glory and justice, O Lord.

BAR 3:14 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"Learn where prudence is, where virtue is, where understanding is, so that you may know at the same time where length of life and sustenance is, where the light of the eyes and peace is." Prudential understanding instructs what is to be awaited, namely the highest good. "Length of days is in her right hand," and "With you is the fountain of life." If you have the light of the eyes, you will act prudently.

Colossians 1:15 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6

In this consideration, moreover, lies the perfection of the mind's illumination, when, as on the sixth day, it sees man made in the image of God. For if an image is an expressive likeness, when our mind contemplates in Christ the Son of God, who is the image of the invisible God by nature, our humanity so wonderfully exalted, so ineffably united, seeing at once in one the first and the last, the highest and the lowest, the circumference and the center, the Alpha and the Omega, the caused and the cause, the Creator and the creature, the book, that is, written within and without: it has now arrived at a certain perfect reality, so that with God it may reach the perfection of its illuminations in the sixth stage, as on the sixth day; nor does anything further remain except the day of rest, in which through the ecstasy of the mind the keenness of the human mind may rest from every work which it had accomplished.

Colossians 1:15 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 2

For since the apprehended species is a likeness generated in the medium and then impressed upon the organ itself, and through that impression leads to its principle, namely to the object to be known; it manifestly suggests that that eternal light generates from itself a likeness or splendor coequal, consubstantial, and coeternal; and that he who is the image of the invisible God and the splendor of glory and the figure of his substance, who is everywhere through his primary generation, just as an object generates its likeness throughout the entire medium, is united through the grace of union, as a species to a bodily organ, to an individual of rational nature, so that through that union he might lead us back to the Father as to the fontal principle and object. If therefore all knowable things have to generate a species of themselves, they manifestly proclaim that in them as in mirrors can be seen the eternal generation of the Word, the Image, and the Son, eternally emanating from God the Father.

Colossians 1:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

The second mode of generation is by means of expression: as in the case of the species coming out of the object, the imprint out of the seal, the speech out of the speaker, or the concept or thought out of the mind. And in these, there is deficiency. In the first, the reality of the object is lacking, for the species in the eye or in the soul is not the reality of the thing. In the second, simplicity is lacking, for the image or figure does not consist in a point or in something simple, but has parts. In the third, permanence is lacking, for speech passes away and does not remain. In the fourth, substance is lacking, for the concept of the mind is neither a substance nor a hypostasis. Take away such defects, and suppose an expression like the species deriving from the object but having reality, like the imprint produced by the seal but having simplicity, like the word coming forth from the speaker but having permanence, like the concept proceeding from the mind but having substance: and then you have the first part of the mirror. The Psalm refers to the first manner of expression: "My heart overflows with a goodly theme." And there follows: "Fairer in beauty are you than the sons of men." Wisdom refers to the second: "For she is the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of His goodness." And the Apostle: "He is the image of the invisible God." Job refers to the third: "God speaketh once, and repeateth not the selfsame thing the second time." Understand this as meaning "in the Son," in the sense that He always is, and will never cease to be nor even be changed. In the fourth manner of expression, suppose substantiality, for the concept of the eternal mind is a hypostasis, and this mental concept is most noble and perfect. Hence, in Proverbs: "When there were no depths I was brought forth." And so He is sometimes called the Word, the Species, the Image, the Word remaining forever, the Concept—not as existing within a mind, but as being substantial: a hypostasis. And in this way we have the other part of the mirror.

Colossians 1:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

He, then, who is supremely alive, supremely luminous, and supremely warm, He alone is the First — He who is the principle of production, the means of government, and the end of beatification, having the first place in all things. But in order that He be a true Monarch, He must exert power to the supreme degree, preside with supreme fortitude, and guide His flock with supreme sweetness.

Colossians 1:19 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 5

It is objected that the soul of Christ was wise by uncreated wisdom only, thus: Where there is fullness of wisdom, it is superfluous to posit what is partial. But in Christ there is fullness of wisdom, because in him it pleased all fullness to dwell, Colossians 1. Therefore, if all created wisdom is partial, it is superfluous to posit created wisdom in Christ or in his soul. To the objection that where there is fullness of wisdom, it is superfluous to posit what is partial: it must be said that this is true in the same subject and according to the same respect. But when it is said that Christ had the fullness of wisdom, this is according to His uncreated nature, if it is understood of fullness simply and beyond any genus; if however it is understood of fullness within a genus, then it can belong to the created nature, and this is in a certain way partial (ex parte) in relation to fullness simply speaking; nor is it superfluous, because it is more proportioned to the soul itself, since the soul by itself could not nakedly grasp that immensity of uncreated wisdom.

Colossians 1:26 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Colossians 2:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

These are the forty-eight boards of the dwelling — twenty on one side, and twenty on the other, and eight in the back — within which is placed the Ark, that is, Christ, containing in Himself "all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge," upon whom the Cherubim gaze. And these are the twelve trees around the Tree of Life.

Colossians 2:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

Christ is also the completion of this gift, because in Him "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." In Him the house of wisdom is brought to perfection.

Colossians 2:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Our intent, then, is to show that in Christ "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," and that He Himself is the central point of all understanding. He is the central point in a sevenfold sense, in terms of essence, nature, distance, doctrine, moderation, justice and concord. The first is in the metaphysical order, the second in the physical, the third in the mathematical, the fourth in the logical, the fifth in the ethical, the sixth in the political or juridical, and the seventh in the theological. The first Center is first by eternal origin, the second is most strong through the diffusion of power, the third is most deep because of the centrality of position, the fourth is most clear by rational proof, the fifth is most important because of the choice of moral good, the sixth is outstanding because of the retribution of justice, the seventh is at peace through universal conciliation. Christ was the first center by His eternal generation, the second by His incarnation, the third by His passion, the fourth by His resurrection, the fifth by His ascension, the sixth by the judgment to come, the seventh by the eternal retribution or beatification.

Colossians 2:3 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 7

Damascene, in the third book: "We affirm that Christ as man knows all things, for in Christ are all the treasures of wisdom." If you say that this is understood according to the divine nature: to the contrary: no one knows anything that his soul is ignorant of: therefore if Christ comprehends all things, it is necessary that His soul also comprehend them. That which is objected, that no one can know something that his soul is ignorant of: this holds true when someone knows nothing except through the soul, as is the case with a mere man. But in Christ, who knows not only through the soul but also through the divine nature, that proposition does not hold.

Colossians 2:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Once more, the Hierarch must be totally victorious by the number of His triumphs and victories. Hence, in the Epistle to the Colossians: "And you, when you were dead by reason of your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh"; and later: "Disarming the Principalities and Powers, He displayed them openly, leading them away in triumph by force of it." Indeed, He overcame the world, despoiled Hades, and restored Paradise.

Colossians 2:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Colossians 2:17 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Those Sacraments of the first time, as Hugh says, were like a shadow of the truth, those of the middle time like a figure or image, and those of the last time, namely of grace, like the body, because they contain within themselves the truth and healing grace which they present, and they confer in present reality what they promise. Since when truth arrives the shadow ceases, and the prefiguring figure attains its intended end, which once obtained, its use and exercise ought to cease: hence it is that with the arrival of grace, the old Sacraments and signs were at once fulfilled and removed, because they were prognostic signs of future things and, as it were, announcing from afar; and new ones were nevertheless instituted as demonstrative of present grace and in a certain way commemorative of the Lord's passion, which is the font and origin of curative grace. On account of which, those former Sacraments prepared and led to these, as a way to its terminus, as a sign to what it signifies, as a figure to the truth, and as the imperfect leads back and prepares for the perfect.

Colossians 3:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

The holy Apostle exhorts us to attain true wisdom and to flee vain wisdom. He touches on the first when he says: "If you have risen with Christ, seek the things that are above." He gives us to understand that just as there is a twofold gaze of the soul, so there is a twofold desire of it. One gaze of the soul is toward heavenly and invisible things, the other is toward earthly and corruptible things: so also there is a twofold desire of the soul: one is for eternal things, and the other is for temporal things. So also there is a wisdom which is from above, and another which is from below. He exhorts us to the first.

Colossians 3:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

Do not set your mind on the things that are upon the earth, for Christ was crucified to make void this wisdom; and just as Christ died to make void and destroy vain wisdom, so he rose again and ascended to teach true wisdom and to establish it in our hearts. On the cross he taught us to spurn the wisdom of the world, and going into heaven he taught us to desire the wisdom of God and to love the fountain of life. All the wisdom of the world is to spurn these things. But the greatest foolishness is to make void the death of Christ, which those do who mind the things that are upon the earth; therefore it is necessary to make void this wisdom and to desire the wisdom that is from above.

Colossians 3:5 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

All perverse valuations of worldly natures are prohibited. Now every perverse valuation of creatures proceeds either by reason of sublimity, or by reason of sufficiency, or by reason of delight. In the first way it is the idolatry of the proud; in the second way it is the idolatry of the avaricious; in the third way it is the idolatry of the lascivious. Against the second the Apostle says: Avarice is the servitude of idols.

Daniel 1:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

The third key is the understanding of the Inspired Word by whom all things are revealed; for there is no revelation except through this Inspired Word. Daniel understood the words: understanding is needed in the case of a vision. For unless the word resound in the ear of the heart, the splendor shine in the eye, the vapor and emanation of the Almighty be perceived as smell and His sweetness as taste, and unless eternity fill the soul, man is not fit to understand visions. "God gave to Daniel the understanding of all visions and dreams." By what means? Through the Inspired Word.

Daniel 1:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

Of Daniel and his companions, who were continent, it is said that "God gave them knowledge and discipline in every book and wisdom." Delight concerning touch assails the gift of understanding most greatly: drunkenness from the anterior part and lust from the posterior part.

Daniel 2:21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who understand learning." However much a man may have a good natural judgment and along with this frequency of experience, they do not suffice unless there be illumination through divine influence. He touches upon sapiential, sciential, and intellectual certitude. But whence comes this certitude? Certainly from God.

Daniel 2:22 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"He reveals deep and hidden things and knows what is established in darkness: and the light is with him." He touches upon sapiential certitude when he says: "He reveals deep things." This light is pure and is with him: no one is illumined with certitude except through him. And Augustine in the fourteenth book of On the Trinity asks whence it comes that the impious sometimes judges well; whence he asks: "Where are those laws of justice written, according to which the impious judges well?" And he responds that "they are written in the book of eternal light, and they descend into the soul not by migrating but by impressing themselves, just as the image of a ring, which is impressed upon wax, does not leave the ring."

Daniel 8:15 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"Now it came to pass, when I, Daniel, saw the vision and sought understanding: behold, there stood before me as it were the appearance of a man; and he cried out and said: Gabriel, make this one understand the vision." This illumination is aided through the Angels. These visions descended from the Father of lights, and the Angel aids the intellect of Daniel, so that he might grasp the light of God and through it understand. It is true that man is instructed ministerially and supportively through an Angel, as was evident in Daniel: but effectively God alone has power over the rational soul itself, because it is immediately formed by God. The Angel illumines in the way that one who opens a window is said to illuminate a house.

Daniel 8:16 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

Daniel 9:23 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

For no one is in any way disposed to divine contemplations, which lead to mental transports, unless with Daniel he be a man of desires. But desires are inflamed in us in a twofold manner, namely through the cry of prayer, which makes one roar from the groaning of the heart, and through the brilliance of speculation, by which the mind turns itself most directly and most intensely toward the rays of light.

Daniel 9:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The full accord of the witnesses is found in the words of Scriptures. Isaiah says: The virgin shall be with child; and Luke: Thou shalt conceive. One says: Christ shall be slain; and the Evangelist: Put Him to death. Whatever, then, had been foretold by the prophets was fulfilled through Christ.

Daniel 11:38 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

In the fourth mystery, that is, the giving of the law, the Antichrist is symbolized by Balaam, who offered the worst advice, was an idolater, and although he said many good things, yet raised pagan altars and consulted auguries. And in this it is shown that he was the worst idolator and worshiper of evil spirits. "Instead, he shall give glory to the god of strongholds."

Daniel 12:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

The solidity of faith is also called heaven, because it makes understanding lofty through investigation, stable when it establishes the truth, and visible when it fills it with a manifold light. Hence in Daniel: "The wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament." But no one is wise unless he is taught by God, for "No one comes to the Father but through Me," says the Saviour. No one is taught in matters of faith except through God.

Daniel 12:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

There follows a reference to seeds and fruits. "The earth brought forth vegetation, every kind of seed-bearing plant." As in the gathering of the waters, there was a symbol of the many forms of intelligent beings, and in the germination of the earth, a symbol of the multiplicity of sacramental images, so also in the seeds is shown a kind of infinity in the heavenly theories that are pointed to by these same seeds. For the principal intelligences and figures exist in certain determined numbers, while the theories are almost infinite. For as the reflection of light-rays and images from a mirror comes about in almost infinite ways, so it is from the mirror of Scriptures. Who can know how many are the intermediate angles between the right and the obtuse, between the obtuse and the acute? Hence, as in the seeds there is multiplication to infinity, so also are the theories multiplied. Wherefore in Daniel: "Many shall pass over, and knowledge shall be manifold," for one man and another look differently into the mirror.

Daniel 12:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Sacred Scripture is compared to the water of the sea on account of the manifold variety of its senses. In the sea there are diverse springs: so in sacred Scripture within a single letter there is a manifold meaning. Hence in Daniel: "But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the appointed time: many shall pass through, and knowledge shall be manifold." Some wonder that in the same Scripture we have so many meanings. Anselm says that in the same earth diverse things can be planted: the earth by divine power produces various sproutings; so by the Holy Spirit within the same letter there are various meanings. Nor is it unfitting to use equivocally what is posited as multiply equivocal. In theology both things and words signify. Therefore, when there are many properties of a thing, then through one thing many things are signified. As many as are the properties of the sun, so many, when the sun signifies the just man, are the properties of the just man.

Daniel 12:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Piety is profitable for knowing truths. God gives His gifts upon every creature: but the knowledge of truth He gives only to those who act piously. It is said in Daniel: "Moreover the impious shall act impiously": revelation shall be closed to the impious. If you wish to be true scholars, it is necessary that you have piety.

Deuteronomy 6:4 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

The Jews sometimes reproach us and say that we do not properly observe the first commandment. Concerning the first statement, namely: "You shall not have strange gods," they say that the Lord says: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one;" and you posit a Trinity, namely the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. To this objection, that we worship three gods, I say that if we worshipped three persons such that we said there were three gods and a threefold essence, it would necessarily follow that we worshipped three gods. But we worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God and one essence, but three persons. Whence, just as we see that in man there is a plurality of natures, namely intellectual and corporeal, and yet there is but one person, so conversely in the divine there is unity of essence and plurality of persons. God the Father has a Word and the Holy Spirit: indeed He has a Word, through which He made all things; and He has the Holy Spirit, through whom He preserves all things. The Word flows forth from the one who speaks and is God from God. Likewise the Holy Spirit is spirated from the Father and the Son and is God and in God. The Holy Spirit alone is the one who searches the depths of hearts, and He is God. Hence the person who wishes to understand these things and to speak about them must have the most elevated thoughts, not earthbound ones: for otherwise he cannot understand the most exalted things concerning God. For when we posit the Trinity, we do not posit Christ as a mere man, but God with man.

Deuteronomy 6:4 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 5

And these things are so certain that the opposite of them cannot be thought by one understanding being itself, and one of them necessarily implies the other. For because it is simply being, therefore it is simply first: because it is simply first, therefore it is not made by another, nor could it have been made by itself, therefore it is eternal. Likewise, because it is first and eternal; therefore it is not from others, therefore it is most simple. Likewise, because it is first, eternal, and most simple: therefore there is nothing of potentiality mixed with act in it, and therefore it is most actual. Likewise, because it is first, eternal, most simple, most actual; therefore it is most perfect: to such a being absolutely nothing is lacking, nor can any addition be made. Because it is first, eternal, most simple, most actual, most perfect: therefore it is supremely one. For what is said through every manner of superabundance with respect to all things. "What also is said simply through superabundance, it is impossible that it should belong to any but one alone." Whence if God names being primary, eternal, most simple, most actual, most perfect: it is impossible for him to be thought not to be, nor to be anything but one alone. Hear therefore, O Israel, your God is one God. If you see this in the pure simplicity of the mind, you will be in some measure flooded with the illumination of eternal light.

Deuteronomy 6:4 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

To the objection that if we are bound to believe this, it is either because it is true, or because it is a truth falling under a precept, it must be said that it is because it is a truth falling under a precept. And if you ask: under which precept? I say that under the first, in which indeed it is said: Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one God. You shall adore the Lord your God and Him alone shall you serve. In this precept indeed we are obligated expressly to believe that God is one, but implicitly to believe that God is triune. And this is evident as follows: because by this precept we are bound to worship God with the worship of latria, which is there called service. Now to worship in spiritual matters is according to a transumption from material things: in material things, however, to cultivate a field is to bring forth the shoots proceeding originally from the earth itself. In this same manner, to worship God is to profess by heart and mouth and deed that He is the principle, such that He is not perfectly worshipped unless we confess that He is the principiating principle not only effective in creation, but also restorative in redemption and perfective in glorification: nor yet perfectly, if He is believed to be a principle from time, unless He is believed to be a principiating principle from eternity: nor yet, unless He is believed to be a principle principiating one who eternally principiates: which we believe when we believe that the Father eternally generates the Son, who together with Him spirates the Holy Spirit, so that eternally in God there is a principle from a principle, and a principle not from a principle.

Deuteronomy 10:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

And in Deuteronomy it is said: "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you, except that you fear him and keep all his commandments and walk in his ways?" And Solomon says: "Fear God and observe his commandments: this is the whole man," that is, the perfect man. Therefore if you wish to be perfect, fear God.

Deuteronomy 10:12 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The authority of the one commanding ought to move us to observe the commandments of God. He is of great authority, because by His munificent benevolence He saves us. "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you, except that you fear the Lord your God and walk in His ways and love Him and serve the Lord your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul, and keep the commandments of the Lord?" Lord, who created you; God, who governs you; your own, who saves you.

Deuteronomy 11:7 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The authority of the one commanding ought to move us to observe the commandments of God, because by His great power He creates us. "Your eyes have seen all the great works of God, which He did, that you might keep His commandments."

Deuteronomy 11:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Now Sacred Scripture is generous in that God conveys His influence to it, producing the most abundant multiplications. Hence, in Deuteronomy: "The land which you are to enter and occupy is not like the land of Egypt," which is irrigated, but "a land... that drinks in rain from the heavens." For it is not like the other sciences, since God visits it.

Deuteronomy 11:26 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Behold, the wondrous benefit of observance and the wondrous calamity of transgression. Whence the Lord through Moses: "Behold, I set before thee blessing and curse: blessing, if thou shalt keep My commandments: curse, if thou shalt not keep them." The Lord places us in the middle and works with us wonderfully. When someone wishes to demonstrate something to another, he proceeds against him by a twofold way, namely by ostensive reasoning and by reasoning leading to an impossibility. Thus does the Lord: He places man in the middle between heaven and hell: in heaven is eternal glory, in hell are eternal punishments. And when the Lord shows man the glory of paradise, which he can merit by keeping the commandments, then He inclines him to the observance of the commandments by ostensive reasoning. But when He shows him the punishments of hell, into which he will fall if he transgresses the commandments, then He inclines him by reasoning leading to an impossibility.

Deuteronomy 15:11 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Just as that law, Deuteronomy 15: There shall be no needy person or beggar among you, was not given against the mendicancy of the poor, but against the tightfistedness of the rich — which is clear from the fact that in the same chapter it is added: The poor shall not be wanting in the land of your habitation; therefore I command you to open your hand to your needy and poor brother — so also this law is given to bishops who have abundance for the sustenance of poor clerics, especially those who are not in want voluntarily but by compulsion, lest on account of their indigence they become slack in divine service.

Deuteronomy 16:19 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

The ninth plague was of darkness, by which the covetous and avaricious are struck, because nothing so blinds a man as covetousness. Whence the Prophet: "Gifts and presents blind the eyes of the prudent and change the words of the just."

Deuteronomy 16:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

Just as mercy is a friend of wisdom, so avarice is its enemy. The avaricious deride all who do not love money. "Gifts blind the eyes of the wise and alter the words of the just." They blind the eyes, not bodily, but spiritual; therefore they take away the light of wisdom.

Deuteronomy 16:20 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

Law slays a man when the minister of the law slays, and this with a just order having been observed, a just cause, and a just intention. It is necessary that there be a just order and a just cause, that is, that one be slain from a just cause, because the law says: "That which is just you shall justly pursue."

Deuteronomy 17:12 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Because the written law was a law of rigor, it not only approves this threefold obedience, but also punishes transgressors of this obedience. It punishes the rebellious son, the rebellious servant, and also the disobedient subject, Deuteronomy 17: He who acts proudly, refusing to obey the command of the priest, that man shall die.

Deuteronomy 21:18 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Because the written law was a law of rigor, it not only approves this threefold obedience, but also punishes transgressors of this obedience. For it punishes the rebellious son, Deuteronomy 21: If a man beget a rebellious and insolent son, who does not heed his father's command, and when corrected scorns to obey: they shall seize him and bring him to the elders, etc.

Deuteronomy 23:23 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

The second mode of breaking a vow occurs through a contrary will, as when someone promises something to God and afterward repents of it. Against such persons it is said in Deuteronomy: "If anything has proceeded from your lips, you shall not make it void."

Deuteronomy 25:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

From the second consideration comes forth that fruit of justice which consists in fleeing evil, that is, by means of distinguishing judgments. No one, indeed, wants to reap cockle or tares, for as it is said in Deuteronomy: "According to the measure of the sin shall the measure also of the stripes be." Thus the consideration of the judgments will make one flee from evil.

Deuteronomy 30:11 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The commandments of God are irreproachable, because they contain nothing impossible. To one having charity the commandments of God are easy and sweet, but to one not having charity they seem difficult. Augustine gives the example of a bird having feathers and a bird without feathers: for a bird having feathers it is easy to fly, but for a bird not having feathers it is difficult. Similarly, to a man of perverse will the commandments seem difficult, which to one having charity are easy. Whence it is said in Deuteronomy: "This commandment which I command you today is not above you nor placed far off nor set in heaven nor placed beyond the sea, but the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it."

Deuteronomy 30:15 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

It is now clear that there are ten precepts of the sacred decalogue. In the first three, right ordering toward God is commanded; in the fourth, right ordering and beneficence toward parents; in the other six, right ordering and innocence toward one's neighbor is commanded. Although certain precepts are called affirmative and certain negative, nevertheless all contain both affirmation and negation within themselves. When God prohibits something in a certain commandment, He commands its contrary; and conversely, when He commands something, He prohibits its contrary. For in the first commandment, humble adoration of the divine majesty is commanded, and idolatry is prohibited. In the second, faithful assertion of the divine truth is commanded, and perjury is prohibited. In the third, devout love of the divine goodness is commanded, and lack of devotion is prohibited. In the fourth, piety toward parents is commanded, and dishonor is prohibited. In the fifth, meekness is commanded, and wrath is prohibited. In the sixth, chastity is commanded, and adultery is prohibited. In the seventh, generosity is commanded, and theft is prohibited. In the eighth, truthfulness is commanded, and lying is prohibited. In the ninth, liberality of heart is commanded, and concupiscence for temporal things is prohibited. In the tenth, purity of mind is commanded, and concupiscence of the flesh is prohibited. See that all the precepts contain within themselves affirmation and negation, and that in every precept there is life and good, death and evil. In the observance of the commandments there is life and good, and in transgression there is death and evil. And from the observance of the law follows blessing, and from transgression, cursing. For from the observance of the law a man becomes reverent, faithful, devout, pious, meek, chaste, generous, truthful, content with his own possessions — that is, liberal in heart and undefiled in mind. On the contrary, from the transgression of the law a man becomes an idolater, a blasphemer, undevout, impious, a murderer, an adulterer, a thief, a liar, covetous, and carnal. Therefore the transgressor of the law and the observer are more distant from one another than hell is from paradise, because the one is at the center and the other is at the circumference; nor can the God of heaven do otherwise, because He is just and "cannot deny Himself."

Deuteronomy 32:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

"Give ear, O heavens, while I speak; let the earth hearken to the words of my mouth! May my instruction soak in like the rain, and my discourse permeate like the dew, like a downpour upon the grass, like a shower upon the crops." This dew is the influence of the Holy Spirit's grace which visits the Scriptures and in which it is sweetly found.

Deuteronomy 32:16 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

Deuteronomy 32:27 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

We see some who have been exalted by God, who nonetheless raise themselves up against God, saying: "Our hand is exalted, and God has not done all these things." Such men lose both the land of the living and the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Deuteronomy 32:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"It is a nation without counsel and without prudence: would that they were wise and understood and foresaw their last things." He touches upon the three parts of intelligence, namely memory of things past, understanding of things present, and circumspection regarding things future. Whoever does not have this understanding cannot be set right. This understanding is the rule of moral circumspections with desire of heart and pursuit of work, so that a person may consider what is to be avoided, what is to be done, and what is to be awaited. For God gives this understanding, and it is a gift of God.

Deuteronomy 32:29 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

Deuteronomy 32:39 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 2

Concerning the first, we proceed as follows and it is shown that the divine being is supremely one. And that this is so, faith and divine Scripture sufficiently proclaim, Exodus twenty: Your God is one God; and Deuteronomy thirty-two: See therefore that I alone am, and there is no other God besides me; and David in the Psalm: There shall not be in you a new god, nor shall you adore a foreign god: and divine Scripture sufficiently preaches this.

Deuteronomy 33:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Finally, there is the ecstatic taste of sweet contemplation. It is written: "Of the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand sealed." Benjamin, "the son of the right hand, the son of pain," in giving birth to whom Rachel died, and yet, Benjamin, "the best beloved of the Lord, as in a bride chamber shall he abide all the day." And this signifies the ecstatic excess of contemplation. The son of Jacob is not born to anything beyond this. Here is sleep with excess. No one attains this sealing unless he has gone through all the preceding ones.

Deuteronomy 33:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Now, there arises from these twelve enlightenments a threefold fruit. From the first four comes forth the fruit of grace, from the intermediate four, the fruit of righteousness, from the last four, the fruit of wisdom. These fruits are referred to in Deuteronomy: "To Joseph also he said: Of the blessing of the Lord be his land, of the fruits of heaven, and of the dew, and of the deep that lieth beneath. Of the fruits brought forth by the sun and the moon. Of the tops of the ancient mountains, of the fruits of the everlasting hills, and of the fruits of the earth, and of the fullness thereof." And so these fruits come forth from Christ, blessed by Joseph who produced fruit of heaven, and of the dew, and of the deep that lieth beneath, that is, the charismatic gifts of the graces, by means of dew on humble hearts. The fruits of the sun and the moon and the tops of the mountains refer to the exercise of perfect righteousness which consists in this, that man trains himself to fulfill God's commands, according to his condition of being a subject, a prelate, or a contemplative. By the fruits of the everlasting hills, wisdom is understood, or the fruit of wisdom, which consist in the contemplation of eternal reasons and the consideration of lofty heavenly spirits. The fruits of the earth refer to the consideration of the divine condescensions in the orders of the Churches. Their fullness is seen as the conjunction of both Churches, the militant and the triumphant.

Deuteronomy 33:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Hence, if charity is patient, long-suffering and good, then it "shall suck as milk the abundance of the sea." In this way did Lawrence rejoice over the glowing embers as if they had been flowers. These fruits are in the spirit, not in the flesh.

Ecclesiastes 1:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Introductory Questions

Concerning the efficient cause: it has been said that the efficient cause was Solomon. That it is not fitting, however, for such a person to be the author, appears from the following: Because he was a sinner and carnal: but when a carnal man preaches spirituality, he causes scandal rather than edification: therefore this book is more apt to generate scandal than edification. Likewise, in the Psalm it is said: "But to the sinner God said: Why do you declare my justices?" Therefore if Solomon was a sinner, then he was sinning by declaring the divine justice. Furthermore, a good author produces credibility, whence the argument from authority has its force; therefore a bad author produces no credibility: but the books of Sacred Scripture are for generating faith. To this it must be responded that, as Jerome says, according to the tradition of the Hebrews, this book was written by Solomon while doing penance: and because God does not reject the penitent, but rather accepts them, accordingly Solomon was not in a blameworthy state when he wrote this book. It can also be responded otherwise, that the Holy Spirit speaks true and good things not only through the good, but indeed also through the wicked: whence the Lord himself says in the Gospel: "Do what they say, but do not do what they do": whence also through Balaam he prophesied most expressly, and so also through Solomon, even though carnal, he said many good things. As to what is objected, therefore, that he was sinning: it must be responded that to him the gift of wisdom was entrusted most especially among all others: and because he was bound not to hide the talent of the Lord, he was obliged to teach the people of the Lord both by word and by writing, especially since he was appointed to their governance. Whence he was not sinning in this, that he taught, but in this, that he did not duly dispose himself. As to what is objected, that the book is not to be believed, since the author is not worthy of credence: I respond: just as we believe the Prophets, that they spoke not of themselves but through the Holy Spirit: so also in all the books of Scripture, that they were produced at the dictation of the Holy Spirit: whence the goodness of the person does not contribute to greater or lesser credibility, presupposing that he spoke through the Spirit. And because it is established for us that Solomon was filled with the spirit of wisdom, as is clear from 3 Kings 3; therefore the Church without doubt receives his books.

Ecclesiastes 1:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

This entire book is divided into three parts: into the title or proem and the treatise, which begins there: "Vanity of vanities" etc.; and the epilogue, which begins there: "And since Ecclesiastes was most wise." In the title the efficient cause is made manifest, in the treatise the material and formal causes, in the epilogue the final cause. In the title, therefore, the author is made manifest with respect to wisdom, with respect to goodness, and with respect to royal power. By reason of wisdom he says: "The words of Ecclesiastes," supply: what follows are the words of Ecclesiastes; because Ecclesiastes means "preacher," and one cannot be a preacher unless he is wise, because it is said in Proverbs twenty-six: "As if a thorn should grow in the hand of a drunkard, so unfitting is a parable in the mouth of fools"; whence Proverbs seventeen: "Eloquent words do not befit a fool." With respect to goodness it is made manifest when it says: "Son of David." For David was holy, and sons by imitation are holy; whence in Scripture it is a name of kindness and gentleness: Matthew fifteen: "Have mercy on me, Son of David." With respect to royal power, when it says: "King of Jerusalem," because Jerusalem was the most noble city and the capital of the whole kingdom, below: "I, Ecclesiastes, was king of Israel in Jerusalem," because there he chiefly dwelt. Here a question arises: since Solomon composed three books, why is it that he prefixes a title to the book of Proverbs and to this one, in which his name is expressed, but does not prefix one in the Song of Songs? I respond: it must be said that in the book of Proverbs Solomon himself is introduced speaking as a wise man to a disciple, whence he calls his hearer "son": similarly here he is introduced as a man who has experienced various things; but in the Song of Songs it is the bride and bridegroom who speak. Lest therefore it should seem that they were the words of Solomon to his wife, but rather they are of Christ to the Church, he does not prefix his name there. But here, because he was for the most part speaking in his own person, and in the book of Proverbs, therefore he prefixes a title in which his name is specified and disclosed. Likewise it is asked why in the book of Proverbs he says "parables," but here he says "words." If you say that there he speaks parabolically and figuratively, but here openly: then I ask, why here and there he employs a different manner of proceeding. I respond: it must be said that there is a certain mode of speaking that is proper and open, and another that is parabolic: and this latter is twofold: one through parables and open similitudes, another through hidden and profound ones. Since therefore Solomon in the book of Proverbs speaks to the little ones and the unlearned, he therefore speaks parabolically and openly: but since in Ecclesiastes he speaks to those who are advancing, therefore openly and properly: but in the Song of Songs, since he speaks to the perfect, whose food is solid food, therefore parabolically and hiddenly. The question is: why in the title of Proverbs does he call himself by his own name, but here he calls himself Ecclesiastes? I respond: it must be said that, as Jerome says, Solomon had three names, which indeed suited him according to the threefold scripture which he produced. For he was called Solomon, called Ecclesiastes, and Jedidiah. Solomon, the peaceful one, because he possessed the entire kingdom in peace: whence he also handed down the teaching of proverbs to all. Ecclesiastes, the preacher, because he speaks in the persons of various people. Jedidiah means the same as beloved of the Lord. Therefore he calls himself Ecclesiastes, because in this book he brings forward the opinions of various persons and accordingly persuades in diverse ways. He was called Jedidiah in the title of the Psalm Eructavit, which is about him according to the literal sense. Likewise it is asked: why here does he call himself "so…

Ecclesiastes 1:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Again, civil war is the temptation of the world. Indeed, every creature is a trap. Hence the saying: Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! What profit has man from all the labor which he toils at under the sun? Vain and worthless is anything of which nothing remains to man after death: wherefore all things are vanity. The Psalm reads: Turn away my eyes from seeing what is vain.

Ecclesiastes 1:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Introductory Questions

Concerning the purpose of the book of Ecclesiastes: it is said that the purpose of the book is contempt of the world. That it is so determined, is proved by that which is said in James 4: "The friendship of this world is enmity with God": but everything that is hostile to God, it is good to despise. Likewise, 1 John 2: "Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world." But on the contrary: Praise of the work redounds to the craftsman, therefore contempt of the work also redounds to the same, therefore whoever despises the world despises God: therefore either this world was not made by God, or it is not to be despised. Likewise, Proverbs 16: "The Lord has made all things for himself," therefore all things are ordered to God; but what is ordered to an end is not to be despised, but to be accepted and loved: therefore this world, and the things that are in it, are to be loved. I respond: it must be said that, as Augustine and Hugh maintain, this world is like a certain ring given by the bridegroom to the soul itself: but the bride can love the ring bestowed upon her by the bridegroom in two ways, namely, with chaste love and with adulterous love. Chaste love is that by which she loves the ring in memory of the bridegroom and on account of love for the bridegroom: adulterous, that by which she loves the ring more than the bridegroom: and the bridegroom cannot but regard this as evil. For just as love is twofold, so hatred or contempt is twofold, because "as often as one of the opposites is spoken of, so also the other." Contempt of the ring, as though it were a small and worthless gift, redounds to the bridegroom: but contempt of the ring, as though it be reckoned as nothing in comparison with the love of the bridegroom, this is to the glory of the bridegroom: and concerning this contempt it is said in Song of Songs, the last chapter: "If a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing." Of this contempt is the discourse here: and thus the objections are resolved.

Ecclesiastes 1:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

Here begins the treatise: and because "the end imposes necessity upon those things which are ordered to the end," since the end of this book is the contempt of all things and the fear of God alone, therefore in all things he intends to show vanity. And because he proceeds as a preacher by persuading and proving, therefore this treatise has three parts: because first he proposes what he intends to prove, namely that there is vanity in all things; second he proves it, there: "What more does man have from his labor," etc.; third he concludes it as proven near the end: "Vanity of vanities," etc. He therefore proposes a threefold vanity in things, namely of penality, of iniquity, of mutability. As to the vanity of penality: "Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes," that is, he proposed. Concerning this, below in the second chapter: "All his days are full of labors, nor does his mind rest at night: and is this not vanity?" As to the vanity of iniquity he says again: "Vanity of vanities"; whence Jeremiah 10: "Their works are vain and worthy of ridicule: in the day of their visitation they shall perish." As to the vanity of mutability he says: "and all is vanity," because all things are subject to mutability; Romans 8: "The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly"; and below in the third chapter: "All things are subject to vanity, and all go to one place." Therefore it is not a repetition of words when he says "vanity" three times, but a wondrous distinction of intelligible things. And it should be noted that this threefold vanity follows in sequence, and one arises from another: because the vanity of iniquity arises from the vanity of mutability, although that is not the whole cause; but the vanity of penality arises from the vanity of iniquity. He therefore arranges these vanities in a reverse resolutory order, and pursues them in the opposite order in what follows. And because that twofold vanity has its origin from another vanity, but the third does not, therefore he says "vanity of vanities" twice, and afterwards only "vanity." It should also be noted that this threefold vanity is found in man, because he is the one upon whom falls punishment and fault: and on account of this it is said in the Psalm: "Every living man is altogether vanity." For there is in him the vanity of nature, the vanity of fault, and the vanity of punishment. Concerning the vanity of nature, in the Psalm: "Man is made like unto vanity; his days pass away like a shadow." Concerning the vanity of fault, likewise in the Psalm: "The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain." Concerning the vanity of punishment, Job 14: "Man born of a woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries." It should also be noted that Solomon himself speaks of himself as if of another, just as John, in the twenty-first chapter: "This is that disciple who bears witness concerning these things"; and similarly Moses. Now a threefold reason can be assigned for this: one is on the part of the first efficient cause, because the Holy Spirit himself is the author of Scripture, not Solomon or another; therefore, when he is introduced in sacred Scripture, Scripture ought to speak of him as if of another, just as Balaam said in Numbers, the twenty-fourth chapter: "The hearer of the words of God said," etc. Another reason is taken from the part of the immediate efficient cause: because Scripture shuns all pride and displays humility; and therefore no teacher in it ought to speak of himself as of himself, but for the sake of humility, as if of another. The third reason: when Scripture intimates great and wondrous things, it ought to show them as if from afar; whence Hugh says: "This manner of speaking, as often as it is employed in Scripture, is done either for the sake of humility or of wonder. For we ought both to remove great things from ourselves on account of humility, and to show wondrous things as if from afar on account of wonder." An example is found…

Ecclesiastes 1:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Wisdom and love are the principal fruits. And that which is most opposed to them is vanity. For this reason, the Canticle speaks of a loving wisdom. No one, indeed, can say that the words of the Canticle are without wisdom and love, nor that they are not far removed from vanity. Wherefore before this book there comes Ecclesiastes where vanity is shown in these words: "Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!" This proposition is true and is proved by the whole book. It is fitting, then, to pass over from all things into truth, so that there be no other pleasure than in God.

Ecclesiastes 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Ecclesiastes 1:3 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

Above he proposed what he intends to prove; here he begins to prove it. And just as a threefold vanity was proposed to exist in things, so also a threefold vanity is proved to exist. Whence this part has three parts. For first he shows there to be in things the vanity of mutability; second, the vanity of iniquity; third, the vanity of punishment. "The first is natural and fitting, as Hugh says; the second is culpable, because perverse; the third is penal and miserable." Now mutability in things is considered in two ways: in one way by reason of change, in another way in comparison to the measure of a definite time. Therefore mutability is first shown in the existence of creatures. And because creatures have a threefold being, namely in the Word, by reason of exemplarity; in the universe, by mode of materiality; in the human mind, by mode of abstraction—the first being is unfailing and immutable, whence it has no vanity; but in the others there is vanity. Therefore, as to the rational creature, namely man, he shows there to be mutability, from which one can be delivered by no labor; on account of which he says: "What more does man have from all his labor, with which he labors under the sun?" Supply: except vanity and mutability, as if to say: nothing. Concerning this labor it is said in Job 5: "A bird is born to fly, and man to labor"; and Genesis 3: "Cursed is the earth in your work; in labor you shall eat from it all the days of your life." Here a question arises concerning what he says: "What more does man have," etc. This seems to be a heretical opinion and to agree with that which says that "vain is" everyone "who serves God." Likewise in the Psalm it is said: "The patience of the poor shall not perish in the end": therefore something remains. Likewise Proverbs chapter twelve: "He who works his land shall be satisfied with bread": therefore it is good to work and to labor. I respond: as Hugh says, emphasis must be placed on this, that he says: "In which he labors under the sun": "for it is the same as if he were to say: under time." On account of which it should be noted that certain things come to be with time, such as those whose origin time did not precede, as the angelic nature and prime matter. Certain things come to be in time, which began after the origin of time but do not have their setting in time, such as the soul of Peter. Certain things come to be in time and under time, which begin after the origin of time and are terminated in time, of which kind are mutable things. And such things are twofold: for some come to be for time and under time, and such things pass away in act and in fruit; some for eternity, and such things pass away in act but remain in root and in fruit, because the good will remains to be rewarded for eternity. When therefore he says that man has nothing but vanity from all his labor with which he labors under the sun: this is understood insofar as labor is under time with respect to act and intention; and then it has no place among good things.

Ecclesiastes 1:4 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

And that he has nothing more than vanity, he shows when he adds: "A generation passes away, and a generation comes." Therefore there is change and succession both in man and in his works. Sirach 14: "Some things are generated, and others are cast down; so is the generation of flesh and blood: one ends, and another is born," according to what is said in James 4: "What is your life but a vapor appearing for a little while"? But when they are corrupted, they do not pass into nothing, but into something, because into earth; whence it was said to Adam: "You are dust, and to dust you shall return." Therefore he adds: "But the earth stands forever," as it were the matter into which dissolution takes place. Psalm: "Who founded the earth upon its stability"; and Proverbs 8: "When he was weighing the foundations of the earth." Likewise, there is a question concerning what he says: "The earth stands forever." To the contrary: Matthew twenty-four: "Heaven and earth shall pass away": therefore the earth does not stand. Likewise, Apocalypse twenty-one: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth," therefore the earth grows old: therefore it does not stand. I respond: it must be said that "the earth standing" is twofold: either with respect to substance, or with respect to figure or disposition; I say that the earth stands forever with respect to substance, but passes away with respect to figure: First Corinthians seven: "The figure of this world passes away." But men are generated and corrupted with respect to substance, so that they are rightly called not "men" but "the dead." Or "eternal" is said in multiple ways: in one way, that which does not have an end prescribed in Scripture: thus the land of promise was given to the children of Israel as an eternal possession. In another way, that which has an end, but not in time: thus "time" is said to be eternal. In the third way, that whose signification is never ended. In the fourth way, that whose substance is never ended. In the fifth way, that whose substance neither ends nor began. In this last way, God alone; in the fourth way it applies to the earth with respect to substance, in the third way with respect to signification, in the first two ways with respect to figure.

Ecclesiastes 1:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Ecclesiastes shows these four when he says: "The sun riseth, and goeth down, and returneth to his place: and there rising again, maketh his round by the south, and turneth again to the north." Marvelous was the origin: how the supersubstantial radiation was united to humanity in the womb, came forth from the womb; how He dwelled in the world, alive, shining and inflaming; how in death He condescended to die; how later He rose from the nether world, first into [His] body and then into heaven; and how He shall come back for the judgment. There was a marvelous duration of eternity in the union of the Godhead with humanity. For it is impossible to have a greater separation, short of the denial of God's existence: since it would be easier to separate an angel from its essence. The breadth of charity came about in death; the marvelous sublimity of power, in the ascension; the marvelous depth of wisdom will come about in the judgment. These are wondrous [realities] by which the soul is placed, so to speak, outside of itself.

Ecclesiastes 1:5 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

Here secondly he shows mutability in the celestial nature, as is evident in the sun, which never rests, but when it rises, it tends toward setting, whence it does not remain in its rising. Therefore he says: "The sun rises and sets," so that it does not remain in the place of rising nor even in the place of setting; thence he adds: "And it returns to its place." Nor does it remain there, whence he also adds: "And there being born again it circles through the south." Nor does it remain even in the middle place; therefore he adds: "And it bends toward the north." This can be explained with respect to the diurnal motion, or also the annual. With respect to the diurnal, Hugh says: "The sun rises daily, when it is presented to human sight. It sets when, descending to the lower parts, it withdraws itself from our eyes. It returns to its place, because, driven by the rotation beneath, it again returns to its place. But rising again it circles through the south, because by an oblique course it ascends from the east to the meridian line; then it turns toward the north, because, descending toward the west, it again inclines toward the north by an oblique progression." With respect to the annual motion, thus: "The sun rises when through the vernal equinox it ascends to our pole. It sets when, passing through the autumnal equinox, it descends to the lower regions. It circles through the south when it lingers in the winter signs. It turns toward the north when it revolves in the summer signs, which are nearer to the northern pole." And thus the sun does not stand still by nature, but only by miracle, as is read in Joshua 10: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the valley of Ajalon." Spiritually, this sun is Christ, concerning whom Malachi four: "The Sun of Justice shall rise upon you who fear my name." This sun rises in the nativity to illuminate: Isaiah sixty: "Arise, be illuminated, Jerusalem": and John one: "He was the true light, which illuminates every man." This sun sets in the passion to redeem: Amos eight: "The sun shall set at midday," that is, in the vehement love of charity. This sun returns to its place in the ascension: Luke nineteen: "A certain man went into a far country." This sun circles through the south, that is, in the fervent love of the Saints: Song of Songs one: "Show me, O you whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you lie down at midday": and John fourteen: "If anyone loves me," afterwards: "We will come to him and make our abode with him." This sun turns to the north in the final judgment: Jeremiah one: "From the north shall all evil be spread." Likewise it is asked, since other luminaries likewise rise, why he speaks more of the sun than of others. I respond: it must be said that once mutability has been established in the sun, which is the noblest and most luminous among the heavenly bodies, it is sufficiently given to be understood in the others. Likewise, he seems to proceed in a disordered manner, because he says that it sets before he says that it circles through the south: for it circles before it sets. I respond: it must be said that he does not arrange them according to progression, but according to dimensions or the limits of dimensions. Therefore, because east and west are opposites, they are immediately ordered together; likewise, because south and north are opposites, they are similarly placed immediately in the manner of a cross. But there is a doubt about what he says: "It returns to its place," because in the firmament no one place of the sun is more its place than another. If you say that it returns to the place from which it began its course: this is manifestly false, because the sun is always moved by its own motion either ascending or descending; therefore it never returns to the same place. Likewise, what does he mean when he says: "Turning toward the north." For if the sun is moved by diurnal motion with the motion of the firmament, and the firmament moves uniformly and…

Ecclesiastes 1:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Ecclesiastes 1:6 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

Here is touched upon the mutability in elemental nature, and first with respect to air. With respect to air, he touches upon the mutability in spirit or in wind, which is either the motion of air according to some philosophers, or according to Aristotle the motion of vapor in the air, by whose motion the air is also moved. On account of which he says: "Surveying all things, the spirit goes about in a circuit," that is, the wind circuits by surveying all things. "Spirit" is said to mean "wind": Exodus 15: "Your spirit blew, O Lord, and the sea covered them"; and in the Psalm: "Fire, hail, snow, ice, the spirit of storms." This "goes about in a circuit," because it arises from the four regions of the earth: Zechariah 2: "Flee from the land of the north, for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven"; and Ezekiel 37: "Come from the four winds, O spirit." For there are four principal winds and eight collateral ones. And "it returns to its circuits," because the wind ceases when that vapor comes to rest and returns to the earth whence it arose. And because that cause is hidden, therefore it is said in the Psalm: "Who brings forth winds from his treasuries," that is, from hidden places. Or, as the Gloss explains, this can be understood of the sun with respect to the annual motion, which surveys all things and returns in the circles of the zodiac; and the sun is called "spirit" because it is the principle and cause of all life, whence it causes all other things to breathe. Spiritually, this surveying spirit is the Holy Spirit, who is therefore said to survey, because he makes us search all things: First Corinthians two: "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." He is said to go in a circuit, because he makes us go around: whence Wisdom chapter seven: "The spirit of wisdom is mobile"; likewise also going around, because he makes us consider the circuit of misery: Job chapter one: "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither." Likewise the circuit of grace, concerning which John chapter sixteen: "I came forth from the Father and came into the world, and again I leave the world and go to the Father." Likewise of glory, Ezekiel chapter one: "This was the appearance of splendor round about, and this was the likeness of the glory of the Lord." The Spirit of God makes one consider this: Second Corinthians chapter three: "We with unveiled face shall behold the glory of the Lord." This circuit consists in the consideration that all things are from God and unto God. And Dionysius says that the Angels are moved circularly around the throne.

Ecclesiastes 1:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Ecclesiastes 1:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

Here mutability is touched upon with respect to visible elemental nature, namely water, because there is no stability there: for all waters move toward the sea; whence he says: "All the rivers enter into the sea," namely the great ocean, concerning which it is said in Job thirty-eight: "Who shut up the sea with doors, when it burst forth, as if proceeding from a womb"? And this motion is not terminated, because the sea is not filled: therefore he adds: "And the sea does not overflow." And because this seems wonderful, therefore he gives the cause of this: "To the place whence they go forth, the rivers return," not so that they may rest there, but "so that they may flow again." The rivers go forth secretly, they return openly, because they go forth through subterranean channels and certain filtrations. And thus all things are carried in a circuit and are subject to vanity. Hugh: "Behold how all things are carried in a circuit and are subject to vanity: and we know that a circle has no end: those things therefore that run in a circuit run indeed, but do not arrive at an end. What rest therefore can be hoped for, where there can be no stability? And therefore it is said of the impious: 'The head of their circuit'; and again: 'The impious walk in a circuit'; and again: 'My God, make them like a wheel.'" Spiritually, these are the rivers of graces, concerning which John chapter seven: "He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, rivers shall flow from his belly." The sea, from which the rivers have their origin, is the immensity of divine generosity, which is neither increased nor diminished: "For great is our Lord and great is his power, and of his wisdom there is no number." To this sea the rivers of thanksgiving return, so that they may flow again: John chapter four: "Whoever drinks of this water which I shall give him, it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life." From this they go forth: James chapter one: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above." And just as rivers cease to exist and dry up when they cease to flow and are still, so also with the gifts of graces: the Psalm: "You broke open fountains and torrents," through generosity; "you dried up the rivers of Ethan," through the severity of judgment. It is asked about what he says: "The rivers go forth from the sea." Against: The sea is bitter, and rivers are sweet; but contraries do not have their origin from one principle, nor one from another; therefore neither does the sea come from rivers, nor rivers from the sea. I respond: it must be said that all water by nature is sweet or tasteless, as the Philosopher says; but it becomes bitter accidentally, either through the evaporation of the subtle parts, with the earthly parts remaining, or through the admixture of earthly parts. Conversely, that water, just as it was accidentally made bitter, can return to sweetness through refinement, as is shown by the experiment of an earthen vessel placed in the sea. Since therefore rivers, even though they return to the sea in great abundance, nevertheless flow out secretly and underground and through a certain filtration, the water is refined and turned to sweetness. As to the objection, then, that one of two contraries does not have its origin from the other: it must be said that water is not contrary to water; and if it has a contrary disposition, it has this not by nature but by accident, as is evident in hot and cold water. Nor is the origin of rivers from the sea by reason of property, because sweetness is prior by nature in water, but with respect to outflow, as the drawing of wine from a cask: because that place contains an abundance of waters, from which emanation ceaselessly occurs.

Ecclesiastes 1:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

It is written in Ecclesiastes: "All rivers go to the sea, yet never does the sea become full. To the place where they go, the rivers keep on going:" and it is the same with all the spiritual meanings that flow from divine Scripture. The spiritual meanings are called rivers — and also those men who understand in a spiritual manner — because they have their origin from the Scriptures and are confirmed by the Scriptures, and because, from these spiritual meanings, other meanings are derived.

Ecclesiastes 1:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

On that passage of Ecclesiastes: "To the place whence the rivers go forth, they return:" Bernard says that "the origin of fountains is the sea; the origin of virtues and knowledge is Christ." He says therefore: "To the place whence the rivers go forth," namely of graces, "they return, that they may flow again." For just as a fountain has no duration unless it maintains a continuous connection with its source, nor indeed does light, so the grace of the Holy Spirit cannot flourish in the soul except through its return to its original principle.

Ecclesiastes 1:8 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

If moreover we consider the delight, we shall perceive the union of God and the soul. For every sense seeks its fitting sensible object with desire, finds it with joy, and returns to it without weariness, because the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing. In this manner also, the sense of our heart, whether it be the beautiful, the harmonious, the fragrant, the sweet, or the soothing, ought to seek with desire, find with joy, and return to without ceasing.

Ecclesiastes 1:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

Above, the vanity in things was determined according to the being which they have in the universe: here vanity is determined according to the being which they have in the human intellect: and vanity is shown in them in three ways: first, because they are not evident; second, because they do not satisfy; third, because they do not endure. They are not evident for interpreting or teaching; they do not satisfy so as to refresh and quiet the learner; they do not endure for remembering. And these three correspond to a threefold power in us: the interpretive, the cognitive, and the memorative. First, therefore, it is noted that they are not evident for explaining; thus he says: "All things are difficult," namely for discovering their reason; whence Wisdom 9: "With difficulty we estimate the things that are on earth, and we find with labor the things that are before us"; below in chapter 8: "I understood that man can find no reason for the works of God"; and therefore, because they are difficult, "man cannot explain them in speech": Job 38: "Who shall declare the reason of the heavens"? Sirach 43: "We shall say much and shall fall short in words: the consummation of words is he himself." Here in the second place it is touched upon that they do not fill so as to refresh the learner; and because we learn most by two senses, namely sight and hearing, he shows that in neither is there satiety; and therefore he says: "The eye is not satisfied with seeing": Proverbs twenty-seven: "For the eyes of men are insatiable." "Nor is the ear filled with hearing," since there is an itching to hear new and curious things: Second Timothy four: "They will heap up to themselves teachers according to their own desires, having itching ears." And the reason for this is that that in which there is true satiety, neither has the eye seen nor has the ear perceived: First Corinthians two: "Neither has the eye seen, nor has the ear heard." It is asked concerning what he says: "All things are difficult." On the contrary: There are many things whose knowledge is common to us and to brutes; therefore it is not difficult for man to know what a beast knows. Likewise, there are certain things in which it does not happen to err, as in the knowledge of sensible things, because the sense is not deceived regarding its proper object, and of intelligible principles, such as axioms, and such things are easy to know. Likewise, what does he mean when he says: "Man cannot explain them in speech"? It is easier for man to speak than for any creature to operate easily; therefore if it is easy for any creature to operate, then it is easy for man to explain its operation. I respond: it must be said that there is knowing incompletely, as when something is known according to its accidents, or according to some operation. There is again knowing perfectly, and he knows perfectly who fully knows the substance, power, and operation, and the causes and reasons of these. And because power is hidden, and substance is remote from the senses, therefore all things are difficult for us. As to the objection that we know some things in common with brute animals, this is true in a certain way, as that this is bitter; but a brute animal knows nothing fully. Similarly the second is clear: because insofar as something is sensible, it is manifest. Through this the following is also clear: because to "say" something and to "explain" it differ: for to "explain" is to draw out hidden reasons that are inwardly wrapped up; and no one can do this unless he understands; and this is arduous and belongs to few. Likewise, there is a question about what he says: "The eye is not satisfied with seeing." It is asked why he does not adduce the other senses, since it is similarly possible to know through them. Likewise, what does he mean when he says: "Is not satisfied"? For one is said to be "satisfied" when he no longer desires more of what he was desiring; but it sometimes happens that a man does not w…

Ecclesiastes 1:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

And that one cannot be refreshed in these earthly things, he shows, because the eye and ear wish to perceive new things; but nothing remains in newness; therefore the ear and eye are filled by nothing. He supposes the major premise, and it is made manifest in Acts seventeen: "The Athenians spent their time in nothing else but either saying or hearing something new"; but here he proposes the minor, because nothing has newness, neither with respect to being nor with respect to becoming. Therefore he says: "What is it that has been?" He asks and he himself responds: "The same that shall be"; therefore by simple conversion: what shall be has been. Similarly it follows: "What is it that has been done?" He responds: "The same that is to be done"; therefore by simple conversion: what is to be done has been done. And from this he concludes: "Nothing is new under the sun, nor can anyone say: Behold this is recent"; therefore neither to say nor to hear anything new. And he repeats the proof: "For they have already gone before in the ages that were before us": Second Peter three: "Since our fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they are." Likewise, there is a question about what he says: "Nothing is new under the sun." The contrary seems to be the case: Jeremiah thirty-one: "The Lord will make a new thing upon the earth." Likewise, Apocalypse twenty-one: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth." Likewise, from this statement the error seems to be confirmed that there is a circulation in things according to procession, such that the same things exist which formerly existed, and this through the following text: it has "already preceded in the ages that were before us"; and thus that error seems to be verified which posits that after the great year, which contains fifteen thousand years, all things are renewed. I respond: it must be said that there is an operation of creation, of conservation, of reparation, and of glorification. Each of these operations is above nature, and therefore will not be under the sun or under time, but above it, except for propagation; hence he understands only of this. On this it should be noted that he calls "new" that whose likeness has not preceded; and thus there is nothing new according to propagation, because there always like comes from like. But the objector objects as if he were speaking of the numerically same thing; and that is impossible to understand in this way, because if every form that is corrupted and generated again differs numerically, it cannot be understood of the numerically same thing.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

The times of origin consist in the first seven days; the times of symbolism, in the span between the beginning of the world and Christ, when a new time begins, although Solomon said: "Nothing is new under the sun" — which is true in the order of nature, but this is above nature. The times of grace then come later. Moses began from the times of origin, and he was bound to do so, for Scripture, like a germinating soil, had to bring forth the seeds at first, then the symbolic trees, and finally the fruit.

Ecclesiastes 1:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

He shows that nothing remains in newness, neither with respect to being nor with respect to becoming. Therefore he says: "What is it that has been?" He asks and he himself responds: "The same that shall be." Similarly it follows: "What is it that has been done?" He responds: "The same that is to be done." And from this he concludes: "Nothing is new under the sun, nor can anyone say: Behold this is recent"; therefore neither to say nor to hear anything new. And he repeats the proof: "For they have already gone before in the ages that were before us": Second Peter three: "Since our fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they are." On this it should be noted that he calls "new" that whose likeness has not preceded; and thus there is nothing new according to propagation, because there always like comes from like.

Ecclesiastes 1:11 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

In the third place it is touched upon here that things do not endure so as to be remembered, because all things are delivered to oblivion; whence he says: "There is no remembrance of former things," namely among us who come after: Wisdom two: "Our name shall receive oblivion through time, and no one shall have remembrance of our works." And so it is in things past and in things future; whence he adds: "But neither indeed shall there be remembrance of those things that are to come hereafter among those who shall be in the last time," that is: later generations shall not be mindful of former things, and this on account of time, which brings on oblivion; below in chapter two: "Future times shall cover all things with oblivion." Likewise, there is a question about what he says: "There is no remembrance of former things." On the contrary: It is said in the Psalm: "I remembered your works, O Lord." I respond: to this some say that it is understood of evil things, not of good things. But this is still false, because many evil things are also in memory. And therefore it must be said that this proposition is not to be understood as universally true, but as true in most cases, because there is more forgetfulness than remembrance; nevertheless, very many of the things that have been done are in our memory.

Ecclesiastes 1:12 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

Here from the consideration of the mutability of things he reproves his own curiosity. And first he manifests his curiosity; second, he reproves his curiosity on account of vanity, in the second chapter. First he manifests his curiosity, first indeed in the works of prudence or philosophy; second, of the curiosity of opulence or mechanical art, at: "I magnified my works." Therefore the suitability of the one considering is noted, when he says: "I, Ecclesiastes": because in him there was wisdom, therefore he calls himself Ecclesiastes, that is, a preacher; there was also power, whence he says: "I was king"; there was also peace, whence he adds: "in Jerusalem," which is interpreted as "vision of peace": Ecclesiasticus forty-seven: "Solomon reigned in days of peace": First Chronicles twenty-two: "The son who shall be born to you shall be a peaceful man"; and because he possessed this, therefore nothing held him back from consideration.

Ecclesiastes 1:13 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

Here curiosity itself is touched upon, because he wished to know all things and to investigate them subtly. Therefore he says: "And I proposed in my mind to seek," namely from another, "and to investigate wisely," by myself; and this is curiosity; Romans twelve: "Not to be wise more than it behooves one to be wise, but to be wise unto sobriety"; whence Proverbs twenty-five: "You have found honey; eat what is sufficient for you, lest perhaps being sated you vomit it up." "Concerning all things that are done under the sun." Behold, a greater curiosity, because concerning all things: Ecclesiasticus three: "Do not search into superfluous things in many ways, and do not be curious about his many works; for many things beyond the understanding of men have been shown to you." "This most wretched occupation." Here the severity of divine judgment is touched upon: because by divine judgment, on account of the sin of the first parent, it came about that our rational faculty so readily indulges itself in the knowledge of earthly things. On account of which he says: "This most wretched occupation," because it is not only blameworthy but also penal; "God gave to the sons of men," that is, he permitted it to be given; or by reason of its penal character he gave it in a just manner; "that they might be occupied in it," and thereby be forgetful of their salvation. Whence it should be noted that there is an evil occupation, which is from weakness: concerning this, Ecclesiasticus forty: "A great occupation is created for all men, and a heavy yoke upon the sons of Adam, from the day of their going out of their mother's womb even to the day of their burial into the mother of all." There is a worse occupation, which is from ignorance, concerning which Job three: "Let darkness and the shadow of death obscure it; let a mist occupy it, and let it be wrapped in bitterness." The third is from curiosity, and this is the worst, and of this he speaks here. And it should be noted that "occupation, as Hugh says, is a distraction of the mind which turns away and distracts and ensnares the soul, so that it cannot think about the things that pertain to salvation." Curiosity, however, is the lustful prostitution of the human intellect, indiscriminately embracing any truth whatsoever and committing adultery with it, because the First Truth alone is the spouse. But here it is asked concerning what he says: "This most wretched occupation." Against: This is sin: therefore God gave sin. If you say: "He gave," that is, He permitted it to be given; but similarly He permitted stealing: therefore it would be rightly said that God steals. I respond: "Sins that are midway between the first apostasy and the final punishment are both punishment and fault"; but some express more the character of fault, and some more the character of punishment: those which express more the character of punishment are attributed to the just judgment of God, and such is occupation and blindness of this kind.

Ecclesiastes 1:14 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

Here is touched upon the discovered vanity, because he profited nothing more, except that in his consideration he found vanity. And therefore he says: "I saw all things that are done under the sun," that is, I considered all things. "And behold, all is vanity," that is, vanity openly appears in them, because, as the Apostle says in Romans 8, "the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly"; and not only vanity, but indeed also "affliction of spirit."

Ecclesiastes 1:15 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

But because not all see this, and because they thus labor in vain and do not perceive their affliction: to this tacit question he responds saying: "The perverse are corrected with difficulty": whence Proverbs 18: "A fool does not receive words of prudence, unless you say those things which revolve in his heart." "And the number of fools is infinite," namely on account of their multitude: and to consider this is not only vanity, but indeed also affliction: whence it is said in the Psalm: "I saw the transgressors, and I pined away"; and again: "My zeal has made me pine away." Man is perverted through evil thought: Wisdom 1: "Perverse thoughts separate from God: but proven virtue corrects the foolish." Through evil affection: Proverbs 17: "He who is of a perverse heart shall not find good, and he who turns his tongue shall fall into evil." Through evil speech: Proverbs 10: "The lips of the just consider what is pleasing, and the mouth of the wicked, perverse things"; Proverbs 2: "That you may be delivered from the man who speaks perverse things." Through wicked action: Proverbs 2: "They rejoice when they have done evil, and exult in the worst things"; Isaiah 1: "Cease to act perversely." Likewise, there is a question concerning what he says: "The perverse are corrected with difficulty": because it is easy for someone to become perverted; but perversion is against nature; therefore, if it is most easy to return to nature, since vice is against nature, it is most easy to be corrected. I respond: the reason is taken both from the side of the evil work, because "good exists in one way, but evil in every way"; and from the side of the operating power, which is rendered weak through fault, and therefore cannot engage in strenuous work; and from the side of the opposition of good to evil according to privation, because it is most easy to recede from a habit to privation, but difficult, or altogether impossible, to return.

Ecclesiastes 1:16 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

Here he similarly shows his curiosity in the consideration of moral matters. For first is noted his transition from natural things to moral matters; second, the discovery of affliction; third, the turning to the enjoyment of delightful things; fourth, the return to the consideration of evils. First, therefore, his transition to considering moral matters is intimated, and this after he had considered the natures of things. On account of which he says: "I have spoken in my heart," namely through thought, "saying: Behold, I have become great," in fame, "and I have surpassed all in wisdom who were before me in Jerusalem"; Third Kings, chapter four: "And the wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals and the Egyptians, and he was wiser than all men"; Ecclesiasticus, chapter forty-seven: "He was instructed in his youth, and was filled with wisdom as with a river." And he had this knowledge partly through revelation; whence he says: "My mind has contemplated many things wisely," namely illuminated by God; and partly also through his own diligence; whence he adds: "And I have learned"; Proverbs, chapter four: "I was a tender son of my father and an only one in the sight of my mother, and he taught me"; Proverbs, the last chapter: "The vision with which his mother instructed him." Considering therefore that he had this wisdom in the investigation of natural things, because "he discoursed from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop," according to what is said in Third Kings, chapter four, he wished to transfer himself to moral matters.

Ecclesiastes 1:17 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

Whence he says: "And I gave my heart to know prudence," with respect to things to be done, "and learning," with respect to things to be known, "and errors," against prudence, "and folly," against learning; because nothing is known perfectly unless its opposite is known. And it is useful to know these things when they are investigated in the proper manner; whence Proverbs, chapter eight: "Receive instruction and not money; choose learning rather than gold." Here the discovery of spiritual affliction in the consideration thereof is touched upon: because the better a man knows good and evil, the more he is afflicted when he errs. On account of which he says: "And I knew that in these things also there was labor and affliction of spirit," that is, in the knowledge of useful things: "labor," namely in acquiring; Psalm: "I thought that I might know this, it is labor before me"; "affliction of spirit," after acquisition, either on account of the detestation of fault, or because it is an occasion of pride and impatience, since "knowledge puffs up."

Ecclesiastes 1:18 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1

"Because in much wisdom there is much indignation," either of contrition, against fault, or of impatience from pride, because great clerics, when they do not have what they want, are most easily indignant: whence it is said in Job thirty-two that Elihu was indignant, and this because he considered himself wise. And therefore it follows: "He who adds knowledge adds also sorrow," because an impatient man sustains many sorrows, since there is no one for whom all things turn out according to his wish. And with this exposition agrees another translation of Jerome: "I knew that in these things there was a feeding on wind," and therefore rightly there is labor and affliction of spirit. Whence Hugh: "Curiosity drove it to inquiry, pride to ostentation: and therefore it was fitting that labor should press down the swollen, and occupation dissipate the curious." It can also be understood of the affliction of contrition, because even where there is much wisdom, there is much indignation against sin: Jeremiah thirty-one: "After you showed me, I struck my thigh." "And he who adds knowledge adds also sorrow," namely of penance: Job last chapter: "Now my eye sees you: therefore I reprove myself and do penance in dust and ashes."

Ecclesiastes 1:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Third, gratuitous knowledge is called the knowledge of the Saints, because it has a zeal for all holiness. Whence in the book of Ecclesiastes: "In much wisdom there will be indignation; he who adds knowledge adds sorrow." A man knowing his own defects has the sorrow of compunction for himself, the sorrow of compassion for his neighbors, and the sorrow of zeal for the honor of God.

Ecclesiastes 2:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Prooemium

The world also, by displaying sweetness, inflames to lust, just as wine by its sweetness draws to gluttony and through this to lust: whence in 3 Esdras 3: Wine, which prevails over all who drink it, seduces the mind. Likewise of the king and of the orphan it makes the mind vain, and this by inflaming to lust, according to that passage in Ephesians 5: Be not drunk with wine, wherein is lust. To this vanity the world drew Solomon; Ecclesiastes 2: I said: I will go and abound in delights and enjoy good things; and I saw that this also was vanity.

Ecclesiastes 2:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

"I said in my heart" etc. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the turning to pleasure on account of the weariness of contemplation. For since in contemplating there was labor and affliction, he therefore thought to abandon this and turn himself to delights, in which there is pleasure. On account of which he says: "I said in my heart," that is, I came to this consideration on account of the spiritual affliction in contemplating. Whence the word is a consideration not of wisdom, but of sloth, which, not finding rest within, seeks it without. "I said" therefore: "I will go and abound in delights and enjoy good things." "I will go," by withdrawing from the true good: Psalm: "Man has become a spirit going forth and not returning." "I will abound in delights," as regards the multitude of pleasures, namely carnal ones as opposed to spiritual: Song of Songs 7: "How beautiful you are, dearest, in delights." From these he departed to carnal ones: Isaiah 22: "The Lord called to weeping and mourning" etc., and after: "Behold joy and gladness, slaughtering rams" etc. "And I will enjoy good things," as regards rest: for one enjoys that in which the appetite finds rest: Wisdom 2: "Come, let us enjoy the good things that are, and let us use creation as in youth swiftly"; and Proverbs 7: "Come, let us enjoy the desired embraces." But because this consideration was blameworthy and reprehensible, he therefore rebuked himself, because present pleasure is not true pleasure, but deception: therefore he adds: "And I saw that this also was vanity:" because it neither endures nor refreshes, but fails and deceives.

Ecclesiastes 2:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

On account of which he says: "I counted laughter an error," because it leads man astray: "and to joy I said: why are you vainly deceived?" because namely the one rejoicing in it is deceived. Laughter is outward, and joy is inward. Laughter deceives, because it offers good and in the end evil; Proverbs 14: "Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning takes hold of the ends of joy": and James 4: "Let your laughter be turned into mourning," because Luke 6: "Woe to you who laugh, for you shall weep." This laughter is the laughter of the frenzied, because it is erroneous and momentary. Likewise also inward joy deceives: Job 21: "They rejoice at the sound of the organ: they spend their days in good things and in a moment they descend to hell": and Job 20: "The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment."

Ecclesiastes 2:3 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

"I thought in my heart" etc. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the return to the consideration of useful things, and this by returning from pleasure to sobriety. On account of which he says: "I thought in my heart to withdraw my flesh from wine," because it inclines in a wondrous manner toward pleasure; whence Ephesians 5: "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury"; and Proverbs 20: "Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness tumultuous: whoever delights in these things shall not be wise." Therefore he thought to abandon the incitement to pleasure, "that I might transfer my mind to wisdom," that is, to the consideration of wise things, and that I might abandon the consideration of foolish things, such as was the preceding consideration; whence he says: "And that I might avoid foolishness:" and this toward the exhortation of wisdom; Proverbs 1: "How long, O little ones, will you love childishness, and fools desire those things that are harmful?" And this not only on account of one's own benefit, but the common benefit; therefore he says: "That I might see what is useful for the children of men:" and this in the present life, whence he also adds: "What deed is needful," that is, what is opportune to do, "under the sun during the number of the days of their life." This he saw and declared at the end of the book: "Fear God and keep his commandments: this is the whole of man." This is useful: to keep the commandments of God, because it is said below in chapter eight: "He who keeps the commandment shall experience no evil"; and Proverbs 19: "He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul; but he who neglects his way shall die." The remission of iniquity: 2 Timothy 2: "If anyone shall cleanse himself from these, he shall be a sanctified vessel, useful to the Lord, prepared for every good work." The instruction of truth: 2 Timothy 3: "All doctrine divinely inspired is useful for instructing in justice," so that man may be just. The exercise of piety: 1 Timothy 4: "Exercise yourself unto piety: for bodily exercise is profitable for little, but piety is profitable for all things." Useless things: the proud transgression of the law of God: 2 Chronicles 24: "Why do you transgress the commandment of the Lord, which will not profit you?" Wisdom without teaching: Ecclesiasticus 20: "Hidden wisdom and an unseen treasure, what profit is there in both?" Teaching without life: Luke 14: "Salt is good; but if the salt lose its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned" etc. Contentious disputation: 2 Timothy 2: "Do not contend in words: for it is profitable for nothing."

Ecclesiastes 2:4 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

He expresses his curiosity with respect to the possession of stable things, namely houses for dwelling, vineyards and gardens for eating, and pools for irrigating. Therefore he says: "I made my works great," that is, I made great things: 3 Kings 10: "King Solomon was made great above all the kings of the whole earth." And he expresses individually: "I built myself houses," because he built many: whence 3 Kings 9: "After Solomon had built two houses: the house of the Lord and the house of the king," he built a house for the daughter of Pharaoh; and that was of curiosity and reprehensible: whence Isaiah 5: "Woe to you who join house to house." "I planted vineyards," namely for drink: Genesis 9: "Noah planted a vineyard, and drinking the wine was made drunk." Spiritually this Solomon, who magnified his works, is Christ the Lord, who is the peaceful king, whose works are great; whence in the Psalm: "How magnificent are your works, O Lord; you have made all things in wisdom," etc. Christ, moreover, magnifies his spiritual works, inasmuch as he makes servants great and many, both with respect to the active life and with respect to the contemplative life. For contemplatives, that they may be great in their state, have many things conferred upon them by Christ the Lord: houses, namely quiet consciences; Proverbs 24: "Do not lie in wait and seek wickedness in the house of the just, nor lay waste his rest." In this house one must rest, not in another's; since on the contrary, Ecclesiasticus 21: "The foot of the fool is quick into the house of his neighbor." Vineyards, that is, affections of devotion, from which wine is drawn; Judges 9: "Can I forsake my wine?"

Ecclesiastes 2:5 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

"I made gardens and orchards and planted them with trees of every kind," for food: Song of Songs 6: "I went down into my garden to see the fruits of the valleys and to look whether the vineyard had flourished and the pomegranates had budded." Spiritually, gardens, that is, exterior enclosures; Song of Songs 4: "A garden enclosed, a fountain sealed, my sister, my spouse." Orchards, that is, honorable and renowned works: Job 9: "My days have passed like ships carrying fruit," which, namely, leave behind a good fragrance: 2 Corinthians 2: "We are the good fragrance of Christ to God."

Ecclesiastes 2:6 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

And because these things needed to be irrigated, he therefore adds: "And I built for myself pools of water," that is, places in which there is a collection of waters; and this, so that "I might irrigate the forest of sprouting trees," namely through irrigation, because it is said in Job 12: "If he withholds the waters, all things will be dried up." Such pools were necessary in the land of promise on account of the scarcity of water; Deuteronomy 11: "The land which you shall enter to possess is mountainous and level, awaiting rains from heaven." Spiritually, forests, that is, various virtues: Numbers 24: "How beautiful are your tabernacles, O Jacob, like wooded valleys." Pools, that is, many tears: Song of Songs 7: "Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon"; Jeremiah 9: "Who will give water to my head and a fountain of tears to my eyes?"

Ecclesiastes 2:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

"I possessed servants." Here is touched upon secondly the curiosity regarding the multitude of those serving, because in both sexes; whence he says: "I possessed servants and handmaids;" and also in every age; whence: "And I had a great household;" 3 Kings 10: "The queen of Sheba, seeing the wisdom of Solomon and the foods of his table, the dwellings of his servants and the ranks of his ministers, had no more spirit in her." "Herds also." Here is touched upon thirdly the curiosity regarding the gathering of livestock and animals, both great and small, when he says: "Herds also and great flocks of sheep," supply: I had; "beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem." And that he had many is evident, because he consumed many; whence 3 Kings 4: "The food of Solomon for each day was ten fat oxen and twenty pasture oxen and a hundred rams, besides the hunting of stags, roe deer," etc. Just as Christ magnified his works in contemplatives, so also in actives, for whom more things are necessary: menservants and maidservants, through humility; Luke 17: "When you have done all that was commanded you, say: we are unprofitable servants." Herds of oxen, through the vigor of works, because it is not for oxen to rest but to plow: Job 1: "The oxen were plowing": Sirach 7: "Do not hate laborious works." Sheep, through simplicity of intention: Matthew 10: "Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves"; 1 Peter 2: "As newborn infants, desire milk."

Ecclesiastes 2:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

"I heaped up for myself." Here is touched upon fourthly the curiosity regarding the heaping up of minerals, when he says: "I heaped up for myself gold and silver," as regards metals, "and the wealth of kings and provinces," as regards precious stones and gems; 3 Kings 10: "Each one brought gifts to Solomon: vessels of silver and gold, garments and weapons of war," and afterwards: "And he made it so that there was as great an abundance of silver in Jerusalem as of stones." He shows his excessive diligence in preparing such delectable things, both with respect to hearing and with respect to sight. By reason of hearing he says: "I made me singers, men and women," that is, of both sexes, and this for the sake of delights: whence he says: "And the delights of the sons of men," and this with respect to hearing. With respect to sight he also made beautiful vessels: whence he says: "cups and pitchers, for pouring wines," that is, "I made," and this for the sake of delights. Whence he was very diligent, and this is reprehensible; whence Amos 6: "Woe to you who are wealthy in Zion"; and afterwards: "You who sing to the sound of the psaltery, drinking wine in bowls." Spiritually, gold, through charity; Daniel 2 says of that statue that "its head was of the finest gold," because charity is the head of the virtues. Silver, through the sweetness of speech, because it has a sweet sound; whence in the Psalm: "The words of the Lord are pure words, silver tried by fire"; and Sirach 6: "A sweet word multiplies friends and appeases enemies." The treasures of kings, through the generosity of munificence: Sirach 13: "Good is the substance to which there is no sin in conscience." It is asked, since to take such delight in these songs is a sin, to what genus of sin is it reduced? If you say that it is reduced to lust, it is asked: since hearing is one sense, just as taste and touch, it seems that there ought to be a capital sin pertaining to hearing, just as there is pertaining to touch; or if not, I ask the reason. Likewise I ask whether to take delight in songs of this kind is a sin. That it is not, seems evident: because the Saints instituted singing for the glory of God. But that it is a sin: Augustine in the Confessions: "As often as the singing pleased me more than the words, I confess that I have sinned gravely." I respond: it must be said that to take delight in songs of this kind is either on account of interior devotion, and this seeks nothing but upright singing and the words; or on account of interior pleasure and wantonness; or on account of a certain curiosity. In the first way it is not a sin, but a merit; in the second way it is a sin connected to lust proximately; in the third way it is a sin of curiosity connected to lust remotely. As for what is asked, namely why there is not a capital sin pertaining to this sense, as there is pertaining to touch and taste: I respond, because the corruption and the delight are not so great.

Ecclesiastes 2:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

"And I surpassed in riches" etc. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the power to accomplish, because a poor man, even if he could begin such artful delights, could not however bring them to completion: but he himself could, being rich. Therefore he says: "And I surpassed in riches all who were before me in Jerusalem." For he exceeded all: 3 Kings 3: "I have given you riches and glory, so that no one among all kings in days past has been like you." "Wisdom also" etc. Here the third point is touched upon, namely prudence for ordering, when he says: "Wisdom also persevered with me," by which, that is, he ordered those things which he had made; 3 Kings 10: "The queen of Sheba, seeing the wisdom of Solomon and the ranks of those serving, their garments also and the cupbearers etc., had no more spirit in her"; and 3 Kings 4: "The wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals and the Egyptians, and he was wiser than all men." It is asked concerning what he says: "And I surpassed in riches all who were before me in Jerusalem." What does this mean? What he says seems to be no great distinction, because before him none reigned except only his father, since he himself went up and captured it and expelled the Jebusite. To this some say that he speaks not only with respect to the kings of Israel, namely David and Saul, but also with respect to the judges. But this was not a great thing. On account of this it is said that before him there were kings in Jerusalem from Canaan, and they indeed were wealthy and great, and he speaks with respect to them. Or the text can be read such that the qualification "in Jerusalem" refers to the riches which he possessed in Jerusalem, not to the kings, so that the sense would be: "I surpassed in riches in Jerusalem all who were before me," because none before him was like him. Likewise it is asked concerning what he says: "Wisdom also persevered with me." On the contrary: "The wisdom of doctrine is according to his name," Ecclesiasticus 6: therefore no one is wise except he to whom things are savory as they ought to be; but they were not savory to Solomon, because he despised eternal goods and loved temporal ones; therefore he was not wise, but foolish. I respond: it must be said that wisdom in one way denotes cognition alone, and thus it is called "wisdom, the knowledge of things divine and human"; in another way it denotes taste and the savor of the affections and order, and thus wisdom is said to derive from savor. In the first way, to be wise belongs to the good and the wicked alike, who have an intellect illuminated to see many truths about God and creatures; in the second way it belongs only to the good. In the first way he persevered, because he did not lose his understanding; in the second way he lost it, when he sinned and became foolish.

Ecclesiastes 2:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

"And all things which they desired" etc. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely his pleasure in fully enjoying those delectable things which he had prepared; and because there is a certain pleasure which has its origin from without, and a certain one from interior conception, he notes both in himself. With respect to the first he says: "And all things which my eyes desired," that is, seeing outwardly, "I did not deny them," nay rather, he indulged them to his own fault; whence Lamentations 3: "My eye has despoiled my soul"; and Jeremiah 9: "Death has climbed through my windows." As for interior pleasure he says: "Nor did I forbid my heart," that is, the concupiscence of the heart, from "enjoying every pleasure and delighting itself in those things which I had prepared;" against that passage of Sirach 18: "Son, go not after your concupiscences, and turn away from your own will." And because affection often perverts the judgment of reason, a perverted judgment follows; whence he adds: "And I reckoned this my portion," that is, I judged it to be better for me "if I should enjoy my labor," namely in the present. And this is the judgment of the Epicureans, who expect no other good nor any other portion; on the contrary, the Saints do not have their portion in the present, but in the future; whence in the Psalm: "My portion, O Lord, let it be in the land of the living"; and again: "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup," etc. Here the question is raised concerning what he says: "And I considered this my portion, if I should enjoy my labor." Therefore it seems that Solomon held the opinion of the Epicureans, who hold that there is no other joy except in the present; and this is heretical. Likewise, if he was wise and understanding and held this position, then it should be presumed that this was true. I respond: it must be said that there is a twofold judgment in us: one of reason deliberating and comparing, another of estimation. I say that Solomon by the judgment of reason deliberating and comparing never considered this nor held this opinion, but only by estimation, just as every sinner estimates that it is good for him to sin; hence there is not there an error of infidelity, but rather an error of deviation from the good. The Epicureans, however, not only estimate this, but assert with certitude that there is no other good; and therefore they are heretics and infidels. To the objection that he was wise, etc.: it must be said that, although he was wise, nevertheless in this he acted unwisely, and therefore he is not to be imitated, just as David was good, yet he did not act well when he had Uriah killed; nor does he say this for imitation, but for reproof.

Ecclesiastes 2:11 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

He reproves his own curiosity on account of the vanity he discovered, which consists in mutability. He found therefore vanity and affliction in the works which he had done with curiosity, on account of diligent consideration; for which reason he says: "And when I turned to all the works which my hands had made," that is, had diligently considered, according to that word of the Apostle in Galatians 6: "But let each one prove his own work." "And to the labors in which I had sweated in vain," therefore in vain, because he had not done them for God, and therefore had labored to no purpose; Wisdom 3: "Their hope is empty, and their labor without fruit." "I saw in all things vanity and affliction of spirit, and that nothing endures under the sun:" therefore they were vain and afflictive, because unstable. For by the fact that they do not endure, they are vain; by the fact that they are lost and do not endure, they are afflictive: Sirach 40: "The substance of the ungodly shall dry up like a river, and shall resound like a great thunder in rain"; whence 1 John 2: "The world passes away and its concupiscence": and therefore: "Her grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain."

Ecclesiastes 2:12 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

He indicates the diligence of his consideration in treating those things in which he had studied. For this reason he says: "I passed over to contemplate wisdom," as regards things to be chosen: "and errors and folly," as regards things to be avoided. "I passed over," I say, from pleasure: whence Sirach 24: "Come over to me, all you who desire me," etc.; but although there was in him diligence, there was nevertheless not sufficiency: whence he adds: "What, I say, is man, that he could follow the King, his maker?" As if to say: he is insufficient for considering and seeing those things which the Lord foresees. "What is man?" As if to say: something small and insufficient: the Psalm: "What is man, that you are mindful of him?" "That he could follow the King, his maker," that is, God the creator: Isaiah 64: "And now, O Lord, you are our father, and we indeed are clay; and you are our maker, and we are all the works of your hands." Him no one can follow; Job 11: "Can you perhaps comprehend the footsteps of God, and find the Almighty unto perfection?" It is asked: "What is man, that he can follow God?" On the contrary: Ecclesiasticus 23: "It is a great glory to follow the Lord." Likewise, Job 23: "My foot has followed his steps." I respond: it must be said that there is a following by equality, and this has been given to no creature; and because Satan wanted this, he fell. There is again a following by subjection and obedience, and this indeed man can do, but not just anyone—only those to whom it has been given by God through grace, and whom he himself draws; and therefore no one can do it by himself without God's help.

Ecclesiastes 2:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"I saw that wisdom excels folly as much as light differs from darkness." Therefore wisdom is light: light, I say, descending from above from the Father of lights, from whom is every best gift and every perfect gift. This light descends to illuminate our cognitive power, to gladden our affective power, and to strengthen our operative power. It descends from the most high God into the intellect, from the intellect into the affection, and even to the lowest, namely operation.

Ecclesiastes 2:13 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

Here the second point is noted, namely the discovered preeminence of wisdom over folly, because it surpasses it, as it were, beyond all proportion. For which reason he says: "And I saw that wisdom so far exceeded folly," that is, was nobler, "as light differs from darkness." And this comparison is fitting, since wisdom illuminates, and folly blinds or darkens. That wisdom indeed illuminates, Wisdom 6: "Love the light of wisdom, all you who rule over peoples"; whence also Christ, the wisdom of God, calls himself light; John 8: "I am the light of the world."

Ecclesiastes 2:14 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"The eyes of the wise man are in his head," that is, in Christ: "the fool walks in darkness." In Christ is the consummation of every good.

Ecclesiastes 2:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

The fourth aspect of the zeal of wisdom is the elevation of desire. This gives worth to other endeavors, so that forgetting what is behind, we strain forward to what is before. "The wise man has eyes in his head. — The heart of a wise man is in his right hand." Now, the zeal of wisdom consists in this, that our endeavor be directed toward nothing but God who is "all delight."

Ecclesiastes 2:14 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

"The eyes of the wise man are in his head," namely for directing: "the fool walks in darkness," as though he had no eyes in his head. That wisdom indeed illuminates, Wisdom 6: "Love the light of wisdom, all you who rule over peoples"; whence also Christ, the wisdom of God, calls himself light; John 8: "I am the light of the world." On the contrary, folly is darkness: Isaiah 5: "Woe to you who call good evil and evil good, who put darkness for light and light for darkness"; whence John 1: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it"; therefore, because they neither knew nor understood, therefore they walk in darkness; John 3: "For they loved darkness more than light." Here the third point is touched upon: the equality of the wise man and the fool both in death and after death. As regards the equality in dying, he says: "And I learned that the destruction of both was one:" one, that is, alike, because no one escapes the sentence of death on account of his wisdom: whence 2 Kings 14: "We all die, and like waters that flow down into the earth, which do not return." Just as the fool takes nothing away, so neither does the wise man: Job 1: "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return."

Ecclesiastes 2:15 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

And on account of this equality he despised wisdom; therefore he says: "And I said in my heart: if one and the same downfall shall befall both the fool and me, what does it profit me that I have devoted greater effort to wisdom?" as if to say: nothing, as regards death: Ecclesiasticus 40: "The Day of Union, that is, of death, from the one who sits" etc. "And I spoke with my mind," that is, I considered inwardly, and "I perceived that this also was vanity," namely, to devote greater effort to wisdom than the fool. There is a question about what he says: "What does it profit me, that I devoted greater effort to wisdom?" Because according to this it seems that he dissuades from study, the contrary of which he often urges; and Proverbs 27: "Apply yourself to wisdom, my son," etc. I respond: it must be said that devoting effort to wisdom can be in two ways: for the advantage of the present life, or for the reward of eternal glory. For the advantage of the present life, wisdom profits before death, because it directs man in his works; but in death it profits nothing, because the learned man dies just as the unlearned, nor is his life prolonged. But if for the advantage of eternal life, thus he does not die, but rather lives. It is useful for the working of good: Sirach 21: "Wise doctrine is a golden ornament," etc. It is useful for the avoidance of evil: Sirach 3: "A wise and understanding heart will abstain from sins." It is useful for the increase of grace: Proverbs 4: "She will give to your head increases of graces." It is useful for the increase of glory: Proverbs 3: "The wise shall possess glory." Thus therefore he discourages studying wisdom for present advantage and curiosity, but rather for eternal salvation; and therefore he reproves himself, because he had labored for curiosity and worldly vanity.

Ecclesiastes 2:16 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

Not only is there equality in death, but also after death: whence he also adds: "And I spoke with my mind," that is, I considered inwardly, and "I perceived that this also was vanity," namely, to devote greater effort to wisdom than the fool, because there is no more memory of him than of the fool. Therefore he says: "For there shall not be memory of the wise man any more than of the fool forever;" and the reason is added: "And future times shall equally cover all things with oblivion." Whence above in the first chapter it was said: "There is no memory of former things, nor indeed of those things which shall be hereafter": Wisdom 2: "And our name shall receive oblivion through time, and no one shall have memory of our works"; Job 13: "And your memory shall be compared to ashes, and your necks shall be reduced to clay." From this kind of equality discovered, he concludes vanity in his pursuit and reproof of himself; whence he repeats the equality, saying: "The learned dies similarly as the unlearned," and thus they are equal. There is a question about what he says: "There will be no remembrance of the wise man like that of the fool." Against this: Proverbs 10: "The memory of the just is with praises, and the name of the wicked shall rot." Likewise, Sirach 39: "His memory shall not depart, and his name shall be sought out," etc. I respond: to this some say that he speaks in the person of the carnal man, whence he says what is simply false, but true according to the estimation of carnal men. But this does not fully resolve the matter, because he ought not to assert the position of carnal men, but rather to refute it. Therefore it must be said that one can speak of the memory of the wise man and the fool either with respect to God, or with respect to men. If we speak with respect to God, there is certainly a remembrance of the good wise man, who devotes himself to wisdom for the glory of God; but with respect to men, the memory of both the good and the evil passes away, for the most part, because men remember few things. But if of the evil wise man and vain one, there is no memory, neither with respect to God nor with respect to men, indeed his name passes away like the name of the fool: and therefore it is foolish to labor in wisdom for the sake of the fame of one's name. But Ecclesiastes speaks of the vain wise man, who has his eye on earthly things, and he speaks of human memory, not divine.

Ecclesiastes 2:17 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

And from this he concludes: "Therefore I was weary of my life," as if he refused to live on account of weariness, as Job 10: "My soul is weary of my life": on account of occasions of sin: Genesis 27, Rebecca said: "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth." On account of labors: Numbers 21: "The people began to be weary of the journey and the labor, and they spoke against the Lord" etc. On account of tribulations: 2 Corinthians 1: "We were burdened beyond measure, so that it wearied us even to live." On account of the delay of future glory: Job 10: "My soul is weary of my life." On account of impending temptation: Psalm: "My soul has slumbered from weariness, strengthen" etc. On account of the horror of impending death: Mark 14: "Jesus began to fear and to be weary." "Seeing that all things under the sun are evil, and all is vanity and affliction of spirit:" Wisdom 9: "The body, which is corrupted, weighs down the soul, and the earthly habitation depresses the mind that thinks upon many things"; therefore frequent meditation of the flesh is affliction. An inquiry is made concerning what he says: "My life wearied me as I beheld all evils under the sun." Against this: Genesis 1: "God saw all things that he had made, and they were very good:" therefore they are not evil; indeed, this is heretical. I respond: it must be said that, as the Apostle says in Romans 7: "The law is holy, and the commandment holy," yet by occasion the commandment was deadly to those not having grace and wrought death: just as creatures are very good for the just and those who love God and "work together unto good" and are good in themselves, yet for the impious, sinners, and the foolish, all things are turned into evils by occasion: whence Wisdom 14: "The creatures of God are for a temptation and a snare to the feet of the unwise:" and Sirach 39: "All these things shall be turned into evils for the impious and sinners."

Ecclesiastes 2:18 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

He reproves his own curiosity concerning the works of human industry directed toward wealth. He argues first that he was curious about acquiring earthly things on account of the uncertainty of good offspring, because he himself could not always possess those things and feared having a useless successor. Therefore he says: "Again I detested all my industry," that is, my curious diligence, "with which I most studiously labored under the sun," namely to increase these goods: Jeremiah 6: "From the least even to the greatest, all are given to avarice."

Ecclesiastes 2:19 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

And the reason for the loathing is introduced: "Who shall have an heir after me, whom I know not whether he will be wise or foolish." Literally, Solomon had as heir Rehoboam, a foolish son, who, following the counsel of the young men, caused the kingdom to be divided, 3 Kings 12. "And he shall have dominion over my labors, in which I toiled," as regards the body; "and was solicitous," as regards the soul. Concerning this toil, Genesis 3: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread"; concerning solicitude, Matthew 6: "Be not solicitous for your soul, what you shall eat, or for your body, what you shall put on." And that is exceedingly vain; whence he says: "And is there anything so vain?" Supply: as to labor solicitously for a fool and an idler, as if to say: no.

Ecclesiastes 2:20 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

From the consideration of this vanity, therefore, he ceased from curiosity; whence he says: "Wherefore I ceased, and my heart renounced laboring under the sun," that is, for temporal goods. "I ceased," in deed; "and my heart renounced," in will. But the miser does not cease on this account, below in chapter 4: "There is one alone, and he has not a second, and yet he does not cease to labor."

Ecclesiastes 2:21 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

And he repeats the reason why he ceased: "For when another labors in wisdom," in the heart; "and in doctrine," in the mouth; "and in solicitude," in deed; "he leaves what was acquired to an idle man." And from this he concludes vanity: "and this therefore is vanity and a great evil:" vanity indeed, because riches are left to a useless man, but a great evil; whence Hugh says: "It is a great evil that what one man is worn down by in labor, another should abuse idly and illicitly"; evil, because to a squanderer; Jeremiah 51: "Their works are vain," etc.; Deuteronomy 28: "Let there be no strength in your hand; let a people whom you know not eat the fruit of your land and all your labors."

Ecclesiastes 2:22 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Prooemium

The world is vain also because it does not give rest to the one who labors, and therefore he who labors for worldly things labors in vain: Ecclesiastes 2: What does it profit a man from all his labor, by which he labors under the sun? All his days are full of labors and sorrows, nor does his mind rest at night: and is this not vanity? because he labors in vain, because he does not rest. This world cannot give rest, because it itself does not endure, but rather always revolves: therefore those who cling to it must needs go around in circles. Therefore it is said in the Psalm: The wicked walk round about.

Ecclesiastes 2:22 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

"What does it profit a man of all his labor," in body, "and affliction of spirit," in mind, "by which he is tormented under the sun?" As if to say: nothing; whence Proverbs 23: "Labor not to become rich, but set bounds to your prudence." It does not profit, namely him who labors for the sake of possessing these visible things. Whence Bernard says: "With others are the fruits of riches, but to the rich fall only the name and the solicitude"; and therefore it does not profit; whence below in chapter 5: "What does it profit the possessor, except that he beholds riches with his eyes?"

Ecclesiastes 2:23 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Prooemium

Ecclesiastes 2:23 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

Not only does it not profit, but rather it harms: whence he adds: "All his days are full of labors and sorrows," outwardly: "nor does his mind rest at night," inwardly. Therefore it is said in Job 7: "I have numbered empty months and wearisome nights for myself"; and Proverbs 15: "All the days of the poor are evil. A secure mind is like a continual feast." And from this he concludes that to labor thus is vain, because it is useless: therefore he says: "And is not this also vanity?" As if to say: indeed: below in chapter 5: "He who loves riches shall reap no fruit from them: and this therefore is vanity," because they harm. Whence in the same place: "There is another infirmity which I have seen under the sun, riches gathered up" etc.

Ecclesiastes 2:24 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

"Is it not better to eat and drink and to show his soul good things from his labors?" Supply: than to labor always continually: as if to say: it is better, that is, less evil, because the latter is an evil of guilt and punishment, the former is an evil of guilt, but has pleasantness: Isaiah 22: "Behold, joy and gladness, slaying rams" etc. And that it is better, he makes manifest: because this is a gift of God: whence he says: "And this is from the hand of God:" Jeremiah 5: "I filled them, and they committed adultery" etc.

Ecclesiastes 2:25 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

And he proposes himself as an example of this to confirm it: "Who shall so devour," as regards concupiscence: "and abound in delights," as regards abundance: "as I?" As if to say: no one: 3 Kings 4: "Now the provision of Solomon for each day was thirty measures of fine flour and sixty measures of meal, ten fat oxen and twenty pasture oxen" etc.

Ecclesiastes 2:26 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2

"To the good man" etc. Here he condemns solicitude through the equity of divine judgment, since such solicitude is not given to the good, but to the wicked, and this by divine judgment. Therefore he says: "To the man who is good in his sight," namely, who pleases him, not men, like a hypocrite: Psalm: "Let the just feast" etc. "God has given wisdom," as regards eternal things: "and knowledge," as regards the dispensing of temporal things: "and understanding," as regards things to be understood or considered: Job 38: "Who has placed wisdom in the inward parts of man, or who has given the cock understanding?" This according to the bounty of mercy. But according to the equity of justice he adds: "But to the sinner he has given affliction and superfluous care," that is, he permitted it to be given by just judgment: "that he may add and gather together and hand it over to him who has pleased God:" Proverbs 13: "The substance of the sinner is kept for the just": Proverbs 28: "He who gathers riches by usury and interest gathers them for him who is liberal to the poor." And from this he infers vanity: "But this also is vanity and a vain solicitude of mind," because Proverbs 11: "The expectation of solicitude shall perish." Note that there is study for the acquisition of wisdom: Proverbs 27: "Apply yourself to wisdom, my son, that you may be able to answer a word to him who reproaches you." For the exercise of justice: Jeremiah 7: "Now make your ways and your pursuits good." For the fulfillment of concupiscence: Proverbs 23: "To whom is woe? To whose father is woe? Is it not to those who linger over wine and study to drain their cups?" For the dominion of avarice: Jeremiah 6: "From the least to the greatest, all are devoted to avarice." The first two studies are good, the two following are evil, and in these the goodness of a man is discerned: whence Proverbs 20: "By his pursuits a youth is known, whether his works are clean and upright." Because therefore the Ecclesiast had not yet devoted himself to these, but to avarice and gluttony, therefore he was reproving his pursuits.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

All things have their time, etc. Above he treated the vanity of things, showing that there is variability in them by reason of motion: here secondly he wishes to show vanity with respect to the determination and variety in time. And because he shows the mutability and variety of things not for contempt of them insofar as they are works of God, but insofar as they are loved by us: therefore in this part he shows first the variety of times: second he reproves our curiosity, there: What more has man: third he shows the perpetuity of the divine works, there: And I learned that the works of God. Art. 1. On the variety and mutability of things in time, both generally and specifically. The first part has two sections, because first he treats the variety and mutability of things in time generally, second specifically, by adducing and proving, there: A time to be born. He proposes therefore generally, saying: All things have their time, that is, variety of time, because Romans 8: "The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly." And all things pass away in their appointed intervals under the sun, with respect to the determination of the prefixed time; Wisdom 11: "You have disposed all things in number, weight, and measure"; 1 Corinthians 7: "The figure of this world passes away"; and especially in this span of time prefixed for it; Job 14: "You have appointed his bounds, which cannot be passed." I. Here there is a question concerning what he says: All things have their time. 1. There is an objection: since spiritual substances, as Jerome says, are contained neither by place nor by time. 2. Likewise, everything that is in time and has time is corporeal; but spiritual substances are incorporeal: therefore they are not in time nor do they have time. That they are in time, however, seems clear: 1. Because Augustine says to Dardanus: "Uncreated spiritual substance is moved neither through time nor through place; created spiritual substance is moved through time, but not through place; created corporeal substance through time and place." 2. Likewise, what is in place is in time; but "God alone is uncircumscribable," as Damascene says, therefore He alone is atemporal: therefore all other things have time. I respond: it must be said to this that this distribution is accommodated, just as when it is said: the heaven covers all things, it is understood of those things which are under heaven; and therefore the objection concerning spiritual substance is not to be sustained. If however we wish to extend the division, we shall say that time is spoken of in three ways: commonly and properly and more properly. Commonly, according as it denotes the measure of the passage from non-being to being: and in this way it is in all things, because all things had a beginning. And the text seems to suggest this, because he says that all things have their time, but not that all things pass away except under the sun. In another way properly, insofar as it implies variation either in substance or in affection; and thus spiritual substance still has time with respect to the change of affections. In a third way more properly, insofar as it is the preeminent measure: and thus it belongs to corruptible things, and not to all things. As to what is asked, therefore, whether spiritual substances have time: it must be resolved that in the first way they have it with respect to substance: in the second way, with respect to certain affections: in the third way they do not have it. — And by this the contraries of both sides are resolved. II. It is asked concerning the second part of the proposition: And all things pass away in their own times under the sun, whether the elements pass away. It seems that they do. 1. Revelation 21: I saw a new heaven and a new earth: therefore the old had passed away. 2. Likewise, 1 John 2: The world passes away and its concupiscence: and Matthew 24: Heaven and earth shall pass away. On the contrary: They are part of t…

Ecclesiastes 3:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

A time to be born. Above he set forth the general proposition; here he proves it by induction in particular cases, showing the diverse varieties of times in things. And this part has four parts. First is touched upon the variety of times which regards rise and decline. Second, that which regards state, at: A time to weep and a time to laugh. Third, that which regards use, at: A time to embrace. Fourth, that which regards the manner of proper conduct, at: A time to keep silence. First, therefore, is introduced that variety which regards the rise of things and their decline under a fourfold distinction: first, of living things; second, of plants; third, of sentient beings; fourth, of artificial things. As to the rise and decline of living things, he says there is variety when he says: A time to be born and a time to die, and this in all living things, because from birth one comes to death: Job 14: "Man, born of woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries"; Ecclesiasticus 40: "Great labor is created for all men, and a heavy yoke upon the sons of Adam, from the day of their coming out of their mother's womb until the day of their burial into the mother of all." And therefore Wisdom 5: "We, being born, immediately ceased to be"; Ecclesiasticus 14: "Some things are generated, and others are cast down; so is the generation of flesh and blood: one comes to an end, and another is born." As to the rise of plants, he says: A time to plant; as to their decline, a time to uproot what has been planted: Genesis 2: "The Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the beginning"; but a time to uproot the unfruitful: whence Luke 13: "Behold, it is three years since I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none; cut it down therefore." Spiritually, this fourfold variation is referred to the four states of men existing in the Church: the first with respect to the reborn; the second with respect to penitents; the third with respect to the just; the fourth with respect to prelates. — First, therefore, among the baptized there is a time of being born and of dying, for they are born to God: John 3: "Unless one is born again of water and the Holy Spirit," etc., just as they die to the world: Romans 6: "We are buried together with him through baptism into death." Second, there is a time of planting and a time of uprooting, because virtues are planted in them: the Psalm: "Your children are like young olive plants"; but vices are uprooted; Wisdom 4: "Adulterous plantings shall not give deep roots," because, Matthew 15, "every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up."

Ecclesiastes 3:3 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

As to the rise and decline of sentient beings, he adds: A time to kill; and a time to kill is placed first, and a time to heal follows, on account of the state of corrupted nature, which has grown more prevalent, so that health does not have a place. Concerning this variation, Deuteronomy 32: "I will kill, and I will make to live"; and again, 2 Kings 8: "He measured two lines, one to put to death and one to keep alive." As to the rise and decline of artificial things, he adds fourthly: A time to destroy, behold the decline; and a time to build, behold the restoration of what was destroyed. Things that are ruinous must be destroyed: Luke 19: "There shall not be left in you a stone upon a stone." A time to build, when there is abundance of resources: Luke 12: "I will destroy my barns and build greater ones"; Haggai 1: "Bring wood, build the house, and it shall be acceptable to me." And thus there is no permanence in the passing of things. Spiritually, third, among the baptized there is a time of killing the movement of concupiscence: Colossians 3: "Mortify your members which are upon the earth"; and there is a time of healing the power of nature: Jeremiah 30: "I will close up your scar and heal you of your wounds." Fourth, there is a time of destroying and of building among the baptized, because the dwelling of the devil is destroyed and a dwelling of Christ is made: 1 Peter 2: "Coming to him as to a living stone, be yourselves also built up into spiritual houses"; Jeremiah 1: "I have set you over nations and kingdoms, to uproot and to destroy and to scatter and to build and to plant."

Ecclesiastes 3:4 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

A time for weeping etc. Having set forth the variety of times which regards the rise and fall of things, here is set forth the variety of times which regards their state, namely of prosperity and adversity. And this is considered according to a threefold distinction, namely of prosperity, joy, and security, and their opposites. As regards therefore the time of prosperity, in which one should laugh, and of adversity, in which one should weep, he says: A time for weeping, in adversity: First Maccabees 1: "Every husband took up lamentation, and those who sat upon the marriage bed mourned"; and Lamentations 1: "Weeping she wept in the night, and her tears were on her cheeks." And a time for laughing, in prosperity: Esther 8: "A new light seemed to rise for the Jews, and joy and exultation." And he places weeping before laughter, either because it precedes according to fallen nature; Wisdom 7: "I uttered my first cry, like all others, weeping"; or because one must first grieve, because Luke 6: "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh"; conversely, concerning the wicked: Proverbs 14: "Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow." As regards the state of joy and its opposite, he says: A time for mourning and a time for dancing. Mourning differs from weeping, laughter from dancing, because weeping is in tears, mourning in the voice, laughter in outward sign, and dancing in the elevation of the body. Concerning mourning, the last chapter of Genesis: "This is a great mourning for the Egyptians," in that place, that is, at funeral rites; but dancing belongs to splendid solemnities: Mark 6 says that on Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias entered to dance. Spiritually, the second variety of times pertains to penitents with respect to three things: namely, contrition, confession, and satisfaction. A time of weeping and a time of laughing, in contrition, in which there is joy and sorrow: Proverbs 14: "The heart that knows the bitterness of its own soul, in its joy no stranger shall intermeddle." — A time of mourning and a time of dancing, in confession, in which one ought to confess with lamentation: Job 10: "Let me alone, that I may lament my sorrow a little." One ought to confess nakedly and openly: 2 Kings 6: "David danced girded before the ark."

Ecclesiastes 3:5 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

As regards the time of security and its opposite, he says: A time for scattering stones, namely when there is security: Micah 4: "No man shall take up the sword against another." A time for gathering, for the building of fortifications, namely when there is fear of enemies: Second Chronicles 32: "He built up every wall that had been broken down and erected towers." A time for embracing etc. The variety of times which regards the rise and fall of things and also their state has been set forth; here is set forth the third, which regards use, and this under a fourfold distinction, namely as regards the use of wives, possessions, treasures, and garments. As regards therefore the use of wives, which consists in carnal union for the generation of offspring, he says: A time for embracing and a time to be far from embraces: First Corinthians 7: "It remains that those who have wives should be as though they had none"; and again: "Do not defraud one another, unless perhaps by consent for a time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and return together again." Spiritually, there is a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, in satisfaction. Stones of offense are occasions of sin: Ecclesiasticus 21: "The way of the wicked is paved with stones, and at their end are the netherworld and darkness and punishments." These are gathered in consideration and scattered in cautious avoidance and mortification of the flesh. From these occasions few are freed, except those who are guarded by the Lord: Psalm: "In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone." The third variety regards the just with respect to their twofold state, namely that of actives and contemplatives. As to contemplatives: A time to embrace and a time to be far from embraces, because they ought to attend now to action, now to contemplation. Concerning which embrace, Proverbs 4: "You shall be glorified by her, when you have embraced her." They ought to be far from the embraces of the flesh, concerning which, Proverbs 7: "Come, let us be inebriated with desired embraces."

Ecclesiastes 3:6 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

Regarding the use of possessions, he says: A time to acquire and a time to lose. We acquire through diligence, but lose through sloth; Proverbs 14: "The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears down even what was built with her own hands." Or a time to acquire in life, to lose in death: Job 20: "The riches which he gathered, he shall vomit up," etc. Or a time to acquire, when we are joined to God; to lose, when we are separated: Psalm: "He blessed them, and they were multiplied"; and afterward: "And they were made few." Regarding the use of treasures, he adds: A time to keep, when there is abundance; and a time to cast away, when there is need among the poor. The example is of Joseph, Genesis 41, who stored up in time of plenty and distributed in time of famine. For riches are to be kept for this purpose: that they may be distributed; hence in the Psalm: "He distributed, he gave to the poor." Spiritually, as to actives, who ought to be exercised in works of piety, he adds: A time to acquire and a time to lose, that is, to distribute what has been acquired through almsgiving: Ecclesiasticus 29: "Lose your money for the sake of a brother and friend, and do not hide it under a stone." — This is said of perfect justice; but it is a work of supererogation to give everything, and with respect to this it is said: A time to keep and a time to cast away, as if to relinquish everything: Matthew 19: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor."

Ecclesiastes 3:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

Regarding the use of garments, he adds: A time to rend, when they are worn out; and a time to sew, because our garments are daily worn out and are not renewed, unless perhaps by a divine miracle, as in Deuteronomy 8: "Your garment with which you were covered has in no way been consumed by age"; but ours are quickly consumed; therefore little care should be given to them: 1 Timothy 6: "Having food and clothing, let us be content with these." Here is set forth the fourth variety of time, which regards the proper manner of conduct, which is considered according to the threefold alternation of acts, namely with respect to the act of the rational power, which is to speak; the concupiscible, which is to love; the irascible, whose act is to wage war; and with respect to their opposites. Therefore, regarding the alternation of speech, he says: A time to be silent and a time to speak, because one should not always speak nor always be silent; Ecclesiasticus 20: "A wise man will be silent until the proper time, but the frivolous and imprudent will not observe the time." For the wise man is silent and speaks at the proper time; hence Proverbs 25: "Golden apples in settings of silver, he who speaks a word in its proper time." And he places silence before speech, because one should speak deliberately: Proverbs 13: "He who guards his mouth guards his soul; but he who is heedless in speaking shall experience evils." Spiritually, again, as to actives: A time to rend and a time to sew, and this with respect to clothing: Job 31: "If I have let the poor go without covering, and if his sides have not blessed me." The fourth variety is considered with respect to prelates, first in teaching, when he says: A time to be silent and a time to teach, because one must first learn and afterward teach; Ecclesiasticus 18: "Before you speak, learn"; Ecclesiasticus 32: "Listen in silence."

Ecclesiastes 3:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

Regarding the alternation of the act of the concupiscible power, he says: A time of love, when a thing possesses goodness; and a time of hatred, when it turns to wickedness; Psalm: "I have hated and abhorred iniquity"; and Romans 12: "Hating evil, cleaving to good, loving one another with fraternal charity." As for the alternation of the act of the irascible power, he says: A time of war, against assailing adversaries: 2 Kings 11: "And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go forth to war, David sent Joab," etc. And a time of peace, when those who rise up cease: 1 Maccabees 14: "The land of Judah was quiet in the days of Simon," etc.; and Micah 4: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Spiritually, A time of love and a time of hatred, in the correction of the wicked, which consists in hating vice and in loving nature: 2 Thessalonians, last chapter: "Do not esteem him as an enemy, but correct him as a brother"; and Psalm: "With a perfect hatred I hated them." A time of war and a time of peace: of war, toward the incorrigible, who are to be struck with the sword of excommunication: Ecclesiasticus 7: "Do not seek to become a judge, unless you have the strength to break through iniquities." Of peace, toward those who return: Luke 10: "If there be a son of peace in that house, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you." The question concerns the number of these times. For it seems that he has insufficiently set forth the diversities of the variations of times, because there are many which are not reduced to these, such as the time for eating and fasting and similar things. — If you say that these are by way of example, then they are superfluous, because far fewer would have sufficed. I respond: it must be said that, as Augustine says, although any change in the universe considered in itself is of imperfection, nevertheless in the whole of the universe there results a perfect song. Because therefore Solomon wished to narrate the variety in such a way as to show imperfection in individual things and perfection in the whole, he did so in such a number as comprehends universality and perfection. And therefore he enumerates twenty-eight times and fourteen variations: because twenty-eight is a perfect number and comprehends the sevenfold, which is the universality of time. Although the number six is perfect, it does not however comprehend the sevenfold: therefore he set down this many, not fewer, lest universality be lacking; not more, because one must stand in perfection and universality.

Ecclesiastes 3:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

Art. 2. Our curiosity is reproved in two ways. What more has man, etc. He showed above the variety of things according to diverse times; here secondly from this he reproves human curiosity: and he does this indeed in this order. First he suggests the uselessness of curiosity; second, in detestation of it, he commends present pleasure. He reproves our curiosity on account of its uselessness, whence he says: What more has man? supply: except mutability and variety, and through this, affliction.

Ecclesiastes 3:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

And he shows that there is affliction: I have seen the affliction which God has given to the sons of men, that they may be occupied in it: he gave, that is, he permitted to be given, according to that passage in Romans 1: "God gave them over to a reprobate mind"; to the sons of men, that is, to sinners: above in chapter 2: "But to the sinner God has given affliction and superfluous care." That they may be occupied, namely with various cares; wherefore Ecclesiasticus 11: "My son, let not your occupations be in many things."

Ecclesiastes 3:11 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

And he explains what that affliction is, namely of consideration; whence he says: He has made all things good in their time; whence Ecclesiasticus 39: "All the works of the Lord are good, and in its hour he will supply every work. It is not to be said, this is worse than that: for all things in their time shall be approved." And although he made good things, nevertheless he did not give knowledge of these, but gave the capacity for inquiry; whence he says: And he has delivered the world to their disputation, namely for inquiring: Ecclesiasticus 17: "He gave them counsel and a tongue and eyes and ears and a heart for thinking," not for arriving at the answer; whence he adds: So that man may not find out the work that God has wrought, that is, so that he may not come to perfect knowledge: and this on account of doubt. From the beginning to the end, namely of his life: Job 36: "Remember that you are ignorant of his work, of which men have sung"; and below in chapter 8: "I understood that of the works of God I could find no reason."

Ecclesiastes 3:12 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

Here secondly, he commends present pleasure, and this in order to reprove curiosity; whence he says: And I knew that there was nothing better, supply: among these transitory goods, than to rejoice and to do good in one's life, namely to rejoice, in heart, to do good, in work. Or: to rejoice, in enjoying; Wisdom 2: "Let us everywhere leave signs of our joy": to do good, in preparing delightful things; Luke 12: "My soul, you have many goods laid up for many years: rest, eat, drink, feast." The Gloss expounds spiritually: And I knew that there was nothing better, that is, more useful, than to rejoice, namely with joy of mind; Ecclesiasticus 30: "Joyfulness of heart, this is the life of man and a treasure of holiness without failing"; and to do good in one's life, namely meritorious works; Galatians 6: "Therefore, while we have time, let us work good toward all."

Ecclesiastes 3:13 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

And he adds the reason; whence he says: For every man who eats and drinks sees good from his labor, and there is a surplus of meaning here, so that the sense is: he who eats and drinks sees good from his labor, because he immediately has his reward; whence he says: And this is the gift of God: below in chapter 5: "Every man to whom God has given riches and has granted him the power to eat from them, this is the gift of God." For every man who eats and drinks: supply: from Scripture, eats the difficult things and drinks the easy things: in Proverbs 9, Wisdom says: "Come and eat my bread and drink the wine which I have mixed for you." And this is the gift of God, because the understanding of the Scriptures is given by God: Second Corinthians 3: "Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God."

Ecclesiastes 3:14 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

Art. 3. The immutability of the divine works is shown. I have learned that all the works etc. He showed above the mutability of works, and from this reproved human curiosity. Here thirdly he shows the immutability of the divine works, because above he had shown their variability. He says therefore: I have learned that all the works which God has made persevere forever. Behold the perpetuity, on account of which our consideration can change nothing: whence he says: We cannot add anything to them or take anything away, which God has made, that he may be feared, and thus they are not in our power: Proverbs 30: "Add nothing to his words, lest you be reproved and found a liar." Here a question arises: since he intends to determine the vanity of mutability, why does he here determine perpetuity? 1. It seems outside his purpose. 2. Likewise, concerning this perpetuity itself a question is raised, because he says: The works which God has made persevere forever: but no corporeal things persevere forever: therefore God made no corporeal things: therefore this leads back to the heresy of Mani, who said that corruptible things were not created by the good God. 3. Likewise it seems that he contradicts himself, because immediately there follows: God restores what has passed away: therefore something of the works of God is corrupted and restored: therefore he speaks falsely when he says that all the works of God persevere forever. But that all the works of God are incorruptible, as he says in the text, seems to be the case: 1. Because cause and effect are proportional, therefore the effect of an incorruptible cause ought to be incorruptible: but God endures forever and is incorruptible: therefore also the works of God. 2. Likewise, since all the works of God are very good, as is said in Genesis 1; and incorruptible things are better than corruptible things: it seems that these corruptible things were not created by the good God. I respond: to the first point, why he here treats of perpetuity, it must be said that it is not for its own sake, but on the occasion of mutability; and indeed he does this for a threefold reason. The first is to remove error; for since above he had shown mutability in creatures, lest it be believed that the works of God were entirely defectible, he adds that in some way they are perpetual. Again, another reason is to restrain curiosity, which he had restrained, because we cannot investigate the mutability and cause and origin of things; he also wishes to restrain it because we can neither change nor increase the very substance of things. The third reason is to repress pride: for since he seemed to have diminished the works of the Lord through mutability, lest anyone on this account condemn God the author, he returns again to intimate perpetuity in them. As to what is asked about permanence, it is answered that the being of things is threefold: namely, in their own genus, in the soul, and in divine foreknowledge; and above he showed that they are mutable in their own genus and insofar as they are in the soul: here he touches on their perpetuity in divine foreknowledge. It can be answered otherwise, that one can speak of things according to their proper being in two ways: either according to common or individual being. According to individual being, many things are corruptible; according to common being, they are perpetual, because God continually preserves their being through generation; "for because they are far distant from the principle, God completed their being in another way, making generation continuous in them." 1. To the objection that they are incorruptible because they are proportional to their cause, it must be said that this is understood where there is univocal generation, where a cause produces something similar to itself. But this is not the case with the Creator and creature; rather, through infinite power he makes things great and small, corruptible and incorruptible. 2. To the objecti…

Ecclesiastes 3:15 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

And he shows this, because not even God himself diminishes or adds: whence he says: What has been made, that itself remains. Neither does he add: whence he infers: The things that shall be have already been, because similar things have preceded: whence he also says: And God restores what has passed away, because "the corruption of one thing is the generation of another"; above in chapter one: "There is nothing new under the sun, nor can anyone say: this is recent"; Genesis 2: "God rested on the seventh day."

Ecclesiastes 3:16 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

Part II. The vanity of fault is proved, then the remedy against it is set forth. I saw under the sun, etc. He treated above of the vanity of nature; here of the vanity of fault: and because this is dangerous, therefore it needs a remedy. First, therefore, he sets forth the vanity; second, the remedy against it, below in chapter four: Guard your foot. Now vanity is under a threefold distinction: first he treats of the vanity of malice; second, of avarice, at: I considered and found; third, of imprudence, at: Better is a child. Now vanity is in rulers and subjects. First, therefore, he treats of the vanity of malice in those who govern and judge; second, in subjects, at: I turned myself. First, therefore, the vanity of malice, which is in rulers, is described in this order: first he introduces the consideration of this vanity; second, that from this one arrives at the premeditation of future judgment; third, at the consideration of the present condition; fourth, how one falls into erroneous opinion. First, therefore, he introduces that he has considered the malice of judges, saying: I saw under the sun in the place of judgment wickedness, as regards the examination of the case; and in the place of justice iniquity, as regards the pronouncing of the sentence: Isaiah 1: "How is the faithful city become a harlot, full of judgment; justice dwelt in it of old, but now murderers; your princes are faithless, companions of thieves; they all love gifts, they pursue rewards, they do not judge for the orphan, and the cause of the widow does not come before them"; because it is said in the Psalm: "In whose hands are iniquities, their right hand is filled with bribes."

Ecclesiastes 3:17 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

And I said in my heart: God shall judge the just and the wicked. Here, second, he shows how from this he arrives at the premeditation of future judgment. For which reason he adds: And I said in my heart: He shall judge the just, unto reward; the wicked, unto punishment: Job 34: "Far be wickedness from God, and iniquity from the Almighty. For he shall render to a man his work, and according to the ways of each one he shall restore to them. For truly God shall not condemn in vain, nor shall the Almighty overturn judgment." And therefore God shall judge them according to their works, which then shall be manifest; whence he adds: And the time of every thing shall then be, that is, the time of judgment of every person, who appears to be every thing, according to 2 Corinthians 5: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the proper things of the body, whether it be good or evil." Or: the time of every thing, that is, of the manifestation of every thing: 1 Corinthians 4: "Judge not before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts." Or: the time of every thing, that is, of the retribution of every thing: Romans 8: "Every creature groans," etc. Ecclesiastes expected this time to be future from the sight of present iniquity: Isaiah 59: "Judgment is turned backward, and justice stood far off, because truth has fallen in the streets, and equity could not enter: and the Lord saw, and evil appeared in his eyes, because it is not manifest, and the just one was clothed with a breastplate and a helmet of salvation."

Ecclesiastes 3:18 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

I said in my heart concerning the sons of men etc. Here is touched upon thirdly how from this he arrived at a consideration of the present state, namely why the Lord willed men to be miserable in the present: for this purpose, namely that he might prove them, therefore he made the life of man similar to beasts. On account of which he says: I said in my heart, that is, I knew: concerning the sons of men, as regards nature: that God might prove them and show them to be like beasts, that is, by likening them to beasts he might prove who they were, whether truly good or evil: because the evil, seeing their likeness to beasts in life, wish to be assimilated in habits and live bestially: but the good live spiritually: therefore in the Psalm it is said: "Man, when he was in honor, did not understand; he was compared to senseless beasts and was made like them." And he shows the likeness of men to beasts in death and life and in matter: the dissimilarity in spiritual substance is not manifest.

Ecclesiastes 3:19 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

As regards death he says: And therefore one is the destruction of man and of beasts, and equal is the condition of both, namely for the proving of men, because, just as a beast does not always live, but rather sometimes dies, so also man: below in chapter nine: "There is no one who always lives and who has confidence of this matter"; and therefore he shows that the likeness is in death, whence: As man dies, so also do they die. Nor is the likeness only in the end of life, but also in the act of living: therefore he adds: All things breathe alike, namely those that breathe: nor has man more than a beast, namely as regards the act of life: Wisdom 7: "One is the coming forth of men into life and like is the departure." Thus the likeness as regards life is clear. I. It is asked concerning what he says: Man has nothing more than the beast, and that the destruction of both is equal. That this is false appears: 1. In Genesis two it is said: There was not found for Adam a helper like unto him, therefore no beast is like unto man: therefore he has something more than the beast. 2. Likewise, it is certain that man deliberates about future things and discerns past things and expresses his conceptions: but a beast does not: therefore etc. 3. Furthermore, man tames beasts, but no beast tames man: therefore man has something more than the beast. That he does not have anything more, however, seems apparent: because he is born, lives, and dies and goes into the earth, just as a beast does. I respond: some say that he says this in the person of the carnal man, who believes man has nothing more than a beast. — Otherwise it can be said that he speaks in his own person: and he speaks truly according to his own understanding. For he intends to show the uncertainty of the soul's recompense through a likeness to the beast. He posits and understands that likeness, however, with respect to visible things, which can be discerned by the senses: and through this he does not conclude a likeness regarding spiritual things, but rather a doubt: whence he says: Who knows, etc. It must be said, therefore, that according to truth man possesses reason beyond the beasts, but shares with them in corruptibility, life, and respiration: and because reason is not something sensible but intelligible, and he speaks of sensible things, therefore there is in this no objection whatsoever.

Ecclesiastes 3:20 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

And he adds the likeness as regards matter: and therefore he says: All things are subject to vanity, namely, because they were made from nothing, therefore they are vain; Romans 8: "The creature was made subject to vanity." He does not say that nothing is the matter, but he means to say that they do not have uncreated matter nor essence, but they have created matter, which he understands by the name of earth. Therefore he says: And all things go to one place, namely to the matter from which they were made. From earth they were made and to earth alike they return, alike, that is, conformably. And thus the likeness in matter is noted: Ecclesiasticus 40: "All things that were made from earth shall return to earth: likewise also all waters shall return to the sea."

Ecclesiastes 3:21 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

But only in these things is the likeness apparent, but the difference in the soul does not appear. Who knows whether the spirit of the children of Adam ascends upward? to heaven, namely to recompense, or downward through corruption: just as conversely, whether the spirit of beasts descends downward? through corruption, or even upward, as also that of man, to the retribution of judgment. Few have known this: many have erred and held that the spirits of man and beast are uniform. The faithful have known this, in whose person it is said below in the twelfth chapter: "Let the body return to its earth, whence it was, and let the spirit return to God, who gave it." But the carnal do not know this, in whose person it is said below in the ninth chapter: "The dead know nothing more, nor have they any further reward." II. There is a doubt concerning what he says: Who knows whether the spirit of the sons of Adam ascends upward? That it does, however, seems apparent: 1. First, through the disposition of the body, whose arrangement and organization is ordered according to a fittingness toward what is above. If therefore "he gave man an uplifted face and bade him gaze upon the heavens," and he looks upward: therefore the spirit is borne upward. 2. Likewise, all naturally desire happiness: but it is certain that no one can be happy in miseries, especially one to whom death comes unwillingly: therefore, if he cannot have happiness in this life, he is born to have it after this life as a separated spirit: therefore, etc. 3. Furthermore, our intellect is unmixed, whence it understands all things; therefore it does not depend on the body with respect to its act, therefore much less with respect to its being: therefore, when the body descends, it is possible for the spirit to ascend. 4. Likewise, by the reasoning of Ecclesiastes himself: because if some have good things and some have evil things, and we see that in the present evil things befall the good and good things befall the wicked: if therefore it is necessary to posit one ruler, it is necessary to posit another time and recompense, in which God judges the impious and the just. Since therefore our faith declares this, Ecclesiastes seems to have been a heretic who doubted this. That it goes downward, however, seems apparent: 1. Through Scripture: because in Wisdom 9 it is said: The body which is corrupted weighs down the soul; therefore, if the soul is corrupted bodily, it is corrupted entirely. 2. Likewise, what suffers with the suffering dies with the dying: but the soul suffers with the body: therefore, etc. 3. Likewise, no substance is idle; therefore what takes away from something all operation takes away from it being and duration: but the soul loses all operation when the body is injured, which is evident because it loses the intellect, regarding which this seems less likely, as in the case of the mad: therefore, when the body is corrupted, it loses its substance. I respond: it must be said that good souls ascend upward to reward, and that the souls of beasts descend downward into corruption — this our faith both declares and presupposes; and with this, reason and philosophy agree. Nevertheless, that reasoning and philosophy is both obscure and has many grounds for doubt; therefore almost no one, or very few, were able to attain true certitude concerning the immortality of the soul and its beatitude, unless faith had come to their aid. Whence even Plato, who held the soul to be immortal, nevertheless erred concerning beatitude, since he held that souls pass through the bodies of brute animals. — Ecclesiastes therefore neither denies nor doubts this, but says that this is difficult to demonstrate; and this is indeed true for the unbeliever. 2. 3. To what is objected concerning operation and co-suffering, it must be said that for something to be united to another, this occurs in two ways: either as a mover only, and then it can be separated with no change made in it; or as a…

Ecclesiastes 3:22 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

And I perceived etc. In the fourth place, on account of this likening, he subjoins how he fell into an erroneous commendation of pleasure, as if nothing were better than it. On account of which he says: I perceived that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, that is, to take delight in present things, as the carnal do, of whom Isaiah fifty-six says: "Come, let us take wine and be filled with drunkenness, and it shall be as today, so also tomorrow and much more." And this commendation is erroneous, because it posits no other recompense nor any other life: whence he adds: And that this is his portion, as if he should expect nothing else: whence in Isaiah twenty-two it is said in the person of such people: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die"; and Wisdom two: "Everywhere let us leave signs of joy, for this is our portion, and this is our lot." And this erroneous opinion has its origin from the uncertainty of judgment: on account of which he says: For who shall bring him to know the things that shall be after him? that is, who will show him that there are any future goods which he ought to expect? as if to say: no one. And certainly no one will persuade him, unless he be raised to the contemplation of spiritual things: "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal," Second Corinthians four. But because the carnal man regards only visible things, therefore he does not expect eternal things: therefore First Corinthians two: "The natural man does not perceive the things that are of God." Therefore if he wishes to know future goods, it is necessary to put off carnality.

Ecclesiastes 4:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

"I turned myself to other things," etc. Above we treated the vanity of malice in prelates; here in subjects. The vanity of malice is touched upon here with regard to a threefold distinction: first, of calumny, in maliciously harming; second, of envy, in maliciously grieving, there: "Again I contemplated"; third, of sloth, in withdrawing from good work, and this is touched upon there: "The fool folds." He therefore describes the emptiness of calumny; and with regard to the consideration of calumny he says: "I turned myself to other things," supply: to be considered; "and I saw the calumnies that are committed under the sun," that is, in this world: Ezekiel twenty-two: "The people of the land practiced extortion and seized by violence; they afflicted the needy and the poor and oppressed the stranger with calumny without justice." And calumny is called the violent extortion of goods, as if through justice, but through malice. And he adds the aggravation of misery, on account of the calamity of the oppressed, because they are oppressed unjustly, inconsolably, irremediably. Because unjustly, he says: "And the tears of the innocent," namely on account of such calumnies: Job thirty-five: "Because of the multitude of oppressors they will cry out, and they will wail because of the violence of the arm of tyrants." Because inconsolably: "and no one to console them," which indeed aggravates the cruelty; whence Lamentations one: "There is none to comfort her among all her dear ones." On the contrary, Ecclesiasticus seven: "Do not fail those who weep in consolation, and walk with those who mourn." Nor does he lack only consolation, but indeed a remedy; whence he also adds: "Nor able to resist their violence, destitute of all assistance," supply: I saw. Of this malice it is said in Proverbs twenty-two: "Do not do violence to the poor because he is poor, nor crush the needy at the gate." Therefore 2 Chronicles twenty: "In us there is not such great strength that we can resist this multitude that rushes upon us."

Ecclesiastes 4:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

But with regard to the detestation of fault he adds: "And I praised the dead more than the living," namely because they do not see these evils and cruelties, which no good person can see and not grieve: 3 Kings nineteen, Elijah said: "It is enough for me, Lord; take my soul, for I am not better than my fathers." The question is raised here concerning what he says: "I praised the dead more than the living." Against: 1. Below in chapter nine: "A living dog is better than a dead lion." 2. Furthermore, this seems evident by reason: because a positive state is better than a privation, therefore life is better than death; therefore, from conjugates, the living are better off than the dead. I respond: it must be said that to praise one thing more than another, or to prefer it, can be done in two ways: either absolutely, or with respect to some condition. Speaking absolutely, the living is preferred to the dead, unless the condition of blessedness is added; but with respect to something, the dead is preferred to the living: first, because he does not have so many occasions of sinning; whence the Apostle said in Romans 7: "Unhappy man that I am, who will deliver me from the servitude of this body?" Second, because he does not have so many occasions of sorrow, since he does not see so many evils; Jonah, last chapter: "It is better for me to die than to live." And with respect to this condition, the dead is preferred to the living, to emphasize present evils and miseries.

Ecclesiastes 4:3 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

"And I judged happier than both," namely than the dead and the living, "him who has not yet been born nor seen the evils that are under the sun"; as though to see or to have seen these evils were a great misery: 1 Maccabees two: "Woe to me, said Mattathias, why was I born to see the destruction of my people and the destruction of the holy city, and to sit there?" — Thus therefore there is noted here the consideration of calumny, the aggravation of misery, because they are oppressed, desolate, destitute of assistance, and then the detestation of fault. Likewise, there is a question about what is said: "I judged him who has not yet been born happier than both." Against: 1. He has nothing good; therefore he is not happier. 2. Furthermore, everything that has in some way the character of happiness is to be desired; but no one can desire non-being, as Augustine says; therefore he who has not been born is in no way happy. Likewise, it is asked whether anyone can will this, namely to prefer non-being to punishment, with a rightly ordered appetite. That he can: Matthew 26: "It would have been better for him if he had not been born"; therefore if everything better is to be desired and preferred, so also is this. That he cannot, it seems, because it takes away all good; therefore nothing is worse than that. I respond: it must be said that happiness is in someone in two ways: truly and by estimation. Truly it is in one thing alone; by estimation it is in many things, according to diverse opinions and considerations and its conditions found in diverse things. For because it is the most delightful good, Epicurus therefore placed it in pleasures, and so with the others. Because, therefore, the happy person is troubled by no evil or misery, and this condition is found in him who has not yet been born, by reason of this condition he says: "I judged happier," etc. I say also that by reason of that condition, it is desired by many who are afflicted. As to what is asked, whether it ought to be desired or preferred: it must be said that punishment is twofold, temporal and eternal. Neither punishment takes away the whole, but nevertheless eternal punishment always diminishes it; corruption into non-being, however, takes away the whole, but only once. If, therefore, such corruption into non-being is compared to temporal punishment, it is absolutely worse; but if compared to eternal punishment, they stand as mutually exceeding, because the former exceeds in what it takes away, the latter in its continuance. And because the latter is infinite in duration, while the former is momentary, in this respect it exceeds and can more reasonably be fled and spurned.

Ecclesiastes 4:4 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

"I again contemplated" etc. Here secondly is touched upon the vanity of envy, in grieving maliciously over the good and prosperity of one's neighbor, which he also saw; whence he adds: "I again contemplated." This contemplation is a free, penetrating, and fixed gaze. "I contemplated," I say, "all the labors and industries of men: labors," as regards the body; "and industries of men," as regards the soul. Or: "labors and industries," that is, virtues; whence another translation: "Every virtue of work"; above in chapter two: "I detested all my industry, by which I most diligently labored under the sun." "And I observed," that is, I perceived in my mind, that they "lie open," that is, are exposed, to the "envy of one's neighbor," because the envious person, seeing good things, immediately grieves; Ecclesiasticus chapter fourteen: "Evil is the eye of the envious, turning away his face and despising his own soul." "And in this therefore is vanity," namely of malice; Proverbs chapter twenty-eight: "The man who hastens to become rich and envies others," etc. "And superfluous care," namely of punishment, because, when he ought to think about his own goods, he always thinks about those of others; whence Proverbs chapter twenty-three: "Do not eat with an envious man, and do not desire his foods, because like a diviner he reckons what he does not know." Likewise, a question is raised about what he says: "I observed that all things are exposed to the envy of one's neighbor." I ask whether a man ought to cease from a good work on account of his neighbor's envy. It seems that he should: because one's neighbor is to be loved more than any present advantage; therefore, if one's neighbor perishes through envying, that work ought to be omitted. On the contrary: A good work provides a good example and stirs to good; therefore, if a good is to be made manifest for praise, a man ought not to conceal it on account of his neighbor's envy. I respond: that work is either of necessity, or of utility. If of necessity, it is by no means to be abandoned. If of utility, either it can be done equally well in his absence as in his presence, or not: if so, a man ought to remove that work from his eyes, so as to take away the occasion, when he reasonably conjectures that the other envies; but if he cannot, he ought to do it, and he does not give the occasion, but the other takes it.

Ecclesiastes 4:5 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

"The fool folds" etc. Here thirdly is touched upon the vanity of sloth, on account of which a man is rendered weary and lazy toward every good and thereby foolish. Therefore he says: "The fool folds his hands"; therefore a fool, because lazy; Proverbs chapter twelve: "He who pursues idleness is most foolish"; Proverbs chapter six: "Go to the ant, O sluggard, and learn wisdom." This fool "folds his hands," because he refuses to work; Proverbs chapter twenty-six: "The sluggard hides his hands under his armpit and finds it labor if he brings them to his mouth." And from this, that he refuses to work, he becomes poor and thin on account of the want of poverty; whence he says: "And he eats his own flesh," saying: this is said hyperbolically, because he becomes thin, not having food; Proverbs chapter twenty-one: "Desires kill the sluggard, for his hands refused to do anything."

Ecclesiastes 4:6 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

But in this laziness of sloth he seems to himself to have an excuse of wisdom; whence he also adds, saying: "Better is a handful with rest than both hands full with labor and affliction of spirit." This is the maxim of the sluggard, by which he excuses himself; whence it is said in Proverbs chapter twenty-six: "The sluggard seems wiser to himself than seven men who speak maxims." — And thus is intimated in the sluggard the torpor of sloth, because he folds his hands; the endurance of penury, because he eats his flesh; the excuse of ignorance, because he praises rest.

Ecclesiastes 4:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

Above he treated the vanity of malice; here he treats the vanity of avarice: and first is set forth the consideration of avarice; second, because the avaricious man does not wish to have a companion, in detestation of it is set forth the commendation of the fellowship of another, at the passage: "It is better therefore that two be together" etc. In the consideration therefore of the vanity of avarice he says: "Considering, I found another vanity under the sun," namely another, because what was spoken above was of malice, but this is of avarice.

Ecclesiastes 4:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Prooemium

The vanity of avarice renders one busied, and through this subject to many labors: Ecclesiastes 4: Considering, I found yet another vanity under the sun: there is one alone, and he has not a second, and yet he does not cease to labor, nor are his eyes satisfied with riches. For riches are foreign gods, concerning which, in Jeremiah 16: You shall serve foreign gods, who will give you no rest day or night.

Ecclesiastes 4:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

Whence he adds: "There is one alone, and he has not a second, neither son nor brother," and he ought to be content with little as one who is alone, because he does not even wish to have a companion: Ecclesiasticus 11: "I have found rest for myself, and now I will eat of my goods alone"; and yet he is wholly consumed by avarice both in deed and desire and understanding. In deed: whence he says: "And yet he does not cease to labor": Ecclesiasticus 31: "The rich man has labored in gathering substance." In desire: "His eyes are not satisfied with riches": Ecclesiasticus 14: "The insatiable eye of the covetous in a portion of iniquity shall not be satisfied." In understanding: whence he adds: "Nor does he reflect, saying: For whom do I labor and defraud my soul of good things?" Psalm 38: "He stores up treasures and knows not for whom he shall gather them." From these things therefore he infers vanity: "In this also there is vanity and a most grievous affliction": below in chapter 5: "Riches kept to the hurt of their owner: for they perish in a most grievous affliction."

Ecclesiastes 4:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

"It is better, therefore, that two be together" etc. Here is touched upon secondly the commendation of the companionship of another, and this in detestation of the solicitude of avarice: on account of which he says: "It is better, therefore, that two be together," although the avaricious man would prefer otherwise: and he subjoins the reason: "For they have the advantage of mutual companionship": and therefore, in Luke 10, the Lord "sent the disciples two by two before his face." And he shows a threefold advantage: namely in raising up, in preserving, and in defending. Here it is asked concerning the solitary life, whether it should be preferred to companionship. That it should, it seems: 1. Because it is said in Lamentations 3 concerning the good youth: "He shall sit alone and keep silence": therefore it is good to be alone. 2. Furthermore, Bernard says: "As often as I have been among men, I returned less a man": therefore it is not good to be among men. 3. Likewise, whoever is in companionship must necessarily be anxious about how to conform himself to the companionship: but the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 7 that it is good not to marry in order to avoid anxiety about pleasing a wife: therefore likewise it is good to flee all companionship. On the contrary: 1. Genesis 2: "It is not good for man to be alone": therefore solitude is blameworthy, and by the opposite, companionship is praiseworthy. 2. Likewise, Matthew 18: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them": he does not say: where one, but where two or three: therefore life in congregation is better than the solitary life. 3. Likewise, this is proved by this text, because companionship supports, warms, and defends, which are three goods of which the solitary are deprived. I respond: it must be said that solitude is threefold: one through lack of love, as the miser does not wish to have a companion in riches, nor the envious in goods, nor the proud in great things: and this solitude is altogether evil. Another solitude is through want of consolation, as it is said in the Psalm: "I am alone and poor," and this is wretched. And there is another solitude through the quiet of contemplation, and this is praiseworthy and honorable. Similarly, companionship exists in a threefold manner: one namely that disturbs and hinders, as the companionship of the wicked: another needing support and solace, as the companionship of wives and the infirm: and another that aids and advances, as the companionship of the perfect. The first is to be fled, the second to be tolerated, but the third to be sought: and this exists in religious life. When therefore Scripture commends companionship, it is understood of this kind: and this does not conflict with the solitude of contemplation, because Bernard says on the Canticles: "Among many a man can be entirely alone, if he flees curiosity." And thus the objections are answered.

Ecclesiastes 4:10 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

And since, where anyone has fallen, he must lie there, unless someone lends a hand and assists him to rise: our soul could not be perfectly raised from these sensible things to the contemplation of itself and of the eternal Truth in itself, unless the Truth, having assumed human form in Christ, had become for it a ladder repairing the prior ladder, which had been broken in Adam.

Ecclesiastes 4:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

On account of raising up he says: "If one falls, he will be supported by the other": Deuteronomy 22: "If you see the donkey of your brother fallen on the road, you shall not despise it, but shall lift it up with him." The solitary man lacks this benefit: therefore he adds: "Woe to him who is alone, because when he falls, he has no one to raise him up," and therefore he is wretched: whence in the Psalm: "Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor." Spiritually here is noted the threefold effect of charity, namely mutual raising up, mutual consolation, and mutual defense. On account of raising up he says: "If one falls": Galatians, the last chapter: "If a man is overtaken in any fault, you who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness": whence it is said in Ecclesiasticus 37: "Set the heart of good counsel with you."

Ecclesiastes 4:11 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

As for the advantage in preserving he adds: "And if two sleep together, they will warm each other," that is, they will be preserved from the cold: Ephesians 5: "No one has hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it." The solitary man lacks this benefit: whence he adds: "One alone," if he sleeps, "how will he be warmed?" An example of this: in 3 Kings 1 it is said that David had grown old and could not be warmed, and it is added that they sought Abishag the Shunammite, who slept in the bosom of the king and warmed him: by himself he could not be warmed, since he was alone. Spiritually, on account of consolation he says: "They will warm each other": 1 Thessalonians 5: "Comfort the fainthearted": and in the same, chapter 2: "We became little ones in your midst, as if a nurse were to cherish her children."

Ecclesiastes 4:12 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

As for the advantage in defending he adds: "And if anyone prevails against one, two will resist him," and thus it avails for defense: 2 Kings 10: "If the Syrians prevail against me, you shall be an aid to me: but if the sons of Ammon prevail against you, I will come to your aid." And this indeed he makes manifest by an example: "A threefold cord is not easily broken." Just as a cord joined to a cord is stronger, so also is a man: Proverbs 18: "A brother who is helped by a brother is like a strong city." Spiritually, on account of defense he says: "Two will resist": Isaiah 50: "Let us stand together: who is my adversary?" On account of this threefold effect of charity it is called a threefold cord: Hosea 11: "I will draw you with the cords of Adam, with the bonds of charity."

Ecclesiastes 4:13 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

"Better is a child," etc. He treated above of the vanity of malice and avarice: here he treats of the vanity of imprudence: and because the vanity of imprudence is culpable and detestable, therefore he inveighs against it in two ways: first, on account of present evil; second, on account of succeeding or consequent evil, at: "I saw all the living." The present evil accompanying imprudence is that it subjects a rich and elderly king to a poor boy who possesses prudence, and this indeed is a great vanity. And therefore he says: "Better is a poor and wise boy than an old and foolish king," although the latter surpasses in power, surpasses in wealth, surpasses even in age; below in chapter ten: "More precious is wisdom and a little glory for a time than folly"; and Proverbs twelve: "Better is a poor man who is sufficient for himself than a boastful man who lacks bread." And he explains what he said: foolish, because he has a deficiency of foresight regarding the future, which is one part of prudence: whence he says: "Who does not know how to foresee for the future," namely the outcome of events: Deuteronomy thirty-two: "Would that they were wise and understood and foresaw the last things." Spiritually, this can also be expounded concerning Christ. The poor and wise child is Christ, a child on account of innocence: whence Isaiah forty-two, according to another reading: "Behold, my child, my chosen one, my soul is well pleased in him." Poor, because he was made needy for us: Second Corinthians eight: "You know, brothers, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor, though he was rich." Wise, indeed Wisdom itself, First Corinthians one: "We proclaim Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God"; and below in chapter nine: "There was found in it a poor and wise man." The old and foolish king is the devil, who is old; Job forty: "He is the beginning of the ways of God": whence "he has grown old in evil days." A king, because he reigns among the wicked: whence Job forty-one: "He is king over all the children of pride." Foolish, because he undertook what he could not accomplish: whence Isaiah fourteen, he said: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God."

Ecclesiastes 4:14 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

"That from prison and chains sometimes one goes forth to a kingdom": Wisdom ten: "She did not abandon the just man who was sold into bondage, but freed him from sinners, until she brought him the scepter of the kingdom." "And another, born to a kingdom, is consumed by want," and this on account of his pride: Ecclesiasticus ten: "The Lord has destroyed the thrones of proud rulers and has made the meek to sit in their place." Spiritually, although the devil is most cunning at deceiving, he nevertheless does not know how to foresee that one goes forth from prison to reign, so that Christ goes forth from the prison of the flesh and from the bonds of the Passion to the kingdom of heavenly glory: Hebrews one: "He sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high." Even the devil, born into the kingdom, that is, to possess the kingdom, is consumed by want, as it is said in Colossians two: "Despoiling principalities and powers, he led them away openly."

Ecclesiastes 4:15 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

Here is touched upon secondly the evil succeeding on account of his imprudence, because he himself is cast down and another is exalted: whence he says: "I saw all the living who walk under the sun," that is, many or innumerable, hyperbolically, "with the second youth," that is, who follows him in the kingdom: whence he says: "who shall rise up in his place." And so others follow the succeeding youth, despising the old man. The example is of David, who rose up to the kingdom of Saul, whom the children of Israel followed, having abandoned the house of Saul, as is said in Second Kings five, that all came to David. Spiritually: "And I saw all the living under the sun with the second youth," that is, Christ: John twelve: "Behold, the whole world has gone after him." He rises up because he cast the devil out of the kingdom: John twelve: "Now is the judgment of the world, now shall the prince of this world be cast out."

Ecclesiastes 4:16 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

And the reason why they follow the youth, having abandoned the old man, is because the foolish old man did good to no one; and the following text implies this: "Infinite is the number of the people of all who were before him," that is, before the coming of the youth they were under the foolish king and adhered to him. "And those who shall be afterwards," supply: those adhering to the old man, "shall not rejoice in him," that is, in the foolish old man, because he did good to no one nor will he, because he does not know how: Ecclesiasticus twenty: "The fool shall have no friend, nor shall there be gratitude for his goods; for he does not distribute with right judgment what ought to be given." And from this he concludes vanity: whence he says: "But this also is vanity and affliction of spirit," that is, another vanity from those previously mentioned, above in chapter one: "I saw all things that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity"; and the reason is subjoined: "The perverse are corrected with difficulty, and the number of fools is infinite." And thus the section on the vanity of fault is concluded. Spiritually: "The infinite number of men who were before him," that is, before the coming of Christ: and the faithful, "who shall come after, will not rejoice in him," that is, in the foolish king, that is, the devil, because they rejoiced only in Christ: whence the Apostle, the last chapter of Philippians: "Rejoice in the Lord always." One must rejoice in the Lord, not in the devil.

Ecclesiastes 5:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4

Since the vanity of fault is deadly and pestilential, therefore here the remedy against that vanity is treated. And because a threefold vanity preceded, namely of malice, avarice, and imprudence, therefore here he sets forth three remedies. And first he gives the remedy against malice; second, against avarice, at the passage: "The covetous man shall not be satisfied"; third, against imprudence, at the passage: "What more has he" etc. But since the disease of malice is in itself irremediable and can further corrupt others, therefore the remedy is set forth here not against malice, but against the corruption of malice or the evil that follows in others from the sight of another's malice. From this there arises a threefold disorder, namely: in deed, through the disobedience of transgression; in speech, through the foolishness of utterance; in the heart, through erroneous thought. Into all of which the incautious observer of another's malice rushes headlong. For when someone considers the wicked unpunished, he believes there is no providence: behold, erroneous thought; and through this he freely speaks foolish things, because he believes there is no one to reprove; and further he transgresses the commandments, because he does not believe there is one who punishes. First, therefore, he gives the remedy against disobedience; second, against foolish speech, at the passage: "Do not rashly speak anything" etc.; third, against erroneous thought, at the passage: "If you see the oppressions of the poor" etc. In the remedy against disobedience, an exhortation is introduced, and the reason for the exhortation is subjoined. He exhorts to diligent guarding of the feet, lest one transgress the divine commandments; therefore he says: "Guard your foot, lest perhaps it turn aside from the right way": Hebrews 12: "Make straight steps with your feet, that no one limping may go astray." "Entering the house of God," that is, into the Church, or into the service of God, into which a man ought to enter with fear; whence in the Psalm: "I will enter into your house, and I will worship toward your holy temple in your fear." Thus he ought to keep his foot from disobedience and have it ready for obedience; on account of which he says: "And draw near, that you may hear," that is, obey: "draw near," because Deuteronomy 33: "Those who draw near to his feet shall receive of his teaching"; "hear," by obeying: Jeremiah 17: "Hear the word of the Lord, all you who enter through these gates. Thus says the Lord: guard your souls." And there is subjoined the reason for the exhortation: "For obedience is much better than the sacrifices of fools, who do not know what evil they do," who do not recognize their transgressions nor care to obey. Gregory: "Obedience is better than sacrifices, because in obedience one's own will is slain, in sacrifice the flesh of another." Improper is the comparison, because obedience is good, and therefore pleasing; whence Lamentations 3: "It is good for a man when he has borne the yoke from his youth"; but the sacrifices of fools displease: Proverbs 15: "The sacrifices of the wicked are abominable to the Lord"; whence Saul was rebuked, because out of love of offering he transgressed the divine command: 1 Kings 15: "Does the Lord desire holocausts or sacrifices, and not rather that he be obeyed? For obedience is better than sacrifices, and to hearken rather than to offer the fat of rams."

Ecclesiastes 5:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

Second, a remedy is given against foolish speech, which occurs in a threefold manner. "Do not rashly speak anything." Here he gives a remedy against foolish or disordered speech. Now speech is disordered either because it is inconsiderate; or because it is false, and this he prohibits there: "If you have vowed anything," etc.; or because it is erroneous, and this he prohibits there: "Do not give your mouth, so as to cause to sin," etc. Regarding inconsiderate speech, he prohibits rashness and adds the reason and provides confirmation by example. He therefore prohibits rashness; whence he says: "Do not rashly speak anything," that is, inconsiderately; Sirach 9: "He who is rash in his speech will be hateful"; and again Sirach 28: "Make a balance for your words and a bridle for your mouth." And because a man who is hasty cannot deliberate, therefore he adds: "Nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word," indeed one ought to deliberate at length; whence Proverbs 29: "Have you seen a man hasty in his speech? Folly is to be expected rather than his correction." Whence there ought to be a distance between mouth and heart; against which Sirach 21: "In the mouth of fools is their heart." Whence it is said in James 1: "Let every man be swift to hear and slow to speak"; and Seneca: "I want you to be slow of speech." And the reason is added, namely the divine judgment, which sees all things; therefore he says: "For God is in heaven," supply: seeing all things; whence in the Psalm: "The Lord looked from heaven upon the earth"; "and you are upon earth," placed in plain sight before Him, so you do not escape His notice; Sirach 23: "The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, looking round about all the ways of men." "Therefore let your words be few," because namely you speak before God, because He Himself will demand an account of all things; Matthew 12: "Of every idle word that men shall have spoken, they shall render an account thereof on the day of judgment."

Ecclesiastes 5:3 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

And it can scarcely be that he who speaks much does not displease God. Whence he makes this clear by example and similitude, saying: "Dreams follow many cares," and therefore it is foolish to attend to them; Sirach 34: "Dreams have led many astray." "And in many words folly is found"; Sirach 20: "He who uses many words injures his own soul"; and Proverbs 10: "In much speaking sin will not be lacking"; but on the contrary, below in chapter 10: "The fool multiplies words."

Ecclesiastes 5:4 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

The second mode of taking the name of God in vain is through breaking of a vow made. And here there is likewise a threefold degree. The first is through irrational delay, as when I promise to go to Saint James by an oath and do not assign myself a fixed term, and thus always procrastinate. In the second way, breaking of a vow occurs through a contrary will, as when someone promises something to God and afterward repents of it. In the third way, breaking of a vow occurs through apostatic rebellion, as when a man apostatizes from religious life. The first of these modes is evil, the second worse, the third worst, because it is said: "An apostate man is a worthless man;" on account of which it is said in Ecclesiastes: "If you have vowed anything to God, do not delay to pay it; for an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases God."

Ecclesiastes 5:4 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

"If you have vowed anything," etc. Here secondly he prohibits false speech, by which namely that is promised which is not fulfilled. He therefore exhorts one to fulfill what has been promised: whence he says: "If you have vowed anything to God," that is, you have promised by a vow: "do not delay to render it:" whence in the Psalm: "Vow, and render to the Lord your God, all you who round about him bring gifts"; and the Gloss says: "To vow is voluntary, but to render is necessary," because otherwise a man is false in his promise; whence he adds: "For an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases God: unfaithful," in which there is no truth: "foolish," in which there is no judgment, because a foolish promise is not to be kept: whence Isidore says: "In evil promises, break faith; in a base vow, change your decree." Therefore he adds that truth is to be kept in a promise, when he says: "But whatever you have vowed, render it," without wavering; Leviticus twenty-seven: "A clean animal that can be sacrificed, if anyone has vowed it, shall be holy and cannot be changed, neither for better nor for worse." Here a question arises concerning what he says: "Whatever you have vowed, pay it:" whether one who has vowed indiscreetly is bound, supposing that he intends to obligate himself: because, if not, then he gains an advantage from his own indiscretion. Likewise, one is bound to practice truth: but he who does not do what he promised does not practice truth, indeed he lies: therefore such a person is bound to do what he vowed. Likewise, Jephthah vowed indiscreetly and fulfilled it, and he is commended by the Apostle in Hebrews 11: therefore we ought to pay and fulfill indiscreet vows. On the contrary: What is indiscreet to say is indiscreet to do: if therefore he who vows thus, by the very fact that he says it, is indiscreet, if he does it he is much more indiscreet and sins more greatly: therefore by omitting it he does well. Likewise, a preceding evil does not excuse a following one: therefore if someone vowed something foolish and does it, he is no less blameworthy than if he did it without a vow: nor is the vow less blameworthy than if he did not fulfill it. Likewise, Isidore says: "In evil promises break faith, in a shameful vow change your resolve." I respond: it must be said that one is not bound: indeed, if he does it, he adds sin upon sin: whence Jephthah too, by fulfilling his vow, sinned more than if he had not fulfilled it; because in vowing he was foolish and in fulfilling he was impious, as Augustine says. To the objection that he is commended: it must be said that he is commended neither for his vow nor for the fulfillment of his vow, because the Apostle commends there faith, and commends the faith of Jephthah, namely that he believed he would triumph over his enemies by the Lord's help. To the objection that it brings advantage: I say that this is false; because immediately in the vow itself he sins and is worthy of punishment. To the objection concerning truth, it must be said that truth lays judgment beneath itself: because therefore he vowed without judgment, he cannot fulfill it with truth: and for this reason there cannot be truth in such a vow, and therefore there is no obligation. It is also asked whether one can commute a vow. That one cannot seems to be shown by that passage in the last chapter of Leviticus: "It cannot be changed, neither for worse nor for better." But that one can seems to be shown: because it is permitted to make the Lord's portion better: therefore, even if it is not permitted to change for the worse, it is nevertheless permitted to change for the better. I respond: it must be said that there is changing a vow entirely for the worse, and there is changing it for the better in a way that includes the original, as when one who vowed to enter a less perfect religious order enters a more perfect one that encloses the former within it. There is also changing it for the better in a way that does…

Ecclesiastes 5:5 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

Otherwise it would have been better not to vow: therefore he says: "And it is much better not to vow," that is, it is less evil, because without fault: "than after a vow not to render what was promised:" Second Peter two: "It would have been better for them not to have known the way of truth than after knowing it to turn back"; because Luke nine: "No one putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Ecclesiastes 5:6 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

"Do not give your mouth" etc. Here thirdly he prohibits erroneous speech: and he dissuades from error of speech, and then adds the reason, and afterward reveals the root of the error. He dissuades from error of speech, saying: "Do not give your mouth to cause your flesh to sin," that is, do not speak erroneous speech by which you may be cast headlong into sins. And he specifies what kind of speech he means, adding: "Neither say before the Angel: There is no providence," that is, do not say it, neither in secret nor in hidden places, because in hidden places the Angels hear, who are appointed for guardianship; whence below in chapter ten: "Do not detract from the king in your thought, and in the secret of your bedchamber do not curse the rich, for the birds of the sky will carry your voice." And the reason for the exhortation is added: "Lest perhaps the Lord, being angry, destroy your works," that is, render them useless: "angry," not through a disturbance of the soul, but through a rigid punishment of fault. So he was angry over the words of Rabshakeh and destroyed all the works of the kings of the Assyrians through an Angel by night: Isaiah thirty-seven: "If only the Lord your God would hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of the Assyrians sent to blaspheme the living God"; Proverbs twenty: "A wise king scatters the wicked" etc. It is also asked concerning what he says: "Do not say before the Angel: There is no providence." On the contrary: it seems that there is no providence. First, because providence gives due order to things; but this order does not exist in the world, below in the tenth chapter: "I saw servants on horses and princes walking upon the earth like servants." Likewise second: because providence gives due recompense, but this does not exist in the world, below in the ninth chapter: "The same things happen to all." Likewise third: because it gives due duration; but this simply does not exist in the world, below in the seventh chapter: "The impious man lives a long time in his impiety." But that it is necessary to posit providence is shown: Because it belongs to the wise man to provide for his household; therefore much more so to the supremely wise. Likewise, it belongs to the wise artisan not only to make but also to preserve; thus God preserves and governs; but he is wise, and the wise man governs everything that he governs through providence; therefore, etc. Likewise, because God is supremely wise, he cannot fail to see our evils; therefore, since he is supremely just, he cannot fail to punish evils and reward good things; therefore there is recompense for all things, and therefore also providence. Likewise it is asked who sins more: whether he who denies providence, or he who criticizes divine providence. It seems that he who denies sins more, because he who believes that providence exists, by the very fact that he believes, does well; therefore he has something of good; but he who simply denies has nothing; therefore he is more blameworthy. On the contrary: Jerome says that he who posits providence and accuses God sins more than he who simply denies providence. I respond to the first point that providence exists. To what is objected concerning due order, the response is that order is twofold, namely particular and universal: something can be deprived of particular order, but not of universal order, as Boethius says. Universal order embraces all things; whence he who falls from the order of nature falls into the order of punishment; just as Augustine's example is of the cloud, in which there is a whirlwind and a turning that is disordered in itself, but ordered toward the breaking of the earth; so the wicked rule over the good for the exercise of the good and the punishment of the wicked. Similarly concerning recompense it must be said that in the present life good things come to the wicked in a just manner, so that they may be rewarded here and eternally tormented in the future; and evil things c…

Ecclesiastes 5:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

And the origin of this speech is added: because it does not arise from right reason, but from the illusion of dreams; on account of which he says: "Where there are many dreams, there are very many vanities," because a dream is vanity: Isaiah twenty-nine: "The hungry man dreams and eats, and afterwards, when he has awakened, his soul is empty." "And innumerable words," which follow upon dreams, because nothing certain can be known from them: because Ecclesiasticus thirty-four: "Divination of error and lying auguries and dreams of evildoers are vanity." And therefore one should not be concerned with such things, but with God: whence he adds: "But you, fear God," because he alone is the one who can destroy and save us, not dreams, not auguries: Luke twelve: "I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell."

Ecclesiastes 5:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

Third, a remedy is given against erroneous thinking. "If you see the oppressions," etc. Here thirdly he draws back from erroneous thinking, namely so that from seeing the malice of men one should not believe that providence is lacking: whence he says: "If you see the oppressions of the needy:" above in chapter four: "I saw the oppressions that are carried on under the sun, and the tears of the innocent." "And violent judgments," which he saw, above in chapter three: "I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment, wickedness." "And justice overturned in the province:" which he had similarly seen above in chapter three: "I saw in the place of justice, iniquity." From this consideration, I say, one should not wonder, as though there were no one who governs nor who corrects: whence he says: "Do not wonder at this matter," as though there were no one who governs, because there is one orderer of all things: whence he adds: "Because one higher than the high watches over, and there are others yet more eminent above these:" whence in Matthew eight the centurion said: "I am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this one: Go, and he goes."

Ecclesiastes 5:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

"And moreover the king of all the earth commands one who serves him:" although therefore they do not serve one another and are not ordered through themselves, they are nevertheless ordered by God, who knows how to use evils well: in Genesis forty-one it is signified: "I am Pharaoh; without your command no one shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." Whence it is said in Revelation nineteen: "He had written on his garment and on his thigh: King of kings and Lord of lords." And he himself perverts nothing: whence it is said in Deuteronomy ten: "The Lord our God, he is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the Lord great, mighty, and terrible, who does not accept persons nor gifts: he executes judgment for the orphan and the widow"; and therefore, if he commands, justice is not perverted.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

"The covetous man shall not be filled with money." Above he set forth the remedy against the vanity of malice; here he adds secondly the remedy against the vanity of avarice. Now the remedy against avarice is contempt of earthly goods; therefore here he urges contempt of riches. And he does this indeed by a threefold reason: for first he shows that riches are not to be desired, because they do not enrich their possessors; second, because they are not frequently transmitted to posterity, at the passage: "There is another grievous evil"; third, because they frequently devolve to strangers, at the passage: "There is also another evil which I have seen under the sun," etc. First, riches are to be despised because they do not enrich their possessors, and this for a threefold reason. First, therefore, he detests avarice, because the riches that are desired neither help nor enrich their possessors, because they do not suffice; second, because they do not profit; third, because they afflict. Riches are therefore to be detested and spurned, because they do not suffice for the covetous man, and this is what the covetous man first desires, namely sufficiency. Therefore he says: "The covetous man shall not be filled with money:" Sirach 14: "The eye of the covetous man is insatiable." Whence Jerome: "The miser lacks both what he has and what he does not have"; and Seneca: "If you wish to make yourself rich, you must not add to your money but subtract from your desire." Here secondly he dissuades from the love of riches, because they do not profit. Therefore he says: "And he who loves riches shall not reap fruit from them," and thus they do not profit: Sirach 10: "There is nothing more wicked than to love money. For such a one has his soul for sale"; and thus riches profit the miser nothing, because he gives his soul for money: whence Matthew 16: "What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, yet suffer the loss of his own soul"? as if to say: nothing. And from this he infers the vanity of loving them: "And this therefore is vanity," both of fault and of punishment: concerning the first, the Psalm: "Sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart" etc.; concerning the second, the Psalm: "Their days were consumed in vanity" etc. The Psalm: "Behold the man who did not make God his helper, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and prevailed in his vanity."

Ecclesiastes 5:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Prooemium

The world with its things is vain, because it does not provide fullness to the one who possesses it: whence it is said in Ecclesiastes 5: The covetous man shall not be satisfied with money. And the reason for this is that all worldly things are vain, and vain things do not satisfy: whence it is said in Ecclesiasticus 34: Vain hope and falsehood to the senseless man, as one who grasps at a shadow and pursues the wind: so is he who attends to lying visions: whence just as the wind does not satisfy the stomach, nor does a shadow fill it, so neither do temporal things, which are the shadow of eternal things, for which the soul was created. Vain also, because the world does not yield fruit to the one who loves it: whence it is said in Ecclesiastes 5: He who loves riches shall not reap fruit from them: and this therefore is vanity. He reaps no fruit, but rather loss, because by gaining the world he loses God and loses himself: and according to what is said in Matthew 16: What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, yet suffer the loss of his own soul?

Ecclesiastes 5:11 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

And he shows that riches profit the possessor nothing: because they are consumed, and the master has nothing more than the servant: therefore he says: "Where there are great riches, many also are those who consume them:" thus all things are consumed. Whence Seneca: "Wolves follow corpses, flies follow honey: that crowd follows the prey, not the man"; Job 39: "Its young ones lap up blood, and wherever there is a carcass, it is immediately present"; because, according to what is said in Proverbs 19, "many honor the person of the powerful and are friends of the one who gives gifts." "And what does it profit the possessor, except that he beholds his riches with his eyes?" as if to say: nothing more for himself than for others, because any one of the others eats as much as he alone: and thus he has no fruit above others, but rather loss, because he has more sin; whence Sirach 11: "If you are rich, you will not be free from sin. If you pursue it, you will not overtake it" etc. But a question is raised concerning what he says, that riches do not profit the possessor. For below in chapter seven: "Wisdom is more useful with riches, and it profits more those who see the sun." Likewise, Proverbs thirteen: "The redemption of a man's soul is his riches:" therefore they avail for redeeming the soul. On the contrary: Everything which it is simply better to relinquish than to retain is simply useless, because if the absence of something is useful, its presence is harmful: therefore if relinquishing riches is good, retaining them is useless. Likewise, all usefulness is measured according to its ordering toward the ultimate end: therefore what furnishes an impediment to arriving at the end is not useful but useless; but riches are of this kind, because it is impossible for one who loves riches to enter heaven, and it is difficult to have them and not love them: therefore the possession of riches impedes: therefore they do not profit but hinder. I respond to this that, as Bernard says, "these temporal things are of themselves neither good nor evil, whose use is good, abuse evil, anxiety over them worse, and the pursuit of gain from them most base." If therefore it is asked whether riches are useful or useless, I say that to one using them well they are useful, but to one hoarding them they are useless, and to one using them badly they are harmful; whence it is said below in the same book: "Riches kept to the hurt of their owner;" but to one using them well they avail, namely when he distributes them in works of piety. For thus they avail for the redemption of guilt: Daniel four: "Redeem your sins with almsgiving." They avail for the increase of grace: First Timothy four: "Exercise yourself unto piety," etc. They avail for the attainment of glory: Luke sixteen: "Make for yourselves friends from the mammon of iniquity, so that when you fail, they may receive you into eternal tabernacles." To the objection that they are useless because it is good to relinquish them: it must be said that to relinquish is to give to God, and this is to use riches well; whence they are useful for relinquishing, for giving to the poor, for purchasing the kingdom. To the objection that it is difficult to have and not to love: I respond that from this it does not follow that they impede, because every virtue concerns what is difficult, and yet virtue does not impede but assists. Nevertheless, the more useful and safer practice is to relinquish everything at once rather than to give little by little, on account of avoiding the dangers that arise.

Ecclesiastes 5:12 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

Here thirdly he shows that riches are to be spurned, because they afflict and do not permit a man to rest: whence they take away the sleep of quiet. Therefore he says: "Sweet is the sleep of the worker, whether he eats little or much." And thus the worker and laborer sometimes rests: Sirach 31: "The sleep of health is in a frugal man: he will sleep until morning, and his soul will delight in him." But on the contrary concerning the rich man: he does not rest: whence he adds: "But the fullness of the rich man does not permit him to sleep." Or, because he has many riches, he has many cares, which take away sleep: Job 15: "The sound of terror is always in his ears, and when there is peace, he suspects treachery"; whence above in chapter two: "All his days are full of labors and sorrows, nor does his mind rest through the night." Or also, because he eats and drinks much and does not labor, therefore he does not rest: whence Sirach 31: "Sleeplessness and bile and gripping pains are for the intemperate man," and thus on account of surfeit he does not rest.

Ecclesiastes 5:13 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

Second, riches are to be despised because they are frequently not transmitted to posterity. "There is also another infirmity," etc. Above he showed that riches do not enrich their possessors; here he adds secondly that they are to be despised because they are frequently not transmitted to posterity; and indeed he does this in the following order. First is noted the consideration of future poverty in one's offspring. Second, from this he denounces the toilsome anxiety of acquiring money. Third, in denunciation of this, he commends the enjoyment of present gladness, adding that this is a gift of divine generosity. He considers therefore first the future destitution in the offspring of the rich man, because, when they are preserved for a long time by the father, they do not remain for the son. Therefore he says: "There is also another most grievous infirmity, which I saw under the sun," another, namely, from the aforementioned one, which, I say, is in the possession of riches: whence he says: "Riches kept to the hurt of their owner," because they cannot be gathered without the evil both of punishment and of fault: Ecclesiasticus thirty-one: "Blessed is the man who is found without blemish, and who has not gone after gold nor hoped in the treasures of money. Who is this? and we shall praise him: for he has done wonderful things in his life." Or: "to the hurt," for they make a man come into the evil of punishment; James five: "Come now, you rich, weep and howl in your miseries which shall come upon you." "Of their owner," nay rather in reality of their slave, because avarice makes the avaricious man a slave: whence Ephesians five: "Avarice, which is the service of idols."

Ecclesiastes 5:14 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

"These, I say, perish in the worst affliction," because it is necessary that he relinquish them with sorrow: Job twenty-seven: "The rich man, when he shall sleep, shall take nothing with him." Nor are they only left behind by their owner, but they are also lost by the son, whence he adds: "He has begotten a son, who shall be in the utmost destitution." There is an utmost destitution, and this is of all goods, concerning which Proverbs six: "Want shall come upon you like a traveler" etc.

Ecclesiastes 5:15 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

And thus riches that are preserved are not left to the heir, nor can they be carried away by the possessor: whence he adds: "As he came forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return," not into the womb, but into the earth. "And he shall take nothing with him of his labor:" Job one: "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither."

Ecclesiastes 5:16 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

And this is greatly to be lamented: whence he adds: "A most miserable infirmity indeed: as he came, so shall he return:" whence 1 Timothy last chapter: "We brought nothing into this world, and there is no doubt that neither can we carry anything away." Here secondly he reproves the solicitude of increasing money by consideration of the destitution that is to come: whence he infers as if from the aforesaid things that it is vain to afflict oneself with such great labors in the acquisition of things. Therefore he says: "What then does it profit him," namely the avaricious rich man, "that he labored into the wind?" that is, in vain, if it is so that "as he came forth naked from the womb, naked shall he return," both he himself and his son, as if to say: nothing. Therefore in the Psalm: "O sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart? Why do you love vanity and seek after lying?" Riches are compared to wind on account of their vanity: whence Ecclesiasticus thirty-four: "As one who grasps at a shadow and pursues the wind, so is he who attends to lying visions"; he labored therefore into the wind, when he labored for acquiring riches.

Ecclesiastes 5:17 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

And he adds the magnitude of the toil: "All the days of his life he eats in darkness," on account of loneliness; "and in many cares," on account of anxiety; "and in distress," on account of the scantiness of expenditures; "and sadness," on account of the necessity of expenditures. For he is saddened because he must eat something: Ecclesiasticus 14: "The wicked and envious eye will not be satisfied with bread, and the needy one will be in sadness at his own table." Riches cause a man to be in cares and distresses, because Matthew 13: "The anxiety of this world and the deceitfulness of riches chokes the word."

Ecclesiastes 5:18 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

"This therefore seemed good to me." Here thirdly he commends the enjoyment of gladness in detestation of the affliction of avarice. For since the miser afflicts himself, and nothing profits him, therefore it seemed good to him to eat; and for this reason he says: "This therefore seemed good to me, that one should eat and drink," as regards exterior pleasantness; "and enjoy gladness from his toil, with which he has toiled under the sun:" "gladness," as regards interior pleasantness; and this, while he can; whence he also adds: "The number of the days of his life, which God has given him," as if he should not expect another time. "And this is his portion." Concerning all these things, Isaiah 22: "Behold joy and gladness, slaying rams, eating flesh and drinking wine; let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die," as if that were one's portion. But here a question arises first concerning what he says: "This seemed good to me, that one should eat." Against: Below in chapter 10: "Woe to you, O land, whose king is a child, and whose princes eat in the morning:" therefore he contradicts himself. Furthermore, he says: "And let him rejoice." On the contrary: Below in chapter seven: "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting," and again: "The heart of the wise is where sorrow is." Likewise, Truth itself says in Luke 6: "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall weep;" therefore it is evil to rejoice, and all of Scripture condemns the joy of the flesh: what then does it mean that he commends it here? To this one responds by means of the manner of proceeding in this book, which is singular among all the books of Sacred Scripture. For he speaks as a preacher weaving together his disputation, in which diverse opinions are brought forward according to diverse persons in whose character he speaks: whence he speaks one way in the person of the carnal man, as here, and another way in the person of the wise man, as below: "It is better to go," etc. But afterward he speaks in his own person, where he says: "Let us all hear together the end of the discourse," where he as it were renders judgment upon those whose case he had previously examined: "Fear God," and that God will judge all things. Whence whatever is read in the book that opposes that judgment is annulled by that judgment; and such are all the things said in commendation of present pleasure; and thus by one solution all objections are answered. Otherwise it can be said that Ecclesiastes himself, whatever he says, says in his own person; but nevertheless, to understand the things he says, two things must be attended to, namely the reason for speaking and the manner. The manner of speaking varies in two ways: for some things he says truly, and some ironically; truly, as that passage: "Cast your bread upon the passing waters," below in chapter eleven; ironically, as that passage: "Rejoice therefore, O young man, in your youth." And this is clear from what follows: "And know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment," below in chapter eleven. Another variation is noted in manner, because some things he says by way of approving: "Do not rashly speak anything," etc.; and some things by way of recounting that he himself did thus, as he said above in chapter two: "I did not restrain my heart from enjoying every pleasure," etc. This he does not approve, but recounts that he did thus, just as the Apostle also says of himself that he was a blasphemer. Similarly, some things he says by way of recounting that he thought thus, as when he said above in chapter two: "Is it not better to eat and drink," etc. And he uses this kind of speech frequently in this little book, as though narrating his temptations; whence this book was as it were a certain meditation of Solomon. And just as a man falls from one meditation into another according to diverse considerations, as when someone thinks this to be good and afterward falls into another estimation, so Sol…

Ecclesiastes 5:19 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

And he approves this consideration, as though it pleases God; whence he also adds: "And to every man to whom God has given substance and riches:" for these things are from God; whence Ecclesiasticus 11: "Good things and evil, life and death, poverty and honor are from God." "And has given him power to eat thereof," delighting outwardly; "and to enjoy his portion," resting in these things; "and to rejoice in his toil," joyfully expending what has been acquired. "This is the gift of God," for this power is from God, because John 15: "Without me you can do nothing." And he shows that it is a great gift, because the torment of cares and anxieties, which are great punishments, are tempered through delights. Therefore he adds: rightly do I say that "it is the gift of God," insofar as it frees from the torments of avarice. Likewise, there is a question about what he says, that it is a "gift of God" that one should enjoy riches: but this is sin. I respond: it must be said that the goods of fortune, of nature, and also of grace are all gifts of God: but those of fortune are the least, those of nature are intermediate, and those of grace are the best. Among the gifts of nature are counted health and strength; among the goods of fortune, prosperity and tranquility. For God gives riches to some, to whom he does not give health or tranquility, and these do not enjoy their goods; to some he adds in addition tranquility and health, and such persons have the power of enjoying them; and because those things are gifts of God, so also is the power; but furthermore, the evil misuse of that power—this is not from God.

Ecclesiastes 5:20 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5

"For he will not much remember the days of his life," that is, he will not be much afflicted by cares that pertain to life, "because God occupies his heart with delights," not spiritual ones, concerning which in Song of Songs 7: "How beautiful you are and how graceful, dearest, in delights!" but carnal ones, concerning which it was said above in chapter 2: "I made for myself singers, both men and women, and the delights of the sons of men." Likewise, he says that "God occupies the heart with delights" in life: but this again is sin. As to the question that God is said to occupy his heart with delights: it must be answered that certain things God does mercifully, and certain things by just judgment in abandoning, just as he is said to hand over the wise of the world to a reprobate mind: so also he is said to occupy the heart with delights by permitting, through just judgment, it to be occupied and to forget eternal things.

Ecclesiastes 6:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6

Thirdly, he denounces avarice, because riches are frequently transferred to strangers. "There is also another evil," etc. Above he showed that riches are to be despised, both because they do not enrich their possessors, and because they are frequently not transmitted to posterity. Here thirdly he shows they are to be despised, because they are frequently transferred to strangers: this indeed he does in this order. First indeed is indicated the transfer of hoarded riches: second, the detestation of miserliness, at: "If anyone should beget," etc.; third is subjoined the reason for the detestation, at: "In vain therefore he came," etc. First therefore Ecclesiastes considered the vanity attending the rich and proposes it, assumes it, and concludes. He proposes, saying: "There is also another evil, which I saw under the sun:" and he aggravates it from the circumstance: "And which is frequent among men," that is, among the weak lovers of the world and the rich, of whom the Psalm says: "O sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart? Why do you love vanity and seek after falsehood?" etc.

Ecclesiastes 6:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6

And he assumes the vanity, which is observed in this, that one hoards riches and another devours them: therefore he says: "A man, to whom God has given riches," as regards movable goods; "and wealth," as regards immovable goods; "and honors," as regards exalted things. For all things are from God: riches are from God: Proverbs 3: "Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and glory." And wealth is from God, especially that of which Sirach 13 says: "Good is the wealth for which there is no sin on the conscience." Likewise honor is from God: whence in Daniel 5, Daniel said to Belshazzar: "O king! The Most High God gave kingdom and magnificence and honor to your father." And to complete the perfect abundance of the goods of fortune, he subjoins: "And nothing is lacking to his soul of all that he desires," because he has sufficiently. He calls soul here the carnal life, of which John 12 says: "He who loves his soul shall lose it." Thus he has abundance for possessing, and yet he has avarice for retaining, which takes away from him the power of enjoying: therefore he subjoins: "Nor does God grant him the power to eat of it," because he continually hoards it, and in vain: whence Sirach 14: "For the covetous and miserly man, wealth is without purpose; and for the envious man, of what use is gold?" Neither does he himself use it, nor his posterity, but strangers: whence he adds: "But a stranger shall devour it:" whence Sirach 14: "He who heaps up unjustly from his own soul gathers for others, and another shall revel in his goods"; and Proverbs 13: "The wealth of the sinner is stored up for the just." And from this he infers vanity: "And this is vanity and a great misery:" vanity, because he himself does not rejoice; misery, because, when another takes it away, he is grieved: Isaiah 1: "Your land — strangers devour it before your face," etc. There is a question concerning what he says: "God did not give him the power to enjoy good things." To the contrary: This is free will; but He gave free will; therefore also the power. I respond: it must be said that he has the capacity for enjoying, namely by which he can enjoy; but by the just judgment of God he is impeded by some punishment, because he has incurred superfluous anxiety and fear and sorrow. And because power denotes an unimpeded capacity, and this has been impeded by just judgment, therefore, etc. Likewise, there is a question concerning what he says, that "nothing is lacking to his soul of all that it desires." To the contrary: Above in the fifth chapter: "The covetous man shall not be filled with money;" and again Jerome: "The miser lacks both what he has and what he does not have." Therefore he speaks poorly when he says: "And nothing is lacking." I respond: it must be said that for something to be lacking, this can be in two ways: either with respect to sufficiency according to reality and nature, or according to opinion. I say therefore that a miser can indeed be so wealthy that nothing is lacking to him according to reality and nature; but nevertheless never so wealthy that something is not lacking to him according to his own estimation, because he always desires to have more, and thus it is lacking to him.

Ecclesiastes 6:3 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6

"If anyone should beget" etc. Here is noted the detestation of miserliness by reason of the aforementioned transfer, and he reproves miserliness itself, however much successive prosperity he may have. Therefore he adds: "If anyone should beget a hundred children," this is said hyperbolically, that is, many children, because the wicked frequently beget wicked children, in whom there is no joy, even if they are many: Sirach 16: "Do not rejoice in ungodly children; if they are multiplied, do not delight in them." To abound in children is temporal prosperity; and another temporal prosperity follows: "And should live many years," that is, for many years; "and should have more days of age," namely more than other men; and this indeed is temporal prosperity. The impious frequently have this prosperity; whence below in chapter seven: "For a long time the impious man lives in his impiety," if he has abounded in these prosperities. "And his soul does not enjoy the goods of his substance," that is, he has been miserly and greedy in life; "and lacks burial" in death, according to what is said of Joachim in Jeremiah chapter twenty-two: "Joachim shall be buried with the burial of an ass, rotting and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem." With these conditions of prosperity and miserliness having been set forth, he subjoins the detestation: "Concerning this I pronounce," as a judge of the earth, "that an abortive is better than he," on account of the great misery and vanity which the abortive lacks; whence it is said in Job chapter three: "Why did I not die in the womb? Why, having come forth from the womb, did I not immediately perish? Why was I received upon the knees? Why was I suckled at the breasts?" And again in chapter ten: "Why did you bring me forth from the womb?" Likewise, concerning this it is asked why he prefers the stillborn to him. It seems that this is wrong: 1. Because the stillborn had knowledge of no things, but this man did; likewise, the miser, when he sins mortally, enjoys things that are meant to be used. 2. Likewise, how does he say that it did not know the difference between good and evil, unless it had fully enjoyed goods? Therefore it seems that the stillborn would be better than all who do not delight in present goods and who are not carnal: but this is heretical. I respond: it must be said that according to that approach, if this is said in the person of the carnal man, the response is easy; maintaining nevertheless that he says this according to truth, I say that he prefers the stillborn to such a grasping rich man, because the former, although it did not experience goods, nevertheless did not endure evils; but the latter endured evils and did not taste goods; therefore the former is preferable, and it is in this respect that he means it. To the objection based on reason, that he did not fully enjoy goods: it must be said that to enjoy in one way denotes love of something with rest in it; in another way, rest and delight. I say therefore that he who loves God possesses Him, as Augustine says in the book of Eighty-Three Questions, and therefore he who loves God delights in Him. But money or a temporal thing, when it is loved and not possessed according to one's desire, begets sorrow. Therefore there can be enjoyment of these things, that is, supreme love, and yet slight delight and great sorrow. Therefore it does not follow that, although such a miser sins, he rests in delight; but nevertheless he rests in love, because he loves for his own sake. To the objection that it did not know the difference: it must be said that by simple knowledge, he who always has goods knows good and evil; similarly also he who always has evils; but not by knowledge of experience, unless he has both goods and evils. And because such a one always has evils, never goods; therefore, etc. To the objection concerning the spiritual man, I say that he is not without spiritual delight, and therefore he sees the sun and knows the…

Ecclesiastes 6:4 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6

"For he comes in vain" etc. Here is subjoined thirdly the reason for the detestation, namely that an abortive is better than one who is miserly in this manner, because, just as an abortive comes in vain and goes to darkness, since it immediately dies, so also does he; therefore it is said: "For he comes in vain and goes to darkness," namely the miser himself: Job chapter three: "To a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has surrounded with darkness." And that in vain such a greedy and miserly man should come into this world, he shows both on account of the deletion of his name in death, and on account of the inexperience of good in life, and on account of the non-fulfillment of desire in both states. On account of the deletion of his name he says: "And his name shall be blotted out by oblivion," that is, he shall endure neither in reality nor in name, according to what the Lord threatens against Babylon in Isaiah chapter fourteen: "I will destroy the name and remnants and offspring and posterity of Babylon, says the Lord"; and in Wisdom chapter two, in the person of the wicked: "Our name shall receive oblivion in time, and no one shall be mindful of our works."

Ecclesiastes 6:5 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6

On account of the inexperience of good, he adds: "he does not see the sun," in which namely there is delight and experience of good, according to what is said below in the eleventh chapter: "The light is sweet, and it is delightful for the eyes to see the sun." The avaricious man has not seen this, because he errs: Wisdom 5: "We have erred from the way of truth, and the light of justice has not shone upon us, and the sun of understanding has not risen upon us," etc. And thus he has not seen the sun, that is, he has not had the light of knowledge; nor has he known the difference between good and evil, because namely he has not experienced it.

Ecclesiastes 6:6 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6

Therefore he says: "Even if he should live two thousand years," because we do not have knowledge through length of time, but through experience: Sirach 34: "He who has not been tested knows few things," according to what the Philosopher says: "Experience produced art, inexperience produced chance." On account of the incompleteness of desire, he adds: "Do not all things hasten to one place?" As if to say: on the part of the body, they will pass into the earth; Sirach 41: "All things that are made from the earth shall be converted into earth"; and above in the third chapter: "All things are subject to vanity, and all things go to one place." On the part of the body, therefore, there is reduction to ashes, but on the part of the soul, there is the incompleteness of its desire.

Ecclesiastes 6:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6

For this reason he says: "All the labor of man is in his mouth:" the mouth is called the initiation of desire; for he who desires, as it were, opens his mouth. Therefore, for labor to be in the mouth is to labor toward the completion of desire; whence Proverbs 16: "The soul of the laborer labors for himself, because his mouth has compelled him." And although he does this toward fulfilling his desire, it is nevertheless not fulfilled; therefore he says: "But his soul," namely that of the tenacious rich man, "will not be filled with good things," as was said above in the fifth chapter: "The covetous man shall not be filled with money"; whence Habakkuk 2: "He has enlarged his soul like hell, and he himself like death shall not be filled." Thus it is true of the avaricious regarding money; so also regarding knowledge: 2 Timothy 3: "Always learning, and never arriving at the knowledge of the truth."

Ecclesiastes 6:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6

"What more does he have" etc. He set forth above the remedy against the vanity of malice and against the vanity of avarice: here thirdly he sets forth the remedy against the vanity of imprudence. Against this, however, the supreme remedy is the acquisition of wisdom; and because no one can acquire wisdom unless he has the proper method of learning: therefore this part has two sections. In the first he gives the method, in the second he unfolds the teachings of wisdom, at the passage: "Better is a good name" etc. First the method of acquiring wisdom is explained by a threefold reasoning. The method of considering or learning for one who wishes to be wise is handed down in this way. First, that he should learn useful things: second, that he should leave aside hidden things: third, that he should not inquire into lofty things. First therefore he teaches to seek and consider useful things, and this is, how one may arrive at the life of glory. Therefore he asks: "What more does the wise man have than the fool, and what does the poor man?" He rightly joins these two: poor and wise. For one is called poor through contempt of present things: whence Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"; wise, through the savor of eternal things and right estimation: concerning which Proverbs 3: "The wise shall possess glory: the exaltation of fools is disgrace." But the fool is called the worldly man, who on the contrary, despising eternal things, gapes after earthly things: concerning whom Job 5: "I saw the fool with a firm root, and I cursed his beauty at once." "What more does the wise and poor man have than the fool" in this life? supply: little. "Except that he may go there, where life is," namely eternal life, to which man ought to aspire, not to temporal things, which cannot be held: on account of which he has little here in mortal life, because "the learned dies equally with the unlearned," above in chapter two: but in eternal life he has much more, because he will obtain delightful, abundant, secure being, all things in the open vision and enjoyment of the highest good: concerning which life John 17: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God" etc. To this life the wise proceed, because they direct their eyes toward it, as is said above in chapter two: "The eyes of the wise man are in his head"; and therefore he follows Christ, the light, who, as is said in John 14, is "the way, the truth, and the life": but the fool does not proceed: whence below in chapter ten: "The labor of fools shall afflict them, because they do not know how to go to the city."

Ecclesiastes 6:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6

To this life one cannot rightly arrive without knowledge: therefore he adds: "It is better to see what you desire," that is, to know the life which you long for: "than to desire what you do not know," that is, to wish to arrive there in ignorance: and therefore one ought to direct one's consideration toward it: Proverbs 4: "Let your eyes look upon what is right, and let your eyelids go before your steps." And indeed this is good to know, but to desire what one does not know is foolish. Therefore he adds: "But this also is vanity and presumption of spirit," namely, to desire what man does not know, just as James and John desired and asked to sit at the right hand, and sought presumptuously: therefore it is said to them in Matthew 20: "You do not know what you ask." It can also be expounded as a commendation of the knowledge of useful things, so that the sense is that it is better to know desirable and useful things than to desire to know hidden things, which indeed he forbids to consider, because this is presumption of spirit, namely, to wish to know what God has disposed in his providence.

Ecclesiastes 6:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

It is asked concerning what he says: "It is better to see what you desire than to desire what you do not know." Therefore it does not involve a contradiction that someone can desire what he does not know. On the contrary: Augustine says that "we can love things unseen, but things unknown in no way"; thus therefore, in order for something to be loved and desired, it is necessary that it be known. Furthermore, the affection follows the intellect; therefore where the intellect does not precede, the affection does not extend itself; but the intellect does not extend itself to those things which it does not know; therefore neither does the affection desire those things. I respond: it must be said that there is a twofold knowledge, namely of certitude and of estimation; and so correspondingly there is a twofold ignorance: one through the privation of any certitude, and another through the privation of any estimation. I say therefore that in order for something to be desired, it is not necessary that knowledge of certitude precede: for desire follows estimation alone; but it is necessary that some knowledge of estimation precede. Here, however, he speaks of ignorance through the privation of certitude.

Ecclesiastes 6:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6

And indeed he forbids to scrutinize this, consequently saying: "He who is to be" etc. Here he calls back from scrutinizing hidden things, such as the divine disposition: on account of which he says: "He who is to be, his name has already been called," with respect to eternal election; Romans 4: "Who calls those things which are not, as though they were." "And it is known that he is man," with respect to the smallness of the duration of life: Genesis 3: "Dust you are, and to dust you shall return." "And he cannot contend in judgment against one stronger than himself," with respect to the condition of justice: for no one is so just that he can justify himself in judgment with God: Job 9: "I know that man is not justified when compared to God. If he should wish to contend with God, he cannot answer him one for a thousand"; therefore Job said: "How great then am I, that I should answer him"; and therefore it is added: because "stronger:" whence Job 9: "If strength is sought, he is most mighty; if equity of judgment, no one dares to bear witness for me." Therefore this hidden disposition is said not to be scrutinized by us; because in our words little truth is found, especially when we wish to discuss those things which are hidden from us.

Ecclesiastes 6:11 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6

Therefore he adds: "Words are very many," that is, few things are known: below, chapter 10: "The fool multiplies words." "And having much vanity in disputing," and little truth, above, chapter 3: "He has delivered the world to their disputation, so that man may not find the work which God has wrought from the beginning even to the end"; and therefore those who wish to scrutinize these things become vain, according to that word of the Apostle in First Corinthians 3: "God knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain."

Ecclesiastes 6:12 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Here he calls back a third time from scrutinizing lofty things and inquiring into them, and this, since he has enough to do in knowing his own evils, or common ones. Therefore he says: "What need is there for a man to seek things greater than himself?" as if to say, there is no need: Sirach 3: "Seek not the things that are too high for thee, and search not into things above thy strength"; and Romans 11: "Be not high-minded, but fear." And he adds the reason why he ought not to seek greater things: "Since he does not know what is profitable for him in his life," that is, what is useful for him: Wisdom 9: "We can hardly guess at the things that are upon earth, and with labor do we find the things that are before us. But the things that are in heaven, who shall search out?" He is indeed ignorant of what is useful in this momentary life; whence he adds: "In the number of the days of his pilgrimage"; Genesis 47: "The days of the pilgrimage of my life are few and evil"; 2 Corinthians 5: "While we are in this body, we are pilgrims from the Lord." "And in the time which passes like a shadow"; 1 Chronicles, last chapter: "We are pilgrims before thee and strangers, as were all our fathers. Our days upon earth are as a shadow, and there is no delay." And so he cannot inquire by himself, nor even learn from another; therefore he adds: "Or who can tell him what shall come after him under the sun?" For man does not know future things, unless the Lord reveals them through grace. Therefore man ought not to extend his thought to this: Isaiah 48: "Before the day thou heardest them not, lest perhaps thou shouldst say: Behold, I knew them. Thou hast neither heard nor known, neither was thine ear opened from that time"; below in chapter 8: "Man is ignorant of things past, and things to come he can know by no messenger." Whence God alone knows and reveals future things. The question is raised concerning what he says: "What need is there for a man to seek things greater than himself?" From this it seems that man ought not to investigate anything nor come to know by labor what is above him. This same point is proved by Ecclesiasticus 3: "Seek not things that are higher than yourself." Likewise, Romans 11: "Be not high-minded, but fear." But to the contrary: Man stands in the middle between visible creatures and God; but Augustine says that the soul of man is darkened when it fixes its eye on these earthly and lowest things, but is illuminated when it turns to eternal goods: therefore it ought always to seek those things. But those things are higher: therefore, etc. Furthermore, the soul is never perfected with complete perfection except in those things which are higher than itself; but everything perfectible ought to tend toward and seek that in which it is perfected: therefore it ought to seek higher things. If you say that he does not mean that one ought not to seek or consider things higher according to substance, but that one ought not to consider those things which exceed the possibility of one's consideration, it is objected then: because all things that belong to faith are above our intellect: therefore according to this our intellect ought not to raise itself to believing those things which belong to faith. Likewise, then those who wish to examine the articles of faith would be most blameworthy: therefore all who dispute about faith would be blameworthy. I respond: it must be said that emphasis should be placed on what he says, "greater than himself," and on what he says, "to seek." "Greater than himself" he calls those things which exceed our consideration, insofar as they exceed it. "To seek" he calls to inquire into and examine, as if to say that it is foolish to wish to investigate those things which our inquiry cannot reach, with respect to those things for which our consideration does not suffice. For there are some things which are manifest to us concerning God, and those are not greater than us: hence he does not discourage the co…

Ecclesiastes 7:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

The teachings of wisdom are set forth, through which a remedy is applied against the vanity of foolishness. And since, as is said in Wisdom 8, "wisdom teaches sobriety, prudence, justice, and virtue" or fortitude: in the first he sets forth teachings for having modesty: in the second, for having constancy; in the third, for having prudence; in the fourth, for having justice. For having modesty he provides five teachings. In the first he teaches to prefer the honorable to the pleasant: in the second, future life to the present: in the third, affliction to pleasure: in the fourth, sorrow to merriment: in the fifth, severity to softness or flattery. He therefore sets forth the teaching in which he teaches to prefer the honorable, such as a good name, to the pleasant, such as ointment: therefore he says: "A good name is better," that is, a good reputation displayed by good men, concerning which Sirach 41: "Have care for a good name, for this shall remain with you more than a thousand precious and great treasures." "Than precious ointments," which indeed are very fragrant, according to what is said in John 12: "Mary took a pound of ointment of precious spikenard and anointed the feet of Jesus: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment"; and although ointments are fragrant, nevertheless a good name is more so, therefore it is better: 2 Corinthians 2: "We are the good odor of Christ unto God in every place," namely as regards good reputation. Here the second teaching is noted, in which he prefers future life to the present, and thus entrance into another life to entrance into this one. And therefore he says: "And the day of death," supply: is better "than the day of birth," because one dies to rest; Revelation 14: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord: henceforth, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors." But here one is born to labor: Job 5: "Man is born to labor, and a bird to flight"; and therefore death is better: whence Sirach 30: "Death is better than a bitter life, and eternal rest than persevering illness." It is asked concerning what is said: "The day of death is better than the day of birth." On the contrary: Death is a privation, life is a possession; but a possession always has more of entity and goodness than a privation; therefore life is better than death; therefore the day of birth is better. Furthermore, it is a rule that "that whose corruption is good, its generation is bad." But death is the corruption of life; therefore that whose death is good, its life is bad. But the life of none is bad except a sinner's; therefore the death of none is better than life except a sinner's. But this is false, because a sinner by dying tends toward hell. I respond: it must be said that something is preferred to another sometimes by reason of itself, sometimes by reason of what follows upon it. That is to be preferred to another by reason of itself which of itself bespeaks more of good, just as a man is better than a horse. In another way, by reason of what follows, and thus death is preferred to life, and that dissolution, namely death, upon which follows rest and being with Christ. And of this death he speaks here, because in life man is in danger, in labor and sorrow; after death he is immediately in joy, security, and tranquility. And the response to the first objection is clear, because death is not preferred by reason of itself. What is objected in the second place can be solved similarly. For death is said to be bad in two ways: either because it takes away a great good, namely the good life, as a good both true and useful; or because it leads to a bad end. In the first way the death of the just is bad, that is, harmful; but in the second way it is exceedingly good, and in this respect it is preferred.

Ecclesiastes 7:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

"It is better to go to the house of mourning," where sins are mourned, because Matthew 5: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be consoled"; "than to the house of feasting," where delights are found: Proverbs 23: "Do not be among the banquets of drunkards." And the reason for this is: because in banquets man forgets himself, in the house of mourning he remembers his judgment: and therefore he adds: "For in that," namely in the house of mourning, "the end of all men is brought to mind": Sirach 38: "Remember my judgment: for yours also shall be so. For me it is today, for you it shall be tomorrow." "And the living considers what shall come to pass." And this is most useful: whence Sirach 7: "Remember your last things, and you shall never sin"; and therefore it is said in Sirach 38: "Remember the last things and forget malice," because, as Jerome says, "he easily despises all things who always considers that he is going to die."

Ecclesiastes 7:3 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Here he prefers sadness to merriment: because the former, namely sadness, corrects, and merriment deceives. And therefore he says: "Anger is better than laughter," anger namely, by which one is angered at the sins of others: Hebrews 12: "He scourges every son whom he receives"; and Revelation 3: "Those whom I love, I rebuke and chastise." This anger is better than the laughter of dissimulation: Sirach 30: "Play with your son, and he will bring you sorrow": and therefore: "Anger is better." And the reason is given: "Because by the sadness of the countenance the mind of the offender is corrected": Proverbs 25: "The north wind drives away rain, and a sad countenance a backbiting tongue." It is asked concerning what he says: "Anger is better than laughter." On the contrary: Matthew 5: "Whoever is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment": but whoever derides is not liable to any punishment: therefore it is worse to be angry than to laugh. Likewise, to laugh can be without fault: but to be angry, since it implies a disturbance of reason, is scarcely without venial fault, and is never without punishment: therefore it is far worse than laughter. I respond: it must be said that there is to be angry at vice and to be angry by nature: the first is of virtue and good, the second of vice and evil. Similarly, there is to smile at the good and to deride sin: the first is good; the second, evil. And he speaks of anger and laughter insofar as evil is in view. But then similarly he could give another rule with respect to the good: laughter is better than anger. And it must be said that in the present life there are more evils than goods: therefore more people ought to grieve than to rejoice; therefore he prefers anger to laughter.

Ecclesiastes 7:4 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

And he confirms this lesson by the judgment of the wise: whence he says: "The heart of the wise is where sadness is": but on the contrary: "The heart of fools is where merriment is": the former seek sorrowful things in the present, the latter pleasant things: John 16: "You shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice." And that the former act wisely, and the latter foolishly, is clear from the outcome, because it is said to the sorrowful in Luke 6: "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh"; and on the contrary to those who rejoice: "Woe to you who laugh, for you shall weep."

Ecclesiastes 7:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"It is better to be corrected by a wise man than to be deceived by the flattery of fools." A fool, when he is corrected, does not withdraw from evil nor is he led to good. He who recognizes his faults, and they displease him, is wise. He who rebukes a person and calls him back from evil renders him a greater service than if he gave him the whole world.

Ecclesiastes 7:5 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Here is noted the fifth lesson, by which severity is preferred to softness, as for example harsh rebuke to flattery. On account of which he says: "It is better to be rebuked by a wise man than to be deceived by the flattery of fools." Proverbs 27: "Open rebuke is better than hidden love," because rebuke directs, but flattery deceives. Proverbs 16: "A wicked man entices his friend and leads him by a way that is not good." And Isaiah 3: "O my people, those who call you blessed, they themselves deceive you."

Ecclesiastes 7:6 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

And he gives the reason by a similitude: because the flattery of a fool lasts but a short time and makes much noise, like thorns kindled under a pot. Therefore he says: "For as the crackling of thorns under a pot," it sounds loudly, "so is the laughter of a fool." Literally, a fool laughs loudly. Ecclesiasticus 21: "A fool lifts up his voice in laughter, but a wise man will scarcely laugh quietly." Or: loud laughter is when flattery is clamorous. Proverbs 27: "He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, shall be like one who curses." "But this also is vanity," namely such flattery. In the Psalm: "Vain are the sons of men, liars are the sons of men."

Ecclesiastes 7:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Instructions are set forth for having constancy: and since constancy is lost through oppression and through wrath, and is preserved through patience and through perseverance: therefore four instructions are set forth here. In the first is shown that oppression is to be avoided: in the second, that perseverance is to be loved: in the third, that patience is to be preserved: in the fourth, that wrath is to be fled. In the first instruction, therefore, he shows that oppression is to be avoided, because by disturbing a man it renders him inconstant. For this reason he says: "Oppression disturbs the wise man." Oppression is a litigious accusation, and therefore one must withdraw from it; Isaiah 54: "Withdraw far from oppression, for you shall not fear." "And it shall destroy the strength of his heart," that is, the fortitude of charity: Matthew 24: "Because iniquity shall abound, the charity of many shall grow cold." But there is a doubt about what he says: "Oppression disturbs the wise man." To the contrary: "Whatever happens shall not grieve the just man," as is held in Proverbs 12: therefore if the wise man is just, he is not disturbed by oppression. To this it is answered in one way, that there is a disturbance of impatience, and by this the just man is not disturbed: and of compassion, and by this he is disturbed, just as the Apostle said in 2 Corinthians 11: "Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?" as if to say: no one. But the following text removes this exposition and adds: "And it will destroy the strength of his heart." Therefore it must be resolved, as is said in the Gloss, that there is a wise and just man who is perfect, and of him that passage in Proverbs is understood: and one who is imperfect, and of him this passage here is understood.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Here the second instruction is noted, in which perseverance is preferred to justice merely begun. On account of this he says: "Better is the end of a speech than its beginning": it is better to persevere in good than merely to begin: Matthew 10: "He who shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved"; whence Bernard says: "Perseverance is the consummation of all virtues." Here the third lesson is noted, in which patience is commended, because without it there cannot be constancy; therefore he says: "Better is the patient one than the arrogant": the comparison is improper, because the patient one is good, but the arrogant one is evil: Proverbs 16: "Better is the patient man than the mighty."

Ecclesiastes 7:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

The third middle way is fortitude, which is concerned with fears and acts of valor. A man needs it in order to be neither fainthearted nor rash, but that he be able to bear frightful trials and even death. For some men do fall into cowardice and faintheartedness. Hence, in Job: "Have I the strength of stones, or is my flesh of bronze?" And so, fortitude is in the soul, not in the flesh. Better is the patient spirit than the lofty spirit. And Proverbs say: A patient man is better than a warrior, and he that rules his temper, than he who takes a city. Hence a spiritual man must take great care to avoid dejection.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Here the fourth lesson is touched upon, in which it is taught that anger is to be fled, because it does not stand well with constancy; therefore he says: "Be not swift to anger": James 1: "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath." And the reason is added: "Because anger rests in the bosom of a fool"; Job 5: "Wrath kills the foolish man, and envy slays the little one." He well says "rests," on account of its duration: for the wise man, even if he grows angry, ought not to preserve it long: Ephesians 4: "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath": but not so the fool: Proverbs 27: "Heavy is the sand" in the bosom of the fool. Likewise, what is it that he says here: "Be not swift to anger?" To the contrary: In the Psalm: "Be angry, and do not sin." I respond: it must be said that anger is manifold.

Ecclesiastes 7:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Having set down the lessons for modesty and constancy, here he sets down lessons for having prudence. And because it belongs to the prudent man to discern where one may err: therefore he sets down four lessons for having discretion. The first is for the discernment of useful things: the second, for the discernment of the divine works: the third, for the discernment of times: the fourth, for the discernment of the merits of men. The first instruction, therefore, was given for the discernment of useful things: for in different times there are different advantages arising from different causes. Therefore he says: "Do not say: What do you think is the reason that former times," that is, of the ancients, "were better?" because, namely, in them there was want: "than they now are," when, namely, there is already an abundance of things: because this question arises from thoughtlessness: whence he adds: "For such an inquiry is foolish."

Ecclesiastes 7:11 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

And the reason for this is: because he does not consider the usefulness of wealth, therefore he teaches how to discern it, saying: "Wisdom is more useful with riches," because Proverbs 13: "The riches of a man are the redemption of his soul." "And it profits more those who see the sun," that is, those who have a right intention: because Sirach 13: "Good is substance where there is no sin on the conscience, and most wicked is poverty in the mouth of the ungodly." It is asked concerning what he says: "Wisdom is more useful with riches." Therefore it is better to be a rich wise man than a poor wise man: therefore to be poor is not a more perfect state. Furthermore, "art and virtue concern difficult things"; but it is more difficult for a rich man to be saved than a poor man: therefore it is of greater virtue: therefore a more praiseworthy state. Against this is: because the Lord set the state of the poor man above both by deed and by word, Matthew 19. I respond: it must be said that poverty is threefold: one from delight, another from endurance, another with impatience. The first is good and perfect, the second is imperfect, the third is blameworthy: Ecclesiasticus 13: "Most wretched is poverty in the mouth of the ungodly." When it is said that wisdom is better with riches than without, this is understood concerning poverty that is with endurance or impatience. To the objection about difficulty, it must be said that there is difficulty by reason of the kind of work, and this contributes to greater virtue; and there is difficulty by reason of the disorder of the will, just as the miser gives a gift with more difficulty than the generous person, and this counts for nothing; and so the rich person is saved with more difficulty. It is solved otherwise: because it is understood concerning superfluity and excessive want.

Ecclesiastes 7:11 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Furthermore, Ecclesiastes seven: Wisdom is more useful with riches: Gloss: "than alone"; but riches do not make a man perfect: therefore much less do poverty and want.

Ecclesiastes 7:12 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

And that money is useful, he shows through its effect: "For as wisdom protects," namely from fault: Proverbs 2: "If wisdom shall enter your heart, and knowledge shall please your soul, counsel shall keep you, and prudence shall preserve you"; "so also does money protect," namely when well spent: Sirach 29: "The alms of a man is as a purse with him, and shall preserve the grace of a man as the apple of the eye." And although both are useful, yet wisdom is more useful: therefore he adds: "But wisdom and learning have this advantage besides, that they give life to their possessor": whence Proverbs 4: "Hear, my son, and receive my words, that the years of life may be multiplied to you": and Proverbs 3: "Wisdom is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her." But money without wisdom bestows death: James 5: "Come now, you rich, weep and howl in your miseries." And therefore wisdom is to be preferred to money: Proverbs 8: "Receive wisdom and not money; choose instruction rather than gold."

Ecclesiastes 7:13 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

This is the second instruction, in which he teaches the discreet consideration of the divine works or judgments, because him whom He despises by the sign of reprobation, no one can bring back. Therefore he says: "Consider the works of God," that is, the divine judgments, "that no one can correct him whom He has despised," that is, whom He Himself has willed to visit by His own judgment. Whence it is said in 1 Kings 2 concerning the sons of Eli: "And they did not hear the voice of their father, because the Lord willed to slay them." These works and judgments are to be considered unto fear: Habakkuk 3: "I considered your works and was afraid." It is asked concerning what he says: "That no one can correct him whom God has despised." But God despises every sinner, because "the Most High hates sinners," Ecclesiasticus 12; and: "Likewise the ungodly and his ungodliness are abominable to God." Likewise, if he cannot be corrected, then neither can he be saved: therefore it ought not to be imputed to him. I respond: it must be said that just as love is twofold, namely eternal and according to present justice, so the despising of men is twofold: and he speaks here not of just any man, but of the reprobate, nor of just any despising, but of despising according to eternal reprobation, the sign of which is hardening in the present; and thus it does not apply to every sinner, but to the reprobate. To the objection that it ought not be imputed to him: it must be said that on the contrary it should, because God despises no one without cause. Whence also, although he cannot rise unless God extends His hand, nevertheless he is not excused, because it is his own fault that the hand is not extended to him. Whence Augustine says in the book On Correction and Grace that no one is corrected except willingly.

Ecclesiastes 7:14 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

This is the third instruction, in which he teaches that discretion must be exercised regarding times: because God did not make all times uniformly, but diversely, and man ought to dispose himself according to the diverse times. Therefore he says: "In the good day, enjoy good things," that is, work good with joy: Ecclesiasticus 14: "Do not defraud yourself of a good day, and let not a portion of a good day pass you by," because in this day there is place and time for working. Whence John 9: "I must work while it is day"; similarly also we, whence the Apostle to the Galatians, last chapter: "Let us work good toward all, while we have time." "And guard against the evil day," namely that one of which Zephaniah 1 speaks: "A day of wrath, that day, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of calamity and misery." Whoever wishes to guard against this day must needs reflect upon that saying of Ecclesiasticus 11: "In the day of good things, be not unmindful of evil things." These days the Lord made and ordained in a just manner: therefore he says: "For as He made this one," that is the good, "so also that one," namely the evil, "God made": and this by just judgment: "So that man may not find just complaints against Him." Therefore He makes good things for the good, evil things against the evil, because in the Psalm: "The Lord is just in all His ways."

Ecclesiastes 7:15 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Here is noted the fourth instruction, by which he teaches that diligent discretion must be exercised regarding merits, because they are very hidden. Therefore he says: "These things also I saw in the day of my birth," that is, after I was born, "I saw" this happen: "The just man perishes in his justice," because he is regarded as though he were impious: Isaiah 57: "The just man perishes, and no one considers it." "And the impious man lives a long time in his impiety," as if he were just: at which Jeremiah was indignant, chapter 12: "Why does the way of the impious prosper, it is well with all who transgress and act unjustly?" And below in chapter 8: "There are just men to whom evil things happen, as if they had done the works of the impious; and there are impious men who are so secure, as if they had the deeds of the just." It is asked concerning what he says: "The just man perishes in his justice, and the wicked man lives a long time in his wickedness." But to the contrary: in the Psalm: "Men of blood and deceit shall not live out half their days." Likewise, concerning the good, Exodus 20: "Honor your father, that you may be long-lived upon the earth," and live a long time: therefore life is prolonged for one who observes the commandments. I respond: it must be said that just as it is said in Wisdom 4 concerning the just man: "Being made perfect in a short time, he fulfilled a long time," and few days are reckoned as many; so conversely among the wicked, and likewise concerning the number of those to be saved and those to be damned: and the days of the good are longer because they are better, not because they live longer. It should be noted, however, that the years of men are sometimes shortened lest they become evil: Wisdom 4: "He was taken away, lest wickedness should change his understanding"; sometimes lest they become worse: in the Psalm: "Men of blood and deceit shall not live out half their days." They are prolonged, however, for the purgation of the good: Sirach 2: "For gold is tested in fire"; for the wicked, for their correction: Romans 2: "Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?"

Ecclesiastes 7:16 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Above he set forth instructions for possessing modesty, constancy, and prudence; here in the fourth place he sets forth instructions for possessing justice: and because that is not true justice which exceeds in rigor and cruelty, but rather is to be scorned by piety: therefore he sets forth here four instructions. In the first he forbids the rigor of severity or the excess of justice: in the second, the headlong rush of impiety: in the third he commends the display of mercy: in the fourth, the overlooking of personal injury. In the first instruction, therefore, he dissuades from excess of justice in punishing, when he says: "Be not just overmuch," that is, do not exceed in the rigor of justice, because it is a fault to prosecute every fault to its fullest: whence James 2: "Judgment without mercy shall be done to him who does not show mercy." Neither should you exceed in scrutinizing fault: therefore he says: "Neither be more wise than is necessary," because it is said in Proverbs 30: "He who blows the nose violently draws forth blood," therefore Romans 12: "Not to be wise beyond what is fitting to be wise, but to be wise unto sobriety." It is asked concerning what he says: "Do not be excessively just." On the contrary: This is true per se: the just man is good, therefore the more just, the more good, therefore the most just, the most good: therefore in justice there is no excess. Likewise, whatever is said of God is said in the highest degree: but "just" is said of God: therefore God is supremely just. And it is evident that this is not evil: therefore if the summit of justice is not evil, therefore there is no excess therein. I respond: it must be said that "just" in one way is the same as having such a virtue: and thus the increase of justice is measured by approach to the mean, and so there cannot be excess therein, because no one can be too virtuous nor approach the mean too closely. In another way "just" is said insofar as it names the act of that virtue, which is to punish: and thus its excess is not measured by approach to the mean, but rather to the extreme; then he is called "more just" who punishes more, and to punish in the highest degree is not good. And thus it is understood in the text. To the second objection, that whatever befits God is said in the highest degree: this is true of that which is said absolutely and which names after the manner of a habit: but that which denotes an effect is not said in the highest degree, just as God does not punish in the highest degree nor spare in the highest degree, but insofar as is fitting. Likewise, there is a question about what is said: "Neither be more wise than is necessary." For he who loves more is more wise: but no one can love too much: therefore neither can one be too wise, insofar as love is referred to God. Furthermore, no one is too wise, therefore neither can anyone be so: therefore no one can be more wise than is necessary. But on the contrary: Virtue consists in the mean and is corrupted by excess just as by deficiency: therefore just as there can be sin in remitting too much, so also in punishing too much. To the question about wisdom, it must be said that the habit of wisdom can in no way be excessive: but regarding the act, it should be noted that it is threefold, namely to taste, to know, and to investigate: to taste and to know no one can do too much, but to investigate thoroughly one certainly can do too much. And the reason for this is that excessive investigation leads to foolishness, but love cannot be excessive toward God, because He is to be loved in the highest degree.

Ecclesiastes 7:17 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Here is noted the second instruction in which he forbids the headlong rush of impiety: for impiety renders a man stupefied in feeling and hardened. Therefore he says: "Be not stupefied": Jeremiah 31: "Everyone who eats a sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge." It renders one cruel in deed: therefore he says: "Do not act impiously overmuch," that is, cruelly: Psalm: "I said to the wicked: Do not act wickedly": and Sirach 7: "Do not sow evil in the furrows of injustice, and you shall not reap it sevenfold." It also renders the intellect blind: therefore he says: "Be not foolish": Proverbs 24: "He who thinks to do evil shall be called a fool. The thought of the fool is sin." And because sin and folly hasten death: therefore the reason follows: "Lest you die before your time," that is, lest your death be hastened, because in the Psalm: "Men of blood and deceit shall not live out half their days": and again Luke 12: "Fool, this night they shall require your soul of you." The example of Dathan and Abiram, who went down alive into hell. There is a question about what he says: "Do not be foolish, lest you die before your time." On the contrary: Job 14: "You have appointed his limits, which cannot be passed": therefore it seems that on account of goodness they cannot be increased: therefore neither on account of wickedness can they be diminished. If this is true, how does God promise long years in Scripture? Likewise, concerning Hezekiah, in 4 Kings 20, how did God add fifteen years to him? Likewise, He also shortens; in the Psalm: "Men of blood and deceit shall not live out half their days." I respond: it must be said that to die in one's time is threefold: in one way, in the time of one's salvation, to which each person is ordained: thus all the good die in their time, and no wicked persons do, because they never arrive at this—I speak of those who are finally wicked. In the second way, to die in one's time, that is, by natural death, which indeed occurs through the consumption of the radical moisture, and thus the aged and decrepit die in their time. In the third way, to die in one's time is to die at the time predetermined for one by God, according to divine foreknowledge, which is never deceived. No one anticipates this, no one passes beyond it. In the first way, the wicked die in a time not their own; in the second way, both good and wicked who die by accidental death; in the third way, no one. Therefore Ecclesiastes and Scripture speak here with regard to the first mode, but Job understands it with regard to the third. Similarly, concerning Hezekiah it is said that the Lord changed his counsel.

Ecclesiastes 7:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

"Let the fear of the Lord be with you, and do all things with diligence": as if to say: do not be sluggish or negligent, because it is written in Ecclesiastes: "He who fears God neglects nothing." If I believed that a thief was going to enter my chamber and carry off my treasure, I would not leave the window open. You must always fear God, because he who "keeps the whole law but offends in one point has become guilty of all."

Ecclesiastes 7:18 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Here is noted the third instruction, in which he counsels the display of mercy: and he sets forth first the exhortation and then adds the reason. He exhorts, when he says: "It is good for you to support the just one," namely in justice: Proverbs 24: "Do not lie in wait nor seek wickedness in the house of the just, and do not lay waste to his rest"; because it is said in Proverbs 17: "It is not good to inflict harm upon the just, nor to strike the prince who judges rightly." Not only is the just one to be supported in a just cause, but also a hand is to be extended to him through almsgiving: whence he adds: "But also from him do not withdraw your hand": Sirach 12: "Do good to the just, and you will find great recompense: and if not from him, certainly from God." Having thus set forth the exhortation, he adds a threefold reason: and the first is the divine will, on account of which he says: "He who fears God neglects nothing," namely of those things which God wills to be done; Sirach 7: "Fear God with your whole soul, and purge yourself of your negligence with few." Likewise, there is a question about what he says: "He who fears God neglects nothing." But whoever sins neglects something; therefore no one who sins fears God. But "there is no just person who does not sin"; therefore there is no just person who fears God. I respond: it must be said that negligence in one way implies contempt, and thus it is a mortal sin, and thus it is understood here; in another way, it implies any omission of circumstance whatsoever, and thus it is venial, and no one is without it.

Ecclesiastes 7:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Likewise, the fruit of wisdom is born of the last four by contrast. Corresponding to this fruit, there are four acts, for wisdom is comforting, struggling, contemplating, and extolling. It comforts the good: "Wisdom is a better defense for the wise man than would be ten princes in the city." It is also struggling, against evil: "Better is wisdom than weapons of war." Again, Wisdom "gave him a strong conflict, that he might overcome and know that wisdom is mightier than all." It is also contemplating the Supreme Good: "For she is fairer than the sun." Wisdom makes the soul taste the Supreme Good and be united to it. It is also extolling God on account of all things. This fruit is united with glory: this is the work, this is the reward, this is the fruit, that we shall see, love, and praise.

Ecclesiastes 7:19 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

The second reason is the dignity of the just, on account of which he says: "Wisdom has strengthened the wise man above ten princes of the city"; and so, Wisdom 6, "wisdom is better than strength, and a prudent man is better than a strong one."

Ecclesiastes 7:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

Wisdom descends from above as a light to strengthen our operative power. "Wisdom has strengthened the wise man more than ten princes of the city." No sub-celestial power, neither earthly nor human, nor celestial or angelic, strengthens the soul as much as super-celestial wisdom. Whence in the book of Wisdom: "Wisdom entered into the soul of the servant of God and stood against kings. She gave him a strong contest, that he might overcome and know that wisdom is mightier than all things."

Ecclesiastes 7:20 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

The third reason is human frailty, on account of which he says: "There is no just man on earth who does good and does not sin": and therefore one must have mercy on the sinner: Proverbs 24: "The just man falls seven times a day and rises again"; indeed, however perfect one may be, he sometimes sins: 1 John 1: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Likewise, it is asked whether any just person can be without sin. That he cannot seems evident from what is said here and in 1 John 1: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves." That he can, however, seems evident from Job 17: "I have not sinned, and my eye dwells in bitterness." Likewise, if he cannot, and no one sins in that which he cannot avoid, therefore etc. It must be said concerning sin that many are without mortal sin, but no one exercising free will is without venial sin except Christ, and this we also believe of the most blessed Virgin. To what is objected from Job, I respond: he does not deny that he sinned, but that he sinned so as to be punished in this way. Similarly, the heart reproves when sin has given pleasure; but when one does what one did not will, even if one sinned, the heart does not reprove. As to what is said about the impossibility of avoiding sin, it must be said that man has been brought to this by vice, and therefore he is not excused from sinning in some way. Furthermore, even if he cannot avoid it universally, he can nevertheless avoid any particular sin.

Ecclesiastes 7:21 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Here the fourth instruction is touched upon, in which he exhorts to the overlooking of one's own injury: whence one ought not to inquire nor believe every one who reports. Therefore he says: "But also to all the words that are spoken, do not apply your heart," that is, do not give credence, because little trust is to be placed in words, since many speak much: because, Sirach 19, "he who believes quickly is light of heart"; and because it is difficult to hear and not believe: Sirach 28: "Hedge your ears with thorns, and do not listen to a wicked tongue"; whence one ought not to be anxious to hear what is said about oneself. And the reason is given: "Lest perhaps you hear your servant cursing you": just as Shimei cursed David, 2 Kings 16: whence Abishai says: "Why does this most wretched dog curse my lord the king? I will go and cut off his head."

Ecclesiastes 7:22 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

And this indeed often happens, as a man can know from himself: "For your conscience knows that you have frequently cursed others," and so you ought not diligently heed nor punish: Sirach 31: "Know the things of your neighbor from yourself." And again, forgive: for as it is said in Matthew 18: "Ought you not then also to have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I also had mercy on you?"

Ecclesiastes 7:23 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

This wisdom is spread out among all things. For everything possesses a rule of wisdom and displays divine wisdom by reason of some characteristic; and the man who would know all characteristics would clearly see this wisdom. And it is to this study that the philosophers gave themselves, and Solomon himself. And so he speaks to himself, saying: "I will acquire wisdom"; but it was "beyond me." For when anyone, out of idle curiosity over creatures, gives himself to the search for this wisdom, it eludes him more than ever.

Ecclesiastes 7:23 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Above he treated the vanity of mutability and iniquity; in this part he intends to treat the vanity of penality. And because punishment is twofold: one kind, which is the occasion of sin, such as concupiscence; another kind, which is pure affliction, such as death and bodily infirmity: therefore he first treats the first penality, which is the occasion of sin. And because the vanity of the proneness of concupiscence is perilous, nor is anyone freed except by the aid of divine wisdom: therefore first the discovery of concupiscence is noted; second, the remedy of wisdom is subjoined. The diligent inquiry into concupiscence, which was so diligent that it degenerated into curiosity, is described according to three aspects: the curiosity of his presumption, the loftiness of his inquiry, and the studiousness of his consideration. Therefore, as regards the curiosity of his presumption, he says: "I have tried all things in wisdom," that is, in inquiry—behold, the inquiry of curiosity: Ecclesiasticus 3: "Be not curious in many of his works." "I said: I shall become wise," behold, the elation of presumption: Isaiah 5: "Woe to you who are wise in your own eyes"; and 1 Corinthians 3: "If any of you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise." One may raise a doubt concerning what he says here: "I tried all things in wisdom": whether in this he was blameworthy. That he was, it seems from the text itself: "I said: I shall become wise, and it withdrew further from me." Likewise, from what is said in Ecclesiasticus 3: "Do not be curious about his many works." To the contrary: "The spiritual man judges all things, and he himself is judged by no one": therefore if Solomon had the spirit of wisdom, then it was his to judge concerning all things. Furthermore, in the last chapter of 1 Thessalonians the Apostle says: "Test all things: hold fast what is good": therefore it is good to test all things. I respond: it must be said that to test something is twofold: in one way, to know through experience, as one knows and tests wine that one tastes; in another way, through examination and approval and disapproval. In the first way, only useful things are to be tested; but if one wishes to test more things, it is curiosity. But insofar as to test is the same as to examine, so Paul takes to prove, and thus all things are to be examined, not only good and useful things, but also useless things. Thus it is said that "the spiritual man judges all things": thus also it is said: "test all things," that is: examine all things, whether good or bad in our works, concerning which we can doubt; but in the works of God, concerning which we ought to suppose that they are well made, it is curiosity to prove or examine. Since therefore Solomon extended his examination beyond those things which pertain to salvation, therefore it was curiosity, and this must be conceded. Those two authorities are understood concerning those things which pertain to salvation and belong to oneself, but Solomon went beyond.

Ecclesiastes 7:24 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

The man goes down to the sea in ships who approaches the Scriptures in a spirit of extreme reverence in order to explain them. He goes down with ships who takes as support the wood of the cross: for anyone who seeks to enter the sea of Scriptures without this wood is submerged, for he sinks into the greatest errors. Unless he is Peter himself, he founders. Hence, "it is very deep: who can find it out?" Wisdom is glorified, which penetrated the profound abyss and saw God's marvels in the deep.

Ecclesiastes 7:24 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

As to the sublimity of the inquiry he says: "And she withdrew farther from me than she was before," because the question seemed to him more difficult the more he inquired, and this by the divine severity of judgment: Romans 1: "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" — and by the loftiness of the question: therefore he says: "And a deep profundity, who shall find it?" Deep is the profundity of the inquiry of wisdom: Sirach 24: "I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud." And therefore who can find it? Few sufficiently, but none perfectly: Sirach 43: "Labor not, for you shall not comprehend": and Romans 11: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God."

Ecclesiastes 7:24 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

Concerning the depth of faith, there is in Ecclesiastes: "What exists is far-reaching: it is deep, very deep: who can find it out?" That is, by means of reason. For it goes beyond our powers of investigation.

Ecclesiastes 7:25 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

As to the diligence of consideration he adds: "I surveyed all things in my mind," that is, I went about and diligently considered from every side: Sirach 6: "As one who plows and one who sows, draw near to her." And the moving reason is touched upon: "That I might know," in habit: "and consider," in act: "wisdom," in the appetites: "reason," in operations. And conversely: "That I might know the wickedness of the fool," in things to be done: "and the error of prudence," in things to be believed: above in chapter 1: "I gave my heart to know prudence and learning, and errors and folly."

Ecclesiastes 7:25 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Concerning the third part of philosophy, namely moral philosophy, Solomon also says that he attained it. Whence in Ecclesiastes: "I surveyed all things with my mind, that I might know and consider and seek wisdom and reason, and that I might know the wickedness of the fool and the error of the imprudent." He says that he considered many things and ordered all things to morals. The wickedness of the fool consists in thinking wrongly about the cause of causes; the error of the imprudent concerns the governance of the monastic life, or the domestic life, or the political life, that is, concerning the governance of oneself, or of the family, or of the city. Great prudence is required for the governance of oneself, greater for the governance of a family, but the greatest for the governance of a city. It is impossible that the sun should illuminate bodies far from itself and not illuminate those near to it. No one can have a well-ordered family unless he himself is well-ordered. If someone wishes to have chaste servants, and he himself is not chaste, this cannot be. Similarly, unless a man governs his family well, he will not be able to govern a city well, because "as is the ruler of a city, so also are its inhabitants."

Ecclesiastes 7:26 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

Solomon followed foolish women, therefore he laments and says in Ecclesiastes: "I found woman more bitter than death, who is the snare of hunters, and her heart is a net, her hands are bonds. He who pleases God shall escape from her, but he who is a sinner shall be captured by her." A snare to those who look upon her, a net to those who lust and consent, and bonds to those who touch her.

Ecclesiastes 7:26 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

The vehement proneness of concupiscence itself is touched upon, because it leads to the greatest bitterness under the appearance of sweetness. Therefore he says: "I found a woman more bitter than death," and this after the perpetration of the wicked deed to which concupiscence drags one: whence Proverbs 5: "The lips of a harlot are as a dropping honeycomb, and her throat is smoother than oil." That concupiscence drags one to this, which had its origin from woman and has its fuel in woman, which by its beauty ensnares through desire: therefore he says: "It is the snare of hunters," that is, of demons, who hunt the souls of men. It ensnares by words and glances: Proverbs 7: "She entangled him with many words and drew him forth with the flatteries of her lips." It ensnares by the beauty of the face: Sirach 9: "On account of the beauty of a woman many have perished." It also ensnares by words: whence in the same place: "Her conversation burns like fire." Not only does it ensnare in desire, but it also swallows up in wicked deed: whence he says: "And her heart is a net," when according to her wish one consents to the wicked deed. This is the dragnet of the devil: Habakkuk 1: "He lifted up the whole with a hook; he drew it in his dragnet." But afterward it binds through affection: and therefore he says: "And her hands are bonds": Proverbs 7: "He follows her and does not know that the fool is drawn to bonds." From this inclination no one is delivered unless he is aided by the Lord, so great is it; therefore he says: "He who pleases God shall escape her," according to that passage in 1 Corinthians 6: "Flee fornication"; Wisdom 8: "I knew that I could not otherwise be continent unless God should grant it." "But he who is a sinner shall be captured by her": Proverbs 5: "His own iniquities capture the wicked man, and he is bound by the cords of his own sins."

Ecclesiastes 7:27 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Here the second point is noted, namely the universality of concupiscence, the reason for which was difficult to discern; therefore he says: "Behold, this I have found, said Ecclesiastes, one thing," namely the inclination of concupiscence itself, "and another," namely its universality. "And I labored," supply, "to find the reason, which my soul still seeks"; this is the reason for the universality of concupiscence, why it is in all. "And I did not find it," namely by my own ingenuity; because the philosophers did not know how to discover this: but nevertheless by faith he knew the reason and by experience he knew the effect, namely its universality.

Ecclesiastes 7:28 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Therefore he says: "One man out of a thousand I have found, and a woman out of all I have not found": it is a hyperbole, and he means to say that he found very few men in whom concupiscence did not reign: but he himself found no women: nor is this surprising, because Sirach 25: "All wickedness is short compared to the wickedness of a woman." We could, however, expound this of Christ, who alone escaped from the corruption of original concupiscence, who alone was "free among the dead." Likewise there is a doubt concerning what he says: "One man among a thousand I have found." According to this he seems to confirm that heresy that no woman is saved; and heretics strive to prove this: because, if only that which Christ assumed is saved, and he assumed only the male sex, therefore that alone will be saved. And they endeavor to prove this by what is said in the last chapter of Mark: "He who shall believe and shall be baptized": it does not say: "she who shall be baptized." And the same is said in John chapter 3. The contrary of this is shown by what is said in Matthew 21: "The harlots shall go before you into the kingdom of God." Likewise, this is shown because the Lord received both sexes, healed both bodily, called both through the Apostles. Solomon himself also praised both, and concerning the valiant woman in the last chapter of Proverbs: "She shall laugh on the last day." I respond: it must be said that he speaks of the universality of concupiscence, and of this one may speak in two ways: in one way with respect to carnal propagation, because it is transmitted; in another way with respect to the pursuit through actual sin. If in the first way, the statement is true and proper, because Christ alone was conceived without sin and did not contract original sin. If in the second way, the statement is hyperbolic: and this is evident, because there is not only one good man to be saved, but indeed many: and this is said with respect to the rarity of those who in that time were found free from the act of concupiscence. As to what the heretics object, that he assumed the male sex: I respond that even though he assumed the male sex, it must be noted that he assumed it from a woman: which he would not have done if it did not pertain to salvation. Moreover, man and woman are of one nature and one body. As to what they object from the Gospel, that it is in the masculine: it must be said that this masculine is generic and stands there for the nature, not for the sex: and frequently the masculine gender includes the feminine according to the manner of Scripture.

Ecclesiastes 7:29 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7

Here the third thing is noted, namely the causality of concupiscence, which indeed was not from God, but from the first sin. Therefore he says: "Only this I have found, that God made man upright": Ecclesiasticus 17: "God created man from the earth, and made him according to his own image." And the sign of this is the uprightness of stature, which still remains in the body. "And he himself," namely by his own freedom, "entangled himself in infinite questions": because by withdrawing from the One he became inclined toward many and infinite things, because in them his concupiscence is neither ended nor satisfied; Proverbs 30: "Three things are insatiable, and the fourth, which never says enough: hell, and the mouth of the womb, and the earth."

Ecclesiastes 8:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

Above he described the vanity of concupiscence. Here against that vanity he intends to give the remedy of wisdom: for no one is rescued from concupiscence unless he walks with wisdom. He exhorts therefore in this part to adhere to wisdom from a fourfold consideration: first, from the consideration of its nobility; second, of its power; third, of its utility; fourth, of the opportuneness of time. He exhorts therefore to adhere to wisdom from the consideration of its nobility, which is weighed in this, that it renders a man noble and glorious both with respect to appearance and with respect to speech. And this he first proposes by questioning, then confirms by responding. Who is such as the wise man? That is, who is so distinguished? Wisdom 8: "On account of her I shall have glory among the multitudes and honor among the elders and the young," he speaks of wisdom. Who is so distinguished in speech? Whence he says: And who knows the explanation of a word? Supply: except the wise man. Wisdom 8: "He knows the subtleties of speeches," etc. And therefore in doubtful matters the wise man is to be heard with reverence; thus Wisdom 8: "The faces of princes shall wonder at me; when I am silent they will wait for me, and when I speak they will look upon me, and when I discourse at greater length, they will lay their hand upon their mouth." He proposed by questioning, now he confirms by responding; therefore he says: The wisdom of a man shines in his countenance. Proverbs 17: "Wisdom shines in the face of the prudent man," that is, it appears in his works. Sirach 19: "By his appearance a man is known, and by the meeting of his face a sensible person is recognized." For just as a good man is known by his countenance, so a wise man by his works. Nor is it a wonder if he is distinguished in appearance, because God does this; whence he says: And the Most Powerful shall change his face. This Most Powerful One is God; Job 36: "God does not cast away the mighty, since He Himself is mighty"; and afterwards: "Behold, God is exalted in His strength, and no one is like Him among lawgivers." He changes the face — the exterior — by first changing the interior, that is, by converting it to Himself. For the face of the soul is the higher portion of reason, by which it is naturally disposed to see God. This face God alone changes; Proverbs 21: "As the divisions of waters, so is the heart of the king in the hand of the Lord; whithersoever He wills, He shall incline it."

Ecclesiastes 8:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

The wise person is admirable not only with respect to appearance, but also with respect to speech through wisdom: in whose person he says: I observe the mouth of the king, says wisdom. This King is God, of whom 1 Timothy at the end says: "The blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords." The mouth of this King is the Son of God, through whom He speaks to us: Hebrews 1: "In these last days He has spoken to us in His Son." To observe therefore the mouth of the king is to attend diligently to the word of the Son of God: Luke 11: "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it." Wisdom therefore says: I observe, and I cause others to observe, according to that text of Deuteronomy 6: "Observe, that you may do what the Lord has commanded you, and it may be well with you." And he explains in what things he observes, namely in the commandments, therefore he says: And the precepts of the oath of God, which, namely, proceed from His mouth. And I observe, namely the precepts of the oath of God: precepts of the oath are so called because they are firm and inviolable; Matthew 24: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Or: they are called precepts of the oath, because they were given with a covenant and an oath: Exodus 24: "Moses took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, saying: This is the blood of the covenant of the Lord concerning all these words." A question is raised concerning what he says: I observe the precepts of the oath of God: therefore God swears. On the contrary: 1. Matthew 5: Let your speech be: yes, yes; no, no: therefore what is more than this is from evil. Therefore if it does not befit the perfect to swear, and nothing befits God except what is of the highest perfection, then to swear does not befit God. 2. Furthermore, it is shown that it would be superfluous: because God cannot lie, therefore the simple word of God is equally true as an oath. 3. Likewise, it seems that He cannot swear: because to swear is to call upon someone as witness and support: but God has no other by whom He could confirm: therefore neither can He swear. I respond: it must be said that an oath is the end of every controversy, and is a pure and firm assertion, than which none can be firmer, and this for the purpose of producing certain belief. Thus therefore, when we wish to produce certain belief in the hearer, we swear: so God, condescending to our weakness, swears indeed, in order to render our faith solid. 1. As to the objection, therefore, that it is from evil: it is explained that it is from the evil of punishment, not of the one swearing, but of the one to whom the oath is made, that is, on account of his doubt. Nevertheless, it must be said otherwise that the Lord does not there prohibit the oath as something evil: but because men are prone to speaking falsehood, He prohibits the proneness to swearing indiscriminately, lest at some point they fall simultaneously into lying and swearing to the contempt of God: and because God cannot lie, this reasoning has no place with respect to God. 2. As to the objection that He cannot lie: I say that although an oath in God does not add anything beyond a simple assertion according to the reality of the matter, it does nevertheless add according to our estimation, because our faith is made firmer thereby: and a wondrous condescension toward us is shown. 3. As to the objection that he cannot bring forward another witness: I say that just as he is his own witness, because he is his own truth, so he swears by himself; and this is the best testimony, because light manifests both itself and other things.

Ecclesiastes 8:3 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

Here secondly he exhorts one to adhere to wisdom by consideration of His power, when he says: Do not hasten to depart from His face, that is, do not turn aside from His will: and this on account of the sin of the heart, as though you would hide yourself from Him. Concerning this departure, Deuteronomy 32: "He forsook God his maker, and departed from God his savior." Therefore do not depart from His face, wishing to hide in evil: Sirach 16: "Do not say: I shall be hidden from God, and from on high who will remember me"? As Cain, who said to the Lord: "Behold, you cast me out today from your face, and from your face I shall be hidden." And if it should happen that you depart, do not remain in evil: therefore he adds: Nor remain in an evil work: Sirach 5: "Do not delay to turn to the Lord, and do not defer from day to day." And the reason for this is the consideration of divine power, because He acts omnipotently: For whatever He wills, He shall do: the Psalm: "Whatever He willed, He did"; and Isaiah 46: "My counsel shall stand, and all my will shall be done."

Ecclesiastes 8:4 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

He also acts easily; therefore he says: And His word is full of power, the Psalm: "The voice of the Lord in power, the voice of the Lord breaking the cedars": and Jeremiah 32: "No word shall be difficult for You, who show mercy unto thousands." He also acts irreproachably: Nor can anyone say to Him: Why do You act thus? Romans 9: "Who are you to answer back to God"?

Ecclesiastes 8:5 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

Here he thirdly exhorts us to cling to wisdom by consideration of our benefit. For there is great benefit in clinging to it and keeping its commandments. On account of which he says: He who keeps the commandment shall experience nothing evil: indeed he shall have many good things: Matthew 19: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments"; and John 8: "If you abide in my word, you shall truly be my disciples, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." Here he fourthly exhorts us to keep the commandments of divine wisdom by consideration of the opportunity of time, which the wise man considers in his works. On account of which he says: The heart of the wise man understands the time and the response: he understands the time in which one ought to act: Ephesians 5: "See, brethren, how carefully you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Not only the time, but also the response in its time: Colossians 4: "Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to respond to each one." There is also a doubt about this, because he says: He who keeps the commandment will not experience anything evil. Against this: below in the same chapter: There are just men to whom evils befall as though they had done the works of the wicked. I respond: there is experiencing evil that endures and evil that passes away; and he speaks here of the experience of evil that always remains, not of that which passes away. There is also a question about what he says: He who keeps the commandment, etc. 1. Since there are many commandments to be kept, why does he say "commandment" in the singular? 2. Furthermore, it is possible for someone to keep the divine commandments out of fear, as the Jews kept them; and yet such persons are not saved. I respond: it must be said that although the commandments are many by diversity of work, nevertheless they have unity both in relation to the one commanding, and in relation to the one observing, and in relation to the end. In relation to the one commanding, because he who commands is one; and therefore whoever transgresses one commandment cannot be obedient to the one commanding, because the one who commands is one. — In relation to the one observing there is unity, because he observes all things by one principle and rule, namely charity, which conquers all things. Whence, just as charity either loves all or none, so it observes all commandments or none. In relation to the end there is unity, because one reward is owed, and they are to be observed for one reward. Because therefore this threefold unity concurs in the due observance of the commandments, he rightly says: He who keeps the commandment, etc.

Ecclesiastes 8:6 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

And the wise man does well who considers the opportune time; which he proves when he brings forth: To every matter, that is, in every matter, there is a time and an opportunity, and much affliction of man, supply: in diligently considering these things; above, chapter 3: "All things have their time, and all things pass away in their own intervals under the sun." For there is an opportunity of time for studying: Sirach 38: "Write wisdom in a time of leisure." There is also an opportunity for praying: Psalm: "At midnight I arose to give praise to you." There is also an opportunity of time for doing good: Galatians 6: "While we have time, let us do good to all."

Ecclesiastes 8:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

And this opportunity is in the present time; and he shows this to be in the present time, showing the future time to be perilous, because it cannot be foreseen: whence he said: He who is ignorant of things past, and things to come he can know by no messenger, because the future can be known far less than the past: above, chapter 7: "Who can tell him what shall be after him?"

Ecclesiastes 8:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

Neither can it be prevented, whence he says: Nor is it in man's dominion, that is, power, to prevent the spirit, namely from departing, because no one can prevent the time of death from coming. And he explains this by adding: Nor does he have power in the day of death; Job 14: "You have appointed his limits, which cannot be passed." It cannot be avoided: whence he says: Nor is one permitted to rest, when war presses in, namely on the day of judgment; Wisdom 5: "The whole world shall fight for him against the senseless." Which war the wicked shall not be able to avoid; whence in Apocalypse 6 they will say to the mountains: "Fall upon us," etc., because then "flight shall perish." Neither can it be dissembled, therefore he says: Wickedness shall not save the wicked, as though he could feign himself good: Job 36: "He does not save the wicked, and he grants judgment to the poor"; and Proverbs 11: "Treasures shall not profit in the day of vengeance: justice shall deliver from death": therefore Job 10: "If I be wicked, woe is me."

Ecclesiastes 8:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

He treated above of the vanity of proneness; here he treats of the vanity of false security. And since this vanity is dangerous, because it impels a man to sin or detains him once impelled, therefore first the vanity is set forth; second, the remedy of the vanity, at: He who digs a pit will fall into it, below in chapter ten. First the vanity of false security is shown according to its twofold origin. False security arises in two ways: first, from the appearance of a lack of just retribution; second, from the appearance of a lack of providential governance, and this second is touched upon at: I turned to other things and saw that the race is not to the swift, etc., below in chapter nine. First, the first origin arises from the appearance of a lack of just retribution; which appearance is set forth by a threefold reason. The retribution of justice, however, appears to fail on account of the exaltation of the wicked, on account of the depression of the good, on account of the indistinction of both: there are therefore three parts here. First it is shown how the vanity of security arises from the promotion of the wicked: second, how from the depression of the good, at the place: There is also another vanity which is done upon the earth, etc.; third, how it arises from the indistinction of these and those, at the place: And I applied my heart to know wisdom, etc. First, concerning the exaltation of the wicked. The origin, therefore, of security from the exaltation of the wicked is described in this order. First, the sublimity of the wicked is intimated: second, how from this there arises for the impious the vanity of security: third, how from this is elicited the advantage of the good. First, therefore, the sublimity of the wicked is intimated, which Ecclesiastes considered with his diligent consideration. On account of which he says: All these things I considered, supply: which I said before. And I gave my heart to all the works that are done under the sun, that I might consider all things: above in chapter one, "I gave my heart to know prudence and learning, and errors and folly." And in this consideration he himself saw the elevation of the wicked both in power and in fame. As to the elevation in power, he says: Sometimes man rules over man to his own harm, namely when a wicked man presides, because a good man rules to his own good when he presides well: whence 1 Timothy 3: "If anyone desires the office of bishop, he desires a good work"; but a wicked man to his own harm: whence Sirach 7: "Do not bind upon yourself a double sin, for even in one you will not be free from guilt." A wicked prelate binds upon himself a double sin. The question is raised here concerning what he says: Sometimes man has dominion over man: whether a man can justly have dominion over another man. That he can, appears as follows: 1. Because in Romans 13: "There is no power except from God": and the Apostle says that masters are to be served not only on account of fear, but also on account of conscience: therefore if everything that is from God is just, then for a man to have power over another man is just. 2. Furthermore, if conscience dictates to a man nothing but what is just, when it is right, and it dictates this, as the Apostle says: therefore it is just for a man to be subject to another man. 3. Likewise the Apostle says in Ephesians 6: Servants, obey your earthly masters: but the Apostle neither exhorts nor commands anything except what is just: therefore etc. Against: 1. Men are equal by nature, therefore that one should be set over another is against nature: but everything that is against nature is sin: therefore etc. 2. Likewise, all men are free by nature, therefore when a man is made a slave, this is by usurpation; but everything usurped is sin: therefore it is sinful for one man to rule over another. I respond: it must be said that one man can justly rule over another, which is evident because Noah by divine authority made his…

Ecclesiastes 8:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

As for exaltation in fame he says: I saw the wicked buried, namely by the depth of despair: Proverbs 18: "When the wicked man comes into the depth of sins, he scorns." Or: buried, by the heap of flattery: Matthew 8: "Let the dead bury their dead"; Gregory: "The dead man buries the dead, when he overwhelms with the heap of flattery." Or: buried, by the continuation of transgression unto death, as if to say: those who were buried in wickedness and died in wickedness, according to what is frequently said; 3 Kings 16: "He died in the sins of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin"; and according to what the Lord says to the Jews, John: "You shall die in your sin." Such wicked men he saw exalted in fame; therefore he says: Who also, while they were still living, supply: in their wickedness, were in the holy place, that is, in a position of dignity as if they were holy, just as also the Antichrist, about whom Matthew 24: "When you shall see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place," etc. And they were praised in the city as if for works of the just. And thus they were great in fame: the Psalm: "For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul"; and Proverbs 28: "Those who forsake the law praise the wicked; but those who keep it," etc. But this also is vanity. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the vanity of security: because from the fact that the wicked are not punished, others are rendered secure; therefore he says: But this also is vanity, that is, a cause of vanity.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

And he shows this: For because sentence is not speedily pronounced against the wicked, but they are kindly waited for, according to what is said in 2 Peter 3: "The Lord does not delay his promise, but deals patiently on your account, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to repentance." And without any fear the sons of men perpetrate evils, and so they are secure, because they think of nothing and fear nothing concerning the future: Proverbs 28: "Evil men do not consider judgment," because, namely, they are not now punished: Isaiah 26: "Let us have mercy on the wicked, and he will not learn justice," etc.

Ecclesiastes 8:12 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

Here the third point is touched upon, how from this is drawn the benefit for the good, because from this the good come to know divine mercy and are exercised in justice. Therefore he says: Yet the sinner, and the text should be construed thus: Yet from this, that the sinner a hundred times does evil, that is, many times, according to that passage of Jeremiah 2: "How exceedingly vile you have become, repeating your ways." And is sustained through patience, namely of God, according to that passage of Romans 2: "Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" Whence Lamentations 3: "It is the mercy of the Lord that we are not consumed." I have known that it shall be well with those who fear God, that is, with those who turn away from evil: Proverbs 16: "By the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil." Who reverence his face, and on account of reverence for him do not dare to sin, according to what Job 31 says of himself: "I always feared God as waves swelling over me, and I could not bear his weight." It is asked concerning what he says: The wicked man sins a hundred times and is sustained: whether this is of kindness or of severity. That it is of kindness seems evident: Lamentations 3: It is of the mercy of the Lord that we are not consumed. Furthermore, the Apostle in Romans 2: Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But on the contrary: The wicked man, the longer he lives, the more evils he commits, and the more evils he commits, the more sharply he will be tormented: therefore if he were to die sooner, it would be better for him: therefore that his days are prolonged is rather for evil than for good: therefore it is of severity. I respond: it must be said that there are certain wicked men whom God foresaw would return to him: for such men the prolongation of life is an effect of great mercy, both manifest and hidden. Others there are whom he foresaw would multiply sins and die in them: and for such men to prolong life is of justice and of mercy: of mercy, because cruel punishment is deferred for them: but of hidden justice, because he who is filthy is permitted to become filthier still: for he thereby merited the prolongation of life, and as regards this it is of hidden severity.

Ecclesiastes 8:13 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

But this benefit of divine mercy and patience does not extend to the wicked; and therefore it is more profitable for them to die than to live. — Therefore he says: Let there not be good for the wicked: he says this not by way of wishing but by way of predicting, as that passage of the Psalm: "Let sinners be turned into hell." Let there not be good, namely of glory: Isaiah 26: "Let the wicked be taken away, lest he see the glory of God." Nor let there be the good of the present life either: therefore he adds: Nor let his days be prolonged, that is, they will not be prolonged: Proverbs 10: "The years of the wicked shall be shortened": and in the Psalm: "Men of blood and deceit shall not live out half their days." But let those who do not fear the face of the Lord pass away like a shadow. And indeed they pass away like a shadow: whence in the Psalm: "I saw the wicked highly exalted," and afterward: "I passed by, and behold, he was no more"; whence in the person of the wicked, Wisdom 5: "All these things have passed away like a shadow and like a messenger running ahead and like a ship that passes through the surging water."

Ecclesiastes 8:14 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

Above he showed how security arises from the sight of the exaltation of the wicked: here secondly he shows how it arises from the sight of the adversity of the good. And indeed he does this in this order. First, the adversity of the good is set forth: second, from this the security of the wicked: third, vanity is concluded: fourth, pleasure is commended. There is therefore proposed the adversity of the good, from which vanity arises; on account of which he says: There is also another vanity which is done upon the earth, another, namely, from the aforementioned, because it has a different cause: for the aforementioned came from the exaltation of the wicked, but this one from the adversity of the good. Therefore he says: There are just men, to whom evils befall, that is, adversities, as though they had done the works of the wicked, according to what is found in Hebrews 11: "The saints experienced mockeries and scourgings, and moreover chains and prisons: they were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted." An example is Tobias, who was made blind, Tobit 2; an example is Job, who was so afflicted, Job 1. And the reason for this is given in Judith 8: "All who were pleasing to God passed through many tribulations as faithful ones." And there are the wicked. Here the second point is noted, namely the security of the wicked. For because the wicked see that evils befall the good and good things befall themselves, they are therefore rendered secure. Therefore he says: And there are the wicked, who are rendered so secure as though they had the deeds of the just; and this because they are immune from tribulation. An example is that rich glutton, Luke 16, to whom it was said: "Remember that you received good things in your life, and Lazarus likewise evil things." And therefore the wicked are made secure because they prosper; whence Jeremiah 12: "Why does the way of the wicked prosper; it is well with all who transgress," etc. But this also is most vain. Here thirdly vanity is concluded from this security of the wicked. Therefore he says: But this also I judge most vain. For it is vain when good things befall both the good and the wicked, because it is unworthy on account of the wicked; more vain when evil things befall both the good and the wicked, because it is unjust on account of the good; but most vain when evil things befall the good and good things befall the wicked, because it is equally unjust and unworthy. Whence he bears it so indignantly that he almost wishes to accuse God on this account: Habakkuk 1: "Why do you look upon those who act wickedly and are silent, while the wicked devours one more just than himself?" It can be asked here which state is better and more useful: namely, whether the state of prosperity or of adversity. That the state of adversity is better seems to be the case: 1. Because it is said in Apocalypse 3: I rebuke and chastise those whom I love: therefore tribulation is a sign of divine love. 2. Likewise, it is said in Hebrews 12: He scourges every son whom he receives: therefore to be scourged is a sign of divine sonship. 3. Likewise, Tobit 12: Because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that trial should prove you: therefore etc. 4. Likewise, Judith 8: All who have pleased God passed through many tribulations as faithful ones: therefore that state is better. On the contrary: 1. The Church seeks peace: "Give peace, O Lord, in our days": therefore if the Church seeks what is better, the state of prosperity is better. 2. Likewise, the Apostle, in 1 Timothy 2, directs that prayer be made for those who are placed in high position, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life: therefore the state of tranquility is better. 3. Likewise, if there were no sin, there would be no adversity, but complete tranquility and prosperity: therefore the state of prosperity is more consonant with the state of innocence and glory; but "what is more similar to the better is itself better": therefore etc…

Ecclesiastes 8:15 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

Here fourthly, from this, pleasure is commended in detestation of so great a vanity, from the fact that good things befall the wicked and evil things befall the good; and this is the praise and word of a troubled man. Therefore he says: I praised therefore gladness, namely of the flesh, as though this alone were good; therefore he says: That there is no good for man under the sun except to eat and to drink, according to that passage in Isaiah 22: "Behold, joy and gladness, slaying rams, eating flesh and drinking wine," as though there were no other life nor any other reward. Therefore he adds: And this alone he carries away with him from his labor, as though nothing else were to be expected, but one should rejoice in the days of his life, which God gave him under the sun: Wisdom 2: "Let us everywhere leave signs of our gladness, for this is our portion."

Ecclesiastes 8:16 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

It has been shown how the vanity of security arises from the exaltation of the wicked and also from the oppression of the good. Here it is shown thirdly how it arises from the indistinction of the one group and the other. For because the wicked cannot be distinguished from the good, therefore they are secure; and since this security has its origin from this kind of indistinction, and it itself is also the principle of pleasure, therefore this part has two parts. First it is shown how from indistinction arises security; second, how from security arises pleasure, at the passage: There is no one who lives forever, etc. First it is shown how security is born from this. The first point, therefore, is described in this order: first, therefore, is noted the vain solicitude of discerning; second, the uncertainty of discernment; third, the reason for the uncertainty; fourth, is noted from this the origin of vain security. Therefore first is intimated the vain solicitude of discerning, which solicitude was diligent; whence he says: And I applied my heart, that is, I applied my intellect; that I might know wisdom, with respect to invisible things, and understand the distinction of those things which are occupied on earth, with respect to visible things, because Romans 1: "The invisible things of God are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being understood through those things which have been made." And this solicitude is vain, because however much a man may labor, he cannot find out; therefore he adds: There is a man who day and night takes no sleep with his eyes, but rather labors continually to inquire, above in chapter three: "I saw the affliction which God has given to the sons of men, that they might be occupied in it"; and he adds: "He made all things good and delivered the world to their disputation"; and although he labors so much, he profits nothing.

Ecclesiastes 8:17 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8

Therefore he adds: And I understood that man can find no reason for all the works of God, of those works, namely, which are done under the sun: Sirach 43: "Do not labor, for you will not comprehend." And the more he has labored to seek, the less he will find: whence in the Psalm: "Man shall approach to a deep heart, and God shall be exalted," that is, made distant; Augustine: "God is lofty; you raise yourself up, and He flees from you; you humble yourself, and He comes to you." Even if the wise man says that he knows, he will not be able to find out, that is, if he believes himself to know, he understands less, because it is said in Romans 1: "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools"; above in chapter seven: "I said: I shall become wise, and it departed further from me." And he repeats the solicitude, adding that it was curious; for to apply solicitude where there is no utility is curiosity. Therefore he says: All these things I pondered in my heart, that I might understand with curiosity; and this is reproved in Sirach 3: "Do not search much into superfluous things, and do not be curious about the many works of His." And thus the solicitude of distinguishing is evident, which was diligent and vain, and therefore curious.

Ecclesiastes 9:1 — Breviloquium, Part 6

The security of salvation requires that the matter be so effected that it not fall into doubt; and there is no one who is certain of the goodness and faith of the minister, and even the same person is not certain concerning himself whether he is worthy of love or of hatred: therefore, if the Sacraments could be dispensed only by the good, no one would be certain of the reception of the Sacrament; and so it would be necessary always to repeat them, and the malice of one would prejudice the salvation of another; nor would there be any stability in the grades of the hierarchy of the Church militant, which consists especially in the dispensing of the Sacraments. And therefore it was fitting that the dispensation of the Sacraments be entrusted to man not by reason of holiness, which varies according to the will, but by reason of authority, which always remains.

Ecclesiastes 9:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

"There are just and wise ones" etc. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the uncertainty of discernment. For a man does not know of himself whether he is a good man or an evil one, even the good man himself. Therefore he says: "There are just and wise ones," and thus good; "and their works are in the hand of God," that is, in the power of knowing, accepting, and rewarding. In his hand are merits and rewards. There are merits of good thoughts: Proverbs 21: "As the divisions of waters, so is the heart of the king in the hand of the Lord." There are merits of good affections: Psalm: "In his hand are all the ends of the earth." There are also merits of good speeches: Wisdom 7: "In his hand are both we and our words." There are also merits of good works, as in the passage at hand. There are also rewards in his hand: Wisdom 3: "The souls of the just are in the hand of God"; and since they are in the hand of God, they ought to be known. "And yet man does not know whether he is worthy of love" or of "hatred," and thus he does not know how to discern; 1 Corinthians 4: "I am conscious of nothing against myself, but I am not justified in this" etc. There is a doubt about what he says: "Man does not know whether he is worthy of love or of hatred." This seems false: 1. Because Romans 8: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? I am certain," etc.: therefore there is an objection against it there. You will say that he knew by revelation; it is objected that man can know by himself, because the worthiness of divine love places in us sanctifying grace; but Augustine says that those things which are essentially in the soul are better known than those which are known according to species: therefore if we are certain of those things which we know according to species, as when something sweet is placed upon the tongue, much more so of grace. 2. Likewise, Augustine says that he who has faith is certain that he has faith. Therefore he who has love or charity is certain that he has it: therefore he who has grace is certain: therefore he is certain whether he is pleasing to God. 3. Likewise, concerning hatred one can be certain: indeed, he who has sinned and wills to sin is certain that he is worthy of hatred. On the contrary: I. 1 Corinthians 4: "I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified in this," etc. 2. Likewise, Job 9: If he comes to me, I shall not see him; and if he departs, I shall not perceive it; and in the same place: "If I am simple, my very soul shall be ignorant of this." 3. Likewise, Ecclesiasticus 5: "Concerning the forgiven sin, do not be without fear": therefore no one is certain. To this some respond that the passage is understood concerning the hatred of predestination and reprobation, of which no one is certain; and thus there is no objection, because predestination does not place in us any effect through which it could be known. It must be answered otherwise, because this response does not satisfy the text: for the text says: "He does not know whether he is worthy of love"; but no one is worthy of or merits being predestined: therefore it is understood according to present justice. On account of this, others respond that knowledge is twofold, namely necessary and infallible: and this we cannot have, because no one can know with certitude whether he has grace, except through revelation, as the Apostle did. There is another kind that is probable and through signs: and this indeed can be had and is had, because many know through probable signs that they are in grace. To the objection, then, that the soul sees essentially: I say that habits in the soul are not known except through the fact that the soul sees itself disposed toward some act; and because the acts of unformed and formed faith and of gratuitous and natural love are so similar that a man can scarcely or never discern between them: therefore, even if he knows the habit, he nevertheless does not know whether it is gratuitous…

Ecclesiastes 9:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

"But all things are reserved for the future." Here the third point is noted, namely the reason for uncertainty, which arises from this, that in the present, recompense is not made according to merits, but is reserved for the future. And therefore he says thus: "Man does not know... But all things are reserved uncertain for the future," so that they may be made certain; 1 Corinthians 4: "Do not judge before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both illuminate the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of hearts"; which indeed he does not do now, but reserves, according to that passage in Job 14: "You have sealed up my transgressions as in a bag"; and thus in the present all things are in hiddenness. And it is added: "Because all things equally befall the just and the impious" etc.: all things, good and evil, equally befall the just and the sinner, whom he describes under six differences. "The just and the impious," with regard to the belief of faith, which justifies the impious: Habakkuk 2: "The just man lives by his faith." "The good and the evil," with regard to the purity of love, because holy love makes one good: Matthew 7: "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit." "The clean and the unclean," with regard to the uprightness of conduct: for that is observed in outward things, Tobit 4. "The one offering sacrifices and victims, and the one despising sacrifices," with regard to the devotion of religion — Exodus 12: "This is the religion of the Passover; no foreigner shall eat of it." "As the good, so also the sinner," with respect to the observance of the commandments, the observance of which makes the good, and the transgression makes sinners; Daniel 9: "We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, and we have departed and turned aside from your commandments and judgments." "As the perjurer, so also he who truly swears," with respect to the speaking of truth: "deterat," where "de-" intensifies, not diminishes; "deterat," that is, he truly swears, according to which signification it is taken in 1 Kings 20: "And Jonathan continued to swear to David, because he loved him." Equal things befall all these both with respect to the condition of nature, according to Wisdom 7: "Therefore there is one entrance for all into life, and a like departure"; and with respect to the condition of fault: Romans 3: "All have sinned and lack the glory of God"; and with respect to the condition of punishment: Ecclesiasticus 8: "Remember that we are all in corruption."

Ecclesiastes 9:3 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

"This is the worst" etc. Here the fourth is touched upon, namely the origin of vain security, because great security arises from this lack of distinction, which is the occasion of many sins. Therefore he says: "And this is the worst among all things that are done under the sun, because the same things befall all." Therefore "the worst," because the occasion of many sins; for God does not seem to care about us. Whence arises that saying of Job 22: "The clouds are his hiding place, and he does not consider our affairs." And he shows that evils arise from this, because security arises, through which man falls into malice and contempt. Therefore he says: "Whence also the hearts of the children of men," that is, of the wicked and the carnal, "are filled with malice and contempt." In the filling, a multitude of vices is designated, so that malice is in the concupiscible, and contempt in the irascible, which are the two roots of sins; Genesis 6: "The earth was corrupted before God and filled with iniquity"; and this "in their life," that is, as long as they have a place for meriting: 1 Thessalonians 2: "That they may fill up their sins always." And because such are cast headlong into punishment, therefore he adds: "And after these things they shall be led down to hell": the Psalm: "But you, O God, shall lead them down into the pit of destruction"; and Job 21: "They spend their days in prosperity, and in a moment they descend to hell." One may also raise a doubt about what he says: "This is the worst thing under the sun, that the same things happen to all." On the contrary: 1. It is worse when good things happen to the wicked and bad things to the good than when the same things happen to both, because, as was said above, that is undue and unworthy. 2. Likewise, it was said above: "This I judge most vain," concerning the fact that the wicked are secure and evils befall the just; but "what is said by way of superabundance belongs to one alone": therefore, etc. I respond: it must be said that increase and decrease in vanity or wickedness can be taken properly: and thus it is said intensively, in the way that one says: a pearl is whiter than a horse; and thus intensively the vanity is greater when the wicked are exalted and the good are cast down. Furthermore, more and less can be taken extensively, because it is the cause or occasion in more cases or for more people: and in this way the indistinction of the good from the wicked is a greater vanity, because it is the origin of more evils. For if bad things happened to the good and good things to the wicked, the good could be discerned from the wicked; but when the same things happen to both, they cannot be discerned.

Ecclesiastes 9:4 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

Secondly, it is shown how pleasure arises from this. "No one lives forever." He has now shown how the vanity of false security arises from indistinction; here secondly he shows how pleasure arises from security: and indeed he does this in the following order. First is noted the certainty of death; second, the worsening of one's state through death; third, the commendation of pleasure; fourth, the confirmation of the commendation. First, therefore, the certainty of death is noted by the fact that no one escapes its judgment. Therefore he says: "There is no one who lives forever": therefore in the Psalm: "What man is there who shall live and not see death?" And into this condemnation Adam fell with his posterity, when it was said to him in Genesis 3: "Dust you are, and to dust you shall return." "And who has confidence in this matter," supply: no one; "in this matter," namely the hope of living forever: Job 7: "My days have passed more swiftly than a web is cut by the weaver, and they are consumed without any hope, for my life is wind, and it shall not return," etc. "A living dog is better," etc. Here secondly it is shown that through death there is a deterioration of condition: and he proposes this under a metaphor: "A living dog is better than a dead lion." Although a lion surpasses a dog, nevertheless death renders it inferior, because a living dog can do something, a dead lion can do nothing, and yet when living it is more powerful than a dog: Proverbs 30: "The lion, the mightiest of animals, shall tremble at the approach of none." Thus metaphorically he means to say that any living person, however lowly, is better than a dead person, however good.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

And he proves this first with regard to the act of cognition. "For the living know that they are to die": at least of this they are certain: 2 Kings 14: "We all die, and like waters that flow down into the earth, which do not return." Or: "to die," that is, given over to the necessity of death; Romans 8: "The body is dead because of sin." "For the dead know nothing further," because cognition presupposes life; and thus the living surpass the dead in the act of cognition: for they have neither motion nor sensation. With regard to the act of recollection he says: "Nor do they have any further reward," namely of fame in the memory of others: "because their memory has been handed over to oblivion": above in chapter 2: "There shall be no remembrance of the wise man, just as neither of the fool, forever and in times to come," etc. Or: because their memory does not have the act of recollection: Job 7: "He who descends to the netherworld shall not ascend, nor shall he return again to his house, nor shall his place know him anymore." It can be asked concerning what he says: "The dead know nothing more." This seems to be false, because the soul separated from the body is freer; but a substance, the freer it is from the body, the more suited it is for cognition; therefore the dead are more apt for knowing; therefore either the soul perishes, or it knows. Likewise there is a doubt concerning this, that "they have no further reward." This is manifestly heretical, because this removes divine justice. If we wish to respond to these by saying that it is spoken in the person of Epicurus, then the response is clear; but if we wish to maintain that it is in his own person, it must be said that when he says that the dead do not know, it is understood with respect to those things which are in this world: because they do not know these worldly things, nor are they in the memory of the worldly, nor do they have affection for worldly things. And this is clear from the text, because he says: "Nor do they have a part in this age."

Ecclesiastes 9:6 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

With regard to the act of affection he says: "Love also and hatred and envy have likewise perished," because they are not affected as before in life. With regard to the act of exterior operation he says: "Nor do they have a part in this world," and he explains with respect to what: "and in the work that is done under the sun," because they cannot work, according to that saying in John 9: "The night comes, when no one can work." Likewise concerning what he says, that "love and hatred have perished together." On the contrary: An evil will always remains; therefore if evil will exists through love and hatred, therefore etc. If we wish to respond to these by saying that it is spoken in the person of Epicurus, then the response is clear; but if we wish to maintain that it is in his own person, it must be said that when he says that the dead do not know, it is understood with respect to those things which are in this world: because they do not know these worldly things, nor are they in the memory of the worldly, nor do they have affection for worldly things. And this is clear from the text, because he says: "Nor do they have a part in this age."

Ecclesiastes 9:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

"Go therefore and eat" etc. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the commendation of present delight, to the embracing of which he exhorts first according to taste; whence he says: "Go therefore and eat your bread with joy": by bread is understood everything that pertains to food. "And drink your wine with gladness": by wine, everything that pertains to drink. "Because God is pleased with your works": as if to say: you are not certain whether they displease; therefore presume that they please, and so eat and drink without care, according to that passage of Isaiah 22: "Behold, joy and gladness, to eat flesh and to drink wine: let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die." Moreover, this can be expounded spiritually, so that first it exhorts to the delight of contemplation; and second, to the urgency of action. For contemplative men, three things are necessary: meditation on Sacred Scripture, purity of conscience, and the embrace of interior devotion. With regard to meditation on Sacred Scripture he says: "Eat bread and drink wine": bread with respect to difficult matters, and wine with respect to easy matters. Proverbs 9, Wisdom says: "Come, eat my bread and drink the wine that I have mixed for you." Concerning this exhortation: "Go therefore and eat your bread and drink your wine," etc. — if we wish to respond by saying that it is spoken in the person of Epicurus, then the response is clear; but if we wish to maintain that it is in his own person, it must be said that that exhortation is not stated absolutely, but is a conclusion drawn from the aforementioned vanity. Hence he says: "Go therefore," that is to say: if a man cannot discern whether in the present he ought to please God and in the future be rewarded — if this, I say, he cannot know, nor can he live forever — therefore he can rejoice without care. But that does not hold unless this is supposed: that the Lord does not reward differently in the future than in the present — which is the aforementioned vanity, which he will destroy below in chapter eleven.

Ecclesiastes 9:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

Then according to sight he says: "At all times let your garments be white," so that you may appear comely in clothing; "and let not oil be lacking from your head," so that you may appear comely in appearance. In this manner those adorn themselves who wish to be pleasing in the sight of men. The example is of Judith, who, when she wished to please the eyes of Holofernes, adorned herself, according to what is said in Judith 10; but she did this for a good purpose, because otherwise it is reprehensible: Ecclesiasticus 11: "Never glory in your clothing." Spiritually, with regard to purity of conscience he says: "At all times let your garments be white," that is, a clean conscience. Apocalypse 3: "They have not defiled their garments; they shall walk with me in white." On the contrary, it is said in Isaiah 9: "A garment mixed with blood shall be for burning and fuel for fire." And because interior joy follows upon cleanness of conscience, therefore he says: "And let oil not be lacking from your head": whence in the Psalm: "That he may make the face cheerful with oil"; Matthew 6: "But you, when you fast, anoint your head" etc.

Ecclesiastes 9:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

Then according to touch he says: "Enjoy life with the wife whom you love." This enjoyment is described in Proverbs 7: "Come, let us be inebriated with breasts and enjoy the desired embraces, until the day dawns." And this not only once, but "all the days of the life of your instability, which are given to you under the sun." Truly our life is unstable, according to that passage of Job 14: "He never remains in the same state." And for greater expression he says: "All the time of your vanity." Our life is a time of vanity; whence in the Psalm: "Man is made like unto vanity; his days pass away like a shadow." "For this is the portion" etc. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the confirmation of the commendation, and the confirmation consists in this: that man expects no other reward nor has any other fruit, and therefore he ought to take what he can. Thus he says: "For this is your portion in life and in the labor with which you toil under the sun," namely, to delight in the present. Wisdom 2: "Let us everywhere leave signs of our joy, for this is our portion, and this is our lot." Spiritually, with regard to the embrace of interior devotion he says: "Enjoy life with the wife whom you love." This wife is the religious life, in which one must devote oneself to contemplation. Proverbs 5: "Rejoice with the wife of your youth, a most dear hind" etc. This beloved wife was prefigured by Rachel, for whom "Jacob served seven years," Genesis 29.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

And because no other reward is to be expected, man ought to take from this as much as he can. Thus he says: "Whatever your hand is able to do, work at it earnestly," that is, while you have time, do not wait for the future. And therefore it is added: "For neither work," in things to be done; "nor reason," in things to be deliberated; "nor knowledge," in things to be known; "nor wisdom," in things to be loved, "shall be in the netherworld, to which you hasten": these things are not there, because, as is said in Job 10, "that land is dark and covered with the shadow of death, where no order exists, but everlasting horror dwells." Thither sinners hasten, and all before the coming of Christ with respect to limbo. Job 17: "All my things shall descend into the deepest hell." Thither sinners hasten, drawing nearer day by day. Deuteronomy 32: "The day of destruction is near." Spiritually, then as regards the active, he says: "Whatever your hand is able to do, do it earnestly." To work earnestly is to work swiftly, against negligence: Ecclesiasticus 31: "In all your works be swift, and no infirmity shall befall you"; fervently, Proverbs 18: "He who is soft and slack in his work is the brother of him who destroys his own works"; continuously, so that one does not grow lukewarm: Ecclesiasticus 27: "If you do not hold yourself earnestly in the fear of the Lord, your house will quickly be overthrown"; perseveringly: 2 Timothy 2: "He who strives in the contest will not be crowned unless he has strived lawfully," that is, perseveringly. And the reason is added why one must earnestly do good works in the present: because the time of merit is brief; whence: "In the underworld there is no work," for exercising oneself in piety: John 9: "I must work while it is day." And therefore it is said in the last chapter of Galatians: "Let us do good while we have time, to all, but especially to the household of the faith." "There is no reason," for inquiring and discerning what is good, what is evil: Job 12: "They shall grope as in darkness and not in light, and he shall make them stagger like drunkards"; Isaiah 19: "And the Lord has mingled in their midst a spirit of dizziness." "There is no wisdom and knowledge": knowledge, namely for contemplating God in his works, nor wisdom, for contemplating him in himself: concerning these, Isaiah 33: "The riches of salvation are wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure."

Ecclesiastes 9:11 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

Second, carelessness arises from the appearance of a defect in the governance of providence; which appearance is shown in two ways. "I turned to another thing" etc. As was said above, carelessness is found among the wicked: first, because the retribution of justice seems to be lacking; second, because the governance of providence seems to be lacking. The defect that appears to exist in the retribution of justice has been treated; here secondly is treated the defect that appears to exist concerning the governance of providence, for these things do not seem to be governed in an orderly fashion, but by chance. And this part has two sections, because first the defect of order is shown generally, and second specifically, at: "This wisdom also I have seen" etc., concerning the disorder of authority. First the defect of order is shown in general. Concerning the first he proceeds thus. First he shows the disorder and chance that seems to exist with respect to the conduct of life; second, that which seems to exist with respect to the termination of death, at: "Man does not know his own end." Therefore, with respect to the conduct of life he shows the disorder, because things are not suited to those ends for which they have fitness. For which reason he says: "I turned to another thing," because above he considered retribution, here he turns to considering order. "And I saw under the sun," and he enumerates five gratuitously given gifts that are defrauded of their proper acts: "the race is not to the swift," though they are fitted for running: Amos 2: "Flight shall perish from the swift." "Nor the battle to the strong," though they are fitted for fighting: 2 Kings 1: "The mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war have perished." "Nor bread to the wise," though they are fitted for distributing provisions; Isaiah 3: "I am not a physician, and in my house there is no bread." "Nor riches to the learned," though they are fitted for possessing all gifts; below in the same chapter: "There was found in it a poor man." "Nor favor to the skilled," though they are fitted for doing pleasing works: Isaiah 20: "All who worked well were confounded." "But time and chance in all things," as though all things come by chance and temporal things are subject to change: above in chapter 3: "All things have their season and pass away in their appointed times." And the aforementioned gifts are distinguished, because the first two regard the body: agility, for attaining what is desired, and strength for resisting evil inflicted; the three following regard the soul, namely wisdom in the heart, learning in speech, and skill in work. Spiritually, here is intimated the heavenly election of the good. Therefore, in order to attribute the entire operation of the good to God, he says first: "The race is not to the swift," because it is not from themselves that they run, but from God: Romans 9: "It is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy." "Nor the battle to the strong," because in the Psalm: "The king is not saved by great strength." "Nor bread to the wise," from themselves, but from God: John 6: "My Father gives you the true bread from heaven." "Nor riches to the learned," namely of wisdom and knowledge, from themselves, but from God: 1 Corinthians 1: "In all things you have been made rich in him," namely in Christ. "Nor favor to the skillful," from themselves, but from God: Psalm: "God loves mercy and truth; the Lord will give grace and glory." A doubt can be raised about what he says, that "he saw time and chance in all things." Therefore according to this it seems that all things happen by chance. But to the contrary. It seems that not all things happen by chance: because those things which happen according to purpose do not happen by chance; but many things are done from purpose; therefore not all things happen by chance. 2. Furthermore, it seems that in nothing is there chance, because as Plato says, "there is nothing apart f…

Ecclesiastes 9:12 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

"Man does not know his end," etc. Here is touched upon the deficiency of governance with respect to the termination of death, because it is determined for no one, neither when nor how he must die. And it seems that such or such a death happens by chance. And therefore he says: "Man does not know his end," that is, the day of death: Matthew 24: "Watch therefore, for you do not know at what hour your Lord will come." And he gives an example of how there is disorder and a game of uncertainty, saying: "But as fish are caught by the hook," namely unknowingly, "and as birds are caught in the snare," namely by deceit; Ecclesiasticus 11: "As a partridge is lured into a cage, and as a roe deer into a snare, so also is the heart of the proud." "So are men caught in an evil time": 1 Thessalonians 5: "When they shall say: Peace and security, sudden destruction shall come upon them." "When it shall come upon them suddenly," that is, unexpectedly: Isaiah 30: "Suddenly, when it is not expected, its destruction shall come, and it shall be shattered like a potter's vessel." Spiritually, as to the hidden damnation of the wicked, he says: "Man does not know his end," because "the way of the wicked is dark," etc. "As fish by the hook," that is, the pleasure-seekers, who are caught by the hook of pleasure: Habakkuk 1: "They lift up everything with the hook." And "as birds by the snare," that is, the ambitious by the snare of honor: 1 Timothy 3: "Not a neophyte, lest, puffed up with pride, he fall into the judgment of the devil." "So are men caught," that is, the avaricious, "in an evil time": Job 27: "The rich man, when he shall sleep, shall take nothing with him." It is asked concerning what he says, "As fishes are caught with a hook": whether the catching of fish is by chance or not. That it is, seems as follows: 1. Because that this fish comes rather than another, this is not by nature nor by reason: therefore it is by chance. 2. Likewise, that one man catches and another does not: this is not by reason of nature or of art: therefore it is by chance. But to the contrary: If someone intending to find gold were digging, it would not be chance: therefore since one who fishes intends to catch, there is no chance there. I respond: it must be said that one can speak of the catching by comparison to those who catch, and thus it is not by chance: one can also speak by comparison to the fish, which go to the hook: and because they go on account of food, and something else occurs, with respect to them there is chance.

Ecclesiastes 9:13 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

Second, the defect of order in the governance of providence is shown in particular, and this in three ways. "This wisdom also I have seen under the sun." He determined above the deficiency of the governance of providence in general; here he intends to show in particular, namely concerning prelacy, because the wise are despised and fools are promoted. There are therefore in this part three parts. In the first he shows the abasement of the wise man; in the second he subjoins the commendation of the abased, there: "And I said that better" etc.; in the third he introduces the promotion of the fool, there: "If the spirit of him who has power" etc. The abasement of the wise man is therefore described in this order. First is set forth the praise of wisdom; second is expressed the case in which there is a deficiency of power; third is noted the succor of wisdom; fourth, the contempt of the wise man. There is therefore set forth the praise of wisdom, when he says: "This wisdom I have seen under the sun," that is, in worldly things I have known it by its effect: "and I judged it very great," that is, I approved and praised it as exceedingly great. For great is wisdom in conquering a lesser enemy: greater, in conquering an equal: greatest, in conquering the most powerful: whence it is said in Job 26 concerning the supremely wise One: "His prudence struck the proud one."

Ecclesiastes 9:14 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

"A small city" etc. Here is noted the deficiency of power, and this with respect to resisting the assailant: therefore he says: "A small city, and few men in it." "The siege was completed." And because it was small and had few men, therefore it was weak for defending itself: whence Jehoshaphat said in 2 Chronicles 20: "In us there is not so great strength that we can resist this great multitude," because, namely, they were few. Especially then they cannot resist, when the assailant is strong: on account of which he says: "There came against it a great king," namely through power: "and surrounded it," through great malice: "and he built fortifications all around," for battle: "and the siege was completed," through the inability to resist. An example of this is found in Judith 7 concerning Bethulia, which was besieged by Holofernes. This also the Lord foretold to Jerusalem in Luke 19: "Your enemies will surround you with a rampart and press you in on every side." Spiritually, the city is the Church: the Psalm: "Glorious things are said of you, O city of God." This city is small through humility, because in these the Lord alone dwells: the last chapter of Isaiah: "To whom shall I look, if not to the poor little one, contrite in spirit and trembling at my words"? "Few men in it," in comparison with the wicked: Matthew 20: "Many are called, but few are chosen." The great king is the devil, of whom it is said in the penultimate chapter of Job: "He is king over all the children of pride"; he is also great, according to what is said in the same place: "There is no power on earth that can be compared to him." This king comes against the city through temptations: he surrounds it, by offering manifold pleasures: he built fortifications, by procuring occasions of sin: and he perfectly besieges it, when he entangles them in transgressions of the commandments. Concerning these things, Luke 19: "Your enemies will surround you with a rampart and hem you in and dash you to the ground, and they will not leave a stone upon a stone."

Ecclesiastes 9:15 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

"And there was found in it" etc. Here is noted the succor of wisdom, where there was a deficiency of power: therefore he says: "And there was found in it a poor man," and thus powerless: "and wise, and he delivered the city by his wisdom." An example of this, how a wise person delivered, is found concerning Judith in her book, how she delivered Bethulia from Holofernes by her wisdom, though she was weak. Another example is found in 2 Kings 20, where it is said that a wise person in Abel delivered the city from the assault of Joab. On the contrary, it is said in Baruch 3: "And because they did not have wisdom, they perished on account of their foolishness"; this is said concerning the mighty. "And no one afterwards" etc. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the contempt of the wise deliverer, the sign of which is forgetfulness. Therefore he says: "No one afterwards remembered that poor man." Behold, contempt and ingratitude: against which it is said in Ecclesiasticus 29: "Do not forget the kindness of your surety, for he gave his life for you" etc. Spiritually, "A poor and wise man," who is Christ, who is a man from the strength of virtue: Jeremiah 31: "A woman shall encompass a man." He is also poor: 2 Corinthians 8: "Though he was rich in all things, for your sake he became poor"; wise, indeed Wisdom itself: 1 Corinthians 1: "We preach Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." He was found by those who seek: Matthew 7: "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds." He delivered the people, Isaiah 19: "They shall cry out to the Lord from the face of the oppressor, and he shall send them a savior and a defender, who shall deliver them"; he delivered them through his wisdom, though he could have done so through power: Job 26: "His prudence struck the proud one." — "And no one afterward remembered him," because poverty is despised: Proverbs 19: "The brothers of the poor man hated him; moreover, even his friends withdrew far from him." No one remembered him by having compassion, according to what is said in Lamentations 3: "Remember my poverty and my transgression, the wormwood and the gall"; but on the contrary, Amos 6: "They suffered nothing over the affliction of Joseph." By giving thanks: Luke 17: "And there was not found anyone who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner." By imitating in deed: Isaiah 17: "You shall be desolate, because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered your mighty helper." By confessing with the mouth: Genesis 40: "When prosperity followed, the butler forgot his interpreter."

Ecclesiastes 9:16 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

The contempt and oblivion of the wise man has been shown; here is shown secondly the commendation of the despised one. He commends wisdom, however, by a threefold preeminence: first, by setting it above the strength of power; second, above the defense of armor; third, above the height of worldly glory. He therefore first sets forth wisdom above strength by his own judgment. For this reason he says: "And I said that wisdom is better than strength"; Wisdom 6: "Wisdom is better than strength, and a prudent man is better than a strong one." And because it is better, therefore it ought not to be despised; and yet nonetheless it is despised. For this reason he says: "How then is the wisdom of the poor man despised?" as though it ought not to be despised; but on account of poverty it is held in contempt. Whence in Ecclesiasticus 13 it is said of the poor man: "The sensible man spoke, and no place was given to him; the rich man spoke, and all were silent, and they carry his word up to the clouds." And the sign of contempt for wisdom is added: "And his words were not heard"; and yet they are very much to be heard. Proverbs 8: "Now therefore, children, hear me: Blessed are they who keep my ways."

Ecclesiastes 9:17 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

And that the words of the wise man are to be heard, he adds: "The words of the wise are heard in silence," that is, they are worthy to be heard in silence. Ecclesiasticus 32: "Listen in silence, and for your reverence good grace shall come to you"; whence it is also added: "And do not presume to speak in the midst of great men." "More than the cry of a prince among fools," and his speech is more clamorous, because however much a man may cry out, the fool does not pay attention. Ecclesiasticus 22: "He who tells wisdom to a fool speaks with one who is sleeping, and at the end of the narration he says: 'Who is this?'" That wisdom therefore is despised, this is on account of the foolishness of the hearers; therefore Matthew 7: "Do not give what is holy to dogs." And the reason for this is given by the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 2: "The natural man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God."

Ecclesiastes 9:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Ecclesiastes 9:18 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9

"Wisdom is better," etc. Here secondly he sets forth wisdom above the defense of armor, saying: "Wisdom is better than weapons of war," because weapons of war are for protection; likewise wisdom protects. Proverbs 2: "Counsel shall keep you, and prudence shall preserve you, that you may be delivered from the evil way and from the man who speaks perverse things." And that it protects better is clear, because he who loses wisdom through fault cannot defend himself by armor without losing many goods. Whence he says: "And he who shall sin in one thing," by departing from wisdom, according to what was said above in chapter 8: "Do not hasten to depart from his face, nor persist in an evil work." "Shall lose many good things"; for by sinning in one thing, he loses wisdom, and by losing it, he loses many good things. Wisdom 7: "All good things came to me together with her"; and therefore, when she is lost, many good things are lost. Or: "he who shall sin in one thing," against charity, "shall lose many good things," according to that saying in James 2: "He who sins in one thing is made guilty of all." And he makes this manifest through a metaphor, because the awareness of sin is compared to a dying fly, because it renders and produces abomination in the affection and in the conscience.

Ecclesiastes 10:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

Therefore he adds: dying flies, that is, the thoughts of sinners succeeding one another and inclining toward mortal sin, destroy the sweetness of the ointment, that is, they destroy the anointing, and thus many good things, because First John 2: "The anointing teaches you about all things." Or: the sweetness of the ointment, that is, interior devotion and the sweetness of wisdom: Proverbs 27: "The heart is delighted with ointment and various fragrances." More precious is wisdom. Here, thirdly, wisdom is set above the height of worldly glory, or even above the foolishness that fools desire. Therefore he says: More precious is wisdom and a little glory, that is, with little glory, for a time, that is, temporally — better, I say, than foolishness, even with great glory: above in chapter 4: "Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king." Or the sense can be that wisdom is better than foolishness; and also that a little glory, for a time, that is, bestowed at the proper time, is better than foolishness. Question. Here arises the question concerning what he says: He who shall offend in one thing, etc. 1. For if God always punishes less than what is deserved, then he who sins in one thing ought not to be punished except in one thing: therefore he ought not to lose many things, but one. 2. Likewise, from this it seems that there is a connection among the vices, just as among the virtues; because if vice is the privation of good, then if by one sin many good things are lost, then by one sin a man incurs many vices; but this is only through connection: therefore there is a connection among the vices. 3. Likewise, that there is a connection in vices with respect to all things is apparent; it is said in James 2: Whoever offends in one point is become guilty of all: therefore it seems that whoever perpetrates one vice is as guilty as if he perpetrated all of them. But on the contrary: 1. Because some vices are contrary to each other: therefore if there were a connection in vices, then two contraries would exist simultaneously in the same subject, which is unlawful to say. 2. Likewise, vices are not from God, but acquired from our own work: but it is certain that temperance and justice are not acquired in us by the same act, when they are habitual: therefore similarly also in vices. I respond: it must be said that one can speak of sin by reason of deformity and by reason of obligation to punishment. If by reason of deformity, that indeed regards three things, namely the privation of gratuitous good, the privation of natural good or natural aptitude, and furthermore the inclination to a disordered act, which is called a certain disposition. By reason of the first good there is indeed a connection in vices, because whoever sins in one sin loses grace and all the virtues, insofar as they are gratuitous. But by reason of the privation of aptitude there is no connection, but rather a distinction among them, because each vice deprives its own proper aptitude. By reason of the third, namely the inclination to act, there is neither complete distinction nor complete connection, but rather in some cases one inclines to another, and in some cases it inclines only sometimes, as the sin of gluttony to the sin of lust, and similarly in spiritual matters, pride to envy. One can speak again of sins with respect to the obligation of punishment, and thus they obligate to a twofold punishment, namely the deprivation of the vision and the harshness of fire. With respect to the first there is a connection, because whoever sins in one sin loses the glory owed to all the virtues. But with respect to the second there is no connection, but distinction, because to each corresponds its own proper harshness. This word of Ecclesiastes and of blessed James is therefore understood with respect to the loss of grace and glory. To the objection, therefore, that one is punished beyond one's desert: I say that this is false, because whoever sins in…

Ecclesiastes 10:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

The heart of the wise man is at his right hand, and the heart of the fool at his left; by the right hand good things are understood, by the left hand evil things: Matthew 25: "He shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left." He means therefore to say that the wise think good things and the foolish think evil things: Proverbs 10: "The lips of the just consider what is pleasing, but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse." The right hand gives us to understand eternal goods, the left hand temporal things: whence Proverbs 3: "Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and glory." He means therefore to say that the wise think upon and desire eternal goods, and the foolish temporal things: Song of Songs 2: "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me."

Ecclesiastes 10:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Ecclesiastes 10:3 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

The fool therefore thinks vain things and knows not how to consider things with discernment, neither in himself nor in others, which is a greater disadvantage. Therefore he adds: But also the fool walking in the way, namely in that way which seems good to him: Proverbs 12: "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes." Since he himself is foolish, that is, since he walks foolishly, because in darkness; above in chapter 2: "The fool walks in darkness." He esteems all others to be fools, whence Proverbs 26: "The sluggard seems wiser to himself than seven men who speak wise sayings."

Ecclesiastes 10:4 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

The contempt of the wise man has been set forth above, and conversely his just commendation: here is subjoined thirdly the promotion of fools. And because the authority of fools is burdensome, therefore the armor of patience is set forth first, and the disordered authority of fools is subjoined, at the text: There is an evil which I have seen, etc. Therefore the armor of patience is set forth first, for the possession of which he says: If the spirit of him who has power, that is, the fury of a prelate: for spirit is called fury in Isaiah 2: "Cease from man, whose spirit is in his nostrils"; 3 Kings 19: "A great and strong spirit, overturning mountains and crushing," etc. Ascend upon you, namely to oppress: Jeremiah 4: "Behold, he shall ascend like a cloud, and his chariots like a tempest: woe to us, for we are laid waste." Do not leave your place, that is, the place of patience and constancy, in which the soul finds rest, according to that passage in Luke 21: "In your patience you shall possess your souls"; 1 Peter 2: "Servants, be subject in all fear to your masters, not only to the gentle, but also to the harsh: for this is grace, if for the sake of conscience toward God one endures," etc. And the reason for its usefulness is given: Because healing will cause the greatest sins to cease. Here healing is called the affliction of scourges, by which man is healed: Wisdom 6: "The care of discipline is love, and love is the keeping of the laws." The predication is causal in both cases, because if through many scourges one arrives at love, and through this the law is kept: therefore it causes sins to cease. It is expounded otherwise: If the spirit of him who has power, that is, if the spirit of ambition, that is, the malice of the ambitious, ascend upon you, that is, if it comes into your mind that you wish to be a prelate: do not leave your place, namely the place of subjection and servitude, concerning which Luke 14: "When you are invited to the wedding, recline in the last place," and Sirach 11: "Trust in God, and remain in your place." And the reason is given: Because healing will cause the greatest sins to cease. The translation of Symmachus has: Because modesty: whence 1 Corinthians 9: "I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps, having preached to others, I myself should become a castaway." It is expounded otherwise concerning the devil: If the spirit of him who has power, that is, of the devil: Job, the penultimate chapter: "There is no power on earth that can be compared to him"; ascend upon you, and this by tempting: Luke 11: "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walks through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it." Do not leave your place, namely the place of penitence: Ephesians 4: "Do not give place to the devil." Because healing will cause the greatest sins to cease: Origen's text has: salvation, which indeed is through the medicine of penitence: Sirach 11: "The malice of one hour causes forgetfulness of the greatest pleasure," that is, brief penitence for a great sin.

Ecclesiastes 10:5 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

There is an evil which I have seen etc. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the disordered promotion of fools, both on account of a defect of knowledge and on account of a defect of life, because the foolish and wicked are placed in authority, while the wise and those rich in good morals are cast down. On account of which he says: There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, that is, in the present state of men, as it were proceeding from error, not from error according to truth, but apparently from error, yet nevertheless according to just judgment: from the face of the prince, namely of him from whom is all power, who by just judgment sometimes gives wicked prelates: Hosea 13: "I will give you a king in my fury, and I will take him away in my indignation."

Ecclesiastes 10:6 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

And he expresses what that evil is with regard to the defect of knowledge: The fool set in high dignity: set, he rightly says, because there is nothing there but a false placing: Psalm: "You set them up, you cast them down when they were lifted up." Or: set as a useless stone: whence in Zechariah 11 it is said to the foolish prelate: "O shepherd and idol! abandoning the flock, a sword upon his arm and upon his right eye: his arm shall utterly wither, and his right eye shall be completely darkened": and therefore Proverbs 26: "As he who casts a stone into the heap of Mercury, so is he who gives honor to a fool." On the contrary: The rich sitting below: rich, namely in good morals and knowledge and grace, of whom in 1 Corinthians 1: "In all things you are made rich in him, so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace"; and Isaiah 33: "The riches of salvation are wisdom and knowledge."

Ecclesiastes 10:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

With regard to the defect of life he says: I have seen servants upon horses: servants, he calls sinners, of whom in John 8: "He who commits sin is the servant of sin"; upon horses, he says in the plural to express pomp: Deuteronomy 17: "When he shall have been established, he shall not multiply horses for himself." On the contrary: Princes walking as servants, namely those princes who rule themselves through a good life: Seneca: "If you shall have ruled yourself well, you will be a prince": these he saw as servants, but in the future it will be the contrary: Luke 14: "Everyone who humbles himself shall be exalted, and he who exalts himself shall be humbled." Question. It is asked here whether it is just that the wicked should rule over the good. That it is, it seems: 1. Because it is said in Romans 13: There is no power except from God: therefore wicked princes do not have power except from God. 2. Likewise, John 19: You would not have, Christ said to Pilate, any power against me unless it had been given to you from above. And Augustine expounds from above: that is, from God: therefore if Pilate was wicked and used his power wickedly, then that the wicked rule, this is from God. 3. Likewise, 1 Peter 2: Be subject not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward, and he gives the reason: for conscience's sake: therefore if it is just to be subject to them, since everything just is from God, this also will be from him. 4. Likewise, Job 34: Who makes a hypocrite to reign on account of the sins of the people, etc.: therefore, etc. On the contrary: 1. Hosea 8: They have reigned, but not by me; princes have arisen, and I knew it not: therefore it seems that the prelacy of the wicked is not from God. 2. Likewise, servitude is a punishment inflicted for sin, therefore it is rightly and justly inflicted on no one except a sinner: therefore by contraries, neither is dominion justly given except to the just. Therefore if dominion is given to a sinner, and servitude to the just, there is a defect of order and justice: therefore it is not from God. 3. Furthermore, if the power of the wicked is just and from God, because nothing from God is other than just; since no one ought to take away another's right: therefore no one ought to labor for the deposition of a wicked prelate: therefore whoever labors against this sins. I respond: it must be said that a wicked or unjust prelate falls under a threefold distinction. One is unjust in himself, yet enters justly and exercises authority justly: and such a one can justly hold authority, nor does he sin in this, and it is just to be subject to such a one. There is also another, who enters unjustly and exercises authority unjustly: and such a one cannot justly hold authority, nor ought a man to be subject to such a one. There is also another, who is unjust, yet enters justly, but exercises authority unjustly, because he afflicts the good and promotes the wicked: it is just to be subject to such a one in those things that pertain to justice; but in those things that are against God, a man ought not to be subject: and "because he deserves to lose his privilege who abuses the power granted to him," even if he entered justly: nevertheless it is just that he be removed. As to what is objected regarding the first part, whether it is just for the wicked to hold authority: it must be said that for the wicked who govern well to hold authority is not an evil to the commonwealth; but for those who govern wickedly, it is just that they hold authority, not by their own justice, but by divine justice, because he makes him to reign on account of the sins of the people. And thus the response to the first objections is clear, that the power of wicked men is from God. 1. To the first objection to the contrary, I say that it is understood with respect to those who enter illegitimately and by their own authority, not divine. 2. To the objection concerning order, I say that the punishment of sin rema…

Ecclesiastes 10:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

He set forth above the vanity of security: here secondly he intends to give a remedy against that vanity: and because security arose from a defect of just retribution and of the governance of providence, which appeared to exist: therefore there are here two parts. First he gives a remedy against the defect of the order of providence: second, against the defect of just retribution, below in chapter eleven: Cast your bread etc. The disorder of governance comes from a threefold cause: either because a wicked man is placed in charge, or because a foolish one, or because a useless and lax one. First, therefore, he gives a remedy against a wicked prelate; second, against a foolish prelate, at: The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace: third, against a carnal and lax prelate, at: Woe to you, O land, whose king is a child. As to the first point, then, he proceeds as follows. First he says that a good prelate is not to be removed: second, that a wicked one is not to be endured or promoted: third, he says that one who has been promoted is to be corrected: fourth, that one must not secretly detract from him. First, therefore, he says that a good prelate is not to be removed, neither by fraud nor by violence. Not by fraud: whence he threatens: He who digs a pit, namely by preparing a snare for a good prelate, shall fall into it: the Psalm: "He opened a pit and dug it out, and he fell into the pit which he made." Nor is he to be removed by power; whence he threatens one who does the contrary: He who breaks down a hedge, that is, a good prelate, who guards his subjects like a hedge: Sirach thirty-six: "Where there is no hedge, the property will be plundered." A serpent shall bite him, that is, the devil with his demons, who are biting serpents: Jeremiah eight: "Behold, I will send among you the worst serpents, against which there is no charm, and they shall bite you."

Ecclesiastes 10:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

He who moves stones etc. Here he shows secondly that a harsh and useless prelate is not to be promoted; and he threatens those who promote a harsh one: whence he says: He who moves stones, that is, promotes the hard and wicked to a greater dignity; shall be afflicted by them, that is, through them, or on account of them: Proverbs 26: "As he who casts a stone into the heap of Mercury, so is he who gives honor to a fool"; and afterward: "He who rolls a stone, it shall return upon him"; and Sirach 27: "He who throws a stone on high, it shall fall upon his own head." Neither is one who is vain and useless to be promoted; therefore he says: He who cuts wood, another translation: He who hews: he hews, who wishes to place a useless prelate as a support for the edifice. A useless prelate is compared to wood, because just as unfruitful wood when cut is given over to fire, so also the prelate: Matthew 7: "Every tree that does not bear good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire." He shall be wounded by them, because, namely, the conscience is wounded: Sirach 27: "The deceitful blow of the deceitful man shall lay open wounds." Concerning these wounds, Isaiah 1: "Wound and bruise and swelling sore, it is not bound up nor fomented with oil."

Ecclesiastes 10:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

If the iron has become blunt etc. Here he adds thirdly that the prelate who has in some way turned aside to evil is to be corrected, because he can be of value, although much labor is required. Therefore he says: If the iron has become blunt, that is, the edge of goodness and wisdom has been altered through fault in the prelate; and this not as before, supply "sharp," but has become dull, through fault; with much labor, namely of correction, it shall be sharpened, that is, it shall be restored to its former uprightness: Proverbs 27: "Iron is sharpened by iron, and a man sharpens the face of his friend." And through this likeness of corporeal things he draws a conclusion in spiritual matters: And after diligence, that is, the labor of diligence, wisdom shall follow, just as after the sharpening of iron there follows the straightness and fineness of the edge for cutting: Proverbs 15: "The ear that hears the reproofs of life shall dwell in the midst of the wise"; and Proverbs 2: "If you seek her as money and dig for her as for a treasure, then you shall understand the fear of the Lord and shall find knowledge."

Ecclesiastes 10:11 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

If it bites etc. Here he shows fourthly that one ought not secretly detract from such a prelate, and he shows the magnitude of the fault of detraction through a comparison in bodily things. Therefore he says: If a serpent bites in silence, which is proper to the serpent itself, because it secretly infuses venom, he who secretly detracts has nothing less than it, because, just as that is fraudulent, so also is this, because this is to curse the deaf: Leviticus 19: "You shall not curse the deaf, nor place a stumbling block before the blind." Just as that is deadly, so also is this: Galatians 5: "If you bite and devour one another, take heed lest you be consumed by one another": Proverbs 26: "The words of a whisperer are as simple things, and they reach even to the innermost parts of the belly." Just as of old they were delivered by looking upon Christ, according to what is said in Wisdom 16: "He who turned was not healed by what he saw, but by you, O Lord, the Savior of all": so also now. Whence he himself said, John 15: "If they have kept my word, they will keep yours also." Question. It is asked whether to speak evil of someone secretly is detraction and sin, where it is established that what is said is true. That it is not, it seems: 1. Because, just as the good person is worthy of praise, so the evil person is worthy of blame: therefore just as it is just to praise the good, so it is just to blame the evil: therefore just as he who praises the good does not sin, neither does he who speaks evil of the evil. 2. Likewise, just as one ought to rejoice with the good, so one ought to have compassion on the evil: therefore just as someone can recount to another the good of another person while rejoicing together without sin, so also the evil while having compassion: therefore he who speaks evil of another secretly, if he has compassion, does not sin. 3. Moreover, the Lord says in Matthew 18 that when a neighbor sins, he is to be corrected before one or before two: and if he does not listen, it is to be told to the Church: therefore at least concerning the incorrigible, it seems that a person may speak evil to anyone. On the contrary: 1. What you do not wish done to you, do not do to another: therefore what you do not wish said about you, you ought not say about another: but you ought not wish that anyone speak evil of you in your absence, because it will profit you nothing: therefore etc. 2. Likewise, he who speaks evil of another takes away his good name: therefore since a good name is better than many treasures, therefore since a person cannot take away another's treasures without sin, likewise etc. 3. Likewise, it is said in Leviticus 19: You shall not curse the deaf: but he who speaks evil behind one's back curses the deaf: therefore he acts against that precept. 4. Moreover, a sin committed in public causes scandal: therefore he who makes public some sin that is not public causes scandal: but he who speaks against another makes known a sin that is hidden: therefore he scandalizes the one with whom he speaks. I respond: it must be said that he who speaks evil of another either speaks compelled by necessity, or induced by usefulness, or driven by the desire to detract. He is compelled by necessity when he is bound by a precept either human or divine: human, when he speaks to one who can command and does command him to speak; divine, when conscience dictates to a man that he is bound to accuse his neighbor so that he may be corrected, according to that precept of the Lord concerning fraternal correction. He is induced by usefulness when he narrates the evil of another to someone who can benefit and not harm, and for whom it is beneficial to hear that evil and not harmful, as when someone narrates to a person who loves and who has compassion and has the will to correct him. But when neither necessity nor usefulness is considered, even if there be truth, one is not excused from the desire to detract; indeed, one sins wi…

Ecclesiastes 10:12 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

He gave above a remedy against the malice of a prelate; here he gives a remedy against the foolishness of a prelate, showing that a foolish prelate is not to be promoted, but rather is worthy of ruin: first, on account of the defect of discreet speech; second, on account of the defect of provident consideration; third, on account of the defect of fruitful action. On account of the defect of discreet speech, the fool casts himself down, just as by antithesis the wise man exalts himself. Therefore he says: The words of a wise man's mouth are grace, because in them through discretion he acquires grace: Sirach 20: "A wise man makes himself lovable by his words"; but on the contrary: The lips of a fool will cast him down, that is, the words that proceed from the lips of a fool: Proverbs 18: "The mouth of a fool is his destruction, and his lips are the ruin of his soul." Spiritually here by the wise man we understand Christ, by the foolish man the antichrist. The words of the mouth of the wise man are grace, because the words of Christ are gracious: the Psalm: "Grace is poured forth on your lips, therefore God has blessed you forever"; and Luke 2: "All who heard him were astonished at his understanding and his answers"; and others said, John 7: "Never has a man spoken thus." On the contrary, the fool is the antichrist, of whom it is said in the Psalm: "The fool has said in his heart: There is no God." His lips will cast him down, because on account of the malice of his teaching he will be plunged into the deep, Job 18: "The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down."

Ecclesiastes 10:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace." Speech is the instrument for expressing wisdom, and therefore it ought to be governed according to the rule of wisdom. It is a wondrous thing that when men sit at table to refresh themselves spiritually, one devil speaks of temporal matters and of detractions and feeds all who are at table with that poison.

Ecclesiastes 10:13 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

And the reason for precipitousness is indiscretion, because he indiscreetly inclines: whence he says: The beginning of his words is folly. And the reason for this is that he does not consider, whence Proverbs twenty-nine: "Have you seen a man swift to speak? Folly is more to be expected than his correction." He also indiscreetly concludes: whence he says: And the last thing of his mouth is the worst error, because folly in the end leads to an erroneous judgment; Proverbs fourteen: "The imprudence of fools errs"; because, as was said above in chapter two, "the eyes of the wise man are in his head, the fool walks in darkness." Spiritually, his words will be words of blasphemy and pride: therefore foolish and erroneous. Whence it is said, Daniel 11: "He shall speak magnificent things against the God of gods, and shall prosper, until the wrath is accomplished"; and 2 Thessalonians 2: "The man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God," etc.

Ecclesiastes 10:14 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

Furthermore, he perseveres in folly: therefore he adds: The fool multiplies words, thus by multiplying foolish words he becomes obstinate in malice: against which in the Psalm: "Incline not my heart to words of malice" etc.; and this is useless and vain, whence it is said in Proverbs nineteen: "But he who pursues words will have nothing"; and Proverbs fourteen: "Where words are most plentiful, there is frequently want." Man knows not what has been before him, as one foolish and inconsiderate: James one: "He considered himself and went away and immediately forgot what he was like." And what shall be after him, who can tell him? As if to say: no one: above in chapter eight: "He who is ignorant of the past can know the future by no messenger," and this indeed is very harmful: whence Deuteronomy thirty-two: "Would that they were wise and understood and would foresee their last end." Spiritually, this fool will not only be indiscreet in speaking, but also improvident, because he will not consider the ruin that is to follow him, according to what the Apostle says, 2 Thessalonians 2: "Whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the spirit of his mouth."

Ecclesiastes 10:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

How, then, should one strive for knowledge, wisdom and holiness? It is good to know in order to obtain the fruits of wisdom, in order that we may enter through the city doors. As Ecclesiastes writes, "the labor of fools shall afflict them that know not how to go to the city," that is, who do not know how to direct their endeavors properly.

Ecclesiastes 10:15 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

The labor of fools etc. Here thirdly he shows that in the fool there is a defect of fruitful operation, because in his labor he is much afflicted and profits little. Therefore he says: The labor of fools shall afflict them, because they do not labor in good things: Jeremiah nine: "They have labored to act wickedly": whence Wisdom five: "We have wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity and perdition and have walked difficult paths: but the way of the Lord we have not known." And he gives the reason for this: Who know not how to go to the city, that is, they know not the right way to go to that city, of which Isaiah twenty-six says: "The city of our strength is Sion the Savior; a wall and a bulwark shall be set in it." To this city fools know not how to go: whence above in chapter six: "What has the wise man more than the fool? And what has the poor man, except to go thither where there is life?" Spiritually, fools will follow this fool and will be afflicted: Who do not know how to go to the city, through true faith and love: 2 Thessalonians 2: "God shall send them the operation of error, who did not believe the truth, but consented to iniquity"; because they did not receive the love of truth: therefore the unknowing will be deceived: whence in the Psalm: "They knew not, nor did they understand, therefore they walk in darkness."

Ecclesiastes 10:16 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

He gave the remedy against the disorder that arises from a wicked and foolish prelate: here thirdly he gives the remedy against the disorder that arises from a useless and lax prelate. He shows therefore that such a slothful and carnal person ought not to be set over others nor even tolerated. And this part has two sections: because first he denounces him, showing him unworthy of prelacy; second, he says that one ought not secretly to detract from him, at: In your thought, etc. He shows, therefore, that the carnal and slothful man is unworthy of prelacy, first on account of the disorder of gluttony; second on account of the weakness or idleness of sloth; third on account of the unfittingness of merriment; fourth on account of the subversion of justice, through love of money. On account of the disorder of gluttony, the carnal and lax prelate is unworthy of prelacy, and woe to those who set him over themselves. Therefore he says: Woe to you, O land, whose king is a child, that is, a pursuer of passions; for children are pursuers of passions. Isaiah, penultimate chapter: "The child of a hundred years shall die." Therefore woe, because it is an occasion of eternal damnation and a sign of divine indignation. Isaiah 3: "I will give children to be their princes, and the effeminate shall rule over them." And because princes follow their leader, therefore he says: And whose princes eat in the morning, quickly seeking pleasurable things; and therefore they are always foolish, because it is said in Proverbs 20: "Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness is tumultuous; whoever is delighted by these things shall not be wise."

Ecclesiastes 10:17 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

And because "opposites placed next to each other shine forth more clearly," he commends the contrary, saying in detestation of the former: Blessed is the land whose king is noble, namely with nobility of character, because nobility alone is that which adorns the soul with good morals. Concerning which, Proverbs, last chapter: "Her husband is noble in the gates, when he sits among the senators of the land." And because princes follow their leader, therefore he adds: And whose princes eat at their proper time, that is, at the due hour after business has been dispatched, and this for refreshment, not for luxury. The Interlinear Gloss: "They eat only that they may live; they do not live that they may eat," as do those of whom 2 Peter 2 says: "Defilements and stains, abounding in delights, reveling in their feasts."

Ecclesiastes 10:18 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

In slothfulness shall be brought low, etc. Here, secondly, it is shown that the lax prelate himself is unworthy on account of the idleness of sloth, which is followed by the destruction of the house that was built. On account of which he says: In slothfulness the roofing shall be brought low. The roofing is called the joining of timbers for covering a house. This is brought low in slothfulness, because, while its repair is neglected, it collapses; so also is the spiritual building destroyed through sloth. Proverbs 18: "He who is soft and slack in his work is the brother of him who wastes his own works." And because, where there is no goading fear of the Lord, sloth reigns, therefore it is said in Sirach 27: "If you do not hold yourself steadfastly in the fear of the Lord, your house shall quickly be overthrown." And in the weakness of hands the house shall leak. He says the same thing, but explains it further: the house leaks through, when it is rainy and does not defend against the showers, in which it is neither good nor safe to be: whence Proverbs twenty-seven: "A dripping roof on a day of cold and a quarrelsome woman are compared." This house leaks through when the hands are weak and slack: therefore Hebrews twelve: "Lift up your slack hands and loosened knees, and make straight steps with your feet."

Ecclesiastes 10:19 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

In laughter they make bread etc. Here thirdly he shows the unworthiness of the slothful and carnal man on account of the unseemliness of merriment, in which the carnal always wish to be, and on account of which they do everything that they do. Therefore he says: In laughter they make bread and wine. The Gloss: Prelates in laughter, that is, in unseemly merriment; Luke twelve: "My soul, you have many good things for many years; eat, drink, be merry." And therefore he adds: That they may feast by drinking: for they act so that they may eat, not so that they may break bread for the hungry: James five: "You have feasted upon the earth and in luxuries have nourished your hearts." And for this they are rebuked in Isaiah five: "The harp and the lyre and wine are at your banquets, and the work of God you do not regard." And all things obey money etc. Here fourthly it is touched upon that they are unworthy on account of the subversion of justice, which they subvert out of love of money. Therefore he says: And all things obey money, because all love money above all things: Isaiah one: "All love gifts, they pursue rewards," and thence follows the subversion of justice: "They do not judge for the orphan, and the cause of the widow does not come before them": and Jeremiah six: "From the least even to the greatest, all are devoted to avarice."

Ecclesiastes 10:20 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10

Here he restrains subjects from secret detraction, should it happen that such a one is placed in authority: and first he sets forth the exhortation; second, he gives the reason. He exhorts therefore that one should neither speak evil by diminishing reputation, nor call down a curse by wishing his misery. Therefore he says: In your thought do not detract from the king, that is, in secret: Exodus twenty-two: "You shall not detract from the gods, and you shall not curse the prince of your people." And in the secret of your chamber, that is, of your conscience, do not curse the rich man, and this by calling down evil: Romans twelve: "Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse"; and First Peter three: "Not curse for curse." Because the birds of heaven etc. Here the reason for the exhortation is given: because what you said in secret will be made public by the Angels, because the birds of heaven will carry your voice. He calls the birds of heaven demons on account of their swiftness, because they are swift, or on account of their rapacity: whence Genesis fifteen: "The birds of heaven descended upon the carcasses, and Abraham drove them away"; and Matthew thirteen: "Another fell by the wayside, and the birds came and ate it up." And here heaven is called the murky air, in which demons dwell. These carry the voice, because they frequently make public what is hidden: Matthew ten: "Nothing is hidden that shall not be known." And he who has wings will announce the matter, that is, the devil will announce your evil speech, because he is the accuser: but he will at last be cast out, whence Revelation twelve: "The accuser of our brethren is cast out, who accused them day and night." Questions. I. But a doubt arises here, because he says that the birds of heaven, that is, demons, report the detraction of thought: therefore it seems that our will and thought are known to the devil. But against this is: 1. Because of God alone is it said that He is searching hearts and reins: therefore He alone knows thoughts and affections. 2. Likewise, Augustine says that if the devil had known the patience of Job, he would never have tempted him, because he does not tempt anyone except to conquer, not to be conquered. I respond: it must be said that neither demons nor even good Angels, except in the Word, can know our thoughts and hidden affections: and I call hidden, those which are not manifested through signs: but those which are manifested through signs, demons detect and know: and because there are few of which no signs appear, whether in deed, or in the face, or in speech, or in some other way: therefore he says that they hear. II. Likewise, it is asked concerning what he says, that the birds of heaven will carry or announce. I ask: how will they carry? If it is said, that to him about whom it is spoken: this is false, because then everyone would know all the hidden evils that are said about him: he understands therefore that they will carry them to God. But against this: 1. God is more immediate and more present to us than demons, since He is not far from each one of us. If therefore to carry or to announce is done to one who is distant, it is evident that it is not the same. 2. Likewise, through whom is that carrying done? Either through good Angels or through evil ones: not through good ones, because good Angels procure our salvation, not therefore our damnation: therefore they do not bring evils. If through demons: against this: Demons do not see God nor do they speak to God any more than evil men do: therefore if evil men do not bring things to God, then neither do demons. I respond: it must be said that birds here are called evil spirits or demons: these are said to carry to God evil and hidden deeds, while good Angels carry good deeds. But to carry is not to report to God by voice, or to notify Him as though He were ignorant, but to know our malice, and by knowing to remember it, and to be a witness. The good, however, ad…

Ecclesiastes 11:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11

Second, a remedy is given against the vanity of security arising from the failure of the retribution of justice. Cast your bread etc. He set forth above a remedy against the fact that the governance of providence seemed to fail due to the disorder of prelacy: here secondly he sets forth a remedy against the fact that the retribution of justice seemed to fail, on account of which man became secure in evil and grew sluggish toward good. This remedy consists in the consideration of future retribution: and since God bestows good things upon those who do well and repays evil things upon those who do evil: therefore first, from the consideration of reward, he invites to good: second, from the consideration of punishment, he recalls from evil, at the passage: If a man shall have lived many years. First, he invites to good by the consideration of reward. The good to which he invites is the good of piety, which "is profitable for all things," and on account of which the just are especially saved, as is evident in Matthew twenty-five, where only works of mercy are enumerated. Therefore he exhorts here to works of mercy and the giving of alms on account of retribution. And first he exhorts that they be done willingly: second, that they be done abundantly, at the passage: Give portions to seven: third, that they be done unceasingly, at the passage: He who observes the wind shall never etc. When therefore he exhorts that they be done voluntarily and willingly, he sets forth the exhortation and adds the reason. He exhorts therefore to giving alms willingly: therefore he says: Cast your bread, that is, give willingly and liberally, not by extortion and as if compelled: Second Corinthians nine: "Let each one give as he has determined in his heart, not from sadness or from necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver." Your bread, not another's; Ecclesiasticus thirty-four: "He who offers a sacrifice from the substance of the poor is as one who slays a son in the sight of his father." Upon the passing waters. Many waters are many peoples, Apocalypse seventeen: passing waters are those who pass from nation to nation and from kingdom to another people: such are pilgrims and strangers: to these alms are to be given; Isaiah fifty-eight: "Break your bread for the hungry, and bring the needy and wandering into your house." Or: waters are present tribulations, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The waters have come in even unto my soul": passing waters are the poor and afflicted, because through tribulations they pass to rest: to such alms are to be given: Luke fourteen: When you give alms, call the poor and the feeble, the blind, etc. And the reason is given: Because after many days you shall find it, that is, the retribution for it: therefore retribution does not fail, but is deferred: Ecclesiasticus twelve: "Do good to the just, and you shall find great recompense: and if not from him, certainly from the Lord": likewise Luke sixteen: "Make for yourselves friends from the mammon of iniquity" etc. These things can also be briefly explained concerning spiritual almsgiving, which consists in the instruction of one's neighbor: to which he similarly exhorts, to give willingly or liberally, abundantly and unceasingly: Willingly or liberally, when he says: Cast your bread etc., that is, give freely; Matthew 10: "Freely you have received, freely give"; bread, namely of doctrine, of which is said in Lamentations 4: "The little ones asked for bread, and there was no one to break it for them." Upon the passing waters, that is, those who despise temporal goods, to whom alone it should be given: Matthew 7: "Do not give what is holy to dogs." Or: upon those of whom it is said in the Psalm: "We passed through fire and water, and you led us out" etc.

Ecclesiastes 11:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11

Give portions to seven etc. Here secondly he exhorts to giving abundantly: and he sets forth the exhortation and subjoins the reason. He exhorts therefore to abundance, saying: Give portions to seven and also to eight, that is, according to the capacity of your powers give alms, so that, whether you be poor or rich, you give a seventh and an eighth of your goods, that is, you make the portion of the poor generous: Second Corinthians 8: "That your abundance may supply their want"; and Luke 11: "Give alms of that which remains over". Therefore he says: Give portions to seven: for by the number seven we understand what suffices to supply one's own necessity; whatever is beyond that is called seven and eight: and this is to be distributed to the poor, not to be stored up in earthly treasures, but in heavenly ones: whence Matthew 6: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroys"; and Tobit 4: "If you have much, give abundantly: if you have little, strive willingly to impart even that little". And the reason for this generosity is given, when it is added: Because you know not what evil etc. And a manifold reason is given, namely on account of caution against evil; whence he says: You know not what evil shall come upon the earth. Because therefore you are not certain, you must provide for yourself, lest you fall into peril: and the best remedy is abundant almsgiving: Ecclesiasticus 29: "Shut up alms in the bosom of the poor, and it shall pray for you and deliver you from all evil". Abundantly it is also to be dispensed: therefore he says: Give seven portions: seven portions we understand as the doctrine of Christ of the Old Testament, because there the seventh day was commanded to be observed. By eight we understand the doctrine of the New Testament, because the eighth day is commanded to be observed.

Ecclesiastes 11:3 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11

On account of the amplification of merit he says: If the clouds be full, supply: by God, they will pour out rain upon the earth, on account of which rain the earth bears fruit: Hosea 6: "He will come to us like the rain, the early and the latter rain to the earth"; and this for bearing fruit and multiplying the goods of the earth through the merit of almsgiving. For just as full clouds inebriate the earth with rain, so multiplied alms inebriate the soul with grace: Second Corinthians 9: "Now he who supplies seed to the sower will both provide bread for eating and will multiply your seed and increase the growth of the fruits of your righteousness". On account of the stability of the reward, which cannot be changed nor lost: on account of which he says: If a tree fall to the south: this tree is man: concerning which Job 14: "A tree has hope; if it be cut down, it will sprout again." And the south gives to understand the warmth of charity and the state of glory: Song of Songs 4: "Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind: blow through my garden" etc. Therefore for the tree to fall toward the south is for a man to be brought into glory at death; and then there it shall be, that is, it can never be displaced; Revelation 3: "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more." If it falls to the north, there it shall be, that is, if unto infernal punishment; Jeremiah 1: "From the north shall all evil be spread forth"; he who falls into hell, there he shall be, because from thence he shall never be freed. For rightly it is said in the last chapter of Isaiah: "Their fire shall not be extinguished, and their worm shall not die." In whatever place it falls, there it shall be, whether for good or for ill; Galatians 6: "What a man sows, that also shall he reap." And because a man cannot abundantly communicate doctrine unless he is filled from above, he says: If the clouds are filled, they will pour out rain upon the earth. The clouds are good preachers, who fly to the heights through contemplation: Isaiah 60: "Who are these who fly like clouds and like doves to their windows"? These are filled by the Lord with knowledge: Isaiah 11: "The earth is filled with your knowledge, as the waters covering the sea": and this through the Holy Spirit: Wisdom 1: "The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world." These clouds, once filled, will pour out rain, that is, the doctrine of the divine word; Ecclesiasticus 39: "He himself like rain will send forth the words of his wisdom"; Isaiah 55: "As the rain and snow descend from heaven and water the earth and soak it: so shall my word be," upon the earth of the heart for bearing fruit; Hebrews 6: "The earth, drinking in the rain that comes upon it, and bringing forth fitting vegetation" etc.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11

He who observes the wind etc. Here he exhorts to giving unceasingly: and first he teaches that times are not to be watched; second, that divine works are not to be scrutinized; third, that works of mercy are to be continued. As to the first, he says: He who observes the wind does not sow, because frequently a wind comes that he does not want, and the wind that would please him does not come. And he who considers the clouds shall never reap: and therefore it is necessary that when it is time for reaping, he should reap, and for sowing, he should sow, and not wait. So also in the matter at hand, while he has time, let him do good; Ecclesiasticus 4: "Do not afflict the heart of the needy, and do not delay a gift to one in distress"; and Proverbs 3: "Do not say to your friend: Go and come back, tomorrow I will give to you, when you can give at once"; and thus he ought not to delay. Unceasingly also must it be dispensed: therefore he says: He who observes the wind does not sow. To sow is to preach the word of God: Matthew thirteen: "The sower went out to sow his seed": and afterwards he explains: "The seed is the word of God." This wind is the wind of detraction, concerning which Job one says: "A wind came from the region of the desert and struck the four corners of the house." He who observes this wind of detraction never sows, because he who fears the words of detracting men does not preach unto fruit, but rather is tossed about like a reed: Matthew eleven: "What did you go out to see? A reed shaken by the wind"? And he who observes the clouds will never reap. The clouds, as the Gloss says, are the blandishment of flattery, which he who desires to have never reaps eternal life, because "he has received his reward," Matthew six: and he sows in the flesh, and therefore will reap corruption, Galatians last chapter: "He who sows in the flesh" etc. And therefore these things are to be despised, but one must preach morning and evening; Second Timothy four: "Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season"; Acts twenty: "For three years I did not cease day and night, admonishing each one of you with tears."

Ecclesiastes 11:5 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11

As you know not what is the way etc. Above he said that times are not to be observed; here, second, he teaches that divine works are not to be considered or scrutinized, because we cannot; therefore he says: As you know not what is the way of the spirit. The Spirit, who is God, because this we do not know; whence John 3: "The Spirit breathes where He wills, and you hear His voice, but you know not," etc.; and Job 9: "If He comes to me, I shall not see Him; if He departs, I shall not perceive it." The spirit, which is the soul or spiritual creature, whose way, that is, origin, is not known, nor indeed its end; above, in chapter 3: "Who knows whether the spirit of the sons of Adam ascends upward?" The spirit, which is the wind, whose way is not known, that is, its origin; whence in the Psalm: "Who brings forth the winds from His treasuries"; Exodus 15: "Your spirit blew, and the sea covered them." He says therefore: As you know not what is the way of the spirit, and by what reason the bones are joined together in the womb of a pregnant woman, that is, how they are fitted together and differentiated: because even Avicenna himself says that the formative power of the members is a divine power: 2 Maccabees 7: "I know not how you appeared in my womb; for I neither gave you spirit and soul, nor did I fashion the members of each of you": but He fashioned them, to whom it is said in Job 10: "You have knit me together with bones and sinews." Just as you are ignorant of these things, which are carnal, so you are ignorant of the works of the Lord, who is the maker of all things: works, that is, hidden judgments, concerning which it is said in the Psalm: "Great are the works of the Lord, sought out according to all His purposes." These works we do not know: Romans 11: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways!"

Ecclesiastes 11:6 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11

In the morning sow etc. Here thirdly he exhorts to doing good unceasingly: and first the exhortation is set forth; second, the reason for the exhortation is added; and third, the recompense. He exhorts therefore to performing works of mercy unceasingly, for he says: In the morning sow your seed, that is, in the time of youth, because Lamentations 3: "It is good for a man when he has borne the yoke from his youth." And in the evening let not your hand cease, that is, in old age, as if to say that at every time and age good works are to be done without ceasing: Galatians 6: "And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we shall reap, if we do not lose heart." Therefore one must sow continually, because, as it is said in 2 Corinthians 9, "he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows in blessings shall also reap from blessings." Because you do not know etc. Here the second point is noted, namely the reason for the exhortation: because man does not know when and which works God accepts, just as he who sows does not know which seed bears fruit. Therefore he says: Because you do not know which may rather spring up: this one, that is, the evening sowing, or that one, that is, the morning sowing: above in chapter 9: "Man does not know whether he is worthy of love or of hatred." And if both together, it will be better, because "more goods are to be preferred over fewer"; Isaiah 32: "Blessed are you who sow beside all waters."

Ecclesiastes 11:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11

Sweet is the light etc. Here the third point is noted, namely the recompense: and this is the beholding of the eternal light and sun, in which there is the highest sweetness, and so great is the recompense. And therefore he says: Sweet is the light, to behold. Concerning this sweetness, in the Psalm: "How great is the multitude of Your sweetness, O Lord," etc. And it is delightful for the eyes to see the sun, that sun, of which Malachi 4 says: "The sun of justice shall rise upon you who fear God." This sun it is delightful to see: therefore 1 Peter 1: "Into whom the Angels desire to look." And because only those who shall be at the right hand will see that light, therefore in the Psalm: "Delights at Your right hand forevermore."

Ecclesiastes 11:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

It is indeed a beautiful wisdom, because it is light, but it is more beautiful than the sun, since the sun is unable to give birth to its radiance within itself, while the Eternal Sun begets the most beautiful Radiance within Himself. Likewise, eternal wisdom exerts its influence over all things. Hence in Ecclesiastes: "Light is sweet! and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun."

Ecclesiastes 11:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11

Second, he calls back from evil by consideration of future punishment. If a man has lived many years etc. Above he exhorted to good by consideration of reward; here he intends to call back from evil by consideration of future punishment: and indeed he does this in this order. First he says that memory of the future time must be maintained: second, he reproves present joy; third, he exhorts to cast away all wickedness and abundance of malice. He exhorts and admonishes to maintain the memory of future time, however much a man may abound in present prosperity. On account of which he says: If a man has lived many years, because in truth, even if they seem many, they nevertheless cannot be many, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus 18: "The number of the days of man, at most are a hundred years." And in all these he shall have rejoiced, according to those of whom it is said in Job 21: "They hold the timbrel and rejoice at the sound of the organ; they spend their days in prosperity," etc. He ought to remember the time of darkness, that is, the day of judgment, which will be a dark time; Zephaniah 1: "That day is a day of wrath, a day of darkness and gloom"; and of many days. These are the days or years of eternity; in the Psalm: "One day in your courts is better than a thousand." He ought to remember the day of judgment, so that he may fear; he ought to remember glory, so that he may hope and rejoice, and this according to the alternation of works; whence Ecclesiasticus 11: "In the day of good things, be not unmindful of evil things, and in the day of evil things, be not unmindful of good things." Days, I say, many, which when they shall have come, past things will be convicted of vanity, that is, they will be manifestly shown to have been vain; whence Jerome: When the kingdom of Christ shall have come, the other kingdoms will vanish. Past things will be convicted, namely of the vanity of mutability: Wisdom 5: "What has pride profited us? Or what has the boasting of riches brought us? All these things have passed away like a shadow." They will be convicted of the vanity of iniquity: Ecclesiasticus 17: "What is more wicked than what flesh and blood has devised?" And these things will be convicted; Ephesians 5: "For the things that are convicted by the light are made manifest."

Ecclesiastes 11:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11

Rejoice therefore, O young man, etc. Here secondly he reproves present joy, asserting that man must be judged for it; whence speaking ironically he says: Rejoice therefore, O young man, in your youth, because that age is suited to joy; whence Wisdom 2: "Come, let us enjoy the creature as swiftly as in youth"; as if to say: do not rejoice in youth, lest you grieve in old age; whence Ecclesiasticus 5: "Do not follow the desire of your heart in your strength." And he explains this joy, so that it may be complete both in mind and in deed and in outward sign. As to the joy of delight in the mind he says: And let your heart be in what is good, as if to say: do not rejoice in heart, because above in chapter 7: "The heart of the fool is where joy is." As to delight in deed: And walk in the ways of your heart, that is, outwardly fulfill in deed what you desire in heart, as if to say: do not walk thus; Ecclesiasticus 18: "Son, do not go after your desires, and turn away from your own will." As to joy in outward sign he says: And in the sight of your eyes, so that the eye may gaze upon those things which the heart desires and your hand performs, according to what is said of those concerning whom 2 Peter 2 states: "Having eyes full of adultery and unceasing sin," as if to say: do not walk thus; Isaiah 3: "Because the daughters of Zion are lifted up and have walked with outstretched neck and wanton glances of the eyes," etc. And that this is spoken ironically is clear, because he threatens evil upon those who rejoice thus; whence he adds: And know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. And therefore all these things are to be fled; Job 19: "Flee from the face of the sword, for the sword is the avenger of iniquity, and know that there is judgment."

Ecclesiastes 11:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11

Remove anger etc. Here thirdly he exhorts to cast away all wickedness, namely malice of heart and uncleanness of flesh. As to malice of heart he says: Remove anger from your heart, so that you may not be angry, because anger renders a man wicked; Matthew 5: "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment"; and if he is angry, he ought not to persist in it; whence Ephesians 4: "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath." As to uncleanness of flesh he says: And remove evil from your flesh, and thus he excludes all uncleanness of the flesh; James 1: "Casting away all uncleanness and abundance of malice, receive with meekness the engrafted word." He removes evil from the flesh who mortifies it; Colossians 3: "Mortify your members which are upon the earth." And the reason for this is given: For youth and pleasure are vain, because they pass away quickly; 1 John 2: "The world passes away and its desire," and therefore Wisdom 5: "What has pride profited us? Or what has the boasting of riches brought us? All these things have passed away like a shadow," etc.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

He describes punishment in general with respect to three things: first, with respect to the presence of what is harmful; second, with respect to the absence of what is pleasant; third, with respect to the lack of remedy; from the consideration of which he exhorts us to remember God. Therefore, with respect to the presence of what is harmful, he says: "Remember your Creator," giving Him praise and confession, "in the days of your youth," that is, as long as you are young and healthy: Sirach 17: "You shall confess while living; alive and healthy you shall confess and praise the Lord, and you shall glory in His mercies." And the reason for this is that the time of old age should not be awaited, in which there is the presence of what is harmful; on account of which he says: "Before the time of affliction comes": Sirach 18: "Before sickness apply the remedy, and before judgment examine yourself." "And the years draw near of which you shall say: They do not please me." These are the years in which human nature is troubled by many afflictions; and these are in old age and draw near, because in the Psalm: "Our years shall be considered as a spider's web" etc. Spiritually, he exhorts here that each one should remember the benefits of God and the benefactor himself, before man is handed over to a reprobate sense and falls into the blindness of error. Therefore they ought to remember God, because he is creator. First indeed he gave essence: Isaiah 45: "I made the earth and created man upon it"; therefore God must be remembered; against which, Deuteronomy 32: "You have forgotten God, your Creator." He gave power: Deuteronomy 8: "You shall remember the Lord your God, because he himself gave you strength, that he might fulfill his covenant." He gave good operation: Philippians 2: "God works in us both to will and to accomplish"; and Isaiah 26: "All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord"; and therefore he must be remembered; Psalm: "I was mindful of the works of the Lord, for I shall be mindful from the beginning of your wonders." Because he was incarnate for us: Song of Songs 1: "We shall exult and rejoice in you, mindful of your breasts more than wine." Because he is redeemer, who suffered for us: Lamentations 3: "Remember my poverty and transgression," etc.; who was given to us as food from heaven: Psalm: "The merciful and compassionate Lord made a memorial of his wonders; he gave food to those who fear him." Because he is rewarder according to merit: Psalm: "You shall render to each one according to his works"; on account of this it is said elsewhere in the Psalm, "I was mindful of your judgments," etc. As to desire, Isaiah 26: "Your name and your memorial are in the desire of the soul," etc.; and therefore it is added, "My soul desired you in the night." Rewarding beyond desire: Isaiah 63: "I will remember the mercies of the Lord above all things that the Lord has rendered to us," etc.

Ecclesiastes 12:2 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

With respect to the absence of what is pleasant, he says: "Before the sun grows dark," in whose sight there is great delight: above in chapter eleven: "The light is sweet, and it is delightful for the eyes to see the sun"; whence Tobit 5: "What joy shall be to me, who sit in darkness and do not see the light of heaven?" And to signify the complete absence, he excludes every heavenly light; whence he says: "Before the sun grows dark," so that it may not be seen in its circuit, "and the light," so that its influence may not be seen, and this during the day; "and the moon and the stars," during the night: Isaiah 13: "The stars of heaven and their splendor shall not spread forth their light; the sun is darkened in its rising, and the moon shall not shine with its light." With respect to the lack of remedy, he says: "And let the clouds return after the rain." After rain the sky is accustomed to clear; when therefore after rain the turbulence of clouds returns, it is a sign that there is no return to exultation and gladness: Tobit 3: "After a storm You make calm, and after weeping and tears You pour in exultation." But those days shall be turned into darkness and shall not return to light: Job 3: "Let it expect light and not see it, nor the rising of the dawning aurora." Spiritually, of this Creator we ought to be mindful both by giving thanks and by turning to him: "before the sun is darkened," namely the sun of justice, Christ, when man falls from faith: Amos 8: "The sun shall set for them at midday"; "and the light," of grace, when man falls from charity, for then he loses grace: Wisdom 5: "We have erred from the way of truth, and the light of justice did not shine upon us"; "and the moon," the understanding of Sacred Scripture, which receives its light from Christ: Revelation 12: "A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet." The woman clothed with the sun is the Church of the nations, to whom was given the full understanding of Sacred Scripture. "And the stars," the examples of the perfect: Baruch 3: "The stars gave light in their watches," namely at night, "and said: We are here." "And the clouds return," etc., that is, the teaching of the preachers ceases: Ezekiel 3: "Son of man, I will make your tongue cleave to your palate."

Ecclesiastes 12:3 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

He shows the future weakening in old age with respect to six kinds of members. First, with respect to the shaking of the bones, which are ordered to protecting the body, when he says: "When the keepers of the house shall tremble." The house is the frame of the body: this is fragile, and therefore needs a keeper; and so the Philosopher says that nature made the bones hard for guarding the soft members, as the ribs for the belly, and the skull for the head. These are shaken when their joints become loose. Likewise, with respect to the weakening of the legs for sustaining the weight of the body; whence he says: "And the strong men shall bow themselves": the strong men are the legs, because, as strong men bear the weight of war, so the legs bear the weight of the body. These strong men totter when the legs tremble and waver and do not securely support. Third, with respect to the diminishing of the teeth for chewing food; whence he says: "And the grinders shall be idle, being few in number": the grinders are the two jaws, which after the manner of two millstones grind food. These, when the number of teeth is diminished, are idle, because they cannot grind food for chewing. Fourth, with respect to the darkening of the eyes for seeing; therefore he says: "And they that look through the windows shall be darkened": they that look through the windows are the eyes, which are like two openings for seeing. These are darkened when the aged cannot see light, as Eli: 1 Kings 3, who "could not see. The lamp of God, before it was extinguished," etc. As also Isaac, of whom Genesis 27: "Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim," etc. Spiritually, the final state of the Church before the judgment, which will be at the coming of the Antichrist, is described with regard to the diminution of faith with respect to four classes of persons. First, he foretells the shaking of the prelates, when he says: "When the keepers of the house shall be moved." This house is the Church, of which it is said in the Psalm: "Holiness becometh thy house," etc. The keepers are the prelates, to whom the care of the Lord's flock has been entrusted: Isaiah 62: "Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen." The keepers, therefore, shall be moved, when the prelates shall be shaken in faith; and this indeed will be at the coming of the Antichrist; whence Judith, last chapter: "The mountains shall be moved from their foundations." Second, he foretells the wavering of the perfect, when he says: "And the strong men shall stagger": the strong men are the perfect in charity and hope, according to that passage of Isaiah 40: "They that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength." These shall waver: Matthew 24: "False prophets shall arise and shall show signs, so as to lead into error, if it be possible, even the elect"; and in the same place: "And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened." Third, he foretells the fall of the simple, when he adds: "And the grinders shall be idle, their number being diminished," that is, the simple shall cease from good work, overcome by weariness on account of the great deception practiced upon them; whence he says: "their number being diminished," because they shall be greatly reduced: Matthew 24: "Two shall be at the mill; one shall be taken, and the other shall be left." Fourth, he foretells the error of the wise, when he says: "And they that look through the holes shall be darkened," that is, the wise, who see with subtlety, shall be enveloped in the darkness of error: Job 12: "They shall grope as in darkness and not in light, and he shall make them stagger like drunkards."

Ecclesiastes 12:4 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

Fifth, with respect to the immobilization of the lips for speaking, when he says: "And the doors shall be shut in the street": the doors are the lips, by which the gate of the mouth is closed. These doors are shut in the street when a man on account of old age cannot speak loudly so as to be heard by many; therefore he says: "In the lowness of voice of the grinders," that is, of those speaking softly: he says grinding means speaking, because, as a man moves his jaws for grinding food, so he moves his jaws and lips for pronouncing formed words. Sixth, regarding the deafness of the ears for hearing, he says: "They shall rise up at the voice of the bird," that is, the cock, because the elderly cannot hear high sounds, because they are easily disturbed and most easily startled. They cannot hear sonorous and harmonious sounds either: whence he says: "And all the daughters of song shall be brought low." The daughters of song, which hear harmonious sounds, are the ears: these grow deaf in the elderly, because they cannot hear sonorous voices; 2 Kings 19, Barzillai said to David: "I am eighty years old; are my senses still keen to discern sweet from bitter, or can I still hear the voices of singers, men and women?" These therefore are the six defects that follow upon or accompany old age: because the elderly cannot repel harmful things, cannot sustain themselves, cannot eat, cannot see, cannot speak, cannot hear. Spiritually, because those who fall from faith fall from faithful confession, therefore he says: "And they shall shut the doors in the street," that is, in public; "when the sound of the grinding is low," that is, murmuring. But true confession is in public; whence Matthew 10: "What you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops." Here there is noted the spreading of error after the diminution of faith. First, falsehood will be preached by the Antichrist, when he says: "They will rise up at the voice of the bird." The voice of the bird singing in the night is the preaching of the Antichrist preaching in the night of darkness and unbelief. At his voice, therefore, those who believe his preaching will rise up. For this reason it is said in Matthew 24, that they should not give credence: "If therefore they shall say to you: Behold, he is in the desert, do not believe." Nevertheless many will hear and believe; in John 5 it is said to the Jews: "If another shall come in his own name, him you will receive." Second, he foretells that truth will be silenced, because there will be no one to hear; therefore he says: "All the daughters of song will grow deaf." Then the daughters of song grow deaf when they cannot hear the sound of truth, which is like a certain harmony. This will be in the time of the Antichrist, as was foretold: in Isaiah 30 it is foretold concerning that people who will cling to the Antichrist: "It is a people provoking to wrath, lying children, children unwilling to hear the law of God."

Ecclesiastes 12:5 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

He adds the signs of debilitation, which are four: tremor of the body, whiteness of the head, swelling of the belly, and cooling of desire. The first sign of infirmity in the old person is tremor of the body; on account of which he says: "They shall also fear the heights and be afraid in the way," that is, all the members of the body shall become tremulous: and this is a sign of the dissolution and diminution of the retentive power of the members, which is unable to hold the members steady: and therefore it is compelled to continually tremble; whence the wretched old person can say that word of the Psalm: "Fear and trembling came upon me" etc. The second sign is whiteness of the head, regarding which he says: "The almond tree shall flourish," that is, the head and beard shall grow white: for the almond tree, when it blossoms, turns white, and this is a sign of weakness of power: for because in the old person the retentive power of the humors is weakened, therefore the humors putrefy and also grow cold, as a sign of which white superfluities proceed from the body of the old person: and therefore they grow white. The third sign of senile infirmity is swelling of the belly or of other members of the body; regarding which he says: "The locust shall be fattened." The fattening of the locust even around its old age is rather swelling than true fatness, in which manner the fattening in the elderly occurs, and this is a sign of the weakness of the digestive heat. For because the digestive heat fails, phlegmatic, watery, and undigested humor abounds, which fills the body of the old person and appears to fatten it. The fourth sign is the diminishing of desire: on account of which he says: "The caper shall be scattered." The caper is a certain herb which "benefits the kidneys," as the Gloss says, and strengthens the act of the generative power; and according to Jerome, in Hebrew it has a common name for both the herb and for lustful desire. In whichever signification therefore it is taken, the sense is correct: "the caper shall be scattered," that is, the ardor of desire shall diminish; and this is a sign of weakness in the old man. For in the act of generation, heat moves, and digested moisture supplies the material. Because therefore old age is cold and dry, heat and moisture fail, and therefore the ardor of desire is diminished. The miseries preceding death have been described. Here is described the very misery of death both in the dying person and in those who mourn. In the dying person, when he says: "Because man shall go to the house of his eternity," that is, he shall die. For the house after death is eternal, because above in chapter eleven, "if a tree falls to the south, there it shall be; if to the north, there it shall be"; and thus the house after death is rightly called the house of eternity. As to the misery in those who mourn, he says: "And the mourners shall go about in the street: they go about," because on account of grief they know not how to rest: Psalm: "The head of their going about, the labor of their lips shall cover them." And they shall mourn over the dead as though unwilling to be consoled, but they ought not so: Sirach 22: "Mourning for the dead lasts seven days." Spiritually, he foretells that the power of the Antichrist will be dreaded, when he says: "They will also fear the heights and be in dread," etc., that is, all, both small and great, will fear the power of the Antichrist and will worship out of terror; whence Revelation 13: "All the earth wondered after the beast, saying: Who is like to this beast, and who shall be able to fight with it?" And afterwards: "And power was given to it over every tribe and people and tongue, and all who dwell upon the earth shall worship it, whose names are not written in the book of life." The manner of multiplying error will be by a threefold way, namely through miracles, through gifts, through torments. First, the manner of drawing to error through miracles, whe…

Ecclesiastes 12:6 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

He touches on the miseries following death, which are the dissolution of the body and the migration of the spirit to God. First is noted the dissolution of the sinews, when he says: "Before the silver cord is broken," and the phrase must be repeated: "Remember your Creator" etc. The intertwining of the sinews is rightly called a cord, because it encircles and binds the whole body, and silver, on account of their whiteness and translucency. The silver cord therefore is broken when the binding of the sinews is dissolved. Second, the dissolution of the veins or arteries, when he says: "And the golden fillet runs back"; the intertwining of the veins is rightly called a fillet, because, just as a fillet is wound around, and by it the whole that is bound is preserved, so by the veins and arteries the whole mechanism of the body is surrounded and preserved. This intertwining of veins and arteries is rightly called golden, because gold is red and veins of this kind are red on account of the redness of the blood contained within them. Then therefore the golden fillet runs back when the intertwining of the veins and arteries does not endure. Third, the breaking of the vessel of urine is noted, when he says: "And let the pitcher be shattered at the fountain." The pitcher is the receptacle of water drawn from a fountain, and the bladder is the receptacle of urine proceeding from the liver as from a fountain. For urine is the filtrate of the blood and other humors, which proceed from the liver into the whole body as from a fountain. The pitcher, therefore, is shattered at the fountain when the bladder ruptures and cannot receive the filtrate of the humors that proceeds from the liver. Fourth, the destruction of the passage of impure waste is noted, when he says: "And let the wheel be broken at the cistern." The wheel is the instrument by which the drawing out of foul and muddy water from the cistern is accomplished: the cistern contains for the most part muddy water; and such is our belly. Therefore, for the wheel to be broken at the cistern is for the passage of impure waste exiting from the belly to be destroyed in death. Spiritually, first is noted the emptying out of eloquence, when it is said: "Before the silver cord is broken." Silver is sonorous and signifies eloquence: the silver cord is the beautiful joining and binding together of words, which binds a man after the manner of a cord while it persuades, according to that which is said in Proverbs 7: "She ensnared him with many words, and drew him away with the flattery of her lips." Then therefore the silver cord will be broken, when after the day of judgment worldly eloquence will be silenced: Matthew 22: "Friend, how did you come in here not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless." Second is noted the emptying out of prelacy or power, when he says: "And the golden fillet runs back." By the fillet, which was placed on the head of the priest, is understood the order of power and prelacy, by which the Church is bound together. This fillet runs back to its beginning, namely when Christ alone will reign, and all other power will be taken away; and this will be after the judgment: 1 Corinthians 15: "Then the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father, when he shall have abolished all rule and dominion and power." Third is noted the emptying of worldly wisdom, when he says: "And the pitcher be broken at the fountain." This pitcher is the curiosity of the heart, which is brought to draw wisdom; concerning which figuratively in John 4: "A woman of Samaria came with a pitcher to draw water." The woman of Samaria is paganism, which comes with a pitcher, that is, with curiosity, to draw wisdom; whence it is said in Acts 17: "The Athenians spent their time in nothing else than either saying or hearing something new." The fountain moreover is worldly wisdom: whence in the Psalm: "You broke open the fountains and the torrents" etc. The pitcher therefo…

Ecclesiastes 12:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

Fifth, the incineration of the whole body is noted, when it is said: "And let the dust return to its earth, whence it was," that is, let the body be reduced to ashes, according to that passage in Genesis 3: "You are dust, and to dust you shall return." "To its earth," because it is from it: Sirach 40: "All things that are made of earth shall return to earth." Sixth, the return of the spirit or soul to God is touched upon: whence he says: "And let the spirit return to God, who gave it." The Lord himself gives the spirit, whence it is said in the Psalm: "He who fashioned their hearts one by one," etc.; and to him every spirit returns as to the recompenser; Romans 14: "We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ," etc. Spiritually, fifth is noted how upon the wicked there shall be the infliction of punishment, when he says: "And the dust return to the earth." Dust is rightly said to be the impious and the sinner, according to that of the Psalm: "Not so the wicked, not so, but as the dust which the wind drives from the face of the earth." The earth is the depth of darkness, according to that of Proverbs 25: "The heaven above, and the earth beneath." Then therefore the dust returns to the earth, when the sinner is shut up in the lowest depth of infernal darkness; Revelation 20: "Whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Sixth indeed is noted how upon the just and the spiritual there shall be the conferral of glory, when he says: "The spirit return to God, who gave it." The spirit is the spiritual and good person, who is joined to God through grace: 1 Corinthians 6: "He who cleaves to the Lord is one spirit." This spirit returns to God, not because it was previously with him and afterwards departed, when it came to the body and in death returns again, as Origen held: but it is said to return because it is from him and through him and is finally ordered toward him: and this indeed shall be in glory after the judgment, according to what is said in Colossians 3: "When Christ, your life, shall appear, then you also shall appear with him in glory."

Ecclesiastes 12:8 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

As was said from the beginning of the book, this entire book has an order directed toward proving one proposition, which he set forth at the beginning of the book, namely this: "Vanity of vanities" etc. This he proved throughout the entire book and now at the end concludes, saying: "Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes." Above he similarly said, that is, proposed: but now: "Ecclesiastes said," that is, concluded. He said, I say: "Vanity of vanities." This statement is taken materially, and the act of saying passes over it, so that the sense is: Ecclesiastes said this statement: "Vanity of vanities": and in this statement that genitive designates origin, so that the sense is: "Vanity of vanities," that is, from vanities arises vanity. Ecclesiastes also said this, namely: "All is vanity," and the substantive verb is understood from the usage of speech, so that the sense is: "All things are vanity." From this twofold statement such an argument is drawn: If from vanities arises vanity, and all things are vanity, then all created things do not make their lover blessed but make him vain, according to that passage in Jeremiah 2: "They walked after vanity, and became vain." If therefore all ought to desire beatitude and flee vanity, then all ought to despise earthly goods. And this is the conclusion of this book.

Ecclesiastes 12:9 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

In this epilogue, first the diligence of the writer is noted, because, since he was wise, he did not hide his wisdom but declared it to others. Therefore he says: "And since Ecclesiastes was most wise": 3 Kings 4: "The wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals; and he was wiser than all men." Since he was thus wise, he was not negligent but diligent. Whence "he taught the people": Sirach 24: "I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy, and will leave it to those who seek wisdom"; and afterwards: "Look, for I have not labored for myself alone, but for all who seek truth." He explains his diligence through the multitude of writings and teachings: and three books are touched upon here, which he composed. First Ecclesiastes, when he says: "And he recounted the things he had done," supply: in this book of Ecclesiastes: above in the first and second chapters he narrated spiritual and carnal works, so that in evil things he might give an example of what to detest, and in good things an example of what to imitate.

Ecclesiastes 12:10 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

Second, the book of Proverbs is touched upon, when he says: "And searching, he composed parables, which are useful words," that is, in Proverbs: at the beginning of Proverbs: "The parables of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, for knowing wisdom and discipline, for understanding the words of prudence." Third, the book of the Song of Songs is touched upon, when he says: "And he wrote discourses most upright and full of truth." He says this because those words which are spoken in the Song of Songs seem to be words of lasciviousness and lust: therefore he says: "Most upright discourses," that is, just and good: Proverbs 8: "All my words are just, there is nothing wicked or perverse in them." The words of the Song of Songs also seem to be false and playful, when it says: "Your nose is like a tower"; therefore he says: "And full of truth": for that is full which contains and holds something within: so also the words of the Song of Songs inwardly conceal and encompass truth: and this is necessary for all teaching: Sirach 37: "Before all works, let a truthful word precede you."

Ecclesiastes 12:11 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

The authority of his discourses is noted, because they were not lightly uttered, but rather uttered with counsel and inspired by God, and therefore they are firm and stable. And therefore he says: "The words of the wise are as goads," penetrating, namely, to the interior: "and as nails fixed deep," that is, into the depths, which are immovable, and therefore are not easily driven from the heart, but remain and lead to the good. Whence the word of God is compared to a sword, Ephesians 6: "And the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God." And therefore it pierces the heart, according to what is said in Acts 2: "When they heard these things, they were pierced in heart." Therefore the words of the wise are to be penetrated, because they were not lightly spoken: therefore he says: "Which through the counsel of masters," that is, through deliberate discussion and judgment, "were given by one shepherd," that is, by Christ, who is the shepherd, according to what is said in John 10: "I am the good shepherd." From this shepherd the words of the wise were given, because, as Augustine says, "he who teaches within has his chair in heaven"; whence Matthew 23: "One is your master, Christ." Yet they were given through the counsel of masters, that is, of the ministers of this supreme master, whom he himself sent and taught: whence it is said in 1 Peter 5: "Elders, feed the flock of God that is among you, so that when the prince of shepherds shall come, you may receive the unfading crown of glory." He himself sent these: Matthew, last chapter: "Going therefore, teach all nations."

Ecclesiastes 12:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

This counsel has been confirmed by the twelve Apostles and by the counsels of the Saints. Whence it is said in Ecclesiastes: 'The words of the wise are like goads and like nails driven deep, which were given through the counsel of masters by one shepherd.' If you want the testimony of the Saints concerning these counsels, seek Anthony, Paphnutius, and Macarius, who all resolved to observe these counsels. Seek the bishops Basil, Augustine, Martin, and Gregory; all were monks and resolved to observe the counsels and kept them. Seek also Benedict, who was an abbot; seek Dominic, seek Francis, who resolved that all these counsels must be observed. From the Lamb proceed torches, and they are illuminations for manifesting the counsels.

Ecclesiastes 12:12 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

The curiosity of the hearers is restrained, whom he addresses under the person of a son, saying: "More than these, my son, do not seek," so as to always wish to hear new things: for it suffices to know what is necessary: Sirach 3: "The things that God has commanded you, think upon them always, and in many of his works be not curious." And a twofold reason is given for this admonition, because the inquiry of this curiosity is unending and laborious. It is unending; therefore he says: "Of making many books there is no end": because the curious never have so many that they do not wish to hear more, because they never wish to hear old things, but always new ones: whence Acts 17: "The Athenians spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing." Therefore it is said in Daniel 12: "Many times shall pass, and knowledge shall be manifold," because knowledge is always in a certain way renewed. Not only is curious inquiry unending, but it is also laborious: therefore he adds: "And much study is an affliction of the flesh": Sirach 31: "The watchfulness of honesty shall waste the flesh." It is, I say, a great affliction, and conversely the utility is small, according to what was said above in chapter eight: "There is a man who day and night takes no sleep with his eyes. And I understood that of all the works of God, man can find no reason for those things which are done under the sun."

Ecclesiastes 12:13 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

The conclusion of what has been said is touched upon. "The end of the discourse," that is, the terminus and consummation of the speech, "let us all hear together," as being useful and necessary to all. And the conclusion of all that has been said consists in this, namely in the avoidance of evil or in the doing of good: to which all the doctrine and speech of Solomon is ordered, indeed all of Scripture. Therefore first, with respect to the avoidance of evil, he says: "Fear God": Proverbs 16: "In the fear of the Lord everyone turns away from evil." With respect to the doing of good, he says: "And keep his commandments": Deuteronomy 6: "Hear, O Israel, and observe, that you may do the things which the Lord has commanded." "This is the whole man," that is, the total and perfect man. For if he does good and does not turn away from evil, he is not a whole man, but half: again, if he turns away from evil and does not do good, he is only half: but if he turns away from evil through fear and does good through the observance of the commandments, then he is the whole man, that is, the complete just man. The Lord requires nothing more from man: Deuteronomy 10: "And now, Israel, what does the Lord require of you, except that you fear the Lord your God and walk in his ways, and serve the Lord with your whole heart and with your whole soul, and keep the commandments of the Lord your God?"

Ecclesiastes 12:13 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Introductory Questions

Concerning the method of treatment in Ecclesiastes: it has been said that he acts and speaks in diverse persons, namely that of the fool and that of the wise man. But: As it is said in Sirach 20, "a parable from the mouth of a fool will be rejected": therefore a statement made in the person of a fool is not to be heeded: therefore if the meaning of the sacred books is to be heeded, he ought not to speak in the person of a fool. Likewise, what he says in the person of the fool and the carnal man is to be rejected: but it is not known, when he speaks, whether he says this in his own person or in another's: therefore it is not known what in this book is to be held and what is to be rejected: therefore this science is a path to error. But canonical books ought to purge error: therefore this book should be removed from the canon. I respond: it must be said that to speak something in the person of a fool or a carnal man is twofold: either to approve it, or to reject it and show it to be vain. In the first way it does not befit the science of truth: in the second way it does, just as if someone wished to refute an error and first set it forth, then afterward destroyed it. And he speaks in this way, not in the first; and therefore he is not to be condemned, but rather to be commended, because he rejects what is to be rejected. To the objection that it is not known when he speaks in his own person: it must be said that the other side of a disputation cannot be known until one arrives at the judgment and at the determination, because in the resolution it is known what is chosen and what is rejected. Thus I say that Ecclesiastes proceeds as if disputing up to the end of the book, and at the end gives his judgment, when he says: "Let us all hear together the end of the discourse: Fear God, and know that for every fault God will bring you to judgment." In which word he condemns all the opinions of the foolish, the carnal, and the worldly. Whence what accords with that judgment he says in his own person, and what disagrees he says in the person of others: and therefore this book cannot be understood unless it is heard in its entirety.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

And Solomon says: "Fear God and observe his commandments: this is the whole man," that is, the perfect man. Therefore if you wish to be perfect, fear God.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

A bird cannot fly without two wings, nor can a man walk without two feet. Similarly, no one can be a perfect observer of the commandments of God unless he is filled with fear and love. But man is not filled with fear except from the consideration of divine severity, nor is he filled with love except from the consideration of divine goodness. He says this so that we may fear, and through fear turn away from evil; whence: Fear God and keep his commandments; this is the whole of man, that is, for this is every man. Do you wish to merit, so as to arrive at the highest fulfillment? Fear God. But how shall I fear? Certainly by considering that the Lord is a most mighty zealot.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

And the reason why God is to be feared and His commandments are to be observed is this: because He will demand an account of all things, whether of good or of evil. Therefore he adds: "And God will bring all things that are done into judgment for every error," because nothing will remain unexamined, neither what was done through malice nor what was done through error: Matthew 12: "For every idle word that men shall have spoken, they shall render an account." And not only will evil deeds be examined, but indeed also good ones: therefore he adds: "Whether it be good or whether it be evil," it will be brought into judgment: whence in the Psalm: "When I shall receive the appointed time, I will judge with justice"; and again, 2 Corinthians 5: "We must all be made manifest before the tribunal of Christ": therefore He will judge all things, because He beholds all things. And this is what ought greatly to exhort us to fear and to the observance of the commandments: and therefore he concludes with this, just as Boethius also does at the end of the Consolation: "A great necessity of uprightness is imposed upon us, since we do all things in the sight of a Judge who discerns all things."

Ephesians 1:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Ephesians 1:18 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

In the beginning I call upon the first principle, from whom all illuminations descend as from the Father of lights, from whom is every good gift and every perfect gift, namely the eternal Father, through his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that by the intercession of the most holy Virgin Mary, mother of the same God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and of blessed Francis, our leader and father, he may give the enlightened eyes of our mind to direct our feet in the way of that peace which surpasses all understanding; which peace our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed and gave.

Ephesians 2:3 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 5

Everyone begotten through intercourse is born by nature a child of wrath, because deprived of the rectitude of original justice; on account of whose absence we incur with respect to the soul a fourfold penalty, namely weakness, ignorance, malice, and concupiscence; which four are inflicted on account of original sin: which spiritual penalties are indeed accompanied in the body by manifold suffering, manifold deficiency, manifold toil, manifold disease, and manifold pain. To these penalties follows the penalty of death and reduction to ashes, the penalty of the lack of the vision of God and the loss of heavenly glory. If God had from the beginning created man in such great miseries, there would be neither mercy nor justice, namely that he would oppress his own work with such great misery, with no preceding fault. Similarly, if he were to fill us with such great miseries, or permit us to be filled, without fault, divine providence would govern us neither mercifully nor justly. If therefore it is most certain that the first principle is most upright and most clement both in producing and in providing: it is necessary that he so made the human race that from the beginning there was in it neither fault nor misery; it is also necessary that he so governs that he does not permit misery to be in us except on account of some preceding fault. Since therefore it is most certain that from our origin we contract manifold misery of punishment, it is certain that we are all born by nature children of wrath, and thereby deprived of the rectitude of original justice, which privation we call original fault. And because every fault denotes a withdrawal from the unchangeable good and an approach toward the changeable good: and to withdraw from the unchangeable good is to withdraw from the highest power, truth, and goodness: but to approach the changeable good is to tend toward it through love more than is due: hence it is that one who loses original justice incurs weakness, ignorance, malice, and concupiscence. Again, because one who abandons the unchangeable good for the sake of a changeable good becomes unworthy of both: hence it is that by reason of the lack of original justice, the soul loses temporal rest in the body through manifold corruption and death, and at last is separated from the vision of eternal light, losing the felicity of glory both in soul and in body. Finally, because the lack of this justice in those being born is not through a movement of their own will nor through actual delight: hence it is that to original sin there is not owed after this life a punishment of sense in hell, for the reason that divine justice, which is always accompanied by superabundant mercy, does not punish above what is deserved, but below it.

Ephesians 2:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Not only were we unfit to receive grace on account of ignorance of the divine precepts, but indeed also on account of our infirmity and powerlessness and concupiscence of earthly things: therefore the Lord willed to set up supports. That he might heal our languors, he descended into us through the Word crucified. Whence the Apostle to the Ephesians: "God, who is rich in mercy, on account of his exceeding charity with which he loved us, when we were dead in sins, brought us to life together with Christ, by whose grace you are saved." We have been brought to life in Christ through Christ, because Christ triumphed over death: whence death could not swallow him up, but rather the font of life swallowed up death.

Ephesians 2:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

God's inner goodness is the very reason why He loved to the highest possible degree and was filled with the deepest possible mercy. The Father gave us a Son born of us, He gave us One who suffered for us and rose again for our sake, by reason of His very great love wherewith He has loved us.

Ephesians 2:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Ephesians 2:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Ephesians 2:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

There are, in the Church, three fundamental ranks: the patriarchal, the prophetical, and the apostolical. "Therefore, you are now no longer strangers. You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets." The patriarchs were the ancestors of the apostles according to the flesh and according to the promise. This order corresponds to the Father as He is in Himself. The prophetical order corresponds to the Father as He is in the Son, and the apostolical order, to the Father as He is in the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 3:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Wisdom appears as manifold in the mysteries of divine Scriptures. This multiformity of the mysteries is shown in the Apostle's letter to the Ephesians: "To me, the very least of all saints, there was given this grace, to announce among the Gentiles the good tidings of the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all men as to what is the dispensation of the mystery which has been hidden from all eternity in God, who created all things; in order that through the Church there be made known to the Principalities and the Powers in the heavens the manifold wisdom of God." And so this wisdom is called manifold because there are many ways of expressing it. Hence it was necessary that wisdom be shown under many figures, many sacraments, many signs, in order also that it be hidden to the proud and revealed to the humble.

Ephesians 3:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Ephesians 3:10 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

And thus it is clear how the manifold wisdom of God, which is clearly handed down in sacred Scripture, lies hidden in all knowledge and in all nature. It is also clear how all branches of knowledge serve theology; and therefore theology itself takes up examples and uses terms pertaining to every kind of knowledge. It is also clear how broad the illuminative way is, and how in every thing that is sensed or that is known, God Himself lies hidden within. And this is the fruit of all the sciences: that in all things faith may be built up, God may be honored, morals may be ordered, consolations may be drawn, which are found in the union of the bridegroom and the bride, which union is indeed brought about through charity, to which the entire intention of Sacred Scripture is directed, and consequently every illumination descending from above, and without which all knowledge is vain, because one never arrives at the Son except through the Holy Spirit, who teaches us all truth: who is blessed forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14 — Breviloquium, Prologue

The great teacher of the nations and preacher of truth, filled with the divine Spirit as a chosen and sanctified vessel, in this word discloses the origin, progress, and state of sacred Scripture, which is called theology: intimating that the origin of Scripture is to be understood according to the influence of the most blessed Trinity, its progress, however, according to the requirement of human capacity, and its state or fruit, according to the superabundance of the most overflowing felicity. And so that we may arrive at this fruit and goal by a right progress through the way of the right journey of the Scriptures, we must begin from the beginning, that is, that with pure faith we approach the Father of lights, bending the knees of our heart, so that He Himself through His Son in the Holy Spirit may give us true knowledge of Jesus Christ and with that knowledge love of Him, so that thus knowing and loving Him, and as it were established in faith and rooted in charity, we may come to know the breadth, length, height, and depth of Sacred Scripture itself, and through this knowledge arrive at the most complete knowledge and surpassing love of the most blessed Trinity, toward which the desires of the Saints tend, in which is the end-state and fulfillment of all truth and goodness.

Ephesians 3:15 — Breviloquium, Prologue

For the origin is not through human investigation, but through divine revelation, which flows from the Father of lights, from whom all paternity in heaven and on earth is named, from whom through his Son, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit flows into us, and through the Holy Spirit, dividing and distributing gifts to each one as he wills, faith is given, and through faith Christ dwells in our hearts.

Ephesians 3:16 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Ephesians 3:17 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Through faith Christ dwells in our hearts. This is the knowledge of Jesus Christ, from which originally flows the firmness and understanding of all sacred Scripture. Whence it is also impossible that anyone should enter into knowing it unless he first has the faith of Christ infused in him, as the lamp and gate and also foundation of all Scripture. For faith itself is the basis of all supernatural illuminations as long as we are pilgrims from the Lord, both the foundation that stabilizes, the lamp that directs, and the gate that introduces; and according to its measure the wisdom divinely given to us must also be measured. Therefore through the mediation of this faith, the knowledge of sacred Scripture is given to us according to the influence of the blessed Trinity, just as the Apostle expressly intimates in the first part of the authority previously introduced.

Ephesians 3:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Ephesians 3:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

In the third place, for the soul to be hierarchized, it is necessary that it see the city going up into heaven. And that is when, through infusion into it of divine strength, light and warmth by the eternal Sun, it piously venerates, clearly speculates, and holily enjoys, and in so doing, comprehends the indissoluble bond of divine charity, the irrevocable gift of divine charity, the incomparable fire of divine charity, and the incomprehensible consolation of divine charity. Then it sees the city of God as it were in itself, and it has four sides, of which [Paul writes] to the Ephesians: "Being rooted and grounded in love, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth," etc.

Ephesians 3:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Ephesians 3:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Ephesians 3:17 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 7

This excess is indeed the ultimate and most noble mode of knowing, which Dionysius praises in all his books, and especially in the book On Mystical Theology. Concerning which also, mystically, almost all of divine Scripture speaks; because this mode of knowing one scarcely or never understands unless one has experienced it, nor does one experience it unless one is rooted and grounded in charity, so that one may comprehend with all the Saints what is the length, the breadth, etc.; in which also experiential and true wisdom consists, which is begun on the way and consummated in the fatherland: for the circumlocution of which negations are more fitting than affirmations, and supereminent expressions than positive predications; for the experience of which interior silence avails more than the exterior word.

Ephesians 3:18 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

In charity, therefore, let us be rooted and grounded, that we may be able to comprehend with all the Saints what is the length of eternity, what the breadth of liberality, what the height of majesty, and what the depth of judging wisdom.

Ephesians 3:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Ephesians 3:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Now, this seven-fold series, either in the sensible world or in the minor world, arises out of the archetypal world, where causal principles exist in a seven-fold series. For God exists by reason of a triple-formed cause, original, exemplary, and final, and He cannot exist in any other mode. Hence the Apostle says: For "from Him and through Him and unto Him are all things." But the principle of causality is dependent upon four things: height of power, depth of wisdom, breadth of benevolence, and length of eternity, so that, as the Apostle says, "you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth." Power creates, wisdom governs, benevolence achieves, and eternity preserves.

Ephesians 3:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

The loftiness of faith consists in two things: the extreme of altitude and the extreme of depth. And although in bodies height and depth are the same, they are distinguished by reason. The Apostle makes this distinction when he writes: "You may be able to comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth."

Ephesians 3:18 — Breviloquium, Prologue

The progress of Sacred Scripture is not confined to the laws of reasoning, definitions, and divisions according to the manner of other sciences, nor is it confined to a part of the universe; but rather, since it proceeds according to supernatural light to give man the wayfarer sufficient knowledge of things, as is expedient for salvation, partly through plain words and partly through mystical ones, it describes the containment of the entire universe as in a certain summary, in which its breadth is observed; it describes its course, in which its length is observed; it describes the excellence of those who are finally to be saved, in which its sublimity is observed; it describes the misery of those who are to be damned, in which the depth consists not only of the universe itself, but also of the divine judgment. And thus it describes the whole universe, insofar as it is expedient to have knowledge of it for salvation, according to its breadth, length, height, and depth. Now its breadth consists in the multitude of its parts, its length in the description of times and ages, its height in the description of hierarchies arranged in gradual order, and its depth in the multitude of mystical senses and meanings.

Ephesians 3:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Ephesians 3:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Ephesians 3:18 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 7

Ephesians 3:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Ephesians 3:19 — Breviloquium, Prologue

The end-state, however, or fruit of Sacred Scripture is not just anything, but the fullness of eternal happiness. For this is the Scripture in which are the words of eternal life, which was therefore written not only that we might believe, but also that we might possess eternal life, in which indeed we shall see, we shall love, and our desires shall be universally fulfilled; and when these are fulfilled, we shall then truly know the charity that surpasses knowledge, and thus we shall be filled unto all the fullness of God. To which fullness indeed the divine Scripture strives to lead us, according to the truth of the aforementioned apostolic statement. Therefore, with this end and with this intention, Sacred Scripture is to be searched out, taught, and also heard.

Ephesians 3:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

This contemplation comes about through grace, and yet personal effort is helpful, for it separates self from anything that is not God, and if possible, from itself. And that is the supreme union of love. And the Apostle says that it comes about through love alone: "So that, being rooted and grounded in love, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth." Such love transcends every intellect and every science. But if it transcends every science, how can this wisdom be seen? That is why the Apostle continues: "Now, to him who is able to accomplish all things in a measure far beyond what we ask or conceive." For it does not belong to anyone, but to the man to whom God reveals it. Hence the same Apostle writes: "But to us God has revealed it through His spirit."

Ephesians 3:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Such love transcends every intellect and every science. But if it transcends every science, how can this wisdom be seen? That is why the Apostle continues: "Now, to him who is able to accomplish all things in a measure far beyond what we ask or conceive." For it does not belong to anyone, but to the man to whom God reveals it.

Ephesians 4:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Our Hierarch must be most generous in the amount of what He gives out. As written in the Epistle to the Ephesians, "to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's bestowal. Thus it says, 'Ascending on high, He led away captives; He gave gifts to men.'" As indeed a cloud rises aloft in order that it may rain down, so does Christ ascend in order that He may grant His gifts.

Ephesians 4:8 — Breviloquium

Just as Christ insofar as He is the uncreated Word most perfectly formed all things, so insofar as He is incarnate He ought to have most perfectly reformed all things. Because the remedy of the passion was most sufficient, it therefore extended itself to celestial, terrestrial, and infernal things. Through Christ infernal things were recovered, terrestrial things remedied, and celestial things restored to wholeness—such that the first of these He accomplished through pardon, the second through grace, and the third through glory: therefore after the passion His soul descended to the nether regions to free those detained in hell; then He rose from the dead to vivify those dead in sins; He ascended into the heavens, leading captivity captive, to restore the heavenly Jerusalem to wholeness; and He sent the Holy Spirit to build up the earthly Jerusalem. All of which necessarily follow and are required for the sufficiency of human restoration.

Ephesians 4:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Ephesians 4:13 — Breviloquium, Part 7

The bodies of all human beings will rise in the general resurrection, with no difference among them as to the order of time, but a great difference as to the order of dignity. For the wicked will rise with their deformities and punishments, miseries and defects, which they had in the state of wayfare. But in the good, nature will be preserved, and defects will be removed, and all will rise with a whole body and full age and due measure of members; so that all the Saints may attain to the perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ. Because the resurrection must be in accordance with the demand of the consummation of grace, and perfect grace makes us conformed to Christ, our head, in whom there was no defect of members, but perfect age and due stature and beautiful form: it is fitting that the good be raised in the best conditions; and through this it is necessary that in them defects be removed and nature be preserved. It is also fitting that, if any member was lacking, it be supplied; if there was any superfluity, it be removed; if there was any disorder of the members, it be corrected; if one was a child, he be brought by divine power to the measure of the age of Christ which he had at the resurrection; if decrepit, he be restored to the same age; if a giant, if a dwarf, he be limited to a fitting measure; so that thus all, whole and perfect, may attain to the perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The sixth judgment of God is the judgment of despair, namely when the Lord takes away hope from man, and man believes himself to be deprived of eternal glory. Of such it is said: "Despairing, they gave themselves over to lasciviousness, unto the working of all uncleanness, unto covetousness." This is the most terrible judgment. Into this judgment Judas fell; and this judgment is the greatest, such that in the present life no greater can be given.

Ephesians 4:25 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

But we cannot possess these three in relation to others unless we have them first in relation to ourselves. Wherefore there are three more commandments: one that straightens all deeds, another that straightens all speech, and yet another that straightens all affective dispositions. That which straightens speech is as follows: You shall not bear false witness, which prohibits all falsity either in oneself or in relation to another. Speak truth each one with his neighbor.

Ephesians 4:28 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

But we cannot possess these three in relation to others unless we have them first in relation to ourselves. Wherefore there are three more commandments: one that straightens all deeds, another that straightens all speech, and yet another that straightens all affective dispositions. That which straightens deeds is as follows: You shall not steal, which not only prohibits stealing from others, but commands to give from one's own goods. And this is how the Apostle understands it: He who was wont to steal, let him steal no longer; but rather let him labor, working with his hands, that he may have something to share with him who suffers need.

Ephesians 4:28 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Ephesians four: He who was stealing, let him steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands, etc. This he says in order to avoid idleness and to remove sloth, which is the bilge of desires and the fuel of sins. From this, therefore, it is evident that labor is not commanded to all; and thereby mendicancy is not prohibited, except that which comes from idleness and cupidity, as the texts and Glosses indicate.

Ephesians 5:1 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

He commands imitation of himself. Concerning this imitation the Apostle says: Be imitators of God, as most beloved children. Now there are six works of mercy, namely: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, gathering in strangers, visiting the sick, and ransoming captives. Moreover, the work of perfect virtue cannot exist unless the creature is conformed to Christ in these things.

Ephesians 5:2 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Because it accords with the time of grace that the Sacrament of communion and love should not merely signify communion and love, but also inflame unto the same, so that it may effect what it figures; and because that which most inflames us to mutual love and most unites the members is the unity of the Head, from whom through the diffusive, unitive, and transformative power of love mutual love flows into us: hence it is that in this Sacrament is contained the true body of Christ and immaculate flesh, as diffusing itself to us and uniting us to one another and transforming us into itself through the most ardent charity, by which he gave himself to us and offered himself for us and restored himself to us and remains with us even unto the end of the world.

Ephesians 5:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

These philosophers had the wings of ostriches, for their affective powers were not cleansed or ordained or straightened: for this can be obtained only through faith. Hence they proposed a false circle of beatitude, second a false sufficiency of merits in the present world, third an eternal soundness of internal powers. In these three instances, they fell into darkness. But faith, brushing away these obscurities, indicates the disease, its cause, Physician, and medicine; it heals the soul by placing the roots of merits in God who must be satisfied. And so the soul goes forth through faith into assured hope by means of the merits of Christ, and not in a presumptuous fashion. And so faith heals, straightens and ordains: in this manner the soul may be changed, straightened and ordained. The philosophers did not know these roots. Faith alone, then, divides the light from the darkness. Hence, the Apostle says: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. For faith, that has hope and charity together with good works, heals the soul, and once it has been healed, cleanses and lifts it up and makes it into the likeness of God. Now we are in the true light: not like those who sleep and take the false for the true, an idol for God.

Ephesians 5:25 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Ephesians 5:25 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That conjugal chastity is to be approved according to the evangelical law is shown by authority, as follows. Ephesians 5: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church: but the union of Christ with the Church is according to the most chaste love: therefore the union of man with woman is also according to chaste love. But chaste love is consonant with the law of God: therefore also its act.

Ephesians 5:31 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Since each of the spiritual unions signified in the Sacrament of matrimony is a union of one as agent and infuser, and of the other as patient and receiver; and this by the bond of love, which proceeds from pure will: hence it is that matrimony must be a joining of two persons, differing according to the relation of agent and patient, namely of the male sex and the female, and this from the pure consent of the will. And because consent before commingling does not make a full union, because they are not yet one flesh: hence it is that by words regarding the future, matrimony is said to be initiated, by words regarding the present confirmed, but in carnal union consummated, because then they are one flesh and become one body: and through this it fully signifies that union which is between us and Christ. For then the body of one is fully transferred to the body of the other according to the power of one's spouse for the procreation of offspring.

Ephesians 5:32 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Everything that accords with the evangelical Sacraments is good and praiseworthy: but conjugal continence is of this kind: therefore it is good and praiseworthy. The major is evident; the minor is proved: Ephesians 5: This Sacrament is a great one, etc.: therefore conjugal continence is consonant with the law of God.

Ephesians 5:32 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

"The Lord cast a deep sleep upon Adam, and when he had fallen asleep, he took one of his ribs" and made a woman "and brought her to Adam." And the Lord said: "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife." And the Apostle said: "This is a great sacrament; but I speak in Christ and in the Church." And why, while he slept, did He take one of his ribs? Could He not have done this while he was awake? This is mystical. Was not the Church formed from the side of Christ, when Christ fell asleep on the cross? And from His side flowed forth blood and water, that is, the Sacraments, through which the Church is reborn. From the rib of Adam, Eve was formed, who was joined to him in marriage. Just as man was formed from virgin earth, so Christ from the glorious Virgin. And just as from the side of the sleeping Adam woman was formed, so the Church from Christ hanging on the cross. And just as from Adam and Eve, Abel and his successors were formed, so from Christ and the Church the whole Christian people.

Ephesians 5:32 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Matrimony, because it renews the multitude in the being of nature, which is the foundation of all, was therefore first introduced before all others: although, on account of the disease of concupiscence attached to it, and because it is the least sanctifying, even though in signification it is a great Sacrament, it is placed last among the spiritual remedies and assigned the final place. God from the beginning instituted that propagation should take place through a conjunction of male and female that is undivided and singular, which would signify before sin the conjunction of God and the soul, or of God and the subcelestial hierarchy, but after sin the conjunction of God and human nature, or of Christ and the Church; and therefore in both cases it is a Sacrament, namely before and after, although in different ways, with respect to signification and use. For since it was a Sacrament before the disease supervened, the concupiscence which supervened through sin is rather to be excused through matrimony than it is able to vitiate it: because the disease does not corrupt the medicine, but the medicine has the power to cure the disease.

Ephesians 6:1 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

By reason of governance, the honor of obedience is owed to the father; whence the Apostle to the Ephesians: Children, obey your parents, for this is just. Honor your father and your mother: which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may be well with you, and that you may be long-lived upon the earth.

Ephesians 6:1 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Since the law of grace considers the origin, fall, and remedy of nature, it belongs to it to approve the threefold mode and distinction of obedience. For it approves filial obedience, Ephesians 6: Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is just. Fatherhood and sonship are most consonant with natural law: therefore also that children obey parents; and this is done through the service of obedience.

Ephesians 6:2 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

Ephesians 6:3 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

Ephesians 6:16 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The soul is disposed to the gift of fortitude through the unconquerable shield of faith. "In all things taking up the shield of faith, by which you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one." The devil draws man to the concupiscence of the flesh, to the concupiscence of the eyes, and to the pride of life. What is the means of resisting these? Through truth. "His truth shall encompass you with a shield," namely through faith dwelling within. And blessed Peter said: "Your adversary as a roaring lion goes about seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, strong in faith." If we loved truth, we would not fear the devil, because it is written: "The eyes of the Lord behold the whole earth and give fortitude to those who believe in him with a perfect heart."

Esther 2:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The blessed Virgin possesses that price, because she is strong and valiant, sublimely reigning. Whence in Esther it is said that Esther found grace before Ahasuerus above all women, and he placed a diadem upon her head and made her queen. The blessed Virgin on account of her sanctity, piety, and sublimity had a crown of precious stone. Who is this stone? Certainly Christ.

Esther 8:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

In the tropological sense, the sun has four faces. The first is the grace of the Holy Spirit, as in Esther: "The light and the sun rose up: and the humble were exalted," that is, when God lives in us through grace. Hence, as the sun sheds its light continuously, so must the soul continuously receive illuminations from the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Esther 10:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

There is a reading in the Book of Esther: "The little fountain grew into a river, and was turned into a light, and into the sun, and abounded into many waters." Scripture was a "little fountain" at the time of the giving of the Law, for the book containing the commandments of the Law is small; but later it grew into an immense river in the books of Josue, Judges, Kings, Esdras, Judith, Tobias, Esther and the Macchabees. Then, it was "turned into light," that is, the light of the Prophets, for prophecy is light; then again, "into the sun," that is, in the Gospels. And many interpretations were drawn from it, and in that sense, it may be said that it "abounded into many waters."

Esther 15:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

And in Esther it is said: "I saw you, Lord, as an Angel of God, and my heart was troubled by fear of your glory; for you are exceedingly wonderful, Lord, and your face is full of graces." An Angel sees and surveys all things, approves the good and rejects the evil; likewise, an Angel loves the good and hates the evil.

Exodus 3:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

That the Holy Spirit prompted such a move may be seen in Moses, whom the fire led "to the inner parts of the desert," where he received enlightenment. The inner parts are the form of wisdom; the enlightenment is mental ecstasy.

Exodus 3:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

By means of diffusion, as of brightness out of light, of heat out of fire, of a river out of its headspring, of rain out of a full or humid cloud. In the first diffusion, equality is lacking, for brightness is not the same as light. In the second, closeness is lacking, for heat is not close to fire, since it is the principle neither of its form nor of its origin, but is merely an accident. In the third, simultaneity is lacking, for a spring diffuses itself by flowing, and not all at once. In the fourth, fullness is lacking, for not all of the rain is drawn out of a cloud, but only successive drops. Now, join these four conditions to a single diffusion, one of splendor having equality, of heat having closeness and substantiality, of a river or fountain having simultaneity, and of rain having fullness: and in this way, you will have a trace of the eternal generation. Hence, the Son is sometimes compared to brightness: "Being the brightness of His glory," etc.; at other times, to a flame, as in Moses' bush which represented the person of the Son; or again, as a river or spring: "But a spring rose out of the earth. A river rose in Eden." Again, He is sometimes compared to rain: "For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth," etc. And, later: "So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth," that is, from the Father's heart.

Exodus 3:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Hence Moses, after he had led the flock across the desert, saw a bush which, though on fire, was not consumed. "I must go over," he said, "to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned." And there he was enlightened. The spiny bush is the flesh liable to suffering; the flame is the soul of Christ full of light and of the fire of love; the light itself is the Godhead; the light joined to the bush by means of the flame is the Godhead joined to flesh by means of the spirit or soul. And so, in order that He be able to quicken the dead and to make sons of God out of mere men, He had to be preeminent.

Exodus 3:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

It is said in Exodus: "That the bush burned and was not consumed," that is, the glorious Virgin, bringing forth the Son of God and light, gave light to the world through the fire of divine love and was not corrupted. The love of charity preserves from corruption.

Exodus 3:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

The first object of speculation is the fact that God is. The first name of God is "To Be" which is most manifest and most perfect — and therefore, first. Hence nothing is more manifest, for anything said of God is retraced to being: this then is truly God's proper name. God would not have said to Moses, that is to the Giver of the Law, "I am who am," unless He were First. Later, He said: "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob," by which He expressed the mystery of the Trinity. Thirdly, He said: "Who gives one man speech?" by which He explains that He is the Exemplar.

Exodus 3:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Now this is the most manifest and perfect name of God, for all things depending upon God are comprised within this name: "I am who am." This name is properly His, and it was said of it in what manner all things represent Him by way of order, origin and fulfillment, or immediate relationship. This name written in the soul gives it light so that it may see.

Exodus 3:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

As related to pre-existent truth, in three ways: as regards essence, as regards excellence, or as regards refulgence. The divine essence is the first thing that comes to the mind. When Moses inquired about God's name, he was told: "I am who am," that is, every kind of goodness and power. As regards excellence: God is one, triune, and true. As regards refulgence, He is the Exemplar of all things.

Exodus 3:14 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

You know to whom the first noble knowledge of the commandments was given? Certainly to Moses, who wrote through the Holy Spirit. But when did he have this knowledge? Certainly, when the Lord appeared to him. And in what manner did He appear to him? Certainly, in the fire of the flame of the burning bush. And then Moses said: Who are you, Lord? And the Lord answered him: I am who I am. And then the Lord gave him two lights, namely the light of eternal essence and the light of eternal truth. The bush was burning and was not consumed, in which the mystery of the incarnation is signified to us. These are the two lights and the principal foundations of faith, namely the light of eternal essence and the light of eternal truth, and together with this also the mystery of the incarnation of our Savior. And when we make the cross on our forehead in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we acknowledge the Trinity and together with this our Redeemer. By saying: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, man acknowledges the Trinity; by making the cross on the forehead, he acknowledges the Redeemer.

Exodus 3:14 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 5

The first mode first and principally fixes its gaze upon being itself, saying that He Who Is is the primary name of God. The second mode fixes its gaze upon the good itself, saying that this is the primary name of God. The first pertains especially to the Old Testament, which above all proclaims the unity of the divine essence; whence it was said to Moses: I am who I am; the second pertains to the New, which determines the plurality of persons, baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Therefore our master Christ, wishing to raise the young man who had kept the Law to evangelical perfection, principally and precisely attributed the name of goodness to God. No one, he said, is good but God alone. Damascene therefore, following Moses, says that He Who Is is the primary name of God; Dionysius, following Christ, says that the good is the primary name of God. Whoever wishes therefore to contemplate the invisible things of God with regard to the unity of essence, let him first fix his gaze upon being itself and let him see that being itself is so certain in itself that it cannot be thought not to be, because being most pure does not present itself except in the full flight from non-being, just as nothingness presents itself in the full flight from being. Just as therefore absolute nothingness has nothing of being nor of its conditions, so conversely being itself has nothing of non-being, neither in act nor in potency, neither according to the truth of the thing nor according to our estimation. Since, however, non-being is the privation of being, it does not fall into the intellect except through being; but being does not fall through another, because everything that is understood is understood either as non-being, or as being in potency, or as being in act. If therefore non-being cannot be understood except through being, and being in potency only through being in act; and being names the pure act itself of a being: being therefore is what first falls into the intellect, and that being is what is pure act. But this is not particular being, which is contracted being, because it is mixed with potency; nor analogous being, because it has the least of act, since it has the least of being. It remains therefore that that being is divine being. Wondrous therefore is the blindness of the intellect, which does not consider that which it sees first and without which it can know nothing. But just as the eye, intent upon the various differences of colors, does not see the light by which it sees the rest, and if it sees it, does not attend to it: so the eye of our mind, intent upon particular and universal beings, does not attend to being itself beyond every genus, although it first presents itself to the mind, and through it all other things. Whence it most truly appears that "as the eye of the bat is to the light, so is the eye of our mind to the most manifest things of nature"; because, accustomed to the darkness of beings and the phantasms of sensible things, when it gazes upon the very light of supreme being, it seems to itself to see nothing: not understanding that this very darkness is the supreme illumination of our mind, just as when the eye sees pure light, it seems to itself to see nothing. See therefore being most pure itself, if you can, and it will present itself to you that it cannot be thought as received from another: and thereby it is necessarily thought as in every way first, which can be neither from nothing nor from something. For what is through itself, if being itself is not through itself nor from itself? It also presents itself to you as entirely lacking non-being, and thereby as never beginning, never ending, but eternal. It also presents itself to you as in no way having in itself anything except what is being itself, and thereby as composed with nothing, but most simple. It presents itself to you as having nothing of potentiality, because every possible thing in some way has somethi…

Exodus 3:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

Exodus 4:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

Exodus 5:4 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

What else is this than what was signified by the taskmasters of Pharaoh, of whom it is said in Exodus 1, that they hated the children of Israel and brought them to bitterness, afflicting them with hard labors of clay and brick, and with every kind of servitude? And hear what the Gloss says on that passage of Exodus 5: Why, Moses and Aaron, do you disturb the people from their works? Go to your burdens: "Today if Moses and Aaron, that is, the prophetic and priestly word, should urge a soul to the service of God, to go out from the world, to renounce all that one possesses, to attend to the law and the word of God; immediately you will hear the unanimous friends of Pharaoh saying: See how men are seduced, and young people are perverted, so that they neither labor, nor serve in the military, nor do anything profitable, and having abandoned necessary affairs, they pursue idleness and leisure! What is it to serve God? They do not wish to labor and they seek occasions for idleness. These were then the words of Pharaoh, these also his friends now speak, and they persecute not only with words, but also with blows."

Exodus 8:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

"For in her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle." This spirit lifts up the soul and teaches unforeseen things. "This is the finger of God" which the Pharaoh's magician cannot touch, that is, our mind. Many wise men possess the first faces of wisdom, but only a few have this one.

Exodus 12:11 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Whoever looks upon this mercy seat with full turning of the countenance, gazing upon him who hangs upon the cross through faith, hope, and charity, devotion, admiration, exultation, appreciation, praise, and jubilation, makes the Passover, that is, the passing over, with him, so as to pass through the Red Sea by the rod of the cross, entering the desert from Egypt, where he may taste the hidden manna, and may rest with Christ in the tomb as though outwardly dead, yet sensing, insofar as is possible according to the state of wayfaring, what was said on the cross to the thief clinging to Christ: Today you shall be with me in paradise.

Exodus 12:35 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

Exodus 14:16 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Exodus 15:18 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 5

That the divine being is eternal, the authority of Scripture demonstrates this, Exodus 15: The Lord shall reign forever and ever; and Romans 1: His eternal power also and divinity. The truth of the faith also demonstrates this: "Eternal the Father," it says in the Athanasian Creed, "eternal the Son, eternal the Holy Spirit." Likewise, the necessity of reason concludes this same thing. For everything that is its own being is eternal; for being cannot not be, therefore it can neither begin nor cease, and thus it lacks a beginning and an end: if therefore God, since he is most simple, is his own being, indeed is simply being itself; therefore he is altogether eternal.

Exodus 15:27 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

Again, you can multiply the four cardinal virtues by the three theological, and then there are twelve: for prudence must be faithful, trusting, and loving; and so it is with the others. And they are represented by the twelve springs, the twelve gems in the High Priest's vestment, and the twelve doors of the City. First, the twelve springs, for as they flow into each other, they make the soul clean. Second, the twelve gems, for they adorn the soul with all the virtues carried in the heart, as these gems were carried on the High Priest's chest. Third, the twelve doors, in so far as they lead in: for in the east, there is the sincerity of temperance; in the south, the serenity of prudence; in the north, the stability of constancy; and in the west, the sweetness of justice.

Exodus 19:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

And here is shown how a prelate should behave: being perfect in both action and contemplation, he must accept the laws. Where? On the Mountain of Contemplation, with Moses, so that he may act with propriety and industry, and not as a beast, for a beast cannot go up into the Mountain: a beast that touches the Mountain must be stoned.

Exodus 20:2 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

For knowing the Creator, he says: I am the Lord your God. In that he says Lord, he intimates the power of the Father. In that he says God, he intimates the wisdom of the Son. In that he says your, he intimates the benevolence or goodness of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, in that he says I, he denotes the identity of essence, and in this he intimates God as triune and one, Creator of all things. There follows: Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; here he intimates the gift of restoration through the incarnate Word. The Lord speaks to all to whom he gave the commandment, and he gave the commandments to all, although he first gave them to the children of Israel. From the house of servitude, that is, of sin; for all of us have been led out from the servitude of sin who have been redeemed through the blood of the Lamb. The whole Trinity speaks these words. He says therefore I, namely, the one whom you ought to obey and whom you ought to love and adore. Or he says I, who made you in the being of nature and in the being of grace. We ought therefore also to say: Lord, you are the one whom we ought to adore, whom we ought to serve; you are the one who created me; you are the one who redeemed me. These two things, therefore, namely the knowledge of the Creator and the Restorer, are set forth first, without which we can understand nothing, because these are the foundations of our faith.

Exodus 20:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

And from this fact, that He is the pious worshiper of Himself, the true witness to Himself, and the holy lover of Himself, there comes down from heaven a threefold radiation in the mind, according to the three commandments of the first tablet. For the creature must behave in relation to God in a manner that is pious, true, and holy. This consists in worshiping God piously, hence, the first commandment, You shall not have other gods besides Me, but only one; in witnessing to God: You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain; in loving God in a holy manner: Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. These three imprint the Sun in the higher portion of the soul.

Exodus 20:3 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

The first plague was of blood, by which idolaters were struck, because the Psalm says of them: "They poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan."

Exodus 20:3 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 2

Exodus 20:3 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

In the first tablet are contained the commandments ordering us toward God: but God is the Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. To the Father is attributed majesty, to the Son truth, and to the Holy Spirit goodness. In the Father there is supreme majesty to be humbly adored; in the Son there is supreme truth to be faithfully asserted; in the Holy Spirit there is supreme goodness to be sincerely loved. In the first commandment is commanded the humble adoration of divine majesty, when it is said: "Thou shalt not have strange gods."

Exodus 20:3 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

Exodus 20:3 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

Note that latria is worship owed to God alone and is rendered in such a way that it is owed to no other. God prohibits the worship of others in the negative, and by this he implied the worship of God in the affirmative, which is made explicit in the New Testament, when the Lord says: Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. It is asked: why did the Lord prohibit the worship of others in the negative and not make explicit the worship of God in the affirmative? Certainly, because he wished to give us the commandments in the easiest manner he could; and therefore in the negative he called us back from the worship of others, so as to imply his own worship in the affirmative. And it should be noted that he called us back from all idolatry. Now everything that is adored other than God is either an intellectual creature, such as angels and demons; or a corporeal creature, such as heaven and earth and water and the like; or it is a figment of the human mind. And the Lord prohibits adoring these three. Sacred Scripture places the intellectual creature at the highest level, the figment in the middle, and corporeal nature at the lowest; and accordingly it first prohibits idolatry with respect to the intellectual creature, when it says: You shall not have strange gods. We Christians ought to see beyond that Jewish people to whom these commandments were given, because the truth has been made manifest to us. In the first word: You shall not have strange gods before me, all profane pacts with demons are prohibited, whether they be made through incantations of words, or through inscriptions of characters or images, or through immolations of sacrifices. In these three consist all the parts of the magical art. And thus by prohibiting these three, all things are prohibited from which all profane pacts with demons arise, whether they be made for the transmutation of natures, as the magicians of Pharaoh did; or for the deception of the senses, as illusionists do; or for the investigation of future contingencies. All these Augustine calls pacts with demons, because in such things there is attributed to the creature what ought to be attributed to the Creator; and therefore such persons sin against the first word of the commandment: You shall not have strange gods before me. We have an example of this in a certain learned man, who had long studied how he might become rich, and had made his tongue available for hire for a long time, and yet was always in want. But he thought thus: since I cannot be made rich through God, I will be made rich through the devil. He sought a magician among Jews and Christians and found none. At length he thought: I myself will try whether I can become rich through the devil. He went by a certain shady, rocky path alongside a torrent and said: Where are you, demon, who always seek to deceive men? I am here to give you my soul. The first and second time the demon did not come nor respond, because the Lord did not yet permit it. But the third time the devil came and said: What do you seek from me? He answered: That you make me rich. The devil said to him: It is necessary that you first adore me. And then he bowed down and adored him. And immediately the devil had power over him and deceived him: he made all those stones appear to him to be gold. And the demon said to him: Take as much gold as you wish. And then he, rejoicing, loaded himself with stones, and when he came home he placed the stones in a certain corner of the house; and the stones caught fire, and the house was burned along with whatever was in it, so that he himself barely escaped. He thought again to return to the former place, saying: I will go and take enough gold. And when he came to the place, then he saw that there was nothing there but stones: and so he was made a fool.

Exodus 20:3 — Breviloquium, Part 5

It is necessary that certain moral precepts order us toward God: and certain toward our neighbor according to the twofold precept of charity; which the Holy Spirit willed to intimate through the mystery of the two tablets, and therefore they are said to be written by the finger of God. And because God is triune, namely Father and Son and Holy Spirit, to whom belongs the highest majesty to be adored, truth to be professed, and charity to be embraced, according to the irascible, rational, and concupiscible powers, through the act of deed, of mouth, and of heart: therefore the commandment of the first tablet is threefold, corresponding to the three aforesaid, namely subjective adoration, truthful oath-taking, and sacred sabbath-observance.

Exodus 20:4 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

In the second word: You shall not make a graven image, all false and superstitious inventions of errors are prohibited. And it should be noted here that every error is nothing other than a fiction of the mind. For imagination produces error by clouding reason and making what is not appear to be. Now all false and superstitious inventions of errors arise either from the wicked audacity of philosophical investigation, or from a perverse understanding of Sacred Scripture, or from a disordered affection of human carnality. From the wicked audacity of philosophical investigation proceed errors among philosophers, such as positing that the world is eternal and that there is one intellect in all men. For to posit that the world is eternal is to pervert all of Sacred Scripture and to say that the Son of God was not incarnate. To posit, moreover, that there is one intellect in all men is to say that there is no truth of faith, nor salvation of souls, nor observance of the commandments; and this is to say that the worst man is saved and the best is damned. And whoever fabricates or defends or imitates this, or proceeds according to it, errs most gravely, because he acts against the second word of the commandment: You shall not make a graven image: whence the fabricator, the defender, and the imitator alike are all prohibited here. Second, errors arise in some from a perverse understanding of Sacred Scripture, as among heretics, who hold wrongly concerning the Trinity and the Holy Spirit. Such are the Arians, the Sabellians, the Donatists, the Pelagians, and the like. Third, errors are prohibited which arise from a perverse affection of human carnality, such as the errors of the Epicureans, who say that there is no other life than this one; and the Nicolaitans, who say that it is lawful for anyone to act shamefully with anyone. The Saracens likewise do not have what they say from Sacred Scripture nor from the height of divine wisdom. Therefore all errors, in whatever manner they proceed, ought to be abominated as graven images, because they sin against this word of the commandment: You shall not make a graven image. We must therefore stand upon what the lights of faith dictate, and whatever is opposed to this, we ought to abominate entirely as a graven image. In the third word: Neither shall you make a likeness of those things that are in the heavens, etc., all perverse valuations of worldly natures are prohibited. Now every perverse valuation of creatures proceeds either by reason of sublimity, or by reason of sufficiency, or by reason of delight. In the first way it is the idolatry of the proud; in the second way it is the idolatry of the avaricious; in the third way it is the idolatry of the lascivious.

Exodus 20:4 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

Concerning the command "You shall not make a graven image," the Jews object that we make graven images, because we have many images in our churches. I say that it is impossible for the Divinity to be carved; but we make an effigy of Christ — of Christ, I say, incarnate, and we adore that effigy. But it must be understood that there is a twofold adoration: one which is called dulia, another which is called latria. With the adoration of dulia we can adore all those in whom there is power, wisdom, and holiness: and thus we adore princes, prelates, and masters as those in whom there is power and wisdom; likewise those who have the excellence of prophecy, as those in whom there is wisdom: and thus that captain of fifty adored Elijah. Likewise, we thus adore the Saints who are in the homeland, as those in whom there is eminent holiness. Similarly, the adoration of dulia is to be shown to images, not insofar as it is an image or painting, but by reason of that which is signified through it. But to God alone is the adoration of latria to be shown.

Exodus 20:5 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

There are certain things which avail for the observance of the commandments, and these must be subjoined. It should be noted here that all commandments are either affirmative or negative. Affirmative ones indeed are that man should do good; negative ones, that man should avoid evil. But it is impossible for man to avoid evil except through fear, and to do good except through love; and on account of this, two things are necessary for the observance of the commandments, namely fear and love. A bird cannot fly without two wings, nor can a man walk without two feet. Similarly, no one can be a perfect observer of the commandments of God unless he is filled with fear and love. But man is not filled with fear except from the consideration of divine severity, nor is he filled with love except from the consideration of divine goodness. This twofold consideration is therefore necessary for man. And on account of this He says: I am the Lord your God, strong and jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. A mighty zealot, that is, having the strongest zeal, namely against those who hate me. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, not that he punishes the children on account of the actual sins of the fathers, but when the children are imitators of their fathers' crimes, then the Lord punishes the sins of the fathers together with their own sins unto the third and fourth generation, namely of those who hate me. He says this so that we may fear, and through fear turn away from evil.

Exodus 20:6 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

Together with fear one must also love him, because he says of himself: And showing mercy unto thousands to those who love me; in which he shows us that the mercy and kindness of God transcends the punishment of iniquities. When the heart is enlarged through love, then man easily keeps the commandments of God. I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart. I have seen an end of all perfection; thy commandment is exceedingly broad. He says that the way of God's commandments is broad, yet to some it seems to be narrow. Certainly to those who love, it is broad; but to those who do not love, it seems to be narrow.

Exodus 20:7 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

The second plague was of frogs, by which blasphemers and perjurers were struck, who are compared to frogs. For the frog is a noisy animal and consumes itself by its croaking. Similarly does a man when he loses the stability of truth.

Exodus 20:7 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

Just as in the first commandment humble adoration of the supreme majesty is commanded, so in this second commandment faithful confession of the supreme truth is commanded, and the denial of truth is forbidden. In the Old Testament it is said that he who swears in the name of God should swear and not perjure himself. For to perjure is the same as to forswear, and this is to take the name of God in vain. Jeremiah says: "And you shall swear: the Lord lives, in truth and in judgment and in justice;" and the Gloss says there that "an oath ought to have three companions: truth, judgment, and justice." First, I say, an oath ought to be made with truth; whence he says: "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain," that is, without truth. Now it must be understood that there is a twofold oath, namely assertory and promissory, such that there is a certain oath given as testimony and a certain oath given as a promise. An assertory oath is made thus: I assert this to you and testify to it by the witness of divine truth. Now this assertory oath must first possess truth. Truth is present in an assertory oath when a man does not deny what is true, nor affirm what is false, nor knowingly assert what is doubtful; for speech is indicative of those things which are in the heart. But do you know what it means when a man testifies to something false by the witness of divine truth? It is to say that he lies and that divine truth lies along with him. And this is the first way of taking the name of God in vain, namely, when we deny the truth. Second, an assertory oath must be made with justice. It is made with justice when it is not made against a commandment of the divine law, nor against a precept of holy Mother Church, nor to the detriment of one's own salvation or that of another. And he who swears against these three swears rashly and sins in a twofold manner: both because he swears and because he keeps the oath. Third, it is necessary that judgment accompany an assertory oath, so that there be in the mind a discernment of truth and justice, namely, whether the oath is true or false, just or unjust, fruitful or unfruitful. Whence, if I swear without judgment, not discerning among these three, I swear rashly. These three companions ought to be present in an assertory oath. But the Manichaeans assail us and say that we ought not to swear at all, because it is said in the New Testament, namely in Matthew: "You shall not swear falsely;" and it follows: "But I say to you, not to swear at all. But let your speech be: yes yes, no no." I certainly say that in certain cases or for certain reasons it is quite lawful to swear. But the heretics do not rightly attend to the force of the words. For it is one thing to say: "not to swear at all," and another to say: "at all not to swear" — just as it is one thing to say: "a certain man does not run," and another: "not a certain man runs." "At all not to swear" is the same as "in no way to swear," and "not to swear at all" is the same as not "to swear in every way," but for certain reasons. Second, the name of God ought not to be taken in vain in a promissory oath. Now a promissory oath is made in three ways, namely for promoting good, for preserving fidelity, and for entering into mutual peace. In the first way, inferiors swear to superiors; in the second way, equals to equals; in the third way, superiors to inferiors. By the first oath the Apostle swore, saying in Romans: "God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit." In the second way, Laban swore fidelity to Jacob. In the third way, superiors swear to protect the people. From the first oath a threefold benefit results: faith in the intellect, love in the affections, and peace in effect. For these three reasons an oath is made for promoting good. In the second way, a promissory oath is made for preserving fidelity, and this is done in three ways, namely for restraining malice, for settling controversy, and for clearing away infamy. Firs…

Exodus 20:7 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

God is the Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. To the Father is attributed majesty, to the Son truth, and to the Holy Spirit goodness. In the Son there is supreme truth to be faithfully asserted. In the second commandment is commanded the faithful assertion of divine truth, when it is said: "Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain."

Exodus 20:7 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Because God is triune, namely Father and Son and Holy Spirit, to whom belongs the highest majesty to be adored, truth to be professed, and charity to be embraced, according to the irascible, rational, and concupiscible powers, through the act of deed, of mouth, and of heart: therefore the commandment of the first tablet is threefold, corresponding to the three aforesaid, namely subjective adoration, truthful oath-taking, and sacred sabbath-observance.

Exodus 20:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

Exodus 20:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

Exodus 20:8 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

God is the Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. To the Father is attributed majesty, to the Son truth, and to the Holy Spirit goodness. In the Holy Spirit there is supreme goodness to be sincerely loved. In the third commandment is commanded the sincere love of divine goodness, when it is said: "Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day."

Exodus 20:8 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

The third was the plague of gnats, by which the undevout were struck, who did not keep the Sabbath day, which is the day of devotion. Gnats are small flies, and they greatly disturb and vex men. Similarly the undevout are disturbed. In this sign the magicians of Pharaoh failed, as a sign that we cannot escape the restlessness of thoughts except through devotion. Of blessed Gregory it is read that scarcely in an entire day did he have a single thought about earthly things.

Exodus 20:8 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Exodus 20:8 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

In the first tablet are contained three commandments ordering us to God according to three things appropriated to the three divine Persons. In the first commandment is commanded the humble adoration of the divine majesty; in the second, the faithful confession of the supreme truth; in the third, the sincere love of the supreme goodness. See that in these words the Holy Spirit wrote the tablets: for by the finger of God the Holy Spirit is understood, who inscribed all the precepts with the utmost diligence, signifying the integrity and consummation of the commandment. In this commandment, however, the Lawgiver commands something, permits something, and prohibits something. He commands to sanctify the Sabbath day, where it says: Remember to sanctify the Sabbath day. For sanctification is that which turns the soul toward the holy God, toward the true God, and toward God who is to be loved above all. He permits something in this commandment, where it says: Six days you shall labor and do all your work. He truly prohibits something, namely servile work, where it says: You shall do no work on it. This is the perfect rest, which has joined to it good work and the prohibition of servile work.

Exodus 20:9 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

He commands imitation of himself, when he says: Six days you shall labor. Concerning this imitation the Apostle says: Be imitators of God, as most beloved children: and in Luke it is said: Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Now there are six works of mercy, namely: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, gathering in strangers, visiting the sick, and ransoming captives. Moreover, the work of perfect virtue cannot exist unless the creature is conformed to Christ in these things.

Exodus 20:10 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

There is in the precept something figurative, such as the signification of the seventh day. For the seventh day signifies the rest of souls and the rest of the Lord in the tomb and the cessation from all servile work with leisure and contemplation of God. On the seventh day, however, he rested and called the intellectual creature back to himself, and on the seventh day he led the souls existing in limbo back to the rest of paradise. The signification, therefore, of the seventh day is the figurative rest of souls. Thus in this commandment there is contained something that is purely moral, namely, that God should be loved above all things, and something that is purely ceremonial, such as the signification of the seventh day.

Exodus 20:11 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

The reason for the precept is added, where it says: In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all things that are in them, and he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed and sanctified it. But why does he command rest? Certainly, because he blessed and sanctified it. Therefore you also, creature of God, who are an imitator of Christ, ought to do this. For God wrought all things in six days, not because he could not have made them in one day: but it must be understood here that the world has something in the eternal art, namely eternal being, which is the eternity of life and one possession, in which nothing is prior or posterior: and this God impressed upon the angelic minds. Likewise, the world has something in the created intelligence, namely a priority and posteriority by nature, though it exists simultaneously according to duration. But it has a before and after according to duration, not according to nature, insofar as it is in matter, not on account of a defect of the worker, but on account of his condescension, so that he might fit all things together and designate all things in the first works. And just as he produced the roots of all operations in the first works, so also he fully produced the seeds of all works and their rest.

Exodus 20:12 — Breviloquium, Part 5

But because the neighbor is an image of the Trinity, and to him, insofar as he bears the image of the Father, piety is owed: insofar as he bears the image of the Son, truthfulness is owed, insofar as he bears the image of the Holy Spirit, benignity is owed: hence it is that there are seven commandments which pertain to the second tablet. For with respect to piety there are two: one which commands piety, namely concerning honoring one's father: the other which forbids impiety, namely concerning not killing.

Exodus 20:12 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

The fourth plague was of dog-flies, by which the impious were struck, who have among themselves dog-flies, that is, carnal affections.

Exodus 20:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

And because the lower portion of the soul is informed by the higher and is given to it as a help, it is necessary that the lower have commandments by which it would be conformed to the higher, so that it behave piously, truly and holily. Piously toward superiors, most of all parents, hence, Honor your father and your mother. Truly and justly toward equals, hence: You shall not kill, which precludes any harm. Holily toward inferiors, hence, You shall not commit adultery, which forbids any act of impudicity.

Exodus 20:12 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

The precepts are ordered according to their nobility; and beneficence is better than innocence: therefore the commandment of beneficence is placed before the commandment of innocence; and it was handed down to the Jews synecdochically thus: Honor your father and your mother. And here is set forth first the form of the commandment, when he says: Honor, etc. Second, the promise is added, where it says: That you may be long-lived upon the earth. Understand according to the literal sense that father designates the person of the one who begets, the person of the one who instructs, and the person of the one who rears, because a father, having a son, begets him, instructs and nourishes him, and it belongs to the father to bequeath his goods to his son: and according to these three things, the father in relation to the son holds the character of origin, the character of governance, and the character of benefactor. And accordingly a threefold honor is owed to the father: the honor of reverence, the honor of obedience, and the honor of beneficence. First, I say, to the father, insofar as he holds the character of origin, the honor of reverence is owed; whence in Ecclesiasticus: He who fears God will honor his father and his mother, and will serve as masters those who begot him. Second, by reason of governance, the honor of obedience is owed to the father; whence the Apostle to the Ephesians: Children, obey your parents, for this is just. Honor your father and your mother: which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may be well with you, and that you may be long-lived upon the earth. Third, the honor of beneficence is owed to the father, because he holds the character of benefactor: whence in Ecclesiasticus: Son, support your father in his old age, and do not grieve him in his life. It is therefore commanded that a threefold honor be rendered to parents, namely the honor of reverence, obedience, and beneficence. And this is the first commandment that you must keep on account of the promise, namely that it may be well with you, and that you may be long-lived upon the earth. But is it always true that they live longer? For we see that this sometimes fails: therefore God is deceitful in his promise. I say that long life is considered not only according to the length of passing days, but according to their value. And according as there is a threefold honor which is shown to parents, so there corresponds to this threefold honor a threefold reward: because to the one who honors his father with the honor of reverence is owed a glorious or honorable life; to the one who honors his father with the honor of obedience is owed a joyful life; to the one who honors his father with the honor of beneficence is owed an abundant life. First, I say, to the one who honors his father with the honor of reverence is granted a glorious or honorable life; whence in Ecclesiasticus: The glory of a man is from the honor of his father; likewise in the same place: Glory not in the dishonor of your father, for his shame is not glory to you. For it is natural that a son should love his father most ardently, and that he should be indignant when someone does injury to his father. Second, to the one who honors his father with the honor of obedience is granted a joyful life; whence in Ecclesiasticus: He who honors his father shall find joy in his children, and in the day of his prayer he shall be heard. He who honors his father shall live a longer life; and he who obeys his father shall bring comfort to his mother. The highest joy is that a man not be rebellious toward his superior; because he who is rebellious toward his superior will find his inferior rebellious toward him, and the despiser of higher powers will be despised by those beneath him: just as Adam, when he was disobedient to his superior, found all the lower creatures which had been subject to him turned against him. Third, to the one who honors his father with the honor of beneficence is g…

Exodus 20:12 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

In the second tablet are contained seven commandments ordering us toward neighbor, which are signified by two precepts of the natural law, namely: do to another what you wish to be done to you; do not do to another what you do not wish to be done to you. And according to these two precepts of the natural law a twofold justice is received, of which one is of innocence, the other of beneficence. The commandment of beneficence is: "Honor thy father and thy mother." This commandment, however, is not only one of reverence, but is also one of service and obedience; and it pertains not only to one's father, but indeed to all who proceed from one's father.

Exodus 20:13 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The commandment which pertains to innocence must necessarily be multiplied, because it consists in this: that a man guard against giving offense to his neighbor. Now it happens that one offends his neighbor in three ways, namely in mind, word, and deed. Offense in deed occurs in three ways, because a man can offend his neighbor through an act either against his own person, or against a person joined to him, or against his earthly possessions. And accordingly there are three commandments: "Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal."

Exodus 20:13 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

In this commandment: "You shall not kill," anger breaking forth into injuries destructive of natural or substantial life and of sound life and of honorable life is prohibited. For nature desires what is better, and therefore it does not suffice for it to have mere existing life; rather, beyond this it desires a healthy and sound and honorable life; and accordingly the Lawgiver in this commandment: "You shall not kill," first prohibits anger breaking forth into injuries destructive of natural life; second, of sound life, namely, when injury is done through beatings or wounds; third, of honorable life, such as the injury done through open or hidden insult, such as that which is done through a gesture. Hence in the Gospel: "You have heard that it was said to the ancients: You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment. And whoever says to his brother: Raca, shall be liable to the council. And whoever says: You fool, shall be liable to the fire of Gehenna." Therefore it is plain that in three ways a man acts against that commandment: "You shall not kill," namely when someone is angry with his brother, or when he says: Raca, or when he says: You fool. And when he does this from deliberation of mind, then he says that he is liable to the fire of Gehenna. And because natural life is the foundation of the others, therefore under this form: "You shall not kill," the Lawgiver expressed the commandment. Now the Manichaeans object to us and say that the Lawgiver contradicts himself. For he says: "You shall not kill," and elsewhere he says: "You shall not suffer sorcerers to live." And this is against rulers in Christian law, who kill others through judicial sentence. Likewise they object that the Lord says: "All who take up the sword shall perish by the sword"; therefore it is not lawful to take up the sword. And similarly they say that it is not lawful for a priest to be a slayer. And this is against the Church and ecclesiastical persons, who by executing judgment and commanding take up the sword. Likewise they object that it is said "But I say to you, not to resist evil," and this is against the Lawgiver. We ought to understand that what is prohibited here is the slaying of man, not of beasts or plants, as the ancient Manichaeans said, who refused to eat from the fruits of trees. Now the slaying of man can be by law, or by man in truth, or interpretively. The slaying of man by man as by man, not as by law, is prohibited: but God, who is the founder of nature and the preserver of nature and of law, can deprive a man of life whenever He wills. Law however slays a man when the minister of the law slays, and this with a just order having been observed, a just cause, and a just intention. It is necessary that there be a just order and a just cause, that is, that one be slain from a just cause, because the law says: "That which is just you shall justly pursue." Likewise, it is necessary to have a just intention, so that the man who is the minister of the law slays a man by law, not from the desire for vengeance, but from the love of justice. Whence the Apostle to the Romans, speaking to rulers, says that "the ruler does not bear the sword without cause. For he is the minister of God, an avenger unto wrath against him who does evil." What therefore the Lord says to Peter: "All who take up the sword shall perish by the sword": this refers only to this, that he who is not a minister of the law ought not to slay. And what is said, that it is not lawful for a priest to be a slayer, this does not refer to rulers. The first thing, therefore, that the Lord says: "You shall not kill," is true, as man, but as minister of the law. The second, that the Lord says: "All who take up the sword shall perish by the sword," is true, if one does not preside over the commonwealth. The third, that the Lord says: "But I say to you, not to resist evil,"…

Exodus 20:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

Exodus 20:13 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

The fifth plague was the death of livestock, by which murderers were struck; because everyone who kills by the sword is guilty of death. Such men die like beasts, because they are worthy of neither divine nor human protection; because he who kills another destroys himself and does not perceive his own brutishness.

Exodus 20:13 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Exodus 20:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

Exodus 20:14 — Breviloquium, Part 5

But because the neighbor is an image of the Trinity, and to him, insofar as he bears the image of the Holy Spirit, benignity is owed: with respect to benignity, to which cupidity and concupiscence are opposed, each of which can be in deed or in heart, four are taken, namely thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, thou shalt not steal, and thou shalt not covet another's goods. And these are to be ordered according to greater or lesser injuries by which justice can be violated.

Exodus 20:14 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Exodus 20:14 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

Here it is commanded that no one violate the wife of his neighbor. And blessed Augustine says that here is prohibited every illicit use of the generative members, which is done for the pursuit of lust with an assault upon chastity. And this occurs in seven ways, namely through adultery, fornication, prostitution, defilement, sacrilege, incest, and the sin against nature. It should be noted that there is conjugal, common, and privileged modesty. Accordingly I say that one can be an assailant of conjugal modesty, and this is called adultery: or one is an assailant of common chastity, and this is done either with an unattached woman simply, and is called fornication, or with an unattached woman who is vagrant and prostituted, and is called prostitution. If however someone is an assailant of privileged modesty, that is, of virginity, this is twofold: either it is done with an attached condition, which is deflowering, and thus it is called defilement: or it is done with a woman consecrated to God, and thus it is called sacrilege, namely when someone violates a woman consecrated to the Lord. But if it is done against the foundation of all these, then it is called sin against nature: and this is done in two ways: either against the dictate of natural reason, namely against that "which nature has taught all animals," and thus it is properly called sin against nature: or it is done against the instinct of nature, and in this way it is incest, namely when someone sins with a person related to him. Sin against nature is the most wicked and is to be fled above all others. And concerning this crime, "Joseph accused his brothers before their father of a most grievous crime." It is clear, first, how here all adultery with a neighbor's wife is prohibited; and according to Augustine, all illicit use of the generative members is prohibited, which is done for the procurement of lust with an assault upon chastity. It is also clear on what basis the seven transgressions of this commandment are understood: "You shall not commit adultery": and that sin against nature is to be fled above all others. Peter Damian relates that two men were together in the desert who performed the harshest penance. One of them was unlearned and, on account of his sins, was deceived by the devil, who told him that the sin of pollution against nature was no greater a sin than blowing mucus from one's nose. And then that wretched man practiced that shameful act. At death the devil carried away his soul. Seeing this, the other was amazed that a man of such great vigils and sufferings should be lost. And then an Angel of the Lord appeared, who related to him that he had defiled everything through such a sin. Every act, therefore, that consists in the experience of lust, in whatever way a man may devise the sin itself, is prohibited, unless it is done in the form of marriage of the Church. In sleep a man sometimes suffers pollutions without fault and without cause. A certain foolish priest said to one confessing to him about nocturnal pollution: can you not give a coin to fulfill your lust? It is now clear how all illicit use of the body and of lust, procured outside the form of marriage, is here prohibited.

Exodus 20:14 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

The sixth plague was of swelling blisters, by which adulterers are struck, who have swelling blisters, that is, infected flesh. Blisters arise from a humor causing itching, and when a man scratches himself, afterward he suffers pain. Similarly, he who indulges in lust first takes pleasure, afterward suffers pain.

Exodus 20:15 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Exodus 20:15 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Exodus 20:15 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

Theft is the handling of another's property, against the owner's will, out of greed. If it is done not out of greed, as the children of Israel by the Lord's command carried with them from Egypt vessels of silver and gold, or when someone takes a sword from another lest he do harm, then he is not said to commit theft. Theft, moreover, is divided into parts, because theft is the handling of another's property, against the owner's will: and this is done either through mere fraud, or through violence, or through circumvention. If it is done through mere fraud and furtively, then it is called theft. If it is done through violence, either that violence is open, and thus it is called robbery: or it is hidden, and thus it is called brigandage. If indeed the handling of another's property occurs through circumvention, this can happen with an attached agreement, and this in three ways: either with a fraudulent agreement, or an unjust one, or a profane one. The first way occurs in business transactions, and this happens in three ways, namely either in weight, or in number, or in measure: and from this merchants very rarely escape. If however it is done with an unjust agreement, thus it is usury, in which that which is sold is common, namely time. If however it is done with a profane agreement, in which what is proper to God is sold, thus it is simony. But it is asked: why, if I lend you a garment or a horse or a house for money, is it not usury, as it is with money? I say that in a garment or a horse or a house, the use is drawn from the thing, not from money: and therefore it is not called usury. Some believe that usury is evil because it is prohibited: but certainly it is prohibited because it is evil. In a loan, what is mine becomes yours; and if you acquire something through your own industry from that loan, and I demand something back from it, I sell time, which is common, and which it is not lawful to sell. But in a loan for use, my property does not pass into yours, as in a loan my money becomes yours; and the money is not diminished nor deteriorated, as happens with a house or a garment or a horse, because one must return the money whole and entire. And therefore, when through usury a man seeks something, there is a perversion of order and an appropriation of what is common: and everyone ought to guard himself against this. If however circumvention occurs with a profane agreement, it is called simony, in which he who buys acquires nothing, nor does he who sells possess anything, but they only handle another's property: and this happens when a spiritual thing is sold as though it were a cheap thing. Against whom the Lord says: "Do not make my Father's house a house of trade." But some make it a den of thieves; whence: "Her princes judged for bribes, and her priests taught for hire, and her prophets divined for money."

Exodus 20:15 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

The seventh plague was the destruction of temporal goods, by which thieves are struck, because he who takes what belongs to others deserves to lose what is his own. This was the plague of hail, which destroyed everything. It is remarkable that he who commits fornication, if he repents, can be reconciled to God; but he who seizes what belongs to others cannot be reconciled to God unless he restores what belongs to others.

Exodus 20:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

But we cannot possess these three in relation to others unless we have them first in relation to ourselves. Wherefore there are three more commandments: one that straightens all deeds, another that straightens all speech, and yet another that straightens all affective dispositions. That which straightens deeds is as follows: You shall not steal, which not only prohibits stealing from others, but commands to give from one's own goods. And this is how the Apostle understands it: He who was wont to steal, let him steal no longer; but rather let him labor, working with his hands, that he may have something to share with him who suffers need.

Exodus 20:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

Exodus 20:16 — Breviloquium, Part 5

But because the neighbor is an image of the Trinity, and to him, insofar as he bears the image of the Father, piety is owed: insofar as he bears the image of the Son, truthfulness is owed, insofar as he bears the image of the Holy Spirit, benignity is owed: hence it is that there are seven commandments which pertain to the second tablet. With respect to truthfulness, which principally consists in word, one is taken, namely concerning not bearing false testimony.

Exodus 20:16 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

Here is prohibited the lie that is harmful to one's neighbor. And according to the general understanding, every pernicious lie is here prohibited: and it is to be understood that every lie is evil. Augustine distinguishes and says that there is the officious, jocose, and pernicious lie. A lie is called officious that harms no one and benefits someone. The jocose lie is one that is made not with the will to harm but with the desire to lie, and sometimes it harms, but does not benefit. The pernicious lie is one that is made with the intention of lying, and this in order to harm; and it benefits no one but harms all. And Augustine says that "in the first lie there is minimal fault, in the second moderate, in the third grave." The officious lie occurs in three ways: either for defending someone's temporal goods, or for protecting life, or for preserving chastity. The jocose lie occurs in two ways: either from the sheer desire of lying, or of pleasing. The pernicious lie occurs in three ways: either in the doctrine of religion against sacred Scripture, or in the imputation of a false crime: and in these two ways it benefits no one, but harms all. In the third way, a pernicious lie occurs in the case of someone; and thus it benefits one person and harms another. Thus it is clear that there are eight kinds of lying. And Augustine says that God can make it so that theft is not a sin; but He cannot make it so that lying is not a sin. And this is on account of the nobility of truth: because a lie is a false utterance of speech with the intention of deceiving, and God cannot depart from truth, because He is truth itself; but with theft He can well dispense, so that it is not a sin. Whence it is most necessary for man that he keep faith and have truth in speech, because Seneca says: "He who loses faith has nothing more to lose."

Exodus 20:16 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

One offends his neighbor in word, against which there is one commandment, namely: "Thou shalt not bear false witness." By false witness are signified all things that a man can say against his neighbor.

Exodus 20:17 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

"You shall not covet your neighbor's goods, nor shall you desire his wife;" in which He prohibits the twofold concupiscence, namely of the eyes and of the flesh, which are the kindling of all evils and the root of all sins: because when the concupiscible power is infected and corrupted, it corrupts all the other powers of the soul. In the preceding commandments: "You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not speak false testimony," every illicit exterior act committed against one's neighbor is prohibited. In these two: "You shall not covet your neighbor's goods, nor shall you desire his wife," the illicit interior act is prohibited, and here the concupiscence of the eyes, or covetousness, is prohibited, which "is the root of all evils"; the concupiscence of the flesh is also prohibited, which is the kindling of all sins. Through this twofold concupiscence occurs the transmission of all evils and sins; and therefore the divine law prohibits it, and in this prohibits all evils and all sins. This is the fever by which all the children of Adam are feverish, and which generates all evils.

Exodus 20:17 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Exodus 20:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

That which straightens all affective dispositions is as follows: You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, etc. As Augustine writes, "The law is good, for while prohibiting concupiscence, it also prohibits any evil." But concupiscence is twofold, of the flesh and of cupidity, and the latter is the root of all evil. Hence, in this commandment, the Lawgiver Himself went down to details such as the ass, the slave, the female servant, etc.

Exodus 20:17 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Offense in the mind has two roots according to the twofold concupiscence, namely of the flesh and of the eyes. Against the concupiscence of the flesh there is one commandment: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife." Against the concupiscence of the eyes there is another commandment: "nor his field, nor any other thing."

Exodus 21:20 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Because the written law was a law of rigor, it not only approves the threefold obedience, but also punishes its transgressors. It punishes the rebellious servant, Exodus 21: He who strikes his servant or handmaid with a rod, if he survive for a day or two, he shall not be subject to penalty, because he is his property.

Exodus 24:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

In contemplation, there is admiration, expansion, a transference and restoration of one's self. Hence, "after gazing on God, they could still eat and drink."

Exodus 24:12 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

The Lord spoke that word to Moses, and Moses, having heard the word, ascended the mountain and received two tablets of stone and the Law and the commandments. In this it is signified that if we wish to arrive at an understanding of the commandments of God, we must ascend the mountain, that is, to the eminence of the mind, because according to the impression of the eternal light the law of nature has been given to us, and according to that light we have received the teachings of the divine law. Being of itself first falls upon the soul. Now being is twofold, namely created and uncreated, and accordingly justice is twofold: one, by which we are ordered to uncreated being, and another, by which we are ordered to created being. And according to this twofold justice a twofold tablet was given to Moses, namely the first and the second. In the first tablet are contained the commandments by which we are ordered to uncreated being, that is, God. In the second tablet are contained the commandments by which we are ordered to created being, namely our neighbor.

Exodus 24:16 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

Exodus 24:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Christ was such a Center in His ascension. It is written in Exodus: "Moses passed into the midst of the cloud, and there he stayed for forty days and forty nights." And this is what Christ was in His ascension.

Exodus 25:17 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6

For if you are a Cherub contemplating the essential attributes of God, and you wonder that the divine being is at once the first and the last, eternal and most present, most simple and greatest, that is, uncircumscribed, wholly everywhere and nowhere comprehended, most actual and never moved, most perfect and having nothing superfluous nor diminished, and yet immense and infinite without limit, supremely one, and yet all-inclusive, as having all things in itself, as all power, all truth, all good: look upon the mercy seat and wonder that in it the first beginning is joined with the last, God with man formed on the sixth day, the eternal is joined with temporal man, born of the Virgin in the fullness of time, the most simple with the supremely composite, the most actual with one who supremely suffered and died, the most perfect and immense with the small, the supremely one and all-inclusive with a composite individual distinct from all others, namely the man Jesus Christ. But if you are the other Cherub contemplating the proper attributes of the persons, and you wonder that communicability coexists with propriety, consubstantiality with plurality, configurability with personality, coequality with order, coeternity with production, cointimacy with sending forth, because the Son was sent by the Father, and the Holy Spirit by both, who nevertheless is always with them and never departs from them: look upon the mercy seat and wonder that in Christ there stands personal union with a trinity of substances and a duality of natures; there stands complete agreement with a plurality of wills; there stands the co-predication of God and man with a plurality of properties; there stands co-adoration with a plurality of nobilities; there stands co-exaltation above all things with a plurality of dignities; there stands co-dominion with a plurality of powers.

Exodus 25:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

As a sign of Him, there are the two Cherubim turned toward each other, but with their faces looking toward the propitiatory. The two Cherubim are the two Testaments whose gaze is directed upon Christ. He opened their minds when they understood the Scriptures, meaning that the book of Scriptures is understood precisely through that key, the Incarnate Word, the one eminently concerned with the works of restoration. For unless you understand the order and origin of restoration, you cannot understand Scriptures.

Exodus 25:20 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6

For the Cherubim also designate this, who looked upon one another. Nor is it without mystery that they looked upon one another with their faces turned toward the mercy seat, so that what the Lord says in John may be verified: "This is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." For we ought to admire not only the essential and personal conditions of God in themselves, but also by comparison to the superadmirable union of God and man in the unity of the person of Christ.

Exodus 25:21 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Exodus 26:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

In so far as the cardinal virtues receive their form from charity, they are represented by the four ornaments of the tabernacle, the four sheets, skins of violet, curtains of goat hair, and rams' skins dyed red. The sheets correspond to temperance, the purple skins to the heavenly colors of prudence, the curtains of goat hair to justice, the rams' skins dyed red to fortitude. Or again, in the ornaments of the Dwelling, there are four colors: linen-white, in which there is temperance; violet revealing prudence; purple, the color of royal clothing, meaning justice; and red, that is, the color of fire, fortitude. And in this manner they adorn the Dwelling on all four sides. Likewise, they stabilize, and lead in through the door, through the four sides of the city, stabilized by hope to an equal rule.

Exodus 28:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

As a symbol of this, the High Priest had two stones on his ephod: one on the right side and the other on the left. And on these were written the twelve names of the sons of Israel: six names on one stone and six names on the other—and they were made of lucid and ardent onyx, through which faith in the humanity and divinity is expressed. And they are likewise expressed in the Creed composed by the twelve apostles. And a sacrifice made in such faith as this is pleasing to God.

Exodus 28:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

Exodus 28:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

Exodus 31:18 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Since the rules pertaining to the necessity of justice are contained in the divine precepts, and it belongs to justice to "render to each one his due": it is necessary that certain moral precepts order us toward God: and certain toward our neighbor according to the twofold precept of charity; which the Holy Spirit willed to intimate through the mystery of the two tablets, and therefore they are said to be written by the finger of God.

Exodus 32:32 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Scripture enlightens from outside through extrinsic examples, of which all of Scripture is full. If you seek an example of patience, behold Job and Tobias; of magnanimity, behold David fighting Goliath, and Judas Macchabee. As an example of faith, behold Abraham and the glorious Virgin, whose faith surpasses that of Abraham. For Abraham believed that he could have a son from a sterile old woman, but Mary believed that although a virgin, she would conceive of the Holy Spirit: nor would she have conceived had she not believed. If you seek an example of love, behold Moses who said: "If You would only forgive their sin! If You will not, then strike me out of the book that You have written!"

Exodus 32:32 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The exercise of the gift of piety consists in the abundance of interior compassion. Of this it is said in Ecclesiasticus: "These are men of mercy, whose acts of piety have not failed; with their seed good things endure." How great was the piety of Moses! Who loved the people provoking the Lord and prayed to the Lord for them saying: "Hear me, Lord, this people has sinned: either forgive this people this offense, or if you do not, blot me out of your book which you have written." Bernard gives the example of a woman who has her little child and is outside the house. If it were said to her: leave your little child outside the house, and you enter the house; she would not want to enter the house, such that the child would remain outside. So Moses willed that the Lord would forgive the people their sin, or that He would blot him from the book of life.

Exodus 33:19 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 5

Exodus 33:20 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Exodus 33:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Exodus 38:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Ezekiel 1:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Ezekiel is describing the judgment: "As I looked, a stormwind came from the North, a huge cloud with flashing fire, enveloped in brightness; from the midst of which, the midst of the fire, something gleamed like electrum." First, as to the disturbance of natural powers shown by the stormwind; second, as to the conflagration of fires shown by the flashing fire; third, as to the examination of consciences or merits shown by the word brightness, for then the consciences will be clear; fourth, as to the assistants to the judges shown by the word enveloped. Christ in His twofold nature is referred to by the word electrum.

Ezekiel 1:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

"Within it were figures resembling four living creatures." The four orders are designated by the four living creatures: the order of pontiffs by the lion, that of martyrs by the ox, that of confessors by the man, that of virgins by the eagle, by reason of contemplation. Thus the separation of the pure from the impure, of the sheep from the goats, will be brought about by Christ.

Ezekiel 1:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Ezechiel beheld "within figures resembling four living creatures;" and the first had the face of a man, the second that of a lion, the third that of an ox, and the fourth that of an eagle. And each one had four faces. All agree that the "four living creatures" represent the writers of Sacred Scriptures, mostly the Prophets and the Evangelists. Ezechiel intends to describe these meanings in the order of their importance: therefore he begins with the natural face of a man, which signifies the literal interpretation. Now, the literal meaning resembles a natural face, that of a man, while the others are symbolical. The lion, being magnificent, points to allegory, or what we should believe; the face of an ox, that pulls the plow and furrows the soil for the harvest, points to tropology, or moral obligation; the eagle that flies on high points to anagogy. The first face, the literal, is open; the second is lifted up on high by magnificence; the third, the tropological, is fruitful; the fourth looks upon the sun almost without flinching.

Ezekiel 1:10 — Breviloquium, Prologue

There is a wondrous conformity between the Old and New Testaments, not only in the content of their meanings, but also in the fourfold structure of their parts. As a figure and sign of this, Ezekiel saw wheels with four faces and a wheel within a wheel, because the Old is in the New, and conversely: and in the legal and evangelical books there is the face of a lion on account of the excellence of authority; in the historical books there is the face of an ox on account of the examples of virtue; in the sapiential books there is the face of a man on account of sagacious prudence; in the prophetical books there is the face of an eagle on account of keen understanding.

Ezekiel 1:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Ezechiel beheld within figures resembling four living creatures, and later there appeared a wheel within another. Then the Prophet says that "the appearance of the wheels and the work of them was like the appearance of the sea," and that it was "as it were a wheel in the midst of a wheel." According to Gregory, the "two wheels" having "four faces" point to Scripture which has the Old and the New Testaments, the "four faces" being the four principal interpretations, the literal, the figurative, the moral and the anagogical. Their "appearance" is like a vision "of the sea" because of the depth of the spiritual mysteries. These four meanings are like the appearance of the sea because of the primitive origination, the most profound depth, and the abundantly flowing multiformity of the spiritual meanings. And so, as there are three Persons within the single Essence, there are three meanings beneath the single surface of the letter.

Ezekiel 1:16 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Ezekiel 1:24 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Then the Prophet says that he "heard the sound of their wings, like the roaring of mighty waters, like the voice of the Almighty." The "sound of their wings" is "heard" when the minds are prompted; and "the voice of the Almighty" rings out because all things are from God. Hence, in the Apocalypse: "I heard a voice from heaven like a voice of many waters," because of the great number of possible interpretations; a voice of "harpers" because of the accord of these interpretations, for they agree in such a marvelous way that the resulting harmony is wonderful.

Ezekiel 1:25 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

This witnessing of the uncreated Word transcends any judgment by a creature. Hence the living creatures lowered their wings when a voice came from above the firmament. How shall we hear the thunder if we hardly see the lightning of this speech?

Ezekiel 2:10 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6

Ezekiel 2:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

Both reason and faith lead to the splendors of exemplarity. But beyond, there is a threefold help for rising to the exemplary principles: the sensible creatures, the rational creatures, and the sacramental scriptures; and this help contains a mystery. As regards the first, the whole world is a shadow, a way, and a trace; a book "with writing front and back." Indeed, in every creature there is a refulgence of the divine exemplar, but mixed with darkness: hence it resembles some kind of opacity combined with light. Also, it is a way leading to the exemplar. As you notice that a ray of light coming in through a window is colored according to the shades of the different panes, so the divine ray shines differently in each creature and in the various properties. Again, it is a trace of God's wisdom. Wherefore the creature exists only as a kind of imitation of God's wisdom, as a certain plastic representation of it. And for all these reasons, it is a kind of book "written without." And so, when the soul sees these things, it seems to it that it should go through them from shadow to light, from the way to the end, from the trace to truth, from the book to veritable knowledge which is in God. To read this book is the privilege of the highest contemplatives, not of natural philosophers; for the former alone know the essence of things, and do not consider them only as traces. Another help is that provided by the spiritual creature, which resembles light, a mirror, an image, "a scroll written within." Every spiritual substance is light. At the same time, it is a mirror, for it receives and represents all things; and it has the nature of light, so that it may even pass judgment on things. For the whole world is described in the soul. It is also an image. Since it is both light and mirror containing images of things, it is image too. And hence it is "a scroll written within." And for this reason nothing can penetrate the intimate center of the soul, unless it is simple—meaning that nothing can penetrate its powers. For according to Augustine, the most intimate part of the soul is its summit, and the more a power is interior, the higher it is. But the third help is that of sacramental Scripture. For the whole of Scripture is the heart of God, the mouth of God, the tongue of God, the pen of God, "a scroll written within and without." Wherefore it is a scroll "written without," because it contains beautiful stories and teaches the properties of things, and also "written within," because it contains mysteries and different possible interpretations.

Ezekiel 40:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Next, through the addition of one unit, there is a comparison in relation to the number six. In this sense is understood the measure of the one who carried a rod of six cubits and one palm for the measuring of the temple. Seven, for Gregory, is the number of universality, as found in the major and minor worlds, and in God. This present world accessible to the senses consists in four elements that are receptive to celestial influences, and three spheres that provide influence and power. The minor world is made of the four elements, the four humors, the four temperaments, the four qualities, and the three perfecting vital powers, the vegetative, the sensitive, and the rational. Hence those things that exist in the sensible world, come together with a certain purity in the minor world. Wherefore some people say, and not without reason, that the sphere of the stars has a favorable effect on the reception of the vegetative soul, the crystalline, on the reception of the sensitive soul, and the empyrean, on the reception of the rational soul. And according to Hugh of Saint-Victor, the four-fold series corresponds to the body, the three-fold series, to the spirit.

Ezra 5:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

The third evil counselor is he who leads what is certain into doubt. Whence it is said in Ezra that certain ones who were from across the river came to the Jews and said: 'Who gave you counsel to build this house and restore its walls?' The Jews had the counsels of God and of the prophets; yet those from across the river came to give counsel, though they did not know what was being done in Jerusalem. Some do not know what is done in religious life, and yet they wish to give counsel and say to one wishing to enter: 'What do you wish to do? Attend to the divine good pleasure: It is better to be in the will of God than in the hand of counsel.' By this way, if you wish to wait until the Lord reveals it to you, and you do not wish to do what Holy Scripture and holy men tell you, and what Christ inspires in you, you will always be able to be at a crossroads.

Galatians 1:15 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

The use of grace ought to be faithful with respect to God. Whence the Apostle: "But when it pleased him who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, I did not immediately acquiesce to flesh and blood." Faithful is he who does not diminish the gift which he receives on behalf of another. But when you seek something more principally than God, you are not faithful. Therefore the Apostle says: "I did not acquiesce to flesh and blood," that is, I did not seek carnal glory, but only divine glory. The experts in optics say that if a ray falls perpendicularly upon a smooth and polished body, it must necessarily be reflected back along the same path. The influx of grace is like a perpendicular ray — I speak of sanctifying grace, because gratuitous grace is like a ray of incidence; it is therefore necessary that whoever truly receives the grace of God should render glory back to God. Whence if you preach for your own glory, it profits you nothing.

Galatians 1:16 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Galatians 2:10 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

In Galatians 2 he says that Peter and James gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision, only that we should be mindful of the poor: the Gloss: "Of the poor, who had laid the price of their goods sold at the feet of the Apostles, we should be mindful, by making collections for their support." If therefore the Apostle was not simoniacal in this, that he sought collections and sent disciples for this purpose, that they might seek alms from those among whom he had sown spiritual things, for the poor who were in Jerusalem: if the Supreme Pontiff establishes Orders of poor men who sow spiritual things and live from the freely given alms, whether sought or spontaneously offered, of those whom they edify by word and example: he in no way whatsoever disagrees with the Apostle, but rather agrees.

Galatians 2:11 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Galatians two: I withstood him to the face: the Gloss says: "as an equal." "For he would not have dared to do this unless he knew himself not to be unequal." To this it must be said that the authority of the apostolate has a twofold comparison, namely to him by whom it is conferred, and to those over whom it is conferred: because an apostle is called one sent by someone and to some persons. According to the first comparison, the Gloss says that Paul is made equal to Peter, because each was immediately sent by Christ. Whence Paul also says that he is an Apostle, not from man nor through man, but through Jesus Christ. But according to the second comparison, he is not made equal to him; for Peter is called the prince of the Apostles, which is never said of Paul, because according to this comparison he was inferior to Peter. Whence the Gloss also says there: "Peter himself furnished an example to posterity, so that the greater ones would not disdain, if perchance they had departed from the path of rectitude, to be corrected even by their inferiors."

Galatians 2:20 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

Galatians 2:21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Whence the Apostle to the Galatians: "I do not cast aside the grace of God; for if justice is through the Law, then Christ died in vain:" but Christ died that he might raise the dead to the reception of life and grace: therefore grace flows into us through the Word incarnate and through the Word crucified. And the blessed Virgin received this Word full of grace; and a river of graces went forth from his side, which has the efficacy of healing us.

Galatians 3:19 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

We are also led by the hand through the reformed powers of the soul itself, and this by gratuitous virtues, spiritual senses, and mental ecstasies, as is evident from the fourth step. We are led by the hand no less through hierarchical operations, namely of purgation, illumination, and perfection of human minds, through the hierarchical revelations of sacred Scriptures given to us through Angels, according to that saying of the Apostle, that the Law was given through Angels by the hand of a Mediator.

Galatians 3:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The purely intellectual vision existed in the minds of the angels and of the Lawmaker. For the Law was delivered by angels. Angels gave it forth, composed it, for they could see the pure truth in the eternal light. Moses was raised up to this vision more completely than any other prophet.

Galatians 3:22 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

And they killed the prophets, and their followers too, and they received false prophets, thus revealing their malice. And so the Scripture shut up all things under sin, the first through ignorance, the second through weakness, and the third through malice, so that when Christ came, He could have mercy on them all.

Galatians 4:4 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

Let us see, therefore, how the other illuminations of knowledge are to be reduced to the light of sacred Scripture. And first let us consider the illumination of sensitive cognition, which is wholly concerned with the cognition of sensible things, where three things are to be considered: the medium of cognition, the exercise of cognition, and the delight of cognition. If we consider the medium of cognition, we shall behold therein the Word eternally generated and incarnate in time. For no sensible thing moves the cognitive power except through a likeness which proceeds from the object, as offspring from a parent; and this is necessary, whether generally, really, or exemplarily, in every sense. But that likeness does not bring about the completion of the act of sensing unless it is united with the organ and the power: and when it is united, a new perception arises, and through that perception a reduction to the object is effected by means of that likeness. And although the object is not always sensed, nevertheless it always, insofar as it is in itself, generates a likeness, when it is in its completeness. In this same way understand that from the supreme Mind, which is knowable by the interior senses of our mind, there eternally emanated a Likeness, Image, and Offspring: and He afterwards, when the fullness of time came, was united to a mind and flesh and received the form of man, which He had never been before: and through Him all our minds which receive that Likeness of the Father through faith in the heart are reduced to God.

Galatians 4:4 — Breviloquium

Although God could have become incarnate from the beginning, He nevertheless willed not to do so until the end of the ages, after the law of nature and the law of figure had preceded, after the Patriarchs and the Prophets, to whom and through whom the Incarnation was promised. After these He deigned to become incarnate as at the end of times and in their fullness, according to what the Apostle says: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, that He might redeem those who were under the Law." The Incarnation is the work of the first principle restoring, according to what is fitting and suitable with respect to the freedom of the will, with respect to the sublimity of the remedy, and with respect to the integrity of the universe. Since freedom of the will requires that it be drawn to nothing against its will, God ought to have restored the human race in such a way that he who wished to seek the Savior would find salvation, while he who did not wish to seek the Savior would consequently not find salvation either. Now no one seeks a physician unless he recognizes his disease; no one seeks a teacher unless he recognizes himself to be ignorant; no one seeks a helper unless he recognizes himself to be powerless. Since, therefore, man at the beginning of his fall was still proud of his knowledge and strength, God first allowed the time of the law of nature, in which he would be convicted of ignorance; and afterwards, when ignorance was recognized but pride in his own strength remained, He added the Law, instructing through moral precepts and burdening through ceremonial ones, so that, having obtained knowledge and having recognized his powerlessness, man might take refuge in divine mercy and petition for grace, which was given to us in the coming of Christ. Since the integrity and perfection of the universe requires that all things be ordered with respect to places and times, and this work of the incarnation was the most perfect among all divine works, and the process must be from the imperfect to the perfect, and not the reverse: hence it is that this work had to be accomplished in the end of times, so that, just as the first man, who was the adornment of the entire sensible world, had been created last, namely on the sixth day, for the completion of the whole world, so the second man, the complement of the entire restored world, in whom the first principle is joined with the last, namely "God with clay," would come to be in the end of times, that is, in the sixth age. In the coming of the Son of God there is said to be the fullness of times, not because time comes to an end in his coming, but because the temporal mysteries are fulfilled.

Galatians 4:4 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6

Galatians 4:5 — Breviloquium

Although God could have become incarnate from the beginning, He nevertheless willed not to do so until the end of the ages. After these He deigned to become incarnate as at the end of times and in their fullness, according to what the Apostle says: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, that He might redeem those who were under the Law." Since freedom of the will requires that it be drawn to nothing against its will, God ought to have restored the human race in such a way that he who wished to seek the Savior would find salvation. Now no one seeks a physician unless he recognizes his disease; no one seeks a teacher unless he recognizes himself to be ignorant; no one seeks a helper unless he recognizes himself to be powerless. Since, therefore, man at the beginning of his fall was still proud of his knowledge and strength, God first allowed the time of the law of nature, in which he would be convicted of ignorance; and afterwards, when ignorance was recognized but pride in his own strength remained, He added the Law, instructing through moral precepts and burdening through ceremonial ones, so that, having obtained knowledge and having recognized his powerlessness, man might take refuge in divine mercy and petition for grace, which was given to us in the coming of Christ.

Galatians 4:22 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

And concerning the allegory of the body: "It is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a slave-girl and the other by a free woman. And the son of the slave-girl was born according to the flesh, but the son of the free woman in virtue of the promise. This is said by way of allegory. For these are the two covenants." There is no need for further explanations, for two peoples are understood here.

Galatians 4:24 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Galatians 4:26 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

The image of our mind must therefore be clothed with the three theological virtues, by which the soul is purified, illuminated, and perfected, and thus the image is reformed and made conformable to the supernal Jerusalem and becomes a part of the Church militant, which is the offspring, according to the Apostle, of the heavenly Jerusalem. For he says: That Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother.

Galatians 4:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

As the moon is the daughter of the sun and receives its light from it, likewise the Church Militant receives hers from that Jerusalem which is above. Wherefore the Apostle calls her our mother, for she is the mother of those influences by which we are made to be the sons of God. The heavenly hierarchy is a model of the Church Militant. It is fitting, then, that the Church Militant have orders corresponding to the model hierarchy.

Galatians 5:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Galatians 5:22 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Now, flowing down from charity, there are the twelve charismatic gifts, the fruits which the Apostle enumerates in his Epistle to the Galatians: "But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity." For grace and righteousness and wisdom cannot exist without charity. Indeed, fruit comes from the Latin frui which means "to cleave to something because of its intrinsic value." Wherefore neither acts of justice nor miracles nor the understanding of mysteries are of any use without charity. And this is the opinion of all the doctors and saints. And so for instance, a little old woman who owns a small garden, if she has nothing but charity, will bring forth a better fruit than a great master who owns an enormous garden and knows the mysteries and natures of things.

Galatians 5:22 — Breviloquium, Part 5

From what has been said, therefore, it is clearly gathered that the habits of the virtues principally dispose one to the exercise of the active life; the habits, however, of the gifts to the repose of the contemplative life: while the habits of the beatitudes dispose to the perfection of both. The fruits of the Spirit, however, which are charity, joy, peace, patience, longanimity, goodness, benignity, mildness, faith, modesty, continence, chastity, denote the delights consequent upon perfect works.

Galatians 6:3 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

No one arrives at full knowledge of God except through true and right knowledge of oneself; nor does he rightly know himself who does not attend to his own nothingness; for he who thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, deceives himself, as the Apostle says in the last chapter of Galatians; but to know one's own nothingness is to humble oneself: therefore humility is the gateway of wisdom.

Galatians 6:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"What a man shall sow, that also shall he reap." If a lord were to give his servant grain to sow his field, and that servant were to put the grain in a sack and not sow it: the land would bear fruit poorly, indeed it would cry out against him. Just as mercy is a friend of wisdom, so avarice is its enemy. The avaricious deride all who do not love money.

Galatians 6:8 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Against conjugal chastity it is objected: Galatians 6: He who sows in the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption: but sowing in the flesh is done through the act of conjugal continence: therefore conjugal continence is contrary to the law of God. To this it must be said, as to the foregoing objection concerning being in the flesh, that to be in the flesh can denote a relation of matter or of end; insofar as it denotes a relation of matter, it is not reprehensible, and thus it accords with conjugal chastity; insofar as it denotes a relation of end, as when someone performs carnal works for the sake of the flesh, thus it is culpable, and in this way it does not arise from conjugal chastity, but rather is against it. Whence Augustine, in the book On the Good of Marriage: "Marriages have this good, that carnal or youthful incontinence, even if it is vicious, is directed to the honorableness of propagating offspring, so that from the evil of lust the conjugal union may produce something good." For marriage is of such great power that it directs the carnal act to spiritual honorableness.

Genesis 1:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

These, then, are the mysteries concerned with the Tree of Life, that is, Holy Scripture, because it begins with eternity and ends in the direction of eternity. Hence, "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"; and at the end, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth." These are the forty-eight boards of the dwelling — twenty on one side, and twenty on the other, and eight in the back — within which is placed the Ark, that is, Christ, containing in Himself "all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge," upon whom the Cherubim gaze.

Genesis 1:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

It is manifest that a beginning should be made from the One from whom the two greatest Wise Men began: Moses, the originator of wisdom, and John, its consummator. The former said: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," and, in Augustine's opinion, this means the Son. And John said: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him." If, therefore, it is impossible to understand a creature except through that by which it was made, it is necessary that the true Word go before thee.

Genesis 1:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

Three errors are to be guarded against in the sciences, which destroy sacred Scripture and the Christian faith and all wisdom. The error against the cause of being concerns the eternity of the world, namely to posit that the world is eternal. This first error is refuted by what is written: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth." For you hold that God is the cause of all things either in part or in whole. If in part: then you take away from God his primacy of causing. If in whole: then God is the cause of every other thing; therefore he produces it not from himself, not from something else, because nothing else exists; therefore from nothing. Likewise, it follows according to this error that a thing had being and non-being simultaneously, and that being was before non-being; and many other absurdities. Whence it is certain that God created all things.

Genesis 1:1 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 5

To intimate the order of nature, Scripture determines, according to what was fitting for God to work: that in the beginning, before the course of time, that threefold nature was brought from non-being into being, when it says: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth" and "the Spirit of God moved over the waters." Where by the name of heaven the luminous nature is intimated; by the name of earth, the opaque; by the name of water, the pervious or transparent, whether subject to contrariety or elevated above contrariety. Where also the eternal Trinity is intimated, namely the Father in the name of God creating, the Son in the name of the beginning, the Holy Spirit in the name of the Spirit of God. And thus is to be understood that which is said: "He who lives forever created all things simultaneously": not because He created them in a chaos of every kind of confusion, as the poets imagined, since He brought forth this threefold nature, the highest in the highest place, the middle in the middle, and the lowest in the lowest: nor indeed into a being of every kind of distinction, since heaven was perfect, and the earth unformed, and the middle nature, as it were holding a middle position, had not yet been brought to perfect distinction.

Genesis 1:1 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

Corporeal nature was brought into being in six days, such that in the beginning, before every day, "God created heaven and earth." Since things flow from the first and most perfect principle, and such a principle is most omnipotent, most wise, and most benevolent: therefore it was necessary that they be brought into being in such a way that in their production the aforesaid threefold nobility and excellence would shine forth. And therefore the divine operation for producing the world-machine was threefold, namely creation, which is appropriately attributed to omnipotence; distinction, which corresponds to wisdom, and adornment, which corresponds to the most generous goodness. And since creation is from nothing, therefore it was in the beginning, before every day, as the foundation of all things and all times.

Genesis 1:2 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 5

Genesis 1:3 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

Since the distinction of the bodies of the world is considered according to a threefold mode, therefore it was accomplished over three days. For there is the distinction of luminous nature from transparent and opaque, and this was made on the first day in the division of light from darkness.

Genesis 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

And yet Scriptures say: "God said, 'Let there be light.'" And again, "God said," that is, He begot the Word in whom He disposed all things, and, disposing them, made them. Hence Augustine writes in his Confessions: "Whatever You make, you make through your Word coeternal with You, nor do you make anything by any other mode than by expressing it; and yet You do not eternally make what You eternally express."

Genesis 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Of the central Person, it is said in Genesis: "The Lord God made to grow out of the ground all kinds of trees pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden." In reference to which Augustine writes that of all the things that were made, it was said: "Let there be, He made it," and so it was--excepting light, of which God said "Let there be light," and there was light--for they were produced first in all eternity from Eternal Art, second in the intelligent creature, and third in the material world.

Genesis 1:3 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. The first is understood in the work of the first day, when God said: Let there be light: and light was made: this is provident circumspection.

Genesis 1:3 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Now rightly the whole of time, which runs its course according to a threefold law, namely the law implanted within, the law given from without, and the law infused from above, runs through seven ages and is consummated at the end of the sixth; so that the course of the world may correspond to its origin, and the course of the greater world may correspond to the course of life of the lesser world, namely man, for whose sake it was made. For the first age of the world, in which the formation of the world itself took place, the fall of the demons and the confirmation of the Angels, rightly corresponds to the first day, on which light was made and was distinguished from darkness. Now the first age is called infancy, because, just as infancy is entirely erased by forgetfulness, so that first age was consumed by the flood.

Genesis 1:3 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 12

Things have being in a threefold way, namely in matter or their proper nature, in created intelligence, and in the eternal art; in accordance with which three things Scripture says: "God said: let it be made: He made, and it was made."

Genesis 1:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 6

"God saw the light that it was good; and He divided the light from the darkness." The passage, "God saw the light," is quoted on account of the first vision of the intelligence, which is infused by nature. It means that God made it possible to see. This has been covered in the two preceding collations by considering the sciences, in that the light shines as the truth of things, the truth of words, and the truth of moral acts. And nine parts were distinguished in the doctrine, of which the three principal are radiations proceeding, according to Augustine, from the decree of the eternal light. It was also established that "God saw," that is, made it possible to see, through wisdom-procuring contemplation, through the enlightenment of the soul seen in itself as in a mirror, seen in the intelligence and in a conveying medium, and in the uncreated light as in its fountainhead, in accordance with the six conditions which this light impresses upon the mind. And in accordance with these, the soul rises up in the said light by means of reasoning, testing, and understanding, as it has been said. And the philosophers — at least the most worthy among them — and the ancients have come to this point: that there exists a beginning and an end and an exemplary reason. "God divided the light from the darkness" in order that what had been said of the angels could also be said of the philosophers. But why have some of them followed darkness? Because of this: although all could see the first cause as the universal principle and universal end, they had different opinions concerning the means. For some denied that exemplars of things existed in this cause: the leader of these seems to have been Aristotle who, in the beginning and the end of his Metaphysics, and in many other places, strongly condemns the ideas of Plato. Wherefore he says that God knows only Himself, and does not need the knowledge of any other thing, and produces as the desired and loved. But this supposes that He knows nothing, or no particular thing. Therefore Aristotle is the principal assailant of Platonic ideas in his "Ethics" where he says that the supreme good cannot be an Idea. And the reasons he adduces are worthless, and the commentator answers them. Upon this error, there follows another, that is, that God has neither foreknowledge nor providence, since He does not have within Himself a rational justification of things by which He could know them. They also say that there are no truths concerning the future except that of necessary things. And from this it follows that all things come about either by chance or by necessity. And since it is impossible that things come about by chance, the Arabs conclude to absolute necessity, that is, that these substances that move the globe are the necessary causes of all things. From this it follows that truth is hidden, that is, the truth of government of worldly things in terms of pain and glory. If, indeed, these substances are inerrant movers, nothing is supposed concerning hell or the existence of the devil: neither did Aristotle ever suppose the existence of the devil, nor happiness after this life, as it appears. Here, then, there is a threefold error: a concealment of exemplarity, of divine providence and of world government. From this follows a threefold blindness or darkness, that is, concerning the eternity of the world, which seems to be Aristotle's thesis according to all the Greek doctors, for instance Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzen, the Damascene, Basil, and the commentators of all the Arabs, who say that Aristotle holds this opinion, and his words are seen to mean it. Never will you find that he said that the world had a principle or a beginning: he even argues against Plato who seems to have been the only one to suppose that time began. And this is contrary to the light of truth. From this follows blindness concerning the existence of a single intellect, for if the world is supposed to be eternal, one of these h…

Genesis 1:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 4

God saw that the light was good. God separated the light from the darkness, etc. After every one of the works of the six days, with the exception of the second, it is said: God saw that it was good. And at the end: God saw that all He had made was very good. God is said to see, because He makes us see. The first vision of the soul is by means of understanding naturally given. Hence in the Psalm: The light of Thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us. And here all the difficulties of philosophy could be explained. The philosophers have offered nine sciences and promised a tenth: contemplation. But many philosophers, while attempting to avoid the darkness of error, have themselves become involved in major errors. While professing to be wise, they have become fools. Because they boasted of their knowledge, these philosophers have become the likes of Lucifer. With the Egyptians was the densest darkness, but with Your saints was the greatest light. All those who properly followed the Law of Nature, the patriarchs, the prophets, and the philosophers, were the sons of light. Truth is the light of the soul. This light never fails. Indeed, it shines so powerfully upon the soul that this soul cannot possibly believe it to be non-existing, or abstain from expressing it, without an inner contradiction. For if truth does not exist, it is true that truth does not exist: and so something is true. And if something is true, it is true that truth exists. Hence if truth does not exist, truth exists!

Genesis 1:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

It has been said that truth is intellectual light radiating over intelligence either human or angelical; and that it shines forth in a manner that cannot be stopped, for it cannot be thought of as non-existing. Now a thing may shine forth in three different ways: as the truth of an object, as the truth of an expression, or as proper behavior. As the truth of an object, it consists in conformity of existence with essence; as the truth of an expression, it is conformity of essence with thought; as proper behavior, it is righteous living. And this is clear on the part of the principle which sends forth light, of the subject which receives this light, and of the objective towards which it enlightens. As a cause of being, this light is powerful; as a reason of understanding, this light is clear; as an ordering of life, this light is good. And that is the reason why it is written: God saw that the light was good. As a powerful light, it irradiates for the sake of understanding substances or essences, the quantities and natures of the world; as a clear light, it irradiates for the sake of understanding rational expressions, reasonings and proofs; as a good light, it suffuses the intelligence, or demonstrates matters of propriety, activity, or justice. As a means of understanding propriety, it points to the practice of good habits; as a means of understanding activity, it points to intellectual speculation; as a means of understanding justice, it points to political laws. First, it is necessary that propriety be acquired, then activity investigated, and finally justice exercised. And here is shown how a prelate should behave: being perfect in both action and contemplation, he must accept the laws. Where? On the Mountain of Contemplation, with Moses, so that he may act with propriety and industry, and not as a beast, for a beast cannot go up into the Mountain: a beast that touches the Mountain must be stoned.

Genesis 1:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

God saw the light that it was good; and He divided the light from the darkness. This passage is quoted to explain the vision of intelligence which is infused by nature. Concerning the fact that it was good, it makes us see, both through scientific consideration and through the contemplation of wisdom. Through scientific consideration, it makes us see in so far as it illumines as light, that is, as the truth of things, the truth of expression, and the truth of behavior. Through the contemplation of wisdom, it makes us see in so far as it illumines by means of the influx of a radiation from the eternal light into the soul. It procures the vision of this same light in itself, as in a mirror; in a separate intelligence, as in a medium somewhat removed; in the eternal light, as in the original subject. It is also written that He divided the light from the darkness; and that some philosophers attacked ideas, as a result of which the threefold understanding of truth was hidden: that is, the truth of eternal art, the truth of divine providence, and the truth of the fall of the angels—which follows if angels only have their perfection from motion. The consequence of this is a threefold blindness: concerning the eternity of the world, the unity of the intellect, and the question of punishment and glory.

Genesis 1:6 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

There is the distinction of transparent nature from transparent, and this was made on the second day in the division of waters from waters.

Genesis 1:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

The second vision is understood of the second day, when a firmament was made in the midst, and this firmament is faith which divides the waters. Faith is the origin of wisdom and the origin of knowledge, whether of eternal or of temporal things, in so far as neither knowledge nor wisdom disagrees with faith.

Genesis 1:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

The second time corresponds to the second day and to the age of childhood: for then there was made "a firmament in the midst of the waters." At this time, a covenant was made by means of the rainbow, lest man be wiped out by the waters from below; and by means of the ark, lest he perish later in the flood. And as in childhood infants speak and learn to speak, so in the second time tongues were divided. And this extends from Noah to Abraham.

Genesis 1:6 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 5

It is rightly said that the firmament was made in the midst of the waters, not because the waters above the heavens are fluid, cold, heavy, and corruptible waters, but because they are subtle and incorruptible, pervious and raised above all contrariety, and on this account are of celestial nature and to be placed among the celestial things by reason of the nobility of their form. They are also placed there by reason of power and influence. For since every bodily action in lower things takes its rule, origin, and vigor from celestial nature, and since there are two active qualities, namely the hot and the cold, and some heaven is principally influencing the hot, namely the sidereal heaven by reason of its luminosity: it was fitting that some heaven should influence the cold, and thus the crystalline. And just as the sidereal heaven, although it influences toward heat, is nevertheless not formally hot: so also the heaven that is called watery or crystalline is not essentially cold. Hence what the Saints say, that the waters are placed there to restrain the heat of the higher bodies and other similar things, are to be understood not according to formal predication, but according to efficacy and influence.

Genesis 1:6 — Breviloquium, Prologue

The second age, in which through the ark and the flood the good were saved and the wicked destroyed, corresponds to the second day, on which through the firmament the separation of waters from waters was made. The second age is called childhood; for just as in childhood we begin to speak, so in the second age the distinction of tongues was made.

Genesis 1:6 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. It is necessary that a man set for himself a right end in God; and this is indicated when he says: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters. And God called the firmament heaven; because it is necessary that a man be drawn upward, so that he may have a right intention toward God.

Genesis 1:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

Wisdom refers to the understanding of the eternal God, knowledge to the knowing of God made man. Wherefore the firmament was made in the midst of the waters, that is, faith, in order that the soul may know those things that are above the firmament and those that are below it. And such wisdom concerns divine things, and such knowledge, human things.

Genesis 1:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

There now follows the work of the second day, which is the second vision of understanding, lifted up by faith: and of this it is not said that God "saw" but that He "called" it. Literally speaking, this heaven is lofty, stable, and visible: it is lofty as regards its position, stable as regards its form, and visible as regards its clarity. It is lofty: hence in Proverbs, "The heaven above and the earth beneath." By the very fact that the heaven is noble, it holds the highest place in the order of the universe, and the earth the lowest. It is also stable as regards its form, for it moves without changing place, but within its place, around a center. Hence in Job: "Do you spread out with Him the firmament of the skies, hard as a brazen mirror?" It is finally visible as regards the multitude of its adornments. Hence, in Job, "His spirit hath adorned the heavens." And, in Ecclesiasticus, "The beauty, the glory of the heavens are the stars, that rise to adorn the heights of God." Because of the latter quality, heaven is called caelum, from caelando, "by engraving," and not "by concealing": by carving, since it is written with the diphthong ae, for it is adorned and so to speak engraved with lights. Firmament means a vision of faith. For faith makes the soul or intelligence lofty, since it goes beyond every reason and investigation of the mind. It makes it stable, because it excludes doubt and vacillation; it makes it visible, because it displays its multiformed light. And so, the solidity of faith is also called heaven, because it makes understanding lofty through investigation, stable when it establishes the truth, and visible when it fills it with a manifold light. Hence in Daniel: "The wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament." But no one is wise unless he is taught by God, for "No one comes to the Father but through Me," says the Saviour. And in John: "They all shall be taught of God." No one is taught in matters of faith except through God; and because it comes about through God's voice, it is said: "God called the firmament heaven." It is not said, God saw the firmament, but called it, because the solidity of faith consists rather in belief than in contemplation. For belief is through the ear, because, as the Apostle wrote to the Romans, "faith depends on hearing," and, before that, "with the heart a man believes unto justice." Now faith consists more precisely in the confession of truth than in the communication of light. Hence, "with the mouth profession of faith is made unto salvation." Therefore in a certain sense faith sees, and in another it does not see. The merit of faith is founded on non-seeing, the light of faith on believing. There exists therefore a firmament-heaven, "the substance of things to be hoped for." And it consists in light, because it is "the evidence of things that are not seen." Wherefore it has both light and clouds. "God called the firmament heaven." In Ecclesiasticus it is written: "The firmament on high is His beauty, the beauty of heaven with its glorious shew." And here, three things are touched upon: loftiness, stability, and beauty. For this vision of faith is lofty, stable and beautiful. This faith is most noble, most solid and most splendid. Many possess it, however, without knowing it, for the face of faith is covered: it wears a kind of dark veil. It turns sinful souls into the most exalted. Hence, in the Acts, "He cleansed their hearts by faith."

Genesis 1:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

GOD called the firmament heaven. It has been said that the scope of faith consists in two things, the extreme of loftiness and the extreme of depth. The scope of faith has been discussed: its firmness now remains to be covered. But if faith is lofty, how can it be certain? For the higher a thing is, the less it is known; and the less it is known, the more doubtful it must necessarily be. Wherefore we should understand that the firmness of this faith is threefold. It consists first in the witness of truth expressed through the uncreated Word; second, in the witness of truth expressed through the incarnate Word; third, in the witness of truth expressed through the inspired Word.

Genesis 1:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

GOD called the firmament heaven. The loftiness and firmness of faith have been explained. Now we must speak of its splendor. Heaven is called caelum, because engraved (caelatum), that is, sculptured with stars. Genesis explains how splendid is this faith: "Look at the heavens and, if you can, count the stars. So shall your posterity be." The promise of a bodily posterity was made to Abraham, for it is written: "So shall your posterity be." The promise of a spiritual posterity was also made to him, for through faith he was to be the father of a multitude. The flesh of Abraham gave forth offspring and was thus multiplied. All the more so would his spiritual begetting be fruitful: for he begot spiritually through his fruitful mind. Now, the great number of thoughts arising out of faith transcend in clarity the light of the stars.

Genesis 1:8 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

Genesis 1:9 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. Pure affection is required; and this is understood in the third work, when God divided the land from the waters, that is, secular affections from divine ones.

Genesis 1:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

The third vision is understood of the third day, when the waters were gathered together and dry land appeared. The land is Scriptures which have spiritual meanings and refer to angelical and divine hierarchies which have often been marvelously described by the saints: and from these Scriptures spring forth vegetation and the tree of life. But let everyone beware of the tree of inquisitive knowledge.

Genesis 1:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Such is the third vision, of understanding instructed by Scriptures, which is figured in the work of the third day. And as in the work of the days, there is added a second to the first and a third to both of them, so also out of the first and second visions there comes forth a third, and this vision is more noble and greater than the preceding two. And although such adaptation and comparison to the work of the third day may not seem properly fitting since the earth is the lowest of the elements, while the Scriptures are most high, yet the relationship is excellently pointed out: for whatever the heavens contain in any measure of excellence, the earth holds or receives or possesses in some measure of liveliness. Wherefore it receives the influences of heaven and brings forth the most beautiful swarms of beings. Now this vision is concerned with three things, the spiritual meanings of the senses, the sacramental symbols, and the manifold interpretations that are drawn from them. All of Scriptures may be reduced to these three. The first are offered to our understanding by means of the gathering of the waters, that is, the spiritual meanings.

Genesis 1:9 — Breviloquium, Prologue

The third age, in which Abraham was called, and the synagogue was begun, which was to bear fruit and generate offspring for the worship of God, corresponds to the third day, on which the earth appeared and brought forth green plants. The third age is called adolescence, because, just as the generative power then begins to pass into its act, so then Abraham was called, and circumcision was given to him, and the promise concerning the seed was made.

Genesis 1:9 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

There is the distinction of transparent nature from opaque, and this was made on the third day in the division of waters from the earth. In these, moreover, the distinction of celestial and elemental things is implicitly given to be understood.

Genesis 1:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

"The earth brought forth vegetation, every kind of seed-bearing plant and all kinds of trees that bear fruit containing their seed," etc. Concerning this vision of the intelligence taught by Scripture, we have said of the spiritual interpretation that it was understood by means of the gathering of waters. Likewise, of the sacramental figure, that it was understood through the germination of the earth. We have spoken also of the theories that were understood both through the seed and through the fruit. For these theories reproduce in a manner related to seed, and they sustain in a manner related to food: wherefore they are understood partly under the aspect of seed and partly under the aspect of the germination of fruits. In terms of seed, they consist in correlations of times, by which times follow one another; in terms of the fruit of a tree they consist also in correlations of times, by which times correspond to one another. In the order of comparison of a tree or a seed to the seed, the times follow one another; in the order of comparison of the germ to the germinating, they correspond to each other.

Genesis 1:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

"Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants," etc. It has been explained how, by the gathering of waters, spiritual meanings should be understood. Now it remains to explain how the sacramental figures are symbolized by the vegetation of the earth. For it is not without reason that the vegetation of the earth is seen to point to Sacred Scriptures, in the sense that it has a great number of figures that grow and produce a multiplication of thoughts in the soul. Vegetation on earth is alive, generous, and lovely. Alive, that is, having strength: wherefore it produces the green herb. And by this it is shown that the sacraments of Scripture, which externally seem arid, are yet alive within. Some people believe that these sacraments and these Scriptures were so composed that the man who wrote them merely placed one sentence after another. It is not so, for Scripture is supremely orderly, and its order is similar to that of nature in the development of vegetation on earth. First there was a fixing of roots; then the production of green foliage; third, a multiplication of fresh flowers; fourth, an abundance of restoring fruit. Likewise, in Scripture there is first a fixing of the roots of virtue, as in the Patriarchs who are in a sense the roots of all that is said in Scripture. Hence in their calling there is a first planting. But later, in the establishment of commands and sacrifices, there is a production of green foliage. Later still, in the manifestation of the prophetical visions, there is a multiplication of flowers. Finally, in the diffusion of spiritual charisms, there is an abundance of restoring fruit. And so, here there was first one Patriarch as a single root, that is, Abraham, then another, Isaac, and a third, Jacob. And he begot twelve patriarchs from whom came the Twelve Tribes. After this plantation there followed the Law as a production of green foliage, that gave shade. And because foliage is not to last forever, but is to be followed by flowers, there followed prophecy with both fragrance and beauty. And because it was fitting that the heavens distil dew, there followed in the fourth place a Fruit in Christ, because Christ is the fruit of the Law and its fulfillment.

Genesis 1:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

The sacramental symbols are represented by the swarming of beings on earth, in this passage: "Let the earth bring forth vegetation." The manifold interpretations are signified by the seed, in this passage: "...containing their seed," etc. Who can know the infinity of seeds, when in a single one are contained forests of forests and thence seeds in infinite number? Likewise, out of Scriptures may be drawn an infinite number of interpretations which none but God can comprehend. For as new seeds come forth from plants, so also from Scriptures come forth new interpretations and new meanings, and thereby are Sacred Scriptures distinct from everything else. Hence, in relation to the interpretations yet to be drawn, we may compare to a single drop from the sea all those that have been drawn so far.

Genesis 1:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Genesis 1:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Likewise, this vegetation is lovely. Wherefore Genesis continues: "Each one according to its kind." Even exterior roughness that gives nature a reputation of malformation is yet what makes it most beautiful. Hence the bride says: "I am as dark — but lovely." That is, lovely because dark.

Genesis 1:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

Genesis 1:14 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 4

The heavenly bodies influence terrestrial and elemental things as regards the distinctive signification of times, namely of days, months, and years. For thus Scripture says that they are for signs and times and days and years. They also influence as regards the effective production of things generable and corruptible, namely minerals, plants, sensible creatures, and human bodies. Yet they are signs of times and the governance of operations in such a way that they are not certain signs of future contingent events, nor do they influence free will through the force of constellations, which certain philosophers called fate. The heavenly bodies through light and motion serve for the distinctions of times, namely of the day, according to the light of the sun and the motion of the firmament; of the month, according to the motion of the moon in its oblique circle; of the year, according to the motion of the sun in the same circle; and of the seasons, according to the varied motion, distance and conjunction, ascent and descent, retrogradation and station of the planets, from which arises diversity in the seasons.

Genesis 1:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

The fourth vision is understood of the fourth day, when it was said, "Let there be lights," that is, the sun, moon and stars. A man who does not have contemplation cannot yet enjoy the adornment of sun, moon and stars. Contemplation of the super-heavenly hierarchy is represented by the sun, contemplation of the sub-heavenly hierarchy, by the moon, and contemplation of the heavenly hierarchy, by the stars.

Genesis 1:14 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

Since adornment corresponds to distinction, therefore it likewise had to be completed in three days. There is the adornment of luminous nature, and this was accomplished on the fourth day in the formation of the stars, the sun, and the moon.

Genesis 1:14 — Breviloquium, Prologue

The fourth age, in which the kingdom and the priesthood flourished, because King David expanded the divine worship, corresponds to the fourth day, on which the formation of the luminaries and stars was made. The fourth age is called youth, because, just as in youth the age of man flourishes, so in the fourth age the synagogue flourished under kings.

Genesis 1:14 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. Just or right election is required, so that all our works may be done in an orderly manner, according as they ought: and this is indicated in the fourth work, when he says: Let there be luminaries in the firmament of heaven, that is, let our works be ordered.

Genesis 1:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

GOD made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the smaller one to rule the night, and He made the stars. It has been explained how the soul is hierarchized in relation to the light of the Sun, in that this Sun is alive, shining, and warm. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the origin of all illuminations or irradiations by reason of excellence, influence, and pre-eminence; and in that the soul is assimilated to the Sun through conformity and by reason of the fullness of the hierarchical disposition, and because of a threefold aspect. And there are three considerations. It is hierarchized also in relation to the Church Militant, in which there is a distinction by reason of processes, of ascents, and of practices, for this is how the Church is seen, and in no other way: in it, there is one head, one body, and one food. Paul speaks much of this, for he was well versed in this consideration. Likewise, the Psalter speaks much of it. And sometimes it speaks in the name of such a person [the Church], and at other times, in the name of another. Hence in the Psalm: "The Lord is King, in splendor robed," it refers to the Church's head and to its four orders. After that, it was explained how the soul is hierarchized in the contemplation of itself according to ascent, descent and renewed ascent. And when the soul has achieved this, some marvelous theories are in existence in it and produce in it. For it has twelve series of nine: three exemplars in the sun, three exemplated in the heavenly hierarchy, three in the sub-heavenly, and three in itself. These are twelve illustrations to which are added twelve considerations, like twelve stars, that is, the bodily natures, etc., so that the soul is in the light at all times, for it cannot remain [statically] in any one, and in the final one, there is repose, that is, in the exemplary reason in the fatherland. These things do not occur simultaneously on the way, but in the fatherland, all things will be seen together at a single glance. But all twelve of these considerations are free, and they have an infinite number of branches, out of which an immense book could be made.

Genesis 1:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

So let us say of Christ that He is the Tree of Life in the midst of Paradise, who is symbolized in four instances found in the first mystery, beginning with the words: "In the beginning God created," to the words: "The earth was corrupt." He is symbolized by the greater light, the Tree of Life, Adam's marriage, and most of all, the murder of Abel; for Christ was killed by His brothers.

Genesis 1:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

GOD made the two great lights, etc. It has been said that contemplation consists in the delicious consideration of the heavenly Monarchy, the delicious consideration of the Church Militant, and the delicious consideration of the hierarchized human mind, or of [that mind] ordained in a hierarchical manner. The first is understood through the sun, the second through the moon, and the third through the stars. We should speak first of the sun. The Eternal Sun, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is alive, resplendent and warming. The Father is supremely alive, the Son supremely resplendent, and the Holy Spirit supremely warming. The Father is the most lively light, the Son the most beautiful and bright splendor, the Holy Spirit the most ardent heat. As the real sun imparts life, light, and heat to all things, so do these three. Liveliness, splendor, and heat are one sun, and yet they have distinction although they are not three suns. Likewise, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God. And as liveliness is resplendent and warming, and splendor is quickening and warming, and heat is quickening and resplendent in this visible sun: so also the Father is in Himself and in the Son and in the Holy Spirit; and the Son is in the Father and in Himself and in the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit is in the Father and in the Son and in Himself, by reason of circumincession which is characterized by identity with distinction. In this consideration, there is a certain reason of divine exemplarity in relation to all enlightenments. But a certain enlightenment pertains to the Father, as He exists in Himself, another as He exists in the Son, and yet another as He exists in the Holy Spirit. And there is another [enlightenment] that pertains to the Son as He exists in Himself, another as He exists in the Father, and yet another as He exists in the Holy Spirit. And [there is another enlightenment that pertains] to the Holy Spirit as He exists in Himself, another as He exists in the Father, and yet another as He exists in the Son. And it is proper to enlightenments to correspond to this ninefold series. These enlightenments consist in considering the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as they are in Themselves, and [as such] they are three in number. Other enlightenments [consist in considering] them as related to each other, and they are six in number. And so there are nine. And because of this number six, six times the Lord said "Let there be," and so it was, in the work of the six days.

Genesis 1:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

The fourth allegory, concerning Sacred Scripture, is shown in Genesis: "God made the two great lights, the smaller light to rule the night," that is, the Old Testament, "and the greater one to rule the day," that is, the New Testament. As the moon receives its light from the sun, so does the Old Testament from the New. And so when the sun stands in the east, and the moon on the opposite side in the west — "Stand still, O sun, at Gabaon, O moon, in the valley of Aialon!" said Josue — then is the Old Testament lighted up: it cannot shine, except by means of the New.

Genesis 1:20 — Breviloquium, Prologue

The fifth age, in which those in exile lived among many peoples and were afflicted, corresponds to the fifth day, on which the formation of fish from the waters was made. The fifth age is called old age, because just as in old age strength diminishes and beauty fades, so also in the exile it happened concerning the priesthood of the Jews.

Genesis 1:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

The fifth vision, which comes about through understanding enlightened by prophecy, is still higher than the preceding ones, in that contingent things are seen infallibly, which comes about through a certain kind of sight looking into the Eternal Mirror. The contingent is changing and varied: if then a prophet sees with infallibility and certainty, everything he sees must be considered within infallible Truth. This vision is understood to refer to the fifth day when the fishes of the waters were made together with the birds, for the soul is carried up to God on the breeze by means of pinions and a great number of feathers.

Genesis 1:20 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

There is the adornment of transparent nature, and this was accomplished on the fifth day, on which fish and birds were made from the waters for the adornment of water and air.

Genesis 1:20 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. Vigorous prosecution is required, which is signified in the fifth work, when God brought forth living soul in the waters, as swimming creatures, and in the air flying creatures.

Genesis 1:24 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

There is the adornment of opaque nature, namely the earth, and this was accomplished on the sixth day, on which beasts were made, and creeping things were made, and also for the consummation of all things human nature was made.

Genesis 1:26 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Genesis 1: Let us make man in our image and likeness, and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, etc.; on which words Augustine says in the nineteenth book of the City of God: "God did not will that rational man, made in the image of God, should have dominion except over irrational creatures"; but it belongs to the dictate of nature that man should preserve the divine institution: therefore it accords with natural right that man should not command man, nor that one should be subject to another by obeying. To which it must be said that in those words Augustine does not intend to exclude subjection and obedience, but coerced servitude, which indeed neither existed nor ought to have existed except through the intervention of the guilt of sin as a disease contrary to nature itself.

Genesis 1:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

In the New Testament, after the universal scripture and the course of time, Christ was formed, as was man on the sixth day, that He may "have dominion over the fish of the sea," and "the birds of the air." As the Psalm says, "what is man that You should be mindful of him, or the son of man that You should care for him? You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea," etc. And in order that it be understood of Christ, the Apostle says: "You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor." And there follows: "But we do see Him who was made 'a little lower than the angels,' namely, Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of His having suffered death." Man was created out of a virgin soil that had never received blood, which signifies Christ born of the Virgin; and as Eve was formed out of Adam's side, so also the Church, out of the side of Christ. But since Christ never sinned, how can Adam's transgression correspond to Him? There must be transference from the head to the body.

Genesis 1:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

To this vision of rapture corresponds the work of the sixth day: "God said, 'Let us make mankind in Our image and likeness,'" for it is of such great worth that it must "have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every creature that crawls on earth." The higher a man is lifted up, the humbler he is, as is the case with Paul, who lowered himself through humility when it came to determining the nature of the union.

Genesis 1:27 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Conjugal chastity is consonant with the law of nature by reason of created nature itself. It accords with the law of nature by reason of created nature, which was formed in the distinction of the sexes, according to that passage of Genesis 1: God created man in His image and likeness; male and female He created them. From this the union of man and woman is natural; and all of this belongs to it according to the state of the law of nature, from which the act and exercise of conjugal chastity itself first draws its origin.

Genesis 1:27 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 9

The rational soul is a form having being, living, understanding, and exercising freedom. It has in the mind the image of the Trinity according to memory, intelligence, and will. A form that is understanding not only created essence, but also the creative essence, to whose image it was made through memory, understanding, and will. Because the form capable of beatitude is capable of God through memory, understanding, and will: and this is to be in the image of the Trinity on account of unity in essence and trinity in powers: therefore it was necessary that the soul be understanding God and all things, and through this be marked with the image of God.

Genesis 1:27 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 12

The creation of the world is as it were a certain book, in which the fabricating Trinity shines forth, is represented, and is read according to a threefold degree of expression, namely by way of vestige, image, and similitude, such that the character of vestige is found in all creatures, the character of image in intellectual beings alone or rational spirits, the character of similitude in deiform beings alone: from which, as though by certain stairlike degrees, the human intellect is naturally suited to ascend step by step to the supreme principle, which is God. Every creature is compared to Him in a threefold way: either as to a creative principle, or as to a motive object, or as to an indwelling gift. And since a creature cannot have God as its principle without being configured to Him according to unity, truth, and goodness; nor God as its object without apprehending Him through memory, intelligence, and will; nor God as an infused gift without being configured to Him through faith, hope, and charity: hence it is that the first is called a vestige of the Trinity, the second an image, and the third a similitude.

Genesis 1:27 — Breviloquium, Prologue

The sixth age, in which Christ was born in human form, who is truly the image of God, corresponds to the sixth day, on which the first man was formed. The sixth age is called decrepitude, because, just as that is the age which is joined with death, yet possessing a great light of wisdom; so the sixth age of the world is terminated with the day of judgment, and in it wisdom flourishes through the teaching of Christ.

Genesis 1:27 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

In the work of virtue, six things are required corresponding to the works of the six days. Charitable formation is required, so that the works may be complete, clothed over with all circumstances, according to what the law of divine charity demands. For charity is the perfective form of all things; and he who has charity has all these six. The sixth work of virtue, therefore, is the formation of charity: which is signified when it says: God made man in his image and likeness.

Genesis 1:27 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6

Genesis 1:28 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 11

A twofold precept was given to man, namely of nature and of discipline; the precept of nature: "Increase and multiply"; the precept of discipline: "Of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat." A twofold good was prepared for man: one visible, the other invisible; one temporal, the other eternal; one for the flesh, the other for the spirit. Of these goods, God gave one and promised the other, so that one might be possessed freely, and the other sought through merit. And because a good is given in vain unless it is preserved, and is promised in vain unless one attains to it, therefore a twofold precept was given to man: one of nature for preserving the good given, the other of discipline for meriting the good promised.

Genesis 1:28 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That which accords with divine precepts is a work of virtue and consonant with the law of God: but the conjugal act is of this kind: therefore it is a work of virtue. The minor is proved: Genesis 1: Increase and multiply, etc.: but this is accomplished through the conjugal act: therefore the conjugal act is a work of virtue.

Genesis 2:2 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6

Genesis 2:2 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

On the seventh day God rested, not from labor nor from work, since He works even until now, but from the establishment of new species: because He had made all things either in likeness, as those things which are propagated, or in seminal reason, as those things which are brought into being by other modes. To the six days of works there is added a seventh of rest, which day is not written as having an evening — not because that day did not have a succeeding night, but to prefigure the rest of souls, which shall never have an end.

Genesis 2:2 — Breviloquium, Prologue

The seventh age, which is the rest of souls having no end, corresponds to the seventh day, on which God rested from all the work that He had done. And thus these seven ages are distinguished on account of the notable events that occurred at their beginnings, by reason of which they correspond to the days of the formation of the world.

Genesis 2:2 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

Since, moreover, each of the aforesaid modes is doubled, inasmuch as it happens that one considers God as the Alpha and the Omega, or inasmuch as it happens that one sees God in each of the aforesaid modes as through a mirror and as in a mirror, or because each of these considerations must be mingled with the other conjoined to it and must be considered in its purity: hence it is necessary that these three principal stages ascend to the number six, so that, just as God completed the whole world in six days and rested on the seventh, so the lesser world may be led in most orderly fashion through six stages of successive illuminations to the repose of contemplation.

Genesis 2:2 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Genesis 2:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Genesis 2:7 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 10

The body of the first man was so fashioned and from the slime of the earth formed, that nevertheless it was subject to the soul and in its own way proportionate, proportionate, I say, with respect to an equal temperament, with respect to a most beautiful and manifold organization, and with respect to uprightness of stature. In order that the power of God might be manifested in man, He made him from natures most greatly distant, conjoined into one person and nature — such as are the body and the soul, of which one is a corporeal substance, while the other, namely the soul, is a spiritual and incorporeal substance, which in the genus of substance are most greatly distant. In order that the wisdom of God might be manifested therein, He made such a body that it would have proportion in its own way to the soul. In order that it might be conformed to the vivifying soul, it had an equal temperament, not from weight or mass, but from the equality of natural justice, which disposes toward the most noble mode of life. In order that it might be conformed to the soul as moving through the manifold variety of powers, it had a manifold variety of organs with the highest beauty and artfulness and flexibility; as is evident in the face and in the hand, which is the "instrument of instruments." In order that it might be conformed to the soul as tending upward toward heaven, it had uprightness of stature and the head raised upward, so that bodily uprightness might bear witness to mental uprightness.

Genesis 2:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Genesis 2:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

It should be noted that as a fruit delights both sight and taste, it delights the sense of sight mostly by its excellence and beauty, but the sense of taste, by its sweetness and flavor. Likewise, these theories sustain the intellect by their beauty, and the affective dispositions by their sweetness. This is what Scripture suggests when it says: The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, to the east, and He put there the man He had formed, etc. This is said as a recapitulation on the seventh day, since the planting was done on the third day. There follows: The Lord God made to grow out of the ground all kinds of trees pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so that it would sustain the intellect by its beauty and the affective dispositions by its sweetness. But consummation was to come about in the tree of life, provided caution was exercised in regard to the tree of knowledge. The soil, therefore, is Scripture which brings forth all kinds of trees pleasant to the sight, as regards the intellect, and good for food as regards the affective dispositions, that is, the manifold theories both delighting and sustaining. In the heavenly paradise, there is no planting, except of eternal reasons, and although there is sustainment in the fact of the predestination of all the saints, I will rejoice rather over my own. And this is what the Lord suggests: "Rejoice rather in this, that your names are written in heaven." Paul could speak of the heavenly paradise, because he was caught up to the third heaven. We do not know, but we speak of the earthly paradise.

Genesis 2:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Genesis 2:9 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 10

The tree of life was also given for continual nourishment, and finally for perfect transformation through perpetual immortality. There would be a consumption of nutrimental moisture through the action of heat: there would also nonetheless be a restoration through the nourishment of the trees of paradise, restored through the tree of life, that is, with the radical moisture preserved: which tree indeed had this virtue, on account of which, as Augustine says, it was not only for food but also as a Sacrament. The incorruption and immortality of Adam's body came principally from the soul as from that which contains and influences, from the body's good and balanced constitution as from that which disposes and receives, from the tree of life as from that which vivifies and assists, and from the governance of divine providence as from that which conserves inwardly and protects outwardly.

Genesis 2:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Of this central Person, it is said in Genesis: "The Lord God made to grow out of the ground all kinds of trees pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden." In reference to which Augustine writes that of all the things that were made, it was said: "Let there be, He made it," and so it was--excepting light, of which God said "Let there be light," and there was light--for they were produced first in all eternity from Eternal Art, second in the intelligent creature, and third in the material world. The Word expresses the Father and the things He made, and principally leads us to union with the Father who brings all things together; and in this regard He is the Tree of Life, for by this means we return to the very fountain of life and are revived in it. But if we stoop to a knowledge of things acquired by experimenting them, investigating beyond what is conceded to us, we fall from true contemplation and taste of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as did Lucifer. For if Lucifer, in contemplating this Truth, had been led back from the knowledge of creatures to the unity of the Father, he would have turned dusk into dawn and would have enjoyed daylight. But because he fell for the love and desire of his own excellence, he lost the day. And Adam did the same. Now, this Center is one that produces knowledge, it is the Truth, that is, the Tree of Life, while the other truth is an occasion of death, when a man falls for the love of created beauty.

Genesis 2:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

The third mode of generation is by means of propagation, and this in a fourfold way: as of a growth coming from a seed, a tree from a root, a conceived offspring from the belly or womb of the mother, or children from a begetting father. In the first mode of generation, formal beauty is lacking, for in the seed the form is vague and hidden. It is not so in the case of the Son. In the second, conformity is lacking, for although there is a single root, it is different in shape from the branches even though they produce a single tree. In the third, actuality is lacking, for although the mother is in a certain sense the active principle of the offspring, yet she is much more of a passive principle. In the fourth, eternal coexistence is lacking. Now, take away these defects and suppose first formal beauty. In this sense, there is Isaiah: "The branch of the Lord will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor." Second, suppose conformity: The Son conforms to the Father to the point that He is "the tree of life... in the midst of the garden." Hence, in Proverbs: "She is a tree of life to those who grasp her." Third, suppose actuality: in this sense, you have the Psalm: "With Thee is the principality in the day of Thy strength, in the brightness of the saints: from the womb before the day star I begot Thee. From the womb," says the Psalmist, which is in relation to the warmth of the Father's bosom, from which He does not withdraw. Fourth, suppose eternal coexistence. In this sense, there is the Psalm: "This day I have begotten You," that is in eternity, or in My eternal today.

Genesis 2:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

"The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, to the East, and He put there the man He had formed. The Lord God made to grow out of the ground all kinds of trees pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." The trees pleasant and good represent the sacraments of Scripture which have great beauty. Yet they are not seen as beautiful except through the conformity of the symbol with the thing represented. For these trees are beautiful because ordained.

Genesis 2:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

It is true that in this regard there comes the danger of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so that, after dismissing the tree of life by reason of the sweetness of emotions, the soul may wander around other sciences and go so far that it can no longer come back but is excluded from the delights of paradise and loses the flavor of the tree of life. To eat of the tree of life by means of these enlightenments is to be sustained, so that a man seeks nothing but the intelligence of truth, the mood of piety, and the enjoyment of sweetness, that is, the solace of contemplation. But when a man forgets these things and delights in the pursuit of inquisitiveness, he only wants to know; and out of this is born the arrogance of vanity when he looks down upon other men. And upon this there follows the conflict of lawsuits, because he considers himself dishonored when someone stands up to him: and he is always ready to fight any opponent. And in such a way true life is taken away from man, as occurred with Adam, or rather, with the woman who was inquisitive and wanted to be like God. Therefore, they made themselves coverings and blamed another for their sin, Adam blaming God for having given him such a wife, and the woman blaming the serpent. Hence these enlightenments must enter the affective dispositions in order that the intellect be straightened.

Genesis 2:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

And so, progressing little by little, Scripture explains how the Antichrist will be, first, most filthy, etc. Hence, next to the tree of life was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: for the latter promised good and rendered evil, wherefore it will turn into a serpent, a dragon and a beast. In all these mysteries, there is some relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, for the Trinity must shine forth mostly through their works.

Genesis 2:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Genesis 2:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

The four cardinal virtues are symbolized by the four rivers of paradise, in so far as they are originated by faith. A river stands for the grace of the Holy Spirit poured out into these four virtues: Phison corresponds to temperance, Gehon to prudence, Tigris to fortitude, and Euphrates to justice. Phison represents the rational power, Gehon the concupiscible, Tigris the irascible, and Euphrates the whole soul.

Genesis 2:10 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Because outside the unity of faith and charity, which makes us children and members of the Church, no one can be saved: therefore, if the Sacraments are received outside her, they are not received unto salvation, although they are true Sacraments; but they can become useful if one returns to holy mother Church. Whence Augustine against the Donatists writes: "The Church, compared to paradise, shows us that people can indeed receive her baptism even outside, but that no one can either obtain or retain the salvation of blessedness outside her. For the rivers from the fountain of paradise, as Scripture testifies, also flowed abundantly outward: for they are mentioned by name, and through which lands they flow, and that they are situated outside paradise, is known to all; nor yet in Mesopotamia or in Egypt, where those rivers reached, is there the happiness of life that is spoken of in paradise. Thus it happens that, although the water of paradise is outside paradise, blessedness nevertheless is not found except within paradise. So therefore the baptism of the Church can exist outside the Church, but the gift of the blessed life is found only within the Church."

Genesis 2:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

It is fitting to work within sacred Scripture and to train the mind. As Seneca says, "Many have I found who trained their body, but few their mind." In Genesis it is said that "the Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to till it and to keep it." Such a training is a spiritual disposition towards devotedness.

Genesis 2:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Genesis 2:15 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Genesis 2: God placed man in paradise, that he might work: likewise, in chapter 3 of the same it was said to man sinning: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread, etc. Therefore the precept concerning labor regards man according to nature as instituted and according to nature as fallen, therefore according to all times; but it especially regards the man who is able by himself and cannot supply through another; but such is the able-bodied poor man: therefore such a one is bound to labor manually.

Genesis 2:15 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

For according to the first institution of nature, man was created fit for the repose of contemplation, and therefore God placed him in a paradise of delights. But turning away from the true light toward a changeable good, he was bent over by his own fault, and his entire race by original sin, which infected human nature in a twofold manner, namely the mind with ignorance, and the flesh with concupiscence; so that man, blinded and bent over, sits in darkness and does not see the light of heaven, unless grace with justice comes to his aid against concupiscence, and knowledge with wisdom against ignorance.

Genesis 2:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

According to others, time is divided into five: and this is established by Christ who referred to five summonses: "The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard." The five summonses were in the morning, and at the third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hours. The morning saw the beginning of the creature, for God placed man in Paradise and commanded him "to till it and to keep it." But man had as yet neither mattock nor hoe: but he was able to make them out of the trees that were obedient to him. The second summons was under the scourge, until Noah who preached that man be more careful; the third, under Abraham who was a worshiper of God and a builder of altars, and it lasted until Moses; the fourth, under Moses through the Law and the prodigies, and it lasted until Christ; the fifth, under Christ and through Christ by means of penance—and He called all men to it and also to the wedding feast.

Genesis 2:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

It is said in Genesis: "Of every tree that is in paradise, you shall eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in whatever hour you eat of it, you shall die the death." Adam with his wife contracted the vice of curiosity, when the devil said to them: "You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil": he also contracted the vice of carnality, when he ate of the fruit: he also contracted the vice of vanity, when he wished to be as gods.

Genesis 2:17 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 11

A twofold precept was given to man, namely of nature and of discipline; the precept of discipline: "Of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat." Obedience is pure when a precept obliges of itself alone, not from any other cause; and such is called a precept of discipline, because through it one learns how great is the virtue of obedience, which by its merit leads to heaven, but by its contrary casts one down into hell. Therefore that commandment was not given to man on account of any need that God had for human service, but to provide a way of meriting the crown through pure and voluntary obedience.

Genesis 2:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Genesis 2:21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

In Genesis: "The Lord cast a deep sleep upon Adam, and when he had fallen asleep, he took one of his ribs" and made a woman "and brought her to Adam." And why, while he slept, did He take one of his ribs? Could He not have done this while he was awake? This is mystical. Was not the Church formed from the side of Christ, when Christ fell asleep on the cross? And from His side flowed forth blood and water, that is, the Sacraments, through which the Church is reborn. From the rib of Adam, Eve was formed, who was joined to him in marriage. Just as man was formed from virgin earth, so Christ from the glorious Virgin. And just as from the side of the sleeping Adam woman was formed, so the Church from Christ hanging on the cross. And just as from Adam and Eve, Abel and his successors were formed, so from Christ and the Church the whole Christian people. And just as Eve is the mother of Abel and of all of us, so the Christian people has the Virgin as mother.

Genesis 2:21 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Genesis 2:22 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

"The Lord cast a deep sleep upon Adam, and when he had fallen asleep, he took one of his ribs" and made a woman "and brought her to Adam." And why, while he slept, did He take one of his ribs? Could He not have done this while he was awake? This is mystical. Was not the Church formed from the side of Christ, when Christ fell asleep on the cross? And from His side flowed forth blood and water, that is, the Sacraments, through which the Church is reborn. From the rib of Adam, Eve was formed, who was joined to him in marriage. Just as man was formed from virgin earth, so Christ from the glorious Virgin. And just as from the side of the sleeping Adam woman was formed, so the Church from Christ hanging on the cross.

Genesis 2:22 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 10

The woman was formed from the side of the man as a companion and help for immaculate propagation. In that state the body was such that from it there would be a seminal separation for the propagation of offspring through the assistance of the female sex equally co-principiating.

Genesis 2:23 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

Adam said that she was "woman, because she was taken from man. This," he said, "is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." And why, while he slept, did He take one of his ribs? Could He not have done this while he was awake? This is mystical. Was not the Church formed from the side of Christ, when Christ fell asleep on the cross? And from His side flowed forth blood and water, that is, the Sacraments, through which the Church is reborn. Just as man was formed from virgin earth, so Christ from the glorious Virgin. And just as from the side of the sleeping Adam woman was formed, so the Church from Christ hanging on the cross.

Genesis 2:23 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Conjugal chastity accords with the law of nature by reason of the revelation shown from above. For Adam prophetically said after his deep sleep: This now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. Wherefore a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be in one flesh. This word is said to have been spoken by God in Matthew 19, because Adam said it while illuminated by the divine Spirit. From this the union is sacramental; and all of this belongs to it according to the state of the law of nature, from which the act and exercise of conjugal chastity itself first draws its origin.

Genesis 2:24 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

And the Lord said: "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife." And the Apostle said: "This is a great sacrament; but I speak in Christ and in the Church." Was not the Church formed from the side of Christ, when Christ fell asleep on the cross? And from His side flowed forth blood and water, that is, the Sacraments, through which the Church is reborn. From the rib of Adam, Eve was formed, who was joined to him in marriage. Just as man was formed from virgin earth, so Christ from the glorious Virgin. And just as from the side of the sleeping Adam woman was formed, so the Church from Christ hanging on the cross. And just as from Adam and Eve, Abel and his successors were formed, so from Christ and the Church the whole Christian people.

Genesis 2:24 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Genesis 2:24 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Genesis 3:1 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 2

When God had established man in the happiness of paradise in both sexes, namely male and female, the devil, envying man, having assumed the form of a serpent, attacked the woman—first by questioning: Why has God commanded you not to eat? Since the devil, who formerly was knowing and upright, by falling through pride became crafty and envious—and therefore through envy wished to tempt and through cunning knew how—he therefore tempted insofar as he was able, and God permitted it. That he assumed the serpentine form in tempting was of divine dispensation, so that not only could his craftiness be detected, but also from that figure the diabolical craftiness in tempting might become known to all the children of Adam. Again, that he tempted concerning the precept of discipline was likewise of divine dispensation, so that whether he conquered or was conquered, the merit of obedience or the demerit of disobedience might become known to all. But that he began with the woman was of his own craftiness, because it is easier to cast down the less strong; whence the cunning of the enemy attacks the city from its weaker side. Similarly, the manner in which he proceeded in the temptation was of great cunning, because he proceeded by testing, impelling, and enticing. For he conducted his test through questioning, he impelled through assurance, and he enticed through promise. For first he questioned about the reason for the commandment, so that he might lead reason into doubt.

Genesis 3:3 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 2

The manner in which the devil proceeded in the temptation was of great cunning, because he proceeded by testing, impelling, and enticing. For he conducted his test through questioning, he impelled through assurance, and he enticed through promise. For first he questioned about the reason for the commandment, so that he might lead reason into doubt; second, doubt having been established—Lest perhaps we die—he gave assurance, so that he might lead the irascible power into contempt; third, he promised, so that he might lead the concupiscible power into desire, and thus by these three modes might draw the freedom of choice to consent, which faculty belongs to reason and will, embracing nonetheless the three aforesaid powers: the rational, the irascible, and the concupiscible.

Genesis 3:4 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 2

The devil attacked the woman—first by questioning: Why has God commanded you not to eat? second by asserting: You shall not die at all: third by promising: You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil: wishing by this temptation to cast down the weaker woman and through her afterwards to overthrow the male sex. For first he questioned about the reason for the commandment, so that he might lead reason into doubt; second, doubt having been established, he gave assurance: You shall not die at all, so that he might lead the irascible power into contempt; third, he promised, so that he might lead the concupiscible power into desire, and thus by these three modes might draw the freedom of choice to consent.

Genesis 3:5 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 2

Third, the devil promised: You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil, so that he might lead the concupiscible power into desire, and thus by these three modes might draw the freedom of choice to consent, which faculty belongs to reason and will, embracing nonetheless the three aforesaid powers: the rational, the irascible, and the concupiscible; with respect to which the devil enticed the woman through a threefold desirable object, namely through knowledge, which is desirable to the rational power; through excellence after the manner of God, which is desirable to the irascible power; through the sweetness of the tree, which is desirable to the concupiscible power. And thus he tempted everything that was temptable in the woman, through everything by which she could be led into temptation, which is the threefold desirable object of the world, namely the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life; according to which three things the origin of every temptation is discerned, whether from the world, or from the flesh, or from the devil.

Genesis 3:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

One should consider with fear what Job says of Behemoth-Leviathan: "He shall strew gold under him like mire." Through knowledge, temptation easily leads to ruin. "You will be like God, knowing good and evil." Wherefore some men want to search beyond the way of nature, that is, beyond contingent matters. Concerning the levels of pride, blessed Bernard says that the primary vice is inquisitiveness which brought about the fall of Lucifer. By this, too, Adam fell. The hunger for knowledge must be changed: wisdom and holiness must be preferred to it.

Genesis 3:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

The reasoning of the devil leads to hell: it is a fallacy, a sophistic and destructive reasoning. For the devil deceived the first man and assumed the existence in the heart of man of a kind of self-evident proposition such as this: the rational creature must needs desire to be the same as its Creator since He is its likeness--and, said he, "When you eat, you will be like God." Hence it is good to eat of the forbidden fruit in order to become like Him. And by this syllogism all men sin, for as Dionysius says, "No one commits evil with evil as a goal: every man intends good and desires good. But he is deceived because he takes for true what is only a likeness of good." By means of this same fallacy, the devil made man fall into the sufferings of nature, the needs of indigence, and mortality of life.

Genesis 3:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Adam with his wife contracted the vice of curiosity, when the devil said to them: "You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil": he also contracted the vice of carnality, when he ate of the fruit: he also contracted the vice of vanity, when he wished to be as gods. Hear, brothers: those who have the knowledge of the Saints, namely clerics, let them take heed for themselves, lest they have anything of vice mixed in; because if a man mixes in anything of vice, he loses the knowledge of discerning between good and evil.

Genesis 3:6 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 3

The woman, consenting to the diabolic temptation, desired knowledge and excellence after the manner of God, and desired no less to experience the sweetness of the forbidden tree; and at length she fell into transgression of the precept. Nor content with this, by offering the fruit of the forbidden tree, she led the man, who, unwilling to grieve his delights, did not correct the woman, but rather gave consent to her evil persuasion; and by tasting the offered fruit, he became a transgressor of the divine commandment. Since from the first principle there had been given to man a twofold sense and appetite with respect to the twofold book and with respect to the twofold good, so that according to the freedom of the will man could turn to either, the woman, having heard the exterior suggestion of the serpent, did not have recourse to the interior book, which renders itself legible to the right judgment of reason, but kept her sense fixed upon the exterior book and began to occupy herself with the exterior good. And because her sense did not approach the infallible truth, her appetite began to turn toward the mutable good. She therefore desired what the devil promised, and thus she consented to do what he suggested. By desiring excellent knowledge, therefore, she was raised up into pride; and raised up into pride, by this very thing she was enticed to gluttony; and through this she was thirdly cast down by disobedience. The first was in the mind, the second in sensuality, the third in action. And just as the temptation, beginning from the lower part, reached all the way to the highest, since from hearing through desire it came to consent, so conversely the disorder, beginning from the higher part, reached all the way to the lowest and produced one consummated sin, which in human nature is the beginning of all sin and the origin of evils. For the woman, having been enticed, enticed the man, who, similarly turned toward the exterior book and toward the mutable good, esteeming too highly the companionship of the woman and the solace of her society, was unwilling either to correct the woman or to grieve his own delights. And since he ought to have corrected her and did not correct her, therefore the sin of the woman is imputed to him. But because he was unwilling to grieve his own delights by repelling the woman from himself, he began to love himself excessively, and through this, withdrawing from divine friendship, he fell into gluttony and disobedience. The transgression of the precept was therefore common to both, although from different causes; in both, however, namely in the man and the woman, there was a disordering from the highest to the lowest, because first in the mind or in reason, then in sensuality, and lastly in deed. For each was prostrated through disobedience and enticed through gluttony, because each was raised up in pride: the woman indeed by desiring and pursuing what she had not yet received, the man by excessively loving and prizing what he already had; whence the woman believed she would be exalted by eating, but Adam, thinking himself something great and dear to God, believed he would be punished less severely. For he had not yet experienced the rigor of divine severity. And thus each, while inordinately raising himself above himself, fell miserably below himself, from the state of innocence and grace to the state of guilt and misery.

Genesis 3:7 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 4

The man and the woman immediately after their fault felt the penalty of rebellion and shame in the flesh; and therefore to cover their shameful parts they made for themselves loincloths. Since each parent, by being proud in mind and tasting in the flesh, was disobedient to their superior, by the just judgment of God it came about that their inferior became disobedient to them, especially with respect to those parts according to which there is the union of both sexes, which are the members serving the generative power. And because this was in them not from nature but from their own fault, therefore they were ashamed and covered themselves.

Genesis 3:15 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The blessed Virgin possesses that price, because she is strong and valiant as one valiantly fighting. In Genesis: "The Lord said to the serpent: I will put enmities between you and the woman, and your seed and her seed; she shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for her heel." Bernard says of the glorious Virgin: "She crushed the head of the ancient serpent, when she reduced to nothing every suggestion of the evil one, both regarding the allurement of the flesh and the pride of the mind." Do not allow the serpent to enter into your heart through suggestion; for Gregory says that when the head of the serpent has entered into any opening, then the whole body easily enters.

Genesis 3:16 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 4

For the woman the punishment was doubled, because there was inflicted upon her the penalty of manifold hardships in conception, the penalty of pains in childbirth, and also the penalty of subjection to the man in married life. Since from the woman sin took its beginning, therefore her punishment is doubled. For because she was proud in mind, she incurred subjection; because she saw and desired the tree as sweet to eat, she incurred pain; finally, because she broke the yoke of obedience, she incurred the bond and burden of manifold hardship. And thus it is clear with what order the manifold punishments were inflicted by divine providence upon the man and doubled in the woman, so that "the disgrace of sin would not be without the beauty of justice."

Genesis 3:17 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 4

By divine judgment, the man incurred the penalty of labor and anguish, the penalty of hunger and want, the penalty of death and dissolution into dust, as Scripture says: Cursed is the earth in your work. Because the man, having despised the supreme delectable, sought to delight in the flesh, therefore by the just judgment of God there was inflicted upon him labor and the want of hunger and thirst. Since the First Principle is most provident in governing and most upright in presiding, it leaves nothing whatsoever disordered in the universe; and since fault is rightly ordered through punishment, therefore immediately in the first parents the disgrace of sin was followed by the dignity of judgment, so that what was disordered by falling from the order of nature might fall immediately into the order of justice. For this twofold order so embraces all things that what falls from the one relapses into the other.

Genesis 3:19 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

As to the objection that man from his original condition was ordained to this work, it must be said that no man ought to be without labor in this life, lest perhaps what is said of the reprobate in the Psalm be said of him: They are not in the labor of men, and with men they shall not be scourged: but from this it does not follow that one must be occupied with manual labor, and especially that which is lucrative. And through this the response to the objection about the example of Adam is clear, because it is certain that not all are obligated to the work of agriculture. Nor was that which is said: In the sweat of your face, etc., said then as a precept of life, but as a punishment for sin committed, as is clear from the following text.

Genesis 3:19 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 4

Because on account of the good of the flesh man chose to be separated from the good of the mind, therefore by the just judgment of God the soul is unwillingly separated from the flesh through death and incineration—and through this, just as God had given to man according to the order of nature a body subject to the soul, capable of propagation without lust, capable of sustenance without failing, incapable of change without death intervening, so, when man sinned, according to the order of justice it came about that He withdrew all the aforesaid and inflicted their opposites: so that fault might not remain unpunished and disordered, which divine providence ought in no way to permit.

Genesis 3:24 — Breviloquium

That remedy ought to have had efficacy first upon those who believed in Christ, and by believing hoped, and by hoping loved; and on this account He ought to have descended to the nether regions immediately for their liberation. Whence, when the gate of heaven was opened through the passion of Christ—who by making satisfaction removed the flaming sword, by changing the divine sentence—He snatched from hell all His members.

Genesis 4:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Christ is symbolized most of all by the murder of Abel; for Christ was killed by His brothers; and an inscription was placed among the Jews, that they be not killed, but become errant and fugitive on the earth.

Genesis 4:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Genesis 4:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Now Adam, in the act of making fruitful, represents those doctors who, falling upon the law as lovers upon their spouse, consumed the tree of the knowledge in order to observe the Law, and consented to the Serpent who persuaded them to do so, whence arose the heresy of the Ebionites, who taught that the Law was to be observed together with the Gospels. And so great was the zeal for the Law that Peter fell into that fallacy, but the grace of God delivered him. And thereupon follows the expulsion from Paradise, God withdrawing Himself from them. And they were dispersed, and cursed in their work, and devoured as by two bears, Titus and Vespasian. Thus did Cain, the murderer of his brother, that is, the Jewish people, receive a sign.

Genesis 4:24 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

The first mystery is that of the creation of beings, and there the Antichrist is represented by Lamech who was the first to introduce bigamy and was a transgressor of the natural law and given to extreme lust. Then "the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair, and they took wives for themselves, as many as they wished." Because of this came the Flood. And hence it is possible to surmise what the Antichrist will be like: he is the filthiest one. And his symbolic meaning is shown in this, that he would kill the one to whom a token had been given, that is, the Jews represented by Cain. Wherefore Lamech "shall be avenged seventy times sevenfold," for his sin will be greater than the sin of the Jews.

Genesis 6:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

Genesis 8:21 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

The manner in which sacrifice was introduced is seen in the fact that Abel offered a sacrifice by faith, and so did Noah, of whose offering it is said: The Lord smelled the sweet odor. And these sacrifices represented that which Christ offered on the cross. Hence it is said, the Lord smelled: God was appeased by the death of His only Son. By contrast, the demons, because of their pride, seek to be worshiped as God Himself, in order to obtain on earth the honor they could not have in heaven, and because men are farthest removed from God. A man who makes such sacrifices offers the blood of Christ, in that it was shed in order to appease the Father.

Genesis 9:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of the cleansing of crimes, Christ is symbolized by the bow in the clouds, which is the sign of the covenant.

Genesis 9:21 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of the cleansing of crimes, Christ is symbolized by Noah who lay naked in his tent in a state of drunkenness: for Christ was drunk with love for His spouse and was naked on the cross — where the very wicked Cham derided Him.

Genesis 15:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Genesis 15:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

We have spoken of the second vision, that is, of understanding lifted up by faith, as expressed through the words "heaven," or "firmament," meaning lofty, firm, and beautiful. Of this, it was said to Abraham, that is, to the believer: "Look at the heavens and, if you can, count the stars." And by the twelve signs through which the sun of understanding runs as it traverses the hemisphere of our intelligence, producing the day and the year of faith; and by the twelve gates, each one made of a single pearl, may be understood the twelve principal ideas to which the others may then be retraced, and according to which the others are ruled and directed: and these twelve principal ideas are bright, vivifying, and joyful. The first of these ideas was to consider God as the first Being; the second, to consider Him as triune.

Genesis 15:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

Heaven is called caelum, because engraved (caelatum), that is, sculptured with stars. Genesis explains how splendid is this faith: "Look at the heavens and, if you can, count the stars. So shall your posterity be." The promise of a bodily posterity was made to Abraham, for it is written: "So shall your posterity be." The promise of a spiritual posterity was also made to him, for through faith he was to be the father of a multitude. The flesh of Abraham gave forth offspring and was thus multiplied. All the more so would his spiritual begetting be fruitful: for he begot spiritually through his fruitful mind. Now, the great number of thoughts arising out of faith transcend in clarity the light of the stars. These thoughts of faith are compared to the stars and also to twelve pearls. Although these stars are countless, there are twelve signs through which the sun runs its course. These twelve signs are merely clusters of stars which have divers influences because of their different configurations and lights. And the sun, in combination with these, affects the course of life on earth at different times and according to the different influences. These thoughts also, arising from the considerations of faith, are compared to the clarity of pearls because they are bright, vivifying and joyful in the manner of pearls. For pearls have brightness or refulgence, while they also comfort through their efficacy, and rejoice the heart.

Genesis 17:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

The promise of a bodily posterity was made to Abraham, for it is written: "So shall your posterity be." The promise of a spiritual posterity was also made to him, for through faith he was to be the father of a multitude. The flesh of Abraham gave forth offspring and was thus multiplied. All the more so would his spiritual begetting be fruitful: for he begot spiritually through his fruitful mind. Now, the great number of thoughts arising out of faith transcend in clarity the light of the stars.

Genesis 17:4 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Conjugal chastity accords with the written law by reason of the divine promise: because the Lord promised to Abraham, Genesis 17: You shall be the father of many nations; and I will make you increase most exceedingly, and I will establish you among nations, and kings shall come forth from you. Since therefore the Lord as a benefit promised that He would give offspring to Abraham through the way of marriage, it is evident that conjugal chastity accords with the written law.

Genesis 18:2 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

For testimony is given in the Old Testament concerning the Trinity both in figures and in words. Among the figures, however, that one was especially authoritative which was shown to the father of our faith, Abraham: of whom it is said in Genesis eighteen, that when three men appeared to him, he indeed saw three, but adored one, whence he spoke to the three as to one, in this understanding in himself and intimating to others the mystery of the Trinity.

Genesis 18:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

The other way of anagogy is above the skies, as in the case of Abraham who saw three men and worshiped one, for the Trinity appeared in these three; and in the case of the two angels who were sent to Sodom, the Son and the Holy Spirit who are sent by the Father; and because the Father is never sent, He was not seen there, but He was seen in the case of the three men, for here He appeared and was not sent.

Genesis 21:1-2 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Conjugal chastity accords with the written law by reason of the divine miracle, according to that passage of Genesis 21: The Lord visited Sarah, as He had promised, and fulfilled what He had spoken, and she conceived and bore a son in her old age, at the time which God had foretold to her. Since therefore the Lord as a benefit promised that He would give offspring to Abraham through the way of marriage, and miraculously made fruitful the dead womb of Sarah, and also gave laws according to which marriage is to be contracted: it is evident that conjugal chastity accords with the written law.

Genesis 22:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of the calling, Christ is symbolized by the sacrifice of Isaac, because Abraham is a proper representation of God the Father. Christ is represented by Isaac who carried his own wood on his neck, like the wood of the Cross.

Genesis 27:27-28 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

This dew is the influence of the Holy Spirit's grace which visits the Scriptures and in which it is sweetly found. Hence, in Genesis: "The fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field which the Lord has blessed! God give you dew from heaven, and fruitfulness of the earth, abundance of grain and wine." Jacob, that spiritual man, is well learned in the Sacred Scriptures. Out of him comes forth an odor that abounds throughout the Scriptures in their threefold meaning: the grain referring to allegory, the wine to tropology, and the oil to anagogy.

Genesis 28:12 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

Genesis 28:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

The hierarchical levels are disposed in the soul in a threefold manner: in relation to ascent, to descent, and to the return to God. Then the soul sees "angels of God ascending and descending" upon it; as Jacob saw in his mind.

Genesis 28:12 — Breviloquium, Part 5

The spiritual senses denote mental perceptions concerning the truth to be contemplated. This contemplation indeed was in the Prophets through revelation with respect to the threefold vision, namely corporeal, imaginative, and intellectual; in other just persons, however, it is found through speculation, which begins from sense and arrives at imagination, and from imagination to reason, from reason to understanding, from understanding to intelligence; from intelligence, however, to wisdom or ecstatic knowledge, which begins here on the way but is consummated in everlasting glory. And in these degrees consists the ladder of Jacob, whose summit reaches heaven: and the throne of Solomon, upon which sits the most wise King, truly peaceful and loving as the most beautiful bridegroom and wholly desirable: upon whom the Angels desire to gaze, and toward whom the desire of holy souls sighs, as the hart longs for the fountains of waters.

Genesis 28:12 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Genesis 31:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

There is therefore a right order; man should study first Sacred Scripture, in the letter and the spirit; then the original writings of the saints, giving priority to Sacred Scripture over them. It is the same with the writings of the masters and those of the philosophers: one should scan them stealthily as if it were not good to tarry. How much was Rachel enriched for having stolen her father's household idols? The only thing she gained was to have lied and to have simulated weakness after having put them in the camel's saddle and sat on them. The same thing happens when the notebooks of the philosophers are concealed. Our waters should not go down to the Dead Sea, but up to their first point of origin.

Genesis 31:34 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Genesis 32:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Genesis 32:28 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

This was also shown to blessed Francis, when in the rapture of contemplation on the lofty mountain — where I pondered in my mind these things which have been written — there appeared a Seraph with six wings affixed to a cross, as I and many others heard from his companion who was then with him there; where he passed over into God through the rapture of contemplation, and was set forth as an example of perfect contemplation, just as he had previously been of action, as another Jacob and Israel, so that through him God might invite all truly spiritual men to this kind of passing over and rapture of the mind, more by example than by word.

Genesis 37:2 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

Sin against nature is the most wicked and is to be fled above all others. And concerning this crime, "Joseph accused his brothers before their father of a most grievous crime."

Genesis 37:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Of these twelve modes of generation, it is said in Genesis: "I had another dream," he said. "The sun, the moon and eleven stars were worshiping me." Now, this One is the most comely Joseph whom all things worship: temporal beings cry out by means of the moon, and spiritual beings, by means of the sun and the eleven stars. The modes of generation of creatures correspond to eleven of the conditions, while the twelfth is lacking: it came about in the generation of the Son of God. Wherefore there are here eleven stars, a quantity short of twelve which is a rising number, for all beings are defective in relation to the mode of generation of this One, and tend toward the generation of the Word: for all beings point to the generation of the Word.

Genesis 38:28 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Again, they are compared two by two: in the Old Testament, there are the times before the Law and under the Law; in the New, the times of the calling of the Gentiles and of the calling of the Israelites that shall be at the end. And these times are symbolized by the two sons of Juda, Zara and Phares. Now, Zara "put out a hand. The midwife took a scarlet thread," and "tied it on his hand. But he drew back his hand," and Phares was born, who opened the breach. The Jews believed at first, but they immediately drew back their hand at the time of the early Church; but after all of the Gentiles have come in, then Zara will be born and the Jewish people will be converted.

Genesis 38:29 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Genesis 49:4 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

Carnal concupiscence took from us our noble generation, by which we would all be born innocent and heirs of paradise, and it makes us be born in death and guilt and the loss of the birthright. This was prefigured in Reuben, who lost the right of the firstborn, because he went up to his father's bed and defiled his couch; and Joseph, on account of his chastity, was made prince over his brothers.

Genesis 49:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of the calling, Christ is symbolized by the two sons of Judah, Zarah and Phares, for of him many things are said in happy remembrance, such as this: "A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey you have gone up, my son. He crouches and couches as a lion; as a lioness, and who will disturb him?" Hence the lawgiver also placed here this figure of the two sons of Judah born of Thamar.

Genesis 49:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

In the third mystery, that of the calling of the fathers, the Antichrist is represented by Dan. And some commentators choose to say that he will literally belong to the tribe of Dan. I would not dare to assert that it will be so. And yet in the Apocalypse the tribe of Dan is not designated. It is said in Genesis of this same Dan: "Dan shall be a serpent by the road, a viper by the path," that hides itself in the sand in order to catch the birds flying around; and in this it is shown that he was extremely deceitful. "Biting at the hoofs of the horse, so that the rider tumbles backward": certainly, the horse is a symbol for the preacher of truth, and the hoof points to evangelical perfection, which the Antichrist will fight. For a horse is worthless unless it has a steady hoof. Joseph, therefore, accompanied the sons of the servant-girls who sold their brother; but Dan was the first-born of the sons of the servant-girls.

Genesis 49:22 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Second, there must be the clear view of wise judgment, so that, as the dove staying over water can see the bird of prey, man too may see in Scriptures. And this pertains to Joseph, which is understood to mean "growing." "Joseph is a growing son," a most handsome son, the savior of Egypt, the leader of his brothers, meaning that he has that judgment by which a man is guide and instructor to others: and this pertains to wisdom. And he is in the eleventh place, so that he can gather the wheat, not the leaves, but the documents of truth in Holy Scripture, and that he can pour it out again later for the salvation of the people. This is the sixth angel, [the one] of Philadelphia, "saving the inheritance." This one provides wheat against future famine.

Genesis 49:27 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of the diffusion of grace, Christ is indicated as the pious distributor in Paul, in whom the Acts of the Apostles are consummated — and there is no wonder, since he himself was a Benjamin and a predatory wolf, the last of the apostles, through whom the future was signified.

Habakkuk 2:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Habakkuk 3:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

And so Christ is the center of the two animating spirits, as is the heart. Hence Habakkuk: "In the midst of the two animals Thou shalt make it known." And according to a different translation, "in the midst of the years," as is the Sun: for the sum total of time runs on according to the ten steps in the dial of Achaz. According to the Septuagint, Christ was in between the animated beings that preceded Him and those that followed Him.

Habakkuk 3:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The third origin of the fear of the Lord is from the consideration of the severity of divine vengeance. Whence in Habakkuk: "Lord, I have heard your report and was afraid." He says: "I have heard your report and was afraid," namely, that report when it shall be said: "Depart, you cursed, into eternal fire." Not only in the day of tribulation or severity of the last judgment, but of any other judgment whatsoever, because the judgments of God are many.

Habakkuk 3:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

This fortitude is from God redeeming through the incarnation of the divine Word. By what is the soul redeemed? It is said in Habakkuk: "His splendor shall be as the light; horns are in his hands; there his fortitude is hidden." For "the weakness of God is stronger than men." The Son of God was made weak for our sake.

Habakkuk 3:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

As indeed a cloud rises aloft in order that it may rain down, so does Christ ascend in order that He may grant His gifts. The sun has been lifted up, and the moon remained in its shelter. For at first He had given the Holy Spirit to the world in a secret way, but He did it manifestly after He had ascended on high, for this Holy Spirit was the cleansing, enlightening, and perfecting Hierarch, and the Holy Spirit came down into the heavenly and sub-heavenly hierarchies.

Habakkuk 3:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

The fourth anagogy is a reference to the Church Triumphant which is also signified by the sun, in a passage from Habacuc: "The sun and the moon stood still in their habitation," that is, when the soul and the body are glorified. "They go about in the brilliance of many arrows," because of the swiftness of what they do by the lightning-fast power of God.

Habakkuk 3:16 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The third origin of the fear of the Lord is from the consideration of the severity of divine vengeance. Whence in Habakkuk: "Lord, I have heard your report and was afraid. I heard, and my belly was troubled; at the voice my lips trembled. Let rottenness enter into my bones and swarm beneath me, that I may rest in the day of tribulation." He says: "Let rottenness enter into my bones, and let it swarm beneath me, that I may rest in the day of tribulation." Not only in the day of tribulation or severity of the last judgment, but of any other judgment whatsoever, because the judgments of God are many.

Habakkuk 3:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

"Upon the heights he will lead me, the conqueror, singing in psalms." Let us beseech our Lord Jesus Christ, that he through his mercy may deign so to lead and govern us in this mortal life, that we may obtain the gifts of the Holy Spirit and arrive at that ineffable joy.

Hebrews 1:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The Holy Spirit radiated in the hearts of the preachers so that they could preach and write all the truth. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all in these days has spoken to us by His Son. And this threefold firmness of faith is explained: first, as expressed through the Uncreated Word, when He says, at sundry times, etc., and, being the brightness of His glory. Second, as expressed through the Incarnate Word, in the passage: He has effected man's purgation from sin. Third, as expressed through the Inspired Word, in the passage: For it was first announced by the Lord.

Hebrews 1:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

First, then, the only being able to save would have to be preeminent in power. Hence, in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all in these days has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the world; who, being the brightness of His glory and the image of His substance, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, has effected man's purgation from sin and taken His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much superior to the angels as He has inherited a more excellent name than they." From Him, indeed, miracles come forth, and hence it was necessary that He show the miracle of miracles in His own Person, that is, the plurality of natures: for He possesses corporeal, spiritual, and divine natures—the temporal, the aeviternal, and the eternal. Hence again it belongs to Him to bind the lowest with the highest.

Hebrews 1:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Hebrews 1:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The Holy Spirit radiated in the hearts of the preachers so that they could preach and write all the truth. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all in these days has spoken to us by His Son. And this threefold firmness of faith is explained: first, as expressed through the Uncreated Word, when He says, at sundry times, etc., and, being the brightness of His glory. Second, as expressed through the Incarnate Word, in the passage: He has effected man's purgation from sin. Third, as expressed through the Inspired Word, in the passage: For it was first announced by the Lord.

Hebrews 1:3 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

If indeed we consider speech by reason of its end, it is for expressing, for instructing, and for moving; but it never expresses anything except by means of a species, never teaches except by means of a demonstrative light, never moves except by means of a power: and it is clear that this does not happen except through a species, a light, and a power that are intrinsic, intrinsically united to the soul: and therefore Augustine concludes that he alone is the true teacher who can impress a species, infuse a light, and give power to the heart of the hearer. And hence it is that "he who inwardly teaches hearts has his chair in heaven." Just as, therefore, nothing is perfectly known through speech except by means of a power, light, and species united to the soul; so in order that the soul may be instructed unto the knowledge of God through his internal speech, it is necessary that it be united to him who is the splendor of glory and the figure of his substance, upholding all things by the word of his power. From this it is clear how wondrous is this contemplation, through which Augustine in many books leads by the hand to divine wisdom.

Hebrews 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

And this threefold firmness of faith is explained: first, as expressed through the Uncreated Word, when He says, at sundry times, etc., and, being the brightness of His glory. Second, as expressed through the Incarnate Word, in the passage: He has effected man's purgation from sin. Third, as expressed through the Inspired Word, in the passage: For it was first announced by the Lord.

Hebrews 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Hebrews 1:3 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 2

Hebrews 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Hebrews 1:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Hebrews 1:14 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 2

Those governing both the former and the latter are spiritual substances, either entirely conjoined, as are the souls of brutes, or separably conjoined, as are rational spirits, or entirely separate, as are celestial spirits, whom the philosophers call Intelligences, and we call Angels. To whom, according to the philosophers, it belongs to move the celestial bodies, and through this the administration of the universe is attributed to them, receiving from the first cause, namely God, the influx of power, which they pour back according to the work of governance, which regards the natural subsistence of things. But according to the theologians, the governance of the universe is attributed to the same according to the command of the supreme God with respect to the works of reparation, according to which they are called ministering spirits, sent for the sake of those who receive the inheritance of salvation.

Hebrews 1:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

Now, the same distinction is had in relation to action, which is the lowest, in which [function] are all those spirits that are sent for service, for "the highest ones never recede from the intimate." Wherefore Dionysius raises the question of the Seraph sent to Isaias, but he does not solve it. But it seems better to be of the opinion that it was another angel, receiving his fire from an angel of that particular order, and thus named after him. Now, this action has three functions, to cleanse, enlighten, and perfect. Perfecting is greater than enlightening, and the latter is greater than cleansing. Cleansing befits the Angels, enlightening, the Archangels, and perfecting, the Principalities.

Hebrews 2:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The Holy Spirit radiated in the hearts of the preachers so that they could preach and write all the truth. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all in these days has spoken to us by His Son. And later it is said: For if the word spoken by angels proved to be valid; and still later: For it was first announced by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by those who heard Him; God also, according to His own will, bearing them witness by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by impartings of the Holy Spirit. And this threefold firmness of faith is explained: first, as expressed through the Uncreated Word, when He says, at sundry times, etc., and, being the brightness of His glory. Second, as expressed through the Incarnate Word, in the passage: He has effected man's purgation from sin. Third, as expressed through the Inspired Word, in the passage: For it was first announced by the Lord.

Hebrews 2:3 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

Since before His coming they were not bound to believe in the Trinity except implicitly, now after the promulgation of the New Testament all are bound to believe it explicitly, so that it is now not only credible because worthy of belief, or fitting from the testimony of creation, but also obligatory through the promulgation of evangelical truth, whose promulgation had its beginning from the Savior, as is said in Hebrews 2, where the Apostle, speaking of the Christian faith, says thus: Having received its beginning to be declared through the Lord, it was confirmed unto us by those who heard, with signs and wonders and various powers and distributions of the Holy Spirit according to His will.

Hebrews 2:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The Holy Spirit radiated in the hearts of the preachers so that they could preach and write all the truth. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all in these days has spoken to us by His Son. And later it is said: For if the word spoken by angels proved to be valid; and still later: For it was first announced by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by those who heard Him; God also, according to His own will, bearing them witness by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by impartings of the Holy Spirit. And this threefold firmness of faith is explained: first, as expressed through the Uncreated Word, when He says, at sundry times, etc., and, being the brightness of His glory. Second, as expressed through the Incarnate Word, in the passage: He has effected man's purgation from sin. Third, as expressed through the Inspired Word, in the passage: For it was first announced by the Lord.

Hebrews 2:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The Holy Spirit radiated in the hearts of the preachers so that they could preach and write all the truth. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all in these days has spoken to us by His Son. And later it is said: For if the word spoken by angels proved to be valid; and still later: For it was first announced by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by those who heard Him; God also, according to His own will, bearing them witness by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by impartings of the Holy Spirit. And this threefold firmness of faith is explained: first, as expressed through the Uncreated Word, when He says, at sundry times, etc., and, being the brightness of His glory. Second, as expressed through the Incarnate Word, in the passage: He has effected man's purgation from sin. Third, as expressed through the Inspired Word, in the passage: For it was first announced by the Lord.

Hebrews 2:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Hebrews 2:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Hebrews 2:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The mystery of human redemption accomplished through the incarnate and crucified Word is the great sacrament of piety. I say that the incarnate Son of God assumed our poverty. What brought this about? Certainly piety. "Whence he ought in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest before God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people." Through piety he assumed flesh, ascended the cross, was raised from the dead, sent the Holy Spirit upon the earth, called the Church to himself, and freed all the worthy from misery through piety.

Hebrews 4:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

It was necessary that our Hierarch be endowed with awareness, in regard to the threefold wisdom within Him: the innate, that is, the wisdom of angels and of the first man, the infused, and the eternal. Through the first, He knows all things which we are able to know by means of the proper disposition; through the second, He comprehends gloriously and infinitely, because "to His wisdom there is no limit"; through the third, He comprehends all things. For the One who was to restore the whole universe had to know the conditions of the whole universe. Hence, in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "The Word of God is living and efficient." And later: "All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we have to give account." Hence, it was necessary not only that He be powerful, but also that He be aware.

Hebrews 4:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Hebrews 4:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

But if you ask, "What need was there for Him to have wisdom besides the divine?" I will answer: in order that He might have experience. As it is written in the Epistle to the Hebrews, "we have not a High Priest that cannot have compassion on our infirmities, but one tried as we are in all things except sin." For He stands both as our Advocate and our Judge; and He it is who was the best Counselor and the most wise: hence all other sages were nothing but figures and imitations of this Wise One. From Him come forth documents of the greatest certainty and celebrity by which we need to be taught; and that is why He is called Counselor.

Hebrews 4:15 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

But who will deliver us from these plagues? Certainly there is one alone who came to deliver us, namely Christ, who made ten condescensions against the ten plagues. The first was down to our flesh. The second was down to our mortality. The third, to our neediness, for he suffered hunger, thirst, and cold. The fourth was to our poverty, for "he was made destitute," having no place to which he might turn. The fifth, to our temptation, when he permitted himself to be tempted; and in this he bore our weakness. The Apostle: "We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one tempted in all things." The sixth, to the weariness of body and our toil. The seventh, to our anxiety; whence: "Jesus began to be fearful and distressed and said: My soul is sorrowful even unto death." The eighth was to the cross, and this was wondrous. The ninth was to death. The tenth was to the prison of hell. These are the ten condescensions by which God condescended to man. But why did he descend to the prison of hell? Certainly, so that in the blood of the covenant he might lead the captives out of prison, those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death. Christ, through the blood of the new covenant, freed us and led us from death to life, and from darkness to light.

Hebrews 4:16 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

The Apostle Paul urges those wishing to obtain grace to approach the throne of grace, that is, the glorious Virgin. "Let us approach," he says, "with confidence to the throne of his grace."

Hebrews 5:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

The clerical order is both active and contemplative, which must both feed and contemplate so that its members be intermediates between God and the people. For "every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in the things pertaining to God, that he may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." And among these, there are three orders, the ministerial, the sacerdotal, and the pontifical. All are reduced to these, for they are either ministering, and they are the first six; or they are sanctifying through words; or again, they rule through eminence.

Hebrews 5:8 — Breviloquium

In Christ there was the fullness of all wisdom not only with respect to things known, but also with regard to the modes and differences of knowing. For in Christ there was sempiternal cognition on the part of the Deity, sensible cognition on the part of the sensuality and the flesh, scientific cognition on the part of the mind and spirit—and this was threefold: one namely through nature, one through grace, and one through glory. Whence He had wisdom both as God and as man, as comprehensor and as wayfarer, as one illuminated through grace and as one rightly formed through nature; and thus in all there were in Christ five modes of knowing. The fifth mode of knowing is according to sensible experience: and in this mode He knew those things that come to the organs of the senses, according to which mode it is said that He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. Because sense is not perceptive of things except in the presence of the object, it follows that according to sensitive cognition, he did not know all things simultaneously, but now these, now those, according as it was opportune for accomplishing the reparation of the human race.

Hebrews 6:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The time of Christ's passion comes, and some "again are crucifying to themselves the Son of God," namely so far as it lies within them. The supreme cruelty of Christian iniquity is this: that you who are wholly of the blood of Christ, by sinning crucify him again, so far as it lies within you.

Hebrews 6:16 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

A promissory oath is made for preserving fidelity, and this is done in three ways, namely for restraining malice, for settling controversy, and for clearing away infamy. First, it is made for restraining malice, so that a man may neither deny the true nor affirm the false; and this is the reason for the usefulness of the oath. Second, it is made for settling controversy. Whence the Apostle says to the Hebrews: "The end of all controversy is an oath." Third, it is made for clearing away infamy.

Hebrews 6:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The second disposition for the inflowing of the gift of fortitude is through the imperturbable consolation of hope. Hence the Apostle to the Hebrews: "We have the strongest consolation, we who have fled to hold fast the hope set before us."

Hebrews 7:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

This Hierarch is acceptable to God, for we need a most sacred Reconciler. Hence the Epistle to the Hebrews: "It was fitting that we should have such a High Priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and become higher than the heavens," in order that He be entirely in the form of God.

Hebrews 8:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

God proposes the most direct norms. Hence, the Apostle and Jeremiah say: "I will put my laws into their mind, and upon their hearts I will write them." For He inscribed them first in human nature, then in industry or progress, third in grace, and fourth in glory. In every state, He puts forth His rules: wherefore by necessity He must possess them within Himself.

Hebrews 9:5 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 5

Since it is possible to contemplate God not only outside us and within us, but also above us: outside through his vestige, within through his image, and above through the light that is sealed upon our mind, which is the light of eternal Truth, since "our mind itself is immediately formed by Truth itself"; those who have been exercised in the first mode have already entered into the court before the tabernacle; those in the second have entered into the holy place: but those in the third enter with the High Priest into the holy of holies; where above the ark are the Cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; by which we understand two modes or degrees of contemplating the invisible and eternal things of God, of which one is concerned with the essential attributes of God, and the other with what is proper to the persons.

Hebrews 9:15 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Christ instituted the seven Sacraments of the law of grace as the mediator of the new testament and the chief lawgiver, in which law he called to the promises eternal, gave directing precepts, and instituted sanctifying Sacraments. Our restorative principle is Christ crucified, namely the incarnate Word, which because it is the Word coequal and consubstantial with the Father, is the Word of supreme power, supreme truth, and supreme goodness, and thereby also of supreme authority; and therefore it properly belongs to him to introduce the new testament, and it also belongs to him to give a law that is complete and sufficient according to the demand of his supreme power and truth and goodness. By reason therefore of supreme goodness, he set forth beatifying promises; by reason of supreme truth, he gave directing precepts; but by reason of supreme power, he established assisting Sacraments: so that through the Sacraments power might be restored for fulfilling the directing precepts, and through the directive precepts one might arrive at the eternal promises.

Hebrews 10:1 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Hebrews 10:27 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The seventh judgment is in death, namely the judgment of condemnation. When a man dies in mortal sin, he is separated perpetually from eternal glory, and his soul is condemned to eternal fire until the end of the world, and then he will be punished also in body. Whence the Apostle says: "The expectation of judgment is terrible."

Hebrews 10:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

When someone is worthy of eternal life, through sin he makes himself worthy of eternal death. Such a one must be greatly punished. Whence the Apostle to the Hebrews: "He who makes void the Law of Moses dies without any mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more, do you think, does he deserve worse punishments, who has trampled upon the Son of God and has regarded the blood of the covenant as defiled, by which he was sanctified, and has done outrage to the Spirit of grace?" If a man sins, he tramples upon the Son of God.

Hebrews 10:29 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

Hear, you who are marked with the Christian name: the character is then imprinted upon you through the power of the name of God; and when you afterward sin, you empty out the power of the Sacrament. Of such persons the Apostle says: "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him;" and thus "you trample upon the Son of God" and "treat as polluted the blood" of the covenant, you who were washed in the blood of Christ!

Hebrews 10:29 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Hebrews 10:31 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

"Do not fear those who kill the body and after this have nothing more that they can do; but I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into gehenna." I would prefer to be in the greatest punishment of this world for seven thousand years than to endure the least eternal punishment. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," because God afflicts for eternity. Consider the sublimity of divine power, the perspicacity of divine wisdom, and the severity of divine vengeance, that you may fear God.

Hebrews 11:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

In a certain sense faith sees, and in another it does not see. The merit of faith is founded on non-seeing, the light of faith on believing. There exists therefore a firmament-heaven, "the substance of things to be hoped for." And it consists in light, because it is "the evidence of things that are not seen." Wherefore it has both light and clouds.

Hebrews 11:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

The door to all this is the understanding of the Uncreated Word who is the root of the understanding of all things; hence a man who does not have this door cannot go in. But philosophers consider impossible some things that are supremely true, for the door is closed to them. How these matters are to be understood is explained in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "By faith we understand that the world was fashioned by the Word of God; and thus things visible were made out of things invisible." For it is impossible for the supreme Spirit not to understand itself; and since the understanding is equated with the one who understands, He understands whatever is and whatever can be: hence also the reason of understanding is equated to understanding itself, for it is its likeness. Now this likeness is the Word because, according to Augustine and Anselm, the likeness of the mind returning upon itself, which is at the fine point of intelligence, is the word. If then this likeness is equal, it follows that it is God, and, having originated from God, it represents the Originating One and whatever the Father is able to do: hence it represents many things. Again, since it represents the Father's power, it represents a power that is absolutely one; but "the more a power is one, the more it is infinite." Hence this likeness properly represents infinite things; and therefore it is necessary that many things proceed from one. If, then, you understand the Word, you understand all understandable things.

Hebrews 11:3 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

In the second mode, the gaze of the faithful, considering this world, attends to its origin, course, and end. For by faith we believe that the ages were fashioned by the Word of life; by faith we believe that the times of the three laws, namely of nature, of Scripture, and of grace, succeed one another and have run their course in most perfect order; by faith we believe that the world is to be brought to an end through the final judgment: perceiving in the first the power, in the second the providence, and in the third the justice of the supreme Principle.

Hebrews 11:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

Hebrews 11:6 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

If there could be no doubt concerning this truth, that God exists, there would be no merit in believing it: but this is the principle of all merit, to believe that God exists, because it is said in Hebrews 11: He who approaches must believe that He exists. To believe that God exists, considered in itself, is not meritorious except insofar as it is subordinated to the belief that God is triune, or to other articles of faith, since these are founded upon it; and by reason of those articles it can become meritorious, because if it is believed nakedly by itself, it is not efficacious for meriting. The Apostle, moreover, speaks of the belief that God exists insofar as it is the foundation of other things to be believed; and this foundation is implanted in man by nature, lest, if the human intellect knew nothing of God from its own nature, it could excuse itself through ignorance. And this is what Master Hugh says: "Therefore God from the beginning of nature willed to be neither wholly manifest to human conscience nor wholly hidden, lest, if He were wholly manifest, faith would have no merit, nor would infidelity have any place: for infidelity would be convicted by what is manifest, and faith would not be exercised concerning what is hidden. But if He were wholly hidden, faith would not be aided by knowledge, and infidelity would be excused by ignorance."

Hebrews 11:33 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The soul is disposed to the gift of fortitude through the unconquerable shield of faith. Hence the Apostle to the Hebrews: "Who through faith conquered kingdoms; they were made strong in battle."

Hebrews 11:34 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The soul is disposed to the gift of fortitude through the unconquerable shield of faith. Hence the Apostle to the Hebrews: "Who through faith conquered kingdoms; they were made strong in battle."

Hebrews 11:37 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

In Hebrews 11 it is said in praise of the Saints: They wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, etc.; but to wander about in such a manner is to beg: therefore etc.

Hebrews 11:37 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Scripture enlightens from the left by means of benign punishments. Wherefore the Lord permitted the most just Abel to be murdered. Behold Noah who took a hundred years to build the Ark and placed in it everything he had: and the whole world was making fun of him. It is the same with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who were pilgrims, and with Joseph who could not be exalted before having been sold, imprisoned and humiliated. See Moses, whom God was to place at the head of the whole world, how he was humbled: he tended the sheep of a priest for forty years. Likewise, David: as long as he suffered, he was very good, and he came to reign by means of sufferings. But later, living in prosperity, he committed many sins. Likewise, Ezechias in his weakness was very humble, but later he became proud at the time of the coming of the Babylonian envoys. Behold Elias, the poor little one who had nothing to eat but what the crow and the poor little widow brought to him: and who yet closed the heavens. Behold John the Baptist who stayed seven years in the desert and lay there on a bed of pebbles. Likewise, Paul says: They were stoned, they were sawed asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins, etc. Punishments, therefore, are most sweet. And so, either God punishes or He does not. For whom the Lord loves, He chastises. This is proved by particular instances. Hence it must be inferred to apply universally.

Hebrews 12:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Hebrews 12:16 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

The tenth plague was the death of the firstborn, by which the carnal are struck, like Esau. For the Apostle says: "Lest anyone among you be a fornicator, like Esau, and lose his birthright." Carnal concupiscence took from us our noble generation, by which we would all be born innocent and heirs of paradise, and it makes us be born in death and guilt and the loss of the birthright.

Hebrews 13:5 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

That perfect men ought to conform themselves to the Apostles, of whom it is said in Second Corinthians chapter four: We are in want, but not forsaken: Gloss: "We are in want, that is, we are so poor that necessities are lacking; but we are not forsaken by God entirely, because God feeds us." And that this extends not only to the Apostles, but also to their imitators, is apparent from what is said in Hebrews, the last chapter: Let your ways be without avarice, content with what is at hand. For he himself said: I will not desert you nor forsake you; there the Gloss says: "The Lord Almighty himself said to Joshua: I will not desert you, that is, I will not fail to give necessities; nor will I forsake you, forsaken would be he who perished from hunger; but because this does not happen, the greedy man should not say so. This he said to Joshua after the death of Moses; this he also says to everyone hoping in him, as Joshua did. For these things he promises to us, if we place our hope in him — not to the grasping, not to the greedy, but to those hoping in him. And because it could seem to them that this promise was made only to Joshua, the Apostle responds to this saying that he will help us just as he helped him, as if to say: there is no reason to doubt the promise, because Jesus Christ, who yesterday, that is in the past, helped Joshua, he himself today, that is in the present, helps us and other faithful, and will help in the future forever, that is without end."

Hebrews 13:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

From Christ, indeed, is the fruit of grace. This fruit of grace is fourfold: it consists in steadying the soul through faith, blessing it through divine love, lifting it up through hope, curbing it through divine fear. The Apostle speaks of the first: "It is good to make steadfast the heart by grace, not by foods." The Jews steadied themselves with foods.

Hebrews 13:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

The use of grace ought to be manly in itself. Whence the Apostle to the Hebrews: "It is best to establish the heart with grace," he does not say the stomach. At other times you have labored to strengthen your bodies. He who wishes to have strong arms must exercise himself in works of strength. Similarly, he who wishes to have stabilizing grace must exercise himself in works of virtue.

Hebrews 13:17 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

The law of grace praises jurisdictional obedience, Hebrews last chapter: Obey your superiors and be subject to them: for they keep watch, etc. From what has been said it is manifestly gathered that the obedience of man to man is consonant with the law of grace and the written law and the law of nature.

Hebrews 13:17 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

He who presides over political or ecclesiastical affairs is called father by reason of authority. And we ought to honor him according to what the ecclesiastical ordering requires, and the people ought to obey him: whence the Apostle to the Hebrews: Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch as those who will render an account for your souls.

Hosea 1:2 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Against conjugal chastity it is objected: every act and movement that alienates from God is foreign to virtue: but the act of conjugal continence is such: therefore it is foreign to virtue. Proof of the middle term: Hosea 1; the Gloss: "Just as wine intoxicates a man and alienates him from the state of his mind, so the law of marriage alienates a man from the things that are of God." To this it must be said that something is said to alienate from God in two ways: either simply, or with respect to some act or state. In the first way it cannot be without sin: in the second way it can be through the punishment of sin and also through an act of virtue: just as the exercise of action retards and for a time impedes the act of contemplation, just as also sleep impedes the exercise in virtue.

Hosea 4:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Because the ecclesiastical hierarchy is founded upon Scripture, which is compared to the water of the sea, therefore sentence has been passed against those who do not possess this knowledge. In Hosea: "Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you, that you shall not minister to me as priest." He who knows nothing of governance is driven from the helm of the ship and from the rule of the city. If the foundations of the Church consist in the knowledge of sacred Scripture, therefore he who does not know sacred Scripture must be driven from ecclesiastical office and dignity. If a blind man wished to lead another, it would be the greatest folly. A helmsman is not to be chosen by lot or by friendship. And it should be known that knowledge is rejected when a man does not take care to learn it.

Hosea 6:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

A man sees the slaughter of bodies, he grieves greatly. He therefore who sees the slaughter of souls, how can he restrain himself from tears? This grief is greatly pleasing to God. The Lord says concerning this knowledge: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than holocausts." I know the infirmities of others: I ought to suffer with them.

Hosea 6:6 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Counsel disposes to mercy: for there is nothing God counsels more in Scripture than to show mercy, which he esteems above all holocausts.

Hosea 7:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Those who bent their knee to drink are those who inclined themselves totally to philosophy: and the same are inclined to an infinite number of errors, and that is how the leaven of error is warmed. As Osee writes, "the city rested a little from the mingling of the leaven, till the whole was leavened." They warm the eggs of asps, so that what has been warmed breaks out into a serpent.

Hosea 10:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In Scripture there is first a fixing of the roots of virtue, as in the Patriarchs. But later, in the establishment of commands and sacrifices, there is a production of green foliage. Hence, in Hosea, "Israel is a luxuriant vine." And because foliage is not to last forever, but is to be followed by flowers, there followed prophecy with both fragrance and beauty.

Hosea 13:14 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

We have been brought to life in Christ through Christ, because Christ triumphed over death: whence death could not swallow him up, but rather the font of life swallowed up death, according to what was said: "I will be your death, O death." In no other way could we be healed and saved.

Isaiah 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

Hence again in Isaiah: "An ox knows its owner, and an ass, its master's manger; but Israel does not know, My people has not understood." The ox represents the order of the apostles, wherefore Paul calls himself "a Hebrew of Hebrews": for they were oxen furrowing the earth. The ass was the gentile people.

Isaiah 1:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Then came the time of the prophets who showed them clearly that they could not be saved through the Law. Hence, in Isaiah: "Your new moons and festivals I detest. — I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; in the blood of calves, lambs and goats I find no pleasure." And they killed them, and their followers too, and they received false prophets, thus revealing their malice.

Isaiah 1:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Isaiah 1:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

Within the order of laymen, there is a threefold order, that is, of the holy people, the holy masters and the holy leaders. As Isaias writes, "I will restore your judges as at first." For good leaders have good masters. And good leaders together with good masters have good people, since they teach them. On the contrary, evil leaders have evil masters, and consequently, they teach the people improperly. Bad people choose bad leaders.

Isaiah 2:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

Another distinction is in relation to duality. The Old Testament comprises two times: before the Law, and under the Law. In the New Testament, likewise, there are two corresponding times: the time of the calling of the Gentiles that corresponds to the first, and the time of the calling of the Jews that corresponds to the second. This time is not yet, for then will be fulfilled these words of Isaiah: "One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again." For this is not yet fulfilled since both swords are still active: there are still disputes and heresies. Hence the Jews, who are waiting for this believe that Christ has not yet come. The fact that the Jews will be converted is certain because of Isaiah and the Apostle who teaches authoritatively: "Though the number of the children of Israel are as the sands of the sea, the remnant shall be saved." And again: "A partial blindness only has befallen Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles should enter." Isaiah continues: "Come, let us climb the Lord's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob." And later: "One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again." The Jews oppose to this the fact that none of it has come about as yet. But the prophet is not speaking of the first advent nor of the first calling, but of the last, when "the Lord will have His day against all that is arrogant." Nor should it be understood that in so doing, the Lord is dismissing these branches.

Isaiah 4:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

Second, their fecundity is represented by the seven women in Isaiah: Seven women will take hold of one man on that day. A man, because these virtues produce virility; and one, because they do not divide him, but make him stable and fruitful.

Isaiah 4:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Isaiah 4:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Fourth is the fullness of restoring fruits. Isaiah says: "The branch of the Lord will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor." And when was this? When the woman said: "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb!"

Isaiah 5:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

"Therefore my people are led into captivity, because they did not have knowledge," namely neither in the head nor in the members.

Isaiah 5:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Opposing adherence to peace, we have the spirit of malice and cruelty, of hatred and anger, and these two lead to complete perversion: the malicious man turns every good into evil, while the angry man turns every evil into good and considers good the actual rendering of evil. Hence they "change darkness into light, and light into darkness." Such as these are unqualified to listen to God's Law.

Isaiah 6:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

There is a twofold dimension to the firmament: one concerned with the highest, the other with the lowest; one which makes known the eternal God, the other which reveals God made man. Of these two aspects, Isaiah says, in chapter six, in a vision which was the root of all his other visions: "I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple." And immediately there follows upon this the blinding of the Jews and the enlightenment of the Gentiles. Wherefore Isaiah says "I saw," that is, through the vision of understanding lifted up by faith and stabilized in the height of eternal wisdom, in which there is a twofold light, inflaming and seraphic.

Isaiah 6:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of prophetical revelation, Christ is symbolized through prophetical visions, and this in different ways: for one saw Christ as "a branch of the watching-tree," another saw Him "seated on a high and lofty throne," while yet another saw Him "dressed."

Isaiah 6:2 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

Isaiah 6:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

"Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two they veiled their feet, with two they hovered aloft." There are two Seraphim established in us through faith. Our intellect enlightened by faith is made to resemble a Seraph, that is, it is enlightened and inflamed through faith. Faith is both toward the eternal God and toward God made man. Faith toward the eternal God contains one explanation of the six wings: in reference to the distinction of the Persons, there are three articles—concerning the unbegotten Father, the only-begotten Son proceeding from the Father only, and the Holy Spirit breathed by both. These are the three wings on the right side, that is, in eternity. Likewise, on the left there are three wings inasmuch as there is diffusion into the creature out of a single essence, power and operation: the one God is the Creator, the Sanctifier and the Retributor. The other Seraph is closer to us and also has six wings: three in the order of descent and three in the order of ascent. These are the three articles concerning the incarnation, crucifixion and descent into hell. Likewise, there are three in the order of ascent: resurrection out of hell into the world, ascension out of the world into heaven, and the coming out of heaven for the judgment. These six wings are the six perfect considerations of God in the three Persons and the three operations; the other six in the second series are the six considerations of God incarnate. In these things, therefore, are contained the twelve articles of faith, of which the twelve apostles were the preachers. For a wing lifts up in order to transcend every human reason. In the absence of this twofold consideration, there is no worshiper of God.

Isaiah 6:2 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Isaiah 6:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

To be sanctified is to be drawn away from any love that sullies and corrupts and may lead the soul to ruin. In this must the creature resemble the Creator: "You shall be holy," He said, "because I am holy." This holiness makes one God-conformed. That is why the Seraphic spirits cried out: "Holy, holy, holy."

Isaiah 6:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

Our intellect enlightened by faith cries out three times: "Holy, holy, holy." There are two Seraphim established in us through faith, and each one makes the triple exclamation, but refers only once to the Lord God. For the understanding of God is the understanding of three Persons with unity of essence. And so the intellect is made to resemble a Seraph, that is, it is enlightened and inflamed through faith, and cries out "Holy" three times. The other Seraph answers "Holy, holy, holy," for as in the eternal God there are trinity of Persons and oneness of essence, so also in God made man there are trinity of natures and unity of Person. And these are the two roots of faith, and a man who ignores them believes nothing: they refer to the body, the soul and the divinity. The holy Christ has a holy body, the holy Christ has a holy soul, the holy Christ has a holy divinity. He is holy without, holy within, and holy above.

Isaiah 6:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

This, indeed, is the Monarch who exerts power to the supreme degree, who is supremely wise in discerning the truth, supremely holy in loving the good, and supremely constant in distributing what is just. The Seraphim correspond to supreme holiness, for in them there is holy love, wherefore they cry out, Holy, Holy, Holy; the Cherubim, to wisdom, for in them there is the fullness of understanding; the Thrones, to constancy, for in them there is a high seat, open to receiving.

Isaiah 7:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

Isaiah according to the Septuagint translation says: "Unless you believe, you shall not understand." And Augustine says: "Unless a man captivates his understanding and follows through faith what he hears, he is not disposed to the gift of understanding." A man is disposed to receive worthily the gift of understanding through the captivation of the intelligence. He who wishes to search sacred Scripture according to the light of his own intelligence thinks the most false errors. In this life we are little ones, and "the learner must believe." For it is necessary to believe God, and especially in sublime matters that transcend our understanding. The first Angel erred because he presumed upon himself.

Isaiah 7:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

There is no salvation except through wisdom. But wisdom is neither disclosed nor obtained except through faith. Hence: "Unless you believe, you shall not understand." For you should not "be more wise than it behooveth to be wise,... according as God hath divided to every one the measure of faith." For faith is not had except through the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 7:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Isaiah 7:14 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

Where shall that price be found? Certainly nowhere except in the womb of the glorious Virgin. Whence Isaiah: "Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel." Emmanuel is interpreted "God with us." It was not fitting for the Virgin to have a son unless he were God, nor for God to have a mother unless she were a Virgin. That price could not be found except in the Virgin. It is "from afar and from the uttermost boundaries," because in him the highest is joined with the lowest, and the first with the last. That price is "from afar," by which the entire human race is redeemed: because what is redeemed is the lowest, therefore it is the highest; because what is redeemed is the last, therefore it is the first. Man among creatures was created last.

Isaiah 8:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Next to these mysteries are the mystery of the tree of life and the mystery of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For he who seeks nothing but knowledge tastes of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And this is pointed out in Isaias: Forasmuch as this people hath cast away the waters of Siloe, that go with silence, and hath rather taken Rasin and the son of Romelia: Therefore behold the Lord will bring upon them the waters of the river, strong and many. But as Jerome says, the waters of Siloe run with a great rumble: wherefore it is evident that the meaning here is different. The waters that go with silence are Holy Scripture which cannot be learned except in silence: and in that there is enlightenment. As a sign of this, it is said to the blind: "Go, wash in the pool of Siloe (which is interpreted 'sent')." For these waters are found through revelation. But it is fitting first to anoint the eyes with clay made of spittle and dust. Spittle is wisdom. Dust is Christ's flesh. Clay is faith concerning the mystery of the incarnation. But those who have taken Rasin and the son of Romelia are those who seek external sciences. Wherefore the prince of the Assyrians shall have power over them: the Lord willed it. And here it should be noted that the sons of Israel despoiled the Egyptians of their silver vessels: and after that, the Lord never wanted them to be returned.

Isaiah 8:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Going down to philosophy implies the greatest danger. Isaias says: "Because this people has rejected the waters of Siloe that flow gently, and melts with fear before the loftiness of Rasin and Romelia's son, therefore the Lord raises against them the waters of the River, great and mighty, the king of Assyria." We should no longer return to Egypt. Let the masters beware, then, not to commend or appreciate too highly the sayings of the philosophers, lest the people take it as a pretext to return to Egypt, or dismiss because of their example the waters of Siloe in which is supreme perfection, and go to the waters of the philosophers in which there is eternal deceit.

Isaiah 8:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Isaiah 8:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Isaiah 8:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

In the first petition of the Lord's Prayer, our sanctification is sought, and this through the gift of fear, when he says: "Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy name." Isaiah: "Sanctify the Lord of hosts, and let him be your dread and your fear."

Isaiah 9:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Whatever is said in the Bible of the sun shedding light, or of other diffusions, or of banquets, is said of His bounty. Hence, in the Psalm: "The household shall divide the spoils." And in Isaiah: "They rejoice before You as men make merry when dividing spoils." These are the gifts of Christ's lavishness.

Isaiah 9:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of the establishment of judges, Christ is symbolized by Gedeon, of whom Isaiah speaks: "As on the day of Madian."

Isaiah 9:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Supposing I wanted to know how the Word of God can be the Restorer: Isaiah speaks of it: "A child is born to us, a son is given us; upon His shoulder dominion rests. They name Him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace." He it is who restored the hierarchy of heaven, and that below heaven which had totally fallen. Hence He must needs have touched both heaven and earth. This Hierarch had to be preeminent, endowed with awareness, acceptable to God, victorious, most generous, and just. He is called "Wonder" because He had to be preeminent in power, showing the miracle of miracles in His own Person, the plurality of natures. He is called "Counselor" because He was the best Counselor and the most wise, and from Him come forth documents of the greatest certainty. He is called "God" because He was acceptable to God, not only because in the form of God, but as God. He is called "Strong" because He overcame the world, despoiled Hades, and restored Paradise. He is called "Father of the age to come" because He is the Principle of those influences by which we will live in the future. He is called "Prince of Peace" because of the manifold character of a justice making infallible inquiries, irreproachable distinctions, and irrevocable judgments.

Isaiah 9:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

But who is the good counselor? Certainly that one of whom it is said: 'His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.' He is the Angel of great counsel: this is he to whom we ought to attend with a pure heart. Ecclesiasticus says: 'Before all works let a true word precede you, and before every act a stable counsel.' The true word, which can neither be deceived nor deceive, is the only-begotten Son of God and his doctrine and his life. Let this word precede you and this stable counsel. Stable counsel is none other than that of my God; 'the counsel of the Lord remains forever.'

Isaiah 9:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

And Isaiah shows this: "The Lord has sent word against Jacob, it falls upon Israel." He has sent word against Jacob. Jacob is a name of nature, for He was of his seed; but it falls upon Israel: Israel is a spiritual name. We are the sons of Israel and the sons of Abraham according to the promise, for we are the imitators of Abraham's faith.

Isaiah 11:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Finally, He must be supremely just, because of the manifold character of a justice making infallible inquiries, irreproachable distinctions, and irrevocable judgments, handing out retribution to each one according to his deeds. Isaiah writes: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. Justice shall be the band around his waist. Not by appearance shall He judge nor by hearsay shall He decide." Such, then, is God: for if He were mere man, He could not judge otherwise than through witnesses. All the judgments of Scriptures refer to this one judgment.

Isaiah 11:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Third, there is the production of prophets similar to the multiplication of flowers. Flowers appeared when the prophet said: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom."

Isaiah 11:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The third ground of the influx of fortitude is from God indwelling. "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety"; and he places fortitude in the middle, because Christ does not dwell in us unless we have these two, namely the Spirit of the Lord and fortitude; and therefore he placed fortitude in the middle. Peter denied at the voice of a maidservant, yet stood firm against the emperor, because without the Spirit of the Lord the soul is weak, and with the Spirit of the Lord it is strong. He stood firm against the emperor, because with the Spirit of the Lord he was then strong.

Isaiah 11:2 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Although the gifts of gratuitously given grace are very many, and generally all habits divinely given can not absurdly be called gifts of God, yet specially and appropriately there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which Isaiah enumerates and names, speaking of the flower that proceeded from the root of Jesse, that is, Christ, of whom he says that the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him. In this enumeration he proceeds by descending from the highest and by combining, so that at once the distinction, connection, origin, and order of the gifts may be shown. The reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: since the restorative principle through supreme liberality gives grace not only for rectifying against the crookedness of vices through the habits of virtues, but also for freeing against the impediments of infirmities through the habits of gifts; therefore the gratuitous gifts must be multiplied according to what is necessary for sufficiency of freedom. Since therefore our soul needs to be freed in a sevenfold manner, hence it is that from a sevenfold cause it is necessary that the gifts of the Holy Spirit be sevenfold. First, therefore, for most expeditiously repelling the crookedness of vices, there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, namely: fear against pride; piety against envy; knowledge against anger, which is as it were a kind of madness; fortitude against sloth, which renders the mind powerless for good; counsel against avarice; understanding against gluttony; and wisdom against lust. Second, for freeing the natural powers, the gifts of the Holy Spirit must be seven. For the irascible power needs to be freed for good things both in prosperity and in adversity: in prosperity it is freed through fear, in adversity through fortitude. The concupiscible power needs to be freed with respect to affection toward the neighbor, and this is done through piety; and with respect to affection toward God, and this is done through the taste of wisdom. The rational power indeed needs to be freed in the speculation, choice, and execution of truth: through the gift of understanding it is freed for speculating upon the true, through the gift of counsel for choosing the true, through the gift of knowledge for executing what has been chosen. Third, for the carrying out of the seven offices of the virtues there must be seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. For fear disposes to temperance, since fear transfixes the flesh; piety to true justice; knowledge to prudence; fortitude to fortitude or patience; counsel to hope; understanding to faith; wisdom to charity. Whence, just as charity is the mother and consummation of all the virtues, so wisdom is of the gifts. Fourth, for readiness in suffering conformably to Christ, there are seven habits of the gifts. Now Christ was moved to suffer by the paternal will, human necessity and the vigor of virtue. The divine will indeed moved him, as known through understanding, as loved through wisdom, as held in reverence through fear. Our necessity also moved him, for the knowing of which knowledge is necessary, and for the pitying of which piety is superadded. The vigor of virtue moved him no less, as provident in choosing through counsel, as vigorous in enduring through fortitude. And thus the gifts must be seven. Fifth, for readiness in acting, seven gifts are given by the Holy Spirit. For ready action, we must be made ready to turn away from evil, which is done through fear. We must also be made ready to advance in good of a twofold kind: either of necessity, or of supererogation. Regarding the first, we are made ready through knowledge and piety, such that one directs and the other executes; regarding the second, through counsel directing and through fortitude executing. We must also rest in the best, both as regards the understa…

Isaiah 11:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

"The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him." John in the Apocalypse saw in the midst of the throne a Lamb having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. He calls the gifts of the Holy Spirit horns and eyes. There is a certain efficacy of the gifts of the Holy Spirit by which all evils are combated; there is another efficacy of the gifts by which a person is equipped for all good things. And because strength resides in horns, therefore the gifts by which evils are combated he calls horns. And because the power of readiness resides in the eyes, therefore the gifts by which a person is equipped for all good things he calls eyes. Through the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, designated by the seven horns, the seven mortal sins are destroyed, and seven virtues are introduced. The gift of fear destroys pride and brings about the good of poverty; the gift of piety destroys envy and introduces meekness; the gift of knowledge destroys wrath and introduces mourning; the gift of fortitude destroys sloth and introduces hunger for justice; the gift of counsel destroys avarice and introduces mercy; the gift of understanding destroys gluttony and introduces purity of heart; the gift of wisdom destroys lust and introduces peace.

Isaiah 11:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Isaiah 11:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Just as "feigned righteousness is not righteousness, but double iniquity," so feigned holiness is not holiness, but rather iniquity. Against such the Apostle says: "In the last times there will be men who are lovers of pleasures, having the appearance of piety, but denying its power." Those having the appearance of piety are hypocrites. For such a one is a son of perdition. Of such a one it is said: "With the breath of his lips he shall strike the impious one," namely him who will have the greatest appearance of piety.

Isaiah 11:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Isaiah 11:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Beyond philosophical knowledge, God gave us theological knowledge, which is the pious awareness of credible truth: because the eternal light, namely God, is a light inaccessible to us as long as we are mortal and have the eyes of a bat. Hence Augustine says: "The weak gaze of the mind is not fixed upon so excellent a light unless it is cleansed through the justice of faith." Therefore theological knowledge is founded upon faith: just as the philosophical sciences are founded upon their first principles, so the science of Scripture is founded upon the articles of faith, which are the twelve foundations of the city. Concerning this knowledge it is said in Isaiah: "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain": there follows: "because the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters of the sea covering it." Sacred Scripture is compared to the water of the sea on account of the profundity of its mysteries, on account of the manifold variety of its senses and on account of the establishment of the Churches.

Isaiah 11:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

In relation to the abundantly flowing multiformity of the spiritual meanings, there are many outpourings, of the waters from clouds, rivers, fountains, and all come from the sea. If you ask: How? It is through various detours and motions: this is how the cloud, the river, the fountain answer. Hence, in Isaiah: "The earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea." And before this: "There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain." Now this refers much more directly to the time of the New Testament, when Scripture was made evident, and mostly toward the end, when those Scriptures were understood which had not been understood before. For then there shall be a "mountain," that is, the contemplative Church; then, "there shall be no harm" when the monsters of heresy shall flee on account of the proper use of wisdom.

Isaiah 12:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

This fortitude is from God redeeming through the incarnation of the divine Word. Whence Isaiah says: "The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he has become my salvation; you shall draw waters with joy from the fountains of the Savior." These are the waters in which the soul is strengthened, purified, redeemed, sanctified, and snatched from the power of demons.

Isaiah 12:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Isaiah 12:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

And so, two kinds of water are distinguished. For one knowledge is described as being external, and the more one drinks of it, the more he thirsts; the other, as being internal, of which it is said: "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture says, 'From within Him there shall flow rivers of living water.'" He said this, however, of the Spirit whom they who believed in Him were to receive. And these are the waters from the fountain of salvation, that is, awareness of those graces that sustain souls.

Isaiah 13:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

That price is most precious. On account of this Isaiah says: "A man shall be more precious than gold, and a human being than pure gold of Ophir." This he says of Christ, who made us precious.

Isaiah 14:12 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 7

The first among the Angels, Lucifer, presuming upon his private good, sought private excellence, wishing to be raised above the others; and therefore he fell together with the rest who consented to him. Falling, moreover, he became impenitent, obstinate and blinded and excluded from the contemplation of God and disordered in operation, striving with all his effort to subvert man through manifold temptation. Since through the free choice of the will he could tend toward the supreme good or turn toward his private good, Lucifer, aroused by the consideration of his own beauty and loftiness to love himself and his own private good, presumed upon the loftiness he possessed and sought his own excellence, yet not one that was obtained; and by this, in presuming, he made himself his own principle, glorying in himself; and in seeking, he made himself his own supreme good, resting in himself. But since he was neither the supreme principle nor the supreme good, it was necessary that by his disordered ascent he should fall; and by equal reason, all who consented in this. And immediately when he fell into sin, together with the rest who adhered to him, he lost the highest place, namely the empyrean, descending to the lowest, namely the murky air or hell, so that the fall into guilt was through free choice, but the fall into punishment was through divine judgment.

Isaiah 14:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

For as long as vain, transitory, passing good is loved, man is "passing over." And such passing over Wisdom reproves. This passing over is the cause of every evil. In this way Lucifer passed over, to whom it was said: "Down to the nether world you go, to the recesses of the pit!" He was thrown first by sin, then by the judgment. Adam did the same: after he had given up the tree of life, he hid. Indeed, he saw himself denuded of all good habits. Wherefore he was thrown out of Paradise.

Isaiah 16:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of prophetical revelation, Christ is symbolized by word, which people heard while they could see no one, as they said: "This is the word that the Lord spoke to Moab."

Isaiah 19:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Isaiah had said: The Lord is riding on a swift cloud on His way to Egypt; the idols of Egypt tremble before Him. This came about in Christ. Never was any prophet or philosopher found who could do away with idolatry: yet that is what Christ did through His apostles all over the earth.

Isaiah 19:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

It is fitting that there be a father of fathers, whom we call the Pope, who yet, because of his humility, has four patriarchs: those of Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch. And of these Isaias says: "There shall be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Chanaan and swearing by the Lord of hosts." But Rome is universal, wherefore "one shall be called 'City of the Sun.'" For while the other four sees have full authority over the neighboring churches, yet, like the sun, Rome in its universality has the fullness of power over them all.

Isaiah 26:12 — Breviloquium

All our merits are rooted in the merit of Christ, whether satisfactory for punishment or meritorious of eternal life, because we are worthy neither to be absolved from offense against the highest good, nor to gain the immensity of the eternal reward, which is God, except through the merit of the God-man, to whom we can and ought to say: All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord.

Isaiah 28:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"Whom shall he teach knowledge, and whom shall he make to understand the message? Those weaned from milk and drawn away from the breasts." We dispose ourselves to receive the gift of understanding through holiness of life. Milk signifies the sweetness of carnal delights, by which sweetness the carnal and the infantile are nourished, that is, those who follow infantile impulses. And as long as a man is joined to these carnal consolations, he is called a nursing infant and is not fit to receive the solid food of life and understanding. If we wish to bless God and receive this gift, it is necessary that we be drawn away from these consolations and separate ourselves from the milk of concupiscences.

Isaiah 28:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Isaiah 29:11-12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Sacred Scripture is compared to the water of the sea on account of the profundity of its mysteries. The sea is deep, nor can a man wade across it: so great is the profundity of the mysteries of sacred Scripture that, however illuminated a man may be and however great his industry, he cannot attain to their depth. Hence Isaiah says: "The vision of all things shall be to you as the words of a sealed book, which when they give to one who knows letters, they will say: Read this; and he will answer: I cannot, for it is sealed. And the book shall be given to one who does not know letters, and it shall be said to him: Read; and he will answer: I do not know letters." Neither the learned nor the unlearned will be able to read it. Who then will read it? I say that he who wishes to enter the sanctuary of God with pride will not be able to, even if he is learned; similarly, if a learned man wishes to enter, he would be foolish. It is necessary, therefore, that one have both learning and the spirit.

Isaiah 30:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

In this are reproved certain ones who wish to be governed by their own knowledge; of whom Isaiah says: 'Woe to you, deserting children! That you would take counsel and not from me, and would begin a web and not through my Spirit.' They weave spider's webs who cite sacred Scripture for evil purposes. Bernard says: 'You will never understand Paul unless you find the spirit of Paul.'

Isaiah 30:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

Scripture is the mouth of God. Hence Isaiah: "Woe to you who walk to go down into Egypt," that is, to secular sciences, "and have not asked at My mouth," that is, Sacred Scripture. We need not go down to other sciences in order to gain certainty before having had the witness on the mountain, that is, of Christ, Elias and Moses, meaning of the New Testament, of the Prophets and of the Law.

Isaiah 31:9 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Isaiah 38:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of the anointing of kings, Christ is symbolized by David, Solomon, Ezechiah and Josiah. Christ is symbolized by Ezechiah: "Once I said, 'In the noontime of life I must depart! To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned.'"

Isaiah 40:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

He who wishes to teach well must put his hand to strong things. In the book of Kings it is said: "Enter, for you are a strong man and one announcing good tidings"; and in Isaiah: "Ascend upon a high mountain, you who bring good tidings to Zion." If the arm is weak, even if the sword be strong and good, the blow will not be good. Some are full of words and have little of works.

Isaiah 40:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and weighed the heavens with his palm? Who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth? This the Word did, through whom all things were made. His hand, by which all things are created, that is, formed or made distinct and adorned, with three fingers lifts and suspends the earth, that is, the ecclesiastic hierarchy which He creates, distinguishes and adorns. This hand measures the waters, this hand holds all things as an object is held in the fist. This is the hand of the eternal Word. This witnessing transcends any judgment by a creature.

Isaiah 40:15 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 4

And just as all things compared to the divine power can do virtually nothing, so all things compared to the divine essence are virtually the least. Whence in respect to the divine being this entire world is as something minimal. And this is what is said in Wisdom eleven: For as a grain in the balance, so is the whole world before you, and as a drop of morning dew that falls upon the earth: and in Isaiah forty: Behold, the nations are as a drop from a bucket and are accounted as a grain in the balance: and afterward: All nations are as though they were not, so are they before him, and they are accounted as nothing and emptiness.

Isaiah 40:17 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 4

Isaiah 40:31 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The second disposition for the inflowing of the gift of fortitude is through the imperturbable consolation of hope. "Those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not labor: they shall walk and not grow faint." A man would gladly bear a great burden for a mark of gold. If a fly refreshes so much, then you ought greatly to be moved to endure for the hope of a future and eternal reward. In God we ought to trust, because he "gives strength to the weary."

Isaiah 48:17 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The authority of the one commanding ought to move us to observe the commandments of God. He is of great authority, because by His wondrous wisdom He governs us. Whence Isaiah says: "I am the Lord, teaching you profitable things, governing you in the way in which you walk. Would that you had heeded my commandments! Your peace would have been as a river."

Isaiah 48:18 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Isaiah 49:15 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The blessed Virgin paid that price as a woman strong and devout with the piety of mercy toward the world, and especially toward the Christian people. Isaiah: "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have mercy on the son of her womb? And if she should forget, yet I will not forget you." This is said of Christ. And it can be understood here that the entire Christian people was brought forth from the womb of the glorious Virgin, which is signified to us by the woman formed from the side of the man, who signifies the Church.

Isaiah 52:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Just as the body is adorned by its garment, so the soul is adorned by fortitude; therefore it is called the clothing of the soul; nor is fortitude only the clothing of the soul, or of the glorious Virgin, but indeed of Mother Church. Whence Isaiah says: "Arise, arise, O daughter of Sion; put on the garments of thy glory." The discourse concerns the habit of fortitude, how we may be clothed with it. If we wish to describe fortitude rightly, we must note that it is from heaven.

Isaiah 53:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

The first thing, then, is that a man possess Scripture, not like a Jew who is content with the rind. For instance, a certain Jew was reading one day this passage from Isaias: "Who would believe what we have heard?" He was reading it literally and was quite unable to relate it to anything nor to make any sense of it, and therefore he cast the book on the ground, begging loudly that God confound Isaias, because it seemed to him that what he said could not stand.

Isaiah 53:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

A man sees the slaughter of bodies, he grieves greatly. He therefore who sees the slaughter of souls, how can he restrain himself from tears? I know the infirmities of others: I ought to suffer with them. Isaiah: "We have seen him, a man of sorrows and knowing infirmity." There is no spirit of the knowledge of God in that member when it sees a member of its head wounded and does not grieve with it. David grieved over the death of Absalom, who nevertheless had persecuted him. There is therefore the grief of compunction for oneself, and the grief of compassion for one's neighbors.

Isaiah 53:12 — Breviloquium

Christ suffered a most universal passion, a most bitter passion, a most ignominious passion, a death-dealing passion, yet one that was life-giving. He suffered also a most ignominious passion, both on account of the gibbet of the cross, which was the punishment of the worst criminals, and on account of the company of the wicked, namely the thieves, with whom He was reckoned. Because the swelling of pride sometimes rises inwardly from presumption, and sometimes outwardly from ostentation and the praise of others: therefore, to remedy all pride, Christ suffered both kinds of ignominy, both in himself as the one suffering and in the company he had in his passion.

Isaiah 55:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Isaiah 55:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Isaiah 59:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Those who bent their knee to drink are those who inclined themselves totally to philosophy: and the same are inclined to an infinite number of errors, and that is how the leaven of error is warmed. They warm the eggs of asps, so that what has been warmed breaks out into a serpent.

Isaiah 60:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

It is lifted up, so that it may see Jerusalem in a threefold way: as standing in heaven, coming down from heaven, and going up to heaven. In no other way can the soul be contemplative. Isaias speaks of the first: "Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem. No longer shall the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine upon you at night; the Lord shall be your light forever."

Isaiah 60:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

When the soul is lifted up, it must not be idle, but should look around. "Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow." Then, indeed, the soul must be fixed, and standing, and expecting. Then follows divine induction. When a worthy admission has come about together with a holy perception, then the soul is rapt in God, that is, in the beloved.

Isaiah 60:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

"Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow": in contemplation, there is admiration, expansion, a transference and restoration of one's self.

Isaiah 60:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Isaiah 63:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Isaiah asks: "Who is this that comes from Edom, in crimson garments, from Bosra? 'It is I who announce vindication, I who am mighty to save.'" For that reason, He is called Strong, and from Him come strong defenses. And so all the wars of Scripture refer to the victory of Christ.

Isaiah 65:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

The second aspect of the zeal of wisdom is control of the passions, which are the seven affective dispositions of the soul — four principal and three consequent: fear, sorrow, hope and joy; shame and hatred. It is characteristic of these that they go to excess in all matters. But when a child clamors too loudly, he is restrained. Likewise, a man should dominate and restrain these passions with a kind of judicial censure, so that when sorrow comes, he say to himself, "Remain in peace." And the same with the others. And get rid of this childishness and of these infantile dispositions. For children are the pursuers of passions: accursed is the child who is a hundred years old.

Isaiah 66:2 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

Grace makes a man pleasing to God: but he is pleasing to God who recognizes the gift of divine favor and condescension: yet no one recognizes this except one who is attentive to his own unworthiness: and such a one is truly humble: and hence it is that the grace of the Holy Spirit rests upon the humble alone. Whence in the last chapter of Isaiah: Upon whom does My Spirit rest if not upon the humble, etc.

Isaiah 66:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The first benefit of the fear of God is that the fear of God avails for obtaining the influx of divine grace. Whence Isaiah: "To whom shall I look, except to the poor and contrite of spirit and the one trembling at my words?" However powerful, rich, learned, and strong a man may be, unless he fears God, nothing avails him.

Isaiah 66:9 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 6

To that which is objected, that the cause of generation and corruption is to be far distant from the First: it must be said that this is not the whole reason. For man, if he had remained in the state of innocence, would never have been corrupted, and yet he would have generated. Whence generation is rather from the supreme perfection and fecundity and actuality of the first principle itself, than it is for the supplementing of the defect of corruption of the productive principle itself. Therefore the Philosopher speaks of the cause of generation according to the state of deficient nature, not generally and according to the mode of that most complete generation, which is the origin of all production. For the generator of the species constituted all these things, and he himself, who bestows generation upon others, cannot be sterile, according to what is said in the last chapter of Isaiah.

Isaiah 66:24 — Breviloquium, Part 7

To this torment of fire will be joined torment according to all the senses; joined to it will be the punishment of the worm and the deprivation of the vision of God, so that in these punishments there will be variety, and with variety severity, and with severity endlessness. In every actual mortal sin there is a disordered aversion from the highest light and goodness, and an inordinate conversion to a changeable good, and a disorder of the will against the dictate of right reason: hence it is that all who actually sin and will be damned shall be punished with a threefold punishment: on account of their aversion, the deprivation of the vision of God; on account of their conversion, the punishment of material fire; on account of the conflict between will and reason, the punishment of the worm: so that thus afflicted by this multiplicity of punishments they may be tormented both variously and bitterly and eternally, and the smoke of their torments may ascend forever and ever.

James 1:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

James 1:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

"If any of you is wanting in wisdom, let him ask it of God, who gives abundantly to all men, and does not reproach; and it will be given to him. But let him ask with faith, without hesitation." For one who hesitates is not disciplined. This, then is the door. Such a desire extinguishes all others, and makes man to be lifted up from the world.

James 1:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

James 1:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Of such a one it is said: 'A man double in mind is inconstant in all his ways.' A man ought to follow the counsels of Saints Benedict and the others. He ought not to bring in new counselors, but follow the counsel of Christ, whose life is the certain form of living. If a religious says: 'There is no salvation except with us,' he speaks badly. He ought not to praise his own holy order in such a way that he condemns others. He can stand for his own religious order, provided that he does not go to excess in his manner of speaking and persuading.

James 1:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

In the allegorical sense, the sun signifies Christ. It rises in the nativity, it goes down in death; it orbits through noon in the ascension; it is inclined to the north in the judgment. Concerning the judgment, James says: "For the sun rises with a burning heat and parches the grass, and its flower falls."

James 1:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

"A great sign appeared in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." We shall have this crown if we wish to imitate the glorious Virgin. Whence it is written: "Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been proved, he shall receive the crown of life."

James 1:14 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 8

Actual sin draws its origin from the free will of each person through suggestion, delight, consent, and action, according to that passage in James: Each one is tempted, being drawn away and enticed by his own concupiscence. If, however, suggestion and delight stop short of consent, it is a venial sin. But if consent and action follow in those things which are prohibited by divine law, the sin is a consummated mortal sin. Since sin denotes a withdrawal of the will from the First Principle, insofar as the will is made to be moved by Him, according to Him, and for His sake, every sin is a disorder of the mind or will, around which virtue and vice are naturally found. Actual sin, therefore, is an actual disorder of the will. Now this disorder is either so great that it destroys the order of justice—and in this way it is called mortal sin, because it is apt to take away life, by separating the soul from God, through whom the just soul is given life—or it is so slight that it does not destroy that order, but disturbs it in some respect, and then it is called venial sin, because from it we can quickly obtain pardon, since through it grace is not taken away, nor is divine enmity incurred.

James 1:15 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 8

Concupiscence, when it has conceived, brings forth sin; and sin, when it is consummated, begets death. If, however, suggestion and delight stop short of consent, it is a venial sin. But if consent and action follow in those things which are prohibited by divine law, the sin is a consummated mortal sin. But if it happens in a middle way, such that there is consent without action, either because one wills to proceed to action but cannot—then the will is reckoned as the deed, nor is one less culpable than if one were caught in the very act; or because one does not will to proceed to action, but wills to take inward pleasure in the delight—and then the woman eats, but not the man: and although the sin is not fully consummated, it is nevertheless to be counted among mortal sins, because when the woman eats, the whole man deserves to be condemned. Because reason is not compelled to consent to these things, if after the sense of delight there is consent to the deed: then there is full consent, and thereby sin is consummated, because it has reached the man, that is, the supreme part of reason, upon which the fullness of consent depends. But because there is consent not only to the deed, but also to the delight, in which the inferior portion follows sensuality: therefore, if in sensual delight reason succumbs to sensuality, the woman obeys the serpent, and thereby there occurs a subversion of right order, and thus a subversion of justice; on account of which mortal sin is committed.

James 1:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

If we consider the origin of grace, I ask what is the original principle of grace. It is certain that grace is the best gift and the perfect gift, descending from above from the Father of lights. I set forth the universal affirmative major premise thus: "Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change nor shadow of alteration:" but grace is the best gift and the perfect gift: therefore it descends from above from the Father of lights.

James 1:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

He is called the Father of the age to come, for He Himself is the Principle of those influences by which we will live in the future. As James writes: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights." And later: "Of His own will He has begotten us by the word of truth, that we might be, as it were, the first-fruits of His creatures." We are now the beginning of creatures, but then we shall be creatures in full.

James 1:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

It is good to have the sign of Zabulon, which is "a dwelling of fortitude," which implies the first stability. "Because Thou, O Lord, art my hope." Hence, "the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is safe." He alone is at peace who fixes himself upon that "with which there is no change, no shadow of alteration." Hence, "in Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded."

James 1:17 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, James in the first chapter of his Epistle. In this word is touched the origin of every illumination, and together with this is intimated the generous emanation of manifold light from that fontal light. Although, however, every illumination of knowledge is internal, we can nevertheless reasonably distinguish, so that we may say that there is a light that is exterior, namely the light of mechanical art; a light that is inferior, namely the light of sensitive knowledge; a light that is interior, namely the light of philosophical knowledge; a light that is superior, namely the light of grace and Sacred Scripture. The first light illuminates with respect to artificial form, the second with respect to natural form, the third with respect to intellectual truth, the fourth and last with respect to salvific truth.

James 1:17 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

James 1:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

Wisdom is light: light, I say, "descending from above from the Father of lights, from whom is every best gift and every perfect gift." This light descends to illuminate our cognitive power, to gladden our affective power, and to strengthen our operative power. It descends from the most high God into the intellect, from the intellect into the affection, and even to the lowest, namely operation.

James 1:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

As to the origin of grace I said that grace is nothing other than "an excellent gift and a perfect endowment, descending from the Father of lights" through the Word incarnate, through the Word crucified, and through the Word inspired. And that Word leads us back to the highest principle. And from this the following description of grace is given: that grace is the best endowment and the perfect gift, descending from the Father of lights, healing from evil, strengthening in good, and consummating in glory.

James 1:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Concerning wisdom, four points are to be noted: its origin, its dwelling, its door, and its beauty. As to the origin, it was said that wisdom was a light "coming down from the Father of Lights" within the soul, and that by radiating through it, made it in the form of God, and the house of God. This descending light makes the intellective power beautiful, the affective power delightful, and the operative power strong.

James 1:17 — Breviloquium, Prologue

The origin of Scripture is not through human investigation, but through divine revelation, which flows from the Father of lights, from whom all paternity in heaven and on earth is named. And so that we may arrive at the fruit and goal of Scripture by a right progress, we must begin from the beginning, that is, that with pure faith we approach the Father of lights, bending the knees of our heart, so that He Himself through His Son in the Holy Spirit may give us true knowledge of Jesus Christ and with that knowledge love of Him.

James 1:17 — Breviloquium, Part 5

James 1:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

It is said in the Epistle of James: "Of his own will he begot us by the Word of truth, that we might be a certain firstfruits of his creatures." Through the Word incarnate there descends to us an abundance of graces.

James 1:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

James 1:22 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The second benefit of keeping the commandments of God is the understanding of the sacred Scriptures. Gregory says that "by hearing God's precepts the disciples were not illuminated, but by doing them they were illuminated"; because not the hearers of the law only, but the doers shall be justified. On account of this James says in his canonical epistle: "Be doers of the word of God and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves: because if anyone is a hearer of the word of God only and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man considering the countenance of his birth in a mirror." If a man sees his own face ten times in a mirror, he still will not know it well; but if he sees the face of another man outside of a mirror, he knows it well: and this is because of the strong impression of the species upon the organ of sight along a straight line, but in a mirror there is no true intuition. Similarly, when a man hears the word of God, it seems to him that he understands it well, but it immediately departs; but when he puts it to experience by working well, then he understands it.

James 1:23 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

James 1:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

In the third place, a saint's life must be religious, closed as a vineyard wall. And so, it is good that a man restrain his taste, his tongue and his other senses: for "if anyone thinks himself to be religious, not restraining his tongue but deceiving his own heart, that man's religion is vain." Our life must not be given to discourse, but to tears.

James 2:5 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, on that passage of James: Has not God chosen the poor; the Gloss says: "He chose poor parents, by whose service He would be raised"; but the destitution of Christ's parents was very great, according to that passage of Luke 2: She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger: therefore Christ loved poverty not only in Himself, but also in others.

James 2:10 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

"Whoever shall keep the whole law, yet offend in one point, is become guilty of all": not that for one transgression he is punished with as much punishment of sense as for the transgression of all; but he will be punished with as much punishment of loss, yet not as severely for one as for all. Therefore, if anyone wishes to attain to true life, it is necessary that he have regard to all the commandments of God in heart, mouth, and deed.

James 2:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

You must always fear God, because he who "keeps the whole law but offends in one point has become guilty of all." And in Deuteronomy it is said: "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you, except that you fear him and keep all his commandments and walk in his ways?" And Solomon says: "Fear God and observe his commandments: this is the whole man," that is, the perfect man. Therefore if you wish to be perfect, fear God.

James 2:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

In the second petition, the consummation of human salvation is sought, which is not obtained except through the gift of piety: "Judgment without mercy shall be done to him who has not shown mercy." This gift is touched upon when he says: "Thy kingdom come."

James 3:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

The second pillar of the house of wisdom is innocence in the mind. Augustine says that "peace is the tranquility of order," namely, when one humbly subjects himself to a superior, conducts himself equably toward an equal, and discreetly governs an inferior. All who are children of wisdom maintain this order. He who disturbs this peace destroys the house of wisdom. "He who is patient is governed by much wisdom; he who is impatient exalts his own folly." Blessed James says: "Who is wise and instructed among you? Let him show by his good conduct his work in the meekness of wisdom."

James 3:15 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

That wisdom which is from below, blessed James describes, saying: "This is not wisdom descending from above, but is earthly, sensual, diabolical." This wisdom with all solicitude seeks to delight in every pleasure, in the abundance of worldly riches, in the experience of sensual delights, and in the eminence or ambition of worldly pomps. Insofar as it makes a person solicitous to delight in the abundance of riches, it is earthly: insofar as it makes a person solicitous to delight in the experience of sensual delights, it is sensual: but insofar as it makes a person solicitous to delight in the eminence and ambition of worldly pomps, it is diabolical: because pride is the root of all evils, and it is principally condemned in the diabolical king.

James 3:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

What are the seven pillars of the house of wisdom? Sacred Scripture explains them sufficiently. Blessed James, describing the wisdom that is from above, sets down its seven conditions, saying: "First indeed it is chaste, then peaceable, modest, persuadable, consenting to the good, full of mercy and good fruits, not judging, without dissimulation." These pillars are nothing other than certain steps toward wisdom. The first is chastity in the flesh; the second is innocence in the mind; the third is moderation in speech; the fourth is persuadability in affection; the fifth is liberality in effect; the sixth is maturity in judgment; and the seventh is simplicity in intention. Through these the house of wisdom is established.

James 3:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

This dwelling of wisdom is built with seven columns which blessed James clearly touched upon: "But the wisdom that is from above is first of all chaste, then peaceable, moderate, docile, in harmony with good things, full of mercy and good fruits, without dissimulation." It is of this house that Matthew writes: "Everyone therefore who hears these My words and acts upon them, shall be likened to a wise man who built his house on rock."

James 4:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Humility preserves this return and connection, and pride dissolves it. Whence in the Epistle of James: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." And what is the reason? Certainly, he who is humble attributes all the goods he has to his original principle; but the proud man attributes all things to himself. The humble man remains in continuity with his origin, but the proud man is severed from it and as it were says: this I did not receive from you. And therefore Lucifer became dark, because he withdrew from his original principle; but Christ led himself back to his original principle through humility, and therefore he was radiant.

James 4:6 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

James 4:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

"To him who knows the good and does it not, it is sin," as blessed James says. From knowledge, guilt is increased and also punishment.

James 5:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

If you come to exemplars, the supreme Exemplar of all virtues is in Christ. Compared to the patience of Job, the patience of Christ is greater. "You have heard of the patience of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord," says James. For stars are nothing when compared to the sun.

James 5:15 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Extreme unction is the Sacrament of those departing from this life, preparing and disposing them for perfect health; it avails also for the removal of venial sins and for the recovery of present health, if it be expedient for the sick person. This Sacrament has efficacy both for arousing devotion and for remitting venial sins and for more easily removing the dross of sins. And because for many of the sick it is still expedient to live for the accumulation of their merits: hence it is that this Sacrament, both by invigorating the soul in good and by unburdening it from evil, frequently also alleviates from disease. And this is what blessed James says, that the prayer of faith shall save the sick person, and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Judges 6:37 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

A figure preceded in the fleece and dew of Gideon. The history is that Gideon asked of the Lord that the dew falling would be entirely on the fleece, and the threshing floor would remain dry; and he filled a basin with dew. Who brought it about that the Virgin conceived? Certainly the Holy Spirit, who is a love fervent, fruitful, undefiled, virile, incorrupt, and deifying. That he is an undefiled love is signified in the completed fleece, because the dew did not soil the fleece but cleansed it.

Judges 7:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

This was marked in the case of Gedeon where those who were tested by the water, that is, those who lapped it like dogs, fought the battle and won, while those who bent their knee to drink were turned away. And those who had won the test were given trumpets and pitchers and lanterns, and they obtained the victory by means of blaring horns and clanging vessels. These are the preachers of the Church who in their preaching make a blaring of horns. The vessels are the bodies, the lanterns are the miracles. Indeed, every time they died for the sake of truth, they repelled and overcame the enemy by means of miracles. But those who drink by lapping with their tongues like dogs, who draw only a little water with their tongues, are those who take little from philosophy; while those who bent their knee to drink are those who inclined themselves totally to it: and the same are inclined to an infinite number of errors.

Judges 7:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Judges 16:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

It is said that Samson, according to the instruction of the Angel, did not permit a razor to come upon his head; but his hair grew, and he became the strongest of men. It was a wondrous thing that with his hair he was strong, and without hair he became weak. Delilah the harlot deceived him: she asked him where his strength lay. Four times she asked him, and the fourth time he told her the truth, but the first three times he concealed the truth from her. The first time he said: "If I am bound with seven cords of sinew," I shall be like other men; and when he was bound and the Philistines came upon him to seize him, he immediately broke the cords. Again she asked him where his strength lay, and he said: "If I am bound with seven new ropes that have not yet been put to use," I shall be like other men. The third time he said to her: "If you fasten seven locks of my hair into the ground with a pin," I shall be like other men. The fourth time he revealed the truth to her and said: "If you shave the seven locks of hair that are on my head, I shall be like other men"; and then the Philistines seized him. What does this mean? — I say that the shaving of the hair signifies the withdrawal of the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit. Concerning all the Saints it is clear that, as long as the grace of the Holy Spirit remained with them, they were strong. — Why did he not tell her where his strength lay? See, in the loss of the Holy Spirit there is this progression; by this path the Holy Spirit is lost. There are four enticements of the senses, namely preoccupation, cogitation, the bending of the interior affections, and the assault upon the divine laws. In the last the Holy Spirit is lost, but in the others a man is disposed toward this. First the devil offers sensory pleasures; and this is to be bound with "seven cords of sinew." Afterward, when a man lingers in thoughts upon the pleasure offered, then he is bound with "seven new ropes that have not yet been put to use." Next follows the bending of the affections: just as from a multitude of rays heat is generated, so when there is manifold cogitation in the soul, the soul is bent toward that thing; and this is signified by the binding of the hair with a pin in the ground. Still the man does not lose the Holy Spirit. But fourthly follows the assault upon the divine laws, when the hair of the head is shaved off, that is, when the grace of the Holy Spirit is withdrawn.

Judges 16:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Judges 16:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Judges 16:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Judges 16:21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

After the judgment of binding follows another judgment, namely the judgment of blinding, which is figured in the book of Judges, where it is said that the Philistines, when they had captured Samson, gouged out his eyes and made him grind at the mill. For from sin man has darkness in his mind, such that he considers nothing to be sin; he thinks light to be darkness and darkness to be light, because his spiritual eyes have been blinded.

JDT 8:29 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

"Pray for us, for you are a holy woman." The last word was the word of the priests to Judith: and it can be our word to the most glorious Virgin, who is full of holiness and grace, that she may pray for us to obtain grace and wisdom: wisdom for knowing the truth, and grace for doing the truth. These two things we ought to seek from God.

JDT 14:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The blessed Virgin possesses this price, because she is strong and valiant, nobly triumphing, which is signified in Judith, where it is said: "One Hebrew woman has brought shame upon the house of Nebuchadnezzar." Judith cut off the head of Holofernes, and all his men fled. In the Gospel it is said: "A sword shall pierce your own soul": and Judith slew Holofernes with his own sword. How then does Judith signify the glorious Virgin? Holy Simeon said: "A sword shall pierce your own soul," that is, a living sorrow. Whence? Surely from the passion of Christ. Who inflicted the passion upon Christ? The Jew, the pagan, Pilate. These were the instruments, but who was moving them to this? Surely the devil was forging the sword by which the soul of the Virgin was pierced, and she herself was healed, and the devil was vanquished. The devil wished to have the bait of Christ's flesh; but the Divinity clung to his throat like a hook; she drove a nail into the temple of Sisera. The one who destroyed the army of the Midianites triumphed nobly. Therefore, following her example, let us not allow ourselves to be conquered.

Jeremiah 1:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of prophetical revelation, Christ is symbolized especially by means of sight. The prophet saw "a branch of the watching-tree." Christ is symbolized through prophetical visions, and this in different ways: for one saw Christ as "a branch of the watching-tree," another saw Him "seated on a high and lofty throne," while yet another saw Him "dressed."

Jeremiah 1:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of prophetical revelation, Christ is symbolized especially by means of sight: the prophet saw "a boiling cauldron" and other things also.

Jeremiah 2:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

It is fitting first to take in Scripture, then to chew it, and finally to assimilate it. What does it serve a man to drink dirty water? "And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the troubled water?" Drink instead healthy water, that is, wisdom.

Jeremiah 2:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

"Know and see that it is evil and bitter that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and that the fear of me is not in you." If you do not fear God, you have lost grace, you have lost justice, and you have lost true wisdom. "See" therefore "how evil and bitter it is that you have forsaken the Lord your God." Where there is no fear, there is neither wisdom nor justice nor grace.

Jeremiah 4:2 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

In the Old Testament it is said that he who swears in the name of God should swear and not perjure himself. For to perjure is the same as to forswear, and this is to take the name of God in vain. Jeremiah says: "And you shall swear: the Lord lives, in truth and in judgment and in justice;" and the Gloss says there that "an oath ought to have three companions: truth, judgment, and justice." First, an oath ought to be made with truth; that is, without falsehood. Truth is present in an assertory oath when a man does not deny what is true, nor affirm what is false, nor knowingly assert what is doubtful; for speech is indicative of those things which are in the heart. But do you know what it means when a man testifies to something false by the witness of divine truth? It is to say that he lies and that divine truth lies along with him. Second, an assertory oath must be made with justice. It is made with justice when it is not made against a commandment of the divine law, nor against a precept of holy Mother Church, nor to the detriment of one's own salvation or that of another. And he who swears against these three swears rashly and sins in a twofold manner: both because he swears and because he keeps the oath. Third, it is necessary that judgment accompany an assertory oath, so that there be in the mind a discernment of truth and justice, namely, whether the oath is true or false, just or unjust, fruitful or unfruitful. Whence, if I swear without judgment, not discerning among these three, I swear rashly.

Jeremiah 5:21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

That it is the height of folly not to fear, the Lord says in Jeremiah: "Hear, O foolish people, who have no heart: who having eyes, see not, and ears, and hear not. Will you then not fear me, and will you not be grieved at my presence? I who have set the sand as the boundary of the sea, an everlasting decree, which it shall not pass beyond." Do you not fear me?

Jeremiah 5:22 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Jeremiah 9:23 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

If you glory in wisdom, by that very fact you lose wisdom. "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, and let not the strong man glory in his strength." And the cause of this is given in Ezekiel, where it is said: "You, full of wisdom and beauty, were in the delights of the paradise of God: you lost your wisdom on account of your beauty."

Jeremiah 10:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The fear of God arises in us from the consideration of divine power. Whence in Jeremiah: "There is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might: who would not fear thee, O king of nations?" He sets forth first the magnitude of divine power, when he says: "There is none like unto thee, O Lord"; whence in the book of Wisdom: "As a drop of morning dew, so is the whole world before thee." Therefore who would not fear thee, unless he be impious and foolish?

Jeremiah 10:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The fear of God arises in us from the consideration of divine power. "Who would not fear thee, O king of nations? For thine is the glory: among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, who is like unto thee?" Therefore who would not fear thee, unless he be impious and foolish? If a man is impious, he is in need of punishment; if he is foolish, he is in need of understanding.

Jeremiah 10:14 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

The first brightness, namely that of philosophical knowledge, is great according to the opinion of worldly men: but it is easily eclipsed, unless a man guards himself from the head and tail of the dragon. If anything is interposed between him and the sun of justice, he suffers an eclipse of foolishness. "Every man is made foolish by his knowledge," namely occasioned by it, not caused by it. He who trusts in philosophical knowledge and esteems himself on account of this and believes himself to be better, has been made foolish—namely, when through this knowledge without any further light he believes himself to apprehend the Creator: just as if a man should wish to see the heavens or the body of the sun by candlelight.

Jeremiah 10:14 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

In the second word: You shall not make a graven image, all false and superstitious inventions of errors are prohibited. Every error is nothing other than a fiction of the mind. For imagination produces error by clouding reason and making what is not appear to be. All false and superstitious inventions of errors arise either from the wicked audacity of philosophical investigation, or from a perverse understanding of Sacred Scripture, or from a disordered affection of human carnality. Concerning such men, however, who devise, or defend, or imitate these or similar errors, Jeremiah says: Every man has become foolish by his own knowledge, that is, by his own investigation and excessive philosophy; every craftsman has been confounded by his graven image: their works are vain and worthy of ridicule, and in the time of their visitation they shall perish. We must therefore stand upon what the lights of faith dictate, and whatever is opposed to this, we ought to abominate entirely as a graven image.

Jeremiah 20:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"They shall be greatly confounded, because they have not understood everlasting reproach." The second error concerns fatal necessity, as regarding the constellations: if a man is born under such a constellation, he will necessarily be a thief, or evil, or good. This empties free will and merit and reward of meaning: for if a man does of necessity what he does, what is the value of freedom of will? What will he merit? It also follows that God would be the origin of all evils. It is true that some disposition is left by the stars; but nevertheless God alone rules over the rational soul. Those who err thus shall have everlasting reproach.

Jeremiah 31:22 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

A figure preceded in the woman and the man, because Jeremiah says: "A woman shall encompass a man." All of this was fulfilled in the glorious Virgin. Whence Bernard says: "What was shown to Moses in the bush and fire, to Aaron in the rod and flower, to Gideon in the fleece and dew: this Solomon clearly foresaw in the strong woman and her price; more clearly Jeremiah foretold concerning the woman and the man; most clearly Isaiah declared concerning the Virgin and her son; and at last Gabriel made it manifest by greeting the Virgin." The word of Jeremiah concerns the woman and the man: "A new thing," he says, "the Lord will make upon the earth; a woman shall encompass a man." Who brought it about that the Virgin conceived? Certainly the Holy Spirit, who is a love fervent, fruitful, undefiled, virile, incorrupt, and deifying. That he is a virile love is signified to us in the woman and the man, because the "woman encompassed the man," that is, enclosed him on every side.

Jeremiah 31:33 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

John 1:1 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 3

Now the intellect is said to truly comprehend the meaning of propositions when it knows with certitude that they are true; and this knowing is knowing that it cannot be deceived in that comprehension. For it knows that that truth cannot be otherwise; it knows therefore that that truth is unchangeable. But since our mind itself is changeable, it cannot see that truth shining so unchangeably except through some light radiating altogether unchangeably, which it is impossible to be a changeable creature. It knows therefore in that light which illumines every man coming into this world, which is the true light and the Word in the beginning with God.

John 1:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

John 1:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of the redemption of man, Christ is pointed to as a meek man in Matthew; as a triumphant lion in Mark; as a sacrificed calf in Luke; as a flying eagle indicating His divinity, in John: "In the beginning was the Word," etc.

John 1:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

This book, which concerns the incarnate Word, in whom a twofold nature is considered, namely divine and human, is first divided into two parts. In the first he treats of the Word in himself; in the second, insofar as he is united to flesh, and that part begins there: "There was a man sent from God." And because "word" denotes operative power, as Augustine says, and has relation both to the one speaking and to that which is said through the word: therefore the first part has two sections. In the first, the Word is treated in comparison to the one speaking; in the second, in comparison to those things which are spoken through the Word: "All things were made through him." In the first part four clauses are set forth, in which the incarnate Word is described with respect to four conditions, which are: unity in essence, otherness in person, equality in majesty, coeternity in duration. And through these conditions four errors are refuted. The first condition, therefore, is unity in essence, and it is noted in the first clause, when it is said: "In the beginning was the Word": as Augustine says: "There is a principle not from a principle, and this is the Father; and there is a principle from a principle, and this is the Son." Here "principle" is taken by antonomasia for the Father: whence the sense is: "In the beginning," that is, in the Father, is the Son, not separated from the Father in essence, below in the fourteenth chapter: "I am in the Father, and the Father is in me," as undivided: because as is said below in the tenth chapter: "I and the Father are one." And in this the unbelief of the pagans is refuted, who are indignant with us because we say three persons and not three gods: as Augustine says in On the Christian Combat; and this, because they do not understand how the Word was in the beginning. The second condition is otherness in person, and this is touched upon in the second clause, when it is said: "The Word was with God": because, as the Grammarian says, and also Victor, prepositions are transitive; therefore this preposition "with" implies distinction insofar as it is a preposition, but by reason of its special signification it denotes authority in the Father and subauthority in the Son, because the lesser is said to be with the greater and not conversely, according to the common manner of speaking. But there, although there is no lesser and greater, nevertheless there is authority in the Father and subauthority in the Son. By the name "word," however, is understood the emanation of generation. And these three are touched upon in Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn before every creature": "of the Most High," behold authority; from "the mouth," behold generation; "I came forth," behold distinction. And in this the heresy of the Sabellians is refuted, who hold that the Father and the Son are one and the same: because they did not understand how the Word was with God. The third condition is equality in majesty, and this is touched upon in the third clause, where it says: "And the Word was God." For if, as Anselm says, "God is that than which nothing greater can be thought"; if the Word was God, then he was that than which nothing greater could be thought, and thus he was equal to the Father in majesty; below in the fourteenth chapter he said to the disciples: "You believe in God, believe also in me." If one must believe in God alone as in the highest truth, and one must believe in the Word, it follows that the Word was God. And in this the heresy of the Arians is refuted, who held the Son to be a creature and lesser than the Father, as Augustine says. For they did not understand how the Word was God. Since "Son" conveys the most distinctive property, why does he describe the Son of God under the name "Word" rather than under the name "Son"? For it seems that he ought to have done the contrary. It must be said that "son" expresses a relation only to the father, b…

John 1:1 — Commentary on John, Prooemium

The place of writing he says was in Asia; the time indeed was, because it was last, after the Apocalypse: and thus the Gospel of John was the last written among the books of Sacred Scripture. And it was fitting that, just as in the first book written, which is the beginning of the canon, an incorruptible beginning is prefixed, so also in the last book written: "In the beginning was the Word," just as there: "In the beginning He created," and this, with the Lord saying in the Apocalypse: "I am the Alpha and the Omega."

John 1:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

The fourth condition is coeternity in duration, and this is touched upon when it is said: "He was in the beginning with God," in which coeternity is noted. For God the Father was from eternity; but if the Son were not coeternal, the Father existed before the Son; therefore the Word was not in the beginning with God. But he was in the beginning, and therefore coeternal. Whence Proverbs 8: "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made anything from the beginning. From eternity I was ordained." And in this the heresy of the Photinians and the Ebionites is refuted, who said that Christ took his beginning entirely from Mary, as Augustine says in On the Christian Combat. For they did not understand how the Word was in the beginning with God.

John 1:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

John 1:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"All things were made through Him." Here the Word is described by comparison to that which is spoken through the Word, and this with respect to four conditions: for it describes Him as a sufficient principle of creation, as unfailing, as foreknowing, as providing knowledge to others. And through these four conditions many heresies are refuted. First, therefore, He is called a sufficient principle, because He suffices for producing all things. Therefore he says: "All things were made through Him," namely by God the Father through the Word, because Sirach 18: "He who lives forever created all things together"; and this through the Word, whence in the Psalm: "He spoke, and they were made." Augustine in the book of the Confessions: "By the Word coeternal with You, You speak whatever You speak, and whatever You say is made, nor do You make otherwise than by speaking." "And without him was made nothing." Here the second condition is noted, namely that he is an unfailing principle, because he is absent from no operation. For the Father does nothing without the Word: below in chapter five: "All things that the Father does, these the Son likewise does." Similarly, a creature does nothing without the cooperating Word: below in chapter fifteen: "Without me you can do nothing." And by this the heresy of the Manichaeans is perfectly refuted, who posited two principles, and that some things were produced by the God of light, and some by the God of darkness. For they did not understand how all things were made through the Word. It is asked concerning what he says: "Without him was made nothing." Against this it is objected that he who steals has done something; therefore theft is something; therefore it is from God; therefore sins and evils are from God and are not made without God. If you say that sin is nothing, whence the sense is: "Without him was made nothing," that is, sin, so that the matter rests there; against this it is further objected: because sin corrupts, and what corrupts acts, and what acts is a being, and what is a being is something; therefore etc. It must be said that sin sometimes names an action deprived of some due circumstance; sometimes it names a debt with the privation of the good to which it is ordered; sometimes it names the privation of good itself. In the first way it is something; in the second way it is something in a qualified sense; in the third way it is altogether nothing. Therefore insofar as it involves a good substrate, by reason of that it is from God, but by reason of its deformity, it is not. As to the objection that sin acts: this is through the nature of the underlying good, as Dionysius says.

John 1:3 — Breviloquium, Prologue

The subject of Scripture with respect to substance is God; with respect to power, Christ; with respect to operation, the work of restoration. Now God is triune and one: one in essence and triune in persons. Therefore Scripture, which is about Him, has in the unity of the letter a triformity of understanding. Christ also, since He is one Word, all things are said to have been made through Him and shine forth in Him, so that His wisdom is manifold and one.

John 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

It is manifest that a beginning should be made from the One from whom the two greatest Wise Men began: Moses, the originator of wisdom, and John, its consummator. And John said: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him." If, therefore, it is impossible to understand a creature except through that by which it was made, it is necessary that the true Word go before thee.

John 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

John 1:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"What was made, in him was life." Here the third condition is noted, namely that he is a foreknowing principle, because all things are in him before they are made, and in him they live, just as a chest in the mind of the craftsman. Whence Augustine says that the Son is "the art full of all living reasons"; Ecclesiasticus chapter twenty-three: "To the Lord God, before they were created, all things are known: so also after their completion he beholds all things." Therefore the reasons flourish in him, because they are not changed: James chapter one: "With him there is no change nor shadow of alteration"; and every change is a kind of death. "And the life was the light of men." Here the fourth condition is touched upon, which is that he provides knowledge to others; therefore he is called the light of men, because he illuminates men and makes them see: whence in the Psalm: "The light of your countenance is signed upon us, O Lord." Without which light there is no seeing, as Augustine says, because just as the eye does not see unless it is illuminated by corporeal light, so the intellect does not see unless it is illuminated by the most spiritual light. And although he provides knowledge to all, he does not however provide knowledge of himself to all, because sinners know through him and yet do not comprehend him. It is asked: "What was made, in him was life." Against this: All things were made in him; therefore all things are life; in the Psalm: "You have made all things in wisdom"; therefore a stone lives. It must be said that Chrysostom explains that passage thus: "What was made," connecting it to the prior clause, so that the period falls thus: "without him was made nothing that was made," and the word "that" is taken implicatively. And then follows: "In him was life"; and the objection ceases. Hilary however reads it thus: "What was made in him" — here is the period — namely with respect to his humanity, such as the incarnation, passion, and resurrection, "was life," speaking causally, that is, the cause of our life and salvation. Ambrose reads it thus: "What was made in him who is life," that is, in him who is life — the construction is appositive — "was," namely in God's foreknowledge, before it came to be; and it is a similar manner of speaking to: "You have made all things in wisdom." Augustine explains it more elegantly than all of them: "What was made, in him was life"; because it had in him an exemplar and a living reason; which reason is called living because it is spiritual, not material; because it is unchangeable, not variable; because it is eternal, not corruptible. And this is the meaning of life; for life is a spiritual and continuous act, flowing from a being that is at rest and everlasting.

John 1:4 — Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ, Question 2

By the authority of Scripture, John 1: "What was made, in Him was life": therefore all things that were made previously existed in God who knows them; therefore either through likeness or through truth; but not through truth, since nothing yet existed; therefore through likeness. For God knows things through the eternal reasons, which are the exemplary likenesses of things, most perfectly representative and expressive, and essentially identical with God himself. Now these eternal reasons are not the true essences and quiddities of things, since they are not other than the Creator; but creature and Creator necessarily have different essences: and therefore it is necessary that they be exemplar forms, and thereby representative likenesses of the things themselves; and therefore they are reasons of knowing, because knowledge, by the very fact that it is knowledge, implies an assimilation and expression between the knower and the knowable.

John 1:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

Scripture speaks of Him who is the Exemplar, by whom every creature lives in the eternal forms, "What was made in Him was life." For it lives through knowing and loving; and anyone who denies this denies eternal predestination. For God knew the creature from all eternity and loves it, since He made it for glory and grace.

John 1:4 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

Because not all obey the Gospel, and that truth is above reason; therefore divine wisdom has provided an eternal testimony, which indeed is the book of life. Now this book of life, of itself and in itself, explicitly and expressly gives irrefragable testimony to the eternal Trinity to those who with unveiled face see God in the homeland, but on the way it gives testimony according to the influence of light, of which the soul is capable in the state of the way — for as it is said in John 1: The life was the light of men, because this book of life is the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world. Now it illuminates in a twofold manner, namely through the implanted light and through the infused light, from the concurrence of which lights the habit of faith is elicited as an argument for believing that God is triune, and consequently every truth that pertains to the worship of the Christian religion.

John 1:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And the light shines in the darkness," when he makes sinners know true things: "and the darkness did not comprehend it": because those blinded by the darkness of unbelief do not know it: Genesis chapter one: "Darkness was upon the face of the abyss," that is, unbelief upon the face of the human heart. Whence Ephesians chapter five: "You were once darkness, but now light in the Lord"; First John chapter one: "God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." And by this is refuted that error which held that all things come from fortune, and that there is no providence, nor does God know our deeds. It is asked: "The darkness did not comprehend it." Against this: Corporeal light, while it shines and is present, cannot not be seen; therefore by equal reasoning the same appears to hold of spiritual light and of the intellect. Likewise, why does he speak of darkness? For no one, not even a good person, comprehends it, since it is incomprehensible. It must be said that the case is not the same for corporeal and spiritual light, for a threefold reason: first, on the part of the motive, because corporeal light manifests itself naturally, but spiritual light voluntarily; second, on the part of the eye, because the eye of the intellect is blind with respect to one thing, and yet sees with respect to another, just as we observe that one has ignorance of one thing and knowledge of another; so the eye of the unbeliever is blind with respect to God. The third reason is on the part of the comparison, because there is some proportion between our eye and corporeal light, but spiritual light exceeds it beyond all proportion, and therefore "dwells in unapproachable light." As to what is asked concerning comprehension, it must be said that there is comprehension by inclusion, by open vision, and by the adherence of faith and charity. In the first way it is comprehended by no one, in the second way by the Blessed, in the third way by the Saints, and in none of the said ways by the wicked: therefore he says: "And the darkness did not comprehend it," that is, they adhered neither by faith nor by love.

John 1:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John." He treated above of the Word according to the excellence of the Divinity; in this part he treats according to the assumption of humanity. And because this assumption was made for our salvation, which was accomplished through the passion and consummated through the resurrection, therefore this part has three parts. In the first he treats of the incarnation; in the second of the passion; in the third of the resurrection. The arriving forerunner is therefore described by four conditions, namely by nature, by authority, by name, by office. By nature, when it says: "There was a man": the Gloss: "A man, not an Angel, as the heretics would have it." The heretics said this on account of that passage in Malachi 3: "Behold, I send my Angel before your face, who will prepare the way before you." But "Angel is there a name of office, not of nature." By authority he is described, when it adds: "Sent from God," not from man, not from himself: Romans 10: "How shall they preach unless they are sent?" Against which it is said of the false prophets in Jeremiah 23: "They were running, and I did not send them." By name he is described, when it says: "Whose name was John." This name was authoritative, because it was not imposed by man but by God; in Luke 1 it was said to Zechariah: "Elizabeth, your wife, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John."

John 1:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"He came for a testimony." For his office was to testify concerning the light, not on account of a deficiency of the light, but of the believers; therefore it says: "He came for a testimony, to bear testimony concerning the light, that all might believe through him"; Acts 19: "John baptized with the baptism of penance the people, saying, in him who was to come after him, that they might believe"; "might believe," I say, "through him," not "in him." But here a question is raised: Below in chapter 5: "I do not receive testimony from man"; therefore neither ought he to have been sent by God for this purpose. Likewise, light does not need illumination: therefore neither does the highest truth need attestation: therefore he came in vain. It must be said that testimony is borne to someone and on account of someone. Sometimes, therefore, there is occasion for testimony by reason of the one to whom it is borne, because the truth is weak, and thus a man needs the testimony of another; sometimes by reason of the one on account of whom it is borne, because he is doubtful or weak in faith. John, however, did not come in testimony on account of a deficiency of light in Christ, but by reason of the unfitness in our eye. Likewise it is asked: "That all might believe through him": because, since not all believed, if God sent him for this purpose, then both are frustrated of their due end. It must be said that there is a twofold end: in itself and in another. I say therefore that to be frustrated in the end in another, so long as the end in itself is possessed, introduces no imperfection, as is clear in the case of the rhetorician who persuades well, the Angel who guards, Christ who redeems, and John who testifies, because he bore sufficient testimony, even though not all believed him; yet of the things contingent upon him, he omitted nothing.

John 1:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"He was not that light," in which one must believe; "but that he might bear testimony concerning the light": which indeed he did; below in chapter 5: "You sent to John, and he bore testimony to the truth." It is asked concerning what he says: "He was not the light." On the contrary: Ephesians 5: "You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord": therefore all the good are light. The Gloss responds that there is a light that illuminates and a light that is illuminated. John and the other Saints are not the illuminating light, but light illuminated by the first light. But against this is Matthew 5: "So let your light shine before men"; and Philippians 2: "Among whom you shine as luminaries in the world." There is a light that illuminates effectively and dispositively. The light that illuminates effectively is light by essence, and thus God alone is the illuminating light; dispositively, it is light by participation, and thus are the Saints, who illuminate by word and example.

John 1:9 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

John 1:9 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 3

John 1:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

Having determined the coming of the precursor, the coming of the King is determined, and it is determined with its properties and circumstances. He therefore describes this coming of Christ in the following order. First is noted the reason for coming; second, the rejection of the one coming; third, the usefulness or fruit of the coming itself; fourth, the manner of coming. The reason therefore for coming in the flesh is first touched upon, which was this: because God himself before the Incarnation, although he was the highest light present to all, was not known by the world; therefore he was made visible, so that he might be known. For this reason he says: "There was the true light," namely by essence; "which enlightens every man coming into this world"; below in chapter eight: "I am the light of the world; he who follows me does not walk in darkness." This light was present to the world: whence he was in the world by presence; Wisdom 7: "It reaches everywhere because of its purity." But it is asked concerning what he says: "He was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world"; because it was said above that some men are darkness: therefore he does not enlighten all. If you say: as far as it is in itself: then if no one can resist his will, it is necessary that all be enlightened. To this Augustine responds thus: "He enlightens every one, namely every one who is enlightened, because no one is enlightened except through him." The example of a teacher teaching boys. Bede responds that this is understood of the light of nature, not of grace; and everyone has the light of God's countenance sealed upon him. Chrysostom however explains it thus: because he is prepared to enlighten; but not all are enlightened, because they close the way of light to themselves. The example of a blind man standing in the sun. As to the objection that if he wills, he does it: it must be said that absolutely he does not will to enlighten except those who are willing; but by a conditional will he wills all to be enlightened, just as he wills all men to be saved.

John 1:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"He is the true light, which illumines every man coming into this world." No one is illumined with certitude except through him. And Augustine in the fourteenth book of On the Trinity asks whence it comes that the impious sometimes judges well; whence he asks: "Where are those laws of justice written, according to which the impious judges well?" And he responds that "they are written in the book of eternal light, and they descend into the soul not by migrating but by impressing themselves, just as the image of a ring, which is impressed upon wax, does not leave the ring." The Gloss says that the intellect by nature has the power of understanding, according to which man is distinguished from beasts; but God alone illumines perfectly. "For he alone holds the chair in heaven who teaches man on earth." He alone holds the power to illumine every man: for he illumines every man.

John 1:9 — Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ, Question 4

To that which is objected from Gregory and Dionysius, it must be said that neither denies that that true light, which *enlightens every man coming into this world,* is attained by our minds, but that in this life it is not yet fully seen.

John 1:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"He was in the world," by effect: whence "the world was made through him," through whom he could be known; Wisdom 13: "From the greatness of the beauty and of the creature, the Creator of these could be knowably seen." And yet "the world knew him not": "the world," that is, worldly people — this is a metonymy: below in chapter seventeen: "Just Father, the world has not known you." This is the reason why he came: whence Chrysostom says: "Because being in the world, he was not thought to be present, since he was not yet known: he deigned to put on flesh." It is asked concerning what he says: "He came unto his own." For if coming belongs to him to whom being absent belongs: and God is nowhere absent: therefore he did not come. Likewise, if God can do all things everywhere, then he does not need to come for any reason: therefore if he had not come, he could have done the same. To this Bede responds: "He was in the world through his Divinity, he came into the world through the incarnation. To come or to go away indeed belongs to humanity: but to remain belongs to Divinity"; whence the meaning is: "He came," that is, he appeared visibly. As to what you ask: what was the necessity of coming? Not for his own sake, but for ours; and this the Evangelist well suggests: because the world did not know his sublimity, he appeared in humility and humanity.

John 1:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"He came unto his own." Here is touched upon the contempt for the one coming, and this especially from those who ought to have honored him, and from whose race he assumed flesh. On account of which he says: "He came unto his own," that is, from the race of the Jews, whom he had chosen before all others, he assumed flesh. "And his own" —that is, the Jews— "did not receive him," not because none did, but because few did; Isaiah 1: "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have despised me." The Jews are called "his own" because according to the flesh he was of their race, because he was of the seed of David, who was king in Israel forever. Or: "his own" by special election, according to that passage of Deuteronomy 26: "The Lord has chosen you to be a peculiar people."

John 1:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"But as many as received him." Here is touched upon the fruit of his coming, or its benefit, which is the attainment of divine filiation. Because this benefit does not extend except to those who received him and believed in him, therefore he says: "But as many as received him." Thus "his own" did not receive him, but "as many as received him, he gave them power to become sons of God." And this is a great benefit; 1 John 3: "Behold what manner of charity the Father has given us, that we should be called and should be sons of God"; and in this is great benefit: whence Romans 8: "If sons, also heirs, heirs indeed of God, and co-heirs with Christ." Thus therefore he gave this power of divine filiation to those who received him. But because this reception is through faith, therefore he explains: "To those who believe in his name": thus he gave to those who received him, to those who believe in his name, that is, in the reality of his name. His name is Emmanuel, that is, God with us. He therefore believes in the name who believes him to be God and man; and this one is a son of God; 1 John 5: "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God is born of God." It is asked concerning what he says: "He gave them power to become sons of God, to those who believe." Against this: Augustine, On the Predestination of the Saints: "The ability to believe belongs to nature": therefore they have this power from nature, not therefore given by Christ. Likewise, why does he speak of those who believe rather than of those who love, or of others? It must be said that there is a perfect and active power, and this is called the power of authority; and there is an imperfect and passive power, and this is called possibility. The first power exists only through grace, and he speaks of that one here; therefore he says: "He gave them power." Augustine speaks of the other. As to what he asks: why especially to faith? The response is: because faith is the first of the virtues and their foundation, therefore he attributes it to faith as to a door.

John 1:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"Who not of bloods," that is, of the commingling of seeds; "nor of the will of the flesh," that is, of a woman; "nor of the will of man," that is, of pleasure and desire; "but are born of God"; because below in chapter 3: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit"; and 1 Peter 1: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of the living God, abiding forever," that is, always.

John 1:14 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Since the restorative principle is not only the Word insofar as it is the Word, but also insofar as it is incarnate, which, by the very fact that it is incarnate, offers itself to all for the knowledge of truth and presents itself to all who worthily approach for the grace of healing: hence it is that, as one full of grace and truth, for the greater evidence of signifying and efficacy of sanctifying, he instituted the Sacraments in elements together with words, so that, while the elements presented themselves to the eyes and the words to the ears, which are the two senses most conducive to knowledge, they would give evidence of the signification expressed; and then also the words would sanctify the elements, so that the efficacy of human healing would become more complete.

John 1:14 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

In this manner it is possible to find in the illumination of mechanical art, whose entire intention is directed toward the production of artifacts. In which we can perceive these three things, namely the generation and incarnation of the Word, the order of living, and the covenant of God and the soul. And this, if we consider the origin, the effect, and the fruit; or thus: the art of working, the quality of the artifact produced, and the usefulness of the fruit derived. If we consider the origin, we shall see that the artificial product proceeds from the artisan by means of a likeness existing in his mind, through which the artisan conceives before he produces, and then produces as he has planned. Moreover, the artisan produces an exterior work conformed to the interior exemplar as closely as he can; and if he could produce such a product that would love and know him, he would certainly do so; and if that product were to know its maker, this would be by means of the likeness according to which it proceeded from the artisan; and if it had darkened eyes of knowledge, so that it could not raise itself above itself, it would be necessary, in order that it might be led to knowledge of its maker, that the likeness through which the product had been produced should condescend to that nature which could be grasped and known by it. By this manner understand that from the supreme Artisan no creature proceeded except through the eternal Word, "in whom He disposed all things," and through whom He produced not only creatures having the nature of a vestige, but also of an image, so that they might be assimilated to Him through knowledge and love. And since through sin the rational creature had the eye of contemplation clouded over, it was most fitting that the eternal and invisible should become visible and assume flesh, in order to lead us back to the Father. And this is what is said in John fourteen: No one comes to the Father except through me; and Matthew eleven: No one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. And therefore it is said the Word was made flesh. Considering therefore the illumination of mechanical art with respect to the production of the work, we shall behold therein the Word begotten and incarnate, that is, the Divinity and the humanity and the integrity of the whole faith.

John 1:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And the Word was made flesh." Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the mode of coming, which was through the assumption of flesh, in which there was the highest union: therefore he says: "The Word was made flesh": that is, united to flesh; Philippians 2: "He humbled himself, taking the form of a servant." And because this union was unconfused, it was also undivided: therefore he says: "And dwelt among us," that is, in our nature: "he dwelt," therefore he was not changed: "he dwelt," therefore he was not separated. Concerning this dwelling, Leviticus 26: "I will set my tabernacle in the midst of you, and my soul shall not cast you off"; and in the Psalm: "In peace is his place made, and his dwelling in Sion." "And we saw his glory." We knew; "glory," namely with respect to the Divinity. Therefore he says: "Glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father"; concerning which glory, Second Peter chapter one: "He received from God the Father honor and glory, when a voice came down to him from the magnificent glory: This is my beloved Son." With respect to the humanity, however, he is said to be "full of grace and truth," that is, we saw him, full of grace and truth, truly full, because in him, as is said in Colossians chapter two, "all the fullness of the Divinity dwells bodily"; full of grace, for draining away sins; full of truth, for fulfilling promises; Sirach chapter twenty-four: "In me is all grace of life and truth." And it should be noted that what he says, "as of the Only-begotten," is not a mark of comparison or similitude, but of expression. It is asked: "The Word was made flesh." Here three words are spoken, and the question is: why did he say "Word" rather than "Light," since the Word has been described both under the notion of word and under the notion of light? If you say that "Light" is common to the three persons, while "Word" belongs to the Son alone, who alone became incarnate, then the question arises: why did he not say "Son"? And why was the Son alone incarnate, since the divine goodness is supremely communicative in each of the hypostases? The reason why the Son alone became incarnate is taken from the standpoint of nativity, of work, and of effect. By reason of nativity: because he is the son of the Virgin, and "son" ought not to be attributed to another person. By reason of work: because it is re-creation, and re-creation is through him through whom creation came. From the standpoint of effect: because he made us sons and co-heirs, through the natural Son we ought to be brought into the inheritance and into sonship. Moreover, he said "Word" rather than "Son" in order to exclude a carnal understanding and to manifest a spiritual one. For "Son" is generated carnally among creatures, but "Word" has a spiritual generation. He manifests the spiritual sense, because, as Augustine says, a word clothes itself in sound and does not pass into sound; so the eternal Word clothed himself in flesh. It is asked: "Was made flesh"; for either the meaning is: was made flesh, that is, changed into flesh; or made flesh, that is, made so as to be flesh. Neither understanding is sound. If you say that the construction is synecdochic, and "flesh" there has the same force as "man"; whence "made flesh," that is, man; then the question arises: why did he prefer humanity to be understood through "flesh" rather than through "soul," since the soul is the nobler part? And why did he use this figurative expression, when he could have used the proper one? It must be said that that union was for our instruction and our salvation: and it was instruction, because visible; and liberation, because passible; and "flesh" denotes the visible and most passible part; therefore, etc. It is asked: "Full of grace and truth": according to which nature is this said? Not according to the divine, because grace is not in him in that way, but whatever he has is by nature. Nor does it seem to be according to his humanity, because he adds: "Of his…

John 1:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

The second key is the understanding of the Incarnate Word, through whom all things are restored. Who is speaking? The Word of God, of whom John writes in his first chapter: "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us," where He displayed two natures within a single Person. The book of Scriptures is understood precisely through that key, the Incarnate Word, the one eminently concerned with the works of restoration. For unless you understand the order and origin of restoration, you cannot understand Scriptures.

John 1:14 — Breviloquium

Since the effective principle of things could not have been, nor was it fitting to be, anything other than God; and since it is no less a thing to restore created things than to bring them into being, just as well-being is no less than simple being: it was most fitting that the restorative principle of things be the most high God, so that, just as God had created all things through the uncreated Word, so He might heal all things through the incarnate Word. Since, therefore, God made all things powerfully, wisely, and most excellently or benevolently, it was fitting that He should restore them in such a way as to display His power, wisdom, and benevolence. For what is more powerful than to unite extremes supremely distant into one person? What is more wise and more fitting than that, for the perfection of the whole universe, there should be a union of the first and the last—namely, of the Word of God, which is the principle of all things, and of human nature, which was the last of all creatures? What is more benevolent than that the Lord should take on the form of a servant for the salvation of the servant? And because carnal, animal, and sensual man did not know, nor love, nor follow anything except what was proportionate and similar to himself, therefore, in order to rescue man from this state, the Word was made flesh, so that by man, who was flesh, it could both be known and loved and imitated, and through this, man, knowing and loving and imitating God, might be healed from the disease of sin.

John 1:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"John bears witness concerning him." There was in the Apostles and believers a threefold reason for knowing: the first, through testimony; the second, through a singular effect; the third, through a singular teaching. The first reason for knowing, therefore, was through authoritative testimony, namely of an authoritative person, that is, of John, who was holy from his mother's womb. Therefore he says: "John bears witness concerning him"; Proverbs chapter fourteen: "A faithful witness does not lie." "And he cries out," John openly and boldly, according to that passage of Isaiah chapter fifty-eight: "Cry out, do not cease, lift up your voice like a trumpet"; saying: "He who comes after me was made before me"; therefore made more worthy than I according to his human nature; Ephesians chapter one: "He subjected all things under his feet and gave him as head over the whole Church." And the reason for this is: "because he was before me," namely according to his Divinity; below in chapter eight: "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am"; and thus before John.

John 1:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And of his fullness we have all received grace for grace." Here the second reason for knowing that Christ was the Son of God is touched upon, namely on account of a singular effect, and this was the bestowal of grace. Therefore he says: "And of his fullness," as if to say: truly we knew him to be full; because "of his fullness we have all received grace for grace," namely the grace of recompense for the grace of justification, or conversely we have received the grace of justification for the sake of obtaining the grace of recompense, which is rightly called grace, because, as Augustine says, "God crowns nothing in us except his own gifts"; Romans 6: "The wages of sin is death: but the grace of God is life everlasting"; and Zechariah 4: "He shall bring forth the grace of grace." It is asked: "Of his fullness we have all received." Against this is the fact that many preceded Christ: therefore many existed before the fullness of Christ: therefore not all received. It must be said that all received, because Christ was the head of all the just from Abel to the last just person. To this head the members are united by the bond of faith and love. Because therefore no one was saved without faith in Christ, as blessed Augustine says, no one was saved who did not receive from the fullness of Christ. As to the objection that he came after: it must be said that by faith he was always present to all, although bodily he came after.

John 1:16 — Breviloquium

Since a principle for influencing is not efficacious unless it has in itself a fontal and original fullness, which is not only a fullness of sufficiency but also of superabundance; therefore it is necessary that the incarnate Word be full of grace and truth, so that from his fullness all the just may receive, just as all the members receive from the head the influx of motion and sense. And on this account this grace is called the grace of the Head, because, just as the head has in itself the fullness of the senses and is conformed to the other members and presides over the others and bestows upon the others the benefit of its influx, which are connected to the head itself: so Christ, having in himself a superabundance of grace and being like us in nature, holy and just above all others, bestows upon the others who approach him the benefit of grace and spirit, through which sense and motion in spiritual things come about. And since to approach him is through faith, or through the Sacrament of faith; and the faith of Christ is the same in past, present, and future: therefore the ground of influencing is posited in Christ with respect to all, past as well as present as well as future, who believe in Christ and are reborn in Christ, who through faith are joined to Christ and through inflowing grace become members of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit, and thereby children of God the Father, connected to one another through the indivisible bond of charity. Which just as it is not divided by distance of places, so neither is it separated by length of times; and thereby all the just, wherever they may be and whenever they may have been, constitute one mystical body of Christ, receiving sense and motion from the one influencing head, according to the fontal, radical, and original fullness of all grace dwelling in Christ as in a fountain.

John 1:16 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Through the Word incarnate there descends to us an abundance of graces: whence in John: "Of his fullness we have all received, and grace for grace." It is certain that the original principle, which is God, when he created man in his image and likeness in the state of innocence, created him so near to himself that through the Word uncreated man was formable unto grace. But after man fell through sin, divine wisdom provided a mode of condescension through the Word incarnate, through which man might be adapted unto grace.

John 1:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"Because the Law was given through Moses," which only promised grace and truth and did not give them: because, Hebrews 7, "The Law brought no one to perfection." But what the Law promised, Christ furnished: therefore he says: "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ," that is, were bestowed. Therefore the Apostle cries out at Romans 7: "Unhappy man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God through Jesus Christ," not the Mosaic law. And that this effect is singularly Christ's, he shows, because the Law only promised but Christ furnished.

John 1:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

It is true what is written in John: "The Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Christ." For salvation two things are necessary, namely the knowledge of truth and the exercise of virtue. The knowledge of truth is had through the Law, but the exercise of virtue is had through grace. The Law relates to grace as the apprehensive power relates to the motive power, and as an instrument relates to operative power. Suppose that a bird had sight for seeing heaven but did not have power in its wings; it could not fly nor reach there. So, however much the Jew glories in the Law, since he is without grace, it is nothing. A craftsman, when he has an instrument by which he works, unless he has operative power in his hands, can do nothing good. O faithless Jew, you have the Law in hand, but unless you have operative power, you think in vain that you possess the Law. Therefore through the Law no one is saved unless grace is present. And thus it is clear that the grace of God is far more excellent than the Law itself.

John 1:18 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

According to this same manner one may also find in the illumination of rational philosophy, whose principal concern turns upon discourse. In which there are three things to consider according to the threefold consideration of discourse itself, namely with respect to the speaker, by reason of the utterance, and with respect to the hearer or by reason of the end. If we consider speech in relation to the speaker, we see that every speech signifies a concept of the mind, and that interior concept is the word of the mind and its offspring, which is known even to the one conceiving it. But in order that it may become known to the hearer, it puts on the form of voice, and the intelligible word by means of that garment becomes sensible and is heard outwardly and is received in the ear of the hearer's heart, and yet does not depart from the mind of the one uttering it. According to this mode we see in the eternal Word that the Father eternally conceived it by generating, according to that passage of Proverbs eight: The depths did not yet exist, and I was already conceived. But in order that it might become knowable to sense-bound man, it put on the form of flesh, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and yet remained in the bosom of the Father.

John 1:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"No one has ever seen God." Here the third reason for knowing is touched upon, which is namely a singular teaching; because Christ alone was able to teach about God and did teach with certainty and openly, because he alone saw; therefore he says: "No one has ever seen God"; 1 Timothy last chapter: "He dwells in unapproachable light"; and Exodus 33: "No man shall see me and live." "Except the Only-Begotten." Some manuscripts have: "but the Only-Begotten": both readings are good. "No one has seen except the Only-Begotten" should be construed with the preceding verb: if "but" is there, it should be construed with what follows: "But the Only-Begotten, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. In the bosom of the Father," because, begotten from him, he does not depart from him; below, chapter 3: "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of man, who is in heaven." "He has declared him," because he saw; below, chapter 3: "What we know we speak, and what we have seen we testify"; Hebrews 1: "In these last days he has spoken to us in the Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also made the ages." It is asked: "No one has ever seen God." Against: Numbers twelve: "I speak to him mouth to mouth, and openly and not through figures and enigmas he sees the Lord"; this is said of Moses: therefore he saw the Lord. Likewise, Isaiah six: "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up." The response is that there is knowing God in himself and in his effect. And to know God in his effect, this is to see through a mirror, and this in two ways: either through a bright mirror and eye, and thus the first man saw before the fall; or through a darkened mirror, and thus we see now, because on account of sin both our eyes have grown dim and all creatures have been obscured; whence we now see through a mirror in an enigma, First Corinthians thirteen. In another way God is known in himself: and this in two ways: either clearly, and in this way by the Son alone and by the Blessed; in another way in darkness, as blessed Dionysius says concerning Mystical Theology; and thus Moses saw, and those contemplating sublimely, in whose vision no image of a creature is fixed. And then truly they experience more than they know. Whence Bernard says that he sometimes experienced something within himself, of which, when he wished to see it, he immediately lost it.

John 1:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And this is the testimony of John." Here he treats the manifestation of the incarnate Word in particular. And this part is divided, because he is self-manifesting and is manifested through a voice: therefore this part has two parts. In the first he treats the manifestation made through John, who was the voice running before the Word. The first part has three parts according to the three testimonies of John, which are distinguished as follows. The first concerns the truth of the two natures: the second concerns the power of baptizing; the third, holiness. Or they are also distinguished in another way: because the first was made to the Pharisees; the second, to the crowds: the third, to John's disciples. In a third way thus: because the first testimony was given with Christ absent; the second, with Christ coming to him: the third, walking before him. The first testimony is noted here: "And this is the testimony": the second there: "The next day": the third there: "Again the next day." The first part, in which he sets forth the testimony with Christ absent, has two sections, because first he responds to the questioners with the truth about himself: second, about Christ, there: "And those who had been sent were from the Pharisees." The truth, then, with which he responded to the questioners about himself, the Evangelist describes in this order: first, in the questioners he indicates authority: second, in John, steadfastness; third, in the questioners, insistence; fourth, in John, humble truth. He therefore indicates the authority of the questioners: because they were persons of authority and sent with authorization, to whom John bears testimony; therefore he says: "And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem": behold the authority of the persons, because they were sent and they were honorable; below in chapter five: "You sent to John, and he bore testimony to the truth"; they sent, I say, "to ask him: Who are you?" namely in the person of all. But it is asked: since they knew John's origin and life, why do they ask: "Who are you?" It must be said that "who" sometimes asks about substance, as when it is said: who did this or that? Sometimes about the proper designation, as Priscian says: "Who, father, is that man who thus accompanies him as he goes?" Sometimes it specifically asks, among other conditions, about dignity: for worthy and eminent persons are called ecclesiastical persons. Therefore it must be said here that although they knew his origin, life, and name, nevertheless they were in doubt about his dignity.

John 1:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And he confessed." Here John's steadfastness is touched upon, who was not terrified by their authority so as to turn aside from a true confession. Therefore he says: "And he confessed and did not deny," that is, he made a true confession and persevered in it; Second Corinthians 1: "God is faithful, for our word which was among you was not in him 'yes' and 'no': but in him was 'yes'." "And he confessed," the truth, namely, "that I am not the Christ." He responded more to the intention than to the question. Concerning this faithful confession, Matthew 10: "Everyone who shall confess me before men, I also will confess him before my Father." John confessed most greatly, because when he could have been regarded as Christ, he was unwilling. Gregory: "While he did not wish to claim the name of Christ, he became a member of Christ."

John 1:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And they asked him: What then?" that is, what are you, if you are not the Christ? "Are you Elijah? And he said: I am not." And still they press on: "Are you the Prophet?" that is, some lesser one. "And he answered: No." Therefore they ask generally about other Prophets, but about Elijah specifically, because they believed Elijah would precede Christ; Matthew 17: "Why do the Scribes say that Elijah must come first?" Concerning John's response it is asked, because he responds to the second interrogation that he is not Elijah. Against: Matthew 11: "If you wish to know, he himself is Elijah." Therefore either the Lord speaks falsely, or John does. Likewise, he responds that he is not a prophet: against: Luke 1: "You, child, shall be called a prophet of the Most High." It must be said that John was answering more according to the intention of the questioners than according to the question. It must be understood, therefore, that the Jews asking about Elijah were asking about him corporally, about that very same one who existed in the Old Testament; but John responds that he is not Elijah in the proper sense, while the Lord calls him Elijah figuratively, because what John was to the first coming, Elijah will be to the second. Similarly it must be said that they were asking about the prophet and the office of prophesying precisely, insofar as a prophet foretells future things; but John was a prophet and more than a prophet, because he pointed out the one who was present. Therefore, according to their intention, he responds that he is not a prophet.

John 1:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"They therefore said to him: Who are you?" Still they press on and state the reason for their insistence: "That we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" It seemed foolish to them to return to those who sent them without a definite answer. For it is the mark of a wise messenger to bring back definite answers; Proverbs 22: "Behold, I have written down wisdom for you, so that you might answer with words of truth to those who sent you."

John 1:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"He said: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness." Here in the response is humble truth: humble, because he did not attribute to himself dignity but office. Therefore he says: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: crying," I say, this: "Make straight the way of the Lord." Literally, John was crying in the wilderness: Matthew 3: "John came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and was crying: Make straight the way of the Lord"; because he was preaching repentance, through which the way of the sinner to the Lord is made straight, which way is crooked as long as he sins, but is made straight through the observance of the commandments: whence below, chapter 14: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him." Thus the way of the Lord is made straight to the heart: and this office he confirms by the testimony of Isaiah: "As Isaiah the prophet says": Isaiah 40: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord." It is asked: Why is John called a voice, and why did he say that he was a voice? It must be said that just as the Son of God is most rightly called the Word, so his precursor is most rightly called the voice. The voice has a fourfold property with respect to the word, by reason of which he is rightly so called. The voice precedes the word; so John preceded Christ; Luke 1: "He shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah." It manifests the word: so John manifested Christ: above in the same chapter: "He came for testimony, that he might bear witness concerning the light." It passes away and leaves the word remaining: so John with respect to Christ: below in chapter 3: "I must decrease, but he must increase." It is useless without the word: so too John's preaching without Christ: below in the same chapter: "I baptize you in water, but there has stood in your midst one whom you do not know." It is also asked: "Make straight the way of the Lord," since Jeremiah 10 says: "I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not his own, nor is it for a man to direct his steps." Therefore he exhorts to the impossible. To this it must be said that the direction of the way is through grace and charity, which is from God alone: but the preparation for direction is to be made, according to what is in us. And this is commanded here: whence Gregory: "The way of the Lord is directed to the heart, when life is prepared according to the commandment."

John 1:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And those who had been sent were from the Pharisees." John has already spoken the truth about himself: but here he gives testimony concerning Christ. First is set forth the wickedness of the questioners: second, the truth of the testimony: third, the renown of the testimony. First, then, is touched upon the wickedness of the questioners: because, when they had heard the truth, they seek to calumniate the teacher of truth. And the reason for this was that they were malicious: therefore he says: "Those who had been sent were from the Pharisees," therefore malicious and scrutinizers: Chrysostom: "Those were sent who knew not how to seek the truth, but to envy it."

John 1:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And they asked him and said to him," as if reproving him: "Why then do you baptize, if you are not Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" You act without authority and foolishly. Whence Chrysostom: "Because they were unable to supplant him by flatteries, they attempt to cast accusations upon him." Whence Chrysostom exclaims: "O what madness! O what arrogance! O what intemperate investigation! You were sent to be instructed by him: 'Who are you?' And you wish to impose a charge of law?" In this, therefore, the wickedness of the questioners is intimated.

John 1:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Christ was such a Center in His incarnation. Hence, it is written in John: "In the midst of you there has stood One whom you do not know." The Scriptures call Christ sometimes the Center, sometimes the Head. He is called the Head because all the senses and spiritual motions and charismatic graces flow from Him. This He pours in as being united to the members.

John 1:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"John answered them." Here the truth of the testimony is touched upon. For John expresses the truth of his office and from this the dignity of Christ. Therefore he says: "I baptize you in water": that is, I wash exteriorly, not as Christ does interiorly: but I prepare for Christ; whence Acts nineteen: "John baptized with the baptism of penance, saying: That they should believe in him who was to come." Therefore he adds: "But there has stood in the midst of you one whom you do not know": that is, among you; "whom you do not know," according to what the Lord says below in chapter eight: "You know neither me nor my Father." For him I prepare. It is asked: "I baptize in water." For if the baptism of John only washed the flesh outwardly, it seems that it was done in vain and uselessly. Likewise, John is more perfect than the Law, therefore the baptism of John is more perfect than the Sacraments of the Law; if therefore circumcision confers grace, much more so the baptism of John. It must be said that the baptism of John was not for a remedy, but for a preparation for the remedy; therefore it does not follow from this that it was superfluous, nor does it follow that it ought to confer grace. Now that baptism prepared for the remedy in three ways: on account of the amendment of life, whence it is said in Matthew three: "They were baptized by him, confessing their sins." On account of habituation, so that they would be disposed and would not reject the baptism of Christ; whence Gregory says: "It was fitting that he who by being born had preceded the one who was to be born, should also by baptizing precede the Lord who was to baptize." The third reason, on account of the manifestation of Christ; below in the same chapter: "That he might be made manifest in Israel, for this reason I came baptizing in water." It is also asked: "In the midst of you." Whence is it that the Lord always chooses the middle place, since he is the head? It must be said that according to the flesh he was in their midst, that is, in the middle as an ordinary man. Now Christ is said to stand in the midst, or even to choose the middle place especially, because the middle is the place of humility; Luke twenty-two: "But I am in your midst as one who serves." The locus of commonality, because it relates uniformly to all: Acts 10: "In truth I have found that God is no respecter of persons." The locus of unity, because extremes are united in the middle: Ephesians 2: "He himself is our peace, who has made both one." The locus of stability, because the center of the world is fixed: 1 Corinthians 3: "No one can lay another foundation besides that which is Christ Jesus." The locus of proximity, because it draws near to all parts: Acts 17: "If perhaps they might grope after him or find him, although he is not far from each one of us; for in him we live and move and have our being."

John 1:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"He it is who is to come after me," because I precede him as a forerunner. "Who was made before me," that is, more worthy than I: below in chapter three: "I must decrease, but he must increase." And how much more worthy he is, he shows: "The strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to unfasten." In the literal sense this is true, because no one, however good, ought to consider himself worthy even to remove Christ's sandals; whence that centurion said in Matthew eight: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof." Allegorically, the sandal is the humanity of Christ; the shod foot, the Divinity made human; the strap of the sandal, the union of natures. To loosen the strap of the sandal, therefore, is to explain the mystery of the union, for which John declares himself unworthy, because Isaiah fifty-three says: "His generation, who shall declare it?" As if to say: no one is worthy. It is also asked concerning that word which he himself says: "Who is to come after me." Against this: In Matthew 11 it is said that he sent two of his disciples, saying to him: "Are you he who is to come, or do we look for another?" There he doubted; how does he assert it here? To this the heretics say that John first believed but afterwards doubted. But they lie, because the Lord then commended John. For this reason it must be said that John knew with certainty that he was the Christ; nor did he then inquire through his disciples as one doubting, but so that he might remedy the doubt of his own disciples, who did not believe in him.

John 1:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"These things were done in Bethany." Here the renown of the testimony is touched upon, which is noted in this, that he gave this testimony in a public place, where many were gathering. Therefore he says: "These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing"; and thus a great crowd was gathering; below in chapter three: "And John was also baptizing in Aennon near Salim, because there was much water there."

John 1:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"The next day John saw Jesus coming to him." Blessed John bore testimony above concerning Christ absent; here he bears testimony concerning Christ coming to him. The bearing of testimony is described in this order: first, the occasion for testifying is touched upon; second, the testification; third, the comparison with the preceding testimony. The occasion for testifying is first touched upon: and this was because Jesus came to John to be baptized by him; therefore he says: "The next day John saw Jesus coming to him," namely to be baptized: Matthew 3: "Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him." "And he said," namely John. Here the testification itself is touched upon, in which he bears testimony concerning the innocence of his humanity and concerning the power of his Divinity. On account of his innocence he says: "Behold the Lamb of God," that is, innocent and undefiled; Isaiah 16: "Send forth the Lamb, O Lord, the ruler of the earth, from the rock of the desert to the mount of the daughter of Zion." As for the power of the Divinity, he says: "Behold, he who takes away the sins of the world," which belongs to the divine power alone: Isaiah 43: "I am, I am he who blots out your iniquities for my own sake"; and he says "Behold," because he whom others foretold, he points out with his finger; therefore concerning him it is said in Matthew 11: "He is a prophet and more than a prophet." But there is a doubt here: Since it belongs to the lesser to go to the greater, not conversely, it seems that John ought to have gone to Christ. Likewise, since in Christ there was no stain, and baptism signifies cleansing from filth, therefore it signified something false in him. It must be said that something is done in a due or fitting manner either because of necessity, or because of supererogation. That the lesser should go to the greater, this is a debt of necessity; whence John said to the Lord: "I ought to be baptized by you." But that the greater should go to the lesser, this is a matter of perfection and supererogation. Thus the Lord came to John; whence he himself said to John: "So it becomes us to fulfill all justice," Matthew three. That he came, therefore, was an act of condescension and a commendation of humility. As to why he willed to be baptized: it must be said that just as by a significative word something is said of the head by reason of the members, so by an enacted act something is signified in the head on behalf of the members. Whence that baptism signified no interior cleansing in Christ, but only in the members. The reason, moreover, why Christ willed to be baptized was threefold: that he might give an example of humility; that he might confer regenerative power upon the waters; that through the baptism of John he might manifest himself to all.

John 1:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"This is he of whom I said" to you. Here the comparison to the preceding testimony is touched upon. Whence he repeats the testimony which he had given in his absence; therefore he says: "This is he of whom I said," namely in the preceding testimony: "after me comes a man," namely by temporal birth, because he was born six months after him. Concerning this man, Jeremiah thirty-one: "The Lord will create a new thing upon the earth: a woman shall encompass a man." "Who was made before me," namely in dignity, "because he was before me," in Divinity: above in the same: "In the beginning was the Word."

John 1:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And I knew him not." The testification having been set forth, here is placed its corroboration or certitude, which is described in this order. First is touched upon the mode of arriving at certitude; second, the certifying sign; third, the certain testimony. First, therefore, is touched upon the mode of arriving at certitude, which was through the act of baptizing; therefore he says: "I knew him not," that is, I was not certain concerning him; "but that he might be made manifest in Israel, for this reason I came baptizing in water." He said this very thing in Mark one: "I have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit." It is also asked concerning what he says: "I did not know him." To the contrary: John bore witness concerning Christ before he baptized Him; therefore either he knew Him beforehand, or he bore witness concerning what he did not know. The response according to Chrysostom is that he knew Him in general: for he well knew that Christ had come, and that he himself was His precursor; but nevertheless he did not recognize Him personally and individually, because he had been in the desert from infancy and had not seen Him. But this response cannot stand, because John recognized the Lord in the womb of his mother; how did he not recognize Him when he had already grown so much? Likewise, in Matthew chapter three it is said: "I ought to be baptized by you." The response is that he knew that He was the Christ, but he did not know that He had reserved to Himself the power of baptizing. It must be said that if one speaks of Christ with respect to His substance, that he did not know Him is to be understood as: he did not know Him so certainly as he knew Him after the sign. If with respect to the power of baptizing, it is to be understood that the power of baptizing is fivefold, namely of authority, cooperation, invocation, excellence, and ministry. The first He gave to no one, nor could He give it; the last He gave; the three intermediate ones He did not give; but the power of excellence and of invocation He could have given, but He was unwilling, lest the unity of the Church be broken.

John 1:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And John bore witness," as one who was certain, "saying: Because I saw the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven"; Luke 3: "The Holy Spirit descended in bodily form as a dove upon him." "And remaining upon him," because he rested in him; Isaiah 11: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him." And this was the sign certifying him. But here it is asked concerning the descent of the Holy Spirit. For if the Holy Spirit is God, and God is everywhere, then he does not descend. If you say that he did not descend by essence but by effect: No new effect was conferred upon Christ, because he had no gift of grace then that he did not have from the conception: therefore he did not descend by effect. It must be said that God is said to be in creatures in four ways: in the first way, purely by reason of being: and thus he is in all things and equally, and neither descends nor moves nor withdraws. In the second way, by reason of signifying or showing; thus God was said to be in those creatures which signified him, as on Mount Sinai and in the cloud. In the third way, by reason of bestowing grace: thus he is said to be in those whom he loves and who love him. Fourth, by reason of uniting or assuming; thus in Christ. In the first mode of existing, therefore, because it is universal and common, neither descent nor ascent corresponds to it; but in the other modes they do. Since, therefore, that dove was instituted for this purpose and specially manifested the Spirit, He is said to have descended in it, not in another, not by reason of effect or union, but of manifestation. To the question: why did He manifest Himself through a dove rather than something else? The response is: on account of the properties of the dove, because the dove is a simple animal, gentle and fruitful. The Holy Spirit, however, is benign and fruitful and without guile: "For the Holy Spirit will flee from the feigned."

John 1:32 — Breviloquium

John 1:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And I knew him not" before, but by this sign I knew him, because it was given to me by God; therefore he adds: "But he who sent me to baptize in water," namely God; above, in the same chapter: "There was a man sent from God." "He," I say, "said to me: Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, he it is who baptizes in the Holy Spirit," because baptism is given in his name alone and by his power: Acts 2: "Let each one of you be baptized in the name of Christ." The sign of this was the descent and abiding of the Holy Spirit; whence Bede: "In the Mediator alone the Spirit remained perpetually; because from that time when he began to become man, he was conceived by his ministry and operation." Therefore by this sign he was certified.

John 1:33 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Christ was such a Center in His incarnation. Hence, it is written in John: "In the midst of you there has stood One whom you do not know." And later: "He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He upon whom thou wilt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon Him, He it is who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'"

John 1:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And I saw" and bore witness that this is the Son of God. Here the certain testimony is touched upon. For the testimony is certain when a man testifies concerning what he has seen. Therefore he says: "And I saw and bore witness that this is the Son of God": below, chapter 19: "And he who saw bore witness, and his testimony is true."

John 1:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"The next day again John stood," etc. Above he set forth two testimonies; here follows the third, which he bore while Christ was walking before him; and the testimony is described along with its fruit. First, therefore, the testification itself is noted; second, the conversion of the disciples: third, the reception of the converted; fourth, the bearing of fruit by those received; fifth, the acceptance of the fruit-bearing or the preaching. Therefore first is noted the testification itself, which was made in the presence of the Lord and of John's disciples: therefore he says: "The next day John stood again, and two of his disciples," who were namely suited to hear testimony concerning Christ, because they were disciples, humble, because adhering to their master, and because loving one another: whence they were disciples, they were with their master, they were two: as Gregory says: "Charity cannot exist between fewer than two"; whence in Luke 10 it is said: "He sent them two by two before his face." There is a question about the giving of this testimony. For it is said that John was standing and bore witness before two disciples. Against: John was sent to announce Christ beforehand; therefore it seems that he ought not to stand but to go about, so that he might proclaim the name of Christ. Likewise, he seems envious, because he spoke only to two, when he ought to tell everyone, "so that all might believe through him." It must be answered that the testimony of John, in order to be believed, had to be authoritative, agreeable or accepted, and not suspect: because it was authoritative, therefore he stood, he did not go about; because it was accepted, therefore he offered testimony not to just anyone, but to those seeking and wishing to know; because it was not suspect, he did not thrust himself forward to announce; whence Chrysostom says: "The testimony would have been suspect if he had thrust himself forward to preach in this way, and the Jews would have been provoked to contradict."

John 1:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And looking upon Jesus walking, he says: Behold, the Lamb of God": in distinction from the typical and paschal lamb. Therefore he calls him Lamb so that he might draw the disciples to himself through meekness; Matthew 11: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart." It should be noted that Christ was a man in the incarnation, on account of the perfection of wisdom; Zechariah 6: "Behold a man, the Orient is his name." A Lamb in the passion, on account of the meekness of patience; Isaiah 53: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer he shall be silent and shall not open his mouth." A Lion in the resurrection, on account of the strength of power; Apocalypse 5: "Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered"; and there it is said that "the Lamb was slain." It is asked about the testimony "Behold, the Lamb of God": Since he added nothing more, the testimony seems to have been insufficient, because this can be said of any saint, especially of the Apostles: Luke 10: "Behold, I send you as lambs among wolves." Likewise, why does he describe him by the name of lamb rather than of another animal? It must be said that he was called Lamb by John because in the lamb he was prefigured, Exodus 12, and foretold by the Prophets, Isaiah 16. And because the Gospel ought to be consonant with the Law, therefore he was pointed out by John under the name of lamb. But the question still remains: why was he prefigured by the name of lamb or in a lamb? The response is: by reason of innocence; whence Exodus 12: "It shall be without blemish, a male, one year old." By reason of patience; Isaiah 53: "As a lamb before its shearer, he was silent." By reason of great usefulness, because he is wholly useful: for a sheep provides milk for drink, flesh for food, wool for clothing, skin for adornment. As to the objection that others are lambs: it must be said that the innocence of Christ differs from others, because he himself was without blemish, since his blemish was none; but other saints are without blemish because their blemishes have been wiped away by grace.

John 1:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And the two disciples heard him speaking," that is, testifying, "and they followed Jesus," making use of the sound counsel of their master. They followed the light, because they had good works: whence below in chapter 3: "He who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be made manifest."

John 1:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"But Jesus, turning and seeing them following him." Here the reception of the converted disciples is touched upon: whence the Lord turns toward them and addresses them. Therefore he says: "But Jesus, turning and seeing them following him." He turned toward those who turned, according to that passage in Zechariah 1: "Turn to me and I will turn to you." Thus having turned, "he says to them: What do you seek?" He does not say this out of doubt, but to manifest their right intention through their response. "They said to him: Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted, Master, where do you dwell?" As if they were saying: we seek you, your teaching, your dwelling. This question is asked by the soul that directly seeks God; Song of Songs 1: "Show me, O you whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you lie down at midday." And because they follow with right intention, therefore they are admitted. There is a question about what they say: "Rabbi, where do you dwell?" And the Lord showed them his lodging. Against: Matthew 8: "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." There it is said that he had no lodging. It must be said that to have a dwelling place is in two ways: either by right of possession, as wealthy men have; or by the rest of inhabitation, as all have who turn aside to some house to stay. In the first way he did not have one, as a poor man; in the second way he did have one, as one at rest: for he was not a wanderer.

John 1:39 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"He says to them: Come and see. They came and saw where he was staying." Conversely, the one who sought with an improper intention was rebuffed: in Matthew chapter eight, a scribe said to him: "Master, I will follow you wherever you go. Jesus said to him: Foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." And because one who does not persevere converts in vain, therefore he says: And "they stayed there that day." And the reason is given: "It was about the tenth hour." In this is signified the day of grace, which is the last, in which one must persevere: 1 John chapter two: "Now we know, beloved, that it is the last hour." In this last hour one must remain with the Lord Jesus; Luke chapter twenty-two: "You are those who have persevered with me."

John 1:40 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"Now Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who had heard from John and had followed Jesus." Here the fruitfulness of the disciples is touched upon, because immediately after they were converted, they call others, as Andrew called Peter. Therefore he names this one specifically, to show the fruit of his preaching. It is asked: Why did he name Andrew and not the other disciple? And if he was silent about one, why not about Andrew? It must be said that the reason for expressing the name of Andrew rather than the other was twofold, namely because he was more distinguished, as Chrysostom says, and to show that Peter was called through Andrew. And in this a wonderful dispensation is evident: because he willed to call the greater and the elder through the lesser, and the wise through the simple. Whence he calls Peter through Andrew, and Nathanael the wise through Philip the unlearned.

John 1:41 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"He first found his brother Simon": because he sought him diligently, to lead him to the discovered treasure. Therefore he says: "And he said to him: We have found the Messiah, which is interpreted Christ." We have found, like good merchants, the pearl, like good cultivators, the hidden treasure; Matthew chapter thirteen: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field," etc.

John 1:42 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And he brought him to Jesus"; Revelation, last chapter: "Let him who hears say: Come; and let him who thirsts come." "But Jesus, looking upon him." Here the acceptance of the disciples' preaching is touched upon, because the Lord accepts both the calling and the preaching of Andrew, by receiving Peter: on account of which he imposes a name upon him as his own disciple. Therefore he says: "But looking upon him," namely Peter, "Jesus," with eyes of benevolence: concerning which gaze, Genesis chapter forty-four: "Bring your brother to me, and I will set my eyes upon him"; "he said: You are Simon, son of Joannas." He speaks his name in order to impose another: "You shall be called Cephas, which is interpreted Peter"; Bede: "It should be known that in the Syriac language Cephas, in Greek and Latin Peter, and in both languages it is derived from rock." Therefore the Lord says to him in Matthew chapter sixteen: "You are Peter, and upon this rock," from which, namely, you received your name, that is, upon me, "I will build my Church"; 1 Corinthians chapter ten: "And the rock was Christ." "You shall be called Peter," that is, from the firm rock Christ, whom you will ardently love, you will receive your name. It is asked: "You shall be called Cephas," whether he imposed this name upon him at that time? The Interlinear Gloss says: "He does not yet impose the name upon him, but prefigures it." Likewise in Mark 3 it is said that the Lord called the twelve; and then "he imposed upon Simon the name Peter." Likewise in Matthew 16 it is said that he imposed it then, when he made his confession. It is commonly answered that this name Peter was here prefigured, in Mark 3 imposed, and in Matthew 16 confirmed. But Augustine contradicts this solution, saying that this name was imposed upon Peter when he was led by Andrew to Christ; and Bede likewise says on Mark 3 that it was not then imposed, but before. On this account it must be said that it was at this time imposed upon him, but nevertheless was not made public; because he was not yet from that time called Peter by others, but by his other, former name; but afterward, in Mark 3, he willed that he be called by this name; and in Matthew 16 this naming is rendered celebrated through the dignity befitting the name. Likewise it is asked: why did the Lord impose a name upon Peter at his calling rather than upon the others? It seems that he was a respecter of persons, because he conferred the dignity of a name without merit. To this Pelagius responds that he did this on account of the greater natural vigor which he saw in Peter: whence it is said: "Jesus, looking upon him"; and Pelagius says that through natural endowments it is possible to merit. To this it must be responded that God sees not only exterior things, but also interior things: not only those things which are, but also those things which are to come: therefore as a sign that he was to be the future pastor of the Church, a name is imposed upon him. But as for what Pelagius says: "He looked upon his natural vigor"; Victor rejects this: whence he says: "He does not add a greater edifice of virtue on account of the foundation of natural endowments, as Pelagius falsely claimed, drawing from this the kindling of error: but he looked upon him with the eye of mercy and benignity." There is also a question: why are names not now changed for those who enter religious life, or even for those who are converted to Christ? To this Chrysostom responds that the change of name was made as an incitement to virtues. Since therefore we now have one name which is most inciting to virtue, we ought to be content with that name: and this name is that of Christianity, because we are all called Christians. Nevertheless the Roman Church still preserves the change of name in the Supreme Pontiff.

John 1:43 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"On the next day," namely after the conversion of Andrew and Peter, "he wanted to go out into Galilee and found Philip," not by chance, but by design is that which was lost found. Thus the Lord found his disciples who were previously lost, because he snatched them from perdition: Luke 15: "The woman who lost one drachma searches diligently until she finds it." "And he says to him: Follow me," as a servant follows his lord, as a disciple follows his master, so that you may attain; Philippians 3: "But I follow on, if by any means I may apprehend, wherein I also am apprehended." But it is asked here concerning the coming of the Lord into Galilee: why is it said here that "on the next day," after the testimony of John, he came into Galilee? Against: The other Evangelists say that immediately "he was led into the desert by the Spirit," Matthew chapter four and Mark chapter one. Likewise it is said there that "Jesus came into Galilee after John was handed over": but it is established that he had not yet been handed over. To this Augustine responds in book two of On the Harmony of the Evangelists, that there was a twofold coming of the Lord into Galilee. The first was after the testimony of John, before he was sent into prison: and about this all the other Evangelists are silent. The second, however, was after John was sent into prison. In the first coming he performed the miracle of the changing of water into wine at the wedding; in the second coming, the miracle concerning the official's son. Therefore, what is said, that he was led into the desert: it should be understood that that testimony was given after the return of the Lord from the desert. Likewise it is asked concerning the calling of the disciples. For it is said here that they were called before John was handed over. But Matthew says that they were called after the handing over of John. Likewise Matthew says that he called Peter and Andrew from the boat. It must be said, as Augustine says, that John preserves the historical order regarding the time of the calling, but Matthew states that by way of recapitulation. As to the manner of the calling, it must be said that the disciples of the Lord were called in two ways: in one way to faith, in another way to perfection. In the first way, Peter and Andrew were called so that they might know the Lord and believe in him through the testimony of John. In the second way, they were called from their boats, so that they might leave all things and follow Christ. John speaks here of the first, while Matthew speaks of the second.

John 1:44 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter." And therefore it should be understood that he was moved to follow because he saw those ones following. For one curtain draws another curtain, according to what is signified in Exodus 26 in the construction of the tabernacle. Morally, indeed, "Philip" is interpreted as "mouth of the lamp," "Bethsaida" as "house of hunters." By "mouth" is denoted the wisdom of eloquence, concerning which Luke 21: "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and contradict." By "lamp," the uprightness of conduct, Matthew 5: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see" etc. By "hunters," preachers; Jeremiah 16: "I will send them many hunters, and they shall hunt them." In the calling therefore of Philip from Bethsaida it is signified that he who assumes the office of preaching must have wisdom of eloquence and uprightness of life, "because when one's life is despised, it follows that his preaching is held in contempt."

John 1:45 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"Philip found Nathanael." Here the calling of the wise man is touched upon, which was made through the mediation of the simple. Therefore he says: "Philip found Nathanael." Just as he himself had been found by Christ, so also he found Nathanael; Bede: "See this hunter, how intent he was on capturing souls." Whence it also follows: "And he says to him: Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the Prophets": it is written. "We have found Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth." This was Christ, who was foretold by the Law and the Prophets; Deuteronomy 18: "The Lord will raise up for you a prophet from your nation" etc.; Isaiah 7: "Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son" etc. He called him "the son of Joseph," by repute; Luke 3: "Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years of age, being as was supposed the son of Joseph." And indeed he said this to Nathanael, as to one who was skilled in the Law and the Prophets. Regarding the place of the calling: because the Lord called his disciples from Galilee, Chrysostom asks, since the Jews were more skilled in the Law: why is it that he did not choose from Jerusalem? And in connection with this it is asked: why did he call Nathanael through Philip as intermediary? And again, since Nathanael was a person so holy, as the Lord says, and also most skilled in the Law: it seems that the Lord ought to have appointed such a one as an Apostle. If you say that he wished to choose simple men: then if "every action of Christ is our instruction," it seems that we ought to choose simple and unlearned prelates. To this the Apostle teaches us to respond in 1 Corinthians 1: "Not many wise according to the flesh, not many powerful, not many noble, but God chose the foolish things of the world, and the things that are not." And the reason for this is so that he might confound the lofty things of the world, and "that no flesh might glory in his sight," and so that it might be shown that everything accomplished through the Apostles is of divine power, not of human prudence. Hence it is that he chose Galileans as Apostles, and fishermen and simple rustics; because, as Chrysostom says, Galilee has rustic inhabitants. Hence also it is that he called Philip, the simple one, by himself, and through him the wise brother. Hence also it is that he did not make Nathanael, a great doctor of the Law, an Apostle. Hence it is that he did not call Paul among the first Apostles; but "last of all he appeared also to him, as to one born out of due time," so that he might be humbled. Therefore, as to what you object, that we ought to choose simple men: it must be answered that the Lord chose simple men in order to make them wise; but because it is not in our power to make men wise, therefore we ought to set over ourselves those who have been made wise.

John 1:46 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And Nathanael said to him: From Nazareth can anything good be. Philip said to him: Come and see." This text is read affirmatively, so that the sense is that something good can be from Nazareth, on account of what is written in Matthew 2: "What was written through the Prophet, that he shall be called a Nazarene," and this is taken from Isaiah 11, according to the Hebrew truth; where we have: "A flower shall ascend from his root," they have: "Nazarene." Therefore Nathanael, understanding this as one skilled in Scripture, affirmed it. Otherwise it is read interrogatively, as though doubting he asks: "From Nazareth can anything good be?" namely so great a good, because as is written in Micah 5: "And you, Bethlehem Ephrata, little one" etc., Christ was to be born from Bethlehem. Therefore the Jews said below in chapter 7: "Does Christ come from Galilee?" Whether it is read affirmatively or interrogatively, Philip here asserts and exhorts that he should come. On account of which there follows: "Philip said to him: Come and see": Chrysostom: "Philip, unable to demonstrate through words the riches which he found, leads his brother to the discovered treasure." And it should be understood that he followed Philip. Likewise, it is asked about the obedience of the Apostles, because they followed immediately, having seen no signs. It seems that they were foolishly moved. It can be answered that they were illuminated interiorly; or also it must be said that they were led exteriorly, some by testimony, as Andrew and his companion; some by miracle, as is said of Peter in Luke 5; some by example, and thus Philip, because he saw Peter and Andrew, his fellow countrymen, following, whom he knew to be good men.

John 1:47 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him." Here the attraction of the one called is touched upon. He attracts through commendation and through revelation of secrets. Through commendation: whence he says: "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him," namely through the admonition of the simple Philip: "and he says of him: Behold, truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile." Therefore there is no guile, because, although he is wise, he was not ashamed to follow a simple man; because what he believed in his heart, this he brought forth with his mouth; because he came not with the will of testing, but with the zeal of making progress; against which Proverbs 12: "Guile is in the heart of those who devise evil." But Nathanael does not believe his commendation unless he hears certainty about this, because a man ought not be inclined to believe good things about himself.

John 1:48 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"Nathanael said to him: Whence do you know me?" Why do you commend me thus? And the Lord attracts through revelation of secrets: therefore there follows: "Jesus answered and said to him: Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Literally: he was in a secret place, as in a garden, whence Philip called him. Or: the fig tree is said to be the habit of sinning, as the first parents covered themselves under fig leaves, Genesis 3; where he was first seen by the Lord and sought before he himself would seek the Lord. By this revelation Nathanael was attracted: whence there follows his faithful confession.

John 1:49 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"Nathanael answered and said to him: Rabbi, you are the Son of God," with respect to the Divinity, because you know the secrets of the heart; Jeremiah 17: "I am the Lord, searching hearts and reins." "You are the King of Israel," with respect to the humanity. Likewise the crowd confessed, below in chapter 12: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel."

John 1:50 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"Jesus answered and said to him: Because I said to you: I saw you under the fig tree, you believe": and thus for a small thing you have been drawn to faith. "You will see greater things than these": below in chapter five: "He will show him greater works, that you may marvel." And he specifies that greater thing.

John 1:51 — Commentary on John, Chapter 1

"And he says to him: Amen, amen I say to you, that you will see heaven opened," according to what is said in Matthew chapter three, that John saw that the heavens were opened over him. "And the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." Literally, Angels descended to him, according to what is said in Matthew chapter four: "Angels came and ministered to him"; spiritually however, as Augustine says, what was said to Nathanael is now fulfilled in Christians, because after God-made-man ascended, the entrance to heaven is opened to those believing in him, and they see Angels, that is, preachers, ascending, while they contemplate the secrets of the Divinity; and descending, while they preach human things about him. This vision was prefigured in Genesis chapter twenty-eight, where it is said that Jacob saw the Lord leaning upon the ladder and Angels ascending and descending. Likewise Bede asks: since Nathanael calls Christ the "Son of God," whence is it that he himself calls himself the "Son of Man"? Bede responds that "by a just governance of dispensation this was done, so that, when both natures are commemorated, he himself would confess his own lowliness, while the other would confess his exaltedness"; so that through this both natures in Christ might become known, and an example of humility might be given, whence man might always recognize and declare lowly things in himself. This is especially against those who, having certain noble relatives, when asked about their origin, do not answer with the name of their father, but of an uncle or some famous kinsman. Our Lord Jesus Christ, although he is noble on the part of the Father but lowliest on the part of the Mother, calls himself the Son of Man often, rarely the Son of God, unless compelled by necessity. And note, as distinct from others, that others are called sons of men, who are begotten from the mingling of seeds; but Christ had only a single parent, and therefore rightly calls himself the Son of Man.

John 2:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

And on the third day a marriage etc. After the calling of the disciples has been described, there is here described the manifestation made through the Word and concerning the incarnate Word: whence the Gloss says that after the showings made through John, the Lord himself showed himself by a miracle. The Evangelist therefore describes this manifestation in this order. First is indicated the occasion for performing the miracle: second, the obtaining of the miracle: third, the wondrous conversion of water into wine: fourth, the approval of the miracle: fifth, the manifestation of Christ and the edification of the disciples, to whom the Lord deigned to manifest himself through this miracle. First, therefore, is indicated the occasion for performing the miracle, which was that the Lord was present at the wedding with his disciples. On account of which he says: And on the third day, namely after the calling of the disciples, a marriage took place in Cana of Galilee; the place is touched upon. And the Mother of Jesus was there: it is not said that she was invited, because by reason of kinship she went as one performing a duty, just as she also went into the hill country to Elizabeth to serve her, as is said in Luke 1. By reason of this the Lord also was invited. Here a question arises among the expositors concerning the time of the wedding: for it is said by some that it took place on the same day on which the Lord was baptized. But how can this stand, since it is said that it took place on the third day, after the Lord came from Judea? They respond that it was on the same day, but a year later. But then the following text contradicts this: for it is said below in the same chapter that he went down to Capernaum, and that he did not remain there long, because the Passover was near: therefore these nuptials took place near the Passover, and therefore not at Epiphany. But if this is conceded, the custom of the Church is to the contrary, because the Church celebrates three feasts on the same day. I respond: It must be said that, as has been stated, there are diverse opinions here, and each is probable and can be sustained. For if we wish to maintain that this miracle took place after the baptism of the Lord and his return from the desert and his coming into Galilee, we shall say that it was near the Passover. Nor does the custom of the Church stand in the way, because the Church celebrates these three together — concerning the star and the dove and the changing of the wine — because the Lord first became known through these three; or because the changing of the water signifies the regenerative power conferred upon the waters when the Lord was baptized. But if we wish to maintain the other opinion, we shall respond that when it is said that after this he went down to Capernaum, it should be understood that it was not immediately after this, but with some time intervening, such that the Passover was approaching.

John 2:2 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Before the incarnation, both penitential compunction and matrimonial generation were necessary: therefore Christ did not institute these two Sacraments anew, but brought to completion and confirmed in the evangelical law what had already been instituted by him and in a certain way impressed upon the dictate of nature, when he preached penance and attended the wedding and approved the law of marriage, as is gathered from various passages of the Gospel.

John 2:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. Chrysostom: "He was invited to the marriage, not as someone great, but as a kinsman, and he, being humble, did not refuse the invitation, but went," according to what he teaches in Luke 14: "When you are invited to a wedding, go, recline in the last place." It is asked whose wedding it was. And that it was John's is said in the Prologue above, and Augustine likewise said in the Gloss on the beginning. But against this, Victor objects: "Since virginity is the meditation upon perpetual incorruption, it is not to be believed that John, to whom testimony of virginity is given, ever consented to an act of the flesh." To this it must be responded that because greater authority concurs on this point, it should be held that it was John's wedding. And a sign of this can be gathered from the text: because John was a kinsman of the Lord, and for this reason he and his Mother were invited to the wedding. Therefore what Victor objects is resolved in two ways: in one way, that he did not consent to an act of the flesh or to carnal union absolutely, but, like the Virgin Mary, he committed himself to the disposition of the Holy Spirit, so that thus the virgin, who was to be the guardian of the Virgin, might agree with the Virgin in the manner of virginity. Alternatively it is answered that, granted that he consented absolutely, his virtue was not diminished, because he consented licitly; similarly the dignity of virginity was not diminished, because, since virginity denotes the incorruption of mind and flesh, it can be lost in three ways: either the incorruption of both is lost, and then it is lost eternally and temporally; or the incorruption of the mind alone is lost, and then it is lost recoverably; or the incorruption of the body alone, and then it is lost temporally but not eternally, because such a one will have the glory of virginity; but nevertheless, as Pope Leo says, such persons ought not to count themselves among the sacred virgins. Since therefore John remained incorrupt in the flesh, even if his mind consented, he afterward returned to the same state. It is also asked why the Lord willed to go to the wedding. And it seems that He ought not to have done so. For if the place of a wedding is a place of feasting, and the Lord Himself ought to have fled all feasting, then He ought not to have gone there. I respond: It must be said that He went in order to establish faith and to uproot heresy. He confirmed the faith of the disciples who had been called through the miracle, and He also gained the faith of the bridegroom. He uprooted heresy, namely that of Julian, who condemns marriage. Against which the Lord willed to be present and to confirm and approve marriage by a miracle. But if the Lord, having been invited, had refused to go, then He would have seemed to have favored that heresy and to have condemned marriage.

John 2:2 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That conjugal chastity is to be approved according to the evangelical law is shown by authority, as follows. John 2: Jesus and his disciples were called to the wedding: and consequently he shows that he performed his first miracle there; but if the nuptial act were not consonant with the law of God, Christ would not have approved it by his own presence: therefore conjugal chastity accords with divine law.

John 2:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

And the wine failing. Here is touched upon the second point, namely the obtaining of the miracle, which was done by the Mother having compassion on the bridegroom's want. Therefore he says: And the wine failing, the Mother of Jesus says to him: They have no wine; as if to say: From your abundance supply their want; for she knew that he was "rich in mercy" and power, although he appeared poor: 2 Corinthians 8: "Though he was rich in all things, he became poor for our sake."

John 2:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

But the Lord, indicating to his Mother that she could not command this insofar as she was his mother, nor could he do it insofar as he was her son, nor ought he to do it unless the proper time was at hand: hence there follows: And Jesus says to her: What is it to me and to you, woman? The Gloss: "That is, what nature is common to me and to you, according to which I should do this?" He calls her woman, not from frailty, but from nature and sex. For this is that woman of whom the last chapter of Proverbs says: "Who shall find a valiant woman?" As if to say: You are able to ask this as a holy woman, not to command it as a mother, nor is it yet fitting to do it. My hour has not yet come, that is, of my glorification and passion, concerning which below in chapter 17: "Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son." But the Mother, knowing that this response was not from indignation but from humility and instruction, confidently commands. It is asked concerning the Lord's response to His Mother: What is it to Me and to you, woman? My hour has not yet come. For either the divine Virgin was asking what ought to be asked, or what ought not to be asked. If she was asking what ought to be asked, then He ought not to have responded to her so sharply. If she was asking what ought not to be asked, then He ought not to have heard her request. Likewise, what does it mean that He says: My hour has not yet come? For either it had come, and thus He speaks falsely; or it had not come, and thus He acts wrongly, because He acts before the hour. Likewise, from this the heretics argue that the Lord was subject to fate and the stars. I respond: It must be said that the Lord's response was not insulting, but instructive. For he shows by what reason he satisfies his Mother who petitions. Whence three things are considered in the petition: the one petitioning, and this is the Mother of the Lord; for whom she petitions, namely for poor relatives; what she petitions, namely a miracle. The Lord shows in his response that she ought not to petition this as mother: because he could not do this from the nature drawn from her, therefore he says to her woman, he does not say mother. She ought not to petition for relatives, as though having care for carnal kinsmen: therefore he says: What is it to me and to you? He shows that a miracle is not to be performed on account of need, but for manifesting his glory, for the manifesting of which there was not yet necessity: therefore he says: My hour has not yet come. Yet because the woman petitioning was holy: because those for whom she was petitioning were poor: because his glory was to be manifested to the disciples: therefore he hears her. As to what is objected concerning the hour, it must be understood that the hour of perfect manifestation had not yet come, such as occurred around his death: concerning the hour, Augustine says, not the hour in which he would be compelled to die, but in which he would deign to be slain: whence below in the tenth chapter: I have the power to lay down my life, and no one takes it from me.

John 2:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

His Mother says to the servants: Whatever he shall say to you, do it. For she knew that he was able; she knew also that he knew; she knew that he would be willing, because he always obeyed her: whence Luke 2: "He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject to them," Jesus, namely, to his parents; and from this she was certain that he would do it. Therefore she says: Whatever he shall say to you, do it, as good servants, so that you may obtain the miracle, just as also Naaman, 4 Kings 5: "Father, even if the Prophet had told you a great thing, you ought to have done it." Do whatever he shall say to you: do not doubt; below, chapter eleven: "If you believe, you shall see the glory of God."

John 2:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

Now there were six water jars etc. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the working of the miracle. And because God does all things in a certain "weight, number, and measure," he states the measure in which this miracle was performed. On account of which he says: Now there were six stone water jars there. Water jars are vessels capable of receiving water: Genesis 24: "Give me a little water from your jar." These jars were set according to the purification of the Jews, that is, according to the custom of the Jews for purifying themselves. Concerning this custom, Mark 7: "And returning from the marketplace, unless they wash themselves, they do not eat; and there are many other things which have been handed down to them to observe, the washings of cups and pitchers." Each holding two or three measures. Measure is derived from metron, which means measurement, and here it denotes the common and customary measure, just as in Paris we say a sextarius of wine. According to these measures, therefore, the miracle was performed at the Lord's command.

John 2:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Note that when Christ performed the miracle of changing water into wine, he did not say from the very first: "Let there be wine." Nor did He produce it out of nothing: as Gregory comments, He asked the servants to fill the water jars. It is impossible to explain what He did in a literal sense, but a reason may be given in terms of spiritual understanding: The Holy Spirit does not give spiritual understanding unless man provide the jar, that is, his capacity, and the water, that is, the understanding of the literal sense. Then does God change the water of the literal understanding into the wine of the spiritual. Paul was great because of the fact that he was teaching the Law at the feet of Gamaliel. He, then, who possesses Scripture is powerful in his speech and also in a becoming sermon. Blessed Bernard, for instance, knew little. Yet, because he had studied Scripture intensely, he was able to speak with elegance.

John 2:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

Jesus says to them: Fill the water jars with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And it should be understood that when they were filled, by the Lord's power the water was converted into wine; therefore he commanded them to be filled, so that he might perform a complete work, according to what is said in the creation of things, Genesis 1, "God saw all that he had made, and they were very good"; and Deuteronomy 32: "The works of God are perfect."

John 2:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

And Jesus said to them. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the approval of the miracle, in the approval of the wine made by the testimony of the chief steward, whose duty it was to judge the wine. On account of which he says: And Jesus said to them, namely, to the servants: Draw out now and carry it to the chief steward. And they carried it, according to his command; namely, therefore he commanded it to be brought to him, because the chief steward presided over the wedding and judged such matters. "A triclinium, that is, three rows of those reclining at table, separated by height"; hence chief steward, because he presided over the banquet of the arrangement of three tables; or chief steward, the head of three chambers; or generally, one who presides over the servants, as Chrysostom says. To this man he commanded it to be brought, so that he might judge the wine.

John 2:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

When the master of the feast tasted the water made wine, that is, wine made from water, and did not know where it was from, but the servants knew, who had drawn the water, the master of the feast calls the bridegroom, namely so that he might rebuke him and commend and extol the wine.

John 2:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

And he says to him: Every man first sets out the good wine: first, that is, in the beginning, and when they have become intoxicated, then that which is worse, because then they are unable to judge, but call all wine good. But you have kept the good wine until now, that is, until the end, and thus you have acted irregularly and contrary to custom. This was a bad custom, because it was against truth and against sobriety; whence Ephesians 5: "Do not be drunk with wine, in which is debauchery, but be filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking" etc.

John 2:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

This beginning of signs. Here the fifth point is touched upon, namely the manifestation of divine glory and the edification of the disciples' faith. By reason of his manifestation he says: This beginning of signs Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory. The Gloss: "That is, his hidden Divinity"; below at chapter fourteen: "I will love him and will manifest myself to him." By reason of the edification of the disciples he says: And his disciples believed in him, that is, they believed more firmly. Bede: "When the Lord reclined at the wedding, the wine failed, so that, when better wine was made by him in a wondrous manner, the glory of the hidden God might be manifested in him, and the faith of those believing in him, having been increased, might advance."

John 2:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

The Lord manifested himself above to the disciples. In this part up to the fourth chapter, the manifestation made to the Jews is treated, to whom he manifests himself in a threefold manner, namely by sign, by word, and by Sacrament. Therefore this part has three parts. In the first, the manifestation made through a sign of power is treated: in the second, through a word of instruction, at the passage: Now there was a certain man of the Pharisees: in the third, through the Sacrament of regeneration, at the passage: After these things Jesus came into Judea. The first part has two parts. In the first he manifests himself by a sign of authority: in the second, by a sign of power and might, at the passage: The Jews answered and said. The sign of authority was in the authoritative correction of the transgressors, which is described in this order. First, the Lord's readiness to reprove is indicated; second, the manifest transgression of the Jews: third, the correction of the transgressors: fourth, the approbation of the correction. The Lord's readiness to reprove is noted in this, that he went down to Capernaum, so that he might leave his Mother and brethren there: therefore it says: After these things, namely those which have been narrated, he went down to Capernaum, he and his Mother and his brethren and his disciples. He went down with all of them, because he came to dwell there: Matthew 4: "Having left the city of Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum." Therefore he went down with all of them, so that he might ascend more freely: therefore it says: And they remained there not many days. And the reason for this is added:

John 2:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

And the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And for this reason he went down to prepare himself. Chrysostom: "He went down for this reason, being about to go up to Jerusalem shortly after, so that he would not drag his brothers and Mother everywhere." He went up, moreover, according to the custom of the Jews and the commandment of the Law: Deuteronomy 16: "Three times in a year shall all your males appear before the Lord." And although the Lord was not subject to the Law, he nevertheless observed it, lest he appear contrary to it.

John 2:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

And he found in the temple. Here is touched upon the manifest transgression of the Jews, because they had made the temple into a marketplace; on account of which he says: He found in the temple those selling sheep and oxen and doves. For the avarice of the priests had introduced this, so that those wishing to offer sacrifice would not lack an offering. And money-changers sitting, supply: he found; and the priests had introduced these, so that those wishing to offer sacrifice would not lack the price; and thus they were entirely serving avarice. Therefore the Lord complained through Jeremiah 6: "From the greatest to the least, all are devoted to avarice." It is asked concerning the finding of sheep in the temple. The priests did not permit unclean persons to enter the temple; how much less, then, would they permit sheep and oxen, which would defile the temple? This seems far less probable. I respond: It must be said that there were four courts in the temple: the first was that of the priests; the second, of clean men; the third, of clean women; the fourth, of the unclean and the Gentiles. And any of these was broadly called the temple, and in this fourth court He found animals of this kind.

John 2:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

When he had made a sort of whip. Here is touched upon the Lord's authoritative correction, because he rebuked not only by word, but also by deed. Therefore he says: And when he had made a sort of whip from cords, namely for striking, he drove them all out of the temple, the sheep also and the oxen, as being unworthy to be in the temple; as the Lord said to Shebna, the overseer of the temple, in Isaiah 22: "I will drive you from your station, and I will depose you from your ministry." And he poured out the money of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And thus he harshly rebuked by deed. He also rebuked by word, and this, those selling doves. Here there is a question concerning the order of the history. For here it is said that this expulsion took place immediately after the first miracle; but in Matthew 21 it is narrated that this took place near the passion, when he sat upon the donkey. To this Augustine responds in On the Harmony of the Evangelists that this was done twice, but the first was recorded by John, the second by the others. And by this are resolved the contradictions which could be objected, because there he rebukes in a harsher manner and speaks different words than here. It is asked concerning correction. For it is said in Matthew 15: Let them alone: they are blind and leaders of the blind; He does not seem to have cared about the correction of the Jews. Why then does He now rebuke them so sharply, since they were incorrigible? I respond: It must be said that even though He knew them to be incorrigible, He nevertheless wished to show His zeal for the house of God, so that He might give an example to prelates, and so that He might show Himself in accord with the Father and a friend of the Law, which He came not to destroy, but to fulfill. It is also asked: since the Jews were many and fierce, and Christ was alone and unarmed, how did they not rise up against Him and kill Him, when He was thus casting them out along with their goods? To this some say that even though they were evil, nevertheless they were hypocrites; and therefore, lest they should show their avarice and malice, they neither showed themselves disturbed nor harmed Him. Jerome responds differently, that "something fiery and starlike radiated from His eyes, and the majesty of the Divinity shone in His face," changing their minds, so that they did not dare to lay hands upon Him. Whence Jerome considers this a greater sign than the raising of Lazarus, that one unarmed man drove out so many and was not afraid.

John 2:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

John 2:16 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

If however circumvention occurs with a profane agreement, it is called simony, in which he who buys acquires nothing, nor does he who sells possess anything, but they only handle another's property: and this happens when a spiritual thing is sold as though it were a cheap thing. Against whom the Lord says: "Do not make my Father's house a house of trade." But some make it a den of thieves; whence: "Her princes judged for bribes, and her priests taught for hire, and her prophets divined for money."

John 2:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

And to those who were selling doves, he said: Take these things away from here, and do not make the house of my Father a house of trade. Concerning this house it is said in the Psalm: "Holiness befits your house, O Lord," not trade. Augustine: "If he forbids such things in the place of prayer, how much more drinking bouts and drunkenness and other similar things?" Therefore he commands in his Rule that "in the oratory nothing should be done except that for which it was established." It is asked: why did He correct those who were selling doves by word alone, but the others also by deed? And it seems that He should have done more, because by those sellers simoniacs are signified, who are to be corrected more severely. I respond: To this there is a literal reason, because doves defiled the temple less; but the mystical reason is that by those sellers simoniacs are understood, who are not to be corrected with a small punishment, but are to be cast out of the Church by sentence; or because by the dove is understood the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is not to be driven out.

John 2:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

The disciples remembered. Here is noted the approval of the correction made through Scripture. Therefore he says: His disciples indeed remembered, not then, but after the resurrection, when they understood the Scripture; then, I say, they remembered that it is written: The zeal of your house has consumed me, in that Psalm 68: "Save me, O God." Concerning this consuming of zeal, Augustine says: "He is consumed by zeal for the house of God who desires to correct all things that he sees there to be perverse, who does not rest from amending them; if he cannot amend them, he endures and groans." It is also asked concerning the statement that zeal was in Christ. For if zeal implies anger, and anger implies disturbance, and in Christ there could not be disturbance, therefore neither could there be zeal. To this, Victor responds that zeal is spoken of in two ways: in one way it implies a disturbance of the soul, just as anger does, and thus it was not in Christ: Isaiah 42: He shall not be sad nor turbulent. In another way, zeal is the same as fervent love, and thus it was in Christ; whence the Gloss of Augustine says: "Good zeal is a fervor of the soul, by which the mind, having cast aside human fear, is kindled for the defense of truth."

John 2:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

The Jews answered etc. The Lord manifested himself by the sign of authority: here he manifests himself by the sign of power, not exhibited, but requested and promised. And this sign was the wondrous raising of himself, and it proceeds in this order. In this manifestation, first is set forth the requesting of this sign; second, the offering of what was requested; third, the exposition of what was offered; fourth, the consequent building up of the faith of the Jews and through this the manifestation of Christ. First, then, is described the requesting of the sign, which was made by the Jews seeing that he showed himself to be of such great authority. Therefore he says: The Jews therefore answered, namely the Lord who was rebuking them, and said to him: What sign do you show us, since you do these things? They seek a sign of power: 1 Corinthians 1: "Jews demand signs." They said something similar in Matthew 21: "Tell us: By what authority do you do these things?" And they were foolish to ask, because the deed itself was a great sign: Chrysostom: "O madness! Was a sign needed for him to make cease the things that were being done wrongly? Indeed, to receive such zeal for the house of God, was this not the greatest sign of virtue?"

John 2:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

Jesus answered and said to them. Here is touched upon the offering of the sign requested: and he offers them also a sign of the greatest power concerning the raising of himself; on account of which he says: Destroy this temple, namely by killing: destroy, that is, you will destroy, and in three days I will raise it up, that is, I will raise it as from sleep. For death in Scripture is called a sleeping, and resurrection an awakening: Psalm: "I have slept and taken my rest" etc. In three days, namely by synecdoche; Hosea 6: "He will revive us after two days, and on the third day he will raise us up," namely in the Head. But here a question arises concerning what the Lord says to the Jews: Destroy. It seems that he commanded them to kill him. I respond: It must be said that Scripture sometimes uses the imperative mood imperatively, as there: Fear God and keep his commandments, Ecclesiastes, last chapter. Sometimes predictively, as here: the Gloss: "Destroy, that is, you will destroy." Sometimes consultively: Matthew 19: Go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor. Sometimes permissively: Matthew 8: If you cast us out from here, send us into the swine. Sometimes ironically: John 13: What you do, do quickly, the Lord said to Judas concerning the betrayal. Likewise, Chrysostom asks about the fact that the Lord always responds to the Jews with a sign concerning the resurrection: as is said in Matthew 12 and 16, that no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For since they did not understand, to what end did He give them this sign? And if He gave it, why did He not give it in such a way that they would understand? I respond: It must be said that He gave them this sign because it was supreme and because it was hidden. Supreme, because to be able to free oneself from death even after death — this is the newest, noblest, and most wondrous of all new things. Because it was also hidden, He gave it to them and spoke enigmatically, because by just judgment He manifested Himself in such a way that He remained concealed, until after the resurrection He would manifest Himself. For if He had been fully manifested, He would never have been put to death; therefore He directs them to the time of the resurrection. And therefore He spoke to them enigmatically, and also to the disciples, because, even if they did not understand then, afterwards they would understand all the more dearly.

John 2:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

The Jews therefore said to him. Here is touched upon the exposition of the sign offered, because he was not saying this about the material temple, but about the temple of his body; and the Jews understood it of the material temple. On account of which he says: The Jews therefore said: Forty-six years was this temple in building, and will you raise it up in three days? As if they were saying: this is entirely incredible and impossible for you. It should be understood that the temple in its first building was completed in seven years, but in the second, on account of wars and impediments under Zerubbabel, over forty-six years. The Lord was not speaking of this.

John 2:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

But he was speaking of the temple of his body. For if our bodies "are the temple of the Holy Spirit," 1 Corinthians 6: how much more the body of Christ, "in whom the Divinity dwells bodily," as is said in Colossians 2. And this spiritual understanding neither the Jews nor the carnal disciples possessed, but only after the resurrection. It is asked: why does the Lord call Himself a temple and compare Himself to a temple? And Augustine responds that this is not only on account of the indwelling of the Divinity, but also on account of the likeness to the temple: because, just as the temple was built in forty-six years, so the conceived fetus is formed in forty-six days, and when those are multiplied by six, it is born. But this seems to have no bearing on the matter at hand, because the body of Christ was perfect from the instant of conception, and His soul was perfect, and He had the use of free will. On account of this, it must be said that a body is perfected in two ways: either by organization or by mass. Other bodies besides the body of Christ are built up and perfected within that time or in that time — that is, they tend toward perfection by organization and by mass; but the body of Christ only by mass, not by the distinction of members.

John 2:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

When therefore he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this, about his own body. For then he opened their understanding to comprehend: Luke, last chapter: "He opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures." And from then on they believed the Scripture, in which, namely, the resurrection of Christ was prefigured, as in Jonah; and they believed also the word that Jesus had said, because for this reason he had foretold it: below, chapter fourteen: "Now I have told you before it comes to pass, that, when it shall come to pass, you may believe."

John 2:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

When he was in Jerusalem. Here is touched upon the building up of the faith of the Jews at the sight of signs of power. For it must be understood that he did many things, although the Evangelist did not describe them, as Chrysostom says. Therefore he says: When he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, on the feast day, to which, namely, he had gone up: many believed in his name, seeing the signs that he did. Their faith rested upon signs: below, chapter seven: "But many of the crowd believed in him, seeing the signs that he did"; and because they rested upon signs, therefore they were weak in faith.

John 2:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

But Jesus himself did not entrust himself to them: not because he feared, but because he recognized their weakness. And he shows how he knew this: because not as a man by report, but as God by internal vision: because he himself knew all men: 1 Kings 16: "Men see those things that appear, but God beholds the heart."

John 2:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 2

And because there was no need that anyone should bear witness to him concerning man: for he himself knew what was in man: Jeremiah 17: "I the Lord, searching hearts and reins"; Hebrews 4: "The word of God is living and effective and more piercing than any two-edged sword, reaching unto the division of soul and spirit, of joints also and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

John 3:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

Nicodemus is described by a fourfold condition, so that he may be shown suitable for learning: he is described by the uprightness of his life, by the dignity of his office, by his eagerness for learning, and by his aptitude for learning. He is therefore described first by the uprightness of his life, when it says: "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus." Of the Pharisees, which sect was the more approved and more honorable above all the sects of the Jews; whence the Apostle boasts in Philippians 3: "According to the law, a Pharisee." He is also described by the dignity of his office, when it says: "A ruler of the Jews." Whence he himself also resisted the fury of the Jews, in chapter 7: "Does our law judge a man unless it first hears from him?" But it is asked here concerning what is said, that Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews and believed in Jesus, because it is said in chapter 7: "Has any one of the rulers believed in him?" As if to say: no. I respond: It must be said that Nicodemus believed and was among the rulers. And that statement which is said in chapter 7 was the word of the Pharisees, who were deceived. For Nicodemus believed, even if not openly, nevertheless secretly.

John 3:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

He came to Jesus by night. He came by night so that he might be instructed and taught more quietly, because that is a quiet hour; whence in the Psalm: "At midnight I arose to give thanks to you." He is described by his aptitude for learning, when it says: And he said to him, namely to Jesus: "Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher." For he was apt to be taught, because he had come to be taught, and he believed Christ to be a perfect teacher, and he wished to be his disciple, and on account of this he called him master, as the disciples did, in chapter 13: "You call me master and Lord." And the reason why he says this is added: "No one can do these signs which you do, unless God is with him." Therefore it is clear that he was among those of whom it was said in chapter 2: "Many believed in his name, seeing the signs which he did." The signs were the reason for believing that he was from God; whence in chapter 9 the blind man said: "Unless this man were from God, he could do nothing." It is asked: since that hour is the hour of evildoers, because "he who does evil hates the light," whence is it that Nicodemus wished to come by night? And it seems that he came in a disordered manner. I respond: It must be said that the cause was a certain shame, weakness, and earnestness. Concerning shame, Hugh of Saint Victor says: "He came by night, because as a master in Israel he was ashamed to learn openly." Concerning weakness, Chrysostom says: "He was still held back by Jewish weakness; therefore he came by night also, fearing to do this by day." Concerning earnestness, Bede says: "He came by night, seeking through private conversation to grasp the mysteries of the faith, whose rudiments he had already to some extent received." Likewise, there is a question about what he says: "No one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him." To the contrary: Matthew 7: "Many will say to me on that day: Lord, in your name we cast out demons," etc. Some respond to this by pressing upon the word: "Unless God is with him." For it is different to say: God is with man, and man with God, as Augustine seems to intend to say in the book of the Confessions: "You were with me, but I was not with you." So also in the matter at hand, man is with God when he has charity, through which he clings to God; but God is with man when he produces some special effect and gift in man. Thus he is with those to whom he grants the power of working miracles. But this does not resolve the difficulty, because Nicodemus did not intend to say this, but truly, that he was from God. Therefore it must be said that even though both good and evil men work miracles, they are nevertheless distinguished from one another, namely by manner and end: by manner, because the good work through public righteousness, the evil through signs of public righteousness; by end, because the good work for edification, the evil for glory. And because Nicodemus distinguished miracles by their manner of working and their end, he could especially know this in Christ, because he did not work miracles by invocation.

John 3:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

He sets forth the necessity of regeneration to Nicodemus himself, who desired to learn. For which reason he says: Jesus answered and said to him, namely to Nicodemus coming by night and inquiring: "Amen, amen, I say to you: Unless one is born again," that is, regenerated, "he cannot see the kingdom of God." And according to this it is clear that regeneration is necessary for salvation. There is the birth of nature: John 16: "A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow: but when she has brought forth, she does not remember the anguish because of the joy that a man is born into the world." Of fault: Ephesians 2: "We were by nature children of wrath"; by nature, that is, by the corruption of nature: therefore Job 3: "Let the day perish wherein I was born." Of grace: 1 John, the last chapter: "Everyone who is born of God does not sin, but the grace of God keeps him": and this comes about through the Sacrament. Of glory: Job 11: "When you shall think yourself consumed, you shall rise as the morning star." Here therefore he declares the necessary birth of the Sacrament and of grace. There is a question about what he says: "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." On the contrary: If this was a precept, then no one can be saved unless baptized of water and the Holy Spirit. Against this: There were many Martyrs who were not baptized. Likewise, there are many who have faith and are overtaken by death; but it is said: "Everyone who believes in the Son of God does not perish"; therefore if he is not baptized, he will still be saved. But if it is not a precept, then he speaks wrongly in saying that one cannot enter into the kingdom of God, because "to see" is here taken as the vision of the fatherland. I respond: It must be said that there is baptism of water, of the Spirit, and of blood. It must therefore be said that according to the common law all are bound to be baptized, because it is a precept. But if impossibility intervenes, either grace is present, namely the baptism of the Spirit or of blood, or it is not: if it is, it supplies for that baptism when there is no possibility. But if it is not present, impossibility does not excuse nor bring about salvation, not because of transgression of the precept, but because of the stain of original sin, which has not been removed through grace. And thus it is clear that those who have formed faith are saved when they are overtaken by death.

John 3:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

Nicodemus says to him. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the mode of regeneration, which is spiritual. But Nicodemus, supposing it to be carnal, doubts and asks: "How can a man be born when he is old?" As if to say: it is impossible for an old man to become young: Job 7: "My days have passed more swiftly than the web is cut by the weaver: and they are consumed without any hope." The impossibility is also on the part of the one generating: whence he says: "Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born again?" He was still carnal, and therefore understood carnally: 1 Corinthians 2: "The natural man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God." But the Lord draws him back from carnal understanding to spiritual.

John 3:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

Jesus answered: "Amen, amen I say to you: Unless one is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God": as if to say: I do not mean the birth that is from the womb, but that which is from water: I do not mean the birth that is from seed, but that which is from the Holy Spirit: because that birth is carnal and manifest, this one is spiritual and hidden. It is asked whether from that time it was necessary to be baptized. That it was, seems apparent: because at that time the judgment was promulgated that without this there was no salvation. Likewise, if it was not instituted then, when therefore was baptism instituted? Master Hugo responds and distinguishes a threefold time of grace: one in which circumcision alone was in effect, as before the coming of Christ; one in which baptism alone, as after the manifestation of the Gospel; and one in which both were mixed, as in the middle time, and then circumcision had its effect, and for that time it was not necessary to be baptized, nor did the Lord here authoritatively promulgate the necessity of regeneration, but revealed to a friend what he was about to do. As to the question: when was baptism instituted? It must be said that materially, when Christ was baptized; formally, when he rose again and gave the form, at the end of Matthew; effectively, when he suffered, because from that it had its power; but finally, when he foretold its necessity and usefulness, as here: "Unless one is born again of water and the Holy Spirit," etc.

John 3:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the spirit is spirit." Therefore, just as generation from the flesh is carnal, so generation from the spirit is spiritual: in chapter 1: "Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Nor is it only spiritual, but indeed also hidden: and therefore the natural-minded Nicodemus ought not to marvel if he does not understand. There is a question about what he says: "What is born of the flesh is flesh." Therefore also what is born of the spirit is spirit; therefore what is born of a holy one is holy; therefore a holy man begets a holy man, namely his son — which is manifestly false; rather, a sinner. Likewise, if what is born of the spirit is spirit, then what is born of God is God; but we are all born of God, as is said in 1 John 5; therefore we are all gods. I respond: It must be said that this is to be understood per se: that which is born from flesh generating, namely insofar as it is flesh, is carnal: similarly concerning spirit, it is spiritual. To the objection concerning the holy man, it is answered that he generates carnally, and therefore generates what is carnal. Hence, even if he is purified insofar as he is a person, nevertheless not insofar as he is a principle of generation. Augustine's example is of clean grain, which generates grain in chaff. As for what he says concerning spirit, that is said not through essence, but through conformity and adherence: 1 Corinthians 6: "He who clings to God is one spirit."

John 3:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again," even though you do not understand.

John 3:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"The Spirit breathes where He wills": where He wills, by giving grace: Romans 9: "He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens." "And you hear His voice," in the preachers: Matthew 10: "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." "And you do not know whence He comes or whither He goes": Job 9: "If He comes to me, I shall not see Him; and if He departs, I shall not understand." "So is everyone who is born of the Spirit," namely spiritual and hidden: Romans 6: "For we have been buried together with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ rose from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life." Just as burial and death and life are spiritual, so also is generation. An inquiry is made concerning what he says: "The Spirit breathes where he wills, and you do not know whence he comes." To the contrary: Bernard in the Canticles says that a man ought to know the time of spiritual visitation. Chrysostom responds that he said this concerning the wind, because man does not have knowledge of it, much less of spiritual birth. But Augustine rejects this exposition, because man well knows that the south wind comes from the south and tends toward the north: therefore he expounds it concerning the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as to what is said: "You do not know whence he comes," emphasis must be placed on the word. He does not say: you do not know when he comes, because one can well know through fervor and lukewarmness when he comes: but you do not know whence he comes, namely whether to repay in the present the good things that a man has done, or to increase merits: you do not know where he goes, whether far away, never to return, or near, about to return at once. Therefore Bernard says that one must always fear: "Fear," he says, "when he has smiled upon you, fear when he has departed, and when he returns again."

John 3:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

Here the third point is touched upon, namely the manner of understanding this spiritual regeneration, which because Nicodemus did not possess, he therefore doubts and inquires; whence he says: Nicodemus answered and said to Him: "How can these things be?" And in this the diligence of Nicodemus is noted, who did not cease from inquiring until he understood. Chrysostom: "If the Jews had heard, they would immediately have departed in derision"; and therefore he who was moved through the captivation of the intellect and through faith deserves to be more fully instructed by the Lord.

John 3:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

Jesus answered and said to him: "You are a teacher in Israel, and you do not know these things?" As if to say: you consider yourself a great teacher, and yet you are ignorant of the beginnings of faith. Hebrews 5: "When you ought to be teachers by reason of the time, you need again to be taught what are the elements of the beginning of the words of God." As if to say: if you wish to understand, you must humble yourself and believe, because if you do not believe this, neither will you be able to understand greater things.

John 3:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"Amen, amen, I say to you, that we speak what we know": "we, that is, I and my Apostles," as the Gloss says; or "we" in the plural intimates the mystery of the Trinity. "And what we have seen we testify": in chapter 8: "What I have seen with my Father, this I speak"; and thus I ought to be believed; but nevertheless you do not believe. Therefore He adds: "And you do not receive our testimony": in chapter 5: "I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me." And if you do not receive the small things I have said nor believe them, much less will you in great things.

John 3:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"If I have spoken earthly things to you and you do not believe, how, if I tell you heavenly things, will you believe?" As if to say: you will not; and therefore the manner of understanding is to believe lesser things through faith before one arrives at sublime things. 1 Corinthians 3: "As little ones in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not solid food." But if they would not receive milk, how could they receive solid food? From the foregoing, therefore, it is clear that regeneration is necessary, is spiritual and hidden, and that no one can understand it unless he believes. An inquiry is made concerning what he says: If "I have told you earthly things" etc.: what are these earthly things? For everything he spoke is spiritual, nothing earthly. To this Chrysostom responds that the earthly things which he spoke of are those things he said concerning the spirit, that is, concerning the wind: but Augustine expounds it concerning the raising of the temple, which he had foretold in the preceding chapter, namely insofar as it was of the earth, whether it be understood of the material temple or of the body of Christ, because it was taken from our earth. It can be answered otherwise, that he calls earthly those things which have been said above, not absolutely, but because they are small in comparison to the things yet to be said.

John 3:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Jesus said to Nicodemus: "If I have spoken of earthly things to you, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I speak to you of heavenly things?" That is why the Father witnessed for the Son by voice, and the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove, in order that the witnessing be most solid.

John 3:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

In the descending way, there is consummation in humility and beginning in love, while the opposite is true of the ascending way. Hence, in descending, we begin with the liveliness of desire and go to the humility of service. Wherefore Christ came to the humility of serving us. Wherefore also as the soul has Angels going up, so must it have them going down. Hence: "No one has ascended into heaven except Him who has descended from heaven."

John 3:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

The principle saving us is He who alone can enter heaven by Himself, and all others through Him; and this is Christ the Lord. Therefore He says: "And no one has ascended into heaven," that is, no one has the power of ascending thither; "except He who descended from heaven," through the assumption of humanity: "the Son of Man, who is in heaven," through the presence and immensity of the Divinity: therefore everyone who ascends and is saved, ascends through Him. Concerning this power of ascending and descending, Ephesians 4: "He who descended is the same one who also ascended above all the heavens, that He might fill all things." Concerning His existence in heaven, in chapter 1: "The Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." He it is who makes one ascend from death to life: in chapter 8: "If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed." But a question arises concerning what He says: "No one ascends into heaven except He who descended from heaven." Against this: All the saints ascend, and yet none of them descended. Likewise, the body of Christ ascended into heaven, and yet did not descend from heaven. Likewise it is objected: if this is understood of Christ, it is understood either according to the divine nature or the human. Not according to the human, because that nature did not descend from heaven, and moreover at that time, when he was speaking, it was not in heaven. It cannot be according to the divine, because it did not ascend, since it could not become greater nor did it change place. Some respond that the exception here comprehends not only Christ, who is the head, but rather the whole body of Christ; and all those and only those who belong to his body ascend. But this cannot stand, because the body did not descend from heaven. Therefore it must be understood that "to ascend" is here said by one's own power, not power given from elsewhere, and thus only Christ was able to do so. To what is objected concerning the body, Augustine responds that it is no obstacle, because the body is like a garment; whence if someone descended naked from a mountain and ascended clothed, we say: no one ascended except he who descended; so also in the matter at hand. To what is asked — according to which nature is this said? — I respond: It must be said that in that statement three things are said of one hypostasis: "to ascend" belongs to him by reason of the human nature; "to descend," by reason of the divine in relation to the human, because he humbled himself by assuming flesh; but "to be in heaven," as at that time, according to the divine nature purely. And thus the whole cannot be referred back to one nature, but to one hypostasis.

John 3:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

Here the second point is touched upon, namely how the Son of God saves, namely through His passion. Therefore He says: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert": Numbers 21: "Moses made a bronze serpent and set it up as a sign; those who had been struck, looking upon it, were healed." "So must the Son of Man be lifted up," namely on the gibbet of the cross, so that all who look upon Him through faith may be healed. Chrysostom asks concerning what he says: "As Moses lifted up," etc.: why, when expressing the passion, did he not say "to hang on the cross," so as to speak more plainly? I respond: It must be said that the Lord was revealing the mystery of the passion to Nicodemus as something honorable, as something credible, as something hidden: as something honorable, lest the man, still carnal, should despise and recoil from it; therefore he said "to be lifted up," not "to be hung." As something credible, so that he might give assent; therefore through the preceding marvelous figure he intimates the marvelous effect of the passion. Also as something hidden, so that he might hold it more dearly; and therefore he does not explain it but leaves him a place for meditating, and through this for making progress and for arriving at the gift of understanding.

John 3:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"That everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life": in chapter 11: "He who believes in Me, even if he shall have died, shall live; and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall not die forever." He most fittingly describes the passion in relation to the figure, so that it may become more credible; and most fittingly did the figure precede, because, just as there they were not healed by the serpent unless they looked upon it, so neither are they healed through Christ unless they believe in Him. The question concerns what he says: "That everyone who believes in him may not perish." Therefore no one who has faith will be condemned, however wicked he may be. If you say that this is understood of formed faith, then according to this no one who has formed faith can be condemned. I respond: It must be said that here he speaks of true faith; but true faith excludes a twofold pretense. For faith is feigned either because one believes but does not love, or because one believes and loves but does not persevere. True faith, therefore, is that which loves what it believes and perseveres; and everyone such will be saved.

John 3:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

Here the third point is touched upon, namely the motivating reason for saving in this way; and this was the immensity of divine love toward lost mankind. On account of which He says: "For God so loved the world," that is, worldly and sinful man: that "He gave His Only-begotten Son": Ephesians 2: "God, who is rich in mercy, on account of His exceeding charity with which He loved us, when we were dead in sins, made us alive together with Christ." Therefore exceeding, because He gave more than was necessary: Romans 8: "He who did not spare even His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all." He gave Him, I say, for all as regards sufficiency, but as regards efficacy, for the elect and for believers. Therefore He adds: "That everyone who believes in Him" may not "perish, but may have eternal life." The passion avails none but believers, because, as it is said in Hebrews 11, "without faith it is impossible to please God."

John 3:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

He shows that our damnation is not on the part of God, when he says: and it should be continued thus from the preceding: I have truly said that God gave His Son, "that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life," not, I say, that he be condemned. "For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world," namely by condemning it, "but that the world might be saved through Him": 1 John 3: "In this we have known the love of God, that He first loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins," therefore for the purpose of propitiation, not for condemnation. But a question arises concerning what he says, that "he did not send his Son into the world to judge." Against this: It is stated in chapter 5: "The Father has given all judgment to the Son." I respond: There is a twofold coming: the first and the second, the first of mercy, the second of justice. In the first he came to propitiate, not to judge, but in the second he will come to judge.

John 3:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"He who believes in Him is not judged." He shows that damnation and judgment comes from a defect of faith. And he shows this through the fact that he who believes will not be judged, but he who does not believe is already judged. For this reason he says: "He who believes in Him," namely in the Son of God, "is not judged": in chapter 5: "He shall not come into judgment, but shall pass from death to life." "But he who does not believe is already judged," that is, is held as condemned, "because" he does not "believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of God"; because, as it is said in Acts 4, "there is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved." And therefore he who does not believe in His name is justly condemned. The question is raised concerning what he says: "He who does not believe is already judged." Against this: If God does not judge twice for the same thing: and unbelievers are already judged: therefore on the day of judgment they will not be judged. If you say that they have been judged by merit: so likewise wicked Christians. I respond: There is the judgment of present punishment: and by this all the wicked are judged, because "there is no disgrace of sin without the beauty of justice"; especially unbelievers, because unbelief is a great punishment in itself. There is the judgment of the final examination, and by this unbelievers will not be judged. And there is the judgment of future retribution. By the first, all the wicked are judged; by the second, the moderately good and the wicked; by the last, all the good and all the wicked. The unbeliever is therefore said to be already judged either on account of his blindness, or because he will not be judged through examination, as Gregory says.

John 3:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

Here the third point is touched upon, namely that the impediment to salvation and the reason for damnation and judgment is on the part of a defect of good works, by reason of which man flees from salvation. For this reason he says: "And this is the judgment": The Gloss: "That is, the cause of damnation": "because the light came into the world," that is, the incarnate Word: in chapter 12: "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me may not remain in darkness." "And men loved darkness more," namely of error, "than light," of truth: Job 24: "They were rebels against the light." And the reason for this blindness is a defect of good works; on account of which he says: "For their works were evil." And he shows that an evil work is the reason for fleeing the light.

John 3:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"For everyone who does evil hates the light": Job 24: "The eye of the adulterer watches for the darkness." "And does not come to the light, lest his works be exposed," that is, be manifested as evil: Ephesians 5: "Do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them; for all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light." An objection is raised concerning what he says: "Everyone who does evil hates the light." Against this: "All men naturally desire to know," just as they desire to be happy: but wickedness of action does not induce hatred of happiness: therefore neither of light. I respond: it must be said that light can be considered in two ways: either by reason of its first effect, insofar as it is a principle of knowledge, and thus it is hated by no one; or by reason of its second effect, which is to make manifest what is shameful, and because all the wicked abhor this, they therefore also abhor light with respect to this effect. But happiness does not have an effect in the soul contrary to any natural desire, as Augustine shows. Likewise, if "he who does evil does not come to the light": therefore no sinner ever converts to the faith. The response must be that as long as he delights in remaining in evil work, he does not come to the light; but if he begins to hate evil, then he can come to the light: and thus sinners come through contrition.

John 3:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"But he who does the truth comes to the light": Matthew 5: "No one hides a lamp under a bushel, but upon a lampstand"; because good works are light. Whence he also adds: "That his works may be made manifest, because they have been done in God." Those things are done in God which are done in charity: 1 John 4: "He who abides in charity abides in God, and God in him," who is the highest light, and therefore they are to be revealed to his honor: Matthew 5: "So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in heaven."

John 3:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

After these things Jesus came. The Lord manifested himself to the Jews by a sign of power and by a word of teaching; here he manifests himself by the Sacrament of regeneration, receiving the Jews to baptism. The purification of Christ through baptism is described first, by which he manifests himself to the Jews; and so he says: "After these things," that is, after the aforementioned manifestations, "Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea," so that he might make himself manifest to the Jews through baptism. Whence he adds: "And he was staying there with them," namely the disciples, "and was baptizing," according to what John had borne testimony to him in chapter 1: "Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, he it is who baptizes"; nor was he alone baptizing, but indeed also his precursor. But a question arises concerning what he says, that Jesus was baptizing. On the contrary: In chapter 4: "Jesus was not baptizing, but his disciples": therefore there is a contradiction. Response: It must be said that he by whose authority something is done is the one who does it; whence "to do something" is twofold, namely by authority or by ministry. Christ baptized by authority, but his disciples by ministry: or he baptized interiorly, while the disciples baptized exteriorly. But then there is a question: whence is it that the Lord did not baptize exteriorly in his own person? And it seems that he ought to have done so, so as to furnish others with an example, a form, and a manner. Response: It must be said that he furnished others with a manner and taught them, but nevertheless he did not baptize for the sake of avoiding error and presumption: error, because people would have believed that others who had not been baptized by him were not truly baptized: presumption, lest those baptized by him be puffed up and despise those baptized by the disciples, and thereby the baptism of the disciples. It is asked: which baptism is more powerful, whether that of Christ or that of John? That it is John's, it seems: because Christ was baptized with the baptism of John: therefore just as the priesthood of Melchizedek was nobler than the priesthood of Levi, because Levi was tithed by Melchizedek: by the same reasoning it seems so concerning baptism. Likewise, "Christ was not baptizing, but his disciples"; but the disciples of Christ were not greater than John: therefore neither was the baptism of Christ's disciples greater than the baptism of John. Likewise it is asked whether that baptism conferred grace? And that it did not, seems apparent: because it is said in chapter 7: "The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified"; and if anyone who had been baptized had died before the Passion, he would not have entered the kingdom of God. I respond: It must be said that according to Chrysostom, the baptism of Christ's disciples before the Passion was merely preparatory, just as was the baptism of John: hence both were devoid of grace. However, Bede and Augustine say that "John baptized, and there was rebaptism; Judas baptized, and there was no rebaptism." Hence they say that that baptism conferred grace, and was therefore nobler, because of nobler efficacy. As to what is objected, that Christ was baptized: it must be said that the baptism of John had absolutely no effect upon Christ. As to what is objected, that the disciples were baptizing: it must be said that this is true, outwardly; but nevertheless in that baptism Christ was baptizing inwardly; this was not so, however, in the baptism of John. As to what is objected, that the Spirit had not yet been given: this must be understood of the visible and manifest giving, in the manner in which it was given through the imposition of hands, not of the invisible giving. As to the objection that a baptized person who died would not fly forth: it must be said that this was not on account of a defect of grace in baptism, but because its price had not yet been paid.…

John 3:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"And John was also baptizing in Aennon near Salim," that is, Salem, which was the city of Melchisedech, Hebrews 7. And the reason is added: "Because there were many waters there." A good reason, because John baptized only in water; Mark 1: "I have baptized you with water," John said. "And they came" to him "and were baptized," even while Christ was baptizing; Matthew 3: "Jerusalem went out to him, and all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan, and they were baptized by him." It is asked: since the baptism of John was preparatory to the baptism of Christ, and when truth arrives, the shadow ceases: it seems that he ought to have ceased baptizing from the moment Christ began. Response: It must be said that he did cease, but not immediately. And the reason was fourfold: lest he seem contrary to him; lest he seem inconstant; lest he seem to have borne it indignantly; lest he cast his disciples into envy and jealousy.

John 3:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"For John had not yet been cast into prison," because then his baptism ceased, the master being absent, for it was temporal. Concerning the imprisonment of John, Matthew 14: "Herod seized John and bound him and cast him into prison."

John 3:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

Here is introduced the question proceeding from the twofold purification, which had its origin from the disciples of John accusing the Jews that, having abandoned John's baptism, they were going to Christ. On account of which he says: "Therefore a question arose from the disciples of John," as drawing its origin from them, "with the Jews" who were contradicting, namely "concerning purification," namely, where the greater purification was, whether in the baptism of John or of Christ. And the disciples of John were saying that the baptism of John was greater, the Jews to the contrary. On account of this, seeing that they could not prevail, they accuse Christ himself through envy.

John 3:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"And they came to John and said to him: Rabbi! He who was beyond the Jordan with you," he was with you as a lesser, because you baptized him, whom you also exalted: whence they add: "To whom you bore witness": in the first chapter: "John bears witness concerning him" etc.: "behold, this one baptizes," as if to say, he usurps your office. And to provoke him to jealousy, they add: "And all come to him," as if no longer caring about you. They were moved by jealousy. Joshua did something similar: in Numbers 11, concerning the men who were prophesying, he said to Moses: "My lord, forbid them. And Moses answered: Why are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit"?

John 3:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

John humbles himself and places himself after Christ through consideration of human frailty against his disciples who wished him to magnify himself and his own baptism. On account of which he says: "A man cannot receive anything unless it has been given him from heaven"; James 1: "Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of lights." And so, since I am a mere man, I cannot attribute to myself anything except what has been given to me; and therefore I do not attribute to myself the office of Christ, but that of a herald; 1 Corinthians 4: "What do you have that you have not received?"

John 3:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"You yourselves bear me witness that I said: I am not the Christ": in chapter 1: "And he confessed, that I am not the Christ." "But that I am sent before him," as a voice before the Word; in chapter 1: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight" etc.

John 3:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

Here he shows that Christ is set before him in the power of baptizing. For it belongs to him to baptize whose it is to regenerate; and it belongs to him to regenerate who has the bride, from whom he may beget. Therefore he says: "He who has the bride is the bridegroom," and from her he can beget and baptize: Ephesians 5: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of water in the word of life." Bede: "Christ is the bridegroom, the bride is the Church gathered from the nations: 2 Corinthians 11: I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. His therefore it is to regenerate; but mine it is not to regenerate nor to envy, but rather to rejoice as a friend." Therefore he adds: "But the friend of the bridegroom, who stands," by grace, "and hears him," by internal inspiration, "rejoices with joy because of the voice of the bridegroom. Rejoices with joy," that is, rejoices fully, because he wishes to rejoice with him. "Friend": in chapter 15: "You are my friends" etc. "Stands": Romans 14: "To his own Lord he stands or falls." "Hears": Psalm: "I will hear what the Lord God speaks in me" etc. "Rejoices with joy": Philippians, the last chapter: "Rejoice in the Lord always" etc. And in this way John rejoiced as a friend, not grieving as one envious. Therefore he says: "In this therefore my joy is fulfilled," that is, perfected, namely joy is then fulfilled when it has what it desires: in chapter 16: "Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full." Chrysostom inquires about this, that John calls himself the friend of the bridegroom, when above he had not dared to call himself a worthy servant: in chapter 1: "Whose latchet I am not worthy" etc. Chrysostom responds that answers are fitted to questions: and above John was being incited to ambition; and therefore he humbled himself and called himself an unworthy servant. Here he is being incited to jealousy: and therefore he calls himself a friend and says that he rejoices at his good.

John 3:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"He must increase, but I must decrease." This is the best sign, when someone rejoices at another's exaltation together with his own diminishment. "He must increase," in death, because he was exalted on the cross; "but I must decrease," in having my head cut off. Or: "he must increase," in fame, so that he may be believed to be Christ; "but I must decrease," so that I who am believed to be Christ may be believed to be his forerunner. Or: "he must increase," in baptizing and in the number of disciples; "I must decrease," because his baptism and his discipleship were about to cease shortly, but Christ's on the contrary to be enlarged. The Apostle rejoiced at this enlargement, Philippians 1: "Whether by occasion or by truth Christ is proclaimed, in this I rejoice, and indeed I shall rejoice."

John 3:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"He who comes from above is above all": the Gloss: "Therefore he rightly increases," and on account of this he is raised above all; Psalm: "You have subjected all things under his feet" etc. "He who is of the earth speaks of the earth." Here he places Christ above himself in wisdom of preaching, because John as an earthly one could speak of earthly things, but Christ of heavenly things. Therefore he says: "He who is of the earth speaks of the earth"; such is John, who was conceived in sins. "He who comes from heaven is above all," in the dignity of teaching: Christ came from heaven: 1 Corinthians 15: "The first man is of the earth, earthly; the second is from heaven, heavenly"; therefore from heaven, because he is spiritual, because he is sublime in Deity: in chapter 8: "You are from below, I am from above." And because he is from above, he speaks of things above with certitude. It is asked concerning what John says: "He who is of the earth speaks of the earth." He said this of himself, and it seems that he spoke unfittingly: because he himself was not speaking earthly things, but heavenly things. Chrysostom responds to this that he did not say this absolutely, but comparatively: not because they were earthly, but because they were earthly compared to the teaching of Christ. Augustine responds that that proposition is to be understood in itself or with reduplication: "He who is of the earth," insofar as he is earthly, "speaks of the earth": but if he speaks of heavenly things, this is insofar as he is imbued with the Spirit, which comes from above. It is asked concerning what he says: "He comes from heaven" etc. It seems from this that Christ did not assume human flesh, but heavenly flesh; or if human flesh, why is he not said to come from the earth like other men? Augustine responds: "From heaven or from above, that is, from the height of human nature before the sin of the first parent." But this seems to agree with that heresy that some particle remained in Adam uncorrupted, which was transmitted through successive generations all the way to the Virgin, and from it the flesh of Christ was made. On account of this, the word is to be soundly understood as said by a certain likeness: because, just as the flesh in Adam before sin was pure and without stain, so Christ assumed immaculate flesh. And it should be noted that he does not here call "earth" the passible nature, but the corrupted nature generated through sinful corruption, according to which Christ was not begotten, but was conceived through the divine power of the Holy Spirit: therefore "from above."

John 3:31 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

God condescended to us, for He expressed Himself through the incarnate Word. He who is from the earth belongs to earth, and of the earth he speaks. He who comes from heaven is over all. The witnessing of Christ was greater than that of John the Baptist, for He did not speak by means of the supporting power of someone else, since His spirit could see all things. And so, whoever is from heaven can truly reveal the things of heaven.

John 3:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"And what he has seen and heard, this he testifies," as one who is certain. "He saw," as the Wisdom of God, because he saw by himself: "he heard," as the Son receiving from the Father; in chapter 15: "All things whatsoever I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you." And although his doctrine is most excellent, nevertheless it is despised by the carnal. Therefore he adds: "And no one receives his testimony," that is, no worldly man: in chapter 15: "And they have both seen and hated both me and my Father": but the spiritual, who do receive it, become certain of his doctrine.

John 3:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"But he who has received his testimony has set his seal that God is truthful," that is, he will imprint it with certitude as a seal upon the heart.

John 3:34 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 6

It is asked whether the soul of Christ comprehends uncreated wisdom itself. And that it does is argued thus: John 3: God does not give the Spirit by measure; the Gloss: "To men by measure, but to the Son not by measure; but just as he begot the whole from his whole self, so to the incarnate Son he gave his whole Spirit, not partially and by subdivisions, but generally and universally"; but according to the measure of the spirit given is the measure in the knowledge of truth: therefore if the soul of Christ received the Holy Spirit in an immeasurable way, it knows God in an immeasurable way; and this is nothing other than to comprehend divine wisdom itself: therefore etc. To that which is objected from the Gloss, that grace was given to Christ not by measure; and from the authority of Augustine, that that grace is ineffable; and from the authority of Hugh and from that argument which he adduces, that that grace brings it about that man is God; to all these it must be answered that all these things are true and are to be understood according to the concurrence of two natures in one person: from which it follows that on account of the immensity of that person and of that union, the grace is called immense and ineffable, and on account of the unity of the person, God and those things which are of God can be predicated of the man: nevertheless it does not follow from this that the soul itself, or its power and habit, or its act, loses its created being, and consequently its finite and limited character. And therefore it does not follow that a comprehensive act of the eternal wisdom belongs to it, since that act is infinite and proceeds from infinite power.

John 3:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God": and thus he is truthful, just as God; in chapter 7: "If anyone wills to do the will of God, he will know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God, or whether I speak of myself." "For not by measure does God give the Spirit." Here he places Christ above himself in excellence of grace, because he excels all in grace, and this excellence is the reason for the foregoing. Therefore he says: "For not by measure." Truly I have said that he himself is the bridegroom, he himself speaks heavenly things, and he is above all: "For God does not give the Spirit by measure," namely to Christ: not according to a fixed measure, as to others. It is asked concerning what he says: "God does not give the Spirit by measure." Either he understands this of Christ according to the divine nature, or according to the human: according to the divine nature it cannot be, because he himself does not receive the Spirit, but rather the Spirit proceeds from him. If according to the human: to the contrary: The grace of Christ as man is created; but God creates all things in a certain weight, number, and measure, whence nothing created is infinite: therefore by measure. I respond: It must be said that there is a measure of limitation, and there is a measure of division. I call a measure of limitation that by which each created thing is finite in its substance and power and limited. I call a measure of division the determination of someone to some act, according to that text of 1 Corinthians 12: "There are divisions of graces, but the same Spirit," namely when grace is given to someone for some determinate effect, as the Apostle says. Christ had grace according to measure in the first way, because his grace was not infinite; in the second way he had it not according to measure, because it was not in him narrowed to some particular operation, but to every operation, just as the head has all the senses. Hence Chrysostom: "Spirit here he means the action of the Spirit; for it is this which is divided." Hence it is clear that he speaks of measure through the division of graces.

John 3:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"For the Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand": Matthew 11: "All things have been delivered to me by my Father." And therefore no one is saved except through the Son.

John 3:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 3

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life," in merit, namely: "but he who is unbelieving toward the Son shall not see life," he shall not have glory, but punishment. Whence he says: "But the wrath of God remains upon him": in chapter 12: "He who despises me and does not receive my words has one who judges him"; wrath, namely of vengeance, concerning which Proverbs 6: "The jealousy and fury of a man will not spare in the day of vengeance," etc.; or wrath, that is, original guilt, through which one is a child of wrath; Ephesians 2: "We were by nature children of wrath." It is asked concerning what he says: "He who believes has eternal life": because, if he has it, he does not believe. I respond: To have spiritual things is through love; and then they are perfectly had when they are perfectly loved.

John 4:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

The Lord manifested himself above to the disciples and to the Jews: in this part he manifests himself to the Samaritans, and this by preaching and announcing to them the word of salvation. And this part has two parts. In the first is noted the opportunity for preaching: in the second, the form of preaching, at: "A woman of Samaria came," where the Lord begins to preach to the Samaritan woman. Now the opportunity was on the part of the place, and this indeed was twofold, namely for passing through and for resting. Therefore first the opportunity of the place for passing through is touched upon. For when he wished to go from Judea into Galilee, he needed to pass through Samaria. Therefore he says: "When therefore Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard." They had heard, I say, from the disciples of John, who reported as envious persons and detractors: above in the third chapter: "They said: All are going to him": they had heard, I say, "that Jesus makes more disciples and baptizes than John." And from this it was manifest to them that he was greater and more renowned than John, and already manifested to them. This they heard, because it had been so reported. It is asked concerning what it says: "When Jesus knew." Either this is said according to his divinity, or according to his humanity: in whichever way this is said, it seems false, because Christ knew all things from his nativity; therefore he did not begin to know anything afterwards. The response to this is that just as Christ is said to be ignorant because he does not make us know, as concerning the day of judgment, so he is said to know something for the first time because he first shows himself to know it. Whence he knew this beforehand, but nevertheless then first showed it. Or it should be answered that Christ previously knew by foreknowledge, but afterwards knew by report: and this was not unfitting according to his human nature.

John 4:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Although Jesus did not baptize, but his disciples," lest they be provoked to envy.

John 4:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"He left Judea and went again into Galilee:" because he had gone once before, above in the first chapter. Chrysostom: "The Lord withdrew not for the sake of fear, but concealing their malice and envy": whence below in the seventh chapter: "Jesus walked in Galilee: for he did not wish to go into Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him." Thus, with preaching having been done to the Jews, the opportunity of preaching to the Samaritans presented itself. It is asked concerning what it says: the Lord left Judea on account of the Pharisees who now knew. It seems that he feared and that he fled. To this Chrysostom responds that it was not out of fear, but for the sake of avoiding their scandal and the zeal of envy. But then it is objected: Because "the truth of doctrine is not to be abandoned on account of scandal"; whence he did not cease to speak the truth to them on account of scandal in many places, as in Matthew 15; why then does he now desist on account of scandal? Likewise, if on account of envy: why did they envy Christ more than John, since John likewise baptized? It must be said that He left Judea for a threefold reason, namely to avoid scandal, to increase fruit, and to give an example. On account of scandal, lest the Jews be made worse through the kindling of zeal: but this was not the whole cause, indeed also on account of fruit, because there He would have accomplished little, and elsewhere He accomplished much: and preaching must be abandoned on account of scandal when greater fruit can be borne elsewhere. On account of example He also departed, as Augustine says, to show us that it is lawful to avoid the fury of persecutors. As to what is asked: why did they persecute Christ more than John? The response is that John did not baptize in his own name, but in the name of the coming Christ, whereas Christ baptized in His own name: whence He taught and baptized as one having authority. Since therefore the envious Pharisees wished to have no superior, they envied Him all the more.

John 4:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Now he had to pass through the midst of Samaria." And thus the opportunity of the place for passing through was at hand: Luke 17: "As Jesus was going to Jerusalem, he passed through the midst of Samaria." As he passed through, so he had to return. It is asked: since the Lord commands his disciples not to enter the cities of the Samaritans nor to go into the way of the Gentiles, Matthew 10, and also says in Matthew 15: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel:" whence is it that the Lord now preaches to the Samaritans? For he seems to contradict his own precept, and thereby to give a bad example. It must be said that the Lord prohibited this to his disciples not because it was evil, but lest he scandalize the Jews, to whom he had first come. Therefore he commanded that they should not go to them by principal intention, whence neither did the Lord thrust himself upon them. But because he wills all men to be saved, and the opportunity presented itself, and the woman came to him: therefore he opened the word of preaching.

John 4:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

Here the opportunity of the place for resting is touched upon, because he was weary, and a pleasant place presented itself; whence he describes the place by the city, when he says: "He came therefore to a city of Samaria, which is called Sichar:" Sichar in the Chaldaic language, Shechem in Hebrew. This is the city where Simeon and Levi slew the men in vengeance for the violation of their sister, Genesis 34. And this city was near the estate which Jacob gave to Joseph, his son: Genesis 48: "I give you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow." And this place was suitable for resting, because it was pleasant.

John 4:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Scripture enlightens from nearby by means of the gifts of graces which supplement what is lacking in human activity. For many scientists came as guests: they came to our house and to our activity. But in these matters, activity must reach a limit. Wherefore Scripture enlightens such matters from nearby. Hence it is not good to go far out for something that is close at hand. Indeed, Scripture describes the gifts of the Holy Spirit throughout. In John: Jesus therefore, wearied as He was from the journey, was sitting at the well. And there follows: "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. He, however, who drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst." And so, two kinds of water are distinguished. For one knowledge is described as being external, and the more one drinks of it, the more he thirsts; the other, as being internal, of which it is said: "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture says, 'From within Him there shall flow rivers of living water.'" He said this, however, of the Spirit whom they who believed in Him were to receive. And these are the waters from the fountain of salvation, that is, awareness of those graces that sustain souls.

John 4:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

Now Jacob's well was there, that is, which Jacob had found, according to what is said below in the same chapter. And Christ was in need of rest: therefore it says: "Jesus, being wearied from the journey, sat thus upon the well:" because the place was cool, and the heat was already upon them. Therefore it adds: "Now the hour was about the sixth:" and so he was wearied from the long journey, and from fasting and heat. Whence the Lord himself says in the Psalm: "I am poor and in labors from my youth: and having been exalted, I was humbled and troubled." Allegorically. Jesus, having left Judea, passes through the midst of Samaria into Galilee: because, with the Jews blinded, Christ passed over to the Father: for Galilee is interpreted as "passing over"; Romans 11: "Blindness has befallen Israel, that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter:" and Acts 13: "Paul and Barnabas said to the Jews: It was necessary that the word be spoken to you first: but since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life: behold, we turn to the Gentiles." Jesus, wearied from the journey, sits at the sixth hour: because the Son of God assumed our flesh with its penalties in the sixth age, as Augustine says. Jeremiah 14: "Why will you be as a sojourner in the land and as a traveler turning aside to tarry?" He sits upon the well of water; because he rests upon the streams of grace, so as to pour them out upon those who believe in him: below in chapter 7: "He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly." It should be noted that Christ is said to sit upon the well: because he himself is the one in whom the well of all grace rests: whence rightly by that well is understood: Genesis 2: "A spring rose from the earth and watered the whole surface of the earth." This is Christ, from whom proceeds a fourfold river or water, namely the water of cleansing. Concerning this water, Ezekiel 36: "I will pour clean water upon you": and thus Christ is called the well of cleansing: this is baptism: Zechariah 13: "There shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for the washing of the sinner and of the unclean woman." For baptism cleanses the sinner and the unclean woman, because it destroys both original and actual sin. The water of wisdom: Ecclesiasticus 15: "She gave him the water of wholesome wisdom to drink:" and this is sacred doctrine. And thus Christ is called the fountain of wisdom, Ecclesiasticus 1: "The fountain of wisdom is the word of God on high." This irrigates the hearts of teachers: Proverbs 5: "Let your fountains be dispersed abroad." The water of grace: concerning which, below in chapter 7: "He who believes in me, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly." And thus Christ is called the fountain of grace: below in the same chapter: "He who shall drink of the water that I will give him, it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life:" this is grace, Jeremiah 2. The water of life, concerning which below in the same chapter: "He who shall drink of the water that I shall give him shall not thirst forever." And thus Christ is called the fountain of life: Psalm: "With you is the fountain of life, and in your light we shall see light:" and Apocalypse 7: "The Lamb shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life." All the waters of these fountains proceed from Christ: whence Isaiah 12: "You shall draw waters with joy from the fountains of the Savior:" but they flow only into the humble and the valleys: Psalm: "You who send forth fountains in the valleys," that is, in the humble. Note that the devil sits upon the fountain of uncleanness, concerning which Leviticus 20: "He who shall lie with a woman in her menstrual flow and shall uncover her shame, and she shall open the fountain of her blood, both shall be put to death from the midst of their people." The menstruous and unclean woman is our flesh; he lies…

John 4:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

Having determined the opportunity for preaching, here is determined the manifestation made through preaching. And because this manifestation was first made particularly, and secondly commonly: therefore first it treats of the preaching made to the woman; secondly, of the preaching made to the Samaritans, at the passage: "The woman therefore left her water jar." And because the preaching of faith is not efficacious except with the consent of free will, and free will does not consent unless it is aroused by God: therefore the Lord first arouses the woman; secondly, to her once aroused and consenting, He announces the truth of faith. The Lord therefore arouses the woman in this order, namely first by requesting a service; secondly, by promising or offering a benefit; thirdly, by explaining the benefit offered. First He arouses her by requesting the service of a drink, which the woman was able to provide, because she had come to draw water. For this reason it says: "A woman of Samaria came to draw water:" and so she was able to give a drink, and Christ was in need and therefore asked. Therefore it follows: "Jesus says to her: Give me to drink." He was indeed in need of drink, because there was no one to serve Him. It is asked: since the Jews regarded the Samaritans as unclean, and the Lord kept the Law: whence is it that he asked to drink from a Samaritan woman? Furthermore, he knew her response before he asked, and he knew that she would not give the drink: therefore he was asking in vain and foolishly. Chrysostom responds that the Lord regarded the keeping of such observances as indifferent, as is said in Matthew 15, that nothing external defiles a man: and therefore he did not refrain from asking from her, although she was a Samaritan. To the objection that he knew she would not give: it must be said that he knew she would respond to him prudently, and so that from her response he might have an occasion for teaching, therefore he asked.

John 4:7 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, John 4: Give me to drink: Augustine in the original, Homily 15 on John: "In everything that Christ did as man, He was providing an example for those who would believe in Him"; and afterwards: "He asks to drink and promises to give drink, He is in need as one about to receive and promises as one about to satisfy." But it is certain that He was not in need of spiritual drink, because He was promising that: therefore He was in need of bodily drink and was requesting it. But you may object with the Gloss as though it were contrary, which says: "Although Jesus could thirst after His weariness, nevertheless He does not demand this drink"; but this is understood to mean that He was not principally seeking this drink, lest the Gloss contradict the deed.

John 4:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"But His disciples had gone into the city to buy food." He rightly says "to buy," not to seek gratuitously, because there was no one there who would give: whence it is said in Luke 9: "The disciples entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him: and they did not receive Him, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem." It is asked concerning what it says, that the disciples had gone into the city to buy food. The disciples were Jews: therefore they ought not to have dealings with Samaritans. Likewise, the Lord commanded them not to have silver, Matthew 10: how then did they go to buy, if they had no money? It must be said that the disciples had learned from the Lord that nothing is unclean or common. Or it must be said that certain foods were indifferent with respect to Jews and Samaritans, such as bread and fruits: and they had gone to buy such foods. To the objection that they did not have the means to buy: it must be said that they had not yet been sent to work miracles and to preach. Furthermore, they were in an unfamiliar land, where they would not find bread and other foods freely: therefore for the time of necessity they carried silver.

John 4:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"The woman therefore says to Him." Here secondly He arouses her by promising or offering a benefit: because the woman, considering Him to be a Jew, did not wish to render service, but rather raises a question. Therefore he says: "That Samaritan woman therefore says to Him," from whom namely He had asked a drink: "How do You, being a Jew, ask a drink of me, who am a Samaritan woman?" "She recognized Him to be a Jew from His garb," as the Gloss says. And the Evangelist subjoins the reason for this question: "For the Jews do not associate with the Samaritans," regarding them as unclean, because they were gentiles: whence Genesis 43: "It is unlawful for the Egyptians to eat with the Hebrews, and they consider such a banquet profane." Because therefore the woman had not been moved to render service, the Lord entices her by promising a benefit.

John 4:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Jesus answered and said to her: If you knew the gift of God." The gift of God is the Holy Spirit, concerning which Acts 2: "Repent, and let each one of you be baptized, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit is called a gift, because it ought not to be sold: Acts 8: "May your money perish with you, because you thought the gift of God could be possessed with money." If this, I say, you knew, "and who it is that says to you: Give Me to drink," namely that He Himself is the giver of the Holy Spirit, you would not have raised a question, but a petition for the gift. Therefore He says: "You perhaps would have asked of Him:" "perhaps" is not a mark of doubt, but of free will; and He would have satisfied your petition. Therefore He says: "And He would have given you living water:" "to you," asking, "He would have given;" Matthew 7: "Everyone who asks, receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened." He calls living water the grace of faith, which makes one live: Habakkuk 2: "My just one lives by faith."

John 4:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

Here the third point is touched upon, namely the explanation of the gift or benefit offered. For the woman understood carnally concerning a temporal gift: and therefore she doubted and sought an explanation. On this account he says: "The woman says to Him: Lord, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep:" and therefore You cannot give of the water of this well; but even from elsewhere, how can You have it? Whence there follows: "Where then do You have living water?" namely, this nobler water.

John 4:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Are you greater than our father Jacob?" Similar below in the eighth chapter: "Are you greater than our father Abraham?" "Who gave us the well:" therefore he gave it, because he found it. Concerning this well, Genesis 29: "Jacob set out and came to the eastern land and saw there a well, whose mouth was closed with a great stone." Nor did he only give to others, but he also had it for his own use, as though not having anything better. Therefore it says: "And he himself drank from it, and his sons, and his cattle." It is found in Genesis 29 that Jacob there watered the cattle. The woman, therefore, understanding carnally and not knowing the Lord's power, was not attracted. Therefore Christ explains the gift. It is asked about what the woman says: "Are you greater than our father Jacob?" From this it seems to imply that Jacob was the father of the Samaritans: and this is false, because they had been sent by the king of the Assyrians. It must be said that "father" is sometimes said on account of antiquity of time, just as we call old men fathers: sometimes on account of authority, thus we call prelates and authoritative men fathers; sometimes on account of benefaction or upbringing, thus we call those fathers from whom we receive benefits: sometimes on account of generation, thus those who begot. The woman calls Jacob father for the three reasons mentioned above.

John 4:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Jesus answered and said to her: Everyone who drinks of this water," namely visible and material, "shall thirst again:" and therefore it is no great thing to give this, nor do I promise this. "But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst:" below in the sixth chapter: "He who believes in me shall never thirst." And the reason is added why he shall not thirst.

John 4:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

John 4:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

John 4:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Unless man is trained in the gift of understanding, he cannot proceed to the drink of wisdom, which makes a river flow in the soul, a river which the soul itself drinks, that "shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up unto life everlasting."

John 4:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"But the water that I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life: springing up," because it causes one to spring up to where the fountain is unfailing: Psalm: "With you is the fountain of life"; a fountain also perfectly refreshing: whence in the Psalm: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of your house, and you shall give them to drink of the torrent of your pleasure." To this water the Lord invites in Isaiah 55: "All you who thirst, come to the waters; and you who have no money," etc. Thus therefore he aroused the woman by asking a service, by offering a benefit, by explaining the gift offered. It is asked about what he says: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." Either he means bodily thirst or spiritual thirst: if bodily, it is false, because those who have grace still thirst: if spiritual, it still seems false: Ecclesiasticus 24: "Those who drink will thirst still more." It must be said that he speaks of spiritual thirst. For there is a certain thirst for what is not had, so that it may be had: a certain thirst for what is had, so that it may be had more fully: and a certain thirst for what is perfectly had, so that it may be continued. The first is in concupiscence: the second, in grace: the third, in glory. Here he speaks of the first thirst. For the thirst of grace is not for a thing not had: because, as Augustine says, whoever has the eternal gift, has it by loving, although not perfectly.

John 4:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

The Lord stirred up the woman to consent; here now to the woman consenting and asking he sets forth the word of faith for believing. Because the woman, even though she had been stirred up, was nevertheless not yet illuminated, the Lord does not immediately set forth the word of faith, but proceeds in this order: first he reveals the secret; second he makes clear the doubt; third he opens the sacrament of faith. Therefore to the woman now asking for the water thus promised and on this account consenting, he reveals the secret; on account of which he shows the woman's petition. Thus the Lord had promised her unfailing water; the woman asks for this: "The woman says to him: Lord, give me this water, that I may not thirst nor come here to draw." And the thirst was painful to her, and the labor of drawing; and therefore she was seeking the gift of God, because, as Gregory says, "the evils that press upon us here compel us to go to God." For this reason the Lord calls the burdened in Matthew 11: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you." Therefore to the woman thus asking, the Lord opens the secret, but not immediately, lest she be indignant, because it is reproachful; but he seeks an occasion for speaking.

John 4:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Jesus says to her: Go, call your husband," not through marriage, but through misuse, "and come here." He was not saying this because he believed she had a husband, but so that he might reveal the secret about her husband to her as she responded.

John 4:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"The woman answered and said: I have no husband." From this truthful response, the Lord, having taken the occasion, adds the revelation of the secret. Whence there also follows: "Jesus says to her: You have spoken well: I have no husband," because she confessed the truth.

John 4:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"For you have had five husbands," behold, he reveals things past, "and the one whom you now have is not your husband: this one," that is, "this one:" it is an antiptosis. He reveals things present, and so that she may not be indignant, he commends the truth: "This you have spoken truly." In this a pattern is handed down to preachers, that when they wish to say harsh things to their hearers, they should mix in sweet things as well; whence Paul kept this pattern in 1 Corinthians 11: "I praise you, he says? In this I do not praise"; for he was not reproving them entirely. Mystically. The woman is the lower part of reason; her natural and legitimate husband is the higher part, judging rightly; 1 Corinthians 11: "The man is the image and glory of the Lord, but the woman is the glory of the man." This woman is reproved because she had five husbands, when she served the five senses of the flesh in infancy, which ruled over her as husbands. Children are those who follow youthful desires, on account of which the Apostle says in 2 Timothy 2: "Flee youthful desires." These youthful desires, even though they seem sweet, are nevertheless harsh; whence they are signified by the five yoke of oxen; Luke 14: "I have bought five yoke of oxen," namely the burdensome desires of the five senses. The first husband is taste: the gluttonous serve this one, in whose person Ecclesiastes 2 says: "It is better to eat and drink and to show good things to one's soul;" Isaiah 22: "Let us eat and drink." The second is touch: the lustful serve this one, in whose person Wisdom 2 says: "Let there be no meadow that our wantonness does not pass through. Let none of us be without a share in our revelry." The third is smell: the pleasure-seekers serve this one, in whose person it is said in Wisdom 2: "Let us fill ourselves with costly ointments, and let not the flower of time pass us by; let us crown ourselves with roses." The fourth is sight: the avaricious serve this one: Ecclesiasticus 14: "The eye of the covetous is insatiable in its share of iniquity; he will not be satisfied until it consumes, withering his own soul." The fifth is hearing: the curious serve this one: Acts 17: "The Athenians spent their time in nothing else but either telling or hearing something new." She is reproved concerning the sixth man who is not hers. This man is error, by which the soul is led astray and seduced. Therefore, this error having been cast aside, the Lord urges her to call her husband, that is, the natural judgment of reason, so that she might be able to perceive the sacraments of the faith, and not be "like the horse and the mule, which have no understanding." To such a soul the Lord gives water springing up into eternal life. This is the water of grace, which descends from God; therefore it makes one leap up to God, for it is the property of water that it rises as high as it descends.

John 4:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

The second point is touched upon here: for after he revealed the secret, he makes clear the doubt. For the woman, seeing that the Lord was a knower of secrets, puts forward her own uncertainty to be resolved; on account of which she says: "The woman says to him: Lord, I see that you are a prophet," because, namely, you know secrets, and thus you can answer my doubt.

John 4:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Our fathers worshipped on this mountain," namely Abraham and Jacob — "and you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." If, therefore, the fathers are to be imitated, how then do you say this, as though despising the custom of the fathers? The Jews said this on account of that passage in Deuteronomy 12: "Take heed that you do not offer to the Lord in every place, but in the place which the Lord shall choose." The Lord resolves the doubt of this question, showing that neither there nor in Judea did they worship perfectly.

John 4:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Jesus says to her: Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem." This hour is the time of grace, in which the error of the gentiles and the shadow of the legal commandments must be abolished. Concerning this hour, Romans 13: "It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep: the night has passed, and the day has drawn near." This hour does not determine a place of prayer in any one location, but everywhere: 1 Timothy 2: "I will that men pray in every place, lifting up pure hands." And although neither here nor in Jerusalem is worship now offered perfectly, nevertheless it is better in Jerusalem. It is asked: since it is said "The hour comes when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father," if this is true, then temples ought not to be built for prayer. Likewise, if those who worship must worship in spirit, then those who make corporeal images for worship sin. It must be said that certain conditions of prayer are essential, such as right intention and just petition; certain others are accidental, such as time and place. The Lord did not say that a determinate place is to be cut away from true prayer as superfluous, but rather that it should be recognized as not belonging to the essence of prayer, because true worshipers worship God everywhere. And although place is not necessary, it is nevertheless not superfluous: for it avails for maintaining memory, for arousing devotion, for preserving unity, for obtaining the fellowship of the Angels, because "the princes went before, joined with those singing psalms." As to the objection concerning images, it must be said that now they do no harm, because it is not believed that anything divine is in them, nor that God is there corporally, but only significatively.

John 4:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"You worship what you do not know:" because you do not have the Law; likewise, you worship God and idols together and believe God to be local: in 4 Kings 17 it is said of the Samaritans that they served the God of the land and their own idols. "We worship what we know: we," namely the Jews: "because salvation is from the Jews," that is, Christ the Savior: Galatians 3: "To Abraham were the promises made, and to his seed." Because therefore worship is not offered perfectly even in Jerusalem, he teaches the woman when and how worship is offered perfectly, lest he leave her in suspense. It is asked concerning what the Lord says of Himself and of the Jews: "We adore what we know." To the contrary: Below in chapter 8: "You know neither me nor my Father," the Lord Jesus says to the Jews. It must be said that below He speaks of the unfaithful, who were Jews in name only; but here He speaks of true Jews, who are called Jews in reality and by merit.

John 4:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"But the hour is coming." I said that you do not worship perfectly, because you believe God to be local: nor do the Jews perfectly, because under figures. "But the hour is coming," namely of grace, "and now is," because Christ had already come: "when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: in spirit," against locality and corporeality: "in truth," the shadow having been cast aside: according to what the Apostle said in 2 Corinthians 3: "We, beholding the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, are transformed into the same image from glory," etc. That these are the true worshipers, he shows by saying: "For the Father also seeks such to worship him:" supply: as was said, in spirit and truth.

John 4:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"God is Spirit," not a body, as you believe: Isaiah 40: "To whom have you likened God? Or what image will you set up for him?" "And those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth:" so that they may be conformed to him, that they may be in spirit, not in the flesh: Romans 8: "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God": that they may be in truth, not in pretense: Wisdom 1: "The Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful."

John 4:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

Here now for the third time, after she has manifested her doubt, he opens the sacrament of faith. For the woman, instructed by the Lord, raises the eye of consideration to Christ and the time of grace; on account of which he says: "The woman says to him: I know that the Messiah is coming, who is called Christ; when therefore he comes, he will announce all things to us." The woman knew this because the Samaritans accepted the Law and believed, especially because Christ was promised in the Law not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles: Genesis 49: "The scepter shall not be taken away from Judah, nor a ruler from his thigh, until he comes who is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of the nations." Since therefore the woman has been led all the way to Christ and is now prepared to believe in him, what remains except that the Lord reveal himself to her?

John 4:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Jesus says to her: I am he, who speaks with you." Similarly the Lord responded to the blind man below in chapter 9, when the blind man asked who the Son of God was in whom he ought to believe; the Lord responded: "You have seen him, and it is he who speaks with you." Now that faith has been declared, the preaching and conversation are concluded, because the disciples return. It is asked: since "the Lord made a shortened word upon the earth," whence is it that He drew out the Samaritan woman through so many words? Chrysostom responds that if He had immediately said to the woman, "I am the Christ," He would have seemed to be raving; and therefore He advanced gradually as a good teacher and gave us an example, that we should not disdain to preach to few hearers, since He Himself made so long a discourse to one old woman.

John 4:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"And immediately his disciples came and marveled that he was speaking with a woman." They admired his clemency and condescension. Augustine: "They admired the good; they did not suspect evil." And this admiration did not lead to questioning but to reverence and fear. Therefore he says: "Yet no one said to him: What do you seek, or why do you speak with her? What do you seek?" as if to say, what is the necessity of this conversation? "Why do you speak?" that is, what is the usefulness of this conversation? "For a word that lacks the reason of just necessity or pious usefulness, as Gregory says, is idle." It is asked: since the disciples were wondering, and Peter was accustomed to ask the Lord boldly, why did they not ask the Lord what He was speaking about? If they had asked, they would have seemed already to hold Him suspect; therefore they feared being rebuked for a foolish question and for lack of discipline; and therefore they did not dare to ask.

John 4:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

Now the part is concluded in which the Lord preached and showed Himself to the Samaritan woman individually and privately; here begins the second part, in which the Lord preaches to the Samaritans in common and manifests Himself to them. And because this manifestation was made partly through the proclamation of the woman, partly through the discourse of Christ, and this while the disciples were listening, who ought to have been attentive to this same thing, therefore this manifestation proceeds according to this order. For first is noted the diligence of the woman in announcing the name of Christ; second, the eagerness of Christ to receive them; third, the encouragement of the disciples to preach; fourth, the devotion of the Samaritans to believe, to which all things that are determined here are ordered. First, therefore, is described the vigor of the woman's diligence, which she had for the manifestation of the name of Christ and the conversion of her people, because she immediately went to announce the truth which she had received; on account of which he says: "The woman therefore left her water jar." Having heard the word of faith, she left the water jar so that she might run more quickly and announce, lest perhaps the Lord should depart; or because in her fervor, forgetting that for which she had come, she wished to proclaim Christ. Whence Chrysostom: "This woman teaches us to despise all temporal things when hearing spiritual things." "And she went away into the city," namely to spread abroad the name of Christ. Whence there also follows: "And she says to those men:"

John 4:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Come and see the man who told me all things that I have done." She was drawing them by this, that he had revealed her secrets: she did not say: Come and see a prophet: but she divulges her own life, so that she might uproot and draw all. "Is not this the Christ?" She did not assert it, lest she seem deceived: she did not assert, but proposed it by doubting, so that they themselves might likewise doubt, and through this come to be made certain. Chrysostom: "She did not wish to lead them by her own persuasion, but by hearing him"; on account of which, being stirred up, they come. It is asked about the testimony of the woman, who said: "Come and see the man who told me all things whatsoever I have done." He told her only about the husbands she had had. Therefore either the woman had done nothing more, which is false; or she was lying and speaking falsely. It must be said that when the woman said this, she was not looking only to the words of the one speaking, but to the wisdom by which He was speaking. And just as He had told her one secret, by the same power He could tell all things whatsoever she had done. Therefore the woman, wishing to express the power of Christ, spoke in a universal manner.

John 4:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"They went out of the city and were coming to him." Rightly they went out, because Christ was before the gate as one unknown, and suffered outside the gate: whence in the last chapter of Hebrews: "Christ suffered outside the gate: let us therefore go out to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach." In this it is intimated that those who wish to be taught by Christ must leave the tumult of the city: Jeremiah 48: "Leave the cities and dwell in the rock, O inhabitants of Moab"; because it is said in the Psalm: "In a desert and pathless and waterless land, so in the sanctuary have I appeared to you."

John 4:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

Here is touched upon Christ's desire for receiving those who are called: because he desires their salvation as food, indeed more than bodily food in a time of need, when he was hungry. Therefore he says: "In the meanwhile," that is, while the woman went and the Samaritans were coming: "his disciples were asking him," as if anxious about the Master, "saying: Rabbi, eat:" because they had brought food, and the hour of eating had already passed. Chrysostom: "Seeing him wearied from the journey and the heat and fasting, they were asking him to eat": but the Lord, desiring spiritual food more than bodily, refuses to eat.

John 4:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"But he said to them: I have food to eat which you do not know:" that food I prefer to this. The disciples did not know that food, because it was spiritual, since they themselves were carnal: 1 Corinthians 2: "The natural man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God." Therefore it is clear that they did not know, because they understood carnally.

John 4:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"The disciples therefore said to one another: Has anyone brought him something to eat?" Augustine: "What wonder, if that woman did not understand the water? Behold, the disciples do not yet understand the food." And because it belongs to the master to teach disciples who do not understand, therefore the explanation follows.

John 4:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Jesus says to them: My food is," which indeed you do not know, "to do the will of him who sent me." The will of God is our salvation; below in chapter 6: "This is the will of my Father who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life." The Lord wished to consummate this will through the work of redemption; therefore he says: "That I may accomplish his work." The work of God is called par excellence the work of most merciful reconciliation; whence in the Psalm: "His mercies are above all his works." The work therefore of God is our conversion to God through faith; below in chapter 6: "The work of God is that you believe in him whom he has sent." It is asked concerning the fact that the Lord calls our salvation His food, and similarly above He called our faith His drink. This does not seem properly said. For food sustains the one who is nourished, but Christ sustains us, not we Christ; therefore we are not the food of Christ. It must be said that there is a threefold property in food. The first is that it is vehemently desired; the second is that through it the one who is nourished is refreshed; the third is that food is taken into the body. By reason of the first property, Christ is our food, because we desire him, and we are his, because he himself desires our salvation. By reason of the second property, because it nourishes and restores, Christ is our food, not the reverse. By reason of the third, we are the food of Christ, because he himself draws us into his body: whence Augustine says that on the cross he consumed the thief.

John 4:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

Here is touched upon the encouragement of the disciples to preach on account of the salvation of the Samaritans. And he encourages them to this both from consideration of their readiness to believe, and from consideration of the reward of preachers. He urges them to consider the readiness of believers under a parable, saying: "Do you not say that there are yet four months, and the harvest comes?" Literally, summer was near; and indeed people say this when they see the time of reaping approaching, which they await throughout the whole year. "Behold, I say to you: Lift up your eyes," that is, your consideration, "and see the regions," that is, the multitudes of the Gentiles; "for they are white for the harvest," that is, near to faith, because they are ready to believe, if there is someone to announce it; Matthew 9: "The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest." Thus he encourages them from consideration of the readiness to believe; he also encourages them from consideration of the fruit of the reapers. It is asked: since the evangelical law is not one of shadow or figure, but rather of open truth, why is it that the Lord speaks to His disciples in parables? It seems that He ought not to speak in this way, but openly. It must be said that to speak in figures is twofold: either such that the truth is enclosed therein and is not unfolded to the hearers — and this denotes shadow and obscurity, and this pertains to the old law, not to the new. In another way, to speak in similitudes is such that the similitude is unfolded and made manifest — and then it is not to speak in shadow, but rather in light; and in this way the Lord speaks, so that the matter obscurely proposed in figure may be clearly understood through exposition, and the human mind may be humbled, and the truth may be more ardently loved and more firmly held. For truth that is somewhat hidden becomes more pleasing when it is opened up.

John 4:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"And he who reaps receives a reward," not temporal, but eternal. Whence he says: "And gathers fruit unto eternal life," "where neither rust nor moth destroys, nor do thieves dig through nor steal," Matthew 6. Of this reward it is said in Luke 6: "Rejoice and exult, for behold, your reward is great in heaven." And this reward is common both to reapers and to sowers. Therefore he says: "That both he who sows," etc. I say rightly that he who reaps gathers fruit not for the sower only, but also for himself; "that both he who sows may rejoice together, and he who reaps;" the Psalm: "Going, they went and wept, casting their seeds; but coming, they shall come with exultation." And he gives the reason why both reapers and sowers ought to rejoice: because according to the proverb, the ones and the others are different.

John 4:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"In this the saying is true," namely what is customarily said: that "one is he who sows, and another who reaps;" for the Prophets sowed, but afterward the Apostles reaped, and this indeed by the Lord's beneficence and command, whose harvest it was. It is asked about what the Lord says to his disciples: "One is he who sows, another who reaps;" whence he calls the Apostles reapers, not sowers. But to the contrary: The Word of God is the seed: therefore he who preaches sows: but the Apostles were preachers. Likewise, 2 Corinthians 9: "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly:" therefore he who sows nothing will reap nothing. Likewise, it seems that the Apostles are not reapers, but the Angels: whence Matthew 13: "The harvest is the consummation of the age, the reapers are the Angels:" therefore not the Apostles. It must be said that these three times have an order: the time of the Mosaic law, of grace, and of glory. The time of grace is as fruit with respect to the time of the Mosaic law: the time of glory is as fruit with respect to the time of grace. Accordingly, because harvest denotes the gathering of fruit, the harvest is twofold: the first in the time of grace: and of this the reapers are the Apostles, but the sowers are the Prophets, who foretold this grace and caused the people to await it. The other is in the time of glory: and of this the reapers are the Angels, and the sowers are the Apostles with respect to some, but all with respect to themselves. And the arguments proceed along different lines, because the Lord speaks of the harvest of grace.

John 4:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"I sent you to reap that upon which you have not labored." Concerning this harvest and mission, Matthew 9: "Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send laborers into his harvest." "Others have labored, and you have entered into their labors:" because you gather the fruits of their preaching: 1 Peter 1: "It was revealed" to the Prophets "that not to themselves" they were prophesying, "but to you they ministered those things which are now declared to you."

John 4:39 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

Here is touched upon the devotion of the Samaritans to believing, which was begun through the word of the woman: on account of which he says: "Now many of the Samaritans from that city believed in him." And the reason is added: "Because of the word of the woman bearing testimony," concerning his Divinity: "Because he told me all things that I have done." At the testimony of the woman the Samaritans believed, but the Jews refused to believe John: whence the Lord said to the Jews, Matthew 21: "Amen I say to you, that the publicans and harlots shall go before you into the kingdom of God." And although they did not believe firmly, they nevertheless believed devoutly. It is asked: since it is said in the Psalm: "Your testimonies are made exceedingly credible," and the testimony of a woman is vain and fragile, as is the weaker sex, it seems that the Lord ought not to have manifested Himself to the Samaritans through a woman. It must be said that Christ does not accept human testimony on account of His own need, but only on account of the need of the hearers. Therefore, because the testimony of the woman was not at all suspect to the Samaritans, the Lord willed to make Himself known to them through a woman — not because her testimony had strength, but because it was credible to the Samaritans. Another reason was to condemn the hardness of the Jews at the judgment: because they did not believe John the Baptist, but the Samaritans believed one simple woman, just as the Lord Himself says to them that the queen of the south and the Ninevites will rise up in judgment against the Jews, Matthew 12.

John 4:40 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"When therefore the Samaritans had come to him, they asked him to remain there:" Luke 24: "Stay with us, for it is growing toward evening"; whereas the Jews cast him out. Chrysostom: "The Pharisees, seeing many signs, not only did not believe, but drove him away from the region." Whence it is said in Matthew 8, that "the whole city of the Gerasenes went out to meet Jesus, and seeing him, they asked him to depart from their borders." And the Lord condescended to the prayers of the Samaritans: whence it is said: "And he remained there two days," to confirm and multiply their faith: which indeed he did. It is asked: since the Lord saw them disposed to believe, why is it that he wished to remain with them for only two days? It seems that he ought to have been with them longer and for a greater time. It must be said that he did this to avoid giving scandal to the Jews, lest they be indignant that, having left them, he crossed over to foreigners.

John 4:41 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"And many more believed because of his word." Nor is this surprising, because, as Peter says to him below in chapter 6, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Nor did he only multiply, but also confirmed.

John 4:42 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"And they said to the woman: We now believe, not because of your speech," as though begging for a human reason: "for we ourselves have heard and know that this is truly the Savior of the world:" that is, by hearing we have come to know, because, as it is said in Romans 10, "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of God." "Truly the Savior of the world," not of the Jews only; whence above in chapter 3: "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son." Therefore 1 John 2: "He is the propitiation for our sins, not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world." He was prefigured by Joseph, of whom it is said in Genesis 41, that "Pharaoh changed his name and called him in the Egyptian tongue Savior of the world."

John 4:43 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

The Lord manifested himself above to the disciples, the Jews, and the Samaritans; here begins the fourth part of this section, in which he manifests himself to the Galileans, his own countrymen, as being harder to believe. And this manifestation, which was made through a miracle, proceeds in this order. First, there is indicated in the Galileans a defect of reverence for honoring: second, a defect of faith for believing: third, the obtaining of the miracle: fourth, from this the building up of faith. First, therefore, there is indicated a defect of reverence for honoring Christ. For because they were countrymen of Christ, therefore to remove their irreverence Christ came to them, so that he might show himself to them in miracles. "But after two days," during which, namely, he was in Samaria, "he departed from there and went into Galilee," namely his own country, in order to convert those who were harder.

John 4:44 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"For Jesus himself bore witness," that is, he asserted as true, "that a prophet has no honor in his own country:" Luke 4: "No prophet is accepted in his own country." The Gloss says that because on his first coming into Galilee he had not received honor, therefore he returns yet a second time, so that at least in this way they might believe in him through signs. For they had already been in some way disposed through the signs which they had seen in Jerusalem. It is asked about what he says, that "a prophet has no honor in his own country." Against this: Because a man is not honored except where he is known: therefore if he is known among his countrymen, not among foreigners, it seems that he would be honored more in his own country than in a foreign one. Likewise we see that the prophet David had the honor of kingship in his own country. Likewise it seems that Christ did have honor. For it is said in the text that "the Galileans received him:" therefore they honored him. It must be said that a prophet is not honored in his own country for a twofold reason: both by reason of carnal generation, and by reason of familiar association. By reason of generation: for when he has a father and mother who are ignoble, lowly, and poor, as Christ was believed to have, he is despised on account of them. By reason of familiar association, because familiarity breeds contempt: therefore, since they knew Christ's parents to be poor and knew his upbringing, they believed there was nothing divine in him. As to the objection that acquaintance causes a man to be honored: it must be said that acquaintance with virtue assists, but acquaintance with origin and weakness hinders. As to the objection about David and other prophets, it must be answered that "a rule should not be pronounced from rarely occurring cases." And because this rarely occurs, therefore etc. As to the objection that they received him: Augustine responds that they received him outwardly in a bodily manner, but not inwardly through faith: and this is not the honor the Lord requires. For the Lord does not place importance on a festival of the arm, but on a faithful mind.

John 4:45 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"When therefore he came into Galilee, the Galileans received him," as if they began to honor him for a little while: Philippians 2: "Receive Epaphroditus with all joy in the Lord, and hold such men in honor." And the reason is added: "Having seen all things that he had done in Jerusalem on the feast day: having seen," I say: "for they also had gone up to the feast day." For all these things which they saw were signs and miracles: above, chapter 2: "When he was in Jerusalem on the feast day, many believed in him, seeing the signs which he was doing."

John 4:46 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"He came therefore again to Cana of Galilee:" namely, so that at least in this way they might believe: "where he made water wine," which was the beginning of his signs, through which he became known to his disciples: whence the Gloss: "Through this miracle few had believed, that is, the disciples"; above, chapter 2: "This beginning of signs Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee, and his disciples believed in him." "And there was a certain royal official." Here is touched upon the deficiency of faith for believing. Just as in a certain way they honored, and in a certain way did not: so also in a certain way they believed, and in a certain way did not. And this is evident in this, that the royal official did not believe that he could heal his son unless present. "There was a certain royal official," so called from the smallness of his kingdom, "whose son was sick at Capharnaum," and thus in the Lord's absence. Morally. Here it must be considered who the royal official is, who the royal official's son is, by what infirmity he is held, and at what hour he is healed. The king is said to be the higher part of reason, to which the whole kingdom of the soul is entrusted for judging: whence in the Psalm: "And now, O kings, understand." He is called a royal official on account of the smallness of his justice, when he rules the soul badly and childishly: Ecclesiastes 10: "Woe to the land whose king is a child, and whose princes eat in the morning!" The son of this king is said to be the lower part of reason, which is of the same nature and is to be instructed by it: Ecclesiasticus 30: "He who teaches his son shall be praised." This king's son is sick with fever, when reason follows concupiscence, which is like a hot and putrid fever: Ecclesiasticus 23: "A burning soul, like a blazing fire, will not be quenched until it devours something." This concupiscence, like a fever, disturbs a man, now with heat, now with cold: Isaiah 57: "The wicked are like a raging sea that cannot rest, and its waves cast up filth and mire." He is set free at the seventh hour of the day. The day here can be called Christ, because he himself is the sun shining upon the earth: below, chapter 8: "I am the light of the world." The hours of this day are the various states of Christ, from the consideration of which the soul is freed from its various sicknesses. The first hour is the incarnation, and this liberates from pride by illuminating unto humility, because he humbled himself in the incarnation: Philippians 2: "He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant." The second is the nativity, and this liberates from avarice by illuminating toward poverty, because Christ was born poor, as is said in Luke 2: "She brought forth her firstborn Son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." The third is the circumcision, and this liberates from disobedience by illuminating toward obedience. For although Christ was not subject to the Law, nevertheless he subjected himself to the Law; whence that word of the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 9 is rightly said of him: "Though I was free from all, I made myself a servant of all." The fourth is the manifestation, and this liberates from envy by illuminating toward the sharing of doctrine, because he then revealed knowledge of himself to the nations; Wisdom 7: "I rejoiced in all things, because this wisdom went before me, which I share without envy, and I do not hide her honor." The fifth is the offering in the temple, and this liberates from ingratitude by illuminating toward prayer, since the Lord himself was then offered in the temple as a sign that through gratitude man ought to offer his whole self; Luke 2: "They brought the child Jesus to Jerusalem, to present him before the Lord." The sixth is his baptism, and this liberates from uncleanness by illuminating toward newness of life, because Christ was washed in the river Jordan; Matthew 3: "Jesus came from…

John 4:47 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"When this man had heard that Jesus came from Judea into Galilee," because the fame of his coming had spread abroad: Mark 1: "His fame went forth immediately into all the region of Galilee"; "he went to him," out of devotion: Matthew 8: "A centurion came to him, beseeching him." "And he besought him to come down," through bodily presence: above, chapter 2: "He went down to Capharnaum, he and his Mother," etc. "And heal his son," through wondrous power: Luke 6: "Power went forth from him and healed all." "For he was beginning to die," through natural powerlessness: 4 Kings 20, it was said to Hezekiah: "You shall die and not live," according, namely, to lower causes. And because this royal official, although he was asking, did not yet firmly believe, therefore the Lord rebuked him for unbelief.

John 4:48 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Jesus therefore said to him: Unless you see signs and wonders, you do not believe:" and thus you are hard toward believing. Signs are lesser, but wonders are greater miracles. Concerning this hardness of the Jews, below in the twelfth chapter: "Although he had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in him"; by contrast, the Samaritans believed by the word alone, as was proven above. Gregory asks about this royal official, whether he believed or not. That he did not, it seems: Because the Lord rebukes him: "Unless you see signs and wonders, you do not believe." This same thing is argued from the text: because he was asking him to come down, as if he could not heal except in his presence. But against this: if he did not believe, how did he seek the health of his son from the Lord? It must be said that he did believe, but incompletely: he believed that in Christ there was the power to save his son; but he did not believe that in him there was Divinity, through which he could act everywhere. Hence there was faith when he sought healing, but a defect of faith when he required bodily presence.

John 4:49 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

Here is touched upon the obtaining of the miracle, which, even though it did not come about on account of perfect faith, was nevertheless done on account of the father's insistence. Whence the royal official again asks: "Lord, come down before my son dies." Because he asked insistently, he obtained; Matthew 7: "Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened"; and Luke 11: "And if he will not give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needs" — namely, loaves.

John 4:50 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"Jesus says to him: Go, your son lives," that is, he has been made well. He says "lives" because he had recovered from a mortal illness. And indeed the man merited this, because, although he did not yet believe in Christ, he nevertheless believed the word of Christ. Therefore it says: "The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went his way." The Gloss: "Thus he merited health for his son." Whence the Lord said to the man asking for the health of his son in Mark 9: "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes"; that is, they can be obtained from him. Gregory asks: whence is it that the Lord offered to go to the servant of the centurion, but when asked, refused to go to the son of the royal official? It must be said that this was for the edification of faith and morals: of faith, because, while He offered Himself to the centurion, He manifested to us the devotion of his faith; while He withdrew Himself from the son of the royal official, by healing him in absence, He invited him to faith in His Divinity. But for the edification of morals, so that He might restrain our pride, who venerate the great and despise the lowly, the Lord offered to go to the servant of the centurion, and refused to go to the son of the royal official.

John 4:51 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

Here is touched upon the building up of faith, which came about from the knowledge of the power and the miracle, which he learned from the report of his servants. "And as he was now going down, his servants met him;" namely, having good news, they did not wait until he reached home. "They met him" hastening with joy, as servants to their lord: Matthew 25: "Behold, the bridegroom comes, go out to meet him." "And they reported to him that his son lived," that is, that he had been healed.

John 4:52 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"He therefore inquired the hour in which he had gotten better," so that through the hour he might recognize in his son the power of Christ. "And they said to him: Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him:" and from this he recognized the power of Christ.

John 4:53 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"The father therefore knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him: Your son lives," and thus that he had been healed by his powerful word: according to that passage in Wisdom 16: "Neither herb nor poultice healed them, but your word, O Lord." And from this knowledge follows the building up of faith. Therefore it says: "And he himself believed, and his whole household." Now with perfect faith he himself believed on account of this second sign, who nevertheless had not believed on account of the first.

John 4:54 — Commentary on John, Chapter 4

"This again is the second sign that Jesus performed: the second," namely with respect to the one that took place at the wedding: "when he had come from Judea into Galilee," so that, because they had not believed through the first, they might believe through the second: Exodus 4, the Lord said to Moses: "If they will not believe nor hearken to the voice of the first sign, they will believe the voice of the latter sign."

John 5:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

That principal part has been concluded in which the manifestation of the incarnate Word is treated insofar as it regards conditions on the part of those to whom the manifestation is made: here begins the second principal part, in which the manifestation of the incarnate Word is treated insofar as it regards conditions on the part of the Word Himself who is manifested. For He shows that the Son of God Himself, who is the Word of the Father, manifests Himself as healer, preserver, director, and life-giver. First, therefore, He shows Himself as healer in the present chapter. Second, as preserver in the sixth chapter. Third, as director from the beginning of the seventh chapter up to the eleventh. Fourth, as perfect restorer in the raising of Lazarus, at the beginning of the eleventh chapter. The present chapter, therefore, in which He manifests Himself as healer through the wondrous liberation of the paralytic, has four parts according to the four things that are determined therein. In the first is touched upon the miraculous healing. In the second, the calumniation of the healing. In the third, the refutation of the calumniation. In the fourth, the corroboration of the refutation, and this through many testimonies. The wondrous healing, therefore, is described according to the letter from four aspects: first, from the fitness of the time; second, from the disposition of the place; third, from the need of the sick man; fourth, from the power of the one healing. First, therefore, it is described from the fitness of the time, because it was a festive time, in which the Lord was accustomed to bestow benefits. For this reason he says: "After these things," namely those things which were narrated above, "there was a feast day of the Jews." Chrysostom says that this feast day was Pentecost, which was midway between Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles, that is, the solemnity of booths. "And Jesus went up to Jerusalem," as all the Jews had in custom: Luke 2: "They went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast day."

John 5:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

Here second is touched upon the disposition of the place where the healing was done, because it was in the place of healing, which was the sheep pool; on account of which he says: "Now there is at Jerusalem a sheep pool," that is, a pool for livestock, because there the victims from the flocks were washed; and this pool was near the temple and from this function had received its name. Therefore he says: "Which is called in Hebrew Bethsaida," that is, house of livestock, because it had this function. It also had an adornment; whence he says: "Having five porticoes." And the reason is given for why it had these. Morally, it should be noted here what this pool having five porticoes is, who the sick are, and how they are healed. The pool, which is gathered from rainwaters, is penance, in which there is an outpouring of tears for the loss of heavenly things. Concerning this rain, Jeremiah 5: "They did not say: Let us fear our God, who gives us the early rain," that is, compunction for evils committed, "and the latter rain," for goods omitted. This rain descends to the valleys; it is not on the mountains and the proud: 2 Kings 1: "Mountains of Gilboa, let neither dew nor rain come upon you." This pool of penance has five porticoes, in which rests a multitude of the infirm: because there are five considerations which ought to make a person remain in penance. The first consideration is the guilt of sin, by which one has bound oneself to punishment: Psalm: "For I am ready for scourges, and my sorrow is continually before me." The second consideration is the severity of judgment: Sirach 2: "If we do not do penance, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord": Hebrews 10: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." The third consideration is the opportunity of time, because afterward there will be no place for penance: Ecclesiastes 9: "Whatever your hand is able to do, do it earnestly, because neither work nor reason nor wisdom nor knowledge will be in the netherworld, to which you hasten." The fourth consideration is the uncertainty of the last day: Ecclesiastes 9: "Man does not know his end: but as fish are caught with a hook, and as birds are seized with a snare, so are men caught in an evil time, when it suddenly comes upon them." The fifth consideration is the uncertainty of one's own state, because one does not know whether one has done anything pleasing to God: therefore he said in the Psalm: "And I said: Now I have begun": Sirach 10: "Every dominion is a brief life."

John 5:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"In these lay a great multitude of the sick," and incurable by nature: whence he says: "Of the blind, the lame, the withered, waiting for the moving of the water," so that they might be healed through the benefit of divine grace, which was bestowed in the descent of the Angel. Morally, the infirm are: the blind, sinning through ignorance: Matthew 15: "They are blind and leaders of the blind. And if a blind man offers guidance to a blind man, both fall into a pit." There are the lame, who sin through weakness: Hebrews 12: "Make straight steps with your feet, so that you do not go lame." There are the withered, who sin through malice or hardness: Sirach 3: "The hard heart shall fare ill at the last": Sirach 37: "O most wicked presumption! Whence were you created to cover the earth with its malice and deceitfulness?"

John 5:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"Now an Angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pool," namely to heal: and he adds the sign of this descent: "And the water was stirred," so that those who could not see the Angel might see the water: and he adds the divine effect: "And whoever first descended into the pool after the stirring of the water," as being more diligent, "was made well from whatever infirmity held him," without distinction, because, as is said in Acts 10, "God is no respecter of persons." Morally, these are healed at the coming of the Angel, that is, of the divine visitation; Job 33: "He rebukes through pain upon the bed." After the stirring of the water, that is, of interior weeping: Lamentations 2: "Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord." Through the descent into the pool of water, that is, the humility of penance: Isaiah 47: "Come down, sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans." Here the inquiry concerns the power of this pool: from where did it have this power, and by what reason was it thus continually conferred upon that pool? Likewise, since the power was so great, how is it that Scripture makes no mention of it? It seems that this was due to the negligence of the writers. If you say that this power appeared near the time of Christ's passion, it is then asked: why did it appear near the passion, and why did it cease when the passion came? Some respond that in that pool was the wood of the cross, which at that time began to appear and float to the surface; therefore, to ennoble the trophy of his passion, the Lord willed to show that miracle, and near the passion, because then it began to float, and not after the passion, because the wood was extracted from it. But because this has no authority from the Scriptures, it is destroyed by the same reason by which it is proved. On account of this, others say that in that water there was no power, but the Angel descending at a fixed time did this in the water by a power given to him by the Lord. It must be said, therefore, that this power was given to the Angel in the water as a figure of baptism, in which cleansing is accomplished through water and healing through the Spirit. And therefore it was sent forth near the time of baptism, and when baptism came, it ceased. Therefore, because it lasted a short time and began late, Scripture made no mention of it. And thus the response to all the objections is clear. Likewise it is asked: since it was equally easy for the Lord to cure all as to cure one, and he himself is most generous, why did he not give that water the effect of curing all? Likewise, concerning the Lord himself it is similarly asked: why did he cure only one, when he could cure all as easily as one? I respond: It must be said that that bodily healing was more as a sign than as a benefit for the one to whom it belonged, for it was ordered to the healing of the soul. Because, therefore, it was ordered to designating and prefiguring that healing, it ought to have been done in the way that would best signify it. And because healing in the Church exists only in the unity of faith and charity, therefore only one was cured. What is therefore objected does not hold, because it was not only for a benefit, but also for a sign. If it belongs to mercy to have compassion on misery, then where there is greater misery, mercy ought to be more inclined; therefore it was not the one who descended first who ought to have been healed, but the one who was more in need. I respond: It must be said that, as has been stated, it was a sign of the healing of the soul; and because the soul is healed by God according to its disposition for receiving grace, not according to the gravity of its guilt, therefore the one who descended first and most eagerly obtained health first.

John 5:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

Here the third point is touched upon, namely the necessity of the sick man, because he had long been sick and destitute of all help. He had long been sick, whence he says: "Now there was a certain man there: a certain one," singular in his misery, "having thirty-eight years in his infirmity." Behold, the length of infirmity, by which the Lord was moved to have mercy and to seek out and address him.

John 5:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"When Jesus had seen him lying," oppressed by infirmity, "and knew that he had already been there a long time," in the suffering of misery: "he says to him," through the kindness of mercy: "Do you wish to be made well?" through the power of divine might. He did not ask this because he doubted his will, but in order to make manifest his need. Which he also did by his response. Likewise it is asked: since the Lord in Matthew chapter nine encourages the paralytic to confidence and from others whom he healed demands a confession of faith, how is it that from this man he asks nothing at all? I respond: It must be said that we understand that when the Lord healed someone, he left him wholly sound, not only in body but also in soul. On account of this it must be noted that there were some who had fallen into illness from fault; and because these had to be healed in soul, and the soul is not healed except through faith in Christ, from such persons the Lord required a confession of faith. Others there were who were infirm for the manifesting of the glory of God, as the man born blind, below in the ninth chapter, and Lazarus who was dead, below in the eleventh chapter; and from such persons the Lord did not require a confession of faith, but rather healed them by pure liberality; and it is of the wondrous healing of such persons that John treats. Because, therefore, this man was of such a kind, he did not require faith from him. But because this solution is against the Gloss, therefore it must be said that he only requires faith from those who seek salvation.

John 5:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"The sick man answered him: Lord, I have no man, so that when the water is stirred, he might put me into the pool": and so I am destitute, and there is none to help: the Psalm: "Trouble is near and there is none to help," and I of myself am powerless. Whence he adds: "While I am coming, another descends before me": and so I cannot be healed, because only one is healed, and that the one who descends first. And thus the necessity of the sick man is indicated.

John 5:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the power of the healer, because he heals by command alone. Therefore he says: "Rise, take up your bed and walk: rise," through restored health: "take up your bed," through strength: "and walk," through the certainty of health. And this was done.

John 5:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"And immediately the man was made well;" behold, restored health: "and he took up his bed:" behold, strength: "and he walked:" behold, the certainty of health. And all this was done by the word of Christ: the Psalm: "He spoke, and they were made"; whence in Esther 13, Mordecai said: "Lord, almighty King, all things are placed in your dominion." "Now it was the Sabbath" etc. After the miraculous healing of the paralytic has been described, here secondly the calumniation of the healing is described, in the description of which the Evangelist proceeds in this order. First is introduced the reproof of the healed man; second, the devolution of the calumny upon the healer; third, the manifestation of the healer; fourth, the persecution of him who was manifested; fifth, obstinacy in the persecution. The reproof of the healed man is therefore first introduced from the fact that he was carrying his mat on the day of the Sabbath, on which he had been made well. On account of which, intimating the occasion for calumny, the Evangelist says: "Now it was the Sabbath on that day," namely on which he had been healed and was carrying his mat, and on this occasion the Jews were reproving him.

John 5:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"The Jews therefore said to him who had been made well," calumniating him: "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to take up your mat." For to take up a mat seemed to be servile work, which was forbidden to be done on the Sabbath: Leviticus twenty-three: "The seventh day shall be more solemn and more holy; you shall do no servile work in it." Since the precept concerning the Sabbath is a precept of the first tablet, in which, as Bernard says, God cannot dispense, it seems that the Lord acted wrongly by breaking the Sabbath. If you say that in the precept there is something moral and something ceremonial: and insofar as it is moral it pertains to the first tablet, and thus he did not break it; insofar as it is ceremonial it does not pertain to the Decalogue, and thus he did break it; then the question is: what in it is moral, and what is ceremonial? Likewise the question is: why does the third precept have a ceremonial observance annexed to it more than any other commandment of the Decalogue? And it seems that it should not be mixed with it, just as shadow should not be mixed with truth. I respond: It must be said that, as has been stated, the commandment concerning the Sabbath has something moral, and also has something ceremonial: and therefore in the Law it is placed not only among the moral precepts, but also among the ceremonial ones. As to what is asked, namely what in it is moral and ceremonial: I say that in that commandment man is commanded to be free for God, so that he may become a temple of God through love, and this is the moral element. Furthermore, there is in it the signification of the day, and besides this the cessation from all servile works; and these two are ceremonial elements. To what is asked — why does it have ceremony more closely joined to it? — Augustine responds, in his letter to Januarius, that it is the precept of love, because the third precept regards the third Person in the Trinity, and love is commanded therein. Therefore, to show that all ceremonial observances are to be referred to the love of God and neighbor and are to be explained toward that end, he joined ceremonial observance to the commandment of love. Another reason can be given: that in the commandment of love the other commandments are directed and fulfilled. Again, in devoting oneself to God and considering the divine law, a person becomes diligent in this kind of observance of the law. Because therefore in this commandment love and devotion to God are commanded, the observance of all commandments depends on this; and therefore, if this were neglected and given over to oblivion, the rest would be neglected. Therefore, lest it be given over to oblivion, the Lord designated a day; lest it also be neglected on account of other things, he commanded cessation from all other things; and this is ceremonial.

John 5:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"He answered them." Here the second point is touched upon, namely the devolution of the calumny upon the healer, because that healed sick man excuses himself by the command of the healer. Therefore he says: "He who made me well," by his power, "he said to me: Take up your mat and walk," commanding by his own authority. And certainly, he who had so great a power well had the authority for so great a command; whence he said in Matthew nine: "But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic: Arise, take up your bed and go into your house." If he could forgive sins, then he could dispense from the precept concerning the Sabbath. But the Jews, not heeding this, inquire about him so that they might calumniate him.

John 5:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"They therefore asked him: Who is that man," a weak man, not God almighty, "who said to you: Take up your bed and walk?" who commanded against the Law, not who healed by power. They seek evil things, they are silent about good things: Proverbs 11: "He who seeks good things rises well at dawn: the searcher of evils shall be oppressed by them." And because they seek with evil intent, therefore they fail in their inquiry.

John 5:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"But he who had been made well did not know who it was:" therefore they necessarily failed in their inquiry: the Psalm: "They failed who searched with scrutiny." Therefore it was said to the Jews below in the seventh chapter: "You will seek me, and you will not find me"; because they were not seeking in order to possess, but in order to persecute. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the manifestation of Christ sought and not found, which was made not in the crowd, but in the Church. "But Jesus withdrew from the crowd gathered in the place," namely from the multitude that was in the place of healing: therefore that man did not know him, because he had remained in the crowd.

John 5:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"Afterward Jesus found him in the temple," namely when he had withdrawn from the crowd. Augustine: "Placed in the crowd he did not recognize Jesus, but afterward in the temple": in which we are taught that whoever wishes to attain the vision of God should flee the crowd of his own affections and the wickedness of men and approach the temple of interior prayer. Hence at the raising of the girl he commanded the tumultuous crowd to be cast out, Matthew 9. And because the Lord's mercy anticipates us, he does not say that he himself found Jesus, but that Jesus found him: whence he did not even recognize him except through the instruction which he gave. Therefore he adds: "Jesus says to him," instructing as a good physician: "Behold, you have been made well," he recalls the benefit: now "sin no more," he dissuades from sin: "lest something worse befall you," he threatens with danger: Luke 11: "The last state of that man became worse than the first."

John 5:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"That man went away." Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the persecution of the manifested Christ. For the Jews learned, through that man's report, that Christ had made him well. Hence he says: "That man went away and" announced to the "Jews," who had namely inquired of him, "that it was Jesus who had made him well." He did not say this by way of detraction or accusation, but by announcing the name of Christ: hence the Gloss: "He announces salvation to the Jews, that they might follow: but they on the contrary persecute."

John 5:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did these things on the Sabbath." For he seemed to wish to destroy their Law and to oppose the Lord, who had given the commandment concerning the keeping of the Sabbath: below in the ninth chapter: "This man is not from God, who does not keep the Sabbath": Luke 6: "The scribes and Pharisees were watching Jesus, whether he would heal on the Sabbath." Likewise it is asked whether the Lord dissolved the commandment concerning the Sabbath with respect to ceremonial observance. That he did not, it seems: because nothing is prohibited there except servile work, and the Lord did no servile work on it; whence in Luke fourteen the Lord shows that he did not dissolve it. But that he did dissolve it, it seems: because the Jews persecuted him on account of this. I respond: It must be said that the observance of what was ceremonial in the Sabbath was threefold, namely spiritual, literal, and customary. The spiritual he did not dissolve nor could he dissolve, but he fulfilled it; the literal he could have dissolved, yet he did not dissolve it, because he did no servile work; the customary he dissolved and commanded to be dissolved: he dissolved it when he made clay from spittle; he commanded it to be dissolved when he commanded the mat to be taken up. For this was not against the literal observance, but against the customary and superimposed one. Likewise an objection is raised concerning what the Evangelist says, that the Jews persecuted Jesus because he did these things on the Sabbath: if the Lord could equally well do this on other days as on the Sabbath, it seems that the Lord himself stirred up the persecution of the Jews against himself for no fitting reason. I respond: It must be said that the reason for this was the truth of doctrine. For because ceremonial observances were due to cease at Christ's coming, he who was the master of truth was obliged to teach this and show it through his life, so that the truth of the Gospel might remain with us. The second reason was the severity of divine judgment: because, as is said below in chapter nine, "for judgment I came into this world." Because therefore from this the wicked were blinded unto procuring Christ's death, which was our salvation, while the good were enlightened to believe that he was the one who had given the Law and could dissolve it. The third reason was common necessity, because then the poor and simple gathered at the synagogues, whom the Lord was obliged to attract through miracles.

John 5:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

Here the fifth point is touched upon, namely obstinacy in persecution, which followed upon the Lord's response showing that he was not breaking the Sabbath. On account of which he says: "But Jesus answered them," namely the Jews who were persecuting him: "My Father works even until now," even on the Sabbath, and yet does not break the Sabbath: "and I work," namely by cooperating with the Father even on the Sabbath. If therefore God does not break the Sabbath, neither do I break it: Matthew 12: "The Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath"; and because he is Lord, he can work on it without any reproach. From this response the Jews were hardened in malice, by which they ought to have been pacified. Likewise it is asked concerning what the Lord answered: "My Father works until now, and I work." Against: Genesis 2: "God rested from all the work that He had done": therefore it seems that there is a contradiction. I respond: It must be said that there is the work of the first establishment, and this consists in the creation of those things which pertain to the completion of the universe, and it includes in itself creation, distinction, and adornment: and this was completed in six days. From this work God rested. Another is the work of conservation, and because things cannot be preserved in themselves, since they are by nature apt to be corrupted, this work consists in transmutation and propagation and the creation of souls: and by this work God works and cooperates with cooperating nature. And He speaks here of this work, from which He does not cease on the Sabbath.

John 5:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

On the left there are three wings inasmuch as there is diffusion into the creature out of a single essence, power and operation. And in this regard, there is a threefold operation, in so far as the one God is the Creator, the Sanctifier and the Retributor: for everything that flows out of Him is in the order of essence or of grace or of glory. The first is before time, the second in time, and the third after all time. There is, however, a creation of souls in the course of time, for "My Father works even until now, and I work."

John 5:17 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

John 5:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him": because they could not contradict his response, they sought to kill him: below in chapter seven: "Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you?" "Because he not only broke the Sabbath," according to their judgment, "but also called God his Father: his," in the singular: "making himself equal to God," which they considered blasphemy: below in chapter ten: "We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God"; "making," as though he were not God, but was making himself God.

John 5:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

Above, the miraculous healing and its calumniation were described: here begins the third part of the chapter, in which the refutation of the calumniation is treated. For the Lord refutes the Jews who calumniate Him concerning the work of healing: and this by showing His omnipotent power in working. And this part is divided into two, because first His power is shown and declared in general: second, in particular. The power of the Son of God is therefore declared and manifested in this order. First, the origin of power is noted: second, the magnitude of power: third, the declaration of the magnitude: fourth, the reason for the declaration. First, therefore, the origin of the power of the Son of God is noted. For the Son of God says that He does not have the power of working from Himself, but from the Father. Therefore He says: "Jesus therefore answered and said to them," namely to the Jews who were persecuting and calumniating Him: "Amen, amen, I say to you," that is, truly and with certainty, the Son "cannot do anything of Himself." For just as He does not have being from Himself, but from the Father, so neither does He have working from Himself, but from the Father: below in chapter eight: "Of Myself I do nothing." "Except what He has seen the Father doing," that is, He can do only that which He received from the powerful Father, so that He might be able: below in chapter eight: "The things that I have seen with My Father, these I speak." And thus, whatever He can do, He can do from the Father, and He can do nothing else except what He received from the Father, so that He might be able. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the greatness of power, in that although the Son receives power from the Father, nevertheless He has as great power as the Father. Therefore He says: "For whatsoever:" I rightly said that the Son does "what He sees the Father doing"; "for whatsoever things He does, these the Son also does likewise: likewise," uniformly and harmoniously: "likewise," because equally powerfully. Whence in Colossians 1 it is said of the Son: "All things were created through Him and in Him"; because, as is said above in chapter 1, "without Him was made nothing." And the reason for the indivision in work is the indivision in essence and in love. The inquiry concerns what He says: "The Son cannot do anything of Himself." To the contrary: He who can act of himself is more powerful than he who acts from another; but the Father can act of Himself, the Son from another; therefore the Father is more powerful than the Son. If you say: The greatness of power consists in virtue, not in the mode of having, and to have from oneself denotes only the mode of having, not the virtue, and thus it does not follow that the Father is more powerful than the Son: it is objected that what is had from oneself is had in a nobler mode than what is had from another; therefore if the Father has power from Himself, He has it in a nobler mode than the Son, who has it from another. The response to this is that to have from another is in two modes: by participation, namely, or by emanation alone. To have from another by participation is a less noble mode, for the mode of participation is not equal to the mode of having by essence. In the other mode, to have from another is only by emanation, such that he who emanates has it by essence, just as he who gives; and this posits no ignobility whatsoever, but rather complete equality. For to have from the Father is as much a mark of nobility in the Son as to beget is in the Father. Likewise, the inquiry concerns what He says, that the Son can do nothing except what He has seen the Father doing; and again, that the Father shows the Son whatever He does. Therefore, if by nature something exists before it is seen, the Father operates first, and afterwards the Son operates according to His operation as to an exemplar. Likewise, if the Father can do absolutely nothing without the Son operating, how does He say…

John 5:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"For the Father loves the Son." I rightly said that the Son can do all things which the Father also does: "For the Father loves the Son." Therefore He supremely loves, because supremely one: below in chapter 10: "I and the Father are One": and because supremely one, therefore He communicates all things to the Son: therefore He adds: "And He shows Him all things that He Himself does: He shows all things," that is, He communicates the power of every operation. And the reason for this communication is unity and love: above in chapter 3: "The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand." "And greater things than these" etc. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the declaration of the greatness of power, which is made through the greatness of the works which the Lord was going to show the Jews through the Son. Therefore He says: "And greater things than these," supply: which have been shown to you, "He will show Him works," that is, through Him He will show you, "that you may marvel," at the greatness: below in chapter 10: "Many good works I have shown you." And what these works are, He shows: namely the raising of the dead. There is a question about what he says: the Father shows all things to the Son because He loves the Son. To show to the Son is to generate the Son, as Augustine says. Therefore either to love is taken there notionally or essentially. If notionally, the statement is false, because common spiration is not the reason for emanating through generation, since generation is prior according to the order of understanding. If essentially, it is still false, because the essence is not the reason for emanation nor for relation: for then the Son would generate. I respond: It must be said that when it is stated, the Father shows all things to the Son, I note that He shows, and I note that He shows all things. I say therefore that the reason for showing all things is love, not as the reason for showing simply, but as the reason for showing all things. Love is taken essentially and signifies the supreme unity of the Father with the Son: and because there is supreme unity in essence, therefore there is complete indivision in operation: and therefore it is necessary that the Son cooperates with the Father in all things. Therefore He rightly says: "He shows all things," because He supremely loves.

John 5:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"For as the Father raises the dead and gives life," through omnipotent power: so "the Son also gives life to whom He wills," through power equal to Him: below in chapter 11 is found the raising of Lazarus in body, and concerning the raising in soul it is said: "I am the resurrection and the life: he who believes in Me, even if he has died, shall live." An example of bodily raising is found likewise in Luke 7.

John 5:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"For neither does the Father judge anyone." Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the reason for declaring His power: why, that is, God declares His power in the Son and through the Son. To show that He is equal to Himself and equally to be honored: and therefore He grants judgment to the Son. On account of which He says: "For neither the Father": I rightly said that "He will show greater works than these, that you may marvel," because also for this reason He grants judgment. Therefore He says: "For neither does the Father judge anyone," namely by appearing in judgment, "but has given all judgment to the Son": Acts 10: "He is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead." And the reason for this is rendered as the honoring of the Son. It is further asked whether it belongs to the Son alone to judge. That it does, seems clear from the text: "The Father has given all judgment to the Son"; and Acts 10: "He it is who was appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead"; and 1 Corinthians 4: "He who judges me is the Lord": therefore if he alone is our Lord, it belongs to him alone to judge. To the contrary: 1 Corinthians 11: "If we judged ourselves, we would certainly not be judged": therefore it belongs to us to judge ourselves. Likewise, regarding others, Matthew 19: "You shall sit upon twelve thrones" etc. was said to the Apostles: likewise, 1 Corinthians 6: "Do you not know that we shall judge angels?" To this it must be said that in judgment there is examination, there is approbation, and there is also the passing of sentence or determination. The first act, namely of examination, pertains to all, and on account of this the Apostle says that they ought to prove themselves, that is, to examine themselves. The second, namely of approbation or reprobation, pertains to the perfect, because they will approve and reprove, and by comparison with them the wicked will be reproved: but this not in the present, but in the future: hence the Apostle says that such judgment in the present time is before the time: 1 Corinthians 4: "Do not judge before the time." The third act, namely of determination, belongs to the Son alone, because he himself will promulgate the sentence. No one exercises this act except by usurpation and rashly: hence the Lord forbids it in Matthew 7: "Do not judge"; and the Apostle in Romans 14: "Who are you to judge another's servant?" I say therefore that when he says that the Father has given all judgment to the Son, this is understood of the judgment of determination, not of examination or approbation.

John 5:22 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 7

O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and unsearchable His ways! From which it is gathered that those things which pertain to divine wisdom are more comprehensible than the divine judgments; but in John 5 it is said that the Father has given all judgment to the Son, because He is the Son of man; from which it is gathered that the soul of Christ comprehends the divine judgments: therefore if those are less comprehensible than the others, much more strongly does He comprehend all the others. To that which is objected, that the soul of Christ comprehends all the divine judgments: it can be said that those things are said of the assumed man on account of the communication of idioms; or certainly they are said of those things which are, were, and will be, which indeed can be comprehended by the soul of Christ; but it is not true with respect to all things that the divine wisdom understands, since it knows infinite things, as is clear from what has been determined above.

John 5:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"That all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father." On this, Proverbs seven: "My son, honor the Lord, and you shall prevail; fear no stranger besides Him." The Son of God is to be honored and feared by reason of His judicial power, because "He can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna," Matthew ten. And the reason why the Father wills the Son to be honored: because the honor of the Son is the Father's; therefore He says: "He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent Him": below in chapter eight: "I honor My Father, and you have dishonored Me." Augustine: "If the Son were believed to be less than the Father, the Father would be dishonored, because either as envious He would not have willed to beget an equal, or as weak He could not have done so."

John 5:23 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

It is impossible for anyone to be saved who does not love and honor him who is to be supremely loved and honored: but the Son and the Holy Spirit are to be supremely loved and honored, just as the Father, according to that which is said in John five: He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him: therefore no one can be saved who does not love and honor the Son and the Holy Spirit, just as the Father. But no one loves and honors unless he in some way knows and believes.

John 5:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

The Lord declared His power in general: here He begins to declare it in particular, descending to the power of giving life and to the power of judging. The power of giving life regards the kindness of mercy: the power of judging regards the severity of justice. Therefore He describes the power of giving life in this order: first, whom He gives life to; second, how He gives life; third, by what power He gives life. And the first regards the object, the second regards the act, and the third regards the power. In these three consists the perfect knowledge of a power, namely in power, operation, and object. First, therefore, he determines whom he vivifies, namely with the life of the soul, since not all, but believers. These are those who hear the word of God and, having heard, believe; therefore he says: "Amen, amen I say to you," that is, truly: "That he who hears my word," disposing himself to faith, because, Romans 10, "faith comes from hearing"; "and believes in him who sent me," consenting to what has been heard: below, chapter 12: "He who believes in me does not believe in me, but in him who sent me"; he indeed "has eternal life": above, chapter 3: "He who believes in the Son of God has eternal life" — eternal life, not punishment. Whence he also adds: "And does not come into judgment," into the judgment of death, namely: "but passes from death to life; from death," that is, from the present life, which is death, he passes to eternal life without the judgment of condemnation; above, chapter 3: "He who believes in him is not judged." But the present life is called death, because, as is said in Romans 8, "the body is dead on account of sin." From this death the just pass to life, for whom to die temporally is to pass over: below, chapter 13, concerning Christ the head: "Knowing that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father." Concerning this the just glory in the Psalm: "And let all who hope in you rejoice: they shall exult forever, and you shall dwell in them. And all who love your name shall glory in you, for you shall bless the just."

John 5:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"Amen, amen I say to you." Here the second point is touched upon, namely how he vivifies, namely through internal inspiration, which whoever hears is vivified; therefore he says: "The hour comes and now is," namely, of grace, which now is: concerning which, Romans 13: "It is the hour for us now to rise from sleep" — from the sleep, namely, of sin and death: "when the dead," through fault, "shall hear the voice of the Son of God," through internal inspiration: Ephesians 5: "Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten you." "And those who hear shall live," through grace, because his word vivifies those who hear: below, chapter 10: "My sheep hear my voice, and I give them eternal life"; and this I give and preserve by the word: Deuteronomy 8: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

John 5:26 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 8

This fountainhead, however, is in a certain way the origin of another totality. For since the Father produces the Son, and through the Son and with the Son produces the Holy Spirit, therefore God the Father, through the Son with the Holy Spirit, is the principle of all created things: for unless He produced them from eternity, He could not produce through them in time: and therefore by reason of that production in the Trinity He is rightly said to be the fountain of life. For just as He has life in Himself, so He gives the Son to have life in Himself, etc. Hence it is that eternal life is this alone, that the rational spirit, which flows from the most blessed Trinity and is the image of the Trinity, returns by way of a certain intelligible circle through memory, understanding, and will, through the deiformity of glory into the most blessed Trinity.

John 5:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"For as the Father has life in himself." The third point is touched upon here, namely by what power he gives life, since by his own power according to the Divinity given to him by the Father through generation: whence he says: I have rightly said that the Son gives life: "for as the Father has life in himself," that is, by essence: "so he has given to the Son also to have life in himself," that is, by essence, not by participation. And because that which is life by essence pours life into all things, as Dionysius says; therefore the Son is able of himself to give life. Whence below in the eleventh chapter: "I am the resurrection and the life: he who believes in me, even if he shall have died, shall live": similarly below in the fourteenth chapter: "I am the way, the truth, and the life"; I am not living by another's life, but I am life, giving others to live.

John 5:27 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 7

John 5:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

He has declared his power in giving life; here he declares his power in judging: and indeed he does this in this order. For first he touches upon by what power he judges: second, whom he judges: third, how he judges, according to those three things according to which the power of giving life was described. First, therefore, he determines by what power he judges, since by the power conferred upon him according to his humanity by the Father. Therefore he says: "And he gave him power," namely the Father to the Son, "to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man": therefore in his humanity, so that the reprobate may see him in judgment, who cannot see God: Revelation 1: "Every eye shall see him, and they who pierced him"; therefore in his humanity, because in his humanity he was judged: Job 36: "Your cause has been judged as that of the wicked; you shall receive judgment and cause." It is asked here: according to which nature was the power of judging given to the Son? That it was according to the human nature, it seems: from the text: "And he gave him power to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man." Likewise, Augustine: "He gave him the power of judgment by sending him into the flesh." But to the contrary: Deuteronomy 32: "Vengeance is mine, and I will repay," says the Lord; therefore vengeance belongs to God alone; therefore if judgment is vengeance, it therefore belongs to the Son according to the divine nature. And this is shown from the text: "The Father has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father"; but the Son is not to be honored as the Father according to the human nature, but only according to the divine; therefore, etc. I respond: It must be said that the power of judging is twofold, namely of authority and of ministry. The first belongs to the whole Trinity, but that of ministry belongs to the Son sitting and appearing in judgment, and this according to the human nature, and it is of this that he speaks here. Therefore, as to the objection: Vengeance is mine, etc., this does not exclude the incarnate Son, but a mere man. To the objection concerning honor, it must be said that the person of the Son seemed to have descended on account of the humiliation of the incarnation: therefore the Father willed that in the same humanity in which he appeared lowly, he should judge, so that no one would despise him incarnate, but would fear him as the Father, as one whose sentence remains inviolable: hence he makes judgment through his humanity to be feared through his divinity.

John 5:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"Do not marvel at this." The second point is touched upon here, namely whom he judges: because, although he must raise all, he will nevertheless not judge all, but the wicked; whence he says: "Do not marvel at this," namely at what has been said, that he gave him power to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man; "because the hour comes," namely the end of the age: Job 14: "Man, when he has fallen asleep, shall not rise again until the heavens are worn away"; "in which all who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God." If the dead shall hear, it is established that they shall rise at his voice; 1 Thessalonians 4: "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a command and with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead who are in Christ shall rise first." And although all shall rise, nevertheless not all shall be judged.

John 5:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"And they who have done good shall come forth unto the resurrection of life": because they shall be raised for this purpose, that they may live; "but those who have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment," that is, of damnation; these, namely, the Lord shall judge; 2 Maccabees 7: "It is better, being put to death by men, to await hope from God, to be raised again by him; but for you there shall be no resurrection unto life"; this is said to Antiochus; not unto life, but unto judgment; 1 Corinthians 5: "Those who are outside, God shall judge," who are outside through an evil life; Daniel 12: "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some unto eternal life, and others unto reproach." It is further asked concerning those to be judged, namely who will be judged. That only the wicked, seems clear from the text: "He does not come into judgment, but passes over"; and above in chapter three: "He who believes in him is not judged." To the contrary: 2 Corinthians 5: "We shall all stand before the tribunal of Christ." I respond: It must be said that the judgment of determination is taken commonly, and thus it comprehends the sentence of salvation and of punishment, and thus all will be judged: it is taken properly for damnation, and thus it is taken here: "Those who have done evil shall come forth to the resurrection of judgment," that is, of damnation: similarly above in chapter three.

John 5:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"I cannot of myself do anything." Here the third point is touched upon, namely how he judges: because justly, not according to his own will by declining from the will of God, as men do who pervert judgment. Therefore he says: "I cannot of myself do anything," and thus neither judge; but "as I hear, I judge," that is, as I receive from the Father, and from this it follows that he judges justly. Therefore he says: "And my judgment is just," because it does not decline from the rule of justice through discord of will; and this is: "Because I do not seek my own will," in judging, namely, "but the will of him who sent me," that is, of God the Father, who is just; whence below in chapter 8: "He who sent me is truthful"; and afterward: "I always do the things that are pleasing to him"; and therefore justly, because, Deuteronomy 32: "God is faithful and without any iniquity, just and right"; in the Psalm: "The Lord is just in all his ways," etc. Likewise, concerning the manner of judging: that he judges as he hears. Against: Isaiah 11: "He shall not judge according to the hearing of the ears." Likewise he says that not according to his own will, but God's: therefore his will is discordant from the will of God. I respond to the first: He does not judge according to exterior hearing and report, but according to interior hearing and paternal illumination. To the second it must be said that this has two grounds of truth: "I do not seek my own" singular will, either because he has it but does not seek it, or because he does not have it nor does he seek it: and he speaks in this latter sense, while the objector objects in the first sense.

John 5:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

This is the fourth part of the chapter, in which is determined the corroboration of the aforesaid refutation, which was made by manifold testimony approving what the Lord said above. And this part has two sections: because first is adduced the certainty of the testimonies; second, the rebuke of the unbelieving Jews. The first part has two sections: because first the Lord, although he could adduce his own testimony, declines; second, he adduces the testimonies of others. He therefore declines his own testimony, because they would not believe it, regarding it as uncertain: whence he says: "If I bear witness of myself, my testimony is not true," that is, it is not efficacious for believing, especially if I alone bear witness; whence below in chapter eight: "The Pharisees said to him: You bear witness of yourself; your testimony is not true." Yet true testimonies are not lacking to me. It is asked concerning what he says: "If I bear testimony concerning myself, my testimony is not true." To the contrary: Numbers 23: "God is not as a man, that he should lie": therefore if Christ is God, therefore etc. Likewise, below in the eighth chapter: "If I bear testimony concerning myself, my testimony is true": and here he says that it is not true: therefore etc. The response to this is threefold. The first response is by pressing upon the subject: if I according to human nature bear witness concerning myself, my testimony is not true; it is nevertheless true according to the divine. But this does not resolve the matter, because just as he does not lie according to the divine nature, neither does he according to the human. Therefore the response is given by pressing upon the predicate: "my testimony is not true," that is, it is not efficacious nor will it be accepted as true; nevertheless it is true, because I speak the truth. And so it is understood such that it is called true according to the reality, but not true according to the Jews' acceptance. Otherwise the response is that this word is to be understood precisely: "if I bear witness concerning myself," supply: I alone, my testimony is not efficacious; but if I with another, it is efficacious; whence he says below: "Because I am not alone." Therefore, since above he had commended himself by his own testimony, showing his power, to strengthen this he brings forward the testimonies of others.

John 5:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"There is another who bears witness of me," namely the Father, or also John, and concerning both is rightly understood what follows: "And I know that the testimony which he bears of me is true": because he testifies as one who is certain. For the Father gives true testimony, because, as is said below in chapter eight, "he who sent me is truthful." John likewise is certain: whence above in chapter one, John said: "I saw and bore witness that this is the Son of God"; Proverbs 12: "He who speaks what he knows is a judge of justice, but he who lies is a fraudulent witness."

John 5:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

The Lord declined his own testimony; here secondly he adduces the testimony of another. And because in the mouth of many witnesses the testimony is firm, therefore this part has four parts according to the four testimonies which he adduces. The first is of John; the second is of works; the third, divine; and the fourth, of the Scriptures. And these testimonies are distinguished: because the first is pronounced, the second exhibited, the third inspired, and the fourth written. First, therefore, He adduces the testimony of John, which had been rendered to them at their own request: thus He says: "You sent to John": he did not put himself forward, but responded at your request, above in chapter one: "And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him," etc. "And he bore witness to the truth," as a faithful witness: Proverbs 14: "A faithful witness will not lie." And lest the Lord should seem to beg for human testimony, He adds. It can also be asked about the sufficiency and order of these testimonies. — And it should be noted that the first testimony, namely that of John, was introductory; the second, namely that of works, advancing; the third, namely that of the Father, compelling; the fourth, namely that of Scripture, establishing in truth. And from these there results one complete and perfect testimony, and they are arranged in graduated order according to the stated conditions.

John 5:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"But I do not receive testimony from man," supply: on account of any need of My own: Psalm: "I said to the Lord: You are my God, for You have no need of my goods"; but I recall it for the sake of your salvation. Whence He also says: "But these things I say, that you may be saved," namely by believing in Me through his testimony, because, as it is said in Mark 16, "he who believes and is baptized shall be saved." And truly they ought to have believed at John's testimony.

John 5:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"He was a burning lamp," through grace, "and shining," through doctrine: or: "burning," through interior charity, "shining," through exterior uprightness of life. Bernard: "To burn only is too little; to shine only is vain; but to shine and to burn is perfect." Therefore John was most fittingly signified by Elijah: Ecclesiasticus 48: "Elijah arose like fire, and his word burned like a torch." To such a one, therefore, shining so perfectly, faith ought to have been given, which the Jews did not do: whence He says: "But you were willing to rejoice for a time in his light," that is, that you might believe his teaching and testimony and imitate his life, which you observed for a short while: Matthew 11: "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say: He has a demon"; Matthew 21: "John came to you in the way of justice, and you did not believe him. But the publicans and harlots believed him."

John 5:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"But I have testimony." Here the second testimony is touched upon, namely that of works, which is greater than the aforesaid. Therefore He says: "But I have testimony greater than John," because it is more persuasive for believing in Me. "For the very works, which the Father has given Me," because from Him I received being and working: "that I may accomplish them," that is, make them perfect: because "the works of God are perfect," Deuteronomy 32. "The very works which I do," by My own power, "bear witness concerning Me, that the Father has sent Me," as God His Son, because He communicated such great works to Him: below in chapter 15: "If I had not come and done among them the works which no other man has done, they would not have sin." These works are to be believed, that the Father sent Him; below in chapter 14: "The Father abiding in Me, He does the works"; and again: "If you do not believe Me, believe the works." There is a question concerning the testimony of works: "The works," he says, "which I do, bear witness concerning me." But the Prophets did the same works, such as miracles, and the Apostles following him did the same and greater ones; therefore if through works it could be sufficiently known that he was the Christ, by the same reasoning this could be said of anyone. I respond: It must be said that the miracles of the good and of the wicked can be distinguished, as Augustine says. They could therefore know that the miracles and works of Christ were those of a good and holy man; but Christ was saying that he was God; but no good man, remaining good, can make himself equal to God — rather, he is a thief; therefore if they could know Christ to be holy through his works, and through his words, that he was the Christ, the works were a sufficient testimony that Christ spoke the truth, and through this, that he was the Christ. Similarly concerning other good men, that they spoke the truth; but they did not speak about themselves, but about Christ, as the Apostles did. Otherwise it is said that the works were not a compelling testimony, but a persuading one, and similarly the testimony of John and of Scripture; but the testimony of the Father through revelation is compelling.

John 5:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

Here the third testimony is touched upon, namely the divine, which he also calls paternal; on account of which he says: "And the Father who sent me," through the incarnation, "has borne testimony concerning me," through internal inspiration: because, as is said below in the sixth chapter, "no one comes to me unless the Father draws him." Whence he reveals and testifies with an intelligible voice, which the carnal Jews could neither hear nor see him speaking. Therefore he says: "You have never heard his voice," through revelation of the mind: as Peter heard, Matthew 16: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven." "Nor have you seen his form," through open vision: Exodus 33: "No man shall see me and live"; and above in the first chapter: "No one has ever seen God." There is a question concerning the testimony of the Father. For he says that "you have neither heard his voice nor seen his form"; he says this to the Jews. To the contrary: Were not many present when, in Luke chapter three, a voice was made from heaven in a sensible manner: "You are my beloved Son"? Likewise, Deuteronomy chapter five: "We heard his voice from the midst of the fire." Likewise, Exodus chapter twenty: "You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven." I respond: It must be said that God speaks in two ways and appears in two ways: in one way in himself and through himself, and thus he speaks through an internal revelation of the mind in a certain ineffable manner, yet nevertheless in a certain intelligible manner, and thus he does not speak to the wicked; in another way through a subject creature, and thus he spoke in the giving of the Law. In this second way they saw in the subject creature and heard sensibly, but not in the first way: and it is about this that he speaks here. Whence Augustine says on this: The Father bears witness: "He who outwardly displayed me as visible to the eyes of men, inwardly kindled the hearts of men to know me."

John 5:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"And you do not have his word abiding in you," namely through faith: whence the reason is also added: "Because the one whom he sent, you do not believe in him." And the one whom he sent is the Word and abides in hearts through faith: Ephesians 3: "That Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts"; Isaiah 9: "The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it fell upon Israel"; it did not abide in Jacob, because his own did not receive him.

John 5:39 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Vegetation on earth is alive, that is, having strength: wherefore it produces the green herb. And by this it is shown that the sacraments of Scripture, which externally seem arid, are yet alive within. And this is what the Saviour says to the Jews in John: "You search the Scriptures, because in them you think that you have life everlasting." No other Scripture besides this one is able to give life.

John 5:39 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"Search the Scriptures." Here the fourth testimony is touched upon, namely that of the Scriptures, to which the Lord exhorts and arouses to diligence and spiritual understanding; on account of which he says: "Search the Scriptures," that is, discern the interior meaning, because, as the Apostle says in 2 Corinthians 3, "the letter kills, but the spirit gives life." And he adds the reason why they ought to search: "In which you think you have eternal life," that is, through which you think to know, and through this to have eternal life, because through them you think to know God, who is eternal life: Wisdom 15: "To know you is consummate justice, and to know your justice and your power is the root of immortality." Christ says that these Scriptures testify of him: whence he also adds: "They are the ones that bear testimony concerning me," namely all the Scriptures of the Old Testament: Luke, the last chapter: "It is necessary that all things be fulfilled which are written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me," said the Lord Jesus: Acts 18 says of Apollos that "he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ."

John 5:40 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

The certainty of the testimonies having been set forth, here is set forth the rebuke of the unbelieving Jews. Now the Lord rebukes the Jews on four counts: first, namely for the lack of divine love; second, for the blindness of false love; third, for the appetite for vain honor; fourth, for the lack of faith. First, therefore, he rebukes them for the lack of divine love, the sign of which is that they do not come to him whom God sent; whence he says: "And you are not willing to come to me, that you may have life." Thus I have sufficient testimonies, yet you are not willing to come to me; rather, hating me, you flee: below in chapter eight: "Why do you not understand my speech? Because you cannot hear my word." Nor does he accuse them of not coming on account of his own glory.

John 5:41 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"I do not receive glory from men," but from the Father: below in chapter seventeen: "Father, glorify your Son"; therefore I do not accuse you on account of love of my own glory, but on account of the lack of divine love. It is asked about what he says: "I do not receive glory from men." Because in the last chapter below it is said of Peter: "Signifying by what death he would glorify God." Therefore men glorify God. Likewise, Philippians one: "Christ will be magnified in my body whether by death or by life." I respond: It must be said that there is a difference between saying to be glorified in a man and through a man and by a man. To be glorified in a man is to reveal one's glory to a man; to be glorified through a man is to be made known to others through him; to be glorified by a man is for some glory to be given and increased to oneself by a man. The first two ways are true, but the third is false.

John 5:42 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you," but rather hatred: below in chapter fifteen: "Now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father." And such people are worthy of rebuke, because they lack the wedding garment: Matthew twenty-two: "Friend, how did you come in here, not having a wedding garment?"

John 5:43 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

Here the second point is touched upon, namely the blindness of false love: because they did not receive the humble one, but will receive the proud one. "I came in the name of my Father," that is, seeking his glory, not my own: below in chapter eight: "I do not seek my own glory." "And you did not receive me": me, that is, the humble one: above in chapter one: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." "If another shall come in his own name," such as the antichrist, who will seek his own glory, because it is said in Second Thessalonians chapter two: "He is exalted above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sits in the temple of God." "Him you will receive," blinded, that is, by the just judgment of God; Second Thessalonians chapter two: "God shall send them the operation of error, that they may believe a lie." And the reason for this is that they were unwilling to believe the truth.

John 5:44 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

Here thirdly he reproves them for their appetite for vain honor, by reason of which they were unfit to believe in the truth, because they were seeking vanity. "How can you believe," namely in the truth, "you who receive glory from one another," clinging to vanity? For human glory is vanity; Isaiah chapter forty: "All flesh is grass, and all its glory is as the flower of grass": and from the appetite for vanity a man is rendered unfit for faith in the truth: whence in the Psalm: "O sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart? Why do you love vanity and seek after falsehood?" Thus you seek false glory, "and the glory which is from God alone, you do not seek," that is, true glory. This is from God alone: the Psalm: "The Lord will give grace and glory." Therefore it is said in Second Corinthians chapter ten: "Let him who glories, glory in the Lord: for not he who commends himself is approved, but he whom God commends."

John 5:45 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the defect of faith among the Jews, not only for believing Christ, but also Moses: on account of which they were accused not only by Christ, but also by Moses. "Do not think that I shall accuse you before the Father": because I did not come to accuse, but to pardon. Whence he himself is the propitiation, not the accuser: First John chapter two: "He himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." Nor yet do they lack an accuser: therefore he says: "There is another who accuses you, Moses, in whom you hope," as his disciples: below in chapter nine: "We are disciples of Moses: we know that God spoke to Moses." He accuses you, because, that is, you do not believe him. Likewise there is a question about what he says: "I will not accuse you before the Father." On the contrary: Christ is just and cannot not be just: therefore just as it belongs to him to praise the good, so also to accuse the wicked. Likewise, Jeremiah twenty-nine: "I am the judge and the witness": therefore if it belongs to a true witness to accuse the wicked, etc. I respond: It must be said that Christ, so far as it was in his power, offered himself by his death: and because he offered himself for all, therefore so far as it depends on him, he accuses no one. Whence the Gloss says: "The blood of Christ accuses no one, but cries out for pardon; the blood of Abel cries out for vengeance," the teaching of Moses cries out for vengeance. Whence it must be understood that he does not accuse of himself, but on account of our fault. — Or it must be said that he does not accuse primarily and principally: but Moses accuses more principally, Moses whom they do not believe when he foretells Christ.

John 5:46 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"For if you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me also: perhaps" is a mark of freedom: and truly me: "for he wrote of me": Deuteronomy eighteen: "The Lord will raise up a prophet for you from your nation: you shall hear him, just as you hear me." And he will accuse you, because you do not believe in him.

John 5:47 — Commentary on John, Chapter 5

"But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" As if to say: you will not. Luke sixteen: "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they believe even if someone should rise from the dead." Likewise there is a question about the Lord's argument: "If you do not believe the writings of Moses, how will you believe my words?" It appears to be an argument from the lesser by negation. I respond: Although it is lesser absolutely, nevertheless for the Jews it is not lesser, but greater.

John 6:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

In the preceding chapter the Lord showed Himself as healer; in this part He shows Himself as preserver. And because He is the preserver of bodies and of spirits, and through visible things one arrives at invisible things: first He shows Himself as preserver of bodies; second, of spirits, at the passage: "The next day the crowd." He shows Himself therefore as preserver of bodies by wondrously refreshing them bodily: which wondrous refreshment is described with respect to three things: first, with respect to the antecedents; second, with respect to the concomitants; third, with respect to the consequents. The antecedents, however, which were the cause or occasion of performing the miracle, are four: first, the arriving multitude; second, the suitability of place and time; third, the lack of money for buying food; fourth, the insufficiency of food for refreshing the multitude. The first occasion therefore of performing the miracle was the arriving multitude, which followed Christ beyond His homeland to see His miracles. On account of which He says: "After these things Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee, which is that of Tiberias": it is called the Sea of Galilee from the region, of Tiberias from the city.

John 6:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"And a great multitude followed Him": and the reason for this is added: "Because they saw the signs which He did upon those who were infirm." On account of these signs to be seen they followed Christ, because, as is said in First Corinthians 1, "The Jews seek signs"; and when they see signs, they magnify God: Luke 5: "They were filled with fear and ecstasy, saying: We have seen wondrous things today." On account of these signs the Jews are attracted and also confirmed; Exodus 14: "Stand and see the great works of the Lord, which He is about to do."

John 6:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"He went therefore to the mountain." Here is noted the second occasion, namely the suitability of place and time. The place was suitable for performing a miracle, because it was deserted, in which there was a lack of refreshment: therefore He says: "Jesus therefore went to the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples." The place which John calls a mountain on account of its height, Matthew calls a desert on account of its solitude; Matthew 14: "Jesus withdrew by boat to a deserted place apart." And this place was suitable for performing miracles, because there was no food there: whence it is said in Matthew 14 that the disciples said to the Lord: "The place is deserted: dismiss the crowds, so that going into the villages they may buy themselves food."

John 6:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

There was also a suitability of time, because it was the Passover: whence He says: "Now the Passover, the feast day of the Jews, was near": on this feast the Lord had performed miracles, and he now had to renew them, because he had to make a new Passover. It should be noted, as Chrysostom says, that "from the Passover of John's imprisonment until this one, one year had passed, although the Evangelist narrates little about this," because others had narrated it.

John 6:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"When therefore Jesus had lifted up his eyes" — here is noted the third occasion, namely the lack of money to buy food with which so great a multitude might be fed; and to make this lack manifest, the Lord asks Philip about the price. Therefore he says: "When therefore Jesus had lifted up his eyes," through the kindness of mercy, because, as it is said in the Psalm, "the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, and upon those who hope in his mercy." "And had seen that a very great multitude was coming to him," on account of devotion; whence it is said in Matthew fourteen, that "the crowds followed him on foot from the cities." "He says to Philip," through the circumspection of providence: First Peter, last chapter: "He himself has care for you." "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" for the refreshment of their bodies, as if to say: Do we have a sufficient sum to buy? Nor did he himself need silver: Isaiah fifty-five: "Come, buy without silver." He did not ask this because he doubted, but to test Philip. Here arises a question concerning the apparent contradiction in the text: because it is said in Matthew 14 that the disciples approached the Lord and told him to dismiss the crowds; and it is likewise said in the same chapter of Matthew that the Lord replied to the disciples: "They have no need to go away"; yet here it is said that he sought from Philip counsel about feeding them. Likewise it is objected, because it is said that Philip says: "Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not suffice," etc.; yet in Mark 6 it is said that the disciples said: "Let us go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give them to eat." The contradiction is resolved, according to Augustine, from the fact that frequently one Evangelist says what another omits. And it is to be understood that the disciples first went to the Lord, and afterward the Lord looked upon the crowds and addressed Philip; and then Philip responded, and another Evangelist attributed Philip's response to the others, as Mark does, by synecdoche. And then the Lord asked how many loaves they had, and this John omits; and Andrew answered that there were five. And this John says of Andrew specifically; the others attribute it to several, because he was speaking in the person of many. There is also a question: since Philip was not the steward, but Judas was, it seems that the Lord ought to have asked Judas, not Philip. Chrysostom responds that that question was for testing and instructing, because Philip was more in need of instruction, as is clear below in the fourteenth chapter, when he asked: "Show us the Father": therefore he asked him in particular. Alternatively it can be said that Philip was a native of that region: whence he was also known to the crowds, and therefore more concerned about them: and therefore it should be believed that he first approached the Lord concerning the crowds, and afterward the Lord asked him.

John 6:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"But this he said testing him," not doubting; "for he himself knew what he was about to do." Therefore he said this to test him, and by testing to show that the money was lacking. There is also a question about the truth of the text, because it says here: "But this he said testing him." Against this: James 1: "God tempts no one": whence in the same place: "God cannot be tempted." Likewise, temptation is a path to sin: but God inclines no one to sin. If you say that he tempts not by inclining to evil, but by proving, according to that saying of the Psalm: "Prove me, O Lord, and try me"; against this: it belongs to one who does not know man to prove or take experiment of him: therefore if God knows man, he neither tempts nor proves. It must be said that there is a temptation inclining to evil, and this is from the flesh, the world, and the devil, not from God: and there is a temptation that proves, and this can be threefold: either so that it becomes known to the one proving, or so that it becomes known to others, or so that the one proved becomes known to himself. In the first way God does not tempt, but man does: Sirach 13: "Through much speech he will try you." In the second way God tempts the perfect man as an example; Genesis 22: "God tempted Abraham." In the third way he tempts the imperfect man for the merit of humility, because a man is humbled when his weakness becomes known to himself: Psalm: "Prove me, O Lord, and try me."

John 6:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"Philip answered him: Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that each one might receive a little something": and thus a great sum was necessary, and they themselves were poor and did not have even a small amount; for they had left all things, according to what Peter said in Matthew nineteen: "Behold, we have left all things and followed you," etc.; and Acts three: "Silver and gold I have not."

John 6:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here is noted the fourth occasion, namely the insufficiency of food for the feeding of so great a multitude. For since there were five thousand, they had only five loaves; and this is noted in Andrew's response. Therefore he says: "One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, says to him," namely to the Lord, who was asking Philip about the feeding of the crowds.

John 6:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish": so many loaves, he says, we have, but they are not sufficient; therefore he says: "But what are these among so many?" In this is noted the remarkable poverty of the Lord and the disciples, that they had few loaves and of poor quality; whence they also frequently suffered hunger with the Lord: Matthew twelve: "Jesus went through the grain fields; and his disciples, being hungry, began to pluck ears of grain and to eat." Morally, the five loaves, which the boy has, are the five refreshments of the affections, which have their origin from five considerations of the intellect: from the consideration of one's own sin, the bread of compunction, concerning which in the Psalm: "You will feed us with the bread of tears." This is the bread of which Judges 7 says: "There appeared to me something like a cake of barley bread baked under ashes." From the consideration of the passion of Christ, the bread of affliction: Deuteronomy 16: "For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread of affliction, because in fear you went out of Egypt, that you may remember the day of your departure from Egypt"; Lamentations 3: "Remember my poverty and my transgression, the wormwood and the gall." From the consideration of the failings of the brethren, the bread of compassion: Ecclesiastes 11: "Cast your bread upon the passing waters," namely, of tribulation. Without this, no one ought to be placed in authority: Isaiah 4: "I am not a healer, and in my house there is neither bread nor clothing: do not make me a ruler of the people." From the consideration of eternal punishment, the bread of trembling: Tobit 2: "He ate bread with mourning and trembling," remembering that word which the Lord spoke through Amos the prophet: "Your feast days shall be turned into lamentation and mourning." From the consideration of the delay of the reward, the bread of devotion, which is found in the perfect: the Psalm: "My tears have been my bread day and night, while it is said to me daily: Where is your God?"

John 6:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

After the antecedents to the wondrous feeding have been determined, here the concomitants are noted, which are three: first, the seating of those reclining; second, the multiplication of the loaves; third, the collection of the fragments. First therefore the seating of those reclining at Christ's command is noted: whence he says: "Jesus therefore says," namely to the disciples: "Make the people sit down," that is, to sit in order to eat: for to sit down or to recline properly pertains to those eating: whence Luke 14: "When you are invited to a wedding feast, recline." And the place was suitable for reclining; whence he says: "Now there was much grass in the place." And in that suitable place the disciples made them recline: therefore he says: "So the men sat down, in number about five thousand": "about" is said because perhaps someone was lacking or in excess: but because Scripture does not insist upon minute details, others say that it was five thousand: Matthew 14: "And the number of those eating was five thousand men, not counting children and women."

John 6:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the multiplication of the loaves is touched upon, which was obtained through the giving of thanks and completed in the distribution of the loaves. Therefore he says: "Jesus therefore took the loaves," in order to multiply them: for his hand is one of power; whence in Numbers 11 the Lord said to Moses: "Is the hand of the Lord weak? Now you shall see whether my word shall be fulfilled." "And when he had given thanks," in order to sanctify; 1 Timothy 4: "Nothing is to be rejected which is received with thanksgiving. For it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer." "He distributed to those reclining," namely for eating, through the Apostles, so that they might give to different people according to their will: Esther 1: "The king had appointed, setting over each table one of his princes, so that each person might take what he wished." "Likewise of the fishes, as much as they wished," that is, unto fullness: Exodus 16: "In the evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread." The question is raised concerning the multiplication of the loaves. For if the Lord wished to manifest his power, and it is of greater power to create loaves than to multiply them, because the former is from nothing, the latter from something, and both were equally easy for the Lord: therefore why multiply rather than create? It must be said that both belong to infinite power. Nevertheless, he multiplied rather than created, in order to shut the mouths of heretics who say that these visible things belong to the God of darkness, not to the God of light. Therefore, in order to show that he himself was the one who had created all visible things, he willed to multiply what had already been created. Whether, however, God multiplied the loaves by adding new matter from elsewhere, or by creating it, or by extending it, seems doubtful. Without prejudice, however, it must be said that there was multiplication without creation and without extrinsic addition; nor was it merely an extension of matter, as occurs through the power of a natural agent, but there was simultaneously an increase in matter and form through infinite power; and this has no parallel in nature, just as neither does creation. It is also asked: since the Lord, above in chapter two, made the finest wine, whence is it that he distributed barley bread, lowly bread, to the crowds? It must be said that the reason was literal, from the fact that above he transmuted water into wine and gave it the finest form; here he multiplied and increased; therefore, with the form remaining, he gave a perfect quantity, because beyond necessity, twelve baskets. The spiritual reason is: because by the five loaves the five books of Moses are understood; but the teaching of Moses is rough and hard; and therefore he multiplied barley loaves. Likewise Chrysostom asks: why in performing this miracle did he give thanks, when in others he did not do so? He seems to have shown weakness in himself. The response is that he did not do this in order to obtain the miracle, but on account of the custom he had of giving thanks at the beginning of a meal and blessing the food: in which he instructed us that we ought to take food with thanksgiving and prayer.

John 6:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"When they were filled," that is, satisfied, "he said to his disciples: Gather up the fragments that remain, lest they perish." For since bread was made for the use of men, fragments perish when they are not taken up for the use of men; Psalm: "That bread may strengthen the heart of man." And the disciples of the Lord carry out the command.

John 6:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"They gathered therefore and filled twelve baskets": behold, a measure and a full measure. Chrysostom: "I admire not only the multiplication of the loaves, but the certainty of that which was left over, and that the baskets were equal in number to the Apostles, signifying that the teaching of the Apostles was to be distributed throughout the whole world from the remnants of the teaching of Christ." "They gathered," I say, "and filled twelve baskets of fragments from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten." He had these remnants collected so that the abundance might be apparent: whence in the Psalm: "In your remnants you shall prepare their countenance." Allegorically, one boy had five barley loaves and two fishes, which were multiplied into twelve baskets of remnants. This boy is Moses, the bearer of the Law, who is called a boy because he was a servant: Hebrews 3: "Moses was most faithful in all his house," as a servant. Bread is the instruction of the word: Deuteronomy 8: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." The five loaves, therefore, are words, of which the Apostle speaks in First Corinthians 14: "I would rather speak five words with my understanding"; Jerome: "The five words are the five books of Moses, of which the Apostle speaks." These loaves are multiplied when their manifold understanding is opened by the Lord: Luke, last chapter: "Beginning from Moses, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things that were about him." From the multiplication of these there remain twelve baskets of fragments, that is, the teaching of the twelve Apostles, who were dispersed throughout the world, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Their sound has gone forth into all the earth"; and Mark, last chapter: "Going into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature." Again, there is a question: since everything superfluous is to be avoided, and the Lord made all things in a certain weight and measure: therefore it seems that he ought not to have multiplied the loaves beyond sufficiency. It must be said that although they were beyond necessity, they were not however beyond usefulness; indeed the usefulness was for refreshment and for our instruction: refreshment, because afterwards the disciples ate; instruction, so that we may know that God is able and prepared to give beyond our need; that we may also know that the miracle was true; and that from the certain number of remaining fragments we may understand the doctrine of the Apostles and its abundant fruit.

John 6:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Above were described the antecedents to the wondrous feeding and the accompanying circumstances: here are described the consequences, which are four, namely the devotion of the crowds to honor Christ; the hiding of the Lord to flee honor; the descent of the disciples to cross over; the coming of Christ to bring aid. The first consequence of the aforesaid miracle, then, was the devotion of the crowds to honor Christ, and this by recognizing him through the sign he had performed: whence he says: "Those men therefore, when they had seen the sign that Jesus had done," that is, had considered the greatness of the sign, "said: This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world," that is, Christ, who was awaited as the Lord of the whole world. They said this on account of the signs: below in chapter seven: "When the Christ comes, will he do more signs than these which this man does?" It is asked here whether the crowds speak truth or falsehood when they say of Christ: "This is truly the Prophet." That it is true seems apparent, because it is said in Deuteronomy 18: "The Lord will raise up a Prophet for you"; and the Gloss says that it understands this literally of Christ. But to the contrary: Prophecy does not belong to comprehensors, who see in clarity, but rather these see in a mirror; if therefore Christ was a comprehensor, then he is not a prophet. It must be said that "prophet" is said in two ways: either by reason of interior inspiration and revelation, and thus it implies an accompanying ignorance; one is also called a prophet by reason of infallible and truthful proclamation. By reason of the first, Christ is not called a prophet, but by reason of the second, because he spoke truth in all things and infallibly.

John 6:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here is touched upon the hiding of the Lord to flee the honor which he foresaw the crowds wished to offer him. Therefore he says: "Jesus therefore, when he knew," namely as God, "that they would come to seize him," as if by force, "and make him king, he fled again into the mountain, he himself alone," as if in his haste not waiting for the disciples. For they wished to seize him and make him king before the time, as he himself says below in chapter eighteen: "My kingdom is not of this world." Augustine says: "Christ fled when they wished to make him king: for Christ the man despised all earthly goods, to show that they are to be despised; he endured all evils, so that neither would happiness be sought in the former, nor adversity feared in the latter." It is asked: if he was king, then he ought to have been received as king, and he ought to have willed that his own receive him as they ought; therefore he ought not to have fled, but rather to have presented himself. Likewise, when the salvation of the people depends on someone chosen, such a one ought not to absent himself; therefore, if the salvation of the people depends on Christ, why did he flee? Likewise, why did he flee alone, when previously he did not ascend alone, but he and his disciples? It must be said that Christ is received as king when he is received so that he may reign in the heart through faith; but because those people cared nothing for faith and salvation, but only for temporal refreshment, he justly absents himself. And through this the solution to what follows is clear: because the salvation of the people did not depend on a carnal kingdom of Christ, but on a spiritual kingdom. To what is asked, why did he flee alone: on account of haste, he did not wait for the others; on account of concealment, he did not wish to have company; on account of instruction, so that he might show that in the acceptance of honors, counsel is not to be sought from close friends and familiars, because in this is verified that saying of Micah 7: "The enemies of a man are those of his own household."

John 6:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the descent of the disciples to depart is touched upon; for the Lord wished to dismiss the crowds secretly, so that they would not find him: therefore he sent his disciples ahead, so that descending from the mountain they might cross over. For this reason he says: "But when evening had come" — this is the hour of returning to lodging — "his disciples had descended to the sea," namely, so that they might cross over. It is asked concerning the descent of the disciples: because it is said that they went down when evening had come, how did they leave their Master alone? It seems that they were blameworthy. Likewise it is said that the disciples came to Capernaum, because in Mark 6 it is said that he commanded them to come to Bethsaida. It must be said that, as Matthew says, the Lord compelled his disciples to get into the boat: therefore they were not blameworthy, because they obeyed the Lord. To what is objected concerning the contradiction, it must be said that Mark names the nearest town, but John names the one to which they intended to go.

John 6:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"And when they had boarded the ship, they came across the sea to Capernaum. They came," that is, they began to come — said by way of anticipation. Therefore "they came," because the Lord dwelt there; Matthew 4: "He went down to Capernaum and dwelt there." "And darkness had already fallen." Here the coming of Christ to bring aid is touched upon, because they were placed in danger on account of the darkness of night and the storm of the sea: therefore he says: "And darkness had already fallen"; behold, the danger of night, and especially because a guide was lacking: therefore he says: "And Jesus had not yet come to them": therefore they were in danger: below in chapter twelve: "He who walks in darkness does not know where he goes."

John 6:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"But the sea, as a great wind was blowing, was rising up." For the sea rises at the wind: whence Jonah 1: "The Lord sent a great wind upon the sea, and a great storm arose." And because the Lord is near "to those who are troubled in heart"; therefore the coming of the Lord to bring aid is introduced.

John 6:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"When therefore they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia"; he says "about" on account of the uncertainty of distance at sea; "they saw Jesus walking upon the sea and drawing near to the ship," to bring aid: but they did not recognize him: therefore it is added: "And they were afraid": and the reason for this is given in Mark 6: "They thought it was a phantom." And because the Lord strengthens fearful hearts. It is also asked concerning the Lord's walking upon the sea: on which side was the miracle — whether of the water supporting, or of the body walking upon it? And why also did he not show this miracle to the crowds? Some say that it was on the part of the body, and that for that time he assumed the gift of agility: Master Hugo says this. Others say that it was on the part of the water, which rendered itself walkable beneath the feet of the Creator: and this is taken from Gregory. But it is better to say that, with each preserved in its own nature and property, the body was borne above the waters by divine power. Moreover, he manifested this more to the disciples than to the crowds, because, just as the disciples excelled in understanding of words as masters, so also in the beholding of miracles: whence he showed many things to them in secret.

John 6:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"But he said to them: It is I," namely, who protect you: "do not be afraid." When the Lord is present, there is nothing to fear, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The Lord is my protector: of whom shall I be afraid?" And from this they took confidence.

John 6:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"Therefore they wished to receive him into the ship," recognizing him and rejoicing in safety: "and immediately the ship was at the land to which they were going," that is, to which — because the almighty Lord was there, who was not carried by the ship but carried it: Hebrews 1: "Upholding all things by the word of his power"; and "immediately," because Wisdom 12: "For the power to act is subject to you whenever you will." Whence there was a threefold miracle, namely the walking upon the sea, the calming of the storm, and the most swift arrival at port. Spiritually, it should be noted what the village is to which they go, how they cross over, and by what guide they arrive. The village to which they go is Capernaum, which is interpreted as "the most beautiful village." This is the heavenly homeland, in which there is supreme beauty, as is said of the Saints in Wisdom 5: "They shall receive the kingdom of beauty and the diadem of comeliness from the hand of the Lord." To this village one crosses through the sea, that is, through the bitternesses of tribulations: Acts 14: "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Through this sea carries the little ship of penance, in which man is saved, according to that passage in Acts 27: "Unless you remain in the ship, you cannot be saved"; likewise: "If we do not do penance, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord," Sirach 2. This little ship is shaken when it is battered by the blasts of temptations: Matthew 7: "The floods came, and the winds blew." Those sailing see the Lord walking, as here; those fighting see him standing, Acts 7; those contemplating, sitting, Isaiah 6: "I saw the Lord sitting." But the Lord is present and leads to port, according to that passage in Isaiah 43: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers shall not overwhelm you"; and according to that passage of the Psalm: "I am with him in tribulation; I will deliver him and glorify him; with length of days I will fill him and show him my salvation."

John 6:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

The Lord showed above that he is the preserver by bodily refreshment: in this part he shows that he is the preserver by spiritual refreshment. And since no one is refreshed spiritually unless consenting, and free will does not consent unless it is attracted and aroused, therefore first the arousing of the crowds takes place, and second spiritual refreshment is proposed to them. The stirring up therefore of the crowds is described in this order. First is noted the solicitude of the crowds in seeking the Lord Christ; second, the correction of those seeking inordinately; third, the instruction of those who doubt; fourth, the humiliation of the proud. There is therefore first intimated the solicitude of the crowds in seeking Christ, arising from the miracle they had seen; and because they did not know where he was, they therefore sought him, because they did not know when and how he had departed. Therefore he says: "The next day, the crowd that stood beyond the sea" — stood, I say, in expectation: whence they could say that word of Peter, Matthew seventeen: "Lord, it is good for us to be here"; therefore they had not immediately departed — "beyond the sea," where, namely, they had been fed. "Saw," through consideration. "Saw that there was no other boat there but one," in which, namely, Jesus could have crossed over, nor did he cross in that one. "And saw that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but only the disciples had departed." And because they did not find him, they believed he had crossed over miraculously; and they wished to seek him and were able to, because boats had arrived.

John 6:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"But other boats came from Tiberias," from the city after which that lake was named; "near the place where they had eaten the bread, giving thanks to God," because thus one ought to eat.

John 6:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"When therefore the crowd had seen that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples": and they themselves had come on account of Jesus: "they boarded the boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus": they sought him therefore because he had fed them in his presence, according to that saying of Sirach: "They who eat me shall yet hunger." On wood they sought him who wrought salvation, according to that saying of Wisdom fourteen: "Men entrust their souls to a small piece of wood, and crossing the sea on a raft, are delivered."

John 6:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here is touched upon the correction of those seeking inordinately. For the Jews seek Jesus, and having found him, put a question to him; therefore he says: "And when they had found him across the sea," they who had not seen him cross over: "they said to him: Rabbi, when did you come here?" They ask out of wonder, not knowing how he had come; and they inquire curiously about the time, just as the disciples, Matthew twenty-four: "Tell us, when shall these things be?" And the Lord does not respond to the inquiry, but to the intention of those seeking inordinately.

John 6:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"Jesus answered and said: Amen, amen I say to you: You seek me, not because you saw the signs," which I performed, so that through the signs you might come to faith, and thus you seek nothing spiritual, but carnal: "but because of my loaves," that is, multiplied by me, "you ate and were filled." And this is what the carnal Jews were seeking, namely the satiation of the body, just as their fathers also: Exodus 16: "Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat over the pots of flesh and ate bread to satiety." And because they were seeking in a disordered manner, therefore the Lord directs and orders them. There is a question about what he says: "You seek me, not because you saw signs." To the contrary: above in the same chapter: "A great multitude followed him, because they saw signs." It must be said that this contradiction is resolved in two ways: in one way by reference to different times: because those same ones who first followed on account of signs, afterwards, having been fed, followed on account of food. In another way it is resolved by reference to different persons: because both are true: for some followed on account of signs, some on account of food. Hence it should be noted that there were five reasons why some followed the Lord: sickness, signs, food, blasphemy, and doctrine were the reasons why the crowd followed the Lord.

John 6:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"Work," that is, seek laboriously, "not for the food which perishes," that is, carnal food: because First Corinthians 6: "Food for the belly, and the belly for food; but God will destroy both it and them"; Matthew 15: "Everything that enters the mouth goes into the belly"; "but for the food which endures unto eternal life," that is, spiritual food. This food is the Word of God, which endures forever: whence in Isaiah 40 it is said: "The Word of the Lord abides forever"; and therefore it gives eternal life; below in the same chapter: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Christ gives this food; therefore he says: "Which the Son of man will give you," as the good shepherd: below in chapter 10: "If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture." And he shows that it belongs to him to give this food: "For him God the Father has sealed: he sealed," by the sign of his testimony he showed him to be his Son, who is able to give life and food: Matthew 3, at the baptism: "This is my beloved Son." Or: "he sealed," that is, by his own sign he distinguished from others, so that he might be singular and "holding the primacy in all things." For the Father distinguished Christ by a threefold distinction, namely by the union of the Word, above in chapter 1: "The Word was made flesh"; by the fullness of gifts, above in chapter 3: "God does not give the Spirit by measure"; by immunity from sin, above in chapter 1: "Behold the Lamb of God; behold him who takes away the sins of the world." This sealing was prefigured in Haggai, the last chapter: "I will take you, Zerubbabel, my servant, says the Lord, and I will set you as a signet ring; because I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts." By Zerubbabel is understood Christ; therefore concerning the lamb, Exodus 13: "It shall be as a sign in your hand." Chrysostom asks: whether a man ought to work for bodily food? It seems that he should not, by this text. Likewise, Matthew 6: "Be not anxious about what you shall eat." Likewise, in Luke 10 the Lord rebuked Martha, who was anxious about bodily food. Therefore it does not seem that a man ought to work for bodily food. On the contrary: 1 Thessalonians 4: "Work with your hands, as we have commanded you." Likewise, 2 Thessalonians, last chapter: "He who does not work, let him not eat": where the Apostle also says that he provided an example. It must be said that it is good to work for obtaining bodily food, as it is said: "You shall eat the labor of your hands: blessed are you." But concerning this manual labor, a threefold disorder can occur: in intention, as when one seeks this food as an ultimate end, and the Lord prohibits this here; in solicitude, as when the mind is absorbed in earthly things, and thus the Lord prohibits in Matthew; in timing, as when one ought to be free for hearing the word of God, one is occupied with work or bodily food: and thus Christ rebuked Martha, who ought to have been listening to the Lord preaching.

John 6:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the instruction of those who doubt is touched upon: for not understanding Christ's correction, they begin to doubt and to inquire. On account of this he says: "They said therefore to him," namely the Jews: "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Therefore they were asking about the work, because through it they wished to come to refreshment. For this is the order: Second Thessalonians, the last chapter: "He who does not labor, let him not eat"; Proverbs 12: "He who works his land will be filled with bread." And the Lord instructs those who are seeking.

John 6:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"Jesus answered and said to them," namely to those asking and doubting: "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he sent. This is the work" that is good, the principle of all good works, since it is said in Hebrews 11: "Without faith it is impossible to please God." He who wishes to work well ought to begin from faith: Genesis 15: "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." There is a question about what he says: "The work of God is that you believe in him whom he sent." On the contrary: The Apostle says in Romans 3: "We reckon that a man is justified by faith without the works of the Law": therefore to believe is not a work. It must be said that "work" is taken broadly to include the work of working and the work wrought, spiritual and corporal, interior and exterior: in another way, properly, according to one of these distinctions. In the first way, to believe is a work; in the second way, not at all.

John 6:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the humiliation of those who despise and are proud is touched upon: for they did not wish to believe in Christ through the signs which they had seen, as if their fathers had seen greater signs. Therefore they say: "What sign therefore do you perform, that we may see and believe you?" For the Hebrews do not believe unless they see signs: 1 Corinthians 1: "Jews seek signs." "What do you work?" As if they were saying: what great thing have you done? What you have done is little in comparison to what was done in the desert.

John 6:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"Our fathers ate manna in the desert," not barley bread, but heavenly bread; whence they also add: "As it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat." It is written in the Psalm: "Man ate the bread of Angels; he sent them provisions in abundance." Thus they were puffed up about the miracle shown to their fathers, despising the miracle of Christ; and the Lord humbles them by showing that that Scripture was not fulfilled through Moses, but is fulfilled through himself.

John 6:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"Jesus therefore says to them: Amen, amen I say to you: Moses did not give you bread from heaven," as that Scripture speaks; not, I say, truly, but typologically, because, as is said in 1 Corinthians 10, "all things happened to them in figure." "But my Father gives you the true bread from heaven": and therefore we ask from him: "Give us this day our supersubstantial bread," Matthew 6. There is a question about what he says: "Moses did not give you bread from heaven": because it is said in Wisdom 16: "You provided them with ready bread from heaven." Some respond that there is the empyrean heaven and the aerial heaven: from the first they did not have bread, but from the second. This solution does not resolve the matter, because Christ was not bread from the empyrean heaven: and furthermore it is said in the Psalm: "Man ate the bread of Angels," but the bread of Angels is not from the air. It must be said that manna was a material food and from the material heaven, yet bearing the figure of the true, heavenly, and spiritual food. The authorities, therefore, which call that food heavenly, are to be understood according to figure and type: while the opposing ones are to be understood according to the manifest truth.

John 6:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"For the true bread is that which descends from heaven and gives life to the world": and this bread was not the manna, but Christ: below in chapter 10: "I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly." "To descend from heaven," this is to come into flesh; whence Augustine says: "The Word, which was the bread of Angels, when it descended into flesh, was turned into milk for little ones."

John 6:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

The Lord aroused the Jews to seek spiritual refreshment; here, to those now aroused and asking, he grants instruction. And since Christ is the bread that refreshes according to the divine nature and according to the human, therefore this part has two sections. In the first is treated the refreshment of this heavenly bread according to the divine nature; in the second, with respect to the human, there: "And the bread which I shall give is my flesh." The first part has two parts. In the first is set forth instruction in response to the Jews' petition; in the second, the confirmation of the instruction on account of the Jews' murmuring, there: "The Jews therefore murmured," etc. He instructs therefore the Jews concerning the refreshment of this heavenly bread in this order: first he shows who this refreshing bread is; second, who are refreshed by this bread; third, why it refreshes those and not others. First therefore, in response to the Jews' petition, he teaches who this refreshing bread is; on account of which he introduces the Jews asking: "They said therefore to him," namely the Jews: "Lord, give us this bread always"; because he had promised them living bread, therefore they ask so that they might not hunger, just as the woman asked for water; above in chapter four: "Lord, give me this water, that I may not thirst nor come here to draw." Thus therefore to those asking, the Lord shows the spiritual bread.

John 6:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"But Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life," that is, the bread giving life; because he himself is Wisdom, of which Sirach four says: "Wisdom breathes life into her children"; nor is he only life-giving, but indeed also satisfying both the affection and the intellect; whence he says: "He who comes to me," namely through charity, "shall not hunger"; Matthew eleven: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you." "And he who believes in me shall never thirst," because, as is said above in chapter four, "whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall not thirst forever; but the water that I shall give shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life." And it should be noted that charity feeds, because it resides in the affection, which is more closely united; faith gives drink, because it regards the act of the intellect, which is less closely united. And therefore, just as drink carries food through the members, so faith and the operation of the intellect directs the way for the virtues residing in the affection, in which the feeding takes place. There is a question about what he says: "He who comes to me shall not hunger." To the contrary: It is found below in the same chapter that many of his disciples went back; and it is established that they had previously come to him; therefore he speaks falsely. It is to be understood of those who came with a perfect heart, not a feigned one; and these are they who come with persevering charity; otherwise they are regarded as if they had not come, because all their righteous deeds are given over to oblivion.

John 6:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"But I said to you: That you have both seen me and do not believe." Here the second point is noted, who namely are refreshed by this bread: because not the unbelieving, but the faithful elected and called by God. Therefore he says: Thus I said that "he who comes to me shall not hunger": but you, because you do not believe, cannot be refreshed. Above in the third chapter he said: "We speak what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony"; likewise above in the fifth chapter: "How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory that is from God alone?" Likewise above in the same chapter: "You seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of my loaves." And because you do not believe, you cannot be refreshed. Whence Bede says: "Do you desire bread from heaven? You have it before you and do not eat," because you do not believe: but those eat who have been elected by God and, being called, believe. There is a question about what he says: "You have seen me and you do not believe." It seems that he says nothing meaningful, because faith is the substance of things that are not seen; therefore he cannot reproach them for not believing, since they see. It must be said that he understands this of a vision not of pure or weak humanity, but of a vision of power and might in their effect. And since they saw divine power in its effect, therefore they ought to have believed. As to the objection that vision is incompatible with faith: it must be said that this is true of the vision of the essence, but it is not true of a vision that is in an effect as in a mirror, because it belongs to faith to see through a mirror and in an enigma.

John 6:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"All that the Father gives me," through eternal election and temporal calling; "shall come to me," through faith and love. Concerning this giving, in the Psalm: "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance." The Lord requested these below in the seventeenth chapter: "Father, those whom you have given me, keep them in your name." Concerning this coming to Christ, it is said in Isaiah 2: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways." To this coming Isaiah exhorts in chapter 55: "All you who thirst, come to the waters." Those who come thus he refreshes: whence he also adds: "And him who comes to me I will not cast out: I will not cast out," but I will refresh: "I will not cast out," but "I will bring in," according to that passage in Song of Songs 2: "He brought me into the wine cellar." Or: "I will not cast" him "out," but "I will enter in" to him: Revelation 3: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if anyone hears my voice and opens the door to me, I will enter in to him and dine with him." And in this is shown the justice of God, because he refreshes only those who come, and his kindness, because he receives all and rejects none.

John 6:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the third point is touched upon, why namely he refreshes only the predestined and those called by God. The reason is the conformity of his will to the divine will: therefore he says: "Because I came down from heaven," by assuming flesh, "not to do my own will," disagreeing with the Father, "but the will of him who sent me," obeying him in all things: whence Philippians 2: "He was made obedient" to the Father "unto death, even the death of the cross"; above in the fifth chapter: "I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me." But the will of the Father is that the elect and called be refreshed by this bread.

John 6:39 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"For this is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all that he has given me," through election; Romans 8: "Those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son"; "I should lose nothing of it," through reprobation, according to that passage of First Corinthians 1: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject." "But should raise it up on the last day," unto participation in eternal beatitude: Romans 8: "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies." He fulfilled this will in part: below in chapter eighteen: "Father, of those whom you gave me, I have lost none of them." And because God so chose us that we might attain beatitude through the merits of faith, in order to show the cooperation of our free will, he repeats again. There is a question about what he says: "Everything that the Father has given me, I shall not lose any of it." Against this: below in the seventeenth chapter: "None of those whom you gave me has perished except the son of perdition": therefore someone did perish from among those given to him. It must be said that the force of the argument can bear upon what he says "gave," because "to give" is twofold: either according to present justice, and in this way Judas was given, and in this way he perished; or "to give" is according to eternal election, and in this way the predestined were given, of whom none perishes. It is answered in another way, that the force may bear upon what he says "I shall lose," because Christ himself guards most diligently; hence no one perishes on account of a failing of the shepherd; but because he saves no one against his will, some perish on account of their own malice. Hence Christ does not lose them, but they lose themselves.

John 6:40 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"But this is the will of my Father who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son," according to his humanity, "and believes in him," through the freedom of his own will, because, as Augustine says, "a man cannot believe unless willing": "should have eternal life," as a reward: "and I will raise him up on the last day," and thus he will attain this life through the Son: Ephesians 2: "When we were dead in sins, he made us alive together with Christ and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus"; and this "on the last day," because, as is said in First Corinthians 15, "the last of all enemies to be destroyed will be death."

John 6:41 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

He set forth above the instruction in response to the Jews' petition; here secondly he sets forth the confirmation to restrain their murmuring. First is set forth the murmuring of the Jews; second, the restraining of the murmuring; third, the removal of the error; fourth, the confirmation of the true doctrine. Therefore, first is intimated the murmuring of the Jews about the fact that the Lord had said he descended from heaven; on account of which he says: "The Jews therefore murmured about him." Murmuring is hidden detraction; hence Chrysostom says: "They did not contradict openly, but secretly, because the sign of the multiplication of the loaves was still recent." They were keeping the custom of their fathers, about whom Numbers fourteen says: "How long does this wicked multitude murmur against me?" And he adds what they were murmuring about: "Because he had said: I am the living bread, who descended from heaven." For they were seeking temporal bread to eat; hence, because they had been frustrated in their hope by this response, they murmured. It is asked here concerning what he says, that the Jews were murmuring. The Lord knew that the Jews were bound to fall from the doctrine of truth into murmuring: therefore, since he knew the doctrine would not profit them, since he was the physician of salvation, he ought not to have given it. To this point is relevant what is written in Matthew 7: "Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine"; to this same point, Proverbs 9: "He who instructs a scoffer brings injury upon himself": therefore it seems that instruction ought not to be given to such people who fall into detraction. As Augustine says in the book On the Gift of Perseverance, the salvation of one good person is to be preferred over many wicked ones. Hence he says in the same place that when we know our teaching benefits the good, even if we know that the wicked are scandalized thereby, we ought not to be silent. Since therefore the teaching on the bread of life was timely and most useful for the good, both for those who were present then and for us who read it, and the occasion presented itself because a wondrous and great feeding had taken place, therefore He did well in teaching, not on account of the wicked, but on account of the good. Hence it must be resolved that although the Lord was speaking to the wicked, nevertheless He was instructing the good.

John 6:42 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"And they said: Is this not the son of Joseph?" Luke three: "He was beginning to be about thirty years old, as was supposed, the son of Joseph"; "whose father and mother we know," from the earth, not from heaven; Matthew thirteen: "Is this not the carpenter's son, and is not his mother called Mary, and are not his brothers and sisters among us?" "How then does this man say that he descended from heaven?" since we know that he was born on earth. And so was verified what was said above in the fourth chapter: "A prophet has no honor in his own country." For because they knew his temporal generation, they denied his eternal generation; and because they despised the humble Christ, they were unable to see him as the sublime one.

John 6:43 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the restraining of murmuring is touched upon. For He restrains them from murmuring: whence He says: "Do not murmur among yourselves": and rightly so, because it profits nothing; Wisdom 1: "Guard yourselves from murmuring, which profits nothing," but rather harms: 1 Corinthians 10: "Neither let us murmur, as some of them murmured." And the reason why they ought not to murmur is that they do not understand Christ: and because they do not understand Him, they foolishly criticize Him: and truly they do not understand, because they do not believe: and they do not believe, because it has not been given to them by the Father.

John 6:44 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"No one can come to me," through faith and love and knowledge; unless "the Father, who sent me, draws him," through revelation, as Peter, to whom it is said in Matthew 16: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father, who is in heaven." Thus the Father draws to me through revelation. "And I will raise him up on the last day," through redemption and liberation from death: 1 Corinthians 15: "For since indeed by a man came death, by a man also the resurrection of the dead; and as in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive." And in order to impose silence upon them more fully, He confirms by Scripture. An inquiry is made about what He says: "No one can come to me unless the Father draws him." On the contrary: Drawing is a violent motion; all merit is voluntary: therefore no one merits when he does something while being drawn. Likewise, if one cannot come unless drawn, then it is not in one's power to come to God; and if this is so, then since no one is blameworthy if he does not do what is impossible, no one is blameworthy if he does not come to God. Likewise, since drawing belongs to the whole Trinity, and it is through revelation, which properly belongs to the Son or to the Holy Spirit, how is it attributed to the Father? For it is neither by property nor by appropriation. It must be said that to remain in oneself belongs to nature as instituted; to descend or be inclined below oneself belongs to corrupted nature; but to be elevated above oneself belongs to nature sublimated through grace. Hence to stand belongs to nature, to descend to fault, to ascend to grace. Since therefore nature is corrupted and prone to evil: if it is elevated above itself, there will be not only an elevation, but on account of the inclination to the contrary, a drawing. Since therefore everyone who comes to God is elevated above himself: no one comes unless he is drawn. Therefore he rightly says: "No one comes," etc. To the objection about violent motion, it is answered that there is a drawing of exterior coercion, and there is a drawing of inducement: the first involves violence, the second not at all. Or otherwise: there is a drawing of affection, according to what Augustine says, that the poet says: "His own pleasure draws each one"; and this is both meritorious and demeritorious: and there is a drawing against the will, and by this he does not draw, and of this he does not speak. To the second it must be said that it is not in one's full power to come, but it is in one's power to prepare oneself for divine assistance. As to what he appropriates to the Father, I say that appropriation is made in the Trinity by reason of granting understanding, by reason of removing error, by reason of showing humility. Thus I say that in this third way the Son appropriates to the Father those things which belong to the Trinity, so that he may teach us to be humble.

John 6:45 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

No one is wise unless he is taught by God, for "No one comes to the Father but through Me," says the Saviour. And in John: "They all shall be taught of God." No one is taught in matters of faith except through God; and because it comes about through God's voice, it is said: "God called the firmament heaven."

John 6:45 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"It is written in the Prophets: They shall all be teachable by God," that is, all shall be taught by God; "in the Prophets" is said, because it is found in several places; Jeremiah 31: "I will place my law in their inward parts and I will write it upon their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and no longer shall a man teach his neighbor, nor a man his brother, saying: Know the Lord; for all shall know me, from the least even to the greatest"; likewise, Isaiah 54: "I will make all your children taught by the Lord"; and Joel 2: "I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams." "Everyone who has heard from the Father" — here the removal of error is touched upon. For since He had said that all are taught by God: lest anyone should believe that they see God, by whom they are taught, He says that they do not see, but hear. Whence He says: "Everyone who has heard from my Father and has learned," through inspiration, according to that verse of the Psalm: "I will hear what the Lord God speaks within me": he, I say, "comes to me," through faith and love, according to that verse of Revelation, last chapter: "And let him who hears say: Come." An inquiry is made about what He says: "Everyone who has heard from the Father: not that anyone has seen the Father." On the contrary: It is established that He speaks here of the seeing and hearing of the intellect itself; but in the intellect sight and hearing do not differ, and he who hears intelligibly sees intelligibly: therefore if the Father is heard interiorly, He is also seen. Furthermore, it is certain that to understand is to see; therefore he who hears either understands or does not: if he understands, he sees; if he hears and does not understand, and comes to hearing, then he comes not understanding, like a brute animal. It must be said that vision regards the speaker, but hearing regards the speech. Properly, the speech of God is the inspiration of God, according to how it is understood here. This inspiration is an effect of God in the soul; the soul can know this effect in itself, although it does not fully know from whom it comes. Hence it must be said that it both sees and hears that inspiration, but nevertheless from this it does not follow that it sees God. Hence He most aptly says: "Everyone who has heard from the Father," that is, the inspiration proceeding from the Father, and that inspiration, I say, he sees, just as he also hears. But from this it does not follow that he sees the one who inspires, because hearing does not regard Him, but the effect, just as sight does also. It is asked concerning what he says: "They shall all be teachable by God": because this is most certainly false in every state. Likewise, how is that true which is said in Joel 2: "I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh": and similarly that of Isaiah: "I will make all your children taught by the Lord"? According to Augustine, "all" is distributed for the kinds of individuals. But then the authority would avail little for the purpose at hand. For this reason it is explained otherwise, that those who will be taught will be taught by God, and no one except through him; therefore "all teachable." And thus the authority avails for the purpose at hand.

John 6:46 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"Not that anyone has seen the Father," namely anyone mortal and subject to suffering, because in Exodus 33 it is said: "Man shall not see me and live"; "except He who is from God, He sees the Father." This is the only-begotten Son, concerning whom it is said above in chapter 1: "No one has ever seen God, but the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father."

John 6:47 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here is placed the confirmation of the preceding instruction: whence he repeats what he had said and doubles the adverb of affirmation: on account of which he says: "Amen, amen I say to you," that is, truly, truly I say: "He who believes in me has eternal life": and he proves this, because he himself is the bread that gives life to believers.

John 6:48 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"I am the bread of life"; and this for believers, because, as is said in Proverbs three, "she is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her," namely through faith: "and he who holds her fast is blessed," who holds fast through comprehension. And that he is the bread of life, he shows through the effect, because namely he gives the life of grace and the life of glory.

John 6:49 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"Your fathers ate manna in the desert," for forty years, namely, as is said in Deuteronomy eight: "He gave you manna for food, which you did not know": "and they died," by the death, namely, of fault and infidelity: Hebrews four: "The word heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith."

John 6:50 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"This is the bread descending from heaven," through the incarnation, "so that, if anyone shall eat of it," through faith and love: "he may not die," through transgression: because, as is said in Habakkuk two, "the just man lives by his faith." Just as faith liberates from death, so also does love: First John three: "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren; he who does not love remains in death." Nor does he give only the life of grace, but indeed also the life of glory.

John 6:51 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"I am the living bread," through essence, because having life in himself: above in chapter five: "Just as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son also to have life in himself." "Who descended from heaven," through the abundance of mercy: Exodus three: "I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt and their sorrow, and I descended to deliver them." "If anyone shall eat of this bread, he shall live forever," through glory. Concerning this eating, Song of Songs five: "Eat, friends, and drink, and be inebriated, dearest ones"; this will be in glory. From this kind of eating the sinner was prohibited in the figure of Adam: Genesis three: "Now therefore, lest perhaps he take from the tree of life and eat and live forever." Above the Lord showed that he is the bread that refreshes according to his divine nature; here he shows according to his human nature. And since this seemed false and harsh or hard, therefore this part has three parts: first is set forth the instruction of the faithful; second, its confirmation on account of the disputation of the Jews; third, its explanation on account of the scandal of the disciples. A brief instruction is set forth, in which he says that his flesh is bread; on account of which he says: "And the bread which I shall give," namely for refreshment, according to what we ask in the Lord's Prayer: "Give us this day our supersubstantial bread," Matthew 6: "is my flesh," which namely refreshes: First Corinthians 10: "The bread which we break, is it not the body of the Lord?" "For the life of the world," namely the flesh of Christ was given, when it was exposed to suffering, according to that passage in Lamentations 3: "He will give his cheek to the one who strikes him," indeed his whole body; whence Isaiah 50: "I gave my body to those who struck me and my cheeks to those who plucked them"; and not only for striking, but indeed also for immolation; whence Ephesians 5: "He delivered himself for us as an offering and sacrifice to God."

John 6:51 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

In the second place, it is lifted up to the vision of the city coming down from heaven, that is, of the assumed humanity. Indeed, the Son of God descended to our humanity, and this, for Jerusalem, is to come down. But the souls do not come down. He said: "I am the bread that has come down from heaven," and with Him [came down] all the charismatic graces. Wisdom says: "All good things together came to me in her company." And so, when the soul is lifted up by an influx into it of divine strength, light, and warmth, it worships piously, sees clearly, and enjoys holily, and through this it comprehends the marvelous origin, the marvelous fall, the marvelous ascent or ascending, the marvelous return. Then it has the four sides of the city coming down from heaven. I mean there is a marvelous origin in the nativity, a marvelous fall in the crucifixion, a marvelous ascent in the resurrection and ascension, and [there will be] a marvelous return at the time of the judgment.

John 6:52 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

The instruction has been set forth; here secondly, on account of the disputing of the Jews, a confirmation is set forth. And first the disputation of the Jews is set forth; second, the confirmation of the doctrine, at the passage: "Jesus therefore said to them." The disputation therefore was about this, that he had called his flesh bread, which they understood carnally. For this reason he says: "The Jews therefore were disputing." First they murmured, but now they dispute, when they contradict with loud and open speech. The Jews were contentious, which the servants of God ought not to be; whence Second Timothy 2: "The servant of God must not dispute, but be gentle toward all." "Saying to one another: How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" As if they were saying: this is impossible, unless he kills himself. Similarly Nicodemus asked above: "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born again?" Hence they asked this foolishly; Chrysostom: "You ask how he can give his flesh? Why did you not say concerning the loaves: how did you extend five loaves to so many?" An inquiry is made concerning the quarreling of the Jews; about which Chrysostom asks: whence is it that above they were murmuring in secret, but now they quarrel openly? It arises from a twofold cause: both because evil men and seducers and the unruly grow worse the more the truth is explained to them; and also because what had been said above concerning the Divinity, although it seemed false, was nevertheless not inhuman: but what he had now said about eating his flesh seemed not only false but inhuman and unclean, which the Jews abhor: therefore they quarreled.

John 6:53 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

The disputation of the Jews has been set forth; here the confirmation of the doctrine is set forth. He therefore confirms what he had said, that his flesh is bread, in this order: first the necessity of eating the flesh of Christ is set forth; second, the utility of eating; third, the truth of the refreshment; fourth, the dignity. First therefore the necessity of eating is shown, because without it there is no salvation; on account of which he says: "Amen, amen I say to you," that is, in truth: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man," as true bread, "and drink his blood," as true drink: "you shall not have life in you," namely the life of grace, of which it is said in the Psalm: "Quicken me according to your word." Augustine: "Nothing lives by the Spirit of Christ except the body of Christ. If therefore you wish to live by the Spirit of Christ, be in the body of Christ." But he who eats the body of Christ is in the body of Christ; therefore he who does not eat does not live, because it is said below in the same chapter: "He who eats my flesh abides in me." An inquiry is made here concerning the eating of the body of Christ and his flesh. And that it is not eaten seems to be the case: because what is eaten is ground down and chewed, but the impassible flesh of Christ cannot be ground down by the teeth; therefore neither can it be eaten. Likewise, what is eaten is converted into the one eating: but the body of Christ is not converted into us, but we into him: therefore we do not eat him, but he eats us. In eating we find three things, namely mastication, incorporation, and conservation. Mastication is twofold according to the twofold eating: for there is sacramental eating, and in this there is sacramental mastication, because the species is chewed: there is also spiritual eating, and in this there is spiritual mastication, which is a spiritual discernment through faith. There is furthermore incorporation, by which we are incorporated into the body of Christ: there is also conservation, by which we are conserved through the Spirit of Christ, as the members of the body are conserved through the soul. Concerning these three things Augustine says: "O sacrament of piety! O sign of unity! O bond of charity! Whoever wishes to live, let him draw near, let him believe, let him be incorporated, let him be vivified." Through this the first objection is clear: because there is mastication there, not carnal but spiritual or sacramental. To the objection that he is not incorporated into us, it must be said that the ultimate effect of food is to conserve; and because, although we are incorporated into Christ by eating, nevertheless because by eating we are conserved through him, he is rightly called our food. From this it seems that the Sacrament of the Eucharist is of necessity, and that no one can be saved without it. Against this: Either he means the life of grace or the life of glory: not of grace, because whoever wishes to approach worthily must first have the life of grace; nor the life of glory, because if one can have the life of grace without eating, one can also have glory. To this the response is given according to Augustine, that to believe is to eat: whence: "Why do you prepare your tooth and stomach? Only believe, and you have eaten." According to this, therefore, it must be noted that there is spiritual eating and there is sacramental eating: spiritual eating is through faith and charity, sacramental eating is under the Sacrament. Without sacramental eating there can be salvation, nor is it of necessity, as far as the institution of the Sacrament is concerned: spiritual eating is of necessity. But objections are raised concerning baptized infants, who are saved yet have never eaten either sacramentally or spiritually. Likewise, he adds to the eating of the flesh the drinking of the blood, therefore without the drinking of the blood no one is saved: but only priests receive the blood: therefore they alone are saved.…

John 6:54 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the benefit of eating is touched upon: because he who eats the flesh is vivified in soul and body. In soul: whence he says: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life: has," I say, in merit; or "has," because he has already in a certain way begun to possess it; Isaiah fifty-five: "Hear, you who hear me, and eat what is good, and your soul shall delight in richness: incline your ear and come to me, and your soul shall live, and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the faithful mercies of David." He also gives bodily life: whence he adds: "And I will raise him up on the last day," in that hour, of which above in chapter five: "The hour comes, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and those who have done good shall come forth to the resurrection of life, but those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment." An inquiry is made concerning the benefit: "He who eats my flesh," etc. For many eat who nevertheless die and are damned, as Judas. Likewise, just as the Son lives on account of the living Father, so it is said in the text that we live on account of the Son: but the Son does not live by eating: therefore by equal reasoning neither do we: or if we eat the Son, why does he himself not eat the Father? It must be said that a twofold heresy arose from this word: one which said that from the moment anyone eats the body of Christ, he cannot be damned, provided he ate as a believer. But this is manifestly irrational on account of Judas. Others said that whoever once ate worthily would never afterward be damned: and this is manifestly false, because, as can be proved through Scripture, many were good in the Church who were afterward damned. Therefore it must be understood in the catholic sense: "he who eats," namely worthily, and does not depart from that worthiness, will live forever. To the other objection it must be said that the comparison is not entirely similar, although it is adduced as a likeness. For the Son is said to live on account of the Father, because he has life from the Father and because he remains in the Father, but not because he is made better by participation in the Father: but we live through the Son, because from him we have life, and by the Son remaining in us and by participation in him we are made better. Therefore, because he does not remain in us except through eating, we eat so that we may live and be made better.

John 6:55 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the truth of the refreshment is touched upon. For the flesh of Christ truly refreshes, because it is true food, and therefore gives life. For this reason he says: "For my flesh is truly food": so truly have I said that he who eats has life; "for my flesh is truly food," not in a phantasmic way, like bodily foods, which refresh for a moment and then fail. "And my blood is truly drink," because it takes away thirst entirely; above in the same chapter: "He who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst." And that his flesh is true food that refreshes and vivifies, he shows by this reasoning: he who abides in me lives because of me; but he who eats my flesh abides in me; therefore he who eats my flesh lives because of me.

John 6:56 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"He who eats my flesh," by spiritual eating, "and drinks my blood abides in me," through love: First John four: "He who abides in love abides in God, and God in him"; "and I in him," through indwelling: below in chapter fourteen: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him."

John 6:57 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"As the living Father sent me": "living," by essence; "and I live because of the Father," namely because I have life from him; above in the fifth chapter: "As the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son also to have life in himself," and this from the Father remaining in him: below in the fourteenth chapter: "I am in the Father, and the Father is in me"; and from this the major premise is obtained: He who remains in me, etc. And from this the conclusion is drawn: "And he who eats me, he also shall live because of me": because, namely, he who remains in life by eating truly lives because of me, since, as is said below in the eleventh chapter, "I am the resurrection and the life."

John 6:58 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the dignity of the refreshment is touched upon, which surpasses that refreshment of the fathers which the Jews were praising above, both because it is nobler and because it is more lasting: nobler, because this bread is from heaven: whence he says: "This is the bread that descended from heaven": above in the same chapter: "Moses did not give you bread from heaven, but my Father gives you bread from heaven," and thus it is nobler. It is also more lasting, because that bread preserved temporally, but this one eternally; whence he says: "Not as your fathers ate manna and died," and thus were preserved only temporally, because within forty years they died in the desert, according to that verse of the Psalm: "For forty years I was offended with that generation"; Numbers chapter fourteen: "Your children shall wander in the desert for forty years and shall bear your fornication, until the corpses of the fathers are consumed in the desert." But this bread preserves eternally: whence he says: "He who eats this bread shall live forever": that is, he who eats worthily "shall live forever," because, as is said in First Corinthians chapter eleven, "he who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment upon himself": he who eats worthily shall live forever. He frequently promises eternal life, both so that they may desire that food and so that he may draw them away from love of earthly life to eternal life. For as is said in Matthew chapter ten: "He who loves his soul more than me is not worthy of me"; Deuteronomy chapter thirty: "Choose life for yourself." An inquiry is made concerning the dignity of this eating. For he says that those eating this bread will not die, as those eating manna. He either understands this of spiritual life or of bodily life. If of spiritual life, he says nothing, because the holy fathers who ate manna did not die spiritually. If of bodily life, likewise: because he who eats this bread does not live bodily, but dies. It must be said that this food is set above that food by reason of giving life in two ways: first, because that food could not give life except through this one which it signified; therefore it is said of the just that "they all ate the same spiritual food," 1 Corinthians 10; but those who had their eye only on that food died spiritually, because they tasted it only in a carnal manner. So Augustine responds. In another way it can be said that manna was ordained for the preservation of bodily life, but this bread for the preservation of spiritual life. And the Lord means to say that that bread only sustained bodily life for a time, but this bread sustains spiritual life forever in those who receive it worthily; and therefore it is more worthy than that one. But those who receive unworthily sin, and the bread is turned into poison for them, and these are those who bear the sting of mortal sin. The reason why they sin is contempt, because they bring so great a guest into so vile a lodging. But how it is received worthily, Augustine teaches: "Bring innocence," he says, "to the altar; if there be daily sins, at least let them not be deadly. Before you approach the altar, let it be said: Forgive us our debts, etc. Then approach with confidence: it is bread, not poison."

John 6:59 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Above was set forth the confirmation of the instruction on account of the Jews' disputing; here is set forth the explanation on account of the disciples' scandal; and it proceeds in this order. First, the murmuring of the disciples is indicated; second, on account of the murmuring, the explanation of the doctrine; third, the reason for murmuring is given; fourth, the falling away of the unbelieving; fifth, the confirmation of the believing; sixth, the discernment among the confirmed. The murmuring of the disciples arose from this: that he had said his flesh was given to be eaten, and that without this there was no salvation. On account of which he says: "He said these things teaching in the Synagogue, in Capernaum," that is, publicly, and therefore many were enraged; below, chapter 18: "I have always taught in the Synagogue."

John 6:60 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"Many therefore of his disciples, hearing," namely what had just been said about the eating of flesh, "said: This is a hard saying," that is, cruel and inhuman, to eat human flesh: "who can hear it?" They do not say "believe," but "hear," on account of the horror: therefore they could not hear, because their ears were heavy, according to that passage in Isaiah chapter six: "Make the heart of this people blind and make heavy their ears."

John 6:61 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the explanation of the doctrine on account of the murmuring is touched upon: and although the murmuring was in secret, yet it did not escape the Lord: whence he says: "But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured about this": he knew this not by report, but "in himself": below in chapter sixteen: "The disciples said: Now we know that you know all things, and it is not necessary for anyone to question you." Knowing therefore the murmuring and wishing to cut it off, he explains that what he had said is not to be understood carnally, but spiritually. He shows therefore that it is not to be understood carnally, both because it would be false, and because it would be useless. Therefore "he said to them: Does this scandalize you," namely what I said about the eating of my flesh, because you believe carnally that it is to be divided into pieces: just as the Pharisees, in Matthew chapter fifteen: "Do you know that the Pharisees, having heard this word, were scandalized?" And this is false.

John 6:62 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"If then you shall see the Son of man ascending where he was before" — the construction is incomplete — then you will know that the flesh is not to be divided into pieces, because the whole Christ will be entire in heaven: Augustine: "He is whole and entire in heaven; he remains entire under the Sacrament, he remains entire in your heart." Not only was their understanding false, but useless. A question is raised about what he says: "If you shall see the Son of Man ascending where he was before." This cannot be said according to the human nature, because according to that nature he was not in heaven before: similarly neither according to the divine nature, because according to that nature he was still in heaven when he was speaking: hence above in chapter 3: "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven." It must be said that this was said by comparing the Son of God according to the divine nature after the assumption of the flesh, in which it appeared to be humbled, to itself before the assumption: because then he could not be thought of as weak. It is therefore the same as if he were to say: if you shall see the Son of Man ascend, that is, be so greatly glorified that he is believed to be equal to the Father.

John 6:63 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh" — that is, carnal understanding — "profits nothing"; Second Corinthians chapter three: "The letter kills, but the spirit gives life"; and therefore the words are not to be understood carnally, because they do not profit that way, but spiritually, so that they may profit. Whence "the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life," because understood spiritually they give life: whence in Hebrews chapter four: "The word of God is living and effective"; it is "living," because it gives life: whence Deuteronomy chapter eight: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." But they do not give life except to the one who understands spiritually; whence Augustine: "Have you understood spiritually? They are spirit and life. Have you understood carnally? They are spirit and life, but they are not so for you." It is asked concerning what he says: "The flesh profits nothing." For if it profits nothing, then it ought not to be given for eating, nor is it truly food. On account of this, heretics say that these words must be understood spiritually, that is, not carnally; nor should it be understood that we literally receive the flesh of Christ under the Sacrament. And they say that his disciples were rebuked who thought this; whence they say that it is not in the Sacrament of the altar except as in a sign. But they understand most poorly, because while they refuse the flesh, they flee from the truth. For even if the words of Christ are to be understood spiritually, they must nonetheless be true. On account of this it must be said that the flesh which he took from the Virgin is true food. But that which is said, that "it profits nothing," is understood in two ways: either because it profits nothing without the spirit: for just as a coal does not burn unless ignited, yet when ignited it burns, so the flesh of Christ, if it were separated from the Word, would not enkindle, but joined to the Word it is like an ignited coal. Otherwise it is answered that "the flesh profits nothing" according to carnal understanding, understanding it thus, that Christ would give his flesh by dividing it as meats in a butcher's shop, and by materially chewing it under the form of flesh. Such an understanding, I say, profits nothing; but rather that true flesh is eaten in the Sacrament without any cutting of it.

John 6:64 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the reason for the murmuring is touched upon, that is, why the disciples were murmuring: because they did not have faith; but not all of them, only some, who were not chosen by God. Therefore he says: "But there are some of you": thus the words are to be understood spiritually, but some of you do not understand; whence "some do not believe." And he says this not from conjecture but from certain knowledge. Therefore the Evangelist says: "For Jesus knew from the beginning who were the believers"; above in chapter two: "For he himself knew what was in man"; Sirach chapter twenty-three: "The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, surveying all the ways of men and the depth of the abyss, and beholding the hearts of men in their hidden places." "And who would betray him": whence he was not betrayed as one ignorant, as other men are. Therefore the Evangelist says this, lest Christ appear to have been deceived in admitting unstable disciples and treacherous disciples, such as the traitor. The reason, moreover, why they did not believe was that, although they had been called outwardly and according to present justice, they had not been called according to eternal election; and this he said above and repeats.

John 6:65 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"And he said: Therefore I said to you: No one can come to me unless it has been given to him by my Father": above in the same chapter: "No one comes to me unless the Father draws him." For to "come" to the Son "is the best gift and the perfect gift," therefore "from above," James chapter one.

John 6:66 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the falling back of the unbelievers is touched upon: whence he says: "After this," that is, following this, or "from this," that is, on the occasion of this rebuke and instruction, "many of his disciples went back," not through imitation, as was said to Peter in Matthew chapter sixteen: "Get behind me, Satan," but through indignation. Whence they withdrew not only in heart but also in body; whence "they no longer walked with him." Therefore many withdrew and few remained, because, according to that saying in Matthew chapter twenty, "many are called, but few are chosen"; and because few are chosen for the kingdom of God, therefore few there are who do not turn back, according to that saying in Luke chapter nine: "No one putting his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God."

John 6:67 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the confirmation of the believers and the elect is touched upon: and this indeed was accomplished in the faithful confession of Peter; therefore the inquiry of the Lord and the response of Peter are set forth. The Lord inquires of the twelve, whom he had specially chosen: "Do you also wish to go away?" — abandoning me, just as the preceding ones do: Jeremiah chapter two: "They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water." But he asks, not because he is in doubt, but so that he might bring forth the faith of Peter as an example of firmness.

John 6:68 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

The sacraments of Scripture, which externally seem arid, are yet alive within. No other Scripture besides this one is able to give life. And in Peter: "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast words of everlasting life." Therefore the figures are not arid, since they produce lively growths in us.

John 6:68 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go?" As if to say: we do not wish to depart, because we cannot find anyone like you: Psalm: "There is none like you among the gods, O Lord." Nor should we depart on account of these words; hence he says: "You have the words of eternal life," which to others who did not believe were harsh and death-dealing, but to Peter and the other believers were life. It is asked: why did Peter alone respond and more so than the others? Likewise, why was his confession not praised, as in Matthew sixteen? Likewise it seems that he lied, at least on behalf of Judas, because he was speaking for all. It must be said that Peter was more fervent than all, as is evident from his words, and he spoke boldly to the Lord; the others did not dare to do so; and therefore he was the mouth of the Apostles both in asking and in answering, and therefore he responded for all. To the other point, Chrysostom says that he responded here for all; and because the faith of Judas was not praiseworthy, therefore he was not praised. Nor however did he lie, although he said what was false, because he was deceived by a pious error, judging well of his fellow apostles.

John 6:69 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"And we have believed and have come to know that you are the Christ, the Son of God." He made a similar confession in Matthew 16: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," "who have come into this world." He says "we believe," and then "we have come to know," because faith is the way into knowledge. "For unless you shall have believed, you shall not understand," Isaiah 7.

John 6:70 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

Here the discernment of those who remained is noted. The Lord shows that even though none of the twelve departed, nevertheless not all remained faithful: on account of which he says: "Jesus answered," the confession of Peter, which he had spoken on behalf of all: "Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" Judas is called a "devil," because he consented to his suggestions: Psalm concerning Judas: "Set a sinner over him, and let the devil stand at his right hand." He singles out one for malice, so that the rest may fear. Chrysostom asks: why were they not saddened, as below in chapter thirteen, when he said: "One of you will betray me"? It must be said that below they were saddened not so much for the fault as for the injury to the Lord, which was to be inflicted upon him by his own disciple; but here he only expressed the malice. Likewise, why did he not cast him out, since he was a devil, and he knew that he would always be evil? Augustine responds that "God makes good use of evil works, just as man makes evil use of good things." Therefore He chose Judas, a reprobate man, so that through him the dispensation of divine mercy for the salvation of the world might be fulfilled, and so that the wondrous patience of God might be shown, in that He endured so wicked a man in so great an office, and so that no one might glory in his present calling.

John 6:71 — Commentary on John, Chapter 6

"Now he was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot; for he was about to betray him, though he was one of the twelve." This was said so that they might fear and so that they might not be surprised at the others who had departed, because they had not been so specially chosen. Concerning this election of the twelve, it is said in Matthew 10: "And having called the twelve together, he gave them power"; Luke 6: "He chose twelve from among them." This election was prefigured in Joshua 4: "Choose for yourself twelve men, one from each."

John 7:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

The perfidy of the Jews in killing Christ is indicated, on account of which the Lord stayed in Galilee and had left Judea, avoiding the fury of the persecutors. "After these things," namely those which were said about the miracle of the loaves and the teaching of Christ, "Jesus walked in Galilee:" because there they were not such zealots for the Law, and consequently not persecutors. "For he did not want to walk in Judea:" and the reason is given: "because the Jews sought to kill him," stirred up by the devil, in whose figure, in Exodus 2, "Pharaoh sought to kill Moses, who fleeing from his sight," etc. By avoiding them, he taught to flee the fury of persecutors, according to that word of Matthew 10: "When they shall persecute you in one city, flee to another." But it is asked here: since the Lord had come not only to teach but also to suffer, it seems that on account of the suffering or persecution of the Jews he ought not to have ceased from teaching; therefore neither ought he to have left Judea, where there was especially a place for teaching. I respond: It must be said that the Lord, although he willed to suffer and did not fear to suffer, had nevertheless appointed a fitting time for his passion, and before that time he did not wish to deliver himself into the hands of his persecutors; and therefore he did not walk in Judea. But it is asked secondly: since the Jews could not anticipate the time determined by the Lord, it seems that before that time they could not lay hands on him; therefore neither ought he to have absented himself on this account. I respond: It must be said that the Lord so manifested himself to the good that he nevertheless concealed himself from the wicked; and conversely, he so hid himself from the wicked that he was nevertheless not hidden from the good. And therefore sometimes he conquered by power, sometimes by prudence, as is said in Job chapter twenty-six, that "by his prudence he struck the proud one." And therefore, although he could powerfully restrain them, he preferred at that time to wisely withdraw. Another reason is that he might show true humanity in himself; therefore sometimes he showed himself powerful, sometimes weak. Whence another reading has: "For he could not walk in Judea." The third reason is for our instruction, that we should not wonder if holy men fear and avoid dangers, nor should we despair of ourselves.

John 7:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

Here the vanity of his kinsmen in persuading him toward earthly and vain honor is noted; and they take their reason for persuading from the opportunity of the time, the edification of the neighbor, and the exaltation of his name. The opportune time was at hand; whence he says: "Now the feast day of the Jews, the Feast of Tabernacles, was near." This was the feast of tabernacles, which was to be celebrated in September, according to that passage in Leviticus twenty-three: "In the seventh month you shall celebrate feasts and dwell in tabernacles," etc.

John 7:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"His brothers therefore said to him: Depart from here and go into Judea." These brothers were kinsmen or blood relatives of the Lord in the second degree; and according to Chrysostom they were James and Jude, who were brothers of the Lord; but it is better to say that they were other kinsmen, on account of the text that follows. For it is to be believed that those two Apostles believed in him. Note that one is a brother by nature, and thus we are all brothers of Christ: Psalm: "I will declare your name to my brothers." By affection, thus the good: Matthew twelve: "Who are my brothers? Everyone who does the will," etc. By kinship, thus blood relatives, as James: Galatians one: "James, the brother of the Lord." And they add another reason for persuasion, namely the edification of the neighbor; on account of which they say: "That your disciples also may see your works which you do;" those disciples, I say, who had departed in scandal, so that seeing the great things he was doing in Galilee, they might return again. Of these it was said above in chapter six: "Many of his disciples went back."

John 7:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

And they add a third reason, namely the manifestation of his name. "For no one does anything in secret and himself seeks to be known openly," through that work, namely; such men had not yet departed from the mindset of hypocrites, of whom it is said in Matthew twenty-three: "They do all their works to be seen by men." Therefore they said: "If you do these things, manifest yourself to the world," that is, if the miracles you perform are true as from God, manifest yourself. They say this doubting, and the Evangelist gives the reason.

John 7:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"For neither did his brothers believe in him:" above in chapter four: "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country"; above in chapter one: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not," and this on account of familiarity; for this reason, because he was familiar to his brothers, they did not believe in him.

John 7:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

Christ's humility in hiding is noted; on account of which he excuses himself before them, first from the lack of an opportune time: for it was not the opportune time for him for manifestation. On account of which he says: "My time has not yet come," namely, of my manifestation; and I consider the fittingness of the time: whence in the Psalm: "When I shall receive the time, I will judge justices"; Ecclesiastes 3: "God made all things good in their time." "But your time is always ready," that is, for the glory of the world, which you desire: concerning which time, Jeremiah 17: "I have not desired the day of man"; Sirach 11: "In the day of your honor, do not exalt yourself." Thus therefore the opportuneness of time belongs not to me, but to you; not to me either, but to you belongs the exaltation of temporal glory. It is asked concerning the Lord's response, in which he says: "My time has not yet come." Although this ought not to be understood as referring to fate, it nevertheless seems that the Lord's action depends on time, which seems unfitting, since he is omnipotent. The response is given in one way, that the Lord's action is twofold: one according to his Divinity, and this does not depend on time; the other according to his humanity, and this requires a definite time. And this was the work of redemption, and with respect to this he was saying: "My time has not yet come." It is answered in another way, that "to act at a determined time" can be understood in two ways: either from need, or from fittingness. In the first way, trees bear fruit at a determined time in summer; in the second way, God shows mercy and judges and saves. Hence, because the paschal time was most fittingly suited to our redemption, so that the Law might be fulfilled in the Gospel according to the most fitting correspondence, therefore he awaited the paschal time.

John 7:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"The world cannot hate you," by reviling, because you love it and its glory; "but it hates me," by dishonoring; Galatians, last chapter: "The world is crucified to me, and I to the world." "Because I bear witness concerning it, that its works are evil," by proclaiming the truth; Wisdom 2: "Let us therefore beset the just man, because he is useless to us and contrary to our works and reproaches us with sins against the Law and defames against us the sins of our training"; Amos 5: "They hated him who corrects at the gate." Therefore a certain one said: "Truth begets hatred."

John 7:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"Go you up to this feast day:" but because the world hates me and persecutes me, "I will not go up to this feast day, because my time is not yet fulfilled;" in which I must suffer, concerning which above in chapter 2: "Woman, my hour has not yet come." Just as in the incarnation he observed the fullness of time, so also in the passion: Galatians 4: "But when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son," etc. And thus he excused himself to them, so that he might go up secretly; whence also after them he went up alone, not surrounded by a multitude of relatives. An inquiry is made concerning what he says: "I will not go up:" and afterward it is said that when they had gone up, "then he himself also went up." It seems that he does the contrary of what he had previously said. To this the response is given in multiple ways: first, thus: "I will not go up," namely with you, "you" however "go up." But this exposition raises a question, namely why he did not wish to go up with them. On account of this, others respond and place emphasis on what is said: "to this feast day;" the Interlinear Gloss says: "That is, to the first day," which was the more solemn, but to the intermediate days. But this likewise raises a question, namely why he does not go up on the first day. Therefore it is expounded in a third way, that "words must be understood according to their subject matter"; and the Lord was responding to the persuasion of his brethren that he should manifest himself. For this reason he says: "I will not go up" to manifest myself; therefore it is said in the text: he did not "go up openly." And therefore he did not go up with his brethren nor on the first day, lest his going up should be manifest.

John 7:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"When he had said these things," that is, had excused himself before his brethren, "he remained in Galilee," namely, until his brethren had gone up.

John 7:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"But when his brethren had gone up, then he also went up to the feast day, not openly, but as it were in secret;" therefore in secret, so that he might show human weakness, and thus invite to faith. Or: in secret, so that he might teach to avoid vain praise: Matthew 6: "Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you"; Gregory: "Let the work be in the open, so that the intention may remain in secret."

John 7:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

The curiosity of the Jews in seeking Christ is noted, since he had gone up secretly; because previously he used to go up openly; therefore he says: "The Jews therefore sought him on the feast day," because he was accustomed to go up at that time, and they sought him out of hatred; whence he adds: "And they said: Where is that man?" They did not call him by his proper name, out of hatred or contempt; against which Wisdom chapter one: "Think of the Lord in goodness, and in simplicity of heart seek him." And from this silent inquiry there arose conversation about the absent one.

John 7:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"And there was much murmuring among the crowd concerning him," and it arose from controversy; whence he adds: "For some said: He is good," namely the simple folk; "but others said: No, but he deceives the crowds," and these were the chief Pharisees, who called him a deceiver: Matthew chapter twenty-seven: "We remember that that deceiver said," etc.; below in the same chapter: "Have you also been deceived?" And although there was controversy, it was in murmuring, not open.

John 7:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"Yet no one spoke openly about him for fear of the Jews." For as is said below in chapter nine: "The Jews had conspired that if anyone confessed him to be the Christ, he would be put out of the Synagogue." Therefore they feared; against which Matthew chapter ten: "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

John 7:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

After the concealment has been treated, the discussion turns to the manifestation of our Teacher. "Now about the midst of the feast," and this was "the fourth day of the feast," as the Gloss says, which is the middle of the seven days: "Jesus went up into the temple and was teaching," in a public place, not a hidden one, lest his doctrine be suspect; below in the eighteenth chapter: "I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews come together, and in secret I have said nothing." But it is asked here: since the Lord went up to Jerusalem secretly in order to avoid the fury of the Jews, why is it that he teaches openly in the temple? Augustine responds that "his hiding was a matter of example; that he speaks openly and is not seized is an indication of his power." Alternatively, it can be said that his very teaching deflected the fury of the Jews, while it raised them up into admiration.

John 7:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"And the Jews marveled." The reason for their amazement was, as Augustine says, that "they had never seen him learning letters, yet they heard him disputing about the Law." On account of which he says: "And the Jews marveled, saying: How does this man know letters, since he has not learned?" Whence the Lord could say that word of Proverbs 30: "I have not learned wisdom, and I know the knowledge of the Holy Ones"; Luke 2: "They marveled at his understanding and his answers." It is asked concerning what he says, that he had not learned letters and yet knew letters: How did they themselves know that the Lord knew letters? Likewise, since the Lord ought to give us an example not only of humility in deed, but also in knowledge: it seems that, just as for our example he was baptized and circumcised, he ought to have been a disciple before being a teacher. If you say that he could learn nothing, since he knew all things: it is objected that it is said in Hebrews 5: "He learned obedience from the things he suffered." If he learned obedience, why not knowledge? The Gloss responds that what he said, he said on the authority of Scripture: therefore they knew that he knew letters. They also knew that he had not learned them, because, as Augustine says, they knew his upbringing, his place, and his parents. To the objection that he ought to have learned: I say first that he had no need, nor ought he to have had need, because he ought to have assumed all our sufferings except ignorance and sin, since these would be entirely useless to us and to our salvation. Nor ought he to have given an example in this, because in learning he would have shown himself to be ignorant, and then the act would have been feigned. As for what he says about circumcision, it must be said that it was for the purpose of distinguishing; lest therefore he should appear to be of another rite and nation, he observed circumcision and the baptism of John, in order to sanctify the waters and to make himself known. To the objection that he learned: it must be said briefly that "to learn" in one sense is to arrive at knowledge of the unknown through instruction, and in another sense "to learn" is to experience what is already known. In the first sense he did not learn, because it presupposes ignorance; in the second sense he did learn, because it presupposes sufferings, which Christ assumed and experienced.

John 7:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"Jesus answered them." Christ's response, by which he satisfies their amazement, showing that he does not have knowledge through acquisition, as other men have, but from his origin. On account of which he says: "My doctrine," namely that which I teach, "is not mine," that is, not from me, or for my glory, or acquired by me, "but his who sent me," that is, from the Father, who sent me. For all things which the Son has, he receives from the Father: above in chapter five: "I cannot do anything of myself," and so neither can I teach anything. It is asked concerning what he says: "My teaching is not my own:" Because thus it is removed from himself, and therefore it seems false. Likewise, how does this satisfy the Jews? Because similarly I could say the same thing, that my teaching is not from me but from God, since "all wisdom is from the Lord God." Chrysostom responds that he says his teaching was not devised by himself, but is from the Father; whence the sense is: my teaching, namely that which I teach, is not my own, but is from the Father. And in this he answers their question, by sending them to the Father, and calms their fury through humility; whence the teaching was his own, because he is wisdom itself by essence; but he said it was not his own, because he received it from another. But why did he not simply say: I am wisdom itself, but rather humbled himself? Chrysostom assigns five reasons: the first, to show that he is from another and is the Son, not unbegotten. The second, to show that he is not contrary to God, as the Antichrist will be, who "will exalt himself above all that is called God." Third, to show that he is a true man. Fourth, on account of the weakness of the hearers. Fifth, to teach humility, according to that passage in Romans 11: "Be not highminded." Otherwise it is answered that this contradiction is resolved according to the rule of Augustine, by looking to the twofold nature, so that the sense is: my doctrine according to the Divinity is not mine according to the humanity. That is called "ours" which has been acquired by us, and thus it satisfies the question. In the third way, emphasis is placed on that which is "mine;" "mine" signifies the freedom of possessing and the principle of producing, as "my field, my book," which I made. But this can be said in two ways: either absolutely or distinctively, just as both "of me" and "to me." Speaking absolutely, therefore, that doctrine was Christ's, who freely possessed it, and from him it flowed forth to the hearers. But it was not distinctively Christ's alone, because this same doctrine was also the Father's, and also this same doctrine was from the Father. Or I answer otherwise: there is a threefold "mine": "mine" according to nature or origin, "mine" according to the divine nature or the human, "mine" absolutely or distinctively.

John 7:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

And because this response was not manifest except to those who hear rightly — and these are those who hear in order to act — for this reason he says: "If anyone wills to do his will," namely of God the Father, "he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God, or whether I speak of myself;" because otherwise he cannot truly know either me or my doctrine. Therefore it is said in 1 John 2: "He who says that he knows God and does not keep his commandments is a liar." And thus it is commendable from its origin, and it is also commendable from its end, in this, that in teaching he does not seek his own glory.

John 7:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"He who speaks of himself seeks his own glory;" but he who seeks his own glory is a liar, because he usurps what belongs to another: Isaiah 48: "I will not give my glory to another"; but I in teaching do not seek my own glory, but I seek the glory of him who sent me; therefore my doctrine is true. For this reason he says: "But he who seeks the glory of him who sent him, he is true, and there is no injustice in him." Christ sought the glory of his Divinity, not of his humanity, because to him all glory is due: 1 Timothy 1: "To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory," etc. "He is just and true," because conversely, to usurp another's honor for oneself is falsehood and injustice. So the Antichrist will usurp, of whom it is said in 2 Thessalonians 2: "He will be exalted and lifted up above all that is called God."

John 7:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

The Lord rebukes them for the hidden malice of their heart, because they wished to kill him — against the commandment of the Law; for this reason he says: "Did not Moses give you the Law?" which you are bound to observe by your own promise, according to that passage in Exodus 24: "All things that the Lord has commanded us, we will do." "And none of you keeps the Law?" The Psalm says: "They have all turned aside, they have together become unprofitable: there is none who does good, no, not even one"; because already in your heart you have transgressed it; which he shows by revealing the malice of the heart.

John 7:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"Why do you seek to kill me?" since the Law commands in the Decalogue: "You shall not kill," Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5; and this, an innocent man. "Why do you seek to kill me? Why?" that is, for what reason, as if to say: without cause; Exodus 23: "The innocent and the just you shall not kill." "The crowd answered." Here the obstinacy of the Jews is noted, because they do not acknowledge the crime, but hurl insults at the one reproving them. "The crowd answered," not one person, but the whole multitude, "and said: You have a demon." They cast this at him in Matthew 12 and below in chapter 8; behold, an insult. Chrysostom: "It is a word of anger and fury and of a shameless soul." "Who seeks to kill you?" As if they were saying: no one. They lie, because they themselves have a demon and are sons of the devil, who "is a liar and the father thereof."

John 7:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"Jesus answered and said to them: I did one work, and you all marvel." This work was the healing of the paralytic; they marveled at what he had done and were indignant that it was on the Sabbath; above in chapter 5: "The Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did this on the Sabbath," as though he were breaking the Law. Therefore the Lord shows that he did not break the Law, through an argument from the greater, and he makes such an argument: if circumcision, which is not from the Law but from the Fathers, does not break the Sabbath, because it is a noble work, therefore, since the healing of the whole man is a nobler work, much less will it break it.

John 7:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"Therefore Moses gave you circumcision, not because it is from Moses, but from the Fathers," that is, not because it was first commanded to him, but to Abraham; Genesis 17: "Every male among you shall be circumcised." "And on the Sabbath you circumcise a man," on account of that which is written in the same place: "An infant of eight days shall be circumcised"; and yet you do not believe you are breaking the Law, but keeping it. From this he argues through an argument from the greater, because it seems more likely that circumcision would break it than perfect healing. But it is asked here whether circumcision ought to be performed on the Sabbath. And that it should, the Lord seems to say here. And the reason is that it had to be done on the eighth day. But to the contrary: The precept concerning the Sabbath was the greatest among all precepts of the Law and the most frequently repeated; therefore a lesser precept ought to yield to a greater one. Therefore they ought to have refrained from circumcising on the Sabbath. I respond: It must be said that the precept concerning the Sabbath is great and did not oppose circumcision, because it did not prohibit a work of salvation but of servitude; whence on the Sabbath the Law was expounded, because teaching is a salvific work; and therefore it did not yield to circumcision, but both precepts ran together simultaneously. It is asked: why was circumcision given before the Law? It must be said that one principal cause of the giving of circumcision was the distinction of the people from whom Christ was to be born from the nations; and because Abraham was first called, to whom the promise was made, therefore it began from him. There are also other causes for the giving of circumcision, why it was given to the people of God rather than another sign: It is a sign of Abraham's faith, a merit of obedience, it distinguishes the people, it heals against original sin, it signifies the eighth day of the resurrection, it teaches chastity.

John 7:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the Law of Moses may not be broken: are you indignant at me, because I made a whole man well on the Sabbath?" As if to say: since it is lawful and does not break the Sabbath, your indignation is not just, because, according to that passage in Romans 10, "they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge." It is asked concerning the Lord's argument that circumcision did not break the Sabbath, much less did the healing of the paralytic. This argument seems to have no force: Because circumcision was commanded and could not be deferred, but the healing could have been done on another day. Furthermore, circumcision was a spiritual work insofar as it cleansed from original sin; but that healing was a corporeal work, because the illness was corporeal. I respond: It must be said that the Law of Moses did not command circumcision but presupposed it as from a more worthy source; whence it is said in Exodus twelve: "If any stranger wishes to pass over into your colony, he shall be circumcised." But the Sabbath was commanded in the Law and did not take away circumcision, which was from the Fathers; therefore much less did it take away healing from God, even though it was not commanded. To the other objection it must be said that the healing of that paralytic was not only corporeal but also spiritual; whence it was said to him: "Sin no more henceforth." And therefore it is said in the text: "I have made a whole man well," namely interiorly and exteriorly; even granting that it was only exteriorly in the body, nevertheless it was still a work of piety, and certainly the Law regarded works of piety as spiritual. Whence on the Sabbath it was permitted to give alms. For if it was permitted to water a donkey, how much more to give alms, and especially to heal the sick.

John 7:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"Do not judge according to appearance," accepting the human face. Concerning the good judge, Isaiah eleven: "He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears." "But judge a just judgment," according to merits, not according to the appearance of persons. Augustine: "He does not judge with partiality who loves equally." And because they loved unequally, because they cared more about external things, therefore they judged unjustly; whence it is said in Matthew twenty-three: You Pharisees "cleanse what is on the outside"; and they justified themselves before men: Luke sixteen: "You are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts."

John 7:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

The objection of those who ought to have known better is set forth; and these were those who dwelt in the royal city; on account of which he says: "Some therefore of Jerusalem said," who were aware of the plotting of the Pharisees: "Is not this the one whom the Jews were seeking to kill?" as an evildoer; for they were of those of whom it is said in Proverbs 1: "Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood."

John 7:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"And behold, he speaks openly, and they say nothing to him," and at this they marvel, and from their marvel, when they ought to have been aroused to faith, they proceed to a lying objection: "Have the rulers indeed recognized that this is the Christ?" As if to say: they can suspect, but they cannot truly know.

John 7:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"But we know where this man is from," that is, from Nazareth; above, in chapter one: "We have found Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth." "But when the Christ comes, no one knows where he is from;" and so they disparaged his origin. They said this on account of what is written in Isaiah 53: "Who shall declare his generation?" as if the generation of Christ were unspeakable and thus inscrutable; or because he came in secret; Wisdom 18: "While all things were in the midst of silence," etc. But it is asked: they seem to say something false, because from the Scriptures they had that he would be "from the seed of David and from Bethlehem the town," as is said below in the same chapter. To this it must be answered that the doctors of the Law, according to various Scriptures, conjectured that Christ would not be born in the same way as others; whence they could know that he would be from a virgin, and yet be ignorant of the manner. Whence Scripture intimated that the manner of Christ's generation was hidden, but manifested the lineage itself and the place. And they knew concerning Christ the Lord where he was from, namely from the Virgin Mary; but they did not know how, because they believed it was through Joseph. But it is explained otherwise according to the twofold generation, namely temporal and eternal. They knew the temporal in some way, and in some way were ignorant of it; but the eternal they were simply ignorant of. It is also asked concerning what is said: "But we know where this man is from;" because below it is said: "We do not know where this man is from;" therefore they contradict themselves. Chrysostom responds that it is not surprising if a tumultuous crowd contradicts itself, because there was no stability in its words. Otherwise it is said that this is said concerning simple knowledge, but below concerning the knowledge of approbation, because they did not know him as approved by God, as Moses, to whom "God spoke," as is said in the same place.

John 7:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

He confutes these objectors concerning Christ's generation, showing his twofold generation: temporal, which they knew, and eternal, which he himself knew. On account of the temporal he says: "Jesus therefore cried out, teaching in the temple," so as to astonish those who were murmuring; whence Proverbs 1: "Wisdom cries aloud outside, she utters her voice in the streets"; because he teaches openly and freely; Isaiah 58: "Cry aloud, do not cease, lift up your voice like a trumpet." "And saying: You both know me and know whence I am," according to his temporal generation; whence Matthew 13: "His mother is called Mary"; and they knew this, that he was a man and that he was born of Mary; this was said according to his temporal generation. But as regards his eternal generation, he says that he is from another, whom they do not know; on account of which he says: "And I have not come of myself," in which is noted the procession from the Father; "but he is true who sent me," because he is God; for God is truthful, but every man is a liar, according to that saying of the Psalm, "Every man is a liar"; Numbers 23: "God is not as a man, that he should lie." "Whom you do not know;" above in chapter 5: "The Father who sent me has borne witness concerning me; you have neither heard his voice nor seen his form." It is asked concerning what he says: "Jesus cried out," etc.; because it is said in Isaiah 42: "He will not cry out, and his voice will not be heard outside." I respond: There is the cry of impatience and contention, and of this Isaiah understands; and there is the cry of affectionate preaching, and so it is taken here. It is also asked concerning what he says: "You know me." To the contrary: Below in chapter eight: "If you knew me, you would know my Father also;" therefore they did not know him. I respond: There was a twofold knowledge of Christ: one through exterior sense, such as that he was a man and born in such a town and from such a parent — this they knew; the other through interior revelation, which concerned the invisible Divinity; and by this indeed they did not know him; and concerning this it is said in John chapter eight.

John 7:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"But I know him, and if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you, a liar;" you who lie saying that you are ignorant of his temporal birth; but I do not lie so as to say that I do not know his eternal generation. "For I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me;" as the Son knows the Father; Matthew 11: "No one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wills to reveal him." "I know him," through manifest knowledge; above in chapter 1: "No one has seen God" etc. "I am from him," through generation; below in chapter 16: "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world." "And he sent me," through the incarnation; Isaiah 61: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me" etc.

John 7:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"They sought therefore to seize him." Here is noted the obstinacy of those who were confuted. For because he had shown them to be liars and ignorant, therefore, confirmed in evil and unable to resist his word, "they sought therefore to seize him," namely certain leaders, as Chrysostom says. But nevertheless their malice did not achieve its effect, by divine power preventing it. For they did not apprehend Christ, the Truth, but falsehood; Jeremiah 8: "They have laid hold of falsehood and refused to return"; whence he says: "But no one laid hands on him," that is, to seize him, "because his hour had not yet come," in which he would deign to suffer. Whence Augustine says: "He did not say the hour in which he would be compelled to die, but in which he would deign to be slain"; concerning which it is said below in chapter 17: "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son."

John 7:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"But many of the crowd believed in him." Here the building up of faith in the little ones is noted, whence he says: "But many of the crowd believed in him," not from the leaders and the greater ones; Matthew 11: "You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to little ones"; First Corinthians 1: "See your calling, brethren, that not many wise," etc. And a true confession is added: "And they said: When the Christ comes, will he do more signs than those which this man does?" Whence, because the signs appeared to them very great and many, they believed and confessed that no other was to be expected: below in chapter fifteen: "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin."

John 7:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

The preparation of the ambush is set forth, which was made by the Pharisees and priests on account of envy, because the crowd seemed to want to believe in him. Therefore he says: "The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things about him," because they did not dare to speak openly. "And the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to apprehend Jesus." The Pharisees heard, because they were the observers; but they and the chief priests sent, because they were more powerful. A similar thing is said in Matthew chapter twenty-two: "The Pharisees went and took counsel how to ensnare Jesus in his speech; and they send their disciples to him with the Herodians"; Luke chapter eleven: "The Pharisees began to press him vehemently and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him."

John 7:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

Here the confutation of the persecuting officers is set forth, who had come with armed force to seize him; and he confutes them, showing their powerlessness in two ways: first, because they could not seize him now; second, because after a short time they would not be able to find him. On this account he says: "Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little while I am with you," that is, living in mortal life; or: "I am with you" through the manner of mortal life; Luke, the last chapter: "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you." "And I go to the Father who sent me," that is, "I go" through the Passion, below in chapter sixteen; therefore you cannot seize me now, because the time has not yet come; below in chapter ten: "I lay down my life that I may take it up again; and no one takes it from me"; and thus you cannot now apprehend me nor afterwards find me.

John 7:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"You will seek me and will not find me;" you will seek my aid in the devastation wrought by the Romans under Titus and Vespasian. Or: "You will seek me;" through compunction and sorrow, "and you will not find me," because many fell into despair; yet some who were penitent sought and did not find him bodily, but spiritually: Acts 2: "Having heard these things, they were pricked in their heart." Or: "You will seek me and will not find me," in judgment: Proverbs 1: "They will rise early and will not find me, because they had held wisdom in hatred." Or otherwise: "You will seek me," with the will to harm: "and you will not find me," with the power to offend; because it will be said to him after the resurrection: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet." And therefore he adds that they will not be able to harm him. "And where I am, you cannot come:" therefore you will not be able to find me, because he was to be in heaven: below in chapter fourteen: "I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am, you also may be."

John 7:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

Here the consequent doubt of the Jews is noted, arising from the fact that they did not understand him; whence they say: "The Jews therefore said: Where is this man about to go, that we will not find him?" And conversing among themselves, they ask about the place: "Is he perhaps about to go to the dispersion of the Gentiles and teach the Gentiles?" "Here by doubting, as Augustine says, they prophesied. For he was about to go to the Gentiles, not through the presence of his body, but through the Apostles: Psalm: 'The people whom I had not known served me; at the hearing of the ear they obeyed me.'" And because they doubted greatly, therefore they repeat the doubt.

John 7:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"What is this saying that he said: You will seek me and will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come?" Therefore they do not deserve to understand, because they were unwilling to humble themselves to believe.

John 7:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

Here the invitation to faith is set forth, by whose merit wisdom and understanding are given. Therefore he says: "On the last day of the great feast" — this was the eighth and final day, which was solemn — "Jesus stood and cried out." "He stood," through immutability: Malachi 3: "I am the Lord and I do not change"; "he cried out," through charity: Psalm: "I have labored crying out," in order to rouse them to come: "Let him come and drink," according to my bounty. "If anyone thirsts, let him come and drink:" Isaiah 55: "All you who thirst, come to the waters; come, buy without money and without any exchange, wine and milk." And the manner of coming is described, because it is through faith.

John 7:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly." Chrysostom asks where he says this, and he says that "nowhere does he say this" literally, but according to the sense; Isaiah fifty-eight: "You shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of waters, whose waters shall not fail"; Proverbs five, according to another translation: "Let your springs flow outward, and in the streets divide your waters." And he says rivers, because river signifies abundance and force, and he speaks in the plural. Hence Chrysostom: "You will see clearly fulfilled what is said, if you look to Stephen's wisdom, if to Peter's tongue, if you have examined Paul's course: for nothing resisted them, neither the fury of the people nor the uprising of tyrants nor the snares of demons nor daily deaths; but like rivers carrying all things with them, they went forth." But it is asked concerning what is said here, that "rivers of living water shall flow from the belly" of those who believe. For he says that this is understood of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit proceeds only from God the Father and the Son: therefore he does not flow from the belly of those who believe. Likewise, a holy man who has the Spirit cannot give the Holy Spirit, but he is given by God alone: therefore he does not flow from the belly, etc. Likewise, what is understood by the name "belly," on account of which he says that they shall "flow from the belly?" Chrysostom responds that the rivers of the Holy Spirit are called his gifts and graces. Now grace is rightly called a flowing river, not because it flows from one person into another, but because, when it has entered the mind, it flows forth more than any spring and neither fails nor stands still, but flows and flows back. It flows from God and makes man flow back to God, according to the property of water, which ascends in its flow as much as it descends. Therefore it is written above in the fourth chapter: "It shall become in him a spring of water springing up to eternal life;" hence Ecclesiastes one: "To the place whence the rivers go out, they return, that they may flow again." As to what is asked, what is understood by "belly," Chrysostom responds that "belly" means the heart, according to that word of the Psalm: "Your law in the midst of my belly." Yet he said "belly" rather to signify the abundance of graces. The Gloss, however, explains this of the flow of doctrine and counsel from the belly of a good and pious conscience, according to that word: "My belly shall sound like a harp for Moab."

John 7:38 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

John 7:39 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

John 7:39 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"But this he said of the Spirit, whom those believing in him were to receive:" concerning which, Acts two: "There came suddenly from heaven a sound as of a mighty rushing spirit." They were to receive him, but had not yet received him. Therefore he says: "For the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified:" below, in the sixteenth chapter: "If I go away, I will send him to you." But it is asked concerning what he says, that "the Holy Spirit was not yet given." To the contrary: The prophets prophesied true things, but only through the Holy Spirit: therefore they had the Holy Spirit; whence David says: "Take not your Holy Spirit from me." Likewise, the Apostles performed miracles: but Jerome says that "they could not perform miracles without the grace of the Holy Spirit." I respond: It must be said that the giving of the Holy Spirit is threefold: manifest, more manifest, most manifest. Manifest it was in those prophesying and performing miracles before the Passion: more manifest it was in the breathing after the Resurrection, because he was given in a visible sign, namely a breath: but most manifest after the Ascension, because in a sign both visible and audible; and insofar as he was given more manifestly, so also more abundantly. Therefore, what is said, that "he was not yet given," is to be understood: in evidence and abundance.

John 7:40 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

Here the dissension of the multitude on account of the teaching of Christ is intimated: wherefore he says: "From that crowd, when they had heard these words of his," some, enlightened on account of hearing the teaching of Christ, "were saying: This is truly the Prophet," because he spoke so wisely.

John 7:41 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"But others were saying: This is the Christ;" and these were more enlightened, whence they were divinely inspired: Matthew 16: "Whom do men say that the Son of man is? And they said: Some John the Baptist, and others Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the Prophets. Jesus says to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answering said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." But some were saying to the contrary, namely those blinded by the light of Scripture: "Does the Christ come from Galilee?" As if to say: no; whence also Nathanael said above in chapter one: "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" And they were moved by Scripture.

John 7:42 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"Does not the Scripture say: That he is of the seed of David?" 2 Kings 7: "I will raise up your seed after you, which shall proceed from your womb, and I will establish his kingdom, and I will make firm the throne of his kingdom forever"; and the Psalm: "Of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne." "And from Bethlehem the town where David was, does the Christ come?" Micah 5: "And you Bethlehem Ephratah, you are little among the thousands of Judah: for out of you shall come forth he who is to be ruler in Israel." And thus they were contending with one another.

John 7:43 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"There arose therefore a division among the crowd on account of him." He himself was not the cause, but their malice was. Chrysostom: "They were divided, not moved to compunction, for malice is willing to yield to no one." On account of this division, some wished to seize him as an evildoer, while others wished to release him as a good man; and from this contention the machination of the Pharisees was frustrated, because the officers did not extend their hands to seize him, although some wished to do so.

John 7:44 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"But certain ones from among them," namely the officers, "wished to apprehend him," according, that is, to the command given to them; above in the same chapter: "The Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to apprehend Jesus." "But no one laid hands on him," because God sent his hand; the Psalm: "Send forth your hand from on high"; and thus they were frustrated in their intention. And the reason for this is that "the thoughts of men are vain," but "the counsel of the Lord stands forever," which had not yet decreed that Jesus Christ should be apprehended; the Psalm: "The Lord scatters the counsels of the nations, and reproves the thoughts of the peoples and reproves the counsels of the princes."

John 7:45 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

Here the rebuke of the returning officers is noted, because they had done nothing of what they had been sent to do; therefore the Pharisees demand the reason from them, so as to reproach them. Therefore he says: "The officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees," yet they did not bring him along: "and they said to them: Why have you not brought him?" For you were sent for this purpose: thus you have failed.

John 7:46 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"The officers answered: Never did a man speak thus, as this man speaks;" as if they were saying: this is the reason why we did not bring him, because we were struck with awe by the greatness of his teaching, since "never did a man speak thus." Never so sweetly: whence the woman hearing him said: "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nursed you," Luke 11; and Song of Songs 4: "Honey and milk are under his tongue." Never so learnedly and wisely: whence Luke 2: "All were astonished at his understanding and his answers"; and Mark 1: "They were astonished at his teaching." Never so powerfully; Matthew 7: "He was teaching as one having authority"; and therefore they marveled at his teaching. Never so profitably: above in chapter 6: "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life"; and in the same chapter: "Lord, you have the words of eternal life." But it is asked here: if the officers believed, why did they not follow Christ? And it must be said according to Chrysostom that they believed and were his heralds; yet they did not follow him, because they did not ascend to the state of perfection. But it is asked here: what great and sublime things had the Lord spoken, on account of which they said: "Never has a man spoken thus?" Chrysostom responds: "When the mind," he says, "is uncorrupted, there is no need for long discourses; for such is the nature of truth that when it finds a soul well disposed, it wonderfully captivates and attracts it."

John 7:47 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"The Pharisees therefore answered them." Having heard the response of the officers, the Pharisees rebuke them for having given credence to his teaching; whence they say: "Have you also been led astray?" And they endeavor to show that they had been led astray by the example of the wicked.

John 7:48 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"Has any one of the rulers believed in him?" As if to say: none; "or of the Pharisees," who, that is, know the Law: none who are learned, but only the ignorant.

John 7:49 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"But this crowd, which does not know the Law," believes, namely; and because they are ignorant of what they ought to know, and believe what they ought not, "they are accursed:" Deuteronomy 27: "Cursed is he who does not abide in the words of this Law." Chrysostom: "Nothing is more manifest than truth, nothing simpler; yet to the malicious nothing is more difficult. For behold, the wise men, scribes, and Pharisees, who had seen the signs and read the Scriptures, were wounded by the truth and blinded. But the officers, who had seen nothing, were captured by one single utterance, and those who had come to bind went away bound." But afterward the Pharisees strove to turn them from the faith; and therefore it is said to them in Matthew 23: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees! who shut the kingdom of heaven before men: you yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those who are entering to enter"; Luke 11: "Woe to you, lawyers! because you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves have not entered, and those who were entering you have hindered." It is asked here: since the Pharisees did all their works in the sight of men and did not wish to be judged as evil, how did they thus abandon the order of law, when such fault is manifest? I respond: It must be said that three things are required for a just judgment: a just mind, whence 2 Chronicles 19: "Do all things with diligence, for with God there is no iniquity, nor respect of persons, nor desire for gifts." The second is a just cause: Exodus 23: "The innocent and the just you shall not put to death." The third is a just order, which proceeds through right inquiry: Deuteronomy 16: "You shall justly pursue what is just." Since therefore in the hypocritical Pharisees there was an unjust mind, by which they thirsted for the death of Christ, and a just cause was absent, because they could not condemn him by law, therefore they were necessarily compelled to bypass the order of judgment. Now there are four things that most pervert the mind, which were present in the Pharisees: fear, hatred, love, and wealth often tend to pervert the right judgments of men. And all these were present in the Pharisees, as is evident by induction. Against these four it is said in Exodus 18: "Choose for yourself wise men who fear God, in whom there is truth, and who hate avarice."

John 7:50 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"Nicodemus said," namely that disciple who came to Jesus by night, "who was one of them," namely of the Pharisees; above in chapter 3: "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus," etc. Here the refutation of the Pharisees is made by the authority of the Law, through which it is shown that they ought not to have seized him, because he had not yet been condemned to death by the Law.

John 7:51 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"Does our Law judge a man unless it has first heard from him and known what he does?" As if to say: no. Deuteronomy 17: "When upon hearing you shall have inquired diligently," etc. Job observed this law, chapter 29: "The cause which I did not know, I diligently investigated." The Romans observed this law; Acts 25: "It is not the custom of the Romans to condemn any man before the one who is accused has his accusers present and receives opportunity to defend himself in order to clear the charges."

John 7:52 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"They answered and said," because they were incorrigible; and although they could not find fault with the word, they find fault with Nicodemus as though deceived, namely that he himself believed in Christ. Therefore they say: "Are you also a Galilean?" That is, do you believe in the Galilean, just as they are called Christians because they believe in Christ; whence Julian the Apostate called Christians ragged Galileans, and you foolishly believe in him. Whence they say: "Search the Scriptures and see that from Galilee no prophet arises," the one whom we await. On the contrary: Augustine: "Not only does a prophet arise from Galilee, but even the Lord of the Prophets"; he himself was called a Nazarene, because he was raised in Nazareth. It is asked: since the Lord, as far as it pertains to himself, willed the faith of all, why is it that he concealed his origin, so that he was believed to have been born in Nazareth, and on account of this was not believed to be the Christ? I respond: It must be said that this came about by divine judgment, divine dispensation, and the fulfillment of Scripture. By divine judgment: because in the time of Herod they recognized the one born and despised him, indeed consented to his death; therefore they merited that the place of his birth be hidden from them through his dwelling in Nazareth. Second, by divine dispensation: because he willed to be hidden from the wicked, so that by suffering from the wicked he might redeem the good. Third, by the fulfillment of Scripture: because Scripture does not only say that he was born in Bethlehem, but that "he shall be called a Nazarene," as is written in Matthew 2. And because the Jews did not search the Scriptures, therefore they erred.

John 7:53 — Commentary on John, Chapter 7

"And they returned," because they could not avoid reproof and also could not carry out their evil design. Therefore he says: "And they returned, each one to his own house," so that not one remained with another; whence Sirach 21: "The congregation of sinners is like gathered tow, and their end is a flame of fire"; Psalm: "Scatter the nations that desire wars."

John 8:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

Having set forth the refutation of those rising up through power, here is set forth the refutation of those plotting through malice. Because they could not kill him, they sought to find an occasion to catch him in his speech. And therefore they proposed a question to catch the Lord: but they themselves were on the contrary caught and confounded. And their refutation is described in this order. For first is set forth Christ's instruction; second, the malicious question of the Pharisees; third, Christ's prudent response; fourth, the confusion of the Pharisees; fifth, the liberation of the woman. Therefore first is introduced Christ's instruction, which was diligent, public, and authoritative. Diligent, whence he says: "But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives": because he was lodging in Bethany in the house of Mary and Martha; Luke twenty-one: "During the days he was teaching in the temple, but going out at night he stayed on the mount called Olivet."

John 8:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"And at dawn he came again to the temple." Diligence is noted in this, that he came at dawn; Wisdom six: "She anticipates those who desire her, so that she may show herself to them first," and Proverbs eight: "Those who watch for me in the morning shall find me." It was also public: whence he says: "And all the people came to him": Luke twenty-one: "All the people came early in the morning," that is, went in the morning, "to him in the temple to hear him." It was also authoritative: therefore he says: "And sitting down he taught them": sitting, because it belongs to the master to sit: Matthew twenty-three: "Upon the chair of Moses the scribes and Pharisees have sat"; they sat, namely to teach, and so also did he.

John 8:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

Here is touched upon the second point, namely the malicious question. The question was about a woman caught in adultery, whether she was to be stoned according to the command of the Law: on account of which he says: "The scribes and Pharisees bring to him a woman caught in adultery": therefore the scribes and Pharisees, because they were more cunning and more envious: the scribes envied his wisdom, but the Pharisees his goodness; Luke eleven: "The Pharisees and lawyers began to press him vehemently," etc. "And they set her in the midst," because they wished to inquire about her.

John 8:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"And they said to him: Master," they say this by way of flattery, so that they might deceive and conceal themselves: Chrysostom: "They call him Master, whose disciples they do not wish to be." They said something similar in Matthew twenty-two: "Master, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth." "This woman was just now caught in adultery," by the evidence of the deed, or by witnesses.

John 8:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"But in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women": Deuteronomy twenty-two: "If a man has lain with his neighbor's wife, both shall die," that is, the adulterer and the adulteress. "What therefore do you say?" They asked this not from zeal for inquiry, but from guile to deceive: and this the Evangelist expresses.

John 8:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"But this they said, testing him, that they might be able to accuse him." Whence to those questioning in a similar manner the Lord responded, Matthew twenty-two: "Why do you test me, hypocrites?" "That they might accuse him," as in the Passion; Matthew twenty-seven: "And when he was accused by the elders and chief priests, he answered nothing." "But Jesus, bending down." Here the third point is touched upon, namely Christ's prudent response. For he responded prudently, because with great moderation. For he was moderate, not hastening his judgment. Whence he says: "Jesus, bending down, wrote with his finger on the ground," namely waiting, if perchance they might come to their senses from their deceitful question: "he wrote with his finger," to indicate that he had written the Law with his finger, Deuteronomy nine and Exodus thirty-one. He was also moderate in passing judgment, because he neither inclined to the rigor of the Law, so as to say she should be killed, nor did he contradict the Law, so as to give them occasion to accuse him. But a doubt arises here: since this question could easily have been determined from the Law, and one who tests ought to ask doubtful things, whence is it that the deceitful Pharisees proposed such a question to the Lord? Some respond that the whole thing seems to have been done by human contrivance; whence they said that this was inserted into the Gospel of John, just as the story of Susanna into Daniel. As testimony for this matter they adduced that Chrysostom makes no mention of this; whence he leaps to that passage: "Again Jesus spoke," etc. But Augustine and our expositors explain it as part of the sequence of the Gospel. As for the fact that Chrysostom says nothing about it, I do not know the reason. Some say that it was not found in the ancient Greek books, because John added it after the Gospel was completed. Therefore it must be said that the Pharisees envied the Lord because He was praised for meekness and justice together, according to that verse of the Psalm: "For truth and meekness and justice." Therefore they propose a question in which He would necessarily have to incline toward the rigor of justice against meekness, so that He would be considered harsh, or contradict the justice of the Law. And they had contrived it as though insoluble, so that whichever side He took, they would obtain their purpose; but the Lord wisely responded to the person, not to the argument. Likewise it is asked about the fact that the Lord was writing on the ground during the delivery of His sentence. For it seemed a childish act, because it was not lasting, nor could anyone read it. Likewise, why did He write with His finger? Likewise, what was He writing? I respond: The moral reason why He wrote before the sentence and after on the ground is to teach us, as Bede says, that "before we rebuke a sinning neighbor, and after we have rendered the ministry of correction, we should examine ourselves with a worthy investigation of humility, lest perchance we be entangled either in the same sins that we rebuke, or in others." Another reason is to show that a sentence is to be delivered with deliberation and first written down, and that words are to be measured according to the order of law. The third reason is to show that He condemns unwillingly, and that a man ought to deliver a sentence of condemnation unwillingly and with sorrow. The fourth reason is to give them opportunity to desist from their malicious case; and this indeed pertains to judges. As to what is asked: what was He writing? Augustine responds that He wrote what He spoke. But Ambrose says that He wrote: "Earth, earth, write down the rejected men," and this is drawn from Jeremiah chapter twenty-two. The Interlinear Gloss says that He was writing "their sins." Others say that He was writing letters in which each one could read his own sins. As to what is asked: why did He write with His finger? The reason is literal, because I believe He…

John 8:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"But when they persisted in questioning him," and would not desist from their folly: "he raised himself up and said to them: Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone at her." Having bent down through mercy, he raised himself up, through justice: and said to them, pronouncing the sentence: "He who is without sin" etc., inflicting the punishment. In which moderate response he confuted them as hypocrites, according to that passage of Matthew seven: "Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but do not see the beam in your own eye? Cast out first the beam from your own eye, and then you will see to cast out the speck from your brother's eye." He was also moderate after the pronouncement of the sentence. Likewise it is asked about the Lord's response: "He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her." From this response it seems that no one could accuse anyone, because no one is clean from filth and no one is without sin; and if this is so, crimes will remain unpunished. If you say that the Lord understood this concerning mortal sin, then it is objected: because it is commanded to correct a brother and to accuse him; therefore, if no one sins by doing what he is bound to do, then if a sinner is bound to accuse, because he is not absolved on account of his fault, therefore he does not sin by accusing. If you say that he sins not in this, that he does it, but in this, that he does not do it worthily, it is objected: because this is not a privileged work. I respond: It must be said that a sinner existing in mortal sin who accuses another is either a notorious sinner in the same kind of sin, and then he scandalizes, as far as lies in him, and sins with a twofold sin, namely of scandal and contempt. But a hidden sinner, whether in the same kind of sin or in another: if he knows that he has sin, and considers his brother's sin and judges it, and neglects himself, he sins with the sin of contempt — not in this, that he accuses, but in this, that when he ought to purge and examine himself, he neglects and despises this. Hence the word of the Lord is to be understood in this way; and thus the response to that objection is clear.

John 8:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"And again bending down, he wrote on the ground," so that he might give those who were confounded a place to depart without shame. Whence Bede: "He wished to bend down before his tempters and write on the ground, so that, turning his face to something else, he might give them free departure, since he foresaw that those struck by his response would depart sooner than ask further questions"; Jeremiah seventeen: "All who forsake you shall be confounded: those who depart from you shall be written in the earth"; Jeremiah twenty-two: "O earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord: Write this man as barren."

John 8:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

Here the fourth point is noted, namely the confusion of the Pharisees, which was made manifest in their dispersal; therefore he says: "Now when they heard this," namely, so prudent and just a response, "they went out one by one, beginning from the elders." Those who had come gathered together departed scattered, and the elders went out first, because they themselves had been first in guilt, and therefore also first in flight: Daniel 13, "Iniquity went forth from the elder judges, who seemed to govern the people"; and all departed, because all were confounded. Whence he says: "And Jesus remained alone, and the woman standing in the midst. He remained alone," who seeks a place of solitude: Hosea 2: "I will lead her into the wilderness and there I will speak to her heart"; or because he alone was the one offended; the Psalm: "Against you alone have I sinned and done evil before you." Augustine: "Two remained: misery and mercy"; and because mercy looks upon misery.

John 8:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"But Jesus, raising himself up," in which the fifth point is noted, namely the merciful liberation of the accused woman. And because mercy runs together with justice and is not against justice, the Lord asks her about condemnation and accusation. Therefore he says: "Woman, where are those who accused you? Has no one condemned you?" He asks two things, and because the one is evident from the departure of the accusers, the woman answers the question about condemnation.

John 8:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"She said: No one, Lord," supply: has condemned me; it is not for man to condemn; Matthew 7: "Do not condemn," etc.; and therefore I am left to you. And there follows the merciful liberation of the woman; whence he says: "But Jesus said: Neither will I condemn you": behold, mercy: Romans 8: "God who justifies, who is it that shall condemn?" "Go and sin no more": behold, justice, which so absolves from guilt that it nevertheless does not give liberty to return to guilt; Sirach 5: "Mercy and wrath quickly draw near from him, and his wrath looks upon sinners." Whence Augustine: "Let those who love gentleness in the Lord take heed, and let them fear his truth; for indeed the Lord is sweet and upright. Do you love that he is sweet? Fear that he is upright. As one who is gentle he says: I was silent; but as one who is upright he says: I will speak as a woman in labor," Isaiah 42. Therefore he adds: "Sin no more." Likewise, it is asked concerning the absolution of the woman. It seems that the Lord directly acted against the Law, because he absolved the one whom the Law condemned, and the time of the Law and its observance still endured. Likewise, it seems that he acted unjustly, because he imposed no punishment; it seems that he gave license to sin. I respond: The Lord did not act against the Law, because he himself was above the Law and could dispense from the precept of the Law. Nor however did he act against it, because the accusers did not persist in accusing, and the woman was alone and without an accuser, and such a one the Law did not condemn. Hence he first repelled the adversaries with the tongue of justice, and afterward, when she was left to him, he raised the eyes of mercy. Nor however would he have condemned her, even if the adversaries had persisted, as Augustine says: "Far be it that he should condemn, who came to save." To the other point it must be said that he was the Lord, and therefore could pardon all; nor however did he favor sins by pardoning, because he forbade her to sin any further; and this because, as Augustine says, "God condemned not the person but the sin."

John 8:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Again therefore Jesus spoke to them: I am the light of the world." Having confuted the perversity of the Jews, in this second part the Lord manifests the dignity and nobility of his doctrine. Now the nobility of his doctrine consists in this, that it liberates from the blindness of error, from the servitude of sin, from the condemnation of death. First therefore it is shown how it liberates from the blindness of error and of unbelief. Second, how it liberates from the servitude of sin, at: "Therefore Jesus said to them again," etc. Third, how it liberates from the condemnation of death, at: "Amen, amen I say to you: If anyone keeps my word, he shall not taste death forever." First, therefore, he commends his doctrine in this, that it liberates from the darkness of error, and this indeed he does in the following manner: first is introduced the commendation of the doctrine; second, on account of the Jews' reproach, the approbation of the commendation; third, the manifestation of Jewish ignorance; fourth, the evasion of perfidy. First, therefore, is introduced the commendation of the doctrine in this, that the Lord says those who accompany him and adhere to his doctrine are freed from darkness; on account of which he says: "Again therefore Jesus spoke to them," because he had confuted their perversity, he again resumed his discourse, that he might show the nobility of his doctrine. He commends therefore his doctrine, saying: "I am the light of the world," that is, of men existing in the world: above in chapter one: "He enlightens every man," etc. "I am the light of the world," through instruction: Sirach twenty-four: "I illuminate doctrine like the dawn for all." "He who follows me," through the captivity of the intellect; Second Corinthians ten: "Bringing every intellect into captivity to the obedience of Christ"; such a one follows: below in chapter twelve: "He who serves me, let him follow me." "Does not walk in darkness," through the blinding of error: Ephesians four: "Do not walk as the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind"; below in chapter twelve: "Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you." "But shall have the light of life," through the vision of divine brightness: "but shall have," because in the future there will be the light of life, which cannot be extinguished; but now it can be; whence in the Psalm: "With you is the fountain of life, and in your light we shall see light." Or he says "shall have" for this reason, because now we walk by faith, but then we shall have it through the comprehension of sight; in the present, however, it is not comprehended unless it is overshadowed by flesh. Whence Bernard: "No gaze could bear the splendor of that eternal light, unless it were overshadowed by the light cloud of flesh"; therefore, he says, it was said in Luke one: "The power of the Most High shall overshadow you."

John 8:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"The Pharisees therefore said to him." Here is touched upon the second point, namely the approbation of the commendation on account of the Jews' reproach. For they reproached him because he commended himself. Therefore they say: "You bear witness concerning yourself; your testimony is not true," that is, it is not to be accepted as true, because it is said in Proverbs twenty-seven: "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips." To this reproach the Lord adds his response.

John 8:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Jesus answered and said to them," and he defends his testimony as true, because it is certain, because it is legitimate: therefore he says: "Even if I bear witness of myself, my testimony is true," because I am God: Numbers twenty-three: "God is not a man, that he should lie." Therefore it is true and acceptable, because certain: whence he says: "Because I know whence I come and whither I go": Proverbs twelve: "He who speaks what he knows is a judge of justice, but he who lies is a fraudulent witness"; below, chapter thirteen: "Knowing that he came forth from God and goes to God." But you argue wrongly: whence he adds: "But you do not know whence I come or whither I go": Psalm: "They knew not, neither did they understand; they walk in darkness." But it is asked here concerning what the Lord says: "If I bear witness concerning myself, my testimony is true." On the contrary: Proverbs twenty-seven: "Let another praise you, not your own mouth; a stranger, not your own lips." Likewise, no one's testimony is accepted on his own behalf, and the Lord said above in the fifth chapter: "If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true": therefore he contradicts himself. Likewise, there is a question about the fact that the Lord endeavors to confirm his testimony through the Law: "because the witness of two is true." But this argument seems to have no force, because in the Law, when someone testifies about himself and another testifies about him, they are not reckoned as more than one testimony: therefore the Son according to this had only a single testimony. Likewise, his Father was a most closely related person; and such a person according to the laws is not admitted to testimony. Likewise, below in the tenth chapter: "I and the Father are one," therefore they were one: therefore not two witnesses: or if two witnesses, the Father and the Son are not one. I respond: It must be said that the Son of God himself is light, but every creature is darkness and can, as far as lies in itself, be obscured. Because therefore it belongs to light to manifest itself and other things, the light itself can bear witness of itself; but a creature, because it is darkness, needs another to manifest it. Likewise, because he is light, he cannot be obscured nor bent aside, and therefore he can simultaneously judge and testify, and simultaneously both praise and be praised. But because a creature can be bent aside, it neither can nor ought to hold these two simultaneously. That passage from Proverbs, therefore, is spoken to frail men who are prone to vain praise. That which was said above in the fifth chapter is understood of Christ according to his human nature. To that objection, however, which is raised about testimony according to the laws, the response is similar: because no one can testify on his own behalf; but if it were the case that someone could testify on his own behalf, then one other testimony would suffice. But Christ was able to bear witness of himself: and given this supposition, his argument is valid. Similarly concerning a closely related person: because such a person can incline toward falsehood, the testimony is not accepted: but the heavenly Father, who is truthful, cannot incline toward falsehood. But as to the objection that the Father and the Son are one: it must be said that they are one in essence and are distinguished in persons. Because therefore in true witnesses there is a distinction of persons and an agreement of testimony, and this is found there, the testimony is therefore most authoritative.

John 8:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"You judge according to the flesh"; First Corinthians three: "Since there is among you jealousy and contention, are you not carnal and walking according to man?" — that is, you judge, because they believed him to be a mere man and to seek his glory as a man; and therefore they challenged his testimony. "But I judge no one," in the present, that is: above, chapter three: "God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world." "I do not judge," by condemning, as you now condemn me: and this not because I cannot or do not know how — indeed I know and I can.

John 8:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"And if I judge, my judgment is true," not carnal, not uncertain, nor according to appearance; Isaiah eleven: "He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears"; and therefore I cannot err in judgment: "Because I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent me." Whence, because in judging I do not depart from him, therefore I do not err: above, chapter five: "I can do nothing of myself, but as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just." Not only is my testimony certain, but also legitimate, because according to the Law it was sufficient.

John 8:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"And in your Law it is written that the testimony of two men is true," that is, acceptable; Deuteronomy nineteen: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand."

John 8:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"I am he who bears witness of myself, and he who sent me, the Father, bears witness of me," therefore my testimony is not to be rejected; First John five: "There are three who give testimony in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit."

John 8:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"They said therefore to him." Here is touched upon the manifestation of Jewish ignorance: first in their interrogation. For since they did not understand what he was saying, namely that the Father bore witness concerning Christ himself, therefore they ask: "Where is your Father?" They do not ask who he is, but where he is; and they inquire unfittingly, because he is everywhere: Jeremiah twenty-three: "I fill heaven and earth"; therefore they deserve reproof rather than a satisfactory answer. Their ignorance is made manifest in Christ's response, by which he reproves them and shows that they foolishly inquire about the Father, because, being ignorant of the Son himself, they cannot know the Father. Therefore he says: "You know neither me nor my Father." And the reason for this is that I am the way of knowing the Father; whence he says: "If you knew me, perhaps you would know my Father also": for in Matthew eleven: "No one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and him to whom the Son wills to reveal him"; whence First John two: "Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father; but he who confesses the Son has the Father also." There is a question about what he says: "Neither do you know me" etc.: because above in the seventh chapter: "You both know me, and you know whence I am." And the response is that the former was said according to his humanity: but this was said according to his Divinity: because he who sees the Son sees the Father also. But concerning this there is a question: "If you knew me, you would perhaps know my Father also"; because if in God no opinion has place, then neither does doubt; what then is the meaning of his saying "perhaps"? I respond: It must be said that by this adverb "perhaps" unbelief is here reproved, not that the Divinity holds an opinion; there is also intimated to us the freedom of human choice.

John 8:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"These words Jesus spoke." Here is touched upon the marvelous escape from Jewish unbelief, because he thus reproved them and was in their hands, and they did not seize him; therefore he says: "These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, teaching in the temple": for the treasury was on the right side of the temple; "and no one seized him," and this by divine miracle, not by human counsel; "because his hour had not yet come": the Evangelist often repeats that word, to show that Christ was seized and suffered by his own will, as is said below in chapter ten. It should be noted that the treasury was the name given to the place where offerings were made; and there was a threefold place appointed for this: one was called the treasury, where offerings were brought in for the upkeep of the temple; and it is called gazophylacium from gaza, which means riches, and from phylaxe, which means to guard. Concerning this, Luke twenty-one: "Looking up, Jesus saw those who were casting their gifts into the treasury." Another place or repository was called corban or corbona, which was appointed for the offerings that pertained to the priests; concerning which, Matthew twenty-seven: "It is not lawful to put them into the corbona, because it is the price of blood." The third repository was called musach, where the tributes of kings were stored; Fourth Kings sixteen: "The musach of the Sabbath." Or alternatively: musach for the offerings of solemnities, corban for votive offerings, the treasury for spontaneous offerings.

John 8:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Jesus therefore said to them again." It was shown above that the doctrine of Christ liberates from the blindness of error; here it is shown and commended that it liberates from the servitude of sin. And this part is divided: because first it is shown that without knowledge of Christ servitude is perpetuated; second, that through the doctrine and word of Christ man is liberated from servitude, at the passage: "Jesus therefore said to those who believed." The first, therefore, is shown in this order: first is set forth the threat of perpetual servitude; second, on account of the Jews' doubt, the exposition of the threat; third, the explanation of the things to be believed; fourth, the multiplication of believers. First, therefore, is set forth the threat of perpetual servitude; and this is when a man dies in sin: and He threatens them with final impenitence. "Jesus therefore said to them again: I go," namely, to the Father through the Passion; "and you shall seek me," namely, to persecute me: "and you shall die in your sin," and I shall be delivered from your hands. And the reason is added: "Where I go, you cannot come," because they could not enter into glory. Hence He threatened them with the death of guilt and the loss of glory. This the Lord said to the Jews; He said something similar to the disciples: "Where I go, you cannot come," below in the thirteenth chapter. But to the Jews He said it by way of threat, to the disciples He foretold it by way of deferral: whence afterwards He said to Peter: "Where I go, you cannot follow me now, but you shall follow afterwards."

John 8:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"The Jews therefore said." Here the second point is touched upon, namely, on account of the Jews' doubt, the exposition of the threat. For they doubted concerning what He had said: "Where I go, you cannot come": therefore they say: "Will He kill Himself, because He says: Where I go, you cannot come?" Augustine: "Foolish words, altogether full of senselessness. For if He were to kill Himself, could they not do likewise? If He spoke of death, were not all of them going to die?" On account of this doubt, the Lord sets forth the explanation of His threat; and He had said two things, therefore He explains two things: first, that which He had said: "Where I go, you cannot come." For because He had said this concerning going to the Father through glory, to which sinners could not ascend.

John 8:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"And he said to them: You are from below": above in chapter three: "He who is of the earth speaks of the earth"; "but I am from above," and therefore I go upward: and for this reason "where I go, you cannot come": because, as is said above in chapter three, "no one ascends into heaven except he who descended from heaven"; therefore you descend, but I ascend. Again: "You are of this world," because you cling to this world through love: "but I am not of this world," therefore I leave you in the world, and "where I go, you cannot come"; below in chapter sixteen: "I came forth from the Father and came into the world; again I leave the world and go to the Father." Thus he explains what he had said: "Where I go": this is to be understood through power, not through weakness. He also expounds what he said: "You will die in your sin."

John 8:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins," and I explain how I mean it. "For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sin." But if you believe, you will not die — this is to be understood from the opposites; whence Augustine says: "Hope has been restored to those in despair, an awakening has been made for those who sleep"; above in chapter three: "He who is unbelieving toward the Son does not have life, but the wrath of God remains upon him; but he who believes in the Son of God has eternal life." This he had promised. But here the first question concerns what he says: "You shall die in your sins." It seems that he revealed to them their damnation, and therefore he was compelling them to despair: and according to this it seems that someone could have foreknowledge of his own damnation. But this does not seem right; because knowledge and revelation are a gift of piety: therefore it does not compel despair. To this the response is threefold: that the Lord did not say this by way of revelation, but by way of threat; hence He adds below the condition: "unless you believe." Otherwise it must be said that the Lord did not say this to people who would place faith in Him; therefore it did not compel them to despair; hence He said this not to believers, but to unbelievers. In a third way it is said that the Lord was speaking to the multitude; therefore the word was received generally, and no one took it specifically for himself.

John 8:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"They said therefore to him: Who are you?" Here is touched upon the explanation of the things to be believed. For because he had set forth his threat, that without faith in him no one could be freed from death, saying that they would die in sin unless they believed "that I am" — this indeed he had said implicitly — therefore the Jews seek to have it explained and to be taught in the faith. For this reason they said to him: "Who are you?" since we cannot be saved unless we believe in you. Similarly they asked of John above in chapter one: "Who are you?" And there follows the response of Christ, by which he instructs the Jews to believe in him: first regarding what pertains to creation made through him; second, what pertains to the person of the Father, at the place: "And they did not know." For first he is creator: on account of which he says: "Jesus said to them: The Beginning," that is, I am the Beginning who creates: because all things through him received being, as was said above in chapter one: "In the beginning was the Word," and again: "All things were made through him." He is also teacher: "who also speak to you"; Hebrews chapter one: "In these last days he has spoken to us in the Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also made the ages." Similarly the Lord responded to the Samaritan woman who asked: "I am he, who speaks to you"; and to the blind man, below in chapter nine. Furthermore, since "principle" denotes the notion of emanation, which first and principally belongs to the Father: whence is it that the Son appropriates it to Himself? I respond: It must be said that this name "principle" is sometimes taken essentially, insofar as it denotes a relation to the creature, and thus the whole Trinity is called principle; sometimes notionally, and thus the Father and the Son are one principle of the Holy Spirit; sometimes personally, and thus principle denotes the fontal emanation itself, which is found in the Father. And thus Augustine says that "the Father is the principle of the Divinity." It must be said therefore that this name "principle," insofar as it is essential, is drawn to the person of the Son in two ways: in one way through the property of generation, and thus the Son is called principle from a principle, that is, the begotten one; in another way through the property of the Word, because the Son is the Word, and thus it is drawn here: "I am the principle, who also speak to you."

John 8:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

He is also judge, although now he does not speak words of condemnation, but of instruction and calling. For this reason he says: "I have many things to speak about you" — "about," that is, against you — "and to judge," which will not remain unexamined, not out of malice, but out of justice. "But he who sent me is truthful, and the things I have heard from him, these I speak in the world": and therefore I judge truthfully; above in the fifth chapter: "As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just; because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me." And because he manifested himself in comparison to the creature, he manifests himself in comparison to the person of the Father, which the Jews could not understand. Furthermore it is asked: since truth is appropriated to the Son, whence is it that the Son, speaking of the Father, attributes it to Him? It must be said that He is called truthful because He speaks true words. Because therefore the Father speaks the Son, who is the true Word, to whom truth is appropriated, "truthful" by reason of the connoted origin can rightly be appropriated to the Father.

John 8:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"And they did not know that he called God his Father": and because they were unable to understand the loftiness of the generation, he directs them to the weakness of the passion.

John 8:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Jesus therefore said to them: When you shall have lifted up the Son of man," namely on the cross: below in the twelfth chapter: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself"; "then you will know that I am," namely a distinct person in the Trinity; behold, the personal distinction; Exodus 3: "I am who am." "And I do nothing of myself," namely this you will know; "but as the Father has taught me, these things I speak," that is, as I have received from the Father, because the Father gives all things to the Son. And in this is shown the emanation of generation from the Father; above in the fifth chapter: "The Son cannot do anything of himself, except what he has seen the Father doing." Not only will you know the personal distinction, but also the indivision of essence.

John 8:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"And he who sent me is with me," on account of the unity of essence, in which there is no division; below in the fourteenth chapter: "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me?" "And he has not left me alone," through a discordant will: "because I always do the things that are pleasing to him." Whence the Son cannot be left by the Father, because he can neither disagree with him nor displease him; Matthew 3: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." On the contrary, sinners are left by the Lord, because they displease him through sins: 2 Chronicles 12: "You have left me, and I have left you." Furthermore it is asked concerning what He says, that "He has not left me alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." On the contrary: In Matthew twenty-seven the Son said in His passion: "God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" I respond: It must be said that there is an abandonment of dispensation, of testing, of permission, and of eternal damnation. The first, of dispensation, was to expose the Son to suffering for the salvation of the human race. The second, of testing, is in the just, as the Lord left Job in the hand of Satan. The third is in those sinning in the present life. The fourth is in those eternally damned, which is abandonment without any visitation. The word of the Lord here is therefore understood concerning the abandonment of wrath, not concerning the dispensation of divine wisdom.

John 8:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"As he was speaking these things." Here is touched upon the multiplication of believers in Christ, which came about through this instruction; therefore he says: "As he was speaking these things," namely the things said above, "many believed in him"; because his word had efficacy; above in the fourth chapter: "Many more believed because of his word."

John 8:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

It has been shown that without the teaching and faith of Christ there is perpetuation in sin; here it is shown secondly that through the teaching of Christ there is liberation from the servitude of sin. And this part is divided into three parts: because first, liberation from the servitude of sin through the teaching of Christ is promised; second, the boasting of the Jews is emptied, at the passage: "I know that you are sons of Abraham"; third, the consequent indignation of the Jews is shown, at the passage: "The Jews answered and said to him: Do we not say rightly?" First, therefore, through the teaching of Christ, liberation is promised and shown to come about in this order: first, liberation is promised; second, the promise is belittled by the Jews; third, it is shown to be necessary for them. Liberation is therefore promised to those who remain in the teaching of Christ; therefore he says: "Jesus therefore said to those who believed in him"; and because, frightened by the threat, they believed, they are enticed by the promise to persevere: whence he says: "If you remain in my word": below in the fifteenth chapter: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me"; not like those of whom it is said in Luke chapter eight: "They believe for a time and in the time of temptation fall away"; these do not bring forth fruit: but you, if you remain, "will truly be my disciples."

John 8:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." He states three things that make a person upright. The first is rectitude of affection, and this is indicated in the discipleship of Christ: the second, rectitude of intellect, and this in the knowledge of truth: the third, rectitude of effect, through liberation from guilt, and this is indicated in the liberation by truth. Or: "you will be disciples" on the way through imitation: "you will know the truth" in the beatification of the soul: and "by the truth you will be freed from all corruption" in the happy union of soul and body: Romans chapter eight: "Creation itself will be freed from the servitude of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God."

John 8:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"They answered him." Here is touched upon how the promised liberation is belittled by the Jews, because they considered themselves free; whence they boast of their freedom and do not care about liberation. Therefore they say to him: "We are the seed of Abraham and have never served anyone": and thus we are free by nature: "how do you say: You shall be made free," as if we were not now free? They called themselves free because they were born from Abraham through Isaac, who was the son of the free woman, according to what is said in Galatians chapter four: "Cast out the handmaid and her son"; this was said concerning Hagar: "for the son of the handmaid shall not be heir with the son of the free woman," and it is drawn from Genesis chapter twenty-one. But here one inquires about what they say: "We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never served anyone." On the contrary: They served the Egyptians; whence Deuteronomy six: "The Lord led you out of the house of servitude." Likewise, they served Nebuchadnezzar in the Babylonian captivity for seventy years. If you say that they were speaking of themselves, not of their fathers, it is objected: because even then they were paying tribute to the Romans; whence they asked in Matthew twenty-two: "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" To this there is one response, that they lied, as they often used to do, and they had forgotten the benefits of God; whence Augustine: "O inflated skin! This is not greatness, but swelling. How did you speak the truth? Joseph was sold, the prophets were led into captivity, the people served in Egypt in mud and brick, you yourselves were also paying tributes." It is answered otherwise, that they understood this with respect to the custom which they had among themselves by precept of the Law: Leviticus twenty-five: "Let your male and female slaves be from the nations that are around you." Or it should be said otherwise, that there is servitude of condition by origin, just as the son of a slave is a slave, and thus they understood, and these are called slaves by body; and there is servitude of oppression through dominion, and they did not understand concerning this.

John 8:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Jesus answered them." Here the necessity of liberation is shown: and he shows that they are slaves, and that they have need of liberation and how they are liberated. Therefore, that they are slaves spiritually, he shows by this reasoning: He who commits sin is a slave of sin: but you commit sin: therefore you are slaves of sin. The minor premise of this reasoning he leaves unspoken, because he expresses it below, and the conclusion he leaves unspoken; but he proposes the major premise saying: "Amen, amen I say to you: He who commits sin is a slave of sin." This the blessed Peter proves in the second chapter of his second Canonical letter: "By whom a man is overcome, of the same also he is the slave." This is the worst servitude: whence Augustine says: "O miserable servitude! A slave of a man, sometimes wearied by the harsh commands of his master, finds rest by fleeing: but the slave of sin, where does he flee? He drags with him his evil conscience, wherever he goes; because, wherever he goes, he does not depart from himself." Thus it is clear that they are slaves: and from this he proves that they need liberation, by this reasoning: he who does not remain in the house forever needs to be freed by him who remains, and through him can be freed: but the slave does not remain, while the Son remains: therefore the slave needs and can be freed through the Son. But you are slaves, as was said above: "if therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed." But it is asked: since the sinner does everything he wants, but the just man does not, how is the sinner called a slave? It must be said that the sinner is rightly called a slave of sin, because it is a great servitude to follow an evil will; and on account of the servile conditions which are found in the sinner, on account of which he is rightly called a slave. For a slave is base, and so is a sinner: 3 Kings one: "I and my son Solomon shall be offenders," that is, base. He feeds on base things, and so does the sinner; Luke fifteen, the prodigal son desired to fill his belly with the husks of the swine. He does base work, and so does the sinner: Exodus one: "They were oppressed with the hard labors of mud and brick and with every manner of service." He is treated basely, and so is the sinner: Jeremiah sixteen: "You shall serve foreign gods, who will not give you rest." He is estranged from profit: Hosea eight: "The standing stalk is not in it; the bud shall yield no flour, and if it should yield, strangers shall eat it." He is estranged from his Lord's secret, and so is the sinner: below, chapter fifteen: "I will no longer call you servants, but friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." He does not reveal to sinners, because they are in darkness. He is estranged from the intimacy of honor: Romans eight: "You have not received the spirit of servitude again in fear." A stranger from the inheritance, so is the sinner: Job 27: "The rich man, when he shall sleep, shall carry nothing with him": Galatians 4: "The son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman."

John 8:34 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

Man can commit sin in five ways, one of which is when he defends the sinner. This is touched upon in the Sabbath precept when it says: nor your manservant nor your maidservant. He who commits sin is the servant of sin: but he who defends sin is the master of sin, by providing harbor to the one committing sin.

John 8:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"The slave does not remain in the house forever; the Son remains forever." Augustine explains: He who is a slave of sin does not remain in the house forever, that is, finally, although he may belong to the present Church as regards number. Such slaves, even if they are in the house with the good, nevertheless do not have the wedding garment: therefore they are cast out, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-two: "Friend, how did you come in here, not having a wedding garment?" And afterward it is added: "Cast him into the outer darkness."

John 8:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed," that Son, I say, alone is free, because he alone is without sin: whence in the Psalm: "I have become as a man without help, free among the dead." And the reason is given below in the fourteenth chapter: "The prince of this world comes and has nothing in me." This free Son, in order to free us, was made as it were a slave for us: Philippians two: "He humbled himself, taking the form of a slave," etc. He therefore freed us by redeeming us; Isaiah fifty-two: "You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money"; because, as is said in First Peter one, "you were redeemed not with corruptible gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ Jesus, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled." Not, I say, that we should again be slaves, but free; whence Galatians five: "You, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not make liberty an occasion for the flesh, but by the charity of the spirit serve one another."

John 8:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"I know that you are children of Abraham." After the liberation through the teaching of Christ has been shown, the boasting of the Jews is here emptied, because they boasted that they were free by nature: and indeed the Lord does this in this order. First he indicates a twofold kind of sonship: according to nature and imitation; second he shows that by imitation they are not children of Abraham; third, that they are not children of God; fourth, that they are children of the devil. First therefore a twofold kind of sonship is indicated: by nature and by imitation: by natural generation, when he says: "I know that you are children of Abraham," namely begotten according to the flesh: Isaiah 51: "Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you"; and this father you have by generation, but another you have by imitation: whence he says: "But you seek to kill me, because my word does not take hold in you": Ecclesiasticus 21: "The heart of a fool is like a broken vessel, it will hold no wisdom"; Proverbs 9. And this indeed is a work of iniquity, and according to this you have another father, whom you imitate.

John 8:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"I speak what I have seen with my Father," imitating him: Ephesians 5: "Be imitators of God as most beloved children." "And you do what you have seen with your father"; whence you have a father by imitation. Just as these had a twofold father: according to the flesh and imitation: so Abraham had two kinds of children; Romans 9: "Not all who are the seed of Abraham are children, but those who are the children of the promise." But here a question is raised about what is said in the text: "You do what you have seen with your father." For they had never seen the devil. And moreover, could they not also sin by themselves? Response: It must be said that although man can have knowledge of sin by himself, there are nevertheless few or no sins in which the devil does not interpose his part by suggesting. And they are said to see the works of their father the devil when they see his suggestions in their heart and fulfill them in deed.

John 8:39 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"They answered and said to him." Here it is shown that they are not children of Abraham by imitation, as they themselves boasted; on account of which they said to him: "Abraham is our father." They repeat this because he had said that they were doing the works of their father: and the Lord shows that he did not mean that father: therefore Jesus says to them: "If you are children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham," that is, if you wish to be children by imitation, as you are according to the flesh: do the works of Abraham, otherwise you will boast in vain; Matthew 3: "And do not presume to say: We have Abraham for our father; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." And because you do not do the works of Abraham, by destruction of the consequent, neither are you to be called his children.

John 8:40 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"But now you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you, which I heard from God," and thus a just and innocent man; "this" however "Abraham did not do," because it is unjust and is prohibited by the Law; Exodus twenty-three: "The innocent and the just you shall not put to death." Therefore the father whom you imitate is another.

John 8:41 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"But you do the works of your father." Chrysostom: "The works of Abraham were faith, obedience, meekness: yours, unfaithfulness, impiety, and cruelty." "They therefore said to him." Here it is shown that they are not children of God. For since they had already understood that he was speaking of a spiritual father, therefore they commend themselves as being children of God, as worshipers of him, not given over to idolatry, which is called fornication in Scripture; whence he says: "They therefore said to him: We are not born of fornication," fornicating with idols, according to that passage of Jeremiah two: "Under every leafy tree you have played the harlot"; and: "You have polluted the land with your fornications"; not so we, but "we have one father, God," whom we worship according to his command; Exodus twenty: "You shall not have strange gods before me." Him they did not have; Malachi one: "If I am a Father, where is my honor? And if I am a Lord, where is my fear?" And because they gloried in vain, he shows that they are not children of God.

John 8:42 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Jesus said to them: If God were your father, you would surely love me," as your brother, because the spirit of adoption is the spirit of love; Romans eight: "You have received the spirit of adoption of sons, in which we cry: Abba, Father." "For I proceeded from God," namely as Son by generation; "and I came," into the world through the incarnation, and just as I was begotten by him, so also I was sent; whence: "neither did I come of myself, but he sent me." I did not come by my own authority; Hebrews five: "Christ did not glorify himself to be made high priest"; on the contrary, Jeremiah twenty-three: "They ran, and I was not sending them"; likewise Exodus four: "I beseech you, Lord, send whom you are about to send." And yet you do not love me; and this he proves by asking them.

John 8:43 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Why," he says, "do you not recognize my speech?" namely by believing in me. The reason for this was hatred, "because you cannot hear my word," on account of hatred and envy; Wisdom two: "He is grievous to us to behold."

John 8:44 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"You are of your father the devil." Here, having shown that they are not children of God, he shows that they are children of the devil, so that all their glory may be emptied. He proposes: "You are of your father the devil": the word "of" does not indicate generation there, but imitation of example; Ezekiel sixteen: "Your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite"; and First John three: "He who commits sin is of the devil." He proves this, because they imitate him; whence: "you want to do the desires of your father." These are the desires about which First Timothy, last chapter, says: "Many useless and harmful desires, which plunge men into ruin and perdition." He shows that they imitate him in two things, namely in murder and lying: in lying there is the crookedness of the intellect, in murder of the affection. Therefore he says: "He was a murderer from the beginning," that is, after the beginning of the human race; because he led the first man to death by promising life and denying death: "You shall not die at all, he said," Genesis three, and Wisdom two: "God created man imperishable, but by the envy of the devil death entered the world," etc. And in this you imitate him; as was said above, you want to kill me. You also imitate him in lying: whence he says: "And he did not stand in the truth": rather, he fell into falsehood and vanity; Isaiah fourteen: "How have you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who rose in the morning"? "Because truth is not in him." For on account of the sin of pride he did not recover: Ezekiel twenty-eight: "You have been brought to nothing and shall not be forever." "When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own," because he has it from himself, with no other suggesting it. "But he is a liar and his father," that is, of lying: Job, second to last chapter: "He is king over all the children of pride." Augustine says: "The father of lying is the devil, the father of truth is God. Depart from the father of lying and run to the father of truth; embrace the truth, that you may receive freedom." The children of this father are all liars, who hate the truth. And such were the Jews; and the Lord proves this, that they hate the truth. Likewise, it is asked concerning what he says: "You are of your father the devil." From this the Manichaean argues that the Lord is not the maker and creator of evil men. To this Augustine responds that "father" here is used not of one who begets by origin, but by imitation. Similarly, the preposition "from" does not here denote origin in first being, but in second being. Hence Augustine: "Here they are called sons not by being born, but by imitating." Adam did not wish to imitate God by obeying, and he imitated the devil by consenting to sin. Likewise, an objection is raised concerning what he says: "He was a murderer from the beginning." From this the Manichaean objects that the malice of the devil has no beginning, and thus it seems that there are two principles: one of good and another of evil. I respond: It must be said that this passage is explained in five ways. In one way thus: he was a murderer from the beginning, because just as the Word was in the beginning, because he had no beginning. But this is heretical and is refuted by the text: for it does not say "in the beginning," but "from the beginning." Another exposition is that from his very beginning he was made evil, as the Psalm seems to say: "This dragon which you formed to sport with him." And this is heretical, because just as it is impossible that the supremely hot should make cold, so too that the supremely good should make evil; and that verse of the Psalm and similar passages are to be understood after the fact. The third exposition is this: he was a murderer from the beginning, that is, immediately after the beginning, because the interval between creation and the fall was brief; and therefore it is added: "He did not stand in the truth," because he did not persevere. The fourth exposition is…

John 8:45 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me," and thus you hate the truth: the Psalm: "O sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart?" And because they could say: we do not disbelieve on account of hatred of truth, but of iniquity: therefore he adds.

John 8:46 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Which of you convicts me of sin?" As if to say: no one can. On this account it is said in reproof in Job fifteen: "You reprove with words him who is not equal to you." Why then do you not believe me? "If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me?" This is certainly not on account of my fault, but your malice; and this he proves.

John 8:47 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"He who is of God hears the words of God," First John four: "He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us"; but you do not hear, and why? "Therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God," but rather of the devil: Sirach three: "A good ear will hear wisdom with all desire"; on the contrary, the Jews did not hear: Acts seven: "Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit." Likewise, it is asked concerning what he says: "He who is of God." Some have drawn strength for the error that good spirits are from God materially. It is answered to them that it is erroneous to say that God is the matter of anything, since he is most simple. But then an objection is raised: because if "from" denotes there an origin and efficient cause, and we are all from God, then we all hear the word of God. Likewise, did not they themselves hear? I respond: As has been said above, "from" denotes origin not with respect to primary being, but with respect to secondary being, which is the being of grace and of guilt, and this indeed according to conformity and imitation. Whence the meaning is: "he who is from God," through conformity of will, "hears the words of God," with the ear of the heart, not of the body, because in that way even the wicked hear.

John 8:48 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"The Jews therefore answered and said." After the liberation has been shown and the boasting of the Jews has been emptied out, here is expressed their indignation at the Lord's rebuke. And the sign of indignation is the hurling of insult. First is set forth the hurling of insult; second, the patient response; third, the reason for the patient response. First they hurl insults: "Do we not say well that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" Because the Lord had said that they were not children of Abraham but of the devil, they therefore return a twofold insult: the first against the first: "You are a Samaritan," not a son of Abraham; the second against the second: "You have a demon," you do not imitate God but the devil, by whose instruction you teach and by whose aid you perform signs; whence Matthew 12: "By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he casts out demons." Likewise it is asked concerning this, why the Jews hurled these two reproaches at Christ rather than others. They had some reason why they would speak these insults in particular. It must be said that it seemed to them that Christ in the observance of the Law did certain things and passed over others, such as the Sabbath and things of this kind. And because the Samaritans did this, since they partly observed and partly did not, therefore they called him a Samaritan. Likewise, the Lord in his teaching said certain things that were very wise and sometimes certain things that seemed to them very improbable, because they did not understand him; therefore it seemed to them that he spoke as a man out of his mind. And therefore, because a demon induces alienation of mind, they said that he had a demon.

John 8:49 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Jesus answered." Here the second point is touched upon, namely the patient response, because he does not respond to the whole insult but to a part. Whence he says: "I do not have a demon," by whose power I would perform works for my own glory; "but I honor my Father," who is in heaven, because he did all things for the glory of the Father, according to that word of the Apostle in First Corinthians 10: "Do all things for the glory of God." "And you have dishonored me," by inflicting insult, and consequently you have also dishonored the Father; above in chapter 5: "He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him." Likewise it is asked: since two things had been objected against him, why did the Lord respond only to one? Gregory responds that "he denied the one and by his silence consented to the other. For Samaritan is interpreted as guardian, and he himself was the guardian, of whom the Psalm says: Unless the Lord guard the city," etc. It is answered in another way that it was certain that he was born of the Jews; therefore it was not necessary for him to respond, because it was evidently false. In a third way it is answered that the charge of being a Samaritan touched upon his own dishonor, but the charge about a demon touched upon divine dishonor and was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, about which Matthew twelve speaks, and it detracted from the glory of the Father. Therefore the Lord taught us to endure our own reproaches, but not divine ones. And this is clear from his response: "I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father."

John 8:50 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"I do not seek my own glory." Here the third point is touched upon, namely the reason for the patient response. For he was not responding in order to glorify himself; but he endured their insult, not because it was true, but because he did not care about glory; on account of which he says: "I do not seek my own glory," and therefore I do not respond to your insult; Jerome: "He who does not seek glory does not feel insult." Therefore I do not care about the insult inflicted, but nevertheless do not think yourselves free from fault and from fitting retribution; whence he says: "There is one who seeks and judges," namely the Father, who seeks the glory of the Son; below in chapter 12: "And I have glorified and will glorify again"; "and judges": as if to say: I reserve it to his judgment. Gregory: "The Son reserves the insults inflicted upon him to the judgment of the Father, so that he may surely teach us how patient we ought to be, since he who judges does not yet wish to avenge himself." Likewise it is asked about what he says: "There is one who seeks and judges." On the contrary: Above in chapter five: "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son." I respond: There is a judgment of condemnation and of discernment: the first is treated above, the second is found here.

John 8:51 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Amen, amen I say to you." The Lord has shown that through his teaching there is liberation from the blindness of error and the servitude of sin; here now he shows that through it there is liberation from the damnation of death. First, against those reviling, he shows the efficacy of his word; second, against those arguing, he shows his excellence; third, to those marveling, his eternity; fourth, to those persecuting, his patient humility. There is set forth, then, first the commendation of the doctrine of Christ in this, that those who keep it are snatched from death, and this without any doubt: therefore he says: "Amen, amen, I say to you," that is, I Jesus assert this in truth: "If anyone keeps my word, he shall never taste death." This observance is through the keeping of the commandments; Ecclesiastes 8: "He who keeps the commandment shall experience no evil"; and Wisdom 6: "The keeping of the laws is the consummation of incorruption. And incorruption makes one to be near to God." And such a one does not taste death through experience, namely eternal death, although he may see it, according to that saying of Isaiah last chapter: "They shall go out and see the corpses of men who have transgressed against me"; Matthew 16: "There are some standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." But it is asked here: since the Jews were scandalized and did not understand the Lord, because they understood only in a carnal manner, why is it that the Lord did not cease from preaching? I respond: It must be said that the Lord spoke in such a way that they could have understood spiritually, but by the just judgment of God they were blinded; nor did he cease from preaching, because, as Gregory says, "when the perversity of the wicked increases, preaching ought not to be diminished, but increased."

John 8:52 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"The Jews therefore said." Here secondly, as the Jews attack, he shows his excellence, which they assail as he teaches: whence they say: "Now we know that you have a demon": they could not recognize the good, but were ready for evil: Jeremiah 4: "They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge." And indeed they wish to show this by disproving the Lord's saying, both because it is false and because it is proud. That it is false, they show by this reasoning: "Abraham is dead and the Prophets"; and these kept the word of God: therefore what you say is false: "If anyone keeps my word," etc. And that argument is from the greater: for if those who kept the word of God are dead, and those of whom it would seem more likely did not have immortality, therefore etc. For this reason they say: "Abraham is dead," who namely kept the word of the Lord: whence in Genesis 22 it was said to Abraham: "In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." "And the Prophets are dead," to whom the Lord spoke: Ecclesiasticus 46: "The bones of the Prophets sprout from their place." "And you say: If anyone keeps my word, he shall never taste death"; as if they were saying: you openly speak what is false: nor do you speak only what is false, but proudly.

John 8:53 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?" As if they were saying: you are not greater, and he himself is dead: Genesis 25: "Failing in age, he died old and full of days"; "and" also "the Prophets are dead": thus neither Abraham nor the Prophets were able to escape death: much less can you. "Whom do you make yourself?" As if they were saying: why do you praise and exalt yourself? And thus they accuse him that he was praising himself and speaking falsely, because he was setting himself before Abraham, since no one escapes death: 2 Kings 14: "We all die and like waters slip away into the earth, which do not return."

John 8:54 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

To this attack the Lord responds, showing his excellence in relation to Abraham. Before, however, he declares his excellence, he avoids arrogance, lest he seem to say this through boasting: therefore in responding he asserts that he does not seek his own glory. "Jesus answered: If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing," that is, it will be regarded by you as vain, just as the glory by which someone praises and commends himself is regarded as vain: whence they said to him above in the same chapter: "You bear witness about yourself; your witness is not true." That is, "if I" alone: "I" is taken distributively: Second Corinthians 10: "Not he who commends himself is approved, but he whom God commends." But not I alone glorify myself; rather, another with me; for this reason he says: "It is my Father who glorifies me"; whence above in chapter one: "We saw his glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father"; Second Peter 1: "Being made spectators of his greatness; for receiving from God the Father honor and glory," etc. "Whom you say is your God," that is, whom you say as Father is your God: and thus you ought to believe him: for he is the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, Exodus 3: but you do not believe. It is asked concerning what he says: "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing." On the contrary: He who can testify can also praise: but above in the same chapter he said that he could testify concerning himself: therefore he could also glorify himself. Likewise, the heretic objects: The Father glorifies the Son; the Son cannot glorify himself: therefore he is less than the Father. I respond: This is solved in two ways: either such that what has now been said is understood according to his human nature: or such that "glory is understood to be nothing" not according to truth, but according to the estimation of the Jews.

John 8:55 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"And you have not known him": for they were among those of whom it is said in Titus 1: "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny him." "But I know him," and this indeed not out of boasting, but for the sake of speaking the truth. Whence: "And if I say that I do not know him, I will be like you, a liar": and therefore it is necessary to say that I know him. Augustine: "Let arrogance be avoided in such a way that truth is not abandoned." And therefore he asserts this again: I do not say that I do not know him, "but I know him and I keep his word": and this is truly to know God, because it is said in First John 2: "He who says that he knows God and does not keep his commandments is a liar." Thus therefore, having avoided arrogance, the Lord manifests his excellence: because they did not believe that he was greater than Abraham: therefore he shows that he is greater. Likewise, there is a question about what he says, that they did not know the Father, since it is said in the Law: "Your God is one God": and this they believed. I respond: It must be said that "Father" is said in two ways: in one way essentially, and thus the Jews knew God the Father, because in this way it belongs to the whole Trinity in relation to creation. In another way it is said personally in relation to the Son, and thus they did not know him, as Augustine says, just as they did not know the Son.

John 8:56 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Abraham, your father, rejoiced to see my day: he saw it and was glad," as at one greater than himself. Gregory says that he then rejoiced when he saw three men and worshipped one, Genesis 18: whence Luke 10: "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see," etc. Or it can be said otherwise, that Abraham rejoiced to see at the Lord's calling, Genesis 12. But he saw and was glad in the Lord's firm promise, Genesis 15, where the Lord promised, and "Abraham believed, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"; and again in the confirmation of the covenant, in the giving of circumcision it is said that Abraham laughed, whence also he was glad, Genesis 17.

John 8:57 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"The Jews therefore said to him." Here, thirdly, as the Jews marveled, he showed his eternity. They marveled at what he said, that Abraham had seen his day; whence they say: "You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham?" As if to say: this is altogether impossible. And it should be noted that they do not say: Abraham saw you, but you Abraham, as though always esteeming Abraham as greater. Chrysostom puts forty, because according to their estimation the Lord was approaching his fortieth year. To this astonishment, therefore, the Lord adds his response, in which he showed his eternity. And therefore it is not surprising if he gives immortality to others, because he also preceded Abraham, as the Creator precedes the creature.

John 8:58 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"Jesus therefore said to them: Amen, amen, I say to you," that is, I assert in truth: "before Abraham was made," as a creature is brought into being, "I am." He does not say: "I was made," because his being did not begin; he does not say: "I was," because his being does not pass into the past. Therefore it is said in Exodus three: "I am who I am," because his being is uncreated and intransible; whence Gregory: "The Divinity has no past tense, but always has being; therefore he rightly says: I am, not I was"; Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn before every creature."

John 8:59 — Commentary on John, Chapter 8

"They therefore took up stones to cast at him." Here, fourthly, as the Jews persecuted him, the Lord showed his humility: for they wished to stone him; therefore he says: "The Jews therefore took up stones to cast at him." Gregory: "Unable to bear these words of eternity, the minds of the unbelieving ran to stones; and him whom they could not understand, they sought to crush." Therefore they wished to kill him, because he seemed to have blasphemed; whence Leviticus twenty-four: "He who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely die; the whole multitude shall stone him with stones." The Lord therefore humbly fled this unjust persecution, though he could have overcome it by power; whence he says: "But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple," according to that of Romans twelve: "Not defending yourselves, but give place to wrath"; and First Peter two: "When he was reviled, he did not revile in return." Likewise, there is a question about the fact that the Lord hid himself. It seems that he feared and was imperfect, because it belongs to the imperfect to fear and to flee. I respond: He hid himself as a sign that "truth, when it does not find a humble mind, flees," as Gregory says. As an example, "so that, even when we can resist, we may avoid the wrath of the proud," as Gregory also says. To preserve the opportune time, he hid himself who later offered himself to persecutions, in order to show that he was a true man: whence Augustine says: "As a man he fled from stones, but woe to those from whose stony hearts God flees."

John 9:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

The Lord manifested in the two preceding chapters that He is the director by the word of wisdom; here He shows the same thing by a miracle of power. For by illuminating corporally He signifies that He illuminates spiritually, and this indeed He does in the present chapter. The compassion of divine kindness is touched upon in this, that the Lord looked upon the blind man with the eye of mercy; whence he says: Jesus, passing by, saw a man blind from birth: He saw him, I say, with the eye of mercy, according to that passage in Lamentations 1: "See, O Lord, for I am in tribulation." Or: He saw him, that is, "He looked attentively, so that He might give the disciples a sense of looking closely," as Chrysostom says; and on account of this the disciples asked.

John 9:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

And His disciples asked Him. Here is touched upon the dispensation of divine wisdom, which the disciples, wishing to know, asked Him about: Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? Supposing that divine wisdom does not inflict punishment without fault, they ask wherein the fault lay. This indeed they had learned from the healing of the paralytic, to whom it was said above in chapter five: "Behold, you are made whole; sin no more, lest something worse befall you." They knew that it was written in Exodus 20: "I am a mighty God, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." And because they intended well but asked poorly, the Lord in His response destroys the question. From this they seem to imply that children are punished for the sins of their parents. Against this is that passage from Ezekiel 18: "The father shall not bear the iniquity of the son, nor the son the iniquity of the father": therefore the son ought not to be punished for the sin of the parents. The contrary of this is stated in Exodus 20: "Visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." It must be said that the punishment of sin is twofold: one temporal, the other eternal. I say that with eternal punishment a son is not punished for the iniquity of the father: whence even if unbaptized infants are deprived of the eternal vision, this is not on account of the sin of the father alone, but their own, because each one has original sin. Concerning temporal punishment, however, it must be understood that the son bears the iniquity of the father; because frequently a wicked father is punished in his son: therefore he says: "Unto the third and fourth generation," because up to that generation parents can see their children. Others say differently, that this is understood of children who imitate the crime of their father, but the first interpretation is better.

John 9:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

Jesus answered: Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents; and yet He satisfies those who ask: But that the works of God might be made manifest in him: that is, for this reason he was born blind. The works of God are manifested when God is manifested in His works. These are miraculous works: above in chapter two: "He manifested His glory"; Ecclesiastes 3: "I have learned that the works which God has made endure forever." Therefore for the sake of manifestation he was born blind, because the opportunity of manifesting presents itself. Against this: No one is pure from filth, not even an infant whose life upon the earth is of one day. Augustine responds that that text is to be supplied thus: "He did not sin with a sin on account of which this punishment would be inflicted on the blind man." And the disciples were asking indiscriminately, as Chrysostom says, because before he was born, he could not have sinned so as to be born blind. But then it is objected: Because if every punishment is on account of fault, and this man did not sin nor did his parents: therefore he was born blind unjustly, and the punishment was unjustly inflicted. Likewise, Jerome, on that passage of Jeremiah 4: "Your ways and your thoughts have done these things to you," says: "Whatever punishment befalls us is from our own vice." Likewise, if it was for the glory of God: could not the glory of God have been manifested otherwise than thus? And God for his glory does not need our goods, therefore much less our evils. It must be said that there is a cause without which not, and in this way every punishment has fault as its cause, because if there had been no fault, there would be no punishment at all. In another way there is a meritorious cause, and thus not every punishment regards fault, and in this way the Lord speaks here. Indeed, as Damascene says, sometimes punishments are inflicted on account of the guilt of fault. Sometimes for the testing and manifestation of virtue, as in Tobit and Job, who said: "I have not sinned, and my eye dwells in bitterness," Job 17. Sometimes for the preservation of virtue, as in Paul, who said: "There was given to me a thorn of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me: for which reason I three times besought the Lord," etc., 2 Corinthians 12. Sometimes on account of the dispensation of the divine counsel, as in Christ. Sometimes for the manifestation of the divine power, as in this blind man. Nor was this done only for God's sake, but for our instruction and for the benefit of the blind man, because by the occasion of bodily illumination he was spiritually illuminated: whence great was his benefit.

John 9:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

I must work the works of him who sent me. These are the miraculous works, which he attributes to the Father, because power is appropriated to him: below in the fourteenth chapter: "The Father abiding in me, he himself does the works"; above in the fifth chapter: "The works which the Father gave me to accomplish, the very works which I do, bear witness concerning me that the Father sent me." The opportunity for doing these works lasts while it is day; the night will come, when no one can work: for then the opportunity ceases: Revelation fourteen: "Henceforth now, says the Spirit, let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them"; and Ecclesiastes nine: "Whatever your hand is able to do, work earnestly, because neither work nor reason nor wisdom nor knowledge will be in the netherworld, to which you hasten." But what this day is, he explains here. It is asked concerning what he says, that it is necessary for him to work while it is day. But for God it is always day: therefore he never ceases to work. It must be said that he speaks here of the works which he works for us and in us, according to that passage of Isaiah 26: "All our works you have worked in us, O Lord." And with regard to these works night comes, when the last day is closed to us, after which neither will we be able to work, nor God in us nor for us amid evils: whence Matthew 22: "Bind his hands and feet and cast him into the outer darkness."

John 9:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Just as therefore the day is nothing other than the presence of light on the earth, so this day is nothing other than the presence of Christ in the world: Malachi, the last chapter: "The sun of justice shall rise for you who fear God." Therefore the Lord says below in the twelfth chapter: "Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you."

John 9:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

When he had said these things. Here is touched upon the wondrous operation of divine power, in that by spittle and opaque mud he restores light by his command alone. Therefore he says: When he had said these things, namely those things which were said before; he spat on the ground and made clay from the spittle and anointed the clay upon his eyes: he made as it were an eye-salve for healing the eyes; Revelation three: "Anoint your eyes with eye-salve, that you may see." According to the allegory: saliva or spittle, which proceeds from the mouth, which is also salty, signifies the wisdom of God, of which Ecclesiasticus 24: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn." The earth signifies the flesh of the Virgin: the Psalm: "Our earth shall yield its fruit." Spittle is joined to earth when the Son of God is born from the Virgin, and clay is made, since the Word was made flesh, and this for our restoration, according to Augustine: "Just as God formed man from the slime of the earth, so through the same kind of clay He restored the human race." With this clay our eyes are anointed, when those believing in Christ are illuminated by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, concerning which, First John 2: "The anointing will teach you concerning all things." And we are washed in the waters of Siloam, that is, of Sacred Scripture, which flow with silence, because they are not painted or colored by the clamor of the words of worldly philosophy, and they rest in the humble and descend from the mountains; Isaiah 8: "The waters of Siloam, which flow with silence." According to the moral sense: to spit is to declare outwardly the foulness of sin, lest perhaps it fester; the Psalm: "My wounds have putrefied and festered because of my foolishness"; and Proverbs 28: "He who hides his crimes shall not prosper; but he who confesses and forsakes them shall obtain mercy." To anoint the eyes with clay is to consider one's sins frequently; Jeremiah 31: "Set up for yourself a watchtower, lay upon yourself bitternesses"; Isaiah 38: "I will recount to You all my years in the bitterness of my soul." To be washed, through tears: the Psalm: "I will wash my bed every night; I will water my couch with my tears"; and Isaiah 1: "Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your thoughts from before My eyes; cease to act perversely." Here the manner of the cure is asked about: Since the Lord healed others by command alone, why is it that he does this with clay? And why does he command him to wash? It must be said that the reason was allegorical and moral, as was said above, for the instruction of our knowledge and action; there was also a literal reason. For since by just judgment at his coming both the blind were to be enlightened and the Pharisees were to be blinded, he made clay, by which he would seem to violate the Sabbath, and through this the filthy one would become more filthy, and from this the blind man himself would be enlightened and purified. He sent him to the pool so that the miracle would be public, as Chrysostom says; because all gathered for so great a spectacle, that by clay, from which others are blinded, the blind man is enlightened.

John 9:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

And he said to him: Go and wash in the pool of Siloam. "Siloam is a spring at the foot of Mount Zion, which does not flow with continuous waters, but bubbles forth at certain hours through the hollows of the earth." And because this was commanded not without mystery, the Evangelist adds the interpretation of the name, saying: Which is interpreted "Sent." Chrysostom: "So that you may learn that there the power of the one who sends is at work." And the power is expressed in its effect; whence he adds: And he went away and washed and came back seeing: in which is noted the effect of the power and the obedience of the blind man. Whence Chrysostom: "See the mind of the blind man, obedient in all things: for he is not troubled in anything, asking, nor scandalized, saying: What need is there of clay? For what reason did you anoint me? For what reason did you command me to wash? But he considered none of these things, but being persuaded, he obeyed in all things." According to the allegory: saliva or spittle, which proceeds from the mouth, which is also salty, signifies the wisdom of God, of which Ecclesiasticus 24: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn." The earth signifies the flesh of the Virgin: the Psalm: "Our earth shall yield its fruit." Spittle is joined to earth when the Son of God is born from the Virgin, and clay is made, since the Word was made flesh, and this for our restoration, according to Augustine: "Just as God formed man from the slime of the earth, so through the same kind of clay He restored the human race." With this clay our eyes are anointed, when those believing in Christ are illuminated by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, concerning which, First John 2: "The anointing will teach you concerning all things." And we are washed in the waters of Siloam, that is, of Sacred Scripture, which flow with silence, because they are not painted or colored by the clamor of the words of worldly philosophy, and they rest in the humble and descend from the mountains; Isaiah 8: "The waters of Siloam, which flow with silence." According to the moral sense: to spit is to declare outwardly the foulness of sin, lest perhaps it fester; the Psalm: "My wounds have putrefied and festered because of my foolishness"; and Proverbs 28: "He who hides his crimes shall not prosper; but he who confesses and forsakes them shall obtain mercy." To anoint the eyes with clay is to consider one's sins frequently; Jeremiah 31: "Set up for yourself a watchtower, lay upon yourself bitternesses"; Isaiah 38: "I will recount to You all my years in the bitterness of my soul." To be washed, through tears: the Psalm: "I will wash my bed every night; I will water my couch with my tears"; and Isaiah 1: "Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your thoughts from before My eyes; cease to act perversely." Since the Lord healed others by command alone, why is it that he does this with clay? And why does he command him to wash? It must be said that the reason was allegorical and moral, as was said above, for the instruction of our knowledge and action; there was also a literal reason. For since by just judgment at his coming both the blind were to be enlightened and the Pharisees were to be blinded, he made clay, by which he would seem to violate the Sabbath, and through this the filthy one would become more filthy, and from this the blind man himself would be enlightened and purified. He sent him to the pool so that the miracle would be public, as Chrysostom says; because all gathered for so great a spectacle, that by clay, from which others are blinded, the blind man is enlightened. Since the Lord healed inwardly at the same time everyone whom he healed outwardly, why was this blind man not inwardly illuminated? Either this blind man was a believer, but did not yet have explicit faith, like catechumens, and therefore he is instructed below; or it was not necessary for him to be healed inwardly at the same time, because his out…

John 9:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

The waters that go with silence are Holy Scripture which cannot be learned except in silence: and in that there is enlightenment. As a sign of this, it is said to the blind: "Go, wash in the pool of Siloe (which is interpreted 'sent')." For these waters are found through revelation. But it is fitting first to anoint the eyes with clay made of spittle and dust. Spittle is wisdom. Dust is Christ's flesh. Clay is faith concerning the mystery of the incarnation.

John 9:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

The doubt of the neighbors is introduced, who out of wonder at the change in his sight are uncertain whether they recognize the illuminated man; therefore he says: Therefore the neighbors, and those who had seen him before, because he was a beggar, as the blind are accustomed to beg — such wretched and contemptible and poor persons the kind and humble Lord especially used to heal; whence, similarly, Luke 18: "A certain blind man sat by the wayside begging"; "standing still, Jesus" — it is said there that He illuminated him. Those, therefore, who were accustomed to seeing him said: Is not this he who sat and begged? They said this in doubt, and in this doubt they disagreed; whence he says: Some said: This is he, considering the figure of his body.

John 9:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

But others said: By no means, but he is like him, considering the change in his sight, they believe him to be another, but similar. But he said: I am he, namely the one who begged as a blind man. Augustine: "A grateful voice, lest the ungrateful one be condemned." The blind man was not ashamed to confess that he had been blind, for the glory of God; whence Ecclesiasticus 4: "There is a shame that brings death," which namely diminishes the glory of God on account of our own; "and there is a shame that brings glory and grace," and which diminishes our glory and manifests disgrace for the manifesting of divine glory.

John 9:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

They said therefore to him: How were your eyes opened? since you are the one who was blind. And he indicates to them the author and the manner.

John 9:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

He answered: That man who is called Jesus, because he did not yet believe him to be God, made clay and anointed my eyes: behold, the operation; and he said to me: Go to the pool of Siloam and wash: behold, his command; and I went and washed and saw; behold, the fulfillment of the command and through it, illumination. For by fulfilling the commandment of Christ a man is illuminated, because, as is said in Proverbs 6, "the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light," which when observed illuminates: the Psalm: "The commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes."

John 9:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

And they said to him: Where is he? — namely, the healer. He said: I do not know. The anxiety of those censuring is noted in this, that they seek the healer, and not finding him, they do not release the one healed. And because they cannot find the healer, they bring the one healed to the Pharisees.

John 9:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

They brought him to the Pharisees, who had been blind, because they were anxious to censure; Luke 6: "The scribes and Pharisees watched whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against him."

John 9:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

Now it was the Sabbath. Here is touched upon the occasion for censuring, which was from the feast day and the manner of healing. By reason of the day he says: Now it was the Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes: above in chapter 5: "For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did this" — namely, the work of healing — "on the Sabbath," as if despising the Law. The other occasion was from the manner of healing, which they therefore inquire about, because they cannot know it except through the confession of the blind man. They inquire about the manner so that, because they are unable to censure the deed, they might calumniate the manner.

John 9:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

And again the Pharisees asked him how he had received his sight; and they seek the manner and they hear the manner: whence: But he said to them: He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and now I see: he repeats briefly, because they had already heard from others, but they required greater certainty from his own mouth. And here the constancy of the blind man is apparent, who did not fear to confess the truth, keeping that saying of Ecclesiasticus 4: "For your soul be not ashamed to speak the truth."

John 9:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

Therefore some of the Pharisees said, foolish zealots of the Law: Romans 10: "They have indeed a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge." They said: This man is not from God, by conformity and accordance: who does not keep the Sabbath, which God commanded to be kept, Exodus 20 and in many other places. But others said: How can a sinful man do such signs? And these were more enlightened: whence these had some light, but the others were darkened; therefore it follows that there was a schism among them, that is, a division, by the just judgment of God dividing light from darkness and the good from the wicked: on account of which he said, Matthew 10: "I came not to send peace, but a sword."

John 9:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

Therefore they say again to the blind man, namely the Pharisees: What do you say of him who opened your eyes? namely whether he is good or evil: and they inquire maliciously, but the blind man answered simply. But he said: He is a Prophet: the Gloss: "He firmly expresses what he feels," as the crowds, Luke 7: "A great Prophet has risen among us." The cunning of the Pharisees in testing is noted: for they test the blind man as to what he thinks of Christ, so that, if ill, they might make him deny the miracle of Christ; if well, they might not believe his words.

John 9:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind. Here is touched upon the hardness of the Jews in believing: for they were unwilling to believe, on this account namely, because he praised Christ; therefore they held him suspect. They did not believe, namely until they called the parents of him who had received his sight: for they hoped through them to invalidate the miracle; whence Chrysostom: "They thought to make the miracle abortive through the parents"; whence they always strove to rebel, according to that saying of Job 24: "They were rebels against the light and knew not its ways."

John 9:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

And they asked them, saying. Here is touched upon the diligence of the Jews in inquiring: for they ask the parents three things: the person, the condition, and the wondrous change. For this reason it is said: Is this your son? They ask about the person. Whom you say was born blind? That is, about whom you say that he was born blind; they ask interrogatively about the condition. How then does he now see? They ask about the change: they inquire prudently and diligently, because, as it is said in Luke sixteen, "the children of this age are more prudent than the children of light in their generation."

John 9:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

His parents answered them, that is, the father and mother, and said: We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. And in this the Pharisees are refuted by the most certain testimony of the parents: whence Chrysostom says: "Who would believe that parents would tell such lies about their son?" And although they spoke the truth, nevertheless not the whole truth.

John 9:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

But how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know: because, namely, we were not present, nor do we know more than you, nor is it necessary to ask us, but rather him: whence they say: Ask him, because he can answer; he is of age, let him speak for himself. The Evangelist assigns the reason for this response. The reason for that response was fear of the Jewish conspiracy.

John 9:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

Now his parents said these things because they feared the Jews; Isaiah fifty-one: "Who are you, that you should fear a mortal man and the son of man, who will wither like grass?" And First Maccabees two: "Do not fear the words of a sinful man, because his glory is dung and worms." And the reason for their fear is given: For the Jews had already conspired that if anyone confessed him to be the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. A conspiracy is a binding together for evil, just as in Jeremiah eleven, "a conspiracy was found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem." They returned to the iniquities of their fathers and conspired to destroy the name of Christ; Jeremiah eleven: "Let us destroy him from the land of the living, and let his name be remembered no more."

John 9:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

Therefore his parents said: He is of age; ask him: for they were still among those about whom it is said below in chapter twelve, that "many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they be cast out of the synagogue."

John 9:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

They therefore called again the man who had been blind and said to him: Give glory to God, namely, by confessing the truth. For to give glory to God is to confess the truth about something, as if in God's presence; Joshua 7: "My son, confess and give glory to God." And that truth was that he should not attribute this miracle to Christ; on account of which they say: We know that this man is a sinner; confess therefore that you were not healed by this man, but by God. Chrysostom: "They were attempting to do this under the appearance of religion"; and yet they were leading him to evil. Whence Augustine: "To deny what you have received is not to give glory to God, but rather to blaspheme God." And although they flatter, they do not prevail, because the blind man spurns their admonition and speaks the truth. Now that the attempt of the Pharisees to censure and deny has been frustrated, here they endeavor to overshadow the miracle, so that it may not be attributed to Christ the Lord, but that his name may be silenced. Therefore they endeavor here to draw the blind man back from confessing the name of Christ in this order: first, namely, by flatteries; second, by cunning; third, by reproaches; fourth, by injuries.

John 9:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

That man says: Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. As if to say: I do not judge the author, but I acknowledge the benefit. Augustine: "He neither favors calumny nor conceals the truth." The blind man responded wisely, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus 5: "If you have understanding, answer your neighbor; but if not, let your hand be upon your mouth, lest you be caught in an undisciplined word and be confounded." But it seems that the blind man lied, because below he shows that he was not a sinner. The response is twofold: first, from Chrysostom, that "I do not know" means: I do not pronounce on this now; or "I do not know," because I am ignorant of his life — inasmuch as I was a blind man who had never seen him nor followed him.

John 9:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

They therefore said to him: What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? They attempt to draw him back by cunning; therefore they maliciously inquire, so that they might raise some objection against the miracle. Chrysostom: "They scrutinize the manner of the cure, like dogs investigating on every side." But in this cunning they are rebuked by the blind man; therefore he refuses to respond, but reproves them.

John 9:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

He answered them: I have already told you, and you heard; why do you wish to hear it again? As if to say: if you inquire maliciously, I will not respond; but if earnestly, I will respond; whence he says: Do you also wish to become his disciples? As if to say: I believe that you do not wish it; but if you did wish it, I would tell you again; heeding that saying of Proverbs 9: "He who instructs a mocker brings injury upon himself."

John 9:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

They reviled him therefore and said: Be you his disciple, that is, by cursing and reviling they said to him that he was Christ's disciple. Augustine: "Let this curse be upon me: let such a curse be upon us and upon our children." They despised the discipleship of Christ and preferred to it the discipleship of Moses; hence they say: We are Moses' disciples, not of this man; and they add the reason. They attempt to draw him back by reproaches: Hence they proceed gradually.

John 9:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

We know that God spoke to Moses, as is said in Exodus and Leviticus almost throughout: Exodus thirty-three: "The Lord spoke to Moses face to face." But as for this man, we know not whence he is: therefore we are disciples of the one whom the Lord approves. But nevertheless they spoke falsely, because, as is said above in chapter five, "if you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me also." And in this cursing they do not prevail against the blind man; rather he refutes the reasoning of their curse in this, that they said they did not know Christ.

John 9:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

The man answered and said to them: In this indeed is a marvelous thing, that you know not whence he is, and he opened my eyes. He did not say impious, lest he provoke them, but marvelous, because he himself marveled at their hardness; and he gives the reason, because they see a most evident sign and do not believe. Therefore that saying of Isaiah six is verified: "That seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand."

John 9:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

We know that God does not hear sinners: whence Isaiah one, the Lord to sinners: "When you multiply prayer, I will not hear"; Job eight: "God will not cast away the simple, nor extend his hand to the wicked." But if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, him he hears: below in chapter fifteen: "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you"; First John three: "We have confidence toward God, that whatever we ask, we receive, because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing before him." But this one he especially hears; and he proves this. It is asked: Did God not hear the publican? The response is twofold, from the Gloss: in the first way, so that emphasis falls on what he says: he does not hear sinners, because he does not hear those persisting in sin — unto salvation, that is. The Gloss responds in another way, that the blind man had not yet been anointed nor inwardly illuminated, and therefore he spoke falsely, although he believed he was speaking the truth.

John 9:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

From the beginning of the world it has not been heard that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind; but this man opened them: therefore he is from God, because from the destruction of the consequent.

John 9:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

Unless this man were from God, he could do nothing: below in chapter fifteen: "Without me you can do nothing." It is asked: Many wicked men perform numerous miracles, as the Lord himself says, Matthew seven: "Lord, did we not cast out demons in your name and perform many mighty works in your name?" The response is that the blind man understood that he acted by his own authority; or it can be answered as with the preceding question.

John 9:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

They answered and said to him: You were wholly born in sins, and do you teach us? — us, who are reputed to be righteous. Truly these were Pharisees similar to the one who praised himself in prayer, Luke eighteen. And they cast him out, for the truth they inflicted injury upon him. Chrysostom: "You see how much the herald of truth suffered. These things were written so that we too might imitate him in like manner." Similarly concerning Stephen, Acts seven: "And casting him out of the city, they stoned him." Unable to draw him back by flatteries, nor by cunning, nor by reproaches, they resort to injuries: whence, moved by indignation, they answered and said to him: You were wholly born in sins, and do you teach us? It is asked why the Pharisees say to him: You were wholly born in sins. The response can be that they speak not from reason but from indignation. Or because he had not withdrawn from the sins in which he had been born through religious observance, as the Pharisees had; or on account of his blindness, which was a punishment for sin, they called him born in sins.

John 9:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

Jesus heard that they had cast him out: He knew of Himself, but nonetheless it was reported to Him. And when Jesus had found him, not by chance, but with the purpose of receiving him: Luke 15: "She lights a lamp and searches diligently until she finds it"; He said to him: Do you believe in the Son of God? By seeking He arouses and by arousing He calls, so that He might receive the rejected one, according to that verse of the Psalm: "My father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord has taken me up"; Jeremiah 49: "Leave your orphans, and I will make you live." The Pharisees cast him out, and the Lord received him. The benign calling of the rejected blind man is conveyed. It is asked here concerning the fact that the Lord asks whether he believes in the Son of God. It is certain that this stands there for the divine nature: but afterward He adds: You have seen Him: "Him" is a relative pronoun, therefore it refers according to the divine nature: therefore the blind man saw the divine nature. Likewise, if faith is about things that are not seen, how does the Lord exhort him to believe in Him whom he sees? It must be said that there is a communication of idioms on account of the union in one hypostasis. Whence just as the same one is said to be both dead and eternal, so the same one is He in whom one must believe, because He is equal to the Father: the same one who speaks and is seen, but in the form of a servant.

John 9:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

He answered and said: Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? As if to say: I am ready to believe: whence Chrysostom: "This is the word of one who inquires and desires"; therefore he is instructed. The blind man consented to faith.

John 9:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

Jesus said to him: You have both seen Him, and it is He who speaks with you. You have seen Him, through the miraculous work: He speaks with you, through wondrous instruction: above in chapter eight, "I am the Beginning, who also speak to you." In a similar manner the Lord instructed the Samaritan woman above in chapter four: "I am He, who speaks with you." And because "with the heart one believes unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"; therefore there follows the true confession of the enlightened blind man: and he confessed his faith in word.

John 9:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

I believe, Lord; and by the service of devotion: And falling down he adored Him, as God, who alone is to be adored with latria: whence the Lord answered the devil in Matthew 4: "You shall adore the Lord your God and Him alone shall you serve"; Deuteronomy 6: "You shall fear the Lord your God and Him alone shall you serve."

John 9:39 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

And Jesus said to him: For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. For judgment, namely of discernment, that those who see, that is, who consider themselves to see, as the Jews did, may become blind. Concerning this judgment it is said in Romans 11: "I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, lest you be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should enter in"; and again in Romans 9: "The Gentiles, who did not pursue justice, have attained justice; but Israel, pursuing the law of justice, has not arrived at the law of justice." And that this judgment is just is evident from the inquiry of the Pharisees and the response of the Lord, in which the malice and obstinacy of the Jews is intimated; because, although they saw, they were unwilling to believe and understand: and therefore by the judgment of God and by their own sin they have been blinded. It is asked: above in the third chapter it is said: "God did not send his Son to judge the world." The response is that he came for a judgment of discernment, but not of condemnation. However, it can be said otherwise that there is a difference between saying "I came into judgment" and "for judgment": to come for judgment indicates the final intention of judging — thus he did not come in the first advent. But to come into judgment means that from his coming some judgment is made upon the proud, because they are blinded by his coming, even though he does not come for this purpose. It is asked further: It seems that blinding is from the Lord Jesus Christ. And indeed this seems to be what must be said by reason: because if blinding is a punishment, and every punishment is just, and what is just is good, and what is good is from God, then blinding is from God. But against this: God is light, just as he is also heat: therefore if it does not belong to heat to make cold, nor does it belong to light to darken, then neither does it belong to God to blind. Likewise, God always desires that his image be conformed to himself: therefore if blinding deforms, it does not belong to God to blind. The response is that blinding can be considered either according to what it is: and thus it is a privation and does not have an efficient cause, but a deficient one. But God is the deficient cause of nothing: and thus its cause is our malice, whence Wisdom 2: "Their own malice blinded them." However, because blinding and hardening are punishments, they posit being according to what they are: and punishment according to what it is, is just, and thus, according to what it is, it can be from God. Further, it seems that one should say that in two ways some punishment is from God: in one way, as from the one who orders; and thus sin, which is the punishment of sin, insofar as it is punishment, is from God, and thus it is not from God according to what it is, but insofar as it is punishment. In another way, some punishment is said to be from God according to what it is, and this either from God inflicting it: and in this way death and other punishments, through which it is possible to merit. In another way, from God withdrawing something by our merit: and thus the tinder of sin is from God. For God ceased to give the soul grace, by which it might govern the flesh, and this by our merit: and when this grace was withdrawn, the flesh declined toward lower things. In a third way, as from one who does not bestow according to our merits: and thus blinding and hardening. For someone is hardened in evil because he is not visited by the Lord, by just judgment; someone is blinded because he is not illuminated interiorly: so Augustine says.

John 9:40 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, that is, they were present; and they said: Are we also blind? They were indignant at the word of the Lord, because they believed it had been said on their account, since they considered themselves wise: and from this very fact the Lord shows the divine judgment, that they have been justly blinded.

John 9:41 — Commentary on John, Chapter 9

Jesus said to them: If you were blind, you would not have sin; because then the Lord would illuminate you: whence 1 Corinthians 3: "If anyone among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise." But now you say: We see, and you consider yourselves wise: your sin remains, namely of unbelief, according to that passage in Romans 1: "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." Whence the Lord addresses them in Jeremiah 5: "Hear, O foolish people, without understanding, who have eyes and do not see, and ears, and do not hear." And because they, though seeing, were unwilling to believe, therefore they have been blinded; the Psalm: "Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see."

John 10:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

The Son of God shows himself as light and guide by the example of a good life. The Lord manifested above that he is a guide by the word of wisdom and by the miracle of power; here he manifests it by the example of a good life. For by the first two modes he directed as a teacher, but here in the third he directs as a pastor. In this chapter, therefore, the Lord intends to show himself as the true and good shepherd: and it is divided into two parts: because first the Lord demonstrates the good shepherd in a proverb and parable; second, he expounds the proverb and applies it to himself, so that through this he may show himself the true shepherd, at the passage: "Jesus therefore said to them again." The first part demonstrates the good shepherd in a parable. He therefore describes the good shepherd in the proverb in this order: for first he determines the entrance of the good and true shepherd; second, the sign; third, the office of the good shepherd; fourth, he says that this proverb was hidden from the Jews. He determines the entrance of the good and true shepherd by comparison with its opposite, because "opposites placed next to each other shine forth more clearly"; and the entrance of the shepherd is through the door, but that of the thief through another place. Therefore he says: "Amen, amen, I say to you" — the Lord continues his discourse, speaking to the Pharisees — "He who does not enter through the door into the sheepfold," that is, into the Church of God, in which the Lord's flock is contained, "but climbs up from elsewhere," as one proud and ambitious; "he is a thief and a robber: a thief," because he claims what belongs to another as his own; "a robber," because he destroys and kills the goods of another. Concerning this ascent of the bad shepherd, Jerome says: "We rejoice at the ascent; let us fear the descent: the joy of having held the heights is not so great as the sorrow of having fallen from the heights." Thus ascended that prince of robbers and the ambitious, of whom it is said in Isaiah fourteen: "I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven." He who thus enters in a disordered manner is a thief and not a shepherd.

John 10:1 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

The figure of the six seraphic wings intimates six stairlike illuminations, which begin from creatures and lead all the way to God, to whom no one rightly enters except through the Crucified. For he who does not enter through the door but climbs up another way, that one is a thief and a robber. If anyone indeed through this door enters, he shall go in and go out and shall find pasture.

John 10:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"But he who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep:" he enters through the door who enters through truth. Concerning this entrance, First Thessalonians two: "You yourselves know, brethren, our entrance to you"; and it is added there: "For neither at any time were we found using words of flattery, as you know, nor seeking an occasion of avarice, nor seeking glory from men."

John 10:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"To him the doorkeeper opens." Here the sign of the true pastor is touched upon, in this, that he is recognized by the doorkeeper and the flock. Therefore he says: "To him the doorkeeper opens," knowing him to be the pastor. This doorkeeper is Christ, who holds the key: whence Isaiah twenty-two: "I will place the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open." "And the sheep hear his voice," because they willingly obey the good pastor; Hebrews, last chapter: "Obey your leaders and submit to them: for they watch over you, as those who must render an account for your souls." "And he calls his own sheep by name." Here the good pastor's office is touched upon, which is threefold: to call, to lead out, and to direct: he calls by name through knowing; he leads out to pastures through instructing; but he goes before them through providing good example. This belongs to Christ the pastor through excellence, to others through imitation. Whence first he says: "And he calls his own sheep by name," namely Christ; Second Timothy two: "The Lord knows those who are his," and concerning imitation of him: Proverbs twelve: "The just man knows the souls of his beasts." "And he leads them out," to pastures, namely Christ: Ezekiel thirty-four: "I will lead them out from the peoples and gather them from the lands and bring them into their own land," which was flowing with milk. So also the imitator of Christ, as Moses and Aaron; the Psalm: "You led your people like sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron."

John 10:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"And when he has sent forth his own sheep, he goes before them," he leads the way by showing good example, as Christ; Micah two: "He ascends, opening the way before them." Whence he said below in the thirteenth chapter: "I have given you an example, that just as I have done to you, so you also should do." So also the imitator of Christ: whence First Corinthians eleven: "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ." But few are such: whence Isaiah twenty-four: "As the people, so shall be the priest." This threefold office of the good pastor has a great effect upon the sheep, which is the direction of the sheep through imitation: on account of which he says: "The sheep follow him," namely the true pastor. The sheep are simple and humble, of whom Hugh says: "The humility of a sheep is that you do not desire to be in charge and that you love to be subject. Many, fleeing labor, wish to be in charge and disdain to be subject: these are not sheep, because they do not follow." Therefore the sheep follow, because "they know his voice," namely that it is a voice of consolation, according to that passage of Matthew eleven: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you." The good pastor calls to refreshment.

John 10:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"But they do not follow a stranger, but flee from him," that is, an evil shepherd or a wolf, because they do not know the voice of strangers, that is, they do not approve of it. These strangers are false christs and false prophets and false apostles, of whom it is said in Second Corinthians eleven, that "they are deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ." These they do not follow: for they have been warned by their own shepherd; Matthew seven: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves."

John 10:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"This proverb Jesus spoke to them." Here it is noted that the proverb was hidden from them: whence he says: "This proverb Jesus spoke to them. But they did not understand what he was saying" to them; whence Matthew thirteen: "Therefore I speak to them in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not hear nor understand." It should be noted that a "proverb," according to Chrysostom, "is a useful saying, containing something of usefulness on the surface, while retaining a great deal of meaning in what is hidden." According to Basil, "a proverb is a moral instruction, a correction of vices, a worthy rule of life, directing human actions by a higher standard." According to the common manner of speaking, a proverb is a general and brief expression, containing one thing in its meaning and another on the surface of the words. It should also be noted for the understanding of the foregoing that he who does not enter through the door is deprived of the office of a true shepherd, and this in manifold ways.

John 10:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

The second part expounds the parable and applies it to Christ. "Jesus therefore said to them again." This is the second part of the chapter, in which the Lord explains the proverb set forth by applying it to himself, showing himself to be the true shepherd with respect to those three things which were stated above in the proverb: first, with respect to the true shepherd's entrance; second, with respect to the true shepherd's affection, at the passage: "I am the good shepherd"; third, with respect to the shepherd's sign, at the passage: "The feast of the Dedication took place." First, therefore, he shows himself to be the true shepherd with respect to his entrance, in this order: first, that no one enters rightly except through him; second, that whoever enters through him enters rightly; third, that he himself is not only the way of entering, but also enters rightly himself. He shows, therefore, first that no one enters rightly into the sheepfold except through him; on account of which he says: "Amen, amen I say to you: I am the door of the sheep; I" distinctively, and no other, because there is no entrance except through me. It is asked here concerning this, that the Lord compares himself here to a door, because above he compared himself to a doorkeeper: how is the same one the door and the doorkeeper and the shepherd? It must be said that, as is said below in the fourteenth chapter, Christ is the way, the truth, and the life: because he is the way to the Father, therefore the door; because he is truly the truth, which teaches the way, therefore the doorkeeper; because he is the life, therefore the shepherd, who feeds and preserves life.

John 10:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"All, as many as came, are thieves and robbers," because, namely, they had not entered through me; and the sign of this he adds: "But the sheep did not hear them." This door was closed for a long time, but in the Passion it was opened, so that "the fullness of the Gentiles might enter." Concerning this door, Revelation 4: "After this I looked; and behold, a door opened in heaven"; truly opened, because, as is said above in chapter 6, "him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." It is asked concerning what he says: "All who came are thieves." Against this: The Prophets and Patriarchs and John the Baptist came; therefore according to this all were evil, as the heretics say. It is answered to this that the emphasis should be placed on what is said, "came," namely by their own authority, not by divine authority, as the false prophets, of whom Jeremiah twenty-three says: "I did not send them, and they ran"; but the good ones did not come, but were sent. Whence Augustine says: "They did not come apart from him, but they came with him." For he himself is the truth; and therefore all who preached the truth came with him.

John 10:9 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Therefore, however much one may be illuminated by the light of nature and acquired knowledge, one cannot enter into oneself so as within oneself to delight in the Lord, except through the mediation of Christ, who says: I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pastures. But to this door we do not draw near unless we believe in him, hope in him, and love him. It is necessary, therefore, if we wish to re-enter into the enjoyment of Truth as into paradise, that we enter through faith, hope, and charity in the mediator of God and men, Jesus Christ, who is as the tree of life in the midst of paradise.

John 10:9 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

John 10:9 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

John 10:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"I am the door." Here it is noted that whoever enters through him enters unto salvation. Therefore he says: "I am the door," through which, namely, one enters unto salvation; and the reason is added: "If any man enter in by me, he shall be saved"; concerning which entrance, Matthew 7: "Enter ye in at the strait gate. How strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life!" because Christ was poor and lowly. Through this small door the rich, full of riches, do not enter; on account of which it is said in Matthew 19: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven." This entrance is through faith and the Sacrament of Baptism; since the former is the gate of the virtues, and the latter of the Sacraments. He who enters in this way shall be saved; Mark, last chapter: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." "And he shall go in and go out and find pasture; he shall go in" through contemplation, which calls back to interior things; "and he shall go out" through action; Numbers 27: "Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, provide a man who may go in and go out before them." Or, as Augustine explains, "he shall go in" to the contemplation of the Divinity, "he shall go out" to the sight of the humanity, "and shall find pasture," because he is nourished in all things: the intellect in the contemplation of the Divinity, and the senses in the contemplation of the humanity; concerning which pastures, Ezekiel 34: "I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel; in the most fertile pastures I will feed them." It is asked concerning what he says, that "he will go out and will find pasture." Against this: "No one putting his hand to the plow should look back"; therefore no one who enters will go out. It must be said that there is a twofold going out: one contrary to entering, and this is a going out from the Church through unbelief; and concerning this the objection is raised, and concerning this Augustine says: "To enter the Church is good, but to go out is the worst"; and concerning this, First John two says: "They went out from us, but they were not of us." The other is from contemplation to action; and this is not of regression, but of exercise. Concerning this the Psalm says: "Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until the evening."

John 10:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal." Here it is noted that Christ himself enters as the true shepherd, not as a thief; on account of which he says: "The thief cometh not, but for to steal," by extorting temporal goods; "and to kill," by temporally afflicting his subjects; "and to destroy," by casting them down to hell through evil example. "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly," that is, to preserve life as a shepherd; that "they might have life," namely, the life of grace, concerning which life, above in chapter 6: "This is the bread descending from heaven, which giveth life unto the world"; "and that they might have it more abundantly," namely, the life of glory, concerning which, below in chapter 17: "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." This is called abundant, because it is said in Luke 6: "Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom."

John 10:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"I am the good shepherd." The Lord showed himself to be the good shepherd with regard to the good shepherd's entrance; here he shows secondly with regard to the good shepherd's affection; and he does this indeed in the following manner. First, Christ's friendship toward his sheep is shown; second, his diligence; third, his providence; fourth, his munificence; fifth, from this, the discord of the Jews. First, therefore, Christ's true friendship toward the sheep is shown in comparison to the love of hirelings, which is not true love. Therefore he says: "I am the good shepherd," and he shows this: "the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep," from the vehement love which he has for them; whence he himself said below in the fifteenth chapter: "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." Such a shepherd was Paul, who said in Second Corinthians twelve: "Most gladly will I spend and be spent for your souls." Not so the hireling; on account of which he says: It is asked concerning what he says: "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep." From this it seems that a prelate is bound to die for his subjects. But against this: To suffer martyrdom is a work of supererogation; but no one is bound to works of supererogation unless he has bound himself by a vow: therefore it seems that a prelate is not bound to this. Likewise it seems that all are bound to this; 1 John 3: "We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." It must be said that to die for the Lord's flock can be in three ways: either for promoting it from good to better, and thus it is a matter of supererogation with respect to all prelates; or for freeing it from imminent danger, and thus every prelate is bound, because he has undertaken the care of the Lord's flock, and "their blood will be required from his hand"; or for one constituted in the extremity of necessity, who cannot escape damnation unless a man exposes himself to death; and thus I say that it is a matter of necessity with respect to all, just as selling one's possessions and giving to the poor when they are in extreme necessity. And the arguments run according to these ways.

John 10:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"But the hireling, and he who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not," because he does not love them, but the profit for which he serves. On this Gregory says: "A hireling is one who holds the place of the shepherd, but does not seek the profit of souls, who yearns for earthly advantages, who rejoices in the honor of prelacy, who is delighted by the reverence shown to him by men"; of whom can be said that word from Matthew 6: "Amen I say to you, they have received their reward." This one, namely, "sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees," because he fears the wolf and does not love the sheep. "The wolf, as Gregory says, comes upon the sheep when any unjust person oppresses the faithful and the humble." Of such wolves, Acts 20: "I know," Paul says, "that after my departure ravenous wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock." At the coming of such a wolf the hireling leaves the sheep; Zechariah 11: "O shepherd and idol, abandoning the flock!" Upon this hireling's flight follows the scattering of the sheep; and therefore he says: "And the wolf seizes and scatters the sheep": Ezekiel 34: "My flocks were scattered over the face of the earth, and there was none who sought them." And the reason for the aforesaid is given, namely the defect of true friendship. It is asked here concerning the hireling, whether he should be cast out and prohibited. That he should be prohibited from the sheep seems to be indicated here, because he is censured. But that he should be tolerated seems to follow: Philippians 1: "Whether by occasion or by truth Christ is announced, in this also I rejoice and shall rejoice." But that he should be praised; Luke 15: "How many hirelings in my father's house abound in bread?" There Ambrose says that they abound in faith, hope, and charity. It must be said that the hireling differs from the thief: because the hireling speaks the truth and preserves the sheep, but the thief speaks falsehood and tears the sheep apart, like a heretic; and this one is entirely to be cast out, but the hireling is to be tolerated. But here there is a twofold distinction: because some serve for a temporal reward, and such a one is to be tolerated, but nevertheless censured: some serve for an eternal reward, and such a one is to be tolerated and approved, but nevertheless is not entirely to be extolled; but one who serves from love alone is to be extolled with praises.

John 10:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"But the hireling flees, because he is a hireling, and the sheep are not his concern," that is, because he loves the reward and not the sheep. Whence Gregory: "He who, in presiding over the sheep, does not love the sheep but seeks earthly gain, cannot stand firm in danger for the sheep." Of such is said Ezekiel 13: "You did not go up against the adversary, nor did you set yourselves as a wall for the house of Israel, to stand in battle on the day of the Lord." Gregory: "He flees, because he kept silent," because he was afraid: for fear is flight.

John 10:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"I am the good shepherd." Here Christ's diligence toward the sheep is noted, which consists in the discernment and knowledge of the sheep, on account of which he calls himself the good shepherd: wherefore he says: "I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and my sheep know me"; and in this is noted his diligence, according to that word of Proverbs 27: "Be diligent to know the countenance of your cattle, and consider your flocks"; 2 Timothy 2: "The Lord knows who are his." This diligence he makes manifest through a comparison; whence he adds:

John 10:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"As the Father knows me, and I know the Father," so, supply, I know my own, and my own know me. Chrysostom: "'As' is a mark of similitude, not of equality," just as below in chapter 17 the Son, praying to the Father for his disciples, says, "that they may be one, as we also are." This diligence he also makes manifest through its effect: whence he says: "And I lay down my life for my sheep." So the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 15: "I die daily for your glory, brethren"; and the Lord himself, Jeremiah 12: "I have given my beloved soul into the hands of the wicked."

John 10:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"And other sheep I have." Here Christ's providence toward the sheep is noted, which consists in the gathering together of his sheep, just as a shepherd gathers the sheep into one, lest they suffer attack. Therefore he says: "And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold," namely the faithful predestined from among the Gentiles: "and them I must bring," as those who are straying: whence First Peter chapter two: "You were as sheep going astray, but are now converted to the shepherd and bishop of your souls." "And they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd," on account of the union of the Church from Jews and Gentiles: whence Ephesians chapter two: "He is our peace, who has made both one," namely Gentiles and Jews into one fold. And he himself is the one shepherd; Ezekiel chapter thirty-four: "I will raise up over them one shepherd, who shall feed them, my servant David." It is asked concerning what he says: "I have other sheep which are not of this fold": because no sheep is a sheep when it is outside the Church, none is innocent. Likewise, how does he say: "It is necessary for me to bring them?" Because Matthew fifteen: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel": therefore he ought not to have brought them. It must be said that he calls those sheep from the Gentiles, not yet called according to present justice, his own, because they were chosen according to eternal predestination. He brought them by the merit of his passion and by the word of preaching, not his own, but of the Apostles, because he himself in his own person had come specially and principally to preach to the Israelite people, to whom he had been promised and by whom he was to be killed. And according to this, that passage of Matthew fifteen is to be understood: "I was not sent," etc.

John 10:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"Therefore the Father loves me." Here Christ's munificence toward the sheep is noted, in this, that he himself, since he was not a debtor to death, not compelled by necessity, but by sheer liberality laid down his life for the sheep; and this at the Father's command, by reason of which he merited the Father's love. Therefore he says: "Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life," namely in death and passion: "that I may take it again," that is, in the resurrection, and thus from power, because it is mine to lay down and mine to take up again. It is asked about what he says: "Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life." Therefore it seems that Christ merited the divine love through his passion. Against this: From the instant of his conception he was worthy to be loved above all. It must be said that he speaks according to the human nature, and "therefore" he states there the meritorious cause, just as in that text: "For which cause God also exalted him." And merit is understood not as making what is unowed into something owed, nor as making what is owed into something more owed; but because what is owed in one way and by one mode, namely by the best interior will, becomes owed in another way, namely by exterior work.

John 10:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"No man takes it from me: but I lay it down of myself," and thus I lay it down freely; whence he says: "And I have power to lay it down," that is, to set it aside, "and I have power to take it again"; whence Isaiah chapter fifty-three: "He was offered because he himself willed it." And why? He gives the reason: because "this commandment I have received from my Father": whence Philippians chapter two: "He became obedient" to the Father "unto death," etc.; whence below in chapter eighteen he said to Peter: "The chalice which the Father has given me, will you not have me drink it?" As if to say: I will to obey. It is asked concerning what he says: "I lay down my life of myself"; because thus everyone seems to do; whence Augustine: "Anyone who dies lays down his life." If you say that he does so by necessity: an objection is raised concerning the Martyr, who dies voluntarily. It must be said that every person lays down his life in one way, the Martyr in another way, and Christ in yet another way: every person by necessity, the Martyr by will, but Christ by will together with power. For the will of the Martyr, even if it is free from dying at that time, is nevertheless not free from dying absolutely: but Christ was entirely free. Likewise there is a question about what he says: "I have power to lay down my life and to take it up again." Either he says this according to the divine nature, or according to the body, which lays down the soul. If according to the divine: then the Divinity dismissed the soul, which is impious to say, and whoever says this is anathema. Or he says it according to the body, and that does not have the power to take it up again. Likewise it is objected: if the body laid down the soul, and as Damascene says, the soul was the medium of uniting the divine nature to the body, then the divine nature laid down the body, which is impious. It must be said that "soul" here means "life": whence the sense is: I have power to lay down my soul, that is, my life, namely to lay it down through death, and I have power to take it up again through resurrection. But if "soul" is taken properly: then Christ is said to lay down his soul, that is, to put it away from the flesh, not because the body does this, but the Son of God himself, who has power over both, namely the soul and the body. As for what is objected concerning the medium, it must be said that there is a medium of distance, of binding, and of fittingness. The soul is not a medium of distance in that union, because the Divinity is immediately united to the body; nor of binding, because it does not bind one with the other; but of fittingness, because the body, by the fact that it is capable of being animated, is able to be united to the Divinity fittingly; and therefore it does not follow that it must be dissolved.

John 10:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"There was a division again." Here the discord of the Jews arising from the Lord's instruction is noted, because some, not understanding, thought that he was mad; others, however, that he was speaking sublime things. Therefore he says: "There was again a division among the Jews, because above there was a division on account of the miracle," above in chapter nine, "on account of these words," because they did not understand; on account of which:

John 10:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"And many of them said: He has a devil and is mad": whence they thought that he was mad. These were of those concerning whom First Corinthians chapter two says: "The sensual man does not perceive the things that are of God; for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because they are spiritually examined." Whence they refused to hear; therefore they say: "Why do you hear him?" Whence the Lord said above in chapter eight: "Because you cannot hear my word."

John 10:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"Others were saying: These are not the words of one having a demon": these were beginning to be illuminated in some way, whence they take refuge in the miracle of illumination: "Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" Chrysostom: "Because they could not shut their mouths with words, they made their demonstration from works"; whence works give credence to words; therefore below in the same chapter: "And if you do not believe me, believe the works."

John 10:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"The feast of the dedication took place in Jerusalem." The Lord showed himself to be the true shepherd with respect to the shepherd's entrance and affection; here, thirdly, he shows this with respect to the sign of the true shepherd, which consists in this: that the sheep recognize him and follow him. And three things are noted here: first, the demand by the Jews for a certain sign; second, the expression of a certain sign, at the text: "Jesus answered them: I speak"; third, from this the persecution by the Jews, at the text: "The Jews took up stones." The demand for a true sign that he was the shepherd and leader in Israel is made by the Jews who inquire, and in the description of their question are indicated the time and the place and the manner of inquiring. As to the time, he says: "The feast of the dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter." It should be noted that the dedication is named from "camon," which means "new," whence "to dedicate," that is, to make new; because at that time the feast of the renewal of the temple was celebrated, which had previously been profaned; and it is said in the plural because this solemnity lasted for eight days; 1 Maccabees 4: "And Judas and his brothers and the whole assembly of Israel decreed that the day of the dedication of the temple should be kept from year to year for eight days."

John 10:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

As to the place: "And Jesus walked in the portico of Solomon," that is, in the place where Solomon had previously built a portico for prayer, which nevertheless had been destroyed.

John 10:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

As to the manner of inquiring, he says: "The Jews therefore surrounded him and said to him: How long do you hold our souls in suspense?" that is, keep us in uncertainty. "If you are the Christ, tell us plainly," give us a certain sign concerning yourself. And in order to extort an answer, they press with both power and malice: power, and therefore "they surrounded him": the Psalm: "Many young bulls have surrounded me," so that he could not escape: the Psalm: "They surrounded me like bees and blazed like fire among thorns." Malice, and therefore they feign a desire to learn: "How long do you hold our souls," etc.: the Psalm: "They mount up to the heavens"; Augustine: "They did not desire the truth, but were preparing a calumny."

John 10:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"Jesus answered them." After the inquiry has been set forth, here is set forth the presentation of a certain sign, and this indeed in the following manner. First, therefore, in the Lord's response is set forth the reproof of the Jews; second, the expression of a certain sign; third, the reason for that sign. The reproof of the unbelief of the Jews is set forth, on account of which he says: "I speak to you, and you do not believe," and therefore you seek foolishly and maliciously; and I speak openly, because not only by word, but by deed: "The works that I do in the name of my Father, they bear witness of me"; above in chapter seven: "When Christ comes, will he do more signs," which you ought to believe?

John 10:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"But you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep"; whence if they were sheep, they would have the sign of their shepherd in word and in deed. Augustine: "He says they are not of his sheep, because he saw them ordained to everlasting destruction, not to be purchased for eternal life by the price of his blood."

John 10:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"My sheep hear my voice." Here the presentation of a certain sign is noted, which indeed consists in this: that he is heard by the sheep, and the sheep follow him, and he himself preserves them; this is certainly the mark of a shepherd. Therefore he says: "My sheep hear my voice," namely by believing, because "faith comes from hearing," Romans chapter ten. "And I know them," by discerning them from the wicked, not by face, but by heart: Hebrews chapter four: "He is the discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and no creature is invisible in his sight; but all things are naked and open to his eyes"; Matthew chapter twenty-five: "I know you not," is said of the wicked; on the contrary, of the good, Second Timothy chapter two: "The Lord knows those who are his." "And they follow me," through imitation: Matthew chapter sixteen: "Whoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

John 10:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"And I give them eternal life," as a good shepherd, by rewarding; above in chapter six: "That everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life"; Ecclesiasticus chapter four: "Wisdom breathed life into her children." "And they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them from my hand," on account of my power. This shepherd was rightly signified by David, who is interpreted as "strong of hand," who snatched the prey from the mouth of the lion and the bear, as is said in First Kings chapter seventeen. It is asked here concerning what he says: "No one shall snatch them from my hand." Are not those who have present justice in the hand of the Son? Yet they are scattered, according to what was said above: "The wolf comes and scatters the sheep." The response to this is that they are snatched away not from the weakness of the guardian, but from the infirmity of the one guarded. Or according to Augustine, "sheep" are here understood according to eternal election, who cannot be snatched away finally. Whence Augustine: "Neither does the wolf snatch, nor does the thief steal, nor does the robber kill: he who has numbered them is secure concerning their number."

John 10:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

Here is noted the third point, namely the approval of that sign, for which a twofold reason is assigned. The first is as follows: what the Father has given Me is greater than all things; but what is greater than all things does not suffer violence; therefore it is impossible that anyone should snatch from My hand. He sets forth the middle term of this argument when He says: "My Father, what He has given Me," that is, that which My Father has given Me, "is greater than all things," because He gave everything that He could: below in chapter sixteen: "All things that the Father has are Mine." The other reason: no one can snatch from the hand of the Father; but My hand and the Father's are one; therefore no one can snatch from My hand. For this reason He says: "No one can snatch from the hand of My Father," because He is omnipotent: the Psalm: "You are terrible, and who shall resist You?" Ecclesiastes 8: "His word is full of power." It is asked concerning what he says: "No one is able to snatch them from the hand of my Father." Therefore those who are in the hand of God, as the predestined, cannot be damned: therefore they do not have the freedom of sinning finally. To this Augustine seems to say simply that they cannot perish, in the book On the Good of Perseverance; nor however does free will perish, just as it also does not perish in those who are confirmed. It must be said, however, that no one can snatch them, because the Father does not permit violence to be done to his elect; whence: "God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able": and the devil cannot do violence to God, so as to tempt his servants beyond what he himself permits. Therefore the freedom of free will to sin remains in them, but the power to do violence and to snatch by force does not remain in the devil.

John 10:29 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The Father witnessed for the Son by voice, and the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove, in order that the witnessing be most solid. For Jesus said: "What My Father has given Me is greater than all."

John 10:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"I and the Father are one: one," namely in the unity of essence; "are," in the plurality of persons; therefore My hand and the Father's are one. Chrysostom: "When you hear 'hand,' do not think of anything sensible, but understand only virtue and power."

John 10:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"They took up stones." After the declaration of the true shepherd has been made through a sure sign, the persecution by the evil sheep, or rather by the wolves, is touched upon, because, just as sheep follow the shepherd, so wolves persecute him. And the persecution is set out in this order: first, the persecution itself; second, the reason for persecuting; third, the prudent defense of Christ; fourth, the avoidance of the fury of the persecutors; fifth, the multiplication of believers. First, the persecution itself is touched upon in this, that they wished to stone Christ; on account of which he says: "The Jews took up stones to stone Him"; but they did not achieve their effect; Augustine: "Because the time of the Passion had not yet come, they did not achieve the effect of the stoning." At once they wished to kill, just as those of whom Proverbs 1 says: "Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed blood."

John 10:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"Jesus answered them." Here the reason for the persecution is noted. And first the Lord shows that they are moved irrationally; therefore He says: "Many good works I have shown you from My Father; for which of those works do you stone Me?" That is, for which work of those, that is, from among them; it is a partitive construction: the Psalm: "They repaid Me evil for good"; Proverbs 17: "He who returns evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house." But malice, which lurks under a sheep's skin, assigns a reason; whence:

John 10:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"The Jews answered him: We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy," because, Leviticus twenty-four: "he who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely die." And they show in what he blasphemes: "And because you, being a man, make yourself God": and thus a man, making himself God, blasphemes, because he says there are many gods. And this is against the Law of the Jews, in which it was commanded to believe and confess one God alone. Concerning a similar matter, Matthew twenty-six: "You have heard the blasphemy! What further need have we of witnesses?" He did not make himself God from being a man, but since he was God, he was made man: Philippians two: "He did not consider it robbery to be equal to God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men and found in appearance as a man."

John 10:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"Jesus answered them." Here his prudent self-defense is noted, in which the Lord shows that he did not blaspheme, by a twofold testimony, namely of the Scriptures and of works. By the testimony of the Scriptures thus: Scripture calls "gods" those to whom God has spoken; but much more is he to be called "god" whom the Father has sanctified and sent: therefore if Scripture does not blaspheme, neither do I. "Is it not written in your Law: I said: you are gods?" "Law" is here taken broadly, insofar as it comprehends the Psalms, in which it is written. It is asked concerning the Lord's response: because the Lord had called himself God and the Son of God, he showed that he did not blaspheme, through Scripture, which calls the servants of God "gods." This response seems to be worth nothing, because Scripture calls them "gods by adoption"; but he was calling himself "God by essence": whence he said: "I and the Father are one." It must be said to this that when the Lord was disputing with the Jews, sometimes he responded to the argument, sometimes he responded to the man, because "one who entirely opposes must be entirely opposed." Whence when they asked by what authority he acted, and the Lord responded: "Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men?" he bound them with his own question, Matthew twenty-one. So also now he responds to the man, in order to mitigate their anger, just as above in chapter eight he confuted their malice: "Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone at her." It can however be said that he truly responded most excellently, because, since this name "god" is said in three ways: by nature, by participation, and by appellation, as in idols; this multiplicity has its origin from one root, just as the multiplicity of the term "healthy." Whence in the truest manner he is called God by nature, but in a lesser manner of speaking by participation, and least of all by appellation, because only according to estimation. Because therefore they were accusing him on the ground that he had attributed the name of "god" to himself: he proves that he can attribute it to himself without blasphemy; because, if a friend or adoptive son of God is called "god," and God is truly honored without blasphemy: much more so he who is Son by nature: and this is an argument from the lesser.

John 10:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"If he called them gods, to whom the word of God was made," such as the Prophets and other Saints: Ezekiel one: "And the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest," etc.; "and Scripture cannot be broken," that is, it cannot be charged with falsehood or reproved of blasphemy: Matthew five: "One iota or one tittle shall not pass from the Law, until all things be fulfilled."

John 10:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"Whom the Father has sanctified," that is, "begot as holy," "and sent into the world," he did not call him from the world and the darkness of the world, as he did other Saints: "you say: You blaspheme, because I said: I am the Son of God?" As if to say: you speak irrationally. "For if the illuminated are gods, is not the light which illuminates, God?" The Lord was not blaspheming, but they themselves were, who said of God that he was not God. Whence the Lord said, Matthew twelve: "Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven, neither in this age nor in the age to come"; whence they all deserved to be stoned. Then he shows the same thing, that he did not blaspheme, by the testimony of works, which declare him equal to the Father. Therefore he says:

John 10:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"If I do not do the works of my Father," namely works of omnipotence; "do not believe me," that is, when I say that I am equal to the Father; Exodus four, Moses said: "They will not believe me and will not hear my voice, but will say," etc.; and therefore the Lord gave him signs.

John 10:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"But if I do, and if you will not believe me," that is, my word: "believe the works," that is, through the works believe in me, "that you may believe and know that the Father is in me, and I in the Father": and thus that what I said above is true: "I and the Father are one." "That you may believe," that is, by believing "may know," because, according to what Isaiah says in chapter seven, according to another reading, "unless you believe, you will not understand"; below in chapter fourteen he says to Philip: "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves."

John 10:39 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"They sought therefore to apprehend him." Here the avoidance of the persecutors is noted, because the time for suffering had not yet arrived: therefore he says: "They sought therefore to apprehend him," but they could not: whence he says: "And he went forth out of their hands." A similar thing is said in Luke chapter four: "But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way," when they wished to cast him down headlong.

John 10:40 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"And he went away again beyond the Jordan, to the place where John was baptizing at first," concerning which place it is said above in chapter three: "John was baptizing in Aenon." "And he remained there," namely in quiet; Chrysostom: "He teaches us to flee tumults and to pray in quiet"; "he remained," hidden from the Jews, according to that passage in Deuteronomy chapter thirty-two: "I will hide my face from them."

John 10:41 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"And many came to him." Here the multiplication of the faithful resulting from his withdrawal is noted: on account of which he says: "And many came to him," namely through faith; Isaiah chapter sixty: "Your sons shall come from afar"; "and they said: John indeed performed no sign": by which he might show himself to be the Christ; but he only bore witness concerning Christ. It is asked about what they say: "John indeed performed no sign": Because it is said in Luke one: "He shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah": therefore if the power of Elijah was in working miracles, it seems that the Lord ought to have given him the power of miracles. Likewise, if there was none greater than John, and the Lord gave the power of miracles to the disciples who bore witness concerning him; why not similarly also to John? It must be said that John was considered by many to be the Christ, as is clear from the first chapter; therefore, for men who judge by the senses, there had to be a sensible difference between John and Christ so that they could discern between them; but it ought not to have been in holiness of life, because it is necessary that a faithful witness be regarded as holy: therefore it was necessary that it be in the power of miracles. To the objection concerning "spirit and power," it must be said that the word of Elijah was fiery; so too was the word of John, as the Lord Himself said above in the fifth chapter: "He was a burning and shining lamp." To the objection concerning the disciples, it must be said that concerning none of the disciples was there any suspicion that he was the Christ; and because it was evident to all that they had followed Christ, everything that was in them — of holiness, of power, and of knowledge — they attributed to the Master. But John had not followed the Lord nor been His disciple.

John 10:42 — Commentary on John, Chapter 10

"But all things whatsoever John said of this man were true. And," thus led by this twofold testimony, "many believed in him," according to what the Lord himself had said above in the same chapter: "And if you do not believe me, at least believe the works"; "many," according to that passage of the Psalm: "I shall number them, and they shall be multiplied above the sand"; and Genesis chapter seventeen: "You shall be the father of many nations."

John 11:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Now a certain man was sick, etc. Above the Lord showed himself to be the healer and preserver and director; here he shows himself to be the perfect restorer; which is accomplished in the renewed conjunction of soul and body; and this he shows in the raising of Lazarus after four days; and this part continues until near the end of the chapter, at: The chief priests therefore gathered, etc. The condition therefore of the sick man is described by name, when it says: Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus; by homeland, when it adds: from Bethany, to which place the Lord was accustomed to come; by kindred, when it adds: from the town of Mary and Martha, his sisters; Luke 10: "Jesus entered a certain town, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house." And he describes Mary in particular. Question. But it is asked here first concerning what is said in the text, that Lazarus was from the village of Mary and Martha, his sisters. For since the head of the woman is the man, it should rather be said conversely: Martha and Mary from the village of Lazarus. It must be said to this that Mary and Martha are not without reason introduced here as the principal persons, because although they were women by sex, nevertheless they surpassed Lazarus in firmness of soul and in virtue; because it was also by the merit of their faith, as will be clear below, that Lazarus was raised. Whence it should be noted that the Evangelist says two things: of the village of Mary and Martha, so as to place them before him in virtue; of his sisters, so as to place them after him in the frailty of sex.

John 11:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, in which her devotion is wonderfully praised; below in chapter 12: "Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, costly"; Luke 7: "Behold, a woman brought an alabaster jar of ointment." Whose brother Lazarus was sick, by whose prayers also he was raised, as is noted below in the same chapter: "Jesus therefore, when he saw Mary weeping." Question. Likewise Chrysostom inquires concerning the identification of this Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, whether she was that sinful woman of whom it is said in Luke 7 that she anointed the feet of the Lord in the house of Simon the leper. And he responds that she is not that woman, because this one was a good and reputable woman, but that one was a harlot. But the Gloss says the contrary, and likewise Gregory. It must be said that we should assent to the Gloss and Gregory on this point. But as to the fact that Chrysostom holds the contrary, it must be said that it is not unfitting for commentators to hold contrary opinions, especially concerning the names of persons, because no essential point depends on it.

John 11:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

His sisters therefore sent. Here is touched upon the second point, namely the announcement of the illness made by the sisters of Lazarus to the Lord; on account of which he says: His sisters therefore sent to him, saying: Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. They call him Lord, not Teacher, because they were seeking a miracle, not instruction; as if they were saying: Lord, you who are powerful; Matthew 8: "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." And they express the reason for aid: Behold, he whom you love; Psalm: "Let them trust in you who know your name, for you have not forsaken those who seek you, O Lord." And there is urgent need: he is sick, therefore have mercy; Psalm: "Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak." Question. Likewise it is asked concerning this, that the women sending to Jesus did not make a request, but only intimated. It seems that they either neglected the welfare of their brother, or showed contempt for the Lord. I respond: It must be said that those most excellent and faithful women knew the power of Christ, and therefore did not ask him to come, as the royal official asked; they reverenced his majesty, and therefore did not dare to ask that he command from there and it be done here, as the centurion did; they hoped in his goodness, and therefore they intimated: Behold, he whom you love is sick. Whence Master Hugo says that intimation is one species of prayer, which is made in three ways: by confidence, as the Mother of the Lord, above in chapter two; by reverence, as here, as Hugo of Saint Victor himself says; by contempt, as a proud master sometimes does concerning a servant.

John 11:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

But when Jesus heard it, he said to them. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the reason for the infirmity, which the Lord intimates to those seeking healing; on account of which he said to them: This infirmity is not unto death, but for the glory of God. He says this according to the divine dispensation; on account of which he adds: That the Son of God may be glorified by it, that is, that through this work he may manifest his glory, because in the raising he manifested his power, and through this his glory; whence above in chapter two: "This sign Jesus performed and manifested his glory" before his disciples. But why glory was to be manifested in him, the Evangelist secretly hints: on account of a special love toward those persons. There is a manifold infirmity, namely that of the grace of virtue, to be embraced: and this is fourfold: of humility: Proverbs 30: "The ants are a feeble people, who prepare their food in the summer"; 1 Corinthians 1: "God chose the weak things of the world and the contemptible things," etc.; Matthew 11: "Because you have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and have revealed them to little ones." Of penitence; Ecclesiasticus 31: "A grievous sickness makes the soul sober"; concerning this in the Psalm: "Who heals the broken of heart and binds up their wounds," or infirmities, of theirs, according to another reading. Of patience; 2 Corinthians 12: "Power is made perfect in infirmity," namely of patience, because James 1: "Patience has a perfect work." Therefore it is said in 2 Corinthians 12: "Gladly will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me." Of fellow-suffering or compassion; 2 Corinthians 11: "Who is weak, and I am not weak?" and 1 Corinthians 9: "I became weak to the weak, that I might gain the weak." Likewise, there is an infirmity of the perversity of fault, to be fled: and this is fourfold, namely of cupidity: Ecclesiastes 5: "There is also another most grievous infirmity that I have seen under the sun: riches gathered to the harm of their owner, for they perish in most grievous affliction." Of carnal pleasure; Isaiah 24: "The vintage has mourned, the vine has grown weak, all who rejoiced in heart have groaned." Of pride; Isaiah 24: "The height of the people of the earth has been weakened, and the earth has been polluted by its inhabitants." Of obstinacy; Deuteronomy 7: "The Lord will take away all sicknesses, and the most grievous infirmities of Egypt, which you have known, He will not bring upon you." The infirmities of Egypt are obstinacies in evil. Likewise, there is an infirmity of the difficulty of following, to be relieved: and this is fourfold: for resisting the evil of fault; Lamentations 1: "My strength has been weakened; the Lord has given me into a hand from which I cannot rise"; and Isaiah 40: "The youths shall fall in their infirmity." For enduring the evil of punishment; 1 Thessalonians, last chapter: "Comfort the fainthearted, support the weak": against which Ezekiel 34: "That which was weak you did not strengthen." For undertaking the good: Ecclesiasticus 31: "In all your works be swift, and no infirmity shall come upon you"; Romans 14: "But receive him who is weak in faith." For persevering in the good: 1 Kings 2: "She who had many children has grown weak." All these infirmities are to be relieved; Romans 8: "The Spirit Himself helps our infirmity." Likewise, there is an infirmity of the passibility of punishment, to be borne: and this is fourfold, namely of that contracted on account of transgression; the Psalm: "Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your infirmities"; Romans 14: "Let him who is weak eat herbs." Of that assumed for our redemption; Isaiah 53: "We saw him the lowest of men, a man of sorrows and knowing infirmity." Of that inflicted for purgation; the Psalm: "Their infirmities were multiplied; afterwards they hastened." Of that brought about for the manifestation of divine glory, as above in…

John 11:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary and Lazarus. He loved them because they loved him, according to that text of Proverbs 8: "I love those who love me"; nor is it a wonder, because, Wisdom 11, "you love all things that are, O Lord, and you hate nothing of what you have made."

John 11:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

When therefore he heard. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the delay of the cure. For although he wished to cure, he did not however wish to do so immediately, but preferred to wait. Therefore he says: When therefore he heard, that is, after he heard that he was sick, then indeed he remained in the same place two days. Therefore the Lord, called by friends, did not come immediately, but waits, so that he may be sought more urgently and more ardently: Colossians 4: "Be instant in prayer, watching therein." Question. Likewise it is asked concerning this, that the Lord remained two days and waited. It seems that he ought not to have done so, because he was a friend; and in Proverbs 3 it is said: "Do not say to your friend: Go, and come again; tomorrow I will give to you, when you can give at once." I respond: It must be said that he delayed so that he might do something greater than healing the sick, and something more acceptable. For it was greater to raise the dead than to heal the sick. Moreover, he delayed for greater certainty of the miracle, because, as Chrysostom says, it was now certain that he was not in a stupor but truly dead; for a greater manifestation of power, because it was also greater to unite the soul to a body already putrefied than to one only recently dead. He himself, however, considers the fitting time in all his works.

John 11:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Then after these things he said to his disciples. After the announcement of the illness has been made, the arrival of the Physician is described here. First, therefore, is noted Christ's security, on account of which he exhorts his fearful disciples, saying: Then after these things he said to his disciples, namely Jesus: Let us go into Judea again. He exhorted them for this reason, because they were fearful; and this is evident from their response.

John 11:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

The disciples say to him: Rabbi, just now the Jews were seeking to stone you, that is, it is still recent: above in chapter 10: "The Jews took up stones to stone him." And you go there again? As if to say: we should not go. Peter said something similar to the Lord in Matthew 16: "Far be it from you, Lord; this shall not happen to you." He was dissuading Jesus from death and was rebuked, because the Lord had foretold that he would die, and yet he was dissuading him and wanted to draw him back from his purpose. But these disciples did not know at that time that he willed to die; and therefore they are instructed and strengthened, so that they might not fear.

John 11:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Jesus answered: Are there not twelve hours of the day? in which, namely, to walk is good and safe; whence he says: If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. This light is Christ: above in chapter 8: "I am the light of the world." He who walks after this light does not stumble, because, as is said above in chapter 8, "he who follows me does not walk in darkness"; and therefore he does not stumble. Therefore Wisdom says in Proverbs 4: "I will lead you through the paths of equity, which when you have entered, your steps shall not be straitened, and running you shall have no stumbling block." Spiritually, three things are to be noted: first, what does it mean that Lazarus is loved by the Lord? Second, what does it mean that he grows sick, dies, and is found four days dead? Third, what does it mean that the Lord exhorts his disciples to walk in the day? Lazarus is interpreted as helped by the Lord. He signifies the man who has helping grace, according to that passage of Isaiah chapter forty-nine: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you." He loves the Lord, and therefore is also loved: Proverbs chapter eight: "I love those who love me." This Lazarus grows sick in the delight of sin, concerning which sickness Ecclesiasticus chapter ten says: "A prolonged sickness burdens the physician": because it scarcely happens that lingering delight does not plunge one into mortal sin. But he dies in consent, because then sin is consummated interiorly: James chapter one: "Concupiscence, when it has conceived, brings forth sin; but sin, when it has been consummated, begets death." And he becomes four days dead and foul-smelling, when from consent one arrives at the deed, from the deed to habit, from habit to shamelessness of sin, when the forehead of a harlot becomes the man's, so that he no longer wishes to blush; and then he is foul-smelling, because now his sin spreads to others: Amos 4: "I made the stench of your camps rise up into your nostrils," etc. To raise this sinner from the dead, the Lord stirs up his disciples, whom he had also ordained as prelates: Proverbs 6: "Run about, make haste, rouse your friend." And he exhorts that they walk by day. Day is called the time of meriting, because when the sun rises, man goes out to his work, and the demons hide themselves: Psalm: "The sun has risen, and they were gathered together," etc.; and afterward: "Man shall go forth to his work," etc. This day lasts from the coming of Christ until the day of judgment; because above in chapter nine: "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world"; and he himself is in the world until the consummation of the age; Matthew, last chapter: "Behold, I am with you all days until the consummation of the age." And this must be done, so that sinners may be raised: Galatians 6: "Let us work good toward all, but especially toward those of the household of faith." The twelve hours of this day can be called the twelve states of Christ, concerning which was treated above in chapter four. Or they can be called the twelve Apostles, who were also signified by the twelve stones, by the twelve springs at Elim, by the twelve oxen around the bronze sea of Solomon, by the twelve precious stones, and now by the twelve hours. Or the twelve hours are the twelve virtues which were in Christ, namely the four cardinal virtues, one theological virtue, and the seven gifts. Or the twelve hours are called the twelve fruits of the Spirit, concerning which Revelation 22: "The tree of life bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month."

John 11:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

But if he walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him; Matthew 15: "If the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit"; on account of which it is said below in chapter 12: "Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you."

John 11:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

These things he said, and after this he said to them. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the necessity of coming on account of Lazarus, who, being dead, could not be raised except by him. Therefore he says: Lazarus our friend sleeps: but I go, that I may awaken him from sleep: he speaks most properly, because for God to die is to sleep; whence Augustine says: "To men he was dead, who could not raise him: but to the Lord he was sleeping, who awakened him from the tomb with such ease as you do not use to awaken one sleeping from a bed"; therefore the Lord said in Matthew 9: "The girl is not dead, but sleeps." But the disciples did not understand this.

John 11:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Lord, if he sleeps, he will be well, because in acute illnesses sleep is a good sign. And they said this, not understanding.

John 11:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

But Jesus had spoken of death, yet they thought that he was speaking of the repose of sleep: whence they were deceived, as the Evangelist indicates, by the equivocation of sleeping. On account of which it must be understood that there is a fourfold sleeping, namely of sloth: Proverbs 6: "How long, O sluggard, will you sleep?" 1 Thessalonians 5: "Let us not sleep, but let us watch and be sober." Of guilt; Ephesians 5: "Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you"; 1 Corinthians 11: "Many among you are weak and infirm, and many sleep." Of rest: Matthew 26: "And he found them sleeping": and it is added that he said to them: "Sleep now and take your rest." Of death; 1 Thessalonians 4: "We would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who sleep, that you may not grieve, as do also the rest, who have no hope"; Job 27: "The rich man, when he shall sleep, shall carry nothing with him."

John 11:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Then Jesus said to them. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the benefit to the disciples: therefore he repeats the death of Lazarus openly, because they did not grasp it when spoken obscurely. Therefore then Jesus said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead: therefore plainly, because, as is said in Matthew 13, "to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven."

John 11:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

But I am glad for your sakes, that is, for your benefit, that you may believe, because I was not there; this does not refer to faith, but to the joy, I am glad, namely, because I was not there, so that afterwards from our coming your faith may be strengthened. Therefore he says: But let us go to him, on account of safety and the need of Lazarus and your benefit. The reason why he was coming was because he was a friend: below in chapter 14: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and will make our abode with him."

John 11:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Therefore Thomas said. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the courage of Thomas, even unto dying together; therefore he says: Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, as one long doubting, said: Let us also go, that we may die with him. Chrysostom asks: How did Thomas say this? And he says that he said it out of fear; but it is better to say that he said it out of courage, that is, emboldened by the Lord's exhortation, and he spoke both wisely and bravely; whence Second Timothy chapter two: "If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him."

John 11:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Therefore Jesus came. Here the fifth point is touched upon, namely the delay of time; for this was done by divine dispensation: whence he found him not only dead, but decaying, so that the miracle might be more certain, more wondrous, and more glorious; and therefore he adds: And he found him already having four days in the tomb, and thus already decaying: below in the same chapter: "Lord, he already stinks, for he has been dead four days."

John 11:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Now Bethany was. Here the last point is touched upon, namely the convenience of the place. For because it was near Jerusalem, many Jews had come who would be witnesses of the miracle. The reason, moreover, why they had come was the convenience or proximity of the place. On account of the convenience he says: Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away. A stadium is the eighth part of a mile, and thus the place was nearby.

John 11:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Now many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother; because at that time there was much sorrow over the dead, but after the death of Christ there ought to be consolation concerning the good who have died: because "blessed are the dead who die in the Lord"; therefore First Thessalonians chapter four: "We do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve as do the rest, who have no hope."

John 11:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Martha therefore, when she heard. Above, two antecedents to the miracle were determined, namely the announcement of the illness and the coming of the Physician: here the third is touched upon, namely the intercession of faith, which indeed merited the raising of Lazarus. This moreover was the faith and devotion of the two sisters, namely Martha and Mary. Martha's solicitude is indicated in this, that she herself went to meet the Lord: she did not wait for him to come all the way to the house; therefore it says: Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet him. In this it is clear that Martha was very solicitous, but on the contrary Mary was quiet; whence it says: But Mary sat at home, quiet, namely. For this reason it is said in Luke 10: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things: Mary has chosen the best part." Most fittingly, by Martha going out to meet him is signified the active life: Isaiah 21: "Go to meet the fugitive with bread"; by Mary sitting at home, the contemplative life: whence Lamentations 3 concerning the contemplative man: "He shall sit solitary and hold his peace, because he has lifted himself above himself."

John 11:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Martha therefore said. Here the second point is touched upon, namely Martha's faithful confession, in which she confesses the Lord to be powerful and benign, so that he both could and would deliver and now raise him; therefore she says: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died: because you would have willed and been able to deliver him; but even now you can raise him.

John 11:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

But even now I know, that is, I hold with firm faith, that whatever you shall ask of God, God will give you. Augustine: "I know that you can; if you will, you do it; but whether you do it is a matter of your judgment, not of my presumption." She did not dare to ask so great a thing, lest she suffer a refusal; but by expressing her faith she intimated her desire. Not only does God give what Christ asks, but also what is asked in his name; below in chapter 16: "If you shall ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you."

John 11:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Jesus says to her. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the amplification of the faithful confession. For Martha had confessed that the Lord could obtain her brother's resurrection; but the Lord wishes to lead her to this, that she confess that Christ can raise the dead; on account of which he says with authority: Your brother shall rise again.

John 11:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. She knew this from the Law: Daniel 12: "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake"; she knew it through the teaching of Christ: above in chapter 6: "I will raise him up at the last day." But because she had not yet confessed that he would rise by the power of Christ, therefore she is instructed concerning this.

John 11:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Jesus says to her: I am the resurrection and the life: the predication is causal, that is, I cause to rise again and to live; 1 Corinthians 15: "Christ is risen from the dead, the firstfruits of those who sleep, for since by a man came death, by a man also comes the resurrection of the dead." And he makes this manifest: He who believes in me, even if he be dead, shall live: and thus I cause to rise again; above in chapter 5: "The hour comes and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live."

John 11:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Not only do I make the dead rise, but I also make the living live: whence: And everyone who lives and believes in me shall not die forever; above in the sixth chapter: "Everyone who sees the Son and believes in him has eternal life." And because "with the heart one believes unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation," therefore he says: Do you believe this?

John 11:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

She said to him: Yes, Lord, this I believe, that you do this: I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into this world; and thus you are able to raise up and give life, because, above in the fifth chapter, "just as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son also to have life in himself." She confesses in this both his divinity and his humanity: because as Son of God, you are able; because you have come, you will do it: for to this end you were sent. Question. But it is asked here: why does the Lord so diligently seek Martha's confession of faith in the resurrection, when he knew that she faithfully believed? And what was the necessity? It must be said that the faith of Lazarus's sisters obtained his raising; and because faith is more certain and firm when we confess with the mouth, therefore he sought the confession of the mouth. Question. But then it is asked, to which virtue it more belongs to obtain a miracle? And that it belongs to faith, it seems, because below in the same chapter: "Did I not say to you: If you believe, you will see the glory of God?" Likewise, Mark 9: "If you can believe, all things are possible to the one who believes"; and in the same place it is said that the Lord told the Apostles that they could not cast out the demon because of their unbelief. And the Apostle in First Corinthians 13: "If I should have faith, so as to move mountains." But that it belongs to hope, it seems, because in Matthew 9 it is said to her: "Take courage, daughter"; therefore it seems that it belongs to confidence; but confidence belongs to hope. That it belongs to charity, however, seems clear: because it is charity's role to unite one to God and to make one a friend, and such persons are most worthy to be heard. I respond: It must be said that because a miracle is obtained not only by the good but also by the wicked, it is obtained by that virtue which is common to both good and wicked. Now faith and hope can be such: therefore a miracle belongs to faith as its originating principle, but to hope as its consummating principle. And because confidence embraces both, properly speaking, the obtaining of a miracle belongs to confidence. Note that the working of a miracle is owed to faith, because faith is common: because first it elevates the intellect; because it has the capacity to consider omnipotence.

John 11:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

And when she had said these things. Having set forth the faithful confession of Martha, there is set forth here the faithful confession of Mary. First is set forth the haste of Mary when called, in which is signified repose and devotion in Mary: repose, because she did not come unless called by Martha; for this reason he says: And when she had said these things, she went and called her sister Mary in silence. Lamentations 3: "It is good to wait in silence for the salvation of God." She called her, I say, by the command of the Lord: Revelation, last chapter: "And let him who hears say: Come." And this is indicated because she called, saying: The Master is here and calls you. Although this was not previously stated for the sake of brevity, nevertheless it must be understood to have been so. Job 14: "You will call me, and I will answer you."

John 11:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

She, as soon as she heard, arose quickly and came to him; she did not wait for him to come, but she herself ran swiftly before he entered.

John 11:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

For Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was still in that place where Martha had met him. In this is signified that a man called by the Lord ought to hasten, as the good disciples did, of whom it is said in Matthew 4: "Immediately, leaving their nets, they followed him." Whence also that man is reproved in Luke 9, who said: "Let me first go and bury my father." Ecclesiasticus 31: "In all your works be swift." And Proverbs 18: "He who is soft and slack in his work is the brother of him who wastes his own works."

John 11:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

The Jews therefore. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the association of the Jews: and the reason for associating was the desire to console; therefore he says: The Jews therefore, who were with her in the house and were consoling her: they had come for this purpose; when they saw Mary, that she rose quickly and went out, as if touched by grief, unable to endure for long, they followed her, saying: She is going to the tomb, to weep there. Therefore they followed, in order to console her, concerning which consolation Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight says: "Console him on account of his sorrow, and mourn according to his merit for one day or two, on account of detraction."

John 11:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Mary therefore, when she had come. Here the third point is touched upon, namely Mary's faithful and devout confession: on account of which he says: Mary therefore, when she had come where Jesus was, seeing him, fell at his feet: behold, devotion, always at the feet of the Lord; whence Luke 7: "Mary standing behind near the feet of the Lord"; and the tenth: "Sitting near the feet of the Lord, she heard his word." It is not read of Martha that she fell at his feet, because she was not so devout nor so fervent as Mary; Deuteronomy thirty-three: "Those who draw near to his feet shall receive of his teaching." And there is added the faithful confession: And she said to him: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died; in which she intimates the power of the Lord, as her sister had done before; but the former said more, namely that he would still raise him, if he willed; and the latter out of reverence was silent and out of devotion wept and moved the Lord more greatly, as will be evident below. In which it is intimated that the Lord hears the groaning of the heart more than the sound of the mouth; Gregory: "To pray truly is to utter bitter groanings in compunction and not polished words"; whence in First Kings one it is said that Hannah wept abundantly and prayed silently.

John 11:33 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

John 11:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping. Above, three preliminaries to the wondrous raising were set forth; here the fourth is presented, which is the compassion of hearing: for the Lord was moved by compassion to hear and to raise Lazarus. The compassion of the one who hears is noted in this, that Christ wept and grieved at the weeping of Mary and the Jews: therefore he says: When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, namely Mary, and the Jews who had come with her, weeping. He saw, namely with the eye of compassion: 4 Kings 20: "I have heard your prayer and seen your tears." He groaned in spirit and troubled himself, having compassion on them: and from this compassion he draws near. Question. But here it is first asked concerning what he says, that Jesus troubled himself. The contrary seems to be the case: From what is said in Isaiah 42: "He shall not be sad nor turbulent." If you say that he troubled himself voluntarily, not involuntarily, as we do, then it is objected: Because perturbation darkens the eye of the mind: therefore if in Christ the eye of the mind could not be darkened, then he could not be perturbed. Likewise, when perturbation is voluntary, then it belongs not only to sensuality but also to reason, and the perturbation is complete: therefore if Christ was voluntarily perturbed, it is evident from this that he was fully perturbed. I respond: It must be said that disturbance is in one way a passion, as Jerome says, and in another way a propassion: a passion, insofar as it ascends into reason; a propassion, insofar as it remains in sensuality: and this can be in two ways: because it is either in the one sensing by necessity, who cannot do otherwise; or by will. Thus therefore perturbation is threefold, namely of reason, and this is evil and in the wicked; of sensuality, and this by necessity in the good, and by will in Christ. What is therefore said: He shall not be sad nor turbulent, is to be understood of that which belongs to reason, or of involuntary sensuality. As to the objection that that which belongs to sensuality darkens the mind, at least for a time: it must be said that this is true where there is necessity: but in Christ it arose only insofar as he willed according to the dictate of reason. As to the objection that voluntary perturbation is complete: this is understood of when reason disturbs itself.

John 11:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

He said: Where have you laid him? They say to him: Lord, come and see: and there follows the manifestation of compassion.

John 11:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

And Jesus wept: whence from seeing arises disturbance, from disturbance drawing near, from drawing near the expression of grief and compassion. Job 30: "I wept for him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor"; Luke 19: "When Jesus saw the city, he wept over it." He wept when he saw Mary weeping; Romans 12: "Weep with those who weep"; and this compassion was a sign of grief, and grief a sign of love. Question. Likewise it is asked concerning the fact that Christ wept. For either he willed that Lazarus be dead, or he did not: if so, then he wept fictitiously; if not, then his will was discordant from the divine will, and he willed something that he did not bring about. I respond: There was a threefold human will in Christ, namely of reason, of natural affection, and of sensuality, as Hugh says; and by the will of natural affection, which is a velleity, he willed something which nevertheless he did not will absolutely; and on account of this he suffered compassion and wept, as he wept over Jerusalem. It should be understood, however, that Christ did not weep on account of the death of Lazarus, but on account of our misery, which was signified in the death of Lazarus. Whence we read that the Lord wept first at the raising of Lazarus, and then he bewailed human infirmity. Second, over Jerusalem, Luke nineteen, and then he bewailed our blindness; whence: If you also had known. Third, on the cross; Hebrews five: Offering with tears; and then he bewailed our malice. These are the three origins of sins and the three punishments inflicted upon us for sins, which were mitigated by the merit of his tears.

John 11:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

The Jews therefore said: Behold, how he loved him, because he wept over his death: and they spoke truly, according to what is said in Wisdom 11: "Lord, you love all things that are, and you hate nothing of what you have made," and afterward: "They are yours, O Lord, who love souls." But from this they fell into doubt: for since one who loves another does not wish him to die, it seemed to them that he had died against his will, and they marveled.

John 11:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

But some of them said: Could not he who opened the eyes of the man born blind, above in the ninth chapter, have caused that this man should not die? They speak doubtingly, because they seem to have reason on both sides. And indeed he well could have, because, Ecclesiastes 8, "whatever he wills, he shall do"; and Luke 1: "No word shall be impossible with God." But if he had not died, the glory of God would not be manifested in him: therefore this man died, just as that man was born blind: above in the ninth chapter: "Neither did this man sin nor his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him"; therefore he was born blind, so Lazarus died.

John 11:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Jesus therefore again groaning. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the sign of being heard, which is manifested in this, that he came to the tomb and caused the stone to be removed: and compassion moved him to do these things. Therefore he says: Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, through compassion, came to the tomb. And because he had come to raise him, therefore he commanded the tomb to be opened, because it was closed: therefore he says: Now it was a cave, and a stone was laid upon it, namely to keep away the stench.

John 11:39 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Jesus said: Take away the stone. And because Martha was concerned about the Lord with respect to sensible and corporeal things: therefore: Martha, the sister of him who had died, said to him: Lord, he already stinks: therefore it should not be opened: for he has been dead four days. And because Martha believed that the Lord wished to see him out of compassion, not to raise him by his power.

John 11:40 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Jesus said to her: Did I not say to you that if you believe, you shall see the glory of God? that is, the greatness of the divine power: Acts 7: "When Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazing into heaven, saw the glory of God." And in this they knew that he had not caused it to be opened in order to see the dead man, but in order to raise him.

John 11:41 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

They therefore took away the stone, in which act a manifestation was already made that the Lord wished to raise him: therefore then they believed and merited to obtain: whence it is said to Mary in Luke 1: "Blessed are you who believed, because the things that were spoken to you by the Lord shall be fulfilled in you." But Jesus, lifting up his eyes, etc. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the power of being heard in Christ, which is intimated from his words, in which he shows that he was heard and is always heard and does not ask the Father out of powerlessness: on account of which he says: But Jesus, lifting up his eyes to heaven, said: Father, I give you thanks, because you have heard me: he gives thanks for the hearing, not because the Father heard him then and not at other times.

John 11:42 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

But I knew that you always hear me: Hebrews 5: "Offering prayers and supplications to God with tears and a loud cry, he was heard because of his reverence." Therefore I did not ask or give thanks as one in need; but on account of the people standing around, I said it, that they may believe that you sent me: and I in my works am not contrary to you, but in all things concordant: above in chapter eight: "As the Father has taught me, so I speak; and he who sent me is with me and has not left me alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to him." And thus he gave thanks and prayed, not on account of powerlessness, but to intimate his concord with God, concerning which above in chapter five: "The Son can do nothing of himself, except what he has seen the Father doing; for whatever things he does, these the Son likewise does." Question. Likewise it is asked concerning this, that he prayed: because he prayed insofar as he was man; and insofar as he prayed, he raised: therefore insofar as he was man he raised: therefore his manner of raising does not differ from the manner of Peter. I respond: As is clear in the text, he neither prayed nor gave thanks in order to receive the power of raising, as others did, nor in order to make himself believed to be less than the Father; because, as Chrysostom says, this was not necessary; but in order to show himself in conformity with God and his power not discordant from the Father. Therefore what he objects—that he raised insofar as he prayed—is false: because he raised insofar as he was God, and prayed insofar as he was man.

John 11:43 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

When he had said these things, etc. The preambles to the wondrous raising of Lazarus have been set forth; here are set forth the concomitants and consequences. First is set forth the powerful calling of Lazarus himself. The authoritative calling of Lazarus is indicated in this, that he cried out with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth: he speaks imperiously: Come, and cries out with a loud voice, because at his voice the general resurrection will take place, according to what was foretold above in the fifth chapter: "The hour comes, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who have done good shall come forth to the resurrection of life, but those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment."

John 11:44 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

And immediately he came forth. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the raising of Lazarus at the Lord's command: on account of which he says: And immediately he who had been dead came forth; in which is noted the obedience of the creature to the Creator; Mark 4: "Who, do you think, is this, that the wind and the sea obey him?" Origen: "While all things obey the Creator, the rational creature alone is found disobedient." Nor did the bonds hinder him; whence he says: Bound hand and foot with wrappings. Bound: this is a synecdochical construction: with wrappings, that is, with bandages in which the hands and feet were wrapped; and his face was bound with a cloth; and therefore he came forth not by his own movement, but by divine power. Christ used this power in his death; Matthew 27: "The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose." Jesus said to them: Unbind him. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the loosing of the one who was bound. In the literal sense, he is unbound by the ministers because the Lord, although he could do everything himself, nevertheless wills to communicate his power to others. Bede: "He who could raise the dead could have loosed the bandages; but on account of unity and undivided charity, he says to the ministers: Unbind him and let him go." Chrysostom: "He did not wish to lead the resurrected man with him, so that he might teach us to avoid the pomp of the world." Morally, four things are to be noted in the raising of Lazarus: first, that the Lord asks where he is; second, he commands the stone to be removed; third, he causes him to come forth; fourth, he sets him before the disciples to be unbound. First, therefore, the Lord asks where the sinner is when he shows him the vileness of his sin. Thus the Lord was asking of Adam in Genesis 3: "Adam, where are you?" And Jeremiah 3: "Lift up your eyes to the heights and see where you have not been made to lie down." Second, he commands the stone to be removed, when he causes a person to cease from the habit of sin, which like a heavy stone drags downward. Therefore the penitent soul said in the Psalm: "My iniquities have gone over my head, and like a heavy burden they have weighed upon me." Augustine: "How difficult it is for him to rise whom the mass of evil habit weighs down!" Lamentations 3: "My life has fallen into the pit," that is, into the death of sin, "and they have placed a stone over me," that is, a burial. Whence it should be noted that the Lord raised one who was dead in the house, Matthew 9, that is, a sinner dead in sins through consent; outside the house, that is, through evil deed; in the tomb, through evil habit, as here. Third, he commands him to come forth, when he causes him to confess his own iniquity. To come forth is to come from what is hidden into the open; whence Proverbs 28: He who "hides his crimes shall not prosper; but he who confesses and forsakes them shall obtain mercy." Augustine: "When you despise, you lie dead; if you greatly despise, you lie in the tomb; when you confess, you come forth." Fourth, he entrusts the loosing to the disciples, because then comes the priestly power, which has no place before confession. But the Lord commands that they show themselves to the priests for loosing: in Luke 17, concerning the cleansed lepers, it was said to them: "Go, show yourselves to the priests"; and the Lord gave them this office, below in chapter 20: "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." And it should be noted that Lazarus, having been raised, came forth bound with a threefold bond, because a threefold difficulty remains in a person after the remission of sin. For the bound face signifies difficulty in knowing, the binding of the feet signifies difficulty in willing rightly, the binding of the hands in doing good. Concerning these, Matthew 22: "Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the outer darkne…

John 11:45 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Many therefore of the Jews. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the edification of some and the destruction of others. On account of those who were edified unto faith, he says: Many therefore of the Jews, who had come to Mary and Martha and had seen what he did, believed in him. Who had come: Proverbs 13: "He who walks with the wise shall be wise"; above in chapter 4: "Many believed in him," etc.

John 11:46 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

But certain of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done: whence by one and the same event, some advanced and others fell away: 2 Corinthians 2: "To some we are the odor of death unto death, to others the odor of life unto life"; therefore Luke 2: "Behold, this one is set for the ruin and the resurrection of many in Israel."

John 11:47 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council against Jesus. There is set forth first the conspiracy of the Jews, which arose on the occasion of the manifestation of Christ. The ambition of the rulers was united together with the malice of the Pharisees, so that by force they might form an iniquitous counsel: Sirach twenty-one: "The congregation of sinners is like gathered tow." And they said: What do we do, because this man performs many signs? Chrysostom: "They still call Him a man, who had given so great a demonstration of His Divinity."

John 11:48 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

If we let him go on like this, all will believe in him, and from this follows an absurdity, and the Romans will come and take away our place and nation. They said this because the Romans then ruled over them, and if they found for themselves a new emperor or king, they feared incurring their indignation; therefore they preferred to act against God rather than against man. Wherefore Proverbs twenty-nine: "He who fears man will quickly fall." The reason for this was that they loved temporal things more than eternal; whence Augustine says: "They were unwilling to lose temporal things and did not think of eternal life, and so they lost both." And what they feared befell them; whence Chrysostom says that in them was fulfilled that word of the Psalm: "The nations have sunk in the destruction which they made"; Proverbs ten: "What the wicked fears will come upon him; the desire of the just shall be granted."

John 11:49 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

But one of them, etc. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the determination of the counsel, which was made by human authority, by divine dispensation, and by common agreement. By human authority: on account of which he says: One of them, named Caiaphas, since he was the high priest of that year, and thus had authority, and through this gave an authoritative counsel, said: You know nothing at all.

John 11:50 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Nor do you consider that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish. One: Romans five: "For if by the offense of one man many died, much more the grace of God and the gift in the grace of one man has abounded unto many." He did not give counsel that he should be killed on account of his own fault, because it would have had no force; but on account of the salvation of others, so that no one could now resist this on account of Christ's innocence. Jeremiah eighteen: "Come, and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; come, and let us strike him with the tongue and let us not attend to any of his words." That counsel of Christ's death proceeded from the priests, according to that word of Daniel thirteen: "Iniquity came forth from the elder judges who seemed to govern the people." Question. It is asked whether Caiaphas sinned in giving that counsel. That he did not, it seems: From the text, because it is said in the passage that he did not speak of himself: and from this it is implied that he spoke from the Holy Spirit: therefore if what is from the Holy Spirit is not sin, etc. Likewise, he says that he prophesied, since he was high priest: therefore if the act of prophesying is good, he did not give evil counsel, but good: therefore he did not sin. But to the contrary: By this word he intended to give counsel that Christ should be killed: therefore in giving this counsel he was a murderer, etc. Praepositinus responds that Caiaphas sinned in his evil will, but in the utterance of that counsel he did not sin: because the Holy Spirit used him as an instrument, just as He used the ass of Balaam. Whence that utterance was not the fruit of evil will: because the will was nothing but evil, the utterance was nothing but good. It must be said, however, that Caiaphas did not merely speak as an ass, but as a perverse man, intending thereby to persuade evil. Whence it must be said that the principle of this utterance was twofold: the interior formative principle, namely divine inspiration, and this was simply good; and the intention of Caiaphas, and this was simply evil. And corresponding to that twofold principle there is a twofold meaning in the utterance: the first is carnal, and this was evil, namely to avoid the offense of the Romans; the second is spiritual and good, namely for the salvation of the human race. And thus it must be granted that he sinned; and a prophet can sin in this way, in prophesying just as in working miracles, when he perverts his intention.

John 11:51 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

But he did not say this of himself, that is, by his own invention, but by divine inspiration; wherefore he says: But since he was the high priest of that year, he prophesied. He attributes the prophetic Spirit to the sacerdotal honor. In this it is evident that the Holy Spirit works many noble works even through wicked priests; whence they are to be held in reverence. Wherefore, when Paul cursed the high priest, having learned that he was the high priest, he said: "I did not know that he was the high priest," Acts twenty-three; and Saul, when he was anointed, prophesied, 1 Kings ten. And he explains his prophecy by adding: He prophesied that Jesus was to die for the nation.

John 11:52 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

And not for the nation only, namely of the Jews, but that he might gather together into one the children of God, who were scattered abroad, that is, that he might collect the predestined into the unity of the Church. This gathering was foretold in Isaiah 11: "He shall gather together the fugitives of Israel and shall collect the dispersed of Judah from the four quarters of the earth"; and in Isaiah 60: "Your sons shall come from afar"; above in chapter 10: "Other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."

John 11:53 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

From that day therefore they devised to put him to death, no one any longer contradicting: because, even though they had sought before, as is said above in chapters 7 and 8: "Why do you seek to kill me?" yet not with so definite a plan. Question. It is asked whether the Jews sinned in giving this counsel. That they did, it seems, because the chief priests and Pharisees are rebuked for having killed the Lord or caused him to be killed, and the Lord himself rebuked them above in chapter seven. That they did not, it seems: Because it was the will of God that Christ be killed: therefore in willing to kill him they were conforming their will to the divine will: and if this is so: therefore they were not sinning. Likewise, the Lord himself willed his Son to suffer; but he could not suffer unless he were killed: and the Jews killed him: therefore he willed that the Jews should kill him. Likewise, he came for this purpose, that he might suffer: therefore if the Jews had not killed him, his coming would have been frustrated: therefore since his coming had its efficacy from the counsel of the Jews, it seems that the Jews did not sin. I respond: It must be said that the Jews sinned both by reason of the act and by reason of the intention. By reason of the act, because they willed to kill him whom they knew to be innocent, which can in no way be done rightly. By reason of the intention, because they did not intend to fulfill the divine will, but to satiate their own envy. To what is therefore objected, that the death of Christ pleased God: it must be said that the active killing was permitted, but the passive suffering was pleasing, as it is in the sufferings of the Saints; because those men killed with an evil will, and Christ suffered with a good one. To the objection that it would have been in vain: it must be said that it would not have been; because another way was possible for God, and God through evil ministers accomplishes many good things, just as through the devil he tests the Saints: and yet the devil does nothing but incur guilt, while God orders the act to good.

John 11:54 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Jesus therefore no longer walked openly. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the concealment of Christ. He conceals himself, that is, he withdraws, not from fear, but for our instruction: not to flee death, but that the fitting time might come; whence he says: Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went into a region near the desert, seeking more secluded places according to a human manner, into a city called Ephrem, and there he stayed with his disciples. On this, Augustine says: "It is apparent that it is not a sin if the faithful, who are members of Christ, withdraw themselves from the eyes of their persecutors and avoid the fury of the wicked by hiding rather than inflame them further by presenting themselves." He fled the Jews and remained with his disciples; above in chapter 10: "The sheep follow him and hear his voice."

John 11:55 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Now the Passover was near. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the seeking of the hidden Christ, which was done by those who had gone up for the feast day, because Christ was accustomed to go up on feast days. Therefore he says: Now the Passover was near, the feast day of the Jews. By antonomasia, the Passover is called the feast day, which was celebrated in the first month, namely April; Exodus 12: "This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first in the months of the year. On the tenth day of this month let every man take a lamb according to their families and houses," etc. And many went up to Jerusalem from the country before the Passover, that is, before the feast day. And the reason is added: that they might sanctify themselves, because no one who was unclean dared to eat the Passover; Numbers 9: "A man who is unclean by reason of a dead person, or on a journey, let him keep the Passover in the second month"; below in chapter 18: "That they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover." These came to cleanse themselves outwardly, but to defile themselves inwardly through willful murder.

John 11:56-57 — Commentary on John, Chapter 11

Therefore they sought Jesus, namely to destroy him: Psalm: "Let them be confounded and put to shame who seek my soul, to take it away." And they spoke among themselves, standing in the temple. And the manner of seeking is added: What do you think, that he has not come to the feast day? This question was raised in the temple. Whence was fulfilled that word of Jeremiah 7: "This house, in which my name has been invoked, has been made a den of thieves"; whence Matthew 21: "You have made it a den of thieves." But why they sought him thus, the Evangelist indicates: Now the chief priests and Pharisees had given a command that, if anyone should know where he was, he should report it, so that they might seize him. Saul gave a similar perverse command concerning David in 1 Kings 23: "Consider and see all his hiding places, in which he conceals himself. And if he has hidden himself in the earth, I will search him out through all the thousands of Judah."

John 12:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Jesus therefore six days before, etc. After the conspiracy of the Jews has been described, here is described secondly its strengthening; the conspiracy itself received strength from the indignation of the traitor. This indignation of the traitor, therefore, had its origin in avarice, but its occasion from the pouring out of ointment made at the banquet. Therefore it is described in this manner: first is described the banquet of the Lord; second, the pouring out of the ointment; third, the indignation of Judas; fourth, the defense of Mary. The banquet was made for Christ the Lord where Lazarus had been raised, six days before the feast day; whence he says: Jesus therefore six days before the Passover, that is, on the sixth day before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised. There the banquet was made in the presence of the raised Lazarus. Question I. But it is asked here first concerning what he says, that six days before the Passover he came to Bethany, where he was anointed by Mary: 1. Because in Matthew 26 it is said: You know that after two days the Passover will take place, and afterward, that in the house of Simon he was anointed by Mary: therefore it seems two days before, and here it is said that six days. 2. Likewise, an objection is raised concerning what he says, that she anointed his feet, because in Matthew 26 it is said that she poured it over his head. If she poured it over his head, how did she anoint his feet? 3. Likewise, concerning another contradiction, because there it is said that the disciples, seeing this, were indignant: but here it is said that one was indignant, namely the traitor. These three contradictions are resolved through three rules of Augustine, from On the Harmony of the Evangelists: The first, that it should be noted that sometimes one Evangelist says something according to the historical sequence, another says it by way of recapitulation. And through this the first is resolved; because Matthew speaks by way of recapitulation, as he shows in that same place. The second rule is that one omits, another states: and both things were done, but both were not said by both; thus the second is resolved: because she both anointed the feet and then poured the whole over the head. The third rule is that it is the custom of the Evangelists to put the plural number for the singular through synecdoche; and therefore the others said that the disciples were indignant, but John expresses specifically who it was.

John 12:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

And they made him a supper there: because Revelation 3, "If anyone shall open the door to me, I will enter in to him and will sup with him, and he with me." And although it took place in the presence of Lazarus, Lazarus did not minister but ate, so that the truth of the resurrection might be proven: Mark 5, concerning the girl who was raised, "he commanded that something be given her to eat," etc. On account of which he says: And Martha ministered, but Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Martha always ministers and is solicitous as a prudent woman; whence Luke 10: "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me alone to minister?" Therefore through her we rightly understand the active life, which is anxious with cares. Spiritually, two things are to be noted here, namely what that banquet was, and what the ointment was. And it should be noted that we read of a threefold banquet made for the Lord: the first, by Matthew, the converted publican; Matthew nine: As he sat at table in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners sat at table with him; this is the banquet of the penitent: The second, by Simon the Pharisee; Luke seven: A certain Pharisee asked Jesus to eat with him: this is the banquet of the proficient, because the Pharisees kept the Law. The third, by Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany, as here. Bethany is the house of obedience, and this is the religious life, in which people are in the state of perfection, according to that passage in Matthew 19: If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor: and this is the banquet of the perfect.

John 12:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Mary therefore took a pound. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the pouring out of the ointment, which was done by Mary, who neither reclined at table nor ministered, but herself fed the Lord with a special refreshment; whence she burned with vehement devotion toward him, whose devotion is expressed in the ointment poured out. On account of which he says: Mary therefore took a pound of ointment: the quantity of ointment was great, because her devotion was great; not of just any kind, but of spikenard, that is, from nard. Nard is an aromatic herb, as Isidore says, which is of vehement fragrance; on account of which it is said in Song of Songs 1: "While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance." From the spikes of nard a precious ointment is made; whence it is said Mark 14: "Of spikenard." Pistici: the Gloss says: "that is, genuine," as distinct from adulterated; precious, because it was of great price and value. And she anointed the feet of Jesus; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. According to the literal sense, the Jews were accustomed to nourish themselves with highly fragrant ointments; therefore the Lord commanded the most precious ointment to be offered to himself, Exodus 30, and prohibited it to others; whence he called it holy of holies, which would be "for a most sweet fragrance to the Lord." Note likewise concerning the ointment according to the spiritual understanding, that it is threefold, whence Mary is also read to have anointed the Lord three times. For there is the ointment of contrition, which was signified in that passage, Luke 7: She began to wash his feet with tears and anointed them with ointment. Of devotion, and this was signified here and in Matthew 26: When Jesus was in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him having an alabaster jar of precious ointment and poured it over the head of him as he reclined at table. Of compassion, and this in the last chapter of Mark: Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that coming they might anoint Jesus. With the first ointment the feet are anointed: with the second, the head: but with the third, the whole body of the Lord.

John 12:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

One of his disciples therefore said, Judas. The third point is touched upon here, namely the indignation of Judas against the woman, because she had poured out the ointment; on account of which he says: One of his disciples therefore said, Judas Iscariot, who was about to betray him, namely on account of avarice.

John 12:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? Matthew twenty-six: "To what purpose is this waste? For it could have been sold for much and given to the poor." And because he seemed to have said this out of piety, the Evangelist shows that he said this out of cupidity.

John 12:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, because he did not care about the poor; against which Ecclesiasticus four: "My son, do not defraud the poor of alms, and do not turn your eyes away from the poor," etc.; but because he was a thief and having the money bag, as steward, he carried what was put in, that is, he carried it away and stole it, and therefore he rejoiced when more was given; whence on account of his avarice he sold the Lord; whence it is said in Matthew twenty-six, that "he went to the chief priests and said: What will you give me, and I will deliver him to you?" Whence Chrysostom: "Avarice reduces the heart to servitude; this made Judas a traitor and Gehazi a leper and delivered Ananias to death." Question II. Likewise it is asked concerning what the Evangelist says, that Judas said this, not because the care of the poor pertained to him. But to the contrary: He was the steward: therefore it did pertain to him. Likewise he says that he was a thief and had the money box: whence is it that the Lord wished to entrust the money box to a thief? It seems that he gave him an occasion of sinning. Likewise, why did the Lord not correct him, since he knew that he was in sin? Likewise, since the Lord was in extreme poverty and had commanded the disciples not to receive money, how is it that he had money bags? I say to the first that "to pertain" can be taken in two ways: either with respect to affection, or with respect to office; in the first way it did not pertain to him, in the second way it did. To the second I say that there was a twofold reason, namely the dispensation of divine judgment and our instruction: the dispensation of divine judgment in this, that the Lord was satisfying his evil desire, just as he enriches the avaricious in the present life: so that Judas also would not have the excuse that he betrayed the Lord on account of want. Our instruction, because the Lord showed that he places little weight on the riches of the Churches, but great weight on the treasure of souls. To the other it must be said that he did not correct him, because he knew that he would not be made better, but would become worse; nor did he take away his office, lest he reveal the crime and incite him to a greater crime. To the other it must be said that, as Jerome says, the Lord had money bags not for his own use, but rather for the use of the poor. Hence when he paid the didrachma, he sent Peter to the sea, Matthew 17, where he found the coin in the mouth of the fish; because he did not wish to convert to his own use those things which had been given to the poor. Another reason was so that it might be made known against heretics that it was lawful for his Church to possess riches.

John 12:6 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

To that which is objected, that Christ had a money-bag: it must be said that Christ had a money-bag for three reasons. For He had a money-bag for other poor persons, according to what Jerome says: "Christ was of such great poverty" etc.: and this does not take away supreme poverty. He also had a money-bag in condescension to the weak, as is said in the Gloss on that verse of the Psalm: Producing hay for beasts of burden: "The Lord had a money-bag for the use of those who were with Him, His own and the devout women in His company, who ministered to Him from their substance, in these things taking on rather the person of the weak. For He foresaw that many weak persons would come and would seek these things, just as He also took on the person of the same where He said: My soul is sorrowful even unto death." And concerning these two, on that passage of John twelve: The things that were contributed etc.; the Gloss says: "He whom Angels serve has a money-bag for the expenses of the poor, condescending to the weak." He also had a money-bag in a time of necessity, as for instance when He was passing through the Samaritans. In which time of necessity He also permitted the disciples to have money-bags, according to that passage of Luke twenty-two: When I sent you without purse and scrip etc.; the Gloss says: "He does not instruct the disciples with the same rule of living in a time of persecution as in a time of peace. When He sent the disciples to preach, He gave the ordered precept that they should take nothing for the journey, namely, that he who proclaims the Gospel should live by the Gospel. But when the moment of death was at hand, and that entire nation was persecuting both shepherd and flock together, He decreed a rule fitting for that time, permitting them to take the necessities of sustenance, until, the madness of the persecutors being calmed, the time for evangelizing should return." From these Glosses it manifestly appears that the manner of having money bags in the Lord in no way diminished poverty.

John 12:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Jesus therefore said to them. The fourth point is touched upon here, namely the excusing of Mary, because Judas was insulting her as if for a wrongdoing; and the Lord wishes to show that she did better than if she had given to the poor: on account of which he says: Let her alone, that is, do not be troublesome to her. He does not blame them, but excuses Mary: That she may keep it for the day of my burial, which indeed is better than giving to the poor. Question III. Likewise, there is a question about what it says in the text: Let her alone, that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For if she had poured it over his head, how could she keep it for the day of burial? To this there is a threefold response: in one way the text is expounded thus, that she may keep it, that is, a part of it. But that does not hold, because Mary did not anoint the body of the Lord on the day of burial. Therefore Victor expounds it: let her keep it, that is, the devotion concerning it, namely the devotion of anointing, because she wished to anoint the body of the Lord, although she did not anoint it. In another way thus, so that the force may be placed on the word "keeping": "to keep" is said in contrast to "to lose": ointment that is poured out on the ground is lost, but that with which the bodies of the dead are prepared is not said to be lost, but to be kept. Now the Lord wished to say against Judas that there was no loss of the ointment, but rather a preservation for the day of burial by anticipation: hence it is said in Mark 14: She has anticipated anointing my body for burial. And thus it is to be understood.

John 12:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

For the poor you will always have with you; Deuteronomy fifteen: "The poor shall not be wanting in the land of your habitation." But me you will not always have, according to bodily presence; below in chapter sixteen: "I go to the Father, and you shall see me no longer"; and therefore it is more expedient that a benefit of kindness be shown to me: therefore you should not be troublesome: Matthew twenty-six: "Why do you trouble this woman? For she has wrought a good work upon me."

John 12:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

A great multitude therefore knew. The conspiracy and the strengthening of the conspiracy have been predetermined; here in the third place the amplification of the conspiracy is touched upon. For previously they had planned to kill Jesus; here not only Jesus, but also the resurrected Lazarus. And the reason was: because many on account of him believed in Jesus. Two things therefore are noted here, namely the multitude of believers and the amplification of the perversity of the Jews. The multitude of believers came about on the occasion of the raising of Lazarus; on account of which he says: A great multitude therefore of the Jews knew that he was there, namely in Bethany: and they came, not for Jesus only, but that they might see Lazarus, whom he raised from the dead. They were still weak, because their eyes were not delighted solely by the sight of the Author, but also by his works: whence they were among those of whom it is said above in chapter two, "Many believed in him, seeing the signs which he did"; whence they wished to see miracles, above in chapter six: "A great multitude followed Jesus, because they saw the signs."

John 12:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

But the chief priests thought. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the amplification of the conspiracy and perversity against the Author, because they raged not only against the Lord, but against others on account of him; whence he says: But the chief priests thought to kill Lazarus also, not only Jesus; Isaiah chapter one: "Your hands are full of blood."

John 12:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Because many on account of him went away from the Jews and believed in Jesus: and therefore they wished to kill him. Augustine: "Foolish thought! Could not the Lord, who was able to raise the dead, also raise one who had been slain? When you were bringing death upon Lazarus, were you taking away the Lord's power? If a dead man seems one thing and a slain man another: behold, the Lord did both: he raised both Lazarus who was dead and himself who was slain." They wished to close the way of salvation: Matthew chapter twenty-three: "You yourselves did not enter in, and those who were entering in you hindered."

John 12:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

On the next day, etc. The amplification of the conspiracy has been determined; here in the fourth and last place is determined the consummation of malice through obstinacy. And this obstinacy had its occasion from the honor shown to the Lord, on account of which they leapt forth into wondrous envy; and the procedure is as follows. First is determined the honoring of Christ; second, the approval of that honor through Scripture; third, the reason for honoring him; fourth, the most malevolent obstinacy of the Pharisees. Now the honor is described in three ways: first with respect to the manner of meeting him, because it was with joy; on account of which he says: On the next day a great multitude, when they had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, went out to meet him with joy. Question I. But it is asked here: because it seems that the Lord in his works was contrary to himself: 1. Because above in chapter 11 it is said that the Lord hid himself from the face of the Jews who were persecuting him: but here he so openly presents himself. 2. Likewise, the Lord above in chapter 6 fled to the mountain, when they wanted to make him king: here he accepts the honor bestowed upon him as king and approves it. I respond: It must be said that the Lord, as Augustine says, does not do contrary things, but according to fittingness does diverse things, just as he first issued the old and afterwards the new testament. 1. On account of which it must be said that the time of the passion had not yet arrived before, but now it was at hand: therefore previously he was hiding himself, because he was awaiting the time: now, when the opportunity and the time are present, he manifests himself. 2. Similarly to the second point: because before the passion he wished to be unknown, but near and after the passion he was to be glorified: therefore he accepted the royal honor then and not before. Another reason is that these did not make him king, but recognized him as sent by God; whereas those wished to make him king. The third reason is that since the Lord was about to suffer almost immediately after these things, he willed to be honored, so that from this honor the succeeding ignominy of the passion might be intensified.

John 12:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

They took branches of palms and went forth to meet him: they had this custom from the Law: whence it is said in the eighth chapter of Second Esdras: "Go forth to the mountain and bring branches of olive and branches of the most beautiful tree and branches of palms" etc. There is also described the manner of praising: on account of which he says: And they cried out: Hosanna: as the Gloss says, "this word is that of one beseeching, indicating an affection rather than something definite, like interjections," and it means as much as save, I beseech. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel: in which they confess in him royal dignity, not from man, but from God: therefore they say: the King of Israel in the name of the Lord, according to that passage in the first chapter of Luke: "He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever." There is also described the manner of proceeding: because he did not proceed on foot, but sat upon an ass.

John 12:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it. Although he was the true King and permitted royal honor to be offered to him, nevertheless he came not with a multitude of horses, but upon an ass. In which is signified, as Augustine says, that "he was not a king for exacting tribute, not for arming an army with iron, but the King of Israel, who rules minds, who takes counsel, who leads believers, hopers, and lovers into the kingdom of heaven." As it is written. Here is touched upon the second point, namely the approval of that deed through Scripture, and this he does by showing that it had been foretold in Scripture: because this gives strength to true faith. Therefore he says that he sat upon an ass in royal honor: lest you think this was done by chance, therefore he says: As it is written, in the ninth chapter of Zechariah. Question II. Likewise, a question is raised about the apparent contradiction: 1. Because it is said in Matthew twenty-one that he first sent into the village for the donkey, and then that the crowd came to meet him. 2. Likewise, in the same place it is said that he sat upon the she-donkey and the colt, but here it is said that upon a young donkey. 3. Likewise, this is not written in Zechariah: Fear not, daughter of Sion, but rather: Rejoice and shout for joy, daughter, etc. I respond: To this last point, it must be said that because the Evangelists spoke through the Holy Spirit, who composed all of Scripture and is its author, they did not insist upon the similarity of words but upon the integrity of meaning; and the very same thing that the prophet said through the word rejoicing, the Evangelist says through the word not fearing. As for the objection concerning the contradiction and the reversal of order: it must be said that the Lord sat upon the she-donkey and also upon her colt. And some say this happened in this way: he first mounted the colt, and because it was bucking, he afterward sat upon the she-donkey. But this amounts to nothing, because I do not believe that the colt would ever buck while the Lord was sitting upon it; rather, it should be understood that the Lord, for the sake of the figure, first sat upon the she-donkey, that is, upon the old synagogue, and afterward upon the colt, that is, the untamed gentile world. And he first sat upon the she-donkey before the crowds came to meet him; therefore Matthew narrates this first. But afterward, when the crowds came to meet him, then he sat upon the young donkey. And therefore John says after the arrival of the crowds: Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, not troubling to tell the whole, because another had already told it.

John 12:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Fear not, daughter of Sion, that is, the Church: he says less and means more, that is, rejoice: in the ninth chapter of Zechariah: "Rejoice greatly, daughter of Sion; shout for joy, daughter of Jerusalem." And the reason for rejoicing is given: Behold, your king comes to you; behold, royal dignity: sitting upon the foal of an ass; behold, meekness and humility. And at the coming of such a one there is cause for gladness, because it is said in the sixteenth chapter of Proverbs: "In the cheerfulness of the king's countenance is life, and his clemency is like the latter rain."

John 12:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

And although this honor had been foretold, nevertheless it was not foreknown by the disciples of Christ, so that you may know that this was not done by human invention, but by divine dispensation. Therefore he adds: These things his disciples did not understand at first, namely when they conferred this honor; but when Jesus was glorified, after the resurrection and ascension, then they remembered, that is, they perceived, that these things were written of him: and these things they had done to him. After his glorification they understood, not before: because then for the first time, as is said in the last chapter of Luke, "he opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures."

John 12:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Therefore the crowd bore witness, etc. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the reason for the honor shown: and this was the very wondrous raising of Lazarus, which was well known to the crowds: on account of which he says: Therefore the crowd that was with him bore witness to him, when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead, saying: "Lazarus, come forth." This crowd bore witness to his omnipotence, namely the crowd of the simple and also the crowd of the wise: of the wise, Acts 10: "To him all the Prophets bear witness"; of the simple, the Psalm: "Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise."

John 12:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

For this reason the crowd came to meet him, because they heard that he had done this sign. The simple crowd, seeing the signs, was moved to faith and devotion; on account of which it is said in Matthew 9: "The crowds seeing this feared and glorified God, who had given such power to men"; but the scribes were saying that he was blaspheming.

John 12:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

The Pharisees therefore said among themselves. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the obstinacy of the Pharisees from envy: therefore they were saying among themselves: See, we are gaining nothing, namely as long as he lives; 2 Timothy 3: "They resist the truth, men corrupt in mind, reprobate concerning the faith, but they shall advance no further." And after: Behold, the whole world has gone after him. In which it is noted that they were stirred by the dart of envy; whence it is said in Matthew 21 that the scribes and Pharisees, seeing this, "were indignant," because from envy they grieved, from pride they despised, from wrath itself they raged; and therefore they were obstinate in malice: "by the envy of the devil death entered into the world" etc., Wisdom 2; Ecclesiasticus 14: "The evil eye shall be sorrowful over his own table."

John 12:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Now there were certain Gentiles. One preamble to the passion has already been determined, namely the conspiracy of the Pharisees; here the second is determined, namely the illumination of the Gentiles, which is a most useful fruit following upon the passion of Christ. And since in the passion of Christ there came about the illumination of the Gentiles and the blinding of the Jews, therefore this part has four subsections. In the first is determined or shown the prefiguration of the calling of the Gentiles. In the second, the fruitfulness of the passion is foretold, at the words: Amen, amen, I say to you, etc. In the third, the exposition of the aforementioned fruit, at the words: The crowd therefore, which stood and heard the voice. In the fourth is described the future blinding of the Jews, at the words: Jesus spoke these things, etc. Therefore there is first intimated the future calling of the Gentiles in this, that they seek the Lord, and the Lord offers himself as benevolent: and this is described in the following order: first is set forth the solicitude of the Gentiles; second, the intercession of the disciples; third, the condescension of the Master. Therefore the solicitude of the Gentiles is indicated in this, that they desire and seek to see Jesus; on account of which he says: Now there were certain Gentiles among those who had come up to worship on the feast day. They worshipped in the temple, since they too were heard; 3 Kings 8, in the prayer of Solomon: "The foreigner, who is not of your people, if he comes and prays in this place, you will hear him in heaven," etc. Question I. But it is asked: since the Gentiles worshipped their own idols and had their own gods, whence is it that they went up to worship in Jerusalem? And it must be said that from among the Gentiles some were converted to the rite of the Jews, and these were called proselytes; and Chrysostom says of these that "they were close to becoming proselytes; therefore, already beginning to believe, they came to see the solemnity and to worship in the temple."

John 12:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

These therefore came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee; above in chapter one: "Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter." They went to him as to one better known and expressed their desire: whence they asked him, saying: Lord, we wish to see Jesus. Nor is it a wonder if they desired to see him, because, according to that verse of the Psalm, "beautiful in form above the sons of men," "he was wholly desirable." Augustine: "Behold, the Jews wished to kill him, the Gentiles to see him." On account of this, Matthew 21: "The kingdom shall be taken from you and given to a nation producing its fruits."

John 12:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Philip came. Here is touched upon the second point, namely the intercession of the disciples at the petition of the Gentiles. And so that Philip might more easily obtain his request, he takes a companion: on account of which he says: Philip came and told Andrew, as the greater: and then Andrew as the greater goes first in the announcement; whence he says: Andrew again and Philip told Jesus. In which it is intimated that prelates are mediators between the simple and the Lord, who offer the desires of the poor to the Lord: Deuteronomy 5, Moses said: "I was the mediator and intermediary between God and you"; Hebrews 5: "Every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in the things that pertain to God." Question II. But then it is asked: why did Philip not turn them away? And it seems that he should have, because he had heard from the Lord in Matthew 10: Go not into the way of the Gentiles; and in Matthew 15: I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel; therefore it seems that he acted against the Lord's command when he admitted their petition. I respond: It must be said that Philip himself had seen that He cared not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles, and he saw that He willed the salvation of all; on the other hand, he considered His command; therefore he acted cautiously, because he neither entirely rejected the petition nor straightforwardly admitted it, and therefore he consulted Andrew. They indeed, presuming upon the Lord's mercy, told Jesus, because He was able, as He willed, as Lord, to manifest Himself to all.

John 12:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

But Jesus answered them. Here is touched upon the third point, namely the condescension of the Lord, by which he satisfies the desire of the Gentiles, saying that the time has now come for manifesting himself to the nations. On account of which he says: The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified, that is, that he might be manifested to the nations, and through this his brightness and glory might be known. This is the hour of the passion and of our redemption, which was long awaited and desired. In this hour the Gentiles are called: on account of which the Apostle says in Romans 13: "It is the hour for us now to rise from sleep." This is the hour of which it was said above in chapter seven: "No one seized him, because his hour had not yet come." Question III. Likewise it is asked: why does He now more than before manifest Himself to the Gentiles? And it must be said that it was on account of the nearness of the Passion, in which was the salvation of the Gentiles. Another reason: because the Jews had already, through the conspiracy of Christ's death, rejected the grace of God; and therefore after their conspiracy the Lord turns to the Gentiles.

John 12:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Amen, amen, I say to you. After the prefiguration of the calling of the Gentiles has been described, here is set forth the prediction of the fruit of the Passion, and this indeed in the following manner. First, the fruitfulness of the Passion is foretold. Second, because the Passion has no effect except in the imitators of Christ, there is set forth an exhortation to imitation, at the words: He that loveth his life, etc. Third, because none imitate unless they are called by the Lord, the prayer made on their behalf is noted, at the words: Now is my soul troubled. Fourth, because He obtains all that He asks, the hearing of the prayer is noted, at the words: There came therefore a voice, etc. First, therefore, the fruitfulness of the Passion is touched upon by the example of the grain; on account of which He says: Amen, amen, I say to you; speaking assertively to the Gentiles who had sought Him, in order to confirm them in faith: unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die: It itself remaineth alone. According to the letter, it is not multiplied unless it dies; First Corinthians 15: "Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die first." But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit: because then it produces a harvest. So it is to be understood of Christ, who is a grain of wheat on account of its purity and abundance of richness, on account of which the best bread is made from it: so also the flesh of Christ, who is "the living bread that came down from heaven," above in the sixth chapter. Of this it is said in the Psalm: "He satisfies you with the fat of wheat." This grain, falling into the earth, through lowliness, died through the bitterness of the Passion; therefore it is said in the Psalm: "You have brought all your waves upon me. You have put my acquaintances far from me; they have made me an abomination to themselves." This grain brought forth much fruit, because it brought many sons into glory: Hebrews 2: "It was fitting for him who brought many sons into glory to perfect the author of their salvation through suffering"; Isaiah 60: "When the multitude of the sea shall be converted to you, the strength of the nations shall come to you."

John 12:24 — Breviloquium, Part 6

In the middle of time there was both regeneration and the ordering of the Church and spiritual nourishment: therefore Christ instituted these three Sacraments, namely of baptism, the eucharist, and orders, both completely and clearly: first by receiving baptism, then by giving the form and making it known to the rest; orders, indeed, by first giving the power of binding and loosing the sins of the human race and the power of confecting the Sacrament of the altar; the eucharist, indeed, by comparing himself to a grain of wheat and by confecting and giving to the disciples, with the passion imminent, the Sacrament of his body and blood. And therefore these three Sacraments ought to have been instituted by Christ distinctly and integrally and to have been prefigured in manifold ways in the old law, as the substantial Sacraments of the new testament and proper to the lawgiver, namely the incarnate Word.

John 12:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

He who loves his soul. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the exhortation to imitate the Passion: and he exhorts by setting forth the advantage and the example. On account of the advantage and disadvantage he says: He who loves his soul will lose it: and by soul he means the bodily life, just as below in the thirteenth chapter Peter said: "I will lay down my soul for you." And he who hates his soul in this world, that is, by giving it for Christ, keeps it unto eternal life; Matthew 16: "He who would save his soul will lose it, and he who loses it for my sake will find it." Augustine: "If you desire to hold life with Christ, do not fear death for Christ. Happy are those who keep their life by losing it, lest they lose it by loving it." Question I. But the question is raised concerning what he says: He who loves his soul shall lose it. But all love their soul, because it is said in Ephesians 5: No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes it, etc.: therefore much less does one hate one's soul. It is answered that soul gives us to understand life according to a threefold distinction: and in one way this is called the carnal life, according to what is said, that the natural man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God. And this is not to be loved, because in this way it implies vice: whence Ecclesiasticus 18: If you grant your soul its desires, it will make you a joy to your enemies. In another way, soul is called the natural life, according to that passage below in chapter 13: I will lay down my life for you. In the third way, spiritual life, according to that passage of the Psalm: He who loves iniquity hates his own soul. Now it is said of life insofar as it connotes vice. But this does not resolve the matter, because the Lord exhorts to death: therefore he wills that a man give himself over to death, and thus hate his natural life. If this is so, those who kill themselves in order to obey Christ would seem to merit reward. But this is manifestly false, because it is permitted to no one to kill himself, as is proved in the first book of the City of God. I respond: It must be said that he understands this of the life of nature. But it must be noted that to love and to hate are not to be taken absolutely, but in relation, so that he is said to love his life who loves it more than fulfilling the divine commandment; but to hate it, he who prefers to fulfill the commandment rather than to preserve his life. Hence no one is bound to die or to kill himself, nor ought he to cast himself into death; whence Augustine says: "If a man is compelled to choose one or the other, with a persecutor threatening death, let him rather choose to die for the beloved God than to live having offended him."

John 12:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

If anyone serves me, let him follow me, as a servant follows his Lord, otherwise he is not a true servant: let him follow, namely through the footsteps of the Passion; 1 Peter 2: "Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his footsteps"; so that, just as one imitates in suffering, so also in glory. On account of which he adds: That where I am, there also my servant may be; 2 Timothy 2: "It is a faithful saying: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him"; therefore faithful, because promised by the Lord: Revelation 3: "He who overcomes, I will give him to sit with me on my throne." Lest anyone disdain to serve him, he adds the summit of honor: If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him: because he himself honored me: 1 Kings 2: "He who honors me, I will honor; but those who despise me shall be ignoble." He will honor, I say, because he will make a son out of a servant: Romans 8: "The Spirit himself gives testimony to our spirit that we are sons of God; and if sons, also heirs: heirs indeed of God, and co-heirs with Christ."

John 12:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Now my soul is troubled, etc. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the entreaty for those who are to be called: and since the Lord was placed between two things, because the flesh shrank from death, it was necessary for him to pray on its behalf; but because he had come for the sake of our salvation, he prefers the prayer for our conversion to the prayer for his own deliverance, for which he prays first; whence he says: Now my soul is troubled, namely by the fear of death: Matthew 26: "He began to be troubled and sorrowful." And what shall I say? As if to say: shall I ask on its behalf, that I might escape death? I shall ask indeed, in order to show my weakness: on account of which he says: Father, save me from this hour, namely of the passion; Matthew 26: "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." But he did not ask this in order to be heard; on account of which he adds: But for this reason I have come to this hour, namely that I might die, and therefore concerning this I do not wish to be heard. Question II. Likewise, there is a question about this, that he asks to be saved from the hour of death. 1. He himself knew that God did not will to hear him: therefore he was asking indiscriminately. 2. Likewise, he asked this and was not heard: therefore it is established that he was not heard in all things. To the contrary, above in chapter eleven: I knew that you always hear me. 3. If you say that this petition was of sensuality: against this: Sensuality does not turn itself toward God the Father: therefore if it was a petition, it was of reason. I respond: It must be said that in Christ there was a twofold will, namely of reason and of sensuality. The will of reason is always conformed to God in its object of willing, and therefore is always heard; but the will of sensuality disagrees with the will of God in its object of willing, though not in its mode of willing; and therefore the will of sensuality in Christ did not always attain what it willed, because nothing came to pass except what God willed. Therefore this petition did not proceed from the will of reason, but of sensuality; and therefore it was not heard. 1. To the objection, then: why did he ask? It must be said that just as the Lord commands some things not for the sake of fulfilling them, but for instructing us, so he asked something not for the sake of obtaining it, but for instructing us. And he instructed us in this petition that it is permitted for us to will something proper to ourselves by the will of sensuality; and again, that it must be subordinated to the divine will; and again, that we ought not to despair if we dread death. 3. To the objection that reason made the petition: it must be said that that speech was formed according to the command of reason, and reason put forward the petition. And just as an advocate sometimes does not ask on his own behalf, nor because he himself wills it, but on behalf of another and because another wills it, so also reason was asking on behalf of sensuality, nor did it will this; rather, it willed to die for our salvation.

John 12:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Father, glorify your name: and this is to ask that the name of God be made known to the nations through the passion. He prays for us, for whom he also offers himself: whence in Hebrews 5 it is said of Christ: "In the days of his flesh, offering prayers and supplications to God, who was able to save him from death, with a strong cry and tears, he was heard because of his reverence." A voice therefore came from heaven. Here the last point is touched upon, namely the hearing, as a sign of which he says: A voice came from heaven, saying: I have both glorified, namely through miraculous works, and I will glorify again, through yet more wondrous works, such as our redemption and Christ's exaltation to the heavens. The glorification was accomplished by the Father: whence in Hebrews 5: "Christ did not glorify himself to be made high priest, but he who spoke to him: You are my Son, today I have begotten you." Whence this voice is attributed to the Father, as in Matthew 3 at the baptism, in Matthew 17 at the transfiguration, and now. Whence the voice bore testimony to Christ at his coming or incarnation, at his passion, and at his resurrection.

John 12:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

The crowd therefore, which stood. After the fruitfulness of the future passion has been determined, the third point is here subjoined, namely its explanation, in which the Evangelist proceeds in this order. First is indicated the wonder of the crowds; second, an explanation is given by Christ; third, the doubt of the crowds; fourth, the removal of doubt. The wonder of the crowds is therefore touched upon concerning the hearing of that voice, because they did not know whence it came; on account of which he says: The crowd therefore, which stood and heard, that voice, namely; said that thunder had occurred, attending to the greatness and perceptibility of the voice; and these were of the Sadducees, of whom Matthew twenty-two and Acts twenty-three: "They say there is neither Angel nor spirit." Others indeed said: An Angel has spoken to him, attending to the articulation of the voice, yet they did not understand its meaning. These were of the sect of the Pharisees, who said that Angels exist; whence Acts twenty-three: "What if a spirit has spoken to him, or an Angel?"

John 12:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Jesus answered and said. The second point is touched upon here, namely the explanation of that voice, because they themselves did not know either why it had been made or what it signified; therefore he says why it was made: This voice came not for my sake, but for yours, because not for my instruction, but for yours; therefore he gives the understanding of the voice.

John 12:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Now is the judgment of the world, namely in the passion; now the prince of this world shall be cast out, namely he who is believed to be the prince, because he was worshipped by many nations; rather he is to be regarded as the most wicked demon. Luke eleven: "When a strong man armed guards his court, if one stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he will take away all his armor in which he trusted, and will distribute his spoils." And he himself conquered the world with its prince; whence below in chapter sixteen: "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." And he says the manner of casting out the prince is through the passion. Question I. But there is a question about what he says: Now is the judgment of the world: because it was said that he judges no one and did not come to judge. I respond: There is a judgment of condemnation and of discernment; by this judgment the world is judged in the passion of Christ, through which the sheep are discerned from the wolves, not by the first judgment. Question II. But there is a question about what he says, that the prince of this world shall be cast out. Who is this prince? If the devil is prince: therefore it seems that this sensible world pertains to the dominion of the devil; and then the impiety of the Manichaeans would be true. I respond: It must be said that by world here are meant those devoted to the world through friendship. The prince of these is the devil, not with respect to nature, but with respect to pre-eminence in fault, because he is the king over all the children of pride, Job 41. Question III. Likewise, inquiry is made concerning what he says, that he will be cast out; because this does not seem to be the case: for he still rules over those who are devoted to the world, and presses harder, because they sin more gravely. I respond: It must be said that the devil is said to be cast out of the world, not that he does not tempt, but that he does not reign interiorly; nor is he said to be cast out in the sense that he reigns interiorly in absolutely no one, but that he does not in so many; nor does he reign so authoritatively, because his drawing hand has been cut off, on account of the fact that the handwriting that was against us was blotted out in the Passion and nailed to the cross. His impelling hand has been weakened, our hand for resisting has been strengthened through faith: 1 Peter, last chapter: Resist him, steadfast in faith.

John 12:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, through the passion of the cross, I will draw all things to myself, through faith and love. Song of Songs one: "Draw me after you"; below in chapter twenty-one: "Simon Peter drew the net to land, full of great fishes," etc.; above in chapter three: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up." Question IV. Likewise, inquiry is made concerning what he says, that he will draw all things to himself; because not all, nor the greater part, have been converted to the faith; indeed, there are more wicked than good. I respond: It must be said that, as Augustine says, those who tend toward non-being ought not to be counted; and such are the wicked. Hence by the word all things no distribution is made except for the elect, who were sons of God by election; and these he drew to himself and gathered into one. Or: I will draw all things, that is, from every people and kingdom, not only Jews but also Gentiles, without distinction of nations.

John 12:32 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

When the devil saw Christ suffering, he believed His argument had little weight. But Christ ridiculed him. Christ considered the argument most powerful: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself."

John 12:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

But this he said, signifying by what death he was to die: namely by the death of the cross, which was the most vile. Wisdom two: "Let us condemn him to a most shameful death."

John 12:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

The crowd answered him. The third point is touched upon here, namely the doubt of the crowds, with respect to those who were instructed in the Law; because they had heard that Christ is immortal, and this man was saying that he was the Christ, and was saying that he would die. On account of which they say: We have heard from the Law that Christ abides forever. But where had they heard this in the Law? It should be understood that the Law here includes the Prophets: and it is said in Micah 5: "His going forth is from the days of eternity," etc.; Daniel 7: "His power is an everlasting power, and his kingdom, which shall not be destroyed"; 2 Kings 7: "I will raise up your seed after you, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." And how do you say: The Son of Man must be exalted? Who is this Son of Man? Christ did not say this just now in this form, but above in chapter eight: "When you shall have exalted the Son of Man, then you will know." But now he says: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth." They were not asking about what they had heard, but about what they had previously conceived.

John 12:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Jesus therefore said to them. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the removal of that doubt: and the Lord shows that that doubt did not arise from a bad understanding, but from a deficiency of understanding, because Scripture says both things about Christ, both that he is eternal and that he is mortal. Therefore he says: Yet a little while the light is in you. It is light, because you believe Christ to be eternal; but little, because you do not believe him to be about to die. Therefore he exhorts them to advance in faith while they have time; on account of which he says: Walk while you have the light. That walking is to approach Christ through faith: Psalm: "Come to him, and be enlightened." And the reason is added: That the darkness may not overtake you, that is, the blindness of unbelief, concerning which above in chapter three: "The light came into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light." And it is dangerous to be overtaken by them, because he who walks in darkness does not know where he goes: Proverbs 4: "The way of the wicked is dark: they know not where they fall." And he explains what he had said by walk, which is believe.

John 12:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be children of the light. The children of light are children of God, because he is "the true light"; and this comes about through faith: above in chapter one: "He gave them power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name." He answers most excellently, because they could not be freed from that doubt except by approaching him through faith: whence Augustine: "Come, understand the whole: both that Christ would die and that Christ would live forever and that he would shed his blood, by which he might redeem, and that he would ascend to the heights, to which he might lead you." This is to walk. These things Jesus spoke. After the future calling of the Gentiles and the prediction and exposition of the future Passion have been described, here fourthly is indicated the future blinding of the Jews. And the declaration of this matter proceeds in this order. For first the blinding itself is indicated; second, the election of some; third, the strengthening of the weak among the elect takes place; fourth, a threat is brought against the blinded themselves. The blinding of the Jews is indicated in the very action of the Lord, who hid himself from those same Jews who had begun to contradict him; on account of which he says: These things Jesus spoke and went away and hid himself from them. Augustine: "Not from those who came to meet him with palm branches, but from those who saw and envied"; Deuteronomy 32: "I will hide my face from them and I will consider their last end; for it is a perverse generation, and unfaithful children." And this bodily hiding was a sign of the spiritual hiding.

John 12:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Although he had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in him: such as the sign of the raising of Lazarus: yet they did not believe, because their malice did not permit it: Wisdom 2: "Their malice blinded them." Nor did this happen by chance, but it was foreseen by the Lord and foretold through the Prophet Isaiah.

John 12:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

That the word of Isaiah the Prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: Lord, who has believed: as if to say: few, or none: our report? That is, that which we have heard from the Lord: or that which one hears from us prophesying, because "faith comes from hearing," Romans 10. And the arm of the Lord, to whom has it been revealed? The arm of the Lord, as Augustine says, is the Son of the Father. "For just as your arm is that by which you work, so the arm of God is called the Word, by which he made the world. This arm is neither stretched out when extended nor drawn in when gathered." Nor was it only foreseen, but it also came about by the just judgment of God.

John 12:39 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

For this reason they could not believe, in him, because evidently they were blinded, and this Isaiah said.

John 12:40 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart: Isaiah 6: "Blind the heart of this people and make heavy their ears and shut their eyes" etc.: and Romans 1: "God gave them over to a reprobate mind." So that they may not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart and, by understanding, be converted, and, by converting, I may heal them; Jeremiah 3: "Return to me, and I will heal your backslidings." Question I. But it is asked here first concerning what he says, that they could not believe, because Isaiah said: He has blinded, etc. It seems first that he speaks incorrectly, because if they could not believe, then it was not to be imputed to them as sin. To this Chrysostom responds: "They could not, that is, they would not." But that does not resolve the matter: 1. because then it would be easy to resolve everything: why did the Evangelist not say "they would not," since he had it so readily at hand? 2. Likewise, granted that this were the meaning — they would not believe — because Isaiah says: He has blinded their eyes, then it seems that God is the cause of their evil will. I respond: It must be said that something's not being able is said in two ways: either because it in no way can, or because it can only with great difficulty: thus it is said that a man accustomed to evil cannot do good; Jeremiah thirteen: "If the Ethiopian can change his skin, and the leopard his spots, so you can do good, when you have learned evil." According to this way, it is said that a blinded man cannot believe; and the Evangelist means to say that they could not believe because they were blinded, as Isaiah had foretold — not that Isaiah's prediction was the cause, but rather their own malice and the divine judgment, namely the judgment of abandonment. Augustine: "God blinds and hardens by abandoning, not by assisting; which can happen by a hidden judgment, yet not an unjust one."

John 12:41 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

These things Isaiah said, when he saw his glory and spoke of him; Isaiah 6, where it is said that "he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the whole earth was full of his majesty."

John 12:41 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

Isaiah says, in chapter six, in a vision which was the root of all his other visions: "I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne." And immediately there follows upon this the blinding of the Jews and the enlightenment of the Gentiles. Hence, John says: When he saw the Lord, Isaiah said again: "He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts." Hence the enlightenment of the Gentiles became the blinding of the Jews.

John 12:42 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Nevertheless, from among the rulers. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the election of certain ones: therefore he speaks adversatively: although it was said that they did not believe, nevertheless many of the rulers believed in him: Romans 11: "At this time a remnant according to the election of grace has been saved." But yet they were not perfect in faith; on account of which he adds: But on account of the Pharisees they did not confess, lest they be cast out of the synagogue: above, chapter 9: "For the Jews had already conspired that if anyone should confess him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue." And this indeed they feared as being imperfect.

John 12:43 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God: and they acted foolishly, according to what is said in 1 Maccabees 2: "Do not fear the words of a sinful man, for his glory is dung and worms; today he is exalted, and tomorrow he shall not be found"; the Psalm: "He has scattered the bones of those who please men," etc.; Galatians 1: "Do I seek to please men? If I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ."

John 12:44 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

But Jesus cried out and said. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the strengthening of those weak in faith, which is accomplished by Christ's affectionate exhortation, by which he lifts up the minds of believers to the dignity of the Divinity. On account of which he says: He who believes in me does not believe in me, according to the visible nature, but in him who sent me; or: by believing, he honors not me only, but him who sent me: in which he shows that to believe in him is not to believe in a man, but in God: and this he makes manifest. Question II. Likewise, there is a question about what he says: He who believes in me does not believe in me, etc. There appears to be a contradiction here. If you say that it should be understood as only, so that the meaning is: he who believes in me does not believe in me only, but also in him who sent me — according to this way, he should similarly say: he who sees me does not see me only, but him who sent me. I respond: It must be said that faith distinguishes articles, and when someone thinks about one article, he does not think about another; indeed, some believe one article who do not believe another. But in vision, because the essence is one, he who sees one person sees all. Therefore in vision he unites: he who sees me sees the Father also, because it is impossible to see one without the other. But in belief he distinguishes and excludes isolation: he who believes in me does not believe in me alone, but in me and in him who sent me. Alternatively, it can be said that believing pertains to authority, but seeing or understanding pertains to reason. Because, therefore, authority and power are in the Father by appropriation, by reason of which there is believing, the Son appropriates believing to the Father; and thus it was said that the Father draws to the Son. But in seeing and revealing, the Son leads to the Father as word and light; and therefore he does not appropriate seeing to the Father in the same way as believing, when he says: He who believes in me, etc.

John 12:45 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

And he who sees me sees him who sent me: therefore the one sending and the one sent are one in essence, because he who sees the one sees also the other. Hence below in chapter fourteen: "Philip, he who sees me sees also my Father." And the reason is the unity of essence, "because I am in the Father, and the Father is in me"; and the Son himself is the means of seeing the Father, as the word is of seeing the speaker, as splendor is of seeing light.

John 12:46 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

I have come as a light into the world, that everyone who believes in me may not remain in darkness, but may see and himself also become light; Ephesians 5: "You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord"; and this by believing in him, of whom it is said in Hebrews 1: "Since he is the splendor of glory and the figure of his substance," etc.

John 12:47 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

And if anyone hears my words. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the threat made against non-believers: and at the same time in the threat he shows his benignity and the severity of judgment. Therefore he says: If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him, that is, I do not condemn him, and this on account of my benignity: For I did not come into the world to judge the world, but to save the world: above in chapter three: "God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him"; Luke 9: "The Son of man did not come to destroy souls, but to save them." Nor however shall they escape the severity of judgment.

John 12:48 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

He who rejects me and does not receive my words has one who judges him. And who that one is who judges, he shows: The word that I have spoken, that will judge him on the last day; Matthew twenty-four: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away"; indeed "They will stand, as Chrysostom says, in the order of accusation, reproving them and cutting off every excuse"; Matthew five: "Be agreed with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way," etc., is understood of the word of Christ. And that his word has the power of judging them, he makes manifest: because it is not a human word, but divine and true.

John 12:49 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

Because I have not spoken of myself, as one vainly glorious, of whom above: "He who speaks of himself seeks his own glory"; but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. And therefore I speak according to his commandment.

John 12:50 — Commentary on John, Chapter 12

And I know that his commandment is eternal life; whence Matthew nineteen: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments"; Deuteronomy thirty: "Choose therefore life, that both you and your seed may live, and that you may love the Lord your God and obey his voice"; and therefore I do not turn aside from his commandment. On account of which he says: Therefore the things that I speak, as the Father has told me, so I speak: because he himself, speaking as man, conformed himself in all things to the divine commandment and will; above in chapter eight: "The things that I have heard from the Father, I speak in the world." And therefore from this he wishes to establish that his word is not to be rejected but to be received as a divine word: as is said of the good in First Thessalonians two: "When you had received the word of the hearing of God, you received it not as the word of men, but, as it truly is, the word of God, who works in you who have believed."

John 13:1 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

John 13:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Two preambles to the passion have been determined, namely the conspiracy of the Jews and the prediction of the passion; thus in this part follows the third thing to be determined, namely the confirmation of the disciples. The Lord confirms and fortifies the disciples against the impending tribulation first by the example of humility; second, by the word of instruction and consolation, at the beginning of the fourteenth chapter, where it says: Let not your heart be troubled; third, by the aid of prayer, at the beginning of the seventeenth: Jesus spoke these things and lifting up, etc. First, the disciples are confirmed by the example of humility in a fourfold manner. The present chapter, therefore, in which the Lord strengthens his disciples by example, has four sections, according to the four things which he touches upon there. For first he sets forth the example; second, he exhorts to imitation, where it says: After therefore he had washed, etc.; in the third, he shows or uncovers the perversity of Judas for going astray, where it says: When he had said these things, he was troubled in spirit; in the fourth, he shows the weakness of the disciples for following him through the passion, where it says: Little children, yet a little while I am with you. The example, therefore, which he sets forth for imitation, is described in this order. First is shown the fitness of the time; second, the humility of Christ; third, the reverence of Peter; fourth, his obedience. The opportuneness of the time is shown in this, that the time of death was already pressing near, on account of which he ought to show special signs of love. Therefore he says: Before the feast day of the Passover, that is, before the first day of unleavened bread, whose evening was the fourteenth day of the moon at evening, when the lamb was sacrificed. Jesus knowing that his hour had come, that he should pass out of this world to the Father. The Passover is a passing over; and therefore the Lord willed to die at the Passover, because his dying was a passing over. This passing over was signified by the crossing of the Red Sea, concerning which First Corinthians 10: "Our fathers all passed through the sea," etc. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end, that is, he then showed the chief signs of love. Augustine: "Far be it that he should have ended his love by death, who was not ended by death"; and "This is not an end that consumes, but one that consummates." The Lord loves his own; Isaiah 49: "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb?" The time is touched upon and the hour of the time. Question. Here the inquiry concerns what he says, that this supper was made before the feast day of the Passover. And from this it seems that the Lord consecrated with leavened bread. But against this are the other Evangelists, who say that the Lord ate the Passover according to the common custom. To this the Greeks respond, as is said in the Gloss, that the Lord anticipated, as is said here, the day of the Passover and consecrated with leavened bread, and that John corrects the other Evangelists. But they speak foolishly: for far be it that the other Evangelists lied in anything, since they spoke by the same Spirit. Hence the day of the Passover is not called here the day of immolation, but the first among the days of unleavened bread, on whose preceding evening the lamb was immolated.

John 13:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

And when supper was done, when the devil had already put into the heart, that is, had suggested, that Judas of Simon Iscariot should betray him; because he had then resolved to betray him, from which betrayal Christ was not diminished but exalted. Question. Likewise the inquiry concerns what he says, that when the devil had already put into the heart, that Judas should betray him. Therefore it seems that the devil is the one who implants evil thoughts. And that this is so, it seems: because he is the god of this age and rules over the sons of unbelief, Ephesians 2: therefore just as God implants good thoughts in the elect, over whom he rules, so also the devil implants evil ones. But against this is the fact that, if the devil implants them, then whether man wills it or not, he will sin: therefore according to this he would be superior to the mind itself, which is against reason and against Augustine. I respond: It must be said that to put into the heart or to implant is spoken of in two ways: properly and commonly. To implant properly is to form within by one's own power, and this belongs to God alone; but commonly indeed to implant is to suggest by offering an occasion. In the first way it does not befit the devil, but in the second way it does. But as to the objection that the devil reigns: it must be said that he does not reign by his own power, but through the consent of a perverse will, which willingly consents to him, according to that saying of Gregory: "The enemy is weak against those who resist, strong against those who consent." Therefore he is not said to implant, but to suggest or to inflame.

John 13:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, according to that passage in the last chapter of Matthew: "All power is given to me in heaven and on earth"; and knowing that he came forth from God and goes to God, according to that passage below in the sixteenth chapter: "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; again I leave the world and go to the Father." This knowing, that is, foreknowing that his death was at hand.

John 13:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

He rises from supper, to set an example; because the opportune time was already at hand, as it was said to the minister of the Church in Acts twelve: "Rise quickly." And he lays aside his garments. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the humility of Christ, because he lays aside his garments, so as to be unencumbered like a servant; therefore he says: He lays aside his garments; and also to be prepared like a servant; on this account he says: And having taken a towel, he girded himself; Luke twelve: "Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself," etc. He carries out the office of a servant.

John 13:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. This is the office of a servant: such an office the Lord of majesty assumed; Luke twenty-two: "But I am in your midst as one who serves." "For the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a redemption for many." And this is the most humble service, the washing of feet.

John 13:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

He came therefore to Simon Peter, etc. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the reverence of Peter, by which he refused the Lord's service; on account of which he says: He came to Simon Peter, namely to wash his feet. And Peter says to him: Lord, do you wash my feet? As if trembling with awe, Peter says: You, for me? You the Lord, for me a servant? You the Master, for me a disciple? You the Almighty, for me a wretch? Chrysostom: "With the hands with which you opened eyes, cleansed lepers, raised the dead, you wash my feet?" As if to say: I dare not allow it; and because he was going too far in his reverence, the Lord admonishes him to desist on account of the mystery. Question. Likewise the inquiry concerns this, that Peter alone resisted the Lord when he willed to wash their feet: how is it that all said nothing? And if all were silent, how was he willing to be singular? If you say that the Lord came to him first, and he resisted first, and afterward the others were corrected: the text is contrary to this, because it says: He began to wash and to wipe: and afterward: He came therefore to Simon Peter. Chrysostom responds that he believes that he first washed the feet of Judas, because Judas, as one who would presume the first place, had taken the foremost position, and afterward he came to Peter, and Peter resisted. But it is better to say, according to the Gloss, that he came first to Peter, and that statement was made by way of anticipation.

John 13:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Jesus said to him: What I do you do not know now, but you shall know hereafter; therefore it is fitting that you endure until later. But Peter is not swayed by the admonition.

John 13:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Peter says to him: You shall never wash my feet. And because he had resolved to persist in his position, he is deterred by a threat; therefore: Jesus answered him: If I do not wash you, you shall have no part with me; part he calls the eternal fellowship with God, concerning which in the Psalm: "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup"; and again: "My portion is in the land of the living."

John 13:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Simon Peter says to him. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely Peter's obedience, after the threat was made to him. Hence above he was called Peter: "Peter says to him"; but in this response it says: "Simon Peter says to him," that is, obedient, fervent, because he offers more than the Lord commands: hence he says: Lord, not only my feet, as you command, wash, but also my hands and my head. Hence Simon Peter, truly obedient, could say that word of the Psalm: "My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready." But because above he erred in reverence, and now indeed he exceeded in obedience: therefore Peter above was terrified, but now Simon is instructed.

John 13:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Jesus says to him: He who has been washed, namely with that washing of which it is said in Isaiah 1: "Wash yourselves, be clean"; and Zechariah 13: "There shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for the washing of the sinner"; Jeremiah 4: "Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved"; he, I say, does not need except to wash his feet, that is, his affections: concerning which Song of Songs 5: "I have washed my feet: how shall I defile them?" These feet need to be washed more than other members, because they are more joined to filth; Lamentations 1: "Her filthiness is in her feet, and she has not remembered her end." But, when these feet are washed, then he is wholly clean: Ezekiel 36: "I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your defilements." And you are clean: therefore you need nothing except the washing of feet; below in chapter 15: "You are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you." But lest he seem to be ignorant of a disciple's crime, he adds: But not all.

John 13:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

For he knew who it was that would betray him: therefore he said: You are not all clean. Therefore the Evangelist, where he speaks of the betrayer, shows that the Lord knew, lest anyone believe that Christ as a man could be deceived: above in chapter 6: "Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him."

John 13:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

After therefore he had washed the feet, etc. After he set forth the example, he exhorts to imitate him, and this indeed he does in this manner: first from the consideration of the dignity of the Master; second, the greatness of the reward; third, the excellence of the merit. He exhorts therefore from the consideration of the dignity of the Master: because the Master and Lord himself did this, therefore they too ought to do it: and therefore, when he had risen as a servant, he now begins to teach as a master. Therefore he also takes up his garments again and asks for their attention: on account of which he says: After therefore he had washed their feet, he took his garments, which, namely, he had laid aside in order to serve: and when he had reclined again, he says to them again: Do you know what I have done to you? He makes them attentive to attend, because he must teach as Master: and his teaching is that they should imitate him.

John 13:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

You call me Master and Lord, and you say well: for so I am. For he is Master; Matthew twenty-three: "One is your Master, Christ." He is also Lord, whence David called him his Lord in the Psalm: "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand."

John 13:13-14 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

John 13: You call me master and lord, etc., up to: to wash the feet; from this authority it is gathered by reasoning that the disciple of Christ, on account of his master, ought to bow himself down even to the most extreme form of humiliation and abasement.

John 13:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

If therefore I have washed your feet, being Lord and Master: you also ought to wash one another's feet: Philippians two: "In humility, let each esteem others better than themselves"; and after: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus," etc. And the reason for this is added: because he did this to be imitated. For he worked miracles, which we cannot imitate, because he did not perform them as an example, but as a sign of his power; he performed humble works to be imitated, as here.

John 13:14 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

On that passage in John thirteen: And you ought to wash one another's feet — the Gloss says: "He who bows down at the feet, in his heart humility is stirred up; or if it already exists in the heart, the disposition of humility is confirmed." For exterior humiliation avails for acquiring humility, for exercising it, and for perfecting it.

John 13:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you also should do: Matthew eleven: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart." And that he is to be imitated in works of humility, he shows by this reasoning: because the servant is not greater than his lord; therefore if the lord does not disdain to be humbled, much less should the servant. Question. It is asked here why the Lord gave his disciples an example of humility rather than of some other virtue, since there are other excellent virtues. It must be said that the Lord above all things commended unity to his disciples; and because pride directly breaks unity, since among the proud there are always quarrels, and the disciples were contending which of them should seem to be the greater; therefore, lest through that contention the unity of the Church be broken, he gave an example of humility, so that each one might be subject to the other. Another reason is that, just as damnation had its origin from pride, so salvation from humility.

John 13:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Amen, amen I say to you, as something true and certain: The servant is not greater than his lord, neither is the apostle greater than he who sent him; Matthew ten: "The disciple is not above the master," and below in the fifteenth chapter: "Nor is the servant greater than his lord." And therefore all servants of Christ ought to serve their fellow servants; therefore it is the custom of the Pope to write himself servant of the servants of God. Whence Chrysostom: "Where are those who despise their fellow servants? Where are those who seek honors? The Lord washed the feet of the traitor and of the sacrilegious one and of the thief at the time of the betrayal: and you think great things of yourself and exalt yourself on high?"

John 13:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

If you know these things, etc. Here secondly he exhorts to imitation by consideration of the greatness of the reward: because whoever does this shall be blessed. On account of which he says: If you know these things, you shall be blessed if you do them, not if you merely know them, but indeed also if you do them: James one: "He who is a doer of the work, this one shall be blessed in his deed"; Matthew five: "Whoever shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven." And after: "But whoever shall do and teach, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

John 13:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

I do not speak of all of you, namely that you will be blessed, but of the elect: hence he says: I know whom I have chosen; Matthew 20: "Many are called, but few are chosen"; 2 Timothy 2: "The Lord knows who are his"; hence what I said: "You will be blessed" is to be understood of some of you, and indeed of the majority. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled: He who eats bread with me, that is, a companion at table, will lift up his heel against me in the Psalm: according to another translation: "The man of my peace, in whom I hoped, who ate my bread, has magnified supplanting against me." To lift up the heel, as Chrysostom says, is to lift up kicking, deceit and fraud and the concealment of treachery. And he speaks by way of similitude: just as a man, when he wishes to trample upon a thing, lifts his heel over it, so Judas trampled upon Christ. And he said this about Judas, not accusing him, but instructing the disciples, lest they believe he was betrayed as a mere man. Question. It is asked concerning what he says: I do not speak of all: I know whom I have chosen. Contrary: Above in the sixth chapter it is said: Did I not choose twelve of you? If he chose twelve, Judas was chosen, the contrary of which he now says. I respond: It must be said that there is being chosen for present dignity: and in this way Judas was chosen, just as wicked bishops and prelates are chosen, not by error, but by a wondrous dispensation. There is election to eternal solemnity: and in this way Judas was not chosen, because this pertains to those who are finally good.

John 13:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

From now on I tell you, before it happens, so that, when it has happened, you may believe that I am, namely God, who knows all things before they happen: Sirach 23: "To the Lord God, before they were created, all things are known," etc.

John 13:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Amen, amen, I say to you. Here, thirdly, he exhorts them to imitate him in honoring his servants by consideration of the greatness of merit. For great merit belongs to the one who honors the Lord, and the Lord himself reckons honor done to a servant as his own: and thus great merit belongs to the one who honors Christ's servant. Therefore he says: He who receives whomever I send, receives me, that is, he who honors the one sent honors me the sender; Matthew 25: "As long as you did it for one of the least of mine, you did it for me." And he who receives me receives him who sent me, that is, he who honors the Son honors the Father, who sent him; a similar saying is found in Matthew 10: "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me." And from this it is argued that just as it is a great transgression to despise God, and a great merit to honor him, so also with regard to the servants of God. Question. It is asked concerning what is said: He who receives anyone whom I shall send receives me. According to this, he who honors the messenger honors the sender: therefore just as "the honor of the image is referred to the prototype," so the honor of the messenger to the Lord: therefore if we ought to adore the image of Christ with latria, so also the messengers of Christ. This same thing seems to follow from the text, because he adds as a parallel that he who honors him honors the Father, who sent him: but each is to be honored with the same honor. I respond: It must be said that honor being referred to someone is twofold: either as to the object, or as to the end. I say therefore that the honor of the image is referred to the prototype as to the object, because it is not the stone that is honored, but God. But the honor of the one sent is referred to the sender as to the motive and end: and because a person does not honor the one sent except on account of the sender and consequently, not primarily as the object; because from this God considers himself honored or dishonored: therefore the image is to be adored with latria, but the messenger with dulia. As to what is objected from the parallel, it must be said that it is not entirely similar; because there it is a conformity of nature, but here of grace.

John 13:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

When he had said these things, he was troubled. After the example has been set forth, and the disciples have been led to imitate; here begins the third part of the chapter, in which the Lord reveals the perversity of Judas so as to deter from going astray; and he does this in this order. First there is a general intimation of the betrayer: second, the hesitant inquiry of the disciples: third, the Lord's secret response: fourth, the hastening of the betrayer. First, therefore, there is a general intimation of the betrayer, and although general, not however in doubt, but in certainty. And Christ's being troubled makes this manifest; on account of which he says: When Jesus had said these things, which pertained to the instruction of the disciples; he was troubled in spirit, that is, in will; and he bore witness and said, because he asserted most certainly: Amen, amen, I say to you, that one of you will betray me: that one, namely, was going to betray him, of whom above in the sixth chapter: "One of you is a devil." Question. It is asked concerning the Lord's perturbation, because he says: He was troubled in spirit. If in Christ all things were at peace, because he is signified by the ark of Noah, in which all things were at peace, how was he troubled in spirit? And it must be said that that perturbation caused no disorder in Christ, since sensuality was subject to his will and was voluntarily troubled; in testimony of which he says: He was troubled in spirit. Question. But then it is asked: about what is sensuality troubled? If about future death, then this amounts to nothing, because that had not fallen under sense, since it was future; therefore neither did it fall under sensuality; therefore sensuality did not grieve about this. It must be said that the imagination of death was in the interior sensible power, not proceeding from sense, but descending from the cognition of reason. For when we foreknow certain things, we can imagine them, and through what we hold as certain, be troubled. And if you object that this is a reversed order, some say that nothing hindered this in Christ, in whom the lower powers were subject to the higher. But nevertheless it is not necessary to say this, because then there would be a reversed order if the intelligible species were to descend into the sense and become sensible. But when the species are in the imagination, and reason thinks something and causes the sensitive power to imagine and be terrified by that same thing, there is no reversal of order. Question. But then it is asked: since Christ knew of His death from the beginning, just as He did then, why was He not always troubled, as He was then? To this it must be said that the knowledge of death was not the whole cause, but the knowledge of imminent death: whence nature shrinks more from an imminent danger than from a distant one. Nor yet was that the whole cause, but the knowledge of imminent death together with the will to trouble Himself: and this He willed at that time, in order to show that He was a true man.

John 13:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

The disciples therefore looked at one another. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the inquiry of the disciples: and first they began to doubt; on account of which he says: The disciples therefore looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke: therefore they looked at one another, because each doubted about the other. Augustine: "So great was their pious love toward their Master, that nevertheless human weakness goaded them to suspect one another." And because doubt leads to inquiry, and inquiry requires intimacy, therefore the intimacy of John is shown, so that through him the inquiry might be made. Question. There is a question about the inquiry of the disciples: Whence is it that the disciples dared to inquire about a hidden crime? It seems to have been curiosity. And it is also asked: since Peter was the boldest among all, why did he not inquire by himself, but "through an intermediary person," namely John? For Peter almost always answered on behalf of all the disciples. To this it must be said that they were not asking out of curiosity to know the fault of their neighbor, but because each one, as Chrysostom says, feared for himself, and they were tormented by that fear: they wanted to be assured. And because they knew that the Lord would not say it openly, nor did they wish to put him to shame so openly, they asked secretly, and they were answered secretly. And therefore Peter did not speak, but nodded to the one who was near and could ask secretly; for he was reclining upon the breast of Jesus privately and was able to ask, which Peter could not do.

John 13:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

There was therefore one of his disciples reclining in the bosom of Jesus, as the most intimate among the others, and this indeed on account of the prerogative of love; whom Jesus loved. This disciple was John; whence Chrysostom: "Behold John's self-effacement; for he does not say his own name, but whom Jesus loved, just as the Apostle in Second Corinthians twelve: I know a man," he did not say: I know Paul. This disciple, being so intimate, was a suitable inquirer.

John 13:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him and said to him: Who is it of whom he speaks? As if to say: ask him. Peter was always eager to inquire, both by himself and through others. At Peter's request, that disciple inquires.

John 13:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

And so when he had leaned back upon the breast of Jesus, as one beloved and intimate and close, which is a sign of love: Song of Songs, last chapter: "Who is this who comes up from the desert, abounding in delights, leaning upon her beloved?" He said to him: Lord, who is it? Supply: namely, who will betray you. He leaned back upon the breast of Jesus so that he might hear the secret, because in him were all the "treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden." Whence Augustine says of John that "he drank the streams of the Gospel from the very fountain of the Lord's breast."

John 13:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Jesus answered him. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the Lord's secret response, by which he satisfies the intimate disciple; on account of which he did not speak in words, but manifested it by the sign itself; therefore he says: It is he to whom I shall extend the dipped bread: the dipping of the bread signifies the dissimulation of Judas. And when he had dipped the bread, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, and by this John knew who it was that would betray him. Augustine: "The bread handed to the betrayer is a demonstration of the grace toward which the betrayer was ungrateful." Whence in the Psalm he laments concerning the ingratitude of Judas: "If my enemy had cursed me, I would surely have endured it; but you, a man of one mind with me, my guide and my familiar, who together with me partook of sweet foods," etc. Question. There is a question about the Lord's response, because He says: He to whom I shall give the dipped bread. It seems that the Lord exposed Judas. To this Chrysostom says that He gave dipped bread to all. But then it is asked what sign it would have been for John that he was the one to whom I shall give the dipped bread. Likewise, it is said in Matthew twenty-six that they began each to say: Is it I, Lord? and afterward concerning Judas: Is it I, Rabbi? And it is said there that the Lord answered: You have said it. Therefore it seems that the Lord revealed him openly, and not only by a sign, but by word. I respond: It must be said that the Lord revealed the traitor, but not to all; rather to some, but secretly. He revealed it to John for a twofold reason: both because He had compassion on his distress, and also so that he himself might be a witness that Christ had foreknown with certainty, not by conjectures, that this disciple was the traitor. But as to what is said, that a sinner should not be exposed: this is to be understood as meaning that he should not be made public, but nevertheless it can be told to those who are able to help and do not wish to harm. But as to what is said concerning Matthew, it must be said that that word of the Lord, as Augustine says in On the Harmony of the Evangelists, determined nothing certain: You have said it, as if to say: not I, but you. Or it can be that the Lord said it to him in such a way that no one else understood. And indeed, what Matthew narrates was said earlier: and because Peter and John had not been made certain, John still asked secretly.

John 13:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

And after the morsel. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the hastening of the betrayer, which came about through the vehement assault of the devil, which he had upon Judas after his correction. On account of which he says: And after the morsel Satan entered into him, so that he might possess him more effectively and bring the conceived wickedness to completion more quickly; whence in the Psalm: "Set a sinner over him, and let the devil stand at his right hand." And, because this did not escape the Lord's notice, Jesus said to him: What you do, do quickly, he says this predictively, not imperatively. Lest however he should seem to have exposed his wickedness, the Evangelist shows that this word escaped everyone's notice. Question. Inquiry is made concerning what he says, that after the morsel Satan entered into him. It seems that the Lord did not act well in giving the morsel to Judas, through which he was made worse. Likewise, for what reason after the morsel? And it seems to say something false, because, as Augustine says, God alone enters the soul, therefore not Satan. Likewise, he had said earlier that the devil put it into the heart of Judas; how then after the morsel? I respond: On these matters there are diverse opinions. Some wished to say that the dipped bread was the body of Christ: and the Master in the Histories says this, and therefore dipped bread is not given to us communicants. And Augustine seems to say this in the original: "Why do you marvel," he says, "if the bread of Christ was given to Judas, through which he was handed over to the devil, when you see that an angel of the devil was given to the Apostle, through which he might advance in Christ?" And therefore they say that Satan entered then, because receiving the body of Christ unworthily, he ate and drank judgment upon himself. Others say differently, and I believe more rightly, and the Gloss says this, that the dipped bread was not the body of Christ: rather, as Augustine says in On the Harmony of the Evangelists, the body of Christ had already been distributed to the disciples, and Judas had received it with the others: but it was another bread, and after that one Satan entered; because he was prompted to repent in so many ways and did not repent, therefore the devil possessed him more fully. To the objection that God alone enters the soul: this is true by indwelling, but the devil enters by suggestion. To the objection that he had suggested earlier: it must be said that this is true, but from that point he pressed upon him more greatly and drove him more fiercely to the completion of his wickedness.

John 13:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

But none of those reclining at table knew what he had said to him, not even John himself, who already knew his wickedness. Whence Chrysostom: "It was not of a kind and gentle mind to suspect evil of another," indeed on the contrary they interpreted it for the good.

John 13:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

For some thought, because Judas had the money bag, as steward, that Jesus had said to him: Buy those things which are needed for the feast day, or that he should give something to the poor, because he had the money bag especially on their account: in which it is signified that from the purses of the Church it is lawful for prelates to buy what is needed, that is, what is necessary, and to give the remainder to the poor; and to them especially the commandment was given concerning the feeding of the poor; whence Sirach twenty-nine: "For the commandment's sake receive the poor, and on account of his need do not send him away empty."

John 13:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

When therefore he had received the morsel, he went out immediately, so that he might swiftly fulfill it. And the time was fitting for the deed; and it was night; Job twenty-four: "The eye of the adulterer watches for darkness"; and above, chapter three: "He who does evil hates the light."

John 13:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

When therefore he had gone out. After the perversity of Judas in going astray has been shown, the weakness of the disciples in following the Lord is shown. And this is the fourth part of the chapter, and he does this in this order. For first, the future passion of Christ is foretold; second, the imperfection of the disciples; third, the instruction of the imperfect; fourth, the presumption of Peter is checked. Therefore there is first predicted Christ's future passion and through the passion his glorification, which was hastening, as the betrayer hastened. On account of which he says: When therefore he had gone out, namely Judas, to accomplish what he had conceived: Jesus said: Now is the Son of man glorified. Now he says on account of the impending passion, by whose merit he was to be exalted; Philippians 2: "He humbled himself, wherefore God also exalted him." And God is glorified in him, because through Christ he became known to all; below in chapter 17: "Father, I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world." Question. It is asked concerning what he says first: Now the Son of man is glorified: because in the passion and betrayal of Judas he is rather said to be diminished than glorified. Augustine responds that this is said in sign, because at the departure of Judas only the good remained: and then the future glory was signified, in which God will be only with the good. Otherwise it can be said that he says this according to merit: because in the passion he merited to be glorified, and insofar as was in him he glorified the Lord.

John 13:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

And if God is glorified in him, in the passion through the great manifestation of power — because his death and passion were greatly to the glory of God, as is said of Peter below in the last chapter: "Signifying by what death he would glorify God." And God will glorify him in himself, through the glory of the resurrection; and immediately he will glorify him, because his resurrection could not be delayed; whence in the Psalm: "You will not give your Holy One to see corruption." And he means to say that Christ was soon to be glorified by the Father through the resurrection, because to manifest the Father's glory he himself had to endure the passion. Whence the weakness of Christ as man glorified God; and therefore the power of God raised Christ from the dead and glorified him.

John 13:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Little children, yet a little while, etc. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the imperfection of the disciples in following Christ; therefore he calls them little children, that is, weak in faith, because firm faith makes sons, but weak faith makes little children. Or he calls them little children out of the tenderness of love, as Priscian says that diminutives are sometimes used out of familiarity and love, as Sergiolus. Therefore he reveals their imperfection when he adds: Yet a little while I am with you, through bodily presence; and as I said to the Jews — above in chapters 7 and 8 — you shall seek me; where I go, you cannot come; and to you I say now: because you cannot bear the difficulty of the passion. Therefore they could not, because they had not received power from on high; therefore it is said to them in the last chapter of Luke: "Sit in the city until you are clothed with power from on high"; because without the strength of power it is not possible to stand in battle. Question. It is asked concerning what he says: Where I go, you cannot come. To the contrary: Above in the twelfth chapter it was said: He who serves me, let him follow me: therefore he was exhorting them to the impossible. Likewise, Peter says in the second chapter of the First Canonical Epistle: Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you might follow his steps: therefore an example was given to all. How then does he say: You cannot come? It must be said to this that just as to be able to believe is said in two ways: in one way, insofar as it denotes possibility, and thus it belongs to nature; in another way, insofar as it denotes active power, and thus it belongs to grace; so also to be able to imitate the passion: because the imperfect ability is in us, but the complete power comes through the power of the Holy Spirit, with which the Apostles were not yet clothed. But against this is the fact that with the least charity one can resist any temptation whatsoever: therefore if the Apostles had the least charity, then they were able. To this it is answered according to a twofold opinion. Some say that from the least charity, yet not while it remains the least, because it is increased: and according to these the solution is as before, that they could not do so through what they had. According to another opinion I respond: with the least charity one can, but not easily, indeed with great difficulty; and therefore few resist.

John 13:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

A new commandment I give unto you. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the instruction of the imperfect disciples. And because they were imperfect, the Lord gives them the remedy of love, that they might love and sustain one another mutually: on account of which he says: A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another: therefore new, because it ought always to be fresh in the heart, because love is always owed and never grows old. Whence Romans thirteen: "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another." And the manner of loving is expressed: As I have loved you, that ye also love one another. Now he himself so loved that he loved our salvation more than his own life: so each person should love the soul of his neighbor more than his own body; First John three: "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." Question. It is asked concerning what he says: A new commandment I give you, etc. Why did he not command them concerning the love of God, which is the first and greatest commandment? Likewise, how does he say new, since it was given from the beginning? Whence in the second chapter of First John, speaking of this commandment, he says: I do not write a new commandment to you, but an old commandment. I respond: To the first it must be said that in the love of neighbor the love of God is understood. To the second it must be said that even though this commandment was given in the Old Testament, nevertheless in the New it is renewed with respect to its mode: because there to love friends, here enemies; there to do good to friends, here to enemies is commanded; this is what he implies when he adds: As I have loved you.

John 13:35 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

The Church is a union of rational men united in harmonious and uniform adherence to divine peace. For the Church in return loves itself. And love is born of obedience to the Law. And the Law itself commands love. And so it is fitting that those who obey the Law be loving also. "By this will all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." And the Apostle writes: "For God is a God of peace, not of disorder."

John 13:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another: because, as Augustine says, "love is the proper and special virtue of the devout and the holy. This is what distinguishes the children of the kingdom from the children of perdition"; Ephesians four: "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Now this seal of the Spirit is love: Romans five: "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

John 13:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Simon Peter saith unto him. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the repression of Peter's presumption, by which he was offering himself to imitate the Lord. Therefore Peter asks him, so as to offer himself: Lord, whither goest thou? And because he wished to offer himself, the Lord shows him his own incapacity, lest he burst forth in words: Jesus saith unto him: Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now, on account of weakness: but thou shalt follow me afterwards, when strengthened by virtue. But Peter is not swayed by the admonition.

John 13:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Peter answered him: Why cannot I follow? I will lay down my life for thee: and this is to follow perfectly: below, in the fifteenth chapter: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." If therefore I can do this, well can I follow. And because Peter does not desist from presumption through the admonition of his own frailty, he is now repressed through the prediction of his future transgression.

John 13:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 13

Jesus answered him: Wilt thou lay down thy life for me? Augustine: "Can you go before, you who cannot follow? What do you believe yourself to be? Hear what you are." Verily, verily, I say unto thee, the cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice. Augustine: "You who promise me your death will deny your life three times. For as great a life as it is to confess Christ, so great a death is it to deny Christ. By fearing the death of your flesh, you will deal death to your soul." Question. It is asked concerning what the Lord said to Peter: You will deny me three times. From this it seems that he revealed to Peter his fall, and that he compelled Peter to despair. I respond: It must be said that to foretell and to reveal are different. God reveals to no one, but nevertheless He does foretell: because what is revealed is known with certitude, but what is foretold is not: because sometimes it is believed to be said as a threat, and sometimes under a condition. Whence Peter also understood it under a condition: if you do not guard yourself; and therefore he did not despair.

John 14:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

He therefore first exhorts them that, considering the manner of departing, they should not be troubled by his departure nor fail in faith, but rather believe. Therefore he says: Let not your heart be troubled, but let it believe: whence: You believe in God, believe also in me. Let it not be troubled by absence, but believe in the absent one: just as you believe in God, whom you do not see. And the reason why they ought not to be troubled but to believe is this: namely, that the Lord does not depart from them entirely, but goes before them, so that he may again take them up to glory, in which there are many mansions already prepared according to eternal election, but still to be prepared according to merits: whence this word to prepare, according to Augustine's exposition, is taken in the text according to these two significations. The whole can nevertheless be expounded in one signification of this word to prepare, so that the sense is: Let not your heart be troubled, but believe in me; because in my Father's house there are many mansions, in which you will rest together with me, to which I prepare the way; therefore you ought not to grieve. But then you would have cause to grieve, if it were not so, I would have told you, that is, if I had not said: Because I go to prepare a place for you, I will take you up again, etc. But I have said this and I say it; whence: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again and will take you to myself, etc. However it may be read, an exhortation to faith is made.

John 14:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

John 14:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

In my Father's house there are many mansions, already prepared, that is, according to eternal election: for in Ephesians 1: "He chose us before the foundation of the world"; Jerome says: "In heaven diverse mansions are prepared for diverse virtues, which not persons receive, but works." Thus they are prepared. If not so, that is, if it were not so: whence another reading of Chrysostom, where it says: If not so, reads: "If indeed not," that is, if they were not prepared through predestination: I would have told you: For I go to prepare a place for you. But it is impossible that I should now prepare: because it is impossible that I should predestine anyone anew, as Augustine says. Therefore I said that "mansions are in the Father's house," already prepared through predestination, but still to be prepared through the merit of faith, which has its greatest merit in absence.

John 14:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

And if I go and prepare a place for you, through your faith, namely, in my absence: whence Augustine says: "Let the Lord Jesus go and prepare a place; let him go, so that he may not be seen; let him be hidden, so that he may be believed. For then is a place prepared, if one lives by faith. Let him who is believed be desired, so that he who is desired may be possessed: the desire of love is the preparation of the dwelling." When I shall have thus prepared in my absence, I come again and will take you to myself, through glory, namely, that where I am, you also may be: above in the twelfth chapter: "If anyone serves me, let him follow me, and where I am, there let my servant also be." He therefore exhorts them to faith in his absence, because he absents himself for this reason, that faith may have merit. So Augustine and the Gloss read it.

John 14:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

And where I go, you know. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the way of departure. And lest he should seem to them to be saying something new about his departure, he says that they knew both the way and the destination; therefore he says: And where I go, you know, and the way you know. But some of them did not fully understand; therefore they ask, namely Thomas and Philip. It is asked concerning this, that the Lord says to the disciples: Where I go, you know, and the way you know: because Thomas immediately asks as one who is ignorant, and says that he does not know. Likewise, Philip asks about the terminus, namely about the Father, and in this shows that he does not know: therefore either the Lord spoke falsely, or they were asking what they already knew. To this there is a threefold response: in the first way, that the Lord was not speaking about all of them, but about some. But this solution is not fitting, because the Lord in the preceding passages excepted Judas: I do not speak of all of you. In another way it is answered that they knew both the way and the terminus, but not under that aspect under which he was speaking, just as I know Coriscus, but not insofar as he is approaching: and therefore I can, while knowing Coriscus, inquire and doubt about him under the aspect of one approaching. In another way it is said that they knew, but were not attending to it or actually considering it; and therefore Philip was rebuked for his lack of consideration.

John 14:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

Thomas says to him: Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way? Thomas the doubter was slow to understand, and this for our benefit: because, just as the denial of Peter was profitable for removing presumption, so the ignorance of Thomas was profitable for the strengthening and clarification of faith. Therefore the Lord assures him concerning the way and the destination.

John 14:6 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

The soul, therefore, believing, hoping in, and loving Jesus Christ, who is the Word incarnate, uncreated, and inspired, that is, the way, the truth, and the life: when through faith it believes in Christ as the Word uncreated, which is the Word and splendor of the Father, it recovers spiritual hearing and sight, hearing to receive the words of Christ, sight to consider the splendors of that light. When, however, through hope it sighs to receive the Word inspired, through desire and affection it recovers spiritual smell. When through charity it embraces the Word incarnate, receiving from it delight and passing over into it through ecstatic love, it recovers taste and touch.

John 14:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

No one is wise unless he is taught by God, for "No one comes to the Father but through Me," says the Saviour. No one is taught in matters of faith except through God; and because it comes about through God's voice, it is said: "God called the firmament heaven."

John 14:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

Jesus says to him: I am the way, the truth, and the life. The truth and the life with respect to the destination, because the truth regards the intellect, the life regards the affection. I am the way for those seeking, the truth for those finding, the life for those remaining without death. I am the way that does not err: Psalm: "They wandered in a pathless waste and not in the way." I am the truth that does not deceive: Psalm: "The Lord is faithful in all his words." The life that does not fail: Luke ten: "Mary has chosen the best part, which shall not be taken from her." I am the way teaching: Proverbs 4: "I will lead you through the paths of equity, which when you have entered, your steps shall not be straitened, and running you shall have no stumbling block." I am the truth shining; Malachi, the last chapter: "The sun of justice shall arise for you who fear God." The life nourishing: above in the tenth chapter: "If anyone enters through me, he shall be saved: and he shall go in and go out and shall find pastures." I am the way by example: above in the thirteenth chapter: "I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you also should do." I am the truth in promise: the Psalm: "What proceeds from my lips I shall not make void." I am the life in reward: Romans 6: "The wages of sin is death: but the grace of God is life eternal." And that he is the way, he shows: No one comes to the Father except through me, and through me one assuredly comes. There is a question about the Lord's response to Thomas: I am the way, the truth, and the life. How is the same one, who goes, the way? How also is he himself the life and the terminus? This seems very unfitting. It must be said that he himself is the one who goes, and through whom one travels, and to whom one arrives: and thus he is the truth, which goes; the way, through which one travels; the life, to which one arrives. And this is on account of the plurality of natures: because as man, he goes; because as God, he is the terminus; because as mediator of God and men, he makes the way.

John 14:6 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

The summit of all Christian perfection revolves around three things, namely around grace, justice, and wisdom, according to which three things Christ is said to be the way, the truth, and the life. For the gift of grace provides the way to the truth of justice, in which consists the exercise of action; the truth of justice leads to the taste of wisdom, in which consists the consolation of contemplation; when these have been perfectly attained, one ascends to the summit of evangelical perfection, which Christ Jesus taught by word and example, who specially professed himself the master of humility, in Matthew 11: Learn from me, etc. For humility is the gateway of wisdom, the foundation of justice, and the dwelling place of grace.

John 14:6 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Christ instituted the seven Sacraments of the law of grace as the mediator of the new testament and the chief lawgiver, in which law he called to the promises eternal, gave directing precepts, and instituted sanctifying Sacraments. By reason of supreme goodness, he set forth beatifying promises; by reason of supreme truth, he gave directing precepts; but by reason of supreme power, he established assisting Sacraments: so that through the Sacraments power might be restored for fulfilling the directing precepts, and through the directive precepts one might arrive at the eternal promises, with the eternal Word, namely Christ the Lord, bringing this about in the evangelical law, insofar as he is the way, the truth, and the life.

John 14:6 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

John 14:6 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

John 14:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

If you had known me, you would certainly have known my Father also; because, as is said above in the tenth chapter, "I and the Father are one"; Matthew 11: "No one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wills to reveal him." And from henceforth you shall know him, and you have seen him: you shall know him, namely in the coming of the Holy Spirit: below in the sixteenth chapter: "When that Spirit of truth shall come, he will teach you all truth." That word of Jeremiah 31 shall be verified in you: "I will give my law in their inward parts, and in their hearts I will write it."

John 14:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

Philip says to him. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the terminus of Christ's departure, which Philip desired to see: on account of which Philip says to him: Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us, as if to say: we seek nothing further from you. For he is "all in all," 1 Corinthians 15. Not only he himself, but also his grace; 2 Corinthians 12: "My grace is sufficient for you." And because Philip was seeking what was not needful, therefore the Lord instructs Philip that he is seeking what he ought to have known.

John 14:8 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

John 14:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

Jesus says to him: I have been with you so long a time, and you have not known me? As if to say: when you ask about the Father, you ask about me, whom you ought to know. Therefore he says: Philip, he who sees me sees also my Father. How do you say: Show us the Father? He sees with the eye of faith, according to which Abraham, Genesis 18, is said to have "seen three and adored one." And that he ought so to believe, he shows, because they are one. There is a question about the response he gives to Philip: I have been with you for so long a time, and you have not known me? It seems from this that Philip had not yet believed in Christ. But then how was it said above to him that he was clean, since no one is clean except through faith? If you say that he did believe: how then, since he says that the Father and the Son are of one essence, was he seeking to see the Father? It seems that he believed something contrary to the faith. To this it must be said that Philip believed in him and believed him equal to the Father and one in substance; he believed this habitually. But because at that time he heard the Son speaking distinctly about the Father, he wanted and sought to see him distinctly: which he would not have sought if he had considered the unity of essence. Therefore from such a surreptitious movement he sinned venially, and therefore he is rebuked by the Lord. What does he mean when he says: He who sees me sees the Father also? For the Son was made visible, but the Father remained invisible. If you say that he speaks according to the Divinity, this amounts to nothing, because no one has ever seen God, neither the Father nor the Son, because if the Son, then also the Father. I respond: It must be said that he speaks of the vision of the Divinity, not of the humanity. But this is in two ways, namely through faith, as we see now through a mirror in an enigma; and through direct appearance. And he speaks here of the vision through faith: because no one perfectly believes in the Son without also believing in the Father.

John 14:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? as one: as if to say: this you ought to believe. And he manifests this through his work: The words that I speak to you, I do not speak of myself: but the Father who abides in me, he does the works, and thus, if the operation is one, the substance also is one: above in the fifth chapter: "Whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner"; and in the eighth chapter: "Of myself I do nothing." There is a question about what he says: I am in the Father, and the Father is in me. To the contrary: Then it is argued from this: therefore the Father is in the Father. It is also asked: why is this proposition not accepted: The Father is in the Father? I respond: It must be said that this preposition in, because it is a preposition, implies distinction; but because it is this preposition, it implies unity of essence; therefore it is conceded that the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father. But it does not follow that the Father is in the Father; rather, there is here a fallacy of accident, just as in this case: I am similar to you, and you to me; therefore I am similar to myself — a fallacy of accident, because similarity implies both agreement and distinction.

John 14:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? Simply, without persuasion, as right faith believes. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves; above in the tenth chapter: "If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me." Whence Augustine says: "If we were separated, we could in no way work inseparably." And thus it has been explained where he had said he was going to go, because he was not going to the Father as to someone outside himself, but he wished to make them believe that he was equal to the Father. And indeed the disciples already knew this, because they believed him to be true God, and thus equal to the Father in all things: otherwise he would not be true God.

John 14:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

Amen, amen, I say to you. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the fruit or utility of Christ's departure in believers: on account of which he says: He who believes in me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater things than these shall he do: Matthew 17: "If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain: Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." And the reason for this is Christ's departure from us: therefore he adds: Because I go to the Father, namely, that I may appear before the face of God "to intercede for you"; therefore 1 John 2: "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ." There is an inquiry about what he says: He who believes in me, the works that I do, he also shall do. This is false, because those works were of infinite power; therefore no one does them except God. Likewise, what does he mean when he says: He shall do greater things? Because the greatest thing is to raise the dead, and a putrid dead person; how can there be a greater miracle? Likewise, if the servant is not greater than his master, it is not fitting that God should work greater works through the servants of Christ than through the Son himself. I respond: It must be said that the Lord, at the invocation of the Apostles, worked more miracles than he had worked through himself. As to what is said, that the believer shall do them: this is said because it happens at his invocation, or because he is thought by men to do them himself. As to what is again said, that greater things: it must be said that greater not with respect to the deed, but with respect to the manner; because it is read in Acts chapter five that the sick were healed by the shadow of Peter. Likewise, it is said of the Apostles that by the presence of their garments the sick were healed and the dead were raised. Nevertheless, the servant is not on this account greater than the master, because the Apostles were not doing them; not for their own glory, but for the glory of Christ. There is an inquiry whether he means unformed or formed faith. That he means unformed faith seems likely: Because it is said in First Corinthians chapter thirteen: If I should have faith so as to move mountains, but have not charity, etc.; therefore they are done through unformed faith without charity. Likewise, this seems to be the case, because many wicked men had worked miracles, as is said in Matthew chapter seven. But against this: because the sinner is unworthy of the bread he eats; therefore if one having unformed faith is in sin, he in no way deserves to be heard. I respond: It must be said that there is being heard by fittingness and by strict merit: one having unformed faith is frequently heard and deserves to be heard only by fittingness with respect to those things concerning which he has faith that the Lord will hear him. If those having faith work miracles, and today few or none work miracles, therefore few or none have faith. In attestation of this, what is said in Matthew twenty-one is adduced: If you have faith and say to this mountain: Cast yourself into the sea: it shall be done. But who is there that could do this? I respond: It must be said according to Gregory and Augustine that there are two kinds of miraculous works: some sensible, some spiritual: sensible, such as raising the dead, and such things are necessary for establishing the faith of the simple; but spiritual are the raising from spiritual death through the Sacraments. The first have ceased, because the faith has been multiplied; the second always remain for our salvation. Whence it must be understood that the Lord was speaking to them either about spiritual marvels, or was speaking for the time of the primitive Church, in which the gentiles and the unlearned had to be instructed in the faith. Nevertheless they still occur even now, but the Lord has restrained His hand, because there is not such need.

John 14:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

Whatever you shall ask the Father in my name, this I will do. Therefore he says that we ought to ask the Father in the name of the Son, so that namely the Father may be glorified in the Son, because the Son does not seek his own glory, but the Father's: therefore it was said above in the seventh chapter: "He who seeks the glory of him who sent him, he is truthful." And for greater certainty, because a promise is made firmer by a double affirmation, therefore he adds:

John 14:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

If you ask anything in my name, this I will do: and he does not repeat the name of the Father, to show that even if they ask from him himself, they obtain it, since he is equal to the Father; 1 John 3: "If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask, we shall receive from him."

John 14:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

If you love me, etc. Above the Lord exhorted to faith; in this second part, because "faith without works is dead," He exhorts to the observance of the commandments; and He does this indeed in this order. First He exhorts by promising aid; second, by promising consolation; third, reward; fourth, He expresses what the merit of these things is. First, therefore, He exhorts to the observance of the commandments: and because it happens that the commandments are kept out of fear, as in the Law, and this He does not seek; it also happens that they are kept out of love, and this He seeks: therefore He says: If you love me, keep my commandments, namely out of love for me; 2 John: "This is charity, that we walk according to His commandments." To such He promises aid.

John 14:15 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The usefulness of observance ought to move us to observe the commandments of God. For in keeping the commandments of God there is manifold usefulness, which is reduced to three benefits. The first benefit is the obtaining of divine gifts; the second is the revelation of the Sacred Scriptures; the third is the attainment of heavenly rewards. The first benefit in keeping the commandments of God is the obtaining of divine gifts: whence in John: "If you love me, keep my commandments, and I will ask my Father, and He will give you another Paraclete."

John 14:16 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

John 14:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete. Paraclete means consoler or advocate: He says another, in which He implies that He Himself is a consoler and advocate; 1 John 2: "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just." He promises them another advocate who is eternal, because He Himself as consoler in bodily presence had been only for a time. That He may abide with you forever: not as with Saul, of whom 1 Kings 16 says "The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul" etc. The question is asked concerning what he says: If you love me, keep my commandments: and afterwards: I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete. Therefore it seems that they could love and keep the commandments before the Holy Spirit was given to them. Or if they have him, why will he give and how? I respond: It must be said that they had the Holy Spirit for loving and keeping the commandments; but he was promised to them by the Lord for fuller effects and a greater gift. Hence Augustine: "It remains that we understand that he who loves has the Holy Spirit, and by having him merits to have more, and by having more loves more." The question is asked concerning what he says: I will ask the Father. Augustine says, in On Nature and Grace, that "no one prays for that which he can do by himself": therefore if the Son prays for the giving of the Holy Spirit, the Son cannot give the Holy Spirit. To this it must be responded that he asks in the same way as he merits; and this according to his human nature, according to which he suffered and was exalted, and by his passion and prayer merited for us the gift of the Holy Spirit, and according to that nature he could not give, but obtain. The question is asked concerning what he says: He will give you another Paraclete. For if the Paraclete is called an advocate, and an advocate is a mediator; but the Holy Spirit cannot be a mediator: therefore neither a Paraclete, therefore neither an advocate. I respond: It must be said that the Holy Spirit is called the Paraclete in a twofold signification: both because He is a consoler by the hope of pardon, whence He was given to us as a pledge of the eternal inheritance; and also because He is an advocate. But advocate is said in two ways: either with respect to the person, or with respect to the office. The Son is an advocate with respect to the person of the advocate, because He is the mediator; but the Holy Spirit with respect to the office. Now the office of the advocate is threefold, namely to intercede, and this the Holy Spirit has: Romans 8: The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unutterable groanings. To respond, and this the Holy Spirit does; Matthew 10: Do not think about how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given to you in that hour what you shall speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. The third is to convict the opposing party, and this belongs to the Holy Spirit: below in chapter 16: When He shall come, He will convict the world of sin, etc.

John 14:17 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

No one can be saved in whom the Trinity does not dwell: for the entire Trinity dwells simultaneously in a person through grace: but the Trinity does not dwell except in one who believes: therefore no one can be saved unless he believes the most blessed Trinity. The minor is proved through that which is said in John fourteen, that the Spirit of truth the world cannot receive, because it does not see him nor know him: but you shall know him, because he shall abide with you and shall be in you.

John 14:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

The Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will give, namely another Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, etc. He describes this Spirit with respect to his effect, whence he calls him the Spirit of truth, because he teaches true things, just as the spirit of error teaches false things: below in the sixteenth chapter: "When he comes, he will teach you all truth." He also describes him with respect to his dwelling, because not in unbelievers but in believers, not in carnal men but in spiritual ones; on account of which he adds: Whom the world cannot receive. And the reason is that it is blind through unbelief; because it does not see him, by open knowledge, nor does it know him, by any understanding whatsoever; Wisdom 1: "The Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful and will withdraw himself from thoughts that are without understanding"; and 1 Corinthians 2: "The natural man does not perceive the things that are of God." But you shall know him, because he shall abide with you and shall be in you: Revelation 2: "To him who overcomes I will give the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a name written, which no one knows except he who receives it." Concerning this knowledge, Wisdom 15: "To know you is perfect justice, and to know your justice and your power is the root of immortality." And it should be noted that he says: He shall abide with you and shall be in you, signifying the twofold grace of the Holy Spirit: prevenient and subsequent; the Psalm: "His mercy shall go before me"; and in another Psalm: "And your mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." It is asked concerning what He says, that the world does not know the Holy Spirit, but you shall know Him, because He shall be in you. But it is objected: because the Holy Spirit is in all things, in the good as well as in the evil, since He is God: therefore all know Him. If you say that He does not speak of being present by presence, but by grace; this is false, because no one knows whether he is worthy of love or of hatred: therefore no one knows whether he has the Holy Spirit with respect to the effect of grace. I respond: It must be said that here He speaks of knowledge of the Holy Spirit in His manifest effect; whence He speaks of His being in us, not by essence, but by effect, and therefore the response to the first objection is clear. But it should be noted that the effect of the Holy Spirit is twofold: one kind, which is in us and regards us, such as to love, to believe, and to fear, and we are certain that we have these when we have them; another kind, which regards something above us, namely to make pleasing, which is to make acceptable to God, and with respect to this effect it is not known to us except through special revelation; it can nevertheless be known probably, though not with certainty.

John 14:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

I will not leave you orphans. Here secondly, to the disciples who keep the commandments, he promises consolation concerning his visitation; on account of which he says: I will not leave you orphans, that is, desolate: I will come to you, namely by visiting: in the last chapter of Mark the Angel said: "He will go before you into Galilee; there you shall see him, as he told you." And just as the Holy Spirit is not sent except to the good, so also the visitation of Christ is only to the good.

John 14:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

Yet a little while, and the world sees me no more, because after the Passion he did not appear to the worldly, but to the Apostles; Acts 10: "He gave him to be made manifest not to all the people, but to witnesses preordained by God." But you shall see me: because I live, through the life of glory, and you shall live, through the life of grace, which begins in faith: concerning which, Habakkuk 2: "But my just one shall live by faith."

John 14:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

On that day you will know that I am in my Father: in which is noted the distinction of persons and the unity of essence; which pertains to the faith of the Trinity; and you in me, and I in you, through grace, and this pertains to the faith of redemption. You in me, as branches in the vine: below in the fifteenth chapter: "I am the vine, you are the branches: abide in me." And I in you, as an indweller in a dwelling: "The temple of God is holy, which you are," First Corinthians, chapter three.

John 14:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

He who has the commandments. Here the third point is touched upon, namely that to those who observe the commandments a reward is promised. And the reason for this is that such a one who keeps the commandments is loved by the Lord, and therefore is beatified and glorified: on account of which he says: He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me: because, as Gregory says, "the proof of love is the display of works"; whence in the Psalm: "His justice unto the children of children, to those who keep his covenant and are mindful of his commandments to do them." He who keeps them thus truly loves indeed, not in word only, as those of whom it is said in First John, chapter three: "Let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth." But he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and also by me, and I will love him: Proverbs, chapter eight: "I love those who love me"; and I will show my love in the reward: whence: And I will manifest myself to him, and this is the reward; whence in the Psalm: "I will show him my salvation"; the Gloss: "The vision is the whole reward"; below in the seventeenth chapter: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

John 14:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

Judas said to him, etc. Here in the fourth place it is expressed that merit lies in the observance of the commandments. For because he had said that he was to manifest himself to the Apostles and not to the world, the disciple began to wonder why he said this. On account of which there follows: Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him: Lord, what has happened, that is, what is the cause of this, that you are about to manifest yourself to us and not to the world? And the Lord answers him that merit is the cause, because they do not observe the commandments, in which lies the merit of seeing.

John 14:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

Jesus answered and said to him: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word; Luke 6: "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I command you?" "The love of God is not idle: for it works great things, if it is; but if it refuses to work, it is not love." And from this observance one merits the Lord's manifestation; hence and my Father will love him: and from this love follows manifestation: therefore he says: And we will come to him. And if the Lord comes, no good is lacking: Wisdom 7: "All good things came to me together with her." And we will make our abode with him, and this by merit of the observance of the commandments: hence Gregory: "He who truly loves God and perfectly keeps his commandments, in him the Lord makes his abode: because the love of the Divinity so penetrates him that he does not withdraw from this love in the time of temptation." And therefore, supply, he is manifested to you who keep my commandments, because you love me, and therefore you merit it. It is asked concerning what is said of the Father, that the Father will come: whence: We will come to him. Why does He say this rather of Himself and the Father than of the Holy Spirit? And it seems that this ought not to be said of the Father, because the Father sends the Son. But if the Father were to come at the same time as the Son, by the same reason by which He would send the Son, by the same reason He would also send Himself. Likewise, how does He come who is everywhere and does not assume a creature? I respond: It must be said that the coming of God to us, as Augustine says, is understood according to effect, not through essence; whence Augustine: "They come to us while we come to them: they come by helping, we come by obeying; they come by illuminating, we come by beholding; they come by filling, we come by receiving." Since therefore the works of the Trinity are undivided, when the Holy Spirit comes, according to truth the Father and the Son come; yet according to appropriation it is attributed to the Father, who is another of the persons. To send, however, besides the fact that it denotes an effect, implies a personal distinction through authority and sub-authority: and therefore, even though the Father comes with the Son, He does not however send Himself with the Son. He does not make mention of the Holy Spirit, because He had spoken of this above.

John 14:23 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

There shines forth a threefold signification in Scriptures, teaching what to believe, what to expect, and what to do. What to believe, in terms of faith; what to expect, in terms of hope; what to do, in terms of charity, which consists in action, and not only in affective dispositions. "If anyone love Me, he will keep My word."

John 14:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

He who does not love me does not keep my words: and therefore such a one does not merit to see me. Such is the world and the worldly: below in chapter 15: "If the world hates you, know that it hated me before you"; and therefore it does not keep his commandments: and therefore he does not manifest himself to the world. And lest you think that he spoke his own words and not the Father's, he adds: And the word which you have heard is not mine, that is, the word: it is an antiptosis, in which one case is put for another: but of the Father who sent me: above in chapter 12: "I have not spoken of myself: but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak."

John 14:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

These things I have spoken to you, etc. This is the third part of the chapter, in which, the exhortation now having been made, He foretells the hastening of His departure, so that when it has come to pass, they may believe. And lest they be grieved about this, it is not proposed immediately, but consolation is placed first and the hastening is joined after. And He offers them consolation in multiple ways: first, from the expectation of the Holy Spirit; second, from the gift of peace; third, from the promise of visitation; fourth, from the rejoicing in His exaltation. First, therefore, He sets forth the consolation from the expectation of the Holy Spirit; on account of which He says: These things I have spoken to you, abiding with you; Luke, last chapter: "These are the words which I spoke to you, while I was yet with you"; nor ought you to be troubled if you do not understand, because you will understand at the coming of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

But the Paraclete, the Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, that is, in faith in my name, because He was given only to those believing in Christ; above in chapter seven: "He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly"; Acts four: "For there is no other name under heaven given to men, in which we must be saved." That Spirit, I say, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things whatsoever I shall have said to you; Wisdom seven: "Wisdom, the maker of all things, taught me: for in her there is a spirit of understanding, holy." It can be asked concerning what he says, that the Holy Spirit will suggest all things that the Son had said; for to suggest is characteristic of an inferior. To this Gregory responds: "That the Holy Spirit is said to suggest, not because he brings knowledge from below, but because from what is hidden."

John 14:26 — Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ, Question 4

Gregory, on that passage of John fourteen, *He will teach you all things,* says: "Unless the same Spirit is present to the heart of the hearer, the speech of the teacher is idle: let no one therefore attribute to the man who teaches what he understands from the mouth of the teacher, because unless there is one who teaches within, the tongue of the teacher labors outwardly in vain." Likewise, the same author in the same place: "Behold, you all equally hear the one voice of the speaker, and yet you do not all equally perceive the meaning of the voice heard. Since therefore the voice is not different, why is the understanding of the voice different in your hearts, unless it is because, through the fact that the voice of the speaker commonly admonishes, there is an interior teacher who specially teaches certain ones concerning the understanding of the voice?" But if our intellect were sufficient of itself for understanding through the light of created truth, it would not need a heavenly teacher: since therefore it does need one, the conclusion is clear.

John 14:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

Peace I leave to you. Second, he consoles through the giving or donation of peace, in which there is great consolation: on account of which he says: Peace I leave to you, my peace I give to you: he repeats peace, to indicate the peace of grace and the peace of glory; whence Augustine: "He leaves us his peace, in which remaining we conquer enemies: he gives us his peace, when we shall reign without an enemy"; Isaiah twenty-seven: "The Lord will make peace for me, he will make peace for me." This he gives to those who observe the commandments; Isaiah forty-eight: "Would that you had heeded my commandments: your peace would have been like a river." He explains what he says my; because my was said distinctively, namely not of the world; and therefore he adds: Not as the world gives, do I give to you: Because the world gives carnally, I give spiritually; the world gives temporally, but I eternally; the world outwardly, but I inwardly. Therefore it is written at Philippians last chapter: "The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." The peace of the world guards bodies and possessions; of which Matthew ten: "I did not come to send peace, but the sword." Let not your heart be troubled. Here now third he consoles through the promise of visitation, which he had also promised above: on account of which he says: Let not your heart be troubled nor let it fear.

John 14:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

You have heard that I said to you: I go and I come to you; above in the same chapter: "And if I go away" etc.; below in chapter sixteen: "Again I will see you, and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you." If you loved me. Here now fourth he consoles through congratulation at his exaltation: for they ought to rejoice at his exaltation, if they love him: on account of which he says: If you loved me, you would indeed rejoice, because I go to the Father; because in this journey is my exaltation. Whence he adds: Because the Father is greater than I, and so, when I go to sit at the right hand of the Father, I am exalted: of which exaltation, Hebrews one: "He sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high, being made so much better than the Angels" etc. And charity rejoices together over this exaltation; whence Romans twelve: "Rejoice with those who rejoice" etc. It is asked concerning what he says: You would indeed rejoice, because I go to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. From this Arius argues that the Son is less than the Father. If you say that this was said according to the human nature, then by equal reasoning he ought to say that I am greater than myself. Likewise Hilary says that the Father is greater than the Son according to the divine nature; and then it is argued from relative terms that the Son is less than the Father: therefore not equal. The response to this is through the rule of Augustine in the first book of On the Trinity, because all things said of the Son that show equality are referred to the divine nature, while those that show inequality are referred to the human nature; and so it is to be understood in the present case. Whence Augustine: "The human nature is to be congratulated, because it was so assumed by the only-begotten Word that it was established immortal in heaven, and thus earth was made sublime, so that incorruptible dust might sit at the right hand of the Father." Whence according to the determination it must be conceded that the Son, insofar as he is God, is greater than himself insofar as he is man. But as to what is objected concerning Hilary, it must be said that Hilary takes the term greater not insofar as it denotes an excess of magnitude of power or virtue, but insofar as it denotes authority. And because the Father has authority with respect to the Son as principle, therefore he says that he is greater than the Son. Nevertheless the Son is not said to be lesser, because it is a term implying imperfection.

John 14:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

And now I have told you. After the consolation has been set forth, there is here added the hastening of departure. And first is noted the reason for foretelling; second, the reason for hastening; third, the sign of the hastening. There is noted, therefore, first the reason why he foretells, namely for the strengthening of faith; on account of which he says: Now I have told you before it comes to pass, that, when it shall come to pass, you may believe: because that strengthened their faith, since they saw it happen just as he had foretold. For if he had not foretold it, they would have doubted whether he had endured this voluntarily. Hence after the resurrection he brought these things back to memory; Luke, the last chapter: "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written concerning me." And: "Because it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer," etc. It is asked concerning what he says: Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it has happened, you may believe. Therefore it seems that the Apostles did not yet have faith, because he foretold these things to them so that they might believe. Likewise, "faith has no merit where human reason provides proof"; if therefore he foretold to them, then from the fact that they saw happen what he had said, they experienced it to be true: therefore they were devoid of the merit of faith. I respond: It must be said that the Apostles had faith, but nevertheless not fully explicit nor perfectly firm, as is evident, because in no way did they wish to believe the resurrection. It must be said therefore that the Lord foretold to them his passion so that they might already believe in that of which they previously knew nothing. He also spoke for the strengthening of faith, so that, seeing the passion and wavering, they might remember that he suffered willingly and as God. Whence they saw one thing and believed another, because they saw that a man had suffered, and they believed that, willing to suffer, as God he had laid down his life. And the sign of this was his prediction, but not a compelling reason that would take away merit.

John 14:30 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, John 14: The prince of this world comes, and in me he has nothing; the Gloss says: "The Lord did not wish to have anything He might lose; He came poor, lest the devil have anything to take away"; therefore if all temporal things can be lost, He had nothing temporal.

John 14:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

I will not now speak many things. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the reason for hastening, and this is the assault of the devil and the divine will: on account of the assault of the devil, who was arming his minions to seize Christ, therefore he says: I will not now speak many things with you; for the prince of this world comes, that is, the devil hastens. The devil was coming in his minions, but nevertheless this does not constrain, because in me he has nothing: he had nothing that he might exact nor that he might find fault with, because he had no sin, and he holds dominion over sinners; hence Job forty-one: "He is king over all the children of pride." Hence he is the prince of darkness; Ephesians six: "Against the rulers of the world of this darkness"; and in Christ there was no darkness, because he "was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world." It is asked concerning what he says, that the devil had no jurisdiction whatsoever over Christ. Therefore it seems that the Lord acted unjustly in that he permitted him to be oppressed by the devil. Likewise he says that he does this on account of the commandment of the Father: therefore if he was bound to obey, then he died from obligation, not from pure liberality. I respond: It must be said that to punish someone unwilling for his own fault, this is a matter of wrath and severity; to punish someone willing for his own fault, this is a matter of justice and truth: to punish someone willing for another's fault, this is a matter of wondrous dispensation and condescension. Because therefore Christ was punished and willingly punished for our salvation: it pleased God to lay upon him the iniquities of us all, and for our transgressions he himself was punished. He was offered, because he himself willed it; and therefore no injustice was done on God's part, but on the part of the devil. And therefore, because he unjustly usurped dominion over Christ, by this very fact he justly lost the dominion that he had over the members of Christ. To the objection that he was bound to die: it must be said that there is a debt of merit and a debt of precept. The sinner is bound to die because he merited it; but Christ, because the Father commanded him. But this debt is not repugnant to liberality when it is done out of love; and so Christ acted, and therefore he says: That the world may know that I love the Father.

John 14:30 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

The second hierarchizing of the mind is related to the interior powers: and this is more difficult than the first. First it consists in chastizing the roots of the passions, so that the opposing powers are cut off and neutralized. "The prince of the world is coming, and in Me he has nothing." For as long as those passions dominate a man, the devil has something of his own in this man. But for this to be achieved, there is need to uproot the threefold concupiscence: of originating, of enjoying, and of possessing, for this threefold concupiscence introduces the devil into the soul.

John 14:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 14

But that the world may know that I love the Father, therefore I die at his command; hence: As the Father has given me commandment, so I do. Concerning this commandment, above, chapter ten: "This commandment I have received from my Father." God the Father gave him this commandment, not because he himself had merited it, but for our salvation; hence Second Corinthians five: "Him who knew no sin," God the Father "made sin for us, that we might be made the justice of God in him." Moreover, he did this out of love for us: above, chapter three: "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son." Arise, let us go. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the sign of the hastening of departure, which consists in this, that he urges his disciples to depart from there; on account of which he says: Arise, let us go hence, in which he shows that he suffers voluntarily. A similar thing is said in Matthew twenty-six: "Arise, let us go: behold, he who will betray me draws near."

John 15:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

Second, concerning constancy in true love, three things are set forth. I am the true vine etc. In the preceding chapter the Lord exhorted his disciples to constancy of faith; in this chapter he exhorts them to proven and true love. And since true love first loves God, then also loves a friend in God and loves and tolerates an enemy for God's sake, therefore he first exhorts the disciples to the love of God; second, to the love of friends, at the passage: This is my commandment, that you love etc.; third, to the love and toleration of enemies, at the passage: If the world hates you, know etc. First, he exhorts the disciples to the love of God. He exhorts them first to the love of God: and because "he who abides in charity abides in God," he exhorts them to abide in himself, and he does this in the following order. First, the place of abiding is described; second, the fruit; third, the manner; fourth, the effect. The place of abiding, therefore, is expressed first as Christ himself, in whom the faithful ought to abide, just as the branch abides in the vine. Therefore he says: I am the true vine, therefore true, because it produces true wine, of which the penultimate chapter of Genesis says: "He shall wash his robe in wine and his garment in the blood of the grape, binding his foal to the vineyard and his donkey to the vine." This vine is not uncultivated; therefore he says: And my Father is the husbandman, not only one who cultivates from without but who gives increase from within; First Corinthians three: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase," and shortly after: "You are God's husbandry, you are God's building." Therefore the Father is the true husbandman, because he carries out his work. Question I. But here a question is raised about what he says: I am the true vine. Augustine objects: If vine is said of Christ, just as lion and stone are said of him, and these are said not properly but by likeness, and those things are called true which are said properly, it does not seem that he should say: I am the true vine, but rather the figurative vine. And Augustine responds that by adding true, "he distinguishes himself from that vine to which it was said: How have you turned into bitterness, O foreign vine"? Jeremiah two: How have you turned to perversity, O foreign vineyard? Hence it is not called true because it is not said by likeness, but true because it is not foreign. Nevertheless, it can be said that just as true wine is that which has the operation of wine, so the true vine is that which has the operation of the vine. The vine therefore, literally, is true when it produces wine; not true, that which does not bear fruit. So also a figurative vine is called true which has the activity of the vine; not true, which does not have it. So also Christ, because he truly has the activity of the vine, is the true vine. But not the synagogue, of which Isaiah five says: "He expected it to produce grapes, but it produced thorns." Question II. But then the question remains: why does the Lord compare himself to the grain of wheat among grains, and to the wood of the vine among woods? I respond: This is on account of the true body and the mystical body. The true body of Christ is true food, and the true blood is true drink. Because therefore from grains of wheat is made bread that most excellently nourishes, and from the vine wine that most excellently gives drink, he therefore compared himself to the vine and the grain. And hence it is that in these two species the Sacrament of the altar is confected. Another reason is on account of the mystical body, because just as from the purest grains of wheat and grape berries bread and wine are made, so from pure faithful ones the mystical body of Christ is formed. Question III. Likewise it is asked, according to which nature Christ is the vine, whether according to the divine or according to the human. And that it is according to the human nature, Augustine says: "The…

John 15:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

Every branch in me not bearing fruit, he shall take away: Matthew three: "The axe is laid to the root of the tree: every tree that does not bear good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire." And every one that bears fruit, he shall purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit. He shall purge, through penitence; whence First John one: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us all our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity." He also purges through patience: whence in the Psalm: "For you have proved us, O God: you have tried us by fire, as silver is tried; you have brought us into the snare," etc. In this vine, therefore, the clean branches are best placed; therefore he exhorts the Apostles, already clean, to abide in himself. Question V. The question is raised concerning what He says: The Father will take away every branch not bearing fruit. Either he will take away from the vine, or he will take away from life. From the vine, no, because the Father separates no one from his Son; or if he takes away, how does he take away from the vine? Because he who does not work good is by that very fact separated from the vine, Christ, because he does not have grace, but rather loses it. If from life; this is false, because the wicked live longer than the good, as we see. Likewise, he also takes the good from bodily life just as he does the wicked. I respond: It must be said that the branches draw from Christ not the life of nature, but the life of grace and the life of glory. A branch is said to be taken away or separated from this vine not through the death of nature, but through the death of sin, or of final damnation. Hence unfruitful branches and those who receive the grace of God in vain are separated from the vine by the merit of their sin through the judgment of divine justice; hence Revelation 3: Because you are lukewarm, I will begin to vomit you out; because by just judgment God does not bestow grace upon them. By the judgment of final damnation they will be taken away and cast into the fire, when the time of meriting is closed off; hence he says: he will take away, not because he removes immediately, since he grants a place for repentance.

John 15:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

Already you are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. This was the word of faith, which purifies believers: Acts fifteen: "Purifying their hearts by faith." Question IV. Likewise Augustine asks concerning what He says: You are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you: because the word is exterior, cleanliness is interior. How then can an exterior word cleanse interiorly? I respond: It must be said that this is either on account of faith, or on account of the Sacrament of faith: on account of faith, because faith comes from hearing, which purifies the heart: on account of the Sacrament of faith, which is baptism. Whence Augustine says: "In the water the word cleanses: take away the word, what is water but water? The word comes to the element, and it becomes a Sacrament." But this word of faith and of the Sacrament, even though it is exterior, nevertheless cleanses, as Augustine says, "not because it is spoken, but because it is believed; Romans ten: If you confess with your mouth that the Lord has ascended into heaven, and in your heart you believe that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved".

John 15:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

Abide in me, as in the vine, and I in you, as in a temple: on this, First John 4: "He who abides in charity abides in God, and God in him." Therefore the abiding is mutual, because the love is mutual: above, chapter fourteen: "He who loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him." As the branch etc. He touched upon the place of abiding; here he touches secondly upon the fruit of abiding, which the branch has, not apart from the vine, but in the vine. Therefore he shows that the fruit from the branch has its origin from the vine, first by the opposite, namely through separation, second by the proposition, through abiding. On account of which he says: As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me. And therefore, if they wish to bear fruit, it is necessary that they abide in him from whom the fruit has its origin: Ephesians 1: "He gave him as head over the whole Church, which is his body and his fullness, who has fulfilled all things in all"; John 1: "Of his fullness we have all received grace for grace." Therefore you cannot bear fruit unless you abide in me; but in me you can.

John 15:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

I am the vine, and you are the branches: and therefore he who abides in me, he bears much fruit. And therefore abide in me as in the origin of fruit: because without me you can do nothing; Isaiah 26: "All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord."

John 15:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

And that they can do nothing without him, he shows through a similitude: If anyone does not abide in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, namely separated from the vine. He is cast outside the vineyard through separation from the unity of the Church; Apocalypse, last chapter: "Outside are dogs and sorcerers and the unchaste" etc. And he will not bear fruit, whence he will wither, through the loss of the moisture of grace; and they will gather him and cast him into the fire, and he burns, because he will burn through the infliction of punishment. Whence four evils follow: first, that he is cast out; Matthew 15: "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted." Second, he will wither: Matthew 21, the Lord said to the fig tree, in which he found nothing but leaves: "Let no fruit ever be born from you forever. And immediately it withered"; Psalm: "My strength has dried up like a potsherd." Third, he is gathered by the angelic ministry: whence Matthew 13: "They shall gather out of his kingdom all scandals." Fourth, he is burned with fire: Ezekiel 15: "Son of man, what shall become of the wood of the vine?" And it follows: "Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel."

John 15:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

If you abide in me. Above he showed that he is the origin of fruit through the opposite of abiding; but here he shows through abiding itself, which gives fruit both with respect to yourself and with respect to your neighbor. With respect to yourself: If you abide in me, and my words abide in you: not like those of whom Luke 8 says: "They believe for a time, and in the time of temptation they fall away"; but like those of whom the Psalm says: "Who keep his covenant and are mindful of his commandments, to do them"; whatever you will, you shall ask, and it shall be done for you; above in chapter nine: "If anyone does the will of God, he hears him." Not only is there fruit with respect to oneself, but also with respect to one's neighbor, to be converted to the glory of God.

John 15:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

In this is my Father glorified, that you bear very much fruit: namely, that people be converted by your word and example; Matthew 5: "So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in heaven"; and from this you become my disciples, that is, imitators of me, who bore very much fruit through my death, as above in chapter twelve: "If a grain of wheat dies, it bears much fruit." So also the Apostles: whence the Church sings of them that "they planted the Church with their blood"; Colossians 1: "I fill up what is lacking of the sufferings of Christ".

John 15:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

As the Father has loved me. Here thirdly is touched upon the manner of abiding, which is through love, to which the fact that he himself first loved us ought to invite us: therefore he said: As the Father has loved me, so I also have loved you; and therefore abide in my love; 1 John 4: "Let us therefore love God, because he first loved us." Question VI. Likewise, there is a question about what he says: As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Against this is the fact that the love of the Father is natural, while the love of the Son toward us is purely gratuitous; therefore no likeness seems apparent. It is therefore asked: in what respect does he say, As the Father has loved me, etc.? I respond: It must be said that, as Richard of Saint Victor says, in the divine persons there is love that is purely gratuitous, love that is owed, and love mixed from both. The love of the Father for the Son is purely gratuitous, because the Father gives to the Son and receives nothing. But the love of the Holy Spirit for the Father and the Son is purely owed, because he only receives. But the love of the Son for the Father is owed, because he receives; toward the Holy Spirit it is gratuitous, because he gives. Since therefore the Son loved us purely gratuitously, he compares the love by which he loves us to the love of the Father for himself.

John 15:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

And because true love is manifested through works, he adds: If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; just as I have kept the commandments of my Father and abide in his love: above in chapter fourteen: "That the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father has given me commandment, so I do." So also we ought to do; 1 John 2: "He who says that he abides in him ought, even as he walked, himself also to walk"; Deuteronomy 10: "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you, except that you fear the Lord your God and walk in his ways and love him and serve the Lord your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and keep the commandments of the Lord and his ceremonies, which I command you this day, that it may be well with you"?

John 15:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

These things I have spoken to you. Here the fourth is touched upon, namely the effect of abiding: and the effect is joy in the present and joy in the future. On account of joy in the present he says: That my joy may be in you, that is, pure joy, by which a person rejoices in the Lord, not in the world; concerning which Philippians, the last chapter, says: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say: rejoice." On account of joy in the future, he says: And that your joy may be fulfilled, concerning which below in chapter sixteen: "Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full." Our joy is fulfilled by the joy of the Lord, concerning which in Matthew twenty-five: "Enter into the joy of your Lord."

John 15:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

If you consider the commands, "this is My commandment, that you love one another." If you are concerned with judgment, it is to Christ that the power of judgment pertains; and we should gladly choose to have Him as a judge, for He loves us. We should say to Him: "Lord, You must judge us; but make it so that Your blood atones for us."

John 15:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

Second, he exhorts the disciples to love their friends. This is my commandment. After the Lord has exhorted to the love of God, here secondly he exhorts to the love of brother and friend, and he does this in the following manner. First, he binds them to fraternal love in view of obedience; second, in view of divine friendship; third, in view of eternal reward. He binds them first by the precept of obedience, indicating that this is entirely in his will as the chief commandment; on account of which he says: This is my commandment, that you love one another; hence above in chapter thirteen: "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another." And the manner is added: As I have loved you, "not in word or tongue, but in deed and truth," as I have loved you. Question I. But Gregory first inquires concerning what he says: This is my commandment, that you love one another: "Since all the divine utterances are full of the Lord's precepts, what is it that concerning love he says in the singular: This is my commandment"? And he responds that "the divine precepts are many and one: many through the diversity of works, one in the root of love." And he calls love the root, "because the little branch of a good work has no greenness unless it remains in the root of love." Because therefore the commandments are referred to the precept of love, in which all are united and fulfilled: hence it is that he says: This is my commandment, in the singular.

John 15:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

And he shows that he himself loved them in deed: Greater, he says, love than this no one has, than that one lay down his life for his friends: as if to say: nothing more can one do than give one's life, which is dearer than all things; Ephesians 5: "Christ loved us and delivered himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of sweetness." And this was a most vehement love, not only in Christ, who delivered himself and his soul, but in the Father: whence Romans 8: "He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all: how has he not also, together with him, given us all things?" Whence it should be noted that great is the love by which a mother loves her son: beyond this Christ loved us: Isaiah 49: "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? And if she should forget, yet I will not forget you." Greater is that by which a wife loves her husband, and beyond this Christ loved us; Jeremiah 3: "It is commonly said: If a man dismiss his wife, and she departing from him marry another man, shall he return to her any more? But you have committed fornication with many lovers: yet return, and I will receive you." Greatest is that of the soul to the body: and beyond this he loved us: Jeremiah 12: "I have forsaken my house, I have left my inheritance, I have given my beloved soul into the hands of her enemies." And therefore that saying is true in the last chapter of the Song of Songs: "Love is strong as death," etc. Question II. Likewise it is inquired concerning what he says: Greater love than this no one has, than that one lay down his life for his friends. Contra: 1. One person acts from a small charity, while another from a greater charity can die for a friend: what then does he mean when he says greater? 2. Likewise, in the homeland there will be much greater charity than exists on the way; what then does he mean when he says greater charity etc.? I respond that this is not said with respect to the habit of charity, or its principal act; but with respect to the sign or effect, because this is the principal sign of love. Question III. But then it is objected: because it is greater to die for an enemy than for a friend; therefore to die for a friend is still not the greatest sign of love. Hence the Apostle argues in Romans 5 from the lesser: If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. To this Gregory responds that this name "friends" does not stand only for those who loved the Lord, but also for his enemies, because they were friends of the Lord, since the Lord loved them when he laid down his life for them. Or it should be understood that the Lord was speaking of the love of friends, and with respect to that love there is no greater sign than to die for a friend; similarly with respect to the true love of enemies: for there is no greater sign than to die for an enemy. Hence what is indicated here is not an excess absolutely, but within the genus.

John 15:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

You are my friends. Here secondly he exhorts to mutual love from the perspective of divine friendship; whence he offers his friendship to those who keep his commandments, so that according to the Lord's precept they may love one another: on account of which he says: You are my friends, if you do what I command you. He promises something great when he promises friendship. Augustine says: "Great is the condescension of the Lord, when he deigned to call us friends," since friend is a name of equality; "for friendship is an agreement with equal goodwill concerning divine and human things." For if wisdom establishes friends of God — Wisdom 7: "She passes into holy souls and establishes friends of God" — how much more does love? This love is proven in works: therefore he says: You are friends, if you do what I command, out of love as friends, not out of fear as servants, because you have not been called into servitude.

John 15:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

No longer will I call you servants, although previously you were: Romans 8: "You have not received the spirit of servitude again in fear, but the spirit of the adoption of sons." And he shows this by a sign: Because the servant does not know what his lord does: but you are not so: therefore he says: But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you. This is a sign of great friendship, the revelation of secrets: Ephesians 1: "He has made known to us the mystery of his will"; Matthew 13: "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God," etc. Question IV. Likewise it is asked about what he says: I will no longer call you servants. Contra: 1. Matthew 25: Well done, good and faithful servant; and if he calls those about to be beatified servants, what then does he mean when he says: I will not call you servants? 2. Likewise, above in chapter 13 he called himself their lord; therefore by the correlation of relatives he also called them servants. I respond: It must be said that servant is said in two ways: in one way, insofar as it denotes obedience and subjection; and in this sense servant is not distinguished from friend, and thus all friends of God are his servants. In another way, servant is said of one who fears in a servile manner; and such a one, who serves from fear alone, is not a friend. And he speaks here of such a one, because he did not want them to fulfill his commandments in a servile manner, but rather in a manner befitting friends. Question V. Likewise it is asked about what he says: All things whatsoever I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you. On the contrary: The Son heard infinite things from the Father; therefore he made known infinite things. They respond that he does not speak of those things which he heard insofar as he is God, but insofar as he is man. Then it is objected: because Christ as man knew the day of judgment, yet he did not wish to reveal it to his disciples. On account of this they respond further that [he made known] all things pertaining to salvation. On the contrary: below in chapter 16: I have yet many things to say to you, which you cannot bear now; and it is certain that [these pertained] to their salvation; therefore etc. Augustine responds: He made all things known, that is, he disposed to make them known; for Scripture frequently speaks in this way, putting the past tense in place of the future as a sign of certainty. Or: all things necessary for salvation according as they were able to grasp them. And thus all things are clear.

John 15:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

You have not chosen me. Here he thirdly exhorts to love in view of eternal recompense, to which they had been called through eternal predestination, not having come of themselves. Therefore he says: You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you: Ephesians 1: "He chose us before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and immaculate in his sight in charity: who predestined us unto the adoption of sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the purpose of his will." To what end he chose them, he adds: And I have appointed you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, in the conversion of others: which is accomplished through the preaching of the word of God, which is like a seed that brings forth fruit when it is received into good ground; whence Luke 8: "But that on the good ground, these are they who in a good and perfect heart hear the word and bring forth fruit in patience"; 1 Peter 1: "Being born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of the living God and remaining forever." And your fruit should remain, for your salvation and consolation through divine recompense: and the recompense is subjoined: That whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, that is, what pertains to your salvation, he may give it you. Now that which is to be sought is our salvation: whence Matthew 6: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you." So that holy soul was asking in the Psalm: "One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life." Question VI. Likewise, an inquiry is made concerning what he says: You have not chosen me. On the contrary: 1. Deuteronomy twenty-six: You have chosen the Lord, that he might be your God. 2. Likewise, if the merit of free will consists in choice, how did they merit, if they had not chosen him? I respond: This is to be understood as follows: first, because we do not first choose the Lord, but secondly: because he first chose by predestining and afterwards chose from among others by calling, but we afterwards choose by consenting to the calling.

John 15:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

And in view of this recompense they ought to keep the commandment of Christ; therefore he repeats it: These things I command you, that you love one another. The commandment of love is called as it were given by hand, because he gave it by his own example: therefore above in chapter 13: "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another"; and 1 Thessalonians 4: "Concerning brotherly charity, we have no need to write to you: for you yourselves have learned of God to love one another."

John 15:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

Third, he exhorts the disciples to endurance of enemies. If the world hates you etc. This is the third part of the chapter, in which the Lord exhorts to endurance of persecuting enemies: and he does this in the following manner. First, he foretells the enmity of the world: second, the injury proceeding from this; third, he shows the malice of the persecutors or haters: fourth, his own innocence: fifth, he arms the disciples for patience. First, therefore, he foretells the enmity of the world, which was to be against the members after the example of the head. For there had been the hatred of the world with respect to the head, which is Christ; on account of which he says: If the world hates you, know, that is, consider, that it hated me before you. The Lord assigned the reason for this hatred above in chapter three: "Everyone who does evil hates the light"; and above in chapter seven: "The world hates me, because I bear witness concerning it, that its works are evil."

John 15:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

For this same reason he shows the hatred of the members: whence he gives the reason for this hatred: because they were at variance with the world; on account of which he says: If you had been of the world, that is, if you had remained in the world through depraved custom: the world would love what was its own: whence above in chapter seven it is said to the worldly: "But your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you." But because you are not of the world, that is, of worldly conduct: but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. That hatred was signified in Genesis twenty-seven in the hatred of Esau, where it is said: "Esau hated Jacob on account of the blessing with which his father had blessed him." Esau signifies the worldly and the reprobate, but Jacob the elect.

John 15:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

Remember the word. Here the second point is touched upon, namely injury, in the same manner as enmity, namely of the head first and of the members on account of the head and after the example of the head. On account of which he says: Remember the word that I said to you: The servant is not greater than his lord; above in the thirteenth chapter: "Amen, amen I say to you: The disciple is not above the master, nor is the apostle greater than his lord." And therefore he argues: If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. And it follows that if they hate and persecute the head, they also hate and persecute the members. Whence Augustine: "He refuses to be in the body who does not wish to endure the hatred of the world with the head." Concerning the persecution of the head, it is found in the Psalm: "They persecuted the man who was poor and a beggar and stricken in heart." Not only will they persecute in deed, but they will despise in heart: If they have kept my word, they will keep yours also, that is, just as they despised my word, so also yours; Luke tenth chapter: "He who hears you hears me, and he who despises you despises me." Or they have kept, that is, they watched in order to find fault: Matthew twenty-second chapter: "The Pharisees went away and took counsel to trap Jesus in his speech"; and in the Psalm: "The sinner will watch the just man."

John 15:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

And worldly men also persecute the head and the members; they do not persecute the head on account of the members, but conversely; whence he says: But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake, namely to destroy it, for which you are blessed: whence Matthew fifth chapter: "Blessed are you when men shall persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you, lying, for my sake." The reason for this is the blindness of unbelief; whence: because they know not him who sent me: above in the eighth chapter: "You know neither me nor my Father"; and below in the seventeenth chapter: "Just Father, the world has not known you."

John 15:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

There is a question about what he says: If I had not come and had not spoken to them, they would not have sin. 1. Therefore, according to this reasoning, those who do not hear and do not believe are not condemned for unbelief; which is manifestly false, because no one is saved without faith. 2. Likewise, according to this, the Tyrians and Sidonians, who did not believe, will not be condemned: which is manifestly false by the testimony of the Gospel. I respond: It must be said that by way of eminence, different kinds of sins are given to be understood under the general name of sin, but chiefly among others the sin against the Holy Spirit, which is purely sin, admitting no excuse. By the name of sin, therefore, is understood here the sin against the Holy Spirit, which was added to the sin of unbelief: and this the Jews would not have had, but would only have remained in unbelief, if the Lord had not manifested himself to them through open signs.

John 15:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

If I had not come. Here now in the third place the malice of those who hate and persecute is shown. He shows therefore their malice to be inexcusable both through what they heard and through what they saw: through what they heard: whence he says: If I had not come and had not spoken to them, namely the words of faith and instruction, they would not have sin, supply: so grave and inexcusable, because, Luke twelfth chapter, "the servant who knew the will of his lord and did not do it shall be beaten with many stripes; but he who did not know shall be beaten with few"; and therefore, if they had not heard, they would be excusable in some way through ignorance. But now they have no excuse for their sin; because they do not believe not from ignorance but from hatred, which hatred redounds upon the Father.

John 15:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

Whoever hates me hates my Father also; raised up by their own pride, according to that of the Psalm: "The pride of those who hate you ascends continually." Because therefore they refused to hear out of malice, they were inexcusable; Matthew twelve: "The Queen of the South will rise up in judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon"; Romans two: "You are inexcusable, O every man who judges: for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself."

John 15:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

The Jews are also inexcusable on account of what they saw: therefore he says: If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin, namely so great a sin of not believing; because, as above in chapter five, "the works that I do bear witness concerning me." But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father: and therefore they knowingly and out of malice refuse to believe and persecute: for this reason they are inexcusable: Matthew eleven: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you: it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you."

John 15:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

There is a question about what he says: If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, etc. 1. This seems false, because we read of greater and more wondrous signs in the Old Testament. For we read that the Red Sea was divided, and the Jordan, that men were fed from heaven for forty years, that the dead were raised, and many such things. 2. Likewise, the Lord himself says: He who believes in me will do greater things than these: therefore the sign of works was not a certain sign nor a singular one that he was the Christ. To this the Gloss responds that it is not understood of miraculous works, but of wondrous works, such as that a woman encompassed a man, and that he was born of a Virgin, and similar things. But that does not solve it, because these things were not known to them. Therefore it must be said otherwise: either that this is said with respect to the multitude and diversity of works, because no one had ever performed so many miracles, and so varied and diverse, as Christ did. Or emphasis must be placed on what he says: I had done, which no one else did, because no other was God, but miracles were done at his invocation: Christ, however, did them as one who was omnipotent.

John 15:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

And this malignity of the Jews is expressed in Scripture: therefore he says: But that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their Law — Law is taken broadly, insofar as it comprehends the Psalms — because they hated me without cause: it is written in the Psalm: "Those who oppose me unjustly, who hate me without cause and wink with their eyes"; and in another Psalm: "While I spoke to them, they attacked me without cause." That hatred was prefigured in Genesis thirty-seven, where it is said that "the brothers of Joseph hated him and could not speak peaceably to him."

John 15:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

But when he comes. Here fourthly he intimates his innocence, to be expressed by the testimony of the Holy Spirit and of the Apostles: on account of which he says: But when he comes: they persecuted me as though I were a wicked man and worthy of death; but when the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness concerning me: Acts five: "The Spirit is a witness, whom God has given to all who obey him"; and by bearing witness to my innocence, he will convict the world of malice: below in chapter sixteen: "When he comes, he will convict the world of sin, because it does not believe."

John 15:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 15

Not only he, but you also, confirmed by him: whence: And you shall bear witness, because you are with me from the beginning: Acts 1: "Therefore, of these men who have been gathered together with us from the time when the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, one of them must be made a witness of his resurrection with us." The Apostles did not give this testimony before the coming of the Holy Spirit, but after. Whence Peter, who denied Christ at the voice of a maidservant, after the sending of the Holy Spirit responded with great authority to the chief priest, Acts 5: "We ought to obey God rather than men."

John 16:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

These things I have spoken to you etc. Here, fifth, he arms his disciples for patience, so that they may not fail on account of tribulations, but endure them; therefore he says: These things I have spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized: because, as Gregory says, "arrows that are foreseen strike less forcefully, and we endure the evils of the world more tolerably if we are fortified against them by the shield of foresight." Therefore he forearms them concerning future tribulation.

John 16:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

They will put you out of the synagogues: Acts 8: "There arose a great persecution against the Church which was at Jerusalem, and they were all dispersed through the regions of Judea and Samaria." And the reason for this bitter persecution is added: But the hour comes, that whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God. That hour was the time of the preaching of the Apostles; then, by killing them, they thought they were doing well; whence there is an example in Paul, Acts 9, who "asked for letters from the chief priests to Damascus, that if he found any" etc. But such thinking has its origin in unbelief; and therefore he says: There is a question about what He says: The hour comes when everyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. Therefore according to this, those who were killing the Apostles were killing with good intention; therefore they were meriting. If you say that it could not be done with good intention, that is false, because things evil in genus, which are not evil in themselves, can be done well; and such is killing. I respond: It must be said that certain works can in no way be done well, such as lying, as Augustine says, because "as soon as they are named they are joined to evil," as the Philosopher says. But certain works can immediately be done well when good intention is present, as are those good in genus. Certain works are not made good by intention alone, unless there is present a cause and due order, and such are killing and similar acts. Whence whenever a man kills another for God, unless there is present the order of judgment and a cause, it is in no way done well. In such a manner it was done against the Apostles, because just cause and due inquiry were lacking.

John 16:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

And these things they will do to you, because they have not known the Father nor me, that is, on account of ignorance and unbelief. There is an example in Paul, 1 Timothy 1: "I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, but I did it ignorantly in unbelief." Against these evils, therefore, he arms the disciples by foretelling them; whence he says: There is a question concerning what he says: They have not known me; it is asked whether the Pharisees themselves knew Christ. That they did, it seems: 1. Because it is said in Matthew 21 in the parable of the vineyard: Those husbandmen said: This is the heir: come, let us kill him. 2. Likewise, in the text it is said: But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father: therefore they knowingly hated him. But against this: 1. Because Acts 3: And now, brethren, I know that you did it through ignorance, as did also your rulers: therefore the rulers killed Christ through ignorance: therefore they did not know him. 2. Likewise, 1 Corinthians 2: If they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory: therefore they did not know Christ. I respond: It must be said that Christ was both God and the Messiah, that is, the prince promised in the Law. It must be said, therefore, that the wicked Jews knew that he was the Christ promised to them, and that he was truthful and innocent; but that he was the Son of God, they did not know. For because they attacked the truth they had recognized, wishing to show that he was neither good nor holy, they were therefore blinded, so that they did not recognize the Divinity in him whose humanity they hated. What is said, therefore, either that they knew or that they did not, the knowledge must be referred to different objects known. Others refer it to different times, that in the beginning they knew, but afterwards, by attacking through malice, they were blinded.

John 16:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

But these things I have spoken to you, that when the hour of them shall come, in which they will persecute you, you may remember that I told you. Remembrance and memory of the words of God avails greatly for enduring all evils; conversely, forgetfulness is harmful: therefore Deuteronomy 8: "Beware lest you forget the Lord your God and neglect his commandments." The recollection of God's words raises up and directs a person; whence it is said in Matthew 26: "Peter remembered the word of Jesus, and going out, wept bitterly"; the Psalm: "All the ends of the earth shall remember and shall be converted to the Lord."

John 16:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

But these things I told you from the beginning etc. Above, the Lord by the word of instruction confirmed the disciples in faith and in love; in this part he intends to confirm them in the expectation of hope, consoling them in many ways against the disturbance and desolation over his departure. And this third part is divided according to a threefold kind of consolation. The first consolation is from the sending of the Holy Spirit; the second, from the visitation of the Son, and is treated there: A little while, and you shall not see me; the third is from the hearing of the Father, there: Amen, amen I say to you: If you ask the Father anything, etc.; so that the whole Trinity may thus console the soul. The first consolation is for giving understanding; the second, for joy; the third, for peace and confidence. The first regards the rational power; the second, the concupiscible power; the third regards the irascible power. First, therefore, he consoles them concerning the sending of the Holy Spirit, and this consolation is described in the following manner. First is set forth the desolation of the disciples; second, the promise of the Holy Spirit; third, the office of the one sent; fourth, the source of the sending. He therefore first sets forth the desolation of the disciples on the occasion of his departure, on account of which he had also given the aforementioned admonitions; therefore he says: These things I did not tell you from the beginning, namely the things foretold about the sending of the Holy Spirit and your persecution: because I was with you, consoling you by my presence, and therefore I was not telling you sorrowful things; whence Matthew 9: "The children of the bridegroom cannot mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them." And now I go to him who sent me, namely to the Father; therefore I foretell these things to you. And from this departure the disciples had become not diligent, but sorrowful; whence he says: And none of you asks me: Where are you going? They were hearing and not understanding and were neglecting to inquire, and this was because of sorrow. There is a question concerning what He says: None of you asks me: Where are you going? To the contrary: Above in chapter thirteen: Peter says to Him: Lord, where are you going? I respond: It must be said that the Lord was going to the ignominy of the Passion, and He was going to the glory of the Resurrection; and when He previously spoke of going to the Passion, Peter asked: Where are you going? But now He wishes to tell them that He is going to the glory of the Resurrection; whence: I go to Him who sent me. And they were so troubled about the journey to the Passion that they thought nothing of the glory. Therefore they did not ask about this; but the Lord wished that they would ask, so that He might console them.

John 16:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

But because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart: in which is signified the abundance of sorrow, because they were considering only the absence and not the fruit of the absence. Against this is said in 1 Thessalonians 4: "Do not be sorrowful as others who have no hope." Such are filled with sorrow; 2 Corinthians 2: "Console him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up by more abundant sorrow"; Lamentations 3: "He has filled me with bitterness, he has made me drunk with wormwood."

John 16:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

But I tell you the truth etc. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the promise of the Holy Spirit, which is fulfilled in his departure, from which they ought to be consoled: therefore he says: But I the truth etc., as if to say: thus you are saddened, but on the contrary you ought to be consoled by the departure. It is expedient for you that I go: and the reason is given: For if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you. And the reason for this is: because unless you have been made desolate, you will not be consoled; Matthew 5: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Bernard: "Divine consolation is too delicate and is not given to those who possess another." But if I go away, I will send him to you: because, when visible consolation has been withdrawn, the invisible Consoler will be given to you; Isaiah 28: "Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand the message? Those weaned from milk, those drawn from the breasts." And the reason for this is given in Hebrews 5: "Everyone who partakes of milk is unskilled in the word of justice; for he is a little child." There is a question concerning what He says: If I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you. It seems from this that Christ was not omnipotent, because He could not give the Spirit unless He personally went away. If you say that this was not on account of Christ's lack of power, but on account of the disciples' unfitness, against this is the fact that Christ's presence rather disposed toward grace than impeded it, which is evident because before the coming of Christ there was not the time of grace, but after. It is answered that they were impeded because they loved Him carnally; but this is of no avail, because in that love they did not sin; therefore it was not repugnant to grace, whence it remained together with charity. If you say that it is not repugnant as incompatible, but nevertheless as impeding, this is of no avail, because when someone loves another both sensibly and spiritually, he loves more fervently, since natural love intensifies spiritual love. I respond: It must be said that for a threefold reason the Holy Spirit was not given before the ascension of Christ. One reason is on the part of the recipients, because, consoled sensibly by the bodily presence of Christ, they did not desire another consolation. But God does not will His gifts to be despised, and therefore He does not give except to those who merit them: therefore it was necessary for Christ to be separated from them. Another reason is on the part of the sender, because it is not fitting for a wretched one to endow his servants unless he himself appears glorious: therefore it is said above in the seventh chapter: The Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. The third reason is on the part of both, because enmities still remained between us and God; and therefore it was first necessary for reconciliation to take place before the gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore it was necessary for Christ to suffer before the Holy Spirit could be sent.

John 16:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

And when he comes. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the office of the Holy Spirit, both by comparison to the worldly, and this is to convict; and by comparison to the good, and this is to teach. Therefore he expresses the office by comparison to the wicked, when he says: And when he comes, he will convict the world of sin and of justice and of judgment. And the Savior himself explains: It can, however, be explained otherwise. For to convict the world is to make manifest to the world, according to that passage in Ephesians 5: "The things that are reproved by the light are made manifest." Through the coming of the Holy Spirit, three things were made manifest to the world: sin, justice, and judgment: the sin of the world, the justice of Christ, the judgment of the devil. And the reason for these three is: because Christ was the redeemer of the world, the devil the deceiver, and the world was held captive by the devil on account of the sin of unbelief; Ephesians 6: "Against the rulers of the world of these darknesses." And concerning this sin, the Holy Spirit convicts the world: while He shows it its own unbelief, He convicts of sin. And the text agrees with this, saying: Of sin, because they did not believe. Christ truly redeemed the world by His justice. For because He was just and did not deserve to suffer, by suffering for the world He saved it; and in attestation of this justice He was exalted to the right hand of the Father. And the text agrees with this: Of justice, namely mine, because I go to the Father, through exaltation, and this by the merit of justice; Philippians 2: "He humbled Himself, being made obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also exalted Him and gave Him a name which is above every name." The devil, however, unjustly held the world and unjustly fought against Christ; therefore he was judged, because he lost dominion over the human race. And the following text agrees with this: Of judgment indeed, because the prince of this world is already judged, that is, in the cause of the Savior he was found guilty. Let the text therefore be read thus: He will convict the world of sin, namely its own, Because they did not believe, etc.; of justice, namely mine, because I go to the Father, in testimony of this; of judgment, namely of the devil, because the prince of this world is already judged. Thus He determined His office toward the worldly; then He adds His office toward the disciples, and this is to teach, because they could not be fully taught in the presence of Christ; therefore He says:

John 16:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

Of sin indeed, because they did not believe in me: and this is the sin of unbelief, concerning which above in chapter 8: "You shall die in your sin; for if you do not believe that I am, you shall die in your sin."

John 16:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

Of justice indeed, because I go to the Father, and you shall see me no longer: The Gloss: "Not of justice which they have done, but which they refuse to imitate." And this is the justice of faith, which believes what it does not see; therefore he says: Because I go to the Father etc.; and then you believe, because "faith is the substance of things hoped for" etc., Hebrews 11. And this is justice, namely of faith, through which the just man is saved: Romans 3: "We reckon that a man is justified by faith without the works of the Law."

John 16:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

Of judgment indeed, because the prince of this world has already been judged; above in chapter 12: "Now is the judgment of the world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out."

John 16:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now: and the reason for this was that they were still carnal: whence 1 Corinthians 3: "I could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal. For you were not yet able, nor indeed are you yet able." But this carnality was to be removed through the coming of the Holy Spirit; therefore He adds:

John 16:13 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

John 16:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

But when that Spirit of truth shall come, He will teach you all truth: whence 1 John 2: "The anointing will teach you concerning all things." And that He teaches truth, He shows by this, that He speaks not from Himself, but from another: therefore He says: For He does not speak from Himself, as does the devil, who "is a liar and the father thereof," above in chapter eight: "When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own." But whatever He shall hear, He shall speak, therefore He will speak true things; above in chapter eight: "He who sent Me is truthful, and the things I have heard from Him, these I speak." Nor will He teach truth only concerning past things, but also concerning future things: whence: And the things that are to come He will announce to you: whence 1 Timothy 4: "The Spirit manifestly says that in the last days some will depart from the faith." There is a question about what he says, that when the Spirit comes, he will teach you all truth. 1. First, it seems incorrect to say he will teach: because to teach is an act of wisdom, and wisdom is appropriated to the Son, not to the Holy Spirit. 2. Likewise, how will he teach all truth? According to this it would seem that the Apostles knew geometry and all the arts: and that is false, because they even had poor knowledge of grammar: whence the Apostle said: Even if I am unskilled in speech, yet not in knowledge, Second Corinthians chapter eleven. I respond: It must be said that to teach belongs to the whole Trinity, yet it is sometimes attributed to the Son, sometimes to the Holy Spirit: because knowledge is twofold, namely of speculation, and this is attributed to the Son; and of experience and devotion, and this is attributed to the anointing of the Holy Spirit: and it is of this that he speaks here. 2. And through this the solution to what follows is clear. For he does not mean all truth without qualification, but according to piety; and this is the truth necessary for salvation, which the Apostles fully knew. Or it must be said that he does not understand this according as all distributes for individuals of the kinds, but for kinds of individuals; for there is the truth of doctrine, of life, and of justice, and these he taught. Concerning the truth of doctrine; Matthew chapter twenty-two: Master, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth. Concerning the truth of life; Isaiah chapter thirty-eight: Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you in truth. Concerning the truth of justice; Proverbs chapter eighteen: To show partiality in judgment is not good, so that you turn aside from the truth of judgment.

John 16:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

He will glorify me. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the principle of the Holy Spirit: and this indeed is not only the Father, but also the Son; and therefore, just as the Son, because He proceeds from the Father, glorifies the Father in His works, from whom He is, so also the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son. For this reason He says: He will glorify me: and the reason is given: Because He will receive of mine and will announce it to you. Since the Holy Spirit is supremely simple, He is whatever He has; therefore if He receives anything from the Son, He receives the whole, and thus it follows that He proceeds from the Son. But lest you believe from this that He proceeds from Him alone, or from Him principally: therefore He shows that He proceeds from Him, together with proceeding from the Father. For this reason He adds: There is a question about what he says: He will receive from what is mine. 1. This seems false: because, if the Holy Spirit is God, and God can have nothing new, then He can receive nothing further. What then does it mean when he says: He will receive from what is mine? 2. Likewise there is a question about the Lord's reasoning: Therefore he said, He will receive from what is mine, because all things that the Father has are mine. Either all things is distributed with respect to essential attributes, or with respect to personal properties: if with respect to personal properties, it is false, because the Son does not have innascibility. If with respect to essential attributes: but from this it does not follow that if the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, He therefore proceeds from the Son, because to proceed is personal: by the same reasoning the Holy Spirit could say of the Son: He will receive from what is mine, because all things that the Father has, the Holy Spirit has. To these objections the Greeks respond that there is a twofold procession of the Holy Spirit, namely eternal and temporal: as regards the eternal, He proceeds from the Father alone, and thus receives from the Father and not from the Son: as regards the temporal, He proceeds from the Son: in testimony of which it is said: He will receive, because He proceeds temporally. And they take the basis for their error from this word of the Lord: because the Lord sometimes says that He will send the Holy Spirit, but never says that He proceeds from Himself, always that He proceeds from the Father. But nevertheless, with all due respect to them, they say nothing of substance, because, as is clear from this text, the Holy Spirit receives from the Son. What does He receive? Whatever He receives, this is nothing other than Himself, since He is supremely simple: therefore if He receives Himself, how can He receive in time and not be temporal? Therefore it must be said that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son eternally and is temporally sent into creation. 1. As to the fact that it says He will receive, the response is given in the Gloss: "That eternity comprehends all time on account of its diverse properties; whence it is said in the future tense He will receive, not because He receives something new, but because He does not cease." It must be said, however, that He will receive is the same as if it said: He will show that He has received. 2. To the other objection it must be said that this is not a compelling reason why the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son: but it is the reason for the statement, namely how He had said: He will receive from what is mine, not because from His own, excluding the Father, but because together with the Father. Whence it was said for the same reason by which it is said: All things that the Father has are mine.

John 16:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Thoughts about God must be the highest in the order of goodness, because He is the Best, and out of this Goodness He supremely pours Himself and loves. Wherefore He has not spared even His own Son, and by giving Him to us, He gave us all that He knew, all that He could give. The Son said: All things that the Father has are mine. The Father gave us a Son born of us, He gave us One who suffered for us and rose again for our sake.

John 16:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

The third relationship to the mirror consists in the fact that in God there is a proper relationship to productive diffusion. God's being is supreme good, wherefore it supremely diffuses itself in a threefold outpouring: utterly actual, complete, and directed toward an end, that is, most final. Because it is utterly actual, it always is, always was, and always shall be; it always begets, always has begotten, and always shall beget. Now no creature can have so great a power that it always is, always was, and always shall be; wherefore by necessity it must emanate as an eternal being. Again, such diffusion is not utterly complete in any creature, for God does not grant to the creature the full splendor of exemplarity: He confines his grant to begetting the Son who is entitled to say: "All things that the Father has are mine." No creature can say such a thing. Likewise, this production is utterly final, in that the producing being grants all that He can. But the creature is unable to receive all that God can grant. And so, as the point adds nothing to the line—nor do a million points—the goodness of a creature adds nothing to that of the Creator, because the finite adds nothing to the infinite. Wherefore, by necessity, such diffusion in the fullness of its possibilities can exist only in something greater than which nothing can be conceived. But it is possible to think of something greater than any creature, and to conceive an increase in the creature itself. But in the Son, there is production, as in the Father. If, then, nothing can be conceived that is greater than the Father, the same may be said of the Son. If the Father also did not diffuse Himself in the most final way, He would not be perfect.

John 16:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

All things that the Father has are mine: below in chapter seventeen: "All mine are yours, and yours are mine." Therefore I said: Because He will receive of mine and will announce it to you: of mine, which nevertheless I received from the Father. Thus the Holy Spirit declares the Son, from whom He proceeds, just as the Son also declares the Father; above in chapter one: "The Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."

John 16:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

A little while, and you will no longer see me. This is the second part of the chapter, in which He consoles them by the promise of His visitation, and He proceeds in this part according to this method. First is set forth the promise of Christ's visitation; second, the doubt of the disciples; third, the explanation of the doubt; fourth, the exemplification; fifth, the application of the example. He therefore first promises a visitation after his departure; for this reason he says: A little while, and you shall not see me, because, namely, I shall depart from you; and again a little while, and you shall see me, because he was about to visit them immediately after the passion; whence the little while was until the passion, in which he was not to be seen, and the little while from the passion until the resurrection, in which he was to appear; Isaiah fifty-four: "For a moment and for a little while I forsook you, and with great mercies I will gather you." And he gives the reason why they were not to see him: Because I go to the Father. It is explained otherwise concerning the vision through glory, so that the meaning is that there was a little time until Christ's departure and ascent to the Father, and again a little while until his coming to them, to take them into glory; whence above in chapter fourteen: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, you also may be." There is a question concerning what he says: A little while, and you shall not see me, because I go to the Father. 1. Because it is said in the last chapter of Matthew: Behold, I am with you even unto the consummation of the world. 2. Likewise, what is it that he says: A little while, and you shall see me? Because it is said above in the same chapter: I go to the Father, and you shall see me no more. How does he depart and remain, how is he seen and not seen? I respond: It must be understood that in Christ there is a divine being and a human being, visible and invisible, suffering and glorious. Therefore, as regards his divine being, he never departs from the elect; as regards his human and invisible being under the Sacrament, he will not leave unto the consummation of the world; as regards his visible and impassible human being, he did not leave until the Ascension; as regards his visible and passible human being, he left in the Passion, because he was not seen as passible nor did he afterwards dwell with them as passible.

John 16:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

Some of his disciples therefore said, etc. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the doubt of the disciples, which proceeded from what he had said: in a little while not to be seen and to be seen; on account of which he says: Some of his disciples therefore said to one another: What is this that he says to us: A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me? About this they doubt first, because he seems to say two contradictorily opposed things; and about another thing they doubt, namely where he was going; whence: and because I go to the Father? For they did not know how he meant this; they were doubting about the meaning of the word.

John 16:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

They therefore said: What is this that he says to us: A little while? We do not know what he is speaking about. They did not know what he meant by this; the disciples still had little understanding; whence the Lord rebuked them in Matthew fifteen: "Are you also still without understanding?"

John 16:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

But Jesus knew. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the removal of doubt, which was done by the Master before the inquiry of the disciples; on account of which he says: Jesus knew that they wished to ask him, etc.; Sirach twenty-three: "The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, looking round about all the ways of men and the depth of the abyss, and beholding the hearts of men into hidden parts"; and Sirach sixteen: "Every heart is understood by him; and who understands his ways?" And he anticipated their doubt or inquiry, and said to them: Concerning this you inquire among yourselves, because I said to you: A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me. He resolves this doubt by showing the twofold time, namely of tribulation and of consolation, and that on account of the one it was said: You shall not see, and on account of the other: You shall see. And on account of this there was no contradiction, because it does not refer to the same time, but on account of the different times a little while was said twice. For this reason he says:

John 16:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

Amen, amen I say to you: That you shall weep and lament: you shall weep outwardly, you shall lament inwardly, for the time in which you will not see me: and therefore blessed; Luke 6: "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh." But the world shall rejoice, and you shall be sorrowful. The world rejoices: Job 21: "They rejoice at the sound of the timbrel." But the good are saddened; 1 Peter 1: "For a little while now, if need be, you are made sorrowful in various trials." But your sorrow shall be turned into joy, and therefore it was said: A little while, and you shall see me; Tobit 3: "After weeping and lamentation, you pour in exultation." Therefore it is said in Ecclesiastes 7: "The heart of fools is where mirth is; the heart of the wise is where sorrow is." There is a question concerning what he says: You shall weep and lament, etc. The question is: whether the Apostles in that sorrow merited or demerited. That they merited, it seems: 1. Because it is said in 2 Timothy 2: If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him: therefore to suffer with him was meritorious for them. 2. Likewise, evil sorrow is converted into greater sorrow, but that which is converted into joy—that, I say, is good sorrow; but the sorrow of the Apostles was converted into joy, as is said in the text: Your sorrow shall be turned into joy: therefore it was good and meritorious. Against this: 1. Because either they willed that Christ should die, or they did not. If not, then they sinned, whence Peter was rebuked for this; but if they did will it, then they did not grieve. 2. Likewise it seems from the text, because the Lord exhorts them not to be troubled: but the Lord does not discourage what is good: therefore to be troubled is not good. 3. Likewise, above in chapter fourteen it is said: If you loved me, you would indeed rejoice: therefore they ought to have rejoiced at the Passion; but whoever grieves over that at which one ought to rejoice grieves inordinately: therefore the Apostles were troubled inordinately and culpably. I respond: It must be said that there are two ways to judge what kind of sadness it is, namely from the side of its origin and from the side of its manner. From the side of its origin, sadness has its rise from love. A certain sadness, then, is from pleasurable and carnal love, as when a glutton is saddened at the loss of a good morsel; a certain sadness is from natural love, as when the soul is separated from the body, or a mother at the death of her son; a certain sadness is from social love, as when a friend is saddened when he is bodily separated from a friend whose company delights him; and a certain sadness is from spiritual love, as when someone loves out of charity and suffers with one who suffers. The first sadness is blameworthy; the second and third are tolerable; but the fourth is praiseworthy. It must therefore be understood that the Apostles loved the Lord in two ways, namely with a social love, by which one loves a companion because he does not wish to be separated from him, and with a spiritual love. And so there was in them a certain praiseworthy sadness, by which they suffered with Christ, and a certain tolerable sadness, by which they did not wish to be separated from Christ. From the side of the manner of being sad, it must be understood that measure must be kept in sadness. Hence the Apostle says: Be not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope. Hence sadness ought to be tempered by joy. And in this regard the Apostles went to excess and were deserving of reproof, because they rejoiced in no way; rather, they grieved as those who despair. And with respect to this manner, that is, to remove this immoderation, the Lord exhorted them not to be sorrowful; he exhorted them to rejoice. Hence Chrysostom says: "Great is the tyranny of sadness, and we have need of much manliness to resist this passion; and purifying what is useful, let us set aside what is superfluous." Therefore they were pr…

John 16:21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The glorious Virgin, strong and devout, paid that price with the piety of compassion toward Christ. It is said in John: "A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow, because her hour has come." On account of giving birth, a woman has pain, namely preceding the delivery. But the blessed Virgin did not have pain preceding the delivery, because she did not conceive from sin, as did Eve, to whom the curse was given; rather, she had pain after the delivery. Whence she gave birth before she was in labor. On the cross she labored; whence in Luke: "And a sword shall pierce your own soul." In other women there is pain of the body, in her there is pain of the heart; in others there is pain of corruption, in her there is pain of compassion and charity.

John 16:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

A woman, when she gives birth. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely exemplification. And the exemplification concerns how quickly and in a short time sorrow will be turned into joy: and the example is of a woman in labor, who, when she gives birth, is sorrowful, although she does something good; but when she has given birth, she immediately rejoices. Therefore he says: A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow, because her hour has come, namely of giving birth, which she would still wish to be delayed on account of the pain; for the pain in childbirth is intense; Isaiah 13: "They shall be in pain as a woman in labor"; and 1 Thessalonians 5: "And as labor pains upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape." But when she has brought forth the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world; on account of the joy that she has from her offspring: Genesis 21: "The Lord has made laughter for me: whoever hears of it will laugh with me," said Sarah.

John 16:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

And you therefore. Here is the adaptation of the example, that they would similarly be saddened at Christ's passion, but would rejoice at his glorification or resurrection: on account of which he says: And you therefore now indeed have sorrow, and this on account of the departure of the bridegroom; Matthew 9: "The days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them: and then they shall mourn." But that sorrow will last but a little while: therefore he says: I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice: below, chapter 20: "The disciples rejoiced, having seen the Lord." And this not for a time, but for eternity; therefore he says: And your joy no one shall take from you: because Christ, who was their joy, "rising from the dead, dies no more"; Revelation 7: "God shall wipe away every tear from the eyes of the Saints," etc. And then your questions will be ended, nor will they trouble you, as they do now: therefore he says:

John 16:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

And in that day you shall not ask me anything, that is, you shall not question me. If this is referred to the day of glory, it is true, because then they will see all things clearly; Isaiah fifty-four: "I will make all your children taught by the Lord." But if it is understood as after the glorification of Christ, it is still true, because then they had an interior teacher, according to what was said above in the same chapter: "When that Spirit of truth shall come, he will teach you all truth"; and: "The anointing will teach you concerning all things." Or: you shall not ask, because you will not be in need, but you will be blessed, for whom all things succeed according to their desire. Amen, amen I say to you. This is the third part of the chapter, in which the Lord consoles the disciples from the hearing of their petitions; and he proceeds in this part in the following manner. First is noted the Lord's generous promise; second, the consolation of the disciples, at the words: His disciples say to him, etc. The first, then, is described as follows. First is noted the Lord's generosity in promising; second, the opportuneness of the time for petitioning; third, the readiness of will to hear. First, therefore, the Lord's liberality in promising is made or noted under certitude: on account of which he says: Amen, amen I say to you, this is a sign of certitude: if you shall ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you. If anything, that is, if something: that something is eternal life; whence Augustine: "Whatever else is asked for, nothing is asked for, not because it is no thing at all, but because in comparison with so great a thing, whatever else is desired is nothing"; therefore James 1: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all abundantly, and it shall be given to him." There is a question concerning what he says: If you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you. 1. It is asked: since he said the same thing above in chapters fourteen and fifteen, why does he now repeat it in chapter sixteen? It seems superfluous: therefore, if nothing in Christ's words was superfluous, why does he say it so many times? 2. Likewise it is asked, because this seems false: for Paul asked for the thorn of the flesh to be removed from him, and yet he did not obtain it, 2 Corinthians twelve. Likewise, every day we see that the Saints ask, and yet are not heard. What is the meaning of what he says: If anything etc.? I respond: It must be said that for a prayer to be worthy of being heard, it is required that the one praying be worthy, be persevering: that he ask for what pertains to salvation: that he ask for himself. When these conditions concur, Christ's promise is understood: and then it does not fail to be heard. Moreover, for one to be worthy, it is necessary that he have faith, hope, and charity; therefore this promise was made three times. First by the merit of faith, second of charity, and here now third of hope. To this end, that it be persistent, it is necessary that one ask many times; therefore he repeated many times: If you ask anything, to show that the same thing must be asked for many times. It is necessary that one's petition be salutary: therefore he often says, whatever you ask in my name: Augustine says: This means in the reality of the name, because Jesus means salvation. To ask in the name of Jesus is to ask for what pertains to salvation: and therefore Paul was not heard. Fourth, for oneself, therefore he says: He will give to you, he does not say: he will give to others, but to you.

John 16:23 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

This Hierarch is the most generous because He gives us whatever we ask. "Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in My name," He shall give it to you. He swears to it and asserts it with complete truthfulness.

John 16:24 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Not yet therefore, Lord, have I said or conceived how greatly those Blessed ones of yours shall rejoice. Surely they shall rejoice as much as they shall love; they shall love as much as they shall know. How much shall they know you and how much shall they love you? Certainly neither eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has it ascended into the heart of man in this life, how much they shall know and love you in that life. I pray, O God, that I may know you, love you, that I may rejoice in you: and if I cannot do so fully in this life, may I at least advance from day to day, until that fullness shall come: may the knowledge of you advance here in me and there be made full, may your love grow here and there be full: so that here my joy may be great in hope and there be full in reality. Lord, through your Son you command, nay rather you counsel us to ask, and you promise that we shall receive, that our joy may be full. O truthful God, I ask that I may receive, that my joy may be full. I ask, Lord, what you counsel through our admirable Counselor: may I receive what you promise through your Truth, that my joy may be full.

John 16:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

Until now you have not asked. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the fitness of time for asking, which hitherto had not been, but henceforth was to be: therefore he says: Until now you have not asked anything in my name, because it was not the opportune time: because the Lord himself was with them, who gave all things: whence below in chapter seventeen: "When I was with them, I kept them in your name." But from now the time has come: therefore he says: Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full, because all your petition ought to be referred to that joy. This full joy consists in the endowments of soul and body: concerning which Isaiah last chapter: "You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall sprout like grass." And that the apt time for asking has arrived is clear, because until now they neither knew nor recognized from whom they ought to ask: but from now on they shall know: therefore he says:

John 16:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

These things I have spoken to you in proverbs: therefore in similitudes, because, First Corinthians 3, "I could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal." But the hour comes when I shall no longer speak to you in proverbs, that is, obscurely, but plainly of my Father I shall announce to you. That hour was the time of the sending of the Holy Spirit. There is a question about what he says: These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. 1. Because it is said in Matthew thirteen: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to others in parables: therefore he ought not to have spoken to the disciples in proverbs. 2. Likewise, how does he speak in proverbs, since immediately it follows: Behold, you speak plainly and say no proverb? Therefore either the disciples spoke falsely, or the Lord did. 3. Likewise, since they had little understanding, why did he speak to them in proverbs and obscurely? It seems that he wished to waste time. I respond: It must be said that proverb is sometimes called a parabolic saying, and sometimes an obscure statement. The Lord spoke to the crowds in parabolic discourses, yet nevertheless he spoke to the disciples in obscure statements: to the crowds indeed in parables, so that seeing they might not see; to the Apostles in obscure statements, so that when they later understood, the teaching would please them more, as Augustine says in the book On Christian Doctrine. 2. What the disciples therefore said, that he was speaking plainly, they said as ones not understanding, because they believed they understood him, and they did not understand. 3. To the objection: why did he speak to the disciples, since they did not understand? I respond that at that time they knew in some way, but afterward through the coming of the Holy Spirit, who brought to mind the words of Christ, they saw clearly; just as someone loves something hidden more when he understands it than if it had been entirely open.

John 16:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

In that day, that is, in that time, you shall ask in my name, because then you shall know me and the Father: whence Jeremiah 31: "A man shall not say to his brother: Know the Lord: for all shall know me from the least even to the greatest." And this was in the time after the reception of the Holy Spirit, who not only taught, but also compelled to ask: Romans 8: "The Spirit asks for us with unspeakable groanings," that is, makes us ask. And I do not say to you. Here the third point is noted, namely the promptitude to hear, because the Father was ready to hear the Apostles asking without any mediating intercessor: therefore he says: And I do not say to you that I will ask the Father concerning you, because it is not necessary.

John 16:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

For the Father himself loves you, and therefore gladly hears you; and the reason for this is: Because you have loved me: above in the fourteenth chapter: "He who loves me will be loved by my Father"; not only was love the cause, but also faith: and you believed that I came forth from God. And by the merit of faith they deserve to be heard, because it is said in Matthew twenty-one: "All things, whatever you ask in prayer believing, you shall receive." Because therefore you have believed, you deserve to be heard. But until then it had sufficed to believe that he had come forth from God; henceforth it was necessary to believe that he would return to God. Whence, to perfect their faith, he adds:

John 16:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

I came forth from the Father and came into the world: I came forth through eternal generation; I came, through the incarnation — and this you believed; whence above in the eleventh chapter: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into this world." Again I leave the world, through the passion, and I go to the Father, through the glorious resurrection. Whence when he rose again, he sent word to his disciples through Mary, below in the twentieth chapter: "Tell my brothers: I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God." Concerning these two things it is said in the Psalm: "His going forth is from the highest heaven, and his circuit unto the highest thereof."

John 16:28 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Through the first Truth, all come back, as the Son expresses it: "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again I leave the world and go to the Father." Likewise let anyone say: "Lord, I came out of You, the Supreme Being: I will return to You and through You, the Supreme Being." Such is the metaphysical Center that leads us back, and this is the sum total of our metaphysics: concerned with emanation, exemplarity, and consummation, that is, illumination through spiritual radiations and return to the Supreme Being. And in this you will be a true metaphysician.

John 16:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

His disciples say to him. After Christ's promise has been set forth, there is set forth the consolation of the disciples, which is described in this order. First, the consolation is noted; then, because they were deceived, the instruction is set forth; third, because they were wavering, the confirmation is set forth. First, therefore, the consolation of the disciples is indicated, which they had from the words of the Lord, which they had now understood, and they believed that the promised time of consolation was now at hand. On account of this his disciples say to him: Behold, now you speak plainly and speak no proverb; and so the time has come, of which you say: "The hour comes when I shall no longer speak to you in proverbs, but shall announce plainly."

John 16:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

Now we know that you know all things, and it is not needful for you that anyone should question you. And so the hour has come, of which you said above: "In that day you shall ask me nothing." In this we believe that you came forth from God, because, namely, you know all things; above in the sixth chapter: "We have believed and have known that you are the Christ, the Son of God," etc. For it belongs to God alone to know hidden things; Jeremiah seventeen: "The heart of man is perverse and inscrutable, and who shall know it? I the Lord, searching hearts and testing reins." There is a question about what the disciples say: Now we know that you know all things. 1. By what means did the disciples know that the Lord knew all things? 2. Likewise, what is the meaning of what follows, that there is no need for anyone to question you? Indeed the complete contrary is the case, because if he knows all things, then he is a good teacher, and from such a one everyone ought to inquire. I reply: It must be said that they knew that he himself knew all things because there was no need for anyone to question him by expressing his doubt: for he himself knew what a man was doubting about; and this indeed was not possible unless he were searching hearts as God, and therefore he knew all things. And that there was no need for anyone to disclose his doubt to him: they knew this through the fact that they themselves had previously doubted about what he had said: A little while: and he did not wait for the question, but foreknew that they wanted to question him, and he gave satisfaction. Therefore now they say: Now we know, etc.

John 16:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

Jesus answered. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the instruction of the disciples. For because, strengthened by the Lord's discourse, they believed themselves consoled and perfected in faith, the Lord teaches them to think humbly, as he did above to Peter; therefore he takes up their words again, in order to correct them. For this reason he says: Jesus answered them: Do you now believe, that is, you boast of this, that you believe.

John 16:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

Behold, the hour is coming and has already come, that is, it draws near: that you will be scattered, each one to his own, that is, that you will be scattered, such that each one to his own, because not one remained with another, neither in faith nor in body; Zechariah thirteen: "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." And you will leave me alone; Isaiah sixty-three: "I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the nations there is no man with me." But this solitude was not through a lack of divine aid, but of human aid: therefore he says: But I am not alone, because the Father is with me: above in chapter eight: "He who sent me is with me and has not left me alone." Nor is it contrary to what is said in the Psalm: "Why have you forsaken me?" because that is understood of the exposure to punishment.

John 16:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 16

These things I have spoken to you. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the confirmation of the disciples. Because he had foretold the coming dispersion, he adds consolation, since he had not said this so that they would despair, but so that through confidence they would have peace. Therefore he says: These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace: concerning which, the last chapter of Isaiah: "I will extend over her peace like a river." One does not arrive at this peace except through afflictions: therefore he says: In the world you will have tribulation: Acts fourteen: "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." In these afflictions one must not despair, therefore he adds: But take courage, I have overcome the world; 1 Corinthians fifteen: "Thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord." This victory is obtained by those who believe in Christ; 1 John five: "This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith."

John 17:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

Thirdly, the disciples are strengthened by the aid of prayer in four ways. Jesus spoke these things etc. Above, the Lord strengthened the disciples by example and by the word of instruction; here he strengthens them by the aid of prayer; and he does this in the present chapter, in which Christ's prayer is set forth. And the present chapter has four parts. In the first, the Lord seeks for himself the manifestation of glory. In the second, he seeks for the Apostles the preservation of holiness, there: Father, I have manifested your name etc. In the third, he seeks for those who will believe through the Apostles conformity of grace, there: I do not pray for them only, but for those etc. In the fourth, for both these and those the perpetuity of glory, there: Father, those whom you have given me, I will etc. First, therefore, he seeks for himself the manifestation of his glory in this order. First is set forth the manner of asking, or praying; second, the fruit of the petition; third, the reason for being heard: fourth, the petition itself. The manner of asking, therefore, is indicated in this, that Christ was asking devoutly and intently; as a sign of which he raised his eyes to heaven. Therefore he says: Jesus spoke these things, which have been said above, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, through devotion: above in chapter eleven: "Jesus, having lifted up his eyes, said: Father, I thank you, because you have heard me"; Psalm: "To you I have lifted up my eyes, you who dwell in the heavens"; Lamentations chapter three: "Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to the Lord". Not only devoutly, but also humbly; whence he said: Father. He calls God Father, because he honors him as Father; above in chapter eight: "I honor my Father, and you have dishonored me". He also asked with discernment; therefore he says: The hour has come, glorify your Son. He was asking with discernment, because he was seeking to be glorified at the time when the opportune moment had arrived. Concerning this hour it has often been said, above in chapters two and seven: "My hour has not yet come"; therefore he did not wish to be glorified through miracles, but when this hour had come, he sought to be glorified. In this manner of praying, therefore, we are instructed that we should pray devoutly, humbly, and with discernment. That your Son etc. Here the fruit of the petition is touched upon, and this is twofold, namely the manifestation of the divine name and our beatification. On account of the manifestation of the divine name he says: That your Son etc.: thus, Father, glorify your Son, that also your Son may glorify you, because for this reason he was dying: whence above in chapter twelve: "Father, glorify your name". It is asked concerning this, that the Son prays: because if to pray belongs to one who is needy and powerless, and the Son can do all things, therefore he ought not to pray. If you say that he prays insofar as he is man: this amounts to nothing, because whatever he merited insofar as he is man, he merited from the instant of conception. I respond: It must be said that Christ prayed insofar as he was man: for according to his human nature he could not do all things. Even though he was worthy through grace, nothing prevented him from meriting this very thing by good works: whence by suffering and praying he merited to be glorified. But this was not to make what was unowed into something owed, but to make what was owed in one way owed on multiple grounds. Again it is asked concerning this petition: Father, clarify or glorify your Son. To the contrary: Above in chapter eight: I do not seek my own glory: therefore he ought not to have sought his own glory or his own brightness. Again, according to which nature does he ask this? Not according to the divine, because according to that nature he can do all things: not according to the human, because he says a little later: Glorify me with the brightness which I had before the world was made: th…

John 17:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

As you have given him power over all flesh, that is, show that you have given him power over all flesh, that is, to save all flesh: Matthew, last chapter: "All power is given to me in heaven and on earth," and this for salvation: That all that you have given him, namely through predestination, he may give them eternal life, through glorification. Omne for omni: above in the sixth chapter: "This is the will of the Father who sent me, that everything which he has given me, I should not lose any of it, but should raise it up on the last day." And he explains what this eternal life is. It is asked concerning what he says: As you have given him power over all flesh. To the contrary: In the last chapter of Matthew it is said that it was given after the resurrection. Again, if he gave him power over all flesh, and he himself gives to all what the Father gave him, namely eternal life: therefore all are saved. Augustine responds that you have given is understood here according to foreknowledge, that is, you foresaw that they would be given. Chrysostom, however, says that this is understood according to the divine nature: you have given from eternity; in Matthew it is said given, not then first bestowed, but manifested. As to the objection regarding of all flesh: the distribution is for the kinds of individuals, that is, concerning all flesh. Or if the distribution is made for the individuals of the kinds, then emphasis must be placed on the word you have given: because he did not give him all flesh, but gave him power over all flesh; but he gave him the predestined, that he might save them; but he gave him power over the wicked, that he might judge them.

John 17:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

In Christ is the consummation of every good. "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Those things which are above, we ought to desire, to see, and to do.

John 17:3 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6

John 17:3 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 8

John 17:3 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 5

That eternal generation is always most actual and most complete: although the actuality of any act is better expressed through the present tense, the completion and perfection of an act is most fully expressed through the past tense. Hence that eternal generation cannot be sufficiently expressed through any single tense; rather, it is necessary to employ diverse tenses for its expression, because it is above all time and has in itself whatever completeness can be signified through any tense. But by that reason by which all these are one in it, it is sufficiently expressed through no word whatsoever: for it is no wonder if the clamor of temporal words does not suffice to express that most quiet silence of eternity and of eternal generation, which is better understood than spoken: better believed in the present than understood: and will be better seen in the future than it is now believed: for, as the Savior says, this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent: to which we can in no way attain unless our intellect is more fully elevated above the variations of time and above the cloudiness of phantasms into the freedom of supercelestial rest.

John 17:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

This is, he says, eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent; 3 Kings 10: "Blessed are your men, and blessed are your servants, who stand before you always and hear your wisdom." "To know you is perfect justice," Wisdom 15; and glory is nothing other than perfect justice, because "to know your justice and your power is the root of immortality," and therefore of eternal life. Likewise, there is a question about what he says: This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God. It is not only knowledge, but also love: or if you say that love is included in knowledge, why did he not place love there? Likewise, God is taken either essentially or personally. If personally, then the Holy Spirit is excluded. If essentially, then he added in vain: Whom you have sent, Jesus Christ, because knowledge of Christ-as-man does not pertain to the substantial reward, but knowledge of Christ-as-God does. To the first, it must be said that in knowledge which is face to face, love is necessarily understood; hence when it is said that "vision is the whole reward," love is not excluded. But it is spoken of more in terms of vision than love, because vision distinguishes what belongs to the homeland from what belongs to the way; but love does not. For now we do not see, yet nevertheless we love. As to the question of how God is taken: it must be said that if it stands there essentially, then what is added, and whom you have sent, is understood according to the human nature, according to which, even if the essence of the reward is not considered, nevertheless there will be a most intense delight in Christ-as-man, and so it is added: and whom you have sent, Jesus Christ. Or if it is taken personally, then Jesus Christ stands for the Son according to the divine nature, and the Holy Spirit is not excluded, because he is the union of the Father and the Son. Hence the word only is not added for the exclusion of the persons, because he who sees one person sees the other, but for the exclusion of false gods.

John 17:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Hence this fruit comes from Christ in a threefold manner, because Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Because He is Jesus, from Him comes the fruit of grace; because He is Christ, from Him comes the fruit of righteousness; because He is the Son of God, from Him comes the fruit of wisdom. For all these considerations both proceed from Christ and lead back to Him. If you come to the eternal rewards, these we shall not have except through Christ. John writes: "Now this is everlasting life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Him whom Thou hast sent, Jesus Christ."

John 17:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

I have glorified you. Here is noted the third point, namely the reason for being heard; and this was the merit of Christ, by which he merited to be glorified or made manifest; therefore he says: I have glorified you upon the earth, on account of this I merit to be glorified by you: I have finished the work which you gave me to do; therefore he finished it, because he was obedient even unto death; Luke 12: "I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I constrained until it be accomplished"? Concerning this consummation, Hebrews 2: "It was fitting for him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, who had brought many sons into glory, to make perfect the author of their salvation through suffering." And because he had done everything, therefore he ought to be heard.

John 17:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

And now glorify me, you, Father. Here is touched upon the fourth point, namely the petition itself, by which he seeks the manifestation of his glory; on account of which he says: And now glorify me, you, Father, with yourself, with the glory which I had before the world was made, with you; that is, manifest that glory, so that, just as from eternity I was equal to you before the world was made, so also may it be manifest to others. On account of which it is said below in the same chapter: "I am glorified in them," that is, in the Apostles, because they believed him to be equal to the Father; above in the sixteenth chapter: "Now we believe that you came forth from God"; above in the first chapter: "The Word was with God," namely equal to God, "and the Word was God."

John 17:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

I have manifested your name to men. This is the second part of the chapter, in which he asks for the preservation of holiness for the Apostles; and first he asks for them steadfastness in good; second, deliverance from evil, at the passage: While I was with them, etc. Therefore, first, preservation in the good is sought for the Apostles; and because petitions that are to be heard ought to be reasonable, a manifold reason is set forth beforehand. The procedure therefore follows this order. First, the diligent preservation of Christ's words is shown in the Apostles; second, the divine election; third, the desolation of the disciples; fourth, the petition itself is drawn forth. Therefore, first there is set forth or intimated the diligent preservation of Christ's words, which they had in the doctrine of Christ that was manifested to them; therefore he says: I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world, that is, whom you called out of the world to me through present justice: above in the sixth chapter: "No one comes to me unless the Father draws him." And the reason why he drew them out of the world is added: They were yours, by eternal election, and you gave them to me, to be instructed through doctrine; Isaiah 8: "Behold, I and my children, whom the Lord has given me"; the Apostle expounds this of Christ. And they fittingly received it; whence he says: And they have kept your word: concerning which keeping, above in the fourteenth chapter: "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me." And he shows how they kept the word or discourse of the Father. For since they had neither heard nor seen the Father, someone might doubt how they could have kept his word: therefore he says that they kept it by believing in the Son.

John 17:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

And now they have known that all things which you have given me are from you, and therefore they have known you by knowing me: whence above in the fifth chapter: "The Son cannot do anything of himself"; above in the fourteenth chapter: "The Father abiding in me, he does the works," and therefore "he who sees me sees also my Father." And they had also heard the word of the Father.

John 17:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

Because the words which you gave me, I have given to them: above in the fifteenth chapter: "All things that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you." And they kept my words, which I gave to them, and therefore your word: on this account he says: And they have received them, by subjecting their understanding, and have known truly that I came forth from you, according to the divine nature; and they have believed that you sent me, namely, into the flesh. And thus they believed and knew the Divinity in Christ and the humanity. And it should be noted that he says: And they believed that you sent me: and afterward: And they knew that I came forth from you. They themselves said above in the sixteenth chapter: "In this we have known that you came forth from God"; because through faith in the assumed humanity one arrives at the understanding of the eternal generation. Whence Augustine says that those who despised the humble Christ did not merit to know the exalted Christ. This therefore is the first reason for hearing their petition, namely, the preservation of Christ's words: whence above in the fifteenth chapter: "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, whatever you will, you shall ask, and it shall be done for you."

John 17:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

And I pray for them. Here is touched upon the second reason for being heard on behalf of the Apostles, namely the divine election itself: because our Lord himself was praying for the elect, not for the reprobate. Therefore he says: I pray for them, because, namely, they are elect: therefore he says: I do not pray for the world, "that is, for those devoted to the world," whom you have blinded; but for those whom you have given me, that is, whom you have saved through me; in Acts twenty-seven it was pointedly said to Paul: "Behold, God has given you all the souls of those who sail with you." Nor, because you have given them to me, have you taken them from yourself: Because they are yours. But here a question is raised about this, that the Lord here prays for the Apostles: Because above in the sixteenth chapter it is said: I do not say to you that I will ask the Father concerning you; for the Father himself loves you: therefore here he does the contrary of what he had said. Likewise, the Lord himself prayed for none except the predestined, about whom he knew that God willed to save them in the end; but they would be saved without his prayer; therefore he prayed in vain. Likewise, why did he pray with vocal prayer? What was the necessity? I respond: It must be said that the Lord prayed for the Apostles for a threefold reason, namely for the obtaining of salvation, consolation, and instruction: because he merited for them, because from hearing these words they were consoled, because they were instructed to pray from this, and we ourselves as well; therefore he prayed with vocal prayer. To the objection that the Lord said above: I do not say to you that I will ask the Father, etc.; the Lord did not wish to deny that he would pray for them, since it is said in Hebrews 9 that he appears before the face of God to intercede for us; but rather that he would not pray to the Father as though to one unwilling, but as to one benevolent toward the Apostles themselves. But one asks: to what end does he pray? Augustine says in On the Predestination of the Saints that we are not heard except on behalf of the predestined, and for them we do not pray in vain, because "perhaps they were predestined so that they might be granted through our prayers." So also in Christ. There is a question about what he says: I pray for them, not for the world. On the contrary: Below in the same chapter: That the world may believe that you sent me; therefore he was praying that the world might believe. Likewise, he ought to have prayed for those for whom he was sent and for whom he ought to die; but he died for the world; above in chapter 3: God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son. Likewise, by world are understood sinners; but those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are ailing; therefore it was especially necessary to pray for such people. I respond: It must be said that world is taken in three ways in this prayer, and on account of this it generates ambiguity, and a fourth mode is added besides. For world is said to be the visible globe itself; and so it is taken above in chapter 1: The world was made through him. Sometimes it is said to be the state of our sojourn, insofar as it has misery attached to it; and so there: These are in the world, and I come to you. Sometimes, insofar as it names the state of the present sojourn together with fault; and so below: The world has hated them. Sometimes, insofar as it implies eternal reprobation; and so it is taken there: I pray for them; I do not pray for the world. In the first mode it denotes nature; in the second mode, nature and misery; in the third, nature and misery and fault; in the fourth mode, nature and misery and fault and divine reprobation.

John 17:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

And all my things are yours, and yours are mine: above in the sixteenth chapter: "All things that the Father has are mine," and conversely. Therefore he said above in the seventh chapter: "My doctrine is not mine"; therefore my servants and my elect are your elect. And this is the second reason for being heard on behalf of the Apostles, namely their election: therefore above in the fifteenth chapter: "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and your fruit should remain: that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give you." And I am glorified. Here is touched upon the third reason, namely the desolation of the disciples at the departure of Christ, which was approaching: on account of which approaching he says he has been glorified and has departed, because it was about to happen imminently: therefore he says: And I am glorified in them: because they had known him and were soon to know him more fully.

John 17:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

And I am no longer in the world: because, above in the fourteenth chapter, "I will no longer speak much with you"; and these are in the world, and I come to you, and therefore I leave them desolate: above in the sixteenth chapter: "I go to him who sent me: but because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart." And this was the third reason for being heard; whence above in the fourteenth chapter: "I go to the Father: and whatever you ask the Father in my name, this I will do." Holy Father. After the manifold reason for asking has been set forth, here in the fourth place is added the petition itself, by which he asks for their preservation in good: on account of which he says: Holy Father, keep them in your name, whom you have given me, that is, in the power of your name: above in the tenth chapter: "No one can snatch them from my Father's hand." Keep them, I say, in good: whence he says: That they may be one, even as we are, namely in the unity of concord and peace, which unity God preserves in the elect, but nevertheless with their own solicitude: therefore Ephesians four: "Being solicitous to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

John 17:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

When I was with them, etc. After he sought preservation in the good, here he seeks deliverance or rescue from evil; and here the petition or prayer itself is set forth in this manner. For first, the necessity of petitioning is noted; second, the form of the petition; third, the reason for granting it. The necessity therefore of seeking preservation comes from a twofold cause: both from the absence of the preserver, and from the immersion in tribulation. Christ was being made absent from them, he who had preserved them: therefore he says: While I was with them, I kept them in your name. He preserved the disciples in the name of the Father, because by the power of the Father and because for the glory of the Father: and afterward the Father kept them in the name of the Son: whence above in the sixteenth chapter: "If you shall ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you." And indeed he kept them well: therefore he says: Those whom you gave me, I have guarded, as a good prelate, to whom it is said in 3 Kings 20: "Guard this man, for if he shall have escaped, your life shall be for his life." Concerning this guardianship, in the Psalm: "Behold, he shall neither slumber nor sleep who guards Israel"; and again: "Unless the Lord shall have guarded the city, he watches in vain who guards it"; whence the Psalm: "Guard us, O Lord, as the pupil of the eye"; Deuteronomy 32: "He led him about and taught him and guarded him as the pupil of his eye." And well indeed: whence he says: And none of them perished except the son of perdition, that is, Judas, who is called of perdition because he was foreknown unto death. For he destroyed himself temporally; Matthew 27: "He went and hanged himself with a noose"; he destroyed himself eternally; Matthew 26: "Woe to that man! by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed: it were better for him if that man had not been born." For the same reason, it is said of the Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2: "Then shall be revealed the man of sin, the son of perdition." He did not perish by chance nor by Christ's negligence, but by his own malice, which was foreknown from eternity and foretold through Scripture; therefore he says: That the Scripture might be fulfilled, namely of that Psalm: "O God of my praise." Thus therefore I was keeping them well, and then they did not need me to pray for them. There is a question concerning what he says: When I was with them, I kept them. From this he seems to suggest powerlessness in himself, because in his very absence he could not keep them. It also seems from this that the works of the Trinity are divided and performed alternately, because first the Son kept them, and now he asks the Father to keep them. I respond: It must be said that there are two ways of keeping, namely effectively and dispositively. In the first way, it belongs to him to keep whose it is to give being; in the second way, it can belong to another. In the first way, God preserves man in the good: in the second, one man preserves another by good instruction and example, as a prelate his subjects. I say therefore that Christ speaks here of preservation that was dispositive, by a dispositive mode, namely by example and exhortation and instruction: and this was to be withdrawn along with his bodily presence. In the other way he kept them interiorly with the Father insofar as he is God: but he does not speak of this, and this he did not withdraw, but exercised it together with the Father. There is a question concerning what he says: Those whom you gave me I have kept: and none of them perished except the son of perdition. Against this: Above in chapter six: All that the Father gives me shall come to me: and above in chapter ten: No one snatches the sheep from my hands: therefore none of the sheep ought to have perished. I respond: It must be said that the Father gives some to the Son in two ways, namely by eternal foreknowledge those whom he predestined and foreknew to be conformed to the image o…

John 17:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

But now I come to you, and I leave them, and therefore I pray, that they themselves may conceive confidence from my prayer; therefore he says: These things I speak in the world, that is, I make this prayer while they themselves are listening, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves, so that they may not be troubled by distrust, but may rejoice in themselves through the hope of being heard, according to that passage above in the sixteenth chapter: "Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full." Therefore he himself was asking, so that they might conceive full joy. This therefore is the first necessity, namely the absence of the preserver; but the other is the immersion in tribulation, which on this account was about to rush upon them because of their observance of the divine word, on account of which the world held them in hatred.

John 17:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

I have given them your word: above in the fourteenth chapter: "The word which you have heard is not mine, but the Father's who sent me." And from this they have incurred the hatred of the world; therefore he says: And the world has hated them. And the reason is that they themselves have left the world; therefore he says: Because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world, that is, separated from worldly conduct, just as I am; above in the fifteenth chapter: "If you were of the world, the world would love what was its own; but because I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." The Apostles were separated from the world; whence in Romans 1 he said, "Paul, Apostle of Jesus Christ, set apart," truly set apart, because in the last chapter of Galatians he said: "The world is crucified to me, and I to the world."

John 17:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

I do not ask that you take them away. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the form of the petition, in which he asks that they be removed from a twofold evil, namely of perverse affection and of error. He asks, therefore, that they be preserved from perverse affection, to which the world draws them, in which they had to dwell; therefore he says: I do not ask that you take them out of the world, that is, through the death of the flesh, as is said of Enoch in Genesis 5: "Enoch walked with God and appeared no more, because God took him." He took him for this purpose, to preserve him from evil; Wisdom 4: "He was snatched away, lest wickedness alter his understanding." He was not asking that they be preserved in this way, but in the world: therefore he adds: But that you keep them from evil. An inquiry is made concerning this, that he asks for his disciples to be preserved from evil. It seems that he asks in a disordered manner: Because they were in charity; but from however small a grace or charity one can resist however great a temptation; therefore, etc. Likewise, from that grace one cannot fall except through mortal sin; one cannot sin except willingly; therefore that each one be preserved lies within the freedom of our will; therefore he asks superfluously. It is answered to this that, as Augustine says, to persevere in the good received is of divine gift and of our solicitude; for grace is preserved in us through continual inflowing, and therefore it is asked of the Lord that he continually assist. Hence, even if we can fail by will alone, unless divine aid intervenes, we cannot persevere.

John 17:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world, namely in conduct; therefore he was asking that they be saved and preserved, lest they be turned back to the world through love; concerning which preservation, Apocalypse 3: "Because you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon the whole world, to try those who dwell upon the earth." Thus he asks that they be preserved from the evil of transgression; he also asks that they be preserved from the evil of error.

John 17:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

Sanctify them in truth. Holy, that is, without earth; to sanctify, that is, to cleanse and purify; but this truth is in the word of God. Therefore he says: Your word is truth: and by this word of God the disciples are sanctified, that is, purged from error. Chrysostom: "Sanctify them in truth, that is, instruct them, teach them truth; for right doctrines sanctify the soul." For the word of God knows how to purge; therefore it was said above in the fifteenth chapter: "You are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you"; and in Ephesians 5: "Christ sanctified the Church, cleansing her by the washing of water in the word of life." Concerning such sanctification, 2 Timothy 2: "If anyone shall have cleansed himself from these things, he shall be a sanctified vessel, useful to the Lord, prepared for every good work."

John 17:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

As you sent me. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the reason for being heard, which is twofold, namely the office committed to them and the sacrifice offered for them. By reason of the office committed to them, they ought to be preserved and sanctified, because they were sent among the wicked: therefore he says: As you sent me into the world, to suffering; so also I have sent them into the world, namely to suffer: whence Matthew 10: "Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves." Therefore by reason of the office it was fitting that they should be preserved: and also by reason of the sacrifice offered.

John 17:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

And for them I sanctify myself: Chrysostom: "That is, I offer a holy sacrifice. All sacrificial victims were called holy"; Romans 12: "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God"; and as Chrysostom says, "because in ancient times the sanctification was in a sheep as a type, but now it is not in a type, but in the truth itself: therefore he says: That they may be sanctified in truth"; Hebrews 9: "If the ashes of a heifer sprinkled and the blood of goats sanctifies the defiled unto the cleansing of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God"?

John 17:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

I do not ask for them only. This is the third part of the chapter, in which the Lord asks for those who will believe through the Apostles conformity of grace; and he proceeds in this order. First he sets forth the petition; second, the reason for being heard, at: And the glory which you have given. In the petition, therefore, he asks for those who will believe a twofold unity, namely of love and of faith. On account of the unity of love, which he asks for those who will believe through the Apostles, he says: I do not ask for them, namely for the Apostles, only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. Here it is asked: because if none are saved through Christ except those for whom he prayed, and he only prayed for the Apostles and for those who would believe through them, then those who believed through Christ, such as Nicodemus, lacked the benefit of prayer, and thus of salvation. I respond: It must be said that those who would believe through the Apostles are not only said to be those who were converted solely by their preaching, but also those who followed in their footsteps. Or it can be said that the Lord was praying for those who had already believed in general, not only for the Apostles.

John 17:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

That they may be one, through conformity of love, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that is, as we are one, that they also may be one in us; Galatians 3: "You are all one in Christ Jesus." This unity is through the adherence of charity; 1 Corinthians 6: "He who clings to God is one spirit." But when they are united to one another in God, then they are one in God; hence 1 Corinthians 12: "In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body." Thus he asks for them the unity of charity; he also asks for the unity of faith; therefore he says: That the world may believe that you have sent me. The world, that is, the universality of the children of God dispersed throughout the world, whom he was to gather into the unity of faith. Above in chapter 11 it was said that he was about to die, "that he might gather into one the children of God who were dispersed," and this by uniting them in faith in his name; because, above in chapter 1, "he gave power to become children of God to those who believe in his name"; and Acts 4: "There is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved." Likewise, there is a question concerning the fact that the Lord prayed for those who would believe through the Apostles, that they might be one. Against this: Many believed who were torn away and fell back: therefore he was not heard for all. I respond: Some are numbered among the faithful in name, such as bad Christians; some by the merit of present justice; some by the knowledge of eternal foreknowledge, concerning which 2 Timothy 2 says: The Lord knows who are his; and for such the Lord prays, but not for the others, because 1 John 2 says: They went out from us, but they were not of us.

John 17:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

And I the glory. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the reason for being heard, because he had communicated his glory to the Apostles so that the world might be converted to the faith. Now he had communicated a threefold glory to them, namely of power, wisdom, and goodness: of power in working miracles, on account of which the Jews were converted to the faith, who "seek signs"; of wisdom in proclaiming teachings, on account of which the Greeks might be converted, who "seek wisdom". On account of this twofold glory he says: And I the glory which you have given me, I have given to them: Chrysostom: "That which is through signs, that which is through doctrines". Concerning the giving of the glory of signs, Luke chapter nine: "Having called together the twelve, he gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases". Concerning the giving of the glory of teachings, Luke chapter twenty-one: "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and contradict". He also gave the glory of goodness; on account of which he adds: That they may be one, as we also are one, by proportion. Likewise, there is a question concerning what he says: Let them be one, just as we also are. What does he mean by this, since they are one in essence, but human beings cannot be one in essence? Likewise, as you are in me, and I in them; there seems to be no likeness whatsoever. Arius said that there was a likeness, and that just as, when it is said that we are one, it does not follow from this that we are one in essence, so neither when the Son says: I and the Father are one. And he speaks wrongly, because when it is said that certain persons are one, as Augustine says, it is necessary either that a qualification be added, or it necessarily expresses conformity in nature, not only in will; hence of two human beings or more, when they love one another, they are one is rightly said, but of a human being and God, by no means. Hence it is necessary, if the Son truly says to the Father: I and you are one, that they have the same nature; but if the divine nature is not divisible, then they are simply one. To the question, therefore, it must be said that the likeness is very remote, as in: Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Just as divine mercy exceeds my mercy infinitely, so does that unity exceed this unity. But why does the church of the wicked not form one, as the Church of Christ does? The response is: because, even if the wicked agree in some wickedness outwardly, they nevertheless differ in will inwardly; they differ in their end, because each one seeks his own advantage; but the good agree in both.

John 17:22 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Through the bond of love all things are meant to be bound together in one Christ as regards head and body, which contains in itself the universality of those to be saved. This unity is now begun on the way, but is consummated in eternal glory, according to what the Lord prays, that they may be one, as we also are one: and I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one: when this unity is consummated through the bond of charity, God will be all in all in certain eternity and perfect peace, and all things will be common through love, ordered in communion and connected in ordering and indissolubly bound in connection.

John 17:23 — Breviloquium, Part 5

John 17:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one, that is, perfected in the unity of charity, and through this they may be made glorious. Whence Chrysostom: "This is the great glory, that they may be one, and this glory is greater than signs. For just as we admire God, because there is no contention or discord in that nature, and this is the greatest glory: so also these are made glorious from this". Whence above in chapter thirteen: "By this all shall know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another". And this glory he gave to the Apostles. And let the world know that you sent me, on account of the glory, namely, which I gave them in my name: and you have loved them, as you have also loved me: and let it know this through the unity and concord which it will see in them. Chrysostom: "Showing that by this sign peace can attract men more. For just as contention is divisive, so also harmony is unitive"; Acts chapter two: "They were persevering in the teaching of the Apostles and in the communion of the breaking of bread and in prayers: and fear came upon every soul".

John 17:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

Father, those whom you have given me. The fourth part of the chapter is that in which, for those for whom he petitioned conformity of grace, he petitions the perpetuity of glory, in the following order. First is set forth the petition; second, the reason why the petition should be heard. The petition concerns glory; and because glory is through the vision of the Divinity, which we shall see in the fatherland, he therefore says: Father, those whom you have given me, namely through predestination, I will that where I am, they also may be, through glorious cohabitation: above, chapter 12: "If anyone serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall my servant be." Where I am, that is, where I am about to be immediately according to my humanity. Or where I am according to Divinity, that is, let them be with me, who am everywhere. Augustine: "To be with him is a great good: for the wretched can be where he is who is everywhere. But the blessed are with him, because they always cling to him by enjoying him." And that it must be understood thus is clear from what follows: That they may see my glory, which you have given me. This is the excellence of the Divinity; therefore he says: Because you loved me before the foundation of the world: above in the fifth chapter: "The Father loves the Son and shows him all things." This glory only the good will see; Isaiah twenty-six: "Let the impious be taken away, lest he see the glory of God." To this glory we are now conformed through grace; Second Corinthians three: "We, beholding the glory of God with unveiled face, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord." But there is a question about what he says: that where I am, they also may be with me. To the contrary: Above in the fourteenth chapter: In my Father's house there are many mansions. I respond: "In unequal glory, equal joy"; by reason of unequal glory there is multiplicity: by reason of common joy, where head and members are. Likewise, he dwells in inaccessible light, First Timothy last chapter. I respond that inaccessible means either because in no way, or because with difficulty, or because not by human power, or because it is approached only through divine glory. Furthermore, excellences destroy; but the brightness of God is most excellent. I respond: This is to be understood as follows: where the one apprehending is corporeal, the thing apprehended can cause harm.

John 17:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

Righteous Father, the world etc. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the reason for being heard, that is, why these ought to see through glory, because they now know through grace: but the wicked neither know now nor will they know then: therefore he says: Righteous Father, because "you will render to each one according to his works." The world has not known you: above in the first chapter: "There was the true light, which illuminates" etc.; therefore I do not pray for the world. But I have known you, and these have known that you sent me, and this by my revealing. It is asked concerning what he says, that the world, that is, the worldly, did not know him. On the contrary: Romans 1: Who, although they had known God, did not glorify him as God, etc. I respond: There is simple knowledge and knowledge of approbation; by simple knowledge they knew him, but not by knowledge of approbation; and therefore by knowing they merited nothing.

John 17:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 17

And I have made known to them your name: Psalm: "I will declare your name to my brethren"; Matthew eleven: "No one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wills to reveal him." Nor has he only made it known through himself, but he will further make it known through the Holy Spirit: therefore he says: And I will make it known, and this through the Holy Spirit, who is the love of the Father and the Son: therefore he says: That the love with which you loved me may be in them, through the gift of the Holy Spirit: Romans five: "The love of God has been poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." And I in them, because, First John four, "he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him"; and therefore it is said in the same place: "In this we have known that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit." And he who has this Spirit and the Son is assured that he has the Father. Whence Augustine says that "the Father gave his Son as the price of redemption, the Holy Spirit as the pledge of adoption, and himself as the inheritance to the adopted."

John 18:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

Second, it treats of those things which accompany the passion, in a fourfold manner. "When he had said these things," etc. Above he treated of the things antecedent to the passion, namely from the end of the eleventh chapter; here he treats of those things in which the passion is consummated. And because in the passion he was apprehended and judged, slain and buried, therefore this part is divided into four parts. In the first, it treats of Christ's apprehension; in the second, of his condemnation, there: "And they led him to Annas"; in the third, of his passion, there: "Then they took Jesus," etc.; in the fourth, of the manner of burial, at the end of the nineteenth chapter, there: "After these things, he asked Pilate." First, concerning Christ's apprehension. In the first part, therefore, in which it is shown what Christ's apprehension was like, three things are demonstrated: first, that it was wondrous; second, that it was voluntary, there: "Jesus therefore, knowing what things were to come upon him"; third, that it was ignominious, there: "The band therefore, and the tribune," etc. In the first part, therefore, he proceeds thus. He shows first the coming of Christ to the place known to the betrayer; second, the coming of the betrayer to that place, there: "Judas therefore," etc. Continuing therefore what was said with what is to be said, he states: "When he had said these things," supply: which were said before; "Jesus went out with his disciples across the brook Cedron." This crossing was prefigured in 2 Kings 15: "The king also passed over the brook Cedron." Cedron is a genitive plural, that is, across the brook of cedars, because those trees were there. "He went out" from the city, because he was apprehended and suffered outside; Hebrews, last chapter: "Christ suffered outside the gate," etc. "Where there was a garden, into which he entered, he and his disciples," not as one fleeing or hiding himself, but seeking quiet; Song of Songs 6: "I went down into my garden, that I might see"; Psalm: "In peace is his place made." Question I. But it is asked here first concerning what John says, that after the prayer he went out across the torrent Cedron: because, as Augustine says, in the Harmony of the Evangelists, when the discourse was finished, a dispute arose as to which of them seemed to be the greater. And it must be said that the word of blessed John is not to be understood precisely as meaning that it was immediately after the prayer, but that it was after the prayer and not before. Question II. Likewise, Matthew twenty-six says that Jesus came to the village which is called Gethsemane. Luke twenty-two says that going out, he went according to his custom to the Mount of Olives: John, that it was across the torrent Cedron. There seems to be a contradiction here. Augustine responds in the third book of the Harmony of the Evangelists: "The Mount," he says, "of Olives is this place, whose name Matthew and Mark called Gethsemane: and there we understand there to have been a garden, which John commemorates." And Victor says that "that village is situated at the foot of the Mount of Olives."

John 18:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"And Judas also, who betrayed him, knew the place." And the reason is added: "Because Jesus often resorted thither with his disciples." Victor: "Judas had noted this place, because the Lord had been accustomed to come to it often." This place was at the foot of the Mount of Olives; Jesus went there frequently; Luke 21: "During the days he was teaching in the temple, but at night going out, he abode on the Mount of Olives." Question III. Likewise it is asked: why did the Lord go out of the city at night? It seems that he wished to hide. Chrysostom responds that he did this not only then, but was also accustomed to do so often, so that he might withdraw from the tumult of men and speak about necessary things.

John 18:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Judas therefore, having received the cohort." Here is noted the arrival of the betrayer with such persons as could seize and hold and lead him away. Therefore, "having received the cohort," namely from the Gentiles, "and from the chief priests and Pharisees, servants," because he was betraying him to them; in Matthew twenty-six it is said that "he went to the chief priests and said to them: What will you give me, and I will deliver him to you?" "He came there," as the leader of the others, "with lanterns and torches and weapons," lest he could hide in the night: for since they were walking in darkness, they begged light from torches: Job twenty-four: "If the dawn suddenly appears, they regard it as the shadow of death: and thus they walk in darkness as in light"; or defend himself: and they did this because they believed nothing divine was in him, but only human power. Question IV. Likewise, since Judas had left him at home, why did he not lead the cohort there, but to the garden? Chrysostom responds that he would more gladly have sought him at home, so as to find him sleeping: but he knew that he had the custom of frequently spending the night outside. Question V. Likewise it is asked: since that cohort was of Gentile soldiers, how did they follow Judas? I respond: They were corrupted by money given or promised. Whence Chrysostom: "They were true soldiers, devising to do all things for the sake of money." Question VI. Likewise the question is: why did they not come to apprehend him by day, since they had so great a cohort? And Chrysostom responds that they feared the crowds which followed him by day.

John 18:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

But Jesus, knowing. Here it is shown that the arrest of Christ was voluntary on Christ's part in four ways: first, in that when he could have hidden, he offered himself: second, that by offering himself he prostrated his enemies: third, that by offering himself he freed his disciples by his command alone: fourth, that he did not permit them to resist. It is noted therefore first that he was arrested voluntarily, because he could have hidden: whence it says: "But Jesus, knowing all things that were to come upon him," and thereby being able to avoid them before they came: Sirach twenty-three: "The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun," etc. And yet he offered himself: whence it is said: "He went forth and said to them: Whom do you seek? He went forth," that is, he voluntarily offered himself; Isaiah fifty-three: "He was offered, because he himself willed it," etc. In the Psalm: "Let them be confounded and put to shame who seek my soul." Augustine: "They sought him to kill him by raging, but he sought us by dying." Question I. But it is asked here first concerning this, that the Lord offered himself to the Jews. It seems that he gave them an occasion for doing evil. Chrysostom responds: "The Lord showed all things that were sufficient to call them back," namely by restraining their sight so that they would not recognize him, and by casting them to the ground by his word alone. "But because they persisted in malice and had no excuse, he then delivered himself into their hands."

John 18:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"They answered: Jesus of Nazareth," in this it is evident that they did not recognize him. Chrysostom: "Standing in their midst he blinded them, and thus he could have hidden." "Jesus said to them: I am he." Here it is noted that he was arrested voluntarily, because by offering himself he prostrated them: whence it follows: "And Judas also, who betrayed him, stood with them," namely with the others standing; but having heard the word, they did not stand, but rather fell.

John 18:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"When therefore he said to them: I am he, they went backward," turning their face away from him, according to that word of the Psalm: "Let them be turned backward and put to confusion who devise evil against me." "And they fell to the ground." Augustine: "One voice struck, repelled, and prostrated so great a crowd, fierce with hatred, terrible with arms, without any weapon, by the power of the hidden Divinity. What will he do when he comes to judge, who did this when he was about to be judged? What will he be able to do when he comes to reign, who was able to do this when he was about to die?" Job twenty-six: "And since we have scarcely heard a small drop of his discourse, who shall be able to behold the thunder of his greatness?"

John 18:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Again therefore he asked them." Here the third reason is noted why he was voluntarily arrested, because by manifesting himself he freed his disciples. He therefore manifests himself to them when he again asks: "Whom do you seek? And they said," as before: "Jesus of Nazareth." And just as he asked again, so a second time he offers and manifests himself.

John 18:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Jesus answered them: I told you that I am he." And because you did not recognize me then, I say it again, so that you may recognize me. They were blinded, lest they recognize him, as in the last chapter of Luke: "Their eyes were held, lest they recognize him." After he offered himself, he freed the disciples by his command alone: whence he adds: "If you seek me, let these go." Augustine: "He commands the enemies, and they do what he commands: they let those go whom he does not will to perish."

John 18:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"That the word might be fulfilled which he said," above in the seventeenth chapter: "Because those whom you gave me, O Father, I have not lost any of them": because he willed to suffer alone; Isaiah sixty-three: "I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the nations there is no man with me." But what does it mean that he says: "I have not lost any of them?" Is it not said in Matthew sixteen: "He who loses his life for my sake shall find it?" Therefore Augustine explains this of eternal perdition, "because they did not yet believe in him as all those who do not perish believe." But that was said to those who believe perfectly.

John 18:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

But Simon Peter. Here the fourth sign is noted, that he was apprehended voluntarily: because he restrained Peter who was resisting. The fervor of Peter in defending the Lord is therefore indicated in this, that "having a sword, he drew it," as if unable to restrain himself, "and struck the servant of the high priest," as if not discerning the person, "and cut off his right ear." Chrysostom: "He indicates the impetuosity of the Apostle, because he made his assault at the very head." "And the name of the servant was Malchus"; this, as Chrysostom says, the Evangelist said for the sake of greater certainty. Peter, inflamed with zeal for the Law, struck those evildoers: First Maccabees two: "Mattathias saw and grieved, and his zeal was kindled according to the judgment of the Law, and he approached and slew him." Spiritually: Peter, recognizing him, cut off the right ear, that is, obedience. Question II. Likewise it is asked: since Peter so greatly provoked them, why did they not seize him? Chrysostom responds that "no one else restrained them, but that power which previously cast them on their backs." Question III. Likewise it is asked: since Peter had been commanded not to have a wallet, how then did he have a sword? To this Victor responds that the Lord gave them that command when he sent them to preach; but when the time of persecution was at hand, he commanded that they carry necessities for sustenance and buy swords. And he took this from Luke twenty-two: "He who has a purse, let him take it and a wallet, and he who does not have a sword, let him sell his tunic and buy a sword." Or it can be said that the Lord did not command this because he wished to defend himself, but so that he might show patience to those who seized him, because, although he had weapons, he was unwilling to use them.

John 18:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Jesus therefore said to Peter: Put your sword into its sheath." Victor: "Let vengeance cease, let patience be shown," according to that saying in Matthew five: "I say to you, do not resist evil, but if anyone strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other." And he gives the reason: "The chalice which the Father has given me, do you not wish that I drink it?" As if to say: if you think rightly, you must will what the Father wills. Concerning this chalice, Matthew twenty-six: "Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me." The Son drank this chalice: whence Matthew twenty: "Can you drink the chalice that I am about to drink?" And concerning the will of the Father: whence Romans eight: "He did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all." Question IV. Likewise, since it had been said to the Apostles in Matthew five: "If anyone strikes you on one of your cheeks, offer him the other also"; it seems that Peter did wrong in this, that he struck. Chrysostom responds: "Here he was not avenging himself, but his Master. Moreover, they were not yet in a certain manner perfect and consummate," as they afterwards were after the coming of the Holy Spirit; and then they fulfilled the perfection commanded to them for that time. Question V. Likewise it is asked whether the successor of Peter can draw the material sword and strike. And that he can, seems evident from the example of Peter. To this Bernard responds to Eugenius, speaking of the material sword: "The sword is yours, to be unsheathed perhaps at your nod, even if not by your hand. Otherwise, if it in no way pertained to you, when the Apostles said: Behold, here are two swords, the Lord would not have responded: It is enough, but rather: it is too much. Both swords therefore belong to the Church, but the material one is to be drawn on behalf of the Church, while the spiritual one is to be drawn by the Church."

John 18:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"The cohort therefore and the tribune," etc. Here it is shown thirdly that the arrest of Christ was ignominious on the part of the cohort, because they seized and bound him as a robber. Therefore he says: "The cohort therefore," that is, a multitude of soldiers established in one company, "and the tribune," who presided over them, "and the officers of the Jews seized Jesus and bound him." Victor says that "it was the custom of the Jews that whomever they judged worthy of death, they would hand over bound to the governor," and thus as a criminal: therefore in Matthew twenty-six the Lord says to them: "You have come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to seize me." And they bound him, lest he flee, because Judas had said in Mark fourteen: "Whomever I shall kiss, he is the one: seize him and lead him away carefully."

John 18:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"And they led him to Annas first." Here begins the second principal part, in which he treats of the condemnation of Christ; and because a manifold examination preceded his condemnation, this part is divided into three. In the first he treats of the examination conducted by Annas: second, by Caiaphas, at the place: "And Annas sent him bound": third, under Pilate, at the place: "They lead Jesus therefore to Caiaphas." In the first, three things are noted: a defect of judgment, a defect of testimony, and the infliction of abuse; which are noted in this, that Christ is first presented to an unjust judge: second, he is denied by Peter, at the place: "Now Simon Peter followed Jesus": third, he is examined, at the place: "The high priest therefore questioned Jesus." As regards therefore the presentation, it is said: "And they led him," namely Jesus, "to Annas first," because he was older and more ancient and more inveterate in malice; Daniel 13: "Iniquity came forth from the elder judges, who seemed to govern the people." And he gives the reason when he says: "Now he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest of that year": therefore the judgment seemed in a certain way to pertain to him. Under the same leaders Christ suffered under whom John preached; Luke 3: "Under the chief priests Annas and Caiaphas, the word of the Lord came upon John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert." And he notes him with suspicion, that he would not judge rightly, because he was the father-in-law of the one who had conspired unto the death of Christ. Question I. But it is asked here first concerning what is said in Matthew twenty-six, that the officers holding Jesus led him to Caiaphas the chief priest: how does John say that it was to Annas? Likewise, since Annas was not the high priest, why was he led to him? Augustine responds that he was brought to both; but Matthew, wishing to narrate the matter more briefly, says that he was brought to Caiaphas, because in his house he was chiefly examined. To that which is asked, why he was first brought to Annas, a fourfold reason is given: the reason of dignity, because, as Victor says, he had been priest the preceding year: for at that time the high priesthood was purchased. — Another reason, namely of kinship, because he was related to the high priest as his father-in-law. — The third reason of convenience, because his house was on the way. — The fourth reason of malice, as Victor says, "so that Caiaphas might appear of lesser guilt, if Christ were condemned by the sentence of another priest."

John 18:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Now it was Caiaphas who had given counsel to the Jews"; above in chapter 11: It is expedient that one man die for the people. Chrysostom: "Therefore he recalls that prophecy, because the salvation of the world was his death, and therefore the hearer, hearing of the bonds of Christ, ought not to be troubled."

John 18:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Now Simon Peter followed Jesus." Here he treats of Peter's denial, which he describes in this order. First is noted the occasion of the denial; second, the denial itself; third, from the denial, the cooling of love. The occasion of the denial was in this, that although he was weak, he wished to follow the Lord. Therefore he says: "Now Simon Peter followed Jesus," not perfectly; whence Matthew twenty-six: "But Peter followed from afar," and with another leading; whence he was not alone, but rather "another disciple also," and this one was the guide; whence: "Now that disciple was known to the high priest," and therefore he went with confidence, whence he adds: "And he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest." Who this was, the Gloss did not determine. It seems nevertheless to have been John, as Victor says, who spoke of himself as of another, as though not fearing. Question II. Likewise Chrysostom asks: who was that other disciple of whom he says that he was following Jesus? And he responds that it was John, who conceals his own name by reason of humility. Question III. And then the question is: why does he not remain entirely silent about himself? The response is that he introduces himself in order to strengthen our faith; he conceals his name in order to show that he avoids boasting.

John 18:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"But Peter stood at the door outside," either because he did not dare to enter, or because he was not permitted. Therefore that was true which was said to him above in the thirteenth chapter: "Where I go, you cannot follow me now." "Therefore that other disciple went out, who was known to the high priest," and by reason of his familiarity "spoke to the doorkeeper and brought Peter in." And thus it is manifest that he who entered through another loved but feebly; in which it is signified that disciples ought to help one another; therefore Galatians, last chapter: "Bear one another's burdens, and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ."

John 18:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"The doorkeeper said to Peter." Here is described the second, namely the denial proceeding from weakness; and this is evident in this, that Peter denied the Lord at the voice of a maidservant. Therefore the inquiry of the maidservant is introduced: "Are you not also one of the disciples of this man?" She does not say "of the deceiver," but "of the man," as though speaking with compassion; but Peter, overcome by faintheartedness, denied; whence follows: "He said: I am not." Chrysostom: "What is this, Peter? Did you not say: I will lay down my life for you? above in the thirteenth chapter. What then has happened, that you cannot bear even the questioning of a doorkeeper?"

John 18:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Now the servants stood." Here is described the third, namely from the denial the cooling of affection: which is intimated in this, that Peter, now forgetful of the Lord, stood at the charcoal fire with the servants, and again, his interior warmth having grown lukewarm, he sought solace in the exterior; therefore he says: "Now the servants and officers stood at a charcoal fire," who namely had seized the Lord: "because it was cold, and they were warming themselves." Augustine: "It was not winter, and yet it was cold, which is wont to happen sometimes even at the vernal equinox." "Now Peter also was standing and warming himself": for he had lost that fire, of which Luke twelve says: "I came to cast fire upon the earth," because he had grown lukewarm. Bede: "So greatly did the prince of the Apostles grow lukewarm with the cold of unfaithfulness, that at the voice of one maidservant he was afraid to confess Christ."

John 18:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Now the high priest," etc. Having set forth the denial of Peter, here is subjoined the examination of Christ: in whose examination four things are noted, namely the interrogation by the high priest, the response of Christ, the infliction of injury, and the endurance of patience. The interrogation of the high priest therefore is touched upon when it says: "Now the high priest," namely Annas, "was questioning Jesus about his disciples and his teaching," so that, because he could not bring a charge against him, he might at least catch him in his words: not to learn, but to catch him, Matthew twenty-two.

John 18:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Jesus answered him:" Here the second point is set forth, namely the response of Christ, in which the Lord refutes the intention of the high priest. For he held the teaching of Christ suspect, and therefore wished to examine him about it: for this reason the Lord shows that his teaching was not suspect, because it was not hidden, but public. Therefore he says: "I have spoken openly to the world:" and he proves this: "I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews gather." And because one might say: in public you taught true things, in secret you taught false things: therefore for greater certainty he says: "And in secret I have said nothing:" Isaiah forty-five: "I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place." Thus he removed suspicion about his teaching on the grounds of concealment: then he removes it on the grounds of falsehood: whence he sends them to others, not wishing to answer himself. Question IV. Likewise it is asked: concerning what the Lord says: "I have spoken nothing in secret"; since the Lord himself spoke many things to his disciples in secret. Likewise, concerning what he says: "I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple"; since it is said in Matthew five that it was on the mountain: similarly in Luke six, that it was in a level place. Likewise, concerning what he says: "I have spoken openly to the world:" since the Lord spoke in parables and in hidden sayings, as is said in Matthew thirteen. To the first, Augustine responds: "Because, if he said certain things to the disciples alone, he nevertheless did not speak in secret, because he wished those things to be made known to many through them: whence Matthew ten: What I say to you in darkness, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops." Chrysostom responds: "I have spoken nothing in secret," because "not out of fear or deceit, as these men supposed. He taught His disciples in private, but those things which others could not grasp." To the other objection it must be said that "always" is distributed there for the three solemnities: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, when the people generally assembled. To the other objection it must be said that He "spoke openly," not in the sense of open understanding, but in the sense of being heard by many. Augustine: "In a certain manner He spoke openly, because many heard; in a certain manner He did not speak openly, because they did not understand."

John 18:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Why do you ask me," since you do not believe me and can learn from others? "Ask those who heard what I spoke to them," so that you may believe them: for "behold, these know what I have said." Chrysostom: "These are not the words of one being bold, but of one confident in the truth of what had been said"; Proverbs eight: "All my words are righteous: there is nothing crooked or perverse in them."

John 18:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"When he had said these things." Here the third point is set forth, namely the infliction of injury on account of the response, by deed and by word. By deed: "One of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his palm:" Lamentations three: "He shall give his cheek to the one who strikes him"; and Micah five: "They shall strike the cheek of the judge of Israel." He was injured by word, saying: "Do you answer the high priest thus?" As if to say: you answer foolishly, because one must answer the high priest humbly: whence they said to Paul, Acts twenty-three: "Do you revile the high priest of God?"

John 18:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Jesus answered him." Here is noted the fourth point, namely the endurance of patience, which is indicated in the Lord's response, because he bears with the wicked servant: whence he adds: "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil:" as if to say: I am prepared to endure the punishment: he instructs: whence he says: "But if well, why do you strike me?" as if to say: recognize that you act wrongly. In this the wondrous kindness of Christ is noted, that he not only endured but also instructed, according to that passage of Leviticus nineteen: "You shall not hate your brother, but reprove him openly, lest you bear sin on his account." Question V. Again it is asked: since the Lord says in Matthew five: "If anyone strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other also," why did the Lord not do this, but rebuked the one striking Him? Augustine responds: "He answered truthfully, meekly, and justly; and He not only prepared the other cheek for the one about to strike again, but also His whole body to be fixed upon the wood. And by this He showed that the precepts of patience are to be fulfilled not by a display of the body, but by the preparation of the heart."

John 18:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"And Annas sent Him," etc. Here is treated the examination conducted under Caiaphas; and this part is divided into two, because first is set forth the leading of Christ to the judge; second, His denial by the disciple, at the words: "And Simon Peter was standing." As to the first point, the Evangelist disposes of it briefly and says that Christ was sent to Caiaphas, treating nothing of the examination conducted by him, because the other Evangelists had said enough. Therefore he says: "Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest," by whom He was dishonored and condemned in many ways; as it is said in Matthew twenty-six, that "they spat in His face and struck Him with their fists, and others slapped Him in the face," etc.

John 18:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Now he was." Here is set forth the denial of Peter, and the occasion for denying is placed in this, that he was mingled with the servants; whence he says: "And Simon Peter was standing and warming himself," namely with the servants, as above. And from the fact that he was among them, it happened that they questioned him. "They said therefore to him: Are you not also one of His disciples?" And this was the occasion for denying; therefore there follows the repetition of the denial: "But he denied and said: I am not." Peter was terrified at the multitude of bystanders; Sirach seven: "Do not sin against the multitude of the city, nor cast yourself into the people." Question I. But Chrysostom asks: whence is it that the Evangelists so harmoniously wrote about the denial of Peter, when it would seem that they ought to have concealed the sin of their companion? He responds: They did this indeed "not to accuse the disciple, but wishing to instruct us how great an evil it is not to entrust everything to God, but to trust in oneself." Question II. Likewise, a question is raised about the manner of denying. For the Lord foretold to him: "You will deny me three times"; and here blessed John says that he only denied that he was his disciple. Augustine responds: "Indeed in this denial of Peter we must observe that Christ is denied not only by the one who says that he is not the Christ, but also by the one who, though he is a Christian, denies that he is one. Hence Peter denied Christ when he denied that he was a disciple of Christ." Question III. Likewise, a question is raised about the place of Peter's denial. And the other Evangelists seem to say that it was in the house of Caiaphas, as is said in Matthew twenty-six; John seems to say that it was in the house of Annas. I respond to this: There is a disagreement among the expositors. For Bede and Jerome say that it was begun in the house of Annas but completed in the house of Caiaphas; and the other Evangelists speak of the end of the denial, but John looks to the beginning. — Augustine, however, says that it was entirely completed in the house of Annas, as the Evangelist seems to say. And as for what the others say, that it took place in the house of Caiaphas, they say this because Caiaphas was the high priest, and what belonged to Annas belonged also to Caiaphas.

John 18:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"One of the servants of the high priest said to him." Here is set forth the completion of the denial; and there is set forth the inquiry of the servant, then the denial of Peter and the sign, which is the crowing of the cock. "One of the servants of the high priest, a kinsman of him whose ear Peter cut off, said to him." The reason is given why he accused him more insistently, in vengeance for his kinsman: "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?" As if to say: you cannot hide yourself from me.

John 18:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Then Peter denied again." Here the denial of Peter is completed, because it was threefold: and as a sign of its completion it is added: "And immediately the cock crowed." Augustine: "Behold, the Physician's prediction is fulfilled, the sick man's presumption is convicted. For what he had said did not come to pass: I will lay down my life for you; but what He had foretold: You will deny me three times." Question IV. Likewise, a question is raised about the time of the denial. For here John says that after the third denial the cock crowed; but in Mark fourteen it is said that it crowed after the first denial. I respond: According to the letter, it was as Mark says, that the cock crowed before the threefold denial and immediately after the threefold denial; but Peter did not notice the first crowing of the cock; the second he noticed and returned to his heart, and therefore the others pass over the first crowing in silence, but all mention the last.

John 18:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"They lead Jesus therefore," etc. Here is treated the third examination of Christ, which took place under Pilate. And in this the malice of the Jews is shown: first, because they lead the unwilling Pilate to judge; second in this, that they lead him who wished to free Christ as innocent to condemn him, at the passage: "And when he had said this, he went out again," etc. The first part is divided into two: for first is set forth the offering up of Christ; second, the examination of the one offered up, at: "Then he entered again," etc. In this offering up there is noted first the perversity of the Jews; second, their falsity; third, their wickedness; fourth, how from this the divine will is fulfilled. Their perversity, because they lead an innocent man on a feast day to the place of condemnation: therefore he says: "They therefore lead Jesus," namely the officers, "to Caiaphas the high priest into the praetorium," because he had come there so that he might hand Christ over to Pilate. "Now it was morning:" the time increases their malice, because it was early morning; so greatly did they thirst for the death of Christ that they could not wait long. It was also a festive time: whence he adds: "And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, so that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover," because they could not if defiled: Numbers 9: "Those who were unclean by reason of a dead man could not keep the Passover." Augustine: "O impious blindness! They feared to be defiled by the praetorium of a foreign judge, yet did not fear to be defiled by the blood of an innocent brother." Question I. But the question is raised here concerning the statement that they lead him to Caiaphas into the praetorium, because it immediately says that they did not enter the praetorium. And Augustine responds that praetorium is said first of the place "where the governor dwelt"; but second it is said of the place where he judged, into which if they entered, they considered themselves unclean. Question II. Likewise the question is raised concerning the statement: "It was morning," since it was said above that before the cock crowed, Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas. I respond: On this point Chrysostom and Augustine disagree. For Augustine says that they led him from Annas to Caiaphas into the praetorium, and he says that this can be understood either because Pilate held court in the house of Caiaphas, or because Caiaphas had gone to the house of Pilate. Chrysostom says that they do not now first lead him from Annas, but at the cock's crow they led him to the house of Caiaphas, and afterward in the morning from his house to Pilate, who had gone to the place of the praetorium. Question III. Likewise the question is raised concerning the statement: "Lest they be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover." Therefore they had not yet eaten the Passover; therefore, since Christ ate it on the preceding day, he did not eat at the proper time. To this the Greeks respond that it is true that Christ anticipated the Passover on account of his death; whence they say that he ate leavened bread and from it consecrated, and therefore they themselves consecrate with leavened bread; and from this word they take the cause of their error. We, however, explain that the Passover is the same as the paschal food, and these are the unleavened breads which they ate for seven days.

John 18:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Pilate therefore went out to them and said." Here the falsity of the Jews is touched upon, because they impose a false charge upon Christ at the inquiry of Pilate: whence he says: "What accusation do you bring against this man?" As if he were saying: I do not wish to receive him without cause: Acts 25: "It is not the custom of the Romans to condemn any man before the one who is accused has his accusers present and receives opportunity to defend himself to clear away the charges."

John 18:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"They answered and said to him: If this man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered him to you," wishing to observe that law: "The innocent and the just you shall not put to death," Exodus 23, as if they were saying: he is an evildoer. They do not prove it, but falsely charge him. Augustine: "Let those freed from unclean spirits answer, let the sick who were healed answer, whether Jesus is an evildoer. But these things were said by those of whom he had foretold through the Prophet: They repaid me evil for good." Job 36: "Your cause has been judged as that of the wicked."

John 18:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Pilate therefore said to them." Here the third point is noted, namely the deceitfulness of the Jews, because they wanted to pour the blame onto another; but Pilate refuses to judge him, not seeing that they had a proper case; whence: "Pilate therefore said to them: Take him yourselves and judge him according to your Law," which says in Exodus twenty-two: "You shall not suffer sorcerers to live." But the Jews on the contrary show that he himself must judge, because the case is one of death, and it was not lawful for them to put anyone to death; on this account it says: "The Jews therefore said to him: It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death"; but it pertains to you, and this man "is guilty of death"; therefore you must take cognizance of this case. They deceitfully wish to kill through another, but they are not excused; whence it is said to them in Acts seven: "Of whom you were the betrayers and murderers." Question IV. Likewise, the question is raised concerning what he says: "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death." For it is said in Exodus twenty-two: "You shall not suffer sorcerers to live," and the Law grants this many times. Augustine responds: "It should be understood that they said this on account of the sanctity of the feast day, which they had already begun to celebrate. — Or it should be said that they say this on account of the rule of the Romans, who had taken from them the power of putting to death, from whom they also purchased the priesthood."

John 18:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"That the word of Jesus might be fulfilled." Here the fourth point is noted, namely that the will of Christ is fulfilled. For he willed to die the death of the cross, by which the Gentiles put to death; therefore it says: "That it might be fulfilled," that is, it so happened that the word might be fulfilled "which he spoke," above in the third chapter: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up," and above in the twelfth chapter: "signifying by what death he was to die," namely of the cross; Matthew twenty: "He shall be delivered to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified." And the Lord chose this as the most vile death.

John 18:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Then Pilate entered again," etc. Having set forth the handing over of Christ, by which the Jews delivered him to Pilate, there is set forth here his examination conducted by Pilate, in which four things are indicated: first, the inquiry; then, the origin of the inquiry; third, the response to the inquiry; fourth, the discussion of the response. First, therefore, the inquiry itself is noted; on account of which he says: "Then Pilate entered again into the praetorium," because he had gone out to seek the charge from the Jews and had not found it, he returned to inquire of it from the accused: "and he called Jesus and said to him: Are you the King of the Jews?" Truly he is king, because he is the one of whom Jeremiah twenty-three says: "I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign." Therefore he inquires especially about this, because by saying this he seemed to contradict Caesar, who then held dominion over the Jews.

John 18:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Jesus answered," etc. The second point is touched upon, namely the origin of the inquiry; and so that the origin might be known, the Lord asks Pilate: "Do you say this of yourself, or have others told you about me?" He does not ask because he is in doubt, but so that through his response he might expose the malice of the Jews; and this indeed happens in Pilate's response.

John 18:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Pilate answered: Am I a Jew?" As if to say: I do not lay this charge upon you; "your nation and your chief priests have delivered you to me"; as if to say: I received this from them. "What then have you done," that they accuse you so?

John 18:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Jesus answered." Here the third point is set forth, namely the Lord's response, in which the Lord himself refutes the wicked intention of the Jews. For the Jews intended through this to provoke Pilate and Caesar against him, as though he were unwilling to have a colleague in his kingdom; therefore the Lord excludes this by saying: "My kingdom is not of this world." Augustine: "Hear, O Jews and Gentiles: My kingdom is not of this world; I do not impede your dominion in this world. What more do you want?" And he gives the reason that his kingdom is not of this world, and his reasoning is as follows: for an earthly king, ministers fight so that he is not handed over to death; but for me, my ministers do not fight; therefore I am not an earthly king. And he sets forth the major premise of this reasoning: "If my kingdom were of this world, my ministers would certainly fight, so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but now:" it is apparent, supply the verb; this is the conclusion: that "my kingdom is not from here," because no one defends me. And therefore his kingdom is not of this world, because, as is said in the last chapter of First John, "the whole world is set in wickedness"; therefore we pray: "Thy kingdom come"; but it is in the heavens: whence Matthew 5: "Whoever shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven," etc. Question I. But here the first question concerns what he says: "My kingdom is not of this world." From this the heretics argue that this world does not belong to the God of light, but to the God of darkness. Against this: Above in chapter 1: "He came unto his own." If you say that "world" does not refer to nature, but to people living in a worldly manner; against this: in Matthew 13 it is said that the angels will gather out of his kingdom all scandals: but it is certain that scandals exist only in this world. I respond: Chrysostom says briefly that it is the same as if he said that his kingdom is not worldly and corporeal. It can be said otherwise that those are called the kingdom of Christ in whom he himself reigns and who obey him, not through power, but through obedience. But such are only the Saints, and these are not of the world: above in the seventeenth chapter: "They are not of the world, just as I also am not of the world." Yet they are in the world: whence in the same place: "I do not ask that you take them from the world, but that you keep them from evil."

John 18:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Pilate therefore said to him." Here the fourth point is set forth, namely the examination of the response. And because the Lord had said that he had a kingdom, Pilate argues from the Lord's response, as if marveling: "So," he says, "you are a king?" As if to say: since you confess yourself to be a king, it seems from your words that you wish to reign. And the Lord indeed responds, conceding Pilate's conclusion and satisfying his intention. He concedes Pilate's conclusion when he says: "You say it, because I am a king:" as if to say: I do not deny what you say; but nevertheless I did not come to reign temporally, as you believe: whence he adds: "For this I was born and for this I came into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth. Born," namely by temporal birth, not to rule, but to teach the truth: Isaiah 55: "Behold, I have given him as a witness to the peoples, a leader and a teacher to the nations." And he adds the sign of this: "Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice:" above in chapter 8: "He who is of God hears the words of God." And because Pilate did not yet fully understand, he therefore still inquires. Question II. Likewise, inquiry is made about what he says: "Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice." Either "of" denotes material cause, and then no one is of the truth; or efficient cause, and then all: but yet not all hear. Augustine responds that in this word "he commended the grace by which, according to his purpose, they are predestined and called Saints. For if we consider the nature in which we were created, since the Truth has created all, who is not of the truth? But it is not granted to all from the truth that they hear the truth; but those to whom it has been given, they hear," above in the sixth chapter.

John 18:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

"Pilate says to him: What is truth?" He did not hear the answer to this question, because he did not wait. To this the Lord gives the answer above in chapter 14: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Question III. Likewise, inquiry is made about the fact that Pilate did not await the Lord's response to his question. Augustine responds that "suddenly there came to his mind the custom of the Jews, by which one was accustomed to be released to them at Passover"; whence, because he wished to free him, he immediately went out. Chrysostom responds otherwise that "he knew that that question required time, and he himself was hastening toward the liberation of Christ; therefore he immediately went out." It can be said otherwise that because Pilate began his judgment from truth but did not remain in truth, he therefore merited to begin the question about truth but not to hear its resolution. "And when he had said this," etc. Above, the malice of the Jews was shown in this, that they compelled Pilate to examine Christ; here it is shown in this, that they make him who wishes to release condemn. And this part is divided into two, in the first of which the Jews resist the judgment of truth, lest he be freed; in the second they obtain and extort the judgment of falsehood, so that he may be condemned, at the passage: "Pilate therefore, when he had heard these words." And because the manner of judging is threefold: according to benignity, severity, and equity; by this threefold judgment Pilate strives to free Christ, and the Jews on the contrary resist. Therefore there are three parts here. In the first they resist the judgment of benignity: in the second, the judgment of severity, at the passage: "Then Pilate took him"; in the third, the judgment of equity, at the passage: "Pilate says to them," etc. As regards the first, then, three things are indicated: the allegation of innocence in Christ, the recalling of clemency in the judge, the hardening of wickedness in the Jews. Therefore the innocence in Christ is alleged, on account of which he ought to be released: whence the Evangelist says: "And when he had said this," namely the aforementioned question, desiring to free Christ: "he went out again to the Jews," who were outside the praetorium, to allege Christ's innocence: whence: "And he said to them: I find no cause in him," namely of death. And he spoke truly: whence in the Psalm: "Neither my iniquity nor my sin, O Lord."

John 18:39 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

And because it was not sufficient to allege innocence, therefore secondly clemency is recalled: "But you have a custom that I should release one to you at the Passover." Victor: "Because at the Passover they were freed from servitude, at the Passover this custom of releasing was theirs." "Do you wish that I release to you the King of the Jews?" Augustine: "It could not be torn from his heart that Christ was the King of the Jews, as though truth itself had fixed this there, as on the title, concerning which he had asked what it was."

John 18:40 — Commentary on John, Chapter 18

Then the hardening of malice in the Jews is added, who were not moved by Christ's innocence nor by the judge's clemency, but rather persisted in their accusation: whence he says: "They cried out again and said: Not this man, but Barabbas," namely not this innocent man, but one whom we know to be guilty: whence the Evangelist adds: "Now Barabbas was a robber," by which the astonishing malice of the Jews is expressed, that they preferred a robber and his welfare to Christ the Lord. Whence Chrysostom: "O polluted mind! They ask that the guilty one be released, but command the innocent one to be crucified": Acts 3: "You denied the Just and Holy One, and asked that a murderer be granted to you; but the Author of life you killed."

John 19:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Then he apprehended him, etc. Here Pilate intends to free him by a judgment of severity, scourging an innocent man, so that he might mitigate the zeal of the Jews: and there are here three parts. In the first is described the ignominious scourging of Christ: second, the showing of the scourged one, there: Pilate went out again: third, the hardening of the Jews, there: When therefore the chief priests had seen him. The ignominious scourging of Christ is indicated first in the affliction, then in the derision. He touches upon the affliction when he says: Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. Chrysostom: "Pilate scourged him, perhaps wishing to release him and to mitigate the Jewish zeal"; whence in Luke twenty-three Pilate said: "I will release him after chastising him," that is, afflicted with scourges, to further mitigate the zeal of the Jews.

John 19:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

To the affliction was added mockery: And the soldiers plaiting, etc. And because kings are accustomed to be honored by a sign, by dress, and by word or salutation and the showing of reverence, therefore they mock him in four ways: first in the sign of the crown, which is a royal sign, whence: Plaiting, that is weaving, a crown of thorns, that is, of sharp sea rushes, pricking in the manner of thorns: they placed it on his head. Concerning this crown, Song of Songs three: "Go forth, daughters of Zion, and see King Solomon in the diadem with which his mother crowned him," that is, the synagogue. Then they mock him in dress or clothing: whence it is said: And they clothed him with a purple garment, as if he were a king: in which is signified that his flesh was to be made purple with blood: which was signified in Genesis thirty-seven: "They took the tunic of Joseph and dipped it in the blood of a kid which they had killed"; and Isaiah sixty-three: "Why is your garment red, and your vestments like those of them that tread in the winepress?" It is asked concerning this, that the soldiers so mocked Christ, when nevertheless they are not said to have had a command from Pilate. Whence was this? Chrysostom responds that they did this for money, because they had been bribed by the chief priests. Likewise it is asked concerning this, that here John says Christ was mocked by the soldiers before the sentence of condemnation, whereas in Matthew twenty-seven it is said that the soldiers mocked the Lord after the condemnation: He delivered Jesus to them to be crucified: and then it is said that the soldiers mocked him. It can be said that it happened twice: both before the condemnation and after. Or Matthew says this by way of recapitulation, because it had been done before.

John 19:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Then the mockery in the salutation: whence he says: And they came to him and said: Hail, King of the Jews, and this indeed as a reproach: Lamentations three: "He shall be filled with reproaches." — Not only in word, but in reverence, because in place of reverence they gave slaps: whence he says: And they gave him slaps: Lamentations three: "He shall give his cheek to him that strikes him"; and Isaiah fifty: "I have given my body to the strikers and my cheeks to those who plucked them."

John 19:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Pilate went out again. Here is set forth the showing of Christ scourged and mocked, so that they might be moved to pity. And first indeed his innocence is reiterated: whence: He says: Behold, I bring him out to you. He adds the reason: That you may know that I find no cause in him, namely "of death" or of punishment: and yet I have punished him.

John 19:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Jesus therefore went out. Augustine: "Not illustrious in command, but full of reproach"; whence there follows: Bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment, in which they had mocked him, according to that passage of Matthew 20: "They shall deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged." And he says to them: Behold, the man: behold, the showing forth of one scourged and reviled in this, that he had made himself king. Augustine: "He was crowned with thorns, clothed in a garment of mockery, mocked with bitter reproaches, struck with blows: indignity burns hot, let envy grow cold."

John 19:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

When therefore they had seen him. Here upon the showing of Christ there follows thirdly the hardening of the obstinacy of the Jews, especially of the chief priests: whence he says: When therefore the chief priests and ministers had seen him, they cried out saying: Crucify, crucify him. Isaiah 5: "I expected that he would do judgment: and behold, a cry." They say crucify twice to show the obstinacy of their mind: Jeremiah 12: "My inheritance has become to me as a lion in the forest: it has uttered its voice against me"; and the Psalm: "They opened their mouth against me like a lion seizing and roaring," on account of the cry. Pilate says to them. Above, Pilate strove to free Christ by a judgment of kindness and of severity: here he strives by a judgment of equity, recurring to innocence, that it is just to release an innocent man and never to kill without cause. And the Jews resist this in two ways: first by accusing and then by threatening. First therefore is set forth the justification of Christ, on account of which Pilate does not wish to condemn him, but offers him to the Jews: whence he says: Pilate says to them, who were seeking that Christ be crucified: Take him yourselves and crucify him: for I find no cause in him: and therefore I am unwilling to crucify without cause. Truly he did not find cause, because, 1 Peter 2, "he committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth."

John 19:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

The Jews answered him. Here is set forth the accusation of the Jews: whence they said: We have a Law, which namely we observe by the will of the Roman rulers. They allege the Law in their favor, when it is against them: above in chapter 7: "Did not Moses give you the Law, and none of you keeps the Law"? And according to the Law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God, and thus blasphemed: Leviticus 24: "He who blasphemes shall die the death"; whence above in chapter 10: "We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God."

John 19:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

When therefore he had heard. Here is placed thirdly the inquiry. He inquires, therefore, moved by the accusation of the Jews: whence he says: Pilate, when he had heard this saying, was the more afraid, lest, if he released him, he would act against the Law; and if he did not release him, he would crucify the Son of God. A good judge ought not to fear: whence Ecclesiasticus 7: "Do not seek to be made a judge, unless you have strength to break through iniquities."

John 19:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

He entered again into the praetorium and said to Jesus: Whence art thou? He asks about his origin, because they accused him of this: he asks a great question beyond his powers: whence Isaiah 53: "His generation, who shall declare it?" And therefore he does not hear a response: Ecclesiasticus 3: "Seek not the things that are too high for thee, and search not into things above thy strength." Whence he says: But Jesus gave him no answer, so that the word of Isaiah 53 might be fulfilled: "As a lamb before his shearer shall be dumb, and shall not open his mouth." Augustine: "For this reason the similitude of the lamb was given, so that in his silence he might be held not as guilty, but as innocent"; Lamentations 3: "Out of the mouth of the Most High shall proceed neither good nor evil." It is asked: why did the Lord not respond to Pilate asking: Where are you from? This seems to have been from arrogance. I respond that he did not answer that question because he could not grasp it: hence the Lord said to his disciples above in the sixteenth chapter: I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. So also here.

John 19:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Pilate said to him: Speakest thou not to me? As if to say: you err in despising my question, when you ought rather to seek my goodwill, as one placed in my hands: and this he adds: Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and I have power to release thee? and therefore both to be feared and to be entreated. Whence he marveled at this, that Christ in such great necessity did not seek his favor: Matthew 27: "And he answered him not a word, so that the governor wondered exceedingly." And because Pilate boasted, Christ prudently responded in a way that humbled his pride, teaching him "not to be high-minded."

John 19:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Jesus answered: Thou wouldest have no power over me, unless it were given thee from above: Augustine: From above, that is, from God, according to that passage in Romans 13: "There is no power but from God." But according to this exposition, what follows seems to have no logical connection: Therefore he who delivered me to thee etc.; hence Victor expounds: From above, that is, from Caesar: and because you exercise power out of fear, he who delivered me to thee hath the greater sin: because he sins more who acts from malice than he who acts from weakness or powerlessness. And because he had responded prudently, Pilate intended to release him. It is asked concerning what he says: You would have no power over me unless it had been given to you from above. Therefore it seems that he did not sin in this, that he crucified Christ, because this was given to him by God. It must be said that in power two things are considered, namely the authority itself and the exercise. The first is from God, as the Apostle says, but the exercise is not always from God. Hence the Lord wished to tell Pilate that he did not have power of himself: therefore he ought not to glory in it. But the exercise was from God permissively, as Chrysostom says. It is asked concerning what he says: He who delivered me to you has the greater sin. This seems false, because the Jews sinned from ignorance: for they believed him to be a blasphemer and worthy of death: but Pilate knowingly killed an innocent man. I respond: Both sinned, but the Jews more, because from malice, whereas Pilate from weakness and fear of Caesar. And as to the objection that they acted in ignorance: it must be said that they were ignorant that he was God, but not that he was innocent: or if they were ignorant of both, it was from malice: hence Wisdom 2: Their malice blinded them.

John 19:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him. Understanding that his power was established under the power of another, he was unwilling to condemn an innocent man: therefore he wished to release him. But the Jews cried out. Here the fourth point is set forth, namely the threatening of the Jews: and because they could not condemn Christ through accusation, they turned to clamorous threatening: whence they charge Pilate, if he should release him, with disloyalty against Caesar; therefore he says: But the Jews cried out, against Pilate, namely, because he wished to release Christ, saying: If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar, indeed a traitor: because you release an enemy of Caesar. And they prove this: For everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar; because at that time Caesar was the monarch, whence it belonged to him to grant the power of reigning; whoever therefore established himself as king was opposing Caesar. And this threatening drew Pilate back from the truth of judgment in freeing him, because he feared being accused before Caesar: Proverbs 29: "He who fears man will quickly fall." On account of this the Lord said to his disciples, Matthew 10: "Do not fear those who kill the body."

John 19:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Pilate therefore, when he had heard. The perversity of the Jews has been shown in their malice of resisting the judgment of truth: here their perversity is shown in extorting a judgment of falsehood concerning the condemnation of Christ. The place is noted when he says: Pilate therefore, when he had heard these words. In which it is noted that he had already fallen from just resolve through fear of Caesar, as if to say: terrified by fear: he brought Jesus outside, that is, to a public place: therefore outside, so that he might be condemned in the sight of all. And he sat on the judgment seat in the place which is called Lithostrotos. Here the place is described specifically: on the judgment seat, that is, in the judicial seat. For the tribunal belongs to judges, the throne to kings, but the chair to teachers. Lithos, as Victor says, is interpreted as judgment: stratos from sterno means a pavement laid with various stones, in which kind of place the consistory was, where judgment was rendered. And this place in Hebrew is Gabbatha, that is, elevation, because judges are accustomed to sit in an elevated place. Or Gabbatha is interpreted as ornamentation or polishing and signifies the same as Lithostrotos, that is, the judicial place, painted or polished.

John 19:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Now it was the preparation. Behold, the time is added, because it was the sixth day of the week, which is called the preparation of the Passover, that is, the preparation of the Passover, because the preparation was made on Friday for the Sabbath day, as is said in Exodus 16, that on that day they gathered for two days. About the sixth hour. Here the specific time is touched upon, and he says about, because it is difficult to determine the exact hour of time. And he says to the Jews. Here is noted the cause of Christ's condemnation, and this was not his fault, but the hardness of perversity in the Jews and the denial of truth: the hardness of perversity in this, that they seek him to be condemned by a most cruel death: whence he says: Behold, your king, as if Pilate were saying: you have nothing else to object against him. It is asked concerning what he says, that Christ was condemned at about the sixth hour: because in Mark 15 it is said: And it was about the third hour of the day, and they crucified him. Likewise, in Matthew twenty-seven it is said that darkness was made from the sixth hour until the ninth hour: therefore before the sixth hour he was judged. Augustine responds: "At the third hour the Lord was crucified by the tongues of the Jews, at the sixth hour by the hands of the soldiers: so that we may understand that the fifth hour had passed, and something of the sixth had begun, when Pilate sat on the judgment seat: and while he was being led away, and the things narrated as having been done were being carried out, the sixth hour was completed, from which hour until the ninth the sun was darkened." Victor responds differently, that the Lord was crucified at the middle hour between the third and the sixth: and because the extremes are named, and the middle often receives the name of the extremes, therefore Mark says the third hour, but John the sixth, not simply, but with a qualification: about the sixth.

John 19:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

But they cried out: Away, away, crucify him. The doubling signifies the intensity of desire for Christ's death: Jeremiah twenty-six, "The priests and prophets spoke to the princes and to all the people, saying: The judgment of death is upon this man." And because the hardness of perversity would not suffice unless the denial of truth were added, therefore there follows Pilate's inquiry: Shall I crucify your king? as if by this word noting to them their perverse will in this, that they were seeking their own disgrace. But the reproach of a king redounds upon the people, and therefore, so that they might seem to flee reproach, they deny the truth: whence: The chief priests answered, saying: We have no king but Caesar; and thus this man is not our king, nor is his disgrace ours.

John 19:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Then he handed him over to them, to be crucified. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the sentence itself, by which he was condemned to the punishment of the cross: and rightly he says: He handed him over to them, because he did it at their request: Acts three: "God glorified his Son Jesus, whom you indeed handed over and denied before the face of Pilate, when he judged that he should be released"; and Luke twenty-three: "Pilate adjudged that their request be carried out," namely the Jews'. Pilate acted against the Law; Exodus twenty-three: "You shall not follow the crowd to do evil, nor in judgment shall you acquiesce to the sentence of the many, so as to deviate from the truth." They took Jesus therefore. First therefore the vileness of the passion in the procession is noted in this, that he is led as a robber, and he himself carries his own punishment; therefore it says: They took Jesus therefore: the Psalm: "They received me as a lion ready for prey," namely the soldiers Jesus: they led him, as a criminal, namely outside the camp: on account of which in the last chapter of Hebrews: "Let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing the reproach" of his cross. It is asked here concerning that custom which they had of releasing a prisoner, whether it was praiseworthy. And it seems that it was, because the Lord accepts mercy more than judgment, as is evident from the adulterous woman, above in chapter eight. But then it is objected: because it was commanded by the Law that evildoers be put to death; therefore to absolve the guilty was against the Law and a bad custom. It must be said that the custom was good, provided that he who was more fitting was released: because, even if it was then the time of justice, nevertheless they ought to have been mindful of the mercy done to them and yet to come at the Passover: and therefore as a sign this was permitted to them. As to the objection from the Law, it must be said that the excellence of the solemnity outweighed the severity of the Law. Likewise it is asked whether they sinned by requesting Barabbas. That they did, it seems: in Acts three it is reproached to them: "You asked for a murderer to be given to you, but the author of life you killed." But that they did not sin, it seems: because it was permitted to them to request whomever they wished without distinction. I respond that they did not sin in this, that they freed one who was worthy of death; but in this, that they preferred him to an innocent man: hence there was there partiality of persons. Hence Augustine: "We do not reproach you, O Jews, because at the Passover you release a guilty man, but because you kill an innocent one." It is asked: how did Pilate dare to hand him over to death? To this it must be said that he was terrified by fear lest he be accused before Caesar, and deceived by error, because he thought that the entire guilt belonged to the Jews, since he was laying hands on him at their request: hence it is said in Matthew twenty-seven that he took water and washed his hands and said: I am innocent; and the Jews took all the guilt upon themselves, hence they said: His blood be upon us and upon our children. But he erred, because one cannot consent to the death of an innocent person without sin.

John 19:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

And bearing his own cross, on which, namely, he was to be punished as a robber. Then was fulfilled what had been said in Isaiah twenty-two: "I will place the key of David upon his shoulder"; and in Isaiah nine: "The government was placed upon his shoulder," because there he triumphed. On this Augustine says: "A great spectacle! But if impiety looks on, a great mockery; if piety, a great mystery." He went out to the place which is called Calvary. Here the degradation is indicated by the place: because he suffered in that place where robbers and criminals were punished. For that place is called Calvary because there the heads of the condemned were stripped bare. For Calvary means the skull of the head stripped of flesh: in Hebrew Golgotha, that is, "the place of beheading." It is asked concerning what was said, that Jesus went out bearing his own cross: because in Matthew chapter twenty-seven it is said that they compelled a certain Simon to carry his cross. Augustine responds in the third book of On the Harmony of the Evangelists: "Jesus was carrying the cross when he went out to Calvary; but that Simon was pressed into service along the way, to whom the cross was afterward given to be carried to the place. Thus we read that both things happened: first what John says, then what Matthew says."

John 19:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Where they crucified him. Here the degradation of the passion is noted from the kind of death, because it was the most degrading kind of death; Wisdom two: "Let us condemn him to a most shameful death." And with him two others, on this side and on that, and Jesus in the middle. Here the degradation is noted from the company, because these two were robbers; whence Mark fifteen: "They crucify with him two robbers." Then was fulfilled what is said in Isaiah fifty-three: "And he was reckoned among the wicked." But he was placed in the middle to signify that he is the mediator: whence at his nativity he was in the midst of the animals, Habakkuk last chapter; and in his passion in the midst of robbers, because he is the true peace, Ephesians two. It is asked concerning this, that the Jews asked for the Lord to be crucified: why did they wish the Lord to be killed by that kind of death rather than another? Chrysostom responds that "this was the most shameful death. Fearing therefore lest any memory of him should remain after him, they strive to lead him to a punishment declared accursed, not knowing that through obstacles the truth is exalted." On God's part the reason was both a mystery, because we sinned by a tree, and an example, lest anyone should dread a shameful death, and a judgment, because it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.

John 19:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Pilate also wrote a title. Here is noted the second principal point, namely the dignity of the one suffering, and it is indicated in the title, because the title was that of a king. The inscription of the title, therefore, is touched upon when he says: Pilate also wrote a title and placed it on the cross: Isaiah nineteen: "There shall be an altar of the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar of the Lord near its border." And note that a certain title is memorial, as for the dead; a certain one is proclamatory, as for a house; a certain one is triumphal: and this one is triumphal, whence it is to the praise of Christ and the reproach of the Jews, because, although he had been condemned as a robber, he was nevertheless not a robber but a king; and this the title declared: And it was written: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Scripture approves this title: whence in Psalm two: "I have been appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain," etc. In this title Pilate describes him by name, when he says Jesus: Luke one: "You shall call his name Jesus"; by homeland, Nazarene: Luke two: "He went down with them and came to Nazareth"; by royal dignity, when he says king: Jeremiah twenty-three: "I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign." According to Matthew, the title is called a cause: Matthew twenty-seven: "They placed over his head his written charge": because in that title it is indicated why he died, namely for the sake of saving, because Jesus, and for the sake of making us a kingdom for our God: Revelation five: "You are worthy, Lord God, to receive the book: because you were slain and have redeemed us for God in your blood and have made us a kingdom for our God." It is asked concerning the inscription, whether Pilate wrote it sincerely or mockingly. That he wrote it sincerely seems evident from the text, because when the Jews requested it, he refused to erase it, but responded: What I have written, I have written. But that he wrote it mockingly seems evident, because he permitted him to be mocked by the soldiers as a fool, not as a true king—soldiers who had placed a crown of thorns on him and were striking him. To this it must be responded that Pilate had some illumination by which he recognized that he was innocent; hence he knew that they had handed him over out of envy, Matthew twenty-seven; by which he also recognized that he was the king promised to the Jews: hence he always called him king. Hence Augustine says: "It could not be torn from the heart of Pilate that Christ was the King of the Jews, as though truth itself had fixed this in his heart." As for the objection that he caused or permitted him to be mocked: I say that he permitted the king to be mocked just as he permitted the innocent one to be scourged, so that he might satisfy the Jews with his punishments and humiliations and incline them to mercy.

John 19:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

This title therefore. Here is set forth the publication of the title: whence he says: Many of the Jews read it, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city: therefore many were reading, because many were gathering together, and not only Jews but also others: Isaiah thirty-four: "Search diligently in the book of the words of the Lord and read: not one of them was lacking." And it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, so that all might be able to read the title, because he was to be king of all, as it is said in Revelation nineteen, that he "is King of kings and Lord of lords"; therefore in three languages, because Deuteronomy nineteen: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word stands."

John 19:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate. Here is noted the contradiction of the Jews, by which they wanted to erase the title, since it was to their disgrace; whence they say: Do not write: King of the Jews, but that he said: I am King of the Jews, so that, namely, there would be shown not dignity but presumption, by which he would claim to be king: against which it is said in Hebrews five: "Christ did not glorify himself to be made a high priest," etc.

John 19:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Pilate answered. Here is set forth the affirmation or approval of the title against the malice of the Jews: whence Pilate does not erase it but approves it: What I have written, I have written. What I have written, truthfully, I have written, indelibly, as an irrevocable truth. Augustine: "If what Pilate wrote cannot be corrupted, can what Truth has said be corrupted?"

John 19:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

When the soldiers therefore had crucified him. Here is noted the third principal point, namely the cruelty or cupidity of those who crucified him, in this, that they stripped Christ and thus divided his garments. And three things are noted here, namely the division of the garments by parts: second, by lot: third, the confirmation of both by authority, lest anything in the death of Christ should seem to happen by chance. They divide therefore by parts: whence he says: They took his garments and made four parts, a part for each soldier. In this it appears, as Augustine says, that there were four soldiers who crucified the Lord. And the tunic, supply: they took.

John 19:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Here is noted the division of the tunic made by lot: and the reason is given: Now the tunic was seamless, woven from the top throughout, that is, entirely continuous: and because it could not be conveniently divided, the soldiers said to one another: Let us not tear it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it shall be: because, as is said in Proverbs 18, "the lot suppresses contradictions and judges even among the powerful." And lest it be thought that this happened by chance, it is shown that this was foretold by the Prophet, when he says: That the Scripture might be fulfilled, saying, in Psalm 21: "O God, my God, look upon me": They divided my garments, as to the first, and upon my vesture they cast lots, as to the division of the tunic. And this Scripture was understood not of the Jews, but of the soldiers: therefore he says: And the soldiers indeed did these things. Spiritually, the tunic of Christ, which is undivided, signifies charity, which is a garment, because it covers shame: 1 Peter 4: Because charity covers a multitude of sins: and adorns, whence it is called the wedding garment, without which no one enters into the joy of the nuptials of the Lamb: whence Matthew 22: Friend, how did you come in here not having a wedding garment? This tunic is seamless, because it is not bound by another thing, but is itself the bond of others: Colossians 3: But above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection. This tunic is not to be divided by tearing: whence 1 Corinthians 1: I beseech you, brethren, that you all say the same thing: and Ephesians 4: Being solicitous to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Those who divide this tunic are worse than the soldiers who crucified him, who were unwilling to divide the seamless garment of the Lord. Since in Matthew twenty-seven it is said: They divided his garments, casting lots, it seems that they cast lots not only over the tunic but over all the garments; yet John speaks only of the tunic. The same thing is said in Mark fifteen: They divided his garments, casting lots upon them, who should take what. To this Augustine responds and says that "that passage in Matthew is understood as referring to the whole division of the garments, in the course of which they came to the tunic, over which they cast lots." To that passage in Mark it must be said that this is the meaning: "they divided the garments first, then casting lots over the tunic, which remained or was left over, as to who should take it."

John 19:25 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

She paid this price as a woman strong and devout, namely when Christ suffered on the cross to pay this price, so that he might purify, wash, and redeem us; then the blessed Virgin was present, accepting and consenting to the divine will. And it pleased her that the price of her womb should be offered on the cross for us. Whence in John: "There stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple standing, whom he loved, he said to his mother: Woman, behold your son," namely, who will be handed over as the price of redemption of the human race: as if he were saying: it is necessary for you to be without me, and for me to be without you; and you yourself, as a holy woman, conceived him, and as a devout woman, you offer him; may it please you, O Virgin, that I redeem the human race and appease God. And lest she be left desolate, he said to the disciple: "Behold, your mother"; he gave a virgin man to the Virgin.

John 19:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Now there stood by the cross etc. Here is noted the paucity of those who shared in his suffering: because out of all his dear ones, three women were present, among whom was also the Mother of the Lord, for whom the Lord also felt compassion. And four things are noted here: the compassion of the women toward the Lord, the Lord's solicitude toward his Mother, and from that solicitude, his commendation, and lastly, the acceptance of the commendation. Therefore the compassion of the women is noted in this that he says: They stood near the cross of Jesus: they drew near in body because the feeling of compassion drew them. Others indeed had withdrawn far away through lack of compassion; whence it is said in the Psalm: "Those who were near me stood afar off." But these women stood near, who loved more, namely his Mother, who suffered with him above all others: whence Luke chapter two: "A sword shall pierce through your own soul"; and the sister of his Mother, Mary of Cleophas: she was the mother of James. It should be noted that Anne is said to have had three husbands: Joachim, Cleophas, and Salome, and from these three husbands she had three Marys, namely the Mother of the Lord, who was the daughter of Joachim; the mother of James, who was the daughter of Cleophas; the mother of Simon and Jude, who was the daughter of Salome. And Mary Magdalene, who was so called from the town of Magdala. These three women, as being more compassionate, stood near the cross of the Lord.

John 19:26 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

When Christ suffered on the cross, then the blessed Virgin was present, accepting and consenting to the divine will. And it pleased her that the price of her womb should be offered on the cross for us. "When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple standing, whom he loved, he said to his mother: Woman, behold your son," namely, who will be handed over as the price of redemption of the human race: as if he were saying: it is necessary for you to be without me, and for me to be without you; and you yourself, as a holy woman, conceived him, and as a devout woman, you offer him; may it please you, O Virgin, that I redeem the human race and appease God.

John 19:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

When Jesus therefore had seen. Here the second point is noted, namely the Lord's solicitude toward his Mother, in this, that he looked upon her and considered to whom he might commend her: whence he says: When Jesus therefore had seen his Mother: when he had seen, as one who was solicitous: First Timothy chapter five: "If anyone does not have care of his own and especially of those of his household," etc. And Chrysostom says: "Here the Lord shows great love toward his Mother and commends her to the disciple, teaching us to exercise all diligence toward those who begot us, even unto our last breath." Exodus chapter twenty: "Honor your father and your mother," etc. What he commanded, he fulfilled. And the disciple standing there, whom he loved: and therefore he was able to commend her to him intimately. John was standing there, he had not withdrawn: whence he was one of those to whom it is said in Luke chapter twenty-two: "You are they who have continued with me in my trials." He says to his Mother. Here the third point is noted, namely the loving commendation; whence he says: Woman, behold, your son: as if to say: trust in him as in a son.

John 19:27 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

When Christ suffered on the cross, the blessed Virgin was present, accepting and consenting to the divine will. And it pleased her that the price of her womb should be offered on the cross for us. He said to his mother: "Woman, behold your son," as if he were saying: it is necessary for you to be without me, and for me to be without you; and you yourself, as a holy woman, conceived him, and as a devout woman, you offer him; may it please you, O Virgin, that I redeem the human race and appease God. And lest she be left desolate, he said to the disciple: "Behold, your mother"; he gave a virgin man to the Virgin.

John 19:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Then he says to the disciple: Behold, your mother: as if to say: guard her as a mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his own. Here is noted the acceptance of the commendation; into his own, that is, as his mother, he received her, so that he might honor, guard, and keep her, as a son does a mother. But Augustine reads that text as: into his own things, so that it is an accusative plural: and he asks: How into his own things, when he had no possessions of his own? And he answers: into his own, namely duties, services, and acts of kindness, not into possessions, which he did not have. It is asked why the Lord thus commended his Mother, when above in chapter two he had responded so harshly: What is it to me and to you, woman? Augustine responds, and it is found in the Gloss: "Because then, about to perform divine works, he repelled his Mother as though unknown; now he showed that the hour had come which he then foretold, in which, about to die, he acknowledges her from whom he had been born as a mortal, and suffering human things, with human affection he commends her to a human, and by his example teaches that care should be rendered to parents by devoted children." The reason, moreover, why he commends her to John, on the part of the Lord is touched upon in the text, because he especially loved him; but on his own part it is passed over in silence; and the Saints say that it was "so that a virgin might guard the Virgin."

John 19:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Afterward, Jesus knowing, etc. Above he treated of the passion; here he treats of the consummation of the passion. The consummation, therefore, of Christ's passion with respect to the testimony of Scripture is attended to in this, that around him all things should come to pass which had been foretold through the Prophets. The intention of consummating, therefore, is indicated in what he says: Afterward, Jesus knowing that all things were now consummated, supply: which are written concerning the Son of man; but not fully, therefore he says now; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, that is, willing to perfectly fulfill the Scripture, which says in the Psalm: "In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink"; he says: I thirst. And this was a sign of the weakness assumed and of the truth of his nature, against those heretics who said that he had not truly suffered. And indeed he said this not so much on account of need as for the fulfilling of Scripture. It is asked concerning what he says, that, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he asked for drink. The order seems reversed, because the Lord does not exist for the sake of the Law, but the Law and the Scripture for the sake of the Lord; whence: Christ is the end of the Law. It must be said that the "that" here is not causal but consecutive; so the sense is not that the Lord did this in order that Scripture might be fulfilled, but that this followed upon the Lord's action, namely the fulfillment of Scripture, which had foretold this.

John 19:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

A vessel therefore was set there. Here is set forth the consummation itself, by which they gave him vinegar to drink, which indeed they had at hand; whence he says: A vessel therefore was set there full of vinegar; and they, placing a sponge full of vinegar around hyssop, that is, placing the sponge bound around hyssop, offered it to his mouth, by means of a reed, as is said in Matthew twenty-seven: "One of them running and taking a sponge filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed and gave him to drink." It is asked about this, that they immediately had vinegar prepared in this way; how this came about. Did they know that he would ask for drink? To this some say that they had brought wine to drink, which on account of the heat had turned into vinegar. Others say that they had deliberately brought vinegar, so that by drinking it he would die more quickly. Others say that it was myrrhed wine, which was most bitter and sharp like vinegar, to torment him further who was already crucified. Whence they say that then also Scripture was fulfilled: They gave gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

John 19:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

When therefore Jesus had received the vinegar. Here is set forth the assertion of consummation; whence he says: When therefore Jesus had received the vinegar, he said: It is consummated, namely, what had been written concerning me before the giving up of the spirit. Concerning this consummation, Luke eighteen: "All things shall be consummated which are written concerning the Son of man"; Hebrews five: "Being consummated, he became to all who obey him the cause of eternal salvation." And bowing his head etc. Having set forth the consummation in the testimony of Scripture, here he sets forth the consummation in deed: and this consummation was in death, because the end of present sufferings is death: whence he says: Bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. Augustine: "He gave up his spirit, as one who had the power to lay down his life and to take it up again: and this by bowing his head. Who so falls asleep when he wills, as Christ died when he willed"? Whence he offered up his spirit, as is said in Hebrews 5: "With tears and a loud cry offering" his spirit. And this was the consummation of the aforesaid, as is said in Hebrews 10: "By one oblation he has perfected forever those who are sanctified": and in Hebrews 2: "It was fitting that he who had brought many sons into glory should perfect through suffering." It is asked why the Lord is said to have consummated Scripture in the drinking of vinegar rather than in other things. And the response is that the Lord had suffered in all his members; so that he might suffer in his entirety, nothing remained except the mouth and tongue. Therefore, because then all members universally had suffered, then the passion is said to be in a certain way consummated, and consequently Scripture. It is asked about this, that John says Christ said: It is consummated, and bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. But Luke in the twenty-third chapter says that he cried out: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit: but Matthew and Mark, that he cried out with a loud voice: Eli, Eli, etc. And it must be understood that he said all these things; but first he said: I thirst; then, while they were preparing the vinegar, he cried out: Eli; and at this voice those who were preparing hastened to bring the vinegar and put it to his mouth; when he had received it, he said: It is consummated; and then bowing his head, he expired with a mighty cry, saying: Into your hands, etc.

John 19:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation. Here is set forth the consummation in the effect of the Passion, which indeed was in the opening of the side of Christ, from which flowed "blood and water," whence the Sacraments have their efficacy, as the Gloss says. And four things are noted here, namely: the petition for the removal of the crucified, the breaking of the legs of the thieves, the opening of the side of Christ, and the confirmation of the testimony. The petition for the removal of the crucified was made by the Jews: and the reason is given, because on the following day was the great day of the Sabbath: on account of which he says: The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation, that is, the day immediately before the Sabbath: that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, on account of the solemnity, namely: for that day of the Sabbath was a great day, because it fell within the solemnity of unleavened bread: they asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and they might be taken away. Augustine: "Therefore their legs were broken, so that they might die and be taken down from the wood, lest hanging on their crosses they should defile the great feast day with the horror of their prolonged torment." Deuteronomy 21: "When a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and having been condemned to death is hanged on a gibbet, his body shall not remain on the wood, but shall be buried on the same day."

John 19:32 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

The soldiers therefore came. Here is noted the breaking of the legs of the thieves. The soldiers therefore came, at the petition of the Jews, and of the first indeed, namely the one to whom they first came, they broke the legs, because he was still alive; and of the other, who was crucified with him, supply: they broke the legs, and so they expired: so that they might thus be distinguished from the Lamb, whose bones were to be preserved whole, because he alone was whole from sin. They could say that word of Psalm 6: "Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled."

John 19:33 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

But when they had come to Jesus. Here is noted the opening of Christ's side. And first he says why they did not break his legs, namely because he was dead: and this is what he says: When they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs: because they did this in order to hasten death.

John 19:34 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

Was not the Church formed from the side of Christ, when Christ fell asleep on the cross? And from His side flowed forth blood and water, that is, the Sacraments, through which the Church is reborn. From the rib of Adam, Eve was formed, who was joined to him in marriage. Just as man was formed from virgin earth, so Christ from the glorious Virgin. And just as from the side of the sleeping Adam woman was formed, so the Church from Christ hanging on the cross. And just as from Adam and Eve, Abel and his successors were formed, so from Christ and the Church the whole Christian people. And just as Eve is the mother of Abel and of all of us, so the Christian people has the Virgin as mother.

John 19:34 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

But one of the soldiers opened his side with a lance. Augustine: "Concerning this he does not say wounded, but opened, so that there a door might in a certain way be thrown open, whence the Sacraments of the Church flowed forth." And therefore it is added: And immediately there came out blood and water. Augustine: "This blood was poured out for the remission of sins; this water tempers the saving cup; it provides both a washing and a drink"; Apocalypse 1: "He washed us from our sins in his blood"; and Ephesians 5: "Christ loved the Church, cleansing her by the washing" etc. It is asked: why was his side opened or wounded after death and not before? And it must be understood that nothing was done to him except what God permitted for a fitting reason. The reason for this is given both allegorically and literally: allegorically, because just as Eve was formed from the side of the sleeping Adam, so the Church was formed from the side of Christ sleeping on the cross. Whence Augustine says: "For this reason the second Adam slept on the cross, so that from there his bride might be formed, from what flowed out of his side." The literal reason is that the Lord Christ, although He showed His humanity, nevertheless wished at the same time to show the truth of His Divinity. Hence He showed this before the Passion in His arrest, this in the Passion in the darkness, and this after death He showed in the flowing forth of water and blood. Hence Ambrose says: "Although the nature of Christ's body was mortal, yet its grace was unlike ours. For after death the blood in our bodies congeals, but from that incorrupt body the life of all flowed forth; water and blood came forth: the former to wash clean, the latter to redeem. We drink our ransom, so that by drinking we may be redeemed."

John 19:35 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The third certainty derives from an intellectual vision combined with bodily vision. This occurred in the minds of the apostles. What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked upon and our hands have handled, the Word of Life. And we announce to you nothing else than what we have seen. And elsewhere it is written: He who saw it has borne witness.

John 19:35 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

And he who saw etc. Here is indicated the fourth point, namely the confirmation of testimony. And he confirms this by his own testimony and by the testimony of Scripture: by his own, because he himself saw and was present: whence he says: And he who saw bore witness. And he approves the testimony, because it is true, whence: and his testimony is true: and because it is certain, whence: and he knows that he speaks the truth. And therefore he says: That you also may believe: because faith is more readily given to one who saw than to one who learned by report: Proverbs 12: "He who speaks what he knows is a judge of justice; but he who lies is a fraudulent witness"; and 1 John 1: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, of the Word of life" etc.

John 19:36 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

These things were done, that the Scripture might be fulfilled: You shall not break a bone of him, Exodus 12: and therefore they did not break his legs.

John 19:37 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

And again another Scripture says: They shall look on him whom they pierced: Zechariah 12: "They shall look upon me, whom they have pierced"; and therefore it is true that the soldier opened his side. This Scripture has not yet been fully fulfilled, but will be on the day of judgment: Apocalypse 1: "Every eye shall see him, and those who pierced him." Chrysostom: "Let no one disbelieve nor look upon these things with shame: for those things which seem most reproachful are the foundations of our goods."

John 19:38 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

But after these things he asked. Above, the Lord's arrest, condemnation, and passion were treated; here the fourth matter is treated, namely the condition of the burial. Joseph therefore took down the body of Jesus; and because he could not do so except by permission, therefore he asked and obtained what he asked for, and took down what he obtained. He asked, because he was a disciple of Christ, although a secret one; therefore it says: After these things, that is, after the consummation of the Passion, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate. Arimathea is the same as Ramatha, the town of Elkanah, Samuel, and Hannah, about which see First Kings, chapter one, at the beginning. Joseph, namely, asked, because he was a disciple of Jesus, but secret for fear of the Jews, because, as is said above in chapter nine, "the Jews had already conspired that if anyone confessed Him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue." Although he was secret, he was nevertheless a true disciple, because he loved Him not only while living but also when dead; Proverbs seventeen: "He who is a friend loves at all times." He asked, I say, that he might take away the body of Jesus, that is, take it down from the cross, and he obtained it; therefore it says: And Pilate permitted it, namely, that He might be buried. He came therefore and took away the body of Jesus, he came, namely, from the place where Pilate was, to the cross, and took it down. It is asked: why did none of the disciples of the Lord come forward to bury him? If you say that they did not dare on account of fear of the Jews: but Joseph feared much more: therefore all the more should he have abandoned the task. I respond: The reason was both human and divine: human, because, although the disciples and he feared the Jews, nevertheless he was a noble person, as is said in Mark 15, and therefore he was confident of obtaining the request, because he was known to Pilate. The divine reason was that, if the disciples had buried him, the Jews would have had a probable argument that they had afterwards stolen his body. It is asked concerning Joseph's fear, whether it was good. That it was not, it seems, because one's own salvation is to be loved more than worldly disgrace: therefore if he did not dare to confess the name of Christ on account of fear, the fear was evil. But to the contrary it is said in Luke 23 that he was a good and just man. I respond: That fear was not of iniquity, but of a certain natural weakness, by which a man fears shame: nor was it a fault, because he did not fear so much as to deny, as Peter did, but only not so much as to preach publicly: and this was not then of necessity, but of perfection. Ambrose: "What wonder, if a just man hides, when even the Apostles, the teachers of the just, were hiding?"

John 19:39 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Now Nicodemus also came. Here the treatment concerns the embalming from spices made by Nicodemus, and the devotion of Nicodemus is touched upon in the bringing of many spices and in the embalming of the body. Now Nicodemus also came, who namely had come to Jesus by night at first, above in chapter three. This coming is treated, in which the reason for coming is indicated, because he too was a disciple, although a secret one: bearing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, that is, an ointment prepared from these, which preserved the body from putrefaction. For he did not yet believe in the resurrection, just as neither did the disciples; yet he loved greatly, whence it says: About a hundred pounds: for he did not yet understand what is said in the Psalm: "You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption." It is asked concerning the devotion of Nicodemus. For it seems that he sinned: because, just as there is sin in stinginess, so there is sin in superfluous expenditure: but the pouring out of ointment was superfluous, because it was of no necessity or utility: and moreover so great an amount was not needed. I respond that the devotion of Nicodemus is praised: nor was there waste, but devotion, as is said above in chapter 12: and just as a man cannot serve the Divinity too much, so no one can bestow excessive honor upon the body of Christ crucified for us. Therefore, even if it would have been excess regarding another, it was nevertheless not so regarding that most holy body. As to the objection that he did not need it: it must be said that he believed he did need it, and this indeed was not a matter of praise, but of ignorance. But in this, that he believed him worthy of great honor and bestowed it upon him, his devotion is commended.

John 19:40 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

They took therefore. The devotion of Nicodemus is touched upon in the embalming of the body. They took therefore, namely he and Joseph, the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, they anointed it, supply: as is the custom of the Jews to bury, namely honorably; Genesis, last chapter: "Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father with spices." Chrysostom: "They bury him not as one condemned, but, as is the custom among the Jews, very honorably indeed, as someone great and wonderful."

John 19:41 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

Now there was in the place. Here the third point is set forth, namely the placement in the tomb. And the reason why he was placed in that location is indicated as twofold, namely the suitability of the place and the shortness of time: the suitability of the place, because it was nearby and new: whence he says: Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb: and therefore new, in which namely no one had yet been placed. And such a tomb was fitting for the Lord, so that the resurrection would not be thought to be that of another who might lie with the Lord. Augustine says that "just as in the womb of the Virgin Mary no one before him, no one after him was conceived: so in this tomb no one before him, no one after him was buried."

John 19:42 — Commentary on John, Chapter 19

There therefore, on account of the preparation day of the Jews, and so the solemnity was imminent, on account of which it was not permitted to carry him far: because the tomb was nearby, that is, close, they placed him, namely Jesus. Augustine: "He wants us to understand that the burial was hastened, lest evening should fall, when already on account of the preparation day, which in more customary Latin among us the Jews call the 'pure meal,' it was not permitted to do any such thing." It is asked on the part of the Lord: since the Lord himself ought to have given us every form of perfection, and he himself teaches in Matthew 8 to despise burial: it seems that by his own disposition he ought to have had himself buried in a lowly place and contemptibly, just as he also suffered ignominiously. I respond: It must be said that burial is to be despised by us on account of faith in the resurrection: because we believe that wherever our dust has been scattered, it will be gathered together by the Lord, nor will it escape the power of divine knowledge and might. But the burial of Christ was for establishing faith in our resurrection: for in this, that we believe our head has risen, we also believe that we shall rise. And therefore, so that his resurrection might be certain, he ought to have been buried in an open place and honorably, and also guarded by soldiers, to remove suspicion. As to what he objects, that He ought to have given an example that we should not care about the lowliness of burial: it must be said that He ought to have given an example of conduct in such a way that He would not, however, prejudice the faith, so that humility and truth might advance together. Nevertheless, He sufficiently gave an example that one need not be concerned about burial. For if, while He lived, He did not care about the sufferings and disgrace of the body, He showed that after death one should care much less about the lowliness of a lifeless body.

John 20:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Now on the first day of the week, etc. The Evangelist treated above of those things which pertain to the Lord's incarnation and passion; from this place to the end he treats of those things which pertain to his resurrection. Therefore in this part is treated the manifestation of Christ's resurrection. And because the solicitude of the disciples preceded this manifestation, and our instruction or the certitude of faith followed, the solicitude of the disciples and women is first described, to whom he manifested himself. The solicitude of Mary is noted both in her vigilance in seeking and in her diligence in reporting. She was indeed vigilant in seeking, because she came at the earliest dawn; therefore he says: Now on the first day of the week, namely the Lord's day, which is the first, that is, the first day of the week, that is, of the seven-day period, according to that passage in Luke 18: "I fast twice in the week." Sabbath is also the name of the seventh day; Exodus 20: "Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day." Mary Magdalene came early, as one anxious to see the Lord's body, and therefore she did not wait for daylight; and therefore he adds: While it was still dark, to the tomb. Chrysostom: "Mary, being wholly lovingly disposed toward the Master, because the Sabbath had passed, could not bear to rest, but came at deep dawn to the tomb, wishing to find a certain consolation from the place." And because it was early, therefore she found; Proverbs 8: "Those who watch for me early shall find me." And she saw the stone: here is noted her diligence in reporting, in this, that she reports the opening of the tomb she had seen to the disciples; whence: And she saw the stone rolled away from the tomb. This removal of the stone was signified in Judges 16, where it is said that "Samson seized both doors of the gate with the posts and bars, and placing them on his shoulders, carried them to the top of the mountain." Question. Since other women had come to the tomb with Magdalene, why does John speak only of her? Augustine responds in the third book of On the Harmony of the Evangelists: "Mary Magdalene," he says, "was far more fervent than the other women who had ministered to the Lord; on account of which John not undeservedly mentioned her alone, passing over in silence the others who were with her, as the other Evangelists attest." Question. Concerning what he says: She came to the tomb in the morning. On the contrary: In Matthew 28 it is said that they came in the evening to see the sepulcher. Augustine responds saying that "in the evening of the Sabbath" is the same as "in the night of the Sabbath"; and he proves that it ought to be understood thus by the following text: "which dawns on the first day of the week," which cannot be the case if we understand only the beginning of the night; but evening by synecdoche gives us to understand the night, which begins to end at daylight. Others respond that this was said because in the evening they prepared themselves by buying spices, but in the morning at dawn they came, as John says. Question. What is meant by what is said: While it was still dark, since in Mark 16 it is said: The sun having already risen? I respond: As Augustine says in the book On the Harmony of the Evangelists, Mary came twice: first, before she called the disciples, and afterward she returned again; and the first time she came while it was still dark; afterward, when the sun was shining. Question. Concerning what he says: She saw the stone rolled away, etc. Would it not have been of greater power to go out with it closed? It seems so. And it must be said that the Lord rose while the tomb was closed, and it was opened afterwards by the Angel. Chrysostom: "Jesus indeed rose while the stone and the seals remained in place. But because it was necessary for others to be assured, the tomb is opened after the resurrection, and thus what had happened is believed."

John 20:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

She ran therefore and came to Simon Peter, who above all others loved Christ, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, that is, to John, who does not name himself out of humility; and she says to them: They have taken the Lord from the tomb: in the Greek "my" is added to express her affection. They have taken, namely indefinitely, either the Jews or the guards, and I do not know where they have placed him, which was for her a cause of greater sorrow. For since she still knew and loved him carnally, therefore, with his flesh taken away, no consolation remained.

John 20:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Simon Peter therefore went out. Here is noted the solicitude of the disciples, both in the swiftness of running and in the carefulness of examining. They were therefore solicitous, because, having heard that he had been taken away, they came quickly; whence he says: Simon Peter therefore went out, and that other disciple, and they came to the tomb; this is said by anticipation, that is, they set out on the journey to come to the tomb. Question. Why is it that these alone ran, and not the others? It must be said that either because it was reported to these alone; or, as Gregory says, "those ran before the rest who loved before the rest."

John 20:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

And they both ran together, quickly, namely, but in this swiftness unequally. And that other disciple outran Peter and came first to the tomb — therefore quickly, because they wished to apprehend: First Corinthians 9: "Those who run in a race all indeed run, but one receives the prize: so run that you may apprehend" — or because he was younger and could run faster, or because he was more fervent in seeing: but nevertheless Peter was more diligent in examining; whence there follows a disparity in the diligence of examination.

John 20:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

And when he had stooped down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in: and so in seeking he was swift, but in examination remiss, while Peter on the contrary.

John 20:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered the tomb, not content merely to look from outside, as John. And so that saying of Matthew 19 was verified: "The last shall be first, and the first last." And he saw the linen cloths lying there, separately.

John 20:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

And the napkin that had been over his head, not placed with the linen cloths, as though this had been done in haste: but rolled up separately in one place: the linen cloths for covering the body: above in chapter 19: "They took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths"; the napkin for covering the face: above in chapter 11: "And his face was bound with a napkin." And so he examined all things diligently before John, who had preceded him, but nevertheless in diligent examination he follows him.

John 20:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Then therefore that other disciple also entered, who had come first to the tomb, namely by the example of Peter, and he saw the things which have been mentioned, and he believed. But it is expounded differently according to Chrysostom and differently according to Augustine. For Chrysostom expounds: he believed, namely that He had risen; and he drew his argument from this, that if someone had taken Him away, he would not have left everything so orderly arranged, things which were more useful than the body. But Augustine expounds it differently: he believed, namely that the body had been taken away, as the woman had said; and he proves this by the following text. Question. Since Luke says in the twenty-fourth chapter that Peter went to the tomb, speaking only of Peter, what does it mean that John here says two ran? And further, what necessity was there for John here to make mention of himself? It seems that he would have done better by keeping silent. Augustine responds in the third book of On the Harmony of the Evangelists that Luke mentioned Peter alone because Mary Magdalene first announced it to him; and yet he himself mentions both; whence Cleophas said: Some of our own went to the tomb, etc. To the other point that is asked: why does he make mention of himself? There is a twofold reason: the literal reason, namely, because he wished to place Peter before himself, so as to praise Peter and humble himself: because, although he himself arrived first, he entered after. The allegorical reason is that by John the Jewish people is signified, and by Peter the elder the Gentile people is designated. John ran first but did not enter: because the Jew first received the Law but did not believe; the Gentile, however, arriving later, believed.

John 20:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

For he did not yet know the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead: therefore he did not believe that He had risen, but that He had been taken away. Nevertheless, if we wish to hold the exposition of Chrysostom, the following text is continued thus: He saw and believed, that is, then for the first time he believed from seeing, because before he did not believe; for he did not yet know the Scripture.

John 20:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

The intense desolation of Mary is therefore intimated, which in its restlessness did not allow her to depart from the sepulcher, even when the other disciples were departing; therefore he says: The disciples therefore went away to their own homes, "that is, where they had been dwelling" before they had come to the tomb, so that they might receive some consolation. Question. Since Peter loved the Lord so fervently, why did he not remain at the tomb weeping, as Mary did, but departed? And Chrysostom responds: "The female sex is in a certain way more given to compassion"; and therefore do not marvel that Mary wept bitterly at the sepulcher, while Peter felt no such compassion. Others take the reason from the side of faith: for because the woman hoped less concerning the resurrection, therefore she grieved more over the body having been taken away; but Peter, although not fully, nevertheless in some way had confidence: whence it is said in Luke that "he went away wondering to himself." Others take the reason from the side of love, namely because at that time she burned more vehemently than the disciples and was more fervent, therefore she was also more solicitous.

John 20:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

But Mary stood at the tomb outside, "that is, before that place of the rock-hewn sepulchre," and she remained perseveringly: therefore she found: Luke 11: "But if he shall continue knocking, I say to you, even though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many loaves as he needs"; Colossians 4: "Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching in it," etc. Weeping: Augustine: "The eyes which had sought the Lord and had not found him were now given over to tears, and the woman grieved more that the Lord had been taken away from the tomb than that he had been slain upon the wood." It should be noted that Mary wept from compunction, Luke 7; she wept from compassion, above, chapter 11: "Jesus, when he saw her weeping"; she wept from devotion, as here, concerning which the Psalm says: "My tears have been my bread day and night, while it is said to me daily: Where is your God?" While therefore she wept. Here consolation is offered to the desolate one, both in vision and in speech, but she is consoled by neither. In vision she is consoled by the sight of the Angels; whence he says: While therefore she wept, as one desolate, she stooped down and looked into the tomb, so that she might at least receive some consolation from the sight of the place: but she received a greater one. She stooped down, through humility: Job 22: "He who has been humbled shall be in glory, and he who has lowered his eyes, he himself shall be saved." Question. Concerning what he says, that while Mary wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. Why was she looking, since she knew he was not there? Gregory responds: "For one who loves, to have looked once does not suffice, because the force of love multiplies the intensity of searching." And Augustine says that "because she loved vehemently, therefore she thought that neither her own nor others' eyes should easily be believed."

John 20:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

And she saw two Angels in white, sitting. Therefore they sit in white, because they had come to announce the splendor of our solemnity, namely the resurrection. One at the head and another at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid. Gregory explains why they were positioned thus. "He," he says, "was to be announced through his passion, who is God before the ages and man at the end of the ages: as it were, the Angel sits at the head, when through the Apostle John it is preached that In the beginning was the Word, etc.; and as it were at the feet, when it is said: The Word was made flesh." And thus consolation was made for her from the vision: Luke, the last chapter: "Certain women from among us amazed us, who before dawn were at the tomb, and not finding his body, came saying that they had also seen a vision of Angels, who say that he is alive." Question. Concerning what he says, that after the departure of the disciples she saw Angels: because it is said in Luke 24 that the women reported to the Apostles that they had seen Angels; and then it is said that the disciples went to the tomb. Augustine responds in the third book of On the Harmony of the Evangelists that "Luke says this by way of recapitulation; for they ran to the tomb when it had only been announced concerning the body having been taken away; and afterward the vision of the Angels occurred, which they subsequently reported." Question. There is a doubt: because in Mark 16 it is said of one Angel only: Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right, covered with a white robe. Likewise, Mark says Mary entered, but this one says she only looked in. To this Augustine responds in the third book of On the Harmony of the Evangelists: "On the first day of the week," he says, "that is, on the Lord's day, at dawn the women came to the tomb, as all the Evangelists narrate; and when they saw the stone taken away, before they looked more carefully, they ran and announced it to Peter and John, who ran to the tomb and afterward returned. But Mary with others stood at the tomb outside weeping, that is, before that place of the rock-hewn sepulcher, but nevertheless within that space into which they had already entered. Then they saw an Angel sitting on the right upon the stone rolled away from the tomb, of which Angel Matthew 28 and Mark 16 narrate. Then he said to them: Fear not, etc., which Matthew and Mark say. At these words Mary, while she wept, stooped down and looked into the tomb, as is said here; where she saw two Angels in white sitting, who say to her: Woman, why do you weep? And then it is to be understood that the Angels rose and stood, as Luke says, that two men stood beside them in shining garments." Whence the contradiction is resolved from the fact that one says what the other omits; and from the fact that Mark calls the tomb a certain space before the sepulchre enclosed by a wall, while John means the very place in which the body of Jesus lay.

John 20:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

They say to her: Woman, why do you weep? Not only does the Lord console her by sight, but also by the speech of the Angels: whence he says: They say to her: Woman, why do you weep? as if to say: do not weep. For it was no longer a time for weeping, but for joy, since the Lord was rising. But she refused to be consoled, recalling the cause of her grief: Because they have taken away my Lord, that is, his body, is said by synecdoche: and I do not know where they have laid him. Augustine: "This was the greater cause of grief, because she did not know where to go to console her grief." Whence she could say that verse of the Psalm: "My soul refused to be consoled" etc.; Lamentations 1: "Therefore my eye weeps and sheds tears, because my consoler has departed from me, he who converts my soul."

John 20:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

When she had said these things. Here, to her who is unwilling to be consoled, the manifestation of Christ occurs: and first he manifests himself to the senses of the flesh, then of the mind: to the senses of the body, namely to sight through appearance and to hearing through conversation. She first beholds Jesus, whence he says: When she had said these things, by which she was showing that she did not wish to be consoled; she turned around and saw Jesus standing. She turned because love did not allow her to stand still, but rather she looked now here, now there. Or, as Chrysostom says, "Christ, appearing silently behind her, struck the Angels with awe, and they by their movement and gesture showed that they had seen something great: and this turned the woman around." And she saw Jesus, with the eyes of the body, not of the heart: whence: And she did not know that it was Jesus.

John 20:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Jesus says to her: Woman, why do you weep? Thus he manifested himself through appearance; he also manifests himself through conversation: whence: Jesus says to her: Woman, why do you weep? as if to say: do not weep. Whom do you seek? She was seeking him whom the bride also sought in Song of Songs 3: "On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves"; as if to say: you ought not to seek him among the dead, because "rising from the dead, he dies no more; death shall no longer have dominion over him," Romans 6. But not yet does she recognize him through conversation: whence he says: She, supposing that he was the gardener, because she had come into the garden so early in the morning: says to him: Lord, if you have carried him away, that is, Jesus. She had made no mention of Jesus to him with whom she was speaking, and only said him; because, as Gregory says, "the force of love is accustomed to do this in the soul: that it believes no one else is ignorant of him whom it always thinks about." Tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. It was not enough for her to see him, unless she should take him away, according to that verse of Song of Songs 3: "I held him and would not let him go, until I brought him into the house of my mother and into the chamber of her who bore me": therefore she wished to take him away. Question. There is a question about the fact that the Lord did not immediately manifest himself to the woman in his own appearance, but appeared as if he were a gardener. Gregory responds that the reason for this was Mary's manner of seeking. "For because Mary loved and doubted, she saw and did not recognize." Bernard, however, gives the reason that this was to inflame her more ardently: whence he says: "O delightful spectacle of loving-kindness! He himself who is sought and desired hides himself and manifests himself; he hides himself so that he may be sought more ardently, and once sought may be found with joy, and once found may be held with solicitude, and once held may not be released."

John 20:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Jesus says to her: Mary. He manifested himself to the exterior sense; here he manifests himself to the interior sense by calling her by name: whence: Jesus says to her: Mary. Gregory: "After he called her by the common designation of her sex and was not recognized, he calls her by name, so that she might recognize him by whom she is recognized." She, having turned, namely through the captivation of the intellect: Apocalypse 1: "I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me"; says to him: Rabboni, which is interpreted master. Having turned, not in body, because she had already turned in body before, but in heart: whence Augustine: "Then," he says, "turned in body, she supposed what was not; now turned in heart, she recognized what was." Moreover, recognizing him, she calls him master, because she was accustomed to call him thus: above in the eleventh chapter, Martha said to Mary: "The Master is here and calls for you."

John 20:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Jesus says to her. Here upon Mary, now knowing him, is enjoined the publication of the manifestation: and first he corrects her; second, he sends her to announce. He corrects her in this that he says: Do not touch me: and he gives the reason: For I have not yet ascended to my Father. But this text seems to contain falsity and doubtfulness: first, because the other Evangelists say that "the women approached and held his feet." Likewise, what kind of reason is this: For I have not yet ascended to my Father? On the contrary, this is a reason why she ought to have touched him, because if he had ascended, she could not touch him. On this account, this text is expounded in multiple ways. Augustine expounds it concerning the touch of the heart or of faith: whence he says: "Do not touch me, that is, do not believe in me in the way you still understand. For how did she not still believe in him carnally, she who wept for him as a man? And the following text says this: For I have not yet ascended to my Father, that is, to equality with the Father in your heart." According to Gregory, it is understood concerning bodily touch: but the Lord does not prohibit this, as he says, "because he shrank from the touch of women, since it is written: The women approached and held his feet;" but in this he wished to show her unworthy to touch him as one not rightly believing, or not fully: and he proves this through the following text: "For I have not yet ascended to the Father. In our heart, Jesus ascends to the Father when he is believed to be equal to the Father." According to Chrysostom, it is understood concerning bodily touch: and the Lord does not prohibit touching, but intimates that he is to be touched with greater reverence than when he was passible: and the following reason indicates this, in which the Lord says: I have not yet ascended, but nevertheless I am preparing myself for the ascension, and therefore I am not with you as before. This can also be explained in another way: because Mary was burning to see the Lord, whence she had also searched most diligently, she wished to fall upon his feet with kisses and not let him go; but the Lord rebuked her, showing that this is not the place of enjoyment and of touching Christ, but with the Father, whence he says: Do not touch me, that is, do not wish to enjoy me by touching me here: for I have not yet ascended, where is the place of enjoyment, where you will never be frustrated; but now it is necessary to be separated bodily. Whence he sends her to announce what she had seen. But go to my brothers, namely the Apostles, of whom it is said in the Psalm: "I will declare your name to my brothers: in the midst of the Church I will praise you"; and tell them, announce the truth of the rising Christ, which consists in the dignity of glorification, by which he was now fit to go into heaven; therefore he says: Tell them: I ascend: Ephesians 4: "He who descended, he himself is the one who ascended above all the heavens." The truth of Christ's resurrection also consists in the excellence of the Divinity: whence he says: To my Father and your Father, not in the same way mine as yours: whence Gregory says: "Mine by nature, yours by grace." The truth of Christ's resurrection also consists in the excellence of the humanity, and he touches upon this when he says: My God and your God: Augustine says: "My God, under whom I too am man, your God, between whom and himself I am Mediator." Question. Whether Mary believed Christ to be God? And that she did, it seems, because above in chapter 11 Martha said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And also, how would her sins have been forgiven without right faith? But Gregory and Augustine seem to say the contrary, on the text: For I have not yet ascended to my Father, as was explained above. The response is that Mary before the passion believed Christ to be God, yet she loved him most vehemently in the flesh: and therefore in the passion she conceived so g…

John 20:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Mary Magdalene therefore came. Here the fifth point is noted, namely the report of the manifestation made by Magdalene: whence it says: Announcing to the disciples: Because I have seen the Lord, and these things he said to me, supply: which have been said above: Chrysostom says: "She announces both the vision and the words, so that they might be instructed in both." Question. Concerning the order of this manifestation. For if the disciples were more worthy, it seems that the Lord ought to have appeared to them first, and again that the disciples should teach the women rather than the women the disciples. I respond: It must be said that this was done by the order of divine dispensation and by the merit of human solicitude: the order of divine dispensation: on account of which Gregory says: "Because in paradise the woman served death to the man, from the sepulcher the woman announces life to men, and she narrates the words of the life-giver, she who had narrated the words of the death-dealing serpent." The merit of human solicitude, because, when the disciples withdrew, the woman remained afflicted and desolate: and therefore she more quickly merited to be consoled and refreshed by the Lord's appearance.

John 20:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

When therefore it was late that day. Above he treated the manifestation of the Lord made to the women; here he treats the manifestation made to the disciples. And there are in this part three sections according to three manifestations, which are distinguished with respect to the mode of manifesting and with respect to the reason: with respect to mode, for the first is through sight, the second through touch, the third through taste; for first he showed himself, second, he offered himself to be touched, third, he ate. With respect to the reason also for manifesting: for the first was to remove the unbelief of all the disciples; the second, to remove the unbelief of Thomas; the third, however, for the confirmation of love in Peter. First, therefore, is touched upon the gathering of the disciples, which was both on account of the time, because it was late, and on account of the Jews, who were persecuting them: therefore he says: When therefore it was late that day, namely the Lord's day, on which he appeared to Magdalene, the first of the Sabbaths, because in those days the Jews were keeping the sabbath, eating unleavened bread; and the doors were shut, for their protection, whence: where the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews: therefore they had come together in one place with the doors shut, and through this they were worthy for the Lord to appear to them, according to that saying in Matthew 18: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." When they were thus, Jesus came and stood in the midst. Here is noted the appearance of the Lord: therefore he stood in the midst, so that he might be seen by all: therefore he stood in the midst, to show that he is the Mediator and Reconciler: above in chapter 1: "But there has stood in the midst of you one whom you do not know," was said to the Jews. For he himself, as is said in Ephesians 2, "is our peace, who has made both one." And he said to them: Peace be to you. Here is noted the gracious address, in which address he strengthened them; whence in the last chapter of Luke: "He said to them: Peace be to you; it is I, do not be afraid." Whence Chrysostom: "By his voice he steadied their wavering mind, saying: Peace be to you: that is, do not be troubled"; in the last chapter of Philippians: "The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts."

John 20:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Concerning this central position, John writes: "When it was late, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, 'Peace be to you!'" He is showing two things here, the loftiness of the state of glory, in that, being impassible and immortal, He entered as God while the doors were closed; later, He showed them His hands and side and forced Thomas to confess: "My Lord and my God!" Consider the progression. First He entered as God while the doors were closed: this is the major proposition. Then He proposed the minor by showing them His hands and His side. Finally, He wrested out the conclusion so that Thomas confessed: "My Lord and my God!"

John 20:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

He is showing two things here, the loftiness of the state of glory, in that, being impassible and immortal, He entered as God while the doors were closed; later, He showed them His hands and side. Consider the progression. First He entered as God while the doors were closed: this is the major proposition. Then He proposed the minor by showing them His hands and His side. Finally, He wrested out the conclusion so that Thomas confessed: "My Lord and my God!"

John 20:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Here is noted Christ's showing of himself, in which he showed that he was the same one who had suffered, not only in spirit but also in body: and therefore he showed his hands and his side, in which there had been wounds, and scars remained: whence in the last chapter of Luke: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself." The disciples therefore rejoiced, having seen the Lord. Here is touched upon the rejoicing of the disciples at the sight of the Lord; which joy the Lord had promised them above in chapter 16: "I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice."

John 20:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

He said therefore to them again. Here, consequent upon the manifestation, the mission of the disciples is touched upon, in which the Evangelist indicates three things that the Lord conferred upon the disciples being sent, namely fitness, authority and power: fitness, when he granted peace: whence he says: He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you, that is, tranquility, without which no one is fit to be sent to persecutions. Whence Chrysostom: "Because they had an unconquerable battle against the Jews, therefore he says again: Peace be to you, giving consolation equal to the battle." He also conferred authority, when he sends them: whence he says: As the Father sent me, I also send you, that is, just as I did not come of myself, but was sent, and therefore came with authority: so I send you, giving you authority: whence Romans 10: "How shall they preach unless they are sent?" Whence also Isaiah, chapter 6, sought this authority when he said: "Here am I, Lord; send me"; on the contrary, concerning the false prophets, Jeremiah 23: "They ran, and I did not send them; I did not speak to them," etc. He also conferred power, when he bestowed the Holy Spirit.

John 20:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

When he had said this, he breathed on them. Augustine: "By breathing he signified that the Holy Spirit is not of the Father alone, but also his own." And he said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit, that is, the gift of the Holy Spirit, not for all things, but for remitting sins: and in this he conferred the power of the keys. Question. Concerning what he says: Receive the Holy Spirit. For it seems that he ought not yet to have given them the Holy Spirit, because it is said above in the sixteenth chapter: If I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you: therefore if he had not yet ascended, he ought not yet to have given the Holy Spirit. I respond: It must be said that the Holy Spirit is said to be received or given, not by reason of essence, but of effect. Therefore the disciples had the Holy Spirit before the passion, but for the working of their own salvation, which is through grace; they had him after the passion before the ascension for the remission of sins: they had him after the ascension for the proclamation of our faith: and therefore they were then confirmed, and the Holy Spirit descended in tongues of fire. Question. To whom is it said in the plural, Receive the Holy Spirit? It seems that it is said to many. On the contrary: Matthew 16: I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, the Lord said to Peter: therefore it seems that the power of remitting sins was specially in Peter, but here it seems that it was in all. And it must be said that the power of remitting or the power of loosing was given to all the Apostles: nevertheless the fullness of power was given more specially to Peter and his successors, as to the prince and head of all the Apostles. Because, therefore, he was the head, it is said in Matthew: To you I will give: but because the others were partakers of his power, therefore it is said: Receive, etc.

John 20:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, that is, those whom you shall loose are loosed: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained, that is, those whom you shall bind are bound: Matthew 16: "Whatever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven: and whatever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven." Question. Concerning the power conferred upon the disciples. For it is said: Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, etc. On the contrary: Isaiah 43: I am he who blots out your iniquities for my own sake: therefore it belongs to God alone to forgive sins. Likewise, Matthew 9: But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic: Arise, etc.: therefore it belongs to the same power to forgive sins and to cure the incurable. But that belongs to infinite power and to Christ-man and God alone: therefore also to forgive sins. It is therefore asked how it belongs differently to God, to Christ-man, and to the priest. Likewise, concerning what is added: Whose sins you shall retain, they are retained: therefore it seems that priests can close to us the entrance of the kingdom. I respond: It must be said that in sin two things are considered, namely guilt and the debt of punishment; to forgive guilt belongs to God alone effectively, because it belongs to him alone to give grace, which blots out guilt: meritoriously it belongs to Christ-man: but dispositively it belongs to the priest, because he does that which, once done, God forgives, namely by conferring the Sacraments. But there is another remission with respect to punishment, and over this the priest has power, once the remission of guilt has been made, as does Christ-man; but the power of Christ-man is one of excellence and universal, while the power of the priest is ministerial and participative. And these powers are ordered, because the priest has no effect in remitting punishment except through the passion of Christ, nor again is the passion of Christ conferred upon anyone except him whose guilt God forgives. To the objection that our salvation is in the hand of the priest: it must be said that this power is to be understood as operative when the key does not err. But the key errs either when it looses one whom God has not vivified, or when it binds less than one ought to be bound. Whence Gregory says: "The disciples loose the living one whom the Master had raised from the dead. For if the disciples were to loose a dead man, they would reveal a stench rather than power." Question. Since the Lord said only to the eleven: Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall remit, etc.: it seems that not all priests have this power, but only those who hold the place of the Apostles, such as bishops, not simple priests. Likewise, Gregory seems to say this, that "those who obtain the office of governance receive the authority of loosing and binding." To this it must be said that there are two ways of binding and loosing: either in the penitential forum, or in the judicial forum. The first way belongs to presbyters by reason of their order; the second way belongs to bishops and other superiors by reason of their dignity. Whence Hugh of Saint Victor says: "One is the binding by which the ministers of the Church bind those who truly repent with the obligation of enjoined satisfaction, and another is that by which those who sin intolerably are bound with the chain of anathema." Question. The heretics object from the fact that it is first said: Receive the Holy Spirit: and afterward: Whose sins you shall remit etc., that no priest has the power of binding and loosing unless he has the Holy Spirit dwelling within him: therefore wicked priests do not absolve, nor even the Supreme Pontiff, if he is wicked. And if this is so, then our salvation is in peril. To this there are multiple responses. For some say that the Holy Spirit is given first, and afterward the execution of the power of l…

John 20:23 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

On that passage in Matthew 16, Whatsoever you shall bind, etc., the Gloss says: "The other Apostles indeed have the same judiciary power, to whom after the resurrection he says: Receive the Holy Spirit: whose sins you shall remit," etc. The Apostles are thus said to have the same judiciary power, that is, a similar one: but from this it does not follow that they had an equal one, but it is a figure of speech from a change of the predicate, because similitude consists in quality, but equality in quantity.

John 20:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

But Thomas, one of the twelve. Here is set forth the occasion of the third manifestation, which is described with respect to three things, namely the absence of Thomas, the report of the disciples and his own obstinacy. His absence is touched upon, when he says: But Thomas, one of the twelve, that is, one of those specially chosen; above, chapter 6: "Have I not chosen you twelve?" Luke 6: "He chose twelve, whom he also named Apostles." Who is called Didymus, because he was doubtful, was not with them when Jesus came: and so he did not see the Lord coming, because he had withdrawn from the congregation. Question. Concerning the statement that Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus came: because in the last chapter of Luke it is said of the two disciples going to Emmaus that they returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven gathered together: and while they were narrating what they had seen, it says that Jesus stood in the midst of them: therefore if there were not eleven except with Thomas, it seems that Thomas was there at that time. To this Augustine responds in the third book of On the Harmony of the Evangelists: "It must be understood," he says, "that Thomas had departed from there before the Lord appeared while they were speaking"; whence it is true that those disciples had found Thomas, but while they continued in conversation, Thomas went out, and the Lord entered.

John 20:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

The other disciples therefore said to him. Here is touched upon the report of the disciples. For they report what they had seen: We have seen the Lord. They reported this so that, hearing the testimony of those who had seen, he might believe the resurrection: but what is written above in chapter 3 was verified: "What we have seen we testify, and you do not accept our testimony." Whence follows the third, namely Thomas's hardening. But he said to them: Unless I shall see in his hands, etc. His hardness is shown in this, that he does not believe through hearing, unless he himself should see, in his hands namely, the mark of the nails. His hardness is also shown in this, that he not only refused to believe through hearing, but not even through sight, unless touch were present: therefore he says: And I shall put my finger into the place of the nails and I shall put my hand into his side, which namely was pierced by a lance; I will not believe. In this he was hard: whence Chrysostom says: "Just as to believe simply, and as it happens, is a mark of easiness, so to scrutinize all around and to investigate much is a mark of a most dull mind." But this hardness was permitted by divine dispensation in the Apostle in order to remove ours; whence Gregory says: "Mary Magdalene, who believed more quickly, benefited me less than Thomas, who doubted for a long time. For he, while he touched the wounds of the flesh in the Master, healed in us the wounds of unbelief."

John 20:26 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

And after eight days. Here the second manifestation of the Lord is treated, made for the purpose of removing the unbelief of Thomas. The congregation of the disciples is touched upon when it says: After eight days, that is, after the resurrection and the first appearance: again his disciples were within, in the same house, at rest from tumult; and Thomas with them; and thus, because they were together and were within, they were disposed to see the Lord, according to that passage in Matthew 18: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst." Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst. Here the appearance of the Lord is touched upon: whence coming he stood in the midst, so that there would be no one who did not see him. And he said to them: Peace be to you. Here is noted the address of the Lord. This manner of speaking manifested him, because he had been accustomed to greet thus, wishing peace, and he had taught his disciples to greet in this way: Matthew 10: "Into whatever house you enter, first say: Peace be to this house." Question. Concerning what he says: Jesus came, the doors being shut. For if He came for this purpose, that He might be recognized through the touch of Thomas, it seems that in the very manner of His coming He would weaken the faith which He was establishing: because, just as a spirit cannot be touched, so neither can that which can be touched enter through closed doors; and therefore the whole thing could seem illusory. Some respond that Christ had to show not only that He had a body in which He suffered, but also a divine body, that is, one united to the Divinity. And to show that it was divine, He came through closed doors. Whence Augustine: "Closed doors did not stand in the way of the mass of the body where the Divinity was. For He was able to enter without them being opened, He at whose birth the virginity of His Mother remained inviolate." But others respond that by this He did not show that He had a divine body, but a glorified one: because this was not proper to Him alone, but to all glorified bodies. And Augustine's words are to be understood through the argument from the lesser, and thus Gregory expounds it: "What wonder if, through closed doors, He entered after His resurrection, He who, coming before, went forth without the womb of the Virgin being opened?" And thus he argues through the argument from the lesser. Therefore, to the argument it must be replied that He had to prove that it was the same body in such a way that He also showed it to be glorified.

John 20:27 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Then he says to Thomas. Here is noted his offering of himself to be touched. For since Thomas had said: "Unless I put my finger into the place of the nails," etc., therefore the Lord says to him: Put your finger here and see my hands. Because he had also said: "Unless I put my hand into his side"; therefore the Lord says to him: And bring your hand and put it into my side. And because he had also said: Unless I do this, "I will not believe"; therefore the Lord says: And be not unbelieving, but faithful: since in all things I have satisfied your will. Whence Gregory says: "It was brought about by divine dispensation that the chosen disciple was then absent when the Lord appeared to the others; but coming afterward he would hear, hearing he would doubt, doubting he would touch, touching he would believe." Habakkuk 2: "But he who is unbelieving, his soul shall not be right in himself; but my just one shall live by faith." Question. Concerning what He says: Put your finger here and place your hand in my side. From this it seems that the body of Christ was wounded; but if so, it was not glorified. Likewise, if you say that the scars remained, it seems that it does not have full glory, because that is more perfectly healed in which no traces of imperfection remain; therefore it seems that the body of Christ was not perfectly glorified. If you say that they remained only for the sake of the disciples, then it seems that they were not true but false scars. Augustine responds in the book On Six Solutions against the Pagans: "Let those who have proposed these questions know," he says, "that Christ showed the disciples not wounds but scars, which would then be false if no wounds had preceded them; nor are they from inability to heal, since they were left by divine dispensation and the art of the best physician." Augustine gives the example of a wounded soldier who does not wish to be healed by the physician without the marks of his wounds remaining. Moreover, the reason why they were preserved was threefold, as Victor says: "Thus," he says, "He preserved the scars of the wounds not from inability to heal, but that He might bear about forever the triumph of His victory; and to establish faith in the resurrection, that He might demonstrate that the same body which dies rises again; and that to those redeemed by His death, He might indicate how mercifully they were helped, by setting forth and showing the signs of that same death." A fourth reason could be given: for the confusion of the damned; whence Apocalypse 1: Every eye shall see Him, and those who pierced Him. Question. Concerning what he says: And put your hand into my side, etc. — Therefore the body of Christ was palpable; but, as Gregory says, "everything palpable is corruptible": therefore that body was corruptible. If you say, as Chrysostom says, that "this was of condescension, what was being done"; then it is objected: because if to be touched is against the nature of a glorified body, then it is manifest that in this he was not showing that he had a glorified body, but rather one not glorified. And it is answered that this argument does not hold, because by entering through closed doors he showed it to be glorious, but through touch he showed it to be the same body that had suffered. It can nevertheless be said otherwise, that just as something is visible in two ways — in one way, because it cannot escape sight, like a stone; in another way, because, although it can escape notice, it can also affect the sense — the first is in a certain way of weakness and belongs to a non-glorious body, the second is of power and belongs to a glorious body — so to be touched because it cannot escape touch is in a certain way of weakness and of a non-glorious body; but to be touched because it arrests the pressure of the hand as something solid, which indeed can by its own power pass through the hand, this is of great power. And this was in the glorious body, and especially in the body of C…

John 20:28 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Thomas answered. Here is noted the building up of faith proceeding from the Lord's manifestation. Now our faith is established in a threefold manner from the divine manifestation: either through presence, that is, through sight; or through absence, that is, through hearing; or through the testimony of Scripture. In the first manner, therefore, faith was built up in Thomas, who believed; in the second manner, in the others, who had believed those who reported; in the third manner, in those who were going to believe through the Scriptures. The faith of Thomas is therefore touched upon, which is indicated in his right confession: whence he says: Thomas responded and said, after so great a showing: My Lord, as to his humanity, and my God, as to his Divinity: for he is God because he created; he is Lord because he purchased us as servants; First Peter 1: "You were redeemed not with corruptible gold or silver, but with the precious blood, as of an immaculate and undefiled lamb, Christ Jesus."

John 20:28 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Consider the progression. First He entered as God while the doors were closed: this is the major proposition. Then He proposed the minor by showing them His hands and His side. Finally, He wrested out the conclusion so that Thomas confessed: "My Lord and my God!"

John 20:29 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

John 20:29 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Jesus says to him. Here the faith of those who were built up through hearing is commended, and is preferred to the faith of Thomas, which came through presence and sight: and therefore he says: Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed: blessed are those who have not seen and have believed: because such faith was of greater freedom and had more of its own. Chrysostom: "When someone says: now I would wish to be in those times and to see Christ working wonders: let him consider that blessed are those who have not seen and have believed"; First Peter 1: "Whom though you have not seen, you love: in whom also now, not seeing, you believe." Question. Concerning what he says: Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed. It seems that he ought to have said: because you have touched me, since it had not sufficed him that he should see. To this Augustine responds in two ways: either because sight is truly understood as touch, since sight is commonly called sense; or because Thomas did not dare to touch. Whence he says: "He did not say you have touched, but you have seen, since sight is in a certain way a general sense; although it could be said that the disciple did not dare to touch."

John 20:30 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

Many other signs indeed. Here the faith of those believing through Scripture of such manifestations is touched upon: therefore he says that manifestations of this kind were written down to establish the faith of those who could not see them. And therefore not all things were written, but those which suffice for our faith: and so he says: Many other signs indeed Jesus did in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book: because it is not ours to narrate all things, but to build up faith.

John 20:31 — Commentary on John, Chapter 20

But these things are written, that you may believe: Romans 15: "Whatever things were written, were written for our instruction." That you may believe, I say, that Jesus is the Son of God, that is, humanity and Divinity in Christ; Luke 1: "You shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High"; First John 5: "Who is it that overcomes the world, if not he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" And because there is no standing still in faith, therefore he orders this end to the ultimate end: And that believing you may have life, because, as is said in Hebrews 11, "without faith it is impossible to please God," but those who believe possess life; First Peter 1: "Believing, you shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorified, obtaining the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls." In his name, that is, in the faith of his name; Acts 4: "There is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved"; First John last: "These things I write to you, that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God."

John 20:31 — Commentary on John, Prooemium

Not only does it proceed sublimely, but it also leads to sublime things. Sublime things are eternal goods; for temporal goods are the lowest and momentary; whence Second Corinthians four: "That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation works in us above measure an eternal weight of glory in sublimity." To this sublime weight of glory the doctrine of the Gospel according to John leads. Whence John twenty: "These things are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name:" that is, that eternal and sublime life, which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it ascended into the heart of man.

John 21:1 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

First therefore the place is described, in which this manifestation was made, when it is said: Afterwards Jesus manifested himself again at the Sea of Tiberias: behold, the place. "The Sea of Tiberias is the same as the Lake of Gennesaret and as the Sea of Galilee"; and it is called Tiberias from the city of Tiberias, which is situated near that lake: and it is called the Sea of Galilee from the region in which it is: it is called the Lake of Gennesaret from the proper nature of the lake itself, so that Gennesaret is said as if generating breezes.

John 21:2 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

There were together Simon Peter and Thomas, who is called Didymus, and Nathanael, who was from Cana of Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee and two others of his disciples. And thus there were seven, because such a number is fitting and sufficient for every kind of testimony. And in this the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit is commended, which ought to be in those who go to fish, that is, to gather the people for the Lord: concerning which sevenfold number it is said in Isaiah 4: "Seven women shall take hold of one man" — without these women there is no spiritual propagation — and in Isaiah 11: "The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him."

John 21:3 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

Simon Peter says to them. Here is touched upon the act or occupation, on the occasion of which he manifests himself; and this indeed was the act of fishing, in which all had come together. But Peter was the principal one, because on account of him especially this manifestation was made; whence he says: Simon Peter says to them: I am going fishing, as the principal one, because he had been a fisherman: Matthew 4: "Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen." And the others accompany him; whence he says: They say to him: We also come with you. And therefore, united in one accord, they went out and boarded the boat, to fish, and on that night they caught nothing, and so they labored in vain: Luke 5: "Master, laboring through the whole night, we have caught nothing"; Gregory: "A great difficulty of fishing befell the disciples, so that, when the Master came, there might arise a great height of admiration."

John 21:4 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

The appearance of the Lord, therefore, is touched upon when it says: Now when morning had come, Jesus stood on the shore. In the literal sense, he stood in the morning, because at night they could not see him; according to the spiritual sense, because morning signifies the time of grace, in which Christ appeared: Romans 13: "The night has passed, and the day has drawn near. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light." And although he appeared, nevertheless the disciples did not recognize him; therefore he says: Yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Chrysostom: "He did not immediately show himself, so that through the miracle which he was about to perform, they might recognize him."

John 21:5 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

Jesus therefore says to them. Here the second point is noted, namely the Lord's address: and he asks them the reason for so much labor: Children, have you any food? Food here refers to everything by which bread is seasoned, whether it be fish or something else, which we commonly call relish, as if the Lord were asking them whether they have or have caught fish, from which they might season their meal, so that bread joined to it might have flavor. They therefore answered him: No; as if to say: we are still laboring, because we do not yet have any.

John 21:6 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

He said to them: Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find. Here the third point is noted, namely the wondrous catching of fish. And it was wondrous: because, when they could catch nothing, by obeying the divine command they caught so many: whence: They therefore cast the net, according to the Lord's command, and now they were unable to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Something similar occurred in Luke 5: "When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish"; therefore in great abundance, so that the divine generosity might be shown, which, according to that passage in James 1, "gives to all abundantly and does not reproach."

John 21:7 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

That disciple therefore says etc. Here the fourth point is noted, namely the recognition of the Lord by John: whence: That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved, that is John, says to Peter: It is the Lord. He therefore calls him Lord, because he showed himself powerful, and one whom all things obey, even the fish: and therefore to be feared, according to that passage in Malachi 1: "If I am the Lord, where is my fear?" For the disciples called him Lord: above in chapter 13: "You call me Master and Lord." Simon Peter therefore. Here the fifth point is noted, namely Peter's fervent love, in this, that he could not restrain himself from immediately running to him: therefore it says: But Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, girded his tunic about him, lest he appear naked before the Lord: for he was naked: and cast himself into the sea, namely, to swim. He did something similar in Matthew 14: "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you upon the waters."

John 21:8 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

But the other disciples came by boat: because they were not so fervent, not daring to enter the sea: Wisdom 14: "Men entrust their lives to a small piece of wood," etc. And another reason: For they were not far from land, and therefore they could come quickly: but about two hundred cubits away, dragging the net of fish.

John 21:9 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

Having thus manifested the majesty of the Divinity through the wondrous catching of fish, he here manifests the truth of humanity through eating. His providence, therefore, in preparing food is indicated in the preparation of the foods, which was done by miracle; whence he says: When therefore they came down to the land, they saw a coal fire laid and fish placed upon it and bread, and so the meal to which he was inviting them was prepared: Matthew chapter twenty-two: "Behold, I have prepared my dinner, and all things are ready." And these things indeed were done by miracle; whence Chrysostom says: "He no longer works from pre-existing matter, as before the cross, but performs signs more wondrously, showing that what he then did from pre-existing matter, he did according to a certain dispensation." He means to say that that fish was made from nothing. Nor did he only prepare it by miracle, but the preparation was also done through Peter's ministry at the divine command.

John 21:10 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

Jesus says to them: Bring some of the fish that you have caught just now, so that the truth might be confirmed by miracle.

John 21:11 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

Then Simon Peter went up, as the more zealous among the others, and drew the net to land, full of great fish, one hundred and fifty-three: in which the greatness of the miracle is shown both in number and in size. By great fish we understand the Blessed, who are great in charity: Matthew eleven: "He who is lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." And for greater expression of the miracle he adds what happened concerning the net: whence he says: And although there were so many, the net was not torn: against which it is said in Luke five: "They had caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking." And so, although there were so many, namely in number and in size, they were in such a number on account of its significance: either because that number signifies perfection, when the numerical proportion is considered, or because it signifies universality, because, as Jerome says, "so many kinds of fish in the sea are read to have been described by the philosophers."

John 21:12 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

Jesus says to them: Come, dine: he invites to dinner, but in the future resurrection he will invite to the supper, according to that passage in Revelation nineteen: "Blessed are they who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb." He now invites to bodily food, to intimate that he invites to spiritual food; Song of Songs five: "Eat, O friends, and drink; and be inebriated, dearly beloved": and Isaiah fifty-five: "All you who thirst, come to the waters, and you who have no money, make haste, buy and eat; come, buy without money and without any exchange, wine and milk." And none of those reclining at table. Here the third point is noted, namely the illumination of the disciples in knowing the Lord; whence he says: And none of those reclining at table, that is, of those sitting down to eat, dared to ask him: Who are you? Whence Chrysostom: "They sat with silence and great reverence, gazing upon him." Knowing that it is the Lord, that is, for this reason they did not ask him: Who are you? Hebrews, the penultimate chapter: "Let us serve, pleasing God with fear and reverence"; Philippians two: "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling."

John 21:13 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

And Jesus came. Here the fourth point is noted, namely the Lord's munificence in distributing food: whence he says: And he took bread and gave it to them, and fish likewise, he gave to them to eat. And similarly it is to be understood that he himself ate with them; whence Chrysostom: "Here indeed he does not say that he ate with them; Luke elsewhere says, Luke, the last chapter: When he had eaten before them, taking the remains, he gave to them"; whence Gregory says: "The Lord ate roasted fish and bread." Christ gave, in which he signified himself as the most generous distributor of all graces: Matthew twenty-five: "To each one he gave according to his own ability."

John 21:14 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

This now the third time. After the manifestation has been set forth, there is set forth the comparison of this manifestation with the preceding ones; and it is counted as the third along with the preceding ones, not because there were not more, but because it suffices to write these three for the sake of believing, according to that passage in Deuteronomy nineteen: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word stand." Therefore he says: This is now the third time that Jesus manifested himself to his disciples, after he had risen from the dead, as though it were sufficient to have recounted a threefold manifestation: Acts ten: "He gave him to be made manifest, not to all the people, but to witnesses foreordained by God, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead."

John 21:15 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

When therefore they had dined. It should be noted that during the meal he did not ask about love, because, as is said in Sirach chapter six, "there is a friend who is a companion at table, and he will not remain in the day of necessity." But afterward he asks: Jesus says to Simon Peter: Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Therefore he asks about love, because he does not wish to entrust his flock except to one who loves; therefore about greater love, because he wishes to entrust it to one who loves more. Hence Gregory: "He who does not have charity ought by no means to undertake the office of preaching"; certainly much less the office of prelacy, because, as is said in John chapter ten, "the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep." He says to him: Yes, Lord. Here is set forth Peter's response, in which he responds that he loves, but not that he loves more, because he did not know the love of the others. Hence Augustine: "That Peter responds, I love you, and did not add more than these: he responded what he knew about himself; for he could not know how much he was loved by another, because he could not see the heart of another." You know that I love you: in this response Peter shows that he does not respond in flattery, but truly. Hence Chrysostom: "He calls as witness him who knows hidden things." So Jeremiah invoked him, in the seventeenth chapter: "I have not desired the day of man, you know." He says to him. Here is noted after the response the exhortation to action: because "the proof of love is the display of works"; therefore he says: Feed my lambs: in which the wondrous love of Christ for his sheep is expressed, because he showed this above all other things as a sign of his love: and this indeed Peter fulfilled and urged to be fulfilled, 1 Peter 5: "Elders, feed the flock of God which is among you," etc.

John 21:16 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

He says to him again. Here is set forth the second inquiry, in which the procedure is similar, as before. The Lord therefore inquires, as before, about love: Simon, son of John, do you love me? Simon, son of John he is called, because he was the son of John. — And Peter responds: He said to him: Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Bede: "O how faithful and pure a soul! which does not fear to say to its Creator, before whose eyes all things are naked and open: Lord, you know that I love you." He says to him. Here is set forth the exhortation, as before: Feed my lambs. He repeats the aforesaid exhortation: whence Bede: "This is the sole and true proof of complete love toward God: if you have striven to exercise the care of solicitous labor toward your brothers." Feed, namely by example, as he of whom it is said in the Psalm: "He fed them in the innocence of his heart."

John 21:17 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

He says to him a third time. Here is set forth the third inquiry in the same order as before, namely question, response, exhortation. The Lord therefore asks about the same thing: Simon, son of John, do you love me? From this text it is clear that to love is taken in a good sense, as to love. — And Peter was saddened. Here is noted Peter's response: but nevertheless he responded with sadness, because, as Chrysostom says, he feared lest it should happen to him as it happened when he said: "I will lay down my life for you"; and therefore he was saddened, because he said to him a third time: Do you love me? But nevertheless he did not despair; rather, he responded confidently and said to him: whence he adds to his response: Lord, you know all things, as God; you know that I love you, you know even better than I. For he knew that he was the one who said in Jeremiah 17: "I am the Lord who searches hearts and reins," that is, thoughts and affections. He says to him: Feed my sheep. Here is noted the exhortation: and by sheep are understood the more perfect subjects. It should be noted that the Lord commands to feed the sheep, not to shear them, not to devour them, because the pastor is not commanded by the love of Christ to feed himself, but the sheep; Ezekiel 34: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who fed themselves! Are not the sheep fed by the shepherds? You ate the milk and covered yourselves with the wool."

John 21:17 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

In the last chapter of John: Feed my sheep, was said to Peter: but the sheep of Christ are all who walk by the way of salvation: therefore Peter was set as prelate over all such: therefore one was the shepherd of all the sheep of Christ according to the foundation of the Church: therefore also according to its progress and consummation, one must be obeyed by all.

John 21:18 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

After Peter's confirmation in love was made, here follows his invitation to the consummation of love. Now the consummation of love is that a man lay down his life for Christ: therefore here follows an invitation to imitate the passion. Peter is therefore certified by the Lord concerning the manner of his death, namely through passion and the cross: and to make it certain, he says: Amen, amen I say to you: and this is the passion, that in his old age he would be crucified for Christ: whence he says: When you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished, that is, you followed your own will: Sirach 18: "Son, do not go after your concupiscences, and turn away from your own will." But when you have grown old, you will stretch out your hands, namely on the cross; and another will gird you, "namely with bonds," as Nero, and will lead you where you do not wish, "that is, to death"; because, as is said in Second Corinthians 5, "we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be further clothed." And the reason for this is given in Ephesians 5: "Because no one ever hated his own flesh." Peter was bound with chains: Acts 12: "Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains."

John 21:19 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

Now this, namely that you will stretch out your hands, he said, signifying by what death he would glorify God: because by the death of the cross, which, although before Christ it was to be held in contempt, afterwards became glorious: and by this Peter was made glorious. Whence Augustine says: "That denier, both lifted up by presumption, cast down by denying, afterwards purged by weeping, proved by confessing, was crowned by suffering." By this Peter glorified the Lord, just as Paul said in Philippians 1: "Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." And because the passion is not good unless it is voluntary: therefore he exhorts Peter to suffer voluntarily: and for this reason he says: And when he had said this, he says to him, that is, to Peter: Follow me, come voluntarily to the passion of the cross, according to what Peter himself says in First Peter 2: "Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you might follow his steps." Concerning this following or imitation, the Lord said to Peter above in chapter thirteen: "Where I go, you cannot come now; but you shall follow afterwards."

John 21:20 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

Peter, turning around, saw that disciple etc. Here secondly, Peter, knowing his own death, inquires about the death of John: for he desired that he to whom he had been joined in life through great love might be joined to him in a likeness of death. And because Peter knew that the Lord loved John, he wanted to know by what death he wished him to die: therefore he says: Peter, turning around, saw that disciple whom Jesus loved, following, namely John. And a sign of special love is shown when it is added: who also reclined at the Supper upon his breast, above in chapter thirteen, and said: Lord, who is it that will betray you? He asked him what was secret: and this was a sign of love, because it was revealed to him, as is said above in chapter thirteen: and this is a sign of friendship, as is said above in chapter fifteen: "I have called you friends, because whatever I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you."

John 21:21 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

When Peter therefore had seen him, whom he knew to be specially beloved, he says to Jesus: Lord, but what about this man? supply: will he suffer, in order to come to you? Chrysostom: "Peter loved John greatly: because therefore the Lord had foretold great things to Peter, wishing to receive this one also as a sharer, he says: Lord, but what about this man?"

John 21:22 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

Jesus says to him. Here thirdly Peter is assured that John would not suffer, through the Lord's response, in which he reveals the truth, to satisfy the question, and rebukes curiosity, to correct the one asking. He reveals the truth when he says: Jesus says to him: Thus I wish him to remain until I come: Bede: "Thus, that is, to await the last day without the violence of persecution": he responds to the one asking. When he says: What is it to you? Follow me, he rebukes him for the curiosity of the question: whence Chrysostom: "What is it to you, if I wish him to remain thus? Attend to the things that are your own, and be solicitous about these": Sirach 3: "Do not be curious about his many works, but think always on those things which he has commanded you"; and therefore he repeats: Follow me, as if to say: think about this and be solicitous about this.

John 21:23 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

This saying therefore went out among the brethren. Here fourthly the understanding of the believers is corrected, that John would simply not die: whence he says: That that disciple does not die, against that verse of the Psalm: "Who is the man that shall live and not see death." And Jesus did not say. Here the correction of that saying is set forth, because Jesus did not say this, namely that he does not die; he did not say: He does not die, because, as is said in Ecclesiastes 9, "there is no one who lives forever": but: Thus I wish him to remain until I come: what is it to you? This is to be read and expounded in a qualified sense, as above.

John 21:24 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

This is the disciple etc. Here is set forth the reason for confirming our faith. The Evangelist confirms this in us in two ways: by certifying in truth and by grounding in humility. He certifies in truth when he declares himself a true and reliable witness. He says therefore: This is the disciple who bears witness concerning these things and has written these things, who is to be believed, all doubt being set aside, because we know that his testimony is true. Chrysostom: "Because he wrote with great certitude, he does not refuse to bring forward his own testimony, challenging each person to examine and scrutinize the things that were done. It is our custom, when we speak things that are very true, not to deny our own testimony: whence in Acts chapter five the Apostles said: We are witnesses of these words."

John 21:25 — Commentary on John, Chapter 21

There are also many other things which Jesus did. He shows that he did not write all things fully: in which he humbles our understanding, lest we believe ourselves capable of knowing all things. For this reason he says that he did not write them. Therefore he says: Which if they were written out one by one, I do not think the world itself could contain the books that would have to be written — the text should be construed thus: contain those books which would have to be written — because our capacity is small: whence above in chapter sixteen: "I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now."

Job 6:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

Job 7:3 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, Gregory, in the Moralia, on that passage of Job: I have numbered for myself laborious nights: "The elect serve the Creator of all things and are often straitened by want of things; they cling to God through love, and yet they lack the supports of the present life." To lack the supports of the present life, therefore, is fitting to the perfection of the Saints.

Job 7:15 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Job 9:28 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Anyone who wishes to obtain advantages from his studies should be holy and should work for a life that is reverent, pure, religious, and edifying. Now the reverent life of the saints consists in this, that in anything they do, they be always in a state of fear, whether going to Mass or to table, whether walking or standing still, for in anything there is a possibility of sin. "Then I am in dread of all my pains; I know that you will not hold me innocent." The best sign is fear, and the worst, temerity, for such is never corrected.

Job 9:33 — Breviloquium

Friendship with God man could not recover except through a fitting mediator, who could lay his hand upon both and be conformed to each party and a friend to each, and therefore, as he is like God through his Divinity, so like man through his humanity.

Job 10:8 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The authority of the one commanding ought to move us to observe the commandments of God: because it is God who commands that the precepts be observed. For He is of great authority, which is evident from three things: first, because He Himself by His great power creates us; second, because by His wondrous wisdom He rules and governs us; third, because by His munificent benevolence He saves us. He who commands that the commandments of God be observed is of great authority, because by His great power He creates us. "Your hands have made me and fashioned me wholly round about."

Job 11:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

The height of faith consists in understanding the eternal God, its depth, in knowing God made man. Of the first, it is written: "It is higher than the heavens; what can you do?" Concerning the second, there is added: "It is deeper than the nether world; what can you know?" The depth of God made man, that is, the humility, is such that reason fails. The height of God is beyond investigation.

Job 17:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Who will have the gift of fortitude? All now flee for a trifle, for the loss of some small temporal thing, or some slight advantage; and why? Because they do not have fortitude. But Job himself says: "The just man will hold to his way." The way of Christ himself is that a man walk purely and with fortitude.

Job 17:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

It is necessary that a judge have clarity of knowledge. How would I judge well concerning an unknown matter? Hence when the friends of Job argued against him that he was not just, saying: A just God does not punish the just, and yet He punishes you, therefore you are not just—they wished to judge concerning hidden things. Job, hearing these things, responded to them saying: "Turn back and come, and I shall not find among you any wise man."

Job 23:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The fear of the Lord arises in us from the consideration of the perspicacity of divine wisdom. Whence Job: "For he alone is, and no one can turn away his thoughts. And therefore I am troubled at his presence, and when I consider him, I am made fearful with dread." He alone is, that is, from himself alone he has being, and all other things are from him. And just as all things flow from the first being, so God is the cause of all things. Therefore, if God is the cause of all things, there is no creature that is not naked in his eyes, because he himself sees and beholds the thoughts of men. Therefore Job, in the person of a man considering the divine wisdom that weighs all things, says: "Considering him, I am troubled with fear." Therefore man ought greatly to consider what he thinks, what he speaks, and what he does, because God sees all things.

Job 23:15 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The fear of the Lord arises in us from the consideration of the perspicacity of divine wisdom. "And therefore I am troubled at his presence, and when I consider him, I am made fearful with dread." If God is the cause of all things, there is no creature that is not naked in his eyes, because he himself sees and beholds the thoughts of men. Therefore Job, in the person of a man considering the divine wisdom that weighs all things, says: "Considering him, I am troubled with fear." Therefore man ought greatly to consider what he thinks, what he speaks, and what he does, because God sees all things. Whence Boethius in the book On the Consolation says: "A great necessity of uprightness is imposed upon you, if you are unwilling to dissemble, since you do all things in the sight of a judge who discerns all things."

Job 28:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Job raises the question of where wisdom may be found; and he answers negatively, that it is not found by a man living in a merely human manner, saying: 'Man does not know its price, nor is it found in the land of those who live pleasantly.' That last statement gives the reason: this is the cause why the carnal man does not know the price of wisdom, because the carnal man does not perceive the savor of wisdom; nor can a man know wisdom unless he finds its savor; and he does not find savor in it if he lives delicately, because carnal delights cannot coexist with wisdom. Who can say: 'I am more than a man?' It is true that wisdom is drawn from the hidden things of mysteries. It happens that a preacher pours out wisdom to others and tastes it and makes others taste it; but sometimes he is like a channel, making others taste it, and he himself does not know what it is: it profits him little, and those who hear him, unless they are of good disposition.

Job 28:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Job 28:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"Behold, the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is prudence." Prudential understanding teaches what is to be avoided, namely every evil. Every person who wishes to be directed toward the good must fear God, so as to avoid every evil. Therefore prudential understanding teaches first what is to be avoided.

Job 28:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

That piety is the worship of God, Job says: "Behold, piety itself is wisdom." Another translation has: "Behold, fear, that itself is wisdom"; but in the Septuagint translation it reads: "Behold, piety itself is wisdom." And Augustine says that piety in Greek is the same as theosebia, which is the same as the worship of God. The worship of God, moreover, consists chiefly in reverence for God, which is not had without fear. For it is necessary for a worshiper of God to think of God most loftily, most devoutly, with reverence and fear. If you think diminishingly of the power of God, namely that he cannot create all things from nothing: you do not think most highly. Similarly, if you think diminishingly of the wisdom of God, namely that through his wisdom he cannot penetrate the innermost things: you do not think most highly. Just as we have the testimony of light, that it not only shines in itself but can illuminate many other bodies, so God sees and illuminates all things, because he himself is light. If you think of God's power and of God's wisdom that he cannot restore bodies, whether badly or well: then you think wrongly of God and do not think most highly. Likewise, if you do not believe in the divine condescensions and mercies, through which God fills the creature serving him with grace, pardon, and beatitude: you are not a worshiper of God. I say therefore that piety is nothing other than a pious sense, pious affection, and pious service toward the pious, first, and highest origin. The highest good cannot be possessed nor worshiped without piety. Naturally every thing tends toward its origin: a stone downward, and fire upward, and rivers run to the sea, a tree is joined to its root, and other things have continuity with their root. The rational creature is deiform, which can return upon its origin through memory, understanding, and will; and it is not pious unless it pours itself back upon its origin. Therefore I said that piety is nothing other than a pious sense, pious affection, and pious service toward the pious, first, and highest origin.

Job 28:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Fear produces these three things in us, because "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "the root of wisdom is to fear God," and "the fullness of wisdom is to fear God": "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that itself is wisdom." He who does not fear God knows nothing. And because the fear of the Lord avails for these three things, namely for obtaining the influx of divine wisdom, for introducing the rectitude of divine justice, and for attaining the illumination of divine wisdom; therefore Ecclesiasticus says: "The fear of the Lord is like a paradise of blessing."

Job 31:23 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Gather together, then, these three considerations, namely the consideration of the sublimity of divine power, the consideration of the perspicacity of divine wisdom, and the consideration of the severity of divine vengeance. And who will there be who will not fear? Whence Job says: "I always feared God as though waves were swelling over me, and I could not bear his weight." If you were in a small ship, when waves were surging over the ship from every side, you could not flee, because the waves would be on every side; you could not hide, because you could not conceal yourself, as a man hides himself against lightning; you could not even resist, because you would have nothing that you could set against the wave. Gather these three together; if it were so for you, you would fear greatly. And Job says: "I always feared God as though waves were swelling over me." And why? I cannot flee on account of the sublimity of divine power, because "if I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present; if I take my wings at dawn and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." Likewise, I cannot hide on account of the perspicacity of divine wisdom, because God sees all things. Likewise, I cannot resist on account of the severity of divine vengeance, because he who sins is punished by eternal judgment.

Job 33:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Job 37:16 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

"Do you know the paths of the clouds, the great paths and perfect sciences?" He says "great paths," that is, philosophical and theological knowledge, which are called "great paths," because they comprehend many sciences; he says "perfect paths" with respect to gratuitous and glorious knowledge. The "paths of the clouds" are the sciences of perfect men, because, just as clouds are drawn upward by the power of heat, so perfect men are elevated in the abstraction of the mind.

Job 38:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

Again, there are in angels some virtues related to rational souls through which they govern men. Indeed, they are the conveyors of light and the uplifters of intelligences so that illuminations may be received. And so there is in them a conveying power, because they are a certain light and a certain transparency, and they temper the divine light within themselves for our sake, so that it may be proportioned to us. Secondly, there is in them an uplifting power through which they make us able, by condescending to us and raising us up, to receive this particular radiation, and yet not as achieving it themselves. Finally, there is in them a supreme power through which they turn themselves to God in the act of receiving splendors, and the eternal light they love; and all things lead back to this light in order that they may tend toward God through love and praise. Hence in Job: Where were you while the morning stars sang in chorus and all the sons of God shouted for joy? And all this corresponds with the philosophers' opinions. Again, by this very fact, the angels are to give thanks. When the soul sees all this, it becomes interior to the angels, and it enters their world.

Job 38:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

Job 38:24 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

But by what way does grace descend into men? Job asks, saying: "By what way is light spread, and heat divided upon the earth?" I respond and say that grace descends upon rational minds through the Word incarnate, through the Word crucified, and through the Word inspired.

Job 38:31 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

When the three virtues of faith, hope and love are included, they rise up to a series of seven symbolized by the seven stars, the seven women, and the seven loaves of the gospel: and this, in so far as they are resplendent, fecund and strengthening. Their luminosity is represented by the seven stars. Hence, in Job: Have you fitted a curb to the Pleiades, or loosened the bonds of Orion? The Pleiades are those seven stars joined together, commonly known as the Hen and its Chicks. These virtues bring about a stable orbit.

Job 38:33 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

In the order of hope, concerning what we should expect, there is anagogy, and this in two ways: one in the skies, as in this passage: "Abram, look at the heavens and, if you can, count the stars." And that means the heavenly intelligences. Again, in Job: "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens; can you put into effect their plan on the earth?"

Job 38:37 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The third firmness of faith is found in the writings of the doctors and of those who were wise with the knowledge of things worldly or divine: Dionysius, Gregory Nazianzen, Gregory of Nyssa, the Damascene, Basil, Athanasius, Chrysostom. Among the Latins, Hilarion, Gregory, Augustine, Ambrose, Jerome. The writings of all these are in accord: they say the same thing, they have the same flavor. It is of these that Job says: Who can declare the order of the heavens? Or who can make the harmony of heaven to sleep? Such is the accord between Scriptures, the councils and the doctors.

Job 39:27 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Hence in Job: "Does the eagle fly up at your command to pass the night at his lofty nest?" And later: "Where the slain are, there is he." First, he speaks wonders of the eagle, and then humble things; and so it is with rapture. For the man ravished to the greatest height is also the most humble. And it must be so, for had he been proud, he could have lost grace and fallen into a reprobate sense.

Job 39:30 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Job 40:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

In the twelfth mystery, the opening of scriptures, the Antichrist is symbolized by the beast from the depth, the one that comes up out of the abyss, who will crush all things. For he will be consummate in every form of malice; he will have seven heads, that is, every kind of temptation and every method, working at times through riches, at other times through false miracles, at others again through fear. Hence in Job: "He carries his tail like a cedar," for in him every form of malice will be inflated. And as Christ enjoyed every charismatic gift in order that He be able to receive the assumed human nature, so also this one possessed every form of malice.

Job 41:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

When the devil saw Christ suffering, he believed His argument had little weight. But Christ ridiculed him: "Can you play with him as with a bird? Can you put him in leash for your maidens?"

Job 41:24 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The third judgment of God is the judgment of obstinacy, namely when the heart of man can be softened neither by promises nor by threats nor by scourges nor by torments. Of such a one it is said: "His heart shall be hardened as a stone." The wife of Lot was turned into stone. I would rather that my heart were turned into stone than that it should be so hardened.

Job 41:30 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Jonah 1:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

The second element is the form of common life, expressed thus: See thou never do to another what thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another. This is written in the heart by eternal law. From this natural law come other laws and rules as beautiful sprouts. But why do you refuse to be hung, and hang the thief? The answer: better to hang the thief than to damage the community. As for Jonas, he condemned himself to be thrown into the sea.

Jonah 1:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of prophetical revelation, Christ is symbolized by occurrence, as with Jonah who was "in the belly of the fish three days," as the Lord was in the tomb three days.

Jonah 3:8 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

On Jonah 3, upon the text: Let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth: the Gloss says: "Behold, the king of Nineveh rises from his throne; he exchanges purple for sackcloth, ointments for mud, clean things for filth." But this is to abase oneself in the highest degree, not only interiorly but also exteriorly, and through this the wrathful God was appeased: therefore self-abasement is a work most acceptable to God.

Joshua 1:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"Do not turn aside from the law; so that you may understand all that you do." Prudential understanding teaches what is to be carried out, namely every good, according to the way of interior thought and exterior action. God wills that we do all things reasonably. And blessed Ambrose says that we ought neither to do nor to speak anything about that for which we cannot give a reason.

Joshua 4:3 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Because the Holy Spirit brought together these articles of faith, contained in the depths of the Scriptures, into one through the twelve Apostles as through the most steadfast witnesses: hence it is that the aforesaid articles were collected into the one Creed of the Apostles. And therefore, according to the Apostles who composed it, they can be called twelve articles, because each Apostle, for the building up of the faith, set down one article as one living stone: which the Holy Spirit rightly prefigured in the twelve men who drew twelve stones from the bed of the Jordan for the construction of the altar of the Lord.

Joshua 10:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

"God made the two great lights, the smaller light to rule the night," that is, the Old Testament, "and the greater one to rule the day," that is, the New Testament. As the moon receives its light from the sun, so does the Old Testament from the New. And so when the sun stands in the east, and the moon on the opposite side in the west — "Stand still, O sun, at Gabaon, O moon, in the valley of Aialon!" said Josue — then is the Old Testament lighted up: it cannot shine, except by means of the New.

Lamentations 1:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Third, there is the production of prophets similar to the multiplication of flowers. The song of the dove was heard when it was said: "How lonely she is now, the once crowded city! Widowed is she who was mistress over nations." For the turtle moans instead of singing.

Lamentations 1:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Everyone who receives the care of souls becomes a prince of the army; and when the prince is not good, then the army is in great danger. Whence Jeremiah laments: "All beauty," he says, "has departed from the daughter of Zion; her princes have become like rams not finding pasture, and they went away without strength before the face of the pursuer."

Lamentations 1:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

As the body loses its strength, beauty and health in the absence of food, so the soul without the understanding of truth becomes dark and weak, distorted and unstable in all things; and so it needs to be fed. Hence, the unsettled mind, lacking food, wanders about and is unstable. And so, Jerusalem hath grievously sinned, therefore is she become unstable, and for that reason, having been expelled from paradise, she wanders about, and her people have given all their precious things for food to relieve the soul. And deep suffering follows upon this. Hence there is nothing healthier than that thoughts be stabilized, lest they wander into evil.

Lamentations 1:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Lamentations 1:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

In other women there is pain of the body, in her there is pain of the heart; in others there is pain of corruption, in her there is pain of compassion and charity. Whence she invites us to consider her sorrow, in Jeremiah: "All you," she says, "who pass by the way, attend and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow." This sorrow ought to pierce through the minds of all. Christ died for you; ought you not to suffer with him? The blessed Virgin suffered with him to the utmost; but on the other hand, it pleased her that he was handed over for us. No one knows how much compassion for Christ avails. There is nothing that so extinguishes temptations and pride as that the mind be kept in compassion for the suffering of Christ.

Lamentations 2:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

When the soul does what it can, grace lifts it up easily and God works in it, so that there be a worthy admission, a worthy inspection, and a worthy induction. A worthy admission of divine matters corresponds to the Thrones. And it is in this sense that the passage from Lamentations is understood: "Rise up at the beginning of every watch; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord," that is, pray in the presence of the Lord.

Lamentations 4:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

See to it that each one of you has that ointment, so that he may be devoutly disposed toward God and may repent and guard himself from sin. Some have compassion on their flesh, not on their soul. Whence in Lamentations: "The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children." Such a one is not like the Virgin nor like Christ. "He boils his children" who has no compassion on his own soul, but exposes it to the fire of concupiscence and of infernal torments.

Lamentations 5:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

This refers much more directly to the time of the New Testament, when Scripture was made evident, and mostly toward the end, when those Scriptures were understood which had not been understood before. For then there shall be a "mountain," that is, the contemplative Church; then, "there shall be no harm" when the monsters of heresy shall flee on account of the proper use of wisdom. But today Mount Sion is desolate because of jackals, that is, because of cunning and fetid interpreters.

Leviticus 10:9-10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Gratuitous knowledge is called the knowledge of the Saints, because it has nothing of vice mixed in, nothing of carnality, nothing of curiosity, and nothing of vanity. Whence in Leviticus: "The Lord also said to Aaron: You and your sons shall not drink wine or anything that can intoxicate, so that you may have the knowledge of discerning between the holy and the profane." He who has the knowledge of discerning between the holy and the profane will abstain from everything that can intoxicate, that is, from every superfluous delight in creatures: this is the intoxicating wine. Whether someone on account of vanity, or on account of curiosity, or carnality inclines toward superfluous delight, which is in creatures: he does not have the knowledge of the Saints.

Leviticus 18:4-6 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Conjugal chastity accords with the written law by reason of the divine statute, Leviticus 18. For the Lord established laws according to which legitimacy is observed in the persons who contract marriage. For He says: I am the Lord your God: keep my laws and judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them. No man shall approach to her that is near of kin to him, etc. Since therefore the Lord as a benefit promised that He would give offspring to Abraham through the way of marriage, and miraculously made fruitful the dead womb of Sarah, and also gave laws according to which marriage is to be contracted: it is evident that conjugal chastity accords with the written law.

Leviticus 19:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Leviticus 24:16 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

We take up the name of God in vain through uttering of blasphemous speech; and this occurs in three ways: first, when someone, speaking of God, uses cursing speech, as when he curses God. The second mode is through mendacious speech, when someone denies what is true of God, or affirms what is false; because Anselm says that the nobler part of every contradiction is to be attributed to God. The third mode is through reproachful speech, such as when someone speaks of the lower members of Christ, he blasphemes most wickedly, even if he speaks the truth, and despises Christ in that He was humble and assumed our nature. And such persons have been destroyed by divine judgment. For Gregory narrates that a certain boy of six years was accustomed to blaspheme the name of the Lord. One day, when he was blaspheming and was in the lap of his father, he was seized by demons and carried into hell. On account of which it is said in Leviticus: "Whoever shall have blasphemed the name of the Lord, let him surely die."

Leviticus 26:16 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The danger of transgression ought to move us to the observance of the commandments, because the transgressor of the commandments falls into many dangers: first, because he loses many goods; second, because he rushes into abominable crimes; third, because he merits eternal punishments. Transgressors lose many goods; whence in Leviticus: "If you will not hear my voice and will not do all my commandments, I will visit you with want and burning heat, which shall consume your eyes and consume your souls." He says: "I will visit you with want": behold, the privation of all goods; "and with burning heat, which shall consume your eyes and consume your souls," because it blinds the intellect of the true and takes away the affection for the good.

Luke 1:1-4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And that Luke the Evangelist prefixes a prologue to his Gospel, which none of the other Evangelists did, this was on account of the special person to whom he writes, since all the others write generally without regard to a special cause; and there are three causes for this, the first of which is that his book could seem superfluous, since two Evangelists had already written, and "in the mouth of two witnesses every word shall stand." Hence, to remove this objection, he first assigns the first cause: that it is not superfluous, since it serves to cut away the vain, false, and superfluous things that had been written by pseudo-evangelists. — The second is that his book could seem less authoritative, as being the work of one who was not an Apostle: and therefore he shows that he wrote according to the instruction and testimony of the Apostles and of others who saw. — The third cause is that his book, since it is historical and narrative of various parables, could seem disordered and as though written haphazardly: and therefore, to remove this objection, he shows in the prologue that its procedure is sufficient, diligent, and ordered. — And thus it is clear that it is not idle curiosity to inquire into and examine the order, distinction, and sufficiency in the treatment of those things which are written in this Gospel; and by equal reasoning, neither in the others. If order attests to wisdom and goodness, it ought most of all to belong to that Scripture which proceeds from the font of wisdom and leads to the end of complete goodness. And this is the evangelical Scripture: and therefore it is not curiosity but utility if in what follows the division, order, and sufficiency are described, because this is intended by the Evangelist.

Luke 1:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Since indeed many, etc. This is the second prologue, namely that of the author, blessed Luke, which he sets before his Gospel, in which he makes known his intention with respect to four things, namely with respect to the motive, the promotive, the directive, and the consummative, in which the principal intent is sufficiently made known. First, therefore, he makes known his intention with respect to the motive, which indeed was the example of others: and he indicates this when he says: Since many have undertaken to set in order a narration. Among these, some were good, such as Matthew and Mark, who wrote before him, as was stated in the prologue of Jerome; but others were bad, as the Gloss of Bede says, "such as Basilides and Apelles, and those who wrote false things under the name of Thomas and Matthias and other Apostles"; because, as it is said in Second Corinthians eleven, "such ones are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into Apostles of Christ." The first undertook and brought their work to completion; the second undertook and fell short. The first were moved by the example of the good and the true; the second were moved by hatred of evil. To set in order a narration, namely of those things which have been accomplished among us, that is, in our midst and for our sake, such as the mystery of the incarnation, the passion, and the resurrection. Whence John one: "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us: and we saw his glory," etc.

Luke 1:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Second, with respect to the promotive, which indeed was the testimony of the Apostles: and he indicates this when he says: Even as they delivered them to us who from the beginning were themselves eyewitnesses, namely the Apostles: whence First John one: "That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled," etc.; and John nineteen: "He who saw it has borne witness, and his testimony is true. And he knows that he speaks the truth, so that you also may believe." And because they had seen, therefore they bore witness; whence he adds: And were ministers of the word: Acts one: "Therefore it is necessary that of these men who have been with us during all the time in which the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, one of these should be made a witness with us of his resurrection." And such were the Apostles: whence First Corinthians four: "Let a man so regard us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God; here now it is required," etc.

Luke 1:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Third, as to the directive element, which was an ordered, sufficient and diligent process: and this he indicates when he adds: It seemed good to me also, namely, the Holy Spirit instigating; as Jerome says, "instigated by the Holy Spirit, he wrote this Gospel." Having followed closely, that is, having followed perfectly, because from the beginning to the end: whence he also adds: To write to you all things diligently in order, most excellent Theophilus: where simultaneously sufficiency, order and diligence are indicated: and these indeed befit a historical narrator. Whence 2 Maccabees 2: "To collect the understanding and to arrange the discourse and to inquire more carefully into each and every individual part belongs to the author of a history."

Luke 1:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Fourth, as to the consummative element, which was the understanding of truth, he adds: That you may know the truth of those words in which you have been instructed, know, namely, more fully. And this was that in which the intention of the Evangelist in writing came to rest: whence 2 Timothy 3: "All Scripture divinely inspired is useful for teaching, for arguing, for correcting, for instructing in justice, that the man of God may be perfect, equipped for every good work"; and this end Luke sets forth with respect to all whom he understands in the person of Theophilus, to whom he writes. "Theophilus is interpreted as 'one who loves God' or 'one loved by God,'" and to such the truth is manifested: whence John 14: "He who loves me will be loved by my Father: and I will love him and will manifest myself to him"; and [John] 15: "But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." — And thus it is clear how fully and plainly the Evangelist discloses his intention.

Luke 1:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of the redemption of man, Christ is pointed to as a sacrificed calf in Luke, wherefore: "In the days of Herod,... there was a certain priest," and he is looking to the passion.

Luke 1:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

First, therefore, he shows the office of dignity, when he says: There was in the days of Herod, king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariah. He sets forth the priestly office, adding royal dominion, to intimate that John was to foreannounce Christ, who was a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, that is, simultaneously king and priest: Hebrews 7: "Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God," etc. — Or he sets forth the kingdom to show that in the time of the Law, royal power preceded the priesthood, but now it is the reverse. Whence 1 Peter 2: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood," etc.; but in Exodus 19 it is said: "You shall be to me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation." — Or he sets forth the kingdom of Herod the foreigner, who was the first among foreigners to rule over the Jews, to show that the time of Christ's coming had arrived, and that the prophecy of the penultimate chapter of Genesis had been fulfilled: "The scepter shall not be taken away from Judah, nor a ruler," etc. — Or he names Herod to show that he was notorious in wickedness. For there was a threefold Herod, namely father, son, and grandson: the first was the Ascalonite, who slew the children, Matthew 2; the second was Antipas, who beheaded John, Matthew 14; the third was Agrippa, who killed James, enclosing Peter in prison, Acts 12; but the first was the most infamous and the cruelest of all. Therefore, because "against evil, good," conversely there is named the priest Zechariah, to show that he was renowned in goodness and a friend of God, according to that passage of Exodus 33: "You have found grace before me, and I have known you by name"; nor does he show him to be a priest only by name, but also by lineage; whence he says: Of the course of Abijah, that is, of the lineage, according to the exposition of Bede in the Gloss, saying: "When David enlarged the worship of God, as is said in 1 Chronicles 24, he divided the ministries of the priests into twenty-four lots; among which the eighth lot fell to the family of Abijah, from which Zechariah descended, so that the herald of the New Testament might be born in the course of the eighth lot, because by the number eight the New Testament is understood, just as the Old is understood by the number seven." Second, he sets forth the honorable marriage in that he says: And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron; and thus both were of the priestly lineage, and by this were suited for marriage according to the commandment of the Lord; Numbers 36: "Let all men take wives from the same tribe and kindred, and likewise let all women take husbands." He sets forth her name, because he was thus going to speak of her frequently: And her name was Elizabeth, both in the conception and the salutation and the birth; whence: "the time of Elizabeth was fulfilled," etc. Moreover, he sets forth the honorable marriage alongside the office of dignity, so that from both the conception might be rendered more commendable; Wisdom 4: "O how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory," etc.

Luke 1:6 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Conjugal chastity accords with the law of grace by reason of the angelic announcement, according to that passage of Luke 1: Fear not, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and Elizabeth your wife shall bear you a son: now Zechariah had merited this through devout prayer and through a holy life chastely maintained in the law of marriage; whence it is said in Luke 1 that both were just before the Lord, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord, without blame.

Luke 1:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Third, he describes the privilege of holiness in that he says: And they were both just before God, that is, inwardly, in the eyes of God: Wisdom 5: "The just shall live forever"; and it follows: "Their thought is with the Most High." They were not of the kind of those about whom it is said below in chapter 16: "You are they who justify yourselves," etc.; but like Noah, of whom Genesis 6 says: "Noah was a just and perfect man in his generations; he walked with God," and Hezekiah, of whom 4 Kings 20 says: "Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart." For as it is said in 1 Kings 16: "God looks upon the heart." — They were also just outwardly, in the sight of men; and therefore he says: Walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame: Philippians 2: "Do all things without murmurings and hesitations, that you may be without blame and simple children of God, without reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation." And rightly he says in all, because, as it is said in James 2, "whoever shall keep the whole Law yet offend in one point is become guilty of all." And therefore the Prophet said: "I was directed toward all your commandments"; and in the same place: "May my ways be directed to keep your justifications."

Luke 1:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Fourth, he adds the reproach of barrenness in that he says: And they had no son; and in this there was a great deficiency; whence in Genesis 15 Abraham said: "Lord God, what will you give me? Behold, I go without children." And the reason for this deficiency is given in the mother, when it is said: Because Elizabeth was barren, which was a reproach in Israel; whence she could say that word of Isaiah 49: "I am barren and have not borne." And so that a greater miracle might be shown, a deficiency in both parents is added: And they were both advanced in their days, just as Abraham and Sarah: Genesis 18: "After I have grown old, and my lord is an old man, shall I give myself to pleasure?" — as if to say: this is not natural but miraculous. Whence Genesis 21: "Who would believe that Abraham should hear that Sarah would nurse a son, whom she bore to him now in his old age?" Now this reproach of barrenness was not as a punishment for sin, but for the manifestation of God's glory, as is said in John 9 concerning the man born blind.

Luke 1:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Therefore, indicating the due execution according to the congruence of order, he says: It came to pass, while he executed the priesthood, etc.; whence that which is said of Aaron in Ecclesiasticus forty-five applies to him: "The Lord gave him to exercise the priesthood and to have praise, and to glorify the people in his name," etc. And he says: In order, because that ought especially to be done in an orderly manner; First Corinthians fourteen: "Let all things be done honestly and according to order among you." Now order is rightly preserved when the mind of the priest worthily attends the divine presence; and therefore he says: In order, according to what is said of Christ in Hebrews nine, that "he entered into heaven, that he might now appear before the face of God for us."

Luke 1:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

He also indicates it as due according to the requirement of custom, when he says: According to the custom of the priesthood, his lot was to offer incense. For this custom, that the priest should enter not by usurpation but by lot or election, is right; because it is said in Hebrews five: "Neither does anyone take the honor to himself," etc. Against which it is said of Uzziah in Second Chronicles twenty-six, that wishing to offer incense, he was struck with leprosy; and the sons of Korah were consumed by fire, Numbers sixteen. But this one went forth by lot; whence that of Wisdom three: "For there shall be given to him a chosen gift of faith and a most acceptable lot in the temple of God." He went forth, I say, to offer incense, having entered into the temple of the Lord; Leviticus sixteen: "Taking the censer, drawing incense with his hand, he shall enter beyond the veil into the holy place, so that, the aromatics being placed upon the fire, the vapor may cover the oracle which is over the testimony, and he shall not die."

Luke 1:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Thirdly, he indicates it was done in the due manner on account of the attendance of the multitude, when he says: And the whole multitude of the people was outside, praying at the hour of incense. All were obliged to attend and pray together, according to what is said in Acts one: "All were persevering unanimously in prayer." And they stood outside out of reverence, as that publican in Luke eighteen: "The publican, standing afar off, did not dare," etc. And this at the hour of incense, because that was the fitting hour; Second Maccabees one: "All the priests were making prayer while the sacrifice was being consumed"; in which is signified that all our prayer ought to be offered through Christ, who "is heard in all things for his reverence," Hebrews five.

Luke 1:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And there appeared to him an Angel, etc. Here is touched upon secondly the apparition of the heavenly messenger, and this as venerable, as admirable, and as terrible. — Now it is shown to be venerable in its setting: on account of which he says: And there appeared to him an Angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense, which was indeed a place of great reverence: whence, in Leviticus 10, Nadab and Abihu were slain on account of irreverence toward the place; and immediately it is added: "I will be sanctified in those who draw near to me." And he was standing at the right, to signify that he was of the heavenly citizens: Proverbs 3: "Length of days is in her right hand"; and in the Psalm: "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand." And therefore he was standing, not sitting, to show that he was a messenger: whence below he says: "I am Gabriel, who stand before God."

Luke 1:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

It is shown to be admirable in appearance: and therefore he says: And Zacharias was troubled upon seeing him, namely from wonder: Esther 15: "I saw you, lord, as an Angel of God, and my heart was troubled from fear of your glory. For you are exceedingly wonderful, lord, and your face is full of graces." For the angelic appearance is wondrous to those in the flesh, because it is unusual: whence the Angel said to Manoah, Judges 13: "Why do you ask my name, which is wonderful?" It is shown to be terrible from the encounter: and therefore he says: And fear fell upon him, in which is signified the vehemence of fear, as in Daniel 10: "But I, Daniel alone, saw the vision. Moreover the men who were with me did not see it, but an exceeding great terror fell upon them, and they fled into hiding. But I, being left alone, saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me." Furthermore, the Angels appeared terrible because they were not yet reconciled to us; whence they were superior to us and appeared as superiors, and therefore they struck fear: Ambrose: "We are accustomed to be troubled and alienated from our senses when we are overwhelmed by the encounter of a superior power."

Luke 1:13 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Luke 1:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And the Angel said to him. Here is touched upon thirdly the announcement of the future conception, as strengthening the irascible power, as instructive of the rational power, and as consoling the concupiscible power. — It is shown to be strengthening in that he says: Fear not, Zacharias, for your prayer has been heard. If God hears men, then one must hope in him, and therefore give thanks, not be afraid; Genesis 15: "Fear not, Abram: I am your protector." And that it has been fully heard, the sign is the sending of a messenger: Tobit 3: "At that time the prayers of both were heard. And the Angel Raphael was sent," etc. Similarly the Angel said in Daniel 10: "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, that you might afflict yourself in the sight of your God, your words have been heard." The announcement is described as instructive, whereby he foretells the offspring and predicts the name. And your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John: she shall bear, I say, to you, because from you and for your consolation, according to what was promised to Abraham in Genesis 15: "He who shall come forth from your body, him you shall have as heir." And he adds the name of the same, according to that passage in Isaiah 49, which is spoken in the person of John himself: "The Lord called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he was mindful of my name."

Luke 1:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

It is described lastly as consoling in the words: And you shall have joy and exultation: Proverbs 23: "The father of the just exults with joy," that is, Zacharias, the father of John; and "he who has begotten a wise son shall rejoice in him," because Proverbs 10: "A wise son makes the father glad." — Nor shall that joy be singular, but common. And therefore he says: Many shall rejoice at his birth: Proverbs 29: "In the multitude of the just the people shall rejoice"; Jeremiah 33: "It shall be to me a name and a joy and a praise and an exultation to all the nations of the earth." Ambrose: "The birth of the saints brings joy to many, because it is a common good. For justice is a common virtue." "Rejoice therefore, you just, in the Lord; praise befits the upright."

Luke 1:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

For he shall be great before the Lord. Above, the angelic announcement was described with respect to the attendant circumstances on its own part; here it is described with respect to the circumstances on the part of what is promised. For the son to be born is commended in three respects, namely in life, grace and doctrine. And the first regards action, the second regards affection, the third regards intellect. Therefore the son to be born, whom he declared to be the father's joy, he first commends in life with respect to the existence of virtue and with respect to the evidence of holiness. The existence of virtue he touches upon when he says: He shall be great before the Lord, as in Job 1: "That man was great among all the people of the East," not among sinners, who are great in the sight of men, but among the just, so that at his birth that passage below in chapter 7 could be said: "A great prophet has risen among us," etc. Truly a great Prophet, because according to the praise of the Savior in Matthew 11, he is a Prophet, "and more than a Prophet," and so great that the Savior says in the same place: "Among those born of women," etc. The evidence of holiness he touches upon in what he says: And he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink: in which is designated the austerity of life, which is a sign of interior holiness, according to that passage in Galatians 5: "Those who are Christ's have crucified their flesh," etc. By these two things he excludes every drink that can intoxicate. "For it is fitting that a vessel consecrated to heavenly grace abstain from the enticements of the world"; whence it is said to Aaron and his sons in Leviticus 10: "Wine and everything that can intoxicate you shall not drink when you enter the tabernacle of the testimony, lest you die." This was also prohibited to the Nazirites from the time of their consecration, Numbers 6. This was a great thing in blessed John, that with such great innocence there was such great abstinence. Secondly, he is commended in grace with respect to its consummation and acceleration. On account of the consummation he says: He shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, so that of him can be said that passage from Ecclesiasticus 15: "And he shall fill him with the Spirit of wisdom and understanding," etc. For only the Holy Spirit fills the capacity of the soul, according to that passage in Wisdom 1: "The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world." And this is what the Apostle prayed for, in Ephesians 3: "That you may be filled unto all the fullness of God." On account of the acceleration he says: Even from his mother's womb. In testimony of which it is said below in the same chapter: "The infant leaped for joy in my womb." Whence Ambrose says: "Not yet was there in him the spirit of life, and already there was the spirit of grace"; not, I say, was it there according to appearance, yet the vital spirit was there according to existence. A similar thing preceded in Jeremiah 1: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb, I sanctified you."

Luke 1:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Thirdly, he commends him in doctrine with respect to the efficacy of usefulness and with respect to the eminence of authority. On account of the efficacy of usefulness he says: And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And this is the greatest usefulness: James, last chapter: "He who causes a sinner to be converted from the error of his way shall save his soul from death and shall cover a multitude of sins." This is what the Lord especially seeks, that they be converted to him; Zechariah 1: "Be converted to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will be converted to you, says the Lord of hosts." Be converted to me, namely through penance, and I will be converted to you, through pardon: Jeremiah 3: "Be converted, O returning children, and I will heal your backslidings."

Luke 1:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

On account of the excellence of authority, he adds: And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah. The spirit and power of Elijah is described in Sirach forty-eight: "Elijah arose like fire, and his word burned like a torch"; and of John it is said in John five: "He was a burning and shining lamp"; and therefore, on account of the great conformity, he is called Elijah: Matthew eleven: "And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah"; and also seventeen: "Elijah has already come," etc. And the execution of authority is added in what is said: To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, that is, the understanding of the Patriarchs to their imitators. Bede: "He turns the hearts of the fathers to the children when he pours into the people by preaching the spiritual understanding of the Saints." This had been foretold concerning Elijah in the last chapter of Malachi: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest perhaps I come and strike the earth with anathema." And so that he may be shown in all things conformed to Elijah, he adds: And the unbelieving to the prudence of the just, that is, to faith, which is their prudence, through which they believe themselves to be justified; Romans three: "We reckon that a man is justified by faith without the works of the Law"; whence Habakkuk two: "He who is unbelieving, his soul shall not be right in himself, but the just shall live by his faith." — And because this conversion was preparing for the reception of Christ's coming, therefore he adds: To prepare for the Lord a perfect people. For thus it had been foretold concerning him in Isaiah forty: "The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God." When the path is straight, then it makes one perfect: Proverbs four: "But the path of the just, like a shining light, proceeds and increases even to the perfect day"; John, however, was shining like a lamp and was leading the people by the hand to see the true and perfect light. The authority, therefore, and office of John was to run before and to foretell Christ: whence concerning him is understood that passage in Malachi three: "Behold, I send my Angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face." Whence his preaching was prefigured in the preaching of Moses in Exodus nineteen: "Be prepared for the third day," so that we take day for year, because in the third year after the preaching of John, Christ preached openly. Thus Samuel began in 1 Kings seven: "Prepare your hearts for the Lord," etc.; thus also every preacher: whence Bede: "He who preaches faith and works, what else does he do but prepare the way for the coming Lord to the hearts of his hearers?"

Luke 1:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

He therefore introduces the doubt of the priest, when he says: And Zacharias said to the Angel: How shall I know this? that is, by what sign shall I be made certain? First Corinthians chapter one: "The Jews require signs." — Indeed note that some seek signs for the sake of the publication of the divine promise, as Abraham: Genesis chapter fifteen: "Lord God, how can I know that I shall possess the land?" — Some refuse on account of the obstinacy of their own sin, as Ahaz: Isaiah chapter seven: "Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God." — But some seek on account of hesitation of mind, as Zacharias; whence he adds the reason for doubting: For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days; and so there is incapacity on the part of both parents, and so it is no longer the time for begetting, but rather, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes chapter three, "it is a time to be far from embraces"; and therefore he doubted and hesitated. But not so Abraham, of whom it is said in Romans chapter four: "He was not weakened in faith, nor did he consider his own body as dead, when he was nearly a hundred years old, and the dead womb of Sarah. In the promise also of God he did not hesitate through distrust, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, knowing most fully that whatever He promised, God is able also to do." Whence Abraham believed, because he considered the divine power; but Zacharias hesitated, because he considered human incapacity. In this we are instructed that in miracles one must look to the higher causes.

Luke 1:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And the Angel answering, etc. Here is noted the authority of the messenger with respect to the contemplative power and with respect to the administrative. With respect to the contemplative he says: I am Gabriel, who stand before God: Daniel 7: "Ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him"; and among these was Gabriel. And therefore in 3 Kings 10 the queen of Sheba said in a figure to Solomon: "Blessed are your men, and blessed are these your servants, who stand before you and hear your wisdom." This Micaiah saw, in the last chapter of 3 Kings: "I saw," he said, "the Lord sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left." Therefore dignity is noted in standing before God, and authority in announcing is also noted in this. — With respect to the ministry of mission he says: And I was sent to speak to you and to announce these good tidings to you. Hence he was of the number of those about whom it is said in Hebrews 1: "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth for ministry," etc.; sent, I say, both to speak and to evangelize. For in speaking the expression of truth is to be understood: Daniel 9: "Behold, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me at the time of the evening sacrifice and instructed me and spoke to me." But in evangelization the announcement of goodness is to be understood. For the Gospel is a good announcement: Zechariah 1: "And the Lord answered the Angel who spoke in me good words, consoling words." Hence one ought to say to him that word from 3 Kings 1: "Come in, for you are a mighty man and bring good tidings." For Gabriel is interpreted as the strength of God, and therefore he was sent to strengthen the fearful priest.

Luke 1:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And behold, you shall be silent, etc. Here is touched upon the sign of authority, and he gives a sign of penalty on account of the vice of unbelief. He therefore sets forth the sign of silence up to the appointed time, until the day when these things shall come to pass: so that thus he might say that word of the Psalm: "But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and as a mute man not opening," etc. Nor is it a wonder if he was made mute on account of his own unbelief, since the unbelief of others made Ezekiel mute: Ezekiel 3: "You shall be mute and not as a man who rebukes, because they are a provoking house." — And therefore he adds the reason for the silence, namely the vice of unbelief: Because you did not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time. Conversely, it is said below in the same chapter concerning Mary: "Blessed are you who believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to you by the Lord." Before the punishment he did not believe, but afterward, because, as is said in Isaiah 28, "affliction alone shall give understanding to the hearing." Therefore the words of God's messengers are not to be despised, because God punishes the unbelieving: Exodus 23: "Behold, I send my Angel"; and it follows: "Observe him and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be despised, for he will not forgive when you have sinned"; Hebrews 2: "For if the word spoken through Angels was made steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we have neglected so great a salvation? Which, having at first begun to be declared by the Lord, was confirmed unto us by those who heard him, God also bearing witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and distributions of the Holy Spirit according to his will." And therefore there is no place for unbelief.

Luke 1:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And the people were, etc. Here is touched upon fourthly the evidence of the sign on account of the presence of the multitude and the absence of speech. He touches upon the presence of the multitude waiting and wondering, saying: And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they wondered that he tarried in the temple. For it pertains to the people to wait: whence Moses, when he ascended the mountain, said to the elders, Exodus 24: "Wait here until we return to you," because, according to what is said in Lamentations 3, "it is good to wait in silence for the salvation of God." It also belongs to the people to wonder at divine secrets, not to scrutinize them: in Sirach 11 it is said of the just man, and it can be expounded concerning Zechariah: "The eye of God looked upon him for good and raised him up from his lowliness, and exalted his head, and many wondered at him."

Luke 1:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

As for the absence of speech, he adds: And coming out, he could not speak to them. For this is wont to happen to those who are elevated to the summit of contemplation; Exodus 4: "Since you have spoken to your servant, I am of more impeded and slower tongue"; and Daniel 10: "My Lord, in your vision my joints were dissolved, and nothing of strength remained in me: and how shall the servant of my Lord speak with my Lord? For nothing of strength remained in me, and even my breath is cut off." And therefore from this, as from a sign, they came to knowledge of the truth. — On account of which there follows: And they recognized that he had seen a vision in the temple, and thus, that he was a true Prophet, like Samuel, of whom 1 Kings 3: "All Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was a faithful Prophet of the Lord." — But for the perfect evidence of the sign, the impossibility and duration of speaking are noted, in that he adds: And he was making signs to them and remained mute. Ambrose: "Attempting bodily actions without voice and not expressing his will," he remained mute, as a sign that at the coming of Christ silence was to be imposed on the legal priesthood: Matthew 11: "The Law and the Prophets prophesied until John." Therefore Chrysostom says of John that he is "the voice of the Apostles, the silence of the Prophets."

Luke 1:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Therefore first mutual cohabitation is indicated, when he says: And it came to pass, when the days of his office were fulfilled, he went to his house, namely to cohabit and to render the debt to his wife; whence Chrysostom says that on the same night he begot a son. But he did this by the law of marriage: 1 Corinthians 7: "Do not defraud one another except by consent for a time, that you may be free for prayer; and return again to the same." And therefore, as long as Zechariah was fulfilling the days of his office, he did not approach his wife: Exodus 19: "Let the priests who approach me be sanctified, lest I strike them"; and for this reason the Hebrews say that Uzzah was struck, 2 Kings 6, because he had known his wife by night when he touched the ark. For it was not permitted to pass immediately from the embrace of Leah to Rachel, as in Genesis 29 it is said to Jacob: "Complete the week of days of this union."

Luke 1:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Secondly, a fruitful conception is intimated, when he says: But after these days Elizabeth conceived: as is said in 1 Kings 1: "After the cycle of days Anna conceived." After the days of his office: in which it is shown that carnal things are to be set after spiritual things; and therefore below in chapter ten: "Mary has chosen the best part." Thirdly, a modest concealment is described, when it is said: And she hid herself for five months. For this was a sign of humility and modesty: not like Hagar the handmaid, of whom it is said in Genesis 16 that "seeing that she had conceived, she despised her mistress." The reason for this is well given in the Gloss of Ambrose. — But spiritually we are instructed that the conception of a holy purpose is to be hidden at the beginning, as is said in Matthew 13: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field"; where Gregory says: "The found treasure is hidden, so that it may be preserved, because he who does not hide it from human praise does not suffice to guard the zeal of heavenly desire from malign spirits."

Luke 1:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Fourthly, a joyful exultation is touched upon in recognition of the benefit, at: Saying, Because the Lord has done thus for me. Similarly Genesis 21: "The Lord has made laughter for me: whoever hears of it will laugh with me." — In the days in which he looked upon me to take away my reproach among men, the reproach, namely, of barrenness: Genesis 30: "Rachel conceived and bore a son, saying: God has taken away my reproach." This was a reproach among men, on account of that passage in Deuteronomy 7: "There shall not be one barren among you of either sex." Whence it is said in 1 Kings 1 that "her rival afflicted Anna so greatly as to reproach her that the Lord had closed her womb." And on account of this she rejoiced, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Who makes the barren woman to dwell in a house, a joyful mother of children."

Luke 1:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

In the sixth month, etc. The author treated above of the conception of the precursor, which was in the fecundation of a barren woman: in this part he treats of the conception of the Savior, which was in the fecundation of the Virgin. Now this fecundation was accomplished by God effecting, by the Angel announcing, and by the Virgin consenting, so that the restoration might correspond to the fall, as Bernard says: "It pleased God to reconcile man to himself in the same manner and order in which he knew him to have fallen." He indicates the congruence of the time when he says: In the sixth month, namely from the conception of John, which was March, in which month man and the world had been created, in which also through Christ's incarnation it was to be renewed, so that the restoration might correspond to the first creation, so that what is said in Isaiah sixty-six might be seen to be fulfilled: "As the new heavens and the new earth, which I make to stand before me, says the Lord: so shall your seed and your name stand. And it shall be month after month, and Sabbath after Sabbath." Nor is the number six devoid of mystery: for since it is perfect, therefore man, perfect among the other works of God, was created on the sixth day. And so Christ came in the sixth age and in the sixth millennium of years and was conceived in the sixth month and suffered on the sixth day of the week and was suspended on the cross at the sixth hour, so that it might be signified that he who was conceived in the sixth month comes in the fullness of times and perfection; Galatians four: "But when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son," etc. He notes the congruence of the legate when he says: The Angel Gabriel was sent by God, so that the restoration might correspond to the fall, and, just as man fell through the suggestion of an evil angel, so he might rise again through the ministry of a good one; Proverbs thirteen: "The messenger of the wicked shall fall into evil: a faithful ambassador is health"; and also that the fulfillment might correspond to the promise, so that, just as through Gabriel that mystery was foretold to Daniel, so it was revealed to the Virgin; Daniel nine: "Behold, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me at the time of the evening sacrifice and instructed me"; and afterward: "Seventy weeks are shortened upon your people and upon your holy city, that transgression may be consummated, and sin may have an end, and iniquity may be blotted out, and everlasting justice may be brought in, and vision and prophecy may be fulfilled, and the Holy of Holies may be anointed." And note that he is said to be sent by God. Bernard: "He is declared to be sent by God himself"; in which it is noted that "to none of the blessed spirits is he thought to have revealed his counsel before the Virgin, except only the Archangel Gabriel"; and because he was from God, he was fitting for the announcement of the divine mystery. He notes the fittingness of the place in that he says: To a city of Galilee, whose name was Nazareth, according to what the Lord had foretold through Isaiah, chapter nine: "The way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, was made glorious; the people who walked in darkness saw a great light." Therefore, in that he was sent to a city of Galilee, which was on the border of the Jews and the Gentiles, it is signified that he came to announce the one who had been promised to Abraham in Genesis twenty-two: "In your seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed"; and that word of Jacob, in the penultimate chapter of Genesis: "He shall be the expectation of the nations." In that the city is called Nazareth, which is interpreted as flower, it is signified that he came to foretell the one who is "the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys," Song of Songs two; and Isaiah eleven: "A rod shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall ascend from his ro…

Luke 1:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

He indicates the fittingness of the person in what he says: To a virgin espoused: whose fittingness is shown as chaste, when he says: A virgin: First Corinthians seven: "The unmarried woman and the virgin thinks about the things of God, how she may be holy in body and spirit." Bernard: "He was sent to a Virgin, a virgin in flesh, a virgin in mind, a virgin by profession, a virgin such as the Apostle describes, holy in mind and body." — She is also shown to be approved, when he says: Espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, etc., so that "Joseph, a just man," according to what is said in Matthew one, might be a witness of her chastity, according to that saying of Proverbs last: "And her husband shall praise her." Bernard: "He names a man, not because he was a husband, but because he was a man of virtue and was just"; and therefore he was a legitimate witness. Bernard: "By this one plan, a witness is admitted to the heavenly secrets, and the enemy is excluded, and the reputation of the Virgin Mother is preserved intact: otherwise, how would the just man have spared an adulteress?" "Because jealousy and the fury of a man will not spare," Proverbs six. — She is also shown to be promised in what he says: Of the house of David: which refers to the Virgin and to Joseph, because both were of the seed of David, to whom the promise had been made in the Psalm: "The Lord swore truth to David and will not frustrate it: of the fruit of your womb," etc. Bernard: "Both were of the house and family of David; but in the one the truth was fulfilled which the Lord swore to David, with the other serving only as witness and confidant," namely Joseph himself. — She is also shown to be forenamed in what he says: And the name of the Virgin was Mary. Mary is interpreted as star of the sea, and thus is shown to be fulfilled that prophecy of Balaam, Numbers twenty-four: "A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a rod shall rise out of Israel"; Ecclesiasticus fifty: "As the morning star in the midst of a cloud"; Revelation last: "I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star." Therefore he names the Virgin, to show that she was prepared, not found by chance. Bernard: "She was not newly or accidentally found, but chosen from eternity, foreknown by the Most High, prepared for Himself, preserved for Himself, prefigured by the Patriarchs, promised by the Prophets." For what was shown to Moses in the bush and fire, to Aaron in the rod and flower, to Gideon in the fleece and dew—this Solomon foresaw in the valiant woman and her worth, Jeremiah foretold concerning the woman and the man, Isaiah most clearly declares concerning the virgin and the house, and Gabriel at last presented the Virgin herself by greeting her. — Or he names the Virgin to teach us to invoke her name in our necessities; whence Bernard in a Homily: "O whoever you are who understands yourself in the flood of this world to be tossed about among storms and tempests rather than walking upon solid ground: look to the star, call upon Mary! If you are cast about by the waves of pride, of ambition, of detraction, of rivalry: look to the star, call upon Mary. If anger, or avarice, or the allurement of the flesh has shaken the little ship of your mind: look to the star, call upon Mary. If troubled by the enormity of your crimes, if confused by the foulness of your conscience, you begin to be swallowed up by the abyss of desperation: look to Mary." Whence he also says: "With her holding you, you do not fall; with her protecting you, you do not fear; with her leading, you do not grow weary; with her favorable, you arrive." — Or he names her to intimate that her name is full of mystery according to a threefold interpretation, through which we understand the threefold state of those to be saved: the active through "bitter sea," the contemplative through "star," prelates through "dominion."

Luke 1:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

After man fell through sin, divine wisdom provided a mode of condescension through the Word incarnate, through which man might be adapted unto grace. And because this was accomplished in the womb of the glorious Virgin, therefore it was said to her: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." Thus therefore at first sight there meets us the Father of mercies and the mother of mercies and the Son, who is the light of mercies. Thus is manifest the first origination of grace in us, which comes about through the Word incarnate. O most unhappy ones! Those who are ignorant of this beginning cannot have grace.

Luke 1:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The Angel said: "Hail, full of grace," because she was holy and modest: holy in flesh and modest in mind. On that text, "The Angel Gabriel was sent," Bernard says: "Gabriel was sent to the Virgin, such as the Apostle describes, holy in mind and body, not newly nor by chance discovered, but chosen from eternity, foreknown by the Most High and prepared for himself, guarded by Angels, prefigured by the Patriarchs, promised by the Prophets." To this Virgin Gabriel had to be sent as a bridesman. She alone pleased the Most High. Likewise Bernard: "The royal Virgin, resplendent with the twofold beauty of her mind, drew upon herself the gaze of the citizens of heaven, so that she both inclined the heart of the King to desire of her and drew the heavenly messenger down to herself from on high."

Luke 1:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And the Angel entering, etc. After the sending of the messenger has been described, here the execution of the ministry is described, which indeed consisted in the announcement of the future conception, in which the Angel proceeds, like a good rhetorician, in very orderly fashion, and the Evangelist explains perfectly. The Evangelist introduces the Angel as having taken his beginning from a salutation upon his entrance: in which salutation he captures her goodwill, raises her confidence, and shows her reverence. For he shows her to be commendable by the fullness of goodness, and therefore lovable; by the loftiness of dignity, and therefore venerable; by the breadth of praise, and therefore worthy of proclamation. And on account of these three things she was prefigured by the Ark of the Covenant, of which it is said in Hebrews nine that it contained three things, namely "the rod of Aaron, the tablets of the Law, and manna"; so that it might thus be shown that she was sweet and lovable through the manna, venerable through the rod, and worthy of proclamation and commendation through the divine law. And accordingly there was in her a threefold excellence, namely of dignity, of virtue, and of charity: Sirach twenty-four: "I am the mother of fair love and of fear and of knowledge and of holy hope." Therefore, to show her lovable in graciousness, he says: The Angel, having entered to her, said: Hail, full of grace. And therefore she was fittingly prefigured by Esther, of whom it is said in Esther two that she was exceedingly beautiful and of incredible loveliness, and appeared gracious and lovable in the eyes of all. Whence of her can be said that word from Sirach twenty-four: "In me is all grace of life and of truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue." Nor is this a wonder, because she was to conceive him of whom it is said in John one: "We have seen his glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth"; and therefore afterwards it is added: "Of his fullness we have all received." But to show her venerable by reason of dignity, he adds: The Lord is with you: this is said in a distinctive sense, because in an excellent and singular manner, as in his own tabernacle: Sirach twenty-four: "He who created me rested in my tabernacle"; the Psalm: "The Lord is in his holy temple," that is, in the womb of the Virgin; and again: "The Most High has sanctified his tabernacle; God is in the midst of it, it shall not be moved." Bernard: "The Lord is with you: you will be the mother of him whose Father is God: the Son of the Father's love will be the crown of your chastity"; from which you obtain an inestimable dignity above all, and for this reason she is called queen in the Psalm: "The queen stood at your right hand." That he might also show her praiseworthy by reason of blessing, he adds: Blessed art thou among women, on account of the universal remedy: 1 Kings 25: "David said to Abigail: Blessed art thou, who hast kept me from avenging myself with my own hand." Blessed, I say, among women, that is, among women; Judges 5: "Blessed among women is Jael, blessed shall she be in her tent." Or: blessed among women, that is, above all women: Judith 13: "Blessed art thou, daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth"; and again in chapter 15: "They all blessed her with one voice, saying: Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou the joy of Israel, thou the honor of our people, because thou hast acted manfully, and thy heart has been strengthened, because thou hast loved chastity, and after thy husband hast not known another; therefore also the hand of the Lord has strengthened thee, and therefore thou shalt be blessed." Or: blessed by women: Song of Songs 6: "The daughters of Sion saw her and declared her most blessed, and the queens and concubines praised her."

Luke 1:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

When she had heard, etc. He first introduced the Angel greeting; here he introduces the Virgin listening, in which listening he shows the Virgin to be commendable in three ways: in hearing, namely, affection, and thought. — In hearing, modesty is commended, when it is said: When she had heard, that is, had listened in silence and taciturnity, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 32: "Listen in silence, and for thy reverence good grace shall come to thee." Thus she was ready to hear, though not to speak, according to that passage of James 1: "Let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak." And therefore it says: had heard, that is, she had given her attention perfectly: "for a good ear will hear wisdom with all desire," Ecclesiasticus 3. In affection, bashfulness is commended, when it is said: She was troubled at his saying, namely from bashfulness. Bede: "It is proper to virgins to tremble and to fear at every man's approach, to be wary of every man's gaze"; Habakkuk 3: "I heard, and my belly was troubled; at the voice my lips trembled"; so that her spirit might say that passage of Job 23: "At his face I am troubled, and considering him, I am seized with fear." An example of this is in Esther, in the penultimate chapter: "I saw thee, lord, as an Angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of thy glory." In thought, prudence is praised, when it is said: And she was thinking what manner of salutation this might be; and this was great prudence. For it contained the depth of wisdom, concerning which Wisdom 6 says: "To think upon her is the perfection of understanding"; whence Daniel 4: "Daniel, whose name was Balthassar, began to think silently within himself for about one hour, and his thoughts troubled him." But the thoughts of the Virgin, although they disturbed her on account of the modesty of innocence, did not nevertheless throw her into confusion on account of the splendor of understanding. Bernard: "She was troubled, but not thrown into confusion; indeed, according to that word of the Psalm: I was troubled and I did not speak, but I thought upon the days of old," etc.

Luke 1:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Therefore the Angel, expressing the good pleasure of divine acceptance, strengthens and addresses the Virgin by name: Fear not, Mary. Fear not, I say, but rejoice, because your name is written in heaven, according to what is said below to the Apostles, in chapter ten: "Rejoice that your names are written in the heavens." And he gives the reason: For you have found grace with God, the grace, namely, of election, as Moses: Exodus 33: "You have found grace before me, and I have known you by name"; so it is said to the Virgin Mary. Also the grace of perfection, as Noah: Genesis 6: "Noah found grace before God"; and shortly after: "Noah was a just and perfect man, and he walked with God." The grace of espousal, that she might become the spouse of God and the mother of the Son of God; Esther 2: "Esther found grace and mercy before Ahasuerus above all women, and he set the royal crown upon her head." Moreover, she found grace on account of her exceeding humility and meekness: James 4: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble"; and Sirach 3: "The greater you are, humble yourself in all things, and you shall find grace before God."

Luke 1:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Expressing also the benefit of the salvific conception or fecundation, he shows that it is at hand, when he says: Behold, you shall conceive in your womb and shall bear a son; so that thus may be fulfilled in you that word of Isaiah 7: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and shall bear a son." And he says pointedly: Behold, you shall conceive in your womb, to show that this very thing is great and wondrous and new, that she should conceive within, receiving nothing from without: Jeremiah 31: "The Lord has created a new thing upon the earth: a woman shall encompass a man." And because conception without lust is followed by birth without travail and pain, therefore he adds: And you shall bear a son, according to that word of the last chapter of Isaiah: "Before she travailed, she brought forth. Who has ever heard such a thing, or who has seen the like?" And because birth without pain is followed by the fruit of the womb with salvation, therefore he adds: You shall call his name Jesus: because, as is said in Acts 4, "neither is there any other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved." The prefiguration of this name preceded in Jesus, son of Nave: Ecclesiasticus 46: "Mighty in war was Jesus of Nave, who was great according to his name, very great for the salvation of God's elect." The prefiguration of this also preceded in Joseph, of whom it is said in Genesis 41 that "Pharaoh changed his name and called him in the Egyptian tongue Savior of the world."

Luke 1:31 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Luke 1:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Lastly, expressing the eminence of the offspring to be born, he shows him to be great, when he says: He shall be great. He shows, moreover, that his greatness is most excellent on account of singular grace, on account of royal excellence, on account of eternal power. — He touches upon singular grace when he says: And he shall be called the Son of the Most High, namely through the grace of union: the Son, I say, the Only-begotten, according to that word of John 1: "We saw his glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father." And thus he shall be equal to the Most High, according to that word of the Psalm: "You, Lord, are most high over all the earth." Who is this but Christ the Lord? of whom it is said in Philippians 2: "He gave him a name which is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow," etc. This, however, he gave to no other, because in the Son of the Virgin alone is the grace of union. He intimates royal excellence when he says: And the Lord God shall give him the throne of David, his father, that is, the royal seat, according to what was promised to David: "Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne"; and according to what was promised through Jeremiah the Prophet, Jeremiah 23: "Behold, the days come, says the Lord. And I will raise up to David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and shall be wise." This also was first shown in Daniel 7, concerning the Son of man, of whom he says that "the Ancient of Days gave him power and honor and a kingdom, and all peoples and tribes and tongues shall serve him."

Luke 1:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Eternal power he notes, when he says: And he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, according to what was promised to David, according to that passage of 2 Kings 7: "I will raise up your seed, which shall come forth from your womb, and I will establish his kingdom: and I will make firm the throne of his kingdom forever." Daniel 7 says this same thing: "His power is an everlasting power, which shall not be taken away, and his kingdom, which shall not be destroyed." But to show that this eternity is properly spoken of through the absence of an end, he adds: And of his kingdom there shall be no end: so that that passage of Isaiah 9 might be fulfilled: "He shall sit upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to confirm it and strengthen it in judgment and justice, from henceforth and forever." And therefore the Psalmist rightly says: "Your kingdom is a kingdom of all ages, and your dominion endures throughout every generation."

Luke 1:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

But Mary said to the Angel. The Evangelist first introduced the Angel narrating; here he adds the most prudent Virgin inquiring: in which inquiry three things are explained to us, namely, a fitting doubt, a moving reason, and a satisfying solution. — A fitting doubt is noted, when it is said: How shall this be done? For since there is a threefold mode of conceiving — one carnal, another spiritual, and a third wondrous and singular — I ask, by which of these modes shall it come about? Nicodemus asked the Lord in this way, when he heard that he must be born again, in John 3: "How, he said, can these things come to pass?" And note that she does not ask for the mode of knowing or a sign to produce faith, as Zacharias did, who was punished, above in the same chapter: "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days"; but she asks for the mode of its coming to be, so that she might consent, according to that passage of Proverbs 4: "Let your eyelids go before your steps." He touches upon the moving reason when he says: Because I know not a man, that is, I propose not to know one, and thus I am a virgin in mind and flesh and purpose, so that that passage concerning Rebecca, Genesis 24, rightly applies to her, that she was "a maiden exceedingly fair and a most beautiful virgin and unknown to man." And according to the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 7, she was no longer thinking of the things of the flesh, but "of the things of the Lord, how she might be holy both in body and in spirit"; and therefore she not unreasonably asked how she ought to conceive offspring, she who did not propose to know a man, so that, if it could be that she might have both virginity and fruitfulness at once, then she would give her consent.

Luke 1:35 — Breviloquium

When the Angel announced to the most blessed Virgin Mary the mystery of the incarnation to be accomplished in her, the Virgin believed, desired, and consented; the Holy Spirit came upon her to sanctify and to make fruitful, by whose power the Virgin conceived the Son of God, whom the Virgin brought forth, and after the birth she remained a Virgin. She conceived, however, not only flesh, but also flesh animated and united to the Word, subject to no sin, but wholly holy and immaculate, by reason of which the most sweet Virgin Mary is called and is the Mother of God. Since the human race had fallen through diabolic suggestion and through the consent of the deceived woman and through concupiscent generation, transmitting original sin to offspring: it was necessary that on the contrary there be here a good Angel persuading to good, and a believing Virgin consenting to the good proposed, and the charity of the Holy Spirit sanctifying and making fruitful for an immaculate conception: so that thus "contraries might be cured by contraries." And through this, just as the woman, deceived by the devil and known and corrupted by man through concupiscence, transfused into all guilt, disease, and death; so the woman, instructed by the Angel and sanctified and made fruitful by the Holy Spirit, without any corruption of either mind or body, would generate offspring who would give to all coming to him grace, health, and life. Although that work is from the whole Trinity, nevertheless by appropriation the Virgin is said to have conceived of the Holy Spirit. Of four modes of producing man, three modes had preceded: the first neither from man nor woman, as in Adam; the second from man without woman, as in Eve; the third from woman and man, as in all those born through concupiscence; it was fitting that, for the completion of the universe, a fourth mode be introduced, which namely would be from woman without male seed through the power of the supreme Worker. In the conception of the Son of God there concurred simultaneously an innate power, an infused power, and an uncreated power: the innate power prepared the matter, the infused power by purifying segregated it, the uncreated power instantly accomplished what could not be done by created power except successively. And thus the most blessed Virgin Mary was a mother in the most complete manner, conceiving the very Son of God without a man, the Holy Spirit rendering her fruitful. For because in the mind of the Virgin the love of the Holy Spirit burned in a singular way, therefore in her flesh the power of the Holy Spirit worked wonders, namely grace partly exciting, partly assisting, partly elevating nature, according to what that wondrous conception required.

Luke 1:35 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The Angel Gabriel said to her: "Blessed are you among women. The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you. And therefore the holy one that shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God." Augustine: The Holy Spirit is love, and although he is given with his gifts, there is no gift from which he cannot be separated except the gift of love. While the other virtues are common to the good and the wicked, the love of God and neighbor is proper to the good and the pious: it alone is what sanctifies. "The Holy Spirit came upon her," because love was added to love, so that she might transcend the bounds of all others. Whence Hugo says: "Because the love of God burned singularly in the mind of the Virgin, therefore it worked wonders in her flesh." "And therefore that which shall be born of you," through undefiled love and keeping her unstained, "shall be called the Son of God." Just as from the love of a man with a woman a carnal son is born, so from the love of the Virgin with God the Son of God was born.

Luke 1:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And because her doubt had a reason rightly prompting it, she therefore merited a satisfying response, which is noted there: And the Angel answering said to her: The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you: as if the Angel were saying: you ask how you will conceive? To this I respond that you will be made fruitful without corruption, you will conceive without lust, you will give birth without pain, because not from virile seed but from the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus it is said in Matthew 1: "That which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit." And rightly he says: The Holy Spirit shall come upon, that is, shall come from above: James 1: "Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of lights." On account of this it is said in Acts 1: "You shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon you"; and thus there will be no corruption, because it is of the Holy Spirit. Nor will there be lust, because the power of the Most High shall overshadow you, namely so that you may not feel the heat of concupiscence, according to that passage in Song of Songs 2: "I sat under the shadow of him whom I had desired." And note that a threefold figure preceded the three foregoing points: because without virile seed is prefigured in the rod of Aaron, which blossomed, Numbers 17; Isaiah 11: "A flower shall ascend from his root," etc.; because without lust is prefigured in the bush and fire, Exodus 3, because the bush burned and was not consumed; because birth without pain is signified in the dew and the fleece of Gideon, Judges 6. "For the fleece, as Jerome says, although it is from the body, nevertheless does not know the body's suffering"; and therefore in the Psalm: "He shall descend like rain upon the fleece." And therefore that which shall be born of you, the Holy One, etc. After the entrance of the salutation and the progression of the narration have been described, there is set down here lastly the terminus of the conclusion: and the conclusion is that the Virgin Mary would conceive, and from her the Son of God would be born. The conclusion he draws when he says: And therefore that which shall be born of you, the Holy One, shall be called the Son of God. For because, being made fruitful by the power of the Holy Spirit, you will not bear the offspring of a man but the offspring of God, not a sinner but a holy one: Daniel 9: "That vision and prophecy may be fulfilled, and the Holy of Holies may be anointed." For if, as it is said in John 3, "that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit," then it necessarily follows that what is born of the Holy Spirit is holy. Bernard: "If he had said 'holy flesh' or 'holy man,' he would seem to have said too little: therefore he put indefinitely the Holy One, because whatever it was that the Virgin bore was without doubt holy and singularly holy." And because the sons of men are born defiled, Ephesians 2: "We are all born by nature children of wrath"; therefore he is now not a son of man, but shall be called the Son of God: Isaiah 9: "And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, the Mighty," etc. He shall be called by God himself: Mark 9: "This is my most beloved Son"; and Matthew 17: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear him." He shall be called by the believers themselves: Matthew 16: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"; and Romans 1: "Who was predestined the Son of God in power." He shall be called by all: in the penultimate chapter of Matthew, the centurion said: "Truly this was the Son of God."

Luke 1:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

He adds the proof or confirmation when he says: Behold, Elizabeth, your kinswoman, she also has conceived a son in her old age. If therefore God gave conception to an aged woman, he can also give it to a young woman, although the latter is new while the former had already occurred: Genesis 21: "Sarah conceived and bore a son in her old age." — So that the Virgin may be more firmly assured, it is added: And this is the sixth month for her who is called barren. And thus, since her barrenness was manifest, her fruitfulness is now manifest. Now therefore signs and wonders begin to be wrought on earth, according to Sirach 36: "Renew signs and work new wonders." And therefore it is firm and certain that you also, O Virgin, shall now conceive above nature; and this is what Bede says in the Gloss: "Lest the Virgin despair of giving birth, she receives the example of a barren and aged woman about to bear, so that she may learn that all things are possible to God which seem contrary to the order of nature." And therefore the Lord sent beforehand so many conceptions of barren women, so that they might prefigure this conception, and by prefiguring, foretell it, and by foretelling, give testimony to it and make it credible.

Luke 1:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

The reason for this he adds when he says: For no word shall be impossible with God. Ecclesiastes 8: "Whatever he has willed, he shall do, and his word is full of power"; Matthew 19: "With God all things are possible," as was said to Sarah, Genesis 18: "Is anything difficult for God?" Bernard: "With the Lord, to do is the same as to speak, and to speak is the same as to will. Rightly therefore you should know that no word is impossible"; and therefore, when God promises something, it must be believed without doubt, because, since he can do all things and cannot lie, it is necessary that it come to pass just as he promises. Numbers 23: "God is not as a man, that he should lie, nor as the son of man, that he should change. Has he said then, and will he not do it? Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?" — And thus the Angel shows his conclusion to be necessary, so that the Virgin can now neither doubt nor be able to dissent.

Luke 1:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And Mary said, etc. Here lastly is set forth the attainment of the purpose, which consisted in the consent of the Virgin, through which she immediately conceived the Son of God. This consent he describes as duly and orderly made: because it proceeded from humility predisposing and charity perfecting and belief pronouncing. Therefore first is introduced the pronouncement from belief, when it is said: And Mary said to the Angel. For because she believed the Angel's word to be true, she therefore gives an express and consonant response. Romans 10: "With the heart one believes unto justice, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"; and in the Psalm: "I believed, therefore I spoke." She said: concerning this word of faith it is said in Romans 10: "The word is near in your mouth and in your heart; this is the word of faith which we preach." Because therefore she conceived the word of faith in her heart, she conceived the Son of God in her womb. Below in the same chapter: "Blessed is she who believed," etc.; and chapter 11: "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nursed you." Then follows the preparation from humility, when it is said: Behold, the handmaid of the Lord. A similar response was given by Abigail, a prudent woman, when David wished to take her as his wife. 1 Kings 25: "Behold, let your servant be a handmaid to wash the feet of the servants of my lord"; and that Ruth, who prefigures the blessed Virgin, Ruth 2: "How is it that I have found grace before your eyes?" since "you have spoken to the heart of your handmaid, who am not like one of your maidens." And because the Virgin Mary humbled herself, she prepared herself for grace. Bernard: "The response is given humbly, so that a seat may be prepared." And because her humility was singular, therefore her grace was also singular. Whence Bernard: "It is no great thing to be humble in abjection; a truly great and rare virtue is humility when honored"; this "is the luminary that diminishes at its fullness," Ecclesiasticus 43. Finally there is added the perfect consent from charity, when it is said: Let it be done to me according to your word. "Let it be done, as Bernard says, is a sign of desire, not an indication of doubt"; it is also a sign of assertion, as it is said in the Psalm: "Let all the people say: So be it, so be it"; and again of affection, as in the Psalm: "Let your hand be present, that it may save me" — for the Word and the hand of the Father are the same — and it can be a word of prayer, so that thus it may be: desiderative, because from charity; precatory, because from humility; assertory, because from faith. — This is the sweetest voice to men, to Angels, and to the Spouse himself. He sought this in the second chapter of the Song of Songs: "Let your voice sound in my ears: for your voice is sweet, and your face is comely"; which she does when she said to the Angel: Let it be done to me according to your word. "The Word, which was in the beginning with God, let it be made flesh from my flesh, according to your word." Whence Bernard: "Let there be done to me, I beseech, a Word not uttered so as to pass away, but conceived so as to remain. Let the Word be not only audible to the ears, but also visible to the eyes, palpable to the hands, able to be carried on the shoulders," so that by the word of his power he may carry me. "The Word was made flesh." And since in such consent the Son of God was conceived, and the Angel achieved his purpose, therefore there follows: And the Angel departed from her. For he was showing by deed what Raphael said to Tobias in word, Tobit 12: "It is time that I return to him who sent me"; and concerning Peter it is said in Acts 12 that when he had been led out of prison, "immediately the Angel departed from him." The Angel withdrew from her, but the Son of God remained with her: he departed as to appearance, but many remained as to guardianship: Song of Songs 3: "Behold, the bed of Solomon: sixty mighty…

Luke 1:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

First, therefore, the encounter of the Virgin greeting is introduced as eager and familiar. — On account of the haste, he says: And Mary arising in those days, went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah: as if to say: she did not delay, but arose at dawn, according to that passage in Song of Songs 2: "Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come." Whence that passage in Proverbs 31, which is said of the valiant woman, who "rose up while it was still night and gave prey to her household and food to her handmaids," is fitting for her; for she arose to minister to Elisabeth, who was aged and weak. Whence "neither did the roughness of the journey delay her," according to what is said in the Gloss, and the text indicates, because she went into the hill country, namely with haste, to ascertain the truth, like those spies, Joshua 2: "Go up into the hill country"; or even with the Bridegroom himself, Song of Songs 2: "Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains and bounding over the hills." Nor did the length of the way delay her, which is noted there: Into a city of Judah, that is, Jerusalem, so that she might now cry out with Isaiah 2: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob." Nor did she delay on the journey, because with haste, like Rachel, Genesis 29, who, when she saw Jacob, "hastened to tell her father." Spiritually, moreover, we are given to understand from this that haste is necessary for one who wishes to attain perfection; Hebrews 4: "Let us hasten to enter into that rest"; therefore 1 Corinthians 9: "So run, that you may obtain." Against which it is said of the foolish virgins, Matthew 25, that "they came last"; and Sirach 5: "Do not delay to turn to the Lord, and do not defer from day to day."

Luke 1:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

The encounter of the Virgin was eager, and it was also familiar; on account of which he says: And she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elisabeth. She entered, I say, so that she might dwell together familiarly; Wisdom 8: "Entering into my house, I shall find rest with her." She entered, she did not stand outside, like that "wandering woman, impatient of rest and unable to stay in her house with her feet," Proverbs 7. She also entered, not to quarrel, but to greet, according to what is customary among the Saints: Romans 16: "Greet one another with a holy kiss." She greeted, I say, not only by wishing well, but also by bringing salvation to Jerusalem, so that that word of Isaiah 62 might be fulfilled: "For the sake of Zion I will not be silent, and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest, until her just one goes forth as brightness, and her Savior is kindled as a lamp"; and afterward: "Say to the daughter of Zion: Behold, your Savior comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him." — And note that the Virgin first entered the house and afterward greeted, because the Virgin was already beginning to comply with the evangelical precepts: for below in the tenth chapter it is said: "Greet no one along the way"; and afterward it is added: "Into whatever house you enter, first say: Peace to this house." Which the blessed Virgin also did.

Luke 1:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Second, the effect of the virginal greeting is introduced, which was the stirring of the mother and the gladdening of the child. — On account of the stirring of the mother it is said: And it came to pass that when Elisabeth heard the greeting of Mary. For Elisabeth had heard the greeting of the Virgin, because she loved her: Song of Songs 8: "You who dwell in the gardens, friends listen for you; make me hear your voice"; and John 8: "He who is of God hears the words of God"; whence First Thessalonians 2: "When you had received from us the word of the hearing of God, you received it not as the word of men, but, as it truly is, the word of God." She heard indeed the word of salvation from her who had conceived the incarnate Word, in whom alone is salvation, according to that word of James 1: "In meekness receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." Therefore the mother was stirred by the word of the Virgin, and the offspring too was gladdened: whence it says: He leaped, with joy, the infant in her womb. In this it is shown that John was the preeminent friend of the Bridegroom, according to what is written of him in John 3: "The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears his voice, rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom's voice." He leaped, I say, with desire, as did the Fathers; John 8: "Abraham rejoiced to see my day: he saw it and was glad." He leaped at the presence of the Lord and Savior, as if eager to greet and rise before his Lord, whose forerunner he was. Whence it is said in the Gloss of Bede, "because he could not with his tongue, he greets with an exulting spirit and begins the office of his forerunning. Behold, what the Angel had said is made manifest: 'He shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb.'" — From this it is given to understand spiritually that a holy purpose cannot remain hidden without manifesting itself, and that interior love bursts forth into action: whence Gregory says: "The love of God is never idle."

Luke 1:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Third, there is subjoined the great affection of Elizabeth in her greeting and kindly. — On account of its greatness it is said: And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out with a loud voice. For the greatness of the voice is a sign of great affection, because "words are signs of the passions"; Sirach 15: "The Lord will fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding"; and: "He himself will send forth the words of his wisdom like showers, and in prayer he will give thanks to the Lord." But therefore she cried out with a loud voice, because she contained in her womb him who was the voice of the Word, according to what is said of him in Isaiah 40: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord." To whom it is also said in the same place: "Get up onto a high mountain, you who bring good tidings to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift it up, do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah: Behold, your God, behold, the Lord God will come with strength." Nor was her voice so much loud as it was devout; whence, to express the kindness of her affection, she adds, saying: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Elizabeth blesses the Virgin together with her offspring, so as to complete the angelic salutation. She wishes blessing upon her and announces her already blessed with that blessing which the Lord had promised to Abraham in Genesis 12: "I will bless you and magnify your name, and you shall be blessed. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you, and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed." This blessing Isaac foretold under the figure of a field, in Genesis 27: "Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a full field, which the Lord has blessed." This Jacob confirmed, in the penultimate chapter of Genesis: "The Almighty shall bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep lying beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb; the blessings of your father are strengthened by the blessings of his fathers, until the desire of the everlasting hills should come." This Moses desired and this he invoked, in Deuteronomy 28: "Blessed is the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land." And therefore let us sing with David: "You have blessed, O Lord, your land." Fulfilled also in Mary is that word of Ecclesiasticus 24: "Among the multitude of the elect she shall have praise, and among the blessed she shall be blessed." Blessed indeed was Jael, in Judges 5: "Blessed among women is Jael." Blessed was Ruth, in Ruth 3: "Blessed are you by the Lord, daughter." Blessed was Abigail, in 1 Kings 25: "Blessed are you, who have kept me this day from avenging myself by my own hand." Blessed was Judith, in chapter 13: "Blessed are you, daughter, by the Lord God most high above all women upon the earth." Among these women and above these women, blessed is the Virgin Mary, because those blessings were fulfilled in her.

Luke 1:42 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Luke 1:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

He therefore introduces an admirative proclamation when Elizabeth says: And whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? For this is greatly praiseworthy and also wonderful, that a woman should be the Mother of God, and that the Mother of God should visit the handmaid of God. Whence she could say, as Araunah said to King David in the last chapter of 2 Kings: "What is the reason that my lord the king comes to his servant?" For it is a greater thing to be the Mother of God; whence it was a condescension of the Mother of the Lord of all to visit on her own feet another's dwelling. Whence the Virgin glories in Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "I am the mother of fair love and of fear and of holy hope"; because on account of her maternal dignity the Virgin Mary is to be loved, to be venerated and to be approached with all confidence as the mother of supreme mercy.

Luke 1:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Secondly she adds an approbative indication, when she says: For behold, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leapt for joy: and this is a sign that "grace is poured forth upon your lips"; and therefore it is certain that "God has blessed you forever," in the Psalm. And since the infant leapt beyond nature, it is certain that the Lord of nature came to meet him. And since the little infant responds from the womb, it is certain that you have conceived him who calls from the womb, according to that passage of Isaiah forty-nine: "The Lord has called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he has remembered my name," etc. And again, since the child leapt for joy, it is certain that what is said in Isaiah has now been truly fulfilled: "Exult and give praise, O habitation of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel"; and that passage of Zechariah nine: "Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your king comes to you, just and a savior."

Luke 1:45 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Since therefore the precursor leapt wondrously, she now had a certain indication that the Savior had come; and since she now had a certain indication, therefore thirdly there is added to the truth a testimony, or an affirmative oracle, when it is said: Blessed are you who believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to you by the Lord. For faith makes one blessed: Matthew sixteen: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven"; and John twenty: "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." — Moreover faith makes the blessed, because by beginning in merit it disposes toward consummation in reward: Philippians one: "Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will perfect it," and this by the merit of faith; whence Matthew eight: "Go, and as you have believed, let it be done for you"; and so it was done for Mary. Note that in Scripture not only believers are called blessed, but also those who hope: Psalm: "Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord." Likewise, those who love: Ecclesiasticus forty-eight: "Blessed are they who saw you and were adorned with your friendship." Likewise, those who fear: Ecclesiasticus twenty-five: "Blessed is he to whom it has been given to have the fear of God"; again, Psalm: "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord." Likewise, those who act: John thirteen: "If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them"; and below in the eleventh chapter: "Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it." Likewise, those who endure: First Peter three: "But even if you suffer something for the sake of righteousness, blessed are you"; and Matthew five: "Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you, lying, for my sake." Likewise, those who contemplate: Third Kings ten: "Blessed are your men, and blessed are your servants, these who stand before you always and hear your wisdom." For all these reasons the Virgin Mary was blessed, and for a singular reason she was most blessed, because she conceived the Son of God: below in the eleventh chapter: "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked." And for this reason she herself says below in the same chapter: "For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." Blessed therefore are you who believed, because by believing you conceived, and by conceiving you brought forth blessedness for all nations as regards its sufficiency. As a figure of this, Genesis thirty: "Leah said: This is for my blessedness, for all women shall call me blessed."

Luke 1:46 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And Mary said, etc. After the testimony of prophecy follows the song of joy, in which the most blessed Virgin Mary praises divine mercy for the most excellent grace conferred upon her. In this canticle three things are noted. The first is the affection of the one praising. The second is the reason for praising. The third is the amplification of divine praise. For praise is not perfect unless there is present a fitting affection, a fitting cause, and a fitting manner. There is therefore first intimated the affection of the one praising, as grateful, by magnifying the divine power, when she says: Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, that is, the divine power. "For great is our Lord, and great is his power"; and therefore he ought to be praised with great affection, because he works great things; Daniel 4: "I praise and magnify and glorify the King of heaven, because all his works are true"; and to this the devout soul invites in the Psalm: "Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." Then our soul truly magnifies the Lord, when under him it captivates and humbles itself: Sirach 3: "How great is the power of God alone, and he is honored by the humble alone." Whence the Virgin Mary, because she humbled herself beyond all others, magnified the Lord more highly than all others. And therefore she began from magnification, because this was fitting to the humility of the Virgin singing. — It was also fitting to the dignity of God, whose supreme condescension is not known unless his dignity is first known; whence the Apostle: "Who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant." — It was also fitting to the intention of the canticle, which is to praise God perfectly: Sirach 43: "Glorifying the Lord as much as you can, he will still surpass, and admirable is his magnificence." — It was also fitting to Mary's canticle, because it was about great, indeed about the greatest benefits; whence Proverbs 8: "Listen, for I am about to speak of great things"; and below: "Because he has done great things for me," etc. — It was also fitting to an orderly progression, which is by beginning from fear: whence the Psalm: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." But the fear of reverence magnifies the Lord.

Luke 1:47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

There is also intimated the affection of the one praising not only as grateful, but as joyful, by exulting in the divine salvation, when it is added: And my spirit has exulted in God my savior, that is, in God the savior, so that she could say that word of the Psalm: "My soul shall exult in the Lord and shall delight in his salvation"; and again: "My heart and my flesh have exulted in the living God." Truly she could now say that word of Song of Songs 1: "The king has brought me into his storerooms: we shall exult and rejoice in you," etc. Now there was verified in Mary what the Psalmist desired: "Let all who seek you exult and rejoice in you, and let those who love your salvation always say: Let the Lord be magnified." Since therefore the Virgin Mary sought the Lord and loved his salvation, therefore her soul magnified the Lord, and her spirit exulted in the salvation of God. Therefore that word of Anna is fitting for her, 1 Kings 2: "My heart has exulted in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my God, because I have rejoiced in your salvation." And note that spirit is taken for the substance of the soul: Ecclesiastes 3: "Who knows if the spirit," etc.; for the higher part: Malachi 2: "Guard your spirit"; and Romans 8: "The Spirit intercedes for us with unutterable groanings"; for the imagination: First Corinthians 14: "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays," etc. Here, however, it is taken for the soul according to its highest part, and soul is taken in relation to the body, as in First Thessalonians 5: "That your spirit and soul and body may be preserved whole and without complaint at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." For because the spirit had inwardly exulted, therefore the soul magnified with her voice — and therefore she places the exultation in the past tense and the magnification in the present tense, because exultation is prior by nature.

Luke 1:48 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Because He has regarded the lowliness, etc. After the affection or devotion of the one praising has been described, there is here added the reason for praising, which is drawn from a twofold cause. The first is the benefit of grace, which made her lovable to God and praiseworthy to men. Because lovable to God, she says: Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid. In Genesis 29, a figure of this preceded in Leah, who, having conceived offspring, said: "The Lord has seen my lowliness; now my husband will love me." And humility was the disposition for the regard of grace: Isaiah, last chapter: "To whom shall I look except to the poor and contrite in spirit and the one who trembles at my words?" Because, as it is said in the Psalm, "the Lord is exalted and regards the lowly, and knows the lofty from afar." Hence concerning the just man, Sirach 11: "The eye of God regarded him for good and raised him from his lowliness"; and therefore the Prophet prayed in the Psalm: "Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor." That benefit of grace also made her praiseworthy to men, and therefore she adds: For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed, both men and women: Proverbs, last chapter: "Her children rose up and proclaimed her most blessed; her husband also praised her." Now the Virgin Mary was blessed on account of the merit of chastity: Psalm: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way"; and Apocalypse 16: "Blessed is he who keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame"; and Wisdom 3: "Happy is the barren and undefiled woman, who has not known the bed in transgression." — She was also more blessed on account of the counsel of virginity: First Corinthians 7: "But she will be more blessed if she so remains, according to my counsel." — She was also most blessed on account of the privilege of fruitfulness, on account of which the other women proclaim her most blessed, Song of Songs 6: "The daughters of Sion saw her and proclaimed her most blessed."

Luke 1:49 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

The second reason for praising is the miracle of power, which was great and devout. Because it was great, she says: Because he who is mighty has done great things for me. This refers to the mystery of the incarnation, as Bede says in the Gloss; and concerning this, Job 5: "Who does great and unsearchable and wonderful things without number." The mystery of the incarnation is great and inscrutable, and therefore wondrous: and this he who is mighty has done, because "in miraculous things, as Augustine says, the entire reason for the deed is the power of the one doing it"; Ecclesiastes 8: "Whatever he wills, he shall do, because his word is full of power, nor can anyone say to him: Why do you act thus?" It was also devout, and therefore she says: Holy is his name. Whence he does holy and devout things, to show the holiness of his name; Daniel 3: "Blessed be the name of your glory, which is holy"; and the Psalm: "Holy and terrible is his name." And the reason for this is premised: "He sent redemption to his people." And because holiness befits his name, therefore we pray: "Hallowed be your name," Matthew 6; and again the Psalm: "Holiness befits your house, O Lord, for length of days." Concerning these two, namely greatness and devotion, 1 Timothy 3: "And manifestly great is the sacrament of devotion, which was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, appeared to angels, was preached to the nations, was believed in the world, was taken up in glory"; great indeed by reason of the Divinity, holy by reason of the assumed humanity: above in the same chapter: "That which shall be born of you, the Holy One, shall be called the Son of God." And therefore the Virgin in the conception was magnified and sanctified: the Psalm: "The Most High has sanctified his tabernacle." And these two correspond to the two things stated above, because she was magnified and sanctified, therefore she magnified and exulted: thus she renders the reason most fittingly.

Luke 1:50 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And his mercy, etc. After the affection of the one praising and the reason for praising have been described, here is added thirdly the amplification of divine praise. And this consists in the commendation of divine mercy with respect to the work of human redemption, already begun in the conception of the Virgin. Now the work of our redemption is declarative of mercy and power, and is manifestative of generosity and truth: mercy in the raising up of fallen man; power, in the overthrow of the devil; generosity, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit; and truth, in the fulfillment of the promise. First, therefore, she praises her Lord in the work of redemption, insofar as it is manifestative of mercy, where she says: And his mercy is from generation to generation upon those who fear him: Ephesians 2: "God, who is rich in mercy, on account of his exceeding great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, quickened us together with Christ"; and in the Psalm: "But the mercy of the Lord is from eternity and unto eternity upon those who fear him." For this extends to all with respect to the benefit of conservation, according to that saying of Sirach 18: "The compassion of man is toward his neighbor, but the mercy of God is upon all flesh." Yet mercy that liberates and saves extends only to those who fear him, as it is written in the Psalm: "How great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you!" Therefore Sirach 2: "You who fear the Lord, hope in him."

Luke 1:51 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Second, she praises him in this work, insofar as it is manifestative of power in the casting down of proud demons and wicked rich. On account of the first she says: He has shown might in his arm, he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. In this is the special praise of God: Job 40: "Scatter the proud in your fury, and looking upon every arrogant one, bring him low." And thus was fulfilled that saying of Sirach 10: "God has destroyed the thrones of proud rulers and has made the meek to sit in their place." And he is said to have done this in his arm, that is, in the Son; Isaiah 40: "Behold, the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule." The proud however in the conceit of their heart he calls those who are proud in intellect through presumption and in affection through ambition, as Lucifer and his followers: Job 41: "He beholds every high thing, and he is king over all the children of pride." And thus the sense is: he has scattered those who are proud in the conceit of their heart. — Or otherwise: He has scattered the proud in the conceit of his heart, according to what is said, that the proud by the just judgment of God have a scattered heart: Wisdom 17: "While they thought to lie hidden in their obscure sins, they were scattered under a dark veil of oblivion." — Or: He has scattered the proud in the conceit of his heart, that is, by the determination of his counsel: Job 40: "If you have an arm like God, and if you thunder with a similar voice? Scatter the proud in your fury, and looking upon every arrogant one, bring him low."

Luke 1:52 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

The proud demons He cast down definitively, but not so with men; whence Lamentations 3: "For He did not humble from His heart nor cast away the sons of men." Therefore His power is praised in the casting down of proud demons and also of powerful tyrants, when she continues: He has put down the mighty from their seat and exalted the humble. In Daniel 5 it is said of Nebuchadnezzar: "Whom he wished he slew, and whom he wished he struck down, and whom he wished he exalted, and whom he wished he humbled. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened unto pride, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory was taken away"; and Sirach 10: "God has made the roots of proud nations to wither and planted the humble from among those nations." And the reason for this is given below in chapter 18: "Because everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted." And in this is the praise of divine power; 1 Kings 2: "The Lord makes poor and enriches, He humbles and He lifts up. He raises the needy from the dust and lifts the poor from the dunghill, that he may sit with princes and hold the throne of glory." An example is found in Saul and David, Vashti and Esther.

Luke 1:53 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Third, she praises the Lord in the aforesaid work, insofar as it is a manifestation of generosity, when she says: He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty; because true generosity is to give to the poor, not to the rich. Proverbs 13: "The just man eats and fills his soul, but the belly of the wicked is insatiable"; and again in the Psalm: "The rich have wanted and have been hungry, but those who seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good"; and Isaiah 65: "Behold, my servants shall eat, and you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, and you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, and you shall be confounded"; because, as it is said in 1 Corinthians 1, "not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but the foolish things of the world God has chosen, that He may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world God has chosen, that He may confound the strong; and the ignoble things of the world and the contemptible God has chosen, and the things that are not, that He might destroy the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in His sight"; and the Psalm: "The king is not saved by great power, and the giant shall not be saved by the abundance of his strength."

Luke 1:54 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Fourth, she praises God in the aforesaid work, insofar as it is manifestative of the truth of the promise, when she says: He has received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy: where first is set forth the fulfillment of the promise, which promise divine benignity made and divine truth fulfilled: whence the Psalm: "Mercy and truth have met each other, justice and peace have kissed." And this was done when he assumed our flesh: Hebrews 2: "For nowhere does he take hold of angels, but of the seed of Abraham"; Isaiah 42: "Behold my servant, I will uphold him: my elect, my soul is well pleased in him"; and Hosea 11: "Israel was a child, and I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." — And this: Being mindful of his mercy, which he cannot forget: the Psalm: "Or will God forget to show mercy? Or will he in his anger shut up his mercies?"; and Isaiah 49: "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? And if she should forget, yet I will not forget you."

Luke 1:55 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Then is added the true promise, when it is said: As he spoke to our Fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever. And this text should be construed thus: As he spoke to the Fathers, and as he spoke to Abraham in particular, and to his seed, where it touches upon the state of nature and of the written law. — Or otherwise, so that it is construed with the preceding: He has received Israel, being mindful of his mercy, and this, I say, to Abraham and to his seed, as he spoke to the Fathers. A similar passage is found in the Psalm: "He has remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel." Among the Fathers she specially names Abraham, because to him the promise was first made; Genesis 12 and 22: "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you, and in you shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed"; "I will bless you and multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore: your seed shall possess the gates of their enemies, and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice"; and Galatians 3: "To Abraham were the promises spoken and to his seed." But the seed of Abraham are believers: Romans 9: "Not those who are children of the flesh are children of God, but those who are children of the promise are reckoned as seed"; whence below, chapter 3: "God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." Forever, that is, for eternity: the Psalm: "From age to age you are God." — Whence the Blessed Virgin begins the canticle from the greatness of the supreme principle and ends the canticle in the eternity of the end; for she praises him who "is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end," Apocalypse 1: and indeed rightly so, because in this canticle she shows that the consummation of all the promised benefits has been accomplished, and therefore it is the consummation of all praises and canticles and even of the Scriptures.

Luke 1:56 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

But Mary remained, etc. After the testimony of prophecy and the canticle of joy, the service of benevolence is added, which the Virgin Mary showed to Elizabeth, her kinswoman: in which she is commended for three things, namely for the diligence of her service, the perseverance of her purpose, and the propriety of her companionship. — On account of the diligence of her service, he says: But Mary remained with her, namely with her pregnant kinswoman. She did not depart immediately, but acted according to what the Lord commands his disciples in Matthew 10: "But remain in the same house until you depart." Mary remained; she did not go out like Dinah, of whom Genesis 34 says: "She went out to see the women of that region"; and it follows afterward that she was violated. She remained like a diligent attendant; she did not go about like a curious busybody; 1 Timothy 5, concerning younger widows: "Being idle, they learn to go about from house to house, and not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, speaking things they ought not." Against which Seneca says: "It is a sign of a well-ordered mind to be able to tarry with oneself and to remain with oneself." On account of the perseverance of her purpose, he adds: About three months, that is, until the time of the birth, according to what Bede says in the Gloss: "Mary remained so long until, when the time of Elizabeth's delivery was completed, she might see the birth of the forerunner of her Lord, for whose sake she had especially come"; and this was signified in 2 Kings 6, where it is said that "the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom for three months." — Mystically, however, by the three months is designated the progress of the three virtues, according to what is said in the Gloss. For "it is necessary that the chaste soul, which conceives the desire of the spiritual word, ascend the lofty heights of the heavenly host and, having remained there as it were for the days of three months, not cease to persevere until it is irradiated with the light of faith, hope, and charity." On account of the propriety of her companionship, it is added: And she returned to her own home, to dwell with her spouse, the guardian of her virginity; whence she could say that passage from Genesis 30: "The Lord has blessed you at my coming. It is just, therefore, that I should at some time also provide for my own household." She returned to her own home, because her spouse and her household desired her return, according to that passage from Song of Songs 6: "Return, return, O Shulamite, return." Thus therefore the Virgin Mary gives an example to be imitated by all, according to what Ambrose says: "Learn," he says, "from Mary devotion, perseverance, and propriety."

Luke 1:57 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

For Elizabeth the time was fulfilled, etc. After the thanksgiving for the conception of the Savior, there follows here the thanksgiving for the birth of the precursor. Now praise is given to God for the precursor's birth rather than for his conception, because he was conceived in sin, but was born full of the Holy Spirit; Christ, however, was most holy both in conception and in birth, and therefore praises were sung both before and after his birth. The birth is shown to have been timely in the mother, perfect in the offspring, joyful in the neighborhood. The birth, I say, was timely in the mother by reason of the time; on account of which he says: For Elizabeth the time of her delivery was fulfilled, and thus it was timely that she should give birth, because, Ecclesiastes three, "all things have their season, and in their times all things pass under heaven." It was fulfilled, I say, according to the fulfillment of the angelic word, as was said above in the same chapter: "Behold, you shall be silent until the day in which these things shall come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time." Truly fulfilled, because the fullness of time had already come, in which Christ was to come; Galatians four: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son," etc. The birth was also perfect in the offspring by reason of the male sex; on account of which he says: And she brought forth a son, not a daughter. Such offspring Anna sought in First Kings one: "Lord, if you will remember me and give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life." — She also brought forth with perfect strength, with no impediment hindering her; against which is said in Isaiah thirty-seven: "The children have come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth." — She also brought forth a son perfected by heavenly grace, so that what is said in Wisdom four would apply to him: "Being made perfect in a short time, he fulfilled a long time."

Luke 1:58 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Joyful also was it in the neighborhood by reason of the celebrated and common report; on account of which it says: And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy with her, and they congratulated her. And thus was fulfilled what the Angel had foretold: "And many shall rejoice at his birth," namely the neighbors and kinsfolk, because it belongs especially to such people to rejoice together; below in the fifteenth chapter: "The woman who found the lost drachma calls together her friends and neighbors, saying: Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost." And they congratulated her: for she herself likewise rejoiced, according to that passage of John 16: "But when a woman has brought forth a child, she no longer remembers the anguish, on account of the joy that a man has been born into the world"; and therefore they congratulated her. — Because the Lord magnified his mercy with her, that is, he wrought a great mercy; whence she could say that word of the Psalm: "I will praise you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever, for your mercy is great upon me." For the Lord magnifies those whom he loves; Wisdom, last chapter: "In all things you magnified your people, O Lord, and did not despise them."

Luke 1:59 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And it came to pass on the eighth day. After the birth from the aged one follows the circumcision of the infant, in which according to custom was made the imposition of the name, first according to the human designation from blood-relationship; second, according to the prophetic revelation from the mother; third, according to the authoritative affirmation from the father himself. — The circumcision is therefore introduced with the human designation, when it is said: On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, namely so that they might fulfill the precept of the Law; Genesis 17: "An infant of eight days shall be circumcised among you," because "the male whose flesh of the foreskin shall not have been circumcised shall perish from his people." — And they called him by the name of his father, Zechariah, according to the customary manner, because sons were accustomed to be called by the name of their fathers; Tobit 1: "Tobias begot a son, bestowing his own name upon him," so that by this he might signify that the father lives on in so noble a son, according to that passage of Sirach 30: "His father died and it is as though he did not die, for he left behind one like himself. In his life he saw and rejoiced in him."

Luke 1:60 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

But since in John there was no place for a name according to human designation, therefore there follows the naming according to prophetic revelation in Elizabeth, when it is said: And his mother answering said: Not so, but he shall be called John. And this indeed she said, having been taught by the Holy Spirit: whence Ambrose says: "By the spirit of prophecy she learned what she had not learned from her husband." For since he had not been conceived by the power of nature but by the power of grace, he ought not to be called Zacharias after his father, but "John" from the gift of grace, so that one born in a new manner might be called by a new name: Isaiah sixty-two: "You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord has named."

Luke 1:61 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And because the relatives were thinking carnally, they did not accept the name of grace: therefore it is added: And they said to her: There is none among your kindred who is called by this name. But their objection was of no account, because, as Ambrose says, "this name is not of family but of a prophet. For the merits of the Saints have this, that they receive their name from God, just as Jacob was called Israel, Genesis thirty-two, because he saw God"; so also of Solomon, 2 Kings twelve: "He called his name beloved of the Lord." And since there was here a contention between grace and nature, between human designation and prophetic revelation, therefore they sought the paternal opinion, so that he himself might pronounce the authoritative declaration.

Luke 1:62 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

For this reason there follows: And they made signs to his father, what he would have him called: they made signs, I say, to one deaf and mute, because, as Ambrose says, "incredulity had stolen from him both speech and hearing"; and yet they sought from him, because the authority of naming resided with him, both because he was the father, and because he was a priest, and because he had foreknown the birth of his son by divine revelation.

Luke 1:63 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And because he could not respond with his voice, he spoke by hand and by letters; and therefore it is added: And asking for a writing tablet, he wrote, saying: John is his name: as if to say: I do not impose a name, but I declare one already imposed; above in the same chapter: "You shall call his name John," according to that passage of Isaiah forty-nine: "The Lord called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he remembered my name." And rightly it is said written on account of its indelible firmness, to show that his name is written in the book of life, just as those of Christ's disciples; below in the tenth chapter: "Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Concerning this writing it is said in Apocalypse three: "He who overcomes, I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem"; and again in the second chapter: "I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a name written, which no one knows except he who receives it." — And because they did not know the reason for this naming, therefore it follows: And all marveled: the Gloss says: "On account of the agreement between the father and the mother," so that now "by the mouth of two witnesses that word might stand." Or also they marveled at so great a prerogative in the child"; Ecclesiasticus eleven says of the just man: "God exalted him, and many marveled at him and honored God." Whence he himself could say that passage from Wisdom eight: "The faces of princes shall wonder at me." In this we are taught that the prerogatives of divine privileges are to be humbly and soberly admired rather than boldly scrutinized. Spiritually note that by Zachariah is understood the old priesthood, and by John the new; and because the old and the new differ as the memorial of a gift and the gift itself, therefore the former is rightly named from the memorial, but the latter from the gift of grace; and this indeed quite rightly, because the memory of God in us generates the affections of virtue and grace. For whoever wishes to be John through grace must first be Zachariah through divine remembrance. For Zachariah is interpreted as mindful of God; the Psalm: "He has made a memorial of his wonders"; Exodus twenty: "You shall make an altar of earth for me, and you shall offer upon it your holocausts and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen, in every place in which the memorial of my name shall be; I will come to you and bless you." Moreover, everyone ought to be mindful of the sacraments of God for believing and confessing: In Exodus thirteen it is said of the paschal lamb: "It shall be as a sign in your hand and as a memorial before your eyes"; it follows: "You shall keep this manner of worship at the appointed time from day to day." — Of benefits for giving thanks: Deuteronomy sixteen: "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread of affliction, because in fear you went out of Egypt, that you may remember the day of your departure from Egypt all the days of your life"; Psalm: "He has made a memorial," etc. — Of judgments for fearing: Sirach eighteen: "Remember wrath in the day of consummation, and the time of retribution in the turning of the face"; Psalm: "I have been mindful of your judgments from of old, O Lord." — Of promises for hoping: Sirach eleven: "In the day of evil things, be not unmindful of good things." — Of commandments for doing: Psalm: "His justice unto the children of children, to those who keep his covenant and are mindful of his commandments to do them." — Of examples for imitating: John fifteen: "Remember my word, which I said to you: The disciple is not above the master." — Of sufferings for having compassion; Lamentations three: "Remember poverty and transgression"; and it follows: "Remembering I shall remember, and my soul shall waste away within me." — Of consolations for rejoicing together; Song of Songs one: "We shall exult and rejoice in you, mindful of your breasts more than wine." — Of works…

Luke 1:64 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And immediately his mouth was opened, etc. After the birth from the barren woman and the circumcision and the naming of the infant, there follows the opening of the priestly mouth, according to the word of the heavenly messenger. This miracle was demonstrative of the prerogative and excellent magnificence in John, so that it might deservedly be shown that he is called by this name. In the description of this miracle, three things are intimated, namely, the evidence of the miracle, and its reverence, and the understanding of the same. For the appearance of a miracle begets admiration, and admiration begets knowledge or inquiry. He therefore first sets forth the evidence of the miracle, when he says: And immediately the mouth of Zechariah was opened and his tongue, and he spoke blessing God: opened, I say, not by the power of nature, but of heavenly power: Wisdom 10: "Wisdom opened the mouth of the mute and made the tongues of infants eloquent." He, I say, did this, at whom the crowds marveled, saying: "He has done all things well, and has made the deaf to hear and the mute to speak," namely Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, Mark 7. And so that the miracle may be shown to be true, it says immediately; for as Ambrose says: "The grace of the Holy Spirit knows no slow endeavors." — So that it may be shown to be full and perfect, there is added: And he spoke blessing God, acknowledging the benefit, as in Tobit 13: "And the elder Tobias, opening his mouth, blessed God." In this we are instructed that we ought to have our mouth open for divine praise, which we pray in the Psalm: "O Lord, you will open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise"; and especially after the benefit of our redemption: Isaiah 35: "Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute shall be opened." But on the contrary, it is said of the wicked in Job 16: "They have opened their mouths against me, reviling"; because, according to what is said in the Psalm, "their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they acted deceitfully."

Luke 1:65 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Second, he adds the reverence of the miracle, when he says: And fear came upon all their neighbors, and throughout all the hill country of Judea all these words were spread abroad: the Psalm: "All who dwell at the borders shall fear at your signs"; whence they could sing that of Exodus 15: "Who is like you among the mighty, O Lord? Who is like you, magnificent in holiness?" And because the magnificence of proclamation follows upon the reverence of the miracle, therefore he says: Throughout all the hill country of Judea they were spread abroad, etc. And rightly so, because, Tobit 12, "it is good to hide the secret of a king, but to reveal and confess the works of God is honorable"; and therefore the Psalm: "Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name"; and afterwards: "Declare all his wondrous works."

Luke 1:66 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Thirdly, he subjoins the understanding of the miracle, when he says: And all who heard laid them up in their heart, saying: What manner of child, think you, shall this be? Ecclesiasticus fifty: "Blessed is he who occupies himself with these good things"; "he who lays them up in his heart shall always be wise"; and Proverbs twenty-four: "I passed through the field of a slothful man and through the vineyard of a foolish man: and behold, nettles had filled the whole of it, thorns had covered its surface, and its stone wall was broken down. When I had seen this, I laid it up in my heart and learned the lesson." They laid them up, namely through attention, understanding, and memory; and through the greatness of the miracle they recognized the greatness of the child: whence they said: What manner of child, think you, shall this be? As if to say: he shall be great, according to that word of the Angel, above in the same chapter: "For he shall be great before the Lord." Thus they spoke of Christ: Mark four: "Who, think you, is this?" Rightly of Christ it is said is, as of the Creator, whose nature is to abide; but of John shall be, as of the forerunner, whose role was to pass on. — And they give the reason: For the hand of the Lord was with him: Ezekiel three: "The hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me"; so also with John the right hand of the Lord was preserving and strengthening him: Psalm: "Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand and upon the son of man whom you have confirmed for yourself." And thus they understood him, of whom it is written in Isaiah forty-nine: "He made my mouth like a sharp sword; under the covering of his hand he protected me."

Luke 1:67 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And Zacharias his father, etc. After the origin of John has been described, here is subjoined the thanksgiving for the benefit of redemption already begun in the birth of the forerunner and to be consummated in the birth of the Savior. This thanksgiving, therefore, he describes in two ways: first, on the part of the motive; second, on the part of the manner, at: Blessed be the Lord. Concerning the motive, note that what moved Zechariah to praise was the divine Spirit, not his own; for which reason he premises that he was breathed upon and filled with the Holy Spirit. And here is touched upon: who is filled? Namely Zechariah, who was a just man, of whom above in the same chapter, that he was "walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame," and in this it is intimated that the memory of God is filled; Tobit 1: "Because he was mindful of the Lord with his whole heart, God gave him grace in the sight of King Shalmaneser." — Why is he filled? Because he is the father of him, namely of John; whence just as the mother had the spirit of prophecy on account of the son, above in the same chapter, so also the father; Proverbs 23: "The father of the just exults with gladness; he who has begotten a wise son shall rejoice in him." In which is understood allegorically that the old law and the priesthood did not have the Spirit except by reason of the new testament, which it prefigured. — How is he filled? For which reason it says: And he was filled with the Holy Spirit; Genesis 41: "Can we find such a man, who is full of the spirit of God?" And Sirach 15: "He filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding." In which we are instructed with what we ought to be filled; Ephesians 5: "Be filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns," etc. — To what end is he filled? And he prophesied, by praising and preaching: Acts 2: "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in various tongues, as the Holy Spirit gave them to speak"; and Amos 3: "The Lord has spoken, who shall not prophesy?"; and 2 Peter 1: "For prophecy was not brought at any time by human will, but holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Spirit."

Luke 1:68 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, etc. Here is described the thanksgiving as regards its manner in this canticle, of which there are four parts. In the first of these there is a thanksgiving and singing of praise for the benefit of our redemption, according as the remedial dispensation was to be consummated through Christ. Now giving thanks for the benefit of the redemption to be consummated in Christ, he puts the past tense for the future, in the prophetic manner: in which is touched upon the mystery of the incarnation, the price of redemption, the trophy of the resurrection: in which lies the remedy of our salvation. He therefore first introduces Zacharias prophesying through the Holy Spirit in thanksgiving, because he gives thanks for a future benefit, when he says: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. Similarly it is said in Tobit 8: "We bless you, Lord God of Israel, because you have shown us your mercy"; and in 1 Chronicles, last chapter: "Blessed are you, Lord God of Israel, our father, from eternity to eternity." And note that Lord names the majesty to be blessed with fear: Malachi 1: "If I am the Lord, where is my fear?" And therefore it is said in Deuteronomy 10: "You shall fear the Lord your God"; and the Psalm: "O Lord our Lord, how admirable is your name in all the earth." — God of Israel names the benignity to be blessed with love; Isaiah 45: "I am the Lord, who call you by your name, the God of Israel, for the sake of Jacob my servant and Israel my chosen one"; and Exodus 3: "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. This is my name, and this is my memorial." Moreover, Israel is named here rather than another, because it is the name of election and grace. Now the first motive of this blessing is the mystery of the incarnation, which he indicates when he says: Because he has visited, namely through the incarnation; Exodus 3: "Visiting, the Lord has visited us and has seen all the evils that have befallen us in Egypt, and he will lead us out of the affliction of Egypt," etc. The Prophet was asking for this in the Psalm: "Remember us, O Lord, in the good pleasure of your people; visit us with your salvation." This moreover came to pass when he took flesh from the Virgin; the Psalm: "You have visited the earth and made it drunk; you have multiplied its enrichment." The second motive is the price of redemption, which he touches upon when he says: And he has wrought the redemption of his people: so that what is said in the Psalm may be fulfilled: "The Lord has sent redemption to his people"; and truly, "because with the Lord there is mercy, and with him plentiful redemption"; and 1 Peter 1: "You were not redeemed with corruptible gold or silver from your vain manner of life received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood as of a Lamb unspotted and undefiled," etc. And this is what is said in Isaiah 52: "You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money"; the Psalm: "You have redeemed your people with your arm."

Luke 1:69 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

The third motive is the trophy of the resurrection, which he touches upon when he says: And he raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David, his servant: in which is understood the power of Christ rising: 1 Kings 2: "The Lord will give dominion to his king and will exalt the horn of his Christ." And this was in the resurrection: Matthew, last chapter: "All power has been given to me in heaven and on earth." And because that power was enduring, therefore it is signified by a horn; as a figure of this, the vessel with which Solomon was anointed was a horn, 3 Kings 1; the vessel with which Saul was anointed was a flask, that is, a fragile vessel, 1 Kings 10. And it is said: Horn of salvation, because through it "Israel was saved with an eternal salvation," Isaiah 45. — And he adds: In the house of David, his servant: according to that of the Psalm: "There I will make a horn spring forth for David; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ"; and 2 Kings 22: "My shield and the horn of my salvation, my lifter and my protector; from my iniquity you will free me." This, however, is said on account of the incarnation; below in chapter 2 it is said that Joseph and Mary were "of the family of David."

Luke 1:70 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

As he spoke by the mouth of his holy ones. Here he offers praises and thanks for our restoration, inasmuch as it was promised through the Prophets by the prophecy of the Holy Spirit. And first he sets forth the prophetic oracle; second, he subjoins the prophesied benefit; and third, the fulfillment of the benefit. For these three things stir one to bless God. First, therefore, he sets forth the oracle in that he says: As he spoke by the mouth of his holy Prophets who have been from of old. And it should be repeated: "Blessed be the Lord God, because he raised up," etc. As he spoke: 1 Chronicles 17: "Now, Lord, let the word which you have spoken be confirmed forever, and do as you have spoken." This the Saints preceding Christ's advent desired: Ecclesiasticus 36: "Raise up the prayers which your former Prophets spoke in your name, and give reward to those who wait for you, that your Prophets may be found faithful." Which also came to pass: below, chapter 18: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that were spoken by the Prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished"; Amos 3: "For the Lord will not do a thing unless he has revealed his secret to his servants the Prophets."

Luke 1:71 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Second, he subjoins the benefit which the Prophets promised, when he says: Salvation from our enemies: and the word he wrought or he raised up should be repeated. For the Prophets spoke of this: 1 Peter 1: "Concerning which salvation the Prophets inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace to come in you." This salvation, moreover, consists in liberation from enemies, that is, from demons: Psalm: "Deliver me from my enemies"; Colossians 1: "He has rescued us from the power of darkness." And he adds thirdly the completion of the benefit, when he says: And from the hand of all who hated us, that is, from the hand or power of all persecutors, whether demons or men: Isaiah nineteen: "They shall cry out to the Lord because of the oppressor, and he shall send them a savior and a champion, who shall deliver them"; Job five: "He dissipates the plans of the malicious, so that their hands cannot accomplish what they had begun." And for so great a benefit God is to be praised: Second Maccabees one: "Having been delivered from great dangers by God, we give him magnificent thanks"; and in the Psalm: "He delivered me from my most powerful enemies, and from those who hated me."

Luke 1:72 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

To perform mercy, etc. This is the third principal part of the canticle, in which he gives thanks for our restoration, inasmuch as it was promised to the Fathers under oath. And in this part he first sets forth the principle moving to the promise; second, the oath establishing it; and third, the remedy following upon it. The principle now moving to the promise was the divine mercy, from which promise arose the testimony of the Fathers: and he touches on this when he says: To perform mercy with our Fathers. And the word previously stated must be repeated, namely that of blessing and raising up: blessed, that is, be God, who raised up a horn, so that he might perform mercy: Exodus twenty: "He performs mercy unto thousands for those who love him"; and Tobit three: "Blessed are you, Lord God of our fathers, who, when you have been angry, show mercy"; the Psalm: "Magnifying the salvations of his king and showing mercy to his anointed, to David and to his seed forever." And because by promising mercy he as it were made it a debt through a covenant, he therefore adds: And to remember his holy testament: the Psalm: "He has been mindful forever of his testament, of the word which he commanded for a thousand generations." And note that the old testament was holy through prefiguration, but the new through containment and fulfillment: whence he calls the new testament a holy testament, which he sanctified with his blood: Zechariah nine: "You also, in the blood of your testament, have sent forth your prisoners from the pit"; and Hebrews nine: "If the blood of goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled upon the defiled sanctifies unto the cleansing of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Holy Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And therefore he is the mediator of the new testament, so that, with death intervening, for the redemption of those transgressions which were under the former testament, those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." And this is what he had promised beforehand, as is said in Hebrews eight: "I will consummate upon the house of Israel and the house of Judah a new testament."

Luke 1:73 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Secondly, he adds the establishing oath, when he says: The oath which he swore to Abraham our father: and the preceding word must always be repeated, namely performed: Genesis twenty-two: "By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not spared your only-begotten son for my sake, blessing I will bless you." Introducing this, the Apostle in Hebrews six says: "For God, promising to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom he might swear, swore by himself"; and thus, so that "he might show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, he interposed an oath, so that through two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have the strongest consolation." To Abraham, he promised, namely that he would give to us, his children, that is through the promise, his Only-begotten; John three: "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son"; and: "He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how has he not also given us all things with him?" Romans eight. Moreover, the figure of this is in Genesis fifteen: "To your seed I will give this land from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates."

Luke 1:74 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Then he adds the benefit or subsequent remedy, when he says: That without fear, delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him. For this is the remedy which we have obtained through Christ given to us: Romans six: "But now being freed from sin and made servants of God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end, life everlasting"; Wisdom sixteen: "You showed our enemies that it is you who deliver from all evil," namely those who hear you by believing and obeying: Proverbs one: "But he who hears me shall be without terror and shall enjoy abundance, the fear of evils being removed." And these are those who serve the Lord: 1 Kings seven: "Prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve him alone"; and he will deliver us from the hands of our enemies.

Luke 1:75 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And because not every manner of serving is acceptable to God, therefore he adds the manner, namely holily with respect to oneself, justly with respect to one's neighbor, simply with respect to God, perseveringly with respect to all the aforesaid. — On account of holiness he says: In holiness indeed let us serve him, because, as it is said in the Psalm, "he who walks in the immaculate way, he ministered to me"; therefore Exodus twenty-eight: "You shall sanctify Aaron and his sons, that they may exercise the priesthood to me," and "let them minister in the sanctuary, lest they die guilty of iniquity"; 1 Peter one: "According to him who called you, the Holy One, that you also may be holy in all your conduct, because it is written: You shall be holy, because I am holy." On account of justice with regard to one's neighbor, he says: And justice: Romans 6: "As you have yielded your members to serve iniquity unto iniquity, so now yield your members to serve justice unto sanctification"; so that you may be able to say that word of the Psalm: "But I in justice shall appear before your sight." On account of simplicity he says: Before him, namely God: which is done through simple intention, as Hezekiah, 4 Kings 20: "I beseech you, Lord, remember how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done what is pleasing before you." Thus "the boy Samuel ministered in the sight of the Lord before the face of Eli," 1 Kings 3; and 1 Chronicles, last chapter: "I know, Lord, that you test hearts and love simplicity." On account of perseverance he adds: All our days, as the Apostle, Acts 20: "You know how through all the time I was with you, serving the Lord with all humility and tears and trials"; and Joshua 22: "Cleave to God and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Luke 1:76 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, etc. This is the fourth part of the canticle, in which he recounts the benefit of our redemption, inasmuch as it was already begun in the precursor; and this by a prophetic proclamation, which he commends in three ways, namely from the authority of prophecy, from the utility of doctrine, and from the proximity of the divine presence. He commends therefore the proclamation of John, initiatory of our restoration, from the authority of prophecy, turning his discourse to the child. And you, child, prophet of the Most High: you, child both in age and in purity: 1 Corinthians 14: "In malice be children, but in understanding be perfect." You shall be called a prophet; Matthew 11: "Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet"; and prophet of the Most High, that is, of Christ, by reason of his Divinity: the Psalm: "A man is born in her, and the Most High himself has founded her." — For you shall go before the face of the Lord, by reason of his humanity: the Psalm: "Show your face, and we shall be saved"; and Malachi 3: "Behold, I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face." — To prepare his ways, he says ways in the plural, that is, the way of knowledge in faith and of affection in charity. Concerning the first, Job 17: "The just man shall hold to his way, and with clean hands shall add strength"; Romans 1: "The just man lives by faith." Concerning the way of charity: 1 Corinthians 12: "I show you a still more excellent way." John prepared the way of faith inasmuch as he was a voice: below in chapter 3: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord"; the way of charity, inasmuch as he was a lamp: John 5: "He was a burning and shining lamp."

Luke 1:77 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

He commends it also secondly from the utility of the doctrine, when he says: To give knowledge of salvation to his people: to give, namely freely: Matthew 10: "Freely you have received, freely give"; and Proverbs 2: "The Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come prudence and knowledge." To give, I say, knowledge, not just any, but of salvation: because without knowledge there is no salvation; Isaiah 5: "Therefore my people has been led captive, because it did not have knowledge." This every ruler of the people ought to have; Hosea 4: "Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you, so that you shall not serve me as priest"; Isaiah 33: "The riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge," of salvation, I say, not of just any kind, but spiritual: on account of which he adds: In the remission of their sins. Bede: "Lest you think that temporal salvation was being promised, he adds 'in the remission of their sins.'" For of the Savior it is said in Matthew 1: "He shall save his people from their sins"; and Mark 1: "John was preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."

Luke 1:78 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

He commends also John's proclamation from the proximity of the divine presence, when he says: Through the bowels of mercy of our God. And he describes this in three ways: first, as visiting to console the affection; second, as illuminating to teach the intellect, at: To illuminate those, etc.; third, as directing to rectify the action, at: To direct the feet, etc. He therefore first describes the divine presence joined to the prophecy of the precursor, when he says: Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from on high has visited us: and it should be continued from the preceding thus: You shall go before to give knowledge of salvation to his people unto the remission of sins, which indeed was through the tender mercy of God, which hastens the divine presence in the flesh, in which he visited us. The tender mercy is exceeding love and exceeding compassion: Ephesians 2: "But God, who is rich in mercy, on account of his exceeding charity with which he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, made us alive together in Christ, by whose grace you are saved"; and Isaiah 63: "Where is the multitude of your tender mercies and your compassions? They have restrained themselves over me." But after the Son of God was incarnate, that word of Genesis 43 concerning Joseph was verified: "His bowels were moved for his brother." Following this example, Colossians 3: "Put on, as the elect of God, tender mercy, kindness, humility, modesty, patience." Through this tender mercy the Dayspring from on high has visited us: Malachi 4: "For you who fear my name, the sun of justice shall arise, and healing in his wings"; and Zechariah 6: "Behold a man, the Dayspring is his name." From on high, according to that word of John 3: "He who comes from above is above all." In this there was a wondrous condescension: the Psalm: "What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you visit him?"

Luke 1:78 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Because of the loving-kindness of our God. God's inner goodness is the very reason why He loved to the highest possible degree and was filled with the deepest possible mercy. All this was seen in the resurrection, for by means of that same supreme kindness by which He had created all things, He now restored all things; by His supreme truth, He judged all things; by His supreme goodness, He glorified all things.

Luke 1:79 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

Now this visitation of the heavenly sun was not only a cause of consolation, but also of illumination: and therefore he adds: To illuminate those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death: and it should be construed: he visited to illuminate, that is, for the purpose of illuminating, those who sit in darkness, that is, the erring nations: Isaiah 9: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; for those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, a light has risen for them"; and again, Isaiah 42: "I have given you as a light to the nations, that you might open the eyes of the blind and lead forth the bound from confinement, those sitting in darkness from the prison house." And therefore John 9: "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." And because through illumination we are led to direction, therefore there follows: To direct our feet into the way of peace: Proverbs 16: "The heart of man disposeth his way, but it is the Lord's to direct his steps." And therefore Proverbs 3: "In all thy ways think upon him, and he shall direct thy steps"; and the Psalm: "Thy good Spirit shall lead me into the right land," where there is the kingdom of peace without toil; Wisdom 10: "The Lord conducted the just one through right ways and showed him the kingdom of God"; of which kingdom it is said in the Psalm: "Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, who hath placed peace in thy borders." For Jerusalem is interpreted as "vision of peace," to which we are led through the guidance of Christ and through the way of the commandments, which leads to peace: the Psalm: "Much peace have they that love thy law"; and Isaiah 48: "Would that thou hadst attended to my commandments: thy peace would have been as a river." Note that the Lord visits to correct offenders, as a legate a province; Obadiah 1: "He hath sent a legate to the nations. Arise, and let us rise up against him in battle"; the Psalm: "I will visit their iniquities with a rod." — To justify the penitent, as a physician the sick: Mark 2: "They that are well have no need of the physician, but they that are ill." — To teach the ignorant, as a master a disciple, as here: He hath visited us, to enlighten, etc.; the Psalm: "Thou hast visited the earth and plentifully watered it"; there follows: "The river of God is filled with waters." — To rouse the negligent, as a prince his people; 1 Kings 17: "Visit thy brethren, whether they fare well, and learn with whom they have been stationed"; Acts 15: "Let us return and visit the brethren throughout all the cities." — To advance those who labor, as a vinedresser his vineyard; the Psalm: "Look down from heaven and see, and visit this vineyard"; Isaiah 5: "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel." — To preserve the obedient, as a shepherd his flock; Ezekiel 34: "I will visit my sheep, as a shepherd visits his flock." — To make fruitful those who contemplate, as a bridegroom his bride; Genesis twenty-one: "The Lord visited Sarah, and she conceived"; Judith fifteen: "Joachim, the high priest, came from Jerusalem to Bethulia with all his priests, to see Judith." — To aid those who fight, as a king his army; Genesis, the last chapter: "After my death God will visit you"; and Luke, the last chapter: "Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." — To console those who suffer, as a healthy person the sick; Job ten: "Your visitation has preserved my spirit"; and Job two and James one: "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their tribulations"; Ecclesiasticus seven: "Let it not weary you to visit the sick." — To reward those who persevere, as a householder; Matthew twenty: "Call the workers and pay them their wages"; and Isaiah sixty: "I will make your visitation peace and your overseers justice."

Luke 1:79 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

Luke 1:79 — Breviloquium, Part 5

For readiness in action and contemplation there must be seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. For the contemplative life, on account of its turning toward the Trinity, must have three expediting gifts: with respect to reverence for majesty, fear; with respect to the understanding of truth, understanding; with respect to the savor or taste of goodness, wisdom. The active life, however, which is engaged in doing and enduring, must have four, namely piety for doing and fortitude for enduring; and the directive gifts of these two, namely knowledge and counsel. Whence, because direction is necessary for readiness, there arises a combination of gifts; and more gifts pertain to the intellect, because the light of knowledge greatly avails to direct one's feet into the right path.

Luke 1:80 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1

But the child grew, etc. After the origin of the precursor has been described and the thanksgiving for his origin, here thirdly is added his upbringing, in which there is an amplification of divine praise. The upbringing is described with respect to the progress of age in the flesh and virtue in the mind and religiosity in manner of life. With respect to the progress of age he says: But the child grew, namely, in body, according to what is said of Samuel in 1 Kings two: "The child Samuel grew and was pleasing both to God and to men." For he had found blessing, like Joseph, of whom Genesis, the penultimate chapter says: "Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold"; but contrarily it is said of Reuben in Genesis, the penultimate chapter: "You were poured out like water; may you not grow." Whence also that passage of Genesis twenty-six applies to him: "Isaac advancing and growing, until he became exceedingly great." With respect to the progress of virtue in the mind he says: And he was strengthened in spirit, namely, of divine power, of which Ezekiel three says: "The hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me"; whence he could say that word of the Apostle in Philippians, the last chapter: "I can do all things in him who strengthens me." Now this is the Holy Spirit, who gives power to the other Saints; the Psalm: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the breath of his mouth all their power." With respect to the progress of religiosity in manner of life he adds: And he was in the deserts, namely, so that there he might lead a religious life, according to what is sung of him: The caves of the desert in your tender years, fleeing the throngs of citizens, you sought, lest you might stain your life with even a slight utterance; because, "if anyone considers himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, his religion is vain." And therefore he cast forth that prophetic word in the Psalm: "I went far off fleeing and remained in solitude." For whoever wishes to live perfectly ought, having left the cities, to seek the desert places: First Maccabees, chapter two: "Many went down with Mattathias, seeking judgment and justice in the desert, and they settled there." — And because religious devotion is not praiseworthy unless it is persevering, therefore he adds: Until the day of his manifestation to Israel, when, namely, he showed himself in virtuous preaching: according to what the Apostle says in First Corinthians, chapter two: "My speech and my preaching was not in the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in the demonstration of the spirit and of power." Whence he first lived hidden to himself for a long time, so that afterward through his manifestation he might live for the salvation of others, according to that saying in James, chapter three: "Who is wise and learned among you? Let him show from his good conduct his works in the meekness of wisdom." — In this all preachers are instructed, that they should first devote themselves to their own perfection and then to the edification of others, because "he whose life is despised, it remains that his preaching be condemned." A figure of this preceded in Elijah, in Third Kings, chapter nineteen, who first went away into the desert and arrived at the mountain of God, where he was instructed: and afterward it follows that he anointed kings and prophets for the governance of the people of God.

Luke 2:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

Now the fitting time for Christ's nativity was the time of the enrollment of the universal empire, "because, as Gregory says, he was coming in the flesh who would enroll his elect in eternity." In this enrollment of the universal empire, a threefold excellence is noted, namely of power in commanding, of wisdom in discerning, and of justice in executing, since these three things were to be in Christ, according to that passage in Jeremiah twenty-three: "Behold, the days come, says the Lord, and I will raise up to David a just branch, and a king shall reign," behold, power; "and he shall be wise," behold, wisdom; "and he shall execute judgment and justice," behold, justice, so that there might be in him perfection in every way. As for the excellence of power in commanding he says: A decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. This Caesar Augustus was by his proper name Octavian, but was surnamed Caesar from Julius Caesar, who ruled before him, from whom all Roman emperors were afterward called caesars. He was also called Augustus, because he enlarged the republic; and from him all others are always called Augusti. And he issued a universal decree, because he held universal dominion, not over each and every individual, but over the principal parts of the world; whence his empire was great, according to that passage of Daniel 2: "And the fourth kingdom shall be as iron. As iron crushes and subdues all things, so shall it crush and shatter all these things." This was the Roman empire, which was designated by the empire of Nebuchadnezzar, of whom Jeremiah 27 says: "I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, and all nations shall serve him. The nation and kingdom that will not serve Nebuchadnezzar, I will visit upon that nation, says the Lord." In those days, namely of this kingdom, was the time of Christ's coming, because it is said in Daniel 2: "In the days of those kingdoms the Lord will raise up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, and his kingdom shall not be delivered to another people." And to him alone belongs the full enrollment of the world, according to that passage of the Psalm: "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein." And therefore it is said in Apocalypse 19 that "he had on his garment and on his thigh written: King of kings and Lord of lords"; because, as it is said in Ecclesiastes 5, "one higher than the high watches over them, and there are yet higher ones above these."

Luke 2:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

As for the excellence of wisdom in discerning he adds: This first enrollment was made by the governor of Syria, Cyrinus: because this was, as Ambrose says, the first general enrollment, which was begun by Cyrinus; or: first made, that is, first begun, according to Bede, by him who governed in Syria, which is the navel of the habitable world; and thus the said enrollment was carried out distinctly and in good order, and these are two marks of wisdom in a ruler, according to what is said of Solomon in 3 Kings 10: "When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the dwellings of his servants and the orders of his ministers, she had no more spirit in her." Now this enrollment was made not out of vanity, as was that of David in 2 Kings, last chapter, on account of which the people were struck, but for the utility of the empire, that the amount of tribute might be known, and this pertains to discretion, not to pride: Ecclesiasticus 42: "Where there are many hands, lock up; and whatever you hand over, count and weigh; and record everything given and received." But it does not belong to just any individual king to enroll tributes, but to the newborn Christ; whence the Psalm: "And in your book all shall be written; days shall be formed, and no one in them."

Luke 2:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

As for the excellence of justice in its pursuit, it is added: And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. They were therefore carrying out the king's command, and no one was seizing what belonged to another; and thus they had subjection to the king in their enrollment, and peace with one another in quiet and just cohabitation, according to that passage in Romans thirteen: "Render to all what is owed: to whom tribute, tribute; to whom honor, honor; owe no one anything, except to love one another." To be enrolled indeed, acknowledging themselves subject to the Roman empire, and this by rendering the census tax. And this was just, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-two: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." And because Judea had already been made tributary, it is signified that the time of Christ's nativity had arrived, according to that passage in the penultimate chapter of Genesis: "The scepter shall not be taken away from Judah, nor a ruler from his thigh, until he comes who is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of the nations." They went, moreover with no one offering hindrance, by which it is shown that this empire was most peaceful; and therefore it was the time for Christ, the announcer of peace, to come, of whom it is said in Ephesians two: "He himself is our peace, who has made both one." And thus that passage in Micah four was already fulfilled: "Nation shall not take up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war anymore; and all peoples shall walk, each one in the name of his God." And this is what Bede says in the Gloss: "Christ willed to be born in a most peaceful time, because he greatly sought and loved peace and always visited the lovers of peace."

Luke 2:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

But Joseph also went up, etc. After he described the due time, he here describes the fitting place, and this because that place was suitable to the prophetic oracle, suitable to the divine promise, and suitable also to the imperial edict. It is shown therefore to be fitting by prophetic oracle in that it says: And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, because according to one prophecy, Nazareth, "where Christ had been conceived," was fitting for the conception: Isaiah 11, according to another reading: "A Nazarene shall rise from his root"; but according to another, Bethlehem was fitting for the nativity. Therefore it adds: Into Judea, into the city of David, which is called Bethlehem: Micah 5: "And you, Bethlehem Ephrata, you are little among the thousands of Judah; for from you shall come forth he who is to be ruler in Israel, and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity." Whence it is said in Matthew 2 that when Herod inquired where Christ would be born, the scribes answered: "In Bethlehem of Judah, for so it is written through the Prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the princes of Judah. For from you shall come forth a leader who shall rule my people." This was the city of David, because from there he took his origin; 1 Kings 16: "The Lord said to Samuel: Come, I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided among his sons a king for myself." And note that Christ was born in one place, conceived in another, and raised in another, so that the mystery of the incarnation might be hidden from Herod and other impious men; whence John 7: "Does Christ come from Galilee? Is it not from Bethlehem, the town?" That place is also shown to be fitting by the divine promise, when it adds: Because he was of the house and family of David, namely he himself and his spouse the Virgin Mary. Whence Bernard says that "in the one the promise made to David was fulfilled, while the other was merely a witness and one who knew." This promise was made to David in 2 Kings 7, through Nathan: "The Lord foretells to you that the Lord will make you a house; and when your days shall be completed, I will raise up your seed after you and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever"; and again in the Psalm: "The Lord swore truth to David, and he will not frustrate it: of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne."

Luke 2:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

It is shown lastly as fitting to the imperial edict, when it is added: That he might be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. For this had proceeded from the imperial edict. And although the Virgin had already conceived the King of heaven and earth, nevertheless she willed to obey the imperial edict even while pregnant, so that she might say with her Son that word of Matthew 3: "So it becomes us to fulfill all justice"; and through this give us an example of obeying every superior power, according to that word of 1 Peter 2: "Be subject to every human creature for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as excelling, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, but for the praise of the good." In this, moreover, it appears how human empire serves the divine. For when Caesar commanded that all should go to their own city, and when Mary and Joseph obeyed his command, it came to pass what neither intended, namely that Christ would be born in Bethlehem, according as it had been eternally disposed and temporally promised and foretold and prophesied. And therefore the command of those set over us is in no way to be despised.

Luke 2:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

Now it came to pass, when they were there etc. He has described above the nativity of Christ as to the fitting time and suitable place; here thirdly he describes it as to the birth, which he describes as to three things, namely as to the opportune time for giving birth, the novelty of the birth and the poverty of the one giving birth: from which the origin of Christ is shown to be admirable, inimitable, and commendable. First, therefore, he intimates the opportune time for giving birth, when he says: It came to pass, when they were there, the days were accomplished of Mary, that she should give birth, in accordance with what was said above of her kinswoman, in the preceding chapter: "For Elizabeth the time of giving birth was fulfilled." Truly fulfilled, because in the fullness of time Christ was conceived and born: Galatians 4: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, made of a woman"; Psalm: "Full days shall be found in them."

Luke 2:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

He also indicates the novelty of the birth in that he says: And she brought forth her firstborn son. He says this, however, by way of privation of a prior child: for since the Virgin had conceived him, therefore he was her firstborn: Isaiah 7: "Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son"; and therefore the birth was new, just as the conception was, because, just as the conception was without shame, so the birth was without pain; the last chapter of Isaiah: "Before she was in labor, she brought forth: before her travail came, she brought forth a male child. Who has ever heard such a thing? Or who has seen the like of this?"; and afterward: "Shall I, who make others bring forth, not bring forth myself, says the Lord? If I, who grant generation to others, shall I be barren, says the Lord God?" Such a birth was fitting for Christ, of whom it is said in Colossians 1: "In him we have redemption and the remission of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature"; whence, just as he is the firstborn of the Father, so also the firstborn of the Mother; just as also the only-begotten of the Father, so the only-begotten of the Mother: John 1: "We saw his glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father," etc. Whence he does not say here firstborn indicating an order with respect to a later child, as the heretic Helvidius said, but a privation with respect to a prior child, because she had none before him, so that it might be shown that he was to be entirely dedicated to the Lord. For all firstborn were to be offered to God: Exodus 13: "Sanctify to me every firstborn that opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of men and of beasts: for all are mine." He indicates thirdly the poverty of the one giving birth, because she was lacking in covering, a bed, and lodging. On account of the lack of covering he says: And she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, not in one garment, but in many, so that he could be called a ragged pauper, and by his example he showed that saying of the Apostle in the last chapter of First Timothy: "Having food and wherewith to be covered, with these let us be content." And this corresponds to that prophecy in Zechariah 3, where it is said that "Jesus, the high priest, was clothed in filthy garments." Bernard: "Recognize Jesus the high priest, clothed in filthy garments, while he was contending with the devil. But when our head was exalted above our enemies, he changed his garment, he put on beauty, clothed with light as with a garment. For indeed an iron breastplate is more useful in battle than a linen robe, although the former is for burden, the latter for honor." And in this is reproved the adornment of costly garments; on account of which it is said in Matthew 11: "Those who are clothed in soft garments are in the houses of kings"; and Sirach 11: "Never glory in clothing." On account of the lack of a bed, he adds: And she laid him in a manger, not in a bedchamber, so that that saying of Matthew 8 might be verified: "Foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky have nests; but the Son of man has not where to lay his head." Christ is placed in a manger so that that saying of John 6 might be shown: "I am the living bread, who came down from heaven"; and so that that saying of Isaiah 1 might be verified: "The ox has known its owner, and the donkey the manger of its lord"; and that saying of Habakkuk 3 according to the Septuagint: "In the midst of two animals you shall be made known; when the years draw near, you shall be recognized," etc. In this, however, according to the mystical understanding, that he was born in Bethlehem, it is understood that he is the living bread: Bethlehem is interpreted as "house of bread." In this, that he was placed in a manger, it is noted that he is the food of the simple and humble by reason of the flesh assumed: Isaiah 40: "All flesh is grass, and all its glory is as the flower of grass." In this, that he was in the midst of two animals…

Luke 2:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

As to the vigilance of their own solicitude, it is said: And there were shepherds in the same region, keeping watch. For this pertains to the pastoral office: whence Jacob, the shepherd of Laban's sheep, said in Genesis thirty-one: "By day I was scorched by heat and by frost at night, and sleep fled from my eyes." And to indicate their greater attentiveness, he adds: And keeping the night watches over their flock. For at night especially one must keep watch to repel hostile attacks, namely of wolves and thieves. By this, however, is spiritually intimated the watchfulness that ought to be in prelates: whence Second Timothy four: "But watch thou, labor in all things, be sober." And therefore Hebrews, last chapter: "Obey your prelates in all things. For they watch as being about to render an account for your souls"; because, Romans twelve, "he that ruleth, with solicitude." Everyone ought also to watch against the spiritual enemy, according to that of Lamentations two: "Arise, give praise in the night, in the beginning of the watches; pour out thy heart like water before the sight of the Lord thy God." One ought also to watch in contemplation: Psalm: "And the night is my illumination in my delights"; and Isaiah twenty-six: "My soul hath desired thee in the night, yea, and with my spirit within my heart I will watch for thee in the morning"; and this, because such an hour is suited to divine inspiration. Such an hour was also fitting for the divine nativity, according to that of Wisdom eighteen: "For while all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course, thy almighty Word, O Lord, leaping down from heaven, from thy royal throne, came." And he says pointedly: Over their flock, according to that of Proverbs twenty-seven: "Diligently know the countenance of thy cattle, and consider thy flocks." Against which, Zechariah eleven: "O shepherd and idol, that forsaketh the flock!" And Jeremiah thirteen: "Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful cattle? What wilt thou say, when he shall visit thee? For thou hast taught them against thee, and instructed them against thy own head."

Luke 2:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

As for the shining forth of angelic light, there follows: And behold, an Angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God, etc. In this, that he stood by them, he shows the familiarity and humility of the ministry by which the Angel condescends to man and stands by him, now as a helper, according to that of Daniel twelve: "Michael, the great prince, shall rise up, who standeth for the children of thy people"; now as an instructor and illuminator, according to that above, chapter one: "The Angel Gabriel appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense." In like manner also here; whence Ambrose: "An Angel instructs Mary, an Angel Joseph, an Angel the shepherds." As a sign of this there is added: And the glory of God shone around them, that is, it shone about them. Something similar is said of the Angel who appeared to Peter, Acts 12: "Behold, the Angel of the Lord stood by, and a light shone in the dwelling" of the prison. Now this Angel brought light because he was a son of light, and because he had come to announce him who "is the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world," as is said in John 1. And therefore he brought light by night, to signify that what is said in Isaiah 9 was being fulfilled: "For those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, a light has risen for them." Now from this brightness he made the shepherds troubled; on account of which there is added: And they feared with a great fear, just as Zacharias also at the sight of the Angel, above, chapter 1: "And Zacharias was troubled, and fear fell upon him." And note that the Angel appeared to shepherds rather than to any other kind of men, partly because they were poor, for whose sake Christ was coming: the Psalm: "Because of the misery of the needy and the groaning of the poor, now I will arise"; and Bernard says: "How many altars today gleam with gold and gems! Do you think Angels will turn aside to these things and shun men dressed in rags? If it is so, why did they appear to shepherds of sheep rather than to kings of the earth, rather than to priests of the temple?" Also because they were simple: Proverbs 3: "Every mocker is an abomination to the Lord, and his conversation is with the simple"; and Matthew 11: "You have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and have revealed them to little ones." Also because they were watchful: Proverbs 8: "Those who watch for me in the morning shall find me"; Wisdom 6: "Those who keep vigil for her from the break of day shall quickly be secure." Or on account of the mystery, so that it might be intimated that the doctrine of truth ought to come from prelates to their subjects; whence the Gloss says: "Those who diligently preside over the faithful deserve above others to see sublime things."

Luke 2:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

There is an order of levels intended for enlightenment. Enlightenment through writings of primary importance pertains to the deacons. Wherefore they were also in the habit of preaching, as did Stephen, Lawrence, Vincent. Hence, in Luke the angel says to the shepherds: "I bring you good news of great joy." The deacon is such an angel.

Luke 2:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And the Angel said to them etc. Here secondly is described the announcement inviting to exultation: in which is prefaced an exhortation to confidence and to joy, and there follows the announcement, expressing the cause of joy. Therefore the Angel, exhorting to confidence, said to them: Do not be afraid. For the Angel had not come to announce a terrible thing, but rather a desirable one, just as he who announced the resurrection to the women: Mark, last chapter: "Do not be afraid"; in which he grants the confidence of hoping. In this is recognized the difference between the Angel of light and of darkness, because the good Angel reassures, but the evil one ultimately terrifies. And what is more, he invites to joy: on account of which he adds: For behold, I bring you tidings of great joy. This Raphael wished for Tobias, in chapter five, when he said: "May joy always be with you." With this the Magi rejoiced; Matthew 2: "And seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy." And it is called great to distinguish it from the joy of hypocrites: Job 20: "The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment," and chapter 21: "They rejoice at the sound of the organ, they spend their days in prosperity, and in a moment they go down to hell." Great also, because abundant, which he notes when he adds: Which shall be to all the people, and this to distinguish it from the joy of the worldly: John 16: "The world shall rejoice, but you shall be sorrowful." On the contrary, below in chapter 13: "And all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him."

Luke 2:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And because no one rejoices perfectly except from a cause and reason, therefore there follows an announcement expressing the cause of joy, when it is said: For today is born to you a Savior: to you, namely for your benefit, namely of men: Isaiah 9: "A little child is born to us, and a son is given to us." And truly for benefit, because a Savior: Isaiah 45: "Truly you are a hidden God, the God of Israel, the Savior"; and Isaiah 19: "He will send them a Savior and a defender, who will deliver them." And truly a Savior, because, according to that passage of Acts 4, "There is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved." In this, moreover, is intimated the cause of rejoicing for the nativity: Malachi 4: "The sun of justice shall rise upon you who fear my name." Nor is one to rejoice only by reason of benefit, but also of dignity, and therefore it is added: Who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David, and thus he will restore the kingdom of Israel, according to that passage of Isaiah 9: "He shall sit upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to establish it and strengthen it in judgment and justice, from henceforth and forever." And therefore Lord is rightly added, because, 1 Timothy 6, "He is the King of kings and Lord of lords"; and Revelation 19: "He had on his garment and on his thigh written: King of kings and Lord of lords." And therefore: in the city of David, that is, in Bethlehem, where he was born.

Luke 2:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And this shall be a sign to you, etc. After the disposition preparing for hearing and the announcement inviting to exultation, there follows here thirdly a confirmation assuring for believing. And since in the mouth of two witnesses every word must stand, therefore the shepherds are confirmed in a twofold manner: through sight and hearing; for these two senses above all serve us for knowing. First, therefore, they are assured through a probable sign, then through a credible testimony. Therefore, as regards the persuasion of a probable sign, it is said: And this shall be a sign to you. For, according to what is said in First Corinthians 1, "Jews demand signs." And this the prophet David especially sought: "Make with me," he says, "a sign for good." This sign was to be sought: Isaiah 7: "Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God." This also was promised; Isaiah 11: "There shall be a root of Jesse, who stands as a sign for the peoples; the nations shall entreat him." And this shall be a sign to you: to you, I say, the poor, that he has come to free the poor, according to that verse of the Psalm: "He shall deliver the poor from the mighty, and the poor man who had no helper." Because you shall find the infant, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and thus poor and destitute: Zechariah 9: "Behold, your king shall come to you, just and a Savior. He himself poor and riding upon a donkey." Bernard: "Your swaddling clothes are set as a sign, Lord Jesus, but as a sign which today is contradicted by many. Many indeed are called, but few are chosen, and therefore there is no signing." To you also the humble, a sign that he has come to free the humble, according to that verse of the Psalm: "You shall save the humble people." In this, which is added: And laid in a manger: behold, wondrous humility, that it should bow the Lord of the heavens down even to the manger of brute animals: Isaiah 53: "We saw him, and there was no comeliness that we should desire him, despised and the last of men." Whence in the Psalm: "But I am a worm and not a man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people," And note that the shepherds were poor, simple, and contemptible; therefore, lest they should fear to approach, there was given to them in the infant Christ a sign of poverty and humility — and in this is signified how and by whom Christ is found. Whence First Corinthians 1: "See your vocation, brethren, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but the foolish things of the world the Lord has chosen," etc.; and therefore later in the same: "This one is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be contradicted"; and this, because through these signs he was not recognized by the carnal and the proud. Whence in the Psalm: "We have not seen our signs, there is no longer a prophet"; and again: "They set up their signs, signs."

Luke 2:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

As for the persuasion of credible testimony, it is added: And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude; that is, there was with him to confirm equally the angelic word and to venerate the little one born, according to that passage in Hebrews 1: "When he brings the firstborn into the world, he says: And let all his Angels adore him." And it is pointedly said multitude, according to that passage in Hebrews 12: "You have come to Mount Sion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of Angels." And a multitude of the heavenly host: according to that passage in Job 25: "Is there any number of his soldiers?" And therefore 4 Kings 6: "Do not fear, said Elisha: for there are more with us than with them." And this appears at his birth, according to that passage in Revelation 19: "Behold, a white horse, and he who sat upon it, faithful and true"; "And the armies that are in heaven followed him." And this whole multitude, for the confirmation of the angelic word, bursts forth into the singing of a canticle; on account of which it is said: Praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will: Job 38: "Where were you, when the morning stars praised me together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"

Luke 2:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

Glory to God in the highest etc. Note that God is to be glorified in the incarnation, because, as Damascene says, in this work "the sublime goodness, wisdom, power, and justice of God are demonstrated." Glory therefore to God in the highest for his goodness, because he did not despise the weakness of his own handiwork: Galatians 1: "He gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present wicked world: to him be glory forever and ever! Amen." For his wisdom, because he found a supremely fitting solution to the most difficult problem; Romans 11: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" and it follows: "To him be glory forever! Amen." For his power: for what is more powerful than that God should become man? Romans 4: "Abraham was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, most fully knowing that whatever God has promised, he is able also to do"; and Ephesians 3: "Now to him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we ask or understand, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations, world without end! Amen." For his justice, because he saved like by like; Revelation 5: "To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and power forever and ever!" Therefore it is sung: Glory to you, O Lord, who were born of the Virgin! And note that they attribute glory to God because the Lord reserved it for himself: Isaiah forty-two: "I am the Lord, this is my name: my glory I will not give to another"; but they wish peace for us on earth, because, John fourteen, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you." And rightly he says: Of good will, because, according to that passage of Isaiah fifty-seven, "there is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord." And he places the glory of God before the peace of earth, because no one can have peace who strives to usurp the glory of God. Bernard: "The angelic division displeases men, by which glory is announced to God and peace to men. O foolish sons of Adam, who, despising peace and craving glory, lose both peace and glory!" Certainly he who craves glory resists God; but it is said in Job nine: "Who has resisted him and had peace?" "Acquiesce therefore to him, and have peace," as it is said in Job twenty-two, namely peace of the heart, concerning which it is said at Philippians four: "The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus," etc.; and the peace of eternity, concerning which in the last chapter of Isaiah: "I will turn upon her a river of peace"; the Psalm: "Who makes your borders peace." Note also that peace is wished for and announced to men, because through Christ man is pacified with God; Isaiah twenty-seven: "He will make peace with me, peace he will make with me." He is pacified with the Angels: Colossians one: "Making peace through the blood of his cross, whether the things on earth or the things in heaven." He is pacified with man: Ephesians two: "He himself is our peace, who made both one." He is pacified in himself; Job five: "You shall know that your tabernacle has peace." In figure of these things it is said in Joshua twenty-one: "Peace was given by him to all round about." This the Apostle always wishes, and Christ commands below in the tenth chapter: "Into whatever house you enter, first say: Peace to this house."

Luke 2:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

As for the mutual exchange of exhortation, it is said: And it came to pass, when the Angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds spoke to one another, namely exhorting one another, according to Hebrews 3: "See to it, brothers, that there not be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, but exhort one another every day." And rightly so, because "iron is sharpened by iron, and a man sharpens the face of his friend." As for the rectitude of intention, it is added secondly: Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this word that has come to pass. They wished to go over in order to see, just as Moses; Exodus 3: "I will go and see this great vision." And they wished to see the word that has come to pass, that is, a reality worthy of the word, or indeed the Word made flesh, according to John 1: "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we saw his glory." Made, I say, not by man, but by God; whence he adds: Which the Lord has made, that is, the whole Trinity; Isaiah 64: "When you shall do wondrous things, we shall not endure; for you descended, and the mountains melted before your face." Nor did he only make it, but also showed it to us. This David prayed: "Show us, O Lord, your mercy, and grant us your salvation"; and the Lord promised: "I will show him my salvation."

Luke 2:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

As for the promptness of execution, it is added thirdly: And they came with haste. And this is what is said in Proverbs 9: "Teach a just man, and he will hasten to receive." This haste was a sign of interior promptness, by which they wished to be presented before the divine sight; Proverbs 22: "Have you seen a man swift in his work? He shall stand before kings." Whence they said within themselves that word from Hebrews 4: "Let us hasten to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall into the same example of unbelief." Note that for one wishing spiritually to find Christ, these three things are necessary: namely, to converse through meditation on the Scriptures; Sirach 9: "Deal with the wise and the prudent"; "And let all your discourse be in the precepts of the Most High." To pass over through contemplation of creatures: Song of Songs 3: "I will rise and go about the city; through the streets and squares I will seek him whom my soul loves"; and afterwards: "When I had passed a little beyond them, I found him whom my soul loves"; and Sirach 24: "Come over to me, all you who desire me, and be filled from my fruits." To hasten through the tasting of graces; Song of Songs 2: "Arise, make haste, my beloved"; and Song of Songs 5: "I opened the bolt of my door to my beloved," etc. And therefore above in chapter one it is said of Mary that "she went into the hill country with haste." And they found Mary etc. Here secondly the diligence of the shepherds is commended from the certainty of their discovery, the praise of which is gathered from three things: because it was confirmed with certainty, swiftly made known, and preserved in memory. First indeed it was confirmed with certainty, because through probable and evident signs; on account of which it is said: And they found Mary and Joseph and the infant laid in the manger. Therefore they found, because they sought diligently and without pretense: whence it is said in Wisdom chapter one: "In simplicity of heart seek Him, for He is found by those who do not tempt Him." And note that He is found with Mary the virgin and Joseph, the just man, and in the manger, because he who wishes to find Christ must have purity with respect to himself, justice with respect to his neighbor, humility and reverence with respect to God. And these are the three gifts which the kings offer to the infant Christ, and therefore He willed to be found by them; Matthew chapter two: "And entering the house, they found the child with Mary, His mother, and falling down they adored Him, and opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh." In this we are also instructed that, if we wish to find Christ, we ought first to approach Mary; for of her it is said above in chapter one: "You have found grace with the Lord." She therefore found grace and mercy before Ahasuerus "above all women," as it is said in Esther chapter two. And therefore "let us approach with confidence the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace for timely aid."

Luke 2:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And because this sign was given by the Angel, therefore it is added: But seeing, they recognized concerning the word that had been spoken to them about this child, namely, that it was true. Whence they could now say that word of the Samaritans to the Angel himself: "We no longer believe because of your speech, for we ourselves have heard and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world." Truly they recognized, because they were of the sheep of that Shepherd, who says in John chapter ten: "I know Mine, and Mine know Me." This Job desired in chapter twenty-three: "Who will grant me that I may know and find Him and come even to His throne?"

Luke 2:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

Not only was it approved with certitude, but also swiftly made known: wherefore it is added: And all who heard marveled, namely at the little child born, and at the things that were told them by the shepherds, which they had heard from the Angel. Whence it is said of the just man in Ecclesiasticus 11: "Many marveled at him and glorified God." For they saw that the words of the shepherds were not to be despised but to be wondered at: Ambrose: "Do not think the words of the prophets contemptible as though lowly; from the shepherds even Mary gathers faith, from the shepherds the people is assembled to reverence God: for the Lord sought out a simple folk, who knew not how to embellish or paint over what they had heard." They marveled also because the little child did not appear to them contemptible but wonderful. Whence Isaiah 9: "A little child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and his name shall be called Wonderful." For everywhere Christ appears wondrous, not only in being born, as here, but also in advancing; below in the same chapter: "And they were astonished at his wisdom and his answers." Wonderful also in teaching — below in chapter 4: "They marveled at the words of grace that proceeded from his mouth." Wonderful in keeping silence; Mark 15: "But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled." Wonderful in action; below in chapter 8: "Who, do you think, is this, that he commands both the winds and the sea, and they obey him?" Wonderful in his passion: Mark 15: "But Pilate marveled that he had already died," etc. Wonderful in his resurrection: Luke, last chapter: "Peter, seeing the linen cloths laid by themselves, went away, wondering within himself at what had happened." Wonderful in his ascension: Psalm: "O Lord our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth! For your magnificence is exalted above the heavens." Wonderful in the final judgment: Wisdom 8: "I shall be found keen in judgment, and in the sight of the wise I shall be wonderful."

Luke 2:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

It was also, thirdly, preserved in memory: whence it is added: But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart: as one prudent and discerning, according to Proverbs 3: "Let not mercy and truth forsake you. Bind them about your neck, and inscribe them on the tablets of your heart"; and Ecclesiasticus 50: "He who lays these things in his heart shall always be wise." Contrariwise it is said of the fool in Ecclesiasticus 21: "The heart of a fool is like a broken vessel, and it will hold no wisdom." Whence the Virgin was an ark containing the secrets of the divine utterances: and therefore she is designated by the ark of Moses, of which it is said in Hebrews 9 that it contained the tablets of the divine law. And because she not only preserved but also understood: therefore it is added: Pondering them in her heart, so that she could say that word of the Psalm: "In my heart I have hidden your words."

Luke 2:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And the shepherds returned etc. Here the diligence of the shepherds is commended on account of the gratitude of devotion. For devotion to be acceptable to God, it is necessary that the hand, the mind, and the tongue resound and harmonize together: the hand by working, the tongue by praising, the mind by recognizing. The devotion of the shepherds was therefore praiseworthy on account of due operation, by reason of which it is said: The shepherds returned, namely to the custody of the flock entrusted to them. In this the devout are instructed that after the contemplation of the Savior they should return to the exercise of action: Ezekiel 1: "The living creatures went and returned in the likeness of a flash of lightning"; and below, chapter 8: "Return to your house and tell how great things God has done for you." A figure of this is found in Joshua 2: "The spies returned and descended from the mountain and came to Joshua." In this is signified that in time of temptation one must have recourse to prayer and afterwards return to action. It was also praiseworthy on account of due thanksgiving, by reason of which is added: Glorifying and praising God: Ecclesiasticus 43: "Glorify the Lord as much as you can: he will yet surpass, and his magnificence is wonderful. Blessing the Lord, exalt him as much as you can: he is greater than all praise." Against this it is said of the wise of this world, Romans 1: "Because when they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give thanks, but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. For professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." And therefore he who does not wish to be blinded must give thanks to God for his benefits: therefore it is said, Colossians 3: "All that you do in word or in work, do all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God." It was also praiseworthy on account of due recognition, by reason of which is added: In all things which they had heard and seen, as it was told to them: whence they could say that word of the Psalm: "As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of our God." Then was verified that word of the Psalm: "Behold, we heard of it in Ephrata, we found it in the fields of the forest." And note that it says: In all things which they had heard and seen, — in which is shown the fullness of gratitude: Ephesians 5: "Be filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to God, giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father." And note the order in which he says: In all things which they had heard and seen: because, Isaiah 7, according to another reading, "unless you believe, you will not understand"; but Romans 10: "Therefore faith comes by hearing," but understanding comes by sight, below, chapter 10: "Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see"; Job, last chapter: "By the hearing of the ear I heard you, but now my eye sees you."

Luke 2:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

As to the first, it should be noted that "everyone who humbles himself shall be exalted"; therefore the humiliation according to the precept of the Law is set forth first, when it is said: And after eight days were completed, that the child should be circumcised etc. For so it was commanded in Genesis seventeen: "An infant of eight days shall be circumcised among you." And rightly are those days said to be completed on account of the perfection of humility and the beginning of our salvation; Sirach eighteen: "When a man shall have completed," namely the eight days, "then he shall begin," namely to free us. For already on the eighth day he was beginning to shed his blood for us. Bernard: "We have heard the fitting lesson concerning the Word abbreviated: it was abbreviated in the flesh, and it will be further abbreviated by undergoing circumcision of the flesh." And further: "He whom no one can convict of sin himself endures the remedy for sin, at once humble and austere." Now the Lord willed to be circumcised both on account of the approval and fulfillment of the Law, concerning which he says in Matthew five: "I have not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it." And also on account of the demonstration of humility; the Psalm: "Because of the words of your lips, I have kept hard ways"; another reading: "the ways of the robber." Bernard: "He who is without sin does not disdain to be regarded as a sinner," indeed "he was marked with the brand of a robber." And also on account of the introduction of spiritual circumcision; Jeremiah four: "Be circumcised to the Lord and take away the foreskins of your hearts, men of Judah." And also on account of the commendation of conformity and concord; Hebrews two: "He ought to be made like his brethren in all things." Bernard: "Jesus, the lover and commender of community, how could he abandon it?" Then is added the clarification on account of the name imposed, when it is added: His name was called Jesus, that is, Savior, so that by the very name you may know that he did not receive circumcision on account of the necessity of his own healing, but on account of the dispensation of our salvation; Job 13: "He himself shall be my savior." Now this is a name worthy of all veneration; Philippians 2: "He humbled himself," etc. "For which reason God also exalted him and gave him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow." Now this name belongs to Christ himself truly and properly: truly, according to that passage of Matthew 1: "You shall call his name Jesus; for he himself shall save his people from their sins"; it also fits properly, according to that passage of Acts 4: "There is no salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved." Lastly is added the approval of the imposed name through the angelic proclamation, when it is added: Which was called by the Angel before he was conceived in the womb; Isaiah 62: "You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name"; and Ecclesiastes 6: "He who is to be, his name has already been called, and it is known that he is man." And this indeed was done now; above in chapter one: "You shall call his name Jesus." This name is truly divine and angelic, which the bride desires in Song of Songs 1: "Your name is oil poured out." Bernard: "All food of the soul is dry if it is not steeped in this oil; it is tasteless if it is not seasoned with this salt. If you write, it has no savor for me unless I read Jesus there. If you dispute or confer, it has no savor unless Jesus has sounded there. Jesus is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, jubilation in the heart." And therefore it is said in Isaiah 26: "Your name and your memorial are in the desire of the soul." Spiritually note that by the eight days are understood the eight Ages, of which six are in the course of the world according to six notable distinctions, the seventh in the rest of souls, which…

Luke 2:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

First, therefore, with respect to the appointed time, it says: And after the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled. Leviticus 12: "If a woman, having received seed, shall bear a male child, she shall be unclean seven days. And she shall remain thirty-three days in the blood of her purification." In this, however, that it says: "If, having received seed, she shall bear," it is shown that the blessed Virgin was not subject to that law by necessity, but was obedient out of humility. Bernard: "Do you think that Moses, about to say that a woman who had borne a male child would be unclean, did not fear to bring the charge of blasphemy upon the Mother of God, and therefore prefixed: having received seed?" And afterwards: "Truly, O blessed Virgin, you have no cause, nor do you have need of purification. But did your Son have need of circumcision?" Whence it can be said what Ahasuerus said to Esther, chapter 15: "Not for you, but for all has this law been established." Second, with respect to the designated place, it is added: They brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord. For this was the place chosen for divine worship; Second Paralipomenon 6: "I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be in it." And in this place the offspring was to be presented to God; Deuteronomy 16: "Three times in the year shall all your males appear in the sight of the Lord your God, in the place which the Lord shall choose." Spiritually, however, as to the mystery of the purification of Mary, it should be noted that Mary, who is interpreted as "star of the sea," or "bitter sea," designates the soul, whether it be in the light of the contemplative life, or in the bitterness of the active life; and purification is necessary for both. For the contemplative soul, purification from pride is necessary, which indeed is accomplished through fear; Job 41: "When he shall be raised up, the angels shall fear, and being terrified shall be purified." For the active soul, purification from negligence is necessary, which is accomplished through rigor and labor; Ecclesiasticus 7: "Purge yourself of negligence with a few." As to the sacrament of the Lord's presentation, it should be noted that we read that the child Jesus was brought to Jerusalem; we also read that he was brought to Egypt, Matthew 2. In this it is opened to us that the offspring of our mind, which is understanding, at one time must be elevated to the contemplation of external things, which is designated by Jerusalem — for Jerusalem is interpreted as "vision of peace" — at another time must be brought low to the consideration of our defects, which is designated by Egypt — for Egypt is interpreted as "darkness." And this is what is said in the Psalm: "For you light my lamp, O Lord; my God, enlighten my darkness"; and Job, last chapter: "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you," etc.

Luke 2:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

Third, with respect to the written commandment, it is added: As it is written in the law of the Lord, that every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord: Exodus 13: "Sanctify to me every firstborn that opens the womb among the children of Israel, as well of men as of beasts." But this does not seem to apply to the Virgin Mary, who is the closed gate before birth and after birth and in birth. And therefore it can be said, as was said above concerning the law of purification. Or indeed, the opening of the womb is understood with respect to fecundation, not with respect to the opening of the enclosure; Genesis 29: "The Lord opened the womb of Leah, her sister remaining barren"; and First Kings 1: "Her rival reproached Anna, because the Lord had closed her womb, for she was barren."

Luke 2:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

Fourth, with respect to the price offered, it is added: And that they might give for him a sacrifice, according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. For this was the offering of the poor; Leviticus 12: "But if her hand does not find nor is she able to offer a lamb, she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a holocaust and the other for sin; and the priest shall pray for him, and so he shall be cleansed." Behold, the wondrous poverty in the parents of Christ, that they did not have a lamb! And note that he places both offerings under a disjunction, to show that both befit the Lord. By the dove, therefore, is understood the active life, but by the solitary turtledove, the contemplative life, both of which render a person acceptable to God, as Bede says. And note three offerings concerning our sacrifice, which is the Lord Jesus. The first is his offering by his parents, which invites us to humility. The second is the offering for him of birds, which invites us to poverty. The third is the offering on the cross for all, which invites us to piety. Of the first two we have here; of the third, Isaiah 53: "He was offered, because he himself willed it." As to the significance of the offering, it should be noted that the offering is understood indeterminately of the turtledove and the dove. For each bird has a groaning in place of song, but the groaning of the turtledove befits contemplatives. And this is doubled: whence it is said: a pair of turtledoves. The first groaning is of love; Romans 8: "We ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, we ourselves groan within ourselves, awaiting the adoption of the sons of God." The second is of devotion; Romans 8: "What we should pray for as we ought, we do not know: but it is the Spirit who intercedes for us with unutterable groanings"; Song of Songs 2: "The voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land." But the groaning of the dove befits actives; and this also is twofold: one for one's own sins; Psalm: "I was afflicted and humbled exceedingly; I roared from the groaning of my heart"; Isaiah 59: "We shall all roar like bears, and meditating like doves we shall groan." The second groaning is for the sins of others; Lamentations 1: "All her gates are destroyed, her priests groaning"; Nahum 2: "The soldier was led away captive, and her handmaids, groaning, were moaning like doves." In this purification, therefore, and bearing up and offering, it is signified that he who has been purified from pride and from negligence is disposed to ascend to the contemplation of God and descend to the consideration of self, and ascending upward to groan from love and devotion, returning downward to groan from contrition and compassion; and in these consists the perfection of the holy soul devoted to God.

Luke 2:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

As to reputation, it is said: And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; which city was royal and priestly, where the worship of God according to the observance of the Law most especially flourished, whence it is called holy. From this it is given to understand that a man who had a reputation in such a city was of great integrity. And the Evangelist indicates this by pointing him out and explaining his name; whence that passage of Sirach fifteen can fittingly apply to him: "In the midst of the Church he shall open his mouth, and the Lord shall fill him with the spirit of wisdom"; and afterwards it is added: "And with an eternal name he shall make him an heir." Whence he is rightly designated by Simeon, the son of Onias, of whom Sirach fifty says: "Simeon, the son of Onias, the great priest"; and afterwards it is added, with some intervening words: "Around him was the crown of brethren, like a planting of cedars on Mount Lebanon." As to life, it is added: And this man was just: where he is shown to be perfectly ordered in life as to things to be chosen: on account of which it is said: And this man was just. "Justice is the rectitude of the will," which makes a person walk along the straight path; Wisdom ten: "The Lord led the just man through right ways and showed him," etc. And a right intention is most helpful for this; Proverbs eleven: "The justice of the upright shall direct his way"; and again: "The simplicity of the just shall direct them." And as to things to be fled; on account of which it is said: And God-fearing. "For fear drives out sin," Sirach one; Proverbs fifteen: "In the fear of the Lord everyone turns away from evil"; Job one: "There was a man in the land of Uz named Job, upright and simple and fearing God and departing from evil." And as to things to be awaited; on account of which he adds: Awaiting the consolation of Israel, according to that passage of Genesis forty-nine: "I will await your salvation, O Lord"; and Judith eight: "Let us humbly await his consolation." Whence the Holy Spirit especially said to him that passage of Habakkuk two: "If he should delay, wait for him, for he who is coming shall come and shall not tarry." As for grace, it is added: And the Holy Spirit was in him, namely through grace and charity, according to Romans 5: "The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit"; and 1 John 4: "He who abides in charity abides in God." Whence of him could be said what is said of Stephen in Acts 6, that he was "full of faith and the Holy Spirit"; of whom, namely, 1 Corinthians last chapter: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you."

Luke 2:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And he had received an answer. Here secondly he is commended by the Spirit of truth as leading him to wait upon a divine response; with respect to which it says: And he had received an answer from the Holy Spirit, namely through revelation: Isaiah 30: "At the voice of your cry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer you." He had received a consolatory answer, according to Zechariah 1: "The Lord answered the Angel who spoke in me good words, words of consolation." And therefore it is added: That he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. Whence he could say with Job 19: "In my flesh I shall see God my Savior," so that the qualification in the flesh refers to both the one seeing and the one seen. And he could also sing with the Prophet: "I shall not die, but I shall live," etc. He could also say with the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 2: "We have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God, that we might know the things that are given us from God."

Luke 2:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

Secondly he is also commended by the Spirit of truth as leading him to meet in the temple; with respect to which it is said: And he came in the Spirit into the temple; he came indeed as one led by the Holy Spirit: Romans 8: "Whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." He came indeed to serve and venerate the Lord, so that he could say that word of the Psalm: "I will go into your house; I will worship toward your holy temple in your fear"; and again: "We shall go into his tabernacle; we shall worship in the place where his feet have stood." Lastly he is commended by the Spirit of truth as leading him to embrace with joy; and this, when it is said: And when his parents brought in the child Jesus, namely into the temple, according to Malachi 3: "Presently the Lord whom you seek shall come to his holy temple," etc. They brought him in, I say, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, because, as is said in Philippians 2, he was "made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man."

Luke 2:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And he himself received him into his arms. Behold, the devotion of the old man in embracing the little child, by which he offered his whole self to Christ, so that he could say that word of the bride in Song of Songs 1: "My beloved is a bundle of myrrh to me; he shall abide between my breasts." For he wished to fulfill that word of the last chapter of Song of Songs: "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm"; nay, upon both arms: both, to show that he must be firmly embraced: Song of Songs 3: "I found him whom my soul loves; I held him and will not let him go," etc. He also shows that with both hands and all our strength we ought to serve the Lord, like those who fought with one hand and did the work with the other, Nehemiah 4: not like those "who impose heavy and unbearable burdens, yet are unwilling to move them with their own finger," Matthew 23. And he blessed God and said. After the merit of holiness, there is here subjoined the proclamation of truth raising up to wonder; whence it concludes in wonder, when it is said: And they were marveling, on account of the greatness of the proclamation. The excellence of this proclamation is gathered from three things, namely, from the preliminary blessing: from the devout praise and magnification of Christ, there: Now you dismiss, in the canticle of Simeon; and from the wonder of the parents, there: And his father and mother were marveling. Therefore there is set forth first the blessing of God, when it is said: And he blessed God, that is, by blessing he gave thanks, so that he would say: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name"; 2 Maccabees 10: "In hymns and thanksgivings they blessed God, who had done great things in Israel"; and Sirach 32: "Bless God, who created you, who inebriates you with all his good things."

Luke 2:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

Now you dismiss etc. Here is subjoined the devout magnification of Christ made by Simeon, filled with the Holy Spirit. And first in this canticle there is set forth the spiritual consolation of the old man. Second, there is subjoined the sublime commendation of the infant, there: Because my eyes have seen your salvation. The aged Simeon therefore showed that he was consoled in the presence of Christ for a threefold reason: on account of the condescension of majesty, for which he says: Now you dismiss your servant, Lord, because the Lord had come to his servant: 2 Kings 24: "What is the reason that my lord the king should come to his servant?" and the Psalm: "What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you visit him?" On account of the fulfillment of truth, for which he says: According to your word, namely the word that was promised: Isaiah 55: "The word that shall go forth from my mouth shall not return void." And therefore he could say that word of the Psalm: "You have dealt well with your servant, O Lord, according to your word." On account of the attainment of tranquility, for which he says: In peace. For now, with the coming of him who says: "In me you shall have peace," John 16, the just man declared that he would die in peace. Now for true consolation he could say that which Jacob said to Joseph, Genesis 46: "Now I shall die happy, because I have seen your face and I leave you surviving." And this Tobit sought, in chapter 3: "And now, Lord, deal with me according to your mercy, and command that my spirit be received in peace." This he had already granted to Simeon himself, as he had promised; whence he could say that word: "In peace, in the selfsame, I will sleep and I will rest," because he awaited nothing else.

Luke 2:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

Because my eyes have seen etc. Here secondly is added the magnification of Christ according to the threefold excellence of piety, wisdom, and majesty. From piety and clemency comes salvation; from wisdom shines light; from majesty, glory and praise: salvation, namely, for all peoples; light for the nations; and glory for the Israelites. As for the salvation of clemency, it is said: Because my eyes have seen your salvation; whence that word of Job 33 could be said to Simeon: "You shall see his face with joy"; Baruch 3: "After these things he was seen upon earth and conversed with men."

Luke 2:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

But this salvation was not particular, but universal; and therefore he adds: Which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, according to that word of Isaiah 52: "All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." He already saw verified that word of the Psalm: "The Lord has made known his salvation; in the sight of the nations"; there follows: "All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God"; Isaiah 49: "It is a small thing that you should be my servant for converting the remnants of Israel. I have given you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation even to the ends of the earth."

Luke 2:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And as to the light of wisdom: on account of which he adds: A light for the revelation of the Gentiles: Isaiah 9: "To those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, a light has risen for them." And this light will reveal the glory of God to the nations: Isaiah 40: "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God"; Daniel 2: "He reveals deep and hidden things and knows what is established in darkness, and light is with him." As to the sublimity of glory, there is added: And the glory of your people Israel, because from Israel he was born according to the flesh: Isaiah 4: "The branch of the Lord shall be in magnificence and glory, and the fruit of the earth shall be sublime, and an exultation for those who shall have been saved out of Israel." And now is fulfilled what is said in Esther 8: "A new light seemed to rise for the Jews, joy and honor and dancing among all peoples." Christ is therefore magnified under the aspect of the salvation of all, the light of the Gentiles, and the glory of the Jews. The first manifests clemency, the second wisdom, and the third power — under the aspect of peace from the consolation of the old man: whence he is praised in this canticle as peace, as salvation, as light, as glory. Peace, because he is mediator; salvation, because he is redeemer; light, because he is teacher; glory, because he is rewarder. And in these four consists the perfect commendation and magnification of Christ, indeed a certain most brief comprehension of the entire evangelical history with respect to the incarnation in peace, preaching in light, redemption in salvation, resurrection in glory. And because that canticle thus contains the fullness of the praise of Christ and the consolation of the dying old man, therefore it is sung in the evening at Compline. Whence these three canticles are ordered: of Mary, of Zechariah, of Simeon: the first in the evening, the second in the morning, the third at nightfall, because the following one begins where the preceding one ends. It is also signified in this that every state of life ought to praise God for the incarnation, namely that of virgins, of the married, and of widows; of contemplatives, of prelates, and of those in the active life; of laity, of clergy, and of religious, who also ought to be consecrated to the Lord.

Luke 2:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And his father and mother were etc. Here thirdly is added the wonder of the parents arising from this, when it is added: And his father and mother were marveling at those things which were spoken concerning him, namely at the four things aforementioned. For Christ is admirable insofar as he is a mediator in the concord of peace: Esther 15: "You are very admirable, Lord, and your face is full of graces." Admirable also insofar as he is a savior in clemency: on account of which it is said thus in the Psalm: "God is wonderful in his saints," because "grace and mercy are upon his saints, and he has regard for his elect," Wisdom 4. Admirable insofar as he is a teacher in wisdom: Psalm: "Your knowledge has become wonderful beyond me." Admirable insofar as he is a triumphator in power, according to that of the Psalm: "The Lord is wonderful on high"; and Exodus 15: "Who is like you among the mighty, O Lord? Who is like you, magnificent in holiness, terrible and praiseworthy, working wonders?" And therefore it is not surprising if the putative father and the true mother were marveling at those things which were spoken.

Luke 2:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And Simeon blessed them etc. After the merit of the one testifying and the proclamation of the testimony, there is here thirdly added the tempering of the proclamation, humbling toward compassion, whence it terminates in compassion: Psalm: "For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup of unmixed wine, full of mixture"; therefore after Christ's dignity he adds his infirmity. In this tempering, first is set forth the consolation of prophetic blessing; then is added the mystery of the Lord's passion; thirdly is added the martyrdom of maternal compassion. As to the consolation of prophetic blessing, it is set forth: And Simeon blessed them, that is, he proclaimed blessed Mary, because she conceived, and Joseph, because he raised him; whence he could say to them that Davidic word: "Blessed are you by the Lord." For parents are blessed in their son and on account of their son, just as, in 1 Kings 2, "Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife," namely on account of Samuel, the most excellent boy. Note that this blessing is set forth here both for consolation, and for strengthening, and also for commendation, lest the passion about to be foretold should disturb, lest it should terrify, lest it be believed that the fault of the near parents is the cause. Or he blessed them in order to signify that in him the blessings of the Fathers were fulfilled: Genesis 22: "Blessing, I will bless you," etc. Or in order to intimate that through the passion of Christ we have been freed from every curse: Galatians 3: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having been made a curse for us." As to the mystery of the Lord's passion, there is added: And he said to Mary, his mother: Behold, this one is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel: and this by divine judgment: John nine: "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind"; and Isaiah eight: "The Lord shall be to you for sanctification: but for a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal to the two houses of Israel, for a snare and for ruin to the inhabitants of Jerusalem." And therefore he is said to be set, namely by divine judgment: First Peter two: "To you who believe, honor; but to the unbelieving, the stone which the builders rejected has become a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal to those who stumble at the word"; and this on account of their own fault. In Second Corinthians two something similar is said of the Apostles: "We are the good fragrance of Christ to God; to some indeed the odor of death unto death, but to others the odor of life unto life." And the reason for this is the contradiction of error; on account of which there is added: And for a sign which shall be contradicted: Lamentations three: "He bent his bow and set me as a target for the arrow"; this is said on account of those who contradict: Hebrews twelve: "Consider him who endured such contradiction from sinners against himself." And this contradiction was the occasion and cause of ruin in many: Isaiah forty-one: "The men who contradict you shall perish"; and therefore it is said in Ecclesiasticus four: "Do not contradict the word of truth in any way."

Luke 2:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

As to the martyrdom of maternal compassion, it is said: And your own soul a sword shall pierce, that is, your very own, the sword of compassion; whence that verse of the Psalm applies to her: "The iron pierced through his soul." Damascene: "The pains which she escaped in giving birth, she endured at the time of the Passion." And Bernard: "While your Jesus is pierced by the lance — everyone's indeed, but especially yours: the sword did not pierce through his soul, because he had already expired, but yours; whence we proclaim you more than a Martyr." And Jerome: "Because she suffered in her mind, she was more than a Martyr." Whence, because she truly loved, she suffered with him most vehemently from her inmost affection. But others, who did not direct their hearts aright, exulted; therefore there is added: That the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. Thus it followed here, because this followed upon the Passion of Christ, because namely the iniquity of heart of the carnal Jews and hypocrites was revealed: Hosea seven: "When I would have healed Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim was revealed, and of Samaria, before me"; because, as is said in Matthew ten, "nothing is covered that shall not be revealed, and hidden that shall not be known." But this shall be especially so in the judgment: First Corinthians four: "Judge not before the time, until the Lord comes, who will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts," etc. Note spiritually, that from the consideration of the passion of Christ a threefold spiritual sword ought to pierce through the soul. The first is the sword of the discernment of right faith: Ephesians 6: "And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." The second is the sword of the rigor of severe judgment: Apocalypse 1: "From his mouth there went forth a sword sharp on both sides." The third is the sword of the division of human desire: Matthew 10: "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." Now the first sword pierces through souls by true faith: Hebrews 4: "The word of God is living and more penetrating than every sword." The second, by the rigor of penance: Psalm: "Two-edged swords in their hands." The third, by the ardor of benevolence: Song of Songs 3: "Behold the bed of Solomon," and afterward: "All holding swords." Against this threefold sword there is another threefold sword: namely the sword of rancor: 1 Kings 31: "Saul seized his sword and fell upon it." The sword of detraction: Psalm: "The sons of men, their teeth are arms and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." The sword of heresy, which is division from the unity of faith: Proverbs 5, under the metaphor of the harlot: "Her end is bitter as wormwood, and her tongue is sharp as a two-edged sword"; and Psalm: "They have unsheathed the sword," there follows: "to slaughter the upright of heart." The first spiritual sword is to be purchased: Luke 22: "He who does not have one, let him sell his tunic and buy a sword." But the other is to be put back into its sheath: John 18: "Put your sword into its sheath." And the reason for this is that the first kills the carnal life, but the second kills the spiritual life.

Luke 2:35 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The blessed Virgin did not have pain preceding the delivery, because she did not conceive from sin, as did Eve, to whom the curse was given; rather, she had pain after the delivery. Whence she gave birth before she was in labor. On the cross she labored; whence in Luke: "And a sword shall pierce your own soul." In other women there is pain of the body, in her there is pain of the heart; in others there is pain of corruption, in her there is pain of compassion and charity. Whence she invites us to consider her sorrow, in Jeremiah: "All you," she says, "who pass by the way, attend and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow."

Luke 2:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And there was Anna, a prophetess, etc. After the testimony of the male sex, there follows here the testimony of the female sex. For it was fitting that the coming of Christ should have testimony from every kind of person, so that those who do not believe the Gospel may be without excuse. Hence Christ had testimony both angelic and human, and again with respect to the simple and the perfect, and again among the perfect in both sexes, to show that both sexes pertained to redemption, just as both had fallen. Hence, so that nothing might be lacking for the firmness of the testimony, Christ at his birth had sevenfold testimony: namely, from celestial nature, that is, the star: Matthew 2: "We saw his star in the east." From the supercelestial, that is, angelic: above in the same chapter: "There was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host," etc. From subcelestial nature, that is, the simple male, as the shepherds: above: "And the shepherds returned," etc. The wise male, as the Magi: Matthew 2: "Behold, Magi came from the East," etc. The aged in the masculine sex, as Simeon: above: "He came in the Spirit into the temple." The aged in the feminine sex, as here: And there was Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, etc. The infantile, who "confessed not by speaking but by dying"; Matthew 2: "He sent and killed all the boys," etc.: and then was fulfilled that word of the Psalm: "Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise." And every nature, every sex, every age bore testimony to Christ at his birth, because he himself was to restore all things. Hence also, when the children were crying out in the temple and the Pharisees were objecting, it was said below in the nineteenth chapter: "If these should be silent, the stones will cry out." By reason of the prophetic gift it is said: And there was Anna, a prophetess. "Anna is interpreted as 'grace,'" in which it is shown that it was rightly fitting for such a woman to prophesy, who was a dwelling-place of grace: Proverbs 11: "A gracious woman will find glory"; hence she herself could say that word of 1 Corinthians 15: "By the grace of God I am what I am." Therefore it is no wonder that Anna was a prophetess, because in Wisdom 7 it is said of wisdom that "she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God and establishes them as prophets." But by reason of natural origin it is added: The daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; and thus she was of the race of Israel, from whose race were kings, priests, and Prophets, and Christ the Lord: in Romans 9 it is said of the Israelites: "Whose is the adoption of sons, and the glory, and the testament, and the legislation, and the service, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and from whom is Christ according to the flesh." And specifically she was of the tribe of Aser, to which was given a blessing among the sons: Deuteronomy 33: "Blessed among the sons is Aser; let him be pleasing to his brothers"; "As the days of your youth, so also those of your old age." And most specifically she is called the daughter of Phanuel, which is interpreted "the face of God": by which it is shown that she was of the lineage of those to whom it is said: "Seek his face always." Nothing therefore was lacking by reason of origin on the part of the dignity of her parents; nor even by reason of the antiquity of her days, which contributes very greatly to dignity and authority: Proverbs 16: "Old age is a crown of dignity, which is found in the ways of justice." And therefore it is added: And she was advanced in many days: Job 29: "I shall die in my nest, and like a palm tree I shall multiply my days." And she had lived with her husband, etc. Here secondly is described the holiness of the one testifying with regard to the perfection of the active and contemplative life. With regard to the active life, which consists in the governance of one's own household, it is said: And she had lived with her husband seven years from her vir…

Luke 2:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And she was a widow even unto eighty-four years; and thus she had virginal, widowed, and conjugal continence according to place and time. Whence she was praiseworthy in the custody of her body, on account of which that passage from Judith 15 was fitting for her: "You have acted manfully, and your heart has been strengthened, because you have loved chastity and after your husband have not known another." And therefore this widow is to be honored, according to that passage in First Timothy 5: "Honor widows who are truly widows"; and again: "Let a widow be chosen who is not less than sixty years old, who has been the wife of one husband, having testimony in good works." Such was Anna: in which it is apparent that she had the perfection of the active life. As for the perfection of the contemplative life, it is said: Who did not depart from the temple. She was wholly devoted to contemplation devoutly. The Gloss: "An example is given to widows who are in the Church," namely that they may say with the Psalm: "This is my rest forever and ever"; against those widows of whom the Apostle speaks in First Timothy five, that "being idle they learn to go about from house to house, and not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not." She was also devoted dutifully: whence it is added: Serving God with fastings and prayers, just as that good widow Judith, in chapter eight, is said to have "made for herself a secret chamber in the upper part of her house, in which she dwelt shut up with her maidens, having a haircloth about her loins, and she fasted all the days of her life"; and this most fittingly, because, as it is said in First Timothy five, "the widow who lives in pleasures is dead while living." And well does he join fasting and prayer, because "by fasting the plagues of the body are healed, by prayer the plagues of the soul"; Tobit twelve: "Prayer is good with fasting and almsgiving," etc. She was also devoted continually: whence it is said: Night and day: according to the pattern of the Apostle; First Timothy five: "She who is a widow indeed and desolate, let her hope in the Lord and continue in prayers night and day."

Luke 2:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And she, at that very hour, etc. Here thirdly is described the solemnity of the testimony, both by reason of the fitting time and by reason of the consenting multitude. By reason of the fitting time it is said: And she, at that very hour coming up, was giving thanks to the Lord: in which it appears that this gathering was made by divine impulse, and therefore the feast of the Purification is called the feast of Hypapante, that is, of those meeting, because Simeon and Anna met Joseph and Mary without any convocation; and therefore on that day a procession is universally made. Whence just as she came by the same Spirit as Simeon, so also she prophesied by the same Spirit; and that was fulfilled from Joel two: "And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall see visions," etc. Nevertheless, the testimony of Simeon is described explicitly and in the manner of preaching, but that of Anna implicitly and in the manner of confession, because to teach in the Church belongs not to women but to men: First Timothy two: "I do not permit women to teach in the church nor to have dominion over a man." And note that concerning Christ there prophesied Simeon and Zechariah, the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth joined in marriage; and therefore it is fitting that a widow also should prophesy, lest any state of life or sex be lacking. But by reason of the consenting multitude, there is added: And she spoke of him to all who were awaiting the redemption of Israel. For they gladly heard, whence they said that word of Isaiah twenty-five: "Behold, the Lord our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us." Already one could sing: "The Lord has sent redemption to his people." She spoke to all, because upon this depended the salvation of all: Isaiah forty-nine: "And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord who saves you and your redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." And note here in the spiritual sense that at the offering of the Lord four persons were present, namely Joseph and Mary, Simeon and Anna, because the soul that wishes to offer a true sacrifice to God must have the accompaniment of the four cardinal virtues. For by Simeon, whose name is interpreted as hearing, is understood prudence: Proverbs one: "A wise man hearing shall be yet wiser." But by Anna, whose name is interpreted as grace, is understood temperance: Hebrews, the last chapter: "It is best to establish the heart with grace, not with foods." By Joseph, the just man, whose name is interpreted as increase, is understood justice: Second Corinthians nine: "He will multiply your seed and increase the growth of the fruits of your justice." By Mary, whose name is interpreted as mistress, is understood fortitude, Proverbs sixteen: "The patient man is better than the strong man." Concerning these four virtues it is written in praise in Wisdom eight: "For she teaches sobriety and prudence and justice and fortitude." And these are signified by the four women who were prophetesses, of whom mention is made in Scripture: namely Mary, the sister of Moses, Exodus fifteen; Deborah, Judges five; Huldah, Fourth Kings twenty-two; and Anna, as here. By Anna, as has been said, is understood temperance: by Huldah, whose name is interpreted as my discernment, is understood prudence: by Deborah, whose name is interpreted as a bee having a sting, is understood justice with respect to severity and clemency; by Mary, whose name is interpreted as mistress and bitter sea, is understood fortitude with respect to magnanimity and patience. And these four virtues are understood through the four prophetess daughters of Philip: Acts twenty-one: "He had four daughters, virgins who prophesied." By Philip, whose name is interpreted as mouth of the lamp, is understood wisdom, which teaches and generates the aforesaid fourfold virtue.

Luke 2:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And when they had performed etc. After Christ's humiliation according to the precept of the Law and his glorification through the testimony of truth have been described, there is here subjoined the last section of this part, in which is described the consummation of the aforesaid things, and this is stated first with respect to the legal precept, then with respect to the prophetic oracle. As to the consummation of the legal precept, it says: And when they had performed all things according to the Law of the Lord: because, according to what is said in Matthew 5, "I came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it"; and again: "One jot, or one tittle shall not pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled." But as to the completion of the prophetic oracle, it adds: They returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth: Matthew 2: "Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the parts of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophets: He shall be called a Nazarene"; Isaiah 9: "The way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, was made heavy." But the scribes did not know this, who said, in John 7: "Search the Scriptures, and see that no Prophet arises from Galilee." And note that according to Augustine in the second book of On the Harmony of the Evangelists, the child Jesus was first carried from Judea into Egypt before he went down into Galilee, because on account of the persecution of Herod he went down into Egypt, and on account of fear of Archelaus he withdrew into the parts of Galilee, returning from Egypt.

Luke 2:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

But the child grew etc. Above the Evangelist described how the Savior was made subject to the ceremonial law; here he describes how he was made subject to the moral law. But since the whole ordering of morals is principally concerned with three things, namely, with the worship of the divine majesty and the pursuit of truth and the duty of piety: by the first a person is subjected to his Creator, by the second to his teacher, by the third to his parent. The excellence of virtue in Christ is shown on the part of the mind, although there was a deficiency of age on the part of the flesh: on account of which he first sets forth the advance of age in the flesh and then adds the perfection of virtue in the mind. As for the advance of age in the flesh it is said: But the child grew, namely in body, as Bede explains: "Insofar as he was a child, that is, a fragile man, he could grow, just as other men, not insofar as he was the Word." As for the perfection of virtue in the mind it is added: He was strengthened. The perfection of mental virtue consists in three things, namely in the vigor of power with respect to the irascible, in the splendor of wisdom with respect to the rational, and in the fervor of grace with respect to the concupiscible. As for the vigor of power of the irascible, it is said: And he was strengthened: Ezekiel three: "The hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me"; Philippians, the last chapter: "I can do all things in him who strengthens me". As for the splendor of wisdom in the rational, it is added: Full of wisdom: Colossians two: "For in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"; and Isaiah eleven: "The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding". As for the fervor of grace in the concupiscible, it is added: And the grace of God was in him: Sirach twenty-four: "In me is all grace of the way and of truth, in me is all hope of life", etc.; and John one: "And we saw his glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth".

Luke 2:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And his parents went etc. Here is described the reverence of the divine majesty, which consists in the worship of religion, and is shown in Christ according to the guidance of the parents and according to his own instinct. As for the guidance of the parents it is said: And his parents went every year to Jerusalem. For so it was commanded in the Law: Exodus twenty-three: "Three times in the year you shall celebrate feasts to me". And it is to be believed that they also brought Jesus, because it is added there: "Three times in the year every male of yours shall appear before the Lord your God"; and this in Jerusalem, according to the precept of Deuteronomy, the twelfth chapter: "You shall come to the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes". And this place was Jerusalem, according to what is said in Second Chronicles, the seventh chapter: "I have chosen and sanctified this place, that my name may be there forever". And they performed this worship especially at the Passover, and therefore it is added: On the solemn day of the Passover: Exodus twelve: "You shall have this day as a memorial, and you shall celebrate it as a solemnity to the Lord throughout your generations with everlasting worship".

Luke 2:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

But as regards his own impulse, the boy Jesus also devoted himself to divine worship: concerning which it is added: And when he was twelve years old; in which it is shown that the boy Jesus devoted himself to divine worship without his parents' company, without their counsel, without their approval. Without their company indeed: for although he went up with the company of his parents, nevertheless he remained without them: on account of which it is said: As they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast day, namely to pray, as below in the eighteenth chapter, "Two men went up to the temple to pray"; and Acts chapter three: "Peter and John went up to the temple," etc.

Luke 2:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And when the days were completed, as they returned, namely to their own homes, according to that passage in Judith chapter sixteen: "When the feast was celebrated, each one returned to his own home." And while all returned, Jesus nevertheless did not: whence it is added: The boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and thus alone, without the company of his parents. A figure of this preceded in the boy Samuel, of whom it is said in First Kings chapter two, that "Elkanah departed," his father, and his mother departed "to her own home: but the boy ministered before the Lord." Whence he had remained alone, so that he might better devote himself to prayer: Lamentations chapter three: "He shall sit solitary and be silent." And thus he remained by his own impulse without the company of his parents. He also remained without counsel: whence it is added: And his parents did not know. A figure of this preceded in Samson, "who did not wish to tell his father and mother that he had taken honey from the mouth of the lion," Judges chapter fourteen. In this he also gave an example that in carrying out divine service, counsel is not to be sought from carnal parents: Deuteronomy chapter thirty-three: "He who said to his father and mother: I do not know you: and to his brothers: I know you not: these have kept your word and preserved your covenant."

Luke 2:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And lest you think that this ignorance was from negligence, on account of which Mary would be blameworthy, he adds the cause: But supposing him to be in the company, they came a day's journey: because, since the men traveled with the men, and the women with the women separately, it was probable to the father that the boy was with his mother, and probable to the mother that he was with his father. And therefore they were mistaken. He was not of the kind of those about whom it is said in Job chapter twenty-one: "Their seed endures before them, the throng of their kinsmen and grandchildren in their sight," but he was like him of whom it is said in the Psalm: "I looked to the right hand and saw, and there was none who knew me." And thus he remained without his parents' counsel. He also remained without approval, because they sought with sorrow him whom they had lost: whence it is added: And they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances: and yet they did not find him, because such people are far removed from him; Job chapter nineteen: "My acquaintances have withdrawn from me as strangers."

Luke 2:45 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And therefore there follows: And not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem, so that him whom they could not find in the company of their kindred they might find in the place of prayer, according to that word of the Psalm: "Behold, we heard of him in Ephrata"; and after: "We shall enter into his tabernacle." They returned, I say, seeking him; according to that word of Song of Songs chapter three: "I will rise and go about the city; I will seek him whom my soul loveth"; thus spoke the Virgin Mary; and again Song of Songs chapter five: "I sought him, and found him not; I called him, and he did not answer me." "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that if you find my beloved, you tell him that I languish with love." In this moreover we are admonished that from infancy itself we should be devoted to divine worship: First Kings chapter two: "Samuel ministered before the face of the Lord, a boy girded with a linen ephod"; and especially from the twelfth year, because then begins the time of discretion to be turned toward the good. Whence it is said of Saint Martin that "when he was twelve years old, he desired the desert"; similarly it is said of blessed Benedict. Therefore the Evangelist specifies this age. We are also admonished that we should in no way interrupt divine worship on account of love for parents: whence Jerome: "Over your trampled father, go forward; over your trampled mother, go forward, and fly to the standard of the cross. For the highest kind of piety is to be cruel in these matters"; for it is said in Matthew chapter ten: "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me."

Luke 2:46 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

He shows that the Savior assumed the form of a disciple, when it is said: And it came to pass, after three days they found him in the temple sitting. Sitting designates rest and humility: for he knew that "it is better to sit in a corner of the housetop than with a quarrelsome woman and in a common house," Proverbs twenty-one. Sitting, I say, in the midst of the doctors: Ecclesiasticus fifteen: "In the midst of the church he opened his mouth, and filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding." For he knew it was written: "He who walks with the wise shall be wiser; the friend of fools shall become like them," Proverbs thirteen. And in this he teaches that the fellowship of students is to be cherished, not for disputing, but for conferring: on account of which it is added: Listening to them and asking them questions. For this is the exercise of the learner, that he should listen and ask about doubtful matters: Ecclesiasticus thirty-two: "Listen in silence, and for your reverence good grace shall come to you," because "a good ear will hear wisdom with all desire," Ecclesiasticus three: and therefore it is said in John eight: "He who is of God hears the words of God." Because it is not sufficient to hear, therefore it is added: And asking them questions: Job eight: "Ask the former generation, and diligently search the memory of the fathers"; and Deuteronomy thirty-two: "Ask your father, and he will declare to you," etc. He was asking, however, not that he might be taught, but rather that he might teach. Jerome: "The Savior had completed twelve years, and questioning the priests in the temple, he teaches more while he prudently questions." In this, however, it is to be noted spiritually that Christ teaches us that we ought to learn before we teach, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus eighteen: "Before you speak, learn." And therefore he willed to be found in the midst of the doctors and in the temple, because in the reading of the Scriptures and in prayer truth is found. Whence note that Christ was found in a manger: above in the same chapter: "This shall be a sign unto you"; that is, in the study of sacred Scripture, because, according to what is said in Proverbs fourteen, "where there are no oxen, the manger is empty." The oxen are preachers: First Corinthians nine: "You shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the grain," etc. He was found in a house: Matthew two: "Entering the house"; that is, in the examination of a quiet conscience: Wisdom eight: "Entering my house, I shall find rest with her." He was also found in the temple, as here, that is, in the fellowship of the holy Church, because "the Lord is in his holy temple," as is said in the Psalm. But he is not found in the tomb of erroneous doctrine: Luke last chapter: The women "came to the tomb and did not find the body of Jesus"; nor indeed in the bed of a restless conscience: Song of Songs three: "In my bed I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him and did not find him"; nor is he found in the fellowship of a worldly life: Job twenty-eight: "But wisdom, where is it found?" and afterwards: "It is not found in the land of those who live pleasantly."

Luke 2:47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And they were astonished, etc. Here after the humiliation he adds the clarification: when it is said: And all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and his answers: because he answered most wisely, beyond estimation. For astonishment arises from an unusual and great impression: below in chapter five: "Astonishment seized them all"; Job twelve: "He leads counselors to a foolish end and judges to astonishment." And thus was fulfilled that saying of Wisdom eight: "On account of her I shall have glory among the multitudes and honor among the elders, though young; I shall be found keen in judgment, and in the sight of the powerful I shall be admirable; the faces of princes shall wonder at me." This was fulfilled in Christ at this time. A figure of this preceded in Third Kings ten, where it is said that "the queen of Sheba, seeing the wisdom of Solomon, had no more spirit in her," on account of exceeding wonder.

Luke 2:48 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And not only those strangers were astonished, but also the parents: whence it is added: And seeing him, they wondered: Matthew seven: "The crowds wondered at his teaching." And truly it was wondrous that he answered what he had not learned: John seven: "The Jews wondered, saying: How does this man know letters, since he has not learned?" And his Mother said, etc. Here thirdly he shows how he was made subject to the moral law with respect to the duty of piety: in which first is set forth the humiliation, and then is added the clarification, at the point: And his Mother kept all these words in her heart. Humiliation, however, is shown in two things, namely in submitting to one who corrects and in obeying one who commands. For Christ subjected himself to his Mother correcting him: on account of which it is said: And his Mother said to him: Son, why have you done this to us? She speaks with greater confidence and asks the reason for his departure, since she knows that she ought to be honored by him, according to that passage in Exodus 20: "Honor your father and your mother"; and Proverbs 6: "Keep, my son, the precepts of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother." But you, she says, have troubled us: whence she adds: Your father, namely putative or adoptive or nurturing: and I have been seeking you sorrowing, as if together we were saying that passage from Tobit 10: "Alas, my son, why did we send you away to travel, the light of our eyes, the staff of our old age, the comfort of our life! For having all things in you alone, we ought not to have let you go."

Luke 2:49 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And note that he responds to the question humbly and wisely: whence it is added: And he said to them: Why is it that you sought me? As if I were absent, when I was present to you: Jeremiah 23: "I fill heaven and earth"; and this showed that he was the Son of the eternal Father. Whence he adds: Did you not know that I must be about the things that are my Father's? John 6: "I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me." Whence you ought not to wonder if I left you on account of the eternal Father, because thus it is said in Acts 5: "It is necessary to obey God rather than men."

Luke 2:50 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

And because the word was hidden, it is added: And they did not understand: First Corinthians 2: "We speak wisdom hidden in mystery"; and Tobit 12: "It is good to hide the secret of a king." In this, however, that Christ, when he was corrected, humbly excused himself, and when he was invited by his Mother to perform a miracle, responded harshly, he gave us an example and pattern of humility, so that we should prefer to be corrected rather than praised: Ecclesiastes 7: "It is better to be corrected by a wise man than to be deceived by the flattery of fools." At the same time he also intimated by this that piety toward God is to be preferred to piety with respect to parents.

Luke 2:51 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Conformity to Christ is consonant with evangelical perfection: but Christ by sheer liberality subjected himself to a human being, Luke 2: And he was subject to them: therefore to subject oneself to another makes one conformed to Christ. But this is done most of all through the vow of obedience. For since Christ the Lord not only gave us to ourselves, but also gave himself to us; and for our sake not only made himself man, but also subjected himself to men: hence it is fitting that we subject not only what we have and our members, but also what we are, that is, our will.

Luke 2:51 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

The Lord also submitted to the one commanding; on account of which it is added: And he went down with them and came to Nazareth. Now that passage from Baruch 3 was fulfilled: "After these things he was seen on earth and conversed with men." He went down, I say, which is a sign of humiliation: Song of Songs 6: "I went down into my garden to see the fruits of the valleys," that is, the humble. "For the Lord is high and regards the lowly," namely from near at hand, "and knows the lofty from afar." On account of which it is also added: And he was subject to them. Bernard: "Who? To whom? God to men. God, I say, subjects himself to men: and you, eager to dominate, set yourself before your Creator? For as often as I desire to be set over men, so often do I strive to go before my God, so that the Lord might respond something like this to me: Get behind me, Satan, for you do not savor the things that are of God." Whence he could truly say that passage from 1 Corinthians 9: "Though I was free from all, I made myself the servant of all." And we ought to be subject to all out of love for him: 1 Peter 2: "Be subject to every human creature for the sake of God." And his Mother etc. Here is described his clarification, and this through two things, namely through the testimony of the Mother and through the indication of his own virtue. As for the testimony of the Mother, it is said: And his Mother kept all these words, so that she might bear witness at the proper place and time, as Bede says in the Gloss. So it is said in Daniel 12: "But you, Daniel, close the book and seal the words until the appointed time." And because she understood these things, therefore it is said: Pondering in her heart, according to that passage from Ecclesiastes 8: "The heart of the wise understands the time and the answer"; and in Mark 9 it is said concerning the transfiguration of the Lord that "the disciples kept the word among themselves." For the Apostles had not yet come, to whom "it was given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God," as is said in Matthew 13, who also might confer with one another, according to that passage from Galatians 2: "I conferred with them the Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles."

Luke 2:52 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 5

That besides uncreated wisdom Christ had also created wisdom is argued thus: Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and grace before God and men; but this could not be through uncreated wisdom. Therefore, besides that wisdom he had created wisdom. The soul of Christ, since it is a creature, was wise with both wisdoms, namely created and uncreated: uncreated as principally moving and regulating and quieting; created however as informing, disposing, and elevating, so that it might fully attain to that uncreated wisdom. For created intelligence does not attain to that fontal wisdom unless it has been made deiform, and through this elevated and disposed: elevated above itself, and disposed in itself. Therefore it is necessary that something be given to it coming from above, which is nevertheless proportionate to it and inhering in it; and this we call the influence of the eternal light: and because it disposes the soul for wisdom, it is called created wisdom.

Luke 2:52 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2

But as to the indication of his own virtue, there is added: And Jesus advanced in age, namely on the part of the body, as Samuel: 1 Kings 2: "The boy Samuel advanced and grew, and was pleasing both to God and to men." And this advancement was according to essence, but the interior advancement was according to evidence, of which it is said: And in wisdom, namely in the intellect, and in grace, in the affections, before God, namely to be honored, and men, to be edified. Nor is this contrary to what is said just above, that "he was full of wisdom"; whence Gregory: "He advanced in wisdom, not by receiving through the passage of time what he did not have, but by revealing to others the gifts of grace and wisdom which he had"; and this for the edification of others: 2 Corinthians 8: "We provide good things, not only before God, but also before men." Whence for our edification he hid his wisdom for a time, to show that we ought to be silent until the proper time, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 20: "There is one who is silent, not having the sense of speech, and there is one who is silent, knowing the fitting time. A wise man will be silent until the proper time." At the proper time also he showed it for our salvation, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 4: "Do not withhold the word in the time of salvation." Whence, because he did not seek his own glory but God's, not his own advantage but our salvation, therefore he found grace before God and men. The first pertained to justice, the second to mercy: on account of which, Proverbs 3: "Let not mercy and truth forsake you, and you shall find grace and good discipline before God and men." From the foregoing, therefore, we can gather how we ought to attend to the worship of the divine Majesty, the study of truth, and the service of piety. For the worship of the divine Majesty ought to be undertaken from infancy and ought to be preferred to all else out of divine reverence. The study of truth ought to be with due companionship, namely of those who are skilled, and in due order, so that one be a disciple before being a master. The service of piety is observed in this, that we submit ourselves to a spiritual father, whether correcting or commanding. And if we keep these things, then there follows what is set down last, that we advance before God and men.

Luke 3:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

In the fifteenth year etc. Above the Evangelist treated the mystery of the incarnation of Christ with regard to the nativity in the womb and from the womb: here he treats of it with regard to the nativity outside the womb, according to that saying of Ambrose, who says that he was reborn by the Sacraments, namely when he was baptized. And this part has three sections, in the first of which he treats of the baptism and preaching of John in general regard to the whole people: in the second, in special regard to special persons, there: And they asked him etc. In the third, in singular regard to Christ, there: And it came to pass, while he was being baptized. And the order is clear, because the general directs to the special, the special to the singular. First, on the baptism and preaching of John in general with regard to three things. With regard to the first it should be noted that the doctrine and preaching of John is commended on three grounds: first, from the opportuneness of the time: second, from the authority of the office, there: The word of the Lord came etc.; third, from the severity of zeal, there: He said therefore to the crowds etc. The first regards what is outside, the second, what is above, the third, what is within. And thus in every way his preaching and doctrine is perfect. The preaching of John is first commended with regard to the opportuneness of the time in three ways. With regard to the first it should be noted that the opportuneness of the time is gathered from three things, namely from the union of the Roman Empire, from the partition of the Jewish kingdom and from the division of the Levitical priesthood: from which the opportuneness of the time is gathered, because John was announcing him who was scattering the synagogue of the Jews and gathering the varieties of the nations into the unity of the Church. With regard to the union of the empire it is said: In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, in which, namely, the time of the coming of Christ had already arrived, because, namely, before Tiberius there were Julius and Pompey; and Julius crushed Pompey, and after these Tiberius succeeded. And thus that saying of Daniel, chapter two, concerning the fourth kingdom, namely of the Romans, had already been verified, that "it was partly solid and partly crushed"; and therefore it was the time for the verification of what follows in the same place: "In those days the God of heaven will raise up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed, and its power shall not be delivered to another people." As for the partition of the Jewish kingdom, there is added: Pontius Pilate being procurator of Judea, under whom, namely, the Lord was crucified, according to what the history of all the Evangelists narrates; and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee: this was the one under whom the Lord was also crucified, below in the twenty-third chapter, and who killed John the Baptist, according to what is said in Matthew fourteen, because he said to him: "It is not lawful for you to have the wife of Philip, your brother"; concerning which Philip it is added: Philip, his brother, being tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis. And thus that word of Isaiah one was already verified: "Strangers devour your land before your face"; and Proverbs twenty-eight: "Because of the sins of the land, many are its princes." And therefore there is added: And Lysanias being tetrarch of Abilene, that is, of another region, which was a fourth part of the kingdom. For a tetrarchy is called a fourth part of a kingdom; for it is derived from tetra, which means four, and archos, which means rule. For when Archelaus, the son of Herod the Great, was deported into exile at Lyons on account of his pride, the kingdom was divided into four tetrarchies, so that the pride of the Jews might thus be diminished. Whence Bede: "Three tetrarchies were governed by the three sons of Herod the Great, under whom the Lord was born. Pilate, however, was p…

Luke 3:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

As for the division of the priesthood, there is added: Under the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, who, moved by ambition, as Bede says, were purchasing the high priesthood from the Romans. Whence, because according to Bede and Josephus priests were no longer being instituted through anointing but through earthly power, therefore the priestly anointing and the royal anointing had ceased. Already, therefore, the time had come for Christ to arrive, according to that passage in the penultimate chapter of Genesis: "The scepter shall not be taken away from Judah," etc. — Likewise, the anointing of the Levitical priesthood had already ceased, and therefore it was the time for the "priest according to the order of Melchizedek" to come, so that that word of Isaiah twenty-two might be fulfilled, which was spoken concerning the Levitical priesthood and the priesthood of Christ: "I will expel you from your station and depose you from your ministry"; and afterwards, concerning Christ in figure: "And it shall be in that day, I will call my servant Eliakim and I will clothe him with your robe"; and below: "And I will lay the key of David upon his shoulder." In this it is shown that this Eliakim must be king and priest, which was fulfilled in Christ alone, who was "a priest according to the order of Melchizedek," who was at once king and priest, according to that passage in Hebrews seven. And because "when the priesthood is transferred, it is necessary that a transfer of the Law also be made," already it was the time for the Gospel to be preached; and at such a time the Gospel ought to have begun and been preached starting from the preaching of John. It is therefore clear how sufficiently, according to the Scriptures, the Evangelist showed the opportune time in the coming of Christ and the preaching of the precursor, which the blind Jews did not see. Therefore Jeremiah 8: "The kite in the sky has known its time; the turtledove and the swallow and the stork have kept the time of their coming; but my people have not known the judgment of the Lord"; and below in the twelfth chapter: "Hypocrites, you know how to test the face of the sky and the earth, but how do you not test this time?" — Moreover, they could have known this time not only through the Scriptures, but also through the very events carried out in those times, according to what Gregory says: "It is clear that Judea had come to its end, which lay subject, divided among so many rulers." And since they were already subject to a foreign empire, it was already time for the Lord to restore the Israelite kingdom, which he had promised to establish forever in every way. — It is also clear how reasonably the Evangelist, although he intends to treat of the priesthood of Christ, nevertheless announces the time of kings and priests, so as to show that Christ's priesthood and kingdom are joined together: and through both the time of his coming is proven; and at once the kingdom of the Jews and of the Gentiles, because he had come to unite both together into one; likewise the former divided and the latter one, because the fullness of the Gentiles was to enter in and the multitude of the Jews was to be scattered on account of the sin of unbelief. The word came to pass etc. Here the preaching of John is commended from the authority of his office, which the Evangelist first commends from itself; and secondly, from prophetic attestation, at the passage: As it is written etc. — As to the first, it should be noted that the authority entrusted to John is commended on three grounds, namely: from the gift of heavenly grace, from the ministry of humble obedience, and from the sign of sacramental remedy. As for the gift of heavenly grace, it is said: The word of the Lord came upon John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert. It came, namely through divine inspiration, and therefore it says: Upon John: because, in Second Peter 1, "Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the holy men of God spoke." Whence upon signifies…

Luke 3:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

As for the ministry of humble obedience, it is added: And he came into the whole region of the Jordan. Whence Chrysostom says: "John came as the preparer and faithful herald of the great King." And then was fulfilled that passage of Malachi 3: "Behold, I send my Angel, and he will prepare your way." And he says pointedly: Into the whole region, to signify true obedience, which makes no exceptions but is ready for all things: Jeremiah 1: "To all things to which I shall send you, you shall go," etc. As for the sign of sacramental medicine, it is added: Preaching the baptism of repentance, as is said in Acts 19: "John baptized the people with the baptism of repentance." He calls it the baptism of repentance because it instructed unto repentance; Matthew 3: "Jerusalem and all Judea went out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins." But although it instructed unto repentance, nevertheless it did not effect the remission of sins, but prepared for that baptism. And therefore it is added: For the remission of sins, that is, unto the baptism of Christ, in which is remission: whence Acts 2: "Let each one of you be baptized in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." And concerning this Zechariah 13 says: "There shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for the washing of the sinner and of the unclean"; and Ezekiel 36: "I will pour clean water upon you, and you shall be cleansed from all your defilements," etc.

Luke 3:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

As it is written etc. Here the authority of John is commended from the prophetic attestation, in which John preaching is shown to have the office of arousing, admonishing, and consoling. — He is shown, I say, first to have the office of arousing through exclamation: and therefore it is said: As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: for this is written in Isaiah forty. Moreover, John is called a voice, because, just as the voice precedes the word, so John preceded Christ: and the voice of one crying, because it arouses the sleeping, that they may awaken to the light, according to that passage in Isaiah fifty-eight: "Cry out, cease not, lift up your voice like a trumpet"; and Job thirty-seven: "The Lord will thunder wondrously with his voice," "and he shall not be searched out, when his voice has been heard." This is the voice of which it is said in the Psalm: "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters, the God of majesty has thundered." Whence John, in John one, responded to those asking: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness." The voice therefore is an expressive sign of the word: whence the prophecies of others were as it were a nod with respect to Christ, but John's was as it were a voice with respect to the Word, because he showed him visibly. It is also shown secondly that he has the office of admonishing through exhortation, when it is added: Prepare the way of the Lord, namely through the observance of the commandments. Psalm: "I have run the way of your commandments"; and Baruch 3: "If you had walked in the way of God, you would surely have dwelt in peace upon the earth." Make straight his paths, through the observance of the counsels: Proverbs 4: "I have shown you the way of wisdom and led you through the paths of equity, which when you have entered, your steps shall not be straitened, and running you shall have no stumbling block"; Isaiah 26: "The path of the just is right, the right way of the just to walk in," etc. Psalm: "Direct me in the path of your commandments," etc. — Make straight, namely the intentions: Job 1: "And that man was simple and upright and fearing God and departing from evil." — The thoughts: Psalm: "The innocent and the upright have adhered to me"; and Ecclesiastes 7: "This I have found, that God made man upright." — The affections: Song of Songs 1: "The upright love you"; and Psalm: "How good is the God of Israel to those who are upright of heart"! — The words: Proverbs 8: "All my words are just; they are right to those who understand." — The actions: Proverbs 20: "By his pursuits a child is known, whether his works are clean and right"; Job 8: "If you walk clean and upright, he will presently awake unto you." — The sufferings: Job 4: "Remember, I beseech you, who ever perished being innocent? Or when were the upright destroyed?" — The rewards: Proverbs 11: "The justice of the upright shall deliver them." For justice, according to Tully, is "the constant and perpetual will to render to each one his right." — Those who walk by these rectitudes are understood through those living creatures of which Ezekiel 1 says: "Their feet were straight," etc.

Luke 3:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

It is also shown thirdly to have the office of consoling through promise, when it is added: Every valley etc.; in which he foretells the effect of Christ's coming with respect to the humble just, with respect to sinners, and with respect to all. — Because he will exalt the humble; on account of which it is said: Every valley shall be filled, that is, the humble one: Psalm: "The valleys shall abound with grain"; above in the first chapter: "He has exalted the humble"; below in the eighteenth chapter: "Everyone who humbles himself shall be exalted." The figure of this is in Fourth Kings, chapter four, where Elisha filled the empty vessels. — He will humble the proud; on account of which is added: And every mountain and hill shall be brought low: Isaiah forty-five: "I will go before you and will humble the glorious ones of the earth"; Job forty: "Look upon every arrogant one and humble him." — He will set straight those who go astray: on account of which he adds: And the crooked shall be made straight: Bede: That is, the hearts of the wicked, twisted through injustice, shall be made straight, that is, they shall be directed to the rule of justice: Proverbs sixteen: "Reveal your works to the Lord, and your thoughts shall be directed." This moreover is against hypocrites, who hide their counsels from the Lord: Second Thessalonians three: "But may the Lord direct your hearts" etc. — He will calm the turbulent: on account of which he says: And the rough ways into smooth paths, that is, wrathful minds shall be converted to meekness; Isaiah eleven: "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: the calf and the lion and the sheep shall abide together."

Luke 3:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

He will illuminate all who approach: on account of which he adds: And all flesh shall see the salvation of God, that is, from every kind of flesh, as the distribution gives for the classes of individuals, according to that of the Psalm: "All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." In Isaiah forty, after the aforementioned words, it is added: "And all flesh together shall see that the mouth of the Lord has spoken." But in the fifty-second chapter it is said: "All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." And note that the very same one who is the mouth or Word of the Father according to his Divinity, is the salvation according to his humanity.

Luke 3:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

He said therefore to the crowds etc. Here the preaching of John is commended for the severity of his zeal. And because piety ought to be joined to severity, therefore first a rebuke is set forth; second, an exhortation is added, at the words: Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance; third, a threat is subjoined, at the words: For now the axe is laid to the root etc. The rebuke is of fault, the admonition is of penance, but the threat is of penal punishment. — The rebuke moreover is concerning two things, namely concerning the certain malice of fault and concerning the ignorance or inconsideration of punishment. He rebukes therefore concerning the certain malice of fault under the metaphor of the viper, when it is said: He said therefore to the crowds that went out to be baptized by him: Brood of vipers, etc. And note that he compares them to vipers on account of a threefold property: "For the viper, when it has bitten a man, immediately runs to water: so these, confessing mortal sins, were running to baptism." Against which, Sirach thirty-four: "He who is baptized from the dead and again touches the dead, what does his washing profit"? Likewise, the broods of vipers are born by rupturing the maternal entrails: so these, by persecuting the Prophets, violated their maternal entrails: Matthew twenty-three: "You are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who killed the Prophets." "Serpents, brood of vipers, how will you flee from the judgment of Gehenna"? "Likewise, outwardly they are beautiful and as if painted, but inwardly filled with venom"; so also these: Matthew twenty-three: "You are like whitewashed sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful to men, but inwardly are full of the bones of the dead". He rebukes also concerning the lack of consideration of punishment, when he adds: Who showed you to flee from the wrath to come? Gregory: "The wrath to come is the retribution of the final vengeance, which the sinner cannot then flee who now does not have recourse to the laments of penance"; First Thessalonians five: "Then sudden destruction shall come upon them, as labor pains upon her who is with child, and they shall not escape"; likewise, Revelation six: "They shall say to the mountains: Fall upon us, and to the hills: Cover us from the face of him who sits upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb"; Jeremiah twenty-five: "Their land has been made a desolation from the face of the wrath of the dove and from the face of the wrath of the fury of the Lord"; therefore Job nineteen: "Flee from the face of the sword"; the Psalm: "Where shall I go from your spirit, and where shall I flee from your face"? Not "to Tarshish" with Jonah, Jonah one — for Tarshish is interpreted as "exploration of joy" — but with the Prophet into the desert of penance: the Psalm: "I went far off, fleeing, and remained in solitude"; Matthew twenty-four: "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains"; "But pray that your flight be not in winter or on the Sabbath".

Luke 3:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance, etc. Here is set forth an exhortation concerning two things, namely concerning the humility of satisfaction and concerning caution against presumption. — As regards the humility of satisfaction, it is said: Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance, so that the satisfaction may be condign: Romans 6: "As you have yielded your members to serve uncleanness and iniquity unto iniquity, so now yield your members to serve justice unto sanctification"; because it is said in Deuteronomy 25: "According to the measure of the sin shall the measure of the stripes also be." Whence Gregory: "The fruit of good work is not equal for one who has sinned little or not at all and for one who has fallen gravely. For it is necessary that one inflict upon oneself lamentations through penance the greater, the graver the damages one has inflicted upon oneself through fault." But as regards caution against presumption, it is added: And do not begin to say: We have Abraham for our father, according to that passage in John 8: "We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never served anyone"; Romans 9: "Not all who are the seed of Abraham are children of Abraham," unless they also imitate the father: John 8: "If you are children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham"; Isaiah 51: "Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah who bore you." And he gives the reason when he adds: For I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Literally able, because, Wisdom 12, "the ability is at hand to you whenever you will it." Or from stones, that is, from the Gentiles. Gregory: "The Gentiles are rightly called stones, because they worship stones," according to that passage of the Psalm: "Let those who make them become like them." Ambrose: "He compares the Gentiles to stones, because they are unshapen for use, bare for adornment, barren for fruit, irrational for progress." And from these children of Abraham have been raised up; Galatians 3: "But if you are Christ's, then you are the seed of Abraham"; Romans 9: "Not those who are children of the flesh are children of God, but those who are children of the promise are counted as the seed." Such are those who imitate Abraham through faith: John 1: "He gave them power to become children of God." And therefore on account of the faith of the Gentile centurion it is said in Matthew 8: "Many shall come from the east and the west and shall recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven."

Luke 3:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

For now the axe is laid to the root of the tree. Here thirdly is added a threat, which is twofold, namely concerning the present and concerning the future. — As to the threat concerning the present it is said: For now the axe is laid to the root of the tree. Whence the Gloss: "The axe is the judicial severity for utterly uprooting fruitless trees, insofar as they are fruitless"; of which it is said in the Epistle of Jude: "Autumn trees, fruitless, twice dead." And such were signified by that fig tree which the Lord withered, Matthew twenty-one, where he says that "he cursed the fig tree, and immediately it withered"; and the reason for this was that he did not find fruit in it. And yet another Evangelist, namely Mark eleven, says that "it was not the time of figs"; in which he intimates that at all times God requires fruit from us: Galatians last chapter: "And let us not grow weary in well doing: for in due season" etc. But as to the threat concerning the future it is added: Every tree not bearing good fruit, that is, every unprofitable man without respect of persons: Proverbs six: "The jealousy and fury of a man will not spare in the day of vengeance, nor will he relent" etc. Shall be cut down, through death: below in chapter thirteen: "Cut it down; why does it even occupy the ground?" And Daniel four: "Cut down the tree and lop off its branches, shake off its leaves and scatter its fruits." The tree therefore is cut down not only for lack of fruit, but also of good fruit. — And shall be cast into the fire, namely through eternal damnation: John fifteen it is said of the fruitless branch: "They shall gather it and cast it into the fire" etc.: Matthew twenty-five: "Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire"; and Isaiah last chapter: "Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched."

Luke 3:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

And the crowds asked him etc. After the Evangelist commended the preaching of the precursor in general, here he commends it in particular according to the instruction with respect to special persons of the people. Moreover his teaching is commended in this part: first, in comparison to the need of the people in administering sound doctrine; second, in comparison to the excellence of Christ in avoiding false glory, at that place: But the people thinking etc.; third, in comparison to the perfidy of the tyrant in enduring the punishment inflicted, at that place: Many things indeed and other things. In the first, John's prudence is commended; in the second, John's innocence; in the third, his patience. As to the first point, it should be noted that according to the threefold difference of the persons hearing, he administers diverse instructions: first, to the crowds, who bear the person of subjects: second, to the tax collectors, who bear the person of ministers: third, to the soldiers, who bear the person of rulers or overseers. And in each of these parts, first the question is set forth, then the response is added. First, therefore, to the crowds asking, he gives instruction concerning the giving of alms: on account of which it is said: And the crowds asked him, saying: What then shall we do? Since it is necessary to bring forth worthy fruits of penance, therefore teach us. The simple were more eager to learn than the wise of the world; whence John 7: "Has any of the rulers believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the Law, they are accursed." But although they are considered accursed and reprobate by men, it is the contrary way in the judgment of God: Matthew 11: "You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to little ones"; and Proverbs 3: "And his conversation is with the simple." Such ones were questioning John as a great prophet: Deuteronomy 32: "Ask your father, and he will tell you," etc.

Luke 3:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

And because they put forward a humble question, therefore they hear a useful response, when it is added: He who has two tunics, let him give one to him who has none. An excellent counsel, because, as the Savior says below in chapter eleven, "give alms, and behold, all things are clean for you." So did Job, chapter thirty-one: "If I have despised him who was passing by because he had no garment, and the poor man without covering: if his sides have not blessed me, and he was warmed with the fleece of my sheep," etc. — And note how discreetly he teaches, namely: He who has two tunics, that is, one necessary and the other superfluous — what is superfluous to himself, let him give to another, to whom it is necessary. Whence Bede: "The precept is given concerning the dividing of two tunics, because if one were divided, no one would be clothed: for both he who receives and he who gives would remain naked." And what he said about clothing with respect to extrinsic deficiency, he said about food with respect to intrinsic deficiency; whence he also adds: And let him who has food do likewise, namely, if he has beyond necessity. Thus Job, chapter thirty-one: "If I have eaten my morsel alone"; and Tobit, chapter four: "Eat your bread with the hungry and the needy." — And concerning both of the aforesaid together, it is found in Isaiah, chapter fifty-eight: "Break your bread for the hungry," etc.; and afterward: "When you see the naked, cover him." — And note here that by tunic and food are understood all things from which alms ought to and can be given. Whence Jerome, to Hedibia: "Whatever can suffice for our body and succor human weakness is to be called one tunic. For nature brought us forth naked, and whatever is necessary in present nourishment is called one day's sustenance." Note also that in his manner of teaching he expresses how alms ought to be given and what conditions they ought to have. — The first is that they be from one's own substance; on account of which he says: Who has: Proverbs, chapter three: "Honor the Lord from your own substance," etc. — The second is that they be from something somewhat necessary, not entirely superfluous; and therefore he says: Two tunics. Whence Bede: "By the fact that a tunic is more necessary for our use than a cloak, it pertains to a worthy fruit of penance that we divide not only whatever external and less necessary things, but even the very necessities of nature with our neighbors—such as the food by which we live and the tunic by which we are clothed." Whence that poor widow is praised in Mark, chapter twelve, who "cast all that she had, out of her want, into the treasury," but others gave "from that which abounded to them." — Third, note that it ought to be gratuitous, in that it says: Let him give one: Tobit, chapter four: "If you have much, give abundantly"; and Matthew, chapter ten: "Freely you have received, freely give." — Fourth, note that it is to be bestowed on the needy, when it adds: Let him give to him who has not: below, chapter fourteen: "When you make a feast, invite the poor," etc. And note that the aforesaid word is said by some expositors to be a precept, and by some to be a counsel; and this because the superfluity indicated in the second tunic is twofold, namely, with respect to nature but not to one's station; and to give this is a matter of perfection and counsel. But what is superfluous to both nature and one's station, when the place and time are at hand, and one sees a person in need—unless one reserves it for someone more needy—to give this is a precept, according to that of First John, chapter three: "He who sees his brother having need," etc.

Luke 3:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

Secondly, to the publicans seeking instruction, he gives a lesson about keeping the laws, when it is added: And the publicans also came to him, to be baptized. "Publicans were those who collected public taxes, or who were contractors of the revenues of the treasury, or of public affairs," or who received the royal taxes in a lump sum. And these were already coming to John, as desiring salvation more than the scribes: Matthew twenty-one: "The publicans and harlots shall go before you into the kingdom of heaven." And their diligence is expressed when the question is added: And they said to him: Master, what shall we do? They did well indeed in this, according to the counsel of Isaiah one: "Cease to do perversely, learn to do well"; and according to that of Jeremiah six: "Stand upon the ways and ask about the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk in it."

Luke 3:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

And because they ask with discernment, therefore they are fruitfully instructed, when it is added: And he said to them: Do nothing more than what has been appointed for you — appointed, I say, according to divine law: Deuteronomy four: "You shall not add to the word that I speak to you, neither shall you diminish from it: keep the commandments of your God." Thus the Lord answered the rich young man: Matthew nineteen: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments," because, according to that of the Psalm, "in keeping them there is great reward": Ecclesiastes eight: "He who keeps the commandment shall experience no evil." — And note his prudence, by which he commands each one according to his ability. For seeing them to be weak, he does not impose heavy burdens, but mitigates the load as much as he can, according to that of Romans fourteen: "Him that is weak in the faith, receive." Whence John, who was most rigorous with himself, became kind to the weak publicans, so that he could say that word of the Apostle, First Corinthians nine: "I became weak to the weak, that I might gain the weak. I became all things to all men," etc. And note that here John seemed to uphold the office of the publicans, although below in chapter five concerning Matthew the publican that office is suggested to be disreputable. — And therefore it must be understood that for taxes to be duly collected, there is required due authority, due cause, and due measure: and this he indicates when he says: Nothing more — behold, measure; than what has been appointed — behold, authority; for you, that is, for the benefit of the community — behold, cause. And because these conditions are rarely observed, therefore such men were accustomed to be sinners and disreputable, not because that office could in no way be rightly performed, but because it is difficult and rare that they do not exceed what has been appointed.

Luke 3:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

Third, to the soldiers who were inquiring, he gives instruction about avoiding plunder, as is added: And the soldiers also asked him, saying: What shall we also do? And rightly so, according to the counsel of Tobit chapter four: "Always seek counsel from a wise person." And in this a great power appears in John's preaching, that he draws to himself men who seem most worldly. Whence the Gloss: "Great is the force in John's speech, which compels even tax collectors and soldiers to seek counsel for their salvation." And note that they ask: What shall we do? according to the words of the young man, below in chapter eighteen: "Master, what shall I do to possess eternal life?" Not so the Pharisees, but they inquire out of curiosity; John chapter one: "The Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to John, to ask him: Who are you?" and afterwards: "Those who had been sent were of the Pharisees, and they asked him: Why then do you baptize?" And since they were seeking salutary counsel, and the word is not to be withheld in the time of salvation, therefore they heard a saving response, as is added: And he said to them. In which instruction he forbids what is unlawful, when he says: Do violence to no man, that is, oppress no one through the force of power; neither calumniate any man, under the appearance of justice; Leviticus chapter nineteen: "You shall not calumniate your neighbor nor oppress him by force." On the contrary, the Lord threatens evil to the wicked in Isaiah chapter three: "Why do you crush my people, and grind the faces of the poor?" "The spoil of the poor is in your house." In this soldiers are accustomed to sin: and therefore he teaches them to avoid it as unlawful. But lest this should seem burdensome to them, therefore he grants what is lawful, when he adds: And be content with your pay: your pay, that is, the revenues established by your superiors for the defense of the commonwealth, because such a man is acceptable to God; Ezekiel chapter eighteen: "If a man be just and has not grieved anyone, has restored the pledge to the debtor, has taken nothing by violence, etc., he shall surely live." For such a man is content with his pay. But such are not the exactors, of whom Isaiah chapter three says: "My people, their exactors have despoiled them." And therefore Augustine in On the Words of the Lord: "Whoever uses the belt of his military service and receives the pay publicly decreed for him: if he seeks more, he is as a calumniator and an extortioner. For military pay was established for soldiers lest, while gain is sought, the plunderer should run rampant." And note that blessed John seems here to approve the office of military service, even though it seems to conflict with the commandments by which it is commanded that one should in no way avenge oneself nor repel injury: indeed it is said in Matthew 5: "Whoever strikes you on your right cheek, offer him the other also." — And therefore note that the practice of military service can be licit and illicit: but for the licit use, there must concur a fitting person and cause: namely the person declaring war, in whom it is required that he have authority: likewise the person waging war, who ought to be a layman and secular, not a cleric or religious: likewise the person suffering, who should be of such insolence that they must be restrained by war. — A fitting cause, moreover, exists when it is for the defense of the fatherland, or of peace, or of the faith. When therefore these concur, then it is licit to serve as a soldier; but when any of these is lacking, for instance because there is a defect on the part of the person or the cause: for instance when a cleric or a religious man, who ought to be perfect, wishes to wage war, or when it is for human glory or vengeance: then it is illicit. — But as to what is objected from the evangelical commandment, it must be said that it is understood concerning patience to be held in the soul, not concerning bodily display, as A…

Luke 3:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

Now as the people were thinking etc. The preaching of John has been commended in comparison to the need of the people; here secondly it is commended in comparison to the excellence of Christ in this, that he does not usurp the glory owed to Christ. Whence just as above he administered sound doctrine, so here he avoids a glory that is not his own. For explaining this, three things are introduced: the first is the estimation of falsehood among the people; the second is the confession of truth in John; the third is the commendation of sublimity in the Savior. Regarding the false estimation among the people, it is said: But as the people were thinking, and all were pondering in their hearts, with a false estimation and erroneous thought about John, whether perhaps he might be the Christ, namely the one promised in the Law — and not only thinking inwardly, but also inquiring outwardly, John 1: "The Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to John, to ask him: Who are you?" And this, because they suspected that he was the Christ; whence above in chapter one: "What, do you think, will this child be?" But they ought not to have considered him the Christ, but rather his minister, according to that passage in 1 Corinthians 4: "Let a man so account of us as ministers of Christ," etc. And therefore in such thinking they were in error; whence Bede: "Wondrous is the blindness of the Jews, that what they willingly believed concerning John, this they do not believe concerning the Savior, though he was approved by so many signs and miracles, and even with John himself bearing witness." Whence not undeservedly they are called "blind and leaders of the blind," Matthew 15, who "made darkness light and light darkness"; whence John 1: "He was not the light."

Luke 3:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

Regarding the confession of truth in John, it is added: John answered, saying to all, that is, publicly, because all were in error: I indeed baptize you with water, and "only, as Ambrose says, I immerse bodies"; and therefore I am not the savior of souls, whom you think me to be. Whence he himself said, John 1: "Upon whom you shall see the Holy Spirit descending and remaining, he it is who baptizes in the Holy Spirit." Whence when the Jews asked who he was, according to what is said in John 1, "he confessed and did not deny, and he confessed: I am not the Christ." And therefore he could say that passage from 2 Corinthians 12: "But I forbear, lest anyone should think of me above that which he sees in me, or hears anything from me." And note that there is the baptism of water, of the Spirit, and of blood. The baptism of water is twofold: one in water only, as that of blessed John, Acts 19: "In what were you baptized? And they said: In the baptism of John"; another in water and the Spirit, as the baptism of Christ, John 3: "Unless one is born again of water and the Holy Spirit," etc. — The baptism of the Spirit: one in the gift of grace, Acts 1: "John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit"; another in the word of doctrine, Song of Songs 4: "Your teeth are like flocks of shorn sheep, which have come up from the washing," by which we understand preachers; and John 15: "You are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you." — The baptism of blood: one in tribulation, Isaiah 4: "If the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and shall have cleansed the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning"; another in death, Luke 12: "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened until it be accomplished." As for the commendation of sublimity in the Savior, there follows: But one mightier than I comes, etc. Now John commends Christ with respect to the mystery of the Incarnation, with respect to the Sacrament of reparation, and with respect to the judgment of retribution. In the first is the beginning of our salvation; in the second, its increase; in the third, its completion. As for the mystery of the Incarnation, he says: But one mightier than I comes, mightier, worthier, and more excellent; Isaiah 9: "His name shall be called Wonderful," because, First Corinthians 1, "the weakness of God is stronger than men"; and this indeed not slightly, but incomparably: on account of which there follows: Whose sandal strap I am not worthy to unfasten. According to the literal sense, this can mean that he so greatly humbles himself that he is not worthy to serve Him in the most lowly ministry: whence also Matthew 3: "Whose sandals I am not worthy to carry." — Or spiritually, by the sandal is understood the human nature assumed, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Over Edom will I extend my shoe." By the strap I understand the union itself. The sense therefore, according to Bede, is: Whose I am not worthy, etc., "that is, to explain the mystery of the Incarnation," because it is said in Apocalypse 5 that "no one was found worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof except the Lamb alone." — In another way it is understood according to a third manner thus: I am not worthy, etc., that is, to carry the evangelical preaching throughout the world: whence Bede: "The nuptial sandal is the evangelical preaching, with which the Apostles were shod"; Ephesians 6: "Your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace." — In yet another way it is expounded according to a fourth manner, so that the sense is: I am not worthy to unfasten, that is, to remove His sandal according to the custom of the Law and to take His bride to myself: whence John 3: "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom stands," etc. — But according to the first sense there seems to be greater testimony, in which th…

Luke 3:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

As for the justice of retribution, he adds: Whose winnowing fan is in his hand. Here the justice of retribution is commended with respect to three things, namely with respect to the discerning judgment of merits, with respect to the rewarding of the good, and with respect to the punishment of the reprobate. Therefore, as regards the discriminating judgment, it says: Whose winnowing fan is in his hand. He says this with respect to the judicial power by which the good are distinguished from the wicked, just as by the winnowing fan grain is purged from chaff: Jeremiah 15: "I will scatter them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land." And it says in his hand, that is, with full power, according to that passage in John 5: "The Father has given all judgment to the Son"; and therefore it says in 1 Peter 5: "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation"; Malachi 3: "Behold, he comes, says the Lord of hosts, and who shall be able to think upon the day of his coming?" And since it belongs to the judicial power to separate the good from the wicked, so as to glorify the good and afflict the wicked, therefore, as regards the discrimination and separation, it says: And he will purge his threshing floor: Joel, last chapter: "I will cleanse their blood which I had not cleansed, and the Lord will dwell in Zion." Because the good are now intermixed with hidden evils, therefore it says in the Psalm: "Cleanse me from my hidden faults," in the person of the Church. This will happen when that passage of Isaiah 26 is fulfilled: "Let the wicked be taken away, lest he see the glory of God"; and elsewhere: "Outside are dogs, sorcerers, the unchaste, and those who serve idols." — And note that the Church Militant is understood by the little plot on account of the narrowness of humility: Song of Songs 6: "My beloved went down into his garden, to the bed of spices"; but by the threshing floor on account of the breadth of charity: Judges 6: "I will place this fleece on the threshing floor," etc. This is cleansed at the end, according to that passage in Matthew 13: "So shall it be at the consummation of the age: the Angels will go out and separate the wicked from the midst of the just." But as regards the rewarding of the good, it says: And he will gather the wheat into his barn: and this is when the Saints in glory will be brought together into one: Isaiah 56: "Thus says the Lord, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: I will yet gather together his congregations." And rightly the elect are compared to wheat by reason of their fruitfulness, according to that passage in John 12: "Unless a grain of wheat falling into the ground dies," etc.; Job 5: "You shall enter the grave in abundance, as a heap of wheat is brought in at its time." As for the punishment of the reprobate, it is added: But the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. He calls the reprobate chaff, because they are the material of burning: Jeremiah twenty-three: "What is the chaff to the wheat? says the Lord." Whence Job twenty-one: "They shall be as chaff before the face of the wind and as a spark which the whirlwind scatters"; the Psalm: "O my God, make them like a wheel and like stubble before the face of the wind." And so the chaff serves as fuel for the eternal fire, which neither is extinguished nor extinguishes, according to that passage of Isaiah, the last chapter: "Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched"; and Deuteronomy thirty-two: "A fire is kindled in my fury and shall burn even to the lowest depths of hell." But this burning of the chaff shall be far from the gathered wheat, because the former shall be in hell, but the good in paradise, in which they shall be gathered in glory, because here they were gathered in grace. On account of which it must be understood that there is a threefold gathering: for the pursuit of truth: Ecclesiasticus fifty-one: "Draw near to me, you unlearned, and gather yourse…

Luke 3:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

Exhorting many other things indeed, he preached the good news, etc. Above he commended the preaching of John in comparison to the need of the people and the excellence of Christ; in this part he commends it in comparison to the perfidy of the tyrant, in which patience is praised, because, Proverbs nineteen, "the learning of a man is known through his patience." In this part, therefore, John is first introduced exhorting the obedient people; second, rebuking the transgressing ruler; third, enduring the persecuting adversary. As regards, therefore, the exhortation of the obedient people, it is said: Exhorting many other things indeed, he preached the good news to the people; but nevertheless all things were ordered to the good: Second Corinthians six: "Helping, we exhort you that you receive not the grace of God in vain," etc.; and First Thessalonians two: "Our exhortation was not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in deceit, but as we were approved, that the Gospel should be entrusted to us." And therefore it is added: He preached the good news, that is, he announced good things: Isaiah fifty-two: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who announces and preaches peace, who announces good things, who preaches salvation," etc.

Luke 3:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

As regards the rebuke of the transgressing ruler, it is added: But Herod the tetrarch, about whom it was treated above in the same chapter, when he was rebuked by him concerning Herodias, the wife of his brother: Matthew fourteen: "John said to Herod: It is not lawful for you to have her." And concerning all the evils which Herod had done. And so he did not spare him; Sirach ten: "The glory of the rich, of the honored, and of the poor is the fear of God; not to despise the just poor man, and not to magnify the rich sinner." Whence that which is said of Elisha in Sirach forty-eight applies to him: "In his days he did not fear the ruler, and in power no one overcame him, nor did any word surpass him." And because he sinned publicly, he rebuked publicly, according to that of First Timothy five: "Rebuke the one sinning before all, that the rest may have fear"; and this indeed boldly: Titus two: "These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority."

Luke 3:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

As regards the endurance of the persecuting adversary, it is added concerning Herod: He added this also above all and shut John up in prison. And so that word of Sirach three was verified: "The wicked heart shall be laden with sorrows, and the sinner shall add sin to sin"; and this by the just judgment of God: Revelation, the last chapter: "He who is filthy, let him be filthy still." And so that word of Amos five was verified: "They hated the one who rebukes in the gate"; as Ahab hated Micaiah, Third Kings, the last chapter; as Zedekiah hated Jeremiah, chapter thirty-two; as another Herod hated Peter, Acts twelve. On account of which, Hebrews eleven: "Others had trial of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bonds and prisons, they were cut asunder," etc.

Luke 3:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized etc. After the Evangelist commended the preaching of the Precursor and the execution of his office in general and in particular, here he commends it in singular regard to Christ, to whom the entire preaching was principally directed. For as the Baptist himself says in John 1: "That he might be made manifest in Israel, therefore I came baptizing in water." Therefore here is described the spiritual regeneration of Christ, which is principally intended in the whole chapter. Now this part has two sections. In the first is determined Christ's sacramental regeneration: in the second, Christ's temporal genealogy, at the place: And Jesus himself was beginning etc. As to the first, two things are introduced: the first is humiliation through the reception of the Sacrament in his assumed humanity; the second is glorification through the presentation of testimony by the entire Trinity, at the place: Heaven was opened etc. Concerning the reception of the Sacrament in the form of a servant, it should be noted that a threefold humiliation is distinguished in Christ: the first, with respect to the people who accompany him; the second, with respect to the minister who baptizes; the third, with respect to God who hears. The humiliation with respect to the people who accompany him is noted when he says: It came to pass, when all the people were baptized. By people the humble populace is understood, among whom Christ did not disdain to be humble, since, according to the Psalm, "the Lord is high and regards the lowly." By reason of which humility it is said below in chapter twenty-two: "But I am in the midst of you as one who serves," and that passage in John 1 also says: "There has stood in your midst one whom you do not know." And note that all the people is the same as many from the people — because, below in chapter seven, "the Pharisees rejected the counsel of God against themselves, not having been baptized with the baptism of John" — and thus it is understood in Matthew 3: "All Judea and all the region around the Jordan went out to him, to be baptized by him." The humiliation with respect to the minister baptizing is noted when it says: And Jesus having been baptized, namely by John, which was a wondrous humility, that the Lord willed to be baptized by the baptism of a servant. Whence it is said in Matthew 3 that John said: "I ought to be baptized by you," and it follows: "Suffer it now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all justice," that is, perfect humility, by which he subjected himself not only to a superior and to an equal, but even to an inferior. Now Christ was baptized not that he might be sanctified by baptism, but that he might confer regenerative power upon the waters. Whence Chrysostom says: "He did not receive the remission of sins, but sanctified the waters for all who were to be baptized." He also willed to be baptized so that he might give an example and model to others, because, as is said in Acts 1, "Jesus began to do and to teach"; also that by his baptism he might be made known, as is said in John 1: "that he might be made manifest in Israel," etc. He was also baptized so that he might approve the baptism of the precursor and show the Pharisees that the testimony of John was to be believed, just as a heavenly one; to whom he says in Matthew 21: "The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven, or from men?" The humiliation, however, with respect to God who hears is noted when it says: And praying, namely to the Lord, according to that of the Psalm: "Be subject to the Lord and pray to him"; Hebrews 5: "Offering prayers and supplications to God, he was heard for his reverence." Whence John 11: "Father, I give you thanks that you have heard me; and I knew that you always hear me, but because of the people who stand about I said it, that they may believe that you have sent me." In all things the Lord is found praying, whether in the reception of baptism, or in soli…

Luke 3:22 — Breviloquium

Luke 3:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

Again, to designate the person of the Holy Spirit, it is added: The Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him; John 1: "Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending and remaining, he it is who baptizes." — Now he descended in the form of a dove by reason of signification, because, as Chrysostom says, "this bird above all others is the greatest cultivator of charity." Hence he appeared to Christ in a complete animal, but to the disciples in tongues, to signify that in Christ he was present according to every manner of fullness, but in others in parts: whence it is said in John 3: "God does not give the Spirit by measure." He also appeared over the disciples in fire, but over Christ in a dove, because, as Gregory says, "Christ came to gather us through meekness"; and therefore he appeared over him in a dove, but "over the disciples in fire: whom he came to kindle against themselves for consuming the rust of sin." — And most fittingly does the apparition of the Holy Spirit in a dove befit baptism, on account of the innocence which baptism restores. As a sign of this, it is said in Genesis 8 that the dove after the flood brought back a branch of a green olive tree. By that flood — as Damascene says, and as it is said in 1 Peter 3: "In which few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water," etc. — baptism is understood: whence by the dove bringing back to the ark a branch of a green olive tree is understood the innocence of meekness with the grace of anointing. And note that the Holy Spirit appeared in a threefold form, namely in a dove at the baptism; in a cloud at the transfiguration, below in chapter 9; in fire over the disciples, Acts 2. And these correspond to three states, as the expositor says. For upon beginners he descends as a dove, because he renders them groaning and meditating: Isaiah 59: "We shall groan like meditating doves"; and Isaiah 38: "Like a young swallow, so shall I cry out; I shall meditate like a dove." — Upon those progressing, as a cloud, because by the striving of the mind he makes them ascend upward from virtue to virtue, until he elevates them to heaven, so that the God of gods may be seen in Sion: Psalm: "They shall go from virtue to virtue; he shall be seen," etc. — Upon the perfect, in fire, because he inflames them so that they tend upward through desire, and also toward their neighbors through beneficence: below in chapter 12: "I came to cast fire upon the earth." As a sign of this, it is said in 4 Kings 2 that "Elijah ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire"; concerning which fire, Lamentations 1: "From on high he sent fire into my bones and instructed me." Finally, to designate the person of the Father there is added: A voice came from heaven. And then was verified that word of the Psalm: "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters, the God of majesty has thundered"; and that word of Deuteronomy 4: "From heaven he made you hear his voice." And that this voice was in the person of the Father is shown when there is added: You are my Son, namely the Only-begotten, begotten from Eternity: the Psalm: "The Lord said to me: You are my Son." And in this the Father bore witness to him: John 8: "I am the one who bears witness concerning myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness concerning me"; whence First John 5: "If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, because he has testified concerning his Son." You therefore is here taken distinctively, because no other: whence he is called the Only-begotten in John 1: "No one has ever seen God except the Only-begotten, who is in the bosom of the Father," because, according to that word of the Psalm, "before the daystar I begot you." And because he loves him supremely, therefore there is added: beloved, through whom even others who are hateful are loved: Ephesians 1: "He has graced us in his beloved Son"; and again Colossians 1: "He has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love." And for greater…

Luke 3:23-38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

Third, he adds the degrees of the processions, when he adds: Who was of Heli, etc. — But this seems to be contradicted by Matthew one, where it is said that "Jacob begot Joseph," who descends through Solomon. If therefore it is impossible that someone be begotten by two at the same time, either this genealogy or that of Matthew is entirely erroneous. For the clarification of this matter, it should be noted that Mathat, who descended from David through Nathan, and Mathan, who descended from David through Solomon, successively had one wife, from whom Mathan begot Jacob, and Mathat begot Heli. And thus Heli and Jacob were two uterine brothers. But Heli, having taken a wife, died without children, and therefore according to the Law, Jacob his brother took her, so that he might raise up seed for his brother, and from her "begot Joseph, the husband of Mary." Joseph therefore according to the flesh was the son of Jacob, who descended through Solomon; but according to the Law he was the son of Heli, who descended through Nathan. And since to perfectly write the genealogy of the Savior it was necessary that it be written both according to the Law and according to nature, therefore the Holy Spirit accomplished this through two Evangelists, such that through Matthew the carnal genealogy and through Luke the legal one. This, however, was not done without a reasonable cause. For Matthew pursues Christ's kingship and humanity, according as he succeeded David, and therefore treats of his descent unto the assumption of our flesh. And because this was first promised to Abraham himself and promised again to David himself, therefore he begins the genealogy of the Savior from Abraham, descending through David and Solomon, who succeeded him in the kingdom. — Hence it is also that in descending he sets down only forty intermediate generations, because by that number the universality of time is designated, according to what Augustine says in the book On the Harmony of the Evangelists: for it is generated if ten is multiplied by four. Or according to another manner of counting, forty-two, according to the forty-two stations of the children of Israel, Numbers thirty-three: so that Jechoniah is counted twice, to designate Christ the cornerstone. And this number is generated from six multiplied by seven, in which the state of the present time is designated. And because the generation of Christ according to the flesh is the beginning of the Gospel, therefore it is placed at the beginning of the book. — But Luke pursues the priesthood of Christ, through which we are reconciled unto the adoption of sons from the state of sin, which indeed takes place through sacramental regeneration; therefore he pursues the adoptive or legal filiation of Christ, ascending all the way to God, and this through seventy-seven steps, because by that number, as Augustine says, the universality of sins is designated: for it is generated by eleven multiplied by seven. Therefore he also places this genealogy not at the beginning of the book, but after the baptism of Christ. Since therefore "the end imposes necessity upon those things which are ordered to the end," and Luke directed the eye of his principal intention toward the priesthood of Christ, but Matthew toward the kingship of Christ, hence it is that they pursued the genealogy of Christ in different ways: they described it not in a contrary manner nor by chance occurrence, but with a certain harmonious and well-articulated variety, the Holy Spirit directing them. From these things the cause of the sevenfold difference between Luke and Matthew becomes apparent, namely in persons, because they set forth a twofold mode of paternity, according to nature and the Law: the first Matthew, the second Luke: in the first mode through Solomon, in the second through Nathan. — In progression, because Matthew descends, Luke ascends, and this because nature is the principle of propagating, but grace of leading back. — In manner, because…

Luke 3:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 3

And Jesus himself was etc. After the sacramental regeneration, in which he also declared the eternal generation, he here subjoins the temporal genealogy, concerning which three things are introduced for consideration. The first is the time of the one proceeding, to exclude a fantastical understanding. The second is the manner of proceeding, to exclude a carnal understanding. The third is the degree of the procession, or its progress, to strengthen a faithful understanding. First, therefore, he indicates the time of age, so that those may be refuted who believe that Christ was not a true man: on account of which he says: And Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years of age, beginning, that is, to manifest himself to others and to preach. About is said because according to some he was twenty-nine years and thirteen days old; according to others he was thirty years and thirteen days beyond. In this he also provided an example, that no one ought to teach before the age of maturity, however great the wisdom he may possess: whence Sirach 20: "A wise man will be silent until the proper time." And therefore it is said in Sirach 32: "Young man, speak in your own cause only when necessary." Whence the sons of Gershon were not numbered for bearing the burdens of the tabernacle except from thirty years to fifty, Numbers 4. Although this is so by the common law, nevertheless sometimes it happens otherwise by special privilege, as it is said in Jeremiah 1: "Do not say: I am a child"; and in the penultimate chapter of Daniel, of whom it is said that "God raised up the spirit of a younger boy." Therefore it is said in Wisdom 10 that "wisdom opened the mouth of the mute and made the tongues of infants eloquent"; and in the Psalm: "Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise." Nevertheless, the privileges of the few are not to be drawn into a general rule, nor is a law to be imposed upon the divine operation and grace, because, as it is said in Wisdom 4, "understanding is the gray hair of man, and an immaculate life is old age"; and again: "Being made perfect in a short time, he fulfilled a long time." Next he describes the manner of descent, when he says: As was supposed the son of Joseph: in which he shows that according to temporal generation he did not have a true father, but a putative one, because he was born of the Virgin; for men supposed Joseph to be his father, according to what is said below in chapter four: "Is not this the son of Joseph?" But from this it seems that the following genealogy has nothing to do with Christ according to truth. — To which Bede responds, following Jerome, that it is not the custom of the Scriptures for the order of women to be woven into the genealogies; furthermore, he says that both Joseph and Mary were born from the same tribe, whence by the Law he was bound to take her as a kinsman. A sign of this is also that they were enrolled together in Bethlehem, as is stated above in chapter two. And therefore the series of generation in the one pertains to the other. — From this it is apparent why so little mention is made of Mary in Scripture. For if no mention is made of her in Christ's genealogy for the sake of preserving the custom of the Scriptures, even though it would seem almost necessary, much less should it be done concerning her own acts. — Now, no mention is made of women in the order of genealogies, partly because of a deficiency on the part of nature, because "woman is a misbegotten male"; partly because of a deficiency on the part of signification, because she signifies not Christ but the Church, not the higher portion of reason but the lower, First Corinthians eleven; partly because of a deficiency on the part of office, because neither to teach nor to preside befits them; partly because of a deficiency on the part of remedy, because it befits her not to remedy but to be remedied; partly because of a deficiency of principle, because "man is not from woman, b…

Luke 4:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Merit consists in victory over temptations, because "the life of man upon earth is a warfare"; therefore the Evangelist describes how he overcame the diabolical temptation. For a complete description of this, three things are fitting, namely the occasion of the temptation; the manner of tempting; and the consummation of the temptation. The motive for tempting the devil drew from four things considered in Christ: the first is the fullness of grace, the second is the solitude of the place, the third is the suspicion of Divinity on account of his wondrous abstinence, the fourth is the observation of infirmity on account of his apparent need. The consideration of the fullness of grace moved the devil's will to tempt through envy; the consideration of solitude furnished the malice for tempting; the suspicion of Divinity incited the curiosity for tempting; the observation of necessity provided the opportunity for tempting. He therefore introduces the fullness of grace in Christ, saying: But Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, not because He was first filled there, but because then His fullness first began to appear, by overflowing unto others, according to that passage of John chapter one: "And we saw His glory"; and afterwards: "Of His fullness we have all received." Full, I say, not only sufficiently, but also superabundantly: whence Colossians chapter one: "In Him it pleased all fullness to dwell"; and chapter two: "In whom all the fullness of the Divinity dwells bodily". Then he adds the solitude of the place, because in the desert: on account of which he adds: And He was driven by the Spirit into the desert so that he might test whether He was God or the Son of God, because perhaps he had heard that word: "This is My beloved Son." To be driven by the Holy Spirit belongs to benignity: whence Romans chapter eight: "Whosoever are driven by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Hence Gregory says: "It is fittingly understood that He is believed to have been led by the Holy Spirit, so that His own Spirit might lead Him there where the evil spirit would find Him to tempt Him." Whence He led Him into the desert, where God is accustomed to speak intimately with the soul, according to that passage of Hosea chapter two: "I will lead her into the wilderness, and there I will speak to her heart." And therefore the holy soul says in the Psalm: "I went far off fleeing and remained in solitude"; so also David, in First Kings chapter twenty-three, "dwelt in the desert and remained in the mountain of solitude." And note spiritually, that here Christ is said to be driven by the Spirit, in Matthew chapter four He is said to be led, in Mark chapter one He is said to be driven out. In which it is signified that one comes to the desert of penance in three ways, namely by the fear of severity, whose property it is to drive out from evil to good: Ecclesiasticus chapter one, "The fear of the Lord drives out sin," etc. By the splendor of truth, whose property it is to lead: Proverbs chapter four: "I will lead you through the paths of equity," etc., says Wisdom. By the love of goodness, whose property it is to drive: Romans chapter eight: "Whosoever are driven by the Spirit of God," etc. Or through threats, admonitions, and promises, which three correspond in us to the three powers of the soul, namely the irascible, the rational, and the concupiscible.

Luke 4:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

And the time is specified, namely forty days, so that thus the truth might correspond to the figure: so Moses, Exodus chapter twenty-four; so Elijah, Third Kings chapter nineteen, so that thus Christ's fast might have testimony from both the Law and the Prophets. And lest you believe that Christ withdrew there for rest, it is added: And He was tempted by the devil, not interiorly, but only exteriorly. For as Gregory says: "The delight of sin did not bite His mind"; Hebrews chapter four: "We do not have a High Priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities, tempted in all things according to likeness, without sin." Third, he introduces a wondrous abstinence, when he adds: And he ate nothing in those days, namely the forty days. From this the devil suspected him to be God, because he was fasting beyond human power, which commonly does not extend beyond three days; hence in Matthew 15 it is said concerning the crowds who had been fasting for three days: "I am unwilling to send them away fasting, lest they faint on the way." And note here that the Savior fasted before the temptation and ate after the resurrection for our instruction. Hence Augustine: "Christ fasted before the death of the flesh, as if crying out: Abstain from carnal desires, while you are in the struggle. He ate after the resurrection, as if to say: while you have a mortal body, feed yourselves now on the hope of immortality, because while we travel the way of the Lord, we ought both to fast from the vanity of the world and to be refreshed by the promise of the future," so that we may always say: "I shall be satisfied when your glory appears." Finally, he adds an apparent need, when he subjoins: And when they were completed, he was hungry. For he did not wish to abstain any longer, lest the devil be able to perceive it. Hence Ambrose: "He hungers, lest the sublime God be recognized; for the hunger of the Lord is a pious ruse, lest the devil beware of tempting him." And note that he hungered in the temptation, as is said here, and thirsted in the passion, as is said in John 19, to show that he had true humanity, and to invite to poverty and the painfulness of penance; hence the Apostle in 2 Corinthians 11: "In hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, in many fastings." Moreover, he hungered and thirsted not for himself, but for us, for whom he merited the spiritual refreshment of his body and blood, by which we are fed and given drink; John 6: "My flesh is truly food, and my blood is truly drink."

Luke 4:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

After he described the occasion of the temptation, here he describes the manner of tempting, and this according to a threefold motive. Now the motive to sin is a changeable good, which exists in a threefold difference: either it is inferior, and this belongs to the flesh; or exterior, and this belongs to the world; or interior, and this is the excellence of the mind. From the first, a person is made voluptuous; from the second, curious; from the third, presumptuous. In the first way, the tempter brings a suggestion through the inferior good, which belongs to the flesh, to entice to gluttony; in the second, through the exterior good, which belongs to the world, to entice to avarice; in the third, through the interior good, which is the excellence of the mind, to entice to pomp or pride. And these three correspond to the three things in which he tempted and conquered the first man, and these temptations follow an ordered progression from lower to higher: because by the first, one is assailed with respect to the act of the vegetative power; by the second, with respect to the act of the sensitive power; by the third, with respect to the act of the rational power. He introduces the devil tempting, when he says: And the devil said to him: If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread, which he says so that he himself might gain proof concerning him and so that he might incite him to gluttony. For since you are a hungry man, command that you may be refreshed: not because the refreshment of Christ pertained to him in any way: Proverbs twenty-three: "Eat and drink, he will say to you, and his heart is not with you"; but if you are the Son of God, say this very thing, so that, if it comes to pass, you may be recognized as omnipotent: Ecclesiastes eight: "His word is full of power, and whatever he wills, he will do." Hence note the cunning of the devil in tempting, because, when he saw Christ's weakness and doubted his Divinity, he wished to guard against the Divinity by discovering it and to cast down his humanity by seducing it. In which there was at once deceit and pride, according to that passage of Job forty-one: "He beholds every high thing, and he himself is king over all the children of pride."

Luke 4:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

But against this malicious and proud temptation stands the response of God, humble and discreet, because it conceals his Divinity and avoids carnality; whence it is added: And Jesus answered him: It is written, that man does not live by bread alone: Wisdom sixteen: "It is not the fruits of the earth that nourish men, but your word preserves those who believe in you." But by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. This is written in Deuteronomy eight: "He afflicted you with want and gave you manna for food, which you did not know, to show you that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God"; whence John six: "The words that I speak to you are spirit and life." And note that Christ defends himself through Scripture, in which he reveals his wisdom and conceals his power and preserves justice; and thus the devil's suggestion was entirely nullified, because he neither gained proof concerning God nor dragged man into gluttony. Whence that passage of Job twenty-six was verified: "His wisdom struck the proud one," namely the devil. And from this the nobility of Scripture is apparent, by which Christ in temptation defended himself as with a shield, according to that passage of Proverbs thirty: "Every word of the Lord is a fiery shield to all who hope in him"; whence also Ephesians six: "In all things taking up the shield of faith, by which you may extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God."

Luke 4:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Here the second temptation is described, concerning which two things are to be noted. The first is the diabolical suggestion, and the second is the Lord's response. Concerning the devil's suggestion, note the leading, the showing, the promising, the persuading. The leading is done as if to one who is powerless, although it is said in Wisdom 12: "Power is at hand for you whenever you will it." Whence he says: And the devil led him to a high mountain: he led, I say, as one who was weak, yet not unwilling, as Peter, of whom it is said in the last chapter of John: "When you are old, another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish to go"; but as one humbly permitting, after the manner of him of whom Isaiah 53 says: "He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer he shall be silent," etc. If therefore he endured this from the members of the devil, what wonder if he patiently endured it from the head of the wicked? And he led him to a mountain, because, being proud, he always seeks high places: Isaiah 14: "I will ascend above the stars, I will sit upon the mountain of the covenant"; and because in a place of eminence man easily falls: whence 3 Kings 22: "I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains." The showing is done as if to one who is ignorant, although "in him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," Colossians 2. Whence he adds: And he showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And note that he is said to have shown him all the kingdoms of the world, not individually, but generally, as a certain author says, that is, all their parts. Or, according to Bede, "he showed all the desirable things of the world, in which men reign," whence it is pointedly said in Matthew 4: "He showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory." "He showed them, however, not in order to enlarge his sight, but, as Bede says, displaying the vanity of human pomp, which he loved, as though it were beautiful, he wished to make it be loved." And because these things do not endure but quickly pass away, therefore he showed them in a brief time; on account of which he adds: In a moment of time. Whence Bede: "Not so much the swiftness of sight is noted as the fragility of fleeting power. For in a moment all things pass away," according to that saying of Isaiah 40: "Behold, the nations are as a drop from a bucket and are reckoned as the turning of a balance"; because, Wisdom 11, "as the turning of a balance, so is the world before you"; "for in a moment, the nation that was most illustrious was destroyed," as is said in Wisdom 18, and in the Psalm: "I saw the wicked highly exalted, etc. And I passed by, and behold, he was no more."

Luke 4:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

The promise is made to him as if to one who is in need, although his is "the world and its fullness." On account of which is added: And he said to him: I will give you all this power and their glory, etc., so that you may have the dominion of power and the proclamation of praise, as though he were promising something great, although the power and glory of the world are as nothing, according to that saying of Isaiah 40: "All flesh is grass, and all its glory is as the flower of the field"; and 1 Maccabees 2: "The glory of a sinful man is dung and worms"; and that saying of Hosea 4: "I will change their glory into shame." And to show that faith must be given to the promise, he adds: Because they have been delivered to me, and to whomever I wish, I give them; Job 9: "The earth is given into the hands of the wicked," that is, earthly power. But this is understood permissively, not absolutely, but for a time, as is said in Daniel 11: "The king shall do according to his will and shall magnify himself against every god"; "and he shall multiply glory and shall give power over many and shall divide the land gratuitously"; and in Apocalypse 13 it is said that "the dragon gave power to the beast." But God permits this by his just judgment. "He therefore transfers kingdoms and establishes them," as is said in Daniel 2. Or, as Bede says, he says this out of arrogance, not because the whole world was his, since only the Son says truly: "All things have been delivered to me by the Father," Matthew 11; and again in the last chapter of Matthew: "All power has been given to me in heaven and on earth," etc. But because every disorder of power is ascribed to him, he, as one who is proud, ascribes the whole to himself. Whence every ordering of power is from God, as is said in Romans 13; but disorder is from the devil, because in First John 3 it is said: "He who sins is of the devil."

Luke 4:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Fourth, the persuasion is made as if to one who desires, when nevertheless he himself "gives to all abundantly," James 1. Whence he says: If you therefore, falling down, will worship before me, etc. In this persuasion he strives to incline toward true adoration on account of a false promise, whence that passage in Isaiah 51: "Bow down, that we may pass over." For he cannot ascend over man unless man falls down before him voluntarily. But he was demanding the honor of adoration, against that passage in Exodus 34: "You shall not worship a strange god." And in order to drag him to unlawful service, he promises a false reward, when he adds: All things shall be yours. He pledges false power in order to drag to true servitude, because, in John 8, "he who commits sin is a slave of sin"; and he who is a slave does not have mastery of himself, and through this not all things are his, but he himself is subject to all things as a slave; and in Second Peter 2: "By whom a man is overcome, of the same he is the slave."

Luke 4:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Here after the diabolical suggestion he subjoins the dominical response, which through the testimony of Sacred Scripture refutes the diabolical persuasion, when he says: It is written: Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God. This, I say, is written in Deuteronomy 6. And rightly does the Savior recall this Scripture, because, according to that passage of 2 Timothy 3, "all Scripture, divinely inspired, is useful for teaching, for arguing, and for correcting," and especially that Scripture in which divine worship is considered. Whence the Lord is also said to have written the Law with his own finger, Exodus 32, in which the precept of adoration is the first and the chief and most to be kept in mind. Whence Baruch 6: "Seeing the crowd of those adoring before and behind, say in your hearts: Thou oughtest to be adored, O Lord," namely thee and no other. And therefore it is added: And him alone shalt thou serve, namely with the servitude of latria; 1 Kings 7: "Prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve him alone." Alone does not there exclude every person with respect to any service whatsoever, since it is said in Galatians 5: "Through the charity of the spirit, serve one another"; but it excludes with respect to the servitude of latria, which is "worship owed to God alone." Or it excludes services rendered to others not for the sake of God, but against God, as if to say: to him alone and not to idols: concerning which, 1 Corinthians 5: "If anyone among you is named a fornicator, or covetous, or one serving idols, with such a one not even to take food." Thus one serves the devil. Nor indeed to sin, but to justice; Romans 6: "As you have yielded your members to serve uncleanness and iniquity unto iniquity, so now yield your members" etc. Not to one's own belly: Romans 16: "For such do not serve Christ the Lord, but their own belly." Not the world, because, below in the sixteenth chapter, "you cannot serve God and mammon." But God alone, so that you may say with David: "For I am thy servant."

Luke 4:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Here the third temptation is described, concerning which two things are to be attended to as before. The first is the suggestion of the devil; the second is the response of Christ. Concerning the persuasion of the devil, attend to three things. For first, he chooses a fitting place for persuasion; second, he expresses the persuasion to cast himself down; third, through the authority of the Psalm he dispels the fear of harm. Therefore, as regards the choice of a fitting place, it is said: He led him into Jerusalem, as to a famous and public place. He was led, however, by permission, not from weakness; whence Chrysostom says that "in Christ there was not weakness, but patience; in the devil, however, not power, but pride." And the Gloss on Matthew 4 says that "this vision was accomplished through the bodily senses"; Chrysostom, however, says that "the devil so took him up that he might be seen by all; but Christ, without the devil's knowledge, so acted invisibly that he was seen by no one." Whence, so that he might be better seen, it is added: And he set him upon the pinnacle of the temple. That was a high and prominent place, where doctors and priests were accustomed to speak to the people. And according to some expositors, it was the summit of the roof of the temple, which is called the upper floor, in 3 Kings 6. Or according to others, it was a certain gallery above the gate of the temple, where one ascended by steps. According to others, however, it is said that there was a roof there with a certain parapet of the wall, because in Palestine the houses have flat roofs, and the temple had a flat roof, like the tabernacle, and on such roofs doctors and preachers were accustomed to stand, according to that passage in Matthew 10: "What you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops." As regards the urging of the casting down, it is added: And he said to him: If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. Because the devil had fallen downward, he would gladly drag all downward; below in chapter 10: "I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven." But Christ could say to the devil and his angels what he said to the Jews in John 8: "You are from below, but I am from above"; whence it was not his part to descend, but to ascend. But the devil was suggesting this so that, by descending bodily, he might make him become proud spiritually, so that there would be at once a vain ascent and a true descent. In this we are taught that humiliation and exaltation are always joined together, according to that passage below in chapter 18: "Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted"; and Proverbs 18: "Before destruction the heart of man is exalted, and before he is glorified, he is humbled." And note the manner of suggesting, when he says: Cast yourself down. Chrysostom: "He did not push, he did not touch, he did not approach, but only said: Cast yourself down, so that we may know that everyone who obeys the devil casts himself down." And Jerome: "He is sufficiently weak, because he can harm no one unless that person has cast himself down." And therefore the counsel is sound, in Ecclesiastes 10: "If the spirit of him who has power rises up against you, do not leave your place," neither by presumption nor by despair.

Luke 4:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

As for the dispelling of fear, he adds: For it is written, that He has given His angels charge over you: this is written in the Psalm. He therefore cites Scripture because he saw that Christ always defended Himself through Scripture. Whence Pope Leo says: "He finds occasions for tempting where he has seen men more intensely engaged." Whence he asserts it is written, so as to induce credulity, and also adduces a Scripture that would exclude faintheartedness on account of the promise of angelic aid, both in prosperity and in adversity. On account of aid in prosperity he says: That they may guard you in all your ways, that is, in your works: Exodus twenty-three: "Behold, I send My Angel, who shall go before you and guard you on the way." Thus the Angel guarded Tobias, as is said in Tobit twelve: thus also Judith, as is said in the thirteenth chapter: thus also they guard all just men, according to that passage in Hebrews one: "All are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister," etc.: and the whole Church, according to that passage in Isaiah sixty-two: "Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen." But Christ did not need guarding: and therefore the devil was perverting that authority and adducing it in a sinister manner.

Luke 4:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

On account of aid however in adversity, he adds: And that in their hands they shall bear you up, as bearers, according to how it is read that an Angel carried Habakkuk, in the last chapter of Daniel. Lest perhaps you strike your foot against a stone, that is, so that you might be harmed by no injury, as is said in Job five: "With the stones of the lands your covenant shall be, and the beasts of the earth shall be at peace with you." And note that the devil, being crafty, did not add what follows: "You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample upon the lion and the dragon," because this was against him. Wherein it is shown that it is a diabolical vice to truncate authorities and draw them to one's own side: whence Revelation, the last chapter: "If anyone shall take away from the words of the prophecy of this book, God shall take away his part from the book of life."

Luke 4:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Here after the pestilential persuasion, he adds the Lord's response, brief and efficacious, when he says: Jesus answering said to him: It is said, namely in Deuteronomy six: You shall not tempt the Lord your God: and Sirach eighteen: "Do not be as a man who tempts God." Whence the children of Israel are rebuked, in Numbers fourteen, to whom the Lord says: "They have tempted Me now ten times." Moreover, to tempt God, as Bede says, is, when a man has what he might do, to seek a test of divine power. And because Christ did not need this test of power, He was unwilling to tempt God or to consent to the devil, and through an authority He answered the opposing authority, so that a nail might be driven back by the force of a nail.

Luke 4:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

After he described the occasion of the temptation and the manner of tempting, here he describes thirdly the consummation of the temptation, concerning which three things are intimated. The first is the manifestation of perfection on the part of Christ resisting: with respect to which he says: And when all the temptation was ended, because, as was said before, every temptation is reduced to the three aforementioned: whence First John 2: "All that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh," etc. This he consummated, because by patiently enduring he overcame, according to that passage in Hebrews 2: "It was fitting for him who had brought many sons into glory to consummate through suffering," because it is said in Deuteronomy 32: "The works of God are perfect." The second is the confutation of presumption on the part of the devil withdrawing; with respect to which he says: The devil departed from him: according to that passage in James 4: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." He departed, namely confounded: which was signified in the king of the Assyrians, Fourth Kings 19: "The king of the Assyrians Sennacherib departed and went away"; which is interpreted as taking away deserts, because the devil especially pursues those who live in austerity of life. The third indeed is the predetermination of time on the part of God disposing: on account of which he adds: Until a time, namely "of the passion," he departed, because that malignant one is not permitted to do evil except for the time which God permits, although he always has an evil will; Ecclesiasticus 19: "If he finds a time to do evil, he will do evil." And therefore the counsel is in Ecclesiasticus 4: "My son, preserve the time and turn away from evil"; and Ephesians 5: "See how you walk cautiously, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Whence since the devil tempts in two ways: as a dragon and as a lion, first he tempted as a dragon to seduce, afterwards as a lion to break in the passion. For in the first he tempts to soften through blandishments, but afterwards, seeing that he has little time, he tempts to break through punishments: whence Apocalypse 12: "The devil has come down, having great wrath, knowing that he has little time." And therefore those did not arrive at the consummation of time about whom it is said below in chapter 8, that "they believe for a time and in the time of temptation they fall away."

Luke 4:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

The Evangelist showed above the authority of the doctrine of Christ from the merit of life: here secondly he shows it from the testimony of Scripture. He therefore introduces first the testimony as authentic for the instruction of believers: secondly, the authentic testimony for the confutation of detractors. In the explanation of the prophetic testimony, four things are introduced by blessed Luke: the first is renown in preaching; the second is opportuneness in testifying; the third is congruity in the testimony; the fourth is belief among the people. As to the first, note that the renown of the preaching of Christ is gathered from four things, namely from the fullness of grace, breadth of fame, certainty of doctrine and greatness of efficacy. As to the fullness of grace, it is said: And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. He returned, namely to preach, because, as it is said in the Psalm, "The Lord shall give the word to those who preach the good tidings with great power." And although he had assumed weakness from us, he nevertheless showed power from himself, according to that passage of Wisdom chapter twelve: "For you show your power, you who are not believed to be perfect in power." And it is notably said: In the power of the Spirit. For such ought perfect preaching to be, that it be joined to spiritual power, according to that passage of First Corinthians chapter two: "Our speech and our preaching was not in the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." As to the breadth of fame, it is said: And the fame of him went out through the whole region, according to that passage of Job chapter twenty-eight: "With our ears we have heard the fame thereof"; he speaks of the wisdom of Christ, who is "the power of God and the wisdom of God." Another Evangelist agrees with this: Matthew chapter four: "His fame went out into all Syria." Now a figure of this preceded in Solomon, of whom it is said in Second Chronicles chapter nine, that "all desired to see his face"; of whom it is said in Sirach chapter forty-seven: "Your name was spread abroad to distant islands."

Luke 4:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

As to the certainty of doctrine, it is added: And he taught in their synagogues, not in secret, as do men who have suspect doctrine; John chapter eighteen: "I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews come together, and in secret I have said nothing." On the contrary, the wisdom of heretics is called "earthly, sensual, devilish," which is designated by the evil woman: Proverbs chapter nine: "Stolen waters are sweeter, and hidden bread is more pleasant." Whence Christ fulfilled that passage of Proverbs chapter five: "Let your fountains be dispersed abroad, and divide your waters in the streets." And therefore it is said in Proverbs chapter one: "Wisdom cries aloud outside; in the streets she utters her voice," etc. As for the greatness of efficacy, it is added: And he was magnified by all, because all perceived the greatness of his efficacy to such a degree that they could say that word of the Psalm: "Your mercy is magnified even unto the heavens, and your truth unto the clouds," namely in preaching. Nor is this surprising, because he himself was the one designated by that Solomon, of whom it is said in 3 Kings 10: "King Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the whole earth in riches and wisdom," etc. Below in chapter seven: "A great prophet has risen among us."

Luke 4:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Here indeed is noted the opportuneness in testifying, which is observed in the circumstances concurring for Christ to read in the sight of the synagogue. Whence four things are noted here. For he is said to have entered, risen up, received the book, and unrolled what he received. These four are introduced for the fourfold instruction of those searching out the truth, namely, of leisure for meditating, of readiness for reading, of gentleness for learning, and of certitude for declaring. For the instruction, therefore, of leisure for meditating, he is said to have entered the synagogue, when it says: And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he entered according to his custom on the Sabbath day into the synagogue. For this was a custom approved by the Law of Moses and the practice of Christ. Hence it is said in Acts 17 that "Paul according to his custom entered the synagogue at Thessalonica and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures." For that was the time when they ought to be free for the law of God. In this we are taught that when we wish to keep sabbath for God, we ought to be gathered inwardly and there find rest: Wisdom 8: "Entering into my house, I shall find rest with her." If therefore the Sabbath is kept only outwardly, it is a mockery of demons, according to that word of Lamentations 1: "Her enemies saw her and mocked at her sabbaths"; and such things do not please God, according to that word of Isaiah 1: "Your new moons and sabbaths and solemnities I will not endure." And the reason for this is that they did not enter inwardly but outwardly, and they understood in a carnal manner. For the instruction of readiness for reading, it is added: And he rose up to read. This rising up implies readiness and vigilance, which is necessary for one searching out the divine words; whence it is said in Ezekiel 2: "Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will speak with you." Hence it is that it is said to the holy soul in Isaiah 60: "Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem," etc.; and the Apostle in Ephesians 5: "Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you." At the same time, together with readiness, it designates humility, because he rose up to read as a minister, so that he might also exercise the office of lector; whence Bede says: "He who had come to minister and not to be ministered unto did not disdain to take up the office of lector."

Luke 4:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

For the instruction of meekness in learning, he adds: And the book of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him, which indeed he received with meekness, not disdaining to use the testimony and authority of Scripture. So also John, Apocalypse ten: "I took the book from the hand of the Angel and devoured it, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey." Now the book of sacred Scripture ought to have been handed to him, because, according to that passage of Apocalypse five, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive the book and to loose its seven seals," because no other could do so; and the book of Isaiah, because, as it is said in Isaiah twenty-nine, "the vision shall be to you as the words of a sealed book." And therefore it is pointedly said that the book of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. Finally, for the instruction of certitude in judging, he subjoins: And when he had unrolled the book: in which is signified a diligent inquiry of learning, which ought to precede certain judgment; on account of which it is said in Job eight: "Ask the former generation and diligently investigate the memory of the fathers." For one must not proceed abruptly to judgment, but with deliberation; on account of which it is said in Job twenty-nine: "The case that I did not know, I investigated most diligently"; and Second Paralipomenon nineteen: "Jehoshaphat, commanding the judges, said: Do all things with diligence." And since he who diligently seeks finds, therefore it is added: He found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord etc.; this is found in Isaiah sixty-one. Nor is this surprising, because, according to what is said in Baruch three, "this is our God, and no other shall be esteemed in comparison with him; he has found out every way of discipline." Before him it was sought but not found; whence Job twenty-eight: "Where is wisdom found? And what is the place of understanding?" etc.

Luke 4:18 — Commentary on Luke, Prooemium

1. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the meek, to heal the contrite of heart, and to preach release to the captives and opening to those who are shut up. As we consider some text that might introduce us into the Gospel of blessed Luke, none seems more fitting than that which blessed Luke himself reports Christ the Lord to have taken up at the beginning of his preaching, namely the proposed text, which is written in Luke chapter four and is taken from Isaiah chapter sixty-one. 2. This, however, according to the general sense, can apply to any teacher of Sacred Scripture; according to the special sense, to blessed Luke the Evangelist; according to the singular sense, to Christ himself, who is the font of truth and grace. According to its general understanding, it is suggestive of the twofold person necessary for the work, namely the teacher and the hearer; according to its special understanding, of the twofold extrinsic cause, namely the efficient and the final; according to its singular understanding, of the twofold intrinsic cause, namely the material and the formal. With these six things known beforehand, entry into what follows will be sufficiently easy. 3. First, therefore, the proposed text according to the general sense indicates to us who and of what quality the teacher of this evangelical Scripture ought to be, adding nonetheless what kind of hearer he ought to have. The teacher of evangelical Scripture ought to be anointed with divine grace, directed by pure obedience, and inflamed with fraternal benevolence. He ought to be anointed with divine grace, and this is noted when he says: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me. As a figure of this, in the Old Testament the Prophets were anointed; whence the Lord said to Elijah in 3 Kings chapter nineteen: You shall anoint Elisha, the son of Shaphat, as Prophet in your place; and of David it is said in 1 Kings chapter sixteen that after he was anointed, the Spirit of the Lord was directed upon him from that day and thereafter. For they were anointed for this reason, that they might receive the Spirit of the Lord, through whom the divine secrets are disclosed to us. If, therefore, the Scriptures must be expounded by the same Spirit by whom they were composed—and the holy men of God spoke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—then for someone to be a suitable teacher of those things which were communicated through Christ and written through the Holy Spirit, it is necessary that he be anointed with supernal grace. 4. He ought also to be directed by pure obedience, and this is noted there: He has sent me to announce to the meek, by the example of Moses, to whom the Lord said in Exodus 3: Come, I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt; and Moses said: Who am I, that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? Moses, who was the lawgiver and the leader of the children of Israel out of Egypt, signifies the teacher of the divine law, who leads the people of the Lord out of the darkness of ignorance. To which office indeed no one ought to approach unless he is sent, nor ought he to seek it, but rather to refuse it, because no one ought to consider himself suitable for this office. For if he has not spoken with the Lord, he is unworthy; but if the Lord speaks to his heart, he finds himself, like Moses, to have become one of more impeded and slower tongue. And therefore, unable to express the divine mysteries which the Lord has opened to him, he ought not to presume upon those things unless directed by pure obedience. 5. He ought also to be inflamed with fraternal benevolence, which he notes when he says: That I might heal the contrite of heart and preach release to the captives and opening to those who are shut up; and this by the example of Paul, who says of himself in First Thessalonians 2: We became little o…

Luke 4:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Here is noted the fittingness in the testimony. For it expresses four conditions of excellence that were in our Savior. For he is mediator, instructor, restorer, and rewarder: and these four are intimated in the passage set forth. First, therefore, he is intimated to be mediator through the mystery of the incarnation, when he says: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me: me — he indicates there the person of Christ in the assumed nature, upon whom the Holy Spirit rested, according to that passage of Isaiah eleven: "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him"; and John one: "Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is he who baptizes." And therefore it is said in Acts ten: "Peter said: You know what took place throughout all Judea, beginning first from Galilee after the baptism which John preached — Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit" etc. Whence this is the Holy of Holies, in whose anointing the prophecy of Daniel nine must be fulfilled: "Let vision and prophecy be fulfilled, and let everlasting justice be fulfilled, and let the Holy of Holies be anointed." And note that human nature in Christ was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit and through his grace was united to the divine nature. And on account of these two things he says that the Spirit of the Lord is upon him and has anointed him. Or indeed he is said to be upon him with respect to the superexcellence of singular grace, on account of which it is said in John 3: "God does not give the Spirit by measure." He is truly said to have anointed him with respect to the prerogative of priestly and royal dignity. These things regard the assumed nature in Christ, and this was prefigured in the anointing of kings and priests in the Old Testament. Second, it is indicated that he is the instructor through the office of preaching, in what follows: He has sent me to evangelize the poor. The Gospel is indeed a good announcement; whence in our translation it is said: He has sent me to announce to the meek. And with this agrees that passage in Nahum 1: "Behold, upon the mountains the feet of one evangelizing and announcing peace"; and Isaiah 52: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of one announcing and preaching peace, announcing good, preaching salvation." Moreover, he is said to announce this especially to the poor, because he began his discourse to the poor: Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor in spirit," and through the poor he preached poverty to others: Matthew 11: "The poor have the Gospel preached to them." Nor is this surprising, because it is said in the Psalm: "Because of the misery of the needy and the groaning of the poor, now I will arise," etc. To these indeed he announces salvation, because elsewhere: "He shall spare the poor and needy, and he shall save the souls of the poor," etc. And on this account he is said to be sent by the Spirit and by the Lord: Isaiah 48: "As the Lord and his Spirit have sent me." "In this therefore we have known the charity of God," because "he sent his Son," 1 John 4. Third, it is indicated that he is the restorer through the remedy of the passion, when it is added: To heal the contrite: which indeed liberates from the evil of actual and original fault, from blindness of reason and infirmity of will. He indeed liberates from the evil of actual fault: on account of which it is said: To heal the contrite of heart, he sent, namely. For the cure of actual fault, contrition of penance is necessary together with the passion of Christ: the Psalm: "Who heals the contrite of heart." Or this is said because actual fault itself breaks the entire strength of the soul: Lamentations 2: "Your destruction is great like the sea," etc.; and Proverbs 15: "The tongue that is immoderate shall crush the spirit." He also liberates from the evil of original sin: on account of which is added: And to preach release to the captives. By reason of original sin the human rac…

Luke 4:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Finally, the rewarder is indicated through the judgment of retribution, in which there is made a universal conferral of good upon the good. On account of which he says: To preach the acceptable year of the Lord, namely to the good, concerning which in the Psalm: "You shall bless the crown of the year of your goodness," etc. This is the year signified in the jubilee; Leviticus 25: "In the year of jubilee all shall return to their possessions"; or also in the seventh year; Deuteronomy 15: "In the seventh year you shall make a remission." This year surpasses the year of merit, because the good shall be rewarded beyond what is condign; Sirach 33: "Why does one year surpass another, one day another day, one light another light from the sun?" In this judgment also there is made an everlasting damnation upon the wicked; therefore it is added: And the day of retribution, in which he will repay each one according to his works; Isaiah 63: "The day of vengeance is in my heart, the year of my recompense has come." Concerning this day it is said in First Thessalonians 5: "The day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night; for when they shall say: Peace and security," etc. This day, as Gregory says, we ought to fear with all the more solicitude, inasmuch as we cannot foresee it.

Luke 4:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Here in the fourth place, after the congruity in the testimony has been described, the belief among the people is noted. To express this, there is indicated maturity in the teacher, eagerness to hear in the people standing by, truth in the instruction, and belief in those instructed. To express, therefore, the maturity in the teacher, it says: And when he had closed the book, he returned it to the minister and sat down. Previously he had read standing, receiving the book with humility; now he returns it and sits down with authority, for to sit is the mark of doctors and kings; whence Matthew 23: "The scribes and Pharisees have sat upon the chair of Moses"; and Job 29: "If at any time I wished to go to them, I sat first; and when I sat as a king, with the army standing round about, I was nevertheless the consoler of those who mourned." And note: here by the closing of the book we ought to understand the concealment of divine mysteries, because not all things are to be revealed to all, according to what Bede says: "He returns the closed book to the minister, because not all things are to be communicated to all, but according to the capacity of the hearers he entrusts the word to the doctor to be dispensed"; Daniel 12: "Go, Daniel, for the words are closed and sealed until the appointed time." Or he returned the closed book to the minister because, according to that passage of Second Corinthians 3, "even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil is placed over their heart." To express the eagerness in the people, there is added: And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him, as though desiring to hear him as a wise man: in Wisdom eight the wise man says: "In the sight of princes I shall be admirable: when I am silent they will wait for me, and when I speak they will look upon me"; and Job twenty-nine: "Those who heard me waited for my judgment and, attentive, were silent at my counsel"; because, as is said in Sirach three, "a good ear will hear wisdom with all desire."

Luke 4:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

To intimate the truth or firmness of the doctrine, there is added: And he began to say to them: Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. Therefore that Scripture is said to have been fulfilled then, because, since those words pertained to Christ, no one in his own person could truly speak the aforesaid word except Christ, who read it in their hearing: below in the last chapter: "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me." Whence Christ fulfilled all justice with regard to moral uprightness, according to that passage in Matthew three: "Thus it behooves us to fulfill all justice." He also fulfilled all Scripture by pouring forth God's truth, as in Matthew five: "Do you think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets? I came not to destroy, but to fulfill." And therefore it is said in Ephesians one: "Because he fulfilled all things in all." Whence the words and signs of the old law, being empty, he filled with truth and grace. As a sign of this, in John two, in the first sign, it is said: "Fill the water jars with water. And they filled them up to the brim."

Luke 4:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

To denote the belief in the attending multitude, there is added: And all bore witness to him; all, that is, some from among all, bore witness to his holiness and innocence: Job twenty-nine: "The ear that heard me blessed me, and the eye that saw me bore witness to me." And since they could not express his grace in words, therefore there is added: And they wondered at the words of grace that proceeded from his mouth, just as the doctors also wondered "at his prudence and his answers," above in chapter two. And they are called words of grace, according to that passage in Ecclesiastes ten: "The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace"; and especially of this one, to whom Peter said in John six: "You have the words of eternal life"; and he himself said of himself: "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." And therefore in the Psalm: "Grace is poured forth upon your lips, therefore God has blessed you forever." After he introduced the prophetic testimony for the instruction of believers, here he introduces an authoritative example for the confutation of detractors. And because detractors, when they are confuted, become worse, since they become persecutors, therefore in this part there are two sections. In the first of which is set forth the confutation of detractors; in the second, the avoidance of persecutors. The first part has two sections. In the first are set forth the insults of the detractors; in the second are introduced prophetic examples confuting the detractors. He expresses the insults of the detractors in three ways, namely by way of open reproach, by way of hidden irony, by way of explicit invective. By way, I say, of open reproach he expresses it when he says: And they said: Is not this the son of Joseph? They called the Son of God the son of a carpenter; him who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and from a virginal womb they said was begotten by conjugal intercourse: whence in Matthew thirteen it is said that they were saying: "Is not this the carpenter's son?" Bede: "Great blindness, when him whom they recognize by words and deeds to be Christ, they despise on account of mere knowledge of his lineage." Something similar to this was said of Saul, in 1 Kings ten: "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the Prophets?" and in 2 Kings twenty: "We have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jesse." These things, however, were said not by all, but by the wicked, namely the scribes and Pharisees: whence it does not contradict what was said before, that "all bore witness to him." A similar manner of speaking is found in Scripture: "When he slew them, they sought him"—not the dead, but others. This moreover is the custom of the wicked, that when they hear someone praised, they immediately oppose it: and if they cannot do so on the part of character and knowledge, at least on the part of birth, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus eleven: "Turning good into evil, he lies in ambush, and upon the elect he places a stain." Or even those same ones who previously praised, afterwards despised, according to that passage of the Psalm: "They praised his praise. They quickly acted and forgot his works." Or it can be understood otherwise, so that, although it is narrated here immediately, it did not however happen immediately, but after the fact.

Luke 4:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

By way of hidden irony he expresses their reproaches, when he adds: And he said to them: Doubtless you will say to me this similitude: for he saw them thinking this secretly. He said therefore: this you propose ironically against me, which you have secretly conceived in your hearts, because, according to what is said in Matthew twelve, "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks"; you propose this similitude, namely by irony: Physician, heal yourself: which is customarily said to physicians who are ailing, when they cannot help themselves, or do not know how, or are negligent: which is a mocking word directed at them. So also you, heal yourself, that is, the infirm one. Which they said rather out of unbelief and derision than out of humility and devotion, as is said in Matthew thirteen, that "he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief." Whence Bede says in the Gloss: "In vain do you await the help of heavenly mercy, if you envy the virtues bestowed on others. For the Lord is a despiser of the envious, and from those who persecute the divine benefits given to others, he turns away the miracles of his power." And note that they ironically call him physician, whom they ought truthfully to confess as physician, according to that passage in Job five: "He himself wounds and heals." They despise him whom they ought to revere and honor, according to that passage in Sirach thirty-eight: "Honor the physician on account of necessity"; and afterward: "The Most High created medicine from the earth, and a prudent man will not abhor it." But by way of explicit invective he expresses it, when he adds: How great things we have heard done in Capernaum, namely miraculous works: whence Matthew eleven: "Woe to you, Capernaum! For if in Tyre and Sidon the mighty works had been done," etc. But how did they hear these things, since the Evangelist had not yet related that he had performed any miracles? On account of which it must be noted that the Evangelist does not follow the order of events as they happened, but the order of his own intention, and this indeed he does frequently; and therefore, when one Evangelist narrates afterward what another narrates before, there is no contradiction, because they do not intend to say that events occurred in the order in which they were written, as Augustine says in On the Harmony of the Evangelists. Moreover, Luke, together with the other two, Matthew and Mark, narrates nothing about the first coming of Christ into Galilee, but about the second; about the first, however, John alone treats. From the fame, therefore, of miracles performed in a foreign land, they reproached him because he did not perform them in his own land. Whence is added: Do so also here in your own country; and this is to say: heal yourself, that is, heal those of your own country through miracles, as you have healed others, according to that passage in Sirach fourteen: "He who is evil to himself, to whom will he be good?" and First Timothy five: "If anyone does not have care for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith"; it is said in Sirach seventeen: "He gave commandment to each one concerning his neighbor."

Luke 4:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Here, after the reproaches of the detractors, prophetic examples are added, confuting the detractors. For their full confutation, a general proverb is first set forth; second, a special example in Elijah, the most eminent of the Prophets; third, in Elisha, his disciple. The first is for admonishing, the second for confuting, the third for confirming. Therefore he sets forth the general proverb concerning every Prophet and people, when he says: And he said, namely Christ: Amen I say to you, that is, with certainty, because amen is a sign of affirmation. And truly so, because, as he himself says in Matthew twenty-four, "heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." That no prophet is accepted in his own country, namely neither as regards doctrine nor as regards life, in which Prophets were accustomed to have excellence. And therefore it is not surprising if he does not work miracles in his own country, which are not to be done for the ungrateful and unworthy. This denunciation of the Savior is attested by the fact that Joseph is sold by his brothers, Genesis thirty-seven, and honored by the Egyptians, Genesis forty-one. So Moses suffers insult from Aaron and Miriam, Numbers twelve, and is reproached by his fellow tribesmen, Numbers sixteen. So Abraham suffers from his countrymen; whence it is said to him: "Go forth from your land and from your kindred," Genesis twelve. Bede in the Gloss assigns the reason for this: "The other Prophets were less honored in their homeland than in other cities, because it is almost natural for citizens to envy their fellow citizens. For they do not consider the present works of the man, nor his virtue, but they recall his frail infancy, as though they themselves had not also passed through the same stages of age to maturity."

Luke 4:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

He adds a special example in Elijah, the most distinguished of the Prophets, when he says: In truth I say to you: John 17: "Your word is truth." He spoke in truth, whom they ought to have believed, and yet they did not believe; whence that passage in John 8: "If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me?" and that passage in Job 6: "Why have you detracted from the words of truth?" And this is a certain truth, because it is taken from Scripture. Whence it is added: Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, who were placed in necessity on account of the lack of matrimonial companionship: Jeremiah 15: "Her widows are multiplied above the sand of the sea." They were placed in necessity on account of the lack of heavenly rain: whence he adds: When the heaven was shut up and it did not rain for three years and six months: as the Lord had threatened in Leviticus 26: "But if you will not even so obey me, I will make the heaven above you like iron"; and Deuteronomy 28: "Let the heaven that is above you be bronze." And so it came to pass because of their sins: whence Jeremiah 3: "You have polluted the land with your fornications. Therefore the drops of rain have been withheld, and the latter rain has not come." They were placed in necessity on account of the lack of earthly sustenance: and therefore it is added: When there was a great famine throughout all the land: as it is said in 3 Kings 18: "There was a severe famine," etc.; whence that word of the Psalm was verified concerning the children of Israel: "They shall suffer hunger like dogs and shall go about the city," because the king and the steward of his house went about to find pastures, 3 Kings 18. And note here spiritually that in these two examples he shows the unworthiness of the Jews in comparison with the Gentiles with regard to the universal lack of repentance and the universal contagion of malice, which remained uncured in the Jews but was remedied in the Gentiles through Christ. For the closing of heaven designates the lack of grace and doctrine: Deuteronomy 11: "Take heed lest you depart from the Lord"; and thereafter: "And the Lord being angry shut up heaven, and the rain come not down, and the earth yield not her fruit." Concerning which rain in the Psalm: "God shall set apart a voluntary rain"; and from this comes famine and want of every good: Job 18: "Let his strength be wasted with hunger, and let famine invade his ribs." And note that the rain is said to have been withheld for three years and six months, because during the three and a half years in which the Lord preached, they did not receive the rain of grace, their sins requiring it. For although the rain came upon them, Judea nevertheless did not receive it so as to bear fruit: Hebrews 6: "The earth that drinks in the rain that comes often upon it and brings forth herbs meet for those by whom it is tilled, receives blessing from God: but that which brings forth thorns and briers is rejected and near unto a curse." In this time, however, the true preacher Elijah is sent to the widow in Zarephath of Sidon, who rightly designates the Gentile world, as Bede shows in the Great Gloss, and she was saved while the people of the Jews were abandoned, according to that passage in Acts 13: "Since you reject the word of God and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life: behold, we turn to the Gentiles."

Luke 4:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

And although they were in such great necessity, it is added: And to none of them was Elijah sent, to relieve them by a miracle from the want of famine, so that the word of the Psalm might be verified in them: "Hungering and thirsting, their soul fainted within them." But he relieved a foreign woman, whence he adds: Except to Sarepta of Sidon, to a widow woman, according to what is written in 3 Kings 17: It was said to Elijah: "Arise and go to Sarepta of the Sidonians and remain there: for I have commanded a widow woman there to feed you"—nay rather, she herself through you.

Luke 4:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Another example for the confirmation of the aforesaid concerning Elisha is introduced, when he says: And many lepers were in Israel under Elisha the prophet: whence in 4 Kings 7 it is said that in the time of Elisha "four leprous men were near the gate of Samaria," and many others in similar necessity. And none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian, in 4 Kings 5, where it is said that Naaman at the word of Elisha washed himself seven times in the Jordan and was restored to full health — and this, by the just judgment of God, because they were not worthy. And by a similar argument and according to the imitation of their predecessors, he was showing that they were unworthy of the reception of miracles. Whence a similar passage in Matthew 23: "You are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who killed the Prophets: and you, fill up the measure of your fathers"; and Acts 7: "Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did, so do you. For which of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute?" etc. And thus they are manifestly convicted, because the lack of miracles was not to be imputed to the powerlessness or negligence of Christ, but rather to their own envy and unbelief: whence they were worthy of being deprived of miracles, just as their fathers also had been deprived. But the infection of leprosy designates the corruption of malice, which was in all before the coming of Christ, according to that passage of the Psalm: "They are corrupt and have become abominable" etc. From this Judea was not cured: Ezekiel twenty-four: "I wished to cleanse you, and you were not cleansed from your filth; nor will you be cleansed until I cause my indignation to rest upon you." But Naaman is cleansed, who is interpreted as comeliness, and designates the people of the gentiles made comely by the Sacrament of baptism and purged of all foulness of mind and body. And Hosea eight: "How long will she not be able to be cleansed?" according to that passage of Ezekiel thirty-six: "I will pour clean water upon you, and you shall be cleansed from all your defilements." And so according to both interpretations, this was a confutation of the unbelieving Jews.

Luke 4:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

After the confutation of the detractors has been described, there is here subjoined the evasion of the persecutors. This part has two sections. In the first is described the persecution of the malicious; in the second, the evasion of the persecutors. For the description of the persecution of the malicious, three things are introduced, namely anger of mind, violence of action, and perfidy on the part of the intended end. He therefore intimates anger of mind in what he says: And all in the synagogue were filled with anger, hearing these things. Whence that passage of Amos five is verified: "They hated him who reproves in the gate" etc.; on account of which it is said in Proverbs nine: "Do not rebuke a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you." Whence from the hearing of the truth they were not instructed, but rather blinded and angered; against which it is said in Ecclesiastes seven: "Do not be quick to anger, for anger rests in the bosom of a fool"; and Job five: "Truly anger kills the foolish man," because, as it is said in Proverbs twenty-seven, "anger has no mercy, nor fury breaking forth."

Luke 4:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

He intimates, however, the violence of action, when he adds: And they rose up and cast him out of the city, as though a blasphemer; for so it was commanded: Leviticus twenty-four: "Bring forth the blasphemer outside the camp, and let all the people stone him." And so that parable of Matthew twenty-one is verified, in which it is said that the tenants "cast the son of the householder outside the vineyard; for the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel," Isaiah five. So they did to Stephen, Acts seven: "They rushed upon him with one accord and cast him outside the city" etc. Whence the Savior could have said to them that passage of Judges eleven: "Are you not the ones who hated me and cast me out of my father's house?" Their perfidy however from the standpoint of the intended goal he explains, when he adds: And they led him to the brow of the hill, as if to say: not through the gate, on which their city was built. They were leading him to a precipitous place to cast him down headlong: whence that saying of the wise woman in Second Kings twenty could be spoken to that insane people: "Why do you cast down the inheritance of the Lord?" In this, however, that they wished to cast him down headlong, "they were worse than the devil, as Bede says, because he said only in word: Cast yourself down: these attempted it in deed"; but they were not able, because he had the power to lay down his life, as is said in John ten. Whence Bede: "He wished not to be cast down headlong by the Nazarenes, not to be stoned by the Jerusalemites, not to be slain among the children by Herod; but to await the triumph of the cross. For the cross itself is the type of a singular monarchy, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow etc., Philippians two. And hence it is that the top of the cross points to the heavens, its base reaches to the underworld, and its horns cover the earth."

Luke 4:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Here is noted the evasion of the persecutors perfect, because it was without detention, without impulsion, without portation, whence they could not do violence to him, neither by dragging, nor by pushing, nor by carrying. To show, therefore, that there was no violence of detention, it is said: But he, passing through: whence Ambrose: "What is captured by a few and held is of the will: what is not held by a people but passes through is of majesty." Whence nothing could retard the act of his power: Song of Songs two: "Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills." This passing through, however, was by his own power, but Peter's was by another's power: Acts twelve: "And passing through the first and second guard, they came" etc. To show that there was no violence of impulsion, it is added: Through the midst of them, certain that he could not be overcome by anyone; whence he could say that word of the Psalm: "Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear." Something similar is said in John ten: "The Jews sought to seize him," namely to stone him, "and he went out of their hands." Through the midst he goes, because "the mediator of God and men" always loves the middle; whence John one: "There has stood in your midst one whom you do not know." To show further that there was no violence of carrying, it is added: he went, namely by his own power, like the living creatures of whom it is said in Ezekiel 1 that "they went and returned in the likeness of flashing lightning." He went, namely not headlong, but descended, as Bede says, beneath the cliff, the rock yielding to him and receiving him, so that they could not reach him; whence he could say that word of John 8: "Where I go, you cannot come." In this is shown at once the Lord's power, because they could not harm him, but even the stones obeyed him; and his patience is shown, because he withdrew and did not harm them, as it is said in John 8 that "the Jews took up stones to cast at him; but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple." Note here that in four ways was death threatened against the Lord Jesus. Some attempted to slay him by the sword, as Herod, Matthew 2; some by casting down, as here; some by stoning, as the Jews, John 8; some by crucifixion, Matthew 27. Spiritually, indeed, Christ is crucified in our relapse into sin; whence it is said of those who have fallen away, Hebrews 6: "Crucifying again to themselves the Son of God," etc. He is stoned in hardening of heart: Matthew 23: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the Prophets and stones them," etc., where the hardening of the Jews is shown. He is cast down in despair: Jeremiah 22: "They shall cut down your choicest cedar and cast it headlong into the fire"; and this is in despair. But he is slain by the sword in blasphemy, according to that word of the Psalm: "The sons of men, their teeth are arms and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword."

Luke 4:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

After he showed the doctrine of Christ to be authentic from the merit of his life and the testimony of Scripture, here he now shows it from a miracle of power, so that in the mouth of three witnesses the firm testimony of authority may stand. This part has three sections. In the first is set forth the communication of Christ's doctrine; in the second, the confirmation by the power of a miracle; in the third, the acceptance of the same by the multitude of the people. Concerning the communication of Christ's doctrine, four things are expressed, namely place, time, effect, and power. From these four it is gathered that Christ's doctrine was humble and renowned, admirable and sublime. Humble, I say, he is shown from the situation of the place, which he notes when he says: He went down to Capharnaum, a city of Galilee. Descent in Christ is a sign of humility, just as ascent in the proud is a sign of exaltation; whence Song of Songs 6: "I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the valleys"; to designate which it is also said above in the third chapter, that "the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form" etc.; and therefore he himself said in John 6: "I descended from heaven, not to do my own will." And this is a great humility, and this he taught by word in Matthew 11: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart"; in John 13 by example: "If I have washed your feet etc.; for I have given you an example." This also befits because that city was on the border of the Gentiles and the Jews, "in the borders of Zabulon and Nephtalim," so that he might thus show that he did not despise the Gentiles by reason of their guilt or idolatry; Isaiah 9: "In the former time the land of Zabulon and the land of Nephtalim was lightened, and in the latter time it was made heavy." To this is added that these two tribes had migrated before the rest, as is said in 4 Kings 15; and therefore as the despised they were to be visited first. Moreover, the communication of his teaching is shown to be solemn from the solemn time; on account of which he says: He was teaching in their synagogue on the Sabbaths. For then the people came together for the hearing of the Law, because they ceased from all servile work, as is commanded in Leviticus 23. And therefore Baruch 1: "Read this book, which we have sent to you, to be recited on a solemn day and at an opportune time." So also Paul taught on the Sabbaths, according to what is said in Acts 15: "Moses from ancient times has in every city those who preach him in the synagogues, where he is read every Sabbath." In this we are instructed, according to the counsel of Ecclesiasticus 38, to learn and teach wisdom "in the time of leisure, because he who is less occupied in action will receive wisdom." And we are also instructed to attend especially to divine praises and preaching on solemn days and in the sight of the multitude; whence in the Psalm: "I will declare your name to my brethren, in the midst of the church"; and again: "In the churches bless the Lord."

Luke 4:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Moreover, he is shown to be admirable from the astonishment of the people, when it is added: And they were astonished at his teaching; and this, because they perceived something great and unaccustomed in it. So also in the teaching of the Apostles after the coming of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2, "all who heard them were astonished"; Job 12: "He leads counselors to a foolish end and judges to astonishment." Nor is it a wonder, because, as the officers said in John 7, "never has a man spoken thus." Sublime indeed is shown from a singular power, and this he notes when he adds: Because his word was with authority: either because he spoke as the almighty Lord, according to that passage in Matthew 7: "The crowds were amazed at his teaching: for he was teaching as one having authority"; or because power working miracles was joined to his word, according to that passage in Ecclesiastes 8: "His word is full of power"; and below in chapter 24: "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a man, a prophet mighty in work and word"; or also because his words savored of spiritual power, according to that passage of the Psalm: "He shall give to his voice the voice of power." Thus the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 2: "Our word and our preaching was not in the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in the demonstration of spirit and power." Nor is it a wonder if power was joined to his word, because he himself is "the power and wisdom of God," 1 Corinthians 1. And therefore in Hebrews 1 it is said: "Upholding all things by the word of his power."

Luke 4:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

After the communication of Christ's teaching, there follows here its authentication through the power of a miracle. This admirable power is shown in Christ teaching in a threefold manner: first, with respect to the male sex; second, with respect to the female sex; third, with respect to every sex and age. Again, there is another difference on the part of nature, because the first consists in the liberation of a man from a demon; the second, in the liberation of a woman from a fever; the third, in the liberation from both indifferently. Again, the first is in a place of instruction, namely in the synagogue; the second, in a place of refreshment, namely in the house of Simon; the third, in a place of rest, namely after the setting of the sun. Finally, the first of these is shown to have been done around morning; the second, around midday; the third, at the end of the day. And through this, from all these things it follows that Christ has power over every person and over every nature and in every place and in every time; and through this, the authentication of his teaching through the power of manifold miracles is sufficiently shown. Concerning the cure, therefore, of a man from a demon, four concurrent things are to be noted which serve to manifest the power of Christ: on the part of the demoniac, a condition of manifest misery; on the part of the demon, a perception of the divine presence; on the part of Christ, an operation of immense power; on the part of the people, an exhibition of due reverence — all of which are most fittingly described by the Evangelist for the magnificence of the present miracle. On the part therefore of the demoniac there is shown the state of manifest misery, when it is said: And in the synagogue there was a man having an unclean demon, because it appeared to all in common that he was possessed by a demon: whence he was in a common place, because in the synagogue, where many gathered together, according to that passage in John 18: "I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together." In this place there was a man having an unclean spirit, so called from its effect, because it makes one unclean: Zechariah 13: "I will remove the unclean spirit from the land." This spirit is called Unclean because it always suggests uncleanness: whence in Revelation 16: "And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits in the form of frogs." On the part of the demon there is shown the sense of the divine presence, when it is said: And he cried out with a loud voice, so that by the force of the cry there might be shown in the demon the passion of pain: Isaiah 65: "Behold, my servants shall praise from exultation of heart, and you shall cry out from pain of heart, and from crushing of spirit you shall howl"; whence it is gathered from the cry that in the demon there was pain and trembling from the sense of Christ's presence. Whence Augustine says: "Would that as the demons recognized God as judge, so men would recognize the Savior! The demons saw and trembled; men, however, saw and killed. O how great a misfortune, that men are found worse than demons!"

Luke 4:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Whence this very fear compelled him to confess the truth, namely, that Christ was the destroyer of demons and the sanctifier of men. On account of the first, it is added: Saying: Let be, what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? Let be, that is, cease from affliction and our persecution, because it is unbearable: Job 13: "Remove your hand far from me, and let not your dread terrify me." Or: Let be, that is, permit me to go far from you, because what have you to do with us? as if to say: there is no agreement, and therefore we cannot be together: Second Corinthians 6: "What accord has Christ with Belial, light with darkness, righteousness with iniquity?" And that there is no communion or accord, he shows when he adds: Have you come to destroy us? Proverbs 24: "Suddenly shall their destruction arise"; whence First John 3: "For this purpose the Son of God appeared, that he might destroy the works of the devil." And note that the destruction of demons is twofold: one, namely, on account of the sin of pride, by which they were destroyed from the beginning: Ezekiel 28: "I destroyed you, O Cherub, proceeding from the midst of the fiery stones"; the other on account of sins added thereto, by which they will be destroyed at the last judgment, when all power will be taken away and every penalty due will be inflicted: concerning which, Deuteronomy 32: "The day of destruction is near." And this destruction will not come about entirely before the day of judgment: whence Mark 1: "Have you come here before the time to destroy us?" But nevertheless it began from the time of Christ: John 12: "Now is the judgment of the world; now the prince of this world shall be cast out." Moreover, he confesses him not only as the destroyer of demons, but also as the sanctifier of men, when he adds: I know you, that you are the Holy One of God—he indeed of whom Daniel 9 says: "The Holy of Holies shall be anointed." He did not know this with certain knowledge, since it is said in 1 Corinthians 2: "If they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory"; but he knew by conjecture: Proverbs 23: "Like a soothsayer and diviner, he estimates what he does not know." For he surmised this through the torment that he was experiencing.

Luke 4:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

But on the part of Christ, the operation of immense power is shown, when it is added: And Jesus rebuked him, saying: Be silent. For as the Omnipotent One, he imposes silence on the demon by rebuke alone; Zechariah 3: "The Lord showed me Jesus the high priest"; and it follows: "The Lord rebuke you, Satan, and the Lord rebuke you." Although he was speaking the truth, nevertheless he imposed silence, because, as it is said in Sirach 15, "praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner"; whence also in the Psalm: "God said to the sinner: Why do you declare my justices?" Or he forbade it because the demon speaks deceitfully and frequently mixes falsehoods with truths: whence also in Mark 1: "He did not permit the demons to speak," the Gloss says, "lest, while they saw him speaking the truth, they would follow him when he led astray." And therefore in the Psalm: "Let deceitful lips be made mute, which speak iniquity against the just one." Moreover, he shows here that vainglory is to be avoided, so that we should not seek to be praised by the vain and the false. The example of Paul, Acts 16. Not only, however, does he impose silence by rebuking, but he also expels by commanding, when he adds: Come out of him. Now is fulfilled that word of Habakkuk 3: "The devil shall go forth before his feet." And therefore there follows: And when the demon had thrown him into the midst, he went out of him: in which is shown the wrath of the devil, because he went out unwillingly and with protest; whence also in Mark 1: "And tearing him, he went out of him." The devil does this when he sees that he is losing what he wrongfully possesses: Revelation 12: "The devil has come down to you, having great wrath," etc. But his wrath did no harm, the Lord preventing it; whence is added: And he harmed him not at all; Isaiah 11: "They shall not hurt nor kill in all my holy mountain." From this, moreover, it is gathered that the devil always has the will to harm, because this he has from himself; but he does not always have the power to harm, except insofar as and when he is permitted by God in a just manner; whence Romans 13: "There is no power except from God." And therefore 1 Peter 3: "Who is he that shall harm you, if you be zealous followers of that which is good?"

Luke 4:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Lastly, on the part of the people, there is shown the display of due reverence, when there is added: And there came fear upon all. This is said with regard to reverence according to the act of the heart. Nor is it a wonder, because, Job 26, "the pillars of heaven tremble and are afraid at his nod"; whence Job 4: "Fear seized me and trembling, and all my bones were terrified." And this at the sight of so great a miracle: Psalm: "I will praise you, for you are fearfully magnified; wonderful are your works"; and Jeremiah 10: "Who shall not fear you, O King of the nations?" But with regard to the act of the mouth, there is added: And they spoke among themselves, namely, one conferring with another: What is this word? that is, a thing worthy of speech, as is understood in 4 Kings 20: "There was no word in my house that I did not show them." For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits: with authority commanding, and with power effecting. Nor is it a wonder, because, Job 25, "power and terror are with him who makes peace in his high places." But this command is not human nor even angelic; whence in the Epistle of Jude it is said that "Michael the Archangel, when he disputed with the devil about the body of Moses, said only this: The Lord rebuke you, Satan."

Luke 4:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

And because this was great and unusual, it was not to be kept silent but was to be spread abroad with reverence: therefore there follows: And the fame of him spread into every place of the region. So of Solomon it is said in Ecclesiasticus forty-seven: "Your name was spread abroad to far-off islands"; this was by reason of wisdom. This was prefigured in David, First Chronicles fourteen: "The name of David was spread abroad in all regions, and the Lord gave dread of him upon all his enemies"; similarly Second Chronicles twenty-six: "His name was spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt on account of his frequent victories." Note that the name of David was spread abroad by reason of justice: the name of Solomon, by reason of wisdom; the name of the Romans, by reason of power: the name of Christ, by reason of all excellence and dignity or supereminence.

Luke 4:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

After the miraculous healing of the male sex from a demon, there follows here the miraculous healing of the female sex from a fever: which is described by the Evangelist in this order. First is noted the distress of the fever itself; second, the aid of intercession; third, the remedy of healing; fourth, the sign of perfect liberation. For these four things concurred in the demonstration of this miracle. As regards, therefore, the distress of the fever, which compelled Simon's mother-in-law to lie in the house, it is said: But Jesus, rising from the synagogue, entered into the house of Simon, so that his power, which had been publicly manifested before all, might be more secretly manifested in the house before the simple and before his followers. The woman was to be healed in the house, not in the synagogue, to intimate what is said in First Timothy two: "But I do not permit a woman to teach." Mercy moved him to this entrance for the sake of relieving the woman's misery, which he expresses when he says: But Simon's mother-in-law was held by great fevers, in which is designated the gravity of the illness, which disposes to grace, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus thirty-one: "Grave illness makes the soul sober." But although it was grave, nevertheless that saying of John eleven could be said of it: "This illness is not unto death, but that the glory of God may be manifested"; which glory he was bound to show not only in one sex but in both, because, just as each had fallen, so each pertained to the redemption. Whence at the nativity of Christ, Joseph was with Mary; at the preaching of Christ, disciples and women, as is said below in chapter eight; at the passion, Mary and John, John nineteen; at the resurrection, the disciples and Magdalene, John twenty. Thus man and woman are healed for the showing forth of God's glory, and the woman from a graver illness than the man, because she is subject to more penalties: Genesis three: "I will multiply your sorrows and your conceptions; in sorrow you shall bring forth children, and you shall be under the power of your husband." As for the aid of intercession, it is added: And they asked him on her behalf, the disciples and those who were present. For although the Lord wishes to give, he nonetheless wishes to be asked, according to that word of the Psalm: "In the day of your tribulation, call upon me: I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me"; Isaiah fifty-eight: "You shall call, and the Lord will hear; you shall cry out, and he will say: Behold, I am here," "because I am merciful, the Lord your God." And note that the Lord healed someone without prayers, as the demoniac previously; another by the prayers of others, as here; another by his own prayers, as below in the fifth chapter, the leper. In this it is signified that the grace of the Savior heals sinful souls in a threefold manner: now through the intercession of the sole benignity of his clemency; Romans two: "Do you not know that the benignity of God leads you to repentance?" Now through the intervention of the prayer of the Church: James five: "Is anyone among you sick? Let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man." Now indeed through the intervention of one's own groaning: Exodus six: "I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel"; 4 Kings twenty: "I have heard your prayer and seen your tears, and I have healed you." And therefore the holy soul said in the Psalm: "But I cried out to the Lord, and the Lord saved me."

Luke 4:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

As for the remedy of healing, it is added: And standing over her, he commanded the fever, and it left her. He commands, moreover, as lord and king, as in Ecclesiastes five: "Moreover, the king of the whole earth commands the one who serves"; and because "no word is impossible for him," therefore "he spoke, and it was done." Whence at his command the fever departed, according to that word of the Psalm: "He established a decree, and it shall not pass away." Nor is this surprising, because "all things whatsoever he willed, he has done in heaven and on earth, in the sea and in all the depths"; and Jeremiah five: "Will you not therefore fear me, says the Lord, and will you not tremble before my face? I who set the sand as a boundary for the sea, an everlasting decree which it shall not pass beyond." Whence in a wondrous manner the obstinacy of the human will is hereby convicted and shown to be reprehensible, in that every sensible creature, and what is more, even penal affliction obeys the divine commands, which miserable man resists. Finally, as to the sign of perfect liberation, there is added: And immediately rising, she ministered. For this is a certain sign of perfect healing, that no remnants of the illness remained, because she was immediately made capable of movement and capable of service. Whence she arose and ministered as a good matron and as another Martha, of whom below in the tenth chapter: "But Martha was busy about much serving." And such women merit the divine benefit: in Fourth Kings, chapter four, Elisha says to the Shunammite woman: "Behold, you have diligently ministered to us in all things; what do you wish that I should do for you?" The Apostle said that such a widow should be chosen, in First Timothy, chapter five: "Let a widow be chosen who is not less than sixty years old, having testimony in good works, if she has raised children, if she has received guests, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has ministered to those suffering tribulation, if she has followed after every good work." Moreover, it should be noted here regarding the allegorical sense that the healing of the man from the demon signifies the healing of the gentile people from error; in figure of which it is said in Isaiah, chapter thirty-four: "Demons shall meet there; the onocentaur and the hairy one shall cry out one to another." This is said of Idumea under the figure of the gentile nations. This demon is cast out through faith in Christ, according to that passage in Mark, the last chapter: "In my name they shall cast out demons, they shall speak in new tongues, they shall take up serpents," etc.: those serpents spreading the poison of error, as the serpent of whom in Second Corinthians, chapter eleven: "I fear lest, as the serpent seduced Eve by his cunning, so your senses may be corrupted and fall from the simplicity which is in Christ." By the healing of Simon's mother-in-law from the fever is signified the healing of the synagogue from the burning heat of carnal concupiscence, with which that carnal people burns: Hosea, chapter seven: "All of them committing adultery, like an oven heated by the baker." And therefore the healing of the man is placed first, because, as it is said in Romans, chapter eleven, "when the fullness of the gentiles shall have entered, then all Israel shall be saved." According to the moral sense, the healing of the man from the demon signifies the healing from spiritual sins, according to what is said in 1 Kings 16: "An evil spirit from the Lord troubled Saul"; and below in the eleventh chapter: "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walks about" etc. The healing of the woman from the fever is the healing of the soul from carnal sins; Ecclesiasticus 23: "A heated soul like a burning fire will not be quenched until it devours something." Whence Bede: "The man from the demon is freed when the mind is purged from unclean thought: the woman from the fevers, when the flesh is restrained fro…

Luke 4:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Here after the healing of the male and the female sex is subjoined the universal healing with respect to every sex, age, and infirmity. In which the admirable power of Christ is manifested from four things, namely, from the variety of diseases, from the ease of the healings, from the confession of the demons, from the restraining of the unclean spirits. First, therefore, the variety of diseases is introduced in what is said: Now when the sun had set, those who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him, that he might heal them: and rightly so, because, Isaiah 53, "truly he himself bore our diseases" etc.; and Acts 10: "He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil"; and without distinction, because he had power equally over all things: whence Wisdom 16: "Neither herb nor poultice healed them, but your word, O Lord, which heals all things"; whence also in Matthew 4 it is said that "he healed every disease and every infirmity." And note that they brought them after the setting of the sun, to show that Christ was not only by day but also by night solicitous and powerful concerning the salvation of the human race. This was prefigured in Genesis 31 in Jacob: "By day and by night I was scorched by heat and frost, and sleep fled from my eyes"; and in the last chapter of Wisdom: "In all things you magnified your people, O Lord, and exalted them, at all times and in every place standing by them." Or therefore after the setting of the sun, to show that the glory of men is to be avoided: whence he rebukes the Pharisees in Matthew twenty-three, because "they do all their works so that they may be seen by men." Or therefore after the setting of the sun, to signify that through the passion the universal remedy was to be obtained. For Christ is the sun, according to that passage in Malachi four: "The sun of justice shall arise for you who fear my name"; this sun set in the passion: whence Amos eight: "The sun shall set for them at midday"; and then more were healed, which was prefigured in Judges sixteen in the death of Samson, who is interpreted as their sun. Whence Bede: "The setting of the sun is the passion of Christ, through which more demoniacs and sick are healed than before." Second, the ease of the healings is added, when it is added: But he, laying hands on each one, healed them all. He healed easily, because he healed without interruption, but by the laying on of hands alone. Nor is this surprising, because, as is said in Isaiah fifty-nine, "the hand of the Lord is not shortened, so that he cannot save." And he could not only do this by himself, but also communicate it to others, according to that passage in the last chapter of Mark: "They shall lay hands upon the sick, and they shall recover." And note that he is said to have laid hands on each one without exclusion, as is said in Acts ten: "God is no respecter of persons"; and therefore in the Psalm: "You open your hand and fill every living thing with blessing." And this is what is said in Wisdom six: "He himself made both the small and the great, and he has equal care for all." And therefore it is said: He healed all, namely those coming to him, because it is said in John six: "Everyone who comes to me, I will not cast out." Nor is this surprising, because "the same Lord of all is rich unto all who call upon him," Romans ten.

Luke 4:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Third, the confession of the demons is added, when it is added: And demons went out from many, crying out, namely from pain and fear and astonishment, Isaiah sixty-five: "You shall cry out from pain of heart and howl from anguish of spirit." But their crying was in vain: Psalm: "They cried out, and there was none to save them." Or crying out, on account of the public proclamation of the truth. And therefore the true confession is added: And saying: You are the Son of God. But they said this not from certainty, but from conjecture on account of the greatness of his power. And therefore the demon first said: "I know that you are the Holy One of God"; now, that he is the Son of God, because through greater proofs he had advanced in knowledge. But what they conjectured, they confessed not by saying it from the heart; concerning which First Corinthians twelve says: "No one can say: Lord Jesus, except in the Holy Spirit"; to which to say corresponds the word which is "knowledge with love"; they did not confess with heart and deed: concerning which First John four says: "Everyone who confesses that Christ Jesus has come in the flesh is from God"; but they spoke only with the mouth and hated in heart and denied in deed: Titus one: "They profess to know God, but in their deeds they deny him." Nor is this surprising, because, according to what is said in the Psalm, "in hell who shall confess to you?" No one, namely with meritorious confession, but all with forced and compelled confession: Wisdom five: "Saying within themselves, repenting" etc. Lastly is added the restraining of the unclean spirits, when it is added: And rebuking them, he did not allow them to speak, so that the words of the Psalm might be fulfilled: "At your rebuke they shall flee, at the voice of your thunder they shall be afraid." He did not allow etc., because frequently the Lord sets an obstacle against the wicked: whence Second Maccabees six: "Not to allow sinners to act according to their will is a sign of great beneficence." Or he did not permit them because he did not wish to be made known through demons: whence it is also added: Because they knew that he was the Christ, that is, they conjectured with probability. "For he was not made known to the demons, as Augustine says, as splendor and light, but through a certain efficacy of his power." But the Lord did not wish the knowledge of his name to be spread abroad through demons, both because they were unworthy, and because they were hateful, and also because they were deceitful, and therefore such a confession neither befitted God nor was fitting for a demon nor was profitable to man. Bede: "The wicked teacher mixes false things with true, so that under the appearance of truth he may conceal the testimony of fraud." From which it is given us to understand that those who in preaching Christ mix false things with true are entirely to be restrained, as heretics: First Corinthians 5: "A little leaven corrupts the whole lump." But if some preach true things, yet not with right intention, they are to be tolerated: and of such it is said in Philippians 1: "Whether by occasion or by truth Christ is announced, in this I rejoice, and indeed I shall rejoice." But if they preach true and good things, and yet do not practice them, they are nonetheless to be heard: Matthew 23: "The scribes and Pharisees have sat upon the chair of Moses." And such were designated by that one of whom it is said below in chapter nine, that he was preaching Christ without following him; whom the Lord did not wish to be forbidden. From the foregoing it is clear that the power of the Savior has been manifested in every way.

Luke 4:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

After the communication of Christ's teaching and its authentication through the working of a miracle, there is here added thirdly the acceptance of the same by the multitude of the people. But in order that any teaching be duly accepted by its hearers, it is necessary that it be free from ostentation, from ambition, from flattery, and from respect of persons. For by these four ways the acceptance of teaching is customarily corrupted. First, therefore, ostentation is excluded from the acceptance of Christ's teaching, when it is said: And when it was day, he went out and proceeded to a desert place, wishing rather to hide himself humbly than to display himself shamelessly, according to that word of the Psalm: "I went far off fleeing and remained in solitude." A figure of this preceded in Elijah, of whom it is said in Third Kings 19 that, leaving behind his servant, he went alone into the desert, after he had worked the miracle of the fire consuming the holocaust. A figure of this also preceded in David, who said to Jonathan in First Kings 20: "Let me go, that I may hide in the field until the evening of the third day," that is, until the resurrection. For which reason also he said to the disciples in Matthew 17: "Tell the vision to no one, until the Son of Man rises from the dead"; and John 12: "Jesus spoke these things and went away and hid himself." Now that journey into the desert and departure from the city signifies the departure from secular life and the entrance into religious life. For the desert is a place of poverty, austerity, and lowliness, against the three things that are in the world, according to that passage of First John 2: "All that is in the world is either the concupiscence of the eyes, or the concupiscence of the flesh, or the pride of life." Against these the Lord established the desert of religious life, in which is noted a threefold good opposed to them, namely continence, poverty, and obedience; therefore it is rightly called the desert. In this desert John dwelt; hence Matthew 11: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A man clothed in soft garments?" in which the austerity of poverty is evident; "a reed shaken by the wind?" in which is designated humility, which takes no delight in the wind of praises nor is cast down by the reproach of detraction and insults. In this desert was Christ, whose figure preceded in First Kings 23: "David dwelt in the desert, in the most fortified places, on the mountain of the wilderness of Ziph," because Christ held to the highest religious life. Hence Augustine in On True Religion: "Every sin arises either because we desire what Christ despised or because we flee what he endured. For the satellites of the devil desired riches, but Christ willed to be poor; they gaped after honors, but he refused to be made king; they craved pleasures, but he willed to be crucified." Second, ambition is excluded in what follows: And the crowds sought him and came all the way to him. He did not thrust himself forward out of ambition; hence it is said in John 6: "When he knew that they were about to come to make him king, he fled." In this he taught that the office of honor is not to be assumed unless a man is sought out; hence Hebrews 5: "Nor does anyone take the honor upon himself." In this also the devotion of the people is commended, because they sought him who wished to remain hidden, while there was time: Isaiah 55: "Seek the Lord while he can be found"; and Hosea 10: "It is time to seek the Lord, when he shall come who will teach you justice"; and the holy soul in the Psalm: "My face has sought you." And that they sought him devoutly is apparent, because they came all the way to him, according to that passage of Isaiah 21: "If you seek, seek; be converted and come"; hence Matthew 11: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened," etc. Hence because they sought devoutly, they found, according to that passage of Wisdom 1: "Seek him in simplicity of heart." And because perf…

Luke 4:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Third, flattery is excluded in that which is added: And he said to them: To other cities also I must preach the kingdom of God. He does not flatter them, but shows that he cares equally for all; whence he could say that word of 1 Thessalonians 2: "Neither were we found in words of flattery, nor seeking glory from men, neither from you nor from others." For he did not seek to please men, but God; and therefore he says: I must preach the gospel, because this is the will of the Father; whence he adds: For therefore I am sent; Isaiah 61: "He has sent me to preach the gospel to the poor." And therefore it was necessary, because in John 14 it is said: "As the Father has given me commandment, so I do." Moreover he had been sent to preach the gospel to the poor, according to what is said in the authority cited above in Isaiah. He was also sent to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God, as is said here. And therefore it is gathered that he had been sent to preach the kingdom of God to the poor. Whence Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"; and truly theirs, because, in chapter 19, "it is hard for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of heaven." Because no one can possess that kingdom unless he despises the earthly one, and riches are with difficulty despised by those who possess them, therefore they acquire with difficulty what has been promised to the poor.

Luke 4:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 4

Fourth, respect of persons is excluded in that which follows: And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee, namely to all without distinction: Matthew 9: "Jesus went about all the cities and towns, teaching in their synagogues." This it befits a good preacher to do, according to that passage in Proverbs 5: "Let your fountains be dispersed abroad, and in the streets divide your waters"; and Isaiah 32: "Blessed are you who sow beside all waters." "The seed, however, is the word of God," below in chapter 8. Whence the good preacher, an imitator of Christ, ought to be a common person, as Paul says in Romans 1: "To Greeks and barbarians, to the wise and the foolish I am a debtor, so that, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also who are at Rome." This was signified in Zechariah 6 by the horses bearing the chariot, that is, the evangelical law, where it is said that these are they whom the Lord sent to "traverse the earth"; whence at the end of Matthew it is said to the preachers: "Go, teach all nations"; and at the end of Mark: "Go into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature." From the foregoing it is gathered that a good preacher, if he is accepted by men, in order that he may be accepted by God and His Angels, ought to be free from ostentation in outward sign, from ambition in spirit, from flattery in word, from respect of persons in deed or practice. And the Apostle touches upon these four in 2 Corinthians 2: "We are not," he says, "as many, adulterating the word of God"; which is done in the four ways aforesaid: "but from sincerity," without respect of persons, "as from God," without ambition, "before God," without ostentation, "we speak in Christ," without flattery: for Christ is the truth.

Luke 5:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Second, the calling of the disciples is determined through two things. It came to pass, when the crowds etc. Above, the Evangelist treated of the authentication of Christ's doctrine; in this part he treats of the calling of the disciples. And this part has two sections, in the first of which is described the calling of disciples from a state of justice: in the second, from a state of sin: After these things he went out and saw etc. First, how the disciples are called from a state of justice. The first part has two sections. In the first is set forth the calling of the disciples: in the second, the confirmation of those called through the working of miracles: And it came to pass, when he was in one of the cities etc. For the calling of the disciples, three things are introduced: the first is the instruction of the people: the second, the working of a miracle, at the passage: But when he had ceased speaking etc.; the third is the calling of Peter, at the passage: When Simon Peter saw this. The first of these pertains to the profundity of wisdom, through which he taught others: the second, to the sublimity of power, through which he worked miracles: the third, to the immensity of mercy, by which he drew poor little fishermen into his fellowship. These follow in order, because the circumstances of the instruction of the people were the introductory occasion for the working of the miracle, and the working of the miracle was the motivating reason for the conversion of Peter and the sons of Zebedee. Therefore the instruction of the people is described under four circumstances, which led to the catching of fish. The first is the insistence of the crowd: the second, the availability of the boat: the third, the obedience of Simon Peter: the fourth, the abundance of the Lord's discourse. First, therefore, the importunity of the people rushing upon him on account of his teaching is touched upon, when it is said: Now it came to pass, that the crowds rushed upon him to hear the word of God. Therefore they rushed upon him, because each one wished to draw near; and not without reason, because, in Deuteronomy thirty-three, "those who draw near to his feet shall receive of his doctrine." Nor did the ignorant alone wish to draw near on account of doctrine or knowledge, but also the infirm on account of recovering health: below in chapter six: "The whole crowd sought to touch him, because power went forth from him and healed all." Nor only for this reason, but sinners on account of pardon: whence below in chapter fifteen: "The publicans and sinners were drawing near to Jesus." And they were moved by vehement desire; therefore they rushed upon him, considering the Lord's goodness more than his majesty. Whence a certain expositor says: "The desire for the word of God is of great merit before God, which excuses even the very irreverence of the crowd rushing upon him." Whence the Lord especially invited to this: Isaiah fifty-five: "All you who thirst, come to the waters," namely the waters of saving wisdom. As a sign of which thing he was near the waters; whence it is also added: And he stood by the lake of Genesareth, that he might invite to the waters of wisdom, as in John seven: "Jesus stood and cried out: If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink." And note that this body of water was accustomed to be called by diverse names, namely the Sea of Cenereth: whence in Numbers thirty-four, in the division of lots, it is said that "from the eastern region they shall come toward the east to the Sea of Cenereth." — The Gloss there says: "The lake of Tiberias, according to the custom of the Hebrews, who call any gathering of waters a sea," according to that passage in Genesis one: "And the gatherings of the waters he called seas," etc. And because Herod afterward called this city Tiberias, because he rebuilt it in honor of Tiberius Caesar, therefore it is called the Sea of Tiberias: John six: "After these things Jesus went across the Sea of Ga…

Luke 5:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Second, there is added the opportunity of a boat lifting him up upon the water, when it is added: And he saw two boats, opportune, namely, for carrying, both because they were near: on account of which he says: Standing by the lake; and also because they were idle or empty; whence he also adds: But the fishermen had gone out and were washing their nets: and thus they were opportune for service. He saw these boats of poor fishermen near to himself, because, as is said in the Psalm, "The Lord is exalted, and he regards the lowly, and the lofty he knows from afar." And he saw these as opportune for himself for service, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 3: "Great is the power of God alone, and he is honored by the humble alone." Whence he also humbles himself, so that he who carries all things might be carried by a boat: Wisdom 14: "But you, Father, in your providence govern all things, because you have given a way in the sea and among the waves a most firm path, showing that you are able to come to the aid of all, even if someone should approach the sea without a vessel."

Luke 5:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Third, there is added the obedience of Simon separating from the crowd, when it is added: But going up into one of the boats, which was Simon's, choosing him as poor and humble, according to that passage of James 2: "Has not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, heirs of the kingdom which God has promised to those who love him?" He went up, however, not by tyrannically oppressing, but by humbly entreating. Whence he adds: He asked him to put out a little from the land, so that, namely, he might separate a little from the crowd and be lifted up from the land. For he who wishes to teach others ought by interior affection to despise earthly things and by outward conduct to surpass the crowds: whence in Exodus 23 it is said: "You shall not follow the crowd to do evil, nor in judgment shall you yield to the opinion of the majority," etc. — Note here the humility of the Lord, by which he asked Peter, his servant: which he left to be imitated by all prelates, so that they too might ask their subjects: whence the Apostle in First Thessalonians 4, "We ask and beseech you in the Lord Jesus," etc.; both because, as Ambrose says, "forced services do not please God"; and because, as Seneca says, "the spirit of man is noble and is more easily led than dragged." Lastly, there is added the abundance of the discourse of Christ teaching from the boat, when it is added: And sitting, he taught the crowds from the boat. For to sit pertains to the authority of the person teaching; Matthew 5: "When he had sat down, his disciples came to him"; and also to the excellence of one judging; the Psalm: "You sit upon the throne, you who judge justice." For this sitting designates judicial authority, because God sits upon the Thrones to judge. Moreover, he is again said in the Psalm to sit upon the Cherubim, when it is said: "You who sit upon the Cherubim, appear before Ephraim," etc.: because Cherubim is interpreted as fullness of knowledge, and he who sits in the place of teacher ought to be full of wisdom, so that from his fullness all disciples may receive. And from this fullness the crowd was receiving; whence it is also said: He taught the crowds: Joel 2: "Daughters of Zion, exult and rejoice in the Lord your God, because he has given you the teacher of justice and will cause the early and the latter rain to descend upon you, as in the beginning." And therefore he stood upon the sea, because from the incomprehensible deep he transmits to us, as it were, a small dew of wisdom; Job 26: "If we have scarcely heard a drop of his words, who will be able to behold the thunder of his greatness"? Moreover, he taught the crowds, that is, the simple and the humble, because, Proverbs 3, "and his conversation is with the simple"; Matthew 11: "You have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and have revealed them to little ones." And the reason for this is that the crowds did not seek subtle things, but useful things; and of such the Lord is the teacher; Isaiah 48: "I am the Lord, teaching you useful things, governing you in the way by which you walk." Morally, however, it should be noted that in Christ teaching a model is given to the preacher: he is introduced as standing, as seeing, as ascending, and as sitting. For it belongs to a true and good preacher to stand through uprightness of intention: Ezekiel 2, it was said to him in the person of a preacher: "Stand upon your feet, and I will speak with you." It belongs to him to see through the diligence of discernment: for thus it is said in Proverbs 27: "Diligently know the countenance of your cattle, and consider your flocks." — It belongs to him to ascend through the exercise of perfect action: Isaiah 40: "Ascend upon a high mountain, you who evangelize Zion." It belongs to him to sit through the leisure of contemplation: Lamentations 3: "He will sit solitary and will be silent, because he has lifted himself above himself." — Concerning these four together it is said in Jeremiah 6:…

Luke 5:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

But when he ceased speaking, etc. After the instruction of the people, the working of a miracle is added. Concerning the description of which, four things are introduced: on the part of Christ, the loftiness of power; on the part of Peter, the certainty of trust; on the part of the miracle, the abundance of plenty; on the part of the company, the readiness of assistance. In Christ, therefore, the loftiness of power for working the miracle is intimated, when it is said: When he ceased however to speak, namely through the teaching of truth—because it is the Lord's to confirm his word with signs following, Mark last chapter—he said to Simon, through the command of authority, whom one must obey in all things, according to the counsel of the Virgin, John 2, at the first miracle: "Whatever he shall say to you, do it." — And the command follows: Put out into the deep, that is, into the deep sea, where namely there is a multitude of fish, as he beheld with the eyes of Divinity: Sirach 23: "The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, surveying all the ways of men and the depths of the abyss." And therefore he adds: And let down your nets for a catch. So too, in the last chapter of John, after the resurrection: "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you shall find." He says this by way of command, to show that "God subjected all things under his feet, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea," etc. Morally, it should be noted here who these fishermen are, what their boats are, what the nets are, and what the manner of catching is. The fishermen are preachers: whence below in the same chapter: "From now on you will be catching men"; and Matthew 4: "I will make you become fishers of men"; and this from Jeremiah 16: "Behold, I will send you many fishers, and they shall fish them." And the devil on the contrary has his own evil fishers and heretical seducers: Habakkuk 1: "You make men like the fish of the sea. They lift up the whole with a hook, he dragged it in his dragnet and gathered it in his net." And certainly now evil fishers so prevail that the good ones scarcely have a place: and that word of Isaiah 19 has been fulfilled: "The fishers shall mourn, and all who cast a hook into the river shall lament, and those who spread a net upon the face of the waters." The boats, moreover, by which the sea is crossed, are two, namely obedience and patience, of which the one exercises in labor, the other endures in sorrow. And concerning the first, that passage of Wisdom 14 can be understood: "Men entrust their souls to a small piece of wood, and crossing the sea by a raft they were delivered," etc. This is obedience, which, though it be small, leads to the blessed land. Concerning the second, that passage of Acts 27 can be understood: "Unless you remain in the ship, you cannot be saved"; this is said of those who were in the storm, because, Hebrews 10, "patience is necessary for you, so that doing the will of God, you may receive the promise"; where these two boats are touched upon, concerning which it is said together in the Psalm: "They who go down to the sea in ships, performing work," which pertains to obedience, "in many waters," namely of tribulation, which pertains to patience: "because through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God." The nets, moreover, are discernment and speech, which ought to be joined together in turn for the instruction of the people through the craft of the Holy Spirit; Lamentations 1: "From on high he sent fire into my bones and instructed me: he spread a net for my feet"; Colossians 4: "Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside. Let your speech always be seasoned with the salt of grace, that you may know," etc. These nets are woven together when sermons are composed from the words of Scripture gathered into a single series, in which usefulness rather than subtlety is to be attended to. Whence the Lord threatens the curious in Isaiah 19: "They shall be confounded who w…

Luke 5:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

In Peter, moreover, is intimated the certainty of confidence for obtaining the miracle, when it is added: And Simon answering said to him: Master, he calls him not only teacher, but also master, believing him to have not only knowledge for teaching, but also power for acting. Nor does Peter the fisherman unreasonably address Christ by such a name, because Isaiah fifty-five: "Behold, I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader and master to the nations"; and the thirtieth chapter: "Your eyes shall see your master, and your ears shall hear the word of one admonishing from behind." And since true confidence does not rest upon one's own powers, but upon divine powers, therefore he adds: Having labored through the whole night, we have caught nothing, and thus I would not cast out, trusting in my own powers and industry; whence he could say that word of Isaiah forty-nine: "Without cause and in vain have I consumed my strength"; and Job seven: "I have had empty months and have numbered laborious nights for myself," as if to say: I trust not in my own, but in your powers. And therefore he concludes: But at your word I will let down the net. And not without merit, because he himself says in Isaiah fifty-five: "My word, which shall go forth from my mouth, shall not return to me empty, but shall accomplish whatever I have willed, and shall prosper in all things for which I sent it." Whence concerning Peter can be said that word from Romans four: "In the promise of God he did not hesitate with distrust, but was strengthened in faith, knowing most fully," etc.

Luke 5:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

In the miracle, moreover, is intimated the abundance of plenty for magnifying the miracle itself, when it is added: And when they had done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fish. And thus was verified that word of John fourteen: "Whatever you shall ask the Father in my name, this I will do." Behold, already the belief of Peter was obtaining miracles; whence he himself, on account of the foundation of his faith, merited to be called Peter from the firmness of rock; whence shortly after the Evangelist adds: "When Simon Peter saw this," etc. And therefore below in the twenty-second chapter it is said to him: "I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail." And since the abundance of the multitude was not only sufficient but also superabundant, therefore it is added: Now the net was breaking, namely on account of the exceedingly great multitude. And note that the Lord, by the same miracle by which he was able to gather fish into the nets, was able to preserve the nets, just as he also did in the last chapter of John, where it is said: "And although there were so many, the net was not torn"—the net of Peter himself. But this happened on account of the figure, because the miracles of the Lord, as Gregory says, always suggest to us something to be more diligently considered. For that catch of fish signifies the congregation of the elect after the resurrection in glory; but this one signifies the congregation of those called to the Church before the resurrection. And because in that one no one enters who departs, while from this one many depart, therefore here the net is torn, but there not at all. Hence it is that that catch is said to have been on the right side of the boat, but this one not; that one distinguishes in a determinate number, but this one does not; here the boats are nearly sunk on account of the multitude of temptations, but there they rest on land; here Christ rests in the boat, but there on the shore.

Luke 5:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

In the partnership, moreover, is suggested the readiness of assistance for manifesting the miracle, when it is added: And they beckoned to their partners who were in the other boat, that is, they showed or signaled by a nod, because, in Tobit 12, "it is honorable to reveal and confess the works of God." Whence a certain author says: "The possession of no good thing is pleasant without a companion," according to that passage of Ecclesiastes 4: "It is better for two to be together than one, for they have the advantage of their companionship." — As a sign of which it is added: That they should come and help them, because, according to that passage of Proverbs 18, "a brother who is helped by a brother is like a strong city." And certainly, as it is said in the same place, "a man friendly to companionship will be more a friend than a brother." — And this is manifestly proven by their readiness in helping; and therefore it is added: And they came and filled both boats. And thus that passage of Proverbs 10 was verified: "The blessing of the Lord makes rich"; whence they could say that passage of Tobit 12: "We have been filled with all good things through him." This filling, moreover, as was touched upon, signifies the filling of the Church: Matthew 13: "The kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea and gathering from every kind of fish," etc. — And therefore it is added: So that they were nearly sinking, because the wicked are so multiplied that we are nearly all submerged, according to that passage of Matthew 24: "Because iniquity has abounded, the charity of many will grow cold," etc. But nevertheless the ship of Peter is not submerged; Paul, however, says in 2 Corinthians 11: "Three times I suffered shipwreck."

Luke 5:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

When Simon Peter saw this. After the instruction of the people and the working of the miracle, there follows the calling of Peter and the sons of Zebedee. For the perfection of which, four things are shown to have concurred, namely the humiliation of Peter, disposing him to grace; wonder, elevating him to understanding; the reassurance of Christ, establishing him in confidence; the imitation of the Master, leading him to perfect righteousness. First, therefore, there is set forth the humiliation of Peter disposing him to grace, when it says: When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at the knees of Jesus. From the miracle he had seen, he was humbled, by magnifying the divine majesty; and rightly so, because in Philippians chapter two, "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow," etc.; and Isaiah chapter forty-five: "Every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall swear." And Peter did this as if inviting others to do likewise, so that he might say that word of the Psalm: "Come, let us adore and fall down," etc. He was also humbled by recoiling into his own littleness; whence he adds: Saying: Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man, as if to say: I am not such that I am worthy to be together with you. He said this from faith and reverence, just as that centurion in Matthew chapter eight: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof." But Peter said this because he saw the power and did not perceive the clemency, by which he said in Matthew chapter nine: "I came not to call the just, but sinners." Whence Augustine says: "Peter speaks as a fisherman: he had God and the Lord of salvation with him and was saying: Depart from me—as if a sick man were to say to a physician wishing to cure him: withdraw from me, for I am ill." And Gregory says: "Peter, on the contrary, if you consider yourself a sinner, it is needful that you not drive the Lord from you." But certainly by humbling himself thus he was not driving him away, but drawing him near: Isaiah the last chapter: "To whom shall I look, but to the poor and contrite in spirit and him who trembles at my words?"

Luke 5:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Secondly there is added the admiration elevating to understanding, which was the reason for the humiliation in Peter. And he notes this when he says: For astonishment had surrounded him. In the surrounding is noted the vehemence of the astonishment: Isaiah 29, "Behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous thing among this people, a great and stupendous miracle." — And lest you believe that he alone marveled, but that others also were witnesses of the miracle, there is added: And all who were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken, that is, on account of the great and unusual catch all marveled, according to that of the Psalm: "They who go down to the sea in ships," "they saw the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep."

Luke 5:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

And because other disciples were called with Peter, therefore there is added: And likewise also James and John, sons of Zebedee, astonishment namely had surrounded them, who were likewise fishermen: whence there is also added: Who were partners of Simon. Whence just as they were partners in the exercise of fishing, so also in the dignity of calling, Revelation 1: "I John, your brother and partaker in tribulation and the kingdom"; 2 Corinthians 1: "Knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so shall you be also of the consolations." And note that just as these three were partners in fishing, so also they were in calling: and just as they were called together, so they were together chosen and taken up for the working of miracles: below, chapter 8: "He permitted no one to enter with him except Peter and James and John"; together taken up for the transfiguration: below, chapter 9: "He took with him Peter and James and John" etc.; together also taken up for prayer; Mark 14: "And he took with him Peter and James" etc. Thirdly there is added the alleviation of Christ establishing confidence, when it is said: And Jesus said to Simon: Do not be afraid. He does not exclude the fear of reverence and humility, because that is "the beginning of wisdom," and of that it is said in Sirach 1: "He who is without fear cannot be justified," but he excludes the fear of pusillanimity, which is opposed to confidence: concerning which, Genesis 15: "Do not be afraid, Abraham; for I am your protector"; and Joshua 1: "Do not be afraid, for I am with you." — And lest he be terrified at lesser things, he promises greater things, when he adds: From henceforth you shall be catching men: which is much greater than catching fish. The Gloss: "He is not yet chosen for the apostolate, but it is foretold that he is someday to be chosen"; Matthew 4: "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." And he addresses Peter specially, because to him specially this care is committed: whence Matthew 16: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven" etc. — And note that he says: catching men, not gold, according to that of 2 Corinthians 12, "I seek not yours, but you"; and Philippians 4: "I seek not the gift, but the fruit."

Luke 5:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Fourth, there is added the perfect imitation of the Master leading to perfect justice, when it is added: And having brought the boats to land, so that they might leave them there: whence it also follows: Having left all things; below in the fourteenth chapter: "Everyone among you who does not renounce all that he possesses cannot be my disciple." He says pointedly all things, because, as Gregory says, "so much was left behind by those who followed as could have been desired by those who did not follow"; and because all things could have been desired, therefore all things were left behind. Whence Gregory: "He left behind much who retained nothing for himself; he left behind much who abandoned even, together with the thing he had, the will of having." "And because it is not sufficient to leave one's own things, since some philosophers did this," it is added: They followed him. Whence Peter, in Matthew nineteen: "Behold, we have left all things and followed you," namely through the counsels; Job twenty-three: "My foot has followed his steps"; because "it is a great glory to follow the Lord," Sirach twenty-three: thus Elisha followed Elijah, Third Kings nineteen. And note that there appears to be a contradiction between Luke, Matthew, and John regarding place, regarding time, regarding manner: because John says by the Jordan and before the coming into Galilee and individually: but these, Matthew and Luke, say they were called after the coming, in Galilee, and together. — And therefore it should be understood that these disciples were called once to simple acquaintance, and of this John one speaks: secondly to familiarity, and of this it is spoken here, because they still returned, as the Gloss says; thirdly to discipleship or apostleship, and of this is spoken in Matthew four and Mark one: and therefore there is no contradiction or diversity in places and times and other circumstances.

Luke 5:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

And it happened, when he was in one of the cities, etc. After the calling of the disciples, he here adds their confirmation through miracles. And this part has two sections. In the first, the miracle of the healing of the leper is introduced: in the second, the liberation of the paralytic, at: And it happened on one of the days. Concerning the miracle of the healing of the leper, three things are introduced. The first is the working of the miracle. The second is the instruction of the leper, at: And he commanded him, etc. The third is the edification of the people, at: But the report about him spread all the more, etc. Concerning the working of the miracle, three things are to be noted, namely the pitiable infection of the disease, the commendable devotion of the sick man, and the admirable operation of the physician. First, therefore, the miserable infection of the disease is touched upon, when it says: And it happened, when he was in one of the cities: because the disease was public and perpetual: public, because in a city, where many gather, and thus the infirmity was known to many. And it should be noted that he is said to have been in the city, because he was near the city. For in Matthew chapter eight it is said of this leper that he healed him on the descent from the mountain; whence it can be taken here, as below in chapter thirteen: "It cannot be that a prophet perish outside Jerusalem"; because, as is said in Hebrews chapter thirteen, Christ "suffered outside the gate." The disease was also perpetual: whence he also adds: Behold, a man full of leprosy, which is an incurable infirmity, especially when it is deep-rooted. Whence that saying of Isaiah chapter one could apply to him: "From the sole of the foot to the top of the head there is no soundness in him." He was also similar to Job, of whom in chapter two: "Satan struck Job with a most grievous sore, from the sole of the foot to the top of the head, who scraped the corruption with a potsherd." Second, the commendable devotion of the leper is intimated, when it says: And seeing Jesus, because by seeing he adored and praised. — He adored by sign, when it says: And falling on his face, which is the manner of those who adore, as in the Psalm: "Come, let us adore and fall down" etc.; and this the devil demanded, in Matthew chapter four: "All these things I will give you, if falling down you adore me." Whence by this sign he professed that he was the Son of God, like that blind man, of whom in John chapter nine: "Do you believe in the Son of God? Who is he, Lord?" etc.: and afterwards it follows: "I believe, Lord. And falling down he adored him." And note that he is said to have fallen on his face, which is a good sign: as is said of Moses and Aaron in Numbers chapter twenty, that they fell on their faces before the Lord: not like Eli, in First Kings chapter four: "Eli fell from his seat backwards" etc. He also praised or professed by word, which is noted when it adds: He besought him saying: Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. In this, that he beseeches, he intimates generosity: Job chapter twenty-two: "You shall beseech him, and he will hear you." In this, that he says: Lord, he intimates dignity: Esther chapter thirteen: "Lord, all things are placed in your dominion." In this, that he adds: you can make me clean, he intimates the faculty of power; Wisdom chapter twelve: "Power is at your disposal whenever you will." And this is what Job said to the Lord, in chapter fourteen: "Who can make clean one conceived of unclean seed? Is it not you, who alone are?" And therefore he could say: "You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed" etc. For the elucidation of the aforesaid miracle, two things are to be understood here. For first it is necessary to open up the hidden spiritual understanding, then to resolve the apparent controversy. Concerning this miracle, however, three things present themselves for consideration. The first is what is under…

Luke 5:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Third, the operation of the physician is added, when it says: Extending his hand, he touched him saying etc., which indeed was admirable both by reason of clemency, and by reason of power, and by reason of efficacy. On account of clemency he says: He touched him: for although he could have healed by word alone, he preferred to touch, in order to show his benevolence: whence Proverbs, last chapter: "She opened her hand to the needy." Whence this man could no longer murmur against Christ, as Naaman did against Elisha: Fourth Kings, chapter five: "I thought that he would come out to me and touch the place of leprosy with his hand and heal me." But certainly there is no contradiction between the Prophet and the Lord, because the Prophet was subject to the Law, and therefore did not wish to touch, lest according to the Law he become unclean: but the Savior was above the Law, and therefore according to the Law he did not contract uncleanness and was able to abolish the Law, and therefore he touched. — To intimate his power, there is added: Saying: I will, be cleansed. In this he asserts that he wills, and commands that the man be cleansed, because he is of such great power that to will is for him to be able to do: Isaiah, chapter forty-six: "My counsel shall stand, and all my will shall be done." But he willed his cleansing not so much bodily as spiritual: whence First Thessalonians, chapter four: "This is the will of God: your sanctification." — To intimate the efficacy, he adds: And immediately the leprosy departed from him, so that there was nothing between the word and the deed; "for he spoke, and they were made." By word therefore and by touch he healed, in order to show himself the Word made flesh: by word also and by touch he healed, in order to heal interiorly and exteriorly: whence John, chapter seven: "I have made a whole man sound," etc. And in testimony of this, word and element concur equally in the Sacrament.

Luke 5:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

And he commanded him to tell no one. After the cure of the disease, the Evangelist here subjoins the instruction of the one cured. But Christ teaches the cured leper, and in him anyone else, three things: the first is that the proclamation of praise is not to be sought: the second, that the office of the priest is not to be despised: the third is that the commandment of the Law is not to be passed over. The first of these directs the intention: the second, the affection: and the third regulates the action. He instructs therefore first that the proclamation of praise is not to be sought, when he says: And he commanded him to tell no one. He does not say this because he wished that the man would not speak, since the man preached this everywhere, as is said in Mark, chapter one; but he instructs by his own example to avoid praise. Whence Bede: "He gives an example so that his own, in the great things they do, may wish to be hidden; but that they may benefit others, they are revealed against their will." Ambrose also says this in the Gloss. Whence note that there is a precept of execution, as in Exodus, chapter twenty: "Honor your father"; and of testing, as the precept to Abraham concerning the immolation of his son, Genesis, chapter twenty-two; and a precept of instruction, as here. Whence this man did not sin when he spread abroad his name. Chrysostom, however, says that it was a command, but for a time, out of caution, lest, if perchance the priests heard that he had been healed by Christ, they would not receive him as clean when he presented himself to them, on account of the hatred they bore toward Christ. The first interpretation, however, seems more correct, because He commanded this to other sick persons, who nevertheless did not observe it, according to what is said in Mark 7 concerning the deaf and mute man who was healed: "The more He commanded them, the more they proclaimed it." And rightly so, because, according to what is said in 2 Corinthians 12, "I ought to have been commended by you"; yet no one ought to praise himself unless compelled by the necessity of another. Hence the Apostle: "I have become foolish; you compelled me." Therefore he said that he had become foolish, because he seemed to have acted against the counsel of the wise man: Proverbs 27: "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips." He also teaches, secondly, that the office of the priest is not to be despised, when He adds: But go, show yourself to the priests, because their office was, according to the Law, to expel lepers and to receive those who had been cleansed, as is stated in Leviticus 13 and 14 throughout nearly the whole of those chapters. Now this office of discerning leprosy was committed to the priests, although it might seem to pertain more to physicians, because to them the wounds of mortal sins, which are signified by leprosy, are to be shown in the time of revealed truth, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus 18: "In the time of sickness, show your manner of life," because, as is said in Proverbs 28, "he who conceals his crimes shall not prosper"; hence, although the Lord cleanses through interior contrition, He nonetheless binds one to sacramental confession. In this command, moreover, He teaches that the priestly office is to be venerated by all, and that it is necessary for the healing of sins. And this is the principal reason for this command. There are, however, also other reasons: namely, that they might be moved to good, having seen the miracle of the certain healing of the leper; and that they might be witnesses of the miracle; and lest He should seem to oppose them; and that the priestly dignity of Christ and the grace of the New Testament and priesthood might become known to them, which can not only show one who has been healed, but also heal. He instructs thirdly that the precept of the Law is not to be disregarded, when he adds: And offer for your cleansing, as Moses comm…

Luke 5:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

But the word went abroad all the more, etc. After the Evangelist has described the healing of the disease and the instruction of the one healed, here thirdly he adds the magnification of the name of Christ, so that from all these things the disciples may be confirmed in faith and love of Christ. The magnification of the name of Christ is therefore described as renowned, as fruitful, as powerful. First, therefore, the magnification of the name of Christ is described here as renowned, when it is said: But the word went abroad all the more concerning him, namely Christ, the word of his praise with respect to his knowledge and powers. Nor is it surprising if the fame of the Master was spreading, since of his disciples it is said in the Psalm: "Their sound has gone forth into all the earth." A figure of this preceded in Judas Maccabeus, of whom it is said in 1 Maccabees 3 that "he was made like a lion in his works"; and afterwards it is added that "he was renowned even to the ends of the earth." Then the fruitful magnification of the name of Christ is shown, when it is added: And great multitudes came together to hear: namely for the instruction of the mind, because it is written in Sirach 6: "If you love to hear, you will be wise"; and James 1: "You know, my brothers: Let every man be swift to hear." They were also coming together on account of the cure on the part of the body; and therefore he adds: And they were healed of their infirmities. On account of which Isaiah was proclaiming in the fifty-third chapter: "Truly he himself bore our weaknesses, and he himself carried our infirmities." And therefore they were acting rightly according to the counsel of the Wise Man, Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight: "My son, in your infirmity do not despise yourself, but pray to the Lord, and he will heal you." — This therefore was the perfect benefit on the part of the soul and body, which came from the fame of the name of Christ. For Christ himself is "the power of God and the wisdom of God"; and therefore those who come to him are illuminated through wisdom and healed through power. And therefore it is said in the Psalm: "Come to him and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be confounded"; and therefore Isaiah forty-nine: "I have given you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation unto the end of the earth."

Luke 5:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Lastly it is shown to be virtuous, when it is added: But he himself withdrew into the desert and prayed: because he was not seeking human glory and fame, but was fleeing it, according to that passage in Matthew fourteen: "And having dismissed the crowd, he went up onto the mountain alone to pray." In this he was giving us a model of withdrawing from the world and drawing near to God: on account of which the Apostle said in Galatians one: "If I were still pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ." And therefore, for prayer to be pleasing to God, it ought not to be public in the marketplace, but hidden in the desert; whence Matthew six: "But you, when you pray, enter your chamber." And this is what Bernard says in the Canticles: "O holy soul, be alone, so that you may keep yourself for him alone out of all, whom you have chosen for yourself out of all. Flee the public, flee even your own household, withdraw from friends and intimates and from him who ministers to you. Do you not know that you have a modest bridegroom, one who will by no means grant you his presence while others are present? Withdraw therefore, but in mind, not in body: but in intention, but in devotion, but in spirit: although also in body you do not unprofitably separate yourself at times, especially in the time of prayer."

Luke 5:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

And it came to pass on one of the days. Having confirmed the disciples through the healing of the leper, here for greater firmness he confirms the same through the wondrous healing of the paralytic. The Evangelist describes this admirable healing in the following order. For first is introduced the opportunity for performing the miracle: second, the completeness of the miracle accomplished, at: Whose faith etc.: third, the renown of the miracle made public, at: And astonishment seized etc. The opportunity now for performing the miracle is gathered from four things, namely from the multitude of the people present, from the readiness of the healing power, from the severity of the oppressing disease, from the solicitude of the faith of the one presenting. First, therefore, to designate the multitude of the people present, to whom the doctrine of truth was to be communicated, it is said: And it came to pass on one of the days, and Jesus sat teaching: He sat, I say, as the chief master and teacher on account of the multitude of His wisdom, as in Job chapter twenty-nine: "If I wished to go to them, I sat first; and when I sat as a king, with the army standing around, I was nevertheless the consoler of those who mourned". In this manner indeed Christ sat in the midst of many; whence it is also added: And there were Pharisees sitting and doctors of the Law. For they among others are the more excellent, the Pharisees in observing and the doctors of the Law in instructing. And for this reason they too are called sitting, because in Matthew chapter twenty-three: "Upon the chair of Moses the scribes and Pharisees sat". And because "in the multitude of the people is the glory of the prince", therefore he adds that they were many, when he says: Who had come from every town of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem. And note that in these three he expresses the nearby region, namely in Galilee; whence He also chose His disciples from there, according to what is said in Acts chapter two: "Are not all these who speak Galileans"? He also expresses the principal region in Judea, in which the tribe of Judah dwelt, to whom Christ was promised, according to that word of the Psalm: "And He did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe of Judah". — He also touches upon the royal city in Jerusalem, where the doctors chiefly dwelt, according to that word of Isaiah chapter two: "Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem". — And he names these three significantly, because in Galilee Christ is conceived, as above in chapter one: in Judea He is born, as above in chapter two: but in Jerusalem He is crucified, as below in chapter twenty-three. And therefore to the inhabitants of these three places Christ was promised, and they themselves awaited Him, and therefore they came together to Him. Second, to denote the readiness of the liberating power, he adds: And the power of the Lord was, namely ready, to heal them, namely the infirm, because they themselves were ready to listen. Concerning which power, Hebrews 1: "Upholding all things by the word of his power"; which power indeed is Christ, who is the Word of the Father, 1 Corinthians 1: "We preach Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." And this power is suited to healing, not to destroying; and therefore his name is Jesus, that is, Savior. Whence the holy soul in the Psalm: "O Lord God, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle," etc. And therefore Acts 10: "God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power," that is, with the power of the Holy Spirit, "who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed." The faith of believers renders this power ready; whence below in chapter six: "They had come together to hear him"; "because power went out from him and healed all"; but on the contrary it is said of his own city, Matthew 13: "He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief." Spiritually moreov…

Luke 5:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Third, to show the gravity of the oppressing illness, he adds: And behold, men carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and thus entirely powerless, because paralysis entirely dissolves the strength of the limbs, as is read concerning Alcimus in 1 Maccabees 9: "His mouth was shut, and he was dissolved with paralysis, nor could he speak a word any longer." Truly a great and pitiable infirmity, which takes away both movement and speech. And he was carried on a bed — not, I say, on a bed of rest, but rather of labor and pain; whence one could pray concerning him: "The Lord help him upon the bed of his pain," etc. Therefore the men who carried him acted mercifully, according to the instruction of the Apostle, Galatians 6: "Bear one another's burdens"; whence that passage from Ecclesiasticus 44 could fittingly apply to them: "These are men of mercy, whose acts of piety have not failed"; and already that passage from Isaiah 49 is verified in this deed: "They shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters they shall carry upon their shoulders." Fourth, to intimate the solicitude of the presenting faith, he adds: And they sought to bring him in and place him before him, so that, namely, he might be healed by his presence. Whence they wished to fulfill the exhortation of the Psalm: "Seek the Lord and be strengthened; seek his face always." Nor undeservedly, because Job 17: "Deliver me, O Lord, and set me beside you, and let the hand of whomever fight against me."

Luke 5:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

And because obstacles frequently arise for one who seeks through faith, therefore it is added: And not finding by what way they might bring him in because of the crowd, which is wont to impede approach to Christ; as it is said in Matthew 20 and below in chapter 18, that "the crowds rebuked the blind man, that he should be silent"; so also Zacchaeus, below in chapter 19, "sought to see Jesus, and could not because of the crowd." But certainly obstacles do not hold back true faith, but rather inflame it; in testimony of which it is added: They went up onto the roof and through the tiles let him down with his bed. So also Zacchaeus did, as is said below in the nineteenth chapter, that "he climbed up into a sycamore tree, so that he might see Jesus passing by," whom he could not see because of the crowd. Such helpers that sick man needed, who said in John 5: "Lord, I have no man who, when the water is stirred, may put me into the pool." Such helpers are simple men, according to what is said in Acts 9: "The disciples, taking Paul by night, let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket." Such are spiritual men, who present the sick before the sight of the Lord through prayer: Lamentations 2: "Pour out your heart like water before the sight of the Lord your God. Lift up your hands for the souls of the little ones, who have fainted from hunger at the head of all the crossroads." And therefore they presented him to the sight of the Lord, so that he might see him, and to his presence, so that he might touch him. — And therefore it is added: Into the midst before Jesus, because the Savior always seeks the midst; whence John 1: "He stood in the midst of you"; and below in the twenty-second chapter: "But I am in the midst of you"; and therefore in the Psalm: "We have received your mercy in the midst of your temple."

Luke 5:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

When he saw their faith etc. The occasion for performing the miracle has been set forth; but here is added the completeness of the miracle itself in its performance, because Christ heals the body and soul of the sick man at the same time: the soul from sin and the body from disease. Now the perfect completeness of this miracle consists in four things which are above human power, namely in the remission of sins, the discernment of thoughts, the extirpation of errors, and the strengthening of the paralyzed limbs. For these four things render the miracle perfect. Therefore the remission of sins from the merit of the faith of those presenting him is set forth first, when he says: When he saw their faith, because, as is said in 1 Kings 16, "man sees those things which appear, but the Lord looks upon the heart." He saw, I say, with the eye of mercy, as in Exodus 3: "I have seen the affliction of my people, who are in Egypt." To which vision faith disposes: Jeremiah 5: "Lord, your eyes look upon faith." And since, as is said in Proverbs 15, "by mercy and faith sins are purged"; therefore it is added: He said: Man, your sins are forgiven you. In this, that he says man, he invites to the consideration of one's own misery: Job 14: "Man born of woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries"; and again 25: "Man is rottenness, and the son of man a worm." In this, that he adds are forgiven, he invites to the hope of divine grace; Ephesians 1: "He has graced us in his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins"; whence it is said in 1 John 2: "Your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake." Now this forgiveness of sins was begun by the faith of another, but is consummated in one's own: whence Bede: "One's own faith avails much for each person, since through another's faith a man has been saved both inwardly and outwardly," but this not without one's own faith following: whence in Matthew 9 it is said to the paralytic: "Take heart, son, your sins are forgiven you." And note that sins are said to be forgiven and are said to be pardoned, are said to be cleansed, are said to be healed, are said to be covered, are said to be redeemed. They are said to be forgiven with respect to the guilt of punishment; below in chapter 7: "Her many sins are forgiven her, because she loved much." — They are said to be pardoned by reason of the offense: Matthew 6: "If you forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you your trespasses." They are said to be cleansed by reason of the stain: Psalm: "Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin"; and Isaiah 6: "Your iniquity shall be taken away, and your sin shall be cleansed." — They are said to be healed with respect to the wounding of nature: whence John 5: "Behold, you are now made whole; sin no more henceforth," is said to the infirm man; and in the Psalm: "Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you." They are said to be covered on account of the despoliation of gratuitous virtue: Psalm: "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered"; which is done through charity; 1 Peter 4: "Charity covers a multitude of sins." They are said to be redeemed with respect to the captivity of diabolical servitude: Daniel 4: "Redeem your sins with almsgiving"; and the Psalm: "From usury and iniquity he shall redeem their souls."

Luke 5:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Now there is added secondly the discernment of thoughts in the mind of the blasphemers, when it is said: And the scribes and Pharisees began to think, vain and harmful thoughts: Romans 1: "They became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened." And the expression of the thought follows, when he adds: saying, namely in their hearts, according to that of the Psalm: "The things you say in your hearts, upon your beds be moved to compunction." Who is this, who speaks blasphemy? In which thought they despise the Savior as base, in this, that they say: Who is this? Sirach thirteen: "The poor man spoke, and they say: Who is this"? against that which is said in Sirach eleven: "Do not despise a man by his appearance". They reprove Him as a sinner in this, that they charge Him with blasphemy. Now to blaspheme is to inflict injury upon God, which happens in three ways: either when there is attributed to God what does not befit Him, or when there is removed from Him what does befit Him, or when there is attributed to a creature what properly befits God. Whence, when Christ attributed Divinity to Himself, they believed Him to blaspheme, as in Mark fourteen: "What further need have we of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy"; in John ten the Savior said to the Jews: "Him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, you say blasphemes, because I said: I am the Son of God"? Likewise they believed Him to blaspheme when He attributed to Himself what is proper to God, namely to forgive sins. Whence it is added: Who can forgive sins but God alone? And in this they speak truly; Isaiah forty-three: "I am He who blots out your iniquities for my own sake." But certainly, while they themselves charged Christ with blasphemy, in their own hearts they were blaspheming; Isaiah forty-six: "To whom have you likened me and made me equal and compared me and made me similar"?

Luke 5:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

And since by thinking these things they were blaspheming, therefore they are detected and reproved, when it is added: But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, as God, because, Sirach twenty-three, "the eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, surveying all the ways of men and the depth of the abyss and beholding the hearts of men." Nor is this a wonder, because He is the Word of God, of whom in Hebrews four: "The word of God is living and effective and more penetrating than any two-edged sword, and a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Nor does He only detect and discern, but He also reproves: Answering, He said to them: Why do you think evil in your hearts? as if to say that of Isaiah one: "Take away the evil of your thoughts from before my eyes." For He Himself saw and reproved; Jeremiah four: "How long shall harmful thoughts dwell within you"? For such are perverse thoughts, of which in Wisdom one: "For perverse thoughts separate from God." Therefore Isaiah twenty-nine: "Woe to you who are deep of heart, so as to hide your counsel from the Lord"; and it continues: "This thought of yours is perverse, as if the clay should think against the potter, and the work should say to its maker: You did not make me; and the thing formed should say to its fashioner: You do not understand." But certainly it can be said of them that of Wisdom two: "These things they thought and erred, for their malice blinded them."

Luke 5:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

There is added thirdly the refutation of errors of those thinking wrongly, in what follows: Which is easier to say etc. For he constructs an argument in which he shows that he is true God and can forgive sins, and consequently that they err. And the argument is as follows: everyone who can free a paralytic by a word alone can by a word alone forgive sins. Of this reasoning, however, he first sets forth the proof of the major proposition, subjoins the assumption and interposes the conclusion. Of the major proposition he first sets forth the proof in what he says: Which is easier to say: Your sins are forgiven you, or to say: Rise and walk? As if to say: They are of equal ease; therefore he who can do the one can also do the other; and this was the major proposition. Whence the Gloss on that passage of Matthew 9: "Through the remission of punishment, understand the remission of guilt." Now this is understood through that as through something similar and better known. And this is what is said in Jeremiah 32: "No word shall be difficult for you, who show mercy to thousands"; whence Wisdom 11: "But you spare all, O Lord, because you can do all things."

Luke 5:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

He interposes the conclusion in what he adds: But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. For this is what he intends to conclude finally; and it is true according to the testimony of John 1: "Behold the Lamb of God; behold him who takes away the sins of the world"; and Revelation 1: "He loved us and washed us from our sins in his blood." The assumption he subjoins when he adds: He said to the paralytic: I say to you: Rise, take up your bed etc. And note that the preceding words are the Savior's and so are the following; but this phrase, which says: He said to the paralytic, is the word of the Evangelist, which he interposes because the first words were of the Lord to the Pharisees, namely the proposition and the conclusion: but the assumption he spoke by turning his speech to the paralytic, to whom he commands an act that can befit only a healthy person, namely to rise, when he says: Rise: just as Peter said to the lame man in Acts 3: "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise and walk." He commands him to take up his bed, when he says: Take up your bed. A grabatum, however, is the bed of the poor who are sick, on which nothing is spread except at the head; whence it is called from graba, which means head. So in John 5 he commands that man who had been sick for thirty-eight years: "Rise, take up your bed and walk." He commands him to walk and go to his house, when he adds: And walk and go to your house, so that, namely, you may rejoice with your own, as in Mark 5: "Go to your house, to your own, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for you." — In these three things is included perfect health against the three evils which the sickness of paralysis causes. For it renders one unfit for standing and more unfit for working and most unfit for walking: and conversely he commands uprightness of posture, strength of action and readiness of movement: which once obtained, one is made perfectly healthy.

Luke 5:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

There is lastly subjoined the strengthening of the weakened members in what follows: And immediately rising up before them, etc. For the members of the paralytic were strengthened by the word of Christ with respect to the sustaining, operative, and motive power. For he arose, now no longer needing the support of a bed or a staff, and this by the power of the hand of almighty God; Daniel 10: "Behold, a hand touched me and raised me upon my knees and upon the joints of my hands." He took up the bed on which he had been lying, now no longer needing to be carried by another, and thus that word of Amos 3 seems to be fulfilled: "The children of Israel who dwell in Samaria shall be rescued, in the corner of a bed and on a Damascus couch." And he went to his house, glorifying God: now being able to move easily, just as that lame man healed by Peter, Acts 3, "entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God." Whence he was glorifying God both by praising him and by recounting his miracles and by inviting others to praise him; whence he could say: "Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." He could also sing with the Virgin: "My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit has rejoiced," etc.

Luke 5:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

And amazement seized all, etc. Here thirdly, after the occasion for performing the miracle and the completeness of the deed performed, he subjoins the renown of its publication, through which the divine power in Christ was made manifest, since from the consideration of the present miracle the power of Christ was shown to be admirable and venerable, formidable and worthy of proclamation. Admirable, I say, it was shown to be from the impossibility of comprehending it: on account of which he says: And amazement seized all, that is, the innocent, unto believing: Job 17: "The just shall be amazed at this, and the innocent shall be stirred up against the hypocrite"; for the Pharisees, who are hypocrites, were confounded, and Christ was made admirable. It seized the malicious unto confounding them: Job 12: "He leads counselors to a foolish end and judges to amazement." Venerable indeed is shown from the impossibility of imitating: on account of which it is said: And they magnified God, namely in his work, so that they could say that word of the Psalm: "How magnificent are your works, O Lord! You have made all things in wisdom"; and Isaiah thirty-three: "The Lord is magnified, because he has dwelt on high and filled Sion with justice and judgment." So those three youths at the sight of the miracle; Daniel three: "These three with one mouth praised and magnified and blessed God." Formidable indeed the power in Christ is shown from the impossibility of escaping; whence is added: And they were filled with fear, considering the immensity of the power which no one can escape: below in chapter twelve: "I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell." This power Job feared, in chapter thirty-one: "I always feared God as swelling waves over me, and I could not bear his weight." Worthy of proclamation moreover is shown from the impossibility of contradicting: on account of which is added: Saying: For we have seen wondrous things today: and now there is no room for contradicting: whence Acts four: "Seeing the constancy of Peter and John, they marveled and recognized them, that they had been with Jesus; and seeing also the man who had been healed, they could say nothing against it"; whence Peter and John said in Acts four: "We cannot but speak the things we have heard and seen." He therefore who after seeing these signs contradicts the Lord is excluded from the people of God and the inheritance of the kingdom, according to that passage of Numbers fourteen: "The men who have seen my majesty and the signs that I worked in Egypt, and have tempted me, shall not see the land for which I swore to their fathers."

Luke 5:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Second, how the disciples are called from the state of guilt. And after these things he went out, etc. Above the Evangelist treated of the calling of the disciples from a lawful state, that is, of justice; here he treats of their calling from a perilous state, that is, of injustice, where he shows how he called Matthew sitting at the tax-collector's booth. Now this part has two sections, in the first of which he treats of the perfection of the calling; in the second, of the defense of those called, there: And it came to pass on the Sabbath, etc., in the next chapter. Concerning the perfection of the calling, three things are introduced: the first is the calling of sinners; the second is the confutation of the proud, at the place: And the Pharisees murmured etc.; the third is the consolation of the weak, at the place: But they said to him etc. The calling of the publican, moreover, is shown to be perfect from three aspects, namely from the part of the prevenient divine gift, from the part of the consenting free will, and from the part of the devout obedience that follows. First, therefore, it is shown to be perfect from the part of the prevenient divine gift, when it says: And after these things he went out and saw a publican etc. And note that he is said to go out, to see, and to call. He goes out, indeed, in order to seek; he sees, in order to draw to himself; he addresses and calls, in order to convert to himself. He went out, indeed, through solicitude for seeking his own work, as it is said in the Psalm: "Man shall go forth to his work and to his labor until the evening." Hence he is signified by the householder, of whom it is said in Matthew twenty, that "he went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard." This is truly the Lord Jesus, who says of himself in John sixteen: "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world," because from the secret bosom he came into the open. — Nor did he only go out, but he also saw the publican, so that through the gaze of mercy he might draw him to himself, just as that one was asking to be seen in the Psalm: "See my humility and my labor" etc. And in this way he saw him, because, although he was a sinner in deed, he was nevertheless chosen in the divine purpose: Wisdom four: "His regard is upon his elect." Hence it is said below in chapter twenty-two: "The Lord turned and looked upon Peter, and Peter, going out, wept bitterly." With this gaze Jesus saw a publican named Levi, that is, Matthew, who, as Jerome says, had two names; but Luke and Mark, out of honor for the Evangelist, are silent about the well-known name, while Matthew, having become his own accuser at the beginning of his narrative, names himself Matthew and a publican. And note that publicans were so called either because they sinned publicly, as is understood below in chapter eighteen: "Two men went up into the temple: one a Pharisee, and the other a publican"; or because they made goods public to all by selling them, as merchants are accustomed to do, as is understood above in chapter three; or because they collected public taxes: and this is how the term seems to be properly understood here. Whence there follows: Sitting at the tax office. According to Bede, "telos in Greek is vectigal in Latin"; according to Isidore, it is a place "where the wares of ships or the earnings of sailors are rendered"; according to Ambrose, it can be taken equivocally for the tax and for the house, in which it is paid; whence he says: "He who previously extorted harsh profits from labors and greedy gains from the wages of many, called by a word, left behind his own possessions—he who had been seizing the possessions of others." "Let no one therefore, as the Gloss of Bede says, despair on account of the enormity of sins, since Matthew was changed from a tax collector into an Apostle, from a toll-gatherer into an Evangelist." Nor did he only see him so as to attract him, but he also spoke to him so as to conv…

Luke 5:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Secondly, perfection is shown on the part of the consenting free will by obeying, when there follows: And leaving all things, rising up, he followed him: in which is designated the perfect consent of free will both as regards withdrawal from evil and advancement in good and consummation in the perfect state. Therefore it is said that he left all things, that he rose up, and that he followed Christ, so that he could say that word of Peter in Matthew chapter nineteen: "Behold, we have left all things and followed you." And this is what the Apostle exhorts us to in Hebrews chapter twelve: "Laying aside every weight and the sin which surrounds us, let us run with patience," etc. And note that under this distribution are included all things that hinder a person from following Christ perfectly, which are seven, namely criminal wickedness, bodily comfort, temporal business, personal strife, popular fellowship, paternal dwelling, and childish desire. Criminal wickedness must be relinquished: Proverbs twenty-eight: "He who conceals his crimes will not prosper." — Second, bodily comfort, as in Tobit two: "He left his meal and came fasting to the body." — Third, temporal business: thus Joseph left his cloak in the hand of the Egyptian woman, Genesis thirty-nine: "Leaving his cloak, he fled"; thus Elisha left his oxen and plow, Third Kings nineteen; thus the Apostles left their nets, as is said in Matthew four: "Leaving their nets, they followed him." By nets are rightly understood earthly affairs, because "those who wish to become rich fall into temptation" etc., First Timothy six. — Fourth, personal strife must be relinquished: Ecclesiasticus twenty-eight: "Forgive your neighbor who harms you, and then when you pray, your sins will be forgiven." Fifth indeed, popular fellowship: Jeremiah forty-eight: "Leave the cities and dwell in the rock." — Sixth, paternal dwelling: Jeremiah twelve: "I have left my house and abandoned my inheritance" etc. Seventh, childish desire; Proverbs nine: "Leave behind childishness" etc. He who relinquishes all these things is the one who rightly rises: he is signified by the converted Paul, of whom Acts nine says: "And Saul arose from the ground, and opening his eyes, he saw nothing"; because to a person converted to Christ and illuminated by his light, nothing earthly seems to be of any worth; Ephesians five: "Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will illuminate you." And he who rises thus unencumbered can follow along the way of perfection, so that he may say that word of Job twenty-three: "My foot has followed his steps." And he did this swiftly, for he knew that "delay has harmed those who were prepared"; whence he did not wish to act against that word of Proverbs three: "Do not say to your friend: Go and come back, and tomorrow I will give to you, when you can give at once"; but rather that word of Proverbs twenty-two: "Have you seen a man swift in his work? He shall stand before kings." Nevertheless, Porphyry the heretic reproaches him for this, because he immediately followed him without deliberation, as if a fool. To which the Gloss responds that "he followed him not led by fickleness, but drawn by the power of his works"; for he had seen the miracles of Christ. Whence Jerome says that "the splendor of the hidden Divinity, which shone forth in the human face of Christ, was able at once to draw those who saw it to himself by its very appearance. Just as a force is said to exist in the magnet stone, such that it joins rings and straw to itself, how much more could the Lord of creatures draw to himself those whom he willed." According to what the bride says in the Song of Songs: "Draw me after you; we shall run in the fragrance of your ointments."

Luke 5:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Third, the perfect calling is shown on the part of the devoted service that follows in ministering, when it says: And Levi made him a great feast in his house. Matthew was acting according to the resolve of the Wise Man, who said in Wisdom 8: "I resolved to bring wisdom to live with me, knowing that she would share with me her goods." Already in him was fulfilled the desire of Christ, according to Revelation 3: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone opens to me, I will enter to him and sup with him," etc. Already manifest is the joy of the eternal Father, of which it is said below in chapter fifteen: "It was fitting to feast and rejoice, because this son was dead and has risen again." And since the greatness of the feast requires a multitude of those feasting, he therefore adds: And there was a great crowd of tax collectors and of others who were reclining at table with them. For Matthew had invited them so that, just as they had been companions in guilt, so also they might be companions in repentance, according to the last chapter of Revelation: "Let him who hears say: Come"; whence Jerome says: "They saw that the tax collector, turned from sins to better things, had found a place of repentance, and on that account they themselves also did not despair of salvation." For they considered that "it is better to be invited to vegetables with love than to a fatted calf with hatred," Proverbs 15. But this crowd of tax collectors called to the feast of Christ signifies what is to be fulfilled, which is said in Matthew 8: "Many shall come from the east and west and shall recline with Abraham in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom shall be cast into the outer darkness"; whence in chapter twenty-one: "Tax collectors and sinners shall precede you." And as a figure of this, it is said below in chapter ten that "a certain woman named Martha received him into her house, and she had a sister named Mary." But against this seems to stand the passage of First Corinthians 5: "If any man who is called a brother among you is a fornicator or covetous, with such a one not even to take food." But that is said to the weak, lest they be corrupted by evil association, because it is said in Sirach thirteen: "He who associates with the proud will put on pride." Or certainly it is said concerning those who are publicly obstinate and convicted, according to what the Gloss says. But these could be moved to contrition by the presence of Christ. Hence Jerome: "Jesus went to the banquets of sinners, so that he might have an occasion for teaching and might offer spiritual food to those who invited him. Finally, although he is described as frequently going to banquets, nothing else is reported that he did there except that he taught, so that both the humility of the Lord in going to sinners and the power of his teaching in the conversion of penitents might be demonstrated."

Luke 5:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

And they murmured, etc. Above he treated the calling of sinners; in this part he treats the stirring up of the proud, because, as the Apostle says in First Corinthians one, "God chose the weak things of the world to confound the strong, and the ignoble and contemptible things of the world God chose, and the things that are not, to destroy the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in his sight." Therefore the refutation of the Pharisees, who were proud of their own merits and despised others, is described in this order. For first their pride is exposed; second, once exposed, it is rebuked; third, once rebuked, it is cast down. It is exposed, therefore, first from the murmuring of their own talkativeness; and this is noted when he says: And the Pharisees and their scribes murmured, against the counsel of the Wise One, Wisdom one: "Guard yourselves from murmuring, which profits nothing, and spare your tongue from detraction." Which these men did not do; hence it is added: Saying: Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Since they could not bite at any sin of his own, they bit nevertheless on account of another's; for this is the way of a wicked person; Sirach eleven: "Converting good into evil, he lies in ambush and places a stain upon the elect." In this the pride of the Pharisees is made manifest, because they did not consider themselves sinners. Hence the Gloss: "They sin doubly: both because they think themselves just, when they are proud, and because they think those others guilty, when they are already repenting." Hence they were like that Pharisee of whom it is said below in chapter eighteen: "I am not like the rest of men: robbers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector." And therefore below in chapter sixteen the Lord said to them: "You are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts." Concerning such people, Isaiah sixty-five: "Who say: Depart from me, do not approach me, for you are unclean." On account of the words and reproaches of such people, a person ought not to shun works of mercy; hence First Maccabees two: "Do not fear the words of a sinful man, for his glory is dung and worms." Hence Jerome: "It cannot happen that anyone should pass through the course of this life without the biting of men. It is the consolation of the wicked to criticize the life of the good, and from the multitude of sinners they think the guilt of their own sins is diminished."

Luke 5:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

It is reproved secondly from the light of evident truth, when it is added: Jesus answering said to them: They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. This is self-evident, because, as it is said in Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight, "Honor the physician for the need you have of him: for the Most High has created him." If medicine exists on account of illness, then neither should the sick person be reproached for fleeing to the physician, nor the physician for approaching the sick person: but rather those should be reproached who reproach these things. Now Christ calls sinners infirm, because sin makes one infirm, according to that verse of the Psalm: "For my loins are filled with illusions, and there is no soundness in my flesh." Concerning such an infirm person it is said in Romans fourteen: "Now him that is weak in the faith, receive" etc.; and in the fifteenth chapter: "We that are stronger ought to bear the infirmities of the weak." But He calls Himself physician, because in Isaiah fifty-three, "by His bruises we are healed"; and in the sixty-first chapter: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me, to heal the contrite of heart"; and in Acts ten: "He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil."

Luke 5:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

It is rejected thirdly from the rectitude of supernal equity, by which He condescends more to the humble sinner than to the proud just person: and therefore He adds: I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance: the just, that is, those who consider themselves so: the Gloss says, "Those who trust in their own justice." Whence Bede: "Just He calls those who, being ignorant of the justice of God and seeking to establish their own, have not submitted themselves to the justice of God, Romans ten, who, presuming upon the Law, do not seek the grace of the Gospel." For the Lord did not come to call such, but rather to blind them by just judgment: whence in John nine: "For judgment I am come into this world, that they who see not may see, and they who see may become blind." But the Lord came to call all to penance, because, as it is said in Romans three and is taken from the Psalm, "there is none just, all have turned aside, they are become unprofitable together"; whence also in the same place: "All have sinned and need the glory of God." And therefore He began to preach from penance, as it is said in Matthew four. Concerning this calling it is said in Isaiah twenty-two: "The Lord God of hosts shall call in that day to weeping and to mourning, to baldness and to the girding with sackcloth." But those who consider themselves just do not hear this voice: against whom in Job nine: "If I would justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me: if I would show myself innocent, He shall prove me wicked." But humble sinners hear it: below in the seventh chapter: "And all the people hearing, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers despised the counsel of God against themselves, not being baptized by him." And thus it is clear how in this the confutation of the proud has been accomplished: whence by divine judgment they are considered worse than those whom they despise.

Luke 5:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

But they said. After the calling of sinners has been described and the confutation of the proud, here is subjoined thirdly the consolation of the weak, in that heavy burdens and difficulties of fasting are not imposed upon the disciples themselves. Therefore the consolation serving as guidance for the disciples is introduced as discordant with the severity of legal observance, as consonant with the benignity of the divine presence, as expedient for the rudeness of human imperfection. First, therefore, it is introduced as discordant with the severity of legal observance in the question of the Pharisees, when it is said: But they said to him: Why do the disciples of John fast frequently and make supplications? And likewise those of the Pharisees, etc. It is also said in Matthew nine that the disciples of John asked this; but, as Augustine says in the book On the Harmony of the Evangelists, there is no contradiction, because both groups asked. And both were asking, but the disciples of John wished to learn the truth, while the Pharisees wished to probe their freedom, like those of whom it is said in Galatians two: "Because of false brethren secretly brought in, who crept in to spy out our freedom." They were not asking this, however, because they approved of the disciples of John, but so that by comparison with them they might reproach the disciples of Christ. Whence they also add: But yours eat and drink: and therefore the Lord complained about them in Matthew eleven: "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say: He has a demon; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say: Behold, a gluttonous man and a wine-drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners." And therefore the Pharisees spurned them as discordant from legal and popular observance; but wrongly, because in Isaiah fifty-eight: "Do not fast as you have done until this day, so that your cry may be heard on high. Is such the fast that I have chosen? For this is the fast that I have chosen: Loose the bonds of wickedness," etc.; and in Romans fourteen: "Let not him who does not eat despise him who eats," because, as is added there, "the kingdom of God is not food and drink."

Luke 5:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Second, it is introduced as befitting the kindness of the divine presence in the dissolution of the objections, when it is said: To whom he himself said: Can the children of the bridegroom fast, etc. According to Bede, however, this is the reading: Can you make the children of the bridegroom fast? This bridegroom is Christ, of whom John 3 says: "He who has the bride is the bridegroom"; and in the Psalm: "And he as a bridegroom coming forth from his chamber." The children of the bridegroom are the Apostles: whence Isaiah 8: "Behold, I and my children, whom the Lord has given me"; and in the Psalm: "Instead of your fathers, sons have been born to you; you shall make them princes," etc. These cannot nor ought to fast with the fast of sorrow and affliction, so long as the bridegroom is with them, because then is the time of joy; on account of which Song of Songs 3 says: "Daughters of Jerusalem, go forth and see King Solomon in his diadem"; and Isaiah 61: "Rejoicing I will rejoice in the Lord, and my soul will exult in my God, because the Lord has clothed me with the garment of salvation and surrounded me with the vestment of justice, as a bridegroom adorned with a crown and as a bride adorned with her jewels." Whence then was the time of joy, not of sorrow, because, as is said in John 3, "the friend of the bridegroom stands and rejoices with joy on account of the voice of the bridegroom."

Luke 5:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

And therefore the consolation of the disciples is befitting the presence of the bridegroom Christ, just as also desolation is befitting his absence. On account of which he adds: But the days will come when he will be taken away from them, namely through death and passion: Hosea 5: "They will go to seek the Lord and will not find him: for he has been taken away from them," and then they will fast in those days, namely at that time: because John 16: "You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you indeed will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy"; and then will be the time of sorrow and fasting, whence Tobit 2: "She ate her bread in grief and trembling, recalling that prophetic word: Your feast days will be turned into mourning"; Lamentations 1: "Therefore I am weeping, and my eye flows with tears, because the comforter who would restore my soul has become far from me."

Luke 5:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

Third, it is introduced as expedient for the rudeness of human imperfection, when it is said: And he spoke a parable to them; where he shows that the disciples are not to be pressed to fasting, both on account of the oldness of their manner of life, and on account of the frailty of the flesh, and also on account of the unaccustomedness of their disposition, which three things he expresses under a threefold metaphor, namely of the old garment, the old wineskin, and the old wine. Therefore it was fitting to nurture the unformed disciples, not to burden them with fasts, on account of the oldness of their manner of life, on account of which he says: Because no one puts a patch, that is, a piece which joins, taken from a new garment, onto an old garment, because a twofold unfittingness follows; and therefore he adds: Otherwise it tears even the new, which is harmful, and the patch from the new does not suit the old, which is unseemly. — Thus it is to be understood spiritually that new observances fitting for a new manner of life are not to be imposed so long as a man has not been stripped of the former, namely at the beginning of conversion. And therefore the Apostle said to the Ephesians, chapter four: "Putting off the old man according to your former manner of life, be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man, who was created according to God"; and to the Colossians, chapter three: "Stripping off the old man with his deeds, put on the new"; otherwise it will be monstrous. And therefore in a figure of this, the mixing of diverse things was prohibited in the Law: Deuteronomy twenty-two: "You shall not wear a garment woven from wool and linen together," because thereby the Lord is despised: Jeremiah twelve: "Is my heritage unto me a speckled bird?"

Luke 5:37-38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

This same thing was fitting on account of the weakness of the flesh, on account of which he says: And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, because from this a twofold unfittingness follows, namely the spilling of the wine, on account of which he says: Otherwise the new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will be spilled out; and the other, the destruction of the wineskin, whence he also adds: And the wineskins will perish. And therefore for new wine a new vessel also must be provided, on account of which he says: But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. — Thus spiritual observances are to be imposed on spiritual persons, not on carnal ones, who are designated by the old wineskins, according to that verse of the Psalm: "I have become like a wineskin in the frost"; whence they are designated by the wineskins of the Gibeonites, torn and loosened: Joshua nine: "We filled new wineskins with wine, which now are torn and loosened," and thus unfit for holding wine. And therefore First Corinthians, chapter three: "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual persons, but as to carnal ones, as to little ones in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food." Therefore before spiritual things are enjoined upon them, it is necessary that their hearts be renewed, according to that verse of Ezekiel thirty-six: "Behold, I will give you a new heart and I will place a new spirit in the midst of you"; because the Apostle says to the Galatians, chapter six: "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." And therefore in the Psalm it is sought: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within my inmost parts"; which is accomplished in spiritual men: Second Corinthians, chapter four: "Although our outward man is corrupted, yet the inward man is renewed from day to day."

Luke 5:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5

This same thing was likewise expedient on account of the disaccustoming of affection: to designate which He says: And no one drinking the old straightway desires the new. And He gives the reason for this on account of the judgment of the senses, when He says: For he says: The old is better. In this, through a similitude in the delight of drink, He wishes to show that our affection is not immediately delighted in observing new things, unless it is gradually led by the hand. And therefore certain persons said in Acts chapter fifteen: "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." But charity renews this affection, according to that passage in John chapter thirteen: "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another." This makes new things taste as old: whence in First John chapter two: "I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment, which you heard from the beginning." "Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which is true both in Him and in you." Truly this is a new commandment, which evacuates the old and which makes the new things savory; Second Corinthians chapter five: "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away: behold, all things are made new: because, as is said in Leviticus chapter twenty-six, "when the new come upon you, you shall cast forth the old." — Thus therefore, on account of the rawness of the disciples, both on the part of their manner of life, and on the part of the flesh, and on the part of the mind, the disciples were to be treated kindly, not yet to be constrained to fasting, especially to the fasting of exultation, which is fitting only for those renewed through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Whence from the foregoing it is gathered that the disciples of Christ were not to be constrained, neither to the fasting of sorrow on account of the presence of the Bridegroom, nor to that of exultation on account of the absence of the Holy Spirit; and thus they were to be kindly consoled as being still tender and infirm. From the foregoing, therefore, it sufficiently appears how by the Lord sinners were mercifully called, and the proud were reasonably confuted, and the infirm were gently consoled.

Luke 6:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

And it came to pass on a Sabbath. Above, the Evangelist treated of the calling of the disciples; in this part he treats of their defense, because it belongs to a good shepherd not only to gather the sheep, but also to defend them from wolves. And this part has two sections. In the first he defends them by the testimony of Scripture; in the second, by the miracle of power, at the passage: And it came to pass also on another Sabbath. For Christ himself is "the power of God and the wisdom of God"; whence the disciples called him "Master and Lord," John thirteen; and therefore he first defends as Master through authoritative testimony, and second, as Lord through a miraculous work. Concerning the first mode of defense, three things are introduced: the first is the occasion of accusing, the second is the opposition to the accusation, the third is the refutation of the accusers. The occasion of accusing was given by the necessity of the disciples, on account of which they were plucking ears of grain on the Sabbaths. And he notes this when he says: It came to pass on the second-first Sabbath, that is, second from the first, that is, immediately following the preceding Sabbath, concerning which it was treated above in chapter four, on which he cured the demoniac. Or, as Chrysostom says, on the second-first Sabbath, that is, twice first or principal, on account of the double solemnity coinciding, because the Sabbath was in itself a solemnity, and also by reason of the New Moon, which was then occurring. Or according to Bede, second-first is one compound expression from a whole and a corrupted word, so that secondly first is said, that is, secondly preeminent, that is, higher and more worthy than that legal Sabbath, because already then the new Sabbath was beginning, on which one must rest from vices, not from necessary works. And this is clear through the example of the disciples themselves, concerning whom it is added: As he passed through the grain fields: he was passing through, namely Christ himself, because he was a wayfarer: whence Acts 10: "He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed." Moreover, in his passing through he signifies that all these things are transitory, according to that word of Matthew 24: "Heaven and earth shall pass away." He was passing through, however, not remaining, and his disciples likewise, so that they too might acknowledge this, because "we have not here a lasting city," Hebrews last chapter. But because, in passing through these things, we ought not to linger, but need to be sustained, therefore he adds: His disciples were plucking ears of grain and eating them, rubbing them in their hands: they were plucking, that is, pulling off, tearing them from the stalk, according to what is said in Amos 7: "I am a herdsman, plucking sycamores." They were plucking, he says, not reaping, because the former was permitted according to the Law, the latter was forbidden: Deuteronomy 23: "If you enter the standing grain of your friend, you may break off the ears and rub them with your hands, but you shall not reap with a sickle." And indeed they were doing this, compelled by the necessity of hunger, just as, in Matthew 12, "his disciples, being hungry, began to pluck ears of grain and to eat." Nor is this surprising, because, Proverbs 27, "the hungry soul will take the bitter for sweet"; and Job 6: "The things which my soul refused to touch are now, because of distress, my food." Whence human necessity excused them, which compelled them to do this; and Bede assigns this reason: "The disciples," he says, "not having opportunity to eat because of the pressing of the crowds, were hungry as men, but by plucking ears of grain they alleviated their hunger." Another reason is the necessity of assumed poverty, by which they were destitute, so that they did not even have bread in sufficient measure: whence the Apostle in Second Corinthians 11: "In hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness." The third reason i…

Luke 6:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

The perversity of the Pharisees brought forward the objection of accusation, by which they gladly assailed the disciples. Which he notes when he adds: But certain Pharisees said to them: Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbaths? Because it was commanded in the Law, in Exodus 16 and 35 and Leviticus 23, that the Sabbath be observed most diligently. And therefore they accused them as transgressors of the divine law, just as their Master: John 9: "This man is not from God, who does not keep the Sabbath." Whence they considered them worthy of death, because, according to that passage in Hebrews 10, "whoever violates the Law of Moses dies without any mercy under two or three witnesses," and especially with regard to the commandment concerning the Sabbath, which was to be observed above all: whence he who was found gathering wood on the Sabbath was killed, as is said in Numbers 15: "Let this man die the death; let the whole multitude overwhelm him with stones outside the camp." Now this accusation came partly from ignorance of the Law, partly from pride of mind, partly from the pretense of hypocrisy, partly from the superstition of tradition. From ignorance of the Law, because what was prohibited was not the taking of what was necessary, but servile work. And therefore to such persons it is said in Matthew 22: "You err, knowing neither the Scriptures nor the power of God." From pride of mind, because they despised others, as is said below in chapter 18 concerning the Pharisee who boasted of himself: "I give you thanks, O God, that I am not like the rest of men"; Romans 10: "Being ignorant of the justice of God and seeking to establish their own, they are not subject to the justice of God." From the pretense of hypocrisy, according to that passage in Matthew 23: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who tithe mint and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law." From the superstition of tradition, in which they placed greater force than in the Law: whence it is said to them in Matthew 15: "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?" Now this accusation came chiefly from ignorance of the Law, from which the perversity of the Pharisees was inflamed.

Luke 6:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Now the authority of Truth subjoined the confutation of the accusers, and he notes this when he adds: And Jesus answering them, said. Now Truth confounds the Pharisees and defends the disciples by the authority of Scripture and also by his own. By the authority of Scripture he shows that the commandment concerning the Sabbath did not bind in a case of necessity: and this he shows by the example of David, which he intimates when he says: Have you not read this? and if you have read it, you have not understood: Job 4: "Because no one understands, they perish forever"; or if you have read it, you have not remembered, according to that of Ezekiel 7: "The Law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from his elders," as if to say: you, who are zealots of the Law, ought to have read, not to be ignorant, lest that of John 3 could be said to you: "You are a teacher in Israel, and you do not know these things"? And truly they ought to have read it, because the deed was very notable, namely what David did, when he himself was hungry and those who were with him. But the contrary of this saying seems to appear in 1 Kings 21: "Why have you come alone, and no one is with you"? But it says that because he did not have a noble company, since he was "the king's son-in-law" and a great prince. Whence it is added in the same place that "the vessels of the young men were holy." Therefore he had company, although not so great or notable: and those were his companions in the deed, so that they cannot say that it was done on account of a special privilege.

Luke 6:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Whence he adds: How he entered into the house of God, that is, into the tabernacle, because the house of God, that is, the temple, had not yet been built: 1 Chronicles 17: "You shall not build me a house to dwell in. For I have not remained in a house from the time I brought Israel out of Egypt even to this day." Nor did he merely enter into the house, that is, the tabernacle, but, what is more, he took the loaves of proposition, took them namely from the priest, and ate. And concerning these loaves, Exodus 25: "You shall set the loaves of proposition upon the table in my sight always," which are therefore called of proposition because on each Sabbath they were set upon the table. And what is more: He himself ate and those who were with him, as it is said in 1 Kings 21: "The priest gave David hallowed bread; for there was no bread there but only the loaves of proposition," against the Law: whence he adds: Which it was not lawful to eat except for the priests alone; whence it is said in Leviticus 22, that "even the sojourner of a priest and a hireling were not to eat of the sanctified things." But in Leviticus 24 it is said concerning the loaves of proposition, that they were "for Aaron and his sons, that they might eat them in the holy place, because it is a most holy thing by an everlasting covenant." If therefore David did not sin, because necessity excused him from that precept, likewise also these who are compelled by necessity are not to be reproved, because they are excused by the necessity of hunger.

Luke 6:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

And lest anything be lacking to the authority of Scripture, he subjoins his own authority, by which he both willed and was able to grant them a dispensation. Which he indicates when he adds: And he said to them, that the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath. Now he calls himself the Son of man with respect to the humility of the humanity assumed, and he declares himself Lord of the Sabbath and of the Law with respect to the sublimity of the hidden Divinity: whence in Apocalypse 19 it is said that "he had on his garment and on his thigh written: King of kings and Lord of lords." And therefore it is said in the Psalm: "You have subjected all things under his feet"; this is said of the Son of man "made a little lower than the Angels" on account of the ignominy of the passion. And therefore as Lord he granted them a dispensation for a time, he who was afterwards to take away the observance of it.

Luke 6:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

It came to pass on another Sabbath, etc. Above he defended the disciples as Master by the authority of Scripture or by testimony; here he defends as Lord by the power of might in a miracle, in which, by healing a man on the Sabbath, he showed that he is Lord of the Sabbath, and that it is not necessary to abstain from every work on the Sabbath, but only from evil. Concerning the description of this miracle, three things are intimated: the first is the opportunity of the miraculous work; the second is the sublimity of the wondrous worker; the third is the perversity of the wretched people. As for the opportunity of the miraculous work, it should be noted that it is gathered from three things, namely from the confirmation of his own doctrine, from the regard for human misery, and from the confutation of Jewish perfidy. The first belonged to wisdom, the second to clemency, the third to justice, which are in Christ the Almighty. Therefore first his own doctrine was to be confirmed, which he was proclaiming on the Sabbaths: on account of which he says: And it came to pass also on another Sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: because, as John 18 says, "I have always taught in the synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together"; because that word of Isaiah 54 was to be fulfilled in Christ: "I will make all your children taught by the Lord." Whence this was the one of whom Ecclesiasticus 39 says: "He himself will make known the discipline of his doctrine and will glory in the law of the covenant of the Lord." For he was teaching justice, which is the common virtue; whence Hosea 10: "It is the time to seek the Lord, when he shall come who will teach you justice." Human misery was to be relieved on account of the deprivation of infirmity, by reason of which he says: And there was a man there, and his right hand was withered: and thus he was unfit for all works, because he had lost his stronger hand and better member. Whence truly this man was that one of whom Job 14 says that "living for a short time, he is filled with many miseries." Whence already in this man was fulfilled that word of Zechariah 11: "His right arm shall be dried up with withering"; and therefore he could already groan and say to the Lord: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd"; and for this reason it was to be relieved through divine power.

Luke 6:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Nevertheless, Jewish perfidy was to be confuted on account of the observance of malice, by reason of which he says: But the scribes and Pharisees were watching whether he would heal on the Sabbath. Whence was fulfilled in them that word of the Psalm: "All their thoughts are unto evil; they shall dwell and hide themselves: they themselves shall watch my heel." This observation was insidious, which pertains to a malicious mind, according to that word of Jeremiah 9: "In his mouth he speaks peace with his friend, and secretly he lays snares for him." And therefore it is added: That they might find something of which to accuse him. Whence these men were saying that word of the Babylonians, Daniel 6: "We shall not find any occasion against this man unless perhaps in the law of his God." On this day therefore they were especially watching, as Bede says, "so that, if he did not heal, they might charge him with cruelty or weakness; but if he did heal, with transgression." But certainly they find neither, because when he heals, he shows himself merciful; and when he does not heal, just; whence John 9: "Unless this man were from God, he could do nothing." And therefore Jeremiah 2: "What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me?" as if to say: nothing, because he is the one of whom Isaiah 53 says: "He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth." Therefore he himself said, John 8: "Which of you shall convict me of sin? If I speak the truth to you, why do you not believe me?"

Luke 6:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

But he himself knew their thoughts. After the opportunity of the miraculous work, there is added here the sublimity of the wondrous worker with respect to three things, namely with respect to the wisdom of discerning in the heart, the prudence of questioning in speech, and the efficacy of healing in deed. First therefore, through wisdom in the heart he apprehended their thoughts, which he notes when he says: But he himself knew their thoughts: and truly so, because the Lord is most wise; whence in the Psalm: "The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain." And therefore their thoughts were open to the eyes of God; on account of which Isaiah 1 says: "Take away the evil of your thoughts from before my eyes"; whence also John 16: "The disciples said to him: Now we know that you know all things, and there is no need for anyone to question you." Nor is this surprising, because he is the one of whom Jeremiah 17 says: "I the Lord, searching hearts and reins, who give to each one according to his way." As testimony of this, to show himself the knower of hearts, he commands this man who is to be healed to rise into the midst, when he adds: And he said to the man who had the withered hand; on whose account they were thinking proud thoughts, so that there could be said to them that word of Ecclesiasticus 37: "O most wicked presumption! Whence were you created, to cover the dry land with malice?" Rise and stand in the midst, that is, in a conspicuous place, so that all might know that their thoughts had been detected, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus 1: "Do not approach him with a double heart"; "lest God reveal your hidden things and cast you down in the midst of the synagogue"; because, according to what is said in Proverbs 26, "he who covers hatred fraudulently, his malice shall be manifested in the assembly." And rising up, he stood, not fearing the indignation of the Pharisees. For he was saying within himself that word of Job 17: "Deliver me, O Lord, and set me beside you, and let the hand of anyone fight against me"; and again that word of the Psalm: "If armies should stand against me, my heart shall not fear"; whence, strengthened by the Lord's command, he stood secure. Nor is this strange, because to him can rightly be said that word of Job 4: "Behold, you have taught many and have strengthened weary hands"; whence he could say that word of Daniel 10: "And when he spoke to me, I recovered strength and said: Speak, my Lord, for you have strengthened me."

Luke 6:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Secondly, by prudence in speech he was turning aside their machinations; on account of which is added: And Jesus said to them: I ask you. But the contrary of this seems to be said in Matthew 12, where it is said that they were asking the Lord: "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" To which Augustine responds, in On the Harmony of the Evangelists, that first they asked, and the Lord replied to them. Or it can be that the form of questioning follows the interior thought. Matthew understands that in the ears of God to think is to speak, and to doubt is to question. And he poses a careful question: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do evil: to save a life, or to destroy it? He asks this not as something doubtful, but as something indubitably true, so that one part of the disjunction must be granted. For it is established that on the Sabbath it is lawful either to do good or not to do good; to save a life, or not to save, because between contradictory opposites there is no middle ground. But not to do good, when there is occasion and opportunity, is to neglect the good, and this is to do evil. Therefore this is a certain and true disjunction, of which it is necessary to grant one part; but they cannot grant this part: that it is lawful to do evil, or to destroy a life. It remains, therefore, that by this question they are refuted, namely that it is lawful on the Sabbath to do good and to heal a life; and thus they could not respond. Whence was fulfilled that word of Job 9: "If he should suddenly question, who will answer him? Or who can say to him: Why do you act thus?" And therefore Romans 9: "O man! Who are you to answer back to God?" Whence it is said in Job 9 that "he cannot answer him one thing out of a thousand." In Matthew 12, however, this disjunction is not proposed in this way, but the other part is sought and proved from the lesser through the freeing of a sheep from a pit; much more, therefore, must a man be freed, of whom it is said in the Psalm: "You have subjected all things under his feet," etc.

Luke 6:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Third, through efficacy in deed he overthrew their presumptions; on account of which it is added: And looking around at all of them, as though already confounded, so that he could now say that word of Job 17: "Therefore turn and come, and I shall not find among you any wise man." And because no one could contradict, for the confirmation of the truth it is added: He said to the man: Stretch out your hand. And since "his word is full of power," as is said in Ecclesiastes 8, therefore it is added: And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored to health: in which the Lord showed that he is Lord of the Law and of the Sabbath. For he it was who healed the hand of Moses, in Exodus 4, by his command alone; he it was also who withered and again healed the hand of Jeroboam, the idolatrous king of Israel, as is told in 3 Kings 13; he, I say, is the one of whom it is said that "he wounds and he heals, he strikes, and his hands shall heal"; of whom it is said in the Psalm: "Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your infirmities"; and this by his word alone, so that it may be made manifest that he is the one of whom Wisdom 16 says: "Your word, O Lord, healed them, who heals all things." For just as the Father made all things through the uncreated Word, so through the incarnate Word, as Augustine says, he remade all things.

Luke 6:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

But they were filled with madness. Here, third, the pitiable perversity of the people is touched upon, who were thereby obstinate in evil whence they ought to have been raised to good. This perversity, moreover, is shown in three things, namely in the blindness of the heart, the conspiracy of the mouth, and the persecution of deed. As for the blinding of the heart, it is said: But they were filled with foolishness, that is, with the blindness of malice: Wisdom 2: "They thought these things and erred, for their malice blinded them." For with this they were indeed filled and were made foolish by the just judgment of God, according to that passage in Romans 1: "God delivered them over to a reprobate sense"; "filled with all iniquity, malice, avarice, wickedness: full of envy, murder, deceit, malignity." For with this envy they were blinded, because "wise is he to whom things are savored as they are"; but the envious person is tormented by another's happiness. Such were these men; whence that passage from Baruch 3 was fitting for them: "Because they did not have wisdom, they perished on account of their foolishness." But this fullness of foolishness is true emptiness, because "the riches of salvation are wisdom and knowledge"; therefore, by contraries, foolishness is poverty: therefore it is said in Proverbs 19: "Better is the poor man walking in his simplicity than the rich man who twists his lips and is foolish." As for the conspiracy of the mouth, it is added: And they spoke with one another, provoking one another to evil by mutual speech. Thus they did in John 11: "The chief priests and Pharisees gathered a council and said: What do we do?" etc. This counsel was figurally preceded in the brothers of Joseph: Genesis 37: "They spoke to one another, saying: Behold, the dreamer comes; come, let us kill him." This counsel was impious; therefore Genesis 49: "Let not my soul come into their counsel"; Jeremiah 18: "You know all their counsel against me unto death; do not be propitious to their iniquities." As for the persecution of deed, it is added: What they might do to Jesus, that is, how they might hand him over to death—which they also did, although not immediately, according to that passage in John 7: "No one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come." But nevertheless they did so afterward, as is said in Acts 3: "You killed the Author of life and asked that a murderer be granted to you." Whence the Savior himself could say that passage from Jeremiah 11: "But you, O Lord, have shown me, and I knew their counsels. And I was like a meek lamb that is carried to the slaughter, and I did not know that they devised counsels, saying: Let us cast wood into his bread," etc.

Luke 6:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

And it came to pass in those days, he went out, etc. After the authentication of Christ's doctrine and the calling of the disciples have been treated, here follows the third part, in which the instruction of those called takes place. And since the instruction of the disciples is twofold, namely common and special: common, namely in the teaching of those things which are required for the salvation of all; special, in the teaching of the mystery of the Scriptures: therefore this part has two sections: in the first of which the Apostles are instructed in truth set forth plainly and in open precepts; in the second they are instructed in explaining parables and things spoken parabolically. The truth of the doctrine is set forth, and for the confirmation of the doctrine, the sublimity of the Teacher is declared. Since doctrine ought not to be communicated to the unworthy and the disdainful, but to the suitable and the studious: therefore first is set forth the separation of the disciples; second, the drawing of the hearers, at the passage: And descending with them from the mountain; third, the exposition of the teachings, at the passage: And he, lifting up his eyes, etc. Concerning the separation of the disciples, four things are introduced which bring it about, namely: divine prayer obtaining the gift, election indicating merit, institution imposing office, nomination distinguishing the company. The divine prayer obtaining the gift for the disciples themselves who are to be chosen is set forth first, when it says: And it came to pass in those days, he went out into a mountain to pray: he went out, namely from the city and the company of the crowds, so that his prayer might be quiet. Hence it is said of Judith that "she asked that she might be given the opportunity of going out at night and before dawn for prayer," Judith twelve. And what is more, he went out into a mountain, namely by ascending, to show that prayer ought to be elevated, and the one praying raised up from earthly things: because, as Damascene says, "prayer is the ascent of the intellect to God." A figure of this preceded in Moses, Exodus seventeen, where it is said that "Moses went up to the top of the hill, and when Moses raised his hands, Israel prevailed." Concerning these two things, namely the withdrawal from the crowds and the ascent to the mountain, it is said in Matthew fourteen: "Having dismissed the crowd, he went up into the mountain alone to pray." A figure of these two things preceded in Abraham, of whom it is said in Genesis twenty-two that "he said to his servants: Wait here with the donkey," namely in the valley: "but I and the boy will go yonder, and after we have worshipped, we will return to you." In this manner also ought the holy soul to worship, whose instruction appears in Judith, of whom it is said in the twelfth chapter that "she went out by night into the valley of Bethulia and went up and worshipped the Lord God of Israel." And because prayer, however devout, does not suffice unless it is also assiduous, therefore it is added: And He was spending the night in prayer to God, so that He could say with David that "at midnight I arose to give thanks to You"; whence also Moses, "ascending the mountain, was there forty days and forty nights," Exodus twenty-four. In this manner ought spiritual men to act, according to what is said in Lamentations two: "Arise, praise in the night at the beginning of the watches, pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord." Hence it is that it is said of that devout Sarah in Tobit three, that "she went into an upper chamber of her house and for three days and three nights neither ate nor drank, but persisting in prayer, with tears she besought the Lord."

Luke 6:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Secondly, there is added the election indicative of merit in the disciples to be promoted, when it is added: And when day had come, He called His disciples and chose from them twelve. He calls in the day, because, as is said in John eleven, "he who walks in the day does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world," namely Christ, who "is the true light, enlightening every man coming into this world," John one; and therefore First Peter two: "He has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." Note that He calls disciples in order to choose them, because the disciples of Christ were worthy to be honored, according to that word of the Psalm: "Your friends are exceedingly honored, O God," and this, because they were disciples. For perfect humility is required for the discipleship of Christ: Matthew eleven: "Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart." Likewise, perfect poverty: below in the fourteenth chapter: "Unless one renounces all that he possesses, he cannot be My disciple." Likewise, perfect charity: John thirteen: "By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." And note that he chose twelve to designate the abundant perfection of merit, because twelve is the first abundant number. Whence Christ says in Matthew five: "Unless your justice shall abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." Now this number is designated in the twelve sons of Jacob, Genesis forty-six; in the twelve stones, Exodus twenty-eight; in the twelve princes of the people of Israel, Numbers seventeen; in the twelve scouts sent by Moses, Numbers thirteen; in the twelve springs of water, Exodus fifteen; in the twelve stones drawn from the Jordan, Joshua four; in the twelve oxen supporting the bronze sea, 3 Kings seven; in the twelve hours of the day, John eleven; in the twelve foundations of the city, Revelation twenty-one. For the Apostles were designated by very many figures on account of their manifold dignity. For they were patriarchs by the begetting of spiritual children; precious stones, by the variety of virtues; princes of the multitude, by the sublimity of prelacy; scouts, by the subtlety of contemplation; springs of water, by the depth of wisdom; stones of the Jordan, by the foundation of faith; oxen, by the exercise of preaching; hours of the day, by the integrity of their examples; foundations of the city, by the support of the whole Church. Thirdly, there is added the impositive institution of office in the elect, when it is subjoined: Whom he also named apostles, that is, those sent forth; in which he gave the preeminent authority of preaching. Romans ten: "How shall they preach, unless they be sent?" Whence the Lord complains of the false prophets in Jeremiah twenty-three: "I did not send them, and they ran; I did not speak to them, and they prophesied." But not such were the Apostles, of whom it is said in Matthew ten: "Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves." Now he sent these to found the Church of God and to build the city upon that living stone, the cornerstone established in the foundations. Whence Revelation twenty-one: "The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb." And therefore Ephesians two: "You are fellow citizens of the Saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being framed together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are built together into a dwelling place of God in the Holy Spirit."

Luke 6:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Fourthly, there is subjoined the distinctive designation of the company among the Apostles now promoted, which is noted when it is added: Simon, who is surnamed Peter, and Andrew, his brother. For he names the Apostles two by two, according as the Lord associated them. Whence below in chapter ten it is added that "he sent them two by two into every city and place where he himself was about to come." And note that here he sets down the names of all, but does not set down the surnames of all, but only of those who have equivocal names, such as Simon Peter and Simon the Zealot, and Judas of James and Judas Iscariot. And note that he pairs brother with brother, as Peter with Andrew and John with James, to commend concord, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus twenty-five: "In three things my spirit is well pleased: the concord of brethren and the love of neighbors." For, as is said in Proverbs eighteen, "A brother who is helped by a brother is like a strong city." But to the last Apostle, namely Judas, he adds not only a surname but also a crime, when he says: Who was a traitor; by which it is indicated that the Lord in choosing him was not ignorant of what he would become; whence John six: "Have I not chosen you, and one of you is a devil?" But although this man was to become the worst, nevertheless the Lord chose him. For it was fitting to his humility, by which he did not refuse the company of his betrayer, and to his kindness, by which he showed himself benign not only to the good but also to the wicked. Whence also he made him steward, as is said in John twelve: "But he carried what was put in." It was also congruent with the state of the present Church, in which the wicked are mixed with the good, according to that saying of Matthew thirteen: "Let both grow together until the harvest"; because, as is said in the same place, "the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea and gathering fish of every kind," etc. This was also expedient for our instruction, that we should not lose confidence if we see some who seem to stand fall, and that we should not despise the company of the good on account of some who are wicked, according to what is said in First John two: "They went out from us, but they were not of us." And also that we should not presume if we are chosen to dignities. Whence Bernard in his letter to the Archbishop of Cologne says thus: "If it is established that all who are chosen for ministry are chosen for the kingdom, then the Archbishop of Cologne is secure. But if it is read that none but God rejected Judas in the priesthood and Saul in the kingdom, then the Archbishop of Cologne too must necessarily fear." Whence that saying of Matthew twenty-two is greatly terrible: "Many are called, but few are chosen"; and therefore Romans twelve: "Be not high-minded, but fear." Spiritually, by these six pairings of the twelve Apostles are understood six degrees of progress in the virtues, by which one arrives at perfect charity, or at peace, or at wisdom. Concerning the first six steps, by which one arrives at charity, 2 Peter 1: "Minister in your faith virtue, in virtue moreover knowledge, in knowledge moreover abstinence, in abstinence moreover patience, in patience moreover piety, in piety moreover love of the brotherhood, in love of the brotherhood charity." And those six steps rightly correspond to these combinations, if the interpretations of the names are considered. Concerning the steps by which one arrives at peace, Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor," etc. Concerning the steps, however, by which one arrives at wisdom, Isaiah 11: "And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety. And the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him"; where he begins from the highest. A most beautiful figure of these preceded in the throne of Solomon, where it is said that there were "six steps," "and twelve littl…

Luke 6:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Matthew, whose name is interpreted as gift, by whom it is suggested that doctrine ought to be edifying unto action. For after devotion has been attained, it is necessary that one fulfill the saving word heard through good works: this is especially from him from whom comes "every best gift and every perfect gift," James 1. He himself confers upon the word of the preacher the power or grace of preaching and edification: whence Isaiah 41: "The first shall say to Zion: Behold, I am here, and to Jerusalem I will give an evangelist." And Thomas, whose name is interpreted as abyss, by which is understood the depth of learning in matters of faith, so that "his counsel may be in the great abyss," as is said in Ecclesiasticus 24. Whence it is asked in Job 38: "Have you walked in the uttermost depths of the abyss?" "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how incomprehensible are his judgments!" For "his judgments are a great abyss," Romans 11 and the Psalm. And these four pertain to doctrine, so that thus the four wheels "may go toward the four directions and not turn back as they move," Ezekiel 10. There follows concerning those names which pertain to example: James, whose name is interpreted as wrestler, of Alphaeus, whose name is interpreted as fugitive, in whom is expressed the example of perfect poverty. Whence Gregory: "Let him who hastens to the contest with the devil cast off his garments, lest he be overcome. But what are all earthly things if not certain garments of the body?" Whence it is necessary for one wishing to wrestle in poverty to flee temporal things, according to what the Psalm says: "Behold, I went far off fleeing and remained in solitude." So Elijah in a figure of this fled from the face of Jezebel, whose name is interpreted as flow of the dung-heap: by which is designated the transience of temporal things. And Simon, whose name is interpreted as obedient, who is called the Zealot, that is, the emulator; in whom is expressed the example of perfect humility with the emulation of ordered charity: whence 1 Peter 1: "Purifying your souls in the obedience of charity, in the love of fraternity, love one another more earnestly from a sincere heart"; Ecclesiasticus 3: "The sons of wisdom are the assembly of the just, and their nation is obedience and love."

Luke 6:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Judas, whose name is interpreted as confessing, of James, so that he may be an example of vigor in action: Matthew 5: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Hence Tobit 12: "Bless the Lord of heaven and confess him before all the living." Hence it is that in the blessing of Judah it is said in Deuteronomy 33: "His hands shall fight for him, and his helper shall be against his adversaries"; whence he went up before the others into battle, Judges 1. And Judas Iscariot, who is interpreted as memory of death: in whom is understood the example of the mortification of the flesh. Whence Gregory: "Nothing avails so much for taming the vices of the flesh as to think about what our flesh will be like after death." And they ought to do this, "lest, having preached to others, they themselves become reprobate," according to what the Apostle says in First Corinthians nine: "I chastise my body," etc.; on account of which it is said below in chapter twelve: "Let your loins be girded," etc. But because many are deceived and betrayed on the occasion of mortified flesh, because they glory therein, like hypocrites, who "profess with their mouth to know God, but deny Him by their deeds," according to what is said in Titus one: let them beware, lest through betrayal of this kind they be condemned, because here it is added: Who was a traitor. Hence it is that the Apostle says in Second Timothy three, that "in the last times perilous times shall come, and men shall be lovers of themselves"; and it follows: "Traitors, insolent, envious, lovers of pleasures more than of God, having indeed an appearance of piety, but denying its power." And these things pertain to the example, and these are the four bearers of the paralytic, above in chapter five. And in this manner the mystery of the apostolic names is designated.

Luke 6:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

After the separation of the disciples, the Evangelist here subjoins the attraction of the hearers, which the Evangelist describes with respect to four things: with respect to the accompanying disciples, with respect to the people gathering together, with respect to the inciting causes, and with respect to the subsequent effects. With respect to the accompanying disciples he says: And descending, from the mountain, with them, that is, with the twelve already chosen, who always accompanied Him, according to what is said below in chapter twenty-two: "You are they who have remained with me in my trials"; He stood in a level place, that is, a flat and open place, so that all might be able to approach to hear wisdom, so that they might say: "Behold, we have heard of Him in Ephrata, we have found Him in the fields of the wood." And thus was fulfilled that passage from Proverbs one: "Wisdom preaches abroad, in the streets she utters her voice, at the head of the multitudes she cries out." To the cry of this wisdom the disciples were especially attracted; whence he adds: And a crowd of his disciples, namely, stood with him. He says this with regard to the other disciples, inferior to the Apostles. For to the perfect disciples he had delivered the sermon on the summit of the mountain, as is said in Matthew 5: "Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when he had sat down, his disciples came to him." But to these, condescending to them as imperfect, he delivered the sermon on the descent from the mountain; whence they are called a crowd, because they were many and also close to the multitude. For the disciples of Christ were being multiplied, as is said in John 4: "The Pharisees heard that Jesus was making more disciples than John." To these, secrets were not to be communicated, because they were scandalized by hearing secrets; whence it is said in John 6 that because of the word that he had spoken, "many of his disciples went back and no longer walked with him. And Jesus said to the Twelve: Do you also wish to go away?"—with these disciples, namely. Jesus is said to stand, but with the other, perfect ones, to sit: in which he shows that "we who are stronger ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak and not please ourselves," Romans 15. And he descended with them, as an example of humility, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus 32: "Have they made you ruler? Do not be lifted up: be among them as one of them." Whence by his kindness he attracted and gathered all together, as a hen gathers her chicks: Matthew 23: "How often I wished to gather your children, as a hen gathers her chicks," etc. As for the peoples gathering together, it is added: And a great multitude of the people, namely stood with him, who had gathered from diverse places: they had gathered both from nearby places, regarding which he says: from all Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem, which were within the kingdom of Israel: Judea is the name of the kingdom, Samaria the principal city in the kingdom of the ten tribes, and Jerusalem the principal city in the kingdom of the two tribes: from all these they flowed together to Christ, according to that passage in Isaiah 2: "It shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it"; as well as from remote places, regarding which he says: And the sea coast and of Tyre and Sidon. And it should be repeated: a great multitude of the people from the sea coast, and a great multitude of Tyre and Sidon, that is, from Tyre and Sidon. And these were remote places, as Bede says in the Gloss, that "the sea coast is not named from the nearby sea of Galilee, but from the great sea"; Isaiah 60: "Then you shall see and abound, and your heart shall wonder and be enlarged, when the multitude of the sea shall be converted to you, the strength of the nations shall come to you." This was p…

Luke 6:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

As for the inciting causes, it is added: Who had come to hear him, as regards the illumination of truth in the mind, and to be healed of their infirmities, as regards the cure of health in the flesh. And this was a right intention, according to that passage in Hosea 6: "Come and let us return to the Lord, for he has taken and he will heal us"; and afterward: "And we shall live in his sight, we shall know and we shall follow on, that we may know the Lord." In this they showed that they were of the sheep of Christ, because they gathered to him to receive truth and salvation: John 10: "My sheep shall hear my voice, and I know them, and they shall follow me, and I give them eternal life." Therefore the love of understanding truth and of obtaining health drew them to come to Christ, as to a master and as to a physician. To the first the Savior invites in the Psalm: "Come, children, hear me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord"; to the second in Matthew 11: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you." As for the subsequent efficacies, it is added: And those who were vexed by unclean spirits were cured: wherein is touched upon the efficacy of power with respect to unclean spirits: Zechariah 13: "I will take away the unclean spirit from the land." These unclean spirits vex those whom they possess: Matthew 15: "My daughter is grievously vexed by a demon." This vexation compelled them to flee to Christ, because, according to what is said in Isaiah 28, only "vexation will give understanding to the hearing"; moreover, as Gregory says, "the evils that press upon us here compel us to go to God." Certainly, while they compel us toward God, they lead to a good disposition, according to that passage in Wisdom 3: "Having been afflicted in few things, in many they shall be well disposed."

Luke 6:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Nor was the efficacy only upon the soul, but also upon the body through the very body of Christ: which is noted when he adds: And the whole crowd sought to touch him, namely out of faith and devotion, like that woman of whom it is said in Matthew 9: "If I touch the hem of his garment, I shall be saved." And rightly were they devout: whence it is added: Because power from him went forth and healed all, that is, the operation of power: below in chapter 8: "I knew that power went forth from me." Then power goes forth when, hidden in itself, it is manifested in its work, according to that passage in Wisdom 12: "You show your power, you who are not believed to be consummate in power." Then also it goes forth when it communicates itself to others, according to that passage in Isaiah 40: "He gives power to the weary and multiplies strength and vigor for those who have none." And great was this power, which had power over all, according to that passage in Wisdom 14: "You have power to heal from all things"; and chapter 16: "He who turned was healed not by what he saw, but by you, the Savior of all." And this especially drew all to Christ: whence it is said in John 6: "A great multitude followed him, because they saw the signs that he performed upon those who were infirm."

Luke 6:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Concerning the promise of the beatitudes, note that he promises four things, namely the kingdom, which consists in participation in divine power; fullness, which consists in the taste of divine goodness; laughter, which consists in the contemplation of divine truth; and a great reward, which consists in the duration of eternity. And these four are designated in Ephesians three: "That you may be able," he says, "to comprehend with all the Saints what is the length, breadth, height, and depth"; the length of eternity, the breadth of goodness, the height of power, and the depth of wisdom or truth. Moreover, he promises these four things to four kinds of merits that raise us to God and build up our free will. For the kingdom of wealth is promised to those who despise temporal goods, such as are the poor; the banquet of abundance to those who desire spiritual things, and these are called the hungry; the laughter of delight to those who detest the evils of sin, and these are called the weeping; the multitude of reward to those who endure the evils of punishment, and these are the patient. In these four is enclosed the perfection of the human will with respect to a twofold good and with respect to a twofold evil. First, therefore, he promises to the poor the kingdom of wealth on account of their contempt of temporal things, and such were the disciples, and therefore he says: And he, lifting up his eyes upon his disciples, said: Blessed are the poor, etc. By lifting up his eyes he calls them blessed, because "the eyes of the Lord are upon the just," and especially upon the poor: Ecclesiasticus eleven: "There is a man who is feeble and in need of recovery, lacking in strength and abounding in poverty, and the eye of the Lord looked upon him for good." Moreover, he calls these poor blessed because they are prepared for beatitude. And therefore he adds: For yours is the kingdom of God, which indeed is very great. For in the Psalm: "Your kingdom, O Lord, is a kingdom of all ages." This he says belongs to the poor, because the poor are its heirs, according to that passage in James two: "Has not God chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith, heirs of the kingdom which God has promised to those who love him?" "Better therefore is the poor man who walks in his simplicity than the rich man who twists his lips and is foolish," Proverbs nineteen. And note that he says is in the present tense, either on account of the certainty of the promise, or also because the truly poor now in a certain way begin to be kings, according to that passage in 2 Corinthians 6: "As having nothing and yet possessing all things." "For their deep poverty has abounded unto the riches of simplicity," as is said in 2 Corinthians 8. Whence the evangelical or voluntary poor are now to be reckoned as already blessed, not wretched. Seneca: "No one is born rich: whoever comes forth into the light is commanded to be content with bread and milk." "No one is poor amid these things: among which if anyone has enclosed his desire, he will be able to contend with Jupiter concerning happiness." And note that he begins from poverty, because, as Ambrose says there, "poverty is the first parent of virtues, because he who has despised worldly things will merit eternal things," an imitator of that poor one "who, though he was rich, became poor for our sake," 2 Corinthians 8.

Luke 6:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Secondly, he promises to those who hunger the banquet of abundance on account of the desire for spiritual things: and this he indicates when he adds: Blessed are you who now hunger, namely for the food of justice, according to what is said in the Gloss on Matthew 5. For you shall be satisfied, through the banquet of abundance. Ambrose: "He who hungers seeks an increase of strength," according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus 24: "Those who eat me will hunger still more, and those who drink me will thirst still more." Those hunger for justice who can say with Jesus that word in John 4: "My food is to do the will of my Father." Those also hunger for justice who for love of justice willingly endure hunger: and these can say with the Apostle that word in 1 Corinthians 4: "Even unto this hour we hunger and thirst." Such were those holy Fathers, of whom in Hebrews 11 it is said that "they went about in sheepskins, destitute, afflicted, tormented," etc. Such shall be satisfied by the Lord, because, Revelation 7, "they shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, nor shall the sun fall upon them, nor any heat, for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall rule them." And this will be in the divine glory, according to what is said in the Psalm: "I shall be satisfied when your glory shall appear"; and again: "They shall be inebriated with the abundance of your house, and you shall give them to drink of the torrent of your pleasure." And so is fulfilled that word in 1 Kings 2: "The hungry were filled." Nor is this surprising, because, Isaiah 25, "the Lord of hosts shall make for all peoples on this mountain a feast of vintage, of rich things full of marrow, of refined vintage"; and again, according to that word of the Psalm: "He fed them with the fat of wheat, and from the rock he satisfied them with honey." Third, he promises the laughter of joy to those who weep on account of repentance for the evil of sin, when he adds: Blessed are you who now weep, namely for evils committed, as Hezekiah, "turning to the wall," "wept with great weeping," as is said in Isaiah thirty-eight; as also Peter, of whom in Matthew twenty-six after the denial it is said that "going out he wept bitterly"; and Job thirty: "My harp is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of those who weep." Or for the sins of others, as David over Saul, II Kings one; so Christ over Jerusalem, below in chapter nineteen: "Seeing the city, he wept over it." Or: you now weep, namely for the miseries of others: Job thirty: "I wept once over him who was afflicted"; Romans twelve: "Weep with those who weep." Or: You who now weep, for escaping the temptations of sins and their consequences: in Judges two it is said that "when the Angel of the Lord spoke to the children of Israel, they lifted up their voice and wept. And the name of that place was called the place of weepers—or of tears." And this place is the state of the present life, which lasts only until now. And therefore he says: You who now weep: I Peter one: "Though now for a little while, if need be, you are made sorrowful in various temptations, that the testing of your faith, much more precious than gold which is tried by fire, may be found unto praise," etc. Or: You who now weep, namely from desire for eternal things, and this is the proper understanding: John sixteen: "You shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice, and you shall be sorrowful; but your sorrow shall be turned into joy"; and the Psalm: "My tears have been my bread day and night, while it is said to me daily: Where is your God?" To these he says: you are blessed, because you shall laugh, with a spiritual laughter, which consists in the joy of the mind through the contemplation of truth: Job eight: "Your mouth shall be filled with laughter, and your lips with rejoicing"; for it is said in Proverbs thirty-one: "Strength and beauty are her clothing, and she shall laugh in the last day." This laughter shall be over one's own goods and t…

Luke 6:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Fourth, he promises to those who suffer the greatness of the reward on account of endurance in the evil of punishment, when he adds: Blessed shall you be, when men shall hate you, namely with respect to the act of the heart. Most fittingly he says: men, that is, those who are animal-like and bestial, because "man, when he was in honor, did not understand: he was compared to senseless beasts and was made like unto them"; First Corinthians 3: "Whereas there is among you jealousy and contention, are you not carnal, and do you not walk according to man"? according to that man, namely, of whom it is said in Sirach 28: "Man reserves wrath for man." These hate the servants of Christ: Proverbs 19: "The brothers of the poor man hate him"; and Matthew 10: "You shall be hated by all men for my name's sake." With respect to the act of deed he adds: And when they shall separate you, namely by casting you out of the synagogues, according to that passage in John 9: "The Jews had already conspired that if anyone should confess him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue," and thus would be separated from others in reproach, even from his own household members, just as the Lord foretold would come to pass for his disciples: Matthew 10: "I have come to set a man against his father"; and afterward it is added: "And a man's enemies shall be those of his own household." With respect to the act of the mouth he adds: And shall reproach you, reviling you, and shall cast out your name as evil, by defaming; First Peter 4: "If you are reproached in the name of Christ, you shall be blessed"; James 2: "They blaspheme the good name that has been invoked over you," because they call good evil, according to that passage in Matthew 5: "They shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." And because not just any punishment makes a Martyr unless the proper cause is present, therefore he adds: On account of the Son of Man: First Peter 3: "If you suffer anything for the sake of justice, you shall be blessed," that is, for the sake of Christ, "who was made by God wisdom and justice and sanctification." And for this threefold justice Paul wished to suffer; Acts 21: "I am prepared not only to be bound, but also to be killed in Jerusalem for the sake of Christ Jesus."

Luke 6:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Thus he gladdens the patient through reward, when he adds: Rejoice and exult: behold, your reward is great in heaven: rejoice, namely from recompense: Romans twelve: "Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation." Which was fulfilled in Acts five: "The Apostles went rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they were counted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus." This, moreover, the consideration of reward brings about; Jeremiah thirty-one: "Let your voice cease from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work." A reward, I say, great, because "great peace have they that love your law" etc., as it is said in the Psalm: and perpetual, because it is in heaven; Wisdom five: "But the just shall live forever, and their reward is with the Lord." And this is what Bede says: "Amid the hatreds of hearts, amid the reproaches of tongues, amid the hands of persecutors, dwell with a more joyful heart in contemplation of the heavenly reward." And because this work is most arduous, namely to rejoice in tribulations: therefore he not only promises a reward, but adds an example, when he continues: For according to these things did their fathers do to the Prophets: according to what is said in Matthew twenty-three: "You are witnesses against yourselves, that you are the sons of those who killed the Prophets"; and Acts seven: "Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. Which of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One." He sets these forth as an example on account of their constancy: James, last chapter: "Take as an example, brothers, of patience, labor, and long-suffering, the Prophets"; who were not moved from the truth on account of scourges. Whence concerning Elisha, Sirach forty-eight: "In his days he did not fear the prince, and in power no one overcame him, nor did any man surpass him." All these evils the Prophets endured on account of the reward, which they promise to others: Sirach thirty-six: "Give a reward, O Lord, to those who wait for you, that your Prophets may be found faithful." Whence that eminent Prophet John, after all the tribulations of the Church, adds at the end of Apocalypse twenty-two: "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to each one according to his works." Whence note that divine Scripture intimates to us the difference of rewards according to the diversities of merits. Whence there is found a reward that is safe, a reward that is great, worthy, full, timely, swift, faithful, abundant, perpetual. The reward is safe for the Angels who minister to us; great is given to prelates or those who preside; worthy, to the obedient; full, to the contemplatives; timely is given to workers; swift, to those making progress; faithful, to those who bring to perfection; much or abundant, to those who suffer; but perpetual, to those who persevere. Whence concerning the safe reward of the Angels, because the ministry which they exercise toward us is not defrauded of its prize, it is said in Tobit 5: "Seek some faithful man who may go with you, his reward being safe," says Tobias. Concerning the great reward of those who preside, it is said in Genesis 15 to Abraham, who bears the type of prelates: "I am your protector, and your reward exceedingly great." Concerning the worthy reward of the obedient, it is said in Esther 16: "Let all know that those who obey the Persians faithfully receive a worthy reward for their fidelity." Concerning the full reward of the contemplatives, it is said to Ruth, in chapter 2, who bears the type of contemplatives who relinquish all things for God, and is also interpreted as sheep, or seeing, so that the contemplative soul may be called sheep on account of the gentleness of affection, but seeing on account of the illumination of the intellect; whence Boaz says to her: "May you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, to who…

Luke 6:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

After the promises of the beatitudes, He subjoins the threats of punishments. And because against good there is evil, He sets forth four threats corresponding to the four beatitudes, namely: desolation in the loss of temporal good, hunger, in the loss of spiritual good, weeping in the affliction of bodily evil, confusion in the suffering of everlasting reproach. And these are the four woes, which He threatens against four kinds of men opposed to the evangelical men previously determined, namely the covetous and the gluttonous, the wanton and the vainglorious. Against the covetous, therefore, he threatens the woe of everlasting desolation, when he says: But woe to you who are rich! He speaks adversatively to the rich, that is, to those who love riches, because such people gape after accumulating riches: Habakkuk 2: "Woe to him who multiplies what is not his own"! that is, earthly goods, which are not ours, because they neither come with us nor depart with us; yet earthly men consider them to be their own: Revelation 8: "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth"! Such are the covetous, against whom the Lord says, Matthew 6: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where rust and moth destroy." Since upon the abundance of these riches there must follow want, and upon consolation must follow desolation, therefore, adding the reason, he says: Who have your consolation: you have it, namely in the present, but not in the future; whence James 5: "Come now, you rich, weep, howling in your miseries which shall come upon you." Therefore this consolation is vain and false, because it brings on desolation: Zechariah 10: "The dreamers have spoken in vain, and they consoled to no purpose." Truly in vain, because "the men of riches have slept their sleep and found nothing in their hands." And therefore one must say with the Prophet David: "My soul refused to be consoled: I remembered God and was delighted"; Job 6: "Let this be my consolation, that afflicting me with pain, he spare not"; so that through the desolation of the way one may arrive at the consolation of the homeland, of which the last chapter of Isaiah says: "As a mother caresses someone, so will I comfort you." This we ought to await, not to anticipate: Judith 8: "Let us humbly await his consolation."

Luke 6:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Against the gluttonous, he threatens the woe of perpetual hunger, when he adds: Woe to you who are filled! devoting yourselves, namely, to gluttony and drunkenness: Proverbs 23: "Who has woe? Whose father has woe? Who has quarrels and wounds without cause? Is it not those who linger over wine and are eager to drain their cups?" "Woe to you who are mighty at drinking wine and valiant men at mixing drunkenness"! And therefore it is added: Because you shall hunger. This satiety brings on perpetual hunger, according to that passage in Job 20: "When he shall have been filled, he shall be straitened; he shall burn, and every sorrow shall rush upon him"; and Isaiah 65: "Behold, my servants shall eat, and you shall hunger; behold, my servants shall drink, and you shall thirst." Whence concerning the wicked in the Psalm: "They ate and were filled," etc. To the self-indulgent he threatens the woe of eternal weeping, when he says: Woe to you who laugh now! for you shall mourn and weep, that is, in this moment of time: Job 20: "The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment"; and Proverbs 14: "Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning takes possession of the ends of joy." It is certainly better that weeping precede laughter than the reverse; and therefore Ecclesiastes 3: "A time of weeping," namely first in time, "and a time of laughing," afterwards in eternity. But the fool does not wish now to restrain himself from laughter: Sirach 21: "A fool lifts up his voice in laughter, but a prudent man will scarcely laugh quietly"; indeed Ecclesiastes 2: "I counted laughter an error, and to joy I said: Why are you vainly deceived?" Therefore those who now laugh are fools, and those who mourn are wise, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes 7: "The heart of the wise is where sorrow is, and the heart of fools is where mirth is." On account of which it is said to the foolish and the worldly in Isaiah 65: "Behold, my servants shall praise with exultation of heart, and you shall cry out for sorrow of heart, and for grief of spirit you shall howl," namely in hell, because it is said in Matthew 13: "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Luke 6:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

To the vainglorious, however, he threatens the woe of eternal contempt, when he adds: Woe to you, when all men shall bless you! namely by extolling with vain praises: Proverbs 27: "He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, shall be like one who curses"; because, as it is said in Isaiah 9, "those who call this people blessed are misleading them, and those who are called blessed are cast down headlong." For they are cast down headlong from vain praises into eternal reproach, while they are exalted by them, according to that passage of Job 30: "You lifted me up and, as it were, setting me upon the wind," namely of vain praise, "you dashed me down violently." And because it is difficult to avoid praises of this kind, he adds an example: For according to these things their fathers did to the prophets: to the prophets, I say, not true ones, but false; whence the Gloss: "They blessed the false prophets, who prophesied from their own heart to capture the favor of the crowd"; Jeremiah 5: "An astonishing and wonderful thing has been done in the land: the prophets prophesied falsehood, and the priests clapped their hands, and my people loved such things." In this, therefore, by showing that wicked men were praised by the prophets, he shows that popular favor is altogether to be despised: the Psalm: "God has scattered the bones of those who please men; they are confounded, because God has despised them." But this is said not of those who show good and praiseworthy examples to the people for the glorifying of God, since it is said in Matthew 5: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven"; but of those who seek their own glory in pleasing men and in their praises: Galatians 1: "If I were still pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Note here concerning the diversity between Matthew and Luke: because Luke sets down both promises and threatening woes, but Matthew sets down only promises. On account of which it seems either that one spoke deficiently, or the other superfluously. But certainly it can be answered, as the Gloss suggests and Augustine says, that the one sermon was different from the other. The diversity of which is gathered from the places and persons and precepts. For that one was to the disciples, this one to the crowds: that one while sitting, this one while standing: that one on the mountain, this one in a level place: that one contains more teachings than this one, because seven beatitudes, this one four: from all of which it is gathered that the one was different from the other. Nor undeservedly, because to different persons one must speak differently. For to the disciples, as to more perfect ones, the evangelical commands ought to have been explained in a more perfect manner; but the crowd cannot ascend to lofty things, and therefore the word of God is not explained to the crowds as perfectly as to the Apostles. And because the perfect are moved by love, but the imperfect not only by love but also by fear: therefore in the sermon to the Apostles, beatitudes are set down and not woes; in the sermon to the crowds, both beatitudes and woes. Again, because the perfect are made conformable to Christ through the sevenfold Spirit, who rested upon him, as is said in Isaiah eleven; therefore seven beatitudes are set down, corresponding to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Here four beatitudes are noted corresponding to the four cardinal virtues, as is held in the Gloss: Poverty, to temperance; hunger for spiritual good, to justice; weeping, to prudence; suffering of evils, to fortitude or patience, as the Gloss of Bede says. In these four, however, the others are contained implicitly: whence Luke does not express the spiritual sense in these promises as Matthew does. For Matthew says: "Blessed are the poor in spirit"; here only: "Blessed are the poor"; the former: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice,"…

Luke 6:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Concerning the promulgation of the instructions, it should be noted that for a man to be perfect, it is necessary that he be perfectly benevolent, perfectly peaceable, and perfectly beneficent. The first regards affection, the second passion, and the third operation. He gives therefore first the commandment of perfect benevolence, when he says: But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies. For this commandment is to be set before the hearers, that is, the believing and the obedient, in whom God dwells, because it is said in 1 John 4: "He who abides in charity abides in God, and God in him." And such a one hears the commandment of charity, not only with the ear of the body, but of the heart, according to that word in John 8: "He who is of God hears the words of God." This hearing was stirred up in Isaiah 55: "Hear, you who hear me, and eat what is good, and your soul shall delight in fatness. Incline your ear and come to me; hear, and your soul shall live." It shall live indeed through the commandment of love, because, as is said in 1 John 3, "he who does not love abides in death"; and before that: "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren." To this the Apostle says in Ephesians 5: "Walk in love, as Christ also loved us and delivered himself for us"; "because, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son," Romans 5. And so we ought to love our enemies. And since it does not suffice "to love in word or tongue alone, but in deed and in truth"—therefore he adds: Do good to those who hate you, so that there may be "love without dissimulation"; Proverbs 25: "If your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink"; the same is said in Romans 12.

Luke 6:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

And because "a word is better than a gift," and speech declares the disposition, he adds: Bless those who curse you, in public speech; and pray for those who calumniate you, in private speech. Bless, in open speech. To this the Apostle in Romans 12: "Bless those who curse you, bless and do not curse"; and 1 Peter 3: "Rendering to no one evil for evil, nor curse for curse, but on the contrary, blessing." Pray, also in secret speech. By the example of him of whom Isaiah 53 says: "He prayed for transgressors"; and by the example of that protomartyr, Acts 7: "And kneeling down, he cried out with a loud voice: Lord, do not hold this sin against them." But this seems to be contradicted by the fact that Elisha, in 4 Kings 2, was angered at the mocking boys, and Elijah at the captain of fifty, in 4 Kings 1, and Paul at the high priest, in Acts 23. To this Bede responds that these "are not the wishes of those desiring, but predictions of future events"; or they were not angered against nature, but against vice. For as Augustine says: "Men are to be loved in such a way that nevertheless their errors are not loved." Thus he gives the commandment of perfect benevolence, which consists not only in the heart, but also in deed and speech. Whence Gregory: "Concerning the love of the Creator, let tongue, mind, and hand be required." Concerning this commandment of benevolence, it should be noted in summary that as regards affection it binds all universally; as regards the sign it binds the perfect; as regards the effect, in the moment of necessity it binds all, but short of necessity it does not bind the imperfect, except insofar as the obligation of some precept requires. The perfect however by the state of prelacy it binds insofar as the obligation of the office assumed requires; the perfect by the state of perfection, insofar as the obligation of good example requires; the perfect however by the perfection of virtue, insofar as the intensity of charity requires.

Luke 6:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Second, he gives the commandment concerning perfect patience, when he adds: And whoever strikes you on one cheek, that is, inflicting injury upon the person: and he puts cheek for the nobler part of the body, which when struck, the greatest injury is inflicted: whence Job 16: "They have opened their mouths against me; reproaching, they struck my cheek." For such and so great an injury, vengeance is not to be exacted, but patience is to be shown: whence he adds: Offer also the other, namely the cheek, that is, be prepared to endure another blow, by the example of the Master, of whom Lamentations 3 says: "He will give his cheek to the one who strikes him; he will be filled with reproaches"; he will give indeed, not by inviting the blow, but by not putting up a defense, according to that in Romans 12: "Do not defend yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath." Hence in this commandment what is prohibited is lustful defensiveness, not charitable correction, since it is said in Matthew eighteen: "If your brother sins against you, go and correct him," etc. And the example of this is in Christ, in John eighteen: "One of the officers standing by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand"; and it is added: "Jesus answered him: If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike me"? Hence Augustine in a certain sermon on the Words of the Lord: "If you suffer an injury and remain silent and do not correct your neighbor, you sin more by your negligence than he does by his affliction." By this commandment also, lay persons are not barred from the defense of themselves or of others: hence Paul, in Acts twenty-three, requested soldiers so that he might be kept unharmed. Hence Augustine in the first book of the City of God, expounding that precept of Exodus twenty: Thou shalt not kill, says that "those who waged wars by the authority of God and punished criminals according to the laws did not act against this precept." Hence the canon: "The fortitude which protects the fatherland from barbarians, or defends the weak at home, or companions from robbers, is full justice." Hence Augustine to Marcellinus: "These precepts of patience are to be retained in the preparation of the heart: for that very benevolence, that evil not be rendered for evil, must always be fulfilled in the will of the heart. Yet many things must be done even with those unwilling, who are to be chastised with a certain kind severity, whose welfare rather than whose will must be consulted." Thus therefore the commandment concerning showing patience to the one who injures one's own person is to be understood. Patience must also be shown to the one who injures in regard to a possessed thing, on account of which he adds: And from him who takes away your garment, namely the outer garment, through injury, like those of whom Job twenty-four says: "They send men away naked, taking away their garments"; and Micah two: "You have taken away the cloak from over the tunic." To such a one injuring thus, patience must be shown: hence he adds: Do not withhold even the tunic, namely by quarreling or contradicting, following the example of the Savior, of whom it is said in the Psalm: "They divided my garments among them," etc., that is, without resistance and contradiction. In this commandment likewise it is to be understood that contention or the desire for revenge is prohibited. Hence Augustine to Marcellinus: "One must beware lest through the desire for revenge patience itself be lost, which must be valued more highly than everything which an enemy can take away against one's will." In sum, what must be held here concerning the precept of patience is that the correction of one's neighbor is not prohibited here, nor the impediment or prohibition of evil, nor the punishment of a crime perpetrated by one who can and ought to do so, such as the minister of the law: but what is prohibited and restrained here is the desire for revenge, both with respect to the hand an…

Luke 6:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Third, he gives a commandment concerning perfect beneficence, when he adds: But give to everyone who asks of you. This is a general commandment with respect to every person and every gift, whether of service, or of loan, or of another present. And to one's neighbor must be given the gift of outward relief, according to that passage of Deuteronomy 15: "I command you to open your hand to your needy and poor brother"; and Exodus 23: "If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under a burden, you shall not pass by, but shall lift it up with him." And of inward compassion: Isaiah 58: "When you pour out your soul to the hungry" etc.; and Colossians 3: "Put on, as the elect of God, bowels of mercy, bearing with one another and forgiving one another" etc. And also the gift of sweet speech: Ecclesiasticus 18: "Will not the dew cool the heat? So also a word is better than a gift." To the two following all are obligated; but to the first are obligated especially the rich, or those who have the means to relieve another's need: 1 Timothy, the last chapter: "Command the rich of this world not to be high-minded, but to do good, to be rich in good works, to give readily, to share, to lay up for themselves a good foundation for the future, that they may lay hold on true life." It also obliges with respect to every person, considering nature and necessity, but not weighing vice; whence it does not contradict what is said in Ecclesiasticus 12: "Give to the good, and do not receive the sinner; do good to the humble, and do not give to the ungodly"; it says this: because he is a sinner or ungodly. Whence one should not give to actors by reason of their profession, because, as Jerome says, "to give to mimes and actors is nothing other than to sacrifice to demons." If, however, they are placed in necessity, one must give to them, because they are created in the image of God and because they are our brothers; whence 1 John 3: "He who sees his brother having need, and shuts his bowels from him, how does the love of God abide in him?" And because this commandment of beneficence extends to all without exception, he therefore specifies even concerning those who do injury, when he adds: And from him who takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. The Gloss: "With litigation or contention," which comes from cupidity. Isaiah fifty-eight: "Behold, in the day of your fast your own will is found, and you demand payment from all your debtors. Behold, you fast unto strife and contention." Ecclesiasticus thirty-one: "Do not speak words of reproach to your neighbor, and do not press him in demanding repayment." This however occurs when one brings a case before a foreign or unbelieving judge; on account of which, First Corinthians six: "Brother contends against brother in judgment, and this before unbelievers? Why do you not rather suffer fraud?" He does not say this, however, because it is in no case permitted to demand back, but to show that we ought to love our neighbor and his salvation more than a temporal thing. Whence Gregory: "When peace of heart with one's neighbor is broken for the sake of an earthly thing, it is apparent that the thing is loved more than the neighbor." Whence note that demanding back happens in three ways, namely from cupidity, from zeal for justice, and from fear of ruin. The first belongs to the wicked, not to the just who possess charity, according to that saying of First Corinthians thirteen: "Charity does not seek the things that are its own"; the Gloss: "It does not demand back what has been taken away," namely from a love of cupidity for the thing. There is again demanding back from zeal for justice: and in this way it is permitted to the perfect who hold property in common, in the name of the community; but to the perfect who have property neither in common nor individually, it is not permitted to them to demand back, but only to those who have ownership of those things of which they themselves have the use. He dema…

Luke 6:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

For the perfection of benevolence it is also required that a person do good in all things: whence it is added: And as you wish that people would do to you, do also to them likewise. And note that he does not say: as they do, but: as you wish, because everyone wishes, when he is in need, to have good done to him and to be relieved in every necessity: Proverbs twenty-four: "Do not say: As he has done to me, so will I do to him, and I will render to each one according to his work." In this commandment is the fulfillment of the natural law, whose one negative part is set forth in Tobit four and is implied here: "What you would hate to have done to you by another, see that you never do to another." He wills therefore that we always do good, when we can, to everyone, just as we are ready to wish to receive, according to that passage in Galatians, the last chapter: "Let us not grow weary in doing good," etc. And note that he does not say: do as people wish, but: as you wish; both because our own will is better known to us; and also because consideration of ourselves moves us more; and also because he speaks to those who have a rightly ordered will, and according to that will one must act. In summary, it must be held concerning the precept of beneficence in general that it binds only insofar as it is made explicit through the specific obligations of precepts; and therefore above the law of nature the written law was added, so that through it a person might know to what he was bound by justice.

Luke 6:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

After he promulgated the evangelical laws under fitting perfection, here secondly he proves from a deficient condition, where he shows that he had to command according to the aforementioned manner: otherwise there is no merit before God. Whence he shows here three things, namely that it does not suffice for merit to be benevolent toward those who love us, nor beneficent only toward those who repay, nor generous toward those who recompense. And in this he shows that perfect benevolence and beneficence ought to extend not only to friends, but also to adversaries according to the form promulgated above. He shows therefore first that it does not suffice to be benevolent only toward those who love us, because this is characteristic of sinners: on account of which he says: And if you love those who love you, that is, because they love you, what credit is there for you? that is, what merit worthy of recompense? As if to say: none. And he gives the reason: For sinners also love those who love them, who have no merit before God; for this is natural, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus thirteen: "Every animal loves its like, so also every man his neighbor" etc.; or even carnal, as in Ecclesiasticus thirty-seven: "A companion sympathizes with a friend for the sake of his belly, and against the enemy he will take up the shield." Such love has no merit before God, because it is not bestowed on account of God. For if it were bestowed on account of God, a person would certainly love those who love him, according to that passage in Proverbs eight: "I love those who love me"; even to those less loving him he would repay with greater love, according to that passage in Second Corinthians twelve: "But I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls, even though, loving you more, I am loved less"; likewise, those in no way even loving him he would also love, according to that passage in First John four: "In this the charity of God appeared, not that we loved God, but that he first loved us"; and Romans five: "But God commends his charity toward us, because while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly." Whence when it extends only to those who love us, it is not divine nor gratuitous love, but mercenary and human, and therefore not worthy of recompense.

Luke 6:32 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

It is difficult for anyone to love his enemy except through grace. A stone cannot give heat of itself: but if it is placed next to a burning furnace, it can afterward give heat. "If you love those who love you," what grace is that? To love only a friend is not the virtue of grace.

Luke 6:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

It is also not sufficient to be beneficent toward those who repay, because this is also characteristic of worldly people themselves: on account of which he adds: And if you do good to those who do good to you: the Gloss says: "That is, for the reason that they do good"; what thanks is there to you? that is, what merit? as if to say: none. And the reason is given: Since even sinners do this; for a benefit done in exchange for recompense is not gratuitous but mercenary, and therefore neither is it acceptable. Whence Ecclesiasticus 20: "The gift of a fool shall be unprofitable to you: for his eyes are sevenfold: he will give little and upbraid much." But that which is given freely and cheerfully, that is acceptable, according to 2 Corinthians 9: "Everyone as he has determined in his heart, not out of sadness or out of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver." If therefore to do good to those who do good is merely a debt, to do good to those who do not do good appears gratuitous, then to do evil to those who do good is inhuman and most cruel: which indeed the sinner does when he offends God; according to what is said in 2 Paralipomenon 32 concerning Hezekiah, that "he did not render according to the benefits which he had received from God, because his heart was lifted up." Whence Christ can say that word of the Psalm: "They repaid me evil for good," and the sinner can say to Christ that word of 1 Kings 24: "You have rendered good to me, and I have rendered evil to you." And by that very fact, if he wishes to be reconciled to the Lord, it is necessary that he himself do good not only to one who does good, but also to an adversary: and such is the benefit of charity, according to 1 Corinthians 13: "Charity is patient, is kind."

Luke 6:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Nor is it sufficient to be generous toward those who repay, because this is the way of usurers themselves; whence he also adds: And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, namely repayment: what thanks is it to you? As if to say: none. And he shows this: For sinners also lend to sinners, that is, they lend at interest; whence he adds: That they may receive the equivalent, namely for the service, not only for the debt. And because they receive their reward, they have no merit before God: whence in the Psalm: "Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord?" and it is added: "He who has not given his money at usury nor accepted bribes against the innocent." Otherwise he does not ascend the mountain of the Lord: whence in Ezekiel eighteen, he is justified of whom it is said: "He who has not lent at usury nor taken increase"; and conversely, he who takes increase is condemned in the same place. Whence to such people can be said that word of Haggai one: "You looked for more, and behold, it became less," because in the Psalm it is said: "The men of riches found nothing in their hands." Such usurers are counted among sinners, because they are oppressors of others; whence Proverbs twenty-two: "He who borrows is the servant of the lender." And therefore it is forbidden in Exodus twenty-two: "If you lend money to a poor man, you shall not press him as an exactor nor oppress him with usury." But the contrary of this seems to be said in Deuteronomy twenty-three: "You shall not lend at interest to your brother, but to a stranger." But it should be understood that this is evil in itself: but the Law permitted this to them, just as the bill of divorce, for the avoidance of a greater evil. Moreover, the reason for this prohibition is manifold: both because money is not diminished by being lent; and because it does not of itself bear fruit, but the entire basis of profit is on the part of the user; and because it continually consumes and devastates, and thus the advantage of the loan is converted into the disadvantage of loss; and because in a loan of money, ownership of the thing lent passes over, since one is not bound to return the same coins in number; and because all risk is transferred to him who had borrowed; and also because in such a manner of lending, money is loved more than one's neighbor, since one lends money to one's neighbor not out of love for the neighbor but out of love for the money.

Luke 6:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Here, after the promulgation and proof, he resumes the approved commands with the motivating reason. Now there are three things that ought to move us to do the aforesaid, namely the authority of the precept, the immensity of the reward, and the sublimity of the example. The first moves the irascible, the second the concupiscible, and the third the rational. He therefore takes up the aforesaid teachings by way of precept, when he says: But love your enemies and do good, namely so that you may not "love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth," 1 John 3. And he says this by way of command, because, as is said in John 15, "this is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you." But he himself loved not only in affection, but also in effect, without any hope of recompense. Therefore it is added: And lend, hoping for nothing thereby, namely of recompense: Deuteronomy 23: "You shall lend to your brother without usury what he needs, that the Lord may bless you," that is, do not seek recompense for this from man, as usurers do, who on account of the hope of usury lose the hope of eternal life: against whom the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 15 says: "If we are hoping only in this life, we are the most miserable of all men." Such are the rich who hope in riches: "the hope of such is empty and their labors without fruit," Wisdom 3. And therefore Sirach 31: "Blessed is the rich man who is found without blemish, and who has not gone after gold nor hoped in money and treasures. Who is this, and we shall praise him? For he has done wondrous things in his life." Note that hope in lending can be for a similar service, or for profit. In the first way it is permitted; in the second way it can be twofold: either expressed through a pact, and this is simply prohibited, because it makes one a usurer; or tacit in the heart, and in this way twofold: either principally moving one to lend, and this is likewise prohibited, because it is against the divine commandment; or not principally moving, but as it were annexed, because, although one does not act principally for advantage or profit, he nevertheless believes that the recipient will not be ungrateful to him, and therefore he acts more willingly. But here such a hope of advantage is not against the divine commandment. Second, he adds a motivating reason on the part of the reward, when he adds: And your reward shall be great: Sirach 12: "Do good to the just, and you shall find great recompense, and if not from him, certainly from the Lord." And the recompense is called abundant and great, because the eternal reward contains all goods in excellence, according to that verse of the Psalm: "How great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you!" And truly great and abundant and hidden, but promised, because, 1 Corinthians 2 and Isaiah 64, "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love him." Third, he adds a motivating reason from the side of example, when he adds: And you shall be sons of the Most High, namely through imitation, according to that passage in Ephesians 5: "Be imitators of God, as most beloved children." As sons we ought to imitate God, because we have received the grace of faith, concerning which John 1 says: "He gave them power to become sons of God, to those who believe in his name." We have also received from him the spirit of adoption of sons, according to that passage in Romans 8: "You have not received the spirit of servitude in fear, but the spirit of adoption of sons." And therefore we ought to imitate God, as a son imitates his father, according to that passage in John 8: "If you are sons of Abraham, do the works of Abraham." And for this reason we ought to live according to his example: which he adds when he says: For he is kind toward the ungrateful and the wicked, according to that passage in Joel 2: "He is kind and merciful, patient and…

Luke 6:36 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

He commands imitation of himself: Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Now there are six works of mercy, namely: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, gathering in strangers, visiting the sick, and ransoming captives. Moreover, the work of perfect virtue cannot exist unless the creature is conformed to Christ in these things.

Luke 6:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

After he has promulgated and proved the evangelical laws and also resumed them with a motivating reason, here at last he concludes with the consequent retribution, which he shows follows our works in the judicial sentence, in heavenly glory, and in infernal punishment: in judgment indeed with respect to all, in reward with respect to the good, and in punishment with respect to sinners. He concludes therefore first that we ought to fulfill the aforementioned commandments according to the prescribed form, by proclaiming the judicial sentence, when he says: Be therefore merciful, namely in showing yourselves benevolent, peaceable, and beneficent toward your neighbors; in which he touches upon the substance of the aforementioned commandments. As your Father also is merciful, in which he touches upon the form or circumstance, because He condescends not only to friends, but to adversaries. This indeed is necessary, according to that passage of Matthew 18: "You should have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I also had mercy on you." Whence He requires that mercy which He bestows; and according to that which we bestow, He repays in judgment, according to that passage of Sirach 4: "In judging, be merciful to orphans as a father, and as a husband to their mother; and you shall be as a son of the Most High, and He shall have mercy on you more than a mother"; James 2: "Judgment without mercy to him who has not shown mercy." And therefore he adds the retribution of judgment corresponding to works of merit according to a fourfold difference of act, namely judging, condemning, forgiving, and giving: of which the first pertains to equity, the second to severity, the third to piety, and the fourth to liberality.

Luke 6:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

The first is noted when he adds: Do not judge, and you shall not be judged: in Matthew 7 it is said: "With what judgment you judge, you shall be judged." And because he does not mean any judgment whatsoever, but that which deviates from piety into cruelty, therefore he adds: Do not condemn, and you shall not be condemned: Romans 2: "In that you judge another, you condemn yourself," because, as is said in Proverbs 17, "both he who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the just are abominable before God." Whence he recalls from the judgment of iniquity and exhorts to the benefit of piety, which consists in forgiving and giving: in forgiving injury and in giving indulgences, or in forgiving evils committed and in giving goods granted. As to the forgiveness of evils, he adds: Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. Otherwise you do not pray profitably, Matthew 6: "Forgive us our debts," etc.; and afterward: "If you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your sins." Whence Sirach 28: "Forgive your neighbor who hurts you, and then when you pray, your sins shall be loosed."

Luke 6:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

As to the bestowal of goods, it is added: Give, and it shall be given to you, namely in the judgment, in which that passage of the last chapter of Proverbs shall be spoken: "Give her of the fruit of her hands," etc., because, Matthew 25, "to him who has, it shall be given, and he shall abound." For a man has with him only those things which he gave for God's sake, according to that passage of Sirach 17: "The alms of a man is as a purse with him, and shall preserve the grace of a man as the apple of the eye; and afterward it shall rise up and repay." And therefore, attending to this, Zacchaeus said, below in chapter 19: "Behold, I give half of my goods to the poor." In summary, note here that not every kind of judgment is prohibited here, namely the deliberate, orderly, and just kind, but rather the usurped, rash, and unjust. I call it usurped when there is neither office nor authority in the one judging; rash, when it concerns a matter that is not established but proceeds from suspicion alone; unjust, when it is against divinely approved law; and such judgment is prohibited here, not the first kind. Second, by promising supercelestial glory according to a perfect measure, when he adds: A good measure, etc. And note that he sets forth here four conditions according to four parts of beatitude, of which the first is in interior joy in the beatitude of the soul; on account of which he says: A good measure, because, according to the Psalm, then "your desire will be filled with good things"; and you will say with Peter, Matthew 17: "Lord, it is good for us to be here," because the same will then be "the measure of a man, which is also that of an Angel," Revelation 21. The second, from inferior joy in the glorification of the body; on account of which he says: Pressed together, from con and farcio, farcis: Job 5: "You shall enter the grave in abundance, as a heap of grain is brought in at its time." The third, from exterior joy, namely from the company of the Saints and the renewal of all creatures; on account of which he adds: and shaken together: Job 22: "Your silver and gold will be heaped up for you," that is, the imperfect and the perfect in merit will all be gathered together into one joy. The fourth, from superior joy in the vision of God; on account of which he says: and overflowing: Job 22: "Then you will abound with delights over the Almighty." And concerning this fourfold joy in the eternal reward, that passage in Ephesians 3 can be explained: "Rooted and grounded in charity, that you may be able to comprehend what is the length" of interior joy, "the breadth" of exterior joy, "the height" of superior joy, and "the depth" of inferior joy. This measure indeed they will give into your bosom, those, namely, to whom you show mercy in the present, according to what is said below in the sixteenth chapter: "Make yourselves friends from the mammon of iniquity," etc. And such are the poor, whom the Lord has made judges: Job 36: "He will grant judgment to the poor." This they will give into the bosom, that is, into the stable and intrinsic capacity of the soul: Job 19: "This hope of mine is stored up in my bosom"; which if you wish to have, follow the counsel of the Wise Man, Sirach 29: "Store up alms in the bosom of the poor, and it will intercede for you against all evil." Third, by threatening infernal punishment according to its equivalence to guilt, when he adds: For with the same measure with which you have measured, namely by harming or doing evil or demeriting, it shall be measured back to you, according to that passage in Deuteronomy twenty-five: "According to the measure of the offense, so also shall be the measure of the stripes"; and Revelation eighteen: "As much as she glorified herself and lived in delicacies, so much give her torment and mourning"; and this is what the Lord threatens in Joel three: "Swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense upon your own head." Now the Lord repays in equal measure, consider…

Luke 6:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

He spoke to them also a parable. After the proper and express precepts, the Evangelist here subjoins the Lord's teachings given by way of similitude and in figurative speech, in which the Lord instructs us in a fourfold manner. For first, he draws us back from the vanity of presiding. Second, he calls us back from the rashness of judging. Third, he instructs us in the prudence of discerning. Fourth, he invites us to diligence in working. First, therefore, he draws back from the vanity of ruling by a threefold consideration, namely from the consideration of the peril to be avoided and the vice to be detested and the example to be imitated. For the peril of ruin must be avoided, which threatens the one who rules proudly; on account of which he says: Can the blind lead the blind? As if to say: surely he cannot, because of the peril of ruin, which he adds: Do not both fall into the pit? But the presumptuous man is blind, according to that passage in Revelation 3: "You say, I am rich and have grown wealthy and need nothing; and you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked." Concerning such a one, Romans 2: "You are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish." "You therefore who teach others do not teach yourself"; as if to say: you are blind. And therefore, he who seeks and presumes to be set over others, since he is blind, plunges both himself and others into ruin; whence Jeremiah 50: "My people have become a lost flock; their shepherds have led them astray." And the reason for this is given in Jeremiah 10: "The shepherds have acted foolishly and have not sought the Lord; therefore they have not understood, and their whole flock has been scattered." And therefore he adds: Both fall into the pit. And this is what Gregory says: "While the shepherd walks through the steep places of vices, it is necessary that the flock be dragged into ruin." And such men deserve the curse of the Lord, according to that passage in Deuteronomy 27: "Cursed is he who causes the blind to wander"; just as Lucifer, who wished to rule over others, and all who clung to him fell into the pit, according to that passage in Isaiah 14: "How have you fallen, O Lucifer, you who rose in the morning? You have fallen to the earth, you who wounded the nations."

Luke 6:40 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Luke 6: Everyone will be perfect if he is like his master. But it is not read of Christ that he was under another by vow; therefore to subject oneself to another by vow is not perfect, but, as it seems, rather superstitious. To this it must be said that Christ, insofar as was fitting for the redemption of the human race, subjected himself to men, and this with an excellent and perfect will; and because his will was confirmed in the good and was not changeable as ours is, therefore there was no need for it to be bound by a vow. But we approach that confirmed will through the strengthening of purpose and the emission of a vow; hence the vow, by binding us and in a certain way strengthening us, renders us conformed to Christ by its inviolability.

Luke 6:40 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Furthermore, Luke six: Everyone will be perfect if he is as his master; but Christ had a purse, as is evident from John twelve, where it is said that Judas carried the money bags: therefore, to be unwilling to have property in common does not seem to be perfection, but rather superstition, in which the disciple seems to wish to set himself above the master. If you say that he had the money bags for others; to the contrary: Augustine says, and it is found in Causa twelve, question one: "The Lord had money bags, preserving the offerings of the faithful, and he distributed to the needs of his own and to other indigent persons."

Luke 6:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

The vice of pride must also be detested, which clings to the one who wishes to rule; on account of which he adds: The disciple is not above the master, namely according to right order. He, therefore, who desires to rule while his Master remains subject, strives to surpass his Master. Whence Bernard: "As often as I desire to rule over men, so often do I strive to go before my God, and then I do not savor the things that are of God." And this is what the Lord says to the disciples in John 13: "Amen I say to you, the servant is not greater than his lord, nor is the apostle greater than he who sent him." He, therefore, who wishes to be exalted above others is ignorant of the teaching of Christ; Matthew 11: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart"; or if he once knew it, he falls into apostasy, according to what Gregory says: "As often as the shepherd delights in ruling over others, so often does he slip into the crime of apostasy." Moreover, he ceases to be a disciple when he wishes to lord it over others and to be called the master of others, against that passage in Matthew 23: "Neither be called masters, for your master is one, Christ." The example of the perfect life is to be imitated, which consists in willing to be subject; on account of which he says: But everyone will be perfect, if he be as his master, namely Christ, who "came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a redemption for many," Matthew twenty. And therefore it is said below in chapter twenty-two: "He that is the greater among you, let him become as the lesser, and he that is the leader, as he that serves." And the reason is given: "But I am in the midst of you, as he that serves." And he himself showed them this by example, in John thirteen: "After he washed their feet," it is added: "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me master and lord: and you say well, for so I am. If then I have washed your feet" etc. And afterwards it is added: "For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you also should do." And to this perfect example the Apostle invites in Philippians two: "Let nothing," he says, "be done through contention nor through vainglory, but in humility let each esteem others as superior to themselves." "For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus," of whom he adds that "he humbled himself" etc.

Luke 6:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

But why do you see the mote, etc. Here he calls back from the rashness of judging, which indeed he does by showing that he who judges rashly is unjust in thought, indiscreet in speech, disordered in action. He shows therefore first that the one who judges rashly is unjust in thought, because he does not judge equitably: on account of which he says: Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye? you, namely, who judge. He calls the speck a light sin, which one reproves in another while neglecting a great one in himself: with respect to which he adds: But the beam that is in your own eye, you do not consider? The beam, that is, a great sin: from which it is gathered that the judgment of one who judges thus is unjust, because, as it is said in Proverbs twenty, "diverse weights are an abomination before God." He does not have equal weight who weighs fault more heavily in another than in himself: and such a one is called abominable, because he sins doubly: both by justifying himself, who is proud and impious, and by condemning his neighbor: whence Proverbs seventeen: "Both he who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the just are abominable before God." And it is sound counsel to be lenient with others and to consider and judge oneself, according to that passage in Galatians six: "If a man be overtaken in any fault, you who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted," etc. "For he who thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, deceives himself." And therefore such a one has a beam in his eye, that is, blinding pride, as Balaam, Numbers twenty-four: "The man said, whose eye is closed"; whose obstruction is very grave in judging unjustly: Ecclesiasticus thirty-one: "What created thing is more wicked than the eye?" And rightly so, because, as it is said below in chapter eleven, "if your eye be evil, your whole body will be dark."

Luke 6:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Second, he shows that such a one is indiscreet in speech, because he does not speak reasonably; on account of which he adds: Or how can you say to your brother, namely, by addressing him outwardly: Brother, let me cast out the speck from your eye, in reproving and correcting; while you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye? not attending to the most grievous sin in yourself, as if to say: you cannot reasonably say this. For it could be said to you: Why do you judge another, and do not judge yourself? "You who teach another, do you not teach yourself?" Romans two: and that passage above in chapter four: "Physician, heal yourself." Whence such an admonition is rather deservedly despised than heeded, according to that saying of Gregory: "He whose life is despised, it follows that his preaching is condemned," because: "It is shameful for a teacher, when fault reproves him." Chrysostom: "Why do you see such small sins in others, and pass over such great ones in yourself?" Ecclesiasticus thirty-four: "Who shall be made clean by the unclean, and what truth shall be spoken by a liar?" And therefore in the Psalm: "But to the sinner God said: Why do you declare my justices?" Third, he shows the disorder in operation, because he postpones that to which he is principally bound: on account of which he says: Hypocrite, cast out first the beam from your own eye. He calls such a rash judge a hypocrite, because in judging others he shows and pretends a zeal for justice, and by not judging himself he has a hidden vice lurking within. Whence Gregory says: "The hypocrite reproves others, so that in comparison with others he himself may appear holier." Or he calls him a hypocrite because, weighing external things, he neglects internal things, which are more to be weighed, according to that saying in Matthew twenty-three: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees! Hypocrites, who cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of robbery and uncleanness. Blind Pharisee! First cleanse what is inside." And therefore he rightly now says: Cast out first, because one must principally insist upon this, that the beam, that is, a grave sin, be cast out from the interior eye: James four: "Purify your hearts, you double-minded"; since, as it is said in Ecclesiasticus fourteen, "he who is evil to himself, to whom will he be good?" For charity ought to be ordered, so that one first attends to oneself and afterward to another, according to that saying in First Timothy four: "Attend to yourself and to doctrine. For doing this, you will save both yourself and those who are with you." Whence it is added: And then you will see clearly, that is, you will perfectly behold, with an eye now cleansed, to cast out the mote from your brother's eye: Job twenty-six: "His hand acting as midwife, the twisted serpent was brought forth"; whence the Gloss says: "A teacher is not first fit to heal others who has not yet healed himself." Whence in all such matters, order is especially to be observed; for he is foolish and a hypocrite who more anxiously attends to the deeds of others than to his own. An example from the Conferences of the Fathers, concerning one who placed sand in a sack, which he placed upon his shoulder, having much behind and little in front: and he interpreted that the much was his own sins, and the little was the sins of others, as the hypocrite does.

Luke 6:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

For there is no good tree, etc. After he has drawn back from the rashness of judging, here he instructs in the prudence of discerning, which indeed he does in this order. First he proposes a metaphorical similitude; second he draws out an explicit instruction; third from this he reproves a deceptive simulation. Therefore a metaphorical similitude is proposed, when it is said: For there is not a good tree that brings forth bad fruit. For here is not causal but continuative; by tree he means not the will insofar as it is from God—for thus it is good, because it is from God—but the will, which is not good when it does evil; nor indeed is it evil when it does good; with respect to what he adds: Neither does a bad tree bring forth good fruit. For the will is conformed to the work, as the tree to its fruit: Proverbs 12: "From the fruit of his mouth each one shall be filled with good things, and according to the works of his hands it shall be repaid to him"; because, as is said above in chapter three, "every tree that does not bring forth good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire." Whence spiritually trees are deprived of fruit through the frost of iniquity, according to that passage of Jude in his Canonical Epistle concerning the wicked: "They are autumn trees, unfruitful, twice dead." But then they are filled with fruit when they draw near to the warmth of charity, according to that passage below in chapter twenty-one: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees: when they bring forth fruit of themselves, you know that summer is near." Whence the prudent observer discerns trees by their fruit.

Luke 6:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

And therefore he adds: For every tree is known by its own fruit. And this is what is said in Matthew 7: "By their fruits you shall know them," because, as is said in Galatians 5, "the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, the service of idols, etc. But the fruit of the spirit is charity, joy, peace," etc.: whence of the just man it is said in the Psalm: "He shall be as a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall yield its fruit." Nor is this surprising, because, in Wisdom 3, "the fruit of good labors is glorious," but of evil labors, none; Romans 6: "What fruit had you then in those things of which you are now ashamed?" And therefore it is said of the miser in Ecclesiastes 5: "He who loves riches shall reap no fruit from them." And that a tree is discerned by its fruit is proven through sensible experience, when it is added: For neither from thorns do they gather figs, nor from a bramble do they harvest grapes. He sets forth two especially praiseworthy fruits, namely figs and grapes: whence in Judges 9 the fig tree and the vine are introduced speaking through prosopopoeia: the fig tree thus: "Can I forsake my sweetness and my most delightful fruits?" And the vine thus: "Can I forsake my wine, which cheers God and men?" He also sets forth two most base shrubs, namely the bramble and the thorn, which the earth brings forth on account of human sins, according to that passage in Genesis 3: "Cursed is the earth in your work: thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you." But spiritually, by the sweet fig tree is understood the sweetness of piety, by thorns, wrathful and schismatic men, who cannot have compassion on others; 2 Kings 23: "The transgressors shall all be pulled away like thorns; and if anyone wishes to touch them, he shall be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear." By the grape is understood the clear knowledge of truth, and by brambles, heretical men, by whom the proud are held fast, according to that passage of Genesis 22: "Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw among the briars a ram caught by its horns." These two kinds of men lay waste the vineyard of the Lord of hosts, namely schismatics and heretics: Isaiah 32: "Upon the ground of my people shall come up thorns and briars"; Isaiah 5: "I expected that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes"; and further: "Briars and thorns shall come up over it."

Luke 6:45 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Second, an explicit instruction is drawn out when it is added: The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, namely after the likeness of a good tree. He calls the good treasure the habit of interior perfection, whether in the affection, with respect to which is said Proverbs 21: "A desirable treasure and oil are in the dwelling of the just"; or in the intellect, with respect to which Matthew 13: "Every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure new things and old." From both good treasures are brought forth both works and also words; whence James 3: "Who is wise and learned among you? Let him show from good conduct his work in the meekness of wisdom." And just as the good man is compared to a good tree, so also the evil man to an evil one; whence he also adds: And the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. He calls the evil treasure the evil will and the evil conscience; Micah 6: "There is still fire in the house of the ungodly and treasures of iniquity." And certainly from an evil heart proceed evil works and unclean words; whence Mark 7: "From the heart of men proceed adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness: all these evil things proceed from within and defile." Likewise also evil words, according to that passage of Proverbs 14: "A faithful witness will not lie, but a deceitful witness utters falsehood." And he himself gives the reason for the one, when he adds: For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, good namely a word, or evil. Concerning the good, Sirach 6: "A gracious tongue in a good man shall abound"; and concerning the evil, Proverbs 15: "The mind of the just shall meditate on wisdom, the mouth of the wicked overflows with evils"; and in the same: "The mouth of fools bubbles forth foolishness."

Luke 6:46 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Third, deceitful pretense is rebuked, when he adds: Why do you call me: Lord? namely by confession of the mouth, and do not do what I say, by omission of good works. For the display of reverence on the lips is false unless there is equally present the exhibition of obedience in deed: whence concerning such persons, Isaiah twenty-nine: "This people draws near with their mouth and glorifies me with their lips, but their heart is far from me"; and Matthew fifteen: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me"; and Titus one: "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny him." And so there is a contradiction in them, because the word indicates goodness in the heart, and the deed shows malice in action. Such persons do not deceive the Lord, but they deceive themselves, according to that passage in James one: "Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves"; whence Matthew seven: "Not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Luke 6:47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

Everyone who comes to me, etc. After he instructed in the prudence of discerning, here he invites to diligence in acting, and this under a twofold metaphor, in the first of which he commends the obedient: and in the second he reproaches the negligent. Concerning the commendation of the obedient person, he first sets forth the act of the obedient person: second, the manner: third, the fruit. As to the act, therefore, of the truly obedient person, he says: Everyone who comes to me, namely by believing faithfully, and hears my words, by understanding devoutly, and does them, namely by fulfilling them in deed; I will show you whom he is like. From this it is gathered that it belongs to the truly obedient person first to come through faith, by believing faithfully: concerning which coming, John six: "No one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." Thus the little ones come, according to that passage in Matthew nineteen: "Let the little children come to me." Then to hear, by understanding keenly: Ecclesiasticus three: "A good ear will hear wisdom with all desire"; James one: "Let every man be swift to hear," etc. Third, it belongs to the truly obedient person to fulfill effectively; whence Deuteronomy thirty: "The word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it." Otherwise you will not be justified before the Lord, because, as is said in Romans two, "the doers of the law shall be justified."

Luke 6:48 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

As to the manner of truly obeying, he adds a teaching by similitude concerning one who builds a house, when he subjoins: He is like a man building a house, through the progress of virtue: Proverbs 24: "Diligently cultivate your field, so that afterward you may build your house." This house indeed is a good conscience: Wisdom 8: "Entering into my house, I shall find rest with her"; Proverbs 14: "A wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one destroys even what has been built with her own hands." Who dug deep, through the descent of humility, according to the precept of Elisha in 4 Kings 3: "Make in the bed of this torrent ditches and ditches," namely through humility in intellect and affection alike. But to this the proud man responds with that saying of the wicked steward, below in chapter 16: "I am unable to dig, I am ashamed to beg." Against which, Isaiah 2: "Enter into the rock, and hide in the pit of the earth from the face of the fear of the Lord," etc. But he digs deeper who descends further through humility, and his building rises higher, because "he who humbles himself shall be exalted," below in chapter 18. And he laid the foundation upon the rock, through the stability of charity, according to that passage in Ephesians 3: "Rooted and grounded in charity." This charity founds upon Christ, who is the solid rock, according to that passage in Isaiah 28: "Behold, I will lay in the foundations of Sion a stone, a tested stone, a cornerstone, precious, founded in the foundation." Upon this rock charity founds, since it causes one to fulfill his commandments, according to that passage in John 14: "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me." And such a one is founded in Christ: Ecclesiasticus 26: "Everlasting foundations upon solid rock, and the commandments of God in the heart of a holy woman." Ambrose: "The foundation of all virtues is obedience to the heavenly commandments." This therefore is the manner of truly obeying the divine precepts: that there be diligence in the progress of virtue, that there be depth in the descent of humility, that there be firmness in the affection of charity. As to the fruit of true obedience, he adds: And when a flood came, etc. For the observance of the divine commandments strengthens against the assault of temptations, which he designates by the flood—as to exterior temptation from demons, according to that passage in Isaiah 8: "The Lord will bring the waters of the river, strong and many, the king of the Assyrians"; and below: "And it shall pass through Judah, overflowing and reaching even to the neck"; here he openly designates the devil; and Job 21: "How often shall the lamp of the wicked be extinguished, and a flood come upon them." He also designates temptation through the striking of the flood, when he adds: The flood struck against that house, namely as regards interior temptation, namely of fear, or sorrow, or joy, or love; Nahum 2: "The gates of the rivers are opened"; which indeed happens when temptations enter within, so that one may cry out that word of the Psalm: "Save me, O God, for the waters have come in even unto my soul." But these temptations do not prevail against the observers of the divine commandments; on account of which it is added: And it could not move it: Proverbs 10: "As a passing tempest, so the wicked shall be no more, but the just is as an everlasting foundation"; in the Psalm: "Perfect my steps in your paths, that my footsteps be not moved." But the reason for this stability is given when it is added: For it was founded upon firm rock. Hence it is said of the just man in Isaiah 22: "I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place." This fastening indeed is through charity: Romans 8: "Who shall separate us from the charity of Christ? Tribulation? or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or danger? or persecution? or the sword?" The fruit of true obedience, therefore, is victory over exterior and interior temptation through the power of a stab…

Luke 6:49 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 6

But he who hears and does not do. Here, after the commendation of the truly obedient, he adds the reproach of the negligent, setting forth first the vice of the negligent, then adding the danger, and appending the downfall. He therefore sets forth first the vice of the negligent, when he says: But he who hears and does not do, like Balaam, Numbers 24: "He said who is a hearer of the words of God, who knows the doctrine of the Most High." This one is blameworthy, which he shows through a comparison, when he adds: He is like a man building his house upon the ground without a foundation. He calls ground a place that is inconstant and easily movable, according to that word of the Psalm: "Not so the wicked, not so, but like the dust which the wind casts from the face of the earth"; Isaiah 24: "The earth shall be utterly broken, the earth shall be crushed to pieces, and it shall be taken away like the tent of one night"; Job 4: "How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, who have an earthly foundation, are consumed as if by a moth." And this is because they are not "rooted in charity," but in earthly cupidity: Wisdom 4: "Adulterous plantings shall not give deep roots." He adds the peril of the negligent person in the crashing of floods, when he adds: Against which the river crashed, that is, temptation driving forward, from which the peril of ruin threatens: Ezekiel thirteen: "Say to those who plaster the wall without mortar, that the wall shall fall. For there shall be an overflowing rain, and I will send great hailstones falling from above and a stormy wind breaking through." Of such persons, Isaiah twenty-eight: "When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, you shall be trodden down by it; whenever it passes through, it shall take you." For these are those of whom it is said below in chapter eight: "They believe for a time, and in the time of temptation they fall away"; and these are those "who have no roots." Lastly he subjoins the downfall of the negligent person, when he says: And immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great: Zechariah fourteen: "There shall be the ruin of the horse and the mule, the camel and the ass and all the beasts of burden," that is, of all men who are brutish and negligent and impious; Zephaniah one: "Thus says the Lord: I will gather man and beast, I will gather the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea; and the wicked shall have ruins, and I will destroy men from the face of the earth." Nor is this surprising, because, Proverbs four, "the way of the wicked is dark: they know not where they stumble." From the peril therefore and the censure of the negligent and the commendation of the obedient, one is sufficiently invited to diligence in what is to be done, and in this the divine teachings reach their conclusion.

Luke 7:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

After the Evangelist has set forth the truth of Christ's teaching, here for its commendation he manifests the sublimity of the Teacher, which he shows to be preeminent on account of three things, namely on account of the excellence of power, on account of the evidence of truth, and on account of the abundance of piety. The excellence of power is shown in working great miracles; the evidence of truth, in approving true testimonies; the abundance of piety, in pardoning sins. First, on account of the excellence of power proven through two miracles. The first is the healing of the boy about to die; the second is the raising of the young man already dead. For in the healing of the one about to die, the Lord of life is shown, who can save a perishing life; in the raising of the dead, the Lord of death, who can overcome death. Likewise, in the healing of the body about to die, the Lord of bodies is shown, who can restore the body; in the raising of the dead, the Lord of souls, who can recall souls to bodies. First, therefore, as to the suitability of the time, it is said: And when he had finished all his words in the hearing of the people, that is, after the time of preaching and of perfect and complete instruction, which pertains to that Teacher, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus forty-three: "We say many things and fall short in words; the consummation of all discourse is he himself"; he, namely, abbreviated in the flesh, according to that passage of Isaiah ten: "The consummation abbreviated shall overflow with justice"; and twenty-eight: "I have heard a consummation and abbreviation from the Lord God of hosts"; this he said in the person of the people hearing Christ, to whom above in chapter four Christ said: "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing," namely of the Jews. Second, as to the suitability of the place, it is added: He entered Capharnaum. It is said above in chapter four: "How many things we have heard you did in Capharnaum"; whence in Matthew eleven it is said: "And you, Capharnaum, shall you be exalted even to heaven?" Which he says on account of the many mighty works which he did there. — The reason for this is that this is a city of Galilee, which was on the border of the Gentiles and the Jews, so that Christ might be shown to be the cornerstone, according to that passage in Ephesians two: "That he might create the two in himself into one new man, making peace." And in this was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah nine: "In the former time the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali were lightened, and in the latter time the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, was made heavy," etc.

Luke 7:1-10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Spiritually, here according to allegory is understood the healing of the Gentile people, which is gathered from the sick person and from the intervening person and from the order of the healing. — The person indeed who was sick was of servile condition: so too was the Gentile people before the coming of Christ, because they were serving sin — according to that passage in John eight: "He who commits sin is a slave of sin," and the reason for this is stated in Second Peter two: "By whom a man is overcome, of him he is also the slave" — and on account of the sin especially of idolatry, on account of which they were slaves of weak things: Galatians four: "When we were little ones, we were serving under the elements of the world"; and afterward: "How do you turn back again to the weak and needy elements, which you desire to serve again"? He speaks to the Galatians, who had been Gentiles. From the intervening person, who were the elders of the Jews, by whom are understood the Apostles, according to that passage in Isaiah three: "The Lord will come to judgment with the elders of the land and the princes of the people." These are the Apostles, to whom it is said in Matthew nineteen: "You also shall sit upon twelve seats, judging the twelve tribes of Israel," etc. By their intervention the Gentile people was healed, according to that passage in the last chapter of Matthew: "Go, teach all nations"; and through this they were converted to the light of Christ, by which they were illuminated and saved, according to that passage in Isaiah forty-nine: "It is a small thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to convert the dregs of Israel: I have given you as a light to the nations." From the order of the cure, because through the greatness of faith, which is preferred to the faith of Israel: Romans 11, "Blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should enter in, and so all Israel should be saved"; Acts 15: "God chose that through my mouth, says Peter, the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe"; "and He made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith"; Romans 10: "There is no distinction between Jew and Greek"; "for everyone, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved." Spiritually, however, according to the tropology, there is designated here the cure of the sinful man, to which three things concur, as here. The first is the recognition of one's own infirmity, because it is first required that a man recognize his offense; to which Jeremiah 2 exhorts: "See your ways in the valley, know what you have done"; otherwise you will not be able to be justified, as is added in the same place: "Behold, I will contend with you in judgment, because you have said: I have not sinned." Attending to this, the penitent soul says in Jeremiah 31: "Convert me, O Lord, and I shall be converted." "For after You converted me, I did penance; and after You showed me, I struck my thigh," etc. — The second is through the intervention of apostolic authority, because it was said to Peter in Matthew 16: "And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven," etc. And in John 20 it is said to all the Apostles: "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them," etc. Therefore it is said in Leviticus: "The priest shall pray for him, and it shall be forgiven him"; whence Hebrews 5: "Every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in the things that pertain to God, that he may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." The third is through the condescension of divine mercy, approaching the house of the sick man through the infusion of grace, according to that passage in the canticle of Zechariah, above in chapter 1: "To give knowledge of salvation," etc., "through the bowels of the mercy of our God." But the grace of the Lord draws nearer to the humble, because,…

Luke 7:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

As to the urgency of the illness, it is added: A certain centurion's servant, being gravely ill, was about to die: and thus he had a grave illness, according to that passage in Matthew eight: "My servant lies at home paralyzed and is grievously tormented." Now he calls him a centurion who was in charge of a hundred soldiers, which they did deliberately in battles so that they might easily know the number of warriors; whence there were tribunes, centurions, commanders of fifty, and commanders of ten, who are named from the number of those over whom they preside; a tribune, however, is said to be one who presides over a thousand. And Moses was counseled to appoint these for the governance of the people; Exodus eighteen: "Appoint from among them tribunes, centurions, commanders of fifty, and commanders of ten, who shall judge the people." This centurion, although he had many servants, held this one dear among the others, and therefore it adds: Who was precious to him, that is, affectionately beloved, according to that passage in Sirach thirty-three: "If you have a faithful servant, let him be to you as your own soul"; because, according to that passage in Proverbs seventeen, "a wise servant shall rule over foolish sons." Whence this servant, although he was sick, was nevertheless not burdensome to his master, but dear on account of his master's piety; Proverbs twelve: "The just man knows the souls of his beasts," etc.

Luke 7:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

And when he had heard of Jesus, etc. After the opportunity of working a miracle, the Evangelist here adds the worthiness of obtaining a remedy, which the Evangelist gathers from three things, namely from the centurion's reverence in supplicating, from the elders' confidence in petitioning, and from the Savior's clemency in condescending. Which three things, concurring together, make the sick servant worthy of finding the remedy of health. Therefore, as regards the centurion's reverent supplication, he sets forth: And when he had heard about Jesus, not only with the ear of the body, but also with the ear of the heart, according to that passage in Romans 10: "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." And because faith causes one to approach with reverence, since it proclaims the admirable majesty of God, therefore he adds: He sent to him the elders of the Jews, as though he himself were not worthy to approach nor dared to do so — just as the children of Israel at the time of the giving of the Law, in Exodus 20, said to Moses: "Speak to us yourself; let not the Lord speak to us, lest perhaps we die." And he himself gives this reason below in the same chapter: "For which reason I did not consider myself worthy to come to you." And therefore he sent, not as lesser messengers, but as more worthy ones. And therefore he sent elders, because they are to be revered and heeded for their age and wisdom; Job 12: "In the ancient is wisdom, and in length of time, prudence." — Hence through them he was entreating the Lord, which is noted when he adds: Asking him to come and heal his servant, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus 38: "In your sickness do not despise yourself, but pray to the Lord, and he will heal you"; and likewise another on your behalf, because, in the last chapter of James, "the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up." But Matthew seems to contradict this, for he says that "the centurion himself approached the Lord." But there is no contradiction, because, as Bede says, Matthew speaks of an approach through faith, while Luke narrates the order of events as they occurred. Augustine also says that according to common usage, one who begins to go is said to approach; and one who acts through another is also said to ask. Hence there is no contradiction; but there would be if Matthew said that he had come to him bodily in his own person, which he does not say — rather, he says something that is consistent with what Luke says, and the one explains and confirms the other.

Luke 7:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

As regards the confident intercession of the elders, he adds: And they, when they had come to Jesus, entreated him earnestly, because they did this out of love and confidence; Romans 12: "Not slothful in solicitude, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, instant in prayer, sharing in the necessities of the saints." And because the most powerful reason for obtaining a request is the merit of the one on whose behalf it is sought, therefore they add, saying: He is worthy that you should grant this to him; and thus you have already found what you seek, according to that passage in Wisdom 6 concerning Wisdom: "For she goes about seeking those who are worthy of her, and she shows herself to them cheerfully in the ways, and meets them with all providence."

Luke 7:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

And to confirm this worthiness they add: For he loves our nation, although he is a foreigner; and therefore you, who are of our nation, ought to love him, according to what you say of yourself in Proverbs 8: "I love those who love me." — Nor does he merely "love in word or tongue, but in deed and truth"; whence they also add: And he himself built us a synagogue, which indeed was a great benefaction and a sign of great love. Whence Gregory says of charity that "love works great things, if it exists; but if it refuses to work, it is not love." And since he gives great alms, he is worthy that you grant him a great favor, so that he may know that what is said in Sirach 12 is true: "Do good to the just, and you will find great recompense — and if not from him, certainly from the Lord"; as if they were saying: show yourself to be the Lord of our people, so that you may do for him as you did for the midwives in Exodus 1, who showed mercy to the Hebrews, of whom it is said: "Because the midwives feared God, he built them houses."

Luke 7:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

As for the condescending clemency of the Savior, it is added: And Jesus went with them, fully satisfying their petition. Now the Lord preferred to satisfy their petition rather than the petition of the royal official in John 4, who said: "Lord, come down before my son dies," either because of the greater faith and humility of the centurion, to whom the Lord more readily condescended, according to that passage in Jeremiah 5: "Lord, your eyes look upon faith." Or to commend humility, according to what Ambrose says: "He was unwilling to go to the son of the royal official, lest he seem to have honored riches; but he goes to the servant of the centurion, lest he be thought to have despised a servile condition. Faith shines forth in works, when he heals; but humility works more in the affections, when he goes." Or he did this to exclude respect of persons, according to what is said in Wisdom 6: "He himself made the small and the great, and he has equal care for all"; whence in Acts 10: "In truth I have found that God is no respecter of persons"; and therefore in James 2: "Do not, brothers, hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with respect of persons"; which happens when the rich are preferred to the poor, as is said in the same place. And when he was now not far off, etc. After the opportunity for working a miracle and the worthiness for obtaining a remedy, there is added here thirdly the fittingness of hastening the benefit, which indeed consists in the merit of excellent faith, whose excellence is confirmed in three ways: first, namely, from the humility of devout confession; second, from the authority of divine testimony; and third, from the swiftness of the desired healing. As for the humility of devout confession, note that the centurion intimates the excellence of divine power by a sign, explains it by word, and proves it by argument. He indicates by a sign, when he does not dare to receive Him; he explains by word, when he says that He can do all things: he proves by argument, because all things must obey Him. On account of which he says: And when He was now not far from the house: He was indeed near to the bodily house, but nearer to the house of the mind, because, according to that word of the Psalm: "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him"; whereas concerning the wicked, Jeremiah 12: "You are near to their mouth and far from their reins." This man was not such; whose sign was preeminent humility, which he showed first by confessing his own unworthiness, when he says: The centurion sent friends to Him, saying: Lord, do not trouble Yourself, as if to say: I am not such that You should labor on my account and be bodily wearied, because it was laborious for Him to go, according to that word of John 4: "But Jesus, wearied from the journey, sat thus upon the well." — He did not say this because he refused the bodily presence of Christ, but on account of his own unworthiness; whence he also adds: For I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, which he says in consideration of his own uncleanness and sin, just as Peter also above in chapter 5: "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man"; 2 Kings 24, Araunah said to the king: "What is the reason that my lord the king should come to his servant?" And this unworthiness was not hidden from him through pride, but was known to him through preeminent humility.

Luke 7:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

On account of which he adds: For which reason neither did I consider myself worthy to come to You. This judgment is one of humility, according to that word of Philippians 2: "In humility esteeming one another as superior to themselves." This judgment was in the Apostle through true humility, who said in 1 Corinthians 15: "I am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle." Ambrose: "Having laid aside military honor, he takes up reverence, ready for faith, prompt for giving honor." And indeed true humility does this, because, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus 3, "great is the power of God alone, and He is honored by the humble alone." Whence this man not only honored the Lord by confessing his own unworthiness, but also by professing the sublimity of divine power, when he adds: But say the word, and my servant shall be healed, as if to say: "no word is impossible with You," for You are that Word through whom "all things were made," John 1. You are that "word that heals all things," Wisdom 16; who "are full of power," Ecclesiastes 8; who are "living and efficacious," etc., Hebrews 4. Say therefore the word, and my servant shall be healed.

Luke 7:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

And that this suffices, he shows from the lesser, when he adds: For I also am a man set under authority, and thus I acknowledge myself subject to others, according to that passage in Romans thirteen: "Let every soul be subject to the higher powers"; yet so subject, that I am also set over others. Therefore he says: Having soldiers under me, who indeed obey my word; whence he adds: And I say to this one: Go, and he goes; and to another: Come, and he comes without contradiction, according to that passage in Hebrews, the last chapter: "Obey your leaders and submit to them." And this he says with respect to the greater services; and with respect to the lesser he adds: And to my servant, namely I say: Do this, and he does it: below in chapter twelve: "Blessed is that servant whom his lord, when he comes, shall find so doing," namely, as he commanded. From which he argues that, since He Himself is under no authority and has innumerable subjects, He can heal by a word alone; in which he confesses Jesus as Lord, concerning whom Ecclesiasticus forty-two says: "All things in every necessity obey Him."

Luke 7:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

But as for the authority of the divine testimony, there is added: Having heard this, Jesus marveled, that is, He bore Himself in the manner of one marveling, not because this was previously unknown to Him or seemed great to Him, but so that by a sign He might show that the faith of this Gentile man was great, just as that of the Gentile woman in Matthew fifteen: "O woman! great is your faith." And He manifests this by word, when He adds: And turning to the crowds that followed Him, He said, namely to the disciples, to whom He turned with kindness to teach, according to that passage in Deuteronomy thirty-three: "Those who draw near to His feet shall receive of His teaching"; Proverbs twenty-one: "He who follows the wise shall gain wisdom." And there follows what He said: Amen I say to you, not even in Israel have I found so great a faith, where greater ought to be found, because they have it as by inheritance from Abraham, of whom it is said in Genesis fifteen: "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him unto righteousness." They also have it through the Law: John five: "If you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me also; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe me?" But how can this be understood, since the Blessed Virgin was of Israel, to whom it is said above in chapter one: "Blessed are you who believed"; and also the Apostles? But this is said not because his faith is greater absolutely, but with respect had to the person. Whence Chrysostom says: "In a small word of wisdom, a rustic is praised more than a philosopher in a great one; and a boy, if he says something wisely, is praised where a more accomplished man would not be praised." So also in the matter at hand it is to be understood. Or it can be said that He means this with respect to reverence outwardly shown; or that in this the faith of the Gentiles is understood.

Luke 7:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

As to the swiftness of the desired healing, there is added: And those who had been sent returned, as if with hope of salvation obtained through the word of Christ, which he spoke, which Matthew expresses, although Luke is silent: "As you have believed, let it be done for you. And the boy was healed"; which Luke passes over in silence, because it can sufficiently be gathered from what was said before, because, as Bede says, "it is the custom of blessed Luke to abbreviate what has been fully set forth by others, or even deliberately to pass over it; but what has been said more briefly by others or omitted, he more carefully elucidates." And therefore he passes over in silence the word of the Lord, which the others relate, and tells of the return of the messengers, in order to express the swiftness of the miracle, which he intimates when he adds: They found the servant who had been sick, in good health. Therefore the operation of power arrived before the return of the messengers, so that what is said in the Psalm might be proven true: "His word runs swiftly." Nor is this surprising, because for him there is no difference between saying and doing, as the centurion faithfully believed and confessed with his mouth: because "with the heart one believes unto justice, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." And therefore, by believing and confessing that he could do it suddenly by his word alone, he obtained this by the merit of faith, so that the Lord's promise might be shown to be fulfilled, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-one: "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you will receive it, and it will be done for you." And thus the Evangelist sufficiently expressed the wondrous healing of the servant.

Luke 7:11-16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

According to the spiritual understanding, note that a threefold state is designated in the course of this miracle, namely the state of justice in the Lord's company; the state of injustice in the dead young man; and the state of penance in the same one raised to life. The state of justice is designated in Christ and his company. For the state of the just is threefold, namely of contemplation, prelacy, and action. The state of prelates is designated in Christ, of whom it is said in John 10: "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep"; where he shows in himself the form of right prelacy. — The state of contemplatives is designated in the disciples, who are admitted to the mountain at the transfiguration of the Lord, according to that passage of Matthew 17: "Jesus took Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them"; and below, in chapter 10: "Turning to his disciples he said: Blessed are the eyes that see what you see"; this is said to contemplatives. The state of actives is designated in the crowd, which is tossed about in the waves of the world; below, in chapter 10: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things"; because, as is said in John 16, "in the world you will have tribulation: but take courage, I have overcome the world." — Concerning this threefold state of justice it is said figuratively in Ezekiel 14: "If Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the midst of it, they indeed will deliver their own souls," etc. By Noah are understood prelates; by Daniel, to whom was given the understanding of visions, contemplatives; by Job, actives. The state of fault, however, is designated in the dead youth, of which there is a threefold degree: the first in interior affection; the second, in exterior operation; the third, in habit or obstinacy. These three states are designated by the three dead persons raised by the Lord, both by reason of places and by reason of ages. For the state of those sinning in the heart is designated by the girl who died in the house, of whom we read in Mark 5. The state of those sinning in deed is designated by the youth who was found at the gate of the city, because sin has already gone forth and become manifest; of whom we read here. The state of those sinning through habit and obstinacy is designated by Lazarus, already lying in manly age, already four days dead and stinking in the tomb, in John 11. To these three correspond three dead persons raised in the Old Testament, namely the little boy raised by Elisha, the son of the Shunammite woman, in Fourth Kings 4; the youth, the son of the woman of Zarephath, raised by Elijah, in Third Kings 17; and the man, raised by the dead Elisha, in Fourth Kings 13. In these three are designated the three aforementioned states. Also in these three, the three roots of sins can be designated, because one died from the languor of illness, in which is signified the concupiscence of the flesh; another from the heat of the sun, in which is signified the cupidity of the world; the third invisibly, in which is signified the pride of life. Now the state of penance is designated in the raised youth, of whom it is said that he sat up and began to speak and was restored to his mother. He sat up indeed through contrition, which lifts the head from the ground: in the Psalm: "Rise up after you have sat, you who eat the bread of sorrow"; and according to that passage of Jeremiah 15: "I sat alone, because you have filled me with bitterness." He began to speak, through confession: Job 10: "I will speak in the bitterness of my soul, I will say to God: Do not condemn me"; and chapter 7: "I will not spare my mouth, I will speak in the tribulation of my spirit, I will converse in the bitterness of my soul." He was restored to his mother, the Church, through satisfaction, because to make satisfaction is to render what is owed, not only to God the Father, but also to mother Church:…

Luke 7:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

And it came to pass, afterwards etc. After the miracle of the healing of one about to die, there is here subjoined the miracle of the raising of one dead: in which the demonstration of the excellence of the Savior is made more expressly. For the full description of this miracle, three things are introduced by the Evangelist. The first is the moving reason with respect to the miracle to be performed: the second is the efficient cause with respect to the miracle in its being performed; the third is the subsequent efficacy with respect to the miracle already accomplished. Now the reason moving the Lord to miraculously raise the dead man is shown in the text to be twofold, namely the instruction of the ignorant in the intellect and the consolation of those who mourn in the affections. And according to these, two groups are introduced in the first part, namely those accompanying him on the way, that they might be directed by his teaching, and those meeting him at the gate, that they might be consoled by his grace. First, therefore, as regards the company of the multitude to be instructed, it is said: And it came to pass afterwards, Jesus went into a city called Nain: he went, namely to teach, according to that passage in Matthew 4: "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues." And because those wishing to learn accompany the teacher, therefore he adds: And his disciples and a great multitude went with him. For they knew that to be true which is written in Deuteronomy 33: "They who draw near to his feet shall receive of his teaching"; and that passage of Proverbs 13: "He who walks with the wise shall become wiser." And therefore it is said in Ecclesiasticus 8: "Do not despise the discourse of wise elders, and be conversant with their proverbs: for from them you shall learn wisdom and doctrine." And therefore the crowds accompany the Lord and his disciples, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Draw near to him, and be enlightened."

Luke 7:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

As regards the encounter with the multitude to be consoled, it is added: When he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; concerning whom there was grief and mourning, because he was dead, according to that passage of Sirach twenty-two: "Weep over the dead: for his light has failed." The mourning was even greater, because he was an only-begotten son, over whom the lamentation becomes all the more bitter as he was all the more dear; Jeremiah six: "Make for yourself the mourning of an only-begotten, a bitter lamentation"; and 2 Kings one, David mourning the dead Jonathan: "As a mother loves her only son, so I loved you." But the mourning was greatest, because the mother was utterly desolate; on account of which it says: And she was a widow, and thus already utterly desolate, lacking the consolation both of a son and of a husband. This the woman of Tekoa alleges to obtain mercy, 2 Kings fourteen: "Alas! I am a widow woman." And therefore Jeremiah lamented the widowhood of Jerusalem, Lamentations one: "How does the city sit solitary that was full of people" etc. And for this reason many had compassion on her; whence it adds: And a large crowd of the city was with her, namely to grieve together and to console, because this was the custom of the Jews, according to that passage of John eleven: "Many of the Jews had come to Mary and Martha, to console them concerning their brother." To all of whom this widow could say: "O all you who pass by the way, attend and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow"! shortly after: "He has made me desolate, consumed with grief all the day." And therefore she was in need of consolation.

Luke 7:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

When the Lord saw her, etc. Here the efficient cause is touched upon with respect to the miracle in its coming-to-be, which indeed was twofold, namely the affection of piety in the heart inclining to compassion, and the power of majesty in speech commanding to rise. The first regards the assumed nature; the second, the Eternal. As to the affection of piety in the heart, it is said: When the Lord saw her, moved with compassion, namely as to the affection of the heart, so that he could say that passage of Job thirty: "I wept formerly over him who was afflicted"; and thirty-one: "From my infancy compassion grew up with me." And because compassion hidden in affection appears in address, he said: Do not weep, consoling her with kind speech, according to that passage of Job twenty-nine: "I consoled the heart of the widow"; and Jeremiah thirty-one: "Let your voice cease from weeping, and your eyes from tears."

Luke 7:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

And because it is fitting that the effect of work accompany the affection of the heart and the utterance of the mouth, therefore he adds: And he came near and touched the bier, to show to all his kindness, by which he does not despise the dead, since according to the Law one who touches a dead person would be unclean, as is said in Leviticus twenty-one; and so that by touching, not by commanding, he might humbly make the bearers stop. — Whence it is added: And those who carried him stood still, namely expecting a miracle, according to what is said to Job himself in the thirty-seventh chapter: "Listen to this, Job, stand still and consider the wonders of God." But as to the command of majesty in speech, it is added: And he said: Young man, I say to you: Arise; Ephesians five: "Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you"; so that that word of John five may be verified: "The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God"; which indeed is a voice commanding and powerful to raise the dead by reason of its own power, according to that of the Psalm: "He shall give to his voice the voice of power." And rightly, because, as Augustine says, "no one so easily rouses a sleeper from sleep as Christ calls back from the tomb." Moreover, he directs this speech to the dead man, not only as something arousing, but as something restorative of hearing, to show that what is said in John eight is true: "I am the beginning, who also speak to you" — the beginning, namely by working interiorly, who speak by arousing exteriorly. Whence in Christ, because the flesh is joined to the eternal Word, the exterior voice is joined to that interior speaking, which is the principle of all creation, as is evident in the works of the six days, Genesis one; it is also the principle of all restoration; Wisdom sixteen: "Your word, O Lord, heals all things."

Luke 7:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

And he who was dead sat up. Here thirdly is noted the subsequent efficacy with respect to the miracle already accomplished, which indeed is twofold according to a twofold end, namely of the work and of the intention. The first efficacy is the raising of the dead man; the second, the promotion of faith. First therefore is designated the raising of the dead man as known to the people standing by, when he says: And he who was dead sat up, and began to speak; in which it manifestly appears that he was alive, because life is recognized in two ways, namely through sense and motion. There is no doubt that he spoke words of divine praise, which indeed belongs not to the dead but to the living, according to that which is said in the Psalm: "The dead shall not praise you, O Lord, but we who live bless the Lord." And note that the raising of the girl is proven by eating, Mark five; the raising of Lazarus by walking, John eleven; the raising of the young man by speaking, as here. And eating pertains to the act of the vegetative soul, walking to the act of the sensitive soul, speaking to the act of the rational soul, so that by this threefold proof the Lord of the soul may be shown to rule according to its every power and virtue. Nor was it only known to the people standing by, but also pleasing to the mother who was longing for him; whence he adds: And he gave him to his mother, in which he shows that he raised him for the consolation of his mother. Whence she could say that word of Anna in first Kings one: "I prayed to the Lord for this boy, and he granted me my petition." Thus Elijah handed over the resuscitated boy to his mother, saying in third Kings seventeen: "Behold, your son lives"; but that one handed over, this one gave, because that one was the minister of the raising, but this one is the giver of life and salvation.

Luke 7:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Secondly, the promotion of faith is designated with respect to reverence for the Creator, when it is said: And fear seized all, and they magnified God: fear, namely, of magnifying reverence: Job thirty-seven: "Men shall fear him, and none shall dare to contemplate, all who seem to themselves to be wise"; and Isaiah fifty-nine: "They shall fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun." And thus fearing in heart they glorified and magnified with mouth: Ecclesiasticus forty-three: "Glorifying him as much as you can, he shall still prevail beyond." "And who shall magnify him as he is from the beginning"? But faith is not sufficiently promoted to reverence for the Creator without understanding of the Mediator: and therefore with respect to that there is added: Saying: A great prophet has risen among us, that is, Christ the Mediator, according to that passage of Deuteronomy eighteen: "The Lord will raise up a prophet for you from your brethren like me; him you shall hear." And because God has visited his people, namely through Christ the Redeemer, according to that passage of Zechariah, above in chapter one: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people"; and this according to that passage of Genesis, the last chapter: "After my death the Lord will visit you and lead you out of this place"; which is understood concerning the visitation through Christ the Mediator. And thus it appears from the foregoing how he was manifested with respect to the excellence of his power.

Luke 7:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

And this word went forth etc. After the excellence of power in Christ has been sufficiently shown through the greatness of the twofold miracle, here secondly is shown the evidence of truth in the same through the certainty of truthful testimony, which was indeed the testimony of the Forerunner. Now for the certification of this testimony, one can and ought to proceed in two ways: either through the proof of the truth itself in itself, or through the approbation of virtue in the one testifying. The first regards the Forerunner's teaching, the second regards the Forerunner's life, both of which contribute to the corroboration of the testimony. Now John asks of him to whom he had borne testimony, not in order to remove doubt, but in order to confirm the testimony through an infallible argument. Therefore, first is introduced the occasion of seeking from the proclamation of Christ's name: with respect to which it is said: And this report went out, namely concerning the raising of the dead man, into all Judea concerning him and into the entire surrounding region, so that all could say that word of Job twenty-eight: "With our ears we have heard the fame of him"; and Joshua nine: "We have heard the fame of his power," namely of your God: whence also in Matthew four it is said that "his fame went throughout all Syria." A figure of this preceded in King Uzziah: Second Chronicles twenty-six: "His name went out far abroad, because the Lord helped him and strengthened him."

Luke 7:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Now this proclamation of fame, although it was for many a cause of believing, was nevertheless for some an occasion of derision, as for the disciples of John, with respect to whom it is added: And his disciples reported to John concerning all these things. Bede: "Not with a simple heart, but spurred by envy, as elsewhere, namely in John three, they complain saying: Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—behold, he baptizes, and all come to him." Concerning such persons, in Philippians one: "Some preach Christ out of contention, not sincerely." From this therefore was taken the occasion of inquiring whether he himself was the one whom John had foretold, both for the sake of uprooting the envy of the disciples, and for the sake of putting the contention to rest, and for the sake of removing their doubt, and also for the sake of now more clearly spreading abroad the truth itself.

Luke 7:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

There follows therefore secondly the putting forth of the question from John's office, when it is said: And John called two of his disciples and sent them to Jesus. For this pertains to his office, the sending of disciples to Christ. For it is the office of the Precursor to send to Christ equally by word and by office, that is, both by preaching and by baptizing, according to what is said in Acts nineteen: "John baptized with the baptism of penance, saying that they should believe in him who was to come." Whence the Gloss: "He sent them to Jesus, so that by this occasion they might see the signs, and being corrected might believe in him." And Ambrose: "He sent his disciples to Christ, so that they might attain the supplement of knowledge, because Christ is the fullness of the Law, and because words without deeds usually waver, so that a fuller faith might be displayed through the testimonies of deeds than through the pledges of words." Whence he was sending them to the Truth, so that they themselves might be made certain through the truth, and having been made certain might render testimony to the truth; and therefore he sent two, because, according to that passage in John eight, you say that "the testimony of two men is true." — Because, however, they still doubted, therefore he gives them the form of inquiry, when it is added: Saying: Are you he who is to come, that is, whom I foretold was to come: John one; "After me comes he who was made before me," and in the other Evangelists. Or do we look for another? As if to say: if you are he, then another is not to be expected, lest perchance, if we look for another, we receive not Christ but antichrist, concerning whom the Lord says to the unbelieving Jews in John five: "I came in the name of my Father, and you did not receive me; if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive."

Luke 7:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

There is subjoined moreover thirdly the report of the question put forth through the ministry of the disciples, when it is added: And when the men had come to him. These two men were prefigured by the two spies sent beyond the Jordan, Joshua two. These are called men, because they manfully and faithfully fulfilled what had been commanded to them. Whence it is added: They said: John the Baptist sent us to you, so that we might inquire of you in his person. Which he notes, when he adds: Saying: Are you he who is to come, or do we look for another? Whence note that this question is proposed by the disciples in the person of John, to show that the disciples bear a doubting mind within themselves, but through John are directed to Christ. Hence John did not pose the question on his own account, because he did not doubt in himself, but in his disciples. And this is what Chrysostom says: "Since he had learned by the Spirit, who had heard the voice of the Father, who had preached to the rest, who had borne witness, how could he doubt after so many miracles, through which he had become known to many? Had he perhaps become more timid on account of his imprisonment? Far be it, since the Lord says of him that he is not a reed shaken by the wind." Hence he did not doubt, but put forth the words of one doubting for the certainty of his disciples, just as it is said in John 11: "Where have you laid him?" and in John 6: "Whence shall we buy bread?" Gregory, however, holds that he doubted and inquired not about the first coming, of which he was certain, but about the descent into hell, in which he still had to precede Christ. Ambrose, for his part, holds that he doubted not from unbelief or slowness, like the disciples, "but from a certain piety," as is said in the Gloss.

Luke 7:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

In that very hour, etc. After the question proposed, he adds the solution to the question, for the removal of the disciples' doubt and the confirmation of John's testimony. In which the Lord responds most perfectly, namely to the question and to the one asking and to every objector. First indeed he responds to the question by performing miracles, through which it is proved that he himself is the Christ or Messiah; and on this account it is said: In that very hour, namely of the arrival of the disciples, which was indeed the hour for making truth known, according to that passage in Romans 13: "It is the hour for us now to rise from sleep," etc.; therefore in this hour, to make the truth known, he healed many. As a figure of this, it is said of Simon, the son of Onias, in Sirach 50: "He healed his nation and delivered it from destruction." And because the power of miracles is considered not only in the multitude of those healed and on the part of the persons, but also on the part of the diseases, therefore it is added that he healed from manifold illness, namely from infirmities, with regard to the prolonged nature of disease: Sirach 10: "A prolonged illness burdens the physician. A brief illness the physician cuts short," so that thus might be fulfilled that passage of Isaiah 53: "Truly he himself bore our infirmities and he himself carried our sicknesses." — From afflictions, with regard to the severity of disease, according to that passage in Jeremiah 30: "With the blow of an enemy I have struck you, with cruel chastisement." From these the Lord healed, as is petitioned in the Psalm: "Remove from me your scourges," etc. And from evil spirits, as regards the assault of external violence, which occurs through an evil spirit: 1 Kings sixteen: "An evil spirit from the Lord troubled Saul." — And to many who were blind he gave sight, in which is noted the defect of intrinsic power, so that that word of Isaiah twenty-nine might be fulfilled: "Out of darkness and gloom the eyes of the blind shall see." And through these things he manifests that he is the one who was to come: John five: "You sent to John, and he bore witness to the truth. But I have a greater testimony." "And the works that I do, they bear witness of me."

Luke 7:21-23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Spiritually, note here that from the cure of diseases presently exhibited is understood the perfect cure from original sin; but from the cure of diseases reported to John, the perfect cure from actual sin. As to the cure from original sin, note that for one to be perfectly cured, it is necessary that a cure and healing be accomplished from four things which were inflicted on account of original sin, namely from concupiscence, impotence, malice, and ignorance. And these four are designated by the cure of four kinds of infirmities. For concupiscence is understood by languor, on account of its universal adherence, according to that of Isaiah 1: "Every head is languid, and every heart is sorrowful." Impotence, by the wound: Jeremiah 10: "Woe to me for my destruction! My wound is most grievous." By the evil spirit is understood wickedness; First Kings 16: "An evil spirit troubled Saul." By blindness, ignorance: Isaiah 59: "We have groped as blind men at noonday"; and Isaiah 56: "His watchmen are all blind." In the cure, therefore, of this fourfold infirmity is understood the perfect cure of original sin. As for the perfect cure from actual sin, note that in the consummation of impiety in actual sin there are five degrees. The first is deviation in choosing, and this is designated by blindness: Lamentations 4: "The blind have wandered in the streets"; because "error and darkness were created together with sinners," according to Sirach 11. The second is disorder in pursuing, which is understood through the lame: Psalm: "Strange children have grown old and have limped from their paths"; whence 3 Kings 18: "How long do you halt between two sides?" etc. The third is contagion in associating, which is understood through leprosy: Deuteronomy 24: "Observe diligently, lest you incur the plague of leprosy"; Ezekiel 36: "Be cleansed from all your defilements." The fourth is obstinacy in persisting, which is understood through deafness, according to the Psalm: "Like the deaf asp that stops its ears." The fifth is despair in despising, because "the wicked man, when he has come into the depth of sins, despises," Proverbs 18. And this is designated by death: Isaiah 28: "We have struck a covenant with death"; and this "is the sin unto death," of which is spoken in 1 John 5. From all these the power of Christ cures through his grace, which was designated in the pool, of which it is said in John 5, that "the Angel of the Lord descended, and the water was moved, and whoever descended first was made whole, from whatever infirmity held him." And this is "the power that went out from him and healed all," according to what is said above in chapter six.

Luke 7:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Second, he responds to the questioner by declaring the wonders seen and heard by the disciples; on account of which he says: And answering he said to them: Go and report to John what you have heard and seen, because, as is said in Tobit twelve, "it is honorable to reveal and confess the works of God." He commands them to declare what they have seen and heard, because these two senses show us very many distinctions, so that in this the more perfect faith of John is shown, who believed by hearing alone, than that of those who saw and believed, according to that word in John twenty concerning Thomas, to whom it is said: "Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed. Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed." Moreover, he commands them to narrate the wonders, which are indeed the principal miracles on account of their impossibility with respect to created power, such as the restoration of sight, the rectification of gait, the cleansing of the whole body, the repair of hearing, the restoration of life, and the relief of poverty. As regards the restoration of sight, he says: The blind see: Isaiah thirty-five: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened," namely at the coming of Christ: John nine: "From the beginning of the world it has not been heard that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind." As regards the rectification of gait, it is said: The lame walk: Micah four: "In that day I will gather her that limps, and her whom I had cast out, I will collect"; Isaiah thirty-five: "Then shall the lame leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute shall be opened." As regards the cleansing of the whole body, it is said: Lepers are cleansed, as below in chapter seventeen ten lepers are read to have been cleansed, and as is said in Job fourteen: "Who can make clean what is conceived of unclean seed? Is it not you alone?" You therefore, who do this, are the one who is to come. As for the opening of hearing, it is added: The deaf hear. Isaiah thirty-five: "The ears of the deaf shall be opened," namely at the coming of Christ, according to that passage of Mark seven: "He has done all things well: he has made both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak." — As for the restoration of life, it is said: The dead rise again, according to that passage of Ezekiel thirty-seven: "You shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have opened your graves and brought you forth from your tombs and given my spirit in you, and you shall live," and this is at the coming of Christ; John five: "The hour comes, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God." Lastly, as for the relief of destitution, it is added: The poor have the Gospel preached to them, that is, they are proclaimed and exalted through the Gospel; which is evident, because the discourse of the Lord began with the commendation of the poor: Matthew five: "Blessed are the poor," and above in chapter six. And this was a certain sign of the coming of Christ, according to that passage of Isaiah twenty-nine: "The poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel"; because, as it is said in the last chapter of Isaiah, "To whom shall I look but to the poor little one, contrite in spirit," etc. And James two: "Has not God chosen the poor in this world," etc.; because of Christ himself it was said: "He shall spare the poor and needy and shall save the souls of the poor"; and afterward: "And their name shall be honorable before him." And it was a great wonder that the name of the poor should become honorable and lovable and worthy of proclamation — which came about only through Jesus, who made himself poor in order to enrich and honor us who are poor; Second Corinthians eight: "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor, though he was rich." And note that he says The poor have the Gospel preached to them rather than virgins or the obedient, because poverty is the foundation of evangelical perfection. For the foundation of the ci…

Luke 7:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Finally, however, he responds to every one who contradicts, suppressing rash judgments, which cast men headlong into various scandals. On account of which he adds: And blessed is he who shall not be scandalized in me, that is, who shall not have judged me to be a mere man and not God, in consideration of the weakness assumed: which indeed was very difficult, nay impossible, for one who did not believe: whence First Corinthians 1: "We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews indeed a scandal, but to the Gentiles foolishness." But some were scandalized on account of weakness, as were the disciples: Matthew 26: "You will all suffer scandal in me this night"; but some from malice, as the scribes and Pharisees, according to that of Matthew 15: "Do you know that the Pharisees, when they heard this word, were scandalized?" Whence this is a general instruction for all who wish to know Christ, that on account of the infirmities which he suffered, they should not fall into scandal, according to that of Isaiah 8: "Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and he shall be to you for sanctification; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of scandal to the two houses of Israel, and for a ruin to the inhabitants of Jerusalem." And therefore he rightly calls such a one blessed, because he avoids the danger of error and arrives at the light of truth, as Peter, to whom it is said in Matthew 16: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you," etc.

Luke 7:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

And when they had departed etc. Above he confirmed the testimony of John through the evidence of truth in himself; here secondly he confirms it through the evidence of virtue in John who testified. Moreover, the prerogative of virtue is shown to have been fourfold in John: first, namely, as regards the merit of life; second, as regards the office of teaching; third, as regards the gift of grace; fourth, as regards the proclamation of renown. As regards the first, it should be noted that the merit of life is commended in John in two ways: first, as regards constancy in the face of difficulties; second, as regards abstinence in respect of pleasurable things. There is therefore first introduced a commendation of the constancy of John in the absence of the disciples: on account of which he says: And when the messengers of John had departed, having obtained the resolution of the question, returning as good messengers to him by whom they had been sent: concerning whom Job thirty-eight says: "Will you send forth lightnings, and will they go, and returning say to you: We are here?" In their absence John ought to be praised, so that the praise may be shown to be true, not adulatory: therefore it is said: He began to speak about John to the crowds: he began indeed to praise him to the crowds, lest John should seem to have sent his disciples to Christ out of doubt. Therefore he begins to commend him for constancy: What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed shaken by the wind? As if to say: John is not like a reed, so as to tremble and be shaken by any impulse, but strong and fixed in faith and in all goodness: according to what James one says: "Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering: for he who wavers is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind." "But a double-minded man is inconstant in all his ways." Such truly is a reed, but John was not such, since he was most holy, since it is said in Ecclesiasticus twenty-seven: "A holy man remains in wisdom like the sun: for a fool is changed like the moon." Such are all the Saints, according to that passage in Ephesians four: "Let us not be little children, tossed about and carried around by every wind of doctrine in the wickedness of men." Therefore Paul entreated in Second Thessalonians two: "We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you be not quickly moved from your understanding." But whoever wishes to attain this constancy must leave the world and go out to John in the desert, according to what is said in First Maccabees two: "Mattathias cried out with a loud voice: Everyone who has zeal for the Law, let him go out after me"; and it follows that "many went out into the desert."

Luke 7:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Secondly, there is added the commendation of John's abstinence with respect to pleasurable things; on account of which he says: But what did you go out to see? that is, to consider: A man clothed in soft garments? as if to say: no. For John, most holy, was a stranger to all softness of carnality, as is said in Matthew 3: "Now John had a garment of camel's hair, and his food was locusts." He was truly of the number of evangelical men, in whose person it is said in 1 Timothy 6: "Having food and wherewith to be covered, let us be content with these"; wherewith to be covered he says, not: wherewith to be adorned. Bernard to Eugenius: "The Apostles were mighty in battle, not soft in silk; and if you are a son of the Apostles and Prophets, do you likewise." But whoever wishes to do this must forsake the world and go out into the desert with John. — On account of which he adds: Behold, those who are in costly apparel and in delicacies are in the houses of kings: as if to say: costly apparel and a luxurious life belong to worldly men, not to spiritual men and Christians. Whence in 1 Peter 3 it is said of women: "Whose adorning let it not be the outward plaiting of the hair, or the wearing of gold and silver, or the putting on of apparel." On which Gregory says: "Let no one think that there is no sin in the wearing of costly garments. Consider what fault it is that even men should desire that from which the pastor of the Church took care to prohibit even women." For costly garments of this kind are carnal and luxurious, but in delicacies the spiritual life is imperiled; whence 1 Timothy 5: "The widow who lives in delicacies is dead while living"; Jeremiah 31: "How long will you be dissolved in delicacies, O wandering daughter"? Moreover, costly and luxurious garments of this kind are customarily an occasion of vainglory; and therefore he adds: They are in the houses of kings: concerning which Sirach 11: "Never glory in clothing, nor exalt yourself in the day of your honor."

Luke 7:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

But what did you go out to see? After the Savior commended John with respect to the merit of his life, here he commends him with respect to the office of teaching, and in right order, because a good life ought to come before authoritative teaching. Moreover, the office of teaching is commended in John in two ways, namely with respect to clarity in knowing and with respect to authority in teaching, which two things render the office of a teacher perfect. First, therefore, as regards limpidity in knowing the divine mystery, it is said: But what did you go out to see? A Prophet? to whom, namely, the Lord reveals future things, according to that passage in Amos 3: "For the Lord God does nothing without first revealing His secret to His servants the Prophets." But to this one He not only foretold future things, but also showed Himself in present reality; and therefore He adds: Yes, I say to you, and more than a Prophet. Concerning whom Ambrose says: "Because many desired to see Him whom this one prophesied, whom this one beheld, whom this one baptized"; therefore, by pointing out Christ with his finger and seeing Him with his eye, he was more excellent and more blessed than the other Prophets, according to that passage below in chapter 10: "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you that many Prophets and kings wished to see what you see, and did not see it." And therefore, because his office was more excellent than that of the Prophets, the Baptist, in John 1, when the Pharisees asked: "Are you the Prophet?" answers: "I am not, but the voice of one crying in the wilderness." Nor is there any contradiction, but rather harmony, because a prophet foretells future and absent things, but a voice makes manifest things present.

Luke 7:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Second, as regards authority in teaching through divine mandate, it is said: This is he of whom it is written, namely in Malachi 3, where the Father speaks to the Son: "Behold, I send my angel," that is, my authoritative messenger, John, who is called an angel not by simplicity of nature but by the authority of his teaching, according to that passage in Malachi 2: "The lips of the priest shall guard knowledge, and they shall seek the law from his mouth, because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts." John is therefore called a messenger in the manner of an Angel because, just as the Angels "see the face of the Father" in the Godhead, so he himself saw the face of Christ and pointed Him out in the flesh. — On account of which He adds: Before your face, that is, your appearance in the flesh, concerning which it is said in the Psalm: "Show us your face, and we shall be saved." This face Isaiah desired in the person of the Fathers, in chapter 64: "Would that you would rend the heavens and come down; the mountains would melt before your face." — And because they were not prepared to receive that face unless they were forewarned, therefore it is said: Who has prepared your way before you, namely by being born, by living among men, by baptizing, by preaching. For in all these ways he was joined to Christ, as a voice to a word. Therefore it was rightly said of him in Isaiah 40, and taken up above in chapter 3 and in John 1: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord"; so that that passage in Isaiah 35 may be fulfilled: "There shall be for you a straight way, so that fools may not err along it."

Luke 7:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

For I say to you: Greater etc. Here thirdly Christ commends his precursor with regard to the gift of divine grace, by which he was "great before the Lord," according to what is said above in chapter one. And since the gift of grace in John had a prerogative in degree and a measure of limitation in status: therefore he intimates these two things when he commends the gift of grace in John. First, therefore, he commends John with regard to the prerogative of the gratuitous gift in respect of a mere man, when he says: For I say to you: Among those born of women there is no greater prophet than John the Baptist. He is not, therefore, among men in the degree of grace at the lowest or middle level; it is necessary, therefore, that he be at the highest. Whence from this it is said not only that he is great, but that he is the greatest, so that what is said of Joshua in Ecclesiasticus forty-six can be said of him: "Who was great according to his name, greatest in saving the elect of God." For because he had great grace, therefore he was called John. He was also great through the merit of his life, greater through the mastery of his teaching, greatest through the privilege of grace. However, he is not said to be greater than all, so as to be preferred above all, but that no other was greater than he; nor is this said of all universally past and future, but of those then past. Nor is it said with respect to both sexes, but only the male; whence the Virgin Mary is not included, who "was exalted above the choirs of Angels," having no pure creature superior to her nor even equal, according to that passage of Song of Songs six: "One is my dove, my perfect one, she is the only one of her mother, the chosen one of her who bore her." Secondly, he intimates the measure of that gift with respect to the man Christ, with regard to whom he says: But he who is lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. The kingdom of heaven here he calls the Church, according to how Gregory expounds that passage of Matthew thirteen: "He will send his Angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all scandals." The lesser in this kingdom is called the more humble; but this is Christ, of whom it is said in the Psalm: "You diminished him a little less than the Angels, with glory and honor you crowned him." For because, as is said in Philippians two, "he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death," "the Lord gave him the name which is above every name." And thus was verified that passage of Isaiah sixty: "The least shall become a thousand, and a little one a most strong nation." And this is the divine law which he himself gave in Matthew eighteen: "Whoever shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven." Thus indeed, nay rather in every way Christ humbled himself more: below in chapter twenty-two: "Who is greater, he who reclines at table, or he who serves? But I am in the midst of you as one who serves." Whence Gregory says: "Humble yourself as much as you can; Christ will still be more humble." It could nevertheless be explained concerning the Blessed, that the least of the good Angels would be greater than John for that state: for there is "a fire of charity in Zion, and a furnace in Jerusalem," Isaiah thirty-one.

Luke 7:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

And all the people hearing etc. Here fourthly, so that nothing may be lacking to the commendation of John, he is commended by the Lord with respect to the proclamation of his fame. And since the fame of the good is salutary to the elect and pernicious to the reprobate, according to that passage of Second Corinthians two: "We are the good odor of Christ unto God, in those who are saved and in those who perish: to some indeed the odor of death unto death, to others the odor of life unto life"; therefore he commends in a twofold manner the proclamation of fame in John: first by showing it salutary to believers, second deadly to despisers. For to the first John appeared praiseworthy, but to the second contemptible: the first were humble and the second proud. First therefore he introduces the commendation of John from the humble who assented, when he says: And all the people hearing, namely John preaching, justified God, that is, declared Him to be just, showing themselves to be unjust, confessing their sins, according to that passage of the Psalm: "That you may be justified in your words and may overcome when you are judged." For the sinner, when he confesses his sin, declares God just and justifies himself, according to that passage of Isaiah forty-three: "Tell, if you have anything, that you may be justified"; another translation: "Declare you first your iniquities, that you may be justified." And in this manner the publicans and sinners did, hearing John, according to that passage of Matthew three: "All Jerusalem went out to him, and all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan, to be baptized by him, confessing their sins." For these two things are required for the justification of sinners, namely penance and baptism. — And therefore he adds: Having been baptized with the baptism of John: above in chapter three: "And the publicans also came to be baptized," seeking from him what they should do: whence by sign and word they approved John as an angel of God and held his name in glory. Whence when the Lord asked of the Pharisees in Matthew twenty-one: "The baptism of John, whence was it, from heaven or from men?" they said among themselves: "If we say: From heaven, he will say to us: Why then did you not believe him? But if we say: From men, we fear the crowd: for all held John as a Prophet." And therefore it is added: "The publicans and harlots shall go before you into the kingdom of heaven."

Luke 7:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Second, he adds the contempt of John by the proud Pharisees, when he says: But the Pharisees, in whom was the pride of sanctity, and the experts of the law, in whom was the arrogance of knowledge of the truth, despised the counsel of God against themselves, not having been baptized by him, because, according to that passage below in chapter ten, "he who despises you despises me." Whence those who despised John, who was God's messenger, despised the divine counsel. Such were the Pharisees, so that the Wisdom of God could reproach them: "You have despised all our counsel"; and that passage of Isaiah chapter one was verified in them: "I have nourished and brought up children, but they have despised me." And therefore the Apostle counseled in First Thessalonians, last chapter: "Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecies." — But in this they despised the divine counsel, because they refused baptism, through which divine wisdom counseled for human salvation. A figure of this preceded in the ark of Noah constructed during the flood, Genesis chapter six. On account of which it is said in First Peter chapter three: "Which also now saves you in a similar form, namely baptism." And note that the Pharisees despised the counsel of God against themselves for six reasons. First, because they preferred human statutes to divine ones: Matthew chapter fifteen: "Why do you transgress the Law of God for the sake of your tradition?" — Second, because they preferred the justice of the Law to the justice of faith: Romans chapter ten: "Being ignorant of God's justice and seeking to establish their own," etc. Third, because they preferred appearance to truth: Matthew chapter twenty-three: "Woe to you! who cleanse what is on the outside." — Fourth, because they preferred affluence to poverty: below in chapter sixteen: "The Pharisees, who were avaricious, heard all these things and derided him," etc. — Fifth, because they preferred vain glory to humility: John chapter twelve: "They loved the glory of men more than the glory of God." Sixth, because they preferred advantage to uprightness: Matthew chapter twenty-three: "Woe to you! who say: Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated. Fools and blind," etc.

Luke 7:30 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

The evil counselor is he who converts great things into nothing, as those who say that the counsels of God are evil and worthless. Such counselors were the Pharisees and Lawyers, of whom it is said: 'The Pharisees and the Lawyers rejected the counsel of God.' Would that there were none such now!

Luke 7:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

But the Lord said: To whom then shall I liken etc. After our Savior extolled the prerogative of virtue in John, here he rebukes the perfidy of unbelief in the people, whose unbelief he rebukes in four ways. For he charges them with infidelity, with hardness, with detraction, and with blasphemy. First, therefore, as regards the mark of unbelief in thought, it is said: To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like? — who, namely, refused to believe John on account of the blindness of their mind; of this, I say, unbelieving generation, according to that passage of Deuteronomy thirty-two: "For it is a perverse generation and unfaithful children"; and Mark nine: "O unbelieving generation! How long shall I be with you? How long shall I endure you?" The Psalm: "Let them not become, like their fathers, a depraved and rebellious generation, a generation that did not direct its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful with God." And therefore Jeremiah two: "Consider earnestly whether a nation has changed its gods; but my people have changed their glory for an idol."

Luke 7:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Second, as regards the mark of hardness in affection, he adds: They are like children, where he adjoins a similitude through which their hardness is shown, because they were moved neither by the song of promises nor by the lamentation of threats, just as foolish children in the marketplace do not respond to others, neither to those singing nor to those lamenting — whom he introduces by way of similitude. For which reason he says: They are like children sitting in the marketplace. Likewise it befits them to be told and reproached with what children sitting in the marketplace reproach their companions with. For which reason he adds: Speaking to one another and saying: We piped to you, and you did not dance: because thus preachers can say to them: We piped to you, namely by sounding forth the promises of God; and you did not dance, by making progress. And the comparison is fitting, because the preacher is compared to a piper, according to that passage of Isaiah fifty-eight: "Cry out, do not cease; lift up your voice like a trumpet"; and Jeremiah four: "Sound the trumpet in Zion." Nor undeservedly, because, Ecclesiasticus forty, "the pipe and the psaltery make a sweet melody, and above both a pleasant tongue." At these things the hard of heart are not moved, nor do they dance through progress in good works; concerning which leaping, Malachi four: "You shall go forth and leap like a calf from the herd, and you shall tread down the wicked." And concerning this, Ambrose says: "It is an honorable dance, because the soul elevated by good works leaps for joy"; whence those who were not moved by the song of promises are hard of heart, but harder still in deed, because they were not moved even by the threats of punishments. For which reason he adds: We have lamented to you, namely through the threat of punishment: Ezekiel 2: "There were written in the book lamentations and song and woe"; and Jeremiah 9: "Consider and call the mourning women, and let them take up a lamentation over us"; Joel 2: "Turn to me in fasting and weeping and mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments." And yet they were not moved by this: whence he adds: And you did not weep, through the compunction of penance: Isaiah 22: "The Lord will call to weeping and mourning"; and afterward: "And behold, joy and gladness, slaughtering rams," etc.: although the Apostle says in Romans 12: "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep."

Luke 7:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Third, as to the mark of detraction in speech, by which they turn good into evil, it is said: John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and thus in the way of severity and justice, as is said in Matthew 21: "John came to you in the way of justice." Whence, because he came with the austerity of penance, he came as one lamenting and groaning for the salvation of the people, according to that passage of Daniel 10: "I Daniel mourned for three weeks of days; I did not eat desirable bread, and flesh and wine did not enter my mouth." But nevertheless through him their hardness was not softened to weeping, but their malice was increased to detraction. Whence it is added: And you say: He has a demon, because he is unlike the life of others. So they said to the Savior in John 10: "He has a demon: why do you listen to him?" Whence the works of power, which are from the Holy Spirit, they out of the wickedness of their heart attributed to a demon, as they said in Matthew 9: "By the prince of demons he casts out demons." And thus was verified in them that passage of Sirach 11: "He who turns good into evil lies in wait, and upon the elect he will place a stain." And therefore woe to them, according to that passage of Isaiah 5: "Woe to you who call good evil and evil good!"

Luke 7:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Fourth, as to the mark of blasphemy in obstinacy against Christ himself, it is added: The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and thus in the way of clemency, as a physician and as a bridegroom, as above in chapter 5: "You cannot make the children of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them." And yet they were not moved to rejoicing, but perverted to blaspheming; and therefore it is added: And you say: Behold, a man who is a glutton and a wine-drinker: they say this with regard to excess in food, as if to say: he cannot be wise, according to that passage of Proverbs 20: "Wine is a luxurious thing and drunkenness is tumultuous." A friend of tax collectors and sinners, with regard to the dishonor of his company, as if to say: he cannot be good, because, as it is said in Ecclesiasticus 13, "he who touches pitch will be defiled by it, and he who associates with the proud will put on pride." But wrongly, because in Jeremiah 15: "They shall be converted to you, and you shall not be converted to them"; and in Matthew 9: "Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners," to repentance.

Luke 7:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

And because the blasphemy of the Jews is aggravated by the true preaching of the Apostles, therefore it is added: And Wisdom is justified by all her children. For the Evangelist calls Christ Wisdom, according to that passage of First Corinthians 1: "Who was made unto us by God wisdom and righteousness." The children of this Wisdom are the Apostles, begotten through the word of this Wisdom and vivified through the Holy Spirit, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 4: "Wisdom breathes life into her children," that is, Christ into the Apostles. Whence also Peter said in John 6: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." These justified, that is, they esteemed Christ as righteous, inasmuch as they fulfilled his words through righteousness and obedience, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 3: "The children of wisdom are the assembly of the righteous, and their nation is obedience and love." By the example of these the Pharisees ought to have been moved, but on account of their obstinacy they remained in their dregs. Whence he said to them in Matthew 12: "If I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges," because they are esteemed righteous by the Wisdom whom they justify, and the Pharisees are esteemed unjust and reprobate by the same Wisdom, whom they condemn on account of their obstinacy and blasphemy.

Luke 7:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Now a certain Pharisee asked him. Above the Evangelist showed the sublimity of the Lord and Savior with regard to the excellence of power and with regard to the evidence of truth; here thirdly he shows with regard to the abundance of piety. Now this abundance of piety is shown in the Lord Jesus as great in the reception of the sinful woman, greater in his approbation, but greatest in his absolution. For he received her as she approached, commended her as she loved, and absolved her as she repented. As to the first, it should be noted that the reception of the sinful woman approaching the Lord is shown to be of great piety and mercy, both on account of the solemnity of the banquet in which he received her; and on account of the familiarity of the service to which he admitted her; and on account of the rashness of another's judgment, on account of which he did not dismiss her. First, therefore, as to the solemnity of the banquet in which the sinful woman was piously received by the Lord, it is said: And a certain Pharisee asked him to eat with him: there is no doubt that he asked the Lord Jesus; and rightly so, according to the counsel and purpose of the Wise Man, Wisdom 8: "I proposed to bring her," that is, wisdom, Christ, "to live with me, knowing that she will share with me of her good things." But this Pharisee was no longer divided from the Lord, but rather united to him, and therefore he confidently asked the Lord and invited him to the banquet, according to that passage in Job 22: "If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up"; and it follows: "You shall pray to him, and he will hear you." Which this man also obtained; whence it is added: And entering the house of the Pharisee, he reclined at table. He sat down to eat and thus fulfilled visibly what he spiritually promises in Apocalypse 3: "If anyone opens to me, I will enter to him and will sup with him, and he with me." Nor is this a wonder, because, as he himself says in Proverbs 8, "my delights are to be with the children of men." He says this with regard to the excess of charity, on account of which he was made man and willingly took upon himself and endured human needs among men, according to that passage in Baruch 3: "Afterwards he was seen upon earth and conversed with men." These things, therefore, were introduced on account of the solemnity of the banquet.

Luke 7:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

As for the familiarity of service, to which she was admitted, it is added: And behold, a woman who was in the city, a sinner, whose infamy was known to the whole city, such that what is said in Jeremiah 3 could be said to her: "You have had the forehead of a harlot, you refused to blush." This is that woman of whom it is said in Ecclesiastes 7: "I have found more bitter than death the woman who is a snare of hunters, and whose heart is a net"; and this, because she was a manifest fornicatress, as the Ravennan says that "her infamy had injured the whole city," such that what the Lord threatens through Amos to Amaziah the priest was fulfilled in her, Amos 7: "Your wife shall play the harlot in the city." And therefore she is rightly called a sinner both by reason of infamy and by reason of frequency, according to that saying in Sirach 3: "A wicked heart shall be laden with sorrows, and the sinner shall add sin to sin"; and Revelation, last chapter: "He who is filthy, let him be filthy still." Not only had she repeated her fault, but she had also sinned in diverse ways: whence upon that which is said in Mark, last chapter, that "Christ had cast seven demons out of Mary," Gregory says: "By the number seven, universality is rightly designated. Mary therefore had seven demons, because she was full of all vices." Since therefore she was thus a sinner and unclean, she rightly ought to have been repelled, especially from the place of the banquet: and yet on account of the piety of the Lord, which she recognized, she was drawn: whence it is added: When she learned that Jesus had reclined at table in the house of the Pharisee, she brought an alabaster jar of ointment, that is, a box or vessel of alabaster, which "is of a certain kind of marble in which ointments are preserved uncorrupted." This the sinful woman brought to the house of the Pharisee, in which she knew Christ to be and by whom she was received, according to that saying of the Psalm: "God shall be known in her houses, when he shall receive her." She brought, I say, the ointment of humility, where Christ reclined, so that what is said in Song of Songs 1 might be fulfilled: "While the king was at his repose, my spikenard gave forth its fragrance." Moreover, these spices or ointments which Magdalene brought to Christ were prefigured in 2 Chronicles 9: "There were no spices such as these which the queen of Sheba gave to Solomon." Or Magdalene brought ointments to the Savior in order to render familiar service, to which she was admitted, namely to render to Christ out of devotion what she had rendered to herself out of lust, that is, to wash, to wipe, to kiss, and to anoint the most sacred and most pure flesh of Christ, to which she was admitted on account of the affection of penitence and benevolence.

Luke 7:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

As regards the affect of penance it is said: And standing behind at his feet, she began to wash his feet with tears, through sorrow. For in the penitent soul there ought to be shame, fear and sorrow. Shame was present, because she stood behind; fear, because at his feet; sorrow, because she washed with tears, as in that publican below in the eighteenth chapter: "But the publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes toward heaven, but struck his breast, saying: God, be merciful to me a sinner"; Jeremiah thirty-one: "Convert me, O Lord, and I shall be converted, for you are my God. After you converted me, I did penance, and after you showed me, I struck my thigh. I was confounded and I blushed," etc.: where the three aforementioned things are touched upon. — But as regards the affect of benevolence it is added: And she wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with ointment, where the love of benevolence is shown to be pure, affectionate and devout. For charity ought to proceed "from a pure heart." Moreover, she cared more for the lowest part of his body than for the highest part of her own. For she no longer sought to please the world, but Christ alone, so that she could say that word from Song of Songs eight: "Who will give you to me as my brother, that I may find you alone outside and kiss you, and now no one may despise me"? And in these two things consists perfect conversion to Christ. For just as in sin there is conversion through concupiscence and aversion through pride, so in the remedy there is aversion from sin through penance and conversion to God through benevolence. And truly this woman was perfectly converted and returned, because, as Gregory says, "as many delights as she had in herself, so many holocausts did she find from herself." For sinful women are accustomed to offend most greatly in these four things, namely, in the wanton glances of the eyes; Isaiah three: "They went with wanton glances of the eyes"; the excesses of the hair: First Peter three: "Let there not be outward adornment of hair"; in the pleasures of kisses: Proverbs seven: "And having seized the young man, she kisses him"; the sweetness of ointments, as it is said in Esther two, that the king's maidens "were anointed with oil of myrrh," etc. And therefore the perfect penitent employed her eyes for weeping, so that Christ could say to her that word from Fourth Kings twenty: "I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tear"; her hair for wiping, so that it could be said to her from Song of Songs four: "You have wounded my heart with one hair of your neck"; her mouth for kissing, so that Christ could say to her from Song of Songs four: "Your lips are a dripping honeycomb"; her ointments she employed for anointing, so that it could be said to her: "We shall run after the fragrance of your ointments." And here it is to be noted morally that in these six things which are said of this penitent sinful woman, namely that she stood behind and lay at his feet, bathed with tears, wiped with her hair, and kissed and anointed: those things are understood which ought to be in a true penitent, namely the shame of blushing, which is noted when it says standing behind: below in the eighteenth chapter: "The publican standing afar off." The fear of reverence, which is noted there: At his feet: Psalm: "Adore his footstool, for it is holy." — The sorrow of penitence: She began to bathe his feet with tears; Lamentations 2: "Pour down tears like a torrent." The brightness of purity: She wiped with her hair: Isaiah 1: "Wash yourselves, be clean, put away evil." The ardor of benevolence: She kissed his feet; and here: "You gave me no kiss," etc., up to: "Because she loved much." The sweetness of interior devotion: And she anointed with ointment; Song of Songs 1: "Your breasts are better than wine, fragrant with the finest ointments." Good is the ointment of compunction, better that of compassion, but best that of…

Luke 7:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Third, regarding the rashness of another's judgment, on account of which she was not repulsed, he says: Now when the Pharisee who had invited him, namely to the banquet, saw, I say, with an eye not simple but evil, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus thirty-one: "Remember that an evil eye is wicked. What has been created more wicked than the eye?" And truly evil, because, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus eleven, "turning good things into evil, he lies in wait, and upon the elect he will impose a stain." And therefore the banquet of such persons is not much to be accepted, according to that saying of Proverbs twenty-three: "Do not eat with an envious man, nor desire his foods, because like a soothsayer and a diviner he estimates what he does not know. Eat and drink, he will say to you, and his mind is not with you." And such was this Pharisee; which is evident from what follows: He said within himself, namely thinking as a hypocrite, of whom Job fifteen says: "His belly prepares deceits." Whence follows the judgment: This man, if he were a Prophet, would surely know who and what manner of woman this is who touches him. And thus he judged him not to be a Prophet, but an ignorant man, saying in his heart: "We have not seen our signs; there is no longer a Prophet, and he will know no more." But to this one can be said that word of Job twenty-two: "Do you not think that God is higher than heaven and is elevated above the summit of the stars? And you say: What indeed does God know? And as if through darkness he judges." But certainly he himself "knows the things constituted in darkness, and light is with him," as is said in Daniel two. And note that in this way from the true he was falling into the false. For it is manifest that God and the divine man knows hidden things not only of the good but also of the evil; Proverbs fifteen: "The eyes of the Lord in every place behold the good and the evil." But in this he erred, because he believed Christ to be ignorant of this, while he allowed himself to be touched by a sinful woman. Whence he also judged badly concerning her; on account of which he adds: Because she is a sinner, as if to say: she should not be admitted but repelled. He was of those of whom Isaiah sixty-five says: "Who say: Depart from us and do not approach, because you are unclean." So also the other Pharisee said of the publican below in the eighteenth chapter: "God, I give you thanks that I am not like the rest of men, as also this publican." And he judged badly, and yet Christ on account of his evil judgment did not cease to show mercy; concerning which above in the fifth chapter he said to the Pharisees: "They who are well do not need a physician, but they who are ill. For I have not come to call the just, but sinners to repentance." Great therefore was the mercy of Christ shown in the reception of the sinful woman approaching to touch Christ amid the feasting of the diners and the cunning of those judging. In this is simultaneously commended Christ's clemency and the sinful woman's penitence. Whence Gregory: "When I think of Mary's penitence, I would rather weep than say anything. For whose heart, even if of stone, would these tears of this sinful woman not soften to the example of repenting? She entered upon those dining, amid the feast she poured out tears: what then do we marvel at? Mary coming, or the Lord receiving her? Shall I say receiving, or drawing? But better receiving and drawing, because surely he who through gentleness received her outwardly, through mercy drew her inwardly."

Luke 7:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

And Jesus answering said, etc. After the kind reception of the one approaching, here is added the still kinder approbation of the one loving. The Lord approves this loving sinful woman and her love, first by seeking out a general judgment; second by taking up a special proposition; and third by concluding the principal intent. In seeking out the general judgment, he proceeds in this order. For he arouses the Pharisee's attention, introduces the question, and approves the response. First, therefore, he arouses the attention of the Pharisee, so that he may be recalled from falsehood, when he says: Jesus answering said to him: Simon, I have something to say to you: by which he rouses him to pay attention. And note that he is said to answer the Pharisee, although it is not said that he had asked anything of Christ, so that it may be shown that he himself was hearing his thoughts, so that his judgment, by which he believed Christ to be ignorant, might be refuted, according to what is said in the Psalm: "Understand, you senseless among the people, and you fools, at length be wise. He who planted the ear, shall he not hear? Or he who formed the eye, shall he not observe"? In this, that he addresses him as if answering, he arouses him to consider the wisdom of Christ; but in this, that he promises he will say something, he arouses him to receive the teaching, just as he also said to the disciples in John chapter sixteen: "I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." And since he effectively aroused him, therefore his attentiveness is added, when it is said: And he said: Master, speak. In which response he acknowledges knowledge and seeks teaching, according to the counsel of the wise man, Sirach chapter six: "Son, if you attend to me, you will learn wisdom, and if you apply your mind, you will be wise; if you incline your ear, you will receive instruction, and if you love to listen, you will be wise." And it follows after: "And if you see a man of understanding, go to him early." This is Christ the Lord, whom he rightly calls Master, according to that passage in Matthew chapter twenty-three: "One is your Master, Christ"; and John chapter thirteen: "You call me Master and Lord, and you say well, for so I am."

Luke 7:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Second, he presents a question to the Pharisee, so that he may be directed to the truth, when it is added: Two debtors owed a certain creditor, etc. He proposes the case in general terms, understanding by these debtors, and giving to be understood thereby, sinners, who are bound by great debts, according to that passage in Matthew chapter six: "Forgive us our debts," that is, our sins, "as we also forgive our debtors," etc. By the creditor we understand Christ, according to that passage in Matthew chapter twenty-five: "You wicked and slothful servant, ought you not to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I would have exacted what is mine with interest?" And because not all sin equally nor are equally obligated, therefore it is added: One owed five hundred denarii: in which is shown the full obligation on account of the fivefold transgression of evangelical perfection, for completeness is understood by the hundred. And the other fifty: this is said with regard to the half-full obligation, which consists in the fivefold transgression of the Decalogue itself.

Luke 7:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

But because God has mercy on every kind of sinner who turns to him, therefore it is added: When they had nothing wherewith to pay, he forgave them both, namely out of pardoning mercy, as is said in Matthew 18: "The lord, having compassion on that servant, released him and forgave him the debt"; and this out of compassion for the misery by which we are unable to pay. For all things that we have, we owe to God apart from the obligation of sin: 1 Corinthians 4: "What hast thou that thou hast not received?" and 1 Chronicles 29: "All things are thine, O Lord, and what we have received from thy hand we have given to thee." If therefore sins are remitted, it is necessary that they be remitted freely and mercifully, because we can repay no benefit. Yet we are bound to the affection of love, which he requires on account of the benefit conferred. — Whence he adds: Who therefore loves him more? since both are bound to love. Thus the Lord asked Peter after the pardon of his sin, John 21: "Simon, son of John, dost thou love me more than these?" And he asks reasonably, because inequality of benefits ought to be followed by inequality of affections, according to what Gregory says: "When gifts are increased, the accounts of gifts also grow. Therefore everyone ought to be the more humble and the more ready to serve God from the gift, the more he sees himself to be obligated in rendering an account."

Luke 7:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Thirdly, he approves the Pharisee's response, so that it may be confirmed in truth; for which reason it is added: Simon answered and said: I judge that it is the one to whom he forgave more, namely that he loves more, so that the saying in Romans 5 may be verified: "Where sin abounded, grace did more abound." — And since, as is said in Sirach 21, "whatever wise word a knowing man hears, he will praise it and apply it to himself"; therefore it is added: And he said to him: Thou hast judged rightly. For Christ the Truth approves only this judgment, according to that saying in John 7: "Judge not according to appearance, but judge just judgment." Whence he who had made a false judgment from his own estimation now pronounces a right one by divine guidance, and he who had previously judged badly within himself now judges rightly against himself. Whence Gregory: "The Pharisee is convicted by his own sentence, because like a madman he carries the rope with which he is bound." — And note that here the Pharisee's judgment is commended; yet he who had sinned more is not thereby more approved, but it is shown that insofar as the reason of obligation which comes from what was forgiven is concerned, he is more obligated. Whence this statement is to be understood with reduplication and with respect to obligation, and presupposing grace and rectitude in the will; because many are bound to great acts of gratitude who render few or none. Whence Bede: "In the judgment of all, he offends more who owed more; but through mercy every case is changed, so that he loves more who owed more, if indeed he obtains grace."

Luke 7:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

And turning to the woman etc. Here, after the general judgment, he takes up a special purpose, in which he shows that the sinful woman had greater affection toward Christ than the Pharisee, by setting forth a threefold sign of love, namely weeping, a kiss, and the washing of feet, in which the woman surpasses the Pharisee. First, therefore, he sets the sinful woman above Simon on account of her weeping, which was an express sign of contrition; and he notes this when it is said: And turning to the woman, on account of her contrition and penance, according to that passage of Zechariah 1: "Turn to me, and I will turn to you." This moreover happens when we love and are loved in return, according to that passage of Song of Songs 2: "My beloved is mine, and I am his"; and Song of Songs 7: "I am my beloved's, and his turning is toward me." He therefore turned bodily toward the woman so that through her he might instruct Simon, to whom he was speaking; and therefore it is added: He said to Simon: Do you see this woman? He therefore asks whether he saw her, because, although he saw her bodily, he did not approve her deeds but rejected her merits; and although he saw the sinful woman's weeping, he did not attend to her affection. And therefore he is admonished by the Lord and reproved by comparison with her, in what follows: I entered your house, you gave no water for my feet: on account of which you are blameworthy, because you were not an imitator of Abraham: Genesis 18: "He spoke to the men passing by: Let your feet be washed, and rest under the tree." But on the contrary, she is commendable, whence it is added: But she has washed my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair, that is, she poured out tears in such abundance after the manner of a fountain and stream, according to what is said in Jeremiah 9: "Who will give water to my head and a fountain of tears to my eyes?" And in this is signified the wondrous affection of the woman and her interior grace, which so flowed forth outwardly in tears that there was fulfilled that passage of the Psalm: "He turned the desert into pools of water"; and Isaiah 35: "And what was dry became a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water." And in this she is set above the Pharisee with regard to mourning, in which there is an express sign of compunction.

Luke 7:45 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Second, he sets her above him with regard to the kiss, which was a sign of love, when it is added: You gave me no kiss, as a sign of love, according to the Apostle in the last chapter of Romans: "Greet one another with a holy kiss"; and the disciples kissed Paul, Acts 20. But on the contrary concerning this woman: whence is added: But she, from the time she entered, has not ceased to kiss my feet: in which is signified fervent love and persevering love. Therefore she did not cease from kissing, because she did not cease from interior desire. For concerning her Gregory says that "kindled by the fire of his love, that is, of Christ, she burned with desire." For as is said in the last chapter of the Song of Songs: "Love is strong as death"; and afterwards: "Its lamps are lamps of fire and flames." Whence just as fire always burns, so charity unceasingly inflames: for as Gregory says: "The love of God is never idle."

Luke 7:46 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Third, he sets her above him with respect to the anointing of the feet, which was a sign of devotion, when he adds: You did not anoint my head with oil: which was the custom at that time as a sign of gladness and exultation, according to that passage in Matthew chapter six: "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face." But she has anointed my feet with ointment, which is more precious than oil. Whence this woman offered more precious things to Christ, according to that passage in John chapter twelve: "Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus." In these three evidences of love, therefore, the Lord proves that the sinful woman loved more truly and more fervently.

Luke 7:47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

For which reason I say to you etc. Here, after the general judgment and the specific proposition, he concludes the principal intent, which is the commendation of the woman following from the foregoing. Now this sinful woman is commended by the Lord with a full commendation: as purged from sin on account of the affection of her love, as perfected in merit on account of the effect of her love, as set above the Pharisee on account of the excess of her love. Whence the Lord here approves her love first because love purged her from sin: which he indicates when he says: For which reason I say to you, that is, on account of the now-stated evidences of love I declare to you: Her many sins are forgiven her etc. And thus she ought no longer to be condemned by you, but rather to be called blessed, because in the Psalm it is written: "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered"; and in Romans chapter four: "And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness according to the purpose of the grace of God. As David also declares the blessedness of the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works" of the Law. Whence in this woman was fulfilled that verse of the Psalm: "I said, I will confess my injustice against myself to the Lord: and you forgave the wickedness of my sin." Second, because love perfected in merit: on account of which he adds: Because she loved much. For the greatness of love amplifies merit and expels sin: First Peter 4: "Charity covers a multitude of sins"; and Proverbs 10: "Hatred stirs up strife, and charity covers all offenses." Hence also in the Gloss it is said: "The ardor of charity in her consumed the rust of sins." Nor does it only purge from sin, but also preserves in merit, according to that passage in Colossians 3: "Above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection." Third, he approves, because love set her above the Pharisee: on account of which he adds: But he to whom less is forgiven, namely the Pharisee, loves less than this woman to whom many things were forgiven. And thus from this it is concluded that she loved the Lord far more than the Pharisee, and therefore was more acceptable to God: and on this account "her husband praised her," as if saying to her that word from the last chapter of Proverbs: "Many daughters have gathered riches, but you have surpassed them all"; because "charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain: the woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." It is clear, therefore, how in this conclusion there is contained a perfect commendation and approbation of the one who loves, against the judgment of the Pharisee who despised her, because he regarded her as full of sins and empty of merits, and thus as worthless in the sight of the heavenly Judge. All of which has been refuted in this conclusion, since she is shown to be justified from sin and multiplied in merit and set above the Pharisee. And note that in this conclusion there is inferred a commendation of the love of Christ with respect to the remission of sin by way of cause and by way of effect. Hence the remission of sin is placed first, and the remission of sin is placed after, and love is placed between. For there is remission with regard to punishment, and this is caused by love; and with regard to guilt, and this induces love. And again there is love of affection, and the remission of sin induces this, as was shown above in the judgment of the Pharisee. And there is love of effect, and this induces the remission of sin with regard to punishment, as is gathered from the threefold indication of love. Moreover, Christ's wisdom in approving the sinful woman, whom the Pharisee had condemned, should also be noted here. He approves her from what was granted by the Pharisee and from what was conceded, then from manifest indications: first as if by syllogism, second as if by induction; first in general, second…

Luke 7:48 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

But he said to her. After the benign reception of the one approaching and the more benign approval of the one loving, there is subjoined here a third point: the most benign absolution of the one confessing. Concerning which there is first introduced the plenary gift of divine generosity; second, the perverse judgment of human impiety; third, the perfect merit of devout faith. First, therefore, as regards the plenary gift of divine generosity, it is said: But he said to her. There is no doubt that Christ said to the sinful woman: Your sins are forgiven you, not only as regards guilt, but also as regards punishment, according to what Manasseh was asking: "I ask, beseeching you, O Lord, forgive me, forgive me, lest you destroy me together with my iniquities, nor reserve my evils forever." This remission Christ accomplished by his own power: Matthew nine: "That you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins," etc.: Acts ten: "To him all the Prophets bear witness, that all who believe in him receive remission of sins through his name."

Luke 7:49 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Second, as regards the perverse judgment of human impiety, there is added: And those who were reclining at table together began to say within themselves, namely by judging wrongly and despising him: Who is this, who even forgives sins? As if they were saying: since he is lowly and a nobody, how does he attribute to himself what God alone can do? According to that passage of Isaiah forty-three: "I am, I am he who blots out your iniquities for my own sake." And thus was verified that saying of Sirach thirteen: "The poor man spoke, and they say: Who is this?" So also in their hearts those who were eating together were devising deceit, so that that word of the Psalm might be fulfilled: "If he who hated me had spoken great things against me, I would perhaps have hidden myself from him. But you, a man of one mind with me," etc. Whence these men, by judging wrongly about her healing, were themselves becoming sick, as Bede says: "The sick woman having been healed, others grow sick over her salvation." And thus was verified that saying of Hosea seven: "When I would have healed Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim was revealed and the wickedness of Samaria, because they have wrought falsehood."

Luke 7:50 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7

Third, as regards the perfect merit of devout faith, there is added: But he said to the woman: Your faith has saved you, namely from sins: faith, I say, in Christ, of which Matthew one says: "He shall save his people from their sins"; and this through faith: Romans three: "God justifies the one who has faith in Jesus Christ." And because justice makes peace with God and with conscience, therefore he adds: Go in peace: Romans five: "Being justified therefore by faith, let us have peace with God"; and Isaiah fifty-seven: "Let peace come, and let him rest in his bed"; so that concerning her it may be said, that word of Malachi two: "In peace and in equity he walked with me and turned many away from iniquity."

Luke 8:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

And it came to pass afterwards etc. Above was set forth the common instruction of the disciples in the doctrine of those things which are required for the salvation of all. But in this part there follows the special instruction in the mystical doctrine of the Scriptures. And since this doctrine is proposed to the crowds in parables, and opened to the disciples, and confirmed by miracles, therefore this part has three sections: in the first of which is set forth parabolic instruction in hidden mysteries; in the second, apostolic formation in open discourses, at the place: Now the parable is this: and in the third, its authoritative confirmation in manifest miracles, at the place: And it came to pass on one of the days etc. First is set forth the parabolic instruction in hidden mysteries through three points. Concerning the parabolic doctrine, which is proposed to every class of people in common for hearing and to the Apostles for understanding, three things are introduced. The first is the gathering of the multitude for hearing; the second is the proposal of the similitude for leading by the hand, and this at the place: A sower went out to sow etc.; the third is the arousing of solicitude for understanding, which is described at the place: Saying these things, he cried out etc. As to the first point, it should be noted that there was a concourse of the multitude to the doctrine of Christ for a fourfold reason, as can be gathered from the text: for some accompanied Christ by reason of the office undertaken, as the Apostles; some, by reason of a benefit received, as the sick who had been healed; some, by reason of service to be rendered, as the honorable women; and some, by reason of hearing the divine word, as the multitude of the crowd. And these four classes the Evangelist enumerates as having come together for the doctrine of Christ. First, therefore, with regard to the Apostles accompanying Christ by reason of the office undertaken, it is prefaced: And it came to pass afterwards, and he was journeying through cities and towns, that is, through places where the lesser and the greater dwell, according to what is said in Wisdom 6: "He made the small and the great, and he has equal care of all," especially with regard to those things which pertain to salvation; on account of which it says: Preaching and evangelizing the kingdom of God, according to that passage of Isaiah 52: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who announces and preaches peace and announces salvation, who preaches good things." — And because the word is set forth in vain unless a hearer is present, therefore it is added: And the twelve with him, who, namely, were following him by reason of the office undertaken, to which he had chosen them: above in chapter six: "He chose twelve, whom he also named Apostles." Hence the Apostles themselves went about with him as he evangelized, so that they might collaborate with him in the Gospel, according to that to which the Apostle exhorts in Second Timothy 1: "But be a fellow laborer for the Gospel according to the power of God, who has delivered us and called us with his holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose"; because, in John 15, "you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and your fruit should remain."

Luke 8:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Second, with regard to the healed accompanying him by reason of the benefit received, it is added: And certain women, supply: were journeying with him, and this by reason of the benefit received; whence he adds: Who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Therefore they accompanied him as their savior and physician, according to the counsel of the Wise Man, Sirach 38: "Give place to the physician, and let him not depart from you, for his works are necessary"; whence above in chapter six: "And those who were troubled by unclean spirits were healed. And all the crowd sought to touch him, because power went forth from him and healed all." And note that although he healed both sexes, he nevertheless specifies more about the female sex, either because it is the weaker sex, according to that passage in First Peter 3: "Bestowing honor on the weaker feminine vessel"; or because she is more merciful than a man with respect to another's infirmity, according to that passage in Proverbs, the last chapter, concerning the good woman: "She opened her hand to the needy and stretched out her palms to the poor"; or because among the persons healed they were the more notable. — And therefore he names some of them individually, when he adds: Mary, who is called Magdalene, from Magdala, a town two miles from Tiberias; and she was notable by reason of the enormity of her sin; whence he also adds: From whom seven demons had gone out, that is, all vices. Gregory: "Mary had seven demons, because she was full of all vices." These demons went out when her sins were forgiven, according to what is said below in chapter eleven: "When the unclean spirit goes out from a man, it wanders through waterless places"; and they were forgiven her, above in chapter seven. For this is that sinful woman about whom he spoke above, as Bede says in the Gloss.

Luke 8:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

There was also one notable by reason of the nobility of her husband; whence he adds: And Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the steward of Herod, who was a noble person. There was also one notable in herself, of whom it is added without a surname: And Susanna. He names these three, moreover, in order to commend chastity according to a threefold distinction in the company of Christ, namely widowed, conjugal, and virginal. Whence the first is said to have previously been a sinner, the second married, and of the third both are left unmentioned. Or, so that in this the healing from a threefold sickness may be shown, namely of the soul, of the flesh, and of both together; therefore he names three persons who were healed, namely Mary, Joanna, and Susanna. Third, with respect to those accompanying for the purpose of rendering service or ministry, it is added: And many others, who ministered to him from their resources, just as that Shunammite woman did for Elisha, in Fourth Kings chapter four, to whom it is said: "Behold, you have ministered to us diligently in all things." So also the mother-in-law of Simon, of whom it is said in Matthew chapter eight that after she was healed, "she arose and ministered to them." — For this had anciently been the customary office of women, as Bede says in the Gloss: "It was anciently the custom of the Jews, nor was it reckoned a fault, for women to feed and clothe teachers from their own substance. But because this could cause scandal among the Gentiles, Paul recalls that he abstained from it, in First Corinthians chapter nine: Do we not have the right to take about with us a woman who is a sister, as the other Apostles do? And therefore that practice ought not now to be drawn as a precedent, on account of avoiding scandal and also on account of danger." — In this, however, we are instructed that it is lawful for a preacher to receive a stipend for his labor: 1 Corinthians 9: "If we have sown spiritual things for you, it is no great thing if we reap your carnal things"; and Matthew 10: "The worker is worthy of his food"; and below in chapter 10: "For the worker is worthy of his wages." And again in this we are instructed that to preach and to labor is the act of men and of the perfect, but to minister is the act of the imperfect, such as women; whence Acts 6: "It is not fitting that we should leave the word of God and serve tables."

Luke 8:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Fourth, with respect to those assembling for the purpose of hearing the divine word, it is added: When a very great crowd was gathering, namely to hear the teaching, according to that passage in John 18: "I have always taught in the synagogues, where all the Jews assemble." And thus is fulfilled that passage of Isaiah 2: "All nations shall flow to him, and many peoples shall go." Whence they were gathering in great number and coming with eagerness; whence he also adds: And from the cities they were hastening to him, namely to hear him. He spoke by a similitude, namely a parabolic one concerning familiar things to which they were accustomed; and therefore they were hastening with desire to hear him. Whence Chrysostom says: "Mingling parables, he attracted hearers with greater gentleness, drawing from the threshing floor, the vineyard, and the field." Whence all are invited to this parabolic teaching, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Hear these things, all nations; give ear, all you who inhabit the world"; and afterward it is added: "I will incline my ear to a parable; I will open my proposition on the psaltery"; and again elsewhere: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will speak propositions from the beginning." And thus the stirring up of the multitude was accomplished.

Luke 8:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

The sower went out etc. After the gathering of the multitude, there is added here secondly the setting forth of the similitude. And because teaching ought to be according to the need of the hearers, therefore the proposed similitude has four distinct parts, corresponding to four classes of hearers. For some hear but do not retain, being forgetful; some hear and retain but do not act, being slothful; some hear, retain, and act, but do not bring it to completion, being preoccupied; but some hear, retain, act, and bring it to completion, and these are the zealous and virtuous. These four kinds of men are like four types of soil, of which the first receives the seed but does not retain it; and with respect to that one it is said: The sower went out to sow his seed. He went out, namely from the house to the field, that is, from rest to labor: the Psalm says: "Man shall go forth to his work and to his labor until the evening." And this labor is either in the work of justice or of mercy, which is rightly signified by sowing, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes 11: "In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening let not your hand cease"; and Isaiah 32: "Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, sending forth the foot of the ox and the ass." Or it is also in the word of doctrine: whence concerning Paul preaching it is said in Acts seventeen: "What does this sower of words wish to say?" And by this seed the Church was multiplied, according to that passage of First Peter one: "Born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of the living God who abides forever." And he understands here concerning this sowing; but this, although in itself it is always good and fruitful, nevertheless varies according to the difference of the soil that receives it. For some soil receives but does not retain, and therefore with regard to that he adds: And while he sows, some, that is, another part of the seed, fell by the wayside, through which, namely, there is passing to and fro, and therefore there is in it no state of retention, but a passing of forgetfulness on account of the tumult of the crowd: which is signified below in chapter eighteen, where it is said that "the blind man sat by the wayside, begging"; and when he cried out to the Lord, the crowds "rebuked him, that he should be silent." Whence this is not a place of fruitfulness, because there is no retention of seed in it. Therefore he adds: And it was trodden underfoot, namely by the feet of men, and the birds of the air devoured it: in which are understood the attacks of demons, according to that passage of Deuteronomy thirty-two: "They shall be consumed with hunger, and birds shall devour them with most bitter bite"; Matthew seven: "Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet." From which we gather that two things expel the divine seed from the heart of man, namely the evil suggestions of men and the temptations of demons. And therefore the Apostle says in Hebrews, the last chapter: "Do not be led away by various and strange doctrines. For it is best that the heart be established by grace, not by foods, which have not profited those who walked in them." And therefore it is necessary that our heart be removed far from such wanderings, "that we be not as little children, tossed about and carried about by every wind of doctrine"; Jeremiah two: "What do you want for yourself on the way of Egypt, to drink muddy water? And what do you want for yourself on the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of the river?"

Luke 8:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

The second difference of soil, however, is that which receives and in a certain way retains, but does not nourish: and with regard to this he adds: And some fell upon the rock, that is, upon a hard heart, of which Zechariah seven says: "They made their heart as adamant"; and Job forty-one: "His heart shall be hardened as a stone." This soil, although it can retain the seed, nevertheless cannot nourish it, since moisture is lacking; and therefore he adds: And having sprung up, it withered away, because it had no moisture, namely, quickening and nourishing moisture: and in such soil it springs up at once and dies at once, because it has little nourishment, like the grass upon the housetops: concerning which it is said in the Psalm: "Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withered before it was plucked up"; and Isaiah 18: "Before the harvest it wholly blossomed, and its immature ripeness shall sprout forth." And this is on account of the lack of the moisture of grace, according to what is said in Isaiah 15: "The grass has withered, the shoot has failed, all greenness has perished"; and this happens on account of the multitude of rocks, which are not suited for receiving the seed of the divine word: on account of which it is said in Amos 6: "Can horses run upon rocks?" that is, preachers, and this on account of the lack of waters: Job 12: "If he withholds the waters, all things shall be dried up." On the contrary, Jeremiah 17: "It shall be as a tree that is transplanted by the waters, and it shall not fear when the heat comes. And its leaf shall be green, and in the time of drought it shall not be anxious."

Luke 8:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

The third kind of soil is that which, although it in some way retains and nourishes, nevertheless does not bring to completion nor bear fruit: with regard to which he adds: And other fell among thorns, that is, among worldly cares, in which many willingly dwell: Job 30: "They counted it a delight to be under brambles." With these thorns the earth is filled, according to that passage in Isaiah 7: "Briers and thorns upon all the land." And this deservedly, on account of the first curse, according to that passage in Genesis 3: "Cursed is the earth in your work. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you." And in this soil the seed, although it springs up, is nevertheless not brought to completion: whence he adds: And the thorns springing up together, namely with the seed, choked it, because carnal thoughts advance and grow more in hearts than spiritual ones and prevail over them: Isaiah 32: "Upon the ground of my people briers and thorns shall come up." And this is because they do not care for spiritual things: Proverbs 24: "I passed by the field of a slothful man and by the vineyard of a foolish man: and behold, thorns had covered its surface." Whence the thorns occupy everything, so that fruit cannot grow among them. And therefore Jeremiah 4: "Break up new ground for yourselves and do not sow upon thorns"; because, as it is said in Hebrews 6, "the earth that brings forth thorns and thistles is reprobate and near unto a curse, whose end is unto burning."

Luke 8:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

The fourth difference of the soil is that which receives and retains, nurtures, and brings forth fruit; with regard to which he adds: And another fell on good soil, that is, a docile and benign mind; concerning which, Exodus 3: "I will lead the children of Israel into a good and spacious land." This is the good soil which has the four aforementioned conditions, according to Hebrews 6: "The earth that drinks in the rain that often comes upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those by whom it is cultivated receives blessing from God," according to that passage of the Psalm: "You have blessed, O Lord, your land." — This blessing is in the completion of the fruit; and therefore it is added: And having sprung up, it produced fruit a hundredfold, that is, perfect fruit. And thus is fulfilled that passage of the Psalm: "The Lord will give his goodness, and our land will yield its fruit," according to what is said in Genesis 26: "Isaac sowed and found in that same year a hundredfold." In Matthew 13 this is expressed more explicitly according to three degrees: "And it produced fruit a hundredfold, another sixtyfold, another thirtyfold"; and this according to three degrees of continence, or three degrees of justice; but blessed Luke touches upon the highest degree, including the others within it. And note that he sets forth three differences of unfruitful soil and only one that is good, because, according to what is said in Matthew 22, "many are called, but few are chosen." And therefore the Lord laments in Micah 7: "Woe is me! For I have become like one who gathers clusters of grapes in autumn after the vintage." And the reason for this is given in Matthew 7: "Because wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who enter through it; narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leads to life, and few there are who find it." As he said these things, he cried out. Here, after the gathering of the multitude and the proposal of the parable, there is subjoined thirdly the arousal of apostolic solicitude. Concerning this arousal, four things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the magisterial admonition, the disciplinary interrogation, the familiar predilection, and the judicial reprobation. The first arouses, the second rectifies, the third strengthens, and the fourth humbles. First, therefore, with regard to the magisterial admonition that arouses, it is said: As he said these things, he cried out, so that by his cry he might arouse the attention of his hearers, as in John 7: "On the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out." For this is the office of the preacher; Isaiah 58: "Cry out, do not cease; lift up your voice like a trumpet," so that by the very manner of speaking he might arouse his hearers. Nor only from the manner of speaking, but also from the sense of the word: on account of which he adds: He who has ears to hear, let him hear, that is, "let him understand these words spiritually"; and Bede says: "Wherever this admonition is interposed, it is shown that what is said is mystical and must be sought more attentively." And this is signified by the very multiplication of the act of hearing, as in Isaiah twenty-eight: "Perceive with your ears and hear my voice, and attend and hear my speech." To this exhortation the one who truly understands can say that word of Isaiah fifty: "He wakens in the morning, in the morning he wakens my ear, that I may hear him as a master"; and that word of Job forty-two: "With the hearing of the ear I heard you, but now my eye sees you," etc. He touches upon the use of hearing, because there are three degrees: the first in hearing outwardly, the second in believing, and the third in understanding.

Luke 8:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Second, as regards the disciplinary question that directs, it is added: And his disciples asked him, namely, so that they might be directed by him, according to that word of Sirach thirty-three: "He who makes known the question will prepare the word, and so having prayed he will be heard; and he who keeps discipline will then respond." But this is said not because they asked immediately, but because at the word of Christ they conceived the will to ask; whence in Mark four it is said: "When he was alone, they asked him." And because the question is about hidden and mystical things, therefore it is added: What this parable might be, that is, what it might signify, so that through its interpretation they might be able to grasp the understanding, according to that word of Proverbs one: "The wise man hearing will be wiser, and the man of understanding will possess counsels; he will discern the parable and its interpretation"; and Sirach thirty-nine: "Therefore the wise man will seek out the hidden things of proverbs and will dwell in the secrets of parables."

Luke 8:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Third, with respect to the familiar pre-election that strengthens, it is added: To whom he said: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, that is, the understanding of Scripture, which is called the kingdom of God, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-one: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth its fruits." Scripture is called the kingdom of God because it preaches and shows and promises him and leads the obedient to him, according to that passage in John five: "Search the Scriptures, because you think in them to have eternal life." Concerning these things, therefore, he says to the Apostles specially and distinctively: To you it is given, because they were chosen for this: John fifteen: "But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." And he pointedly says given, not sold, so that we may acknowledge grace; Matthew ten: "Freely you have received, freely give"; given also, not innate: below, twenty-one: "For I will give you a mouth and wisdom"; given, not acquired: James one: "Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of lights." In this, therefore, that he familiarly declares them pre-elected, he strengthens them, lest they fail in their seeking: below, twelve: "Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom." Fourth, with respect to the judicial reprobation that humbles, he adds: But to the rest in parables, namely, supply: it is given to know, which is rather not to know; Isaiah twenty-eight: "In the speech of lips, namely the exterior," and in another tongue I will speak to this people." And this he does by his just judgment, by which he does not wish to communicate holy things to the unclean, according to that passage in Matthew seven: "Do not give what is holy to dogs." And therefore he adds: That seeing they may not see: that here is not causal but consecutive, as in John nine: "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." And this judgment is foretold in Isaiah twenty-nine: "The Lord will close your eyes: your prophets and your princes who see visions, he will cover. And the vision of the Lord shall be to you as the words of a sealed book." There is no contradiction in this, that he says: That seeing they may not see, because the first refers to exterior sight, the second to interior sight, according to that passage in Isaiah forty-three: "Bring forth the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears." And the following clause explains this: And hearing they may not understand: Isaiah six: "Blind the heart of this people and make heavy their ears"; and in the same place it is added: "Hear with your ears and do not understand." Whence it is said in Second Corinthians three: "Until this present day, when Moses is read, a veil is placed over their heart." And this was done by divine judgment, according to that passage in Romans eleven: "I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should enter." And this ought to humble all, according to what is said in the same place: "Do not be high-minded, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you either." — And this humility is fitting and a preamble to the understanding of mysteries, because it is said in Matthew eleven: "You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to little ones."

Luke 8:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Now this is the parable. After the parabolic instruction in hidden mysteries has been set forth, the second part of the chapter follows, in which the apostolic instruction in open discourses is described. Now this part has two sections, in the first of which they are instructed toward the understanding of the parable; in the second they are invited to the communication of doctrine, at the passage: No one lighting a lamp, etc. As for the explanation of the parable, it should be noted that first he explains it generally, then specifically, at the passage: Now those by the wayside. He says therefore first, as if setting forth a certain general intention of the parable: Now this is the parable, that is, this is the meaning of the parable, so that he could say that passage of John sixteen: "These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour comes when I shall announce to you plainly concerning my Father." The seed is the word of God. Now the divine seed is the word of God, because through it we are reborn, so that we may become divine: James one: "Of his own will he begot us by the word of truth." According to the four members set forth in the parable, he distinguishes four kinds of hearers, in whom the seed of the divine words is received in different ways, so that one seed receives the disposition to be in some trampled underfoot, in others dried up, in others choked, and in others multiplied.

Luke 8:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

First, therefore, as regards the explanation of the trampled seed, which is the word of the Lord in the forgetful heart, he says: Those along the path are those who hear: which does not refer to the seed received, but to the persons receiving the seed, who themselves are also called seed, according to that passage of Jeremiah thirty-one: "I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of men and the seed of beasts," that is, of the perfect and the imperfect. Those, therefore, who hear are seed, but they are unfruitful for this reason: because they do not retain it. — On account of which he adds: Then the devil comes, namely through suggestion, and takes away the word from their heart, that is, from their memory. And this was signified in Judges six, where it is said: "When Israel had sown, Midian and Amalek would come up and lay waste to everything, while it was still in its green growth." Whence he gladly destroys the beginnings of goodness, because he lies in ambush against our salvation. — On account of which he adds: Lest believing they be saved. For as it is written in the last chapter of Mark, "he who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned." He, however, seeks nothing except our damnation, as one already damned himself; Apocalypse twelve: "The accuser of the brethren has been cast down, who accused them before the sight of our God day and night."

Luke 8:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Second, as regards the explanation of the withered seed in the slothful heart, it is added: Those upon the rock are those who, when they have heard, receive the word with joy. And this indeed is praiseworthy, according to that passage of Acts seventeen: "They received the word with all eagerness." But nevertheless they are blameworthy in this, that they do not nurture it nor wish to labor; and therefore he adds: And these have no roots, that is, firmness of charity, concerning which the Apostle says in Ephesians three: "Rooted and grounded in charity"; but rather they have a lustful or adulterous love, and therefore they do not advance: Wisdom four: "Adulterous plantings will not give deep roots nor establish a stable foundation," because, Hosea nine, "their root has dried up." And that these do not have confirming roots, he shows when he adds: Because they believe for a time, namely in a time of prosperity, and in a time of temptation they fall away, namely from God, according to that passage of Deuteronomy thirty-two: "He withdrew from God, his Savior." This certainly befits such a slothful person, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus six: "How exceedingly harsh is wisdom to unlearned men, and the senseless man will not remain in it"; but, as it is said in Hosea seven, "woe to those who have withdrawn from me." Against which, Job twenty-seven: "Until I fail, I will not withdraw from my innocence." And therefore Ecclesiasticus two exhorts: "Son, when you come to the service of God, stand in justice and fear, and prepare your soul for temptation."

Luke 8:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Third, however, as regards the exposition of the seed choked in the busy heart, it is added: That which fell among thorns, these are they who have heard, that is, those are signified by that. And note that hearing is attributed to all, so that no one can excuse himself; Romans 10: "Have they not heard? Indeed, their sound has gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." But not all bear spiritual fruit, because they are hindered by carnal cares; and therefore he adds: And by anxieties, namely within, and by riches, namely without, and by pleasures of life, namely below; in which is touched upon the threefold mutable good, namely interior, exterior, and inferior: going forth they are choked, that is, they lose the spiritual life, because, according to what is said in First Timothy 6, "those who wish to become rich fall into temptations and into the snare of the devil and into many useless and harmful desires, which plunge a man into ruin and perdition"; and therefore they are rightly said to be choked. And therefore by losing the interior life, they consequently lose exterior efficacy; and therefore it is added: And they bring forth no fruit. For it is written in Ecclesiastes 5: "He who loves riches shall reap no fruit from them," because, as it is said in the Psalm, "they slept their sleep, and the men of riches found nothing in their hands"; and Romans 6: "What fruit did you have in those things of which you are now ashamed?" — as if to say: none. Whence riches and pleasures are rightly compared to thorns, both because they do not bring forth fruit, and also because they hinder fruit, and also because they afflict the one who possesses them, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes 2: "But to the sinner God has given affliction and superfluous care, that he may add and gather together. But this also is vanity and a vain solicitude of the mind"; Ecclesiastes 5: "Sweet is the sleep of the laborer, whether he eats much or little; but the satiety of the rich man does not permit him to sleep." Whence he lies as it were upon thorns; on account of which Bede says: "Riches, even if they seem to delight, are nevertheless thorns to their possessors, because with the stings of cares they pierce the minds of those who eagerly seek them and anxiously guard them."

Luke 8:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Fourth, regarding the interpretation of the seed multiplied in the fruitful heart, he subjoins: But that which fell on good ground, namely fell: Numbers fourteen: "The land which we surveyed is very good"; these are they who in a good heart, with respect to the cognitive power: Ecclesiasticus thirty-seven: "Establish within yourself a heart of good counsel"; and Ecclesiasticus three: "A wise and understanding heart abstains from sin"; and very good, with respect to the affective power: Hebrews last chapter: "It is best that the heart be established by grace." Hearing the word, retain it, with respect to the memorative power: Proverbs three: "My son, do not forget my law, and let your heart keep my precepts." And bring forth fruit, with respect to the operative power: Isaiah thirty: "Rain shall be given to your seed, wherever you sow in the land, and the bread of the fruits of your land shall be most abundant." In patience, with respect to the passive and supportive power, in which is the consummation of good merit: James one: "Patience has a perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire." Hence it is patience that leads to fruit: James five: "Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, patiently bearing, until he receives the early and the late rain"; and Hebrews ten: "Patience is necessary for you, that doing the will of God, you may receive the promise"; and twelve: "All discipline in the present indeed is not of joy but of sorrow, but afterward it will render to those exercised by it the most peaceful fruit of justice." For the more evident manifestation of this explanation, however, it should be noted that the seed is the Word of God, first, because it holds the nature of an active principle: John eight: "I am the beginning, who also speak to you"; Matthew thirteen: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man," who namely is the principle of every good. — Second, because it holds the nature of a propagative principle: John five: "My Father works until now, and I work." Therefore Mark four: "So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground and sleep," etc.; and Genesis one: "Let the earth bring forth green herb and yielding seed and fruit tree, whose seed," etc. Third, because it holds the nature of a multiplicative principle: John twelve: "Unless a grain of wheat falling into the ground dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit"; and concerning this, First Corinthians fifteen: "Foolish one, what you sow is not brought to life unless it first dies." Moreover, a seed of this kind is the uncreated Word of God, as inspired, as incarnate, as preached, as exemplified.

Luke 8:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

No one lighting a lamp etc. After the Apostles have been instructed for the understanding of the parable, here secondly they are invited to the communication of doctrine, to which the Apostles are invited in four ways: first, by the fittingness of a general example; second, by the necessity of the supernal judgment, there: For nothing is hidden etc.; third, by the usefulness of one's own merit, there: Take heed how you hear etc.; fourth, by the immutability of the divine good pleasure, there: And they came to him etc. Concerning the fittingness of the general example, two things are to be noted: the first is the dissonance in the opposite, the second is the congruence in what is proposed. First, therefore, as regards the dissonance in the opposite, it is said: No one lighting a lamp. The lamp is the word of God, according to that text of Proverbs 6: "The commandment is a lamp, and the law is light, and the way of life is the reproof of discipline"; and in the Psalm: "Your word is a lamp to my feet." Now the lamp is lit when the understanding of the divine word is granted to the human heart. Whence concerning John, John 5: "He was a burning and shining lamp." — Covers it with a vessel. This lamp is not to be covered with a vessel of carnal uncleanness: Hosea 8: "Israel has become among the nations as an unclean vessel." But Paul is not such a vessel, of whom Acts 9: "He is a vessel of election to me, to carry my name before the nations and kings and the sons of Israel." This was an open vessel, which illuminated the world: Sirach 43: "The sun in its appearance announcing at its rising, a wondrous vessel, the work of the Most High." — Or places it under a bed. Now in the bed, sloth is signified: Proverbs 26: "As a door turns on its hinge, so the sluggard on his bed." Hence it is that "that servant is reproved who hid his master's money," Matthew 25, against that text of Sirach 29: "Do not hide it under a stone to be lost." He wishes therefore to say that just as it is unfitting to hide a lit lamp under a vessel or a bed, so it is unfitting to conceal divine understanding. And this is what is said in Sirach 20: "Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure, what profit is there in either?" and after: "Better is the man who hides his foolishness than he who hides his wisdom." This, however, is understood when one has the proper time and place. For in the Psalm it is said: "In my heart I have hidden your words, that I may not sin against you"; and again: "I set a guard over my mouth, when the sinner stood against me: I was silent and was humbled." Second, indeed, as to the fittingness in the matter at hand, he adds: But he places it upon a lampstand, as to the perfection of virtue: so that those who enter may see the light, through the disclosure of truth, according to that text of Matthew 5: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in heaven"; Philippians 2: "Among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life." But that light is not seen except by those who enter through faith, because Isaiah 7 according to the Septuagint: "Unless you believe, you will not understand." And concerning this entrance of faith it is said in John 10: "If anyone enters through me, he will be saved"; enters, through faith, because "he who believes will be saved." These ones entering through faith, by means of the teaching of the Saints, arrive at the understanding of the mysteries, according to that text of the Psalm: "You wondrously illuminate from the eternal mountains." "For those who instruct many unto justice shall be as stars for perpetual eternities," Daniel 12. And therefore the Lord said to his disciples, Matthew 10: "What I say to you in darkness, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops."

Luke 8:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

For nothing is hidden. Here secondly he invites them to the sharing of doctrine by the necessity of the heavenly judgment in two ways: both on account of the future manifestation of all good, and on account of the future revelation of all evil. First, therefore, as to the future manifestation of all good, it is said: For nothing is hidden, namely good, that shall not be made manifest, namely through the future judgment; whence 2 Corinthians 5: "For we must all be made manifest before the tribunal of Christ, that each one may receive according to what he has done in the body." But this will be at the judgment, concerning which 1 Corinthians 4 says that "he will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts, and then there will be praise for each one"; and this, because light has the property of making manifest, according to that text of Ephesians 5: "Whatever is reproved by the light is made manifest"; whence the good truth of faith and morals, as a light, seeks to be made manifest, not to be hidden, according to that text of John 3: "He who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they have been done in God." Which will especially come to pass when that light will be made manifest in the judgment; on account of which in the Psalm: "You who sit upon the Cherubim, show yourself"; and again in the Psalm: "God shall come manifestly, and he shall not be silent." Second, with regard to the future revelation of all evil, it is said: Nor hidden, namely sin or evil, which man willingly hides, according to that passage in Job thirty-one: "If I have hidden my sin as a man"; which will not be known and come into the open, that is, at the judgment, according to that passage in Proverbs twenty-six: "He who covers hatred deceitfully, his malice will be revealed in the assembly." Whence Ecclesiasticus one: "Be not a hypocrite in the sight of men, lest God reveal your hidden things and cast you down in the midst of the synagogue"; because, as is said in Wisdom one, "the ear of jealousy hears all things, and the tumult of murmurings shall not be hidden." "For he it is who reveals the deep and hidden things and knows what is established in darkness," etc. Since therefore all things must be made manifest, it is foolish to hide them for a time; and consequently it is necessary to disclose the doctrine received to others.

Luke 8:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Take heed therefore how you hear, etc. Here, third, the Apostles are invited to the same by the advantage of their own merit, and this because its possession makes one rich, while its privation indeed renders one poor. — The divine doctrine must therefore be preached, first, because the possession of teaching leads to abundance: on account of which he says: Take heed therefore how you hear: Bede: "That you may receive it in your heart and continually ruminate upon it and be able to pour it forth for the hearing of others"; as if to say: do not hear the words of divine instruction negligently, so as not to care, but diligently, so that you may abound and bestow upon others. Whence he also adds: For whoever has, it shall be given to him: for whoever has the desire and the will to advance, God will give him understanding and the ability to teach. Whence Wisdom seven: "I wished, and understanding was given to me; and I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me"; and afterward: "All good things came to me together with her." Whence if anyone wishes that it be given to him abundantly, he ought himself also to give freely from what he has: above, chapter six: "Give, and it shall be given to you," namely the gift of wisdom, according to that passage in James one: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all abundantly," etc. Whence the gift of wisdom is given to no one unless he has the desire: Isaiah fifty-five: "All you who thirst, come to the waters, and you who have no money, make haste," etc. Second, by the contrary, because its privation leads to want, he adds: And whoever does not have, namely the affection for divine teaching in the heart, even what he thinks he has, through the swelling of pride, will be taken from him, namely through the rigor of the divine sentence: below in the nineteenth chapter: "Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas"; and Matthew twenty-one: "The kingdom shall be taken from you," namely of Sacred Scripture, "and given to a nation producing its fruits." From this it is gathered that no one can attain the fullness of divine wisdom unless he has the readiness to communicate doctrine: whence Wisdom six: "What wisdom is and how she came to be, I will relate, and I will not hide from you the mysteries of God." "Nor will I travel with consuming envy: for such a man will not be a partaker of the wisdom" of God.

Luke 8:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Now his Mother came to him etc. Here, fourth, he invites the Apostles to communicate doctrine from imitation of their Master, namely Christ, who preferred the affection of teaching to parental affection. Whence two things are introduced here: the first is the seeking of relatives; the second, the preferring of disciples. First, therefore, regarding the seeking of parents, it is said: Now his Mother and his brothers came to him, toward whom special affection ought to be held—toward the mother indeed, because it is said in Exodus twenty: "Honor your father and your mother"; and Tobit four: "You shall have honor for your mother all the days of her life"; toward brothers, namely relatives and kinsmen: Leviticus nineteen: "You shall love your brother as yourself." Therefore, the seeking of these, to whom preeminent affection is owed, is introduced, but they could not by themselves: whence it is added: And they could not reach him because of the crowd; and therefore they sought him through a messenger.

Luke 8:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

On account of which it is added: And it was told him: Your mother and your brothers, to whom you owe much affection by reason of kinship, stand outside, wishing to see you, through the affection of charity. And thus he is effectively sought, that he might pass over or go out to his relatives, both on account of nature to be acknowledged and on account of charity to be repaid. Whence on this the Gloss says, on Matthew twelve, that "this was reported to Christ evasively, so that it might be known whether he would abandon his teaching." For they knew that what is said in Ephesians five is true: "No one ever hated his own flesh"; and thus they wished to test what he would more accept, whether the affection of parents or the instruction of disciples.

Luke 8:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Second, regarding the preferring of disciples, it is added: Who answering said to them: My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it. In which he shows, that he valued the instruction of disciples more than the affection of parents, and that he valued disciples more than kinsmen, and that he valued the affection of teachers toward disciples more than that of parents toward children. — And note that on account of the affection, need, and request of parents, the teacher ought not to interrupt the instruction of doctrine: in which he invites more by deed than he had invited above by word. And note that he calls his hearers mothers, insofar as through instruction they beget others, according to that passage in Galatians 4: "My little children, whom I bring forth again in labor, until Christ be formed in you." — He calls them brothers, insofar as through the word they are begotten and become sons of God, according to that passage of the Psalm: "I will declare your name to my brothers"; and Hebrews 2: "He is not ashamed to call them brothers." For those who receive the word of God are grafted in as to the root stock, and consequently are watered by the moisture of the Holy Spirit, and therefore are made sons of the living God, according to that passage in Galatians 4: "Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying out," etc. And therefore, as much as spirit surpasses flesh, and grace surpasses nature, and divine things surpass human things, and eternal things surpass perishable things, so much is spiritual generation, which is through the word of life, preferred to carnal generation: and therefore it is to be preferred to it. For on account of this, the true preacher is more moved toward children begotten through preaching than toward carnal parents. This is evident, because the Apostles poured out their own blood to confirm them, just as Christ himself had done, who is the master of masters. And since those alone rightly receive the seed of the word who carry out what they have heard, therefore he rightly adds: Who hear the word of God and do it: because, in Romans 2, "not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers shall be justified before God"; and James 1: "Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." For Christ prefers such people to his own parental kinship, below in chapter 11: "Blessed is the womb that bore you." "Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it." He says this, however, not because he despises his Mother, since he loved her above all, but to show by example what he commands below in chapter 14: "Whoever does not leave father and mother and wife, children, brothers, and sisters, cannot be my disciple."

Luke 8:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

It came to pass on one of the days, and He went up etc. After the parabolic instruction in hidden mysteries and the apostolic formation in open discourses, the Evangelist here adds, in his customary manner, an authentic confirmation in express miracles. Moreover, in this part three miraculous signs are introduced, "that in the mouth of three witnesses every word may stand," and so that Christ may be shown to be Lord of all things. The first is in the calming of the storm, from which He is shown to be Lord over corporeal creation; the second is in the expulsion of the demonic legion, from which He is shown to be Lord over spiritual creation, at the passage: And they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes etc.; the third is in the restoration of life and health, from which He is shown to be Lord over what is composed of both, at the passage: And it came to pass, when He had returned etc. Concerning the first kind of miracle, which is in the calming of the storm, four things are introduced by the Evangelist for its complete explanation. The first is the preceding occasion; the second, the imminent opportunity; the third, the efficient power; the fourth, the consequent benefit. The preceding occasion was the crossing of the sea; the imminent opportunity, the onslaught of the storm; the efficient power, the virtue of the Divinity; the consequent benefit is the advancement of our belief. First, therefore, as regards the boarding of the boat, it is said: And it came to pass on one of the days, that He went up into a boat, and His disciples, namely so that He might be carried by its service, according to that passage of Wisdom fourteen: "Men entrust their souls to a small piece of wood." And note that Christ boarded the boat with His disciples, to show Himself like them in nature and need, according to that passage of Hebrews two: "In all things He ought to be made like unto His brethren"; and Philippians two: "Made in the likeness of men, and found in appearance as a man." The disciples boarded with Christ, to show the perfection of their companionship, by which they never abandoned their Master, just as Elisha did with his master Elijah, in 4 Kings two: "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." Whence in the person of such ones Job said in chapter twenty-three: "My foot has followed His steps; I have kept His way and have not turned aside from it." They were not of those "who believe for a time and in the time of temptation fall away," above in the same chapter, and therefore never attain to the wisdom of truth. Second, regarding the crossing of the lake, it is added: And he said to them: Let us cross over the lake. And they went up, namely to cross over and go beyond the strait or sea, because that body of water, as was discussed above in chapter five, was called both sea and lake. Moreover, the Lord willed that his disciples should cross over with him, so that his miracles might be made manifest to them: the Psalm: "They who go down to the sea in ships, they have seen the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep." Or he willed that they should go up with him in order to show that they cannot arrive at the port of salvation except through the sea of present tribulation. Whence Wisdom 14: "Those crossing the sea by a raft were delivered"; and in the Psalm: "We passed through fire and water"; because, according to what is said in Acts 14, "through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God."

Luke 8:22-25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Spiritually, however, there is expressed here the liberation of the penitent soul from the temptation of the devil through the grace of Christ. Whence three things are to be spiritually noted here: the first is the conversion of the soul, which is signified by the boarding of the boat; the second is temptation, which is signified by the onslaught of the storm; the third is the consolation of the soul, which is signified by the calming of the great tempest. Concerning the boarding of the boat signifying the conversion of the soul, three things are to be noted, namely Christ's example, because he boarded first. Micah 2: "He shall go up, opening the way before them"; because, Acts 1, "Jesus began to do and to teach." And this is what Ambrose says: "Christ, having left his parents, boarded the ship of the cross, to teach us, having left behind carnal love, to be crucified with him." As a figure of this, in 1 Maccabees 16 it is said that John "saw the people trembling to cross the torrent, and he crossed over to them first, and the men saw him and crossed after him." Second, Christ's counsel, because he invited the disciples to cross over with him. Sirach 24: "Come over to me, all you who desire me," namely from this world, which is nothing but a certain passage. John 13: "That he might pass from this world to the Father"; and Hebrews 13: "We have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come." Blessed is he who thus passes with Christ "through temporal goods, so as not to lose eternal ones"; because, Wisdom 14, "those crossing the sea by a raft were delivered." Third, the fellowship of Christ, because he crossed over in the ship together with them: Isaiah forty-three: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers shall not overwhelm you," etc., because in the Psalm: "I am with him in tribulation"; and Matthew twenty-eight: "Behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the age." Concerning the assault of the storm, in which is signified the temptation of the soul, three things are to be noted. The first is the sleeping of Christ; which indeed occurs when the love and memory of Christ grows sluggish in the heart; for in himself he did not sleep: the Psalm: "Behold, he who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep"; but in us: on account of which it is said in Matthew twenty-six: "Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation"; and therefore First Peter, last chapter: "Be sober and watch"; and First Thessalonians five: "Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober: for those who sleep, sleep at night." Second is the descent of the storm wind, in which is signified the temptation of the devil: Ezekiel one: "A whirlwind came from the north." This is the wind coming "from the region of the desert, which shook the four corners of the house," that is, the four affections of the mind, of which it is said in Job one; this is the wind of which Sirach forty-three says: "The cold north wind blew, and ice froze upon the water." Third is the imperiling of the driven ship, which signifies the disturbance of the soul. For water entering into the little ship is disturbance entering into the soul, and then danger is imminent. Whence in the Psalm: "Save me, O God, for the waters have come in even unto my soul"; Lamentations three: "The waters overflowed above my head; I said: I am lost." Concerning the consolation of the soul, three things are to be noted. The first is prayer in the awakening of Christ: which indeed is accomplished through prayer: below, chapter eleven: "Which of you shall have a friend," etc.; Isaiah sixty-four: "There is none who calls upon your name, who rises up and takes hold of you." Second is the devotion of the mind in tranquility: Tobit three: "After a storm you make a calm, and after weeping and tears you pour in gladness"; Wisdom twelve: "But you, master of power, judge with tranquility." Third is the glorification of God in thi…

Luke 8:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

And as they were sailing, etc. Here secondly is described the onset of the storm with the importunity of danger and with the opportunity of refuge. — First, regarding the importunity of the emerging danger, while Christ was sleeping, it is said: And as they were sailing, he fell asleep. And while he was sleeping, they encountered danger in sailing, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 43: "They who sail the sea tell of its dangers." — Therefore the danger is added: And there came down a storm of wind upon the lake, and they were being filled and were in danger, that is, the storm of wind agitated the lake and filled the boat with water, according to that passage of Mark 4: "And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that the ship was filled." And this happened by divine dispensation, just as it is said of Jonah in Jonah 1: "A great tempest arose in the sea, and the ship was in danger of being broken." Whence, just as that ship was in danger on account of Jonah fleeing from the face of the Lord, so also this one on account of the presence of the traitor, according to what the Gloss says: "Rightly is the ship troubled in which the traitor is together with the good, and those who had been steadfast by their own merits are troubled by the merits of others."

Luke 8:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Second, regarding the opportunity of refuge coming to aid, as Christ awakens, it is added: And they came to him and awakened him, namely so that through his wakefulness they might obtain a remedy, they who had incurred danger during his sleep: the Psalm: "The Lord was roused as one who sleeps." Moreover, they awakened him not from boldness of spirit, but from need; whence it is added: Saying: Master, we perish; in which they invoke Christ's power and their own need: Christ's power in this, that they say: Master: Job 9: "He commands the sun, and it does not rise, and he seals up the stars as under a signet"; the Psalm: "You rule over the power of the sea, and you calm the motion of its waves"; Wisdom 14: "You have given a way in the sea and a most firm path in the waves." They allege their own need in this, that they say: We perish, when nevertheless you do not will that anyone perish; Second Peter chapter three: "He acts patiently, not willing that any should perish," and especially the predestined. Whence John chapter ten: "My sheep hear my voice, and I give them eternal life, and they shall not perish forever"; and chapter seventeen: "I have kept them, and none of them has perished except the son of perdition." But he, rising up, rebuked the wind. Here thirdly is described the power of the Divinity, as commanding by word and as accomplishing by deed: First therefore, as regards the command in word, it is said: But he, rising up, rebuked the wind and the tempest of the water: in which rebuke is understood the command of majesty over both. Whence it is said in Matthew chapter eight: "He commanded the winds and the sea, and a great calm was made"; in Mark chapter four it is said that he said to the sea: "Be silent, be still." And in this he shows himself to be the one who made the sea: Job chapter thirty-eight: "I surrounded the sea with my boundaries and said: This far shall you come, and here you shall break your swelling waves"; and Nahum chapter one: "Rebuking the sea and drying it up." Secondly, as regards the effect in deed, it is added: And it ceased, and a calm was made; it ceased, namely the wind: Sirach chapter forty-three: "At his word the wind was silent"; because in the Psalm: "Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds, which fulfill his word." And thus it appears that he is the one to whom Tobit says, in chapter three: "After the tempest you make calm." And thus what is said in the Psalm is true in Christ: "And the spirit of the storm stood still."

Luke 8:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

And he said to them, etc. Here fourthly is determined the progress of our belief, in two ways, namely as regards knowledge in the heart and as regards confession in the mouth: — First therefore, as regards knowledge of the heart proceeding from the hesitation of doubt to the certainty of belief, it is said: And he said to them: Where is your faith? Which indeed he says by rebuking doubt and urging firmness of faith, as if to say: Why did you doubt, fearing submersion and peril? According to what he said to Peter in Matthew chapter fourteen: "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" For it is said in Hebrews chapter eleven: "By faith the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea as through dry land." Therefore he reproved the disciples for their faintheartedness, so that from the miracle seen he might arouse them to firmness of faith, through which they might recoil into their own smallness and marvel at the divine immensity. Whence it is also added: Who, being afraid, marveled. For already they knew their own smallness, into which they recoiled through fear, and the divine immensity, into which they were carried beyond themselves through wonder: Jeremiah chapter ten: "Who shall not fear you, O King of the nations? For yours is the glory among all the wise"; Jeremiah chapter five: "Will you not then fear me? says the Lord." "Who have set the sand as a boundary for the sea, an everlasting decree which it shall not pass beyond." And because wonder at power accompanies fear of majesty, rightly it is said: They marveled: Sirach 11: "Many marveled at him and honored God," because "the Lord is exceedingly great, and his power is wonderful," Sirach 43. Second, indeed, as regards the confession of the mouth, it is added: Saying to one another: Who, do you think, is this? As if to say: no one is like him. Exodus 15: "Who is like you among the mighty, O Lord? Who is like you, magnificent in holiness, terrible and praiseworthy, working wonders?" And they give the reason: Because he commands both the winds and the sea, by his ineffable power; and they obey him, with wondrous reverence. Job 28: "Who gave weight to the winds and weighed the waters by measure, when he appointed a law for the rains and a way for the sounding storms." And thus was verified that saying of Sirach 39: "At his word the water stood like a heap." This, therefore, is he of whom Job 38 says: "Who shut up the sea with doors?" For since the winds and the sea obey him, nothing can resist him. Sirach 42: "All things obey him of necessity." Whence Bede in the Gloss: "Note that every creature perceives its Creator, because things that are insensible to us are sensible to the majesty of the Maker."

Luke 8:26-33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

It is shown, therefore, that from the aforesaid, according to the literal sense, seven notable points can be gathered: first, that the power of Christ's word alone exceeds the strength of infinite thousands of demons; second, that the fury of demons with respect to the human race is very great; third, that their fear with respect to the man Christ is very great; fourth, that demons are incorporeal, since so many were in one man; fifth, that they can do nothing even over brute animals unless permitted; sixth, that men in possessing these temporal things are nothing but stewards of Christ; seventh, that God showed that the salvation of one man is to be preferred to infinite brute animals.

Luke 8:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

And they sailed to the region, etc. After the Evangelist first showed that Christ has dominion over corporeal creation, here secondly he shows that he has dominion over spiritual creation in the admirable expulsion of the demonic legion. Hence the Evangelist intends in this part to explain the marvelous liberation of the demoniac accomplished through the power of Christ. For the explanation of this miracle, four things are introduced. The first is the violence of the besieging demon; the second is the omnipotence of the Lord who liberates, which is treated there: And they begged him not to command them, etc.; the third is the reverence of the people coming to meet him, there: When those who were feeding them saw what had happened, etc.; the fourth is the benevolence of the cured man obeying, there: And the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him, etc. The violence of the besieging devil is shown from four things, namely from the roaring of fury, from the clamor of outcry, from the assault of strength, and from the accompaniment of multitude. First, therefore, regarding the roaring of fury in the demoniac running to meet the Lord as he arrived, it is said: And they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes. "Gerasa, as Bede says, is a city of Arabia"; in which it is shown that after the miracles performed among the Jews, divine dispensation requires that they be performed among the Gentiles; according to what is said in Acts thirteen: "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles," as if in contempt of the rebellious. Hence he adds: Which is opposite Galilee, which refers to the city understood through that people, which is called Gerasa. He sailed there to show the power of his might through miracles and to draw them to himself. For Gerasa is interpreted, as the Gloss says, as "sojourner"; and therefore it designates the Gentiles, according to Ephesians two: "Remember that at one time you were Gentiles, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, having no hope of the promise and without God in this world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near." Hence in this it is clear that "the same Lord of all is rich toward all who call upon him," Romans ten. "For everyone, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved."

Luke 8:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Therefore it is added: And when he had gone out onto the land, there met him a certain man, so that just as he had worked wonders on the sea, so also on the land. And through this it is apparent that he is the one of whom it is said in the Psalm: "Whatever the Lord willed, he did in heaven and on earth, in the sea and in all the depths." And he shows this in this man, who is rightly called a certain man of singular suffering, who was a notable person and was notably and miserably possessed. And therefore, although two came to meet him, according to what is said in Matthew 8, Luke nevertheless records only the encounter with one, whose notable torment he specifies by the length of time. On account of which he says: Who had had a devil now for a long time, so that it had already claimed him for itself as a possession, such that there could be said of him that word of Isaiah 34: "It shall be the lair of dragons and the pasture of ostriches, and demons shall meet, the onocentaur"; this concerns those fully possessed by the devil. It is aggravated also by the unseemliness of appearance: whence it is also added: And he wore no garment; which was very unseemly, according to what the Lord threatens in Ezekiel 16: "They shall strip you of your garments and take away the ornaments of your beauty." And in this the fury of the demon is apparent, who not only tormented the members of the body but also tore apart the garments, as is said of that one in Acts 19: "When the most wicked demon had prevailed against the two sons of Sceva the Jew, they fled naked and wounded from the house." It is aggravated also by the horror of the place: therefore he adds: Neither did he abide in a house, but in the tombs, where is a very horrible place. And the princes of darkness seek such places; Job 30: "They dwell in the deserts of the mountains and in the caverns of the earth"; and yet from these the Lord delivers, according to that word of the Psalm: "Who brings forth the bound in might, likewise those who provoke, who dwell in the tombs."

Luke 8:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Secondly, with regard to the tumult of the outcry, as the demon cries aloud and the Lord commands, it is added: When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him. And thus is verified that word of the Psalm: "Before him the Ethiopians shall fall down"; and that word of Isaiah 60: "They who detracted you shall come to you and shall adore the footsteps of your feet," "that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth," Philippians 2. This, however, he did not do out of the humility of devotion, but with murmuring and clamor of outcry. And therefore he adds: And crying out with a loud voice, he said: What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? This he did not display out of reverence, but rather he abhorred his presence with a cry, through which he showed groaning and pain in his heart, according to that passage of the penultimate chapter of Isaiah: "You shall cry out for pain of heart, and for crushing of spirit you shall howl." Moreover, he cries out and grieves at his presence because there was no agreement with Christ; Second Corinthians 6: "What accord has Christ with Belial? What fellowship has light with darkness, justice with iniquity?" And Ecclesiasticus 13: "What will the wolf share with the lamb? Or what communion has a holy man with a dog?" And note that in this confession he refutes a twofold error: one of the Jews, who said that Christ had a demon, John 8, and that he cast out demons by Beelzebub, Matthew 12. Whence Bede says: "The Jews say that he casts out demons by the prince of demons — he whom the demons deny to have anything in common with themselves." He refutes another error of the Arians, who say that Christ is a mere creature, whereas the demon calls him the Son of the Most High God, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 24: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn before every creature." But the demon confesses this not by venerating his dominion, but by dreading his command, according to that passage of James 2: "The demons believe and tremble." And therefore it is added: I beseech you, do not torment me, namely by that power of which Wisdom 11 says: "Absent and present alike were tormented." Therefore he wanted to confess Christ so that at least by confessing he might find an opportunity of escaping, because, Wisdom 16, "the wicked who denied knowing you were scourged by the strength of your arm."

Luke 8:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

But this supplication availed him little, for it was not voluntary but coerced; therefore it is added: For he was commanding the unclean spirit to go out from the man, a command which it could not resist, according to that passage of Wisdom 19: "Every creature served your commands, that your children might be kept unharmed." Moreover, it feared this command because it is a comfort to the unclean spirit to possess a man and to inflict torment upon him, according to that passage below in chapter 11: "When the unclean spirit has gone out from a man, it walks through waterless places, seeking rest"; and Bede in the Gloss says: "It is a torment for the devil to cease from harming a man, and the longer he possesses, the more reluctantly he lets go. Let him who is harmed by the devil therefore take heed to break the yoke quickly." — But in this petition the demon did not merit to be heard, because it was not from a disposition of devotion, but from impatience and the clamor of outcry; the Psalm: "They cried out, and there was none to save them." Third, as regards the assault of strength in the demon resisting human binding, it is added: For many times he would seize him, namely by an assault of strength which the possessed man could not resist: according to what is said of Saul in 1 Kings 18, that "the evil spirit of the Lord seized Saul." But with this man it was otherwise than with Saul, because the latter was soothed by the harp, but this man could not be restrained by a chain. Whence it is added: And he was bound with chains, as regards the hands, guarded with fetters, as regards the feet, which was a very strong restraint, according to that of the Psalm: "To bind their kings in fetters and their nobles in iron manacles." And although it was so strong, he could not withstand the assault of diabolical strength: on account of which it adds: And breaking the bonds, he was driven by the demon into the desert. In this is shown the pride and audacity of the devil, who could be held back by no restraints, according to that of Jeremiah 2: "From of old you have broken my yoke, you have burst my bonds." Thus indeed do the proud imitators of the devil, against whom Jeremiah, in chapter 5, speaking of the princes: "They have broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds," namely of the divine precepts; although it is said in Ecclesiasticus 6: "Put your foot into his fetters, and be not weary of his bonds." But it is more tolerable for a sinner possessed by the devil to be driven about in the desert than to be bound by these fetters: Job 30: "They dwelt in the deserts of torrents and in the caves of the earth, who rejoiced in such things and counted it delightful to be under thorns."

Luke 8:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Fourth, as regards the company of multitude in the demon responding to the Lord's interrogation, it is added: And Jesus asked him, saying: What is your name? For it belongs to him to interrogate, to whom it also belongs to judge: Wisdom 6: "The Most High will examine your works and will search out your thoughts"; and in chapter 11: "These, questioning them as a stern king, you condemned"; because, according to that of Wisdom 1, "there will be an interrogation into the thoughts of the ungodly." He was asking about the name, not because he was ignorant, according to what the disciples say to him in John 16: "Now we know that you know all things, and you do not need anyone to question you," and much less that you should question others. But he was asking so that from the demon's response the confutation of the multitude would become apparent; whence it is also added: And he said: Legion. "A legion contains six thousand six hundred and sixty-six"; and therefore he does not respond with the name of a single person, but of a multitude: which the Evangelist explains, adding: Because many demons had entered into him, so that he could say to the Lord: "Lord, how they are multiplied who trouble me"? And again: "They are multiplied beyond the hairs of my head who hate me without cause." Already what is said of Antiochus in 1 Maccabees 1 had been verified in this man: "Antiochus went up to Jerusalem with a great multitude. And he entered into the sanctuary with pride." And thus from the four premises stated above, the violence of the besieging devil is made apparent.

Luke 8:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

And they besought him etc. After the violence of the besieging demon, the Evangelist here subjoins the omnipotence of the Lord who liberates. Now in this part Christ is shown to be powerful in every way, namely powerful in commanding, powerful in permitting, powerful in saving, and powerful in destroying. First, then, he is shown to be powerful in commanding harsh things, in that it says: And they besought him, namely the demons, that he would not command them to go into the abyss: because they could not transgress his command, according to that verse of the Psalm: "He has established a decree, and it shall not pass away." Therefore they besought him, because they knew that he was that Angel of whom Revelation 20 says: "I saw an Angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss," that is, the power of sending into the abyss by his just judgment, as he did to the Egyptians: Exodus 15: "The depths covered them, they descended into the deep like a stone"; and Revelation 20: "Judgment was rendered upon each one according to their works. And hell and death were cast into the lake of fire." The demons feared that this judgment would be hastened upon them by the command of Christ, not as ones foreknowing the future, but on account of the sayings of the Prophets. Whence Ambrose says: "The demons knew that by the coming of Christ they would at some time be plunged into the abyss, not because they themselves were foretelling the future, but because they were recalling what the Prophets had said concerning them."

Luke 8:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Second, he is said to be powerful in permitting losses, in that it is added: And there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain, into which, although they are brute animals, the demons had no power except by divine permission. For of Christ it was said in the Psalm: "You have subjected all things under his feet"; and afterward: "moreover also the cattle of the field." Whence into this herd they could do nothing except by the permission of God, according to that passage of Matthew 10: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And not one of them shall fall to the ground without your Father," that is, without the power of the Father. And therefore it is added: And they besought him that he would permit them to enter into them; in which the demons display Christ's power and their own powerlessness, because they can do nothing against beasts unless permitted, much less therefore against a human being. Whence in Job 1 satan said: "Lord, stretch forth your hand and touch all that he possesses." On account of which also in the tribulation that the devil is to inflict upon the Church, the divine permission precedes, according to that passage of Revelation 9: "The four angels were loosed, who were prepared for the hour and the day"; and in chapter 20 it is said that "satan shall be loosed." And because the Lord by his just judgment permits them many things, it is added: And he permitted them; in which permission he shows himself to be lord not only restraining the demons but possessing the swine, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Mine are all the beasts of the forests, the cattle on the mountains and the oxen." But the owners were merely stewards of the Lord Jesus, and therefore in no way did he do them an injury. The Lord also showed that He loves the salvation of one man more than thousands of brute animals: First Corinthians 9: "Does God have care for oxen?" Wisdom 11: "But You spare all things, O Lord, because they are Yours, You who love souls." — Again, in this the Lord showed that carnal men, who are designated by the swine, are by the just judgment of God exposed to demons; Romans 8: "If you live according to the flesh, you shall die." Whence in First Corinthians 5 the Apostle says of that carnal man that "he judged to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh." He also did this so that not only His power of saving but also of killing might be made known to the men of that land, according to that passage of Deuteronomy 32: "I will kill and I will make alive, I will strike and I will heal: and there is none who can deliver from My hand."

Luke 8:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Third, He is shown to be powerful in saving the infirm in that which is added: The demons therefore went out from the man and entered into the swine: by which departure the man was freed. They went out by the command of divine power, according to that passage of Zechariah 13: "I will cast the unclean spirit out of the land." This was said by Him who says of Himself below in chapter 13: "Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I am consummated." For they went out by the power of Christ, in whose name they were cast out by His disciples, according to what is said in Acts 16, that "Paul said to the pythonic spirit: I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to go out from her; and it went out the same hour." But departing from the man, they enter into the swine, because the unclean spirit seeks unclean dwelling places: Job 37: "The beast shall enter its lair and shall dwell in its cave"; and of Behemoth it is said in Job 40: "He sleeps under the shadow, in the covert of the reed, in moist places." He says this with regard to carnal men, who seek nothing else but shadow and wantonness, like swine. Fourth, He is shown to be powerful in casting down the proud in that which follows: And the herd rushed headlong over the precipice into the lake and was drowned; in which the Lord's extraordinary power is shown, which did not permit them to enter the swine for rest, but for drowning, so that thus might be fulfilled in them that passage of Exodus 15: "Your spirit blew, and the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters"; in which the submersion of sins is spiritually designated, according to that prophetic passage of Micah, the last chapter: "He will put down all our iniquities and will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

Luke 8:34-39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Note here that according to the letter, four notable points can be drawn from what has been said. The first is that the Lord willed to be made known to others through lowly and humble persons, such as through swineherds and herdsmen. Second, that not all are to be admitted to the state of perfection, but only those who are suitable. Third, that those whom Christ cures from the vexation of the devil are not to be barred from preaching the name of Christ. — Fourth, that we ought to be most ready for the giving of thanks for benefits received, after the example of this demoniac, who announced the benefit of God to all.

Luke 8:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

When they saw what was done etc. Here now thirdly the Evangelist shows the reverence of the people coming to meet him. Concerning the explanation of which four things are introduced, namely the announcement of the truth beheld, the investigation of the truth heard, the discovery of the truth sought, the veneration of the truth found, sought, and announced. First, therefore, as regards the announcement of the truth beheld, it is said: When they saw what was done, those who were feeding them fled, namely out of fear, like hirelings; John 10: "But the hireling, and he who is not the shepherd, sees the wolf coming and flees"; and Zechariah 11: "O shepherd and idol, abandoning the flock"! Or they fled not from fear of human danger, but from fear of divine judgment, concerning which Job 19: "Flee from the face of the sword, for the sword is the avenger of iniquity, and know that there is judgment." But they fled not to hide, for in the Psalm it is written: "Where shall I go from your spirit, and where shall I flee from your face?" but so that they might quickly narrate what they had seen to those who were absent. Whence it follows: And they told it in the city and in the villages, just as that messenger, Job 1: "I alone escaped, that I might tell you." And in this they had, as it were, the office of preachers, of whom in the Psalm: "They declared the works of God and understood his deeds"; Philippians 1: "Whether Christ be announced by occasion, in this also I rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice." Whence good things seen concerning Christ are not to be kept silent but to be announced, according to that passage of 4 Kings 7: "Those four lepers said: This is a day of good tidings. If we are silent and do not wish to announce it until morning, we shall be charged with wickedness. Come, let us go and announce it in the court of the king." But evil things are not to be announced; 2 Kings 1: "Do not announce it in Gath, nor announce it in the crossroads of Ashkelon."

Luke 8:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Secondly, as regards the investigation of the truth heard, it is added: And they went out to see what was done, and they came to Jesus. They went out, I say, for inquiry; Song of Songs 3: "Go forth, daughters of Sion, and see king Solomon"; and in the Psalm: "Come and see the works of the Lord, what wonders he has placed upon the earth." They went out moreover to Jesus, who is the Truth, that they might learn the truth. For, as the diligent inquirer Job says in the twenty-third chapter: "Who will grant me that I might know and find him and come even to his throne"? So the Samaritans, having heard the word of the woman, John 4: "The woman went away into the city and says to those men: Come and see the man who told me all things whatsoever I have done." "They went out therefore from the city and were coming to him." And it is greatly to be noted that it is said that when they go out to see what had been done, they came to Jesus, because the thing made, when it is beheld, leads to the Maker; Romans 1: "The invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood through the things that have been made"; and Wisdom 13: "From the greatness of the beauty and of the creature, the Creator of these things may be knowably seen." And therefore Sirach 42: "How admirable are his works, and like a spark is what one may contemplate"! In this, however, it is apparent that one must not remain in the thing made, but must press on even to Jesus: Sirach 43: "Look upon the rainbow and bless him who made it"; and in the Psalm: "Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise," etc. Third, as regards the discovery of the truth sought, it is added: And they found the man sitting, from whom the demons had gone out; and thus in a fitting state, against restlessness, because he never rested when the devil possessed him: Isaiah 57: "The wicked are like a raging sea, which cannot rest." On the contrary, concerning him in whom the Spirit of the Lord dwells, it is said in Lamentations 3: "He shall sit solitary and shall be silent"; because, according to that passage of the Psalm, "in peace is his place made." They found him also in fitting attire, against nakedness: on account of which it adds: Clothed. For such attire befits a man both bodily and spiritually: Revelation 16: "Blessed is he who keeps his garments, lest he walk naked." — They found him also in his right sense, against madness: on account of which it adds: And of sound mind: whence he could say that word of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4: "At that very time my understanding returned to me." Which understanding the devil takes away from those whom he possesses, by deranging their minds: Second Corinthians 4: "In whom the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers." They found him also in a fitting position, against disorder: on account of which is added: At his feet, as one attentive to his preaching, according to that passage in the penultimate chapter of Deuteronomy: "Those who approach his feet shall receive of his teaching"; and below in the tenth chapter: "Mary sitting at the feet of the Lord heard his word." And by these signs they manifestly knew him to be set free, from their own sight. Now they had learned the manner and cause of the cure by hearing, because they had heard that this had been done through Christ. On account of which it is added: And they were afraid, namely of Christ, attending to his wondrous power and strength, according to that passage of Jeremiah 10: "Who shall not fear you, O King of the nations? For to you belongs glory; among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you."

Luke 8:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

To this he adduces sure testimony, therefore he adds: And those who had seen it reported to them, namely the herdsmen. For such persons ought to bear witness; John 19: "And he who saw it bore witness." How he had been made well from the legion, through Christ's command. Such testimony is to be believed; 1 John 1: "What we have seen and heard and perceived, we testify and announce to you"; the Psalm: "Declaring the praises of the Lord and his wondrous works which he has done"; because, Acts 4, "we cannot but speak what we have heard and seen."

Luke 8:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Fourth, indeed, as regards the veneration of the truth discovered, it is added: All the multitude of the region of the Gerasenes asked him. After they recognized the fearsome dominion of Majesty, they asked him to depart from them. Which indeed they did not say from the contempt of pride, as those of whom Job 21 says: "Who say to God: 'Depart from us; we do not desire the knowledge of your ways'"; but from reverential fear. Whence it is also added: Because they were held by great fear, as Peter, above in chapter 5: "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man"; and as the centurion, above in chapter 7: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof"; because, according to that passage of Sirach 13, "he who associates with one more honorable than himself takes a burden upon himself." Whence Ambrose says: "A weak mind does not grasp the word of God, nor can it sustain the weight of wisdom." And since they were less fit for divine cohabitation, therefore they were heard. On account of which it is added: But he, boarding the boat, returned. The Lord did not wish to be burdensome to anyone; whence Matthew 10: "And whoever shall not receive you, going out, shake the dust from your feet"; and Matthew 7: "Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine." But the Samaritans had acted more prudently than these, of whom John 4 says: "When the Samaritans had come to him, they asked him to remain there. And he stayed with them two days." But astonishment had surrounded these people, just as it had Peter, above in chapter 5. Therefore they could say that passage of Job 31: "I always feared God as waves swelling over me, and I was unable to bear his weight." In this also it is given to understand spiritually that the Lord, when rejected, departs; 1 Chronicles 28: "If you seek him, you shall find him; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever." It is also intimated that the Lord does not abandon us unless we first repel him, but rather presses himself upon us; whence Revelation 3: "I stand at the door and knock," etc.

Luke 8:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

And he besought him etc. Here fourthly is described the benevolence of the healed man in his obedience, which the Evangelist commends on four grounds, namely from the offering of service, from the condescension of the Physician, from the commission of office, and from the publication of the benefit, such that one disposes toward the other. First, therefore, as to the offering of service, it is said: And the man from whom the demons had gone out besought him, namely the healed man besought the physician, that he might be with him, that is, that he might serve him as Lord and Savior, as Ittai the Gittite said to David in 2 Kings 15: "As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, in whatever place you shall be, whether in death or in life, there will your servant be." So Elisha to Elijah, in 4 Kings 2: "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." Moreover, he wished to be with him so that he might be more secure, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus 51: "I will call upon the Lord, the father of my Lord, that he may not forsake me in the day of my tribulation." Also that he might be more perfect: Psalm: "I will keep your justifications; do not utterly forsake me." Also that he might be more blessed: Philippians 1: "I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ"; and John 12: "I will, Father, that where I am, there also my minister may be." — Therefore he wished to dwell together on the way, so that he might dwell together in the homeland. Secondly, as to the condescension of the Physician, it is added: But Jesus dismissed him, namely in complete freedom, not wishing to impose any other burden upon him, showing that service ought not to be accepted on account of a benefit conferred; whence Matthew 18: "The lord, having compassion on that servant, released him and forgave him the debt."

Luke 8:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Moreover, he dismissed him in peace; whence he adds: Saying: Return to your house, that you may rest there, whence the demons had expelled you. Ecclesiasticus 32: "Hasten first to your house, and there withdraw, and there play, and pursue your intentions." Seneca: "It is a sign of a well-ordered mind to be able to stand firm in one place and to dwell with oneself." And note that the Lord dismisses some on account of weakness, as this man, toward whom he showed condescension. Some he admits on account of faithfulness, as him of whom below in chapter 9: "He said to another: Follow me. But he said: Lord, permit me first to go and bury" etc. Some he draws on account of suitability, below in chapter 9: "And another said: I will follow you, Lord, but permit me first to take leave" etc. Some he repels on account of cupidity, as him of whom in Matthew 8: "Master, I will follow you." The Lord responds: "Foxes have dens," etc. — The Lord, however, did not admit this man to the discipleship of perfection, either because the fear of human danger moved him, or the love of gain; or to show, as was touched upon above, that service is not to be accepted on account of spiritual benefit: whence Matthew 10: "Freely you have received, freely give." And an example of this appears in Elisha, 4 Kings 5. A preacher can, however, accept a stipend, as is said in 1 Corinthians 9; but he ought not to preach on account of that, but on account of the salvation of the people. And note here that the Lord, according to what the Gospel narrative relates, sometimes commanded those who were healed to tell no one, as is evident in the healing of the leper in Matthew 8: "See that you tell no one"; and in the raising of the girl, below in the same chapter: "He commanded them to tell no one what had been done." Here, however, he commands the one healed to make it known, for this purpose: that the Lord might show that saving truth is not to be kept silent, and that one's own glory is not to be sought. Therefore he sometimes commands that it be told, and sometimes commands that it be kept silent, so that in the first he gives instruction that truth be preached, and in the second, that one's own glory not be sought. In this it also appears that the work of preaching belongs not only to apostolic men, but also to any good persons who have been taught by Christ. Whence also Christ, when the disciples were forbidding a certain man who was casting out demons in the name of Christ but was not following Christ, said: "Do not forbid him," as is said below in chapter 9. For a good man ought to say what Moses said in Numbers 11: "Would that all might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them the Holy Spirit!" according to that passage in Philippians 1: "Whether through truth or through occasion, let Christ be proclaimed, and in this I rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice." Third, as regards the commission of office, it is said: And tell how great things God has done for you: in which he sends him to preach and to make known the divine benefit; Psalm: "I will declare your name to my brethren," etc.; and Tobit 12: "It is good to hide the secret of a king, but it is honorable to reveal and confess the works of God." And God commands this to be done: Psalm: "How great things he commanded our fathers, to make them known to their children." And this is the office enjoined upon preachers. Fourth, as to the publication of the benefit, it is added: And he went through the whole city, declaring what had been commanded: Jonah 3: "Arise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach in it the preaching." But Jonah was preaching peril, whereas this man was publishing and preaching a benefit. — On account of which he adds: How great things Jesus had done for him, so that he might truly say that word of the Psalm: "Come, hear, all of you, and I will declare how great things he has done for my soul." To this the Angel invited in Tobit 12: "Bless God and declare all his wonderful works." He…

Luke 8:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had returned, etc. Above, the Evangelist showed the dominion and authority of Christ over corporeal creation in the calming of the tempest, and over spiritual creation in the expulsion of the demon; here he shows that he has dominion over the creature composed of both in the healing of the woman with the flow of blood and the raising of the girl. Now this part has two sections, inasmuch as human nature is composed of two things, namely body and soul. For first is shown the lord of bodies in the healing of the woman with the flow of blood; second, the lord of souls in the raising of the girl, at the place: While he was still speaking, etc. The explanation of each miracle is introduced to manifest the dignity of Christ's power, which he demonstrates quite perfectly in the miracle of the healing of the woman with the flow of blood. For first is demonstrated in this part the benignity of Christ's desirable presence; second, the sublimity of his inestimable power, at the place: And a certain woman was in a flow of blood, etc.; third, the profundity of his ineffable wisdom, at the place: And Jesus said: Who is it that touched me, etc. The kindness of Christ's presence is shown to be desirable from the people receiving him with joy, from the prince supplicating with confidence, from the multitude accompanying him with benevolence. The first regards Christ's coming, which the people meet; the second, Christ's station, to which the prince has recourse; the third, Christ's progress, toward which the multitude runs together. From the meeting, therefore, and the recourse and the concourse of the multitude, the presence and coming of Christ is shown in manifold ways to be desirable. First, therefore, as regards the reception of joy made by the people, it is said: Now it came to pass, when Jesus had returned, namely across the sea into Galilee, from whom he had for a time withdrawn his desired bodily presence; according to what was prefigured in Third Kings ten concerning Solomon: "And all the earth desired to see the face of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had given him." By this Solomon we understand Christ, of whom it is said in the Psalm: "Beautiful in form above the sons of men," etc. — And therefore it is added: A great crowd received him, namely with joy and gladness, so that that word of Isaiah twenty-nine might be fulfilled: "The poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel." — And therefore it is added: For all were waiting for him, namely with desire, because, Lamentations three, "it is good to wait in silence for the salvation of God." For "the Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him"; "for he shall be the expectation of the nations," Genesis, the second-to-last chapter; Psalm: "Wait therefore for the Lord and act manfully," etc.

Luke 8:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Second, as regards the supplication of confidence made by the prince, it is added: And behold, there came a man whose name was Jairus, whose name is expressed because the person was notable by reason of his office of governance, according to what is said in Second Kings seven: "I have made you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth"; or also because the name corresponded to his office and dignity. For Jairus is interpreted as illuminated; such a one ought to hold governance among the people. — Whence it is added: And he was a ruler of the synagogue; Sirach forty-five: "He established for him a covenant of peace and made him prince of the holy ones and of his people." Now this prince, although he was exalted in glory, so that there could apply to him that word of First Kings two: "That he might sit with princes and hold a throne of glory"; was not thereby puffed up through pride, but humbled through reverence, heeding that word of Sirach thirty-two: "Have they made you ruler? Be not lifted up." — Therefore it is added: And he fell at the feet of Jesus, knowing it is written, Isaiah forty-five: "Every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall swear"; and in the Psalm: "Come, let us adore and fall prostrate before the Lord." He fell prostrate, therefore, that he might honor the majesty of Christ by his reverence; Sirach three: "How great is the power of God alone, and he is honored by the humble"; and also that he might implore his mercy with confidence. Whence he also adds: Asking him to enter into his house. This he did with insistence, so that he could say that word of Song of Songs 3: "I held him and would not let him go, until I brought him into the house of my mother."

Luke 8:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

But to this insistence he was driven by need, which he expresses when he says: Because she was his only daughter, and thus very much to be loved. For, in 2 Kings 1, "as a mother loves her only son, so did I love you," said David. Moreover she was lovable not only because she was his only child, but also because she was a young girl; and therefore he adds: About twelve years of age; and because she was tender, she was therefore to be loved with a tender love, according to that word of Genesis 37: "Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had begotten him in his old age." And because her life was very much to be loved, therefore her death was very much to be grieved. On account of which he adds: And she was dying; which could not be without great sorrow, such as is in the mourning for an only child; Jeremiah 6: "Make for yourself mourning as for an only child, a bitter lamentation." Therefore Jacob said concerning Benjamin in Genesis 42: "My son shall not go down with you, he said, for his brother is dead, and he alone remains. If any harm should befall him on the way, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." So also here he could say the same concerning his only daughter. Since therefore he approached the presence of Christ with dutiful reverence, asked out of confidence, and desired out of need, therefore his prayer was heard, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus 4: "Do not reject the petition of the afflicted." Hence it is that the Lord did not rebuke this man who was asking him to come to his house, as he did the royal official in John 4; because the royal official believed that he could heal the sick more readily than raise the dead, whence he said: "Lord, come down before my son dies." But this man believed that he could do equally well in either case, whence he regarded his daughter as already dead. — And therefore another Evangelist, namely Matthew, introduces him asking on behalf of one who was dead, although according to Luke and Mark some life yet remained. Whence Augustine in On the Harmony of the Evangelists says that Mark and Luke expressed the ruler's words, but Matthew expressed his meaning, because he regarded her as dead. Third, as to the accompaniment of benevolence shown by the multitude, it is added: And it happened, as he went, he was pressed by the crowds: because out of the affection of love all wished to touch him, as above in chapter six: "The whole multitude sought to touch him." In this also, conversely, the benevolence of the Savior is shown: who even wills to be pressed by the multitude, as if repelling no one from himself. For he it is who says in John six: "Everyone who comes to me, I will not cast out"; he who calls in Matthew eleven: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you"; he it is who knocks at the door; Revelation three: "I stand at the door and knock." This pressing together is caused by mutual love, which is the bond of the lover and the beloved: because, First Corinthians six, "he who cleaves to the Lord is one spirit"; and John fifteen: "Abide in me, and I in you." Whence perfect love is not content with any sense without touch: on account of which the bride says in Song of Songs one: "Draw me after you"; Jeremiah thirty-one: "With everlasting love I have loved you, therefore I have drawn you."

Luke 8:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

And a certain woman was in a flow etc. After the desirable presence of Christ has been shown, his admirable power is shown in the wondrous healing from a flow of blood. The Evangelist shows that this healing proceeded from admirable omnipotence, both on account of the long duration of the illness in the woman, and on account of the impossibility of curing by medical art, and on account of the ease of the remedy from the Savior. First, therefore, as to the long duration of the unclean affliction in the woman, it is said: And a certain woman was in a flow of blood for twelve years. This was an unclean affliction, and therefore difficult to bear; Leviticus fifteen: "A woman who suffers a flow of blood, if it does not cease to flow, as long as she is subject to this affliction, she is unclean." It was difficult to heal on account of its persistence, because it was already of long standing: Sirach ten: "A prolonged illness weighs upon the physician." This affliction was therefore unclean, continuous, and of long duration; therefore degrading to live with, grievous to endure, and difficult to heal. Whence she could say that word of Lamentations three: "He has made my skin and my flesh old," and that word of the Psalm: "My loins are filled with illusions, and there is no soundness in my flesh." This woman, according to Ambrose, seems to have been Martha. For he says: "Christ dried up the copious flow of blood in Martha and cast out demons from Mary." Second, regarding the impossibility of human assistance through art, it is added: Who had spent all her substance on physicians, seeking a remedy for her cure, according to the counsel of Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight: "Honor the physician for the need you have of him, for the Most High has created him." He says this, however, concerning the honor of gifts, not of words: whence she had honored them, because she had spent all her substance. And therefore it is probable that, if the illness had been curable, it would have been cured through art. — Nevertheless, art did not avail: whence he adds: Nor could she be cured by anyone, and thus neither by nature nor by art could she be helped, so that there might be verified in her that word of Wisdom sixteen: "Neither herb nor poultice healed them, but your word, O Lord, which heals all things." Whence note that nature can do nothing without supernatural power, nor can art do anything without nature: whence where nature does not assist, art does not avail but rather harms, as in this woman, of whom it is said in Mark five that "she had suffered much from many physicians and had spent all she had, nor had she improved at all, but rather grew worse." But Luke the physician passes over this in silence, speaking more courteously of physicians. — From which it is gathered that the art of physicians is praiseworthy when it follows supernatural power and the underlying nature. Whence it is said in Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight: "Give place to the physician, let him not depart from you." But then the work of the physician will be blameworthy when he neglects either to consider nature or does not set divine power first, as is said of Asa in Second Chronicles sixteen: "Asa fell grievously ill with a disease of the feet, and yet he did not seek the Lord, but rather trusted in the art of physicians"; and it follows that "he died."

Luke 8:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Third, regarding the ease of perfect healing from the Savior, it is added: She came up from behind and touched the fringe of his garment. She came up, because she believed; Hebrews eleven: "He who comes must believe"; from behind, because she was afraid, just as a sister of hers, Mary, above in chapter seven: "Standing behind at the feet of the Lord." She touched, because she hoped to be healed; Matthew nine: "She said within herself: If I touch the fringe of his garment, I shall be healed." She touched, moreover, the fringe, that is, the lowest part of his garment, considering herself unclean and honoring the power of Christ, who can give healing through the lowliest things. And because she believed and hoped, she therefore easily obtained what she sought. For this reason it is added: And immediately her flow of blood stopped: from which the wondrous power of God is apparent, which cured so prolonged and so grave a disease immediately at the touch of one small part of the garment. Wondrous therefore is the power of Christ, which through faith in him makes the impossible easy, according to that passage in Mark 9: "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes"; and John 14: "He who believes in me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do"; and Acts 19: "God worked no small miracles through the hand of Paul, so that even from his body handkerchiefs and aprons were carried away, and diseases departed from them." If therefore it is so salutary to touch the fringe of his garment through faith, how salutary will it be to hold Christ himself? Whence Bernard says: "It is sweet enough to seek you, good Jesus, sweeter still to hold you"; whence the bride in Song of Songs 3: "I held him and would not let him go." "Sweet indeed is the touching of you; for even this joyful act is not without fruit. For the woman of the Gospel by a happy theft touched the fringe of Jesus, and immediately there stopped in her the flow of carnal enticement, carnal delight, and carnal care."

Luke 8:45 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

And Jesus said etc. After it has been shown that Christ's presence is desirable and his power admirable, here thirdly his wisdom is shown to be infallible: and this in three ways, namely through the apprehension of hidden truth, through the disclosure of apprehended truth, and through the approval of disclosed truth. First therefore is introduced the apprehension of hidden truth by Christ through his own inquiry, when it is said: And Jesus said: Who touched me? He says this not in order to learn, but so that what is known to him he may disclose to others, according to what is said in the Psalm: "His eyelids question the children of men; the Lord questions the just and the wicked"; not so that he might learn something from them, but so that he might teach what they do not know. Whence, because they did not know the reason for the question, it is added: But when all denied it, Peter said, and those who were with him, that is, the other disciples, not understanding the reason for this question; whence that word of Matthew 15 could be said to them: "Are you also still without understanding?" — because they understood that question carnally, not spiritually. This is evident in what he adduces: Master, the crowds press upon you and afflict you, and you say: Who touched me? — as if to say: since all touch you indiscriminately, how do you ask about someone in particular? Whence they wondered how Christ, teacher and master, would inquire as if in doubt about what was manifest to all; and therefore they rightly wondered how Christ would pose a question that appears foolish, since it is said in Second Timothy 2: "Avoid foolish and undisciplined questions." But because they had a carnal understanding, they had to be led by the hand to a spiritual one.

Luke 8:46 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

For which reason he adds: And Jesus said: Someone has touched me, that is, some person, namely by a spiritual touch; and he proves this: For I know that virtue has gone out from me. He says this with regard to the effect of the healing; and thus is verified that passage from Wisdom 12: "But you show your power, you who are not believed to be consummate in power." Moreover, he shows the effect going out from him, according to what is said above in the sixth chapter, that "virtue went out from him and healed all." Nor is this surprising, because, in First Corinthians 1, "we preach Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God"; Hebrews 1: "Upholding all things by the word of his power."

Luke 8:47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Secondly, there is added the disclosure of the truth discovered through another's confession, when it is said: But the woman, seeing that she was not hidden from him; whence she could say that word of the Samaritan woman, John 4: "Lord, I perceive that you are a Prophet." For which reason she too could bear similar testimony with that woman and therefore say: "Come and see a man who told me all things whatsoever I have done." This one was truly another Solomon, nay wiser than he, of whom it is said in Third Kings 10: "There was no word that could be hidden from the king"; because he is the one of whom Daniel 2 says: "He knows what is established in darkness, and light is with him." And because she had already recognized his power in its effect and perceived his wisdom in his word, therefore she understood that she could not escape. — And for this reason it is added: And trembling, she came and fell down at his feet, to honor his Majesty; Micah 6: "What worthy thing shall I offer to the Lord? Shall I bow the knee to God most high?" And this with trembling, because God regards only such persons; Isaiah, last chapter: "To whom shall I look, but to the poor little one who trembles at my words?" And therefore, Philippians 2: "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for God works in you both to will and to accomplish according to his good will." And because nothing pertains more to the honor of Majesty than the manifestation of truth, therefore it is added: And for what cause she had touched him, she declared before all the people, namely how she was immediately healed; because, Tobit 12, "it is honorable to reveal and confess the works of God." And therefore the Angel said: "Bless the God of heaven and confess to him before all the living, because he has shown his mercy to you."

Luke 8:48 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Third, there is added the approval of the truth brought to light through a definitive commendation, when it is subjoined: But he said to her: Daughter, your faith has made you whole, as if to say: you justly obtained this because you believed; as if to say: faith made you a daughter; according to that of John 1: "He gave them power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name." Faith also made you whole, because, Romans 10, "everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Hence in this appears the wondrous dispensation of our salvation, because the healed woman attributes everything to divine power, according to that of Romans 9: "It is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy"; God who saves attributes everything to the merit of faith; as is said in Mark 9: "If you can believe, all things are possible to the one who believes." And since in the acquisition of salvation there consequently occurs the acquisition of peace, therefore it is added: Go in peace, as a friend and daughter of God: Wisdom 3: "Gift and peace are for the elect of God." Peace is that which the Lord wishes for all and commands to be wished, according to that below in chapter 10: "Into whatever house you enter, first say: Peace be to this house." This is what above all else he gives: John 14: "Peace I leave to you, my peace I give to you"; this is that to which we are specially called: Matthew 11: "Take my yoke upon you, and you shall find rest"; and John 16: "These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation, but take confidence, I have overcome the world." On this, Philippians 4: "The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus," my Lord. And note that the Lord commends the faith of three women, whom he hears and saves. He commended the Magdalene above in chapter 7, saying a similar word: "Your faith has made you whole"; and he commends this woman here; and the Canaanite woman, Matthew 15, to whom he said: "Woman, great is your faith." In these three women the three parts of penance are spiritually understood. For the first, who wept and bathed with tears, gives us to understand contrition. The Canaanite woman, who cried out, gives us to understand confession: but this woman, who touched the garment, gives us to understand satisfaction. Concerning the Magdalene it is read above in chapter 7, that "standing behind at the feet of the Lord, she began to bathe [them] with tears," etc. Concerning the Canaanite woman, Matthew 15, the disciples say: "Send her away, for she cries out after us." Concerning this woman it is said here that "she came up behind and touched the fringe of his garment." But by the touch of the garment is understood the imitation in the labor of holy conduct. Hence note that we read that Christ was touched on the foot by Magdalene, above in chapter seven: touched on the garment by the woman with the issue of blood, as here: touched on the side by Thomas: John twenty, "Put your hand into my side." In this is understood a threefold imitation of those drawing near to Christ, namely in the effect of good work, in the habit of holy conduct, in the endurance of bitter suffering, in which consists the wholeness of perfect satisfaction. For by the movement of the feet is understood the rectitude of good work; Ezekiel one: "Their feet were straight feet." By the garment, however, is understood the dignity of holy conduct; Apocalypse sixteen: "Blessed is he who keeps his garments, lest he walk naked." Such is he who imitates Christ; Romans thirteen: "Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light." By the wounded side of Christ and the pierced hands and feet is understood the endurance of bitter suffering, according to that verse of the Psalm: "They have pierced my hands and my feet." For in these things we touch Christ, when by his wounds we are armed for enduran…

Luke 8:49 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

While he was still speaking, etc. After the Evangelist showed Christ as lord of bodies through the healing of the woman with the issue of blood, here he shows Christ as lord of souls through the raising of the girl. Now this part has four sections: in the first of which there is set forth the solidity of faith by way of disposing. Second, there is joined the fitness of testimony by way of approving, at: And when he had come to the house, etc. Third, there is shown the sublimity of command by way of effecting, at: But he, taking her by the hand. Fourth, there is noted the renown of the miracle by way of terminating, at: And he commanded that she be given something to eat. And thus the miracle is perfectly described with respect to the fourfold genus of cause. The solidity of faith of the ruler of the synagogue is described in a twofold respect: first with respect to human dissuasion and with respect to divine persuasion: by the first it is tested and by the second it is strengthened. First, therefore, as to the testing of faith through human dissuasion, it is said: While he was still speaking, namely Jesus, someone came to the ruler of the synagogue: he came, however, not as an aid like a good angel, as is said in Daniel ten: "Michael, one of the chief princes, came to my aid"; but as a bad messenger he came to impede. On account of which he adds: Saying to him: Your daughter is dead, and thus there can be no hope of life, according to that passage of Second Kings twelve: "Now, since the child is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back any more? I shall go to him rather; he will not return to me." And therefore he adds: Do not trouble the Master anymore, that is, to lead him with you in vain with toil. This indeed was the word of one not believing that Christ could raise the dead. For he was ignorant of that divine word in John 5: "For the hour is coming, that those who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live." Hence this messenger was not speaking out of reverence, as the centurion did, above in chapter seven: "Lord, do not be troubled," but out of distrust, as if to say that word of Job 7: "My days have passed more swiftly than a web is cut by the weaver, and they are consumed without any hope."

Luke 8:50 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Second, as regards the strengthening of faith through divine persuasion, it is added: But Jesus, having heard this word, which namely could shake the mind of the ruler of the synagogue, because, according to that passage of Proverbs 26, "the words of a whisperer are as it were simple, and they penetrate to the innermost parts of the belly." Lest therefore the word of death penetrate within, he opposes the word of life; and this is the word that solidifies faith, because, in Hebrews 10, "my just one lives by faith; but if he withdraws himself, he shall not please my soul." Therefore it is added: He said to the father of the girl: Do not fear, namely out of distrust; James 1: "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he who wavers is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind." So of Abraham it is said in Romans 4 that "in the promise he did not waver through distrust, but was strengthened in faith, knowing most fully that what God has promised he is also able to do." — And therefore it is added: But only believe, through confidence; John 11: "If you believe, you shall see the glory of God." And therefore he adds: And she shall be saved, through divine power. And to this he ought to have been moved by that which he had said to the healed woman just before this: "Your faith has made you whole." Hence in this there appears the wondrous dispensation of God, who in his miracles requires our faith for our merit. Hence in Matthew 9 he said to the blind men seeking to be enlightened: "Do you believe that I can do this for you? They say to him: Yes, Lord. Then he touched their eyes, saying: According to your faith be it done to you." And since it was difficult to believe that a dead person could be raised, therefore the Lord worked a miracle on the very journey, by which he aided the faith of the ruler of the synagogue, so that it might thus be evident that what is said in First Corinthians 10 is true: "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able; but will make also with the temptation an outcome, that you may be able to bear it."

Luke 8:51 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

And when he had arrived, etc. Here secondly, after the solidity of the disposing faith, the Evangelist adds the suitability of the approving testimony. For the proof of the raising, however, testimony is required concerning life restored and concerning life lost; therefore witnesses are brought forward with respect to both. First therefore, as regards the persons suitable for testifying concerning the miraculous raising, it is said: And when he had come to the house, where namely the girl was to be raised, which was a house of mourning, to which it is profitable to go, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes 7: "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting"; because "in that is the end of all" etc. And because the mysteries of God are not to be opened to all—John 15: "The servant does not know what his lord does"—therefore it is added: He did not permit anyone to enter with him, according to that passage of Sirach 6: "Let those at peace with you be many, but let your counselor be one in a thousand." But because the disciples were his friends, according to what he says in John 15: "But I have called you friends" etc., therefore he does not exclude all, but exempts from those excluded, when he adds: Except Peter, James, and John, who were the principal disciples; and hence these were taken up at the Transfiguration, below in chapter 9 and Matthew 17: "Jesus took Peter and James and John, his brother" etc. And because "it is necessary to have testimony" not only from those within, but also "from those who are without," according to that passage of 1 Timothy 3, therefore he joins two persons to the disciples, when he says: And the father and mother of the girl, so that thus "in the mouth of two or three witnesses" the firm testimony of truth may stand. Whence it appears that according to the literal sense there is a suitability of testimony both as regards the persons and as regards the number, because it has nothing superfluous, nothing lacking. According to the spiritual understanding, this is not devoid of mystery. For Peter, who is interpreted as "the one who recognizes," designates faith; James, who is "the wrestler," designates hope; John, in whom is grace, designates charity. And these three virtues are most intimate to the Lord and concur in the raising of the sinner from death, which is designated in the raising of the girl. For faith concurs: John 11: "He who believes in me, even if he should die, shall live." Likewise hope: Psalm: "Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, and upon those who hope in his mercy, that he may deliver from death." Likewise charity; 1 John 4: "In this the charity of God appeared, that he sent his only-begotten Son, that we might live through him." — Moreover, the father and mother are teachers of the Law: the father, who instructs in faith, according to that passage of 1 Corinthians 4: "In Christ Jesus through the Gospel I have begotten you"; the mother, who nurtures in morals, according to that passage of Galatians 4: "My little children, whom I bring forth again in labor, until Christ be formed in you." And concerning these, Proverbs 6: "Keep, my son, the commandments of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother." — Now these are present with Christ when he raises the sinner.

Luke 8:52 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Second, as regards the suitable persons testifying concerning natural death, it is added: And they all wept and mourned for her, as though she were dead, according to the counsel of Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight: "My son, shed tears over the dead, and as one suffering grievously begin to weep." They wept with tears and mourned with voices of lamentation, as was the custom of the Jews; Jeremiah nine: "Call the mourning women, and let them take up a lamentation over you." Or they wept on account of the loss of life and mourned on account of despair. And therefore, because they were exceeding measure, they are comforted by the Savior, when it is said: But he said: Do not weep, according to that passage of First Thessalonians four: "Do not be sorrowful, even as others who have no hope." And therefore it is added: The girl is not dead, but sleeps: in which he does not remove the truth of death, but gives the assurance of rising again, because he could raise her from the dead just as easily as a sleeping person is awakened from sleep by one who is awake. And for this reason he spoke thus in John eleven: "Lazarus, our friend, sleeps"; and afterward: "Lazarus is dead." Whence Bede: "She is dead to men, who cannot raise her, not to God, for whom her soul lives and her flesh rests, awaiting resurrection." On account of which the Church rightly sings: "Come, let us adore the King, for whom all things live," in the Office of the Dead: below in chapter twenty: "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to him." Since therefore nothing dies to the Lord, and God was present there: therefore he rightly said: The girl is not dead.

Luke 8:53 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

But because "the natural man does not perceive the things that are of God," First Corinthians two: therefore it is added: And they derided him, knowing that she was dead. For he who is certain about something not only does not believe, but even derides the one persuading the contrary. And since divine wisdom frequently persuades the contrary of human knowledge, hence it is that man through human knowledge mocks God, and thus is made foolish: Jeremiah ten: "Every man is made foolish by his own knowledge." For that knowledge is foolish which derides wisdom: First Corinthians one: "God has made foolish the wisdom of this world." And because, as it is said in Proverbs eighteen, "the fool does not receive words of prudence, unless you say those things which revolve in his heart"; therefore these people did not receive but derided: Proverbs fifteen: "The fool mocks the discipline of his father"; and therefore they were not suitable witnesses for the restoration of life, but only for the loss of life. Therefore they were cast out, according to what is said in Matthew nine: "When the crowd had been cast out, he entered and took the girl by the hand," etc.

Luke 8:54 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

But he, taking her by the hand, etc. Here now, third, after the solidity of faith and the suitability of testimony, there is joined the sublimity of the command of the one raising her, with respect to the commanding power and with respect to the efficacy that follows. First, therefore, as regards the commanding power, it is said: He himself taking her by the hand, from the assistance of power, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The right hand of the Lord has wrought power," etc. And again, the girl could say: "You have held my right hand." And since "the hand of the Lord is not shortened, so that it cannot save," as is said in Isaiah 59, therefore it is added: He cried out, saying: Girl, arise, from the command of majesty, as is said in John 11: "He cried out with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth." Now this cry in the outward voice designates the immensity of the inward power, according to what is said in the Psalm: "He shall give to his voice the voice of power," namely of miracle, according to that verse of First Thessalonians 4: "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with command and with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead who are in Christ shall rise first."

Luke 8:55 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Secondly, as regards the subsequent efficacy, it is added: And her spirit returned, through intimate union, according to what is said in Third Kings 17: "The soul of the child returned into him, and he revived"; and she arose immediately, through vital operation. For to arise is the operation of the living, just as to fall is of the dying. And note that this girl in her raising is said to have arisen, and the young man to have sat up, above in chapter seven, but Lazarus to have come forth bound hand and foot, in John 11: because, as was touched upon above, by the girl dead in the house is understood the sin of thought; by the young man at the gate, the sin of action; by Lazarus in the tomb, the sin of habit. And since, in proportion as sins are graver, they leave greater consequences, therefore he who sinned only by thought, once brought to life, immediately arises, because little difficulty remains; but he who sinned in deed sits up, because a proneness still remains; but he who sinned by habit is bound, because he has a great proneness binding him in evil and impeding him from good, even after he has been restored to life. And according to this, a heavier penance ought to be imposed on each respectively. And he commanded that she be given something to eat. Here, fourthly and lastly, the clarity of the miracle is touched upon, as something to be made manifest for the benefit of faith and to be concealed against the vanity of glory. Whence first is set forth the useful manifestation; and secondly, the humble concealment, because, as Gregory says, "the work ought to be in the open, yet the intention should remain hidden." First, therefore, as regards the useful manifestation of the miracle, it is said: And he commanded that something be given her to eat, so that the raising might be proven not phantastic but true, just as he himself proved his own resurrection, below in the last chapter: "Have you here anything to eat?" and the raising of Lazarus, John 12, where it is said that "Lazarus was one of those reclining at table." Moreover, he gives a sign to the senses of a true raising, so that he might elevate minds to an excess of admiration.

Luke 8:56 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 8

Whence it is also added: And her parents were astonished, as though unable to bear the magnitude of divine power: Isaiah 29, "Behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, a great and stupendous miracle." Moreover, this astonishment elevated the faith of believers to an excess, according to that passage in Acts 10: "The faithful of the circumcision were astonished," etc. Second, as regards the humble concealment, it is added: He commanded them to tell no one what had been done, wishing to humbly remain hidden and to give an example of humility, just as he commanded the disciples, Matthew 17: "He commanded them: Tell the vision to no one," etc.; in which he shows that we ought to wish to remain hidden in great deeds. Whence Augustine: "Hide what you do, as much as you can; but if you cannot entirely, let there be in your soul the will to conceal." — And note that there is a precept of execution, as the Decalogue; of testing, as concerning the sacrificing of the son of Abraham, Genesis 22; and of instruction, as here. In the first, the intellect is invited to knowing, the affection to willing, the effect to executing. In the second, the affection is invited, but not the effect. In the third, only the intellect is instructed; the affection is not bound, nor is the effect prohibited. And thus is that precept understood.

Luke 9:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Fourth, the delegation of the instructed disciples is determined, first with regard to the Apostles, then with regard to the seventy. And Jesus, having called together the twelve, etc. The three principal parts of this section, which concerns the teaching of Jesus Christ, having been completed—in which the disciples themselves were aroused to believe, invited to imitate, and instructed to understand—here follows the fourth part, in which those who understand are sent to preach. The order of these parts is sufficiently manifest in itself. Since, however, some of the preachers are in a higher degree and others in a lower, this part has two sections. In the first of which the mission of the Apostles is treated; in the second, the mission of the seventy disciples, in the tenth chapter at the passage: And he appointed, etc. First, the mission of the Apostles is treated with regard to three things. The first part contains the present chapter and has three parts, according to the three things which the Evangelist explains as necessary for Apostles and prelates sent to preach. The first of which is the form of preaching; the second is the way of advancing, which he explains at the passage: And it came to pass, as he was alone praying; the third is the norm of presiding, which is described at the passage: And there entered into them a thought, which of them, etc. The form of preaching is explained in two ways: first under divine precept; second, under divine example, at the passage: And the Apostles returned and reported. As for the instruction of preachers through divine precept, three things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely authority entrusted, integrity enjoined, and benefit conjoined: so that first he sets forth authority as preceding. Second, he adds integrity as accompanying, at the passage: And he said to them: Take nothing for the journey. Third, he subjoins benefit as following, at the passage: And going out, they went about, etc. — But since words, however authoritative the preacher may be, are inefficacious unless they have divine testimonies—and such are divine miracles—therefore in the first part there is first explained the conferral of power for working miracles, then the commission of authority for preaching the mysteries. For the first makes way for the second. As regards, therefore, the conferral of power for working miracles, he says: And Jesus, having called together the twelve Apostles, namely as the principal prelates, chosen from among all the others, according to what is said above in the sixth chapter: "Jesus called his disciples and from them chose twelve, whom he also named Apostles." To these, therefore, called together, that is, called into one to commend unity, in which the Holy Spirit is given, according to what is said in Acts 2: "When the days of Pentecost were being fulfilled, all the disciples were together in the same place," etc. Whence Numbers 11: "The Lord said to Moses: Gather to me seventy men at the door of the tabernacle of testimony, and I will take of your spirit and deliver it to them." So now: whence it is added: He gave them power and authority, so that power pertains to spiritual things, and authority to corporeal things. For which reason, to explain this he adds: Over all demons, so that this is referred to power; and to cure diseases, so that this is referred to authority; and through this they would have a twofold kind of testimony according to the twofold kind of creature, namely spiritual and corporeal. And this is what is expressly said in Mark 3: "He gave them power to cure infirmities and to cast out demons"; so that truly that word of the Psalm is fulfilled: "The Lord shall give the word to those who evangelize with great power."

Luke 9:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

As regards the commission of authority for preaching the mysteries, he adds: And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God. For in the sending, authority is designated, without which no one ought to preach; hence Romans 10: "How shall they preach, unless they be sent?" Whence also Isaiah did not dare to preach unless he were sent; Isaiah 6: "Here am I, Lord, send me." On the contrary, concerning the false prophets, Jeremiah 23: "I did not send them, and they ran." But the Apostles were not such, who were so named precisely so that their authority might be commended. For Apostle is interpreted as one sent; and they were sent to preach, according to that passage in 1 Corinthians 1: "The Lord did not send me to baptize, but to evangelize." — They were sent to preach not a small thing, but a great one, namely the kingdom of God, by which can be understood the doctrine of truth, according to Matthew 21: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation yielding its fruits." It can also be called the grace of the Holy Spirit, according to Romans 14: "The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit"; below, chapter 17: "The kingdom of God is within you." It can also be called eternal glory, according to John 3: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." In all these ways the Apostles were sent to preach the kingdom of God, namely true doctrine, divine grace, and eternal glory. And because on account of the authority of preaching he had granted the power of healing, he therefore adds: And to heal the sick, namely, he sent them for the confirmation of the truth preached, according to that passage in Mark, last chapter: "They went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs that followed." Hence the sign of the spiritual mission of preaching unto preaching is the healing of the hearers from the diseases of vices. Now there are three evident signs that a preacher is sent by the Lord to preach the Gospel. The first is the authority of the one sending, such as that of a bishop, and especially of that bishop who stands in the place of Peter, or rather in the place of Jesus Christ: whence he who is sent by him is sent by Christ. The second is zeal for souls in the person who is sent, namely when he principally seeks the honor of God and the salvation of souls. The third is when there follows fruit-bearing and the conversion of the hearers. — By the first they are messengers of the Father, by the second of the Son, by the third of the Holy Spirit. Of such it is said: "I have appointed you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain," John 15. And he who is thus sent can say that word of Isaiah 61: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me," etc.

Luke 9:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

Now, some people say: The totally poor do not keep the middle way. I answer: On the contrary, they truly keep it. For this middle way is not a matter of things, but of the soul's desire. For if you desire these things in order to be sustained by them, be they your own or those of others, you keep the middle way. If you overestimate them as if happiness were to be found in them, you are at one extreme; if you spurn them as being wicked, you are at the other. So did the Manichees believe in the wickedness of intercourse with a woman, be she wife or whore. Likewise, they taught that no man could own anything. And Augustine teaches that this was never a command, although the Lord said to the apostles: "Take nothing for your journey." The middle way, then, consists in being sustained either by your own goods or by those of another.

Luke 9:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And he said to them: Take nothing for your journey. After the explanation of the authority entrusted, there follows the description of the uprightness enjoined. This consists in three things, namely in poverty of sustenance, scantiness of clothing, and humility of common life. First, therefore, with regard to poverty in sustenance, it is said: And he said to them: Take nothing for your journey, that is, by way of temporal sustenance, so that by your example you might preach that word of 1 Timothy 6: "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out." And that it might become more apparent, he descends to particulars, when he adds: Neither a staff, namely for support, nor a scrip, for storing, nor bread, for eating, nor money, for buying. In this there is a prohibition of every means of sustenance, so that it may be shown that the preacher, by the greatness of his hope, ought to rely on God alone, according to that word of 1 Peter 5: "Casting all your care upon him, for he has care of you." Whence also blessed Francis, when he sent the brothers to preach, would say to them that word of the Psalm: "Cast your thought upon the Lord," etc. In this, however, he does not prohibit, as Augustine says, diligent provision, but anxious solicitude, according to that word of Matthew 6: "Be not anxious for the morrow: for sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." And therefore, for the right understanding of this precept, what one Evangelist denies, namely Luke, another Evangelist affirms, namely Mark, in the sixth chapter, where it is said: "And Jesus commanded them that they should take nothing for the journey except a staff only." Upon which Augustine says in On the Harmony of the Evangelists: "Both were commanded by the Lord: that they should carry nothing except a staff, and that they should not carry even a staff. Not to carry a staff is not to be anxious; to carry nothing except a staff is to use the power of receiving granted to preachers." Whence Luke ten: "Eating and drinking such things as they have." — The literal observance of this precept, however, belongs to perfect preachers who perfectly imitate Christ, in whose person Peter says in Matthew nineteen: "Behold, we have left all things and followed you." But the spiritual observance extends to all, so that the preacher of truth may be a despiser of earthly things; otherwise, if they announce the word of God out of desire for gain, they are not disciples of Christ but of Balaam the soothsayer, according to that passage of Second Peter two: "Having a heart exercised with covetousness, children of malediction, forsaking the right way," that is, the way of poverty; concerning which it says there, "they have gone astray, following the way of Balaam, who loved the wages of iniquity." Whence the preacher of truth must above all avoid the vice of cupidity; otherwise he will not be a preacher but a flatterer. On account of which, First Thessalonians two: "Neither were we at any time in the word of flattery, as you know, nor in an occasion of avarice — God is witness." For he knew that from this he would provoke the wrath of God, as is said in Micah three: "Her princes judged for bribes, and her priests taught for hire, and her prophets divined for money," etc. "For this reason Zion shall be plowed as a field," etc. Secondly, as regards scantiness in clothing, it is added: Neither have two tunics, so that thus the teaching of the Master may accord with the teaching of the Precursor, according to that passage of Luke three: "He who has two tunics, let him give one to him who has none"; and according to that passage of the Apostle in First Timothy six: "Having food and covering, let us be content with these." In this, moreover, that He does not prohibit a single garment but a double one, He grants necessity and forbids fastidiousness in changing and superfluity in possession. Whence Bede says: "A single garment is whatever is necessary for someone…

Luke 9:3 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, Luke 9: Take nothing for the journey, neither staff, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money: Gloss: "Not to carry a staff is not to be anxious about those things which are necessary for human sustenance, because these things are owed to preachers"; if therefore the Lord urged the Apostles, whom He also sent to preach among the unbelievers, to exclude anxiety about necessary sustenance: much more strongly, when the Gospel is preached to the faithful, it belongs to perfection not to be anxious about such things, but to be content with the food and clothing given to oneself.

Luke 9:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Thirdly, with regard to humility in lodging, he adds: And into whatever house you enter, remain there, being content, that is, with that lodging: and do not depart from there, in search of something better, because, as it is said in Sirach 29, "a wretched life it is to lodge from house to house." For the changing of lodging attests to impatience, which is moved by a slight cause and cannot rest, according to that saying of Jeremiah 14: "This people has loved to move their feet and has not rested, and it did not please the Lord." And this is especially to be avoided by the preacher, because, according to that saying of Proverbs 19, "the doctrine of a man is known through patience." And therefore Ambrose says: "It is unfitting for a preacher to run about through houses and to change the established rights of a settled lodging." But the mother of this inconstancy and impatience is pride, which can dwell in peace with no one, according to that saying of Proverbs 13: "Among the proud there are always quarrels."

Luke 9:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And since it belongs to true humility to refuse the company of no one, nor even to be burdensome to another, therefore for the perfection of humility it is added: And whoever do not receive you, that is, despising your doctrine, like those who also did not receive the Lord: John 1: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." - And because this is a great offense, which is not to be shared in, therefore he adds: Going out from that city, that is, turning away from their wickedness, according to that saying of Numbers 16: "Depart from the tents of wicked men and do not touch what is theirs, lest you be involved with them"; Isaiah 52: "Depart from their midst, do not touch what is unclean"; and Jeremiah 48: "Leave the cities and dwell in the rock." And this, lest they be defiled by the filth of others; on account of which he adds: And shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them, that is, to show your innocence. This Barnabas and Paul did, of whom it is said in Acts 13 that "having shaken the dust from their feet, they came to Iconium." But to shake the dust from one's feet is to permit nothing of the vain glory of men to cling to one's affections. For vain glory is rightly designated by dust, which is lifted up by the wind, according to that saying of the Psalm: "He shall be like the dust which the wind casts from the face of the earth."

Luke 9:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And going out, they went about etc. After the authority committed and the propriety enjoined, the Evangelist here subjoins thirdly the utility conjoined. Now a fourfold utility is shown to have followed upon the preaching of the Apostles, namely the arousing of people to hearing, the arousing of hearers to conferring, the arousing of those conferring to marveling, the arousing of those marveling to beholding. First, therefore, as regards the arousing of people to hearing, it is said: And going out, they went about through the towns, evangelizing and healing everywhere, so that already that word of the Psalm began to be fulfilled: "Their sound went forth into all the earth." For although not all received their teaching, nevertheless on account of the miracles they wished to hear the teaching; whence in Acts 8 it is said: "The crowds gave heed to what was said by Philip, hearing with one accord and seeing the signs which he performed." And therefore these men not only preached but also healed everywhere, so that all might be aroused to hearing by their zeal, by word and by sign; in which not only the benefit of the hearers is set forth, but also the faithfulness of the preachers. For because they went about, they were free from idleness; because through the towns, free from pride; because evangelizing, free from frivolity; because healing everywhere, from respect of persons. And therefore they had their end in themselves, which is to speak sufficiently for persuasion and to arouse hearers. And this is the first and general end.

Luke 9:7-8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

The second end or special utility is the arousing of hearers to conferring; as regards which it is said: Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him, so that the fame of Christ's name was carried by the Apostles not only to the common people but even to kings, as is said of Paul in Acts 9: "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel." Whence the hearers could already say what the Gibeonites said in Joshua 9: "We have heard the fame of the power of your God, all that he did." And from this hearing he was aroused to inquiring and doubting on account of the variety of those holding opinions. Whence there follows: And he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead. And Herod adhered more to this opinion; whence in the fourteenth chapter of Matthew: "Herod heard the fame of Jesus and said to his servants: This is John the Baptist; he himself has risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works operate in him." Now he held this opinion on account of the eminence of the sanctity of life, because, as is said in the sixth chapter of Mark, "Herod feared John, knowing him to be a just and holy man." Nevertheless, he did not firmly adhere to this opinion; therefore it is said that he was perplexed, that is, he wavered, according to that passage in the first chapter of James: "He who hesitates is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind." — And this was on account of other opinions; whence he adds: But by some, that Elijah had appeared, namely, it was said. And this opinion seemed probable on account of the eminence of power. Whence in the forty-eighth chapter of Sirach: "Elijah was magnified in his wondrous deeds." And this opinion seemed more credible, because, as is said in the tenth chapter of John, "John indeed performed no sign." Whence Christ, performing miracles, seemed more like Elijah. But nevertheless not all assented to this; on account of which he adds: But by others, that one of the ancient Prophets had risen. And they held this opinion on account of the knowledge of truth: because, according to that passage in the third chapter of Amos, "the Lord will not do a thing unless he has revealed his secret to his servants the Prophets." And thus it is clear that there was a threefold opinion on account of a threefold excellence which they heard concerning Christ, namely, of sanctity, of power, and of knowledge of truth. And therefore they conferred with one another, and some believed this and some believed that.

Luke 9:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Now the third end was the arousing of those conferring to wonder; with respect to which there follows: And Herod said: John I have beheaded, as a mortal and passible man. Herod had beheaded him on account of John's truthfulness and Herod's malice, according to what is said in the fourteenth chapter of Matthew: "John said to Herod: It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife"; and it follows after that for this cause he beheaded him. And thus from his very death he judges weakness in John, however great he was proclaimed to be. And therefore from this comparison he marveled at the power of Christ; whence he adds: But who is this, about whom I hear such things? that is, such great wonders; whence he could say: "What God is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders," such as namely had not been heard before, according to that passage in the ninth chapter of John: "Since the world began it has not been heard that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind," etc. The fourth purpose was the arousal of those who marveled to behold him; on account of which it is added: And he sought to see him. For we gladly see what we admire. This, however, he did not then attain, according to what is said in Luke 10: "Amen I say to you, that many kings and prophets wished to see the things that you see and did not see them." But he did not attain this because he did not seek diligently; whence Proverbs 14: "The scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it." Whence it must be considered with great care how God ought to be sought, so that he may be seen and found by those who seek.

Luke 9:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And the Apostles returned and reported. After the instruction of the Apostles accomplished through word or precept, there follows here the instruction of the same through deed or example. This part, moreover, has two sections. In the first, he instructs through a familiar example, but in the second through a figurative one, at the place: Now the day had begun to decline. The first is observed in the spiritual instruction of the crowds; the second, in their bodily refreshment, which bears the form and figure of spiritual refreshment. The instruction of the crowds by the Lord, in which a model is given to preachers for teaching the faithful people, is set forth with respect to four things that are required in preaching. The first is faithfulness of company; the second is suitability of place; the third, docility of the people; and the fourth, affability of the Master; so that nothing may be lacking to the word of God, neither on the part of those assisting, nor on the part of those opposing, nor on the part of those hearing, nor on the part of those teaching, that would prevent the word of the Lord from having its due effect. First, therefore, with respect to the faithfulness of company, it is said: And the Apostles returned and reported to him whatever they had done; in which their faithfulness appears, because they returned swiftly to the divine company. Whence they were not like the raven, of which Genesis 8 says: "Which went forth and did not return"; but like the dove, of which it is said that "when it had not found where its foot might rest, it returned to Noah in the ark," as a faithful friend. So also the Apostles, endowed with dove-like simplicity, returned swiftly to Christ as faithful messengers. — Their faithfulness also appears because they concealed nothing from God, but reported to him whatever they had done; not to instruct the Lord, from whom nothing is hidden, but to show that they did not even wish to conceal anything, even if they could. Against which, Isaiah 29: "Woe to you who are deep of heart, so as to hide your counsel from the Lord," etc. Or they reported for this reason, that they might not seek glory for themselves from their good deeds, but might refer all things to God, according to that saying in 1 Corinthians 10: "Do all things for the glory of God"; against those who say that word of Deuteronomy 32: "Our hand is exalted, and not the Lord, has done all these things." Second, with regard to the opportuneness of the place, he adds: And taking them with him, as faithful ones, into his company, he withdrew apart into a desert place, which belongs to Bethsaida, as to a quiet and tranquil place; whence Mark 6: "Come apart into a desert place and rest a little." And this place is suitable for instruction, according to Hosea 2: "I will lead her into the wilderness and speak to her heart." Now this desert place was near the lake of Genesareth, which is apparent from the fact that he says: Bethsaida. Now Bethsaida is "the city of Andrew and Peter," as is said in John 1. And note that he does not say Bethsaida, as if near that city or in the city, but of Bethsaida, because the place was remote, yet within the borders of the city of Bethsaida. Whence in Mark 6 it is said that after the multiplication of the loaves he commanded them to go before him "across the water to Bethsaida." Whence there is no contradiction, but one explained what the other passed over in silence.

Luke 9:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Third, with regard to the docility of the people, he adds: When the crowds learned this, they followed him, namely so that they might receive the teaching of him whom they desired, according to Hosea 6: "We shall know and shall follow on, that we may know the Lord." Whence Bede in the Gloss: "They followed not on beasts of burden, not in vehicles, but by the labor of their own feet, so as to show the ardor of their minds." Whence in Mark 6 it is said that many "came there on foot from the cities." The reason for this is given in John 6, where it is said: "After these things Jesus went across the Sea of Tiberias, and a great multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he was doing," etc. Fourth, indeed, as regards the affability of the Master, he adds: And he received them: in which is shown the kindness of Christ in sign, to which the Apostle exhorts in Romans 15: "Receive one another, just as Christ also received you to the honor of God." And not only in sign, but also in word; whence he adds: And he spoke to them of the kingdom of God, as if in affable and familiar discourse, so that that saying of the Psalm might truly be shown to be fulfilled: "I will declare your name to my brethren." But although he spoke affably, yet not uselessly, not carnally, because about the kingdom of God, not about the world: whence 1 Peter 4: "If anyone speaks, as it were the words of God"; and John 3: "He who is of the earth speaks of the earth," but Christ from heaven; and John 6: "You have the words of eternal life." - Nor did he show himself affable only in word and sign, but also in deed. Whence he also adds: And those who had need of healing, he healed: in which is shown the perfection of love, concerning which 1 John 3: "Let us love not in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth"; because "he who sees his brother have need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" Such charity Christ had: whence Acts 10: "He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil," not only speaking well. - Whence in this the preacher or prelate is instructed to show himself kind to his sheep, namely in sign, word, and deed. As a sign of which it was also said three times to Peter: Feed, in the last chapter of John.

Luke 9:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Now the day began to decline, etc. After the instruction of the disciples through a familiar example, there follows instruction through a figurative deed, and this in the feeding of the crowds. Concerning the expression of which, two things are introduced by the Evangelist. The first is the occasion on the part of the need of the multitude; the second is the generosity on the part of the mercy of the Savior, and this at the passage: And he said to his disciples: Make them sit down, etc. The occasion on the part of the need of the multitude is expressed with regard to four things, namely with regard to the lateness of the day, with regard to the barrenness of the place, with regard to the scarcity of food, and with regard to the great number of the people. And so this occasion is constituted from the circumstance of time and place, of the quantity of food and of persons. First, therefore, as regards the lateness of the day, it is said: Now the day began to decline: and so it was time to take refreshment, as is said below in the last chapter: "For it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent." In which also appears the wonderful devotion of the crowds, that on account of hearing the divine word they had forgotten bodily food. Something similar is read in Acts 20, that "Paul prolonged his speech until midnight." But secondly, as regards the barrenness of the place, it is added: And the twelve came and said to him: Send the crowds away; and the barrenness of the place moved them to urge this. Whence he also adds: That going into the towns and villages which are round about, they may find lodging and find food, lest, namely, they perish from hunger. And this is the sound counsel which the sons of Israel followed: Genesis forty-two: "The sons of Jacob went down into Egypt to buy food"; just as also the Apostles, John four: "The disciples had gone into the city to buy food." So also these men now gave counsel on account of the scarcity of the place; whence they also add: Because we are here in a desert place, where there is a lack of food, according to Exodus sixteen: "Why have you brought us into the desert, to kill this whole multitude with hunger?" And because it is difficult to find sustenance in the desert, therefore they said that word of the Psalm: "Can God prepare a table in the desert?" This the unbelievers said, detracting from the divine power; but the Apostles said it out of concern for human need, because they did not wish to tempt the Lord.

Luke 9:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

But thirdly, as regards the scantiness of food, it is added: But he said to them: You give them to eat: you, as their prelates, according to that word of First Peter five: "Elders, feed the flock that is among you." But he says this so that from their response the scantiness of food might be known. — On account of which it is added: But they said: We have no more than five loaves and two fish. From which the poverty of the Apostles is apparent, not only for feeding the crowd, but even for satisfying their own hunger; and so that the great poverty might be shown, John specifies the kind of loaves. For it is said in John six: "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these among so many?" They were similar in this to that widow whose flour Elijah multiplied: Third Kings seventeen: "As the Lord God lives, I have no bread except as much flour as a handful can hold"; and in Fourth Kings four, the servant said to Elisha: "What is this, that I should set it before a hundred men?" Similarly the Apostles answered here, or Andrew in the person of all, as is said in John six; or he first and afterward the others; hence there is no contradiction. However these words were spoken, they show the inability of the disciples to feed the crowd. Lest, however, they be thought to say this not on account of inability but on account of laziness, therefore they offer their service for the purchase of food, when they add: Unless perhaps we go and buy food for all this crowd. And this indeed can be the word of those offering service, according to that passage in Mark chapter six: "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?" Or it can be the word of those showing inability to provide refreshment, not only with respect to the loaves they had, but also with respect to the price. Whence it is said in John chapter six: "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that each one might receive even a little." And certain of the disciples spoke in one manner, others in another; and John expresses one, Mark another, but Luke in the aforesaid discourse includes both; which is evident from the varied expression of the discourse itself.

Luke 9:14-15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And he said to his disciples, etc. After the occasion arising from the need of the multitude, he here adds the liberality arising from the munificence of the Savior. Now the liberality of the Savior is manifested in four things: in the ordering of the diners, the abundance of provisions, the courtesy of the ministers, and the satiety of the eaters; so that perfect liberality might thus be shown through the order of those reclining, the abundance of provisions, the readiness of those serving, and the fullness of those eating. First, with respect to the ordering of those reclining, it is said: And he said to his disciples: Make them recline in groups of fifty. And so they did. For it befits a magnificent and liberal lord to attend to order in his arrangements, according to what is said in Third Kings chapter ten, that "when the Queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon and the food of his table and the dwellings of his servants and the order of those ministering, she had no more spirit in her." Now this was an arrangement of order with a determination of number; whence in Mark chapter six it is said that "they reclined in groups by hundreds and by fifties." For fifty times one hundred is five thousand. But the number fifty is more expressly stated, because on account of the number five it was more fitting for the Law and also for the five loaves of the meal. From this, moreover, Christ shows his wondrous wisdom, by which he foreknew the number of men and made it known to the disciples from their seating. Nor is this a wonder, because he was the one of whom it is said in Wisdom chapter eleven: "You have disposed all things in measure, number, and weight."

Luke 9:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Fourth, with respect to the numerousness of the people, it is added: Now there were about five thousand men, and accordingly so great a multitude that for each loaf there were a thousand men. Whence he names and numbers men: from which it appears how great was the crowd of the rest, not numbered on account of their multitude; whence in Matthew chapter fourteen it is said that there were "five thousand, besides children and women." He expresses the number, moreover, because on account of the five it was fitting for the Law, which instructed carnal and sense-bound men; on account of the perfection of the thousandfold it was fitting for the reception of the doctrine of evangelical perfection.

Luke 9:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Second, with regard to the multitude of provisions, it is said: But having taken the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed them: in which blessing there was a multiplication of the loaves, according to that passage in Genesis 1: "God blessed them and said: Increase and multiply and fill the earth"; and in Genesis 30, Laban said to Jacob: "I know that the Lord has blessed me on account of you." Moreover, in blessing he looked up to heaven to show that such multiplication was not by earthly power or a power bestowed upon the elements, but by heavenly power, reserved in the primordial causes, concerning which it is said in the Psalm: "Whatever the Lord willed, he did in heaven and on earth, in the sea and in all the depths." And note that it is said: He looked up and he blessed: he looked up indeed out of human humility, and he blessed by divine power; the Psalm: "I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains." Third, with regard to the courtesy of those ministering, it is added: And he broke and distributed to his disciples, that they might set before the crowds. For they were the noble ministers and stewards of Christ, and ready to serve, according to that passage in 1 Corinthians 4: "Let a man so regard us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." For it befits a noble lord to have noble ministers, according to that passage in Esther 1: "So the king had appointed, setting over each table one of his princes, so that each might take what he wished." But in the court of Jesus Christ, the more noble serve and minister, as it is said in Luke 22: "He who is greater among you, let him become as the lesser; and he who is the leader, as one who serves"; and afterward: "But I am in your midst as one who serves."

Luke 9:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Fourth, regarding the satiety of those eating, it is added: And they all ate and were satisfied, so that the word of the Psalm might be verified: "The poor shall eat and shall be satisfied, and they shall praise the Lord who seek him"; and that passage: "They ate and were exceedingly satisfied"; satisfied, I say, with the satiety of justice, concerning which Proverbs thirteen says: "The just man eats and fills his soul"; "for blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied," Matthew five — not with the satiety of avarice, concerning which Ecclesiastes five says: "The satiety of the rich does not permit him to sleep," because he is so sated that he always hungers. — And since divine abundance exceeds our need, therefore it is added: And what was left over was taken up, twelve baskets of fragments: in which the magnitude of superabundance is shown from the capacity of the vessels and their number, because twelve is the first abundant number, according to what arithmetic teaches. And so was fulfilled that whose figure preceded in 4 Kings four. Elisha said concerning a few loaves: "Thus says the Lord: They shall eat, and there shall be left over. And he set it before them, and they ate, and there was left over according to the word of the Lord." But there the measure of such great abundance is not determined, as it is here: and this on account of the greater perfection in the Gospel and its greater abundance, according to that passage in Matthew five: "Unless your justice abounds more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." Or on account of the mystery. For these twelve baskets signify the twelve Apostles. Baskets are humble vessels, and these were filled with fragments of five barley loaves, that is, the teaching of the five books of Moses, concerning which 1 Corinthians fourteen says: "I would rather speak five words in the Church with my understanding," etc. From this a pattern is given to preachers, that they should not invent new things from their own hearts, because the Lord did not create new loaves to feed the crowd — but just as the Lord multiplied the five barley loaves by divine blessing, so all abundance of true teaching must be drawn from the foundation of sacred Scripture, to be multiplied through prayer, by which one looks up to heaven, and devotion, by which one blesses, meditation, by which it is broken, and preaching, by which it is distributed and unfolded. — For catholic teaching must first be drawn from sacred Scripture through reading, whose words are loaves; Matthew four: "It is written: Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." But to reading must be joined prayer: Matthew seven: "Seek, and you shall find; ask, and you shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened to you"; we seek by reading, we ask by praying, we knock by working with our hands. To prayer must be joined devotion and thanksgiving: whence Colossians 4: "Be instant in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving." Whence Matthew 26: "Lifting up his eyes to heaven, giving thanks, he blessed." - To devotion must be joined meditation and the unfolding of truth, which is nothing other than the breaking of bread: Isaiah 58: "Break your bread for the hungry, and bring the needy and the wandering into your house." - And then it is distributed, when it is ministered according to the capacity of the hearers: Psalm: "Distribute her houses, that you may recount them." And from this the hearers are satisfied: Sirach 15: "She shall feed him with the bread of life and understanding, and give him the water of saving wisdom to drink." And thus it is clear that the Lord instructed preachers not only by his own familiar example, but also by mystical and figurative example. For the Lord performed this miracle more for the instruction of minds than for the refreshment of bodies, since, as is said in Wisdom 11, he is the supreme lover of sou…

Luke 9:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

The way of advancing is explained in two ways. And it came to pass, when he was alone etc. After the Evangelist has set forth the form of preaching, in this part he sets forth the way of advancing. For advancement, these two considerations come together, namely the harshness of the way, in which merit consists, and the sweetness of the homeland, in which the reward consists. Therefore, after setting forth the harshness of the way, the Evangelist secondly sets forth the sweetness of glory, at the passage: And it came to pass after these words etc. The way to the homeland consists chiefly in two things, namely in perfect knowledge of Christ through faith and perfect imitation through the cross. Therefore first it is shown to us how Christ is to be known through faith; and secondly, how he is to be imitated through the cross, at the passage: And he said to all: If anyone etc. As to the first, it should be noted that perfect knowledge of faith consists in four things, namely in the approbation of divine honor, the reprobation of human error, the confession of Christ the mediator, and the consideration of the mystery of redemption. For perfect faith requires the approbation of religion, the detestation of superstition, open confession, and hidden contemplation. First, therefore, as to the approbation of divine honor, it says: And it came to pass, when he was alone praying, in order to render due worship and reverence to God the Father and to show that it should be rendered: which is chiefly rendered in prayer, according to that passage in John 4: "The hour comes when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeks such"; whence in the Psalm: "Call upon me in the day of tribulation, and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me." Since moreover this reverence ought to be free from all ostentation, therefore it is said that he was praying alone, according to that passage of Matthew 6: "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet," etc. It ought also to be free from all disquiet: therefore he also prayed alone, according to that passage of Lamentations 3: "He shall sit solitary and hold his peace, because he has lifted himself above himself," lest, namely, he be drawn back by some disturbance. And therefore in Matthew 14 it is said that "having dismissed the crowd, he went up into a mountain alone to pray." — But since the disciples were not disturbers of this reverence through disquiet, but approvers through true faith, therefore it is added: The disciples also were with him. Whence by this, that he is said to be alone, he does not exclude the company of the disciples, but the tumult of the crowds. For he admitted the disciples as sons — whence he also said of them that which the Apostle cites in Hebrews 2: "Behold, I and my children, whom God has given me" — but he excluded the crowds as servants, whose figure Abraham bore in Genesis 22, when "he said to his servants: Wait here in the valley with the ass; I and the boy, hastening thither, after we have worshipped, will return to you." Or this is said because they were not joined at the same time, since he first prayed alone, and afterward immediately the disciples were with him. Nevertheless they are joined together, because, even if the Apostles were absent by local circumscription, yet they were with him by mental affection and the approbation of faith, according to that passage of Paul in Colossians 2: "Though I am absent in body, I am with you in spirit, rejoicing and seeing your order," etc. Second, as regards the reproval of human error, it is added: And he asked them, saying: Whom do the crowds say that I am? He did not ask this in order to learn the truth, which he already knew, according to that passage of John 2: "He did not need that anyone should bear witness to him concerning man. For he himself knew what was in man"; but he asks in order to show the erroneous opinion of worldly men as hostile to true faith. For…

Luke 9:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

For this reason there is subjoined a threefold opinion taken from a threefold excellence. As to the first he says: But they answered and said: John the Baptist: and this, because they saw in him the spirit of sanctification, which was in John, according to that passage above in the first chapter: "He shall be great before the Lord and shall be filled with the Holy Spirit," etc. — But not all agreed on this, therefore he adds: But others: Elijah, namely on account of his zeal of emulation, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus forty-eight: "Elijah the prophet arose like fire, and his word burned like a torch." And this seemed probable, because Elijah was an excellent prophet not only in life but also in power, and because his coming had also been promised, according to that passage in the last chapter of Malachi: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes." — Yet not all agreed on this either, and therefore he adds: Others, that one of the former Prophets has arisen: and this on account of the sense of discernment, which they perceived in him; above in the seventh chapter: "A great Prophet has arisen among us"; and John six: "This is truly the Prophet who is to come." But because they believed him to be a mere man, therefore one of the former prophets: on account of which they erred, because he was not one among the former prophets, but the one on account of whom all the former prophets had come before; concerning whom Deuteronomy eighteen says: "The Lord will raise up a Prophet from your nation; you shall hear him as you hear me." From such great variety, therefore, it is apparent that the crowds were estranged from the truth and from uniformity of faith; on account of which it is said in Ephesians four: "Let us not be as little children, tossed about, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, unto the circumvention of error."

Luke 9:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Third, however, as regards the confession of Christ the Mediator it is added: But he said to them: But whom do you say that I am? You, namely, chosen from among others, according to that passage in John six: "I have chosen you twelve"; and fifteen: "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." Or you, friends, according to that passage in John fifteen: "But I have called you friends." Or you, special disciples, according to that passage above in the eighth chapter: "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God." You however, who believe in me, whom do you say that I am? that is, confess, for "with the heart one believes unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation," Romans ten. Therefore it is added: Simon Peter answering said: The Christ of God: that one responds for all, so that the unity of the Church may be commended in faith, confession, and prelacy; whence Peter, as the one universal prelate of the Church, responds as one for all. On account of which Paul said in First Corinthians one: "I beseech you that you all say the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you." Whence by the merit of this confession of one on behalf of all, the name of Peter was confirmed, and universal prelacy over the Church was granted, according to what is said in Matthew sixteen: "And I say to you." Whence it appears that not from impulse, but incited by the Holy Spirit, Peter responded first. And this is what is said in the Gloss: "One on behalf of all and before all, because he is the elder and prince of the Apostles." But by confessing him the Christ of God, he confesses at once true God and man. Whence Ambrose in the Gloss: "He has embraced all things, who has expressed both the nature and the name. For in the name of Christ there is the expression of both Divinity and incarnation, and the faith of the passion." For Christ expresses one person in two natures and royal and priestly dignity and the fullness of grace on account of the prerogative of anointing, concerning which it is said in the Psalm: "God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness." Whence in the name of Christ is understood the anointed, the one anointing, and that by which he is anointed: and through this simultaneously the Father, the Word, and the Spirit, according to that passage of Isaiah sixty-one: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me." There is also understood the nature of the anointed one, the grace by which he is anointed, and the dignity to which he is anointed, or the office: Daniel nine: "The Holy of Holies shall be anointed, that vision and prophecy may be fulfilled." - There are also understood the royal, prophetic, and priestly dignity, according to his threefold excellence, namely of power, truth, and holiness. As a figure of this matter, in the Old Law these three persons were customarily anointed. - And in this it appears how the three false opinions, just as they had something of motivating reason, so also an obscuring defect. Whence in this it appears that Christ by this word confuted errors and laid the foundation of the entire faith, according to that passage of First Corinthians three: "No one can lay another foundation." Hence it is that Peter was called, and it was granted to him that from his Church the true faith should never fail: below in the twenty-second chapter: "I have prayed for you, Peter, that it may not fail," etc.

Luke 9:21-22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

But fourthly, with respect to the knowledge of the mystery of redemption, it is added: But he, rebuking them, commanded that they tell this to no one: and this because the mystery of redemption was not yet consummated, which by the just judgment of God was to be hidden from the princes of the world. Whence First Corinthians two: "We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, which is hidden, which none of the princes of this age has known: for if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory." Although it was not to be made public to all, it was nevertheless to be foretold to the disciples; for which reason he adds: Saying, that the Son of man must suffer many things. The reason for this prediction is given in John fourteen: "Now I have told you before it comes to pass, that, when it shall come to pass, you may believe." For the disciples themselves did not yet grasp this, according to what is said below in chapter eighteen: "And Jesus took the twelve and said to them: Behold, we go up"; and afterwards: "And they understood none of these things, but they received this after the consummation." Whence it is said in the last chapter of Luke: "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled which are written concerning me"; and afterwards it is added: "He opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures." Now he says: It is necessary, that is, needful, not absolutely, but from the presupposition of the divine disposition and promise, according to that passage in Acts three: "But God, what he foretold by the mouth of all the Prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he has thus fulfilled." Or it is necessary, that is, it is opportune and expedient, according to what Caiaphas prophesied in John eleven: "It is expedient that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." It is necessary, I say, to suffer many things, because for many souls to be redeemed, many sins to be forgiven, many offenses to be absolved: Isaiah fifty-three: "He was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our transgressions." "All we like sheep have gone astray; each one has turned aside into his own way, and the Lord has laid upon him the iniquities of us all." He also suffered many and great things; he also suffered from many and great ones; for which reason he adds: And be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes. The elders excelled in antiquity, the chief priests in authority, but the scribes by reason of learning, so that thus might be fulfilled that passage in Isaiah one: "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have despised me." And because the passion of Christ was to be terminated in death, therefore it is added: And be slain, namely it is necessary, according to that passage in Daniel nine: "Christ shall be slain." But lest it be believed that he suffered unwillingly, therefore Isaiah fifty-three says: "He delivered his soul unto death." But because this passion was life-giving for the dead, therefore he adds: And the third day rise again, according to that passage in Hosea six: "He will revive us after two days, and on the third day he will raise us up." The Savior says the figure of this preceded in Jonah, in Matthew twelve: "As Jonah was," etc. From these things, therefore, it is apparent what the perfect knowledge of the faith is, upon which the Church of Christ is founded, namely, that by which the divine honor is approved, human error is rejected, the mediator is affirmed, and the restorer is acknowledged.

Luke 9:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

He said to all etc. Having shown how Christ is to be known according to faith, here secondly it is shown how he is to be imitated through the cross, because "faith is dead without works." Since it is difficult to bear the cross, therefore he urges this by a fourfold consideration, namely from consideration of his own example, of one's own peril, of the future judgment, and of the divine kingdom: so that, if admonitions do not move, examples may move, or at least dangers, or future judgments, or at least promises. First therefore he invites by consideration of his own example, when he says: He said to all: If anyone wishes to come after me, that is, to imitate me, to which I do not compel, but invite; therefore he says: If anyone wishes: Ecclesiasticus fifteen: "If you wish to keep the commandments, they will preserve you." "He has set before you water and fire: stretch forth your hand to whichever you wish." Whence Chrysostom: "If someone were giving gold, or setting out a treasure, he would not call with violence, but men would run: how much more to those things which are in heaven. For if the nature of things persuades one to run: if you do not run, you are not worthy to receive." Therefore he says: If anyone wishes to follow my example. Let him deny himself, through every kind of humility, bringing captive sense, affection, and "understanding into the service of Christ"; which he indicates in this that he says: Himself. And this is the counsel of Ecclesiasticus, chapter seven: "Humble your spirit greatly"; and this indeed is necessary for one wishing to follow the humble Christ. Whence Gregory in the Gloss: "Unless one departs from himself, he does not draw near to him who is above him." But this does not suffice: therefore he adds: And let him take up his cross daily, through continual austerity, so that he may be able to say that word of Paul in Galatians two: "I am nailed to the cross with Christ"; and Second Corinthians four: "Always bearing about in our body the mortification of Jesus Christ." And therefore it is said in Galatians five: "And they that are Christ's have crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscences." Note that he says: Daily, because daily the penance of the cross ought to be new and fresh, so that one may always say: "I said: Now I have begun," just as blessed Francis, who at death was saying that he was then beginning to do good: "Brothers, let us begin and advance, because until now we have made little progress." For the cross of Christ has a renewing nature: whence Second Corinthians four: "Although our outward man is corrupted, yet the inward man is renewed from day to day." For the perfect imitation of Christ, however, humility and austerity do not suffice, but poverty is also necessary. Therefore he adds: And let him follow me, namely through the most exalted poverty, by which he wished to carry nothing at all on the way, so that he might arrive rightly and without hindrance at the fatherland. Therefore Peter said in Matthew 19: "Behold, we have left all things and have followed you"; upon which Bernard says: "Well done, Peter, and not unto foolishness for you, because you could not follow one who runs while burdened." And this is very honorable, although it may seem lowly, because, in Ecclesiasticus 23, "it is a great glory to follow the Lord." From this word, however, there is drawn forth the threefold counsel and vow of religious, namely of obedience in self-denial, of chastity in the cross, and of poverty in the following; but "not all receive this word, but those to whom it has been given by my Father," as is said in Matthew 19; therefore he premises: If anyone wishes, etc. So that no one may excuse himself, as though he did not have grace, he says: If anyone wishes, etc., as if to say that the grace of God is at hand for us, if the will is not lacking: Hebrews 12: "Looking carefully, lest anyone fall short of the grace of God."

Luke 9:23 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

The consummation of perfection begins from the renunciation of temporal goods through poverty, advances in the chastification of the bodily members through chastity, and is consummated in the dedication of the interior and mental powers through the abnegation of the will and the vow of obedience, in which a man is properly said to deny himself, according to that word of the Lord, Luke 9: If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me: where the vow of obedience is chiefly and above all commended. And in this perfection truly consists, when one gives the will of his liberty for God's sake, which is a good beyond price, than which nothing greater can be given by man: which being given, all things are given.

Luke 9:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Secondly, he invites by consideration of one's own peril, when he says: For whoever wishes to save his soul shall lose it, that is, whoever wishes to save his life in the present shall lose his life in the future, namely for a momentary life he shall lose the eternal one: whence John 12: "He who loves his soul shall lose it"; because he who loves too much loves iniquitously, and "he who loves iniquity hates his own soul," as is said in the Psalm. For he who loves his soul above God loses God, and by losing God he consequently loses himself. And therefore Paul said in Acts 20: "I do not count my life more precious than myself." And because this seems to be a hard saying, therefore he proves it from the contrary sense: For whoever loses his soul for my sake, in this life, namely, shall save it, namely in the future life, according to that passage of 2 Maccabees 7: "You indeed destroy us in the present life, but the King of the world will raise us up, who have died for his laws, in the resurrection of eternal life." And therefore Paul said in Acts 21: "I am prepared not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." Thus therefore to lose one's soul for Christ is to save it; to wish to save one's soul is to expose it to perdition, according to that passage of Romans 8: "If you live according to the flesh, you shall die"; and this is the greatest peril.

Luke 9:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And therefore in its amplification he adds: For what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and this temporally, but lose himself and suffer the loss of himself? and this eternally: as if to say: nothing, because he who loses himself loses all things, and therefore it does not profit but harms. Hence James 5: "Come now, you rich, weep and howl in your miseries which shall come upon you." And the reason for this is that, as Augustine says in his sermon on the Innocents, "no one has unjust gain without just loss; gain in the chest, loss in conscience; he took a garment and lost faith; he acquires money and loses justice," and thus consequently his own soul. Hence Isidore: "If you had the wisdom of Solomon, the beauty of Absalom, the strength of Samson, the longevity of Enoch, the riches and power of Octavian — what does it profit you, if at last the flesh is given to worms, and the soul to demons, to be tormented without end with the rich man?"

Luke 9:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Third, he invites to the bearing of the cross by consideration of the future judgment, when he says: For whoever shall be ashamed of me, namely to imitate me, and of my words, namely to confess them, scorning the cross of Christ as ignominious, and also his doctrine out of evil shame, concerning which it is said in Sirach 4: "Do not be confounded to say the truth for the sake of your soul; for there is a confusion that brings sin, and there is a confusion that brings grace and glory." In this he gives us to understand that we ought not to be ashamed of the truth of Christ, by the example of the Apostle, who said in Romans 1: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel; for it is the power of God," etc. But we ought to be ashamed of the vileness of sin, according to that in Romans 6: "What fruit had you then in those things of which you are now ashamed?" But many are not ashamed of the deformity of sin, of whom Jeremiah 8 says: "They were confounded because they committed abomination; nay rather, they were not confounded with confusion and they knew not how to blush"; and again: "The forehead of a harlot woman is become yours," etc. Such a one is ashamed of the humility of Christ. — And concerning this he adds: The Son of man shall be ashamed of him, that is, shall make him ashamed, or shall cast him off as one to be ashamed of by his just judgment, according to which it is said in 1 Kings 2: "Those who honor me I will honor; but those who despise me shall be inglorious," and this on the day of judgment. — And therefore he subjoins: When he shall come in his majesty and that of the Father and of the holy Angels: in which he touches upon the judicial power with respect to the principle of causality in the Father, with respect to the privilege of excellence in himself, and with respect to the ministry of obedience in the multitude of Angels. Hence Matthew 24: "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man," etc.; and Isaiah 3: "The Lord will come to judgment with the elders of his people." In this judgment the proud shall be confounded and the humble shall be exalted, according to that of the Psalm: "All the horns of sinners I will break, and the horns of the just shall be exalted."

Luke 9:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Fourth, he invites to the consideration of the divine kingdom, which he shows to his imitators, when he adds: But I say to you truly: There are some standing here, through the elevation of mind, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Our feet were standing in your courts, O Jerusalem." To such persons the kingdom ought to be shown, so that their desire may be fulfilled; therefore he adds: Who shall not taste death, from the separation of soul and body, until they see the kingdom of God, through revelation, not through open vision. For it was said to Moses in Exodus thirty-three: "No man shall see me and live." But this was said through some special revelation, by which it was said to Moses: "I will show you all good." From which it is given to understand that those standing in the word of Christ shall not taste death but shall pass over to life, according to that verse of John eight: "If anyone keeps my word, he shall never taste death." Since therefore Christ promises so great a reward to those who imitate him through the cross, threatens so severe a judgment, holds forth so great a danger, and shows so great an example: very hard is he who is not moved to imitate him. On account of which it is said in Hebrews twelve: "Having so great a cloud of witnesses set before us, let us run," etc.; and at the end: "Let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach; for we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one to come."

Luke 9:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Now it came to pass after these words. After the exhortation to the harshness of the way, the Evangelist subjoins the showing of the sweetness of glory. He proceeds in this order. For first he describes the revelation of the promised glory; second, the consideration of the revealed glory, at the passage: But Peter, and those who were with him; third, the confirmation of the revelation shown, at the passage: Now it came to pass on the following day, and this indeed he does through the admirable healing of the demoniac. The revelation of future glory the Evangelist describes in two ways: first, as to the antecedents; second, as to the concomitants, at the passage: And it came to pass, while he was praying, etc. — Now it should be known that with regard to the Transfiguration of Christ there were three antecedents or disposing factors, namely the requirement of the appointed time, the selection of companions, and the eminence of place. Now these three are what God observes in communicating divine revelations. First, therefore, as to the requirement of the appointed time, he says: Now it came to pass after these words, about eight days. For since the Lord had promised that he would show glory to his disciples, and "the Lord does not delay his promise," as is said in Second Peter three, therefore between the promise and its fulfillment only a small space of time ought to have intervened, namely one week. A figure of this preceded in the betrothal of Rachel, concerning which Laban said to Jacob: "Complete the week of days of this union, and I will give you this one also." And he indicates this when he says, about eight days having passed, because he did this on the eighth day, the order of the week having come full circle, which are not eight complete days on account of the incompleteness of part of the first and last day; and in Matthew 17 and Mark 9 the first and last days are not counted, but only the complete intermediate ones. For there it is said: "It came to pass after six days," in which there is no contradiction, but one statement explains the other. Moreover, the Holy Spirit willed it to be expressed in both ways for the intimation of the mystery. For since God fashioned the world in six days and rested after the sixth day, therefore one must labor for six days and afterward devote oneself to contemplation. Therefore, to intimate this, Matthew says: "After six days." But since perfect and supreme rest and contemplation do not come before the eighth day, namely the resurrection, therefore he says here: eight days. And this is what is said in the Gloss by Bede and Ambrose: After these words, etc. Second, as regards the choice of companions, it is said: And he took Peter, John, and James. He took these three as the more intimate and familiar, just as he took them above in chapter eight, at the raising of the girl. Therefore he takes three to commend the mystery of the Trinity and for the firmness of testimony, whence it is said in the Gloss: "So that the whole world might believe through three suitable witnesses." Moreover, he especially chose these three on account of the eminence which he discerned in them: because Peter was to be first in governing the Church, as Matthew 16 says: "You are Peter," etc. "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." And James was to be the first among the Apostles to be killed for the multiplication of the Church: in Acts 12 it is said of Herod that "he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword." John was preeminent in guarding the Mother: John 19: "Jesus, seeing his Mother and the disciple standing," etc. — Or he took these three for figural instruction. Through them the threefold state of those to be saved in the Church is designated, namely prelates in Peter, actives in James, contemplatives in John, just as in Noah, Daniel, and Job; or in Peter the married, in James the continent, in John the virgins, according to the threefold continence, to which is owed the thirtyfol…

Luke 9:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And it came to pass, as he prayed etc. After the antecedents to the transfiguration, the Evangelist here subjoins the concomitants. These were three, namely the splendor of appearance, the brilliance of clothing, the honor of accompaniment: so that Christ might thus appear glorious both within himself and around himself and beside himself, lest anything be lacking to his glory. First, therefore, with regard to the splendor of appearance, it is said: And it came to pass, as he prayed, the appearance of his countenance was altered, altered indeed by the surpassing radiance of brightness; whence in Matthew 17 it is said that "he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun." Nor is this surprising, because in this he showed the glory of the resurrection, concerning which Matthew 13 says: "Then the just shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father." And therefore in this display of brightness he showed the disciples the kingdom of God, because brightness is the chief endowment of those who rise, according to that passage of First Corinthians 15: "There is one glory of earthly things, another of heavenly; one brightness of the sun, another brightness of the moon, another of the stars; for star differs from star in brightness, so also the resurrection of the dead." Now Christ assumed this endowment of brightness for a time, just as is said of subtlety, which he assumed at his birth, when he came forth from the closed womb of his mother; agility, when he walked upon the waters; impassibility, when he gave his body to the disciples in the Sacrament. So also he assumed brightness here for a time, yet he did not lose his proper likeness, but there was in him his proper likeness and a consummated quality as a passible quality, while the brightness was as a passion. For just as a pale person blushes for a time out of shame, and there occurs in him an alteration for a time, so by a supreme and wondrous power his earthly body was made for a time radiant and heavenly. Whether, however, there was in him another endowment of brightness or not, nevertheless there was another brightness conformed to that supernal brightness, which by divine power did not harm the eyes of the disciples but rather strengthened them, so that they could say that word of Ecclesiastes 11: "Sweet is the light, and it is delightful for the eyes to see the sun." Second, regarding the splendor of his clothing, it is added: And his clothing was white and shining, that is, it became so. For such was the whiteness that it shone with exceeding brilliance, according to what is said in Mark 9: "His garments became exceedingly splendid and white as snow, such as no fuller on earth can make white." Nor is this surprising, for this signified the splendor that will appear in the Saints, according to Revelation 3: "He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments"; and chapter 7: "These who are clothed in white robes, who are they? and whence have they come?" etc. According to the spiritual understanding, in prayer and contemplation the face of man is illuminated, because when the face of our mind is turned toward God, it is illuminated, improved, and perfected. This was prefigured in Exodus 34, where it is said that "when Moses descended from the mountain, his face appeared horned from the fellowship of the Lord's discourse"; whence also in Second Corinthians 3: "But we, with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord." - Not only this, but also his clothing becomes radiant, because one's manner of life becomes irreproachable, according to Philippians 2: "That you may be sincere, without reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." Nor is this surprising, because such persons are conformed to the Lord Jesus Christ, according to Romans 13: "Let us put on the armor of light, let us walk…

Luke 9:30-31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Third, regarding the honor of his retinue, he adds: And behold, two men were speaking with him. For it was not fitting that the Lord of glory should be seen alone, but that he should have an honorable retinue; therefore regarding this he adds: And they were Moses and Elijah, seen in majesty. These two were persons to be honored: Moses, I say, on account of his lawgiving, according to Numbers 12: "Not so my servant Moses, who is most faithful in all my house: for I speak to him mouth to mouth, and openly and not through riddles and figures does he see the Lord"; Elijah, however, on account of his excellence of prophecy together with his working of miracles. Whence Sirach 48, speaking to Elijah: "Who can glory like you? You who raised the dead from the netherworld, from the lot of death, by the word of the Lord God." Whence also, in order to show this excellence, the Lord appeared in a special manner to both of them in a figure on Mount Horeb: to Moses first, as is said in Exodus 3, and to Elijah afterward, as is said in 3 Kings 19, on the same Mount Horeb. Therefore, on account of their worthiness and preeminent dignity, he appeared in their company; or rather, because one of them was dead and the other living, one from heaven and the other from the netherworld, so that he might have testimony from every kind, and it might be shown that he is the one who will make both the living and the dead glorious. Whence in the Gloss it is said: "Therefore one living and one dead appear, to signify that Christ would die and live again, and that we might be alive to God and dead to the world." Or these two appear in order to show that the Law and the Prophets were in accord with the Lord Jesus Christ; whence in the Gloss of Bede: "Moses the lawgiver and Elijah, the foremost of the Prophets, appear with the Word, to show that he is the one who spoke in the Law and the Prophets, and whom the Law and the Prophets promised," so that thus that word of Matthew 21 might be verified: "Those who went before and those who followed cried out: Hosanna to the Son of David." And since the Law and the Prophets attest not only to the glory of Christ, but also to his passion, which is the way into glory, therefore it is added: And they spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. Departure rightly names the passion, because in it there was an excess of humility, according to Philippians 2: "He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant"; and afterward: "He humbled himself," etc. There was also an excess of poverty, according to Lamentations 3: "Remember my poverty and my transgression, the wormwood and the gall." There was an excess of suffering, according to Lamentations 1: "O all you who pass by the way," etc. There was also an excess of love, according to Ephesians 2: "God, who is rich in mercy, on account of his exceedingly great love, when we were dead in sins," etc.; and Romans 8: "He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how has he not also given us all things together with him?" That departure he accomplished in Jerusalem, where he was crucified, in which was the consummation of our redemption, according to Hebrews 2: "It was fitting for him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, who had brought many sons into glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through suffering." Hence he himself also foretold to his disciples in Luke 18: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be consummated," etc.

Luke 9:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

But Peter and those who were with him etc. After the demonstration of the promised glory, the Evangelist here subjoins the contemplation of the glory demonstrated. He narrates this sufficiently enough, because according to a fourfold state: first, as to the beginning; second, as to the progress, at the words: It came to pass, as they departed from him; third, as to the consummation, at the words: And as he was saying these things; fourth, as to the withdrawal, at the words: And while the voice was being made. It should be known, however, that for the contemplation of divine revelations two things occur as it were at the beginning, namely, a burden on the part of nature and an aid on the part of grace; the first induces sleep, and the second awakens. First, therefore, as to the burden on the part of nature falling asleep, it is said: But Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, and so all were failing. Nor is this surprising, because they were encompassed by infirmity; whence Wisdom 9: "The corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly dwelling presses down the mind that thinks upon many things." For since the nature of the exterior senses impedes our intellect from fixing its eye upon the Eternal Light, it is necessary at the beginning of contemplation that man, as though lulled to sleep, be alienated from the senses, as it were through sleep, which does not occur without a burdening of the senses. Whence the contemplative soul says in Song of Songs 5: "I sleep, and my heart watches"; and Job 33: "When deep sleep falls upon men, and they sleep in their bed, then he opens their ears and, instructing them, teaches them discipline"; and concerning this it is said in Genesis 2: "The Lord cast a deep sleep upon Adam." Second, however, as regards the aid on the part of arousing grace, there is added: And awakening, they saw his majesty and the two men who stood with him. This wakefulness is through the desire and love of the Holy Spirit, according to that passage of Isaiah twenty-six: "Lord, my soul has desired you in the night, but also with my spirit within my heart I will watch for you in the morning." Moreover, this is most especially necessary in prayer: whence the Lord says to Peter and his companions, Matthew twenty-six: "Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing," etc.; Mark thirteen: "Watch, be vigilant, and pray." "What I say to one, I say to all: Watch." To this wakefulness, however, the promised reward especially invites us, according to that passage below in chapter twelve: "Blessed are those servants whom, when the lord comes, he shall find watching: amen I say to you," etc. The foreseen danger also invites us, according to that passage of First Peter, the last chapter: "Be sober and watch, because your adversary the devil," etc.; and Matthew twenty-four: "Amen I say to you: If the master of the house had known at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly have watched," etc. Moreover, wakefulness is most especially necessary for contemplation, because grace once offered is most swiftly withdrawn: whence Song of Songs five: "I opened the bolt to my beloved, but he had turned aside and passed on." In this awakening, however, the divine majesty is seen in creatures, according to that passage of Wisdom thirteen: "From the greatness of the beauty and of the creature," etc.; whence Isaiah six: "I saw the Lord sitting upon a high throne, and full," etc. The divine humility is seen in the Scriptures: on account of which he says: And two men, that is, the Law and the Prophets, concerning which vision, below in the last chapter: "He opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures"; and again: "Beginning from Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all things," etc. On account of these two modes of contemplating, a twofold book was made: of Scripture and of creation, which are signified in the ascent and descent by…

Luke 9:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And it came to pass, as they were departing. After the beginning of contemplation, he adds the progress of contemplation: in which two things are most especially required, namely surpassing joy over the gift bestowed and surpassing desire for its continuation, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "My spirit is sweeter than honey." "They who eat me shall yet hunger, and they who drink me shall yet thirst." For through these two things the soul is fixed in the act of contemplation, just as one eating is fixed upon food through delight and desire at once. First therefore, as regards the joy over the gift bestowed, he says: And it came to pass, as they were departing from him, that is, as they wished to depart: Peter said to Jesus: Master, it is good for us to be here; in which Peter shows that the glory of contemplation was wondrously pleasing to him, as if he were saying that word of the Prophet in the Psalm: "But it is good for me to adhere to God"; because, as is said in Lamentations three, "The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him." And therefore Peter was saying: It is good for us to be here: because it is good to await Christ, according to that word of Lamentations three: "It is good to wait in silence for the salvation of God." A greater good is to taste Christ: First Peter two, "If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is sweet"; whence also Wisdom twelve: "O how good and how sweet is your Spirit, O Lord, in all things"! namely, to the upright of heart, according to that word of the Psalm: "How good is the God of Israel to those who are upright in heart"! Whence in the person of Christ and the contemplative soul, Elkanah says to Anna his wife, First Kings one: "Anna, why do you weep? And why is your heart afflicted? Am I not better to you than ten sons?" — But the greatest good is to rejoice with Christ, according to that word of Philippians one: "To be dissolved and to be with Christ is much better"; and Matthew twenty-five: "Well done, good and faithful servant, because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things: enter into the joy of your Lord." — The first therefore is good, because it is merit; the second is a greater good, because it is sustenance for the way; but the third is the greatest good, because it is the reward. In all these ways Peter wished to say, especially by reason of joy: It is good for us to be here. Second, as regards the desire for continuing the gift, he adds: And let us make three tabernacles, to continue our joy, as the children of Israel did in figure, according to that word of Leviticus twenty-three: "Everyone who is of the race of Israel shall dwell in tabernacles, that your posterity may learn that I made the children of Israel to dwell in tabernacles." Because, however, he did not desire the company of those three in a uniform manner, therefore he does not wish a single tabernacle uniformly for all, but desires that a proper tabernacle be made for each one. Whence he adds: One for you, as the principal: and one for Moses, as the lawgiver: and one for Elijah, as the excellent preacher, so that thus according to the diversities of dignities the dwelling places of the mansions may be distinguished. For so it will be in the kingdom of heaven, according to that word of John fourteen: "In my Father's house there are many mansions." Now Peter was saying this through an excessive desire, which is customary among those engaged in contemplation; and on account of this it is added: Not knowing what he was saying, namely on account of the excess of desire, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Because my heart was inflamed, and my reins were changed, and I was brought to nothing and I knew not"; and on account of the depth of the mystery, according to that passage of the Song of Songs, chapter six: "I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the valleys and to inspect," etc.; and a little later: "I kne…

Luke 9:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And as he was saying these things, etc. After the entrance and the progress, the Evangelist here determines the state or consummation of contemplation. Contemplation, however, is consummated in two things: of which the first is the manifestation of terrible majesty, and the second, the revelation of credible truth. First, therefore, as regards the manifestation of terrible majesty, it is said: And as he was saying these things, a cloud came. This was indicative of the divine majesty; whence it appeared terrible to the children of Israel in the cloud; whence it is said at the end of Exodus: "After all things were completed, the cloud covered the tabernacle of testimony, and the glory of the Lord filled it; nor could Moses enter the tent of the covenant, the cloud covering all things and the majesty of the Lord shining forth." Similarly in 3 Kings 8 it is said: "It came to pass that when the priests had gone out, a mist filled the house of the Lord, and the priests could not minister because of the mist; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord." Whence the cloud was a sign of supernal glory and majesty. And therefore it is added: And it overshadowed them, and they were afraid. For they perceived the divine power in the cloud, concerning which above in chapter one: "The power of the Most High shall overshadow you"; and therefore they were afraid on account of the presence of the supreme power, as Job, who said in chapter 31: "I always feared the Lord as swelling waves over me"; and Jeremiah 10: "Who shall not fear you, O King of the nations," etc. According to the mystical sense, however, by the cloud can be understood the flesh of Christ: first, because it tempers the light of the Divinity to our eyes, so that we may gaze upon it; Exodus 19: "Now I will come to you in the darkness of a cloud, that the people may hear me speaking to you." Second, because it is the vehicle of divine light over the darkened earth, according to that passage of Isaiah 19: "The Lord shall ascend upon a light cloud and shall enter Egypt." Third, because it drew its origin from the bitterness and penal condition of human nature, through the mediation of the Virgin Mary; which was prefigured in 3 Kings 18: "Behold, a little cloud like the footprint of a man was ascending from the sea." Fourth, because it pours forth the water of saving grace, which it drew in at its origin, when it is stirred by the wind of prayer; whence Ecclesiasticus 43: "The healing of all is in the swiftness of the cloud." From this contemplatives are instructed not only to raise their eyes to the radiant light of the Divinity, but also to the overshadowing cloud of the humanity. Which was prefigured in John 1, where the Lord said to Nathanael: "You shall see Angels," that is, contemplatives, "ascending and descending upon the Son of Man," because in the humanity the divine majesty lies hidden.

Luke 9:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Second, as regards the revelation of credible truth, it is added: And as they entered into the cloud, namely, the cloud arousing them to reverence, according to what is said in Exodus 24: "Moses, entering into the midst of the cloud, ascended the mountain," where he heard the divine revelations. Hence it is now added: A voice came from the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son: by way of distinction it points him out, to show that he alone is Son by nature: whence in the Psalm: "From the womb before the daystar I begot you." And distinctions are set forth there both in this, that it says this, and in this, that it says my, and in this, that it says beloved: in which it declares that the property of filiation in Christ is personal and connatural and coequal. It is shown to be personal through the pronoun, which points out a definite person; whence he himself said in John 8, for the demonstration of his person: "I am the beginning, who also speak to you." - It is shown to be connatural through this, that it says my, according to that word of the Psalm: "The Lord said to me: You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; because he has no other father except God, for whose distinction it is said in John 20: "I ascend to my Father and your Father." It is also shown to be coequal in this, that it adds beloved, that is, preeminently and supremely: whence Song of Songs 5: "My beloved, chosen out of thousands"; and John 5: "The Father loves the Son and shows him all things." And because this truth was so worthy of belief that it showed all the sayings of Christ to be things that must be believed, therefore he adds: Hear him, not with the ear of the body alone, but also of the heart, as the Prophet says in the Psalm: "I will hear what the Lord speaks in me." Hear him, I say, with all reverence, according to the counsel of Sirach 32: "Listen in silence, and for your reverence good grace will come to you." Hear him, with all obedience, according to that word of Sirach 24: "Those who hear me shall not be confounded, and those who work in me shall not sin." Hear him, with all diligence: whence below in chapter 19: "All the people hung upon him, hearing him," etc. Now this voice strengthened the hearts of the disciples, so that even their own teaching would thereby become authoritative, according to that word of 2 Peter 1: "For we did not follow unlearned fables when we made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were made beholders of his greatness. For receiving from God the Father," etc., up to that point: "When we were with him on the holy mountain."

Luke 9:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And as the voice came, etc. Here lastly, after the consummation of the contemplation, the Evangelist adds its withdrawal, concerning which the Evangelist introduces two things: the first is the return of the accustomed vision, the second is the concealment of the vision that was shown. First therefore, as regards the return of the accustomed vision, it is said: And when the voice was made, Jesus was found alone, namely without Moses and Elijah, just as He was before with them. And this is what the bride desired in Song of Songs eight: "Who will grant you to me as my brother, nursing at the breasts of my mother, that I may find you alone outside and kiss you, and now let no one despise me?" And here therefore He was found alone with them, so that they might understand the passing away of the Law and of prophecy and the permanence of evangelical truth, according to what is said in Matthew twenty-four: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." Whence in the Gloss of Bede: "Alone He is seen, because, with the shadow of the Law and the Prophets departing, the true light is found, as the grace of the Gospel shines forth." Or, to show that He alone is the one who is to be adored and for whom a tabernacle is to be built, according to that passage in Deuteronomy six: "You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him alone." Or, to show that He alone is the one who can save: whence Acts four: "There is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved"; and Hebrews seven: "But Jesus, because He remains forever, has an eternal priesthood; whence He is also able to save in perpetuity, ever living to intercede for us." Second, as regards the concealment of the vision shown, it is added: And they kept silent. For they knew it was written in Tobit twelve: "It is good to hide the secret of a king." For it was not yet the time for speaking, but rather for concealing, according to that passage in Ecclesiastes three: "A time for keeping silent and a time for speaking"; and Sirach twenty: "There is one who keeps silent, knowing the time of the fitting occasion. A wise man will keep silent until the right time, but the wanton and imprudent will not observe the time." And such were the Apostles: on account of which it is added: And they told no one in those days anything of what they had seen: not because they wished to conceal it out of avarice, but because they wished to keep silent out of divine obedience. For the Lord had commanded this to them, according to that passage in Matthew seventeen: "Tell the vision to no one, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead." Now a threefold reason can be assigned for this prohibition. The first was the instruction of contemplatives, whose role it is to conceal the divine secret, according to that passage in Isaiah twenty-four: "My secret is mine, my secret is mine." Whence Mary concealed the virginal birth for thirty years, Elizabeth her conception for five months, as is said above in chapter one: "She hid herself for five months"; Paul his rapture for fourteen years, Second Corinthians twelve: "I know a man fourteen years ago," etc. The second reason was the instruction of preachers, that they should not set forth the word of truth unless they see the capacity of the hearers to believe and receive the word, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus thirty-two: "Where there is no hearing, do not pour forth speech." Whence in the Gloss: "At the Lord's command, they are silent until the Son of Man rises from the dead, lest it be incredible on account of the greatness of the matter, and lest the cross following upon such great glory cause scandal"; and Jerome: "Surely it belongs to the teacher to consider the persons of the hearers, lest they mock before they hear." The third reason was the instruction of all, that no one should wish to be praised, nor should anyone dare to praise in this life, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus eleven: "Before dea…

Luke 9:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Now it came to pass on the following day etc. After the demonstration of the glory promised and the contemplation of the glory demonstrated, there is here subjoined the confirmation of the glory considered, in the miraculous healing of a demoniac, mute and lunatic. Concerning this healing, three things are introduced by the Evangelist for its perfect explanation. The first is the disposing opportunity; the second is the effecting power, at the passage: But Jesus answering, said to them etc.; the third is the consequent benefit, and this at the passage: And all were astonished etc. The disposing opportunity is gathered from three things, namely from the presence of the meeting crowd, from the entreaty of the beseeching man, from the violence of the besieging demon. Therefore he first introduces the presence of the meeting crowd, when he says: Now it came to pass on the following day, as they were descending from the mountain, that is, returning to the plains; a great crowd met them, because they believed and hoped to see signs, according to that passage of John six: "A great multitude followed Jesus, seeing the signs which he worked upon those who were infirm." And note that the crowd does not accompany him ascending, because it does not grasp sublime things; whence Exodus nineteen: "The common people shall not be able to ascend the mountain"; but it meets him descending, because it willingly embraces the lowly things of Christ; whence Matthew eight: "When Jesus had descended from the mountain, great crowds followed him." From this it can also be understood spiritually that the leisure of contemplation, which is designated by the ascent onto the mountain, belongs to few; but the exercise of action, which is designated by his descent and the crowd meeting him, belongs to many. This was signified in the ark of Noah, which, though it was three hundred cubits at the bottom, was completed at the top in a single cubit, as is clear from Genesis 6. And therefore the summit of the mountain befits those who contemplate, and the level plains those who labor, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The mountains ascend, and the fields descend." And this is what Bede said in the Gloss: "On the mountain he prays, teaches, demonstrates his majesty, opens the Father's voice to the Apostles; but descending, he is received by the crowd, is struck by the weeping of the wretched, reproaches the sins of unbelief, expels evil spirits." Here he touches upon four acts of the contemplative life, which he designated in the ascent of the mountain, which are prayer, reading, beholding of divine things, and revelation of secrets; and four of the active life, which are shown in the descent. For in a fourfold way a prelate ought to condescend to his subjects in the exercise of action, namely by visiting, compassionating, rebuking vices, and relieving necessities. According to the literal sense, however, the crowd meets him as he descends, because they desired to see the expulsion of the demon, which could not be accomplished by the disciples, as is added shortly after: "I asked your disciples to cast him out, and they could not." Therefore, from so great a presence and desire of the people, the opportunity for performing a miracle is gathered.

Luke 9:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Secondly, he introduces the urgency of the man beseeching, when he says: And behold, a man from the crowd cried out. In this he shows the affection in supplicating, according to that verse of the Psalm: "When I cried to the Lord, he heard my voice"; whence 1 Maccabees 5: "They cried out with trumpets to heaven and cried out in prayer"; and of Samuel it is said in 1 Kings 15 that "being grieved, he cried to the Lord the whole night." And that this was a cry of prayer is clear from what follows: Saying: Master, I beseech you, look upon my son, for he is my only child. In this prayer he confesses Christ's excellence, offers reverence, seeks clemency, and alleges need; and thus the prayer is sufficiently perfect. When he says Master, he confesses his excellence, according to what is said to the disciples: "You call me master and lord, and you say well," John 13. He calls him master rather than anything else because he considered that he could do and know more than the disciples, who had not been able to nor known how to cure his son; and for this reason the Lord said to the disciples in Matthew 23: "Do not be called masters, for one is your master, Christ." In this, however, that he adds: I beseech thee, he shows reverence. For it belongs to the one beseeching to humble himself and show reverence, according to what is said in First Timothy five: "Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father." And this a man ought especially to do in prayer. For in Sirach thirty-five it is said: "The prayer of him who humbles himself shall pierce the clouds." In this, moreover, that he adds: Look upon my son, he asks for mercy, according to that passage of Sirach thirty-six: "Have mercy upon us, O God of all, and look upon us and show us the light of your mercies"; concerning which regard it is said in the Psalm: "He has regarded the prayer of the humble and has not despised their petition." In this, that he adds: Because he is my only child, he pleads his need, as if he were saying that verse of the Psalm: "Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor." For an only son is tenderly loved, according to that passage of Second Kings one: "As a mother loves her only son, so I loved you"; and is lost with grief: whence in Genesis forty-two Jacob said of Benjamin: "He alone remains; if any adversity befall him in the land, you will bring my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave."

Luke 9:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Thirdly, he adds the violence of the besieging demon, when he adds: And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out: from which it appears that the demon was afflicting him with a sudden affliction; whence in Matthew seventeen it is said of this same boy: "Have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and suffers grievously and often falls into water and frequently into fire"; whence such an infirmity was sudden, as is the infirmity of those seized by demons. Such, moreover, was Saul, of whom in First Kings sixteen it is said that when the evil spirit of the Lord seized Saul, David would strike the harp; in which it is signified that the true David, Christ, was to subdue demonic violence. Nor was it only sudden, but also afflictive: whence he adds: And he dashes him and tears him apart with foaming: which is a sign of great pain and affliction; whence he could already say: "My bones are scattered at the brink of hell," because he was being torn apart by the infernal spirit. Nor was it only afflictive, but also prolonged: on account of which he adds: And he scarcely departs, tearing him: whence he could say that verse of Job nineteen: "His robbers came together and made their way through me and besieged my tabernacle round about." According to the spiritual understanding, however, in this demoniac so afflicted is understood the man who is possessed by spiritual sin: who is seized through pride, which first causes the devil to extend his hand against man, according to that passage in Job 41: "He is king over all the children of pride." — Secondly, he cries out through vainglory; Isaiah 5: "I expected that he would do justice, and behold, a cry." Such were the Pharisees, according to that passage in Matthew 23: "They enlarge their phylacteries, magnify their fringes, love the first places at feasts," etc. Thirdly, he dashes down through envy, according to that passage in Job 30: "You have lifted me up, and as though setting me upon the wind," through arrogance, "you have dashed me down violently," through envy, because, Job 5, "envy slays the little one." Fourthly, he is scattered through wrath, which disturbs all thoughts, according to that passage in Job 17: "My thoughts are scattered, tormenting my heart"; and in the Psalm: "They were scattered and not contrite; they gnashed upon me with their teeth." Fifthly, he tears apart through sorrow of heart, by which he casts down into impatience, through which the conscience also is torn apart; whence Ecclesiasticus 38: "Sorrow of heart bows down the neck," etc. And hence it is that he scarcely departs on account of perfidy: Wisdom 12: "Wicked is their nation, and natural their malice, and because the thought of their heart could not be changed forever."

Luke 9:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And that this suffering was of great duration is apparent from the difficulty of the cure; whence he adds: And I asked your disciples to cast him out, and they could not. The reason for this, however, was that they could not do so by earthly power, according to that passage in Job 41: "There is no power upon the earth," etc.; and at that time the power of divine efficacy was absent on account of human unbelief. Whence Matthew 17: "The disciples said to the Lord: Why could we not cast him out? But he answering said: Because of your unbelief." But on the contrary, Mark 9: "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."

Luke 9:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

But Jesus answering said to them, etc. After the disposing occasion, the Evangelist explains secondly the efficient power, which is described here as just, as compassionate, and as great. First, it is described as just in the reproof of the unbelieving heart, when he says: O faithless and perverse generation! so that faithlessness pertains to cognition and perversity to affection, according to Deuteronomy thirty-two: "For it is a perverse generation, and faithless children." Faithlessness rendered them foolish and perversity rendered them obstinate, according to Ecclesiastes one: "The perverse are corrected with difficulty, and the number of fools is infinite"; therefore they must not only be admonished but also strongly rebuked. - For this reason he adds: How long shall I be with you, namely doing good things for you, and endure you? namely bearing your evils: which he does not say out of impatience, since he himself is the one of whom it is said in Matthew five: "Who makes his sun to rise upon the good and the evil"; and above in chapter six: "He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked." But he says this so that through harsh rebuke he may expel the hardness of heart, according to Titus one: "Rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith." Second, it is described as compassionate in the summoning of the possessed child, when he says: Bring your son here, namely to the presence of the Savior, so that now that passage of Isaiah forty-nine may seem to be fulfilled: "They shall carry their sons in their arms, and they shall bear their daughters upon their shoulders." Bring him, I say, through your faith, him who cannot come through his own faith, just as those men had brought the paralytic, of whom it is said in Matthew nine: "Whose faith when Jesus saw, he said: Your sins are forgiven you." Whence in Mark nine the Lord said to that man: "If you can believe, all things are possible to one who believes." For faith is that by which one is led to Christ, because it is the way of arriving at the light; whence the Apostle in Hebrews eleven: "He who approaches must believe, because without faith it is impossible to please God."

Luke 9:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And because "there is no agreement of Christ with Belial, nor of light with darkness," therefore he adds: And as he was approaching, the demon threw him down and convulsed him: in which it is shown that he came unwillingly to the light as one doing evil, according to John three: "He who does evil hates the light." At the same time it is also shown that the devil most greatly opposes anyone possessed by him from being converted to Christ, as Bede says in the Gloss: "Whence the boy approaching the Lord is thrown down, because those converted to the Lord are for the most part more gravely assailed by the demon, so that they may return to their vices." Of which we have the example in Exodus fourteen concerning Pharaoh, who pursued the departing people. Third, it is described as mighty in the expulsion of the unclean spirit, when it is added: And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, as if restraining him by word alone, according to that passage above in chapter four: "Rebuking them, he did not allow them to speak"; whence the Angel of the Lord said in Zechariah three: "May the Lord rebuke you, Satan." And because by that rebuke the demon was cast out, there is added: And he healed the boy. Whence that rebuke was salutary: on account of which Job 5: "Do not reject the rebuke of the Lord, for he himself wounds and heals, he strikes, and his hands shall heal." - And because the faith of the father had merited this, therefore there is added: And he restored him to his father, to soothe his grief, so that he might say to his only son that word of Jacob, Genesis 46: "Now I shall die happy, because I have seen your face and leave you surviving." Moreover, by this deed the prelate is spiritually instructed how he ought to restore a subject possessed by the devil through sin to the King of heaven, namely by rebuking and healing: rebuking through justice and healing through mercy. Moreover, there ought to be the rigor of justice with respect to the fault, but the sweetness of mercy with respect to nature. Whence Augustine: "Let correction be made with love of persons in hatred of vices"; and Gregory: "We owe severity to vices and compassion to nature." "For true justice has compassion, false justice has indignation." Whence also below in chapter ten it is said of the Samaritan tending the wounded man, that he poured wine and oil into his wounds, wine that stings and oil that soothes, according to the two things which have been said.

Luke 9:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And all were amazed etc. - After the disposing occasion and the effecting power, the Evangelist here adds the consequent benefit. And this was twofold: the first universal, the second particular. The first was the arousal of all to reverence for his majesty, the second was the urging of the disciples to the understanding of truth. First, therefore, with regard to the arousal of all to reverence for his majesty, it is said: And all were amazed at the greatness of God, because great was the power which perfectly healed so great a disease in so short a time, with so brief a word. Whence they sang that verse of the Psalm: "Great is our Lord and great is his power"; and that of Jeremiah 10: "Great are you, O Lord, and great is your name, and in all the kingdoms of the earth there is none like you"; and Exodus 15: "Who is like you among the mighty, O Lord? Terrible and praiseworthy and working wonders."

Luke 9:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Second, with regard to the exhortation of the disciples to the understanding of truth, there is added: While all were marveling at all the things that he was doing and also saying and speaking; he said to his disciples: Place these words in your hearts; as if he were saying to them: while others recognize and admire the greatness of the miracles, you consider the humility of the future reproaches and "store away in your mind the outcome of the precious blood by which the world is to be redeemed, while the rest marvel only at the deeds of divine majesty." Whence place, that is, hold in memory, according to that passage of Song of Songs, the last chapter: "Set me as a seal upon your heart." Moreover, after the display of the miracle he joins the prediction of future suffering, lest the passion, coming suddenly, should utterly shake the disciples: whence Ecclesiasticus 11: "In the day of good things, be not unmindful of evil things"; and lest anyone be exalted in a time of prosperity, according to that passage of Proverbs 27: "Do not boast about tomorrow, not knowing what the coming day may bring forth"; and therefore Ecclesiasticus 11: "In the day of your honor, do not exalt yourself." These words, which he wishes to be recalled to memory, are about the passion: whence he adds: The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men. Delivered, I say, out of clemency by God the Father: Romans 8: "Who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all," etc. He will be delivered out of obedience by himself; Isaiah 53: "Because he delivered his soul unto death." He will be delivered out of malice by Judas the traitor: Matthew 26: "He who dips his hand with me in the dish, he will betray me." And in this he encompasses the whole passion.

Luke 9:45 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And since this was a hidden mystery, therefore there is added: But they did not understand this word, and it was veiled before them, so that they did not perceive it; because they were still unlearned and natural and did not understand past things, therefore neither future things: whence Ecclesiastes 8: "He who is ignorant of the past can know future things by no messenger." Indeed, and because they were not yet perfectly instructed, therefore it is added: And they were afraid to ask him about this saying. For they had not yet heard from him that word of John 15: "I will no longer call you servants, because the servant does not know what his master does," etc. Now the reason for this ignorance was threefold. For it came partly from the love of charity, partly from faith in his Divinity, and partly from his customary manner of speaking in parables. And the Gloss of Bede touches on this: "This ignorance," etc. But although the Lord knew that they were ignorant, he nevertheless foretold these things to them, as he afterwards recounted after the resurrection, when he rebuked them, below in the last chapter: "O foolish and slow of heart to believe!" and when "he opened their understanding." Whence he gives the reason for this in John 14: "I have told you this before it happens, so that when it has happened, you may believe." But he was saying it then so that, as has been said, in all our exaltation he might teach us to keep the memory of our death and our humility; whence Ecclesiasticus 7: "Remember your last end, and you shall never sin."

Luke 9:46 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

The norm of governing is explained in three ways. And a thought entered, etc. This is the third part of this section, in which the mission of the Apostles is treated, where after the explanation of the form of preaching and the way of advancing, the norm of governing is explained. For the Apostles bore the person of preachers, of perfect men, and of prelates. Since, however, for prelates three things are necessary to rule the people, namely humility of spirit, equanimity of zeal, and perspicacity of judgment: therefore this section has three parts: in the first of which he instructs concerning humility of spirit; in the second, concerning equanimity of zeal, at the passage: And it came to pass, when the days were being fulfilled, etc.; in the third, concerning perspicacity of judgment, at the passage: And it came to pass, as they were going on their way, etc. The first part has two sections. For first he instructs concerning humility with respect to those of one's own household; and second, with respect to outsiders, at the passage: And John answering said, etc. Now in the persuasion to have humility toward those of one's own household, three things are introduced by the Evangelist. The first is the occasion for praising humility on account of its contrary; the second is a commendatory leading by hand through a sensible example; the third is the conclusion of perfect praise through a definitive judgment. First, therefore, the occasion for praising humility is introduced, and this on account of repelling its contrary, when he says: And a thought entered into them, which of them should be the greater. And note that Luke says a thought entered into them; in Mark 9 they are said to have disputed; in Matthew 18 they are said to have questioned the Lord. Nor is there a contradiction, because all of this could have been such that first the thought entered, then the disputation followed, and lastly the question was brought to the Master. And what one of the Evangelists passes over in silence, another states. Now this thought was the path to pride and had entered into them from the ancient corruption, concerning which Genesis 8 says: "The sense and thought of the human heart are prone to evil from its youth," and especially to pride: because, as is said in Tobit 4, "never permit pride to reign in your mind or in your word: for in it all perdition had its beginning." Therefore to the man thinking proudly it is said in Job 15: "Why does your heart elevate you, and as though thinking great things you have dazed eyes?" Such were the Apostles at that time, against the counsel of Ecclesiasticus 6: "Do not exalt yourself in your thought like a bull, lest your strength be crushed." Now this proud thought had its entrance from the fact that he had led three disciples apart onto the mountain, and yet to Peter alone he had said: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven," as is said in Matthew 16; therefore some wished to make John equal to Peter, others wished to set Peter above the rest: and this is what is said in the Gloss: "Because they had seen Peter," etc.

Luke 9:47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Second, there is added a commendatory guidance by means of a sensible example, when it is added: But Jesus, seeing the thoughts of their hearts, as true God, according to that passage of 1 Kings 16: "Man sees the things that are apparent, but God beholds the heart"; and Ecclesiasticus 23: "The eyes of the Lord are far more luminous than the sun, surveying all the ways of men and the depth of the abyss and beholding the hearts of men." And since he saw that the thought was the path to disease, therefore as a wise physician he applies a remedy, when he says: Taking hold of a child, he set him beside himself, as one conformed and close to himself; whence in Matthew 19 he said: "Allow the little ones to come to me, and do not forbid them to come to me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven"; and Hosea 11: "Because Israel is a child, and I loved him." And on account of this the Wise Man said in Wisdom 9: "Do not reject me from among your children, for I am your servant and the son of your handmaid." Beside himself therefore he set the little one, to show that whoever wishes to be a friend of God must become little.

Luke 9:48 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, Luke 9: Whoever shall receive a child in my name; Interlinear gloss: "a poor one"; and the other Gloss: "He who receives an imitator of Christ receives Christ": therefore when a poor man imitating Christ is received, Christ is received. If therefore it belongs to evangelical perfection to be poor and an imitator of Christ: it belongs to evangelical perfection to wish to be received in such poverty for Christ's sake. If therefore such a one seeks by begging, he does not depart from evangelical perfection.

Luke 9:48 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And he indicates this when he adds: And he said to them: Whoever receives this child in my name, receives me: in which he shows that he has such great affection for the little ones and the humble that what is done for them he considers done for himself: whence, in Matthew twenty-five, he will say at the judgment: "What you did for one of the least of mine, you did for me." For he accepts such ones above all, according to that word of the Psalm: "The Lord is on high and regards the lowly"; and according to that word of Isaiah sixty-six: "To whom shall I look except to the poor and contrite in spirit," etc. - From this, moreover, it is gathered that there is great excellence in the little one, since in him Christ is received not only according to human humility, but also according to divine authority; to intimate which he adds: And whoever receives me, receives him who sent me. From this it is gathered that he who honors and receives the little one of Christ receives and honors God: great therefore is the honor and glory of the little ones. From which he persuades them not to seek to be great, but to strive to be little. And to this the Apostle invites in Philippians two: "In humility esteeming one another as superior to themselves." "For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, emptied himself, taking the form of a servant." So also did the Apostle, according to that word of First Corinthians nine: "Though I was free from all, I made myself the servant of all"; and First Thessalonians two: "We became little ones in your midst, as if a nurse were cherishing her own children." Third, however, there is subjoined the conclusion of perfect praise through a definitive judgment, when he says: For he who is the lesser among you all, by estimation and humility, he is the greater, according to divine acceptance and truth. The least therefore is the greatest, and this because he is ordained to great rewards, according to that word below in chapter eighteen: "He who humbles himself shall be exalted." If this is true in itself as a sentence of God, he who humbles himself more is the greater, and he who does so most is the greatest. And the reason for this is that the more humble we are, the more empty we are of the swelling of pride; and the more empty of the swelling of pride, the more full of love; and the more full of this, the greater we are. For of it is written in First Corinthians thirteen: "But the greatest of these is charity"; and therefore Ecclesiasticus three: "The greater you are, humble yourself in all things, and you shall find grace before God"; and again in chapter ten: "Great is the judge and mighty in honor, but none is greater than he who fears God." Or therefore the lesser is the greater, because the more humble one is, the more like Christ, and thereby the closer to him; but Christ is the greatest; and the closer one is to the greatest, the greater one is; therefore the lesser one is, the greater one is; and this is what he himself indicates below in the twenty-second chapter: "But I am in your midst as one who serves." And therefore he said: "Let him who is greater among you become as the lesser, and he who is the leader, as the servant"; and Mark 9: "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all," because it is said in Matthew 20: "So the first shall be last, and the last first." And Paul, attending to this, said in First Corinthians 15: "I am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle"; and Ephesians 3: "To me, the least of all the saints, this grace was given." — Therefore among spiritual men there should be no contention for the first place, but for the last, because that one is more honorable, as is said below in the fourteenth chapter: "When you are invited to a wedding, recline in the last place," etc.

Luke 9:49 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

But John answering etc. After the teaching of humility toward those of one's own household, he teaches that humility must be maintained toward outsiders: concerning the introduction of which, three things are set forth. For first there is introduced on the part of the outsider the operation of virtue; second, on the part of the disciple the prohibition of rashness; third, on the part of the Master the persuasion of humility. First therefore he introduces the operation of virtue on the part of the outsider, when he says: But John answering said: Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name. For because the Lord had urged humility, John, wishing to know whether the teaching extends to outsiders, therefore responds and introduces this outsider working wonders. Now those who are outsiders to Christ can work miracles, according to that passage in Matthew 7: "Many will say to me: Lord, in your name we cast out demons and in your name we worked many mighty deeds." Then he will say to them: "Depart from me, you who work iniquity." Now this happens when someone has faith in the Lord Christ without the love of charity, according to that passage in First Corinthians 13: "If I should have faith so as to move mountains, but have not charity, I am nothing." And this is because charity is that which makes one a friend of Christ. In this, moreover, the power of the name of Christ is manifest, that it is of great efficacy even when invoked by outsiders, so that, according to that passage in Philippians 2, "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth." Whence below in the tenth chapter: "Lord, in your name even the demons are subject to us." Second, he introduces the prohibition of rashness on the part of the disciple, when he says: And we forbade him, namely I together with others; which was not without the mark of presumption, since Proverbs 3: "Do not forbid him who is able to do good; if you can, do good yourself also." - Because nevertheless what is done from the swelling of pride is frequently cloaked under zeal for justice, therefore he adds: Because he does not follow you with us: and therefore he is not worthy to be like us in the working of miracles, who is not like us in the fulfillment of counsels. In this, however, pride lay hidden, as if he were saying that word of Isaiah 65: "Who say: Depart from me, do not come near me, for you are unclean." And that jealousy was apparent, of which Numbers 11 speaks concerning the men who prophesied in the camp without Moses, that "Joshua, the son of Nun, said: My lord Moses, forbid them. But he said: Why are you jealous for my sake?" Whence John, who was the foremost lover of the Lord and a zealot for His honor, wished to exclude from the preaching of Christ's name everyone who did not love the Lord. Whence Bede in the Gloss: "John, loving the Lord and beloved by the Lord, thinks that he who does not render service should be excluded from the benefit." Nevertheless he was mistaken, because, Philippians 1, "whether by occasion or by truth Christ is proclaimed, yet in this I rejoice and will rejoice."

Luke 9:50 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Third, as regards the persuasion to humility on the part of the Master, he adds: And Jesus said to him: Do not forbid, but rather humbly bear with the imperfect one, because, Romans 15, "we who are stronger ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak and not to please ourselves"; and especially when the weak one is not an adversary of the truth. On account of which he adds: He who is not against you is for you. And therefore this one is useful to us and tolerable, since he does not attack us but helps us; whence Sirach 11: "Concerning a matter that does not trouble you, do not contend." But that passage of Matthew 12 seems contrary to this: "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters"; but this man was not with the Lord nor did he follow Him: therefore he was contrary to Him and to His disciples. How then was he for them? From this it is given to understand that there are three kinds of preachers. Some are true shepherds, and these seek only God's honor and the salvation of their subjects, according to that word of John 10: "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep"; and these are to be received and honored. And these are imitators of Christ, as Timothy was of the Apostle, Philippians 2: "All seek the things that are their own, not the things that are of Jesus Christ. But take proof of him, because as a son with a father he served with me in the Gospel." - But some are hirelings, who preach for their own advantage, yet true and good things, of whom it is said in John 10: "The hireling flees, because he is a hireling"; and these are to be tolerated. - Some are wolves, as are heretics, who in matters of doctrine diverge from the truth of Christ: of whom it is said in John 10: "The wolf snatches and scatters the sheep"; and Acts 20: "Ravenous wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock"; and these are to be driven away. And concerning such persons is understood that passage in Matthew 12; he speaks in the present context only of the second kind. Whence in Mark 9 it is said: "There is no one who works a miracle in my name and can soon speak ill of me"; whence in Acts 19 it is recorded concerning those sons of Sceva, that "they attempted to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus"; and it is added that the wicked spirit said to them: "Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize: but who are you?" And he prevailed against both of them, so that they fled from the house naked and wounded.

Luke 9:51 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Now it came to pass, when the days were being fulfilled, etc. After having instructed the Apostles, the prelates of the Church, in humility of mind, he here instructs them secondly in equanimity of zeal. And this section has two parts, in the first of which is introduced the occasion of disordered zeal; and in the second is added the correction of inordinate zeal, through which they are instructed in equanimity of zeal: and the second part begins at: When his disciples saw this. The occasion of disordered zeal arose from three sources, namely from the Lord's necessity, by which he was in need of lodging; from the authority of the disciples, by which they sought lodging; and from the inhospitality of the Samaritans, by which they refused lodging. First, therefore, is introduced the necessity of the Lord, by which he was in need of lodging, because the time of his sojourning had come: which he indicates when he says: Now it came to pass, when the days of his assumption were being fulfilled, that is, when the time of his Passion was drawing near, through which he was to be taken up into heaven after the Resurrection: whence the Psalm concerning the Resurrection is inscribed "concerning the assumption of the morning"; John 13: "Jesus, knowing that the hour had come," etc. When the time of the passion was approaching, it was fitting to draw near to the place of suffering; and therefore he adds: And he set his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem, to suffer; because it is said below in the thirteenth chapter: "It is not fitting for a Prophet to perish outside Jerusalem"; therefore he wished to go there as to a place of shame and reproach. On account of which he notably states beforehand that he set his face steadfastly, namely through constancy and divine patience, according to that passage in Ezekiel, chapter three: "Behold, I have made your face stronger than their faces and your forehead harder than their foreheads, and like adamant and like flint have I made your face." Truly steadfast was the face that not only did not flee, but even approached the reproach of death unshaken, so that it was necessary for him to pass through the land of foreigners, according to what is said below in the seventeenth chapter: "As Jesus was going to Jerusalem, he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee." And so it was necessary for him to seek lodging among strangers, according to that passage in Jeremiah, chapter fourteen: "Why will you be as a sojourner in the land and as a traveler turning aside to lodge?"

Luke 9:52 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Secondly, there is added the authority of the disciples, by which they were seeking lodging, when he says: And he sent messengers before his face. For it befits the great Lord to have messengers as forerunners, according to what is said in Malachi, chapter three: "Behold, I send my Angel," that is, my messenger, "who will prepare the way before your face." So also we read concerning Jacob in Genesis, chapter thirty-two, that "he sent messengers before him." And because good messengers faithfully and swiftly carry out the command of their lord, therefore it is added: And going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for him. These Samaritans were colonists placed in the cities of Samaria in place of the children of Israel who had been carried away to the Assyrians, as is said in Fourth Kings, chapter seventeen, that "the king of the Assyrians brought men from the cities of the Assyrians and placed them in the cities of Samaria in place of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria and dwelt in its cities"; and concerning these it is added afterwards in the same place, that "they were fearing the Lord, but nevertheless serving their own idols." They entered the city of these people not of their own will, since it is said in John, chapter four, that "Jews do not associate with Samaritans," but either compelled by necessity, which has no law, or by a special command of the Lord. For in the sending of the Apostles it is said in Matthew, chapter ten: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter into the cities of the Samaritans"; but that is said with regard to preaching, not however with regard to seeking lodging. For in John, chapter four, concerning this city it is said that "the disciples had gone away into the city to buy food"; and they did this by the Lord's command, who was showing that no man is to be despised, but that everyone is to be loved as a neighbor, as is said below in the tenth chapter concerning the Samaritan in the parable, that "he was neighbor to him who fell among robbers."

Luke 9:53 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Thirdly is added the inhospitality of the Samaritans, by which they denied lodging, when it says: And they did not receive him, though he himself was their Lord; so that what is said in John 1 might be fulfilled: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." The inhospitality of these was similar to the inhospitality of those of Gibeah toward the Levite: it is said in Judges 19 that "they sat in the street of the city, and no one would receive them into his house." These Samaritans were not admitted by the Jews to the worship of God, and therefore they were hostile to those going to Jerusalem. And for this reason it is added: Because his face was set toward going to Jerusalem, that is, because they clearly recognized that he was going to Jerusalem to worship God according to the Jewish rite. Whence the Samaritan woman said to him in John 4: "Lord, our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." And between the Jews and the Samaritans there was contrariety over the place of prayer: just as also spiritually it now happens that spiritual men who worship God are mocked and despised and cast out by those who love the world. Whence Proverbs 14: "He who walks in an upright way and fears the Lord is despised by him who walks in an infamous way"; and Sirach 13: "As a wolf will have fellowship with a lamb, so the sinner with the just." Whence Wisdom 2: "The ungodly said: Let us circumvent the just man, because he is contrary to our works"; and a little later: "He is grievous to us even to behold, because his life is unlike that of others, and his ways are changed." For those who have dissimilarity of life do not easily have companionship on the way. And therefore the Samaritans, hating Jerusalem, were unwilling to show hospitality to one going to Jerusalem.

Luke 9:54 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

When the disciples had seen, etc. Having set forth the occasion of disordered zeal, he adds the correction of disordered zeal. Concerning which three things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely reprehensible indignation, reasonable rebuke, and memorable instruction. The first was in the spirit of the disciples, the second was in the word of the Lord, the third was in the Lord's deed. First, therefore, as regards the blameworthy indignation in the mind of the disciples, it is said: But when his disciples James and John had seen: had seen, I say, the cruelty of that city, such that they could say that word of the Psalm: "I saw iniquity and contradiction in the city"; and again: "I was zealous on account of the wicked, seeing the peace of sinners." Whence they were moved with indignation, because they saw the Lord, whose majesty they had seen on the mountain with Moses and Elijah, thus despised on earth. — On account of which it is added: They said: Lord, do you wish that we command fire to descend from heaven and consume them? In this is shown the fury of indignation by which they were moved against those people, so that they wished to destroy them from the earth. Now these two especially said this because they were great zealots for the honor of the Lord: whence there could be said of them that word of Romans 10: "I bear them witness that they have indeed a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge"; just as the two sons of Jacob, moved by zeal for the injury done to them, destroyed the city of the Shechemites, as is said in Genesis 34. Or they said this because they themselves had been with the Lord on the mountain, where they had come to know his majesty and had seen the companionship of Elijah: and therefore they wished to inflict a similar vengeance, according to what is said in 4 Kings 1, that "Elijah said: If I am a man of God, let fire descend from heaven and devour you and your fifty." And it was done so.

Luke 9:55 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Secondly, as regards the reasonable reprehension in the word of the Lord, it is added: And turning, he rebuked them, saying: You do not know of what spirit you are. He says this because they believed themselves to be moved by a spirit of righteousness, yet they were moved by a zeal of bitterness, which they ought not to have been, as James 3 says: "But if you have bitter zeal, and there are contentions in your hearts, do not glory and be liars against the truth." And therefore it is said in 1 John 4: "Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are from God." For the spirit of Christ is a spirit of meekness, according to that word of Isaiah 61: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to proclaim to the meek"; and Isaiah 42: "Behold my servant, I will uphold him. I have placed my spirit upon him. A bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not extinguish." And these disciples ought to have had this spirit as good disciples and imitators of the Master.

Luke 9:56 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And therefore he adds: For the Son of man came not to destroy the souls of men, but to save them: because this coming was not of justice, but of mercy, according to that passage in John 3: "God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him"; whence from this end He received His name, so that He would be called Jesus, according to that passage in Matthew 1: "You shall call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins"; and Matthew 20: "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life as a redemption for many." And therefore he who has the spirit of Christ ought not to seek vengeance, but to show patience, according to that saying of Ambrose in the Gloss: "Perfect virtue," he says, "has no zeal for revenge: nor is there any wrath where there is the fullness of charity." Therefore it is said in Romans 12: "Not defending yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath." Third, as regards the memorable instruction in the Lord's deed, it is added: And they went to another village: in which He gave a model to the disciples that they should flee from men rather than contend with them; according to the model He gave His disciples in Matthew 10: "When they persecute you in one city, flee to another." Moreover, we have the example of this from Abraham and Lot, Genesis 13, where "Abraham said: 'Let there be no quarrel, I pray, between me and you: for we are brothers. If you go to the left, I will take the right.'" In this He taught perfect meekness, which befits the servants of Christ, according to that passage in 2 Timothy 2: "The servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle"; whence according to that passage in James 1: "Let every man be slow to wrath. For the wrath of man does not work the justice of God." For if the Lord of majesty was unwilling to be angry at such great inhumanity, how much less ought we to be indignant at anyone? And this meekness ought especially to be found in the prelates of the Church: whence the Apostle in 2 Timothy 4: "Reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine"; since in the Psalm it is said: "Meekness has come upon us, and we shall be corrected." And Seneca says: "The spirit of man is noble, and is more easily led than dragged"; whence he himself says that the king of bees has no sting.

Luke 9:57 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Now it came to pass, as they walked etc. After the instruction of the Apostles according to the norm of governing with respect to humility of soul and equanimity of zeal, here in the third place He instructs them with respect to perspicacity of judgment; and this through the example of Jesus Christ. Moreover, perspicacity of judgment is manifested in this part in three ways: first, in the repulsion of the double-minded: second, in the calling of the simple, at: But He said to another etc.; third, in the reproving of the wavering, at: And another said: I will follow You, Lord etc. Concerning the repulsion of the double-minded, two things are introduced: the first is the simulation of simplicity, the second is the detection of duplicity. First, therefore, regarding the pretense of simplicity, he says: And it came to pass, as they walked on the way, namely, the disciples walking with the Lord on the way of perfection, as is said of Noah in Genesis 6: "Noah was a just and perfect man and walked with God"; and similarly the Lord to Abraham, Genesis 17: "Walk before me, and be perfect." Concerning which way, Isaiah 30: "You shall hear the word of your teacher. This is the good way: walk in it." And because on this way the wicked frequently wish to join themselves to the good through pretense, therefore it is added: A certain man said to Jesus: I will follow you wherever you go, in which he showed that he had the will to follow perfectly, though he had something else in his heart, just as Simon Magus, of whom it is said in Acts 8 that "when men and women were being baptized, then Simon himself also believed and was baptized," yet with a wicked and double heart, as is evident from what follows. Whence Jerome: "This man wished to follow Jesus with the same intention by which Simon Magus desired to have the power of working miracles, so that he might gain riches from the miracles." But against this, Sirach 1: "Do not approach her with a double heart, and be not a hypocrite in the sight of men." Such are those who promise great things and do little, against whom Sirach 4: "Be not hasty in your tongue, and useless and remiss in your works."

Luke 9:58 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, Luke 9: Foxes have dens, the Gloss says: "I am of such great poverty that I have not even a lodging nor use my own roof": therefore etc.

Luke 9:58 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Second, regarding the detection of duplicity, it is added: And Jesus said to him: The foxes have holes, in which, namely, they hide, and the birds of the air have nests, in which they lodge by night: but the Son of man has not where to lay his head. In this, remarkably, he showed his poverty, as if to say that he did not wish to have a companion who loves earthly things; whence below, chapter 14: "Whoever does not renounce all that he possesses cannot be my disciple," that is, a perfect imitator. Whence Chrysostom: "The Lord responds to his intention, as if to say: Why do you follow me for the sake of money, you who see that I have not even as much of a lodging as the birds?" At the same time, along with this, he also marks him for outward pretense, which is understood in the fox, according to what is said below in chapter 13 concerning Herod: "Go, tell that fox." And therefore by foxes are understood heretics, because they are crooked and crafty and have fire in their tails, as is said of the foxes of Samson in Judges 15. He also marks him for inward pretense in the bird, which seeks the heights; such is the proud man, as is said in Obadiah 1: "Though you be exalted as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from thence will I bring you down, says the Lord." And on account of these two things, the Lord shows that his company is to be rejected, because, First Corinthians 1, "God chose the ignoble and contemptible things of the world, and things that are not, that he might destroy the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in his sight." And therefore as an example for imitation he became a beggar, according to that passage in Second Corinthians eight: "He became poor for us, that by his poverty we might be made rich"; whence the imitators of Christ were made rich by the poverty of Christ. For he is truly rich who has as much as the King of heaven and earth. And such is he who has nothing by ownership and possesses everything by charity, like those in Second Corinthians six, "as having nothing and yet possessing all things." Blessed is he who exchanges an earthly den for an eternal hall: "blessed are the poor in spirit," etc. At the same time, note also that poverty is not pleasing unless it is simple against the craftiness of the fox, and humble against the pride of the bird. Whence Isaiah sixty-six: "But to whom shall I look, except to the poor and contrite in spirit, who trembles at my words?" where he joins poverty with simplicity and humility. Whence Augustine: "What profit is it to have left riches behind, when a wretched man is made prouder by despising riches than he had been by possessing them?" For a proud pauper is hateful to God and men, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus twenty-five: "Three kinds my soul has hated"; "A proud pauper," etc.

Luke 9:59 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

But he said to another. After the repulsion of the double-minded, here is added the calling of the simple, concerning which two things are introduced: the first is the calling of the innocent; the second is the instruction of the ignorant. Therefore, first, as regards the calling of the innocent, it says: But he said to another: Follow me, as a son follows a father: Jeremiah three: "You shall call me Father and shall not cease to walk after me." Or as a disciple follows a master, as the Lord said to the young man seeking counsel in Matthew nineteen: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor; and come and follow me." And he called this one selectively, as he did Peter, in John last: "You, follow me." And pointedly he says another, because he was of a different disposition: for he was simple and humble. To designate this, he adds: But he said: Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. In this there appears purity, because he did not conceal the affection of his heart, nor did he refuse counsel. Whence Isidore says: "He did not reject being a disciple, but with the duty of his father's funeral fulfilled, he wishes to follow more freely." There appears humility, because he wished to render service to his dead father, according to Ecclesiasticus 3: "He who fears the Lord honors his parents, and as to masters he will serve those who begot him, in deed and word and all patience." Moreover, he was moved to this by obedience to the divine precept: Exodus 20, "Honor your father"; he was also moved by clemency of soul: for burying the dead is a work of mercy, for which Tobit is commended, chapter 1: "When the king was killing many of the children of Israel, Tobit buried their bodies"; he was also moved by laudable custom, according to Ecclesiasticus 38: "Over the dead bring forth tears, and as one suffering grievously, begin to weep, and according to judgment cover his body and do not despise his burial." Whence it is apparent that he did not say this out of carnality, but out of a certain piety and humility, just as Elisha said to Elijah in 3 Kings 19: "Let me kiss, I pray, my father and my mother, and so I will follow you."

Luke 9:60 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

If parents should wish, say, or command something that is against the advancement of our salvation, piety is not to be shown to them in such matters. The Lord wills that on account of paternal affection a man should not cease to do what pertains to his salvation. And this is what the Lord says: Let the dead bury their dead; but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. And Jerome says: 'If your father should lie across the threshold, if your mother should bare the breasts with which she nursed you, trample over your father, trample over your mother, and fly to the standard of the cross. For the only kind of piety in this matter is to be cruel.'

Luke 9:60 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

On that passage in Luke 9: Let the dead bury their dead; the Gloss says: "The Lord teaches that lesser goods are to be passed over for the advantage of greater ones; for it is greater to raise the souls of the dead by preaching than to lay a dead body in the earth." If therefore to bury the dead, and especially one's father, is a work of the greatest natural and corporeal piety, and the Lord teaches that this is to be set aside, and those devoted to preaching are not bound to this: therefore such persons are not bound to manual works, however needy they may be.

Luke 9:60 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Secondly, with respect to the instruction of the ignorant, there follows: And Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead. In this he first instructs him to avoid the company of sinners: for the dead here are called sinners and unbelievers — whence Ephesians 2: "You, when you were dead in your offenses and sins, in which you once walked." The company of such persons must be abandoned by a holy man, according to Ecclesiasticus 13: "What fellowship has a holy man with a dog?" — that is, with a sinner and unbeliever. Whence however closely he may be joined to them, they must nevertheless be abandoned, especially when they impede the good. Whence Deuteronomy 33: "He who said to his father and his mother: I do not know you; and to his brothers: I know them not — these are they who kept your judgments, O Jacob, and your law, O Israel." He also instructs him that lesser goods must be set aside for greater ones: whence Ambrose teaches that "lesser goods must be passed over for the benefit of greater ones. For it is greater to raise the souls of the dead by preaching than to hide the body of a dead man in the earth." And therefore he adds: But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God: as if to say: set aside a lesser good for a greater one, according to what is said in First Timothy four: "Exercise yourself unto godliness. For bodily exercise is profitable for a little" etc. From this it is clear that works of spiritual piety, according to the judgment of both the Apostle and the Lord, are altogether to be preferred to corporal works. For although it is a great work of piety to bury the dead, and especially one's own father, nevertheless Christ wills that it be set aside for the office of preaching. On account of which the Apostles said in Acts six: "It is not fitting that we should leave the word of God and serve tables." For as much as the soul is better than the body, so much better is it to feed the soul by preaching than to minister food to the body; especially because there are more persons suited to providing burial than to giving doctrine. Whence the Apostles said in Acts six: "Look for men of good repute, whom we may appoint over this work. But we will be devoted to prayer and to the ministry of the word"; because it is said below in chapter ten: "Mary has chosen the best part"; and therefore in Daniel twelve: "Those who instruct many unto justice shall be as stars" etc. - And note that he says: Proclaim the kingdom of God, namely to those willing to repent: according to what Christ said in Matthew four: "Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Therefore, just as it is a great sin when a rich man does not give alms to one in need, so it is a greater sin when one who has knowledge does not share doctrine: whence Proverbs eleven: "He who hides grain shall be cursed among the peoples." Therefore he says: Proclaim, do not hide.

Luke 9:61 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

And another said: I will follow you etc. After the repulsion of the double-minded and the calling of the simple, he here subjoins the rebuke of the inconstant, concerning which two things are introduced: the first is the vacillation of the will, the second is the rebuke of inconstancy. First, therefore, with regard to the vacillation of the will, he sets forth: And another said: I will follow you; behold, the will to cleave to God as to a master. For he was heeding that saying of the Lord in John eight: "He who follows me does not walk in darkness"; and Sirach twenty-three: "It is a great glory to follow the Lord." But in this will he was not steadfast: on account of which he adds: But first permit me to go and announce it to those who are at home. From this it is clear that he was still attached to his own people, contrary to what is said in the Psalm: "Forget your people and the house of your father." He was not like Paul, who said in Galatians one: "When it pleased him who called me by his grace, immediately I did not acquiesce to flesh and blood." Carnal friends oppose spiritual counsels, and therefore they are to be set aside as adversaries. Therefore it is said in Matthew 10: "I came not to send peace, but a sword. I came to set a man against his father"; "and a man's enemies are those of his own household." And therefore it is said in the person of the good religious in Jeremiah 12: "I have forsaken my house, I have left my heritage." This man was not such, because he had his eye on his household. Similar to him are religious who are curious about the affairs of their kinsmen: against which Bede says in the Gloss: "If a disciple about to follow the Lord is rebuked because he wishes to take leave of his household, what will become of those who with no profit often visit the homes they had left?" Such persons do not heed what was said to Abraham in Genesis 12: "Go forth from your land and from your kindred and from your father's house, and come into the land that I will show you."

Luke 9:62 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Concerning entrance into religious life, some say that one shoe does not fit all feet; but religious life imposes one rule upon all. If you say this, you are calling Christ and the apostles foolish. He also says: 'No one, putting his hand to the plow of God and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.' Anyone can shape himself to the rule of religious life, because it is applied differently to the young, differently to the old, differently to the strong, differently to the weak.

Luke 9:62 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9

Second, with regard to the rebuke of inconstancy, he adds: Jesus said to him: No one putting his hand to the plow, etc., that is, to the exercise of divine perfection and preaching, which is rightly designated by the plow on account of its cultivation and fruit, according to that passage in Hosea 10: "Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his furrows." No one, I say, being such, and looking back, that is, toward the world, is fit for the kingdom of God, that is, for possessing the kingdom of God: because, according to that passage in Second Timothy 2, "no one serving as a soldier for God entangles himself in worldly affairs, that he may please him to whom he has proven himself." A figure of this preceded in the wife of Lot, who, looking back behind her, was turned into a pillar of salt; because such a man is rendered useless and barren. And therefore it is said below in chapter 17: "He who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember the wife of Lot." Such a man is not fit for the kingdom, but rather for reproach; whence Second Peter 2: "It is better not to have known the way of truth than, after having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment that had been delivered to them. For that saying of the true proverb has happened to them: The dog returned to his own vomit," etc.; which can rightly be understood of those who relapse and apostatize. And therefore, on the contrary, Ecclesiasticus 5 urges: "Be firm in the way of the Lord." Such was the Apostle, as it is said in Philippians 3: "Forgetting what is behind and stretching myself forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly calling." And therefore he himself exhorted in Ephesians 3: "Rooted and grounded in charity, that you may be able to comprehend," etc. For he knew that it had been said by the Lord in Matthew 10: "He who perseveres to the end, he shall be saved." Scripture invites us to this most especially: whence throughout the entire Law and Prophets it forbids the children of Israel to return to Egypt, that is, lest a man turn from divine service to the world. Whence also on account of that transgression nearly all the children of Israel were slain by the Lord in the desert.

Luke 10:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Second, the mission of the seventy-two disciples is treated with respect to three things. After these things the Lord designated etc. The part concerning the mission of the Apostles having been completed, here is added the part concerning the mission of the disciples after the manner of lesser prelates. This part has three sections, in the first of which he treats of the form of preaching; in the second, of the form of living, below in the same chapter: And behold, a certain lawyer; in the third, of the form of praying, below in the eleventh chapter: And it came to pass, when he was in a certain place, etc. The first part treats of the mission of the accompanying disciples in three ways. The first part has three sections, in the first of which is set forth the mission of the accompanying disciples; in the second is added the instruction of those going forth, at the passage: Carry neither purse etc.; in the third is added the consolation of those returning, at the passage: And the seventy-two returned with joy, etc. The disciples are sent with the authority of divine command, instructed from the truth of divine teaching, and consoled from the familiarity of divine companionship. The Lord sends the disciples to preach in this order: first, by designating them according to the due number; second, by sending forth those designated into every city and place; third, by hastening those sent forth toward the salvation of the elect; fourth, by strengthening those hastened against the fury of persecutors. First, therefore, with regard to the designation of the disciples according to the due number, he says: After these things the Lord designated also other seventy-two, etc.: he designated them, that is, he chose them with distinction, according to that passage of John 15: "I have chosen you and appointed you, that you should go forth," etc. Whence in the Gloss: "Just as in the Apostles there is the form of bishops, so in the seventy-two there is the form of priests of the second order." These ought to be designated by God, that is, assumed to honor, according to that passage of Hebrews 5: "Neither does anyone take the honor to himself, but he who is called by God, as Aaron was." As a testimony of which designation they ought to be marked with the seal of order and of priestly character, with the seal of the tonsure and of all discipline and most holy manner of life; so that it may be apparent that they are of the number of those to whom it is said in Ephesians 4: "You were sealed with the Holy Spirit unto the day of our redemption." Moreover they designate them in the number seventy, according as they had been designated in the Old Testament, in Exodus fifteen, in the seventy palm trees, where it is said that "in Elim there were twelve springs of water" with regard to the Apostles, "and seventy palm trees" with regard to the disciples; and in Numbers eleven, these were signified in the seventy men, to whom the Lord gave the Holy Spirit of prophesying, where it is said: "The Lord spoke to Moses, taking from the spirit that was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men, who prophesied and did not cease thereafter. Moreover two men remained in the camp, upon whom the spirit rested. For they too had been enrolled"; in which these were expressly prefigured. Moreover the reason why these were seventy-two was, according to the literal sense, that just as the Apostles preaching to the twelve tribes were twelve, so these were seventy-two, according to what is said in the Gloss: "Seventy-two are sent, who would preach the Gospel to as many nations of languages"; according to the mystical understanding, because it contains in itself seven times ten and two; in which is designated the sevenfold Spirit given through their ministry for the fulfillment of the Decalogue and the two precepts of charity. — Or, because seventy-two contains the hours of three days, because they were to preach the faith of the Trinity, as is said in the Gloss, according…

Luke 10:1 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Luke 10: He sent them two by two, etc.; the Gloss of Ambrose says: "So great ought the preacher's confidence to be that he knows most certainly that necessities will not fail him, lest, while he provides earthly things for himself, he less provides eternal things for others." Therefore the pursuit of preaching and teaching ought not to be interrupted on account of bodily work, since a man does not perfectly suffice for both.

Luke 10:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Third, with regard to the acceleration of the foregoing toward the salvation of the elect, it is added: And he said to them: The harvest indeed is great, that is, a multitude prepared for conversion. Whence in John 4, when the Samaritans had believed, the Lord said: "Look at the fields, for they are already white for the harvest." This harvest was sown in the law of nature, and grew in the law of figure, but was gathered in the time of grace. Whence it is said in John 4: "I sent you to reap that which you did not sow; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors." Now the gathering of this harvest is twofold: universal in the last time, of which in Revelation 14 it is said to the Angel: "Put forth your sickle and reap, for the hour has come to reap, because the harvest of the earth is ripe"; the other is a particular gathering or harvesting in the preaching of the Gospel. But because there are few good harvesters, he therefore adds: But the laborers are few; he pointedly says laborers, because for the sickle of preaching to gather the harvest, it is necessary that the hand of work hold it, according to what Gregory says on Ezekiel: "In order that the truthfulness of preaching be preserved, loftiness of living is necessary." Those who do what they say with their mouth are laborers and are to be rewarded by the Lord, according to that passage in Matthew 20: "Call the laborers and pay them their wages." But few are zealous laborers, while more are malicious, according to that passage in Second Corinthians 11: "They are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into Apostles of Christ." But very many are slothful; whence in Matthew 20 the Lord said to the laborers: "Why do you stand here idle all day?" Very many are like those of whom it is said in Matthew 23: "They say and do not do. For they bind heavy and unbearable burdens; but they are unwilling to move them with their own finger." And since the harvest is lost when good laborers are lacking, he therefore adds: Ask therefore the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest, namely good preachers, who carry the sword of the divine word, by which the crops are reaped, not only in their mouth but also in their hand. Whence concerning good preachers in the Psalm: "The praises of God in their throats, and two-edged swords in their hands." Whence preaching is a sword which, unless it is held by the hand, does not terrify the adversary. This was well prefigured in Nehemiah 4 concerning those rebuilding Jerusalem, and there it is said that "each one was doing the work with one hand, and with the other held a sword." Such laborers are given by God, according to what is signified in Genesis 2, that "God placed man in the paradise of pleasure, that he might work and guard it"; and therefore they must be sought from the Lord, that he may hire them by promising and send those hired by commanding, according to that passage in Matthew 20: "Who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. And having made an agreement," etc.

Luke 10:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Fourth, however, with regard to the strengthening of those dispatched against the fury of persecutors, he adds: Go: behold, I send you as lambs among wolves. Go, that is, swiftly, like those living creatures in Ezekiel 1: "The living creatures went and returned in the likeness of flashing lightning"; and Proverbs 6: "Run about, make haste, rouse your friend." Or go, that is, expose yourselves to dangers for the salvation of the sheep, according to that passage in John 10: "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. But the hireling sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees"; as if to say: go to mourning, that you may bring back joy, according to that passage in the Psalm: "Going they went and wept, casting their seeds; but coming they shall come with rejoicing," etc.; or go to battle, that you may bring back triumph, according to that passage in Joshua 1: "Go armed before your brothers, all you who are strong of hand, and fight for them." And because the strongest armor is meekness and patience, therefore he says: As lambs among wolves, that is, as pious, humble, and meek ones among the impious, proud, and malicious, so that you may conquer them by meekness, just as Christ also did, according to that passage in Isaiah 53: "Like a lamb before its shearer he was silent and did not open his mouth." Thus the Apostles by lamb-like meekness tamed wolfish ferocity, and that passage in Isaiah 11 was fulfilled: "The wolf and the lamb shall dwell together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox"; and chapter 65: "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together." Whence Christ by his meekness converted Paul the wolf into a lamb, and that passage in the second-to-last chapter of Genesis was fulfilled in him: "Benjamin, a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall devour the prey and in the evening shall divide the spoils." For first he persecuted Christ as a wolf, afterward he suffered persecutions for him as a lamb. Such ought the prelates of the Church to be, according to that passage in First Peter 5: "Elders, feed the flock that is among you, exercising oversight," etc.; and afterward: "Neither as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart": as if to say: do not be as wolves among lambs, but rather lambs among lambs and wolves, so that you may cherish the good and bear with the wicked. Whence Chrysostom says: "The grace of God is stronger than nature: while we are sheep, we conquer, even if there be many wolves; but if we become wolves, we are conquered, and the aid of the supreme Shepherd departs from us."

Luke 10:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Do not carry, etc. After the sending of the accompanying disciples, he adds the instruction for those who go forth. Now this part has two sections, in the first of which is set forth a common instruction with respect to all; second, a particular instruction with respect to particular persons, at: And into whatever city you enter. Now by the general instruction he invites us to four things, namely, to embracing mendicancy, to avoiding loquacity, to showing kindness, and displaying maturity. First, therefore, with regard to embracing mendicancy, he says: Do not carry a purse, namely for storing money. For purse is taken to mean a money-bag, according to Proverbs 7: "He took a bag of money with him." Nor a knapsack, for keeping bread, according to Matthew 6: "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, saying: What shall we eat?" etc. Nor sandals, namely for covering the feet; for in Mark 6 it is said: "But only shod with sandals." For sandals protect the foot from injury but do not cover it, as is the case with the soles of the friars. Now the Lord wished to enjoin this upon the disciples so that they would not only be poor but also appear poor, and call others to poverty more by examples than by words. "Poverty, as Seneca says, is a hateful good," and therefore, since it appears base and contemptible, the Lord attached to it the greatest dowry, so that through it poverty might at least be taken in marriage, when he said in Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Second, with regard to avoiding loquacity, he adds: And greet no one along the way. On this passage the Gloss says that he says this "lest he be deflected from his enjoined office by the conversation of someone met along the way." For he was sending them in haste, just as Elisha sent his servant, in 4 Kings 4: "If you meet a man, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him." Now the Lord enjoined this not to avoid a sign of affability, since he himself was most kind and most courteous, but to avoid much speaking, about which it is said in Proverbs 10: "In much speaking, sin will not be wanting"; and therefore in Ecclesiasticus 19: "He who hates loquacity extinguishes malice." Now this is very common among travelers and is frequently an occasion for quarrels; whence it is said in Mark 9 concerning the disciples: "For they had disputed among themselves along the way, which of them was the greatest." On account of which, in Genesis 45, it is said that "Joseph said to his brothers as they departed: Do not quarrel along the way." Now according to the spiritual understanding, he forbids desiring the salvation that belongs to the way, not the salvation that belongs to the homeland; which is indicated when he says: Along the way. For salvation is to be desired for all, as it is said in 1 Timothy 2 that "God wills all men to be saved," and this because he himself is salvation and savior. But that salvation ought to be desired of which the Psalm says: "But the salvation of the just is from the Lord." This the Apostles always desired, and concerning this it is said in Ecclesiasticus 22: "Do not be ashamed to greet a friend"; and in Romans 16: "Greet one another with a holy kiss"; and in the Psalm: "You are my king and my God, who commands the salvations of Jacob." It can be explained otherwise, so that it is said: Greet no one along the way, that is, do not yet declare anyone saved, since he can still be condemned as long as he is on the way: for Matthew 10: "He who perseveres to the end, he shall be saved." Therefore salvation is at the end of the way, not in the middle or at the beginning. Or otherwise: Greet no one along the way, that is, on account of the fellowship of the way, but on account of the fellowship of life. From which it is apparent that salvation does not come to men through conversation with the Saints, but through the imitation of them: whence Matthew 7: "Not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord, shall enter…

Luke 10:4 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Again, Luke 10: Do not carry a purse or a bag. The Gloss: "So great ought the preacher's trust in God to be that, even if he does not foresee the expenses of the present life, he nonetheless knows most certainly that they will not fail him, lest, while the mind is occupied with temporal things, he preach eternal things less effectively." Therefore, it contributes to a more unhindered preaching of the truth that one not make provision of temporal things for oneself, but expect them to be given by others when one is in need: therefore such a mode of living is consonant with truth and evangelical perfection.

Luke 10:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Third, as regards showing kindness, he adds: And into whatever house you enter, first say: Peace to this house: so that it may appear that you are men who love and announce peace, according to that passage of Isaiah 52: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who announces and preaches peace"! This peace the Lord made, according to that passage of Colossians 1: "Making peace through the blood of his cross," etc.: the Lord also left it: John 14: "Peace I leave to you, my peace I give to you"; the Lord announced it; John 20: "Jesus stood in the midst and said to them: Peace to you"; the Lord commanded and proclaimed peace, as is said in Ephesians 2: "Coming, he proclaimed peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near."

Luke 10:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

And because they might fear that they would offer peace in vain, therefore he adds: And if a son of peace be there: of peace according to eternal foreknowledge, of whom it is said in John 11 that "Jesus suffered, that he might gather together the children of God who were scattered"; of whom it is said in 2 Timothy 2: "The Lord knows who are his." Such are sons of peace, because it is said in Matthew 5: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." — In such a one the word of preaching has efficacy: on account of which he adds: Your peace shall rest upon him, that is, the peace announced by you: whence Isaiah 66, according to another translation: "Upon whom shall my spirit rest, if not upon the humble and quiet one"? Assuredly the peace of Christ that was announced rests upon those predestined by God, according to that passage of Acts 13: "As many as were preordained to life believed"; and John 10: "You do not believe, because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice." It is useful therefore to speak the Gospel of peace to the predestined; it is also useful to speak to the foreknown; and therefore he adds: But if not, it shall return to you, according to that passage of the Psalm: "My prayer shall return into my own bosom"; and this, because a work of piety and mercy is always useful to the one doing it and returns to the doer, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus seventeen: "The alms of a man is as a purse with him, and shall preserve the grace of a man as the apple of the eye; and afterward he shall rise up and shall render retribution to each one upon his own head."

Luke 10:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Fourth, indeed, as regards showing maturity, he adds: But remain in the same house, as mature men, lest perhaps you be noted for instability; whence Ecclesiasticus twenty-one: "The foot of a fool is quick into his neighbor's house." Therefore Bede says: "It is foreign to a preacher to run about through houses and to change his lodging." And because they might believe that lodging should be changed on account of food, therefore he adds: Eating and drinking such things as are with them, without discrimination of foods, as First Corinthians ten: "Whatever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience's sake"; also without rejection of foods, according to that passage of First Timothy four: "Every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected which is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer"; also without demanding of foods, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus thirty-one: "You have sat down among many; do not stretch out your hand before them, nor be the first to ask for drink." And because they might believe that it was not permitted to be fed from another's substance, therefore he adds: For the laborer is worthy of his hire, not only in the homeland for remuneration, but also on the way for sustenance. Whence First Corinthians nine: "The Lord ordained that those who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel"; and Galatians six: "Let him who is instructed in the word communicate to him who instructs him in all good things"; whence First Corinthians nine says: "If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we reap your carnal things?" And the Apostle proves there that such a laborer is worthy, both by authorities and by many reasons, as is evident there. Since therefore he is worthy of refreshment, on account of that it is not necessary to change one's lodging. Therefore at the end he adds: Do not pass from house to house; lest you appear wandering, lest you be like that wandering woman of whom it is said in Proverbs seven, that "she is loud, wandering, impatient of quiet, not able to stand still in her house with her feet." Such are heretics; whence Second Timothy three: "Of these are they who creep into houses and lead captive silly women laden with sins." Preachers of truth ought not be such; whence Ambrose: "One must not move from house to house with wandering fickleness, so that constancy may be preserved in hospitable love, lest the close bond of friendship that has grown together be easily dissolved."

Luke 10:7 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

On that passage in Luke 10: The laborer is worthy of his hire: the Gloss says: "Two rewards are owed to the preacher: one on the way, which sustains him in labor; the other in the homeland, which recompenses him in the resurrection"; but what is owed to someone, he is not bound to acquire by bodily labor: therefore a poor preacher is not bound to work manually for the sustenance of the body.

Luke 10:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

And into whatever city you enter. After the common instruction of the disciples, the Evangelist here subjoins a special instruction according to the diversities of the hearers. And since some were prepared to receive them, as the faithful, but others to repel them, as the unfaithful, whose guilt increased from contempt of divine grace and disregard of apostolic authority; therefore this part has four sections. In the first of which is set forth the instruction with respect to the faithful; in the second, with respect to the rebellious, at: Into whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you; in the third is added the rebuke of the contemptuous, at: Woe to you, Chorazin, etc.; in the fourth is subjoined the authentication of the preachers, at: He who hears you, etc. Concerning the instruction with respect to the faithful, two things are introduced; the first of which is the reception of temporal sustenance, the second is the communication of spiritual benefit. First, therefore, regarding the reception of temporal sustenance, he instructs, when he says: And into whatever city you enter, namely to preach the truth, as it is said in Jonah 3, that "Jonah began to enter the city, a day's journey, and he cried out." So also these men ought to rouse the city at their entrance by the cry of the divine word, according to what is said of Philip the disciple in Acts 8, that "going down to the city of Samaria, he preached Jesus to them. And the crowds gave heed to those things which were said by Philip." And since it belongs to the faithful to give heed to divine words, therefore he adds: And they receive you, namely through faith and love, as messengers of Christ; since, in Matthew 18, "whoever receives one such little child in my name, receives me." But he receives the preacher who accepts his doctrine with meekness and patience, according to what is said in James 1: "Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." And since from those who receive spiritual teachings, bodily nourishment can be received, therefore he adds: Eat such things as are set before you, namely to relieve necessity, so that you may labor more vigorously, according to that of the Psalm: "You shall eat the labors of your hands; blessed are you, and it shall be well with you." Whence, on that passage of 1 Corinthians 9: "A dispensation is entrusted to me," the Gloss says: "We ought not to evangelize in order that we may eat, but rather to eat in order that we may evangelize, so that food is not a good that is sought after, but a necessity that is added." And note that he says: What is set before you, and this with cheerfulness; because, Proverbs fifteen, "it is better to be invited to vegetables with love than to a fatted calf with hatred." Eat also what is set before you, not what you yourselves prepare: which he says to avoid gluttony, concerning which Seneca says: "They heap costly things into the belly as though it would preserve what is heaped in: what does it matter what it receives, since it will lose everything that it receives?" And therefore it is said in Sirach two: "Accept whatever is brought upon you." This, however, especially pertains to the poor, that they should be content with humble refreshment as those who hunger: because it is said in Proverbs twenty-seven: "The hungry soul will take even the bitter for sweet"; and Job six: "The things which my soul previously refused to touch are now my food in my distress."

Luke 10:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Secondly, with regard to the communication of spiritual benefit, it is added: And heal the sick who are in it: and this through the power conferred upon you by the Holy Spirit, concerning which First Corinthians twelve: "To another is given the grace of healings in one spirit, to another the working of powers." This the Lord gave to the lesser disciples for the confirmation of his teaching; whence Jerome: "Because no one would believe rustic men without the charm of eloquence promising the kingdom of heaven, he gives them the power of working miracles." This gift of power he had previously granted, just as also to the Apostles above in chapter nine: "He gave them power over all demons, and to cure diseases"; but here he commands that they use the gift they have received, according to what is said in First Peter four: "As each one has received grace, ministering it to one another," etc. — And because bodily healing was ordered to the illumination of the mind, therefore he adds: And say to them: The kingdom of God has drawn near to you: in which is simultaneously enclosed the truth of doctrine, the goodness of grace, and the sublimity of glory, according to what was thus expounded and the Interlinear Gloss says: "The kingdom of God is Christ, or eternal life, or the knowledge of the Scriptures." And thus it drew near when he was among them, according to what is said below in chapter seventeen: "The kingdom of God is within you." Truly it drew near, since he was already present, of whom it is said in Revelation nineteen, that "he had on his garment and on his thigh the inscription: King of kings and Lord of lords." And he says pointedly: To you, that is, to those who receive the word of God through faith, of whom Revelation five: "You have made us a kingdom for our God, and we shall reign over the earth"; and through the grace of faith, according to that passage in Colossians one, "he has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love." Thus therefore it is clear how they ought to conduct themselves toward the faithful, because they ought to receive the stipend of sustenance and minister the benefit of healing and instruction. Those therefore who do not minister these spiritual benefits receive bodily stipends unworthily. Whence Gregory: "What do we teachers say to these things, we who, running before the coming of Christ, undertake the ecclesiastical office and eat bread in silence?" And Bernard: "They will come before the tribunal of the judge, where there will be a harsh plea of the poor, a grave accusation, on whose stipends they lived yet did not wash away their sins."

Luke 10:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Into whatever city you enter. After the instruction regarding the faithful, there follows the instruction regarding the rebellious, concerning which two things are introduced: the first is the attestation of the truth of the Gospel, the second is the threatening of the severity of judgment. First therefore, as regards the attestation of the truth of the Gospel, it is said: Into whatever city you enter, for the proclamation of truth, according to that passage in Acts 17: "When they had come to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews, Paul went in to them and reasoned with them from the Scriptures." And they do not receive you, through the hearing of the truth, which is to be granted to preachers, as is said in the Third Epistle of John: "We ought to receive such as these, that we may be fellow workers of the truth. I would perhaps have written to the Church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us." Going out into its streets, as a testimony to the truth, on account of which it is said in Matthew 10: "What I tell you in darkness, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops."

Luke 10:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Say: Even the dust from your feet that clings to us from your city, we wipe off against you, on account of contempt of the truth, which is a sin greatly to be detested, according to that passage in John 15: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin." And therefore, for the detestation of this offense, he says the dust is to be wiped off, as Peter said to Simon in Acts 8: "May your money be with you unto destruction." Yet know this, that the kingdom of God has drawn near, that is, the truth of the Gospel, according to that passage in Matthew 24: "This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations," so that no one may be able to excuse himself through ignorance. And for this reason, so that this may be done publicly, he commands the dust to be wiped off in the streets, concerning which Jerome says that he commands this "as a testimony that their preaching reached even to that city." And thus they have no excuse for their unbelief. But according to the spiritual understanding, the feet of the Apostles are the affections of preachers, to which a threefold dust is wont to cling, namely of vain glory, concerning which in the Psalm: "Let him bring down my glory to the dust"; of indignation and impatience, concerning which at Micah 7: "They shall lick the dust like a serpent"; of cupidity and avarice, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 27: "In the shaking of the sieve the dust remains." The first dust clings to the feet of those preaching when they are praised: but it is shaken off through consideration of oneself, according to that passage of Matthew 10: "It is not you who speak"; and First Corinthians 12: "No one says: 'Lord Jesus,' except in the Holy Spirit"; and First Corinthians 4: "What do you have that you have not received?" Therefore Ecclesiasticus 10: "Why are you proud, O earth and ashes?" — The second dust clings when they are not accepted: but this is shaken off through remembrance of Christ, according to that passage of John 15: "Remember my word which I spoke to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also," etc. The third dust clings when gifts are offered, which blind the eyes of leaders, according to that passage of Baruch 6: "Their eyes are full of dust from the feet of those entering"; but this is shaken off through the memory of our death. Jerome: "He easily despises all things who always thinks himself about to die"; and in First Timothy, last chapter: "We brought nothing into this world; without doubt, neither can we carry anything away."

Luke 10:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Secondly, with regard to the threatening of the severity of judgment, he adds: I say to you, that for Sodom in that day it shall be more tolerable than for that city: from which the magnitude of the punishment is apparent. For it is said in the Epistle of Jude that "Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire." Whence the Lord was also most strongly indignant against them, according to what is said in Genesis nineteen, that "the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire and overthrew these cities and the entire surrounding region." The magnitude of the guilt is also apparent from this, because contempt of truth is a greater fault than the lust of carnality. Now the reason for this is that so great a grace was not offered to them; and according to what is said below in chapter twelve, "to whom much has been given, much will be required of him." Whence Hebrews two: "For if the word spoken through Angels was made firm, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which, having first begun to be declared by the Lord, was confirmed unto us by those who heard?" — Another reason is on account of greater knowledge of the truth; whence Gregory: "Where the gift of knowledge is greater, there the transgressor is subject to greater guilt"; because it is said in James four: "To him who knows to do good and does not do it, it is sin." — And that the greatest punishment is owed to contemners of truth is clear from what is said in Romans one concerning certain ones who, "although they knew God, did not glorify Him as God," that "God delivered them over to a reprobate mind." And the reason for this is given, because "they did not see fit to have God in their knowledge."

Luke 10:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Woe to you, Chorazin etc. Here in the third place is subjoined the rebuke of the contemners, who are shown to be deserving of rebuke by the Lord on two accounts and are convicted as damnable, namely on account of hardness of heart and on account of loftiness of mind: hardness of heart rendered them impenitent, but loftiness rendered them arrogant. First, therefore, rebuking the hardness of heart, he says: Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! which were two cities of Galilee, where He had performed very many signs, and yet hardness still remained in them. On account of which he adds: Because if in Tyre and Sidon had been done the mighty works that have been done in you, that is, if the Lord had shown them such great miracles before their overthrow, which the Lord threatened through Ezekiel twenty-seven: "You, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre," and at the end of the chapter: "You are brought to nothing and shall not be forever" — they would not have been overthrown, and this because they would have repented. Whence he adds: They would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes, as the Ninevites did, concerning whom Jonah three says that "they proclaimed a fast and were clothed in sackcloth from the least to the greatest." And note that he says three things, in which he expresses the perfection of penance, namely sackcloth, ashes, and sitting. For in the penitent there ought to be sorrow from the consideration of the divine offense, and this in sackcloth; fear, from the consideration of vengeance, and this in ashes, which presents the image of death; there ought to be shame in the consideration of the consequence or of one's vileness, and this in sitting. Therefore Jerome says that "ashes and sackcloth are the weapons of the penitent." And for this reason, Jeremiah 6: "O daughter of my people, gird yourself with sackcloth and sprinkle yourself with ashes; make for yourself the mourning of an only child, bitter lamentation." And on account of the shame of humility, which ought to accompany it, it is said in Jeremiah 13: "Say to the king and to the queen: Humble yourselves, sit down, for the crown of your glory shall descend from your head." If therefore they had done such penance, they would not have such great hardness of heart, and consequently neither so harsh a sentence.

Luke 10:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

And therefore he adds: Nevertheless, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you: because, according to what is said below in chapter 12, "the servant who knew the will of his lord and did not do it shall be beaten with many stripes." The reason for this, however, is excessive hardness against such great benefits; whence in Romans 2 it is said: "Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But according to your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the just judgment of God"; because in Ecclesiasticus 3 it is said: "The hard heart shall fare ill at the last" and "the sinner shall add sin to sin."

Luke 10:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

But secondly, rebuking with regard to the loftiness of mind, he adds: And you, Capernaum, exalted even unto heaven, namely through arrogance, you shall be thrust down even unto hell, by divine sentence. Whence Obadiah 1: "If you shall be exalted as the eagle and shall set your nest among the stars, thence will I drag you down"; and Job 20: "If his pride shall ascend even to heaven and his head shall touch the clouds, he shall be destroyed at the end like a dunghill." Now Capernaum is said to have been exalted on account of the very many miracles that were done in it, on account of which it grew more proud than it profited; whence above in chapter 4 it is said: "How great things we have heard done by you in Capernaum," etc. First, therefore, it was exalted on account of the gifts of divine grace, but afterwards it was plunged down by the desert of its pride. And this had been foretold in Isaiah 9: "At the first time the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali were lightened," namely by the preceding miracles, "and at the last the way of the sea was heavily burdened," that is, cast down in judgment on account of its sins, as the Gloss there explains. And therefore divine gifts are to be received with fear and great reverence, as Gregory says that "when gifts are increased, the accounts for those gifts also grow."

Luke 10:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

He who hears you etc. Here in the fourth place is added the authentication of the preachers. He shows them to be authentic both on account of the authority of Christ the mediator, and also on account of the authority of the supreme ruler. First, therefore, he authenticates them through the authority of Christ the mediator, when he says: He who hears you hears me. For they bore the person of Christ: whence the Apostle in Second Corinthians chapter two: "For I also, if I have forgiven anything, for your sakes in the person of Christ"; and in chapter thirteen: "Do you seek a proof of him who speaks in me, Christ"? And therefore it is said in First Thessalonians chapter two: "And you, when you had received from us the word of the hearing of God, you received it not as the word of men, but, as it truly is, the word of God." In the hearing of the disciples of Christ, therefore, Christ is heard, and likewise in their contempt he is contemned. And therefore he adds: And he who despises you despises me: whence Ezekiel chapter three: "The house of Israel will not hear you, because they will not hear me." And this he intimates in Matthew chapter twenty-five, when he says: "As long as you did not do it for one of the least of mine, neither did you do it for me." And therefore the Apostle said in First Thessalonians chapter five: "Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecies," that is, true preachings. Second, he authenticates them on account of the authority of the supreme ruler, when he adds: He who despises me despises him who sent me, both on account of committed authority, and on account of consubstantiality. Whence John chapter five: "He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him." And therefore it follows that if anyone despises the Apostles, he despises Christ; and he who despises Christ despises God; therefore he who despises the Apostles despises God; and this is no small sin. On account of which, Isaiah chapter thirty-three: "Woe to you who despise! Shall you not yourself also be despised? When, wearied, you shall have ceased to contemn, you shall be contemned." Great, therefore, is the authority of preachers, inasmuch as in their reception God is received, and in their contempt he is contemned. For they are the mouth of God by announcing his words, as it is said in Jeremiah chapter fifteen: "If you shall separate the precious from the vile, you shall be as my mouth." And therefore, as the mouth of God, they ought to be fed and honored; and they themselves also ought especially to guard their mouth both from gluttony and from loquacity, so that it may truly be said of them that passage of Revelation chapter fourteen: "These were purchased from among men, firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found; for they are without blemish before the throne of God."

Luke 10:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

But they returned etc. After the sending of the companions and the instruction of those going forth, here in the third place is added the consolation of those returning. This part, moreover, has two sections. In the first of which the Lord restrains vain joy in the disciples: in the second he invites them to true joy, at the passage: But rejoice, because your names etc. Concerning the repression of vain joy in the disciples, he introduces four points. The first is the expression of vain exultation; the second is the repression of vain exultation; the third is the occasion of vain exultation; the fourth is the prohibition of vain exultation. First, therefore, he sets forth the expression of vain exultation, when he says: The seventy-two returned with joy, which namely was not only felt in the heart but was also expressed in speech, so that the saying of Proverbs 15 might be verified: "A joyful heart makes the face cheerful." — For which reason he adds: Saying: Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name: in which they were expressing that they rejoiced because they had been made stronger than the demons. And this joy indeed came from a hidden pride, just as that of the Pharisee, of whom it is said below in chapter eighteen, that praying he said: "I give you thanks, O God, that I am not like the rest of men," etc. And note that concerning divine gifts, some are openly puffed up, like those who attribute them to themselves: of whom Deuteronomy 32 says: "My exalted hand, and not the Lord, has done all these things." Against whom Deuteronomy 9 says: "Do not say in your heart, when the Lord has destroyed the nations before you: Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me into this land." But some are openly humbled, of whom it is said below in chapter seventeen: "When you have done all things well, say: We are unprofitable servants." Such was Paul, who says of himself in First Corinthians 15: "I am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace in me was not void, but abounded," etc. But some are partly humbled by giving thanks, partly puffed up by rejoicing foolishly, as these disciples, who rejoiced over the subjection of demons, yet attributed this not to themselves but to the name of the Lord, when they say: in your name, like that Pharisee. Hence they had something commendable, namely this, that they returned to the fountain of graces, acknowledging the graces received from him and rendering thanks to the same: according to what is said in Ecclesiastes 1: "To the place from which the rivers flow, they return, that they may flow again"; and Job 38: "Will you send forth lightnings, and will they go, and returning will they say to you: We are here"? Upon which the Gloss says: "The lightnings go forth when preachers flash with miracles and pierce the hearts of their subjects with heavenly reverence: returning they say: We are here, when they attribute not to themselves but to the powers of God whatever they recognize they have done mightily." Such are perfect men, in whose person it is said in Isaiah 26: "All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord"; and in the Psalm: "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory." They also had something reprehensible in this, that they were puffed up by the height of their power: which is evident in that they say: The demons are subject to us; against which Ecclesiasticus 11: "In the day of your honor do not exalt yourself, for the works of the Most High alone are wonderful, and his works are glorious and hidden and unseen." And this is what Bede says: "They confess well, but because they are puffed up by the working of signs, they are frightened by an example and recalled to humility."

Luke 10:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Second, he adds the repression of vain exultation, when he adds: And he said to them: I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven: as if the Lord were saying: do not be puffed up by divine benefits, lest you fall with the proud angels: 2 Peter 2: "If God did not spare the angels who sinned, but dragged them down with the chains of hell and delivered them to tartarus to be tormented"; supply: he will not spare you, if you sin through pride. Hence Bernard: "The Lord did not spare the proud angels: how much more will he not spare you, rottenness and worm!" Moreover, he fell like lightning, that is, swiftly, cruelly, and irrevocably. Hence by his example let the rest beware, lest they seek lofty things, on account of which Lucifer fell to the lowest depths, according to that passage in Isaiah 14: "How have you fallen, O Lucifer, you who rose in the morning? You who said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven"; and further: "Yet you shall be dragged down to hell, to the depths of the pit." And therefore Romans 11: "Do not be high-minded, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you either." By this example the Lord in a wondrous way repressed pride in the disciples, as if He were saying that word of Proverbs 17: "He who makes his house high," namely by being proud with Lucifer, "seeks ruin," by falling with him. Hence Bernard, speaking to an ambitious man: "Follow your leader, multiply your prebends, hasten to the bishopric, aspire to the archbishopric; you ascend gradually, but you will not descend gradually. I was watching Satan fall like lightning from heaven." And therefore, conversely, Seneca says: "Reduce yourself to small things, from which you cannot fall." Hence Proverbs 18: "Before he is crushed, the heart of man is exalted; and before he is glorified, he is humbled"; because it is the sentence of the Judge, below in chapter 18: "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 10:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Third, He subjoins the occasion of vain exultation, when He adds: Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, namely with respect to bodily snares, according to what is said to the serpent in Genesis 3: "She shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for her heel"; and over all the power of the enemy, with respect to spiritual snares, concerning which in Ephesians 6: "Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world," etc., up to "in the heavenly places." And nothing shall harm you, on account of supernatural protections, according to that passage of Mark, the last chapter: "In my name they shall cast out demons, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents. And if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not harm them." And this power conferred upon them could be an occasion for presumption, according to what is said of Hezekiah, at whose prayers God worked wonders, in 2 Chronicles 32: "Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, and He heard him and gave him a sign; but he did not render according to the benefits he had received, because his heart was lifted up, and wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem." Hence the multitude of divine gifts was for many an occasion of downfall, as is said of Lucifer in Ezekiel 28: "You were the seal of resemblance, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty"; and a little after: "Your heart was lifted up"; and therefore: "You sinned, and I cast you out from the holy mountain of God, and I destroyed you," etc. And therefore a certain holy man used to say that it is a great grace not to have grace, because all these exterior graces are nothing but temptations, and anyone outwardly exalted ought to fear that passage of Job 30: "You have lifted me up and, as it were setting me upon the wind, You have dashed me down mightily."

Luke 10:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Luke 10:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Fourth, he adds the prohibition of vain exultation, when he says: Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you: because such joy is like the joy of the proud over their own promotion and the abasement of others, which does not befit true Saints, according to Ecclesiasticus 8: "Do not rejoice over your dead enemy"; and Job 31: "If I rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me." Do not also rejoice, because such joy is ruinous, according to Proverbs 14: "Mourning takes hold of the end of joy." Such is the joy over a transitory good, according to Job 20: "The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment"; and again Job 21: "They rejoice at the sound of the organ, they spend their days in good things, but in a moment they descend to hell." Hence the Lord did not want the disciples to rejoice in miracles, but rather in torments and reproaches, according to Matthew 5: "Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you," etc.; and afterward: "Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for your reward is great in heaven." So also the Apostles did, according to Acts 5: "The Apostles went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus." Therefore do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, although it has been divinely granted, lest it become an occasion of pride and consequently of ruin. On account of which Augustine says that "the Lord said to his disciples: Learn from me, not to raise the dead, not to walk upon the waters, but that I am meek and humble of heart"; because they ought not to rejoice in miracles, but in humility. But rejoice that your names, etc. After the Savior repressed vain joy in the disciples, here secondly he invites them to true joy. And he does this by proposing a fourfold cause or matter of joy. For he shows that joy was to come to the disciples from God's infallible foreknowledge, from his irreproachable providence, from his incomprehensible power, and from his desirable presence. And in these four they had very great matter for exulting. The first joy was concerning God's infallible foreknowledge: with regard to which he says: But rejoice that your names are written, in the book of life, in heaven: which is called the book of life because the things written in it live, according to that passage of John 1: "What was made, in him was life"; or because according to its inscription a person is predestined to life. Whence according to it the final judgment will be made, as is said in Revelation 20: "Books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life"; in which book indeed the wicked will not be found finally inscribed, according to what is said in the Psalm: "Let them be blotted out from the book of the living, and let them not be written with the just." This indeed is said, not because this book is changed, but because many seem inscribed according to present justice, who will appear not inscribed according to divine foreknowledge. Since therefore this belongs only to those who are finally good and to be saved, and is an interminable and infallible good, therefore one should rightly rejoice over this, not over the gift of miracles, which belongs to the good and the wicked alike. Whence the wicked are not inscribed in heaven, but rather in the earth, according to that passage of Jeremiah 17: "Those who depart from you shall be written in the earth." As a sign of this, the Lord, confounding the unbelief of the Pharisees, who were estranged from the kingdom of heaven, "wrote with his finger on the ground," as is said in John 8. And note that the divine knowledge is called a book, but the knowledge of simple awareness is called simply a book: and in this all things and all persons are inscribed, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Your eyes saw my imperfect being, and in your book all shall be written." And there is the knowledge of approbation, and this is called the book of life, a…

Luke 10:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Secondly, he shows him to be rejoicing over irreproachable providence: with respect to which he adds: In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, that is, in spiritual joy, which ought to be in the Holy Spirit, not in the flesh, according to that passage in Romans 14: "The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit"; whence also the glorious Virgin above in chapter one: "My spirit has rejoiced," she says, "in God my savior." And in this he gave the disciples a manner of rejoicing and at the same time expressed the reason they ought to rejoice, when he adds: I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you are not only creator through power, but also governor through providence, according to that passage in Jeremiah 23: "I fill heaven and earth"; and Isaiah last chapter: "Heaven is my throne, and earth is the footstool of my feet." To this universal provider he confesses with a confession, namely of praise. Confession is not only of fault, according to that passage in James 5: "Confess your sins to one another"; but also of true faith, of which it is said in Romans 10: "With the heart one believes unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"; but also of divine praise, according to that passage in Hebrews 13: "Let us offer a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips confessing his name"; and in the Psalm: "Confess to the Lord, for he is good," etc. And in this way it is taken here as praise of God himself as governor. Moreover, he praises him for his providence: on account of which he adds: That you have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and have revealed them to little ones. For this happens according to the judgment of divine providence, that "God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble," as is said in James 4; and in the Psalm: "The Lord is on high and regards the lowly, and knows the lofty from afar." Therefore these things, that is, the mysteries of our redemption, he hid from the wise and the prudent of the world, who consider themselves to be wise in divine matters and prudent in temporal matters, according to what is said in 1 Corinthians 1: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject"; and afterwards he adds: "God has made foolish the wisdom of this world"; and therefore Isaiah 5: "Woe to you who are wise in your own eyes and prudent before yourselves." For from such people the divine mysteries are hidden, but on the contrary they are revealed to little ones: whence in the Psalm: "The declaration of your words gives light and gives understanding to little ones." And note that "he does not say to the foolish and the dull, but to little ones, that is, to the humble, to show that he does not condemn the sharpness of intelligence, but the swelling of pride," as the Gloss says. Whence Bernard: "Humility is the key of knowledge," according to that passage in Proverbs 11: "Where there is humility, there is wisdom." And since this judgment of providence is irreproachable, he therefore adds: Even so, Father, for so it was well-pleasing before you: as if to say: justly, because it pleases you: for, as the Gloss says, "that which has pleased the Just One cannot be unjust." Hence it suffices to have given this reason, nor did he wish to assign another, either because this one is most sufficient and primary, according to that passage in Exodus thirty-three: "I will have mercy on whom I will, and I will be clement to whom it shall please me"; and Romans nine: "He has mercy on whom he wills," etc. Or so that curiosity may be restrained, lest we dare to scrutinize the judgments from above; hence the Gloss: "From this we receive an example of humility, lest we rashly scrutinize the counsels from above"; for it is said in Proverbs twenty-five: "The searcher of Majesty shall be overwhelmed by glory." Or to show that divine providence is to be praised in all its deeds and altoge…

Luke 10:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Third, he shows that one must rejoice in incomprehensible power, when he says: All things have been delivered to me by my Father. For in that he says: All things, without limit, delivered, he shows that his power is universal, according to that passage in John one: "All things were made through him," that is, through the Word; and again in chapter seventeen: "All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine." In that he adds: By my Father, he indicates that this power is natural, according to that passage in John five: "Whatever the Father does, all these things the Son likewise does." In both together he shows equality and immensity: hence the Gloss: "When you hear all things, you recognize the Omnipotent; when you hear delivered, you confess the Son, to whom all things are properly his own by right through the nature of one substance, not conferred as a gift through grace." And from this it is apparent that the power of the Son is immense and incomprehensible. And then he adds: And no one knows who the Son is except the Father, that is, no intellect perfectly comprehends this except the paternal intellect; and therefore the Holy Spirit is not excluded by this, but only created intellect, which cannot comprehend him, since he is immense. Hence Job eleven: "Can you perhaps comprehend the traces of God and discover the Almighty unto perfection? He is higher than heaven, and what will you do?" etc. And because the Son is incomprehensible, therefore He can comprehend the Father. On account of which He adds: And who the Father is, except the Son: supply: no one knows: because, John 1, "No one has ever seen God except the Only-begotten, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." Since He alone comprehends, therefore He alone can reveal; and therefore He adds: And to whomever the Son wills to reveal. For the Son is the Wisdom and Word of the Father, and the Speaker manifests Himself through His Word; whence Wisdom 9: "Who will know Your mind, unless You give wisdom from on high?" Whence Chrysostom: "The philosophers, striving to inquire about God, confessed that they had found nothing else except that God is unknowable, just as one who undertakes to navigate an unnavigable ocean, when he cannot cross over, must necessarily return by the same way: so they began from ignorance and ended in ignorance. And the reason for this is that they were not disciples of Jesus Christ, who is the truth, nor did they have the Spirit, of whom John 16 says: 'When that Spirit of truth comes, He will teach you all truth.'"

Luke 10:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Fourth, He shows that one should rejoice over the desirable presence, with regard to which He adds: And turning to His disciples, He said: Blessed are the eyes that see what you see: therefore you can rightly rejoice, because you see Me both in mind and in body, since Abraham rejoiced, who saw only by faith, according to that passage of John 8: "Abraham, your father, rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it and was glad." And therefore as a figure of this it is said in 3 Kings 10 to Solomon: "Blessed are your men and blessed are your servants, those who stand before you always and hear your wisdom." This is said of Solomon as a figure of Christ, because, as He says of Himself in Matthew 12, "behold, something greater than Solomon is here." Whence this was a special gift.

Luke 10:23 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The third firmness of faith is that which proceeds from the witness of truth as expressed through the inspired word: and this occurred with all the prophets. And we have heard this Word, for it is the Spirit that bears witness that Christ is the truth. Some have actually seen Him in the flesh. Hence in Luke: "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I say to you, many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and they have not seen it."

Luke 10:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

And on this account He adds: But I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see what you see, and did not see it. Those sublime in knowledge and power desired the presence of Christ, according to that passage of Haggai 2: "The desired of all nations will come." Whence on account of their vehement desire it is said in Isaiah 64: "O that You would rend the heavens and come down!" and Numbers 24: "A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a scepter shall spring up from Israel"; and after: "Alas! who shall live when the Lord does these things?" Nor is it a wonder, because in the penultimate chapter of Esther it is said to Ahasuerus in the person of Christ: "You are exceedingly wondrous, lord, and your face is full of graces." And therefore they desired to see the presence of Christ. They also desired to hear the teaching, and therefore he adds: And to hear what you hear, and they did not hear, that is, my words: because, as it is said in Hosea 10, "it is time to seek the Lord, when he shall come who will teach you justice." For this was the very greatest benefit, to hear God speaking, not through a subject creature, but in his own person and in a united creature. Commemorating which benefit, the Apostle says in Hebrews 1: "In many ways and by many modes God, speaking of old to the Fathers through the Prophets, in these last days" etc. Blessed is he who hears this speech humbly and obediently, according to that passage below in chapter eleven: "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it." Hence blessed are those who through faith saw and heard Christ on the way, according to that passage in Proverbs 8: "Blessed is the man who hears me and who watches at my gates daily and waits at the posts of my door." But most blessed are those who will see in the homeland, according to that passage in Revelation 19: "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb."

Luke 10:24 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Luke 10:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

The second part treats of the form of living given to the disciples in two ways. And behold, a certain lawyer etc. After the Evangelist described the form of preaching, here secondly he introduces the form of living. Now one can be instructed in right living in two ways, namely by word and by example; therefore the Evangelist first sets forth for instruction the divine precept; and secondly subjoins a human example, at that passage: It came to pass, as they went, he entered etc. For instruction, the divine precept is set forth, proposed in two ways. Since moreover the instruction of the precept avails only one who understands, therefore first is set forth the precept regulating for living; and secondly is added the teaching aiding toward understanding, at that passage: But Jesus, looking up. Now concerning the expression of the regulative precept, four things are introduced, namely the inquiry into salvific truth, the discovery of the truth sought, the approbation of the truth discovered, and the investigation of the truth approved. First, therefore, regarding the inquiry into saving truth, he says: And behold, a certain lawyer stood up, testing him. This man was an expert and considered himself an expert; and because he considered himself an expert, he therefore did not ask in order to learn but in order to test, as is the custom of the proud, according to Ecclesiasticus thirteen concerning the rich man: "From much speaking he will test you." But again, because he was an expert, he therefore asked aptly and rightly; for which reason he adds: And saying: Master, what must I do to possess eternal life? He calls him Master because by this very fact it pertains to him to respond to what is asked, according to what is said in Matthew twenty-two: "Master, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth." Hence, because Christ professed the office of teaching salvation, he therefore poses a question about saving truth. A similar question is said to have been proposed by the young man in Matthew nineteen: "Good Master, what shall I do that I may have eternal life?" These men were asking studiously, not curiously, because not about works already done but about works to be done for the merit of salvation, according to Ecclesiasticus three: "In the many works of his, be not curious; but what God has commanded you, think upon those things always." Hence they ask about the way of going to life, according to the counsel of Jeremiah six: "Stand upon the ways and see, and ask about the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." For these are the things that the Lord teaches in Isaiah forty-eight: "I am the Lord who teaches you profitable things."

Luke 10:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Second, regarding the discovery of the truth sought, he adds: But he said to him: What is written in the Law? How do you read? From this it is apparent that the Master of truth was a friend of the Law, according to Matthew five: "Do you think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets? I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill." In this word, the Savior wins the good will of the lawyer in this, that he shows himself to be in agreement with him in love of the Law; he also arouses attention, since he directs him to the Law as to an authoritative scripture; he also prepares docility, since he grants the way to finding the truth, and this indeed is done by reading the divine law. Hence in John five he said to the lawyers: "Search the Scriptures, in which you think you have eternal life." For this is the way of coming to truth and through truth to life. Hence Baruch four: "This is the book of the commandments of God and the law that is forever: all who hold fast to it will attain to life; but those who have abandoned it, to death. Turn back, O Jacob, and lay hold of it," etc.

Luke 10:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

And this way led him by the hand to the truth; on account of which it is added: But he answering said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with all thy strength and with thy whole mind. This is read in Deuteronomy 6: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart," etc. In this commandment the lawgiver reduced all the precepts to one, in which word the entire form of living is enclosed, according to what is said in Matthew 22: "On these two commandments the whole Law depends, and the Prophets." But there seems to be a contradiction, because here it is said that the lawyer answered; in Matthew 22 it is said that Christ did; here four conditions are set down, there three. But it is clear that this was one question and that was another, as Augustine indicates in the Harmony of the Evangelists, where he says that Christ first answered, according to what Matthew says, and then the lawyer by repeating approved it, as Luke says, and that both occurred is narrated in Mark 12. And thus it is clear that Mark brings these two into harmony. But nevertheless a disagreement still seems to remain on the part of the conditions of loving, because in Deuteronomy 6 it is said: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with all thy strength"; but here is added: With thy whole mind, and in Matthew is omitted: With all thy strength. For understanding this, note that for the perfect manner of loving God it is required that we refer to Him all thoughts, all affections, and all actions. And these three are touched upon in the Law. But because thoughts are of the intellective heart and of the memorative mind, therefore here and in Matthew is added: With thy whole mind, in which there is an explication of the Law. And because he who refers what is interior, namely the act of memory, understanding, and will, to God, consequently refers his works; therefore in these three is enclosed the reference of all the powers. Luke, however, for greater explication adds this very thing, namely: With all thy strength: similarly Mark. — Or, that which is with all thy strength is a determination of the other three conditions, so that according to Augustine the sense is: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, namely with the intellect without error; with thy whole soul, that is, with the will without contradiction; with thy whole mind, that is, with the memory without forgetfulness; and with all thy strength, that is, with all virtue without pretense. Or according to Bernard: "With thy whole heart, that is, wisely; with thy whole soul, that is, sweetly; with thy whole mind, that is, strongly"; and in this is enclosed with all thy strength. Or thus: With the whole heart, that is, vigilantly, according to that passage from Song of Songs 5: "I sleep, and my heart watches"; with the whole soul, that is, ardently, according to that passage from Song of Songs 5: "My soul melted when my beloved spoke"; with all your strength, that is, constantly, according to that passage from the last chapter of Song of Songs: "Strong as death is love, hard as hell is jealousy: its lamps are lamps of fire and flames; many waters could not extinguish charity, nor shall rivers overwhelm it"; with all your mind, that is, unceasingly, according to that passage from Deuteronomy 8: "Observe and take care, lest at any time you forget the Lord your God"; and Tobit 4: "In all the days of your life, keep God in your mind." And thus it is clear that the third and fourth conditions are very closely related, and therefore one is sometimes included in the other. In all the aforesaid conditions, however, it should be understood that insofar as they express a totality of sufficiency, they fall under precept and pertain to the state of the wayfarer; insofar as they express a totality of consummation, they pertain to the state of the fatherland and indicate rather the goal toward which one must te…

Luke 10:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Thirdly, with regard to the approbation of the truth discovered, it is added: And he said to him: You have answered rightly: because you brought forth a word of rectitude, which pertains to love, according to that of Song of Songs 1: "The righteous love you"; or you spoke according to the rule of wisdom, according to that of Proverbs 8: "All my words are just, there is nothing crooked or perverse in them; they are right to those who understand and equitable to those who find knowledge." And because one must live according to the rule of rectitude, therefore he adds: Do this, and you shall live, because, according to that of James 1, "if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer" etc.; and Romans 2: "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." And truly you shall live, because you will attain eternal life: for Matthew 19: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments"; whence John 13: "If you know these things, blessed shall you be, if you do them."

Luke 10:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Fourthly, with regard to the investigation of the truth approved, it is added: But he, wishing to justify himself, that is, to show himself just, "because, as the Interlinear Gloss says, he thought he stood not before God but before man," according to that below in chapter 16: "You are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts" etc. — Or, wishing to justify himself, that is, to prepare himself for justice: which is done through faith and the understanding of truth, according to that of Romans 3: "For we reckon that a man is justified by faith without the works of the Law"; therefore, in order to understand the truth handed down, he inquires. On account of which it is added: He said to Jesus: And who is my neighbor? so that I may understand the commandment, according to that of Hosea 10: "It is the time to seek the Lord, when he shall come who will teach you justice." Therefore he asks about the neighbor diligently, because in Scripture it is spoken of in multiple ways, namely by kinship, according to that of the Psalm: "My friends and my neighbors drew near against me and stood"; and again: "As though a neighbor and as our brother, so was I pleasing" etc. By religion: Sirach 15: "He will exalt him among his neighbors." By compassion or the showing of kindness, according to what follows below in the same chapter: "Which of these do you think was neighbor to him who fell among robbers? And he said: He who showed mercy to him." By natural likeness, according to that of Sirach 13: "Every animal loves its like, so also every man his neighbor." And Augustine says: "By the name neighbor every man is understood." — And therefore, because it was doubtful, and the understanding of neighbor was manifold, for this reason it had to be investigated and inquired into, not only on account of that lawyer, but for the benefit of the faithful, by whom the aforesaid commandment had to be fulfilled, which is the consummation of the commandments.

Luke 10:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

But Jesus, looking up, said. After the precept directing toward living, there follows a teaching that arouses understanding, and this through a parabolic saying; and this is indicated when it says: But Jesus, looking up: in which he shows that whoever wishes to understand the truth must look upward, whence the true light shines forth: Isaiah 60: "Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem," etc.; because, Ecclesiasticus 1, "the fountain of wisdom is the word of God on high." In this parabolic saying, four things are introduced. The first is a person in need because of misery; the second is a person who despises because of hardness, at the passage: It happened that a priest, etc.; the third is a person who helps because of mercy, at the passage: But a Samaritan, etc.; the fourth is a teaching that follows from the parable, at the passage: Which of these three seems etc. Concerning the person in need because of misery, two things are introduced by the Evangelist: the first is the removal of good, the second is the infliction of evil. First, therefore, as regards the removal of good, he says: A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, who also stripped him. Perhaps they did this because he was alone, which is indicated in the fact that it says: A certain man, so that that saying of Ecclesiastes 4 may appear true: "Woe to him who is alone! For when he falls, he has no one to lift him up," but rather such a one has those who plunder him. Whence this man could say that word of Job 19: "He has stripped me of my glory and taken the crown from my head." "His troops came together and made their way against me." He fell among these robbers perhaps because of the desolation of the road, where robbers are accustomed to lurk, according to that saying of Jeremiah 3: "You sat in the ways, waiting for them like a robber in the wilderness." Second, as regards the infliction of evil, he adds: And having inflicted wounds, they departed, leaving him half dead: as if to say that they wounded him even unto death, according to what is said of robbers in Proverbs 1: "Their feet run to evil and hasten to shed blood"; and in the Psalm: "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood." They did not merely beat him but also left him half dead, lest he betray them, as is said of Ishmael in Jeremiah 41, that "Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, he and the men who were with him, killed the men coming to Gedaliah near the middle of the cistern"; and this, lest they betray him, just as also here.

Luke 10:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

It happened that a priest, etc. After the person in need because of a twofold misery, there follows here the person who despises because of hardness. Here a twofold person is introduced, namely a superior and an inferior in ecclesiastical dignity. First, therefore, as regards the superior person, he says: It happened that a certain priest went down the same way, whose duty it was to teach and fulfill the law of God, according to that passage of Malachi 2: "The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law from his mouth." They, moreover, were bound to be holy, according to that passage of Leviticus 10: "I will be sanctified in those who draw near to me, and in the sight of all the people I will be glorified." Hence it was especially the duty of priests to keep the law of God and above all with regard to mercy; but this one did not keep it, on account of hardness of heart. Hence he adds: And seeing him, he passed by, not heeding that passage of Deuteronomy 22: "If you see your brother's donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not despise it, but you shall lift it up with him." This one despised this brother on account of avarice. Already that passage of Jeremiah 6 was verified: "From the least even to the greatest, all are given to avarice, and from the prophet even to the priest, all practice deceit"; and likewise that passage of Isaiah 1: "Your princes are faithless, companions of thieves," etc.

Luke 10:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Second, as regards the inferior person, he adds: Likewise also a Levite, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by: and this one was not heeding that passage of Ecclesiasticus 7: "Do not fail those who weep in consolation, and walk with those who mourn: do not be reluctant to visit the sick." He was reluctant, because, although he was near the place and saw him, he was unwilling to visit him. This one was not like that Tobit, in chapter 4, teaching his son: "Do not turn your face away from any poor person." But this one turned his eyes away from a poor man, naked, wounded, and of his own people. And this was more reprehensible in priests and Levites than in other persons: on account of which it is said in Hosea 6: "I desired mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings"; whence this lawyer is said to have spoken, in Mark 12: "To love one's neighbor as oneself is greater than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Luke 10:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

But a certain Samaritan, etc. Here in the third place is added the person who comes to aid out of clemency. Concerning whom a twofold effect of mercy is shown, namely the support of infirmity and the relief of destitution. First, therefore, as regards the mercy that supports infirmity, he says: But a certain Samaritan, making his journey, came near him and, with the eye of his benevolence and the work of the greatest piety, seeing him, was moved with compassion, so that he could say that passage of Job 30: "I wept once for him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor"; and again in chapter 31: "From my infancy compassion grew up with me."

Luke 10:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

And because true mercy appears in deed, therefore he adds: And drawing near, by effect, to whom he was already close by affection, calling back to unity, he bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, so that the oil might soothe the pain, and the wine might cleanse, and the binding might preserve. And this was the work of a good physician, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight: "In these things the healer shall mitigate pain, and the perfumer shall make sweet ointments and shall prepare salves of health"; Proverbs twenty-one: "A desirable treasure and oil are in the dwelling of the just." And because he needed not only medicine, but also transport and lodging and food, therefore he adds: And setting him upon his own beast, as regards transport, he brought him to an inn, as regards lodging, and took care of him, as regards food. And thus he fulfilled that passage of Isaiah fifty-eight: "Break your bread for the hungry and bring the needy and the wandering into your house," etc.

Luke 10:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Secondly, as regards mercy relieving destitution, he adds: And the next day he brought out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. He brought out a small sum of money, because perhaps he had but little, according to that passage of Tobit four: "As you are able, be merciful. If you have much, give abundantly; but if you have little, strive to share even that little willingly." And because, although the money was small, the will to help was great, therefore he adds: And he said: Take care of him, and whatever you spend over and above, I, when I return, will repay you. From which it appears that his mercy was complete, not like that of those of whom it is said in Hosea six: "Your mercy is like a morning cloud and like the dew that passes away early." But of this man could truly be said that word of the Psalm: "All day long he shows mercy and lends, and his seed shall be in blessing," and truly, because, according to what is said in Proverbs nineteen, "he who has mercy on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him his recompense."

Luke 10:36-37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Which of these three seems etc. Here in the fourth place is subjoined the doctrine following from the parable, and this with respect to two things: first, as regards the instruction of the intellect, and second, as regards the exhortation of the affections. First, therefore, as regards the instruction of the intellect, it is said: Which of these three seems to you to have been neighbor to him who fell among robbers? He asks this of him so that from his mouth He might draw out the true judgment — which He also did. Whence there follows: But he said: He who showed mercy to him. But those two were of the same nation, while this one was a foreigner: therefore the name neighbor is extended not only to kinsmen, but also to strangers. Whence Bede: "According to the letter it is clear that the foreigner was nearer to the man of Jerusalem, to whom he showed mercy, than the priest and the Levite of the same nation." It is also clear that nearness is measured more by natural love and compassion than by carnal kinship. Whence Ambrose: "Kinship does not make one a neighbor, but mercy, which mercy is according to nature. For nothing is so according to nature as to help a fellow sharer in nature." It is also clear from this that "by the name neighbor is understood everyone who is in need of mercy, or who can show mercy," and through this, "every person." And thus the understanding of the lawyer was illuminated by a wonderful leading by the hand. For if the Lord had said this by an absolute response, that man would by no means have believed it. Therefore the Lord most sagaciously drew out the truth from his own mouth and formed him in the truth more by the mode of questioning than by the mode of pronouncing judgment. In this he gives a model of how the proud ought to be answered. Second, with respect to the exhortation of the affections, there is added: And Jesus said to him: Go and do thou likewise, so that you may show mercy to every person, if you wish to be truly merciful, because, Sirach eighteen, "the mercy of God is upon all flesh," that is, mercy which proceeds from God. For the mercy of God extends to all: whence above, chapter six: "You shall be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be therefore merciful, even as your heavenly Father is merciful." True mercy, moreover, is not only in the affection, but also in the effect: therefore he says: And do thou likewise. Whence Galatians six: "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we shall reap, if we do not give up. Therefore, while we have time, let us work good toward all." And in this the law of God is fulfilled, when the neighbor, whoever is in need, is supported not only by word and spirit, but also by deed, according to that passage in Galatians six: "Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ," which consists in the love of neighbor: and "he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law," Romans thirteen. — Thus therefore the doctrine drawn out from the parable according to the literal sense is clear.

Luke 10:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

For the instruction of the disciples, a human example is subjoined, set forth in a twofold manner. Now it came to pass, as they went, etc. After he handed down a form of living through the divine precept, here secondly he hands it down through a human example. Whence the Gloss of Bede: "Having given a discourse on the love of God and neighbor, he supplies an example of each." For here is introduced literally an example of perfection, an example of the active and contemplative life, and a comparison of the two. Whence this part has two parts: in the first of which there is set forth a rational comparison; and in the second there is added a judicial determination, at the place: And the Lord answering said to her. Concerning the rational comparison, however, four things are introduced: the first is the fellowship of the divine presence, the second is the leisure of the contemplative life, the third is the exercise of the active life, the fourth is the dispute between the two. First, therefore, as regards the fellowship of the divine presence, it is said: Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain town, either for the sake of preaching the kingdom of God, according to what is said above in the eighth chapter: "He journeyed through cities and towns, preaching and evangelizing the kingdom of God"; or for the sake of seeking lodging, according to what is said above in the ninth chapter, that when the Samaritans were unwilling to receive him and his disciples as guests, they "departed to another town." Concerning this town it is stated more explicitly in John 11: "There was a certain man who was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the town of Mary and Martha, his sisters." In this town, I say, he found lodging. On account of which it is added: And a certain woman, Martha by name, received him into her house, namely, as one who was poor and needy. Hence to such persons he will say that word at the judgment in Matthew 25: "I was a stranger, and you took me in," namely, to those like Martha, such as Job was, of whom it is said in the thirty-first chapter: "The stranger did not remain outside, and my door was open to the traveler." And in that lodging he was present bodily, just as he is present to those in the active and contemplative lives spiritually, according to that word of Revelation 3: "I stand at the door and knock: if anyone shall open to me, I will enter in to him and will sup with him"; because in Proverbs 8 it is said: "My delights are to be with the sons of men"; and conversely, whence Wisdom 8: "Entering into my house, I shall find rest with her: for her conversation has no bitterness, nor her company any weariness."

Luke 10:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Second, with regard to the leisure of the contemplative life, he adds: And she had a sister, named Mary, who was perfect in the leisure of contemplation; whence it is added: Who also, sitting at the feet of the Lord, heard his word. This indeed was the leisure of this woman: to attend to the Lord, to be at rest, to sit, and to be silent. Whence it is said in John eleven that "Mary sat at home," and this at his feet: because, in Deuteronomy thirty-three, "those who approach his feet shall receive of his teaching." By sitting at his feet is understood humility, which ought to be in contemplative persons so that they may abound in the fruits of devotion, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Who sends forth springs in the valleys," etc. But he who so sits as a humble person is watered by the tears of compunction, according to that passage of Jeremiah fifteen: "I sat alone, because you have filled me with bitterness"; and that is the office of the contemplative soul, namely to devote oneself to the tears of compunction and devotion. Whence this Mary, the exemplar of contemplation, is always described as it were weeping: above, namely in chapter seven, where it is said that "standing behind at the feet of the Lord, she began to wash his feet with tears," etc.; and in John eleven, where it is said that "Mary, when she had come where Jesus was, seeing him, fell at his feet. Jesus therefore, when he had seen her weeping, groaned in spirit"; and in John twenty: "Mary stood at the tomb outside, weeping." And the first are tears of compunction; the second, of compulsion; the third, of devotion, which contemplatives ought to have, sitting at the feet of the Lord.

Luke 10:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Third, with regard to the exercise of the active life, it is added: But Martha was busy about much serving; and this as a good active person, avoiding idleness, according to the counsel of the Wise Man, in Ecclesiastes nine: "Whatever your hand is able to do, work diligently, because neither work nor reason nor wisdom nor knowledge shall be in the netherworld, to which you hasten." Martha always did this; whence it is said in John twelve that "Jesus came to Bethany; and they made a supper for him there, and Martha served." And note that it says she was busy, that is, she was doing enough, about much serving, to show that in her work there was at once perfection and due measure, according to the counsel of blessed Peter, in Second Peter one: "Brothers, be the more diligent, that by good works you may make your calling and election sure." For the work of ministry is that which most pleases the Lord, and in which one most imitates Christ, as is said below in chapter twenty-two: "But I am in your midst as one who serves"; and again in Matthew twenty: "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve." Whence such ministry is pleasing and honorable before God and worthy of reward, according to that passage of John twelve: "If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him," etc. Fourth, as to the dispute between the two, he adds: Who stood and said: Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Here the industrious Martha complains about the idle Mary, as though she could not alone bear the weight of labor, according to what Moses complained to the Lord in Numbers 11: "I cannot alone sustain all this people, because it is heavy for me." So also Martha, on account of the heaviness of the burden, sought Mary's help, knowing that what is said in Galatians 6 pertains to the law of Christ: "Bear one another's burdens." Therefore she confidently sought Christ's judgment, that she might obtain her sister's help. For which reason she adds: Tell her therefore to help me, that she might act according to the counsel of the Apostle in Galatians 5: "Through the charity of the Spirit, serve one another"; and in Ephesians 4: "Bearing with one another in charity." In this dispute Mary is silent; and Gregory gives the reason for this: "Mary does not respond, but as one at leisure commits her cause to the Judge. For if she were preparing a word of response, she would relax her attention to listening." For it is not for contemplatives to contend, but rather to be silent and to listen and to meditate, according to that passage in Lamentations 3: "He shall sit alone and be silent"; whence Job 4: "Moreover, a hidden word was spoken to me, and as if by stealth I received the veins of its whisper." But Mary loses nothing by being silent, because the Lord takes up her cause by defending it. Whence Bernard: "Everywhere the Lord answers for Mary, whether when she is reproached by the Pharisee, above in chapter seven, or when she is accused by her sister, as here, or when by the disciples, as is said in Matthew 26." Now Martha sometimes complains by placing her own office above others, and then it is blameworthy. Whence the Gloss: "Martha speaks in the person of those who, still ignorant of divine contemplation, say that only the work of fraternal love, which they have learned, is pleasing to God, and therefore think that all who wish to be devoted to Christ should be bound to this work." — Sometimes she complains by preferring Mary's leisure. Whence Bernard: "Do you think that in the house in which Christ is received, the voice of murmuring is heard?" And he adds: "Happy the house and blessed the congregation in which Martha complains about Mary." And the reason for this is that the contemplative life is to be chosen for its own sake without complaint, but Martha, that is, the active life, is to be sustained out of necessity. Whence Jacob chose Rachel, but as was necessary, he first received Leah, as is said in Genesis 29. It is the…

Luke 10:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

And the Lord answering said to her. After the rational comparison, the Evangelist subjoins the judicial determination: concerning which four things are introduced, namely the humiliation of the active life, the commendation of the contemplative life, the promulgation of the sentence, and the assignment of the cause. First, therefore, as regards the humiliation of the active life, he says: Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. Therefore he repeats the name of Martha, so that he might rouse her to consider her own defect, and this with attention to the divine word: just as it is said of Moses in Exodus 3 that the Lord, seeing that he went forward to look, called him from the midst of the bush and said: "Moses, Moses." And the Lord, wishing to rouse sinners to attention, repeats the call in Jeremiah 22: "O earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord." And so now he rouses Martha, showing that in her there is a threefold defect, namely of anxiety in thought, disturbance in affection, and division in action. And all these things hinder us from tending wholly toward God. Hence excessive anxiety is to be avoided, according to that passage in the last chapter of Philippians: "Be anxious for nothing, but in every prayer let your petitions be made known before God"; and the last chapter of First Peter: "Casting all your anxiety upon him, for he has care of you." Disturbance is also to be avoided: hence John 14: "Let not your heart be troubled nor let it fear. You believe in God; believe also in me." Hence also concerning Christ, Isaiah 42: "He shall not be sad nor turbulent." For a troubled eye is not fit for seeing. Division is also to be avoided: hence Sirach 11: "Son, let not your pursuits be in many things." And these disadvantages belong to the active life, not the contemplative; hence First Corinthians 7: "He who is with a wife is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinks about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and spirit; but she who is married thinks about the things of the world." — Thus therefore the importunity of action is humbled through the showing of its disadvantage and defect.

Luke 10:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 10

Second, with regard to the commendation of the contemplative life, he adds: But one thing is necessary: this, namely, is the kingdom of God, which once possessed, nothing is lacking; whence Matthew 6: "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you"; and in the Psalm: "One thing have I asked of the Lord, this will I seek"; this, however, is the blessed life, which consists in cleaving to God, to which the contemplative life is devoted; in whose person it is said in the Psalm: "But it is good for me to cleave to God." And this is that one thing which is necessary; because "he who cleaves to the Lord is one spirit," as is said in First Corinthians 6. He who has this one thing has every good; whence as a figure of this it is said in Tobit 10: "Having all things together in you alone, we ought not to have let you go from us"; and Wisdom 7: "All good things came to me together with her," etc. And therefore the Lord said to Moses, in the person of the contemplative man, in Exodus 33: "I will show you all good." Third, with regard to the promulgation of the judgment, it is added: Mary has chosen the best part; because, namely, she chose the one thing above all else. "For the one is set before the many," as Augustine says, because "not the one from the many, but the many from the one. Many are the things that were made; one is he who made them. Very good are the things he made — how much better is he who made them"; indeed, he is simply the best. And this is the portion of the contemplative soul; whence Lamentations 3: "The Lord is my portion, said my soul; therefore I will wait for him. The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him"; and in the Psalm: "How good is the God of Israel to those who are upright in heart"! Very good, I say, and the best; therefore the contemplative soul says in the Psalm: "I cried to you, O Lord; I said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living," namely, with Mary; which indeed the contemplatives have already chosen, by contemplating and desiring it. Whence in the person of the contemplative it is said in Deuteronomy 3: "I will cross over and see this excellent land, and that noble mountain, and Lebanon." And on account of love for this, he wished to possess nothing on earth except poverty alone, according to that word of the Psalm: "For one day in your courts is better than a thousand. I have chosen to be abject in the house of my God"; because, as is said in Matthew 13, "the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which when a man found, he hid," etc. Fourth, as regards the assignment of the cause, he adds: Which shall not be taken away from her. The Gloss says: "The part of Martha is not reproved, for it too is good, but the part of Mary is praised, and why it is the best is added: Which shall not be taken away from her." "From the opposite, understand that from Martha the part which she chose shall be taken away, because the labor of multiplicity passes away, and the charity of unity remains." And this is the reason why the part of Mary is simply better and more worthy of choice, because the contemplative life begins here and is perfected in the future. This is signified in the figure of John, according to what is said in the last chapter of John: "So I will him to remain," as if the contemplation once begun remains, "until I come," to be perfected when I shall have come. And because it is more enduring, therefore it is better, as the Apostle says of charity in First Corinthians thirteen: "Charity never fails," and from this he concludes that charity is the greatest. So also concerning the contemplative life; whence Bede in the Gloss says: "Which begins to burn here, when it shall see him whom it loves, will be more greatly kindled in love"; Isaiah thirty-one: "Whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem." Whence, as far as it is in itself, it is to be preferred, according to that passage in Second Corinthia…

Luke 11:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

After he delivered to the disciples the form of teaching and the form of living, in this part he bestows the form of prayer, through which the grace of knowing and of living rightly is obtained. This part has three parts: in the first of which the example of prayer is set forth; in the second, instruction is added, at the place: And he said to them: When you pray, etc.; in the third, an incentive to prayer is subjoined, at the place: And he said to them: Which of you, etc. Concerning the example of prayer, two things are introduced: the first is the solicitude of the Lord for praying, the second is the readiness of the disciples for imitating. First, therefore, with regard to the solicitude of the Lord in praying, it is said: And it came to pass, when he was in a certain place praying: a certain place, that is, solitary and secret, because such places are suited to prayer, according to that passage in Matthew 6: "But you, when you pray, enter into your chamber, and having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret." The Lord prays as a proof of his true humanity, according to what is said below in chapter 22: "Being in agony, he prayed more at length." As an aid to our weakness, according to that passage in Hebrews 5: "He was heard in all things for his reverence"; and Romans 8: "What we should pray for as we ought, we do not know; but the Spirit himself," namely of the Lord Jesus, "helps our weakness." As an example of perfect virtue: whence it is said in Matthew 26: After he had prayed, he said to the disciples themselves: "Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation." For this reason also he was frequently devoted to prayer, so that he might teach that one must always pray, according to that passage in 1 Thessalonians 5: "Pray without ceasing." And he also prayed at length, as it is said above in chapter 6: "It came to pass"; "and he was spending the whole night in prayer." And therefore perhaps a certain place is mentioned here, to show that those who pray must seek a secret place; but the time is passed over in silence, to show that one must pray at every time without distinction, according to what is said below in chapter 18: "It is necessary to pray always and not to lose heart"; and Sirach 18: "Do not be hindered from praying always." Second, as regards the readiness of the disciples in imitating, there is added: When he ceased, one of his disciples said to him: Lord, teach us to pray. Rightly did the disciples ask of the Lord how they themselves ought to pray, lest perchance they should ask something contrary to his will; whence Wisdom 9: "What man shall be able to know the counsel of God, or who shall be able to think what God wills? For the thoughts of mortal men are fearful, and our counsels uncertain." Therefore teach us to pray, since you are our Lord; whence Isaiah 48: "I am the Lord, teaching you profitable things." — And that he ought to be heard, he shows by a comparison, when he adds: As John also taught his disciples. For to know how to pray to God pertains to the doctrine of piety, since in prayer God is especially worshipped. Whence the Prophet said in the Psalm: "I will enter into your house, I will adore," etc.; and Chrysostom: "The soul offers prayer alone as a spiritual tribute from its inmost depths. Great indeed is the dignity of prayer. As soon as it proceeds from the mouth, the Angels receive it in their hands and offer it before God, as the Angel says in Tobit 12: I offered your prayer before God," etc. Therefore it is thus carefully taught and sought on account of its excellence; nor only on account of this, but also on account of its efficacy, according to Mark 11: "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you shall receive it, and it shall come to you"; and James last chapter: "Pray for one another, that you may be saved; for the continual prayer of a just man avails much. Elijah was a man," etc. Whence through this it is intimated to us that prayer is greatly to be loved, because…

Luke 11:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

And he said to them: When you pray, etc. After the example of prayer he subjoins the instruction on prayer, in which first is handed down the form of invoking, and second, the form of petitioning, at the words: Hallowed be your name. As regards the form of invoking, he says: And he said to them: When you pray, say: Father, that is, first invoke the Father. Say, I say, not with the voice only, but also with the heart, lest perchance that word of Isaiah 29 be said to you: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." Say not only with the heart, but also with the mouth, because vocal prayer is acceptable to God, according to the Psalm: "I will praise the Lord exceedingly with my mouth"; and this both because it avails for arousing the memory, for dispelling drowsiness, for kindling desire, for rendering homage, for expressing joy, and for showing an example. Now we invoke the name of the Father. For he himself is Father by reason of the condition of nature, according to that passage in Ephesians 3: "From whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named." Hence Malachi 2: "Have we not all one father?" He is also Father by reason of the conferral of grace: Romans 8: "You have received the spirit of adoption of sons, in which we cry: Abba, Father"; and Galatians 4: "Because you are sons of God, God sent the spirit of his Son crying: Abba, Father." He is also Father by reason of the consummation of glory, according to that passage in Jeremiah 3: "You shall call me Father and shall not cease to walk after me." Since therefore in the name of the Father God is understood as the founder of nature, the bestower of grace, the consummator of glory, by this very fact it is given to understand that he is the one from whom alone we ought to ask. But since Matthew describes the prayer as expounded to the Apostles, to whom the Lord explained the other things, therefore he explicitly touches upon these three, saying: Father, by reason of nature; our, by reason of grace; who art in heaven, by reason of glory. Luke however expresses it as handed down to lesser disciples, and therefore transmits a more implicit form. Both however agree in the invocation of the name of the Father, so that by this one name man may be stirred to reverence and confidence, without which two wings prayer has no efficacy. Now reverence is had from the name of the Father: hence Malachi 1: "If I am a father, where is my honor?"; and Sirach 3: "The glory of a man is from the honor of his father." Confidence is also had, according to that passage in Isaiah 49: "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb?" etc.; and below in the same passage: "If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children" etc. And Bernard: "The prayer which is sweetened by the paternal name gives me confidence in obtaining all my petitions." Hallowed be thy name. After the invocation he adds the petition. Now he asks for three things principally in this prayer. And in this Matthew and Luke agree, but they differ in the explication, because for the reason previously assigned Matthew sets forth more explicit petitions; hence Matthew posits seven, Luke five, but in these five those seven are implicitly contained. Now the distinction, order, and sufficiency of these is evident as follows. For three things are to be sought from God the Father: the first and principal is the consummation of glory, the second is the conservation of grace, the third is the granting of pardon. And these three are ordered according to the degree and order of greater dignity. Now two things concur toward the consummation of glory, namely perfect knowledge and perfect reverence, and according to these are the first two petitions. For the preservation of grace, the continual supply of heavenly nourishment suffices, and this is sought in the third petition. For the granting of pardon, two things concur, namely the remission of fault and the removal of…

Luke 11:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Third, as regards sufficiency in sustenance he adds: Give us this day our daily bread: where principally the bread of spiritual nourishment is sought: whence Matthew 6: give us this day our supersubstantial bread. But because not only this is petitioned for, but everything that is necessary for the present life: therefore, when the Church regularly recites the Lord's Prayer according to this version, she does not say supersubstantial according to it, but adds daily according to Luke, in order to show that she petitions for whatever is necessary for the sustenance of this life, which is understood by today. Whence, as Jerome says, whether one says daily, or supersubstantial, both are consonant with the Hebrew truth. For in the Hebrew language one word, that is sogolla, comprehends both meanings. So also among us daily comprehends both breads, namely spiritual and corporal, because both are daily necessary for us and daily to be received from the Lord, and therefore daily to be petitioned for. And this is what Bede says in the Gloss: "Bread is called daily because it is here necessary, inasmuch as it must be bestowed upon soul and flesh, whether it be taken spiritually, or corporally, or in both ways." Whence note that a fivefold bread is petitioned for here. The first is the sustenance of the present life, concerning which it is said in Ecclesiasticus twenty-nine: "The beginning of the life of man is water and bread and clothing." The second is the understanding of Sacred Scripture, concerning which Lamentations four: "The little ones asked for bread, and there was no one to break it for them." The third bread is the Sacrament of the Eucharist, concerning which Wisdom sixteen: "You provided them with prepared bread from heaven, having in itself every delight and every sweetness of flavor"; and John six: "The bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world." The fourth is the assistance of grace, concerning which in the Psalm: "Man ate the bread of Angels"; and below in the fourteenth chapter: "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." The fifth is the service of obedience, concerning which it is said in John four: "My food is to do the will of my Father, who is in heaven"; and concerning this, Third Kings nineteen: "Elijah looked, and behold, at his head a hearth-cake," in whose strength he walked and arrived "even to the mountain of God, Horeb." With these breads the Lord refreshes us: which was signified in John six, where it is said that from five loaves he satisfied five thousand men. And therefore each of these is always to be petitioned for, according to that passage in the same place: "Lord, always give us this bread."

Luke 11:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Fourth, with respect to pardon from guilt, he adds: And forgive us our sins, and this with regard to the guilt of obligation: whence in Matthew 6 they are called debts. For sins make us debtors of those things which we cannot pay; whence in the Psalm: "The sinner shall borrow and shall not pay," etc. These are the debts, by which the Shunammite woman was bound, in 4 Kings 4, who could not pay until Elisha multiplied the oil. Through the oil of Christ's mercy our sins are paid and forgiven. But because "judgment without mercy shall be done to him who has not shown mercy," according to what is said in James 2; therefore he adds a condition: Since we ourselves also forgive everyone indebted to us. This condition is indeed necessary for obtaining pardon of sins; whence Sirach 28: "Forgive your neighbor who harms you, and then when you pray, your sins shall be loosed. Man preserves anger against man, and seeks remedy from God?" — as if to say: he seeks in vain. Whence Matthew 6: "If you forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you your sins; but if you do not forgive, neither will your Father forgive you your sins." Whence also in Matthew 18 he proposes the parable of the wicked servant, at the end of which he adds: "So shall your heavenly Father do to you, if you do not each forgive your brother from your hearts." And this rightly, because whoever flees the law of clemency falls under the law of justice; concerning which above in chapter six: "Forgive, and you shall be forgiven"; "for with the same measure with which you have measured, it shall be measured back to you." The Lord added this condition here to show that what is said is true, which is said in Judith 9: "The prayer of the humble and the meek has always been pleasing to you," but that of the proud and the slanderous, never. Whence Isaiah 1: "When you multiply prayer, I will not hear; for your hands are full of blood." Whence Chrysostom: "If he who has been injured prays in vain unless he has forgiven, how, do you think, does he pray who has not been injured, if he himself through injustice injures and burdens others? But he who does not pray as Christ taught is not a disciple; nor does the Father hear a prayer which the Son did not teach. For the Father knows the mind and words of his Son; he does not accept what human presumption has devised, but what the wisdom of Christ has set forth." Fifth, with respect to victory in conflict, he adds: And lead us not into temptation, that is, do not permit us to be led in, that is, to be overcome; because, as is said in James 1, "God is no tempter of evils; but each one is tempted, drawn away and enticed by his own concupiscence." And note that he does not ask not to be tempted, because temptation proves a man, according to that saying of the Psalm: "Prove me, O Lord, and try me"; and Ecclesiasticus thirty-four: "He who has not been tempted knows little." But he asks not to be overcome or conquered by temptation, but to conquer and triumph. This indeed must be asked on account of the faithfulness of divine aid, concerning which First Corinthians ten: "God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will make also with the temptation an outcome, that you may be able to endure." It must also be asked on account of recognizing our own weakness, according to that saying of Second Chronicles twenty: "In us indeed there is not so great a strength that we can resist this multitude which rushes upon us. But since we do not know what we ought to do, this alone remains to us, that we direct our eyes to you." Whence Chrysostom: "Let them recognize that they are weak, and the knowledge of weakness will extinguish the cause of glorying," because, according to what is said in First Maccabees three, "not in the multitude of an army is the victory of war, but from heaven is strength." Since therefore tribulation is a temptation, according to that saying of James one: "Blessed is the m…

Luke 11:5-8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

But according to the spiritual understanding, by this friend is understood Christ, of whom Ecclesiasticus six says: "A faithful friend is a strong protection: and he who finds him finds a treasure." Concerning this, John fifteen says: "I will no longer call you servants, but I have called you friends"; and again: "You are my friends," etc. To this friend one must go at night, that is, in the silence of night, as Nicodemus came, of whom it is said in John three that he "came to Jesus at night": first, because in the secret silence of night he is to be knocked upon through prayer, according to that passage of Isaiah twenty-six: "My soul has desired you in the night"; and Lamentations two: "Arise in the night, at the beginning of the watches: pour out your heart like water," etc. Or at night, that is, in tribulation, according to that passage of Hosea six: "In their tribulation they will rise early to me"; and in the Psalm: "Call upon me in the day of tribulation, and I will deliver you," etc. The friend, however, who comes from a journey, is our soul, according to what is said in the Gloss, who, as often as it wanders to seek temporal things, so often departs from us. Delight causes this friend to wander abroad, but tribulation brings him back, according to what is said of the prodigal son below in the fifteenth chapter, who departed on account of luxury but returned on account of hunger. Hence Hosea two: "I will hedge your way with thorns and wall it up with a barrier"; and afterward it adds: "And you will say: I will go and return to my first husband, because it was better for me then than now." This one returns when he runs back to interior things, according to that passage of Isaiah forty-six: "Return, transgressors, to the heart," but finds it empty of the consolation of spiritual refreshments. Hence of sinners it is said in Lamentations two: "They said to their mothers: Where is the grain and wine? when they fainted as the wounded in the streets of the city, when they breathed out their souls in the bosom of their mothers." "And the joy of our heart has ceased. Woe to us! for we have sinned." For this hungry friend, therefore, three loaves are to be sought from the true friend, that is, according to what Bede and Augustine say, the understanding of the Trinity or the names of the three persons, so that in the knowledge of God alone he may find refreshment: whence Exodus 24: "They saw the Lord and ate and drank"; and Ecclesiasticus 15: "He will feed him with the bread of life and understanding and give him the water of saving wisdom to drink." Or the three loaves are faith, hope, and charity, by which the threefold virtue in the soul is restored, concerning which below at chapter 15: "How many hired servants in my father's house abound with bread," etc. Concerning these, 1 Kings 10: "When you come to the oak of Tabor, three men going up to the Lord in Bethel will meet you: one carrying three kids, another three cakes of bread, and another carrying a flask of wine"; so that in these may be understood the unity of grace and the trinity of virtues, through which the image of God is reformed in the soul. — But this petition is not immediately heard by Christ, but it is necessary to seek with much persistence: because for such great gifts the sinful soul is less fit, whence Matthew 15: "It is not good to take the bread of the children and give it to dogs"; but even if he is already a son, lest that bread become cheap, since it is always necessary for him to hunger, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 24: "Those who eat me will still hunger"; or so that by asking we may merit more and be disposed. Whence Augustine to Proba, On Praying to God: "He wills that our desire be exercised in prayers, by which we may be able to receive what he prepares to give."

Luke 11:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

And he said to them: Which of you, etc. After the example and instruction, he here subjoins thirdly an incitement to prayer, by which we are invited to pray frequently and confidently. And this part has two sections: in the first is proposed an incitement to frequency of prayer; in the second, to confidence in praying, at the place: But which of you asks a father, etc. For these are the two things which most greatly empty the fruit of prayer of its effect, namely negligence and distrust. Concerning the incitement to frequency, two things are intimated. The first is the inciting similitude; the second is the informative instruction, at the place: And I say to you: Ask, and it shall be given to you. As for the inciting similitude to frequency of prayer, three things are introduced. The first is the petitioning opportunity; the second is the refusing difficulty; the third is the importunity that obtains, so that from this it may be shown how great is the efficacy of importunate and continual prayer. First, therefore, as regards the petitioning opportunity, he says: Which of you shall have a friend, etc. This is read interrogatively, but the Gloss holds that it should be read permissively: "Which, that is, someone, or if anyone." This, however, is said to show the preciousness of a true friend, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 6: "To a faithful friend there is no comparison, and no weighing of gold and silver is worthy against the goodness of his fidelity"; and again: "A faithful friend is the medicine of life and immortality, and he who fears the Lord shall find him." — To this friend, therefore, one has recourse with confidence, and so it is added: And he shall go to him at midnight, because, as is said in Proverbs 17, "he who is a friend loves at all times, and a brother is proven in distress." And to such a one the need is set forth with confidence; for which reason it is added: And he shall say to him: Friend, lend me three loaves; and this he supports by the law of piety and charity, concerning which it is said in Isaiah 58: "Break your bread for the hungry"; and Ecclesiastes 11: "Cast your bread upon the passing waters."

Luke 11:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Also by the law of fidelity and special friendship; for which reason he adds: Because my friend has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him; and so by the fidelity of friendship I am bound to him, and through this, you also to me; whence Ecclesiasticus 22: "Keep faith with a friend in his poverty, that you may rejoice in his prosperity. In the time of his tribulation remain faithful to him, that in his inheritance you may be a co-heir."

Luke 11:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Second, regarding the refusing difficulty, he adds: And he answering from within should say: Do not trouble me, namely by disturbing one who is at rest and rousing him from sleep, as Abner said to David in 1 Kings 26: "Who are you who cry out and disturb the king"? — And that the trouble is great is shown from the adjoined difficulty: The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed, that is, sons, who ought to be loved with tender affection; whence Isaiah 8: "Behold, I and my children, whom the Lord has given me", that is, sons, whose love cannot be neglected, according to that passage in Isaiah 49: "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb"? — Therefore he adds: I cannot rise and give to you. And this does not entirely remove the power, but posits a difficulty, as if saying what Elijah said to Elisha in 4 Kings 2: "You have asked a difficult thing". And therefore he says: I cannot, that is, I cannot conveniently or easily, as the king of Israel answered the king of Syria in 3 Kings 20: "All the things for which you sent to your servant in the beginning, I will do; but this thing I cannot do".

Luke 11:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Third, regarding compelling importunity, he adds: And if he shall continue knocking, with prayers, not overcome by shame nor wearied by tedium nor broken by despair, as a true friend, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus 22: "If you have drawn a sword against a friend, do not despair; for there is a way back to a friend. And if you have opened a sorrowful mouth, do not fear". And because "relentless labor conquers all things," therefore he adds: I say to you, even if he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, that is, moved by the truth of affection, which at times grows lukewarm among friends. On account of which it is said in 1 John 3: "Little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth". If therefore he is not overcome by the abundance of charity, he is nonetheless overcome by the persistence of importunity. On account of which he adds: Yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needs. An example of this is set forth below in chapter 18 concerning the judge and the widow, who harassed him; whence it is said there that "the judge was unwilling to hear her for a long time. But after these things he said within himself: Although I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because she is troublesome to me, I will avenge her, lest at last coming she wear me out." An example of this is also found in Judges 14 concerning Samson and his wife, from whom, when she was seeking what he had previously been unwilling to reveal, it is added that "she wept before him during the seven days of the feast, and at length on the seventh day, since she was troublesome to him, he explained it".

Luke 11:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

And I say to you. After the inciting similitude he adds informative instruction regarding the frequency of prayer, which he draws from the preceding similitude: where first he exhorts the disciples, and second, all people generally. Therefore, as regards the exhortation with respect to the disciples, he says: And I say to you, I who assuredly do not lie, because, Numbers 23, "God is not as a man, that he should lie, nor as the son of man, that he should change: has he said then, and will he not do it?" Whence the Gloss says: "He grants great hope who does not deceive by promising." He therefore admonishes to persistence and frequency of prayer, when he says: Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. A similar passage is found in Matthew 7; on which passage Augustine says: "I thought indeed that what these three differ among themselves should be laboriously distinguished, but far better are all things referred to the most urgent petition. This indeed he shows, where he concluded all things with the same word: How much more will your Father give the good spirit to those who ask him?" Whence the Lord wills to say that which is simply said in 1 Thessalonians 5: "Pray without ceasing"; and Colossians 4: "Be instant in prayer." These can nevertheless be distinguished in multiple ways, so that to ask refers to the act of the mouth; to seek, to the act of the heart; to knock, to the act of works. Ask therefore with the mouth, and it shall be given to you: Isaiah 62: "You who are mindful of the Lord, do not be silent, until he establish and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth"; and Isaiah 30: "At the voice of your cry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer you, and the Lord will give you bread," etc.; and 65: "And it shall be that before they call, I will hear; while they are yet speaking." Seek also with the heart, and you shall find: whence Jeremiah 29: "You shall seek me and shall find me, when you shall seek me with your whole heart"; and Wisdom 1: "Seek him in simplicity of heart, for he is found by those who do not tempt him." Knock, in works: for he who knocks touches with his hand and rouses; whence in the Psalm: "In the nights lift up your hands to the holy places"; and again: "In the day of my tribulation I sought God with my hands, and I was not deceived." They can also be distinguished otherwise according to the nature of the thing sought. Ask, namely for pardon; seek grace; knock for glory, according to that passage in Zechariah 10: "Ask rain from the Lord in the latter time, and the Lord will produce snow and rain of showers, and will give to each of them grass in the field." He will give snow to extinguish evil growths through pardon; and rain of showers, to make the earth fruitful through grace; and he will give to each of them grass in the field, adorning and clothing them through glory. Otherwise, on the part of those who ask: Ask, you who are beginners, whose part it is to receive; seek, you who are progressing, whose part it is to find; knock, you who are perfect, whose part it is to enter. Whence to beginners it is said at Philippians 4: "Let your petitions be made known before God." To those progressing is said that verse of the Psalm: "Seek the Lord and be strengthened; seek his face always." To the perfect is said Isaiah 26: "Open the gates, and the just nation shall enter." Or according to the modes of arriving at wisdom, as Augustine distinguishes: "One does not come to wisdom except, as the Lord teaches, by asking, seeking, and knocking, that is, by praying, reading, and lamenting." Ask therefore by praying: James 1: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, and it shall be given to him." Seek by reading in the book of Scripture and of creation: Song of Songs 3: "Through the streets and open places I will seek him whom my soul loves." Knock by lamenting, as John in Apocalypse 5, where he says: "I wept much, because no one was found worthy to…

Luke 11:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Second, with respect to the exhortation regarding all, he adds: For everyone who asks receives, if he devoutly asks. Whence the Lord intimates this in John 15: "If you shall ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you," that is, for your salvation; otherwise he does not give. Whence James 4: "You ask and do not receive, because you ask badly, that you may spend it on your concupiscences." Whence Chrysostom: "If you ask for temporal things, how does he grant those which, if you have them, he commanded you to despise?" And he who seeks finds, if however he seeks duly and diligently, according to that passage of Deuteronomy 4: "When you shall seek the Lord your God, you shall find him, if however you seek him with your whole heart and with all the tribulation of your soul"; and 1 Chronicles 28: "If you shall seek God, you shall find him; but if you shall forsake him, he will cast you off forever." But some sometimes do not seek duly, and therefore do not find; whence Hosea 5: "With their flocks and with their herds they shall go to seek the Lord and shall not find him"; and this is because among the herds they were seeking him. John 7: "You shall seek me and shall not find me," because they were seeking with evil intention, in order to destroy him. And to him who knocks it shall be opened, if he knocks unceasingly unto the end, according to that passage of Matthew 10: "He who shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved." To such a one the door of glory is opened, of which Revelation 11: "The temple of God was opened in heaven"; and Revelation 4: "Behold, a door was opened in heaven." This shall be opened when that word of Matthew 25 shall be said: "Come, you blessed, possess," etc.

Luke 11:11-12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

But which of you etc. After the incitement to frequency of prayer, he here adds an incitement to confidence in prayer, and by showing this he displays the liberality in God the Father who hears us. In this part, therefore, he first sets forth the liberality of a carnal father with respect to his son; second, he concludes the liberality of the heavenly Father with respect to us, at the words: If you then, being evil, etc. The liberality of a carnal father, moreover, he shows in the sharing of food with caution against the contrary, and this according to a threefold difference of nourishment: either of an earthy nature, or watery, or airy. The first pertains to things that grow; the second, to things that swim; the third, to things that fly. As regards, therefore, the petition for the fruit of plants, he says: Which of you shall ask the father for bread, for nourishment; will he give him a stone? namely, for injury. For men are sustained by bread, according to that word of the Psalm: "Bread strengthens the heart of man"; but they are crushed by stones, according to that word of Matthew twenty-one: "Whosoever shall fall upon this stone shall be broken, but upon whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder." As regards the petition for swimming creatures, he adds: Or a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Men are nourished by fish; whence below in the last chapter: "Have you here anything to eat? And they offered him a piece of broiled fish and a honeycomb"; but they are killed by serpents; whence Numbers twenty-one: "The Lord sent among the people fiery serpents," by whose bites, namely, they were dying. As regards the petition for the fruit of fowls, it is added: Or if he shall ask for an egg, namely, for food: will he offer him a scorpion? for poison. For eggs sustain, but scorpions kill, as experience manifestly proves. These things indeed are plain according to the letter, and the similitude drawn from them. But according to the spiritual understanding, it is given to understand here what is to be sought. Whence Augustine, in his letter to Proba on Praying to God, says that in the fish faith, in the egg hope, and in the bread charity is signified. For rightly by the petition for bread is understood the petition for charity: whence Augustine says: "Charity is in the bread; for charity is the greatest of all goods, and among foods the usefulness of bread surpasses the rest." Or, because charity after the manner of bread nourishes and strengthens; whence Song of Songs, the last chapter: "Love is strong as death"; whence the Sacrament of charity is given under the species of bread. Or, because without bread every table is empty: so also every heart without charity; whence First Corinthians thirteen: "If I have not charity, I am nothing, and it profits me nothing." To this, as Augustine says, is opposed the stone, because hard hearts reject charity. Whence in the stone hardness is signified, according to that word of Ezekiel thirty-six: "I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you," etc.; and Luke three: "God is able of these stones," etc. Rightly also "by the fish is understood faith, as Augustine says, either on account of the water of baptism, because amid the waves of this world faith remains whole"; First John five: "This is the victory which overcomes the world, our faith"; and Hebrews eleven: "By faith they conquered kingdoms." Or, as Bede says, "because a fish is born, lives, and is nourished under the covering of the waters: so faith is drawn from the hidden things of the Scriptures and is from hidden things and is itself hidden"; whence Hebrews eleven: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." To this, as Augustine says, the serpent is contrary, who, so that God would not be believed, "persuaded by venomous deceit"; whence Ecclesiastes 10: "He who breaks through a hedge," that is, the defense of Sacred Scripture, "a serpent shall bite hi…

Luke 11:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

If you then, being evil, etc. After he proposed liberality in the carnal father, he concludes from the lesser regarding the spiritual Father. For if the good is communicative, the greater good is more communicative, and the greatest good is most communicative. If therefore the carnal father communicates good to the son who asks, how much more strongly does the heavenly Father to the man who supplicates. And this is what he says: If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children. Bede: "He calls evil those who are lovers of the world"; but these are evil in a twofold way by the malice of fault, because Sirach 11: "If you are rich, you will not be free from offense"; and Augustine: "Every rich man is either unjust, or the heir of an unjust man." Or, he calls the Apostles themselves evil, who in comparison with divine goodness are called evil; whence Mark 10: "No one is good except God alone"; and Isaiah 64: "We have all become as one unclean, and our justices are as the rag of a menstruous woman"; and Job 25: "The stars are not clean in his sight, how much less man," etc. Whence Gregory: "Often our justice, when brought to the examination of divine justice, is injustice, and what shines in the eyes of the doer is sordid in the severity of the Judge." Or, they were evil on account of venial sins, without which the present life is not lived: whence it is said in Ephesians five: "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil"; because, according to what is said in Genesis forty-seven, "the days of the pilgrimage of my life are few and evil"; because, according to what is said in First John one, "if we say that we have no sin, we are liars, and the truth is not in us." It seems less likely, therefore, that good comes from an evil person than that good comes from a good person. And therefore he concludes: How much more will your Father from heaven give the good spirit to those who ask him. Indeed he will certainly give, because James one: "Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above." This good spirit is the Holy Spirit, in whom all gifts are given; of whom Wisdom seven: "I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me"; and afterwards: "All good things came to me together with her"; and First Corinthians twelve: "To another is given through the Spirit," etc.; and afterwards: "All these things one and the same Spirit works, distributing to each one as he wills." This Spirit is given to those who ask and desire, according to that word of the Psalm: "I opened my mouth and drew in the spirit"; Jeremiah two: "The wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness, in the desire of its soul, drew in the wind of its love." For toward this Spirit of the Lord the spirit of the Saints sighs: Romans eight: "It is the Spirit who intercedes," etc.

Luke 11:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

First, therefore, as regards the matter of divine praise, he says: And Jesus was casting out a demon, and it was mute; in which two miracles are touched upon at once, or rather even three. Whence Bede in the Gloss: "Matthew says that this demoniac was also blind, in whom three miracles are worked by the Lord: because the blind man sees, the mute speaks, and the possessed is freed from the demon." And in this there was matter for divine praise both on the part of the one healed and of those standing by. On account of which he says: And when he had cast out the demon, the mute spoke, and the crowds marveled; and thus was fulfilled that passage of Isaiah thirty-five: "Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the mute shall be loosed." Such great miracles were wrought together as a cause of wonder and praise, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus forty-three: "The Lord is terrible and exceedingly great, and wondrous is his power"; and after: "Glorifying the Lord as much as you are able, he shall yet prevail beyond, and wondrous is his magnificence." Whence they could truly say that passage of Mark seven: "He has done all things well; he has made the deaf to hear and the mute to speak." But according to the spiritual understanding, the demon is sin, which makes one deaf to hearing the truth, blind to seeing it, and mute to confessing it. Whence Chrysostom says: "O wickedness of the demon! He blocked each entrance through which man was going to believe: hearing and sight," and the third, that is, the tongue, lest he confess. Whence it is said in Isaiah 41: "There is none who announces, and there is none who preaches, nor any who hears my words"; and again in Isaiah 42: "Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind but my servant? And who is deaf, but he to whom I have sent my messengers?" Such a one is also mute for confessing; whence Sirach 15: "Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner." And note that since speech has been given to man for three purposes, namely for praising God, for edifying one's neighbor, and for accusing oneself: this threefold speech is taken away by a threefold demon. The first is taken away by the spirit of lust, according to that passage in Isaiah 1: "When you multiply your prayers, I will not hear. For your hands are full of blood." The second is taken away by the spirit of avarice, which makes one attend only to oneself, according to that passage in Matthew 25: "He who had received one talent went away and dug in the earth." The third is taken away by the spirit of pride, which does not permit man to accuse himself, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Because I kept silent, my bones grew old"; and Jeremiah 2: "Behold, I will contend with you in judgment, because you have said: I have not sinned." — Concerning this threefold demon it is said in Revelation 16: "I saw coming out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the false prophet three unclean spirits in the form of frogs." — The first demon is cast out by fasting, according to that passage in Matthew 17: "This kind of demon is not cast out except by fasting." The second is cast out by the memory of the Lord's passion, according to that passage in Tobit 6: "If you place a piece of the fish's heart upon coals, its smoke drives out every kind of demon," etc. The third by prayer: 1 Kings 16: "David took the harp and struck it with his hand, and Saul was refreshed and felt better: for the evil spirit departed from him."

Luke 11:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Secondly, regarding the blasphemy of human fraud, it is added: But some of them said: He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons. And this was a great blasphemy, because what was done by the Holy Spirit they attributed to the evil spirit: whence in Matthew 12, immediately after this it is said: "Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven." They burst forth into this blasphemy out of envy: whence Chrysostom says: "Not when he said great things, but when he brought about the salvation of men, then the Pharisees attacked." "For envy does not care what it says, but only that it speaks." "For there is no malice worse than jealousy. For the adulterer quickly completes his sin, but the jealous man never rests." And because this blasphemy proceeded from malice and envy, for this reason this Gospel is read when the history of Joseph is sung on the third Sunday of Lent. For just as the brothers of Joseph out of envy called him an inventor of dreams, so also these men called Christ an invoker of demons. And they especially name Beelzebub, both because that idol was famous: whence in 4 Kings 1 it is said that "Ochozias sent his messengers saying: Go and consult Beelzebub, the god of Accaron"; and Bede in the Gloss says: "The Jews asserted that the prince of demons dwelt in this image. They said that Jesus cast out demons by his power"; and therefore in the text it is said: By the prince of demons: or because the name of this idol was ridiculous; whence Beelzebub means as much as man of flies: by which name the Jews called him in mockery, as is said in the Gloss, "on account of the filth of the blood that was sacrificed in his temple." Thus they uttered blasphemy, just as in John 8, where it is said: "Do we not say well that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?"

Luke 11:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Thirdly, regarding the controversy of the adjoined dispute, he adds: And others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven. They did not seek such a sign in order to believe as faithful men, but as rebels in order to attack, according to that saying of the Savior in Matthew 22: "Why do you test me, hypocrites?" and in the Psalm: "Your fathers tested me," etc. And this is evil, as is said in 1 Corinthians 10: "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted and perished by serpents." Moreover, they sought a sign from heaven, such as thunder in the time of Samuel, 1 Kings 12; or the sending down of fire in the time of Elijah, 3 Kings 18 and 4 Kings 1; or such as the going back of the sun in the time of Hezekiah, 4 Kings 20. Now this was characteristic of the Jews, whether through habituation; whence First Corinthians chapter one: "Jews demand signs, and Greeks seek wisdom"; and therefore Peter, powerful in signs, was the Apostle to the Jews, but Paul, in wisdom, to the Gentiles: or also on account of unbelief and hardness, according to what Stephen said in Acts chapter seven: "Stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit." Whence Chrysostom: "Always to learn is a sign of never being able to advance: so always to seek testimony is a sign of never being willing to believe." And this is indeed true; for when they had sufficient testimonies on earth, it was not necessary to seek signs from heaven: whence John chapter ten: "The works that I do in the name of my Father, these bear witness concerning me." Spiritually, however, the Lord gave signs on earth, namely signs of humility and poverty, according to that passage above in chapter two: "This shall be a sign to you: you shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes." But many do not believe this sign, such as the proud and the ambitious, who seek Christ not in the humility of the cross, but in the desire for honor and praise. And yet it is said in Matthew chapter twenty-four: "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven," etc. But the proud contradict this, according to that passage above in chapter two: "He is set for a sign which shall be contradicted," because the state of humility does not please them, but rather that of dignity. Whence in the Psalm: "They have set up their own signs as signs," namely of pride and wantonness, according to that passage in Wisdom chapter two: "Let us leave everywhere signs of our joy," without which signs they are unwilling to follow: whence in the Psalm: "We have not seen our signs," etc.

Luke 11:17-18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

But he, when he saw their thoughts, said to them. After the expression of the Jewish fraud, there is here subjoined the refutation of the fraud expressed. In refuting falsehood, he proceeds in this order: first he leads to a manifest impossibility, second he brings to an indefensible falsehood, third he leads back to an infallible truth. First, therefore, He leads them to a manifest impossibility, when He says: Every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation: in which He intends to construct the following argument: every kingdom divided, by the very fact that it is divided against itself, is destroyed; but if one demon casts out another, Satan is divided against himself; therefore his kingdom does not stand. It follows, therefore, that Satan himself destroys his own kingdom and takes away from himself his power and dominion. But this is a manifest impossibility; and it follows from the statement of the Pharisees: therefore that statement was manifestly false. The major premise of this argument, then, He sets forth when He says: Every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation, and house shall fall upon house. And this indeed is self-evident and true, because division is the cause of ruin; hence the cause of the predicate is contained in the subject. And this is what Jerome says: "By concord small things grow; by discord the greatest things fall apart." For unity is the cause of preservation, and division of destruction, according to Hosea 10: "Their heart is divided, now they shall perish"; and Proverbs 28: "Because of the sins of the land, many are its princes." An example of this is found in Genesis 11 concerning those building the tower, when they were "of one tongue," where it is added: "The Lord divided them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build." Hence concerning the destruction of its unity in the final state of the world, it is said below in chapter 21: "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be great earthquakes," etc. Then he adds the minor premise, when he says: But if Satan is divided against himself, that is, fights against himself: which he states conditionally, because this follows from the words of the aforementioned scribes and Pharisees, yet in itself it is not true: for Satan agrees with Satan in evil. Whence Job 41: "His body is like molten shields and compacted with scales pressing upon one another: one is joined to another, and not even a breath passes between them; one cleaves to another, and holding together they shall in no way be separated"; whence in the Psalm: "The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes assembled together against the Lord," etc. — After this he adds the conclusion, when he subjoins: How shall his kingdom stand? Which he says interrogatively, as though it were impossible to maintain that Satan himself casts himself out of his kingdom. For the kingdom of Satan is among the wicked and sinners: Job 41: "He is king over all the children of pride"; and therefore the Apostle said in Romans 6: "Let not sin reign in your mortal body." Lastly he introduces the proof of the minor premise from their own words, since this was the cause of the entire false inference. And therefore he adds: Because you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub. For if what you say is true, that Satan casts out Satan, then his empire is divided, and thereby tends toward destruction. And in this way the argument is formed in Matthew 12: "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself: how then shall his kingdom stand"? — Thus it is clear how from their own words he deduces to a manifest impossibility.

Luke 11:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Second, he leads to a false improbability, when he adds: But if I cast out demons by Beelzebub: in which he intends to form such an argument: if I cast out demons by the power of demons, and I gave your sons the power of casting out demons —this he presupposes and leaves unstated—therefore they themselves cast out demons by the prince of demons. But this is false and improbable both according to their own opinion and according to the testimony of the Apostles themselves. Therefore what the Pharisees hold is false, and what the Apostles testify is true: therefore they themselves shall be their judges. In this argument, however, the proposition is first set forth, which they assert, when it is said: But if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, that is, according to your assertion; above in the same chapter: "He casts out demons by Beelzebub." There follows the conclusion, which they do not concede, when it is said: Your sons, by whom do they cast out? As if to say: it follows that they cast out by Beelzebub, which however they themselves do not concede. Whence Bede: "He calls the sons of the Jews the Apostles, who among other gifts which they had received from the Lord, also drove out demons, which expulsion they attributed not to the devil but to God." There is further implied the reproof which they incur, when it is said: Therefore they shall be your judges: because what you blaspheme as false, they themselves testify to be true, according to that passage of Isaiah forty-three: "Truly you are my witnesses, says the Lord." And not only witnesses on account of their assertion of the truth, but also judges on account of their perfection in the truth, according to that passage of Matthew nineteen: "You who have left all things and followed me shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." For they are those of whom Isaiah three says: "The Lord will come to judgment with the elders of his people." He calls elders the more perfect, according to that passage of Wisdom four: "Venerable old age is not long-lived, nor reckoned by the number of years. For the gray hairs of a man are his understanding, and the age of old age is an unspotted life."

Luke 11:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Thirdly, he leads back to the infallible truth, when he adds: But if I cast out demons by the finger of God. But, that is, certainly; if, that is, because; by the finger of God, that is, by the Holy Spirit: whence in Matthew twelve it is said: "If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God." For the Holy Spirit is called the finger of God, as it is said in Exodus eight: "The finger of God is here." The reason for this is that the Son is called the arm of the Father, according to that passage of Isaiah fifty-three: "The arm of the Lord, to whom has it been revealed?" He is also called the hand, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Send forth your hand from on high." And the reason for this is that, just as one who works does so by arm and hand, so the Father does all things through the Son, as it is said in John one: "All things were made through him." But the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, as a finger from the body and the arm, and is connatural and consubstantial with him, and therefore is rightly called the finger in the Scriptures. Or, because, just as there is one hand, and through the fingers distinction is made, so through one Spirit the distinction of gifts is made, as it is said in First Corinthians twelve: "All these things one and the same Spirit works, distributing to each one as he wills." Because therefore I cast out demons by this Spirit, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you, that is, the royal power which protects us, the devil having been expelled, according to that passage of John twelve: "Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out." And note that he says: the kingdom of God has come upon you, because the kingdom of God comes upon us through grace, according to that passage below in the seventeenth chapter: "The kingdom of God is within you." But then we shall arrive at it through glory, when it will be said to us: "Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom," etc. And note that this consequence is necessary; because, if there is no middle ground such that a man is not under the power either of God or of the devil, then if the power of the devil is expelled from a man, it follows that divine power is introduced. Now the threefold wicked spirit, about which was discussed above, is expelled by the divine spirit given for three purposes, namely by the spirit of sanctity, concerning which Wisdom chapter one says: "The holy spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful"; by the spirit of poverty, concerning which Matthew chapter five says: "Blessed are the poor in spirit"; and by the spirit of humility, concerning which the last chapter of Isaiah says: "To whom shall I have regard, if not to the poor and contrite in spirit"? This threefold spirit the Prophet sought in the Psalm: "Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit, etc. And do not take your Holy Spirit from me. And with a sovereign spirit confirm me"; so that this threefold spirit is touched upon here: right, that is, of poverty; holy, that is, of purity; and sovereign, that is, humble: which spirit whoever has, has justice toward himself and neighbor and God, or has it within, without, and above, and through this has peace and joy, and thus the kingdom of God within himself. For, according to that passage in Romans chapter fourteen, "the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

Luke 11:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

When the strong man armed guards his court. After he disproved the falsehood, here secondly he confirms the truth; in the confirmation of which he proceeds in this order: first he sets forth the preliminary truth, secondly he adds the intended truth, thirdly he subjoins the annexed truth. First, therefore, setting forth the preliminary truth, he says: When the strong man armed guards his court, in peace are all the things that he possesses. This is manifest in itself. For quiet possession comes from the strength of the possessor, which does not permit it to be attacked by one less powerful. For strong is this devil, of whom it is said in Job chapter forty-one: "There is no power upon earth that can be compared to him, who was made to fear no one"; and Habakkuk chapter one: "O Lord, you have appointed him for judgment, and established him as mighty for correction." He is armed, according to what is said in Job chapter forty-one: "His body is like molten shields." And because he has such great power and armor, therefore violence cannot be done to him by a weak man; rather, in peace he possesses, since he does not fear to lose, according to that saying of Gregory: "He neglects to trouble those whom he perceives himself to possess by undisturbed right." And this is the peace of sinners, concerning which the Psalm says: "I was envious of the wicked, seeing the peace of sinners"; and Matthew chapter ten: "I came not to send peace, but a sword." He wishes therefore to say in this that the strong man is not expelled by the less strong. If, then, no earthly power prevails over the power of the devil, but only heavenly power, therefore that which expels demons is not from earth but from heaven, not human but divine.

Luke 11:21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

This fortitude is from God redeeming. "When a strong man armed guards his court, those things which he possesses are in peace; but if a stronger one than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he will take away all his armor in which he trusted, and will distribute his spoils." This stronger one is God, because "the weakness of God is stronger than men." The Son of God was made weak for our sake.

Luke 11:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Second, adding the intended truth and now the persuasive argument, he says: But if a stronger one coming upon him shall overcome him. Stronger than the devil is the divine strength, namely our Christ: First Corinthians 1: "We preach Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God"; and again: "The weakness of God is stronger than men"; and therefore Job 9: "If strength is sought, he is most mighty". And for this reason it is said in Isaiah 9: "He shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, Mighty". He came upon, that is, he came from above, according to that saying in John 3: "He who comes from heaven is above all". He however overcame the devil as one less strong, according to what is said in John 16: "Take courage, I have overcome the world"; whence although he seemed to be conquered, yet he conquered, because by dying he rose again. And this is signified in Jeremiah 46: "The strong one stumbled against the strong one, and both fell together"; because Christ fell corporally, temporally, and visibly, but the devil eternally, totally, and irrecoverably. Whence it is said in Revelation 5: "Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered to open the book". "And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures a Lamb standing as though slain"; who therefore conquered because he was slain. Therefore that saying from First Corinthians 15 can be said to the devil: "O death, where is your victory? Thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through Jesus our Lord". And because he conquered him in the passion, therefore he despoiled him in the resurrection; hence he adds: He will take away all his armor in which he trusted. And this he did when he broke down the gates of hell, according to that saying of the Psalm: "For he shattered the gates of bronze and broke the bars of iron"; and again in the Psalm: "He will shatter the bow and break the weapons and burn the shields with fire". The devil makes these weapons for himself from men through their consent, according to that saying in Romans 6: "Do not present your members as weapons of iniquity to sin". Or the diabolical weapons are the various stratagems of tempters, by which they prevailed over men. And of these he was deprived through Christ's victory in the resurrection, and despoiled in the ascension. Hence he adds: And he will distribute his spoils. And this indeed he did when from vessels of dishonor he made vessels of mercy; and this was done in the ascension, according to that saying in Ephesians 4: "Ascending on high, he led captivity captive, he gave gifts to men". Moreover, our Emmanuel did this: Isaiah 8: "Call his name: Make haste, strip the spoils, hasten to plunder". He plundered the devil mightily, according to that saying in Isaiah 49: "Shall the prey be taken from the strong one? Or can that which was captured by the mighty be saved? For thus says the Lord: Indeed, even the captivity shall be taken from the strong one"; and Hosea 13: "The Lord will plunder the treasure of every desirable vessel". A figure of this preceded in 1 Kings 30, in David, of whom it is said that, having returned from the slaughter of Amalek, after despoiling the Amalekites, he distributed the spoils and "sent gifts to the elders of Judah and to his neighbors." And note that Christ is said to distribute the spoils of the devil, because, although he himself freed all, nevertheless he also entrusts a part of this glory to various preachers, who are themselves despoilers of Egypt, Exodus 12. From this, therefore, it is apparent that the expulsion of demons was accomplished by Christ not by diabolical or human power, but through the Holy Spirit. And this is the intended truth.

Luke 11:22 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Luke 11:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Thirdly, joining the adjoined truth, he adds: He who is not with me is against me: and through this, the men whom the devil possesses resist Christ, and according to that passage of 2 Corinthians 6: "What accord has Christ with Belial?" And because no one can resist his strength, therefore he adds: He who does not gather with me scatters: because, as it is said in Job 9, "who has resisted him and had peace?" For the office of Christ is to gather, according to that passage of John 11: "He was about to die, that he might gather into one the children of God who were scattered"; and Isaiah 11: "He will gather the fugitives of Israel and will collect the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth"; Psalm: "He will gather the dispersed of Israel." But the office of the devil is to scatter, according to that passage of John 10: "The wolf snatches and scatters the sheep." Therefore it is best to enter the sheepfold of the Lord, who cannot be overcome by one stronger, as it is said in John 10: "The Father, what he has given me, is greater than all things," etc.

Luke 11:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

When the unclean spirit, etc. After the refutation of falsehood and the confirmation of truth, the Evangelist here adds the condemnation of deceitfulness, whose origin is from the malign spirit, according to that passage of John 8: "He is a liar and the father thereof," that is, of lying and pretense. The Savior therefore condemns the deceitfulness of the Pharisees, whose origin, progress, and consummation he shows to be accomplished in them through the malign spirit, and this with respect to the malign spirit's departure, return, and entrance. He departs indeed through the detestation of uncleanness, returns through the simulation of justice, but enters through the deepening of wickedness. First, therefore, with respect to the departure of the unclean spirit through the detestation of uncleanness, he says: When the unclean spirit has gone out from a man, namely through true repentance, according to that passage of Zechariah 13: "I will take away the false prophets and the unclean spirit from the land." For this, however, abstinence and persistence in prayer are necessary, through which we are cleansed within and without; and then the unclean spirit departs, according to that passage of Matthew 17: "This kind of demon is not cast out except through prayer and fasting." And since the desire of the devil is always directed toward the seduction of the good, however much he may be expelled from others; therefore he adds: He walks through dry and waterless places, seeking rest. Dry and waterless places are places in which carnality and concupiscence do not flourish, according to that saying of the Psalm: "In a desert and pathless and waterless land, so have I appeared to you in the sanctuary," as Jerome expounds. And therefore the Virgin Mary, because she had concupiscence entirely extinguished, is called the rock of the desert: Isaiah sixteen: "Send forth the Lamb, O Lord, the ruler of the earth, from the rock of the desert to the mount of the daughter of Sion." Around these places walks the devil seeking rest, that is, wishing to fashion in them the shadow of negligence and the fountain of contumely, so that he might be able to rest there. In such a place, however, he rests, according to that saying of Job forty: "He sleeps under the shadow, in the covert of the reed, in moist places"; and Ezekiel twenty-nine: "Behold, I am against you, O great dragon, who lies in the midst of the rivers." But the devil does not rest except in those in whom he finds the streams of concupiscences, which because he cannot find in holy men who are afflicted and mortified, therefore he does not rest in them but flees, according to that saying of James four: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Second, however, as regards the return through the simulation of justice, he adds: And not finding, namely rest, he says: I will return to my house, from which I went out. His own he calls the house, because he had not yet been fully expelled from it: and to such a one the devil returns: in whose figure, Isaiah thirty-seven: "By the way by which Sennacherib came," that is, Satan, "by the same way he shall return." Rightly, moreover, he calls the sinner his own house, because the sinner who has committed sin is the servant of sin, as is said in John eight; and through this he is not of his own right, but a servant of the devil. Therefore Proverbs five: "Give not your honor to strangers and your years to the cruel one, lest perhaps strangers be filled with your strength, and your labors be in the house of a stranger."

Luke 11:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

To this house, however, the simulation of goodness and justice leads back the expelled devil; and therefore he adds: And when he comes, he finds it swept clean and adorned, not within, as the Prophet says in the Psalm: "I was exercised and I swept my spirit"; and again: "All the glory of the king's daughter is from within"; he does not find it swept and adorned in this way, but outwardly, as below in the same Gospel: "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish; but what is within is full of plunder and wickedness"; and Matthew twenty-three: "Woe to you! who are like whitewashed sepulchres," etc. Such cleanliness does not suffice for the Holy Spirit, who seeks to dwell not only in a clean body but in a holy soul; whence Wisdom chapter one: "Into a malevolent soul wisdom will not enter, nor will it dwell in a body subject to sins." And therefore we are invited to both; Isaiah chapter one: "Wash yourselves, be clean," etc. But that cleanliness which is only outward leaves the house empty of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and thereby liable to be occupied by the presence of the devil. Whence, noting this, Matthew chapter twelve says: "He finds it empty, swept clean and adorned," empty, namely, of grace and virtue. Whence Chrysostom: "Those desolate of virtue will easily be liable to occupation by the actions of demons"; and therefore Jerome: "Always do something good, so that the devil may find you occupied."

Luke 11:26 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

We cannot have the grace of God except through the fear of God. No one receives the grace of God unless he fears God. He who does not have grace ought to fear greatly for himself; likewise, if the Lord restores to a man the grace he had lost, he ought to fear greatly for himself, lest he lose it and become ungrateful, "and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first."

Luke 11:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Third, indeed, as regards the entry through the deepening of wickedness, he adds: And then he goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and having entered, they dwell there. These seven spirits are seven simulations which feign and falsely claim to be virtues in appearance; they are therefore more wicked than open vices, because they possess a greater perversity of malice, as Augustine says: "Simulated justice is not justice, but double iniquity." Hence note three groups of seven spirits. The first is good, which contains the seven gifts, concerning which Isaiah 11: "The spirit of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon him," etc. — The second is evil and contains seven spirits of wickedness, that is, the seven capital vices, opposed to the seven gifts. For lust is opposed to wisdom, gluttony to understanding, avarice to counsel, sloth to fortitude, wrath to knowledge, envy to piety, pride to fear. And concerning these it is said in Mark 16 that seven demons had been cast out from Mary Magdalene. — The third group of seven contains seven pretenses, which the Lord calls more wicked spirits, because under the appearance of holiness they deceive the innocent; concerning which Proverbs 26: "Seven wickednesses are in his heart." Hypocrisy introduces all of these, for it is the counterfeiter of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As a sign of this, the Lord in Matthew 23 makes seven exclamations against the hypocrites, threatening them with woe; an eighth woe is added, but hypocrites is not placed there. Therefore these more wicked spirits dwell securely, because the less malice appears, the less it is rebuked, and the more securely it rests: Isaiah 13: "Beasts shall rest there, and their houses shall be filled with dragons, and ostriches shall dwell there, and hairy creatures shall dance there," where the monstrosities of vices are touched upon. And since the more securely the devil dwells in a man, the worse it is for the man, because he is more a slave, therefore it is added: And the last state of that man becomes worse than the first, either on account of relapse, because of which John 5: "Behold, you have been made well; sin no more, lest something worse befall you"; and 2 Peter 2: "It would have been better not to have known the way of truth," etc.; whence Chrysostom: "The punishment of later vices is more severe"; or on account of the doubling of iniquity, which occurs through pretense, according to that passage in Sirach 7: "Do not sow iniquity in the furrows of injustice, and you shall not reap it sevenfold." From this it is evident that the Pharisees were not only convicted of falsehood, but also reproved for deceitfulness. These things can also be explained allegorically concerning the Jewish and Gentile peoples, according to how Bede expounds quite well in the Gloss: He went out from Judea, etc.

Luke 11:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

And it came to pass, etc. After the expression of Jewish fraud and the reprobation of the expressed fraud, the Evangelist here adds the commendation of open truth. And this indeed was fitting, so that, with the truth made manifest, Truth itself manifesting itself might be praised openly before the whole multitude. In the description of this commendation, three things are introduced: the first is the condition of the praising person, the second is the expression of divine praise, the third is the approbation of the expressed praise. First, therefore, as regards the condition of the praising person, he says: And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, namely for the confutation of falsehood: a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him, for the commendation of truth and the confutation of the Pharisees: in which a twofold condition is noted in the praising person, namely courage and lowliness. Courage is noted in this, that she lifted up her voice, according to that passage of Isaiah 40: "Lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, fear not"; lowliness in this, that a certain woman, not named nor noble, but from the crowd, so that that word of the Psalm might be fulfilled: "The poor and needy shall praise your name." From which it is apparent that the praiser of the divine name ought not to be timid, so as not to dare to praise, nor puffed up, so as to blush at praising, but courageous and humble. Whence, while some were silent from fear, and some blasphemed from pride and swelling: this humble and courageous woman neither was silent with the timid nor reviled with the blasphemers: whence in the Gloss: "With great confidence among blasphemers she confesses the Son of God." Therefore that word of Matthew 15 could be said to her: "O woman, great is your faith," which namely has so greatly strengthened you, since it is said in the last chapter of Proverbs: "Who shall find a strong woman?" In you is verified that word of Ecclesiasticus 26: "Eternal foundations upon solid rock, and the commandments of God in the heart of a holy woman." Second, as regards the expression of divine praise, it is added: Blessed is the womb that bore you; in which she praises Christ the Son of God, extolling the proclamation of his praise from the blessedness of the Mother: as if to say, blessed is the woman who bore so good a son. And rightly so, because it was fitting for the female sex to praise thus, and not only women, but indeed also men. For above in chapter one the Virgin said: "From henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." And note that she declares blessed the womb of the Virgin, and this because she carried the Son of God for nine months and six days, which are reckoned as one month: Wisdom 7: "In the womb of my mother I was made flesh in a time of ten months." Whence in praise of the Virgin it is said in Song of Songs 7: "Your womb is like a heap of wheat", because Christ was a grain of wheat, according to what is said in John 12: and with this wheat her womb was filled, and therefore blessed on account of three privileges: because, as Bernard says, "she was made fruitful without corruption, pregnant without heaviness, and a mother without pain"; Isaiah, the last chapter: "Who has ever heard such a thing? And who has seen the like of this"? — Or on account of three miracles. The first is the conjunction of infinitely distant things. For there God was made man: the Creator, a creature: the immense, small: the Word, an infant: the Eternal, temporal, according to that saying in John 1: "And the Word was made flesh"; and Jeremiah 31: "The Lord will create a new thing upon the earth: a woman shall encompass a man". The second miracle is that he who made the womb was made in the womb: whence in the Psalm: "Glorious things are said of you, O city of God"; and afterwards: "A man is born in her, and the Most High himself founded her". Concerning this can be expounded that passage from Sirach 43: "A wondrous vessel…

Luke 11:27 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

In Luke: "A certain woman from the crowd, raising her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nursed you." And Jesus said: "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it." Not only is she blessed who conceived and nursed him, but also those who follow her. And who are they? Those who hear the word of God and fulfill it. Eve, having transgressed the commandment of God, destroyed the house which God had prepared for us unto salvation; but the wise woman built the house and restored our salvation.

Luke 11:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Third, indeed, as regards the approbation of the expressed praise, he adds: But he said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God. He does not say this by way of opposing, but rather by way of adding, as if he were saying: not only blessed is the womb that bore me, the Word made flesh, but even more blessed is the one who receives the word uttered by me. Whence Mary too was not only blessed because she bore Christ in the flesh, but even more blessed, because she most perfectly bore him in the mind, according to what Augustine says: "Mary was more blessed in conceiving the faith of Christ than the flesh of Christ." For blessed is everyone who hears and obeys, according to that text of John 13: "If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." And therefore he adds: And keep it: and therefore James 1: "Be doers of the word and not hearers only." By this word Christ did not wish merely carnal kinship to be praised in itself: for thus it is said to the Jews above in the third chapter: "Do not presume to say: We have Abraham as our father," etc.; but spiritual kinship, because the union of minds is holier than that of bodies. And therefore, when his mother and brethren sought him, he said in Matthew 12: "Whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, sister, and mother." And for this reason the Virgin Mary was praiseworthy in conceiving, because she conceived by faith: and therefore Elizabeth said to her above in the first chapter: "Blessed is she who believed, for there shall be a fulfillment of those things which were told her by the Lord." — From which appears a wondrous commendation of truth, which makes all who adhere to it blessed, not only those adhering by carnal kinship, as the Virgin Mary, but also by spiritual love, as any holy soul. For as Augustine says: "Beatitude is joy in the truth"; to which joy shall come those who hear, love, and do the truth, according to that text of Ecclesiasticus 24: "Those who hear me shall not be confounded, and those who work in me shall not sin, and those who elucidate me shall have eternal life." Spiritually, however, it should be noted here that the woman from the crowd bears the type of the Law, which commends carnal generation, according to the promise made to Abraham, Genesis 15: "Look up at the heaven," etc.; and to David, whence in the Psalm: "Of the fruit," etc.; whence Romans 9: "Of whom is Christ according to the flesh," etc. But Christ bears the type of grace and the spirit, who indeed commends spiritual generation, according to that text of Matthew 12: "Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?" The conception of this spiritual generation first takes place in faith, as it were in the unity of the Church: John 7: "He who believes in me, as the Scripture says," etc. As a sign of which thing also the Virgin Mary conceived through faith: Luke 1: "Blessed is she who believed." Birth, however, comes about through works: Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "I said, I will water the garden of plantings," etc. But those who believe and do not work are like those of whom Isaiah thirty-seven says: "The children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring forth." Nursing takes place in love and contemplation; Song of Songs one: "Let him kiss me with a kiss, for your breasts are better than wine," etc.; and Proverbs five: "A most beloved hind and a most graceful fawn," etc. And thus in these three are intimated the reception of grace, the exercise of the active life, and the consolation of the contemplative life. And this whole is enclosed in "faith, which works through love," which only those who possess will be blessed.

Luke 11:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

"A certain woman from the crowd, raising her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nursed you." And Jesus said: "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it." Not only is she blessed who conceived and nursed him, but also those who follow her. And who are they? Those who hear the word of God and fulfill it. Eve, having transgressed the commandment of God, destroyed the house which God had prepared for us unto salvation; but the wise woman built the house and restored our salvation.

Luke 11:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

But as the crowds were gathering together, etc. After the Savior refuted the fallacy of the blasphemers or detractors, here secondly he refutes the fallacy of the unbelievers, who under the appearance of eagerness sought signs out of curiosity. This fallacy of the unbelief of the Jews is refuted, and this by a threefold way. For first that people is reproved because it was doubtful in believing; second, because it was lukewarm in learning; third, because it was cold in repenting. First, therefore, the deceitful and unbelieving people is reproved because it was doubtful in believing, when it is said: But as the crowds were gathering together, he began to say: This generation is a wicked generation. For the crowds were gathering together, that is, they were running to him from diverse causes: some to hear his teachings, some to see miracles, some for the sake of driving away hunger, some for the sake of recovering health, some to lay snares, others to serve him, according to the diverse kinds of persons which are expressed in the Gospel. But these, as the Gloss says, were running "to see the wonders which they heard were being done by him," which they wished to see not out of zeal for faith, but rather out of deceit and curiosity and fraud. And therefore he says: This generation is a wicked generation; and in Matthew twelve it is said: "An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign"; for it is wicked and adulterous on account of unbelief and idolatry. Whence that passage of Proverbs thirty applies to it: "A generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother"; and that passage of Deuteronomy thirty-two: "It is a perverse generation, and unfaithful children." For their unbelief appears from the question of curiosity; on account of which he adds: It seeks a sign, namely from heaven; the Gloss: "As if those things which they had seen were not signs." And because such people, on account of their unbelief, were not heavenly but earthly, not spiritual but rather animal: therefore heavenly signs are denied to them, but earthly ones are granted; therefore he says: And no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. He says this indeed, not because he did not give other signs — whence he raised Lazarus who had been dead four days, as is said in John 11; "and a voice from heaven came to him," John 12; "and he performed many other signs in the sight of all," concerning which it is said in John 20 that "they are not written in his book"; and again: "The sun was darkened" at his death, below in chapter 23 — but because all other signs avail nothing except for one who believes that God suffered and rose again on the third day, the figure of which preceded in Jonah the prophet; and therefore in John 2, when the Pharisees asked: "What sign do you show us, since you do these things?" he said: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." "But he was speaking of the temple of his body." — And the figure of this preceded in Jonah, whom the fish vomited forth on the third day; and therefore he was believed by the Ninevites.

Luke 11:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

On account of which he adds: For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of Man be to this generation. For Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites not only by word, but also by the deed of a miracle, because, cast into the sea and swallowed by a fish, on the third day he returned to the heights above: by which he prefigured Christ suffering, dying, and rising again. Whence in Matthew 12 such a sign is applied: "For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth." Whoever therefore does not believe this sign is harder than the Ninevites, nor do any other signs of the Lord profit him in anything.

Luke 11:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Second, the generation of the Jews is reproved because it was lukewarm in learning, when it is added: The queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with the men of this generation. From which it appears that the resurrection will be universal, not only of the good, but also of the wicked. But the resurrection will be unto judgment, according to that passage in John 5: "All who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth," etc. But because the wicked will be condemned by comparison with the better, therefore he adds: And she shall condemn them: Bede: "Not by the power of judgment, but by the comparison of a better deed." — Which deed he shows in what he says: Because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, according to what is said in 2 Chronicles 9: "The Queen of Sheba, when she had heard the fame of Solomon, came to test him in Jerusalem"; something similar is said in 3 Kings 10. Whence in three respects she was praiseworthy: and first, because she was moved by the fame of Solomon; second, because she came from remote parts; third, because she came to a man of equal condition. — And on the contrary, this people was triply blameworthy: which he notes when he adds: And behold, something greater than Solomon is here. For in this, that he says behold, he indicates that he is known not only by hearing but also by sight, according to that passage of Baruch 3: "after this he was seen upon the earth" etc. In this, that he adds 'here,' he shows that he was not absent but present, so that there could rightly be said to them that passage of Deuteronomy 30: "The commandment which I command you today is not situated far off" etc. But in this, that he says more than Solomon, he shows that one must believe in him not merely as in a wise man, but as in the principle and font of all wisdom, according to that passage of John 8: "I am the beginning, who also speak to you". For Christ was greater than Solomon by reason of power, by reason of knowledge, and by reason of justice. Whence that Psalm especially pertains to him: "O God, give your judgment to the king," which is believed by the Jews to have been composed in praise of Solomon, when it says there: "He shall rule from sea to sea"; and again: "Before the sun his name endures"; and again: "And in him all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed" etc. That Solomon was a peacemaker for a time, but this one eternally; Isaiah 9: "His empire shall be multiplied." That one was wise, but this one is wisdom itself: 1 Corinthians 1: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God"; and Colossians 2: "In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." That one was a doer of justice, but this one is justice itself: 1 Corinthians 1: "Who was made for us justice from God" etc. Therefore, according to seven preeminences, that queen by comparison with us shall judge the unbelieving Jews: a queen of fragile sex, from remote lands, with difficulty, having left her kingdom, with gifts, to a mere man, known by fame alone, she came, as is expressly gathered from 3 Kings 10. But the Jews: men, Christ present, freely offered, of their own race, beneficent, God and man, proven by miracles, they scorn and despise.

Luke 11:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Thirdly, the generation of the Jews is reproved, because it was cold toward repenting, when he adds: The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it: and this on account of their repentance and the impenitence of the Jews. For by comparison with the better, the less good are reproved. — On account of which he adds: Because they repented at the preaching of Jonah: Jonah 3: "The men of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast and were clothed in sackcloth." And yet Jonah was unknown and preached for only a few days; he was also a mere man, and he worked no miracle. But Christ showed greater things than these to the Jews: therefore he adds: And behold, something greater than Jonah is here: because Christ was not only man, but also God, which he showed by the greatness of his miracles; he did not preach for only a few days, but also for three years. Therefore the hardness of unbelief in the Jews is the more condemned; whence Chrysostom: "The Ninevites within three days became the people of God, who nevertheless did not have the Prophets; the Jews within three days of the crucifixion became the people of the devil: the former escaped the impending vengeance, the latter endured the most atrocious." Thus it is clear how the deceitfulness of the Jews, who sought signs in order to test, was convicted by examples, so that they might not remain in the hardness of unbelief. But just as the Jews, who heard the Law and the Prophets and saw Christ and did not believe, are reproved by comparison with the Queen of Sheba and the Ninevites: so clerics and the learned can be reproved by comparison with women and laypeople. For clerics recognize Christ in the Scriptures and handle him with their hands in the Sacraments, and yet they believe and venerate less than women and laypeople: whence now we can say that word of Matthew 21: "The publicans and harlots shall go before you," etc.; and again Augustine in the book of the Confessions: "The unlearned seize heaven, and we with our learning are plunged into hell." All Christians can also be reproved by these examples, who are slow to hear the word of God and to do penance for their sins; who for their own excuse seek signs of miracles, when nevertheless they have before their eyes Christ crucified, so that there can be said to them that word of Galatians 3: "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you not to obey the truth, before whose eyes Christ was openly set forth among you and crucified?" — Therefore, having and seeing the sign of the cross of Christ, we ought not with the Jews to be either doubtful in believing or lukewarm in hearing or cold in repenting and working, in comparison with the Queen of the South and the Ninevites, lest we be condemned by the Lord.

Luke 11:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

No one lights a lamp etc. After the Savior refuted the fallacy of the blasphemers and the unbelieving or the tempters, in this part he refutes the fallacy of the dissemblers. This part has two parts, in the first of which he commends the simplicity of right intention; in the second he refutes the deceitfulness of malignant dissimulation, at the passage: And as he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him etc. Therefore, to commend the simplicity of right intention, three things are first introduced, namely a rational similitude, an application of the similitude, and a commendable instruction. First, therefore, a rational similitude is introduced, when it is said: No one lights a lamp and places it in a hidden place nor under a bushel. A lamp is called a vehicle of light or a vessel containing light, which, whether it be material or spiritual, ought not to be hidden. For a material lamp, when hidden, gives no light but is utterly useless, and likewise neither does a spiritual one; whence Sirach 20: "Hidden wisdom and an unseen treasure, what profit is there in both? Better is the man who conceals his foolishness than the one who hides his wisdom." And therefore this lamp ought not to be hidden but made manifest. — Whence he adds: But upon a lampstand, that is, he places it, so that those who enter may see the light. Moreover, the higher lamps are placed, the more brightly they shine; and therefore they ought to be placed upon a lampstand, as upon a lofty place, according to the vision of Zechariah 4: "I looked, and behold, a golden lampstand and its seven lamps upon it."

Luke 11:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Second, there is added the application of the similitude, when it says: The lamp of your body is your eye. For of the material body, the bodily eye is the lamp, because it rules, directs, and illuminates the whole body; but of the spiritual body, that is, of the aggregate of good works, the lamp is the spiritual eye, that is, the intention. For the intention is called both an eye and a lamp: an eye, insofar as it is illuminated by God for the direction of the whole person; but a lamp, insofar as it directs every action, thought, and affection — as though it "directs" the steps of a person "into the way of peace," according to that passage above in the first chapter: "To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death," etc. — For it belongs to a lamp to illuminate, and therefore the word of God is called a lamp, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths," as regards things to be believed: Second Peter 1: "We have the more firm prophetic word, to which you do well to attend as to a lamp shining in a dark place"; and as regards things to be done through commandments: Proverbs 6: "The commandment is a lamp, and the law is light." Lamp is said of the preacher: John 5: "He was a burning and shining lamp"; and Philippians 2: "Among whom you shine as luminaries in the world." It is said of the gift of the Holy Spirit: Exodus 25: "You shall make also seven lamps and place them upon the lampstand," that is, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit upon Christ. It is also said of a work: below in the twelfth chapter: "Let your loins be girded and lamps burning in your hands." It is also said of the intention, which, if it is feigned, is extinguished, according to that passage of Job 18: "The light shall be darkened in his tabernacle, and the lamp that is over him shall be extinguished"; but if it is right, it illuminates the whole body of good works. — Hence lamp first properly belongs to the word of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and through this it properly belongs to the intention of the heart, and from there it descends into the work of true preaching and into the work of holy conduct; hence it is said of these according to a certain kind of analogy. Therefore the lamp of right intention is, as it were, a mean, receiving from what is above and overflowing into the whole aggregate of works. For which reason he adds: If your eye be simple, that is, your intention right, your whole body will be full of light. For as Ambrose says: "Intention gives its name to your work"; from which it is clear that he understands this of the eye of the heart, whose best disposition is simplicity, according to that passage of 1 Chronicles, last chapter: "I know, O Lord, that you test hearts and love simplicity." Now the eye is called simple which aims at the one and highest good, which is indivisible; and such alone is upright, which tends toward that good. Hence it is said of Job, in chapter one, that "that man was simple and upright"; and such a one loves God, according to that passage of Song of Songs, chapter one: "The upright love you"; and Song of Songs, chapter four: "You have wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse, with one of your eyes and with one hair of your neck," that is, in the unity and simplicity of right intention, which alone is pleasing to God. And because such persons, whatever they do, do it from charity, therefore the whole is right and good and luminous, according to that passage of Ephesians, chapter five: "Walk as children of light. For the fruit of light is in all goodness and justice and truth"; and since from a heart thus illuminated nothing proceeds except works of light, just as "a good tree cannot bear bad fruit," nor a luminous one dark fruit, nor conversely a bad tree good fruit. And therefore it is added: But if it be evil, your whole body also will be dark. For the evil eye depraves the will and makes it wicked; and when that is depraved, the wo…

Luke 11:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Third, there is added a commendable instruction, when he says: See therefore that the light which is in you be not darkness, that is, lest the intention by which you ought to be light be obscured by the darkness of vices. He speaks, moreover, to those converted to himself, of whom the Apostle says in Ephesians 5: "You were once darkness, but now light in the Lord: walk as children of light," that you may be children of that light "which enlightens every man coming into this world," John 1: not children of man, of whom John 3 says: "The light came into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, for their works were evil." Since, therefore, a depraved intention corrupts the whole work, he teaches that it must above all be guarded against, when he says: See etc.

Luke 11:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

But again, because intention cannot be lucid unless good operation is present, therefore he adds: If therefore your whole body be lightsome, having no part of darkness, so that namely there be no depravity in intention nor in thought nor in affection nor in speech nor in action, which are the parts of our totality and of meritorious or demeritorious operation. If therefore in these there be no impurity from any part, then that which follows will be true: The whole shall be lightsome, and as a bright lamp shall enlighten you, that is, your conscience, according to the prophetic petition: "For you light my lamp, O Lord: my God, enlighten my darkness," as is found in the Psalm. It will also enlighten you for building up the Church of Christ, according to that command of the Lord in Matthew 5: "So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." It will also enlighten you for confuting the wickedness of others, according to that in Philippians 2: "That you may be sincere in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life." It will also enlighten you for having divine knowledge, according to that in Ecclesiasticus 2: "You who fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be enlightened." It will also enlighten you for beholding the divine glory: Tobit 13: "You shall shine with a splendid light" etc.

Luke 11:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

And as he was speaking, one asked him etc. After the Evangelist commended the simplicity of right intention, in this part he confutes the deceitfulness of malignant dissimulation. This part has two sections. In the first of which there is set forth a rebuke of duplicity: in the second there is added a threatening of calamity, at: But woe to you, Pharisees etc. Regarding the rebuke of duplicity, three things are introduced: the first is the malignity of Jewish dissimulation, the second is the severity of the rebuke, the third is the gentleness of charitable admonition. First, therefore, regarding the malignity of simulation on the part of the Pharisee, he says: And as he was speaking, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. In which deed he outwardly displayed piety toward relieving Christ's poverty, of which he himself says in the Psalm: "But I am a beggar and poor"; to relieve which, Christ accepted alms, and not only accepted them but even begged, when he was still twelve years old, as Bernard says in a certain Sermon: "When Jesus had reached" etc., where he asks who fed him during those three days, and speaks thus: "So that you might conform yourself in all things to our poverty and take upon yourself all the calamities of lowly human life, like one of the crowd of paupers you begged alms from door to door. Who will grant that I might become a partaker of those begged morsels, or be nourished on the remnants of that divine food?" Whence the Gloss on that passage of Second Corinthians chapter eight: "He became poor for your sake" etc.: "Do not be ashamed to approach him in your begging, who was made poor for our sake." Whence, to relieve his need, he accepted alms not only from the good but also from the wicked; whence it is added: And entering, he reclined at table. In which he gives us an example that hidden sinners are not to be shunned; and that alms may be licitly received from the wicked, so that they may become good, provided they do not give from others' property or from ill-gotten goods; and that sinners are to be drawn in through kindness; and that we ought to be benevolent toward our enemies and detractors, just as he who reclined at table with the one by whom he knew himself to be despised and judged in his heart.

Luke 11:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

On account of which it is added: But the Pharisee began, pondering within himself, to say, that is, to seek the reason and cause, namely, why he had not been baptized, that is, washed according to the custom of the Jews, before the meal, and thereby to judge him as unclean and a despiser of the traditions of the fathers. Whence similarly the Pharisees are read to have objected to the Lord and his disciples in Matthew chapter fifteen: "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat." Now this was of chief importance among the Jews; whence it is said in Mark chapter seven: "For the Pharisees and all the Jews wash their hands frequently when they eat, holding the tradition of the elders, and coming from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash." And the reason for this was that they placed the greatest emphasis on preserving bodily cleanliness. Whence a twofold simulation is shown from this in the Pharisee: first, because the one whom he outwardly refreshed with piety, he inwardly judged with impiety; second, because he was zealous for bodily cleanliness but paid no attention to spiritual cleanliness. And therefore he was a hypocrite both in the sight of men and of God, against that passage of Sirach chapter one: "Do not approach her with a double heart, and do not be a hypocrite in the sight of men."

Luke 11:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Second, as regards the severity of the rebuke on the part of the Master, he adds: And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish. The cup is a vessel for drinking, the dish for eating; and these vessels the Pharisees and Jews especially cleansed, because they thought themselves defiled by the uncleanness of vessels. Whence in Mark 7 it is said that "many things have been handed down to them to observe: the washings of cups and pitchers and bronze vessels." For indeed, as Ambrose says, "the cup is a glass vessel, and the dish an earthen vessel"; and because both are fragile, it rightly designates the fragility of the human body, about which the Pharisees were chiefly concerned, having neglected the cleanness of conscience; and this was reprehensible. For it is said in Isaiah 1: "Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your thoughts from before my eyes"; and in Jeremiah 4: "Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved"; which the Pharisees did not observe. On account of which he adds: But that which is within you is full of rapine and iniquity, and thereby unclean and abominable. Whence concerning them could be said that word of Micah 6: "Her rich men are full of iniquity, and her inhabitants spoke falsehood"; Ecclesiasticus 1: "You have come deceitfully to the Lord, and your heart is full of guile and deceit"; because he does not have within what he feigns without. And this was not only malice, but also foolishness, because, having neglected the better, they cared only for the worse.

Luke 11:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Whence it is added: Fools, did not He who made that which is without, namely the body, also make that which is within? namely the spirit. In which is simultaneously condemned the heresy of the Manicheans, who attribute the spirit to God as author and the body to the devil; although it is said in Genesis 2 that "the Lord God formed man from the slime of the earth and breathed into his face the breath of life." There is also refuted the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who strove to please God by the purification of the body alone, although the Lord made both and is especially the creator of the soul, according to that word of Ecclesiastes last chapter: "The spirit shall return to God, who gave it"; and the Lord especially calls Himself the God of souls: Ezekiel 18: "All souls are mine, says the Lord; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son." And on this account He especially wills the cleanness of souls; and to such a one He promises His presence, according to that word of Matthew 5: "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God"; and therefore the Pharisees, who did not care for this, were as fools. Whence Chrysostom: "God neither praises the cleanness of bodies nor condemns their filth. Suppose, however, that He hates the filth of vessels — how much more does He hate the filth of conscience?" Whence this must be especially attended to, because without cleanness of conscience nothing is clean; Titus 1: "All things are clean to the clean, but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is clean, but their mind and conscience are defiled."

Luke 11:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Third, as to the sweetness of the admonition, on the part of the physician, he adds: But yet, that which remains, give alms; that which remains, that is, the remedy which is left is that you may purge wickedness through alms. "For the second plank that remains after shipwreck is penance." And in this way almsgiving is understood here, which is clear from what follows: And all things are clean to you. It is impossible that all things be cleansed through the giving of exterior almsgiving alone; but here the giving of alms is called any work of ordered mercy, which first begins from oneself, according to that saying of Sirach chapter thirty: "Have pity on your own soul, pleasing God." One bestows this mercy on oneself when one purges oneself of vices through penance, for otherwise one is cruel to oneself, according to that saying of the Psalm: "He who loves iniquity hates his own soul." Otherwise it can be explained as almsgiving properly so called, so that the sense would be: That which remains, give as alms, that is, from that which is left over, so that the form of almsgiving is touched upon, according to that saying of Second Corinthians chapter eight: "Not that there should be ease for others and affliction for you." And after the form, the efficacy is added, when he says: And all things are clean to you, because almsgiving disposes one to grace, through which the whole soul is cleansed; and on account of this it is said in First Timothy chapter four: "Godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of the life to come." Although almsgiving is said to avail for three things principally, nevertheless its efficacy is shown to be sevenfold in Scripture. The first is that it cleanses the soul from guilt, as is held here, and in Sirach chapter three: "The almsgiving of a father shall not be forgotten"; and shortly after: "And as ice melts in fair weather, so shall your sins be dissolved." The second is that it delivers from eternal punishment: Tobit chapter four: "Almsgiving delivers from all sin and from death and will not suffer the soul to go into darkness." The third is that it defends from transitory punishment: Daniel chapter four: "Redeem your sins with almsgiving," etc. — The fourth is that it mitigates the concupiscence of the flesh: Sirach chapter three: "Water quenches a burning fire, and almsgiving resists sins." The fifth is that it gives victory over the enemy; Sirach chapter twenty-nine: "Enclose almsgiving in the heart of the poor, and it shall entreat for you"; and shortly after: "It shall fight for you against your enemy better than the shield of the mighty and the lance." The sixth is that it preserves grace, according to that saying of Sirach chapter seventeen: "The almsgiving of a man is as a purse with him, and it shall preserve the grace of a man as the apple of the eye." The seventh is that it gives confidence of attaining glory: Tobit chapter four: "Great confidence shall there be before the Most High God for those who give alms." These seven effects belong to almsgiving itself, which is exercised both corporally and spiritually. The works of corporal mercy are designated by this verse: I visit, I give drink, I feed, I ransom, I clothe, I shelter, I bury. Concerning these, except the last, the dispute at the judgment is treated in Matthew twenty-five; concerning the last, however, it is spoken of in Tobit two. — Now for almsgiving to have these efficacies, there is needed first simplicity in the heart: whence Matthew six: "But when you give alms, let not your left hand know, etc." Second, discretion in choosing, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus twelve: "If you do good, know to whom you do good." Third, compassion in affection: Isaiah fifty-eight: "When you pour out your soul to the hungry, then shall your light rise in the darkness"; and Job thirty: "I wept for him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor." — Fourth, sweetness in speech:…

Luke 11:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

But woe to you, Pharisees, etc. After the rebuke of duplicity, there is here subjoined against the double-minded and hypocrites a threatening of calamity: whence in Matthew twenty-three this determination is as it were added: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" And since these two classes of persons, namely the Pharisees and the scribes, especially feigned religiousness, therefore against these two classes he directs his invective — but in Matthew jointly, here however distinctly. The threatening of eternal damnation is repeated three times against the Pharisees on account of a threefold cause, namely on account of negligence, on account of arrogance, and on account of fraudulence, so that negligence consists in the omission of good, arrogance in the commission of evil, and fraudulence in the concealment of evil and the display of good. First, therefore, he threatens the Pharisees with eternal punishment on account of negligence, by which, intent upon the least things, they omitted the greatest. And this, when he says: But woe to you Pharisees: who tithe mint and rue and every herb, as though you were greatly intent upon the fulfillment of the divine commandments: whence below in the eighteenth chapter the Pharisee boasted: "I give tithes of all that I possess." But nevertheless they were not justified by this on account of their omission of the best things; whence he adds: And you pass over every judgment and the charity of God, that is, justice and mercy. And this is what God most requires, according to that passage of Micah 6: "I will show you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: namely, to do judgment and to love mercy." And this he calls charity: Zechariah 7: "Judge true judgment and show mercy and compassion, each one with his neighbor"; so that there is judgment with respect to oneself, and charity or mercy with respect to one's neighbor. Or, by judgment may be understood the divine precept, according to that passage of the Psalm: "The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves" etc.; charity however is called the end of the precept and its fulfillment; First Timothy 1: "The end of the precept is charity" etc. Or, by judgment may be understood the judicial precepts, according to that passage of Exodus 21: "These are the judgments which you shall set before them: If you buy a servant" etc.; by charity, the moral precepts: whence Romans 13: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law. For You shall not kill" etc. He reproves them, therefore, because on account of the ceremonial precepts they were neglecting the judicial and moral precepts, which were to be observed with greater solicitude. And therefore he adds: But these things it was necessary to do, namely judgment and charity first and principally; whence Hosea 6: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offering." And not to omit those things, because, Sirach 19, "he who despises small things shall fall little by little"; and Ecclesiastes 7: "He who fears God neglects nothing."

Luke 11:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Second, he repeats this threatening on account of arrogance, when he adds: Woe to you Pharisees: because "you love the first seats in the synagogues, with regard to the ambition for dignities. Whence the Gloss: "He reproves arrogance, because they sought primacies." But this is not to be sought: whence Sirach 7: "Do not seek leadership from man nor the seat of honor from the king." For such a seat is not one of true excellence, but rather of pestilence, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Blessed is the man who has not sat in the seat of pestilence"; upon which nevertheless the scribes and Pharisees sat: yet as unworthy, because they had words but not fitting deeds. Whence it is said in Matthew 23: "The scribes and Pharisees have sat upon the seat of Moses; do what they say, but do not act according to their works." And because the appetite for praise follows upon the ambition for dignity, He therefore adds: And greetings in the marketplace, that is, praises in the sight of many, so that they might appear more honorable than the rest: whence Matthew twenty-three: "They love greetings in the marketplace and to be called rabbi by men." Whence here they are reproved, because they sought vain glory, on account of which they did not even dare to confess the truth they knew, according to that passage in John twelve: "Yet many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they be cast out of the synagogue. For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God." From which it is clear that we ought entirely to despise praises and honors according to the divine pattern, not to seek them after the manner of the Pharisees. For he who loves these things, as Jerome says, is not a disciple of Christ, but a scribe and Pharisee. For Christ, when He was sought for kingship, "fled to the mountain," John six; when He was praised, He withdrew into the desert to pray, above in chapter five.

Luke 11:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Thirdly, He repeats this denunciation on account of fraudulence, when He adds: Woe to you!, who are as monuments that do not appear, namely as to what they are within, because they are fetid and unclean within, but outwardly they are beautiful: whence He adds: And men walking over them know it not. Such are hypocrites, who though they are evil within, outwardly appear perfect: whence they are rightly called sepulchres, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Their throat is an open sepulchre, with their tongues" etc. And therefore they are not children of the Bridegroom, nay rather entirely the opposite. For in Song of Songs one: "I am black, but beautiful"; these, however, are white, yet fetid: therefore they are rightly called monuments: whence Matthew twenty-three: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you are like whitewashed sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful to men, but within are full of the bones of the dead and all uncleanness." Whence Chrysostom: "The bodies of the just are called temples, but the bodies of sinners are called sepulchres, because within is a dead soul: for that soul is not to be considered alive which has done nothing living, that is, nothing spiritual, in the body." And afterwards: "Tell me, hypocrite, if it is good to be good, why do you not wish to be what you wish to appear? Moreover, what is shameful to appear is more shameful to be. Therefore either be what you appear, or appear as what you are." From these words of the Lord it can be gathered who those are who ought to be judged hypocrites, namely those in whom negligence, arrogance, and fraudulence reign. These moreover are those who prefer the least things to the greatest, the transitory to the eternal, appearances to realities. But to judge concerning these things belongs not to any man whatsoever, but to Christ, who looks upon the heart, according to that passage in First Corinthians four: "Judge not before the time, until the Lord comes, who will illuminate the hidden things of darkness" etc. For the Lord does not reprove goodness that is apparent and evident, but goodness that is sophistical and non-existent.

Luke 11:45 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

But a certain one of the lawyers answering etc. After He threatened woe to the Pharisees, here secondly He threatens the lawyers, and this for three reasons: first, on account of sloth against the truth of life; second, on account of perfidy against the truth of justice, at: Woe to you who build the monuments: third, on account of deceit against the truth of doctrine, at: Woe to you lawyers, who have taken away the key etc. For this threefold truth ought especially to be found in doctors of the Law, but in the lawyers there was nothing but hypocrisy. In threatening Gehenna, therefore, on account of sloth, first there is set forth the display of authority, second there is joined the threat of calamity. First, therefore, as regards the display of authority on the part of the lawyer, it is said: But a certain one of the lawyers answering, who, namely, seemed to himself to be expert, according to that saying of Isaiah 5: "Woe to you who are wise in your own eyes and prudent before yourselves." And because such men seem to themselves learned and great, they therefore consider it an insult to be reproved by anyone. On account of which he adds: He said to him: Master, in saying these things you insult us also, which he would not say unless from conscience he felt that he similarly transgressed, and from pride was unwilling to be reproved; whence it could be said to him, from Romans 2: "You are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants." "You therefore who teach another, do you not teach yourself?" They consider sound doctrine an insult, because, as is said in Proverbs 18, "the fool does not receive words of prudence, unless you say those things which revolve in his heart." And truly such a one was a fool, who reckoned himself learned, since Proverbs 26: "Have you seen a man who seems wise to himself? A fool will have more hope than he."

Luke 11:46 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Secondly, as regards the threat of calamity on account of sloth in doing good, it is said: But he said: And woe to you lawyers also! namely, of eternal damnation. And the reason for this is that they said much and did little. Therefore he adds: Because you load men with burdens which they cannot bear, that is, with precepts and superstitious and useless traditions, so that rightly may be said that word of Acts 15: This is a burden "which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear." Whence Matthew 23: "They bind heavy and unbearable burdens and lay them on the shoulders of men"; to which, namely, no one is bound, yet they say that they are bound. And because they imposed these burdens, they taught, but did not bear them by doing; he adds: And you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Note pointedly that he says: With one finger you do not touch: he does not say: you do not carry, because there could be an excuse of inability. Frequently a teacher teaches what he cannot do: nevertheless his teaching is not to be despised, if he wills to do it, because the will is reckoned to him as the deed. Whence first Kings thirty: "Equal shall be the share of him who goes down to battle and of him who remains with the baggage, and they shall divide alike"; and this is said concerning the men who had stayed behind because they were weary: but he who does not wish to put a finger to the baggage, it is manifest that he wishes to endure no labor. And such a one, whether he imposes burdens in the manner of a master or in the manner of a prelate, is altogether reprehensible and is not an imitator of Christ, of whom it is said in Acts one: "Jesus began to do and to teach." Whence against such men, Deuteronomy twenty-five: "You shall not have in your bag diverse weights"; and Proverbs twenty: "A weight and a weight, a measure and a measure: both are abominable before God." Now this happens when a man is merciful to himself and harsh to his neighbor or subject: when he carries nothing, but imposes everything on others to carry. Whence Chrysostom: "Do you wish to appear and to be holy? Regarding your own life, be austere; regarding the lives of others, be kind. Let men hear you commanding small things and doing great things."

Luke 11:47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Woe to you who build etc. After he has threatened them with woe for the fault of sloth arising from a defect of truth of life, here secondly he repeats the same for the fault of perfidy against the truth of justice, which indeed consisted in the impious persecution of the just. Concerning which, first the fault itself is aggravated, then the punishment is intensified. First therefore, as to the aggravation of the fault, he says: Woe to you who build the monuments of the Prophets, displaying piety in deed, but bearing impiety in mind, just as their fathers also did. — On account of which he adds: But your fathers killed them, namely as impious men killed the just. Whence in Acts seven blessed Stephen said: "Which of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One." But these men also, although they pretended otherwise, were nevertheless imitators of them.

Luke 11:48 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

On account of which he says: But indeed you testify that you consent to the works of your fathers, that is, you consent that these were the works of your fathers: whence Matthew twenty-three: "You are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who killed the Prophets." Therefore he adds: For they indeed killed them, but you build their tombs: and thus by sign and word they are witnesses that their fathers killed them. And indeed they pretended to condemn this by word and sign: whence Matthew twenty-three: "You adorn the monuments of the just and say: If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their partners"; but they approved by similar deed and desire, because they themselves, like their fathers, were persecutors of the good: and from this they were witnesses that they consented to the works of their fathers. Whence Jerome: "You are witnesses against yourselves: for by deed you testify that you are imitators of your fathers, whose crimes you detest by word." Whence Acts seven: "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you also".

Luke 11:49 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

And because the malice which they bore in their heart was, by God's permission, to be made manifest in deed, therefore he adds: Therefore also the wisdom of God said, "that is, disposed from eternity," or Christ himself disposed or foresaw, who is "the power of God and the wisdom of God." Or said, that is, foretold by prophetic voice. I will send to them Prophets and Apostles, and of them they will kill and persecute, according to that passage of Jeremiah seven: "I sent to you all my servants the Prophets daily, rising early and sending them: they did not hear me, nor did they incline their ear, and they hardened their neck and wrought worse than their fathers." This was verified in these men, who not only killed the Prophets, but also slew their own Lord. Whence in Acts three Peter says to them: "But you denied the Just and Holy One and asked that a murderer be granted to you: but the Author of life you killed." They also killed and persecuted all his witnesses. For James was killed, and Peter was seized, Acts twelve. They also persecuted Paul and Barnabas, so that they crossed over to the Gentiles, Acts thirteen and fourteen: and all the disciples were also scourged, Acts five.

Luke 11:50 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Second, with regard to the aggravation of vengeance, he says: That the blood of all the Prophets may be required. It is required indeed through vengeance; whence in the Psalm: "For requiring their blood, he remembered," etc.; and Genesis nine: "From the hand of man and of his brother I will require the life of man. Whoever shall have shed human blood, his blood shall be shed." — Therefore it shall be required, the blood, that is, the vengeance for the shedding of blood; on account of which he adds: Which was shed from the foundation of the world, that is, from the beginning until the end. It shall be required, I say, of this generation, as if to say that the vengeance for all the blood of a holy man that was shed shall be upon the generation of the Jews, because they shed the blood of him who was the "Holy of Holies," namely Christ; Daniel nine and following: "Christ shall be killed, and the people who shall deny him shall not be his." Whence they themselves said, John nineteen: "We have no king but Caesar"; and Matthew twenty-seven: "His blood be upon us and upon our children." Or this is said so that they themselves may be punished as an example for others, because, when they saw evil punished in others, they did not correct themselves. Whence Chrysostom: "Why does God avenge the sins of others upon these, if they alone suffered such things, when they had not sinned alone? Just as, when many servants sin, one is chastised for his own sin, and yet he alone, having been flogged for all, endured what was promised to all." The reason, moreover, why the punishment fell more upon these is given by the same John Chrysostom: "Because," he says, "you heard of the vengeance taken upon Cain and upon the other wicked, and if you were not corrected by their examples, you are held to a graver punishment, and the examples of those who came before shall come upon you."

Luke 11:51 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

And for this reason he exemplifies according to written testimonies, when he adds: From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah. Abel was indeed the first just man killed by his brother, as is said in Genesis four. Zechariah however was the son of Jehoiada, who was killed by King Joash, who had received many good things from his father, as the history narrates in Second Chronicles twenty-four. Nevertheless, he was not the last to be killed, but rather he is joined with the first because "Abel was a shepherd of sheep and was slain in the field, while Zechariah was a priest and was slain in the court of the temple; and they designate two orders of Martyrs, namely the laity, and those who are devoted to the ministry of the altar." Therefore he designates the entire place of his death, when he adds: Who perished between the altar and the temple, that is, he was slain between the temple and the altar of holocaust. "For there were two altars in the temple: one interior, namely the altar of incense, and another exterior, namely the altar of holocaust"; according to what is read in Exodus thirty-five. And between this altar and the temple, Zechariah was slain by the Jews, according to what is written in Second Chronicles twenty-four: "They gathered together against him and cast stones at him by the king's command in the court of the house of God." "Who, as he was dying, said: May the Lord see and require it." He said this, attending to the equity of divine justice, which leaves nothing unavenged. To mark its infallibility, he repeats the future vengeance, when he adds: Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation; so that by the pronoun a demonstration is made of the wicked generation. For the Gloss of Bede says: "All the wicked are one generation, one city, one body of the devil, just as all the good are one body, one generation of God." Whence concerning this wicked generation, that passage of Proverbs thirty can be understood: "A generation that has swords for teeth and devours with its molars, to destroy the needy from the earth and the poor from among men." This is the generation from which vengeance shall be required; but within this, especially from the Jewish people, because perfidy was consummated in them. Whence Chrysostom says: "Just as God promised to the good through many generations that Christ would come, but bestowed him upon the last Saints, so through each generation he threatened the wicked, but he will repay the last generation. For never was such grace given to men as in Christ, nor did such destruction come upon the impious as upon the Jews." Whence they can most fittingly say that passage of Genesis forty-two: "We rightly suffer these things, because we sinned against our brother. Behold, his blood is required."

Luke 11:52 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Woe to you lawyers, etc. Here he repeats woe a third time on account of fraudulence against the truth of doctrine. And because the wicked and deceivers advance to worse things, therefore first there is set forth the threat of Gehenna; and second there is added the obstinacy of wickedness. First, therefore, as regards the threat of punishment on account of the deficiency of true doctrine, he says: Woe to you lawyers, who have taken away the key of knowledge, namely as regards the office of dispensing doctrine. Now this key belongs principally to Christ as the supreme teacher: "For one is your master, Christ," according to what is said in Matthew twenty-three. And concerning this, Isaiah twenty-two says: "I will place the key of the house of David upon his shoulder, and he shall open," etc. The scribes had taken this key away, pretending that they taught rightly; but nevertheless they did not teach rightly, because they neglected themselves and hindered others. On account of which he adds: You yourselves did not enter, and those who were entering, you hindered. For they themselves did not enter, because, although they had words, they did not have deeds; whence that passage from Romans 2 could be said to them: "You who teach others do not teach yourself; you who preach that one should not steal, steal." And because they had words alone, they could not enter: Matthew 7: "Not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven," etc.; therefore they did not enter by words alone; and they also hindered others by evil examples; whence that passage from Jeremiah 50 was fulfilled: "My people have become a lost flock; their shepherds led them astray," namely from the right way, either by evil examples or by false doctrines, according to that passage from Lamentations 2: "Your prophets saw false and foolish things for you, nor did they lay open your iniquity to anyone, so as to provoke you to repentance; but they saw for you false assumptions and banishments"; because from false assumptions nearly all distorted consciences are formed, through which men are cast out from the kingdom of God and are prohibited from entering into it. Whence Chrysostom: "The Law and the Prophets openly proclaimed the coming of Christ, but they closed this door of understanding by perverse interpretations"; and therefore they prohibited entering, calling back from the way of truth by example and by word. Against which, Proverbs 3: "Do not prohibit him who can from doing good"; if you can, do good yourself also.

Luke 11:52 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Likewise, knowledge is repelled when a man possesses knowledge and does not wish to live according to that knowledge nor to fulfill it. Whence the Lord says: "Woe to you, Scribes and Lawyers, because you have taken away the key of knowledge: you yourselves have not entered, and those who were entering, you have hindered." If a physician eats the food which he forbids to the sick person, the sick person is scandalized and wishes to eat that food.

Luke 11:53 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

Second, as regards the hardening of wickedness, it is added: But when he said these things to them, the Pharisees and the lawyers began to press him vehemently: in which they show that their heart was hardened and weighed down upon hearing the divine word, so that it might be shown that in them was fulfilled that passage from Isaiah 6: "Blind the heart of this people and close its eyes and weigh down its ears"; and Matthew 13: "The heart of this people has grown fat, and with their ears they have heard with difficulty." Nor was there in them only hardening, but also an assault upon the truth: whence he adds: And to assail his mouth concerning many things, as if that most pure mouth had spoken evil or falsehood. Whence that passage from Amos 5 was fulfilled: "They hated the one who reproves in the gate, and they abominated the one who speaks perfectly"; and therefore Proverbs 9: "He who instructs a scoffer brings injury upon himself"; because the scoffer turns to abuse on account of the truth heard.

Luke 11:54 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11

And because it does not suffice for obstinate malice to revile the one it hates, but it also strives to contrive his destruction unto death, on this account he adds: Lying in wait for him and seeking to catch something from his mouth, that they might accuse him. For they did not dare to kill him openly on account of fear of the crowds, but they wished to kill him secretly on account of hatred of the truth they had heard. Whence John 8: "Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you?" — which they sought cautiously and maliciously; whence Matthew 22: "The Pharisees, going away, took counsel together to ensnare Jesus in his speech."

Luke 12:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Now when great crowds were standing around, etc. After the Lord rebuked in the Pharisees the craftiness of malignant pretense, here he invites the disciples to caution against the pretense that has been rebuked. And since duplicity of this kind is caused by love that wrongly humbles, or love that wrongly inflames, therefore this part is divided into two. In the first of which he warns to guard against duplicity arising from timidity; in the second, against cupidity, below in the same chapter: But one of the crowd said to him, etc. Now he instructs the disciples to guard against deceitfulness by a public instruction and a credible instruction: public, I say, on account of the multitude of the crowd; credible, on account of the certainty of the reason. First, therefore, as regards the multitude of the crowd rendering the admonition public, it is said: Now when great crowds were standing around, so that they trampled one another; and this because each one wished to draw near to him, whether for the sake of obtaining salvation, as above in chapter six: "The whole crowd sought to touch him" etc.; or for the sake of receiving teaching, as below in chapter fifteen: "The publicans were drawing near to Jesus" etc.; or for the sake of beholding the kindness of Christ himself, as is said figuratively in Job chapter twenty-nine: "And when I sat as a king, with the army standing around, I was nevertheless a consoler of those who mourned." In the presence of so great a multitude, the teaching was public. On account of which he adds: He began to say to his disciples, in the open, because truth does not require hiding places, according to that passage in John chapter eighteen: "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple" etc. And it was fitting for the teaching to be of such a kind in order to confute the malice of the Pharisees, which always seeks a hiding place, because "contraries are cured by contraries," and darkness is driven out by light. For which reason it is added: Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, that is, take care lest you be hypocrites, like the Pharisees, whose life and doctrine on account of malice and deceit is called leaven, because it corrupts imperceptibly: Hosea 7: "The city rested a little from the leaven, until the whole was leavened." It also corrupts universally, as is said in First Corinthians 5: "A little leaven corrupts the whole lump"; and therefore it is added: "Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump." Now this is the old leaven, which consists in the deceitfulness of doctrine and the malice of life. Whence in the same place it is added: "Not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." From this leaven he calls back in this place; and concerning this it is said figuratively in Deuteronomy 16: "No leaven shall appear in all your borders," because this pretense and hypocrisy ought to be kept far from all our works, and especially from spiritual devotion: Leviticus 2: "Every offering that shall be offered to the Lord shall be made without leaven"; from bodily affliction: Deuteronomy 16: "For seven days you shall eat the bread of affliction without leaven"; from the preaching of the divine word: Exodus 23: "You shall not offer the blood of the sacrifice upon leaven." Whence Scripture teaches that this vice is to be avoided as supremely corruptive. But although it is supremely corruptive, it is nevertheless not a capital sin, because its corruption is caused from another source. For hypocrisy draws its origin from vainglory, and this from pride; and therefore hypocrisy is fittingly compared to leaven. For just as leaven puffs up and by puffing up renders vain and thus corrupts, so pride by puffing up introduces the vanity of glory, and this vanity introduces corrupting falsehood. Whence this leaven is guarded against through the truth of voluntary humiliation, of interior gloryi…

Luke 12:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Second, with regard to the certitude of the cause rendering credible information, he adds: Nothing however is covered that shall not be revealed, nor hidden that shall not be known: so that by covered is understood knowledge lying hidden in the intellect, and by hidden, delight lurking in the affections: both of which are manifest to God, according to that passage of Jeremiah 17: "I the Lord, searching hearts and reins, who give to each one" etc.; in the Psalm: "God, who searches hearts and reins." And therefore, because it will be his to make manifest and reveal all hidden things in the judgment, according to that passage of Wisdom 6: "Power has been given to you by the Lord, and strength from the Most High, who will examine your works and search out your thoughts"; and First Corinthians 4: "The Lord will come, who will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts" etc.: and thus all evils are to be avoided, however hidden they may be, because all things will be made manifest in the judgment.

Luke 12:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And what is more, for greater confusion they will be made manifest even to all; on account of which he adds: Because what you have said in darkness shall be spoken in the light. He says this with regard to manifestation in respect of sight. An example of this is found in David in Second Kings 12, where the Lord said to David through Nathan: "You did that thing in secret; but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel and in the sight of this sun." For the light of the sun makes other things manifest to sight. But with regard to manifestation in respect of hearing it is said: And what you have spoken in the ear in private chambers shall be proclaimed on the housetops, that is, with the rest hearing. This indeed will happen in the judgment, when, namely, according to that passage of John 5, "all who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God." And then the whisperings of detraction will be made manifest, according to that passage of Wisdom 1: "He who speaks wicked things cannot be hidden, nor shall the correcting judgment pass him by. In his thoughts" etc. And therefore counsel is given in Ecclesiastes 10: "In your thought do not detract from the king, and in the secret of your chamber do not curse the rich, for the birds of the sky will carry your voice." On account of the judgment, therefore, which will manifest all things in the future, all hypocrisy is to be avoided in the present age: Sirach 1: "Do not be a hypocrite in the sight of men, lest God reveal your hidden things and cast you down in the midst of the assembly." And note that this is the most noble reason why hypocrisy is to be avoided, namely the universal and complete manifestation of interior things, which is most opposed to the dissimulation of hypocrites. This manifestation, however, will be accomplished through Christ, "who is the splendor of the Father's glory and the figure of His substance, sustaining all things by the word of His power." And because He is the innermost splendor, it belongs to Him to uncover all things: Sirach 23: "The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, looking about upon all the ways of men and the depths of the abyss and beholding the hearts of men," etc. But because He is the living Word, therefore all things are open to Him, and He makes all things manifest as the Word: Hebrews 4: "The word of God is living and effective and more piercing than any two-edged sword, reaching even to the division of the soul," etc., continuing to: "No creature is invisible in His sight." And therefore Christ the judge, because He will uncover all things in the judgment, is said to come "as lightning" and to "descend with the voice of the Archangel," because He will most clearly reveal all things to all.

Luke 12:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

But I say to you, my friends, etc. After He instructed them to guard against deceitfulness, here secondly He strengthens them to repel timidity. To this end, however, He brings forward a twofold consideration, namely of the punishment of hell, into which no man can cast; and of the general providence, which no man can escape. The first looks to divine power; the second, to divine providence; and the first instills true fear; the second, true hope; and each of these is a remedy against worldly fear. First, therefore, he calls them back from the fear of men, because they can do nothing with respect to the punishment of gehenna, which alone is to be feared. On account of which he says: But I say to you, my friends, that is, you who love me and are loved by me, according to that passage of John 16: "The Father himself loves you, because you have loved me," etc. To such he says: Be not terrified by those who kill the body, and after these things have nothing more that they can do. Do not fear the punishment of bodily death, because it is partial and momentary; whence Isaiah 51: "Who are you, that you should fear a mortal man and the son of man, who shall wither like grass?" and 1 Maccabees 2: "Fear not the words of a sinful man, for his glory is dung and worms," etc.; whence, because their power is transitory, it is not to be feared, nor are their punishments. Whence Seneca: "Death, exile, grief, pain are not punishments, but the tributes of living"; "what I owe I am prepared to pay, when the creditor calls upon me." And Chrysostom: "If we are to die freely after a little while, why do we not also die a little before, in the cause of God, with glory? If you have received an ox or a horse on loan, you work diligently and say: Perhaps tomorrow it will be taken from me. Why do you not do this with your body?" Nor are they to be feared for the spirit, because they are done in the flesh and thus as it were outwardly, as in a garment: according to what is said in 2 Corinthians 5: "We would not be unclothed, but clothed upon." Therefore Chrysostom: "God made the body for the sake of the soul, and the enemy greatly envies and persecutes it; but the body is the garment of the soul. Just as, therefore, if someone tears another's garment, that person indeed feels the injury, but suffers no harm in his nature: so the soul feels the pain of killing, but suffers no harm in its nature." And therefore bodily punishment is not to be feared, nor he who inflicts it; but spiritual punishment is most greatly to be dreaded, and he alone who inflicts it.

Luke 12:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Luke 12:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

It is necessary that we fear God. Whence in the Gospel: "Do not fear those who kill the body and after this have nothing more that they can do; but I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into gehenna." I would prefer to be in the greatest punishment of this world for seven thousand years than to endure the least eternal punishment. The Apostle: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," because God afflicts for eternity. Consider the sublimity of divine power, the perspicacity of divine wisdom, and the severity of divine vengeance, that you may fear God.

Luke 12:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

On account of which he adds: But I will show you whom you should fear, so that by fear of him you may turn away from evil, according to that passage of Jeremiah 10: "Do not fear those things which can do neither evil nor good"; and afterward: "Who shall not fear you, O King of the nations," etc. Therefore, that we may not fear worldly power, we must fear the divine; on account of which he says: Fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into gehenna: whence in the Psalm: "Let all the earth fear the Lord, and let all the inhabitants of the world be moved by him." And because this kind of fear is most useful and necessary, he therefore repeats: So I say to you, fear him. Whence Isaiah 8: "Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let him be your dread, and let him be your terror"; and Jeremiah 5: "Will you not then fear me? and before my face," etc.

Luke 12:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Second, he calls back from the fear of men, because they can do nothing against the general protection of God: with regard to which he says: Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? Dipondius here is the name of a coin having two obols or asses. Whence Bede: "A dipondius is a weight composed of two asses. Now what in numbers is one, in weights is an as; what is two, that is a dipondius." With this agrees, nor does it disagree, what is said in Matthew 10: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?" Because, as we see, when five eggs are sold for one denarius, two are given for an obol. A sparrow is therefore of small price, since so many are found for one denarius: yet not even it is excluded from divine protection. On account of which he adds: And not one of them is in forgetfulness before God, but rather is governed by divine providence, according to that passage of Wisdom 11: "You love all things that are, and hate nothing of those things which you have made: for you did not appoint anything out of hatred." From which it is apparent that divine providence extends itself even to the least things: nor does that passage of 1 Corinthians 9 contradict this: "Does God have care for oxen?" For that is understood of the care of special providence, by which he leads by the hand along the way of eternal salvation: but this is understood of the providence of general administration and conservation, of which it is said in the Psalm: "Who gives to beasts their food, and to the young ravens that call upon him." And note that he says: Is not in forgetfulness before God: saying less and signifying more, because nothing happens to them except according to divine providence ordaining it; whence Matthew 10: "Not one of them shall fall upon the ground without your Father." And yet sparrows fall most easily: whence they are said to have the falling sickness: and for this reason he most aptly sets forth the example of them as of a manifest thing. From which it is gathered as from the lesser, that divine providence is most especially attentive to the governance of man.

Luke 12:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

For the expression of which he adds: But even the hairs of your head are all numbered: from which it is given to understand that he has the greatest care for man. Whence Bede: "But even the hairs, to say nothing of the mass of the body: for even the minute particles are preserved by the providence of God." Whence numbering refers not so much to knowledge as to most diligent preservation, because from the bodies of the Saints who suffer not even a hair can perish; whence below in chapter 21: "A hair of your head shall not perish." So great therefore is God's care for us that not even a hair of our head can be taken away without his will. Therefore it is not fitting that we be troubled by fear, according to that passage of 1 Peter last chapter: "Casting all your care upon him, because he has care for you." And this is what he infers: Do not therefore fear; you are of more value than many sparrows, "that is, of greater worth"; in which is touched upon simultaneously the conclusion and the reason of the inference through an argument from the lesser. For if God has care for the lesser, much more so for the greater; and if he has care for us, the world need not be feared by us. Moreover, we are of greater worth than brute creatures, than birds, because we are rational creatures, and this because we are made in the image of God; on account of which all other things are subject to man: Genesis 1: "Let us make man in our image and likeness, and let him have dominion over the birds of the heavens," etc. And therefore man is most immediately under the protection of God, and especially the just man and friend of God. And for this reason it is not necessary that he have the aid of anything perishable; whence Genesis 15: "Fear not, Abram, I am your protector and your exceedingly great reward"; as if to say: fear not, because you can suffer nothing for lack of aid, nor can you suffer anything without the recompense of reward, so long as you cling to me.

Luke 12:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

But I say to you: Everyone, etc. After he has urged them to guard against deceitfulness and to repel timidity, here thirdly he urges them to preserve truthfulness. For the truthfulness of confession is opposed to the deceitfulness of dissimulation. Moreover, he leads to this in two ways: first, by intimating the equity of the divine sentence; and second, by intimating the irremissibility of the sin of blasphemy. By the first he admonishes them to confess the truth; by the second, to avoid falsehood. First, therefore, he admonishes them to confess the truth on account of the equity of the divine sentence, when he says: But I say to you: Everyone who shall confess me before men. Me, namely, indicates the person in two natures, namely, whoever confesses me to be true God and man, not only saying in the heart, according to that of 1 Corinthians 12: "No one can say: Lord Jesus, except in the Holy Spirit," but also expressing with the mouth, according to what is said in Romans 10: "With the heart one believes unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"; and not only with the mouth, but also by works, against hypocrites and wicked Christians, of whom it is said in Titus 1: "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny him." Against whom, Matthew 7: "Not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord," etc.; and therefore 1 John 3: "Let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth." He who confesses thus confesses fully, namely, by heart, mouth, and works. Of such a one he adds: And the Son of man shall confess him before the Angels of God, namely, that he is one of his own, according to that of Matthew 25: "Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom." Whence that saying of Proverbs 11 shall be verified: "The soul that blesses shall be made fat."

Luke 12:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

From which appears the equity of retribution with respect to those who confess: and so that nothing be lacking, the equity with respect to those who deny is shown, when he adds: But he who shall have denied me before men shall be denied before the Angels of God, namely when the Lord will say that word from Matthew twenty-five: "I know you not," etc. Whence above, in the ninth chapter: "He who shall have been ashamed of me and of my words, him shall the Son of man be ashamed of," etc. And this the equity of the divine sentence requires, concerning which is said in First Kings two: "Those who honor me, I will honor; but those who despise me shall be ignoble." And note that he who confesses the truth which Christ taught confesses Christ, whether in faith or in morals; but he who denies that truth consequently denies Christ as well. He who says that it is false consequently says that Christ is a liar, and thereby that he is not God, but a deceiver. And note that the confession of the name of Christ has a great recompense, because the confession by which Christ will confess the one confessing him will be approbative, honorificative, and salvific: for Christ is king, judge, and pontiff. His confession also is public, illustrious, and perpetual; ours however is small and momentary. And similarly, the contrary is understood concerning his denial: which manifestly appears in the judicial disputation: "Come, blessed ones," and "Depart, accursed ones." This therefore is the most noble proposition, which raises our minds to the Truth. The reason for this is as follows: because the Truth is veracious, therefore he can neither deny himself nor the one confessing him, nor acknowledge a liar nor act against himself; whence Second Timothy two: "If we shall deny him, he also will deny us; if we do not believe, he remains faithful, he cannot deny himself."

Luke 12:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Secondly, he admonishes to decline falsehood on account of the irremissibility of blasphemy, which, although it is remissible when committed through ignorance, is nevertheless irremissible when committed from certain malice. On account of which he says: And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him. Against the Son of man he speaks a word who imputes what is false, deceived through ignorance: and such ignorance can obtain remission. Whence it shall be forgiven does not denote the act, because not all repent, but the aptitude, because ignorance excuses. Moreover, sin from ignorance is said to be against the Son. And in this manner Paul blasphemed, and therefore obtained mercy; whence First Timothy one: "I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and insolent, but I obtained mercy, because I did these things ignorantly in unbelief." But it is not so when someone blasphemes from deliberate malice; on account of which it is added: But he who shall have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven. He blasphemes against the Holy Spirit who from deliberate malice attacks the truth and says unworthy things of God; and of such a one it is said that it shall not be forgiven, not because such a one will never obtain forgiveness, but because he is unfit for forgiveness, because that sin has no color of excuse. Whence Richard says: "One person blasphemes from compulsion, and this one sins against the Father; another from deception, and this one against the Son; another from malice alone, and this one against the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the most wicked in this kind is that in which malice has grown to the utmost, when someone takes delight in reviling God. What else, then, does the spirit of blasphemy seem to be than the desire for divine revilement? From this, therefore, because this evil has nothing in itself of excuse, it deserves to receive nothing of forgiveness." He is also unfit for forgiveness because he attacks divine grace, through which one is prepared for repentance; whence such a one is disposed to impenitence, in which if he perseveres, the fault will never be forgiven. Whence Bede says: "He who, not acknowledging the grace of the Holy Spirit by which repentance is inspired and return to communion is effected, shall have persevered with an impenitent heart—since this is now not human but diabolical—it shall be irremissible." And concerning such blasphemy, which has joined to it final impenitence, it is true that it shall never be forgiven. Whence in Matthew twelve it is said that "it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the age to come." He is unfit, thirdly, nonetheless, because, although by appropriation it is appropriated to the Holy Spirit, such a one most greatly dishonors the whole Trinity. For he who knowingly and deliberately attacks the saving truth and from deliberate malice is the greatest despiser of divine power, the greatest calumniator of divine truth, the greatest persecutor of the highest goodness, according to that passage in Job fifteen: "He ran against God with an outstretched neck and was armed with a thick neck." Whence, because such contempt, calumny, and persecution cannot exist without hardness of heart, and impenitence accompanies this, and the irremissibility of sin accompanies that, therefore blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven.

Luke 12:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

But when they shall bring you in, etc. Here now, fourthly, he exhorts to having confidence against faintheartedness. And he does this by a twofold way, namely by removing anxiety about danger and by conferring certainty of protection. First, therefore, he removes anxiety about danger, when he says: When they shall bring you into synagogues and to magistrates and powers: in which he indicates that the disciples would suffer tribulation from the Jews and the Gentiles. Whence in Matthew 10 this is said more expressly: "For they will deliver you up in councils and in synagogues" etc.; whence in the Psalm: "The kings of the earth stood up" etc. And note that he enumerates three kinds of persons before whom a man fears to speak, namely before the many, before the learned, and before the powerful. Before the many, when he says: In synagogues: against which Job 31: "If I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of kinsmen terrified me." Before the learned, whence he adds: to magistrates: Acts 5: "Then the magistrate went with the officers and brought the Apostles." Before the powerful, when he adds: and powers: Romans 13: "Do you wish not to fear the power? Do what is good." The first are not to be feared, because "there are more with us," 4 Kings 6; the second are not, because one wiser is with us, since Acts 6: "They could not resist the wisdom and the spirit" etc.; likewise neither the third; 1 John 4: "You have overcome them, because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world." And since it is dangerous to speak in the sight of a watchful multitude, and danger induces fears, and fear anxiety, and anxiety restlessness, and restlessness disturbance, and disturbance is the occasion of impatience and ruin: therefore he calls back from superfluous anxiety, when he adds: Be not anxious how or what you shall answer, namely to those "questioning" maliciously, or what you shall say, namely to those "wishing to learn"; in which word he does not remove the anxiety of studiousness, but of curiosity. Concerning which, Philippians 4: "Be anxious for nothing, but in every prayer with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God"; because, as is said in James 1, "if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God" etc. And this is especially to be done in the moment of necessity, where one should not seek ornament of words or profundity of sentences, but the pure and simple truth of faith set forth with great constancy and fervor: according to what is said in 1 Corinthians 2: "Our speech was not in the persuasive words of human wisdom" etc. He does not, however, intend to draw back from the study of truth, since he himself says in John 5: "Search the Scriptures, in which you think you have eternal life"; but he intends to persuade that a man in danger of death should not trust in his own wit, because man fails in discovering, errs in judging, and therefore frequently goes astray, leaning on his own wit. On account of which, Proverbs 3: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not upon your own prudence."

Luke 12:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Second, he confers certainty concerning assistance, when he adds: For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. Now this Spirit is the best teacher, because he teaches man to understand and to express himself eloquently. On account of the first, it is said in Job thirty-two: "The inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding"; and in John sixteen: "When that Spirit of truth shall come, he will teach you all truth," because, as is said in First Corinthians two, "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." On account of the second, it is said in Wisdom ten: "Wisdom opened the mouth of the mute," etc.; and in Matthew ten: "It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father." Therefore the Apostle said in Second Corinthians thirteen: "Do you seek proof of Christ who speaks in me?" Concerning these two things, below in chapter twenty-one: "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and contradict"; and in First John two: "The anointing teaches you concerning all things." Whence Bernard: "Reading is good, but better is the anointing, which teaches concerning all things." For the anointing teaches the love of God and neighbor, and on this "the whole Law hangs and the Prophets," according to what is said in Matthew twenty-two. The entire wisdom of philosophy also, as Augustine says, "herein is natural, moral, and civil philosophy." The Holy Spirit also, by making the soul cling to God, makes it intimate with himself, and through this causes secrets to be revealed; John fifteen: "But I have called you friends." Moreover, the fervor of the spirit elevates the soul above itself, where it hears and sees hidden things, as Paul, Second Corinthians twelve; as Ezekiel, three: "The spirit lifted me up," etc.; as John, Apocalypse one: "I was in the spirit," etc.

Luke 12:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

But a certain man said to him, etc. After he has dissuaded from deceitfulness arising from human timidity and from timidity itself, in this part he dissuades from cupidity. And this part has two parts. In the first of which he calls back from the anxiety of avarice; in the second he invites to the solicitude of providence, below in the same chapter: Let your loins be girded, etc. Now he calls back from the anxiety of avarice in four ways: first, by a rational instruction; second, by a terrifying example; third, by an irrefutable argument; fourth, by a desirable promise. Concerning the rational instruction, by which one is called back from the anxiety of avarice, three things are introduced: the first is the refutation of the avaricious petition; the second is the dissuasion from avarice; the third is the assignment of the cause. First, therefore, as regards the refutation of the avaricious petition: And one of the crowd said to him: Master, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. Truly this man was of the crowd, because he was anxious about earthly things, according to that passage of Isaiah twenty-nine: "Your speech shall whisper from the ground," etc. He also spoke against himself when he called him Master, because Christ did not profess himself a master in teaching how to acquire and divide temporal things, but rather how to abandon them: whence to the young man asking and saying: "Good Master, what shall I do to possess eternal life?" he responded: "If you wish to be perfect, go and sell," etc. Whence Christ did not teach how money might be increased, but how poverty might be preserved. He also speaks against himself when he wishes to be divided from his brother, to whom he ought to be joined. Now this question arose from private love, which divides things joined together: which the devil especially does, not the Lord: Hosea thirteen: "He shall divide among brothers."

Luke 12:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And since, as Bede says in the Gloss, "Christ is not the God of dissension, but of peace and unity," therefore he refutes the aforesaid petition, when he adds: But he said to him, namely Jesus: Man, who appointed me a judge or a divider over you? A judge, that is, of disputes, and a divider of possessions; the Gloss: "He disdains to be a judge of disputes or an arbiter of possessions, he who holds the judgment of the living and the dead and the arbitration of merits." It is indeed true, as it is said in the Psalm, that "he was appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain," and that "all things are placed under his dominion"; but because God had sent him to communicate spiritual things, therefore he refused to descend to dividing temporal things, intimating in this that passage of Second Timothy two: "No one serving as a soldier of God entangles himself in worldly affairs." And note that Christ calls him an animal and brutish man, on account of his love for earthly things and his dispute over division. Whence First Corinthians three: "Since there is among you jealousy and contention," etc.; and the Psalm: "Sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart?" Whence in this is intimated the refutation of the avaricious petition.

Luke 12:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Second, with respect to the dissuasion from avarice, he adds: And he said to them: Take heed and beware of all avarice. Take heed, namely, so as to be provident, and beware, so as to be cautious: Ephesians 5: "See, brethren, how you walk cautiously, not as unwise, but as wise," etc. Providence indeed causes one to beware of the dangers into which one falls through avarice; 1 Timothy, last chapter: "They who wish to become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil and many useless and harmful desires, which plunge men into ruin and perdition. For the root of evils is covetousness," etc. Hence avarice itself blinds a man, which was signified in the blinding of Tobit by the dung of swallows, Tobit 2. And therefore he says: Take heed, namely of eternal things, and beware of avarice, which seeks temporal things: 2 Corinthians 4: "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." And since the desire for any transitory good, namely money, power, and honor, can be called avarice, therefore he says: Beware of all avarice: Isaiah 33: "Who shall be able to dwell with everlasting burnings?" and there follows: "He who casts away avarice gained by oppression and shakes his hands free from every bribe." Third, with respect to the assignment of the reason and cause, he adds: For not in the abundance of anyone is his life from the things which he possesses: that is, the life of anyone is not in abundance: abundance, I say, from the things which he possesses, that is, no one on account of the abundance of riches can live longer: Psalm: "They shall leave their riches to strangers, and their sepulchres shall be their houses forever"; and Job 27: "When the rich man shall sleep, he shall take nothing with him," etc.; and Psalm: "They have slept their sleep, and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands." Hence abundance does not prolong life, but frequently shortens it: Sirach 8: "Gold and silver have destroyed many"; and Acts 8: "Let your money be with you unto destruction." And for this reason, money itself must be lost, lest it destroy its possessor: Sirach 29: "Lose your money for the sake of a brother and friend, and do not hide it under a stone unto destruction."

Luke 12:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And he spoke a parable to them, saying, etc. Here, second, he calls back from the anxiety of avarice by a terrible example; concerning which three things are introduced, namely the occasion of vain security, the conception of vain security, and the removal of vain security. First, therefore, as regards the occasion of vain security arising from the abundance of fruits, he says: The field of a certain rich man brought forth abundant fruits. For these are wont to be the goods of the rich from the abundance of temporal fruits: the Psalm: "Their storehouses are full, overflowing from this into that; their sheep" etc.; whence Job twenty-one: "Why do the wicked live, are raised up and strengthened with riches?" "Their houses are secure and at peace, and the rod of God is not upon them."

Luke 12:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And because riches so make one secure that they render him anxious, therefore he adds: And he thought within himself saying: What shall I do, because I have no place where I may gather my fruits? Ecclesiastes four: "There is another vanity which I saw under the sun: there is one alone and he has not a second, and yet he ceases not to labor, nor are his eyes satisfied with riches," nay rather they are certainly made anxious; Ecclesiastes five: "The fullness of the rich man does not allow him to sleep."

Luke 12:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And the reason for this is that he is compelled to deliberate, and therefore he adds: And he said: This I will do: I will pull down my barns and build greater ones, and there I will gather all my crops and my goods. The Gloss: "Behold, great anxiety from avarice," because there is anxiety about destroying what has been made and building anew. For although the barns were full, cupidity, still empty, sought new receptacles: Ecclesiastes five: "The miser will not be filled with money" etc.; and Sirach fourteen: "The eye of the covetous is insatiable; in the portion of iniquity he will not be satisfied." The barn was filled, but the heart was empty: both because God alone can fill the soul, which is capable of the Trinity; and because temporal things do not enter the heart except according to a phantasmic likeness; and because they increase concupiscence; and because they do not make the soul better; and also because they are of an altogether different nature—just as an Angel and a corporeal place, so the soul and corporeal treasure; and also because the soul, since it has quantity not in mass but in power, is not filled by material quantity but by virtual quantity, such as the grace of the Holy Spirit, Wisdom one and Acts two.

Luke 12:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Secondly, as regards the conception of vain security through a foolish promise, there is added: And I will say to my soul, that is, to my animal nature; John twelve: "He who loves his soul will lose it." Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years: Revelation three: "You say: I am rich and made wealthy and have need of nothing" etc.; and Zechariah eleven: "Blessed be the Lord, for we have become rich." And because abundance with security begets the evil of wantonness, he therefore adds: Rest; behold, negligence: Ecclesiastes 4: "The fool folds his hands and says: Better is a handful with rest than both hands full with labor and affliction of spirit." Eat: behold, gluttony: Sirach 11: "I have found rest for myself, and now I will eat of my goods alone." Drink, with regard to drunkenness: against which Proverbs 23: "Do not be among the banquets of drunkards"; "because those who give themselves to drinking and contribute to feasts shall be consumed." Feast: behold, wantonness: James 5: "You have feasted upon the earth and nourished your hearts in luxuries." For these are customarily the vices of the wealthy: Amos 6: "Woe to you who are wealthy in Sion"; and afterward: "You who sleep on ivory beds and are wanton on your couches; who eat the lamb from the flock, drinking wine from bowls, and anointed with the finest ointment." Now the cause of this wantonness is vain security, which the soul foolishly conceives, either by promising itself a long temporal life through presumption, according to that saying of Isaiah 28: "We have struck a covenant with death and made a pact with hell: the overflowing scourge, when it passes through, shall not come upon us"; or by scorning through despair: Isaiah 22: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die."

Luke 12:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Third, with regard to the removal of vain security through the equity of the divine sentence, it is added: But God said to him. The Gloss: "For God to speak to a man is to restrain his wicked schemes by sudden punishment." On account of which he adds the sentence: Fool, this night they shall require your soul of you: 1 Thessalonians 5: "When they shall say: Peace and security, then sudden destruction shall come upon them." He calls him a fool on account of his earthly wisdom, because, 1 Corinthians 1, "God has made foolish the wisdom of this world." A fool is one who does not foresee future dangers: Ecclesiastes 2: "The eyes of the wise man are in his head; the fool walks in darkness"; because, uncertain of the future, he sleeps securely: against which Proverbs 27: "Do not boast of tomorrow, not knowing what the coming day may bring forth"; and James 4: "What is our life? A vapor appearing for a little while." And because, when life is lost, these temporal goods are lost, he therefore adds: But the things you have prepared, whose shall they be? Ambrose: "Those goods are not a man's which he cannot take with him; mercy alone is the companion of the dead"; whence 1 Timothy, the last chapter: "We brought nothing into this world, and without doubt we can carry nothing out"; and Job 20: "When he has obtained what he desired, he shall not be able to possess it; when he is satisfied, he shall be straitened, and all sorrow shall rush upon him."

Luke 12:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And because this sentiment is common to all the avaricious, he therefore adds: So is everyone, who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. He stores up treasure for himself who multiplies treasures for himself on earth; Psalm: "He stores up treasure and knows not for whom he shall gather it"; but is rich toward God who abounds in merits and works of piety: First Corinthians 1: "In all things you have been made rich in him, so that you lack nothing in any grace." Therefore it is said in Matthew 6: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where rust and moth destroy." "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroys, and where thieves do not dig through nor steal." Moreover, hope, which we have in him, makes us rich toward God, according to that passage in First Peter 1: "He has regenerated us unto a living hope, unto an incorruptible inheritance, preserved in heaven." But this hope is rooted in poverty: hence Second Corinthians 6: "As needy, yet enriching many; as having nothing, yet possessing all things." Such was Paul: hence Philippians last chapter: "I have all things and abound." Christ made us such: hence Second Corinthians 8: "He became poor for your sake, so that by his poverty you might be rich." Therefore to such he says: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Luke 12:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And he said to his disciples, etc. Here now for the third time he calls back from the anxiety of avarice by an irrefragable argument, which is taken from a threefold genus of creature: first, from the rational creature; second, from the sensible creature, at: Consider the ravens; third, from the vegetative creature, at: Consider the lilies of the field. First, therefore, from the rational creature he takes this argument: he who gives what is greater will give what is less; but the soul is more than food, and the body more than clothing; therefore he who gave the soul and the body will give sustenance and clothing; therefore it is not necessary to be anxious about these things. In which reasoning he first sets forth the principal conclusion, then subjoins the proof. He therefore first sets forth the principal conclusion, when he says: Therefore I say to you: Do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall wear, that is, do not be anxious about food and clothing, which are the things most necessary for life, much less about other things which pertain to the present life; Philippians 4: "Be anxious for nothing, but in every prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." And note that he does not prohibit the solicitude that comes from prudent forethought, but that which comes from distrust of God, as if God had no care for us: against which, 1 Peter, last chapter: "Casting all your anxiety upon him, because he has care for you"; and in the Psalm: "Cast your thought upon the Lord," etc.; and Ambrose: "It is unbecoming for a man who serves the kingdom to be concerned about food or clothing; for the king knows how to feed, nourish, and clothe his household."

Luke 12:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Then he adds the proof, when he says: The life is more than food, and the body more than clothing: from which it follows: he who gave what is greater will also supply what is less. Ambrose: "It is absurd that we should think an abundance of sustenance will be lacking to us, who obtain from God the enduring substance of living." For the soul and the body are the constitutive parts of man, on whose account the other creatures were made, according to that passage in Genesis 1: "Let us make man in our image and likeness, and let him have dominion over the birds of the air," etc. Hence Chrysostom: "God made all things for man, but man for himself; God made all things in wisdom, but man not only in wisdom, but also according to his wisdom." Hence Wisdom 6: "He himself made the small and the great, and he has equal care for all." And Augustine in On the Christian Combat: "God cares for rational souls and Angels through himself, but governs all other things through them." And note that he rightly compares the soul and sets it above food, and the body above clothing, because the soul gives vigor to the body by animating it, and the body is as it were the garment of the soul, which appears outwardly. If therefore God provides the bodily vigor of the animating soul, much more so the sufficiency of sustaining nourishment. Again, if he provides the soul with the garment of the body, much more so the covering of exterior clothing.

Luke 12:24 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Again, Luke 12: Consider the ravens etc.; The Gloss: "The saints are rightly compared to birds, who, doing nothing in the world nor laboring, desire only eternal things, already like the angels"; but the more one relinquishes these things, the more one is made like the angels: therefore etc.

Luke 12:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Consider the ravens. Here he takes his argument from a sentient creature: and first he sets forth the example, then he draws out the argument. He therefore sets forth an example to be considered, when he says: Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap: behold, they have no exercise of labor; who have no storehouse, as regards storing wine; nor barn, as regards storing grain: behold, they have no repository. And God feeds them: behold, they suffer no want; the Psalm: "Who gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that call upon him." And note that he sets forth the example of ravens rather than of other birds, and this both because they are of the greatest voracity—whence in Genesis eight it is said that "Noah sent forth a raven through the window of the ark, which went forth and did not return"; and the reason for this is that it settled upon a carcass—and also because this is said to be the nature of the raven, that it does not feed its young at the beginning, because it does not think them to be its own until it sees that they are black; Job thirty-eight: "Who prepares for the raven its food, when its young cry to God, wandering about because they have no food." Whence by ravens the other birds can rightly be understood; Matthew six: "Look at the birds of the air, for they do not sow," etc. Then he draws out the argument, when he adds: How much more are you of greater value than they? The Gloss: "On account of reason and the immortality which is promised to you, you are of greater worth"; First Corinthians nine: "Does God have care for oxen? For they were written for our sake." But because someone could argue against this, that solicitude is more fitting for us than for ravens on account of the excellence of reason, he shows that this amounts to nothing. For if the growth of the body does not come about through human thought but through divine disposition, by equal reasoning neither does nourishment.

Luke 12:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

For which reason he adds: And which of you by thinking can add to his stature one cubit? As if to say: no one, because this is not the work of man thinking but the work of God producing; whence in Second Maccabees seven it is said: "I know not how you appeared in my womb; nor did I give you life, nor did I myself fashion the members of each of you"; and First Corinthians fifteen: "God gives it a body as he wills, and to each of the seeds its own body." Whence also the Philosopher says that "of all things existing by nature there is a limit and proportion of magnitude and growth." If therefore these least things are established not in human but in divine providence, much less are the others.

Luke 12:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Therefore he adds: If therefore you cannot do even the least thing, why are you anxious about the rest? As if to say: in vain and foolishly. Bede: "Leave the clothing of the body to him who made it reach this measure." Nevertheless, this argument does not seem to hold, because, although it is not necessary to be anxious about growth, we can nevertheless, and ought to be, anxious about nourishment. For although the augmentative power is not subject to the will and reason, nothing however prevents the nutritive power from needing governance and provision. Nevertheless, to this the response is that the argument is sound: because if those things which have been entrusted to the providence of nature need not be governed and cared for by man, by equal reasoning neither should those things which have been entrusted to supernatural providence. Again, just as man cannot increase the body, so neither can he extend the limit of life which the Lord has predetermined. Finally, if one ought not to be anxious about the measure of the body itself, but man is content with that which the Lord has given: why not likewise concerning external nourishment?

Luke 12:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Consider the lilies etc. Here now thirdly he takes an argument from plant life. And first he sets forth a sensible likeness, then he adds the application. He sets forth, therefore, the likeness when he says: Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither labor nor spin. Ambrose: "The comparison is clear; lilies do not, like other plants, require any cultivation from farmers"; whence they grow not by human effort, but by divine command, which was given from the very beginning of the world; Genesis 1: "Let the earth bring forth green plants" etc. And because the work of the supreme Artificer is more excellent than every work of human art, he therefore adds: But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these: and yet Solomon was most fastidious concerning the adornment of garments, possessing at once the will, the industry, and the means to adorn himself. Whence it is said of him in 3 Kings 10: "The Queen of Sheba, seeing all the wisdom of Solomon and the dwellings of his servants and the ranks of his ministers and their garments, had no more spirit in her"; and this, because he had arranged all things most skillfully according to human industry; but nevertheless he could not be made equal to the works and industry of nature, which is the work of God. Whence Bede: "What purple of kings, what tapestry of weavers can be compared to flowers?"

Luke 12:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Then after the similitude he adds the adaptation and draws the conclusion: But if the grass, which is today in the field and tomorrow is cast into the oven, that is, quickly withers: Psalm: "Let them be as the grass of the housetops, which, before it is plucked up, has withered"; and James 1: "The sun rose with its burning heat and dried up the grass, and its flower fell, and the beauty of its countenance perished"; God so clothes, namely with beautiful ornament and comeliness: "Color itself is called the garment of the flower." How much more you, O you of little faith: that is, how much more will he clothe you, even if you have but little faith, because you surpass them both by reason of nature and by reason of faith. Whence to Peter, doubting concerning omnipotence in the storm, it is said in Matthew 14: "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" He has little faith concerning the governance of paternal providence who fears dying of hunger daily: Psalm: "They did not believe in God, nor did they hope in his salvation"; and it follows: "And he commanded the clouds from above and opened the doors of heaven and rained down manna upon them to eat," etc. If anyone therefore is of true faith, believing that all things are governed by divine providence; since the providence of God bears and ought to bear greater care for things more precious, more worthy, and more enduring, for rational creatures rather than for irrational or vegetative ones: and for these it exercises such providence that nothing is lacking to them: much less therefore should one doubt concerning those things which pertain to the governance of man, as being more precious, better, and more worthy among the other creatures, because he is rational and made in the image of God. This reasoning is therefore irrefragable, because if anyone should say the contrary of this, he destroys the governance of divine providence and the order of the universe. And therefore such a one is not only of little faith, but also of perverse judgment.

Luke 12:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And do not you seek what you shall eat. Here fourthly he recalls from the solicitude of avarice through a desirable promise, concerning which three things are introduced: for he dissuades the solicitude of avarice and cupidity by promising sufficiency of provision, superexcellence of reward, and superabundance of treasure. First therefore he dissuades the solicitude of avarice and cupidity by promising sufficiency of provision, when he says: And do not you seek what you shall eat or what you shall drink, namely as the covetous and the curious seek, that they may abound and be proud. Therefore he adds: And do not be lifted up on high, for the acquisition of earthly things; 1 Timothy 6: "Command the rich of this world not to be high-minded, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches." For to seek earthly things in this way is not of heavenly men, but of earthly ones.

Luke 12:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Therefore he adds: For all these things the nations of the world seek, because they have worldly wisdom: Baruch 3: "The sons of Agar, who sought out the prudence that is of the earth, the merchants of Merrha and Theman." But heavenly men ought not to be intent upon these things, because they are of the household of the supreme Father. Whence he adds: But your Father knows that you need these things; and there is no doubt that he can provide; Romans 10: "The same Lord of all, rich unto all who call upon him." Nor is there any doubt that he wills to: Isaiah 49: "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb?" etc. And therefore those who wish to journey toward the homeland will not be abandoned on the way for want of food.

Luke 12:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

On account of which he adds: But seek first the kingdom of God, as the principal object of intention; and all these things shall be added unto you, as provisions for the journey, because he who is prepared to give the kingdom will without doubt not deny food; he who is prepared to give eternal things will not deny temporal things. Whence Augustine: "The Lord shows that temporal things are not to be sought as our goods, even if they are necessary. But the kingdom of God is to be sought, and in it our end is to be placed, for the sake of which we do all things." Therefore our solicitude ought not to be for acquiring food, but for acquiring the eternal kingdom; Romans 14: "The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Chrysostom: "The kingdom of God is the retribution: justice is the way by which we come to the kingdom." Therefore Matthew 6: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice" etc. And note that this promise is quite fitting, because he who seeks the kingdom and his justice is a servant of God, a friend of God, and a son of God; Romans 8: "Those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God"; but that God should fail his servant, his friend, and his son, so as not to provide for him what is necessary: this is a most perverse thing to think. For such a one possesses God, such a one is possessed by God, and therefore possesses consequently what God possesses: whence the Apostle, First Corinthians 3: "All things are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's."

Luke 12:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Second, he dissuades the solicitude of avarice by promising the superexcellence of the reward, when he adds: Fear not, little flock: little flock is said in respect to the multitude of the reprobate: Matthew 20: "Many are called, but few are chosen." Or little by reason of its own smallness: First Corinthians 1: "See your vocation, brethren, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many are powerful," etc. Or little by reason of voluntary humility: Ezekiel 34: "But you are my flocks, you are men, and I am your God." For God is the God of the humble; Sirach 3: "The power of God alone is great, and he is honored by the humble." And to such God promises the kingdom, Matthew 19: "Let the little ones come to me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Therefore he adds: Because it has pleased your Father to give you a kingdom: Proverbs 29: "The humble in spirit shall be upheld by glory"; and Job 22: "He who has been humbled shall be in glory." Now this superexcellence of the promised kingdom induces hope, and by inducing hope it induces security, and through this it removes the faintheartedness of fear and the ardor of cupidity: Second Corinthians 6: "As needy, yet enriching many; as having nothing, yet possessing all things." For that kingdom alone is the true possession of the heart, which fills the heart and cannot be taken away, because it is within: below, chapter 17: "Behold, the kingdom of God is within you." And note that it pleased the Father to give to the little ones, that is, to the poor in spirit, the kingdom of glory: whence Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"; because such desire eternal things: Proverbs 10: "The desire of the just shall be granted to them"; and the Psalm: "The Lord has heard the desire of the poor"; because they despise temporal things; Matthew 19: "He who has left father or mother shall receive a hundredfold," etc.; and they embrace spiritual things: Galatians 5: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit; let us not be made desirous of vainglory." Likewise it pleased him to give them pardon; Judith 9: "The prayer of the humble and the meek has always pleased you," namely, unto the giving of pardon: Exodus 33: "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." It pleased him to give grace: Isaiah 42: "Behold my servant, I will uphold him, my chosen one," etc. It pleased him to give wisdom: Matthew 11: "You have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and have revealed them to little ones." It pleased him to give eternal glory, as here: Fear not, little flock, etc. The Psalm: "The Lord is well pleased with those who fear him, and with those who hope in his mercy."

Luke 12:33 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

To the objection from the Gloss on Luke 12, that those who have despised all things for God ought to work with the labor of their hands: it must be said that this is a counsel with respect to the first part, which says: Sell what you possess; but with respect to the second part, it pertains only to the well-being of the counsel, which does not bind even perfect men, especially those who can be occupied with greater goods. And that this is true appears from the same Gloss, when it adds: "Whence you may live, or give alms." For it is certain that those who have given all things at once for God are in no way bound to give further alms; and therefore that Gloss does not express what pertains to the essence and substance of the counsel, but rather according to the well-being, according to the state and condition of certain persons who are more suited to working manually than to doing something more arduous. For if it were said otherwise, that this pertained to the essence of the perfection of the counsel, then none would have fulfilled that counsel except those who worked manually; and consequently we would not judge the other Apostles besides Paul and Barnabas, and very many other most perfect Saints whom we do not read to have worked manually, to have been perfect. It is indeed true that manual labor accords with evangelical perfection, provided however that it does not impede greater goods.

Luke 12:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Third, he dissuades the anxiety of avarice by promising a superabundance of treasure in exchange for the renunciation of the world, when he says: Sell what you possess and give alms, that is, distribute your goods to the poor, according to that passage in Matthew 19: "Go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor." And because it is hard to sell and give without recompense, he therefore adds: Make for yourselves purses that do not grow old: Sirach 17: "The alms of a man is like a purse with him, and it will preserve the grace of a man as the apple of his eye; and afterward he will rise up and render them their recompense, to each one upon their head." And because this recompense, which is in these purses, is most abundant, he therefore adds: A treasure unfailing in heaven: the word make is understood, and this is accomplished through almsgiving. Whence Tobit 12: "Prayer with fasting and almsgiving is good, more than to store up treasures of gold; for almsgiving delivers from death and causes one to find eternal life." And he shows that this heavenly treasure is unfailing: because it cannot be lost through thieves, nor can it be corrupted in itself; therefore he adds: Where no thief draws near, nor does moth corrupt. Chrysostom: "A threefold destruction takes away all the goods of the world: for either they grow old of themselves, or they are consumed by the extravagance of their owners, or they are seized by outsiders through deceit, force, or false accusation." And therefore an unfailing treasure cannot be possessed on earth. He who wishes therefore to have an unfailing one, let him scatter on earth, so that he may abound in heaven; the Psalm: "He has distributed, he has given to the poor; his justice endures forever and ever." Whence Augustine: "The Lord did not command that we should lose our treasure, but he showed us the place where we should store it."

Luke 12:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Now great effort must be made regarding where the treasure is placed, because the mind is also placed in the same place; therefore he adds: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Treasure is that which the mind principally loves, according to that passage in Matthew 13: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden" etc. But where the principal object of love is, there the mind will dwell; whence Bernard says: "The soul is more truly where it loves than where it gives life." And therefore where your treasure is, there also is your heart. Bede says: "If it is on earth, the heart is below; if in heavenly things, it is fixed in Christ; for it is necessary that where the treasure of love has preceded, there the affection of thought follows." And because the wise man has his treasure in heaven, and the fool on earth, therefore Ecclesiastes 10: "The heart of the wise man is at his right hand, and the heart of the fool at his left" etc.; Second Corinthians 4: "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." For this visible and earthly treasure consists in money; but the invisible treasure consists in wisdom; Wisdom 7: "All good things came to me together with her"; and afterward: "For she is an infinite treasure to men, which they that use are made partakers of the friendship of God." And note that this treasure, which consists in wisdom, begins from the fear of reverence: Isaiah 33: "The riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure." It advances, moreover, in the pursuit of learning: Matthew 13: "Every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven" etc. It is preserved in holiness of conscience: Luke 6: "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart" etc. It is consummated, moreover, in the sublimity of glory: Matthew 19: "If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you have, and you shall have treasure in heaven." And he speaks here of such things; whence he promises to the poor the provision of refreshment, the kingdom of excellence, and the treasure of abundance, because the poor are accustomed to being afflicted and despised and needy for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 12:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Let your loins be girded, etc. After he has recalled from the solicitude of avarice, here secondly he invites to the solicitude of providence, lest anyone believe that he wished to remove all solicitude from the heart. He invites, moreover, to this kind of solicitude from the consideration of the twofold advent: first, namely, from consideration of the second advent, which will be terrible; second, from consideration of the first advent, which was lovable, at the passage: I have come to cast fire upon the earth. First, therefore, as regards promptness of readiness in the body, he says: Let your loins be girded, etc. Just as he is ready who is girded for setting out on a journey, so he is ready who restrains in himself carnal desires. Whence Gregory: "By the name of the loins, from the principal seat of desire, lust is designated"; Job 40: "His strength is in his loins," etc. "We gird our loins, therefore, when we restrain the lust of the flesh through continence. But because it does not suffice not to do evil unless one also strives to labor in good works, there is immediately added: And lamps burning in your hands. We indeed have burning lamps in our hands when through good works we show examples of light to our neighbors." For a lamp rightly signifies the divine commandment: Proverbs 6: "The commandment is a lamp, and the law is light," etc. This lamp is in the hand when the commandment is in practice: Proverbs, the last chapter: "Her lamp shall not be extinguished in the night. And she put her hand to strong things," etc.; and Matthew 5: "So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works," etc. And note that just as a lamp shields its light from the wind but not from sight, so good works are compared to a lamp: because "the work ought to be in public in such a way that the intention remains hidden"; thus should a person wish to give others an example of virtue, yet not seek the reward of transitory favor. Moreover, in order that evil may perfectly cease in us, our loins must be girded in a threefold manner, namely the loins of carnal contact, concerning which the Psalm says: "My loins are filled with illusions, and there is no health in my flesh"; and these are to be girded with the belt of chastity: Isaiah 32: "Gird your loins, beat upon the breasts," etc. Likewise, the loins of carnal affection with the belt of virtue: Job 40: "Gird your loins like a man"; and Jeremiah 1: "Gird your loins, arise and speak to them." Likewise, the loins of carnal thought with the belt of truth: 1 Peter 1: "Having girded the loins of your mind, be sober," etc. Moreover, in order that the good may perfectly shine forth in us, the lamp of right intention must be carried: above, chapter 11: "The lamp of your body is your eye." Likewise, the lamp of true preaching must be carried: Psalm: "Your word is a lamp to my feet"; Ecclesiasticus forty-eight: "Elijah arose like fire, and his word burned like a torch." Likewise, the lamp of honorable conduct must be carried: John five: "He was a burning and shining lamp"; and in the Psalm: "There I will make the horn of David spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ."

Luke 12:35 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

There is an order of levels intended for enlightenment, that of acolytes, subdeacons, and deacons. And these orders are for the sake of enlightenment. Now, enlightenment is at times through external example, at others, through writings of secondary importance, at others again, through writings of primary importance. The first carry candles, that is, the acolytes of whom it is said: "Let your loins be girt about and your lamps burning." According to Gregory, the lamps are luminous works.

Luke 12:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Second, with regard to the solicitude of expectation in the heart, he adds: And you yourselves like men waiting for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding, that is, when he shall come to judgment, descending from heaven. Whence Gregory: "The Lord went to the wedding when, after his resurrection, the new man joined to himself the multitude of Angels: he shall then return when through judgment he is manifested to us." Whence he ought always to be awaited by the good; Philippians 3: "We look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ," etc. And this expectation is not vain: Proverbs 17: "The expectation of him who waits is a most pleasing gem"; nor is it drowsy: Psalm: "Wait for the Lord and act manfully." And therefore he adds: That when he comes, "hastening to judgment," and knocks, through the scourge of infirmity, they may open to him at once, through intimate desire: Apocalypse 3: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if anyone shall open to me, I will enter in to him," etc. Bede: "He does not wish to open to the judge who knocks who, fearing to see him angered whom he despised, dreads to depart from the body. He opens who awaits the judge gladly and securely and rejoices at approaching death." Song of Songs 5: "The voice of my beloved knocking," and after: "I arose to open," etc. And it should be noted here that this Gospel is read on the feasts of Confessors, because they are commended in a threefold manner, namely with regard to the avoidance of evil in the girding of the loins, and with regard to the doing of good in the carrying of lamps, and with regard to the expectation of the best in the likeness of men waiting for their lord; according to those three things which are said in Micah 6: "I will show you, O man, what is good: to do judgment," with respect to yourself, "and to love mercy," with respect to your neighbor, "and to walk solicitously with your God," with respect to God. Finally, for this purpose, that desire may be perfectly enkindled, Christ must be awaited confidently: Habakkuk two: "If he should delay, wait for him, for he who is coming will come," etc. Likewise, he must be awaited joyfully: Proverbs ten: "The expectation of the just is joy," etc. Likewise, he must be awaited watchfully: Job fourteen: "All the days in which I now serve, I wait, until my change shall come." And in this way the servants await "their lord, when he returns from the wedding." Thus the blessed Confessors are perfectly praised, according to that passage in Titus two: "Let us live soberly and justly and piously in this age, awaiting the blessed hope and the coming of the glory of the great God," etc.

Luke 12:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Blessed are those servants, etc. Here secondly he introduces the motive for vigilant watching, and this is twofold, namely the beatification of the watchful without failing and without any exception. First, therefore, as regards the beatification of the watchful without failing, he says: Blessed are those servants whom, when the lord comes, he finds watching: Proverbs eight: "Blessed is the man who hears me and who watches at my gates daily"; and therefore Ecclesiasticus thirty-nine: "The just man will give his heart to watching at dawn," etc. Such ones the Lord declares blessed: Job eight: "If you rise at dawn and beseech the Almighty, he will immediately awake to you and will restore the dwelling of your justice in peace." Therefore he adds: Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself, "preparing himself for recompense"; Psalm: "The Lord has reigned, he has clothed himself with beauty," etc. And he will make them recline, namely at the eternal banquet: Ezekiel thirty-four: "I will feed my sheep, and I will make them lie down." And passing by, he will minister to them, through the most generous sharing. Passing by, that is, causing them to pass over: Sirach twenty-four: "Come over to me, all you who desire me," etc.; because from Christ and through Christ we pass over to Christ, namely from the glory of the body to the glory of the soul, and from this to the glory of the Godhead. On account of which he says in John ten: "I am the door; if anyone enters through me, he shall be saved"; and in the fourteenth chapter: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." But Christ is said to minister, because he will always give the substance of joy, of actual unfailing refreshment: Revelation seven: "They shall hunger no more, nor thirst anymore"; "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall rule them and lead them to the fountains of the waters of life." "Blessed therefore are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb," Revelation nineteen: in which the spotless Lamb will be the bridegroom, the food, the lord, and the minister; the Psalm: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of your house, and you shall give them to drink of the torrent of your pleasure." He himself will minister and invite, according to that passage of the Song of Songs five: "Eat, O friends, and drink and be inebriated, dearest ones."

Luke 12:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Then, as regards beatitude without exception, he adds: And if he comes in the second watch, and if he comes in the third watch, and finds them so, blessed are those servants. And note here that by the three watches are understood three states of the present life, namely of childhood, youth, and old age. Whence the Gloss of Bede: "He calls them watches after the likeness of those keeping guard in the night. The first watch is the guardianship of childhood, the second is of youth, and the third of old age. If anyone has neglected to keep watch in childhood, let him not despair; if he has neglected in youth, let him at least come to his senses at last in old age, because the merciful Lord patiently awaits our repentance"; Isaiah thirty: "Therefore the Lord waits, that he may have mercy on you; and therefore he shall be exalted, sparing you, because the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all who wait for him." And note that in Mark 13 four watches are indicated according to the manner of distinguishing hours among those keeping watch: "Watch," he says, "for you know not when the Lord will come: at evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning." And by these watches are understood four states in which man exercises freedom of choice: the first and the last, and two intermediate ones; one is in advancement, and the other in decline. In this it is indicated that the Lord accepts our watchfulness at every hour without exception, but especially that which begins from childhood: Lamentations 3: "It is good for a man when he has borne the yoke from his youth"; and yet he does not refuse even the last stage of old age: whence it is said in Matthew 14 that "in the fourth watch of the night he came to the disciples walking upon the sea." At any hour, therefore, it is not useless but most useful to watch; below in chapter 21: "Watch, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of Man," etc.

Luke 12:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

But know this, etc. Here thirdly he subjoins an incitement to watchfulness, which he introduces in this manner, namely by proposing a parabolic example and by concluding with the principal intent. As to the first, therefore, he sets forth the parabolic example when he says: But know this, that if the householder knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch, namely for the guarding of the house, lest the thief stealthily carry something away. Therefore he says: And he would not suffer his house to be broken into. And if he always held the hour suspect, he would never leave his house without a guard; otherwise he would manage the care of the household not wisely but foolishly. An example concerning Ishbosheth, of whom it is read in 2 Kings 4 that "Ishbosheth was sleeping upon his bed at midday. And the doorkeeper, cleaning wheat, fell asleep. But Rechab and Baana his brother entered the house secretly and struck him in the groin and fled." So also spiritually it happens to him who neglects to guard his house watchfully; whence Gregory says: "While the doorkeeper sleeps, Ishbosheth is slain, because when the solicitude of discernment has ceased, it opens a path for evil spirits to slay the soul." And therefore the spiritual man on the contrary says that word of Isaiah 21: "Upon the watchtower of the Lord I stand, standing continually by day, and upon my watch I stand throughout the nights"; and therefore 1 Peter, last chapter: "Be sober and watch, because your adversary," etc.

Luke 12:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Then he concludes the principal intention. And you also be ready, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of man will come. The Gloss: "The Lord always wished the last hour to be unknown, so that it might always be suspected, and we might always prepare ourselves for it." Hence Matthew twenty-four: "Of that day and hour no one knows" etc.; and First Thessalonians five: "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night"; and after: "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief"; and Ecclesiastes nine: "Man does not know his end, but as fish are caught with a hook, so are men seized in an evil time." So also those who do not prepare themselves: therefore it is said in Sirach five: "Do not delay to turn to the Lord, and do not defer from day to day: for his wrath will come suddenly, and in the time of vengeance he will destroy you." Hence Alcuin: "It is a dissolute thought to think of tomorrow's conversion and to neglect today's." And Seneca: "Every day of our life ought to be ordered as the last." On this account, therefore, so that we might always be ready, the Lord willed that we be ignorant of the hour of death and the day of judgment. "For nothing is more certain than death, and nothing is more uncertain than the hour of death"; therefore Sirach thirty-eight: "Remember my judgment; for so also shall yours be: yesterday for me, and today for you"; and concerning the hour of judgment it is said in Matthew twenty-five: "At midnight a cry was made: Behold, the bridegroom comes"; and after: "Those who were ready entered with him to the wedding, and the door was shut." Gregory: "O if one could taste with the palate of the heart, what wonder the bridegroom comes! holds, what sweetness they entered with him to the wedding! what bitterness, the door was shut!"

Luke 12:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And Peter said to him. After he had invited all to vigilance in general, here he invites prelates in particular. This indeed he does in this order. For first he commends the vigilance of prelates: second, he reproves insolence, there: But if that servant shall say etc.; third, he aggravates negligence, there: But that servant who knew. Commending then the vigilance of prelates, first he commends it with respect to the prerogative of merit; second, with respect to the excellence of the reward; there: Blessed is that servant. He shows the first in responding to the question of Peter, when he says: And Peter said to him: Lord, do you speak this parable to us, or to all? He asks well and usefully, that he might know to what he ought to be obligated: hence Sirach three: "The things that God has commanded you, think upon those always"; and especially those things are to be learned which are spoken in parables: Proverbs one: "The wise man hearing will be wiser. He will discern parables and their interpretation, the words of the wise and their riddles."

Luke 12:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

To this question of Peter, the Lord does not seem to respond on the surface; but if one attends more deeply, He responds perfectly, intimating that the aforementioned parable about vigilance pertains commonly to all, but specially to prelates, when He says: And the Lord said: Who, do you think, is the faithful and prudent steward? Stewards he calls prelates: First Corinthians 4: "Let a man so account of us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God," etc. Such men are difficult to find faithful; whence First Corinthians 4: "Here now it is required among stewards that a man be found faithful"; and Proverbs 20: "Many men are called merciful, but a faithful man who shall find?" Who, do you think, then is a faithful steward? in intention: First Timothy 1: "I obtained mercy, that I might be faithful"; and Apocalypse 2: "Be faithful unto death." And prudent, in choice: Proverbs 14: "An intelligent minister is acceptable to the king"; whence Proverbs 27: "Be diligent to know the countenance of your cattle, and consider your flocks." Whom the Lord appointed over his household, through the authority committed to him: Hebrews 5: "Neither does anyone take the honor to himself, but he who is called by the Lord, as Aaron"; the Psalm: "But I have been appointed king by him over Zion, his holy mountain." That he may give them their measure of wheat in due time, by communicating sound doctrine: Ecclesiastes 8: "The heart of the wise man shall understand the time and the answer," etc. Let him also attend to the capacity of the hearers; whence He says: measure. Gregory: "The discourse of teachers ought to be shaped according to the quality of the hearers, so that it both fittingly bestows upon each what is proper to them, and yet never departs from the citadel of common edification." We have an example of this in Joseph, who was appointed over the land of Egypt to dispense grain, Genesis 41, in whom there was faithfulness and prudence, authority and vigilance or diligence. And because these things were found in holy prelates, therefore this Gospel is chanted in praise of Confessors and Bishops, who were commendable in these four aforementioned qualities. And concerning these four, it is said in the Gloss of Bede: "How rare is he serving the Lord for the Lord's sake, feeding the sheep of Christ not for gain, but out of love for Christ! prudent, providing for himself in the future: whom he appointed, that is, how rare is he who is called by God as Aaron was and has not rather thrust himself forward, and who does not feed himself rather than the sheep." Whence, on account of the defect of faithfulness, Malachi chapter one: "Who is there among you who will shut my doors and kindle fire upon my altar for nothing?" and Philippians chapter two: "All seek the things that are their own," etc. Few also are prudent: whence Isaiah chapter twenty-four: "As the people, so the priest"; and Hosea chapter four: "Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you shall not minister to me as priest." Few also are divinely appointed: therefore it is said in Hosea chapter eight: "They have reigned, but not by me." Few likewise are intent upon the welfare of the flock: whence Ezekiel chapter thirty-four: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who fed themselves! Are not the flocks fed by the shepherds?" etc. Therefore, speaking pointedly, he begins with: Who do you think? on account of the rarity and difficulty and preciousness by which such persons excel in the prerogative of merit.

Luke 12:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Second, with regard to the excellence of the reward, he adds: Blessed is that servant whom, when his lord comes, he shall find so doing: Matthew chapter twenty-five: "Well done, good and faithful servant," etc. So doing, that is, faithfully, prudently, and watchfully, according to that passage in First Peter chapter four: "As every one has received grace, ministering the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." And Chrysostom says: "These things are said concerning speech and virtue, concerning riches and every stewardship which has been entrusted to each one. For each one ought to use for the common benefit what he has, whether wisdom, or authority, or riches, not to the harm of his fellow servants."

Luke 12:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

But to this use of grace is rendered the perfect fruit of glory, with regard to which he adds: Truly I say to you, that he will set him over all that he possesses, "over the joys of the heavenly kingdom," "not that they alone should have eternal joys, but that they should have them above others, both for their own life and for their guardianship of the flock." Whence First Peter chapter five: "Elders, feed the flock of God which is among you." "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive an unfading crown of glory." Whence Chrysostom says: "When the people act well, each one is rewarded for his own good; but the priest is rewarded for the good of all"; First Thessalonians chapter two: "What is my hope, or joy, or crown of glory? Are not you before our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?"

Luke 12:45 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

But if that servant shall say etc. After he commended the vigilance and providence or care of prelates, here he censures their insolence; which indeed he does by reproving the enormity of sin and by threatening the severity of judgment. First, therefore, as regards the reproving of the enormity of sin, he says: But if that servant shall say in his heart: My lord delays his coming. The Gloss: "On the contrary, if he shall disregard the judgment about to come soon, promising himself security," according to that passage of Ezekiel twelve: "What is this proverb in the land of Israel of those who say: The days shall be prolonged, and every vision shall perish?" and Second Peter three: "There shall come scoffers, walking according to their own lusts, saying: Where is the promise or his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." And since such thinking begets complacency, and complacency begets contempt, and contempt begets iniquity, therefore he adds: And shall begin to strike the menservants and maidservants, namely by scandalizing the little ones, when he ought rather to nourish them by word and example. On account of which, Isaiah three: "Why do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?" And this is a grave sin: First Corinthians eight: "Sinning against the brethren and wounding their weak consciences, you sin against Christ"; and especially when they sin against the little ones: Matthew eighteen: "Whoever shall scandalize one of these little ones who believe in me, it were better for him," etc. And because the mother of faithlessness is concupiscence, therefore he adds: And to eat and drink and be drunk, namely by doing the will of the flesh, according to that passage of Isaiah twenty-eight: "The priest and the prophet have been ignorant through drunkenness; they are swallowed up by wine, they have gone astray through drunkenness." And this is especially unbecoming in pastors and prelates, in whom the spirit of wisdom and understanding ought to reign: Malachi two: "The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law from his mouth." But on the contrary, Isaiah fifty-six: "His watchmen are all blind, they are all ignorant; dumb dogs not able to bark, seeing vain things and loving dreams; and most impudent dogs that never knew satiety," etc.

Luke 12:46 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Secondly, with regard to the threatening of the severity of judgment, he adds: The lord of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect, and at an hour when he does not know: Deuteronomy thirty-two: "The day of destruction is near, and the times hasten to arrive"; and Zephaniah one: "The great day of the Lord is near, near and exceedingly swift." And although it is near, nevertheless it comes upon the worldly unexpectedly; whence Ecclesiastes nine: "Man does not know his own end, but as fish are caught with a hook, and as birds are seized in a snare, so are men caught in an evil time, when it suddenly comes upon them." And because a grave judgment threatens those who despise the judge, therefore he adds: And he will divide him, namely from the company of the good, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-five: "He will set the lambs on his right hand, but the goats on his left." And will place his portion with the unbelievers, who namely have already been judged: John three: "He who does not believe has already been judged"; and this rightly, because in First Timothy five it is said: "If anyone does not have care for his own and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." This portion is very evil, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Fire, brimstone, and the blast of tempests, the portion of their cup"; and Revelation twenty-one: "For the timid and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and fornicators and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their portion will be in the lake burning with fire and brimstone." From which it appears that just as the reward of good prelates is great, so also the punishment of the reprobate will be the greatest: Wisdom six: "The most severe judgment will be made upon those who govern. For to the lowly, mercy is granted, but the powerful will suffer torments powerfully."

Luke 12:47 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

"The servant who knew the will of his Lord and did not prepare and did not act according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes." If a man does not prohibit evil by example or by counsel, woe to him! You make yourself a teacher of sacred Scripture, but you persuade the contrary of good and truth. If one who ought to proceed by the right way, and another were to tell him that he should proceed by a crooked way: his sin would be inexpiable. By impeding the salvation of another by example, by counsel, or by persuasion, you must give your soul for the soul of that one. Is it not the case that if I can draw another to what is better, and I draw him to what is worse, I do not sin gravely? If I impede the good of another, I do worse than the devil: because the devil acts as an enemy. This knowledge, if the fulfillment of works is not present, is not useful but harmful. The first brightness can be obscured, but this one can be condemned.

Luke 12:47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

But that servant etc. After he invited to vigilance and censured insolence, here thirdly he aggravates negligence; which he does in two ways, namely by reason of the greatness of knowledge and by reason of the authority entrusted. First, therefore, with regard to the aggravation of negligence by reason of the greatness of knowledge, he says: But that servant who knew the will of his lord, through the gift of knowledge: First Corinthians eight: "Knowledge puffs up, but charity edifies. If anyone thinks he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know." And did not prepare himself, to receive the gift of grace: Proverbs sixteen: "It is for man to prepare his soul" etc.; whence First Kings seven: "Prepare your hearts for the Lord." And did not act according to his will, supply: through the vice of his own negligence; James four: "To him who knows the good and does not do it, it is sin." He shall be beaten with many stripes, namely through the severity of the divine sentence: whence Second Peter 2: "It were better for them not to have known the way of truth," etc.; and Romans 1: "Who, when they had known God, glorified Him not as God," etc. "Wherefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness, to dishonor their own bodies among themselves." And the reason for this is that, as Gregory says, "where the gift of knowledge is greater, there the transgressor is subject to greater fault"; whence also ignorance excuses.

Luke 12:48 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

On account of which he adds: But he who did not know, through a defect of knowledge, and did things worthy of stripes, through the commission of fault, shall be beaten with few stripes, through the mitigation of the divine sentence. And note that there is simple ignorance, and this excuses, according to that of First Timothy 1: "Therefore I obtained the mercy of God, because I did it ignorantly"; and below in chapter twenty-three: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." There is also another ignorance, affected, concerning which in the Psalm: "He would not understand, that he might do well." Such shall be gravely punished: whence First Corinthians 14: "He who is ignorant shall be ignored"; and Hosea 4: "The people that does not understand shall be beaten." And this Bede says in the Gloss, because Proverbs 28: "He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, his prayer shall be abominable"; and the Psalm: "Their fury is according to the likeness of a serpent, like the deaf asp that stops its ears," etc. Secondly, as regards the aggravation of negligence by reason of the authority committed, he says: But of everyone to whom much has been given, namely in gift, much shall be required of him, in accounting. Whence Gregory: "When gifts are increased, the accountings of gifts also grow. Therefore each one ought to be so much the more humble and more ready to serve God from his gift, as he perceives himself to be more obligated in rendering an account"; below in chapter sixteen: "Render an account of your stewardship." Whence he adds: And to whom they have committed much, namely the divine judgments, or the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit: they will demand more from him, namely at the future judgment of all; Matthew twenty-five: "But after a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them." Whence from prelates, to whom the care of subjects has been committed, the Lord will require not only their own souls, but also the souls committed to them; on account of which it is said in Hebrews, the last chapter: "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch, as those who will render an account for your souls." For to each of them is said that passage of Third Kings twenty: "Guard this man: if he should escape, your life shall be for his life"; and Jeremiah thirteen: "Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful flock? What will you say when he visits you? For you taught them against you and instructed them against your own head." And therefore in Acts twenty, Paul said to the elders of the Church: "Take heed to yourselves and to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops to govern the Church of God, which he acquired with his own blood"; and Ezekiel thirty-four: "Behold, I myself will seek my flock from the hand of the shepherds and will make them cease, so that they may no longer feed the flock, nor may the shepherds feed themselves any longer."

Luke 12:49 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Luke 12:49 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

I have come to cast fire upon the earth, etc. After he has aroused to vigilance from consideration of the second coming, here he arouses to consideration of the first coming. And this part has two sections: in the first of which, by showing the efficacy of the first coming, he arouses to vigilance; in the second, he rebukes the foolishness and negligence of the Jews, at the passage: And he said also to the crowds, etc. In expressing therefore the efficacy of the first coming for arousing to vigilance, he shows that he came for three things, namely: to send forth the fire of love, to accomplish the remedy of the passion, and to introduce the separation from carnal affection. First, therefore, as regards the sending of the fire of love through the efficacy of the first coming, he says: I came to cast fire upon the earth, the fire, namely, of divine love, which is compared to fire in the last chapter of Song of Songs: "Love is strong as death, jealousy is hard as hell: its lamps are lamps of fire," etc. But carnal love is like infernal fire: Job thirty-one: "It is a fire that devours unto destruction"; and Sirach three: "As water extinguishes fire," etc. But spiritual love is like celestial fire: Lamentations one: "From on high he sent fire into my bones," etc. The Lord sends this by communicating doctrine: Psalm: "Your word is exceedingly refined by fire"; and Jeremiah twenty-three: "Are not my words like fire, and like a hammer that shatters rock?" Likewise, by infusing grace: Deuteronomy four: "From heaven he made you hear his voice, and on earth he showed you his exceedingly great fire." Likewise, by inflaming toward justice: Sirach forty-eight: "Elijah arose like fire"; whence, because in him was the fire of divine zeal, concerning which Zephaniah three says: "In the fire of my zeal all the earth shall be devoured"; therefore fittingly at his word fire descended from heaven both upon the sacrifice, in 3 Kings eighteen, and upon the captain of fifty, in 4 Kings one: "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven," etc. And since this fire is sent in vain unless it is kindled, therefore he adds: And what do I desire, except that it be kindled? This is kindled by meditation on present benefits; Psalm: "My heart grew hot within me, and in my meditation fire shall blaze forth"; and below in the last chapter: "Was not our heart burning within us," etc. Likewise, remembrance of past things: Leviticus six: "The fire on my altar shall burn always, which the priest shall feed, laying on wood in the morning and on each day," etc. Likewise, anticipation of future promises: Proverbs thirty: "Every word of God is a fiery shield to all who hope in him."

Luke 12:50 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Secondly, as to the perfection of the remedy of the passion it is added: But I have a baptism to be baptized with. Note that the passion of Christ is called a baptism, because in his blood they are purified as in the bath of baptism: Revelation 7: "These are they who have come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb"; whence Hebrews 9: "If the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on the defiled sanctifies for the cleansing of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ cleanse our conscience," etc. With this baptism Christ was baptized, because his whole body was reddened with this blood: Isaiah 63: "Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?" and after: "Why then is your garment red, and your vestments like those of them that tread in the winepress," etc. And note that the passion of Christ is compared to a baptism, as here, because it was universal: Psalm: "All your waves you have brought upon me." Likewise it is compared to a cup: Matthew 26: "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me," because it was voluntary: Matthew 20: "Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?" Likewise, because it was most bitter and heavy, it is compared to a winepress: Isaiah 63: "I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the nations there is no man with me." With this baptism, therefore, Christ was baptized, not from the indigence of necessity, but from the abundance of charity: therefore he adds: And how am I straitened: straitened, namely, by love, which has dominion over the heart: Ephesians 2: "God, who is rich in mercy, on account of his exceeding great charity," etc. And note that love straitens by its attractive force; John 3: "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son"; Jeremiah 31: "With an everlasting charity I have loved you, therefore I have drawn you, having mercy on you." Whence Hugh: "Great is the force you have, O charity: you alone were able to draw God from heaven to earth. O how strong is your bond, by which even God could be bound, and thus bound he destroyed the bonds of iniquity! I know not what greater thing I can say in your praise than that you drew God from heaven and raised man from earth to heaven." Whence Hosea 11: "I will draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bonds of charity." Likewise, it expands by its diffusive benevolence; Psalm: "Your commandment is exceedingly broad"; 2 Corinthians 6: "Our heart is enlarged." It elevates by its excessive adherence: Song of Songs, last chapter: "Who is she who ascends from the desert, abounding in delights?" John 4: "Whoever shall drink, it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life." It bows down through gracious condescension: Galatians 2: "Who loved me and delivered himself for me." On account of these four things, Ephesians 3: "Rooted and grounded in charity, that you may be able to comprehend with all the Saints," etc. And since this charity was shown perfectly in the passion, therefore he says: Until it be perfected, namely in the shedding of blood: Revelation 1: "He loved us and washed us from our sins in his blood"; and First John 3: "In this we have known the charity of God, because he laid down his life for us." And this was what Christ thirsted for on the cross; John 19: "Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said: I thirst." "When therefore Jesus had received the vinegar, he said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the spirit."

Luke 12:51 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Third, as regards the introduction of the divorce of carnal affection, he adds: Do you think that I came to give peace on earth? earthly peace, that is. This he came not to give, but to take away, because this is an evil peace, of which Isaiah 28 says: "We have struck a covenant with death and with hell we have made a pact." This peace the just man rejects: in the Psalm: "I was envious of the wicked, seeing the peace of sinners"; because such a peace is a perverse peace: Deuteronomy 29: "Peace shall be with me, and I will walk in the perversity of my heart." It is a false peace: Jeremiah 6: "They healed the destruction of the daughter of my people with disgrace, saying: Peace, peace, and there was no peace." It is a momentary peace: First Thessalonians 5: "When they shall say: Peace and security, then sudden destruction shall come upon them." It is a deceptive peace: Jeremiah 9: "With his mouth he speaks peace with his friend, and secretly he lays snares for him." It is a disquieting peace: in the canticle, Isaiah 38: "Behold, in peace my bitterness is most bitter"; Ecclesiasticus 41: "O death, how bitter is the remembrance of you to a man who has peace in his possessions!" This peace is hostile to true peace. For the peace of Christ is a good peace: above, chapter 2: "On earth peace to men of good will"; therefore the Apostle says: "Grace to you and peace." It is a true peace: Romans 14: "The kingdom of God is justice and peace and joy." An abiding peace: John 14: "Peace I leave to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you." It is a directing peace: above, chapter 1: "Through the bowels of mercy, in which he has visited us"; "to direct our feet into the way of peace." There is a consoling peace; John 16: "That in me you may have peace: in the world you shall have tribulation"; and Philippians 4: "The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds." Since therefore it is in all things contrary to worldly peace, and contraries cannot exist simultaneously, therefore it cannot be introduced by the author of peace except through the dissolution of this feigned peace. Therefore He adds: No, I say to you, that is, I declare to you that I came not to give peace, but separation, according to that passage in Isaiah 52: "Depart, depart, go out from there, touch not the unclean thing"; and 2 Corinthians 6: "Come out from among them and be separated, says the Lord"; and Matthew 10: "For I came to set a man against his father," etc. And the reason for this is that it is said in the same place: "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me"; and therefore below in chapter 14: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and even his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."

Luke 12:52-53 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And for this reason He adds: For from this time there shall be five in one house divided, that is, separated from carnal affection; and according to that passage in the penultimate chapter of Deuteronomy: "Who said to his father and to his mother: I know you not, and to his brethren: I know them not, and they knew not their own children. These have kept your word and preserved your covenant." And He adds the manner of the division: Three against two, and two against three shall be divided, that is, the persons who seem most closely joined by the flesh shall be severed from carnal love by the spirit of charity. Nor is it a wonder if this is accomplished through the divine word, because Hebrews 4: "The word of God is living and effective and more piercing than any two-edged sword, reaching even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints also and marrow, and a discerner of thoughts," etc. And He adds the manner and example: Father against son, and son against father, namely, shall be divided. Chrysostom: "God alone is the father of souls. To carnal fathers one renders the service of the flesh; to the spiritual Father, the holiness of the soul." Nor shall this occur only among the male sex, but also among the female; therefore He adds: Mother against daughter, and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And note that the Lord put forward five persons and set down six relationships: of father and son, mother and daughter, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, because one person is both mother and mother-in-law at the same time. And he sets down two men and three women, either because women are more prone to division on account of their instability, or because more people are effeminate and carnal than spiritual; whence First Corinthians eleven: "Therefore among you many are weak and feeble, and many sleep." Literally, it happened just as he says, after his healing; whence the Gloss of Bede: "After the baptism of the passion, after the coming of fire, the whole world was divided against itself; each household had believers and unbelievers, the latter fighting against the faith, the former for the faith," according to that passage of Zechariah eight: "All men were divided, each one against his neighbor"; and Sirach thirty-three: "Behold all the works of the Most High: two against two, and one against one"; Matthew ten: "Brother will hand over brother to death, and father his son, and children will rise up against parents and put them to death." Spiritually, "every man is a house either of God or of the devil"; insofar as there is in him an evil peace, which is that of sin, the devil is the father: John eight: "You are of your father the devil"; the flesh, however, is the daughter-in-law and the mother: Ezekiel sixteen: "Your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite," that is, garrulous. Then the son is divided against the father and the mother and the mother-in-law, when he abandons the desires of the flesh and renounces the devil and his pomps and is divided from them through baptism; whence the Psalm: "For my father and my mother have abandoned me, but the Lord has taken me up." To make this division, one must be born again: John three: "Unless one is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." For the fire of divine love and the baptism both of the Spirit and of water and of blood divides all from their domestic enemies; and this is the efficacy of the first coming.

Luke 12:54 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And he said also to the crowds, etc. After he invited to vigilance, here secondly he rebukes negligence, which does not care about the grace of Christ coming. And this part has two sections. In the first of which he rebukes negligence with respect to recognizing grace; and secondly, with respect to doing penance, at the passage: Now there were present at that very time some. For Christ came to confer grace and to preach penance. He rebukes negligence, however, with respect to recognizing grace, for three reasons, namely on account of the admonition of exterior judgment, interior judgment, and superior edict. First, therefore, as regards the admonition of external judgment, on account of which negligence in knowing is blameworthy, he says: And he said also to the crowds: When you see a cloud rising from the west, you say at once: A storm comes, that is, a shower of rain, and so it happens, because this is a sign: when the sky is covered with a cloud, rain is being prepared for the earth; Psalm: "Who covers the sky with clouds and prepares rain for the earth."

Luke 12:55 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And when you see the south wind blowing, you say: There will be heat, and so it happens: Job thirty-seven: "Are not your garments hot, when the earth has been blown through by the south wind?"

Luke 12:56 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

And because from these sensible things man is led by the hand to the understanding of those things which they were neglecting to consider, therefore he adds: Hypocrites, you know how to judge the face of the sky and the earth; but how is it that you do not judge this time? Therefore he calls them hypocrites, because they professed knowledge of the Scriptures more, like Catholics, than of natures and stars, like astrologers; and yet they attended more to the latter than to the former. And this is hypocrisy in the Christian religion: to be more anxious about natural things than about things of grace. Whence Augustine: "More praiseworthy is the soul to which its own infirmity is known than the one which scrutinizes the constellations of the heavens and the foundations of the earth." Therefore Sirach three: "What God has commanded you, think on those things always, and in many of his works be not curious." Therefore those are blameworthy who are anxious to discern the time of rain clouds and neglect to discern the time of grace, when through these sensible things they could be led by the hand to spiritual things: whence they have abandoned the homeland for the road, and the face of the Lord for his footprints. Against whom Augustine in the second book of On Free Will: "Woe to those who have abandoned you as guide and wander in your footprints, who love your signs instead of you and forget what you are signifying." On account of which it should be understood that the cloud intimates the flesh of Christ; Isaiah nineteen: "The Lord will ascend upon a light cloud and will enter Egypt." The appearance of the cloud from the west designates the flesh of Christ rising and ascending; Psalm: "He who ascends above the west, the Lord is his name." The descent of the storm and rain designates the descent of the Holy Spirit after the ascension of Christ: 3 Kings eighteen: "A little cloud like the footprint of a man was ascending from the sea." "And there was a great rain." By the south wind blowing, the breath of the Holy Spirit coming upon the disciples: Song of Songs four: "Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind, blow through my garden." This was fulfilled, Acts two, when "suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty wind approaching." By the heat following, the fervor of charity is understood, which ripened all the harvests of the Church; Proverbs ten: "He who gathers in the harvest is a wise son; but he who sleeps in summer is a son of confusion," etc. Morally, however, by the cloud coming from the west is understood the pain of compunction arising from the memory of death; by the shower is understood a rain of tears; by the south wind blowing, a gladdening devotion; by the heat, an inflaming devotion; Tobit 3: "After a storm He makes calm, and after weeping and tears He pours in exultation." Whence here is the order of the descent of grace into our heart, because first a man considers his end and death, and then conceives sorrow, after this he bursts forth into tears, then he feels consolation, and finally he is inflamed unto love; whence above in the seventh chapter, concerning the penitent sinful woman, it is said that "standing behind at the feet of the Lord, she began to wash His feet with tears and anointed them with ointment," etc.

Luke 12:57 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Secondly, as to the admonition of the interior judgment, it is added: Why do you not even of yourselves judge what is just? As if to say: even if you neglect the exterior admonition, do not neglect the interior one. Whence Ecclesiasticus 31: "Know the things of your neighbor from yourself," that is, from your natural judgment. For there is implanted in man a natural judgment, by which he is directed to see and to choose; Psalm: "The light of Your countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us"; and Isaiah 46: "Return, transgressors, to the heart"; for there it is dictated what is just. And among all things that are just, natural reason dictates this, which even Antiochus said, 2 Maccabees 9: "It is just to be subject to God, and that a mortal man should not think himself equal to God." This therefore is most especially what is just, which everyone ought to judge, namely, that God is to be worshipped and Christ honored and the gift of the Holy Spirit received with reverence; because, John 5, "he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father," etc. It is also just to judge that "God will judge the world in equity," and to forestall that judgment by judging oneself, because, 1 Corinthians 11, "if we judged ourselves, we would certainly not be judged," etc. Whence conscience naturally protests, and it also testifies that our evils will not remain without consequence. And therefore from it we ought to be stirred to meriting divine grace; Romans 2: "When the Gentiles, who do not have the Law, do by nature the things that are of the Law, such as these, not having the Law, are a law unto themselves, because they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness to them," etc.

Luke 12:58 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

The third point, concerning the warning of the higher edict, he adds: When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, on the way. Bede: "Our adversary on the way is the word of God, which is contrary to our carnal desires in the present life"; our magistrate is Christ; Isaiah thirty-two: "The prince shall think the things that are worthy of a prince." To this magistrate the word of God directs us by a threefold way, namely the way of innocence, concerning which the Psalm says: "He who walks in the immaculate way, he ministered to me"; the way of penance: Exodus eight: "We shall go a journey of three days into the wilderness"; the way of wisdom; Proverbs four: "I will show you the way of wisdom, I will lead you through the paths of equity." The Prophet asked that these ways be shown to him, saying: "Show me your ways." He showed these by example: John fourteen: "I am the way, the truth, and the life"; he showed them by word; Isaiah thirty: "You shall hear the word of your teacher: This is the good way, walk in it"; he showed them also by a divinely inspired gift; Wisdom ten: "The Lord led the just man through right ways and showed him the kingdom of God." Since, therefore, the word of God directs us along the right way, along which carnality refuses to go, and reason ought to trust the word of God more than carnal suggestion, he therefore adds: Make an effort to be freed from him, by fulfilling precepts, by avoiding what is forbidden, by hoping in promises, and by fearing threats. He who does these things is safe from the adversary: Ecclesiasticus thirty-six: "Raise up the adversary and afflict the enemy." For he who exalts the divine word afflicts the enemy, that is, the flesh, the world, and the devil. Bede: "When in this life you prepare yourself to see the pleasing face of the judge, although the word of God is contrary to your flesh, nevertheless use it as a guard given to you on this journey, lest when despised it accuse you." Therefore he adds: Lest perhaps he drag you to the judge, that is, to Christ: Acts ten: "He is the one who was appointed judge of the living and the dead," etc. And the judge hand you over to the exactor, that is, to the devil, who will exact punishment for guilt; Job three: "They did not hear the voice of the exactor." And the exactor cast you into prison, namely hell. Isaiah twenty-four: "They shall be gathered together in the gathering of one bundle into the pit and shall be shut up there in prison"; because that punishment is irremediable.

Luke 12:59 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12

Therefore he adds: I say to you, you shall not go out from there until you have paid the last mite, that is, never, because you will never pay it back. Bede: "He always pays penalties by suffering for sins, but never by obtaining pardon." Hence until does not set a limit here, just as neither does it there: "The Lord said to my Lord, etc., until I place," etc. Augustine: "Until does not signify a limit of punishment, but you will always be paying and never finish paying." And it says to pay the last mite, because the reprobate are punished not only for great sins, but also for lesser ones. Hence Chrysostom: "If once condemned you are cast into prison, punishments will be exacted from you not only for grave sins, but even for every idle word that you have spoken." Into these punishments are cast those who do not keep the divine words, which direct man to divine grace and to Christ: hence John 5: "Search the Scriptures. They are the ones that bear witness concerning me." From these things, therefore, it is apparent that man's negligence in knowing and receiving God's grace is inexcusable, because he is roused to it by a threefold admonition, namely through the book of creation, conscience, and Scripture, as if through three witnesses, of which one is exterior, another interior, and the third as it were superior. Wherefore, as it is said in Hebrews 2, "we ought more abundantly to heed the things that we have heard, lest perhaps we drift away. For if the word spoken through Angels was made firm, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation?"

Luke 13:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Above he rebuked negligence with respect to knowing grace; here he rebukes negligence with respect to doing penance. And this indeed he does in three ways: first, by an example heard; second, by an example taken up, at the passage: As those eighteen etc.; third, by an example devised or thought out, at the passage: And he spoke this parable. Concerning the example heard, he proceeds in this order: first, the atrocity of the punishment is set forth, second, the enormity of the offense is denied, and third, the necessity of repenting is concluded. First, therefore, the narration of the atrocity of the punishment is introduced, when it is said: And there were present at that same time some, telling him of the Galileans, namely harsh and terrible things, which are especially accustomed to be recounted; whence he also adds: Whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, according to the historical account. Josephus relates that there was a certain man in Galilee who made himself out to be the Messiah promised in the Law, and many of the Galileans followed him, to whom he had appointed a day on which he would ascend into heaven, in their sight, from Mount Gerizim. But Pilate, seeing that he had led astray many from the tetrarchy of Herod, feared lest afterward he might lead astray those who were of his own tetrarchy. When therefore the appointed day had come, and those whom he had led astray were worshipping him and offering sacrifice to him, Pilate suddenly came upon them and slew them amid their sacrifices; and among them he killed the one who made himself out to be the Christ. Whence from this can be understood that passage of Acts chapter five: "Before these days rose up Theudas, saying that he was somebody, to whom a number of men, about four hundred, consented, who was slain, and all who believed in him were scattered." "After him rose up Judas the Galilean and drew away the people after him, and he himself perished, and all, as many as consented to him, were dispersed." And thus the bitterness of the punishment was such, because suddenly, grievously, and in great number they were delivered over to a horrible death.

Luke 13:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Second, as to the denial of a greater enormity of offense, it is added: And he answering said to them: Do you think that these Galileans were sinners above all Galileans, because they suffered such things? For this is frequently believed by men who judge according to outward appearances; and yet it is not to be judged so. Therefore he adds: No, I say to you, that is, I assert that they were not sinners above all others. Therefore one must not judge rashly, but rather fear, because the judgments of God are secret: whence Ecclesiastes 8: "I saw the wicked buried, who, while they yet lived, were in the holy place and were praised in the city as if of righteous works"; and after: "There are just men to whom evils befall as though they had done the works of the wicked; and there are wicked men who are as secure as though they had the deeds of the just"; and again in the ninth chapter: "All things are kept uncertain for the future, because all things equally happen to the just and to the wicked, to the good and to the bad, to the clean and to the unclean, to him who offers sacrifices and to him who despises sacrifices." And therefore it is said in First Corinthians 4: "Judge not before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both illuminate the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of hearts." For as Gregory says: "The judgments of God are not to be rashly examined, but to be venerated with fearful silence."

Luke 13:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Third, as to the conclusion of the necessity of repenting, there is added: But unless you shall have done penance, you shall all likewise perish. Sirach 2: "They who fear the Lord keep his commandments and shall have patience until his visitation, saying: If we do not do penance, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord and not into the hands of men"; but, as is said in Hebrews 10, "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," because in the Psalm: "Unless you be converted, he will brandish his sword" etc.; and Sirach 5: "Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer not from day to day. For his wrath shall come suddenly, and in the time of vengeance he shall destroy you." And note that for twelve causes one perishes, as is gathered from the Scriptures. First, on account of a lack of penance, as is had here: "If you shall not have done penance, you shall all likewise perish"; and Luke 15: "How many hired servants in my father's house abound with bread! But I here perish with hunger"; against which it is said in Second Peter 3: "God deals patiently on account of you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance." Second, on account of a lack of foresight: Job 4: "Because no one understands, they shall perish forever"; against which Sirach 23: "Hear the instruction of the mouth, O sons, and whoever shall keep it shall not perish by their lips" etc. Third, on account of a lack of patience: Matthew 26: "All who take up the sword shall perish by the sword"; the Psalm: "The sinner shall see and shall be angry" etc.; against which the Psalm: "The forgetfulness of the poor shall not be forever; the patience of the poor shall not perish forever." Fourth, on account of a lack of innocence: The Psalm: "The swords of the enemy have come to an end forever"; and after: "Their memory has perished with a noise" etc.; against which Job 4: "Remember, I beseech you, who ever perished being innocent, or when were the upright destroyed?" Fifth, on account of the defect of clemency: Psalm: "You have rebuked the nations, and the wicked has perished"; John 11: "It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." Sixth, on account of the defect of wisdom: Baruch 3: "Because they did not have wisdom, they perished on account of their foolishness"; against which, Proverbs 24: "When you have found wisdom, you will have hope in the last things, and your hope will not perish," etc. Seventh, on account of the defect of belief: 1 Corinthians 10: "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted and perished by serpents"; against which, John 3: "The Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." Eighth, on account of the defect of charity: 2 Thessalonians 2: "To those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, so that they might be saved"; against which it is said, John 17: "None of them has perished except the son of perdition," etc. Ninth, on account of the defect of truthfulness: Proverbs 19: "A false witness shall not go unpunished, and he who speaks lies shall perish"; and 21: "A lying witness shall perish." Tenth, on account of the defect of peace and unity: 1 Corinthians 10: "Neither murmur, as some of them murmured and perished by the destroyer"; and Numbers 16, concerning the schismatics who murmured against the Lord, "and they went down alive into hell, covered with earth, and perished." Eleventh, on account of the defect of generosity: Ecclesiastes 5: "Riches gathered to the harm of their owner perished in the greatest affliction," that is, they caused to perish; and 1 Timothy last: "Those who wish to become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil and into many useless and harmful desires, which plunge men into ruin and perdition." Twelfth, on account of the defect of humility: Sirach 8: "The bold man goes according to his…

Luke 13:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

As those eighteen, upon whom, etc. Here he reproves the negligence of repenting by an assumed example, which is conformable to the example heard; in which the gravity of the punishment is set forth first, and the depth of wickedness is denied, and the necessity of repentance is concluded. First, therefore, as regards the gravity and horribleness of sudden punishment, he says: Like those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them. These eighteen were inhabitants of Jerusalem, who literally built a tower near Siloam, and were crushed by the collapse of the tower as if unexpectedly; and this by the just judgment of God, because Proverbs 17: "He who makes his house high seeks its ruin," etc. Second, as regards the denial of the depth of wickedness, he adds: Do you think that they were debtors beyond all people dwelling in Jerusalem? because they alone were punished. No, I say to you, because certainly many others were sinners in it; Jeremiah 5: "Go about the streets of Jerusalem and look and consider and search in its squares, whether you find a man doing justice and seeking faith, and I will be merciful to it."

Luke 13:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Third, as regards the conclusion of the necessity of penance, it is added: But if you do not do penance, you shall all likewise perish: likewise, not as regards corporal punishment, but as regards spiritual and gehennial punishment. For just as the tower fell upon these, so upon all the reprobate shall fall that cornerstone, of which Matthew 21: "Whoever falls upon this stone shall be broken; but upon whomever it falls, it shall grind him to powder." Now this stone, which grew into a mountain, is rightly called a tower on account of its strength and height; Proverbs 18: "The name of the Lord is a most strong tower." This tower shall crush these reprobate in judgment, according to that of Sirach 27: "The offense shall be crushed together with the offender," etc.; and then they shall perish with their sins; Jeremiah 10: "Their works are vain and worthy of ridicule; in the time of their visitation they shall perish." Such are those who neglect the works of penance and despise the cross of Christ; 1 Corinthians 1: "The word of the cross is foolishness indeed to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved, it is the power of God unto salvation," etc. Note moreover that man is customarily punished for ten causes, namely, for purification, as Mary, sister of Moses; Numbers 12: "Mary appeared white with leprosy as snow," etc. For testing, as Job; Job 2: "Satan, going forth from the face of the Lord, struck Job with a most grievous ulcer from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head." For humiliation, as Paul; 2 Corinthians 12: "There was given to me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan to buffet me," namely, "lest the greatness of revelations exalt me." For the glorification of divine power, as the man born blind; John 9: "Neither has this man sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him," etc. For the commemoration of divine clemency, as was the father of John the Baptist; Luke 1: "Behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day," etc. For the manifestation of divine justice, as with Herod: Acts 12: "An Angel of the Lord struck him." "And consumed by worms, he expired"; and as with Antiochus, 2 Maccabees 10. For the punishment of parents; Exodus 20: "I am God, jealous, visiting sins" etc.: on account of which the children of the Sodomites were submerged, Genesis 19. For the terror of others; Proverbs 19: "When the pestilent man is scourged, the fool will become wiser." So also were those punished, of whom it is treated here, so that the rest might be terrified. For the examples of posterity; Tobit 2: "God permitted this trial to befall him, so that an example of patience might be given to posterity." For the detestation of crimes, as with Dathan and Abiron, Numbers 16: "The earth was rent asunder beneath their feet, and opening its mouth" etc. And so Gehazi, 4 Kings 5: "The leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your seed forever"; and so Ananias, Acts 5: "Why has Satan tempted your heart" etc. In which it is shown how greatly one ought to detest schism, simony, and apostasy: therefore they were immediately punished in this way.

Luke 13:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

He spoke also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree etc. Here thirdly is subjoined a parable devised or fashioned concerning the unfruitful fig tree to be cut down; under whose metaphor three things are understood concerning the soul that neglects penance, namely the defect of negligence in not bearing fruit, the rigor of the sentence in threatening, and the utility of penance in remedying. First, therefore, with regard to the defect of negligence in bearing fruit, he says: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, namely for receiving fruit from it, which nevertheless negligence takes away. Whence he adds: And he came, seeking fruit on it, and found none. By the vineyard is understood the ecclesiastical congregation: Isaiah 5: "The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel." By the unfruitful fig tree, yet full of leaves, is understood the soul that refuses penance on account of negligence; Joel 1: "He has laid my vineyard waste and stripped the bark from my fig tree; stripping bare, he has despoiled it and cast it away; its branches are made white." This fig tree is full of leaves when it abounds in words for its own excuse: Genesis 3: "They sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths." And this is worthy of the Lord's curse; Matthew 21: "Seeing a fig tree, he found nothing on it except leaves only, and said to it: Let no fruit ever be born from you."

Luke 13:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Second, as regards the rigor of the sentence in threatening, he adds: And he said to the keeper of the vineyard: Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. By the three years are understood childhood, adolescence, and youth, in which one neglects to do penance, according to that passage in Job twenty-four: "God gave him a place of repentance, and he abuses it unto pride." The keeper of this vineyard is the preacher and especially the prelate, of whom it is said in First Corinthians three: "I planted, Apollo watered." Whence Augustine, Against Five Heresies: "Where are you, O good farmers, what are you doing, why are you idle? See how full the earth is of evils: here thorns, here thistles, here grass springs up. Burn the thorns, uproot the thistles, cut the grass, and scatter good seed. Let not winter frighten you: even if iniquity abounds, yet let your charity be fervent. Sow in winter what you may reap in summer," etc. — To such a negligent farmer it is fitting to threaten the severity of the divine judgment; on account of which he adds: Cut it down therefore; why does it even occupy the ground? That is, proclaim that it is to be cut down, according to what John the Baptist said in Matthew three: "Bring forth fruit worthy of repentance." "For now the axe is laid to the root. Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire"; and Paul in Romans two: "Do you not know that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But according to your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the just judgment of God"; and David in the Psalm: "Therefore God shall destroy you forever, and he shall pluck you out and remove you from your dwelling, and your root from the land of the living."

Luke 13:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Third, as regards the necessity of penance in remedying, he adds: But he answering said to him: Lord, let it alone this year also, that is, in the time of old age, until I dig around it and put dung, that is, until I bring back to its memory its own frailty and its iniquity. For he digs who humbles himself: Isaiah 2: "Enter into the rock, hide in the pit dug in the ground from the face of the fear of the Lord and from the glory of his majesty"; and 4 Kings 3: "Make the bed of this torrent ditches and ditches." Whence the Gloss: "For a pit is in the lowest place, and rebuke, while it shows the mind to itself, humbles it." He puts dung who brings sin back to memory; whence the Gloss of Bede: "I will put dung, that is, I will bring back to the mind the abomination of the evils it has done, and I will stir up the grace of compunction with the fruits of good work as if from the richness of dung." For sins are called dung; whence Joel 1: The beasts have rotted in their dung; and Lamentations 4: "Those who were nourished in saffron have embraced dung." The recollection of these things makes the soul fruitful: whence Isaiah 38: "I will recount to you all my years in the bitterness of my soul"; and Jeremiah 31: "Set up for yourself a watchtower, place for yourself bitternesses." But just as a tree bears fruit when dung is put around it, so also the soul, when it remembers its sins.

Luke 13:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Therefore he adds: And if indeed it bears fruit, supply: you will let it alone; and it is a figurative expression in which a necessary word is lacking, but nevertheless it is a common manner of speaking. But if not, in the future you shall cut it down, namely in decrepitude by the sword of judicial sentence; the Epistle of Jude: "Unfruitful trees, autumnal, twice dead, for whom the storm of darkness is reserved forever." Or you shall cut it down by death: Deuteronomy 20: "If any trees are not fruit-bearing but wild, you shall cut them down"; and Job 4: "From morning until evening they shall be cut down; and because no one understands, they shall perish forever." And note that since there are six ages of man as if six years, namely infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth, old age, and decrepitude: in the first age the Lord does not seek fruit on account of the lack of free will; but in the second he requires it in some way, namely in childhood, in adolescence more, and in youth most of all; yet he frequently waits for the negligent one until old age, and then at last in the end he brings forth the severity of sentence upon the negligent one. Now this can be explained allegorically concerning the synagogue, in which the Lord sought fruit in the three intermediate ages of the world in which the synagogue flourished, and he still waits for repentance; or in the threefold time, namely of the Patriarchs, the Judges, and the Kings, and at last he waited in the time of the Prophets. And because it was not converted at their words, therefore it was cut down at Christ's coming. Or these three years are referred to a threefold time of the law, namely of nature, of Scripture, and of grace: but these things are sufficiently expounded in the Gloss. But according to the spiritual formation of morals, it should be noted that an unfruitful tree is cut down, especially one that does not bear fruit for three years: in which is rightly understood the person negligent in works of virtue. And indeed human negligence is rightly reproved by the unfruitful fig tree: first, because the fig tree has many and large leaves, and in this is especially reproved the negligence of the one who has great words: Sirach 4: "Do not be hasty in your tongue and useless and slack in your works"; against which, Hosea 10: "Israel is a luxuriant vine, fruit is matched to it." Second, because the leaves of the fig tree are similar to a hand: and in this is especially reproved the negligence of the one who invites others to work: Romans 2: "You who teach another do not teach yourself," etc.; against which is said, Acts 1: "Jesus began to do and to teach," etc. Third, because the fruit of the fig tree is sweet: therefore the lack of it rightly designates negligence, and its presence designates the work of virtue, which is sweet and very delightful: "for he who is continent and rejoices in this very thing, he alone is chaste." Now the works of the virtues are sweet to incipient virtue, sweeter to advancing virtue, but sweetest to virtue already perfected: on account of which, Judges 9: "How can I forsake my sweetness and my most sweet fruits and go, that I may be promoted among the other trees?" Moreover the fig tree is said to have most sweet fruits to designate a threefold kind of fruits. For some are sweet, as the fruits of penance; some sweeter, as the fruits of justice; but some sweetest, as the fruits of wisdom. The Lord seeks these three kinds of fruits in three years, because in a threefold state. For the fruit of penance is sought from beginners, the fruit of justice from those advancing, but the fruit of wisdom from the perfect. First, therefore, in the first year he requires the fruit of penance, concerning which above in chapter 3: "Bring forth worthy fruits of penance." Now this fruit consists in three things: first, in the cutting away of superfluity: Jeremiah 2: "I brought you into the land of Carmel, that you might eat its fruit and its good things."…

Luke 13:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Second, those who calumniate the miracles are refuted on the part of the circumstance of time according to a twofold occasion. Now he was teaching in the synagogue, etc. That part, in which the Savior refutes the deceitfulness of the calumniating Jews, was divided into two parts according to the twofold manner of calumniating the miracles of Christ, namely on the part of the efficient cause and on the part of the circumstance of time. The first part having been treated, here begins the second. And this part is divided into two according to a twofold occasion of time: in the first, he refutes those calumniating the miracles of Christ, because they were performed on the Sabbath, in an assembly; in the second, he refutes at a banquet, there: And it came to pass, when he entered, in the fourteenth chapter. The refutation which takes place in the assembly, concerning which two things. The first part is divided into two. For first he refutes those who said that miracles ought not to be performed on the Sabbath; second, however, having taken the occasion, he shows that good works must be done without intermission, there: He said: To what is the kingdom of God like? Concerning the refutation of those calumniating the miracles on account of the Sabbath, he proceeds in this manner. First, the working of a wondrous healing is set forth. Second, a rebuke of Jewish superstition is added, there: But the ruler of the synagogue answering, etc. Third, a refutation of the proposed objection is subjoined, there: But the Lord answering him. Fourth, the attainment of a glorious victory is inferred, there: When he said these things, they were ashamed, etc. Concerning the working of a wondrous healing, three things are introduced, namely the solemnity of the day and the gravity of the long-standing illness and the power of the hastened miracle. First, therefore, as to the solemnity of the sacred day, he says: Now he was teaching in their synagogue on the Sabbaths. Note that the Lord taught on the Sabbaths either for the sake of preserving the custom of the Jews: Acts 15: "Moses from ancient times has in every city those who preach him in the synagogues, where he is read every Sabbath." Or also for the sake of the publication of doctrine, because then, as on a solemn day, they were more commonly attentive to the word of God: John 18: "I always taught in the synagogues, where all the Jews come together." Or because the Sabbath was a day of rest, and he had come to announce peace and rest; whence Ephesians 2: "Coming, he preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near." Or also because the precept concerning the Sabbath, which pertained to charity, was especially a figure of the time of grace, in which it is commanded: "This is my commandment, that you love one another," John 15. Or also for the sake of preserving the order: because restoration ought to have begun where creation was completed: in Genesis 2 it is said that "God completed on the seventh day His work which He had made." "And He blessed the seventh day," etc. Or for giving instruction, that one intent upon wisdom ought to cease from all occupations, according to that saying in Sirach 38: "Write wisdom in a time of leisure." — Or also for a seventh reason, that He might show Himself Lord of the Law and of the Sabbath by working miracles on the Sabbath: John 5: "My Father works even until now, and I work. For this reason therefore the Jews sought to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath but also called God His own Father, making Himself equal to God."

Luke 13:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Second, as to the severity of the long-standing disease, he adds: And behold, a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years, as to the prolonged duration of the infirmity: Sirach 10: "A prolonged illness burdens the physician; a brief illness the physician cuts short." And she was bent over, as to the severity of the infirmity, according to what he lamented: "I am made wretched and bent down even to the end," etc. Nor could she at all look upward, on account of the unceasing nature of the infirmity, according to that passage in Lamentations 1: "He has given me into a hand from which I cannot rise." Moreover, by this long-standing curvature can be understood the disease of avarice and cupidity, which bends the heart toward temporal things; the Psalm: "They set their eyes to turn toward the earth." And this is what the demons seek; Isaiah 51: "Bow down, that we may pass over." This bending infirmity lasts for eighteen years, that is, through a threefold six, that is, through the whole time of life; because, as Jerome says, while other vices grow old in the elderly, avarice alone grows young; and in Ecclesiastes 2 it is said of the miser: "All his days are full of sorrows and afflictions, nor does his mind rest at night"; and Hosea 7: "Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knew it not; gray hairs also are sprinkled upon him, and he knew it not." This infirmity also does not allow one to look upward: whence it is said in Matthew 6: "Where your treasure is, there is your heart also"; and the Psalm: "Fire fell upon them," namely of cupidity, "and they did not see the sun," lest they should remember, etc.

Luke 13:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Third, as to the power of the swiftly accomplished miracle, he adds: When Jesus saw her, namely with the eye of compassion: the Psalm: "For He looked down from His holy height"; "to hear the groans of the prisoners and to set free the children of the slain"; and 4 Kings 20: "I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears." He called her to himself, through the affection of benignity: In John eleven, Martha said to Mary: "The Master is here and calls you"; and in Fourth Kings four: "Call this Shunammite woman and say to her: What do you wish that I should do for you?" And he said to her: Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity, through the promise of truth: whence, by reason of certainty, he puts the past tense for the near future: Numbers twenty-three: "God is not as a man, that he should lie"; "has he said then, and will he not do it? Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?"

Luke 13:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight and glorified God, as regards the effect of power: Ecclesiastes eight: "Whatsoever he wills, he shall do, and his word is full of power." Moreover, he lays on hands to show that he himself is the hand through which the Almighty works all things and through which he restores all things: Isaiah fifty-nine: "Behold, the hand of the Lord is not shortened, that it cannot save"; and in Numbers eleven the Lord said to Moses: "Is the hand of the Lord weak? Now you shall see whether my word shall be fulfilled in deed." And therefore Sirach thirty-six: "Renew signs and change wonders, glorify the hand and the right arm." And note that here he says four things about the bowing down of this woman, which the Lord exercises in the salvation of any faithful soul. For first he sees by predestining: Wisdom four: "His regard is upon his elect." Second, he calls by drawing outwardly: Matthew nine: "I came not to call the just, but sinners"; and Proverbs nine: "She sent her handmaids to call to the citadel and to the walls of the city." — Third, he lays on his hand by justifying: Ezekiel three: "I went away bitter in the indignation of my spirit, for the hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me"; and above in chapter one: "For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him." — Fourth, he raises up by glorifying: First Kings two: "He raises up the needy from the dust and lifts the poor from the dunghill, that he may sit with princes and hold the throne of glory." Concerning these four things it is similarly said in Romans eight: "Those whom he predestined, these he also called; and those whom he called, these he also justified; and those whom he justified, these he also glorified."

Luke 13:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

But the ruler of the synagogue answering, etc. Here secondly is added the rebuke of Jewish superstition. Concerning which, first is introduced the stirring of disordered zeal in the mind; second, the pretense of ordered zeal in word. First, therefore, as regards the stirring up of disordered zeal in the soul, he says: But the ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, as if to say that his response drew its origin from indignation of soul. This indignation, moreover, arose from a presumption of justice; whence only "true justice has compassion, but false justice has indignation." This false justice, moreover, was zealous for the Law with respect to the observance of the Sabbath, but with a foolish zeal: Romans ten: "They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge; for being ignorant of the justice of God and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to the justice of God." Whence foolish presumption begets zeal, and zeal begets indignation, and indignation begets transgression of the divine law, according to that saying in Proverbs twenty-nine: "He who is quick to indignation will be more prone to sin." Whence the foolish zealot of the law is a destroyer of the law itself; on account of which, Galatians one: "Beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God and laid waste to it"; "being more abundantly a zealot for the traditions of my fathers," etc. Second, as regards the simulation of ordered zeal in word, he adds: He said to the crowd: There are six days in which one ought to work: behold, an allegation of truth: Exodus twenty: "Six days you shall do all your works. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord." — Come therefore on these days and be healed: behold, a simulation of piety, whence what is said in Second Timothy three concerning dissemblers applies to him: "Having an appearance of piety, but denying its power." When he says: And not on the day of the Sabbath: behold, an ostentation of holiness, because as a holy man he was showing that he wished the Sabbath day to be kept as holy, according to that saying in Leviticus twenty-three: "Six days you shall work; the seventh day, because it is the Sabbath of rest, shall be called holy." Whence the Jews said in John nine: "This man is not from God, who does not keep the Sabbath"; but the observance of the holy day in the ruler of the synagogue was rather for the simulation of justice than for its fulfillment, according to that saying in Isaiah one: "New moon and Sabbath and other solemnities I will not endure." "Your new moons and your solemnities my soul has hated." And the reason for this is that they kept them rather for superstition than out of devotion; whence Lamentations one: "Her enemies saw her and mocked her Sabbaths."

Luke 13:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

But answering him, etc. Here in the third place is added the confutation of the proposed objection, concerning which he first sets forth a sensible example, then draws out a rational argument. First, therefore, setting forth a sensible example, he says: But the Lord answering said to him: Hypocrite. As the Lord responds, because it is said in Matthew 7 that "he was teaching as one having authority." And he did this especially when he rebuked others, as he calls this one a hypocrite, because he saw his hidden things: whence 1 Corinthians 4: "He who judges me is the Lord." For he himself knows the hidden things of the heart, and especially hates the vice of hypocrisy. Therefore Sirach 1: "Do not be a hypocrite in the sight of men"; "lest God reveal your hidden things and cast you down in the midst of the assembly," as he did to this one, whom he refutes and convicts by an evident and sensible example. Therefore he adds: Does not each of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it to water? The Gloss: "Rightly does he call the hypocrites pretenders, who, although they desire to appear as teachers of the people, do not hesitate to postpone the healing of men to the care of beasts." In these is fulfilled that word of Isaiah 57: "The just man perishes, and there is no one who considers it in his heart." And that also seems to be fulfilled today, according to that saying of Bernard: "A soul perishes, and there is no one who cares; a donkey falls, and there is someone to lift it up." Therefore he calls him a hypocrite who, feigning zeal for the Law, cares more for livestock or money than for the soul.

Luke 13:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Second, drawing out a rational argument, he adds: But this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, for eighteen years, to whom mercy is owed, both because she is a woman, weak by her sex; 1 Peter 3: "Bestowing honor as on the weaker, feminine vessel"; and because she is weak from the oppression of the devil: whence Matthew 15: "Have mercy on me, Son of David, for my daughter is grievously vexed by a devil"; because she was also of the seed of Abraham, whom God had chosen for himself: whence Matthew 15: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." From these fitting reasons, therefore, it is concluded much more strongly that the healing of the woman ought not to have been deferred on account of the Sabbath. Therefore he adds: Was it not fitting that she be loosed from this bond on the day of the Sabbath? Indeed it was certainly fitting, because the opportuneness of the time required it: both because infinitely greater care ought to be given to the welfare of a human being than of a brute animal, on account of which, First Corinthians 9: "Does God have care for oxen?" Also because the Sabbath was not introduced to the detriment of man, but rather for the salvation of the human race; whence John 7: "If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the Sabbath is not broken, are you angry with me because I made an entire man whole on the Sabbath?" Also because on the Sabbath all servile works are forbidden; whence Leviticus 23: "You shall do no servile work therein," but not spiritual works: whence Matthew 12: "Have you not read that on the Sabbaths the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are without guilt?" Nor are divine and miraculous works forbidden: whence John 5: "My Father works even until now, and I work"; and chapter 9: "I must work while it is day." Nor are works necessary for the preservation of health forbidden, such as eating and drinking: therefore neither are those directed toward healing. From this it is given to understand how great the solicitude and diligence of man ought to be that the sinner be absolved from the snares of the devil, so that, if it can be done, there be not even a slight delay; Proverbs 6: "Give not sleep to your eyes, nor let your eyelids slumber; run about, make haste, rouse your friend." As a sign of which, it is said of the prodigal son returning, below in chapter 15: "While he was yet a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion, and running to him, fell upon his neck and kissed him." And note that for a daughter of Abraham to be loosed from the bond of Satan is nothing other than for a soul to be loosed from the guilt of sin: whence the Gloss: "A daughter of Abraham, that is, every faithful soul." Christ looses her through the ministry of priests: Matthew 18: "Amen I say to you, whatever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven." But it is necessary that man dispose himself, as it were, from within: Isaiah 52: "Loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Sion." And then God works from above: The Psalm: "You have broken my bonds; to you I shall sacrifice a sacrifice of praise." Whence in this loosing, priests work through the exterior dispensation of the Sacrament, and the sinner through the interior detestation of sin, and God through the superior infusion of the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 13:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

And when he said these things, etc. Here fourthly he subjoins the attainment of glorious victory with respect to two things that are introduced here, namely the confusion of the rebellious and the rejoicing of the faithful. First, therefore, as regards the confusion of the rebellious, he says: And when he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame; the Gloss: "The adversaries, the scribes and Pharisees, who can neither contradict the manifest truth nor are willing to believe on account of envy." Concerning such people, Job twenty-four: "They were rebellious against the light and did not know its ways." Such people are not instructed but confounded when the truth is made manifest; Isaiah forty-one: "Behold, all who fight against you shall be confounded and put to shame; they shall be as nothing, and the men who oppose you shall perish. You shall seek them, and you shall not find the men who rebel against you," etc. Second, as regards the rejoicing of the faithful, he adds: And all the people rejoiced in all the glorious things that were done by him: Bede: "The people, that is, the simple and humble, who love the words of truth and miracles." These rejoice in the manifestation of divine glory; whence Isaiah twenty-nine: "The poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel"; they shall exult, I say, in all the glorious things that were done by him: Sirach forty-two: "The work of the Lord is full of his glory." And note that the works of Christ were gracious with respect to the condescension of divine favor, and for these one must give thanks: Tobit twelve: "Bless the God of heaven, and before all the living give praise to him, because he has shown his mercy to you." They were also glorious with respect to the operation of power and the manifestation of majesty, and over these one must rejoice and exult; the Psalm: "Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; sing a psalm to his name; give glory to his praise. Say to God: How terrible are your works! In the greatness of your power your enemies shall lie to you." Moreover, these things can be explained allegorically concerning the Church gathered from the nations, which through a threefold set of six years was bent over: that is, under the rule of the law of nature, the Mosaic law, and also of prophecy; in each of which the works performed pertained to the six days, that is, servile works, which were done out of fear. And these cannot raise the soul upward, because fear weighs it down, and love alone raises it upward; whence above in chapter one: "He has raised up for us a horn of salvation in the house of David"; and this is accomplished through the spirit of charity; Ezekiel two: "And the spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet." This one is loosed on the Sabbath day, just as an ox and a donkey that are led to be watered, because this Church has been gathered from the Jewish and Gentile people, who are to be understood by the ox and the donkey, according to that passage of Isaiah 1: "The ox knows its owner, and the donkey the manger of its master"; and 32: "Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, sending forth the foot of the ox and the donkey." But the Lord loosed both, both the Jews coming to the Church from the burden of legal servitude, and the Gentiles from the bond of idolatrous servitude: Ephesians 2: "He himself is our peace, who made both one and, breaking down the middle wall of partition, the enmities in his flesh, abolishing the Law of commandments by decrees, that he might create the two in himself into one new man, making peace," etc. By this loosing, however, the people of the Jews opposing Christ are confounded, and the people of the Gentiles rejoices, according to that passage of Matthew 8: "Many shall come from the east and the west and shall recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob," etc. "But the children of the kingdom shall be cast into the outer darkness," and this on account of their rebellion. Whence Acts 13: "It was necessary…

Luke 13:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

He said therefore: To what is it like, etc. After he refuted those who slandered the miracles done on the Sabbath, here he shows secondly that good works are to be done without ceasing. And first he urges this through the guidance of a natural example; but secondly, through the manifestation of a divine decree, at the passage: And he went through cities and towns. He guides, therefore, by example in a twofold manner: by the first of which we are instructed to advance continually in the knowledge of truth; but by the second, to advance in the fervor of charity, at the passage: And again he said: To what is it like. First, therefore, he shows continual progress in the knowledge of truth under the metaphor of the grain of mustard seed, and this in a threefold manner, namely with respect to the properties which the grain of mustard seed has in itself, and insofar as it is sown, and insofar as it is grown. First therefore, regarding the property of the mustard seed in itself, by which it is likened to the knowledge of truth, he says: Therefore he said: To what is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? The kingdom of heaven is here called the knowledge or doctrine of truth: whence Bede in the Gloss: "The kingdom of heaven is the preaching of the Gospel, concerning which it is said elsewhere: The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-one." This knowledge is rightly called a kingdom, because truly the kingdom of heaven is nothing other than the perfect knowledge of divine truth; John seventeen: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

Luke 13:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

And this knowledge in the fatherland is sublime and delightful, but on the way it ought to be humble and fervent, in designation of which he adds: It is like a grain of mustard seed. It is therefore likened to a grain of mustard seed, because it is small in size and great in power or fervor: in which it is intimated that our knowledge ought to be humble, according to that passage in Romans eleven: "Be not high-minded, but fear"; and twelve: "Not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think unto sobriety, and to each one as God has divided the measure of faith," because, as it is said in Proverbs eleven, "where there is humility, there is also wisdom," etc. It is also intimated that it ought to be fervent and burning: whence the Gloss of Bede: "The knowledge of the Scriptures is compared to a grain of mustard seed on account of the fervor of faith, or because it is said to expel poisons, that is, all doctrines of depravity." Therefore it is said below in seventeen: "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mulberry tree: Be uprooted and transplanted into the sea, and it shall obey you." Second, as to the property of it insofar as it is sown, he adds: Which a man took and cast into his garden. By this garden is understood the Church militant; Song of Songs 4: "A garden enclosed, a fountain sealed, my sister, my spouse, a garden enclosed." This is the garden of delight, "where the seeds of virtues grow"; in which the seed of faith must first be sown. But this is done through a man, because the preaching of faith is sown through human ministry; as a figure of which, Genesis 2: "God took the man and placed him in the paradise of delight, to work it and to keep it." Such was Paul; 1 Corinthians 3: "I planted, Apollo watered, but God gave the increase." For it belongs to a man, that is, to one who is rational and prudent, to preach the teachings of faith; but the supreme sower of this faith was Christ, who is called Man par excellence, according to that word of the Psalm: "Shall not Sion say: This man and that man was born in her," etc. Whence he also calls himself everywhere the Son of Man, because humanity existed in him according to its fullest meaning, both as to perfection and as to infirmity; Philippians 2: "Made in the likeness of men and found in appearance as a man." And this man sowed this seed when he preached the doctrine of the Gospel; Matthew 13: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field." He who preaches falsehoods is opposed to this man. Whence it is added there: "But while men slept," that is, prelates, "the enemy man came and oversowed cockle in the midst of the wheat," etc. Third, as to the property of it insofar as it has grown, he adds: And it grew and became a great tree; which is said with regard to the progress of faith in the strength of its powers. Whence the Gloss: "It grows, not like herbs, which quickly wither and collapse, but like a tree, which rejoices in long age and unexpected fruitfulness"; Colossians 1: "In the word of the truth of the Gospel, which has come to you, as also in the whole world it bears fruit and grows, as also in you"; and a little after: "That you may walk worthy of God, pleasing in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God." But this knowledge grows so much higher through truth as its root descends more deeply through humility; whence Isaiah 37: "That which shall be saved of the house of Judah and that which shall remain shall send roots downward and shall bear fruit upward." And because the knowledge of faith growing in itself overflows unto the salvation of others, therefore he adds: And the birds of the air rested in its branches. By the birds of the air are understood spiritual men: Isaiah 60: "Who are these who fly as clouds and as doves to their windows?" of whom Proverbs 1: "In vain is the net cast before the eyes of the winged." By the branches of the…

Luke 13:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

And again he said: To what is it like, etc. After he set forth an example inciting to continuous progress in the knowledge of truth, here he adds an example inciting to progress in the fervor of charity, and this under the metaphor of leaven, from whose likeness he incites to continuous progress in charity with respect to its threefold analogous property, namely that which leaven has on the part of its own nature, on the part of another's industry, and on the part of both. First, therefore, with respect to the property which it has on the part of its own nature, through which he intends to arouse us to progress in charity, he says: And again he said: To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? And here by the kingdom of God is rightly understood the love of God, because God reigns only in those who love him: Colossians 1: "He rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love"; because, as is said in Romans 14, "the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

Luke 13:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

And since charity and joy dilate and warm the heart from within, and this is the outward likeness with leaven, therefore he adds: It is like leaven. And note that by leaven is sometimes understood the corruption of peace and unity, as above in the twelfth chapter: "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy"; and this quite rightly, because leaven is old dough, corrupted by age and turned to sourness, which corrupts the remaining mass and turns it to sourness. Therefore it is pointedly said in First Corinthians five: "Purge out the old leaven." — Sometimes by leaven is understood fervor and love, as here, because leaven heats the dough and induces a certain fervor as if from something hidden and interior: whence not unfittingly leaven is charity. Nor is it contrary to reason that leaven should be taken in this way and in that way by reason of diverse properties. Whence Augustine, in the third book of On Christian Doctrine: "Since things appear similar to other things in many ways, let us not think it prescribed that whatever a thing has signified by similitude in some passage, we should believe it always signifies this. For the Lord used leaven both in blame, when He said: Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and in praise, when He said: The kingdom of heaven is like a woman who hid leaven in three measures of flour." Moreover many things of this kind, as he says, are similar in Scripture, just as "the lion signifies Christ, Apocalypse five: The lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered; the devil, First Peter five: Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, etc.; and so also very many others." The cause of this diversity is the multiplicity of properties, from which the diversity of similitudes and representations arises in figures. Second, as to the property on the part of another's industry, he adds: Which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour. According to the literal sense, as Bede says, "a satum is a kind of measure according to the custom of Palestine, holding a modius and a half." And note that by this woman is understood divine wisdom, or the Church: Proverbs last chapter: "Who shall find a valiant woman?" etc. The flour, moreover, represents the faithful, who are ground between two millstones, namely the upper and the lower, that is, fear and hope: Deuteronomy twenty-four: "You shall not take the lower and the upper millstone as a pledge." From which flour is made one bread, which Christ transforms into His mystical body: First Corinthians ten: "We being many are one bread in Christ." But the three measures are the three classes of the faithful, in whom the wisdom of God hid love on the way, namely good prelates, good contemplatives, and good actives. Whence the Gloss: "Three measures, three kinds of men: Noah, Daniel, and Job"; Ezekiel 14: "If Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the midst of it, they shall be delivered by their own righteousness." This first exposition therefore accords more closely with the literal sense; Bede in the Gloss expounds it otherwise and in manifold ways, so that there may appear to him the "manifold wisdom of God," "which is hidden in mystery." Second, by the three measures are understood the three modes of loving, namely with the whole heart, with the whole soul, and with the whole mind. Whence Bede's Gloss: "The Church hid the leaven of love in three measures of flour, because it commands that we love God with our whole heart, with our whole soul, and with all our strength"; Deuteronomy 6: "You shall love the Lord your God," etc.; and Matthew 22: "You shall love the Lord your God," etc. "On this commandment," etc. In the third way thus, so that by the three measures are understood spirit and soul and body, from which man is made whole. The Gloss: "So that spirit and soul and body, brought back into unity, may not be at variance with one another," according to that passage of 1 Thessalonians 5: "May your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire without c…

Luke 13:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

And he went through the cities etc. Above he showed that good works must be done without ceasing, through the guidance of a natural example; here he shows this same thing through the manifestation of the divine decree. Which indeed he manifests in two ways: first, with regard to the severity of divine strictness in judging; second, with regard to the sublimity of the divine disposition in redeeming, at: On that same day some drew near. The severity of strictness in judging, however, is shown in three ways: first, with regard to the difficulty in merit; second, with regard to the rigidity in judgment, at: But when the master of the house has entered; third, with regard to the calamity in punishment, at: There will be weeping. The difficulty which is in merit he shows in two ways, namely by example in deed and by instruction in word. First therefore, with regard to the example by which he shows the difficulty of entering into heaven, he says: And he went through the cities and towns, teaching and making his journey toward Jerusalem. In this, that he went and went about, it is clear that he labored without ceasing; whence he could say that word of the Psalm: "I am poor and in labors from my youth." And he gave an example to others for laboring: Proverbs six: "Run about, make haste, rouse your friend." But in this, that he was going to Jerusalem, it is clear that he was hastening to his passion; whence Matthew twenty: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they shall condemn him to death." And in this he gave an example to others for enduring, because, First Peter two, "Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps." Whence James five: "Take as an example, brethren, of enduring evil and of long-suffering and of labor and of patience, the Prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the end of the Lord." From this example of the Lord, therefore, who endured so much labor and in the end his passion, it is apparent that the entrance to heaven is difficult: whence below in the last chapter: "Was it not necessary for Christ to suffer and so enter into his glory?" And hence it is that it is fitting to enter heaven through tribulations: Acts 14: "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." And note that in these words three things are suggested to us by the example of the Lord, through which one arrives at the glory of paradise, namely good action, true preaching, and tranquil contemplation. Work is suggested in this, that he was going through cities and towns; preaching indeed in this, that he was going teaching; contemplation in this, that he was making his journey to Jerusalem, which is the vision of peace, according to the anagogical sense: Psalm: "Jerusalem, which is built as a city." "For there the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord." The first of these pertains to prudence, the second to understanding, and the third to wisdom. Or the first to goodness, the second to discipline, and the third to knowledge: Psalm: "Teach me goodness and discipline and knowledge."

Luke 13:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Second, as regards the instruction in word, by which he responds to the question about the fewness of those who are saved, he adds: And a certain one said to him: Lord, are those who are saved few? This man asks this because he had not heard the divine saying, by which it is said in Matthew 20: "Many are called, but few are chosen"; as a figure of which it is said in Micah 7: "Woe is me! For I have become like one who gathers the clusters of the vintage in autumn." Or he was posing this question in order to give an occasion for teaching by word what he was showing by example.

Luke 13:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Whence he adds: And he said to them: Strive to enter through the narrow gate: Matthew 7: "How narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leads to life, and few there are who find it!" This gate is Christ: John 10: "I am the door"; he himself is the way; John 14: "I am the way"; "no one comes to the Father except through me." This way is strait and the gate narrow, not on account of the smallness of power, but on account of the straitness of modesty and the rectitude of justice; whence Chrysostom: "The strait gate is Christ, not by smallness of power, but by reason of humility. Christ does not receive into himself except those who have stripped themselves of sins and laid down every burden of the world." And therefore Matthew 19: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." Therefore the gate of heaven is called narrow, because unless one reduces himself to smallness and austerity, he cannot enter. And because few are of this kind, he therefore adds: Because many, I say to you, will seek to enter: Gloss: "Prompted by love of salvation and rewards"; and will not be able, Gloss: "Terrified by the harshness of the journey," because they do not seek with a whole and full will. For they wish to attain Christ but are unwilling to follow him, according to that saying of Proverbs thirteen: "The sluggard wills and wills not." Hence Chrysostom: "Unless someone walks along the way, he will not be able to reach the gate. If you have not been and are not on the way of justice, and you think that you know Christ, you lie: just as one who hears that honey is sweet but does not taste it knows the name of honey but is ignorant of the grace and flavor of honey"; hence the slothful, who will and will not, cannot enter; likewise neither can those who desire both the present age and God, of whom Hosea five says: "With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, and shall not find him." And of such it is said in Matthew six: "No one can serve two masters"; "you cannot serve God and mammon." These do not go straight to heaven; hence 3 Kings eighteen: "How long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him." Because it is impossible to enter the kingdom of heaven with desires for earthly things, and it is difficult to lay these aside, therefore one must strive against appetite; and for this reason he says: Strive to enter through the narrow gate, as if to say: it is impossible to enter with desires, which many seek to do; but at least strive, having trampled upon your desires. Hence also Matthew eleven: "From the days of John the Baptist the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." Nor does it stand against this that it is said in the same place: "My yoke is sweet," because the gate and heavenly way is narrow for those beginning, but is widened for those advancing, and is broad for those arriving. For the first the Psalm said: "Because of the words of thy lips I have kept hard ways"; for the second: "I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart"; for the third: "I have been delighted in the way of thy testimonies, as in all riches." For these three it is said in Proverbs four: "The path of the just, as a shining light, goes forward and increases even to the perfect day"; and again after: "I will lead thee by the paths of equity, which when thou shalt have entered, thy steps shall not be straitened, and running thou shalt have no stumbling block."

Luke 13:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

But when the householder shall have entered. After he has aroused them to continual progress in good work on account of the difficulty in merit, here secondly he arouses them to this on account of the severity in the future judgment, which he shows in two ways, namely, because he will reject the supplication of prayers and the allegation of reasons. First, as regards the rejection of supplication, he says: But when the master of the house has entered and shut the door, through judicial severity; Matthew twenty-five: "Those who were ready entered with him to the wedding, and the door was shut." And note that Christ is called the master of the house in respect of the just: whence Matthew twenty: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man, a master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard." He is called the master of the house because he has a large household; in whose figure, Job one: "The possession of Job was seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household." He is also a judge in respect of the wicked, for whom he shuts the door of mercy: whence it is said in Deuteronomy eleven: "Take heed lest you depart from the Lord, and the Lord being angry shut up heaven, and the rains not descend." This gate is open throughout the entire span of the way, but is closed at the end: Ezekiel forty-six: "But the gate shall not be shut until the evening; and the people of the land shall worship at the entrance of that gate on Sabbaths and on New Moons before the Lord." And because the withdrawal of mercy leads man to the recognition of his own misery, and this in turn leads to the importunity of prayers, therefore he adds: And you shall begin to stand outside and knock at the door, through belated penitence: Wisdom five: "Seeing this, they shall be troubled with terrible fear"; "saying within themselves, repenting"; and Hebrews twelve: "He found no place of repentance, although he had sought it with tears." Saying: Open to us, Lord, through importunate supplication: Matthew twenty-five: "Last of all the other virgins come, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us." And he shall answer and say to you: I know you not, whence you are, through final reprobation; Proverbs one: "Then they shall cry out, and I will not hear; they shall rise early and shall not find me, because they held discipline hateful and did not receive the fear of the Lord"; whence also Proverbs six: "The jealousy and fury of the husband will not spare in the day of vengeance, nor will he yield to anyone's prayers." And note that the Lord is said not to know us, not because he does not know us by simple knowledge, since it is said in Job twelve: "He himself knows both the deceiver and the one who is deceived"; and in the Psalm: "In your book all shall be written"; but because he does not know them with the knowledge of approbation, because it is said in Second Timothy two: "The Lord knows those who are his"; Job eight: "If it swallows him up from his place, it will deny him and say: I knew you not."

Luke 13:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Second, as to the rejection of the allegation of reasons, he adds: Then you will begin to say: We ate before you and drank: behold, the allegation of familiarity in life; and in our streets you taught, as to familiarity in doctrine. Or the first can be referred to the miracles which Christ performed among the Jews, when he multiplied the loaves, John 6, and changed water into wine, John 2: the second to teachings. For these had seen miracles and heard teachings: whence Matthew 11: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if in Tyre and Sidon had been done the mighty works that have been done in you, they would long ago have done penance in sackcloth and ashes." Thus they allege knowledge of Christ, because they knew his works and miracles, and they also knew his words and teachings. Such will be the wicked Christians at the judgment, of whom it is said in Titus 1: "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny him."

Luke 13:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

And since the allegation of knowledge avails little without the allegation of imitation and work, therefore he adds: And he will say to you: I do not know you, whence you are. Chrysostom: "I do not recognize my image in you. You cannot receive the wages of my soldiers, you who have carried the banners of the tyrant." Chrysostom says this not with respect to the image of creation, of which it is said in the Psalm: "Man passes through as an image"; but with respect to the image of re-creation, of which Augustine says: "The Lord does not know them, since he does not find in them the mark of faith and love." Whence the denial of knowledge does not regard the strangeness of persons, against which they allege familiarity, but only the diversity of conduct, according to that saying in Habakkuk 1: "Your eyes are pure, O Lord, and you cannot look upon iniquity." Therefore he adds: Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity: Psalm: "Depart from me, all you who work iniquity." Now the reason for this departure is the distance between justice and iniquity; 2 Corinthians 6: "What participation has justice with iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? And what agreement has Christ with Belial?" Since therefore the reprobate will be unjust and darkened and men of Belial; but Christ the judge will be just, will be the true light, will be supremely good: therefore he will compel the wicked to descend into hell through the final judgment, saying: "Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels." Since therefore man will be judged not according to the greatness of knowledge, but the strength of work: one must continually devote oneself to good works: whence Romans 2: "Not the hearers of the Law, but the doers are just before God"; on account of which, in the Psalm: "God has spoken once: these two things have I heard, that power belongs to God, and to you, O Lord, belongs mercy, for you will render to each one according to his works."

Luke 13:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

There will be weeping there. Here now thirdly, after he has urged them to continual progress by showing the difficulty in merit and the severity in judgment, he urges the same by showing the calamity in punishment. Which indeed he does in two ways, namely from the consideration of one's own abjection and from the consideration of the glorification of others. First therefore, as regards the consideration of one's own abjection, he says: There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, as regards the punishment of sense. And the punishment of heat is touched upon, from which comes the weeping of eyes, and the punishment of cold, from which comes the gnashing of teeth. These two bodily punishments are more fully expressed, either because these two qualities are active and more afflictive: on account of which Job 24: "They shall pass from the waters of snow to excessive heat." Or because sin is committed in the body in two ways, namely through the concupiscence of the eyes and through the concupiscence of the flesh, whence they are punished in both: Wisdom 11: "By what things a man sins, by these also is he tormented." Or because weeping comes from within, and the gnashing of teeth comes from without: and in these is understood the totality of punishments, especially bodily ones. Whence the Gloss of Bede: "Note that by weeping, which belongs to the eyes, and gnashing, which belongs to the teeth, the true resurrection of the bodies of the impious is understood." This weeping, however, will not be a dissolution of moisture, but through pain and groaning: or if it will be, there will be a miraculous restoration of moisture, just as also miraculously in such great torments they will have bodies sustained by spirits. And because the punishment of sense is conjoined with the punishment of loss, which will be the loss of the fellowship of the Saints in the glory of paradise; therefore he adds: When you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the kingdom of God, that is, all the Patriarchs and Prophets. The former had been an example of living in life: whence John 8: "If you are children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham"; the latter in life and doctrine: 2 Peter 1: "We have the more firm prophetic word, to which you do well to attend." Or the Patriarchs were those to whom the promise was made; the Prophets those through whom the promulgation of the promise was made, according to that passage above in chapter one: "As he spoke through the mouth of his holy Prophets who have been from of old." And both the former and the latter urged and called men to enter the kingdom of God, which those who are children of the flesh and who refused to be imitators of the Saints will not enter, but will be excluded. Therefore he adds: But you will be cast out; Revelation last chapter: "Outside are dogs and sorcerers and the unchaste and those who serve idols and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." As a figure of this, Genesis 21 says: "Cast out the handmaid and her son: for the son of the handmaid shall not be heir with the son of the free woman"; because John 8 says: "The servant does not remain in the house forever, but the son remains forever."

Luke 13:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Secondly, as to the consideration of the glorification of others, he adds: And they shall come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, that is, from the universality of the nations gathered from every part of the world. For when the Jews were rejected on account of their carnality, the Lord called the nations as spiritual children; whence it is said in John 10: "Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, and those I must bring." These were gathered from every part of the world through the ministry of the Apostles, according to that of the Psalm: "All nations, whatsoever thou hast made, shall come and shall adore before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name"; and Isaiah 43: "From the east I will bring thy seed, and from the west I will gather thee: I will say to the north: give up; and to the south: do not withhold." Therefore they are said to be called from such distant parts on account of the diversity of customs, from which they are called to the unity of charity and felicity. On account of which he adds: And they shall recline in the kingdom of God: Isaiah 25: "The Lord shall make for all peoples in this mountain a feast of fat things, a feast of vintage, of fat things full of marrow, of vintage refined."

Luke 13:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

And because this will be to the confusion of the reprobate and the glory of the elect, therefore he adds: And behold, the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. The first are last on account of pride, and the last are first on account of humility: because it is said below in chapter 18: "Everyone who humbles himself shall be exalted, and he who exalts himself shall be humbled." Why is this? Because in the Psalm it is said: "The Lord is high and looks upon the lowly, and the lofty he knows from afar." The example of this appears most clearly in the twofold people, namely of the Jews, who are blinded, and of the Gentiles, who are chosen; Romans 11: "For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should enter, and so all Israel should be saved." The example of this also appears in Judas, who was an Apostle and was damned, and in the thief, who was saved, below in chapter 23. And by this example all are stirred to the fear of God, according to that of 1 Corinthians 10: "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." From this consideration of the future judgment, therefore, we are led to persist continually in good works on account of the threefold reason set forth above: first, because it is difficult to be justified in the sight of the Lord on account of the difficulty in merit: whence the Psalm: "Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord, for no one living shall be justified in thy sight"; and 1 Peter 4: "And if the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the impious and the sinner appear?" Secondly, because it is impossible to be excused on account of the severity in judgment: Proverbs 28: "He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, his prayer shall be an abomination"; and Job 41: "I will not spare him, nor powerful words, nor those composed for entreaty." Third, because he must needs be afflicted on account of the calamity of punishment: Apocalypse twenty: "Whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone"; Matthew twenty-two says of him who did not have a wedding garment: "Bind his hands and feet, cast him into the outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." — And therefore the counsel of the Wise Man is good, Ecclesiastes nine: "Whatever your hand is able to do, work earnestly, because there is neither work nor reason nor wisdom nor knowledge in the netherworld, whither you hasten."

Luke 13:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

On that very day etc. After he has stirred us to do good works unceasingly on account of the severity of strictness in judging, here secondly he stirs us to the same thing on account of the sublimity of the disposition in redeeming. Now this part has two parts, in the first of which is expressed the sublimity of the divine disposition in the redemption of the human race; in the second, however, in the reprobation of the rebellious people, at the place: Jerusalem, Jerusalem etc. Now the sublimity of the divine disposition in redeeming is shown in three ways, namely because the passion of Christ before the time was attempted in vain by man; in the due time it was voluntarily undertaken by Christ; but from eternity it was infallibly preordained. First, therefore, the passion of Christ attempted in vain by man before the time is intimated, when it is said: On that very day certain of the Pharisees came, saying to him: Depart and go from here, because Herod wishes to kill you. This Herod was the son of the Herod who, wishing to kill the infant Jesus before the time, slew the children of Bethlehem, according to what is said in Matthew two: "Then Herod, seeing that he had been mocked by the Magi, sent and killed all the children who were in Bethlehem." So also this son, imitator of his father's crime, wished to kill him before the time, just as he had killed his forerunner, as is said in Matthew fourteen: "Herod sent and beheaded John in prison." So also he now wished to do to Christ already grown, and afterwards the grandson wished to do this to him already glorified; whence the first Herod was evil, the second worse, but the third worst. And all persecuted Christ, but in vain, because it is said in the Psalm: "The Lord scatters the counsels of the nations, and he reproves the thoughts of the peoples and reproves the counsels of the princes." And note that the Pharisees reported this to Christ, either because some of them were perhaps good, or because they wished to frighten Christ and drive him away from themselves, or also because they wished to test him, whether out of fear he would desist from preaching the truth. And the latter is more credible, because they were accustomed to do this; whence Matthew twenty-two: "The Pharisees, going away, took counsel to ensnare Jesus in his speech, and they send to him their disciples with the Herodians." And note here according to the mystical understanding that Herod is interpreted as "glorying in skins" and designates any proud and vainglorious person who glories in the outward display of works and words. And such a one persecutes Christ being born in Bethlehem, who is born as a pauper, because the vainglorious are accustomed to persecute the poor of Christ. Whence Bernard in a certain sermon: "It is clear how much unjust power harms, how an impious head conforms all its subjects to its own impiety. Truly miserable is the city in which Herod reigns, for it will be a partaker of Herodian malice. But the malice of Herod is to wish to extinguish religion at its birth. If therefore anything pertaining to salvation, if anything of religion arises, whoever resists it persecutes the newborn Savior."

Luke 13:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Secondly, the passion of Christ is intimated as voluntarily undertaken by him, when it is added: And he said to them: Go and tell that fox. He calls Herod a fox on account of his malice and deceitfulness, which nevertheless does not prevail against the wisdom of Christ; Wisdom 7: "Wisdom is not overcome by malice. She reaches therefore from end to end mightily." And because the death of Christ was not to be consummated according to the machination of human malice, but according to the disposition of his own wisdom and will, therefore he adds: Behold, I cast out demons and perform healings today and tomorrow, through the working of miracles; Acts 10: "He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil." And the third day I am consummated, through the endurance of the passion, in which he said, John 19: "It is consummated"; and Hebrews 2: "For it was fitting that he, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, who had brought many sons into glory, should be consummated through suffering." Whence by these three days can be understood the three years in which the Lord preached and worked miracles, and thus that in the last year he suffered voluntarily and according to his own will; John 10: "I have the power to lay down my life, and I have the power to take it up again." Whence when he did not will it, no one was able to harm him, according to that word in John 7: "No one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come." Whence the fox-like malice was able to plot the death of Christ, but nevertheless was not able to accomplish it except as he himself willed; concerning which, Isaiah 53: "He was offered because he himself willed it." And through this it is also spiritually understood that the mystical body of Christ does not suffer except according as God disposes, from impious heretics, whom Christ gives us to understand through Herod, attributing to him the name and the property of a fox.

Luke 13:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Thirdly, the passion of Christ is intimated as infallibly preordained from eternity; whence he adds: Nevertheless, I must walk today and tomorrow and the following day. This necessity was not from compulsion, but from a supernal disposition, according to that passage below in the last chapter: "O foolish and slow of heart to believe in all things which the Prophets have spoken," etc. For God had foreseen this, according to what is said in Acts 2: "Him, delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have slain, afflicting him by the hands of the wicked." The Prophets also foretold this, according to what is said in Acts 3: "But God, who announced through the mouth of the Prophets that his Christ should suffer, has thus fulfilled it." He himself intimated this necessity of the divine disposition in his passion, when he prayed, as is said in Matthew 26: "My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, let your will be done." And because the divine disposition preordained not only the time, but also the place, therefore he adds: Because it does not befit a Prophet to perish outside Jerusalem: it does not befit, "that is, it is not fitting," it does not befit prophetic Scripture, or it does not befit divine providence. This Prophet par excellence is Christ, who foreknows all future things; concerning whom Deuteronomy 18 says: "The Lord will raise up for you a Prophet from among your brethren like me"; and above in chapter 7: "A great Prophet has arisen among us." It was not fitting for him to die except in Jerusalem, according to the Scriptures, both because that was the royal, magisterial, and sacerdotal city, and because Christ was the supreme king, teacher, and priest. And therefore he ought not to have died except in that place; whence below in chapter 18: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the Prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished." For the Prophets universally foretold that the new law would come forth from Jerusalem; whence Isaiah 2: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob; for out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem"; and Zechariah 13: "In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for the washing of the sinner and of the unclean woman." And note that Christ was condemned in Jerusalem, but suffered outside the gate; whence Hebrews 13: "Jesus, that he might sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered outside the gate." Mystically, however, it is to be noted here that this three-day period is expounded in three ways according to different expositors: allegorically, morally, and anagogically. Allegorically thus: the first day is the law of nature, the second is the law of Scripture, and the third is the law of grace; concerning which Mark 8 says: "I have compassion on the multitude, for behold, they have now been with me three days." Or, the first day is that of the passion, the second, of burial, but the third, of the resurrection; John 2: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Or, the first day is the course of the sixth age; the second, the rest of souls: but the third, the resurrection of bodies, which is in the eighth; Hosea 6: "He will revive us after two days, and on the third day he will raise us up." Morally, thus, so that the first day is of compunction; the second, of confession; the third, of satisfaction: Exodus 5: "The Lord God of the Hebrews has called us: we shall go a journey of three days into the wilderness." — Or, the first day is good thought, the second is good speech, and the third is good action: Jonah 3 according to the Septuagint translation: "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." Or, the three days are the threefold vow of religion, namely of chastity, obedience, and poverty; Genesis 40: "Three days remain, after which Pharaoh will remember your s…

Luke 13:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, etc. After he manifested the sublimity of the divine disposition in the redemption of the human race, here secondly he manifests it in the reprobation of the rebellious people. And first he indicates the rebellion, then the hardening, and thirdly the abandonment. First, therefore, with regard to the rebellion of that people, he says: Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the Prophets and stones those who are sent to you. Here the container is taken for the contained: Acts 7: "Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit." "Which of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute?" Whence 4 Kings 21: "Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until Jerusalem was filled to the brim." And they did this because they hated the truth, according to that passage of Amos 5: "They hated the one who reproves at the gate, and they abominated the one who speaks perfectly." And this was because they did not wish to be reproved; "for he who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light." On account of which it is said in Ezekiel 2: "Son of man, I send you to apostate nations, who have departed from me: the fathers have transgressed my covenant, and the sons are stiff-necked and of untamable heart, to whom I send you." And the stoning itself signifies this. Second, with regard to the hardening of that people, he adds: How often I wished to gather your children, as a bird her brood under her wings, and you were unwilling! In which their excessive hardening appears, because it refused to be softened by so great a kindness. But Christ compared himself to a bird insofar as a bird has a manifold property with regard to the superabundance of tender love. He is compared to a hen in his manner of life, because a hen by her tender care and vigilance is moved toward her chicks and gathers them and defends them with her wings against the rapacity of the kite. So also Christ did, as long as he was in the flesh; therefore Matthew 23: "How often I wished to gather your children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling!" He is compared to the pelican in his passion, because the pelican is said to mourn her slain chicks for three days and afterward to pour forth her own blood with her beak, and thus to restore them to life. In this way Christ wept three times for the salvation of the human race: first over Lazarus, John 11; second over Jerusalem, below in chapter 19; third on the cross, Hebrews 5. And afterward he poured forth his own blood, by which he also gave us life: whence the Psalm: "I am become like a pelican of the wilderness." Third, he is compared to an eagle in the resurrection and ascension, which rouses its young so that they may strive upward and gaze upon the sun and fly to the heights. And so that they may be able to do this, they lick its blood: whence Job 39: "Will the eagle be raised up at your command and make its nest in the heights," etc., up to that place: "Its young lick the blood." This bird, moreover, although it is harsh toward strangers, is nevertheless greatly attentive to the care of its offspring; on account of which Christ, our Redeemer, is rightly likened to it. Whence Deuteronomy 32: "He led him forth and taught him and guarded him as the pupil of his eye. As an eagle provoking its young to fly and hovering over them, he spread his wings and took him up and carried him on his shoulders." To refuse this kindness is the mark of the utmost hardness of heart and faithlessness; on account of which Isaiah 1: "Woe to the sinful nation, a people heavy with iniquity, a wicked seed, criminal children! They have forsaken the Lord, they have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel, they are alienated backward."

Luke 13:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13

Third, as regards the abandonment of that nation, he adds: Behold, your house shall be left to you desolate: Isaiah 1: "Your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire." "And the daughter of Zion shall be left as a shelter in a vineyard and as a hut in a cucumber garden and as a city that is laid waste." And since, just as abandonment is joined to hardness of heart, so visitation is joined to devotion, therefore he adds: But I say to you: You shall not see me until it comes to pass that you say: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord: Psalm: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you from the house of the Lord; the Lord is God, and he has shone upon us." This, however, can be referred to the vision of faith, by which no one sees unless he believes him to be true man and true God: John 9: "The Lord said to the man born blind: Do you believe in the Son of God? He answered and said: Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? And Jesus said to him: You have both seen him, and it is he who speaks with you. And he said: I believe, Lord; and falling down he worshipped him." It can also be referred to the vision of direct sight, to which no one attains unless he blesses with life and tongue: Isaiah 26: "Let the wicked be taken away, lest he see the glory of God," according to another translation; but according to ours it says: "In the land of the saints he has done wicked things and shall not see the glory of the Lord." And note that, according to the exposition of the Gloss, he speaks here of the vision at the judgment, because after the vision of Christ in humility nothing is expected except the vision in majesty, and this will be twofold: of the Divinity and of the humanity: of the Divinity, and this will belong entirely to the good, because it will have the greatest joy conjoined to it: Job thirty-three: "He shall see his face in jubilation, and he shall restore to man his justice"; and Isaiah thirty-three: "They shall see the King in his beauty," etc. The other is the vision of the humanity, and this will be common to all. For all will see with certainty the power and dominion of Christ; Apocalypse one: "Behold, he shall come with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also who pierced him." The Lord therefore means to say that that Jewish people will not see Christ unto their salvation unless they are converted to the faith and to his praise; which is at last expected in the final time after the fullness of the Gentiles; whence Romans eleven: "Blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should enter in, and so all Israel should be saved"; and Romans nine: "Isaiah cries out for Israel: If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved." And in this the depth of the divine dispensation manifestly appears, on account of which the Apostle exclaims in Romans eleven: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!"

Luke 14:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

And it came to pass, when he entered into the house etc. Above he refuted those slandering Christ's miracles in a council; here he openly refutes them at a banquet. For in these two places especially detraction and scrutiny were accustomed to occur, namely in councils and at banquets. This part, which contains the present chapter, is divided into three parts. In the first of which he refutes the Pharisees who were watching; in the second he instructs the guests reclining at table, at that place: And he said also to those who were invited: and in the third he teaches the crowds following after, at that place: And great multitudes went with him. First, the Pharisees who were watching are refuted, concerning which three things. Concerning the refutation of the watchers, he proceeds in this order: because first is set forth the watching of the Pharisees: second is added the exposure of those observed, at that place: And behold, there was a certain man who had the dropsy: and third, the refutation of those exposed, at that place: And he took him and healed him. The watching of the Pharisees, by which they were watching Christ, is described with respect to two things, namely with respect to the kindness of Christ and the malice of the Pharisees. As regards Christ's kindness, therefore, he says: And it came to pass, when he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, in which Christ's wondrous kindness appears: great in this, that he dwelt among mortal men, though he was God; Baruch 3: "This is our God, and no other shall be esteemed in comparison to him." "Afterward he was seen upon earth and conversed with men." Greater indeed, because he dwelt among his own persecutors: whence was fulfilled in him that saying of Ezekiel 2: "Son of man, unbelievers and subverters are with you, and you dwell among scorpions." But the greatest kindness, because he dwelt among them even to intimate fellowship, so that there might be fulfilled that saying of Revelation 3: "I stand at the door and knock: if anyone shall open to me, I will enter in to him and will sup with him, and he with me." In this, therefore, that he entered another's house, Christ's humility is commended: in this, that it was the house of a Pharisee, his charity: in this, that he ate another's bread, Christ's own poverty: and in these things the supreme kindness is shown, by which the Most High willed to be humbled for us, the Most Just to dwell among the impious, the Most Rich to become poor among men: whence 2 Corinthians 8: "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, that by his poverty we might be made rich." Second, however, with regard to the malice of those watching, he adds: And they were watching him. The Evangelist does not say in what respect, so as to intimate that they were watching both his words and his miracles, and they were watching in order to censure and accuse him; above in the eleventh chapter: "The Pharisees and the lawyers began to press upon him vehemently and to assail his mouth, lying in wait for him and seeking to catch something from his mouth, that they might accuse him"; whence also John 15: "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my word, they will keep yours also." They were also watching his miracles, according to what is said in Mark 3: "They watched him, whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might accuse him." Whence this watching proceeded from scheming malice, against which it is said in Proverbs 24: "Do not lie in wait nor seek wickedness in the house of the just, nor lay waste his rest." But because it is most difficult for a malicious man to escape the scrutiny of his neighbor, therefore it is said in Proverbs 23: "Do not eat with an envious man, and do not desire his foods, because in the likeness of a soothsayer and a diviner he judges what he does not know. Eat and drink, he will say to you; but h…

Luke 14:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

And behold, a certain man who had the dropsy. After having described the watching of the Pharisees, here secondly he describes the exposure of the observers; concerning which three things are introduced, namely: The infirmity disposing toward the exposure, the question that exposes, and the dissimulation that conceals. First, therefore, with regard to the infirmity disposing toward the exposure of the observers, he says: And behold, a certain man who had the dropsy was before him. In the literal sense, this man with dropsy, by his manifest and grievous infirmity, was providing a way to confute and expose the perfidy of the Jews. And since the time and place presented themselves, therefore he says: And behold, as though the Lord had then brought him into their midst; whence Sirach 39: "The works of all flesh are before him, and nothing is hidden from his eyes." "Nor is it to be said: What is this, or what is that? For all things shall be sought in their time"; and afterwards: "All the works of the Lord are good, and every work he will furnish in its hour." Whence this bodily infirmity was effective for assailing and purging spiritual infirmity, because it was directly contrary to it. For this man with dropsy was before Jesus to implore mercy, which the Pharisees were opposing. For he was imploring the mercy of God because he was a man: for Sirach 18: "The mercy of God is upon all flesh"; and because he was an infirm man, according to that passage in Sirach 11: "There is a man who is feeble and in need of recovery, more failing in strength, and the eye of God has looked upon him for good"; and because he was before him, because such persons have recourse to God, and to such persons God condescends: the Psalm: "For he has looked down from his holy height; the Lord has looked from heaven upon the earth."

Luke 14:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Second, as regards the question that uncovers, he adds: And Jesus answering said to the lawyers and Pharisees. He pointedly says answering, although no one had previously asked anything, because he was responding to their thoughts, which he saw and heard, according to that passage in Matthew nine: "When Jesus had seen their thoughts, he said: Why do you think evil in your hearts?" Whence the Gloss: "Jesus answering, the treacherous observers," because it is said in Wisdom one: "The ear of jealousy hears all things, and the tumult of murmurings shall not be hidden." And therefore he responds to their thoughts by posing to them the question which they themselves were also pondering, when he adds: Saying: Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? The Pharisees are read to have posed this question to the Lord, as is read in Matthew twelve: "They asked whether it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath, that they might accuse him." But Luke expresses their thoughts, while Matthew expresses the spoken word. The Lord was asking this of them because they professed themselves to be lawyers; whence the Gloss: "From the lawyers he seeks the judgment of the Law." On account of which, Malachi two: "The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law from his mouth"; and the Gloss on the same passage: "If the priest is questioned about the law, let him teach; otherwise he vainly boasts of a dignity whose function he does not exercise."

Luke 14:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Third, as regards the dissimulation that conceals, he adds: But they were silent. They were silent because, seeing themselves caught and exposed, they feared being confounded by their own response; whence the Gloss of Bede: "Rightly are they silent who see that whatever they might say would be said against themselves. For if it is lawful, why do they watch? If it is not lawful, why do they tend their cattle?" Whence by their silence they feigned ignorance, so as to cover over their malice. A similar instance is found in Matthew twenty-one, where, when the Lord had asked concerning the baptism of John, whence it was, they refused to answer, lest they be convicted of unbelief. Whence that passage of Sirach thirty-seven could be said of them: "O most wicked presumption! whence were you created to cover over barren malice?" But when the leaves of words failed them, they had recourse to the darkness of ignorance and the failure of words; whence they were silent not from prudence, but from ignorance, which has malice joined to it; whence Sirach twenty: "There is one who is silent, not having the sense of speech; and there is one who is silent, knowing the fitting time." But he, taking hold of him, etc. After the exposure of the observers, there is added here the confutation of those exposed, which the Evangelist describes in three ways, namely as regards the magnificence of the deed, the efficacy of the word, and the evidence of the sign. First, therefore, as regards the magnificence of the deed, he says: But He, having taken hold of him, healed him and sent him away. In this, that He took hold of him, His humility is apparent, because He does not disdain to touch infirmities in order to teach humility; on account of which the Apostle says in Hebrews 2: "Nowhere does He take hold of angels, but of the seed of Abraham." In this, that He healed, His power is apparent; whence above in chapter six: "Power went out from Him and healed all." In this, that He sent him away, His generosity is apparent, namely to depart as a free man. For He did not reduce him to servitude on account of the benefit conferred, but sent him away to depart as a free man; the Gloss says: "He sent him away bodily healed, so that he might turn himself to the salvation of souls." Whence above in chapter eight, to that demoniac whom He had healed, He said: "Go to your house and tell how great things God has done for you." And through this, Christ in the manner of performing that miracle, by humility confounds the pride of the Jews; by power, their sloth; by generosity and kindness, their faithlessness, since they themselves would neither deign to touch, nor were able to cure, nor were willing to set free.

Luke 14:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Second, as regards the efficacy of the word, he adds: And answering them He said: Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fall into a pit, namely by a chance occurrence, because this possession of temporal things can be endangered and lost in many ways: sometimes from within, through its own death, as we see every day; sometimes from without, through the tyranny of others, as in Job 1: "The oxen were plowing and the asses were feeding, and the Sabeans rushed in and took everything"; sometimes from above, through pestilence; Exodus 9: "Behold, my hand shall be upon your horses and asses and camels and oxen, a very grievous plague"; sometimes from below, through a fall, as here. Whence these things are not to be greatly loved, which can be lost in so many ways. And yet the Pharisees loved these possessions greatly; whence the Gloss says: "You are all alike in this avarice"; for love of ox and ass made them not care about the observance of the Sabbath. Therefore he adds: And will he not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day? by swift assistance; the Gloss says: "Not providing for the animal, but for his own avarice." And this indeed they considered themselves to do without offense to the Law. If therefore the welfare of a man is to be preferred to the welfare of an ass and an ox, it is manifest that in the healing of a man the Sabbath is not violated; and it is an argument from the greater. For it seems more likely that the Sabbath should be violated by a more servile work, because it is said in Leviticus 23: "You shall do no servile work therein"; but it is a more servile work to pull out an ass or an ox than to heal a man. If therefore he does not violate the Sabbath who pulls an ox from a ditch, much more neither does he who heals a man. For if a work of avarice does not violate it, then neither does a work of mercy, since a work of avarice belongs to servitude, while a work of mercy belongs to generosity.

Luke 14:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Third, as to the evidence of the sign, he adds: And they could not reply to these things. The Gloss: "Convicted." For then it is an evident sign that a man has been convicted, when every way of escape fails him. Nor is it a wonder if they could not answer the wisdom of Christ, since not even the wisest could resist his disciples; whence below in the twenty-first chapter: "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist." And this was fulfilled in Stephen, of whom Acts 6: "Then there arose certain of the synagogue which is called that of the Libertines and Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and of those who were from Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen; and they could not resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke."

Luke 14:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

He spoke also to those who were invited, etc. After he confuted the observers, here secondly he instructs the guests. This part is divided into three according to a threefold instruction. For first he instructs those invited to the nuptial banquet. Second he instructs those inviting to the familiar banquet, there: He said also to him who had invited him. Third he instructs those to be imitated regarding the eternal banquet, there: A certain man made a great supper, etc. The first of these regards the banquet of grace; the second, of nature; and the third, of glory; the first, sacramental; the second, material; the third, eternal and spiritual. First, therefore, as regards the occasion introducing the parable, he says: And he spoke a parable to those who were invited: The Gloss: "A parable, signifying something else mystically." For since someone could refer that teaching of the Lord to these carnal weddings, therefore the Evangelist himself, directing the understanding of the expositor, wishes it to be understood parabolically. For this was the manner of the Lord and Savior in teaching, according to that passage of the Psalm: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter propositions from the beginning," etc. And because a parable has no force unless it is spoken at its proper time, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 20: "A parable from the mouth of a fool shall be rejected, for he does not speak it in its time"; and conversely, Proverbs 25: "Golden apples in beds of silver, he who speaks a word in its time"; therefore the opportuneness of place and time is added for the introduction of this parable about the wedding banquet, when it is added: Observing how they were choosing the first places, namely after the manner of the proud, which custom was indeed found among the Pharisees: Matthew 23: "They love the first places at feasts and the first seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplace"; and this as a sign of honor, according to that passage of Job 29: "If I wished to go to them, I sat in the first place." For the first and the highest are joined together; and just as pride and ambition is the disordered appetite for superiority, so also for priority. The proud seek things of this kind, who desire to be honored by others, after the example of Saul, 1 Kings 15: "Only honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel."

Luke 14:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Second, with regard to the persuasion dissuading from pride, he adds: Saying to them: When you are invited to a wedding, do not recline in the first place. Although this could be understood of carnal weddings, nevertheless the following text itself and the expositors wish it to be understood of spiritual weddings: whence the Gloss: "When through the grace of faith, called by a preacher, you have joined yourself to the members of the Church: do not exalt yourself, boasting of your merits, as though you were higher than the rest." These nuptials, however, are not just any nuptials, but the nuptials of the Lamb, of which Apocalypse nineteen says: "The nuptials of the Lamb have come, and his wife has prepared herself." God the Father made these nuptials, according to what is said in Matthew twenty-two: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who made a wedding for his son." These nuptials were celebrated in the bridal chamber of the virginal womb: the Psalm: "He set his tabernacle in the sun, and he himself as a bridegroom coming forth from his bridal chamber." There the marriage between the divine and human nature was consummated, and consequently between Christ and the Church, according to that passage in Ephesians five; the Apostle, speaking of marriage, says: "This sacrament is a great one, but I speak in Christ and in the Church." The banquet at these nuptials consists in the reception of the Sacraments of the Church and the teachings of Sacred Scripture: Proverbs nine: "Wisdom has built herself a house, she has hewn out seven pillars. She has slain her victims, mixed her wine, and set forth her table. And she has sent her handmaids to call to the citadel," etc. To this banquet are called all who are called to the faith through the preaching of truth; Matthew twenty-two: "He sent his servants to call those invited to the wedding." Those thus invited recline and eat through the searching out and rumination of divine and mystical words. As a sign of this, that heavenly food was called manna in Exodus sixteen, which is interpreted: "What is this?" because it is necessary to understand what they receive. Whence also in Leviticus eleven it is said that the animal which "does not chew the cud is unclean." In the first place reclines he who is preferred above others, whether in the office of dignity, or in the privileges of holiness, or in the magisterium of truth. And to this no one ought to ascend of himself, because it is said in Hebrews five: "Neither does anyone take the honor to himself, but he who is called by God, as Aaron was." And therefore Ecclesiasticus six: "Do not exalt yourself in the thought of your soul like a bull, lest perhaps your strength be dashed to pieces"; nor even before others: whence Ecclesiasticus eleven: "Never glory in your clothing, and in the day of your honor do not exalt yourself." Third, however, as regards the reason explaining the shame he adds: Lest perhaps one more honored than you has been invited by him, worthy of greater honor on account of interior grace; the Gloss: "More pleasing to the one who invited, even if he is hidden from others"; whence 1 Kings 16: "Do not regard his countenance nor the height of his stature, for I have rejected him; nor do I judge according to the sight of man. For man sees those things which are apparent, but the Lord beholds the heart".

Luke 14:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

And then he who invited both you and him, coming, through the disposition of justice: Proverbs 16: "God is the weigher of spirits"; will say to you: Give this one your place, on account of the preeminence of dignity: 1 Kings 15: "The Lord has torn your kingdom from you and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you". And then you will begin with shame to hold the last place, through manifest abasement, according to that verse of the Psalm: "But having been exalted, I was humbled and troubled". And therefore Sirach 13: "Take heed lest, being led astray in folly, you be humbled"; but that one is led astray by folly, who considers himself something great: Galatians 6: "If anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself". And such a one is humbled by God in just judgment, according to that passage above in chapter one: "He has put down the mighty from their seat and has exalted the humble." Concerning this kind of judgment it is said in Sirach 11: "Many tyrants have sat upon the throne, and one whom no one would suspect has worn the diadem. Many mighty ones have been greatly oppressed, and the glorious have been delivered into the hands of others". And therefore it is said in Sirach 7: "Do not seek from man a position of leadership, nor from a king a seat of honor"; because, Proverbs 20, "an inheritance to which one hastens in the beginning, in the end will lack blessing".

Luke 14:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

But when you shall have been invited. After he has censured arrogance, here secondly he invites to reverence; which indeed he does by persuading to perfect humility, by assigning the attendant benefit, by confirming through divine equity. First, therefore, persuading to perfect humility, he says: But when you have been invited, to the wedding, go and recline in the last place, that is, placing yourself after all others, according to that passage of Matthew 20: "Whoever wishes to become greater among you, let him be your minister. And whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your servant: just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve". Whence He Himself sat down in the last place; Isaiah 53: "We saw Him the last of men, a man of sorrows and knowing infirmity; therefore His face was hidden and despised". In commendation of this humility, the seats of more excellent persons are farther from the altar, and in processions those prior in dignity are last, in imitation of Christ himself, who indeed invited to this humility when he washed the feet of all the Apostles: John 13: "If I, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example," etc.: because "the disciple is not above the master," etc. And therefore the Apostle, First Corinthians 9: "Though I was free from all, I made myself the servant of all"; and again in the fifteenth chapter: "I am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle"; and Ephesians 3: "To me, the least of all the Saints, this grace was given." And therefore the prince of the Apostles, Peter, said in First Peter 2: "Be subject to every human creature for God's sake." Recline therefore in the last place, esteeming yourself lower than all. But you will say: How shall I truly reckon myself worse than all, when many are worse? To this Bernard responds in his homilies on the Canticles, homily thirty-seven: "For if we clearly knew in what state God holds each one of us, we ought to sit neither above nor below, acquiescing to truth in all things. But now, because this counsel has made darkness its hiding place, and the word is hidden from us, so that no one knows whether he is worthy of love or hatred: more justly and more safely indeed, according to the counsel of Truth itself, we choose the last place for ourselves, from which we may afterward be led up higher with honor, than presume a higher place, from which we must soon withdraw with shame. There is therefore no danger, however much you humble yourself, however much you reckon yourself less than you are, that is, than Truth holds you to be. But it is a great evil and a dreadful danger if you exalt yourself even slightly beyond the truth, and if in your thought you prefer yourself to one whom Truth perhaps judges your equal, or even your superior. Just as, if you pass through a doorway whose lintel, to speak for the sake of understanding, is exceedingly low, it does no harm however much you stoop; but if you stand even a finger's breadth taller than the measure of the door allows, you will strike and dash your head. So in the soul, no humiliation however great is to be feared; but even the least rashly presumed self-exaltation is to be dreaded and greatly feared. Wherefore do not compare yourself, O man, to those greater, nor to those lesser, nor to any, nor to one." For what do you know, O man, whether that one person, whom you perhaps consider the most vile and most wretched of all, whose most wicked and singularly most foul life you abhor, and whom you therefore think should be despised not only in comparison with yourself—who perhaps already trust that you live soberly and justly and piously—but even in comparison with all other wicked persons as the most wicked of all: what do you know, I say, whether by the change of the right hand of the Most High he is not to become better than you and them in himself, and indeed already is so in God? And th…

Luke 14:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Third, confirming through divine equity, He adds: For everyone who exalts himself, through proud self-elevation, according to that passage of Job 15: "Why does your heart elevate you, and why do you have astonished eyes, as though thinking great things?" He shall be humbled, through judicial severity: Isaiah 2: "The lofty eyes of man shall be humbled." "For the day of the Lord shall be upon every proud and arrogant one, and he shall be humbled." "And all the loftiness of men shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be humbled." An example of this was manifest in Lucifer; Isaiah 14: "How have you fallen, O Lucifer, who rose in the morning? Who said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven." And therefore he fell, because he exalted himself: whence Ezekiel 28: "Because your heart was lifted up like the heart of God, therefore behold, I will bring strangers upon you, and they shall defile your beauty and shall slay you and cast you down, and you shall die the death of the slain." On account of which it is said to every imitator of Lucifer, to any proud person, Obadiah 1: "The pride of your heart has lifted you up, you who dwell in the clefts of the rocks, who exalt your throne"; and afterward: "If you be exalted as the eagle, and if you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down." Therefore the Wise Man counsels in Ecclesiasticus 6: "Do not exalt yourself in your thought like a bull, lest perhaps your strength be crushed, and you be left like a dry tree in the wilderness." Thus divine justice humbles the proud, and on the contrary exalts the humble: therefore he adds: And he who humbles himself, through voluntary self-abasement: the Psalm: "The Lord is the keeper of little ones; I was humbled, and he delivered me"; and 2 Kings 6: "I will play and become even more vile than I have been, and I will be humble in my own eyes"; shall be exalted, through divine glorification. The example is in the Lord the Savior: Philippians 2: "He humbled himself," etc.; and afterward: "For which reason God also exalted him," etc. And therefore it is said in 1 Peter 5: "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation." And concerning these two in the Psalm: "All the horns of sinners I will break, and the horns of the just shall be exalted"; and Ezekiel 17: "All the trees of the country shall know that I the Lord have humbled the lofty tree and exalted the lowly tree." Now the reason for this justice and equity is that, the more one exalts himself, the less he honors God and the less he magnifies God, and through this the more he is turned away from God, and thus consequently the less he is: Ezekiel 28: "You have been brought to nothing and you shall not be forever." Again, the more one exalts himself, the more he raises himself above himself, and thereby the more he vanishes; and the more he vanishes, the more he recedes from truth and the less he is; therefore the more anyone is exalted by himself, the more he is cast down: Job 30, "You lifted me up, and placing me as it were upon the wind, you dashed me violently." Finally, the more anyone exalts himself, the more he loves the glory of men, and the more he embraces it, the more he is subject to human praises, and on this account the more he is a servant of men and the more he is cast down: Psalm: "Indeed on account of deceits you set things for them; you cast them down while they were being lifted up." But on the contrary, the more anyone humbles himself, the more he honors God; Sirach 3: "Great is the power of God alone, and he is honored by the humble"; and the more he honors God, the more he draws near to him, and thereby the more he is elevated to higher things. Furthermore, the more he humbles himself, the more he returns to interior things, and the more he is gathered inwardly, the greater his power becomes; therefore the more anyone is humbled, the greater…

Luke 14:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

He was saying moreover, etc. After he instructed the guests invited to the wedding banquet, here secondly he instructs those who invite others to a familiar banquet; in which instruction he first draws back those who invite from worldly courtesy, secondly he attracts them to divine charity, there: But when you make a feast. Drawing back therefore from worldly courtesy, he introduces three things for this kind of withdrawal, namely the occasioning inducement, the instructing exhortation, and the persuading reason. First therefore, as regards the inducing occasion, he says: He said also to him who had invited him. He said this to him because that man's invitation gave occasion to speak about the manner of inviting, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus twenty-seven: "In the midst of the senseless, reserve your word for the proper time." Or he said this to him so that to one providing bodily sustenance he might repay spiritual instruction, that he might thus show in turn that divine gifts are to be shared, according to that passage of First Peter four: "Each one, as he has received grace, ministering it to one another." - Whence a pattern is given to the spiritual man receiving bodily food, that he should dispense spiritual food to his host, as is intimated above in chapter ten, that "Martha received Christ into her house, and her sister Mary, sitting at the feet of the Lord, heard his word." In designation of which, the Wise Man says concerning Wisdom, that is Christ, in Wisdom eight: "I purposed to take her to myself for companionship, knowing that she will share with me of her goods, and will be a comfort in my cares and weariness." In this also a pattern is given, that at the banquets of spiritual men spiritual words are to be intermingled; therefore it is the custom that in bodily refreshment spiritual reading is interspersed, on account of that word of the Lord in Deuteronomy eight and Matthew four: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord." Second, as regards the instructing exhortation, he adds: When you make a dinner or a supper: a dinner in the morning and a supper in the evening. Do not call your friends, by reason of assiduity: Matthew five: "If you love those who love you, what reward shall you have? Do not even the heathens do this?" Because it is said in Ecclesiasticus thirty-seven: "A companion grieves with a friend for the sake of his belly, and against the enemy he will take up the shield." Nor your kinsmen, by reason of affinity: Ecclesiasticus eighteen: "The compassion of man is toward his neighbor, but the mercy of God is upon all flesh." Nor your neighbors, by reason of familiarity: against which, the Third Canonical Epistle of John: "Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren, and this for strangers, who have borne testimony to your charity." Nor your brothers, by reason of consanguinity, because it is said: "Forget your people and your father's house"; and Deuteronomy thirty-three: "Who said to their brothers: I know them not; these keep your law," etc. Nor the rich, by reason of pomposity: because it is said below in chapter sixteen: "There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and feasted sumptuously every day," and afterwards it is added that "he was buried in hell." He does not say this, however, because it is against the commandment to invite acquaintances, since it is written in First Timothy 5: "If anyone does not have care for his own and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever"; and of Joseph it is written in Genesis 43 that he made a feast for his brothers: but he says this because a man in such invitations, if he wishes to merit eternal life, ought not to have a carnal intention, but a spiritual one, not an earthly one, but a heavenly one, not a mercenary one, but a pious one. On account of which, note that there is an indifferent fea…

Luke 14:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

But when you make a feast. After he drew back from worldly courtesy, here secondly he invites to divine charity. Which indeed he does in three ways, namely through the commendation of fraternal piety, through the assignment of the inductive reason, and through the approbation of the induced reason. First, therefore, as regards the commendation of fraternal piety, he says: But when you make a feast, invite the poor, on account of their lack of exterior goods: Isaiah fifty-eight: "Break your bread for the hungry, and bring the needy and homeless into your house," etc. And this was commanded in the Law: Deuteronomy fifteen: "The poor shall not be lacking in the land of your habitation; therefore I command you to open your hand to your needy and poor brother who dwells with you in the land." To this poor man you ought to open your hand, and especially to the just man; whence in Sirach nine it is said: "Let just men be your guests, and let your glorying be in the fear of the Lord"; and in Tobit two it is said: "When it was a feast day, and a good meal had been prepared in the house of Tobit, he said to his son: Go, and bring some of our tribe who fear God, that they may feast with us." Whence in Sirach twelve: "Give to the good, and do not receive the sinner; do good to the humble, and do not give to the ungodly." Nevertheless, it is not excluded here that alms should also be given to other poor people, and that they too ought to be invited, as Chrysostom sufficiently indicates in his commentary on Matthew, Homily seventy-nine, saying: "Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of these least, neither did you do it to me, says the Lord, saying this not only of disciples, nor of those who have chosen the monastic life, but of every faithful person. For whoever is such, even if he be a slave, even if he be one of those who beg in the marketplace, yet believes in God, it is just that he enjoy the devotion of all. And if we despise such a man, naked or hungry, we shall hear these words," etc. The weak, on account of their lack of strength: Sirach seven: "Let it not irk you to visit the sick; for by these things you will be strengthened in love"; and Matthew twenty-five: "I was sick, and you visited me," the Lord will say, because he who condescends to another's infirmity, what he does for that person he bestows upon Christ. The lame and the blind, on account of their lack of bodily members; below in the same chapter: "Go out into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the weak, the blind and the lame." And this indeed rightly, because mercy must be bestowed upon the wretched and assistance upon those who are in want; whence Mark eight: "I have compassion on the crowd, because behold, they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat."

Luke 14:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Second, as to the assignment of the persuasive reason, he adds: And you shall be blessed, because they have nothing to repay you: therefore it is necessary that another repay on their behalf: Proverbs 19: "He who has mercy on the poor lends to the Lord"; which is said on account of the immensity of the reward, concerning which he adds: For it shall be repaid to you in the resurrection of the just, that is, in eternal glory; concerning which resurrection, Apocalypse 20: "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection"; and below in chapter 20: "Those who shall be accounted worthy of that age and of the resurrection shall be equal to the Angels and are sons of God, since they are sons of the resurrection." In this resurrection the wicked shall rise to death, but the just to life: John 5: "Those who have done good shall come forth to the resurrection of life, but those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment." In this, recompense shall be made to the merciful: whence Ecclesiasticus 12: "Do good to the just, and you shall find great recompense, and if not from him, certainly from God"; and especially regarding almsgiving: whence Matthew 25: "Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom" etc.; and afterward: "I was hungry, and you gave me to eat" etc. And therefore Matthew 5: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Whence to works of piety especially is the recompense of blessedness rendered: on account of which, Ecclesiasticus 17: "The alms of a man is as a purse with him, and shall preserve the grace of a man as the apple of his eye; and afterward he shall rise up and shall render them their reward, to each one upon his own head." Now the reason for this is that no one is worthy of mercy unless he shows mercy: because, James 2, "judgment without mercy to him who does not show mercy." And no one comes to eternal blessedness except through mercy: Psalm: "Men and beasts you shall save, O Lord: how you have multiplied your mercy, O God"; and again, Titus: "Not by works of justice which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us."

Luke 14:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Third, as to the approval of the reason adduced, he adds: When one of those who sat at table with him had heard these things: had heard, I say, not only with the ear of the body, but also with the ear of the heart, according to that of Apocalypse 2: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches." And since he who hears in this way believes, according to that of Romans 10: "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ," that is, he who believes by hearing renders testimony by speaking and confessing; Job 29: "The ear that heard me blessed me, and the eye that saw me bore witness to me"; therefore he adds: Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God, as if to say: the recompense that shall be in the resurrection of the dead is better than that which is in the present, because the latter is wretched, but the former is blessed; Psalm: "For better is one day in your courts than thousands." Whence Apocalypse 19: "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And note that that food which will be in the kingdom of God will not be carnal food, but spiritual. And this bread is the uncreated Word and the incarnate Word: which bread indeed we eat on the way sacramentally, according to that passage in 1 Corinthians 11: "But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the chalice"; but in the fatherland we shall eat spiritually, seeing face to face: John 6: "If anyone shall eat of this bread, he shall live forever"; because, in the seventeenth chapter: "this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." This bread is promised to us to be eaten after departure from this life: "when he shall have given sleep to his beloved, behold, the inheritance of the Lord, sons: the reward, the fruit of the womb." For just as no one comes to the sleep of rest except through the six-fold of labor, so the eating of this bread is preceded by a six-fold of breads, which are preparatory to that eternal food which we shall eat in the fatherland. The first bread is that of the sorrow of penance: Psalm: "My tears have been my bread day and night"; and again, Psalm: "Arise, after you have sat down, you who eat the bread of sorrow." Concerning this bread it is said figuratively in Genesis 21: Abraham gave Hagar "bread and a skin of water," and she went away into the desert. The second is the bread of the labor of justice: Genesis 3: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread"; Psalm: "You shall eat the labors of your hands: blessed are you, and it shall be well with you." — The third is the bread of the instruction of doctrine; Matthew 4: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Concerning this it is said in Lamentations 4: "The little ones asked for bread, and there was no one to break it for them." The fourth is the bread of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, concerning which John 6: "The bread which I shall give is my flesh," etc.; and Matthew 26: "And while they were at supper, Jesus took bread." The fifth is the bread of interior consolation: 1 Kings 30: "They gave the Egyptian boy bread"; "and when he had eaten it, his spirit returned, and he was refreshed"; and Wisdom 16: "You provided them bread from heaven having," etc. The sixth is the bread of supernal contemplation, concerning which Genesis 49: "Asher, his bread is fat, and he shall provide dainties to kings"; Proverbs 9: "Come and eat my bread and drink the wine which I have mixed for you"; Ecclesiasticus 15: "He shall feed him with the bread of life and understanding, and shall give him the water of saving wisdom to drink." Through these six breads one arrives at the seventh, concerning which it is said here: Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. But many are so wretched that they cannot pass from bread to bread; whence they do not arrive at the bread of that heaven…

Luke 14:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

But he said to him: A certain man etc. After he instructed those invited to the nuptial banquet and those inviting to the familiar banquet, here he instructs those to be invited to the eternal banquet through the introduction of a parable. In this parable, however, three things are introduced, of which the first is the invitation of the many; the second is the excuse of those invited, concerning which, at the passage: And they all began at once to make excuse; the third is the rejection of the despisers, at the passage: And the servant returned etc. Concerning the invitation of the many, three things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the preparation of the eternal refreshment, the calling of the multitude to faith, the arousing of the same to devotion. First, therefore, as regards the preparation of the eternal refreshment, he says: A certain man made a great supper, that is, Christ prepared the eternal refreshment. For Christ is called a certain man uniquely, conceived without the seed of man, born without pain to his Mother, free from all sin, and dead for the sin of men: concerning which man, in the Psalm: "A man is born in her, and the Most High himself founded her." He made a supper, because he prepared the supreme and final refreshment; whence the Gloss: "This banquet is called not a dinner, but a supper, because after the dinner, of which Matthew treats, the supper remains, and after the supper no banquet remains." Concerning this supper, Apocalypse nineteen: "Blessed are they who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb." This supper is called great, because it is beyond estimation: whence Genesis fifteen: "I am your reward exceeding great"; because it is without end: Baruch three: "O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how vast is the place of his possession! Great and having no end, lofty and immeasurable." It cannot be estimated, moreover, because both the food and he who serves are God and the supreme good: below, in chapter twenty-two: "I dispose to you, as my Father has disposed to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom"; concerning which, in the Psalm: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of your house, and you shall give them to drink of the torrent of your pleasure." Second, with regard to the calling of the multitude to faith, he adds: And he called many, to the faith, because from every station and nation and age, according to that passage of Joel 2: "Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, gather the people, sanctify the church, bring together the elders and gather the little ones and those sucking the breast." Those who are thus called are consequently called to the eternal banquet; whence 1 Peter 5: "But the God of grace, who has called us into eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself perfect," etc. He calls many in order to show his supreme liberality and benignity; but he chooses few in order to show the severity of judgment; on account of which, Matthew 20: "Many are called, but few are chosen." Whence this calling of the multitude is compared to the casting of a net, which catches from every kind of fish; Matthew 13: "The kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea and gathering from every kind of fish," etc.

Luke 14:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Third, with regard to the stirring up of this same multitude to devotion, he adds: And he sent his servant at the hour of the supper to tell those invited to come. "This servant, as the Gloss says, is the order of preachers," who, although they are many, are nevertheless understood under the name of one servant on account of the unity of office; concerning which sending, Proverbs 9: "She sent her maidens to call to the citadel and to the walls of the city." Concerning this servant, Isaiah 49: "And now the Lord says this, who formed me from the womb as a servant to himself: It is a small thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to convert the dregs of Israel. I have given you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation even to the end of the earth." The hour of the supper is the end of the age, that is, the time of the sixth age, according to that passage of 1 Corinthians 10: "We are those upon whom the ends of the ages have come"; and 1 John 2: "You have heard that it is the last hour." These servants tell the invited to come to the supper; let them come, I say, through interior desire and devotion, according to that passage of the Psalm: "My soul has thirsted for God, the living fountain; when shall I come and appear before the face of God?" Those servants of God ought to preach, according to that passage of Isaiah 2: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of God and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us," etc., because, according to that passage of the last chapter of Revelation, "and let him who hears say: Come." And because nothing so greatly excites the desire to come to God as the consideration of those rewards, he therefore adds: For all things are now prepared. For the dwellings are prepared; John fourteen: "In my Father's house there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again and will take you to myself." Likewise, the joys are prepared: First Corinthians two: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love him"; which is taken from Isaiah sixty-four: "Eye has not seen, O God, apart from you, what things you have prepared for those who await you." Likewise, the table is prepared: Psalm: "You have prepared a table before me against those who trouble me," etc. Likewise, the bride is prepared with those who are predestined to life; Revelation nineteen: "The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has prepared herself," because, as is said in Matthew twenty-five, "those who were prepared entered with him to the marriage, and the door was shut."

Luke 14:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

And they all began together. After the invitation of many, there follows here the excuse of those called, because many come to faith who nevertheless do not wish to arrive at charity on account of their proneness to vices, which they take up as a veil of excuse. And they all began together to make excuse: The Gloss: "Everyone makes excuse who loves earthly things more than heavenly things, even if he says he is striving toward heavenly things." Since, therefore, there is a threefold root of all sin which draws us back from the charity of Christ, he therefore here introduces three kinds of men rejecting this summons, according to a threefold excuse. The first of these comes from the ambition of pride; the second, from the anxiety of avarice; and the third, from the lust of licentiousness. First, therefore, regarding the first excuse, which comes from the ambition of pride, he says: The first said to him: I have bought a farm. This first one is the proud man, who always wishes to obtain the primacy: Sirach ten: "The beginning of man's pride is to apostatize from God, for his heart has departed from him who made him, because the beginning of all sin is pride." It is his nature to buy a farm, because he seeks nothing other than to dominate and to be in charge. Hence Augustine: "In the purchased farm, domination and pride are noted. For to have a farm, to subject men to oneself, first denotes the vice of pride." The proud man makes this purchase by giving his soul into servitude to the devil, because, Job forty-one, "he beholds every high thing, and he himself is king over all the children of pride." Hence while he wishes to be lord of men, he is made a servant of vices, and this is a very bad bargain. Hence such a person confesses himself a servant, when he adds: And I must needs go out and see it. This necessity is induced by pride, which makes a person become vain and in a certain way go outside himself; Nahum 1: "From you shall go forth one devising evil against the Lord, pondering transgression in his mind." And because vice conceals itself under the mantle of virtue, since the proud person wishes to appear humble, therefore he adds: I pray you, have me excused; the Gloss: "Pray for me, because I am a sinful man"; he humbles himself in voice, while he is proud in heart. Hence Gregory: "When he says: I pray you, have me excused, humility sounds in his voice; but when he refuses to come, pride is in his action." Such persons are signified by those of whom it is said in Matthew 27: "Bending the knee before him, they mocked him"; and of such it is said in Sirach 19: "There is one who wickedly humbles himself, and his interior is full of deceit." And of such the Prophet says in the Psalm: "Incline not my heart to words of malice, to make excuses for excuses in sins." And therefore, conversely, it is said of the just man in Proverbs 18: "The just man is the first accuser of himself."

Luke 14:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Second, as regards the second excuse, which comes from the solicitude of avarice, he adds: And another said: I have bought five yoke of oxen. For the solicitude of avarice causes one to seek nothing but to deal with earthly things; therefore it is compared to the labor of oxen, whose task is to furrow and work the earth. And they are called five yoke of oxen on account of the five senses turned toward these earthly things. Hence the Gloss: "These are called yoke of oxen, because through them earthly things are managed; for oxen turn the earth." They can also be called yokes, because they bind the neck and tame the nape and press the whole person down to the earth and sell the soul for earth; Sirach 10: "Nothing is more wicked than to love money; for such a one has his soul for sale, because in his life he has cast away his inmost parts." For since, as is said in Matthew 6, "where your treasure is, there is your heart also"; and the treasure of the avaricious person is outside himself, namely in the earth: therefore the inmost parts of the avaricious person are cast forth into the earth. Hence it is necessary that he be oppressed by the yoke of servitude, because he has sold himself; hence Sirach 27: "In the midst of buying and selling he shall be afflicted with sins." For avarice renders one anxious and inquisitive, therefore he adds: And I go to prove them, because he has continual care for superfluous things. Hence the Gloss: "Rightly is curiosity signified by the five senses, which, while it outwardly investigates the life of one's neighbor, does not know its own inmost parts; and the mind of the curious person, the more skilled it becomes in what belongs to another, the more ignorant it becomes of itself." And note that charity has but one yoke, because it reduces every concern to one thing, according to that passage above in the tenth chapter: "One thing is necessary"; and Micah 6: "To walk solicitously with your God," etc.; and Matthew 11: "My yoke is sweet," etc.; and Lamentations 3: "It is a gift for a man when he has borne the yoke of the Lord from his youth." But curiosity has five, with respect to the universality of sensible things, around which it revolves; whence Ecclesiastes 7: "God made man upright, and he has entangled himself in infinite questions." And since the vice of covetousness and avarice cloaks itself under the appearance of providence, therefore he adds: I ask you, hold me excused. But to such people can be said that passage from Jeremiah 2: "Why do you strive to show your ways as good for seeking love, you who moreover have taught your wickednesses to be your most manifold ways, and in your wings was found the blood of the souls of the poor and the innocent"?

Luke 14:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Thirdly, as to the third excuse, which comes from the desire of wantonness, he adds: And another said: I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. This wife is the concupiscence of the flesh, of which Ecclesiastes 7: "I have found a woman more bitter than death, who is the snare of hunters, and her heart is a net." She is called a wife on account of the vehement clinging of desire; 1 Corinthians 6: "Do you not know that he who cleaves to a harlot is made one body? For they shall be, he says, two in one flesh." — And therefore he adds: And therefore I cannot come. Nor does he add: Have me excused, because the sin of the flesh alone is that which least cloaks itself under the appearance of virtue and is least excused; and yet according to truth it is more excusable on account of the greater proneness of concupiscence, according to that passage in Romans 7: "I find another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the servitude of sin." And for this reason he says: I cannot come, because, as Bernard says, "just as fire and water cannot exist together, so spiritual delights and carnal delights are not compatible in the same person." Yet this man lies, because such a one, even if he is a slave of concupiscence, can do that by the doing of which he may have grace, through which he may have the power of subduing concupiscence. Whence Romans 7: "Unhappy man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" And he answers immediately: "The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord," because, Philippians 2, "It is God who works in you both to will and to accomplish according to his good will." — And note here that although a wife is lawfully had, yet on account of abuse and on account of the vice joined to it, through a good thing an evil is understood. On account of which the Apostle also says in 1 Corinthians 7: "It remains that those who have wives be as though not having them"; as also the Gloss says, that "many marry wives not for the sake of fecundity, but for the desires of the flesh. Therefore by this thing carnal pleasure is designated"; whence it is not unfitting that a wife by reason of the sacramental bond designates the Church, the spouse of Christ, and by reason of desire can designate the concupiscence of carnal pleasure.

Luke 14:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

And the servant returned, etc. After the invitation of the many and the excuse of those invited, there follows here thirdly the rejection of the contemptuous. Concerning which three things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the calling of the needy, the compelling of the negligent, and the rejection of the contemptuous. First, as regards the calling of the needy, which arose from the contempt of others, he says: And the servant returned and reported these things to his master, namely the hardness and rebellion of those who were called. The servant reports this when the order of preachers does not seek its own advantage but the divine honor, so that, just as he was sent by God through the commission of authority, so he may return through the intention of purity. And of such it is said in Ezekiel 1: "The living creatures went and returned in the likeness of flashing lightning"; whence Job 38: "Will you send forth lightnings, and will they go, and returning will they say to you, 'We are here'"? There the Gloss says: "The lightnings go forth when preachers flash with miracles; returning they say, 'We are here,' when they attribute not to themselves but to God whatever they recognize themselves to have done powerfully." Or, they return to God through thanksgiving, according to that passage in Ecclesiastes 1: "To the place from which they go forth, the rivers return, that they may flow again." And because they cannot give thanks for the rebellion of their hearers, but rather groan from detestation of the fault, therefore they are said to report to the Lord: just as it is also said of the Apostles in Acts 4 that, when they suffered harassment from the Jews, "they lifted up their voice with one accord to God and said: 'You, Lord, who made all things, who said through the mouth of our father David: Why did the nations rage,' etc., 'now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness'"; and it follows that "when they had prayed, the place was shaken"; in which is understood the stirring of God's wrath against the rebellion of the hearers. On account of which he also adds: Then the angry master of the house said to his servant: Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, that is, to public preaching, according to that passage in Proverbs 1: "Wisdom preaches abroad and raises her voice in the streets; at the head of the crowds she cries out; at the entrances of the city gates she utters her words." This going out is for the exercise of preaching, according to that passage in Matthew 13: "The sower went out to sow his seed." And because, when the proud are rejected, the humble are accepted, therefore he adds: And bring in here the poor and the feeble and the blind and the lame: which according to the Glosses is to be expounded in three ways. In one way, so that these refer to natural defects, so that the poor are those who lack possessions; the feeble, those who lack strength; the blind, those who have a defect in sight; the lame, those who have a defect in walking, because even such persons are literally admitted to the kingdom of heaven: 1 Corinthians 1: "Consider your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many are powerful, not many are noble, but God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God chose the weak things of the world to confound the strong; and God chose the ignoble and contemptible things of the world, and the things that are not, to destroy the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in his sight." In another way it is read, so that they refer to vicious defects, so that the poor are those lacking grace; the weak, those lacking virtue; the blind, those lacking prudence; and the lame, those lacking good will. And yet God chooses and calls these, because, Matthew 9, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance"; whence also in Matthew 21 it was said to the Pharisees: "The publican…

Luke 14:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Secondly, regarding the compulsion of the negligent, which follows the calling of the humble, he adds: And the servant said: Lord, it has been done as you commanded, and there is still room: because there are not as many humble as there are predestined to life, nor are there as many willing for eternal life as there are predestined by God.

Luke 14:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Therefore he adds: And the lord said to the servant: Go out into the highways and hedges. By highways and hedges, which are outside the city, are understood sinners who are outside the ecclesiastical unity, and especially the gentiles. Hence Gregory: "When he calls from the lanes and streets, he signifies the Jews, who knew how to keep the Law under an urban manner of life; but when he calls from the highways and hedges, he signifies the rustic people of the Gentiles." And by this same reasoning, other sinners can be understood, and especially the slothful, who are drawn to the good unwillingly. Hence he adds: And compel them to enter, namely by the threat of eternal punishments and the showing forth of present ones; because, as Gregory says, "the evils that press upon us here compel us to go to God"; on account of which it is said in the Psalm: "When he slew them, they sought him." Hence the servant of God compels these when he terrifies them with the threat of the severity of judgment, according to that passage in Second Timothy chapter four: "Preach the word, be urgent in season, out of season, reprove, entreat, rebuke," etc. And the reason for this is the completion of the number of the elect; hence he adds: That my house may be filled. The Gloss: "With the number of the predestined faithful, which number will not remain unfilled," concerning which number, Apocalypse chapter six: "Wait yet a little while, until the number of your brethren be fulfilled." This house, therefore, is filled when the universality of the elect is saved, concerning whom, Apocalypse chapter seven: "After these things I saw a great multitude, which no one could number"; and Apocalypse chapter fourteen: "I saw upon Mount Sion the Lamb standing, and with him," etc.; and in the Canticle of Deuteronomy chapter thirty-two: "He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel"; where Gregory says that "as many men will be saved as Angels stood firm." Whatever may be said about this, however, it is certain that the number of the elect will be perfect; as a figure of which it is said in Deuteronomy chapter thirty-three: "He appeared from Mount Pharan, and with him thousands of Saints."

Luke 14:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Third, with regard to the rejection of the contemptuous, he adds: But I say to you, that none of those men who were invited and excused themselves shall taste my supper; because no one attains to that supper except the humble: Matthew chapter eighteen: "Unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven"; hence also it is said in the Psalm: "How great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you"! For the Lord reserves it for those who fear him, but repels the proud. "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but with the chains of hell," etc., as is said in Second Peter chapter two; and afterward: "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly from temptation, but reserves the wicked to be tormented"; and on account of this, Romans chapter eleven: "Be not high-minded, but fear. For if God spared not the natural branches, lest perhaps he spare not you either." And therefore he says in Hebrews chapter two: "Therefore we ought more diligently to observe, lest perhaps we drift away. For if the word spoken through Angels was made firm, how shall we escape, if we have neglected so great a salvation"?

Luke 14:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Now great crowds were going. After he confuted the calumniators and instructed the dinner guests, here now thirdly he instructs the companions. This part is divided into two. In the first he instructs the companions through express words: in the second through parabolic examples, at: For which of you, wishing to build a tower etc. Instructing through express words concerning those spiritually accompanying Christ, he proceeds in this order, namely by expressing the sign, principle, and complement of spiritual accompaniment. First, therefore, regarding the sign of spiritual accompaniment, he says: Now great crowds were going with him, as a sign of spiritual accompaniment: whence the Gloss: "The crowds were going with him, captivated namely by the sweetness of his preaching and miracles"; whence they could say that word from John 6: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." And note here that the Pharisees calumniated Christ, and the crowds accompanied him, because the one whom the proud despise, the humble accompany; whence John 7: "Has any of the rulers believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the Law, is accursed." Now the crowds were following Jesus as sheep follow a shepherd: Matthew 9: "Jesus, seeing the crowds, had compassion on them, because they were harassed and cast down like sheep not having a shepherd." Likewise, they were following as peoples follow a king: Matthew 21: "The crowds that went before and that followed were crying out: Hosanna" etc. Likewise, they were following as disciples follow a teacher: above in chapter 5: "It happened that when the crowds pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret."

Luke 14:26 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

We are obliged to obey our parents as long as we make use of their goods; and we ought to comply with them in the exercise of virtuous or salutary acts, in the dispensation of temporal goods, and in the rendering of services: because we ought to live according to their counsel and spend according to their command and, when they require it, render service. If, however, parents should wish, say, or command something that is against the advancement of our salvation, piety is not to be shown to them in such matters. And this is what the Lord says in the Gospel: He who does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers, and even his own soul, cannot be my disciple. The Lord wills that on account of paternal affection a man should not cease to do what pertains to his salvation.

Luke 14:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Secondly, regarding the principle of spiritual accompaniment, he adds: And turning, he said to them: turning, I say, through benignity: Psalm: "O God, you will turn and give us life"; he said, through the truth of doctrine: If anyone comes to me, through the supererogation of justice: Matthew 11: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened." And does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and even his own soul, through the mortification of carnal affection, according to that word of the Psalm: "Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear" etc.: he cannot be my disciple, through the assumption of evangelical perfection, concerning which Luke 6: "Everyone will be perfect if he is like his master." And the reason for this is that the principle of the spiritual life is to put off carnal affection, because, as First Corinthians 2 says, "the natural man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God: for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand" etc.; and Isaiah 28: "Whom shall he teach knowledge, and whom shall he make to understand the message? Those weaned from milk" etc., that is, those separated from carnal affection. Hence it should be noted here that he does not here command hatred of parents with respect to nature, for this would be impiety, since it is said in First John 3: "He who hates his brother is a murderer"; but with respect to fault, as Augustine says: "Men are to be loved in such a way that their errors are not loved." Concerning this hatred, in the Psalm: "Did I not hate those who hate you, O Lord, and waste away over your enemies?" and after: "With perfect hatred I hated them," etc. Hence Gregory: "We can at once both hate and love, so that we love those joined to us by kinship from the divine precept, and those whom we suffer as adversaries in the way of God we disregard by hating and fleeing them." Hence that hatred does not come from cruelty but from charity, just as also the hatred of one's own soul, which we ought to hate, not with respect to salvation, but with respect to carnality. Hence Gregory: "Then we hate our soul when we resist its carnal affections." Concerning this hatred, John 12: "He who hates his soul in this world keeps it unto eternal life." Augustine: "If you have loved badly, then you have hated; if you have hated well, then you have loved. Happy are those who have so hated by guarding, lest they lose by loving." This is what is more expressly said in Ecclesiasticus 18: "Son, do not go after your lusts, and turn away from your own will. If you grant your soul its lusts, it will make you a joy to your enemies." Therefore, just as the beginning of spiritual life is not to covet, where all evil is forbidden, and to turn away from evil: so the foundation of spiritual companionship is to turn away from all carnality, whether toward oneself or toward parents. On account of which, Ephesians 4: "Put off, according to your former manner of life, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desires of error."

Luke 14:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Third, with respect to the completion of the spiritual companionship, he adds: And he who does not carry his cross, through perfect mortification of the flesh; and comes after me, through right intention; cannot be my disciple, through true imitation. And note that here is the consummation of Christ's discipleship and companionship, namely in carrying the cross, because there Christ brought all things to completion, as is said in John 19: "And bearing his cross, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull." In this cross of Christ there is the highest humility: Philippians 2: "He humbled himself, being made obedient unto death, even the death of the cross"; the highest poverty, so that Christ could truly say that word of Job 1: "Naked I came forth from the womb of my mother, and naked shall I return thither." Hence in John 19 it is said that "the soldiers, when they had crucified him, took his garments and made four parts." There is also there the highest austerity, according to that word of the Psalm: "They pierced my hands and my feet; they numbered all my bones." To bear the cross, therefore, is to take up humility in the heart, austerity in the flesh, and poverty in suffering, against those three radical vices and against the threefold excuse of those who refused to come to the supper. This cross was Christ's, because Christ willingly took it up: similarly, whoever wishes to follow Christ must bear it willingly, so that he bears it as his own cross from his own will, not under compulsion as another's, and thus be not an imitator of Christ but rather of Simon, of whom Mark fifteen says: "They compelled a certain Simon of Cyrene to carry his cross." To this cross Christ especially invites us, who first bore it as a standard and royal sign: whence Hebrews, the last chapter: "Christ suffered outside the gate. Let us therefore go forth to him," etc. He therefore who does not wish to follow thus is not a disciple of Christ, because he does not wish to imitate him in that wherein he offered himself as an example and master to us; whence Galatians five: "Those who are Christ's have crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscences." On account of which, Second Corinthians four: "Always bearing about the mortification of the cross in our body, that the life of Jesus also may be made manifest in our bodies." Whence Chrysostom: "Let no one be ashamed of the cross; let us bear it about as a crown; for indeed all things that pertain to us are accomplished through the cross: regeneration, consecration. On account of this we inscribe it in our homes, on our doors, on our roads, on our foreheads, and in our minds." This therefore must be borne as the sign of the living God, of which Apocalypse seven says: "I saw another Angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four Angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea, saying: Do not harm the earth nor the sea nor the trees, until we sign the servants of God on their foreheads," so that it may be known manifestly who is a disciple of Christ.

Luke 14:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

For which of you, wishing to build, etc. After he instructed those accompanying him, and this through express words, here secondly he instructs the same through parabolic examples. And since we ought to imitate Christ in actions and sufferings, in the first we are like those building, in the second like those waging war: therefore first in this part he introduces the parable of the man building. Second, he adds the parable and example of the king waging war, at the place: Or what king going forth. In the third, he subjoins the application of both, at the place: So therefore every one of you who does not renounce. Concerning the parable of the man building, three things are introduced, namely the conception of the plan to build, the provision of sufficient funds, and the avoidance of impending reproach. First, therefore, as regards the conception of the purpose of building, he says: For which of you, wishing to build a tower. By the tower, which is the loftiest building, we can understand the accumulation of the perfection of merits, which ascends step by step from the lowest to the highest, beginning from the foundation of fear and reaching up to the pinnacle of deiform wisdom. And first the tower of the gift of fear is to be built, of which can be understood that passage of Micah 4: "You, O cloudy tower of the flock, unto you shall it come," because fear makes one small through the consideration of judgment. The second tower is that of piety, of which Isaiah 5: "He built a tower in the midst of the vineyard and set up a winepress in it," because piety arises from the consideration of the Passion. The third is the tower of knowledge: Song of Songs 4: "Your neck is like the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks. A thousand shields hang from it, all the armor of the mighty," etc.: which is understood of the knowledge of Sacred Scripture. The fourth is the tower of fortitude; Proverbs 18: "The name of the Lord is a most strong tower: the just man runs to it and shall be exalted"; and in the Psalm: "You have led me forth, because you have become my hope, a tower of fortitude," etc. The fifth is the tower of counsel, of which Song of Songs 7: "Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, which looks toward Damascus"; because counsel is against the snares of the enemy. The sixth tower is that of understanding, of which Song of Songs 7: "Your neck is like a tower of ivory: your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon"; where is given to be understood the purity of heart and the clarity of spiritual intelligence. The seventh is the tower of wisdom, of which Song of Songs 8: "I am a wall, and my breasts are like a tower"; which is said on account of the consolation that is in the tasting of the milk of the breasts of divine wisdom. But before the height of this building is raised, the construction of the building of the seven virtues is necessary, of which Proverbs 9: "Wisdom has built herself a house, she has hewn out seven pillars." Moreover, of this building Christ is the founder and the foundation and also the completion. Nevertheless, the spiritual man is compared to this building: whence 1 Corinthians 3: "We are God's co-workers, you are God's husbandry, you are God's building." Therefore everyone who purposes to ascend to the pinnacle of virtue, this one wishes to build a tower. Second, with regard to the provision of sufficient resources, he adds: Does he not first sit down and calculate the expenses that are necessary, whether he has enough to complete it? To sit is to consider within oneself the secrets of one's conscience: Lamentations 3: "He will sit alone and be silent." To calculate is to foresee through careful consideration: hence the Gloss: "Everything that we do, we ought to anticipate through the effort of consideration." And this is what is said in Proverbs 4: "Let your eyes see what is right, and let your eyelids precede your steps." The expenses, however, that are necessary are the sufficient efforts of the…

Luke 14:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Third, with regard to the avoidance of impending reproach, he adds: Lest, after he has laid the foundation, namely by undertaking a higher state in imitating Christ — and this is to lay the foundation: First Corinthians 3: "For no one can lay another foundation besides that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus." One begins to lay this foundation through faith and good works, according to Matthew 7: "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a man who built his house upon the rock." Upon this rock he places the foundation of his dwelling who wishes to imitate Christ perfectly, according to Jeremiah 48: "Leave the cities and dwell in the rock, O inhabitants of Moab," etc. And is not able to finish it, namely through perseverance, as are those of whom it is said above in chapter eight: "They believe for a time and in the time of temptation they fall away." Such are those who destroy by relapsing whatever they had built up by beginning well; Ecclesiasticus 34: "One building and another destroying, what profit have they but labor?" Such are the lax and remiss: Proverbs 18: "He who is soft and lax in his work is the brother of him who squanders his own works." All who see it, by observing the perfection that was begun; First Corinthians 4: "We have been made a spectacle to the world, and to angels and to men." For what is placed on high is shown to all: Matthew 5: "A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but upon a lampstand, that it may give light to all who are in the house."

Luke 14:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

They begin to mock him, saying: Because this man began to build and was not able to finish: and this by inflicting insults and deriding, because it is greatly shameful for those who turn back and apostatize. For they are mocked by demons; Lamentations 1: "The enemies saw her and mocked at her sabbaths." The spiritual man abhors this mockery: the Psalm: "Neither let my enemies mock me," etc. These enemies mock the incompleteness, according to Nehemiah 4: "Tobias the Ammonite said: Let the Jews build; if a fox goes up, he will leap over their stone wall." Whence Ambrose says: "In everything we do, we ought to consider the hidden adversaries who lie in wait for our works, and unless we keep watch against them, we suffer as mockers those whom we have as persuaders to evil." But he who turns back from what he has begun is mocked for rashness in presuming, for inconstancy in pursuing, for faintheartedness in desisting — and this not only by the devil, but also by the world: Ecclesiasticus 20: "The fool shall have no friend, and there shall be no thanks for his good deeds"; and further: "How often and how many shall mock him," etc.

Luke 14:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Or what king going to engage etc. Above he proposed the parable of the man building, here he proposes the parable of the king waging war; in which part indeed three things are introduced, namely the proposal of war, the foresight of danger, and the provision of remedy. First therefore, as to the proposal of war, he says: Or what king going to engage in war against another king. This king is anyone who governs himself according to the law of God: Proverbs 20: "The king who sits on the throne of judgment" etc.; and Apocalypse 5: "You have made us a kingdom for our God, and we shall reign upon the earth." It belongs to this one to engage in war: because, Job 7, "the life of man upon earth is a warfare." This, however, is to be understood in three ways: either that one engages in war with the king of pride, of whom Job 41: "He is king over all the children of pride"; or with the king of justice, of whom in the Psalm: "You shall rule them with a rod" etc.; or with the king of heavenly providence, of whom Ecclesiastes 5: "Moreover, the king of the whole earth commands" etc. He engages in war with the king of pride when he dissents from him: Ephesians 6: "Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the world of this darkness." He also engages in war with the king of justice when he wishes to justify himself in the sight of God, because it is said in Jeremiah 2: "Behold, I will contend with you in judgment, because you have said: I have not sinned." So also Job wished to engage, who said in chapter 13: "I will speak to the Almighty, and I desire to dispute with God"; and Jeremiah 12: "Indeed you are just, O Lord, if I dispute with you; yet I will speak what is just to you." He also engages in war with the king of heavenly providence when he prepares himself for the struggle of patience, as it is said in Job 6: "Who will grant that my petition may come, and that God may give me what I await; and that he who has begun may himself crush me"? Thus in three ways war is waged with a king spoken of in three ways. The first is waged by penance for sins, the second by confidence in merits, and the third by patience under scourges. Second, as to the foresight of danger, he adds: Does he not first sit down and consider, in order to take forethought, according to that word of Deuteronomy 32: "O that they would be wise and understand, and would foresee their last end"! On account of which, Ephesians 5: "See how you walk carefully, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not become imprudent" etc. Whether he can with ten thousand meet — namely, to resist — him who comes against him with twenty thousand, to attack. And this admits of a threefold exposition, just as the preceding. For if it is expounded of the king of pride, we meet him through the works of the virtues, which consist in the mean, and which are therefore called ten thousand on account of the observance of the ten commandments; and the adversary comes with a doubled number, because to any virtue there corresponds a twofold vice from the opposite side, according to excess and defect. Whence, because there are more ways to go astray than to go straight, those in the army of the king opposed to us are said to be more numerous; whence Judith 1: "He gloried as one mighty in the power of his army and in the glory of his chariots." But one must neither flee nor fear, because, as is said in 1 Maccabees 3, "it is easy for many to be shut up in the hands of few; and there is no difference in the sight of the God of heaven to deliver by few or by many, for not in the multitude of an army is the victory of war, but from heaven is strength." But if it is understood of the king of justice, we meet with ten thousand, that is, with confidence in merits from the observance of the ten commandments; and He with twenty thousand, that is, with the severity of judgments, in which there is an examination of works and thoughts.…

Luke 14:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Third, as to the provision of a remedy, he adds: Otherwise, while the other is still far off, he sends an embassy and asks for terms of peace, namely, if he recognizes his own weakness with respect to this threefold battle, he labors to avoid that fight. The sending of this embassy is nothing other than the sending of prayer, which the Angels carry on our behalf before the sight of God as our ambassadors: Tobit 12: "When you prayed and gave alms and buried the dead, I offered your prayer before the Lord." This embassy must be sent for repelling the battle of temptations, which come from the king of pride: as Paul prayed, of whom 2 Corinthians 12: "There was given me a thorn in my flesh, an angel of Satan to buffet me: for which reason I three times besought the Lord," etc. — Likewise, this embassy must be sent for repelling the battle of divine contentions, which comes from the king of justice, as the Prophet prayed in the Psalm: "Enter not into judgment with your servant, O Lord, for in your sight no living person shall be justified," etc. The embassy must also be sent for repelling the battle of tribulations, which comes from the king of providence, as Jonah prayed in Jonah 2: "Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish and said: I cried to the Lord from my tribulation, and he heard me." From which it is gathered that the consideration of danger stirs one to the procurement of a remedy: whence the Gloss: "We, attending to the insufficiency of our frailty, ought to send ahead an embassy of tears, good works, and pure affections to obtain peace from the severe judge." Therefore it is said in Sirach 18: "Before sickness apply the medicine, and before judgment examine yourself, and in the sight of God you will find propitiation. Before sickness humble yourself, and in the time of infirmity show your manner of life," so that thus through the embassy of priests you may find the King appeased.

Luke 14:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

So therefore every one of you, etc. After he set forth the parabolic example of the one building and the example of the one waging war, here thirdly he sets down the application of both. And since these examples were introduced to stir us to providence regarding what is opportune and to caution regarding what is harmful and to give spiritual understanding of both: therefore in this part the application of the aforementioned examples is introduced with regard to providence regarding what is opportune, with regard to caution regarding what is harmful, and with regard to the spiritual understanding of both. First, therefore, as to providence regarding what is opportune, he says: So therefore every one of you who does not renounce all that he possesses, through contempt of temporal things, cannot be my disciple, through the perfection of spiritual things: as if to say: just as the builder cannot finish without resources, nor the one waging war safely undertake battle without soldiers, so no one can perfectly follow Christ unless he renounces all things. And note that the discipleship of Christ is twofold: one of necessity, as is said in the ninth and sixth chapters of Acts, that those who are now called Christians were accustomed to be called disciples, concerning which discipline, Isaiah 1: "Cease to do perversely, learn to do well." The other is the discipleship of supererogation, by which one follows Christ in the evangelical counsels, concerning which, Matthew 5: "Jesus, seeing the crowds, went up onto the mountain; and when he had sat down, his disciples came to him." For the first discipleship it is necessary to renounce all things, as regards the contempt of earthly things; but for the second it is necessary to leave all things behind, not only as regards affection, but also as regards the thing itself. Whence the Gloss: "This is the difference between renouncing all things and leaving all things behind, because to renounce befits all who so licitly use the worldly things they possess that they nevertheless tend in mind toward eternal things. To leave behind belongs only to the perfect, who set aside all temporal things and long for eternal things alone," and this is necessary for the perfect disciples of Christ, so that they may be conformed to the poverty of the Master. Whence, on that passage of Matthew 19: "Behold, we have left all things and followed you," Bernard says: "Well said, Peter, and not to your folly, because you could not follow one who runs while burdened. He rejoiced as a giant to run his course." For since the first among the teachings of Christ is: "Blessed are the poor in spirit," whoever is ignorant of this consequently does not know "what are the elements of the beginning of the words" of Christ; and through this he is not a disciple of Christ nor does he understand him. And therefore Antiochus, who is interpreted as the silence of poverty, overthrew the foundations of Jerusalem, because he who despises the counsel of poverty cannot be a disciple of the poor Crucified One.

Luke 14:33 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Again, Luke 14 it is said: Unless one renounces all that he possesses, he cannot etc.; The Gloss: "This is the difference between renouncing all things and leaving all things: because renouncing belongs to all who use worldly things that they possess licitly, yet in mind tend toward eternal things; but leaving belongs only to the perfect, who set aside all temporal things and long for eternal things alone." But he who utterly renounces all things both in common and in private most fully sets all things aside: therefore etc.

Luke 14:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Second, as regards caution against a harmful thing, he adds: Salt is good, but if the salt loses its savor. By salt is understood every perfect disciple, who ought to season the hearts of others by example and word; whence Matthew 5: "You are the salt of the earth"; which is said because he ought to have the highest discretion in conduct, according to that passage of Colossians 4: "Let your speech always be seasoned with salt in grace"; because, just as food cannot be eaten unless it is seasoned with salt, so neither does the stomach of the heart receive an indiscreet word: Job 6: "Can that which is unsavory be eaten, which is not seasoned with salt?" He ought also to have wisdom in contemplation: whence in Leviticus 2 it is commanded that salt be offered in every sacrifice. And such a one, who is prudent and wise, is rightly the seasoning of the Church by word and example: whence the Gloss: "Salt seasons food, kills worms, dries flesh; so preaching preserves human nature unharmed from the worms of vices and corruption for its Creator." But then the salt loses its savor when a disciple of Christ becomes undevout in contemplation and indiscreet in action and in preaching, as is said of such ones in Romans 1: "They became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened," etc.; and this is the greatest danger. Therefore he adds: With what shall it be seasoned? As if to say: with nothing; whence Sirach 12: "Who will have pity on a charmer struck by a serpent?" As if to say that such a one is utterly contemptible and useless, both before God and before men, both in spiritual acts and in temporal ones.

Luke 14:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 14

Therefore he adds: It is useful neither for the land nor for the dunghill, but it will be cast out. The Gloss: "Because he who goes backward is able neither to bear fruit himself nor to cultivate others"; indeed, what is more, he renders the land barren, because a perfect man who falls renders others useless for doing good by his bad example. And therefore the man who turns back is compared to the wife of Lot, of whom it is said in Genesis 19 that "looking back, she was turned into a pillar of salt"; and therefore Proverbs 6: "An apostate man, a worthless man, walks with a perverse mouth," etc. Just as therefore a building begun and not completed is useful for nothing, and a man who began and did not finish is derided by all; and similarly he who is overcome in battle: so also the apostate disciple is despised as salt that has lost its savor: whence Matthew 5: "It is good for nothing any longer, except to be cast out and trampled underfoot by men." Third, as regards the spiritual understanding of both, he adds: He who has ears to hear, let him hear: in which he invites to perfect understanding, so that the aforesaid words may be heard not only as regards their vocal sound, of which it is said in Matthew 13: "The heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they have been hard of hearing"; but also as regards spiritual understanding, according to that passage in Job, the last chapter: "With the hearing of the ear I have heard you, but now my eye sees you"; the Psalm: "I will hear what the Lord God speaks within me," etc.; and also as regards practical effect; James 1: "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only." He therefore means to say that the foregoing words are parabolic: and therefore they are to be heard and examined spiritually and not carnally, according to that passage in Proverbs 1: "A wise man hearing shall be wiser, and a man of understanding shall possess counsels: he shall perceive a parable and its interpretation, the words of the wise and their enigmas." Those who hear in this manner receive the word of God most efficaciously, according to that passage in Sirach 24: "Those who hear me shall not be confounded, and those who work in me shall not sin. Those who bring me to light shall have eternal life."

Luke 15:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Now there were drawing near etc. After he refuted the deceitfulness of the Pharisees who calumniated Christ's power in miracles, in this part he refutes their impiety in murmuring against his clemency in works of piety. Now this part is divided into three parts. In the first of which is set forth the expression of Jewish impiety. In the second is added the manifestation of divine piety, at: And he spoke to them a parable etc. In the third is joined a commendation and persuasion of human piety, below in the sixteenth chapter: And he said also to his disciples: There was a certain rich man. Now concerning the expression of Jewish impiety, three things are introduced, namely the occasion for expressing impiety, the expression of impiety already conceived, and the pretense of equitable justice. First therefore, as regards the occasion for expressing impiety, it says: Now there were drawing near to him publicans and sinners; in which is shown the supreme piety of Christ toward public sinners, from which the Pharisees took occasion for judging impiously, because it is the custom of the impious to increase their impiety from seeing works of piety. Whence in the Psalm: "He has dispersed, he has given to the poor" etc., and immediately adds: "The sinner shall see and shall be angry." Now Christ was showing great piety, because he received publicans, who were public sinners: whence the Gloss: "Publicans, who exact or collect public taxes, and who pursue worldly gain through business dealings," and such men were intent upon many unjust gains. Now sinners of this kind, although they seem to deserve rejection according to justice, are nevertheless received through mercy; trusting in which, they were drawing near to him as to a most clement Lord, according to that word of James 4: "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." Draw near, I say, through devout supplication; the Psalm: "Let my prayer draw near in your sight, O Lord." Also as to a most skilled master: whence it adds: that they might hear him, according to that counsel of the Wise Man in the last chapter of Sirach: "Draw near to me, you unlearned, and gather yourselves together into the house of instruction"; because, as it is said in Deuteronomy 33, "those who draw near to his feet shall receive of his doctrine." To this supreme teacher Christ both the Pharisees and the publicans were drawing near, but the Pharisees with pretense, according to that passage of Jeremiah 12: "You are near in their mouth and far from their reins"; because such men through feigned righteousness appear to be near, but through hidden pride are far off, according to that passage of Isaiah 58: "For they seek me from day to day and desire to know my ways, as a nation that had done justice and had not forsaken the judgment of their God: they ask me judgments of justice and desire to draw near to God. Why have we fasted, and you have not regarded? We have humbled our souls, and you have not known"; And he adds: "Behold, in the day of your fast your own will is found," etc. The publicans, however, were drawing near truly, so that they might hear and, having heard, might come to their senses from their evil ways through repentance, according to the Lord's exhortation in Matthew 4: "Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"; and so that by hearing they might obey, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes 4: "Guard your foot when you enter the house of God, and draw near to hear. For obedience is much better than the sacrifices of fools."

Luke 15:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Second, with regard to the expression of conceived impiety, he adds: And the Pharisees and scribes murmured. Murmuring is a speaking-against which is neither fully expressed nor fully kept silent: Wisdom 1: "The ear of jealousy hears all things, and the tumult of murmurings shall not be hidden. Keep yourselves therefore from murmuring, which profits nothing, and refrain your tongue from detraction, because a secret word shall not go in vain." And therefore 1 Corinthians 10: "Neither murmur, as some of them murmured and perished by the destroyer." The Lord hates this murmuring most of all, because it profits nothing, neither oneself nor one's neighbor: Lamentations 3: "Why does a living man murmur, a man for his sins?" — as if to say: in vain. And because it proceeds from a malicious mouth, which neither dares to accuse openly nor is able to conceal the malice of the heart. Hence the very word murmur sounds this out, concerning which Huguccio says that it is derived from mutio, mutis, as if to wish to speak and not to dare. But nevertheless it sometimes arises from weakness, as Numbers 11: "A murmuring of the people arose, as it were of those grieving on account of their labor, against the Lord"; sometimes from ignorance and error, according to that passage in John 7: "There was much murmuring among the crowd. Some said that he is good; but others said: No, but he seduces the crowds. Yet no one spoke openly about him"; sometimes also from malice, as Deuteronomy 1: "Unbelieving in the word of the Lord your God, you murmured in your tents and said: The Lord hates us, and therefore he led us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites." Likewise these men also turned good into evil, both the repentance of the tax collectors and also the mercy of Jesus; and they fell into this vice because they were proud and inhumane. Concerning whom that passage of Isaiah 65 can be understood: "Who say: Depart from me, do not come near me, for you are unclean. These shall be smoke in my fury, a fire burning all the day." Third, with regard to the simulation of the equity of justice, it is added: Saying: Because this man receives sinners, with regard to the affability of conversation, and eats with them, with regard to the familiarity of table fellowship. In this they wished to reprove him as a supporter of the wicked and a despiser of the commandments; whence the Gloss: "As if he were contrary to the Law, which prohibits this." For in the Law contact with an unclean thing is prohibited, Leviticus eleven and thirteen; in which is understood the avoidance of evil company. Whence Deuteronomy seven: "You shall not enter into a covenant with them, nor shall you join in marriages with them." But, as the Gloss says, "they err in two ways, because they both consider themselves just, when they are proud, and those men sinners, when they are already repenting." Whence they themselves, by simulating equity, fell into impiety, sinning against themselves through pride, which the Pharisees were accustomed to do; below in the sixteenth chapter: "You are they who justify yourselves before men." Likewise, sinning against their neighbors by judging badly, so that what is said above in the sixth chapter could be said to them: "Hypocrite, first cast out the beam from your own eye," etc. Likewise, sinning against Christ by reproving his mercy, who received sinners, according to what he had promised through Jeremiah, Jeremiah three: "It is commonly said: If a man puts away his wife, and she, departing from him, marries another man, will he return to her again? But you have fornicated with many lovers; yet return to me, says the Lord, and I will receive you." For this is of the most excellent mercy; whence John six: "Everyone who comes to me, I will not cast him out." They also reproved his mercy, because he condescended to eat with them, although this is of the highest mercy, according to that of Revelation three: "I stand at the door and kn…

Luke 15:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

And he spoke a parable to them. After he manifested the Jewish impiety, so secondly he makes known the divine mercy for confuting the Jewish impiety. And since the mercy of God is especially toward man in the restoration of the human race, in which man needs a reconciling sacrifice, a redeeming price, and an adopting spirit: therefore in this part he introduces a threefold parable; of which the first is about the sheep, which is sacrificed; the second, about the drachma, which is a royal coin; the third is about the father and son, who is mercifully received. Furthermore, since the mercy of God is especially toward man by reason of three things which God placed in man, namely by reason of implanted gentleness, by reason of the impressed image, and by reason of the conferred likeness: and through the first, man is likened to a sheep, through the second to an imperial coin, through the third to the Son of the Eternal Father: therefore in this part the Evangelist, illumined by the Spirit, sets forth a threefold parable, uttered through the mouth of the flesh of God, to denote the mercy of God toward human nature, of which the first is about the shepherd and his sheep; the second is about the woman and the drachmas, at the passage: Or what woman having ten drachmas; the third about the father and sons, at the passage: And he said: A certain man had two sons; in which he manifestly shows that every creature in a certain way prefigures the mercy which God has with respect to man: the brute creature, as the sheep, and the merely corporeal, as the drachma, and the rational, as man. First, therefore, as regards the possession of the whole multitude, which he wishes to be understood not literally, but parabolically, he says: And he spoke to them this parable. He therefore speaks parabolically, because it befits his wisdom; Psalm: "I will open my mouth in parables" etc.; and because the faithlessness of the Jews required this, from whom the mysteries had to be veiled, according to that passage of Matthew thirteen: "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear"; or because it befitted Sacred Scripture, in which not only words but also things are signs for leading by the hand the understanding of little ones and the simple to conceive within themselves the manifold character of divine meanings, according to that passage of Proverbs one: "The Parables of Solomon, to know wisdom and discipline, to understand words of prudence and to receive the instruction of doctrine, that astuteness may be given to little ones, and to the youth knowledge and understanding".

Luke 15:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

In explaining the solicitude of sorrow concerning the lost sheep, four things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the possession of the whole multitude, the loss of the hundredth sheep, the leaving behind of the multitude possessed, and the seeking of the one lost. And since he speaks to little ones, he therefore sets forth manifest examples, when he says: What man of you, having a hundred sheep. This man among men is the Son of God, of whom Baruch three says: "After these things he was seen upon earth and conversed with men"; and Philippians two: "Made in the likeness of men, and found in appearance as a man". The sheep of this man are rational creatures by reason of their implanted meekness; Matthew ten: "Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves"; and John ten: "My sheep hear my voice, and I give them eternal life". Moreover, these are called a hundred on account of perfection, which is signified by the number one hundred because of the return of ten upon itself. Whence Bede says: "Because the number one hundred is perfect, God had a hundred sheep, that is, a perfect number, when he created the substance of Angels and men". For this reason it is also placed in the designation of perfect merit; Matthew thirteen: "Another fell on good ground and brought forth fruit a hundredfold"; and Genesis twenty-six: "Isaac sowed in that land and found in that year a hundredfold". Likewise also as regards the perfection of reward: Matthew nineteen: "Everyone who shall have left" etc., there follows: "He shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess eternal life". To have, therefore, a hundred sheep is to have creatures in a perfect number and in the state of their perfection. Second, as to the loss of the hundredth sheep, he adds: And if he shall lose one of them. God lost one sheep out of a hundred when man sinned. Whence Bede: "One sheep perished when man by sinning abandoned the pastures of life. Of this sheep it is said in the Psalm: I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost; seek your servant, O Lord." Now man is called one sheep because all proceeded from one man, in whom they also sinned, according to that passage in Romans 5: "Through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, in whom all sinned." But on account of the variety of sins added thereupon, they are called many sheep; Isaiah 53: "All we like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned aside into his own way"; and 1 Peter 2: "You were as sheep going astray," etc. And this was so as long as man lacked a shepherd: 3 Kings 22: "I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains like sheep without a shepherd." For this sheep had run into the wolf, the devil, of whom it is said in John 10: "The wolf snatches and scatters the sheep," etc. Third, as to the leaving behind of the multitude possessed, he adds: Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert? By the ninety-nine are understood the Angels, both because the number nine most fittingly suits the designation of the number of Angels on account of the threefold triad in the orders of Angels, signifying God who is three and one; and because, with the angels falling and man being lost, their number remained imperfect: whence the Gloss: "He left the ninety-nine, because the number of rational creatures, with man perishing, was diminished." Christ left these, not abandoning them locally, since he is always everywhere, but because he in no way took hold of them: Hebrews 2: "Nowhere does he take hold of Angels, but he takes hold of the seed of Abraham." Now he is said to have left them in the desert, that is, in heaven, which had been deserted by angels and men, and no one could any longer enter there. On account of which that heavenly homeland is compared to a desert; whence the Gloss: "In the desert, that is, in heaven, which has been deserted by man sinning"; on account of which also that heavenly Jerusalem is called deserted, according to that passage in Galatians 4: "That Jerusalem which is ab…

Luke 15:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

And when he has found it. After the anxiety of sorrow for the lost sheep, there follows here the greatness of joy for the sheep that has been found, concerning which three things are introduced, namely private exultation, public congratulation, and the principally intended conclusion. First, therefore, as regards the private exultation over the sheep that was found, he says: And when he has found it, he lays it upon his shoulders, rejoicing. "These shoulders," as Ambrose says, "are the arms of the cross"; "there," he says, "I laid down my sins, upon that noble neck of the gibbet I found rest." Upon these shoulders, therefore, he placed the lost sheep, because there he bore our sins; whence Isaiah fifty-three: "Surely he himself has borne our griefs, and he himself has carried our sorrows"; and First Peter two: "Who himself bore our sins in his own body upon the tree, that being dead to sins, we might live unto justice." And this is what Bede says: "He placed the sheep upon his shoulders, because, taking on human nature, he himself bore our sins." And he bore our sins on the cross, and he bore the cross on his shoulders, according to that passage of Isaiah nine: "The government was made upon his shoulder"; and Isaiah twenty-two: "I will place the key of the house of David upon his shoulder." Upon this shoulder, rejoicing, he carried us on account of the greatest charity which he himself had for our liberation: Isaiah forty: "Like a shepherd he will feed his flock, in his arm he will gather the lambs"; "the ewes with young he himself will carry." And this with the greatest joy, according to that passage of the last chapter of Isaiah: "You shall be carried at the breasts, and upon the knees they shall caress you. As one whom his mother caresses, so I also will comfort you." "You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like grass."

Luke 15:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Secondly, with regard to the public rejoicing, he adds: And coming home, he calls together his friends and neighbors. This house is the heavenly Jerusalem, of which Isaiah 60: "I will glorify the house of my majesty"; and John 14: "In my Father's house there are many mansions." Into this house Christ came at the ascension, concerning which coming Isaiah 63: "Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?" Into this he carries the sheep, because, as is said in Ephesians 4, "ascending on high, he led captivity captive." And there he calls together the Angels, who are called friends on account of their familiarity in knowing secrets; for this is a sign of friendship; John 15: "But I have called you friends," etc.; and neighbors, on account of their nearness in sharing consolations: whence Matthew 18: "Their angels in heaven always behold the face of the Father who is in heaven." The Lord calls these together to rejoice in harmony over the salvation of men: whence he also adds: Saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep, which was lost. He says this as though giving them matter for rejoicing over the attainment of so great a benefit and of the charitable love which God showed to man; whence the Eternal Wisdom says in Proverbs 8: "My delights were to be with the sons of men." Whence Bede: "He does not say: Rejoice with the sheep that was found, but with me, because his joy is our life." Whence also in the expression of this most magnificent joy, the joyful recovery of the human race is called a nuptial joy, over which the heavenly citizens exult: Apocalypse 19: "I heard a voice as the voice of many Angels saying: Alleluia." "Let us rejoice and exult and give glory to God, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and the wife of the Lamb has prepared herself." For the Lamb espouses to himself the holy Church gathered from sinners, and the Lamb has the little sheep recovered.

Luke 15:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Thirdly, with regard to the conclusion principally intended, he adds: I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner doing penance; Isaiah 49: "Praise, O heavens, and exult, O earth; shout forth praise, O mountains, because the Lord has consoled his people and will have mercy on his poor ones." Great is the joy, because it is a greater thing to heal the sick than to preserve the healthy; and therefore he adds: Than over ninety-nine righteous ones, who have no need of repentance. This however is said, not because the penitent sinner is better than the ninety-nine righteous, but because in the redemption of the human race God wrought greater things than in the preservation of the entire heavenly multitude; because this is manifesting of greater power, greater wisdom, and greater mercy: of greater power, because it is a greater thing to justify the ungodly than to create heaven and earth; of greater wisdom, because, Job twenty-six, "by his understanding he struck the proud one"; of greater clemency or mercy: whence above in the first chapter: "Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from on high has visited us." For greater was the condescension in Christ, greater also the exaltation of the human race, according to that word of the Psalm: "For your magnificence is elevated above the heavens." Whence this is understood with respect to the cause of our repentance, namely the redemption of the human race, in which there is greater matter for joy than in all other works of God. If however it is understood of any individual sinner, then it is understood because the joy is more novel, or because the sinner is frequently more fervent than the righteous one. Whence Gregory in the Moralia: "Certain ones are strengthened in the service of God from some prior weakness, and the desire for future things draws them to keeping the commandments, and the memory of past things impels them." Whence this does not refer to all sinners nor to all the righteous, but to sinners who are fervent after conversion and to the righteous who are tepid. Whence Gregory also gives an example, and Bede in the Gloss: "Greater is the joy over the sinner than over the righteous one who stands firm: just as a commander in battle loves that soldier more who, having returned after flight, vigorously presses the enemy, than the one who never fled and never acted valiantly." Or, this is said by reason of the confusion of the adversaries, according to that word of Isaiah nine: "They shall rejoice before you, as those who rejoice in the harvest, as victors exult when the spoil is taken, when they divide the plunder," etc.

Luke 15:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Or what woman etc. After the parable of the shepherd and his sheep, there follows here the parable of the woman and the drachmas; in which indeed under the metaphor of the drachma there is manifested the mercy of God toward man, and this in four ways, namely toward man as created, toward man as fallen, toward man as restored, toward man as justified. First, therefore, as regards the loving-kindness of God with respect to man as created, he says: Or what woman having ten drachmas. This woman is divine wisdom, who is called woman because she is to be loved as a most beautiful bride; the Wise Man, speaking of wisdom in Wisdom eight, says: "Her I loved and sought out from my youth, and I sought to take her as my bride, and I became a lover of her beauty." She is called woman, however, not from the weakness of sex, but from the loving-kindness of divine affection and mercy, by reason of which God compares himself to maternal affection: Isaiah forty-nine: "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb?" etc. And therefore Wisdom says of herself in Sirach twenty-four: "I am the mother of fair love" etc. Whence, since the wisdom of God is most powerful, most beautiful, most provident, and also most merciful, she is given to be understood through the strong woman, according to what is said in the last chapter of Proverbs: "Who shall find a strong woman," that is, wisdom, which "reaches mightily" etc.; through the strong and good and beautiful woman: Sirach twenty-six: "As the sun rising upon the world"; through the provident woman: Proverbs fourteen: "The wise woman builds her house," that is, wisdom; through the pious woman, as in this parable. Whence the Gloss: "The woman, that is, the wisdom of God, had ten drachmas when she created men and Angels." The drachma, however, is the rational creature, marked with the divine image; whence the Gloss: "The drachma is a coin of a certain value, bearing the image of the king." Such a coin is man, of whom it is said in Genesis one: "Let us make man in our image and likeness"; whence also Sirach seventeen: "God created man from the earth and made him according to his own image." Such a coin is the angelic spirit: whence Ezekiel twenty-eight: "You were the seal of his likeness, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty; you were in the delights of the paradise of God." Therefore the ten drachmas are the nine orders of Angels and the tenth of men, for the completion of the whole universe, because within the number ten the universality of numbers is enclosed; whence also in it there is a certain completeness of numbers. Whence Bede: "The woman had ten drachmas when man was added as the tenth to the nine orders of Angels, so that the number of the elect might be completed." In this, therefore, the loving-kindness of God toward the rational creature as created appears, as toward a thing marked with his own image. Second, as regards the compassion of God with respect to fallen man, he adds: And if she lose one drachma, namely in man's transgression. For this lost drachma is human nature: whence the Gloss: "The woman, that is, the wisdom of God, had ten drachmas when she created men and Angels in her own image; but she lost one when man departed from the likeness of the Creator." Whence, because man is the tenth after the nine orders of Angels, he is rightly understood by the tenth drachma. Hence it is that, to prefigure the liberation of mankind, God commanded the tithe to be offered to himself. Hence also it is that ten commandments were given to him, through which, as through certain steps, he might ascend all the way to God. Hence also it is that, in the prefiguration of the Incarnation, the sun is said to have gone back ten lines, as is said in the twentieth chapter of Fourth Kings; for the sun went back ten lines when God descended beyond the Angels all the way to man, who is the tenth. Hence also it is that the denarius is the wage of all those laboring in the vineya…

Luke 15:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Third, as regards the lovingkindness toward restored humanity, he adds: And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors. By the friends and neighbors of divine wisdom are understood the good Angels and holy souls. Whence the Gloss: "The friends and neighbors are the heavenly powers, who are as close to God as they more nearly contemplate him." They are therefore called friends of wisdom because they love her and are loved by her, according to that passage of Wisdom 7: "Through the nations she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God and prophets. For God loves none but the one who dwells with wisdom." To call together, moreover, is nothing other than to unite in the oneness and conformity of love: Job 25: "Power and terror are with him, who makes concord in his high places"; and through this concord of mutual love he bestows a common matter of joy. — And therefore he adds: Saying: Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost. For Wisdom invites to shared rejoicing, because this is the law of charity: First Corinthians 13: "Charity does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices together with the truth"; and the Wise Man says in Wisdom 8: "Thinking on these things, that immortality is in the contemplation of wisdom, and in her friendship good delight," because she wills the joys of all to be shared, not private, as especially in that heavenly Jerusalem above. Whence Tobit 13: "Give thanks to the Lord in your good things and bless the God of the ages, that he may call back to you all your captives, and you may rejoice for ever and ever." For in this rediscovery of the coin, the restoration of the number of the elect in that Jerusalem takes place; and this is a great matter of gladness: Isaiah 65: "Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy," because they rejoice together with divine wisdom and with our salvation, according to that passage of the last chapter of Isaiah: "Rejoice with Jerusalem and exult in her, all you who love her; be glad with her in joy, all you who mourned over her, that you may suck and be filled from the breasts of her consolation; that you may drink deeply and abound in delights from her all-encompassing glory."

Luke 15:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Fourth, as regards the lovingkindness of God toward justified humanity, he adds: So I say to you: There is joy among the Angels of God over one sinner doing penance. The Angels rejoice over the penance of a sinful person because guilt is destroyed, justice is recovered, the pride of the demons is confounded, the guardianship of the Angels is made efficacious, the Church is restored, divine wrath is appeased, and because the heavenly Jerusalem is rebuilt. And over these seven things the blessed Angels rejoice most greatly; and therefore also over the penance of the sinner, in which they see the aforesaid seven things come to pass, there is joy among the Angels of God. First, because fault is destroyed: Acts 3: "Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." Whence it is said in Mark 1 that "John was preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins," etc. Second, because through penance justice is recovered: whence Apocalypse 2: "Remember from whence you have fallen, and do penance, and do the first works"; and Ecclesiasticus 17: "To the penitent God gave the way of justice and strengthened those who were failing." Third, because through penance the pride of demons is confounded: the Psalm: "Depart from me, all you who work iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping"; and afterwards: "Let all my enemies be ashamed and be greatly troubled," etc. For then the demons are ashamed of their impudence, when the sinner through penance is ashamed of his fault: Jeremiah 31: "After you converted me, I did penance." "I am confounded and I blushed, because I bore the reproach of my youth." Fourth, because through penance the guardianship of the Angels is made efficacious: whence Apocalypse 3: "Those whom I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous therefore and do penance. Behold, I stand at the door and knock." For the Angel guarding us does this with solicitude. Fifth, because through penance the Church is restored: on account of which it is said in Matthew 9: "I came not to call the just, but sinners" to penance. For Christ calls to ecclesiastical unity, in which the remission of sins is effected and heavenly grace is given, according to that passage in Ezekiel 18: "If the impious man shall do penance for all his sins, he shall live and shall not die." Sixth, because the divine wrath is appeased: Ecclesiasticus 12: "The Most High hates sinners and has mercy on the penitent"; and Jeremiah 18: "If that nation shall do penance for its evil, I also will repent of the evil that I thought to do to it." Seventh, because through penance the heavenly Jerusalem is restored to wholeness. Whence Matthew 4: "Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven shall draw near." And for this reason the heavenly citizens exult, as is declared here: There is joy among the Angels of God over one sinner doing penance. For they see how great is the power of penance, which not only recovers what was lost but also obtains far more from the divine mercy; whence Job, last chapter: "The Lord was moved by the penance of Job. And the Lord added double all things that had been Job's." And for this reason all who love God, who love the good, and who have an affection of piety ought to exult with the Angels over the conversion and repentance of sinners. Whence the Apostle, Second Corinthians seven: "Even if I made you sorrowful for an hour, now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because you were made sorrowful unto repentance. For you were made sorrowful according to God, so that you might suffer loss in nothing. For the sorrow that is according to God works repentance unto steadfast salvation." And afterward he adds: "For it works in you solicitude; but also defense, but also indignation, but also fear, but also desire, but also zeal, but also vindication." And from these things due honor is rendered to the divine majesty, the heavenly number is restored, and the unity of ecclesiastical peace is recovered. And therefore…

Luke 15:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

And he said: A certain man had two sons. After the parable of the shepherd and his sheep and of the woman and the drachmas, there is here subjoined a third parable, of the father and sons, so that, since the piety of a father toward his son is the greatest, the greatest piety of God toward the converted sinner might be shown here, who is understood through the prodigal son. And since the mercy of the father is shown in this, that he relieved the misery of his son who first sinned and afterward repented, therefore in this parable the Evangelist describes four things. For first he describes the insolence of the prodigal son; second, his misery and want, at the place: And after he had consumed all things; third, his repentance, at the place: But he, returning to himself, said, etc.; fourth, the mercy of the father, at the place: But when he was yet a long way off. And indeed he does this in a most correct progression and order. For insolence cast him headlong into misery and want; want aroused him to repentance; and repentance prepared him to obtain the mercy of the father. Concerning the expression of the insolence of the prodigal son, three things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely: the condition of human liberty, the perpetration of voluntary fault, and the dissipation of the good of grace and nature. First, therefore, with regard to the condition of human freedom, he says: And he said: A certain man had two sons. By this man, as has often been said, we understand the benign and merciful Lord. For he himself, by reason of his supreme mercy, which renders him benign and compassionate toward man, can rightly be called man; whence Daniel 10: "One like the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me." For this signification also, God frequently appeared to the holy Patriarchs and Prophets in human form through a subject creature. By the two sons, however, we understand the universality of the human race, not only with regard to Gentiles and Jews, as the Gloss explains, but also generally with regard to the innocent and the penitent, as must be understood from the application of the parable itself. Whence Bede: "This parable can be understood concerning the Jew and the Gentile, and generally concerning the penitent and the just, or the one who seems just to himself." And these are called sons, because they were created in freedom of choice and for the possession of an eternal inheritance; John 8: "The servant does not remain in the house forever, but the son remains forever"; whence in the Psalm: "As a father has mercy on his children, so the Lord has had mercy on those who fear him."

Luke 15:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

And because freedom of choice in the vain and sinful frequently presumes upon its own powers and usurps for itself what belongs to God, therefore he adds: And the younger of them said to the father: Father, give me the portion of the substance that falls to me. This younger one is said to be the one who is more vain and more intent upon sensible goods, according to that saying of Ecclesiastes 11: "For youth and pleasure are vanity"; and Ecclesiastes, in the same chapter above: "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth"; "and know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment." This youth seeks his portion when he wishes to be left to his own freedom, so that he might walk no longer according to the command of grace, but according to the inclination of his own will. Whence Bede: "Substance is everything that we do, that we live, understand, think, and speak. Therefore the younger asks that a portion of this substance be given to him, when man, delighting in his own rational sense, sought to govern himself through free choice and to depart from the dominion of the Creator." This petition was not for himself, but rather against himself, because he asked to be exposed to himself and to be abandoned to his own judgment; just as also the petition of the children of Israel by which they had asked for a king; 1 Kings 8: "The children of Israel said to Samuel: Appoint for us a king, that he may judge us." "And the Lord said to Samuel: They have not rejected you, but me, lest I reign over them." And because the Lord, by just judgment, leaves to himself the one who presumes of himself, therefore he adds: And he divided unto them his substance. For so it was fitting, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus fifteen: "God from the beginning made man and left him in the hand of his own counsel." For thus the Lord acts by just judgment, according to that passage of Matthew twenty-five: "To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability," etc.

Luke 15:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Second, as regards the perpetration of voluntary fault, he adds: And not many days after, having gathered all together, through the dominion of free will, which has authority over all the natural powers: the younger son went abroad into a far country, and this by perpetrating sin. For a region is called far from God, not as regards local position, since God is everywhere, but through dissimilarity of will. Whence the Gloss: "He went into a far country, not by changing place, but disposition. For the more one transgresses in wicked work, the further one recedes from the grace of God"; whence Proverbs fifteen: "The Lord is far from the wicked, and he will hear the prayers of the just." Now sin is a far country from God because, since it is iniquity, it distances from the highest goodness, according to that passage of Isaiah fifty-nine: "Your iniquities have divided between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you." Since it is darkness, it distances from the highest light and truth: First John one: "God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth"; and a little after he adds, concerning which darkness he means: "He who hates his brother is in darkness," etc. Since also sin is nothing, it distances from the highest being: on account of which Jeremiah two: "What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they went far from me and walked after vanity?" Concerning these three together, Second Corinthians six: "What participation has justice with iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial?" "And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?" And therefore the sinner deservedly, who distances himself from God through sin and goes into a far country far from the heavenly region, is cast into hell, which is the region of death and darkness, according to that passage of Job ten: "Before I go to the dark land covered with the mist of death, the land of misery and darkness, where the shadow of death and no order," etc. Third, as regards the dissipation of the good of grace and nature, he adds: He wasted his substance. He wasted it, I say, through spiritual sins, which especially waste the soul, and this indeed through pride: Nahum two: "As the Lord has restored the pride of Jacob, so the pride of Israel, for the despoilers have despoiled them and have corrupted their branches." Likewise, through vainglory: Isaiah three: "O my people, those who call you blessed, they themselves deceive you and scatter the way of your steps." Likewise, through envy, according to that word of the Psalm: "Our bones are scattered beside hell," supply: through envy, of which it is said in Proverbs fourteen: "Envy is the rottenness of the bones." Likewise, through wrath: the Psalm: "They were scattered and felt no remorse; they gnashed upon me with their teeth." Whence the wrathful person is like one possessed by a demon, of whom above in chapter nine: "He suddenly cries out and dashes him down and scatters him with foaming." Likewise, he squandered through sloth, according to that word of Proverbs eighteen: "He who is soft and lax in his work is the brother of him who squanders his own works." — And because spiritual sins frequently plunge one into carnal sins, therefore he adds: Living dissolutely, with respect to gluttony and lust, according to that word of Proverbs twenty: "Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness is riotous: whoever delights in these will not be wise." Whence in these is the consummation of squandering, according to that word of Job thirty-one: "It is a fire devouring unto destruction and uprooting all increase." Whence by these sins not only are the powers of the soul squandered, but also the members of the body and temporal riches, and through this the whole substance of a person is squandered, namely of possessions, members, and morals. On account of…

Luke 15:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

And after he had consumed all things, etc. After describing the insolence of the prodigal son, here he describes his misery and want, and this with respect to three things, namely with respect to the hardship of famine, with respect to the disgrace of servitude, and with respect to the most extreme kind of beggary. First, therefore, with respect to the hardship of famine, he says: And after he had consumed all things, namely with fault devastating everything, according to that word of Wisdom three: "Dire are the consummations of a wicked nation"; concerning which consummation, James one: "Concupiscence, when it has conceived, brings forth sin; but sin, when it has been consummated, begets death." There arose a great famine in that region, namely by divine justice taking vengeance. This famine is the want of spiritual goods; whence the Gloss: "A great famine in a far country is the want of the word of truth in forgetfulness of the Creator." And concerning this famine, Amos 8: "I will send a famine upon the land; not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of God"; and concerning this in the Psalm: "He called a famine upon the land," etc. And he himself began to be in want, with no one namely helping: whence Ambrose: "Of virtues, their source having been abandoned. Rightly therefore is he in want who has abandoned the treasures of wisdom and the height of heavenly riches"; whence Proverbs 13: "Poverty and shame shall be to him who forsakes instruction"; and this on account of fault: because, Proverbs 14, "sin makes peoples miserable." On account of which Bede says: "Every place, when the Father is absent, is destitution." For just as, when wisdom comes, all the goods of wisdom come, Wisdom 7: "All good things came to me together with her, and innumerable riches through her hands"; so when she departs, all good things withdraw, and want comes upon one, according to that of Proverbs 3: "Want from the Lord is in the house of the wicked, but the dwellings of the just shall be blessed."

Luke 15:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Secondly, as to the reproach of servitude, he adds: And he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that region: now a citizen in the region of unlikeness and of sin is one who has established his permanent dwelling in sin. Among these citizens, the one and first is the devil himself; whence the Gloss: "That one of the citizens is he who, set over earthly lusts by the merit of his depravity, is called the prince of the world," according to that of John 14: "For the prince of this world comes," etc. One joins himself to this citizen when he wills to do his will in all things; which sinners do, as is indicated in 2 Maccabees 4 concerning certain ones, of whom it is said that "they desired to be like those whom they had as enemies and destroyers." And note that it says he joined himself, because the devil does not have power except insofar as the sinner gives it to him of his own free will: whence in the person of the devil it is said in Isaiah 51: "Bow down, that we may pass over." And because, having received power, the devil always incites man to sins, therefore he adds: And he sent him into his country estate, to feed swine. By swine are understood demons, on account of their coarseness, by reason of which, Matthew seven: "Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet." Likewise, on account of their carnality: Second Peter two: "It has happened to them according to the true proverb: The sow that was washed returns to wallowing in the mire"; and carnality does this, whence Proverbs eleven: "A golden ring in the snout of a swine, a beautiful and foolish woman," because the devil through her defiles many. Now this coarseness demons have in themselves, but carnality they suggest to others; on account of which they are also called unclean spirits: whence they are rightly akin to swine, according to that passage in Matthew eight: "If you cast us out, send us into the swine." For these swine are fed on the filth of sins, because in this alone do demons take delight; whence Ambrose says: "The food of demons is drunkenness, fornication, and things of this sort, which are alluring and incite to their own enjoyment, nor is there any other care for the dissolute than to fill their belly: whose God is their belly." Concerning these, Philippians three: "Whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things." Whence these swine are fed by swinish men, in whom reigns coarseness of understanding, carnality of concupiscence, cupidity of avarice. And such men, after the manner of swine, avail for nothing whatsoever unto life, but only unto destruction: in designation of which it is said above in chapter eight, that "with a great rush the herd went into the lake and was drowned," etc.

Luke 15:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Third, however, as regards the extreme kind of beggary, he adds: And he desired to fill his belly with the husks that the swine were eating. "The husk, as the Gloss says, is a kind of legume with noisy and empty pods, which burdens the belly more than it refreshes it." And therefore it designates the pleasures of vices, which sometimes seem to the sinner to sound like something outwardly, but inwardly are nothing; whence pleasures of this kind are compared to dreams: Isaiah twenty-nine, "As when a hungry man dreams and eats, but when he has awakened, his soul is empty; and as when a thirsty man dreams and drinks, and after he has awakened, he is still weary and thirsts, and his soul is empty: so shall be the multitude of all the nations that have fought against Mount Zion." The swine eat these husks, because, Proverbs two, "they rejoice when they have done evil and exult in the worst things." And with these pleasures, as though they were his delights, the sinner seeks and desires to be satisfied; whence concerning such persons, Job thirty: "Who gnawed in the wilderness, squalid with calamity and misery. And they chewed herbs and the bark of trees, and the root of junipers was their food." "Who rejoiced among such things and counted it a delight to be under thorns." — And because man cannot be satisfied with such things, therefore he adds: And no one gave to him; because frequently, when a sinner seeks pleasures of this kind, by the just judgment of God he loses them. Whence Hosea two, the sinful soul says: "I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my waters and my wool and my linen and my oil and my drink. Therefore behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns and wall it up with a barrier, and she shall not find her paths"; and after: "I will cause all her joy to cease, and her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her feasts." And God does this so that sinners turned away from Him through pleasures He may call back to Himself through afflictions. Whence Augustine in the book of the Confessions: "All my pleasures," he says, "You sprinkled with bitternesses, O Lord God, so that I might seek to rejoice without offense and might not find it except in You." No one therefore gives of these husks when carnal consolation is withdrawn from the sinner, so that thus at least he may return to the knowledge of God and of himself; and just as he was intoxicated through pleasure, so he may awaken through tribulation, according to that saying of Isaiah twenty-eight: "Only vexation shall give understanding to the hearing"; whence also Leviticus twenty-six: "I will send pestilence in the midst of you, and you shall be delivered into the hands of enemies." "And you shall eat and not be satisfied."

Luke 15:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

But he, coming to himself. After having described the prodigal son's insolence and misery, he describes here thirdly his repentance, which he describes as fully sufficient, namely as regards the humility of contrition, confession, and satisfaction. First, therefore, as regards the humility of contrition, he says: But he, coming to himself, namely through the recognition of his own iniquity, because the pain of compunction causes one to examine the internal conscience; on account of which he says: Coming to himself, according to that passage of Isaiah forty-six: "Return, transgressors, to the heart." The pain of compunction also causes one to consider the happiness that has been lost; on account of which he adds: He said: How many hired servants in my father's house abound in bread! That is, in the house of God they live happily and pleasantly. And note that some are evil hired servants, of whom John ten says: "But the hired servant flees, because he is a hired servant." These, even if they sometimes abound in the house of the supreme Father in material bread, yet not in spiritual bread; on account of which Matthew six says: "Amen I say to you: They have received their reward." And to such it is said in Isaiah fifty-five: "Why do you weigh out silver not for bread," etc. Others are good hired servants, of whom the penultimate chapter of Genesis says: "Issachar, a strong ass, saw that rest was good and that the land was excellent, and he bowed his shoulders." And these are they who serve for an eternal reward, and such frequently abound in the bread of faith, hope, and charity, of which above in the eleventh chapter: "Friend, lend me three loaves"; and of which in the Psalm: "I will satisfy his poor with bread." Compunction likewise causes one to behold one's own calamity; whence he adds: But I here am perishing with hunger, namely on account of the lack of divine grace and doctrine; and this is a great calamity: Lamentations four: "Better were those slain by the sword than those killed by hunger, for these wasted away, consumed by the barrenness of the land"; and on behalf of these it is said in Lamentations two: "Lift up your hands for the souls of your little ones, who have fainted from hunger at the head of every street." From this affliction of compunction, however, the spirit is provoked and aroused; on account of which in the Psalm: "I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly; I roared from the groaning of my heart"; and there follows: "For I am ready for scourges."

Luke 15:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Secondly, as regards the humility of confession, he adds: I will arise and go to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, in which he confesses that he has sinned against ecclesiastical unity, which is understood by the name of heaven. For in this God dwells; the last chapter of Isaiah: "Heaven is my throne"; and in the Psalm: "The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven." — He also confesses that he has sinned against the divine majesty; whence he adds: And before you, because all things are open to him: Hebrews four: "All things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do." On account of which it is said in Proverbs sixteen: "All the ways of men are open to his eyes, and the Lord is the weigher of spirits."

Luke 15:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

And because an offense against such great majesty deprives us of the dignity of divine filiation, he therefore confesses his own unworthiness, when he adds: Now I am not worthy to be called your son: and this indeed he confesses rightly and truly, because to be a son of God belongs to the greatest charity, according to that passage in 1 John 3: "See, brethren, what manner of charity the Father has given us, that we should be called and should be sons of God." Of this name the sinner is unworthy, because he despised his Father, according to that passage in Isaiah 1: "I have nourished and exalted sons, but they themselves have despised me." And since it belongs to true confession not only to confess the impiety of sin and the unworthiness of the sinner, but also to implore mercy: he therefore adds: Make me as one of your hired servants. And note that here a distinction is made between son and servant and hired servant: because a son is one who serves out of love: Galatians 4: "Because you are sons of God, God has sent the spirit of his Son" etc.; a servant, who serves out of fear: Malachi 1: "A son honors his father, but a servant shall fear his lord"; but a hired servant is one who serves out of hope of the eternal inheritance, concerning which hired servant Job 7 says: "The life of man upon earth is a warfare, and his days are like the days of a hired servant. As a servant longs for the shade, and as a hired servant awaits the end of his work, so too have I numbered for myself empty months and laborious nights." From these things therefore it is gathered that confession ought to be true and humble, so that the gravity of sin may be recognized, the unworthiness of the sinner, and the mercy of the loving father may be implored, namely with a humble disposition, because it is said in Sirach 35: "The prayer of him who humbles himself shall penetrate the clouds." An example of this is found below in chapter 18 concerning the publican.

Luke 15:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Third, with respect to the humility of satisfaction, he adds: And rising up he came to his father. By this rising is understood the abandonment of sin and a certain distancing from it, which is the beginning of satisfaction. For "to make satisfaction is to cut off the causes of sins and not to grant them an entrance for sinning"; whence also as a figure of this, to the young man still dead it was said above in chapter 7: "Young man, I say to you, arise," so that guilt might be abandoned. Similarly to the man crippled it was said in John 5: "Arise, take up your bed and walk," so that the consequences of sins might be left behind. Similarly to Peter shackled it was said in Acts 12: "Arise quickly," so that the occasion of sin or evil company and habit might be left behind. On account of which it is said to the sinner in Ephesians 5: "Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead" etc. And because "it is too little not to do evil unless one also strives to labor in good works," there is immediately added: He came to his father, through imitation of him; John 14: "No one comes to the Father except through me." He came, I say, so that he who had previously departed through proud transgression might now come to the father through humble satisfaction, according to that passage of Isaiah 60: "All who disparaged you shall come to you and shall worship the traces of your feet," etc. Everyone who thus comes is by God drawn: John 6: "No one comes to me unless my Father has drawn him"; and the one so drawn is aided; Job 23: "Who will grant me that I may know and find him and come even to his throne?"; and the one so aided is received: John 6: "Him who comes to me, I will not cast out." But when he was yet a long way off. After having described the insolence, misery, and penitence, here in the fourth place is described the mercy of the loving father. This part is divided into two. In the first of which is described the mercy of the loving father in accepting the conversion of the sinner: second, in placating the indignation of the obedient one, at the passage: But his elder son was etc. The mercy, moreover, accepting the conversion of the prodigal son, the Evangelist manifests with respect to a threefold act, namely first, in receiving the unworthy one; second, in clothing the naked one, at the passage: But the father said to his servants: third, in refreshing the famished one, at the passage: And bring the fatted calf. For this is the order of the restoration of the soul through the gift of paternal mercy: that first it is received into the benignity of grace; second, it is clothed with the garment of justice; third, it is refreshed with the sweetness of joy and interior gladness. Concerning the mercy, therefore, receiving the unworthy one, two things are introduced, namely the clemency of the father receiving and the reverence of the son accusing himself. First, therefore, with respect to the clemency of the father receiving, he says: But when he was yet a long way off, on account of the fault that distances one from God: the Psalm: "Far from my salvation are the words of my offenses"; and again: "Salvation is far from sinners, because they have not kept your justifications." His father saw him and was moved with compassion, by pouring in prevenient grace, concerning which regard, below in chapter 22: "The Lord looked upon Peter"; "and going out, Peter wept bitterly." And concerning this, Exodus 3: "I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and I have descended to deliver them." The Prophet sought this regard when he said: "See my humility and my labor and forgive all my offenses"; and again: "Look upon me and have mercy on me," etc. And running to him, he fell upon his neck, through concomitant grace: as if to say: he embraced him, according to that passage of Song of Songs chapter two: "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me"; and this is through concomitant grace, which assists in beari…

Luke 15:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Second, with respect to the reverence of the son accusing himself he adds: And the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, namely through contempt of the Majesty presiding over all things: Job 11: "It is higher than heaven, and what will you do? It is deeper than hell, and how will you know?"; and 22: "Do you not know that God is higher than heaven?" etc. Against heaven therefore he sins who despises the God of heaven: whence it is said in 1 Ezra 9: "My iniquities are multiplied above my head, and our offenses have grown up even to heaven," etc. And before you, through contempt of the Truth beholding all things: Ecclesiasticus 23: "The eyes of the Lord are far more bright than the sun, looking about all the ways of men and the depth of the abyss, and beholding all hearts into hidden parts. For to the Lord our God, before they were created, all things are known; so also after their completion he beholds all things"; the Psalm: "Against you alone have I sinned, and done evil before you." - Now I am no longer worthy to be called your son, on account of contempt of the Goodness providing for all things: Wisdom 12: "But you, Lord of power, judge with tranquility and with great reverence dispose of us. For it is at your disposal, whenever you will, to act. But you have taught your people that one must be just and humane, and you have made your children of good hope, because in judging you grant a place for repentance from sins." Because therefore I have despised this supreme goodness, whose office it is to give "the spirit of adoption of sons," according to that passage in Romans 8: "You have not received the spirit of servitude again in fear, but the spirit of adoption of sons"; whose office it also is to regenerate through water and the Holy Spirit into the kingdom of the sons of God, according to that passage in Colossians 1: "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love": now I am no longer worthy to be called your son. And note that although the father runs to meet him, clasps his neck in an embrace, although he receives him with a kiss, nevertheless the true penitent never forgets his sin, according to that verse of the Psalm: "For I am ready for scourges, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare my iniquity and will think upon my sin." Although he acknowledges this, he nonetheless yearns for perfect charity. And therefore he does not here seek mercenary love, as he did above, when he did not yet have infused grace. But now, fully turned back to the father, as one truly penitent he commends and entreats divine grace: and this is what the Gloss says: "He wills," it says, "to become through grace what he confesses himself unworthy of by merit," as that penitent asked in the last chapter of 2 Chronicles: "Now I bend my knees before you, imploring your goodness. I have sinned, Lord, and I acknowledge my iniquity: I ask and beseech you: Lord, forgive me, and do not destroy me together with my iniquities, nor reserve evils for me forever, for you will save me, unworthy as I am, according to your great mercy, and I will praise you always, all the days of my life; for the host of heaven praises you, and yours is the glory forever and ever."

Luke 15:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

But the father said to his servants. After the father's mercy in receiving the unworthy one has been shown, there is here subjoined mercy in clothing the naked. And since the sinner is stripped of the garment of interior purity and the adornment of exterior uprightness, therefore with respect to these two things he shows that the prodigal son is restored through the father's mercy. First, therefore, with respect to the garment of interior purity, he says: But the father said to his servants: Quickly bring forth the first robe and clothe him. The first robe is the garment of interior purity, with which our mind ought to be clothed and with which it was clothed from the beginning of its creation. Whence Bede says: "The first robe is the garment of innocence in which the first man was created: but after the fall he knew himself to be naked and took on a garment of skins, that is, a mortal covering." Concerning this garment of purity it is said in Apocalypse 3: "That you may be clothed in white garments, and the shame of your nakedness may not appear." With these garments one is clothed who keeps himself in purity through the help of divine grace, according to that passage in Apocalypse 3: "You have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy." This garment of purity, moreover, is given through the reception of the Sacraments, namely of baptism, which washes away all stains, as a sign of which the baptized person is clothed in a white garment; and also of penance, which "strives to restore one to the purity of baptism," as Augustine says. And because this dispensation of the Sacraments is carried out through the diligence of ministers, therefore it is said that the father said to the servants, that is, to the ministers. For thus he said in John 20: "Receive the Holy Spirit: whose sins you shall forgive," etc. Second, as regards the adornment of outward propriety, there is added: And put a ring on his hand, signifying the beauty of modesty: for a ring on the hands signifies betrothal through chaste love. From this we understand that he bears a ring on his hand who preserves modesty in his works. This modesty, even though it appears in the integrity of the flesh, consists chiefly in the integrity of faith, according to that passage in Second Corinthians 11: "I have espoused you to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Hence the ring is the seal of faith, by which the soul is pledged, so that its works may be pleasing to Christ: because, Hebrews 11, "without faith it is impossible to please God." Therefore blessed Agnes also said: "With the ring of His faith He has pledged me." But then the ring is on the hand when faith shines forth in action: because, James 2, "faith without works is dead." Hence the Gloss of Ambrose: "A ring, that is, the seal of faith, by which the promises are sealed in the hearts of the faithful: put it on his hand, that is, in action, so that through works faith may shine forth, and through faith works may be confirmed." As a figure of this, Genesis 41, "Pharaoh took the ring from his hand and gave it into the hand of Joseph." And because it does not suffice that one be modest in his works unless he also be obedient and humble, therefore he adds: And sandals on his feet, signifying namely the readiness of obedience; for he who is shod is ready to journey: on account of which, Ephesians 6: "Having your feet shod in the preparation of the Gospel of peace." But this obedience is most pleasing when it proceeds from filial affection: Song of Songs 7: "How beautiful are your steps in sandals, O daughter of the prince!" And because no one is fit to pass "from this world to the Father" unless he has the readiness of obedience: therefore in the eating of the paschal lamb this form is given, Exodus 12: "You shall gird your loins and have sandals on your feet, holding staffs in your hands, and you shall eat in haste: For it i…

Luke 15:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

And bring the fatted calf. After the mercy in receiving the unworthy and clothing the naked, there is added here the mercy in refreshing the hungry. And this in right order, because after the remission of sins and the clothing with virtues there follows the delight of divine pleasures, which arises from a twofold consideration, namely from the consideration of our Savior and of the saved man. First, therefore, with regard to the consideration of our Savior Christ, he says: Bring the fatted calf and kill it. This fatted calf is Christ slain for us, who is set before us in the Sacrament of the altar as the sweetest food. Christ, moreover, is called a calf because he was offered for sins: Leviticus one: "He shall immolate the calf before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron the priests shall offer his blood, pouring it around the circuit of the altar, which is before the door of the tabernacle." He is called fatted, moreover, because he is filled with all good things and most sweet for spiritual food; whence the Gloss: "Christ is the fatted calf, rich in every spiritual virtue, so as to suffice for the salvation of the whole world." Concerning this, in a figure, in Genesis eighteen, about the banquet made by Abraham for the Angels, it is said that "Abraham ran to the herd and brought from there a most tender and excellent calf." This calf the servants of Christ bring and kill, when they immolate him on the altar for the salvation of sinners and set him before us as food; whence the Gloss: "Christ is always immolated for believers." Or he is then brought and killed, when his death and the Sacrament of the altar are recalled to memory by the preacher for sustenance and food; whence Bede: "Preach that Christ was born and make known his death, so that he may both believe in his heart that Christ was slain by imitating him, and receive with his mouth the Sacrament of the Passion for amendment." Whence, even though all Christians have refreshment in the Passion of Christ, those are especially delighted who through it see themselves snatched and freed from greater evils and dangers and sins. And therefore he adds: And let us eat and feast, not at a carnal banquet, of which the impious say: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die," according to what Isaiah says in the twenty-second chapter; but at a spiritual one, of which First Corinthians 5: "Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. Therefore let us feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth"; of which Song of Songs 5: "Eat, O friends, and drink; be inebriated, dearest ones." In this banquet Christ is the food, the guest, and the steward, because he himself delights with us, and we with him, and this by his own doing: Revelation 3: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone shall open to me, I will enter in and dine with him, and he with me."

Luke 15:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Secondly, as regards the consideration of the man who is saved, he adds: Because this my son was dead, through sin, which makes men dead: Psalm: "The dead shall not praise you, O Lord"; and again John 8: "You shall die in your sin." And has come back to life, through repentance: Ephesians 5: "Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten you"; and Psalm: "You shall take away their spirit, and they shall fail." "Send forth your spirit," etc. Was lost, through the loss of justice: Romans 2: "Those who have sinned without the Law shall perish without the Law"; and Second Peter 2: "They shall perish in their corruption, receiving the wages of their injustice." And is found, through the recovery of grace, according to that saying in Job 33: "I have found that whereby I may be merciful to him." And the Lord does this when he pours his grace into the soul: Psalm: "I have found David my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him." And because all ought to rejoice at this, therefore he adds: And they all began to eat and feast. Bede: "Not only is the son refreshed, for whom the calf was killed, but also the father and his servants, because the refreshment of God and the Saints is the salvation of sinners." As a figure of this it is said in Deuteronomy 16: "You shall feast at your festival, you and your son and your daughter and your servant and your handmaid, and also the Levite, the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are within your gates," etc.

Luke 15:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Now his son was etc. After he showed the mercy of the loving father in accepting the conversion of the penitent, here secondly he shows his mercy in appeasing the indignation of the obedient son. Now this part is divided into two. In the first of which is expressed the impatience of the son in conceiving indignation; secondly, the clemency of the father in appeasing the indignation, at the words: His father therefore went out etc. Concerning the impatience of the indignant son, the Evangelist introduces three things from which that indignation drew its origin, namely the difficulty of labor endured, the solemnity of joy heard, and the liberality of the paternal benefit judged: from the consideration of which that elder son fell into indignation. First, therefore, with regard to the difficulty of labor endured, he says: Now his elder son was in the field. This elder son is said to be the one who is more mature in conduct, more conformed to the father and more obedient; because, Wisdom 4, "the understanding of a man is gray hairs, and the age of old age is a life unspotted." And because a good life is never idle, therefore he says that he was in the field, namely to labor, so that he could say that word of Zechariah 13: "I am a husbandman, for Adam has been my example from my youth." Hence he labored in the field according to the counsel of the Wise Man, Proverbs 12, "He who tills his land shall be filled with bread"; and Proverbs 24: "Prepare your work outside and diligently cultivate your field"; because thus it was said to man in Genesis 3: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread." Second, with regard to the solemnity of joy heard, he adds: And when he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. By this house is understood the congregation of the just: the Psalm: "God in his holy place, God who makes those of one manner to dwell in a house"; and 1 Timothy 3: "That you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth." In this house music and dancing are heard through concordant joy with regard to the interior and exterior conformity of conduct, hearts, and words. "For symphony is the concord and collection of any sounds whatsoever," and it designates the joy that comes from concord of hearts. Hence also Ambrose: "Symphony is the undivided concord of diverse ages and virtues, as of various strings, according to what is said in Acts 4: The multitude of believers was of one heart and one soul." "A chorus indeed is a collection of voices" and signifies the joy that comes from concord of voices and words in preaching and praising God, according to that word of the Prophet in the Psalm: "Praise her with timbrel and chorus," and this is in the holy Church: 1 Corinthians 1: "I beseech you that you all speak the same thing." And concerning these two things it is said in Philippians 2: "If there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of charity, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any bowels of compassion: fulfill my joy, that you be of one mind, having the same charity, being of one accord, thinking the same thing." He therefore who draws near to that house of God hears this delightful harmony. This drawing near, however, is through the consideration of sacred Scripture, which is, as it were, a certain door to knowing those things which are within the unity of the holy Church: Sirach, last chapter: "Draw near to me, you unlearned, and gather yourselves together in the house of discipline." And then, when one attends to Scripture, in it one hears the concord and harmony of this Church among its members: because the whole of Scripture teaches nothing other than the concord and harmony of charity, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-two: "On these two commandments" etc.; and Romans thirteen: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law." For First Timothy one: "The end of the commandment is charity from…

Luke 15:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Third, as regards the generosity of the adjudged paternal benefit, he adds: And he called one of the servants and asked what these things were. This one servant called is the order of preachers and teachers, concerning which servant, above in chapter fourteen: "He sent his servant at the hour of supper to tell those who were invited"; where the Gloss says: "The servant is the order of preachers"; from this servant are to be sought the ecclesiastical Sacraments and the mysteries of the Scriptures, because, Malachi two, "the lips of the priest keep knowledge, and they seek the law from his mouth, because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts."

Luke 15:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

And since the true preacher is the chief announcer of divine mercy, he therefore adds: And he said to him: Your brother has come, through the humility of penance; Isaiah twenty-one: "If you seek, seek: be converted and come"; and chapter sixty: "Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall rise from your side." And your father has killed the fatted calf, through the refreshment of the Eucharist, according to that passage in John six: "My flesh is truly food, and my blood is truly drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood" etc. Because he received him saved, through the recovery of justice, which Christ alone can restore, according to that passage of Acts 4: "There is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved." Moreover, the whole of sacred Scripture preaches these three things, namely penance, grace, and salvation. Whence the forerunner of Christ preached these things, namely: "Do penance," and promising grace and salvation; likewise also Christ himself: "Do penance"; likewise also the whole chorus of the Apostles, and especially Peter and Paul, who cried out not only by word but also by example, according to that passage of 1 Timothy 1: "Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. But therefore I obtained mercy, that in me first Christ Jesus might show all patience, for the instruction of those who would believe in him unto eternal life." Whence also on account of sinners he said that the fatted calf had been killed, when he said in Romans 5: "But God commends his charity toward us, because, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more therefore now, being justified in his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him"; and a little later: "Where sin abounded, grace superabounded, that, as sin reigned unto death, so grace might reign through justice."

Luke 15:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

And because the just man, presuming upon his own merits, does not accept this justice, but rather is indignant against the mercy of God, as though he acts unjustly by rendering good things for evil, therefore he adds: But he was indignant and would not go in. For he who does not accept the abundance of God's mercy, but rather the sufficiency of his own justice, cannot enter into the charity of ecclesiastical unity; and this is what is said of such persons in Romans 10: "Being ignorant of the justice of God and seeking to establish their own, they are not subject to the justice of God." Whence also for this reason the Jewish people does not wish to enter into ecclesiastical unity, because, being proud of its own justice, it does not accept the mercy of the most high Father bestowed upon sinners. And against such persons it is said in Romans 3: "Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood," "that he himself might be just and the justifier of him who is of the faith of Jesus Christ. Where then is your boasting?" and it follows: "It is excluded." "For we reckon that a man is justified by faith without the works of the Law." This one therefore, presuming upon justice and being indignant on account of the mercy bestowed upon his brother, does not walk according to justice but according to injustice, because, Proverbs 29, "he who is quick to anger will be more prone to sins." His father therefore went out etc. After the described impatience of the son in conceiving indignation, here secondly is shown the clemency of the father in placating the indignation, where three things are introduced. First indeed, on the part of the father, a pious address: second, on the part of the son, an insolent response: third, a placating persuasion is subjoined. First therefore, as to the most pious address of the father, he says: His father therefore went out and began to entreat him. The father goes out to external things through condescension, according to that passage of Habakkuk 3: "You went forth for the salvation of your people and for salvation with your Christ"; namely, this going forth is nothing other than to manifest himself outwardly in the flesh: Isaiah 62: "For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her just one goes forth as a splendor" etc. And because this going forth was from great piety to save man, therefore he says: He began to entreat him: Hebrews 12: "God offers himself to you as to sons." He entreats, therefore, even if we are disdainful toward him, according to that passage of Isaiah 30: "You shall hear the word of one admonishing behind you: This is the good way, walk in it." Whence God the Father himself is not indignant against the indignant son, but rather entreats and consoles him, so that what is said in Isaiah 66 may be fulfilled: "As a mother caresses someone, so I will comfort you"; and not without reason, because, as is said in 2 Corinthians 1, "he is the father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our tribulation." Whence in Jeremiah 3 it is said concerning this address: "Therefore at least from now on call me: My Father, you are the guide of my virginity" etc. And thus is fulfilled that passage of Job 19: "I entreated the sons of my womb."

Luke 15:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Second, as to the insolent response of the son, he adds: But he answering said to his father: Behold, so many years I serve you: where he responds insolently, both because he boasts of his own justice, saying that he served his father for a long time, although the Father himself has no need of our service, according to that passage of the Psalm: "I said to the Lord: You are my God, for you have no need of my goods"; and Job 35: "Moreover, if you act justly, what will you give him, or what will he receive from your hand?" He makes a display of himself, therefore, in this, that he boasts of having done great things for his father. He also makes a display of himself in this, that he says he did nothing against him, when he adds: And I never transgressed your commandment. And in this he justifies himself, although the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 4: "I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified in this." Against that arrogance it is said in 3 Kings 8: "There is no man who does not sin"; and 1 John 1: "If we say that we have no sin, we are liars"; because it is said in Romans 3: "All have sinned and are in need of the glory of God." He therefore displays his own righteousness, and accuses the father of harshness as well, when he adds: And you never gave me a kid, that I might feast with my friends: as if to say: you have always been harsh to me and never gave me any interior consolation that would be indicative of your love. And yet God does this by a just and hidden judgment, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes nine: "There are just men and wise men, and their works are in the hand of God: and yet man knows not whether he is worthy of love or of hatred, but all things are kept uncertain for the future." But this man, not heeding the hidden judgments of God, accuses the father of harshness, as if he were saying that passage of Job thirty: "You are changed to me into a cruel one, and in the hardness of your hand you oppose me." In this, therefore, he accuses the father of harshness.

Luke 15:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Likewise he reproaches the father's clemency, when he adds: But after this son of yours: as if to say: not my brother; just as the Lord said out of indignation in Exodus thirty-two: "Go down from the mountain, for your people have sinned," yours, he says, not mine; because on account of his fault I disdain to acknowledge him as brother. Whence he adds: Who has devoured his substance with harlots, has come, and thus he would be worthy of wrath, because he is prodigal, unclean, and foul, and therefore deserving to be destroyed; the Psalm: "You will destroy all who commit fornication against you"; and Lamentations one: "Jerusalem has become as one polluted with menstrual blood among them. The Lord is just, for I have provoked his mouth to wrath." You have killed for him the fatted calf, showing the highest benevolence, which he shows when he gives someone devotion concerning the benefit of the Lord's passion, according to that passage of Song of Songs one: "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me; he shall abide between my breasts. A cluster of cypress is my beloved to me in the vineyards of Engaddi." You have killed for him, that is, you have given through devotion, as if he had been slain for him alone, just as Paul also said in Galatians two: "But that I now live in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and delivered himself for me"; whence he also prefaced: "I am nailed to the cross with Christ." Therefore this man by his insolent response both reproaches the father's clemency and accuses his harshness and displays his own righteousness, nor does he heed that "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble," as is said in James four. On account of which God is also sweet to sinners, so that he may rouse them to hope, and harsh to the just, so that he may incline them to humility; on account of which below in the seventeenth chapter: "When you have done all things that are commanded you, say: We are unprofitable servants," etc.

Luke 15:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

Third, as to placating satisfaction, he adds: But he said to him: Son, you are always with me. Note here the most benign response of the father, because, although he could have accused the son of presumption, of indignation, of insolence, and of inhumanity, nevertheless he does not accuse him, lest he disturb him further, but lovingly soothes him, so as to calm him; because, Proverbs fifteen, "a soft answer breaks wrath." He does not therefore accuse the disturbed one, but sweetly and reasonably placates the angry one, praising, namely, the son's obedience in this, that he says: Son, you are always with me, that is, you always obey me, so that you are of the number of those to whom it is said below in the twenty-second chapter: "You are those who have remained with me in my trials"; so that you can say that word of the Psalm: "I have become as a beast of burden before you, and I am always with you." You are always with me, remaining in the house as a son; John eight, "The Son remains in the house forever." He also placates by showing benevolence, when he adds: And all that is mine is yours, namely through the benevolence of charity, according to that word of First Corinthians three: "All things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollo, whether things present or things future. All things are yours, but you are Christ's, and Christ is God's"; because, as it is said in Romans eight, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him give us all things?" He means therefore to say that, although He does not display great things, nevertheless He reserves great things, according to that word of Isaiah sixty-four: "Eye has not seen, O God, apart from You, what You have prepared for those who wait for You." All things therefore belong to the just man, either in reality or in hope. For since some things are superior, some inferior, some equal; the superior things belong to the just man for enjoying: the Psalm: "God of my heart and God my portion forever." The equal things, namely the Angels, belong to the just for assisting; Hebrews one: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for the sake of those who shall inherit salvation?" The inferior things belong to the just for using and ruling over: the Psalm: "What is man, that You are mindful of him, or the son of man, that You visit him?" "You have subjected all things under his feet," etc. And in this the wondrous benevolence of the father is made manifest.

Luke 15:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 15

He also placates by approving the mercy bestowed, when he adds: But it was fitting to feast and rejoice, namely because charity urges it, for it is charity that compels one to rejoice over what is good. Whence the Apostle, Second Corinthians five: "Whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God; or whether we be sober, it is for you. For the charity of Christ urges us." And just as it belongs to charity to burn over the scandal of another, according to that passage of Second Corinthians eleven: "Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?" so also to rejoice and be refreshed by the remedy of another. Therefore he says: Because this your brother was dead and has come back to life, was lost and has been found: he was dead, by forsaking Christ, who says of himself, John fourteen: "I am the way, the truth, and the life"; and chapter one: "The life was the light of men." He was lost, by loving sin, because, Ecclesiasticus three, "he who loves danger shall perish in it." He came back to life, however, by returning to the grace of Christ: John eleven: "I am the resurrection and the life," etc. And he has been found, by returning to repentance, just as above in the same chapter the little sheep was found, and the lost drachma was also found. And therefore it was fitting to feast and rejoice, because, as was said above in the same chapter, "there is joy among the Angels of God over one sinner doing penance," joy also for the shepherd over the sheep, joy likewise for the woman over the drachma: therefore much more should there be joy for a brother over his brother and for a father over his son who has been found again.

Luke 16:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

And he said also to his disciples, etc. After the expression of Jewish impiety and the notification of divine piety, the Evangelist here introduces the commendation and persuasion of human piety. And this part is divided into two. In the first of these, the disciples themselves are persuaded through Christ's teachings and through parabolic examples concerning human piety with respect to corporal works: in the second, with respect to spiritual works, below in the seventeenth chapter: And he said to his disciples etc. First, concerning human piety with respect to corporal works in three ways. The first part contains the present chapter, which is distinguished into three parts. In the first of these is set forth a parabolic example of provident piety. In the second is drawn out a teaching of perfect piety, at that place: And I say to you: Make etc. In the third is subjoined an example of punished impiety, at that place: There was a certain rich man etc. Concerning the example therefore of provident piety, which is set forth concerning the steward who was generous with the goods of his lord, it should be noted that it is partly an expressed example, partly a parabolic saying; for unless it were an expressed example, there would not be subjoined at the end of the parable that "the lord commended the steward of iniquity, because he had acted prudently," etc.; but again, unless it were spoken parabolically, a deed of such detestable fraud ought by no means to be set forth by the Lord as an example. On account of which it is necessary to understand that this example must be pursued partly according to the letter, partly also parabolically. For since both this parable and the one about the rich man who feasted have the character of both example and parable; this one nevertheless holds more the character of a parable, and that one more the character of an example, and therefore is understood more according to the letter; but this one must be understood partly according to metaphor, partly according to the letter. For the elucidation of this parabolic example, it should be noted that something is set forth in it as to be reconsidered, something as to be rejected, something as to be dreaded, something as to be endured, something as to be provided for, something as to be imitated, and something as to be commended. For the origin of human power is to be reconsidered, concerning which it says there: There was a certain rich man. The abuse of entrusted power is to be shunned, which is intimated there: And this man was accused before him. The strictness of supernal Justice is to be dreaded, concerning which it says there: And he called him and said to him. The imperfection of human weakness is to be endured, which is intimated there: And the steward said within himself. The discovery of faithful friendship is to be provided for, there: I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed. To be imitated is the display of generous clemency, concerning which there: Having therefore called together each of the debtors. To be praised or commended is the discernment of sagacious providence, concerning which there: The lord commended the steward of iniquity. First, therefore, in this parable there is intimated the origin of worldly power as something to be reconsidered by the disciples, when it is said: And he said also to his disciples, to whom he said above in the eighth chapter: "To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God"; and John fifteen: "But I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." He was speaking to the disciples because, the Jews having been confuted, piety ought to be urged upon them, to which the consideration of the origin of earthly power vehemently incites, with regard to which he says: A certain man was rich, who had a steward. This certain man, singular and singularly rich, is rightly understood as God, according to that passage in Romans ten: "The s…

Luke 16:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Third, with respect to the severity of divine Justice, which is to be dreaded by everyone, it is added: And he called him and said to him: What is this I hear about you? The Gloss says: "He calls, when he strikes the fear of eternal damnation"; concerning which calling it is said in Ezekiel 3: "And I heard behind me the voice of a great commotion: Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place." By this voice he is called who is aroused to consider the future judgment, where he will be accused not only according to reputation, but according to conscience. On account of which he adds: Render an account of your stewardship. For this voice ought to resound in the ear of everyone, because without doubt divine justice will demand an account of gifts entrusted, as is indicated in Matthew 18: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants." Of evils forgiven; Matthew 18: "And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents." "But the lord, having compassion on that servant, released him"; and afterward it is added that he demanded an account of this. Also of good deeds omitted; Matthew 25: "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with his servants"; and he adds concerning the lazy servant that he was cast "into the outer darkness." Also of evils perpetrated; First Peter 4: "For the time past is sufficient to have carried out the will of the Gentiles for those who walked in wantonness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries"; "who shall render an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." And not only of great evils, but also of small ones, according to that passage in Matthew 12: "Of every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account on the day of judgment." From this steward, therefore, he demands an account of the stewardship with respect to all four of the aforementioned things, because, as Bernard says, "just as not a hair of the head shall perish, so neither does a moment of time pass for which an account is not demanded." And after this exaction of an account, there will remain no possibility of meriting; therefore he adds: For you can no longer be steward, because it is said in Ecclesiastes 9: "Neither work nor reason nor knowledge nor wisdom shall be in the netherworld, to which you are hastening." Whence also in Proverbs 27 it is said to every steward: "You shall not have power perpetually"; and Sirach 10: "Every dominion is of brief life." On account of which the Prophet says in the Psalm: "Put not your trust in princes nor in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth; in that day all their thoughts shall perish," etc.

Luke 16:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Fourth, with regard to the imperfection of human weakness to be tolerated in the steward, it is added: And the steward said within himself: What shall I do, because my lord takes away from me the stewardship? For because the fear of judgment urges the mind to procure a remedy, therefore the steward, seeing that he is to be judged, seeks a remedy, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 18: "Before judgment prepare justice, and before sickness apply medicine, and before judgment examine yourself." And because the perfection of penance consists in affliction and bodily labor and in humility and mental shame, and these two things the soul of a weak man refuses, therefore he adds: I am not able to dig, on account of the difficulty of bodily labor, because, as it is said in Proverbs 29, "he who delicately nourishes his servant from childhood shall afterwards find him contumacious." I am ashamed to beg, on account of the vileness of so contemptible an act; Ecclesiasticus 29: "Let the least thing be to you as something great, and you shall not hear the reproach of your sojourning"; and afterwards it adds: "These things are grievous to a man of understanding: the rebuke of the household and the reproach of the creditor." Therefore he who flees from the Cistercian order because they labor, or the order of Friars Minor because they beg, is like this steward. And yet this is tolerable, because it comes from weakness to flee from labor and shame—the former as unbearable, the latter as contemptible. But although these things are difficult for a weak man, they are nevertheless easy for a Christian made perfect through Christ. For Christ, made poor for us and abounding in labors, according to that passage of the Psalm: "I am poor and in labors from my youth," makes labor desirable and mendicancy honorable, because "it is a great glory to follow the Lord," as it is said in Ecclesiasticus 23. But the Lord Himself says of Himself: "But I am a beggar and poor, and the Lord is solicitous for me"; which indeed is not said with regard to spiritual things, in which He abounds, but with regard to temporal things, in which He was made needy and a beggar for us, according to that passage of Second Corinthians 8: "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for our sakes He became poor, though He was rich," etc. And therefore blessed Francis says in his Rule that his brothers "ought not be ashamed in begging, because the Lord made Himself poor for us in this world." Nevertheless, because to the steward as one imperfect there had not been given the grace through which he might be perfectly conformed to Christ, therefore as one weak he says: I am ashamed to beg; he does not say: I disdain to beg, because this would not be a weakness to be tolerated, but an impiety to be detested.

Luke 16:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Fifth, with regard to the provision for finding faithful friendship, he adds: I know what I shall do, so that I may acquire faithful friendship. Whence the Gloss: "The steward is one to whom God has entrusted certain monies to be distributed to the poor: who, if he considers that such stewardship is to end with this life, concerns himself more with acquiring friends than with amassing riches." For he can rightly say: I know what I shall do, who intends to acquire the friendship of his neighbor, because conversely it is said in First John 2: "He who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he goes, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." But conversely, he who loves knows what he does; for he acts according to the teaching of Christ, by which he seeks a remedy against danger. On account of which he adds: So that, when I shall have been removed from the stewardship, by divine sentence, according to that passage in Revelation 2: "I will come to you and will move your lampstand from its place"; they may receive me into their houses, through friendly mercy. For this is the law of friendship: not to fail a friend in necessity; whence Proverbs 17: "He who is a friend loves at all times, and a brother is proven in distress," because, Sirach 6, "a faithful friend is a strong protection; he who finds him finds a treasure. To a faithful friend there is no comparison, and no weighing of gold and silver is worthy against the goodness of his fidelity."

Luke 16:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Sixth, with regard to the display of generous mercy to be imitated, it is added: Having therefore called together each of his lord's debtors, where literally the generosity of munificence and mercy in the steward is shown, both because he gives to many, and because he gives much, and because he gives moderately: to many, because to each of his lord's debtors, according to that which the Lord counsels above in chapter six: "Give to everyone who asks of you"; and Isaiah 32: "Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, sending forth the foot of the ox and the donkey." And because mercy ought to be expended on those in need, therefore he does not give to just anyone, but to debtors; according to that passage in Isaiah 58: "Set free those who are broken, and break asunder every burden. Break your bread for the hungry and bring the needy and wandering into your house. When you see one naked, cover him, and do not despise your own flesh." Much, because he remits a great sum of the price; on account of which he adds: He said to the first: How much do you owe my lord? He said, I say, through familiar address; Sirach 4: "Make yourself affable to the congregation of the poor. Incline your ear to the poor without sadness, and repay your debt, and answer him peacefully," etc.; and Sirach 18: "Does not the dew cool the heat? So also a word is better than a gift."

Luke 16:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

And he said to him: A hundred measures of oil, through faithful acknowledgment of the debt. For each person ought faithfully to acknowledge his own debt, lest perchance that word of Revelation three be said to him: "You say: I am rich and made wealthy and have need of nothing; and you know not that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked." Now the cadus is a measure containing three urns; whence the Gloss: "Cadus in Greek, amphora in Latin, containing three urns." In this, moreover, is intimated the magnitude of the debt oppressing the debtor, because, Proverbs twenty-two, "he who borrows is servant to the lender." — And he said to him: Take your bond and sit down quickly and write fifty, through liberal remission. For he greatly relieves who bears half the burden to be removed; and in this the law of charity is fulfilled, according to that word of Galatians, last chapter: "Bear one another's burdens, and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ."

Luke 16:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

He also gives moderately, that is, according to the requirement of the debt; on account of which he adds: Then he said to another: And how much do you owe? Therefore he inquires the measure, so that he may distribute in measured fashion, because Ecclesiasticus forty-two, "where there are many hands, lock up; and whatever you hand over, number and weigh; and describe everything given and received." Who said: A hundred cors of wheat. Here he expresses a large measure, so that he may obtain a generous remission. "A cor, as the Gloss says, is filled by thirty modii," whence it is a greater measure than a cadus. And because in greater gifts the number ought to be smaller, so that due measure may be preserved, therefore it is added: And he said to him: Take your bill and write eighty; The Gloss: "He remits a fifth part." Although he may seem to remit less according to arithmetic proportion, because he remits only a fifth part for this one, but a half for the previous one, nevertheless he remits more according to geometric proportion, because twenty cors of wheat are greater in quantity than fifty cadi of oil. It is shown therefore in this that this steward generously remitted, because not only to many and much, but also moderately, according to that passage in Tobit 4: "However you are able, be merciful. If you have much, give abundantly; but if you have little, strive to share even that willingly." In this remission of fifty parts and twenty, there is rightly understood a full remission of the most generous piety. For the number fifty, which arises from seven multiplied upon itself, with one added, designates the remission of sevenfold mercy. In designation of which, in the jubilee there was made a full remission, according to that passage in Leviticus 25: "You shall sanctify the fiftieth year and proclaim remission to all the inhabitants of the land. For it is the jubilee," "because the jubilee is the fiftieth year." This number, with twenty added, rises to seventy, where full remission is understood. As a figure of this, the people of the Lord, led into captivity, were liberated after seventy years, as is said in Jeremiah 29: "When seventy years shall begin to be fulfilled in Babylon, I will visit you and raise up my good word over you and bring you back to this place," etc.

Luke 16:8 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

The children of the world are sometimes distinguished from the children of light, as in Luke 16: The children of this world are more prudent than the children of light, etc.; sometimes they are distinguished from the children of the other world or of the resurrection, as in Luke 20. In the first way, the children of this world are called those who conform themselves to this world and love it above all: and thus it has the sense of vice. In the second way, the children of this world are called those who live in this world, or pass away with the world; and thus it has the sense of infirmity. Whence from this it is not established that marriage is blameworthy, but that it has an infirmity attached to it.

Luke 16:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Seventh, as to commending the discernment of providence, it is added: And the master commended the steward of iniquity, because he had acted prudently: The Gloss: "He praises him not for fraud, but for prudence, although he was sinning." Whence, although the steward has some blameworthy qualities in himself, nevertheless his manner of providing can be drawn as an example for the good. For just as the serpent is detestable in spreading venom, but in the prudence of guarding its head is worthy of imitation by perfect men — on account of which it is said in Matthew 10: "Be prudent as serpents and simple as doves" — so this steward is to be detested because he committed fraud, by reason of which he is called the steward of iniquity, and is to be praised because he prudently devised a remedy for himself against danger. And because someone might wonder why the Lord drew such a steward as an example of prudence, the Evangelist, responding to this, adds: Because the children of this world are more prudent than the children of light in their generation. He does not say that they are more prudent simply speaking, but more prudent in those things that pertain to carnal generation, just as the owl and the cat see more clearly at night than a man—not for reading letters, but for catching mice. There is, however, a prudence of the spirit, which is in the children of light, more excellent than the prudence of the flesh, which is in carnal men, according to that passage in Romans 8: "The prudence of the flesh is death, but the prudence of the spirit is life and peace." Yet this worldly prudence has something that arouses and instructs toward divine prudence, just as the diligence of a man seeking money is proposed as an example to a man seeking wisdom; Proverbs 2: "If you call upon wisdom and incline your heart to prudence, if you seek her as money and dig for her as for treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and will find the knowledge of God." Whence, because no vice destroys the last vestiges of nature, every vicious person has something that can arouse the just to good, just as from the consideration of a lascivious man one can arouse oneself to love, from the consideration of a miser to diligence, from the consideration of a proud man to magnanimity. — Whence from this parable and example we are instructed not only particularly but also universally, so that from all things we may know how to draw out a lesson that arouses and forms us toward the good. For just as the Saints, by their excellent goodness, ought to have and do have testimony from those who are outside, so all base things bear some image of virtue and piety. Virtue is approved by all with a certain universal voice, but the impious man is condemned by all.

Luke 16:9 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Again, Luke 16: Make for yourselves friends from the mammon of iniquity, so that when you fail, they may receive you into eternal tabernacles. The Gloss: "Not any poor whatsoever, but those who can receive into eternal tabernacles"; but such are the poor in spirit, whose is the kingdom of heaven: therefore it is according to divine counsel that alms be given to such poor and that they be received by them. But what is consonant with divine counsel does not conflict with evangelical perfection: therefore, etc.

Luke 16:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

And I say to you, etc. After the example of provident piety, there is added the instruction of perfect piety, which is drawn from the meaning of the above-stated parable. First, therefore, the instruction is drawn for the formation of obedient disciples; second, for the confutation of the rebellious Pharisees, at the passage: But the Pharisees heard all these things, etc. Concerning the formation of the disciples toward piety, he proceeds in this order. For he invites them to mercy: first, by reason of the reward to be obtained; second, by reason of the faithfulness to be preserved, at the passage: He who is faithful in the least; third, by reason of the duplicity to be avoided, at the passage: No one can serve two masters. By reason of the reward to be obtained, he invites in this order, namely by setting forth an instructing exhortation and adding a moving reason. First, therefore, as regards the instructing exhortation, he sets forth: And I say to you: Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity. "Mammona, as the Gloss says, in the language of the Syrians means riches: and they are called riches of iniquity, because they frequently have iniquity attached to them, according to that saying in Ecclesiasticus eleven: "If you are rich, you will not be free from sin"; whence Augustine says: "Every rich man is either unjust or the heir of an unjust man"; or as Bede says in a homily: "Mammon, mammonis in the Punic language means profit." Nor should it be understood that from what someone has acquired through robbery and iniquity and possesses by unjust title, he ought to give alms, because against this it is said in Ecclesiasticus thirty-four: "The Most High does not approve the gifts of the wicked"; and again in the same chapter: "He who offers sacrifice from the substance of the poor is like one who slays a son in the sight of his father"; but it is understood that from riches which are possessed by just title and yet beget iniquity unless they are distributed, according to that saying in Ecclesiasticus ten: "Nothing is more iniquitous than to love money. For such a one has his very soul for sale." From these riches, I say, friends ought to be made through the generous giving of alms, which manifest the affection of piety. For it is said in First John three: "He who has the substance of this world and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" And therefore Ecclesiasticus twenty-nine: "Lose your money for a friend and do not hide it under a stone to your ruin," because, Proverbs eleven, "he who hides grain will be cursed among the peoples," etc. Second, as to the moving reason, he adds: So that when you fail, they may receive you into eternal tabernacles. From this it is understood why a gift must be given and what ought to move a man to give alms: not present advantage, but eternal reward, not for a passing tabernacle, but an eternal one, according to that saying in Matthew six: "When you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do. Amen I say to you," etc.; and afterwards: "But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does." These eternal tabernacles are the mansions of glory, about which Isaiah thirty-two says: "My people shall sit in the beauty of peace, in tabernacles of confidence, in wealthy rest." Into eternal tabernacles others are received by those who are so perfect that their merits avail even for others, and on account of whose merits they acquire eternal tabernacles for themselves and for others. Whence on that passage, "Make for yourselves friends," the Gloss says: "Not any poor persons whatsoever, but those who can receive you into eternal tabernacles." For such are not the involuntarily poor but the poor in spirit, of whom Matthew five says: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." It belongs to them, therefore, as kings and possessors of that kingdom, to introduce…

Luke 16:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

He who is faithful in the least, etc. After he has invited to piety from consideration of the reward to be obtained, here secondly he invites from consideration of the faithfulness to be preserved. For faithfulness is to be preserved in the dispensation of temporal goods, both on account of merit and demerit and on account of peril and loss. First, therefore, as regards the consideration of the merit of faithfulness in such earthly things, he says: He who is faithful in the least is faithful also in the greater; as if to say: although these temporal things are to be despised as the least, nevertheless the faithful stewardship of them ought not to be despised, because faithfulness is the same in a great matter and a small one, and the faithful stewardship of temporal things disposes one toward the faithful stewardship and guardianship of spiritual and eternal things. Whence the Gloss: "He who is faithful in the least, that is, in sharing money with the poor, is faithful also in the greater, cleaving to the Creator." And therefore it is said to such a servant in Revelation 2: "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life"; likewise in Matthew 25: "Well done, good and faithful servant, because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things: enter into the joy of your Lord." Whence faithfulness concerning small things establishes faithfulness also concerning great things; and conversely, unfaithfulness concerning the least things establishes unfaithfulness concerning greater things. And therefore he adds: And he who is unjust in a little is unjust also in the greater. A little is rightly said of everything that is temporally possessed, both because of its small quantity: Wisdom 11: "For as a grain of the scales, so is the whole world before you"; and because of its small duration: Wisdom 5: "All these things have passed away like a shadow"; and the Psalm: "They have slept their sleep, and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands," etc.; and because of its small delight: whence Gregory: "The goods of the present life are few, though they may seem many," because they are not without some admixture of trouble; but eternal goods are many, which are without all corruption. He therefore who is unjust in these things cannot have the charity of God, because for the sake of small things he despises the greatest. For he sells faith and justice for that which is worth nothing; whence Augustine: "Gain in the coffer, loss in the conscience: he took the garment and lost faith; he acquires money and has lost justice." By badly stewarding money, therefore, he loses happiness, he loses charity, he loses justice, which are the greatest gifts of God. Whence the Gloss: "He who does not well steward the temporal things he possesses empties out for himself the glory of eternal things, about which he boasts. For if he does not love his brother, whom he sees, God, whom he does not see, how can he love? And if one having substance sees his brother to have need, etc., how does the charity of the Father abide in him"? as is found in 1 John 3.

Luke 16:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Second, as to the consideration of peril and loss, he adds: If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you that which is true? As if to say: the peril of badly dispensing these temporal goods is great, because through unfaithful dispensation one loses true riches. Whence the Gloss: "If you do not well dispense carnal riches, which slip away, who will give you true and eternal riches?" Now riches are called unrighteous mammon because, as the Gloss says, "the unrighteous mammon presides over riches, so as to tempt through them"; just as he tempted Ananias, of whom it is said in Acts 5: "Why has Satan tempted your heart," etc. That temptation was about theft; similarly it is said of Achan in Joshua 7. But that good is called true which always remains. For all these temporal things, because they pass away, are vain, according to Ecclesiastes 1: "Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity." But that which is true is the grace of God, or the glory of God, or rather God himself, who is the reward of the good; and therefore the Psalm says: "The truth of the Lord endures forever"; and again: "Your truth endures unto generation and generation." And in this truth beatitude consists, according to that saying of Augustine in the book of the Confessions: "Beatitude is joy in the truth"; for since "the true is that which is," he alone is pure truth, who says: "I am who I am," Exodus 3. And this true is neither granted nor entrusted except to the truthful and faithful; whence John 3: "Everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they have been done in God"; and John 8: "If you abide in my word, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." Great, therefore, is the peril of unfaithfulness in these small things, because for what is vain the true is lost, for what is small the great is lost.

Luke 16:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Nevertheless, because what is one's own is lost on account of what is another's, he therefore adds: And if you have not been faithful in what belongs to another, through the due dispensation of earthly goods; whence the Gloss: "Whatever belongs to the world is alien to us, because it is beyond our nature." These are indeed called another's goods, because we can neither bring them with us nor take them away: First Timothy, last chapter: "We brought nothing into this world, and without doubt we can take nothing out of it"; and Job 1: "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there." - What is yours, who will give it to you? Through the attainment of the heavenly reward. For that is ours for which we were created and preordained, and which, once possessed, cannot be lost: whence Matthew 25: "Come, blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you," etc.; and above, chapter 6: "Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." But this kingdom is nothing other than God and the Lord Jesus Christ: whence the Gloss: "What is yours, that is, what is properly appointed for man — Christ is ours, because Christ is our life"; Colossians 3: "When Christ, your life, shall appear, then you also shall appear," etc.

Luke 16:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

No one can serve two masters - serve, etc. After the invitation to piety from the consideration of the reward to be obtained and the faithfulness to be preserved, here thirdly he invites from the consideration of duplicity to be avoided, because piety toward God and cupidity toward the world cannot be held simultaneously: which indeed he does in this order, namely by first setting forth the reprobation of duplicity, then adding the assertion of reprobation. First, therefore, with regard to the reprobation of duplicity, he says: No one can serve two masters. This proposition is self-evident; on account of which it is said in Sirach 2: "Woe to the double heart and to wicked lips, etc., and to the sinner who walks the earth by two ways!" And James 1: "A double-minded man is inconstant in all his ways." And therefore it is said in Sirach 1: "Do not approach him with a double heart," that is, do not wish to serve two masters at the same time, because this cannot rightly be done. - Now the two masters divided from one another, whom one cannot serve simultaneously, exist in a fourfold distinction. For these masters are vice and virtue: on account of which, Third Kings 18: "How long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal," etc.; and Isaiah 28: "The bed is made so narrow that one of the two must fall out, and the covering is too short to cover both." - These masters are also flesh and spirit: Galatians 5: "The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. For these are opposed to one another, so that you do not do whatever things you wish." Therefore, Romans 8: "If you live according to the flesh, you shall die; but if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live." Likewise, these lords are Christ and the devil: 2 Corinthians 6: "What accord has Christ with Belial?"; and 1 Corinthians 10: "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord and the table of demons," etc. Likewise, the lords are God and this world; James 4: "Adulterers, do you not know that the friendship of this world is enmity with God? Whoever wishes to become a friend of this world is made an enemy of God"; and therefore 1 John 2: "Do not love the world, because if anyone loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him." And concerning these two lords he speaks by dissuading worldly cupidity and inviting to divine piety. Hence the Gloss: "Rebuking avarice, he says that lovers of money cannot love God; therefore let whoever loves God despise money." From which it is clear that whoever wishes to be a servant of Christ cannot be a servant of this world; hence Bede: "You ought to distribute these temporal things faithfully as lords of temporal things, not as servants." Second, as regards the assertion of reprobation, he adds: For either he will hate the one and love the other: which is said with respect to charity, which causes one to hate evil and to love good, according to that passage in Romans 12: "Hating evil, clinging to good, loving one another with the charity of fraternity"; and the Psalm: "I have hated the wicked, and I have loved your law." — Or he will cling to the one and despise the other: which is said with respect to cupidity, which clings to the world and the devil in contempt of God, according to that passage in Jeremiah 2: "My people have done two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have dug for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." Now the reason why one cannot serve the aforesaid lords at the same time is fourfold. The first, namely, the opposition of services. For the service of God consists in the exercise of virtues, according to that passage above in chapter one: "Let us serve him in holiness and justice before him"; and 1 Peter 1: "According to him who called you, who is holy, that you also may be holy," etc. But the service of the devil consists in…

Luke 16:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Now all these things they were hearing, etc. After the formative instruction for the humble, there follows the instruction repressive of the rebellious. And because the Pharisees were rebellious against the teaching of Christ the man on account of the pride which they had concerning their merits, and this pride came from the literal observance of the Law, therefore this part has two sections, in the first of which is described the repression of the arrogance of the Pharisees, and in the second, the abrogation of the observance of the legal precepts, at the passage: The Law and the Prophets were until John, so that thus, from the demonstration of the abrogation of the Law, vain boasting may be taken away from the Pharisees. First, therefore, the repression of the arrogance of the Pharisees is described in this manner: for first is set forth the rebellion of the Pharisees, then follows the reproof of the rebellion, and then is added the reason for the reproof. First, therefore, as regards the rebellion of the Pharisees, by which they derided Christ, it is said: Now the Pharisees, who were covetous, heard all these things, and they derided him. They derided him as the proud regarding words of simplicity, according to that passage of Job 12: "The simplicity of the just man is laughed to scorn: a lamp despised in the thoughts of the rich." And as the foolish regarding counsels of usefulness: Proverbs 15: "A fool laughs at the discipline of his father" etc. Or as the dull-witted regarding admonitions of piety, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Their fury is according to the likeness of a serpent, like the deaf asp that stops its ears"; whence the Gloss: "They deride the teacher of mercy and humility and frugality, as though he were harmfully commanding things less useful and never to be carried out." Or as the covetous deride regarding praises of generosity: whence the Gloss: "They derided, understanding, namely, that the parable was spoken against them, and preferring present carnal things to future spiritual things as though uncertain." And this is what is said in Proverbs 18: "A fool does not receive the words of prudence, unless you say those things which revolve in his heart." Or as experts in the law regarding commendations of poverty: whence the Gloss: "They derided him arguing against love of money as though he were contrary to the Law and the Prophets, since in the Law many rich men pleased God, and since the Law promises the goods of the earth to its observers." Whence Proverbs 9: "And he who reproves a wicked man generates a stain upon himself." And all this came from a certain haughty and foolish rebellion.

Luke 16:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Second, regarding the rebuke of the rebellious, by which Christ was pressing down their arrogance, there is added: And he said to them: You are they who justify yourselves before men, through the display of your righteousness, by which you consider yourselves righteous: Romans 10: "Being ignorant of the justice of God and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to the justice of God." By which you also call yourselves righteous, against that passage in Job 9: "If I would justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me; if I would show myself innocent, he shall prove me wicked." By which you also outwardly pretend yourselves righteous, against that passage in Matthew 6: "Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them." — And since such self-justification gives birth to guilt, he therefore adds: But God knows your hearts, through the detestation of pride: whence he does not know so as to approve but so as to judge: Psalm: "The Lord is high, and he regards the lowly, and the lofty he knows from afar." Whence it is said in Proverbs 16: "All the ways of men are open to his eyes; the Lord is the weigher of spirits"; Jeremiah 17: "The heart of man is perverse and unsearchable, and who shall know it?" It avails you little, therefore, to be commended by human testimony, since you are to be condemned by the judgment of God, who is the searcher of hearts. Therefore, 1 Corinthians 4: "Judge not before the time, until the Lord come, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness." Whence, because that justice was not of truth but of vanity — not directed to the reality but to human opinion; not interior but exterior — it was rather a detestable fault than a commendable virtue, rather worthy of punishment than of eternal reward. Whence Matthew 5: "Unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Third, regarding the reason for the rebuke, by which he was expressing the divine judgment, he adds: Because that which is exalted among men is an abomination before God. Note that he does not rebuke the height of perfection, of which 2 Corinthians 8 says: "Their most profound poverty abounded unto the riches of their simplicity," etc. Nor the height of contemplation, of which Romans 11 says: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments," etc.; and Sirach 24: "I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud." Nor the height of desire and expectation, of which the Psalm says: "You, O Lord, are my hope; you have made the Most High your refuge." For these heights are before God. — But there is another height, which distances one from the Most High, and this is the height of presumption, of which Jeremiah 48 says: "We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is exceedingly proud: his haughtiness and his arrogance and his pride and the loftiness of his heart I know, says the Lord." This is also the height of ambition: Jeremiah 49: "Your arrogance has deceived you, you who strive to seize the height of the hill." This is also the height of ostentation: Ezekiel 31: "Because he was exalted in height and set his top among the green and thick boughs, and his heart was lifted up in his height, now I have delivered him into the hand of the mightiest of the nations," etc. This height in the sight of men is an abomination before God, according to that passage in Proverbs 16: "Every arrogant man is an abomination to the Lord; even if hand is joined to hand, he is not innocent." Now the Lord is said to abominate this kind of height on account of its severe casting down, according to that passage in Isaiah 2: "The lofty eyes of man are humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." Therefore this threefold height, as being abominable to the Lord, is discouraged: first, namely, the height of presumption: Sirach 3…

Luke 16:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

The Law and the Prophets were until John, etc. After the repression of the arrogance of the rebellious Pharisees, there is here secondly subjoined a description of the abrogation of the legal precepts, on account of which the Pharisees, raising their brow, were spurning Christ's teachings and cloaking their avarice. And since the Mosaic law has been abrogated through Christ, in such a way that it remains with respect to the spiritual understanding of the ceremonial precepts and the literal observance of the moral precepts: therefore in this part he intimates not only the abrogation of the Law itself according to literal observance, but also its fulfillment according to spiritual understanding, and its endurance according to moral law and the conjugal bond. First, therefore, as regards the abrogation of the Law according to literal observance, he says: The Law and the Prophets were until John: as if he were saying to the Pharisees: you ought not to raise your brow on account of the observance of the Law, because it has now ceased as regards the letter and the figure. And note that, although Christ could have said, until me, because, Romans 10, "Christ is the end of the Law unto justice," etc.; he nevertheless preferred to name the Precursor as his own voice, because through the ministry of John himself the Lamb was pointed out with a finger: John 1: "Behold, the Lamb of God; behold, he who takes away," etc.; and he had already begun to show the open truth and thereby to abrogate the figure. For since the Law and the Prophets all promised Christ as yet to come, and John showed him as present, therefore "the Law and the Prophets were until John, because that which is clear to have come by the testimony of John could no longer be prophesied as future which is manifest to have come by the testimony of John." And because the end of the Law is through the beginning of the new testament, therefore there follows: From that time the kingdom of God is preached as good news, that is, from him the Gospel of grace is begun. Whence Mark chapter one: "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is written in Isaiah: Behold, I send my Angel" etc.; therefore also blessed Luke took the beginning of his Gospel from the very conception of blessed John: above, chapter one: "There was in the days of Herod." Whence, so that his preaching might be shown to be new, it is said in Mark chapter one that "he was baptizing and preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." - And because John's preaching was about repentance, in which a person does violence to himself, therefore he adds: And everyone forces his way into it, which is expressed more clearly in Matthew chapter eleven: "From the days of John the Baptist the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent seize it." Now this is the violence by which one exceeds natural power: whence Bede: "It is a great force when one born of earth seeks to possess heaven through virtue, who could not hold it by nature." This is also the violence that overcomes the curvature of nature: whence the Gloss: "Let us do violence to nature, so that it does not sink down to earthly things, but raises itself to things above." This is also the violence by which one overcomes the torpor of sloth: whence Bede: "Everyone who does violence hastens with vehement zeal, and does not grow sluggish with torpid affection. Therefore the violence of faith is devout; sluggishness is criminal." For it is a great violence when through the force and rigor of repentance one mitigates the severity of the divine sentence, when through humble prayer one bends the lofty strictness. As a figure of this, it was said to Jacob, that vigorous wrestler, in Genesis chapter thirty-two: "If you were strong against God, much more will you prevail against men." And note that blessed Bernard distinguishes four kinds of people possessing the kingdom of heaven: "For some violently seize it, others purchase it, others steal it,…

Luke 16:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Secondly, as regards the fulfillment of the Law according to the spiritual understanding, it is added: But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, through the conflagration of the world: Psalm: "And you in the beginning founded the earth. They shall perish," etc. Than for one tittle of the Law to fall, through the frustration of any promise. Rabanus: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, by the change of renewal, their form being laid aside while the prior substance remains: but the words of the Lord shall in no way pass away without the effect of their fulfillment." Therefore it is said in Matthew twenty-four: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away"; because, as it is said in the Psalm, "forever, O Lord, your word endures." Whence although the old law may seem transitory, yet it is more abiding than worldly creation. It also abides through the spiritual understanding of the divine word: whence Matthew five: "I have not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. For amen I say to you, not one iota or one tittle shall pass from the Law, until all things be accomplished." And note that he says one tittle: for apex properly refers to the topmost point of a letter, which is placed for the adornment of the letter itself and is, as it were, a very small thing. In this it is given to understand that nothing at all, neither small nor great, is in Scripture, nor anything whatsoever, that does not have its fulfillment. For all things are referred to human salvation, which shall have perpetual duration, even as worldly creation passes away according to its outward appearance; Isaiah fifty-one: "The heavens shall melt away like smoke, and the earth shall be worn away like a garment, etc. But my salvation shall be forever, and my justice shall not fail." Whence the book of Scripture is nearer to the book of life than the book of creation, and therefore it cannot remain unfulfilled.

Luke 16:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Third, regarding the duration of the Law according to the law of nature and the conjugal bond, he adds: Everyone who dismisses his wife and marries another commits adultery: first, because he cannot dismiss the first except for the sole cause of fornication, according to Matthew nineteen: "Whoever dismisses his wife except for fornication and marries another commits adultery." Second, because for whatever cause he dismisses her, it is not lawful for him, while she lives, to marry another, and this according to the law of nature divinely instituted in the formation of man; Genesis two: "A man shall leave his father and mother," etc. And this is what dictates that "matrimony is the union of a man and a woman, retaining an indivisible manner of life"; which also dictates that it is an indissoluble bond. - And therefore he adds: And he who marries a woman dismissed by her husband commits adultery. And the reason for this is that the wife belongs to him whose she first was, however much she may seem to be separated; whence the Apostle, Romans seven: "The woman who is under a husband, while the husband lives, is bound to the law. Therefore, while the husband lives, she shall be called an adulteress if she has been with another man." And therefore Jeremiah three: "If a man dismisses his wife, and she, departing from him, marries another man, shall he return to her again? Shall not that woman be polluted and contaminated?" - It should be noted, however, that although no mention had been made of wives, the Lord nevertheless, wishing to show the permanence of the Law with regard to morals and its passing with regard to ceremonials and judicials, gives the example of matrimony, because in it the bill of divorce was given. And the law of matrimony is confirmed in the Gospel as moral law, and the bill of divorce is rejected; whence Matthew nineteen: "Moses commanded to give a bill of divorce and to dismiss. He said to them: Because Moses, on account of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to dismiss your wives." From these things, therefore, it is gathered how the Law remains, how it is abolished, how it is fulfilled, and nevertheless the arrogance of the Pharisees glorying in the letter of the Law is refuted.

Luke 16:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

There was a certain rich man, etc. After the example of provident piety and the instruction of perfect piety, there is here added an example of punished impiety, which, as was said above, holds the character of an example more than of a parable, because literally this rich man was in delights and afterwards in torments. Whence the Gloss of Bede: "Against the avaricious scoffers, he establishes by example what he had proposed, namely that the rich man was tormented in hell because he did not make Lazarus his friend, by whom he might be received into eternal tabernacles. And it seems more a narrative than a parable"; whence also the Saints adduce the words of this parable as testimony concerning the state of the damned; and so that it may be shown that it was literally true, here the name of the poor man is stated. To explain the exposition of this example, the Evangelist introduces three things, namely the cause, the fault, and the punishment of mercilessness. The cause of mercilessness was love with respect to oneself; the fault of mercilessness was lack of compassion with respect to one's neighbor, concerning which it says there: And there was a certain beggar; the punishment of mercilessness was casting down into the calamity of hell, concerning which it says there: And the rich man also died, etc. Concerning the cause of mercilessness, which is the love of private good, he introduces three things concerning the rich man, for which he marks him, which are the concupiscence of the eyes, the pride of life, and the concupiscence of the flesh. First, therefore, with regard to the concupiscence of the eyes, he says: There was a certain rich man. This man is called rich not only on account of his possession of riches, but on account of his love for them, by reason of which, First Timothy, last chapter, "those who wish to become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil," etc.; because by reason of love for earthly things the spirit is fattened and weighed down, so that it cannot attain to the sublime kingdoms of heaven. On account of which, Matthew nineteen: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." Explaining this, he says in Mark ten: "Little children, how difficult it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel," etc. Concerning such a rich man it is said in Sirach thirteen: "As the wolf will associate with the lamb, so the sinner with the just. What fellowship has a holy man with a dog? Or what good portion has the rich man with the poor? The hunting of the lion is the wild donkey in the desert; so also the poor are the pastures of the rich. And as humility is an abomination to the proud, so also the poor man is an execration to the rich." Second, with regard to the pride of life, he adds: And he was clothed in purple and fine linen. Bede: "Purple is the color of royal attire, produced from sea shells cut around with iron; fine linen is a kind of white and very soft flax." But this man had beautiful and costly garments for vainglory; whence Gregory: "No one seeks costly garments except for glory, so that he may be held more honorable than others." And this indeed is reprehensible and sinful, on account of which Sirach eleven: "Never glory in clothing, and do not exalt yourself in the day of your honor." But one sins in clothing in four ways: first, on account of costliness; whence Bede: "If the cultivation of costly garments were not a fault, the word of God would not so carefully express that the rich man clothed in purple and fine linen was irremediably tormented in hell." For it is greatly absurd that a putrid corpse should be adorned with costly garments, from which many poor could be sustained. But this is excused by reason of the dignity of the person, by reason of signification, and by reason of caution. Second, on account of superabundance; James 5: "Your garments are moth-eaten. You…

Luke 16:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

And there was a certain beggar etc. After the cause of mercilessness, the Evangelist here introduces the guilt of mercilessness, which he shows to be reprehensible from a threefold circumstance, namely on the part of the poor man, which rendered him worthy of mercy and consequently rendered that rich man merciless and impious. For he is shown to be merciless with respect to a poor man who was sick, with respect to a poor man who was abandoned, with respect to a poor man dear to God and just. First, therefore, as regards the destitution of the sick poor man, he says: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus. And note here that while the rich man is designated by a common name, the poor man is named by a proper name, so that what is said in the Psalm may be shown: "He shall spare the poor and needy" etc.; and afterward: "And their name shall be honorable in his sight." Whence the Gloss says: "The humble poor man is known by approval through his name." Whence the Lord says to Moses, Exodus thirty-three: "You have found grace before me, and I have known you by name," and this indeed is a great thing. Whence although it is said of the rich in the Psalm: "They called their names upon their lands," to the poor it is said above in the tenth chapter: "Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." And note that the mercilessness of the rich man is aggravated by the fact that that poor man was alone: whence a certain Psalm says: "Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor." Because he was a beggar: whence he adds beggar, as if knocking at the door through the petition of alms; Sirach four: "Do not reject the petition of the afflicted, and do not turn your face from the needy." Because he was visible: whence he adds: Who lay at his gate, so that he could no longer be excused on the grounds of ignorance; on account of which First John three: "He who shall see his brother in need and shall close his heart" etc. O how unlike this man was to Job! of whom it is said in the thirty-first chapter: "The stranger did not remain outside; my door was open to the traveler"; how unlike also to Abraham, who sat "at the door of his tent," so as to receive strangers at once, Genesis eighteen. It is aggravated also because he was sick, and therefore he adds: Covered with sores; Sirach seven: "Do not be reluctant to visit the sick; for by these things you shall be strengthened in love"; whence he could say here: "I am poor and sorrowful" etc.

Luke 16:20-22 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

The first mode of mendicancy is from the necessity of nature; and this mode is when someone begs not only because he is poor, but also because he has infirmity, or weakness, or both. This mode, however, is pitiable and tolerable, but through good patience it becomes meritorious and praiseworthy: as is read in Luke chapter sixteen concerning Lazarus, that there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at the gate of the rich man, full of sores: and afterward it is added that the beggar died and was carried by the Angels into the bosom of Abraham. But of the rich man it is said that he was buried in hell. From which it is gathered that mendicancy, even when arising from necessity, is an occasion leading into the way of eternal salvation: according to what Gregory says, that the evils which press upon us here compel us to go to God.

Luke 16:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Again it is aggravated, because he was famished; whence he adds: Desiring to be filled: Isaiah fifty-eight: "Break your bread for the hungry and bring the needy and wandering into your house," etc.; and Ecclesiasticus four: "Do not despise the hungry soul, and do not provoke the poor man in his want." - Again it is aggravated, because he was content with crumbs, whence it follows: With the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table: Job twenty-two: "You did not give water to the weary and you withheld bread from the hungry"; and Ambrose: "The rich, as though thirsting beyond nature, take from the miseries of the poor the incentives of their own pleasures." - From these six things, moreover, the destitution of this poor man is clearly shown, which made him worthy of mercy and showed the rich man to be reprehensible for his hardness of heart. Second, regarding the abandonment of the poor man, he adds: And no one gave to him: whence Lazarus could say that word of Isaiah sixty-three: "I looked about, and there was no helper; I sought, and there was none to aid"; and Ecclesiastes nine: "No one thereafter remembered that poor man"; because, as is said in Proverbs nineteen, "the brothers of the poor man hate him; moreover, even his friends have withdrawn from him." Whence this poor man was truly abandoned, according to that word of the Psalm: "To you the poor man has been left"; because no one relieved his destitution, no one even tended his infirmity. — Whence it is also added: But even the dogs came and licked his sores. The Gloss: "He could not even drive these away from himself, nor was there a visitor who would drive them away"; from which it appears that the rich man was inexcusable, who saw the poor man thus abandoned. From this also the remarkable cruelty of this rich man can be perceived, because he was more generous to the dogs than to the poor man, and the dogs were gentler to the poor man himself than the rich man. Whence Peter of Ravenna: "The dogs tend the poor man's sores by the teaching of nature; the rich man neglects the poor man, while nature accuses him"; and this is against what is said in Job five: "Visiting your beauty, you shall not sin." Whence the same Peter of Ravenna: "Wretched rich man, if you did not give a crumb to the poor man, at least why did you neglect to drive away the dogs? But your dogs were gentler than you, nay rather you were more cruel than them, and you were gentler to your dogs than to the poor man; your dogs at times received rich food, but the poor man never received even a crumb from your table." From the greatness, therefore, of the poor man's misery, the mercilessness of the rich man is aggravated, and from the abundance of the rich man, the patience of the poor beggar is increased. Whence Gregory: "In one matter two judgments of God are fulfilled: both from the sight of the poor man a heap of damnation is brought upon the rich man who shows no mercy, and again also from the sight of the rich man the poor man, daily tempted, is proved"; Proverbs twenty-two: "The poor man and the rich man met one another; the Lord is the maker of both."

Luke 16:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Third, regarding the sanctity of the poor man, he adds: Now it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the Angels into the bosom of Abraham: from which it appears that this beggar was holy and good, because dying he is received by the Angels and carried to a place of peace: Wisdom three: "In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die"; and it follows: "But they are in peace." Such are carried by angelic ministry: whence Peter of Ravenna: "The Angels do not disdain to carry him whom they previously ministered to here; Hebrews one: All are ministering spirits" etc.; and after: "Deservedly angelic offices are assigned to the poor man, to whom the services of humanity were so cruelly denied." Moreover, the Angels bear this beggar into the bosom of Abraham, that is, into a place of rest: which place indeed, before the opening of the gate, was in limbo and is called the bosom of Abraham, because Abraham himself was received there as into a bosom by the merit of faith, by which he was called father of many nations: and those who are received there are said to be received into his bosom. Whence also to him first was the promise made concerning the incarnation of Christ. Moreover, it is called a bosom, because, just as in a bosom a thing is hidden, cherished, and guarded as in a familiar place, so also the holy Fathers were preserved in that place; Isaiah four: "Over all the glory shall be a protection. And a tabernacle shall be for a shade by day from the heat, and for a hiding place from the storm and from rain"; and in the Psalm: "For he hid me in his tabernacle; in the day of evils he protected me in the secret of his tabernacle." In this bosom Lazarus was placed and freed from all evils by his death, according to that word of Job five: "In six tribulations he shall deliver you, and in the seventh evil shall not touch you. In famine he shall rescue you from death, and in war from the hand of the sword. You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you shall not fear calamity when it comes." "And you shall know that your tabernacle has peace." And note that there is a bosom that is culpable, praiseworthy, and desirable. The culpable bosom is threefold, namely of carnality: Proverbs 5: "Why are you seduced, my son, by a strange woman and cherished in the bosom of another?" and 6: "Can a man hide fire in his bosom so that his garments do not burn?" etc. "So he who goes in to the wife of his neighbor shall not be clean when he has touched her." Of cupidity: Proverbs 17: "The wicked man receives gifts from the bosom, to pervert the paths of judgment" etc. Of cruelty; 3 Kings 3: "She took my son from my side, while your handmaid was sleeping, and placed him in her bosom; but her own son, who was dead, she placed in my bosom"; and Job 31: "If I have hidden my sin as a man." There is also a praiseworthy bosom, namely of humility in hiding: Exodus 4: "Draw back your hand into your bosom. He drew it back and brought it out, and it was like the rest of his flesh" etc. The bosom also of benignity in nurturing; Proverbs 21: "A hidden gift extinguishes wrath, and a present in the bosom, the greatest indignation." The bosom also of longanimity in preserving: Job 19: "This hope of mine is stored in my bosom"; and Ezekiel 43: "In its bosom was a cubit, and its border reached to the rim," namely the cubit of perfect reward. There is thirdly a desirable bosom, and concerning this it says here: "It came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the Angels into the bosom of Abraham," by which bosom is understood the rest of the blessed souls; Matthew 8: "Many shall come from the east and the west and shall recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." But the rich man also died, etc. After the cause and guilt of mercilessness, he here subjoins the punishment of mercilessness, which he describes in two ways: first, with respect to the misery inflicted; second, with respect to the mercy entreated, at the…

Luke 16:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Second, with respect to the distance from the place of the just, he adds: And lifting up his eyes, when he was in torments, namely in the place of continual affliction; Apocalypse fourteen: "The smoke of their torments ascends forever and ever"; Isaiah thirty: "Topheth has been prepared from of old." "Its nourishment is fire and much wood: the breath of the Lord like a torrent of brimstone kindling it." — He saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. Truly afar off both with respect to position and with respect to state, because the rich man was in the lowest place, but he in the highest; Proverbs twenty-nine: "Humility follows the proud, and glory shall uphold the humble in spirit"; and Proverbs fourteen: "The wicked shall lie before the good, and the ungodly before the gates of the just." Likewise, the rich man was in affliction, the poor man in rest: Isaiah sixty-five: "My servants shall eat, and you shall hunger." Likewise, because the rich man was in want, and the poor man in abundance; above in chapter one: "He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty"; the Psalm: "The poor shall eat and be satisfied"; and elsewhere: "The rich have been in want and have hungered, but those who seek the Lord," etc. Moreover, it is said that he saw Abraham, and not for consolation, but rather for an increase of torments. Whence Gregory: "It must be believed that before the retribution of the last judgment the unjust behold certain ones in rest, so that, seeing them in joy, they may be tormented not only by their own punishment, but also by the good of those others"; the Psalm: "The sinner shall see and be angry, he shall gnash his teeth and waste away: the desire of sinners shall perish"; and Wisdom five: "Seeing, they shall be troubled with horrible fear," etc.

Luke 16:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Third, with respect to the accumulation of manifold calamities it is added: And he, crying out, said: Father Abraham, have mercy on me; so that from the cry the magnitude of sorrow might appear, according to that passage of Isaiah 65: "Behold, my servants shall praise from exultation of heart, and you shall cry out from sorrow of heart and from contrition of spirit you shall howl." And this was indeed fitting for the rich man; Proverbs 21: "He who stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he himself shall cry out and shall not be heard." - And send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water: so that from the petition for a drop of water the multitude of want might appear - Job 27: "The rich man, when he shall have fallen asleep, shall take nothing with him; he shall open his eyes and shall find nothing. And want shall cover him like water"; the Psalm: "They have slept their sleep, and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands." Whence Chrysostom: "He who exceeded in precious things through guilt here petitioned for the vilest things in punishment"; and again, speaking to the rich man: "Once you did not deign to look upon Lazarus, and now you desire the tip of his finger?" And Bede: "That rich man, who was unwilling to give the least things from his table, placed in hell arrived at petitioning for the least things; for he who denied Lazarus a crumb of bread petitioned for a drop of water"; Proverbs 28: "He who gives to the poor shall not be in want; he who despises the suppliant shall sustain penury." - That he may cool my tongue: so that from the affliction of the tongue the rectitude of divine justice might appear. Whence Peter of Ravenna: "If already the fire of hell possesses you entirely, why do you desire that only your tongue be relieved from the burning? Is it because the tongue burns more, which insulted the poor man, which denied mercy? This proceeds first to judgment, which proceeded first to sin; this first tastes torments, which tasted precious foods and fragrant drinks," according to that passage of Wisdom 11: "By what things a man sins, by these also is he tormented." Whence also Bede in the Gloss: "Note that, as is the custom, amidst banquets he devoted himself to loquacity." On account of which, Proverbs 10: "In much speaking sin shall not be wanting." Because I am tormented in this flame: so that the rigor of divine vengeance might appear: the Psalm: "You shall make them as an oven of fire in the time of your countenance"; and Deuteronomy 32: "A fire is kindled in my fury and shall burn even to the lowest depths of hell"; moreover Sirach 7: "Humble your spirit greatly, for the vengeance upon the flesh of the ungodly is fire and the worm." And note that this flame was real, but the tongue was imaginary, because true fire afflicts spirits, according to that passage of Matthew twenty-five: "Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire," etc. And the soul is also afflicted in the images which it drew from the body, according to that passage of Wisdom seventeen: "There appeared to them a sudden fire, full of fear, and struck with the fear of that face which was not seen, they deemed the things that were seen to be worse." And afterward: "They therefore were to themselves more grievous than the darkness." Whence from this it is gathered that in the affliction of the reprobate there concurs at once both true and imaginary punishment, at once both natural and supernatural action, at once both intrinsic and extrinsic affliction, and at once both one's own and another's, so that thus may be fulfilled that passage of Wisdom five: "The whole world shall fight for him against the senseless." For the true flame was burning, and the imaginary and phantasmal tongue in the soul of the rich man was also providing fuel to that burning. But mention is made more expressly of the tongue than of any other member that is tortured and afflicted in the infernal fire, because in sins it is as it were the kindl…

Luke 16:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

And Abraham said to him, etc. After he described the punishment with regard to the misery inflicted, here he describes it with regard to mercy denied; and this part is divided into two. In the first of which is expressed the denial of mercy with respect to his own person, in the second with respect to a related person, at the words: And he said: I ask you therefore, father, etc. Concerning the denial of mercy with respect to his own person, three things are introduced, namely the dissimilarity of merits, the opposition of rewards, and the depth of the divine judgments. First, therefore, with regard to the dissimilarity of merits, he says: And Abraham said to him: Son, remember that you received good things in your lifetime. He calls him son not from imitation but from natural generation; the Psalm: "The strange children have dealt falsely with me, the strange children have grown old." Whence Peter of Ravenna says: "You call me father, and I call you son, so that you may grieve deeply at having lost what you were born to, what grace and nature had given you." To this son he says that he should remember the good things, not for consolation, but rather for torment; whence Boethius: "The most unhappy kind of fortune is to have been happy." And this he received as the recompense for his good deeds; whence Bede: "Note that this rich man had something good, on account of which he received a transitory good in this life"; whence he was among those of whom it is said in Matthew six: "Amen I say to you, they have received their reward." This merit, therefore, was transitory and a prelude to punishment. But on the contrary was the merit of Lazarus; whence he adds: And Lazarus likewise evil things; for this means likewise in the contrary sense: for Lazarus received evil things for a time in order to purge the evils of sin and to acquire the goods of eternal happiness. Whence Bede: "Lazarus had something evil, but the fire of poverty purged it"; and Gregory: "If we see anything blameworthy in the poor, we ought not to despise them, because perhaps those whom the weakness of their morals wounds, the medicine of poverty heals." And this is the way of arriving at the kingdom; Acts fourteen: "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Whence in this is verified that saying of Ecclesiastes eight: "There are just men to whom evil things happen, as though they had done the works of the wicked"; and not without reason, because Tobit twelve: "Because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that trial should prove you." Second, as regards the opposition of rewards, it is added: But now he is comforted here, while you are tormented. Here, I say, he is comforted for his tribulation: John 16: "The world shall rejoice, and you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy"; whence Matthew 5: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." For as it is said in Second Corinthians 4: "That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, beyond measure," etc. And therefore James 1: "Count it all joy, brothers, when you fall into various temptations"; and afterwards: "Blessed is the man who endures temptation," etc. And therefore Chrysostom: "If we are sick, if we are poor, let us rejoice; let us receive evil things in our life, so that afterwards we may receive good things." For thus the Prophet says: "We passed through fire and water, and you brought us out into refreshment." And as a figure of this, in John 2, at the wedding feast of the chief steward, water was converted into wine. Thus therefore the poor man is comforted, and the rich man on the contrary is tormented: above in chapter six: "Woe to you rich, who have your consolation here"; and Proverbs 14: "Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning takes hold of the ends of joy." For this temporal delight gives way to eternal torment: whence Gregory: "Momentary is what delights, but eternal is what torments." Therefore by the jus…

Luke 16:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Third, as regards the depth of the divine judgments, he adds: And besides all this, a great chasm has been established between us and you: in which is intimated the impossibility of drawing near between the reprobate and the elect: Ecclesiastes 11: "If a tree fall to the south or to the north, in whatever place it shall fall, there it shall be." This impassability he calls a chasm, because neither can the good descend into the darkness of sinners, nor the wicked into the light of the good: on account of which it is said in John 12: "Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you." Concerning this impassable breadth, Ambrose says in the Gloss: "Between the poor man and the rich man there is a chasm, because after death merits cannot be changed," and on this account neither can any mutual consolation be had. And therefore he adds: So that those who wish to cross from here to you cannot, by offering the aid of piety, nor cross from there to here, attaining to the eternal reward. Whence Gregory says: "The souls of the just, although in the goodness of their nature they have mercy, yet then, joined to the justice of their Author, are bound by such rectitude that they are moved by no compassion toward the reprobate." The wicked indeed cannot go out from the prison of infernal Tartarus: Psalm: "They shall leave their riches to strangers, and their graves shall be their dwelling places forever." From this they cannot go out, because, Ecclesiastes nine, "neither work nor reason nor knowledge nor wisdom shall be in the netherworld, to which you hasten"; for they can neither go out from hell nor enter into the rest of the elect: Isaiah fifty-two: "There shall no more pass through you the uncircumcised or the unclean"; whence Revelation, last chapter: "Outside are dogs and sorcerers, the unchaste and those who serve idols," etc. The good, however, cannot cross over to help the wicked, yet they can cross over to behold them: whence Isaiah, last chapter: "They shall go out and see the corpses of the men who have transgressed against me: their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched: and they shall be unto the satiety of vision for all flesh."

Luke 16:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

And he said: I ask you therefore, father, etc. After the denial of mercy with respect to one's own person, here is added the denial with respect to a related person. Concerning which four things are introduced, namely the petition for mercy with respect to a related person, the denial of the mercy requested, the reason for the petition proposed, and the approval of the response already given. First, therefore, as regards the petition for mercy with respect to a related person, he says: And he said: I ask you therefore, father, that you send him to my father's house. Now this petition was carnal, because it extended only to his brothers.

Luke 16:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Whence he adds: For I have five brothers: Sirach eighteen: "The compassion of a man is toward his neighbor," etc. Therefore it was carnal, because it was for carnal brothers and those living according to the flesh. And the number five itself also suggests this, in which it is understood that they were devoted to the five senses of the body, according to that which is said to the Samaritan woman in John four: "You have had five husbands, and the one you now have," etc.; and above in the fourteenth chapter: "I have bought five yoke of oxen." Also carnal, because he did not do this in order to avoid the punishment of others, but lest his own be increased by their arrival. Wherefore he adds: That he may testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torments. This indeed he said lest from their presence his calamity should increase through the multiplied torments of his kinsmen; whence Bede: "There is preserved for the rich man unto his punishment both the recognition of the poor man whom he despised and the memory of the brothers whom he left behind, so that he might be more greatly tormented by the sight of the glory of the one he despised and by the punishment of those whom he loved unprofitably." And this is especially true when imitators of others' crimes are sharers in their punishments; whence Gregory: "That sinners may be more greatly tormented in their punishments, they will see both the glory of those whom they despised and the punishment of those whom they loved unprofitably." — Moreover, this petition was not only carnal with respect to himself, but also cruel with respect to his neighbor, because on account of love for his carnal kinsmen he wished that Lazarus should leave the bosom of rest and go to a place of perils, so that there might be verified in him that saying of Proverbs 12: "The just man regards the lives of his beasts, but the bowels of the wicked are cruel." Whence also Christ, who called Lazarus, the brother of Mary, back to life, is said to have wept, in John 11: "And Jesus wept." It was also foolish, because he believed that the word of a dead man availed more than that of the immortal God; whence is fulfilled that saying of Ecclesiastes 10: "But the fool walking in the way, since he himself is a fool, esteems all men as fools," etc. Whence the Gloss: "Too late does this rich man begin to be a preacher, when now he has time neither for learning nor for teaching." It was likewise shameless, because he had denied small things and now was requesting the greatest, contrary to that which is said in Sirach 4: "Let not your hand be stretched out to receive and closed when it comes to giving."

Luke 16:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Second, as regards the denial of the requested mercy, he adds: And Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. Moses, that is, the doctrine of the Law, which must be heard on account of the greatness of its authority. For, Proverbs twenty-eight, "he who turns away his ear from hearing the Law, his prayer shall become abominable." And therefore the lawgiver said in Deuteronomy thirty-two: "Hear, O heavens, what I speak; let the earth hear the words of my mouth." "Give magnificence to our God: the works of God are perfect." And they also have the Prophets, that is, the doctrine of the Prophets, which must be heard on account of the certainty of its truth, according to that passage in Second Peter one: "We have a more firm prophetic word, to which you do well to attend, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." He who refuses to hear the words of this twofold doctrine, so authoritative and so certain, has absolutely no excuse. On account of which the Lord says through Jeremiah the prophet in Jeremiah twenty-six: "If you will not hear me, so as to walk in my Law which I gave you, to hear the words of my servants the Prophets, whom I sent to you, rising early, and you did not hear — I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse." If therefore those who do not hear the Law and the Prophets are without excuse, utterly without excuse are those who do not hear the Apostles and the Evangelists, indeed not even incarnate Wisdom itself. Whence she herself complains in Proverbs one: "Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and there was no one who regarded it"; "I also will laugh at your destruction and will mock, when that which you feared has come upon you." He who does not wish to hear this Wisdom, which "preaches abroad in the streets," is utterly without excuse, because the Law and the Prophets bear witness to her. Whence in Matthew seventeen: "There appeared to them Moses and Elijah, speaking with him"; "and a voice came from the cloud: This is my beloved Son; hear him." And therefore it is said in Hebrews two: "We ought to observe what we have heard, lest perhaps we drift away. For if the word spoken through Angels was made firm: how shall we escape, if we have neglected so great a salvation?" And in Hebrews twelve: "You have come to Jesus, the mediator of the new testament, and to the sprinkling of blood speaking much better than Abel. See that you do not refuse him who speaks."

Luke 16:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Thirdly, as to the reason for the petition proposed, he adds: But he said: No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. In this he was showing the carnality of his brothers, inasmuch as they would be moved more by a bodily resurrection than by a spiritual revelation. Hence these were of the number of those about whom Wisdom 2 says: "The impious said among themselves, thinking not rightly"; "There is no relief at the end of man, and there is no one known to have returned from the netherworld." In this he also showed the perversity of his brothers, that they would prefer the testimony of a dead man to the witnesses of the living God, against that saying in Isaiah 8: "Shall not the people seek a vision from their God, for the living from the dead? To the law rather, and to the testimony. And if they shall not speak according to this word, there shall be no morning light for them." In this he also showed the unbelief of his brothers, that they would not believe unless they saw signs and wonders, like that royal official in John 4: "Unless you see signs and wonders, you do not believe." In this he likewise showed the foolishness of his brothers, because they ought to be provoked to repentance more by the fact that they see men die than if they were to see them raised from the dead; Sirach 38: "Remember my judgment, for yours shall be likewise: yesterday for me, and today for you"; and Sirach 17: "Before death, make confession: from a dead man, confession perishes as if it were nothing"; Psalm: "The dead shall not praise you, O Lord, nor all those who descend into hell."

Luke 16:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 16

Fourth, with regard to the approval of the response already given, he adds: But he said to him: If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, namely by obeying them: for thus they are to be heard, according to that passage in Revelation 1: "Blessed is he who reads and hears the words of this prophecy and keeps them," etc. He who does not hear such great witnesses despises the truth of God, according to that passage in Ezekiel 3: "The house of Israel will not hear you, because they will not hear me. For the whole house of Israel is of a hardened brow and an untamable heart." Whence, because they resist so great a truth, hardened and incapable of believing, he therefore adds: Neither will they believe, even if someone should rise from the dead. And the reason for this consequence is that he who does not believe the more credible testimony will not believe the less credible either. We have an example of this in Lazarus, another who was raised, whom the unbelieving Jews not only did not believe, but rather, as is said in John 12, "the Jews planned to kill Lazarus, because many on account of him were going away and believing from among the Jews." But the obstinate Pharisees not only did not believe, but even wished to extinguish the faith of those who believed. We also have an example of this in Christ, in whom, even when raised, the Jews refused to believe. Whence Chrysostom says: "Christ rose from the dead and announced what evils were in hell; he descended also from heaven and preached what good things were there; yet he was not believed." And this is because such men rejected the testimony of the Law and the Prophets; John 5: "If you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me also; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" From the foregoing, therefore, it is apparent that mercy was in every way denied to the unmerciful rich man by Abraham, the most loving father, so that that passage in Isaiah 63 might be fulfilled: "You, O Lord, are our father, and Abraham did not know us." And thus that passage in James 2 is verified: "Judgment without mercy shall be done to him who does not show mercy"; and Wisdom 19: "Upon the impious, wrath came without mercy even to the last." For to such as these is said at the judgment that passage in Matthew 25: "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels."

Luke 17:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

And he said to his disciples. After having refuted the impiety of the Jews, he invited the disciples to piety according to corporal almsgiving; here follows the second part, in which he invites to piety according to spiritual almsgiving. This part is divided into three, in the first of which he instructs the disciples by a reasonable teaching: in the second he leads them by hand through a sensible example, there: And the Apostles said to the Lord: in the third he confirms by an admirable deed, there: And it came to pass, as Jesus was going. Concerning the reasonable teaching, he first sets forth a dissuasion from spiritual impiety, which consists in the scandal of neighbors; then he adds a persuasion to spiritual piety, which consists in the remission of offenses, there: Take heed to yourselves: If he shall sin. Concerning the dissuasion therefore from scandalizing impiety, he proceeds in this order, showing namely that passive scandal is inevitable, active scandal is damnable, and its punishment is horrible. First, therefore, with regard to the inevitability of passive scandal, he says: And he said to his disciples: It is impossible that scandals should not come. For this is not said of active scandal, because that one can well avoid, but of passive scandal, which is not in the power of any man, because it sometimes takes occasion not only from evil, but even from good, as is said of the Jews in Matthew thirteen: "Who were scandalized in him"; on account of which, Matthew eleven: "Blessed is he who shall not be scandalized in me"; because, First Peter two, "to them that believe not, the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal." But God permits this to happen by just judgment for the punishment of the wicked and the testing of the just; whence Matthew eighteen: "It is necessary that scandals come." And the reason is given in First Corinthians eleven: "There must be heresies, that they also who are approved may be made manifest." Although scandals come through the wicked and from the wicked, they ought nevertheless to be avoided by just men, as much as they can, while preserving the threefold truth. Whence Bede: "Note that insofar as you can without sin, you ought to avoid the scandal of your neighbor; but if it concerns the truth, truth ought not to be abandoned on account of scandals." Now there is a threefold truth that ought not to be abandoned on account of scandal, namely the truth of life, of doctrine, and of justice. Hence Jerome says: "Everything that can be done or not done, while preserving this threefold truth, should be set aside." But this is not a matter of necessity, but of perfect justice, according to which the Apostle said in First Corinthians 8: "If food scandalizes my brother, I will never eat meat, lest I scandalize my brother." Hence Romans 14: "It is good not to eat meat or drink wine, nor anything by which your brother is offended, or scandalized, or made weak." Hence if anyone is scandalized on account of works of perfection, these are nevertheless not to be abandoned; hence Jerome on the death of Blaesilla: "A darker garment scandalizes someone; John scandalizes, who was clothed in camel's hair." But we have an example of setting aside indifferent things on account of scandal in Christ, Matthew 17: "But that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea," etc.; where he paid the tribute. And yet he did not abandon the teachings of truth on account of scandal; hence Matthew 15: "Do you know that the Pharisees, when they heard this word, were scandalized?" But he said: "Let them alone: they are blind and leaders of the blind," etc. Second, as regards the damnability of active scandal, he adds: But woe to him through whom they come! that is, who actively scandalizes. Now those actively scandalize who through a word or deed that is less than upright provide an occasion of ruin. For the Gloss says on Numbers thirty-one at the begin…

Luke 17:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Third, as regards the horribleness of the punishment, he adds: It is more profitable for him if a millstone were placed around his neck and he were cast into the sea. Bede: "He speaks according to the custom of the province, where this was the punishment for crimes, that one would be plunged into the deep with a stone tied to him." This, I say, he calls more profitable than that he should scandalize one of these little ones: because this punishment is far less than that which he deserves by scandalizing his neighbor. Whence Bede: "Truly it is more profitable to end life while innocent by the gravest punishment than to merit perpetual death by harming a brother." And again the same author: "For it is more profitable to receive a brief punishment for a fault than to be reserved for eternal torments." The reason, moreover, why so great a punishment is owed to the one who scandalizes is that he takes from Christ that which He loves most, namely the soul, according to that passage of Wisdom 11: "All things are Yours, O Lord, who love souls." Whence also the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 8: "The weak brother shall perish by your knowledge, for whom Christ died"; and there follows: "But thus sinning against the brethren, you sin against Christ." — Another reason is that, just as a great crown is owed to works of edification, so a great punishment is owed to works of destruction; Romans 14: "Let us pursue the things that are of peace, and let us keep the things that are of mutual edification: do not for the sake of food destroy the work of God." — The third reason is that, just as it is great cruelty to afflict the sick, so it is great perversity to seduce the simple; on account of which, Leviticus 19: "You shall not place a stumbling block before the blind"; and therefore He says pointedly: One of these little ones. — The fourth reason is that the one who scandalizes is obligated not only to render his own soul, but also the scandalized soul; whence Exodus 21: "If anyone opens a cistern and does not cover it, and an ox or donkey falls into it, the owner of the cistern shall pay the price of the animals." — This sin, moreover, is grave in all, but especially in those whose life is taken as an example, such as prelates, such as great clerics, such as also religious and renowned men; whence Malachi 2: "The lips of the priest keep knowledge, and they seek the law from his mouth." "But you have departed from the way and have scandalized very many; you have made void the covenant of Levi. For which reason I have made you contemptible and base," etc.

Luke 17:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Take heed to yourselves, etc. After He dissuaded impiety, which consists in the scandal of one's neighbors, here consequently He counsels spiritual piety, which consists in the remission of injuries. And since piety ought to be exhibited according to ordered charity, which consists in vigilance with respect to oneself and in clemency with respect to one's neighbor, therefore in this part He exhorts the Apostles to the vigilance of their minds, to discipline with respect to those who err, and to indulgence with respect to the penitent. First therefore, as regards the guarding of their minds, he says: Take heed to yourselves: as if to say: you ought first to be watchful concerning your own correction rather than concerning the sins of your neighbor: Sirach thirty: "Have mercy on your own soul, pleasing God." This the Apostle taught in First Timothy four: "Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. For in doing this, you will save both yourself and those who hear you." And this especially belongs to prelates themselves, who ought first to be watchful concerning themselves: Acts twenty: "Take heed to yourselves and to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops to govern the Church of God, which he acquired with his own blood." This order, however, is necessary, lest perhaps that word of Romans two be said to one who attends to the correction of others and neglects his own: "You who teach another, do you not teach yourself?" and that of Matthew seven: "Hypocrite! First cast out the beam from your own eye, and then you will see to remove the speck from your brother's eye." And therefore that good watchman said in Isaiah twenty-one: "I stand upon the watchtower of the Lord, standing continually by day, and I am at my post, standing through all the nights." He attended to his neighbor, not like Cain: Genesis four: "Am I my brother's keeper?" He also attended to himself, lest that word above in chapter four be said: "Physician, heal yourself." Second, as regards discipline with respect to sinners, he adds: If your brother sins against you, rebuke him: and this through friendly correction, according to that of Second Timothy four: "Reprove, entreat, rebuke with all patience and teaching"; and Sirach nineteen: "Correct a friend, lest perhaps he did not understand and say: 'I did not do it'; or if he did, lest he do it again." Whence this rebuke ought not to come from anger, but from clemency, not from the desire for vengeance, but from the love of justice: whence Gregory in the Moralia: "If we ought to love our neighbors as ourselves, it follows that we should be angered at their sins, just as at our own." Moreover, one is said to sin against us not only when he sins against our person, but also when he sins in our presence: whence Augustine, On the Words of the Lord: "A brother sins against us if he also sins with our knowledge," because, insofar as it lies in him, he corrupts us by his example, making us witnesses of iniquity. And note that in this rebuke an order must be observed, which is expressed in Matthew eighteen: "If your brother sins against you, correct him between you and him alone." And afterwards he adds that witnesses must be brought in, then the matter must be told to the Church. For first the sinner ought to be recalled by love: which is done when he is admonished in secret: Galatians six: "Brothers, if a man is overtaken in any fault," etc. Second, by shame: which is done when witnesses are brought in, according to that of Leviticus nineteen: "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but reprove him publicly, lest you bear sin on his account." Third, however, by fear: which is done in the face of the Church—First Timothy chapter five: "Rebuke the one who sins before all, so that the rest also may have fear." This order, however, is one of fittingness, not of necessity, and especially if it is perceived that the neighbor is incorrigible by the word of a brother, but only by a strong han…

Luke 17:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

And since mercy ought to exceed the offense, therefore he adds: And if he sins against you seven times in a day, through manifold injury. Bede: "Universality is customarily designated by the number seven," on account of which it is also said in Proverbs chapter twenty-four: "The just man falls seven times in a day and rises again." Moreover, through these seven occasions, sevenfold tribulations can be gathered by which someone injures a neighbor: by misleading the intellect, by corrupting the affections, by afflicting the body, by taking away his possessions, by denying what is his, by mocking his reputation with words, and by corrupting his life through example; concerning which it is said in Job chapter five: "In six tribulations he will deliver you, and in the seventh evil shall not touch you." And all these things must be forgiven to the penitent: And if seven times in a day he turns to you, saying: I repent, through mental compunction; forgive him, through merciful pardon, lest perchance that which was said to the wicked servant in Matthew eighteen be said to you: "Wicked servant, I forgave you all your debt because you asked me; should you not then also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I also had mercy on you?" Just as therefore God grants pardon to everyone who asks, according to that passage in Ezekiel thirty-three: "The wickedness of the wicked shall not harm him, on whatever day he turns away from it," etc.: so also we ought to forgive the penitent. Hence a finite number is put here in place of an infinite one; whence Chrysostom says: "Even if you forgive seventy times seven, nevertheless, as a drop of water compared to the sea, indeed much more so, your generosity falls short of the infinite clemency of God." Therefore all offenses, however great and however many and whenever and by whomever they were committed, must be forgiven, if pardon is humbly sought through true repentance; and the offense must also be forgiven to one who does not ask, but in one way to one who asks, in another way to one who persecutes. Whence the Gloss of Bede says: "We are commanded to grant pardon in one way to a brother who asks, in another way to an enemy who persecutes. To a brother, having granted remission, we share in the fellowship of charity; to a persecutor who wishes us evil, or, if he can, does us evil, we wish good things and do what we can"; and this by the example of Christ, concerning whom below in chapter twenty-three: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"; by the example of David, who said: "If I have repaid those who rendered evil to me," etc.; by the example of the protomartyr Stephen, concerning whom in Acts seven: "And kneeling down, he cried out with a loud voice, saying: Lord, receive my spirit, and do not hold this sin against them. And when he had said this, he fell asleep in the Lord."

Luke 17:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

And the Apostles said to the Lord. After he instructed the disciples toward spiritual piety by a rational teaching, here secondly he guides them by hand through an example. And since the root of spiritual piety is twofold, namely fervent faith and reverent humility, according to that passage in Sirach twenty-five: "The fear of God is the beginning of his love; and the beginning of faith is to be joined fast to it": therefore here he first proposes an example through which one is guided by hand to fervent faith; and secondly, through which one is guided by hand to reverent humility, at the passage: But which of you, having a servant. Concerning therefore the example by which they are guided by hand to faith, three things are suggested which contribute to the perfection of faith, namely the origin of faith, its progress, and its power. The origin of faith consists in the reception of the divine gift; progress in the cooperation of free will; and power in the execution of a wondrous command. First, therefore, with regard to the rise of faith consisting in the reception of the divine gift, he sets forth: And the Apostles said to the Lord: Increase our faith. For the Apostles, seeing that they were not sufficient for those sublime works of piety, which consist in avoiding scandals and forgiving injuries, without greatness of faith, ask that faith be increased in them through the divine gift, from which faith has its origin, for it does not belong to man from himself, but from the gift and bounty of God. Whence 1 Corinthians 12: "To one indeed is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith in the same Spirit." Moreover, they ask that faith be bestowed upon them by the Lord as a primary gift: Hebrews 11: "Faith is the foundation of things hoped for, the evidence of things not appearing," etc.; and afterwards: "Without faith it is impossible to please God: therefore he who approaches must believe," etc. They ask likewise as a gift commanding other gifts: James 1: "Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering"; Matthew 21: "All things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer believing, you shall receive"; and Matthew 15: "O woman, great is your faith: be it done to you as you have asked," etc. They ask also as a gift safeguarding others: Ephesians 3: "For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," "that He may grant you according to the riches of His glory the power to be strengthened through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts." And therefore the Lord said to Peter below in chapter twenty-two: "I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail: and you, once converted, confirm your brethren." For this reason also it was said to Peter himself in Matthew 16: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church."

Luke 17:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Second, as to the progress of faith consisting in the cooperation of free will, it is added: And the Lord said: If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed. By the grain of mustard seed, which in itself is small in quantity, fervent in sharpness, and great in growth, we understand the cooperation of free will with respect to the captivation of the intellect, the enkindling of the affections, and the multitude of good effects. Whence the Interlinear Gloss specifies what kind of faith they ought to seek, namely a humble and fervent faith, for which what it has done well is never sufficient. For in the grain of mustard seed, on account of its smallness, is understood faith, in which there is the purification of the intellect: Matthew 13: "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which is the least of all seeds." For no virtue so captivates the human intellect as faith; 2 Corinthians 10: "Bringing into captivity every intellect to the obedience of Christ," etc. — On account of the sharpness, however, is understood the enkindling of the affections: whence the Gloss: "He compares perfect faith to a grain of mustard seed, which on the surface is humble and appearing to have no strength, but when crushed by pressures, it will show how much it burns within." Whence concerning Apollos it is said in Acts 18: "He was instructed in the way of the Lord, and fervent in spirit, spoke the things that are of Jesus." On account of the growth, is understood through this the manifold good effect, according to Matthew 13: "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed; which when it has grown, is greater than all herbs and becomes a tree." In this is understood the multitude and heaped-up accumulation of good works; James 2: "Do you wish to know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Abraham, our father, was he not justified by works, offering Isaac his son upon the altar? You see that faith cooperated with his works, and by works faith was made perfect," etc. Third, as regards the virtue of faith in the execution of a wondrous command, he adds: You shall say to this mulberry tree: Be uprooted and transplanted into the sea: and it will obey you. In this is given to understand the wondrous power of faith with regard to those things which are governed according to the course of nature and according to the onslaught of sin and according to the merit of justice. For all these things are subject to the governance of divine providence and in a certain way to the command of perfect faith, according to that passage in Mark nine: "If you can believe, all things are possible to the one who believes." According to the literal sense, indeed, through the command of faith over the mulberry tree that is to be transplanted, there is understood a command with respect to corporeal elements. Whence the Gloss: "A species is placed for the genus, because consummate faith can command even the elements"; whence also Matthew twenty-one: "If you shall have faith and do not hesitate, and you say to this mountain: Take yourself up and cast yourself into the sea: so shall it be done." Whence in Hebrews eleven the Apostle gives examples concerning the Saints, saying that "through faith they conquered kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, and were made valiant in battle." According to the tropological sense, however, there is understood in this a command with respect to the devil and his temptations. Whence Ambrose: "The fruit of the mulberry tree whitens in flower, when formed it glows red, when mature it darkens: so the devil, glowing with the flower of angelic nature and power, by transgressing became dreadful with the foul stench of sin, who is cast out through faith." Whence First Peter, the last chapter: "Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in faith"; and Ephesians six: "In all…

Luke 17:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Which of you, having a servant. After the example leading to fervent faith, there is here subjoined an example leading to reverent humility. In the description of this example, he proceeds in this order. For he sets forth the obsequiousness of servitude, takes up the necessity of serving, and concludes with the humility of spiritual servitude. First, therefore, as regards the obsequiousness of servitude, which by inquiry he sets forth, it is said: Which of you, having a servant plowing or tending cattle, through the labor of the active life, which consists in working manfully: and this is intimated in the act of plowing, according to that passage in Hosea 10: "Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his furrows"; and above in chapter nine: "No one putting his hand to the plow" etc. It also consists in presiding solicitously: and this is intimated in the act of feeding, according to that which was said to Peter in the last chapter of John: "Feed my sheep." Whence the Gloss: "The servant plowing or feeding is a doctor of the Church, of whom it is said: No one putting his hand to the plow etc.; and the Lord said to Peter: Feed my sheep." — Who, when he has returned from the field, will say to him: At once, pass over, recline, through the sweetness of the contemplative life, in which there is a return to the heart: Ezekiel 1: "The living creatures went and returned in the likeness of a flash of lightning"; there is also a passing over to the banquet of delight, according to that passage in Sirach 24: "Come over to me, all you who desire me, and be filled from my fruits: for my spirit is sweet above honey." But this refreshment is not immediately given to a person coming from the exercise of action; whence Song of Songs 3: "In my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves: I sought him, and found him not"; because the Lord does not immediately offer himself, so that he may be sought more humbly and more vigilantly.

Luke 17:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Whence he adds: And will he not say: Make ready what I may sup on, and gird yourself, and serve me until I eat and drink, namely through the groaning of interior compunction, in which each one prepares the banquet: Sirach 18: "Before prayer prepare your soul, and be not as a man who tempts God." He girds himself, by restraining the wanderings of the mind: 1 Peter 1: "Having the loins of your mind girt up" etc. In this also he serves, by casting himself down, and feeds and gives drink to God, while he does what is most acceptable: Revelation 3: "If anyone shall have opened the door to me, I will enter to him and will dine with him." Whence the Gloss: "He ministers to the Creator who, considering His mercy and fearing His judgments, humbles himself regarding his own virtues." And because after this compunction there follows devotion, therefore he adds: And after these things you shall eat and drink, through the taste of eternal sweetness. Gloss: "After I shall have been refreshed by your preaching and compunction, then at last you will be refreshed by the eternal feasts of my wisdom"; Psalm: "My soul refused to be comforted; I remembered God and was delighted," etc.; and again: "My tears were my bread day and night"; and after: "In the voice of exultation and confession, the sound of one feasting"; and again: "You have turned my mourning into joy for me," etc. But the Lord does all this for the preservation of humility, which is the root, preservation, and safeguard of the other virtues. Therefore even Paul, already perfect, said in Second Corinthians 12: "Lest the greatness of the revelations exalt me, there was given to me a thorn of my flesh, an angel of Satan"; and Sirach 3: "The greater you are, humble yourself in all things, and you will find grace before God"; for Sirach 18: "When a man has finished, then he shall begin."

Luke 17:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Second, as to the necessity of serving, which he takes up, he adds: Does he have gratitude toward that servant because he did what he commanded him? I think not, that is, I think that he does not. Gloss: "What wonder, if a servant does what he owes, whose lot it is to labor and serve continually?" Sirach 33: "Continual labors bow down a servant." And note that the Lord seems to say that the master does not owe thanks to the servant — not that he does not accept his works, since it is said in Sirach thirty-three: "If you have a faithful servant, let him be to you as your own soul; treat him as a brother, for you have acquired him with the blood of your soul"; but this is said because what the servant does is more a debt than a gift, more the justice of obligation than the grace of supererogation. And this is especially true with respect to God, whence Job thirty-five: "Moreover, if you act justly, what will you give him, or what will he receive from your hand?" Whence the Gloss says: "If a man demands from his servant not a single form of service but manifold service, and does not consider it a favor, how much more should you, who without me can do nothing, not exercise the practice of one single work or labor, but always increase former things with new efforts?" For if this is true of a man who is the servant of another man — that his services are more owed than gratuitous — this is far more true of a man who is the servant of God, because all things are from him: Isaiah twenty-six, "All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord"; and First Chronicles twenty-nine: "All things are yours, O Lord, and what we have received from your hand we have given to you." "For it is God who works in you both to will and to accomplish according to his good will," Philippians two. Then because all things are under him: Isaiah forty: "Who has weighed the mass of the earth with three fingers and balanced the mountains in weight and the hills in a scale?" "Behold, the nations are as a drop from a bucket and are accounted as the turning of a balance." "All nations are as though they are not, so are they before him, and they are accounted by him as nothing and emptiness." Likewise, because all things are for him: Proverbs sixteen: "The Lord has made all things for himself." And therefore the Apostle says, First Corinthians ten: "Whether you eat or drink or whatever else you do, do all things for the glory of God."

Luke 17:10 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

Luke 17: When you shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say: We are unprofitable servants: but whoever rightly says something wishes to be believed, and believes what he says to be true: therefore, for someone to be a perfect disciple of Christ, it is necessary that he regard himself as vile and that he wish to be so regarded by others.

Luke 17:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Third, as regards the humility of spiritual servitude, which he concludes, he adds: So you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, through the completion of obedience: for this is true obedience, in which all commandments are fulfilled. For James 2: "Whoever keeps the whole law but offends in one point has become guilty of all"; and Deuteronomy 27: "Cursed is he who does not abide in the words of this Law and fulfill them in deed." And therefore the Lord says to Jeremiah the prophet, Jeremiah 1: "To all things to which I shall send you, you shall go, and all things whatsoever I shall command you, you shall speak to them"; and the Prophet in the Psalm: "Therefore I was directed toward all your commandments," etc. — He who is thus obedient in deed ought to be humble in self-regard, and therefore he adds: Say: We are unprofitable servants; what we ought to have done, we have done, through the recognition of one's own weakness: servants, I say, because bought, beyond what you are worth: 1 Corinthians 6: "You have been bought at a great price: glorify and bear," etc.; and 1 Peter 1: "You were not redeemed with corruptible gold or silver from your vain manner of life, but with the precious blood as of an immaculate Lamb," etc. Unprofitable, not because our good works have no reward or fruit, because they are useful to us, but because we confer nothing thereby upon the divine goodness; Psalm: "I said to the Lord: You are my God, for you have no need of my goods." — What we do is nothing in comparison with what we have received and owe to God; whence the Gloss: "He who came to minister and not to be ministered unto made us debtors to himself, so that, not trusting in our own works but dreading his examination, even when all things that are commanded have been fulfilled, we may recognize that we are imperfect." Therefore the Prophet said: "What shall I render to the Lord for all the things he has rendered to me?" Likewise, what we endure is nothing in comparison to what we await: Romans 8: "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, which shall be revealed in us." Whence the Gloss on this passage: We are unprofitable servants, "because God has no need of our good works: or because the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, which shall be revealed in us." He therefore who humbles himself in this way is the one who disposes himself for perfect and eternal glory. Whence this humility, which attributes all to God and nothing to itself, will exist perfectly in the fatherland, according to Apocalypse 4: "The twenty-four elders fell down before him who sat on the throne and adored him who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power," etc. And in the state of the way, this is found in perfect men, according to Daniel 9: "To us belongs confusion of face, to our kings and our princes and our fathers, who have sinned: but to you, the Lord our God, mercy and forgiveness," etc. Therefore we ought to say each day that word of 1 Timothy 1: "Now to the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."

Luke 17:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

And it came to pass, as Jesus was going, etc. After he instructed his disciples in spiritual works of piety by a reasonable teaching and led them by hand through a perceptible example, here now in the third place he confirms them by a miraculous deed, in which the disciples themselves, from the miraculous work they witnessed, are confirmed unto believing, and from understanding it are enkindled unto imitating. And therefore this miracle must be treated simultaneously in both its literal and spiritual sense. In the description of this miracle, there is first set forth the healing of an incurable infirmity. Second, there is added the commendation of praiseworthy gratitude, at the passage: But one of them, when he saw. Concerning the healing of the incurable infirmity, three things are introduced for the expression and commendation of the miracle and for the mystery of its signification, namely: the fittingness of the place, the calamity of the disease, and the ease of the manner of healing. First, therefore, with respect to the fittingness of the place, he says: And it came to pass, as Jesus was going to Jerusalem: by which is signified a state of rest, for it is interpreted as vision of peace: the Psalm: "Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, praise," etc.; and afterwards: "Who has placed peace as your borders." He was passing through the midst of Samaria and Galilee: by which is designated the course of the present journey. For Samaria is interpreted as custody, which ought to be present in action with respect to deed, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes four: "Guard your foot when you enter the house of God"; likewise, with respect to affection: Deuteronomy four: "Guard yourself and your soul carefully"; likewise, with respect to word: the Psalm: "I said: I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue." Galilee, however, is interpreted as transmigration, which ought to be present in contemplation, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes two: "I passed over to contemplate wisdom," etc.; and in the Psalm: "For I shall pass over into the place of the wondrous tabernacle, even unto the house of God." — And note that he is said to pass through the midst of Samaria, and afterwards Galilee is mentioned: because one must first pass through the active life, and afterwards through the contemplative life: whence Jacob would not have had Rachel unless he had first had Leah. And he is said to pass through the midst: for in action the mean ought to be maintained, by avoiding the excessive and the deficient; in prelacy likewise, by avoiding respect of persons: Exodus thirty-two: "Go and return from gate to gate through the midst of the camp," etc.; in contemplation likewise the mean is maintained: as a figure of which it is said of the Seraphim in Isaiah six that "with two wings they veiled the face, and with two they veiled the feet, and with the two middle ones they flew."

Luke 17:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Second, with respect to the calamity of disease, he adds: And when he entered a certain village, there met him ten men who were lepers. In the literal sense, leprosy is a disease of wretched calamity, because it takes away the remedy of medicine, deprives of the solace of companionship, and afflicts with the burden of infirmity. And such desolate ones ought to have recourse to the Father of mercies; therefore he adds: Who stood afar off, recognizing their uncleanness. Spiritually, however, by the ten lepers is understood the universality of sinners sinning against the Decalogue; whence the Gloss: "Those who sin against the Decalogue, neither loving God, about whom they think wrongly, nor their neighbor, from whom they are divided, cry out to God under the number ten." Now the universality of sinners arises from four causes, namely from love that wrongly humiliates: and thus it is designated by the leprosy of Miriam in Numbers twelve, where it is said that after she murmured against Moses, "there appeared a leprosy shining white as snow." Second, from love that wrongly inflames to the concupiscence of the flesh: and this is signified by the leprosy of Naaman the Syrian, of whom it is said that "he was a mighty and wealthy man, but a leper," in 4 Kings five. Third, from love evilly inflaming to the concupiscence of the eyes: which is understood through the leprosy of Gehazi, Fourth Kings 5. For it was said to him on account of his covetousness and simony: "The leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your seed," etc. Fourth, from love evilly inflaming to the pride of life: and this is understood through the leprosy of Uzziah, of whom it is said in Second Paralipomenon 26 that when he wished to place incense in the house of the Lord and usurp the priestly dignity, he was struck with leprosy. As a figure of these four causes of leprosy, it is said in Fourth Kings 7 that "four leprous men were at the gate of Samaria," to designate the fourfold nature of the cause: and here there are ten to designate the universality of fault. Spiritually, however, by leprosy is understood the vice against the Christian religion, which can come about in four ways; whence the Gloss: "Whoever, cleansed by the grace of God, has been freed from heretical depravity, or gentile superstition, or Jewish perfidy, or fraternal schism: it is necessary that he return to the Church." Now by these four aforesaid vices the law of truth is especially assailed, which consists in the observance of the Decalogue: and therefore they are fittingly figured by four and by ten. Now sinners of this kind, although they walk through dark ways, according to that saying of Proverbs 4: "The way of the wicked is darksome; they know not where they fall," yet when the Lord enters the village, that is, comes in the flesh, they are illuminated to see the way, according to that saying of Isaiah 9: "To those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, light has risen upon them." And they meet him, through repentance, which causes the face that was turned away to be turned back; Jeremiah 31: "Convert me, O Lord, and I shall be converted." "After you converted me, I did penance." Now this repentance causes one to stand afar off, through the humility of self-abasement: below, chapter 18: "The publican, standing afar off," etc.; it causes one to lift up the voice, through the bitterness of compunction; Habakkuk 3: "The deep uttered its voice," that is, the sinner; it also causes one to seek healing, through the confidence of prayer, according to that saying of the Psalm: "I said: Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul."

Luke 17:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

And they lifted up their voice, expressing their misery: saying: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us, imploring divine mercy, according to that which the Prophet says in the Psalm: "I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly; I roared from the groaning of my heart." Spiritually, however, by the ten lepers is understood the universality of sinners sinning against the Decalogue; whence the Gloss: "Those who sin against the Decalogue, neither loving God, about whom they think wrongly, nor their neighbor, from whom they are divided, cry out to God under the number ten." Now sinners of this kind, although they walk through dark ways, according to that saying of Proverbs 4: "The way of the wicked is darksome; they know not where they fall," yet when the Lord enters the village, that is, comes in the flesh, they are illuminated to see the way, according to that saying of Isaiah 9: "To those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, light has risen upon them." And they meet him, through repentance, which causes the face that was turned away to be turned back; Jeremiah 31: "Convert me, O Lord, and I shall be converted." "After you converted me, I did penance." Now this repentance causes one to stand afar off, through the humility of self-abasement: below, chapter 18: "The publican, standing afar off," etc.; it causes one to lift up the voice, through the bitterness of compunction; Habakkuk 3: "The deep uttered its voice," that is, the sinner; it also causes one to seek healing, through the confidence of prayer, according to that saying of the Psalm: "I said: Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul."

Luke 17:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Third, as to the ease of the manner of healing, he adds: Whom when he saw, he said: Go, show yourselves to the priests. For the judgment of leprosy pertains to the priests, according to that saying of Leviticus 14: "The leper, when he is to be cleansed, shall be brought to the priest," etc., through the entire chapter. And it came to pass, as they went, they were cleansed, namely by divine command, for whom to speak is to do, Ecclesiastes 8: "His word is full of power"; and "whatever he wills, he shall do." Spiritually, however, the manner of curing from spiritual leprosy is understood here, namely through the ministry of the priest; and he intimates this in what he says: Show yourselves to the priests: Leviticus fourteen: "This is the rite of the leper who is to be cleansed: he shall be brought to the priest." Therefore Sirach seven: "In all your soul fear God and sanctify his priests and Honor God from all your soul and honor the priests and purify yourself with your arms." This honor, however, is through the accusation of oneself, according to that passage of Joshua seven: "My son, confess and give glory to God." Therefore Sirach seventeen: "Know the justices and judgments of God and stand in the allotted portion of the proposition and prayer of the most high God; go into the parts of the holy age with the living and those giving confession to God." Therefore he says: Show etc.; Sirach eighteen: "In the time of infirmity show your manner of life." He who thus wishes to confess already begins to be rectified in will; and therefore he says: As they went, they were cleansed, according to that passage of the Psalm: "I said: I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord" etc. From this there manifestly appears the efficacy of confession, curing every disease and infirmity. There also appears the sacerdotal dignity, which he who despises cannot be healed by the Lord. Whence Job thirty-four: "Can he who does not love judgment be healed?" There also appears the wondrous mercy of God, which cures all who come to meet him, according to that passage of John six: "Everyone who comes to me, I will not cast out." There also appears from this how great the compassion in the ministers of God ought to be toward the infirm members of Christ; First Thessalonians, the last chapter: "We beseech you, brethren, comfort the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all. See that no one render evil" etc. On account of this, the divine dispensation permitted the head of the Apostles to fall, so that in his own fall he might learn how he ought to show mercy to others.

Luke 17:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

But one of them etc. After the cure of the incurable disease or infirmity, there is described here secondly the commendation of praiseworthy gratitude, concerning which three things are introduced, namely the giving of thanks, the rebuke of ingratitude, and the approval of gratitude. First, therefore, as regards the giving of thanks, it is premised: But one of them, when he saw that he was cleansed, through the recognition, namely, of the benefit; Romans eleven: "See therefore the goodness of God toward you, if you shall continue in goodness." He returned, with a loud voice glorifying God, through the glorification of the benefactor, according to that passage of Tobit twelve: "Bless the God of heaven and confess to him before all the living, because he has shown his mercy to you"; and the Psalm: "I will sing to the Lord, who has bestowed good things upon me" etc.

Luke 17:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

And he fell on his face before his feet, giving thanks to him, namely through the display of reverence and honor: Ezekiel 2: "I saw and fell upon my face"; and Revelation 1: "When I had seen him, I fell at his feet as though dead." And this one was a Samaritan, to express the figure and signification. For this man, because he was a Samaritan and a foreigner, signifies the gentiles returning to the worship of Christ, just as that Samaritan woman, John 4. Moreover, he designates not only because he was a gentile, but also because he was one: in which is understood ecclesiastical unity. Whence the Gloss: "The one who returned signifies the devout humility of the one Church toward Christ." In designation of which, Song of Songs 6: "My dove is one"; and 1 Corinthians 9: "All indeed run, but one receives the prize." For this reason one is introduced here as having returned, just as in that multitude one is healed: John 5: "The water was stirred, and one was healed"; and Christ healed only one there, so that, as Augustine says, he might show that no one can be healed except within ecclesiastical unity: concerning which unity, Ephesians 4: "Being solicitous to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." "One Lord, one faith, one baptism," etc. But this one is said to fall on his face, because the Church not only has unity through love, but also humility through gratitude and fear. This is what the falling on the face itself signifies: for falling on the face signifies reverence, according to that passage of Revelation 7: "And all the Angels stood round about the throne," etc.; but falling backward signifies ruin: John 18: "They went backward and fell to the ground"; and 1 Kings 4: "Eli fell from the seat backward." Whence the Gloss: "He who falls on his face sees where he falls; he who falls backward does not see. The good therefore fall on their face, because they humble themselves in these visible things, where they see what follows them, so that they may be raised to invisible things. The wicked fall backward, because they fall in invisible things, where they do not see what follows them." Moreover, one falls on his face in the revelation of heavenly wonders, as is said in Daniel 10: "I heard the voice of his words, and hearing I lay prostrate upon my face, and my countenance cleaved to the ground." In the petition for divine charisms: Judith 6: "All the people fell on their face, adoring God, and with common lamentation and weeping poured forth their unanimous prayers to the Lord," etc. In the reception of benefits: Genesis 17: "Abraham fell on his face and laughed," etc.

Luke 17:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Second, as to the rebuke of ingratitude, he adds: But Jesus answering said: Were not ten made clean, and where are the nine? He does not ask about the nine as though ignorant of the person of any one of them, but reproving the irreverence of ingratitude, just as the Lord asked in Genesis 3: "Adam, where are you?" Hence the Gloss: "He inquires where the ungrateful are, as though they were unknown"; so that in them is verified that saying of First Corinthians 14: "He who is ignorant shall be ignored."

Luke 17:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

And therefore, to show that He said this by way of reproving, He adds: There was none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger. In this the ingratitude of the Jews is manifestly shown, because, though they were nine, none of them returned, but only this Samaritan, who was the only one and alone. In this is understood the election of the Gentiles and the reprobation of the Jews, according to that passage of Ephesians 2: "You who were at one time Gentiles in the flesh, who were at that time without Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants, having no hope of the promise and without God in this world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were at one time far off have been made near," etc. A stranger is one who dwells in one place and was born in another: so it is with all who, born according to the flesh, pass over to the spirit, according to that passage of Romans 9: "Not the children of the flesh are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring"; because, as is said in John 3, "that which is born of the flesh is flesh," etc. And therefore in the Psalm it is said to the Church: "Forget your people and the house of your father," etc.; and in a figure it is said to Abraham in Genesis 12: "Go out from your land and from your kindred and from the house of your father and come into the land," etc. And therefore in First Peter 2: "I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, to abstain from carnal desires," etc.

Luke 17:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Third, as regards the approbation of gratitude, he adds: And he said to him: Rise, go, for your faith has made you whole. Rise, through penitence: Ephesians 5: "Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead"; and Acts 12: "He roused him, saying: Rise quickly." Go, through justice: Matthew 8: "I say to this one: Go, and he goes," namely through obedience, which is the noblest part of justice, which was preeminently in Christ, according to that of Matthew 26: "The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of him," that is, to go from God to God and according to God and on account of God; John 13: "Knowing that he came forth from God and goes to God"; and John 16: "I go to him who sent me," etc. Your faith has made you whole, through confidence; Bede: "Which inclined him to give thanks"; for faith is the beginning of our salvation, which causes the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to be known, of whom Acts 4: "There is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved." But hope is the increase of this salvation, according to that of Romans 8: "By hope we have been saved"; but charity is its completion, according to that of the Psalm: "I am yours, save me, for I have sought out your justifications," etc. And note that Christ attributes salvation to faith, which he himself had virtuously accomplished, so that from this miracle there might be a confirmation of the preceding things as regards the piety of soul in Christ showing mercy, the humility of homage in the one freed falling prostrate, and the firmness of faith in the leper meriting a cure: so that from the aforesaid miracle all the aforesaid things might be firmly confirmed. Whence the Gloss: "In the preceding parable it is determined that faith ought to be increased through humility; in this one it is manifestly shown by the things themselves that it is not merely the acknowledged principle of faith, but the exercised operation of faith, that makes the believer whole."

Luke 17:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

And being asked by the Pharisees, etc. The two principal parts having been concluded, in which the deceitfulness and impiety of the Jews has been refuted, and by way of contrast simplicity and piety have been commended: here follows the third part, in which curiosity is refuted. And since curiosity consists not only in the scrutiny of knowledge but also in the possession of wealth, according to blessed Augustine, therefore this part is divided into two: in the first of which he refutes curiosity in scrutinizing; and in the second, curiosity in possessing, below, chapter 18: A certain ruler asked him. In the rebuke of the curiosity of the Pharisees, three things are introduced, namely the censure of the curiosity of the Pharisees who question, the commendation of the charity of the disciples who desire, and the condemnation of the contrariety of the heretics who deceive. First, therefore, with regard to the censure of the curiosity of the Pharisees who question, he says: And being asked by the Pharisees: When does the kingdom of God come? that is, through curious inquiry. This question was curious, because it concerned a secret matter, which God conceals in his own secrecy, according to that passage in Acts 1: "It is not for you to know the times or moments which the Father has placed in his own power"; and therefore Sirach 3: "Seek not the things that are too high for you, and search not into things above your strength; but the things that God has commanded you, think on these always, and in many of his works be not curious"; and Ecclesiastes 7: "What need is there for a man to seek things greater than himself, when he knows not what is profitable for him in his life, in the number of the days of his pilgrimage, and in the time which passes like a shadow? Or who will be able to tell him what shall be after him?"

Luke 17:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

And therefore he adds: Answering them, he said: The kingdom of God does not come with observation: nor will they say: Behold here, or behold there, through human comprehension. For human comprehension does not extend itself to knowing the time of judgment: whence he says: It does not come with observation: the Gloss: "Of time"; Matthew twenty-four: "But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the Angels of heaven, but the Father alone"; and First Thessalonians five: "The day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night." Nor does it extend itself even to knowing the place: on account of which he says: Nor will they say: Behold, here, etc.; the Gloss: "Nor will a determinate place be known." — But the contrary seems to be said in Joel three: "I will gather all nations and will contend with them in the valley of Jehoshaphat." But that is to be understood in the sense that Jehoshaphat is taken according to its interpretation: for it is interpreted as the valley of judgment. For the judgment will not take place with the Lord being on earth, but rather in the air, as Jerome says on this passage. — And since idle inquiry is not excluded except by diligent inquiry, therefore he adds: For behold, the kingdom of God is within you, through the offering of divine grace, which indeed was made at the coming of Christ: concerning which John one says: "There has stood in your midst one whom you do not know." Whence Bede: "He calls the kingdom of God himself placed within them, that is, reigning in the hearts of those who have believed." On account of which it is said above in chapter eleven: "If I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you," that is to say, that of which it is said in Romans fourteen: "The kingdom of God is not food and drink," etc. He wishes therefore to say that they ought to consider the first coming and cease to investigate the time of the second coming; whence Bede: "When it shall come can be observed neither by men nor by Angels, just as the time of the Lord's incarnation was foretold by the most certain prophecies of the Prophets and made manifest by the proclamations of the Angels."

Luke 17:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Secondly, as regards the approbation of the charity of the desiring disciples, he adds: And he said to his disciples: The days will come when you will desire to see one day of the Son of Man, namely days of tribulation, in which the desire for eternity is increased, according to that of the Psalm: "In the day of my tribulation I sought God, with my hands," etc. And that will be a day of the harshest tribulation, according to that of Matthew twenty-four: "There will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now." And note that he says days in the plural on account of the plurality of tribulations which the Church was to suffer after Christ's ascension. There are, however, four principal ones: the first, that of tyrants; the second, of heretics; the third, of false Christians; and the fourth will be compounded from all of them, which will be that of the Antichrist and his accomplices. And these were signified in the four beasts which Daniel saw, Daniel 7. The first was like a lion, the second a bear, the third a leopard; the fourth is not described, because in it there will be a convergence of all perversities. And this tribulation gives birth to a desire for the day of glory, concerning which Zechariah, last chapter: "There shall be one day, which is known to the Lord of hosts." And this day is desirable, according to that word of the Psalm: "One day in your courts is better than a thousand." And just men desire this, as Paul; Philippians 1: "Having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, which is far better." The afflicted also desire it, as the disciples; whence Bede: "After my ascension, you, groaning in this exile of the world, will desire to see me in my glory. This desire is to be praised, yet it is not to be fulfilled in this world." And therefore it follows: And you shall not see. Yet this will be fulfilled at some time, because, Proverbs 10, "the desire of the just shall be granted to them." Moreover, this desire is aroused by tribulation, both because this world is more despised, and because a stronger hope of eternal things is conceived, and because the fire of love is more vehemently inflamed. On account of which, 2 Corinthians 5: "We know that if our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens. For in this also we groan, desiring to be clothed upon with our habitation that is from heaven," etc.

Luke 17:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Third, as regards the condemnation of the opposition of deceiving heretics, he adds: And they will say to you: Behold here, and behold there. The Gloss: "Christ is in this person, or in this time." For heretics have sometimes dared and will dare to say this, and especially that son of perdition. Whence Bede: "Many heretics have been and will be who assert themselves to be Christs, of whom the first was Simon Magus, and the last the Antichrist." Whence also he who was the leader of the Manichaean sect said that he was the Holy Spirit, as Augustine says. Whence, because heretics disagree—one says one thing, another holds the contrary—therefore he says that one says: behold here, another: behold there. Whence Matthew 24: "Many will come in my name, saying: I am Christ, and they will seduce many." Moreover, those are seduced who receive their doctrine and follow their way of life. Therefore he adds: Do not go with them: the Gloss: "So that you believe what they say"; Isaiah twenty-eight: "He who believes shall not hasten"; nor follow them: the Gloss: "Their way of life"; Proverbs one: "My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent to them." He warns so diligently because it will be difficult to avoid the deceptions of those false prophets and preachers; Matthew twenty-four: "False christs and false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders, so as to lead into error, if it were possible, even the elect." Hence Chrysostom: "A man near death sees phantoms; so too the world at its end will suffer many errors."

Luke 17:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

For as lightning etc. After the rebuke of Jewish curiosity, there is here added the reason for the rebuke, which is taken from the manner of coming of the Son of God himself, who will not be able to be hidden when he comes, nor foreseen beforehand. This part is divided into three: in the first of which he treats of the manner of appearing; in the second, of the manner of coming, at the words: And as it was in the days of Noah; in the third, of the manner of escaping, at the words: In that day etc. Concerning the manner of appearing, two things are introduced, namely the manifestation of Christ appearing and the order of the appearing. First, therefore, with regard to the manifestation of the appearing, he says: For as lightning flashing from under heaven shines upon those things that are under heaven, namely swiftly and openly. Chrysostom: "Lightning needs no herald, but in a moment is made manifest in chambers and in houses and throughout the whole world." — So will the Son of Man be in his day: the Gloss: "Sudden and flashing, so that no one may be permitted to hide in his own mind without being pierced by the splendor of the Judge." And note that the appearing of the Lord in judgment is compared to the flashing of lightning, because it is manifest: the Psalm: "God shall come manifestly, our God, and shall not keep silence"; because it is terrible: Ezekiel one: "This was the vision running to and fro, the splendor of fire, and lightning going forth from the fire"; because it is sudden: Isaiah twenty-nine: "And it shall be suddenly; by the Lord of hosts it shall be visited with thunder and earthquake and a great voice of whirlwind and tempest and the flame of devouring fire." Therefore, just as it is foolish to be anxious at night about the appearing of the sun — when it will appear — since its rising can in no way be hidden, and it is even more foolish concerning the appearing of lightning: so too concerning the coming of that day, by inquiring into the certain moment of time, since it will become manifestly known to all, according to that passage of Revelation one: "Behold, he comes with clouds, and every eye shall see him" etc. And from this we can manifestly distinguish Christ from the antichrist, because the antichrist will not be able to make himself manifest to all in a moment of time.

Luke 17:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Second, as to the order of the appearing, he adds: But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. This is understood of Christ the head and the perfidious generation of the Jews, from whom he suffered many things, of whom Deuteronomy thirty-two says: "It is a perverse generation, and unfaithful children"; and Proverbs thirty: "A generation that curses its father, and that does not bless its mother." By this generation Christ suffered many reproaches, insults, blows, and torments, according to Isaiah fifty-three: "We esteemed him as a leper and struck by God and humiliated. But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins." Now this passion began from the head and descended into all the members of Christ; when it is consummated, then the end will come and the time of the second advent. Whence the Gloss: "He must be rejected by this generation, not only of the Jews, but of all the reprobate, from whom Christ daily suffers in his body"; on account of which Paul also says in Colossians one: "I fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh for his body, which is the Church." — But when this passion in the body of Christ is consummated, nothing remains but glorification and full retribution; on account of which in Apocalypse six it is said to the Saints desiring the second stole: "Rest yet a little time, until the number of your brethren be fulfilled"; and Apocalypse seven: "Hurt not the earth nor the sea nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads." This is the sign of the living God, which is the sign of the cross, with which all the elect must be sealed; Ezekiel nine: "Mark thau upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and mourn"; and after: "Pass through the midst of the city and slay." "But everyone upon whom you see the thau, do not kill." — And note that the passion of the just precedes the reprobation of the reprobate, because justice is stirred to vengeance on account of the perfidy of supreme iniquity; Isaiah fifty-nine: "Judgment is turned back, and justice stood far off, because truth has fallen in the street, and equity could not enter. And truth has been given over to oblivion, and he that departed from evil lay open as prey: and the Lord saw, and it appeared evil in his eyes, because there is no judgment." "And he put on justice as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance and was clad as with a cloak of zeal, as for vengeance," etc.

Luke 17:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

And as it was in the days etc. After he described the manner of appearing, here secondly he describes the manner of coming. The advent of Christ is described as sudden with respect to sinners through a twofold comparison and example. First indeed it is shown through a comparison on the part of the inundating flood: second, on the part of the consuming fire, at the passage: Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot. Concerning the comparison of the inundating flood, three things are introduced, namely the flood's figure, cause, and punishment. First therefore, as regards the figure of the flood itself, he says: And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. For this was fitting, because Noah bore the figure of Christ, who calls himself the Son of man: Noah is interpreted as rest, and in Christ alone is rest and peace. For, in Ephesians 2, "he is our peace, who has made both one"; and John 16: "In the world you shall have tribulation, but in me peace." Whence Augustine: "Restless is my heart, O Lord, until it rests in you." Therefore he himself says: "Take my yoke upon you, and you shall find rest for your souls." Not only by name does he signify Christ, but also by deed. For just as Noah saved the seed of men through wood, so also Christ through the gibbet of the cross; Wisdom 14: "The hope of the world, fleeing to a raft, bequeathed to the age the seed of generation, which was governed by your hand. For blessed is the wood through which justice is done." Whence he also states beforehand: "Men entrust their souls to a small piece of wood," etc. And just as Noah built the ark, so also Christ built the Church, which is constructed after the manner of the ark from smooth timbers joined together with the pitch of charity, having upper rooms and third stories on account of the diversities of offices, grades, and dignities; Ephesians 4: "He himself gave some as Apostles, some indeed as Prophets, others as Evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ"; in which, that is, the length, breadth, and height of the ark shall be most nobly brought to completion. Likewise, just as those who were within the ark were saved, so those who are within the Church are saved through water and baptism; 1 Peter 3: "In the days of Noah, when the ark was being built, in which few, that is eight souls, were saved through water. Which also now, in a similar figure, saves you by baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ." And just as those who were outside the ark were destroyed, so all who are outside the Church shall be condemned through the final judgment; in designation of which, Acts 27, "Paul said: Unless these remain in the ship, you cannot be saved."

Luke 17:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Second, as to the cause of the flood, he adds: They were eating and drinking, marrying wives and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, that is, they were entirely devoted to the works of the flesh, and therefore were worthy to be corrupted and destroyed in their corruptible flesh. Hence the Gloss of Ambrose: "Neither marriages nor food are condemned, since in the former the supports of succession, and in the latter those of nature, are established; but the immoderate use of lawful things is reproved. For because by giving themselves entirely to these things they despised the judgments of God, they perished by fire or water." Hence in these acts their carnality is intimated, on account of which they were worthy of divine wrath; Genesis 6: "And when God saw that the earth was corrupt—for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth—he said to Noah: The end of all flesh has come before me; the earth is filled with iniquity, and I will destroy them with the earth." But their principal fault came from carnality, and he intimates this in the four acts which he touches upon: they were eating, that is, they were given over to feasting as gluttons, and therefore worthy of wrath; the Psalm: "While their food was yet in their mouths, the wrath of God ascended upon them." They were drinking, as drunkards, and therefore worthy of wrath, according to that passage of Proverbs 23: "Who has woe? Whose father has woe?" "Is it not those who linger over wine?" etc. Isaiah 5: "Woe to you who are mighty at drinking wine and valiant men at mixing drunkenness"; and Isaiah 22: "Behold, joy and gladness, eating flesh and drinking wine"; "and this voice was revealed in my ears: Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you until you die, says the Lord of hosts." They were marrying wives, as the lustful; Genesis 6: "And when men began to multiply upon the earth and had begotten children, the sons of God, seeing that the daughters of men were beautiful, took for themselves wives from all whom they had chosen." And there follows: "The Lord said: My spirit shall not remain in man, because he is flesh." And they were given in marriage, as the heedless, and therefore disposed to destruction, according to that passage of 1 Thessalonians 5: "When they shall say: Peace and security, then sudden destruction shall come upon them." Hence whoever is absorbed in these vices, it is necessary that he be engulfed by the flood; on account of which, 1 Thessalonians 5: "You, brothers, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." "Therefore let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be sober." But the manner is described in Romans 13: "The night has passed, and the day has drawn near. Let us therefore cast off" etc.; and after: "Not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and wantonness." "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ." Third, as regards the punishment of the flood, he adds: And the flood came and destroyed them all, namely those who were outside the ark, immediately after the entry of Noah, according to that passage in Genesis 7: "On that very day Noah entered the ark." "And the flood continued for forty days and forty nights," "and all flesh that moved upon the earth was consumed." Whence also in 2 Peter 2: "He did not spare the original world, but preserved Noah, the eighth person, a herald of justice, bringing the flood upon the world of the ungodly." From this it is understood that the punishment of the future judgment will come upon those who are outside the Church of Christ, while nevertheless the few just are saved; for the Gloss says: "Noah builds the ark when the Lord gathers the faithful in the Church; which, once completed, he enters when he illuminates it by his presence on the day of judgment; but while the ark is being built, the wicked live in luxury, and when it is entered, they are punished with eternal damnation." Moreover, this is said to happen at the turning point of the day,…

Luke 17:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Likewise, as it happened, etc. After the similitude taken from the flooding deluge, he introduces a similitude from the consuming fire; concerning which similitude three things are introduced, namely the demerit, the punishment, and the example of the Sodomites themselves. First, as regards the demerit, he says: Likewise, as it happened in the days of Lot, namely, a just man. And note that in the description of the iniquity of the shameless people, the justice of the just man is set forth first, because from this their impiety appears more clearly, since a just man was among them; on account of which, Second Peter two: "He rescued just Lot, oppressed by the injury and wantonness of the wicked. For in sight and hearing he was just, dwelling among those who from day to day tormented his just soul with their wicked works." Whence, on account of the justice of the just man, the enormity of sin is aggravated in the impious. —As to which he adds: They were eating and drinking, namely the Sodomites, as wanton, like those of whom Exodus thirty-two says: "The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play"; and he does not add that they were marrying wives, as before, because they were not sinning according to nature, but against nature: Genesis thirteen: "The men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners before the Lord"; and in Genesis nineteen it is said that "they surrounded the house of Lot, from boy to old man, all the people together, and they called Lot and said to him: Where are the men who entered your house? Bring them out here, that we may know them." They were buying and selling, as greedy: Ecclesiasticus twenty-seven: "He who seeks to become rich turns away his eye. As a stake is fixed in the midst of a joining of stones, so between buying and selling sin shall be pressed in." On account of which it is said against these in First Corinthians seven: "Those who buy, as though not possessing, and those who use this world, as though not using it; for the figure of this world passes away." They were planting and building, as those who were secure, who expected to dwell in their houses and eat the fruit of their trees, like that rich man above in chapter twelve: "My soul, you have many goods laid up for many years." But the Lord said to him: "Fool, this night," etc. And therefore Amos five: "You shall build houses of hewn stone, and you shall not dwell in them; you shall plant most delightful vineyards, and you shall not drink the wine of them, because I know your many crimes." Therefore Isaiah five: "Woe to you who join house to house and unite field to field even to the end of the place!" Because therefore the Sodomites were both wanton and greedy and secure, therefore they were worthy of divine wrath: Ezekiel sixteen: "This was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance, and the idleness of her and of her daughters; and they did not extend a hand to the needy and the poor."

Luke 17:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

As to the second, regarding punishment, he adds: But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, through the equity of divine justice that delivers: Genesis 19: "The Angels seized the hand of Lot and the hand of his wife and the hand of his two daughters, because the Lord spared them. They led him out and placed him outside the city, and there they stationed themselves beside him, saying: Save your soul," etc.; and below in the same chapter: "The Lord delivered Lot from the overthrow of the cities in which he had dwelt." In this, Lot bears the type of the just, who go out from the midst of the wicked; whence the Gloss: "Lot, who is interpreted as turning aside, is the people of the elect, who, while dwelling in Sodom, that is, among the reprobate, as a stranger, turns aside from their crimes as much as he can"; and this according to that passage in 2 Corinthians 6: "Go out from the midst of them and be separated, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you and will be a father to you, and you shall be to me sons and daughters." Therefore divine justice delivered just Lot, and on the contrary destroyed the impious people. And therefore he adds: It rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all, namely the Lord, through the severity of avenging justice: Genesis 19: "Therefore the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from heaven from the Lord, and he overthrew these cities and the entire surrounding region, all the inhabitants of the cities, and everything growing from the earth." And note that he says pointedly that the Lord rained from the Lord, because, although all judgment is owed to the Lord the Son, according to that passage in John 5: "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son," "because he is the Son of man"; nevertheless the judgment of this sin is specially owed to him, because it is directly against the incarnate Word, and it makes the nature which the Son of God made heavenly, angelic, and divine viler than brute nature, by subverting the laws of nature which brute animals observe. And therefore this vice is punished not only with fire but also with brimstone, on account of the burning and the stench of most disordered lust. Concerning the burning, Romans 1: "They burned in their desires toward one another, males working shame upon males"; concerning the stench, Isaiah 34: "From their corpses shall rise a stench, the mountains shall waste away from their blood," etc.; and the Psalm: "They are corrupt and have become abominable," etc. On account of these things they were deservedly consumed by fire and brimstone; whence Bernard: "The flame of Gehenna, brooking no delay, came beforehand to destroy this accursed nation, and moreover fire and the spirit of tempests consumed the very earth itself, as being privy to so great a disgrace."

Luke 17:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Third, as regards the example, he adds: According to these things it will be, on the day the Son of man is revealed. This is the day of judgment, on which there will be a revelation of Christ himself as Savior with respect to the good: First Peter 1: "You are guarded through faith, unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." There will also be a revelation of Christ as Judge with respect to the wicked: First Corinthians 4: "Do not judge before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both illuminate the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of hearts." Concerning both, Isaiah 56: "My salvation is near, that it may come, and my justice, that it may be revealed." This day of revelation is similar to the burning of Sodom, because in that event its example preceded; in the Epistle of Jude: "Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities, having in like manner given themselves over to fornication and gone after other flesh, were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire"; and similarly Second Peter 2: "Reducing the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, he condemned them with overthrow, making them an example for those who would act impiously." And therefore he says according to these things, so that the example may be similar as regards demerit, as regards the manner of judging, and as regards punishment. As regards demerit, because, just as in Sodom many were wicked and very few were good, so at the time of the final judgment, according to that passage below in chapter 18: "Do you think, when the Son of man comes, he will find faith on the earth?" Whence the Gloss: "He who in the meantime, not appearing, sees all things, will then, appearing, judge all things, when he shall have beheld all men, forgetful of his judgments, enslaved to this world, so that they deservedly ought to be destroyed along with the very world they inhabited." According to these things it will also be with regard to the mode of judging, because the Lord is said to have descended: Genesis 18: "The Lord said to Abraham: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied, and their sin is aggravated exceedingly. I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that has come to me." So also the Lord will descend on the day of judgment: 1 Thessalonians 4: "For the Lord himself with commandment and with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet of God shall descend from heaven." Just as he also delivered Lot the just man, condemning the impious: Wisdom 10: "She delivered the just man from those who were perishing, when fire descended upon the Pentapolis, to whose wickedness a smoking wasteland bears witness, a deserted land, and trees bearing fruit at uncertain times, and a pillar of salt standing as a memorial of an unbelieving soul, etc.": so also will it be at the final judgment. Whence the Gloss: "When Lot departed, Sodom perished, because at the consummation of the age the Angels will go out and separate the wicked from the midst of the just and cast them into the furnace of fire," as is said in Matthew 13. Just as also the wrath of God came upon the impious suddenly, so also will it be at the final judgment: Isaiah 30: "Suddenly, when it is not expected, his destruction will come, and he will be shattered like a potter's vessel," etc.; and Matthew 25: "But while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered," etc. According to these things it will also be with regard to punishment. For those were punished with fire and brimstone: Genesis 19: "Abraham rose in the morning," "and he saw the ashes ascending from the earth like the smoke of a furnace." So will it be in the punishment of the impious at the judgment: the Psalm: "He shall rain upon sinners snares, fire and brimstone and a blast of storms, the portion of their cup"; and Ezekiel 38: "I will rain fire and brimstone upon him and upon his army and upon the many peoples who are with him"; whence also Apocalypse 14: "If anyone shall wor…

Luke 17:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

In that day, he who shall be on the housetop, etc. After he described the mode of appearing and the mode of coming, here thirdly he describes the mode of escaping. This part has three parts: in the first of which the mode of escaping is described; in the second, the state of those escaping, at the words: I say to you: In that night; in the third, the end-point or place of escape, at the words: They answering say to him. Concerning the mode of escaping, four things are introduced, namely the mode of fleeing, the mode of being in danger, the reason for the danger, and the reason for the remedy. First, therefore, as regards the mode of escape, he says: In that day, he who shall be on the housetop, through the love of spiritual things; whence the Gloss: "On the housetop is he who, surpassing carnal things, lives spiritually as if in the free air." Upon this housetop the preacher of truth ought to ascend, so that he may do what he persuades others to do; Matthew 10: "What you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops." For in Isaiah 40 it is said: "Get up upon a high mountain, you who evangelize Zion," etc. And his goods in the house, through contempt of carnal things; the Gloss: "His goods in the house are the carnal concupiscences which he had formerly loved, but seeking heavenly things, had left behind in the world," according to that passage of First Thessalonians 4: "Let each one know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor, and not in the passion of desire, as do the Gentiles who know not God"; concerning whom Isaiah 65 says: "They eat swine's flesh, and profane broth is in their vessels." Let him not come down to take them away, through relapse into sin, as that man of whom it is said above in chapter 10: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves"; Isaiah 31: "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, trusting in horses," etc. And he who is in the field, through the exercise of virtues; the Gloss: "In the field is he who labors in the Church, planting and watering"; Proverbs 24: "Diligently cultivate your field, so that afterward you may build your house"; likewise let him not turn back, to the works of vice, because, as is said above in chapter 9, "No one putting his hand to the plow and looking back," etc. He wishes therefore to say that whoever wants to escape that day of judgment so as not to perish must, by despising worldly things, tend most perseveringly toward eternal things, as Paul both did and said in Philippians 3: "Forgetting the things that are behind and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press toward the mark, toward the prize of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus." Although this perseverance is necessary for all, it is most especially so when the future judgment is imminent, when tribulations and many evil examples and teachings will press upon them; Matthew 24: "False prophets shall arise and shall seduce many. And because iniquity shall abound, the charity of many shall grow cold; but he who shall persevere unto the end," etc.

Luke 17:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Second, regarding the manner of endangerment which must be avoided, he adds: Remember the wife of Lot, about whom it is said in Genesis 19: "The wife of Lot, looking back behind her, was turned into a pillar of salt." And the reason for this is that she acted against the command of the Lord, which is stated in Genesis 19: "Do not look back behind you, nor stand still in all the surrounding region, but save yourself on the mountain, lest you also perish together." In this it is understood that the entire danger to salvation in those converted to Christ consists in turning back; whence 2 Peter 2: "It is better not to know the way of truth than, after knowing it, to turn back." And he gives the reason for this when he states beforehand: "For if, having fled the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter things have become worse for them than the former." And therefore, for the detestation of apostasy and relapse and regression, the Lord placed that memorial about the wife of Lot; about whom Wisdom 10: "A standing pillar of salt, the memorial of an unbelieving soul." Therefore he says pointedly: Remember the wife of Lot. For she was turned into a pillar of salt so that by thus displaying her foolishness she might give others the seasoning of wisdom, so that no one would look back, according to what is said above in chapter 14: "Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its savor, with what shall it be seasoned? It is good for nothing further," etc. Whence the Gloss: "The wife of Lot signifies those who in tribulation look back and turn themselves away from the hope of the divine promise; and therefore she was made a pillar of salt, because by admonishing people not to do similar things, she seasons their hearts, lest they be foolish." This, however, is not only an example but also a figure and a foreshadowing. For just as that conflagration signifies the final judgment that is imminent, so the wife of Lot looking back signifies effeminate and carnal souls who will turn back and apostatize in that tribulation.

Luke 17:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Third, regarding the reason for the danger, he adds: Whoever shall seek to save his life, through private love; for soul is taken here for the carnal life, about which Leviticus 17: "The soul of all flesh is in the blood"; the Gloss there: "He called the life of the body soul — not the soul which departs from the body, but that which ends with death." He who loves it too much seeks to save this; whence the Gloss on whoever shall seek to save his life: "He who wishes to save his carnal life in the world by denying Christ." Concerning which he adds: He will lose it, that is, by divine judgment; John 12: "He who loves his soul will lose it." And indeed this happens by the just judgment of God, so that he who by immoderate love of himself offends God loses at once both divine happiness and the salvation of his soul. And this is because, by loving the changeable good above the unchangeable, he loves iniquity; Psalm: "He who loves iniquity hates his own soul"; and truly, because, as is said in Matthew 16, "what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his own soul?" The reason, therefore, for all that peril is the turning toward private good, by which one loves himself too much, and by loving himself too much, is affected beyond what is due concerning private good—by hoping for and rejoicing at its presence, by fearing and grieving at its absence. And all this comes from the love of private good, which will reign most of all at the end of the world; 2 Timothy 3: "In the last days perilous times shall come, and men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, proud," etc.; and by loving themselves too much, they will render themselves hateful to God; Isaiah 28: "The bed is narrowed, so that one must fall off, and the short covering cannot cover both," etc. Fourth, as regards the reason of the remedy, he adds: And whoever shall lose it, through hatred of all carnality. For he is said to lose his life who pursues its carnality by crucifying it, as Paul says in Galatians 5: "Those who belong to Christ have crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscences." Therefore he himself said in Galatians 2: "I am nailed to the cross with Christ. Yet I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me." He showed an example of this in Acts 20: "Chains and tribulations await me at Jerusalem. But I fear none of these things, for I do not count my life more precious than myself, provided that I may finish my course and the word of the ministry which I have received." He therefore loses who exposes to destruction for the love of Jesus Christ; and concerning this it is added: He shall preserve it alive, through the reward of eternal happiness: John 12: "He who hates his life in this world keeps it unto life eternal." And the reason for this is that he is worthy to be delivered by the Lord who loves Him even to the hatred of himself: Apocalypse 12: "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives even unto death." He who loves thus loves God supremely, according to that passage in John 15: "Greater charity no one has than that one lay down his life for his friends." And since he is thus loving, he is worthy to be loved, according to that passage in Proverbs 8: "I love those who love me"; he is also deservedly worthy to be eternally given life and to be delivered from every danger: Apocalypse 7: "These who are clothed in white robes, who are they and whence have they come? And he said to me: These are they who have come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God; they shall neither hunger nor thirst anymore, nor shall the sun fall upon them nor any heat, for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall rule them and lead them to the fountains of the waters of life."

Luke 17:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

I say to you: In that night, etc. After he has described the manner of escaping, here he describes the state of those who escape, which he describes as threefold, namely of contemplatives, actives, and prelates, according to that passage in Ezekiel 14: "If these three men were in the midst of it — Noah, Daniel, and Job — they themselves shall deliver their own souls"; in whom is understood the threefold state of those to be saved, such that in Noah, who presided over the ark, prelates are understood; in Daniel, contemplatives; and in Job, actives. In every state, however, there are some good and some evil, some just and some unjust, so that every state may be stirred by fear, "and the whole world may be made subject to God." First, therefore, as regards the state of contemplatives, he says: I say to you: In that night there shall be two in one bed, as regards the state of those contemplating, which is rightly called a little bed, according to that passage of Song of Songs 3: "In my little bed I sought by night him whom my soul loves," etc. Moreover, by the little bed is understood the state of contemplatives, because it is a place of rest: Song of Songs 3: "Behold, the little bed of Solomon, sixty strong men surround it"; likewise, a place of solitude: Matthew 6: "But you, when you pray, enter into your chamber," etc.; likewise, a place of nuptial companionship: Song of Songs 1: "Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved; behold, you are beautiful, your eyes are as doves. Behold, you are handsome, my beloved, and comely. — Our little bed is flowering." In this bed, therefore, both the elect and the reprobate are sometimes admitted; on account of which he adds: One shall be taken, namely to the divine fellowship. As a figure of which, Matthew 17: "Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart." Whence that holy contemplative said in the Psalm: "You have held my right hand, and in your will you have led me, and with glory you have received me"; and again: "For our assumption is of the Lord, and of the Holy One of Israel, our king." And the other shall be left, namely to eternal punishment; Job 20: "A fire that is not kindled shall devour him, and he that is left in his tabernacle shall be afflicted." And note that whereas he had previously stated in that day, now he says in that night: for the final tribulation is called day on account of the revelation of the judge himself, and is called night on account of the horror of the tribulations, according to that passage of Wisdom 17: "Nor could the brightest flames of the stars illuminate that horrendous night." Whence the Gloss: "in that night, that is, in that tribulation so dark that even the elect, if it were possible, would be led into error." And concerning this, the Psalm: "You have appointed darkness, and it became night: in it all the beasts of the forest shall pass through." In this, not only the simple shall fall, but also some contemplatives and great ones. As a figure of which it is said in Matthew 24: "The stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken."

Luke 17:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Secondly, as regards the state of actives, he adds: Two shall be grinding together, through engagement in the active life, which is rightly understood by the millstone, because those who are occupied with the acts of the active life go around and run about in the manner of a millstone and do not stop at one work, as was said to Martha above in chapter 10: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things." Or because such persons ought to be raised up by the hope of eternal rewards and cast down by the terror of punishments, namely by hope and fear, by which, as by millstones, the spiritual mill is moved; whence Deuteronomy 24: "You shall not take as a pledge the lower and the upper millstone." And since man is occupied with this with respect to the lower portion of reason, therefore he speaks in the feminine gender: Two women shall be grinding: whence the Gloss: "'Two' signifies the differences of those following the circuit of changeable things, who are designated by the feminine gender, because they are governed by evil counsel, as women by men, who nevertheless grind as one, insofar as from their affairs they serve the uses of the Church." And because among these there are some who are good, therefore it is added: One shall be taken, namely unto glory, according to that word of the Psalm: "He sent from on high and took me and drew me out of many waters." — And the other shall be left, namely unto Gehenna; Isaiah 1: "The daughter of Sion shall be left as a shelter in a vineyard and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers and as a city that is laid waste"; and Matthew 23: "Behold, your house shall be left unto you desolate."

Luke 17:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Thirdly, with respect to the state of prelates, he adds: Two shall be in the field, through the guardianship of Churches; the Gloss: "'Two' signifies the differences of preachers laboring in the Church as in a field." Whence the Apostle also calls the prelate and preacher a farmer; 2 Timothy 2: "The laboring farmer ought first to partake of the fruits"; and therefore 1 Corinthians 3: "You are God's husbandry, you are God's building." On account of which it was said in Jeremiah 1: "Behold, I have set you over nations and over kingdoms, to root up and to tear down and to scatter and to overthrow and to build and to plant." In this field of the Church grow the fruits of good works: Genesis 27: "Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a full field, which the Lord has blessed"; there grow also the flowers of the Saints, namely the roses of Martyrs, the lilies of Virgins, and the violets of Confessors; the Psalm: "The beauty of the field is with me." Among these farmers, however, some shall be saved, and therefore he adds: One shall be taken, namely to the summit of eternal goods; Haggai 2: "I will take you, O Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and I will make you as a signet ring, because I have chosen you." — And the other shall be left, namely in the calamity of infernal reproaches; Isaiah 27: "The fortified city shall be desolate, the fair city shall be left and abandoned like a wilderness." From all these things it is gathered that in any state of those to be saved, some will be good and some will be evil; and thus all should fear, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes 9: "There are just and wise men, and their works are in the hand of God; and yet man does not know whether he is worthy of love or of hatred, but all things are kept uncertain for the future." On account of which, if anyone wishes to escape the future judgment, there is necessary for him not only contempt of the world, but also divine fear, according to that passage of Isaiah 2: "Enter into the rock and hide in the pit of the earth from the face of the fear of the Lord and from the glory of His Majesty"; "for He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens." Therefore let each one, terrified, cry out with the Apostle and say: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments," etc.

Luke 17:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 17

Answering, they say to Him, etc. After He described the manner of escaping and the state of those who escape, there is added here finally the terminus of the escape and the place of rest, which the Apostles inquire about, when it is said: Answering, namely the Apostles, they say to Him: Where, Lord? namely, will one be taken up and left behind. Whence the Apostles inquire about both, but the Lord answers one expressly and hints at the other tacitly; whence the Gloss: "To those asking two things He answers one, namely that the Saints are to be taken up with Him; the other He hints at by keeping silent, namely that the wicked, repelled from Him, are to be damned with the devil." And therefore he adds: Who said to them: Wherever the body shall be, there also will the eagles be gathered together. Note here a noteworthy example: the elect will be gathered to Christ as to the abundance of their refreshment, just as eagles are gathered to a body as to food. Job, chapter thirty-nine, speaking of the eagle says: "Wherever there is a carcass, it is immediately present." Whence Jerome says: "Eagles and vultures are said to sense carcasses across the sea." Moreover, they are gathered by a most keen sense of smell, a most sharp sight, a most swift movement, and a most avid appetite. So the Saints will be gathered to Christ, to the incarnate Word, by a most ardent desire, a most clear gaze, a most savory taste, and by an excessive movement of love. On account of which the Prophet David also, expressing the approach of these eagles to Christ, expresses in himself desire: "As the deer longs for the springs of water, so my soul longs for you, O God"; gaze: "For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we shall see light," etc.; taste: "I shall be satisfied when your glory appears"; love: "For my heart was inflamed." As a figure of these things, it is said in Job chapter thirty-nine: "Will the eagle be raised up at your command and make its nest on high? It dwells in rocks and abides on jagged flints"; "its eyes gaze from afar, and its young ones lap up blood," etc. Concerning the nature of the eagle, Ambrose says that the eagle seeks the heights, abandons lowly things, and is said to have a long life. So the Saints after the resurrection, renewed after the manner of the eagle, according to that saying of the Psalm: "Your youth shall be renewed like the eagle's," will both tend upward and live forever with the Lord, according to that passage of First Thessalonians chapter four: "Then we who are alive, who remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."

Luke 18:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

On the persuasion to devotion, two things are presented. And he spoke also a parable to them etc. After the refutation of Jewish curiosity in scrutinizing future things, there follows here the persuasion to devotion in requesting divine assistance. And since devoted prayer is prayer pleasing to God, in which there is at once fervor of affection and humility of self-assessment, therefore this part has two sections: in the first of which, by a parabolic example, he leads to persistence in prayer; in the second, however, to reverence in prayer, at the passage: And he said to certain ones etc. To the persistence of prayer, therefore, He moves them by introducing the parable of the judge and the widow: concerning the description of which, first is introduced the reason for introducing the parable; second is added the introduction of the parable itself, at the words: There was a certain judge; third, He subjoins the application of the parable introduced, at the words: And the Lord said. First, therefore, as to the reason for introducing the parable, He says: And He spoke also a parable to them. Now it should be noted that this parable is not to be understood through a metaphor of likeness, because the judge of the city was in no way likened to God, who is to be entreated; but rather it is to be understood through unlikeness and by way of contrast, so that the Lord, as it were, from the lesser leads by the hand to recognizing the efficacy of prayer; hence here person is not compared to person, but case to case. And this is what Bede says in the Gloss: "Note that the Lord sets forth parables either according to likeness, as about the man who had two sons, who bears the person of God; or according to unlikeness, as about the unjust judge, who in no way bears the person of God." — He therefore introduces this parable to persuade them of the persistence of prayer; for which reason He adds: That they ought always to pray and not to lose heart; which ought to be understood so that always does not distribute for every part of time, but for the appointed hours, according to what is said in the Psalm following the prophetic institution: "Seven times a day I have given praise to You." And the Church observes this manner; hence the Gloss: "Always, at the canonical hours daily according to the custom of the Church." — Or always to pray is here understood such that prayer is always either in the mouth through petition, or in the heart through desire, or in works through preparation. For he who does good things disposes himself to this end, that his prayer ought to be heard; and according to this it is said in First Thessalonians 5: "Pray without ceasing"; there the Gloss says: "He always prays who always does good; for the good desire itself is prayer; and if the desire is continuous, the prayer is continuous." And this is what Bede says here in the Gloss: "He always prays who always does good, nor does he cease to pray unless he ceases to be just"; therefore Sirach 18: "Be not hindered from praying always, and be not afraid to be justified even unto death"; and 29: "Shut up alms in the bosom of the poor, and it shall pray for you," etc. This, however, is understood concerning the opportunity of necessity. But if it is understood concerning the opportunity of fittingness, then one ought always to pray, that is, to have recourse to prayer most frequently and most urgently. Hence Jerome: "Frequent prayer extinguishes the assault of vices"; while urgent prayer obtains pardon for sins, according to that saying in Sirach 3: "He who loves God shall entreat for his sins, and in the prayer of days he shall be heard," etc. And therefore it is useful to pray always for ten reasons, namely because it obtains the relaxation of the divine sentence, as is apparent in the case of Hezekiah, Isaiah thirty-eight: "Hezekiah prayed to the Lord and said: I beseech you, Lord, remember, I ask, how I have walked before you"; and afterward it is added that the Lord r…

Luke 18:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

There was a certain judge, etc. After the reason for introducing the parable, there is here subjoined the introduction of the parable itself: concerning whose expression three things are introduced, namely the hardness of the judge, the persistence of the poor woman, and the efficacy of prayer. First, as to the hardness of the judge, he says: There was a certain judge in a certain city, who did not fear God, on account of the hardness of heart which causes one not to fear God, according to that passage of Isaiah 63: "You have hardened our heart, lest we should fear you." Such hardened ones do not fear God but rather despise him; in whose person, Job 21: "Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?" and 22: "As if the Almighty could do nothing, they esteemed him." Such are those who say that of Deuteronomy 32: "Our hand is exalted, and not the Lord, has done all these things." — And because pride accompanies hardness, therefore he adds: And he did not reverence man, on account of the arrogance of mind. Whence he was of the number of those of whom Wisdom 2 says: "Let us oppress the just poor man and let us not spare the widow, nor reverence the gray hairs of the aged of much time." To such Isaiah 33 says: "Woe to you who plunder! Shall you not yourself also be plundered? And you who despise, shall you not yourself also be despised? When you have finished plundering, you shall be plundered, and when, wearied, you cease to despise, you shall be despised."

Luke 18:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Second, as to the persistence of the poor woman, he adds: But there was a certain widow in that city; a widow, namely, deprived of the comfort of a husband; and such are especially to be assisted, according to that passage of Isaiah 1: "Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the orphan, and defend the widow." To such, justice ought to be rendered more readily, because they are less able to defend themselves and are more frequently oppressed; and therefore Ecclesiasticus 4: "Deliver him who suffers injury from the hand of the proud." "In judging, be merciful to orphans as a father, and as a husband to their mother; and you shall be as an obedient son of the Most High, and he will have mercy on you more than a mother." Concerning this widow, then, who needed the judge's protection on account of the oppression of the wicked, he adds: And she kept coming to him, saying: Vindicate me against my adversary, through the rigor of just judgment; and this indeed was just for such a person: Ecclesiasticus twenty-one: "The prayer of the poor shall reach from his mouth to the ears, and judgment shall come to him speedily," namely from God; and thirty-five: "He will hear the prayer of the one who is wronged; nor will he despise the prayers of the orphan, nor the widow, if she pours forth words of groaning. Do not the tears of the widow run down her cheek, and is not her cry against him who causes them to fall? For from the cheek they ascend even to heaven." And yet they do not reach the hardened heart of man.

Luke 18:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Whence he adds: And he was unwilling for a long time, on account of the faithlessness of his hardened mind; whence he was of the number of those of whom Isaiah one says: "Your princes are faithless, companions of thieves. They all love gifts, they pursue rewards. They do not judge for the orphan, and the cause of the widow does not come before them"; and Jeremiah five: "They have not judged the cause of the widow, they have not directed the cause of the orphan," etc. Third, as regards the efficacy of prayer, he adds: But after these things he said within himself: Although I do not fear God nor regard man, through the boldness of heart, on account of which he was like that proud man of whom Job fifteen says: "He ran against God with neck erect and was armed with a fat neck." Whence he was also of the number of those of whom it is said in the Psalm: "Destruction and unhappiness are in their ways," etc.

Luke 18:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Yet, because this widow troubles me, through the persistence of prayer, which conquers all things, according to that passage in Judges fourteen concerning the wife of Samson, who "wept before him during the seven days of the feast, and at length on the seventh day, since she was troublesome to him, he explained it." On account of which, above in chapter eleven: "And he from within should answer: Do not trouble me, for my children are with me in bed." "And if he shall continue knocking, I say to you, even if he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needs." So also this judge is overcome by importunity; whence he adds: I will vindicate her, according to the demand of her right; for this is the office of a judge, to relieve the oppressed and to punish the oppressors: Numbers thirty-one: "The Lord spoke to Moses: First avenge the children of Israel upon the Midianites, and so you shall be gathered to your fathers." This the judge ought not to do out of hatred of the person, but out of love of justice, as Mattathias, of whom First Maccabees two says: "His fury was kindled according to the judgment of the Law, and leaping upon him he slew that man." Now this judge did not exercise vengeance out of zeal for the law, but to avoid the weariness of petition; and therefore he adds: Lest in the end she come and wear me out, by the frequency of her crying. Bede: "In the end, that is, lest coming again and again she strangle me with her wearisome outcries." Whence the Gloss says that "sugillo is derived from suga, drawn from the lamiae, that is, I strangle." For lamiae kill infants and suck their blood, and thereby suffocate and kill by strangling. Therefore one is said to be worn out who is afflicted by words and arguments with such great weariness that from the weariness blood is sucked out and diminished. Whence the sense is: wear me out, that is, suck my blood, like the lamiae, of whom it is said in Lamentations chapter four: "The lamiae have bared their breasts, they have nursed their young."

Luke 18:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

And the Lord said etc. After the reason for introducing the parable and the introduction of the parable itself, there follows here the application of the parable as introduced: concerning which three things are set forth. For human attention is aroused, confidence is raised up, and distrust is reproved. First, therefore, with respect to the arousal of attention, it is said: And the Lord said: Hear what the unjust judge says, that is, consider the response of this judge, in which one must consider indeed how great is the efficacy of persistent prayer, because persistence begot annoyance, and annoyance extorted justice. Whence although he had a heart of stone, he was nonetheless moved by the frequency of petitions, so that in him that poetic saying is verified: "A drop hollows out a stone, not by force, but by falling often." Although there was iniquity in him, he was nonetheless compelled to render justice by the widow's importunate persistence; from which we understand that if the persistence of petition softened a most hardened judge and inclined a most unjust one to render judgment, how much more powerfully will it incline a God who is merciful and just. Whence Chrysostom: "Not such a judge, lacking the faithfulness of love, compelled by weariness — nor can his zeal be praised here — but if he, with whatever disposition, avenged the widow, God the judge will most certainly avenge the injury done to his own." From this the efficacy of persistent prayer is shown in a wondrous way, because he who neither feared God nor cared for the regard of man nor loved justice was overcome by the widow through her importunate persistence in petitions.

Luke 18:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Secondly, with respect to the raising up of human confidence, he adds: And will not God avenge his elect, out of the strictness of his judgment: Romans chapter twelve: "Vengeance is mine, and I will repay"; and Deuteronomy chapter thirty-two: "Vengeance is mine, and I will repay them in due time, when their foot shall slip." Of those crying out to him day and night, namely from the affliction of the soul; Revelation 6: "I saw under the altar of God the souls of those slain for the Word of God, and they cried out with a loud voice, saying: How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?" etc.; indeed, even when they themselves are silent with their mouths, their tribulations cry out; Genesis 4: "The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the earth." And will he have patience with them? through a relaxation of zeal; as if to say: no; because Ecclesiasticus 35: "The Lord will judge the just and will execute judgment, and the Almighty will not have patience with them, so as to crush their backs." This, however, is said not because the Lord does not wait for sinners, but because, with judgment imminent, he no longer wills to wait; Romans 2: "Do you despise the riches of his goodness and patience and long-suffering?" "But according to your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the just judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his works: to those who according to patience in good work, glory and honor and incorruption; but to those who are contentious, who do not acquiesce to the truth but believe iniquity, wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of one who works evil."

Luke 18:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

I say to you that he will quickly execute vengeance for them; and this through the avenging of sin; Deuteronomy 32: "He will avenge the blood of his servants," "and he will repay vengeance upon their enemies, and he will be merciful to the land of his people"; and Ecclesiasticus 35: "He will repay vengeance to the nations, until he takes away the fullness of the proud; and he will crush the scepters of the unjust, until he renders to men according to their deeds and according to the works of Adam and according to their presumption, until he judges the judgment of his people." — But is it proper for the Saints to cry out to God for vengeance, since it is said in Ecclesiasticus 28: "He who wishes to be avenged will find vengeance from the Lord, and the Lord will surely preserve his sins"? — I respond: There is the vengeance of affliction that makes one return to God, or that makes one cease from foolishness. They can desire the first absolutely, and the second, if it pleases God. But the vengeance of affliction upon the person they ought to abhor, and against the vengeance of eternal damnation they ought to intercede. Third, as regards the rebuke of distrust, he adds: But yet the Son of man, when he comes, do you think he will find faith on the earth? He says this indeed because, although the faith of belief may seem to be in many, the faith of faithfulness and of confidence is found in few; Proverbs 20: "Many men are called merciful, but a faithful man who shall find?"; and Jeremiah 7: "Faith has perished and has been taken away from their mouth." And this will be especially so as the coming of the Son of God draws near; Matthew 24: "Because iniquity will abound, the charity of many will grow cold"; and Isaiah 24: "These things shall be in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the peoples, as if a few olives that have remained should be shaken from the olive tree, and grape-clusters when the vintage is finished." And note that the Lord says do you think, not because he doubts, but because he reproves and condemns doubt. Whence the Gloss: "Do you think? In the word of doubt, unfaithfulness is rebuked; the Divinity does not hold an opinion, for he through whom all things were made knows all things; but by doubting he rebukes the hearts of the unfaithful." Whence that seeming inquiry of the Lord designates the doubt and wavering that will be in that tribulation finally impending, on account of which there will be no one who rises up and takes hold of him, lest he rise up to destroy the earth, according to that passage of Isaiah 64: "There is no one who calls upon your name, who rises up and takes hold of you: you have hidden your face from us and have dashed us to pieces in the hand of our iniquity."

Luke 18:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

But he spoke to certain ones who trusted in themselves etc. After he has urged the persistence of prayer, in this part he intends to urge reverence in prayer. But since reverence cannot be had in prayer unless humility is also had in one's manner of life, therefore in this part he first introduces a parabolic example to commend humility in prayer; and second, an explicit example to commend humility in one's manner of life, at the passage: And they were bringing infants to him. In unfolding the parable, he proceeds in this manner. For first he touches upon the conditions of the persons; second, the conditions of the prayers, at the passage: But the Pharisee, standing, prayed within himself; third, the conditions of the hearings, at the passage: Amen I say to you, this man went down etc. Concerning the conditions of the persons, he proceeds in this order. For he touches upon the conditions of the persons to whom he speaks and about whom he speaks. First, therefore, as regards the conditions of the persons to whom he speaks, he says: He spoke also to certain ones who trusted in themselves as just, through the magnification of their own virtue: and this is to be proud against God, according to that passage in Romans 10: "Being ignorant of the justice of God and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to the justice of God." Now someone trusts in himself as just when he considers himself just from his own works, as the Jews did; Romans 2: "You approve the more profitable things, being instructed by the Law: you are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, having the form of knowledge and of truth in the Law." But this confidence is rather the enemy of true justice: Proverbs 11: "He who trusts in his riches shall fall"; on account of which, Jeremiah 48: "Because you had confidence in your fortifications and in your treasures, you also shall be taken." And all this is on account of the defect of humility, which is the foundation of all justice. Whence Gregory: "Indeed, truth flees the mind which it does not find humble"; and again the same: "He who gathers virtues without humility carries, as it were, dust into the wind." And because presumption of oneself leads to contempt of one's neighbor, therefore he adds: And they despised the rest, that is, as regards contempt of another's merit, like those of whom Isaiah 65 says: "Who say: Depart from me, do not come near me. These shall be smoke in my fury, a fire burning all day long." And therefore Romans 14: "Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let him who does not eat not judge him who eats"; and Sirach 11: "Do not despise a man in his appearance. The bee is small among flying things, and her fruit has the beginning of sweetness." To these therefore he spoke this parable in detestation of pride and in praise of humility: whence the Gloss: "In this parable he shows that not the words of faith alone, but works are to be examined: among which humility especially reigns, which because the proud, presuming upon their own justice and despising the weak, do not have, as if devoid of faith, when they pray, they are despised."

Luke 18:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Second, as to the conditions of the persons about whom he speaks, he adds: Two men went up to the temple to pray, with a conformable and indeed laudable intention. For we ought to ascend to the temple for this purpose, that we may pray, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-one: "My house shall be called the house of prayer." Whence Augustine says: "Let no one do anything in a place of prayer except that for which it was made, from which it also received its name." Whence also the Lord cast out those who were not praying in the temple but trading, not without harshness of words: John two: "Jesus found in the temple those selling sheep and oxen and doves, and the money-changers sitting. And when he had made a whip of cords, he cast them all out of the temple. And he said to them: Take these things away from here, and do not make my Father's house a house of commerce"; and this, because that house was a house of prayer. And for this reason, so that it might befit the purpose for which it existed, it was therefore built on high, and it was necessary to ascend by steps, to intimate that whoever wishes to pray must raise himself upward. Whence also in the Preface it is said: "Lift up your hearts"; and Bernard says that "although God is everywhere, nevertheless in prayer he must be thought of as above, so that our heart may be lifted upward." As a figure of this, in Exodus twenty-four, "the Lord said to Moses: Come up to me on the mountain." Although, however, they were tending toward one and the same place, they nevertheless had a great difference of conduct; and therefore he adds: One a Pharisee, and the other a publican, by their dissimilar manner of life. Whence the Pharisee was apparently just, because the Pharisees were so called as being distinguished from others by habit, gesture, and observances, as if they were the chief observers of the Law itself, according to that passage in Acts twenty-six: "My manner of life from my youth all the Jews know, knowing me from the beginning, if they are willing to bear witness, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee." On the contrary, the publican was openly evil, because publicans were called the collectors of public taxes, as has often been explained, whence above in chapter fifteen: "The publicans and sinners were drawing near to Jesus to hear him. And the scribes and Pharisees were murmuring," etc. Therefore there is a great difference between the Pharisee and the publican as to appearance, and great also as to reality, because the Pharisee was undermining his own justice through arrogance, and the publican was purging his injustice through repentance. Therefore in Matthew twenty-one it is said to the Pharisees: "The publicans and harlots shall go before you into the kingdom of God." This, however, is said to the Pharisees not because they appeared good, but because they were proud in mind; on account of which it is said above in chapter sixteen: "You are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts, because what is exalted among men is an abomination before God."

Luke 18:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

But the Pharisee standing etc. After he described the conditions of the persons praying, here secondly he describes the conditions of the prayers. And here is described first the condition of the prayer on the part of the proud Pharisee; secondly, on the part of the publican humbling himself, at the words: And the publican standing afar off. Now three things are intimated in the manner of praying of the Pharisee himself, in which the arrogance of his mind is manifested with respect both to God and to neighbor and also to himself. For here are introduced the Pharisee's own haughty thanksgiving, presumptuous reproach of others, and vainglorious commendation of himself. First therefore, as regards the haughty thanksgiving, he says: But the Pharisee standing prayed within himself: God, I give you thanks; in which the Pharisee is reproved, not because he gives thanks to God, but because he does this in a proud manner. Hence Gregory: "If he who proudly gives thanks is reproved, what then of him who attacks grace?" Now his haughtiness is apparent from the fact that he did not pray with body bowed down, but with head held high, since it is said in Isaiah sixty: "The sons of those who humbled you shall come bowed down to you, and they shall worship the steps of your feet." His haughtiness also appears because he prayed within himself, as one pleased with himself, contrary to what is said in Romans fifteen: "We who are stronger ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. For indeed Christ did not please himself." And therefore Proverbs three: "Be not wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil," etc. His haughtiness appears no less because he began from the magnification of the goods which he had received, when he ought rather to have begun from the accusation of himself: Proverbs eighteen: "The just man is the first accuser of himself"; he began from lofty things, when he ought to have begun from the lowest, so as to arrive at the highest. Hence Jerome: "Humility is the first virtue of Christians," and therefore, when it is omitted, one labors in vain. Hence Bede: "Behold, the Pharisee has an eye for rendering thanks, but not for the keeping of humility. And what does it profit if the whole city is guarded, yet one opening through which enemies may enter is left unguarded?" Second, as regards the presumptuous reproof of one's neighbor, he adds: Because I am not like the rest of men, as if to say: the rest are sinners, but I am righteous; whence the Interlinear Gloss: "What does the rest of men mean, except all besides himself? As if to say: I alone am righteous, the rest are sinners." And in this he spoke falsely in two ways: both because he said he was not a sinner, whereas it is said in First John 1: "If we say that we have no sin, we are liars, and the truth is not in us." He also spoke falsely because he said he alone was righteous, whereas the Lord says to Elijah, who said "I alone am left," in Third Kings 19: "I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bent their knees before Baal." But this man, though he is infinitely inferior, not only calls himself alone righteous, but also asserts that the rest are sinners, marking them with a multitude of vices. And therefore he adds: Robbers, unjust, adulterers: so that robbers refers to the concupiscence of the eyes, unjust to the pride of life, and adulterers to the concupiscence of the flesh; by which he indicates that others besides himself are commonly infected with this threefold vice, from which flows the universal transgression and perpetration of sins, according to that passage in First John 2: "All that is in the world is either the concupiscence of the flesh, or the concupiscence of the eyes, or the pride of life." And lest he seem to speak as one uncertain, he also brings forward the publican as an example, when he adds: Even as this publican: which he says not out of compassion for the publican, but rather out of co…

Luke 18:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Third, as to the vainglorious commendation of himself, he adds: I fast twice on the Sabbath, I give tithes of all that I possess, as if to say: I keep perfect justice, both toward myself and toward God, because I mortify the flesh by fasting twice on the Sabbath, that is, in the week; and I keep piety toward God by rendering tithes and alms. And these two are what most please God: whence the Angel also said in Tobit 12: "Prayer with fasting and almsgiving is better than storing up treasures of gold." Whence here also he greatly commends himself, but in this he defiles his justice through vainglory: Proverbs 27: "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips"; because, as it is said in Second Corinthians 10, "not he who commends himself is approved," but is rather certainly reprobated. Whence Sirach 7: "Do not justify yourself before God, for He Himself is the knower of hearts"; and Jeremiah 2: "Behold, I will contend with you in judgment, because you have said: I have not sinned"; and Job 9: "If I wish to justify myself, my own mouth will condemn me; if I show myself innocent, it will prove me perverse." And all this on account of the vice of pride, which most displeases God; Ephesians 2: "By grace you have been saved through faith. For it is the gift of God, not from works, lest anyone should boast." But since this Pharisee acknowledges that the good things he has are from the Lord, he does not seem to glory vainly; because he glories vainly who "glories as though he had not received"; but this man gives thanks to God. — To which Bernard responds that he did not rightly acknowledge the good things he received: for he speaks thus: "He gives thanks not because he is good, but because he is alone; not so much for the good things he has, as for the evil things he sees in others." Such indeed is the manner of pride: whence Gregory says: "There are four kinds by which every swelling of the arrogant is shown: when someone thinks that the good he has, he has from himself; or, if he believes it was given by God, thinks it was given for his merits; or when he boasts of having what he does not have; or when, despising others, he desires to appear uniquely to have what he has." The Pharisee suffered from this plague, who by extolling his own merits preferred himself to all others.

Luke 18:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

And the publican, standing afar off, etc. After he has expressed the conditions in the prayer of the proud Pharisee, here secondly he expresses the conditions of the prayer of the humble publican, in which is described the manifestation of perfect humility as to gesture, as to movement, and as to word. First, as regards the indication of humility through gesture, he says: And the publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes toward heaven. Bede: "As a humble man, he does not dare to approach, so that God may approach him; he does not look up, so that he may be looked upon." For nothing pleases God so much in a penitent, as Bernard says, as humble shame; and in such a manner He wishes to be prayed to. Hence this publican was among those of whom Isaiah forty-nine says: "With their face bowed down to the earth, they shall worship you and lick the dust of your feet." He did not dare to lift up his eyes toward heaven, because he recognized that he had offended the God of heaven, so that he would say as the penitent prodigal son, above in the fifteenth chapter: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you"; and that of the last chapter of Second Chronicles: "I have sinned beyond the number of the sands of the sea, and my sins are multiplied, and I am not worthy to behold the height of heaven because of the multitude of my iniquity." Therefore he did not dare to lift up his face on account of shame for sin, so that within himself he would say that of First Ezra, chapter nine: "O Lord my God, I am confounded and ashamed to lift up my face to you, for our iniquities are multiplied above our head, and our offenses have grown up even to heaven." Second, as regards the indication of humility with respect to bodily movement, he adds: But he struck his breast, by which he rendered himself guilty and showed himself to be grieving. For in this, that the breast is struck, the heart within is shown to be worthy of punishment; as a sign of which, in the last chapter of Second Kings, "David's heart struck him after the people had been numbered, and David said to the Lord: I have sinned greatly in this deed; but I pray, O Lord, that you would take away the iniquity of your servant." So this man struck his breast, as if indignant against himself. Hence the Gloss: "He strikes his breast and exacts punishment from himself, so that God may spare him." Hence it is also our custom in confession and in saying the fault to strike our breasts in reproach and penitence of our hearts and in attestation of our consciences. Hence below in the twenty-third chapter it is said that "the multitude of those who had come together to that spectacle and saw the things that were happening struck their breasts." On account of which the striking of the breast, as Augustine says, avails for the remission of venial sins; hence it is one of the eight things by which venial sins are remitted. For venial sins are said to be remitted by confession, striking of the breast, sprinkling of holy water, contrition of heart, signing with the cross, prayer, holy communion, and forgiveness of injuries; hence the verse: I confess, I strike, I am sprinkled, I am contrite, I pray, I sign myself, I eat, I forgive: by these I put away venial sins. Third, with respect to the intimation of humility through word, he adds: Saying: God, be merciful to me a sinner. Note here a most brief prayer and a most efficacious one, because in it the one praying humbles himself and exalts God: and such a prayer is acceptable to God, according to that passage of Sirach thirty-five: "The prayer of him who humbles himself shall penetrate the clouds." He also magnifies God by humbly seeking pardon: Sirach, the last chapter: "I will praise the name of the Lord continually, and my prayer was heard," etc. He also magnifies him by calling him God, because this is the name of supreme majesty: Psalm: "Know that the Lord himself is God: he made us, and not we ourselves"; and again: "Fo…

Luke 18:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Amen I say to you. After he has described the conditions of the persons and of the prayers, here now in the third place he describes the conditions of being heard. Moreover, the condition of being heard is described here with respect to personal judgment and with respect to universal edict. First therefore, as regards the personal judgment, he says: Amen I say to you: This man went down to his house justified rather than the other, that is, "more than that one," because the Pharisee went down justified according to his own opinion, but this man according to truth. Whence the Lord esteems one humble supplication of a penitent sinner more than the innumerable actions of some just man presuming upon himself. On account of which he says above in the fifteenth chapter: "There is joy among the Angels of God over one sinner doing penance than over ninety-nine just, who do not need penance," that is, who consider themselves not to be in need—in which human pride is wonderfully restrained, so that it may not presume upon its own merits. On account of this also God rejected the proud Jewish people and chose the humble populace of the Gentile nations, whose figure this Pharisee and this publican bear. Whence the Gloss: "Typically the Pharisee designates the people of the Jews, who from the justifications of the Law extols his merits and by being proud withdraws; the humbled publican designates the Gentile, who, placed far from God, confesses his sins and by lamenting draws near to God and is exalted." Therefore it is said in Romans eleven: "Be not high-minded, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you either." If therefore God repels the just on account of pride, how much more the impious and the proud; First Peter four: "If the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the impious and the sinner appear"? Second, as to the universal decree, he adds: Because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Here a general judgment is given concerning the humble and the proud; whence the Gloss: "The controversy of the Pharisee and the publican having been set forth, the judge's sentence is given, so that pride may be guarded against." In this judgment the humble is universally preferred to the proud, because the proud man ought to be cast down, according to what is said in Obadiah: "If you have been exalted like an eagle, and if you have placed your nest among the stars," etc.; and Job 20: "If his pride ascends up to heaven, and his head touches the clouds, he shall perish in the end like a dunghill." On account of which, Proverbs 16: "Pride precedes destruction"; and on the contrary, the humble just man is exalted: Job 22: "He who has been humbled shall be in glory, and he who has cast down his eyes, he shall be saved." And therefore 1 Peter, last chapter: "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation." Concerning both of these together, Proverbs 18: "Before destruction the heart of man is exalted, and before he is glorified, he is humbled"; because, as is said in Proverbs 29, "humility follows the proud, and glory shall receive the humble in spirit." And this is what is said in Sirach 20: "There is an abasement because of glory, and there is one who from humility shall lift up his head." — Whence we have an example here in the Pharisee and the publican, an example in the Jewish and Gentile peoples, an example in Saul the reprobate and David the elect, and the supreme example in Lucifer and Jesus Christ. Whence according to this judgment the governance of the whole universe runs its course. And note that this same judgment was set forth above in chapter fourteen concerning those invited to the wedding feast, and is now repeated here; but not without reason, because humility is twofold: one is of charity, by which one voluntarily humbles oneself; the other is the humility of truth, by which one think…

Luke 18:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

They were bringing infants to him etc. After he led by a parabolic example to humility in prayer, here consequently by an expressed example he also leads to humility in conduct, and this by the example of infants, who were offered to Christ and accepted by him as a sign of the approval of humility. In the explication of this example, five things are introduced by the Evangelist: first, the importunate offering of the infants; second, the carnal rebuke of those offering; third, the benign reception of those offered; fourth, the judicial approbation of the humble; fifth, the severe reprobation of the proud. First, therefore, as to the offering of infants, he says: They were bringing infants to him, that he might touch them. The Gloss: "After the aforementioned controversy and the sentence given, infants are offered to the humble Master, that it might be shown that innocent and simple age pertains to grace"; whence in the Psalm: "Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise." They were offering them, that he might give them a blessing through the imposition of hands: in which the Sacrament of Confirmation was prefigured and in a certain way intimated, in which an abundance of grace and blessing is given, according to that passage in Acts 8: "They laid hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit." Now this Holy Spirit rests upon the little ones, according to that passage in the last chapter of Isaiah: "What is the house that you will build for me? And what is this place of my rest?" "But to whom shall I look, if not to the poor and contrite in spirit and trembling at my words?" where another translation says: "Upon whom shall my Spirit rest, if not upon the humble and quiet one?" And this is most true when one is offered to the Lord; the Psalm: "For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord has taken me up." And therefore as a figure of this it is said in the last chapter of Leviticus: "Whatever has once been consecrated shall be holy of holies to the Lord." Second, as regards the rebuking of those who brought them, he adds: When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them, namely those bringing them, and this because they were carnally attached to Christ. Hence the Gloss: "They rebuked, not because they did not want the infants to be blessed by the hand and voice of the Savior, but because, not yet perfect in faith, they thought that he, in the manner of men, would be wearied by the importunity of those bringing them." Hence for the sake of the Master's rest they were hindering the work of others' salvation, just as Peter too in Matthew 16, when the Lord said that he must suffer, said: "Far be it from you, Lord, this shall not happen to you." Or, because they were carnally attached to their own people; hence the Gloss: "They rebuked, perhaps for this reason, because they wanted the people of the Jews, from whom they were according to the flesh, to be saved first." And therefore they were moved by carnal compassion, concerning which Sirach 18: "The compassion of man is toward his neighbor, but the mercy of God," etc. In this deed, however, the disciples bore the type of carnal priests and prelates, who love carnal rest and proximity of blood more than the salvation of peoples; just as also in their contention, namely of the disciples, which they had, they bear the figure of the ambitious, concerning which below in chapter twenty-two: "There arose a contention among the disciples, which of them should seem to be the greater." And these are the two vices that most corrupt the Church of God, namely ambition for dignities and negligence of the salvation of neighbors. For both of these it is said in Jeremiah 48: "Cursed is he who does the work of God deceitfully, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from blood"; another translation has negligently: in which both deceitful ambition and slothful negligence are condemned together.

Luke 18:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Third, as regards the gracious reception of those brought, it is added: But Jesus, calling them together, said: Let the children come to me, and do not forbid them, whom indeed you ought rather to draw and call; hence Proverbs 9: "She sent her handmaids to call to the citadel and to the walls of the city: If anyone is a little one, let him come to me." Therefore they ought not to have forbidden these, but to have called them; Proverbs 3: "Do not forbid him who can do good; if you can, do good yourself." Hence Chrysostom: "If they are to be holy, why do you forbid children to come to their father? If they are to be sinners, why do you pronounce a sentence of condemnation before you see any fault? What they are now is mine; what they will be is their own; honor what is mine, have mercy on what will be theirs." From which it manifestly appears that children are not to be prohibited from approaching Christ. As a sign of this also, so that he might present himself to children as an example, it is said of him above in the second chapter that "when he was twelve years old, having left his parents, he remained in Jerusalem." As a sign of this also, he accepted the martyrdom of infant children, concerning which Matthew 2: "Herod, sending forth, killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem from two years old and under." As a sign of this also, he accepted the laudatory praise of children; Matthew 21: "The chief priests, seeing the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying: Hosanna to the Son of David! were indignant. And they said to him: Do you hear what these are saying? But Jesus said to them: Have you not read, 'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes you have perfected praise'?" Therefore, although children are slain by Herod and repelled by the Pharisees, they are to be received by the disciples, because they are received by Christ and by God; whence the Psalm: "Praise the Lord, you children." Fourth, with regard to the judicial approbation of the humble, it is added: For of such is the kingdom of God, that is, of those similar to children. And note that children have certain things in themselves in which the wicked are likened to them, and certain things in which the good are likened to them. On account of which, First Corinthians 14: "Do not become children in understanding, but in malice be little ones." — For children have foolishness in reason: Proverbs 22: "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child"; Wisdom 12: "You gave judgment in mockery, as to senseless children." They have concupiscence in affection; Ecclesiastes 10: "Woe to the land whose king is a child, and whose princes eat in the morning"; and Proverbs 29: "A child who is left to his own will shall bring shame upon his mother." They also have instability in action: Isaiah 40: "Children shall faint and labor, and youths shall fall in their weakness"; and Ephesians 4: "Let us not be as little ones, tossed about," etc. And therefore Isaiah 65: "A child of a hundred years shall die, and the sinner," etc. Besides these things, children have purity: Daniel 1: "The king commanded the chief of the eunuchs that he should bring in children in whom there was no blemish"; therefore First Kings 21: "If the children are clean, especially from women? And David said: Indeed, the vessels of the children were holy," etc. They have simplicity: Proverbs 20: "A child is known by his pursuits, whether his works are right and clean"; Hosea 11: "Israel was a child, and I loved him," namely on account of his simplicity; and 1 Chronicles, last chapter: "I know, Lord, that you test hearts and love simplicity." — They have docility: Wisdom 8: "I was a clever child and obtained a good soul"; Proverbs 23: "Do not withhold discipline from a child; for if you strike him with the rod, he will not die." — They have amiability: Job 29: "The Almighty was with me, and my children were round about me"; and above, chapter 11: "Do not trouble me, for my…

Luke 18:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Fifth, with regard to the severe reprobation of the proud, it is added: Amen I say to you: Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a child shall not enter into it: as if to say: he who refuses to be humbled on account of the pride of his heart shall not enter into that kingdom by the sentence of God's truth. Whence Matthew 18: "Unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." For it is necessary that he who wishes to enter into the kingdom be as a child, that is, pure and little. Now the kingdom of heaven is called sacred doctrine, to which whoever wishes to come must make himself as a child. Whence the Gloss: "The kingdom of heaven, that is, the doctrine of the Gospel, we are commanded to receive as a child. A child in learning does not contradict his teachers, does not compose arguments and words to resist, but faithfully receives, obeys, and rests." Therefore it is said in Matthew 11: "You have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and have revealed them to little ones"; and Daniel 1: "And to these children God gave knowledge and discipline in every book," etc. The kingdom of heaven is also called grace, concerning which above in chapter 17: "The kingdom of God is within you." And this is not given except to children through purity and humility; James 4: "God resists the proud, but to the humble He gives grace." The kingdom of heaven is nonetheless called eternal glory: Matthew 13: "The just shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." And this is not given except to little ones, according to that in Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"; and also to children, who are pure: Matthew 5: "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God." Whence the Gloss: "As a child does not persevere in anger, when harmed does not remember, does not lust after a woman, does not think or speak evil; so you, unless you have such innocence and purity, shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." He therefore who refuses the littleness of humility and the purity of holiness, despises the merit of eternal life; and therefore it is necessary that he be reprobated by divine judgment, so that he does not enter into the kingdom of heaven, but is driven far outside: Apocalypse 22: "Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the unchaste and those who serve idols." On account of which in the Psalm: "The king is not saved by great power, and the giant shall not be saved in the abundance of his strength"; therefore Judith 9: "The proud have not pleased You from the beginning, but the prayer of the humble and the meek has always pleased You." He therefore who does not wish to be damned has need to be humbled: therefore Ecclesiasticus 7: "Humble your spirit greatly, for the vengeance upon the flesh of the impious is fire and the worm."

Luke 18:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Second, curiosity in possessing is refuted in two ways. And a certain one asked him etc. After the refutation of curiosity in investigating, there follows here the second part of this section, in which the refutation of curiosity in possessing takes place; and this he does in two ways, first by commending poverty, second by approving liberality, below in the nineteenth chapter: And having entered, he was passing through Jericho. First, by commending poverty in four ways, He shows poverty to be commendable and worthy of approval on four grounds: first, by reason of perfection in its merit; second, by reason of imperfection in its contrary, at the passage: When he heard these things, he was sorrowful; third, by reason of consummation in its reward, at the passage: And Peter said: Behold etc.; fourth, by reason of the condescension of Christ in his example, at the passage: And Jesus took the twelve disciples. In explaining the merit of perfect poverty, four things are introduced, namely the interrogation, by which it is asked what is to be done; the response, by which it is shown whither one must tend; the instruction, by which the way of salvation is declared; the exhortation, by which the way of perfection is urged. First, therefore, as regards the interrogation, by which it is asked what is to be done, he says: And a certain ruler asked him. Here it seems that Ambrose and Bede contradict each other. For Ambrose says that this man questioned Jesus with a testing and inquisitive question, and this is gathered both from the fact that the Lord rebuked him, and from the fact that he did not accept the Lord's counsel. Hence Ambrose in the Gloss: "The question was crafty, and therefore the response was shrewd." But Bede says that he questioned with a faithful and earnest question, which he draws from the fact that the Lord Jesus is said especially to have loved him; hence Bede in the Gloss: "This man should not be thought, as some say, to have either tempted God or to have lied about his life; otherwise, as Mark says, having gazed into the secrets of his heart, Jesus would not be said to have loved him." But this is resolved by a certain saying of John Chrysostom: "This man," he says, "was rich and a tempter and proud, but Jesus looked upon him with eyes of mercy." And so he did not love in him what he formerly was through pride, but what he began to be through grace. But whatever intention he may have had in doing this, he made a useful question: and therefore he adds: Saying: Good Master, what shall I do to possess eternal life? This is a right and useful question, according to that passage of Jeremiah 6: "Stand upon your ways and see and ask about the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk in it"; and this by the counsel of the Lord, Matthew 6: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice," through which the kingdom is acquired; and Tobit 4: "Always seek counsel from a wise man"; and especially saving counsel must always be sought from the one most wise Christ and supreme Master. And therefore he calls him Master, from whom as from the most expert he seeks sound counsel, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 6: "Let many be at peace with you, but let your counselor be one in a thousand." And this is Christ, of whom Song of Songs 5: "My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands"; and Ecclesiastes 7: "One man among a thousand I have found." From him therefore, who alone is the Master, according to that passage of Matthew 23: "One is your Master, Christ," who alone is wisdom: First Corinthians 1: "We call Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God," who alone is the true counselor, according to that passage of Isaiah 9: "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor" etc.; this counsel and instruction must be sought, according to that passage of Isaiah 48: "I am the Lord who teaches you profitable things, who governs you in the way in which you walk."

Luke 18:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Secondly, as to the response, by which is shown where one must tend, it is added: But Jesus said: Why do you call me good? He says this not rebuking him as a liar, but because, calling him good, he was fixing his intention on the humanity. Whence Augustine, On the Trinity: "You call me, according to what you see, good master; the vision of this form will not be for the good of those who act wickedly"; as if to say: the goodness toward which you ought to tend is not in me insofar as I am man, but insofar as I am God. — And therefore he adds: No one is good except God alone: which he does not understand of goodness by participation, which is communicated to all by God, according to that passage in Genesis 1: "God saw all things that he had made, and they were very good"; but of goodness by essence, which makes the blessed and good, according to that passage in Exodus 33: "I will show you all good"; and this alone is to be desired, according to that passage in Proverbs 11: "The desire of the just is all good." This good is to be sought as the end of every good: whence Matthew 19: "Why do you ask me about the good? No one is good" etc., that is, the final good is in God alone, who is the end of all things, because "the good and the end are the same." And he himself says in Apocalypse 1: "I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end"; and therefore Nahum 1: "The Lord is good and strengthening in the day of tribulation and knowing those who hope in him." From this good, goodness flows into us through the Holy Spirit; Wisdom 12: "O how good and sweet is your Spirit in us, O Lord"; and the Psalm: "How good is the God of Israel to those who are upright of heart." But this goodness of ours, compared to the divine goodness, is not goodness: whence Job 4: "Shall a man be justified in comparison with God, or shall he be purer than his Maker?" There the Gloss says: "Human justice, compared to the divine, is injustice." And therefore Job 25: "Can a man be justified when compared with God?" as if to say: no. Sirach 18: "God alone shall be justified and remains an unconquered king forever." Christ therefore, about to respond to a question useful for the salvation of the whole world, as the master of morals and of all moral philosophy, began from the highest good by essence, from which and according to which and toward which every good must be ordered; otherwise it ceases to be good.

Luke 18:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Thirdly, as to the instruction, by which the salvific path is declared, he adds: You know the commandments: which is expressed more clearly in Matthew 19: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." He explains these things when he adds: Thou shalt not kill, through wrath; 1 John 3: "He who hates his brother is a murderer"; and therefore Matthew 5: "You have heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not kill." "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment." Thou shalt not commit adultery, through lust, for Deuteronomy 27: "Cursed is everyone who lies with the wife of his neighbor"; and Matthew 5: "You have heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Thou shalt not steal, through avarice: Ephesians 4: "Let him who stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands," etc. Thou shalt not bear false witness, through deceit; Proverbs 19: "A false witness shall not go unpunished, and he who speaks lies shall perish." Honor thy father and mother, namely through beneficence: Ecclesiasticus 3: "He who honors his father shall find joy in his children. And he who honors his mother shall live a longer life; and he who obeys his father shall bring comfort to his mother." Whence Ambrose says: "This is the first step of piety: for God willed these to be your authors. Honor them with dutiful service and refrain from insults; for the piety owed to parents must not be injured even by a look"; therefore Ecclesiasticus 3: "He who fears the Lord honors his parents and serves as though they were his masters those who begot him." Note here that the Lord enumerates the commandments here in an orderly manner and sufficiently: in an orderly manner indeed, because it is prior to turn away from evil than to do good; and therefore he places the negative commandments before the affirmative. Sufficiently, because the commandments of the first tablet are not about things to be done, but rather direct us toward that highest good to be desired; while the last two concerning the coveting of a wife and of another's property are reduced to the prohibition of adultery and theft. Whence in this he sufficiently teaches us to turn away from every disorder with respect to our neighbor, both with respect to the irascible and the concupiscible, and with respect to the operative and the interpretive; and he also teaches perfect beneficence through the last commandment. And thus in these are contained the two precepts of the natural law, concerning the first of which, Tobit 4: "What you would hate to be done to you by another, see that you never do to another"; concerning the second, Matthew 7: "All things whatsoever you wish that men should do to you, do you also the same to them." In these is also sufficiently contained the commandment concerning the love of neighbor, about which it is said in Romans 13: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law."

Luke 18:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

And since these commandments do not justify through simple knowledge, but through experiential observance, therefore the Lord was not asking about simple knowledge when He said: You know the commandments, but about experiential knowledge, because, as is said in Romans 2, "not the hearers of the law, but the doers of the law are just before God." Therefore this lawyer responds as one who understands, when it follows: Who said: All these things I have kept from my youth: and this indeed according to the counsel of the Wise Man in Proverbs 3: "My son, do not forget my law, and let your heart keep my precepts; for they shall add to you length of days and years of life and peace"; because it is said in Ecclesiastes 8: "He who keeps the commandment shall experience no evil."

Luke 18:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Fourth, as regards the exhortation, by which the perfect path of poverty is urged, it is added: Having heard this, Jesus said to him: Yet one thing is lacking to you; The Gloss: "For perfection." Now that is perfect which lacks nothing: James 1: "That you may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing." And this is done by perfectly fulfilling the divine will, not only by doing what is commanded and avoiding what is forbidden, but also by fulfilling the counsels, according to that in Romans 12: "That you may prove what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God"; and above in chapter 6: "But everyone will be perfect if he is like his master," that is, Christ, who had absolutely nothing. On account of which He adds: All things whatsoever you have, sell and give to the poor: The Gloss: "Not a part," as Ananias did, of whom it is said in Acts 5 that he "defrauded from the price of the field"; and this because "the kingdom of heaven, as Gregory says, is worth as much as you have." "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field," etc. And lest this seem burdensome, He adds: And you shall have treasure in heaven: Job 22: "He shall give flint for earth and golden torrents for flint"; and these are in eternal glory, where there are incorruptible treasures; Matthew 6: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroys, nor thieves dig through nor steal." And "because, as the Gloss says, it does not suffice to leave one's possessions unless one follows the Lord by imitating Him"; therefore He adds: And come, follow me, through the utmost harshness of life: according to that in 1 Peter 2: "Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example," etc. Through the utmost destitution of possessions. For to the disciple wishing to follow Him out of cupidity and saying: "Master, I will follow you wherever you go," He responds: "Foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head," Matthew 8. Through the utmost humility of heart; Sirach 23: "It is a great glory to follow the Lord"; and John 8: "He who follows me does not walk in darkness." And concerning these things, above in chapter nine: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." To follow therefore Christ is to configure oneself perfectly to him, according to that passage in Job 23: "My foot has followed his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside from it," etc.

Luke 18:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Having heard these things, he was saddened, etc. After he showed poverty to be commendable by reason of its perfection in merit, here he shows it to be commendable by reason of the imperfection in its contrary, which is indeed the tenacious clinging to riches. Concerning which four things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the sign, danger, obstacle, and remedy of human tenacity, which is the gift of divine grace. First, therefore, as regards the sign of human tenacity, it is said: Having heard these things, he was saddened, because he was very rich. For because he abounded in riches, he shuddered at the destitution of poverty, and therefore he was made sad at the praise and counsel of poverty. And this is the consequence of cupidity and the sign of tenacity, when someone is saddened out of horror of poverty: Ecclesiasticus 14: "The eye of the covetous man is insatiable in his portion of iniquity; he will not be satisfied until he consumes, withering his own soul." "And he who is in want will not be satisfied with bread, and he will be sorrowful at his own table." But this sadness is evil, because it is the sadness of the world, of which Second Corinthians 7 says: "The sadness of the world works death." For it is said in Ecclesiasticus 38: "From sadness death hastens and covers virtue, and sadness of heart bends the neck." Therefore whoever wishes to flee this sadness must hate the cupidity of riches, which prick after the manner of thorns, as is intimated in Matthew 13. For concerning the rich man it is said in Job 15: "The sound of terror is always in his ears, and when there is peace, he suspects treachery." But contrary to these are the just and perfect Christians, to whom it is said in Hebrews 10: "You received the plundering of your goods with joy, knowing that you have a better and enduring substance."

Luke 18:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Second, as regards the danger of human tenacity, it is added: But Jesus, seeing him made sad, on account of the disposition of pusillanimity; against which Ecclesiasticus 7 says: "Do not be faint-hearted in your soul. Do not despise praying and giving alms." — He said: How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into the kingdom of God, on account of the vice of tenacity. The Gloss says: "Who have riches, that is, who possess them with love and place their trust in them." Whence it is said more expressly in Mark 10: "How difficult it is for those trusting in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!" And the reason for this is that those who embrace temporal things here as great things despise those eternal things; whence the Gloss says: "Those who devote themselves to multiplying riches despise the joys of the other life." Moreover, those who love these temporal things are exposed to many darts of temptations: 1 Timothy, last chapter: "Those who wish to become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil and into many useless and harmful desires, which plunge a man," etc. Another reason is that those who are joined to these things by affection are not easily separated: whence also concerning such persons in the Psalm: "For our soul has been humbled in the dust, our belly has been glued to the earth." Whence Bernard: "The concupiscence of the world harms more than its substance. And this is the principal reason for fleeing riches: because they can scarcely or never be possessed without love. For the substance of this world is slimy and sticky, and the human heart easily clings to all things which it frequents." And therefore the Gloss: "Riches are despised with difficulty: therefore, of all courses, it is safer neither to have nor to love riches." In this he gives to understand four differences among men, which Bede explains, and which are found in the Gloss on the tenth chapter of Mark: "Many have and do not love; many do not have yet love; others have and love; but others rejoice in neither having nor loving, and these are the safest, because they can say with the Apostle: The world is crucified to me, and I to the world," Galatians 6.

Luke 18:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Third, as to the obstacle of tenacity itself, he adds: For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, although this is against nature, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, because this is against divine justice. For it is less impossible that a great thing should pass through a small needle than that a covetous and avaricious soul should enter into heaven, where there is a sufficiency of goods; because, as Ecclesiastes 5 says, "the covetous man shall not be satisfied with money, and he who loves riches shall not reap fruit from them," but rather indeed eternal destruction, because the weight of riches drags one downward: Ecclesiastes 5: "Riches kept to the harm of their owner. They perish in the worst affliction." Whence, as far as heaven is distant from earth, so far is the heart of the avaricious man, which is turned toward earthly things, distant from the kingdom of God, which is in heaven. On account of which, Isaiah 55: "As the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts." And it should be noted that the comparison of the avaricious man to a camel is apt, because the camel with its huge limbs is an enormous, monstrous, and hump-backed animal: so the avaricious man, joined by love to his possessions, is like a monstrous animal. Moreover, the entrance to the heavenly kingdom is compared to the eye of a needle on account of its narrowness and spirituality: whence Matthew 7: "Narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leads to life, and few enter through it." Whence the impossibility of the avaricious man entering the kingdom of heaven is greater than that of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. On account of which Bernard says: "It is necessary that we strive to enter through the narrow gate. Why, O camel, do you bear the hump? Why, O man of wealth, do you carry the purses of Judas the traitor? Not so, O impious one, not so shall you enter: the eye of a needle does not admit such burdens. But some excuse themselves saying: Are not Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the other Saints read to have possessed earthly riches? That suffices for us: for we are not better than the fathers." "What shall we respond to the new imitators of the ancient Saints? Let them place calves upon the altar of the Lord, let them slaughter rams, let them sacrifice goats, because Abraham also did this. But just as the divine dispensation accommodated itself to those sacrifices for the peoples of that time, so also to carnal riches; where indeed the heavenly promise has sounded, it is necessary that spiritual things be compared with spiritual things, and that the sacrifice be changed, since the hope has been changed."

Luke 18:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Fourth, regarding the remedy for this very tenacity through divine help, he adds: And those who heard said: And who can be saved? They say this seeking a remedy and dreading the danger. For since very few perfectly despise riches, it seems from this that almost no one can attain perpetual salvation. Hence Augustine: "Since the poor are more numerous than the rich, the Apostles would not have said this unless they understood in the number of the rich all those who desire to obtain riches"; but few are those who are not such, because, as is said in Philippians 2, "all seek the things that are their own, not the things that are of Jesus Christ." All, therefore, seem to be in danger of damnation.

Luke 18:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Therefore the Lord shows the remedy through the gift of his grace, when he adds: He said to them: The things that are impossible with men, through the power of their own strength, are possible with God, that is, are made possible through his help; which he says because, although it is difficult to despise these temporal things through the force of nature, it is nevertheless made easy through the gift of grace, according to that passage in Song of Songs, last chapter: "If a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he would despise it as nothing." Hence it is not to be understood that the Lord introduces a covetous man, remaining covetous, into heaven by his power, but that through the gift of grace he converts him from vice to virtue. Hence the Gloss: "God converts from the love of earthly things to the charity of eternal things, not that the proud and covetous enter." And this is of great power, that so great a change is made, that from the covetous one a charitable one is made, from the earthly one a heavenly one, from the rich a poor man, from the proud a humble one, from a son of perdition a son of the king, so that the words of the Psalm may be said: "This is the change of the right hand of the Most High"; because he it is who can give sufficiency of heart through grace, which cannot be given through money or any creature, according to that passage in 2 Corinthians 9: "God is able to make all grace abound in you, so that in all things always having all sufficiency," etc., because, as is said above in chapter one, "no word shall be impossible with God."

Luke 18:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

But Peter said. After he commended poverty through its perfection in merit and through its imperfection in the contrary, here thirdly he shows it commendable on account of its consummation in reward. Concerning the description of this, the procedure follows this order. For here the loftiness of perfect poverty is introduced as authoritative through apostolic observance, as approved through divine judgment, as enriched through grace, as rewarding through glory. First, therefore, as regards the authentication of poverty through apostolic observance, he says: But Peter said: Behold, we have left all things and have followed you. Peter says this as the prince of the Apostles, upon whom ecclesiastical perfection is built, according to that passage in Matthew sixteen: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church." He says this not for display, but to know the sublimity of the reward; whence in Matthew nineteen: "Behold, we have left all things and have followed you: what therefore shall be ours?" etc. Peter also says this to show that the counsel of poverty was fulfilled by the Apostles; whence Jerome: "Great confidence: Peter was a fisherman, he had not been rich, he sought food by hand and by skill; and yet he speaks confidently, saying: We have left all things." And Gregory gives the reason for this, saying thus: "For as much was left behind by those who followed as could have been desired by those who did not follow." Since, therefore, all things could be desired, when they left behind desire, they left behind all things. Peter also says this not boastfully for display, but wisely, so that he might invite others to imitation. Whence Bernard on this word, behold, we have left all things: "Well done, Peter, and not to your folly, because the world passes away and its desire, and it is more expedient to leave behind than to be left behind." And note that he most fittingly joins two things here: we have left and we have followed you: because we cannot follow Christ as he runs unless we run after him, and we cannot run unless we are unburdened; whence in Hebrews twelve: "Laying aside every weight and the sin which surrounds us, let us run with patience the race set before us, looking" etc. And on this Bernard says: "Well done, he says, Peter, and not to your folly, because you could not follow him who runs while burdened; nor is it a useless exchange to have left all things for him who is above all things." Christ also, whom we follow, we cannot overtake unless we are unburdened; and we follow in vain unless we overtake him, according to that passage in Philippians three: "But I press on, if somehow I may lay hold of that for which I also have been laid hold of." And on this Bernard says: "It is clear that those are happy who have been unburdened and follow the Lord unencumbered; a most narrow opening awaits us, if we wish to overtake him whom we follow." And thus Paul was following, who said in Philippians three: "Forgetting those things which are behind, stretching forth myself to those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the heavenly calling." So also the other Apostles, of whom in Matthew four: "Having left their nets and their father, they followed the Lord," is said of James and John; and in Mark one it is said of Peter and Andrew: "Having left their nets and their boat, they followed him"; similarly of blessed Matthew it is said in Luke five that "having left all things, he followed the Lord."

Luke 18:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Secondly, as to the approval of such a poor man by the divine judgment, it is added: Who said to them: Amen I say to you: There is no one who has left home, as to the foundation of inheritance; Jeremiah 12: "I have left my house, I have abandoned my inheritance, I have given the beloved of my soul" etc. Or parents, as to the origin of inheritance; the Psalm: "Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father's house." — Or brothers, as to the fellowship of inheritance, namely carnal brothers, concerning whom Job 6: "My brothers have passed me by like a torrent that rushes swiftly through the valleys." Or a wife, as to the joint ownership of inheritance, because wife and husband are one body; therefore it is said in Ephesians 5: "Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies"; nevertheless they can be left for the love of Christ, so that they are not taken in marriage, or if they have already been taken in marriage, with their consent, or on account of the sin of fornication. For Matthew 19: "Whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery." On this the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 7: "But I say to the unmarried and to widows: it is good for them if they remain as I am." "To those who are joined in marriage I command, not I, but the Lord, that a wife is not to depart from her husband" etc. Therefore what is said about the leaving of a wife is to be understood in the manner stated above. Or children, as to the succession of inheritance; Matthew 10: "He who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Or fields, as to the expansion of inheritance: concerning which Isaiah 5: "Woe to you who join house to house and unite field to field even to the boundary of the place." For the sake of the kingdom of God, that is, according to right intention, by which the kingdom of God is to be sought: Matthew 6: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you." The Lord accepts that renunciation in which cupidity and carnality are abandoned together. Therefore it is said to Abraham in Genesis 12: "Go out from your land and from your kindred and from your father's house, and come into the land that I will show you." For it is not sufficient that bodily possession be relinquished unless carnal affection is also relinquished: on account of which it is said in Deuteronomy 33: "They who said to their father and mother: I do not know you, and to their brothers: I do not recognize them, and they did not acknowledge their own children: these kept your word and preserved your covenant, O Jacob, and your law and your judgments, O Israel."

Luke 18:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Thirdly, as to the enrichment of poverty through grace, it is added: And not receive much more in this time: which is not to be understood of temporal things, so that he would have many more wives, or children, or carnal brothers, but it is understood of the spiritual charisms of graces, by which poverty is incomparably enriched without loss to another: and this through the gift of charity, which makes all things common, according to that passage of 1 Corinthians 3: "All things are yours, whether present or future"; through the gift also of most abundant simplicity; whence 2 Corinthians 8: "Their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of simplicity"; and 2 Corinthians 6: "As needy, yet enriching many," etc. As a figure of this it is said in Genesis 26: "Isaac sowed in that land and found in that same year a hundredfold, and the Lord blessed him, and he was enriched." Whence it is said in Matthew 19: "He shall receive a hundredfold," etc.; on which passage Jerome says: "He who shall have left carnal things for the Lord shall receive spiritual things, which by comparison and by their merit shall be as though a hundredfold were compared to a small number." Whence lest it be understood of temporal enrichment, it is said in Mark 10: "There is no one who leaves," etc., "who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time, with persecutions." On which passage Bernard says: "Pointedly there is added with persecutions, for perhaps someone, when he had heard that a hundredfold is promised here, would conjecture that this is also bestowed in temporal things; but the added word persecution forestalls this understanding. For what is there of earthly consolation that persecution does not easily take away? What earthly thing did the holy Martyrs receive amid persecutions? Nevertheless, in the meantime, from whatever source they are to receive the hundredfold, provided it be a hundredfold, provided the hundredfold avail, provided it please a hundredfold, console, delight, and be loved: what madness is it that men hesitate to leave the single for the hundredfold?" Fourth, as regards the remuneration of poverty through glory, there is subjoined: And in the age to come, life everlasting. And rightly is glory called by the name eternal life, because, just as separation from the font of life is death and eternal damnation, so union with Him is eternal life. On account of which it is pointedly said in the Psalm: "With the torrent of Your pleasure You shall give them drink; for with You is the fountain of life." And rightly is the eternity of life added, because eternity is nothing other than "the total, simultaneous, and perfect possession of unchangeable life." And such is what exceeds temporal things infinitely, so that it is truly said in Romans 8: "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the future glory that shall be revealed in us"; because, 2 Corinthians 4, "that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation works above measure in the sublimity of eternal glory a weight in us." This immense weight we can purchase for the light weight of things, because the reward surpasses merit in every way: above in chapter six: "Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall they give into your bosom." And therefore it is said in Sirach 18: "Be not hindered from praying always, nor fear to be justified even unto death, for the reward of God endures forever."

Luke 18:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Now Jesus took the twelve etc. After he showed poverty to be commendable and desirable through the perfection of its merit, through the imperfection of its contrary, and through the consummation of its accumulated reward, here fourthly he shows it to be worthy of approval and worthy of choice by reason of the most perfect example, namely, of Christ crucified. And since that example could seem contemptible to some by reason of weakness, therefore in this part there is first set forth the example of Christ's condescension: secondly, for its confirmation there is added a miracle of power in the illumination of the poor blind man, at the passage: Now it came to pass, as he drew near to Jericho. Concerning the example of condescension, which consists in the endurance of the cross, four things are introduced for its perfect description, namely: the kindness of the Master, the profundity of the mystery, the bitterness of the punishment, and the blindness of the human heart with respect to such an example. First, therefore, as regards the kindness of the Master, he sets forth: Now Jesus took the twelve, that is, he took them intimately to himself, and this was of wondrous condescension and kindness; Deuteronomy thirty-two: "He spread his wings and took them up and carried them on his shoulders." He took them, moreover, so that by teaching he might console them and by consoling he might teach them. Whence he adds: And he said to them: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, namely, as to the place of the passion. The Gloss: "Foreseeing that his disciples would be disturbed by his passion, he foretells the place and the pain of the passion and the glory of the resurrection, so that, when they beheld him dying, they would not doubt that he would rise again." He foretells, moreover, that this would take place in Jerusalem. For, as was said above in chapter thirteen, "it cannot be that a Prophet perish outside Jerusalem." The reason for this is that Jerusalem was the place in which was the seat of the kingdom, the priesthood, of teaching, and of judgment: and therefore there ought to suffer he who is king and priest, master, and judge, so that from Jerusalem might go forth and begin the kingdom of Christ, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The Lord shall send forth the rod of thy power out of Sion," etc.; might go forth salvation or remedy; Isaiah sixty-two: "For Sion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her just one goes forth as a splendor"; might also go forth law and judgment: Isaiah two: "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord"; and after: "For out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem." Therefore Christ went up to Jerusalem, so that, suffering on the cross, he might give to the nations the kingdom of power, the priesthood of holiness, and the law of judgment and truth. On account of which Jerusalem itself also bears the type of the Church, of the holy soul, and of the heavenly Jerusalem. Whence Isaiah four: "Everyone who shall be left in Sion and who shall remain in Jerusalem shall be called holy to the Lord, everyone who shall be written in the book of life in Jerusalem." Second, as regards the profundity of the mystery, there is added: And all things shall be accomplished which were written by the Prophets concerning the Son of man. In this appears the wondrous profundity of the mystery of the Lord's passion, because in it is the consummation of all prophetic revelation. For all the Prophets had as their principal aim the foretelling of Christ according to His threefold dignity, namely of kingship, teaching, and priesthood; and according to His threefold perfection, namely of power, truth, and goodness, according to what is said of Christ in Isaiah thirty-three: "The Lord is our king, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our judge: He shall come and save us." Inasmuch as He is king, He governs us through precepts and judgments; inasmuch as He is…

Luke 18:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Third, as to the bitterness of the punishment, he adds: For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, as a stranger, according to what is foretold by David in the Psalm: "I was delivered up and did not go forth." The figure of this preceded in Joseph, of whom it is said in Genesis thirty-seven, that "his brothers delivered him to the Ishmaelites," and in Samson, of whom it is said in Judges sixteen, that his wife delivered him to the Philistines. And he shall be mocked, as a fool: the figure of this preceded in Job, of whom Job thirty: "Now those younger in age deride me, whose fathers I would not have deigned to set with the dogs of my flock" etc.; and Mark fifteen: "They clothe him in purple and place upon him a crown of thorns they had plaited, and they began to salute him, saying: Hail, King of the Jews: and they struck his head with a reed." And he shall be scourged, as the lowest: whence in the Psalm: "And I was scourged the whole day"; and Isaiah fifty: "I gave my body to those who struck me and my cheeks to those who plucked them"; whence John nineteen: "Pilate took Jesus and scourged him." And he shall be spat upon, as unclean, Isaiah fifty: "I did not turn my face from those who rebuked and spat upon me"; and Job thirty: "They have fled far from me and do not fear to spit in my face"; Matthew twenty-six: "They spat in his face and struck him with their fists."

Luke 18:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

And after they have scourged him, they shall put him to death, as though he were wicked: whence it is said in Daniel nine: "After sixty-two weeks Christ shall be slain: and the people who are to deny him shall not be his"; and Isaiah fifty-three: "He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter and shall be silent as a lamb before his shearer"; and Matthew twenty-seven: "After they had mocked him, they clothed him in his own garments and led him away to be crucified." "And they crucified with him two thieves." "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says: And he was reckoned among the wicked." And on the third day he will rise again, as true God, which is said lest they be terrified by the passion. The figure of this resurrection was prefigured in Jonah; whence it is said in Matthew 12: "Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth." Whence also Hosea 6: "He will revive us after two days, and on the third day he will raise us up"; and concerning this, John 2: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." "But he spoke this of the temple of his body." Now in these six things which were accomplished in our redemption—in the betrayal, the mocking, the scourging, the spitting upon, the killing, and the resurrection—the universality of the works of reparation is rightly enclosed at its root, so that, just as in six days the whole world was perfected, so also in these six the work of reparation consists; and finally there follows the giving of the Holy Spirit, as on the seventh day, in the mystery of which it is said in Genesis 2: "God completed on the seventh day all his work"; "and he blessed the seventh day and sanctified it." In this is understood the giving of sevenfold grace: John 7: "The Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified," etc.

Luke 18:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Fourth, as regards the blindness of the human heart, he adds: And they understood none of these things, because they did not attend to this truth: Psalm: "They neither knew nor understood; they walk in darkness." And in this they bear the figure of ignorant prelates, who are ignorant of the teachings of the Scriptures, according to that passage in Isaiah 56: "The shepherds themselves knew not understanding." — And this word was hidden from them, because they did not seek out this truth, being as it were animal and sensual: Job 28: "Whence comes wisdom, and where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all the living." And in this the Apostles bore the figure of the Jews, from whom the divine secrets are veiled: 2 Corinthians 3: "When Moses is read, a veil is placed over their heart"; because the veil had not yet been torn through the passion, according to that passage in Matthew 27: "The veil of the temple was torn." And they did not understand the things that were said, and this, because they did not love this truth. For since they loved Christ carnally, it displeased them that Christ had to die for us, just as Peter also said in Matthew sixteen: "Far be it from you, Lord, this shall not happen to you." Whence the Gloss of Bede: "The disciples are unable to understand the discourse of the Lord's passion, so often repeated, because they cannot bear to hear of the death of him whom they most desire to see; and they do not think that he whom they know to be not only an innocent man but also true God can die. And as often as he says something about his passion, they think it was said allegorically." From which the blindness of the human heart is apparent, which does not understand the mysteries of its redemption unless God, as to a blind man, shows the light of his radiance and restores the gaze of truth. Therefore the miracle of the illumination of the blind man rightly follows, in which is understood the illumination of the human race, because the human race of itself is ignorant of the work of redemption both as to the deed and as to the reason and as to the mystery: 1 Corinthians 1: "We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews indeed a scandal, but to the Gentiles foolishness." It is therefore necessary that Christ open the mind to the understanding of the Scriptures.

Luke 18:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Now it came to pass, as he drew near, etc. After he set forth the imitable example in the passion of the Crucified, here he expounds the admirable deed in the illumination of the poor blind man, in which is simultaneously manifested the power and benignity of Christ, and also the poverty of the beggar is accepted. Therefore, for the full explanation of this miracle's instruction, four things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the opportuneness of the beggar, the importunity of the supplicant, the liberality of the healer, the completeness of the healing. First, therefore, as regards the opportunity or necessity of the beggar, he says: And it came to pass, as he drew near to Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging. Truly this beggar was one who lacked at once both bread and light, which offer themselves to all in common. And this blind man designates the human race, which is blind through the lack of the light of wisdom and begging through the deficiency of grace and justice; whence there can be said to it that word of Apocalypse 3: "You do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked"; and of the Pharisees it is said in Matthew 15: "They are blind and leaders of the blind." Now the human race has been blinded through the desire for temporal things: Psalm: "Fire fell upon them, and they did not see the sun." Whence a notable figure of this preceded in Tobit, who, as is said in Tobit 2, was blinded by the droppings of swallows. And this accords with the fact that this blind man was near Jericho: for Jericho is interpreted as "moon" and designates the mutability of things, from love of which man is blinded and made foolish; Ecclesiasticus 27: "A holy man remains in wisdom like the sun, but a fool changes like the moon." And this blind man is not on the way, but by the wayside, according to that word of Wisdom 5: "We have erred from the way of truth, the light of justice did not shine upon us, and the sun of understanding did not rise upon us." But the blind man sits by the wayside when he draws near to the light of truth from the consideration of his own deficiency and changeableness; whence the Gloss: "Jericho is interpreted as 'moon,' by which the defect of mortality is understood. Therefore, while the Word of God takes on the weakness of our flesh, man returns to knowing divine things."

Luke 18:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Second, as regards the importunity of the petitioner, it is added: And when he heard the crowd passing by; in which is explained the importunity of the blind man praying and giving us an example of prayer: he seeks, asks, and knocks, according to that word of Matthew 7: "Seek, and you shall find; ask, and you shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened to you." He seeks therefore diligently from hearing the crowd; on account of which he says: He asked what this might be, namely from the passing crowd. This passing crowd is the course of creatures, which when questioned in some way lead us by the hand to the Savior; on account of which Job 12: "Ask the beasts, and they shall teach you; and the birds of the air, and they shall tell you. Speak to the earth, and it shall answer you, and the fishes of the sea shall declare. Who is ignorant that the hand of the Lord has made all these things? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing and the spirit of all flesh." Therefore all these things lead to their Maker and Restorer.

Luke 18:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

On account of which is added: They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. All these creatures, insofar as they speak to us through the book of creation, answer us concerning the uncreated Word: Daniel 3: "Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord"; and Wisdom 13: "For from the greatness of the beauty and of the creature, the Creator of them may be known so as to be seen"; because, Romans 1, "the invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood through the things that have been made." But insofar as they speak to us through the word of Scripture, they answer us concerning the incarnate Word: whence John 5, "Search the Scriptures, in which you think you have life. They are the ones that give testimony of me"; because, Romans 10, "the end of the law is Christ, unto justice." Whence in the Canticle of Deuteronomy 32: "Ask your father, and he will declare to you," etc.

Luke 18:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

He also asks devoutly, and therefore it follows: And he cried out, saying: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. In this, that he cries out, he shows that he has an exceeding of desire; on account of which it is said, Romans 8: "It is the Spirit who asks on our behalf with unspeakable groanings." In this, that he says Jesus, he shows that he has confidence of hope: the Psalm: "He hoped in the Lord; He will deliver him; He will save him." For in hope he calls upon Jesus, that is, the Savior, because, Romans 8, "we have been saved by hope." In this, that he says Son of David, he shows that he has understanding of faith, by which we believe that Christ was born from the seed of David, according to that passage, Romans 1: "Who was made for him from the seed of David according to the flesh, who was predestined the Son of God in power." Whence also in Matthew 21 it is said that "they cried out: Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

Luke 18:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

And since the imaginations of things, which ought to lead us to God, present an obstacle to our prayer, therefore he adds: And those who went before rebuked him, that he should be silent. Whence the Gloss: "Those who go before Jesus as he comes signify the tumult of carnal desires, which scatter the thought of man and disturb the voice of prayer, lest Jesus be able to come to illuminate the heart of man." Whence imaginations of this kind, drawing us back from prayer through their clamor, are nothing other than a certain obstacle between us and Christ, according to that passage, Lamentations 3: "You have set a cloud before yourself, so that prayer may not pass through"; and therefore there is need of importunate knocking. On account of which the blind man knocks continuously, when it is added: But he cried out all the more: Son of David, have mercy on me. Psalm: "O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you." And this is the power of prayer, which proceeds from true faith. Whence Chrysostom: "Such is the nature of faith that the more it is hindered, the more it is kindled; on account of which the servants of God are not overcome in persecutions." Whence the Gloss says that "the believer, sensing himself weighed down by the phantasm of former vices and the voice of his prayer hindered so that he cannot pray on his own behalf, cries out more ardently."

Luke 18:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Third, as regards the generosity of the healer, it is added: But Jesus, standing still, commanded him to be brought to himself. Now Jesus is said to stand, because he is in himself immutable: Psalm: "But you are the selfsame, and your years shall not fail"; whence the Gloss: "Jesus passing by hears the blind man, standing still he illuminates him, because through his humanity he has compassion on the cries of our blindness, but by the power of his Divinity he pours into us the light of his grace." And although through prayer we may seem to draw him to us, he rather draws us to himself, just as a ship is drawn to the rock, as Dionysius says. Therefore the bride in Song of Songs 1 says: "Draw me after you." Whence we are drawn to him when we are aroused in mind toward him and transcend beyond ourselves. As a figure of which, in Mark 10 it is said of this blind man: "Casting aside his garment, he leaped up and came to him." And then we also hear secret words, according to that saying of the Prophet in the Psalm: "I will hear what the Lord God speaks within me."

Luke 18:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

And therefore it is added: And when he had drawn near, he asked him, saying: What do you want me to do for you? In which the generosity of the giver appears, because he offers himself to the good pleasure of the one asking. Whence the Gloss: "The Lord does not ask out of ignorance, but in order that he might be asked, so that he might arouse the mind to prayer," according to that saying in John 16: "If you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you." And since he who asks in the name of Jesus asks for things pertaining to salvation, therefore it adds: But he said: Lord, that I may see. The Gloss: "The blind man does not ask for gold or anything temporal, but only for light. Let us therefore imitate him whom we have heard was healed in body and mind." Whence James 1: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask it of God, and it shall be given to him." An example of this is found in Solomon in 3 Kings 3, where it is said that "the Lord appeared to Solomon and said: 'Ask what you will, that I may give it to you.'" But he said: "'You shall give your servant a docile heart,'" etc. "And the word was pleasing before the Lord, that he had asked for such a thing. And the Lord said: 'Because you have asked for wisdom, behold, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, to such a degree that none like you has been before you, nor shall any arise after you,'" etc.

Luke 18:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

Fourth, as to the integrity of health, he adds: And Jesus said to him: Receive your sight: your faith has made you whole, through the infusion of divine grace. For by the regard of faith our heart is raised up to justice; Romans 5: "Being justified by faith, let us have peace with God." And this is the first virtue, concerning which Hebrews 11: "He who draws near must believe," for "it is the substance of things hoped for," etc.

Luke 18:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 18

And immediately he saw, through the circumspection of prudence: Ephesians 5: "See, brethren, how you walk carefully"; Proverbs 4: "Let your eyes look upon what is right, and let your eyelids go before your steps." And he followed him, glorifying God, through the subjection of obedience. The Gloss: "He sees and follows who works the good that he understands and imitates Jesus passing by"; John 8: "I am the light of the world: he who follows me does not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life." — And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God, through the manifestation of divine glory. For this is the work in which power, wisdom, and mercy are supremely manifested: namely, when from a sinner a just man is made, from a fool a wise man, from one who errs a faithful man, and from an impious man a virtuous one. And therefore God is to be praised most greatly for this; whence Galatians 1: "I was unknown by face," Paul says, "to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but they had only heard that he who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy; and they glorified God in me." And this we ought to do, according to Sirach 43: "Glorifying the Lord as much as you can, He shall still prevail, and wondrous is His magnificence. Blessing the Lord, exalt Him as much as you can, for He is greater than all praise."

Luke 19:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Second, he refutes tenacity in possessing by approving a twofold liberality. And having entered, he was passing through Jericho, etc. Above he refuted cupidity by approving poverty; here, second, he refutes tenacity by approving liberality. And since the dispersal and sharing of temporal goods is the way to the multiplication of spiritual goods, therefore in this part he first approves the liberality that distributes temporal goods; second, the diligence in multiplying spiritual goods, at the passage: As they were hearing these things, he added, etc. The first he does through an explicit example; the second, through a parabolic one. Therefore an example is introduced through which liberality is commended, by which Zacchaeus was made just from being impious; and though he was a camel, he passed through the eye of a needle and gave to the rich a model for entering into heaven. In this example, then, three commendable things are introduced in Zacchaeus, through which his example is to be imitated, and it is also a sign of the calling of the Gentiles; on account of which this Gospel is also read at the dedication of churches. And these are the eagerness of Zacchaeus himself to see Christ; the hospitality of Zacchaeus himself in receiving Christ, at the passage: And when he came to the place; the liberality of Zacchaeus himself in distributing his goods, at the passage: But Zacchaeus, standing, etc. Now the eagerness of Zacchaeus is commended on three grounds, namely on the part of what attracted, what retarded, and what expedited. For true eagerness is that in which the soul is drawn to Christ, and if impediments arise, nevertheless desire is not broken but rather burns more ardently. First, therefore, as to the attracting cause, which indeed was the presence of Jesus Christ, he says: And having entered, he was passing through Jericho, that is, he was walking through Jericho. For Jericho was the city which the Jews overthrew after crossing the Jordan, as is told in Joshua chapter six; but it was rebuilt under Ahab, king of Israel: whence Third Kings chapter sixteen: "In the days of Ahab, Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of Abiram, his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of Segub, his youngest, according to the word of the Lord, which the Lord had spoken by the hand of Joshua, the son of Nun." The Lord illuminated this city by his presence, by which he condescended to sinners, by which he also drew sinners to himself. For compassion draws the wretched, as a magnet draws iron.

Luke 19:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Therefore there follows the attraction of the sinner; on account of which it continues: And behold, a man by the name of Zacchaeus: whose name was well-known and widely spoken of, not on account of the fame of virtue, but the infamy of rapacity. Whence he adds: And he was a chief of the tax collectors, who pursued the profits of the world by right and by wrong. Now he held this leadership not on account of justice, but on account of money. And therefore he adds: And he was rich, and thus hunchbacked like a camel and unfit for the kingdom; above in the eighteenth chapter: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle," etc.; and yet by divine power he was brought in, because he was drawn by love of Christ himself.

Luke 19:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Whence it is also added: And he sought to see Jesus, who he was; which he would not have done so eagerly unless he loved him, nor would he have loved or believed unless he had been preceded by his grace, because John 6: "No one comes to me unless my Father who sent me draws him." Jesus drew this man so that he might be an example to others. Whence he was already fulfilling the counsel of the Wise Man, according to that passage of Proverbs 8: "Receive my instruction and not money; choose doctrine rather than gold." He who thus seeks Jesus finds him, according to that passage of Wisdom 1: "Seek him in simplicity of heart, for he is found by those who do not tempt him," etc. Second, as to the hindering factor, which was the press of the people, he adds: And he could not on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. This crowd hindered him, which has always been accustomed to hinder those wishing to come to Christ. For this crowd hindered the illumination of the blind: above in the eighteenth chapter: "When he heard the crowd passing by," etc. "But they rebuked him, that he should be silent"; the petition of the paralytic: Mark 2: "They came to him bearing a paralytic, who was carried by four; and they could not bring him before him on account of the crowd"; the liberation of the deaf and mute: Mark 7: "Taking him apart from the crowd, he put his fingers into his ears, and spitting, touched his tongue"; the raising of the dead: Matthew 9: "When the crowd had been put out, he entered and took her by the hand." It also hinders the approach of Zacchaeus, as is said here, because he could not on account of the crowd. For a crowd prone to evil calls one back from Jesus rather than leads one to him; on account of which Sirach 18: "Do not delight in crowds nor in small gatherings, for their transgression is continual." Therefore Exodus 23: "You shall not follow a crowd to do evil, nor in a judgment shall you yield to the opinion of the many, so as to deviate from the truth." Therefore it is said in Matthew 14: "Having dismissed the crowd, Jesus went up on the mountain alone to pray."

Luke 19:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Third, as to the facilitating factor, which indeed was the height of the sycamore tree, he adds: And running ahead, he climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, because he was about to pass that way. In this his eagerness appears both in running ahead and in climbing up high, so that what he lacked in himself he might supply through an external aid. Whence the Gloss says: "Because by the devotion of faith, what nature lacks for seeing the Savior he supplies by climbing the tree; justly, he received the blessing of the Lord's hospitality, which he desired but did not dare to ask for." But here it should be noted that the Evangelist so carefully expresses the name of the city, the name of the man, and the name of the tree more on account of the mystery than on account of the demands of narrating the event. On account of which it should be understood that this tax collector rightly designates the Gentile people. Jericho, which is interpreted as "moon," as was touched upon above, designates the world on account of its deficiency and mutability: because, in First John 2, "the world passes away and its concupiscence." Joshua destroyed this city, nor was anyone saved in it except Rahab the harlot, who believed the messengers of Joshua and received them — because the true Jesus condemned this worldly manner of life by appearing in the flesh: nor can anyone be saved except he who believes; John 1: "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him"; and after: "But as many as received him, he gave them the power to become sons of God, to those who believe," etc.; whence Hebrews 11: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish." Whence that Rahab signifies the Church of the Gentiles converted to Christ. And this same thing is signified by Zacchaeus the tax collector, who was seeking to see Jesus, namely so that he might know the true God: in which he signifies the people of the Gentiles, just as also Naaman the Syrian, of whom in Fourth Kings 5: "Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, rich, but leprous," who, coming to Elisha, was healed. Whence also in John 12 the Gentiles say: "We wish to see Jesus"; but they cannot, both on account of the disturbance of phantasms and on account of the deficiency of natural light, because this is above reason; and therefore it is necessary to ascend through faith to know him. Whence by the sycamore, which is interpreted as "foolish fig," is understood the eminence of faith, which seems to be foolishness, according to that passage in First Corinthians 1: "We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews indeed" a scandal, "but to the Gentiles foolishness." Into the belief of this foolishness he must ascend who wishes to arrive at wisdom, according to that passage in First Corinthians 3: "If anyone among you seems to be wise, let him become a fool, that he may be wise." For the foolishness of faith leads to the eminence of the wisdom of Christ, and this as it were through six steps, because faith disposes to prudence, prudence to knowledge, knowledge to counsel, counsel to understanding, and understanding to wisdom. And this is the throne of Solomon, to which one ascends by six steps, according to what is intimated in Third Kings 10. Whence also in the Psalm it is said: "Blessed is the man whose help is from you; he has disposed ascents in his heart" etc. "For the lawgiver shall give a blessing; they shall go from virtue to virtue" etc. This eagerness of Zacchaeus, therefore, was both an exemplar to be imitated and a figure of the conversion of the gentiles to Christ, through whose faith those who are helped are raised up to contemplate him. Hence the Gloss: "Through a praiseworthy foolishness he discerns the Lord passing nearby, because, even if not yet so firmly as he truly is, he already nonetheless hastily and as if in passing fixes his attention on the light of heavenly wisdom." Therefore Isaiah 7, according to ano…

Luke 19:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

And when he had come etc. After he expressed the eagerness of Zacchaeus to see Christ, here secondly he expresses the hospitality toward receiving Christ. In describing this, three things are introduced, namely the condescension on the part of Christ, the devotion on the part of Zacchaeus, and the murmuring on the part of the perverse people. First, therefore, as regards the condescension on the part of Christ, he says: And when he had come to the place, Jesus, looking up, saw him, with a gaze of kindness, by which he showed that he approved the publican's disposition by a sign; the Psalm: "The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him and upon those who hope in his mercy." He looked upon this one "because he was small of stature"; "for the Lord is exalted and regards the lowly," namely through condescension. And he said to him: Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, to bestow the benefit of hospitality; and this he does as a sign of great condescension, he who was not ashamed to seek lodging. Hence the Gloss: "Uninvited, he invites himself, because, even though he had not yet heard the voice of one inviting, he nevertheless heard the disposition." And note that he says make haste, because we ought to be prompt in the works and benefits of hospitality, following the example of Zacchaeus and also of Abraham: Genesis 18: "Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah and said to her: Make haste, mix three measures of fine flour and make cakes baked under ashes. And he himself ran to the herd and took a very tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hastened and cooked it." And Christ asked this because he was in need; hence he adds: For today I must stay in your house, as an example of humility. For it was an example of humility that he wished to be in the house of a sinner; it was also an example of humility that he humbly indicated his need and occasion, whereby he required the lodging of another, according to that saying in Matthew 8: "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests" etc. And this is a word rather of humility than of courtesy, because Christ came into the world more to teach humility than to teach courtliness. Therefore he himself said to the disciples, Matthew 11: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart." Jeremiah marvels at this condescension, saying in Jeremiah 14: "Why will you be as a sojourner in the land and as a wandering man, turning aside to lodge?" and Baruch 3: "He conversed with men."

Luke 19:5 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, Luke 19: Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay in your house: Gloss: "Uninvited, He invites Himself"; but to invite another to receive one as a guest is nothing other than to beg and to ask: therefore etc.

Luke 19:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Second, with regard to the devotion of Zacchaeus, he adds: And he made haste and came down and received him with joy: in which his devotion is shown, because he not only offered hospitality hastily, but also joyfully. For such a disposition is most necessary: First Peter four: "Above all things have mutual charity among yourselves continual"; and afterward: "Being hospitable to one another without murmuring." For there ought not to be sadness, but gladness; Second Corinthians nine: "God loves a cheerful giver"; and Hebrews last chapter: "Let brotherly charity remain in you, and do not forget hospitality. For by this some have pleased God, having received Angels as guests." On account of which also holy Job said, chapter thirty-one: "The stranger did not remain outside; my door was open to the traveler." And this ought to be done, because whoever receives the members of Christ receives Christ himself; Matthew twenty-five: "I was a stranger, and you took me in"; and afterward, to those asking how they did these things, he responds: "What you did to one of the least of mine, you did to me." Whence also Zacchaeus was saved through this hospitality; similarly also Lot was freed from Sodom through the Angels received as guests, Genesis nineteen. And similarly the Shunammite woman, through Elisha, whom she received as a guest, both had offspring, though she was barren, and afterward her son was raised from death, Fourth Kings four. And the woman of Zarephath, by receiving Elijah, escaped the danger of famine, Third Kings seventeen. And universally those who were hospitable obtained divine grace, because, as is said in Deuteronomy ten, "The Lord loves the stranger and gives him food and clothing"; whence Proverbs nineteen: "He who has mercy on the poor lends to the Lord."

Luke 19:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Third, with regard to the murmuring of the perverse people, he adds: And when all saw, namely with the eye of perverse judgment, concerning which Sirach 11: "Like a spy watching for the fall of his neighbor: for the plotter, turning good things into evil, places a stain even upon the elect." And because murmuring follows upon evil judgment, he therefore adds: They murmured, saying that he had turned aside to a sinful man, namely by the whispering of a deceitful word, which is greatly to be avoided: therefore it is said in Wisdom 1: "Guard yourselves from murmuring, which profits nothing, and spare your tongue from detraction." But this murmur displeases God greatly in every way; therefore Lamentations 3: "Why does a living man murmur, a man for his sins?" But this people always willingly murmured: Exodus 16: "The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron"; and Numbers 11: "A murmuring of the people arose against the Lord." And therefore 1 Corinthians 10: "Neither murmur, as some of them murmured and perished by the destroyer." And now they murmured against the Lord, and in this they bore the figure of that nation murmuring against the Lord because he received the gentiles. Whence the Gloss says: "It is manifest that the Jews always hated the people of the gentiles, or did not understand their salvation: whence also against Peter it is said: Why did you go in to men having the foreskin?" Acts 11. On account of which it should be understood that, as was touched upon above, by the entry of Christ into the house of Zacchaeus, the chief of the tax collectors, is understood his entry into the Church of the gentiles, by which he was gladly received. Therefore Christ told Zacchaeus to descend to humility, because it was fitting that he should remain in his house, with the synagogue deserting the faith; Acts 13: "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first: but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the gentiles." And note that the house in which Christ remains is sevenfold: the first, namely, is the house of material habitation, in which he remains in the person of the poor: Isaiah 58: "Break your bread for the hungry and bring the needy and the wandering into your house," etc. The second is the house of the constructed basilica, in which he remains in the Sacrament of the altar: Matthew 21: "My house shall be called a house of prayer"; and the Psalm: "I will enter into your house," etc. The third is the house of the Church militant, in which he remains in his members: 1 Timothy 3: "I write these things to you, son, so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar," etc. The fourth is the house of the virginal womb, in which he remains through the presence of the flesh: the Psalm: "Holiness befits your house for length of days." The fifth is the house of a clean conscience, in which he remains by the spirit of holiness: Wisdom 8: "Entering into my house, I shall find rest with her, for she has no bitterness," etc.; and again Sirach 32: "Run ahead first to your house, and there play and pursue your designs." The sixth house is that of Sacred Scripture, in which he remains in the light of truth: the Psalm: "God shall be known in her houses, when he shall protect her"; and Proverbs 9: "Wisdom has built herself a house, she has hewn out seven pillars," etc. The seventh house is that of the heavenly Jerusalem, in which he remains in the joy of blessedness: John 14: "In my Father's house there are many mansions"; and again the Psalm: "I was glad at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord." Since therefore he is received in these seven ways in the Church of the Gentiles, which is signified by Zacchaeus, for this reason this Gospel is read at the Dedications of churches, which signify spiritual houses, concerning which 1…

Luke 19:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

But Zacchaeus, standing, etc. After describing the eagerness and hospitality of Zacchaeus, here he describes his liberality, which indeed he describes with respect to a threefold condition, namely with respect to the sufficient offering of Zacchaeus, the receiving acceptance of Christ, and the reason principally moving him. First therefore, with respect to the sufficient offering of Zacchaeus, he sets forth: But Zacchaeus, standing, from manliness of heart: Ephesians 6: "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth"; said to the Lord: Behold, half of my goods, Lord, I give to the poor, from liberality of heart: in which perfect liberality is shown, because he gives abundantly; for he gives half, according to that of Tobit 4: "Son, if you have much, give abundantly; but if little, even that give willingly," etc., in imitation of him "who gives to all abundantly and does not reproach," James 1. He gives licitly, whence he says: Of my goods; Proverbs 3: "Honor the Lord from your substance"; against which Sirach 34: "The Most High does not approve the gifts of the wicked"; and therefore it is added there: "He who offers sacrifice from the substance of the poor," etc. Likewise he gives promptly, whence he says: I give; Proverbs 3: "Do not say to your friend: Go and come back, when you can give at once"; and Sirach 4: "Do not afflict the heart of the needy, and do not delay giving to one in distress." Likewise he gives discreetly, because to the poor; Sirach 12: "If you do good, know to whom you do it"; and above, chapter 14: "Invite the poor, the feeble, the blind, and the lame." Likewise he gives in an orderly manner, that is, properly, by restoring what belongs to others, and not only restoring what was taken, but also the damage. Hence he says: If I have defrauded anyone, I restore fourfold. He says this according to the Law, Exodus twenty-two: "If anyone shall have stolen a sheep, he shall restore four." This moreover is necessary for perfect liberality: hence Augustine: "One of these without the other does not suffice: nor does the grace of liberality apply, because it is gifts, not spoils, that are sought."

Luke 19:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Secondly, with regard to the accepting reception of Christ, he adds: But Jesus said to him: Because today salvation has been made for this house, through the bestowal of divine grace, which was given at Christ's presence, through which the Church is dedicated and sanctified: the Gloss: "Salvation, which once filled the house of the Jews, today has shone forth upon the people of the Gentiles," according to that passage of Isaiah forty-nine: "It is a small thing that you should be my servant to restore the remnants of Israel. I have given you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation even to the ends of the earth." And this salvation is owed to the predestined. Therefore he adds: Because he also is a son of Abraham: the Gloss: "A son, not by flesh, but by faith"; Romans nine: "Neither are all who are the seed of Abraham children, but in Isaac shall your seed be called." For "not those who are children of the flesh are children, but those who are children of the promise are reckoned as seed." And concerning these children, above in chapter three: "God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham"; and John eleven: "Jesus suffered, that He might gather into one the children of God who had been scattered."

Luke 19:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Thirdly, with regard to the motivating reason, he adds: For the Son of Man came to seek, through wisdom; the Psalm: "I have gone astray like a sheep that was lost; seek your servant, O Lord," etc. And to save what had perished, namely through mercy: the last chapter of Second Paralipomenon: "Unworthy as I am, you will save me according to your great mercy"; and this is saving mercy. On account of which He is also called Jesus: Matthew one: "You shall call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins"; and Acts four: "Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved." Hence Romans ten: "Everyone, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved."

Luke 19:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

As they were hearing these things, etc. After He approved liberality in distributing temporal goods by an explicit example, here by a parabolic example He commends diligence in multiplying spiritual goods, and conversely reproves negligence. Moreover, this diligence consists in the liberal distribution of spiritual goods themselves, and negligence in their concealment. In setting forth this parable, therefore, one proceeds in this order. For first he sets forth the occasion for introducing the parable; and secondly he adds the orderly description of the parable itself, at the passage: He said therefore: A certain nobleman, etc. Regarding the occasion, it should be noted that he indicates a twofold occasion for introducing this parable, namely the rational confutation of the rebellious and the instruction of the simple. First, therefore, as regards the confutation of the rebellious, he says: As they heard these things, namely those who were murmuring, he added and spoke a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, in which, namely, he was to be killed by the rebellious Jews, according to what the Evangelist narrates in what follows concerning his passion that took place in Jerusalem. Therefore he speaks a parable in which the confutation of the rebellious is set forth, according to what is placed at the end of the parable: "But as for those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me." Now they fell into this rebellion because they did not have the diligence to know the grace of Christ; and therefore they were blinded and hardened, because they were attacking the grace which they ought to have received. And for this reason, by the just judgment of God, the truth was set before them not explicitly, but wrapped in the enigmas of parables, according to that passage in Matthew thirteen: "I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear nor understand, that the prophecy of Isaiah might be fulfilled in them, which says: By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown gross, and with their ears they have been dull of hearing, and their eyes they have shut, lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart, and I should heal them," Matthew thirteen, from Isaiah six. Second, as regards the instruction of the simple, he adds: And because they thought that the kingdom of God would be manifested immediately. The disciples themselves supposed this, because they believed that Christ the redeemer and savior was going to Jerusalem for the display of his royal power. Whence also, according to the sequence of the narrative of the evangelical history, at this time "the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus," when, according to what is said in Matthew twenty, "she said to the Lord: Command that these my two sons may sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom." Whence the Gloss: "Because the disciples supposed that the kingdom of God was about to come immediately, he illuminates this ignorance of theirs, teaching that he would spread the faith of his kingdom throughout the whole world and at the end of the age would come as judge and king of all." Whence this parable is also for the instruction of all who wish to arrive at the kingdom, so that they may understand that they cannot arrive at it except through the multiplication of spiritual goods and faithful service, according to what is said in Matthew seven: "Not everyone who says: Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." This will of God, moreover, consists in the faithful use and dispensation of the spiritual goods entrusted to us, according to that passage above in chapter twelve: "Who, do you think, is the faithful an…

Luke 19:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

He said therefore: A certain man etc. After the occasion for introducing the parable, there follows here the ordered exposition of what has been introduced: concerning which there is first described the state of merit and demerit; and secondly, the state and form of judgment, at the passage: And it came to pass, that he returned, having received the kingdom etc. Concerning the state of merit and demerit, three things are introduced, namely the withdrawal of the divine presence in Christ's ascension, the conferral of heavenly grace in the sending of the Holy Spirit, and the hardening of human perfidy in the rebellion of the Jews. First, therefore, as regards the withdrawal of the divine presence in the ascension of Christ, he says: He said therefore: A certain nobleman went into a far country. This nobleman is Christ, who was noble according to the flesh, since he was of royal lineage: above in the eighteenth chapter: "Jesus, Son of David," etc.; he was more noble as regards his superadded power, according to Proverbs, the last chapter: "Her husband is noble in the gates, when he sits among the senators of the land," and this will be at the judgment; but he is most noble as regards his origin from the Father. Therefore Revelation nineteen: "He has on his garment and on his thigh written: King of kings and Lord of lords." Truly noble, from whose generation—to be praised, to be declared, and to be contemplated—every tongue falls short: Isaiah fifty-three: "Who shall declare his generation?" Therefore the Angel to the Virgin, above in the first chapter: "He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord shall give to him," etc. He went into a far country, when he ascended into heaven and into the highest heaven, which is most distant from the earth both by local distance and by qualitative difference. Therefore as a figure of this, Proverbs seven: "The man is not in his house; he has gone on a very long journey." And this indeed was accomplished in the ascension: the Psalm: "Sing praises to God, who ascends above the heaven of heavens to the east." And then was verified that word of Isaiah fifty-five: "As the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways." And since he so went into heaven that he is to return for judgment, therefore he adds: To receive for himself a kingdom and to return, he went, namely, to the kingdom, but reigning he shall return for judgment, according to that word of Acts one: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?" etc. He shall come, however, as a king with power, according to that word of Matthew twenty-four: "Then they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power," and then he shall return from the far country: Isaiah thirty: "Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar, his burning wrath, and heavy to bear."

Luke 19:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Second, with regard to the conferral of grace in the sending of the Holy Spirit, he adds: And having called his ten servants, he gave them ten minas. By the calling of the servants we understand the calling of preachers and prelates, who ought to be called, because Hebrews 5: "Neither does anyone take the honor to himself, but he who is called by God, as Aaron was." These are called servants both from serving and from preserving: from serving, through the reverence of humility, according to that saying of Matthew 20: "Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your servant." They are also called servants from preserving, through the guardianship of the flocks, because they ought to preserve and guard the Lord's flock: 3 Kings 20: "Guard this man; if he escapes, your life shall be for his life." And concerning these, 1 Peter 5: "Elders, feed the flock that is among you, not as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart." These are said to be ten either on account of the sufficiency of the number, or because all service of Christ is reduced to the perfect observance of the ten commandments; of which the Apostles had literal knowledge from the law of the Decalogue; but they did not have spiritual understanding and perfect observance except through the grace given to them. Therefore he is said to have given ten minas, that is, grace sufficient for understanding, fulfilling, and preaching those precepts. Whence Bede: "He calls ten servants when he chooses disciples imbued with the letter of the Decalogue; he gives ten minas when after the resurrection he opens their understanding, so that they may spiritually understand the sayings of the Law." And this was fully accomplished when they were taught the truth through the Holy Spirit; whence John 16: "When that Spirit of truth shall come, he will teach you," etc. Moreover, he gave ten minas to intimate the perfect understanding of the Scriptures; whence the Gloss: "A mina weighs ten drachmas; and every word of Scripture, because it suggests the perfection of heavenly life, shines as it were with the weight of the hundredfold number." In designation of which, that Spirit came ten days after the Ascension and descended upon twelve times ten, that is, "one hundred and twenty," for the perfection of the ministry and the mystical body, according to Ephesians 4: "He who descended is the same who also ascended, that he might fill all things. And he himself gave some indeed to be Apostles, and some Prophets, and others Evangelists, and others pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry." Now he gave them wisdom for the purpose of instructing the universal Church; and therefore he adds: And he said to them: Trade, until I come: trade, namely by preaching and bearing fruit: 1 Corinthians 12: "To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for profit." Now there is a threefold trade: indifferent, worst, and best: indifferent, by which temporal things are exchanged for temporal things: Baruch 3: "The children of Hagar, who sought out" etc. Another indeed is evil, by which spiritual things are exchanged for temporal things through simony: and this is displeasing to God, concerning which John 2: "He says to those selling doves: Take these things away from here, and do not make my Father's house a house of trade." Another trade is the best, by which one gives spiritual things in order to gather spiritual things: and this is good and pleasing to God, according to that passage of Isaiah 23: "Her trades and her wages shall be sanctified to the Lord." And concerning this, the last chapter of Proverbs: "She tasted and saw that her trade is good"; because "the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant" etc. Whence the Gloss: "Offer to the peoples the words of the Law examined by mystical interpretation, and receive from them the confession of faith and uprightness of morals." He therefore who preaches for temporal gain is…

Luke 19:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Third, with regard to the hardening of human perfidy in the rebellion of the Jewish people, it is added: But his citizens hated him. These citizens are said to be the Jews: whence the Gloss: "Citizens, that is, the Jews, from whom Christ is according to the flesh," according to that passage in Romans 9: "Whose is the adoption of sons and the glory and the covenant and the giving of the law and the worship and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom Christ is according to the flesh, who is over all things God blessed." These citizens hated him, according to that passage of John 15: "That the word which is written in their Law may be fulfilled: Because they hated me without cause," when rather they ought to have loved him: and John 1: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." And because the Jews not only hated Christ when present, but also when rising and ascending, therefore he adds: And they sent an embassy after him, saying: We do not want this man to reign over us. They are said to send an embassy after Christ when they not only persecuted him in himself, but also in his body; whence the Gloss: "They not only hated him while present even unto the death of the cross, but also after his resurrection they sent persecution upon the Apostles and spurned the preaching of the heavenly kingdom." Whence it is said in Acts 8: "There arose a great persecution against the Church which was at Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the regions"; and 1 Thessalonians 2: "You became imitators of all the Churches which are in Judea in Christ Jesus, because you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they also from the Jews, who both killed the Lord and persecuted us and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, so as to fill up their sins always." Whence they denied him: John 19: "We have no king but Caesar." But by refusing Christ to reign over them, they lost the kingdom; whence Daniel 9: "It shall not be his people, who shall deny him"; and by refusing him to reign, they ceased to be citizens, according to that passage of Isaiah 1: "How has the faithful city become a harlot," etc. But they refused the heavenly one to reign because they loved the carnal kingdom: John 3: "The light came into the world, and they loved darkness rather than light." And thus was verified that passage of Isaiah 1: "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have despised me."

Luke 19:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

And it came to pass, that he returned, etc. After he described the state of merit, he here describes the form and state of judgment, which indeed the Evangelist describes: first, generally with respect to all; second, with respect to the faithful servants, at the passage: And the first came saying; third, with respect to the negligent, at the passage: And the third came saying; fourth, with respect to the rebellious, at the passage: But those enemies of mine, etc. Moreover, he describes the state of judgment in general in a threefold manner, namely with regard to the manifest appearance of the judge himself, his authoritative command, and his strict inquiry. First, therefore, as regards the manifest appearance of the judge, he says: And it came to pass, that he returned, having received the kingdom. The Gloss: "This will be when he who appeared humble will come to judge in the most manifest glory": Apocalypse 1: "Behold, he comes with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and those who pierced him." For then that coming of his will be manifest: whence above in the seventeenth chapter: "As the lightning from heaven shines upon those things that are under heaven, so also shall be the coming of the Son of Man"; because, as is said in First Corinthians 4, "he will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts." But what is said in Amos 5: "The day of the Lord is darkness and not light, gloom and not splendor," is understood with respect to the proud and impious, whom a dark whirlwind will envelop, and they will be taken away, lest they see the glory of the Lord. Second, as regards the authoritative command, he adds: He commanded the servants to be called, to whom he had given the money. This command will be one of supreme power, because he will also raise the dead: First Thessalonians 4: "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a command and with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead who are in Christ shall rise first." This command will also be in his own power, according to that passage in John 5: "The hour comes, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God." It will also be through the angelic ministry: Second Thessalonians 1: "In the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ from heaven with the Angels of his power, in a flame of fire giving vengeance"; whence Matthew 13: "The Son of Man shall send his Angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all scandals and those who work iniquity." They also gather the good by the power and swiftness of their nature: the Psalm: "Bless the Lord, all his Angels, mighty in power, doing his word, to hear the voice of his words." Third, as regards the strict inquiry, he adds: That he might know how much each one had gained by trading: the Gloss: "He will make it known: then the works and thoughts of all will be openly shown to all." Whence Daniel 7: "The judgment sat, and the books were opened"; this opening is the weighing of merits and demerits according to the comparison of deeds done to the norms of what ought to have been done. Whence Apocalypse 20: "I saw the dead, small and great, standing in the sight of the throne, and books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from those things which were written in the books"; because, according to what is said in Second Corinthians 5, "we must all be made manifest before the tribunal of Christ, that each one may receive the things proper to his body, according as he has done, whether good or evil." Whence to each one will be said that which is said to the steward above in the sixteenth chapter: "Render an account of your stewardship."

Luke 19:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

But the first came etc. After he describes the form of judgment with respect to all, here he consequently describes it with respect to the faithful servants. And since there was a twofold order of preachers, joined according to the twofold wall of the Church through the cornerstone, namely some who converted the people of the Jews, and others who converted the people of the Gentiles: therefore he first describes the remunerative judgment of the faithful servant in the instruction of the Jews: secondly, in the conversion of the Gentile peoples, at the words: And another came saying etc. Concerning the judgment of the faithful servants in the conversion of the Jews, three things are introduced, namely the multiplication of the entrusted talent, the approbation of the heavenly judgment, and the retribution of the accumulated reward. First, therefore, as regards the multiplication of the entrusted talent, he says: But the first came saying: Lord, your mina has gained ten minas. The first servant, however, is said to be the one to whom the office of preaching was first entrusted, as was Peter, to whom the synagogue of the Jews was entrusted to be converted; whence the Gloss: "The first servant is the order of doctors sent to the circumcision," who is therefore called first, because, as is said in Acts thirteen, "it was necessary to preach the kingdom of God to you first." For this servant is said to have received one mina on account of the unity of grace and doctrine; whence the Gloss: "He received one mina for trading, because he was commanded to preach one God, one faith, one baptism"; Ephesians four: "Being careful to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, as you were called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism." He is also said to have gained ten minas on account of the conversion of those who were under the Law; whence also the Gloss: "He gained ten minas, when by teaching he joined to himself the people established under the Law"; Acts five: "The multitude of men and women believing in the Lord was increasingly augmented, so that they cast the sick out into the streets, that when Peter came, they might be overshadowed and freed from infirmity." Therefore he offers this acquired people to the Lord as merit. As a figure of this, Genesis twenty-seven: "Arise, eat of my game, that your soul may bless me." And note that he does not say: I gained, but: the mina, so as to say that word of Isaiah twenty-six: "All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord"; and that word of First Corinthians fifteen: "Yet not I, but the grace of God with me."

Luke 19:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Second, with regard to the acceptance of the heavenly judgment, he adds: And he said to him: Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in a little. And note that well done is sometimes mocking, according to that passage of the Psalm: "They said: Well done, well done, our eyes have seen it." Sometimes it is flattering; the Psalm: "Let them be turned back immediately in shame who say to me: Well done, well done"; and again: "Let them bear their confusion at once who say to me: Well done, well done"; because flattery must be most swiftly repelled. Sometimes it is exhortatory, as here and in Matthew twenty-five: "Well done, good and faithful servant, I will set you over many things." Here, however, the servant is called good in performing service and faithful in keeping and dispensing what was entrusted to him: 1 Corinthians 4: "Here it is now required among stewards that one be found faithful"; and Proverbs 20: "Many men are called merciful, but who will find a faithful man?" He is therefore called faithful without qualification, because he preserved faithfulness in small things. For above in chapter sixteen: "He who is faithful in the least is faithful also in the greater." But "a little," as the Gloss says, is whatever of gifts we receive in the present in comparison to future things. "For we know in part and we prophesy in part," as is said in 1 Corinthians 13. In these things, however, he is faithful who faithfully shares them, "not seeking the things that are his own, but the things of Jesus Christ." Bernard: "You are truly a faithful servant of the Lord if, of the great glory of your Lord—although not going out from you, yet passing through you—nothing has happened to cling to your hands." Such a servant was Paul, who said in 2 Corinthians 2: "I am not as the many who adulterate the word of God, but from sincerity, as from God, before God, in Christ we speak." Third, with regard to the retribution of the accumulated reward, he adds: You shall have authority over ten cities. Note that these ten cities are understood to be beatified souls, just as by the ten minas gained are understood souls converted to Christ: which he calls minas in the state of the way on account of their changeability, but in the state of the fatherland cities on account of the immutability of glory. And on this the Gloss says: "The ten cities are souls arriving through the words of the Law at the grace of the Gospel, over whom he who has worthily commended to God the money of the word is then set as one to be glorified. Whence First Thessalonians 2: What is our hope, or joy, or crown of glory? Are not you before the Lord Jesus," etc. They are said, however, to be set over them on account of a certain glorious excellence, not through authoritative command, because, First Corinthians 15, "when he shall have brought to nothing all principality and power and virtue," etc.; which is said with regard to the command of domination, not with regard to the degree of excellence and dignity, because great will be the dignity from the conversion of many; therefore it is said in First Timothy 3: "Those who minister well acquire for themselves a good degree"; and again in the fifth chapter: "Let the presbyters who rule well be held worthy of double honor," because both on account of themselves and on account of the people gained. Whence also Daniel 12: "Those who instruct many unto justice shall be as stars," etc. And therefore Ecclesiastes 7: "Wisdom has strengthened the wise man above ten princes of the city." Therefore, although the Jewish peoples were for the most part hardened, the Apostles nevertheless did not preach to them in vain. Whence Romans 11: "Has God cast away his people? God forbid; for I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham. God has not cast away his people, whom he foreknew"; and afterward: "So therefore also at this time a remnant according to the election by grace has been saved," which indeed redound to the glory of the prea…

Luke 19:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

And another came saying, etc. After he has set forth the form of judgment concerning the order of preachers who labored faithfully in the conversion of the Jews, here secondly he sets forth concerning the order of preachers who were faithful in the conversion of the gentile peoples. Concerning which order two things are introduced, namely the faithfulness of ministry and the sublimity of reward. First, therefore, regarding the faithfulness of ministry, it says: And another came saying: Lord, your mina has made five minas. The Gloss: "One mina makes five, because it converts the Gentiles, previously enslaved to the five senses, to the grace of the evangelical faith." As a figure of this, it was said to that Samaritan woman, who bore the figure of the Gentiles: "You have had five husbands," John 4. But when these five senses are converted to the service of God, then the mina of grace is said to be multiplied fivefold, according to that passage of Isaiah 19: "In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and swearing by the Lord of hosts. In that day there shall be an altar of the Lord of hosts in the midst of the land of Egypt and a pillar of the Lord near its border." Therefore the souls converted from the Gentiles are called five, not because they are fewer than those converted from the Jews, but because the latter were guided according to the law of the Decalogue, while the former were guided according to the laws of the senses and carnal pleasures. On account of which the Jews are also said to have been called from near, but the Gentiles from afar: Ephesians 2: "He preached peace to those who were near, and peace to those who were far off."

Luke 19:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Second, regarding the sublimity of the reward, he adds: And to this one he said: And you, be over five cities, that is, have glory from the whole company of the faithful who were converted. Whence the Gloss: "With respect to those souls which you have imbued with faith and good conduct, be great and exalted, and be honored not only for your own merits but also for the progress of your hearers." From these Gentiles, Paul, the most noble preacher, although he called and considered himself the least of the Apostles, led the greatest multitude to the Lord's sheepfold, since, according to that passage of Isaiah 60, "the least shall become a thousand, and the little one a most mighty nation." Whence he himself also said in Galatians 2: "He who worked in Peter for the apostolate of the circumcision, worked also in me among the Gentiles." And it should be noted that although he said ten servants were called on account of the universality of preachers, he takes up only three—namely, two good and one bad—to intimate that every preaching of the good is bipartite according to the twofold people and the twofold wall, by reason of which there was also a twofold priesthood and a twofold testament; and a twofold order of good preachers is said to exist according to the twofold difference of sheep to be pastured. As a figure of this, Genesis thirty-two: "With my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I return with two companies"; and John ten: "I have other sheep that are not of this fold"; and Ephesians two: "That he might create the two in himself into one new man, making peace." In designation of this also, the Lord sent forth the two princes of the Apostles as two preeminent preachers and leaders of those who preach, namely Peter and Paul, giving to Peter the preeminent power of working miracles, but to Paul the most profound wisdom for understanding mysteries; because, as is said in First Corinthians one, "Jews demand signs, and Greeks seek wisdom." Whoever therefore are good preachers are imitators of these two and lead to the Lord's manger either the ox or the ass, that is, ten minas or five, according to this difference of peoples. And from this the difference appears between the parable that Matthew proposes concerning talents and that which Luke sets forth here: because this one regards the difference of preachers with respect to hearers, but that one with respect to their own merits. Therefore here it is said that he gave the same amount to all; but there, that he gave more to one and less to another. Hence also that one was proposed in Jerusalem, but this one on the way; in both, however, the zealous diligence of faithful preachers is approved, and negligence is reproved; in this one especially the perfidy of the rebellious Jews is condemned, since at the end of the parable there is added the slaying of the enemies, that is, of the rebellious Jews.

Luke 19:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

And the third came saying etc. After he described the form of judgment with respect to all and with respect to the faithful, here he describes it with respect to the negligent, who are all designated in the person of this third servant. Concerning this, however, four things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the lazy servant's concealment, wicked excuse, and just rebuke and just condemnation. First, therefore, as regards the lazy concealment of the servant himself, he adds: And the third came saying: Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a napkin; The Gloss: "The third servant represents those who, after the Jews and gentiles have been gathered, negligently exercise the office of preaching entrusted to them." Concerning whom it is said in Jeremiah 48: "Cursed is he who does the work of God negligently and who withholds his sword from blood." It is done negligently when the gift of wisdom is hidden and concealed; therefore he says it was laid away in a napkin; concerning which Bede says: "He lays away money in a napkin who, though fit for preaching, either refuses to undertake the office of preaching or does not carry it out well once undertaken; but hides the gifts received under idle torpor, saying: It suffices me to give an account of myself. Why should I preach to others, or be compelled to give an account of others?" Such a one deserves to be cursed, because, Proverbs 11, "he who hides grain shall be cursed among the peoples." For he is a wicked shepherd who, having food, allows the sheep to die of hunger. On account of which, Sirach 29: "Lose your money for the sake of a brother and friend, and do not hide it under a stone unto destruction." And if this is said concerning money, how much more so concerning knowledge; whence Sirach 41: "Hidden wisdom and an unseen treasure, what profit is there" in either? Whence Ezekiel 3: "If when I say to the wicked," etc.; there the Gloss says: "It is a great peril to conceal the words of God." But this is understood not of the concealment that comes from prudence — for in Ecclesiastes 3 it is said: "A time to be silent and a time to speak"; and in the Psalm: "In my heart I have hidden your words, that I might not sin against you"; on account of which it is said in Proverbs 10: "The wise hide knowledge"; and Sirach 20: "There is one who is silent and is found wise, and there is one who is hateful who is forward in speaking" — but it is understood of the concealment that comes from fear, or flattery, or avarice, or negligence; therefore he says significantly: it was laid away in a napkin. For in a napkin the dead are wrapped; and the mina is laid away in a napkin when a dead affection toward one's neighbor hides speech and teaching on account of a wicked life, like those of whom it is said in Romans 1, "Who hold the truth of God in unrighteousness"; or on account of sloth of heart, because he does not have fraternal charity; on account of which, Sirach 30: "Good things hidden in a closed mouth are like offerings of food placed around a tomb." And therefore, as a figure of this, the hidden manna rotted, Exodus 16. And the mina in a napkin is not multiplied, and grain in a granary does not increase but is eaten by moths; it only bears fruit when it is sown. So also the word of God, which is compared to a price and to seed; and therefore Proverbs 15: "The lips of the wise shall spread abroad knowledge; the heart of fools shall be otherwise."

Luke 19:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Secondly, as to the wicked excuse, he adds: For I feared you, because you are an austere man; in which he excuses himself as a sluggard through fear; Proverbs twenty-two: "The sluggard says: There is a lion in the way, a lioness in the paths, and I shall be killed in the midst of the streets." Whence also that word of the Psalm applies to such people: "They trembled with fear where there was no fear." He excuses himself wickedly, because he imposes the blame for his own negligence upon the severity of the judging Lord, when on the contrary He Himself says in Matthew eleven: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart," and in Romans two: "Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" He also excuses himself foolishly, because, when he ought to speak for himself, he speaks against himself, when he adds: You take up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow: The Gloss: "The Lord reaps where He did not sow, that is, He holds guilty of impiety those to whom He did not minister the word of the Law or of the Gospel." In this he alleges the severity of the divine judgment, because the Lord punishes even the ignorant; and therefore he ought to fear that He will much more severely punish the negligent; whence Ecclesiasticus two: "Those who fear the Lord will seek out what is well-pleasing to Him." Moreover, the Lord punishes even those to whom He did not give the Law, from whom He requires justice, because, even if they do not have the written law, they nevertheless have the law of nature impressed within them; on account of which it is said in Romans two: "Those who sinned without the Law will perish without the Law." Whence also in the same place: "For when the Gentiles, who do not have the Law, do by nature those things that are of the Law, such as these, not having the Law, are a law unto themselves, who show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness to them," "when God will judge the hidden things of men through Jesus Christ";

Luke 19:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Thirdly, as to the just reproof of the servant, it is added: He says to him: Out of your own mouth I judge you, wicked servant. Wicked servant he calls him, because he was slothful in neglecting, because he was proud in justifying himself, and wicked in accusing the lord. The Gloss: "Wicked, because slothful in carrying out his duty, proud in accusing the divine judgment." And therefore out of his own mouth, while he believes himself to be justifying himself, he rather accuses himself, according to that passage in Job nine: "If I would justify myself, my own mouth will condemn me; if I would show myself innocent, it will prove me wicked"; because, as Augustine says, "to speak well and to live wickedly is nothing other than to condemn oneself by one's own tongue." This negligent servant, therefore, while he shows that he knows the judgment and severity of God, speaks against himself; whence he also adds: You knew that I am an austere man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow, through the severity of vengeance, according to that passage of the Psalm: "When I shall receive the appointed time, I will judge justly."

Luke 19:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

And why did you not put my money at the bank? through the diligence of watchfulness, by which he ought to have multiplied the money of evangelical preaching by evangelizing, lest through negligence he incur divine wrath. Whence the Gloss: "If you knew me to be harsh and cruel, why did this thought not strike fear into you, so that you would know that I would seek what is mine more diligently?" And note that he calls the mina his money, because knowledge and grace and doctrine belong to God rather than to us; and therefore Ezekiel 2: "You shall speak my words to them"; the Gloss: "Not your own"; whence also Matthew 10: "For it is not you who speak," etc. But this is money granted to us for bearing fruit, and therefore he adds: And at my coming I should certainly have exacted it with interest, namely through the equity of justice, by which he exacts the interest of manifold fruitfulness. Whence the Gloss: "He who purchases the money of the word from the teacher by believing must necessarily repay it with interest by working." He therefore who neglected to teach others whom he could have taught, the negligence of those others will be imputed to him. Whence Chrysostom: "He who received seed for the purpose of sowing and does not sow at the time of sowing causes loss to the master, even if he guards the seed, as great a loss as the profit he could have made if he had sown at the opportune time." Whence also the Lord, coming to judgment, does not require only the gift that he gave, but also the fruit that he expected from the gift. Therefore he says in Matthew 3: "Every tree that does not bear good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire." Whence also concerning the fig tree, above in chapter 13: "Behold, it is three years since I have come seeking fruit on it and find none. Cut it down therefore; why should it even occupy the ground?" He seeks therefore both fruit from trees and interest from spiritual money; whence Gregory says that "when gifts are increased, the accounts of those gifts also grow."

Luke 19:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Fourth, as regards the just condemnation of the servant himself, there is added: And he said to those standing by: Take the mina from him and give it to him who has ten minas. Those standing by he calls those who assist him in judgment, whether Angels or other Saints, by whose judgment and approbation the reward corresponding to the gift uselessly held will be taken away, and glory and joy will be given to the faithful steward, according to that passage in Apocalypse 3: "Hold fast what you have, lest another receive your crown." This judgment the Lord also exercises in the present, taking away even gifts that have been granted on account of the sloth and misuse of the negligent. Whence the Gloss: "He who neglects to preach grace that has been bestowed by communicating it to others loses it; but it is increased for him who has labored in it, just as the royal chrism, which Saul lost through pride, David merited through obedience. For the Spirit of the Lord, which departed from Saul, was directed from that day forward upon David," 1 Kings 16. Whence also it is said in Matthew 21: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." But more is given to him who has ten minas, on account of the mystery, because he designates the order of those who preached to the Jewish people, who also are finally to be converted to Christ. Whence the Gloss: "When all Israel shall be saved, then the whole fullness of spiritual grace, which we now exercise sluggishly, will be abundantly conferred upon the doctors of that time." Whence Romans 9: "Isaiah cries out for Israel: If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved."

Luke 19:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

And because this seems unreasonable and incredible, that he should give to one who has abundance, therefore it is added: And they said to him: Lord, he has ten minas, as if they were saying: this does not seem to be a right judgment.

Luke 19:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Therefore he pronounces judgment generally for all, adding: But I say to you, that to everyone who has, it shall be given, and he shall abound: The Gloss: "To one who uses what he has." But from him who does not have, namely right use, even what he has, namely the divine gift, shall be taken away from him, by divine judgment. Which is stated more expressly in Matthew 25: "What he seems to have shall be taken away from him." Whence then that saying of Proverbs 11 shall be verified: "Some distribute their own goods and become richer; others seize what belongs to others and are always in want." And therefore generally to everyone who has, that is, having the desire of hearing, shall be given the sense of understanding: Sirach 6: "If you love to hear, you shall be wise." To him who has the will of working, shall be given the faculty of accomplishing: Philippians 2: "God is the one who works in you both to will and to accomplish." To him who has works, shall be given understanding: the Psalm: "From your commandments I have understood." "I have understood above the elders," etc. To him who has justice, shall be given wisdom: Sirach 1: "Son, desiring wisdom, preserve justice." To him who has grace, shall be given glory: the Psalm: "The Lord will give grace and glory." To him who has the pledge, shall be given the eternal inheritance: Ephesians 1: "In whom also believing you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance," etc. To him who has an abundance of merits, shall be given an abundance of rewards, because, Second Corinthians 9, "he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows in blessings shall also reap of blessings"; above in chapter six: "Give, and it shall be given to you. A good measure," etc.

Luke 19:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

But as for my enemies etc. After the form of judgment with respect to all, both the faithful and the negligent, here is subjoined the punishment with respect to the rebellious. Whence from this parable five classes of men can be drawn out, of which two are good and three evil. For the good are those faithfully teaching, and the good are those faithfully adhering to their doctrine. But the evil are the negligent, the ignorant, and the malicious. For all the good are either subjects or prelates. But the evil sin universally either from weakness, or from ignorance, or from malice. Whence the Gloss says: "By these five persons he signifies every kind of men to be examined in the future judgment." In this parable, therefore, concerning the judgment of the rebellious, two things are intimated, namely the punishment of the rebellious and the person of the rebellious. First, therefore, as to the punishment of the rebellious, he says: But as for my enemies, through their arrogance, according to that of the Psalm: "The pride of those who hate you ascends continually." For he is most an enemy of God who raises his neck against him through pride, according to that of Job 15: "He ran against him with an erect neck and was armed with a fat neck." Such is he who seeks glory in this world: James 4: "Do you not know that the friendship of this world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore" etc.; and 1 John 2: "He who loves the world, the love of God is not in him" etc. Those who did not want me to reign over them, through disobedience; Jeremiah 2: "Of old you have broken my yoke, you have burst my bonds and said: I will not serve." And this arises from arrogance: Job 22: "Who said to God: Depart from us, and they esteemed the Almighty as if he could do nothing." Bring them here and slay them before me, through severe vengeance, by which they shall be slain by the sword of the divine sentence and cast down into the death of eternal damnation; the Psalm: "Two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance upon the nations." Whence Apocalypse 1: "From his mouth there went forth a sword sharp on both sides." And this he threatens in Deuteronomy 32: "If I shall sharpen my sword like lightning, and my hand shall take hold of judgment, I will render vengeance to my enemies." And concerning this in figure, Ezekiel 9: "Pass through the midst of the city and slay."

Luke 19:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

And having said these things, he went ahead ascending to Jerusalem. Second, as regards intimating the person of the rebels, he adds: And having said these things, he went ahead ascending to Jerusalem, as if by this very deed he shows that he spoke the foregoing things on account of the Jerusalemites, who were going to deny that he was their king. For which reason also there immediately follows an account of how he came as king into Jerusalem, sitting upon a donkey. But after that great glory he had to endure insult. And because he went to it not under compulsion but willingly, therefore it is pointedly said that he went ahead, so as to encourage the others to the endurance of sufferings, according to that passage of 1 Peter 2: "Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you might follow his footsteps"; and Hebrews 12: "Let us run to the contest set before us, looking to the author and perfecter of faith, Jesus," etc. He also went ahead for this reason, to give prelates the model of going before the sheep against the ferocity of wolves; John 10: "The good shepherd, when he has sent forth his own sheep, goes before them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice." As a figure of this, it is said of Judas in 1 Maccabees 5 that "when he saw the people trembling to cross the torrent, he crossed first." A noble imitator of this was Paul, who, although he knew that he would have to suffer many things from the Jews in Jerusalem, securely ascended for the salvation of his subjects; Acts 20: "The Holy Spirit through every city testifies to me that chains and tribulations await me in Jerusalem. But I do not count my life more precious than myself, provided I may finish my course and the ministry of the word which I have received." So also Christ was doing: whence, although for a time he had avoided Judea because his hour had not yet come, now he went to deliver his soul for us into the hands of enemies, according to that passage of Jeremiah 12: "I have given the beloved of my soul into the hands of her enemies." Therefore he was ascending to Jerusalem, "because," as was said above in chapter 13, "it does not befit a prophet to perish outside Jerusalem." But why this? The reason was given above, because the excellence of pontifical, magisterial, and royal dignity demands this. Whence the Gloss: "Having finished the parable, he goes to Jerusalem, to show that the parable had been set forth especially concerning the fate of that same city."

Luke 19:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

And it came to pass, when he had drawn near, etc. After he refuted the deceitfulness, impiety, and curiosity of the Jews, here follows the fourth principal part, in which he refutes their unbelief, which in the hearts of the Jews was the cause and root of all the foregoing things. This part is divided into two, in the first of which he refutes the unbelief of the Jews by deeds; in the second, by words and teachings, below in chapter 20: And it came to pass on one of the days, etc. First, he refutes their unbelief by deeds, showing that he possesses the four gifts promised in the Law. He confutes therefore the unbelief of the Jews by deeds, by which he shows himself to be the Christ the Lord promised in the Law, first with regard to royal power; second, with regard to pontifical piety, there: And when he drew near, seeing the city etc.; third, with regard to judicial equity, there: And having entered the temple etc.; fourth, with regard to magisterial authority, there: And he was teaching daily in the temple etc. He shows that he possesses the promised royal power through three things. Royal power Christ shows himself to have in a threefold manner: first, through excellence in commanding; second, through the obedience of the disciples in complying, there: And those who had been sent went away; third, through the reverence of the people in praising, there: And as he was going out etc. The excellence therefore of royal power in Christ is shown through his command, which is devout, provident, and authoritative. For such a command befits a most merciful, most wise, and most powerful king. His command is shown to be devout according to the mystery of grace, and provident according to the spirit of prophecy, and authoritative through the summit of most exalted authority. First, therefore, as regards the pious command through the mystery of grace, it is said: And it came to pass, when Jesus drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, to the mount called Olivet: which although it was true according to the letter, nevertheless prefigured something else through figure and mystical understanding. Whence Ambrose: "He came to the Mount of Olives, that he might plant new olive trees in sublime virtue." And note that he names three things, namely Bethphage, which is on the Mount of Olivet and a small village of priests, as Jerome says, and is interpreted house of the mouth, by which confession and penance are signified; Bethany, house of obedience; and the Mount of Olivet on account of the anointing of oil, which suggests the eminence of unction and wisdom. And through these three the Lord draws near to us, that is, he makes us draw near to himself, namely through penance: above in the fifteenth chapter: "The publicans were drawing near to Jesus," etc.; through obedience: Sirach, last chapter: "Draw near to me, you unlearned, and gather yourselves into the house of discipline." This is the house of obedience or of religious life; through wisdom: Deuteronomy thirty-three: "Those who draw near to his feet shall receive of his doctrine." But the feet of the Lord coming, ascending, and judging stood upon the Mount of Olives, because whoever wishes to see his ways, which are mercy and truth, needs anointing, by which he may be elevated to the eminence of wisdom, so that through contemplation he may ascend into heaven through the three aforementioned degrees. The first degree is that of beginners, the second of those advancing, the third of the perfect: and to this end all the work of Christ and evangelical preaching is ordered, namely that we may thus draw near to Christ in this threefold manner.

Luke 19:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

And therefore he adds: He sent two of his disciples, saying: Go into the village which is over against you. By the two disciples sent is understood the universality of disciples sent to convert the world and especially the people of the Gentiles. Whence Chrysostom says that these two disciples were Peter and Philip, who first preached to the Gentiles: Philip in Samaria, Acts eight; and Peter in Caesarea, Acts ten. Moreover they are two to commend the bond of charity, or on account of the twofold order of preachers, according to the duality of peoples to be converted. Whence the Gloss: "He sends two on account of the knowledge of truth and purity of work, or the sacrament of twofold love to be preached throughout the whole world, or on account of two orders of preachers, one among the circumcision and another among the Gentiles." In designation of which it is also said above in the tenth chapter: "He sent them two by two before his face"; whence also Ecclesiastes four: "It is better for two to be together than one." By that village which is against Christ's disciples, is understood the world, concerning which John fifteen says: "If the world hates you, know that it hated me before you"; and yet into this world he sent the disciples to preach. Whence the Gloss: "He sends the disciples to preach in the village, which is against them, so that through them he might penetrate the fortifications of the whole world set against him." In this therefore is prefigured the mission of the disciples for converting the world, which was accomplished after the passion and resurrection, according to that passage in Mark, last chapter: "He said to them: Going into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature." Second, as to the provident command through the spirit of prophecy, he adds: Entering into which, you will find a colt of an ass tied up, which indeed he could not say with certitude unless because he had foreknowledge of future things; nevertheless even this itself cannot be without mystery, that the King of heaven and earth seeks a colt and not just any, but an untamed one. Whence he adds: On which no man has ever sat; nor in any ordinary way, but tied up; on account of which he adds: Loose him and bring him to me. From which it manifestly appears that this cannot be without a mystery. On account of which it must be understood that just as by the she-ass the synagogue is understood, so by the colt the gentile world is designated. Whence the Gloss: "The three Evangelists who wrote in Greek mention only the colt; Matthew, who wrote in Hebrew, reports that the she-ass too was loosed and brought, so as to show that salvation is not to be despaired of even for the Hebrew nation, if it should repent." Whence Matthew twenty-one: "You will find a she-ass tied and a colt with her." Now the gentile people is called an ass's colt on account of the stupidity of ignorance: Job eleven: "A vain man is lifted up into pride and thinks himself born free like a wild ass's colt"; but he is said to be tied with the cords of sins, according to that of Proverbs five: "Each one is bound by the cords of his sins." And by these cords not only was the people of the gentiles bound, but also the synagogue: whence above, thirteen: "But ought not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, these eighteen years, to be loosed from this bond?" And he is also said to be untamed, because he lacked all governance of the discipline of God. Whence the Gloss: "Entering into the world, the preachers found the people of the nations ensnared by the bonds of unbelief, free and wanton, on which no man had ever sat, that is, no rational teacher had imposed the bridle of correction." Concerning this, therefore, he commands the disciples to loose, according to that of Matthew eighteen: "Amen I say to you: Whatever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven." But this is not by human power, but by divine; on account of which Job thirty-nine: "Who has se…

Luke 19:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Thirdly, as regards the authoritative command through the summit of supreme authority, there is added: And if anyone asks you: Why are you loosing it? namely, handling another's property; you shall say thus to him: Because the Lord desires its service, so that he may use it as his own property. Here, according to the literal sense, he shows that Christ was Lord of all, because, by the same reason he was lord of the ass, he was also lord of all things. And to signify that he is Lord of all, he generally calls himself Lord. Whence he says of himself in John 13: "You call me Master and Lord, and you say well, for so I am." For "he it is who has written on his garment and on his thigh: King of kings and Lord of lords." Whence also that word of Esther 13 is addressed to him: "O Lord God almighty, all things are placed in your dominion, and there is none who can resist your will." "You are the Lord of all things." According to the mystical sense, however, this ought to be the response of those who preach and absolve, who do this for no other purpose than to draw souls to Christ as to the true Lord, who has desire for souls. For he himself says in Proverbs 8: "My delights are to be with the children of men." For he desires to hold sovereignty over the heart, because he alone is Lord. Whence, even though the devil is permitted to bind through sins, he nevertheless does not claim for himself true dominion over the rational spirit. And this is what Ambrose says: "He could not, he says, claim dominion for himself, he whom not nature but fault had made lord. And therefore, when Lord is said, one is recognized. For even though there are many gods and many lords, yet generally there is one God and one Lord"; whence in 1 Corinthians 8: "For although there are those who are called gods whether in heaven or on earth — indeed there are many gods and many lords — yet for us there is one God and one Lord Jesus." This Lord needs nothing, according to that word of the Psalm: "I said to the Lord: You are my God, for you have no need of my goods"; and yet he desires the work of our salvation; 1 Timothy 2: "He wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." "For this is the will of God, your sanctification."

Luke 19:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

And those who had been sent went away, etc. After he has manifested the royal power in Christ through excellence in commanding, here secondly he manifests it through the obedience of the disciples in complying. In explaining this, there is shown in the disciples the perfection of obedience in going, carrying out, and returning. First, therefore, as regards the obedience of the disciples going forth by command, it is said: And they that were sent went their way and found, even as he had said unto them, the colt standing. In this it is apparent that he who obeys Christ cannot be deceived, because he so commands present things that he foreknows future things. Hence Hebrews 4: "All things are naked and open to his eyes, to whom our speech is directed." But according to the mystery of its signification, the disciples found the colt standing, because they found the Gentile people idle, according to that passage of Matthew 20: "He saw others standing idle in the marketplace and said to them," etc. But the state and manner of standing Mark expresses more explicitly, in chapter 11, where it is said that "going away, they found the colt tied before the gate outside at a crossroads." For the Gentiles, before they came to Christ, were outside; hence 1 Corinthians 5: "For what have I to do with judging those who are outside?" "For those who are outside, God will judge." Hence the Gloss: "Mark says: Tied before the gate, because whoever is outside Christ is outside on the road; he who is in Christ is not outside." Therefore John 15: "If anyone does not abide in me, he shall be cast forth and shall wither." But it is said to be at a crossroads because it did not follow any certain way; hence the Gloss: "Tied at the crossroads, he stood who did not hold one way of faith and life, but was enslaved to many errors"; therefore Ephesians 4: "I testify before God, that you walk no longer as the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having their understanding darkened, alienated from the way of God through the ignorance that is in them." In this state, therefore, the disciples found the people of the Gentiles, who through diverse sects and ways practiced idolatry, according to that passage of Jeremiah 3: "You sat in the ways as a robber waiting for them, and you polluted the land with your fornications." Therefore it is rightly designated by Tamar, of whom it is said in Genesis 38: "Having changed her garment, she sat at the crossroads"; James 1: "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."

Luke 19:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Second, as regards the obedience of the disciples carrying out the command, it is added: And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said to them: Why do you loose the colt? by the handling of another's property; and they are called several owners because according to the historical truth, both the she-ass and the colt are said to have belonged to that entire village, and were used by the poor for carrying water.

Luke 19:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

But they said: Because the Lord has need of him, by the lordship over his own property. Hence from this the power of the divine command is apparent, because they neither inquired further nor resisted. Hence Chrysostom: "The power of Christ prepared their heart to give to strangers." From this also the power of obedience is apparent, and how great is its efficacy, because no master is able to contradict him who obeys; hence also Proverbs 21: "An obedient man shall speak of victories." And note here according to the mystery that the masters of the Gentile people are said to be very many, because that people was a slave not of one Lord and God, but of many vices and demons: because, Second Peter 2: "By whom a man is overcome, of the same also he is the slave." Whence the Gloss: "He had many masters who, devoted not to a single superstition, was rather carried off to various errors at the pleasure of unclean spirits." Therefore Isaiah 26: "O Lord our God, other lords besides you have had dominion over us." These resist the Apostles who wish to loose the colt, because demons and sins and even the members of the devil resist and place an obstacle to grace, just as Simon the magician resisted Peter, and Elymas the magician resisted Paul, Acts 13: "But Elymas the magician withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith." But when the name of Christ is heard and his power is made manifest through miracles, they are struck silent, because all such are overcome in the name of Christ. Whence the Gloss: "Those who opposed the teachers coming for the salvation of the nations defend their own darkness, until, with miracles bearing witness, the power of the true possessor becomes known." Whence also Peter with the Apostles said to those who were forbidding them from preaching for the loosing of the colt, Acts 5: "It is necessary to obey God rather than men"; and this, because he alone is the true Lord both of our persons and of our possessions; the Psalm: "For all the beasts of the forest are mine, the cattle upon the mountains and the oxen."

Luke 19:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Third, as regards the obedience of the disciples returning according to the command, it is added: And they brought him to Jesus, that they might fulfill the command of Christ, to whom he had said above: "Loose him and bring him to me." And casting their garments upon the colt, they set Jesus thereon, that they might show that Christ was the promised king. Whence Matthew 21: "Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophet, saying: Tell the daughter of Sion: Behold, your king comes to you, meek, sitting upon an ass and a colt, the foal of a beast of burden." For thus it is found in Zechariah 9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, your king shall come to you, the just one and savior: he himself poor and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass." From this manifest sign, therefore, and from the word previously given, it was gathered that Christ was the true king of the Jews. But this is wondrous, that Christ, although he was true God and "King of kings," willed to mount upon so lowly an animal. Yet nevertheless He did this very reasonably, both on account of the mystery and on account of the example. On account of the mystery, I say, because, as has been touched upon, by the colt is understood the Gentile people, and by the donkey the Jewish people. And therefore, although one ought to have sufficed for Him, nevertheless He mounted both, first the colt and then the donkey, to show that He would first call the people of the Gentiles, and then at the end of the world the people of the Jews. Whence also in that most noble prophecy of Jacob, Genesis forty-nine, it is said: "The scepter shall not be taken away from Judah, nor a leader from his thigh, until He comes who is to be sent; and He shall be the expectation of the nations, binding His colt to the vineyard and His donkey to the vine, O my son. He shall wash His robe in wine and His cloak in the blood of the grape"; this was in the winepress of the Cross. Since therefore Christ caused this colt, namely the people of the Gentiles, to be led to Himself and mounted upon it through the ministry of the Apostles, therefore it is said that the disciples cast their garments upon it, that is, their good examples, by which they converted that nation; concerning which garments, Revelation sixteen: "Blessed is he who keeps his garments, lest he walk naked." As a figure of which it is also said in Third Kings nineteen that "Elijah cast his cloak upon Elisha." Since therefore this conversion was accomplished not only through the Apostles, but also through the seventy disciples, to whom the particular Churches of the converted Gentiles were assigned, therefore as a figure of this it is said in Judges twelve concerning a certain judge who "had forty sons and thirty grandsons from them, riding upon seventy colts of donkeys." And on this the Gloss says: "The garments of the Apostles are the teaching of virtues, or the discernment of the Scriptures and spiritual grace, by which they cover the hearts of men previously naked and cold, so that they may merit to have Christ as their rider." He also did this on account of the example, to crush the haughtiness of the proud, who delight in the multitude of horses and chariots; the Psalm: "Some in chariots, and some in horses" etc.; and Isaiah thirty-one: "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, hoping in horses and placing their trust in chariots, because they are many" etc. Condemning this by His own example, Christ did not have a multitude of horses, indeed not even one horse, but mounted upon a contemptible colt on the day of His preeminent honor. Whence Chrysostom says: "Do you wish to know the meekness of the One who comes? Consider the manner of His arrival. He does not sit in a golden chariot, gleaming in purple; He does not mount upon a fiery horse, a lover of discord; He did not have around Him gleaming swords or other ornaments of terrible a…

Luke 19:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Now as he went forth etc. After he showed that he has royal power through his excellence in commanding and the obedience of the disciples in complying, here he shows thirdly through the honor of the people in praising together. To express this, first the devotion of those praising is set forth; second, the loftiness of the praises, at the words: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; third, the confutation of the envious, at the words: And certain of the Pharisees etc. Concerning the devotion therefore of those praising, two things are introduced for its expression, namely the expression of devotion in deed and the expression in speech and voice. First, therefore, as regards the expression of devotion in deed, he says: Now as he went forth, they spread their garments in the way, which was a sign of great devotion. He does not specify who those were who spread them, because all did this in common, and especially the crowds. Hence Matthew twenty-one: "A very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees and strewed them in the way." And note that here it is not without mystery that the disciples placed garments upon the donkey, but the crowd spread their garments under the feet of the donkey to be trampled. By which we understand that the people of the nations who were to be converted ought to venerate the teachings of the Apostles, but trample underfoot the instructions and ceremonies of the Jews. Hence Chrysostom: "Upon the beast of burden the Apostles placed their garments; but the rest placed theirs under its feet, because Christians submit to the evangelical commands of the Apostles, but trample underfoot the customs of the Law." Hence Philippians three: "What things were gain to me, I counted as dung, that I might gain Christ." According to the moral sense, however, by the spreading of garments in the way we understand the mortification of our bodies through abstinence and patience, so as to give others good examples by which they may be directed on the way. Hence the Gloss: "The crowd, following the examples of the Martyrs, subdues the flesh through abstinence, so as to prepare a way for the Lord to the mind and to offer good examples to those who follow." As a figure of this very thing, it is said in 4 Kings two that Elijah left his mantle to Elisha. Because a good example draws one to imitation as if by a certain fragrance, therefore Song of Songs four: "The fragrance of your garments is above all spices." And we see these things on the strewn way: hence Hebrews twelve: "Having so great a cloud of witnesses" etc.

Luke 19:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Second, as regards the expression of devotion in speech, there is added: And when he was now approaching the descent of the Mount of Olives, on account of the fittingness of the place, because it was near Jerusalem. Whence also he ascended from that place: Acts 1: "They returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey." By that descent, however, is understood the descent of the condescension of God's mercy, on account of which he ought rightly to be praised by us, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Praise the Lord, all nations; praise him, all peoples: for his mercy is confirmed upon us," etc. And therefore he adds: The whole multitude of those descending began rejoicing to praise God with a loud voice, on account of the fittingness of the manner: Sirach 39: "Give magnificence to his name, and praise him with the voice of your lips"; and the Psalm: "Sing well to him with jubilation." The reason, however, for this magnificent praise was the consideration of Christ's wonders; and therefore he adds: For all the mighty works which they had seen, on account of the fittingness on the part of the motive. For the vision of wondrous things leads and moves one to praise: the Psalm: "Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wonderful things." Among all the wonders, however, which he performed, the greatest was the raising of the man dead four days, by reason of which the crowd especially came to meet Christ: John 12: "The crowd that was with him bore witness, when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead. For this reason also the crowd came to meet him, because they had heard that he had performed this sign." The crowds, however, were moved by the signs to believe that he was Christ the King promised in the Law. Whence John 6: "Those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus had performed, said: This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."

Luke 19:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Saying: Blessed, etc. After the devotion of those praising, there is described here secondly the sublimity of the divine praises. There is described, therefore, the excellent praise of Christ from the mouth of the crowds excellently praising Christ the King, both as regards the excellent person of the one coming and as regards the excellent efficacy of his coming. First, therefore, as regards the excellent person of the one who comes, it is said: Saying: Blessed is the king, who comes in the name of the Lord. Now Christ is blessed, not because anything is acquired for him from human blessing, but because he is praised as supremely good. Whence Jerome: "The blessing that is made in God is solely a confession and praise of the good things that have been bestowed; but the blessing that is made by God is fulfilled in us when we are filled with his benefits." Therefore they bless and praise him as a king born from the seed of David according to the flesh; above in chapter one: "The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will reign," etc.; and in Romans fifteen, the Apostle, citing the authority of Isaiah, says: "And again Isaiah says: There shall be a root of Jesse, and he who shall rise to rule the nations, in him the nations shall hope"; which is taken from Isaiah eleven according to another translation; and Jeremiah twenty-three: "Behold, the days shall come, and I will raise up for David a just branch, and a king shall reign," etc. They also bless him as one divinely sent, when they say: Who comes in the name of the Lord. He comes in the name of the Lord who comes on behalf of God: John five: "I have come in the name of my Father." Now Christ comes in the name of the Lord in a threefold manner, namely in the flesh: John one: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not"; and this coming is to be commemorated on account of the exceeding condescension; Haggai two: "Yet a little while, and I will move heaven and earth"; "and the desired one shall come," etc. As a figure of this, it is said in Second Kings, the last chapter: "What is the reason that my lord the king should come to his servant," etc. He comes into the mind: concerning which Job nine: "If he comes to me, I shall not see him"; and this coming is to be welcomed on account of the exceeding love: John fourteen: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him"; and that passage from Wisdom seven: "All good things came to me together with her." He comes to the final judgment: concerning which Revelation one: "Behold, he comes with the clouds," etc.; and this coming is to be awaited with the utmost discernment: Malachi three: "Behold, he comes, and who shall be able to contemplate the day of his coming," etc.; for above in chapter twelve: "Blessed is that servant whom, when the Lord comes, he shall find watching." In each of these three comings, however, he who comes, namely Christ, is to be blessed: Psalm: "O Lord, save me; O Lord, grant good success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." And for this threefold coming the Church celebrates solemnly, recalling one, petitioning for another, and foreseeing the third as near at hand. Second, with regard to the excellent efficacy of the advent, he adds: Peace in heaven and glory in the highest, in which is given to understand the twofold efficacy of the advent of Christ. The first is in the reconciliation of sinners through grace: and this he notes when he says peace in heaven: Colossians 1: "Making peace through the blood of his cross, both as to the things that are in the heavens and the things that are on earth. And you, when you were at one time alienated and enemies in evil works, are now reconciled in the body of his flesh." And he came to accomplish this: Ephesians 2: "He himself is our peace, who made both one." "And coming, he preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were ne…

Luke 19:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

And some of the Pharisees etc. After the devotion of those praising and the sublimity of the praises, there is added the confutation of the envious, in describing which two things are introduced, namely the indignation of the envious and the approbation of those who praised. First, therefore, regarding the indignation of the envious, he says: And some of the Pharisees from the crowds said to him: Master, rebuke your disciples. They said this out of indignation: whence Matthew twenty-one, "The chief priests and scribes, seeing the wonders that he did, and the boys crying out and saying: Hosanna to the son of David, were indignant." This indignation had its origin in envy, which cast them headlong into foolishness and madness. Whence the Gloss: "Wondrous is the madness of the envious: him whom they knew to be teaching true things, when they hear him called master, they judge that his disciples, as though they themselves were better instructed, ought to be rebuked—those whom he had instructed, who appears to be God through his miracles." Whence from the praise and glory of Christ the scribes and Pharisees were most greatly moved to anger, when rather they ought to have rejoiced: according to that of John twelve: "The Pharisees said among themselves: You see that we avail nothing. Behold, the whole world has gone after him." They were saddened, therefore, by that at which they ought to have rejoiced, and blinded by that from which they ought to have been illuminated; and this by the just judgment of God, who says in John nine: "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." Whence also on account of the illumination of the faithful and the confutation of the rebellious, the Lord accepted this honor, as the Gloss says: "Frequently he entered the city of Jerusalem, but not with these praises, not called king, which he had always fled, except now, when he ascended about to suffer: this was done so that he might further excite their envy against himself, because the time of the passion was now at hand"; not because the Lord wished their evil to be intensified, but because, by his just judgment doing what he ought, they took occasion to be more ardently inflamed to hatred, from which God would draw forth a great good. Whence Chrysostom: "He stirred them up, not so that they would do what they previously did not wish, but so that they could do what they previously wished. The opportunity was given, not the will changed." Whence that of Wisdom two was fulfilled in them: "He is grievous to us to behold, because his life is unlike that of others, and his ways are changed."

Luke 19:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Second, regarding the approbation of those who praised, it is added: To whom he said: I tell you, that if these shall be silent, the stones will cry out, as if to say that it is the will of God that they should praise, according to that of Matthew twenty-one: "But he said: Have you never read, that out of the mouth of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise"? For this is written in the Psalm: which the Lord willed to do for the confusion of the Pharisees, whence it is immediately added: "Because of your enemies, that you might destroy the enemy and the avenger." Here, moreover, he says more, namely that it is the will of God, such that it cannot be impeded by the Pharisees. Now the Lord willed that it happen thus, with the Passion approaching, both on account of the example and on account of the mystery: on account of the example, so that the ignominy of the subsequent Passion would be more grievous by reason of the magnitude of the preceding glory, according to that passage in Job 16: "I, who was once wealthy, have suddenly been crushed." In this it is also shown what the joy of this world is like, because it passes away most swiftly: Proverbs 14: "Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning occupies the end of joy." And through this it is shown that worldly joy and the acclaim of praise and glory of this kind are to be despised; and that through good repute and ill repute must he pass who wishes to go to the heavenly Jerusalem, according to that passage in Second Corinthians 6: "By the armor of justice on the right hand and on the left, through glory and dishonor, through infamy and good repute, as deceivers yet truthful, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as having nothing yet possessing all things." He also willed this on account of the mystery, because the praise of the little ones signifies His praise in the Church of the Gentiles. Therefore He says that the stones will cry out, that is, the Gentiles, who are called stones because they had hard and stony hearts. Therefore as a figure of this, above in chapter three: "I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham," namely by taking away the hardness of hearts, according to that passage in Ezekiel 36: "I will take away from you the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." But their hard heart was softened through the power of the Cross, which converts rock into water. As a figure of this it is said in Matthew 27 that at the death of Christ "the rocks were split, and the tombs were opened." Whence the Gloss: "If blindness has befallen Israel, so that it falls silent from the praise of God, the people of the Gentiles, their stony heart having been softened, will believe in and proclaim their Creator"; according to that passage in Romans 11: "Blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should enter in, and so all Israel should be saved." Whence as an express designation of this, it is said in John 12, immediately after the murmuring of the Pharisees: "Now there were certain Gentiles who had come up to the feast day. And they came to Philip, saying: Lord, we wish to see Jesus"; and it follows there that "Philip and Andrew said to Jesus"; "But Jesus said: Father, the hour has come: glorify Your Son." From which it manifestly appears that these things were done to manifest the name of Christ and to prefigure the calling of the Christian people, the Jews having been blinded, concerning whose imminent overthrow He treats in what follows, lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem, the royal city.

Luke 19:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

That He possesses the promised pontifical compassion, He shows through four things. And when he drew near etc. After he described how the Lord showed himself to be the promised Christ with respect to royal power, here secondly he shows the same thing with regard to pontifical piety. For just as power and honor befit a king, so the sorrow of piety befits a high priest, according to that passage in Hebrews 4: "We have not a high priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities, tempted in all things according to likeness, without sin." Moreover, the great piety of Christ of this kind is shown, because on the day of his highest honor on earth he did not cease from tears through the affection of compassion. Therefore the piety of Christ is described as weeping and bewailing the priestly city's foolish joy, approaching destruction and antecedent sin. First, therefore, with regard to the most pious weeping of Christ the high priest he says: And when he drew near, seeing the city, he wept over it. He drew near not only in bodily position, but also in the affection of the heart, according to that passage in James 4: "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you"; and Deuteronomy 4: "For what other nation is so great as to have gods drawing near to it"? He also saw the city not only with the eyes of the body, but also with the gaze of piety: Psalm: "For he looked down from his holy height: the Lord looked from heaven to earth, to hear the groans" etc: and Exodus 3: "I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt" etc. He wept over it through most pious affection and tender compassion. And note that Christ is read to have wept three times for us: over Lazarus who was to be raised: John 11: "And Jesus wept"; over the city of Jerusalem, as here: and finally on the cross: Hebrews 5: "Offering with a strong cry and tears, he was heard because of his reverence": from which the piety of Christ toward us was most perfectly manifested. It is also believed that he wept in his infancy, when he entered into the misery of the present state, according to what the Church sings of him: The infant cries, confined within the narrow manger. In this fourfold weeping, however, he shows that there ought to be in us four kinds of tears and weeping: from compunction; the Psalm: "Every night I will wash my bed; with my tears I will water my couch"; and in Matthew twenty-six it is said of Peter that "going out, he wept bitterly." From compassion: Job thirty: "I wept once over him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor"; and Jeremiah nine: "Who will give water to my head and a fountain of tears to my eyes"? For the sojourn of present misery: John sixteen: "You shall weep" etc.; and the Psalm: "Woe is me! for my sojourning is prolonged." For the desire of eternal happiness: Matthew five: "Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be consoled." These tears we ought to seek so long as we are upon the little donkey of our mortality. For just as Christ wept upon the donkey, so also the soul, which sits upon the wretched body as upon a little donkey, ought to weep. As a figure of this, in Judges one it is said that "Achsah, the daughter of Caleb, sitting upon a donkey, sighed" etc.; and afterwards it is added that she said: "You have given me a dry land; give me also one watered with springs; and Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs." By these modes of weeping, the paradise of conscience ought to be watered. As a sign of this, it is said in Genesis two that "a river went out from the place of pleasure to water paradise, which is divided into four heads"; by which it is understood that from the piety of our heart a fourfold river of tears ought to flow forth.

Luke 19:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Secondly, as to the foolish joy of the royal city, he adds: Saying: If you had known, even you, through foresight, you would have wept, supply: through penitence; whence the Gloss: "If you had known the ruin that threatens, you would have wept." And here there is an omission of a necessary expression, but the Lord speaks in a broken manner after the fashion of one who grieves, and supplies it from the very act of grieving and weeping, so that feeling supplies the thought, and the deed supplies the word: you would indeed have wept. And if you ask: when? Indeed, that is, certainly, in this your day, the things that are for your peace, in which, namely, you exult; whence the Gloss: "You who now exult." And if you ask the cause, why she exults and does not weep, it is lack of foresight. Whence he adds: But now they are hidden from your eyes; the Gloss: "In a time of gladness, future miseries are not foreseen"; therefore she had foolish joy on account of the consideration of the present day, concerning which day he says: In this your day; on account of the possession of present peace, concerning which he adds: The things that are for your peace; and on account of the concealment of calamity, concerning which he subjoins: But now they are hidden from your eyes. Whence the Gloss: "While you give your flesh to pleasures, not foreseeing future evils, you have present goods, which can be for your temporal peace. And why does he add this, namely that she does not foresee the evils that are to come? For if she had foreseen them, she would not have been joyful in present prosperity." And hence it is that just men despise the present day, according to that passage of Jeremiah seventeen: "I have not desired the day of man, you know"; and Jeremiah twenty: "Cursed be the day in which I was born"; and of Job it is said in Job three: "Job cursed his day, saying: Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night in which it was said," etc. They despise present peace: Psalm: "I was envious of the wicked, seeing the peace of sinners"; and Ezekiel thirteen: "The prophets have deceived my people, saying: Peace, peace, and there was no peace." They behold and attend to future things, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight: "Remember the last things and do not forget." But on the contrary, wicked men do not think of judgment, and therefore they rejoice, according to that passage of Proverbs two: "They rejoice when they have done evil and exult in the worst things." And this is because they consider the present day, not the last: Job twenty-one: "They hold the timbrel and harp and rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in prosperity and in a moment descend to hell." Therefore it is said ironically in Ecclesiastes eleven: "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth." "And know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment." From this, therefore, is evident what is said in Ecclesiastes seven: "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting," etc.

Luke 19:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Third, as to the approaching destruction of the royal city, he adds: Because the days shall come upon you, and your enemies shall surround you with a rampart, through siege, according to that passage of Ezekiel four: "Take to yourself a brick, and you shall draw upon it the city of Jerusalem. And you shall set a siege against it and build fortifications and cast up a mound and set camps against it round about and place siege works," etc. Now this was fulfilled in the time of the Romans; whence the Gloss: "Enemies, namely the Roman leaders," who are said to have literally constructed three ramparts against Jerusalem for its capture. And they shall surround you and hem you in on every side, through the continuation of the siege, according to that passage of Ezekiel four: "You shall set a pan as an iron wall between you and the city, and you shall set your face firmly against it, and it shall be under siege, and you shall besiege it: it is a sign to the house of Israel." And this came to pass because, as Josephus says, the siege was so exceedingly strict that a mother ate her daughter and an old woman devoured another. Whence was fulfilled that passage of Lamentations two: "They said to their mothers: Where is grain and wine? when they fainted like the wounded in the streets of the city, when they breathed out their souls in the bosom of their mothers"; and below in the same place: "Shall women then eat their own fruit, little ones the length of a palm?"

Luke 19:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

And they shall dash you to the ground, and your children who are in you, through the destruction of the city; Lamentations 2: "The Lord purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Sion; he stretched out his line and did not turn away his hand from destruction. And the rampart mourned, and the wall was likewise destroyed." Nor was only the city itself destroyed, but also the entire nation was dispersed, according to that passage of Lamentations 2: "Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has destroyed and broken her bars; her kings and her princes are among the nations: there is no law, and her prophets have found no vision from the Lord." And they shall not leave in you a stone upon a stone, through utter overthrow. Whence the Gloss says: "Since Jerusalem is now built outside the gate where the Lord was crucified, it is evident that the former Jerusalem was entirely destroyed." And thus was fulfilled that passage of Lamentations 2: "The Lord has done what he purposed; he has fulfilled his word which he commanded from days of old; he has destroyed and has not spared, and he has made your enemy rejoice over you and has exalted the horn of your adversaries"; and immediately it is added: "Let tears run down like a torrent by day and by night," etc. But this happens spiritually against every sinner dying temporally: who is first surrounded in sickness, hemmed in by the aggravation of sickness, dashed to the ground in death, and utterly overthrown in reduction to ashes, according to that passage of Job 7: "Behold, now I shall sleep in the dust, and if you seek me in the morning, I shall not remain." It can also be understood of the sinner approaching judgment, who is surrounded by the multitude of accusing iniquities; the Psalm: "For evils have surrounded me, of which there is no number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I was not able to see." He is hemmed in by the severity of divine judgments; Ecclesiastes 8: "It is not in man's power to restrain the spirit, nor has he power in the day of death, nor is he allowed rest when war presses upon him, nor shall impiety save the impious." He is dashed to the ground in the pronouncement of sentences; Job 27: "If his children be multiplied, they shall fall by the sword," namely, of the divine sentence. And at last he is utterly overthrown in the bitterness of punishments; the Psalm: "Our bones are scattered at the mouth of hell." For then no excuse is left for the impious; Isaiah 5: "I will take away its hedge, and it shall be for trampling." And concerning all these things it is said in Amos 3: "The land shall be afflicted and encircled, and your strength shall be taken from you, and your dwellings shall be plundered, says the Lord." On account of which Anselm says: "Above will be the wrathful judge, below the horrendous chaos, hell gaping open; on the right, sins accusing; on the left, infinite demons dragging to hell; within, the burning conscience; without, the world ablaze. The wretched sinner thus seized — where shall he flee? To hide will be impossible; to appear will be intolerable." Fourth, as regards the antecedent sin, he adds: Because you did not know the time of your visitation; and this on account of unbelief: Jeremiah 8: "The kite in the sky has known its time; the turtledove and the swallow and the stork have observed the time of their coming; but my people has not known the judgment of the Lord." Just as, therefore, faith is the foundation of the entire spiritual edifice, through which Christ dwells in us, who is the foundation — on account of which it is said in Hebrews 11 that "faith is the substance of things hoped for" — so unbelief is the origin of the destruction of all spiritual edifices. Therefore it is said in Job 4: "Because no one understands, they shall perish forever"; and in Romans 1: "Because they did not see fit to have God in their knowledge, God handed them over to a reprobate mind"; whence also the Jews, because they were unwilling to believe…

Luke 19:45 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

That he possesses the promised judicial equity, he shows through three things. And having entered into the temple, etc. After the Evangelist described how Christ showed himself by his deed to possess royal power and pontifical compassion, here in the third place it is explained how he showed himself to possess judicial equity. For the declaration of which, three things are introduced, namely the equity of the judge, the truth of the law, and the enormity or impiety of the crime. In these three things, moreover, he shows that he judges rightly, as it were syllogistically. For when the truth of Sacred Scripture is set forth as the major premise, and the perversity of Jewish wickedness is taken as the minor premise, the severity of divine retribution is rightly concluded, according to that passage in John 16: "He will convict the world concerning sin and concerning justice and concerning judgment." For he sets forth justice as the major premise, takes sin as the minor premise, and concludes with judgment. First, therefore, as regards the equity of the judge, he says: And entering into the temple, he began to cast out those selling in it and those buying: in which is shown the equity of the judge, who, although he was meek in tolerating injury to himself, according to that passage of Jeremiah eleven: "And I was like a meek lamb that is carried to the slaughter"; nevertheless in avenging the divine injury he was a severe and just judge. And because the greatest injury to God is when he is dishonored where he ought to be honored, therefore it is said that he entered the temple, to execute judgment there: which he did both at the beginning of his preaching, as is narrated in John two after the miracle of the changing of water into wine, and at the end after the miracle of Lazarus raised, so that thus that word of the Psalm might be verified: "The zeal of thy house hath consumed me," etc.; and in John two it is said that this was then verified. And it should be noted that the Lord, immediately after the announcement of the destruction of Jerusalem, entered the temple to purge it, to show that the greatest cause of its destruction was the sin of the priests. Whence the Gloss: "After enumerating the evils, entering the temple, he cast out those selling and buying, by this intimating that the ruin of the people was chiefly from the fault of the priests; when he strikes those selling and buying, he shows whence the root of perdition proceeded." Whence Micah three: "Hear this, you princes of the house of Jacob and judges of the house of Israel, who abominate judgment and pervert all that is right, who build up Sion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. Her princes judged for bribes, and her priests taught for a price, and her prophets divined for money; therefore Sion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall be as a heap of stones, and the mountain of the temple of the Lord as the high places of the forests"; and Lamentations four: "Because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed in the midst of her the blood of the just." Moreover, in this, that the Lord cast out those buying and selling, he shows that he especially condemns avarice in clerics, and most of all simony. Whence in Matthew twenty-one it is said that "he overturned the seats of those selling doves." To all such Peter says in Acts eight: "Thy money be with thee unto perdition, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be possessed with money."

Luke 19:46 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Secondly, as regards the truth of law, he adds: Saying to them: It is written: My house is a house of prayer. Now this is written in Isaiah fifty-six: "Their holocausts and their sacrifices shall be pleasing to me upon my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples, says the Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel." Whence David also says in the Psalm: "Holiness befits your house"; and again: "I will enter into your house, I will worship toward your holy temple"; and at the consecration of the temple it is said: "Let your eyes be open upon this house day and night, upon the house of which you said: My name shall be there," Third Kings eight; and Second Paralipomenon seven: "My eyes shall be open, and my ears attentive to the prayer of him who shall worship in this place. For I have chosen and sanctified this place, that my name may be there forever." And therefore the priests said in First Maccabees seven: "You, O Lord, chose this house for your name to be invoked in it, that it might be a house of prayer and supplication for your people." Now to this end especially is the ecclesiastical house ordained, which was made so that there indeed God might be especially worshipped through the act of prayer, in which God is prayed to and adored, and the first of the legal precepts is fulfilled, by which it is commanded that God be adored, Leviticus twenty and Deuteronomy five, and it is repeated in Matthew four: "You shall adore the Lord your God and him alone shall you serve." Third, as to the enormity of the crime, he adds: You however have made it a den of thieves. This however is said to the priests themselves: whence the Gloss: "You who sit in the temple for this purpose, that you might either persecute bodily those who do not give gifts, or spiritually kill those who do give," according to that passage in Micah 3: "If anyone does not give something into their mouth," etc. Now the house of God becomes a den of thieves when the patrimony of the Crucified is handled against the will of Christ. For this is to steal; and it is robbery when it is done publicly: on account of which Jeremiah 7: "Has this house, in which my name has been invoked, become a den of thieves in your eyes?" "Go to my place in Shiloh and see what I did to it on account of the wickedness of my people Israel." This wickedness is principally imputed to the priests: therefore he says to them especially: You, whose duty it was to purify it and guard it in holiness. Whence Chrysostom: "Each Christian will render an account for his own sin, but priests not only for their own, but for the sins of all their subjects. For just as, seeing a tree withered with yellowing leaves, you understand that it has some defect in its root: so, when you see an undisciplined people, know that its priesthood is not sound." Therefore Malachi 2: "The lips of the priest shall guard knowledge, and they shall seek the law from his mouth, because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts. But you have departed from the way and have scandalized many; you have made void the covenant of Levi." "On account of which I have made you contemptible to all peoples."

Luke 19:47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

He shows that he possesses the promised magisterial authority through three things. And he was teaching daily etc. After he described how Christ showed by deed that he was king, high priest, and judge, here fourthly he describes how Christ showed himself to be a teacher. For the explanation of which three things are introduced: in Christ namely the assiduity of teaching, in the Pharisees however the assiduity of plotting evil, in the people truly the assiduity of learning. From which it is apparent that Christ was a true teacher, because his teaching was public to all, hateful to the perverse and pleasing to the good: and this on account of its renown, truthfulness and gracefulness. First, therefore, as to the renown of Christ's teaching, which was public to all, he says: And he was teaching daily in the temple, in which is intimated the perfect publication of his teaching, because it was without intermission: for he taught daily. So Paul, the good teacher, did, of whom Acts twenty says: "I have not shrunk from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." "Therefore watch, keeping in memory that for three years night and day I did not cease, with tears admonishing each one of you." He also exhorts this to be done in Second Timothy four: "I charge you before God and Christ Jesus: preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, reprove, entreat, rebuke with all patience and teaching." The publication was perfect because it was without the exclusion of anyone, because not in secret, but in a public place, namely in the temple: John eighteen: "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews come together, and in secret I have said nothing." The publication was also perfect because it was without concealment of anything useful: therefore he says generally teaching, because he taught every truth, according to that saying of Isaiah forty-eight: "I am the Lord, teaching you useful things"; and John fifteen: "All things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." And he himself was rightly teaching, because properly he alone is the teacher, according to that saying of Matthew twenty-three: "One is your master, Christ"; which Augustine, expounding, says: "He who teaches hearts inwardly has his chair in heaven." Therefore the communication of teaching was perfect on the part of place and on the part of instruction, according to what Paul says of himself in Acts twenty: "I kept back nothing profitable from you, but declared to you and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and Gentiles repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." Second, as to the truthfulness of Christ's teaching, by which it was hateful to unbelievers, he adds: But the chief priests, on account of ambition for priestly dignity, of whom Isaiah one says: "Your princes are faithless, companions of thieves; all love gifts," etc. And the scribes, on account of ambition for the magisterial chair, according to that saying of Matthew twenty-three: "Upon the chair of Moses the scribes and Pharisees have sat"; and below, chapter twenty: "Beware of the scribes, who wish to walk about in long robes and love greetings in the marketplace and the first chairs in the synagogues." And the leaders of the people, on account of ambition for judicial power: and concerning these, First Esdras nine says: "The hand of the princes and magistrates was first in this transgression." And because the offense of the people is imputed to them first, therefore Numbers twenty-five says: "Take all the princes and hang them up before the sun on gibbets." Concerning these it is said that they were seeking to destroy him, through the hatred of malice; therefore in John chapter seven he said to them: "Why do you seek to kill a man who has spoken the truth to you?" But these sought more than others because they were less willing to endure having their vices touched upon, according to that pa…

Luke 19:48 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 19

Third, as to the graciousness of Christ's teaching, by which it was pleasing to the devout, it is added: And they could not find what they might do to him, because he was accepted by the people. Whence below in chapter twenty: "The chief priests and scribes sought to lay hands on him, but they feared the people"; and this because they loved him as a faithful and good teacher. And therefore he adds: For all the people hung upon him, listening to him: whence in John chapter seven those who had been sent to seize him said: "Never has a man spoken as this man speaks"; whence they were suspended in admiration: on account of which it is said in Matthew chapter seven: "The crowds marveled at his teaching." They were also suspended in devotion: above in chapter six: "A copious multitude of people had come to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities." They were also suspended in eagerness and desire, according to that passage in Sirach chapter three: "A good ear will hear wisdom with all longing"; and especially the wisdom of the most wise, who is Wisdom itself, who says in Proverbs chapter eight: "Blessed is the man who hears me and who watches daily at my gates and waits at the posts of my doors. He who finds me shall find life and shall draw forth salvation from the Lord"; and Sirach chapter twenty-four: "He who hears me shall not be confounded, and those who work in me shall not sin. Those who bring me to light shall have eternal life."

Luke 20:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

After he confuted the unbelief of the Jews through deeds, here he confutes through words and teachings. Now this part is divided into three. In the first he confutes by teachings the Pharisees erring from malice. In the second he confutes the Sadducees erring from ignorance, there: But certain of the Sadducees came forward, etc. In the third he instructs the disciples unto wisdom, there: And in the hearing of all the people, etc. First, therefore, as regards the insolence of the Pharisees in assailing, he sets forth: And it came to pass on one of the days, as he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, according to the evangelical truth which must be declared to all, as he himself said to his disciples in Matthew 10: "What you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops"; and Mark, last chapter: "Preach the Gospel to every creature." So also he himself was doing, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus 24: "I illuminate all with doctrine as the morning light and will declare it even afar off"; and afterwards: "See that I have not labored for myself alone, but for all who seek wisdom." But this doctrine of truth is hateful to the wicked, because "he who does evil hates the light," John 3: therefore it is added: The chief priests and scribes came together with the elders, through haughty insolence. For in the chief priests there was haughtiness on account of the excellence of dignity; in the scribes, on account of the excellence of knowledge; in the elders, on account of the hoariness of old age. Therefore they came together not as humble men to learn, but as the proud to calumniate, according to that saying of the Psalm: "The princes came together as one against the Lord and against his Christ." Whence in these is fulfilled that saying of Job 24: "They themselves were rebels against the light and knew not its ways." But rebellion had its origin from envy, which is the daughter of pride. This is "the most evil beast that devoured Joseph"; and concerning this Chrysostom says: "The priests were saying among themselves: We are the pillars of the temple, and behold, the whole Church leans upon him. We were as the visible tongue of the silent Scriptures, and behold, he resounds in the midst of the temple, and we, despised like a broken harp, are silent. We were the fathers; he begets children, and we are barren." This he says with regard to the aforesaid three kinds of persons, who were blinded by envy, and on this account cast what was manifest into doubt and calumniate.

Luke 20:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

For which reason it is added: And they say, speaking to him: Tell us: By what authority do you do these things? Or who is it that gave you this authority? They ask this as though it were doubtful, when nevertheless it had been made manifest through the most evident miracles, according to that passage in John 5: "The works which I do bear witness concerning me"; but they wished by their questioning to lead all the people into doubt, as though those miracles were not from God, but rather from the devil. Hence the Gloss: "They doubt whether it is God's power and wish it to be understood that what he does is from the devil." This doubt came to them from the corruption of their own conscience; hence Chrysostom: "Every man judges another according to himself, and the fornicator thinks no one is chaste, the chaste man does not easily suspect a fornicator, the proud man thinks no one is humble: so the priest who is not from God thinks no one's priesthood is from God." Hence also the blind man who was given sight reproved the blindness of the Pharisees, who said that they did not know where Christ was from, according to that passage in John 9: "In this is the marvel, that you do not know where he is from." "But we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone does God's will," etc. Therefore it is said in Sirach 10: "The power of man is in the hand of God"; and in Romans 13: "There is no power except from God," etc.

Luke 20:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Second, as to the sagacity of Christ in resisting, it is added: But Jesus answering said to them: I also will ask you one word. When he should have responded, he asked a question—not because he did not know, but because they are better bound by a question posed than by a direct answer. Hence Bede: "He could have refuted the calumny of his tempters with an open answer, but he prudently asks a question, so that they might be condemned either by their own silence or by their own judgment," as above in the nineteenth chapter: "Out of your own mouth I judge you, wicked servant." For it is a precaution that "one who wholly opposes must be wholly opposed," and against those who equivocate one must proceed from what has been granted, so that they may be overcome.

Luke 20:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Therefore he carefully inquires and asks, so that whatever they answer, they may be refuted, when he adds: Answer me: The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven, or from men? To this they could not respond except in three ways: either simply by being silent, and thus they would be confounded; or by saying that it was from men, and thus they would be stoned by the people; or by saying that it was from God, and thus Christ would have his point established, because John bore witness concerning Christ at his baptism, according to that passage in John 5: "You sent to John, and he bore witness to the truth." For it is said in John 1: "John bore witness, saying: Because I saw the Holy Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and remaining upon him"; "and I saw and bore witness that this is the Son of God." Whence the Gloss: "He whom you confess to have had prophecy from heaven bore witness to me, and from him you heard by what power I do these things." Since therefore, as is said in John 1, "he was not the light, but was to bear witness concerning the light," those who doubt the light are referred to the consideration of the lamp: for, as is said in John 5, "he was a burning and shining lamp"; and those who doubt the Word are referred to the voice; John 1: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness."

Luke 20:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Third, as regards the deceitfulness of the Pharisees in evading, it is added: But they thought within themselves, saying: If we shall say: From heaven, confessing the truth, he will say to us: Why then did you not believe him? thereby reproaching our unbelief, by which they refused to believe a heavenly man, according to that passage of Matthew 11: "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say: He has a demon."

Luke 20:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

But if we shall say: From men, all the people will stone us, abhorring the falsehood. For blasphemers were to be stoned according to the Law: Leviticus 24: "Bring forth the blasphemer outside the camp, and let all who heard lay their hands upon his head, and let all the people stone him." For they are certain that John is a Prophet, on account of his most evident holiness, for which reason it is said of John in Matthew 11: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A Prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a Prophet." Whence above in chapter 3: "As all the people were wondering about John, whether perhaps he himself might be the Christ, John said: I baptize you with water; there shall come one mightier than I after me, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loose."

Luke 20:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

And because hatred of the truth pressed from one side and fear of stoning from the other, therefore they feign ignorance of the answer, when it is added: And they answered that they did not know whence it was. The Gloss: "Fearing stoning, but fearing the confession of truth more." But this confession of ignorance was proud and deceitful, because they spoke falsely and against their conscience, in order to avoid open refutation. Whence Chrysostom: "Lies, even if they have no one to deceive, nevertheless lie to themselves"; the Psalm: "Iniquity has lied to itself"; and again: "Strange children have lied to me"; and therefore John 8: "If I shall say that I do not know him, I shall be like you, a liar."

Luke 20:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Fourth, with regard to Christ's truthfulness in refuting, he adds: And Jesus said to them: neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. For because they deny the truth, they are worthy that the truth of knowledge be denied to them by the Truth, according to that passage in Romans 1: "Because they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a reprobate mind." And note that the Lord concealed the truth from them for a twofold reason; hence the Gloss: "For two reasons the truth must be hidden from those who inquire: either because they are less capable of hearing; whence it is said in John 16: I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now; or because they inquire out of hatred or contempt; whence it is said in Matthew 7: Do not give what is holy to dogs." Hence Chrysostom says: "Because he himself said: Do not give what is holy to dogs, it was fitting that he himself should not transgress the precept which he established"; the Psalm: "He established a precept, and it shall not pass away." We are therefore instructed by this to conceal sacred mysteries from the malevolent: Isaiah 24: "My secret is mine, my secret is mine"; and to hide our own excellence: Proverbs 27: "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips."

Luke 20:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

He began to say to the people, etc. After he repulsed the calumny of the Pharisees, here consequently he reproves and exposes their hidden perfidy through a parable proposed to the people. In this parable, however, three things are intimated. The first is the benignity of divine liberality. The second is the malignity of Jewish perversity, at the passage: And at the time of the vintage he sent, etc. The third is the severity of judicial vengeance, concerning which at the passage: What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them? The benignity of divine liberality toward the synagogue he shows in three ways, namely in calling the synagogue to his worship, in giving due guardianship, and in entrusting voluntary freedom. First, therefore, with regard to the parabolic expression of the calling of the synagogue to divine worship, he says: He began to say to the people this parable: because, namely, the leaders were not worthy to hear. A certain man planted a vineyard: by this man God is understood, to whose image man was formed: Genesis 1: "Let us make man in our image," etc. This vineyard is the synagogue: Isaiah 5: "The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel." The Lord planted this vineyard when in the Patriarchs he chose and called them to his worship; on account of which, Jeremiah 2: "I planted you a choice vineyard, all true seed." Concerning the planting of this vineyard, Isaiah 5: "My beloved had a vineyard on a hill, in a fruitful place. And he fenced it and gathered out the stones from it and planted a choice vineyard and built a tower in the midst of it." By the hedge of this vineyard is understood the guardianship of the Angels: the Psalm: "He has given his Angels charge over you, to guard you," etc. By the chosen stones is understood the steadfastness of the Patriarchs; whence on the twelve stones of the breastplate were the names of the twelve sons of Israel, the penultimate chapter of Exodus. By the tower, however, Sacred Scripture is understood: Song of Songs 4: "Your neck is like the tower of David, which was built with battlements," etc. Secondly, as regards the due custody given, he adds: And he let it out to husbandmen. By the husbandmen are understood the leaders and chiefs of the synagogue; the Gloss says: "The husbandmen are the workers who were hired to cultivate the vineyard at the first, third, sixth, and ninth hour," according to that passage in Matthew 20: "The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard." And concerning these, in the last chapter of Song of Songs: "The peaceful one had a vineyard, in that place which had peoples: the Lord delivered it to keepers." He is said to have let it out, because he requires a rent; whence Song of Songs 8: "A man offers for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver. My vineyard is before me. A thousand are for you, O peaceful one, and two hundred for those who guard the fruits." The husbandmen of this vineyard in the Church, which is the vineyard of the Lord, are bishops and priests; whence First Corinthians 3: "I planted, Apollos watered," etc. Concerning this, Chrysostom says: "The husbandmen are the priests who undertook the care of the people, either to great glory or to great peril: to glory, if they acted diligently; to peril, if they acted negligently." Therefore these husbandmen ought to carry out this cultivation most diligently, because they were appointed for this purpose, as Chrysostom says: "A priest does not please God so much on account of his own righteousness as for the holiness of the people, because his own righteousness is singular, but that of the people is manifold." Greatly therefore is that saying of Proverbs 24 to be feared: "I passed by the field of a slothful man and by the vineyard of a foolish man; and behold, nettles had filled the whole of it," that is, the sins of lust, "and thorns had covered its surface," that is, the sins of avarice. And therefore Au…

Luke 20:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

And at the time of the vintage he sent, etc. After he described the benignity of divine generosity, he here describes the malice of Jewish perversity. The perversity of the malice of the Jews is described in two ways: first, namely before the coming of Christ; second, after the coming of Christ, at the place: But the lord of the vineyard said: What shall I do? Before the coming of Christ it is described in three ways, namely with respect to the lawgiver, with respect to royal power, and with respect to the prophetic company; and according to the three means by which that people could be led by the hand to justice, namely through the Law, psalmody, and prophecy, according to the height of power, the sweetness of goodness, and the certainty of truth. First, regarding the perversity of the Jewish people with respect to the lawgiver Moses he says: And at the time of the vintage he sent a servant to the tenants, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: The Gloss says: "The first servant who is sent is Moses the lawgiver, who for forty years sought from the tenants the fruit of the Law which he had given"; the Psalm: "He sent Moses his servant, Aaron whom he chose." Concerning this sending, Exodus 3: "Come, I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." But because the perversity of the Jews did not accept this servant, he therefore adds: Who beat him and sent him away empty. The Gloss says: "They send him away beaten and empty, because they provoked Moses in the camp, Aaron the holy one of the Lord; and again: Moses was troubled on their account, because they embittered his spirit." Whence Deuteronomy 31: "I know your contention and your most stiff neck. While I am yet alive and going in with you, you have always acted contentiously against the Lord; how much more when I shall be dead?" Now this was done by the tenants especially, that is, the leaders of the synagogue: Numbers 16: "Behold, Korah the son of Izhar, and Dathan and Abiram rose up against Moses, and also other children of Israel, two hundred and fifty men, leaders of the synagogue, who at the time of the council were called by name." And the lesser ones followed these; whence it also follows after that "the whole multitude of the children of Israel murmured the next day against Moses and Aaron. And when sedition arose and the tumult increased, Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle of the covenant."

Luke 20:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Second, regarding the perversity with respect to King David, the chief worshiper of God, he adds: And he proceeded to send another servant; The Gloss says: "The other servant is David the prophet, who after Moses invited the tenants of the vineyard to the exercise of good works by the melody of psalmody and the sweetness of the harp." The Lord sent him when he chose him from the pastures to rule and feed his people, according to what the prophet David himself says in the Psalm: "He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds. From following the ewes with young he took him, to shepherd Jacob his servant and Israel his inheritance." Whence 2 Kings 7: "Thus shall you say to my servant David: I took you from the pastures, following the flocks, that you should be the leader over my people Israel; and I was with you in all things, wherever you went, and I made you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth." Whence also to him, namely David, he gave a royal throne forever; to the same he gave the spirit of prophecy; to the same he gave the song of psalmody, so that he might thus incline that stubborn people. And yet he could not soften the hardness of the Jews, on account of which he adds: But they, beating this one also and treating him with contempt, sent him away empty, because they despised his governance and leadership. Whence the Gloss: "They send him away empty, treated with contempt, saying: What portion have we in David, or what inheritance in the son of Jesse?" Second Kings twenty. Where it is also set forth beforehand how they pursued David with Absalom: Second Kings fifteen; "A messenger came to David saying: With all their heart all Israel follows Absalom. And David said to his servants: Arise, let us flee; there will be no escape for us from the face of Absalom." And afterward in the sixteenth chapter it is said concerning the insults inflicted upon him: "Thus Shimei spoke, when he cursed the king: Go out, go out, man of blood and man of Belial! The Lord has repaid upon you all the blood of the house of Saul: and behold, evils press upon you, because you are a man of blood."

Luke 20:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Third, as regards the perversity of that people with respect to the prophetic company, there is subjoined: And he added to send a third. The Gloss: "The third servant is the choir of the Prophets, who rebuked the people and foretold the evils that threatened the vineyard." Concerning the sending of this servant it is said in Jeremiah seven: "I sent to you all my servants the Prophets daily, rising early and sending. And they did not listen to me nor incline their ear, but they hardened their neck and acted worse than their fathers." Whence he also adds: Who also cast him out, having wounded him. For they sawed Isaiah asunder, stoned Jeremiah, and reviled Ezekiel. Therefore Matthew twenty-three: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who killest the Prophets and stonest those who are sent to thee"; and in Acts seven Stephen said to the Jews: "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, ye always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do ye also. Which of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they slew those who foretold the coming of the Just One." Therefore the Prophets themselves, seeing their hardness, both rebuked and lamented. For it is said in Isaiah five concerning the vineyard: "I expected that it would bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes"; and Jeremiah two: "How art thou turned unto me into that which is depraved, O strange vine"? and Ezekiel nineteen: "Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the water." "And she was plucked up in wrath, cast down to the ground, and the burning wind dried up her fruit." In this, however, the astonishing faithlessness of the Jews is apparent, because all those whom they persecuted loved them most greatly. For Moses did not cease to pray for the people; Exodus thirty-two: "Why, O Lord, doth thy fury burn against thy people, whom thou hast brought forth out of Egypt?" "Either forgive them this trespass" etc. Likewise also David: "O Lord God of hosts, turn again: look down from heaven and see and visit this vine." Likewise the chorus of the Prophets, whence Jeremiah eighteen: "Remember that I stood in thy sight to speak good for them and to turn away the wrath of thine indignation from them." And all these bore the figure of Christ, of whom Isaiah fifty-three says: "He himself bore the sins of many and made intercession for transgressors."

Luke 20:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

But the lord of the vineyard said, etc. After having described the perversity of the Jews before the coming of Christ against the persons of the servants, here he describes the malignity of their perversity after the coming, against the very Son of God, Jesus Christ. Concerning the description of this, three things are introduced, namely the gratuitous benefit of God, the perverse design of the Jews, and their flagitious deed. First, as regards the gratuitous benefit of God, he sets forth: But the lord of the vineyard said: What shall I do? I will send my beloved son, this was the greatest benefit, according to that passage of First John four: "In this appeared the charity of God in us, that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him"; and John three: "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son." This sending, moreover, was from the hidden and most secret purpose and counsel of God. And because he had proposed this by a definite counsel, therefore he says: What shall I do? On account of which Moses in Exodus 4 was saying: "I beseech you, Lord, send him whom you are going to send"; but the Lord reserved sending him until the end, both on account of the consummation of the order, according to that passage in Galatians 4: "When we were little ones, we were serving under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son"; and also so that it might appear that through no other could human perfidy and hardness of heart be remedied. On account of which he adds: Perhaps, when they see him, they will reverence him. Perhaps does not denote doubt in God, who most certainly foresees all things, but the freedom of the will, which is turnable to either side. Whence the Gloss: "That he is uncertain, that is, uses a word of doubt, is not from God's ignorance, but so that free will might be preserved to man." Whence that the Jews did not reverence Christ was not a defect on God's part, but on the part of the hardness of the human heart: Isaiah 5: "What is there that I ought to have done more for my vineyard and did not do?" For those who do not reverence the Son of God will never again reverence God nor his messenger, because, John 5, "The Father has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father; he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him."

Luke 20:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Second, with respect to the perverse design, it is added: When the tenants saw him, they deliberated among themselves, saying: This is the heir, by a conjecture of the truth: for they did not know with certain knowledge, as is said in 1 Corinthians 2: "Which none of the princes of this world knew. For if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory." Yet they knew, even if not through faith, through certain signs leading to the belief that he was the Messiah promised in the Law. Therefore they conspired against Christ not from ignorance but from deliberate malice. Whence the Gloss says: "He openly proves that the Jews crucified the Son of God not through ignorance but through envy. For they understood that he was the one to whom it was said: Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance." What is therefore said in Acts 3: "Now I know, brethren, that you acted through ignorance, as did also your rulers," does not exclude from the Jews all knowledge, but certain knowledge: or it is said with respect to the lesser ones, who sinned from ignorance. For the greater ones did this from deliberate malice, because they feared losing their temporal glory. Therefore he adds: Let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours, through a machination of perversity: which they said not to acquire a new inheritance, since Christ was utterly poor, but to preserve what they already had. Whence John 11: "The chief priests and Pharisees gathered a council, saying: Because this man works many signs. If we let him go on like this, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our place and our nation." Whence that wicked design drew its origin from avarice, and it also drew its rise from envy: whence Wisdom 2: "Let us lie in wait for the just man, because he is contrary to our works and reproaches us with sins against the law and defames us with sins against our training"; and below: "Let us condemn him to a most shameful death. These things they thought and were mistaken, for their own malice blinded them"; since "by the envy of the devil, death entered into the world." A figure of this preceded in Joseph; Genesis 37: "His brothers devised to kill him and spoke to one another, saying: Behold, the dreamer comes; come, let us kill him and cast him into an old pit, and we shall say: A most wicked beast devoured him," etc. Therefore this Gospel is read together with the history of Joseph as the Passion approaches.

Luke 20:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Third, as regards the flagitious deed, it is added: And having cast him out of the vineyard, they killed him, that is, outside Jerusalem, because it is said in the last chapter of Hebrews: "Christ suffered outside the gate. Let us therefore go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach." They killed him, moreover, when they handed him over to Pilate to be killed and demanded that he be crucified; whence Acts 3: "You handed over and denied Jesus, the Son of God, before the face of Pilate, when he judged that he should be released. But you asked that a murderer be granted to you, while the Author of life you killed." And thus was fulfilled that passage of Isaiah 5 concerning the planted vineyard: "I waited for it to produce judgment, and behold, iniquity; and justice, and behold, a cry"; a cry, namely, for the killing of Christ, concerning which Mark 15: "They cried out: Crucify him! But Pilate said to them: What evil then has he done? But they cried out all the more: Crucify him!" Whence from this vineyard there came forth not wine but gall, according to that passage of Deuteronomy 32: "Their vine is of the vine of Sodom and of the suburbs of Gomorrah; their grape is a grape of gall, and their clusters most bitter. Their wine is the poison of dragons and the incurable venom of asps."

Luke 20:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

What therefore will he do to them, etc. After he has described parabolically the benignity of divine generosity and the perversity of Jewish malice, here now in the third place he describes the severity of judicial vengeance. Concerning which three things are indicated, namely: the severity of divine vengeance, the incredulity of Jewish rebellion, and the firmness of the attestation of Scripture. First, therefore, as regards the severity of divine vengeance, he says: What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them? He asks this not as one doubting, but to arouse understanding of the sentence, with respect to which he adds: He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others; in which is given the sentence of the reprobation of the Jews and the election of the Gentiles; and this under the figure of the vineyard and the vinedressers, concerning which Isaiah 5: "Now I will show you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be for plundering; I will break down its wall, and it shall be for trampling. And I will make it desolate; it shall not be pruned nor dug, and briers and thorns shall grow up over it; and I will command the clouds not to rain upon it." This reprobation the Prophet laments in the Psalm, saying: "Why have you destroyed its wall, and all who pass by the way pluck its grapes? The boar from the forest has laid it waste, and the solitary wild beast has devoured it." Concerning the election truly of the Gentiles, it is said in Romans 11: "Blindness in part has befallen Israel, so that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter in"; and concerning this, Romans 9: "I will call not-my-people my people, and her who has not obtained mercy, one who has obtained mercy"; which is taken from Hosea 2. And concerning this, Matthew 21: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation producing its fruits." Second, regarding the incredulity of Jewish rebellion, he adds: When they heard this, they said: God forbid, as if to say: it will not happen as you have said. But the contrary of this appears in Matthew twenty-one, where it is said thus: "When the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those husbandmen? They say to him: He will miserably destroy those wicked men and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, who will render him the fruit in their seasons." Here, however, it is said that they contradicted. But Augustine resolves this apparent contradiction in the book On the Harmony of the Evangelists, where he says thus: "We understand that some responded as Matthew records, and others as Luke records." Chrysostom responds differently, saying that "they said one thing in their heart, namely what Matthew says; another with their mouth, namely what Luke says. Hence their conscience was in agreement with the divine sentence and the parable, but their tongue was contrary." Hence the Gloss: "They contradict the sentence which they recognize was spoken against their own perfidy; for they understood that what they bore in their mind was contained in the parable." And from this the wondrous judgment of God appears, because by contradicting they wished to conceal themselves, and yet they were exposing themselves, while they set themselves against the truth, contrary to that passage in Sirach four: "Do not contradict the word of truth in any way, and concerning the lie," etc.

Luke 20:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Third, regarding the firmness of the attestation of Scripture, he adds: But he, looking upon them, said: What then is this that is written: The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner? This is written in the Psalm, where it is immediately added: "This is the Lord's doing," etc. In this, moreover, is shown the wondrous humility of Christ, who willed to be rejected; on account of which Isaiah marvels in the fifty-third chapter: Lord, "who has believed our report? And the arm of the Lord, to whom has it been revealed? And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him and as a root out of a thirsty ground." "And we esteemed him as a leper and as struck by God and humiliated." In this also is shown the wondrous power of Christ, because he brought things most widely separated back to unity, as a cornerstone. Now Christ is called a stone on account of the permanence of stability, concerning which Daniel 2: "After these things you watched, until a stone was cut from the mountain without hands and struck the statue." "But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." Now He is called angular on account of the power of connection; Ephesians 2: "He Himself is our peace, who made both one, breaking down the middle wall of partition"; "that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, making peace." Concerning this, Job 38: "Where were you when I was laying the foundations of the earth? Who set its measurements, or who laid its cornerstone?" This cornerstone of the earth is the unifying stone of the Church, concerning which Isaiah 28: "Behold, I will lay in the foundations of Zion a stone, a tested stone, a cornerstone, precious, founded in the foundation." He is also called the head of the corner on account of the summit of perfection; Ephesians 2: "Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord," etc. And therefore First Peter 2: "Coming to whom, a living stone, rejected indeed by men." "And you yourselves as living stones," etc. Christ is therefore to be imagined as the central stone in the whole body of the Church, which is compared to the circumference of a circle; to whom indeed all lines drawn form an angle and are united in Him as in a point of indivisibility, in which occurs the kiss of the lines of the cross converging in their midst into one. Therefore this stone is the one stabilizing the elect, and conversely is the one crushing adversaries and the reprobate.

Luke 20:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

And therefore he adds: Everyone who falls upon that stone shall be broken, through the corruption of sin; but upon whomever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder, through the vengeance of the future judgment. For fault renders nature weak, but eternal punishment utterly crushes and reduces to dust. Whence the Gloss: "He who now despises and inflicts injuries does not yet entirely perish, but is shaken, so that he does not walk upright; but the stone shall fall upon him, which coming in judgment will crush him." Against this stone, therefore, they stumble who do not believe in him or do not imitate him: First Peter 2, "To you is the honor who believe, but to those who do not believe, the stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal to those who stumble at the word and do not believe, unto which also they are appointed." And so it happened to the Jews, according to that passage of Isaiah 8: "The Lord shall be to you for a sanctification, but for a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal to the two houses of Israel, for a snare and a ruin to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And very many of them shall stumble and fall and be broken and be ensnared and be taken. I will wait for the Lord, who has hidden his face from the house of Jacob." Those therefore who are scandalized by this stone fall, but those who are condemned by this stone are crushed, according to that passage of Isaiah 30, "Suddenly, when it is not expected, its destruction shall come, and it shall be broken as the bottle of a potter is broken with an exceedingly mighty breaking, and there shall not be found among its fragments a shard in which a little fire may be carried from the hearth, or a little water drawn from the cistern." On account of which, "not so the wicked, not so, but as the dust which the wind casts from the face of the earth." In this authority, therefore, the Lord confirms the intention of the parable, namely that he himself is to be rejected by the Jews, that he will choose the Gentiles, that he will cast out the Jews on account of their perfidy, and that he will finally condemn them by definitive sentence.

Luke 20:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

And the chief priests sought, etc. After the refuted calumny and the exposed perfidy, there follows here the third part, in which he detects their contrived cunning. Of this cunning, the Evangelist first describes the deceitful contrivance; and second, the truthful confutation, at the passage: But considering their deceit, etc. The contrivance of cunning, however, the Evangelist describes with respect to three things, namely with respect to the Pharisees' malevolent indignation, malicious scheming, and spiteful questioning. First therefore, as regards the malevolent indignation of the Pharisees, he says: And the chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that hour: they sought, I say, to kill him, according to that passage of John 7: "Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you?" Out of indignation of spirit, therefore, they sought, but out of fear of the people they did not dare. Whence he adds: And they feared the people, not God; against which Proverbs 29: "He who fears man shall quickly fall." But they feared the people more than God, because they loved the praise of the people more than the truth of Christ: for the praise of the people anointed them, but the truth of Christ reproved them. Whence it is added: For they knew that he had spoken this parable against them. And thus the truth begot hatred, and that saying of Amos 5 was verified: "They hated him who reproves in the gate, and they abominated him who speaks perfectly." As a figure of this, it is said in Jeremiah 26: "The priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and to all the people, saying: The judgment of death is upon this man, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears." But these Pharisees, while they wished to kill Christ, by opposing the truth they had heard were fulfilling that very truth, according to that passage of Acts 13: "Those who dwelt in Jerusalem and their rulers, not knowing this Jesus and the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by judging him; and finding no cause of death in him, they asked Pilate that they might kill him. And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of him, taking him down from the tree, they laid him in a tomb."

Luke 20:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Second, as regards the malicious plotting, he adds: And watching, they sent spies who feigned themselves to be just, against that passage of Proverbs 24: "Do not lie in wait and seek iniquity against the house of the just, and do not lay waste his rest." But plots are carried out through pretenses: against whom Job 36: "Dissemblers and the crafty provoke the wrath of God"; because, Proverbs 11, "the dissembler deceives his friend with his mouth." And because dissembling has a perverse intention joined to it, therefore he adds: That they might catch him in his speech and deliver him to the principality and power of the governor, namely of Herod. Whence in Mark 12 it is said: "They send to him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch him in his word." And this was a great cunning: whence the Gloss: "What they cannot do by themselves on account of fear of the people, they wish to accomplish by the hands of the governor, so that they might appear as though innocent of his death." Therefore in the person of such men it is said in Wisdom 2: "Let us lie in wait for the just one, for he is useless to us and contrary to our works, and he reproaches us with sins against the law and defames us with sins against our training." Whence also as a figure of this, the Philistines said to Delilah in Judges 16: "Deceive him and learn from him wherein he has such great strength, and how we may be able to overcome him."

Luke 20:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Third, regarding the malicious interrogation, he adds: And they asked him, saying: Master, we know that you speak and teach rightly. Regarding the word, they speak truly indeed, because John 17: "Your word is truth." They themselves were saying this by way of flattery, so that they might extract the secret of his heart from him. Whence Chrysostom: "This is the first prudence of hypocrites: feigned praise, just as one who cannot subdue a bull by strength rubs its neck with gentle hands, so as to seize it through blandishments." And concerning such persons, Proverbs 16: "An evil man entices his friend and leads him along a way that is not good"; and Proverbs 27: "He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising in the night, shall be likened to one who curses." And you do not regard the person of men, regarding disposition: and this is true, according to that passage in Acts 10: "In truth I have found that God is no respecter of persons"; and Deuteronomy 10: "God great and mighty and terrible, who does not regard persons nor accept bribes." But you teach the way of God in truth, regarding example, on account of which he himself said in John 14: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Or: you speak rightly, regarding the truth of life; you do not regard persons, with respect to the truth of justice; but you teach the way of God in truth, with respect to the truth of doctrine. In this they praise Christ with true praise, but with a deceitful heart.

Luke 20:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

And this is evident from their crafty interrogation, when it is added: Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not? according to the decree of divine law; in this they propose a deceitful question because, whichever answer is given, they intend to lead him into an absurdity. For either he would say yes, and thus he would seem to speak against the Law and against the Jewish people and common opinion; or he would say no, and then they would hand him over to the authority, as a rebel against Caesar and an enemy of the whole empire. Whence the Gloss: "The Pharisees, who applauded themselves for their righteousness, who gave tithes and first-fruits to God, denied that tributes should be paid to a man." And hence it is that they flattered Christ, so that they might extract from the mouth of Christ such a pronouncement, so that afterward they might say that word from John 19: "If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar; for everyone who makes himself king opposes Caesar."

Luke 20:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

But he, perceiving their deceit. After he described the deceitful contrivance of cunning, here secondly he describes the truthful confutation. Concerning which three things are introduced, namely the circumspect consideration of the wisdom of the one responding, the truthful resolution of the proposed question, and the evident confutation of the cunning of the dissembler. First, therefore, as regards the circumspect consideration of the wisdom of the one responding, he says: But considering their guile, in his mind: whence Jerome: "The first virtue of the one responding is to know the minds of those questioning." In their minds Wisdom itself saw the guile; whence Wisdom 7: "Malice does not overcome wisdom"; and Sirach 16: "Every heart is understood by him, and who understands his ways?" because, Hebrews 4, "the word of God is living and effective and a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Therefore this Word said to them: Why do you tempt me? namely in word, according to that of Sirach 13: "From much speaking he will tempt you, and smiling he will question you about your hidden things." In the person of these it is said in Wisdom 2: "Let us test what shall come upon him, and we shall know what his end shall be."

Luke 20:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

And because the cunning of temptation is refuted through the manifestation of truth, therefore it is added: Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it bear? They answered and said to him: Caesar's, namely in the outward sign. The Lord does not ask this because he doubts, but so that from their response he might confute them. Or he asks about the image and inscription of the denarius so that from the very form and figure and quality of the thing he might show that a judgment of equity ought to flow forth. Or he requires this in order to show that each one is to be judged according to the inscription which he has inscribed upon the image of his mind. For by the denarius is understood man, because the denarius is of earthly matter, namely of metal, and man is of clay: Genesis 2: "God formed man from the clay of the earth"; and he himself is the tenth after the nine orders of Angels, and he is designated by the one drachma above in chapter fifteen: "Or what woman," etc. By the image of the denarius is understood the Trinity of Persons, concerning which Sirach 17: "God created man from the earth and made him according to his own image"; and Genesis 1: "Let us make man in our image," etc. By the inscription is understood the quality of morals, and this is twofold: one divine, the other worldly. The divine is through the light of grace and justice: Psalm: "The light of your countenance is signed upon us, O Lord"; but the worldly, which is Caesar's, is through the appetite of cupidity and avarice. On this Ambrose says: "The image of Caesar is not found except in the sea, where the dragons are"; in which he touches upon that which is read in Matthew 17, where Christ sent Peter to the sea, and he found a fish and in the fish a stater, which he paid to Caesar; in which it is understood that the inscription of earthliness is found only in worldly minds, in which, on account of various desires, there is a storm and the violence of a tempest.

Luke 20:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Secondly, as to the truthful resolution of the proposed question, he adds: And he said to them: Render therefore the things that are Caesar's to Caesar: in which he manifestly gives a just response: for it is an act of justice "to render to each one what is his own." If therefore a thing belongs to him whose inscription it bears, since temporal things bear the inscription of Caesar, it is not against God if they are paid to earthly princes. Therefore in Romans thirteen it is said: "Render to all what is owed: to whom tribute, tribute; to whom tax, tax. Owe no one anything, except to love one another." And because justice is not sufficient unless what is his own is rendered to each one, therefore he adds: And the things that are God's to God: The Gloss says: "Just as Caesar demands the impression of his image, so also God demands the soul marked with the light of his countenance"; on account of which in First Corinthians fifteen: "Just as we have borne the image of the earthly, so let us bear the image of the heavenly." And note that he first sets forth that the things of the world should be rendered, because, as is said in First Corinthians fifteen, "not first what is spiritual, but what is natural, then what is spiritual." The burden must also be laid down before one is raised upward; whence the Gloss says: "If you do not wish to be liable to Caesar, do not possess the things of the world; and if you have riches, you are liable to Caesar. If you wish to owe nothing to an earthly king, leave all your things and follow Christ. And rightly he decreed that the things that are Caesar's should be rendered first, because no one can belong to the Lord unless he first renounces the world"; above in chapter fourteen: "Unless one renounces all that he possesses, he cannot be my disciple." But the things of God are the soul and the body, because he himself formed the body and the soul—the body from the clay of the earth, the soul from nothing—and therefore both must be rendered and offered to God. This is signified in that widow who cast "two small coins into the treasury" of the Lord, below in chapter twenty-one. And therefore in Romans twelve: "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this age, but be reformed in the newness of your mind." Hence in this word is enclosed the sum of all justice and perfection.

Luke 20:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Thirdly, as to the evident confutation of shifty cunning, he adds: And they were not able to reprehend his word before the people, by any apparent contradiction. Nor is this surprising, because in Romans nine: "Who are you to answer back to God?" Whence in Job nine: "If he should suddenly question, who will answer him? Or who can say to him: Why do you act thus?" And therefore those who contend with Christ are necessarily confounded; on account of which he adds: And marveling at his answer, they were silent, through evident confusion; whence the Gloss: "Those who ought to have believed marveled, because they have no ground for testing him." Whence Chrysostom: "Malice is sometimes confounded, but never corrected; just as one who wishes to block the channel of running water breaks open a path elsewhere, so also does malice." Whence they were not silent from prudence, as is said in Sirach twenty: "There is one who is silent and is found wise." "A wise man will be silent until the proper time." Nor from reverence, as that one of whom Sirach thirty-two says: "Listen in silence, and for your reverence good grace will come to you." Nor from patience, as that one in Isaiah forty-two: "I was silent, I was always quiet, I was patient." Nor from interior peace: Lamentations three: "He will sit alone and be silent." But from open confusion, as those of whom the Lord inquired in Mark three: "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it? But they were silent"; and 1 Kings two: "The wicked shall be silent in darkness," etc.

Luke 20:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

But certain ones came forward. After he confuted the faithlessness of those erring from malice, here secondly he confutes the unbelief of those erring from ignorance; and this part has two sections. In the first he confutes the error concerning the resurrection; in the second, concerning the incarnation, at the place: But he said to them. In describing the confutation of the error of the Sadducees concerning the final resurrection, he proceeds in this order: for first he sets forth the erroneous question; secondly he adjoins the truthful response, at the place: And Jesus said to them: The children of this, etc. Concerning the erroneous question, the Sadducees are introduced as denying the truth, as alleging a precept, as proposing a case, as raising a doubt, through which they were cast headlong into the aforesaid error. First, therefore, regarding the error of the Sadducees denying the truth, he says: But some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward, and consequently they were destroying the foundation of divine worship. Whence Chrysostom: "In every matter or act, the driving force of action is the hope of future reward. For he who plows, plows that he may reap; and he who fights, fights that he may conquer." And afterwards: "Take away therefore the hope of the resurrection, and the entire observance of piety is dissolved"; First Corinthians fifteen: "What shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for them? Why do we also stand in danger every hour?" The Sadducees denied the resurrection both on account of the mortality of souls, which they believed—whence the Gloss: "The Sadducees believed that souls perish with the body"—and also on account of the irreparability of bodies. And in their favor seems to be what is said in the Psalm: "His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth," etc.; likewise: "Their sepulchres shall be their houses forever"; and Job fourteen: "Man, when he shall have fallen asleep, shall not rise again until the heavens be worn away," etc. But here they do not say that there will be no resurrection, but rather that it is to be deferred until the end of judgment. For that spirits are immortal, this is proved by their very intellect, appetite, and virtuous activity; but that bodies shall be restored, this is made manifest at once by divine justice, divine clemency, and divine power. Whence against such persons it is said in First Corinthians fifteen: "But someone will say: How do the dead rise? Or with what manner of body shall they come? Foolish one, what you sow is not quickened unless it first die. And what you sow, you sow not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, as of wheat, or of some of the rest. For God gives it a body as he wills, and to each of the seeds its proper body"; and afterwards: "This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."

Luke 20:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Second, regarding the inquiry of the Sadducees alleging the precept, it is added: And they asked him, saying: Master, Moses wrote for us, that is, in authentic and just scripture, according to that of Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "Moses commanded a law in the precepts of justices"; whence Deuteronomy thirty-one: "After Moses had written the words of this Law in a volume and completed it, he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant, saying: Take this book and place it at the side of the ark," etc. Whatever therefore Moses wrote is authentic, and so they put forward his scripture as authoritative. On account of which it is added: If the brother of anyone shall have died having a wife, and he shall have been without children, that his brother should take her as wife and raise up seed for his brother. This is written in Deuteronomy twenty-five: "When brothers shall have dwelt together, and one of them shall have died without children, the wife of the deceased shall not marry another, but his brother shall take her and shall raise up the seed of his brother, and the firstborn son from her he shall call by the name of his brother, that his name may not be blotted out from Israel." The literal reason for this was to foster charity among relatives, to restrain cupidity, to preserve fidelity, and to maintain carnal generation. According to the spiritual understanding, our brother is Christ: Song of Songs eight: "Who will give you to me as my brother, nursing at the breasts of my mother," etc.; and the Psalm: "I will declare your name to my brothers." His wife is the Church; Revelation nineteen: "The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has prepared herself." He died before the multitude of the faithful, who are the children of God: John one: "He gave them the power to become children of God," etc., and this in death: John eleven: "Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but that he might gather into one the children of God who were dispersed." As the brother of this one, he who bears the care of the Church takes his wife, not to beget carnal children, but spiritual ones, as Paul says, First Corinthians four: "In Christ Jesus through the Gospel I have begotten you." And he ought to call them not by his own name, but by that of the brother, because he ought to baptize them not in his own name, but in Christ's, according to that passage of First Corinthians one: "Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" But upon him who neglects to fulfill this, the penalty of unshoeing ought to be imposed, according to that passage of Deuteronomy twenty-five: "If he shall answer: 'I do not wish to take her as wife,' the woman shall approach him before the elders of the people and shall remove the shoe from his foot and shall spit in his face and shall say: 'Thus shall it be done to the man who does not build up the house of his brother'"; because from him who does not wish to raise up the seed of Christ, the authority of preaching ought to be taken away, which is understood through the removal of the shoe, according to that passage of Ephesians six: "Having your feet shod in the preparation of the Gospel of peace." On account of which, Deuteronomy twenty-three: "A eunuch, with crushed or cut off testicles, shall not enter the Church of the Lord." On the contrary, it is said of holy men in Ecclesiasticus forty-four: "With their seed good things remain, a holy inheritance their descendants."

Luke 20:29-32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Third, regarding the allegation of those introducing the case, it is added: Therefore there were seven brothers, and the first took a wife and died without children. And the next took her, and he himself died without a son. And the third took her. Likewise also all seven, and they did not leave seed and died. Last of all the woman also died. It could be that they fabricated this as something possible: whence the Gloss: "Those who do not believe in the resurrection of bodies and think that souls perish with the body fabricate the baseness of a fable." The Jews are accustomed to occupy themselves with such fables: on account of which First Timothy 1: "I urged you to remain at Ephesus, that you might charge certain persons not to teach otherwise nor to attend to fables and interminable genealogies, which furnish questions rather than edification." Or it could be that this happened literally and is introduced here according to the spirit of divine ordinance on account of the figure. For spiritually, by these seven who died without children, is understood the universality of the reprobate, who left no fruit: whence the Gloss: "These seven are all the reprobate, who throughout this whole life, which consists of seven days, are barren of good work." These can be understood through the seven husbands of Sarah, of whom it is said in Tobit 3 that they were killed by a demon named Asmodeus: because in Wisdom 3 it is said: "The seed from an unlawful bed shall be exterminated." Or by the seven husbands are understood the seven capital vices, which the soul serves, concerning which Luke 11: "He takes along seven spirits more wicked than himself." Or the five senses and the twofold consideration of reason, which are understood through the woman with seven husbands: of whom it is said in John 4: "Call your husband." For he who subjects himself to the senses of the flesh bears no fruit: Job 24: "He fed the barren woman who does not bear, and did no good to the widow"; because, as is said in Galatians 6, "he who sows in the flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption"; and First John 2: "The world passes away and its concupiscence."

Luke 20:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Fourth, regarding the cavil of the Sadducees posing the doubt, it is added: In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of them shall she be? Since indeed seven had her as wife, as if they were saying: she belongs no more to one than to another; therefore either all will have her, or none. If therefore both are unfitting, it is against the Law to posit the resurrection. From which it appears that they erred concerning the resurrection on account of a carnal understanding of spiritual Scripture and spiritual glory; whence carnal understanding kills, while it corrupts spiritual Scriptures; on account of which, Second Corinthians 3: "The letter kills, but the spirit gives life." Therefore John 6: "The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and life"; on account of which, First Corinthians 15: "But this I say, that flesh and blood shall not possess the kingdom of God, neither shall corruption possess incorruption," that is, those who think carnally. And such were these Sadducees, who, not understanding the nobility of the rational spirit nor the meaning of spiritual Scripture nor the power of almighty God, did not believe the resurrection was to come. Therefore it is said in Matthew 22: "You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God."

Luke 20:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

And Jesus said to them, etc. After the erroneous inquiry, he here subjoins the truthful response. Concerning which four things are introduced, namely the assertion of truth, the reason for the assertion, the confirmation of the reason, and the commendation of the confirmation. First, as regards the assertion of truth, he says: And Jesus said to them: The children of this world marry and are given in marriage, for the sake of having succession, as in Tobit 8: "You, Lord, know that not for the sake of lust do I take my sister as wife, but solely out of love of posterity, in which your name may be blessed forever and ever." And this marriage, although it could belong to spiritual men, is nevertheless only among those living in the flesh; whence children of this world does not connote vice. But others marry for the sole fulfillment of pleasure, concerning whom Genesis 6: "The sons of God, seeing the daughters of men that they were fair, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose"; and above in chapter 14: "I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come." And then children of this world connotes vice, as also above in chapter 16: "The children of this world are more prudent than the children of light," etc. And these are the children of the bondwoman, concerning whom Galatians 4: "The son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman." But neither of these will exist in the resurrection, neither succession nor carnal pleasure.

Luke 20:34 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Against conjugal chastity it is objected: Luke 20: The children of this age marry and are given in marriage, etc.: but the children of this age are not children of God: therefore through the conjugal act which they exercise, they are not children of God: therefore conjugal continence is repugnant to the law of God.

Luke 20:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Therefore he adds: But they who shall be accounted worthy of that age and of the resurrection from the dead shall neither marry nor take wives: neither shall they marry, as regards women, nor take wives, as regards men. He calls the just worthy of the resurrection. For he speaks here specifically about the resurrection of the just, who will not only rise again but will also be changed, according to that passage of First Corinthians fifteen: "We shall all indeed rise again, but we shall not all be changed." "For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise incorruptible." Therefore, although the wicked shall rise with the good, as is said in John five: "The hour comes, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God"; nevertheless he speaks specifically of the good, who will be elevated above time and temporal movements, and thereby above marriage and every carnal act.

Luke 20:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Second, as regards the reason for the assertion, he adds: For neither can they die anymore; from which it follows that they will not have wives. Hence Bede: "Since marriages exist for the sake of children, children for the sake of succession, and succession exists on account of death: where therefore there is no death, neither are there marriages." But then it can be argued from this that since in paradise there was no death before sin, marriages would not have existed. And the response to this is that although there was no death by necessity, as there is now, there was nevertheless death by possibility, because the first parents had an animal body, but after the resurrection the body will be spiritual, according to that passage of First Corinthians fifteen: "It is sown an animal body, it shall rise spiritual: it is sown in weakness, it shall rise in power: it is sown in dishonor, it shall rise in glory." Therefore he adds: For they are equal to the Angels and are sons of God, since they are sons of the resurrection, that is, just as the Angels are immortal, incorruptible, above time and the variations of temporal movements, so shall the good be, because after the resurrection we shall then be equal to the Angels according to the dignity of glory; on account of which, Revelation twenty-one: "The measure of a man, which is that of an Angel." Nor is this surprising, because then we shall be made like God through glory, according to that passage of First John three: "Now we are sons of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." Hence Rabanus: "They are as the Angels of God in heaven, who, renewed by the glory of the resurrection, without any fear of death, without any stain of corruption, without any act of earthly condition, enjoy the perpetual vision of God. To which equality of angelic dignity, whoever desires to ascend must condescend to the least of the brethren by acting piously." And he rightly says this, because one who does not wish to be made like the Angels in ministry cannot be like them in glory.

Luke 20:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Third, as to the confirmation of reason, he adds: That the dead truly rise, even Moses showed at the bush, that is, the word of the Lord which he spoke to Moses in the vision of that burning and unconsumed bush, according to what is said in Exodus 3: "The Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush, and he saw that the bush burned and was not consumed"; and it follows that the Lord spoke the words which follow here: As he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob: Exodus 3: "The Lord called Moses from the midst of the bush" "and said: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob."

Luke 20:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

From this, however, the Lord wishes to infer the future resurrection, when he adds: But God is not of the dead, but of the living. For all live to him. From which it follows that they live to him either in act or in potency; but all these were actually dead; therefore they were living to God as to power and disposition. It is therefore necessary to posit a future resurrection. There are, moreover, many testimonies in the Old Testament by which the resurrection of the dead can be proved: Isaiah 26: "Your dead shall live, my slain shall rise again"; and Ezekiel 37: "Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord: Behold," etc.; likewise, Daniel 12: "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake"; likewise, Job 19: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and on the last day I shall rise from the earth"; likewise, Hosea 6: "After two days he will revive us, on the third day he will raise us up"; likewise, Joel 3: "Let them rise up and let the nations ascend into the valley of Jehoshaphat," etc.; likewise, 2 Maccabees 7: "He himself will give you spirit and life with mercy." But the Lord introduced none of these seven witnesses, because the Sadducees, to whom he was responding, accepted only the Pentateuch; whence the Gloss: "He could have given clearer testimonies of the resurrection from the Prophets, but the Sadducees do not accept the Prophets." Or because through this he proves the life of souls after death, which the Sadducees denied, and this was the root of their error. Or because in the citation of this word there is simultaneously enclosed the mystery of the Trinity in the threefold repetition of God, the mystery of the threefold virtue, namely of faith, hope, and charity, in the three aforementioned Patriarchs, the mystery of the Incarnation in the burning bush and also the mystery of the Passion, and in the entire authority the mystery of the Resurrection, and thus, as it were, the whole mystery of the Christian faith; because every figure of mysteries and variety of words has been consummated in the incarnate Word, according to that passage in Isaiah 28: "I have heard of consummation and abbreviation," etc.; and Hebrews 1: "In many ways," etc.

Luke 20:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Fourth, with respect to the commendation of the confirmation, he adds: And certain of the scribes answering said to him: Master, thou hast spoken well. The scribes commended this because they were of the sect of the Pharisees, who say that there is a resurrection. Whence in Matthew twenty-two it is said that "the Pharisees, seeing that he had silenced the Sadducees, came together in one," because on this account they applauded him. For concerning this there was contention between the Sadducees and the Pharisees: whence in Acts twenty-three, "Paul, knowing that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, cried out in the council: Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am judged. And when he had said this, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection of the dead, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees confess both."

Luke 20:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Since therefore he had confounded both parties, both were silent: whence it is added: And they dared not ask him any more questions: from which it is apparent that they were asking not out of eagerness to learn, but to conquer and overcome. Whence the Gloss says: "Refuted in arguments, they no longer ask questions, but openly seize him and hand him over to the Roman power. From this we understand that the poisons of envy can be overcome, but they can scarcely be quieted." Therefore they did not dare to question him, because they saw that he had something divine in himself, with whom it is not safe to dispute: Job nine: "How great am I that I should answer him and speak with him in my own words? Who, even if I had anything just, would not answer, but would entreat my judge." Therefore in them was verified that word of the Psalm: "They failed in their searching with scrutiny"; and therefore: "Man shall approach to a deep heart, and God shall be exalted."

Luke 20:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

And he said to them: How do they say, etc. After he refuted those erring concerning the mystery of the resurrection, here he refutes those erring concerning the mystery of the incarnation, who namely do not believe Christ to be true man and God. Now Christ does this by inquiring and introducing a question which is impossible to resolve unless it is believed and understood that Christ is of a twofold nature. In this question, therefore, Christ, the master of faith, proposes the carnal generation of Christ himself, commonly believed by the Jews; second, he assumes the eternal generation foretold by the Prophet; and he concludes with the apparent controversy between the two. First, therefore, as to the carnal generation of Christ commonly believed, he says: But he said to them: How do they say that Christ is the son of David? All the Jews commonly say this, and also all Christian men. For to David himself the promise concerning Christ was made, as it is said in the Psalm: "Of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne"; and in 2 Kings 7: "I will raise up your seed after you, who shall come forth from your womb, and I will establish his kingdom and make firm the throne of his kingdom forever." This cannot be said except of Christ, as the Angel attests, according to that passage above in chapter one: "The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever." Therefore rightly "the crowds cried out: Hosanna to the son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" Matthew 21. And the Apostle preached this according to that passage in 2 Timothy 2: "Remember that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my Gospel"; and in Acts 2, Peter said: "Therefore, since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath that of the fruit of his loins one would sit upon his throne, foreseeing this he spoke of the resurrection."

Luke 20:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Second, as to the eternal generation foretold by the Prophet, he adds: And David himself says in the book of Psalms: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand. Without doubt David says this word for word in the Psalm, which treats most excellently and most profoundly of the two natures of Christ. For it is established that this is understood of Christ. For God gave to no one the supreme kingdom, the eternal priesthood, and the judgment of all things except to Christ; and all this is described in that Psalm. It is necessary, therefore, that this verse be understood of Christ, in which David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, expresses the eternal generation of the Son in this, that he says: "The Lord said to my Lord"; for to say is nothing other than to conceive a word in the mind, which saying indeed could not exist in God except from eternity, because, as is said in Job 33, "God speaks once and does not repeat the same thing a second time." And therefore in John 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." He spoke, therefore, eternally when he begot the Son; the Psalm: "The Lord said to me: You are my Son, today I have begotten you." He also expresses the equality of the Son with the Father, when he says: "Sit at my right hand," that is, equal to me: Hebrews 1: "Who, being the brightness of glory and the figure of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high," etc., up to: "This day have I begotten thee." Therefore Philippians 2: "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." That sitting therefore does not signify a local position, but rather supreme rest, dignity, and authority, and through this also equality, which belongs to the Son alone. Therefore Lucifer fell, who desired it: Isaiah 14: "How art thou fallen, O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning, who didst say in thy heart: I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit upon the mountain of the testament, and I will be like the Most High."

Luke 20:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

He expresses nonetheless the universal dominion of the Son of God himself, when he adds: Until I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet: The Psalm: "Thou hast subjected all things under his feet," etc., because by his almighty power he both governs the good and tramples the wicked. Whence 1 Corinthians 15: "He must reign, until he hath put his enemies under his feet"; "for he hath subjected all things under his feet"; Isaiah 45: "Thus saith the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, that I may subdue all nations and turn the backs of kings," etc. For of Christ it is said in Apocalypse 19: "He had on his garment and on his thigh written: King of kings," etc.

Luke 20:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Third, as regards the apparent controversy of both, he adds: David therefore calls him Lord, and how is he his son? For it is impossible to say that according to his human nature Christ was the lord of David, because Christ was not yet born nor conceived; and moreover, a son is never called the lord of his father; and again, since David was an exalted king, it does not seem that he had any mere man as his lord. It remains therefore that, since Christ according to the same nature cannot be said to be at once the true son and lord, of King David, it is necessary that he be at once God and man. And this indeed is true, which no one can deny unless he wholly overthrows Scripture and the faith received from the Fathers. Now there are manifold testimonies in Scripture concerning this twofold nature of Christ, but he chose this testimony especially, both because David among the Prophets prophesied most excellently concerning Christ, and also because that Psalm from which this verse is taken most excellently expresses the mystery of the entire truth of faith. Whence Cassiodorus also says of that Psalm that "it is a mirror of the heavenly mystery, a treasury of the Sacred Scriptures, where everything is said in summary that is proclaimed in the narrative of both Testaments." For the intention of the whole of both testaments principally concerns the twofold nature of Christ, concerning which David himself says: "He shall come down like rain upon a fleece"; and afterwards: "Let his name be blessed forever"; and again: "Beautiful in form above the sons of men"; and afterwards: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever"; and Baruch chapter three: "This is our God, and no other shall be esteemed against him." "After these things he was seen upon the earth and conversed with men"; and Isaiah chapter seven: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel"; and Isaiah chapter nine: "A little child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, the Mighty," etc. Likewise, Isaiah chapter fifty-three: "He shall grow up like a tender plant"; and afterwards: "Who shall declare his generation?" And Micah chapter five: "And you, Bethlehem Ephratha, you are small among the thousands of Judah; for from you shall come forth he who is to be ruler in Israel, and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity." Therefore, Romans chapter one: "Who was made for him from the seed of David according to the flesh, who was predestined the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of sanctification," etc.; and Romans chapter nine: "Whose is the adoption of sons and the glory and the covenant and the giving of the law and the worship and the promises, whose are the fathers, from whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all things God blessed." And this is expressly stated in John chapter one: "In the beginning was the Word"; and afterwards: "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory," etc. Finally, Christ himself, in John chapter eight: "The Beginning, who also speak to you"; and Apocalypse, the last chapter: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." "I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star." In this, therefore, "he established the end of his teaching," as Ambrose says, because in this is the foundation of the Christian religion, in which is rooted and enclosed everything to be believed, namely, that Christ is believed to be man and God. For all the articles of faith are reduced either to the Divinity or to the humanity; and therefore the Apostle said in First Corinthians chapter three: "As a wise architect I have laid the foundation; but no other foundation can anyone lay besides that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus." And he himself is also the completion, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus chapter forty-three: "We say many things…

Luke 20:45-46 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

And in the hearing of all the people, etc. After he had confuted the Pharisees, who erred from malice, and the Sadducees, who erred from ignorance, here thirdly he instructs the disciples in prudence. And since prudence consists in three things, namely in caution against evil, choice of the good, and foresight of the future: therefore this part has three parts. In the first of which he instructs the disciples in caution against evils; in the second he invites them to the choice of better things, at the passage: And looking up, he saw, etc.; and in the third, to foresight of future things, at the passage: And as some were speaking of the temple, etc. He therefore instructs the disciples in caution against evils that were in the scribes and Pharisees, lest by their example they should turn aside from the path of truth: and this indeed he does by calling the disciples back from the fourfold vice of the scribes, namely from adornment of clothing, ambition for honors, appetite for riches, and simulation of virtues. The first pertains to wantonness, the second to vainglory, the third to avarice, the fourth to fraudulence: to which four, as to the four wheels of Pharaoh's chariot, all evils can be reduced. First, therefore, as regards the adornment of clothing, which was the manifest vice of the scribes, he says: And in the hearing of all the people, he said to his disciples: Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes. Now he said in the hearing of all the people because this was a manifest vice, and therefore to be rebuked openly, according to that passage in First Timothy 5: "Those who sin, rebuke before all, that the rest also may have fear"; and this he said in their presence, lest he act against that passage in Leviticus 19: "You shall not curse the deaf," etc. Now he speaks more about the scribes because they were more effective in doing harm, since they seemed to be men worthy of trust in word and to be imitated in example. Hence the Gloss: "For a twofold reason we are commanded to beware of those desirous of vainglory: lest we be deceived by their pretense, or lest we be inflamed by their example to the love of temporal things." One must therefore take heed lest anyone imitate them in the adornment of clothing, which is understood by the term long robes. For long robes are said to be the white and long garments that the scribes used: hence the Gloss on this: "They desire to walk in long robes, that is, to go forth in public clothed in finer garments: which is reproved in the rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen." And therefore Augustine says in the Rule: "Do not seek to please by clothing, but by conduct"; and Sirach 11: "Never glory in clothing"; and First Timothy, the last chapter: "Having food and clothing, let us be content with these." Second, as regards the ambition for honors, which was a vice of the scribes to be detested, he adds: And they love greetings in the marketplace, as regards glory in word, as if to say that they wish to be greeted in a public place first in time, with a louder voice, and with a bowed head: against which, above in the tenth chapter: "Salute no man by the way," etc. And the chief seats in the synagogues, as regards glory in office: against which, Ecclesiasticus seven: "Seek not from a man leadership, nor from a king the seat of honor." And the first places at feasts, as regards glory in sign: against which, above in the fourteenth chapter: "When you are invited to a wedding, recline in the last place." Now he reproves the scribes, not because to be greeted is evil, or to be placed upon a seat, or to be seated in the first place at a feast, but because such desire and such glorying deservedly ought to be reproved. Whence Bede: "He does not forbid being greeted in the marketplace or the first seats to those to whom they are owed by order of office, but to those who love them unduly. For he rebukes the disposition, not the rank." Therefore what is censured in the sc…

Luke 20:47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 20

Third, with respect to the appetite for riches, he adds: Who devour the houses of widows, and this through cupidity, whose voracity is never satisfied, and especially when carnality is joined to it. Therefore he says: Who devour the houses of widows, simultaneously implying the voracity of cupidity toward the house and of carnality toward the sex; and concerning these two, Proverbs thirty: "The horseleech has two daughters, crying: Give, give"; and immediately he adds: "Three things are insatiable, and a fourth that never says: Enough. Hell, the mouth of the womb, and the earth, which is never satisfied with water; fire never says: Enough"; because, as is said in Ecclesiastes five, "the covetous man shall not be satisfied with money, and he who loves riches shall reap no fruit from them." The devouring, therefore, is reprehensible on account of avarice, but association with widows is reprehensible on account of evil suspicion. Whence Chrysostom: "While he confounds the Jewish priests, he admonishes Christians not to remain with widows more than with others, because, even if the will is not evil, the suspicion nevertheless is evil." And Jerome to Nepotian: "Let the feet of women rarely or never wear out your threshold. All the maidens and virgins of Christ either equally ignore or equally love. See that you do not remain under the same roof, nor trust in past chastity. You cannot be more holy than David, nor stronger than Samson, nor wiser than Solomon. Remember always that woman cast the settler of paradise out of his possession." The scribes, therefore, are not to be imitated, neither with respect to carnality nor with respect to cupidity, because concerning the imitators of these, Second Peter two: "These are like irrational beasts," "enticing unstable souls, having a heart exercised in avarice, children of malediction, forsaking the right way they have gone astray, following the way of Balaam of Bosor, who loved the wages of iniquity." Against such the Lord is indignant, according to that passage in Isaiah three: "You have devoured the vineyard, and the spoil of the poor is in your house." Fourth, with respect to the simulation of virtues, he adds: Feigning long prayer; the Gloss: "So that they may appear more religious, they pray at greater length, in order that from any who are weak and troubled by the consciousness of their sins, they may receive praises and money as though they were patrons." But is prolonged prayer evil? Certainly not, since it is said above in the eighteenth chapter: "One ought to pray always"; and First Thessalonians 5: "Pray without ceasing." But this is said on account of simulation, because, since simulation and fraud are reprehensible in all things, they are most especially reprehended in those acts which ought above all to be done in truth: and such is the act of prayer: John 4, "Those who adore him must adore in spirit and truth." Concerning him, therefore, who prays fraudulently and with simulation, it is said in the Psalm: "Let his prayer be turned into sin," because, Jeremiah 48: "Cursed is he who does the work of God negligently." And therefore he adds: These shall receive greater damnation, because, as is said in Job 36, "dissemblers and the crafty provoke the wrath of God." Therefore Ecclesiasticus 1: "Be not a hypocrite in the sight of men," "lest God reveal your hidden things and cast you down in the midst of the synagogue." And therefore upon the scribes as hypocrites he pronounces woe seven times, Matthew 23: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" on account of their sevenfold simulation, on account of which they were worthy, together with their followers, to be cast down into eternal damnation, according to that passage of Apocalypse 19: "And the beast was apprehended, and with him the false prophet, who wrought signs before him, by which he seduced those who received the mark of the beast: and these two were cast alive into the pool of fire burning with sulphur. And all…

Luke 21:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

And looking up, he saw, etc. After he instructed the disciples toward caution against evils, here secondly he instructs them toward the choice of better things, and this by the example of a poor little widow, offering her entire livelihood, who is preferred above the others, who gave only a part. In this part, therefore, he proceeds in this order. For here is introduced the gift of the wealthy multitude, the offering of the poor little widow, the praise of the offering made by the widow, and the assignment of the reason and cause. First, therefore, as regards the gift of the wealthy multitude, he says: And looking up, he saw the rich casting their gifts into the treasury. Note that gazophylacium is derived from gazis, that is, riches, and phylasse, which means to keep: hence gazophylacium, a place where there was a repository of money. Now gazophylacium is sometimes taken for the place in which it was deposited, as in Nehemiah chapter ten: "The Levites shall offer a tenth part of the tithe in the house of God to the treasury in the house of treasure." Sometimes for the house of the Levites and priests: Ezekiel chapter forty-two: "He led me out into the outer court and brought me into the treasury, which was opposite the separate building"; and afterwards: "These are the holy treasuries, in which the priests eat." Sometimes it is taken for the portico in which offerings were made, as in John chapter eight: "These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, teaching in the temple." Sometimes it is taken for the chest itself, which kept the offerings, having an opening on top, as here: whence the Gloss: "The treasury is a chest, having an opening on top, into which the priests cast the monies that were collected for the necessary uses of the temple." And this chest was called by another name musach, as is said in 4 Kings chapter sixteen: "He also turned the musach of the Sabbath in the temple of the Lord on account of the king of the Assyrians." And this was called by another name corbona, as in Matthew chapter twenty-seven: "It is not lawful to cast them into the corbona, because it is the price of blood." Now offerings were cast into this for a twofold reason: either for maintaining the lamps, or for repairing the fabric of the temple, according to that passage of 4 Kings 12: "Let the priests receive all the money of the holy things that is brought into the temple of the Lord, and let them restore the fabric of the house"; and further: "Joiada took one treasury chest and bored a hole in the top and placed it beside the altar, on the right side of those entering, and the priests cast into it all the money that was brought to the temple of the Lord." Now offerings of this kind were made for a threefold reason, namely, out of reverence for the divine worship, on account of which, 2 Maccabees 3: "When the city was inhabited in complete peace, it came about that the kings and princes themselves deemed the place worthy of the highest honor and adorned the temple with the greatest gifts." And for the remission of sin: Numbers 31: "For this reason we offer gifts to the house of the Lord, that you may entreat the Lord for us." Likewise, for thanksgiving: whence 1 Chronicles, the last chapter: "The people of Israel rejoiced when they willingly made their vows," etc.

Luke 21:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Secondly, as to the offering of the poor widow, he adds: And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in two small coins. He saw, I say, with the eye of kindness, with which he looks upon the poor, according to that passage of Isaiah 66: "To whom shall I look but to the poor and contrite in spirit and who trembles at my words?" The Lord hears the prayers of such ones; the Psalm: "He has looked upon the prayer of the humble and has not despised their prayers"; and Ecclesiasticus 35: "Do not the tears of the widow run down upon the cheek and ascend from the cheek up to heaven?" He accepts the offerings of such ones, however small they may be, because, as the Gloss says, "God does not consider how much is offered in sacrifice, but from how much it is given." Whence also Matthew 10: "Whoever gives to one of these least ones a cup of cold water shall not lose his reward." Therefore Gregory says: "Our outward goods, however small, suffice for God; for he weighs the heart and not the substance"; and further: "The kingdom of heaven is worth as much as you have. For it was worth to Zacchaeus half his goods; it was worth to Andrew and Peter the leaving of their nets and boat; it was worth to the widow two small coins; and it was worth to another a cup of cold water. The kingdom of heaven, therefore, is worth as much as you have." And note that in saying she cast in two small coins, he simultaneously indicates her poverty and her liberality: poverty, because she had only two obols; liberality, because, when she could have offered one, she offered both, so as to fulfill that passage of Tobit 4: "If you have little, strive to share even that little willingly."

Luke 21:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Third, with respect to the praise of the offering made by the widow, he adds: And he said: Truly I say to you, that this poor widow has put in more than all of them, that is, she gave more abundantly. For he gives more abundantly who gives from a greater heart. Whence Gregory: "The hand is not empty of a gift when the treasury of the heart has been filled with good will." For this widow was of the number of those about whom it is said in Second Corinthians 8: "I bear them witness according to their power, that beyond their power they were willing." Whence Chrysostom: "Let no one say: I cannot give alms. You are not poorer than that widow, you are not more unlearned than Peter and John. The talents of each person consist either in preeminence in teaching, or in money, or in any occupation"; and afterwards: "Nothing is so pleasing to God as to live for the common benefit." On account of which also First Peter 4: "Each one, as he has received grace, ministering it to one another." Whence, just as he who leaves behind few things in reality and wills to have nothing in desire is said to leave all things, as Peter, Matthew 19: "Behold, we have left all things"; just as he who is subject to nothing has all things and abounds, as Paul, Second Corinthians 6: "As having nothing, yet possessing all things"; and Philippians last chapter: "I have all things and abound"; so he who gives with a great heart is said to give abundantly, according to that saying in Second Corinthians 8: "In much trial of tribulation, the abundance of their joy abounded, and their very deep poverty abounded unto the riches of simplicity."

Luke 21:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Fourth, with respect to the assignment of the reason and cause, he subjoins: For all these out of their abundance have cast into the gifts of God: and they fulfilled that precept above in chapter 11: "But yet that which remains, give as alms"; by which it is commanded to give out of one's abundance, as John said above in chapter 3: "He who has two tunics, let him give one to him who has none." But she out of her want has cast in all the living that she had: and thus she fulfilled a counsel, because she reserved nothing for herself, but gave everything, so that she might begin to be an evangelical woman, fulfilling that counsel of the Lord, above in chapter 18: "If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you have." She was no longer anxious about the morrow, as is said in Matthew 6: "Be not anxious for the morrow"; "sufficient for the day is its own evil." But it seems that this widow for this reason is not to be praised but rather to be blamed, because she did not keep the mean, because she exposed herself to danger, because she neglected the order of charity, against that word of the Apostle: "Not that there should be relief for others and affliction for you, but from equality. In the present time let your abundance be a supplement to their want," Second Corinthians eight. — But she is praised by the divine mouth for this reason: because she placed her hope in Christ and fulfilled the divine counsel, because she preferred the worship of God to her own private advantage. Although according to human judgment her almsgiving may not seem to have been discreet, nevertheless it was most prudent, since by giving everything she became an imitator of Christ, of whom it is said in Second Corinthians eight: "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor, though he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich." Where therefore Christ promises the reward, there is no danger; where he gives the example, the mean is not abandoned, because he himself is the center of all perfection; where he approves the affection, the order of charity is not disturbed, indeed it is fulfilled, because, as is said in First Corinthians thirteen, "charity does not seek the things that are its own." — From these things it is gathered that to relinquish everything is not a vice but a perfection, because the root of meriting principally regards the affection of the heart, and because God accepts the fervor of the heart more than the magnitude of the gift. As a sign of which it is said in Genesis four: "The Lord had regard for Abel and for his offerings, but for Cain and for his offerings he had no regard." And therefore against the one who is of evil will, trusting in almsgiving, it is said in Ecclesiasticus seven: "Do not bind upon yourself double sins," and: "Do not say: God will look upon the multitude of my gifts, and when I offer to God most high, he will accept my gifts"; because, in Ecclesiasticus thirty-four, "the Most High does not approve the gifts of the wicked," but, as is said in the Psalm, "the sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit, a contrite and humbled heart," up to that point: "calves upon your altar." These things have been said according to the letter; but according to the moral sense, by this poor widow, whom the Lord Jesus most kindly regards, is understood the soul that withdraws from the love of temporal things: which is therefore called a widow, because when it clung to the world, it had a husband, but now is as it were a widow and a poor woman: a widow indeed, because she is separated from the world with respect to the affection of carnality: the Psalm: "Blessing, I will bless her widow; I will satisfy her poor with bread." And this widow places all her delight in Christ, according to that passage of First Timothy, chapter five: "She who is truly a widow and desolate, let her hope in God and persist in prayers and supplications night and day." - And she is a poor woman, because she is sep…

Luke 21:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

And as some were speaking about the temple, etc. After he instructed the disciples concerning caution against evils and the choosing of better things, here thirdly he instructs them concerning providence with respect to future things. This part is divided into four parts. In the first, he predicts what is to come in general. In the second, what is to come concerning the persecution of the Church, at the passage: See that you be not seduced, etc. In the third, what is to come concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, at the passage: But when you shall see it compassed about with an army. In the fourth, what is to come concerning the final judgment, at the passage: And there shall be signs in the sun and moon. In explaining the prediction of future things in a certain generality, three things are introduced, namely the occasion for predicting, from the occasion the prediction, and from the prediction the subsequent question. First, therefore, regarding the occasion of predicting future things, he says: And when some were speaking of the temple, that it was adorned with fine stones and gifts, he said. To such praisers of the temple regarding its permanence and opulence, he responded by predicting future things, lest they should trust in these transitory things, because, as is said in Hebrews thirteen, "we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one to come"; and therefore Second Corinthians four: "We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." But the disciples, not yet being spiritual, magnified the temple regarding the solidity of the building: whence Mark thirteen: "As he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him: Master, look, what stones and what buildings"! They magnified it regarding the sublimity of the worship of the Lord, because it was adorned with gifts, as though God should always be worshipped in it. And in this they were deceived in three ways: both because they magnified small things, as if they were great, although it is said in the last chapter of Isaiah: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is the footstool of my feet. What is this house that you will build for me? And what is this place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and all these things were made, says the Lord." And therefore the most wise Solomon in Third Kings eight: "If heaven and the heavens of heavens cannot contain you," etc. Second, because they magnified corporeal and figurative things as true and spiritual things. Against which is said in Acts seventeen: "God, who made the world and all things that are in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything," since he is God. Third, they were deceived because they magnified momentary and perishable things, as though they were perpetual and eternal, although it is said in First Corinthians seven: "For the figure of this world passes away."

Luke 21:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Second, as to the prediction introduced from the occasion taken, there is added: These things which you see, the days will come in which there shall not be left stone upon stone that shall not be destroyed. This indeed was said generally and is true for the time of the final judgment, when all things shall be destroyed, according to that passage of Matthew twenty-four: "Heaven and earth shall pass away," etc.; and Revelation twenty-one: "The first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea is no more," as in the Psalm: "They shall perish, but you shall remain," etc. It is also true for the destruction of Jerusalem specifically, which was accomplished by Titus and Vespasian in the forty-second year after the Passion of the Lord; above, in the nineteenth chapter: "The days shall come upon you, and your enemies shall surround you with a rampart and cast you to the ground, and they shall not leave in you stone upon stone." Hence Gregory says that that Jerusalem with the temple was utterly overthrown, and a new one was afterwards rebuilt. The reason, moreover, why the Lord delayed for forty-two years was so that He might await them for repentance, as is said in Second Peter three: "He acts patiently on your account, not willing that any should perish." The reason, moreover, why He delayed no longer was on account of the obstinate faithlessness of the Jews, which despised the truth on account of the veil and the shadow. Hence the Gloss: "God took care to overthrow the city and the temple and all figurative things, lest anyone after the coming of Christ should have recourse to them." And for that time is understood that passage of Isaiah one: "What is the multitude of your victims to me? says the Lord. I am full." "Offer sacrifice no more in vain: incense is an abomination to me. New moons and Sabbaths and other festivals I will not endure." And therefore Galatians five: "Stand fast and do not be held again under the yoke of servitude. Behold, I Paul say to you," etc.

Luke 21:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Third, as to the question that arose from the prediction heard, he adds: And they asked him, saying: Master, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when they begin to come to pass? Now they asked, not all of them, but the four principal ones, namely Peter, James, John, and Andrew, because they were familiar with him. Whence the Gloss: "Because to those praising the buildings of the temple he had predicted that all would be destroyed, the disciples, as Mark says, namely Peter, James, John, and Andrew, ask privately about the time and signs of the predicted destruction." And it should be noted that one can inquire about future times in two ways: in one way, by inquiring about the determined hour of the final day, and this is a curious question, because, as is said in Matthew twenty-four, "of that day and hour no one knows, neither the Angels of heaven, but the Father alone." And therefore to the disciples asking, in Acts one: "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?" the answer was: "It is not for you to know the times or moments which the Father has placed in his own power." And therefore in First Thessalonians five: "Of the times and moments, brothers, you have no need that we write to you. For you yourselves know diligently that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night." In another way, one can inquire in a certain generality and without designation of a certain time, and this question is studious. For ignorance of this is dangerous, on account of which, concerning the Jews, in Jeremiah eight: "The turtledove and the swallow and the stork have known the time of their coming, but my people," etc. And above, in the twelfth chapter: "Hypocrites, you know how to test the face of heaven and earth, but how do you not test this time?" And therefore the Lord does not rebuke those asking but satisfies them. Whence Gregory: "The Lord and our Redeemer announces the preceding evils of a world about to perish, so that the things coming may disturb less insofar as they have been foreknown. For arrows strike less when they are foreseen, and we endure the evils of the world more tolerably if we are fortified against them by the shield of foreknowledge."

Luke 21:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

He said: See that you are not seduced, etc. After the prediction of future things in a certain generality, here he descends more specifically to describing the persecution of the Church. He describes this in two ways: first, commonly with respect to all; second, specially with respect to the perfect, at: But before all these things they will lay their hands upon you. In describing the future persecutions in the Church after the passion of Christ, three things are introduced from which the persecution of the Church is shown to be stirred up, namely the multiplication of heresy, the intensification of wars, and the onset of pestilences. First, therefore, as regards the multitude of heresies, he says: He who said: See that you be not seduced, namely through various errors: on account of which, Ephesians 4: "That we may no longer be as little children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, in the wickedness of men, in craftiness unto the circumvention of error"; likewise Second Thessalonians 2: "We beseech you, that you be not quickly moved from your sense: that no man seduce you by any means." And there will indeed be need of caution, especially on account of the wickedness of the seducers. And therefore he adds: For many will come in my name, saying: I am he, preaching heresies, namely, as heresiarchs. He says many indeed on account of the multitude and variety of heresies, which began from the beginning of the Church and will flourish at the end of the Church through the son of perdition. Whence the Gloss: "When the destruction of Jerusalem was imminent, there were many leaders who said they were Christs and that the time of liberation was drawing near. In the times of the Apostles also many heresiarchs came forth." Whence First John 4: "Many false prophets have gone out into the world." Among these the first was Simon Magus, who said and left written in his volumes, as Jerome says: "I am the beautiful one, I am the Paraclete, I am the Almighty, I am the Word of God." Whence Acts 8: "There was a certain man named Simon, saying that he was someone great, to whom all listened from the least to the greatest, saying: This is the power of God which is called great." Josephus also reports that Simon the Essene was in the plains of Jezreel, who preached that he was the Christ. It is also read that when the sons of Herod were in Rome and were disputing there about the kingdom, there were four in Judea, each of whom proclaimed himself the Christ. Mani also said that he was the Holy Spirit. Muhammad also said that he was someone great. And finally after all will follow the impious Antichrist, who will be the head of all evils, concerning whom Second Thessalonians 2: "Then that wicked one will be revealed, whose coming will be according to the working of Satan, in all power and signs and lying wonders and in all seduction of iniquity for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of truth so that they might be saved." Whence Chrysostom: "A man near death sees phantasms; so also the world at its end suffers many errors." But because after these errors the truth will dawn, therefore he adds: And the time will draw near, namely, of knowing the truth; concerning which time First Corinthians 4: "Do not judge before the time, until the Lord comes, who will also illuminate the hidden things of darkness"; the Psalm: "When I shall receive the time, I will judge justices." — And therefore he adds: Do not therefore go after them, through approval of falsehood, according to that passage of Proverbs 1: "My son, do not walk with them. For their feet run to evil," etc. Now all simoniacs go after Simon, after Muhammad all the lustful, after the Antichrist all the proud and ambitious; because all such are adversaries of Christ, and they are many. Therefore First John 2: "My little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist comes, so now many antichrists have arisen." But such are not t…

Luke 21:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Secondly, as to the aggravation of wars, he adds: But when you shall hear of wars and seditions, be not terrified. For just as the deceitfulness of those who err is not to be followed, so the wickedness of those who wage war is not to be feared, especially by just men: whence Matthew 10: "Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul"; since a just man does not lose what he loves through wars, and therefore does not dread wars of this kind: Proverbs 28: "The wicked man flees, when no one pursues; but the just man, confident as a lion, shall be without terror." Whence Chrysostom: "Holy men remain undisturbed at the hearing of either bodily or spiritual wars, because the things that are in the world cannot harm those who are outside the world; just as one who is in a tent indeed hears the sound of the tempest, but does not feel the blast." Therefore Proverbs 12: "Whatever befalls the just man shall not sadden him." These things are therefore not to be feared, because they are not harmful. — Nor are they to be feared, because they are opportune: therefore he adds: These things must first come to pass, but the end is not yet at once. Chrysostom: "That which has always been in use cannot be a sign. For these bodily wars have always been and will be." For as long as concupiscence reigns, there must be strife and wars: James 4: "Whence are wars and contentions among you? Are they not from your concupiscences, which war in your members?" But the Lord permits these things to happen for the overthrow of the wicked and the exercise of the good, so that thus may appear that saying of Job 7: "The life of man upon earth is a warfare." And therefore that good soldier said in Second Corinthians 7: "When we had come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we suffered all tribulation: combats without, fears within." For John 16: "In the world you shall have distress; but have confidence, I have overcome the world."

Luke 21:10-11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Thirdly, as to the onset of pestilences, he subjoins: Then he said to them: Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Gregory: "Behold, the disturbance of men"; and there shall be great earthquakes in various places, "behold, the visitation of wrath from above"; and pestilences, "behold, the inequality of bodies"; and famines, "behold, the barrenness of the earth"; and terrors from heaven, "behold, the inequality of the air"; and there shall be great signs, not only because they are many, but also because they are unusual. Moreover, signs of this kind, great and many, preceded the destruction of Jerusalem, according to what Josephus narrates, who says that "a star resembling a sword hung over Jerusalem for a year, and that chariots and armed horsemen waged battle in the air for forty days, and that a heifer brought forth a lamb among the hands of those crowding in." And these great signs preceded the second destruction of Jerusalem, just as they had preceded its destruction carried out under Antiochus: Second Maccabees 5: "It happened that throughout the whole city of Jerusalem there were seen for forty days horsemen rushing through the air, wearing golden robes, and engagements taking place in close combat, and the movement of shields and the hurling of javelins and the splendor of golden arms and breastplates of every kind." This manifold and pestilential disturbance, although it has at times existed in part in the Church, as Gregory narrates, will nevertheless be fully present in the final tribulation, at whose approach there will be a disturbance of men and of the elements. For the disturbance of men will occur, according to that passage of Isaiah 19: "I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and a man will fight against his brother and a man against his friend and city against city and kingdom against kingdom"; and Zechariah 8: "I have let loose all men, each one against his neighbor." Nor will there be only a disturbance of men, but also of the elements. Whence Gregory says: "First the hearts of men and afterward the elements will be disturbed, so that, when the order of things is confounded, it may be shown from what source the tribulation comes." The elements will therefore be disturbed, according to that passage of Isaiah 24: "The floodgates from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth will be shaken. The earth will be utterly broken," etc. And Gregory says: "All things which we have received for the use of life, we have turned to guilt: the tranquility of human peace into complacency; the pilgrimage of the way we have loved in place of the dwelling of our homeland; the health of our bodies we have reduced to the service of vices; the abundance of plenty we have twisted not to the necessity of the flesh but to the perversity of pleasure; the serenity of the air we have compelled to serve us for the love of earthly delight. Justly, therefore, all things strike us, so that as many joys as we have had in the world, so many torments we may afterward feel." And this indeed rightly, because, Wisdom 11, "by what things a man sins, by these also is he tormented"; and again Wisdom 5: "The whole world will fight for him against the senseless"; and therefore Wisdom 16: "The creature, serving you its Maker, is enkindled unto torment against the unjust, and is made milder to do good for those who trust in you." Whence Gregory himself also says: "Because all things are to be consummated, before the consummation all things were disturbed; and we who have sinned in all things are struck in all things, so that what was said may be fulfilled: The whole world will fight for him against the senseless," Wisdom 5.

Luke 21:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

But before all these things they shall lay their hands upon you, etc. After he described the persecution of the Church in common with respect to all, here he specially describes it in the person of the perfect. Moreover there is described here a twofold persecution against the Apostles and apostolic men: first public, then private, at the passage: But you shall be betrayed by parents, etc. Concerning the public persecution of holy men, namely the Apostles and their imitators, to be explained, three things are introduced, namely the struggle of persecution, the cause of persecution, and the manifest victory of the afflicted. First therefore, as regards the struggle of persecution, he says: But before all these things they shall lay their hands upon you. Before, namely the final tribulation, in which all shall be afflicted, there precedes the persecution of the impious stirred up against perfect men. In which persecution indeed, on the part of the impious there will be violence: therefore he says: They shall lay hands upon you: Acts chapter five: "Rising up, the high priest and all who were with him, which is the sect of the Sadducees, were filled with zeal and laid hands on the Apostles and put them in public custody." There will also be injury together with violence: and therefore he adds: And they shall persecute you, delivering you into synagogues and prisons: Acts chapter six: "They stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and running together they seized Stephen and brought him before the council." There will also be with this a feigned justice: on account of which he adds: Dragging you before kings and governors on account of my name, as if it were wicked to preach the Crucified One; Acts chapter five: "When they had brought the Apostles, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying: We strictly commanded you not to teach in this name; and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you wish to bring upon us the blood of this man"; and Acts chapter seventeen: "The Jews, being zealous and taking certain wicked men from the common people, and having formed a mob, stirred up the city and dragged Jason and certain brethren before the rulers of the city, crying out: These are they who have turned the world upside down and have come here. And all these act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus." Moreover this persecution raged against the Apostles and their followers as well, from the adversaries of the name of Christ; Second Timothy chapter three: "But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, persecutions, sufferings, such as befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra." "And from all of them the Lord delivered me. And all who wish to live piously in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Whence Augustine in the sermon on the Holy Innocents: "In the Holy Scriptures, we recognize that good and just men have always endured the persecution of the wicked," because, as Gregory says, "He refuses to be Abel whom the malice of Cain does not exercise."

Luke 21:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Second, as to the cause of persecution, he adds: But it shall happen to you for a testimony, of divine love: Hebrews 12: "For whom the Lord loves, he chastises; and he scourges every son whom he receives. Persevere under discipline. God offers himself to you as to sons. For what son is there whom the father does not correct? But if you are without discipline, of which all have been made partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons"; Judith 8: "You ought to remember how our father Abraham, being tempted and proved through many tribulations, was made the friend of God." It shall happen also for a testimony of one's own virtue. On account of which, Genesis 27: "Come here, that I may touch you, my son, and prove whether you are my son or not." Whence also in Job 2, Satan said to the Lord: "Put forth your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and then you will see that he blesses you to your face. And the Lord said to Satan: Behold, he is in your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with a most grievous sore"; and Romans 5: "Tribulation works patience, and patience probation, and probation hope." It shall happen also for a testimony of the damnation of others. Whence the Gloss: "The death of the just is an aid to the good, a testimony against the wicked, so that the perverse may perish without excuse from that very thing whence the elect take an example in order to live." Whence Wisdom 4: "The just man who is dead condemns the living wicked, and youth more quickly completed condemns the long life of the unjust"; and therefore 1 Peter 4: "For it is time that judgment should begin at the house of God. But if first at us, what shall be the end of those who do not believe the Gospel of God?" - It shall happen also for a testimony of the truth preached: for martyr means witness, and martyrdom is a testimony of the truth: Apocalypse 6: "I saw under the altar the souls of those slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held." And these testimonies of the holy Martyrs make the Christian faith credible: the Psalm: "Your testimonies are made exceedingly credible," on account of the death of those who preach. Whence also Acts 10: "He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is he who was appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead."

Luke 21:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Third, as to the victory of those who are afflicted, he adds: Settle it therefore in your hearts not to premeditate how you shall respond, by your own inquiry, because, 2 Corinthians 3, "not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves as from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God"; the Psalm: "The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain."

Luke 21:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, through internal inspiration: Matthew 10: "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." Now this Spirit of the Lord gives wisdom and gives eloquence: wisdom in the heart, according to that passage in John 16: "When that Spirit of truth comes, he will teach you all truth"; therefore Job 32: "There is a spirit in men, and the inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding." And the reason for this is given in 1 Corinthians 2: because "the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also the things of God no one has known except the Spirit of God." And therefore Wisdom 9: "Who will know your meaning, unless you give wisdom and send your Holy Spirit from on high?" — He likewise gives eloquence in speech through wisdom; whence Wisdom 10: "Wisdom opened the mouth of the mute and made the tongues of infants eloquent"; therefore Exodus 4: "Who made the mouth of man? Or who fashioned the mute and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? Go therefore, and I will be in your mouth and will teach you what to speak." And therefore Isaiah 63: "I, who speak justice and am a champion for saving." And because "malice does not overcome wisdom," therefore he adds: whom all your adversaries will not be able to resist and contradict, through fraudulent caviling: Exodus 14: "The Lord will fight for you, and you shall be silent." No one can resist this mighty warrior; the Psalm: "You are terrible, and who shall resist you?"; and Job 9: "Who has resisted him and had peace?" No one therefore resists without being overcome by the disciples on account of the proclamation of truth, because it is said in 3 Esdras 4: "And truth endures and grows strong forever and lives for ages of ages"; and in Apocalypse 12 it is said concerning the antichrist: "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and because they did not love their lives even unto death." But a contrary seems to be stated in Apocalypse 11: "I will give to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth"; and afterwards: "When they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the abyss will make war against them and will overcome them." But this is not contrary, because, although truth may be cast down for a time, it must nevertheless rise again. Whence in the same place: "After three and a half days the spirit of life from God entered into them. And they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon those who saw them." "And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city fell."

Luke 21:16-17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

But you will be handed over by parents, etc. After he described the public persecution of the perfect, here he describes the private persecution; concerning which three things are introduced, namely domestic conflict, heavenly protection, and internal armor. First, therefore, regarding the domestic struggle, he says: But you will be betrayed by parents and brothers and relatives and friends: and this indeed will be most harsh. It is indeed hard to be betrayed by a friend and relative, according to that verse of the Psalm: "If my enemy had cursed me, I would surely have endured it. But you, a man of one mind with me, my leader and my familiar, who together with me took sweet food," etc. It is harder to be betrayed by one's own brother: Micah 7: "They all lie in wait for blood, a man hunts his brother to death. They call the evil of their hands good." But it is most grievous to suffer at the hands of one's own parent; Zechariah 13: "His father and his mother, his parents, will pierce him through when he prophesies." And this tribulation is indeed very harsh; whence the Gloss says: "This is the torment: when someone suffers at the hands of those in whom he had confidence, because together with the harm to the body, the evils of lost charity torment him." And therefore Jeremiah 9: "Let each one guard himself from his neighbor, and let him place no trust in any brother, because every brother will utterly supplant, and every friend will walk deceitfully. And a man will mock his brother, and they will not speak the truth." And because this hatred will be most wicked, he therefore adds: And they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all men on account of my name: Jeremiah 15: "Woe is me, my mother! Why did you bear me, a man of strife, a man of discord in the whole earth? They all curse me." Now the reason for this hatred is twofold: the first is discord of wills. Therefore John 15: "If you were of the world, the world would love what was its own; but because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you." For, as is said in James 4, "the friendship of this world is enmity with God," etc. The other reason is the perfidy of souls, according to that passage in John 16: "The hour comes when everyone who kills you will think that he is offering service to God. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor me." In this is noted the remarkable perfidy of souls, that they will persecute just men for no other cause than that they believe, love, preach, and follow the name of Christ; and therefore he says: on account of my name. And this was the cause on account of which the brothers of Joseph hated him; whence Chrysostom says: "O unspeakable madness of the wicked! It is not permitted for Joseph, it is not permitted, I say, for one who is good to go unpunished; it is not permitted for the better man to be safe among the wicked! And as though the envious were losing something or incurring the expense of some possession: so the life of the good is the detriment of the worst. The proud are jealous of the modest, the envious of the gentle, the wicked of the upright; the arrogant assail the meek with hostile rivalry. The wicked cannot bear to see the good. They do not want one better than themselves to live, lest they themselves, being degenerate, should have to endure reproaches. Why are you jealous of the innocent, O hostile brotherhood? Why do you envy the good? Why can you not endure the simple? Why do you persecute the modest! Why do you not love the upright? Why are you found guilty of innocent blood? At least let him who has been sold live in some measure, lest innocent blood stand as an accuser against you, as it once did against Cain. Preserve for yourself, preserve, O hostile brotherhood, one alive whom you may one day find appeased; preserve unharmed one whom in a time of necessity you may find a provider."

Luke 21:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Secondly, with regard to heavenly protection, he adds: And a hair of your head shall not perish: which is expounded in three ways: first indeed, because divine providence exercises care over all things and allows nothing to perish: above in chapter 12: "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." Secondly, because divine power will allow no particle to perish; whence Augustine in the Enchiridion: "The earthly matter from which the flesh of mortal creatures is made does not perish before God; but into whatever dust or ash it may be dissolved, into whatever vapors or breezes it may disperse, into whatever substance of other bodies or even into the very elements it may be turned, into the food of whatever animals, even of men, it may pass and be changed into flesh, it returns in a moment of time to that soul which first animated it, so that a man might come into being, grow, and live." Third, because in all these tribulations they do not incur even the slightest injury; as a figure of which, Daniel 3: "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth from the midst of the fire. And the satraps gazed upon those men, because the fire had had no power over their bodies, and not a hair of their head had been singed, and the smell of fire had not passed through them." And therefore it is said in 1 Peter 3: "And who is there that can harm you, if you are zealous for what is good?" And in this the wondrous protection of God over the just is made manifest; whence Chrysostom says: "Wondrous is the power of Christ and the fortitude of the Apostles. By the Gentiles they were hated as Jews, by Caesar they were cast out as seditious, by the Jews they were stoned as enemies of the Law. Against the Apostles all waged war: prince, leader, commoner, and populace. Infinite thousands of Jews the Romans then captured, yet twelve unarmed men they did not overcome."

Luke 21:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Third, as to the internal armor, he adds: In your patience you shall possess your souls, that is, you shall defend them as by a perfect armor; Proverbs 15: "He who acquiesces to reproofs is possessor of the heart"; and this through patience. For a person is called the possessor of that thing over which he has full dominion; and patience makes one master of oneself, according to that saying in Proverbs 16: "The patient man is better than the strong man, and he who rules his spirit than the conqueror of cities." And therefore Gregory says: "Patience is the root and guardian of the virtues, and by it we possess the souls which possess the body." And this is manifestly apparent if one considers what patience is. For patience rectifies the rational power, tempers the irascible, moderates the concupiscible, and perfects outward action. The rational power, I say, it illuminates and rectifies; whence Proverbs 14: "He who is patient is governed by much wisdom"; and Proverbs 19: "The learning of a man is known by his patience." It tempers the irascible and the concupiscible; on account of which Gregory says: "True patience exists when one loves the person one bears with. For to tolerate and to hate is not virtue but a veil for fury." It also perfects outward action, according to that saying in James 1: "Patience has a perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire," etc.; and Hebrews 10: "Patience is necessary for you, so that, doing the will of God, you may receive the promise." Moreover, this patience causes the reward to be obtained, while it preserves and multiplies the merits of sufferings. Whence Jerome says: "Patience is exercised when from our neighbor we endure persecutions, losses, and insults; from the adversary, temptations; from the Lord, scourges. Without the sword we can be martyrs, if we preserve patience in our soul."

Luke 21:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

In the second place, I cleave to myself in God. But I cleave to my soul when I possess it: for if a thing passes to the possession of another, I do not have its fruit. Now, I possess my soul when I can face adversity with patience. "By your patience you will win your souls." But the patient toleration of adversity must not be casual, nor result from mere chance: it must come from an inner vision of mercy. And that consists in looking forward to mercy. Thirdly, it consists in forgiving the trespasser for his offense. And these three result from patience, longanimity and goodness. Patience consists in tolerating adversity; longanimity, in expecting the reward that will come from all tribulations; and goodness, in forgiving generously.

Luke 21:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

When you shall see surrounded by an army, etc. After he described what was to come in general, and also the persecutions of the Church itself, here he describes what is to come concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, by which is understood the tribulation that the Church is to suffer in the time of the Antichrist. This part has two parts. In the first of these he foretells the preceding war: and in the second, the subsequent destruction, at the passage: But woe to those who are pregnant and nursing, etc. The preceding war, however, he describes with respect to three things, namely with respect to the danger of battle, the remedy of flight, and the judgment of divine vengeance. First, with respect to the danger of battle, he says: When you shall see Jerusalem surrounded by an army, through the siege of the Romans, according to that passage of Ezekiel chapter four: "Son of man, take to yourself a brick, and you shall set it before you, and you shall draw upon it the city of Jerusalem, and you shall lay siege against it, and you shall build fortifications, and you shall cast up a mound, and you shall set camps against it, and you shall place battering rams round about." Then know that its desolation has drawn near, through complete overthrow; Daniel chapter nine: "The people with the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and its end shall be devastation, and after the end of the war the appointed desolation," etc. Spiritually, however, by the army surrounding Jerusalem is understood the insurrection of the wicked against ecclesiastical peace, brought about by the Antichrist and his ministers, according to that passage of Revelation chapter sixteen: "And I saw from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet three unclean spirits go forth in the manner of frogs. For they are spirits of demons working signs, and they go forth to the kings of the whole earth to gather them for battle on the great day of almighty God"; and Revelation chapter nineteen: "I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to make war with him who sat upon the horse." But because the wicked will be incomparably more numerous, they are therefore said to surround. As a figure of this, 1 Kings chapter twenty-three: "Saul and his men were encircling David and his men in the manner of a crown, to capture them." Whence Job chapter nineteen: "His robbers came together and made their way by me and besieged my tabernacle round about."

Luke 21:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Second, regarding the remedy of flight, he adds: Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, lest they be found; and let those who are in the midst of it depart, lest they be enclosed; and let those who are in the countryside not enter into it, lest they be captured there. For the army of the Romans first overthrew many cities throughout Judea before it came to Jerusalem. And nearly all the Jews had entered there, as Josephus says, on account of the feast and on account of security; therefore they were all seized by the just judgment of God, according to that passage in Jeremiah 12: "Gather them together like a flock for the slaughter and sanctify them for the day of killing." But the Christians were delivered through flight; hence the Gloss of Bede: "Ecclesiastical history relates that the Christians who were in Judea, when the destruction was imminent, were warned by an Angel and dwelt beyond the Jordan in the city of Pella until the desolation of Judea was fulfilled." Spiritually, however, the remedy is here intimated which will be available to the weak in that violent persecution of the Antichrist, namely that of flight and concealment. For it is permitted for the imperfect to flee in order to avoid dangers; hence Zechariah 2: "O, O, O! Flee from the land of the north, says the Lord." Condescending to these, Christ hid himself from the Jews, according to that passage in John 7: "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee. For he did not wish to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him." It is also permitted for perfect men, when they see that it is more expedient for the salvation of the people that they flee; hence the Lord said to the disciples in Matthew 10: "But when they persecute you in one city, flee to another"; and concerning Paul it is said in Acts 9 that when "the Jews were guarding the gates of Damascus day and night in order to kill Paul, the disciples took him and let him down through the wall by night, lowering him in a basket." A figure of this preceded in David; 1 Kings 19: "But he went away and fled and was saved"; for he was let down by Michal through the window.

Luke 21:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Third, regarding the judgment of divine vengeance, he adds: Because these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Now the Lord decreed to destroy Jerusalem in vengeance for the blood of Jesus Christ and of his Prophets; hence Matthew 23: "That upon you may come all the just blood that has been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just even to the blood of Zechariah. Amen I say to you: All these things shall come upon this generation." For so great a crime ought in no way to remain unavenged; therefore Lamentations 2: "The Lord has done what he purposed; he has fulfilled his word which he commanded from the days of old. He has destroyed and has not spared, and he has made the enemy rejoice over you and has exalted the horn of your adversaries." Spiritually, however, through these things is understood the vengeance of divine indignation on account of the sins of ecclesiastical persons, both secular and religious, according to that passage of Micah 3: "Her princes judged for bribes, and her priests taught for hire, and her prophets divined for money." "Therefore Zion shall be plowed as a field," etc. And especially on account of the sins of prelates: Isaiah 1: "How has the faithful city become a harlot, full of judgment! Justice dwelt in her, but now murderers"; "your princes are faithless, companions of thieves. All love bribes, they pursue rewards." "Therefore says the Lord God of hosts: Ah! I will be comforted over my enemies and will be avenged of my foes." Therefore Isaiah 34: "The day of the Lord's vengeance, the year of retributions of the judgment of Zion"; and 2 Thessalonians 2: "God will send them the operation of error, that they may believe a lie, that all may be judged who did not believe the truth but consented to iniquity." And then in the final tribulation all things will be consummated, according to that passage of Revelation 10: "In the days of the voice of the seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound the trumpet, the mystery of God shall be consummated, which he spoke through his servants the Prophets"; and chapter 15: "The temple of God was filled with smoke from the majesty of God, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven Angels were consummated."

Luke 21:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

But woe to those who are with child and to those who are nursing, etc. After he described the preceding war, he here describes secondly the subsequent destruction; concerning the description of which three things are indicated, namely the oppression of the city about to be occupied, the destruction of the oppressed city, and the desolation of the destroyed city. First, therefore, with respect to the oppression of the city about to be occupied, he says: But woe to those who are with child and to those who are nursing in those days! The Gloss says: "Whose wombs or hands, weighed down by the burden of children, will impede the necessity of flight": because for such persons flight will not be able to avail, according to that passage of 1 Thessalonians 5: "Sudden destruction shall come upon them, as the pain upon her who is with child, and they shall not escape." — But the reason for this is the vehement oppression of the city; therefore he adds: For there shall be great distress upon the land and wrath upon this people, according to that passage of Isaiah 29: "Woe to Ariel! Woe to Ariel! the city which David conquered. And I will lay siege to Ariel, and it shall be sorrowful and mourning. And I will surround you as a sphere round about, and I will cast up a rampart against you and set up siege works for your blockade." But according to the mystical understanding, by those who are with child are understood sinful souls, who conceive through the concupiscence of sin and give birth through perverse action. Whence Augustine, On the Words of the Lord: "When someone desires another's property, his soul seems as it were to have conceived; and if he is able to obtain that thing through some wickedness, he is known as it were to kiss and nurture the child that has been born." Whence James 1: "Concupiscence, when it has conceived, brings forth sin; and sin, when it is consummated, begets death." And for such there will be woe in that tribulation; whence Wisdom 4: "All children born of the wicked are witnesses of wickedness against their parents in their examination." But by those who are with child can be understood souls who have a good intention but do not arrive at the birth of its effect; whence Isaiah 37: "The children have come to the birth, and there was no strength for bringing forth." And for these there will be woe in that tribulation, because, just as the blossom of the vine is quickly damaged by the cold, so a good intention is annihilated in persecution; whence Job 15: "Its cluster shall be damaged like a vine in its first flower," and this through bad examples. On account of which, Amos 1: "For three crimes of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn him back, because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead to enlarge his border." For these there will be woe on account of negligence, just as for the others woe on account of concupiscence. And thus will be fulfilled that word of Isaiah 28: "The word of the Lord shall be to them: Command, command again, command, command again; wait, wait again, wait, wait again; a little there, a little there—that they may go and fall backward and be broken and snared and taken."

Luke 21:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Secondly, as regards the destruction of the oppressed city, there is added: And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all nations. We see this fulfilled literally in the Jews, of whom Josephus narrates a wondrous slaughter, and we see a wondrous dispersion of the living; and thus was verified in them that word of Deuteronomy 32: "Outside the sword shall lay them waste, and within, terror—the young man together with the virgin, the suckling with the aged man"; and that word of Lamentations 1: "Outside the sword slays, and at home death is the same"; and likewise that word of Lamentations 2: "He bent his bow like an enemy, he made firm his right hand like a foe, and he slew all that was beautiful to behold in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion." According to the mystical sense, by this slaughter is understood that most great carnage which will occur in the final tribulation, concerning which Isaiah twenty-two says: "A day of slaughter and of trampling and of weeping to the Lord God of hosts in the valley of vision." And concerning this Daniel eleven says: "And the learned among the people shall instruct many; and they shall fall by the sword and by flame and by captivity and by plunder for many days." "And some of the learned shall fall, that they may be refined and chosen and made white," etc. Whence it is said in Ezekiel nine: "Pass through the midst of the city and strike; let not your eye spare, nor have pity; slay the old man, the young man and the virgin, the little child and women, unto utter destruction. And begin from my sanctuary," etc. And therefore Job nineteen says: "Flee from the face of the sword," etc. Third, as regards the desolation of the destroyed city, he adds: And Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations. Lamentations one: "The enemy has stretched out his hand upon all her desirable things, for she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, concerning whom you had commanded that they should not enter your assembly." And Lamentations two: "The Lord has cast down and has not spared." "He has cast down all her walls, he has destroyed her strongholds, and has filled in the daughter of Judah the humiliated man and the humiliated woman." And in the Psalm it is said: "O God, the nations have come into your inheritance," etc. — And since the wrath of the Lord is not without mercy, therefore he adds: Until the times of the nations be fulfilled. The Gloss says: "That is, until the fullness of the nations shall have entered, and so all Israel should be saved, as it is written: There shall come out of Zion he who shall deliver and turn away ungodliness from Jacob." And therefore it is said in Lamentations three: "For the Lord will not cast off forever; for if he has cast off, he will also have mercy according to the multitude of his mercies." According to the mystical sense, by the times of the nations is understood that time in which the son of perdition will trample the Church. Revelation eleven: "The court which is outside the temple, do not measure, for it has been given to the nations, and they shall tread the holy city for forty-two months." But this time shall be shortened on account of the merit of the elect; whence Matthew twenty-four says: "There shall be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be. And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they shall be shortened." Whence also Daniel nine says: "Seventy weeks are shortened upon your people and upon your holy city, that transgression may be finished, and sin may reach its end, and iniquity may be blotted out, and everlasting justice may be brought in."

Luke 21:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

And there shall be signs in the sun, etc. After he foretold what was to come generally, concerning persecution and concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, here fourthly he foretells what is to come concerning the final judgment. In this instruction he first instructs the disciples unto foresight. Second, he raises them to confidence, there: But when these things begin to come to pass, etc. Third, he rouses them to vigilance, there: But take heed to yourselves, etc. Concerning the final judgment he describes a universal commotion on the part of celestial, elemental, rational, and intellectual nature and of the judge himself appearing. First therefore, as regards celestial nature, he says: And there shall be signs in the sun and moon and stars. The sun and moon he names specifically as the two principal luminaries both according to appearance and according to efficacy: Genesis 1: "God made two great luminaries: the greater luminary, to rule over the day, and the lesser luminary, to rule over the night, and the stars." In these luminaries therefore shall appear signs of darkening, according to that passage of Joel 2: "The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and Terrible day of the Lord comes." Horrible moreover it will be on account of the darkening of those lights, according to that passage of the Psalm: "He made the moon for seasons; the sun knows its setting. You have appointed darkness" etc.; and concerning this, Wisdom 17: "Nor could the most brilliant flames of the stars illuminate that dreadful night." Whence these luminaries, which in the beginning of time were placed in the firmament as signs through their light, according to that passage of Genesis 1: "Let there be luminaries in the firmament of heaven, and let them be for signs and for seasons" etc.; at the end of times are signs of the end through the concealment of light. Whence Revelation 6: "The sun became black as a sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood, and the stars fell from heaven upon the earth"; and Matthew 24: "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven." Here however blessed Luke does not express that the stars shall fall, but that in them there shall be signs: because in truth the bodies of the celestial stars will not change their position according to substance, but according to appearance. By the virtue of the stars, with judgment imminent, very many impressions will be generated, which the Philosopher calls assub, which will so multiply that the stars of the heavens will appear to fall. And it should be noted that just as the luminaries are signs of natural things according to natural operations, so they are signs of those things which occur above nature, through certain things done in them above nature. For to designate the wondrous power of Christ, the sun stood still, according to that passage of Joshua 10: "Sun, do not move against Gabaon, and moon, against the valley of Aialon." "And the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and did not hasten to set for the space of one day." But to designate the wondrous condescension, the sun went back ten degrees: Isaiah 38: "The sun returned ten lines, by the degrees by which it had descended," because man after the nine orders of Angels holds the tenth place. But to designate the wondrous passion, both in the Head and in the members, the sun was darkened in the passion of the Head: below in chapter 23: "Darkness was made over the whole earth, and the sun was darkened"; similarly in the passion of the body: Apocalypse 8: "A third part of the sun was struck, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars"; which refers to the body, because, Apocalypse 12, "the dragon drew a third part of the stars." Secondly, as regards elemental nature, he adds: And on earth distress of nations from the confusion of the sound of the sea and…

Luke 21:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Third, with respect to rational nature, he adds: Men withering away from fear and expectation of the things that shall come upon the whole world. For then shall be fulfilled that word of Matthew twenty-five: "At midnight a cry was made: Behold the bridegroom comes," etc. Whence the Gloss: "This is understood of the advent itself, when all the virgins, wise and foolish, roused by the unusual cry, trim their lamps, that is, reckon their works with themselves, on account of which they await with the greatest fear the now imminent coming of the Eternal judgment." Moreover, those men are said to wither who have lived according to the flesh; for Isaiah forty: "All flesh is grass." "The grass is dried up," etc. Whence also James one: "The sun rose with its burning heat and dried up the grass"—the sun of justice coming to judgment. Whence Bede: "In the expectation of the strict examination, those who flourished in this world shall wither away," according to that word of Exodus fifteen: "Let fear and dread fall upon them by the greatness of your arm." Then in those in whom there was security and joy, there shall be nothing but fear and mourning, because, First Thessalonians five, "when they shall say: Peace and security, then sudden destruction shall come upon them." Whence Chrysostom: "There shall be neither strength to resist, nor place for repentance, nor opportunity for satisfaction; from the anguish of all things nothing shall remain but mourning." Whence Matthew twenty-four: "The sign of the Son of Man shall appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn." Fourth, with respect to intellectual nature, he adds: For the powers of the heavens shall be moved. Now the powers of the heavens are the blessed Angels, who are said to be shaken by the disturbance of all things, according to that word of Job twenty-six: "The pillars of heaven tremble and are terrified at his command." They are said to tremble and quake, however, not from fear of punishment, but from reverential fear and horror at the divine vengeance, according to that word of Job forty-one: "When he shall raise himself up, the Angels shall fear, and being terrified they shall be purified." Whence, just as someone standing upon a mountain ridge is in a certain way terrified by the burning of some village or a chasm in the earth, so in a certain way those heavenly powers shall tremble at that terrible retribution. Whence Jerome: "What shall the twig of the desert do, when the cedar of the Lebanon of paradise is shaken with fear?" Whence Isaiah six: "The lintels of the doorposts were moved at the voice of the one crying out, and the house was filled with smoke." Whence Chrysostom: "If a king, about to go forth to war against someone, orders a campaign among the people, all the dignitaries are stirred, the army is mustered, the whole city is in ferment—how much more, when the heavenly King arises to judge the living and the dead, are the angelic powers moved: terrible ministers preceding the terrible Lord; before him, in place of candelabra, living lightnings shall go forth; in place of trumpets, dreadful thunders! Truly a great voice, which all the elements obey, which splits rocks, opens the netherworld, and breaks the bonds of death."

Luke 21:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Fifth, with respect to the judge appearing, he says: And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with great power and majesty. Revelation 1: "Behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and those who pierced him." And concerning this coming, Daniel 7: "I was watching in a vision of the night, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like the Son of man was coming, and he reached even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him before his sight. And he gave him power and honor and a kingdom. His power is an everlasting power, which shall not be taken away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." And this coming will be so utterly terrifying that that word of Isaiah 2 will be fulfilled: "The loftiness of men shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day, and the idols shall be utterly crushed." "And he shall enter the clefts of the rocks and the caverns of the stones, from the face of the terror of the Lord and from the glory of his majesty, when he shall rise up to strike the earth." And therefore in the Psalm: "God shall come manifestly, our God, and he shall not be silent. A fire shall burn in his sight, and round about him a mighty tempest." Although many wondrous and almost indescribable things will occur at the judgment, Jerome nevertheless relates certain things which he says he found in the annals of the Jews, which are arranged in different ways by different authors. For he says that on the first day the sea will raise itself above the height of the mountains, so that that word of the Psalm may be verified: "Wondrous are the surges of the sea." — On the second day it will descend so far that it can scarcely be seen, according to that word of Nahum 1: "The Lord is in the tempest and the whirlwind of his ways, and the clouds are the dust of his feet, rebuking the sea and drying it up and reducing all the rivers to a desert." And concerning these two days, in the Psalm: "He spoke, and the wind of the storm arose, and its waves were lifted up," etc. — On the third day the beasts of the sea, rising above the surface, will send forth roars up to heaven, as though announcing the coming judgment: Job 12: "Speak to the earth, and it will declare to you, and the fish of the sea will tell you," etc. On the fourth day the water will burn, according to that word of Isaiah 64: "Would that you would rend the heavens and come down; the mountains would melt before your face, as the burning of fire they would waste away, the waters would burn with fire, that your name might be made known to your enemies." On the fifth day the plants and trees will give forth a bloody dew: Revelation 14: "And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress up to the horses' bridles." On the sixth day buildings will collapse: Revelation 16: "And the great city was broken into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell"; and Matthew 24: "There shall not be left stone upon stone that shall not be destroyed," etc. On the seventh day rocks will crash against one another, as happened during the Lord's passion: Matthew 27: "The rocks were split," etc. On the eighth day there will be a universal earthquake: Revelation 16: "And there was a great earthquake, such as had not been since men began to exist." Ninth, the earth will be leveled; and then that word of Isaiah 40 will be fulfilled: "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low"; and Apocalypse 6: "Every mountain and the islands were moved out of their places." - Tenth, men will come out of their caves and will go about as if out of their minds and will not be able to speak to one another, and this on account of the stupor at those wonders which they will see and await; and this is what is indicated here, when he says: "Men withering away from fear." - Eleventh, the tombs will be opened, and bones will stand upon them; and…

Luke 21:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

But when these things begin to come to pass, etc. After he instructed the disciples unto foresight, here secondly he raises them up to confidence, and this indeed he does in three ways, namely by consoling exhortation, by guiding similitude, and by certified assertion. First, therefore, as regards the consolatory exhortation, he says: But when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads; Gregory: "Lift up your heads, gladden your hearts, because, while the world is ending, whose friends you are not, the redemption which you have sought is near." Look up, therefore, through true faith, according to that passage above in chapter 18: "Look up, your faith has made you whole." Look up, I say, to the things to come, which are not seen, according to that passage in Second Corinthians 4: "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen," etc. And this indeed is done through faith, concerning which in Hebrews 11: "Faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things not appearing." - Lift up, however, through hope; and he adds the reason for this: Because your redemption draws near, for which your hope sighs. Whence Romans 8: "The creature groans and travails until now. And not only it, but we ourselves also, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, we ourselves also groan within ourselves, awaiting the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope." Moreover, this hope causes tribulations to be borne patiently: Romans 12: "Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"; and the reason for this, Romans 8, is that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the future glory that shall be revealed in us. For the expectation of the creature awaits the revelation of the sons of God." Spiritual men ought therefore to lift up their heads through firm expectation; they ought also to lift up their eyes through clear contemplation, according to that verse of the Psalm: "To you I have lifted up my eyes," etc.; and Genesis 13: "Lift up your eyes straight ahead." "All the land that you see, I will give to you," etc. They ought to lift up their voice through the preaching of Scripture: Isaiah 52: "The voice of your watchmen—they have lifted up their voice, together they shall praise," etc. They ought to lift up their hands unto perfect action: the Psalm: "Thus I will bless you in my life, and in your name I will lift up my hands." And this is what most raises us upward, on account of which First Timothy 2: "I will that you pray in every place, lifting up pure hands without all anger and contention."

Luke 21:29-30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Second, with respect to the guiding parable, there is added: And he spoke to them a parable: Behold the fig tree and all the trees: when they now shoot forth fruit from themselves, you know that summer is near. He compares trees to the human race, and especially the fig tree. For man is likened to trees of this kind both with respect to origin and with respect to decline and with respect to fruit. With respect to origin, on account of which it is said in the Psalm: "He shall be like a tree that is planted by the streams of waters," etc. With respect to decline, on account of which Job chapter fourteen says: "A tree has hope: if it be cut down, it grows green again, and its branches sprout forth"; so also man, when he dies, has hope of rising again. With respect to fruit, because just as an unfruitful tree is cut down, so also is man; whence Matthew chapter three: "Every tree that does not bear good fruit shall be cut down," etc.; whence above in chapter thirteen it is said of the unfruitful fig tree: "Cut it down," etc. For just as a tree by the wayside does not bear fruit, so also a man occupied with many things; Matthew chapter twenty-one: "Seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves only. And he said to it: Let no fruit ever be born from you." Whence Chrysostom: "Just as it is impossible for a tree by the wayside to preserve its fruits to maturity, so it is difficult for a man living according to the world to maintain unstained youth all the way to the end." Just as trees also bear fruit when winter departs, so man has fruit after tribulation; Song of Songs chapter two: "Now the winter is past, the rain is gone and departed"; "the fig tree has put forth its green figs, the flowering vines have given their fragrance." This fruit comes through the endurance of tribulation, according to that passage in Hebrews chapter twelve: "All discipline in the present is not of joy but of sorrow, yet afterward it yields the most peaceful fruit to those who have been trained by it."

Luke 21:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

And this fruit is gathered in the summer of eternal clarity; on account of which he adds: So you also, when you see these things coming to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near. Gloss: "He compares the Kingdom of God to summer, because then the clouds of our sorrow will pass away, and the days of eternal life will shine forth under the brightness of the sun." In this Summer the rain of tears will cease: Isaiah twenty-five: "The Lord God will wipe away every tear from every face"; Psalm: "Going forth they went and wept," etc. The cloud of tribulations will cease: Tobit three: "After the storm you make calm, and after weeping and tears you pour in exultation," etc. The cold of desires will also cease: whence Bernard: "O true noonday, fullness of fervor and light, station of the sun, banishment of shadows, drying up of marshes, driving away of stenches! O perennial solstice, when the day will no longer decline! O noonday light, O springtime mildness, O summer beauty, O autumnal abundance! And lest I seem to have passed over anything: O winter rest and repose! Or rather, if you prefer this more, then alone has winter departed and gone away"!

Luke 21:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Third, as regards the certifying assertion, he adds: Amen I say to you, this generation shall not pass away until all things are fulfilled. Gloss: "What I say to you, await with certainty." This generation, however, he calls the mortal generation, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes one: "A generation passes away, and a generation comes." This passes away when it passes over to immortality through the resurrection. Gloss: "From mortality to immortality." And this resurrection will not occur before the consummation of the things foretold, because, Job fourteen, "man, when he has fallen asleep, will not rise again until the heavens are worn away."

Luke 21:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

And therefore he adds: Heaven and earth will pass away, as regards their outward form. Psalm: "You in the beginning, O Lord, founded the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They shall perish, but you remain," etc.; and therefore First Corinthians seven: "The form of this world passes away." Whence Isaiah fifty-one: "The heavens shall melt away like smoke, and the earth shall be worn out like a garment"; and Isaiah sixty-five: "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth." And therefore all these things pass away as temporal things; but on the contrary, my words shall not pass away, as regards their interior meaning. Psalm: "Forever, O Lord, your word endures." Whence Gregory: "Everything that among you is durable and without change is not durable unto eternity; and everything that in my sight is seen to pass away is held fixed and without passing." Whence Isaiah forty: "The grass has withered, and the flower has fallen; but the word of our Lord remains forever." Whoever wishes, therefore, to remain eternally, must not linger in transitory things, but rather, by forsaking transitory things through the divine words, pass over to eternal things. For which reason it should be noted that this world passes away with respect to everything desirable that it has in itself. It passes away first with respect to loftiness: Wisdom 5: "What has pride profited us, or what has the boasting of riches conferred upon us? All things have passed away" etc. Psalm: "I saw the wicked highly exalted" etc. — Second, with respect to beauty: Psalm: "In the morning let it pass away like grass, in the morning let it flourish and pass away"; and James 1: "Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because like the flower of grass he will pass away. For the sun rose with its burning heat and dried up the grass." Third, with respect to sweetness: 1 John 2: "The world passes away and its concupiscence"; Proverbs 5: "The lips of a harlot are a dripping honeycomb." Therefore whoever clings to these transitory things makes a threefold passage. The first is from fault to fault: Wisdom 2: "Let us crown ourselves with roses before they wither; let there be no meadow that our luxury does not pass through" etc. The second is from fault to punishment: Wisdom 2: "Our time is the passing of a shadow"; and Job 7: "My days have passed more swiftly than the web is cut by the weaver." The third is from punishment to punishment: Job 24: "They shall pass from the waters of snow to excessive heat." But whoever passes from transitory things makes a threefold passage. The first is from fault to repentance; and concerning this, Acts 12: "Passing through the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate"; and this was prefigured in the crossing of the Red Sea, Exodus 14. The second is from repentance to wisdom: Ecclesiasticus 24: "Come over to me, all you who desire me, and be filled from my generations"; and this is prefigured in the passage through the desert, in which the children of Israel tasted manna, Exodus 16. The third is from wisdom to eternal life: Psalm: "We have passed through fire and water" etc.; and John 13: "Knowing that his hour had come" etc.; and this is prefigured in the crossing of the Jordan, by which they entered the promised land: Joshua 4: "The people made haste to cross; and when all had crossed, the ark of God also crossed." — Whoever makes this threefold passage, he alone is a Hebrew and celebrates the true Passover; because Passover is nothing other than a passing over.

Luke 21:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

But take heed to yourselves, etc. After he instructed the disciples toward foresight and raised them to confidence, here thirdly he arouses them to vigilance: which indeed he does in four ways, namely by dissuading from the contrary, by intimating the danger, by persuading toward the purpose, and by introducing an example. First therefore, as regards the dissuasion from the opposite of vigilance, he says: But take heed to yourselves, through vigilance, lest perhaps your hearts be weighed down, through drowsiness: Wisdom nine: "The body that is corrupted weighs down the soul": in surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life, through excess in gluttony; Sirach thirty-seven: "Because of surfeiting many have perished, but he who is abstinent shall prolong life." Moreover, this kind of excess renders us unfit for keeping watch concerning the study of truth: Proverbs twenty: "Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness is tumultuous. Whoever delights in these will not be wise"; and therefore Ecclesiastes two: "I thought to withdraw my flesh from wine, that I might transfer my soul," etc. Likewise, concerning the exercise of virtue: Romans thirteen: "Let us walk honestly as in the day, not in revelries and drunkenness," etc.; and Philippians three: "Many walk, of whom I have often told you: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame"; and Romans sixteen: "Such men do not serve Christ, but their own belly." Likewise, concerning the height of contemplation: Ephesians five: "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to yourselves," etc.; Hebrews thirteen: "It is best to establish the heart with grace, not with foods"; because, Romans fourteen, "the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but justice and peace," etc. Second, as regards the intimation of danger, he adds: And that day come upon you suddenly, on account of an unforeseen occurrence. For that which is not foreseen happens suddenly; Isaiah thirty: "Suddenly, when it is not expected, its destruction shall come." For that day of judgment comes suddenly upon those who have not prepared themselves against it: above, chapter twelve: "If that servant shall say: My lord delays his coming, and shall begin to eat and drink and be drunk: the lord of that servant shall come in a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know: and shall cut him asunder and shall appoint his portion with the unfaithful."

Luke 21:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

And with regard to such people he adds: For as a snare it will come upon all who sit upon the face of the whole earth, that is, upon all who are devoted to earthly things. Whence Jeremiah forty-eight: "Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of Moab," by whom indeed the carnal are understood, who sit upon the earth, concerning whom in the Psalm: "For our soul has been humbled in the dust, our belly has been glued to the earth"; Ezekiel twenty-six: "They will sit upon the ground, and, astonished at your sudden fall, they will marvel." Concerning this, moreover, the Lord set forth above in the seventeenth chapter a twofold example, namely concerning the days of Noah and the days of Lot: because the first perished by flood, the second by fire. And concerning such people, Job twenty-one: "Their houses are secure and peaceful." "They take up the timbrel and the harp and rejoice at the sound of the organ; they spend their days in good things, and in a moment they descend to hell."

Luke 21:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Third, with regard to the persuasion of the resolution, he subjoins: Watch therefore, praying at all times. It should be noted, moreover, that he joins together watchfulness and prayer. For one must watch against the external enemy, namely the devil; First Peter, the last chapter: "Be sober and watch, because your adversary the devil," etc.; and against the domestic enemy, namely the flesh: and therefore Sirach thirty-one: "The vigil of honesty will waste away the flesh." One must watch for the progress of virtue; Second Corinthians six: "In all things let us exhibit ourselves as ministers of God, in much patience, in many vigils," etc. One must watch through the desire of contemplation: Song of Songs five: "I sleep, and my heart watches"; and Isaiah twenty-six: "My soul has desired you in the night," etc. And since we can neither overcome enemies nor advance in good nor possess heavenly consolations except through the gift of divine grace, therefore one must pray: and for this reason Matthew twenty-six: "Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation"; and Sirach thirty-nine: "The just man will give his heart to watching at daybreak," etc. Because therefore it is necessary to watch on account of the avoidance of evil, he therefore adds: That you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, according to that passage of Matthew twenty-four: "But pray that your flight be not in winter or on the Sabbath." And the Prophet prayed for this in the Psalm: "Lord, hear my prayer, give ear to my supplication," etc. — It is necessary to watch also on account of the attainment of good, and therefore he adds: And to stand before the Son of Man: the Gloss says: "This is the summit of blessedness, to stand secure in the presence of the Judge"; Job twenty-three: "Who will grant me that I might know and find him and come even to his throne"? And therefore Revelation seven: "These are they who have come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple." And for this one must always pray; whence in the Psalm: "My soul has thirsted for God, the living fountain: when shall I come and appear before the face of God"!

Luke 21:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

Fourth, as regards the introduction of example, there is subjoined: And during the days he was teaching in the temple, as one watching with regard to the exercise of the active life, so that he might give an example for the exercise of perfect action, according to that passage of Second Timothy four: "Preach the word, be urgent in season, out of season," etc.; and again in the same place: "But you, be watchful, labor in all things," etc. But going out at night, he stayed on the mount that is called Olivet, as one watching with regard to the repose of the contemplative life, according to that passage of Lamentations two: "Arise in the night, at the beginning of the watches, pour out your heart like water." And from these two he gave an example of perfect watchfulness in the active and contemplative life to all prelates, according to that passage of Song of Songs three: "Behold, sixty valiant ones of the most valiant of Israel surround the bed of Solomon, all holding swords and most skilled in war"; and Isaiah twenty-one: "Upon the watchtower of the Lord I stand, standing continually by day, and at my post I stand throughout all the nights."

Luke 21:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 21

And because such a prelate and teacher is gladly heard, he therefore adds: And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple to hear him, as one watching unto learning, according to that passage of Proverbs eight: "They who watch for me early in the morning shall find me." Now maniare is the same as to hasten in the morning, because one must rise early for the study of wisdom: Isaiah fifty: "He wakens my ear in the morning, that I may hear him as a master"; and Proverbs eight: "Blessed is the man who hears me and who watches daily at my gates and waits at the posts of my doors. He who finds me shall find life and shall draw forth salvation from the Lord."

Luke 22:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

The medicine of the passion is treated in two ways. Now the feast day of unleavened bread was drawing near etc. After that part which concerns the incarnation of the Word has been completed, and that which concerns his preaching and teaching, here the passion is treated, through which Christ is the sacrificial victim. This part is divided into two. In the first, the passion is treated with respect to its antecedents: in the second, with respect to its concomitants, at: While he was still speaking, behold a crowd, below in the same chapter. The antecedents to the passion were four, namely the perverse machination of the traitor, about which first. The second is the dispensative institution of the Sacrament of the altar, about which at: Now the day of unleavened bread came. The third is the provident instruction of the disciples, at: And there arose also a dispute among them. The fourth is the devout supplication of prayer to God, at: And going out, he went according to his custom to the Mount of Olives. The machination of the traitor is described according to a fourfold comparison, namely by comparison to the opportunity of the time, to the fraud of the Jewish machination, to the wickedness of the diabolical suggestion, and to the cupidity of Judas the traitor. These four things concurred in the machination of the traitor: for the opportunity of the time presented itself, Jewish perversity consented, diabolical wickedness suggested, and his own cupidity attracted. First, therefore, with respect to the opportunity of the time, he says: Now there was drawing near the feast day of unleavened bread, which is called the Passover. For the paschal time, in which the lamb was sacrificed, was opportune for killing Christ, whose death was prefigured by that typical Passover. Passover indeed means a passing over; and in John 13 it is said: "Jesus knowing that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father." Therefore, as this day drew near, on which the lamb was to be offered, the plotting of the betrayer took place two days before, according to that passage in Matthew 26: "You know that after two days the Passover will take place, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified." Whence, according to the Gospel history, Christ came to Bethany on the Sabbath day, where a supper was made for him, according to that passage in John 12: "Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus had been dead." "And they made him a supper there," etc. On the following day, however, he came to Jerusalem and was received with great joy; whence John 12: "On the next day, the great multitude that had come to the feast day, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palms and went forth to meet him." On the two following days he taught in the temple; on Wednesday the betrayal was arranged, and on the evening of Thursday he was seized, and on the solemn day, namely Friday, he was crucified. And thus, as the feast of unleavened bread drew near, he was to be handed over, on which he himself had disposed to suffer; for no one was able to plot effectively against his death before then, because he suffered when he disposed, according to that passage in John 7: "No one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come"; and John 10: "I have the power to lay it down," etc.

Luke 22:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Secondly, as to the fraud of the Jewish plotting, he adds: And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might kill Jesus. The chief priests were seeking—they in whom there ought to have been the prerogative of holiness; whence Exodus 28: "You shall consecrate the hands of the sons of Aaron and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priesthood." But that passage from Isaiah 1 could be said to them: "When you multiply prayer, I will not hear." Whence these men also, with the help of the scribes, were seeking to kill the truthful teacher, according to that passage in John 7: "Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you?" These men, however, were seeking fraudulently; therefore he adds: But they feared the people; whence Jerome: "Not fearing sedition, but lest by the aid of the people he should be taken from their hands." And therefore it is said in Mark fourteen: "But they said: Not on the feast day, lest perhaps there be a tumult among the people"; and therefore they wished to do this as if in secret. For this is the custom of the perverse, according to that saying of Proverbs one: "Their feet run to evil and hasten to shed blood"; and afterwards: "They lie in wait against their own blood and plot deceits against their own souls"; because, while they seek to kill the fountain of life, they find death, according to that saying of Proverbs eleven: "He who seeks good things rises well at dawn; but he who is a searcher of evils shall be oppressed by them."

Luke 22:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Third, as to the wickedness of the diabolical suggestion, he adds: Now Satan had entered into Judas, who was surnamed Iscariot, one of the twelve. He is said to have entered, however, not by an infusion of essence, but by a suggestion of wickedness, according to that saying of John thirteen: "When the devil had put it into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him." But John says that he had entered after the morsel given by the Lord; John thirteen: "And after the morsel, Satan entered into him." But the Gloss resolves this, saying: "Before the morsel, Satan had invaded him, and him whom he had previously entered in order to deceive, he afterwards entered in order to possess more fully the one handed over to him." He gives his surname, moreover, to distinguish him from Judas, the brother of James; or because Iscariot is interpreted as "memory of mortality," and therefore he says this, because by this it is intimated that he had not been suddenly persuaded but had long meditated the crime. He also expresses his dignity, to show his ingratitude: John fifteen: "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you"; and he specially chose the Apostles from among the number of the other disciples to the dignity of the pontificate. Whence John six: "Have I not chosen you twelve? And one of you is a devil. But he spoke of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot; for he was about to betray him, since he was one of the twelve." The Lord, however, did this by dispensation, to strike fear, according to that saying of Matthew twenty: "Many are called, but few are chosen"; and to strengthen the spirit of the just, so that they would not be scandalized on account of one wicked person against the congregation of the just, because First John two: "They went out from us, but they were not of us."

Luke 22:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Fourth, as regards the greed of Judas the traitor, it is added: And he went and spoke with the chief priests and magistrates. He spoke with them because he knew that they thirsted for the blood of Christ. — He spoke words of betrayal, and therefore it adds: How he might betray him to them: in which conversation indeed he asked the price of blood, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-six: "What will you give me, and I will deliver him to you?" Whence the thirst of greed moved Judas, and the thirst of cruelty moved the chief priests: and therefore together they consented to one perverse and impious transaction.

Luke 22:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

On account of which he adds: And they were glad and covenanted to give him money. They were glad over malice, according to that passage in Proverbs two: "They rejoice when they have done evil," etc. They covenanted, as if they made a pact, and the sum was thirty pieces of silver: Matthew twenty-six: "And they appointed to him thirty pieces of silver." Now thirty pieces of silver are worth three hundred common denarii. And this was the price of the ointment which Magdalene poured upon the head of Christ, according to that passage in John twelve: "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? But he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money bag, he carried what was put into it." And therefore this price was compensated by the selling of the Lord. The figure of this preceded in the selling of Joseph, Genesis thirty-seven, where it is said according to the customary reading that he was sold for thirty denarii: and concerning this, Zechariah eleven: "They weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me: Cast it to the statuary, the handsome price at which I was valued by them."

Luke 22:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

With this price, then, Judas sold Christ, and therefore it adds: And he promised. And he sought opportunity to betray him without crowds. These men shunned the crowd because they regarded him as a true Prophet: whence John seven: "Has any of the rulers believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the Law, they are accursed." Judas fled what was public and sought what was secret, because, John three, "he who does evil hates the light." — And it should be noted that Christ was delivered by the Father through most abundant piety: Romans eight: "He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all," etc.; by himself, through most ardent charity: Ephesians five: "He loved us and delivered himself up for us"; by the traitor, through most wicked greed, below in the same chapter: "Behold, the hand of him who betrays me," etc.; and Matthew twenty-six: "What will you give me," etc.

Luke 22:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Now came the day of unleavened bread, etc. After the Evangelist described the perverse machination of Judas the betrayer, here secondly he describes the dispensative institution of the Sacrament of the altar. And since this Sacrament was to succeed the paschal lamb, therefore this part has two parts, in the first of which is treated the preparation of the paschal meal: in the second, the eating of the lamb and the consecration of the Sacrament of the altar, at the passage: And when the hour had come, he reclined at table. Concerning the preparation now of the paschal meal to be described, four concurrent elements are introduced, namely the opportuneness of the day, the command of the Master, the suitability of the place, and the fulfillment of the precept. First, as regards the opportuneness of the day to be observed, he says: Now came the day of unleavened bread, on which it was necessary for the Passover to be slain. Now this day was the fourteenth day of the month, according to that passage in Exodus 12: "You shall keep the lamb until the fourteenth day of this month, and the whole assembly of the children of Israel shall sacrifice it at evening"; and Leviticus 23: "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening is the Passover of the Lord; and on the fifteenth day of this month is the solemnity of the unleavened bread of the Lord. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread." From which it is apparent that Christ celebrated the Passover on that day on which it was customary according to the Law, and thereby he celebrated it with unleavened bread, because in Deuteronomy 16, "no leavened bread shall appear in all your borders." And therefore he confected from unleavened bread, according to what was fitting for the figure: Exodus 12: "And they shall eat the flesh that night, roasted by fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce." This also befits this Sacrament, according to that passage in 1 Corinthians 5: "Let us feast, not with the old leaven, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity," etc. And this is confirmed by the other two Evangelists, namely Matthew and Mark, because both say that Christ celebrated the Passover on the first day of unleavened bread, in Matthew 26 and Mark 14. But John seems to contradict this. In John 13 it is said: "Before the feast day of the Passover," etc.; and again in chapter 18: "The Jews did not enter the praetorium, lest they be contaminated, but that they might eat the Passover." And therefore the Greeks say that Christ celebrated the Passover before the fourteenth day of the month, for on that day he himself was immolated and crucified; and therefore they say that he confected from leavened bread. But the Greeks are mistaken, because they are compelled to say that the other Evangelists said something false compared to John. They are mistaken, however, because the term passover is taken equivocally. For sometimes it is taken for the lamb itself to be slain, as it is taken here: The day of unleavened bread came, on which it was necessary to kill the passover; sometimes for the paschal food, as in John 18: "That they might eat the passover," that is, the unleavened bread, which was the food of the Passover; sometimes for the fifteenth day of the month: Leviticus 23: "On the fifteenth day of this month is the solemnity of the unleavened bread of the Lord. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. The first day shall be most solemn for you," etc. And thus it is taken in John 13. It corresponds, moreover, to the time of the figure, although he was crucified on the fifteenth day; whence the Gloss: "Although he was crucified on the following day, that is, on the fifteenth of the moon, nevertheless on this night, on which the lamb was sacrificed, he handed over the Sacraments of his flesh and blood, and being seized and bound by the Jews, he consecrated the beginning of his own immolation."

Luke 22:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Second, as regards carrying out the command of the Master, he adds: And he sent Peter and John, saying: Go and prepare the passover for us, that we may eat. He sent Peter and John as the two who were among the others more principal: the one as the more loving, the other as the more beloved; or on account of their signification. For Peter, meaning one who recognizes, and John, meaning one in whom is grace, intimate to us faith with charity; and these are what prepare for the eating. For through faith there is mastication, through charity incorporation; on account of which, John 6: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." Likewise, through Peter knowledge, through John virtue and grace; and these are what prepare a person. The Psalm: "Justice and judgment are the preparation of your throne"; because what knowledge dictates, virtue carries out. It is intimated therefore from this that no one ought to approach the paschal food unless prepared; on account of which, First Corinthians 11: "But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the chalice. For he who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself." And therefore conversely it is said in Revelation 19: "The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has prepared herself." For he who does not have a wedding garment is cast out from this banquet: Matthew 22: "But the king entered to see the guests, and he found there a man not clothed with a wedding garment. And he said to him: Friend, how did you come in here," etc.

Luke 22:9-10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Third, regarding the suitability of the place to be found, he adds: But they said: Where do you wish us to prepare? as if in a suitable place, because it is said in Deuteronomy 16: "You shall immolate the Passover in the place which the Lord your God shall choose." And he said to them: Behold, when you enter the city, there shall meet you a certain man carrying a pitcher of water, as a directive sign. Mark, however, says in chapter 14: "There shall meet you a man carrying a jug of water." Augustine also in On the Harmony of the Evangelists says that "Mark says jug, Luke says pitcher; one signified the kind of vessel, the other its size."

Luke 22:10-12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Spiritually, however, by the city is understood the Church, which is a firm city: Psalm: "Its foundations are in the holy mountains"; and after: "Glorious things are said of you, O city of God"; and again: "Who will lead me into the fortified city"? A beautiful city: Revelation 21: "I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending from heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." A joyful city: Psalm: "The rushing of the river makes glad the city of God." By the upper room, however, is understood the holy soul, which ought to be elevated through contemplation: Job 39: "Will the eagle be raised up at your command?" etc.; great through charity: Baruch 3: "O Israel, how great is the house of God and how vast is the place of his possession!" And Psalm: "Therefore my heart has been enlarged" etc.; furnished with the variety of virtues: Esther 1: "The pavement of Parian stone, decorated with painting of wondrous variety, adorned it." — To this upper room the Lord comes, seeking the consent of the master of the house, because Revelation 3: "I stand at the door and knock" etc. — He also comes to an unnamed man, because, as the Gloss says, "it is signified that the opportunity is to be given to all who wish to receive Christ in the lodging of their mind." Or, as another Gloss says, "he is designated without a name, so that as a poor man, he be considered ignoble who is chosen by the Lord"; James 2: "Did not God choose the poor in this world"? and 1 Corinthians 1: "God chose the ignoble and contemptible things of the world, and the things that are not, that He might destroy the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in His sight." He comes nonetheless through the guidance of a man carrying water in a jar: because no one becomes a temple of Christ except through baptism: John 3: "Unless one is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he shall not enter the kingdom of God." Whence also the Lord washed the feet of the disciples at supper. No one rightly approaches this Sacrament, after he has defiled his baptism, unless he is drenched with a shower of tears. As a figure of this, it is said in Genesis 18: "I will bring a little water, and let your feet be washed. And I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen your heart." Concerning this water, Ambrose says: "O water, which merited to be the Sacrament of Christ, which washes all things and is not itself washed. You begin first, you complete the perfect mysteries. From you is the beginning, in you is the end." Therefore the water in the jar designates the wave of regeneration, according to that passage of 1 John 5: "There are three who give testimony on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood"; and John 19: "From His side came forth blood and water." It also designates sacred doctrine itself, because Ecclesiasticus 15: "The water of saving wisdom shall give him to drink." And this is in a jar, that is, under a veil: 2 Corinthians 4: "We have this treasure in vessels." It also designates heavenly grace; Genesis 24: "Give me water from the jar," etc.; and John 4: "Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall not thirst forever." The Lord therefore wishes to intimate in these things that whoever wishes to prepare himself for the Passover, it is necessary that he enter the Church and through baptism and sacred doctrine and divine grace be furnished as a great and lofty upper room for receiving Christ.

Luke 22:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And because this sign was directive, he therefore adds: Follow him into the house into which he enters, and you shall say to the master of the house: The Master says to you: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? as if in a secret and quiet place. He seeks a house from another, which he himself did not have, as is said in Matthew 8: "Foxes have dens and the birds of the sky have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." He seeks seclusion, however, because "in peace is his place made."

Luke 22:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And because he knew his disposition, he therefore adds: And he will show you a large upper room, furnished, and there prepare, as if in an honorable place. These things are plain according to the literal sense.

Luke 22:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Fourth, with respect to the perfect execution of the command, it is added: And going, they found just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover, in which is intimated the vigilance of the disciples, because they sought until they found, like that good woman of whom Luke 15 says: "She overturns the house and seeks diligently until she finds it." There is therefore intimated the wisdom of Christ, because, just as He foretold, so it came to pass for them, because it is said in Ecclesiasticus 23: "To the Lord God, all things are known before they were created." There is also intimated the obedience of the disciples, because they prepared according to what had been enjoined, lest perhaps they should pass over the divine will, because, above in chapter 12, "that servant who knew the will of his lord and did not prepare himself and did not act according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes." Spiritually, however, the disciples prepare the Passover through the teachings of truth, according to that passage of Isaiah 40: "The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord." They also prepare when they call to the remedies of salvation: Matthew 22: "He sent his servants at the hour of supper to say to those invited: Behold, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the wedding." Whence all good disciples of Christ cry out, urging their hearers: "Prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve him alone," 1 Kings 7. All cry out that the world be despised and God be loved. And this is to make the Passover, that is, the passage from visible things to invisible things, from temporal things to eternal things, from death to life, according to that passage of John 5: "He shall not come into judgment, but shall pass from death to life."

Luke 22:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And when the hour had come, etc. After having described the preparation of the paschal meal, he here describes the consecration of the Sacrament of the altar. And since this Sacrament is the fulfillment of the Law and is fruitless for the ungrateful, this section has three parts. In the first of these there is treated the observance of the Passover; in the second, the institution of the Eucharist, at that place: And having taken bread, he gave thanks; in the third, the rebuke of the ingratitude of Judas, at that place: But yet behold, the hand of him who betrays me. Concerning the eating of the Passover, three things are introduced, namely, the reclining at table of the disciples and Christ, the passing of the typological lamb, and the end of the figurative drink. First, therefore, as regards the charitable reclining at table of the disciples and Christ, he says: And when the hour had come, he reclined at table, and the twelve Apostles with him, in which is shown the wondrous intimacy of Christ toward his disciples, because he reclined at table together with his disciples, so that by example he might teach that passage of Ecclesiasticus 32: "Have they made you ruler? Be not lifted up: be among them as one of them." For it appears in this that the Lord in a wondrous manner welcomes mutual charity, according to that passage of John 13: "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another." And this is what he himself commanded in John 13: "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another"; and again in the fifteenth chapter: "This is my commandment, that you love one another," etc. And this he desired above all, and for this reason he instituted the Sacrament of communion.

Luke 22:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Whence he adds: And he said to them: With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you, before I suffer. This eating designates the incorporation and unity of the members into the unity of the body, which comes about through the enkindling of love, and this Christ especially desires, according to that passage above in the twelfth chapter: "I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and what do I desire, except that it be kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am constrained until it is accomplished!" Now Christ desired to eat this on account of the exclusion of the figure and the introduction of the truth. Whence Chrysostom: "I have desired to hand over to you new things and to give a second passover." In this he intimates that one must approach the paschal food with the greatest desire; on account of which, Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "Come over to me, all you who desire me," etc.; and the Psalm: "He gives food to the hungry"; again: "Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it."

Luke 22:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Second, as regards the passing of the typical lamb, he adds: For I say to you, that from this time I will not eat of it, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God, namely this figurative passover. The Gloss: "I will no longer celebrate the Mosaic passover, until it be fulfilled as spiritually understood in the Church, which is the kingdom of God." What therefore is said in Exodus twelve: "You shall celebrate this day throughout your generations with an everlasting observance" is referred rather to the thing signified than to the sign. For the figure is fulfilled when that which it prefigured comes, and then, when the truth arrives, it ceases, just as a shadow ceases through light; on account of which it is said in First Corinthians thirteen: "When that which is perfect has come, that which is in part shall be done away"; and therefore in Hebrews ten: "The Law, having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never make perfect those who draw near"; and afterward: "And indeed every priest stands daily ministering and often offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this one, offering one sacrifice for sins, sits forever at the right hand of God. For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified." And he has already fulfilled by one passion the prefiguration of that offered lamb, because, as it is said in Matthew three, "so it becomes us to fulfill all justice"; for, in Matthew five, "I have not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it."

Luke 22:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Third, as regards the termination of the figurative drink, it is added: And having taken the cup, he gave thanks and said: Take and divide it among you. Now this is said of the drink pertaining to the old passover; whence the Gloss: "This cup pertains to the old passover, to which he was putting an end." Having received which, he gives thanks, namely because the old things were about to pass away, and all new things were about to come, according to that passage in Leviticus twenty-six: "When the new things come upon you, you shall cast aside the old."

Luke 22:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And therefore it is added: For I say to you, that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God comes: which is indeed true, whether the kingdom of God is understood to be justice, according to Romans 14: "The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit"; or spiritual understanding, according to Matthew 13: "Every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven"; or even eternal life, according to what follows below in chapter 23: "Remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom"; or even grace, according to what precedes above in chapter 17: "The kingdom of God is within you." For immediately in the Passion of Christ justice was fulfilled and iniquity was destroyed, according to Daniel 9: "That transgression may be consummated, and sin may find an end, and iniquity may be blotted out, and everlasting justice may be brought in." In the Passion understanding was opened: below in chapter 24: "He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures"; and this is signified by the very rending of the veil, which to this day lies over the minds of those who do not believe. In the Passion grace was given, according to John 1: "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." Likewise, through the Passion the gate was opened and glory was acquired; and therefore below in chapter 23: "Today you shall be with me in paradise." Since therefore the kingdom of God according to this fourfold mode immediately succeeded such food and drink, he rightly says that "he would not drink until the kingdom of God should come"; which he says, as the Gloss states, "so that by the change of these sacraments he might teach that the remaining sacraments or precepts of the Law are to be transferred to spiritual observance."

Luke 22:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And taking bread etc. After he has treated the eating of the Passover, here secondly he treats the institution of the Eucharist: concerning which three things are introduced, namely the consecration of the Lord's body, the conferral of power, and the consecration of the blood of Christ. First, therefore, with regard to the consecration of the body, he says: And taking bread, he gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them, saying: This is my body, which is given for you; in which the Lord consecrated and instituted the form of consecrating in these words: "This is my body." But as to how He consecrated, there is a fourfold opinion. The first is that He consecrated by the power of the Deity without words, and afterward spoke the words and gave power to the words. The second is that He first spoke the words in secret and afterward openly. The third is that He spoke the words only once, but first broke the bread and afterward consecrated. The fourth opinion is that He spoke the words once, and by speaking He consecrated, and by consecrating He instituted, and He spoke before He broke; whence the text is in inverted order and should be construed thus: He took bread and gave thanks, saying: This is My body, and He broke it and gave it. — Now the Lord changed the sacrament of the lamb into the sacrament of bread, because this is a more common and natural food, at the same time expressing the nourishing and unifying power in the true and mystical body of Christ: whence in the Psalm: "Let bread strengthen the heart of man," namely heavenly bread, of which it is said in the Psalm: "Man ate the bread of Angels"; and John 6: "I am the living bread, who came down from heaven," etc. The sweetness of this one bread was prefigured in the manna, of which Wisdom 16: "And You provided them with prepared bread from heaven." It was prefigured likewise in Genesis 49: "Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield delights to kings." Its dignity was also prefigured in the sacrifice of Melchisedech, Genesis 14: "But Melchisedech, bringing forth bread and wine, blessed him," etc.; and therefore it is said of Christ in the Psalm: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech." For just as Melchisedech blessed, so also did He, and much more so, because He is the Eternal Priest: whence by His word alone He converted the bread into His body. The meaning of the word is therefore this: This is My body, that is, what is designated by "this," to be converted into My body, is My body; or: this passes into My body, which is whole and perfect; and the efficacy of the word is such that once this is spoken, it comes to pass. Whence Ambrose: "If the word of Elijah had such power as to bring down fire from heaven, shall the word of Christ not have such power as to change substances?" Again the same: "Why do you seek the order of nature in the body of Christ, when He Himself was born of the Virgin beyond nature?" Although he accomplished it by word alone, it is nevertheless said that he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it, on account of the mystery of signification. For in the taking of bread is understood the assumption of flesh, because John 6: "My flesh is truly food." He therefore took bread to designate that saying of John 1: "The Word was made flesh." In the giving of thanks is understood the flowing down of graces from the Head into the whole body of the Church: John 1: "Of his fullness we have all received, grace for grace." In the breaking is understood the affliction of the Passion, by which he was cut by scourges, pierced by nails, and transfixed by a lance, according to that saying of the Psalm: "They have dug my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones." In the giving is understood the liberality of communication: John 6: "The bread that I will give is my flesh"; because this Sacrament is supremely gratuitous, according to that saying of Matthew 10: "Freely you have received, freely give." Second, as regar…

Luke 22:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Third, regarding the consecration of the blood, he adds: Likewise also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you. And it should be noted that the Evangelists do not express this form in the same way. For in Matthew 26 and Mark 14 it is said: "This is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many." But the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 11: "This chalice is the new testament in my blood." The Church, however, uses none of these forms; for she says: "This is the chalice of my blood, of the new and eternal testament, the mystery of faith, which shall be shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins." Nor is there any contradiction: because those writing did not intend to describe precisely the form of words, but to weave a narrative; but the Church preserves the form handed down by the Apostles in confecting, which they had also received from Christ; and the form of the Church implies within itself whatever was said by all the Evangelists and by the Apostle. Moreover, this chalice names the drink contained in the chalice, just as in Matthew 20: "Can you drink the chalice that I am about to drink?" In the chalice, moreover, was contained wine mixed with water, although the Evangelist does not express this, because this is understood, both because it was the custom, and because the wine was strong, and because Christ was most sober. And this also is not without mystery, because, just as water is united to wine, so the people are united to Christ; and therefore in designation of this it is said in John 19 that from the side of Christ "there came forth blood and water"; and therefore the Church offers both mixed together. Moreover, all of that was transubstantiated into the true blood of Christ; whence 1 Corinthians 10: "The chalice of blessing, which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?" Moreover, through this blood the new testament was confirmed; whence Hebrews 9: "Neither was the first testament dedicated without blood"; whence Exodus twenty-four: "He took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, saying: This is the blood of the testament which God has commanded unto you." But that was the blood of animals, which could not take away sins, according to that passage in Hebrews ten: "For it is impossible that sins be taken away by the blood of bulls and goats"; and therefore that testament was old and temporal. — Therefore the new testament could not and ought not be dedicated except in the blood of Christ; hence Hebrews nine: "Christ, being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, neither by the blood of goats or calves, but by His own blood, entered once into the holy places." "And therefore He is the mediator of the new testament." And the reason for this is that by the blood of Christ the human race was redeemed; hence Hebrews nine: "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission" of sins — not of any blood whatsoever, but of the Lamb of God and Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Whence Revelation five: "You have redeemed us to God in Your blood"; and Revelation one: "He loved us and washed us from our sins in His blood." And because through the blood of His cross He pacified "the things that are on earth and the things that are in heaven," as is said in Colossians one, therefore the sacrifice of blood ought to be propitiatory and ought to be a restorative Sacrament; which even the young of the eagle lick up, according to that passage in Job thirty-nine: "The young of the eagle lick up blood"; by which the friends of the bridegroom are inebriated, according to that passage in the Song of Songs five: "Drink and be inebriated, dearest ones"; by which valiant warriors are incited to battle, according to that passage in First Maccabees six: "They showed the elephants the blood of grapes and mulberries to sharpen them for battle"; and Revelation twel…

Luke 22:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

But yet behold, the hand, etc. After having described the eating of the Passover and the consecration of the Eucharist, here thirdly he describes the denunciation of the traitor Judas: concerning the description of which three things are introduced, namely the perversity of the ungrateful traitor, the profundity of the judgments of God, and the purity of the Apostles of Christ. First, therefore, as regards the perversity of the ungrateful traitor, it is said: But yet behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. He says this indeed adversatively, because the ingratitude of the traitor directly assails the grace of so noble a Sacrament. In this, moreover, the wondrous benignity of Christ appears, because he received his most wicked traitor with him at the table; and not only at the table, but rather, what is more, at the same dish, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-six: "He who dips his hand with me in the dish, he shall betray me." In this the Lord gave an example for loving enemies, according to that passage in Matthew five: "Love your enemies"; he gave an example for tolerating the wicked, whence, as Augustine says, he communicated his body and blood to Judas, nor did he reveal him to the others; whence the Gloss: "He does not designate him by name, lest being openly rebuked he become more shameless." He also washed the feet of Judas himself, just as those of the other disciples, namely the Apostles, according to what is said in John thirteen: "You are clean, but not all. For he knew who would betray him." And on the contrary, from this there appears the wondrous ingratitude of the traitor, who neither by such great humility, nor by such great charity, nor by such great familiarity desisted from his betrayal. Therefore the Lord complains in the Psalm: "The man of my peace, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has greatly trampled upon me"; and again: "If my enemy had cursed me, I would surely have endured it." "But you, a man of one mind, my guide and my familiar, who together with me took sweet foods." Similar to this traitor are those who approach the table of Christ, namely the altar, with a perverse heart. Whence the Gloss: "By the example of Judas, he betrays the Son of man who presumes to violate this inviolable Sacrament." Of this kind are those who after receiving the Sacrament return to sin, like "a dog to its vomit," concerning whom it is said in Hebrews ten: "For if we sin willfully after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin"; whence in the Psalm: "And they repaid me evil for good, and hatred for my love."

Luke 22:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Secondly, as regards the depth of the judgments of God, it is added: And indeed the Son of man, according to what has been determined, goes: that is, according to the divine decree and his good pleasure; Isaiah 53: "All we like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned aside into his own way, and the Lord has laid upon him the iniquities of us all"; and again in the same place: "And the Lord willed to crush him in infirmity"; and Acts 3: "God thus fulfilled what he foretold through the mouth of all the Prophets, that his Christ should suffer." For Isaiah says in Isaiah 53: "Like a sheep he shall be led to the slaughter"; and the last chapter of Lamentations: "The spirit of our mouth, Christ the Lord, was taken in our sins"; and Daniel 9: "After sixty-two weeks Christ shall be slain"; and Zechariah 13: "What are these wounds in the midst of your hands? And he shall say: With these I was wounded in the house of those who loved me." The Passion therefore of Christ was determined by God, was also pleasing and acceptable to him, and yet the disposition of the betrayer was displeasing and perverse: and therefore it is added: But woe to that man by whom he shall be betrayed! Because, although in effect there is agreement, in will nevertheless there is the greatest discrepancy, because God willed this out of charity, according to that passage in Ephesians 2: "But God, who is rich in mercy, on account of his exceeding charity," etc.; and Romans 5: "But God commends his charity toward us, because, when we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Christ willed it out of obedience: Philippians 2: "He humbled himself, being made obedient unto death," etc. The Jews willed it out of cruelty: Wisdom 2: "Let us examine him with reproach and torment." "Let us condemn him to a most shameful death." But Judas willed this out of avarice, and therefore that passage from Acts 8 can fittingly be applied to him: "May your money be with you unto destruction." Whence there appears in Judas that which is said in 1 Timothy 6: "Those who wish to become rich fall into temptation and the snare of the devil," etc.; and verified also is that passage from Ecclesiasticus 10: "Nothing is more wicked than to love money. For such a one has even his soul for sale, because in his life he has cast away his inmost parts." Whence Judas lost his life, lost his soul, lost his reputation, lost all things, and incurred eternal calamity; whence in the Psalm: "When he is judged, let him go forth condemned," etc.; Matthew 26: "It would have been good for him if he had not been born," etc.

Luke 22:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Third, regarding the purity of the Apostles of Christ, he adds: And they began to inquire among themselves which of them it was who would do this. Bede: "The eleven knew that they had thought nothing of the sort, but they trusted the Master more than themselves"; whence in Matthew twenty-six it is said: "Being greatly saddened, each one began to say: Is it I, Lord?" Whence the Apostles were innocent, because they were neither complicit in the wickedness nor even aware of it. Yet each one was troubled in himself and about himself, lest he be believed by others to be such a person, and also on account of uncertainty about the others: whence in John thirteen: "The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke." Among all of them, however, Simon Peter, because he was more fervent, inquired more diligently: whence in John thirteen: "Simon Peter nodded to that disciple whom Jesus loved and said to him: Who is it of whom he speaks?" The Lord preferred that all be troubled rather than that he be exposed to all, so as to give the pattern that a hidden vice is not to be easily made public: on account of which, Ecclesiasticus nineteen: "Have you heard a word against your neighbor? Let it die within you, trusting that it will not burst you." Yet he indicated it to Simon Peter through John, as is said in John thirteen: "It is he to whom I shall offer the dipped bread"; because it is not considered public what is disclosed out of charity for the sake of caution to a prelate in order to avoid danger.

Luke 22:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

There arose also a contention etc. After he described the machination of the betrayal and the institution of the Sacrament of the altar, here thirdly he describes the provident instruction of the disciples. And since a person is prepared for ruin in two ways: either through arrogance in prosperity or through inconstancy in adversity: therefore this part has two sections. In the first of which he restrains the arrogance of the disciples: in the second he encourages and strengthens them toward constancy, at the passage: And the Lord said to Simon. In restraining therefore the arrogance of the disciples, four things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely: a quarrel exposing arrogance, a teaching restraining arrogance, an example persuading humility, and a reward enticing to humility. First therefore, as regards the contention, detecting arrogance, he says: Now there arose also a contention among them, which of them should seem to be the greater. What the occasion of this contention was, is not known. Contention, however, is a sign of the love of private good: whence James 4: "Whence come wars and quarrels among you? Is it not from the concupiscences that war in your members?" But contention about primacy is a sign of the love of excellence and dominion: and this love was not yet extinguished in the Apostles before the coming of the Holy Spirit. Whence to them could be said that word of 1 Corinthians 3: "Whereas there is among you jealousy and contention, are you not carnal and do you not walk according to man?" Whence this contention is not to be taken as an example, because it was repressed by Christ and is dissuaded by the Apostle Paul. For 1 Corinthians 11: "If any man among you seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the Church of God"; because, Proverbs 20, "it is an honor for a man to separate himself from contentions." But this custom has departed from the court: indeed just as, when the passion of Christ was imminent, they contended about primacy, so when the death of a bishop is imminent, contention arises among the canons as to who should be placed in charge. Whence to such persons can be said that word of the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 11: "I do not praise you, that you come together not for the better but for the worse"; because they cling rather to the contention of carnal men than to the peace and unity of spiritual men, which Christ left them at his death, according to that word of John 14: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you." Whence Joseph said to his brothers, Genesis 45: "Do not be angry on the way."

Luke 22:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Secondly, as regards the teaching, repressing arrogance, he adds: He said moreover to them: The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, through the summit of excellence, according to that word of Judith 1: "Arphaxad, king of the Medes, had subjugated many nations to his empire." "And he gloried as one mighty in the power of his army and in the glory of his chariots." And they that have power over them are called benefactors, by an honorable name. Such are those of whom it is said in the Psalm: "They called their names upon their lands"; and immediately it is added: "Man, when he was in honor, did not understand," etc.

Luke 22:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

But you, not so: but he that is greater among you, let him become as the lesser, through humility in heart, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus 3: "The greater you are, humble yourself in all things, and before God you shall find grace." For Ecclesiasticus 10: "Great is the judge and mighty in honor, but there is none greater than he who fears God." To him who is the leader, as a servant, through humiliation in outward conduct: Matthew twenty: "Whoever wishes to become greater among you, let him be your minister; and whoever wishes to be first among you, shall be your servant." And therefore in the parable above in the fourteenth chapter he says: "When you are invited to a wedding, recline in the last place." And he gives the reason there: "Because everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted." This is said, however, not so that rank should be abandoned, nor order disturbed, nor justice omitted, but so that the private love of preeminence may be suppressed; therefore Ecclesiasticus thirty-two: "Have they made you a ruler? Do not be lifted up: be among them as one of them. Have care for them." And this is most fitting for clerics, according to First Peter five: "Not as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart." Whence the Gloss: "It is necessary that the ruler show himself to his subjects both as a mother through tenderness and as a father through discipline, lest either strictness be rigid or tenderness be lax." And of this there is an example in Paul, who said to the good in First Thessalonians two: "We became little ones in your midst, as if a nurse were cherishing" etc.; he was also a stern father to the Corinthians, Second Corinthians last chapter: "I foretell to you, as I foretold to those who sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come, I will not spare. Or do you seek a proof of him who speaks in me, Christ?"

Luke 22:26 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

Luke 22: He that is the greater among you, let him become as the lesser; and he that is the leader, as he that serves: but if the least were to make himself as the greatest, it would be the height of ambition and pride: therefore conversely, when the greater becomes the lesser and the leader becomes as the servant, this will be the height of self-abasement: and this ought to be done according to the evangelical teaching.

Luke 22:27 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Such a Center has a saving power: and anyone who draws away from it is condemned, as drawing away from the means of humility. And the Saviour proves it: "I am in your midst as He who serves."

Luke 22:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Third, as regards the example urging humility, he adds: For which is greater, he who reclines at table, or he who serves? He asks this as something self-evident, and therefore responds: Is it not he who reclines at table? This is indeed true according to the order that is observed according to worldly custom and usage; whence above in the seventeenth chapter: "But which of you, having a servant, who when he returns from the field would say to him: Come over and recline at table; and not rather: Come and serve me?" But it is otherwise according to the divine order; whence he adds: But I am in your midst as one who serves, to give an example of humility: which he did most especially at that Last Supper, in which he washed the feet of the disciples, as is said in John thirteen, where it is added: "You call me Master and Lord, and you say well. For so I am. If therefore I have washed your feet" etc. And he himself gives the reason accordingly: "The servant is not greater than his lord, nor is the apostle greater than he who sent him." If therefore Christ, though he was superior, served most humbly, how much more so should all the disciples of Christ. Chrysostom: "He is not a true disciple who does not imitate his master, nor a true image that is not like its author." Whence although it has always been dangerous to be lifted up in pride, now it is most dangerous after so great a humility has been shown; and therefore Philippians two: "Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count it robbery to be equal to God" etc.

Luke 22:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Fourth, regarding the reward enticing to humility, he adds: You indeed are those who have remained with me in my trials, through the endurance of tribulation. Such are those of whom it is said in Revelation 7: "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." And such as these are true friends, because, Proverbs 17, "he who is a friend loves at all times, and a brother is proven in distress"; and therefore Ecclesiasticus 6: "If you possess a friend, possess him in trial."

Luke 22:29-30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And since he who is a partaker in tribulation ought to be a partaker in honor, therefore he adds: And I dispose to you, as my Father has disposed to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, through the abundance of satisfaction, according to that passage in 2 Timothy 2: "Faithful is the saying. For if we have died together, we shall also live together; if we endure, we shall also reign together"; and therefore Revelation 1: "A partaker in tribulation and in the kingdom." The Father disposed to the Son that he would come to exaltation through humiliation: for below in chapter 24: "Was it not necessary for Christ to suffer and so enter into his glory?" and Philippians 2: "He humbled himself"; and afterward: "Therefore God also has exalted him and given him the name," etc. So also the Son disposes to us under the same terms, both as to the way and as to the homeland; whence John 12: "If anyone serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also my servant shall be." That he says this not only regarding the banquet of refreshment, but also the throne of honor, and therefore he adds: And you shall sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, through the excellence of dignity. And this is said to the perfect, who will judge and will not be judged: of whom Matthew 19: "You who have left all things and followed me," etc. And in the person of such it is said in 1 Corinthians 6: "Do you not know that the saints will judge this world?" "Do you not know that we shall judge angels, how much more secular matters?" This, moreover, is owed to perfect humility, according to that passage in Job 36: "Your cause has been judged as that of the wicked"; and again in chapter 36: "He does not save the wicked, and he grants judgment to the poor," namely to those who overcome the haughtiness of pride. Therefore Revelation 3: "He who overcomes, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, just as I also have overcome and have sat with my Father on his throne." And this is the reward of the humble: John 12: "If anyone serves me, my Father who is in heaven will honor him."

Luke 22:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And the Lord said to Simon. After having checked the arrogance of the disciples, here he encourages them to constancy against imminent dangers. And since in dangers there is need of constancy against violence, and need of caution against fraud — for the devil tempts as a lion, and tempts also as a dragon — therefore this part has two sections. In the first of these he encourages the disciples to constancy; in the second he urges them to caution, there: And he said to them: When I sent you etc. Now, encouraging them to constancy, he forearms them against temptation, shows them their defense, and checks their presumption. First, therefore, as regards the forewarning of temptation, he says: And the Lord said to Simon: Simon, behold, Satan has demanded you, that he might sift you as wheat. He addresses Simon specifically as the chief among all the Apostles. For to him it was said in Matthew 16: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jona"; and afterwards: "And I say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church." He therefore forearms this one as the principal and foundational stone, by showing the danger of the enemy's assault. For because the devil opposes us, he is therefore called Satan, according to that passage in Zechariah 3: "Satan stood at his right hand to oppose him." He, however, always desires to persecute just men, but cannot do so except insofar as he is permitted by the Lord. Therefore he is said to demand, just as he was permitted by the Lord regarding Job: Job 1: "On a certain day, when the sons of God stood before the Lord, Satan also was present among them"; and power was given to him. He also shakes perfect men, as wheat is shaken in a sieve, because, just as wheat, while it is sifted, is purified, so also are holy men in tribulations. Whence the Gloss: "When Satan seeks to tempt and to shake, as one who purges wheat by winnowing, we are taught that no one's faith can be tempted by the devil unless God permits it." But just as, when wheat is sifted, nothing remains in the sieve except dust, so the devil captures only the perverse: Ecclesiasticus 27: "As when a sieve is shaken, the dust remains, so the perplexity of a man in his thought." For in this sieve the wicked are not purified; Amos 9: "I will shake the house of Israel, as wheat is shaken in a sieve, and not a pebble shall fall upon the ground."

Luke 22:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Second, with respect to the demonstration of defense, he adds: I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail. Here the Lord prayed, not that Peter would not fall, but that he would not fail, because, although he fell, he rose again, according to that passage below in the same chapter: "The Lord turned and looked at Peter," etc. Or this can be referred to the Church of Peter, for whose faith the Lord prayed, according to that passage in John seventeen: "I do not pray for them only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word." And this Church, which is signified by Peter's little boat, although it is shaken, nevertheless is not shipwrecked. For God established this in that Church for the confirmation of the others. Therefore he adds: And you, once converted, confirm your brothers: because, as it is said in Romans fifteen, "we who are stronger ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak," etc.; and this is ordained, according to that passage in Proverbs eighteen: "A brother who is helped by a brother is like a fortified city." From this it is clear that Christ himself, by praying and interceding, confirms the principal members of the Church. On account of which, First Corinthians fifteen: "But thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord"; and First Peter, last chapter: "But the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, will himself perfect, confirm, and establish you." But through the principal members he confirms the weak, according to that passage in Romans one: "I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual grace to strengthen you, that is, to be mutually consoled among you," etc. Hence it is also said to holy Job: "Your words have strengthened those who were faltering," Job four.

Luke 22:32 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

The entire firmness of the Church itself principally flows from the solidity of the one Rock and of the one Peter, who is the Vicar of the Rock; as a sign of which thing it was said to Peter: And upon this rock I will build my Church; it was also said to him: I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not: nor was this prayer in vain. Whence Jerome, and it is found in Causa twenty-four, question one: "The Holy Roman Church, which has always remained immaculate, by the Lord's providence and by the blessed Apostle Peter bearing aid, shall in the future remain without any assault of heretics, and shall persist firm and immovable for all time." Therefore this unity of the Supreme Pontiff contributes to the solidity of the Church itself as to permanence.

Luke 22:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Third, with respect to the repression of presumption, he adds: Who said to him: Lord, I am prepared to go with you both to prison and to death. This word was of love and fervor, but nevertheless it was of a certain presumption, because he promises that for which he does not suffice, namely that he is prepared to die for Christ and with Christ, since this is the work of the most perfect charity. Hence Jerome: "A bird without feathers strives to fly." Hence Peter here presumed in two ways: both because he judged of his own powers beyond his strength; hence John thirteen: "He said to Peter: Where I am going, you cannot follow me now. Simon Peter said to him: Why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you"; and again, because he set himself above the others; hence Mark fourteen: "And even if all shall be scandalized in you, yet not I." Hence Chrysostom: "There were two accusations: both that he contradicted Christ and that he set himself above the others."

Luke 22:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And therefore this presumption had to be checked, and for this reason it is added: And he said: I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow today until you deny three times that you know me. Chrysostom: "He permits him to fall, teaching that in all things Christ is to be believed more than one's own conscience." And afterwards: "From this it is apparent that the desire of man does not suffice unless it is sustained by the will of the One above." Whence Augustine in On the Words of the Lord says that the Lord spoke to Peter as a physician to a sick man who believes himself to be well. For he says thus: "The physician, feeling the pulse of Peter's heart, was saying that he would deny him three times"; which indeed he was saying not to incite him to denial, but to check his presumption. Whence Glossa: "He who knows what is in man, lest anyone rashly trust in his own standing, or too rashly despair on account of a fall, as God predicts the manner, time, and number of the denial, and as one who is merciful promises the aid of his defense." Therefore the Lord himself, "who knows our frame," who knows that the thoughts of men are vain, predicts the fall, in order to show that what is said in Proverbs twenty-eight is true: "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool; but he who walks wisely shall be praised." — But if anyone should ask whether Peter believed that the Lord had spoken truly or falsely, I say that he believed it to be true, but under a condition, namely, unless he carefully guarded himself. For he knew that the prediction of Christ in no way prejudged the matter, but rather foretold the freedom of the will. But what is said here about the denial of Peter seems to be contrary to what is said in Mark fourteen: "Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." But to this it is answered that in truth before the first crowing Peter denied once, and before the second twice, and so Peter completed the threefold denial before the cock completed its crowing. The sense therefore is that the cock will not crow, that is, will not complete its crowing; or before the cock crows, you will deny three times, that is, you will have begun the threefold denial; or you will deny, that is, you will complete the threefold denial in resolve.

Luke 22:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And he said to them: When I sent you etc. After he encouraged them to constancy, here he urges them to caution. Which indeed he does through remembrance of past things, through circumspection of present things, and through provision for future things. First therefore, as regards the remembrance of past things, he says: And he said to them: When I sent you without purse and bag and sandals, did you lack anything? And they said: Nothing. Now the Lord requires of them that in the time of tribulation they be mindful of past tranquility, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 11: "In the day of evils, be not unmindful of good things"; and Job 2: "If we have received good things from the hand of God, why should we not endure evil things?" — Or He brings this to memory so that from the past He might give caution for the future, because, Ecclesiastes 8, "he who is ignorant of the past can know future things by no messenger." — Or He asks this to show that it arose by divine ordinance and was observed in the primitive Church, that he who preaches the Gospel should live from the Gospel; whence the Gloss: "He commands that they take nothing for the journey, ordaining namely that he who preaches the Gospel should live from the Gospel." — Or He asks so that He might show from their response that necessities will not be lacking to one who follows the divine counsels. On account of which, Matthew 6: "Be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on." "For your Father knows that you need all these things." He does not say this because the Apostles endured no want, but because God supplied it as much as was necessary. Whence 2 Corinthians 4: "We are perplexed, but not destitute"; the Gloss there: "We are as poor to such a degree that necessities fail us, but we are not destitute, because God feeds us." And that word of the Psalm is fulfilled: "Fear the Lord, all you His saints, for there is nothing wanting to those who fear Him"; because exterior want together with interior sufficiency ought not to be reckoned as want, but as wealth; on account of which, 1 Corinthians 1: "In all things you are made rich in Him"; "so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace"; and 2 Corinthians 6: "As having nothing and possessing all things." Whence Chrysostom: "Want has the greatest defense: not even a hundred men can strip the poor and naked man; all things sadden the lover of money; not only men, but even worms and moths wage war against him."

Luke 22:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Secondly, as regards the circumspection of present things, He adds: He said therefore to them: But now he who has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a scrip, for sustenance; whence the Gloss: "With the hour of death pressing near, and that entire nation persecuting both shepherd and flock together, He decreed a rule fitting to the time, permitting them to take what is necessary for sustenance, until, with the madness of the persecutors lulled to rest, the time for evangelizing should return." Here a pattern is given, that among unbelievers and strangers and those persecuting the doctrine of truth, provision for sustenance should not be neglected. Whence the Gloss: "If we travel through inhospitable regions, it is permitted to carry more by way of provisions than we would have at home." — And because in persecution there threatens not only the danger of hunger from within, but also the danger of oppression from without, therefore He adds: And he who does not have one, let him sell his tunic and buy a sword, for defense. And the affirmative must be supplied: and he who has a sword, let him take it, namely; and he who does not have one, let him buy one. But since the Lord does not wish vengeance to be taken by spiritual men, why does He command a sword to be bought? Hence Ambrose says: "Why do You command a sword to be bought, You who forbid striking? Why do You order us to have what You forbid to be drawn? Unless perhaps so that defense might be at the ready, not that vengeance be necessary, and that I might seem to have been able to avenge but unwilling to do so." It can also be said that this refers to the spiritual sense, so that by the scrip is understood the affection of piety, according to Ecclesiasticus seventeen: "A man's alms are as a purse with him." And in this scrip are placed the stones from the torrent of the Passion, according to 1 Kings seventeen: "David took stones from the torrent and placed them in his shepherd's scrip." By the sword, however, is understood the zeal for truth, which a man ought first to gird upon himself through the mortification of his own carnality, according to the Psalm: "Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O most mighty one"; and Song of Songs three: "Each one's sword upon his thigh, because of fears in the night." And it ought to be unsheathed for the rebuke of another's carnality, according to Jeremiah forty-eight: "Cursed is he who withholds his sword from blood"; and Hebrews four: "The word of God is living and effective," etc. And this must be taken up in tribulation, Joel three: "Beat your plowshares into swords and your hoes into spears; let the weak say: For I am strong." These two, namely the scrip and the sword, are to be taken up in tribulation, so that we may have piety toward nature and zeal against vices.

Luke 22:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Third, as regards the foresight of future events, He adds: For I say to you that this which is written must yet be fulfilled in Me: And He was reckoned among the wicked: Isaiah fifty-three: "He delivered His soul unto death, and was reckoned among the wicked." Fittingly the Lord foretells this to them, so that from the contemplation of His Passion they might be armed and encouraged, according to 1 Peter four: "Since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same thought." This is the armor to be taken up, according to Ephesians six: "Take up the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day." And since nothing encourages a man more in tribulation than the consideration of the end, He therefore adds: For indeed the things that are written about Me have their end, namely through the impending Passion. For above, in the eighteenth chapter: "All things that are written about Me, the Son of Man, shall be accomplished." In this final tribulation indeed there ought to be no lack of spiritual armor, which shall never be wanting to the Church.

Luke 22:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

In designation of which he adds: But they said: Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said to them: It is enough. From which it appears that the word of Christ refers more to the spiritual sense than to the carnal. For two swords would never be sufficient for defense against that innumerable multitude who came with swords and clubs. What he therefore says: It is enough, is understood of the thing signified. For by these two swords are understood the two testaments, in which sufficient doctrine is contained for defending the universal Church, according to that passage of Song of Songs chapter four: "Like the tower of David" — yet it is designated through the twofold sword. And in designation of this, the Seraph took with tongs a coal from the altar, which in its two arms has a double blade, Isaiah chapter six. In designation of this also, in Apocalypse chapter nineteen it is said that "from his mouth went forth a sword sharp on both sides"; and concerning these, Isaiah chapter two: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares," because the words of the Old Testament are useful for preaching. — By the two swords is understood a twofold armament, namely spiritual and material. Whence Bernard to Eugenius: "If the material sword in no way pertained to you, when the Apostles said: Behold, here are two swords, the Lord would not have responded: It is enough, but: It is too much. Both therefore belong to the Church, both the spiritual namely and the material: but the latter indeed is to be drawn for the Church, while the former truly by the Church is to be unsheathed: the former by the hand of the priest, the latter by the hand of the soldier, but indeed at the bidding of the priest and the command of the emperor."

Luke 22:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And going out, he went according to his custom, etc. After describing the machination of the betrayer and the institution of the Sacrament of the altar and the instruction of the disciples, the Evangelist here describes the prayer of Christ the man to God; and this with respect to the sevenfold condition which ought to be in prayer. For it ought to be secret, solicitous, devout, discreet, vigorous, anxious, and circumspect. First, therefore, as regards the secrecy of prayer on the part of the place, he says: And going out, he went according to his custom to the Mount of Olives. For his custom was to pray on that mountain, because that place was secluded, to suggest that devout prayer ought to flee the public; on account of which, Matthew 6: "But you, when you pray, enter into your chamber, and having shut the door, pray to your Father," etc.; and Hosea 2: "I will lead him into the wilderness and speak to his heart"; or because the place was elevated, to which the one praying ought to ascend, by reason of which, Matthew 14: "Having dismissed the crowd, he ascended the mountain"; or also, because it was the mount of Olives and of anointing and of piety, from which God ought to be prayed to, according to that word of the Psalm: "You have anointed my head with oil," etc.; or also, because from that place he was about to ascend into heaven; whence Jerome: "On the Mount of Olives Jesus is seized, and from there he ascended into heaven, so that we might know that we shall ascend to heaven from the place where we watch and pray and are bound and do not kick back." — The principal reason, however, was seclusion, whence he also permitted only the disciples to accompany him; on account of which he adds: And the disciples also followed him, as intimates and close companions, among whom he also chose the more intimate ones, before whom he was transfigured on the mountain; whence Matthew 26: "Having taken Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled."

Luke 22:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Second, as regards the solicitude of prayer on the part of the soul, he adds: And when he had come to the place, he said to them: Pray, lest you enter into temptation. From which it is apparent that the Lord prayed with solicitude and urged the disciples to prayer, in order to teach that one must pray with solicitude on account of imminent dangers. For then especially must one persist in prayer, according to that word of the Psalm: "In the day of my tribulation I sought God with my hands," etc. For when temptation is imminent, it is then necessary to implore help from on high, according to that word of 2 Chronicles 20: "When we do not know what we ought to do, this alone remains to us, that we direct our eyes to you." But when a man is tempted, it is necessary for him to seek help, lest he be overcome; and this is sought in the Lord's Prayer, Matthew 6: "And lead us not into temptation." Whence he who in temptation does not watch and pray is the companion of a thief, because, when he perceives the enemies, he does not cry out to the Lord of the fortress and his soldiers, that they might come to his aid. Whence above, in chapter twenty-one: "Watch at all times, praying, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come."

Luke 22:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Third, as regards the devotion of prayer on the part of the manner of praying, he adds: And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and kneeling down he prayed: in which he shows the devotion and humility and reverence of the heart. Whence Bede: "He prayed on bended knees, so that he might show the humility of mind through the posture of the body." And this indeed was fitting: for such prayer is most pleasing, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus thirty-five: "The prayer of him who humbles himself shall pierce the clouds, and until it draws near, he shall not be consoled"; whence also in the Psalm: "He has regarded the prayer of the humble and has not despised their petition"; and therefore Judith nine: "The prayer of the humble and the meek has always been pleasing to you." In this manner Paul prayed, Ephesians three: "I ask that you do not lose heart in my tribulations for you. For this reason I bend my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named." And note that he says that he was withdrawn from the disciples about a stone's throw, not only for the sake of privacy, but also for the sake of the mystery: because by this it was signified that that cornerstone was to be separated from the disciples for a little while and would soon return, which the hiding of the paten in the Mass signifies. — Or it certainly signifies that in order for one to pray devoutly, it is necessary that one be torn away from carnal affections; whence Isaiah twenty-eight: "Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand the message? Those weaned from milk, those torn from the breasts." And this tearing away cannot happen except through a certain force and violent motion; and on account of this force of the spirit interceding, it is said in Romans eight: "It is the Spirit who intercedes for us with unutterable groanings."

Luke 22:42 — Breviloquium

Christ, praying according to reason, expressed the will of the flesh, by which He shrank from the passion, when He said: "Let this cup pass from me"; yet He conformed the will of reason to the will of the Father and set it before the appetite of the flesh, when He said: "Not my will, but yours be done." And thus one will was not contrary to the other: for "according to the divine will He willed what was just, according to the will of reason He consented to justice, but according to the will of the flesh He refused the suffering, yet did not accuse justice. And thus each will operated what was its own and followed what pertained to it: the divine will, justice; the rational will, obedience; the will of the flesh, nature"; and through this there was in Christ no struggle and conflict, but a peaceful ordering and an ordered tranquility.

Luke 22:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Fourth, as regards the discretion of prayer, he adds: Saying: Father, if you will, remove this cup from me. By this cup is understood the passion, because in a cup drink is drunk in measure, according to that passage of the Psalm: "You shall feed us with the bread of tears and give us drink in tears in measure." This cup Christ drank when he voluntarily tasted the passion; the Psalm: "He shall drink from the torrent along the way," etc.; and Matthew twenty: "Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?" This cup Christ willed to drink by the will of reason, but shrank from by the will of sensuality. — Whence because reason ruled over sensuality, he therefore adds: Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done: in which it is apparent that he was petitioning with discretion, because he was subjecting the will of the flesh to the will of reason and to the will of the Divinity, according to that passage in John six: "I came not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me." It appears therefore that reason, as a discreet and skilled advocate, put forward the prayer on behalf of sensuality, while nevertheless preserving the form of divine law. Now the Lord prayed this in order to show in himself the truth of his humanity, to condescend and give a pattern to his weak members. Hence Bernard: "I recognize the voice of the sick in the physician, I consider the charity, I am amazed at the compassion, I tremble at the condescension." For this is wonderful, how he deigned thus to take upon himself our infirmities. It can also be explained that Christ prayed on behalf of his members, that he asks that the cup be taken away, that is, the scandal of the passion, or the fear of death. In another way, as Bede explains, for the Jews: either that this death not be inflicted upon Christ through the Jews, lest they be so blinded, or that those who have been blinded might be called back; and this is for the cup to be taken away from them. Then the sense is: from me, that is, from those who are mine.

Luke 22:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Fifth, as to the vigor of prayer, he adds: And there appeared to him an Angel from heaven, strengthening him. The Angel appeared for strengthening, not on account of his own need, but for our strengthening. Hence the Gloss: "If he is sorrowful for us, that is, he is sorrowful on our account, it is necessary that he also be strengthened on our account and for us," so that from this it may appear that Angels strengthen those who pray, as it is said in Daniel 10: "One like the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me and said: Do not fear, man of desires; be strengthened and be firm. And when he spoke with me, I recovered my strength and said: Speak, my Lord, for you have strengthened me." This strengthening of the Angels therefore obtains vigor for us. On account of which, to signify this, he adds: And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly. Gregory: "He was in an agony, signifying that the soul is rightly terrified when it finds close at hand that which it cannot change for eternity." For in this there is a wondrous struggle between nature and grace, between reason and sensuality; which agony indeed the holy Martyrs had, and just men have, according to that passage in 1 Corinthians 9: "Everyone who contends in the contest abstains from all things." "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so I fight, not as one beating the air." Moreover, the stronger this agony is, the more strongly one must persist in prayer. Hence above in chapter 18: "He spoke to them, that they ought always to pray and not to lose heart"; and above in chapter 6 it is said that "he was spending the night in the prayer of God."

Luke 22:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Sixth, as to the anxiety of prayer, it is added: And his sweat became like drops of blood falling down upon the ground. From which it is apparent that with wondrous sighs and cries of the heart and anxious desires he was crying out to God, according to that verse of the Psalm: "O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you." Moreover, the blood was flowing down upon the ground to show that he was praying for the Church and desired to pour out his blood for her; Job 16: "O earth, do not cover my blood, nor let my cry find in you a place to hide." Now it should be noted that the Lord poured out his blood for us in circumcision, prayer, flagellation, coronation, crucifixion of hands and feet, and the opening of his side, so that that verse of the Psalm might appear true: "With the Lord there is mercy, and with him plentiful redemption." Whence that verse of Isaiah 63 was verified: "Why then is your garment red, and your vestments like those of them that tread in the winepress?" Truly red was that most sacred body, which was so many times reddened for us with sacred blood. This blood intercedes for us, according to that verse of Hebrews 12: "You have come to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkling of blood that speaks better than Abel"; because the blood of Abel cried out for vengeance, according to that verse of Genesis 4: "The voice of the blood of your brother Abel cries to me from the ground"; but this blood cried out for remission; Matthew 26: "This is my blood, which shall be shed for many unto the remission of sins."

Luke 22:45 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Seventh, as to the circumspection of prayer, he adds: And when he had risen from prayer and had come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow. For he so prayed to God that he nevertheless did not forget his sheep; indeed, he interrupted his prayer three times in order to return to rouse his disciples: whence it is said in Mark 14 that "he came the third time and found them sleeping." In this the wondrous solicitude of Christ for his disciples is apparent, as a hen is solicitous for her chicks: Deuteronomy 32: "As an eagle provoking her young to fly and hovering over them."

Luke 22:46 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Whence it is also added: And he said to them: Why do you sleep? Arise and pray, lest you enter into temptation. He rebukes their drowsiness, which was similar to the drowsiness of Jonah himself; Jonah 1: "Jonah went down into the inner part of the ship and was sleeping in a deep sleep. And the captain came to him, saying: Why are you weighed down with sleep?" So also the Lord said to Peter in Mark 14: "Simon, do you sleep? Could you not watch one hour with me?" However, they were sleeping not from excess, like that man of whom Proverbs 23 says: "You shall be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea and as a drowsy helmsman who has lost the rudder," but only from sorrow: whence Matthew 26: "Their eyes were heavy with sorrow." In this, therefore, the wondrous circumspection of Christ at prayer is apparent, because He returned three times to the disciples to rouse them and again three times returned to pray to God; so that He might manifestly show that He was most devoted and most vigilant both toward His subjects and toward God, as a most excellent prelate. It is also intimated in this, that Christ prayed the same words three times, that our prayer ought to be directed to the Triune God; it ought to be against the threefold kind of temptations; it ought to be according to the threefold act of the powers of the image of our mind, and according to the threefold theological virtue, namely faith, hope, and charity; it ought to be for the sake of the threefold good to be obtained, namely pardon, grace, and glory, or goodness, knowledge, and discipline, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Teach me goodness and discipline and knowledge." In this, moreover, that He visited them three times, it is signified that the Lord visits souls three times, namely by strengthening the irascible power, by sending in zeal, the rational power, by pouring in light, and the concupiscible power, by inflaming desire. On account of which, Job thirty-three: "God works all these things three times with each person, to bring back their souls from corruption and to enlighten them with the light of the living." — And thus this part is completed, which concerns the preambles to the Passion.

Luke 22:47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

While He was yet speaking, behold, a crowd etc. After he described the preambles to the Passion, here secondly he describes the concomitants. Now these were six, namely the apprehension of Christ, the mocking of the one apprehended, the accusation of the one mocked, the condemnation of the one accused, the crucifixion of the one condemned, and the death and burial of the one crucified. In setting forth the manner of the apprehension, four things are introduced, namely the treachery of the betrayer, the zeal of the disciples, the power of the Savior, and the deceit of the Jews. First, therefore, as to the fraud of the betrayer he says: While he was yet speaking, for the admonition of the disciples: whence Matthew 26: "Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go: behold, he who shall betray me is at hand." During these words Judas arrived: whence he also adds: Behold, a crowd, and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, as a leader of the wicked: Acts 1: "The Scripture must be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was the leader of those who apprehended Jesus." He therefore led them to the place, according to that of John 18: "And Judas also, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often gathered there with his disciples." — He was also the leader in capturing Christ: whence he adds: And he drew near to Jesus to kiss him, to give the sign of betrayal; whence Matthew 26: "He who betrayed him gave them a sign, saying: Whomsoever I shall kiss, he it is, seize him."

Luke 22:48 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

This sign was truly that of betrayers, because it is a sign of love, and yet it proceeded from the perversity of the heart: and therefore he adds: But Jesus said to him: Judas, do you betray the Son of man with a kiss? namely, exposing the betrayer's intent. The Lord, however, received the kiss from Judas, although he knew it was treacherous, so that he might always show the greatest benignity in himself. Whence the Gloss: "The Lord received the kiss, so that he might move the betrayer all the more, to whom he would not deny the offices of love." Whence it is said in the Psalm: "With those who hated peace, I was peaceable," etc.; and Matthew 26: "Who said to him: Friend, why have you come?" From this, moreover, the remarkable perversity of the betrayer is apparent: whence Jerome: "Judas slips from the pinnacle of apostleship into the depths of betrayal, and is deterred neither by the familiarity of the banquet, nor by the dipping of the morsel, nor by the grace of the kiss, from betraying as a mere man the one whom he knew to be the Son of God." The reception of the kiss, therefore, on Christ's part was one of benignity, but on Judas's part was one of remarkable deceit. As a figure of this, in 2 Kings 20, Joab said to Amasa: "Hail, my brother. And he took hold of his chin, as if to kiss him, and struck him in the side, and he died." And this is the kiss of the impious betrayer; therefore Proverbs 27: "Better are the wounds of a friend than the deceitful kisses of an enemy."

Luke 22:49 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Second, as to the zeal of the disciples he adds: But those who were around him, seeing what was about to happen, said to him: Lord, shall we strike with the sword? For the disciples, kindled with zeal of love for Christ, were inflamed for his defense, but they hesitated on account of what they had been taught by him — to show all patience, according to that of Matthew 5: "Whoever strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other also"; but Peter was so fervent that he neither asked nor waited for a response.

Luke 22:50 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Whence he adds: And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. This, however, was Peter. Hence three Evangelists do not name him out of reverence, but John names him to intimate his fervent zeal; whence John 18: "Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the servant of the high priest." In this deed, Peter's zeal is praised; whence the Gloss: "Peter was zealous with the same ardor of mind as Phinehas," of whom it is said in Numbers 25 that on account of the zeal with which he pierced through the fornicators, he obtained an everlasting priesthood. Here, however, the zeal is praised, not the deed; whence Matthew 26: "Put your sword back into its sheath: for all who take the sword shall perish by the sword." Nevertheless, although the deed is not praised, the mystery is commended. For in this it is signified that the power of Peter's priesthood took away the observance of the rite of the legal priesthood, which was a servitude. — Or certainly by the cutting off of this ear it is understood that that people, who in name is called king, but in truth is a servant, lost spiritual understanding; whence the Gloss on John 18: "The servant of the high priest, who is called Malchus, that is, king, is the Jewish people, who through unbelief was made a servant of impiety, who lost the right ear, so that he might hear only the usefulness of the letter." Hence Peter did not take away this ear, but showed it to have been taken away; whence the Gloss: "The ear was taken away, not by Peter removing it, but by divine judgment revealing it to have been taken away."

Luke 22:51 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Third, as regards the power of the Savior, he adds: But Jesus answering said: Permit even this, as if to say: proceed no further, because patience must be shown, not wrath; kindness, not vengeance. Therefore he adds: And when he had touched his ear, he healed him. In this the benignity of Christ is shown in a wondrous manner, that he healed the servant who was seizing him, wounded in the act of persecution. Then most especially he fulfilled that which he commanded in Matthew 5: "Do good to those who hate you." In this his wondrous power appeared, because by touch alone he united what had been severed, which neither art nor nature could do. And through this he showed himself able to resist, to give life and to kill, according to that passage of Deuteronomy 32: "I will kill, and I will make alive; I will strike, and I will heal, and there is none who can deliver from my hand." In this also the wondrous power of Christ appeared, because together with omnipotence there was such great patience: whence in John 18 it is said that "Jesus went forth to meet them and said to them: Whom do you seek? When therefore He said to them: I am He, they went backward and fell to the ground." Christ therefore showed in this also the power of might and patience and beneficence: whence the Gloss: "He never forgets mercy, who does not allow even His enemies to be wounded." — He also indicated with this a mystery of wisdom. For by the healing of the severed ear it is understood that the Lord will one day restore hearing and understanding of the truth to the Jewish people, according to that passage of Isaiah 10: "The remnant shall be converted, the remnant, I say, of Jacob, to the mighty God. For if your people Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them shall be converted." Whence the Gloss: "The ear cut off and healed signifies hearing, with the oldness removed, renewed, so that it may be in newness of spirit and not in oldness of the letter."

Luke 22:52-53 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Fourth, as to the deceit of the Jews, he adds: But Jesus said to those who had come to Him, the chief priests and magistrates of the temple and the elders, whom He names specifically, because all these things were done by the authority of the leaders: and that passage of 1 Esdras 9 was fulfilled: "The hand of the princes and magistrates was first in this transgression"; and Daniel 13: "Iniquity came forth from the elder judges of the people, who seemed to govern the people." For the princes seemed to govern by authority, the magistrates by learning, the elders by both, and yet these men devised wickedness. And therefore He addresses them, saying: Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs? When I was daily with you in the temple, you did not stretch out your hands against Me; from which their foolishness is shown: whence Ambrose: "It is foolish to seek with swords Him who willingly hands Himself over, and to search in the night through a traitor for one hiding, whom they daily saw teaching in the temple." Their wickedness is also shown, because they sought a just man as a robber, an unarmed man with weapons; they sought the true light in darkness; which indeed the darkness of their sins caused. Whence He adds: But this is your hour and the power of darkness: because, John 3, "he who does evil hates the light"; and Job 24: "The eye of the adulterer watches for darkness." On account of which the demons also, because they counsel evil, are called powers of darkness, according to that passage of Ephesians 6: "Against the princes and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness." We ought to flee these darknesses, according to that passage of Ephesians 5: "Do not be partakers in the unfruitful works of darkness." In this darkness is he who hates Christ, the light and the brother of the human race, 1 John 2: "He who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he goes, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."

Luke 22:54 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Having apprehended him etc. After the described apprehension of Christ, here is described the denial of Peter; for whose full description four things are introduced, namely Peter's own tepidity in fearing, fragility in denying, the Lord's compassion in receiving him back, and Peter's faithfulness in returning. First therefore, as regards Peter's tepidity in fearing, after the apprehension of the Master, he says: Having apprehended him, they led him to the house of the high priest. But Peter was following him from afar. Peter was following from afar, because he feared to draw nearer; for he had already been left alone; whence Mark 14: "Then the disciples, leaving him, all fled," according to that passage of Proverbs 19: "The brothers of the poor man hated him; moreover his friends also withdrew far from him"; Psalm: "You have put my acquaintances far from me" etc. For love unites and causes one to draw near, and conversely tepidity of love causes one to withdraw far away; and this tepidity was already beginning to be in Peter.

Luke 22:55 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And therefore he adds: Now when a fire had been kindled in the middle of the courtyard and they were sitting around it, Peter was in their midst: in which is shown the tepidity of love and of the interior fire. Whence the Gloss: "What the malignant assembly was carrying on inside the house of the high priest, the fire kindled outside amid the cold of the night was figuratively demonstrating. Growing numb from this cold for a time, Peter began to warm himself at the coals of the servants, as it were, because he was seeking the consolation of temporal comfort in the company of the faithless"; and concerning this fire, Micah 6: "Still there is fire in the house of the wicked and treasures of iniquity." And here it is intimated that when the fire of iniquity and cupidity abounds—concerning which Job 15: "Fire shall devour the tents of those who gladly accept bribes"—the fire of charity shall grow cold, concerning which above in chapter 12: "I have come to cast fire upon the earth" etc. Whence also Matthew 24: "Because iniquity shall abound, the charity of many shall grow cold." And made lukewarm by this fire, a man becomes prone to denying Christ and indeed to every evil.

Luke 22:56-57 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Second, as regards the fragility of Peter in denying, he adds: When a certain maidservant had seen him sitting by the light and had gazed upon him, she said: This man also was with him. But he denied him, saying: Woman, I do not know him: in which Peter's fragility appears, because, as Gregory says, "struck by the voice of a single woman, while he feared to die, he denied the Life." But the devil first assails Peter through a woman in remembrance of the prior deed, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 25: "From a woman was the beginning of all sin"; and again in chapter 42: "Does not the moth come forth from garments? So from a woman comes the iniquity of man."

Luke 22:58 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And lest Peter could excuse himself on account of being taken by surprise, the inquiry is therefore repeated, when it adds: And after a little while, another seeing him said: You also are one of them. But Peter said: O man!, I am not. Peter repeats the denial because he did not abandon the company of the wicked. Whence Augustine says: "How harmful are the words of the wicked, which compel Peter to deny the Lord or to deny knowing as a man him whom among his fellow disciples he had confessed to be the Son of God." Whence that saying of First Corinthians fifteen is verified: "Evil communications corrupt good manners."

Luke 22:59-60 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And because Peter still did not take heed for himself, he therefore repeated the denial a third time. Whence it is added: And after an interval of about one hour, a certain other man affirmed, saying: Truly this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean. And Peter said: Man, I do not know what you are saying. And the word of the Lord was fulfilled, from above in the same chapter: "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." — Now this threefold denial, according to Bede and Jerome, took place in the courtyard of Caiaphas; but according to Augustine, in the Book on the Harmony of the Evangelists, it was begun in the house of Annas and completed in the courtyard of Caiaphas, with which John agrees. Now the Lord permitted Peter to deny him, as Chrysostom says, so that Marcion might be confounded, so that no one would presume of himself, so that all would believe Christ in all things, so that others might take heed for themselves, and "so that the prelate of the Church might learn from his own fall how he ought to show mercy to others," and also so that, rising again more strong, he might show that to be true which is said in Romans eight: "We know that for those who love God, all things work together unto good." He was therefore permitted to deny three times to show that we offend God in a threefold manner, namely by heart, mouth, and deed. And he was impelled by three persons as a mystery of threefold temptation, and at a threefold interval to designate the threefold admonition. And concerning these three things, he was asked three times: do you love me? Three times it was said to him: feed; and a threefold solemnity of Peter is celebrated.

Luke 22:61 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Thirdly, as to the compassion of the Lord in coming to his aid, it is added: And immediately, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. And the Lord, turning, looked upon Peter. He sent beforehand the crowing of the cock by which Peter might be moved outwardly, and by the gaze of the Lord he might be moved inwardly, because in this twofold manner the compassion of Christ raises up sinners: outwardly, by moving them through the crowing of the cock, that is, through the admonition of preachers; Job thirty-eight: "Who has given the cock understanding?" Whence the Church also sings: The cock reproves those lying down and rebukes the drowsy, because it is said to the preacher in Second Timothy chapter four: "Reprove, entreat, rebuke," etc. And at its crowing there comes the gaze of divine mercy, concerning which in the Psalm: "For he has looked forth from his holy height: the Lord has gazed from heaven upon the earth." Augustine in On the Harmony of the Evangelists: "The Lord looked upon Peter not with human eyes, but with divine ones"; Wisdom chapter four: "The regard of God is upon his elect"; and the Psalm: "He looks upon the earth," etc. Fourth, as regards the faithfulness of Peter in returning, it is added: And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, as he had said: Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times; and in this he acknowledged his fault, upon the acknowledgment of which penance follows.

Luke 22:62 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And therefore he adds: And going out, Peter wept bitterly, that is, he shed tears from the great bitterness of compunction; whence Ambrose says: "He wept most bitterly, so that tears might wash away the offense; and you likewise wash away your fault with tears." This bitterness, moreover, is the greatest part of penance; whence Ambrose says: "I read of tears; I do not read of satisfaction." Tears of this kind, when they proceed from bitterness, incline the Lord to forgiveness. As a figure of which it is said in Fourth Kings chapter twenty: "Hezekiah wept with a great weeping"; and it is added there that the Lord delivered him from the danger of death. And therefore the holy prophet David, in the person of the penitent man, says in the Psalm: "I will wash my bed every night; I will water my couch with my tears." From which it is apparent what the fruit of the permitted denial was, namely, an example of penance and compunction; on account of which the Lord also drew the princes of the Apostles, Peter and Paul, out of the filth of vices. On account of which, First Timothy chapter one: "I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and insolent, but therefore I obtained mercy," "so that in me first Christ Jesus might show all patience, for the instruction of those who would believe in him unto eternal life."

Luke 22:63-64 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And the men who held him, etc. After having described the arrest of Christ and the denial of Peter, here secondly he describes the mocking of the Lord after his arrest. And since this mocking was done by shameless and plotting Jews, therefore he first treats of the insolence of the mockers; second, of the malice of the plotters, at the passage: And when it was day. And since Christ is "the power of God and the wisdom of God," and according to this is to be honored in a twofold way, therefore by way of opposition a twofold dishonoring of Christ is described here, namely, through the mocking of him with respect to a deficiency of power and with respect to a deficiency of wisdom. First, therefore, as regards the mocking of Christ as powerless, it is said: And the men who held him mocked him, striking him. And they blindfolded him and struck his face. As a figure of this, it is said in Job 16: "Reproaching me, they struck my cheek; they were sated with my punishments"; and Micah 5: "With a rod they shall strike the cheek of the judge of Israel." But they could not have done this unless he himself willed to endure it mercifully, according to that passage in Isaiah 50: "I gave my body to those who struck me and my cheeks to those who plucked them"; and Lamentations 3: "He shall give his cheek to the one who strikes him; he shall be filled with reproaches." This cheek, nay rather this beautiful face, upon which "the Angels desire to gaze," which "is full of graces" and "desired by all nations," which is the salvation of those who behold it — the impious Jews blindfolded, spat upon, and struck; but the Lord endured this for our sake. Whence Jerome says: "The Lord willed to be spat upon, that he might wash us; he willed to be blindfolded, that he might remove the veil of guilt and ignorance from our hearts; he willed to be struck on the head, that he might restore our head to health; he willed to be beaten with blows and mocked with words, that we with our lips and hands, that is, with words and works, might applaud." Second, as regards the mocking of Christ as ignorant, he adds: And they questioned him, saying: Prophesy: Who is it that struck you? But they did this in mockery, mocking him who had said he was a true Prophet, of whom it is said in Deuteronomy 18: "The Lord will raise up a Prophet from your nation; you shall hear him as you would me." This Prophet they did not hear but interrogated with insult, according to that passage in Wisdom 2: "Let us interrogate him with insult and torment," because they struck him at the same time.

Luke 22:65 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And because it is not possible to narrate all the insults inflicted upon Christ, therefore, in order to conclude all things in a certain summary, he adds: And they said many other things blaspheming against him; and thus is fulfilled in them that passage of Isaiah 1: "Woe to the sinful nation, to a people heavy with iniquity! They have forsaken the Lord, they have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel, they are alienated backward." But Christ endured these things voluntarily, according to that passage of the Psalm: "The reproaches of those who reproached you have fallen upon me"; and this, so that he might give us an example for despising reproaches. Whence Hebrews 12: "Consider him who endured such opposition against himself"; and Chrysostom: "That divine head was struck by polluted and abominable men. What care, then, shall be ours henceforth regarding insults, after Christ has suffered these things?" But many are rather imitators of the Jews; whence Bede: "He who was then struck by the blows of the Jews is now struck by the blasphemies of false Christians, and he who was spat upon with the saliva of unbelievers is now dishonored by the mad reproaches of the faithful." Whence concerning such people can be understood that passage of Job 30: "They abominate me and flee far from me, and they do not hesitate to spit in my face"; and concerning such people Augustine says: "Those who blaspheme Christ reigning in heaven sin no less than the Jews who crucified him walking on earth."

Luke 22:66 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

And when it was day, etc. After he described the insolence of the mockers, here he describes the malice of those lying in wait, and this in a fourfold manner: in assembling, interrogating, replying, and passing sentence. First, therefore, as regards the malice in assembling, he says: And when it was day, the elders of the people assembled: they assembled, I say, together to consummate one wickedness, according to that passage of the Psalm: "The princes assembled together against the Lord and against his Christ." For concerning Behemoth it is said in Job 41: "His body is like molten shields, compact with scales pressing upon one another." And because one wicked person draws another to wickedness, therefore he adds: And the chief priests and scribes led him into their council: they led him, I say, not to judge, but to ensnare, according to that passage of the Psalm: "For many dogs have surrounded me, a council of the malignant has besieged me." And in the council their hidden malice, which they had conceived against Christ, was laid bare, according to that passage of Proverbs 26: "He who covers hatred fraudulently, his malice shall be laid bare in the council." And therefore Jeremiah 18: "You, O Lord, know all their counsel against me unto death: do not be propitious to their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from your face." And this is what is said in Mark 14: "The chief priests and the whole council sought testimony against Jesus, that they might deliver him to death."

Luke 22:67 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Second, as to the malice in questioning, it is added: Saying: If you are the Christ, tell us. They do not ask this in order to be instructed, but in order to lay snares; whence the Gloss: "They do not desire the truth, but prepare a false accusation, so that, if he were to say: I am the Christ, they might accuse him of arrogating royal power to himself." They were seeking this in John 10: "The Jews surrounded him and said to him: If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." But this malice did not escape Christ, and therefore it is added: And he said to them: If I tell you, you will not believe me: from which it is apparent that you ask as unbelievers. Whence John 10: "I speak to you, and you do not believe: the works that I do, these bear witness concerning me. But you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep."

Luke 22:68 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

But if I shall ask you, you will not answer me nor release me; wherefore it is clear that you ask as rebels. Whence the Gloss: "He had often said that he was the Christ, and he had also asked them how they said the Christ was the son of David: but they were willing neither to believe him when he spoke, nor to answer him when he asked, nor to release him who was innocent"; above in chapter 20: "How do they say that the Christ is the son of David?"

Luke 22:69 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Lest, however, he should seem to seek evasion, he answers with the truth, when he adds: But from henceforth the Son of man shall be sitting at the right hand of the power of God: from henceforth, that is, after this passion, according to that passage in Philippians 2: "He humbled himself: wherefore God also exalted him," etc. At the right hand, that is, as equal; Psalm: "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand"; and Hebrews 1: "Who, being the brightness of glory and the figure of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

Luke 22:70 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Third, as to the malice in replying, it is added: And they all said: Are you then the Son of God? They as it were draw a conclusion and seek a charge, so that, if he should assert this, they might condemn him as a blasphemer, according to that passage in John 5: The Jews persecuted Jesus, "not only because he broke the Sabbath," but also because "he called God his Father, making himself equal to God." Since therefore they were here concluding what was true, and yet regarded it as evidently false, therefore Christ neither entirely asserted nor entirely denied, but answered in a middle way. On account of which he adds: Who said: You say it, because I am. Whence the Gloss: "He so tempers his response that he speaks the truth, and yet his words are not open to calumny." Whence in John 10, when the Jews said: "We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God," Christ responded through Scripture: "Is it not written in your Law: I said: You are gods? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God was made: do you say that I blaspheme, because I said: I am the Son of God?" Whence, just as there he repressed their madness with a prudent response, so also here; in which Christ instructs us, according to that passage in Matthew 7: "Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast pearls before swine." For, in Proverbs 9, "he who instructs a scoffer brings injury upon himself"; and afterwards: "Teach a just man, and he will hasten to receive." Whence, to the blind man who had been given sight and who asked: "Who is the Son of God, that I may believe in him?" he responded: "You have both seen him, and it is he who speaks with you"; and in John 4, to the Samaritan woman saying that the Messiah would come, he responded: "I am he, who speaks with you."

Luke 22:71 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22

Fourth, as to their malice in passing judgment, he subjoins: But they said: What further testimony do we desire? For we ourselves have heard it from his mouth. From which their perversity is apparent, because they were seeking with evil intent, namely "That they might catch him in his speech." It also appears that the perversity of their will perverted their judgment, because what Christ had said tentatively they accused him of having asserted. And thus is verified that saying of Ecclesiasticus 11: "Many are the snares of the deceitful one. Converting good things into evil, he lies in wait, and upon the elect he will place a stain." But this which he had intimated, namely that he was the Son of God, they regarded as blasphemy, and therefore as a blasphemer they judged him worthy even of death; whence Mark 14: "But the high priest, rending his garments, said: What need we any further witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy; what think you?" And then it is added there that "some began to spit upon him and to cover his face and to strike him with blows." — From which it can be gathered that this mockery was inflicted upon him twice, namely both by night and by day. Whence in John 18 it is said that a servant gave him a blow in the house of Annas; and the other Evangelists say that he was mocked in the house of Caiaphas, so that that saying of Jeremiah 20 is verified: "I am made a derision all the day long; all mock me; because I have long since spoken, crying out iniquity, and I proclaim devastation." And therefore now is fulfilled that which he foretold above in chapter 9: "The Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes." Whence also in their person is said that word of Isaiah 53: "We desired him despised and the lowest of men, a man of sorrows and knowing infirmity; and his face was as it were hidden and despised, whence we esteemed him not. And we thought him as it were a leper and struck by God and humiliated." In figure of which it is said in 2 Kings 6 that "Michal, the daughter of Saul, despised David as he leapt"; so also the synagogue despised Christ suffering, and therefore she lost her offspring and her inheritance.

Luke 23:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

First, therefore, as regards the wicked accusation, he says: And the whole multitude of them arose and led him to Pilate. The multitude came so that him whom they could not overcome by reason, they might at least conquer by numbers: Wisdom 4: "The manifold multitude of the ungodly shall not be profitable." And therefore it is dangerous to mingle with such a multitude; on account of which, Ecclesiasticus 7: "Do not sin in the multitude of the city, nor cast yourself into the people," because, Ecclesiasticus 21, "the congregation of sinners is like tow gathered together, and their end is a flame of fire."

Luke 23:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

This multitude came together to accuse Christ in many ways; whence he adds: And they began to accuse him: they were accusing him as his adversaries: Lamentations 3: "Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, all their thoughts against me. The lips of those who rise up against me, O Lord." They accuse him, however, as sinning against the people: on account of which is added: Saying: We have found this man subverting our nation: men who are themselves subverted and subverters call him a subverter of the people, according to that passage of Ezekiel 2: "Son of man, unbelievers and subverters are with you, and you dwell among scorpions: do not fear their words and do not dread their faces, for it is a rebellious house"; and therefore rebellious, because it calls its converter a subverter. Whence Jeremiah 31: "Convert me, Lord, and I shall be converted"; and the Psalm: "Turn back, O Lord, the captivity," etc. — They also accuse him as sinning against the ruler: whence is added: And forbidding tribute to be given to Caesar: and this likewise was false. For above in chapter 20 he said: "Render the things that are Caesar's to Caesar, and the things that are God's to God." — They also accuse him as sinning against God, when it is added: And saying that he is Christ the king. But concerning this he was not to be accused, because it was true, according to that passage of the Psalm: "But I have been established as king by him," etc. But neither could they themselves accuse him of this, because although he said he was the Christ before the disciples, according to that passage of Matthew 16: "But whom do you say that I am?" nevertheless he was silent about this before the Jews, lest he give them an occasion for malice: whence in Matthew 16 "he commanded his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ." And therefore to the Jews seeking this for the purpose of entrapping and accusing, he did not respond by simply affirming, but in a middle way, above in chapter 22: "You say that I am." From which it is apparent that the Jews were accusing Christ unjustly and wickedly.

Luke 23:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Second, with respect to the right inquiry, is added: Pilate then questioned him, saying: Are you the king of the Jews? It should be noted that although Christ was accused of three things, Pilate inquired only about one, because he knew that the others were false. For since the holiness and goodness of Christ was apparent through his miracles and his reputation, and since through his own words it was evident that he did not forbid tribute to be rendered to Caesar, he doubted only about the third and inquired about it. Whence the Gloss: "Pilate could have heard what he had said concerning tributes: Render the things that are Caesar's to Caesar: and therefore, disregarding this as an obvious falsehood, he inquired only about what he did not know." And in this he acted rightly, according to that passage of Job 29: "The case that I did not know, I investigated diligently." But because he himself was not worthy to hear the truth, being incredulous, therefore he adds: But he answering said: You say it. Whence John 18: "Pilate said: Are you then a king? Jesus answered: You say it, because I am a king." But he did not affirm this because Pilate was not fit to receive this truth. On account of which, John 18: "For this I was born, that I might bear witness to the truth; everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him: What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews." From which it appears that he did not truly seek the truth, because, when he had asked, he did not wait for the answer. And therefore he merited to hear neither what truth was nor the truth itself.

Luke 23:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Third, as to the just excuse, he adds: But Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds: I find no cause in this man. For concerning the first two charges he found no cause, because he was not seeking one nor had he judged it worth seeking; but concerning the last he found what Christ had said to him, as is stated in John 18: "My kingdom is not of this world"; and therefore Pilate found no fault in him worthy of death. Nor is this surprising, because he says of himself in John 14: "The prince of this world comes, and in me he has nothing." Whence he could say that word of Job 13: "I know that if I am judged, I shall be found just." From which it appears that just as it belongs to a good judge to condemn sinners, so it belongs to him to excuse and defend the innocent, according to that of Exodus 23: "The innocent and the just you shall not kill, for I am opposed to the wicked."

Luke 23:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Fourth, as to the importunate aggravation of the accusation, he adds: But they grew more vehement, saying: He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee even to this place. In this they aggravate the accusation, since they wish to charge him with sedition, as though he were a disturber of the whole land; but they unjustly accuse him of disturbance, because he was not stirring up the people to sedition, as Absalom, of whom it is said in 2 Kings 15: "When he offered sacrifices, a strong conspiracy was formed, and the people running together increased with Absalom." He was not stirring them to transgression, as the Antichrist will do: Apocalypse 13: "The whole earth wondered after the beast. And they adored the dragon, who gave power to the beast." But he moved them to compunction, according to that passage of the Psalm: "You have moved the earth and disturbed it; heal its breaches," etc. He moved them to exultation, as is said in Matthew twenty-one: "When Jesus had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was moved"; Haggai two: "Yet a little while, and I will move heaven and earth." And the reason for this is that he taught not seductive things, but salutary things: whence also Peter said in John six: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Christ had taught with this doctrine, as he said in John seven: "If anyone wills to do the will of God, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it be from God." And therefore he was not to be accused, but to be accepted, and especially by the chief priests, according to that passage in Titus one: "A bishop must be one who embraces the faithful word which is according to doctrine, so that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine." Spiritually, in this, that Christ began from Galilee, which is interpreted as transmigration, and passed through Judea and came all the way to Jerusalem, it is understood that the true preacher ought to preach in this order: that he preach transmigration from the state of sin, confession of the truth of faith, and rest in the vision of eternal peace, so that thus evil may be abandoned, truth may be discerned, and good may be loved. And in these is enclosed a threefold good, namely pardon, grace, and glory; goodness, knowledge, and discipline, which the Prophet seeks in the Psalm: "Teach me goodness and discipline and knowledge."

Luke 23:6 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

But Pilate, hearing, etc. After the accusation before the governor has been described, here he describes the order of the accusation before Herod; for whose orderly description four things are introduced, namely the caution of Pilate evading, the curiosity of Herod questioning, the wickedness of the people accusing, and the stupidity of the ruler despising. First therefore, as regards the caution of Pilate evading, he says: But Pilate, hearing "Galilee," asked whether the man was a Galilean. He asks this in order to evade judging him, if judgment over him pertains to another. And the reason for this is given in Matthew twenty-seven: "For Pilate knew that they had handed him over out of envy." And therefore he was evading, because either he would have to provoke that nation against himself, or act against justice: whence he wished to place the judgment upon another.

Luke 23:7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Therefore he adds: And when he learned that he was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself was also in Jerusalem in those days. Bede: "Lest he be compelled to pass sentence against an innocent man, whom he knew had been handed over through envy, he sends him to Herod to be heard, so that he might either be absolved or condemned by his own tetrarch." Whence it appears that Pilate acted cautiously; he also acted justly, because he did not wish to usurp for himself what belonged to another's jurisdiction, because, according to Romans thirteen, "every power is ordained." He also acted piously, because he believed that Herod ought to free his own subject from unjust accusers, according to that text of Sirach eighteen: "The compassion of a man is toward his neighbor." He also acted shrewdly, because he wished to devolve the dangerous judgment upon his adversary; he also wished to avoid his false accusation; he also wished to please him regarding a matter about which he himself had no certainty. From which that saying stated above in chapter sixteen is evident: "The children of this world are more prudent than the children of light in their generation."

Luke 23:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Second, as regards the curiosity of Herod in his questioning, he adds: But Herod, seeing Jesus, was exceedingly glad, not on account of the sight of faith, as Abraham, of whom it is said in John eight: "Abraham rejoiced to see my day: he saw it and was glad." — For he had been desirous for a long time to see him, not through the affection of charity, as Job twenty-three: "Who will grant me that I may find him and come even to his throne?" For to such persons it is said above in chapter ten: "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. Amen I say to you, that many kings," etc. Not so Herod, but out of curiosity. Whence he adds: Because he had heard many things about him, and he hoped to see some sign performed by him, through the appetite of curiosity; above in chapter nine: "Herod the tetrarch heard of all the things that were done by him," "and he said: Who is this, about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him."

Luke 23:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

And because curiosity is most vigorous concerning sight and hearing, according to that text of Ecclesiastes one: "The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing"; therefore he adds: And he questioned him with many words: he questioned, I say, not as one studious, but as one curious; not as a lover, but as a tempter, according to that text of Sirach thirteen: "By much talk he will tempt you, and smiling he will question you about your secrets." — And because such a person does not deserve to hear the truth, therefore it is added: But he answered him nothing. Now Christ was silent as an example of prudence; Proverbs twenty-six: "Answer not a fool according to his folly." Moreover it is just that divine things be hidden from the unworthy; whence the Gloss: "He was silent, because Herod's unbelief did not deserve to hear divine things, and the Lord was avoiding vainglory"; Matthew seven: "Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine." Likewise, as an example of patience: Job thirty-one: "If I trembled before a great multitude, and the contempt of kinsmen terrified me, and I did not rather keep silent"; upon which Gregory says: "The good do not reveal their own things even when despised, when it does not benefit others; for that would be to display oneself, not to be of use, just as Jesus was silent before Herod who was not seeking improvement, and thereby suffered himself to be mocked." Likewise, of innocence: whence the Gloss says: "Better is the cause which is not defended and yet is proved. Susannah was silent and prevailed," as is said in Daniel thirteen. Likewise, as an example of confidence: Exodus fourteen: "You shall be silent, and the Lord will fight for you." As an example of obedience: Isaiah fifty-three: "As a lamb before its shearer he shall be silent." As an example of perseverance: whence the Gloss says: "Those who fear being conquered seek to be defended; nor does he confirm the accuser by being silent, but despises him by not refuting him"; whence Lamentations three: "From the mouth of the Most High shall proceed neither evil nor good."

Luke 23:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Third, as regards the wickedness of the people accusing, there is added: But the chief priests and the scribes stood, vehemently accusing him. But this constancy was not virtue, but obstinacy, because it came not from love of justice, but from the malice of envy. For this is what arms the heart to assail one's neighbor: whence Augustine says: "Although through every vice the poison of the ancient enemy is poured into the human heart, in the zeal of envy it creeps through all the inmost parts. This is that by which Cain is armed against his brother Abel, and the sons of Jacob against Joseph, the Babylonians against Daniel, the Jews against Christ." But in the Jews there was envy with obstinacy, and therefore they accused him vehemently. For perseverance in evil is not true constancy, but hardness and obstinacy, as the magicians of Pharaoh against Moses: whence Second Timothy three: "But as Jannes and Mambres resisted Moses, so also do these resist the truth, men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith." Whence they were imitators of that dragon, of whom Revelation twelve says: "Cast out was the accuser of the brethren, who accused them day and night"; and this from envy. For, Wisdom two, "by the envy of the devil death entered the world, and they imitate him who are of his part."

Luke 23:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Fourth, as regards the foolishness of the prince who despised him, there is subjoined: But Herod with his army despised him and mocked him, clothing him in a white garment; he despised him, I say, as powerless, because he performed no sign; as ignorant, because he answered not a word; as foolish, because he did not defend himself against his accusers. Nor did he only despise him, but also mocked him. From which it appears that Christ was mocked with a threefold mockery, namely, by the Jews from malice, above in chapter twenty-two; by Herod from arrogance, as is said here; by the soldiers from ignorance, as in John nineteen. And it should be noted that the Jews veiled his face, Herod clothed him in a white garment, the soldiers placed around him a purple vestment. From which it appears that our High Priest had in his passion pontifical vestments: the amice, namely, when he was veiled by the Jews; the alb, when he was clothed in a white garment by Herod; the chasuble, when he had the scarlet cloak; and lest anything be lacking, he had also the maniple and the stole and the cincture, while he was bound to the pillar; the crown of thorns he had in place of the mitre, and the reed in his hand in place of the pastoral staff, and in place of the gloves and the sandals he had hands and feet covered with blood. And these are worn by consecrating prelates in memory of the Lord's passion, in whose memorial the Sacrament of the altar is confected.

Luke 23:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Because Herod did not find Christ worthy of death, therefore he himself also refused judgment; and so it is added: And he sent him back to Pilate, as to a friend. On account of which he adds: And Herod and Pilate became friends from that day; for before they had been enemies to one another. From which it appears that enmity with respect to the good begets friendship among the evil; therefore the evil are designated by the foxes of Samson, which have their tails tied together, because all "come together as one against the Lord and against his Christ." And therefore these two designate the persecution of the two peoples against Christ; whence the Gloss: "Just as Herod and Pilate, so Jews and Gentiles, disagreeing in race and religion, and likewise also in mind, nevertheless agree in persecuting Christians and in destroying the faith of Christ."

Luke 23:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

First, therefore, as regards intimating the repugnance between the condemnation of Christ and the justice of the law he says: Pilate, having called together the chief priests and the magistrates of the people by prefacing with a citation: for the accusers must be cited to hear the sentence by which the accused ought to be absolved or condemned, because, as is said in Acts twenty-five, "it is not the custom of the Romans to condemn any man before the one who is accused has his accusers present and receives opportunity to defend himself to wash away the charges." Therefore, according to the order of law, before the delivery of the sentence, a convocation of the parties must precede, and once they are convoked, one must proceed.

Luke 23:14-15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Therefore it is added: He said to them: You have brought this man to me as one turning the people away, recalling the accusation: whence John eighteen: "If this man were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him to you." And after the accusation follows the inquiry, therefore he adds: And behold, I, examining him before you, have found no cause in this man regarding those things in which you accuse him. But neither has Herod. For I sent you to him, and behold, nothing worthy of death has been done by him, showing his innocence, which he shows through his own examination and that of another. Whence the Gloss: "Pilate confesses that neither he nor Herod found anything in killing or mocking Christ." For rightly that word of the Psalm applies to him: "You have tested me by fire, and iniquity has not been found in me."

Luke 23:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

And because it is unjust for such a one to be condemned, therefore he adds: I will therefore chastise him and release him, pronouncing an equitable sentence; for this sentence was to be delivered according to justice, since an innocent man was being accused. But Pilate did not dare to do this, but sought the assent of the adverse party, showing that he could not justly be condemned. Yet lest they could complain about the judge's release, he offers punishment of the accused in that he says he wishes to release him chastised, that is, scourged. Whence the Gloss: "I will afflict him with scourges and mockeries, as much as you command, provided you do not thirst for innocent blood"; from which the repugnance between the condemnation and the justice of the law is apparent.

Luke 23:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Second, as regards the repugnance between the condemnation and pious custom he adds: Now he was obliged to release to them on the feast day one. This obligation, however, did not flow from imperial law but from custom; whence Rabanus: "Not by the sanction of imperial law, but conquered by the annual custom of the nation, whom he rejoiced to please through such things." This custom, moreover, was on the feast day of Passover in memory of the liberation of the people from Egyptian servitude; whence in John eighteen it is said that "Pilate said: But you have a custom that I should release one to you at Passover: do you wish, therefore, that I release to you the King of the Jews?"

Luke 23:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

And this offering was according to the custom of clemency, but the perversity of the Jews refuses this in regard to Christ; and therefore he adds: But the whole crowd cried out together, saying: Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas. Now the crowd sought this at the suggestion of the chief priests and scribes; whence Mark 15: "But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, that he should rather release Barabbas to them." And in this their cruelty is apparent, because they preferred a most impious murderer to the most merciful Lord.

Luke 23:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Therefore he adds: Who for a certain sedition made in the city and for murder had been cast into prison, and thus he was seditious and a murderer, and moreover a robber, as is said in John 18: "Now Barabbas was a robber." From this the perversity of the Jews is apparent, because they preferred a seditious man to the Savior, a thief to the Benefactor, and preferred the life of a murderer to the Author of life; whence Acts 3: "You denied the Holy and Just One and asked that a murderer be granted to you; but you killed the Author of life." And this was the supreme impiety: to restore life to a destroyer and to take away life from the fount of all life; whence the Gloss: "Those who chose a robber instead of Jesus, a killer instead of the Savior, a taker of life instead of the giver of life, deservedly lost salvation and life."

Luke 23:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Thirdly, as to the conflict between the condemnation and the will of the judge, he adds: And Pilate again spoke to them, wishing to release Jesus: since neither mercy availed nor equity availed, at last authority and will came forward. Now Pilate wished this, both because it was hard for him to hand over so great a man to death without cause, and also because his wife dissuaded him; whence Matthew 27: "While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying: Have nothing to do with that just man." But this will of Pilate was not full but sluggish, according to that saying in Proverbs 13: "The sluggard wills and wills not"; because he was unwilling to act against the crowd, whose will was contrary.

Luke 23:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Therefore it is added: But they cried out, saying: Crucify, crucify him: where the perverse will of the Jews is shown in this, that they seek with clamor; whence that saying in Isaiah 5 applies to them: "I expected that he would do judgment, and behold, iniquity; and justice, and behold, a cry." For the clamor of this multitude it is said in Isaiah 17: "The multitude of many peoples, like the multitude of the roaring sea, and the tumult of crowds like the sound of many waters." Their perverse will is also apparent from this, because they seek crucifixion: whence Bede: "Great cruelty: they seek not only to kill, but even to crucify, so that, with feet and hands nailed to the wood, he might be tormented by a prolonged death," and not only prolonged, but also bitter, according to that verse of the Psalm: "They pierced my hands and my feet"; and not only bitter, but also ignominious: Wisdom 2: "Let us condemn him to a most shameful death"; whence they wished to subject him as one accursed to the punishment of a curse, because, Deuteronomy 21, "cursed by God is he who hangs on a tree." But this was not without divine disposition, according to Galatians 3: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us"; but the impious demanded this out of cruelty and wrath. For these two things, namely the clamor and the cruelty, it is said in Jeremiah 12: "My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest: it has raised its voice against me"; and again in the Psalm: "For many dogs have surrounded me, the assembly of the wicked has besieged me."

Luke 23:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Fourth, as regards the repugnance between the condemnation and right reason, there is subjoined: But he said to them a third time: What evil has this man done? I find no cause of death in him. For since there was no cause of death in him, to kill him was against the dictate of right reason. — And because for the envious mind reason does not suffice without punishment, he therefore adds: I will therefore chastise him and release him. Nor did he only say this in word, but he also did it in deed, according to John 19: "Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him." Whence the Gloss: "He offered this chastisement by mocking and scourging to the desires of the wicked, lest they rage even to the point of crucifying him."

Luke 23:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

And because a perverse heart is neither led by reason nor moved by pity, therefore it is added: But they were insistent with loud voices, demanding that he be crucified, and their voices prevailed. From which it is apparent that, overcome by the force of right reason, they turn to entreaties: whence the Gloss: "They turn to entreaties, so that what they had been unable to accomplish by accusing or even by reasoning, they might now accomplish by demanding and shouting." Whence also John 19: "Pilate therefore went out again and said: Behold, I bring him out to you, that you may know that I find no cause in him: and he said to them: Behold the man. When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out saying: Crucify, crucify him." From the foregoing, therefore, it is gathered that the death of Christ is more principally imputed to the Jews than to Pilate; whence in John 19 the Lord says: "He who handed me over to you has the greater sin." For the Jews always pressed for his death, but Pilate was seen to evade in seven ways, namely: by change of jurisdiction, by allegation of innocence, by offer of mercy, by showing his own will, by declaration that this was against reason, by infliction of punishment, and finally by pouring the guilt back upon the Jewish people; whence in Matthew 27: "Pilate, having taken water, washed his hands before the people, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just man; see to it yourselves. And the whole people answering said: His blood be upon us and upon our children."

Luke 23:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

But although he wished to free him in so many ways, nevertheless out of fear he failed in the end and turned aside against the dictate of justice, mercy, his own will, and right reason toward the perverse will of the people; therefore he adds: And Pilate adjudged that their petition should be granted; and this against that passage in Exodus 23: "You shall not follow the crowd to do evil, nor in judgment shall you yield to the opinion of the many, so as to deviate from the truth."

Luke 23:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Now Pilate deviated by giving a distorted sentence in absolving the wicked man: therefore he says: And he released to them him who had been cast into prison for murder and sedition, whom they requested; and as regards the condemnation of the just man: and therefore he adds: But Jesus he delivered to their will. — Now the reason why Pilate was bent toward this most iniquitous sentence was the disordered love of pleasing the people, which draws one back from the truth; therefore in Galatians 1: "If I were still pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ"; there was also fear, lest he incur the offense of Caesar; whence in John 19: "If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar"; and it is added there that "Pilate, when he had heard this speech, was the more afraid," and then "he sat on the judgment seat" and rendered an evil sentence; on account of which in Proverbs 29 it is said: "He who fears man shall quickly fall."

Luke 23:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

First, therefore, as regards the leading of Christ to the gibbet, he says: And as they led him, they seized a certain Simon of Cyrene coming from the country, and they laid upon him the cross to carry after Jesus. But the contrary of this seems to be said in John 19, where it is said: "They took Jesus and led him out. And bearing his own cross, he went forth to the place which is called Calvary." Nevertheless, there is no contradiction, because both things occurred, but what Luke passes over in silence, John expresses. Whence the Gloss: "First the Lord carried the cross, but afterwards it was laid upon Simon, whom they met as they went out." Now Luke carefully expresses this on account of the mystery of its signification. This Simon, by reason of his name and nation, since he was from Cyrene, designates the obedience of the Gentile people in bearing the cross after Christ. Whence the Gloss: "Because Simon was not an Israelite but a Cyrenean, the Gentiles are designated through him," who bear the cross when the peoples of the nations, having abandoned pagan rites, obediently embrace the footsteps of the Lord's passion. And to such Peter speaks in First Peter 2: "Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example," etc.; and to such Paul speaks in the last chapter of Hebrews: "Christ suffered outside the gate. Let us therefore go out to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach." But because this Simon was compelled to carry the cross, as is said in Mark 15: "They compelled Simon the Cyrenean, who was passing by," therefore by reason of the compulsion he designates hypocrites, who bear the cross for human praise; whence Gregory: "Simon, who carries the cross under compulsion, is he who labors for human praise; for men submit to this labor whom neither the fear nor the love of God compels." Or he designates the slothful, who bear the cross with murmuring, pain, and reluctance. Against such Bernard says: "WOE to those who bear the cross, not as the Savior bore his own, but as that Cyrenean bore another's!" Against which, above in chapter nine: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily," etc.; because every day the love of doing penance ought to be renewed in us.

Luke 23:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Second, as to the lamentation of the women accompanying him, it is added: There followed him a great multitude of the people and of women, who bewailed and lamented him. The multitude indeed followed out of wonder, but the women out of compassion; whence the Gloss says: "The wicked follow, so that they might joyfully watch him die; the women, so that they might weep for him whom they desired to live—about to die, dying, and dead." Whence also after death it is said of Magdalene in John 20: "Mary stood at the tomb outside, weeping." Now this lamentation was made over Christ by women, not by men, not because women were more fervent or more steadfast in their love of Christ, but because they are by nature more prone to tears and of a more compassionate nature, as is said of Anna in Tobit 10: "Her mother therefore wept with irremediable tears"; and of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, in 1 Kings 1: "Since she was bitter in soul, she prayed to the Lord, weeping abundantly, etc."; and because they could do this more safely. Whence the Gloss says: "The weeping of women alone is not introduced as if men did not also grieve, but because the female sex, being regarded as more contemptible, could more freely display, in the presence of the chief priests, what they felt against them." Whence can be said that of Isaiah 32: "Gird your loins; beat upon your breasts; lament over the desirable land": truly desirable was he above all the kings of the whole earth. And therefore this mourning and this lamentation could be signified by the lamentation made over Josiah, according to that of 2 Chronicles 35: "All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. And Jeremiah especially, whose singers, both men and women, repeat lamentations over Josiah." Now lamentations of this kind were both made and foretold for the Savior, and therefore they are read during his passion. At the same time the death of Christ and the ruin of Jerusalem are depicted: whence in the prayer of Jeremiah: "The joy of our heart has ceased; our dancing has been turned into mourning. The crown has fallen from our head: woe to us, for we have sinned! Therefore our heart has become sorrowful; therefore our eyes have been darkened."

Luke 23:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Third, with regard to the reproof of the lamenting women, he adds: But Jesus, turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep over me. Now he forbids such women from weeping, not because they would do wrong in compassionating Christ, since the pious and holy man Job says in chapter thirty: "I wept once over him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor"; whence also holy David said in figure in 2 Kings 1: "I grieve for you, my brother Jonathan, exceedingly comely and lovable beyond the love of women." Whence also Christ, who is poor, afflicted, lovable, and most beautiful, is to be compassionated with the most pious affection, according to that passage in Zechariah 12: "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him with mourning as for an only-begotten son, and they shall grieve over him as one is accustomed to grieve at the death of a firstborn." Therefore this is not what is reproved by Christ, but rather because they were sorrowing from dejection of mind: against which 1 Thessalonians 4 says: "Do not be sorrowful as others who have no hope; for if we believe" etc. Whence the Gloss: "Do not lament me who am about to die, whose swift resurrection can dissolve death, whose death will destroy both death and the very author of death"; also because they were sorrowing with a certain carnal affection, namely over the withdrawal of the desired countenance, as he said to the disciples in John 16: "You shall weep and lament" etc.; also because they were thus weeping over Christ as though he were dying for himself, not for human transgression. Whence the Gloss: "They were saddened about mortal life, which was to be ended by death, not about the blind who were killing their physician." But whenever we recall the passion of Christ, we ought to weep not for him, who is already glorified, but with regard to our own sin; therefore he adds: But weep for yourselves and for your children. He does not deny, therefore, that one ought to weep, but that the consideration of the one weeping ought to return upon the crime of the human race, for whose transgression Christ died. Since therefore Christ died for our sins, the day of his passion ought to be celebrated with many tears; whence it is said in Lamentations 1: "For this reason I am weeping, and my eye runs down with water, because the comforter who restores my soul is far from me; my children are desolate, because the enemy has prevailed." But it is otherwise with the other Saints, such as Peter and Paul, who died for the advancement of virtue and for attaining the palm of martyrdom. Every Christian, therefore, ought to weep over himself and over the human race, because it was the cause of the slaying of its Lord. Therefore Jeremiah 9: "Who will give water to my head and a fountain of tears to my eyes? And I will weep for the slain of the daughter of my people." From the remembrance of this spiritual death one must weep, as long as we are in Babylon as in a valley of tears and weeping; whence the Psalm: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, when we remembered you, O Zion." Everyone ought also to weep, because the multitude of men does not recognize so great and so noble a devotion: Lamentations 2: "Pour out tears like a torrent day and night; give yourself no rest." One ought also to weep, because from this one is prepared for eternal calamity; on account of which Jesus wept over them; above in chapter 19: "Seeing the city, he wept over it, saying: If you also had known"; and Lamentations 2: "My eyes have failed with tears, my bowels are troubled; my liver is poured out upon the earth for the destruction of the daughter of my people."

Luke 23:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Fourth, as regards the prediction of imminent calamities, he adds: For behold, the days shall come in which they shall say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the breasts that have not nursed. And this can be referred to the destruction of Jerusalem, on account of which it is stated above in chapter 21: "Woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse in those days!" And again in the same chapter below: "There shall be great distress and wrath upon this people, and they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all nations." Or better, it is referred to the final judgment, from the consideration of which man ought to weep over himself and over other sinners, lest it be necessary to lament at his coming, according to that passage in Matthew 24: "The sign of the Son of Man shall appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man sitting," etc.

Luke 23:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

And with this understanding what follows is more consonant: Then they will begin to say to the mountains: Fall upon us, and to the hills: Cover us. This will be at the appearance of the Judge, according to that passage in Revelation 6: "They hid themselves in caves and in the rocks of the mountains and say to the mountains and rocks: Fall upon us and hide us from the face of him who sits upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come." And similarly Isaiah 2: "They will enter the clefts of rocks and the caverns of stones from the face of the dread of the Lord and from the glory of his majesty, when he shall rise to strike the earth," etc.

Luke 23:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

But that such horrible days are to be awaited without doubt, dreaded, and anticipated with weeping, he shows from the consideration of his own passion, when he adds: For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry? As if to say: if a living, fruitful, and beautiful tree is cut down, what then will become of the dry and unfruitful one? Now Christ is the green wood, because living: whence Proverbs 3, "She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her," is said of Wisdom; and therefore he is designated by the tree of life, of which Genesis 2 says: "God brought forth from the ground every tree beautiful to behold and pleasant to eat, and the tree of life in the midst of paradise." Because also fruitful; Revelation 22: "On either side of the river, the tree of life bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month." Because powerful: Revelation 22: "The leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations," etc. On the contrary, the sinful man is dry wood, because he lacks the life of grace, the fruit of justice, and the strength of constancy: on account of which Sirach 6 says to the sinner: "Do not exalt yourself in the thought of your soul, lest perhaps your strength be crushed through folly, and it devour your leaves and destroy your fruits, and you be left like a dry tree in the desert." If therefore the supreme Planter of the trees of paradise on account of sin permitted the tree of life and delight to suffer so cruel a death, what then will he do with the dry and thorny trees? Whence the Gloss says: "If I, who committed no sin, who am rightly called the tree of life, bear twelve fruits of grace each month, and do not depart from the world without the fire of the passion, what torments await those who are empty of fruits and moreover do not fear to give the tree of life to the flames?" And therefore Proverbs 11: "If the just man receives his due on earth, how much more the impious and the sinner"; and 1 Peter 4: "It is time for judgment to begin from the house of God. But if first from us, what will be the end of those who will not believe the Gospel?"

Luke 23:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

First, therefore, regarding the dishonor of the company, he says: And there were also two other malefactors led with him to be put to death; two others, namely, who were malefactors, so that from the iniquity of those put to death with Christ they might pretend that Christ suffered as a reprobate; but the Lord preordained this to happen, according to that passage of Isaiah fifty-three: "He was reckoned among the wicked"; both on account of the example of humility, by reason of which it is said in the Psalm: "But I am a worm and not a man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people"; and Isaiah fifty-three: "We esteemed him the lowest of men"; and on account of the mystery of signification. For by the two thieves, according to the allegory, are understood the peoples among whom and for whom and by whom he suffered, one of the Jews and the other of the Gentiles, who are rightly called thieves, because both through pride in Adam wished to seize from God his proper dignity; whence, on that passage of Philippians two: "He did not consider it robbery to be equal to God," the Gloss says: "Adam and Eve wished to seize Divinity and lost felicity." And on this account the sign of circumcision was given as a remedy, which was as it were a branding of thieves, so that through it we might be freed from the punishment of theft. But the Jewish people, like the thief on the left, still blasphemes, while the Gentile confesses and prays. — According to Augustine, however, by the two thieves is signified the whole human race fixed to the cross of tribulation and present misery; but one part on the right, as those who suffer for celestial glory, the other on the left, as those who suffer for temporal glory. And on this Ambrose says: "Execrable in deed is the impiety of the Jews, which fixes to the cross the Redeemer of all as though a thief; yet good in mystery is the thief, who laid an ambush for the devil so as to carry off his vessels." Therefore Job forty: "In his eyes, as with a hook, he will catch him"; on which account the Lord compares himself to a thief above in chapter twelve: "If the master of the house knew at what hour the thief was coming," etc.

Luke 23:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Second, as to the atrocity of the punishment, it is added: And after they came to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him. This place is called Calvary, as some say, because Adam lay there, and the skull of his head was there; and Ambrose seems to say this in his commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. But this is not said by Ambrose the Doctor, but by Ambrosius Adopertus. For, as Jerome says, Adam was buried in Hebron, as is stated in Joshua fourteen. It is therefore called the place of Calvary because the skulls of the condemned were kept there, those who were beheaded and hanged there. Now this place was outside the city, because this custom had grown up from ancient times, that criminals were killed outside the camp: Leviticus twenty-four, "Bring forth the blasphemer outside the camp, and let all the people stone him." This was done for the sake of a spectacle, but now it was for the sake of a mystery, to signify that the passion of Christ profited those who were outside Jerusalem; hence Hebrews, last chapter: "Jesus, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gate." Now this leading forth was prefigured in the leading forth of Abel, Genesis four; in the leading forth of Isaac, Genesis twenty-two; in the leading forth of Joseph, Genesis thirty-seven; in the going forth of David from Jerusalem, Second Kings fifteen. In this place of punishments, therefore, he was crucified with the most bitter punishment of the cross, according to that of Zechariah twelve: "They shall look upon me, whom they have pierced"; and Malachi three: "Shall a man pierce God, for you pierce me?" Then was fulfilled the figure of the serpent raised upon a pole, Numbers twenty-one; then was fulfilled that of Deuteronomy twenty-eight: "Your life shall be as it were hanging before you." Then was fulfilled the prophecy of David: "They have pierced my hands and my feet"; then was fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah eleven: "Let us put wood into his bread"; and that of Daniel nine: "And after sixty-two weeks Christ shall be slain"; then also the prophecy of Zechariah thirteen: "What are these wounds in the midst of your hands?"; then also that of Isaiah fifty-three: "He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter." Then were fulfilled all the things foretold concerning the passion of Christ; hence above, eighteen: "All things shall be accomplished which were written by the Prophets concerning the Son of Man." Now this was the punishment of robbers; therefore he adds: And the robbers, one on the right and the other on the left: which was done not only as a reproach but also, by God's disposing, for our instruction. For by the two robbers are understood the flesh and the world, which must be crucified, so that our spirit may be offered to the Lord on the cross, as Jesus was. The flesh must be crucified like the right robber, according to that passage in Galatians 5: "And they that are Christ's have crucified their flesh," etc.; the world like the left robber: Galatians last chapter: "The world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." And then the spirit in the middle is crucified with Christ, so that it may say with the Apostle in Galatians 2: "I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Now the cross of the flesh is the rigor of discipline, whose four arms are, namely, vigils, abstinence, roughness of clothing, and the discipline of scourging. The cross by which the world is crucified is poverty of spirit, whose four arms are, namely, contempt of glory, of wealth, of homeland, and of kindred. The cross of the spirit is the fervor of devotion, whose four arms are likewise, namely, hope and love, fear and sorrow: hope above, fear below, love on the right and sorrow on the left. And concerning these, Ephesians 3: "Rooted and grounded in charity, that you may be able to comprehend," etc.

Luke 23:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Third, with respect to the kindness of the Crucified One, he adds: But Jesus was saying: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do: in which is fulfilled that word of Isaiah fifty-three: "He bore the sins of many and interceded for the transgressors." Now this prayer was for a remedy, because even to his crucifiers his passion was profitable through his prayer. Hence in Acts two it is read that three thousand were converted in one day, and on another five thousand, Acts four, because, as it is said in Hebrews five, "he was heard in all things for his reverence." Hence also in this it appeared that he was a pious and merciful high priest, offering himself and interceding for the salvation of the people. And for this reason Luke alone, who treats especially of Christ's priesthood, describes and narrates this prayer; hence Bede: "Because Luke resolved to describe the priesthood of Christ, rightly does the Lord in his account intercede for his persecutors by the right of a priest." And this was prefigured in Numbers sixteen in Aaron, praying for the people rising up against him; of whom it is said in the same place that "Aaron, standing between the dead and the living, prayed for the people, and the plague ceased." Hence also Wisdom eighteen: "A blameless man hastened to pray for the people, bringing forth prayer as the shield of his ministry, and pleading entreaty through incense, he withstood the wrath." And for this reason Christ gave an example to all high priests and also to all Christians, who are "a royal priesthood," and especially to the perfect, to pray for their persecutors, according to that word of Matthew five: "Pray for those who persecute and calumniate you," as Christ did and the protomartyr Stephen; Acts seven: "Do not hold this sin against them. And when he had said this, he fell asleep." Fourth, with respect to the rapacity of the soldiers crucifying him, it is added: Dividing his garments, they cast lots; which is stated more expressly in John nineteen: "The soldiers, when they had crucified him, took his garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and the tunic"; and afterwards it is added concerning the seamless tunic, that they cast lots whose it should be. Now this was done, as John says, for the fulfillment of prophecy; for the Prophet David says in the Psalm: "They divided my garments among themselves, and upon my vesture they cast lots." And in this appeared the rapacity of the soldiers, who stripped Christ on account of their rapacity. And therefore the passion of Christ is signally signified by Noah, of whom it is said in Genesis nine that "drinking wine, he was made drunk and was naked in his tent." Now by this division of the garments into four parts is understood the spread of the Church into the four parts of the world; whence Bede: "The fourfold garment signifies the Church spread throughout the whole world, which consists of four parts. The tunic allotted by lot signifies the unity of all parts, which is held together by the bond of charity." By the casting of the lot is understood the conferral of grace, which is given not according to human distribution but rather according to divine disposition, because, Proverbs sixteen, "lots are cast into the lap, but they are governed by the Lord"; and Acts one: "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show whom you have chosen." "And they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias."

Luke 23:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Fifth, with respect to the malice of the rulers insulting him, he adds: And the people stood watching, and the rulers with them derided him, and thus was fulfilled that word of the Psalm: "All who saw me derided me, they spoke with their lips and shook their head"; and Job twelve: "The simplicity of the just man is laughed to scorn. A lamp despised in the thoughts of the rich," namely, of the chief priests. A figure of this preceded in Ham: Genesis nine: "When Ham, the father of Canaan, had seen the nakedness of his father exposed, he told his two brothers outside." So also these men, seeing the weakness of Christ, insulted him. Whence it is also added: Saying: He saved others, let him save himself, if this is the Christ, the elect of God. Wisdom two: "Let us test what shall come upon him. For if he is the true Son of God, he will take him up and deliver him from the hand of his adversaries." Nor did they say these things only, but rather they reviled him in manifold ways: whence Matthew twenty-seven: "Those passing by blasphemed him, shaking their heads and saying: Aha! You who destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days: save yourself." This the common people said, but the chief priests spoke still more maliciously: whence Matthew twenty-seven: "He saved others, he cannot save himself: if he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross," etc. Upon which Bernard says: "What of you, O Jew, who but yesterday were shaking your head before the cross? Who were assailing the sacred head of Christ with reproaches, saying: If he is the Christ, the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross? O venomous tongue, word of malice, wicked speech! This is plainly yours, but more so of him who is a liar from the beginning. For what consequence does there seem to be, that he should come down, if he is king, and not rather ascend? Rather, because he is the King of Israel, let him not abandon the title of his kingdom, let him not lay down the rod of his dominion, whose indeed government is upon his shoulder. Others, they say, he saved, he cannot save himself. Rather, if he had come down, he would have saved no one: for since no one can be saved unless he has persevered unto the end: how much less could he be the Savior?"

Luke 23:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Sixth, as regards the cruelty of those mocking the Crucified, he adds: But the soldiers also mocked him. The soldiers indeed mocked him before the crucifixion, according to what is said in John nineteen: "The soldiers, plaiting a crown of thorns, placed it upon his head and clothed him in a purple garment. And they came to him and gave him blows." From which it appears that according to Luke, Christ was mocked three times, namely in the house of the high priest, above in the twenty-second chapter, and in the presence of Herod, above in the same chapter, and now. In which it is given to understand that those three kinds of men whom Christ especially honored on earth dishonor Christ, namely the priests, the rulers, and the soldiers, so that the word of Isaiah one applies to them: "I have nourished and raised up children, but they have despised me." Whence that word of Isaiah fifty-seven applies to them: "Against whom have you made sport, and against whom have you opened wide your mouth and put out your tongue? Are you not wicked children?" The soldiers therefore despised Christ, and by despising him added affliction to the afflicted. And therefore he adds: Coming near and offering him vinegar. Now it is said in Matthew twenty-seven that "they gave him wine mixed with gall" to drink, Mark fifteen. And, as Augustine says, it is credible that the Jews cast gall and myrrh, which are most bitter, into the sour wine. And in this is fulfilled the prophecy of the prophet David: "They gave," he says, "gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." And Deuteronomy thirty-two, concerning the vine turned to bitterness: "Their grape is a grape of gall, and a most bitter cluster. The gall of dragons is their wine, and the incurable venom of asps." And concerning this it is said in John nineteen: "When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said: It is finished," and because, since he had suffered in hearing through insults, in sight through tears, in touch through blows, nothing remained except that he should suffer in taste and tongue, against that pleasure which Adam and Eve had in eating the fruit. And because temptation of this kind entered through hearing, therefore the insults against Christ are repeated so many times.

Luke 23:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Whence he adds: Saying: If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself. Whence also these soldiers are signified by the servants of the king of the Assyrians, who blasphemed the Lord, concerning whom Isaiah thirty-seven says: "Whom have you reproached, and whom have you blasphemed, and against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up the height of your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel. By the hand of your servants you have reproached the Lord." But the Lord did not yield to these blasphemers, so that he might give an example of patience and perseverance, according to that of James five: "Take, brothers, an example of long-suffering, labor, and patience. You have heard of the endurance of Job," etc. Whence Bernard says: "In vain, O malicious one, you have prepared your arrows in the quiver, and you heap up the sighs of the disciples with the reproaches of the Jews; for the former despair, the latter revile. But neither weapons shall harm Christ: he chose one time for strengthening the disciples and another for confuting the adversaries. Meanwhile he displays patience all the more, commends humility, fulfills obedience, perfects charity. For with these gems of the virtues the four arms of the cross are adorned: and charity is at the summit, obedience at the right, patience at the left, humility, the root of the virtues, at the base: the consummation of the Lord's passion has doubly enriched the trophy of the cross."

Luke 23:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

First therefore, as regards the inscription of the judge, he says: And there was also an inscription written over him in Greek and Latin and Hebrew letters: This is the King of the Jews. Pilate placed this inscription by way of a title, in which he intended to inscribe the cause of his passion; whence Mark chapter fifteen: "And the title of his charge was inscribed: King of the Jews"; in which is shown the cause why he was crucified according to truth, but the Jews did not accept it; whence John chapter nineteen: "Many of the Jews read this title, and the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate: Do not write: King of the Jews, but: That he said: I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered: What I have written, I have written." From which it appears that the title was written by divine direction; whence Bede says: "Therefore the title was placed over the one sacrificed, so that it might be clear to all who wish to read and believe that through the cross he did not lose but strengthened his dominion," according to that passage of Isaiah chapter nine: "The government was placed upon his shoulder"; and in the Psalm: "The Lord reigned" from the wood. Now the title is threefold, namely a certain one is memorial, which is written on the tombs of the dead; proclamatory, which is on the gates of cities; and triumphal, which contains the cause and order of the triumph and was customarily written on arches, and such was this title, concerning which Isaiah chapter nineteen says: "There shall be an altar of the Lord in the midst of Egypt, and a pillar of the Lord near its border." This was written in three languages because, although there were seventy-two, three nevertheless were preeminent; whence the Gloss says: "These three languages were preeminent above the others: Hebrew on account of the Jews glorying in the Law, Greek on account of the wise Greeks, Latin on account of the ruling Romans. Therefore, whether the Jews wish it or not, every kingdom of the world, all worldly wisdom, all the mysteries of the divine law testify that Jesus is the emperor of those who believe and confess." Or it was in three because these three languages intimate the mystery of the Trinity. It also seems to be a firm testimony of truth; whence Augustine says: "The title was approved in three languages as if by three witnesses, because in the mouth of two or three every word stands firm."

Luke 23:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Second, as regards the blasphemy of the thief, he adds: But one of the thieves who were hanging blasphemed him, saying: If you are the Christ, save yourself and us. But the contrary of this seems to be said in Mark 15, where it states: "And those who were crucified with him reviled him"; and similarly in Matthew 27. But this contradiction is resolved in two ways: in one way, that the words of Matthew and Mark are understood through synecdoche, so that what belongs to the part is attributed to the whole; or, that both began to blaspheme in the beginning, but only one persisted: and this one was blaspheming, because he was not truly seeking to be saved, but mockingly. And this was the worst thing, that a wretched and poor man would mock a poor and afflicted man; on account of which Proverbs 28: "A poor man who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain, in which famine is prepared." But the Lord does not respond to this one, so as to give an example of patience; whence 1 Peter 2: "When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten"; so that he might also teach by example that word of the Apostle in Romans 12: "Bless those who curse you; bless and do not curse." For this is virtuous; whence Chrysostom: "It is more wonderful that a man who has suffered insults is not moved than that a man who has been wounded and struck does not fall."

Luke 23:40-41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Third, as to the confession of the penitent, he adds: But the other answering, rebuked him, saying: Do you not even fear God, seeing that you are under the same condemnation! Which he says by detesting another's fault, which is the work of one truly penitent, according to that word in Ephesians 5: "Do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." — And not only another's, but indeed also his own; whence he adds: And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what is worthy of our deeds. And this is truly of the penitent, according to that word in Daniel 3: "You are just, O Lord, in all that you have done to us, and all your works are true"; "for we have sinned and acted wickedly, departing from you." — For he not only acknowledges his own fault, but also proclaims the innocence of Christ; whence he adds: But this man has done nothing evil, according to that word in 1 Peter 2: "Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth."

Luke 23:42 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

For he not only acknowledges the innocence of his life, but also the excellence of his power; and therefore he adds: And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom; in which he at once confesses the royal excellence of Christ and seeks the remission of his fault. So Nehemiah prayed; Nehemiah 5: "Remember me, O my God, for good"; Psalm: "Remember your mercies, O Lord," etc.; and again: "According to your mercy, remember me, for your goodness' sake, O Lord." It is apparent, therefore, that in this thief there was the truth of faith and a confession of truth, by reproving evil, approving good, and asserting what is true; there was also the supplication of prayer. Whence the Gloss: "Great grace shines forth in this thief: he has no member free from torment except his heart and tongue; all that he has free, he offers: he believes with his heart, he confesses with his mouth." And in this appears that which is said above in the seventeenth chapter: "Two shall be in the field: one shall be taken, and the other shall be left," according to the depth of the divine judgments.

Luke 23:43 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

The seventh day coincides with separation from the body. "This day thou shalt be with Me in paradise." And this day has no evening. Then follows the eighth day, which does not differ from the one before but is a repetition of the first, when the soul rejoins its body.

Luke 23:43 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Luke 23:43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Fourth, as regards the mercy of the Savior, he subjoins: And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to you: Today you shall be with me in paradise: in which Christ showed wondrous mercy as a most loving high priest, because he did not refuse the repentance of the thief, however late it was, and he granted more than the thief was asking. Whence Ambrose: "A most beautiful example of conversion to be desired, that pardon is so quickly granted to the thief, and the grace is more abundant than the petition. For the Lord God always bestows more than is asked"; for when he sought pardon, he obtained paradise. And note that he says: You shall be in paradise, not, I say, in the celestial paradise, into which no one ascended before Christ, but in the blessed vision of God. Whence Ambrose: "Life is to be with Christ, because where Christ is, there is the kingdom." And note here that paradise in Scripture is called first the garden of delight: Genesis 2: "And the Lord God had planted a paradise of delight from the beginning"; and the heavenly homeland: Apocalypse 2: "To the one who conquers I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God"; and the vision of the divine form: 2 Corinthians 12: "He was caught up into paradise and heard there secret words," etc. Allegorically, it is called the Church: Genesis 2: "A river went out from the place of delight to water paradise." It is called the Blessed Virgin: Song of Songs 4: "An enclosed garden, a sealed fountain, your shoots are a paradise"; Sacred Scripture: Ecclesiasticus 24: "I came forth like an aqueduct from the paradise of God." Tropologically, it is called grace: Ecclesiasticus 40: "Grace, like a paradise in blessings." It is called the God-fearing soul: Ecclesiasticus 40: "The fear of the Lord is like a paradise of blessing." It is also called the religious life: Genesis 13: "The whole region of the Jordan was watered like the paradise of the Lord." It is said here, therefore, for the blessed vision of Christ, because, as is said in John 17, "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

Luke 23:44-45 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

First, therefore, regarding the wondrous disturbance of the world, which preceded the death of Christ, he says: Now it was about the sixth hour. Now it is said in John chapter nineteen that "it was the sixth hour" when Jesus was crucified, and in Mark chapter fifteen that "it was the third hour"; and Luke resolves this controversy, showing that it was between the third and the sixth hour, but nearer to the sixth; whence the other Evangelists name the extremes, and Luke expresses the middle hour. In this sixth hour and sixth Age and sixth day of the week, Jesus was crucified for man, who was formed on the sixth day. After this sixth hour, with Christ hanging on the cross and drawing near to death, there came about a universal commotion of creation; whence he adds: And darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, and the sun was darkened. Now this darkness could not have occurred by nature, as happens in an eclipse, for a threefold reason: namely, because the moon was in its fourteenth day, and thus at its perfect distance from the sun; and because an eclipse does not entirely remove light from all parts of the earth; and because it cannot last for three hours; and therefore here there was a threefold miracle. And for this reason it is reported that blessed Dionysius, when he was in Egypt and saw that darkening, said: "Either the elements are being changed, or the God of nature suffers, and the elements suffer with him." Whence he himself also says in his Epistle against Apollophanes: "Tell me, what do you say about the eclipse that occurred at the saving cross? For we were both together stationed near the city of the sun, and we wondrously saw the moon passing beneath the sun; for it was not the time of conjunction; and from the ninth hour until evening we saw the moon supernaturally opposed to the sun diametrically"; and afterward: "We saw the obscuration itself beginning from the east and coming to the solar boundary, then receding." And because Christ was not only lord of nature, but also of legal observance: therefore he adds: And the veil of the temple was torn in the middle; nor was it only this veil, but also other creatures of his suffered with him: whence Matthew twenty-seven: "The rocks were split, and the tombs were opened"; and all this in testimony of the Divinity of Christ. And on this Jerome says: "The elements suffer with their Creator: the sun fled, because it could not behold the death of Christ; it labored together with the one laboring and withdrew the benefit of its light from those blaspheming: every creature suffers with Christ dying. For the sun is darkened, the earth is moved, the rocks are split, the veil of the temple is divided, the sepulchers are opened; only wretched man does not suffer with him, for whom alone Christ suffers." Moreover, it should be noted that in that darkening of the sun is understood the blinding of the Jews, and in the rending of the veil, the revelation of the Scriptures, which was made to the gentiles: whence it is said in John nine: "I have come for judgment into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." Or, it can be referred to the final time, concerning which in the Psalm: "You have appointed darkness, and it became night: in it all the beasts of the forest shall pass through."

Luke 23:46 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Second, as to the tearful expiration of Christ, he adds: And crying out with a loud voice, Jesus said: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. - But there seems to be a contradiction among the Evangelists. For in Matthew twenty-seven and Mark fifteen it is said that he cried out: "Eli, Eli"; and in John nineteen it is said that he cried out: "It is finished." But all of this is true, because he cried out three times. And first he said what Matthew says, then second, what John says, and third, what Luke says. - And the Evangelist Luke himself indicates this in what he adds: And saying these things, he expired. From which it is apparent that he expired while simultaneously crying out and praying, in order to show that he himself is our true high priest; on account of which, Hebrews five: "Who in the days of his flesh, offering prayers and supplications to him who was able to save him from death, with a strong cry and tears, was heard for his reverence." "And being consummated, he became to all who obey him the cause of eternal salvation, called by God a high priest according to the order of Melchisedech." Therefore he expired while simultaneously crying out and weeping, so that in the tears the true passion and humanity of Christ might be understood, and in the cry, his Divinity; because, since no one can cry out by nature unless he has sufficient blood in the heart and breath for respiration, it is impossible that anyone should by nature expire and cry out at the same time. And therefore he showed in the cry of death that he is omnipotent, and he demonstrated to be true what he said in John ten: "I have the power to lay down my life, and I have the power to take it up again." "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself"; and therefore Isaiah fifty-three: "If he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a long-lived seed, and the will of the Lord shall be directed in his hand."

Luke 23:47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Third, as to the faithful confession of the centurion, he adds: Now the centurion, seeing what had been done, glorified God, saying: Indeed this man was just. This faithful confession had its origin from the sight of the wonders that occurred in the commotion of the world and especially in the manner of dying; whence Matthew twenty-seven: "Now the centurion, and they that were with him, having seen the earthquake and the things that were done, were greatly afraid, saying: Indeed this was the Son of God." But in Mark fifteen it is said that "the centurion, seeing that crying out so he had expired, said: Indeed this man was the Son of God." Luke, however, comprehends both when he says: The centurion seeing what had been done. Whence in this centurion there appeared a readiness among the Gentiles for faith, and conversely among the Jews an obstinacy toward unbelief. On account of which Bede also says: "Seeing that he had the power of releasing his spirit, which none can have except the Creator of souls, the very one who had crucified him confesses him to be the Son of God in the very scandal of the Passion—him whom the Jews after his miracles refused to believe." But because the chief priests, though they had seen these things, did not glorify God, they were therefore blinded, according to that passage in Romans one: "Because when they had known God, they did not glorify him as God or give thanks, but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened."

Luke 23:48 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Fourth, as to the trembling compunction of the people, he adds: And all the multitude of those who had come together to that spectacle and saw the things that were done, striking their breasts, returned. The striking of the breast is a sign of penitence and compunction, as above in the eighteenth chapter concerning the publican, who "struck his breast, saying: God, be merciful to me a sinner." By this multitude is understood the Jewish people, who, although they saw the truth, as the centurion did, only struck their breasts but did not break forth into the voice of confession. Whence the Gloss says: "Let us see the difference between nation and nation: the Gentiles, as Christ died, glorify God with the voice of open confession; the Jews, only striking their breasts, return home in silence." Whence they returned home, because, although it seemed to them that what had been done against Christ was unjust, nevertheless they had little or no affection toward him.

Luke 23:49 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Nor is it surprising, because even all his acquaintances regarded him as a stranger, although they had not entirely lost their affection: therefore he adds: But all his acquaintances stood at a distance, and the women who had followed him from Galilee, seeing these things. And thus was fulfilled that word of the Psalm: "You have put far from me friend and neighbor, and my acquaintances from misery"; Job nineteenth: "He has put my brothers far from me, and my acquaintances have withdrawn from me as strangers." And the reason for this was that he was now most poor and despised and put to death; Proverbs nineteenth: "The brothers of a poor man hate him; moreover, his friends have withdrawn far from him." Nevertheless, the glorious Virgin and our Lady, holy Mary, was not put far away, neither in affection nor in position. For it is said in John nineteenth: "But there stood by the cross of Jesus his Mother and his Mother's sister"; and she was most close in affection: whence above in the second chapter: "A sword shall pierce your own soul." Whence him whom she bore with joy in his nativity, in his passion she brought forth with sorrows.

Luke 23:50 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

First, therefore, as to the dignity of the one burying, he says: And behold, a man. He points him out as worthy and suitable for burying Christ; on account of which he describes him by name, when he says: Named Joseph; so that, just as Joseph had nourished Christ, as is said in Matthew first: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary, your wife," etc.; and again in the second chapter: "Take the child and his Mother"; so another Joseph would bury him and place him like a grain of wheat in his granary, just as that Joseph who stored up grain for the peoples in Egypt, Genesis forty-first. He also describes him by dignity, saying: Who was a decurion: the Gloss: "A decurion is one who is of the order of the curia and administers the office of the curia." Or a decurion is so called because he presided over ten, just as a centurion was over a hundred, according to that passage in Exodus eighteenth: "Jethro said to Moses: Choose for yourself men in whom there is truth and who hate avarice, and appoint from them tribunes and centurions and commanders of fifty and commanders of ten, who shall judge the people." — And he is also described by his life, when he adds: A good and just man: good interiorly, and just exteriorly, according to that passage in Matthew twelfth: "A good man brings forth good things from the good treasure of his heart."

Luke 23:51 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

He describes him from his will, when he adds: This man had not consented to their counsel and deeds: whence that verse of the Psalm fittingly applies to him: "Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly," etc.; and Jerome says that some have said that that Psalm should be understood, by a certain appropriation, as referring to this Joseph. He describes him from his homeland, when he says: From Arimathaea, a city of Judea: this is the same as Ramatha, which was the city of Samuel, according to what is said in 1 Kings 1: "There was a certain man from Ramathaim Sophim"; whence the Gloss: "This is Ramatha, the city of Elkanah and Samuel." - He describes him from the devotion of faith, when he adds: Who himself also was waiting for the kingdom of God, as is said of Simeon above in chapter two, that "he was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him."

Luke 23:52 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

He describes him from his constancy, when he adds: This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus: and this indeed he did with great constancy, fearing neither the ferocity of the Gentiles nor the malice of the chief priests, since, in Mark 15, "he went in boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus." Whence Joseph, who had previously hidden himself, as is said in John 19, that "he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews," here now revealed himself. In this it is given to understand that disciples of the truth ought to manifest themselves in the moment of necessity: for it is said above in chapter nine: "Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he comes in his majesty and the Father's," etc.

Luke 23:53 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Secondly, as to the honor of the burial, he adds: And having taken him down, he wrapped him in a clean linen cloth: for this was most fitting for the most pure flesh of Christ. Whence it was instituted in the Church that corporals should be of simple linen cloth, clean, not dyed nor colored with various colors. For just as the altar bears the figure of the cross, and the chalice that of the tomb, and the paten that of the stone placed over it, so the corporal bears the figure of the burial cloth. Whence the verse: The altar represents the cross, the chalice the tomb, and the paten the stone; the white linen holds the office of the burial cloth. And therefore as a figure of this it is said in the last chapter of Proverbs: "She made fine linen and sold it, and delivered a girdle to the Canaanite." As a figure of this also it is said in Ezekiel 9 that "the man who was in the midst of six men was clothed in linen"; and this as a sign of innocence, by reason of which he is compared to the immaculate and most white lamb; on account of which his bride also ought to be clothed in innocential purity: Revelation 19: "The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has prepared herself. And it was granted to her that she should cover herself in fine linen, shining and white. For the fine linen is the justifications of the Saints." But because this purity existed most perfectly in Christ alone, who alone was "free among the dead," therefore he alone was buried in a new tomb; and for this reason he adds: And he placed him in a hewn tomb, in which no one had yet been laid. Bede: "The Lord alone is enclosed in the tomb, so that his burial and resurrection might be shown to be unlike the frailty of our nature." Whence Isaiah 11: "The nations shall beseech him, and his sepulchre shall be glorious." Then was verified that word of Lamentations 3: "My life has fallen into the pit, and they placed a stone over me." Moreover, he was placed in a hewn tomb because it was fitting that it should be so for Christ, who was "a stone cut from the mountain without hands," Daniel 2. This was also done so that no one could say that the tomb had been dug through; on account of which guards were also appointed as proof of the true resurrection. "Now the tomb, as the expositors say, was like a certain round house hewn in the rock, of such height that a man with outstretched hand could scarcely touch the top, having its entrance from the east. The place of the buried body was on the north side, hewn from the rock itself, having seven feet in length, rising three palms from the ground, entirely open on the southern side, from where the body was brought in." Now such an arrangement was most fittingly suited to Christ's sepulchre, whose rising and setting, sleep and resurrection, like the sun of justice, illuminated the whole world, according to that word of Ecclesiastes 1: "The sun rises and sets"; and after: "it goes round through the south and turns to the north"; so that thus by the power of the rising Christ "the spirit might come from the four winds and breathe upon the slain who are to be raised up." Whence it is said in Isaiah 43: "From the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north: Give up; and to the south: Do not hold back."

Luke 23:54 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Third, regarding the opportuneness of the time, he says: And it was the day of preparation, and the Sabbath was dawning. The day of preparation is Friday, which is therefore called parasceve, which is interpreted as "preparation," because on it were prepared the things that were necessary for the Sabbath; and thus it was the sixth day of the week, on which the Lord suffered at midday, but was buried in the evening, that is, on the eve of the Sabbath, because, just as the sixth day was fitting for Christ's death and crucifixion, so the seventh was fitting for his burial and Christ's rest. Whence Bede: "On the sixth day man was made, on the seventh God rested; on the sixth day, therefore, the Crucified One fulfills the mystery of restoration, resting in the tomb on the Sabbath he awaits the event of the resurrection." Therefore, as a figure of this, it is said in Genesis 2: "God rested on the seventh day from all the work which he had done. And he blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he had ceased from all his work." And on account of this, Saint Luke, specifying the time of Christ's burial, did not keep silent but expressly mentioned the Sabbath, both on account of the mystery of allegory, as has been touched upon, and on account of the mystery of tropology, because in this it is signified that man through six ages ought to be afflicted and crucified with Christ, so that in his death he may have a sabbath rest, according to that passage in Job 5: "In six tribulations he will deliver you, and in the seventh no evil shall touch you"; because, Revelation 14, "blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Henceforth now, says the Spirit, let them rest from their labors." And therefore he says pointedly that the Sabbath was dawning, when night was beginning, because that night was terminated in light: so also the death of the just is terminated in light and life, so that a man may say that word of the Psalm: "And night is my illumination in my delights: for darkness shall not be darkened before you, and night shall be illuminated as the day." He also said this for the certitude of the truth of the history, so that from this it may appear that parasceve is said not with respect to the first day of unleavened bread, as the Greeks say, but with respect to the Sabbath. For although the first day of unleavened bread was most solemn, it was nevertheless permitted to prepare food on it, but not on the Sabbath, and especially not on the great Sabbath, which was then the day of unleavened bread. Whence in John 19 it is said: "For that day of the Sabbath was a great day"; great indeed it was, because it was the Sabbath; greater, because it was the Paschal Sabbath; greatest, because then was accomplished the fulfillment of the figure through the truth. And then the Sabbath ceased when it was fulfilled, and the Lord's day succeeded, to be celebrated, because, now having the truth of the seventh day through Christ's rest, we await the resurrection and glorification of the eighth day, which has already been begun in our Head and will be consummated in us in the general resurrection. And it should be noted that the Sabbath according to the letter was called the seventh day: Exodus 20: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord." And this ceases: Hosea 2: "I will cause all her joy to cease, her solemnity, her new moon, and her Sabbath." According to allegory, it is called the rest of Christ in the tomb, through which the liberation of souls was accomplished: on account of which, above in the thirteenth chapter: "But this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, for eighteen years now, ought she not to be loosed from this bond on the day of the Sabbath?" It is called the rest of holy souls: Hebrews 4: "There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For he who has entered into his rest has himself also rested from his works." - According to tropology, however, it is called rest from the commission of sin: Jer…

Luke 23:55 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

Fourth, as regards the reverence of the women in following after, he adds: And the women who had come with him from Galilee followed after and saw the tomb. They did this from an affection of piety; whence the Gloss: "When the other acquaintances of Jesus departed after the body was laid down, only the women, who loved more ardently, attended to the office of burial"; and they did this so that they might mourn the dead one whom they had previously loved when he was about to die. And this is a matter of piety and devotion, according to that passage in Sirach 38: "My son, shed tears over the dead, and as one suffering grievously begin to weep, and according to judgment cover his body, and do not despise his burial." "And mourn according to his merit." Therefore these pious women not only looked upon the burial place, but also upon the buried body: and therefore he adds: And how his body was laid, namely, they saw, and this in order to bestow the service of kindness.

Luke 23:56 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23

On account of which he adds: And returning, they prepared spices and ointments: for this was permitted on the day of preparation, but on the Sabbath not at all. And therefore he adds: And on the Sabbath indeed they rested according to the commandment. For Leviticus twenty-three: "Six days you shall do work: the seventh day, because it is the rest of the Sabbath, shall be called holy." - But there seems to be a contradiction among the Evangelists: for in Mark sixteen it is said that "when the Sabbath had passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that coming they might anoint Jesus"; similarly also in Matthew twenty-eight. - But to this Jerome responds, saying: "The women, after the Lord was buried, returning home, as long as it was permitted, prepared spices and ointments, namely until sunset, and afterward they rested the whole Sabbath until the next sunset: and then, having recovered the permission to work, they again bought other spices, because those which they had prepared were not sufficient, and that whole night between the Sabbath and the Lord's day they prepared them, so that coming at dawn to the tomb they might anoint the body of Jesus."

Luke 24:1 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

After the Evangelist has treated of Christ's incarnation, preaching, and passion, here in the fourth place he treats of the resurrection. This part is divided into four. In the first of which is treated the revelation of the resurrection; in the second, the apparition of the risen one, at the passage: Behold, two of them; in the third, the certainty of the apparition, at the passage: And rising up that same hour; in the fourth, the proclamation of the certainty of the truth, at the passage: But you are witnesses of these things, etc. The occasion for Christ's resurrection to be revealed was the coming of the women to anoint Christ; concerning which two things are touched upon, namely the manner of coming to the Lord's sepulchre and the manner of finding the sepulchre empty. First, therefore, as to the manner of coming to the tomb, he says: Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, carrying the spices which they had prepared, namely the women. And it should be noted that the Sabbath refers to that entire sabbatical week, because for seven days there was to be a feast; Leviticus twenty-three: "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread," and "you shall offer sacrifice by fire to the Lord for seven days." And therefore that entire week was called the Sabbath, on whose first day, that is, the Lord's day, they came to the tomb at earliest morning, because it was fitting that on that day on which light was first made, Christ should rise from the darkness of death and hell to the light of life. And therefore this day is called one, because it is the principle of spiritual illuminations just as unity is the principle of numbers; and therefore Genesis one: "And there was evening and morning, one day." On this day, therefore, it was fitting for Christ to rise from the dead; and as to the day, all the Evangelists indeed agree, but as to the hour of the time they seem to disagree. For in Matthew twenty-eight it is said: "Now in the evening of the Sabbath, which dawns on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to see the sepulchre"; but in Mark sixteen it is said that "they came, the sun having now risen"; yet in John twenty it is said that "Mary Magdalene came early in the morning, while it was still dark, to the tomb." — But in this there is no controversy, because, although they express it in different words, nevertheless all intend to say that they came at the beginning of the day, namely when the sun was beginning to shine upon our hemisphere, and yet the darkness had not yet been completely dispelled. Nevertheless, concerning the hour of the resurrection, there is a controversy among the doctors, because some say that Christ rose at midnight, while others say at dawn; but God knows who speaks more truly. — But the controversy can be resolved, because the first group says that the resurrection occurred at midnight in reality, but became known at dawn: and "a thing is said to happen when it becomes known." It can, however, be said that just as, when the sun withdrew from our hemisphere, the Sun of Justice hid himself, so when the sun returned to our hemisphere, the Sun of Justice rose again, such that it was neither entirely in the day nor entirely at midnight, but in a middle way. And therefore both groups of doctors speak the truth in their own way.

Luke 24:2 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Second, as to the manner of finding the tomb, he adds: And they found the stone rolled away from the monument. Concerning the rolling away of this stone they were anxious, as is said in Mark 16: "And they said among themselves: Who shall roll away the stone for us from the door of the monument? And looking up, they saw the stone rolled away. For it was very great." Now this stone was not rolled away at the resurrection, but after it; whence Bede says: "He who came forth from the closed womb of the Virgin was able to come forth from the closed tomb." But the Angel of the Lord did this for the sake of manifestation; whence Matthew 28: "The Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and coming, rolled away the stone and sat upon it."

Luke 24:3 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Now he did this as the one manifesting the resurrection of Christ; whence he adds: And entering in, they found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And note that significantly, whereas he had previously called him Christ Jesus, he now calls him Lord Jesus, because now that word of Matthew 28 was verified in him: "All power is given to me in heaven and on earth," and that of Philippians 2: "For which cause God also exalted him and gave him a name which is above every name," etc. The body of Christ, therefore, is not found in the tomb, because it had already been raised; whence below in the same chapter it is said: "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" According to the spiritual understanding, however, by the tomb is understood Scripture, in which the Lord lies hidden as in a certain sepulcher: whence John 5: "Search the Scriptures, in which you think you have eternal life." — By the stone placed over it is understood the veil of Scripture, on account of which the Law was also written on tablets of stone; and concerning this veil, 2 Corinthians 3: "Until this present day, when Moses is read, a veil is placed over their heart." — This veil is removed through the angelic ministry, because the Angels also communicate illuminations to us, according to that passage in Revelation 22: "The Angel showed me a river of living water, bright as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb." It also occurs through the ministry of teachers, who ought to be angelic men, according to that passage in Malachi 2: "The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law from his mouth." And of this sort is to descend from heaven, as Paul, who "was caught up into paradise and heard secret words," 2 Corinthians 12; or, if one cannot ascend to the innermost things of God, let him at least advance on the ladder of Jacob, whose summit touches heaven, as good contemplatives do. In whose figure, Genesis 28: "Jacob saw a ladder standing upon the earth and its summit touching heaven, and the Angels of God ascending and descending by it." This ladder is Christ: whence John 1: "You shall see the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." He therefore who thus removes the veil consequently also repels carnality and death and ascends to contemplate the Divinity and immortality of Christ: 2 Corinthians 5: "Even if we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him so no longer"; not that he did not know the flesh of Christ, but not with a carnal affection or understanding: on account of which, John 6: "It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life."

Luke 24:4 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And it came to pass, while they were perplexed in mind. After describing the occasion for the revelation of the resurrection, he here describes the certainty of the revelation, which is gathered from two things, namely from the assertion of the witnesses and the confirmation of the testimonies. First, therefore, as regards the assertion of the witnesses, he says: And it came to pass, while they were terrified in mind about this, behold, two men stood beside them in shining garments. These two men were Angels in masculine form, who were in shining garments to signify the splendor of our solemnity; whence also Revelation 7: "Before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palms in their hands." Significantly, however, he says in shining garments, in which there was not only an intensity of brightness but also an excellence of light, so as to soothe the devout and terrify the impious; whence the last chapter of Matthew: "The Angel of the Lord descended from heaven." "And his appearance was like lightning, and his garment like snow." But then there appears a discrepancy among the Evangelists. For Luke says that there were two, but Matthew that there was one. Likewise, Matthew says that he was sitting upon the rolled-back stone, but Mark that he was sitting on the right. Likewise, John says that one was sitting at the head and the other at the feet; but Luke says that they stood beside them. But it should be understood that, according to the expositors, one appeared first and the other afterward; and at first indeed they were sitting, but afterward they rose and spoke with the women, and thus they are described by the Evangelists in different dispositions. All, however, agree in this, that they were terrible and testifying.

Luke 24:5 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And therefore Luke adds: But as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the earth, namely out of fear and reverence, as Daniel, Daniel 10: "When he spoke to me, I cast down my face to the earth and was silent"; and such persons are fit to hear the truth. — Whence he adds: They said to them: Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen; in which they at once reprove unbelief and affirm the truth. This word was of the highest joy; and thus it was fitting that, just as the Angel had announced with joy the nativity of Christ, above in chapter two: "I announce to you a great joy," so also the Angels should now announce with joy the resurrection. And that word of the Psalm was fulfilled: "I have slept and taken my rest, and I have risen, and I am still with you"; and again: "For you will not abandon my soul in hell." Therefore Acts 2: "This Jesus God raised up, having loosed the sorrows of hell, inasmuch as it was impossible that he should be held by it. For David says concerning him: I foresaw the Lord, etc., down to: You will not give your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life," etc.

Luke 24:6-7 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Second, as to the proof of certain testimonies, he adds: Remember how he spoke to you, when he was still in Galilee, saying: That the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise again. For Matthew 20: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they shall condemn him to death and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and the third day he shall rise again." Similarly Mark 8: "The Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the chief priests and be killed, and after three days rise again." Similarly above, chapter 18: "All things shall be accomplished which were written by the Prophets concerning the Son of man. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles," etc., and afterward he adds: "And the third day he shall rise again." Now he had foretold these things to them in order to establish faith; whence John 14: "And now I have told you before it comes to pass, that when it shall come to pass, you may believe."

Luke 24:8 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And this was the way leading to faith, and therefore he adds: And they remembered his words; whence John 2: "What sign do you show us, since you do these things? Jesus answered and said to them: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." "But he was speaking of the temple of his body. When therefore he had risen from the dead, they remembered that he said this" concerning the temple of his body. Similarly also Matthew 12: "An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth." Whence the Lord foretold his passion and resurrection, that he might at once move them to sorrow and draw them to love; on account of which Ecclesiasticus 11: "In the day of good things, be not unmindful of evil things, and in the day of evil things, be not unmindful of good things."

Luke 24:9 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And having returned from the tomb etc. After having described the occasion and certitude of the revelation, here he describes its manifestation; concerning which the Evangelist introduces two things, namely the testimony of the women and the inspection of the disciples. First therefore, as regards the testimony of the women, he adds: And departing from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now the women reported these things because they had been so charged by the Angels: whence in the last chapter of Matthew: "Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee." For this was done by divine ordinance, so that the announcement of the resurrection should come to men through women: just as death and sin took their beginning from a woman, so now through women the announcement and knowledge of life and immortality would return to men, so that through this an example of humility might also be given. Whence Chrysostom: "The Evangelist does not deprive the woman of praise, nor does he think it shameful to have learned from a woman." The reproach of women is also taken away, and especially of sinful women.

Luke 24:10 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And therefore especially among the others that sinful woman is named, when he adds: Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary of James and the others who were with them, who were telling these things to the Apostles. Now Mary Magdalene is notably placed before the others, because she loved more fervently than the others and, as is handed down, came first to the tomb and persevered longer than the rest. And therefore John, the most loving of the Lord, notably names that lover of the Lord; John 20: "Mary stood at the tomb outside, weeping"; and it follows there that she saw the Angels and that at last she saw the Lord. John therefore speaks only of Mary Magdalene. Matthew speaks of two Marys: in the last chapter of Matthew: "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the sepulchre." But Mark speaks of three Marys: in the last chapter of Mark: "Mary Magdalene and Mary of James and Salome bought spices." But Luke, the best narrator, speaks of these and of others. And thus it appears that among the Evangelists there is absolutely no controversy, but each is principally directed to his own intention. All the Evangelists, however, mention the Magdalene, and especially the friend of God, John, because he appeared to her first, as is said in Mark 16: "Jesus rising early on the first day of the week appeared first to Mary Magdalene." And this for a fourfold reason: first, because she loved more ardently: above in chapter seven: "Her many sins are forgiven her, because she loved much." Second, to show that he had come for sinners: Matthew 9: "For I came not to call the just, but sinners," to repentance. Third, to crush human pride: on account of which, Matthew 21: "Publicans and harlots shall go before you into the kingdom of God." Fourth, to give confidence; on account of which, Romans 5: "Where sin abounded, grace did more abound," etc.

Luke 24:11 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Secondly, as regards the sight of the disciples, it is added: And these words seemed before them as idle talk, and they did not believe them. Hence they did not believe what they heard, both because what was being said was wondrous, and because this was being brought about by divine dispensation, so that a greater and more certain assertion of the truth might be obtained. Hence Gregory: "That the disciples were slow to believe was not so much their incredulity as our future firmness, so to speak. For while they doubted, the resurrection was demonstrated by many proofs, which, when we recognize them as we read, what else happens but that we are strengthened by their doubt?"

Luke 24:12 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Therefore the doubt arising from hearing incited them to seek certainty through sight; on account of which he adds: But Peter rising up ran to the tomb, and stooping down he saw the linen cloths laid by themselves, and he went away, wondering within himself at what had happened. Now Luke narrates these things specifically about Peter, to show that he had not abandoned his fervor. But John narrates this more expressly in chapter twenty, that not Peter alone went, but also John; and that "they ran together," and that "John ran ahead more quickly than Peter, but did not enter the tomb first." Luke therefore narrates that Peter, stooping down, saw the linen cloths laid; but John pursues more expressly that he not only saw these things, but also "entered the tomb," and yet, as is said here, he went away wondering within himself, not yet believing, because it is said in John chapter twenty: "For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead." And it should be noted that by the linen cloths laid are understood the mysteries of the humanity, which have been set forth for us to believe and understand through the mystery of the resurrection; hence Revelation chapter five: "Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, to open the book and to loose its seven seals." But because not all things can be comprehended by reason of the united Divinity, therefore it is said that he went away wondering. For it is said in the Psalm: "Your knowledge is become wonderful beyond me." And therefore, in designation of this, it is said in John chapter twenty that "the cloth which had been upon the head of Jesus, he saw not laid with the linen cloths, but separately rolled up in one place." There the Gloss: "The incomprehensible mysteries of the Divinity are removed from the knowledge of our infirmity; for in what is rolled up neither beginning nor end is seen, so the loftiness of the Divinity neither began to be nor ceased to be." And therefore Peter went away wondering; the Psalm: "Wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it exceedingly."

Luke 24:13 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And behold, two of them were going etc. After having described the revelation of the resurrection, the Evangelist here describes the apparition of the one rising, in which indeed he appeared to two disciples as suitable witnesses. Now the progression and order of this apparition consisted in this, that Christ associated himself with the disciples in a threefold manner: first indeed on the journey; second in conversation; and third in the meal. In the first two he was hidden, but in the third he appeared. Concerning the association on the journey, three things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the harmonious journey of the disciples, the mutual conversation of the travelers, and the gracious companionship of Christ. First, therefore, with regard to the concordant journey of the disciples, he says: And behold, two of them were going that same day to a town which was at a distance of sixty stadia from Jerusalem, called Emmaus. In this, Luke expresses the number of those going, namely that they were two, so as to give us to understand their concord. For Ecclesiastes 4: "It is better for two to be together than one." "If one falls, he will be supported by the other," etc.; and therefore above in chapter ten it is said that "he sent them two by two before his face," etc. He also expresses the distance, for the understanding of the mystery. For, as Bede says, "a stadium is the eighth part of a mile, and therefore sixty stadia contain seven thousand five hundred paces," that is, seven and a half miles: in which it is given to understand that "they were certain about the death and burial of the Lord, but doubtful and uncertain about the eighth day of the resurrection." But Ecclesiastes 11 says: "Give portions to seven and also to eight," because not only the death and burial of Christ, but also his resurrection, is established as something to be believed wholly and perfectly. — He also expresses the destination of the journey, saying that it was called Emmaus, and this on account of its significance. For that town was first named Emmaus, as is said here, and afterwards Nicopolis: whence Jerome in the Epitaph of Paula: "Nicopolis, which was formerly called Emmaus, where the Lord was recognized in the breaking of bread; she consecrated the house of Cleophas into a church." For, as is read in the Tripartite History, "the Romans after the destruction of Jerusalem called this city Nicopolis from the occasion of their victory." Now Emmaus is interpreted as hastening mother, and Nicopolis as city of victory; and this is the Church Militant, which hastens toward the fatherland and overcomes the opposing powers. Between this and Jerusalem, that is, the Church Triumphant, one must understand the distance of the seven ages and the eighth already begun in our Head, Christ, so that from the one we may arrive at the other, by hastening toward the good and triumphing against evil; Hebrews 4: "Let us hasten to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall into that same example of unbelief."

Luke 24:14 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Secondly, regarding the mutual conversation of the travelers, he adds: And they were speaking to one another about all these things that had happened, that is, about those things which had been done concerning Christ. And this conversation was praiseworthy, because it was about good subject matter, namely about Christ: therefore First Peter 4: "If anyone speaks, let it be as the words of God"; and Ephesians 4: "Let no evil speech proceed from your mouth, but that which is good, so that it may give edification to those who hear." They were speaking about this because they were especially thinking about it, and they were thinking about it because they loved: for Matthew 12: "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Nor did they only love, but they also doubted: and therefore they also conferred with one another, because, as is said in Proverbs 27, "iron is sharpened by iron, and a man sharpens the face of his friend"; and therefore Sirach 9: "Deal with the wise and prudent"; and after: "And let your thought be upon the sense of God, and let all your discourse be upon the precepts of the Most High." To such words the Spirit of the Lord is present as the origin of all good words; Matthew 10: "It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of my Father, who speaks in you"; but on the contrary, he flees from indiscreet words and thoughts: Wisdom 1: "The holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful and will withdraw himself from thoughts that are without understanding," etc.

Luke 24:15 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Thirdly, regarding Christ's gracious companionship, he adds: And it came to pass, while they talked and questioned among themselves, that Jesus himself, drawing near, went with them. They are said to talk in their speaking, because they were speaking words that did not have certainty, so that they could truly say that word of Sirach 43: "We shall say much, and yet shall want words; but the consummation of our words is he himself." And because they were in harmony in their going and were speaking about the good, therefore they were made worthy of the companionship of Christ. For Matthew 18: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them"; and this was because they loved Christ. For John 14: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him," etc.

Luke 24:16 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And because these men did not yet perfectly believe, therefore they ought to have his presence but not have knowledge of him: therefore he adds: But their eyes were held, that they should not know him; and this indeed was fitting. Whence Gregory: "Just as they inwardly loved and yet doubted, so he both outwardly is present and yet does not show who he is. Therefore to those speaking about him he presents his presence, but from those doubting about him he withdraws the appearance of recognition." And therefore in the last chapter of Mark it is said that he appeared to them "in another form." And it should be noted that he says that their eyes were held; from which it is clearly apparent that Christ did not in truth change the likeness or figure of his body, but only according to appearance: for in the eyes of the disciples he appeared otherwise. Hence the Gloss says on Genesis nineteen that the disciples were struck with aorasia, by which indeed it happens that a thing is in some way seen and in some way concealed; just as Augustine also says was done to the Sodomites. Nor was there a change in the glorious body, nor was there deception on the part of the Lord, but by dispensation he veiled their eyes, both because it was thus fitting, and they were not ready to receive the open presence of Christ; and also because they were to be led more orderly to perceiving knowledge of him; and also because they would not have had so familiar a conversation on the road.

Luke 24:17 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And he said to them etc. After the described association of Christ with the disciples on the journey, here he describes the association in conversation, concerning the description of which four things are introduced, namely the inquiry into the matter about which the discourse; the narration of the matter about which the sorrow; the explanation of the matter about which the hesitation of mind; the declaration of Scripture through which the certitude of faith. First, therefore, as regards the inquiry into the matter about which the discourse, he says: And he said to them: What are these words that you exchange with one another as you walk, and you are sad? For this is the ordered manner of entering into conversation, that one should listen and inquire, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus thirty-two: "Listen in silence and at the same time inquiring."

Luke 24:18 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And because it is not for just anyone to thrust himself into secret conversations, according to that instruction: "Do not approach a council before you are called"; it is shown from the response that this kind of discourse is public and common. And therefore he adds: And one of them, whose name was Cleophas, answering, said to him: Are you alone a stranger in Jerusalem, and have you not known the things that have been done there in these days? It should be noted, however, that although there were two, Luke introduces only one as speaking, as the more eminent: for the younger ought to yield to the elder, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus thirty-two: "Speak, elder: for it befits you to speak the first word with careful knowledge." Although there were also two, he names only one, because, as some commentators say, Luke was the other of these disciples, and it is the custom of the writer of Sacred Scripture not to make much mention of his own name: just as John too does not name himself but says: "The disciple whom Jesus loved." Ambrose, however, says that it was not Luke. Here therefore Cleophas shows that the matter of his speech was known to all, not only to citizens but also to strangers: and therefore he marvels that he, as a stranger, should be ignorant of it. Therefore he calls him a stranger, either because he appeared in a foreign guise, or because like a stranger he was ignorant of what was most well known. But rightly he appeared to them as a stranger, because he was a stranger in the world: John 1: "He was in the world, and the world knew him not"; and therefore Jeremiah 14: "Why will you be as a sojourner in the land and as a wayfarer turning aside to lodge?" He was a stranger in the eyes of the disciples who did not believe; Job 19: "I was as a stranger in their eyes"; and therefore the Psalm: "I am become a stranger to my brethren and a pilgrim to the sons of my mother." A stranger also in his members: Hebrews 11: "Confessing that they are strangers and pilgrims upon the earth"; and Second Corinthians 5: "While we are in this body, we are pilgrims away from the Lord." And therefore First Peter 2: "I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims." And for this reason he does not deny himself to be a stranger, but shows it and even inquires of them.

Luke 24:19 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Whence he adds: And he said to them: What things? Now Christ asks, not because he is in doubt, but in order to give us a model in the investigation of truth and to take occasion to instruct; whence the Psalm: "His eyelids examine the children of men"; and Matthew 16: "He asked his disciples: Whom do men say," etc. Second, as to the narration of the matter concerning which there was grief, he adds: And they said: Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a man, a prophet, mighty in work and word before God and all the people; and through this he was praiseworthy in life, praiseworthy in doctrine: Ecclesiastes 8: "Whatever he wills, he shall do, and his word is full of power"; and this is great praise, according to that passage of Matthew 5: "Whoever shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Praiseworthy also before God and the world, according to that passage above in chapter 2: "Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and grace before God and men"; and this is great praise, according to that passage of Matthew 5: "So let your light shine before men." But that this may come about, Gregory says, "let the work be done in public, yet let the intention remain hidden, so that by good works we may show an example to our neighbors, and yet through the intention by which we seek to please God alone, we may always desire secrecy."

Luke 24:20 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Because therefore Christ Jesus had been perfect in every way, there was therefore great matter for grief concerning his condemnation by the rulers of the Jews; and therefore he adds: And how our chief priests and rulers handed him over to the sentence of death and crucified him. For this was true, although the deed outwardly appeared to have been done by the hand of Pilate; hence John 18: "Your nation and your chief priests have handed you over to me"; and thus there was cause to grieve over so great a sacrilege and so great a crime of the rulers; there was also cause to grieve over the common loss.

Luke 24:21 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And therefore he adds: But we were hoping that he would redeem Israel; as if to say that through this the expectation of redemption has now been emptied. This is the word of men falling from their hope and cast down into the greatest sadness; and this is an evil sadness, because, as is said in 2 Corinthians 7, "the sorrow of the world works death." Into this they had fallen by losing confidence; therefore against this, 1 Thessalonians 4: "Do not grieve as the rest who have no hope"; and Ecclesiasticus 14: "Blessed is he who is not stung by the sorrow of sin," "and has not fallen from his hope." Third, as to the explanation of the cause on account of which there was hesitation of mind, he adds: And now besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done; in which grief and affliction were not taken away, but terror and doubt were added.

Luke 24:22 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Hence he adds: But certain women also from among us terrified us, who were at the tomb before dawn; because, as Jerome says, "at the report heard about him they were terrified rather than gladdened." The reason for this terror was the recollection of a wondrous thing and one also incredible to them.

Luke 24:23 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Whence he adds: And not having found his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of Angels, who say that he is alive. Therefore they were terrified, because it was horrible to them to have lost the body of the Lord, and incredible that he had risen: whence Bede says: "Rightly are they said to have terrified them, to whom they added more sorrow about the body not being found than they brought joy about the announced resurrection, by which we might be restored." And because someone could say that the words of the women ought not to have moved them, therefore he shows that they were not frivolous through the testimony and inspection of the men.

Luke 24:24 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Whence he adds: And certain of our company went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said: but him they did not find. These were Peter and John, as is said in John 20. Luke therefore, who previously expressed this singularly about Peter, now expresses it about the two, so that their testimony for believing that the body had been taken away might be firm. And therefore from this they marveled and were terrified, but were not gladdened, because they did not believe the resurrection, but hesitated about it, and hesitating they conferred together, because they did not yet savor heavenly things, but earthly ones, according to that passage of Isaiah 29: "Your voice shall be as that of a python from the earth, and your speech shall whisper from the ground." Against which, Colossians 3: "If you have risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God: savor the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth." But the brutish man, who does not rise through the spirit, neither believes nor grasps these things; and therefore above in the same chapter it is said that "those words seemed to them as ravings," because, 1 Corinthians 2, "the sensual man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God: for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is spiritually examined."

Luke 24:25 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Fourth, as regards the declaration of Scripture, through which there is certitude of faith, he subjoins: And he said to them: O foolish and slow of heart to believe in all the things that the Prophets have spoken! He calls them foolish who despair on account of the Passion; whence they had descended from spirit to flesh, and this is a great foolishness, according to that passage of Galatians 3: "Have you become so foolish that, having begun with the spirit, you would now be completed by the flesh?" And he calls them slow of heart, because they did not wish to believe in Christ's glory and resurrection; whence Mark 16: "He upbraided their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen that he had risen from the dead."

Luke 24:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

And this is the reasoning Christ used, during forty days appearing to them. "Did not the Christ have to suffer these things before entering into His glory?"

Luke 24:26 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And therefore, to establish faith in the passion and resurrection, he adds: Was it not necessary for Christ to suffer these things and to rise again, and so to enter into his glory? It was necessary, I say, that is, it was fitting and most appropriate, first on account of the remedy for sins: Romans 5: "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life"; therefore Romans 4: "He died for our offenses and rose again for our justification." — Second, on account of the example of virtues: whence 1 Peter 2: "Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps"; and therefore Philippians 2: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus"; and afterwards: "He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death"; and therefore Acts 14: "Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God." For if it was necessary for Christ to suffer in order to enter into his own glory, how much more is it necessary for us also to suffer, that we may enter into a glory not our own? And therefore, when his cousins asked to sit at his right hand, he answered, Matthew 20: "Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?" There Jerome says: "He knew who could imitate his passion; but he said this so that, with him asking and them answering, we might all hear that no one can reign with the Lord unless he has imitated his passion." It was also fitting on account of the fulfillment of all the Scriptures: whence above, chapter 18: "All things that are written concerning the Son of Man through the Prophets shall be accomplished." For just as the ark was completed in a cubit, so all the words of Scripture are summed up in this Word, namely, born, having suffered, buried, and raised: on account of which, Isaiah 10: "The Lord of hosts shall bring about a consummation and an abbreviation in the midst of all the earth."

Luke 24:27 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And therefore, for the explanation of this, the Evangelist adds: And beginning from Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things that were about him. For all the Scriptures and prophecies principally have reference to Christ. In designation of whom it is said in Exodus twenty-five that "the two Cherubim looked upon each other with faces turned toward the mercy seat," that is, the two testaments toward Christ. Adam bore the figure of him, from whose side Eve was formed, Genesis two: of him also holy Abel, slain by his brother, Genesis four: of him also bore the figure "Noah stripped naked in his tent," Genesis nine: of him, Isaac offered by his father, Genesis twenty-two: of him, the stone and ladder of Jacob, Genesis twenty-eight; of him, Joseph sold by his brothers, Genesis thirty-seven; of him, Moses with his rod leading the people of the Lord out of Egypt, Exodus fourteen; of him, Joshua leading the people into the land of promise, Joshua four: of him, the fleece of Gideon, and Gideon himself, Judges six: of him also Samson, Judges sixteen: of him also Samuel, asked from the Lord, 1 Kings one: of him also holy David, cast out by Absalom, 2 Kings fifteen: of him, Hezekiah, in whose time the sun went backward, 4 Kings twenty: of him, Josiah, whose death was lamentable to the Jews, 2 Paralipomenon thirty-five: of him, the whole company of the preceding Saints, and especially Job, Tobias, Elijah, Elisha, and Jeremiah: of him, all the sacrifices, and especially the paschal lamb: of him also the tabernacle was a figure, with the things contained in it, and especially the altar, the ark, the lampstand, and the table: of him the temple was a figure: of him the kingdom and the priesthood were a figure. Whence Augustine, Against Faustus: "Who can, I do not say in one brief response, but in any vast volume whatsoever, commemorate all the proclamations of the Prophets concerning our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Since all things that are contained in those books were either said about him or on account of him. But for the exercise of the seeker and the delight of the finder, many things there through allegories and enigmas are partly intimated by words alone, and partly also narrated as deeds." Therefore what is said here, that he interpreted in all the Scriptures, is not to be referred to all things that are said about Christ, but to those in which the passion and resurrection of Christ are more evidently and more manifestly prophesied.

Luke 24:28 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And they drew near to the town etc. After having described the association on the journey and the conversation, here thirdly he describes the association at the meal, where in the breaking of bread Christ appeared. Concerning the description of which, three things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the affectionate reception of Christ, the clear recognition of him, and the dispensative concealment. First, therefore, as regards the affectionate reception of Christ, he says: And as they drew near to the village where they were going, he made as though he would go farther. The Lord did this, however, not by dissembling, but rather by giving occasion, so that they might invite him more affectionately and merit more greatly. A similar instance is found in Mark 6: "About the fourth watch of the night he came to them and would have passed by them"; upon which Augustine says: "How did the Apostles understand that the Lord wished to pass by them, unless because he was going in a different direction?" So also now it is to be understood that he made as though, that is, he was preparing to proceed farther, which he would indeed have done had they not affectionately received him in hospitality; therefore he did this to arouse their devotion, not out of dissimulation.

Luke 24:29 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

For which reason he adds: And they constrained him, saying: Stay with us, because it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in with them. Gregory says: "From this example it is gathered that strangers are not only to be invited to hospitality, but even to be drawn in"; and therefore in Hebrews, the last chapter: "Do not forget hospitality. For by this some have pleased God, having received Angels as guests." Upon which Chrysostom says: "Therefore great is the reward of Abraham, because not knowing them to be Angels, he received them in hospitality; for if he had known, it would have been nothing remarkable." So also the reward was great for these men, because if they had recognized Christ and received him in hospitality, it would not have been great; but they drew him to themselves so forcefully as a stranger and, as it were, a sojourner: Job 31: "The stranger did not remain outside"; and Isaiah 58: "Break your bread for the hungry."

Luke 24:30 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Second, as regards the open recognition of Christ, he adds: And it came to pass, while he sat at table with them, he took bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. For this was the custom of Christ, that he always offered a blessing before eating. For, in First Timothy 4: "God created foods to be received with thanksgiving by the faithful"; and afterward: "Nothing is to be rejected which is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer." And therefore it is customary, especially for clerics and religious, to offer a blessing before food. And hence it is that Gregory narrates in the Dialogues about a woman who ate lettuce with greediness, that the devil possessed her. Because, therefore, this stranger conformed himself to Christ in the blessing and also in the manner of breaking bread, they were led by the hand to the recognition of him.

Luke 24:31 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And therefore he adds: And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. Now the Lord opened their eyes rather in the breaking of bread than in the exposition of the Scriptures, to show that not "hearers of the law, but doers are just before God," according to that passage in Romans 2: "Not hearers of the law, but doers shall be justified"; whence Gregory says: "Truth is better understood by doing than by hearing." Whence the Psalm says: "From your commandments I have understood," and again the Psalm says: "I have understood above all who teach me, because I have sought your commandments." Or he did this on account of the mystery. Whence Bede says: "He did this so that all might understand that they do not know Christ unless they become partakers of his body, that is, of the Church, whose unity the Apostle commends in the Sacrament of bread, saying: We being many are one bread, one body," 1 Corinthians 10. And as a figure of this, it is said in 1 Kings 14 that Jonathan ate, "and his eyes were enlightened"; because no one arrives at the true contemplation and beholding of Christ unless he sits at his table, according to that passage in Revelation 2: "To him who conquers I will give the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a name written, which no one knows except he who receives it." And for this reason it is said of wisdom in Proverbs 9 that "she set forth her table, mixed wine, and sent her servants to call to the citadel and to the walls of the city." Third, as regards the dispensative concealment, there is added: And he vanished from their eyes. Bede says: "The appearance of weakness is withdrawn from carnal eyes, so that the glory of the resurrection might begin to appear to their minds." For in the withdrawal of his bodily presence he stirs up a desire for spiritual presence, which arises from the enkindling of desire through the remembrance of Christ.

Luke 24:32 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And therefore there is added: And they said to one another: Was not our heart burning within us, while he spoke on the way and opened to us the Scriptures? For the word of Christ had set their hearts aflame, because the word of God has a fiery nature on account of the enkindling of love. Whence Jeremiah 23: "Are not my words as a fire and as a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" And the Psalm says: "Your word is exceedingly refined by fire, and your servant has loved it." Now the Word does this by sending the Holy Spirit; whence Bede says: "From the heard discourse, the heart, previously cold with the torpor of unbelief and fear, was kindled by the fire of the Holy Spirit, so that it now burns with heavenly desire. For by as many precepts as a man is instructed, by so many torches, as it were, is he set aflame." And note that the word of the Lord enkindles to the ardor of zeal: on account of which, Proverbs 30: "Every word of God is a fiery shield to all who hope in him"; Jeremiah 20: "The word of the Lord became in my heart like a raging fire shut up in my bones." And concerning this ardor it is said in Zephaniah, the last chapter: "In the fire of my zeal all the earth shall be devoured." — It also enkindles to the ardor of desire: above in chapter 12: "I came to cast fire upon the earth, and what do I will but that it be kindled," etc. Whence also the supreme order of Angels, into which the illumination of the divine utterances first descends, is called Seraphim, that is, burning; therefore the Psalm: "The sharp arrows of the mighty one with desolating coals." This ardor is accompanied by a liquefaction of the sweetest affections; therefore Ecclesiasticus 18: "Shall not the dew cool the heat?" and Song of Songs 5: "My soul melted when my beloved spoke"; and the Psalm: "He shall send forth his word and shall melt them."

Luke 24:33 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And rising up the same hour, etc. After the described revelation of the resurrection and the apparition of the one rising, in this part he describes the certainty of the apparition. Now this part is divided into three. In the first of which is set forth the plurality of apparitions as testimony; in the second, the probability of the apparition as argument, at the place: Why are you troubled? in the third, the infallibility of the apparition as a foundation of faith, at the place: And he said to them: These are the words. Concerning the indication of the plurality of apparitions, two things are introduced, namely the narration of the special apparition of Christ and the common one, in which he appeared to all the disciples. First therefore, as regards the special apparition, he says: And rising up the same hour, they returned to Jerusalem, to announce what they had seen, according to that passage of 4 Kings 7: "This is a day of good tidings; if we remain silent and do not wish to announce it until morning, we shall be charged with wickedness." From which the fervor of the disciples is apparent, because, since it was already night, as was evident from the preceding, neither the length of the journey nor the darkness of the night held them back; for so great was their love for the apostolic college which was in Jerusalem.

Luke 24:34 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And therefore he adds: And they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, saying: The Lord has truly risen and has appeared to Simon; and through this they found them rejoicing, so that it can truly be said: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" For all were partakers of the joy from the apparition which was made to Peter. Now the Lord appeared to Peter before the others; whence the Gloss: "He appeared first of all men to Peter; which, even though the Evangelist does not say when or where it happened, nevertheless, because it happened, he does not pass over in silence."

Luke 24:35 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And because the joys of the just ought to be shared in common, he therefore adds: And they narrated the things that had been done on the way, and how they recognized him in the breaking of bread. From this therefore it appears that Christ appeared several times on the same day, namely five times: because first to Mary Magdalene, John 20; second to the women, the last chapter of Matthew; third to Peter, as it says here; fourth to the disciples going to Emmaus, above in the same chapter; fifth to the disciples gathered without Thomas, John 20 and here. And therefore in commemoration of this the priest turns five times to the people in the Mass; but the third turning is in silence, which signifies the appearance made to Peter, which is not narrated as to when and how it occurred. He also appeared before the ascension five other times: first, namely after eight days, with Thomas present, John 20; seventh he appeared at the Sea of Tiberias, the last chapter of John; he appeared eighth on the mountain of Galilee, the last chapter of Matthew: "The eleven disciples went into Galilee"; he appeared ninth in the upper room in Jerusalem, the last chapter of Mark; he appeared tenth on the Mount of Olivet, when he ascended, Acts 1: "And eating together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem." And thus at intervals he appeared ten times in forty days, after which, ten days having passed, he sent the Holy Spirit. Of these ten appearances, John records four, Luke three, Matthew two, and Mark one, so that from his manner of narrating the mystery and sufficiency of the appearances might be apparent.

Luke 24:36 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Second, as to the common appearance, he adds: But while they were speaking these things, Jesus stood in their midst and said to them: Peace be to you. He stood in their midst, because he himself is the mediator: 1 Timothy 2: "The mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus"; and therefore John 1: "But there stood one in your midst, whom you do not know." And therefore as a figure of this, Apocalypse 1: "I saw in the midst of seven golden candlesticks one like the Son of Man," etc. But he said: Peace be to you, because he himself is the maker of peace: Ephesians 2: "He himself is our peace, who made both one"; and Colossians 1: "Making peace through his blood, whether the things on earth or the things in heaven." He is also the giver of peace: John 14: "Peace I leave to you, my peace I give to you." He is also the announcer of peace: Ephesians 2: "Coming, he announced peace to those who were near and to you who were far off." And therefore the Gospel of Christ is the Gospel of peace: Isaiah 52: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who announces and preaches peace," etc. And because men are accustomed to be astonished by an unusual appearance, therefore he adds: I am he, do not be afraid. Truly he says: I am he, because it belongs to him to say: "I am who I am," as is said in Exodus 3. It belongs to him to drive away fear, and therefore he says: Do not be afraid. He was strengthening them because he appeared among them in an unusual manner, and such a mode of appearing frightens and disturbs.

Luke 24:37 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

For which reason he adds: But troubled and frightened, they supposed that they were seeing a spirit. They were frightened because they had seen him dead on the cross, and because they feared lest "Satan should transform himself into an angel of light," and because he had come with the doors shut: whence John 20: "When therefore it was late on that day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them: Peace be to you." But in this there seems to be a contradiction between Luke and John, because in John 20 it is said: "The disciples were glad, having seen the Lord." But there is no contradiction, because first they were frightened, but afterward, when his hands and side had been shown, they were glad. — There also seems to be a contradiction because John says that "Thomas was not with them when Jesus came"; but Luke says that "they found the eleven gathered together." — But to this Augustine responds that Thomas was with the disciples when those two returned, but afterward went out before the Lord appeared while they were speaking.

Luke 24:38 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And he said to them: Why are you troubled, etc. After having described the plurality of the appearances, he here describes the probability of the appearance and its probable certitude. Now body and spirit can be proved and discerned with certain discernment in two ways, namely through the use of touch and taste, and according to this Christ proves in two ways that he has a true body according to this twofold sense. First, as regards the testimony of touch, he says: And he said to them: Why are you troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? He says arise pointedly, because good thoughts descend from above; James 1: "Every best gift is from above, coming down," etc.; but evil thoughts arise from below: Apocalypse 9: "The smoke of the pit arose, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit."

Luke 24:39 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And because these thoughts were coming from within, therefore he outwardly sets forth the means by which they may be purged, when he adds: See my hands and feet, that it is I myself, as if to say: if you think you are being deceived by sight, at least become certain through the sense of touch. And therefore he adds: Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see me having. This he did as a proof of his resurrection: whence it is said in 1 John 1: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of life, and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and declare unto you the eternal life." This he also did as a proof of the resurrection and an example of our glorification: whence the Gloss says: "While he shows bones and flesh to be touched, he openly signifies the state of his or our resurrection: in which our body will be both subtle through the effect of spiritual power, and palpable through the truth of nature." But these two seem to be simultaneously contrary and not to establish faith, but rather to impede it. Whence the Gloss: "After the resurrection the Lord showed two contraries in his body: both a palpable body of the same nature, to instruct unto faith, and an incorruptible one of another glory, to invite to the reward." — But Gregory resolves these, saying: "The Lord showed two wondrous things and, according to human reason, contrary to each other"; but according to truth they are not contrary, because the glorified body both through its power can alter the sense and resist or move another body, and through its virtue can penetrate bodily perception. Whence this was not contrary, although it may seem so.

Luke 24:40 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Likewise, for greater certainty he not only presented a palpable body, but also showed the scars of his body; whence he adds: And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet, namely with the scars. Now the Lord preserved these, as Bede says, for four reasons: "First, to establish faith in the resurrection. Second, so that when supplicating the Father on our behalf, he may always show what kind of death he endured. Third, so that to those redeemed by his death, he may intimate how mercifully they were aided, by setting forth the signs of that same death. Finally, so that at the judgment he may declare how justly the impious are condemned"; Revelation 1: "Every eye shall see him, and they also who pierced him." — A further reason could also be assigned, namely, to inflame our cold affection, as Ambrose says. And sixth, as a sign of victory: whence Bede: "He preserved the scars not out of inability, but so that he might bear about the triumph of his perpetual victory." Seventh, as a preeminent sign of love: whence Isaiah 49: "In my hands I have inscribed you"; and Song of Songs 8: "Set me as a seal upon your heart."

Luke 24:41 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Second, as to the testimony of taste, he adds: But while they yet did not believe and wondered for joy, he said: Have you here anything to eat? — so that if sight does not move them, hearing does not move them, touch does not move them, at least taste might move them. And this is an express sign of resurrection. Hence the Lord, after he raised the girl, "commanded that something be given her to eat," above, chapter eight. And John, chapter twelve, says of Lazarus that "he was one of those reclining at table." And thus Christ proved by the use of the senses that he had truly risen, so that the disciples might be made certain, and we through them.

Luke 24:42-43 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And therefore he adds: And they offered him a piece of broiled fish and a honeycomb. Now Christ ate this not in secret but publicly, as a proof of his resurrection. Hence he adds: And when he had eaten before them, taking the remains, he gave to them. Now the Lord ate not from need but from power. Hence, just as "the ray of the sun absorbs water in one way and the earth in another, because the former does so by power, the latter by need," so Christ before the resurrection took food from necessity, but after the resurrection consumed it by his own power. And therefore Augustine, in the thirteenth book of The City of God, says: "Not the power but the want of eating and drinking shall be taken away from glorified bodies." Therefore the truth of the eating was a true proof of the resurrection. And it should be noted that by the broiled fish is understood the affliction of the humanity assumed. Hence Bede says: "The broiled fish is the Mediator himself who suffered, caught in the waters of the human race, broiled at the time of the passion." As a figure of this, Tobias, chapter six, says of the fish that was caught: "If you place a piece of its heart upon coals, its smoke drives out every kind of demon." This is the fish in whose mouth is found the price of our redemption, as is intimated in Matthew, chapter seventeen. By the honeycomb, however, is understood Christ as God and as glorified. Hence Bede says: "Christ is a honeycomb to us in the resurrection. The honeycomb, honey in wax, is the Divinity in the humanity." The Psalm says: "Taste and see that the Lord is sweet." And therefore in the canticle of Deuteronomy: "That he might suck honey from the rock and oil from the hardest stone." — This therefore is the food in which Christ delights, because all his delight is in himself. The remains of this food spiritual men eat, of whom Wisdom, chapter sixteen, says: "You provided them bread prepared from heaven without labor." The Psalm says: "With your remains you shall prepare their countenance."

Luke 24:44 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

The second key is the understanding of the Incarnate Word, through whom all things are restored. "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled that are written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. Then He opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures." Who is speaking? The Word of God, of whom John writes: "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us," where He displayed two natures within a single Person. Hence: "Christ is the consummation of the Law unto justice for everyone who believes." The two Cherubim are the two Testaments whose gaze is directed upon Christ. He opened their minds when they understood the Scriptures, meaning that the book of Scriptures is understood precisely through that key, the Incarnate Word, the one eminently concerned with the works of restoration. For unless you understand the order and origin of restoration, you cannot understand Scriptures.

Luke 24:44 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And he said to them: These are the words etc. After having described the plurality of appearances as testimony, and their probability as argument, he here describes their infallibility as the firmament of faith. The firmness of the appearance is through two things, namely through the testimony of Scripture and through the light of understanding, from which our mind is rendered certain concerning those things which pertain to our restoration. And accordingly the Evangelist describes the appearance of Christ as doubly confirmed, namely through the authentic testimony of Scripture and through the infused light of understanding. First therefore, as regards the authentic testimony of Scripture, he says: And he said to them: These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that is, through familiar conversation in the flesh, according to that passage in Baruch chapter three: "After these things he was seen upon earth and conversed with men." He foretold these things for the assertion of faith, according to John chapter fourteen: "And now I have told you before it comes to pass, that when it shall come to pass, you may believe." These words therefore he himself foretold as a true Prophet, nor did he alone foretell them, but he also foretold that the whole of Scripture would foretell this. And therefore he adds: That all things must be fulfilled which are written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me. In these three, Christ comprehends the entire Old Testament, which is as it were tripartite, for the firmness of testimony, because "in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word stands," as is said in Deuteronomy chapter nineteen; and for the representation of the most blessed Trinity. For the Law, on account of the authority of commanding, is appropriated to the Father; Prophecy, on account of the perspicacity of understanding, to the Son; the Psalms, on account of the sweetness of praying, to the Holy Spirit. All bear testimony to Christ as the most excellent ruler, teacher, and priest. And therefore all things have been fulfilled in him, according to that passage in Matthew chapter five: "One jot or one tittle shall not pass from the Law until all things be accomplished." Because therefore in the Law all these things which happened concerning Christ regarding his passion and resurrection are foretold, it is established that this is irrefragably true and certain, as confirmed through firm and authentic testimony. Whence the Gloss: "He removes all ambiguity: he was seen, he was touched, he ate; and lest he should seem to have deceived the human senses in any way, he turns to the Scriptures, so that even if he might seem to have been able to do what he wished by magical arts, as the pagans say, at least they might see that he could not have prophesied before he was born." Christ therefore, by fulfilling what the Scriptures say, proved that they were true; and by showing that those things which had been done concerning him were foretold in the Scriptures, he establishes irrefragably that they are true and to be believed.

Luke 24:45 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

This is what incarnate Wisdom says: "I dwelt in the highest heavens," in the creation; "My throne is in a pillar of cloud," in the incarnation; "I have walked in the waves of the sea," in the passion; "I have penetrated into the bottom of the deep," in the penetration of Scriptures, for after He arose, "He opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures." By faith in the cross, Peter walked on the sea.

Luke 24:45 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Luke 24:45 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Second, with regard to the infused light of understanding, he adds: Then he opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures: he, I say, opened, because he alone holds the key, according to that passage in Isaiah twenty-two: "I will give him the key of David, and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open." And therefore the Prophet asks in the Psalm: "Open my eyes, and I will consider the wondrous things of your law"; because, in Daniel two, "he reveals deep things and knows what is established in darkness, and the light is with him." Now these deep mysteries in Scripture no one understands except through Christ crucified and raised up and proclaimed to the nations through the Holy Spirit, because the Scriptures are about him and for his sake, and therefore they are explained by him. Whence in the Apocalypse it is said that the Lion raised up and the Lamb slain opened the book: Apocalypse five: "The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, who is worthy to open the book and to loose its seven seals. And I saw in the midst of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as though slain." "And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, and they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy, O Lord, to open the book and to loose its seals." And thus it is clear that he himself expounds the doctrine of the books of the Old and New Testament, that is, of the elders and the living creatures brought together.

Luke 24:46-47 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Now these mysteries of the Scriptures are principally referred to Christ with regard to the head and with regard to the body. With regard to the head, he adds: And he said to them: Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day: this is most frequently stated in the Scriptures, and especially in the Law through figures, in the Prophets through words, and in the Psalms most abundantly, because they treat of the resurrection and the passion. — With regard to the body, however, he adds: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. This, I say, is written in the Law and in the promise to Abraham: Genesis twenty-two: "In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed"; and Genesis forty-nine: "He shall be the expectation of the nations." This is written in the Psalm: "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance"; and again: "Praise the Lord, all you nations." This in the Prophets: whence Isaiah forty-nine: "It is too small a thing that you should be my servant to restore the remnants of Israel; I have given you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation," etc. And this preaching was foretold to begin from Jerusalem: Isaiah two: "Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem"; and Isaiah sixty-two: "For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteous one goes forth as brightness"; and the Psalm: "The Lord shall send forth the rod of your power out of Zion."

Luke 24:48 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

But you are witnesses of these things. After the described revelation of the resurrection and the appearance of the risen one and the certainty of the appearance, here fourthly is treated the divulgation of the already known truth. And because this divulgation was made through the Holy Spirit given to the Apostles after the ascension of Christ, therefore for describing this more fully four things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the commissioning of the office of preaching, the promise of spiritual charisms, the ascension of Christ, and the devotion of the disciples. First therefore, as regards the office of preaching, he says: But you are witnesses of these things: you, I say, "who have seen and heard," so that you can say that word of John 3: "What we know we speak, and what we have seen we testify"; and John 19: "He who saw it has borne witness." Now to assert the truth of the faith is nothing other than to bear witness: whence Acts 23: "As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome." And therefore Isaiah 43: "Truly, you are my witnesses, says the Lord." These are the Apostles, to whom Acts 1: "You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the ends of the earth"; and therefore Peter in Acts 10: "We are witnesses of all things that he did in the region of the Jews." "God raised him on the third day and granted him to be made manifest not to all the people, but to witnesses pre-ordained by God, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To him all the Prophets bear witness." Now the Apostles were "witnesses beyond all exception," both on account of their courage and holiness and on account of their truthfulness and on account of their steadfastness, because they suffered for this truth even unto death, so that they could truly be called witnesses, that is, martyrs. And therefore Hebrews 12: "Having so great a cloud of witnesses set over us, let us run with patience the race set before us, looking to the author and finisher of faith, Jesus," etc.

Luke 24:49 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Secondly, as to the promise of spiritual charisms, he adds: And I send the promise of my Father upon you. He says pointedly I send, because even then he gave the Holy Spirit in a breath, as is said in John 20: "As the Father has sent me, so I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed upon them, saying: Receive the Holy Spirit: whose sins you shall forgive," etc. This is the gift promised in the Scriptures: Ezekiel 36: "I will give you a new spirit," etc. This spirit Christ himself also frequently promised in the Gospel; John 7: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink"; and John 15: "When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth." This, therefore, he then gave in hidden manner, but afterward he was to give it abundantly and openly, namely after ten days, in which they were to prepare themselves for that fullness. Therefore he adds: But you, stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. Gregory: "Unless the anointing of the Holy Spirit teaches inwardly, the preacher labors outwardly in vain"; whence Matthew 10: "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." Although the Lord could have given the Holy Spirit immediately, he nevertheless wished to delay, both for the sake of inflaming the desire of the disciples to ask, according to that saying in Matthew 7: "Ask, and it shall be given to you." "For if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the good Spirit to those who ask him?" And for the sake of preserving the mystery, because on the fiftieth day after the passion—which is the number of remission and is composed of seven weeks of days with one unity added—to designate the sevenfold gift of the Holy Spirit. And lastly for the sake of example; whence the Gloss: "Although he could have strengthened them suddenly if he wished, he delayed so as to give an example to those who followed, lest the imperfect presume to preach before the proper time." Therefore Ecclesiastes 3: "A time to be silent and a time to speak"; and Sirach 18: "Before you speak, learn." Whence Jerome: "We learn that after much silence we may from disciples be made teachers. For it is the discipline of the Pythagoreans to be silent for five years, and after being instructed, to speak."

Luke 24:50 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Thirdly, as to the ascension of Christ, he adds: And he led them out to Bethany. This was not then, but on the fortieth day. This Bethany, moreover, is on the Mount of Olivet: whence above in chapter 19: "When he had drawn near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olivet." Now Bethany is interpreted as house of obedience, because through obedience one is placed on the mount that is Christ and is blessed by Christ and ascends into heaven. And therefore he adds: And lifting up his hands, he blessed them; in which it is intimated that he is to be blessed by Christ who obeys him and does the works that he does for the sake of God. For, Hebrews six, "the earth, which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it and brings forth suitable vegetation, receives blessing from the Lord."

Luke 24:51 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

But with such ones Christ ascended, and therefore he adds: And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he departed from them and was carried up into heaven. Then was fulfilled that word of the Psalm: "God is ascended with jubilation, and the Lord with the sound of the trumpet"; and again: "Ascending on high, he led captivity captive, he gave gifts to men." — His ascension was prefigured in the ascent of the little cloud, of which Third Kings eighteen: "Behold, a little cloud like a man's footprint was ascending," etc.; in the ascension of Elijah: Fourth Kings two: "Elijah ascended by a whirlwind into heaven"; and by the rising of the sun; whence Habakkuk three, according to another translation: "The sun was lifted up, and the moon stood still in its order." And through this, that Christ ascended to the heavenly places, the Church of Christ was ordered in its degrees; whence Ephesians four: "He who descended is the same who also ascended, that he might fill all things." But Christ was carried up in one way, Elijah in another. For Elijah was carried by the power of Angels and of a fiery chariot, but Christ by his own power, with both spiritual and corporeal creation serving him. And therefore in the Psalm: "He who ascends above the setting of the sun, the Lord is his name"; and Isaiah sixty-three: "Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this one beautiful in his robe, striding in the greatness of his strength?"

Luke 24:52 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

Fourth, as regards the devotion of the disciples, he adds: And they, worshipping him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy. With joy they return on account of the victory of the Lord, whom they saw had penetrated the heights of the heavens; whence the Gloss: "Because they see that their Lord, after the triumph of the resurrection, has penetrated the heavens, they rejoice." For Christ triumphed fully, according to that word in Colossians two: "Despoiling principalities and powers, he led them forth confidently, openly triumphing over them in himself." And about this they rejoiced, according to that word in Isaiah nine: "They shall rejoice before you, as those who rejoice at the harvest, as victors exult when the spoil is captured, when they divide the plunder."

Luke 24:53 — Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24

And because spiritual joy disposes us to spiritual acts, namely to praising and praying, he therefore adds: And they were always in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. They were in the temple to pray and to await the Holy Spirit, according to that passage above in the twelfth chapter: "And you yourselves like men waiting for their lord, when he shall return," etc. And because it belongs to spiritual men not only to wait, but also to exult and in exulting to praise: and this is the final act and that of the fatherland, because it has no end, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Forever and ever they shall praise you"; therefore the most blessed Luke most fittingly placed his ending here. He therefore makes his ending with the ascension of Christ, so that he might perfectly and completely describe that circuit which Christ made, concerning which the Psalm says: "His going forth is from the summit of heaven, and his circuit even to the summit thereof"; and John 16: "I came forth from the Father and came into the world; again I leave the world and go to the Father." He makes his ending in the temple, so that, just as he began from the legal priesthood, namely that of Zechariah, so he might conclude with the spiritual priesthood. Whence the Gloss: "Luke, who undertook to set forth the priesthood of Christ more fully than the others, began his Gospel from the ministry of the temple through the priesthood of Zechariah, and beautifully completed it in the devotion of the temple." He also made his ending in the praise of God, in which there is an end without end. Whence Augustine in the last book of the City of God: "The Lord's day, which was consecrated as an eternal eighth day by the resurrection of Christ, prefigures the eternal rest not only of the spirit but also of the body, where we shall be at leisure and we shall see and we shall love and we shall praise: which shall be in the end without end. For what other end is ours but to arrive at the kingdom which has no end?" To which may Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lead us, through the intercession of his most sweet Mother and the most blessed Evangelist Luke; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns as God forever and ever. Amen.

Malachi 1:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

If a man is impious, he is in need of punishment; if he is foolish, he is in need of understanding. Wherefore it is also said in Malachi: "The son honoreth the father and the servant his master: if then I be a father, where is my honor? And if I be a master, where is my fear?"

Malachi 3:6 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 6

That the divine being is immutable is shown thus: First, by authority, Malachi 3: I am God and I do not change: the Gloss says: "He says this lest it be thought that there is any mutability in God." It must be said that without doubt the divine being is altogether immutable: and this indeed must be maintained, although we cannot perfectly understand it; whence all agree in maintaining it. For all who rightly understand, not only the Saints but also the philosophers, maintain that the divine being is immutable, because it is most simple, immense, and eternal. For inasmuch as it is most simple, it is immutable according to form: inasmuch as it is immense, immutable according to position: inasmuch as it is eternal, immutable according to time: but all motion and change, according to Augustine and Hugh, is reduced to one of the aforesaid differences: and therefore the divine being can in no way admit of change or motion.

Malachi 4:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

In the allegorical sense, the sun signifies Christ. "The sun rises and the sun goes down." It rises in the nativity, it goes down in death; it orbits through noon in the ascension; it is inclined to the north in the judgment. Malachias refers to the first: "But for you who fear My name, there will arise the Sun of Justice with its healing rays."

Matthew 3:13 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Matthew 3:15 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

The perfect ordering according to the rule of abundant justice is that not only should the inferior subject himself to the superior, and the equal to the equal, but also that the superior should voluntarily subject himself to the inferior, according to what is said in Matthew 3: Thus it becometh us to fulfill all justice: where the Gloss says: "Thus, by subjecting himself to a servant and an inferior, it becometh him to fulfill all justice, that is, humility, which is all justice. And this humility has three degrees: the first is to subject oneself to a greater, and this is called sufficient; the second is to subject oneself to an equal, and this is called abundant; the third is to be subject to a lesser, in which consists all justice. This Christ fulfilled." Since therefore a man is then perfectly subjected to another man when he voluntarily binds himself to obey the commands of another in those things that are according to God, especially of one who was not greater than he, but either equal, or sometimes even lesser — for every man surpasses another in some respect, at least according to the soul — hence it is that toward the perfection of the justice that orders according to the way of the dignative order, which runs according to the law of grace, whereby the greater regards himself as the lesser, obedience which is rendered by one man to another both concurs and contributes most greatly.

Matthew 3:15 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

Whence on that passage in Matthew three: Thus it becomes us to fulfill; the Gloss: "that is, all humility, which is all justice." And Gregory in a Homily: "In the other things which you do, hold humility as the root of good work. For even if any works be present, they are nevertheless nothing unless they are seasoned with humility: for a wondrous action accompanied by pride does not elevate but weighs down. For he who gathers virtues without humility carries dust into the wind: and whence he is perceived to see, thence he is the more grievously blinded." The same: "Whatever you build grows entirely toward ruin, if before the mass of the structure you do not lay the foundations of humility."

Matthew 3:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

The order of regulars corresponds to the Angels, whose function is humility, for the members of regular orders must be more subject to their superior than a pupil to his master or a subject to his prelate, "for so it becomes us to fulfill all justice."

Matthew 3:16 — Breviloquium

Matthew 4:10 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

Matthew 4:17 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Matthew 5:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

These vices are expelled by the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and seven virtues are introduced, which Christ taught when he set forth the foundations of salvation on the mountain. The first virtue is voluntary poverty, concerning which it says in the Gospel: "Blessed are the poor in spirit." The gift of fear destroys pride and brings about the good of poverty.

Matthew 5:3 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Ambrose, in the book On Duties: "Riches furnish no assistance toward the blessed life; which the Lord clearly demonstrated in the Gospel, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, etc. And so it has been most clearly proven that poverty, hunger, and pain, which are thought to be evils, are not only no hindrance to the blessed life, but are even an assistance to it. Thus, therefore, the external goods of the body are not only no assistance to the blessed life, but are even a detriment." But it is perfect to relinquish those things which are no assistance but a detriment: therefore, etc.

Matthew 5:3 — Breviloquium, Part 5

The gift of grace flowing liberally and abundantly ought to ramify even unto the habits of perfections, which, since they approximate the end, are rightly called by the name of beatitudes. For the integrity of perfection there is necessarily required a perfect withdrawal from evil, a perfect advance in good, and a perfect standing in the best. Since evil proceeds either from the swelling of pride, or from the rancor of malice, or from the languor of concupiscence, therefore for perfectly distancing oneself from this threefold kind of evil, three beatitudes are necessary, namely poverty of spirit, distancing from the evil of swelling; meekness, distancing from the evil of rancor; and mourning, distancing from the evil of lust and concupiscential languor. For the perfection of religious life, there is necessarily required the renunciation of private good, the acceptance of fraternal good, and the desire for eternal good; the first is accomplished through poverty of spirit. Fear causes one to withdraw from evil and from the occasion of evil; and because the root of all evils is cupidity, therefore fear disposes to poverty of spirit, in which humility is joined together with poverty, so that the perfect man may thus be distanced from the fount of all fault, namely from pride and cupidity. And hence it is that poverty of spirit is the foundation of all evangelical perfection. Whence he who wishes to come to the summit of perfection must first lay this foundation, according to that passage in Matthew nineteen: If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you have: behold, perfect poverty, which retains absolutely nothing for itself: and follow me: behold, humility, which causes a man, by denying himself, to take up his cross and follow Christ, who is the most principal foundation of all perfection. Fear therefore disposes to poverty of spirit.

Matthew 5:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The third virtue is mourning, concerning which it says in the Gospel: "Blessed are those who mourn." The gift of knowledge destroys wrath and introduces the gift of mourning — nothing is so contrary to wrath as serenity of mind.

Matthew 5:4 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Since evil proceeds either from the swelling of pride, or from the rancor of malice, or from the languor of concupiscence, therefore for perfectly distancing oneself from this threefold kind of evil, three beatitudes are necessary, namely poverty of spirit, distancing from the evil of swelling; meekness, distancing from the evil of rancor; and mourning, distancing from the evil of lust and concupiscential languor. For the perfection of religious life, there is necessarily required the renunciation of private good, the acceptance of fraternal good, and the desire for eternal good; the third is accomplished through the bitterness of mourning. Knowledge disposes to mourning, since through knowledge we recognize that we have been banished from the state of blessedness into this valley of misery and tears.

Matthew 5:5 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Since evil proceeds either from the swelling of pride, or from the rancor of malice, or from the languor of concupiscence, therefore for perfectly distancing oneself from this threefold kind of evil, three beatitudes are necessary, namely poverty of spirit, distancing from the evil of swelling; meekness, distancing from the evil of rancor; and mourning, distancing from the evil of lust and concupiscential languor. For the perfection of religious life, there is necessarily required the renunciation of private good, the acceptance of fraternal good, and the desire for eternal good; the second is accomplished through meekness of affection. Piety disposes to meekness: for he who is piously disposed toward another neither provokes him nor is provoked by him.

Matthew 5:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The second virtue is meekness or gentleness, concerning which it says in the Gospel: "Blessed are the meek." The gift of piety destroys envy and introduces meekness or gentleness of spirit.

Matthew 5:6 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Since indeed a perfect advance in good is considered according to divine imitation, and all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth: hence it is that there is a twofold beatitude according to these two ways, namely hunger or zeal for justice, and the affection of mercy. For the perfection of prelacy, two things are necessarily required, namely zeal for justice and the affection of mercy: for mercy and truth preserve the king. According to these two, the governance of prelacy in the Church militant ought to be ordered. Fortitude disposes to hunger for justice; for he who is strong holds so eagerly to justice that he would rather be separated from bodily life than from justice.

Matthew 5:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The fourth virtue is hunger for justice, concerning which it says in the Gospel: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice." The gift of fortitude destroys sloth and introduces hunger for justice.

Matthew 5:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The fifth virtue is mercy, concerning which it says in the Gospel: "Blessed are the merciful." The gift of counsel destroys avarice and introduces mercy.

Matthew 5:7 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Since indeed a perfect advance in good is considered according to divine imitation, and all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth: hence it is that there is a twofold beatitude according to these two ways, namely hunger or zeal for justice, and the affection of mercy. For the perfection of prelacy, two things are necessarily required, namely zeal for justice and the affection of mercy: for mercy and truth preserve the king. According to these two, the governance of prelacy in the Church militant ought to be ordered. Counsel disposes to mercy: for there is nothing God counsels more in Scripture than to show mercy, which he esteems above all holocausts.

Matthew 5:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The sixth virtue is purity of heart, concerning which it says in the Gospel: "Blessed are the pure of heart." The gift of understanding destroys gluttony and introduces purity of heart.

Matthew 5:8 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Matthew 5:9 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Since standing in the best is either through limpid cognition or through tranquil affection, hence it is that there are two final beatitudes, namely purity of heart for seeing God and peace of mind for perfectly enjoying him. For the perfection of interior sanctity, there is necessarily required purity of conscience and tranquility of the whole soul through the peace of God surpassing all human understanding. Wisdom disposes to peace: for wisdom joins us to the highest truth and good, in which is the end and tranquility of our whole rational appetite. When this peace has been attained, there necessarily follows a superabundant spiritual delight, which is contained in the twelvefold number of the fruits to intimate the superabundance of delights. For twelve is an abundant number, in which is intimated the exuberance of spiritual charisms, in which the holy soul takes delight and rejoices; and then the person is fit for contemplation and for the gazes and embraces of the Bridegroom and the Bride.

Matthew 5:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The seventh virtue is peace, concerning which it says in the Gospel: "Blessed are the peacemakers." The gift of wisdom destroys lust and introduces peace. It is impossible for the soul to tame its flesh unless it is filled with the gift of wisdom.

Matthew 5:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

In the same manner, there are four acts of justice: to do good, to flee evil, to beware of prosperity, and to withstand misfortune. The fourth is referred to in Proverbs: "The just man, like a lion, feels sure of himself." There is also this: "Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice' sake." And again: "Strive for justice for thy soul, and even unto death fight for justice."

Matthew 5:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Issachar is understood to mean "sturdy ass," and actually an ass bears a cross on its shoulders. It must always be ready to bear this cross. But the [true] interpretation is not "sturdy ass," but "reward," and it represents a man armed with love of the reward. Hence, in Matthew: "Blessed are you when men reproach you, and persecute you, and, speaking falsely, say all manner of evil against you, for My sake. Rejoice and exult, because your reward is great in heaven." And he said that once he was speaking with Brother Aegidius, who told him that we are not wise compared to Francis, the wise merchant: but we waste our substance, for we should pay a denarius to a man for him to strike us. And we do not even have the wisdom of the ass that bears its burden, and the more blows and insults it receives, the better it carries its load. And so, the obedient man should not let go any [potential] good. On the contrary, he should do better on account of any kind of tribulation, otherwise he is not a contemplative.

Matthew 5:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Matthew 5:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

Through these three, God the Trinity is pious, true, and holy, offering a pious law of nature, a true law of Scripture, and a holy law of grace. And through these three, He governs the world, and according to these three, He imprints laws in the rational mind. For all moral law is dependent upon these three. But in the law of nature, they are less distinct and explicit, in the law of Scripture, they are more explicit but less perfect, while in the law of grace they are more explicit and perfect. Hence, the Lord says: I have not come to destroy but to fulfill the law.

Matthew 5:18 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Matthew 5:19 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Nothing in Sacred Scripture is to be despised as useless, nothing rejected as false, nothing repudiated as wicked, because the Holy Spirit, its most perfect author, could say nothing false, nothing superfluous, nothing deficient. And therefore heaven and earth shall pass away, but the words of sacred Scripture shall not pass away, without being fulfilled. Until indeed heaven and earth pass away, not one iota or one tittle shall pass from the Law, until all things be accomplished, as the Savior attests. Whoever therefore shall break those things which Scripture teaches, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whoever shall do and teach them, shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:20 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

To bind oneself by vow to obey another is the ultimate completion of perfection, because in it is most fully realized abounding justice, which is evangelical justice, according to that passage in Matthew 5: Unless your justice shall abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. For there is a threefold act of justice, namely to rectify, to coordinate, and to compensate. For justice is nothing other than a right will, ordered and recompensative, because through it "there is rendered to each one what is his own," according to what befits the rectitude of right and the dignity of order. The perfect rectification of abounding justice is measured according to the conformity of the will to truth; but truth humbles each person, so that one thinks less of oneself than of another. Therefore that person is perfectly and abundantly rectified who, according to what truth dictates, not unwillingly but voluntarily humbles his will beneath another and in a certain manner reduces and captivates it into a kind of servitude; which indeed is accomplished through obedience rendered to another person, which is most opposed to arrogance and ambition.

Matthew 5:21 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

Matthew 5:22 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

Matthew 5:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

She is a snare to those who look upon her; whence it is written: "Many, having admired the beauty of a strange woman, have become reprobate." It is read of blessed Bernard that his sister came to see him, adorned with the most beautiful finery; he spat in her face and fled from her. She, indignant, asked why he did this; he answered: "because you come in the adornment of a harlot to capture souls and carry the devil with you." Therefore he says: "She is the snare of hunters," that is, of the devil, who through her captures souls: because "whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Matthew 5:34 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

The Manichaeans assail us and say that we ought not to swear at all, because it is said in the New Testament, namely in Matthew: "You shall not swear falsely;" and it follows: "But I say to you, not to swear at all. But let your speech be: yes yes, no no." I certainly say that in certain cases or for certain reasons it is quite lawful to swear. But the heretics do not rightly attend to the force of the words. For it is one thing to say: "not to swear at all," and another to say: "at all not to swear" — just as it is one thing to say: "a certain man does not run," and another: "not a certain man runs." "At all not to swear" is the same as "in no way to swear," and "not to swear at all" is the same as not "to swear in every way," but for certain reasons.

Matthew 5:39 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

What the Lord says: "But I say to you, not to resist evil," is true, from the desire for vengeance: but from the love of justice it is well lawful to resist evil.

Matthew 6:9 — Breviloquium, Part 5

God, who is just and merciful, ought not to hear us except in those things which pertain to his honor and to our salvation—and such things are those which pertain to the reward of the homeland and to the provision for the journey, the first being three and the following four—hence it is that the petitions of the Lord's Prayer, which teach us what we ought profitably to ask, are seven. For those things which pertain to divine honor and the reward of the homeland are three, namely the understanding of truth, the reverence of majesty, and the concord of will; or in other words, it is either the vision of the highest truth, which is not seen except by the pure and holy, and this is asked when it is said: Hallowed be thy name, that is, may the knowledge of thy name be given to the perfect, holy, and pure.

Matthew 6:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

These seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are touched upon in the Lord's Prayer. In the first part the gift of fear is sought, when he says: "Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy name." In the first, our sanctification is sought, and this through the gift of fear. Isaiah: "Sanctify the Lord of hosts, and let him be your dread and your fear."

Matthew 6:10 — Breviloquium, Part 5

For those things which pertain to divine honor and the reward of the homeland are three, namely the understanding of truth, the reverence of majesty, and the concord of will. It is either the attainment of the supremely exalted, which makes kings and through which the kingdom is possessed, and this is asked when it is said: Thy kingdom come; or it is the enjoyment of the highest good, which is not given except to those who have their wills conformed to the divine will, and this is asked when it is said: Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

In the second petition, piety is sought, when he says: "Thy kingdom come." In the second, the consummation of human salvation is sought, which is not obtained except through the gift of piety: "judgment without mercy shall be done to him who has not shown mercy." In the third part, the fulfillment of the divine law is sought through the gift of knowledge, which teaches to do good and to avoid evil. This gift is touched upon when he says: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Matthew 6:11 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, no one ought to entirely reject that which he daily asks of God; but every day we ask in the Lord's Prayer for our daily bread: therefore he acts wrongly who abandons everything. To that which is lastly objected, that we ask for our daily bread in the Lord's Prayer, it must be said that this rather makes for the opposite than for the proposition. For from the fact that we daily ask for our daily bread, and do not ask for what we already have, it is manifest that it belongs to evangelical perfection to be content with daily sustenance.

Matthew 6:11 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Those things which pertain to the passage of the journey regard either the bestowal of a benefiting good or the removal of a harming evil. The bestowal of a benefiting good is asked for in the daily or supersubstantial bread, in which is asked whatever is necessary for the preservation of present life, whether according to spirit or according to body.

Matthew 6:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

In the fourth part, the refreshment of eternal strength is sought, and this through the gift of strength or fortitude, when he says: "Give us this day our daily bread." "Bread strengthens the heart of man."

Matthew 6:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

In the fifth, the remission of sin is sought through the gift of counsel, when he says: "And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors."

Matthew 6:12 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Matthew 6:13 — Breviloquium, Part 5

The removal of a harming evil is asked in the three last petitions: because every evil either has the character of the past, or the future, or the present; or otherwise, it has the character of the evil of fault, or of struggle, or of punishment. The first is asked to be removed in the forgiveness of debts; the second in the victory over temptations; the third and last, in deliverance from the oppression of evils. And thus there are seven petitions in all, in which is universally asked whatever ought to be asked; and this indeed quite fittingly, so that the sevenfold number of petitions corresponds to the sevenfold number of divine gifts and of the gifts of sevenfold grace.

Matthew 6:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

In the sixth petition, the repulsion of hostile fraud is sought through the gift of understanding, when he says: "And lead us not into temptation." In the seventh petition, the subjugation of carnal concupiscence is sought through the gift of wisdom, when he says: "But deliver us from evil. Amen." It is impossible for the soul to tame its flesh unless it is filled with the gift of wisdom.

Matthew 6:25 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, Jerome, on that passage of Matthew six: Is not the soul more than food? "Let no one doubt the promises of the Truth; let man be what he ought to be, and soon all things shall be added to him, for whose sake all things were made." Therefore he who relinquishes all things for the sake of Christ, trusting in the promise of Christ, acts according to perfect faith in Him; but he does this most perfectly who reserves absolutely nothing for himself, neither in common nor in particular: therefore etc.

Matthew 6:26 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, Augustine, treating that passage of Matthew six: Behold the birds of the air: "The saints are rightly compared to birds, because they seek heaven, and because they are already so removed from the world that they no longer do anything on earth, no longer labor, but already dwell in heaven through contemplation alone." If therefore this life is the highest, then to have spurned all things and to place the whole hope of one's life in God belongs to perfect virtue.

Matthew 7:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"Judge not, that you be not judged." A man ought not to exceed his authority nor rashly judge without rectitude of zeal and clarity of knowledge. It is better, if one must judge concerning another, that one think well rather than ill. A man ought to be more inclined to mercifully excusing than to judging ill. That men judge the hidden faults of others and neglect themselves is the height of foolishness. Gregory says: "The mind, the more curious it is to investigate the affairs of others, the more foolish it is in knowing its own."

Matthew 7:24 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Wisdom was a light "coming down from the Father of Lights" within the soul, and that by radiating through it, made it in the form of God, and the house of God. This descending light makes the intellective power beautiful, the affective power delightful, and the operative power strong. This dwelling is built with seven columns which blessed James clearly touched upon: "But the wisdom that is from above is first of all chaste, then peaceable, moderate, docile, in harmony with good things, full of mercy and good fruits, without dissimulation." It is of this house that Matthew writes: "Everyone therefore who hears these My words and acts upon them, shall be likened to a wise man who built his house on rock."

Matthew 7:24 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"Everyone who hears these my words and does them shall be likened to a wise man who built his house upon firm rock." This house is principally built by wisdom: whence in Proverbs: "Wisdom has built herself a house, she has hewn out seven pillars." And thus this wisdom builds the Church and the soul, so that it may be a dwelling place of God and a house of God: a house pleasant, a house beautiful, and a house strong.

Matthew 7:24 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The commandments of God were in the heart of the glorious Virgin. She was not idle, she was not one who knew and did not act, but she was obedient. Therefore in her heart these commandments of God were founded. It is said in the Gospel: "Everyone who hears the word of God and does it is like one who builds his house upon a firm rock; but he who hears and does not do it is like one who builds upon sand." First it was necessary to find a person in whom the commandments of God might be placed, namely a strong woman. This was the glorious Virgin.

Matthew 7:25 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

When the soul considers the Most High in a manner that is most pious, true, and good, then it is lifted up by zeal and the rapture of love to the third heaven, yet not in such a perfect way as Paul. And then the house is built on rock.

Matthew 8:20 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Concerning whom, Matthew 8: The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, on which Chrysostom says: "Why do you expect to gather riches following me? Do you not see that I do not have so much as a lodging, as much as the birds have?" Therefore Christ had absolutely nothing: therefore etc.

Matthew 8:20 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Augustine says that 'Christ became poor to such an extent that he does not have what the foxes have, because foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head; understand: Christ became poor so that we might imitate his poverty.' The Master says that we should imitate him in giving alms, in humility, in poverty, and in obedience.

Matthew 8:25 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Another event was the showing of the rainbow; and at that time God led Noah out, and made with him a covenant. In the New Testament, there were ten tribulations, so that Christians could say, "Lord, save us! we are perishing!" And then Constantine was led out, and the sign of the cross was shown to him in the sky, by which he was to win; and then he made a covenant, that the Roman Empire would never persecute Christians. Then was the kingdom of Nimrod scattered, and the Tower of Babylon, meaning the Romans, towards which all eyes were drawn. For in Scriptures Rome is called Babylon. And there came about a separation of tongues, and the Hebrew language remained with the house of Heber, and the witnessing of Christ, with the Christian people.

Matthew 10:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

The use of grace ought to be generous toward one's neighbor. Whence in Matthew: "Freely you have received, freely give." O sun, why do you not sell your light? And you, O Seine, why do you not sell your drops of water? Surely, because it has received freely, therefore it shares freely. Only a wretched man sells the grace bestowed upon him.

Matthew 10:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

There is a hierarchizing of the soul in the order of descent. Now, these things come about according to the powers of the soul, and Dionysius says they are three: the powers of receiving, preserving, and distributing, so that a soul may receive abundantly, preserve attentively, and pour out again generously. Hence, "freely you have received, freely give."

Matthew 10:9-10 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Matthew 10: Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor money in your belts, nor a wallet for the journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals: Gloss: "Let them carry with them neither necessities themselves nor a storehouse: nothing beyond the clothing with which one can be content." But in this the form of perfection is handed down to the Apostles themselves, and what belongs to perfection is perfect to imitate: therefore to go through the world in such a manner pertains to evangelical perfection. But this is to beg and to live on alms: therefore this pertains to evangelical perfection.

Matthew 10:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

It was necessary that there be another book through which this one would be lighted up, so that it could receive the symbols of things. Such a book is Scripture which establishes the likenesses, the properties, and the symbolism of things written down in the book of the world. And so, Scripture has the power to restore the whole world toward the knowledge, praise, and love of God. Hence, if you ask what is the meaning of the serpent to you, or what is its use — it is more useful to you than the whole world because it teaches you how to be prudent, as the ant teaches you how to be wise. Solomon says: "Go to the ant, O sluggard, study her ways and learn wisdom." And Matthew: "Be therefore wise as serpents."

Matthew 11:25 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

This wisdom is called manifold because there are many ways of expressing it. Hence it was necessary that wisdom be shown under many figures, many sacraments, many signs, in order also that it be hidden to the proud and revealed to the humble. These veils cover Christ, hiding wisdom from the wise and impure. Hence in Matthew: "I praise Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and prudent, and didst reveal them to little ones." Well did the Apostle write: "To me, the very least of all saints," etc.

Matthew 11:25 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"You have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and have revealed them to the little ones," that is, to the humble. For nothing so darkens the understanding in those things which are of God as presumption. We all praise humility and censure presumption; yet few are free from presumption. Richard of Saint Victor says that "in disputing against pride a man frequently becomes proud." Behold that the strong deceiver deceives many. No one can illuminate the hearts of men except he who knows the consciences of men.

Matthew 11:25 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

This is what Wisdom Himself says in Matthew eleven: You have revealed these things to little ones, etc.: on which Bernard, in On the Steps of Humility: "It appears that the truth which is hidden from the proud is revealed to the humble. Humility, moreover, is the virtue by which a man, through true knowledge of himself, becomes worthless in his own eyes: and this befits those who, having disposed ascents in their heart, advance from step to step until they reach the summit of humility, in which, as if placed in Sion, they behold the truth." And a little later: "He who commanded humility leads to truth"; whence also the ladder of Jacob, "what else does it suggest to us, except that in the summit of humility consists the knowledge of truth?" And a little later: "Good is the way of humility, by which truth is found, charity is acquired, the fruits of wisdom are partaken of."

Matthew 11:27 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

Matthew 11:27 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

A beginning should be made from the center, that is, from Christ. For He Himself is the "Mediator between God and men," holding the central position in all things. Hence it is necessary to start from Him if a man wants to reach Christian wisdom, as it is proved in Matthew: for "no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and him to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."

Matthew 11:29 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

When grace, justice, and wisdom have been perfectly attained, one ascends to the summit of evangelical perfection, which Christ Jesus taught by word and example, who specially professed himself the master of humility, in Matthew 11: Learn from me, etc. For humility is the gateway of wisdom, the foundation of justice, and the dwelling place of grace.

Matthew 12:32 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 11

Although every sin generally is against the triune and one God, yet by appropriation a certain sin is said to be against the Father, another against the Son, and another against the Holy Spirit. Now this sin against the Holy Spirit is called irremissible in this age and in the age to come, not because it cannot be forgiven in this age, but because it is rarely or scarcely forgiven in this age with respect to guilt, and little or almost no remission is made for it in the future with respect to punishment. Now there are six species of this sin, namely: envy of fraternal grace, opposition to acknowledged truth, despair, presumption, obstinacy of mind, and final impenitence. Since sin denotes a departure from the first principle who is triune and one, every sin deforms the image of the Trinity and defiles the soul itself with respect to its threefold power. Since certain sins arise from impotence, certain from ignorance, and certain from malice—and power is attributed to the Father, wisdom to the Son, and will to the Holy Spirit—certain sins are said to be against the Father, certain against the Son, and certain against the Holy Spirit. And since nothing is more in the will than the will itself, and the will itself is the origin of sin, no sin is so purely and entirely voluntary as that which proceeds from a corruption existing in the will. When the will by its own corruption alone, although it can resist and knows this to be evil, chooses something, then it is said to sin from deliberate malice; and such a sin proceeds purely from the wickedness of the will of free choice and directly assails the grace of the Holy Spirit. And because it proceeds purely from freedom of choice, it therefore has no color of excuse, and for this reason little or almost nothing of the punishment ought to be relaxed for the one who is punished. Because indeed it directly assails the grace of the Holy Spirit, through which the remission of sin is accomplished, it is therefore called irremissible, not because it can in no way be remitted, but because, as far as it is in itself, it directly assails the medicine and remedy through which the remission of sin is accomplished. And since the remission of sin is accomplished by God through penitential grace within ecclesiastical unity, the differences of this sin are taken according as they directly assail those three things. For they either assail penitential grace itself in itself; or in relation to God, from whom it is given; or in relation to the Church, in which it is received. If in relation to the unity of the Church: since the unity of the Church consists in faith and charity, that is, in grace and truth, there is thus a twofold sin, namely envy of fraternal grace and assailing of acknowledged truth. If in relation to God who gives: since all His ways with respect to justification are especially mercy and truth, there is thus a twofold sin: one which assails mercy, and this is despair; another which assails justice, and this is presumption of impunity. But if it assails penitential grace itself in itself or according to itself, it is thus twofold: because penitential grace causes one to recoil from sins committed and to guard against sins to be committed. Against the first is obstinacy of mind; against the second is final impenitence, insofar as final impenitence means the resolution not to repent; for thus it is a species of sin against the Holy Spirit. But insofar as final impenitence denotes the continuation of sin unto the end, it is thus the consequence of all mortal sins that are not remitted in this life, and especially of all species of sin against the Holy Spirit. And thus every sin takes its beginning from pride and has its consummation or end in final impenitence; and whoever arrives at this falls into hell, from which no one sinning mortally can be delivered unless the grace of Christ the Mediator intervenes.

Matthew 12:42 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

But we should be afraid of what the Lord says in the Gospel: "The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here." The Jews refused to listen to wisdom from the mouth of Wisdom; and we who possess Christ within ourselves refuse to listen to His wisdom. This is the supreme abomination: that the most beautiful daughter of the king is offered to us as a bride, and we choose to be coupled with the filthiest servant and to deal with harlots; and we want to go back to Egypt, to the lowliest food, since we reject the food from heaven.

Matthew 12:45 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Matthew 13:43 — Breviloquium, Part 7

There indeed shall be goods of body and soul, such as eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived. Why then do you wander through many things, O little man, seeking the goods of your soul and your body? Love the one good, in which are all goods, and it suffices. Desire the simple good, which is every good, and it is enough. For what do you love, my flesh, what do you desire, my soul? There is whatever you love, whatever you desire. If beauty delights: the just shall shine as the sun.

Matthew 15:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

For the soul is a paradise in which Scripture is planted, and it has marvelous aspects of sweetness and beauty. Hence in the Canticle: My sister, my spouse is a garden enclosed, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up. Thy plants are a paradise of pomegranates. The soul is a garden in which there are sacramental mysteries and spiritual meanings, where a fountain of spiritual outpourings gushes forth, but it is enclosed, and the fountain is sealed up, for they are not visible to the impure, but to those whom God knows to be His. Eternal wisdom loves this garden and dwells around it. Hence in Ecclesiasticus: I, like the river Doryx, flowed out of paradise. This garden is watered by the One who plants all things: and whatever he did not plant will be rooted up. "Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up." And consequently, I said: I will water my garden of plants, and I will water abundantly the fruits of my meadow. For He waters by means of blood, with which He sprinkled the book and all the people; He also waters through the Holy Spirit flowing from Him. The Scripture has this flow and we find it there. Such are the trees beautiful to behold and sweet to feed upon because of the beauty and flavor of their fruits.

Matthew 16:18 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Because outside the unity of faith and charity, which makes us children and members of the Church, no one can be saved: therefore, if the Sacraments are received outside her, they are not received unto salvation, although they are true Sacraments; but they can become useful if one returns to holy mother Church, the sole bride of Christ, whose children alone Christ the bridegroom considers worthy of eternal inheritance. Whence Augustine against the Donatists writes: "The baptism of the Church can exist outside the Church, but the gift of the blessed life is found only within the Church, which was also founded upon the rock, which received the keys of binding and loosing. This is the one Church which holds and possesses all the power of her bridegroom and Lord, through which conjugal power she can even bear children from handmaids, who, if they are not proud, will be called to the lot of inheritance; but if they are proud, they will remain outside."

Matthew 16:18 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Matthew sixteen: You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, etc., up to that point: it shall be loosed in heaven also; but it is established that he who can loose and bind all must be obeyed by all: therefore God so instituted the Church that one would be obeyed by all. But the Church is to be ruled and governed as it was instituted by the Lord: therefore, according to divine institution, all must obey one, namely the Supreme Pontiff.

Matthew 16:19 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Christ instituted orders by first giving the power of binding and loosing the sins of the human race and the power of confecting the Sacrament of the altar. To all those established in the sacerdotal order, and to them alone, is given the power of the twofold key, namely the key of knowledge for discerning, and the key which is the power of binding and loosing, for judging and bestowing the benefit of absolution. Because indeed, in order to avoid confusion, not just anyone is set over anyone else in the Church Militant, since the ecclesiastical hierarchy itself ought to be ordered according to judicial power: therefore this power of binding and loosing was granted first to one first and supreme priest, upon whom universal power was conferred as upon the supreme head; and then according to particular Churches it is divided into parts, such that it descends first to bishops and then to priests from one head. Therefore, although every priest has the order and the key, nevertheless the use of the key extends only to those who are ordinarily subject to him, unless it is committed to him by one who has ordinary jurisdiction. Since indeed that jurisdiction resides principally in the supreme head, and then in the bishop, and lastly in the parish priest, it can indeed be committed to another by any of these—sufficiently indeed by the lowest, more fully by the middle, and most of all by the supreme.

Matthew 16:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

As the Assyrians devastated the Jews, so did the Saracens occupy the Churches of Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Constantinople, and all the way to Sicily. As the Ten Tribes fell and broke away from the house of David, so did these Churches fall and break away from Peter to whom it had been said: "I will give thee the keys of the kingdom," and they succumbed to the wolves.

Matthew 16:19 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

To that which is objected, that the same word was said to the Apostles which had previously been said to Peter — for in Matthew 16 it is said to Peter, I will give to you the keys, and whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, etc. — it must be said that it was said far differently to them and to Peter. For to Peter it was said separately and singularly, because in him the fullness of power was to be placed principally and singularly: but to the others it was said collectively; Whatsoever you shall bind, etc., because they were called "into a share of the solicitude." Whence although they had a similar power, they did not however have an equal one.

Matthew 16:26 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

A man cannot know what is useful and what is harmful except by addition beyond philosophical knowledge. It is said in the Gospel: "What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, yet suffer the loss of his own soul?" What does it avail that a man know many things, if the true honesty of the soul be abandoned?

Matthew 16:26 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

"What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, yet suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?" For all that God has created, I would not give my soul. Christ gave His blood to redeem your soul, and for sin you sell yourself and your soul!

Matthew 17:1-2 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

Matthew 17:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Once more, times are compared five by five: the times of the establishment of natures, the inspiration of patriarchs, the institution of laws, the revelation of prophets, and the restoration of ruins; and, in the New Testament, the times of the diffusion of charismatic gifts, the calling of the Gentiles, the institution of Churches, the multiplication of religious orders, and the restoration of ruins, of which it is said that Elias, when he comes, shall "restore all things."

Matthew 17:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

The fifth time, at the end, is that of the restoration of ruins, for "Elias indeed is to come and to restore all things," and with him Henoch will come too. For "the beast will conquer them." And so, it is necessary that they fail, so that there be first a ruin and then a restoration; and there will be so great a "tribulation as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect."

Matthew 17:27 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, on that passage of Matthew 17: Go to the sea; the Gloss says: "The Lord was of such great poverty that He did not have the means to pay the tribute: Judas indeed had the common funds in the purse, but He deemed it wrong to use the goods of the poor for His own purposes, giving us this very example." If therefore Christ was of such great poverty that He could not pay a single coin, it is manifest that He was in the highest poverty.

Matthew 18:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Such a Center has a saving power: and anyone who draws away from it is condemned, as drawing away from the means of humility. And in Matthew: "Unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven." In this center "He has wrought salvation," that is, in the humility of the cross.

Matthew 18:3 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

First, by the authority of Christ himself, who says in Matthew 18: Unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; but to make oneself little is nothing other than to become vile in one's own eyes and to wish to be regarded as vile by others.

Matthew 18:18 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

That same thing which is said to Peter in Matthew 16, I will give to you the keys, and whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, etc., is also said to the other Apostles in Matthew 18: Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, etc. Yet it was said far differently to them and to Peter. For to Peter it was said separately and singularly, because in him the fullness of power was to be placed principally and singularly: but to the others it was said collectively; Whatsoever you shall bind, etc., because they were called "into a share of the solicitude." Whence although they had a similar power, they did not however have an equal one: and therefore that word had to be said to the Apostles and to Peter; not however at the same time nor under the same context, but in one way and another.

Matthew 19:6 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That conjugal chastity is to be approved according to the evangelical law is shown by authority, as follows. Matthew 19, the Lord responding to the question put to him concerning marriage: Have you not read, that he who made men from the beginning made them male and female: and afterward: What God has joined together, let not man separate? The joining therefore of male and female according to the undivided companionship of life is from the institution of God and approved in the law of the Gospel by the judgment of Christ: and according to this the act of conjugal chastity is understood: therefore this virtue and its act is consonant with divine law.

Matthew 19:6 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Of the Sacrament of matrimony there are three goods, namely fidelity, offspring, and the Sacrament. And there are twelve impediments, which impede marriage from being contracted and dissolve one already contracted. The Church neither ought nor is able to annul a marriage that has been legitimately contracted, because those whom God has joined together no man, however great his power, can separate, since all remain to be judged by the judgment of God himself.

Matthew 19:12 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That widowed continence according to the evangelical law ought to be vowed is shown by authority, as follows. Matthew 19: There are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven; he who can receive it, let him receive it: but to make oneself a eunuch for the sake of the kingdom of heaven is done most especially through a vow of continence, and this is proposed to all who wish to undertake it: therefore anyone who wills can vow continence according to the evangelical law.

Matthew 19:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Scripture enlightens a priori by means of directive precepts. It is fitting to have light before oneself. For the bidding is a lamp, and the teaching a light; and this leads to heaven. Hence, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." And to the commandments are added the counsels. And this is what Scripture teaches us everywhere.

Matthew 19:17 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 5

Matthew 19:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

From the first consideration comes forth the first act, that is, doing good, under the guidance of the commandments. "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Indeed this consideration of God's commandments leads to good deeds. The command of the Lord is right in itself, for righteousness is nothing else than rectitude. Within the law, rectitude exists through itself; in the one observing the law, rectitude exists through participation. It is fitting, therefore, to consider, accept, and love God's commandments. If Adam and Eve had done it, they would not have fallen. In this way you will be transformed through love.

Matthew 19:17 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

"If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." These words are the words of our Savior, in which the sum of our whole salvation is set forth for us with respect to two things: first, with respect to the reward of eternal retribution; there: "If you wish to enter into life": second, with respect to the merit of human action, there: "keep the commandments." And this is the right order, because the end moves the agent to apply himself toward the due end. Let us therefore follow the form of this great Master; and before we say anything about these precepts, let us first speak about the observance of the precepts. The Lord sets forth first the motive, then adds the act by which we can arrive at the due end. And it should be noted that there are four things which move us to observe the commandments of God. The first is the authority or dignity of the one commanding: the second is the utility of observance: the third is the peril of transgression: the fourth is the irreproachability of the commandments. Since therefore He who commands the precepts to be observed is of great authority, and the observance of the commandments is of great utility, and in transgression great peril consists, and the commandment is irreproachable: therefore there is no one who can have an excuse regarding the observance of the commandments.

Matthew 19:21 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Fear causes one to withdraw from evil and from the occasion of evil; and because the root of all evils is cupidity, therefore fear disposes to poverty of spirit, in which humility is joined together with poverty, so that the perfect man may thus be distanced from the fount of all fault, namely from pride and cupidity. And hence it is that poverty of spirit is the foundation of all evangelical perfection. Whence he who wishes to come to the summit of perfection must first lay this foundation, according to that passage in Matthew nineteen: If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you have: behold, perfect poverty, which retains absolutely nothing for itself: and follow me: behold, humility, which causes a man, by denying himself, to take up his cross and follow Christ, who is the most principal foundation of all perfection.

Matthew 19:21 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Matthew 19, where it is said: If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and come follow me; The Gloss: "Behold, the contemplative life, which pertains to the Gospel." It is certain that the Lord was not calling him to riches, and yet was counseling him to renounce all things: nor to manual labor, but rather to the contemplative life, as the Gloss says: therefore etc.

Matthew 19:24 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"Gifts blind the eyes of the wise and alter the words of the just." They blind the eyes, not bodily, but spiritual; therefore they take away the light of wisdom. "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven," because he has an earthly and heavy heart.

Matthew 19:27 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Gregory says that 'so many things have been given up by those who follow, that they could be coveted by those who do not follow.' Therefore blessed Peter says: 'Behold, we have left all things.' It is the greatest thing that a man should reduce his body to perpetual servitude. A holocaust of marrow is to place one's own will in the power of another. When I do that for the sake of God, it is worth more than the whole world.

Matthew 19:27 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Again, Matthew 19: Behold, we have left all things etc.; Gregory, treating that word, says: "As much was left behind by those who followed as could have been desired by those who did not follow": therefore perfect imitation totally extinguishes the appetite for riches; but this extinction is most fully realized in one who renounces all things: therefore etc.

Matthew 20:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

Matthew 20:26 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Matthew twenty: Whoever will be greater among you, let him be your minister: and whoever will be first among you, shall be your servant. To this it must be said that servant is said in two ways: either by obligatory subjection, or by perfect humility. The first is repugnant to supreme authority, and no one can simultaneously be bound in subjection to others and preside over governance. The second, however, is not repugnant but most consonant: and it is of this that the Lord speaks, because He teaches the one supremely set over others to imitate Christ above all, who left to others an example of humility especially to be imitated: in sign of which the Supreme Pontiff also writes himself servant of the servants of God. Whence Bernard, in the second book to Eugenius, speaking of humility: "No more splendid gem in all the adornment especially of the Supreme Pontiff; for the more exalted he is above the rest, the more illustrious it appears, even beyond itself."

Matthew 20:27 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

Whoever would be first among you shall be your servant: but to make oneself a servant of others is to abase oneself with the greatest abasement: therefore self-emptying and self-abasement belong to evangelical perfection.

Matthew 21:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

This is the greatest miracle, that God be man, that the first be the last; wherefore all miracles are related to this one; and all cry out: "Hosanna to the Son of David!" In this miracle, faith receives its strength.

Matthew 21:9 — Breviloquium

In Christ from His conception there was the fullness of all grace with respect to the grace of a singular person and with respect to the grace of the Head and with respect to the grace of union. Through the grace of the Head, He pours forth motion and sense into all who approach Him either through right faith or through the Sacraments of faith, whether they preceded His coming or followed after it. For both those who went before and those who followed cried out: Hosanna to the Son of David.

Matthew 22:30 — Breviloquium, Part 7

If swiftness, or strength, or freedom of body, which nothing can resist: they shall be like the Angels of God, because it is sown a natural body, and shall rise a spiritual body, by power, assuredly, not by nature.

Matthew 22:37 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

"Which is the first and great commandment in the Law?" The Lord responds: "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two the whole Law and the Prophets depend." Augustine shows that in this word: "But it is good for me to adhere to God," the whole of what is said is contained: "You shall love the Lord your God," etc. For we ought to love God, because this is just, holy, easy, and sweet. Whence Augustine: "Lord, who are you to me? And who am I to you, that you command me to love you, and if I do not love you, you threaten me with immense miseries?"

Matthew 22:37 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

According to this threefold progress, our mind has three principal aspects. One is toward exterior corporeal things, according to which it is called animality or sensuality; another within itself and in itself, according to which it is called spirit; the third above itself, according to which it is called mind. From all of which it ought to dispose itself for ascending into God, so that it may love Him with all its mind, with all its heart, and with all its soul, in which consists the perfect observance of the Law and, together with this, Christian wisdom.

Matthew 22:37 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Because love is the weight of the mind and the origin of every mental affection, which easily turns back upon itself but with difficulty tends toward one's neighbor and with still greater difficulty is raised up to God, it follows that although four things are to be loved from charity, nevertheless a twofold commandment is given: one which directs us toward God, and another which directs us toward our neighbor. And because all precepts are referred either to God or to neighbor, as to the end and to that which is ordered to the end; hence it is that in these two commandments is enclosed the collection of the commandments and the comprehension of all the Scriptures. And charity itself is the root, form, and end of the virtues, joining all things with the ultimate end and binding all things to one another simultaneously and in order; therefore it is the weight of ordered inclination and the bond of perfect binding, order indeed preserving with respect to the diverse objects of love as regards both affection and effect, unity however having in habit as regards one end and one principal beloved, which is the reason for loving with respect to all other things.

Matthew 22:37 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Matthew 22:37 — Breviloquium, Part 7

But if they shall so love God with the whole heart, the whole mind, the whole soul, that yet the whole heart, the whole mind, the whole soul shall not suffice for the worthiness of that love: assuredly they shall so rejoice with the whole heart, the whole mind, the whole soul, that the whole heart, the whole mind, the whole soul shall not suffice for the fullness of that joy. Not yet therefore, Lord, have I said or conceived how greatly those Blessed ones of yours shall rejoice. Surely they shall rejoice as much as they shall love; they shall love as much as they shall know. How much shall they know you and how much shall they love you? Certainly neither eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has it ascended into the heart of man in this life, how much they shall know and love you in that life.

Matthew 22:39 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Matthew 22:40 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Matthew 22:40 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

The Church is a union of rational men united in harmonious and uniform adherence to divine peace. And love is born of obedience to the Law. And the Law itself commands love. And this can be proved in the Saviour's own words: "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." And so it is fitting that those who obey the Law be loving also. "By this will all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." And the Apostle writes: "For God is a God of peace, not of disorder."

Matthew 22:40 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Matthew 22:40 — Breviloquium, Part 5

And because all precepts are referred either to God or to neighbor, as to the end and to that which is ordered to the end; hence it is that in these two commandments is enclosed the collection of the commandments and the comprehension of all the Scriptures. And charity itself is the root, form, and end of the virtues, joining all things with the ultimate end and binding all things to one another simultaneously and in order; therefore it is the weight of ordered inclination and the bond of perfect binding.

Matthew 23:9 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Matthew twenty-three: Call none your father upon earth. It is clear that he does not mean the carnal father, therefore he means the spiritual father. To this it must be said that father means one who communicates nature, and master means one who communicates knowledge; and since God alone is He who principally bestows nature and infuses knowledge, therefore both names, namely of father and of master, ought to be attributed to Him as the principal source of both knowledge and nature, inasmuch as they denote principal authority, and not to another. But because God in these things also works outwardly through human ministry, therefore both names, insofar as they denote ministry, can be communicated to a human being, not as to a principal agent, but as to a steward.

Matthew 24:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

This firmness of faith was shaken violently in the beginning when the martyrs were crucified by idolaters. It was also shaken in intermediate times by different heresies. It will be shaken most violently at the end of the time of the Church through torment, argument, and the working of miracles. Hence, woe to those who are with child, or have infants at the breast in those days! And the meaning here is, woe to those whose faith is not sufficiently strong. Clearly, then, it is necessary that faith be strengthened by the Inspired Word.

Matthew 24:24 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

Matthew 24:29 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

The sun signifies spiritual combat. In this regard, "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light." When the fight will be between Christ and Antichrist, between the teaching of truth and that of falsity, then "the sun" will become "black as sackcloth of hair," and a certain teacher of truth or superior in truth shall be obscured by errors, while others will stand firm, although they may seem to be darkened in their reputation.

Matthew 24:35 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Matthew 25:21 — Breviloquium, Part 7

If honor and riches: God shall set His good and faithful servants over many things, indeed sons of God and gods they shall be called and shall be, and where His Son shall be, there shall they be also, heirs indeed of God, and co-heirs with Christ. If true security: surely they shall be as certain that these things, or rather this good, shall never and in no way be lacking to them, as they shall be certain that they shall not lose it of their own accord, nor that God who loves them shall take it from His lovers against their will, nor that anything more powerful than God shall separate God and them against their will. I pray, O God, that I may know you, love you, that I may rejoice in you: and if I cannot do so fully in this life, may I at least advance from day to day, until that fullness shall come. Meanwhile let my mind meditate upon this, let my tongue speak of it, let my heart love it, let my mouth discourse upon it, let my soul hunger for it, let my flesh thirst for it, let my whole substance desire it, until I enter into the joy of my Lord, who is the triune and one God blessed for ever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 25:41 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Matthew 25:41 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Transgressors of the commandments merit eternal punishments. "Cursed are they who decline from Thy commandments": cursed, because it shall be said to them: "Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire."

Matthew 26:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

O what a loving mother we have! Let us conform ourselves to our mother and follow her loving-kindness. So greatly did she have compassion for souls that she counted temporal loss and bodily suffering as nothing. So for the salvation of our soul, let it please us to crucify our body. It is said in Matthew: "When Jesus was in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came having an alabaster jar of ointment, and she broke the alabaster jar and poured the ointment over the head of Jesus. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. Seeing this, the disciples murmured, certain of them saying: Why this waste? For it could have been sold for much and given to the poor. And Jesus said: Why do you trouble this woman? She has wrought a good work upon me: for the poor you have always with you, but me you do not always have." Magdalene bears the type of penitents; she broke the alabaster jar of ointment out of the loving-kindness which she had toward Christ. And we ought to have loving-kindness toward the universal Church and toward the penitent soul. And just as Magdalene by sinning lost God, so when she anointed the feet and head of Christ, she found Him.

Matthew 26:26 — Breviloquium, Part 6

In the Sacrament of the Eucharist the true body and true blood of Christ is not only signified, but also truly contained under a twofold species, namely of bread and wine, as under one, not under a twofold Sacrament: and this is after the priestly consecration, which takes place in the utterance of the vocal form instituted by the Lord; over the bread, namely: This is my body; and over the wine: This is the chalice of my blood. When these words are uttered by a priest with the intention of confecting, each element is transubstantiated according to substance into the body and blood of Jesus Christ; the sensible species remaining, in each of which is contained totally, not circumscriptively, but sacramentally, the whole Christ. Since the time of revealed grace requires that there no longer be offered any offering whatsoever, but one that is pure, pleasing, and complete; and no other offering is such except that which was offered on the cross, namely the body and blood of Christ: hence it is that this Sacrament must necessarily contain the body of Christ not merely figuratively, but also truly, as the offering owed to this time.

Matthew 26:28 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Matthew 26:39 — Breviloquium

Christ assumed not only human nature, but also defects pertaining to nature. He also assumed spiritual penalties, such as sorrow, grief, and fear; yet he undertook the necessity of suffering in such a way that he could suffer nothing unwillingly, neither according to the will of the Deity nor according to the will of reason, although the passion was contrary to the will of sensuality and the flesh, as the prayer of the Savior expresses, which says: "Not as I will, but as you will." Because no innocent person ought to sustain any suffering unwillingly, since this would be against the order of divine justice; nor does any mortal wish to die and suffer according to the appetite of nature, which naturally shrinks from death: hence it is that Christ ought to have had sufferings of this kind, yet in such a way that He could suffer nothing unwillingly according to reason, not only on account of the beatitude and the omnipotent Deity united to Him, through which He could repel all things, but also on account of His most perfect innocence. And hence it is that Christ, praying according to reason, expressed the will of the flesh, by which He shrank from the passion, when He said: "Let this cup pass from me"; yet He conformed the will of reason to the will of the Father and set it before the appetite of the flesh, when He said: "Not my will, but yours be done." And thus one will was not contrary to the other: for "according to the divine will He willed what was just, according to the will of reason He consented to justice, but according to the will of the flesh He refused the suffering, yet did not accuse justice. And thus each will operated what was its own and followed what pertained to it: the divine will, justice; the rational will, obedience; the will of the flesh, nature"; and through this there was in Christ no struggle and conflict, but a peaceful ordering and an ordered tranquility.

Matthew 26:52 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

It is necessary to have a just intention, so that the man who is the minister of the law slays a man by law, not from the desire for vengeance, but from the love of justice. Whence the Apostle to the Romans, speaking to rulers, says that "the ruler does not bear the sword without cause. For he is the minister of God, an avenger unto wrath against him who does evil." What therefore the Lord says to Peter: "All who take up the sword shall perish by the sword": this refers only to this, that he who is not a minister of the law ought not to slay.

Matthew 27:40 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

The major proposition existed from all eternity, the minor came about on the cross, and the conclusion appeared in the resurrection. The Jews believed they had confounded Christ, and they taunted Him: "If Thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross!" For Christ did not say: "Allow Me to live," but "Allow Me to take on death, to be joined with the opposite extreme, to suffer and to die." The conclusion follows from that. And so He Himself made a fool of the devil.

Matthew 28:19 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

In the New Testament testimony is given, but explicitly, both in Sacraments and in express teachings. For the first of the Sacraments, which is baptism, according to what is written in the last chapter of Matthew, must be performed in the express invocation of the divine Trinity. For there it is said: Teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: on account of which in that foundational Sacrament the character of the Trinity is imprinted.

Matthew 28:19 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 5

Matthew 28:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

There is generation as of a son by his father, and here are present all the aforesaid conditions except one, that of light, which is coeternal duration, and which is to be supposed in the generation of the Son of God. And the name eternal generation is applied to this final instance, the generation of the Son by the Father. And Christ confirmed this very point when He said: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." He did not say, "In the name of light and brightness." These, then, are the eleven stars worshiping Joseph, the most comely son, that is, the eleven noble conditions mentioned above; but the twelfth, eternal coexistence, is found in the Son of God.

Matthew 28:19 — Breviloquium, Part 6

In order for someone to be baptized truly and fully, there is required the expression of the vocal form instituted by the Lord, which is this: I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen: without omission of any word and without insertion of any word, without transposition of the aforesaid order and without alteration of the prescribed name. Since the power that restores us is the power of the whole Trinity, which holy mother Church believes in the mind, confesses in word, and professes in sign, under the distinction and property, order and natural origin of the three persons: hence it is that for the expression of these things in the Sacrament which is the first of all Sacraments, and in which this power operates firstly and principally, there ought to be an expression of the Trinity in a distinct, proper, and ordered naming, as regards the common form, although in the time of the primitive Church it could be done in the name of Christ, in which the understanding of the Trinity is enclosed.

Matthew 28:20 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Because it accords with the time of grace that the Sacrament of communion and love should not merely signify communion and love, but also inflame unto the same; and because that which most inflames us to mutual love and most unites the members is the unity of the Head, from whom through the diffusive, unitive, and transformative power of love mutual love flows into us: hence it is that in this Sacrament of the Eucharist is contained the true body of Christ and immaculate flesh, as diffusing itself to us and uniting us to one another and transforming us into itself through the most ardent charity, by which he gave himself to us and offered himself for us and restored himself to us and remains with us even unto the end of the world.

Micah 3:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The third ground of the influx of fortitude is from God indwelling. Whence in Micah: "I am filled with the fortitude of the Lord, with judgment and power." The human body, when it does not have a spirit, does not have power, even if it were a gigantic body; so if God is not in the soul, then it does not have power.

Micah 3:11 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

Micah 4:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

These are the mysteries of Scripture. Who can conceive the charm of the mysteries of Sacred Scriptures of which it is said: "Every one under his vine and under his fig tree."

Micah 7:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

A threefold war is threatening us: domestic, civil, and military. The first is with the flesh, which has many troops. This servant-maid is ever-willing to give access, as did Eve. Hence, Against her who lies in your bosom guard the portals of your mouth.

Mark 1:10 — Breviloquium

Mark 3:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of the redemption of man, Christ is pointed to as a triumphant lion in Mark, wherefore in the same: "Looking round upon them with anger."

Mark 4:28 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

It is said in Mark: "Of itself the earth bears the crop, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear." This is the time before the Law, the time under the Law, and the time after the Law. Scripture follows this same order.

Mark 6:8 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, Mark 6: He commanded them to take nothing for the journey, neither bread nor money in their belt; therefore either He commanded this to them as prelates, or as perfect ones. If as prelates: then prelates would still be bound to this: which is manifestly false. Therefore He commanded this to them as perfect men: but perfection is proposed commonly to all for imitation, because it is said: Let him who can grasp it, grasp it: therefore to live in this way pertains to evangelical perfection.

Mark 6:13 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Before the sending of the Holy Spirit, there was neither the full gift of the Holy Spirit for confirmation and public confession of the name of Christ, nor the plenary anointing of the mind for departure; therefore Christ only initiated and intimated these two Sacraments, namely confirmation and extreme unction. Extreme unction he initiated by sending the disciples to heal, who anointed the sick with oil.

Mark 9:23 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

From the understanding of faith there comes forth in the soul a threefold flow out of this light, through which it is steadied in God. The first is the strength of virtue: nothing is difficult to the soul that has an unperturbed faith, for "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Indeed, he is ready to sustain anything for God's sake, since virtue is made steady by faith.

Mark 9:48 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Mark 10:16 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Mark 10:21 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Again, Mark 10: Go, sell whatever you have and give to the poor: The Gloss: "Not a part, as Ananias did"; but he who gives everything, reserving nothing for himself, most fully does what the Lord counsels, reserving nothing for himself, neither in common nor in particular; and he who does this acts most perfectly: therefore etc.

Mark 11:11 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, Mark 11: Having looked around at all things, He went out to Bethany: Gloss: "to see if anyone would receive Him as a guest; for He was of such great poverty and flattered no one, so that in so great a city He could find no lodging"; but it is certain that if He had wished to hire lodging, He would have found a place to hire: therefore He was looking around as a poor man and beggar.

Mark 12:43-44 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Again, in Mark 12 the Lord says of the widow: Amen I say to you, that this poor widow has put in more than all. For all cast in of their abundance; but she of her want cast in all that she had, her whole living: but in this the poor widow is praised: therefore those who do this, the more perfectly they act, the more praiseworthy they are: therefore etc.

Mark 14:33 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

Mark 14:34 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

Mark 16:19 — Breviloquium

After forty days He ascended into the heavens, where, exalted above every creature, He sits at the right hand of the Father. This expression is understood not with respect to position, which does not pertain to God the Father, but with respect to the excellence of goods, because He resides in the more excellent goods of the Father. In order to raise us to hope, he ascended to the heavenly glory which we hope for. But because hope does not arise except from faith in future immortality, therefore he did not ascend immediately, but with an interval of forty days interposed, in which through many signs and proofs he established the true resurrection, by which the mind might be strengthened in faith and lifted up to hope for heavenly glory.

Numbers 12:6-8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The purely intellectual vision existed in the minds of the angels and of the Lawmaker. Moses was raised up to this vision more completely than any other prophet, for it is written: Should there be a prophet among you, in visions will I reveal Myself to him, in dreams will I speak to him; not so with my servant Moses! Throughout My house he bears My trust: face to face I speak to him, plainly and not in riddles. The presence of the Lord he beholds.

Numbers 17:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

A figure preceded in the rod and flower of Aaron. The history is in the rod of Aaron, which, cut off and dry, in the space of a single night put forth leaves, flowered, and brought forth fruit. Who brought it about that the Virgin conceived? Certainly the Holy Spirit, who is a love fervent, fruitful, undefiled, virile, incorrupt, and deifying. That he is a fruitful love is signified in the rod of Aaron, which in the space of a night put forth leaves, flowered, and brought forth fruit.

Numbers 24:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Concerning the production of foliage, it is said in the Book of Numbers: "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob; your encampments, O Israel! They are like gardens beside a stream." These are the mysteries of Scripture. Who can conceive the charm of the mysteries of Sacred Scriptures?

Numbers 27:16 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

One is said to be superior to another either with respect to the origin of nature, or with respect to the dominion of power or presidency, or with respect to the governance of providence. The first superiority belongs to nature itself by reason of itself, because "nature is a force implanted in things, producing like from like"; the second by reason of vice, because, as Ambrose says, servitude is the punishment of sin; but the third belongs by reason of remedy, according to that passage in Numbers twenty-seven: Let the God of the spirits of all flesh provide a man who may be over this multitude, lest they be as sheep without a shepherd. To the first superiority is owed filial obedience, to the second servile obedience, and to the third jurisdictional obedience, which regards the dignity of prelacy.

Philippians 2:3 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

The very truth of the divine law dictates that each person ought to think more humbly of himself than of another, and on this account ought to regard himself as more vile than others—not because he is certain that he is such, but because he is more certain of his own vanity or vileness than of another's. Therefore, as is said in the Gloss on Philippians 2: In humility esteeming one another as superior to themselves, "we ought not so to esteem this that we pretend to esteem it, but truly esteem that there can be something hidden in another by which he is superior to us, even if our own good, by which we seem superior to him, is not hidden." And thus it is apparent that self-abasement is not founded upon falsehood but upon truth, namely according to experiential knowledge of one's own defect, which each person has, as it were, singularly with respect to another.

Philippians 2:5-7 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

Philippians 2: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form, etc.: but to empty oneself is nothing other than to abase oneself: if therefore we ought to imitate Christ in this, self-emptying and self-abasement belong to evangelical perfection.

Philippians 2:6 — Breviloquium

Since therefore Christ Jesus, insofar as he was God, was equal to the Father in the form of God; insofar as he was an innocent man, he was in no way a debtor of death: when he emptied himself and became obedient unto death, he paid back to God what he had not stolen through the homage of perfect satisfaction, and offered a sacrifice of supreme sweetness for the perfect placation of God.

Philippians 2:7 — Breviloquium

What is more benevolent than that the Lord should take on the form of a servant for the salvation of the servant? Indeed, this is of such great kindness that nothing more merciful, nothing more kind, nothing more loving can be conceived. This mode was therefore most suitable for God the restorer, for the commending of the divine power, wisdom, and benevolence.

Philippians 2:7 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

On that passage Bernard says in a sermon on the Nativity of the Lord: "What necessity was there for the God of majesty to so empty himself, so humble himself, so diminish himself, unless that you should do likewise? Already he cries out by example what he will preach by word." And shortly after: "It is intolerable impudence that, where majesty emptied itself, a little worm should puff itself up and swell with pride." If therefore we ought to imitate Christ in such self-emptying, it remains that to be abased belongs to the perfection of virtue.

Philippians 2:8 — Breviloquium

Philippians 2:10 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

I have heard that there was a certain conjurer of demons. One day, when he was invoking a demon in the midst of certain persons who wished to obtain something from the demon, a certain priest passed by carrying the Body of Christ, and immediately the demon bowed down before him, and likewise on his return. And the conjurer said: whence is this? You have forbidden me to adore Christ, and yet you adore him? The demon replied: I did so unwillingly. Is it not written: "At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth?"

Philippians 2:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

He, then, is the Strong One. That is why "at the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven, on earth and under the earth." And so all the wars of Scripture refer to the victory of Christ.

Philippians 2:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The fear of God avails for obtaining the influx of divine grace. "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to accomplish according to his good will." We cannot have the grace of God except through the fear of God, because "the mercy of the Lord is from eternity and unto eternity upon those who fear him." No one receives the grace of God unless he fears God. Bernard says: "In truth I have learned that nothing is equally efficacious for meriting, preserving, and multiplying the grace of God as if at all times you are found before God not to be wise in lofty things, but to fear. Fear, therefore, when grace has smiled upon you: fear, when it has departed: fear, when it returns again." He who does not have grace ought to fear greatly for himself; likewise, if the Lord restores to a man the grace he had lost, he ought to fear greatly for himself, lest he lose it and become ungrateful, and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.

Philippians 2:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Philippians 2:15 — Breviloquium, Part 5

The rational power indeed needs to be freed in the speculation, choice, and execution of truth: through the gift of understanding it is freed for speculating upon the true, through the gift of counsel for choosing the true, through the gift of knowledge for executing what has been chosen; for through the gift of knowledge we rightly conduct ourselves in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.

Philippians 2:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

There is an order of levels intended for enlightenment, that of acolytes, subdeacons, and deacons. And these orders are for the sake of enlightenment. Now, enlightenment is at times through external example, at others, through writings of secondary importance, at others again, through writings of primary importance. The second enlighten by word and example: "guileless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a depraved and perverse generation... among these shining like stars in the world, holding fast the word of life," as are the subdeacons who hold fast the words of the Epistles.

Philippians 2:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

There is an order of levels intended for enlightenment, that of acolytes, subdeacons, and deacons. And these orders are for the sake of enlightenment. The second enlighten by word and example: "guileless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a depraved and perverse generation... among these shining like stars in the world, holding fast the word of life," as are the subdeacons who hold fast the words of the Epistles.

Philippians 3:12 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

There is perfection with respect to merit and with respect to state. To profess oneself perfect with respect to merit is a matter of presumption, not of perfection, since Paul says in Philippians 3: Not that I am already perfect. But to profess oneself perfect with respect to state is not a matter of presumption, because this places the praise not upon the person in herself, who can be culpable through her own merits, but upon the common life and the manner of living approved by the counsel of Christ's own mouth.

Philippians 3:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Paul taught this wisdom to Dionysius and Timothy and other perfect men, but he kept it hidden from others. It is up to us, then, to be perfect in order to reach it. "Forgetting what is behind, I strain forward to what is before," hoping that I may understand.

Philippians 3:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

The fourth aspect of the zeal of wisdom is the elevation of desire. This gives worth to other endeavors, so that "forgetting what is behind, we strain forward to what is before." "The wise man has eyes in his head. — The heart of a wise man is in his right hand." Now, the zeal of wisdom consists in this, that our endeavor be directed toward nothing but God who is "all delight."

Philippians 3:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"Many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly," on account of sensual wisdom; "and whose glory is in their shame," on account of diabolical wisdom; "who mind earthly things," namely on account of earthly wisdom. For the false wisdom which is from below makes a person solicitous to delight in the abundance of riches (earthly), in the experience of sensual delights (sensual), and in the eminence and ambition of worldly pomps (diabolical).

Philippians 3:19 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

Philippians 4:7 — Breviloquium, Part 5

For the perfection of interior sanctity, there is necessarily required purity of conscience and tranquility of the whole soul through the peace of God surpassing all human understanding.

Philippians 4:7 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

Philippians 4:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Samson with his hair was the strongest of all: his strength went beyond nature. And why was his strength in seven locks of hair? I say that by the seven locks is signified the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit, through whom his strength is made firm. But when he lay in the lap of Delilah and no longer had his hair, he became in strength like other men. Give me one person without grace who could endure what blessed Lawrence endured. For man can do nothing without grace, and nothing is so hard that man cannot endure it with grace. Whence the Apostle: "I can do all things in him who strengthens me."

Philippians 4:13 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

To attribute sufficiency to divine grace, which one hopes will not be lacking to oneself on account of divine munificence, is not a matter of presumption, but of confidence and of the certainty of hope, by which we believe that God is a helper to the man who wills to adhere to His counsels. On account of which the Apostle says: Our sufficiency is from God; and the same, in the last chapter of Philippians: I can do all things in Him who strengthens me; and by this hope ought he to be sustained who, inspired by the divine Spirit, not only proposes the perfection of the evangelical counsels, but also promises it by vowing.

Proverbs 1:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"The wise man hearing shall be wiser, and the one who understands shall possess counsels." In the second word Solomon shows that it is useful to hear the word of God; and the reason is that in the hearing of the word of God both he who understands profits, and likewise he who does not understand: therefore both the wise and the simple ought to go to hear the word of God. That the wise profit by hearing the word of God is clear, because he says that the wise man hearing wisdom shall be wiser.

Proverbs 1:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

This wisdom has been made manifest, hence "wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the open squares she raises her voice." And yet we do not find her, resembling the unlettered man who owns a book and has no concern for it. And so with us: the Scriptures were given to us in Greek, in the vernacular and in Hebrew, and yet they are unknown as a source.

Proverbs 1:24-26 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Against those who speak against the counsels of God, it is said in Proverbs: 'I have called and you refused; you have despised all my counsel and neglected my reproofs; therefore I will laugh at your destruction.' A dog, when it lies in the straw and does not wish to eat, does not permit another to eat. So these men do not wish to enter religious life nor do they permit others to enter.

Proverbs 2:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"If you call upon wisdom and incline your heart to prudence and seek her as money and dig for her as for treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." Prudential understanding teaches what is to be avoided, namely every evil. Whoever wishes to have this understanding must seek it with desire of heart and diligence of effort; and what then will you find? Certainly, the fear of the Lord and the knowledge of God. For every person who wishes to be directed toward the good must fear God, so as to avoid every evil.

Proverbs 3:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Proverbs 3:21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

The first counsel is regulated according to the dictate of divinely instituted laws. Whence in Proverbs: 'Keep the law and counsel, and you will have grace for your mouth and life for your soul.' What is this law? Surely the law written outwardly and the law divinely inspired.

Proverbs 6:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

It is certain that as long as man stood up, he had the knowledge of created things and through their significance, was carried up to God, to praise, worship, and love Him. This is what creatures are for, and this is how they are led back to God. But when man had fallen, since he had lost knowledge, there was no longer any one to lead creatures back to God. Hence this book, the world, became as dead and deleted. And it was necessary that there be another book through which this one would be lighted up, so that it could receive the symbols of things. Such a book is Scripture which establishes the likenesses, the properties, and the symbolism of things written down in the book of the world. And so, Scripture has the power to restore the whole world toward the knowledge, praise, and love of God. Hence, if you ask what is the meaning of the serpent to you, or what is its use — it is more useful to you than the whole world because it teaches you how to be prudent, as the ant teaches you how to be wise. Solomon says: "Go to the ant, O sluggard, study her ways and learn wisdom."

Proverbs 6:12 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

The third and worst mode of breaking a vow occurs through apostatic rebellion, as when a man apostatizes from religious life. The first mode of breaking a vow is evil, the second worse, the third worst, because it is said: "An apostate man is a worthless man."

Proverbs 6:23 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Proverbs 6:26 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

Just as by following the glorious Virgin we become precious and holy, so by following Eve we become wicked and worthless. Whence in Proverbs: "The price of a harlot is scarcely one loaf of bread; but a woman captures the precious soul of a man." O foolish Eve, for the eating of one fruit you sold yourself and your husband and all of us! O son of Eve! Beware, lest you be an imitator of Eve; but for whatever pleasure you give your soul, you are an imitator of Eve.

Proverbs 6:27 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

She is a net to those who lust and consent. Whence in Ecclesiasticus: "On account of the beauty of a woman many have perished." It is difficult "to carry fire in one's bosom without one's garments being burned."

Proverbs 7:2 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The third benefit of the observance of God's commandments is the attainment of heavenly rewards. Whence it is said in Proverbs: "Keep my commandments, and you shall live; and my law as the pupil of the eye." This is the reason why God gave the observance of commandments to man when he was in paradise.

Proverbs 8:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

The first counsel is that by which we are instructed to discern what is lawful, what is fitting, and what is expedient according to the judgment of right reason. Whence in Proverbs: 'I, wisdom, dwell in counsel and am present among learned thoughts.' 'I dwell in counsel,' namely that by which a man is instructed to discern what is lawful, what is fitting, and what is expedient according to the judgment of right reason. First a man ought to consider whether it is lawful, whether it is fitting: many things are lawful that are not fitting. Afterward he ought to consider whether it is expedient, because the Apostle says: 'All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient.' Once this threefold consideration has been attained, thoughts are instructed, and wisdom dwells in the counsel of man.

Proverbs 8:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

The fruit of wisdom is mentioned in Proverbs: "Her fruit is better than the choicest and the purest gold." Hence this fruit comes from Christ in a threefold manner, because Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Because He is Jesus, from Him comes the fruit of grace; because He is Christ, from Him comes the fruit of righteousness; because He is the Son of God, from Him comes the fruit of wisdom.

Proverbs 8:24 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

Proverbs 8:24 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Proverbs 8:31 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

Proverbs 8:31 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

It is certain that wisdom delights to be with men: whence she says: "My delights are to be with the children of men." But that wisdom does not dwell with us is not a defect on her part, but on ours. If we wish that the aforesaid light dwell in us, we must have seven pillars: chastity in the flesh, innocence in the mind, moderation in speech, persuadability in affection, liberality in effect, maturity in judgment, and simplicity in intention.

Proverbs 9:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"Wisdom has built herself a house, she has hewn out seven pillars." This house is principally built by wisdom, and thus wisdom builds the Church and the soul, so that it may be a dwelling place of God: a house pleasant, a house beautiful, and a house strong. It is certain that wisdom delights to be with men: whence she says: "My delights are to be with the children of men." But that wisdom does not dwell with us is not a defect on her part, but on ours. If we wish that the aforesaid light dwell in us, we must have seven pillars.

Proverbs 9:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"Do not rebuke a scoffer, lest he hate you: rebuke a wise man, and he will love you." It is better to be corrected by a wise man than to be deceived by the flattery of fools. A fool, when he is corrected, does not withdraw from evil nor is he led to good. He who recognizes his faults, and they displease him, is wise. He who rebukes a person and calls him back from evil renders him a greater service than if he gave him the whole world.

Proverbs 9:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The fear of God avails for obtaining the illumination of divine wisdom, because "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." For the fear of the Lord is the extrinsic principle of wisdom and the intrinsic principle and the complement of wisdom; because there is servile fear, and this is the initiator of wisdom, because, just as the needle introduces the thread and does not remain with the thread, so servile fear introduces wisdom and does not remain with wisdom. Another is the fear of punishment and of offending God; and this is the intrinsic beginning of wisdom and the root of wisdom. The third is the fear of filial reverence: and this is the complement of wisdom, because "the fullness of wisdom is to fear God."

Proverbs 10:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The gift of fortitude is given for accomplishing manly deeds; whence in Proverbs: "The slack hand works poverty, but the hand of the strong prepares riches."

Proverbs 11:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

Gregory of Nazianzus was a most pure youth. It happened that he was studying at Athens. One night, while he slept, there came to him a most beautiful lady, having two handmaidens as if they were virgins; he began to repel her. And the lady said: "Do not flee from me, for I have not come to corrupt you. I am Wisdom, and the two handmaidens are humility and chastity. If you desire me, who am Wisdom, keep these handmaidens, namely humility and chastity, for where there has been pride, there will be disgrace; but where there is humility, there is wisdom." True virginity is that in which wisdom is joined as a companion. Humility with modesty is the principal pillar of wisdom.

Proverbs 11:2 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

He is truly wise who truthfully recognizes his own and others' nothingness and the sublimity of the first principle. But no one arrives at full knowledge of God except through true and right knowledge of oneself; nor does he rightly know himself who does not attend to his own nothingness; but to know one's own nothingness is to humble oneself: therefore humility is the gateway of wisdom. And this the Wise Man says in Proverbs eleven: Where there is humility, there is also wisdom.

Proverbs 12:20 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

He who follows counsel will have joy. Whence in Proverbs: 'Those who enter upon counsels of peace, joy follows them forever.'

Proverbs 14:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"The wisdom of the shrewd is to understand his way, and the imprudence of fools is erring." Prudential understanding teaches what is to be carried out, namely every good, according to the way of interior thought and exterior action. God wills that we do all things reasonably.

Proverbs 14:26 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The third part of the perfection of the fear of the Lord consists in the perfect firmness of confidence: because the fear of the Lord is a tower of firmness and confidence, because it renders a person secure from every other fear. "His truth shall encompass you with a shield; you shall not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor the assault and the noonday devil." And in Proverbs: "The fear of the Lord is a tower of strength." He who does not fear God must fear everywhere; and he who truly fears God has what no one can take from him. But he who fears something other than God has what ought to be taken from him. He who fears God cannot lose God. It is not so with money. If a man has money, he fears lest he lose it, and yet he is certain that he will lose it. But he who fears God is secure everywhere.

Proverbs 14:27 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

And Solomon in Proverbs: "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that they may turn aside from the ruin of death." If you do not fear God, you have lost grace, you have lost justice, and you have lost true wisdom.

Proverbs 14:29 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

In the third place, it is fitting that there be a victorious bearing of worldly tribulations. Indeed, the man who assumes them must prepare himself for suffering. Wherefore Christ overturned the tables in His zeal. Later, when they sought Him, He showed Himself. Hence, "the patient man shows much good sense." There is no doubt that those whose tables He overturned were then clamoring: "Crucify Him!"

Proverbs 14:29 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

The second pillar of the house of wisdom is innocence in the mind, which is noted when James says: "then peaceable." Augustine says that "peace is the tranquility of order," namely, when one humbly subjects himself to a superior, conducts himself equably toward an equal, and discreetly governs an inferior. All who are children of wisdom maintain this order. Whence comes war? If you loved peace, you would obey your superior and govern your inferior in an orderly manner; you would have peace. He who disturbs this peace destroys the house of wisdom. "He who is patient is governed by much wisdom; he who is impatient exalts his own folly," and thus he overturns the house of wisdom.

Proverbs 15:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

If you seek an example of justice, fortitude, prudence, purity, Scripture proposes becoming examples of every virtue. For virtue consists in concrete doings, wherefore interior guidelines are not enough unless they are accompanied by a concrete example. Hence Scripture gives both. As a rule against anger, it offers: A mild answer calms wrath. Consider Abigail who broke David's wrath.

Proverbs 16:32 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

Proverbs 17:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"The expectation of the one who waits is a most precious gem; wherever he turns, he understands prudently." Prudential understanding instructs what is to be awaited, namely the highest good. In all things that direct our understanding in what is to be done and what is to be avoided, a person must employ the counsel of the end. For it is necessary that a person expect something in what he does. If you aim at temporal advantage, you expect a worthless reward. A pleasing, indeed a most pleasing gem is the eternal good.

Proverbs 17:28 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

So great is the closeness between silence and wisdom that "the fool, if he keeps silent, will be reputed wise:" and the wise man who speaks much is reputed a fool. In a single word one can utter a detraction; for this reason one must "make a balance for one's words." Immoderation of speech is to be guarded against in the highest degree.

Proverbs 18:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The impious are those who do not acknowledge divine piety. "But the impious man, when he has come into the depth of sins, shows contempt." The impious man is he who defends his own impiety, namely sin.

Proverbs 18:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The gift of fortitude is given by God protecting. For God protects us according to hierarchical ordering, fortifying us within and without. It is written in Proverbs: "The name of the Lord is a most strong tower; the just man runs to it and shall be exalted." Fortitude is, as from a solid, sublime, and strong principle, from God; and the eternal God is the origin of fortitude in all things, because nothing is powerful nor strong except through the fortitude of the first principle. Therefore this fortitude descends from God protecting us as from the first principle according to hierarchical dispositions; which fortitude renders every man rich and secure and powerful and confident.

Proverbs 18:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Proverbs 18:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The gift of fortitude is given by God protecting. For God protects us according to hierarchical ordering, fortifying us within and without. "The substance of the rich man is a city of strength and like a strong wall surrounding him." Fortitude is, as from a solid, sublime, and strong principle, from God; and the eternal God is the origin of fortitude in all things, because nothing is powerful nor strong except through the fortitude of the first principle.

Proverbs 18:21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue." If the woman had kept silent when the devil said to her: "Why has God commanded you not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?" the devil would not have had the occasion to tempt her further. And the philosophers also taught their disciples to be silent; Cato: "I consider the first of virtues to be to restrain the tongue." I believe that the sins of the tongue are so great that the world would have enough to answer for on account of those alone, if God were to rise up to judge them.

Proverbs 20:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness is tumultuous; whoever delights in these will not be wise." And elsewhere: "Wine and women make the wise to fall away and will reprove the sensible." You have a ready example in that Solomon, who fell away on account of women even to the worship of idolatry, who nevertheless was filled with wisdom like a river. If there were a tavern in which wine were sold that would induce forgetfulness of all wisdom, I believe no one would be so foolish as to buy that wine. I believe that the eternal God, by the most high dispensation of his counsel, permitted Solomon to fall, so that he might teach all men to flee from women.

Proverbs 20:28 — Breviloquium, Part 5

For the perfection of prelacy, two things are necessarily required, namely zeal for justice and the affection of mercy: for mercy and truth preserve the king. According to these two, the governance of prelacy in the Church militant ought to be ordered.

Proverbs 21:15 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The commandments of God contain nothing burdensome, but rather they are sweet. "It is joy to the just to do judgment," that is, justice. But we see that to an infected palate sweet food seems bitter; similarly, to a man of perverse will the commandments of God, which are easy and sweet, seem difficult.

Proverbs 22:20-21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Philosophical knowledge is a certain knowledge of truth as investigable. Concerning this knowledge it is said in Proverbs: "Behold, I have described it for you in a threefold manner, in thoughts and knowledge, that I might show you the firmness and the words of truth." That word can be the word of Solomon and the word of God. I say that it can be the word of God. For He Himself describes philosophical knowledge in a threefold manner, that is, He describes it according to a threefold account: as natural, as rational, and as moral, namely insofar as it is the "cause of being, the ground of understanding," and the "order of living." Insofar as it is the cause of being, it designates natural science; insofar as it is the ground of understanding, it signifies rational science; insofar as it is the order of living, it describes moral science. Nor is that word only of God, indeed it is also of Solomon, who disputed from the cedar of Lebanon down to the hyssop. He himself says: "Behold, I have described it to you in a threefold manner, that I might show you firmness," that is, solid and firm truth, "and the words of truth": he himself describes it in a threefold manner, namely insofar as it is the truth of things, the truth of words and the truth of morals, according as it is the undividedness of being from existence, and the undividedness of being in relation to existence, and of being from its end. The truth of things is the undividedness of being from existence: the truth of words is the undividedness of being in relation to existence: the truth of morals is the undividedness of being from its end. The truth of morals is rectitude, according to which a man lives well within and without according to the dictate of law, because law is the rule of rectitude; the truth of words is the adequation of voice and intellect; the truth of things is "the adequation of intellect and thing." And because philosophical science teaches the words of truth; and truth is threefold: therefore he says that he described it in a threefold manner.

Proverbs 23:31 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The devil draws man to the concupiscence of the flesh, to the concupiscence of the eyes, and to the pride of life. The concupiscence of the eyes, which is the fuel of concupiscence and pride, makes men strong, because men endure many things in order to acquire temporal goods. In wine, which makes a man drunk and renders him bold, is signified the concupiscence of the eyes. It is written: "Do not gaze upon wine when it grows golden" in the cup. What is the means of resisting these? Through truth, namely through faith dwelling within.

Proverbs 24:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

In the same manner, there are four acts of justice: to do good, to flee evil, to beware of prosperity, and to withstand misfortune. Hence the just is warned not to fall. If he does fall, he is advised to rise again. For "the just man falls seven times and rises again."

Proverbs 24:27 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

This happens when a man has good intentions but does not fulfill them: then it is that the thistles of malice and the nettles of cupidity come to grow. The stone wall of the virtues is destroyed because of the dissipation of thoughts. Hence, in the same text: "complete your outdoor tasks, and arrange your work in the field."

Proverbs 24:30 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

In Proverbs: "I passed by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man without sense; and behold! it was all overgrown with thistles; its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall broken down." This happens when a man has good intentions but does not fulfill them: then it is that the thistles of malice and the nettles of cupidity come to grow. The stone wall of the virtues is destroyed because of the dissipation of thoughts.

Proverbs 24:31 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Proverbs 25:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

The fourth column of the house of wisdom is persuadability in the affections. There is no one who is persuadable to good unless he is benign: and this also accords with wisdom. It is written: "The spirit of wisdom is benign, and will not free the evil-speaker from his lips." Good persuadability causes one to esteem and love good things and to consent to them: and the wiser a person is, the more persuadable he is to good things. "A golden earring and a shining pearl is he who rebukes the wise and the obedient ear." Just as an earring adorns the ear, and a pearl in a crown adorns the face, so a good word adorns the wise person. When a wise person is rebuked, he conducts himself as if he were being adorned. For if I correct myself at the word of good admonition, what else do I do than adorn myself with that word? If, however, this pearl is set before a fool, he tramples it like a dog.

Proverbs 25:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

The fourth need is good measure, so that a man seek not to savor beyond his means, but that he do so according to moderation. Hence, the Wise Man says: "If you find honey, eat only what you need, lest you become glutted with it and vomit it up." Do not extend yourself beyond the point your intelligence can reach; but neither remain short of it. Wherefore, in order to make this point, as Dionysius says, the Seraphim flew with their intermediate wings, showing that man should not remain short of his possibilities nor rise beyond them. Likewise, those who sing beyond their range never produce harmony.

Proverbs 28:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Proverbs 28:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

In the same manner, there are four acts of justice: to do good, to flee evil, to beware of prosperity, and to withstand misfortune. Of the third: "Happy the man who is always on his guard" when things go well with him. Hence the just is warned not to fall. If he does fall, he is advised to rise again. For "the just man falls seven times and rises again."

Proverbs 30:2-3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

Solomon in Proverbs says: "I am the most foolish of men, and the wisdom of men is not with me. I have not learned wisdom, and I have not known the wisdom of the Saints." Christ was foolish in outward appearance, when he departed from the desire of the foolish; more foolish, when he willed to be afflicted; most foolish indeed, when he chose the death of the cross and died by the most shameful death. This is the wisdom of the Saints.

Proverbs 30:8-9 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Furthermore, Proverbs thirty: Give me neither riches nor beggary; and afterward: Lest compelled by want I steal and perjure the name of my God; but nothing pertains to evangelical perfection which the Wise Man wisely refuses: therefore etc. It can be said that those things were said in the time of the written law, which promised temporal things, not eternal, in which poverty was despised. Whence Chrysostom, in the eighteenth homily on the Epistle to the Hebrews, treating the aforesaid word: Riches and beggary etc., says: "These things were said in the Old Testament, where much account was made of riches, where there was very great contempt for poverty, where this indeed was a curse, namely poverty, but that was a blessing, namely riches. But now it is by no means so. But if you wish to hear the praise of poverty, Christ Himself professed it and said: But the Son of man has not where to lay His head; and again He said to the disciples: Do not possess gold." From which it is apparent that the authority is not contrary to those who assume voluntary poverty, since that was said in the time of the written law, but this in the time of the law of grace. Nor was that said in the person of a perfect man, but rather of a weak one, as is clear from the word of Chrysostom.

Proverbs 30:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

Most incomprehensible is wisdom that travels along roads that are beyond investigation. Concerning this, it is said in Proverbs: "Three things are too wonderful for me, yes, four I cannot understand: the way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden." "The way of an eagle in the air" came about in the ascension of Christ; "the way of a serpent upon the rock," in the resurrection, for a serpent is renewed upon the rock where it sheds its old skin; "the way of a ship on the high seas," in the passion; "the way of a man with a maiden," in the incarnation, which the author says he cannot understand. And it is true in terms of human reason, but not so in terms of faith.

Proverbs 30:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

Proverbs 31:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

"Who shall find a valiant woman?" This is Solomon's word applied to the glorious Virgin, in which he commends her for three things: first, for the strength of spiritual fortitude; second, for the fruitfulness of supernatural conception; and third, for the discernment of salutary counsel. And rightly are these three joined together: because the strength of spiritual fortitude was the beginning of the supernatural conception, and the gift of counsel was as it were the complement, because that Virgin, who was to conceive Christ, the Son of God, the power of God and the wisdom of God, had to be strong and prudent: strong in virtue and prudent through wisdom. And therefore the Wise Man, wishing to explain the conception of the Virgin, sets forth first the spirit of fortitude and then adds the gift of counsel; because she, upon whom the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety and the spirit of the fear of the Lord was to rest, had to be filled with the sevenfold spirit of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but especially with the spirit of fortitude and counsel. Moreover, in that he says: "Her price is from afar and from the uttermost boundaries," the glorious Virgin is understood to be commended for the supernatural fecundity of her conception. This I do not have from myself, but Bernard says: "If our salvation and that of all, if the restoration of innocence is placed in the hand of a woman: it is necessary that a strong woman be sought, who is needed for so great a work"; and he adds: "Not from the earth, not from the nearby heaven, but from the highest heaven is his going forth." "Far off and from the uttermost boundaries is her price"; and whose is this price? The price of this woman, the blessed Virgin, is that by which we may be able to obtain the kingdom of heaven; or it is hers, that is, taken from her, paid through her, and possessed by her: taken from her in the incarnation of the Word; paid through her in the redemption of the human race; and possessed by her in the attainment of the glory of paradise. She herself brought forth that price, paid it, and possessed it: therefore it is hers as originating, as paying, and as possessing. This woman brought forth that price as strong and holy; paid it as strong and compassionate; and possessed it as strong and vigorous.

Proverbs 31:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

"Who shall find a valiant woman?" This word is written in Proverbs: without doubt it was said in commendation of mother Church, and specially in commendation of the glorious Virgin. In which word she is commended for three things: first, for the strengthening of spiritual fortitude; second, for the fruitfulness of supernatural conception; and third, for the discretion of salutary counsel. She is commended for the strength of spiritual fortitude, when he says: "Who shall find a valiant woman?" He asks not in despair, but in confidence. Who then shall find her? Certainly he who "reaches from end to end"; he himself shall find her and sent to her a bridesman, that is, Gabriel the Archangel. Gabriel is interpreted as "the strength of God," and he himself was sent to find the "valiant woman." Without doubt Solomon wished to rest in her as in a secure place; but this could not be unless she were strong, because it is said in the Canticle that "sixty valiant ones surround the bed of Solomon."

Proverbs 31:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

The most blessed glorious Virgin is commended in these words first for the strength of spiritual fortitude; second, for the fruitfulness of supernatural conception; and third, for the discretion of salutary counsel. The first is noted there: 'Who shall find a valiant woman?' the second there: 'Her price is as from afar and from the uttermost boundaries'; the third there: 'She hath sought wool and flax and hath wrought by the counsel of her hands.'

Proverbs 31:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

"Who shall find a valiant woman?" Without doubt it was said in commendation of mother Church, and specially in commendation of the glorious Virgin. In which word she is commended for three things: first, for the strengthening of spiritual fortitude; second, for the fruitfulness of supernatural conception; and third, for the discretion of salutary counsel. The third is noted when it adds: "She hath sought wool and flax, and hath wrought by the counsel of her hands."

Proverbs 31:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

The Holy Spirit here describes the gift of counsel with respect to the preliminary act, and this with respect to the intrinsic act and the extrinsic act, and with respect to the proper act. The first and second are noted when it says: 'She sought wool and flax'; and the third there: 'She worked by the counsel of her hands.' There is a counsel by which we are instructed to discern what is lawful, what is fitting, and what is expedient for salvation according to the judgment of right reason; another is a counsel by which we are instructed to choose what is lawful, what is fitting, and what is expedient according to the command of a good will. The third is a counsel by which we are instructed to pursue what is lawful, what is fitting, and what is expedient according to the exercise of virtuous operation. And of this counsel it is said: 'She has worked by the counsel of her hands.'

Proverbs 31:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The way of Christ himself is that a man walk purely and with fortitude. "She girded," he says, "her loins with strength."

Proverbs 31:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Of the valiant woman it is said: "She put her hand to strong things, and her fingers grasped the spindle." He speaks of the Church and of her members. First it is necessary to put the hand to strong things before the fingers grasp the spindle, that is, it is necessary first to act with fortitude before a man can teach with perspicacity. In the spindle, by which thread is drawn from tow, is signified the diligence by which men receive doctrine and unfold it. He who wishes to teach well must put his hand to strong things. If the arm is weak, even if the sword be strong and good, the blow will not be good. Some are full of words and have little of works.

Proverbs 31:20 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

The fifth column of the house of wisdom is liberality in effect. Wisdom wills to have mercy not only in affection, but also in effect. "She opened her hand to the needy and stretched out her palms to the poor. She opened her mouth to wisdom, and the law of clemency is on her tongue. From the fruit of her hands she gave to the needy." Wisdom teaches that a person should perform works not frivolous but fruitful, because "the fruit of good labors is glorious." Among all fruitful works, the works of mercy are most fruitful. Give therefore from the fruits of your hands.

Proverbs 31:25 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

"Strength and beauty are her clothing." Just as the body is adorned by its garment, so the soul is adorned by fortitude; therefore it is called the clothing of the soul; nor is fortitude only the clothing of the soul, or of the glorious Virgin, but indeed of Mother Church. Whence Isaiah says: "Arise, arise, O daughter of Sion; put on the garments of thy glory."

Proverbs 31:30 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Good is the grace that makes a man good; but "grace is deceitful and beauty is vain," as is said in Proverbs. Grace freely given can coexist with mortal sin. This grace Ecclesiasticus regards as of little account, but the grace that makes one pleasing he highly esteems.

Proverbs 31:30 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

She paid this price as strong and devout with the devotion of divine veneration. Whence in Proverbs: "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain; the woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." But there is no one who could restore the honor taken from God except Christ. And the blessed Virgin is venerative and restorative of the honor taken from God, and a mother consenting that Christ be offered as the price. Therefore "she shall be praised." Anna was praised because she offered Samuel: whence it is said of her: "The woman went her way and ate, and her countenance was no longer changed." She offered her son to serve: but the blessed Virgin offered her son to be sacrificed. Abraham, you wished to offer your son, but you offered a ram! But the glorious Virgin offered her own son. The poor widow is praised because she offered all that she had: but this woman, namely the glorious Virgin, most merciful, devout, and devoted to God, offered her whole substance. In this the impiety of men is rebuked, who do not render thanks to God for what they have received. You have received so many good things from God, namely prebends and other things; if you do anything for God, it seems great to you. But if you give yourself and everything you have for God, it is nothing. Devotion principally consists in the worship of God.

Psalms 1:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Piety avails for avoiding all evils. Praise God and be angry against sin, and do not defend sin, because to defend sin is a twofold sin. It is noteworthy what the Psalm says: "Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the impious," by consenting to sin; "and has not stood in the way of sinners," by persisting in sin; "and has not sat in the chair of pestilence," by defending his sin.

Psalms 1:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Hence, meditation on the Law is supremely necessary. The Psalm reads: Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, but delights in the Law of the Lord. He is like a tree planted near running water. And Ecclesiasticus: The things that God hath commanded thee, think on them always, and in many of His works be not curious.

Psalms 1:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 2:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Psalms 2:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The fear of God avails for introducing the rectitude of divine justice. "The fear of the Lord drives out sin. For he who is without fear cannot be justified." Injustice does not enter the soul except through sin: but the first justification of the soul is that it be subject to the divine majesty. "If you do not hold yourself steadfastly in the fear of the Lord, your house will quickly be overturned." Consider David, who says: "Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice in him with trembling."

Psalms 4:2-4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

"O sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart? Why do you love vanity and seek after falsehood? And know that the Lord has made His Holy One wonderful: the Lord will hear me when I cry to Him. Be angry, and do not sin: for what you say in your hearts, upon your beds be moved to compunction." He who has true knowledge and knows God and sees that he does not walk rightly or perfectly is in continual sorrow, because he sees that his affections and thoughts are scattered. Augustine: "Knowledge begets mourning."

Psalms 4:6 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 5

Psalms 4:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 4

God is said to see, because He makes us see. The first vision of the soul is by means of understanding naturally given. Hence in the Psalm: The light of Thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us. And here all the difficulties of philosophy could be explained.

Psalms 4:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Through the first vision, we understand that to which our intelligence reaches by its own power. This corresponds to the first day on which light was made. Hence in the Psalm: "The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us." Without this light which is given within, a man has nothing, neither faith nor grace nor the illumination of wisdom. For this reason also light was separated from darkness.

Psalms 4:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

Another help for rising to the exemplary principles is that provided by the spiritual creature, which resembles light, a mirror, an image, "a scroll written within." Every spiritual substance is light. Hence, the Psalm: "The light of Thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us." At the same time, it is a mirror, for it receives and represents all things; and it has the nature of light, so that it may even pass judgment on things. For the whole world is described in the soul.

Psalms 4:8 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Concerning this hierarch, then, and the ecclesiastical hierarchy, the whole of sacred Scripture exists, through which we are taught to be purged, illumined, and perfected, and this according to the threefold law handed down in it, namely of nature, of Scripture, and of grace; or rather according to its threefold principal part, namely the Mosaic law which purges, the prophetic revelation which illumines, and the evangelical teaching which perfects; or most especially according to its threefold spiritual understanding: the tropological, which purges unto uprightness of life; the allegorical, which illumines unto clarity of understanding; the anagogical, which perfects through mental ecstasies and the sweetest perceptions of wisdom, according to the three aforesaid theological virtues and the reformed spiritual senses and the three above-mentioned ecstasies and the hierarchical acts of the mind, by which our mind returns to its interior, so that there it may contemplate God in the splendors of the Saints and in them as in resting-places may sleep in peace and rest, the Bridegroom adjuring that it not be awakened until it proceed of His will.

Psalms 5:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

The seventh age runs concurrently with the sixth, that is, the repose of the souls after Christ's passion. After that comes the eighth age, the resurrection, of which the Psalmist says: "At dawn I bring my plea expectantly before You. For You, O God, delight not in wickedness." And it is a return to the first, for after the seventh day, there is a return to the first. These, then, are the seeds scattered throughout for the understanding of Scripture, and they are produced from these trees in so far as they accord with common interpretation, and in this way time is divided into seven ages.

Psalms 5:9 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

The eighth plague was of locusts devouring all green vegetation, by which liars are struck, who trample the truth with their teeth and lips. The Psalm: "Their heart is vain; their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they dealt deceitfully."

Psalms 5:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Psalms 5:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The impious man is he who defends his own impiety, namely sin. Of such the Psalm says: "Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they acted deceitfully: judge them, O God. Let them fall from their own counsels: according to the multitude of their impieties, cast them out, for they have provoked you, O Lord." Do you wish to be freed from evil? Hear David, who says: "I said: I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord, and you have forgiven the impiety of my sin." Praise God and be angry against sin, and do not defend sin, because to defend sin is a twofold sin.

Psalms 5:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Psalms 5:12 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Psalms 7:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Scripture enlightens a posteriori through strict judgments. For God always imposes strict judgments upon transgressions of the precepts, as in the cases of Lucifer, Adam and his wife, the depraved upon whom came the flood, the prideful who built the tower of Babel, the Chananeans and Israel. Likewise, the New Testament is full of judgments. Now, the judgment follows the act, while the command precedes it. The judgment is related to the command: if you transgress it, you shall be punished. Unless you follow the guiding light, a sword shall pierce you. Hence the Psalm: Unless they be converted, God will sharpen His sword; He will bend and aim His bow, prepare His deadly weapons against them, and use fiery darts for arrows. The bow is the judgment of Scripture; the hardness of the wood, the Old Testament; the cord that bends the wood, the New Testament; the judgments, light or harsh, are the arrows. Hence again in the Psalm: The Law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. The ordinances of the Lord are true, all of them just.

Psalms 7:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 8:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

These are the two knowledges of faith illuminating and inflaming in a threefold manner while being retraced to unity. They are said to cry, out of admiration, because both forms of knowledge are admirable. Wherefore in the Psalm: "O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is Your name over all the earth!" And in truth this name is admirable in so far as it refers to the eternal God, for it implies a true distinction of Persons together with unity of essence, through which they are supremely conforming to each other, supremely in accord, supremely coequal, coeternal, consubstantial, and coessential. Likewise, it is admirable in so far as it refers to God made man, because the three natures are conjoined: the highest with the lowest, without debasement; the first with the last, without alteration; the simple with the composite, without composition.

Psalms 8:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, that is, the heavenly men in whom we see this threefold light, the work of God's fingers. The magicians of Pharaoh lacked this third finger, that is, the miracles.

Psalms 8:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Psalms 8:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Psalms 8:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

"O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is Your name over all the earth! You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor." And in truth this name is admirable in so far as it refers to the eternal God, for it implies a true distinction of Persons together with unity of essence. Likewise, it is admirable in so far as it refers to God made man, because the three natures are conjoined: the highest with the lowest, without debasement; the first with the last, without alteration; the simple with the composite, without composition.

Psalms 8:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Psalms 11:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Likewise, Scripture enlightens from below by showing forth the torments of hell. In the Psalm: He rains upon the wicked fiery coals and brimstone; a burning blast is their allotted cup. In the Apocalypse: Their portion shall be in the pool that burns with fire and brimstone. And the smoke of their torments goes up forever and ever. Scripture proposes this from the very beginning where it is said that darkness covered the abyss, until the end. And so Scripture offers internal spectacles, external examples, heavenly promises, and the tortures of hell.

Psalms 14:1 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

The Psalm says: The fool has said in his heart: there is no God; but to say in the heart is to think: therefore that God does not exist can be thought, at least by the fool. To that which is objected to the contrary from the Psalm and from Damascene, the response is already clear: because it proceeds from doubt which comes from a deficiency of reason, of the kind that exists in the foolish intellect, which, darkened by its own dimness, neither sufficiently resolves nor rightly compares nor fully apprehends the meaning of this name God. For the intellect itself has within itself sufficient light from its own condition, by which it could drive this doubt far away and free itself from foolishness. Hence in this defective consideration of the foolish intellect, it falls short voluntarily rather than by compulsion, not on account of a deficiency on the part of the object known, but on account of a deficiency on its own part.

Psalms 14:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

The Scripture shut up all things under sin, the first through ignorance, the second through weakness, and the third through malice, so that when Christ came, He could have mercy on them all. And the Apostle wonders at this, and quotes the authority of the Psalm: "All alike have gone astray; they have become perverse; there is not one that does good, not even one."

Psalms 16:2 — Breviloquium

Psalms 16:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Grace cannot be given to man unless he first acknowledge his blindness, weakness, and malice. And so, there was a time in which blindness prevailed, as in the period before the Law. At a later point, the illuminating Law was given, and yet "their infirmities were multiplied," and there was an opportunity for a greater transgression of the Law. And therefore man had to be convicted of weakness or impotency.

Psalms 16:5 — Breviloquium, Part 6

The orders are preceded by a certain distinction in the tonsure and crown, by which is understood the cutting away of temporal desires and the elevation of the mind to eternal things, so that the cleric may be shown to be wholly appointed to divine worship; and therefore he says at the reception of the crown: The Lord is the portion of my inheritance. And because such a one ought to be instructed in the divine praises, which chiefly consist in the Psalms: therefore the psalmistrate, as a preamble, precedes the other orders.

Psalms 16:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

This brief word belongs to David himself, who through the Holy Spirit unfolds to us the very gift of understanding given to us by the Holy Spirit, and he unfolds it to us with respect to the humble gratitude of the recipient and with respect to the liberal diffusion of the giver. The humble gratitude of the recipient is noted when he says: "I will bless the Lord"; the liberal diffusion of the giver is noted when he adds: "Who has bestowed upon me understanding." This gift requires that man be grateful to God, and brings it about that man recognizes himself and the gift and the source of the gift: and by understanding the source of the gift man recognizes himself, and so gives thanks. And then he blesses God and pours back the beauty of the gift upon the very author of the gift, and praises him, and does not assail the giver. Moreover, we dispose ourselves to receive this gift through three things: first, through holiness of life; second, through the docility of meekness; and third, through the captivation of the understanding, so that we may bless the author of this gift. All radiance of intelligence comes from that fountain of intelligence. And although the radiance of intelligence is manifold, understanding is the rule of moral circumspections, the gateway of scientific considerations, and the key of heavenly contemplations; and this is a gift.

Psalms 16:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Psalms 16:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 16:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

But grace which lifts up is obtained through hope. Therefore "our present light affliction which is for the moment, prepares for us an eternal weight of glory." For the Lord rejoices in the right. "The delights at your right hand forever." At the left are passing riches, glories and consolations. We must indeed adhere to the right. As the Psalm says, "Your right hand upholds me," Lord. Hence the rewards dispose towards the third act of grace.

Psalms 17:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

A saint's life must be pure, that is, everything must be done out of love for God, and not out of love for something else, since all love is suspect if it is not addressed to God. "Keep me as the apple of your eye." The apple of the eye is not kept clean when there is mist or dust or liquid on it.

Psalms 17:15 — Breviloquium, Part 7

If long and healthful life: there is sound eternity and eternal soundness, because the just shall live forever, and: The salvation of the just is from the Lord. If fullness: they shall be satisfied, when the glory of God shall appear. If inebriation: they shall be inebriated with the plenty of the house of God.

Psalms 18:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

"I will love you, O Lord, my fortitude; the Lord is my firmament and my refuge and my deliverer." Catherine and Lucy were strong through the love of God. If we are not bound to the Lord through charity, we easily lose our fortitude.

Psalms 18:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Psalms 19:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

And so, first of all there is the heavenly form. For Scripture makes use of all the heavens and the stars. Hence the Psalm: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork. And Ecclesiasticus: The clear vault of the sky shines forth like heaven itself, a vision of glory.

Psalms 19:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

In relation to unity, there are two testaments, the one giving birth into slavery and, the other, into freedom; the one of fear and the other of love, the one literal and the other spiritual, the one figurative and the other actual: and so these two times are distinguished as are the night and the day. Hence, in the Psalm: "Day pours out the word to day, and night to night imparts knowledge." During that night, the Law was like the moon, and according to Gregory the Fathers were like the stars. But when the Sun came, the day was light.

Psalms 19:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Concerning the second allegory, about the blessed Virgin Mary, it is said in the Psalm: "He has pitched a tent there for the sun." Wherefore she is "as beautiful as the moon, as resplendent as the sun, as awe-inspiring as bannered troops." Hence she is a vessel able to contain light: "The sun, an admirable instrument, the work of the most High — shining gloriously in the firmament of heaven."

Psalms 19:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 19:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 19:10 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The commandments of God are irreproachable, because they contain nothing burdensome, but rather they are sweet. "More to be desired than gold and much precious stone, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb." But we see that to an infected palate sweet food seems bitter; similarly, to a man of perverse will the commandments of God, which are easy and sweet, seem difficult.

Psalms 19:12 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

In many other ways also a man becomes a partaker of the sin of another; and on account of this the Psalm says: From my hidden sins cleanse me, O Lord, and from the sins of others spare your servant.

Psalms 20:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

The third counsel is that by which we are made ready to pursue what is lawful, what is fitting, and what is expedient according to the exercise of virtuous operation. What you have well conceived in mind, you may bring to completion in deed. The Psalm says: 'May he grant you according to your heart and confirm all your counsel.' That counsel adds over and above readiness for action. There is a threefold operation, namely to discern rightly, to choose well, and to pursue readily.

Psalms 21:11-12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Another evil counselor is one who turns good things into evil. The Psalm says: 'For they turned evils against you; they devised counsels which they were unable to establish; for you shall make them turn their back.' It is evil when someone says something by which the counsel of Christ could be considered evil — as when someone condemns the counsel of entering holy religious life. It is foolish, dangerous, pernicious, and reckless to turn into evil that which Christ declared good.

Psalms 22:22 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

The brothers should be spoken to, hence, the Psalm: "I will proclaim your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you"; and spiritual men also, in order that they may be drawn from worldly knowledge to Christian knowledge.

Psalms 22:25 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

We should speak of the Church of rational men united in harmonious and uniform concelebration of divine praise, according to the Psalm, "with Thee is my praise in a great Church." As a sweet chant results from a great number of voices united in a certain proportion and harmony, so also a spiritual harmony pleasing to the Most High comes forth from the harmony of the love of many.

Psalms 24:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

The Psalm says: "Upon the seas he founded it"; and elsewhere: "Who founded the earth upon its own stability." Some mocked David because he said that God founded the earth upon the waters. The earth, since it is dry, unless there were moisture penetrating it, would be reduced to dust; and just as the human body receives moisture through its veins, so it is necessary that fresh waters come from the sea and hold the earth together. He says that he founded the earth upon the waters on account of the mystery. The earth which the Spirit has filled is the ecclesiastical hierarchy; he "who weighs the mass of the earth with three fingers," because he founded the holy Church upon the divine utterances. The sacred utterances are for its stability.

Psalms 24:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

He overcame the world, despoiled Hades, and restored Paradise. Hence in the Psalm: "Lift up, O gates, your lintels; reach up, you ancient portals, that the King of Glory may come in! Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty." We want to hear this: "Lift up, O gates, your lintels! Who is this King of Glory? The Lord, strong and mighty!" He, then, is the Strong One.

Psalms 24:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Psalms 24:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Psalms 24:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Psalms 25:10 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 5

Since the first principle does all things from itself and according to itself and for itself, it is necessary that it be most good and most upright, and thereby most merciful and most just: and hence it is that all his ways are mercy and truth, or judgment. But if God had from the beginning created man in such great miseries, there would be neither mercy nor justice, namely that he would oppress his own work with such great misery, with no preceding fault. If therefore it is most certain that the first principle is most upright and most clement both in producing and in providing: it is necessary that he so made the human race that from the beginning there was in it neither fault nor misery; it is also necessary that he so governs that he does not permit misery to be in us except on account of some preceding fault.

Psalms 25:10 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 11

Since the remission of sin is accomplished by God through penitential grace within ecclesiastical unity, the differences of the sin against the Holy Spirit are taken according as they directly assail those three things. If in relation to the unity of the Church: since the unity of the Church consists in faith and charity, that is, in grace and truth, there is thus a twofold sin, namely envy of fraternal grace and assailing of acknowledged truth. If in relation to God who gives: since all His ways with respect to justification are especially mercy and truth, there is thus a twofold sin: one which assails mercy, and this is despair; another which assails justice, and this is presumption of impunity.

Psalms 25:10 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Psalms 27:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 27:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Thoughts about God must be the highest in the order of truth, for He Himself is the Truth ruling all things, illuminating all things, straightening all things, disposing all things. Wherefore, in the Psalm: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The power of government should not in any way be attributed to the constellations of heaven.

Psalms 27:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

"I will love you, O Lord, my fortitude; the Lord is my firmament and my refuge and my deliverer. The protector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" Catherine and Lucy were strong through the love of God. If we are not bound to the Lord through charity, we easily lose our fortitude.

Psalms 31:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Psalms 31:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

He who does not fear God must fear everywhere; and he who truly fears God has what no one can take from him. But he who fears something other than God has what ought to be taken from him. He who fears God cannot lose God. It is not so with money. If a man has money, he fears lest he lose it, and yet he is certain that he will lose it. But he who fears God is secure everywhere. "How great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you"; there follows: "You have perfected it for those who hope in you." Therefore the fear of God ought to be perfect, because "it shall be well with those who fear God," because they shall come to the blessing of glory.

Psalms 31:20 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

He who fears God cannot lose God. But he who fears something other than God has what ought to be taken from him. But he who fears God is secure everywhere. "How great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you; you have perfected it for those who hope in you." Therefore the fear of God ought to be perfect, because "it shall be well with those who fear God," because they shall come to the blessing of glory.

Psalms 32:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Piety avails for avoiding all evils. Do you wish to be freed from evil? Hear David, who says: "I said: I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord, and you have forgiven the impiety of my sin." Praise God and be angry against sin, and do not defend sin, because to defend sin is a twofold sin.

Psalms 32:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"I will give you understanding and I will instruct you in this way in which you shall walk; I will fix my eyes upon you." The Lord promises us this understanding and shows us how we ought to receive it. "I will fix my eyes upon you": the divine good pleasure accepts what we do, approving in the present and rewarding in the future. If you wish to be regulated according to this rule, take care that you be not bestial but well-ordered: that you be directed not according to the impulse of sense, but according to the judgment of reason; not according to bestial phantasms, but according to intellectual judgments. Otherwise what happened to Adam will happen to you, who, having despised the rule of truth, followed the instinct of the woman, and the woman followed the instinct of the serpent.

Psalms 32:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"Do not become like the horse and the mule, which have no understanding." It is necessary that you be well-ordered in conduct, if you wish to have the gift of understanding. If you wish to be regulated according to the divine rule, take care that you be not bestial but well-ordered: that you be directed not according to the impulse of sense, but according to the judgment of reason; not according to bestial phantasms, but according to intellectual judgments.

Psalms 33:6 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

In words, that appears especially efficacious for testifying which David, the most excellent of the Prophets, said in the Psalm: By the Word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the Spirit of His mouth all their power, where the trinity of persons is simultaneously intimated, such that two persons are named explicitly under the name of Spirit and Word, and one implicitly under the name of Lord. Moreover in many places, indeed in nearly all places of the Old Testament, although implicitly, nevertheless through figures and words testimony is rendered to the eternal Trinity.

Psalms 33:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

By the word of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the power of them by the spirit of His mouth. The heavens, that is the heavenly beings, were confirmed through faith by the Word of God; and through this same Word, both the heavenly and the sub-heavenly beings were confirmed, and hence it is said: And all the power of them by the spirit of His mouth.

Psalms 33:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Concerning the gathering of waters, the Psalm says: "He gathers the waters of the sea as in a flask." He gathers the waters of the sea in a flask when He brings together in the skin of Scriptures the totality of the spiritual meanings. Now there are three reasons why these meanings are compared to waters gathered in a wine-bag — to wit, because of the primitive origination of these spiritual meanings, because of their most profound depth, and because of their abundantly flowing multiformity.

Psalms 33:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

And so it is clear that possible things come forth from the most actual, changing things from the most stable, and the lowest things from the most sublime. And as the sun by shining brings forth a variety and number of colors, so out of this Word there comes forth a variety of things. Hence there is no understanding except through the Word. And this is the most noble key of the soul cleansed by faith, and it is needed because "the low sensitivity of our mind is not touched in such outstanding light, except when it is cleansed by the justifying power of faith." Hence all those who lack this faith have their hand cut off. Wherefore the Psalm says: "He spoke, and they were made: He commanded, and they were created."

Psalms 33:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Ecclesiasticus says: 'Before all works let a true word precede you, and before every act a stable counsel.' The true word, which can neither be deceived nor deceive, is the only-begotten Son of God and his doctrine and his life. Let this word precede you and this stable counsel. Stable counsel is none other than that of my God; 'the counsel of the Lord remains forever.'

Psalms 34:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Passing over is an endeavor: the endeavor to pass from the study of the sciences to the study of holiness and from the study of holiness to that of wisdom. It is said of this in the Psalm: "Teach me goodness and discipline and knowledge." The endeavor begins from the top because it wants to "taste and see how good the Lord is." But it is not possible to reach wisdom except through discipline, nor discipline except through knowledge — wherefore the last should not be placed before the first. It would be a poor merchant who would prefer tin to gold. The man who chooses knowledge over holiness will never prosper.

Psalms 34:9 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

By the authority of the Psalm: Fear the Lord, all you his saints, for there is no want to those who fear him: therefore being in want and fearing God do not stand together. To that which is first objected to the contrary, that there is no want to those who fear God — it must be said that want is twofold, namely bodily and spiritual: but that word is understood not of any want whatsoever, but of spiritual want. And that this is true appears from what immediately follows: The rich have wanted and have hungered: it is clear that this is not understood of a lack of material riches; it remains therefore that it is understood of a want of spiritual goods, which although it exists in the rich, nevertheless does not exist in those who fear God, because fear is the beginning of wisdom, of which it is said in Wisdom 7: All good things came to me together with her, etc.

Psalms 34:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

"Come, children, hear me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord." These words are of the Prophet David, in which he invites the children of the grace of God and the children of adoption to learn this lesson: and he invites not only the little ones, but also the advanced and the aged and the decrepit. This is a lesson that ought to be taught in youth and never abandoned. This lesson, therefore, is for all. It is true that Sacred Scripture speaks of the fear of the Lord; and the fear of the Lord is handed down in Sacred Scripture. The preacher does as a man who is in a meadow and gathers flowers: he cannot gather them all, but he gathers some and makes from them a garland. I wish to make for you a garland from the flowers that I have gathered, which for the present I wish to set before you. It seems to me that the fear of the Lord is a most beautiful tree planted in the heart of the holy man, which God waters continually: and when the tree is brought to perfection, then the man is worthy of eternal glory. I wish to describe for you the root of this tree and its branching together with its fruit. And what is the root of the fear of the Lord? For it is necessary to go to the original principle, so that we may know by what way the fear of God arises in us. Now the fear of God arises in us first from the consideration of the sublimity of divine power, second, from the consideration of the perspicacity of divine wisdom, third, from the consideration of the severity of divine vengeance.

Psalms 34:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

In the same manner, there are four acts of justice: to do good, to flee evil, to beware of prosperity, and to withstand misfortune. Of the first two, the Psalm says: "Turn from evil, and do good. The Lord has eyes for the just. The Lord confronts the evildoers."

Psalms 35:2 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Since Scripture conceals a manifold understanding beneath a single letter, the expositor ought to bring hidden things forth into the light and make manifest what has been drawn forth through another, more open passage of Scripture, as if I were to expound that verse of the Psalm: Take hold of arms and shield, and rise up to help me, and wished to explain what the divine arms are; I would say that they are his truth and good will: and that this is so must be proved through open Scripture. For it is also written elsewhere: With the shield of your good will you have crowned us; and again: His truth shall compass you about with a shield. To this no one can easily attain unless through habitual reading he commits the text and letter of the Bible to memory; otherwise he will never be able to be proficient in the exposition of the Scriptures.

Psalms 36:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Where there is no fear, there is neither wisdom nor justice nor grace. When a man does not have the fear of God, then his sense is turned to malice and goes forth like the poison of asps. When a man is disordered in affection with respect to thought, in speech with respect to utterance, and in deed with respect to effect; then he has nothing good. "Destruction and unhappiness are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known," namely the way of the grace of the Holy Spirit. And why? Because "there is no fear of God before their eyes." If you wish to strive to have grace, justice, and wisdom, and these cannot be had without fear: therefore the fear of God is necessary for you. Likewise, where there is no fear, there is foolishness, malice, and iniquity, destruction and unhappiness: but these are to be fled as the worst things.

Psalms 36:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

This Hierarch is the most generous because He gives us whatever we ask. He swears to it and asserts it with complete truthfulness. Hence in the Psalm: "Man and beast You save, O Lord. They shall be inebriated with the plenty of Thy house."

Psalms 36:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 36:8 — Breviloquium, Part 7

If fullness: they shall be satisfied, when the glory of God shall appear. If inebriation: they shall be inebriated with the plenty of the house of God. If melody: there the choirs of Angels sing together praising God without end. If any pleasure, not impure but pure: you shall give them to drink of the torrent of your pleasure, O God. If wisdom: the very wisdom of God shall show itself to them. If friendship: they shall love God more than themselves and one another as themselves, and God shall love them more than they love themselves, because they love Him and themselves and one another through Him, and He loves Himself and them through Himself.

Psalms 36:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 36:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Psalms 36:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 36:9 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 8

Psalms 36:9 — Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ, Question 4

Isaac, treating that verse of the Psalm, *In your light we shall see light,* says: "Just as from the sun proceeds that by which the sun can be seen, and yet what shows the sun does not leave the sun: so in God the light which proceeds from God irradiates the mind, so that it first sees the very radiance itself, without which it would not see, and in that radiance sees all other things." Therefore according to this, all things are seen in the divine light.

Psalms 37:4 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Psalms 37:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

However much knowledge a man may have of the New and Old Testament, it is still necessary that he consult the Lord. The Psalm says: 'Reveal your way to the Lord, and he himself will give you the petitions of your heart. Be subject to the Lord.' I do not say that he should have a special conversation with him, but it is necessary that the Lord bring forth truth for him as light. In this are reproved certain ones who wish to be governed by their own knowledge.

Psalms 37:25 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

The Psalm: I have not seen the just man forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread: therefore he who seeks bread is neither just nor the seed of the just. To that which is objected from the Psalm: I have not seen the just man forsaken, etc.; it must be said that bread is twofold, namely bodily and spiritual; but that word is not understood of bodily bread, but of spiritual bread. And that this is true appears from the Gloss on the same passage: Nor his seed seeking bread, the Gloss says: "spiritual bread, that is, to lack the bread of the word of God, because the word of God is always with him." The text can also be construed so that it is understood: I have not seen the just man forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread have I seen forsaken: because, according to what is said in the last chapter of Hebrews on that text: I will not leave you nor forsake you, the Gloss says: "He would be forsaken who perished from hunger." The Prophet therefore means to say that he saw neither the just man nor the seed of the just man dead from hunger, and this does not call one back from poverty, but rather invites to it.

Psalms 37:30 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment." A just judge is one who is moved by just zeal, approves all good things and condemns evil things: but he who does not have right zeal cannot judge well. Love and hatred pervert judgment. If you hate me, you cannot judge me rightly: and why? Because it seems to you that all things that are in me are evil.

Psalms 37:39 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Psalms 38:8 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

Psalms 38:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

When the soul does what it can, grace lifts it up easily and God works in it, so that there be a worthy admission of divine matters, corresponding to the Thrones. "O Lord, all my desire is before You; from You my groaning is not hid." Later, when the soul is lifted up, it must not be idle, but should look around. Then, indeed, the soul must be fixed, and standing, and expecting.

Psalms 38:10 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The danger of transgression ought to move us to keep God's commandments, because transgressors lose many goods. Transgression blinds the intellect of the true and takes away the affection for the good: and on account of this, in the person of the transgressor the Psalmist says: "My strength has forsaken me, and the light of my eyes, and it itself is not with me."

Psalms 39:5 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

No virtue is in the true perfection of virtue unless it approves each thing according as it is to be approved: but, as is said in the Psalm, every living man is altogether vanity: therefore no one is of perfect virtue unless he considers himself vain and useless, and wills to be so considered by everyone.

Psalms 39:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Adam passed over from truth to vanity. Hence in the Psalm: "A phantom only, man goes his ways; like vapor only are his restless pursuits; he heaps up stores, and knows not who will use them." For as long as vain, transitory, passing good is loved, man is "passing over." And such passing over Wisdom reproves. This passing over is the cause of every evil.

Psalms 40:17 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, this same thing is shown by the example of Christ. Psalm: But I am a beggar and poor: Gloss: "Christ says this of Himself: I am a beggar in the form of a servant. A beggar is one who asks from another, a pauper is one who does not suffice for himself." But it is certain that this is not understood of Christ with respect to spiritual gifts or goods, because He was a comprehensor and full of all grace: therefore it is understood with respect to temporal goods, and thus with respect to those He was a beggar and asked from another.

Psalms 42:1 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Psalms 42:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Likewise, wisdom is not obtained except by the man who thirsts. Hence, the Psalm: "My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God"; and: "As the hind longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for You, O God."

Psalms 42:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

The gift of understanding is solid food, like bread which is obtained through much labor. And so it is with the gift of understanding: to prepare understanding is a difficult task in itself. Likewise, wisdom is not obtained except by the man who thirsts. Hence, the Psalm: "My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God."

Psalms 45:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Psalms 45:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

The whole of Scripture is the heart of God, the mouth of God, the tongue of God, the pen of God, "a scroll written within and without." Hence, in the Psalm: "My heart overflows with a goodly theme; as I sing my ode to the King, my tongue is nimble as the pen of a skillful scribe." The heart is of God, the mouth of the Father, the tongue of the Son, the pen of the Holy Spirit. For the Father speaks through the Son or Tongue, but that which fulfills and commits to memory is the Pen of the Scribe.

Psalms 45:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

"Grace is poured forth upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever." This word is directed to our Lord Jesus Christ, as is apparent in the Psalm from the preceding and subsequent text. For in the Psalm where these words are written, there is set before them: "Beautiful in form above the sons of men:" and there follows: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever," etc. Therefore it speaks of Christ, who is blessed, in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed. "In your seed shall all nations be blessed," was said to Abraham; and because Christ is the Word, through whom all things are blessed, and he who is blessed by God the Father is blessed by Christ, therefore all things are blessed through Christ.

Psalms 45:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

To Him are referred all the eloquent sayings of Scriptural wisdom, as for instance those of Solomon and others. And yet the Jews understand as applying to Solomon what is said of Christ in the Psalm: "Fairer in beauty are you than the sons of men; grace is poured out upon your lips." Solomon was not like that.

Psalms 45:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Psalms 45:7 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

To those who have been forestalled by divine grace — the humble and pious, the contrite and devout, those anointed with the oil of gladness, lovers of divine wisdom and inflamed with desire for it, who wish to devote themselves to magnifying, admiring, and even tasting God — I propose the speculations that follow, suggesting that the mirror set before us externally is of little or no avail unless the mirror of our own mind has been cleansed and polished.

Psalms 45:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Hence, it is fitting that there be contempt for all things. Wherefore there follows: "Of the tribe of Manasses, twelve thousand sealed." Manasses is understood to mean "oblivion." For some men despise earthly things, but do not give them up. Others give them up, but do not despise them. Others again despise them and give them up, but do not forget them. When the soul gives up and forgets, then there is perfection, and this is indicated in the sixth place. "Forget your people and your father's house." As Augustine writes, "He loves you less if, besides You, he loves something else not on account of You."

Psalms 45:16 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

The Psalm: He established them as princes over all the earth: it is established that this was said of the Apostles: therefore all the earth is under the principate of the Apostles: but this principate is a stable principate, according to that word of the Psalm: Their principate has been exceedingly strengthened: but it is not stable unless it is united, because every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation; nor is it united unless it has one principal prince: therefore according to the prophetic testimony all the earth ought to be subject to one who is the prince of all. Whence Bernard says in the third book to Eugenius: "Your forebears were sent forth, not to subdue certain regions, but the world itself: and indeed their sound went forth into all the earth." And afterwards: "Their principate has been exceedingly strengthened: they have been established as princes over all the earth. You have succeeded to his inheritance, thus you are the heir, and the world is the inheritance."

Psalms 45:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

The patriarchs were the ancestors of the apostles according to the flesh and according to the promise. These apostles are the children of them that have been shaken. And, in another place: "The place of your fathers your sons shall have." Wherefore the apostles correspond to the Seraphim, because the apostolic order is conformed to Christ, and before this, there was the illuminative order, that of the prophets, and before that, the stabilizing order, that of the patriarchs.

Psalms 46:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

"There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God," that is, the one "coming forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb," the Holy Spirit. And there will be no inner defect, since "they shall neither hunger nor thirst" through lack of sustainment by which life is lost; "neither shall the sun strike them" through any external harm.

Psalms 49:20 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

If you wish to be regulated according to the divine rule, take care that you be not bestial but well-ordered: that you be directed not according to the impulse of sense, but according to the judgment of reason; not according to bestial phantasms, but according to intellectual judgments. Otherwise what happened to Adam will happen to you, who, having despised the rule of truth, followed the instinct of the woman, and the woman followed the instinct of the serpent. "Man, when he was in honor, did not understand; he was compared to the senseless beasts and was made like unto them." Man became brutish and subject to the passions.

Psalms 50:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

But the sacrifice of praise imposes upon the heart something naturally related to judgment: it is concerned with a command of nature; and in this all true philosophers agree. Hence he says that "whoever doubts whether parents are to be honored and God is to be venerated, is deserving of punishment."

Psalms 63:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

For the Lord rejoices in the right. "The delights at your right hand forever." At the left are passing riches, glories and consolations. We must indeed adhere to the right. As the Psalm says, "Your right hand upholds me," Lord. Hence the rewards dispose towards the third act of grace.

Psalms 65:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Again, vegetation is generous. Hence in the Psalm: "You have visited the land and watered it; greatly have you enriched it. God's watercourses are filled; you have prepared the grain," and "the valleys are blanketed with grain." This land is alive and awake, it abounds. Now Sacred Scripture is generous in that God conveys His influence to it, producing the most abundant multiplications. For it is not like the other sciences, since God visits it, as shown in the Psalm: "God's watercourses are filled; you have prepared the grain."

Psalms 68:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Psalms 68:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

As a sweet chant results from a great number of voices united in a certain proportion and harmony, so also a spiritual harmony pleasing to the Most High comes forth from the harmony of the love of many. Hence the Psalm: "Bless the Lord, you of Israel's wellspring!" To such observers of divine Law, to such lovers of divine peace, to such singers of divine praise, and to no others, is this speech to be addressed: and such are men of the Church. As for the man who has been snatched away from this Church, this speech does not have to be addressed to him.

Psalms 68:35 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

If we wish to describe fortitude rightly, we must note that it is from heaven. "God is wonderful in his saints; the God of Israel, he himself shall give power and strength to his people." Therefore fortitude is a gift of God.

Psalms 69:4 — Breviloquium

The honor taken from God through pride and disobedience with respect to a thing to which man was bound is in no way better restored than through humiliation and obedience to that thing to which one was in no way obligated. Since therefore Christ Jesus, insofar as he was God, was equal to the Father in the form of God; insofar as he was an innocent man, he was in no way a debtor of death: when he emptied himself and became obedient unto death, he paid back to God what he had not stolen through the homage of perfect satisfaction, and offered a sacrifice of supreme sweetness for the perfect placation of God.

Psalms 69:30 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

So does the man who sees God in all things, who tastes God in them through his three powers. "Pleasing to Him be my theme; I will be glad in the Lord." And elsewhere: "For you make me glad, O Lord, by Your deeds." Again: "I will glorify Him with thanksgiving." In all things there is taste and restoration for the intellective and the affective powers. Out of all these fruits there arises the fruit of love and charity which covers them all. For all of Scripture is ordained towards charity.

Psalms 71:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The fourth judgment of God is the judgment of abandonment, namely when God abandons man and exposes him to every temptation and sin. "When my strength shall fail, do not forsake me, O Lord. Depart not from me." It is a great peril when a father exposes his son in the midst of wolves.

Psalms 72:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Psalms 73:25 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Psalms 73:26 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Psalms 73:28 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Augustine shows that in this word: "But it is good for me to adhere to God," the whole of what is said is contained: "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind." For we ought to love God, because this is just, holy, easy, and sweet. Whence Augustine: "Lord, who are you to me? And who am I to you, that you command me to love you, and if I do not love you, you threaten me with immense miseries?"

Psalms 74:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Christ was such a Center in His crucifixion. "God is our king before ages; He has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth." The earth is clearly the center, and hence it is the lowest, and of modest size; and because the lowest and of modest size, it receives all the heavenly influences, and brings forth a marvelous multiplication of beings. Likewise the Son of God, the very small and poor and humble One, assuming our earth, and made of earth, not only came upon the surface of the earth, but indeed to the depth of its center, that is, "He has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth," for after His crucifixion, His soul went down into hell and re-established the heavenly thrones. Such a Center has a saving power: and anyone who draws away from it is condemned, as drawing away from the means of humility. In such a center "He has wrought salvation," that is, in the humility of the cross.

Psalms 76:2 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

Which peace our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed and gave; of whose preaching our father Francis was a renewer, announcing peace at the beginning and end of every sermon, wishing peace in every greeting, sighing for ecstatic peace in every contemplation, like a citizen of that Jerusalem, of which that man of peace speaks, who was peaceable with those who hated peace: Pray for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem. For he knew that the throne of Solomon was only in peace, since it is written: In peace is his place made, and his dwelling in Sion.

Psalms 76:4 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 3

All these sciences, moreover, have certain and infallible rules, like lights and rays descending from the eternal law into our mind. And therefore our mind, irradiated and suffused with such great splendors, unless it be blind, can be led through itself to the contemplation of that eternal light. The irradiation and consideration of this light suspends the wise in admiration, and on the contrary leads the foolish, who do not believe so that they may understand, into perturbation, so that that prophetic word may be fulfilled: Thou dost illumine wondrously from the eternal mountains; all the foolish of heart are troubled.

Psalms 76:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

Such art is both one and manifold. How this can occur cannot be seen unless there come about an illumination "from the everlasting mountains," and when "despoiled are the stouthearted," that is, the foolish. For it is fitting to think of God in the highest way. Speculation is also manifold, for it represents many things distinctly and certainly. Hence I will see myself better in God than in myself. And yet it is supremely one.

Psalms 76:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

By the fruits of the everlasting hills, wisdom is understood, or the fruit of wisdom, which consist in the contemplation of eternal reasons and the consideration of lofty heavenly spirits. "Thou enlightenest wonderfully from the everlasting hills. All the foolish of heart were troubled."

Psalms 76:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

Psalms 77:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

In the second place, a saint's life must be pure, that is, everything must be done out of love for God, and not out of love for something else, since all love is suspect if it is not addressed to God. That is why Augustine — and also Bernard in a letter to a certain monk — write that the apostles' love for the bodily Christ prevented the coming of the Spirit. What of other forms of love addressed to creatures? "My soul refuses comfort."

Psalms 81:9 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 2

Psalms 81:9 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

All perverse valuations of worldly natures are prohibited. Now every perverse valuation of creatures proceeds either by reason of sublimity, or by reason of sufficiency, or by reason of delight. In the first way it is the idolatry of the proud; in the second way it is the idolatry of the avaricious; in the third way it is the idolatry of the lascivious. Against the first the Prophet says: There shall be no new god in you, nor shall you adore a strange god.

Psalms 81:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

The door to wisdom is a yearning for it and a powerful desire. Hence the Psalm: "Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it." That is the road by which wisdom comes within me, by which I go into wisdom, and wisdom comes into me, and likewise charity. Such wisdom cannot be obtained without supreme mutual pleasure, but where there is supreme mutual pleasure, supreme yearning must have come first.

Psalms 81:11 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Transgressors of the commandments plunge into abominable crimes. Of such transgressors the Psalm says: "My people did not hear My voice, and Israel did not attend to Me, and I dismissed them according to the desires of their hearts." For the Lord delivers such transgressors into the hands of demons.

Psalms 81:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

As inducing strength, the seven virtues are represented by the seven loaves of the gospel, from which the whole body of the elect is fed. For the philosophers, these four virtues became stones, but they are actually seven breads of life. Moses' five loaves were made of barley, but the seven loaves of wheat of the evangelical teaching were made out of the fat of the wheat.

Psalms 82:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

All true philosophers worshiped a single God. That is why even Socrates was killed: in his reverence for one God, he forbade sacrifices to Apollo. It is true that Plato argued with him to flee. "May it never happen," answered Socrates, "that I deny a truth I have asserted!" And so Plato did not interfere with his execution: he even blushed for having suggested flight. The worship of God is the dutiful expression of faith. Hence Tullius says that propriety consists in the cult of the gods. It is not fitting that he say "of the gods." The angels are not called gods in Scriptures, lest they be venerated as gods, but men are called gods: God hath stood in the congregation of gods, that is, of men, not of angels. Now, the worship of God consists in praise and sacrifice.

Psalms 82:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Where sacred Scripture is lacking, it is necessary that the earth, that is, the Church, be shaken: "They neither knew nor understood, they walk in darkness; all the foundations of the earth shall be moved." Arius, who wished to take away the foundation of the Trinity; Nestorius, who wished to destroy the unity of person; and Eutyches, who wished to confuse the natures in Christ: these men shook the foundations of the Church.

Psalms 82:6 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Psalms 84:5-6 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

Blessed is the man whose help is from You; he has disposed ascents in his heart, in the valley of tears, in the place which he has appointed. Since blessedness is nothing other than the enjoyment of the highest good, and the highest good is above us, no one can be made blessed unless he ascends above himself, not by a bodily ascent, but by one of the heart. But we cannot be raised above ourselves except by a higher power lifting us up. For however much the interior steps may be disposed, nothing is accomplished unless divine help accompanies them. But divine help accompanies those who seek it from a humble and devout heart; and this is to sigh toward Him in this valley of tears, which is done through fervent prayer. Prayer, therefore, is the mother and origin of the upward-lifting. Therefore Dionysius, in his book On Mystical Theology, wishing to instruct us in mental ecstasies, first sets forth prayer. Let us therefore pray and say to the Lord our God: Lead me, O Lord, in Your way, and I shall walk in Your truth; let my heart rejoice, that it may fear Your name.

Psalms 84:7 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

Whoever therefore wishes to ascend to God must, having avoided the fault that deforms nature, exercise the aforementioned natural powers toward reforming grace, and this through prayer; toward purifying justice, and this in conduct of life; toward illuminating knowledge, and this in meditation; toward perfecting wisdom, and this in contemplation. Just as therefore no one comes to wisdom except through grace, justice, and knowledge, so one does not arrive at contemplation except through clear meditation, holy conduct, and devout prayer. Just as therefore grace is the foundation of uprightness of the will and of clear illumination of reason, so first we must pray, then live in holiness, third attend to the spectacles of truth, and by attending ascend step by step, until one arrives at the lofty mountain, where the God of gods is seen in Sion.

Psalms 84:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Christ was such a Center in His ascension. Likewise the Christian must rise "from strength to strength," and not stand still at the terminal point of virtue, for by so doing he would cease to be virtuous.

Psalms 84:7 — Breviloquium

It was fitting for the perfect Leader to show himself when there was opportunity to run toward the prize: and this is in the end of times, yet before the terminus, and in the approach to the final judgment, so that, spurred by the fear of judgment and drawn by the hope of reward and animated by the perfection of his example, we might vigorously and perfectly follow the Leader from virtue to virtue, until we arrive at the prize of eternal happiness.

Psalms 85:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

And so, concerning the fruit of grace, it is written in the Psalm: "For the Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit." And so these fruits come forth from Christ, blessed by Joseph who produced fruit of heaven, and of the dew, and of the deep that lieth beneath, that is, the charismatic gifts of the graces, by means of dew on humble hearts.

Psalms 86:11 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

Lead me, O Lord, in Your way, and I shall walk in Your truth; let my heart rejoice, that it may fear Your name. In praying this prayer, we are illuminated to know the stages of the divine ascent. For since, according to the state of our condition, the universe of things is itself a ladder for ascending into God, and among things some are vestiges, some are images, some are corporeal, some spiritual, some temporal, some aeviternal, and accordingly some are outside us, some within us: in order that we may arrive at the consideration of the First Principle, which is most spiritual and eternal and above us, we must pass through the vestige, which is corporeal and temporal and outside us, and this is to be led in the way of God: we must enter into our own mind, which is the image of God, aeviternal, spiritual and within us, and this is to walk in the truth of God: we must transcend to the eternal, most spiritual, and above us, looking toward the First Principle, and this is to rejoice in the knowledge of God and in the reverence of His majesty.

Psalms 86:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Furthermore, this charity gives to the soul a fire. Hence, in the Canticle, "Set me as a seal on your heart... for stern as death is love," when it loves to such a degree that it is totally carried up to the supremely desirable, and sees prosperity as nothing, and adversity as nothing, since all things are like a single straw in a furnace. "If a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing." Now, the fourth seal consists in this, that the soul perceives an incomprehensible consolation that grows so much within it that it is unable both to comprehend it and to explain it to others. The Canticle says of this: "Eat, friends; drink! Drink freely of love!" And this inebriated soul says: The king "brought me into the cellar of wine." And earlier: "The king hath brought me into his storerooms." This occurs when the soul is beside itself, like a drunken man who does not know what he is doing. Hence, Paul did not know whether he was in the body or out of the body. Of this seal, the Psalm says: "Shew me a token for good, that they who hate me may see, and be confounded."

Psalms 87:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The Church had to be founded: therefore it was necessary to lay the foundations, namely the commandments of God, and it was necessary that they be placed in some person. This could not be except in the glorious Virgin; as the Psalm says: "His foundations are in the holy mountains: a man is born in her, and the Most High himself has founded her."

Psalms 89:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The heavens proclaim your wonders, that is, the marvels of the soul which they feel within them. Such experiences make faith most secure. When the soul considers the Most High in a manner that is most pious, true, and good, then it is lifted up by zeal and the rapture of love to the third heaven.

Psalms 89:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

This counsel has been confirmed by the twelve Apostles and by the counsels of the Saints. If you want the testimony of the Saints concerning these counsels, seek Anthony, Paphnutius, and Macarius, who all resolved to observe these counsels. Seek the bishops Basil, Augustine, Martin, and Gregory; all were monks and resolved to observe the counsels and kept them. Seek also Benedict, who was an abbot; seek Dominic, seek Francis, who resolved that all these counsels must be observed. From the Lamb proceed torches, and they are illuminations for manifesting the counsels. It is written: 'God who is glorified in the counsel of the saints.' Therefore we ought to choose a good counselor.

Psalms 89:36 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

The spiritual throne is indicated: that of doctrine, of superiorship, or of judgment. Hence the Psalm: "And his throne shall be like the sun before me; like the moon which remains forever." A superior is the sun as regards the documents of truth, the moon as regards the example of virtue; or he is the sun of wisdom and the moon of knowledge; or again, he is the sun in the act of judgment and the moon in that of mercy.

Psalms 89:37 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Psalms 89:52 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Psalms 90:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Adam passed over from truth to vanity. "A phantom only, man goes his ways; like vapor only are his restless pursuits; he heaps up stores, and knows not who will use them. — The next morning they are like the changing grass, which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades." For as long as vain, transitory, passing good is loved, man is "passing over." And such passing over Wisdom reproves. This passing over is the cause of every evil.

Psalms 91:4 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Psalms 91:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The third part of the perfection of the fear of the Lord consists in the perfect firmness of confidence: because the fear of the Lord is a tower of firmness and confidence, because it renders a person secure from every other fear. "His truth shall encompass you with a shield; you shall not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor the assault and the noonday devil." He who does not fear God must fear everywhere; and he who truly fears God has what no one can take from him. But he who fears something other than God has what ought to be taken from him.

Psalms 91:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

The soul is disposed to the gift of fortitude through the unconquerable shield of faith. The devil draws man to the concupiscence of the flesh, to the concupiscence of the eyes, and to the pride of life. What is the means of resisting these? Through truth. "His truth shall encompass you with a shield," namely through faith dwelling within, "you shall not fear the terror of the night." And blessed Peter said: "Your adversary as a roaring lion goes about seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, strong in faith." If we loved truth, we would not fear the devil, because it is written: "The eyes of the Lord behold the whole earth and give fortitude to those who believe in him with a perfect heart."

Psalms 91:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

In this garden, there is much walking about, for if one is not happy to remain in the first, he goes to the second, and likewise with the others. And so man is compassed about with apples. Hence, in the Canticle: "Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples." And in the Psalm: "His truth shall compass thee with a shield." And so, as the intellect is ordained toward the affective dispositions, and faith is the way to charity, so also these enlightenments must pass over into the affective dispositions, in order that the intellect pass from the speculative to the practical.

Psalms 91:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Psalms 91:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Psalms 91:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Psalms 91:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Scripture enlightens from the right by means of dangerous satisfactions. Nor is it without reason that satisfactions are called dangerous and punishments benign, for satisfactions entail serious risk. Behold Adam, Saul, Solomon, the idolater Jeroboam, and the Prince of Angels, to all of whom temporal satisfactions and a state of high eminence were occasions of ruin. For they are occasions of ruin when they please. When they do not please, man is not taken up by them. Wherefore Christ did not want to have any temporal satisfaction, because a thousand fall at your side, ten thousand at your right. And one should always prefer to be on that side on which less are falling.

Psalms 92:4 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

He therefore who is not illumined by such great splendors of created things is blind; he who is not awakened by such great cries is deaf; he who does not praise God on account of all these effects is mute; he who from such great signs does not advert to the first principle is a fool. Open therefore your eyes, bring near your spiritual ears, loose your lips, and apply your heart, that in all creatures you may see, hear, praise, love, and worship, magnify and honor your God, lest perchance the whole world rise up against you. For on this account the whole world shall fight against the senseless, and conversely for the wise it shall be matter of glory, who according to the Prophet can say: Thou hast given me delight, O Lord, in thy making, and in the works of thy hands I shall rejoice. How great are thy works, O Lord! Thou hast made all things in wisdom, the earth is filled with thy possession.

Psalms 92:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Hence, when one considers brightness as coming from light, the mind must be transferred to the consideration of the eternal generation—and so with the other examples. And in this there is a great pleasure of which it is said in the Psalm: "For You make me glad, O Lord, by Your deeds; at the work of Your hands, I rejoice." Wherefore the Apostle says: "We all, with faces unveiled, reflecting as in a mirror the glory of the Lord."

Psalms 92:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Psalms 93:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

It is hierarchized also in relation to the Church Militant, in which there is a distinction by reason of processes, of ascents, and of practices, for this is how the Church is seen, and in no other way: in it, there is one head, one body, and one food. Paul speaks much of this, for he was well versed in this consideration. Likewise, the Psalter speaks much of it. And sometimes it speaks in the name of such a person [the Church], and at other times, in the name of another. Hence in the Psalm: "The Lord is King, in splendor robed," it refers to the Church's head and to its four orders.

Psalms 93:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

The spiritual meanings are called rivers — and also those men who understand in a spiritual manner — because they have their origin from the Scriptures and are confirmed by the Scriptures, and because, from these spiritual meanings, other meanings are derived. Hence in the Psalm: "The floods lift up, O Lord, the floods lift up their voice; the floods lift up their tumult. More powerful than the roar of many waters." Why? Because "powerful on high is the Lord," God's voice had to be loud.

Psalms 93:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Psalms 94:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

"He who chastises the nations, shall he not rebuke, he who teaches man knowledge?" The Psalm of David says that the great teacher of knowledge is God. You know that if someone must draw water, he more willingly draws it from its original source than from a rivulet. Therefore, if the Lord is the great teacher and giver of the gift about which we intend to speak, it is necessary that we have recourse to that font in order to obtain illumination. Thus did the Psalmist, thus did Solomon, and he became a great scholar. In the beginning it is necessary that we lift up our souls and beseech the bestower of gifts, because we do not seek temporal things, but the benefit and salvation of our soul; and this is pleasing to God, just as Solomon did, who sought wisdom from the Lord. Let us therefore beseech the Lord, that he himself may open the eyes of our mind and grant me the light of knowledge, so that I may be able to say something concerning the gift of knowledge, which may be to the honor of God.

Psalms 95:6 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

We ought to say: Lord, you are the one whom we ought to adore, whom we ought to serve; you are the one who created me; you are the one who redeemed me. Come, let us adore and fall down and weep before the Lord who made us, for he is the Lord our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. These two things, therefore, namely the knowledge of the Creator and the Restorer, are set forth first, without which we can understand nothing, because these are the foundations of our faith.

Psalms 96:5 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

Everything that is adored other than God is either an intellectual creature, such as angels and demons; or a corporeal creature, such as heaven and earth and water and the like; or it is a figment of the human mind. And the Lord prohibits adoring these three. Sacred Scripture places the intellectual creature at the highest level, the figment in the middle, and corporeal nature at the lowest; and accordingly it first prohibits idolatry with respect to the intellectual creature, when it says: You shall not have strange gods. Concerning idolatry with respect to the spiritual creature, it is said in the Psalm: For all the gods of the nations are demons, but the Lord made the heavens.

Psalms 97:3 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Fire will precede the face of the Judge, by which the face of the earth will be burned up, so that the figure of this world will perish by the conflagration of worldly fires, just as the flood came about by the inundation of waters. Since in the final judgment, on account of the severity of the judge to be displayed, it is necessary that the hearts of all be terrified, and especially of sinners, who despised the Lord of all things, so that every creature may receive divine zeal and be conformed to its Author, and also conformed to its inhabitant: it is necessary that the foundations of the entire world be most horribly shaken. And because nothing more intensely and swiftly and horribly in its action moves the other elements than fire rushing together from here and there on every side: hence it is that fire must precede the face of the judge himself, not from one side only, but from every part of the world, so that there may be a convergence of elemental and terrestrial fire, of purgatorial and also infernal fire, so that by infernal fire the reprobate may be burned, by purgatorial fire the just may be purged, by terrestrial fire these things born of the earth may be consumed, by elemental fire the elements may be refined and disposed toward the face of renewal, and together with this all other things may be disturbed, so that not only men and demons, but even the Angels beholding may be terrified.

Psalms 97:7 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

Why did the Lord place the figment of the human mind among idolatry, since a figment is nothing in reality? An idol is nothing; rather, it is referred to that which exists in estimation. Concerning idolatry with respect to the figment of the human mind, it is said in the Psalm: Let all be confounded who adore graven things, and who glory in their idols. That man is inclined to adore his own figment and thus to glory in adoring it — this is the supreme perversion.

Psalms 100:3 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

The whole Trinity speaks these words: I am the Lord your God. He says therefore I, namely, the one whom you ought to obey and whom you ought to love and adore. Or he says I, who made you in the being of nature and in the being of grace. We ought therefore also to say: Lord, you are the one whom we ought to adore, whom we ought to serve; you are the one who created me; you are the one who redeemed me. Know that the Lord himself is God; He made us, and not we ourselves.

Psalms 102:26-27 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 6

That the divine being is immutable is shown by authority. The Psalm: You shall change them, and they shall be changed, but You are the selfsame; the Gloss says: "immutable." For inasmuch as it is simple, it is immutable from itself: for it has nothing that is not its own essential being, which indeed "is not an accident, but a subsistent truth," as Hilary says. Inasmuch as it is immense, it is not mutable in another or by another: for nothing else can transfer it, since it is everywhere whole. Moreover, inasmuch as it is eternal, it is not mutable with another, because it itself remains fixed, while other things succeed one another.

Psalms 103:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Although God possesses all the most noble properties, He is nevertheless most excellent in this property, namely that of piety. He is pious and merciful, because He spares and protects. The Lord says: "As a father has mercy on his children, so have I had mercy on you." Search all the works of God from the beginning to the end, and you will always find operations of mercy that are great, greater, and greatest. The great operations of divine mercy are the operations of nature; the greater operations of divine mercy are the operations of grace; but the greatest operations are the operations of glory.

Psalms 103:17 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 4

We need divine mercy pardoning our offenses, and divine justice recompensing our merits. But the fear of God makes one find mercy, and the observance of the commandments, justice. The consideration of the magnificence of God leads to fearing; the consideration of the divine law leads to the observance of the commandments. And for this reason it is suggested to us that we should always meditate on the divine law. Whence the Jews on the Sabbath day were accustomed always to dispute concerning the law of God, because this is the work of God.

Psalms 103:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

We cannot have the grace of God except through the fear of God, because "the mercy of the Lord is from eternity and unto eternity upon those who fear him." No one receives the grace of God unless he fears God. Bernard says: "In truth I have learned that nothing is equally efficacious for meriting, preserving, and multiplying the grace of God as if at all times you are found before God not to be wise in lofty things, but to fear."

Psalms 104:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

From the midst of the rocks they shall give forth their voices. That is, from the midst of the two cherubim of which the Lord speaks, meaning from the space between them, that is, from the midst of the Two Testaments. The third firmness of faith consists in the full accord of the witnesses, and is found in three things: in the words of Scriptures, in the decrees of the councils, and in the writings of the saints.

Psalms 104:15 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Psalms 104:24 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

Psalms 104:32 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

On that verse of the Psalm: "He who looks upon the earth and makes it tremble," the Gloss says: "Then God looks upon the earth and makes it tremble, when he illumines the earthly man by the regard of his grace and converts him to his original principle, through which all things are begun and governed. And then man trembles." Therefore man ought greatly to consider what he thinks, what he speaks, and what he does, because God sees all things.

Psalms 104:34 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

For all creatures declare God. What shall I do? I shall sing with them all. The thick cord in the zither does not give forth a pleasant sound if struck alone, but there is harmony in consonance with others. So does the man who sees God in all things, who tastes God in them through his three powers. "Pleasing to Him be my theme; I will be glad in the Lord." And elsewhere: "For you make me glad, O Lord, by Your deeds." Again: "I will glorify Him with thanksgiving." In all things there is taste and restoration for the intellective and the affective powers.

Psalms 106:38 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

Psalms 106:48 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Psalms 107:23 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

In relation to the most profound depth of spiritual meanings, the Psalm reads: "They who sailed the sea in ships, trading on the deep waters." The man goes down to the sea in ships who approaches the Scriptures in a spirit of extreme reverence in order to explain them. He goes down with ships who takes as support the wood of the cross: for anyone who seeks to enter the sea of Scriptures without this wood is submerged, for he sinks into the greatest errors. Unless he is Peter himself, he founders.

Psalms 109:10 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

The Psalm: Let his children be carried about vagabonds and beg: but nothing that the Psalmist, speaking in the Spirit of God, imprecates as a punishment pertains to evangelical perfection or perfect justice; begging is of this kind: therefore, etc. To that which is objected, that begging is an evil which the Psalmist imprecates, speaking in the Spirit of God: it must be said that there is voluntary begging and compelled begging, which is accompanied by murmuring and impatience. The first is meritorious, the second is demeritorious and afflictive; and the Psalm is understood of the second, not of the first. And that this is true appears from the text, because it says: Let them be carried about wandering and be cast out, and all these things seem to connote compulsion and violence.

Psalms 109:16 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Likewise, Psalm: He persecuted the needy and begging man: Gloss: "namely Christ. To persecute the poor is sheer cruelty. Others indeed sometimes suffer such things on account of riches and honors." Either, therefore, Christ is called a beggar because He begged from the Father, or because He begged from man. If because He begged from the Father: then all men are beggars, the rich as well as the poor: therefore to persecute Christ in this way would not have been the height of cruelty; if because He begged from men, we have what was proposed: therefore etc.

Psalms 109:17 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Behold, He sets before us curse and blessing; let us leave to Judas the traitor the curse and the snares, of whom it is said that he "did not will blessing, and it shall be far from him"; and let us with blessed Matthias receive the blessing.

Psalms 110:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Under the Law in the mystery of the giving of the Law, Christ is symbolized by Moses' staff with which he chastised the Egyptians and dried up the sea, and which is the scepter of power which the Lord stretched forth from Sion.

Psalms 110:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

Psalms 110:3 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Psalms 111:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

This counsel has been confirmed by the twelve Apostles and by the counsels of the Saints. From the Lamb proceed torches, and they are illuminations for manifesting the counsels. It is written: 'God who is glorified in the counsel of the saints.' The Psalm says: 'I will confess to you, O Lord, with my whole heart, in the counsel of the just and in the congregation.' Therefore we ought to choose a good counselor.

Psalms 111:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"Holy and terrible is his name; the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all who practice it." Prudential understanding teaches what is to be avoided, namely every evil. For every person who wishes to be directed toward the good must fear God, so as to avoid every evil. Therefore prudential understanding teaches first what is to be avoided, namely every evil.

Psalms 111:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Psalms 118:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

If, now, it is considered as fulfilling or perfecting, this again is threefold: it may be seen as vital food for the militant and triumphant Church, as the punishment of crimes, and as the final reward. It is fitting that God be first; hence He is credible and understandable, and this in terms of influence by reason of the laws of mercy, justice and peace; in relation to the first, as Virtue; in relation to the second, as Truth; in relation to the third, as Equity. These are the twelve gates that are mentioned in the psalm: "Open to me the gates of justice," for "He who is just lives by faith."

Psalms 119:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Wherefore the Psalm reads: Happy are they whose way is blameless. And: Instruct me, O Lord, in the way of Your statutes, etc. In every verse there is a reference to commands, indicated as law, or witnessing, or declarations, or some other equivalent name. Also, in the Hebrew, every verse of each octave begins with the same letter—which cannot be rendered in our language—so that the twenty-two letters correspond to the twenty-two octaves, and each octave contains eight verses. Augustine was moved by so great a correspondence: that there be here so much knowledge and so great a variety. For Augustine himself once saw a very beautiful tree that had twenty-two branches, and each one had eight twigs, and from these the most sweet drops were running. And he understood that this tree was the Psalm: Happy are they whose way is blameless. Hence, meditation on the Law is supremely necessary.

Psalms 119:6 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

"Then I shall not be confounded, when I shall have regard to all your commandments." Blessed James says: "Whoever shall keep the whole law, yet offend in one point, is become guilty of all": not that for one transgression he is punished with as much punishment of sense as for the transgression of all; but he will be punished with as much punishment of loss, yet not as severely for one as for all. Therefore, if anyone wishes to attain to true life, it is necessary that he have regard to all the commandments of God in heart, mouth, and deed. And therefore he says: "When I shall have regarded," that is, perfectly looked upon and considered and acted accordingly, I shall not fear to be confounded. It is no great thing to be confounded in the present, but to be confounded eternally. Such confusion is greatly to be abhorred. But we cannot escape that confusion unless we have regard to all the commandments of God.

Psalms 119:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In these twelve mysteries is the whole of Scripture. In each of these there are twelve lights of scriptural interpretation, that is, the allegorical, the anagogical, and the tropological. And twelve times twelve are one hundred and forty-four, and this corresponds to the number of those marked with the sign, and to that of the City. Hence in the Psalm: "Open my eyes, that I may consider the wonders of your law."

Psalms 119:21 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Transgressors of the commandments merit eternal punishments. The Psalm: "Cursed are they who decline from Thy commandments": cursed, because it shall be said to them: "Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire."

Psalms 119:24 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

'For your testimonies are my meditation, and your justifications are my counsel'; which counsel is found in the testaments and testimonies. In designation of this it is said in Exodus that when Moses was to enter the oracle, he entered through the midst of the two Cherubim. He went through the midst, because Christ must have regard for both testaments.

Psalms 119:25 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

The sacraments of Scripture, which externally seem arid, are yet alive within. No other Scripture besides this one is able to give life. Hence, in the Psalm: "For the sake of Your promise, give me life."

Psalms 119:32 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

Together with fear one must also love God. When the heart is enlarged through love, then man easily keeps the commandments of God. I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart. He says that the way of God's commandments is broad, yet to some it seems to be narrow. Certainly to those who love, it is broad; but to those who do not love, it seems to be narrow.

Psalms 119:33 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 119:37 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 119:66 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Psalms 119:66 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Scholastic discipline without personal discipline is insufficient for wisdom: for a man becomes wise not merely by listening: he must also conform. Hence the Psalm on wisdom reads: "Teach me goodness and discipline and knowledge." For there is no knowledge without precedent discipline, nor discipline without precedent goodness. Hence it is through goodness and discipline that knowledge dwells within us. A sick man is not healed by listening to a physician: he must follow his prescription. But few walk along that way of wisdom, hence few ever reach it.

Psalms 119:73 — Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ, Question 4

On that verse of the Psalm, *Your hands have made me and formed me; give me understanding,* the Gloss says: "God alone gives understanding: for God through himself, who *is light,* illuminates devout minds."

Psalms 119:73 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

Second, we ought to speak of the commandments of God, that we may better know them. For the more frequently a man walks along a certain way, the better he knows it. Whence Gregory says that a man comes to know the way by walking it more frequently. But the way of going to the fatherland is through the observance of the commandments; but a man cannot keep the commandments of God unless he knows them, and he does not know them except by hearing discourse about them. Therefore David says: "Give me understanding, and I shall learn thy commandments."

Psalms 119:89 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Scriptures, explaining the mystery of the heavenly and sub-heavenly hierarchies, say: Your word, O Lord, endures forever; it is firm as the heavens; that is, the word of the Trinity. Through all generations your truth endures; You have established the earth and it stands firm. The Church, represented by the name "earth," was founded upon this Word.

Psalms 119:90 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Psalms 119:96 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

When the heart is enlarged through love, then man easily keeps the commandments of God. I have seen an end of all perfection; thy commandment is exceedingly broad. He says that the way of God's commandments is broad, yet to some it seems to be narrow. Certainly to those who love, it is broad; but to those who do not love, it seems to be narrow.

Psalms 119:100 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The second benefit of keeping the commandments of God is the understanding of the sacred Scriptures; the Psalm: "I have understood above the ancients, because I have sought your commandments." But how we may arrive at the understanding of the sacred Scriptures, Gregory shows: whence concerning the passage that the disciples, when they saw Jesus, did not understand him, but when they heard him speaking, then they understood him, Gregory says there that "by hearing God's precepts the disciples were not illuminated, but by doing them they were illuminated"; because not the hearers of the law only, but the doers shall be justified.

Psalms 119:103 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Note that an animal that does not ruminate is impure. Now, rumination consists in this, that an animal has two stomachs. It brings food to its mouth, then ruminates it, then makes it pass into the second stomach. The Psalm reads: "How sweet to my palate are your promises, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Do not love the harlot and dismiss your wife.

Psalms 119:103 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

Sacred Scripture is a tongue, hence: "Sweetmeats and milk are under your tongue — How sweet to my palate are your promises, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" This tongue enjoys the taste of food, wherefore these same Scriptures are compared to loaves of bread that nourish and are pleasant to the taste.

Psalms 119:115 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

It is read that blessed Gregory, who was Pope and Doctor of the Church, had the custom that whenever he went to the study of the divine law, he always spoke these words: Depart from me, ye evildoers, and I will search the commandments of my God. It was asked of him why he did this; and he replied to Peter, to whom he was accustomed to tell his secrets, that he had learned by experience that whenever he wished to meditate on the law of God, he felt demons always opposing him. But in other subtleties the demons do not provoke, because in them they see no harm to themselves: indeed, they expect advantage from them. But when mention is made of the teachings of truth, by which demons are put to flight, then the prince of darkness rushes forth armed, now through earthly occupations, now through phantastic illusions, and strives to call back the minds of men from the study of truth.

Psalms 119:120 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The third origin of the fear of the Lord is from the consideration of the severity of divine vengeance, because the judgments of God are many. Whence the Psalm: "Pierce my flesh with your fear, for I have feared your judgments." For there are seven judgments of God: six are in the present life, and the seventh is at death, and that one shall be doubled. The first judgment of God is that of binding; the second is that of blinding; the third is that of obstinacy; the fourth is that of abandonment; the fifth is that of scattering; the sixth is that of despair, and the seventh is that of condemnation. All the judgments of God David feared; whence he said: "For I have feared because of thy judgments."

Psalms 119:125 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

"I am thy servant: give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies." Gratuitous knowledge teaches to know and the manner of knowing.

Psalms 119:127 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

The Prophet David shows for what reason we ought to speak of the commandments of God, and this he shows through a threefold reason. The first is that we may be inflamed to the love of the divine commandments; for nothing is so necessary as to love the law of God and his commandments. And on account of this he said: "Therefore I have loved thy commandments above gold and topaz."

Psalms 119:128 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

Third, we ought to speak of the commandments of God, that we may hate iniquity. Therefore it is said in the Psalm: "Therefore I was directed toward all thy commandments; every wicked way I have hated." For when a man begins to know iniquity or sin and the disorders of sin which are against God, then he begins to detest sin. We ought therefore to speak of the commandments, that we may love and understand them and be directed on the way to the fatherland and hate iniquity.

Psalms 119:130 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

That the simple profit by hearing the word of God is clear, because it is said in the Psalm: "The declaration of your words illuminates and gives understanding to the little ones." "Little one" is the name given here to one who on account of the smallness of his knowledge is called a little one, just as one who knows few things is said to have a small soul, and likewise one who knows many things is said to be of great understanding. "Little one" is also said of one who conducts himself humbly, even if he knows many things and is very understanding.

Psalms 119:164 — Breviloquium, Part 5

On account of which it should be noted that sacred Scripture sets before us a sevenfold septenary for consideration, namely of the capital vices, of the Sacraments, of the virtues, of the gifts, of the beatitudes, of the petitions, and of the glorious endowments, three spiritual and four corporal: the septenary of vices as the first, from which we ought to withdraw; the septenary of the Sacraments as the second, through which we ought to advance; the septenary of the endowments as the last, which we ought to desire; the septenary of the petitions as the penultimate, by which we ought to ask: and the threefold intermediate septenary of the virtues, the gifts, and the beatitudes, through which we ought to pass: so that, praising the name of the Lord and praying seven times a day, we may obtain the sevenfold grace of the virtues, gifts, and beatitudes, by which we may overcome the sevenfold battle of the capital vices and arrive at the sevenfold crown of the glorious endowments, with the aid nonetheless of the sevenfold medicine of the Sacraments divinely established for the restoration of the human race.

Psalms 119:168 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The authority of the one commanding ought to move us to observe the commandments of God. He is of great authority, because by His wondrous wisdom He governs us. "I have kept your commandments and your testimonies, because all my ways are in your sight."

Psalms 120:6-7 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

Psalms 121:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

If you take a straight look at the leaders of the city, the foremost chief is Christ. In terms of the fight, although the angels and the saints help—"I lift up my eyes toward the mountains; whence shall help come to me"—yet the principal contender is Christ.

Psalms 122:6 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

Psalms 124:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 125:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Psalms 127:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

These apostles are the children of them that have been shaken. The Psalm reads: "As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken." The apostolical order corresponds to the Father as He is in the Holy Spirit. In the patriarchs, there was stability of faith, in the prophets, clarity of knowledge, and in the apostles, the warmth of love. If, then, the birth in the New Testament was to be out of the most noble origin, it had to be out of the most noble Principles. Wherefore the apostles correspond to the Seraphim, because the apostolic order is conformed to Christ.

Psalms 133:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Psalms 133:2 — Breviloquium, Prologue

And this entirely through that one hierarch, Jesus Christ, who by reason of the human nature assumed is not only hierarch in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, but also in the angelic, and the middle Person in that supercelestial hierarchy of the most blessed Trinity; so that through Him from God the supreme head, the grace of anointing descends not only upon the beard, but also upon the hem of the garment, because not only upon the heavenly Jerusalem, but even unto the Church Militant.

Psalms 133:2 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Since therefore through these four properties the body is made conformed to the spirit and also subject to it, hence it is that in these four it is said to be especially endowed, by reason of which it has the aptitude to follow the spirit and to be placed in the celestial region, which is the region of the Blessed. For in these properties it is made like to the celestial bodies, through which the celestial body is, as it were, gradually distant from the four elements: and thus the fourfold dowry of bodies renders the body both perfect in itself and conformed to the celestial habitation and to the blessed Spirit, through whom from the supreme head, God, even unto the hem of the garment, namely the body, the fullness of sweetness and the inebriation of beatitude overflows and, insofar as is possible, is derived.

Psalms 133:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

And so, in descending order, out of charity which is an ointment flowing from the head over the beard upon the collar of the robe, there is the cleaving to God, to self, to the neighbor and to one's body. Hence, as there are twelve fruits in the twelve examples of ascent towards charity, so also there are twelve fruits in the descent. And this is what is said in the Apocalypse: "On both sides of the river, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit according to each month." On the one side of the river, the intellectual fruits; on the other, the affective; or on the one side the ascending fruits, and on the other the descending.

Psalms 133:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

There is a hierarchizing of the soul in the order of descent, that is, by way of going down. For it is fitting that "the ointment upon the head" of the hierarchy on high run down "over the beard" in the intermediate hierarchy, and upon the "robe," that is, the lowest hierarchy. Now, these things come about according to the powers of the soul, and Dionysius says they are three: the powers of receiving, preserving, and distributing, so that a soul may receive abundantly, preserve attentively, and pour out again generously.

Psalms 133:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

As a figure of this it is written in the Psalm: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Like ointment upon the head, which descended upon the beard, the beard of Aaron." We have one Father, one sacrifice, one Sacrament, and one reward. He says: "Like ointment upon the head." First there is the ointment of piety upon the head; afterwards it descends upon all others who draw near to the head. First there ought to be piety in prelates and superiors, and afterwards in the common people; whence he says: "which descended to the hem of his garment." Concerning this oil of piety it is said in the fourth book of Kings that a certain woman came to Elisha and said that her creditors wished to take her children; and she said: "My husband was a man who feared God." And Elisha said that she should bring all the vessels of her neighbors and pour some of that oil into each one, until all were filled. Why did he command her to bring the vessels of her neighbors? Could he not have multiplied the oil and filled a single jar, so that the woman would not have labored so much? I say that the woman holds the type of the Church, and Elisha holds the type of Christ. When the Church is poor in merits and it is necessary that she repay the debt: by what means will she repay? She must fill the vessels of her neighbors. Do you wish the piety of mother Church to descend upon you? Fill the vessels of your neighbors. This oil of piety ought to be possessed by all. Whence in the Song of Songs: "Your name is oil poured out."

Psalms 137:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

Do not allow the serpent to enter into your heart through suggestion; for Gregory says that when the head of the serpent has entered into any opening, then the whole body easily enters. For this reason the Psalm says: "Blessed is he who shall seize and dash his little ones against the rock," that is, the first movements against Christ: and then he shall have peace. He who wishes to defend his land fears for himself, lest the enemy enter his land: for he who holds the borders of his land in strength possesses the interior more securely.

Psalms 139:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Here it must be noted that there is a clarity of philosophical knowledge, of theological knowledge, of gratuitous knowledge, and a clarity of glorious knowledge. The clarity of philosophical knowledge is great according to the opinion of worldly men, yet it is small in comparison to the clarity of Christian knowledge. The clarity of theological knowledge indeed seems small according to the opinion of worldly men, but according to truth it is great. The clarity of gratuitous knowledge is greater, but the clarity of glorious knowledge is the greatest: there lies the final state. "Your knowledge is become wonderful beyond me; it is fortified, and I cannot attain to it," namely in this life.

Psalms 139:6 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 6

Although the intellect and the affection of the rational soul never rest except in God and in the infinite good, this is not because it comprehends that good, but because nothing suffices for the soul unless it exceeds its capacity. Whence it is true that both the affection and the intellect of the rational soul itself are borne toward the infinite good and true, and toward it as infinite; but to be borne toward it can be in six modes, namely by believing, by reasoning, by wondering, by gazing, by exceeding and by comprehending. The first mode is of imperfection and of the way; the last mode is of the highest perfection and is proper to the eternal and infinite Trinity; the second and third modes pertain to the progress of the way; the fourth and fifth to the consummation of the fatherland. For on the way we can contemplate the divine immensity by reasoning and by wondering: but in the fatherland by gazing, when we shall have been made deiform, and by exceeding, when we shall be wholly inebriated: on account of which inebriation Anselm says at the end of the Proslogion that we shall enter more into the divine joy than the divine joy shall enter into our heart. And since that soul united to the Word is both more made deiform and more inebriated on account of a grace not merely sufficient, but also superexcellent: therefore it gazes upon the divine wisdom and by gazing exceeds into it, although it does not comprehend it. And for this reason wonder has a place not only on the way, but also in the fatherland: not only in the Angels, but also in the soul assumed by God, so that it says: Your knowledge is become wonderful from me; it is strengthened, and I cannot reach unto it, as the Gloss expounds concerning the man assumed by the Word, that "he cannot be made equal to Him in wisdom nor in anything else."

Psalms 139:6 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 7

The Psalm: Your knowledge has become wonderful, etc.; the Gloss: "The assumed man cannot be made equal to the divine substance in substance nor in anything else." Therefore the soul of Christ does not comprehend all things that are comprehended by the eternal wisdom.

Psalms 139:6 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Sacred Scripture possesses in its progression a sublimity, which consists in the description of hierarchies arranged in graduated order, which are the ecclesiastical, angelic, and divine hierarchy; such that it describes the first openly, the second somewhat more hiddenly, and the third still more hiddenly. From its description of the ecclesiastical hierarchy it is lofty; from its description of the angelic, loftier; from its description of the divine, loftiest, so that we may say that word of the Prophet: Your knowledge is become wonderful to me; it is strengthened, and I cannot reach unto it.

Psalms 139:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

The height of God is beyond investigation. Hence, "such knowledge is too wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain."

Psalms 139:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Job says: "I always feared God as though waves were swelling over me." And why? I cannot flee on account of the sublimity of divine power, because "if I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present; if I take my wings at dawn and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." Likewise, I cannot hide on account of the perspicacity of divine wisdom, because God sees all things. Likewise, I cannot resist on account of the severity of divine vengeance, because he who sins is punished by eternal judgment. It is necessary, therefore, that we fear God.

Psalms 139:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Psalms 139:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Psalms 139:11 — Breviloquium, Part 5

By which most fervent desire, in the manner of fire, our spirit is not only made agile for ascent, but also by a certain learned ignorance is rapt above itself into darkness and ecstasy, so that not only does it say with the bride: We will run in the fragrance of your ointments, but also sings with the Prophet: And the night is my illumination in my delights. Which nocturnal and delightful illumination no one knows except he who experiences it, nor does anyone experience it except through grace divinely given, nor is it given to anyone except to him who exercises himself toward it.

Psalms 139:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

"Your eyes have seen my actions; in Your book they are all written." In other words, that which had been written earlier is now made manifest: it is not written anew. In this book are inscribed all the eternal laws. And so God is the eternal Exemplar, and this is a matter of faith which believes that God is the creator of all things.

Psalms 142:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Psalms 144:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of prophetical revelation, Christ is symbolized through harmonious singing "with a ten-stringed lyre," as in the psalm where David learns how to prophesy.

Psalms 145:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

This Hierarch is the most generous because He gives us whatever we ask. He swears to it and asserts it with complete truthfulness. Hence in the Psalm: "You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing."

Psalms 147:5 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 1

God by the knowledge of simple intelligence knows and comprehends infinite things. I respond: For the understanding of the foregoing, it must be noted that according to the ancient doctors we are compelled to hold that God knows infinite things, as the Prophet David says in the Psalm: "Great is our Lord and great is his power, and of his wisdom there is no number"; and as Augustine not only asserts this but also proves it in the twelfth book of the City of God, the eighteenth chapter, where he speaks thus: "Therefore, as for that which certain ones, namely the philosophers, say—that not even by God's knowledge can infinite things be comprehended—it remains for them to dare to say, and to plunge themselves into this abyss of impiety, that God does not know all numbers. For it is most certain that they are infinite, since in whatever number you may think the end should be placed, that same number—I do not say can be increased by adding one—but however great it may be and however vast a multitude it may contain, it can by the very theory and science of numbers not only be doubled but even multiplied. Indeed, each number is so bounded by its own properties that none of them can be equal to any other: therefore they are both unequal among themselves and diverse, and each one individually is finite, and all together are infinite. Does God then not know all numbers on account of their infinity, and does the knowledge of God reach up to a certain sum of numbers and remain ignorant of the rest? Who, even the most demented, would say this?" And a little further on: "The infinity of number, therefore, although there is no number of infinite numbers, is nevertheless not incomprehensible to him whose understanding has no number. Wherefore, if whatever is comprehended by knowledge is made finite by the comprehension of the knower, then assuredly all infinity is in some ineffable manner made finite to God, because it is not incomprehensible to his knowledge. Therefore, if the infinity of numbers cannot be infinite to the knowledge of God by which it is comprehended, who are we, mere little men, to presume to fix a limit to his knowledge?" By these testimonies, therefore, as by the most certain witnesses, we are compelled to say or to hold that God knows infinite things. The manner of this position, however, is assigned by the more modern doctors, who have said that there is a threefold mode of divine cognition, not on account of a diversity of divine knowledge in itself, but in its connotation. For in God there is a knowledge of approbation, of vision, and of intelligence. The knowledge of approbation is of good things only, and of finite things. The knowledge of vision is of evil things and good things, but of finite things, inasmuch as it concerns time: for it is only of those things which were, are, and will be. But the knowledge of intelligence is of infinite things, inasmuch as God understands not only future things but also possible things: and the things possible to God are not finite but infinite. The reason for this position, namely why we hold that God knows infinite things and does not make or will or dispose them, is that the divine knowing according to the third mode of understanding is an intrinsic act of God. By intrinsic I mean not only because it proceeds from what is intrinsic, but also because it is toward what is intrinsic and through what is intrinsic and according to an intrinsic mode. Toward what is intrinsic, I say, because the divine gaze in knowing does not leap outside itself, but by beholding itself as truth knows every truth. Through what is intrinsic, because through the eternal reasons, which are identical with himself, he knows whatever he knows. According to an intrinsic mode, because the divine knowing not only abstracts from the notion of actual cause, but also from that of cause absolutely. For he knows evils, of which he is not the cause; he also knows future things, which he does not yet bring about;…

Psalms 147:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

However powerful, rich, learned, and strong a man may be, unless he fears God, nothing avails him. Whence the Psalm: "He shall not take pleasure in the strength of the horse, nor shall he be well pleased with the legs of a man: the Lord is well pleased with those who fear him, and with those who hope in his mercy."

Psalms 147:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Psalms 147:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

The fruits of the earth refer to the consideration of the divine condescensions in the orders of the Churches. Their fullness is seen as the conjunction of both Churches, the militant and the triumphant. It is in this manner that God "has granted peace in your borders"; that is, as He shall declare, peace is like a river.

Psalms 148:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

In the fourth place, that is, from afar, there is born in us the praise of God in all things. For all creatures declare God. What shall I do? I shall sing with them all. The thick cord in the zither does not give forth a pleasant sound if struck alone, but there is harmony in consonance with others. Symbolic figures are received by all creatures in the Scriptures for the sake of praising God, as is evident in the Psalms: "Praise the Lord from the heavens," and "Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord," from above and below. So does the man who sees God in all things, who tastes God in them through his three powers.

Psalms 148:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Scripture tends to lead back to the first beginning by means of reformation, or it describes eternal things, as in the Laws and Gospels. Hence in the Psalm: "He gave them a duty which shall not pass away." For it is not to be understood that the Law or the Commandments will pass away, but rather that they will be better served in the fatherland. For they are not served in the same manner under the Old Testament and under the New Testament: they are served better under the New Testament, and yet better still in the fatherland. God indeed lives by these very Laws which He Himself has given.

Revelation 1:8 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Revelation 1:8 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6

Revelation 1:8 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

According to this same mode also, one may find in the illumination of natural philosophy, whose principal intention turns upon formal reasons in matter, in the soul, and in divine wisdom. These may be considered in three ways, namely according to the relation of proportion, according to the effect of causality, and according to the medium of union: and according to these three the three aforesaid are to be found. If we consider them according to the relation of proportion, we shall see in them the eternal Word and the Word incarnate. Intellectual and abstract reasons are, as it were, intermediate between seminal and ideal reasons. But seminal reasons cannot exist in matter without there being in it a generation and production of form; similarly, neither can intellectual reasons exist in the soul without there being a generation of a word in the mind; therefore, neither can ideal reasons exist in God without there being a production of the Word from the Father according to a right proportion; for this pertains to dignity, and if it befits the creature, much more strongly can it be inferred of the Creator. On account of which Augustine said that the Son of God is "the art of the Father." Again, the appetite that is in matter is ordered to intellectual reasons, so that in no way is generation perfect unless the rational soul is united to corporeal matter. By a similar reasoning, therefore, it can be argued that the highest and most noble perfection in the universe cannot exist unless the nature in which seminal reasons reside, and the nature in which intellectual reasons reside, and the nature in which ideal reasons reside, come together simultaneously in the unity of one person, which was accomplished in the incarnation of the Son of God. Therefore all natural philosophy, through the relation of proportion, proclaims the Word of God begotten and incarnate, so that the same is the Alpha and Omega, begotten, namely, in the beginning and before all ages, but incarnate at the end of the ages.

Revelation 1:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

These Centers are the "seven golden lamp-stands," and Christ "in the midst of the seven lamp-stands," which are the seven illuminations of wisdom, that is, the metaphysical, the natural, the mathematical, the logical, the ethical, the political, and the theological. These are the "seven eyes" of the Lamb, and the seven days that followed upon the first light.

Revelation 1:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of the disclosing of Scriptures, Christ is pointed to through the symbol of the One presiding, as is clearly shown through the "son of man... in the midst of the seven lamp stands" that have "seven stars," which are the "Seven Churches."

Revelation 1:20 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Because the truth to the belief of which we are bound by faith, and which sacred Scripture principally treats, is not just any truth, but divine truth, either as it is in its own nature or as it is in the assumed nature — for in the knowledge of this truth consists both the reward of the fatherland and the merit of the way —: hence it is that the articles of faith, which are the foundations of faith, pertain either to the Divinity or to the humanity. And since the Divinity is to be considered in three persons, namely the Father begetting, the Son begotten, and the Holy Spirit proceeding, and in a fourfold operation, namely creation in the being of nature, recreation in the being of grace, resurrection in the restoration of life, and glorification in the bestowal of glory: hence it is that the articles pertaining to the Divinity are seven. Similarly, because Christ's humanity is to be considered as conceived of the Holy Spirit, as born of the Virgin, as suffering on the cross, as descending into hell, as rising from the dead, as ascending into heaven, as coming to the final judgment; hence it is that there are seven articles of the humanity, and thus fourteen in all, after the manner of the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands, in the midst of which the Son of Man walked.

Revelation 2:7 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Revelation 2:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

We shall have this crown if we wish to imitate the glorious Virgin. Whence it is written: "Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been proved, he shall receive the crown of life"; and in the Apocalypse: "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."

Revelation 2:17 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

When these senses have been recovered, while the soul sees and hears, smells, tastes, and embraces its spouse, it can sing as a bride the Song of Songs, which was composed for the exercise of contemplation according to this fourth degree, which no one grasps unless he receives it, because it consists more in affective experience than in rational consideration. For in this degree, when the interior senses have been restored to sense the supremely beautiful, to hear the supremely harmonious, to smell the supremely fragrant, to taste the supremely sweet, to apprehend the supremely delightful, the soul is disposed to mental transports, namely through devotion, admiration, and exultation, according to those three exclamations which are made in the Song of Songs. The first of these arises from the abundance of devotion, through which the soul becomes like a column of smoke from the aromatics of myrrh and frankincense; the second from the excellence of admiration, through which the soul becomes like the dawn, the moon, and the sun, according to the progression of illuminations that suspend the soul in admiration of the spouse contemplated; the third from the superabundance of exultation, through which the soul of most sweet pleasure, flowing with delights, leans entirely upon her beloved.

Revelation 2:17 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

Revelation 2:17 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 7

This excess is indeed the ultimate and most noble mode of knowing, which Dionysius praises in all his books, and especially in the book On Mystical Theology. Concerning which also, mystically, almost all of divine Scripture speaks, and concerning which Apocalypse 2: I will give him a stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows except he who receives it: because this mode of knowing one scarcely or never understands unless one has experienced it, nor does one experience it unless one is rooted and grounded in charity, so that one may comprehend with all the Saints what is the length, the breadth, etc.; in which also experiential and true wisdom consists, which is begun on the way and consummated in the fatherland.

Revelation 2:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

These seals, then, are found in a twofold perfection: a series of twelve, which is a number of abundance, and of a thousand, which derives from a multiplication of ten by itself in a perfect way. Indeed, ten times ten are a hundred, and ten times a hundred are a thousand. No one receives this signification, unless he is the one who has the "pebble, and upon the pebble a new name written, which no one knows except him who receives it." This is "the tree of life": there man enjoys life. Hence, "blessed are they who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life." And he said: I have wanted to lead you to this "tree of life." "King Solomon hath made him a litter of the wood of Libanus. The pillars thereof he made of silver, the seat of gold, the going up of purple: the midst he covered with charity." The seat of gold is contemplative wisdom. And this no one has, except one who has the pillars of silver, which are the virtues buttressing the soul. The going up of purple is charity which makes [the soul] go up to the higher things and down to the lower.

Revelation 3:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

All the judgments of Scriptures refer to this one judgment; hence, He is called the Prince of Peace. Wherefore just rewards come forth from Him. He, then, "has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts." And such a key is the mystery of union.

Revelation 3:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

And it was said to the Angel of Philadelphia, who was the sixth, "Thus says the holy one, the true one, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one shuts, and who shuts and no one opens: I know thy works. Behold, I have caused a door to be opened before thee." And he said that now for the first time the understanding of Scripture would be given, either as revelation or as the key of David, to a single person or to a great number of people; and I believe rather that it would be given to a great number.

Revelation 3:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Revelation 3:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

This passage establishes that it was those who were upon Mount Sion who were sealed; also, that one of the angels who were to pour out the bowls — and, fittingly, it was the sixth — showed him the city the measure of which was a hundred and forty-four cubits. Toward the beginning of the Apocalypse, it is said of the sixth angel, that of Philadelphia: "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. And I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city, the new Jerusalem," which is mentioned only in the end. There are six times, of which the sixth has three periods and repose. And as Christ came in the sixth time, so it is fitting that the contemplative Church be born at the end. For the contemplative Church and the soul do not differ, except that the soul has within itself that which the Church has within many. For any contemplative soul has some measure of perfection through which to see the visions of God.

Revelation 4:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

Furthermore, these twelve virtues, doubled in prosperity and adversity, are represented by the twenty-four hours, twelve in the night of adversity and twelve in the day of prosperity. Likewise, they are doubled in the active and the contemplative life: in that sense they are represented by the twenty-four elders who turned sometimes to action and at other times to contemplation, for they do what is sensible and mature. Once more, the twelve virtues are doubled through practical and speculative contemplation: and in this they are revealed by the twenty-four wings of the four animals, each one of which had six wings. And here ends the First Vision and the work of the First Day.

Revelation 4:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

These are the true witnesses of Scriptures: the prophets and the apostles. Nor can it be said that the apostles bribed the prophets so that their prophecies would accord with what eventually came about in Christ. If they had lived at the same time, there could have been some suspicion: but the prophets came before the apostles. And so this truth is infallible. The Old and the New Testament agree, standing as they do in major conformity and harmony; and they are like the twenty-four elders around the throne of Christ, so that there be no doubt.

Revelation 4:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

John says in the Apocalypse that the four living creatures stood around God's throne, and that the first had the face of a lion, the second that of an ox, the third that of a man, and the fourth that of an eagle: but he does not say that each one had four faces. While Ezechiel says that the living creatures "moved," John says that they "stood." Ezechiel says that the first living creature had the face of a man; John, that it had the face of a lion. Wherefore John seems to comprise the visions both of Isaiah and of Ezechiel. John intends to describe the four meanings, not in the order of importance, but according to the four faces which represent four meanings, that is, the literal or the allegorical or the tropological or the anagogical within any one of the four. The legal books correspond to the lion, because of its magnificence and authority; the historical to the ox who pulls the plow, because of its simplicity, and because it furrows the earth; the sapiential to man; and the prophetical to the face of an eagle.

Revelation 4:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

Revelation 5:1 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 11

The First Principle made this sensible world to manifest Himself, namely so that through it, as through a mirror and a vestige, man might be led back to God the Maker, to love and praise Him. And accordingly there is a twofold book: one written within, which is the eternal art and wisdom of God; and another written without, namely the sensible world. And because in Christ the eternal Wisdom and its work come together simultaneously in one person, He is therefore called the book written within and without for the restoration of the world.

Revelation 5:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

It is not without reason that the scroll was sealed with seven seals. "Behold," said one of the Elders, "the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, has overcome to open the scroll and its seven seals." These are the seven Centers. By their significance, Christ opened the tomb, and this represents the opening of the scroll, and He removed the shroud, and this represents the manifestation of mysteries. This is our logic, this is our reasoning which must be used against the devil who constantly argues with us.

Revelation 5:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

Revelation 5:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

Revelation 5:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

John in the Apocalypse saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures a Lamb having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. John sets forth a visionary image and expresses the truth. He calls the gifts of the Holy Spirit horns and eyes. And why? You must understand that there is a certain efficacy of the gifts of the Holy Spirit by which all evils are combated; there is another efficacy of the gifts by which a person is equipped for all good things. And because strength resides in horns, therefore the gifts by which evils are combated he calls horns. And because the power of readiness resides in the eyes, therefore the gifts by which a person is equipped for all good things he calls eyes. Through the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, designated by the seven horns, the seven mortal sins are destroyed, and seven virtues are introduced. The gift of fear destroys pride and brings about the good of poverty; the gift of piety destroys envy and introduces meekness or gentleness of spirit; the gift of knowledge destroys wrath and introduces the gift of mourning; the gift of fortitude destroys sloth and introduces hunger for justice; the gift of counsel destroys avarice and introduces mercy; the gift of understanding destroys gluttony and introduces purity of heart; the gift of wisdom destroys lust and introduces peace. Whence through the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit all evils are destroyed, and all goods are introduced.

Revelation 5:12 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 7

Apocalypse 5: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive wisdom; the Gloss: "The knowledge of all things, just as the Word united to Him"; but the united Word comprehends whatever it knows: therefore so does the soul of Christ. To that which is objected, that the soul of Christ has all knowledge just as the Word united to it has: it can be said that those things are said of the assumed man on account of the communication of idioms; or certainly they are said of those things which are, were, and will be, which indeed can be comprehended by the soul of Christ; but it is not true with respect to all things that the divine wisdom understands, since it knows infinite things, as is clear from what has been determined above.

Revelation 6:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

In the martyrs, the Church was slightly obscured, for the moon became as blood; but it was cleansed, and returned to a greater growth. Hence, the Church was enlarged through the martyr's blood. Likewise, in the days of the confessors, it was attacked by heretics; but later, heresy was destroyed in the councils, and the faith of the Church was explained better. Once again, in the days of the virgins, when men had been turned to the flesh, the Holy Spirit impelled the minds of a few to love and serve chastity.

Revelation 6:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Revelation 7:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

The day of the formation of man, the time of the prophetical voice, and the time of the clear doctrine, in which the prophesized life would come: for it was necessary that in this time there come a single order, that is, a prophetical disposition similar to the order of Jesus Christ, and of which the head would be an "angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God," and conforming to Christ.

Revelation 7:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

How can this be? See what is said toward the end of the Apocalypse. Toward the middle, it is said: "I saw the Lamb standing upon Mount Sion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads." But at the opening of the sixth seal, it is said in the Apocalypse: "And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, who had it in their power to harm the earth and the sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.' And I heard the number of those who were sealed, out of every tribe of the children of Israel; of the tribe of Juda, twelve thousand sealed," etc. The tribe of Dan is not counted, but Manasses is counted instead of Dan, and Joseph instead of Ephraim. In Deuteronomy, Simeon is omitted. This is how the contemplative soul is sealed by God. Hence, in reference to the sixth angel, it is said that an angel appeared, "having the seal of the living God." That was when Jerusalem was shown as standing in heaven. And to this angel appeared an expressive seal, as regards the manner of living in conformity with this seal, which is what was sealed: "Of the tribe of Juda, twelve thousand sealed," etc. And that is, that everyone who possesses this thrice-uplifting light must have a threefold perfection corresponding to love. Hence, to seal in this manner is to bind [oneself] to this through a promise and to impress a seal that would correspond to this seal of love.

Revelation 7:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Revelation 7:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

And it is certain that one of them wanted to exterminate the Church. But an "angel ascending from the rising of the sun cried to the four angels: 'Do not harm the earth or the sea till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.'" Wherefore the Church's tribulations are lasting until now.

Revelation 7:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Now, this perfection consists in the description of the city, that is, that the soul have within itself a divine worship of God, a divine bond with God, a divine zeal for God, and a divine sense of God. The worship is in the east, the bond in the south, the zeal in the north, and the sense in the west. And there are three doors to the east, three to the west, three to the south, and three to the north. Worship has two companions, one that comes before, the other after. For perfect worship, three things are necessary: a veridical profession of eternal truth, a humble veneration of the supreme majesty, and a manly preservation of inner holiness. Wherefore three doors are placed to the east. "Of the tribe of Juda, twelve thousand sealed." For these were ranked, not in relation to carnal generation, for Juda was not the first son, but according to spiritual generation. Juda, indeed, is understood to mean "profession," and this is the foundation, for the spiritual foundation is faith, upon which the Church is built. This, then, is primary: that with you there be an integral profession of perfect belief and assent. Second, there is needed humble veneration of the supreme majesty, and that occurs when a man considers the hugeness of his crimes and the immensity of God's severity. Wherefore there follows: "Of the tribe of Ruben, twelve thousand sealed." Ruben is understood to mean "son of vision." Third, there is needed manly preservation of inner holiness, so that man be so girded in advance, girded against everything, that he be in control of all outpourings. Hence, also, priests were forbidden to drink wine or any inebriating liquid when they entered the temple for service. The same is evident also from the prescription concerning cleanliness. Now, this cleanliness is of the heart. Wherefore there follows: "Of the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand sealed." Gad is understood to mean "girded."

Revelation 7:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

But true worship is insufficient without perfect bond, for charity teaches the worship and the love of God. And this comes about when the soul despises lowly things, tends to supreme values, and expands on the intermediate level, in such a way that it has sublimation in the highest things, separation from the lowest, and expansion on the intermediate level. And this consists in the foremost desire for eternal beatitude, an expanded disposition toward heavenly love, and a perfective contempt for worldly prosperity or possessions. These three are understood through the three next [groups of those who were] sealed. Hence, there must be in the soul a true contempt in order that the longing for beatitude be in the first place. Wherefore there follows: "Of the tribe of Aser, twelve thousand sealed." Aser is understood to mean "happy," that is, rich with food, providing dainties for kings. But happy is the man who is transported by love into supreme beatitude. Then, there follows an expanded disposition toward heavenly love, wherefore there comes next: "Of the tribe of Nephthali, twelve thousand sealed." Nephthali is understood to mean "breadth," and it means that all those who want to have the bond of charity must have their affective powers well disposed toward all. But this they cannot have as long as they are lovers of their own private good. Hence, it is fitting that there be contempt for all things. Wherefore there follows: "Of the tribe of Manasses, twelve thousand sealed." Manasses is understood to mean "oblivion." For some men despise earthly things, but do not give them up. Others give them up, but do not despise them. Others again despise them and give them up, but do not forget them. When the soul gives up and forgets, then there is perfection, and this is indicated in the sixth place. "Forget your people and your father's house." As Augustine writes, "He loves you less if, besides You, he loves something else not on account of You." Manasses, then, is in the sixth place. He was the son of Joseph who [in turn] was the twelfth son of Jacob. And so, it is not without mystery that he is in the sixth place.

Revelation 7:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

In the third place, there must be in the contemplative soul perfect zeal, so as to love in such a way that it rejects all evil. Now, there are two companions to the zeal of charity, piety that comes before, and patience that follows. For some men are pious zealots, and later they turn to the fury of impatience. Then, there will be three doors to the north, the affective condescension of kindly mercy, the emulating rectitude of severe control, and the victorious bearing of cruel or human tribulations. In this manner the city is defended against the north wind. And hence, there follow three [groups of those who were] sealed. The first: "Of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand sealed." Simeon is understood to mean "listening to sorrow," and signifies mercy toward the neighbor. This Simeon is "just and devout," receiving Christ in his arms. Unless a man be merciful, he is unworthy of receiving the One who came down from heaven for mercy's sake. Then, because mercy without emulating rectitude is worthless, there follows: "Of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand sealed." Levi is understood to mean "added." Levi received the priesthood on account of his zeal, wherefore he killed his idolatrous brother-priests. Phineas likewise obtained the priesthood because of zeal, and Mathathias and his descendants, because of zeal, obtained the priesthood and leadership, and they lasted until Herod. Levi signifies "prelates" who must have the spirit of severity and piety, as did Moses who, in spite of his extreme meekness, broke the tablets. By contrast, Heli, who was remiss, died together with his sons. Hence greater damage comes from a prelate who is merciful and rejects all rigor of discipline than from another who is rigidly merciless. In this sense is the passage of Ecclesiasticus understood: "Better a man's harshness than a woman's indulgence." In the third place, it is fitting that there be a victorious bearing of worldly tribulations. Indeed, the man who assumes them must prepare himself for suffering. Wherefore Christ overturned the tables in His zeal. Later, when they sought Him, He showed Himself. Hence, "the patient man shows much good sense." There is no doubt that those whose tables He overturned were then clamoring: "Crucify Him!" Wherefore there follows: "Of the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand sealed." Issachar is understood to mean "sturdy ass," and actually an ass bears a cross on its shoulders. It must always be ready to bear this cross. But the [true] interpretation is not "sturdy ass," but "reward," and it represents a man armed with love of the reward. Hence, in Matthew: "Blessed are you when men reproach you, and persecute you, and, speaking falsely, say all manner of evil against you, for My sake. Rejoice and exult, because your reward is great in heaven." And he said that once he was speaking with Brother Aegidius, who told him that we are not wise compared to Francis, the wise merchant: but we waste our substance, for we should pay a denarius to a man for him to strike us. And we do not even have the wisdom of the ass that bears its burden, and the more blows and insults it receives, the better it carries its load. And so, the obedient man should not let go any [potential] good. On the contrary, he should do better on account of any kind of tribulation, otherwise he is not a contemplative.

Revelation 7:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

On the western side [of the city], there is a perfect sense of God. And this sense makes us contemplate, and as companions, it has the stability of repose and the excess of joy. For in repose there can be stability together with thinking and contemplating, that is, in the west, where there is repose, conciliation, darkness or entering into darkness. For this sense, there is need of the peaceful stability of the sublime mansion, the clear view of wise judgment, and the ecstatic excess of sweet consolation. It is good to have the sign of Zabulon, which is "a dwelling of fortitude," which implies the first stability. "Because Thou, O Lord, art my hope." Hence, "the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is safe." He alone is at peace who fixes himself upon that "with which there is no change, no shadow of alteration." Hence, "in Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded." Second, there must be the clear view of wise judgment, so that, as the dove staying over water can see the bird of prey, man too may see in Scriptures. And this pertains to Joseph, which is understood to mean "growing." "Joseph is a growing son," a most handsome son, the savior of Egypt, the leader of his brothers, meaning that he has that judgment by which a man is guide and instructor to others: and this pertains to wisdom. And he is in the eleventh place, so that he can gather the wheat, not the leaves, but the documents of truth in Holy Scripture, and that he can pour it out again later for the salvation of the people. This is the sixth angel, [the one] of Philadelphia, "saving the inheritance." This one provides wheat against future famine. Finally, there is the ecstatic taste of sweet contemplation. It is written: "Of the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand sealed." Benjamin, "the son of the right hand, the son of pain," in giving birth to whom Rachel died, and yet, Benjamin, "the best beloved of the Lord, as in a bride chamber shall he abide all the day." And this signifies the ecstatic excess of contemplation. The son of Jacob is not born to anything beyond this. Here is sleep with excess. No one attains this sealing unless he has gone through all the preceding ones.

Revelation 7:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Christ is this Center in eternal beatitude. The theologian deals with the salvation of the soul, how it starts with faith, moves forward through the virtues, and is consummated in the gifts. Hence in the Apocalypse: "They shall neither hunger nor thirst any more, neither shall the sun strike them nor any heat. For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and will guide them to the fountains of the waters of life." And there will be no inner defect, since "they shall neither hunger nor thirst" through lack of sustainment by which life is lost; "neither shall the sun strike them" through any external harm.

Revelation 7:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

"For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and will guide them to the fountains of the waters of life." The Lamb in the midst of the waters is the Son of God, the Son who is the central Person, and from whom all happiness comes forth. For the Lamb of God leads us, so that seeing the body and the soul and the divinity, we may find pastures either by going in or by going out. Here the beatifying Center sheds its light on body and soul.

Revelation 7:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Revelation 10:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

But the seventh time, that of rest, starts with the angel swearing "by Him who lives forever, that there shall be delay no longer; but that in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, the mystery of God will be accomplished."

Revelation 10:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Revelation 11:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

Revelation 12:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

A man who does not have contemplation cannot yet enjoy the adornment of sun, moon and stars. For there is need of the apparition of "a woman clothed with the sun, and having the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." Contemplation of the super-heavenly hierarchy is represented by the sun, contemplation of the sub-heavenly hierarchy, by the moon, and contemplation of the heavenly hierarchy, by the stars.

Revelation 12:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

Concerning the consideration of the heavenly Monarchy, it has been said that it is understood through the solar light, as being a Sun alive, lighting and heating, so that there come together in the soul nine lights from the viewpoints of divine excellence, divine influence, and divine primacy; and in what manner the divine Hierarchy is shown forth by this Sun, and hierarchized by reason of conformity to the Sun, of the disposition of the full hierarchy, and of its manifold aspects. It remains, then, to speak of the moon. For as the contemplative soul is a good woman, clothed with the sun, so also the moon is under her feet. Hence, as the moon is the daughter of the sun and receives its light from it, likewise the Church Militant receives hers from that Jerusalem which is above. Wherefore the Apostle calls her our mother, for she is the mother of those influences by which we are made to be the sons of God. The heavenly hierarchy is a model of the Church Militant. It is fitting, then, that the Church Militant have orders corresponding to the model hierarchy. They are distinguished in three different ways: the first, according as they proceed in different ways, the second, as regards their manner of ascent, and the third, as regards their manner of exercise.

Revelation 12:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

In the Apocalypse: "A great sign appeared in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." We shall have this crown if we wish to imitate the glorious Virgin. Whence it is written: "Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been proved, he shall receive the crown of life"; and in the Apocalypse: "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."

Revelation 12:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Now, Scripture also has trees for food. It enlightens by means of those things that are from the opposite side. For it shows us an endless army arrayed against us, either through the seven princes, through a single war, or through several wars. That war began on the day when Michael and his angels battled with the dragon. A threefold war is threatening us: domestic, civil, and military. The first is with the flesh, which has many troops. This servant-maid is ever-willing to give access, as did Eve. Hence, Against her who lies in your bosom guard the portals of your mouth. Again, civil war is the temptation of the world. Indeed, every creature is a trap. Hence the saying: Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! What profit has man from all the labor which he toils at under the sun? Vain and worthless is anything of which nothing remains to man after death: wherefore all things are vanity. The Psalm reads: Turn away my eyes from seeing what is vain. Once more, there is military war, a conflict with demons which threaten by night and by day, at times by exaggerating so that we become presumptuous, at times by thoughts of knowledge, at times by thoughts of sanctity. At times they make a man angry, and thus devilish and filled with a spirit of malice; and they make him fall into sadness and despair, and it is the same with other means. Scripture teaches to flee from this. But what kind of knowledge teaches to flee from adverse powers? None!

Revelation 13:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

Three errors are to be guarded against in the sciences, which destroy sacred Scripture and the Christian faith and all wisdom: one against the cause of being, another against the reason of understanding, and the third against the order of living. These errors are signified in the Apocalypse in the number of the name of the beast. It is said there that it had a name whose number is six hundred sixty-six, which is a cyclical number. The first group base themselves upon the circle of motion and time; the second, upon the motion of the stars; the third, upon one Intelligence, saying that it enters into and exits from the body. The first error concerns the eternity of the world; the second concerns fatal necessity; the third concerns the unity of the human intellect. All of this is heretical.

Revelation 14:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

How can this be? See what is said toward the end of the Apocalypse. Toward the middle, it is said: "I saw the Lamb standing upon Mount Sion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads." But at the opening of the sixth seal, it is said in the Apocalypse: "And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, who had it in their power to harm the earth and the sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.' And I heard the number of those who were sealed, out of every tribe of the children of Israel; of the tribe of Juda, twelve thousand sealed," etc. The tribe of Dan is not counted, but Manasses is counted instead of Dan, and Joseph instead of Ephraim. In Deuteronomy, Simeon is omitted. This passage establishes that it was those who were upon Mount Sion who were sealed; also, that one of the angels who were to pour out the bowls — and, fittingly, it was the sixth — showed him the city the measure of which was a hundred and forty-four cubits.

Revelation 14:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Hence, in the Apocalypse: "I heard a voice from heaven like a voice of many waters," because of the great number of possible interpretations; a voice of "harpers" because of the accord of these interpretations, for they agree in such a marvelous way that the resulting harmony is wonderful.

Revelation 14:3 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

On account of the prerogative of dignity, by which to follow Christ wherever he goes and to sing the new song is proper to virgins, there will be a singular glory among virgins, according to what blessed John says in the fourteenth chapter of the Apocalypse. Whence Augustine, in the book On Virginity: "Go forward, holy ones of God, boys and girls, men and women, celibates and unmarried, go forward perseveringly unto the end. Praise the Lord more sweetly, whom you contemplate more richly; hope more happily, whom you serve more urgently; please him more attentively: with loins girded and lamps burning, await the Lord when he comes from the wedding: you bring to the wedding of the Lamb a new song, which you will sing on your harps, not indeed such as all the earth sings, to which it is said: Sing to the Lord, all the earth: but such as no one will be able to say except you, and because you follow the Lamb wherever he goes, as he who was beloved by the Lamb above the rest wrote concerning you. Where do we think he goes, this Lamb, where no one dares or is able to follow him except you? Where do we think he goes, into what glades or meadows? Where, I believe, there are twofold joys, not the vain joys of this world, lying madnesses, nor joys such as in the very kingdom of God belong to the rest who are not virgins; but distinct from the lot of all the rest: joys of the virgins of Christ, concerning Christ, in Christ, with Christ, after Christ, through Christ, on account of Christ. In this you follow the Lamb, because the flesh of the Lamb is indeed virgin: for he retained this in himself which, conceived and born, he did not take away from his Mother."

Revelation 14:4 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That virginal continence is to be preferred to all others is shown by reason, as follows. That which most greatly makes us follow Christ is most greatly to be preferred; but virginity most greatly makes one follow Christ, Apocalypse fourteen: For they are virgins and follow the Lamb wherever He goes: therefore virginal continence is to be preferred.

Revelation 14:10 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Since the punishment for lustful disorder must be afflictive, because delight is punished through contrary sorrow: and the rational spirit in sinning turns itself to its own good and to what is present and partial, loving it lustfully, and from this despises the divine command and dominion: hence it is that, in order that that wicked delight be perfectly punished, in which there is simultaneously delight with contempt, it is necessary that for the punishment of that contempt and delight the sinner, whether man or spirit, be cast down into the lowest place and most distant from the state of glory, that is, into the deepest hell. It is also necessary that the one to be afflicted there be exposed to the lowest nature, and thereby suffer not from a spiritual substance, but from a corporeal and lowest one, that is, from the dregs of worldly bodies, so that he may be fixed in the dregs and burned with fire and brimstone. And since the spirit, which by nature is set over the body and has the power to influence and move it, has perverted the dignity of nature through fault and subjected itself in a certain way to the vileness and nothingness of sin: hence it is that according to the order of justice it must be ordained that both the sinning spirit and man be bound to corporeal fire, not so as to flow life into it, but so as to receive punishment by divine decree. For since he is inseparably bound to a thing which he dreads through divinely sent fear and which he perceives through the power of natural sensation: it is necessary that he be sharply tormented.

Revelation 14:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Revelation 14:11 — Breviloquium, Part 7

The punishment of hell is in a corporeal place below, in which all the reprobate, both men and evil spirits, will be eternally tormented. They will be tormented by the same corporeal fire, which will burn and torment both spirits and bodies—yet it will not consume those bodies, but will always torment them, some more, some less, according to the measure of their merits. Moreover, to this torment of fire will be joined torment according to all the senses; joined to it will be the punishment of the worm and the deprivation of the vision of God, so that in these punishments there will be variety, and with variety severity, and with severity endlessness, so that for the punishment of the reprobate the smoke of their torments shall ascend forever and ever. Since divine justice must punish the impious sinner according to the measure of his fault, and mortal fault, upon which final impenitence follows, has the character of a perpetual disordering, a concupiscent disordering, and a manifold disordering, it is necessary that it be punished with the eternity, severity, and multiformity of punishments. The punishment for perpetual disorder must be perpetual, because the sin which one commits and for which one never repents endures perpetually in the soul and separates from perpetual life, namely God, and proceeds from a will that would wish to delight perpetually in sin. And although that passing delight is momentary, yet because the disorder holds the character of perpetuity, the punishment corresponding to the disorder must have no end; so that, just as man in his own perpetuity set no end by withdrawing from sin, so God in His own perpetuity does not cease from punishing; and just as he sinned against the Infinite, so let him have infinite punishment: and because he cannot have punishment infinite in intensity, let him have it at least in duration: and just as his will after death always clings to evil without the reception of repentance, so let God always afflict without change of sentence. In every actual mortal sin there is a disordered aversion from the highest light and goodness, and an inordinate conversion to a changeable good, and a disorder of the will against the dictate of right reason: hence it is that all who actually sin and will be damned shall be punished with a threefold punishment: on account of their aversion, the deprivation of the vision of God; on account of their conversion, the punishment of material fire; on account of the conflict between will and reason, the punishment of the worm: so that thus afflicted by this multiplicity of punishments they may be tormented both variously and bitterly and eternally, and the smoke of their torments may ascend forever and ever.

Revelation 16:13 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

From these three idolatries proceed all falsities and disordered states of sin, by which the wretched soul is subjected to demons; which is well signified in Revelation, where it is said: "I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet three unclean spirits in the form of frogs." By the dragon are signified pacts with demons, by the false prophet the superstitious inventions of errors, by the beast the perverse valuations of creatures. And all these things are prohibited in the first commandment. And just as God in the first creation of things in a certain manner produced all things, so also in the first commandment he prohibits all evils, although for greater explanation he sets forth multiple commandments.

Revelation 19:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

For unless you understand the order and origin of restoration, you cannot understand Scriptures. Now, in the Apocalypse the name of the Restorer is the Word of God: "And He is clothed in a garment sprinkled with blood, and His name is called the Word of God."

Revelation 20:12 — Breviloquium, Part 7

In this judgment, moreover, there will be an opening of the books, namely of consciences, by which the merits and demerits of all will become known both to themselves and to others, this being accomplished by the power of that book of life, namely the incarnate Word; who in the form of Divinity will be seen only by the good, but in the form of humanity, in which he will also promulgate the sentence, will be seen by the good as well as by the evil, although in that same form he will appear terrible to the reprobate and gentle to the just. Because the open declaration of merits requires that there appear simultaneously what ought to have been done and what was done or omitted by the freedom of the human will according to the variety of circumstances, hence it is that both the books of consciences will be opened, so that merits may appear, and the book of life, so that justice itself may appear, according to which those merits are to be approved or rejected. And since that book of life is the book in which all things are written simultaneously and most lucidly, and in consciences they are written truthfully, therefore from the concurrence of the opening of these books there will be an open declaration of all merits, so that the hidden things of each one's heart may become known both to himself and to all others.

Revelation 20:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

He is a judge who judges by His own power. "Scrolls were opened. And another scroll was opened, which is the book of life," and the book of the conscience. Through the power of the book of life, the soul lives and is open to judgment; and if the book of the conscience coincides with the book of life, it is approved; but if they differ, it is reproved.

Revelation 21:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the mystery of the disclosing of Scriptures, Christ is pointed to through the One who brings about eternal beatitude, for he saw "a new heaven and a new earth." These, then, are the mysteries concerned with the Tree of Life, that is, Holy Scripture, because it begins with eternity and ends in the direction of eternity. Hence, "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"; and at the end, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth."

Revelation 21:2 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

When these things have been attained, our spirit becomes hierarchical for ascending upward according to its conformity to that supernal Jerusalem, into which no one enters unless it first descends into the heart through grace, as John saw in his Apocalypse. It descends into the heart, then, when through the reformation of the image, through the theological virtues, and through the delights of the spiritual senses and the suspensions of ecstasy, our spirit becomes hierarchical, that is, purged, illuminated, and perfected.

Revelation 21:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

This Holy Spirit, acting in the minds of the chosen, brings about Scriptures and gives firmness to the Christian faith. And because it acts more specially in the apostles, they are said to be the twelve foundation stones. The Apocalypse reads: And I saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. And it is said that the twelve names of the apostles were written on these foundation stones; not only the witnessing of the apostles, but also various witnessings of the Holy Spirit on many topics, among which are the twelve reasons for the firmness of faith, which are the twelve foundations. For through the concurrence of divers witnessings, the Holy Spirit strengthened this faith so that it would not be smitten.

Revelation 21:2 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

There alone is the most perfect order, where there is perfect reduction to the supreme, which is the supreme absolutely, of which kind is God; and this is in the heavenly Jerusalem, where there is full justice. But where there is reduction to the supreme in the genus of men, of which kind is the Vicar of Christ the Supreme Pontiff, there is a perfect order, insofar as befits the perfection of the present Church, which is formed after the likeness of the heavenly Jerusalem. Hence Bernard, in the third book to Eugenius: "Do not consider this form, which is on earth, to be base: it has its form in heaven. He who said the following had seen this: I saw the holy city descending from heaven, prepared by God. For I consider it said on account of the likeness, that, just as there the Cherubim and Seraphim and all the rest down to the Archangels and Angels are ordered under one head, God: so here also under one Supreme Pontiff the primates or patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, priests or abbots and the rest are arranged in this manner. It is not to be made little of that it has God as its author and draws its origin from heaven."

Revelation 21:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Revelation 21:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

For if they are led twelve by twelve, they will be a hundred and forty-four, that is, the number of the City of Jerusalem. And so, a soul hierarchized in this way is a city in which God lives and is seen. John says of this: "He took me up in spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem." And in the same chapter, he says that it was measured "to twelve thousand stadia." And, later, that "the length and the height and the breadth of it are equal." And that the measure of the wall was "a hundred and forty-four cubits."

Revelation 21:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

Now, the great number of thoughts arising out of faith transcend in clarity the light of the stars. Hence, in the Apocalypse: "He took me up in spirit to a mountain, great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven." And I saw that it had twelve gates, and over each gate a pearl, so that each gate was of a single pearl. These thoughts of faith are compared to the stars and also to twelve pearls. Although these stars are countless, there are twelve signs through which the sun runs its course. These twelve signs are merely clusters of stars which have divers influences because of their different configurations and lights. And the sun, in combination with these, affects the course of life on earth at different times and according to the different influences. These thoughts also, arising from the considerations of faith, are compared to the clarity of pearls because they are bright, vivifying and joyful in the manner of pearls. For pearls have brightness or refulgence, while they also comfort through their efficacy, and rejoice the heart.

Revelation 21:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

Revelation 21:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

Revelation 21:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

This Holy Spirit, acting in the minds of the chosen, brings about Scriptures and gives firmness to the Christian faith. And because it acts more specially in the apostles, they are said to be the twelve foundation stones. And it is said that the twelve names of the apostles were written on these foundation stones; not only the witnessing of the apostles, but also various witnessings of the Holy Spirit on many topics, among which are the twelve reasons for the firmness of faith, which are the twelve foundations. For through the concurrence of divers witnessings, the Holy Spirit strengthened this faith so that it would not be smitten; although this firmness was shaken violently in the beginning when the martyrs were crucified by idolaters. It was also shaken in intermediate times by different heresies. It will be shaken most violently at the end of the time of the Church through torment, argument, and the working of miracles.

Revelation 21:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Revelation 21:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Revelation 21:21 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

And by the twelve gates, each one made of a single pearl, may be understood the twelve principal ideas to which the others may then be retraced, and according to which the others are ruled and directed: and these twelve principal ideas are bright, vivifying, and joyful. The first of these ideas was to consider God as the first Being; the second, to consider Him as triune. Both the saints and the doctors deal with them, but the saints by means of intellectual vision and the doctors by means of investigation.

Revelation 21:21 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

Revelation 22:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

If you are concerned with grace, all such things proceed from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Behold, says John, "a river coming forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb." If you consider the prophetic signs, all refer to Christ and are obscure unless their meaning is solved through Christ. Hence all considerations return to Christ.

Revelation 22:1 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Concerning grace, therefore, insofar as it is a gift divinely given, the following must be held: that it is a gift which is immediately given and infused by God. For indeed, with it and in it the Holy Spirit is given, who is the uncreated gift, the best and perfect gift, which descends from the Father of lights through the incarnate Word, according to what John in Revelation saw a river, shining like crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It is nonetheless a gift through which the soul is perfected and made the bride of Christ, the daughter of the eternal Father, and the temple of the Holy Spirit: which in no way comes about except from the dignifying condescension and condescending dignity of the eternal Majesty through the gift of His grace.

Revelation 22:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

John indeed beheld "a river in the midst of the city streets coming forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb." For the Lamb of God leads us, so that seeing the body and the soul and the divinity, we may find pastures either by going in or by going out. Here the beatifying Center sheds its light on body and soul. "There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God," that is, the one "coming forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb," the Holy Spirit. And there will be no inner defect, since "they shall neither hunger nor thirst" through lack of sustainment by which life is lost; "neither shall the sun strike them" through any external harm.

Revelation 22:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Revelation 22:13 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 7

But because from itself, therefore it lacks a producer and creator: therefore it can neither depend nor begin; and through this it has the highest and most perfect necessity, which excludes all mutability and dependence, inevitability and indigence, coercion and violence, which denote a diminished necessity: and conversely it posits the highest permanence and stability, the highest sufficiency and freedom. For because it is through itself, therefore it is permanent and most stable: because indeed for its own sake, therefore most generous and most sufficient: because indeed it is through itself and for its own sake, therefore it is the alpha and the omega: and therefore all other things are from it, and all other things for the sake of it, whether necessary or contingent. For just as all movable things flow from one first immovable being and are reduced to it; so all contingent things flow from the necessary being and are reduced to it. Therefore the necessity of the divine being is the origin and completion of all being, living and understanding; and all things proclaim that the first principle is necessary, whether they be necessary or contingent.

Revelation 22:13 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 5

But you have that by which you may be raised up in wonder. For being itself is first and last, is eternal and most present, is most simple and greatest, is most actual and most immutable, is most perfect and immense, is supremely one and yet all-encompassing. If you wonder at these things with a pure mind, you will be flooded with a greater light, while you see further that it is last, because it is first. For because it is first, it works all things for its own sake: and therefore it is necessary that it be the ultimate end, the beginning and the consummation, the Alpha and the Omega. Therefore it is most present, because it is eternal. For because it is eternal, it does not flow from another nor fail from itself nor pass from one thing to another: therefore it has neither past nor future, but only present being alone. Therefore greatest, because most simple. For because it is most simple in essence, therefore it is greatest in power, because power, the more it is united, the more it is infinite. — Therefore most immutable, because most actual. For because it is most actual, therefore it is pure act; and what is such acquires nothing new, loses nothing it possesses, and therefore cannot be changed. — Therefore immense, because most perfect. For because it is most perfect, nothing can be thought beyond it that is better, nobler, or more worthy, and therefore nothing greater; and everything such is immense. Therefore all-encompassing, because supremely one. For what is supremely one is the universal principle of all multitude; and therefore it is the universal efficient, exemplary, and final cause of all things, as "the cause of being, the ground of understanding, and the order of living." It is therefore all-encompassing not as the essence of all things, but as the most superexcellent, most universal, and most sufficient cause of all essences, whose power, because supremely united in essence, is therefore supremely most infinite and most manifold in efficacy.

Revelation 22:13 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 3

If we consider the modes of the divine conditions, the divine being, by the very fact that it is first, is most simple. For by the very fact that it is first, all things flow from it, and by the very fact that they flow from it, they return and are led back to it as to the ultimate end, and from this it has that it is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Because therefore these things, which seem most distant, come together into what is in every way one, it is necessary that the divine being itself be most perfect, as a kind of intelligible circle: it is also necessary that it be most simple. For something falls short of supreme simplicity in three ways: either because it is composed from others, or because it is composed with another, or because it is composable in aptitude. But the divine being, from the fact that it is first, is not composed from others, for it has nothing prior before itself; from the fact that it is most perfect, it is not composed with another, for what is perfect does not come to the constitution of a third: from the fact, moreover, that it is ultimate, all other things are ordered to it as to a quieting terminus: and thus it is most absolute, and through this it not only lacks actual composition, but also possible composition, and thus to be most simple belongs to God truly and properly, for these three cannot be found together in anything else.

Revelation 22:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

This indeed is the fruit of Scripture: charity. It is for its sake that there are mysteries, interpretations, and theories. Hence towards the end of the Apocalypse: "Blessed are those who wash their robes that by the gates they may enter into the city." And he said: I imagine those twelve first examples as going up which flow from God and end in God and run through all of Scripture. I imagine as it were twelve circles, so that whatever circle the soul enters, it finds a forest and the amenity of trees and an abundance of fruits.

Revelation 22:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Revelation 22:14 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue

On account of which John says in the Revelation: Blessed are they who wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb, that their power may be over the tree of life, and that they may enter through the gates into the city; as if to say that one cannot enter the heavenly Jerusalem through contemplation unless one enters through the blood of the Lamb as through a gate.

Revelation 22:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

There must be a discerning investigation, so that the world be considered discriminately by the soul. It is fitting that there be great discernment in the guarding of the house, lest all have access to these powers. May nothing useless be announced to the king and the queen. For a robber should not be introduced before the king, except perhaps to be condemned. Eve, wretched and imprudent as she was, introduced the serpent's eloquence, and doubted; and many today are corrupted by this eloquence. Wherefore nothing filthy should come in through those doors. "Outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators."

Romans 1:9 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

A promissory oath is made in three ways, namely for promoting good, for preserving fidelity, and for entering into mutual peace. In the first way, inferiors swear to superiors; in the second way, equals to equals; in the third way, superiors to inferiors. By the first oath the Apostle swore, saying: "God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit." From this first oath a threefold benefit results: faith in the intellect, love in the affections, and peace in effect.

Romans 1:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 10

Romans 1:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

They did not know the disease because they were unaware of its cause. If, indeed, as the philosophers say, the soul is naturally united to the body, it does not contract a disease—otherwise God would be wasting beings instead of preserving them. But this comes about through sin, from the first principle, that is, Adam. But the fact that Adam ate of the forbidden tree cannot be known through reason, but only by hearing: and so faith is necessary. Wherefore, they did not reach the cause of the disease because they did not believe the prophets. As Augustine says in the thirteenth book, nineteenth chapter, of his work "On the Trinity," "These are the foremost philosophers of the Gentiles, who could see God's invisible attributes, being understood through the things that are made. Yet, because they philosophized without the Mediator, that is, without the man Christ, whom they did not accept as the One who was to come to the prophets and who did come to the apostles, in wickedness they hold back the truth."

Romans 1:19 — Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ, Question 4

As the Apostle says in Romans, chapter one, *that which is known of God is manifest in them:* although God is simple and uniform, nevertheless that eternal light and that exemplar represents certain things as it were *exteriorly* and *openly,* but certain things more *profoundly* and *hiddenly.* The first are those things which come about according to the necessary ordering of the divine art; but the second are those which come about according to the disposition of the hidden will. And that which is called a *voluntary* mirror — this is not with respect to exemplified things in the first way, but in the second: and therefore in the eternal reasons, natural things are known by the natural judgment of reason, but supernatural and future things only by the gift of supernal revelation.

Romans 1:19 — Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, Question 1

Although God is simple and uniform in himself, nevertheless in a certain way he is hidden and in a certain way is manifest, as the Apostle intimates in Romans 1: What is known of God is manifest in them. For to some the trinity of appropriated attributes is manifest, to whom the trinity of persons is not manifest; and to someone the unity of essence is manifest, to whom the trinity of appropriated attributes is not manifest; and to someone the very trinity of God is manifest, to whom the very unity of essence is not manifest. But this is what is first manifest concerning God, namely his very entity, and in this respect it does not lie hidden but lies open; and therefore it is not doubtable but indubitable.

Romans 1:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

These are the nine luminaries enlightening the soul, to wit, the truth of things, words and actions: of things, that is, of essences, of figures, and of natures: in their "suchness" referring to hidden differences, in their quantity referring to manifest proportions, in their nature referring to mixed properties. The truth of words is threefold, in regard to expressions, arguments, and persuasions: first, in regard to expressions concerning mental concepts; second, in regard to arguments drawing rational agreement; third, in regard to persuasions producing inclinations of the heart. The first is the object of grammar, the second of logic, and the third of rhetoric. The truth of actions is threefold: in regard to proprieties, activities, and lawful relationships. Proprieties are concerned with the observance of conventions; activities depend upon intellectual speculations; relationships are based on civil law. Philosophers offered these nine sciences and gave examples of them. But God has manifested it to them. Later, they sought to reach wisdom, and truth was leading them: and they promised to procure wisdom, that is, beatitude, that is, an intellect having attained its goal. They promised it, I mean, to those who would follow them.

Romans 1:20 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Since it is fitting that these invisible things of God be manifested through works, therefore God, originating this sensible world, so produced, so governs, so restores, so rewards and consummates it, that in production supreme power is manifested, in governance wisdom, in restoration clemency, and in retribution consummated justice. Therefore, that power might be manifested, he produced all things from nothing for his own praise, glory, and honor, making something close to nothing, namely corporeal matter, and something close to himself, namely spiritual substance, and joining these together in one man in the unity of nature and person, namely the rational soul and corporeal matter. That wisdom might be manifested, he indeed governs all things most providently and in order. For he himself rules the highest part of man through himself, namely the mind, which he illumines, and the lowest part, namely the body, through the free choice of the will, so that the body and bodily things as regards governance may be subject to the spirit, and the spirit to God.

Romans 1:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

For "since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen—His everlasting power also and divinity—being understood through the things that are made": God's "everlasting power" and His "divinity" are understood through their effect, since God is the Cause of all things, and all things are made by this power of His. And this is contrary to the theory of the philosophers who deny that things endowed with many forms can proceed from one and the same Being, that temporal things can proceed from the Eternal, possible things from the most Actual, changing things from the most Stable, composite things from the most Simple, lowly things from the supremely High: since the effect reflects the cause, and the opposite is true in these cases.

Romans 1:20 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 2

Romans 1:20 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 5

Romans 1:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

Romans 1:21-22 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Grant that a man possess natural and metaphysical knowledge, which extends itself to the highest substances, and that a man arrive there so as to rest there: it is impossible that he not fall into error, unless he be aided by the light of faith—namely, that a man believe God to be triune and one, most powerful and most good according to the ultimate outpouring of goodness. If you believe otherwise, you are mad concerning God: what is proper to God you attribute to another, you blaspheme and are an idolater, just as if a man should attribute the simplicity of God or things of this kind to another. Therefore this knowledge cast down and darkened the philosophers, because they did not have the light of faith. Whence the Apostle: "Who, when they had known God, did not glorify him as God, or give thanks: but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened: professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." Philosophical knowledge is a way to the other sciences: but he who wishes to remain there falls into darkness.

Romans 1:22 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 4

The philosophers have offered nine sciences and promised a tenth: contemplation. But many philosophers, while attempting to avoid the darkness of error, have themselves become involved in major errors. While professing to be wise, they have become fools. Because they boasted of their knowledge, these philosophers have become the likes of Lucifer.

Romans 1:23 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

Everything that is adored other than God is either an intellectual creature, such as angels and demons; or a corporeal creature, such as heaven and earth and water and the like; or it is a figment of the human mind. Concerning idolatry with respect to corporeal nature, the Apostle says: Who exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God — and it follows: And they served the creature rather than the Creator. Behold, the true adoration of God is here implied, and all idolatry is prohibited.

Romans 1:25 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

Everything that is adored other than God is either an intellectual creature, such as angels and demons; or a corporeal creature, such as heaven and earth and water and the like; or it is a figment of the human mind. Concerning idolatry with respect to corporeal nature, the Apostle says: Who exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God — and it follows: And they served the creature rather than the Creator. Behold, the true adoration of God is here implied, and all idolatry is prohibited.

Romans 1:26 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2

In the first word: You shall not have strange gods before me, all profane pacts with demons are prohibited, whether they be made through incantations of words, or through inscriptions of characters or images, or through immolations of sacrifices. In these three consist all the parts of the magical art. And thus by prohibiting these three, all things are prohibited from which all profane pacts with demons arise, whether they be made for the transmutation of natures, as the magicians of Pharaoh did; or for the deception of the senses, as illusionists do; or for the investigation of future contingencies. All these Augustine calls pacts with demons, because in such things there is attributed to the creature what ought to be attributed to the Creator. Concerning such persons it is said: They provoked him with strange gods, and stirred him to anger with him who was not God. Whence such persons fall into the hands of demons; the Apostle: God delivered them up to shameful passions, that is, he permitted them to be delivered up, their sins demanding it.

Romans 1:28 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 10

Certain things are sins in such a way that they are also the punishment of sin. In a special manner, those are called sins and punishments of sin which have joined to them sorrow and sadness, such as envy, sloth, and the like. Less specially, those are so called which have joined to them either the mere depravation of nature or disgrace, as are those with respect to which the sinner is said to be given over to a reprobate mind. But generally, sins which are between the first apostasy and the final punishment of hell can be called both sins and the punishment of sin, according to what Gregory says, that crimes are punished by crimes. Although the same thing may be called both sin and the punishment of sin, it must nevertheless be held that every punishment insofar as it is punishment is just and from God; but no fault is just nor from God, but only from the free choice of the will.

Romans 2:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The Apostle to the Romans: "Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But according to your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up for yourself wrath on the day of wrath and of the revelation of the just judgment of God."

Romans 2:4-5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Through piety the incarnate Son of God assumed flesh, ascended the cross, was raised from the dead, sent the Holy Spirit upon the earth, called the Church to himself, and freed all the worthy from misery through piety. The Apostle to the Romans says: "Do you despise the riches of his goodness and patience and longsuffering? Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But according to your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the just judgment of God." The Son of God offered a holocaust, namely himself for us: this is the great sacrament of piety. This sacrament is repeated daily upon the altar. For these reasons he gave us the Sacrament of the altar, so that, mindful of the sacrament of piety, we might put on the bowels of piety. Cruel is the heart that is not softened by these things.

Romans 2:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Romans 2:13 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Romans 3:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Romans 3:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Where there is no fear, there is neither wisdom nor justice nor grace. "Their throat is an open sepulchre, the poison of asps is under their lips, with their tongues they acted deceitfully, their feet are swift to shed blood: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, destruction and unhappiness are in their ways"; "there is no fear of God before their eyes." When a man does not have the fear of God, then his sense is turned to malice and goes forth like the poison of asps. There follows iniquity in deed: whence he says: "With their tongues they acted deceitfully, their feet are swift to shed blood." When a man is disordered in affection with respect to thought, in speech with respect to utterance, and in deed with respect to effect; then he has nothing good. Whence he says: "Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known," namely the way of the grace of the Holy Spirit. And why? Because "there is no fear of God before their eyes." If you wish to strive to have grace, justice, and wisdom, and these cannot be had without fear: therefore the fear of God is necessary for you. Likewise, where there is no fear, there is foolishness, malice, and iniquity, destruction and unhappiness: but these are to be fled as the worst things.

Romans 3:24 — Breviloquium

Since from the beginning Christ was most holy, he could not advance in holiness for himself. He merited, however, for us, who by his merit are justified through grace, advance in justice, and are crowned with eternal glory. And through this, all our merits are rooted in the merit of Christ, whether satisfactory for punishment or meritorious of eternal life, because we are worthy neither to be absolved from offense against the highest good, nor to gain the immensity of the eternal reward, which is God, except through the merit of the God-man.

Romans 5:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

The first fruit of grace is the remission of guilt. Whence the Apostle to the Romans: "Justified by faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace, in which we stand and glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of God." As the Philosopher holds, one is not changed from viciousness to virtues except through habituation to the contrary habit; so guilt will never be remitted except through grace. The Philosopher considers vice insofar as it denotes a certain disorder; when I have knowledge of God, I judge concerning sin, that it is an offense against God; for "by transgression of the law you dishonor God;" whence it is necessary that you be subject to the vengeance of God. He who is disordered in guilt must necessarily be subject to punishment. Sin is subject to divine vengeance; therefore the punishment must be eternal, because the offense is infinite. For the offense is as great as he who is offended; but God is immeasurable, and his majesty is infinite: therefore the offense too is infinite: therefore the punishment too is infinite, not intensively, but processively: because it is impossible for a created active power to be infinite. It is necessary, therefore, that an eternal power operate: but God is infinite: therefore if he himself changes the soul, this must be done through some influx of grace. Likewise, hell is not remitted except through grace. See therefore how grace liberates from the servitude of sin and of the devil.

Romans 5:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Romans 5:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

But it is fitting that the seal of truth be impressed upon the soul, by which also the soul becomes "an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed." The first seal consists in its having the indissoluble bond of charity, which occurs when the soul loves in such a way that it says: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or hunger," etc. Not that man could never fall away from charity, but when he does, that he never think of sinning. The second [seal] consists in this, that [the soul] has the irrevocable gift of divine charity, so that it loves everything God loves, both friends and enemies, both strangers and neighbors. Hence, "the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts." Through these means, then, the soul diffuses itself in order that it may love every good, and nothing but good.

Romans 5:5 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Romans 6:4 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

We therefore must also rise to a new life, so that, just as "Christ rose from the dead, so we too might walk in newness of life." Christ has freed us at this time from the hand of Pharaoh and has led us into the promised land; and as a sign of this the Passover is now eaten, because we have now been set free. We too must make the passage and begin a new life and not return to Egypt. Three things are necessary for any penitent, namely, that sin should displease him, and that he should be prepared to guard himself from sin with the help of God and the Holy Spirit, and that he should wish to make satisfaction according to the measure of his ability, and resolve never to repeat sin. And this is the consummation of these words: we must always be conformed to Christ and be refreshed with him, so that we may arrive at the eternal refreshment.

Romans 6:23 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

The third fruit of grace is the attainment of eternal beatitude. Whence the Apostle to the Romans: "The wages of sin is death: but the grace of God is life eternal." You have the planting of life and of death. The grace of God is life eternal. But what is sin? Surely nothing other than the tree of death. Here is the tree of death, and here is the tree of life; place yourself in the garden where the tree of life is. Foolish would he be who plants the tree of death: if you planted a tree on which you were to be hanged, you would be foolish. The wicked therefore plant that tree of sin.

Romans 7:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

At a later point, the illuminating Law was given, and yet their infirmities were multiplied, and there was an opportunity for a greater transgression of the Law, for "sin, having thus found an occasion, worked in me by means of the commandment all manner of lust." And therefore man had to be convicted of weakness or impotency.

Romans 7:12 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The commandments of God are irreproachable, because they contain nothing unjust: whence the Apostle: "The law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good."

Romans 7:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

The second appropriation is made to the Eternal Sun insofar as it is the medium that governs all things. In this regard, three [attributes] are appropriated, to wit, piety, truth, and holiness, for all [rightful] governing and law-giving is pious, true, and holy. As it is said in Romans: The law indeed is holy and the commandment holy and just and good. Out of these three come forth three laws, and there cannot be more; that is, [the laws] of nature, of Scripture, and of grace. The law of nature is appropriated to the Father, the law of Scripture to the Word, and the law of grace to the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

The law of nature is the law of piety. Now piety is found to exist within every nature, even insensible. Indeed, the root sends to the branches everything it receives; the wellspring pours out to the brooks everything it draws. Likewise, in animals, piety is seen in the relationship between parents and offspring, for whatever they taste and eat that is beyond their need — and even within their need — they convert into milk and food for their young. The law of Scripture is the law of truth, for it consists in a sense in the pronouncement of a true promise. The law of holiness is the law of grace. As it is written in Romans: The law of the Spirit of the life in Christ Jesus has delivered me from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 8:8 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

Against conjugal chastity it is objected: Romans 8: Those who are in the flesh cannot please God: but by the fact that they exercise the carnal act they are said to be in the flesh: therefore such persons cannot please God: therefore conjugal continence is repugnant to the law of God.

Romans 8:17 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Romans 8:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

The affective dispositions once ordained must be straightened by these same virtues. These dispositions are four in number: fear, sorrow, joy, and trust. And they are not straightened unless fear is holy, sorrow just, joy true, and trust assured. For if fear is prideful, sorrow unfounded, joy inappropriate, and trust presumptuous, then the affections are distorted. Now these affections cannot be straightened by themselves. Indeed, trust, or hope, is concerned with things unseen, such as the life of beatitude; but this life is given only to those who deserve it; and no one deserves it unless he has sufficient merit. Such things cannot be obtained through the powers of free will: they require God's condescension, that is, grace. The sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory to come.

Romans 8:26 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Although God is most generous and more ready to give than we are to receive, nevertheless He wills to be prayed to by us, so that He may have occasion to bestow the gifts of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, He wills to be prayed to not only by mental prayer, which is "the ascent of the intellect to God," but also by vocal prayer, which is "the petition of fitting things from God," not only through ourselves, but also through the Saints as through helpers divinely given to us, so that what we are less worthy to obtain through ourselves we may be able to obtain through the Saints. And because we know not what we should pray for as we ought, lest we wander in uncertainty, He handed down to us a form in the prayer which He composed, in which under the sevenfold number of petitions the universality of things to be sought is comprehended.

Romans 8:32 — Breviloquium

Because He ought to have restored while preserving the freedom of the will, He restored by giving a most efficacious example; and that example is most efficacious which invites and instructs toward the summit of the virtues. Now nothing more instructs a person toward virtue than the example of enduring death for the sake of justice and divine obedience—death, I say, not of just any kind, but of the most painful sort. Nothing indeed more invites than such great kindness, by which for us the most high Son of God, without any merits on our part—nay, with many demerits on our part—laid down His life; which kindness is shown to be all the greater, the more grievous and abject the things He endured or willed to suffer for us. For God spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all: how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? From which we are invited to love Him and to imitate the One we love.

Romans 8:32 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Romans 8:35 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Romans 8:35 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

Concerning the summit of faith, which is love, the Apostle says: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress—all the way to the words, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And, in another passage, being rooted and grounded in love. That is the firmament of heaven. The heavens proclaim your wonders, that is, the marvels of the soul which they feel within them. Such experiences make faith most secure.

Romans 8:35 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

A person is disposed to the influx of the gift of fortitude through the inextinguishable fire of charity. "Love is strong as death": death conquers all, and likewise love conquers all things. Paul, what do you say about charity? "Who," he says, "shall separate me from the charity of God?" He answers: "Tribulation? or distress? or hunger? or nakedness? or danger? or persecution? or the sword?" And he says: "I am certain that neither death nor life nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate me from the charity which is in Christ Jesus." Chrysostom says that Paul enumerates all creatures and says: "Nor shall any other creature be able to separate me from the charity which is in Christ Jesus": that is, if a creature could be made anew, it could not separate me. This charity draws us to a celestial nature and does not permit any foreign impression upon us: of itself, it is perpetual; unless I give a bill of divorce, God will not take away his charity from us.

Romans 8:38 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Paul, what do you say about charity? "Who," he says, "shall separate me from the charity of God?" He answers: "Tribulation? or distress? or hunger? or nakedness? or danger? or persecution? or the sword?" And he says: "I am certain that neither death nor life nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate me from the charity which is in Christ Jesus." Chrysostom says that Paul enumerates all creatures and says: "Nor shall any other creature be able to separate me from the charity which is in Christ Jesus": that is, if a creature could be made anew, it could not separate me. This charity draws us to a celestial nature and does not permit any foreign impression upon us: of itself, it is perpetual; unless I give a bill of divorce, God will not take away his charity from us.

Romans 8:39 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Chrysostom says that Paul enumerates all creatures and says: "Nor shall any other creature be able to separate me from the charity which is in Christ Jesus": that is, if a creature could be made anew, it could not separate me. This charity draws us to a celestial nature and does not permit any foreign impression upon us: of itself, it is perpetual; unless I give a bill of divorce, God will not take away his charity from us.

Romans 9:5 — Breviloquium

Since a mean for reconciling is not suitable unless he has in himself both natures, namely the superior and the inferior, the adorable and the adoring; and this can in no way come about except through a supremely condescending and gratuitous union; therefore it is necessary to posit in Christ a grace above every grace, to be venerated with every manner of reverence, which we call the grace of union, by reason of which Christ as man is God blessed above all things, and therefore to be venerated with the worship of latria.

Romans 9:16 — Breviloquium, Part 5

It is therefore true what Augustine says, that "He who created you without you will not justify you without you." It is also true that it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy. It is also true that no one can boast of merits, because God crowns nothing in us except his own gifts. For God has reserved to himself the gifts of grace to be freely bestowed, so that man may learn not to be ungrateful nor to glory in himself as though he had not received, but to glory in the Lord. It is also true that, although free choice cannot of itself fulfill the law nor produce grace within itself, it is nevertheless inexcusable if it does not do what it can, because grace freely given is always at hand for admonition, with the aid of which it can do what lies within itself: which having been done, it may have grace making acceptable: which having been obtained, it may fulfill the divine law and do the will of God: which having been done, it may at last arrive at eternal beatitude on account of meritorious works, which are wholly from grace, and wholly also from free choice, although principally from grace: because, as Augustine says, "grace is compared to free choice as a rider to a horse," which rider indeed directs, leads, and conducts free choice to the harbor of eternal felicity, exercising us in the works of perfect virtue according to the gift of sevenfold grace itself.

Romans 9:27 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

The fact that the Jews will be converted is certain because of Isaiah and the Apostle who teaches authoritatively: "Though the number of the children of Israel are as the sands of the sea, the remnant shall be saved." And again: "A partial blindness only has befallen Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles should enter." The Jews oppose to the fact that none of the prophesied peace has come about as yet. But the prophet is not speaking of the first advent nor of the first calling, but of the last, when "the Lord will have His day against all that is arrogant." Nor should it be understood that in so doing, the Lord is dismissing these branches.

Romans 10:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

The second key is the understanding of the Incarnate Word, through whom all things are restored. "All things must be fulfilled that are written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. Then He opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures." Hence, in the Epistle to the Romans: "Christ is the consummation of the Law unto justice for everyone who believes."

Romans 10:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

"With the heart a man believes unto justice." Now faith consists more precisely in the confession of truth than in the communication of light. Hence, "with the mouth profession of faith is made unto salvation." Therefore in a certain sense faith sees, and in another it does not see. The merit of faith is founded on non-seeing, the light of faith on believing.

Romans 10:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

It is not said, God saw the firmament, but called it, because the solidity of faith consists rather in belief than in contemplation. For belief is through the ear, because, as the Apostle wrote to the Romans, "faith depends on hearing."

Romans 11:25 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

Romans 11:33 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 7

Romans 11:33 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

About the height of faith in understanding the eternal God and the depth in knowing God made man, the Apostle writes to the Romans: "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways!" Wisdom refers to the understanding of the eternal God, knowledge to the knowing of God made man.

Romans 11:33 — Breviloquium

Therefore when it condemns and reprobates, it operates according to justice: but when it predestines, according to grace and mercy, which does not exclude justice. Because therefore all, insofar as they were of the mass of perdition, deserved to be condemned: therefore more are reprobated than chosen, so that it may be shown that salvation is according to special grace, but damnation according to common justice. Therefore no one can complain about the divine will, because it does all things most rightly; indeed in all things we ought to give thanks and honor the governance of divine providence. But if anyone should ask why it bestows the gift of grace on one sinner rather than another, here it is necessary to impose silence on human loquacity and to exclaim with the Apostle: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how incomprehensible are his judgments, and unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor, or who has first given to him, and it shall be repaid to him? For from him and through him and in him are all things. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Romans 11:34 — Breviloquium

Romans 11:35 — Breviloquium

Romans 11:36 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 5

Romans 11:36 — Breviloquium

Romans 11:36 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 7

Romans 11:36 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Romans 11:36 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 4

This threefold radiation may be considered from the viewpoint of the originating principle, from that of the receiving subject, and from that of the object in which it terminates. For it concerns the originating principles in terms of the three causes: the primary (efficient), the exemplar (formal), and the final: For from Him and through Him and unto Him are all things. Hence truth indicates that our mind is carried by a natural inclination to the supreme Truth in that it is the cause of being, the reason of understanding and the norm of life. From the cause of being comes forth the truth of things; from the reason of understanding, the truth of words; from the norm of life, the truth of moral behavior. On the part of the soul, every radiation of truth over our power of understanding comes about in one of three ways: it shines upon it absolutely, and then refers to things to be seen; or in relation to the interpretative faculty, and then consists in the truth of words; or in relation to the affective or motive faculty, and then it is the truth of things to be done. It is the same as regards the object. Everything that exists depends upon essence, reason, or will. The first leads to the knowledge of things, the second to the knowledge of words, and the third to the knowledge of behavior. Hence, in relation to the principle, to the subject, and to the object, there is in the soul a threefold radiation of truth through which the soul may be lifted up to eternal matters and also to the cause of all. But if the spice of faith is added, things become easier: the cause of being is then attributed to the Father, the reason of understanding to the Son, and the norm of life to the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12:1 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 3

That widowed continence according to the evangelical law ought to be vowed is shown by authority, as follows. Romans 12: I beseech you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God; but this is done most especially when the flesh is dedicated to God through the vow of continence: therefore to vow continence is pleasing to God.

Romans 12:2 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

Exterior humiliation ought to proceed from interior humility according to the dictate and rule of the divine gift; and this can be done according to the law of divine precept, or of divine good pleasure, or of divine counsel. Precept regards all universally: good pleasure regards those to whom the divine will is specially inspired: counsel indeed regards those who ascend to the summit of perfection. And concerning these three it is said to the Romans: that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God. Rightly therefore does he humble himself who conforms himself to the divine will according to any one of these three modes, according to which the spirit of true humility inclines different persons to different kinds of humiliations.

Romans 12:2 — On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

In another way, that is called right which conforms itself to the one directing it. And according to this, in the consideration of rectitude the order of living is discerned. For he lives rightly who is directed according to the rules of divine law. And this is when the will of man assents to necessary precepts, salutary admonitions, and perfect counsels, so that man may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And then there is a right order of living, in which no crookedness can be found.

Romans 12:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

This wisdom results from many mysteries of the Scriptures, as out of many mirrors there results a multiplication of light rays and fires. This wisdom is given according to the measure of faith, "according as God has apportioned to each one the measure of faith." For in the measure in which a man seizes the mind, in that measure does he become wiser—and faith is obtained through humility.

Romans 12:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

The fourth need is good measure, so that a man seek not to savor beyond his means, but that he do so according to moderation. Do not extend yourself beyond the point your intelligence can reach; but neither remain short of it. Wherefore, in order to make this point, as Dionysius says, the Seraphim flew with their intermediate wings, showing that man should not remain short of his possibilities nor rise beyond them. Likewise, those who sing beyond their range never produce harmony. And Augustine says that those who do not order their studies properly are like colts gamboling hither and thither, while the mare with a steady step goes just where it is good for her to go. This example may be applied to a man of slow intelligence who is able to organize his studies well, as opposed to a man of brilliant intelligence who studies in a disorderly manner.

Romans 12:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Wisdom is neither disclosed nor obtained except through faith. For you should not "be more wise than it behooveth to be wise,... according as God hath divided to every one the measure of faith." For faith is not had except through the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12:3 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Faith itself is the basis of all supernatural illuminations as long as we are pilgrims from the Lord, both the foundation that stabilizes, the lamp that directs, and the gate that introduces; and according to its measure the wisdom divinely given to us must also be measured, lest anyone be wise beyond what is fitting to be wise, but unto sobriety, and to each one as God has divided the measure of faith.

Romans 12:10 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

In the father is understood the notion of friendliness: and in this we understand that by reason of origin every person is lovable and ought to be loved, and every person is bound to honor another. Whence the Apostle: In honor anticipating one another; and again: Render to all what is owed; to whom honor, honor. Owe no one anything, except to love one another. For a person ought to love another, willing good to each one with respect to affection, with respect to deed, and with respect to outward expression.

Romans 13:1 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4

Although diverse persons are bound to diverse others by many bonds to the subjection of obedience, according to what the Apostle says: Let every soul be subject to the higher powers, Romans 13, and this according to the diversity of ranks, offices, and powers: nevertheless all this variety must be reduced to one supreme and first person, in whom the universal sovereignty over all principally resides: not only to God himself and Christ, the mediator of God and men, but also to his Vicar; and this not by human statute, but by divine statute, by which Christ established Peter as the prince of the Apostles.

Romans 13:4 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 6

Romans 13:7 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

Romans 13:8 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

To the objection that it belongs to perfection to serve freely and to flee obligations: it must be said that there is an obligation arising from the guilt of fault and from the affection of perfect charity. The first obligation is to be avoided, but the second is to be embraced, according to what is said in Romans 13: Owe no man anything, except to love one another. For the Lord praises the friendship of spiritual men, which is made from the mammon of iniquity; and it pertains to the perfection of the mystical body of Christ that the members share with one another according to the principle of giving and receiving, so that mutual need may be supplied in turn.

Romans 13:8 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

Romans 13:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Romans 13:10 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Romans 13:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

And so, these virtues without form or clothing are those of the philosophers, while ours are clothed. But they must be clothed with the gold of love, for all the walls of the temple were covered with gold. Also, with the oil of unction, because all the vessels were sanctified by the oil of unction. And so, they are not divided. The night is far advanced; the day is at hand. Let us therefore put on the armor of light, that is, the four virtues originated by faith, lifted up by hope, and fulfilled by charity. These four virtues, clothed in such a manner, are symbolized by the four rivers of paradise, the four sides of the city, and the four ornaments of the tabernacle, in so far as they are originated, endowed with form, and stabilized.

S3Y 1:6 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

Transgressors of the commandments plunge into abominable crimes. This was well signified in the third chapter of Daniel, where it is said that the three youths standing in the furnace of fire said: "We have sinned and acted wickedly and transgressed; and we have been delivered into the hands of our enemies, wicked and most vile transgressors, and to a king unjust and most wicked beyond all the earth." For the Lord delivers such transgressors into the hands of demons.

S3Y 1:9 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

SIR 1:1 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 5

It is objected that the soul of Christ was wise by uncreated wisdom only, thus: Sirach 1: All wisdom is from the Lord God and was always with Him and is before all time; but everything that is before all time is eternal: therefore all wisdom is eternal: therefore if the soul of Christ is not wise except by some wisdom, it is not wise except by eternal wisdom. If you say that wisdom is said to have been with God as in its cause: by the same reasoning this could be said of any creature, and this does not greatly render wisdom itself praiseworthy. If you say that all wisdom, that is, perfect wisdom: the following text does not agree with this, because it speaks of that wisdom to the acquisition of which it invites, as is clearly gathered from what follows. To the first objection, that all wisdom is from the Lord God, it must be said that wisdom there is not taken as the habit by which the soul of the wise is informed and by which it is disposed for knowing, but as the unchangeable ground of knowing. Now every such ground is in the divine art, because it is sempiternal, and without it there cannot be created wisdom, as was shown above. Hence from that authority it cannot be concluded that created wisdom ought not to be posited.

SIR 1:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

The loftiness of faith consists in two things: the extreme of altitude and the extreme of depth. Concerning the first, Ecclesiasticus says: "Heaven's height, earth's breadth, the depth of the abyss: who can explore these?" As if he were saying, above all human reason there is the understanding of this: faith's loftiness, love's expansion, and the veneration brought about by the fear of God.

SIR 1:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

The third face of wisdom has every form in the traces of divine works. Hence in Ecclesiasticus: "To whom hath the root of wisdom been revealed; and who hath known her wise counsels? To whom hath the discipline of wisdom been revealed and made manifest? And who hath understood the multiplicity of her steps? There is one most high Creator, Almighty." And below: "He created her in the Holy Ghost, and saw her, and numbered her, and measured her. And He poured her out upon all His works." This wisdom has been made manifest, hence "wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the open squares she raises her voice." And yet we do not find her, resembling the unlettered man who owns a book and has no concern for it.

SIR 1:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

"To whom hath the root of wisdom been revealed; and who hath known her wise counsels? There is one most high Creator, Almighty. He created her in the Holy Ghost, and saw her, and numbered her, and measured her. And He poured her out upon all His works." This wisdom is spread out among all things. For everything possesses a rule of wisdom and displays divine wisdom by reason of some characteristic; and the man who would know all characteristics would clearly see this wisdom.

SIR 1:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Therefore the fear of God ought to be perfect, because "it shall be well with those who fear God," because they shall come to the blessing of glory.

SIR 1:14 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

SIR 1:16 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The fear of the Lord is the extrinsic principle of wisdom and the intrinsic principle and the complement of wisdom. The third is the fear of filial reverence: and this is the complement of wisdom, because "the fullness of wisdom is to fear God." Fear produces these three things in us, because "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "the root of wisdom is to fear God," and "the fullness of wisdom is to fear God."

SIR 1:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The preacher does as a man who is in a meadow and gathers flowers: he cannot gather them all, but he gathers some and makes from them a garland. It is said in Ecclesiasticus: "The crown of wisdom is to fear the Lord." I wish to make for you a garland from the flowers that I have gathered. It seems to me that the fear of the Lord is a most beautiful tree planted in the heart of the holy man, which God waters continually: and when the tree is brought to perfection, then the man is worthy of eternal glory.

SIR 1:20 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Another is the fear of punishment and of offending God; and this is the intrinsic beginning of wisdom and "the root of wisdom." Fear produces these three things in us, because "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "the root of wisdom is to fear God," and "the fullness of wisdom is to fear God": Job: "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that itself is wisdom." He who does not fear God knows nothing.

SIR 1:21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The fear of God avails for introducing the rectitude of divine justice. Whence Ecclesiasticus: "The fear of the Lord drives out sin. For he who is without fear cannot be justified." Injustice does not enter the soul except through sin: but the first justification of the soul is that it be subject to the divine majesty. Once this fear is destroyed, it is necessary that what follows be destroyed.

SIR 1:25 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"In the treasures of wisdom is understanding." This is to say that the hidden treasures of knowledge either consist in the knowledge of the highest causes, or of conclusions, or of principles. And one must dig through the study of truth so that a person may arrive at this treasure. This understanding, which is the gateway of scientific considerations, is partly from the dictate of nature, that is, from the interior light; partly from the frequency of experience, as from the exterior light; and partly from the illumination of the eternal light, as from the superior light.

SIR 1:33 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"Son, desiring wisdom, preserve justice, and God will bestow it upon you." This gift is from God; but if you wish to have it, you must desire wisdom, because wisdom does not enter a soul unless it is borne toward it with great affection, nor is it denied to a soul that desires it. Along with the desire for wisdom, justice must be preserved, because wisdom does not accord with iniquity. Among other things, this is the highest justice, that a man not be ungrateful to God, but pour back the gifts conferred upon him to the Giver.

SIR 1:33 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

"Son, if thou desire wisdom, keep justice: and God will give her to thee." Observing justice helps to obtain wisdom, as the tendency of matter inclines to the form and makes it able to be joined to the form through the medium of dispositions. Not that these dispositions perish, or even less, that they are fulfilled either in the human bodies or in others. And so keeping justice brings forth wisdom.

SIR 2:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

The first justification of the soul is that it be subject to the divine majesty. Once this fear is destroyed, it is necessary that what follows be destroyed. On account of this it is said in Ecclesiasticus: "Son, coming to the service of God, stand in justice and fear, and prepare your soul for temptation."

SIR 2:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The gift of piety arises first from the uncreated Trinity, namely from God the Father. Although God possesses all the most noble properties, He is nevertheless most excellent in this property, namely that of piety; whence it is said in the prayer: "O God, whose property it is always to have mercy and to spare." And in Ecclesiasticus: "Pious and merciful is God, and in the time of tribulation He forgives sins and is a protector to all who seek Him in truth."

SIR 2:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

And how shall we perfect sanctification? It is said in Ecclesiasticus: "Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and in his sight will sanctify their souls, saying: if we do not do penance, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord and not into the hands of men." "Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts," that is, they will abstain and cease from sins. Let us therefore approach the cleansing of conscience. It is a wonder how a man can remain in mortal sin. When a man enters his dwelling, he enters a tomb. I have seen of spiritual men that when they had a slight venial sin, they could scarcely sleep. If I had a lion bound with me, how could I sleep? The enemy holds you bound if you are in mortal sin. Rise therefore and sanctify your soul. Do not halve your confession, but confess most perfectly and most completely. Let the fear of the Lord lead you to this.

SIR 3:5 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

To the one who honors his father with the honor of obedience is granted a joyful life; whence in Ecclesiasticus: He who honors his father shall find joy in his children, and in the day of his prayer he shall be heard. He who honors his father shall live a longer life; and he who obeys his father shall bring comfort to his mother. The highest joy is that a man not be rebellious toward his superior; because he who is rebellious toward his superior will find his inferior rebellious toward him, and the despiser of higher powers will be despised by those beneath him: just as Adam, when he was disobedient to his superior, found all the lower creatures which had been subject to him turned against him.

SIR 3:6 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

SIR 3:7 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

To the father, insofar as he holds the character of origin, the honor of reverence is owed; whence in Ecclesiasticus: He who fears God will honor his father and his mother, and will serve as masters those who begot him.

SIR 3:8 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

To the one who honors his father with the honor of beneficence is granted an abundant life; whence in Ecclesiasticus: Honor your father and your mother, and blessing shall come upon you, and your blessing shall remain to the last. This blessing is called the multiplication of goods.

SIR 3:10 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

To the one who honors his father with the honor of reverence is granted a glorious or honorable life; whence in Ecclesiasticus: The glory of a man is from the honor of his father; likewise in the same place: Glory not in the dishonor of your father, for his shame is not glory to you. For it is natural that a son should love his father most ardently, and that he should be indignant when someone does injury to his father.

SIR 3:11 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

SIR 3:12 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

The honor of beneficence is owed to the father, because he holds the character of benefactor: whence in Ecclesiasticus: Son, support your father in his old age, and do not grieve him in his life.

SIR 3:18 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

From Christ, indeed, is the fruit of grace. This fruit of grace is fourfold: it consists in steadying the soul through faith, blessing it through divine love, lifting it up through hope, curbing it through divine fear. The fourth is indicated in Ecclesiasticus: "The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things."

SIR 3:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

For this reason it is said in Ecclesiasticus: "The greater you are, humble yourself in all things." You are an archbishop or a bishop: do you wish to find grace? Humble yourself. Otherwise we are thieves, unless we humble ourselves. If a king had enriched someone, and that person refused to acknowledge that he had received his goods from him, he would be most unfaithful and would deserve to be stoned.

SIR 3:20 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1

It belongs to justice to "render to each one what is his own," both to God and to oneself and to one's neighbor. But to God is principally owed honor and reverence; and humility especially disposes one to render this, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus three: How great is the power of God alone, and He is honored by the humble. Since, therefore, the beginning of all justice is the worship and honor of God, and this is rendered to God by the humble: hence it is that the root and foundation of all justice is humility.

SIR 3:22 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

What God hath commanded thee, think upon always, and in many of his works be not curious. These last words are spoken especially to the learned; in which Ecclesiasticus teaches to think on useful things and to avoid curious things. Useful things indeed direct us in the way of salvation; but curious things distract us from the way of salvation and dissipate our understanding. A great part of understanding is lost on account of curiosity; and yet nothing in us is more precious than understanding. We grieve greatly when we lose gold; we ought to grieve much more if we lose understanding, because nothing is so dear as the act of understanding.

SIR 3:22 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

SIR 3:23 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5

SIR 4:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

You are the image of God; and image is called, as it were, imitage: therefore, if you are truly the image of God, you ought to conform yourself to God in piety. Whence in Ecclesiasticus: "In judging, be merciful to orphans as a father, and as a husband to their mother; and you will be as an obedient son of the Most High, and He will have mercy on you." "In judging," that is, in fostering justice, "be merciful to orphans," namely so that you may truly be a son of the Most High. When the glorious God has compassion on the wretched, why do you not imitate Him? If there were some fountain that caused withered plants to grow green, it would be greatly prized. The soul without piety has withered plants. The river of divine mercy pours itself out most abundantly and causes dead plants to grow green. Is it not necessary that you introduce that river into your soul? But you cannot introduce it except through piety. The first original influence of piety, therefore, is from the uncreated Trinity.

SIR 4:28 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

SIR 5:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"Be meek to hear the word, that you may understand." A man is disposed to receive the gift of understanding through the docility of meekness. Concupiscence clouds the understanding, and fury impedes intelligence, "because anger impedes the mind, so that it cannot discern the truth." The Philosopher says that "by being at rest the soul becomes prudent and knowing." When water is still, then a man sees his face well in it; but when it is disturbed, then he can see nothing in it. So, when a man is in anger, then he does not see the truth. The contentious impede understanding in themselves and in others. The angry man also pertinaciously defends what is false. A tractable man learns and becomes gentle.

SIR 5:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"If you have understanding, answer your neighbor; if not, let your hand be over your mouth." Prudential understanding teaches what is to be carried out, namely every good, according to the way of interior thought and exterior action. God wills that we do all things reasonably. And blessed Ambrose says that we ought neither to do nor to speak anything about that for which we cannot give a reason.

SIR 6:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

But who is the good counselor? Certainly that one of whom Ecclesiasticus says: 'Let many be at peace with you, but let one out of a thousand be your counselor.' One counselor, that is, Christ, of whom Isaiah says: 'His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.' He is the Angel of great counsel: this is he to whom we ought to attend with a pure heart.

SIR 6:24 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Hence in Ecclesiasticus: 'Put your foot into her fetters and your neck into her chains. And her shackles shall be to you a protection of strength and a foundation of virtue, and her chains a robe of glory. For the beauty of life is in her, and her bonds are a binding of salvation.' You will say: 'To give a purgative medicine without a preparatory one is foolish.' I say that religious life has both purgative and preparatory medicine, because it tempers itself according to the capacity of those who receive it.

SIR 6:30 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Hence in Ecclesiasticus: 'Put your foot into her fetters and your neck into her chains. And her shackles shall be to you a protection of strength and a foundation of virtue, and her chains a robe of glory. For the beauty of life is in her, and her bonds are a binding of salvation.' I say that religious life has both purgative and preparatory medicine, because it tempers itself according to the capacity of those who receive it. Hence Augustine says: 'Let food and clothing be distributed to each of you by your superior, not equally to all, because you are not all equally well, but rather to each one as he shall have need.'

SIR 7:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

From the second consideration comes forth that fruit of justice which consists in fleeing evil, that is, by means of distinguishing judgments. As Ecclesiasticus says: "Sow not in the furrows of injustice, lest you harvest it sevenfold." No one, indeed, wants to reap cockle or tares, for as it is said in Deuteronomy: "According to the measure of the sin shall the measure also of the stripes be." Thus the consideration of the judgments will make one flee from evil.

SIR 9:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

SIR 9:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

Do you know what happens through sin? The most precious becomes the most worthless. Whence in Ecclesiasticus: "A fornicating woman shall be trodden underfoot as dung in the road." What then is a fornicating cleric and priest? Certainly an abomination to the Lord. Flee therefore from lusts and follow the Virgin, who believed the Archangel Gabriel, not the woman who believed the serpent.

SIR 9:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

SIR 10:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

The sixth column of the house of wisdom is maturity in judgment. Maturity is in judgment when a man does not judge rashly. "A wise judge shall judge his people," namely, over whom he has authority. But if he exceeds his authority, he is not a wise judge, but his judgment is rash. If he judges without authority, what is it? Certainly nothing. It is also necessary that the judgment of a wise man have rectitude of zeal and clarity of knowledge.

SIR 10:9 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

The ninth plague was of darkness, by which the covetous and avaricious are struck, because nothing so blinds a man as covetousness. Solomon: "Nothing is more wicked than the avaricious man. For he has even his own soul for sale, because in his life he has cast away his inmost parts."

SIR 10:13 — Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 9

Of actual sins there is one beginning, a twofold root, a threefold fuel, and a sevenfold head or capital sin. There is one beginning, namely pride, according to what is written: The beginning of all sin is pride. Since mortal sin is an actual departure from the First Principle, and departure from the First Principle cannot occur except through contempt of Him, either in Himself or in His commandment, and contempt of the First Principle is pride: it is therefore necessary that every mortal fault or offense take its beginning from pride. But because no one despises the Supreme Principle, or His commandment in itself, except by reason of something else that he either wishes to acquire or fears to lose: hence it is necessary that every actual sin draw its origin from a twofold root, namely fear and love; which are roots of evils, though not equally primary. For every fear has its origin from love: for no one fears to lose something unless he loves to have it; and therefore fear is nourished by those things by which love too is nourished. Now disordered love regards a changeable good: and since that is threefold—interior, namely excellence; exterior, money; inferior, carnal wantonness—hence it is necessary that there be three radical fuels of actual sins, toward which when the soul is carried in a disordered manner, all actual sins arise. And because this happens according to a sevenfold manner, therefore there are seven capital sins, from which the universality of vices is generated. For our will is either disordered because it desires what is not to be desired, or because it shuns what is not to be shunned. If one desires what is not to be desired, namely a good as of now, or a changeable or apparent good: it is either interior, and thus it is private excellence, which pride loves; or it is exterior, and thus it is sufficiency, which avarice loves; or inferior, and thus either delectable because it serves the conservation of the individual, and thus it is nourishment, which is delectable according to taste and is desired by gluttony; or because it serves the conservation of the species, and thus it is sexual union, which is delectable according to touch and is desired by lust. If, however, the will is disordered because it flees what is not to be fled, this can occur in three ways: for it either flees according to the perverse instinct of the rational power, and thus it is envy; or according to the instinct of the irascible power, and thus it is wrath; or according to the instinct of the concupiscible power, and thus it is sloth. Whence, because there are four principal objects of desire and three powers according to whose instinct there is flight, therefore the capital sins are seven in number.

SIR 15:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

First there must be food, not drink. Unless man is trained in the gift of understanding, he cannot proceed to the drink of wisdom, which makes a river flow in the soul. The gift of understanding is solid food, like bread which, as Blessed Francis used to say, is obtained through much labor. First the seed is sown, then it grows, then the grain is collected, then brought to the mill, then baked. There are many such steps. And so it is with the gift of understanding: to prepare understanding is a difficult task in itself. Likewise, wisdom is not obtained except by the man who thirsts.

SIR 15:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

"In the midst of the Church the Lord shall open his mouth, and shall fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding and shall clothe him with a robe of glory." In these words the Holy Spirit teaches the prudent man to whom he should address his speech, from where he should begin it, and finally where he should end it. First, to whom he should address it, that is, to the Church: for what is holy should not be given to dogs nor should pearls be thrown to the swine. Second, from where to begin, that is, from the center, which is Christ: for if this Medium is overlooked, no result is obtained. Third, where he should end, that is, in fullness, in the complete fulfilling of the spirit of wisdom and understanding.

SIR 15:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

"In the midst of the Church she shall open his mouth, and shall fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and shall clothe him with a robe of glory." It has been shown above to whom a doctor should direct his speech and whence he should begin. It remains now to see where he must end it: and that is in the fullness of wisdom and understanding. Concerning wisdom, four points are to be noted: its origin, its dwelling, its door, and its beauty.

SIR 15:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Whatever is said of wisdom, must be said of understanding of which it was explained in the Collations on the Gifts that it is the rule of moral definition, the door to learned thought, and the key to heavenly contemplation. And such understanding is indeed a gift. A beginning must be made from understanding in order to reach wisdom. First there must be food, not drink. Unless man is trained in the gift of understanding, he cannot proceed to the drink of wisdom, which makes a river flow in the soul. The gift of understanding is solid food, like bread which, as Blessed Francis used to say, is obtained through much labor. First the seed is sown, then it grows, then the grain is collected, then brought to the mill, then baked. There are many such steps. And so it is with the gift of understanding: to prepare understanding is a difficult task in itself.

SIR 17:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"God created man from the earth," namely as regards the body, "and made him according to His own image," namely as regards the soul. He gives us to understand that the human soul has three operations, according to its power and operation. "Every noble soul has three operations," by which it turns itself upon its own body, upon itself, and toward divine things. Sometimes it turns itself upon the body: it has the tongue for speaking, ears for hearing; sometimes it turns itself upon itself; sometimes toward understanding and knowing God. And this is according to the threefold consideration of the soul; for the soul is considered as the form and perfection of the body, as a this-something, and as an image.

SIR 17:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"Counsel and a tongue and eyes and ears and a heart He gave them for thinking, and He filled them with the discipline of understanding." He gives us to understand that the human soul has three operations, by which it turns itself upon its own body, upon itself, and toward divine things. That this understanding is partly from the dictate of nature is evident in Adam, because he imposed names upon all things. But that God "filled him with the discipline of understanding," this was his privilege; hence it is not in us. But our soul has signed upon it a certain light of nature, through which it is apt for knowing first principles; but that alone does not suffice, because, according to the Philosopher, "we know principles insofar as we know terms." For when I know what a whole is, what a part is, I immediately know that "every whole is greater than its part."

SIR 18:1 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 5

Thus is to be understood that which is said: "He who lives forever created all things simultaneously": not because He created them in a chaos of every kind of confusion, as the poets imagined, since He brought forth this threefold nature, the highest in the highest place, the middle in the middle, and the lowest in the lowest: nor indeed into a being of every kind of distinction, since heaven was perfect, and the earth unformed, and the middle nature, as it were holding a middle position, had not yet been brought to perfect distinction.

SIR 18:1 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 2

All things, although God could have made them in an instant, He nevertheless preferred to make them through a succession of times: partly for the sake of a distinct and clear representation of power, wisdom, and goodness; partly for the sake of a fitting correspondence of days or times and works; and partly also so that, just as in the first creation of the world there were to be made the seminal principles of works yet to be done, so also there would be made prefigurations of future times. If, however, it were said in another manner, that all things were made simultaneously, then all these seven days are referred to angelic contemplation. Nevertheless, the first manner of speaking is more consonant with Scripture and with the authorities of the Saints, both those who preceded and also those who followed the blessed Augustine.

SIR 18:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

Jurists are concerned with judgments of money, we with the judgment of ourselves. Hence, "before you are judged, seek merit for yourself."

SIR 19:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"Wine and women make the wise to fall away and will reprove the sensible." You have a ready example in that Solomon, who fell away on account of women even to the worship of idolatry, who nevertheless was filled with wisdom like a river. I believe that the eternal God, by the most high dispensation of his counsel, permitted Solomon to fall, so that he might teach all men to flee from women.

SIR 20:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

The third column of the house of wisdom is moderation in speech. Above all things, moderation is required in speech: "A wise man will be silent until the time, but the wanton and imprudent will not observe the time. For every matter there is a time and opportunity." Is it not the height of foolishness that a man should pierce both himself and his neighbor with the same sword? An evil word kills both the hearer and the speaker. You cannot detract from your neighbor without slaying yourself with the same sword.

SIR 21:2 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

The grace of God therefore descends to us through the Word incarnate, through the Word crucified, and through the Word inspired. Man assails this most noble influence through sin. For all the things in the world, man ought not to commit sin. It is said in Ecclesiasticus: "Flee from sin as from the face of a serpent." As a serpent pouring out venom kills, so sin kills the life of grace.

SIR 21:23 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

The third aspect of the zeal of wisdom is the ordaining of thoughts. "A fool will peep through the window into the house." And in this regard, there is great difficulty in containing our imagination so well that in church we think of nothing but the office, and likewise in other circumstances. And it is necessary to ordain such thoughts so that the Holy Spirit be able to enter in the form of wisdom, "for the holy spirit of discipline flees deceit and withdraws from senseless counsel." Hence, there is need for us to use clearly defined materials with which we can be properly concerned.

SIR 23:9 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

A promissory oath is made for entering into mutual peace: and in this is understood the restraint of all mortal sins; because "every true oath is dangerous, a false one is pernicious, and no oath is safe." And for this reason it is said in Ecclesiasticus: "Let not your mouth become accustomed to swearing."

SIR 23:27 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1

The commandments of God are irreproachable, because they contain nothing burdensome, but rather they are sweet. Whence it is said in Ecclesiasticus: "Nothing is better than the fear of God, and nothing is sweeter than to look upon the commandments of the Lord."

SIR 24:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

"I dwelt in the highest places, and My throne is in a pillar of a cloud. I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven, and have penetrated into the bottom of the deep, and have walked in the waves of the sea." This is what incarnate Wisdom says: "I dwelt in the highest heavens," in the creation; "My throne is in a pillar of cloud," in the incarnation; "I have walked in the waves of the sea," in the passion; "I have penetrated into the bottom of the deep," in the penetration of Scriptures, for after He arose, "He opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures." By faith in the cross, Peter walked on the sea.

SIR 24:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

Concerning the height and depth of faith, Ecclesiasticus says: "In the highest heavens did I dwell, my throne on a pillar of cloud." The height of faith consists in understanding the eternal God, its depth, in knowing God made man. The words "in the highest heavens" indicate the teaching of faith that God is eternal. The words, God's "throne on a pillar of clouds," refer to the teaching about God made man.

SIR 24:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

SIR 24:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

SIR 24:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

I made that in the heavens there should rise light that never faileth. That is, in heavenly men, a firm light of faith. The threefold heavens refer to a threefold vision: purely intellectual, intellectual combined with imaginary, and intellectual combined with manifest bodily vision. The first is found in the minds of angels, the second in the minds of prophets, and the third in the minds of the apostles. The certainty of Scriptures consists in the concurrence of these visions.

SIR 24:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In reference to the first stage, the Father says to Incarnate Wisdom in Ecclesiasticus: "Take root in My elect. — And I took root in an honorable people." This is the production of a tree that is good for food.

SIR 24:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

We have spoken of the fruits of Holy Scripture. It is to these fruits that Holy Wisdom invites us. "I bud forth delights like the vine, My blossoms become fruit fair and rich. Come to Me, all you that yearn for Me, and be filled with My fruits." If we want to come over, we must be the sons of Israel who passed over from Egypt. But the Egyptians did not pass over: they were drowned. Those alone come over who focus their whole attention on how to pass from vanity to the country of truth.

SIR 24:18 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Whence in Ecclesiasticus uncreated Wisdom says: "I am the mother of fair love and of fear and of knowledge and of holy hope: in me is all grace of the way and of truth: in me is all hope of life and of virtue: come over to me, all you who desire me, and be filled from my fruits." Do you wish to be full of grace and virtue? Come over to me, that is, to Christ. And how? We cannot do this unless we are raised above ourselves: but certain things hinder us from being raised above ourselves: therefore it is necessary that we rise up against those things which hinder us. No one is established in this fullness of grace unless he rises up against himself and is raised above himself and loves God above all things and his enemy as himself; because by the name of neighbor every person is understood. Full justice, therefore, is to love God above all things, and this means to love every person, therefore both friend and enemy. But what will bring it about that a person is lifted up against himself and above himself? Surely grace; I say, the grace of the way and of truth. It is difficult for anyone to love his enemy except through grace. A stone cannot give heat of itself: but if it is placed next to a burning furnace, it can afterward give heat.

SIR 24:19 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

SIR 24:19 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

SIR 24:30 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

SIR 24:31 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

SIR 26:15 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

SIR 26:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

The third allegory, pointing to the Church, is indicated in Ecclesiasticus: "Like the sun rising in the Lord's heavens, the beauty of a virtuous wife is the radiance of her home." This wife or house is the Church: a wife, in that it is active; a house of God, in that it is contemplative. This woman is Martha who received Christ and was concerned with many things.

SIR 26:24 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The blessed Virgin brought forth that price as strong and holy with the holiness of prompt obedience. Whence in Ecclesiasticus: "Everlasting foundations upon a solid rock, and the commandments of God in the heart of a holy woman." The Church had to be founded: therefore it was necessary to lay the foundations, namely the commandments of God, and it was necessary that they be placed in some person. This could not be except in the glorious Virgin. He says: "The commandments of God in the heart of a holy woman," that is, of the glorious Virgin. She was not idle, she was not one who knew and did not act, but she was obedient. Therefore in her heart these commandments of God were founded.

SIR 26:24 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Scripture tends to lead back to the first beginning by means of reformation, or it describes eternal things, as in the Laws and Gospels. Hence in the Psalm: "He gave them a duty which shall not pass away." And in Ecclesiasticus: "As everlasting foundations upon a solid rock, so the commandments of God in the heart of a holy woman." This woman is the Church. For it is not to be understood that the Law or the Commandments will pass away, but rather that they will be better served in the fatherland. For they are not served in the same manner under the Old Testament and under the New Testament: they are served better under the New Testament, and yet better still in the fatherland. God indeed lives by these very Laws which He Himself has given.

SIR 27:1 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Ecclesiasticus twenty-seven: On account of want, many have sinned; but nothing that is a way of leading into fault pertains to evangelical perfection: therefore etc. To that, therefore, which is first objected to the contrary concerning want, that it draws one to sin, and concerning destitution, which causes one to commit perjury, it must be said that want is twofold: one kind is voluntary, and another involuntary. Involuntary want induces a defect of mind and a proneness and occasion to sin. But voluntary want or poverty has sufficiency joined to it, according to that passage of Second Corinthians six: As having nothing, etc. And this disposes one to perfect justice, because it makes the mind fit for every good, just as conversely the root of all evils is avarice. And this is what Chrysostom says, in the forty-seventh homily on Matthew: "If you wish to see the soul of one who loves gold, just as a garment consumed by ten thousand worms and having nothing sound, so will you find it pierced on every side by anxieties and putrefied by sins and full of rust. But the soul of one voluntarily poor is not such, but it shines indeed like gold, and gleams like a pearl, and blooms like a rose. There is no moth there, there is no thief there, there is no anxiety of the affairs of this life, but like an Angel, so does he live. He is not subject to demons, he does not attend upon kings, but attends upon God; he does not wage war with men, but with Angels; he does not have the earth as his treasure, but heaven; he has no need of servants, but rather he has as servants the passions and thoughts that lord over kings. What then is better than this poor man? For his pavement is heaven. But if the pavement is such, imagine the roof. But he does not have horses and a chariot? Yet what need has he of these, who is to be carried upon a cloud and to be with Christ?" From these things it is apparent that in voluntary poverty there is great sufficiency, great nobility, which makes one transcend all earthly things.

SIR 27:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

And Ecclesiasticus says: "If you do not hold yourself steadfastly in the fear of the Lord, your house will quickly be overturned." Consider David, who says: "Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice in him with trembling."

SIR 27:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

The sun represents spiritual life, as in Ecclesiasticus: "A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun; but a fool is changed as the moon." For the sun goes directly through the ecliptic, without ever turning back or stopping.

SIR 27:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

But as soon as the soul has been made to resemble God, it enters into that Wisdom, because "She is the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God." And consequently, "she passes into holy souls from age to age." Without holiness, a man cannot be wise. "A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun: but a fool is changed as the moon." Holiness is an immediate disposition toward wisdom: hence a yearning and a strong desire are the door to wisdom.

SIR 30:24 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

O, how few there are who guard the piety of religion! It is said in Ecclesiasticus: "Have mercy on your own soul, pleasing God; and gather and restrain your heart in holiness." "Have pity on your soul," that is, have piety toward your soul; "pleasing God," namely, that you strive to please God. And how? "Gather and contain your heart in holiness."

SIR 32:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

"Listen in silence, and for your reverence good grace will come to you." The Wise Man exhorts the good hearer to listen silently and with reverence to the word of God; for silence and reverence are not unprofitable to him, because through these good grace will come to him. What is good grace? Good is the grace that makes a man good.

SIR 34:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"A man experienced in many things will know many things." Understanding which is the gateway of scientific considerations is partly from the frequency of experience. From many sensations arises one memory; from many memories arises one experience; from many experiences arises one universal, which is the principle of art and science.

SIR 37:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Because it is difficult for a man to be instructed by himself, therefore there is required a counsel by which one is regulated according to the dictate of divinely inspired men. Concerning evil counselors it is written: 'Guard your soul from a counselor. Do not attend to these in every counsel. But be constant with a holy man, whomever you know to observe the fear of God: whose soul is according to your soul.' He gives the reason: because the soul of a holy man at times declares true things more than seven watchmen sitting on high to keep watch, and he sees more than you. We gather from this that one point of counsel consists in this, that a man should not place counsel in himself alone; but he ought to seek counsel from another. Nor does it consist only in this, but also in this, that he know how to discern a counselor and choose the good and flee the evil.

SIR 37:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

SIR 37:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

SIR 37:14 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Because it is difficult for a man to be instructed by himself, therefore there is required a counsel by which one is regulated according to the dictate of divinely inspired men. Concerning which it is written: 'Establish with yourself a heart of good counsel.' We gather from this that one point of counsel consists in this, that a man should not place counsel in himself alone; but he ought to seek counsel from another. Nor does it consist only in this, but also in this, that he know how to discern a counselor and choose the good and flee the evil.

SIR 37:15 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Because it is difficult for a man to be instructed by himself, therefore there is required a counsel by which one is regulated according to the dictate of divinely inspired men. Be constant with a holy man, whomever you know to observe the fear of God: whose soul is according to your soul. He gives the reason: because 'the soul of a holy man at times declares true things more than seven watchmen sitting on high to keep watch,' and he sees more than you. We gather from this that one point of counsel consists in this, that a man should not place counsel in himself alone; but he ought to seek counsel from another.

SIR 37:16 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

SIR 40:20 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

Wisdom descends from above as a light to gladden our affective power. "Wine and music gladden the heart, and above both is the love of wisdom." Wine and music gladden the heart, namely from without and according to impressed species, which are not truth itself, but a certain likeness of the thing, nor do they fill the soul, and they gladden not truly but phantastically. But where there is union according to truth, there is delight, where truth flows into the soul and fills it and gladdens it.

SIR 40:22 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

The figures of Scripture are not arid, since they produce lively growths in us. And in Ecclesiasticus: "Charm and beauty delight the eye, but better than either, the flowers of the field."

SIR 40:25 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

There is a counsel by which we are raised up to choose what is lawful, what is fitting, and what is expedient according to the resolution of a good will. Whence in Ecclesiasticus: 'Gold and silver are the establishing of the feet, and above both is counsel well-pleasing.' By gold is signified sacred Scripture, by silver the knowledge of philosophy. Each is either speculative or practical. Sacred Scripture is about faith and morals, partly speculative and partly practical. By these sciences the feet are made firm, because the heart is made firm through theological and philosophical teachings; yet counsel makes it more firm.

SIR 40:27 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

Because the fear of the Lord avails for these three things, namely for obtaining the influx of divine grace, for introducing the rectitude of divine justice, and for attaining the illumination of divine wisdom; therefore Ecclesiasticus says: "The fear of the Lord is like a paradise of blessing."

SIR 40:28 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Sirach 40: My son, in your life do not be in need: for it is better to die than to be in need: therefore it is better to be dead than a beggar. To that which is objected from Sirach: Son, in your life do not be in want: it must be said that, according to the distinction given above, that word is to be understood of spiritual want with respect to grace, not of bodily want with respect to the sustenance of nature. And that this is true appears from the Gloss: "Do not be in want," says the Gloss, "of virtues or good morals."

SIR 42:13 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

"From a garment comes the moth, and from a woman the iniquity of a man." If we wish to be most precious, we must cling to the price of the most valiant woman, the incorrupt, most obedient, and most loving Virgin. That woman, namely Eve, expels us from paradise and sells us; this one leads us back and redeems us.

SIR 42:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Then, because mercy without emulating rectitude is worthless, there follows: "Of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand sealed." Levi is understood to mean "added." Levi received the priesthood on account of his zeal, wherefore he killed his idolatrous brother-priests. Phineas likewise obtained the priesthood because of zeal, and Mathathias and his descendants, because of zeal, obtained the priesthood and leadership, and they lasted until Herod. Levi signifies "prelates" who must have the spirit of severity and piety, as did Moses who, in spite of his extreme meekness, broke the tablets. By contrast, Heli, who was remiss, died together with his sons. Hence greater damage comes from a prelate who is merciful and rejects all rigor of discipline than from another who is rigidly merciless. In this sense is the passage of Ecclesiasticus understood: "Better a man's harshness than a woman's indulgence."

SIR 42:14 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

Some have compassion on their flesh, not on their soul. "The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children." Such a one is not like the Virgin nor like Christ. "He boils his children" who has no compassion on his own soul, but exposes it to the fire of concupiscence and of infernal torments. Of such a woman it is said: "Better is the iniquity of a man than a woman doing good": you cannot afflict the body too much. Let us not give our body to sin.

SIR 42:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Let us take an example in the sun, which signifies in turn the Trinity, the wisdom of the Exemplar, the angelical order, and the Church Triumphant. The reference to the Trinity is found in Ecclesiasticus: "As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the Lord shines upon all His works." The sun has substance, brilliance, and heat: likewise God has the originating principle, the Father; the brilliance, the Son; and the heat, the Holy Spirit. Yet it is the same sun in the sky as regards substance, in the eye as regards light, and in the body as regards heat. This is how a certain blind man was convinced who at one time had seen the sun and stood in the sun, and yet could not understand the Trinity of God.

SIR 43:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

SIR 43:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

In Ecclesiasticus it is written: "The firmament on high is His beauty, the beauty of heaven with its glorious shew." And here, three things are touched upon: loftiness, stability, and beauty. For this vision of faith is lofty, stable and beautiful. This faith is most noble, most solid and most splendid.

SIR 43:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

SIR 43:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 4

Now, this light sends out three primary radiations, hence in Ecclesiasticus: The sun, three times as much, burneth the mountains. There is, indeed, a truth of things, a truth of signs or words and a truth of behavior. The truth of things is indivision between existence and essence, the truth of words is equality between expression and understanding, the truth of behavior is the rectitude of a morally good life. And these three are the three parts of philosophy which the philosophers did not invent, since they are: but because they already existed in the order of truth, they became the concern of the soul, as Augustine explains.

SIR 43:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

The third anagogy is that the sun represents the loftiness of angels. Hence in Ecclesiasticus: "The sun, three times as much, burneth the mountains, breathing out fiery vapors: and shining with his beams, he blindeth the eyes." For the selfsame and unique divine radiance, received in a threefold manner, brings forth three hierarchies.

SIR 43:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

Such are the three hierarchies which this Sun enlightens in a threefold manner. Hence, the sun, three times as much, burneth the mountains. These are the mountains of Bether, as explained in the Canticle: My lover, like a gazelle or a young stag, upon the mountains of Bether. And it is upon those very mountains that this Sun is sending out its first illuminations.

SIR 43:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

Sirach says: "Behold the rainbow! Then bless its Maker." The rainbow has several natures and colors. As the sun goes down according to the ten divisions of the clock of Achaz, so does the Incarnate Word through the nine choirs of angels down to man, who is counted tenth. This is the greatest miracle, that God be man, that the first be the last; wherefore all miracles are related to this one.

SIR 43:33 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

Piety is profitable for knowing truths, namely salutary truths: whence in Ecclesiasticus: "The Lord made all things, and to those who act piously He gave wisdom." God gives His gifts upon every creature: but the knowledge of truth He gives only to those who act piously. How could one attain to originated things who does not attain to the origin of truth? How would one know the origin of truth who opposes the origin of truth?

SIR 44:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

The second firmness of faith comes from the outstanding reputation of the witnesses. This consists in three things: the high reputation of their merits, miracles and martyrdom. The high reputation of merits belonged to the patriarchs. Hence in Ecclesiasticus: Let us now praise men of renown. The patriarchs did not perform miracles, but they were famous for their merits. They were the beginning of Scriptures which are concerned with the apparitions that occurred to them.

SIR 44:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The third exercise of the gift of piety is in the abundance of interior compassion. Of this it is said in Ecclesiasticus: "These are men of mercy, whose acts of piety have not failed; with their seed good things endure." Dearest ones! You ought to run through the lives of the holy Fathers, and you will see that these are men of mercy, namely Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, and Samuel. What was the piety of Noah! For a hundred years he did nothing but build the ark, so that he might save the human race. How great was the piety in the most sacred Abraham! God descended to strike the cities in which there were abominations of sin; and Abraham interceded with the Lord for them and wrested from the Lord that if He should find ten just men in the cities, the Lord would spare them. How great was the piety of Joseph! Who, sold by his brothers — indeed his brothers wanted to kill him — yet he guarded his brothers, governed and enriched them and their sons; and he had piety toward preserving the whole world by gathering and storing grain. How great was the piety of Moses! Who loved the people provoking the Lord and prayed to the Lord for them saying: "Hear me, Lord, this people has sinned: either forgive this people this offense, or if you do not, blot me out of your book which you have written." Bernard gives the example of a woman who has her little child and is outside the house. If it were said to her: leave your little child outside the house, and you enter the house; she would not want to enter the house, such that the child would remain outside. So Moses willed that the Lord would forgive the people their sin, or that He would blot him from the book of life. So it was with Samuel, when the people sought a king; afterwards the people recognized that Samuel had governed the people well, and when the people had sinned, they feared that Samuel would not want to pray to the Lord for them. And the people asked him to pray for them, and Samuel said: "Far be it from me that I should cease to pray for you." Of how great piety was David, king of Israel! Saul was seeking to kill him, and David had Saul in his hand: he could have killed him, with God not prohibiting it, because God said to him: "I will deliver him into your hands." He could have killed him, with no man prohibiting it, nor the law prohibiting it; and yet he spared him and his house. These therefore are men of mercy, whose acts of piety did not fail.

SIR 46:1 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

There were two to whom the Lord gave fortitude, namely Caleb and Joshua. And it is said of Joshua that he became "mighty in war." Joshua is interpreted as "salvation." These men, for the salvation of others, went about to explore the promised land.

SIR 46:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

There were two to whom the Lord gave fortitude, namely Caleb and Joshua. Of Caleb it is said: "The Lord gave fortitude to Caleb himself, and even unto old age his strength remained with him, that he might ascend to the high place of the land." Caleb is interpreted as "whole heart." These men, for the salvation of others, went about to explore the promised land.

SIR 49:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The exercise of piety consists first in the reverence of divine veneration. Whence in Ecclesiasticus it is said of Josiah that he took away the abominations of impiety and governed his heart unto the Lord, and in the days of sinners he strengthened piety. It is certain that before the coming of Christ, the worship of God did not flourish except among the Israelite people, and it did not flourish in the whole people, because the ten tribes in the time of Jeroboam worshiped idols, namely the golden calf; nor did the worship of God flourish even throughout the whole time in the two tribes, because David was the best worshiper of God, but afterward came Manasseh, the worst, who made the people commit idolatry; but after him came Josiah, who began to reign in his eighth year and took away all idolatry, and in the days of sinners he strengthened piety, that is, divine worship.

SIR 50:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

The foundation of virtue is faith, and we place it as a center. Faith is "as the morning star in the midst of a cloud." To this star the Christian rises after being lifted up from the waters of baptism. He enters darkness, and this darkness of faith is accompanied by a mysterious light. Now this foundation is that by which Christ is established in us. Through it faith goes forward by rising to the practical virtues, as if reaching the foot of the mountain where Moses offered twelve sacrifices; then it proceeds to the cleansing virtues as if at mid-slope, and finally to the virtues of the cleansed soul as at the mountain's top, a place well suited to the contemplation of the exemplary virtues.

Song of Songs 1:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

The third hierarchizing is that of grace above nature and diligence. When the soul is lifted higher than itself, and, having emptied itself out, receives divine illuminations, it looks above itself to what has been given to it. And out of this, it rises, or is lifted up, to divine concerns. These three acts are reception, revelation, and union beyond which the mind does not reach. And it is in this that the whole Canticle consists: the chaste, chaster, and chastest receiving; the chaste, chaster, and chastest speculation; the chaste, chaster, and chastest union. And then will it be possible to say with this Canticle: "Let Him kiss me with kisses of His mouth!" Reception corresponds to the Thrones, revelation to the Cherubim, and union to the Seraphim.

Song of Songs 1:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

First there is the ointment of piety upon the head; afterwards it descends upon all others who draw near to the head. First there ought to be piety in prelates and superiors, and afterwards in the common people. Concerning this oil of piety it is said in the fourth book of Kings that a certain woman came to Elisha and said that her creditors wished to take her children. And Elisha said that she should bring all the vessels of her neighbors and pour some of that oil into each one, until all were filled. I say that the woman holds the type of the Church, and Elisha holds the type of Christ. When the Church is poor in merits and it is necessary that she repay the debt: by what means will she repay? She must fill the vessels of her neighbors. Do you wish the piety of mother Church to descend upon you? Fill the vessels of your neighbors. This oil of piety ought to be possessed by all. Whence in the Song of Songs: "Your name is oil poured out."

Song of Songs 1:4 — Breviloquium, Part 5

Song of Songs 1:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Song of Songs 1:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

The vegetation of the earth symbolizing Sacred Scripture is lovely. Even exterior roughness that gives nature a reputation of malformation is yet what makes it most beautiful. Hence the bride says: "I am as dark — but lovely." That is, lovely because dark.

Song of Songs 1:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

God's wisdom appears most beautifully in the mysteries of Scripture, even more than in the first manner. For if, so to speak, I wish to praise the bride in that she is pretty and truthful: if I simply say that she is pretty and truthful, my heart is not affected very deeply. But if I say: "Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's, thy neck as jewels," I praise her marvelously, if only I understand. I praise her not only as being chaste and good, but as being chaste and loving because of her love for her spouse. For the turtle dove is a chaste and loving bird, since out of love for its mate, as long as the mate lives, it consorts with no other, but only after it dies. Hence the bride is good, not merely because she is chaste, but because she is chaste out of love for her spouse. Hence the cheeks are beautiful, for they are prominent and beauty appears in them. "Thy neck as jewels": the neck, through which the voice is emitted, stands for truth; the jewels, that adorn the breast and bind it, stand for discretion, for if one tells the truth at the wrong time, for the wrong reason, in the wrong place or to the wrong people, this is not beautiful truth.

Song of Songs 2:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Now, there arises from these twelve enlightenments a threefold fruit. From the first four comes forth the fruit of grace, from the intermediate four, the fruit of righteousness, from the last four, the fruit of wisdom. This fruit is beautiful in the measure in which the intellect is sustained by it, and it is tasty in the measure in which the affective dispositions are fed by it. It touches upon this threefold fruit, meaning these enlightenments, in the sense that they produce nourishing food, in that this threefold fruit is from Christ. Hence, in the Canticle: "As an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my lover among men. I delight to rest in his shadow, and his fruit is sweet to my mouth."

Song of Songs 2:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Song of Songs 2:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Song of Songs 2:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

When a worthy admission has come about together with a holy perception, then the soul is rapt in God, that is, in the beloved. Hence, in the Canticle: "His left hand is under my head and His right arm embraces me."

Song of Songs 2:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Then, in this union, the power of the soul is recollected, and it becomes more unified, and enters in its intimate self, and consequently it rises up to its summit: for according to Augustine, the intimate self and the summit are the same. It is of this summit that the Canticle speaks: "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up nor awake my beloved, till she please."

Song of Songs 2:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Third, there is the production of prophets similar to the multiplication of flowers. It is said of them in the Canticle: "The flowers appear on the earth... and the song of the dove is heard." Flowers appeared when the prophet said: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom." But the song of the dove was heard when it was said: "How lonely she is now, the once crowded city! Widowed is she who was mistress over nations." For the turtle moans instead of singing.

Song of Songs 2:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

It is necessary to chastize the roots of the passions, so that the opposing powers are cut off and neutralized. It is fitting that a man have the three opposite virtues: that he be submissive, chaste, and poor. In this way will the roots of the passions be pulled out. "The time of pruning has come," for they abound every day.

Song of Songs 2:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

When a worthy admission has come about together with a holy perception, then the soul is rapt in God, that is, in the beloved. "My Lover belongs to me and I to Him; He browses among the lilies," for the soul already feels the union and is made one spirit with God. And this is the highest thing in the soul: it makes it abide in heaven.

Song of Songs 2:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

Song of Songs 3:3 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

In order to reach such a summit, it is good for us to be carried above every sense, every rational operation related to the imagination, even to dismiss the angelical intelligences, so that it may be said: "The watchmen came upon me as they made their rounds of the city: I had hardly left them when I found Him whom my heart loves." And this is what Dionysius teaches, to dismiss sensible and intellectual things, beings and non-beings—and by non-beings, he means temporal things because they are in a constant state of flux—thus to enter into the radiance of darkness. It is called darkness because it does not bear upon the intelligence, and yet the soul is supremely flooded with light. And because this cannot be had without prayer, Dionysius begins with prayer.

Song of Songs 3:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Song of Songs 3:5 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Song of Songs 3:6 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Song of Songs 3:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Faith is a union of the Head with the body. The shining of light as related to faith is called allegory, and it is twofold, one directed to the Head and the other to the body. For there is one directed to the crucified Head, that was born, etc., and another directed to the body, that is, the Church, primitive, intermediate, and final. And Solomon praises the Church in this manner, according to its threefold state: "Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun?" — "Who is she that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatic spices, of myrrh and frankincense?" — "Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?"

Song of Songs 3:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

The third comparison between the Old and the New Testaments is related to a threefold division, for there is a time when the Synagogue was initiated, another when it was promoted, and yet another when it failed. Likewise, in the New Testament, there is a time when it was started, another when it was expanded, and yet another when it was consummated. Hence, in the Canticle the Church is praised three times, for it is one, nor is there nor can there be any other. The Church is praised when it was started: "What is this coming up from the desert, like a column of smoke?" When it was expanded: "Who is this that comes forth like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon, as resplendent as the sun?" When it was consummated: "Who is this coming up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her lover?" For it is necessary that Rachel give birth to her sons in the final Church. Hence, in the Apocalypse, Manasses is placed before his father, for he is in the sixth place, and Joseph in the twelfth, while Benjamin is in the last, and this is not without cause.

Song of Songs 3:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Again, there is a comparison of times three by three, as of the origin, promotion and fall of the Synagogue; and in the Church, the times of its beginning, expansion, and consummation. Hence, in the Canticle, there are three expressions of wonder: "Who is this," etc. in praise of the Church, and, by contrast, three expressions of sorrow in the Lamentations. Hence, it is not without reason that the alphabet is repeated so often.

Song of Songs 3:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

Without doubt Solomon wished to rest in her as in a secure place; but this could not be unless she were strong, because it is said in the Canticle that "sixty valiant ones surround the bed of Solomon." Solomon is interpreted as "the desirable king": sixty valiant ones surround his bed. The number sixty is perfect and arises from the multiplication of the number six by ten, and thus through it is signified the universality of works; or it arises from the multiplication of the number ten by the number six, and through it is signified the universality of the ten precepts of the decalogue. Insofar as one is strong and ready according to the dictates of the laws and precepts of the decalogue, then one is strong, such that one cannot be harmed from without.

Song of Songs 3:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

And he said: I have wanted to lead you to this "tree of life." "King Solomon hath made him a litter of the wood of Libanus. The pillars thereof he made of silver, the seat of gold, the going up of purple: the midst he covered with charity." The seat of gold is contemplative wisdom. And this no one has, except one who has the pillars of silver, which are the virtues buttressing the soul. The going up of purple is charity which makes [the soul] go up to the higher things and down to the lower.

Song of Songs 3:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Song of Songs 3:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

The blessed Virgin was crowned with this stone in the flesh: seeing in the flesh the glorified body of Christ, seeing in spirit his glorified soul, and in mind his Divinity. Christ was crowned first, and she afterward. Whence in the Canticle: "Go forth, daughters of Sion, and see king Solomon in the diadem with which his mother crowned him on the day of his espousals and on the day of the gladness of his heart," that is, in flesh and mind, because he first put on flesh, suffered, and afterward was glorified: and the whole Church was crowned through him.

Song of Songs 4:2 — Breviloquium, Prologue

Where the words of Scripture signify things of creation, or the conduct of the Israelite people, there one should seek from another passage of Scripture what each thing signifies, and then derive its signification through words plainly signifying the truth of faith, or the uprightness of morals as well; as for example if it is said: The sheep bring forth twin offspring, one should show that sheep there signify human beings, and twin offspring the twofold charity.

Song of Songs 4:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

"Thy neck is as the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks: a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armor of valiant men." This was said to the bride or mother Church, whose neck is like the tower of David. It is called the neck, whence the doctrine of truth goes forth. The neck serves us for two things, namely, for receiving food and for expressing words. Thus mother Church is called the neck, because from her the doctrine of truth goes forth: whence it says: "a thousand bucklers hang upon it." Likewise, from her proceeds the universality of words for strengthening souls: whence it says: "all the armor of valiant men." There is nothing that avails for having spiritual fortitude that sacred Scripture does not set forth.

Song of Songs 4:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

It is not the intellect that can go in there, but the heart. Hence again in the Canticle: "You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride; you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes"—for the heart reaches down into the depths of Christ—"with one hair of thy neck"—for the hair refers to the height of mental thoughts. And he affirms that this ascent comes about through the power and the strongest motion of the Holy Spirit.

Song of Songs 4:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

Sacred Scripture is a tongue, hence: "Sweetmeats and milk are under your tongue." This tongue enjoys the taste of food, wherefore these same Scriptures are compared to loaves of bread that nourish and are pleasant to the taste.

Song of Songs 4:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Song of Songs 4:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Song of Songs 4:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

Song of Songs 5:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Song of Songs 5:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Song of Songs 5:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Song of Songs 5:16 — Breviloquium, Part 5

When this peace has been attained, there necessarily follows a superabundant spiritual delight, and then the person is fit for contemplation and for the gazes and embraces of the Bridegroom and the Bride, which take place according to the spiritual senses, by which is seen the supreme beauty of Christ the Bridegroom under the aspect of Splendor: is heard the supreme harmony under the aspect of the Word: is tasted the supreme sweetness under the aspect of Wisdom, which comprehends both, namely the Word and the Splendor: is smelled the supreme fragrance under the aspect of the Word inspired in the heart; is clasped the supreme gentleness under the aspect of the Word incarnate, dwelling among us bodily and rendering himself palpable, kissable, and embraceable to us through the most ardent charity, which causes our mind to pass over through ecstasy and rapture from this world to the Father.

Song of Songs 6:4 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Since there can be no perfect cure without the conservation of the health that has been introduced; and the health that has been introduced cannot be conserved in the conflict of battle except in the battle-line of the Church, which is terrible as an army set in array; and this indeed comes about through the armor of sevenfold grace: hence it is that the Sacraments must be seven. For in order that this battle-line be perfectly and continuously fortified: since it consists of corruptible parts, it needs Sacraments that fortify, that raise up, and that renew: that fortify those who fight, that raise up those who fall, and that renew those who die. Now the Sacrament that fortifies either fortifies those entering, and thus it is baptism: or those standing firm, and thus it is confirmation: or those departing, and thus it is extreme unction. The Sacrament that raises up either raises up from a venial fall, and thus it is the Eucharist: or from a mortal fall, and thus it is penance. The Sacrament that renews either renews in spiritual being, and thus it is orders, whose function is to administer the Sacraments: or in natural being, and thus it is matrimony. Whence, since baptism is for those entering, confirmation for those fighting, the Eucharist for those recovering strength, penance for those rising again, extreme unction for those departing, orders for those introducing new soldiers, and matrimony for those preparing new soldiers; the sufficiency and order of the sacramental remedies and arms is evident from these.

Song of Songs 6:4 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

For it is necessary that the hierarchized soul have levels corresponding to the Jerusalem which is above. For the soul is something great: the whole universe may be described in it. The soul is called "as lovely as Jerusalem," for it is likened to Jerusalem through the disposition of the hierarchical levels. For they are disposed in the soul in a threefold manner: in relation to ascent, to descent, and to the return to God.

Song of Songs 6:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

The mind cannot see it with intellectual eyes, and so they must be turned away. Hence it is said in the Canticle: "Turn away thy eyes from me, for they have made me flee away." For Christ goes away when the mind attempts to behold this wisdom through intellectual eyes; since it is not the intellect that can go in there, but the heart.

Song of Songs 6:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

Solomon represents Christ, except in the women in whom there is no good that can have symbolical meaning. Hence, when it is said in the Canticle: "There are sixty queens, eighty concubines, and maidens without number," this does not refer literally to wives: these women are placed here in a mysterious fashion, and they represent perfect and imperfect souls.

Song of Songs 6:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Song of Songs 6:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

These four fruits come forth in an orderly manner. Consideration in a direct line through the help of the citizens of heaven disposes toward the first act of wisdom, seen to be "as awe-inspiring as bannered troops" and the "companies of the camps."

Song of Songs 6:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Song of Songs 6:10 — Breviloquium, Part 6

Song of Songs 6:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Song of Songs 6:10 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Song of Songs 6:10 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

Song of Songs 6:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Song of Songs 8:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

Song of Songs 8:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

Song of Songs 8:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Song of Songs 8:5 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 4

Song of Songs 8:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

A person is disposed to the influx of the gift of fortitude through the inextinguishable fire of charity. Whence in the Song of Songs: "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm: for love is strong as death, jealousy is hard as hell; its lamps are lamps of fire and flames; many waters could not extinguish charity." Do you think you can extinguish a burning furnace with a drop of water? Every power is like a drop of water in comparison to the loving soul. "Love is strong as death": death conquers all, and likewise love conquers all things. "Jealousy is hard as hell": hell does not release what it holds, and so charity conquers all things and holds them fast. Paul, what do you say about charity? "Who," he says, "shall separate me from the charity of God?" He answers: "Tribulation? or distress? or hunger? or nakedness? or danger? or persecution? or the sword?" And he says: "I am certain that neither death nor life nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate me from the charity which is in Christ Jesus." This charity draws us to a celestial nature and does not permit any foreign impression upon us: of itself, it is perpetual; unless I give a bill of divorce, God will not take away his charity from us.

Song of Songs 8:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Such love divides, puts to sleep, and lifts up. It divides, since it cuts away from any other love because of the single love for the Spouse; it puts to sleep and appeases all the powers and imposes silence; it lifts up, since it leads to God. And so man is as dead, wherefore it is said: "Love is strong as death," because it cuts away from all things. Man, then, must die of this love in order to be lifted up. Hence "no man sees Me and still lives." Then, in this union, the power of the soul is recollected, and it becomes more unified, and enters in its intimate self, and consequently it rises up to its summit: for according to Augustine, the intimate self and the summit are the same.

Song of Songs 8:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 6

Fortitude is comparable to the power of fire. Hence the author of the Canticle, speaking of fortitude, says: "For love is strong as death, jealousy as hard as hell. The lamps thereof are fire and flames."

Song of Songs 8:6 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Song of Songs 8:7 — Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Introductory Questions

As Augustine and Hugh maintain, this world is like a certain ring given by the bridegroom to the soul itself: but the bride can love the ring bestowed upon her by the bridegroom in two ways, namely, with chaste love and with adulterous love. Chaste love is that by which she loves the ring in memory of the bridegroom and on account of love for the bridegroom: adulterous, that by which she loves the ring more than the bridegroom: and the bridegroom cannot but regard this as evil. For just as love is twofold, so hatred or contempt is twofold, because "as often as one of the opposites is spoken of, so also the other." Contempt of the ring, as though it were a small and worthless gift, redounds to the bridegroom: but contempt of the ring, as though it be reckoned as nothing in comparison with the love of the bridegroom, this is to the glory of the bridegroom: and concerning this contempt it is said in Song of Songs, the last chapter: "If a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing."

Song of Songs 8:7 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

A person is disposed to the influx of the gift of fortitude through the inextinguishable fire of charity. "Many waters could not extinguish charity." Do you think you can extinguish a burning furnace with a drop of water? Every power is like a drop of water in comparison to the loving soul. "Love is strong as death": death conquers all, and likewise love conquers all things. "Jealousy is hard as hell": hell does not release what it holds, and so charity conquers all things and holds them fast. This charity draws us to a celestial nature and does not permit any foreign impression upon us: of itself, it is perpetual; unless I give a bill of divorce, God will not take away his charity from us.

Song of Songs 8:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

Titus 1:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

There are three orders: the priestly, corresponding to the Thrones; the episcopal, corresponding to the Cherubim; and the patriarchal, corresponding to the Seraphim--not properly speaking on account of the imposition of some new character, since there is no level above the priesthood, but because of eminence and power. It is fitting that the bishop "be holding fast the faithful word." But the Pope must be the most perfect of them all. And if the interior ordination corresponded to the exterior, that would be the best.

Titus 1:16 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3

We take up the name of God in vain through frustration of a Sacrament received; and according to this there is a threefold degree of taking the name of God in vain. The first is when someone does not believe in the Sacrament, like a heretic. Second, when one believes but does not dispose himself for the Sacrament, like a usurer. Third, when someone does not preserve the grace received in the Sacrament, like one who afterward sins. Hear, you who are marked with the Christian name: the character is then imprinted upon you through the power of the name of God; and when you afterward sin, you empty out the power of the Sacrament. Of such persons the Apostle says to Titus: "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him."

Titus 2:11 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

The second fruit of grace is the fullness of justice, which consists in this, that a man be just in himself and with respect to God and with respect to his neighbor, namely that a man avoid evil and work good. And how? The Apostle says to Titus: "The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, instructing us, that denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, justly, and piously in this world, awaiting the blessed hope and the coming of the glory of the great God." This is the grace which expels all evils and bestows all goods: therefore in grace is the fullness of justice.

Titus 2:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

And the Apostle demonstrates these three things in his Epistle to Titus: We may live temperately and justly and piously in this world. Temperately, that is, in a holy manner; piously, which stands [in the Apostle's text]; justly, that is, truly. God, therefore, gives the laws, not by will, but by the greatest reason.

Titus 2:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

The third original influence of the gift of piety is from holy mother Church, sanctified through the Holy Spirit, who possesses the pledge of the Holy Spirit. Holy mother Church has enjoined piety upon all. Those who are born from one father and one mother love one another more than those who are born from one father alone, or from one mother alone. The Holy Spirit makes us children of one father and one mother and members of one body. The Apostle: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, has appeared to all men, instructing us that, denying impiety and worldly desires, we should live soberly and justly and piously in this world." See whether your piety is that of brother toward brother, and of a brother from the same womb toward a brother from the same womb! Who is our father? Certainly God. Who is our mother? It is the Church, who from her womb bore us through the Holy Spirit and will bring us forth when we shall be presented in eternal light. Do you not see that just as one member suffers with another member, so also we ought to suffer with one another? We are all members of one body, we are nourished with one food, we are brought forth from the same womb, we tend toward the same inheritance: and our inheritance will be magnified the more numerous we shall be, not diminished. We are one body; we ought to be piously disposed toward one another. Come to the father, the father receives you, or the mother; if holy mother Church stands by, even flagitious sinners will be compelled to return. We ought therefore to suffer with one another.

Titus 2:12 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Titus 3:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Grace arises in us through the Word inspired. However much God sent His Son into the flesh, unless you believe Him crucified, you will not have grace. Whence the Apostle to Titus: "Not by works of justice which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the laver of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out abundantly upon us through Jesus Christ, our Savior." It is the Holy Spirit who is the giver of graces and the love proceeding from the Father and the Son. Whatever therefore the Father does and the Son suffers, without the Holy Spirit it is nothing. For He Himself joins us to the Father and the Son.

Titus 3:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 1

Titus 3:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

From Christ is the fruit of grace. This fruit of grace is fourfold: it consists in steadying the soul through faith, blessing it through divine love, lifting it up through hope, curbing it through divine fear. The third is mentioned in the Epistle to Titus: "Justified by His grace, we are heirs in the hope of life everlasting."

TOB 1:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

This is a lesson that ought to be taught in youth and never abandoned. Whence in Ecclesiasticus: "Keep the fear of the Lord and grow old therein." And in Tobias it is said that Tobias begot a son, "whom from his infancy he taught to fear God." This lesson, therefore, is for all.

TOB 4:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 5

TOB 4:19 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

Counsel is regulated according to the dictate of divinely inspired reasons. Concerning this it is said in Tobit: 'At all times bless the Lord and ask of him, that he may direct your ways, and that all your counsels may remain in him.' However much knowledge a man may have of the New and Old Testament, it is still necessary that he consult the Lord: I do not say that he should have a special conversation with him, but it is necessary that the Lord bring forth truth for him as light.

TOB 4:21 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

But what usefulness is there in fearing God? Tobias says: "Do not fear, my son; we lead indeed a poor life, but we shall have many good things if we fear God." The fear of God avails for three things, namely for obtaining the inflowing of divine grace, for introducing the rectitude of divine justice, and for obtaining the illumination of divine wisdom. In these three all good things are comprehended.

WIS 1:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Prooemium

General Division. Since, as has been said, princes and prelates, and consequently all people, are urged in this book to the study and love of wisdom; but because wisdom cannot be had without the observance of justice: for into a malevolent soul wisdom will not enter, etc., below in chapter one; likewise Ecclesiasticus chapter one: Son, desiring wisdom, keep justice: therefore according to the Gloss, he first exhorts to justice, namely up to the sixth chapter; second, to wisdom, namely from the sixth chapter to the end. Part I. Exhortation to Justice. In the first part he does three things according to the three parts of general justice. For first he treats of the justice of man with respect to God, in chapter one; second, of justice with respect to neighbor, in chapters two and three; third, of the justice of man with respect to himself, in chapters four and five. First, on the threefold justice of man with respect to God. In the first, he first stirs to justice of the heart; second, of the mouth: He is benign; third, of work: Do not be zealous. The justice of the heart is treated in three ways. In the first, he first sets forth an exhortation to the good of justice; second, the advantage of acquiescing: For it is found; third, the detriment of those who despise: For perverse thoughts, etc. In the first, first as to right affection, saying: Love justice; second, as to right estimation: Think of the Lord; third, as to right intention: And in simplicity.

WIS 1:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

He says therefore: Love etc. The Gloss: "Not only do." For the work of justice is not meritorious unless it is done out of love of justice. Gregory: "The branch of good work has no greenness unless it remains in the root of charity." Justice, namely uncreated, which is the rectitude of the divine will; and created, which is the rectitude of the human will, according to Anselm. Love, I say, justice, that you may be conformed to God, because "the Lord is just and has loved justice"; likewise, that with spiritual gladness you may be filled, according to that verse of the Psalm: "You have loved justice, etc.; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions"; likewise, that you may be made blessed, according to that verse of Matthew five: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice." You who judge the earth: specifically indeed you, prelates, who judge the earth by public judgment: the earth, of the subject people. The Gloss: "To whom the power of judging has been given"; subject, I say, by the merit of sin. For Gregory says: "Where we do not transgress, there we are equals." And therefore he rightly says: the earth, that is, those who love earthly things; not the heavenly, because there is no need: "For the spiritual man judges all things," namely in hope, "and is judged by no one," that is, ought not to be judged, First Corinthians two; but the bestial, according to the Gloss on that verse of Genesis one: "Let him rule over the beasts" of the earth, that is, those living bestially. Likewise, all of you generally, who judge, by private judgment, the earth, of your own body. The Gloss: that is, who "discreetly restrain the body," so that "your service may be rational," Romans twelve. It should be noted, moreover, that there is found to be a fourfold earth, namely the upper earth, the earth, I say, of the living, of which in the Psalm: "I believe I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living." The lower earth, namely of the dead: Ezekiel thirty-one: "Behold, you have been brought down with the trees of pleasure to the uttermost earth." The outer earth, namely of the dying, namely the present world: Revelation eight: "Woe, woe, woe to those dwelling upon the earth"! that is, in the world. The inner earth, namely of death, that is, the mortal and earthly body: Ecclesiasticus ten: "Why are you proud, O earth and ashes"? The first earth is not subject to our judgment, because it is not in our power; and therefore it was rightly said to Peter, Matthew sixteen: "Whatever you shall bind upon earth," not upon heaven. The second has already been judged and cannot repent: John three: "He who does not believe has already been judged." The third is to be judged by the judgment of justice, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Judge rightly, O sons of men." The fourth is to be judged by the judgment of discerning discipline, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 33: "Fodder and a rod and a burden for the donkey: bread and discipline and work for the servant," that is, for the body, which must be compelled to serve the spirit, by the example of blessed Martin, who "compelled his limbs, though weakening with fever, to serve the spirit"; likewise by the example of Paul, who says: "I chastise my body and bring it into subjection," into which subjection, namely, it was in the state of innocence; I bring it back, through the power and works of penance. To the aforesaid servant is owed the sustenance of bread, lest it fail; the rod of discipline, lest it grow wanton; and the occupation of holy work, lest it grow sluggish. Think, that is, rightly esteem, of the Lord in goodness, that is, well, not badly, as heretics do. Moreover, he admonishes us to think well both by the exterior sense, by piously reading the divine Scriptures, and by the interior sense, by piously understanding them. Whence the Gloss: "Read and understand Scripture piously," piously, namely, by devout…

WIS 1:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

And well did I say: In simplicity, etc. For he is found, through grace in the present life, according to that passage of Song of Songs 3: "I found him whom my soul loves"; by those who do not tempt him, by displaying one thing outwardly while intending another inwardly, as the Scribes and Pharisees tempting Christ; and this he says against hypocrisy and duplicity: Matthew 22: "Why do you tempt me, you hypocrites?" But He appears, namely in the future through glory: First John 3: "When He shall appear, we shall be like Him"; and Colossians 3: "But when Christ shall appear, your life, then you also shall appear with Him in glory." To those who have faith in Him: he says this against heresy and unbelief. And note that he says: In Him, because it does not suffice to believe Him or to believe that He is, but to believe in Him, which is the act of formed faith, according to Augustine. Or: He is found, on account of the devotion of the affections; He appears, through the contemplation of the intellect: Psalm: "Taste," by affection; "see," by intellect. It should be noted, however, that according to Gregory, "to tempt is the same as to craftily test": and accordingly it happens that God is tempted in four ways, namely either by unduly wishing to test His power, as those who, tempting Christ, sought a sign from heaven, Matthew 16; or His wisdom, as the Sadducees, proposing to Him a question about the resurrection that was, according to their judgment, insoluble for those who posit the resurrection, Matthew 22; or His justice, as the Pharisees, by asking about the payment of tribute: "We know that You are truthful," etc.; or His mercy, as the Jews, by questioning about the judgment of the woman caught in adultery, John 8. And because every such tempting comes from distrust, and God is in no way to be distrusted, therefore every such tempting is prohibited; whence Deuteronomy 6: "You shall not tempt the Lord your God"; likewise Ecclesiasticus 18: "Do not be like a man who tempts God."

WIS 1:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

For perverse thoughts etc. Here he touches upon the manifold detriment of those who despise the exhortation to the good of justice, of which the first is exclusion from the fellowship of God: For perverse thoughts: the second, exclusion from the fellowship of wisdom: Because into a malevolent soul: the third, exclusion from the fellowship of the Holy Spirit: For the Holy Spirit. The first pertains to the Father, the second to the Son, the third to the Holy Spirit, whose presence is obtained through the love of justice; whence John 14: "If anyone loves Me, etc., and We will come to him and make Our abode with him"; but their absence or deprivation, through hatred of justice. For perverse thoughts etc. I rightly said that He appears to those who have faith in Him, and not to others; for perverse thoughts, namely by perversity of faith or of morals, separate from God, with respect to the punishment of loss: Second Corinthians 6: "What fellowship has light with darkness?" Proverbs 17: "He who is perverse of heart shall not find good"; likewise Isaiah 59: "Your iniquities have divided," etc. But proven etc., as if to say: nor does this suffice for punishment; but stands for "however." Proven virtue, that is "true virtue," according to the Gloss, namely divine virtue: corrects, by punishing: Psalm: "O Lord, do not correct me in your anger." The foolish: the Gloss says "that is, all foolishness"; this he says with regard to the punishment of the senses.

WIS 1:4 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

The first pillar of the house of wisdom is chastity in the flesh. Why is this the first? Because this is where one must begin: for it is written in the book of Wisdom: "Into a malevolent soul wisdom shall not enter, nor shall she dwell in a body subject to sins." An unchaste body is subject to sins; therefore wisdom cannot dwell in it.

WIS 1:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

For into a malevolent soul etc. I rightly said that they separate etc., for into a malevolent soul, with respect to spiritual sins, wisdom will not enter, by infusing itself into it: wisdom, I say, "which is from above, which is first indeed pure" etc.; although that wisdom may enter which is from below, "namely earthly, animal, diabolical," James 3. Nor will it dwell, by remaining, in a body subject to sins: this he says with regard to carnal sins, which, although they are of lesser guilt, are nevertheless of greater infamy, as Gregory says. It is objected that all things desire the good: therefore no soul is malevolent, that is, willing evil. It must be said that no one wills evil per se, but per accidens, because namely he wills that which is evil, namely an evil action, not insofar as it is evil, but insofar as it is delightful and an apparent good. Again it is doubted: the body cannot be a dwelling place of wisdom nor the subject of sin or foolishness or grace: therefore it supposes something false when it says: Nor will it dwell etc. To this it must be said that body there does not refer to the bodily part of man only, but by synecdoche, according to which a part is customarily put for the whole, body is taken here for the whole man, insofar as he follows the passions of the body. Hence the Gloss: "He who is subject to sins is body, not spirit." In such a one wisdom does not dwell: hence the Gloss: "In vain do heretics, Pharisees, and false Christians flatter themselves; for only those pure in heart can receive the wisdom of God."

WIS 1:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

And I rightly said that he will not dwell etc. For the Holy Spirit of discipline: Gloss: "Who teaches all discipline," according to that passage of John 16: "He will teach you all truth," namely rational, natural, and moral: Psalm: "Teach me goodness and discipline and knowledge." He is called Spirit, insofar as he breathes life: John 6: "It is the Spirit who gives life"; holy, insofar as he purges and renews, according to that passage of the Psalm: "You will send forth your spirit, and they shall be created: and you will renew the face of the earth"; of discipline, insofar as he removes ignorance and bestows wisdom, according to that passage of Isaiah 11: "The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom" etc. He will flee, that is, in the present he will flee far from, the deceitful, that is, the sinner, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Salvation is far from sinners," and especially the hypocrite, who is properly called deceitful: Job 13: "No hypocrite shall come into his sight." And he will withdraw himself from thoughts that are without understanding, that is, from false and erroneous thoughts: for understanding pertains only to true things. He will withdraw himself etc.; behold, the punishment of loss: and he will be reproved etc.: behold, the punishment of sense. Likewise, it should be noted that he is said to withdraw himself because naturally the commission of fault precedes the withdrawal of grace: for God is first in approaching and last in departing. And although he withdraws himself from them, they will not nevertheless remain unpunished: whence he adds: And he will be reproved etc.: correction is done with words, reproof is done with scourges. He will be reproved, I say, namely the deceitful one in the future, that is, he will be punished, by the supervening iniquity, that is, on account of the supervening iniquity: whence the Gloss: "The deceitful one, when the day of retribution comes, will be punished for his iniquity." Supervening, that is, "oppressing," on account of which it is called supervening, just as one who oppresses comes upon another. — Or: He will be reproved, that is, he will be seized together in soul and body unto punishment.

WIS 1:5 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

It is necessary to ordain our thoughts so that the Holy Spirit be able to enter in the form of wisdom, "for the holy spirit of discipline flees deceit and withdraws from senseless counsel." Hence, there is need for us to use clearly defined materials with which we can be properly concerned.

WIS 1:5 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"The holy spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful and will withdraw from thoughts that are without understanding." God wills that we do all things reasonably. Prudential understanding teaches what is to be carried out, namely every good, according to the way of interior thought and exterior action.

WIS 1:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

"The spirit of wisdom is benign, and will not free the evil-speaker from his lips." Good persuadability causes one to esteem and love good things and to consent to them: and the wiser a person is, the more persuadable he is to good things. The malicious person is persuadable to evil, but there is no one who is persuadable to good unless he is benign: and this also accords with wisdom.

WIS 1:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

Concerning the justice of speech, the matter is treated in three ways. For he is kind etc. Here he admonishes toward justice of speech, by drawing back from evil words. And first he removes from evil speech itself the confidence of impunity: second, he foretells their punishment: Therefore he who speaks etc.; third, he admonishes to caution against depraved speech: Guard etc. In the first part, he first removes the confidence of impunity which might arise from the mercy of the judge: Kind: second, from his ignorance: For of the reins etc.; third, from his powerlessness: For the spirit of the Lord. He says therefore: For the spirit of wisdom is benign etc. I have rightly said that the dissembler will be reproved etc.: for the spirit of wisdom is benign, namely of uncreated wisdom, namely of the Son, from whom the Holy Spirit is given: or of created wisdom, which he himself gives; below in chapter twelve: "O how good and how sweet is your spirit, O Lord, in all things"! Psalm: "Your good spirit" etc. And yet he will not free the accursed etc., although he is benign: because, as Gregory says, "discipline and mercy are greatly undermined if one is held without the other." Or thus: and because he is benign, he will not free the accursed etc., because benignity is contrary to malice: as the Gloss says: "He will not free, I say, the accursed, that is, the one who curses," who is accursed because he acts against God's commandment, which forbids cursing; Psalm: "Cursed are those who turn aside from your commandments"; behold, a curse in the present. Likewise, Matthew twenty-five: "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire" etc.: behold, a curse in the future. From his lips, that is, from the sin of his lips, or from the punishment which he merited by the sin of his lips: Matthew twelve: "By your words you shall be condemned"; likewise in the Psalm: "The labor of their lips shall cover them." And it should be noted that the consequent is placed for the antecedent, when he says the accursed for the one who curses. For of the reins etc., as if to say: he will truly be punished for his sins, even hidden ones: for of his reins, that is, of the affections or "carnal pleasures, whose seat is in the reins," God is a witness, that is, a certain knower, as a witness concerning the matter about which he bears testimony; Jeremiah twenty-nine: "I am the witness and the judge, says the Lord." And of his heart, that is, of the thoughts proceeding from the heart, Matthew fifteen: he is a true searcher, that is, an infallible examiner: whence First Corinthians two: "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God"; likewise Jeremiah seventeen: "I the Lord search the hearts and try the reins"; Psalm: "God, who searches hearts and reins." And of his tongue, that is, of the utterances which are formed by the tongue, a hearer, that is, an immediate knower without the report of another: Psalm: "He who planted the ear, shall he not hear"? as if to say: yes. And it should be noted that he places the instruments for the operations proceeding from them, because, just as the instruments relate more immediately to the soul than their operations do, so God more immediately than anyone else knows all the acts of a person, both interior and exterior.

WIS 1:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

For the Spirit of the Lord etc., as if he were inferring: rightly have I said that the Spirit can do this: for the Spirit of the Lord, intransitively, that is, who is the Lord, according to that saying of Athanasius: "The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord"; or transitively, that is, the Spirit who is from the Lord, according to that saying of Isaiah sixty-one: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me" etc.; likewise, John: "The Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father." Has filled the whole world, by assisting all things with his presence and containing them: Jeremiah twenty-three: "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" because, according to Gregory, "God is everywhere, within all things yet not enclosed, outside all things yet not excluded, above all things yet not elevated, below all things yet not cast down." And that which contains all things, namely the Holy Spirit containing all things by preserving them through his power. For as Boethius proves in the book On the Consolation, "the world from such diverse and contrary parts would not have come together into one form, and the joined discordant diversity would have torn apart, unless there were one who joined them together and held together what he had woven." Has knowledge of the voice, that is, of all utterances and languages, by knowing all things. From this it is clear that he can know and punish all things, both deeds on account of his universal presence and words on account of his universal knowledge. Another exposition, or according to the Gloss: That which contains all things, that is, the Holy Spirit, who contains all things, that is, the Church, outside of which whatever exists is nothing, just as outside the ark of Noah. Has knowledge of the voice, causally speaking, "that is, he grants understanding of Scripture to men"; or formally: Has knowledge of the voice, that is, he has the same knowledge as the voice, that is, as the Word, that is, the Son, of whom John one says: "In the beginning was the Word" etc. Allegorically, according to the Gloss, it can be expounded concerning the temporal coming of the Holy Spirit. And first is touched upon the person sent, when it says: Spirit; second, his eternal origin: of the Lord; third, the temporal mission: Has filled; fourth, the manifestation of the mission: And that which contains all things. He says therefore: The Spirit of the Lord has filled: the Gloss says: "with gifts"; the whole world, "that is, the Church spread throughout all lands," as the Gloss says. And that which contains all things: "that is, man, who has a correspondence with every creature," on account of which in Mark at the end he is called every creature, according to Gregory. Has knowledge of the voice: the Gloss says: "Of diverse languages from the Holy Spirit," as is clear from Acts two. To the orb indeed of the earth the primitive Church is compared, first on account of its expansion, according to that word of the Psalm: "Their sound has gone forth into all the earth." Second, on account of its perfection, which is understood through the roundness of the orb: Song of Songs 6: "One is my dove, my perfect one." Third, on account of its stability: Ecclesiastes 1: "For the earth stands forever." Fourth, on account of its compression and wearing down: 1 Corinthians 4: "I think that God has set forth us the Apostles last, as men destined to death," etc.; just as the earth is the lowest of bodies, whence it is worn down and trampled upon by all. Fifth, on account of the sustaining and vivifying of the human race, because it lives from the earth and is sustained by the earth, just as by the primitive Church: Job 9: "Under whom they stoop who bear up the world," namely the Apostles and their followers; nor yet are they broken, because in the Psalm: "I have established its pillars." Sixth, on account of the adornment and production of all virtues, according to that word of Genesis 1: "Let the earth bring forth green herb," etc. Sev…

WIS 1:8-9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

On this account, he who speaks, etc. The foolish confidence of impunity having been removed, here he foretells the punishment of evil speech: and first, because it will be brought into judgment; second, because it will be examined by the Judge: "In the thoughts of the ungodly"; third, because it will be made known to all: "For the ear of jealousy." He says therefore: On this account, because namely the Holy Spirit has knowledge of the voice, that is, of every utterance: he who speaks iniquitous things, like those of whom it is said in the Psalm: "The mouth of those who speak iniquitous things has been stopped"; cannot be hidden, namely from the Holy Spirit in the present; whence Hebrews 4: "All things are naked and open to his eyes"; likewise Proverbs 16: "All the ways of men lie open to his eyes." Nor shall it pass by, namely by dissembling, him, namely the one speaking iniquitous things, correcting, that is, punishing; or correcting, that is, seizing together his body and soul, or all his evil works and words and thoughts; judgment, namely the future judgment: "for all things that are done, God will bring into judgment," as is found in the last chapter of Ecclesiastes. For in the thoughts of the wicked, that is, concerning the thoughts of the wicked, in which there is less sin than in wicked words, there will be an interrogation, that is, a searching inquiry by the judge and an examination, according to that passage of the Psalm: "The Lord interrogates the just and the wicked"; Job, last chapter: "I know that no thought is hidden from you." And if there will be a searching inquiry concerning thoughts, how much more so concerning words; on account of this he adds: But of his words, etc.; as if to say: not only concerning thoughts. But, used for "however": the hearing of his words, that is, the examination, to God, as to the examiner and judge, will come, and for correction, that is, punishment; of his iniquities, which he committed by speaking wickedly: Genesis eighteen: "The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied," etc.

WIS 1:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

And rightly did I say that it will come, etc.; for the ear of jealousy, of jealousy, I say, of God who is jealous for souls as for brides, hears all things, that is, knows all things, as one who hears all things, namely words both evil and good and indifferent, just as a jealous man carefully hears and notes the words of his spouse and of those speaking with her: Exodus twenty: "I am a mighty God, jealous," etc. And the tumult of murmurings, by which men murmur against God: Ecclesiasticus thirty-three: "The heart of a fool is like a cart wheel." And it is called a tumult, because a man who murmurs makes a tumult, as it were, within his teeth, and does not speak clearly. Shall not be hidden, but shall be made manifest to the whole world; Luke twelve: "Nothing is covered that shall not be revealed, nor hidden that shall not be known"; Exodus sixteen: "I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel."

WIS 1:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

Guard etc. Here he admonishes to caution against wicked speech, and first he sets forth his exhortation; second, the necessity of the exhortation: For a word, etc. Now the construction or continuation is as follows: since the tumult shall not be hidden, etc., guard yourselves therefore from murmuring, namely against God, which profits nothing, indeed it greatly harms; whence First Corinthians ten: "Some of them murmured and perished by the destroyer." And from detraction, namely against one's neighbor: Job six: "Why have you detracted from the words of truth?" Spare the tongue; he does not say: spare your neighbor, but the tongue, namely your own, because one who detracts from another first injures himself. Whence detraction is worse than the venom of a serpent: Seneca: "That venom which serpents produce for the destruction of others, they contain without harm to themselves; but detraction itself drinks a portion of its own poison." The Gloss: "Pernicious are murmurings and detractions"; Romans one: "Detractors hateful to God." Detractors, he says in the plural, because detraction occurs in many ways, namely either when a hidden good is denied, or when a manifest good is diminished, or when a hidden evil is made public, or when a manifest evil is further spread abroad. And I rightly said: Spare your tongue, for obscure speech: The Gloss: "Hidden," as is the word of murmuring: shall not go into the void, that is, it shall not remain without punishment, because not even an idle word: Matthew twelve: "Of every idle word" etc.; therefore much more so of a malicious word. "An idle word, as the Gloss says there, is one that is spoken without benefit to the speaker or the hearer"; Jerome: "Everything that does not edify the hearers turns to the peril of the speakers." But the mouth that lies, namely by slandering, slays the soul: The Gloss: "By the sword of sin, the soul of the liar"; the Psalm: "You will destroy all who speak falsehood." And it should be noted that he speaks here of pernicious lying, which is mortal, not of jocose or officious lying: whence the Gloss: "There is a lie of lighter fault, when someone lies in bestowing a benefit." But it seems that some lie is good and meritorious, because the midwives who lied merited a reward from the just judge, namely God, who cannot be deceived, as is clear from Exodus one. But it must be said according to the Gloss that "not the lie was rewarded, but the benevolence of their piety." But was one and the same deed a sin, and yet possessed the merit of benevolence? And it seems so, for the Gloss says: "God pardons the evil of one and the same deed on account of the good, and rewards the good itself." It must be said that it was one by connection, not by indivisibility: because the intention to deliver was one thing, and the will to lie was another, although they were conjoined.

WIS 1:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

Concerning the justice of works, the treatment is twofold. Do not be zealous for etc. Here he exhorts to the justice of works, and first by reasons taken from the side of creation; second, from the side of retribution, at: For justice etc. From the side of creation, first by a reason taken from the goodness of the Creator: For God; second by a reason taken from the side of the end of creation: He created; third by a reason taken from the side of the condition of the creature: There is not in them. Do not be zealous for etc., as if to say: because lying kills, do not be zealous for, that is, do not love or desire with affection, death, namely of the soul, which one incurs through fault, according to that saying of Augustine: "True death is that which men do not fear: namely the separation of the soul from God, who is the blessed life of souls, just as bodily death is the separation of the body from the soul." Death, I say, causally established in the error of your lives, according to that passage of Proverbs fourteen: "They err who work evil"; for every wicked person is in error, according to the Philosopher. Nor acquire, in effect, perdition, of eternal punishment, which is in our power, according to that passage of Hosea thirteen: "Your destruction, O Israel; only your help is from me." By the works of your hands, causally, that is, by the merit of your works. But it is objected that, according to Augustine, all desire life and beatitude: therefore no one desires death or perdition. It must be said that this is true per se: but per accidens and consequently those are said to desire it who desire the act that is the cause of death and perdition. Whence he posits the consequent for the antecedent, adding: I rightly said that error is the cause of death, and evil works the cause of perdition.

WIS 1:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

For God, who is the author of all things, according to that saying in John 1: "All things were made through him"; did not make death, namely present death. But against this: Ecclesiasticus 11: "Life and death, poverty and honor are from God." It must be said that here he speaks of the death of fault: or if of the death of nature, he speaks with respect to privation, not with respect to the sense of pain. Concerning the death of hell also, with respect to the punishment of loss, what is said here is true: God did not make death. But against this: Every punishment is just, and everything just is good, and everything good is from God. It must be said that when it is said: every punishment is just, this is understood per se, namely insofar as it is punishment, not according to what it is: whence it cannot be concluded that it is simply from God, but insofar as it is punishment. Nor does he rejoice in the perdition of the living, namely their future perdition. Against this: Proverbs 1: "I also will laugh at your destruction," etc. It must be said that he does not delight in punishment insofar as it is the perdition of nature, but insofar as it is the effect of justice: whence Isaiah 1: "Ah! I will be consoled over my enemies, and I will be avenged upon my foes." And I rightly said that he does not delight or rejoice in perdition, which is the way to non-being.

WIS 1:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

For he created, Genesis 1, all things that they might exist: The Gloss: "Not that they might perish": whence he also implanted in all things a natural appetite for existing, that is, gave it inwardly. And because "it is a common conception of the mind, according to Boethius, that everything which exists tends toward the good," and all things tend toward being: he proves that the being of all things is good. And healable, that is, created in spiritual health through innocence and reducible to health through penance, lest they perish: for he does not "will the death of the sinner," etc. Healable, I say, he made the nations of the world, that is, all who are born in the world. Their incurability therefore is from themselves, not from God: Jeremiah 30: "Your fracture is incurable, your wound is grievous." For there is not in them: The Gloss: "In the nature of those," namely of the nations, a medicine of destruction, "that is, the cup of sin," according to the Gloss, which is the cause of destruction in present death: Baruch 3: "They were destroyed and descended to the underworld." Destruction is called sin, because it places one outside the boundaries of grace: likewise, temporal death, because it places one outside the boundary of natural life: likewise, the death of hell, because it places one outside the boundaries of glory: and he speaks by antiphrasis, as if poison were called a medicine, and as a fishpond is the name for water lacking fish. But an objection is raised against what he says: There is not in them etc., because Ephesians 2: "We were by nature children of wrath." But it must be said that here he speaks of actual sin, or of nature as established, that is, before the fall, not deprived through sin, of which the Apostle speaks. Nor the kingdom of the underworld, that is, eternal perdition, on earth, that is, in man made from the earth: Genesis 2: "God formed man from the slime of the earth." He intends therefore to show that the death of sin and the perdition of eternal punishment are not from nature, but from a perverse will. Concerning the death of sin, this is clear from the Gloss, which says: "We do not sin by necessity, but by a perverse will"; concerning the perdition of punishment, this is clear from another Gloss, which says: "The devil would have harmed man in nothing, had man not consented."

WIS 1:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

For justice is perpetual etc. Here he admonishes toward justice of work from the consideration of retribution: and first he touches upon the reward of justice: second, the punishment of injustice: But injustice etc.; third, the equity of the punishment or penalty inflicted: But the ungodly etc. For justice is perpetual etc.; as if to say: I rightly said that death is not from God nor from nature, but from the injustice of a perverse will. For justice is perpetual, by bestowing eternal life, according to that passage in Proverbs 12: "In the paths of justice is life." And immortal, by liberating from perpetual death; whence below in chapter 3: "The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them." But injustice is the acquisition of death, namely both of temporal and eternal death: whence Romans 6: "The wages of sin is death"; likewise Proverbs 12: "The wayward path leads to death."

WIS 1:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 1

But the ungodly etc. Here he shows the equity of retribution, because namely the ungodly merited this, first, by doing injustice, on account of which he says: But the ungodly with hands etc.: second, by loving it familiarly, there: And esteeming etc.: third, by inseparably adhering to it: And covenants etc.: fourth, by strongly defending it: Because they are worthy of death etc. But the ungodly etc. I have rightly said that death is not from God, nor from nature: but, for however: the ungodly, against God and neighbor: with hands and words, Gloss: "By deeds and sayings"; they summoned it, as if to say: it did not impose itself, but they themselves called it forth, namely ungodliness and death, as is evident in the first parents, Genesis 3. And esteeming it a friend, that is, useful and not harmful: Gloss: "Because they think they sin with impunity"; they melted away, that is, they flowed downward, Gloss: "into eternal death"; but first, into the death of guilt, second, into the death of temporal punishment, third, into the death of eternal punishment; Hebrews 2: "We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest perhaps we drift away." And they made a covenant with it, that is, an inseparable pact as of betrothal through the impenitence of obstinacy; Gloss: "Lest they be separated"; Isaiah 28: "We have struck a covenant with death, and with hell we have made a pact." And rightly they melted away into death, for they are worthy of death who are of its party, namely of injustice, by holding and defending it, just as a man defends the party to which he belongs: Romans 1: "Those who do such things are worthy of death." Moreover, here can be noted the progression in sins, concerning which Ecclesiasticus 20: "There is a progression in evil for the undisciplined man"; for first there is ungodliness in the heart through consent to iniquity; then in the hand through the consummation of the deed; then the word of defense or boasting; then friendship and hope of impunity; afterward the melting away through the repetition of depraved habit; next the covenant through the hardening of the mind; lastly the death of final impenitence.

WIS 2:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

Second, concerning the justice of man toward his neighbor, the treatment is twofold. For they said etc. Above he treated of the justice of man toward God: here principally of the justice of man toward his neighbor: and first, by drawing back from the likeness of the unjust, namely in this chapter: second, by urging toward the likeness of the just, namely in the third chapter. First he draws back from the likeness of the unjust by noting three things. In the first part, first on the side of the unjust he sets forth the motivating cause of living unjustly: second he describes the unjust life, at: Come therefore etc.; third he shows that it is not to be imitated, at: These things they thought etc. In the first part a threefold motivating cause is touched upon: the first on the part of condition; the second on the part of nature: Because we are born of nothing: the third on the part of name or reputation: And our name shall receive oblivion etc. On the part of condition it is threefold: first, as regards the condition of the world, at: It is short and tedious etc.; second, as regards the condition of paradise: There is no refreshment etc.: third, as regards the condition of hell: And no one is known to have returned from the netherworld. (Verse 1). For the ungodly said, thinking within themselves not rightly, etc. I have rightly said that "the ungodly by hands and words summoned" injustice and death. For the ungodly said, that is, those lacking piety toward God and neighbor: the Gloss: "It is the voice of the lost, who like brute animals love the things that are present and despise future things, nor do they hope for eternal rest after this life." Within themselves, because "they do not dare openly," according to that passage of the Psalm: "The fool has said in his heart: There is no God"; for if they were to speak openly, they would fear incurring punishment. Thinking not rightly, indeed wickedly. It is short, etc., on account of its brevity, according to that passage of Job chapter fourteen: "The days of man are short." And with weariness, on account of its painfulness: Job chapter fourteen: "Man born of woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries." The time of our life: the Gloss: "Of the present," by which, namely, they live for themselves, not for God; therefore he adds: our, against which Second Corinthians chapter five says: "That they who live may no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again." And there is no refreshment at the end of man; the Gloss: "That is, rest after death." This, however, is false, because it is said in the Psalm in the person of the Saints: "We have passed through fire and water, and you have brought us out into refreshment"; likewise Jeremiah chapter six: "Ask about the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk in it; and you shall find refreshment for your souls"; likewise Apocalypse chapter fourteen: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, etc., that they may rest from their labors." And there is no one who is known to have returned from the netherworld. By this they intend to exclude the existence of the netherworld; but by the same reasoning they could say that death does not exist, because no dead person returns to life. Hence their reasoning does not hold, because from privation to possession there is no return according to nature; and therefore from the lower netherworld no one returns according to the common law; hence Job chapter seven: "He who descends to the netherworld shall not ascend." Some, however, are recorded to have returned by a privilege of grace, such as the youth whom John the Evangelist raised, and Trajan, whom Gregory raised. From the upper netherworld, however, Christ returned, and many others raised through him or through his disciples.

WIS 2:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

Because we are born from nothing, etc. Here is set forth the motivating cause on the part of nature: and first, from the consideration of human origin; second, from the consideration of composition, at: Because smoke: third, from the consideration of dissolution: Which being extinguished. (Verse 2). I have rightly said that there will be neither refreshment nor punishment, because there is no subject capable of receiving such things; because we are born from nothing, by immediate origin as regards the soul and by mediate origin as regards the body; hence Second Maccabees chapter seven: "Understand that God made these things from nothing, and the race of men." And after this, that is, after this life, we shall be as though we had never been, as if to say: we shall return to nothing, according to that saying of Damascene: "Everything that began from change is subject to change"; likewise Augustine: "It is natural that what is from nothing can be dissolved into nothing"; which is to be understood of the possibility of primary aptitude, not of necessity: because they are held by the hand of the Creator, lest they fall into nothing, as Gregory says. For smoke, namely with respect to the intrinsic corporeal vital spirit: smoke indeed is a fiery vapor, and the vital spirit is a subtle fiery body; and breath, that is, wind, with respect to the exterior corporeal spirit, which is breathed: James 4: "What is your life? It is a vapor appearing for a little while"; Job 7: "My life is a wind"; Psalm: "My days have vanished like smoke". In our nostrils, he says this specifically, giving the whole body to be understood from a part, on account of the easy departure, as if it were in the nostrils: likewise, on account of manifestation, because there, by breathing in and breathing out, it is more manifested. And the speech of a spark for moving our heart, "that is, the soul comparable to a spark," as the Gloss says; whence 2 Kings 14: "They seek to extinguish my spark." But the soul is called a word according to the reckoning of the unbelievers, because according to them it is nothing in reality, but only according to name or word: but it is compared to a spark, because according to some philosophers the soul was said to be of a fiery nature. Or better: the soul can be called a word from its effect, because namely it has the power of speaking: but it is compared to a spark on account of the subtlety of its nature and on account of the agility of its motion: whence below in chapter three: "And they shall run about like sparks among the reeds"; likewise, on account of the brevity of its duration, according to the unbelievers: whence the Gloss: "Comparable to a spark, which immediately becomes nothing." For moving our heart, "that is, for enlivening or animating," according to the Gloss: breathing is in our nostrils, that is, in our bodies, so ready to depart from the body, as breath from the nostril.

WIS 2:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

There follows: Because extinguished etc. I rightly said that the soul is compared to a spark, because it is quickly extinguished, because our body will be extinguished ash, namely after the extinguishing of the soul, which according to the unbelievers is extinguished in death. But the truer reading is: Which having been extinguished etc. Here he touches upon the motivating cause from the consideration of dissolution, and first, from the consideration of dissolution with respect to the body: second, with respect to the spirit, there: And the spirit shall be dispersed: third, with respect to life: And our life shall pass away etc. (Vers. 3.). He says therefore: Which, namely the soul, being extinguished, according to them, our body will be ashes: Ecclesiasticus seventeen: "All men are earth and ashes"; likewise Genesis eighteen: "I will speak to my Lord, since I am dust and ashes." For through the consumption of the natural moisture by heat, the body is consumed and turned into ashes; and the spirit, the bodily vital spirit, will be dispersed, namely by returning to its component principles, like soft air, that is, easily and invisibly; air is called soft because it does not resist touch. Or: the spirit, the incorporeal spirit, that is the soul, will be dispersed, that is, it will vanish and be dissolved, according to them, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The spirit shall pass through in him and shall not subsist," etc. And our life will pass away, that is, through the annihilation of its principles it will totally cease. And like the trace of a cloud, which does not appear after the dissolution of the cloud: Job thirty: "Like a cloud my well-being has passed away," namely temporal well-being; likewise chapter seven: "As a cloud is consumed and passes away, so he who descends to the netherworld shall not ascend." And it will be dissolved like a mist, which namely is the remnant of a cloud; for a cloud consists of a grosser and lower vapor, but mist of a thinner one. Which, namely the mist, was put to flight by the rays of the sun, the heat of the surrounding air uniting and driving away the parts of the cold vapor, and weighed down by its heat, the same heat driving the cold of the cloud to the interior parts and thus condensing per accidens the parts of that matter and thus weighing them down and afterward dissolving them into water: Job thirty-seven: "Suddenly the air will be gathered into clouds, and the passing wind will drive them away."

WIS 2:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

And our name, etc. Here is shown the motive cause on the part of fame or name: first the abolition of fame is touched upon; second, the reason for the abolition, at: For the passing of a shadow. (Vers. 4.). He says therefore: And our name, as if to say: not only will our essence or substance pass into nothing, but also our name, that is, fame as regards the person, will receive oblivion through time, that is, through the length of time: Proverbs ten: "The name of the wicked shall rot." And no one will have memory of our works, as regards life: Job eighteen: "Let his memory perish from the earth"; likewise in the Psalm: "Their memory has perished with a noise"; and on the contrary: "The just shall be in everlasting memory." But it is objected that the works of many reprobates, namely Cain, Pharaoh, Nero, etc., are still remembered. It must be said that this statement is the statement of the reprobates, and therefore it is not unfitting to say that it is false. Or it must be said that they are not remembered with a praiseworthy memory or one useful to them; and it is of this kind that he speaks here. But it is objected that the celebrated and praiseworthy deeds of many reprobates are remembered. To this it must be said that these were not theirs but God's in them, according to that text of Isaiah twenty-six: "All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord."

WIS 2:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

(Verse 5). For remembering, however, two things are required, namely a strong impression and frequent repetition, and he excludes both when he adds: For shadows etc.; the passing of a shadow, on account of the swiftness of passing, 1 Chronicles twenty-nine: "Our days are like a shadow upon the earth, and there is no delay"; a shadow, I say, of passing is our time, that is, what we spend on doing our own will, not God's; but the Lord will at some time take that very time for himself: Psalm: "When I shall receive the time, I will judge justices." And there is no return of our end, on account of the impossibility of returning: Job ten: "Before I go and do not return" etc. Because it is sealed, namely our return, that is, closed under a seal: the Gloss: "Sealed, as if not appearing, because it does not exist." And no one returns to life, namely according to the common law; Psalm: "Their graves are their homes forever," namely according to their opinion, but according to truth all will at some time rise again through divine power: whence 1 Corinthians fifteen: "Indeed we shall all rise again" etc. It should be noted, however, that the life and condition of the impious is said to be smoke on account of the blinding of the rational faculty, below in the same chapter: "Their malice has blinded them"; likewise Romans one: "Their foolish heart was darkened." It is likened to a breath on account of the restless disturbance of the irascible faculty, Isaiah fifty-seven: "The impious are like a raging sea"; to a spark, on account of the inflammation of the concupiscible faculty, Ecclesiasticus twenty-three: "A heated soul like a burning fire will not be quenched"; to air, on account of the emptiness of intention; to ashes, on account of the fruitlessness of works, below in chapter three: "Their works are useless"; to a thick cloud, on account of opposition to grace; to a light mist, on account of the elevation or elation of the mind; to a shadow, on account of outward dissimulation.

WIS 2:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

Come therefore etc. Here he describes the unjust life, and first is touched upon the concord of the unjust and their mutual exhortation to the dissolution of their own life; second, the oppression of the just, at: Let us oppress etc. First, therefore, they exhort one another to devote themselves to dissolution: first, swiftly; second, abundantly, at: With costly wine etc.; third, openly, at: Let us crown; fourth, in common or universally, at: Let none of us; fifth, merrily, at: Let us leave everywhere. (Vers. 6.). Come therefore, as if they were saying: since the present life passes away, and we do not hope for a future one; come therefore etc. Come, they say, because as Seneca says, "the possession of no thing is pleasant without a companion"; and therefore they exhort one another. For this is the invitatory at the matins of the devil. For it should be noted that just as the Church of the just has different invitatories and Venite according to different feasts, so too does the synagogue of sinners. One is of vanity: Genesis 11: "Come, and let us make for ourselves a city and a tower." Another, of iniquity: Genesis 37: "Come, and let us kill him and cast him into an old cistern." The third, of avarice and cupidity: Proverbs 1: "Come with us" etc. The fourth, of pleasure, which is treated here, namely: Come, and let us enjoy the good things that are etc. To these corresponds that saying of Matthew 25: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the fire" etc. Let us enjoy, I say, with loving affection, desiring nothing beyond; "for to enjoy is to cling with love to something for its own sake"; the good things that are, that is, present goods, and let us use, taking delight in the effect: Augustine: "To use is to take something into the power of the will"; Augustine: "The whole evil of man is to enjoy things that should be used and to use things that should be enjoyed." Let us use, I say, the creature, namely with contempt for the Creator: for otherwise it would not be a sin to use the creature. As in youth, that is, as long as we are young: because the senses of the young perceive pleasure more than those of the old: whence 2 Kings 19: "I am eighty years old today; are my senses still vigorous?" etc.; therefore Ecclesiastes 11: "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth." Swiftly: The Gloss: "Lest we and those things pass away before we enjoy them," according to that saying of Isaiah 22: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die."

WIS 2:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

With costly wine, inwardly as regards taste, arousing warmth from within; and with ointments, outwardly as regards touch, arousing warmth from without: let us fill ourselves, through superfluous and immoderate use; Amos 6: "Drinking wine in bowls and anointed with the finest ointment" etc. And let not the flower of time pass us by, that is, pleasantness as regards sight: Jeremiah 48: "Give a flower to Moab" etc. Such people care nothing for the fruit of the heavenly autumn, but only for the flower of the present spring.

WIS 2:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

Let us crown ourselves with roses before they wither: Isaiah 40: "The flower has fallen"; and chapter 28: "Woe to the falling flower"! Let us crown ourselves with roses, for delight as regards smell: but "woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim"; Isaiah 28.

WIS 2:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

Let no meadow be that our wantonness does not pass through, that is, no pleasant place: this is said as regards the universality of place: Jeremiah 2: "On every high hill and under every leafy tree you lay down, O harlot." Let none of us, this is said as regards the universality of persons. Such was Sodom, in which not even ten just men could be found, as is clear from Genesis 18. Let none, I say, of us be without a share in our wantonness, that is, without a lot, that is, lacking a part or exempt from it. Everywhere let us leave signs of our merriment: this is said as regards universality in deed: Ezekiel 16: "At every head of the way you built a sign of your prostitution." For this, namely such a dissolute life, is our portion, namely on the part of the soul: and of clay is the lot ours, namely on the part of the body. Or: portion and lot are the same in reality, but they differ in concept, because portion is named from the side of the one receiving, lot from the side of the one giving: Isaiah 57: "In the parts of the torrent is your portion, this is your lot." On the contrary, the just man says: "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance"; likewise: "God of my heart, and God is my portion forever."

WIS 2:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

Let us oppress the just poor man etc. Here he describes the unjust life as regards the oppression of the good, first, because they oppress without reverence for the person: second, because without fear of justice, at the words: But let our strength etc. (Vers. 10. 11.). Let us oppress: The Gloss: "It is the voice of the lost"; the just poor man, that is, anyone whatsoever: Job 24: "They have equally oppressed the meek of the earth." And let us not spare the widow: Psalm: "They slew the widow and the stranger" etc.; nor let us reverence the grey hairs of the aged of many years, that is, any old man whatsoever; Baruch 4: "They have not reverenced the old man." Allegorically this is expounded concerning heretics, who do not spare the just poor man, that is, the Christian people; nor the widow, that is, the Church; nor the aged, that is, the Apostles and Prophets.

WIS 2:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

But let our strength be the law of injustice, that is, let us consider everything lawful, whatever we are able to do: Habakkuk 1: "Judgment has arisen and contention is more powerful." Or: of justice: whence the interlinear gloss: "As if we should have strength in place of justice," that is, what we cannot do through justice, let us do through violence. For what is weak etc., as if to say: let us not oppress only the poor and weak, such as widows and the elderly, but whomever we can; for what is weak, namely in itself, such as the widow, the poor, and the elderly: is found useless, namely to others: whence for such persons little or nothing is to be cared about. Not so did the Lord think, who "chose the weak things of the world to confound the strong, and the ignoble things of the world and the contemptible" etc. Not so Paul, who said that "power is made perfect in weakness," 2 Corinthians 12.

WIS 2:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

Specifically, the persecution of Christ is described, first with regard to the threefold cause. Let us therefore beset the just man etc. Here he specifically describes the persecution of Christ, and first he touches upon the cause; second, the end, at: Let us see therefore, if his words etc.; third, the manner, at: With insult and torment etc. The cause, on account of which the Jews persecuted Christ, he touches upon in three ways: first, on the part of their works; second, on the part of their thoughts, at: He has become to us; third, on the part of their words, at: As triflers. In the first part, on the part of works, he touches upon a threefold cause, of which the first is the detestation of the works of the Jews; the second, the reproaching and defaming of those transgressions, at: And he reproaches us etc.; the third, the commendation of Christ, at: He promises etc. (Vers. 12.). Let us therefore ensnare etc. Because I said: Let our strength be the law of injustice, and we cannot do this unless we ensnare the just one: let us therefore ensnare the just one etc., so that, namely, we may freely exercise the law of our strength. Let us ensnare, I say, through deceit, the just one, that is, Christ, who by antonomasia is called the just one: Jeremiah twenty-three: "This is the name by which they shall call him: The Lord our just one"; "because he committed no" actual "sin," First Peter two; nor did he contract original sin in his conception: whence Jeremiah twenty-three: "I will raise up for David a just branch," that is, Christ in the branch, that is, in his conception: Isaiah forty-five: "Let justice spring up together" etc. Or: Let us ensnare etc., can be the voice of any wicked persons against any just person, against which the Apostle warns in First Thessalonians four: "Let no one defraud his brother in business"; just as he himself had not done so; whence Second Corinthians seven: We "have injured no one," namely by deed; "have corrupted no one," namely by evil example; "have defrauded no one," namely by word. Because he is useless to us: The Gloss: "Although they saw his usefulness in all things," according to that passage in Acts ten: "Who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil." But they considered him useless to themselves in temporal matters: whence John eleven: "The Romans will come and take away our place and our nation." And he is contrary to our works, namely as good is contrary to evil, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus thirty-three: "Against evil stands good, and against the just man stands the sinner." And he reproaches us with sins against the Law, that is, because we sin by transgressing the Law: whence John seven: "Did not Moses give you the Law, and none of you keeps the Law"? And he spreads abroad against us, that is, against us, or turning back upon us, the sins of our training, that is, by saying that we sin by teaching our traditions, or by holding them, or by making others hold them; whence Matthew fifteen: "Why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your traditions"?

WIS 2:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

(Vers. 13.). He professes to have the knowledge of God: The Gloss: "That is, to know all things as God," and this with respect to essence. And he calls himself the Son of God, "that is, consubstantial and coeternal with God," with respect to person: John five: "He called God his Father, making himself equal to God." Thus any just person has the knowledge of God in the intellect, and is a son of God by grace in the affections; whence in the Psalm: "I said: You are gods," namely knowing good and evil, "and all of you sons of the Most High."

WIS 2:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

He has become for us an exposer. Here is set forth the moving cause on the part of thoughts, and first is touched upon the manifestation of the thoughts of the Jews through Christ; second, the effect of the manifestation, caused not on the part of Christ, but on the part of the Jews, namely their envy, at: He is grievous etc. (Verse 14.). He has become for us an exposer, that is, a revealer, of our thoughts: The Gloss: "He brings our thoughts into the light," that is, he leads them out into knowledge; whence Matthew 9: "Why do you think evil in your hearts?" So traducere is understood in Matthew 1, namely as to expose, where it says: "He was not willing to expose her."

WIS 2:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

(Verse 15.). He is grievous for us even to behold, namely on account of the manifestation of their sins; Augustine: "To sick eyes the light is hateful"; John 3: "He who does evil hates the light." But this, that they could not bear to see him, was a sign of envy; whence 1 Kings 18: "Saul did not look upon David with favorable eyes," namely because he envied him. Because his life is unlike that of others, namely his entire outward life or conduct. On the contrary: Hebrews 2: "He ought to be made like his brethren in all things." It must be said that the Apostle speaks of likeness in passible nature; here, of likeness in fault. It should be noted, moreover, that his life or conduct was unlike others both with respect to its beginning, because he was conceived and born without sin: Isaiah 6: "The holy seed shall be that which has stood in her," that is, in Mary; Matthew 1: "That which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit." And with respect to its middle, because he lived without sin: 1 Peter 2: "He committed no sin, nor was deceit found" etc. And with respect to its end, because he died without any debt of death: the Psalm: "What I did not seize, I was then paying back." And his ways are changed: The Gloss: "They have been made unlike," namely his deeds and his teaching: Isaiah 55: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways, says the Lord."

WIS 2:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

As triflers etc. Here is touched upon the moving cause on the part of speech, and first is set forth their reprobation; second, the approbation of others, at: And he prefers the last things etc.; third, his self-commendation, at: And he boasts that he has God for a father. (Vers. 16.). As therefore we were regarded as triflers by him, that is, doing and saying vain things: Zephaniah 3: "I will gather the triflers, who had departed from the law." And he abstains from our ways: The Gloss: "That is, from our actions and traditions"; as from unclean things, and indeed justly, because they were truly unclean: whence Ezekiel 36: "Their way was made before me like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman." And he prefers the last things of the just, that is, the end, and indeed deservedly, because "the death of sinners is the worst," but the death of the just is precious, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints"; therefore in Numbers 23 Balaam said: "Let my soul die the death of the just, and let my last end be like theirs." Or according to the Gloss: He prefers the last things of the just, "that is, eternal life to pleasure." And he boasts that he has God for his Father: John 8: "It is my Father who glorifies me."

WIS 2:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

Second, the persecution of Christ is described with regard to its purpose. Let us see therefore, if the words etc. Here in the person of the Jews he first touches upon the purpose of the persecution of Christ, which was that they wanted to know the truth about Christ; second, it is added how they could know this, at the words: For if he is the true Son of God, etc. (Vers. 17. 18.). Let us see, etc., as if they were saying: since he so boasts, let us see, as it were from afar, by deliberating about his death: John 11: "The chief priests and Pharisees gathered a council" against Jesus. Let us see, I say, if his words are true, namely, that he is truly the Son of God. This the centurion saw and recognized, who, seeing him expire with a cry and the earthquake and other signs, said in Matthew 27: "Truly this was the Son of God." And let us test him, from close at hand, namely by crucifying him and exposing him to death: what will come upon him, namely whether he will be able to free himself: Matthew 27: "He saved others, he cannot save himself." And we shall know, or: so that we may know, what his last end will be, namely whether he will rise again. And this we shall know by guarding his tomb: whence Matthew 27: "Lord, we have remembered that that deceiver said while he was still living: After three days I will rise again."

WIS 2:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

For if he is the true Son of God, as he foretold, not through the grace of adoption, as we are, but through the natural property of eternal generation: he will receive him, namely in glory: Isaiah forty-two: "Behold, my servant, I will receive him." And he will deliver him, namely from punishment: and this is what follows: From the hands of adversaries, that is, of those who crucified him, who were his adversaries. God did both for him: for he delivered him from punishment, according to that word of the Psalm: "My deliverer from my wrathful enemies," namely on the very day of the passion, after he endured temporal death: and he raised him up, but not immediately, but on the third day, according to that word of Zephaniah three: "Wait for me on the day of my resurrection"; and he received him with glory on the day of the ascension: whence in the Psalm: "With glory you have received me."

WIS 2:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

Third, the persecution of Christ is described with respect to the special mode of oppression. Let us examine him with insult and torment, etc. Here he touches upon the special mode of oppression, and first, with respect to those things disposing toward death: second, with respect to death itself: By a most shameful death, etc. (Vers. 19. 20.). He says therefore: With insult, namely of words: and with torment, namely of blows: Hebrews eleven: "The saints experienced mockeries and beatings"; let us examine him, that is, let us test him. So it was done, as is clear from Matthew twenty-seven and John nineteen, because he was mocked with insulting words and struck with scourges and at last fastened with nails to the gibbet of the cross. That we may know his reverence, that is, the humility with which he reverences God: Hebrews five: "He was heard because of his reverence." And let us test his patience, namely through torments: that is, whether he is truly humble and patient. And truly so, because "when he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten," First Peter two. Gregory: "What sort of person each one is within himself, an insult inflicted reveals."

WIS 2:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

By a most shameful death: The Gloss: "That is, by the death of the cross, which up to the passion of Christ was the punishment of the guilty, but now is the trophy of victory and the glory of the Church"; Augustine: "The cross passed from the punishments of robbers to the foreheads of emperors." And because the death of the cross was most shameful, therefore to show the usefulness of Christ's death the Apostle says in Philippians two: "He humbled himself, etc., even the death of the cross." Now the death of Christ was most shameful by reason of place, because it was outside the city at the place of Calvary, that is, the place where the heads of the beheaded were cast out, Matthew twenty-seven. By reason of time, because it was on a solemn day and at the greater hour, namely "the sixth hour," John nineteen. By reason of instrument, because it was on the wood of the cross: 1 Peter two: "He bore our sins in his body upon the wood." By reason of company, because it was among thieves, Luke twenty-three. By reason of reproach, because many reproaches were inflicted upon him as he hung, as is evident in Matthew twenty-seven. Let us condemn him. It should be noted that Pilate condemned him by authority; the Jews, by persuasion. For there shall be regard for him from his words, that is, knowledge of the truth of his words: the Gloss: "We shall see whether after death he is able to raise up his flesh; for he said: 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will rebuild it,'" John two.

WIS 2:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

These things they thought, and they erred. Here he shows that the life of such men is to be shunned as erroneous; and first he touches upon the meritorious cause of their error; second, the matter of their error: And they knew not, etc.; third, the author of their error: But by the envy of the devil, etc. (Vers. 21.). These things, namely the aforesaid, they thought, namely the impious, and they carried them out; and they erred: whence below in chapter five: "Therefore we have erred from the way of truth, and the light of justice has not shone upon us"; likewise Proverbs fourteen: "They err who work evil." For it blinded them, namely their interior eye, their malice: whence in the prayer of Jeremiah: "Woe to us, for we have sinned; therefore our eyes are darkened"; likewise 2 Corinthians four: "The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers."

WIS 2:22 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

And they knew not the mysteries of God, that is, the sacred and secret counsels and dispositions concerning the passion and resurrection of Christ; Ephesians three: "The mystery was made known to me, which in other generations was not known." Nor did they hope for the reward of justice; the Gloss: "That is, of the death of Christ," namely his exaltation through death, concerning which, Philippians two: "Wherefore God also exalted him." Nor did they judge: the Gloss: "That is, understand," the honor of holy souls, that is, the salvation of holy souls to be obtained through the death and resurrection of Christ: whence the Gloss: "They did not understand that the death of Christ is the honor and salvation of souls"; the Psalm: "They are exceedingly honored," etc.; likewise 1 Peter two: "To you therefore who believe, honor," etc.

WIS 2:23 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

And rightly I said: Honor, because God created man imperishable, that is, having the power not to die, on the part of the body: and to the image, namely on the part of the soul; Genesis 1: "Let us make man to our image and likeness"; to the image, namely in natural endowments: of his likeness, namely in gratuitous gifts: or: to the image, in the cognitive power: to the likeness in the affective power: for image is the principle of knowing, likeness the ground of loving; for "every animal loves its like," Ecclesiasticus 13. He made him.

WIS 2:24 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 2

But by the envy of the devil, who envied the happiness of the first parents, death entered into the world. Against this: Romans 5: "By one man sin entered, and by sin death." It must be said that death entered through the devil suggesting and through man consenting. But they imitate him, namely the devil, by envying the just, who are of his party, namely the impious, who are of the party of the devil. "For he himself is the head of all the wicked," as Gregory says.

WIS 3:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

In the first part, on the side of the retribution of the just, there is touched upon first their liberation from evil: second, their reward in good: The just shall shine, etc. In the first, there is touched upon first their liberation from the evil of eternal damnation: second, from the evil of temporal death, at: They seemed in the eyes, etc.; third, from the evil of present vexation or tribulation: And if before men they suffered torments. (Verse 1). But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, etc. Rabanus continues thus: "In the preceding chapter the sentence of the wicked was expressed, which they brought forth against Christ: now they are condemned for foolishness, because they think the Saints perish, whom they slaughter for his confession." But it can be continued in this way: I rightly said that those "who are on his side" "imitate" the devil. But, standing for "however"; the souls of the just, etc., "that is, of the Martyrs," according to the Gloss: which is also true of other just persons, but Martyrs are called especially just, because "just is he who disregards loss for the sake of a friend," as is found in Proverbs 12: and this the Martyrs do especially, because for Christ they disregard the loss of possessions and of carnal friends and even of their own bodies, as is clear from Hebrews 11. The souls, I say, of the just: he does not say bodies, because "the earth," that is, the body made from earth, "is given into the hands of the wicked," Job 9. He does not say temporal goods: Job 1: "Behold, all that he has is in your hand," etc. But the souls are in the hand of God, that is, in his protection, and therefore they are secure; Psalm: "He who dwells in the aid of the Most High," etc.; John 10: "No one shall snatch them from my hand." And the torment of death shall not touch them, namely "eternal" death, as the Gloss says: whence Job 5: "In six tribulations he will deliver you, and in the seventh no evil shall touch you," that is, the torment of Gehenna. This torment is described in Job 24: "From the waters of snow he shall pass to excessive heat"; likewise in a Psalm: "He shall rain snares upon sinners, fire," etc. By the name of death, taken in its general sense, is understood here eternal death, because that is true death: but temporal death is as it were the shadow of death: for it is a certain passage to life, according to that saying in John 5: "He does not come into judgment," namely of condemnation, "but has passed from death to life."

WIS 3:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

(Vers. 2.). They seemed to the eyes etc. It should be noted that the wicked and unbelieving regard the death of the Saints as death in the separation of the conjunction of soul to body, affliction in the pain of the conjoined, destruction in the perdition of the soul, which they regard as perishing with the body; the way of destruction with regard to the subsequent incineration of the body. According to this it is read thus: They seemed, that is the just, in the eyes of the foolish to die, namely by eternal death, when nevertheless they pass over to a better life. Whence Augustine: "God bestowed so great a grace upon the Christian faith that death, which is known to be contrary to life, became an instrument through which one might pass over to life." In the eyes, he says, of the foolish, who "set their eyes to decline toward the earth," that is, who consider only present things and not future things: and therefore to such people they seem utterly to die, but in the eyes of the wise they seem to be born, on account of which the death of the Saints is called a birthday, according to that passage in Job 11: "When you think yourself consumed, you shall rise as the morning star." And it was accounted, namely by the impious, as affliction, namely alone without any benefit, their departure, from the body, when nevertheless it is for them a consolation, according to that passage in Philippians 1: "Having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ." Bernard: "The Saints hold death in desire, life in patience." But for the reprobate, there is affliction of departure in their death, and this because, as the same Bernard says, "for them there is pain in departure, horror in passage, shame in the sight of God."

WIS 3:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

(Vers. 3.). And from the just path, that is from the way of justice, they went away into destruction: the Gloss: "That is, in the estimation of the wicked," because "they regard the palm of martyrdom as affliction and destruction," that is, a retreat into nothingness as regards the soul, which they think is reduced to nothing: and repeat: the just went away, in the estimation of the impious, into the way of destruction, that is incineration, as regards the body; which destruction or way of destruction is from us, that is from our first parents: Romans 5: "Through one man death entered the world." Or: destruction he calls temporal death, because it excludes from the present life: way however of destruction he calls eternal death, because it excludes from eternal life: Baruch 3: "They were destroyed and descended to the netherworld." And with this, there one passes or goes from deadly punishment to deadly punishment, according to that passage in Job 24: "From the waters of snow he shall pass to excessive heat." Such people err in thinking thus: whence below in chapter 5: "We fools accounted their life madness and their end without honor." But they are in peace; the Gloss: "Of perpetual rest, now in hope, at last in reality"; Apocalypse 14: "From henceforth now, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors." For the end of the just is peace: whence Isaiah 32: "The work of justice shall be peace."

WIS 3:4-5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

And if before men etc. Here is touched upon the deliverance from the evil of present vexation, and first the deliverance in hope: second in reality, at: Afflicted in few things etc.; third the cause of both, at: For God tested them etc. (Verses 4, 5). It is said therefore: And if, that is, although, before men: the Gloss: "Because before God is the crown of glory"; they suffered torments, namely various and grievous ones, as is evident in the Martyrs, concerning whom Hebrews eleven says: "They were stoned, they were cut asunder" etc. Their hope, namely of the just, according to that saying of Proverbs fourteen: "The just man hopes in his death": is full of immortality, an immortality, I say, not such as was the immortality of the first parents, namely with the possibility of dying; not such as that of the damned in hell, namely with the perpetual desire of dying: Revelation nine: "They shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them"; not such as that of little children in limbo, namely with the lack of the glorious life, but such as that of the Blessed in heaven: Romans five: "We glory in the hope of the glory of the children of God". And rightly they hope, because, afflicted in few things, the Gloss: "Bodily"; in many things they shall be well disposed: Matthew twenty-five: "Because you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things"; Luke twenty-two: "I dispose to you a kingdom" etc. But what those many things are, is said in Isaiah sixty-four: "Eye has not seen, O God, apart from you, what you have prepared for those who wait for you". But there is a doubt about what it says: Afflicted in few things etc., because it is said in Hebrews eleven: "They were stoned, they were cut asunder" etc. It must be said that their torments were many in themselves, but few by comparison: first, by comparison with their own estimation, according to that saying of Genesis twenty-nine: "The days seemed to him," namely to Jacob, "few because of the greatness of his love." Second, by comparison with the Passion of Christ: Lamentations one: "O all you who pass by the way"; likewise in the Psalm: "They were swallowed up, joined to the rock," namely to Christ, "their judges," that is, the Apostles themselves and other Martyrs. Third, by comparison with the future reward: Romans eight: "The sufferings are not worthy" etc.; likewise, Second Corinthians four: "That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation works for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory." Fourth, by comparison with eternal affliction: Job six: "He who fears the frost, upon him shall the snow rush." Fifth, by comparison with the debt and the obligation, that is, the punishment owed on account of things omitted and the obligation on account of things committed: the Psalm: "What shall I render to the Lord for all the things that he has rendered to me"? For God tested them etc. Here the cause of the aforesaid is touched upon, and first, their chastisement: second, their purification, there: As gold in the furnace etc.; third, the future recompense, there: And in the time there will be etc. I rightly said that they will be well disposed in many things, for God tested them: Gloss: "That is, He chastised them with various tribulations"; 2 Corinthians 6: "As chastised and not put to death." But to the contrary: "God tempts no one," as is found in James 1. It must be said that He does not test in order to learn, as a man does: Daniel 1: "Test us, I beseech you" etc.; nor in order to deceive, as the devil does; Matthew 4: "The tempter, approaching, said to Him" etc.; likewise 1 Corinthians 7: "Lest Satan tempt you"; but in order to instruct, as a master instructs a disciple; Psalm: "Prove me, O Lord, and test me" etc. And He found them worthy of Himself, namely "of the participation of His blessedness," which is acquired through tribulations: whence Acts 14: "Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of heaven"; l…

WIS 3:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

(Verse 6.) As gold in the furnace He tested them, namely on the part of the soul, purifying them through the fire of tribulations but not consuming them: Gloss: "Just as gold in the furnace is not burned up but is tested, so the Martyrs do not fail but are prepared for glory"; Sirach 2: "Gold and silver are tested in fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation," which, namely, comes through present tribulations: Job 23: "He tested me as gold that passes through fire." And as a victim of holocaust, which is entirely consumed in the sacrifice of the Lord's body: He received them, namely on the part of the body, by approving or accepting their devotion: Romans 12: "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God." And in the time, namely of retribution: Gloss: "The death of the Saints is not perpetual, but in the day of judgment there is abundant recompense"; there will be regard for them, that is, they will be regarded by God, namely with the eye of mercy, which the Psalmist sought, saying: "Look upon me and have mercy on me." Regard, I say, for them, that is, of the just, who now seem to be abandoned by God, according to that verse of the Psalm: "God, my God, look upon me, why have You forsaken me?"; likewise, to be despised, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Why do You turn Your face away?"

WIS 3:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

The just shall shine etc. After he has treated of deliverance from evil, here he adds concerning reward in good, first, as regards the stole of the body: second, as regards the honor of judicial power, there: They shall judge the nations etc.; third, as regards the glory of divine fruition, there: Those who trust in Him etc. (Vers. 7.). I said well that there will be in time a regard for them, because the just shall shine, namely by the endowment of clarity in the judgment as regards the substance of the body, according to that passage of Matthew thirteen: "Then the just shall shine as the sun"; but the sun shall shine sevenfold more than it does now: whence Isaiah thirty: "The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold." And they shall run about like sparks, that is, they shall be apt for running about through the endowment of agility, and this as regards the operation or motion of the body, according to that passage of Isaiah forty: "They that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles"; Augustine: "Where the spirit wills, there immediately shall the body also be." Like sparks, I say, in a bed of reeds, which they set ablaze and consume. A bed of reeds here signifies the assembly of the reprobate, because it is outwardly splendid through pretense, inwardly void of truth, laden with no fruit of good works, continually watered by the swamp of carnal concupiscence, agitated by the wind of pride, fit for eternal burning. In this bed of reeds the Saints are said to run about, trampling them underfoot; Malachi, last chapter: "You shall tread down the wicked." In the spark, moreover, the four endowments of the body can be noted, namely on account of its fiery clarity, subtlety, agility, and active power, through which impassibility can be understood.

WIS 3:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

(Vers. 8.). They shall judge nations. This is said specially of the perfect Saints, who shall judge and shall not be judged. For there shall be four orders in the judgment, as the Gloss says on that verse of the Psalm: "The wicked shall not rise in the judgment." But how shall the Saints judge, since it is written in John five: "The Father has given all judgment to the Son"? It must be said that there is a judgment of authority, by which the whole Trinity shall judge: of judicial examination, by which Christ alone as man shall judge: of assessorial dignity, by which only the more perfect Saints shall judge: of approbation, by which all the good shall judge: of comparison, by which the good, that is, the less wicked, shall judge: Matthew twelve: "The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it." And they shall have dominion over peoples, namely after the judgment: Revelation five: "We shall reign upon the earth," that is, over the earthly. Or: they shall have dominion over peoples, after death: Matthew fifteen: "The little dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters," that is, we of the benefits of the Blessed. And He shall reign, with them, or in them, their Lord, namely Christ: Revelation nineteen: "King of kings," etc.: forever: Luke one: "Of His kingdom there shall be no end"; Psalm: "Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages."

WIS 3:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

Who trust in him. Here he touches upon the glory of fruition: and he touches upon this in three respects, namely in the knowledge of truth, in the adherence to goodness, there: And the faithful in love: in the perfection of comprehension, there: For gift and peace is etc. (Vers. 9.). He says therefore: Who trust etc., as if to say, not only will they judge, but also those who trust in him, namely God, in the present, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Sion"; shall understand the truth, by open vision: First John 3: "We shall see him as he is": Gloss: "According to true confidence, the understanding of truth is given." And the faithful in love, that is, those loving him faithfully and inseparably, as the Apostle, who said: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ" etc., Romans 8: Ecclesiasticus 6: "To a faithful friend there is no comparison"; shall rest in him: Gloss: "Because in the future they will not be able to be torn from his fellowship, whom here they already held by faith and hope." Therefore rest in God through love will succeed the understanding of faith. For gift: Gloss: "Of eternal satisfaction"; Psalm: "I shall be satisfied when your glory shall appear"; likewise: "They shall be inebriated with the abundance of your house." And peace, "eternal," according to the Gloss: Isaiah 32: "My people shall sit in the beauty of peace": likewise Philippians 4: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding": is for his elect, the Saints, whom God chose from this world: John 15: "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you from the world." - This can also be expounded concerning present merit, which consists in the knowledge of truth through faith, in the conformity of human and divine will through love, so that gift is referred to the knowledge of faith, and peace to the tranquility of love.

WIS 3:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

But the ungodly, according to what they thought etc. Here he sets forth the reprobation of the opposite state; and first he shows that the error of the ungodly concerning their own impunity is false; second, that their opinion concerning the reward of the continent life is erroneous, there: For blessed is the barren: third, concerning the punishment of incontinence, there: But the children of adulterers etc. In the first part he touches first upon their punishment in themselves: second, the equity of the punishment, there: For wisdom and discipline etc.; third, the overflowing punishment even upon their own, there: Their wives are senseless etc. (Vers. 10.). There follows therefore: But the ungodly etc. I have rightly said that the just shall be so rewarded: but, for "yet": the ungodly, according to what they have thought, that is, by the desert of their evil thoughts, utterances, and works proceeding from their evil thoughts: shall have correction, "that is, punishment," as the Gloss says, whence it says: "When the just shall enter into rest, the ungodly shall go into eternal punishment." Who have neglected the just, in the neuter, "that is, justice"; or in the masculine, the just one, "that is, God himself," according to the Gloss, and this by omitting the good: Jeremiah 48, according to another reading: "Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord negligently"; Seneca: "Grave is the loss that comes through negligence." And they departed from the Lord, by openly committing evil; Jeremiah 2: "Know and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken your God"; evil, on account of the punishment of loss: bitter, on account of the punishment of sense; the Gloss says: "They depart from the Lord who cast away discipline and wisdom": and this is very evil.

WIS 3:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

(Vers. 11.). For wisdom etc. For, that is, "because": he who casts away, the Gloss says: "By working evil," wisdom, concerning eternal things, discipline, concerning temporal things: or rather: wisdom, of faith, discipline, of morals: is unhappy, namely his person, that is, unworthy of felicity. But on the contrary, "Blessed is the man who finds wisdom," Proverbs 3; and therefore in the same place: "My son, do not cast away the discipline of the Lord"; likewise Hebrews 12: "Do not neglect the discipline of the Lord." And empty is, namely in effect, their hope, the present one: the Gloss says: "By which they thought temporal things would be eternal, and sins would go unpunished": Ecclesiasticus 34: "Vain hope and falsehood to a senseless man." And labors, in enduring, without fruit: the Gloss says: "Of eternal reward"; Ecclesiastes 10: "The labor of fools shall afflict them." On the contrary, to the just one it is said: "You shall eat the labors of your hands; blessed are you, and it shall be well with you." From this it is clear that the life of the ungodly is laborious; whence below in chapter 5: "We have walked difficult ways," but unfruitful; whence Habakkuk 2: "For the peoples shall labor in much fire, and the nations in vain, and they shall fail." And their works are useless, in acting: useless, "because they do not merit the heavenly dwelling," as the Gloss says; Galatians 5: "They who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God." — From the foregoing it is clear that such persons shall incur four evils, which are: unhappiness of person, emptiness of hope, fruitlessness of labor, uselessness of work, or demeritorious work.

WIS 3:12-13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

(Vers. 12. 13.). Their wives etc., as if to say: not only they themselves, but also their wives, that is, their spouses, are senseless, that is, lacking wisdom; and most wicked are their children, because they are imitators of their father's wickedness—wickedness, I say, against themselves and against their neighbor and against God, and therefore most wicked. — Cursed is their creature, "that is, their handiwork," according to the Gloss; "for the wisdom which God created by blessing does not curse, but shows that the work of the reprobate is worthy of eternal malediction." According to the Gloss, these things can be expounded allegorically of heretics, so that we say: Wives, "that is, carnal pleasures, or perverse interpretations or doctrines"; and children, "that is, wicked works"; and their creature, that is, their disciples. — Or: cursed is the creature, not simply, but theirs, insofar as it comes to their misuse. For blessed is the barren etc. Here he shows the reward of the continent life, which the reprobate thought to be nothing; and first he shows this on the part of the feminine sex; second, on the part of the masculine sex: And the eunuch etc. He says therefore: For etc., as if to say: rightly did I say that their wives and the children begotten from their lust are cursed, because on the contrary blessed is the barren, that is, chaste in body—and he puts the consequent for the antecedent—and undefiled, in mind. Luke twenty-three: "Blessed are the barren and the wombs that have not borne": who has not known, by the knowledge of experience, the bed in transgression, "of adultery," says the Gloss. How great the sin of adultery is, is touched upon in Ecclesiasticus toward the end almost throughout, and in Proverbs six: "It is not a great fault when someone has stolen" etc.; and below: "But he who is an adulterer, through poverty of heart, shall destroy his own soul." The Gloss also expounds this of spiritual adultery, saying: "Blessed is the chaste and continent soul, which is polluted neither by heresy nor by idolatry." She shall have fruit: the Gloss says: "The fruit of eternal beatitude," namely either thirtyfold, which is owed to the married, or sixtyfold, which is owed to widows, or a hundredfold, which is owed to virgins. Concerning this manifold fruit, it is said in the parable of the seed in Luke eight: "And having sprung up, it bore fruit, some a hundredfold" etc. In the visitation of holy souls: the Gloss says: "On the day of judgment, when God shall look upon holy souls by rewarding them, and they themselves shall look upon him by contemplating him."

WIS 3:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

And the eunuch etc. Here on the part of the masculine sex, there is touched upon first the merit of continence; second, the reward, at: There shall be given etc.; third, the reason for the reward: For the fruits of good labors etc. (Verse 14.). It follows therefore: And the eunuch, "who namely made himself a eunuch for the sake of the kingdom of heaven," Matthew nineteen. Who has not wrought iniquity with his hands, that is, he has not committed the sin of incontinence in deed, but is clean in body. Nor has he thought most wicked things against God, that is, nor has he sinned by consent or will, but is clean in heart: for both kinds of purity are required: whence Augustine: "Where the Lord in judging shall find corruption of mind, He will condemn even the incorruption of body together with it." Such a eunuch, I say, repeat: is blessed, now in hope, but at last in reality. For there shall be given to him, in the present namely, a chosen gift of faith: of faith, I say, which makes blessed in hope, according to that passage in John twenty: "Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed." A chosen gift he calls the gift of faith, because it is given from divine election and makes men elect: Philippians one: "To you it has been given, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him." And a lot, that is, a portion in the future, in the temple of God: Gloss: "In heaven": Psalm: "The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord, His seat is in heaven." But on the contrary: Because Apocalypse twenty-one: "I saw no temple in it," namely in the heavenly city. It must be said that there is no material temple there, but a spiritual one. Most acceptable. It should be noted that a lot is acceptable in the goods of nature, more acceptable in the goods of grace, most acceptable in the goods of glory. This is the "best gift," of which James one speaks.

WIS 3:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

(Verse 15.). For the fruit of good labors is glorious: Gloss: "That is, eternal joy," First Corinthians three: "Each one shall receive his own reward according to his own labor." And the root of wisdom that does not fall, intransitively: "for wisdom is the root of this fruit." This root does not fall, because "it brings forth the fruit of perpetual salvation," according to the Gloss; Ecclesiasticus one: "The root of wisdom is to fear the Lord." This root is known to few; Psalm: "The fear of the Lord is not before their eyes"; Ecclesiasticus one: "To whom has the root of wisdom been revealed?"

WIS 3:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

But the children of adulterers etc. Here he determines the punishment of incontinence, which the reprobate thought to be nothing, and first the punishment to be inflicted on them in the future is touched upon; second, that inflicted in this world, at: And if indeed; third, the reason for the punishment, at: Nations etc. (Vers. 16.). He says therefore: Children etc. I have rightly said that the continent shall be rewarded; but, that is, however; the children of adulterers, namely imitators of paternal incontinence, shall come to destruction, "that is, to eternal destruction," according to the Gloss: Exodus twenty: "Visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children," namely the imitators of paternal wickedness. And from an unlawful bed, namely of adultery, the seed, supply: brought forth, shall be destroyed: The Gloss: "In the future," when namely they shall be cast beyond the borders of the land of the living: whence Baruch three: "They have been destroyed and have descended to the nether regions." The Gloss, however, expounds otherwise concerning children and seed, that is, concerning the disciples of heretics, to whom he here threatens the punishment of sense and the punishment of loss, because they adulterate the word of God. Concerning such it is said in Second Corinthians two: "We are not as many, adulterating the word of God."

WIS 3:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

(Vers. 17.). And if indeed they shall be of long life, namely in this world, they shall be counted as nothing, namely without any value in themselves: Augustine: "Sin is nothing, and men become nothing when they sin." Or: they shall be counted as nothing, according to the Gloss: "That is, their memory shall forever lack blessing." And without honor, namely shown by others, First Kings two: "Those who despise me shall be ignoble." Without honor, I say, shall be the last old age of those, which nevertheless ought to be revered: whence Leviticus nineteen: "Honor the person of the elder"; likewise here below in chapter four: "Old age is venerable, not by length of time nor reckoned by the number of years."

WIS 3:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

(Vers. 18. 19.). And if they have died more quickly, that is, overtaken by death, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Men of blood and deceit shall not live out half their days." They shall have no hope, that is, the thing hoped for after death, namely eternal life, because "the hope of the wicked shall perish," Proverbs 10. Nor in the day of recognition, namely the universal one, which will be at the judgment, according to the Gloss. Now the day of judgment is called the day of recognition with respect to the good, because then they will be recognized by God, just as the brothers of Joseph were by him, Genesis 45. Likewise, with respect to the wicked, because their hidden things will be made known; 1 Corinthians 4: "He will illuminate the hidden things of darkness," etc. Likewise, with respect to God himself, because he will be known by the Saints: 1 Corinthians 13: "Then I shall know, even as I am known." Likewise, with respect to Christ as man, because then he will be openly seen by all: Isaiah 40: "All flesh shall see what the mouth of the Lord has spoken"; likewise of the same, 52: "All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God"; likewise Revelation 1: "Every eye shall see him." Likewise, with respect to the world itself, in which then nothing will be hidden or concealed, according to that passage of the Psalm: "The foundations of the world were revealed." Nor in the day, I say, of recognition, repeat: they shall have, an address, that is, a gentle or consolatory one, but a most harsh dismissal: whence Matthew 25: "Depart from me, you cursed," etc.

WIS 3:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 3

For wicked nations, that is, doers or imitators of iniquity, are of a dreadful end, that is, conclusion, namely they have harshness of punishment in the end, whatever may be the case regarding the beginning, or regarding the middle, because: The last things do not correspond to the first by the same course; Ecclesiasticus 41: "The inheritance of the children of sinners shall perish, and with their seed shall be a perpetual reproach."

WIS 4:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

O how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory! He says this in admiration: beautiful, "with regard to works"; a chaste generation, "with regard to innocence of mind"; with brightness, "with regard to the splendor of virtues," according to the Gloss. Song of Songs 4: "You are all beautiful, my beloved" etc.; likewise Luke 12: "Let your loins be girded," through innocence, "and lamps burning," through the splendor of virtues; "and you yourselves like men waiting for their lord," through solicitude for good works. And I rightly said that it is beautiful, namely with spiritual beauty. For the memory of it is immortal, through happy remembrance: Proverbs 10: "The memory of the just is with praises." For it is known also with God, through approbation: 2 Timothy 2: "The Lord knows who are his." And with men, namely those who use reason and are wise, through praise or the continuation of praise; Sirach 44: "Let the peoples declare the wisdom," namely of the Saints, "and let the Church proclaim their praise."

WIS 4:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

For when it is present, "namely in the present life," they imitate it, as a most beautiful exemplar; Philippians 3: "Be imitators of me." And they desire it, namely to see the beautiful and chaste generation of the just, namely for imitation: when it has departed, from this life through death: Job 9: "They have passed like ships carrying fruit," which namely leave behind their fragrance after their passage: Song of Songs 1: "We will run after the fragrance of your ointments." It should be noted that God leads the just out of the present life effectively, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Lead forth from custody," that is, from prison, "my soul." But they themselves lead themselves out by consenting, or by desiring and asking for this: in the Psalm: "My soul has thirsted for God, the living fountain; when shall I come and appear before the face of God?" And crowned forever, namely with the crown of perpetual life; Apocalypse 2: "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." She triumphs, that is, by triumphing she acquires the prize of undefiled contests, that is, what is owed to undefiled contests, that is, not defiled by a lack of perseverance: the prize, I say, conquering, a prize given for a competitive contest, as the Gloss says, whence 1 Corinthians 9: "They, that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one." Or: a conquering prize, that is, surpassing the magnitude of persecutions, according to that verse in Romans 8: "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the future glory that will be revealed in us"; whence the Gloss: "A prize that is greater than those contests and persecutions which they endured in the present."

WIS 4:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

But of manifold kind etc., as if to say: such is the beautiful and chaste generation of the just. But (in the sense of "however"): the manifold multitude of the impious, etc.; Ecclesiastes 1: "The number of fools is infinite." Here he touches upon a threefold plurality or multitude of the impious in three words, namely because it is scattered through diverse errors with respect to the rational power, against which James 3: "Do not become many masters"; likewise, through diverse appetites with respect to the concupiscible power: Hosea 10: "Their heart is divided, now they shall perish"; likewise, through diverse hatreds with respect to the irascible power: Micah 3: "Jerusalem shall be a heap of stones," that is, without the cement of charity. He touches upon or indicates the first through what he says: Of manifold kind, that is, generating many errors: the second, through what he says: Multitude, as if without the unity or bond of charity: the third, through what he says: Of the impious, in the plural, that is, without piety, but with much cruelty. The manifold, I say, multitude of the impious will not be useful, "indeed harmful," as the Gloss says; Isaiah 30: "They were not for help or for any usefulness, but for confusion and for reproach." But on the contrary: "Because, as Augustine says, if there were fewer wicked than good, they would not dare to try the good"; but this trial is useful for the good, because Gregory says that "he cannot be Abel whom the malice of Cain does not try." Likewise in the Psalm: "Upon my back sinners have wrought," namely, a perpetual crown for me. But it must be said that the just will not obtain this benefit from the intention of the wicked, because they do not intend to benefit them, but from their own goodness, or from their own good will, making good use of their evils. And spurious shoots shall not take deep root, etc. So reads the text of Rabanus and all the ancients; likewise Ambrose in a certain letter says to certain persons: "You are noble shoots," that is, noble plantings. But Augustine says that it would be better said adulterous plantings; and on account of this adulterous plantings remained in the text in the newer Bibles. It should be noted, however, that shoots are fruitless plants which grow beside the trunk of the vine, whence vitulamen is said from vitis (vine); or according to some it is said from vitulus (calf), because such a plant grows in land plowed by calves or oxen. Spurious, however, means the same as ignoble or degenerate; whence spurious shoots, that is, degenerate or unnatural plantings, and adulterous plantings, that is, impious generations, born from spiritual adultery, namely, multiplied through the propagation of impiety: Matthew 12: "An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign." They shall not take deep root, in themselves, that is, thoughts and affections reaching toward heaven, but fixed in the earth. For man according to the Philosopher is an inverted tree; whence he ought to send and fix his roots upward, namely, his intellect and affection; whence in the Psalm: "The meditation of my heart is always in your sight"; likewise: "Our feet were standing in your courts, O Jerusalem"; likewise: "Lord, before you is all my desire"; likewise Colossians 3: "Seek the things that are above," namely, by searching with the intellect; "savor the things that are above," by savoring with the affection; the Psalm: "Taste and see." Nor shall they establish a stable support, or foundation, namely of right faith toward God: for faith is as it were the foundation of the spiritual edifice; whence Hebrews 11: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for," etc.; 1 Corinthians 3: "No one can lay another foundation besides that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus," that is, faith concerning Christ Jesus. Otherwise, according to the Gloss, it is expounded concerning heretics and their disciples.

WIS 4:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

And if in the branches, that is, in exterior goods, etc. Such were the branches of that Babylonian tree, namely Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel chapter four. They budded for a time, that is, for a short time they showed some beginning of good, according to that passage of Isaiah chapter eighteen: "The unripe fruit shall bud forth." Being weakly established, "that is, for an hour," as the Gloss says; or: weakly established, that is, feebly rooted in good, they shall be shaken by the wind, that is, by a lighter temptation, according to that passage of Ezekiel chapter seventeen: "Shall it not wither when the burning wind touches it?" And by the violence of winds, that is, by a more severe persecution, they shall be uprooted: the Gloss: "They shall be utterly torn out"; Matthew chapter fifteen: "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted."

WIS 4:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

For the imperfect branches shall be broken off, namely, without hope of restoration, by the most severe persecution: Job chapter fifteen: "The flame shall wither his branches"; or: for the imperfect branches shall be broken off, that is, their teachings or works lacking the perfection of charity; Colossians chapter three: "Above all things have charity, which is the bond of perfection." And their fruit, namely their own, that is, their evil works, according to that passage of Matthew chapter seven: "A bad tree brings forth bad fruit"; is useless, so as not to nourish: Isaiah chapter fifty-nine: "Their works are useless works." And bitter to eat, so as not to delight but to torment: Deuteronomy chapter thirty-two: "Their grape is a grape of gall, and their cluster most bitter"; Ezekiel chapter eighteen: "The fathers have eaten a sour grape," etc. And fit for nothing, so that they profit in nothing from themselves: Ezekiel chapter fifteen: "When it was whole, it was not fit for any work: how much more, when the fire has devoured it."

WIS 4:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

From the wicked, etc., as if to say: truly the manifold multitude of the ungodly shall not be profitable, etc. For all children who are born from the wicked, not only by birth of propagation, but also of imitation, concerning which John chapter eight says: "You are of your father the devil." They are witnesses of wickedness against their parents, through the likeness of depravity, in their examination, that is, in the scrutiny of divine judgment, for God the just judge "will examine their works," below in chapter six; likewise their words: Matthew chapter twelve: "Of every idle word," etc.; likewise their thoughts: above in chapter one: "There shall be examination of the thoughts of the ungodly," etc. Allegorically, the Gloss expounds this concerning heretics, who are a manifold multitude, because they are divided through the diverse sects of diverse heresiarchs: who are useless to the Church, nay rather harmful, because they persecute her. Adulterous plantings are their disciples, who are generated from their erroneous doctrine. They do not put down deep roots, because they are not established in Christ, God and man. Their branches are unstable, because, if they seem to have anything good, in a time of persecution they are uprooted from the Church. Their fruit is useless, because by their doctrines and expositions simple people are poisoned. Their children are witnesses of wickedness against their parents, because from the multiplication of disciples the errors of the master will be more gravely condemned.

WIS 4:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

But the just man, etc., as if to say: thus it is with the wicked: but, standing for however: if the just man shall have been overtaken by death, that is, prevented by death hastened before its time, according to that passage in Isaiah thirty-eight: "While I was yet beginning, he cut me off." He well said: overtaken, because the just man cannot die by sudden death, that is, by unforeseen death, because it is said in the Psalm concerning the person of the just man: "I foresaw the Lord in my sight always," etc.; likewise: "My soul is in my hands always," as if to say: I am prepared to render it up, whenever it shall please God that I die. The just man, I say, if he shall have been overtaken, shall be in refreshment, namely of eternal rest: the Psalm: "We passed through fire and water, and you led us out into refreshment."

WIS 4:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

For old age etc., as if to say: nor does the being overtaken in age cause harm: for venerable old age etc.: the Gloss: "Not the age of the body, but the maturity of life and the uprightness of morals is praised"; venerable, I say, that is, worthy of veneration before God and the Angels and just men: is not of long duration, by a multitude of days: Job thirty-two: "The wise are not long-lived"; nor reckoned by the number of years, that is, nor by a multitude of years. "For a child of a hundred years shall die, and a sinner of a hundred years shall be accursed," Isaiah sixty-five.

WIS 4:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

For gray hairs are the understanding of a man, that is, in place of gray hairs: the Gloss: "As if to say: he is well gray-haired who is well endowed with understanding," according to that passage in Daniel thirteen: "God has given you the honor of old age," that is, discretion and wisdom, which is wont to be in the elderly, according to that passage in Job twelve: "In the ancients is wisdom, and in length of time prudence"; likewise Sirach twenty-five: "The crown of the aged is great experience." And the age of old age, that is, supplying the place of age, an unspotted life, "as if to say: well is the old man who is clean and simple": Proverbs 16: "Old age is a crown of dignity, which shall be found in the ways of justice."

WIS 4:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

Pleasing God, namely through true faith, according to that passage in Hebrews 11: "Without faith it is impossible to please God": he was made beloved, on account of perfect love, according to that passage in Proverbs 8: "I love those who love me": and living, namely through grace, not dying through sin; among sinners, namely undefiled, which is a very great thing, since it is written in the Psalm: "With the perverse you shall be perverted"; but the just man is as a lily among thorns, because he neither loses the brightness of his purity nor the fragrance of his good name: Song of Songs 2: "As the lily among thorns" etc. He was taken away, from the exile of this world to the heavenly homeland, from death to life, from struggle to the crown. It should be noted that the transfer is manifold: the first, from sin to grace: 1 John 3: "We know that we have been transferred from death," namely of sin, "to life," of grace, "because we love the brethren." The second, from imperfect grace to perfect grace: 2 Corinthians 3: "We are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord." The third, from perfect grace to glory: of which it speaks here: He was taken away.

WIS 4:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

He was snatched away, as if to say: he was not only taken away, but snatched away, because he died quickly and was taken up as if by violence beyond nature's due course. Now there is a rapture of the Saints in their life: whence Second Corinthians twelve: "I know a man fourteen years ago caught up" etc.; and in death, concerning which it is said here: He was snatched away etc.; and after death, concerning which First Thessalonians four: "We shall be caught up with them in the clouds to meet Christ in the air." He was snatched away, I say, lest malice, that is, open iniquity, should alter his understanding, by turning him away from the truth and sincerity of faith; or lest deceit, that is, feigned righteousness, concerning which Augustine says: "Feigned righteousness is not righteousness, but a twofold iniquity, because it is both iniquity and pretense." Lest deceit, I say, should deceive, that is, corrupt, his soul, namely by turning his affection away from the love of God: Second Corinthians eleven: "I fear lest, as the serpent seduced Eve by his cunning, so your senses should be corrupted."

WIS 4:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

For the bewitching etc., as if to say: it was indeed necessary for him that he should be thus snatched away etc.; for the bewitching of vanity, from without, that is, trifling and flattering praise, according to which malicious men are said to bewitch children by praising them, obscures good things, namely those of the just, even if it does not destroy them; obscures, I say, because it causes the defects and imperfections of those very goods not to be seen, and through this causes pride in them; Galatians three: "O foolish Galatians! who has bewitched you" etc.; First Corinthians fifteen: "Evil communications corrupt good manners." And the inconstancy of concupiscence, from within, namely of the concupiscible appetite, which makes a man inconstant: James one: "A double-minded man," namely one who partly follows reason, partly sensuality, "is inconstant in all his ways." The inconstancy, I say, of concupiscence, that is, of the concupiscible appetite, perverts, namely from good to evil, the sense that is without malice, that is, one previously good and simple: James one: "Every man is tempted by his own concupiscence, drawn away and enticed."

WIS 4:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

Being made perfect in a short time, that is, perfected in grace in a brief span of time: Isaiah ten: "A short consummation shall overflow with justice"; he fulfilled a long time, namely by the fulfillment of merit, because he acquired in a short time the merit that others acquire over many ages; or by the fulfillment of reward, because he attained eternity, which in its perfection surpasses many ages.

WIS 4:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

For his soul was pleasing to God: behold, the cause of consummation, namely divine grace and love. Pleasing, I say, through faith of heart inwardly and gentleness of conduct outwardly: Sirach 1: "Faith and gentleness are well-pleasing to God." Therefore he hastened to lead him out from the midst of iniquities, that is, from the world, which is full of iniquity: 1 John 5: "The whole world is set in wickedness."

WIS 4:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

But the peoples: Gloss: "The persecutors"; seeing, "the punishment," and not understanding, "the future glory," nor laying up in their hearts, that is, inwardly in the heart, although they sometimes hear it preached: Isaiah 57: "The just man perishes, and there is no one who considers it"; such things, namely, which follow: above in chapter 3: "They seemed in the eyes of the foolish to die, but they are in peace." Because the grace of God, namely for working well: 1 Corinthians 15: "Not I, but the grace of God with me": and mercy is upon his holy ones, for delivering from evils: Sirach last chapter: "You have delivered me according to the multitude of the mercy of your name": and regard is upon his elect, namely for attaining the reward: Gloss: "That is, condign retribution." And note that they are called holy through present justice; elect, through eternal predestination, according to that text in Ephesians 1: "He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and immaculate in his sight in charity."

WIS 4:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

But the just man who is dead condemns the living impious: Gloss: "The martyr his persecutors," namely by comparison of a better deed, as the Ninevites, Matthew 12. And youth more quickly consummated, namely of the just man, condemns the long life of the unjust: Gloss: "That is, of the persecutor," because he did more good in a short time than that one in a long time, whence he shall be judged more strictly: Apocalypse 2: "I gave her time to do penance, and she does not wish to repent" etc.

WIS 4:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

They shall see etc. Here is set forth a twofold reason for the aforesaid condemnation, namely ignorance and contempt. The first he sets forth saying: For they shall see, namely the impious, the end, "that is, death," as the Gloss says. Of the wise man: the Gloss: "That is, of the Martyr": whence concerning the Martyr is read that passage of Sirach fourteen: "Blessed is the man who shall abide in wisdom." And they shall not understand what God has purposed concerning him, "that is, what He has purposed to give him in the future, according to the Gloss, eternal life"; Proverbs twenty-eight: "Evil men do not consider judgment." And why the Lord has fortified him, namely in the present life: the Gloss: "With the arms of faith," according to that passage in Ephesians six: "In all things taking up the shield of faith"; likewise: "Put on the armor of God."

WIS 4:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

Then he sets forth the second reason saying: They shall see him, as if to say: and because they do not understand these things, they shall see him, the Gloss: "Die"; and they shall despise him, whence below in the fifth chapter: "These are they whom we once held in derision" etc.; likewise Job twelve: "The simplicity of the just man is laughed to scorn." Thus the Jews despised Christ in His dying. But them, namely the impious, the Lord shall deride: the Gloss: "At the judgment," that is, He shall judge them worthy of derision as fools: Psalm: "He who dwells in heaven shall deride them" etc. Not only at the general judgment, but also at the particular judgment, that is, at death: whence Proverbs one: "I also will laugh at your destruction" etc.

WIS 4:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

And after these things they shall be, namely after the persecution of the good and the Lord's derision, that is, after they have afflicted the good in the present life, and they themselves have been derided by God at death: they shall be falling, that is, falling downward through the fall of death into hell: Psalm: "Even as the green herbs they shall quickly fall." Without honor, that is, of the society of the blessed: and in reproach, namely of the confusion of the reprobate: among the dead: the Gloss: "The damned"; forever, that is, without end: Jeremiah twenty-three: "I will give you over to everlasting reproach and to perpetual shame, which shall never be blotted out by oblivion." There follows therefore: For he shall break etc. I have rightly said that they shall be falling etc., for he shall break them, "namely the Lord," according to the Gloss: Hosea thirteen: "I will rend the inner parts of their liver." Them, I say, puffed up, with the wind of pride: First Corinthians five: "And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned." Without voice, "of excuse"; Matthew twenty-two: "But he was struck dumb." And he shall move them from their foundations: Gloss: "He shall overturn their life, which they thought to be stable": Job twenty-two: "Who were taken away before their time, and a flood overturned their foundation." And they shall be laid waste even to the uttermost, that is, to such an extent that they shall lose the highest place, that is, even to this, that they shall be excluded from the loftiness of glory, as the foolish virgins, of whom it is read that "the door was shut," Matthew twenty-five. And they shall be laid waste even to the highest degree, that is, they shall be punished until they pay the last farthing, that is, the penalty for every sin, both great and small: Matthew five: "You shall not go out from there until you pay the last farthing." The first exposition, however, accords more with the aforesaid division. And they shall be groaning: Gloss: "In punishments: because they shall be lifted up by no consolation." And their memory, not any whatsoever, but of happy remembrance, shall perish, before God and men, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The face of the Lord is upon those who do evil, to destroy their memory from the earth."

WIS 4:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 4

They shall come at last, namely at the end of the world: whence the Gloss: "To judgment"; for then they shall go out from hell. They shall come, I say, in the thought of their sins, their conscience gnawing at them, fearful, on account of the punishment to be inflicted: below in chapter five: "Seeing this, they shall be troubled with terrible fear." And they shall convict them: Gloss: "Into eternal fire"; from the opposite side: Gloss: "Accusing them," as an adversary accuses his adversary; their own iniquities, that is, sins perpetrated by them in heart, mouth, or deed; Jeremiah two: "Your own wickedness shall reprove you." Sins, moreover, are said to accuse the reprobate, because they shall be the matter of their accusation and damnation: Romans two: "Of thoughts among themselves accusing, or also defending" etc.

WIS 5:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

Second, the state of the just is compared to the state of the unjust in the judgment itself with respect to three things. Then shall the just stand etc. Here he compares the state of the just to the state of the unjust in the judgment itself. And first he touches upon the steadfast accusation of the just: second, the forced confession of the reprobate: Seeing this, they shall be troubled: third, the just retribution of both: But the just shall live forever. First, concerning the accusation of the just. (Verse 1). Then shall the just stand etc., as if thus: The impious shall come to judgment fearful: then: The Gloss: "When the peoples shall be judged," namely on the last day: and he says then, indeterminately, because "of that day no one knows," Matthew twenty-four: likewise Acts one: "It is not for you to know the times or moments which the Father has placed in his own power." They shall stand, namely those who in the present had seemed to fall or to lie prostrate: Luke sixteen: "There was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate." On the contrary, the wicked, who now seem to stand, shall then lie prostrate: Proverbs fourteen: "The wicked shall lie prostrate before the good." They shall stand, I say, the just in great constancy, that is, steadfastly and boldly on account of the confidence which they shall have. The confidence of the Saints in the judgment shall arise from seven things. From the justice of their cause: Job thirteen: "If I shall be judged, I know that I shall be found just"; likewise in the Psalm: "Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice." Second, from the sufficiency or abundance of proofs: for they shall have proof ready through a written instrument: Job thirty-one: "Let him who judges write the book himself" etc.: likewise Apocalypse twenty: "The dead were judged from those things which were written in the books"; likewise through witnesses: Job sixteen: "Behold, my witness is in heaven," namely God himself; whence Jeremiah twenty-nine: "I am the judge and witness, says the Lord." Third, from the faithfulness of their advocates: First John two: "We have an advocate in heaven, Jesus Christ"; likewise the Holy Spirit: Romans eight: "The Spirit intercedes" etc.: likewise the Blessed Virgin: whence we cry out: "Our Advocate" etc. Fourth, from the powerlessness of their adversaries, according to that word of the Psalm: "The impious shall not rise in judgment," namely to accuse the just: Apocalypse twelve: "The accuser was cast out" etc. Fifth, from the friendship and kinship of their judge: Genesis thirty-seven: "He is our flesh and our brother": Bernard: "I think he will not be able to spurn me, bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." Sixth, from the benevolence of the assessors, that is, the Apostles: Matthew nineteen: "You also shall sit upon twelve seats, judging" etc.: likewise Job thirty-six: "He grants judgment to the poor." Seventh, from the familiarity of the officials of the judge, namely the Angels: Matthew thirteen: "The Angels shall go forth and shall separate the wicked from the midst of the just." Against them: Gloss: "Their persecutors," who distressed them: Gloss: "In martyrdom," afflicting them personally: Hebrews eleven: "Distressed, afflicted," etc. And who took away their labors, bodily, namely despoiling them through violence, although the Saints bore these things joyfully: whence Hebrews ten: "You accepted the plundering of your goods with joy." Or: labors, spiritual, attempting to take away their fruit, namely by provoking them to sin: concerning this fruit above in chapter three: "Glorious is the fruit of good labors." Or: both together, according to the Gloss: "Namely by judging their bodily and spiritual labors vain and foolish."

WIS 5:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

Second, concerning the confession of the reprobate in three ways. Seeing, they shall be troubled, etc. Here he touches upon the forced confession of the reprobate: and first he touches upon the motive for such a confession: second, the matter of the confession: These are they whom once: third, the confirmation of their confession: Such things they said, etc. A twofold motive for the confession is touched upon, namely affliction over the true happiness of the good, and anxiety over their own unhappiness — Saying within themselves, etc. (Verse 2). There follows therefore: Seeing: Gloss: "Themselves led from glory to punishment, and their adversaries transferred from punishment to the crown"; they shall be troubled with horrible fear: Exodus fifteen: "Then the princes of Edom were troubled": likewise Ezekiel seven: "Trouble upon trouble shall come," namely the trouble over the affliction of the resumed body upon the trouble previously had over the affliction of the soul previously tormented in the flames of Gehenna. With horrible fear, namely on account of the constancy of their accusers, of whom above in the same chapter. Second, on account of the severity of the divine judgments, according to that passage in Hebrews ten: "It is a horrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God"; likewise below in chapter six: "Horribly and swiftly shall he appear to you." Third, on account of the presence of horrible torturers; Job twenty: "Horrible ones shall go and come upon him." Or thus: They shall be troubled, on account of the gnawing conscience: with fear, on account of the irrevocable sentence of the judge: horrible, on account of the visible presence of the prepared punishments and horrible torturers. And they shall marvel at the suddenness, that is, the sudden attainment, of salvation, namely of the just, unhoped for, that is, not expected by the impious themselves, yet hoped for by the just, according to that passage of the Psalm: "In you our fathers hoped," etc. Groaning, inwardly, from anguish of spirit, from the consideration of that glory and salvation which they lost: First Kings four: "The Philistines groaned, saying: Woe to us," etc.

WIS 5:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

(Verse 3). Saying within themselves, by an interior speech, and they do not engage in exterior speech, perhaps on account of the vehemence of their grief. Doing penance, for the evil that they did: penance, but a late one, like the penance of the rich man, of whom it is said in Luke 16: "Father Abraham, have mercy on me," etc.: doing, or rather suffering. This is the penance of despair, like the penance of Judas, of whom it is read in Matthew 27 that "moved by penance, he returned the thirty pieces of silver." And groaning from the anguish of spirit, on account of the evil of punishment which they incurred: Isaiah 65: "From the sorrow of spirit you shall howl," etc. These are they whom once etc. Here he sets forth the matter of the confession of the impious confessing their own error, first concerning the life of the just: second concerning their own life: We are wearied etc. In the first, they first confess their past contempt and mockery of the Saints: second, their rejection of the Saints' state: We fools etc.: third, their then present exaltation: Behold, how they are numbered: fourth, their own error: Therefore we have erred. (Verse 3). These, namely those worthy of mocking display according to the judgment of the impious, are they whom we once held in derision, by deeds and signs: Job 12: "The simplicity of the just man is laughed to scorn": likewise in the Psalm: "All who saw me mocked me," etc. And as a likeness of reproach, reproaching with words: in the Psalm: "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell upon me." But when a good work is reproached in a man, which is rather matter for praise, it is not a true reproach, but a likeness of reproach: on account of which it is said here: as a likeness of reproach: 2 Corinthians 6: "Through infamy and good fame," etc.; Acts 5: "The Apostles went rejoicing," etc.

WIS 5:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

(Verse 4). We fools etc, living in the manner of foolish children: fools, I say, because we did not perceive things as they were: Ecclesiasticus 16: "In all these things the heart is foolish"; 1 Corinthians 14: "Do not be children in understanding." Their life, that is, their manner of life, which was in poverty, labor, lowliness, fasting, etc.: we esteemed madness. So David was reputed insane by Achish, 1 Kings 21; so also Christ: John 8: "Do we not say well that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" Likewise John 10: "He has a demon and is mad"; so the messenger of Elisha, 4 Kings 9: "Why did this madman come to you?" Hosea 9: "Know, O Israel, that the prophet is a fool and the spiritual man is mad"; a fool, namely in temporal things, and mad, according to the judgment of the worldly. And their end, that is, death, without honor, namely of any recompense: against which it is said in the Psalm: "Your friends are exceedingly honored, O God"; likewise John 12: "If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him," who is in heaven.

WIS 5:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

(Verse 5). How then are they numbered among the children of God? Through grace: Romans 8: "You have not received again the spirit of bondage in fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption of children," etc.; likewise John 1: "He gave them power to become children of God," etc. And among the Saints their lot is, that is, the portion of glory, of which in the Psalm: "Let my portion, O Lord, be in the land of the living"; likewise Colossians 1: "Who has made us worthy for a share in the lot of the Saints in light." And these things are against the two things which they had said: for they had said that the life of the Saints was foolish and their end disgraceful.

WIS 5:6 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

The impious say: "Therefore we have erred from the way of truth and justice: the light has not shone upon us, and the sun of intelligence has not risen upon us." This is the sun that illumines all: from which some go astray. Insofar as God is the reason of understanding, he enters the soul as the sun of intelligence.

WIS 5:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

(Verse 6). Therefore we have erred etc. They conclude against themselves: whence that word of the Psalm is verified: "Their tongues have been weakened against them." We have erred, they say: for they approved false things as true: but Augustine says that "to approve false things as true is proper to error": Isaiah 19: "They have caused Egypt to err in all its work, as a drunkard staggers and vomits." From the way of truth: The Gloss: "Of the Gospel of the divine law," with respect to believing; Isaiah 53: "All we like sheep have gone astray: each one has turned aside to his own way." And the light of justice, with respect to acting: the light of justice, taken intransitively, that is, justice which is light, according to that word of the Psalm: "Light has risen for the just"; likewise Proverbs 4: "The path of the just is as a shining light" etc. Has not shone upon us; Isaiah 59: "We waited for light, and behold darkness"! This was the cause of their error, just as a lack of light is the cause of going astray. And the sun of understanding, namely with respect to enkindling: The Gloss: "Christ, the sun of justice, who rises upon those who fear God," as is found in the last chapter of Malachi: has not risen upon us. It should be noted that the deficiency is not on the part of the sun, but on the part of those who lie in darkness and are unwilling to rise and do not seek to open their eyes: the Psalm: "Fire," of envy, "fell upon them, and they did not see the sun," of justice. The material sun indeed rises upon the good and the evil, as is clear from Matthew 5: "Who makes his sun to rise upon the good and the evil," but the sun of understanding rises only upon the good, as is clear here. But Christ is called the sun, because the sun is so called as if "alone shining" [solus lucens]: but Christ shines singularly, that is, above all others as the light of the world and its eye: John 1: "He was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world," even by the illumination of natural knowledge. "For he is the teacher who, having his chair in heaven, teaches the hearts of men on earth," as Augustine says. Likewise John 8: "I am the light of the world." Likewise, because by the illumination of the moon, that is, of the Church: Ecclesiasticus 50: "As the full moon shines in its days," namely from the irradiation of the sun. Likewise, because he is the fountain of all heat, that is, of spiritual love: the Psalm: "In the sun he has set his tabernacle"; and afterward: "There is none who can hide himself from his heat": 2 Maccabees 1: "The time came when the sun shone forth, which before was in a cloud: and a great fire was kindled" etc.: likewise Luke 12: "I have come to cast fire upon the earth," that is, heat. Likewise, because he is the father of spiritual plants, that is, of all spiritual sprouting: John 15: "He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing." But he is called the sun of understanding because his light is apprehended by the eye of understanding alone, because by his ray, namely by the spirit of understanding, the intelligence is illuminated.

WIS 5:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

We are wearied etc. Here he touches upon the confession of the error of the impious concerning their own life: and first they confess the toilsomeness of their own life; second, the blindness: But the way of the Lord; third, the uselessness: What has profited us etc.; fourth, the instability: They have passed away. (Verse 7). We are wearied therefore, by our own strength, in the way of iniquity, as regards guilt in the present: Jeremiah 9: "They have labored to act unjustly"; and of perdition, as regards punishment in the future; Proverbs 2: "The impious shall be destroyed from the earth, and those who act unjustly shall be taken away from it." Nor is it a wonder if we are wearied by our own strength, because we have walked difficult ways, by their very nature, namely the ways of sinners, which greatly afflict the soul in the present through the remorse of conscience. For the order of divine justice does not permit that even for a moment there be guilt without punishment. Whence Augustine: "You have commanded, O Lord, and so it is, that every disordered soul is its own punishment"; Sirach 21: "The way of sinners is paved with stones." But against this: Matthew 7: "Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to perdition." It must be said that it is easy at the entrance, as if strewn with flowers, namely with the sweetness of present delight and temporal pleasure; but difficult in its progress on account of the remorse of conscience; more difficult at its exit on account of separation from present pleasure; but most difficult after the exit on account of the torment of hell. But the way of the Lord, namely that by which the Lord comes to us, by which we go to him, namely charity, according to that word of the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 12: "I show you a yet more excellent way"; we have not known, namely with a crass and affected ignorance; whence Job 21: "Who say to God: Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of your ways." He who is ignorant with such ignorance "shall be ignored," as the Apostle says, 1 Corinthians 14.

WIS 5:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

(Verse 8). What has pride profited us, namely in the excellence of honors, as if to say: nothing; indeed rather it has harmed us, because it is said in the Psalm: "He will repay abundantly those who act with pride"; Proverbs 16: "Pride precedes destruction"; Luke 1: "He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart." Or the boasting of riches, namely concerning the abundance of exterior goods, what has it conferred upon us? As if to say: nothing; Ecclesiastes 5: "He who loves riches shall reap no fruit from them"; likewise Luke 6: "Woe to you who are rich!" etc.

WIS 5:9-10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

They passed away etc. Here he touches on the confession of the instability of the state of the reprobate under a manifold metaphor: first under the metaphor of a shadow; second, of a messenger: As a messenger; third, of a ship: And as a ship; fourth, of a bird: Or a bird; fifth, of an arrow: Or as an arrow. (Verses 9, 10). All those things passed away, namely riches, pleasures, and honors of secular power: whence 1 John 2: "Everything that is in the world" etc., and in the same place below: "The world passes away and its concupiscence": that is, the concupiscible things that are in it, namely as regards the outward form, not as regards substance: whence 1 Corinthians 7: "The form of this world passes away." As a shadow, namely by darkening the mind: Ecclesiasticus 34: "As one who grasps at a shadow and pursues the wind, so is he who attends to lying visions," because the soul, by its turning toward earthly things, is darkened and eclipsed by the interposition of the earth between it and the true sun. And as a messenger running ahead, by its passing removing the mind: Job 9: "My days were swifter than a runner." And as a ship that passes through the surging water, by enduring many tribulations: Luke 10: "You are troubled about many things." Of which, when it has passed, no trace is to be found, namely in the water: Proverbs 30: "Three things are difficult for me, etc., the way of a ship in the midst of the sea." Nor the path of its keel in the waves, that is, of the small boat, which usually accompanies the larger ship for escape from danger. Or: keel can be said to be the middle part or the middle place of the ship, according to those verses: The prow is the front part of the ship, the stern the last part. Call the side the hull, call the belly the keel.

WIS 5:11-12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

(Verses 11, 12). Or a bird, namely, by exalting the heart into pride and wantonness: Proverbs 10: "He who relies on lies feeds the winds: and the same pursues birds in flight." Which flies across through the air, namely swiftly, of which no evidence is found, namely no certain sign, of the passage of that one: but only a sound is heard, a sound, I say, of wings beating the light wind, that is, the moved air, according to that saying of Damascene: "Wind is moved air": and cutting, that is, dividing, by the force of its passage the air, namely the still air. So the light sound of fame accompanies the wicked, according to that saying of the Psalm: "They called their names upon their lands": Isaiah 18: "Woe to the land of the cymbal of wings," etc. And with wings set in motion, it flew across, namely to another place: Hosea 9: "Ephraim flew away like a bird." And after this no sign, that is, no certain indication, is found of its passage: Proverbs 30: "Three things are difficult for me, etc., the way of the eagle in the sky"; likewise Job 28: "The bird knew not the path, nor did the eye of the vulture behold it." Or as an arrow, namely, by wounding the heart fatally; shot toward its appointed place, by the archer: Proverbs 7: "Until the arrow pierces his liver." The divided air, namely by the motion of the arrow, immediately closed back upon itself, so that its passage might be unknown. The Gloss: "Because it left no traces of itself."

WIS 5:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

(Verse 13). So we also, having been born, immediately ceased to exist, that is, quickly after birth; or: immediately we ceased, that is, we began to cease, according to that saying of Augustine: "What is our life but a continuous course toward death?" The Gloss: "So also the course of this life is uncertain and unstable"; Job 14: "Man born of woman, etc., and flees like a shadow." Or: we cease to exist continually, through the acceleration of sinning. And indeed we were unable to show any sign of virtue, namely in our life through good conduct: Mark, last chapter: "These signs shall follow those who believe"; Galatians, last chapter: "I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body." In our wickedness for we were consumed, through final impenitence; Job 13: "I who am to be consumed like rottenness": John 8: "You shall die in your sin."

WIS 5:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

(Verse 15). Because etc., as if to say: and they spoke truly, because the hope of the ungodly, that is, temporal prosperity, in which the ungodly place their hope: Isaiah twenty-eight: "We have made falsehood our hope"; is like down, that is, the flower of the thistle, with respect to the fragility of the flesh: which is carried away by the wind, that is, by a slight breeze: the Gloss: "Down expresses the fragility of the flesh, which is quickly carried away by the wind of sickness or trouble"; Isaiah forty: "All flesh is grass." And rightly is the fragility of the flesh compared to the flower of the thistle, because the flesh generates thorns and thistles of temptations: whence Genesis three: "Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you." And like thin foam, generated from the agitation of waters, which is scattered by the storm. Like foam etc., he speaks with respect to the vanity of boasting: whence the Gloss: "This is the appetite for human favor and popular boasting, which is scattered by the storm of tribulation and of some present or eternal adversity": Hosea ten: "Samaria has caused her king to pass away, as foam passes over the face of the water"; likewise Jeremiah twenty-three: "Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord's indignation shall go forth, and a tempest shall burst upon the head of the ungodly." And like smoke, which is dispersed by the wind, with respect to the brevity of life: James four: "What is your life? It is a vapor appearing for a little while"; dispersed by the wind: for when it is lifted on high, it is forced to vanish, according to that saying of the Psalm: "As soon as they are honored and exalted, failing they shall fail like smoke"; the Gloss: "Just as smoke is dissolved by the wind, so is human life by the change of times." And like the memory of a guest of one day passing through, with respect to the brief duration of fame: Job thirteen: "Your memory shall be compared to ashes." He compares man existing in this life to a guest, because we are pilgrims and guests as if in another's house, according to that saying of the Psalm: "I am a sojourner with you and a pilgrim, as all my fathers were": likewise Hebrews eleven: "Confessing that they are pilgrims" etc. Passing through, because we pass from life to death: Lamentations one: "O all you who pass by the way" etc.; likewise Ecclesiastes one: "A generation passes away" etc. Of one day, because we remain here but a short time; whence Hebrews thirteen: "We have not here a lasting city" etc.

WIS 5:15 — Breviloquium, Part 7

WIS 5:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

Third, concerning the retribution of the just and the reprobate, in two ways. But the just forever. Here he sets forth the fitting retribution of the just and the reprobate, and first, the reward of the just; second, the punishment of the reprobate: And he shall take up armor. He touches upon a twofold reward of the just: first, for the doing of good; and second, for the victory over evil: Therefore they shall receive etc. (Verse 16). But the just etc., as if to say: such is the life and death of the impious: but, that is, "however." The just, on the contrary, shall live forever: The Gloss: "They shall live with eternal life," of which John 17: "This is eternal life" etc. And with the Lord, that is, in the Lord himself through hope, according to the Gloss: in the Psalm: "But it is good for me to adhere to God," namely through charity, "it is good to place my hope in the Lord God"; is their reward: The Gloss: "The recompense of labor": for he himself is the reward of the Saints: Genesis 15: "I am your protector and your reward exceedingly great": likewise Numbers 18: "I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel." And their thought etc., as if to say: and deservedly with the Lord is their reward, because their thought, that is, their whole solicitude and intention through faith, is with the Most High, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Cast your thought upon the Lord" etc. Or: thought, that is, the knowledge of their understanding, is with the Most High alone: for the just think only about God, or about those things which contribute to possessing him, according to that passage of 1 Corinthians 7: "The unmarried woman thinks about the things of the Lord."

WIS 5:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

(Verse 17). And because they are such in the present, therefore they shall receive the kingdom of glory, that is, a glorious kingdom with respect to the golden crown or the essential reward; Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor" etc. And the crown of beauty, that is, a beautiful one: The Gloss: "The enemy having been conquered"—and this with respect to the aureole or with respect to the accidental reward: 2 Timothy 4: "There is laid up for me a crown of justice." Concerning both, Exodus 25. From the hand of God, or of the Lord; The Gloss: "That is, from Christ, who is called the hand and arm and right hand of God the Father." For he is the hand by working: "For all things were made through him," John 1: the arm by protecting, according to that passage of the Psalm: "My arm shall strengthen him"; the right hand by rewarding: Matthew 25: "He shall set the sheep on his right hand." For his right hand shall cover them: The Gloss: "Here and in the future," from the wrath of the supreme Judge: Isaiah 49: "In the shadow of his hand he protected me": Sirach 34: "A shelter from the heat and a shade from the noonday." And with his holy arm, that is, of his holy power, he shall defend them, namely from every attack of the adversary, according to that passage of the Psalm: "The Lord is the defender of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?"

WIS 5:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

And he shall take armor etc. Here he touches upon the punishment of the reprobate under the metaphor of a king taking up arms against his adversaries. And first he describes the king's purpose: second, his equipment: He shall put on etc.: third, the battle: They shall go forth directly: fourth, the effect of the battle: And he shall bring to desolation: fifth, the remedy for the battle: Better is wisdom. (Verse 18). And he shall take armor, namely against adversaries, his zeal: Proverbs six: "The zeal and fury of a man will not spare in the day of vengeance." "His arms, however, are truth, justice, and judgment," according to the Gloss. And he will arm the creature, namely as his army, according to that passage below in chapter sixteen: "The creature serving you its Maker burns against the unjust"; for the vengeance upon enemies: Psalm: "God of vengeances" etc.

WIS 5:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

He shall put on justice for a breastplate: justice is compared to a coat of mail or breastplate, because, just as a coat of mail protects the whole body, so justice protects the soul on every side: whence Second Corinthians six: "By the armor of justice on the right hand and on the left"; Isaiah fifty-nine: "He put on justice as a breastplate." And he shall take sure judgment for a helmet, or certain: right judgment, that is, discernment, and it is compared to a helmet, which is the defense of the head, that is, of reason: Proverbs sixteen: "Divination is on the lips of the king; in judgment his mouth shall not err."

WIS 5:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

He shall take equity for an invincible shield: to a shield, which defends the coat of mail, equity is compared, because it renders justice irreproachable: Isaiah eleven: "He shall reprove in equity for the meek of the earth."

WIS 5:20 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

WIS 5:20 — Breviloquium, Part 7

Since justice necessarily requires that the human being, who merited or demerited not in soul alone nor in body alone, but in soul and body together, be punished or rewarded in both; the reformation of grace also requires that the whole body be conformed to Christ the Head, whose dead body necessarily had to rise, since it was inseparably united to the Divinity; and the completion of nature requires that the human being consist simultaneously of body and soul as of matter and form, which have a mutual appetite and mutual inclination: it is necessary that the resurrection be future, since the constitution of nature, the infusion of grace, and the retribution of justice demand this, according to which the whole universe is governed. And therefore from these three all things cry out that the human being must be raised, so that every excuse may be taken away from those who are deaf to this truth of faith, and deservedly against such people the whole world fights.

WIS 5:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

And he shall sharpen his fierce wrath; he says fierce to distinguish it from the light wrath with which he is now angry; for a spear: the wrath of God is compared to a spear, because it will reach even whatever is remote and will penetrate: Ezekiel twenty-one: "The sword is sharpened" etc.; likewise Exodus fifteen: "You sent forth your wrath, which devoured them as stubble." And the whole world shall fight with him against the senseless: Gregory: "When the Creator is offended, every creature is offended"; the Gloss: "The Creator through the creature subject to him corrects the offenders." That battle shall be terrible, concerning which Job forty: "Remember the battle, and speak no more."

WIS 5:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

They shall go directly etc. Here he describes the last battle according to the diverse battle lines of creatures. And first he introduces fire warring against and conquering the impious; second, the air: And from the stony: third, water: And it shall grow white-hot: fourth, wind or whirlwind proceeding from the earth: Against them shall stand the spirit of power. (Verse 22). They shall go, therefore, namely against them, directly the bolts of lightning: Gloss: "At will, that is, according to the will of the commander": Ecclesiasticus 43: "He hastens to send forth the flashings of his judgment"; likewise in the Psalm: "Flash forth lightning, and you shall scatter them." And as from a well-curved bow of the clouds, that is, as the curved lines of the rainbow, when the sun comes upon them, the impious shall be destroyed: as if to say: just as quickly and easily the heavenly bow is dissolved, so the impious shall quickly and easily be destroyed, that is, they shall be placed outside the boundaries of present and eternal life: Baruch 3: "They were destroyed and descended to the netherworld"; in the Psalm: "He has bent his bow" etc. And they shall leap to a certain place, namely against the wicked only, so that they shall not touch the good: chapter 3 above: "The torment of death shall not touch them." To a certain place: Gloss: "Wherever it may be necessary; for that which divine wisdom has ordered cannot be confused": whence Exodus 9: "In Egypt the land of Goshen suffered no evil from the plagues inflicted upon Egypt."

WIS 5:22 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

(Verse 23). And from stony wrath: stony is said of that wrath on account of its effect, because it will manifest itself through rocks, or because it is unbreakable and hard like rock, or because it will be inflicted by Christ, who is called the rock in 1 Corinthians 10: "And the rock was Christ." Full hailstones shall be sent, that is, thick and great; or: fully, that is, completely or abundantly: Psalm: "Fire, hail, snow, ice" etc.; Job 38: "Have you entered the storehouses of snow?" Revelation 16: "Great hail like a talent in weight descended from heaven upon men." But the Greeks have it thus: And as from a well-curved bow of clouds they shall leap to a sure mark, and from a hurled stone, full wrath. This reading is clearer and seems truer, since this book appears to have been compiled in Greek. And it shall grow hot, that is, it shall boil, upon them, that is, against them, the water of the sea: for it shall become boiling, turbid, and foaming: Luke 21: "On earth, distress of nations from the confusion of the sound of the sea and the waves." For it shall be one of the fifteen signs, according to Jerome, that the sea shall raise itself above the height of the mountains. And rivers, that is, of fresh waters, shall rush together harshly, that is, forcefully: Exodus 15: "They sank like lead in mighty waters." Or: The water of the sea, that is, the bitterness of hell, shall grow hot against them, that is, it shall hiss and boil like water by the casting in of hot iron: Isaiah 14: "Hell beneath is disturbed." And rivers, namely of anguish, shall rush together harshly, because there shall be grief over goods lost, shame over evils committed, fear over present punishments.

WIS 5:23 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 5

(Verse 24). Against them shall stand the spirit of power, that is, a strong wind, according to that passage of Exodus 15: "Your spirit blew" etc., proceeding from the caverns of the earth, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Who brings forth winds from his storehouses"; likewise in the Psalm: "With a vehement wind you shall shatter the ships of Tarshish"; likewise Job 1: "A vehement wind rushed from the region of the desert." This is the "spirit of storms," of which the Psalm speaks. And as: as is expressive of truth, not a mark of similitude: a whirlwind, that is, a blast composed of contrary winds mixed with dust, shall divide them etc. Or: spirit can be called the sentence of the judge, according to that passage of Isaiah 11: "With the spirit of his mouth he shall slay the wicked." And then the term as is a mark of similitude, not expressive of truth, when it is said: And as a whirlwind shall divide them, namely from the good: Job 27: "A burning wind shall take him up, and as a whirlwind shall snatch him from his place"; the last chapter of Isaiah: "Behold, the Lord shall come in fire, and his chariots as a whirlwind." And to a wasteland, that is, a horrible and barren place, lacking every good: concerning such a place, Deuteronomy 32: "In a place of horror and vast solitude." All the earth, that is, earthly ones, their iniquity will lead them through, that is, their own iniquity, not another's, will be the cause why they are led there, according to that passage of Isaiah 50: "Walk in the flames which you have kindled for yourselves." Or according to another reading: he says the land of their iniquity, because according to the Psalm: "Fire shall go before the judge himself," which will burn the surface of the earth on which their iniquities were committed and render it dry. And malice, which they practiced, which connotes something worse, will overthrow, that is, will be the cause of overthrowing, the thrones of the powerful, that is, kingdoms, cities and strongholds, towers and tribunals: Sirach 10: "God has destroyed the thrones of proud rulers." The Gloss expounds the preceding differently, namely, concerning the present overthrow of the impious, the unfaithful, and heretics by Christ and the Church: by the flashing of miracles, by the hail of rebukes, by the cleansing of tribulations, by the whirlwind of persecutions, by the subversion and removal of possessions, by the casting down of the powerful.

WIS 6:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

Wisdom is better etc., as if to say: since the powerful who lack understanding are treated in this way, better, that is, more useful, is wisdom, concerning divine things, which, according to the Gloss, "always rightly governs the soul"; than the strength of the body, which often casts one headlong into sins: Ecclesiastes 9: "I said that wisdom is better than strength." And a prudent man, in human affairs, according to the Gloss, not only in eloquence: more than a strong man: Gloss: "In body." Whence one ought not to glory in such strength, according to that saying from Jeremiah 9: "Let not the strong man glory in his strength."

WIS 6:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

Give ear, namely both the outward and inward ear, you who restrain, by holding back from evil, the multitudes of peoples committed to your care: Proverbs 14: "In the multitude of the people is the dignity of the king." And you delight in yourselves among the throngs of nations, that is, you glory in your prelacies: against which Gregory says in the Pastoral Rule: "As often as a prelate delights in ruling over men, so often does he fall into the crime of apostasy."

WIS 6:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

And you ought to listen, because power was given to you by the Lord: whence Romans thirteen: "There is no power except from God": power: Gloss: "Judiciary on earth," namely as regards the definition of the sentence: John nineteen: "You would have no power against me at all, unless it had been given to you from above." And strength: Gloss: "Of punishing," as regards the execution of the sentence. Or: power in civil cases, strength in criminal cases. From the Most High, namely God established above us: Psalm: "You, Lord, are most high over all the earth." Who will examine: Gloss: "In judgment"; Luke sixteen: "Render an account of your stewardship." Your works, namely exterior ones: Ecclesiastes, last chapter: "All things that are done, God will bring into judgment," etc. For he did not so give power that he would not demand an account; therefore Sirach eighteen: "Before judgment examine yourself, and before God you will find propitiation." And he will search out thoughts, that is, interior works: Gloss: "As one about to judge concerning all things"; above, chapter one: "There will be an inquisition into the thoughts of the ungodly." He will search out: Zephaniah one: "I will search Jerusalem with lamps"; nor will he only search out, but he will also make manifest: whence First Corinthians four: "He will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts." It should be noted, moreover, that a threefold examination will be made of the prelate: first, how he entered: Matthew twenty-two: "Friend, how did you enter here," etc. Second, how he lived: Isaiah twenty-two: "What are you doing here? Or as who are you here?" Third, how he ruled and guarded the flock entrusted to him: Jeremiah thirteen: "Where is the flock that was given to you, your glorious cattle?"

WIS 6:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

I have rightly said that he will examine etc.: and deservedly so, since, when you were ministers, not lords, of his kingdom, that is, of the Church Militant: 1 Peter 5: "Not as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart"; likewise 1 Corinthians 4: "Let a man so account of us as ministers of Christ" etc. You did not judge rightly, namely others: whence Isaiah 1: "They do not judge for the orphan, and the cause of the widow does not come before them"; likewise Jeremiah 5: "They did not judge the cause of the widow, they did not direct the cause of the orphan." Neither did you keep the law of justice, namely in yourselves: in the Psalm: "They did not keep the covenant of God, and in his law they refused to walk"; Isaiah 59: "Judgment is turned backward, and justice has stood afar off"; likewise Jeremiah 5: "These have rather broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds." Neither did you walk according to the will of God, sinning against God: Jeremiah 7: "They went after the pleasures and the depravity of their evil heart." Or it can be said that he touches upon the threefold manner in which a sentence is called unjust: first, from the cause, namely when no just cause underlies it; second, from the procedure, as when the order of law is not observed; third, from the intention, as when one proceeds against someone with a corrupt intention: against which it is said in Deuteronomy 16: "You shall justly pursue what is just."

WIS 6:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

Dreadfully, that is, terribly: Hebrews 10: "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God": and swiftly he will appear to you: whence Zephaniah 1: "Near is the great day of the Lord, and exceedingly swift." And although the day of the general judgment be far off, yet the day of the particular judgment, that is, of death, is near: whence Ecclesiasticus 38: "Remember my judgment, for so also shall yours be: yesterday for me and today for you." And truly he will appear dreadfully to you prelates, for a most severe judgment shall be upon those who are set over others. Hard indeed, because they entered badly; harder, because they undertook badly; hardest, because they ruled badly. Or: hard on account of the sins of their subjects; harder on account of the sins of their ministers; hardest on account of the multitude and enormity of their own sins. Prelates will be punished more harshly than others, first by reason of what was entrusted, according to that of Luke 12: "To whom they have entrusted more, more will they demand from him." By reason of sin, because, other things being equal, the sin of a prelate is graver than that of a subject: Jeremiah 5: "These have broken the yoke all the more" etc. By reason of harm, because namely they corrupt others by their example: Gregory: "When the pastor walks through steep places, it is necessary that the flock follow into the precipice." By reason of scandal, because they scandalize the Church: whence Malachi 2: "You have scandalized very many in the law." By reason of judgment, because namely they are not judged here, according to that of the Psalm: "Against you alone have I sinned" etc.; and therefore in the future they will be judged more harshly both all at once and totally, according to that of 2 Maccabees 6: "For the Lord does not wait patiently, as with other nations, so that when the day of judgment has come, he may punish them in the fullness of their sins." By reason of office, because they also sin by exercising their office unworthily: Romans 2: "In that you judge another, you condemn yourself."

WIS 6:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

For to the little one, that is, to the weak and humble: whence the Gloss: "To those who have sinned through ignorance, or frailty, or necessity, and have blotted it out by humble penance": mercy is granted: Gloss: "The remission of sins," as regards punishment, whether wholly or in part, here or in the future: Isaiah, last chapter: "To whom shall I look but to the poor little one" etc. But the mighty, that is, those who have abused their power unto sin, shall suffer torments mightily, that is, strongly inflicted, on account of sins, because for their own sins and those of their subjects: whence Numbers 25: "Take all the princes and hang them up on gibbets against the sun"; likewise 3 Kings 20: "Guard this man, who if he shall have escaped, your life shall be for his life"; likewise Ezekiel 32: "The mightiest of the strong shall speak to him from the midst of hell."

WIS 6:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

For the Lord will not withdraw, namely from punishment and torment, the person of anyone, namely of the small or the great, out of private affection: Ezekiel eighteen: "I will judge each one according to his ways, O house of Israel, says the Lord." "God is not a respecter of persons," Acts ten. Then he gives the reason, saying: Who is, that is, because He is, the ruler of all; Revelation nineteen: "King of kings and Lord of lords." Nor will He fear the greatness of anyone, namely out of fear, because He Himself is "the great Lord and a great king above all gods," as is said in the Psalm, and again: "Of His greatness there is no end"; whence He surpasses beyond all proportion every other greatness. Because He Himself made the small and the great: Malachi two: "Is there not one father of us all? Has not one God created us?" And because He created all, therefore He will judge all, the small as well as the great, as His creatures: Revelation twenty: "I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the sight of the throne." And He has equal care of all. Against this: First Corinthians nine: "Does God have care for oxen?" as if to say: no. It must be said that the care of discipline belongs to God only with respect to rational creatures; but the care of providence belongs to Him with respect to all things. But if His care of providence is equal with respect to the good and the wicked, then it makes no difference to Him whether one is good or evil. I respond: it must be said that he speaks of natural providence, not of gratuitous providence. Or: equally, that is, similarly. And although His care of all things is equal, nevertheless He will not punish all equally.

WIS 6:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

However, in the sense of "but." For the stronger, in evil, a stronger torment awaits, in punishment, as is evident in Lucifer and the other demons.

WIS 6:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

Because a stronger torment awaits the stronger, to you therefore, O kings etc: Gloss: "Having finished the discourse to the mighty, he turns his exhortation to the rulers of the Church": Gloss: "O kings, that is, rulers of the Church, or all those to whom the governance of their souls has been entrusted". To you are these my words, namely concerning the pursuit and love of wisdom: whence it follows: that you may learn wisdom: Gloss: "Divine", not worldly: concerning both, First Corinthians chapter three: "If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool, that he may be wise". These words, to be heard and retained and fulfilled in deed, according to that passage of Jeremiah chapter fifteen: "Your words were found, and I ate them". And do not fall away, namely from justice "through transgression of the commandments of God", according to the Gloss. For wisdom is the salt that preserves from the corruption of sin: but neglect of wisdom causes one to fall into sin: whence Proverbs chapter seventeen: "He who avoids learning will fall into evils", that is, into the evil of guilt and into the evil of punishment.

WIS 6:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

And rightly did I say: that you may learn wisdom, lest you fall away from justice: for they who have kept justice, which is the way to wisdom, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus chapter one: "Son, if you desire wisdom, keep justice"; shall be justly judged, Gloss: "They shall receive the reward of their justice", namely in good: whence Isaiah chapter three: "Say to the just man that it is well: for he shall eat the fruit of his doings"; likewise Ezekiel chapter eighteen: "The justice of the just shall be upon him"; Luke chapter six: "With what measure you shall measure" etc. And they who shall have learned, namely through wisdom, just things: Gloss: "Right faith and works": shall find what to answer, namely at the judgment concerning sins charged against them: Habakkuk chapter two: "I will stand upon my watch etc., and I will contemplate, that I may see what is said to me, and what I may answer to him who reproves me".

WIS 6:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

Desire therefore etc. Since wisdom is so useful that it causes one not to fall from justice, etc.: desire therefore my words, to be heard concerning wisdom: Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "Come over to me, all you who desire me." And love them, namely those already heard, according to that word of the Psalm: "I have loved your commandments above gold and topaz," etc. And you shall have discipline, namely through my very words: the Gloss: "He who loves wisdom preserves discipline in his conduct," according to that word of John fourteen: "If you love me, keep my commandments."

WIS 6:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

She is bright. Here he shows the ease of acquiring wisdom: first by this, that she is bright for seeing; second, because she is ready to show herself: She anticipates; third, because she is near for approaching: He who watches for her at dawn, etc. She is bright, etc., as if to say: you ought to desire her, because wisdom is bright: namely by her own beauty and self-evidence, because she is light: whence below in chapter seven: "I purposed to have her for my light." And she never fades, that is, she never falls from her beauty: whence the Gloss: "The beauty of wisdom is unfading." For she is not subject to time, but is above time, as divine wisdom. And easily, etc., as if to say: nor should one despair of acquiring her, because she is easily seen, namely by the eye of the intellect, by those who love her, namely with affection: whence John fourteen: "He who loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him." For love purges and illuminates the interior eye for seeing: whence Ecclesiasticus two: "You who fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be illuminated." And she is found by those who seek her, in effect: Luke eleven: "Seek, and you shall find," namely if she is sought where she ought to be sought. For she "is not found in the land of those who live pleasantly," Job twenty-eight, but in the harshness of sustenance and penance; whence Daniel found wisdom by the merit of his abstinence, as is clear from Daniel one.

WIS 6:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

"Resplendent and unfading is wisdom—with whom there is no change, no shadow of alteration—and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her. She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of man's desire." And so, she appears unchanging in the rules of divine Law that bind us. These rules filling the rational mind with splendid light are all the ways by which the mind knows and judges that which could not be otherwise, the fact that the supreme Principle must be supremely venerated, that the supreme Truth must be supremely believed in and assented to, and that the supreme Good must be supremely desired and loved. And in these wisdom is seen, for they are so certain that they could not be otherwise.

WIS 6:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

She anticipates, namely before she is found by the zeal of the seeker: the Gloss: "Offering herself freely: for she herself is the way, the truth, and the life, whence through her one goes to her and arrives." She anticipates, I say, that is, she goes before those who desire her, so that she may first show herself to them: because they would not come before her unless they were first come before and illuminated by her, just as the light of the sun illuminates in order to be seen itself: Bernard: "True wisdom, which is Christ, can be found, but cannot be anticipated."

WIS 6:13 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

"Resplendent and unfading is wisdom, and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her. She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of man's desire." And so, she appears unchanging in the rules of divine Law that bind us. These rules are beyond error, doubt, and judgment, for judgment is by them, and not of them. Hence such wisdom is clear. They are also beyond change, restriction, and cancellation; hence such wisdom never wastes away. For these rules are so certain that they cannot be contradicted in any way. For they are rooted in Eternal Light and lead to it. And indeed such wisdom irradiates the soul: "sitting by his gate, she hastens to make herself known by anticipation."

WIS 6:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

Who from the light etc. I have rightly said that she is found by those who seek her, because who from the light, that is, as soon as the light rises for him: Gloss: "From the beginning of the shining of faith," not from the night, as sinners always remaining in the night, but as the just, of whom Proverbs 4: "The path of the just is as a shining light" etc.: First Thessalonians 5: "You are all children of the light." Shall have watched for her, against negligence: Proverbs 8: "They who watch for me in the morning shall find me." Shall not labor, because the sweetness of the thing sought and found will alleviate the labor: Sirach 6: "In her work you shall labor but little, and soon you shall eat of her fruits." For sitting etc., that is, in quiet and without motion ready to enter, just as the ray of the sun sits at a closed window. Sitting, I say, at his doors, namely the spiritual ones, namely the intellect and the affections: he shall find her: Revelation 3: "I stand at the door and knock" etc. She herself also has doors through which one enters to her: whence Proverbs 8: "Blessed is the man who hears me and watches at my doors daily": which are faith and charity: through faith the intellect enters to her, through charity the affections.

WIS 6:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

The benefit in the present is shown to be fourfold: first, understanding in the rational faculty; second, security in the irascible faculty; third, gladness in the concupiscible faculty; and fourth, foresight of future things. To think therefore upon her: as if to say: she is given not only to one who watches and seeks, but even to think upon her, not with a simple thought, but an affective one: whence the Gloss: "With the desire of divine contemplation": Sirach 14: "Blessed is the man who shall dwell in wisdom, etc., and in his understanding shall think upon the circumspection of God": is perfect understanding, that is, complete, because wisdom perfects the understanding of man, because, according to Hugh of Saint Victor, "wisdom is that in which the form of the perfect good consists." Or: To think upon her is perfect understanding, that is, then the understanding is perfectly ordered when it devotes itself to wisdom, according to that saying of Augustine: "The end of man on the way is to seek truth perfectly." And he who shall have watched: Gloss: "With intention of mind," on account of her, to acquire or to guard her, shall quickly be secure, namely from evil: "because the attainment of her is true security," according to the Gloss: Proverbs 11: "He who guards against snares shall be secure." This is the good security, of which Proverbs 15: "A secure mind is like a continual feast."

WIS 6:16 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

The whole world is a way leading to the exemplar. As you notice that a ray of light coming in through a window is colored according to the shades of the different panes, so the divine ray shines differently in each creature and in the various properties. Hence, in Wisdom: "She appears to them in the ways." Again, it is a trace of God's wisdom. Wherefore the creature exists only as a kind of imitation of God's wisdom, as a certain plastic representation of it.

WIS 6:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

For those worthy of herself: as if to say: I have rightly said that he will quickly be free from care, for those worthy of herself, namely those clean of heart and body: whence above in the first chapter: "Into a malevolent soul wisdom will not enter" etc. She goes about seeking, that is, from every side continuously offering herself and unceasingly: which unceasingness and continuity is given to be understood through what it says: she goes about: for rectilinear motion cannot be continued in the way that circular motion can. Thus incarnate Wisdom went about through the villages, as is evident from Mark 6. And in their ways, namely in precepts and counsels observed: concerning which, Proverbs 3: "Her ways are beautiful ways, and her paths are peaceful": she shows herself to them, according to that word of the Psalm: "From your commandments I have understood": cheerfully, gladdening them, namely in this, that she gives herself to them freely: 2 Corinthians 9: "God loves a cheerful giver," as does man also: whence Seneca: "The more delay you add, the more you subtract from the favor." And in all providence, concerning future things, perfectly providing for them the things necessary for salvation: she meets them; the Gloss: "As helper," just as incarnate Wisdom, rising again, met the women, as is recorded in Matthew 28.

WIS 6:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

Here are touched upon the steps of glory to be acquired through wisdom. The first step, that is, the beginning of wisdom, is the desire for discipline; from the desire for discipline, love; from love, the keeping of the law of God; from the keeping of the divine law, incorruption of mind and nearness to the divine likeness; from the divine likeness, the glory of the heavenly kingdom: therefore from the first, from the desire for wisdom, heavenly glory is obtained. For the beginning of it, namely of wisdom: as if to say: thus wisdom meets and shows herself. Nor is her showing and meeting useless. For, in the sense of because: the beginning of it, namely that by which a man begins to become wise: "for no one suddenly becomes the highest," as the Gloss says: is the truest for discipline, that is, for wisdom, desire. Concerning this desire it is said in the Psalm: "My soul has longed to desire" etc. For the desire for wisdom is itself a certain part of wisdom, according to that word of Sirach 6: "If you love to listen, you will be wise." But it seems that fear, and not love, is the beginning of wisdom, because it is said in Sirach 1: "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord." It must be said that fear is the first beginning, but love is the proximate beginning; or: fear is the extrinsic beginning, love the intrinsic beginning. Most true: but the desire is called here in contrast to the threefold vain desire, of which it is said in First John 2: "All that is in the world is either the desire of the flesh" etc., which arises from the threefold vanity, of which Ecclesiastes 1 says: "Vanity of vanities" etc.

WIS 6:17 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

The manner in which such wisdom is obtained is clearly seen from authority and through examples. As to the former, the Book of Wisdom reads: "For the first step toward discipline is a very earnest desire for her; then, care for discipline is love of her; love means the keeping of her laws; to observe her laws is the basis for incorruptibility; and incorruptibility makes one close to God; thus the desire for Wisdom leads up to a kingdom. If, then, you find pleasure in throne and scepter, you princes of the peoples, honor Wisdom, that you may reign forever." But discipline is twofold: scholastic and personal, the latter concerning ethics. And scholastic discipline without personal discipline is insufficient for wisdom: for a man becomes wise not merely by listening: he must also conform. A sick man is not healed by listening to a physician: he must follow his prescription. But few walk along that way of wisdom, hence few ever reach it.

WIS 6:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

Care therefore, as if to say: since it is the case that the desire for discipline is the beginning of wisdom, therefore care for discipline, that is, the desire for discipline, is love, that is, the cause of love for wisdom itself: for what we desire, we love when we possess it. And note that he calls wisdom and discipline the same thing, because they are the same in reality, although they differ in concept, because it is called wisdom insofar as it delightfully affects the mind inwardly; discipline, insofar as it orders and arranges outward actions. Or thus: desire etc. is love, that is, the cause of divine love: below in chapter seven: "God loves no one except him who dwells with wisdom": Hebrews 12: "But if you are without discipline, then you are not sons but illegitimate." And love is the keeping of her laws, that is, the cause of keeping them: Romans 13: "The fullness of the law is love," that is, the cause of the fulfillment of the divine law: First Timothy 1: "The end of the commandment is charity"; of laws, namely the natural, Mosaic, and evangelical: concerning which Isaiah 24: "They have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant." But the keeping of the laws is the consummation of incorruption, that is, the cause of consummated spiritual incorruption, namely of both mind and body in the present; or: of incorruption, "that is, of immortality" in the future, according to the Gloss: Proverbs 3: "Keep my law and my counsel, and it shall be life to your soul."

WIS 6:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

But incorruption makes one to be near to God: whence it is sung of virgins that "they follow the Lamb wherever he goes," Revelation 14.

WIS 6:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

Therefore the desire for wisdom, which is its beginning, will lead to an everlasting kingdom: the Gloss: "Which consists in the knowledge of the Divinity," according to that saying in John 17: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the true God" etc.

WIS 6:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Prooemium

General Introduction. Love the light of wisdom, all you who lead peoples, Wisdom 6. Since a thing must be formed and what has been deformed reformed by the same principle, and all things are read to have been made through wisdom, according to that verse of the Psalm: You have made all things in wisdom: it is necessary that all things be reformed through wisdom. Therefore the image of the rational soul, which "is read to have been made after the likeness of all wisdom" in the book On the Spirit and the Soul, but afterward deformed through sin to such an extent that it may rightly be asked: Whose is this image and inscription? must necessarily be reformed through wisdom. Likewise, because two things are necessary for its reformation, namely the expulsion of malice and the introduction of perfect good, so that it may be informed by it and expressly conformed to him whose image it is: wisdom, however, is expulsive of malice, whence Wisdom 7: Wisdom overcomes malice: likewise it is introductive of perfect good, because "wisdom is that in which the form of perfect good consists," as Hugh says in the book On the Origin of the Arts. And since the divine image, deformed through sin in the soul, needs reformation according to all three of its parts, which according to Augustine are understanding, memory, and will: therefore the Wise Man draws and invites to wisdom in a threefold manner, namely to the studious acquisition of wisdom, and this with regard to understanding; to the firm retention of acquired wisdom, and this with regard to memory; to the love of acquired and memorially retained wisdom, and this with regard to will. To the studious acquisition of wisdom: Proverbs 27: Study wisdom, my son. He calls son whomever he instructs with paternal affection, whether young or old. Augustine: "No age can seem too late to me for learning what is needful: because, even if it is more fitting for the old to teach than to be taught, yet it is more fitting for them to learn than to be ignorant of what they should teach." Study, he says, and this suggests that vehement diligence must be applied to the acquisition of wisdom. "For study, as Cicero says, is the vehement application of the mind with the greatest pleasure to accomplishing something." This vehement application of the mind, however, requires freedom from external occupations. "For he who with a confused mind is divided among many things is rendered unequal to each one," as Gregory says. On account of which, Ecclesiasticus 38: Write wisdom in a time of leisure, that is, of freedom from external work: for he who is less occupied in action, namely external action, will receive wisdom, as it says in the same place. For the firm retention of wisdom: Ecclesiasticus fourteenth, where it says: Blessed is the man who shall abide in wisdom: likewise Proverbs third: Inscribe her upon the tablets of your heart, that is, in the three parts of the divine image, and especially in the memory, by retaining her firmly. For which reason he says: Inscribe, for what is written is retained more firmly and for a longer time: Proverbs twenty-second: Behold, I have described her to you in threefold manner, that is, in the understanding through diligent acquisition, in the memory through firm retention, in the will through love: to which he exhorts in the words set forth, saying: Love the light of wisdom, etc.

WIS 6:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

If therefore you delight etc., as if to say: since he gives an everlasting kingdom, therefore if you delight in thrones and scepters: The Gloss: "He admonishes kings to love wisdom, without which they cannot reign: for the commonwealth is well governed when philosophers reign and kings philosophize. Rightly therefore the rulers of the Church are assiduous in the meditation of the divine law: for whoever follows it by learning, teaching, and practicing will attain the crown of the heavenly kingdom." If therefore you delight in thrones, of judicial power, and scepters, of royal dignity, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-three: "They love the chief seats," etc.; another reading has senses, with respect to discernment, and crowns, with respect to dignity: if you delight, I say, O kings of the people, that is, the greater rulers and prelates, both secular and ecclesiastical: love wisdom, that you may reign forever: Proverbs eight: "By me kings reign."

WIS 6:22 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

But what is wisdom, as if to say: thus I have invited you to wisdom, and that you may assent, I will relate, etc. Or it may be continued thus: up to this point I have admonished you to wisdom: but, standing for "however": from now on I will relate what wisdom is, etc. Behold, a great promise; "for she is hidden from the eyes of all the living," Job twenty-eight; nevertheless she can be known by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. What is, I say, wisdom, uncreated, that is, of what quality: for concerning her it cannot be known or said what she is, namely according to essence, but of what quality, since she is good, eternal, omnipotent, etc. But concerning created wisdom it can be known and said what it is: whence Augustine says: "Wisdom is the knowledge of divine things." And how she was made, that is, how she was begotten from the Father, namely the eternal Wisdom, who is the Son of God: First Corinthians one: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." Or: how she was made, that is, created, if it is expounded of created wisdom: Ecclesiasticus one: "Wisdom was created before all things": likewise in the same book, chapter twenty-four: "From the beginning and before the ages I was created," that is, disposed to be created. And I will not hide from you the mysteries of God, that is, the sacred and secret works of the wisdom of God. To the contrary: Tobit 12: "It is good to hide the secret of a king." It must be said that it should be hidden from tempters but revealed to lovers; whence John 15: "But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you." Likewise, it must be hidden from the proudly wise, but revealed to humble little ones: whence Matthew 11: "You have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and have revealed them to little ones," that is, the humble. Likewise, not to the gluttonous, but to the abstinent, as is clear from Daniel 1. But from the beginning of birth, that is, of human birth, or of wisdom itself; I will search out, by showing that she proceeds from God the Father. And I will bring to light, namely the light of manifestation, the knowledge of her, by teaching clearly: Sirach 24: "Those who elucidate me shall have eternal life." And I will not pass over the truth, by mixing in falsehoods: Sirach 37: "Before all works, let a truthful word precede you"; Augustine: "It is the distinguished mark of good minds to love the truth in words, not the words themselves."

WIS 6:23 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

Nor with wasting envy, that is, envy that causes wasting: Proverbs 14: "Envy is the rotting of the bones"; likewise in the Psalm: "The sinner shall see and shall be angry, he shall gnash his teeth and waste away." Will I travel, because she is the worst companion, for she devours a man like a wild beast: Genesis 37: "A most evil wild beast has devoured him, a beast has consumed Joseph." Such was Moses, that is, not envious, for he said: "Who would grant me that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit?" Numbers 11. Because such a man, namely the envious, will not be a partaker of wisdom: whence above, chapter 1: "Into a malevolent soul," etc.; Sirach 14: "To an envious man," that is, one full of envy, "what good is gold?" that is, wisdom, which is called gold on account of its preciousness: Proverbs 3: "For she is more precious than all riches."

WIS 6:24 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

But a multitude etc., as if to say: and you ought to listen; but, meaning because; because a multitude of the wise: the Gloss: "The assembly of preachers"; is the health of the world, that is, the cause of health: Proverbs 11: "Where there is no governor, the people shall fall; but there is safety where there are many counsels." Whoever therefore opposes the multiplication or multitude of the wise opposes the salvation of the world, and therefore such a one ought to be hated by the whole world. Such were those of whom the Apostle speaks in 1 Thessalonians 2: "They do not please God and are adversaries to all men." And a wise king is the stability of the people: Sirach 10: "A wise judge shall judge his people, and the government of a prudent man shall be stable." But this applies most especially to Christ, in whose person it is said: "I am the salvation of the people."

WIS 6:25 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 6

And because wisdom is so useful, therefore receive discipline, that is, wisdom, through my words, excitatively or occasionally, but through divine inspiration effectively and causally: whence Ecclesiasticus 1: "All wisdom is from the Lord God." And it will profit you, because it is said in the last chapter of Ecclesiastes: "The words of the wise are as goads," namely by provoking to good, "and as nails fastened deep," preserving from falling into evil.

WIS 7:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

Second, he takes a reason for exhorting to wisdom from his own example. For I myself am etc. Above he admonished rulers to acquire and love wisdom through a reason taken from the danger of their office; here from his own example. And first he shows how he received wisdom, namely in this chapter; second, how much he loved it, namely in the eighth chapter; third, how devoutly he sought it from the Lord, namely in the ninth chapter. First he shows how he received wisdom. In the first part, in order to descend to his purpose, first he describes the misery of human frailty; second, he shows that this occasion provoked him to acquire wisdom: Therefore I wished etc.; third, he shows by whom he was instructed: But to me. First, on the misery of human frailty. In the first, first he touches on the defectibility of human nature; second, the vileness of human conception: And in the womb; third, the condition of birth: And I; fourth, the labor of upbringing: In swaddling clothes; fifth, the commonality of misery: For no one etc. (Verse 1.). For I myself am etc. Thus I admonished you to receive the discipline of wisdom "through my words": and this you can do not only through my words, but also by my example, because I myself also am: indeed, that is, certainly: a mortal man, just as you are: mortal, I say, that is, able to die from the first condition, but having the necessity of dying from the first transgression; for man, according to Boethius, is a rational, mortal animal; likewise Romans 8: "The body indeed is dead because of sin," that is, subjected to the necessity of dying. Like all others in this condition of mortality; 2 Kings 14: "We all die, and like waters slip away into the earth, which do not return." And of the race of that earthly one, namely Adam the transgressor, who was first made, from the earth namely; whence Genesis 2: "God formed man from the slime of the earth"; likewise 1 Corinthians 15: "The first man was of the earth, earthly"; likewise in the same place: "As was the earthly one, such also are the earthly ones." And in the womb of my mother I was formed into flesh. For according to Augustine in the book of Eighty-three Questions, in the first six days the seed is like milk; in the remaining nine the milk is converted into blood; in the remaining twelve it is formed into flesh; in the remaining eighteen it is formed into an organic body. And then around the forty-fifth or forty-sixth day the soul is infused into the body. And during the entire remaining time after the infusion of the soul, the body is nourished and grows.

WIS 7:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Vers. 2.). In the time of ten months I was compacted in blood from the seed of a man, according to the natural philosophers, as the Gloss says: "The seed of the woman is sanguineous, the seed of the man is white: from the commingling of these, the one as passive and the other as active, coagulation occurs": Job 10: "Did you not pour me out like milk, and curdle me like cheese"? This coagulation occurs in the first part of the ten months: but the entire duration of formation itself is a period of nine months. But to the contrary: Because the common time of formation is nine months: whence 2 Maccabees 7: "Have pity on me, my son, who bore you nine months in my womb." I respond: As the Gloss says, "some are born in the seventh month, some in the eighth, some in the ninth: but those born in the tenth are said to be more perfect, healthier, and more vigorous." But Christ, according to the Gloss, was in His mother's womb "nine months and six days": whence what he says, ten months, is taken synecdochically: "for it was from the eighth of the Kalends of April to the eighth of the Kalends of January." And with the pleasure of sleep concurring, or of concurring [sleep], that is, by the pleasurable act of the common sleeping together of a man with a woman. This pleasure is compared to the pleasure of sleep, because it binds reason and quickly passes, just as the pleasure of sleep.

WIS 7:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Vers. 3.). And being born I received the common air, for the necessity of breathing: Ecclesiastes 3: "All things breathe alike." And in like manner I fell, from the womb of my mother, upon the earth that was made, namely by God, Genesis 1: and this with respect to the necessity of life and sustenance. And the first voice, like all others, namely those being born, I uttered, crying. Augustine says that "a child from his crying begins to be a prophet of his own calamity"; "but they report, that is, they say, that Zoroaster alone, king of the Bactrians, laughed when he was born." John the Baptist alone also, contrary to the law of those being born, anticipated his own birth with joy and exultation; Luke 1: "The infant leaped for joy in my womb."

WIS 7:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Vers. 4. 5. 6.). In swaddling clothes, namely of cloths, I was nurtured: Luke 2: "She wrapped him in swaddling clothes." And with great cares: 2 Maccabees 7: "For three years I gave you milk and brought you up to this age."

WIS 7:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

For no one among kings had a different beginning of birth, because in natural things there is no difference between kings and subjects, but only in the goods of fortune.

WIS 7:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

Therefore there is one entrance into life for all, namely through temporal birth so lowly, as has been said: and a similar departure, namely through death so harsh, as is described in the last chapter of Ecclesiastes. Likewise, there is one entrance, namely through a poor birth; and a similar departure, namely through a most impoverished death: Job 1: "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither": Ecclesiastes 5: "A most wretched infirmity: as he came, so shall he return."

WIS 7:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Holiness is an immediate disposition toward wisdom: hence a yearning and a strong desire are the door to wisdom. "Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her. Nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire. Beyond health and comeliness I loved her, and I chose to have her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep. And I rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom is their leader, though I had not known that she is the mother of these." But the author says that he came to this Wisdom through prayer and pleading. For if She is the supreme good, She must be loved supremely; and if She is all good, She must be desired universally and above anything else.

WIS 7:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

Second, he shows that, prompted by this occasion toward wisdom, he says. For this reason I desired, etc. Here he shows that this occasion prompted him to acquire wisdom: and first he touches on the attainment of the desired wisdom; second, the estimation of what was attained: And I preferred her; third, the love of what was esteemed: Above health; fourth, the communication of what was possessed and loved: Which I learned without pretense. (Verses 7-8). For this reason, that is, struck by the consideration of the aforementioned miseries, I desired, namely wisdom. And understanding was given to me, that is, wisdom: Proverbs 10: "The desire of the just shall be granted." And I called upon, the Gloss says: "the Lord"; James 1: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God." And there came into me, as I called upon him, the spirit of wisdom, according to that verse of the Psalm: "I opened my mouth," namely in prayer, "and drew in the spirit"; likewise Ecclesiasticus 15: "In the midst of the church he opened his mouth, and the Lord filled him with the spirit of wisdom."

WIS 7:8 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

Of wisdom the Wise Man says: "Her I loved and preferred to kingdoms and thrones, and I deemed riches nothing in comparison with her; above health and beauty I loved her. And all good things came to me together with her, and innumerable riches through her hands; and I rejoiced in all things, because this wisdom went before me." The Philosopher says that wisdom has the greatest delights. If it is a great thing to be illuminated by wisdom, it is a greater thing to be gladdened, insofar as one loves one's principle.

WIS 7:8 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

WIS 7:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

And I preferred her, namely in estimation of value, to kingdoms, that is, to the dignities of kings, and to thrones, that is, to the dignities of judges: and rightly so, because she says: "By me kings reign," Proverbs 8. And I counted riches as nothing in comparison with her: Proverbs 3: "She is more precious than all riches." "For what does it profit a fool to have riches, when he cannot purchase wisdom?"

WIS 7:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Verse 9). Nor did I compare to her, that is, to her price or power, any precious stone: in the Psalm: "I have loved your commandments above gold and topaz"; likewise Job 28: "It shall not be compared with the dyed colors of India, nor with the most precious sardonyx stone, or the sapphire." "Neither shall the topaz of Ethiopia be equal to it." For, etc., as if to say: and rightly so, because all gold, that is, all the gold that is in the world, in comparison with her is sand, that is, unfruitful earth: Bernard says: "What is gold but red earth"? of small account, that is, of little weight: Job 28: "Fine gold shall not be given for it." And as clay, that is, of no value, shall silver be esteemed in her sight: Job 28: "Silver shall not be weighed in exchange for it": Proverbs 3: "The gaining of her is better than the trading of gold and silver," etc. But silver is compared to clay because it stains the hands and the soul: Habakkuk 2: "How long does he heap up against himself thick clay?" It should be noted that wisdom is preferred to silver and gold and every worldly treasure, first by reason of origin, because worldly treasure is from the earth: Job 28: "Silver has the beginnings of its veins, and there is a place for gold where it is refined," indeed "it is earth," according to blessed Bernard: but wisdom is from heaven, as is clear from James 3. Second, by reason of nature, because worldly treasure is a corporeal thing, but wisdom is a spiritual thing: whence Isaiah 11: "The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom," etc. Third, by reason of power, because treasure is finite, but wisdom is infinite: whence below in this same chapter: "She is an infinite treasure to men, which they that use are made partakers of the friendship of God." Fourth, by reason of operation, because treasure can accomplish few things, but she accomplishes all things: whence below in chapter 8: "What is richer than wisdom, which works all things?" Fifth, by reason of estimation, because treasure falls under estimation, but she does not: Job 28: "It shall not be compared with the dyed colors of India," etc. Sixth, by reason of utility, because wisdom without riches profits, but riches without wisdom do not profit, but rather harm: whence Ecclesiastes 5: "Riches kept to the hurt of their owner." Seventh, by reason of duration, because "wisdom is glorious, and never fades away," above in chapter 6; but riches are corrupted: whence James 5: "Your riches are corrupted"; likewise James 1: "The rich man shall wither away in his journeys." Eighth, by reason of inclination, because wisdom, since it is from above, elevates upward, but gold and silver drag downward, namely toward the earth: whence Baruch 3: "They that hoarded up silver and gold, in which men trust, have been cut off and have descended to the netherworld."

WIS 7:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

Above health etc. Here he shows the love of esteemed wisdom. And first he shows the greatness of this love; second, its reason: But all good things came to me etc. (Verse 10). Above health: the Gloss says: "Of the body," namely interior health; the Psalm: "For vain is the salvation of man"; and beauty, the Gloss says: "Of corporeal things," namely exterior beauty, because, Proverbs 31, "favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain"; I loved her, namely wisdom, because insofar as the spirit is better than the body and more dearly to be loved, so much more are spiritual things better than corporeal things and more to be loved. And I loved her so greatly that I purposed to have her for my light, which light, I say, is the most beautiful and most delightful and best among corporeal things, according to Augustine: so wisdom among spiritual things is the light of the soul; Sirach, the last chapter: "In his wisdom my soul shone, and he illuminated my ignorances"; below in the same chapter: "She is more beautiful than the sun." There follows: For her light is inextinguishable, namely as far as it is in itself; below in the same chapter: "Being compared with light, she is found before it, for night succeeds that light."

WIS 7:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

"And I rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom is their leader, though I had not known that she is the mother of these." But the author says that he came to this Wisdom through prayer and pleading. For if She is the supreme good, She must be loved supremely; and if She is all good, She must be desired universally and above anything else.

WIS 7:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Vers. 11.). All good things came to me, namely of graces, within me absolutely: together with her, namely with uncreated wisdom, that is, the Son of God: whence Romans 8: "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him give us all things?" The Gloss: "Whoever receives the knowledge of Christ equally has the grace of all virtues and in the future eternal life." Or: with her, that is, with created wisdom, because she herself is the most perfect of gifts. "Solomon experienced this, to whom when he asked for wisdom the Lord added riches and glory." And innumerable honor, outwardly in comparison to others: through the hands, that is, the works, of her, supply: came to me: whence below in chapter 10: "She honored him in his labors," etc.

WIS 7:11 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23

WIS 7:11 — Breviloquium, Part 5

For the carrying out of the seven offices of the virtues there must be seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. For fear disposes to temperance, since fear transfixes the flesh; piety to true justice; knowledge to prudence; fortitude to fortitude or patience; counsel to hope; understanding to faith; wisdom to charity. Whence, just as charity is the mother and consummation of all the virtues, so wisdom is of the gifts, such that the Wise Man truly says: All good things came to me together with her, and innumerable honor through her hands.

WIS 7:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Vers. 12.). And I rejoiced, filled with joy, in all things, namely the gifts of wisdom: Sirach, the last chapter: "My heart rejoiced in her." For this wisdom went before me, namely by directing my steps: Sirach 4: "She receives those who seek her and goes before them in the way of justice." This is the pillar of fire and cloud going before the children of Israel by night and by day, Exodus 13. And I did not know, namely before I possessed her: The Gloss: "By the progress of meditation he understands that he has advanced so much that, comparing his former knowledge with the latter, he considers it ignorance." I did not know, I say, that she is the mother of all these things, namely of goods: Sirach 24: "I am the mother of fair love and of fear," etc.; likewise in the same place: "In me is all grace," etc.

WIS 7:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

Which without pretense etc. Here first is touched upon the liberality of the communication of wisdom; second, the reason for communicating: For it is an infinite treasure. (Vers. 13.). Which without pretense, that is, with my whole heart, I learned, knowing that "the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful," above in chapter 1; likewise Proverbs 2: "If you seek her as money, and dig for her as for treasures," etc. And without envy I communicate, namely not withholding useful things, above in chapter 6: "Neither will I journey with consuming envy"; likewise Proverbs 5: "Let your fountains flow abroad." And her honor, that is, her beauty, I do not hide, by veiling with obscure words: Sirach 4: "Do not hide your wisdom in her beauty"; likewise Sirach 20: "Hidden wisdom and an unseen treasure, what profit is in either?"

WIS 7:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Vers. 14.). For she is an infinite treasure in herself, to men: whence she is also inexhaustible through communication; and therefore Cicero says that knowledge is a noble treasure of the soul, which when distributed receives increase and disdains the avaricious possessor: unless it is made public, it slips away. Augustine: "Every good which does not diminish by giving, if it is possessed and not given, is not yet possessed as it ought to be possessed"; Ecclesiasticus 1: "He will fill her whole house from his generations, and her storehouses from his treasures." Those who have used this, namely the treasure of wisdom, governing themselves according to her, have been made partakers of the friendship of God: whence below in the same chapter: "She makes friends of God and prophets." On account of the gifts of discipline, that is, of wisdom, gifts which they possess not through their own industry, but through the distribution of the Holy Spirit, according to that passage in 1 Corinthians 12: "All these things," namely the gifts of graces, "one and the same Spirit works, dividing to each one as He wills." Commended, that is, made commendable, namely to God and to men: 2 Corinthians 10: "For not he who commends himself is approved, but he whom God commends."

WIS 7:15-16 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

"For God has given me to speak according to judgment and to conceive thoughts worthy of those things that are given to me. In his hand are both we and our words." It is impossible that wisdom should become doctrine except through speech. But speech is not sufficient for teaching unless it is full of meaning. And a man does not speak meaningfully unless his speech is analytical, inquisitive, and persuasive, namely, that he have speech powerful enough to express everything that can be apprehended or known, or toward which the affections can be inclined. Moreover, he fittingly expresses what he says through grammar, rationally investigates through the science of logic, and effectively persuades through rhetoric. This therefore is a part of philosophy, namely the science of discourse, which is threefold, as is evident, which Solomon attained.

WIS 7:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

Third, he shows from whom he learned wisdom. But God gave me to speak, etc. Here he shows from whom he learned wisdom: and first he shows who taught him; second, what things he taught: For He Himself gave me, etc.; third, through what medium he taught him: For the artificer of all things, etc. First, who taught him. (Verse 15). But to me etc. I have rightly said: Those who have used etc.: but I have used: but, in place of 'because': God gave me to speak, that is, not only to know, but also to teach: Isaiah 50: "The Lord gave me a learned tongue, that I might know how to sustain with a word him who has fallen." To speak, I say, according to judgment, that is, with firm determination: Proverbs 12: "The lip of truth shall be established forever": the Psalm: "The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment," that is, a firm judgment. And to presume. It should be noted that there is a presumption of arrogance, concerning which Judith 6: "Those presuming in themselves and glorying in their own strength you humble." And there is a presumption of confidence in divine power and mercy, concerning which in the same place: "You do not forsake those who presume in you" etc.; likewise Judith 9: "Hear me, wretched and presuming upon your mercy." And to presume, that is, to act confidently, things worthy, namely works, of those things which are given to me, that is, to perform vigorous and fitting works according to the gifts bestowed upon me: "For to whom more is committed, more shall be required of him." For he himself, namely God, is the guide of wisdom: Gloss: "That is, the author": Ecclesiasticus 1: "All wisdom is from the Lord God." Likewise the giver: James 1: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God" etc. And the amender of the wise, that is, the corrector: Revelation 3: "Those whom I love, I rebuke" etc., namely if it happens that they err in something. Sometimes even good Homer nods. Likewise Augustine: I may err, but I shall never be a heretic.

WIS 7:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Verse 16). For in his hand etc. I have rightly said that he is the guide and amender of the wise: for in the hand of him: Gloss: "That is, in his power"; are both we, who possess wisdom: Jeremiah 18: "As clay in the hand of the potter, so also are you in my hand"; likewise Proverbs 21: "As the divisions of waters, so is the heart of the king in the hand of the Lord." And our words: Proverbs 16: "It is for man to prepare his mind, but for the Lord to govern the tongue"; Matthew 10: "It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father" etc. And all wisdom, which namely is the knowledge of divine things, and of works, namely human, the discipline of knowledge; Isaiah 26: "All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord."

WIS 7:17 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Solomon says that he attained the other part of philosophy, namely that which concerns the truth of things. Whence he says in the book of Wisdom: "God gave me true knowledge of the things that are, that I might know the disposition of the whole world and the powers of the elements." It is certain that the knowledge of the truth of things is threefold, according as there are concrete forms, abstract forms, and separate forms. The natural philosopher considers concrete forms, the mathematician abstract forms, and the metaphysician separate forms. Whence he says: "God gave me the knowledge of the things that are," that is, of beings principally, which are truly beings, with respect to metaphysical science; "that I might know the disposition of the whole world," with respect to mathematics; "and the powers of the elements," with respect to natural philosophy. Solomon knew the course of the year from the disposition of the stars, the natures of animals, and the powers of roots; Solomon taught all things.

WIS 7:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

Second, what sort of things he taught. For he himself gave me. Here he shows what things and what sort of things God taught him, and first, that he taught him the knowledge of temporal causes; second, of temporal changes: The beginning and the end; third, of temporal effects: The natures of animals. (Vers. 17.). For he himself, namely God, who alone teaches hearts, according to that saying of Augustine: "He who teaches hearts on earth has his chair in heaven": gave me, of the things that are, that is, of existing things, because there is no knowledge of non-existing things: whence the Philosopher says: "What does not exist cannot be known." "For each thing, as it is related to being, so it is related to truth," as he himself says. True knowledge, that is, certain cognition unmixed with any falsehood: 3 Kings 4: "God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great prudence." That I might know the disposition of the whole world, that is, of the heaven encompassing the entire world: Ecclesiasticus 24: "I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven": and the virtues of the elements, that is, the qualities and seminal reasons and mixtures or connections and temperaments of the elements: Proverbs 8: "When he prepared the heavens, I was present: when with a certain law and compass he enclosed the depths."

WIS 7:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Vers. 18.). The beginning and the end and the middle of times, namely of the four seasons or parts of the year, which are caused by the motion of the sun, according to the four quadrants of the zodiac: the alternating changes, that is, of the successions of days and nights, by which the quality of the air is changed, namely from brightness to darkness and conversely: and the consummation of times, that is, of months both solar and lunar. Some add here: the changes of customs and the divisions of times: the changes of customs, that is, of human habits, according to the diverse states of men: the divisions of times, that is, of the ages of the world or of man.

WIS 7:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Vers. 19. 20.). The course of the year, that is, the time caused by the motion of the sun through the entire zodiac: Genesis 1: "That they may be for signs and for seasons and for days and years." And of the stars, namely of those other than the sun, the dispositions, with respect to the quality of nights: in the Psalm: "The moon and the stars to rule the night."

WIS 7:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

The natures of animals, namely of tame ones, and the rages of beasts, that is, the impulses of fierce animals, such as the lion and the like. And it should be noted that he says: the natures of animals and the rages of beasts, with respect to sensible substances. Then he adds with respect to things inanimate: the force of winds, which are twelve, four principal and eight collateral: and they are of great power, as is clear in Job 1 and Exodus 14, in the drying up of the sea, and in many other places. And the thoughts of men. Against this: God alone knows the hearts of men: whence 1 Corinthians 2: "For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?" as if to say: no one except God. It must be said that here he speaks of the knowledge of conjecture, not of certitude. Or it must be said that through the revelation of Wisdom they can be known by man, not through nature or one's own industry. The differences of shrubs, that is, of plants, and the powers of roots, namely, of herbs: 3 Kings 4: "He discoursed on all trees from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop," etc.

WIS 7:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Vers. 21.). And whatever things are hidden, or concealed, from their causes, and unforeseen by men, I learned: Ecclesiastes 7: "I surveyed all things with my mind, that I might know and consider and seek wisdom."

WIS 7:21 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

WIS 7:22 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Verse 22.). For there is in her etc., as if to say: and well was she able to teach me: for there is in her, namely in wisdom, a Spirit etc., in her, namely according to humanity, by dwelling: Isaiah 11: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him"; in her according to Divinity by emanating from her. A Spirit, I say, of understanding, [its] giver: Job 32: "The inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding." Holy: the Gloss: "Sanctifying all things": above, chapter 1: "The holy Spirit of discipline," etc. Manifold: the Gloss: "Giving manifold graces": 1 Corinthians 12: "There are divisions of graces, etc. But all these things one and the same Spirit works, dividing to each one as he wills." One: the Gloss: "Uniting the good"; Ephesians 4: "Careful to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." Subtle, that is, causing hidden things to be penetrated: 1 Corinthians 2: "The Spirit searches all things," that is, causes all things to be searched, "even the deep things of God." Likewise, subtle, that is, producing subtlety or furnishing keenness of understanding: whence he is called "the spirit of understanding," Isaiah 11. Modest, that is, teaching to maintain measure in all things: Philippians 4: "Let your moderation be known to all men." Eloquent, that is, making others eloquent: below, chapter 10: "He made the tongues of infants eloquent." Mobile, that is, making others mobile through obedience: Ezekiel 1: "Wherever the spirit went, the wheels likewise were lifted up, following him. For the spirit of life was in the wheels."

WIS 7:22 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Because this wisdom is attained only through grace, a wise writer attributes all hidden and unforeseeable things to the Holy Spirit and to the Word Himself, as having to be revealed by them. Hence he says: "And all such things as are hid and not foreseen, I have learned: for Wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me." And he says the same as Paul. "For in her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle," etc. This spirit lifts up the soul and teaches unforeseen things.

WIS 7:23 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

Loving the good etc. Here he shows his goodness in comparison to us, first, in the love of the good; second, in its promotion: Who nothing [hinders]; third, in the communication of himself or communion: Humane: fourth, in the communication of his own, there: Kind. He says therefore: Loving the good, in act; 1 Corinthians 13: "It does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices with the truth": who in no way hinders doing good, indeed he assists; Romans 8: "The Spirit helps our weakness"; Proverbs 3: "Do not forbid doing good," etc. (Vers. 23.). Humane: The Gloss: "Common to all"; Acts 10: "In truth I have found that God is no respecter of persons." Or: humane, that is, compassionate, the sign of which is what is said in Romans 8: "The Spirit intercedes for us with unspeakable groanings." Or: humane, that is, willingly dwelling among men; Proverbs 8: "My delights are to be with the sons of men." Kind: that is, generous "by innate goodness"; above, chapter 1: "The spirit of wisdom is kind," etc.; likewise: Kind, by forgiving evils, giving good things, directing toward the homeland; whence kindness is said to be a fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5. Steadfast, namely in himself, according to that saying of Boethius: "And remaining steadfast," etc.; likewise, giving steadfastness in his promised gifts. Nor is it surprising if here he is called steadfast and above in the same passage mobile, because here it is said with respect to diverse effects, concerning which the Psalm says: "He set my feet upon a rock and directed my steps." Or: mobile in active things, steadfast in contemplative things; or: steadfast in Christ, mobile in other Saints; John 1: "Upon whom you shall see the Spirit remaining." Or thus: steadfast, in the good; sure, that is, constant in the true; secure, from evil, according to that saying of the Psalm: "No evil shall approach you." And just as in himself he is steadfast and sure and secure, so also those whom he inhabits he makes steadfast in the good, sure in the true, secure from evil; Colossians 1: "Grounded in faith and steadfast and immovable from the hope of the Gospel." Having every virtue. Here he shows its universal sufficiency, first, in goodness; second, in wisdom: Overseeing all things; third, in power: And who comprehends all intelligible spirits. He says therefore: Having every virtue; in the Psalm: "By the Spirit of his mouth is all their virtue." But to the contrary: Because he does not have faith, since faith is enigmatic knowledge and an imperfect virtue. It must be said that he speaks of every virtue, not any whatsoever, but perfect virtue. Beholding all things: Job 37: "He beholds above all the heavens, and his light is over all the ends of the earth"; likewise Hebrews 4: "All things are naked and open to his eyes." And who apprehends all spirits, namely the angelic ones, "because they run within him, wherever they may be sent," according to Bede on that passage in Luke 1: "I am Gabriel, who stand before God." Spirits Angels are called with respect to their substance or nature; intelligible, with respect to their power, or because they are by nature not uniteable to bodies. Or: apprehends, that is, causes to apprehend, all spirits, that is, all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, concerning which Isaiah 11: "The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding," etc. Pure, namely through the purity of innocence: for Angels are, according to Dionysius, "pure and most brilliant mirrors"; and he adds: pure, to distinguish them from unclean spirits, that is, demons. Subtle, through the keenness of understanding; or: subtle, through wisdom; Gregory: "What is there that they do not see, who see him who sees all things?" Some books have pure, subtle: pure the spirit of wisdom is, because without the dregs of matter; subtle, because it is pure form. But the first reading is more correct, because thus Rabanus has it in the text and in the exposition. Or: pure the spirit of wis…

WIS 7:24 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

For more mobile than all mobile things. Here he shows that wisdom, through its nature and through the power that is in it, was able to be the medium by which he was instructed. And to demonstrate this he first adduces its mobility; second, its purity: But she reaches; third, its power: And being but one; fourth, its beauty: For she is more beautiful. (Verse 24). I have rightly said that in her there is a spirit, etc. For more mobile than all mobile things, by whatever kind of motion, namely whether in substance, or in quality, or in quantity, or in place, wisdom is more mobile, that is, swifter in working; the Gloss: "Nothing is more subtle and mobile than wisdom, which created, governs, and orders all things"; more mobile, I say, not because it is moved, but because it moves all things while remaining itself immobile, according to that saying of Boethius: And remaining stable, you give all things to be moved. Likewise Acts 17: "In him we live and move and have our being." But she reaches, etc. Here he shows her purity, first through this, that she proceeds, or emanates, from the most pure fountain; second, because she represents in herself the brightness of the fountain: She is the brightness, etc. Thus I said, that wisdom is more mobile than all mobile things: and not only so; moreover, standing for "but": but what is more, it reaches everywhere, that is, from the limit of the highest creature to the lowest creature: Ambrose in the Hexaemeron: "Divine wisdom has penetrated even to the locust." But against this: Job 28: "The abyss says: It is not in me; the sea says: It is not with me." The response is that there he speaks not of creatures, but of the defects of creatures. Or better it should be said that God is not in the abyss or in the sea by containment, since he can be contained by nothing, but he is there by presence, according to that Psalm: "If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I descend into hell, you are present." On account of its purity, that is, its abstraction from all material dregs: for because it is entirely immobile, therefore it is uncircumscribable, according to Damascene.

WIS 7:24 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 6

Wisdom 7: Wisdom is more mobile than all mobile things: it is clear that he speaks of uncreated wisdom: therefore if wisdom itself is most mobile, it seems that the divine being is most mutable among all mutable things. To this it must be said that something is called mobile in three ways: either through efficient causality, or through representative exemplarity, or through inherent variation. In the first and second ways wisdom is called most mobile, because this pertains to perfection: but not in the third, because this pertains to incompleteness. Or it can be said that because a mobile thing according to position is made present to many places by its very motion, and that which is moved more swiftly is more swiftly presented to more places; hence it is that since divine wisdom is most present to all things, it is called most mobile among all mobile things, not because it passes from one thing to another, but because it is present to all things. And this is what Dionysius says in On the Divine Names, chapter nine: "That God is moved must be devoutly understood not according to conveyance, or mutation, or alteration, or modal or local motion, not rectilinear, not circular, not from both combined, not intelligible, not animate, not natural, but that God acts upon substance and contains all things and provides for all things totally, and that he is present to all things by encompassing all and by provident processions and operations toward all existing things."

WIS 7:25 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 6

First to appear, then, in the eternal light, are the exemplary virtues, or the exemplars of the virtues, that is, the height of purity, the beauty of clarity, the strength of power and the straightness of diffusion. "Vapor is from the power of God and is a certain pure emanation from the clarity of the omnipotent God; and therefore nothing sullied is found in it." Behold, the height of purity.

WIS 7:25 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

It is said of the virtues in the Book of Wisdom: For "she is an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty." Later, "she is the refulgence of eternal light," referring to purity or moderation; the "mirror," referring to prudence; "she reaches from end to end mightily," referring to fortitude; "and governs all things well," referring to justice.

WIS 7:25 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Verse 25). For it is the vapor of the power of God, that is, emanating from God the Father, as vapor from heat: the Gloss: "That is, to warm the cold of our unbelief": Sirach 24: "Like an uncut Lebanon I sent forth vapor in my dwelling." And it is a certain emanation of the brightness of almighty God, that is, emanating from God the Father, as splendor from light, namely to illuminate the darkness of our intellect: Hebrews 1: "Who being the splendor of glory" etc.; likewise Isaiah 62: "Until his just one goes forth as splendor." Pure, without admixture of darkness: 1 John 1: "God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all." Moreover this procession is without diminution of the paternal substance, or separation, but with personal distinction, according to that of Athanasius: "Neither confounding the persons, nor separating the substance." And because it proceeds as light, which cannot be contaminated, therefore nothing defiled, by defilement either culpable or even natural, falls upon it, namely uncreated wisdom: the Gloss: "Evil does not approach the highest good."

WIS 7:26 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 9

That wisdom is a light descending to illuminate our intellective power is evident, because it is written in the book of Wisdom that "she is the brightness of eternal light, the unspotted mirror of God's majesty, and the image of his goodness. And being one, she can do all things, and remaining in herself, she renews all things, and through nations transfers herself into holy souls and constitutes friends of God and prophets. For God loves none but him who dwells with wisdom. For she is more beautiful than the sun and above every arrangement of the stars; compared to light, she is found to be prior." Rightly is wisdom called the seat of God, and the soul so described, which is more beautiful than heaven, indeed than the whole universe, is the seat of God.

WIS 7:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 6

"Brightness is from eternal light, a spotless mirror of God's majesty and an image of His goodness." And: "This light, then, is more beautiful than the sun, and its brilliance is incomparably superior to any pattern of stars." Behold, the beauty of clarity. But where there is a mirror and an image and brightness, there is necessarily representation and beauty. "Beauty is nothing else but harmonious proportion." And here, there are proportionate relationships retraced to unity. And because this light is most beautiful, it reaches everywhere on account of its purity.

WIS 7:26 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Verse 26). And truly nothing defiled falls upon it. For it is the brightness of eternal light, that is, the purest light from eternal light, namely proceeding from the Father; whence it is sung: "Light from light you appeared, O Christ." In this light the eternal light is seen, according to that Psalm: "In your light we shall see light"; likewise John 14: "He who sees me sees the Father also." It is therefore the brightness of eternal light, with respect to the representation of wisdom, and the spotless mirror of the majesty of God, with respect to the representation of divine majesty and power, according to that of John 5: "For whatever things he," namely the Father, "has done, these the Son likewise does." Without spot, I say, of sin, because "he did not commit sin" etc., 1 Peter 2. And the image of his goodness: the Gloss: "That is, the full representation of his goodness": Colossians 1: "Who is the image of the invisible God." It should be noted that the mirror is the Son of God, immaculate in act and in potency. The mirror is also the Angel, according to Dionysius, pure and most clear, and although immaculate in act, yet stained in potency, at least remotely. The mirror is also the human spirit, in which the divine image shines forth, Genesis 1, stained in act and in potency. The mirror is also said to be every creature, because through it, as through its vestige, the invisible things of God are represented: Romans 1: "The invisible things of God are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being understood through the things that have been made": likewise 1 Corinthians 13: "We see now through a mirror in an enigma." The mirror is also Sacred Scripture: James 1: "He is compared to a man considering the countenance of his birth in a mirror."

WIS 7:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

It is said of the virtues in the Book of Wisdom: "She is the refulgence of eternal light," referring to purity or moderation; the "mirror," referring to prudence; "she reaches from end to end mightily," referring to fortitude; "and governs all things well," referring to justice.

WIS 7:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Observing justice helps to obtain wisdom, as the tendency of matter inclines to the form and makes it able to be joined to the form through the medium of dispositions. And so keeping justice brings forth wisdom. Hence, "she is the refulgence of the eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of His goodness. And she, who is one, can do all things, and renews everything while herself perduring; and passing into holy souls from age to age."

WIS 7:26 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

WIS 7:27 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Verse 27). And being one, namely in essence with the Father, according to that saying of John 10: "I and the Father are one"; she can do all things, that is, she has the same power as the Father; whence below, chapter 18: "Your almighty word, O Lord, came from the royal throne." But, if she can do all things, then she can lie or die: which is false. It must be said that she can do all things that do not contradict her goodness, or those things which to be able to do is some power, not impotence. And remaining in herself, namely unchangeable, according to that saying of James 1: "With whom there is no change" etc.: she renews all things, namely temporal things through continuous generation; Ecclesiastes 1: "A generation passes away, a generation comes": and spiritual things through spiritual regeneration: 2 Corinthians 5: "If any be a new creature in Christ, the old things have passed away": Revelation 21: "Behold, I make all things new." And through nations, carnal, or rather spiritual, of which John 3: "Unless one be born again of water" etc. Into holy souls, that is, those cleansed from sin, she conveys herself, through the spiritual coming of grace into the mind: John 14: "We will come to him" etc. It should be noted that to convey herself is said not through a new position or by changing place, but through a new effect: whence it follows: Friends of God, through the enkindling of the affections, and prophets she constitutes, through the illumination of the intellect: John 15: "I will no longer call you servants, but friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you."

WIS 7:27 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Observing justice helps to obtain wisdom, as the tendency of matter inclines to the form and makes it able to be joined to the form through the medium of dispositions. Not that these dispositions perish, or even less, that they are fulfilled either in the human bodies or in others. And so keeping justice brings forth wisdom. Hence, "she is the refulgence of the eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of His goodness. And she, who is one, can do all things, and renews everything while herself perduring; and passing into holy souls from age to age."

WIS 7:28 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Verse 28). For God loves no one except him who dwells with wisdom, namely by remaining with him "who shall meditate on the law of the Lord day and night," according to the Gloss: Proverbs 8: "I, wisdom, dwell in counsel and am present among learned thoughts." And if God loves no one except him who dwells with wisdom: "blessed therefore is the man who shall abide in wisdom," Ecclesiasticus 14. God loves no one etc. - On the contrary: Below in chapter 11: "You love all things that are," and yet not all things dwell with wisdom. But it must be said that there he speaks of natural love, here of gratuitous love.

WIS 7:29 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 6

WIS 7:29 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

For she is more beautiful etc. Here he treats of the beauty of wisdom, preferring it to the beauty of the sun, and first he sets forth the comparison; second, the proof of the comparison: For night succeeds it. (Verse 29.) I have rightly said that God loves him who dwells with wisdom, and deservedly so. For she, namely wisdom, is more beautiful than the sun, because spiritual beauty surpasses corporeal beauty: above in the same chapter: "Above health and beauty I loved her"; than the sun, namely the material sun, because she is the beauty of the sun of justice, of which Malachi 4 says: "The sun of justice shall arise for you who fear my name." And above every arrangement of the stars, it must be repeated: she is more beautiful. For she herself made the stars, Genesis 1, and it is certain that she retained more beauty for herself than she gave to the stars; therefore above in chapter 4: "O how beautiful is the chaste generation with brightness!" namely, of wisdom. Compared to light, namely both of the sun and of the stars, she is found to be prior, namely in eternity, dignity, and causality; whence Sirach 24: "I caused an unfailing light to rise in the heavens"; the Gloss: "Corporeal light, which now sets, now rises, compared to spiritual light, appears as a spark. Christ also far transcends the brightness of the saints."

WIS 7:29 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Likewise, the fruit of wisdom is born of the last four by contrast. Corresponding to this fruit, there are four acts, for wisdom is comforting, struggling, contemplating, and extolling. It is also contemplating the Supreme Good: "For she is fairer than the sun." Wisdom makes the soul taste the Supreme Good and be united to it.

WIS 7:29 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

Concerning the wisdom of the Exemplar, there is in the seventh chapter of Wisdom: "For she is fairer than the sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars." It is indeed a beautiful wisdom, because it is light, but it is more beautiful than the sun, since the sun is unable to give birth to its radiance within itself, while the Eternal Sun begets the most beautiful Radiance within Himself. Likewise, eternal wisdom exerts its influence over all things.

WIS 7:29 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

Because He is illuminating light: For she is "fairer than the sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars." For although the sun possesses the means by which it can radiate, it yet does not have the species described within itself. Wherefore more beautiful is this Exemplar which has light and also the clear species of light.

WIS 7:30 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 7

(Verse 30.) For night succeeds it, namely corporeal light, according to that passage in Genesis 8: "Night and day shall not cease"; likewise Isaiah 21: "Morning comes and also night." But night does not succeed spiritual light; whence it follows: But malice, which is spiritual darkness, does not overcome wisdom, which is spiritual light, according to John Damascene; whence John 1: "The light shines in the darkness."

WIS 7:30 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 6

From this it follows that the eternal light is also the most powerful. Hence, it is said: "Wickedness prevails not over Wisdom. Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily." Behold, the strength of power. It reaches from the summit or the supreme unto the infinite, from the intrinsic unto the extrinsic, from the first unto the last, for the center of its might is everywhere: and that is the very reason why its power is infinite.

WIS 8:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 6

WIS 8:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

Second, he shows in three ways how much he loved wisdom. She reaches therefore etc. Having shown how he acquired wisdom, here it is shown how much he loved it: and this he shows from three things: first, from the desire of having; second, from the purpose of acquiring: I purposed therefore; third, from the zeal of finding: Thinking upon these things etc. First, concerning the twofold desire of having her. In the first he shows the desire of having caused in himself, first from her absolute value; second, from her comparative value: And if riches. He shows her absolute value first from her power; second, from her beauty: Her I loved etc.; third, from her nobility: Her noble birth; fourth, from her usefulness: For she is a teacher. (Vers. 1.). Therefore, because wisdom is such as has been said, she reaches, by virtual contact, not corporeal, according to that passage of 1 Kings 10: "Whose hearts God had touched": from end to end: The Gloss: "From eternity unto eternity"; or: "from the beginning of the world unto the coming of Christ": Romans 10: "The end of the law is Christ" etc. Mightily: The Gloss: "Because she is the power of God": 1 Corinthians 1: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." And she orders all things, namely the highest, the middle, and the lowest: sweetly: The Gloss: "Because she is the wisdom of God." She orders all things mightily through justice, and sweetly through mercy; the Psalmist: "All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth," namely of justice: the same: "The mercy of the Lord is from eternity, and unto eternity upon those who fear him. And his justice unto children's children" etc. It should be noted that Wisdom, that is the Son of God, reaches mightily those things which are in heaven, by expelling the proud devil with his companions: Job 26: "His prudence struck the proud one": Ezekiel 28: "You have sinned, and I cast you out from the mountain of God and destroyed you, O Cherub"! those things which are in the world, by overcoming and casting out the prince of the world: John 12: "Now shall the prince of this world be cast out": those things which are in hell, by carrying off the spoils of hell, according to the Gloss on Zechariah 9: "You also by the blood of your covenant have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water." He disposes moreover sweetly those things which are in heaven, by confirming the Angels standing in grace: in the Psalm: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were established": those things which are in the world, by redeeming the human race with his own blood: First Peter 1: "You were not redeemed with corruptible gold or silver etc., but with precious blood" etc.: those things which are in hell, by leading the souls of the Saints out of limbo, according to that of Zechariah 9: "You also by the blood of your covenant have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit" etc.: likewise in the Psalm: "You have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive" etc. — Or thus: since uncreated Wisdom is the middle Person in the Trinity, it can be said that she reaches from end to end, that is, from the Father to the Holy Spirit, namely through identity of substance, so that no local distance is understood, but personal distinction; mightily with respect to the Father, to whom power is attributed: and she disposes all things sweetly, with respect to the Holy Spirit, to whom benignity is attributed. — Or: she reaches from end to end, that is, from Divinity to humanity, namely in the Incarnation, in which the lowest things are united to the highest: mightily, that is, through infinite power: in the Psalm: "Stir up your power and come": the Gloss: "You yourself into flesh." And she disposed all things sweetly, in the procurement of human redemption: Matthew 11: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart." He was meek in the nature of the humanity assumed: for man is an animal gentle by nature, discerning by reason, upright in stature. In his manner of li…

WIS 8:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

It is said of the virtues in the Book of Wisdom: "She reaches from end to end mightily," referring to fortitude; "and governs all things well," referring to justice.

WIS 8:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

Such a desire extinguishes all others, and makes man to be lifted up from the world. Hence he writes: "Her I loved and sought after from my youth; I sought to take her for my bride and was enamored of her beauty."

WIS 8:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

(Vers. 2.). There follows: Her, namely wisdom, because she is of such great power, I loved, namely with the affection of the heart: whence above in the seventh chapter: "Beyond health and beauty I loved her." And I sought her out, that is, I sought outside myself, by the effect of good work, according to that passage of First John 3: "Let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth." From my youth, as if to say: in the flower of my age: Proverbs 8: "They who in the morning," namely of youth, "watch for me, shall find me": therefore Sirach 6: "Son, from your youth receive instruction." And I sought, namely by the zeal of reading and prayer: Luke 11: "Seek, and you shall find": to take her to myself as a bride. He says bride by reason of love: Proverbs 7: "Say to wisdom: You are my sister, and call prudence your friend." Likewise, by reason of delight: Proverbs 5: "Rejoice with the wife of your youth." By reason of inseparability: Matthew 19: "For it is not lawful to dismiss a bride except for the cause of fornication": but this has no place in wisdom: "for nothing defiled enters into her," above in the seventh chapter. By reason of generation: Sirach 24: "Come over to me, all you who desire me, and be filled from my generations." And I became a lover of her form, that is, of the beauty of wisdom, and this by perseverance and the love of fervent affection, converting it as it were into a habit: Zechariah 9: "What is his good and what is his beauty but the grain of the elect and the wine that makes virgins to bud forth"? that is, but wisdom, which restores the affection and makes chaste or purifies the intellect from the corruption of error.

WIS 8:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

From the second foursome, let us take wise, for it contains the other three. If He is wise, He is therefore living; and if living, He is powerful; and if powerful, beautiful also, for wisdom is the most beautiful form: wherefore "I was enamored of her beauty." Out of the third foursome, let us take one attribute: happy, which contains within itself the other three. For if He is a happy Spirit, therefore He is good, and hence just, and also holy. And so, in these three attributes, eternal, wise, and happy, the whole Trinity shines forth, for eternity is appropriated to the Father, wisdom to the Son, and happiness to the Holy Spirit.

WIS 8:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

Do not love the harlot and dismiss your wife: "Her I loved and sought after from my youth." Do not take in the acorns and pods of the swine, lest with Absalom you be hung by the hair, that is, by your dispositions. The teachings of the ages are like the oak: lofty, noble, inflexible. Do not choose to eat the pumpkins of Egypt and the leeks and the garlic, but "bread from heaven." And do not be disgusted with that food, do not be carnal as were the sons of Israel. For these found but one flavor, while others, spiritual men, found the sweetness of every taste.

WIS 8:2 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 6

And since the author expresses himself as a philosopher and as a lover of Wisdom, he writes: "Her I loved and sought after from my youth; I sought to take her for my bride and was enamored of her beauty" — not only in itself, but also because, coming from her, similar properties are flowering in me.

WIS 8:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

(Vers. 3.). Her nobility etc. Thus I loved wisdom etc., and deservedly, because uncreated wisdom, having companionship, that is, partnership and cohabitation, with God: the Gloss: "Of the Father, because she is coeternal with him": John 14: "I am in the Father, and the Father is in me": likewise John 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God": glorifies his nobility, "that is, represents the nobility of the Father," according to the Gloss. For the Son of God himself represents in himself the glory of the Father, because he is "the brightness of glory and the figure of his substance," as is found in Hebrews 1: likewise Proverbs 10, according to another reading: "A wise son is the glory of his father." Likewise his glory he manifests to the world: whence John 8: "I do not seek my own glory, but I honor" etc. But also the Lord of all things, namely the Father, of whom it is said in the Psalm: "The Lord said to me: You are my Son" etc.: loved her: "The Father loves the Son," John 5.

WIS 8:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

(Vers. 4.). And rightly so: for she is the teacher of the discipline of God: Baruch 3: "He found out all the way of discipline," etc. Discipline is twofold, namely of deeds and of words: whence in the Psalm: "Thy discipline hath corrected me unto the end, and thy discipline itself shall teach me." On account of this he says: Teacher, etc., namely in words. And note that the discipline of God is formed faith, which makes disciples of God: Acts 9: "Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord," that is, against the faithful. And the chooser of His works, that is, of discipline which is in deeds: the chooser of His works, that is, teaching to choose the works of the discipline of faith, "For faith without works is dead," James 2.

WIS 8:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

And if riches are desired. Here he shows the desire caused by the comparative value of wisdom, and first in comparison to money, which is the perfection of fortune; second, in comparison to industry, which is the perfection of nature: But if understanding: third, in comparison to virtue, which is the perfection of grace: And if justice: fourth, in comparison to knowledge, which is the perfection of intelligence: And if multitude. (Vers. 5.). And if riches are desired, although they ought not to be desired — "for they who wish to become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil," 1 Timothy 6; likewise in the Psalm: "If riches abound, set not your heart upon them" — in life, namely the present life, for its sustenance and sufficiency. What is richer than wisdom, which works all things? John 5: "My Father worketh until now, and I work": I, namely uncreated wisdom; nor can he be poor who works all things. For he knows how to make silver and gold and things of this kind; therefore Proverbs 8 says: "With me are riches and glory, stately wealth"; Augustine: "Exceedingly rich is the Christian religion, to which it has been given to possess all things in the possessor of all things."

WIS 8:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

(Vers. 6.). But if understanding, that is, natural or acquired industry, works, because "art imitates nature" in working, according to the Philosopher: who among all things that exist is a greater artisan than she? As if to say: no one; whence in the Psalm: "Thou hast made all things in wisdom." The Lord filled Bezalel with wisdom, so that he might know how to make the works of the tabernacle, as is found in Exodus 31.

WIS 8:7 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 6

"For she teaches moderation and prudence, justice and fortitude, and nothing in life is more useful for men than these." These are impressed upon the soul by the said exemplary light, and they go down into the cognitive, the affective and the operative faculties. The sincerity of temperance is marked by the height of purity; the serenity of prudence, by the beauty of clarity; the stability of constancy, by the strength of power; the sweetness of justice, by the straightness of diffusion. These are the four exemplary virtues with which the whole of Scriptures is concerned; and Aristotle felt nothing about them, in contrast with ancient and noble philosophers.

WIS 8:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

(Vers. 7.). And if one loves justice, namely general justice, that is, the rectitude of human life, concerning which above in chapter one: "Love justice," etc. The labors of this one, namely of wisdom, by which one labors to obtain her: and he says labors in the plural, because to obtain her one must labor greatly. Second Corinthians 11: "In labors most abundant"; have great virtues, that is, they acquire them. The Gloss: "Nothing idle, nothing slothful in her works." Sobriety indeed, etc. The Gloss: "He sets forth four principal virtues": sobriety, "that is, temperance," in avoiding superfluous evil. Below in chapter nine: "She will lead me in my works soberly." And she teaches wisdom, in discerning and loving the good. And justice, in rendering what is due. And virtue, "that is, fortitude," to which the name virtue more properly belongs, as though protecting by force, in enduring what is difficult and undertaking what is arduous. Concerning these three, Proverbs eight: "Mine is equity, mine is prudence, mine is fortitude." The Gloss: "No one has had these virtues except he to whom the origin of all virtues, God, bestowed them, in whatever time, under whatever law, in whatever nation. Yet certain ones, having the appearance of piety, were ignorant of virtue." But did the philosophers have virtue? And it seems so, because according to the Philosopher, virtue is had through acquisition. It must be said that they did not have perfect virtues but imperfect ones, because they were without merit and unformed. Or they had them from God through gratuitously given grace, though not through sanctifying grace. Than which nothing is more useful in the life of men, that is, in the human life of man in relation to man. But are the theological virtues not more useful and better? It must be said that, as has been touched upon, he speaks of the human life of man in comparison to man, not to God, for he presupposes this. Now nothing is more useful to men than these, because they benefit man in acting and in suffering: in acting, because through prudence there is right choice of things to be done, and through justice right execution: in suffering, because through temperance we rightly dispose ourselves toward effeminate passions, and through fortitude toward unstable passions. Therefore the Gloss says: "He who is temperate, prudent, brave, and just—what does he lack?"

WIS 8:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

(Vers. 8.). And if a multitude of knowledge etc. Some have: And a likeness of knowledge, but that reading is false, although the present knowledge of man can more rightly be called a likeness of knowledge than knowledge, because it is mixed with much mutability and much ignorance. If, a multitude, I say, of knowledge, namely speculative knowledge, anyone desires, according to that saying of the Philosopher: "All men by nature desire to know"—it knows things past, namely wisdom itself, and judges of future things, with certainty, although they are hidden by the condition of time, because past things have already passed away and future things have not yet come to pass. It knows, I say, things past etc.: whence Moses, taught by it, prophesied concerning things past—Genesis 1: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth"; likewise concerning things future, Deuteronomy 18: "The Lord shall raise up a Prophet from your nation and from your brethren." It knows the subtleties of speeches, that is, the obscure cunning of simple propositions, such as riddles, and not only the subtleties of simple propositions, but also of composite ones; whence there follows: And the solutions of arguments, that is, of reasonings, which nevertheless lie hidden due to the more perplexing nature of human cunning: Sirach 39: "He shall seek out the hidden meanings of proverbs, namely the wise man, "and shall be conversant in the hidden things of parables." Whence Christ, "in whom were hidden the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," could not be caught in speech, as is evident in Matthew 22; and no word of the Queen of Sheba could be hidden from Solomon, who was taught by wisdom, as is evident in 3 Kings 10. Signs, namely lesser ones, which occur beyond nature, and wonders, which occur against the common course of nature, it knows before they happen, just as well as when they have already occurred. Concerning these two, John 4: "Unless you see signs and wonders, you do not believe." These things are likewise hidden by reason of natural difficulty, because "a miracle, according to Augustine, is a work arduous and unusual, surpassing the hope and capacity of the one who marvels." And the events of times, that is, of those things which come to pass in the present time, and of ages, that is, of those that follow, which come to pass in eternity and in the future. To know these things, however, is not given to man: whence Acts 1: "It is not for you to know the times or moments which the Father has placed in His own power": these things, however, are hidden by reason of a hidden cause.

WIS 8:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

Secondly, this is shown from the resolve to acquire it. I resolved therefore etc. Above he showed how much he loved wisdom, and this from his desire of possessing it: here from his resolve to acquire it, and this on account of the goods which come forth from it, and first on account of goods pertaining commonly to both lives: secondly, on account of those pertaining to the active life: I shall have through her: thirdly, on account of those pertaining especially to the contemplative life: Entering into my house. First, on account of goods pertaining to both lives. (Vers. 9.). Therefore, because she is such, I purposed, that is, I firmly resolved in my heart: her, namely divine wisdom, not another adulterous one, such as the poetic disciplines, which Boethius in the Consolation calls "meretricious": to bring to myself, not only to another, against those who only teach others but do not teach themselves, whom the Apostle reproves, saying in Romans 2: "You who teach another, do you not teach yourself?" To feast together, that is, to refresh, namely the affection, not only to illuminate the intellect, as many who are in no way moved by sacred Scripture: Fourth Kings 7: "You shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it": likewise to feast together, he says, that is, to be refreshed in common and together: because in the goods of wisdom we are fed and refreshed: whence Proverbs 9: "Eat my bread, and drink the wine that I have mingled for you": and she in our goods: whence Proverbs 8: "My delights are to be with the children of men." We ought to serve her the first course, as if from herbs prepared, from the lilies of uprightness: Song of Songs 2: "He who feeds among the lilies, until the day breaks," etc. The second, of kid's flesh, that is, the detestation of all sin and iniquity, both carnal and spiritual: on these two kids she willingly feasts, as did Isaac, Genesis 27. The third, of roasted fish of patience and tribulation: "They offered him a piece of roasted fish," Luke 24. The last, of the fruit of the spirit, that is, of the works of devotion: Song of Songs 5: "Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the fruit of his apple trees." Knowing that she will share with me of goods, namely her own. This is the symbolic invitation of Revelation 3: "I will sup with him, and he with me": and he says: of goods, in the plural, because both of present and future goods. And there shall be comfort: Gloss: "That is, alleviation": of thought, that is, of affliction in thinking, as regards the intellect, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes, last chapter: "Frequent meditation is an affliction of the flesh." And of my weariness, in working, and this as regards the affection: Second Corinthians 1: "We were pressed out of measure above our strength, so that we were weary even of living."

WIS 8:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

Second, on account of the goods pertaining to the active life. I shall have etc. Here he touches upon the goods pertaining to the active life, especially those necessary for prelates, and first, as regards the act of judging: second, as regards the act of teaching: When I am silent etc.: third, as regards the act of associating: Moreover I shall have etc.: fourth, as regards the act of governing: I shall set peoples in order. As regards the act of judging he touches upon two things: first, authority: second, discernment: Young and keen etc. (Vers. 10.). Through this I shall have, namely through wisdom, which "is bright," as is stated above in chapter six, renown, namely of fame: Matthew 5: "Let your light shine" etc.; likewise Philippians 2: "Among whom you shine as luminaries in the firmament" etc. Before the multitudes, that is, before those of lower rank: and honor, namely of reverence, before the elders, that is, before those of higher rank: Job 29: "The young men saw me and hid themselves, and the aged rising up stood." From these two things a man becomes of great authority, namely from the esteem of those below and the reverence of those above. Though young, that is, vigorous and diligent in investigating.

WIS 8:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

(Vers. 11.). And keen, that is, subtle in penetrating and discovering, I shall be found in judgment,- the Gloss: "Judging all things according to the laws": such was Daniel, as is clear from Daniel 13. And, supply: therefore, and in the sight of the powerful, that is, of lesser prelates, I shall be admirable, and the faces of princes, that is, of greater prelates, shall wonder at me. This was literally true of Solomon, as is clear from 3 Kings 10, where it is said that "the queen of Sheba, having heard the fame of Solomon" etc., said: "The wisdom that I have found is greater than the report that I heard." This was also true of our Savior: whence Matthew 14: "The tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus and said to his servants" etc. This is also true of the perfectly wise man: Sirach 24: "In the midst of his people he shall be exalted, and in the holy fullness he shall be admired."

WIS 8:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

(Vers. 12.). When I am silent, that is, what I am to teach, they shall premeditate: in the Psalm: "The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom." They shall wait, that is, they shall wait in silence, "not daring to speak," according to the Gloss: Job 29: "They waited for me as for rain, and they opened their mouth as for the latter rain." And when I speak etc., he rightly placed silence before speech, because, according to Jerome, "the teaching of Pythagoras was to be silent for five years and afterward to speak as learned men." And when I speak they shall look upon me, namely attentively, and this as a sign of attention: Job 29: "Attentive, they were silent at my counsel." And when I discourse at greater length, but not superfluously or excessively, because "in much speaking," or in superfluity of words, "sin shall not be wanting," Proverbs 10. Note that plurality is constituted by two or three, but not multitude. They shall lay their hands upon their mouth: the Gloss: "Not daring to resist me": Job 29: "The princes ceased to speak, and laid their finger upon their mouth."

WIS 8:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

(Vers. 13.). Moreover through her, namely through wisdom, I shall have immortality, namely of eternal glory in heaven: Proverbs 3: "She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her." And a remembrance: Gloss: "Of my works and virtues," eternal, that is, perpetual, as long as the world shall endure: I shall leave to those who shall come after me: Proverbs 10: "The memory of the just is with praises": in the Psalm: "The just shall be in eternal memory."

WIS 8:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

I shall govern etc. Here are touched upon the goods had through wisdom with respect to the act of governing, and first with respect to subjects: second, with respect to outsiders: They shall fear etc. (Vers. 14.). He says therefore: I shall govern: Gloss: "I shall instruct," namely by ruling and governing, peoples, having the Law. For a people is a multitude of men living under one law, as the Jews under the law of Moses. And nations, that is, gentiles not having the Law, and they are called nations, because not reborn, but remaining in the uncircumcision and vice of their birth: in the Psalm: "He subjected peoples to us and nations under our feet": Isaiah 55: "Behold, I have given him as a witness to peoples, a leader and commander to nations." Nations, I say, shall be subject to me through obedience.

WIS 8:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

(Vers. 15.). Hearing me, dreadful kings shall fear me, that is, tyrants and the impious: whence all the kings round about became tributaries of Solomon, 3 Kings 9: likewise Isaiah 60: "The sons of those who humiliated you shall come to you bowed down." And in the multitude, "namely of the faithful," I shall appear good, "that is, benign," and in war, "namely of adversaries," valiant. All these things spiritually, according to the Gloss, were fulfilled in Christ and can be expounded of him, as is clear to one examining the Glosses.

WIS 8:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

Third, on account of goods pertaining to the contemplative life. (Vers. 16.). Entering into my house, that is, my conscience, namely by returning from exterior care to interior care, just as the "disciples" after preaching "returned to the Lord with joy," as is found in Luke 10. He placed action before contemplation by reason of time, not by reason of dignity, just as Leah before Rachel, Genesis 29. I shall rest with her, that is, I shall rest together in her, and she with me or in me: Sirach 32: "Run ahead first to your house, and there withdraw and there play," etc. Well did I say: I shall rest with her: for it has no bitterness, of exterior disturbance, her conversation, that is, cohabitation: Sirach 24: "My spirit is sweeter than honey"; nor weariness, namely of interior affliction, her company: ibid.: "Those who eat me shall still hunger," against disgust. These two, namely the bitterness of exterior disturbance and the weariness of interior affliction, are contrary to rest. And therefore she removes them, adding two opposites, when she says: But gladness, namely interiorly, and joy, namely exteriorly: Sirach 1: "She will give delight and joy"; likewise Sirach 15: "The Lord filled her with the spirit of wisdom," etc.; likewise ibid.: "Delight and exultation," etc.

WIS 8:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

Third, the same is shown from the zeal of seeking wisdom in a threefold manner. Thinking upon these things, etc. Here third he shows how much he loved wisdom, and this from the zeal of seeking her. And concerning this, first he shows the diligence of seeking: second, the aptitude for receiving: But I was a boy: third, the confidence of obtaining: And as I knew First, the diligence of seeking wisdom is shown. In the first part he sets forth three causes moving one to seek knowledge: first, the effect of wisdom in the heart: second, the effect in work: And in works: third, the effect in speech: And in the contest of speech. (Vers. 17.). These things, namely the foregoing, pondering within myself, frequently meditating on them, and recalling in my heart, namely the following things, bringing them back to memory lest I forget: for the animal that "chews the cud and divides the hoof," namely by remembering and discerning, is clean, Leviticus 11: Luke 2: "Mary kept all these words," etc. That she is immortal, namely by nature, or by the effect of the immortality which she confers: whence above in the same book: "Through her I shall have immortality." In the thought of wisdom, that is, in the understanding: the Gloss: "Whatever is known of her nature, the whole is found to be immortal and ever living": below in chapter 15: "To know your justice and your power is the root of immortality."

WIS 8:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

(Vers. 18.). And in friendship with her, namely when she is loved, good delight, namely in the affection: good he says as opposed to the delight of sin, which is evil, because it leads to eternal torment, according to that saying of Gregory: "What delights is momentary, what torments is eternal"; likewise the Gloss: "Bodily pleasures weigh down the body, but spiritual pleasures uplift the mind; and the more they are consumed, the more they are hungered for. In the former, the appetite pleases but the experience displeases; but spiritual delights increase desire, and the more they are partaken of, the more eagerly they are loved." And in the works of her hands, that is, in good works, which are done through her hands, that is, by her power and might: John fifteen: "Without me you can do nothing"; honor without failing, that is, perfect honor: for virtue and the work of virtue belong to the genus of the honorable: below in chapter ten: "She honored him in his labors"; likewise above in chapter seven: "Innumerable honor through her hands." And in the contest of her discourse, namely that which takes the form of disputation, in which there is a certain contest between the one objecting and the one responding: wisdom, that is, knowledge; supply: is acquired: Sirach, last chapter: "My soul wrestled with her." And renown, that is, the evidence of illustrious virtue, in the sharing of her words, which namely are shared by way of simple conference: Sirach 24: "Those who elucidate me shall have eternal life"; likewise Daniel 12: "Those who instruct many unto justice shall be as stars for perpetual eternities." I went about: the Gloss: "Diligently and studiously": Song of Songs three: "I will arise and go about the city": seeking, like the woman of whom Luke fifteen says: "Who lights a lamp and sweeps the house, seeking diligently until she finds it." That I might take her to myself, namely as a bride: whence above in the same chapter: "I sought to take her as my bride." In the aforesaid text, eight things useful to the preacher or teacher concerning the learning of wisdom or concerning the acquisition of wisdom are touched upon: reflection upon her through investigation, recollection through frequent practice, delight through love, action through fulfillment, contention through disputation, communication through conference, going about through questioning, taking up through incorporation.

WIS 8:19-20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

Second, the aptitude for receiving her. Now I was a child etc. Here he touches on the aptitude for receiving, first on the part of natural ability, because as a child I was of good natural talent: second on the part of grace, because I obtained a good soul: third on the part of purity, because, since I was more good, I came to an undefiled body. (Vers. 19. 20.). He says therefore: Now I was an ingenious child: note that he speaks in the person of Solomon. Ingenious by natural industry: Proverbs 20: "A child is known by his pursuits, whether his works be clean and right." And I obtained, that is, attained by the lot of divine election: Acts 1: "The lot fell upon Matthias"; a good soul, namely through grace: 3 Kings 3: "Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the precepts of David, his father." And since I was more good, namely from superadded grace, than I was previously from natural industry, I came etc. For according to Augustine, temporal goods are the lowest goods, natural goods the middle, gratuitous goods the highest. I came, I say, by the resolution and zeal of the mind, to an undefiled body, supply: to have and preserve through purity. But the Gloss objects that this can scarcely be understood literally of Solomon, because "he loved women, even foreign ones," as is evident from 3 Kings 11. But the solution is clear through a distinction of times: in youth he loved purity, but in old age, lust. Nevertheless, these things can be better understood of Christ.

WIS 8:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 8

Third, the confidence of obtaining it. (Vers. 21.). And as I knew, namely by the most certain cognition of faith and reason, that otherwise I cannot be continent unless God grant it. "For every best gift and every perfect gift is from above" etc., James 1; but continence is a most perfect gift: Sirach 26: "No weight is worthy of a continent soul." And this itself was wisdom, that is, a certain effect of wisdom in me, namely to know whose this gift was; above in the same: "She is the instructress of the discipline of God." As I knew, I say, etc., I went to the Lord, by the intention of the mind, not by the steps of the body. In the Psalm: "Come to him, and be enlightened." And I besought him, namely by the word of vocal prayer: James 1: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God." And I said from all my inmost heart, namely with the fervor of devotion, according to that word of Isaiah 26: "Yea, with my spirit in the morning within my inmost heart I will watch for thee"; in the Psalm: "I cried with my whole heart: hear me, O Lord."

WIS 9:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

Third, he shows how devoutly he sought wisdom from God. O God of my fathers, etc. After he has shown how he received wisdom and how greatly he loved what he received, here he shows how devoutly he sought it from God. And first he touches upon the form of the petition; second, the reason for being heard: But you have chosen; third, the end of the petition: Send her; fourth, the difficulty of the end: For who, etc. First, the form of the petition is touched upon. In the first part, he first praises the beauty; second, specifies the gift: Give me [the wisdom] of your throne; third, humbles himself: For I am your servant; fourth, intimates his need: And if anyone, etc. (Vers. 1.). O God of my fathers, namely through the grace of election: of the fathers, namely the ancient ones: Exodus 3: "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham," etc. Or: O God of my fathers, that is, who made my fathers and chose them and sanctified them. And Lord of mercy, that is, merciful Lord, so that it is an intransitive construction; or: Lord of mercy, that is, author [of mercy], so that it is a transitive construction: in the Psalm: "The Lord is compassionate and merciful." Lord, I say, of mercy, namely through the effect of the remission of sins and of justification; for mercy regards misery: Proverbs 14: "Sin makes peoples wretched." Who made all things, namely through the work of creation, as is evident in Genesis 1: in the Psalm: "He spoke, and they were made": by your Word, that is, through your Son: John 1: "In the beginning was the Word," etc., and afterward: "All things were made through him."

WIS 9:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 2.). And by your wisdom, that is, by the same Son of yours, according to that verse of the Psalm: "You made all things in wisdom"; you established, that is, you composed from very diverse parts, namely from a rational spirit and earthly clay: man: Sirach 17: "God created man from the earth." And it should be noted that the other things he says were made by the Word alone, but man by wisdom, as if a nobler work, because he is capable of wisdom both created and uncreated, and therefore as if a work requiring greater deliberation; on account of which the Lord, as if deliberating, says in Genesis 1: "Let us make man in our image," etc. That he might have dominion over the creature that was made by you, over the creature, namely not the spiritual or angelic, but the corporeal, and this through power: Genesis 1: "Have dominion over the fish of the sea," etc.

WIS 9:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 3.). That he may order the world: namely through wisdom: for man is placed in this world as a king in a kingdom. In equity, that is, mercy, and justice: for these two ought to be joined together in governing: Gregory: "Discipline and mercy are greatly weakened if one is maintained without the other." And in the uprightness of heart, namely through goodness, and this through a right intention toward God: in the Psalm: "I will praise you in the uprightness of heart": Job chapter thirty-four: "If he direct his heart to God, he will draw his spirit and breath to himself": let him judge judgment, namely over his subjects. By the name of judgment simply spoken, he understands a "true" or just judgment. For just as a painted or dead man is not a man, so a false or unjust judgment is not a judgment.

WIS 9:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 4.). Give me, "from whom is every best gift," James chapter one: wisdom, namely understanding, the attendant of your thrones, that is, the indweller of holy souls: above in chapter seven: "She passes into holy souls throughout the nations." Holy souls are called the thrones of God, because in them God sits and rests, presiding over and commanding all their movements and affections: Isaiah, the last chapter: "Heaven is my throne"; the Gloss: "The soul of the just is the throne of wisdom." And do not reject me, giving me goodness and grace in my affection: do not, I say, reject me, as those of whom it is said in Romans chapter one: "He gave them over to a reprobate mind": Jeremiah chapter six: "Call them rejected silver." From among your children, namely by excluding me from the number and fellowship of your children, of whom Isaiah chapter eight says: "Behold, I and my children," etc.

WIS 9:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 5.). Because etc., as if to say: therefore I ask that you give me wisdom, because I am your servant, that is, prepared to serve you: in the Psalm: "I am your servant, give me understanding": Third Kings, chapter ten: "Blessed are your servants, who hear your wisdom". And the son of your handmaid, that is, of the synagogue, concerning which Galatians chapter four says: "It is written that Abraham had two sons". According to the Gloss, these words are "of the Son to the Father", inasmuch as he is a man seeking wisdom for his members, alleging himself to be his servant according to his humanity, not his Son: Isaiah chapter forty-nine: "You are my servant, Israel, because in you I will be glorified". And the son of your handmaid, that is, of the Virgin Mary, according to that passage in Luke chapter one: "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord". A weak man, on the part of the body, on account of the body's frailty: in the Psalm: "Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak". And of short time, on account of the brevity of life: Job chapter fourteen: "Man born of woman, living for a short time"; and lesser, on the part of the soul, that is, insufficient by natural power, for the understanding: the Gloss says: "For perceiving": of judgment, that is, of your judgments, by whose example one must judge: and of laws, namely your eternal laws, by whose regulation one must judge: Romans chapter eleven: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how incomprehensible are his judgments, and unsearchable his ways".

WIS 9:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 6.). And if anyone etc., in this charity is intimated, he will be consummate, that is, perfect: the Gloss says: "In judgment"; among the sons of men, who are born, namely, from man and woman, in distinction from the Son of Man, that is, of the Virgin alone, concerning whom Matthew chapter sixteen says: "Whom do men say the Son of Man is"? And he says: consummate among the sons of men, because one can be a mere man by nature. If from him it shall have fled or departed, namely as from one unworthy and a sinner, according to that passage above, chapter one: "Into a malevolent soul wisdom will not enter": your wisdom: the Gloss says: "Divine", not worldly. For worldly wisdom does not flee on account of sin: Jeremiah chapter four: "They are wise to do evil". As nothing, namely of morals, not of nature, he will be reckoned, namely before God and his Saints: below, chapter thirteen: "Vain are all men in whom there is not the knowledge of God": for by grace a man is what he is with respect to moral being: whence First Corinthians chapter fifteen: "By the grace of God I am what I am"; likewise, without charity a man is nothing, as is clear from First Corinthians chapter thirteen: and according to Augustine, a sinner is nothing, namely insofar as he is such.

WIS 9:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

Second, the twofold reason for being heard. But you have chosen etc. Here he adds the manifold reason for being heard, of which the first is the enjoined office of the kingdom: the second is the command to build the temple: And you said etc. (Vers. 7.). But you etc., as if to say: thus I am by myself insufficient without wisdom. But, standing for "however": nevertheless you have chosen me: The Gloss: "Solomon, or Christ." As king over your people, that is, over those believing in you: in the Psalm: "But I have been established as king by him over Sion" etc.: and judge of your sons and daughters, namely yours, that is, of the faithful, according to that passage in John chapter one: "He gave them the power to become sons of God, to those who believe in his name." The office of a king is to exercise his judgment also in other affairs of the kingdom; but that of a judge is specifically in the cases of the people.

WIS 9:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 8.). And you said: The Gloss: "You commanded"; for David, who was a man of blood, was not permitted to build the temple, but Solomon the peaceful was chosen for this, as is clear from 2 Kings chapter seven and 1 Chronicles chapter twenty-nine. And you said, I say, that I should build a temple on your holy mountain, that is, on Mount Moriah, where you willed holy things to be done; and in the city of your dwelling, namely Jerusalem, where he was said to dwell because there he was worshipped more excellently; an altar, namely of burnt offerings, of burnt offerings, I say, to distinguish it from the bronze altar, which was in the court before the temple in the open air. A likeness of your holy tabernacle, that is, according to its exemplar, of which Exodus chapter twenty-five speaks, which was made according to the exemplar of the heavenly tabernacle; whence in the same place: "Look and make it according to the exemplar that was shown to you on the mountain." Which you prepared: The Gloss: "Through Moses"; from the beginning, not of creation, but of the giving of the Law; whence the Gloss: "When you were leading the children of Israel out of Egypt." The tabernacle in the desert, as the Gloss says, signified the Church Militant, but the temple in Jerusalem the Church Triumphant. The reason for this is that the tabernacle in the desert was movable, but the temple in Jerusalem was immovable.

WIS 9:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 9.). And with you, namely prepared it, your wisdom, namely uncreated, "that is, your Son," of whom 1 Corinthians chapter one says: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." Who knows your works, as the co-worker of all things, according to that passage of the Psalm: "You have made all things in wisdom." Who was present, with you, then, namely when you made the world: Proverbs chapter eight: "When he was laying the foundations of the earth, I was with him composing all things"; and in the same: "I was delighted with him every day, playing in the world." And she knew that it was pleasing in your eyes, namely as regards counsels; in your eyes, namely of your intellect and your affection, that is, of your mercy and your truth, "for in every work of God there is mercy and truth"; Sirach chapter forty-two: "She found grace before the eyes of the Lord," according to another translation. And what was right: The Gloss: "That is, upright and just"; in your precepts: in the Psalm: "The justices of the Lord are right, gladdening hearts."

WIS 9:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

Third, the end of the petition is touched upon in two ways. Send her, etc. Here he shows the end of the petition, that is, for what purpose he sought wisdom: and first he asks for wisdom in order to know and do the will of God. Second, he shows that it avails for the attainment of such an end: For she knows. (Vers. 10.). He says therefore: Send her, namely wisdom, etc. It should be noted that there is a twofold sending of Wisdom, namely one visible into the flesh, concerning which John 10: "Whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world"; the other into the mind, which he asks for here. From your holy heavens, that is, from yourself, who are heaven by containing all things; in the Psalm: "From the highest heaven is his going forth," likewise James 3: "The wisdom that is from above is first indeed pure," etc. He says from the heavens in the plural on account of the multitude of things contained and of effects in the things contained, just as the days of eternity are spoken of in the plural: Micah 5: "And his going forth is as from the beginning of the days of eternity." And from the throne of your greatness: The Gloss: "From yourself, who sitting and at rest, govern all things"; Isaiah 18: "I will be at rest and will consider in my place, as the noonday light is clear." And it should be noted that uncreated Wisdom is sometimes said to be in the bosom of the Father, as John 1: "The Only-begotten, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared to us"; sometimes to be begotten from the womb, in the Psalm: "From the womb before the daystar I begot you"; sometimes to proceed from the mouth of the Father, Sirach 24: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn before every creature"; sometimes to be sent from heaven, as here; sometimes to sit in holy souls, whence above in the same place: "Give me the wisdom that attends your thrones," etc. The first on account of concealment, the second on account of consubstantiality, the third on account of manifestation, the fourth on account of illumination, the fifth on account of tranquility. That she may be with me, namely within, in the essence of the soul, both by dwelling through grace and by informing: Sirach 24: "Dwell in Jacob," etc. And may labor with me, the motive power of the soul for action by perfecting: Sirach, the last chapter: "I remembered your mercy, O Lord, and your work, which are from of old." That I may know, that is, that you may make me know, the cognitive power of my soul by illuminating, what is acceptable before you, or in your sight; in the Psalm: "Teach me to do your will."

WIS 9:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 11.). For she knows all those things, namely all things pertaining to the knowledge of reason, such as lower things: and understands, namely all things pertaining to the understanding of the intellect, as are higher things, above in chapter seven: "Beholding all things." And she will guide me soberly in my works: Gloss: "Lest I offend," by directing in good work: above in chapter eight: "She teaches sobriety," etc. And she will guard me in her power: Gloss: "From adversaries," by protecting: in the Psalm: "Unless the Lord guard the city," etc.: likewise: "Behold, he shall neither slumber nor sleep," etc.

WIS 9:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 12.). And my works will be acceptable: Gloss: "Before God," as done purely out of love for him. And I shall govern your people justly, namely by rightly governing subjects: whence above in chapter eight: "I shall govern peoples and nations." And I shall be worthy of the thrones of my father, by imitating him: he says thrones in the plural, because there is the throne of the present kingdom, according to that passage in Proverbs eight: "By me kings reign": and of the future: Gloss: "By the recompense of the heavenly kingdom."

WIS 9:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

Fourth, the difficulty of this end is shown in two ways. For what man, etc. Here he shows the difficulty of the end, first showing that the will of God cannot be known without wisdom: second, that it can be known only through her: But your meaning. That it cannot be known without her, he shows first from the profundity of the divine mind: second, from the imperfection of the human mind: For the thoughts: third, from comparison with sensible things, there: And we judge with difficulty, etc. (Vers. 13.). Rightly I said: Send her forth, etc.: for what man, namely a mere man, will be able to know, namely without your wisdom, the counsel of God? which consists in foreseeing and disposing things to be done: Isaiah forty: "Who has helped the spirit of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" Or who will be able to think, that is, to know by thinking, what God wills? namely by carrying out what has been foreseen, as if to say: no one: whence Romans eleven: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God," etc.

WIS 9:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 14.). For the thoughts of mortals, namely as long as we are in the state of mortality, are fearful: Gloss: "That is, fragile": and this with regard to those things which are above reason. And our foresight is uncertain: Gloss: "Because the soul is changeable, and the flesh is corruptible," and this with regard to those things which are beneath reason and the contemplation of truth.

WIS 9:15 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

"The body, which is corrupted, weighs down the soul." The human intellect has the character of apprehending and judging, the possible and the agent intellect: nor can this intellect be sufficiently illuminated without the aid of a higher and loftier light. The Philosopher says: "As the eye of the bat is related to the light of the sun, so is our intellect related to the things most manifest in nature."

WIS 9:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 15.). For the body, which is corrupted, that is, which is subject to continual corruption, on account of which it is compared to rottenness; Job twenty-five: "Man is rottenness, and the son of man a worm." Weighs down the soul, namely by drawing back its affection from heavenly things: Galatians five: "The flesh lusts against the spirit." The body, which is corrupted, weighs down the soul. It should be noted that the body stains the soul with original sin: Job 14: "Who can make clean what is conceived of unclean seed?" Likewise, it binds to the necessity of venial sin: Romans 7: "The evil that I hate, that I do." Likewise, it inclines to mortal sin: Genesis 8: "The senses are prone, and the thought of the human heart is prone to evil from youth." Likewise, it clouds the intellect from the contemplation of truth: above, chapter 2: "Our time is the passing of a shadow," namely by the interposition of an opaque body between the soul and the sun of justice. Likewise, it retards the affection from the love of heavenly things, as here: "The body, which is corrupted, weighs down the soul." Likewise, it hinders and binds the motive powers from good: in the Psalm: "Bring forth from custody, or from prison," "my soul"; likewise Romans 7: "The good that I will, that I do not." Likewise, it stirs up continual war against the spirit: Galatians 5: "The flesh lusts against the spirit." Likewise, care for itself makes the spirit anxious, against which Matthew 6: "Be not anxious," etc. Likewise, it disturbs the soul with its troubles: Daniel 13: "Distresses are upon me from every side." Likewise, by its mutability it disturbs and unsettles the soul's repose: Job 14: "And never remains in the same state." And the earthly habitation presses down, that is, presses downward by drawing back from the contemplation of eternal things, that is, by inclining toward earthly things: the sense, that is, the human intellect: Genesis 8: "The sense and thought of the human heart are prone to evil from youth": therefore Romans 7: "Unhappy" etc. The sense, I say, that thinks on many things, that is, temporal things, which are many, not eternal things, which are one, according to that of Luke 10: "You are troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary."

WIS 9:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 16.). And with difficulty etc., as if to say: And this is evident, because we judge with difficulty, that is, we know estimatively, not with certitude: Ecclesiastes 1: "All things are difficult": the things that are on earth, that is, lower sensible things. And the things that are in sight, "that is, in the open," such as the natures of higher sensible things: we find with labor: Ecclesiastes 8: "There is a man who day and night takes no sleep with his eyes: and I understood that of all the works of God, man can find no reason." The Philosopher: "As the eye of the owl relates to the light of the sun, so our intellect relates to the most manifest things of nature." But the things that are in the heavens, who shall search out? since they are so remote from us: Sirach 3: "Seek not things higher than yourself": Ecclesiastes 5: "God is in heaven and you are upon the earth: therefore let your words be few."

WIS 9:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

But your sense etc. Here he shows that the divine will can be known only through wisdom. He shows this by attributing to it a threefold effect, namely the effect of instructing the intelligence, correcting fault: And thus were corrected: healing nature, there: For through wisdom etc. (Vers. 17.). But your sense, that is, your counsel and will, who shall know it? as if to say: no one. Unless you had given wisdom, illuminating the intellect: Sirach 1: "According to his gift he bestows it upon those who love him": James 1: "He gives to all abundantly": Daniel 2: "He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who understand learning." And had sent your Holy Spirit, inflaming the affection, as if to say: no one. For just as no one "knows the things of a man, except the spirit of man which is in him," as is found in 1 Corinthians 2, "so neither does anyone know the things of God, except God, and him to whom he wills to reveal them." From the most high, that is, from you, who are most high, and from the Son, who is most high, and I say most high adjectivally, not substantively.

WIS 9:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 9

(Vers. 18.). And thus, namely through the gift of wisdom and the sending of the Holy Spirit, the paths were corrected, that is, the operations, of those who are on earth, that is, of men, and this through recall from evil: John 16: "He will convict the world of sin"; and he well says: The paths of those who are on earth, that is, of those sinning on earth: for the paths of sinning angels cannot be corrected. And men learned the things that please you, through formation in the good: John 14: "The Paraclete Spirit etc., will teach you all things." (Vers. 19.). For through wisdom etc. I well said: And thus were corrected etc.: for through wisdom they were healed, namely from blindness of intellect and corruption of affection; Sirach 24: "I am like the river Dorix," which is interpreted as medicine of generation. Whoever pleased you, Lord, from the beginning, "namely of the world," according to the Gloss: below in chapter 16: "For neither herb nor poultice healed them" etc.: in the Psalm: "He sent his word and healed them": Proverbs 3: "She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her." Hence it is that spiritual dogs, that is, doctors and preachers of wisdom, have medicinal tongues: and he says all, because, according to Augustine, the same faith of the Mediator saved the ancients which saves us also.

WIS 10:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

She protected him etc. In the preceding chapters he admonished rulers specifically to acquire wisdom, and this by reasons taken from the peril of the office of those whom he admonishes, namely in chapter six; secondly, by reasons taken from the example of him who admonishes, in chapters seven, eight, and nine. Here thirdly he exhorts them to the same by reasons taken from the many effects and benefits of wisdom, to which he urges them. Now wisdom is beneficent by advancing the wise, namely her friends, and by punishing the foolish, the adversaries of the wise. Therefore he treats first of the benefits pertaining to the advancement of the friends of God, namely in this chapter; secondly, of those pertaining principally to the punishment of adversaries, namely in chapter eleven and thereafter. Thirdly he exhorts to acquiring wisdom by reasons taken from its effects, and first from the benefits pertaining to the advancement of the friends of God. In the first part he first sets forth the benefits conferred upon individual persons; secondly, the benefits bestowed upon one people: She protected the just people. In the first part he shows the benefits of wisdom in six individual persons among the ancient Patriarchs: first, in the person of Adam, when he says: She protected him, who was first etc.; secondly, in the person of Noah, there: From her when he departed; thirdly, in the person of Abraham: She also, in the conspiracy of pride; fourthly, in the person of Lot: She delivered the just man from those perishing; fifthly, in the person of Jacob: She moreover the fugitive etc.; sixthly, in the person of Joseph: She the just man who was sold. In the first, concerning Adam, he shows the benefit first of grace, secondly of nature. She protected him. I have rightly said that through wisdom all were healed, which is evident through examples. She indeed, namely wisdom, him, namely Adam, who first, of all men, was formed by God, namely immediately; Job 10: "Your hands have made me" etc. The father of the world, that is, who was to be the father of the whole human race; Malachi 2: "Is there not one father of us all"? When he had been created alone, namely before the formation of the woman; Genesis 2: "It is not good for man to be alone." It should be noted that formed is said with respect to the body; hence Genesis 2: "God therefore formed man from the slime of the earth"; and created, with respect to the soul; Genesis 1: "God created man in his image and likeness" etc. When alone, I say, he had been created, she protected him, namely from sin in the earthly paradise in the state of innocence. "For he placed him in paradise, to work and to guard it," Genesis 2.

WIS 10:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

And she led him out, namely, the woman having already been made, him who had become a transgressor, Genesis 3, from his transgression, namely through the infusion of penitence and the remission of fault. And it should be noted that here the penitence of Adam is expressed more explicitly than elsewhere. And she led him out of the slime of the earth, namely on the part of the body: Ecclesiasticus 17: "God created man from the earth." And gave him power, that is, authority, to contain all things, by ruling all things and having dominion over all, and this on the part of the soul, namely through reason, according to that passage in Genesis 1: "Have dominion over the fish of the sea," etc.; likewise in the Psalm: "You have subjected all things under his feet."

WIS 10:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

From this, etc. Here he shows the benefit of wisdom specially bestowed upon Noah and upon those who were with him in the ark, when it delivered him from the flood and destroyed the wicked. And first he touches upon the first cause of the destruction of the wicked; second, the first cause of the deliverance of the good. He says therefore: From this, namely wisdom, when he departed: Proverbs 1: "Fools despise wisdom and doctrine"; for by this, that one departs from wisdom, one departs from God: above, chapter 1: "Perverse thoughts separate from God": the unjust one, namely Cain, who is called unjust antonomastically, because he was the head and exemplar of the unjust: in his wrath, by which he was wrathful against his brother Abel: Genesis 4: "Why are you wrathful," etc. Through the wrath of murder, that is, which wrath was spiritual murder, according to that passage in 1 John 3: "He who hates his brother is a murderer"; or transitively, so that the sense would be: Through the wrath of murder, that is, which was the cause of corporeal murder: whence Genesis 4: "Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him." Brotherhood perished, that is, the fellowship of brotherhood, Abel having died corporally and Cain spiritually.

WIS 10:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

On account of which etc., namely sin: for that sin was the first cause of the corruption of Cain's posterity, from which corruption spread even to a great part of Seth's posterity: and that was fulfilled in Genesis 6, where it says: "All flesh had corrupted its way." When the water destroyed the earth, destroying, namely, earthly man from the surface of the earth: Genesis 6: "I will destroy man, whom I created, from the face of the earth." For all perished who were written in the earth, namely the wicked, of whom Jeremiah 17: "Those who depart from you shall be written in the earth"; destroying also all flesh living on the earth according to Genesis 7: "All flesh was consumed that moved upon the earth." Wisdom healed again, namely the world, just as she had previously healed Adam: she healed, I say, the world, namely by purging it of wicked men: through a contemptible wood "that is, through the ark," contemptible in its material and despised by those who believed it was being built in vain, the just one, "namely Noah," of whom Genesis 6: "Noah was a just man" etc.: governing, namely delivering him from drowning amid the floods of waters: 2 Peter 2: "He preserved Noah, the eighth, a preacher of justice, bringing a flood upon the world." Now that wood signified the cross, because it is contemptible to unbelievers, although to the faithful it is venerable; whence 1 Corinthians 1: "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" etc.: likewise in the same place: "We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews indeed a stumbling block" etc.

WIS 10:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

She also in the agreement etc. Here he touches upon the benefit of wisdom conferred in the person of Abraham, first with respect to himself: second, in his posterity. He says therefore: This one, namely wisdom, and, also, when the nations, that is, the people of that time persisting in the vice of their birth, had exalted themselves, that is, had carried themselves beyond their measure by elation of heart and striving of work, against which it is said in the Psalm: "Lord, my heart is not exalted," etc. In the consent of pride, that is, coming from pride, by which consent, or which pride, they wished to build a tower reaching up to heaven and to make their name famous: both of which were pride, Genesis eleven. When, I say, the nations had exalted themselves etc.; she knew, namely wisdom, by approving and choosing and separating from the wicked: Second Timothy two: "The Lord knows who are his"; on the contrary, to the wicked it is said, Matthew seven: "I never knew you": the just one, namely Abraham, who is called the just one par excellence. And she preserved him without blame before God, "in the midst of a depraved and perverse nation," which was difficult: Luke one: "They were both without blame." And in his children, that is, his descendants, she kept strong mercy, namely by multiplying them out of his mercy and strongly defending them from adversaries and finally conferring upon them the land of promise, as he had promised, Genesis thirteen and fifteen and seventeen.

WIS 10:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

This one the just from the perishing etc. Here he shows the benefit of wisdom conferred in the person of Lot, who was freed from the destruction of Sodom, and first he touches on the liberation of Lot: second, the punishment of the others; third, the equity of the punishment. This one, namely wisdom, the just one, "namely Lot," as the Gloss says; likewise Second Peter two says of him: "In sight and hearing he was just": from the perishing impious, namely from the company of the perishing impious, that is, of the Sodomites: she freed him as he fled, both from the fellowship of guilt, according to that passage in the same place: "He rescued the just Lot, oppressed by the injury and wanton conduct of the wicked": and from the fellowship of punishment: concerning both liberations, it is found in Genesis nineteen. When fire descended, from heaven, not sent from the earth; in the same place: "The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire" etc.; upon the Pentapolis: the Gloss: "That is, upon the region of the five cities," namely Sodom, Gomorrah, Segor, Seboim, and Adamah.

WIS 10:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

To whom, namely those perishing, as a testimony of wickedness, namely of burning and foul lust, smoking, that is, emitting smoke from itself; whence in the Psalm: "Smoke ascended in his wrath": the desolate land stands, namely desolate of plants and trees: Job twenty-eight: "The land from which bread arose in its place was consumed by fire": likewise in the Psalm: "A fruitful land into saltness, from the wickedness of those dwelling in it." And at a certain, namely determined, time, trees bearing fruit, useless, as is said, because it is reported that fruits grow there outwardly beautiful, but inwardly ashy and full of cinders: the Gloss: "They show that without the fruit of penance, damned souls will burn in hell for eternity." And a figure, that is, a statue, of salt, for seasoning all who hear and see with the salt of wisdom against the corruption of carnal concupiscence or foolishness: a figure, I say, standing as a memorial, that is, a remembrance: Luke seventeen: "Remember the wife of Lot"; a memorial, I say, of an unbelieving soul, that is, of the unbelief of Lot's wife, who looked back, refusing to believe the Angel who forbade it, as is evident in Genesis nineteen. It should be noted, moreover, that the desolate land testifies to their uselessness for good works; the smoke, their blinding by carnal concupiscence; the useless fruits, their evil manner of life; the statue of salt, their dissolution and corrupting putrefaction through carnal concupiscence.

WIS 10:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

For wisdom etc., as if to say: and deservedly they were thus punished: for passing over wisdom, that is, the Sodomites casting it aside, and therefore wretched; whence above in chapter three: "He who casts aside wisdom and discipline is wretched": therefore also they perished, according to that passage in Baruch three: "Because they did not have wisdom, they perished on account of their foolishness": nor did they only perish because they passed over wisdom, but they also left a memorial of their foolishness. And this is what he adds: Not only etc. Passing over wisdom, I say, not only did they fall into this, that they should be ignorant, namely with the ignorance of which First Corinthians fourteen says: "If anyone is ignorant, he shall be ignored": of good things, namely those pertaining to their own life and salvation. But also of their foolishness, because "they were compared to foolish beasts and made like unto them": they left a memorial to men, as regards evil fame, namely thus, so that in those things in which they sinned, that is, so that in those sins which they committed, they could not even be hidden, because they did not wish to be hidden, but sinned publicly: Isaiah three: "They proclaimed their sin as Sodom and did not hide it." And therefore the Lord willed that their sins be made known to the whole world through public punishment. Sin lies hidden by the cunning of sinning: 2 Kings 12: "You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel." By the pretense of holiness: Matthew 23: "You are like whitewashed sepulchres," etc. Of dignity or of prelacy by the authority, according to that saying of Gregory: "No one does more harm in the Church than he who, acting perversely, holds the name or rank of holiness; for no one presumes to rebuke such a one, and the fault spreads powerfully as an example, when the sinner is honored out of reverence for his rank."

WIS 10:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

But Wisdom, as if to say: just as those unjust ones were punished for their contempt of wisdom: but, meaning on the contrary, wisdom those who her, namely wisdom, observe, that is, who diligently keep her in heart, word, and deed: delivered from sorrows, namely of eternal punishments, concerning which Isaiah 50 says: "You shall sleep in sorrows"; likewise in the Psalm: "The sorrows of death surrounded me."

WIS 10:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

But she conducted the fugitive etc. Here he touches upon the manifold benefit of wisdom bestowed upon the person of Jacob, of which the first was his advancement in good: the second, his preservation from evil: the third, assistance in triumph. She, namely wisdom, the fugitive from the wrath of his brother, namely the one fleeing and turning away from the wrath of his brother, or from his angered brother: Genesis twenty-seven: "Behold, Esau your brother threatens to kill you. Now therefore, my son, hear my voice, and arise and flee to Laban, my brother." The just one, namely Jacob, according to that passage in Genesis thirty: "My justice shall answer for me tomorrow": she guided through straight paths: The Gloss: "Through Mesopotamia": Deuteronomy thirty-two: "The Lord alone was his guide." Straight, he says, because "the path of the just is straight," as is found in Isaiah twenty-six. And she showed him, namely on the way through an imaginative vision, the kingdom of God, because "he saw a ladder reaching up to heaven," Genesis twenty-eight. But the devil shows the kingdom of the world: whence Matthew four: "He showed him all the kingdoms of the world." And she gave him the knowledge of the saints, that is, the understanding of sacred things, because "understanding is needed in a vision," as is found in Daniel ten: of sacred things, I say, which he had seen, she gave him understanding, that is, so that he might understand what the ladder which he had seen signified, and the ascent and descent of the Angels. For the ladder is obedience, through which the Angels ascend to attend upon God and descend to minister to us: Daniel seven: "Thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him." She made him honorable: The Gloss: "That is, she enriched him," according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus eleven: "It is easy in the eyes of the Lord to suddenly make a poor man honorable": and he speaks according to human custom, which is accustomed to regard the wealthy as honorable persons. In his labors, that is, on account of his labors, not through injustice and plunder, as many enrich themselves. But such riches do not make one honorable nor blessed, but rather one's own labors, or riches acquired from just labors: in the Psalm: "For you shall eat the labors of your hands, blessed are you," etc. And she brought to completion, that is, she led to the desired end, namely by bringing him back to his father in the land of Canaan: his labors: The Gloss: "Which he endured in tending sheep," concerning which, Genesis thirty-one: "Day and night I was scorched by heat and frost." She the fugitive etc. From this place up to: In the fraud of those circumventing, there is touched upon the manifold benefit that the Lord bestows upon His Saints, of which the first is justification at the beginning of their conversion: Romans 8: "Those whom He called, them He also justified": and this is touched upon when it says: The just one. The second is guidance in the progress of one's way of life: She guided him etc.: in the Psalm: "Your good Spirit will guide me into the right land." The third is the showing of the kingdom in grace or in the secret of contemplation: She showed him: Exodus 33: "I will show you all good." The fourth, instruction in the knowledge of the divine will: And she gave him the knowledge of holy things: Baruch 4: "Blessed are we, O Israel, for the things that are pleasing to God are made known to us." The fifth is ennoblement, that is, enrichment in the abundance of merit and virtue: She enriched him etc.: Job 5: "You shall enter the grave in abundance, as a heap of wheat is brought in at its time." The sixth, completion in reward: And she completed etc.; above in chapter four: "Being made perfect in a short time, he fulfilled long times, for his soul was pleasing to God": likewise above in chapter three: "The fruit of good labors is glorious."

WIS 10:10 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Therefore it is necessary to have another brightness, namely that of gratuitous knowledge, which is the form of the two preceding brightnesses. You fail in the third sign if you do not have this knowledge. This knowledge is of truth as believable and lovable, a holy awareness. Of this knowledge it is said in the book of Wisdom: "The Lord led the just one through right ways and showed him the kingdom of God, He honored him in his labors and gave him the knowledge of the Saints." Gratuitous knowledge is called the knowledge of the Saints for a threefold reason.

WIS 10:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

In the fraud of those circumventing him, that is, of those wishing to circumvent him, "Laban and his sons," as the Gloss says: she stood by him, namely by guarding him, lest he be deceived or harmed: Genesis 31: "Your father has circumvented me and changed my wages ten times." And she made him honorable, the Lord, that is, wealthy: Genesis 31: "Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and enriched from his possessions, he has become illustrious."

WIS 10:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18

Likewise, the fruit of wisdom is born of the last four by contrast. Corresponding to this fruit, there are four acts, for wisdom is comforting, struggling, contemplating, and extolling. It is also struggling, against evil: "Better is wisdom than weapons of war." Again, Wisdom "gave him a strong conflict, that he might overcome and know that wisdom is mightier than all." It is also contemplating the Supreme Good: "For she is fairer than the sun." Wisdom makes the soul taste the Supreme Good and be united to it.

WIS 10:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

She guarded him from enemies, namely from Laban and his sons who were pursuing him and wishing to despoil him: Genesis thirty-one: "Unless the God of my father had been with me, perhaps you would have sent me away empty." And from deceivers she protected him, namely from Esau and his men, who perhaps intended to seize him when they were coming to meet him. But the Lord changed the heart of Esau through the offering of gifts which Jacob sent ahead to him, as is clear from Genesis thirty-two. And she gave him a strong contest, the Gloss explains this of the contest against Laban and his sons, Genesis thirty-one, or against Esau: or more truly it can be understood of the contest in which he wrestled with the Angel, Genesis thirty-two: with the Angel, I say, stronger than himself. For if a wicked angel is so strong that "there is no power on earth that can be compared to him," as is found in Job forty-one: how much more a good Angel? So that he might conquer, namely the contest itself: Hosea twelve: "In his strength he was directed with the Angel and prevailed," etc. So that he might conquer, I say, and know, namely by obtaining the victory, through wisdom, that is: that wisdom is mightier than all things, because she is powerful to deliver from any evil man: whence Genesis thirty-two: "If you have been strong against God, how much more shall you prevail against men"?

WIS 10:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

She the just one who was sold. Here he shows the benefit of wisdom bestowed upon the person of Joseph, and first in his deliverance: second, in the exaltation of the one delivered. She, namely wisdom, the just one, "that is, Joseph"; for out of justice he accused his brothers of their crimes before his father: Genesis thirty-seven: "He accused his brothers before his father of a most wicked crime"; the one sold, "namely by his brothers," who "sold him to passing Ishmaelites," in the same place: did not abandon, namely by withdrawing from him: in the Psalm: "The Lord will not abandon his Saints forever." But she delivered him from sinners, from the wife of Potiphar and his servants, "when he was accused of adultery," Genesis thirty-nine. And she descended with him into the pit: the Gloss: "Of the prison": for he was handed over into the prison in which "the king's prisoners were kept," where wisdom descended with him, which was evident because "she gave him favor with the chief of the prison," Genesis thirty-nine.

WIS 10:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

And in the chains of the prison she did not abandon him, because through the wise interpretation of dreams she freed him from his chains, Genesis forty-one. Until she brought him the scepter of the kingdom, that is, the principate over all of Egypt after Pharaoh: whence in the same place: "You shall be over my house," etc.: and power, namely of judging or of vindicating himself, if he had willed, against those who were oppressing him: that is, against his brothers, who had oppressed him, upon whom he struck great terror, as is clear from Genesis forty-two. And she showed those who had stained him to be liars, namely with the stain of infamy, namely the wife of Potiphar and his servants: Job thirteen: "First showing you to be fabricators of lies and cultivators of perverse doctrines." For through his divine exaltation it was shown and believed that the whole thing was a lie, with even the woman herself perhaps acknowledging this afterward. Concerning this stain of infamy, Ecclesiasticus forty-seven: "You placed a stain upon your glory." And gave him eternal renown, namely of perpetual fame, according to that word of the Psalm: "The just shall be in everlasting remembrance": or of eternal glory, namely when Christ led him together with the other Patriarchs from hell into glory. "Ascending on high, you led captivity captive." It should be noted that in the aforesaid six persons six ways are touched upon by which wisdom delivers the saints, according to that word of Job five: "In six tribulations he will deliver you, and in the seventh evil shall not touch you." For she delivers from the temptation of the enemy, as with Adam; from the temptation of the corruption of concupiscence, as with Noah, while the rest perished on account of the corruption of the flesh; likewise, from the temptation of pride and interior haughtiness, as Abraham from the pride of the giants which might be imitated, or from the imitation of pride; likewise, from exterior temptation, namely of wicked example and corrupt conduct, as with Lot; likewise, from the temptation of human deceit and circumvention, as with Jacob; likewise, from the temptation of worldly adversity, as with Joseph. Likewise it should be noted that there are three enemies of ours, namely the devil, the flesh, and the world, signified by the three enemies of Solomon, concerning which see 3 Kings eleven. Now the temptation of the demon is twofold, namely exterior and visible, interior and invisible. Deliverance from the first is signified in the deliverance of Adam; from the second, in the deliverance of Abraham. The temptation of the flesh is likewise twofold, namely according to nature and against nature. Deliverance from the first was signified in the deliverance of Noah; from the second, in the deliverance of Lot. The temptation of the world is likewise twofold, namely through fraud and violence. Deliverance from the first is signified in the deliverance of Jacob; from the second, in the deliverance of Joseph.

WIS 10:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

She delivered a just people. After he has shown the benefits of wisdom conferred upon individual persons, here he shows the benefit bestowed upon one people: and first the general benefit is touched upon, second the special benefit, third the thanksgiving for both. This, namely wisdom, a just people, "namely the Israelite people," justified through faith, according to that passage in Romans 5: "Justified by faith": or: just, through the working of good; and a blameless seed, namely through the avoidance of evil: seed, "namely of the Patriarchs," as the Gloss says: likewise Tobit 2: "We are the children of the Saints": delivered etc. Of this deliverance he set forth a twofold cause, namely the goodness of the people, when he says: A just people: secondly, the holiness of the Fathers, when he says: And a blameless seed she delivered from the nations, "that is, from the Egyptians," remaining in the vice of their birth. Who oppressed him, that is, vexed them, "namely in clay and brick" and straw, as is evident from Exodus 1. And note that through this oppression or vexation can be understood the vexation of the devil, by which he vexes his servants in the works of the clay of lust and the brick of avarice and the straw of pride: Exodus 3: "Seeing I have seen the affliction of my people" etc.

WIS 10:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

She entered etc. Here he touches upon special benefits, first those done in Egypt: secondly, after the departure from Egypt: thirdly, in the departure itself. She entered, that is, wisdom herself, into the soul of the servant of God: Gloss: "That is, of Moses," above in chapter 7: "Through nations she transfers herself into holy souls": likewise Exodus 4: "I will be in your mouth and will teach you what you shall say." And she stood, namely steadfastly: whence Exodus 9: "Moses stood before Pharaoh": she stood, I say, against dreadful kings: Gloss: "Pharaoh and other princes": in wonders, that is, in greater miracles, and in signs, lesser ones, "which she worked in Egypt"; whence Exodus 7: "I will multiply my signs and portents in the land of Egypt"; Ecclesiasticus 45: "He magnified him in the sight of kings": above in chapter 8: "Dreadful kings shall fear me."

WIS 10:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

And she rendered to the just: Gloss: "Of the Israelite people": the reward of their labors: Gloss: "The promised land," which he had previously promised to them: Genesis 12: "To your seed I will give this land." And she led them, namely to the aforesaid land, by a wonderful way: Gloss: "Through the desert": in the Psalm: "In a desert land, pathless and waterless." This way, moreover, was wonderful, because it was in no way passable for so great a host without many miracles. Whence it follows: And she was to them a covering by day, that is, from the heat of day, namely "through a pillar of cloud": and in the light of stars by night, that is, in place of the light of stars, and this "through a pillar of fire," as the Gloss says: Exodus 13: "Never was the pillar of cloud lacking by day nor the pillar of fire by night"; likewise Isaiah 4: "The Lord will create over every place of Mount Sion etc., a cloud by day" etc.

WIS 10:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

And she brought them across etc., namely in the departure from Egypt, through the Red Sea: Exodus fourteen: "The water was divided, and the children of Israel entered through the midst of the dry sea." Now it is called the Red Sea from the color which it derives from the adjacent red earth. And she carried them across through the exceeding water, namely of the sea itself, whose waters were for them as a wall on the right and on the left, in the same place. And note that he says through the Red Sea with respect to quality, through the exceeding water with respect to quantity.

WIS 10:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

But their enemies, namely the Egyptians, she submerged in the sea: Exodus fifteen: "The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he cast into the sea": likewise: "They sank as lead," etc. And from the height, that is, the depth, of the nether regions, "that is, of unspeakable afflictions," as the Gloss says: she brought forth them, namely the children of Israel, in this, namely, that their enemies, who wished to kill them by sending them thither, he sent or cast thither: Ecclesiasticus, the last chapter: "From the depth of the belly of hell and from a defiled tongue and from a lying word." Therefore the just, namely because wisdom was with them: the just, namely the children of Israel, carried off the spoils of the ungodly: the Gloss: "The golden and silver vessels of the Egyptians," as is clear from Exodus twelve: Proverbs thirteen: "The substance of the sinner is kept for the just." Note that he does not say they stole, because they did these things by the command of a superior, namely God: and therefore they did not commit theft or robbery, at least those who did these things not out of greed but with the intention of obeying God.

WIS 10:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

And they sang forth, that is, they sang devoutly, namely after the crossing of the Red Sea: O Lord, thy holy name: Exodus fifteen: "Let us sing to the Lord, etc., the Lord is as a man of war, almighty is his name": thus they sang forth for their deliverance. And thy victorious hand, that is, thy power, they praised together, that is, at the same time, namely for the overthrow of their adversaries: whence in the same place: "Thy right hand, O Lord, is magnified in strength."

WIS 10:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 10

Because wisdom etc., as if to say: and rightly did they sing and praise etc.: because wisdom, namely delivering them, opened, namely unto the praise of the divine name, the mouth of the mute, previously struck dumb by fear; Exodus 14: "The children of Israel saw the Egyptians behind them and feared greatly." And the tongues of infants, that is, of those unable to speak, she made eloquent, that is, fluent in speech, perhaps literally, the tongues of the Hebrew children, according to that passage of Psalm 8: "Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings" etc. Or: of infants, that is, of the unskilled, those not knowing how to speak after the manner of infants, according to that passage of Jeremiah 1: "I know not how to speak, for I am a child"; Luke 21: "I will give you a mouth and wisdom" etc.; Exodus 4: "Who made the mouth of man?" The Gloss: "Without the wisdom of God the human mind can neither think anything nor worthily utter it. From Him therefore both wisdom and eloquence must be sought."

WIS 11:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

She directed their works. Here he treats of the benefits pertaining to the punishment of adversaries, and first of those pertaining to punishment through lighter penalties, ordained for their correction, namely in this chapter and in the twelfth chapter; second, of those pertaining to punishment through heavier penalties, ordained for condemnation, namely in the thirteenth chapter and thereafter. First, the punishment through lighter penalties is treated in two ways. In the first part, he treats principally of the punishment of the Egyptians who were unjustly oppressing the Israelites; second, of the punishment of the Canaanites who were unjustly holding their land, namely in the twelfth chapter. First, concerning the punishment of the Egyptians for a twofold sin, first for unjust oppression. In the first part, the punishment of the Egyptians is treated first on account of the unjust oppression of the children of Israel; second, on account of idolatry: For some who were erring. In the first part, there is first shown toward the children of Israel, whom they wished to hold captive, the mercy of God; second, against the Egyptians wishing to unjustly hold them, the justice of God: For by what things. In the first part, there is first touched upon the direction of the Israelites on the way; second, the clearing away or removal of impediments occurring on the way: They stood; third, their refreshment on the way: They thirsted. He says therefore: She directed, as if to say: not only did wisdom bestow the aforementioned benefits upon the Israelite people, but she also directed their works: The Gloss: "of the Israelites," namely after their departure from Egypt: in the hands, that is, in the power and governance, of a holy Prophet: The Gloss: "Moses," who was a prophet as regards doctrine: Deuteronomy 18: "The Lord will raise up for you a Prophet like me": holy as regards life: Exodus 33: "You have found grace before me." He taught and governed them not only by words, because he was a prophet, but also by examples, because he was holy, so that there could be said of him that word of Luke 24: "He was a prophet mighty in work and in word."

WIS 11:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

They made a journey: Gloss: "Hastening to the promised land": through deserts, that is, through many places abandoned, namely by cultivators: which were not inhabited, namely by human inhabitants. And this was done with wisdom directing them through the hand of Moses, according to that passage of the Psalm: "You led your people like sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron." Which many did not acknowledge; whence Jeremiah 2: "They did not say: Where is the Lord, who brought us through the desert, through an uninhabitable and pathless land?" And in desert places they made huts: Gloss: "Tabernacles," that is, poor little dwellings, and they are called huts from "falling," because they can easily fall down: similarly it is read of Abraham that he dwelt "in tents," Hebrews 11. And they did this through forty-two encampments, which are specified in Numbers 33.

WIS 11:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

They stood against enemies, namely against the Amalekites, fighting with them, as is found in Exodus 17, and against the Midianites, Numbers 31. And against their foes, namely the Amalekites, they avenged themselves, namely by triumphing and slaying them, and this through the prayer of Moses and the raising of his hands, as is clear from Exodus 17.

WIS 11:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

They thirsted, namely on the part of the body because of a scarcity of water, as is clear from Exodus 17 and Numbers 20, and they called upon you, namely on the part of the soul, and this by themselves or through Moses: whence Numbers 20: "Lord God, hear the cry of this people"; in the Psalm: "They cried out to the Lord when they were in distress." And water was given to them from a most high rock, that is, from a lofty crag: Exodus 17: "You shall strike the rock," etc.; likewise Numbers 20: "Speak to the rock, and it will give you waters." And the quenching of thirst, that is, the allaying of thirst through the drinking of water, from the hard stone, supply: was given to them: in the Psalm: "He struck the rock, and waters flowed"; likewise Numbers 20: "Most abundant waters came forth, so that the people and the beasts drank." Moreover, it is called a most high rock, that is, very high, or most high by reason of what it signifies, namely because it signified Christ; whence 1 Corinthians 10: "And the rock was Christ." From this rock come forth the spiritual waters of graces: John 4: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him," etc.; likewise John 7: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink."

WIS 11:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

For by the very things. Here is shown the effect of divine justice against the Egyptians, who wished to detain the Israelites. And first is touched upon, through the failure of water, the punishment of the Egyptians: second, the fittingness of the punishment: For instead of a fountain: third, the intention of the one punishing: When they were diminished: fourth, the gravity of the punishment: These indeed: fifth, the effect upon those punished: For when they heard. By which things etc.: Gloss: "Having recalled the benefits given to the earlier people, the punishment of the enemies is narrated." For by which things etc., as if to say: To the Israelites was given an abundance of waters: for, meaning "because": by which things their enemies suffered punishments, namely the Egyptians, from the lack of their drink, namely all the water of Egypt was turned into blood, so that they could not drink from it, as is clear from Exodus 7. And in these things, when they abounded, the children of Israel, namely in the waters which abounded in the land of Goshen, or according to the Gloss: "Which had flowed from the rock," Numbers 20: rejoiced. By these things, namely by the waters, when they were lacking to them, namely the waters, Gloss: "To the Israelites," it was dealt well with them, because that lack was supplied through a miracle.

WIS 11:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

For instead of a fountain etc., as if to say: fittingly and appropriately a lack of water was given to the Egyptians, but an abundance of waters was conferred upon the Israelites: for instead of a fountain indeed, certainly, of an everlasting river, that is, the Nile flowing continuously from the beginning of the world — for it is one of the rivers of paradise: human blood, that is, the appearance of human blood, you gave to the unjust, that is, to the Egyptians, since, according to the Gloss, "their waters were turned into blood," as is clear from Exodus 7.

WIS 11:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

Who, namely the children of Israel, when they were being diminished by the exposure of the slain infants, that is, by the public exposure and slaying of infants, which was done lest the people should multiply but rather be diminished, as is clear from Exodus 1: you gave them, namely the children of Israel, abundant water unexpectedly, "that is, unforeseen," because in the desert and flowing from a rock through a miracle in the desert. "A miracle is a difficult and unusual work existing beyond the hope and capacity of the one who marvels at it." Human blood etc., as if he wished to say, according to the Gloss: To the Egyptians instead of water you gave blood, to the Israelites instead of the shed blood of the children you gave water.

WIS 11:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

Showing, O Lord, through the thirst which then was, namely in Egypt to the Egyptians and in the desert to the Israelites: how you would exalt your own, namely in the future, when "you will give them to drink from the torrent of your pleasure": in this, namely, that so wondrously you gave them drink in the present. And would slay their adversaries; Gloss: "With eternal thirst," as the rich banqueter, of whom Luke 16 speaks: likewise Isaiah 65: "Behold, my servants shall drink, you shall thirst." Or according to the literal sense, by this was prefigured that the Egyptians were to be slain in the Red Sea and the Israelites to be delivered.

WIS 11:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

For when they were tried, namely the children of Israel in the desert by many trials and plagues: the Gloss says: "God corrected the sinning Israelites with fitting plagues and consoled them when they repented." Whence it follows: And indeed, that is, certainly, they received discipline with mercy; in the Psalm: "You were angry and you had mercy on us": with mercy, namely consoling, discipline, correcting: or: a merciful and light correction or scourging for their faults, and therefore they ought not to have cast it off: Proverbs 3: "My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord": Hebrews 12: "But if you are without discipline, you are illegitimate and not sons." They knew, namely through experience, how with wrath, that is, how harshly — which the Prophet feared, saying: "Lord, do not rebuke me in your fury, nor correct me in your wrath"; the impious, being judged, namely in the present, would suffer torments, namely incomparably graver ones in the future: "For he shall rain snares upon sinners," etc. They knew, I say, through experience and in this, that they were so harshly corrected: Luke 23: "If they do this in the green wood, what shall be done in the dry?" Likewise Proverbs 11: "If the just man receives his due on earth, how much more the impious and the sinner"? Likewise Jeremiah 25: "Behold, in the city in which my name has been invoked, I shall begin to afflict: and shall you be as though innocent and exempt?" As if to say: no.

WIS 11:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

These indeed: the Gloss says: "the Israelites"; as a father admonishing, namely unto greater progress or unto advancing to what is better, you tested, that is, by admonishing through their correction you rendered them proven. "For the Lord scourges every son whom he receives," Hebrews 12: and Proverbs 3: "Whom the Lord loves he corrects, and as a father in his son he delights"; likewise above in chapter 3: "As gold in the furnace he tested them." But those: the Gloss says: "the Egyptians, or the Canaanites"; as a harsh king, through the effect of punishment, namely, you who in your nature are benign: examining, namely with punishments and examinations of torments, just as robbers and thieves and malefactors are put to examination and tortured: Gregory says: "Punishment examines whether one loves the truth when at peace." You condemned, because through scourges they were not amended but made worse: Ezekiel 24: "Much labor was sweated, and its excessive rust did not come out of it, not even by fire"; likewise Jeremiah 6: "Call them rejected silver, because the Lord has cast them away."

WIS 11:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

For those who were absent etc., as if to say: rightly I said that you harshly condemned them. For those who were absent, namely the Egyptians from the presence of Moses and Pharaoh, or from the children of Israel, and those who were present, namely those expressly consenting to the malice of Pharaoh: or also, according to the Gloss, the Canaanites, whether those who were slain by Israel or those who heard of the victory of the others: were similarly tormented, because the plagues were "in all the land of Egypt," as is clear concerning the plague of blood, Exodus 7. Or: those present were tormented in body, those absent, who heard of this, were tormented in mind. But then it is asked: how then were they similarly tormented, namely those absent in mind, but those present in body? It must be said that they were similarly tormented in genus, namely insofar as both these and those were tormented, but not similarly in species or mode.

WIS 11:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

For a twofold weariness had seized them, namely as if taking possession of them, weariness, that is, affliction, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Let them be clothed with their confusion as with a double cloak"; Jeremiah 17: "Destroy them with a double destruction." Twofold, I say: and, in place of 'that is': groaning, over the onset of present evils: with the memory of past things, that is, with the grief they had from the recollection of past evils, seeing that plagues succeeded upon plagues. The Gloss: "Twofold weariness, that is, the recollection of past evils and the storm of present ones."

WIS 11:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

For when they heard etc. Here is shown the punishment's effect upon those punished, first on the part of the Israelites; second, on the part of the Egyptians: For him whom etc.; third, on the part of both: Not similarly. As if to say: truly you tested these and condemned those. For when they heard, namely the children of Israel, with Moses proclaiming this; that through their torments things were going well for them, that is, profitably, namely unto their salvation, according to that passage in Romans 8: "For those who love God all things work together for good"; they remembered the Lord, whom, namely, they had as it were consigned to oblivion: who, despairing: in the Psalm: "They did not remember his hand" etc.; likewise: "They forgot his benefits and his wonders, which he showed them"; but afterward, afflicted, they remembered him: "For the eyes which guilt closes, punishment opens," as Gregory says; in the Psalm: "And they remembered that God is their helper." Marveling, namely at the power and mercy of God, at the end of the outcome, that is, after the end of the outcome of the matter: for from the end depends right judgment. "For the outcome proves the deeds"; whence also Peter followed Christ "to see the end," Matthew 26.

WIS 11:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

Whom indeed etc., as if to say: and truly it is so: whom, namely the Israelite people or Moses, cast forth in wicked exposure, that is, evilly and dangerously cast into the river, they mocked, namely the Egyptians, as though he would perish in the river, notwithstanding the basket. At the end of the event they marveled, that is, after the outcome of the matter, seeing, namely, Moses so exalted by miracles: whence Exodus 11: "And so Moses was a very great man before the servants of Pharaoh and all the people." Or: at the end they marveled, namely at the people miraculously liberated: Exodus 14: "Let us flee from Israel; for the Lord fights for them against us." Thus the impious err, not considering the end of the just, but only their present affliction: above in chapter 5: "We fools esteemed their life madness and their end without honor." Not similarly etc., as if to say: thus you condemned the impious and liberated the just; you, I say, not dealing similarly with the just; the Gloss: "As with the unjust," because Proverbs 16: "The just man falls seven times a day and rises again, but the impious shall fall into evil." The reason for the diversity, however, is not on the part of God, since "he is no respecter of persons," Acts 10, but on the part of the unjust.

WIS 11:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

Whence it follows: For their thoughts moreover: I said well: not similarly: moreover, for but rather: for their senseless thoughts, that is, hardened in evil, their iniquities, namely the exterior ones, as if to say: on account of their evil thoughts they are permitted to fall into evil works: whence the Gloss: "Iniquitous works proceed from thoughts," because the reprobate do not change their heart amid the scourges of the Lord: Romans 2: "According to your hardness and impenitent heart you treasure up for yourself wrath on the day of wrath" etc.: Revelation 22: "He who is filthy, let him be filthy still." Second, concerning the punishment of the Egyptians on account of idolatry. That certain ones erring etc. Here is touched upon the punishment of the Egyptians on account of idolatry, and this through the sending of flies. And the fittingness of this punishment is shown first on the part of the one sinning; second, on the part of the judge punishing, at: For not. Because certain ones etc., as if to say: thus they were punished for the oppression of the Israelites: because, standing for "since": certain ones, of the Egyptians, wandering, namely from the faith: Proverbs 14: "They err who work evil." They worshipped mute serpents: mute he says to distinguish from the serpent who spoke to Eve in the earthly paradise, Genesis 3: and worthless beasts, that is, useless for worship: for the Egyptians worshipped Aesculapius under the form of a serpent, Mercury under the form of a dog, Jupiter under the form of a ram, Apis under the form of an ox: Romans 1: "They changed the likeness of the incorruptible God into the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and of four-footed beasts and of serpents." You sent upon them a multitude of dumb animals for vengeance, namely frogs and flies, gnats and locusts, according to that verse of the Psalm: "He sent among them the dog-fly, and it devoured them, and the frog, and it destroyed them; and he gave their fruits to the mildew and their labors to the locust."

WIS 11:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

That they might know that by what things, that is, by what sort of things, a man sins, by these, that is, by similar things, also, that is, even, he is tormented: the Gloss: "That from the likeness of the punishment they might recognize the quality of the fault," just as "Haman was hanged on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai," Esther 7; and Goliath was slain by his own sword, 1 Kings 17; and Holofernes was slain by his own dagger by the woman whom he had wickedly desired, Judith 13.

WIS 11:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

For not impossible etc. Here is shown the fittingness of the punishment on the part of the judge who punishes, who prefers to use mercy rather than power. And first it is shown that this light punishment was not from powerlessness; second, that it was from mercy: But all things; third, there is added the proof of power: For greatly; fourth, the proof of mercy: And you have mercy. In the first he shows that he could have punished them otherwise, namely either through an instrument of vengeance already created, or through another to be newly created, at the words: Or of a new kind; or immediately by himself: For even without these. He says therefore: For not etc. I have rightly said that you punished them through those things by which they had sinned, and this on account of the fittingness of the punishment to the fault, not on account of your powerlessness. For not impossible was, that is, greatly powerless, your hand, "that is, your Son," according to that verse of the Psalm: "Send forth your hand from on high": almighty: whence below in chapter 18: "Your almighty word, O Lord" etc. Which created, that is, formed, the world: for to create is to make something from nothing, to form however, is from pre-existing matter. But the world was from pre-existing matter, yet previously created formless: whence it follows: From unseen matter, that is, from prime matter, which was unseen, that is, invisible at that time, both on the part of itself, because it lacked distinct form, and on the part of the agent, because light was lacking, which is necessary for reducing the sense of sight from potency to act; whence Genesis 1: "The earth was void and empty," namely as to the first defect: "and darkness was upon the face of the deep," as to the second. To send upon them, namely for vengeance, a multitude of bears, or bold lions, which are strong and rapacious animals: on account of which David glories in overcoming them in 1 Kings 17: "I have slain a lion and a bear." To send, I say, lions etc., as he did when he sent lions into the land of Samaria, which devoured the peoples transferred there, because they did not worship God.

WIS 11:18-19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

Or beasts of a new kind, full of rage and unknown, and therefore more terrible: Deuteronomy 32: "I will send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the fury of those that drag upon the ground" etc. Or a fiery vapor, or of fires, breathing out, namely for destruction: or sending forth the smell of smoke, namely for the infection of the air, or shooting horrible sparks from their eyes, for terror. Of which not only the harm, made namely by striking, could exterminate them, that is, place them beyond the boundaries of life: but even the sight, by seeing, could kill through fear, namely the unjust and the wicked: for of the just it is said in the Psalm: "You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon." It should be noted, moreover, that through the various aforementioned beasts, six kinds of sins can be understood: through the bear, the vice of gluttony: through the lion, pride; through beasts full of rage, wrath; through those breathing out fiery vapor, lust; through those sending forth the smell of smoke, avarice; through those shooting sparks from their eyes, envy.

WIS 11:20 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

In the first mode, the gaze of the one contemplating, considering things in themselves, sees in them weight, number, and measure: weight with respect to the position toward which they incline, number, by which they are distinguished, and measure, by which they are limited. And thereby it sees in them mode, species, and order, as well as substance, power, and operation. From which one can rise as from a vestige to understanding the immense power, wisdom, and goodness of the Creator.

WIS 11:20 — Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 1

The whole of the world-machine was produced into being in time and from nothing by one first, sole, and supreme principle: whose power, although it is immense, nevertheless disposed all things in a certain weight, number, and measure. The creature is the effect of the creating Trinity under a threefold genus of causality: efficient, from which there is in the creature unity, mode, and measure; exemplary, from which there is in the creature truth, species, and number: final, from which there is in the creature goodness, order, and weight. Which indeed are found in all creatures as a vestige of the Creator, whether corporeal, or spiritual, or composed of both. Every creature is established in being by the efficient cause, is conformed to the exemplar, and is ordered to the end: and through this it is one, true, good: modified, beautiful, ordered: measured, distinct, and weighted: for weight is an ordinative inclination.

WIS 11:20 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

There is a certain order in these things. For God creates all essences "by measure and number and weight." And by giving these, He gives mode, species, and order. Mode is that by which a thing exists; species, that by which it is distinct; order, that by which it is fitting. For there is no creature that is not endowed with measure, quantity, and inclination. And in this a trace may be seen, and wisdom is manifested, as the foot is shown by the trace. And this trace leads to that Wisdom in whom there is mode without qualification, number without quantity, and order without ordination.

WIS 11:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

For even without these etc. Nor could you punish them only in this way, for even without these, that is, without the aid of these beasts, they could have been killed by a single breath: Gloss: "That is, by a single indignation or command." So breath is understood where it is said in Genesis 6: "My spirit shall not remain in man," that is, my indignation, etc. Or: by a single angelic breath, as happened to Sennacherib and his army, as is clear from Isaiah 37. Having suffered persecution, namely as from a meritorious cause, from their own deeds, so that they would be destroyed by their own works, just as a viper perishes by its own offspring: Luke 3: "Offspring of vipers," etc.; in the Psalm: "Render to them according to the works of their hands." And scattered, namely through diverse places outside their own land, by the spirit of your power. This can be understood intransitively, and then it is understood of the uncreated Spirit; or transitively, that is, effectively, and then it can be understood of a created spirit: Job 4: "I saw those who work iniquity perish by the blast of God, and be consumed by the spirit of his wrath." But all things etc. Here he shows that he punished out of mercy and punished less than he could have: and first by this, that he did not punish beyond what the magnitude of the fault required, because in measure; second by this, that he did not punish beyond what the multiplicity of the fault required, because in number; third, because not beyond what the condition or quality of the sinner required, because in weight. I have rightly said that you do not punish according to the immensity of your power, that is, to the extent that you could; but all things etc., as if to say: not only the creatures themselves, but also their retributions and penalties or punishments, you have disposed in measure, so that they do not exceed the magnitude of the fault; and in number, so that they do not exceed the multiplicity of the fault; and in weight, so that they do not exceed the condition of the sinner or the circumstance of the sin. That he punishes according to measure: Revelation 18: "As much as she glorified herself in delights, so much give her torment and mourning"; likewise Isaiah 27: "In measure against measure, when she shall be cast off, you shall judge her"; likewise Luke 6: "With what measure you measure, it shall be measured back to you." That according to number: Revelation 18: "Double unto her double according to her works"; likewise Isaiah 40: "She has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins," that is, a twofold punishment, namely the punishment of loss and the punishment of sense, or exterior bodily punishment and interior spiritual punishment, that is, the remorse of conscience. That according to weight is clear from above, chapter 6: "To the little one mercy is granted, but the mighty shall suffer torments mightily." Otherwise it can be explained thus: all things, namely corporeal things with respect to their nature, you have disposed in measure, number, and weight, because the measure of all corporeal things is the four elements, which have number, weight, and measure, as is evident. Or otherwise: weight refers to the power of the one operating; number to the wisdom of the one ordering; measure to the clemency of the one preserving; Romans 11: "From whom are all things," with respect to the power of the Father; "through whom are all things," with regard to the wisdom of the Son; "in whom are all things," with regard to the clemency of the Holy Spirit. According to the Gloss of Rabanus: "In measure, quality; in number, quantity; in weight, reason." According to Augustine, the measure of a creature is its determinate quantity by which it is called great or small or middling; number, a determinate quality by which it is distinguished from another; weight, the property by which it rests in its own place; whence according to Augustine, measure is the same as mode; species is the…

WIS 11:20 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Scientia Christi, Question 7

Every created thing is disposed in a certain weight, number, and measure. Therefore the soul of Christ and its wisdom have a certain number and measure; therefore it does not extend to infinite things.

WIS 11:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

For much etc. Here is set forth the proof of divine power, first through its magnitude in itself; second, through the smallness of the creature: For as etc. For much indeed etc., as if to say: it is well evident that it was not from lack of power, because he punished them thus: for to avail much, that is, to be greatly powerful, belongs to you alone, and without the help of another, was always at hand, namely on account of the infinity of your power. "For the infinite is that of which, for one taking parts or quantity, there is always something beyond to take"; Luke 1: "No word shall be impossible with God"; always, that is, at all times or for eternity, according to that passage of Daniel 7: "His power is an everlasting power." And the strength, that is, the perfect power, because, according to the Philosopher, "strength is the ultimate degree of power in a thing"; of your arm, according to that passage of Isaiah 51: "Put on strength, O arm of the Lord"; who shall resist? As if to say: no one can; and this is because he is not acted upon by anyone.

WIS 11:22 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

He sets forth first the magnitude of divine power: "There is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might." Whence in the book of Wisdom: "As a drop of morning dew, so is the whole world before thee." Therefore who would not fear thee, unless he be impious and foolish?

WIS 11:22 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

For etc., as if to say: truly it is so: for the whole world, that is, the totality of creatures, is thus before you, that is, in your disposition, or in comparison with you, as the turning of a balance, that is, that small amount by which the balance is inclined this way or that; whence it is called momentum from "moving," or because, just as it is easily and as if in a moment moved this way or that, so by divine power the world is moved at the nod of God; whence Isaiah 40: "Behold, the nations are as a drop from a bucket and are accounted as the turning of a balance"; and as a drop of the morning dew, that is, falling before the light, which descends upon the earth, which is easily dissolved by the face of the sun and cannot resist it. And it should be noted that he says the creature is as the turning of a balance etc., in respect to God as regards the ease of acting upon it; and as a drop of dew etc., as regards the impossibility of being acted upon by it; Isaiah 40: "All nations are as though they were not, so are they before him."

WIS 11:22 — Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 4

WIS 11:23 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

And you have mercy on all etc. Here is set forth the proof of divine mercy; and first he proves it through the effect of overlooking; second, through the effect of love: For you love; third, through the effect of preservation: But how could etc.; fourth, through the effect of pardon: But you spare. And you have mercy on all, that is, in all things you exercise the effect of mercy, according to that passage of the Psalm: "His mercies are over all his works"; likewise: "All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth"; likewise: "The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord". For you can do all things: whence all things are your handiwork and your works, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them". And you overlook, that is, for a time not punishing, the sins of men; he does not say of angels, because the sin of the angels was immediately punished: whence Isaiah 14: "How have you fallen, O Lucifer, from heaven, you who rose in the morning"? On account of repentance; whence Romans 2: "Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance"? Ezekiel 18: "If the wicked man shall do penance from all his sins, etc., he shall live and shall not die".

WIS 11:24 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

For you love all things that exist, namely by approving and preserving their goods: whence Genesis 1: "God saw all things that he had made, and they were very good": the Gloss: "A good craftsman loves his own work"; but God did not make sin: whence John 1: "Without him was made nothing," that is, "sin," according to Augustine. And therefore he does not love sin but hates it, according to that passage of the Psalm: "You have loved justice and hated iniquity". And you hate nothing of those things which you have made, that is, rejecting none of them. Against which it is said in the Psalm: "I have hated the unjust"; likewise: "You have hated all who work iniquity"; likewise Ecclesiasticus 12: "The Most High hates sinners". But it must be said that he does not hate his handiwork, but the defect of his handiwork, just as a craftsman loves the statue which he has made, and yet hates some knot existing in it on the part of the material. For neither hating, that is, unwillingly, did you establish anything, namely by creating it from nothing, or make it, by forming it from pre-existing matter: whence Boethius: Whom no external causes drove to fashion the work of fluctuating matter, but rather the inborn form of the highest good, etc. Whence Proverbs 16: "The Lord has wrought all things for himself".

WIS 11:25 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

But how could anything, that is, any creature, endure, namely in its being: unless you had willed it, that is, unless you voluntarily preserved it by your goodness? as if to say: in no way: whence Gregory: "All things that exist would tend toward nothingness, unless they were sustained or held by the hand of the Creator". Or what had not been called by you, that is, unless you approved it by beholding it with your wisdom: Romans 4: "Who calls those things that are not," etc., would be preserved? as if to say: nothing.

WIS 11:26 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 11

But you spare all, namely human beings, who are called every creature, according to that passage in Mark, last chapter: "Preach the Gospel to every creature"; you spare, I say, because it is proper to you according to that passage: "O God, whose property it is always to have mercy and to spare." Because they are yours, O Lord: Ezekiel 18: "All souls are mine"; who love souls: which is evident, because you laid down your soul for them; John 15: "Greater love than this no one has," etc.; whence Bernard: "You had a greater love, laying it down for your enemies."

WIS 12:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

Second, concerning the punishment of the Canaanites and Amorites. O how good etc. After he treated of the benefits shown to the children of Israel in the affliction or punishment of the Egyptians principally, here he treats of the benefits shown to the same in the affliction of the Canaanites and Amorites who principally inhabited the land of promise. In the first part, first is shown the just punishment of those peoples; second, the mercy shown in the manner of punishing: But also to these: third, the instruction of the people of God in both: But you, O ruler: fourth, the condemnation of incorrigible adversaries through both: Whence also to those. First, concerning the just punishment of these peoples in two ways. In the first part, first the pious intention of the one punishing is touched upon; second, the equity of the punishment: For those. Of the pious intention, he first shows the cause, second the sign: And therefore etc.; third the end: That having abandoned wickedness etc. (Verse 1). O how good etc. It is an exclamation suggesting the insufficiency of the speaker to express the goodness of the Creator; for the sense is: O how etc., as if to say: I am unable to express how great, and this on account of the infinity of your goodness. Good, namely by communicating your good things: "for the good is diffusive of itself," according to Dionysius; Matthew 19: "None is good but God alone"; for God alone communicates what is his own, every creature communicates what belongs to another, because it has nothing of its own; whence 1 Corinthians 4: "What have you that you have not received"? And your spirit is sweet, O Lord, in all things, namely by sparing our evils: in the Psalm: "Taste and see that the Lord is sweet"; your spirit, I say, in us, namely, all things, the Gloss: "Because the love of God is the font of all good." In all things, especially in those in which the mercy of God appears more: in the Psalm: "The Lord is sweet to all."

WIS 12:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Verse 2). And therefore, because You are good and gentle, those who go astray, that is, who wander outside the way of truth in faith or in morals, as those of whom Isaiah fifty-three says: "All we like sheep have gone astray"; likewise Lamentations four: "The blind have wandered in the streets"; You correct in parts, that is, sending punishments by parts, not all at once, but successively, according to Exodus twenty-three: "I will not cast them out from before your face in one year," but "little by little I will drive them out"; Job thirty-five: "For now He does not bring His fury, nor does He avenge wickedness greatly," but moderately: You correct, I say, either by Yourself, or "through others, whom You fill with the Holy Spirit," according to the Gloss: John sixteen: "He will convict the world of sin." And concerning the things in which they sin, that is, concerning the sins by which they sin: You admonish them, namely by promising pardon, according to Matthew four: "Do penance," etc.; likewise Isaiah forty-five: "Turn to Me, and you shall be saved," etc.; the Gloss: "Blessed are those who hear the voice of the one admonishing"; Isaiah thirty: "Your ears shall hear the word of one admonishing from behind." And You address them, that is, by threatening punishment: Isaiah one: "If you hear Me, you shall eat the good things of the land; but if you will not hear, the sword shall devour you"; so that, having abandoned malice, namely of sin, or of unbelief, they may believe in You, Lord, namely with formed faith: in You, I say, not merely You, or to You only: Isaiah fifty-five: "Let the wicked forsake his way," etc. For the movement of penance is contrary to the movement of malice, because, just as the latter is from good to evil, so the former is from evil to good.

WIS 12:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

For those, etc. Here is touched upon the equity of punishment, and first from consideration of the fault itself; second, from consideration of the punishment: You willed to destroy. (Verse 3). For those etc. I rightly said: You correct, etc., which is clear from the example. For those ancient inhabitants, namely the Canaanites and the Amorites and others of this kind, inhabitants of Your holy land, that is, the land promised to Your Saints, namely Abraham, Genesis fifteen; Isaac, twenty-six; Jacob, twenty-eight: whom You abhorred, so much so that You willed Your people neither be joined to them nor mixed with them, according to Deuteronomy seven: "You shall not enter into a covenant with them, nor shall you join in marriages, nor shall you show mercy to them."

WIS 12:4-5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Verses 4-5). Because they were doing works hateful to You, namely enormous sins, below, chapter fourteen: "Alike hateful to God are the impious man and his impiety"; through sorceries, namely of poisoners, and unjust sacrifices, of idols, and this against God. There were, however, also just sacrifices, which were offered to God, as Noah offered, Genesis eight. And slayers of their own children, and this against the neighbor, without mercy, that is, without compassion, because in the sacrifices of demons they immolated them with great devotion, according to that passage of the Psalm: "And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons." Against which, Deuteronomy 18: "Do not desire to imitate the abominations of those nations, nor let there be found among you one who purifies a son or daughter by leading them through fire." And eaters of the entrails of men, this is not read to have happened, but it must be believed to have been possible, just as during the siege of Samaria it is read to have occurred, 4 Kings 6; and Lamentations 4: "The hands of compassionate women cooked their own children"; and devourers of blood, human blood, against that passage of Genesis 9: "You shall not eat flesh with blood."

WIS 12:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 6.). And authors, that is, shedders of blood, parents, that is, although they were parents of the blood that was shed, which is more grievous: of the blood, I say, of souls, that is, of human beings; for he puts the part for the whole, and it is a synecdoche, as in Exodus 1, where it is said: "All the souls that entered with Jacob into Egypt"; helpless; The Gloss: "That is, of those who could not defend themselves, or whom they were unwilling to help," namely their own little infants, of whose blood they themselves were the begetters and shedders in sacrifice and eaters by eating of the sacrificed. Slayers, I say, of their own children, etc., you willed to destroy, that is, to expel, from the midst by your sacrament, that is, from the holy land of promise; and the land of promise is called holy or a sacrament on account of its signification of a sacred reality, that is, of the land of the living, and on account of the completion of the sacraments of our salvation in it, and on account of the institution of the Sacraments of the Church in it, such as the Eucharist and Baptism, and on account of the future dwelling of holy men in it, such as the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles, and on account of the shedding and sprinkling of the blood of Christ in it, and on account of the dissolution of the sacred bodies and dust in it, namely of the ancient Fathers buried there; likewise on account of the building of a sacred place in it, namely the Temple, and on account of the birth and life of the Holy of Holies. Through the hands of our parents, namely those who entered the promised land with Joshua.

WIS 12:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 7.). That they might receive a worthy, namely our forefathers, sojourning, that is, a land of sojourning, of the children of God, namely the Patriarchs, concerning whom in Hebrews 11: "Confessing that they are pilgrims and strangers upon the earth." Which, namely the land of sojourning, is to you a land dearer than all, namely than all lands, that is, than all lands, namely on account of the salvation of the human race to be procured there, according to that passage of the Psalm: "He wrought salvation in the midst of the earth."

WIS 12:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

Second, the mercy shown in the manner of punishment is demonstrated in two ways. But even to these etc. Here the mercy shown in the manner of punishment is demonstrated: and of that manner he first removes the false cause; second, he introduces the true one: When therefore. In the first part he first shows that that manner of punishing was not from impotence; second, that neither from ignorance: But in parts; third, that neither from fear: Nor fearing; fourth, that neither from injustice: For neither. (Verse 8.). But even to these etc. Although some read this concerning the Fathers who were to be introduced, whose enemies the Lord first mercifully terrified, not wishing to expose them as mortal men to the sudden dangers of wars, nevertheless it seems more fittingly to be expounded concerning the Canaanite nations to be cast out from before them. He says therefore: But even to these, although, that is, they had sinned so enormously, you spared, that is, by not expelling all of them immediately and at once, as human beings, clothed in fragile flesh, and therefore more prone to sinning. "For the sense and thought of the human heart are prone to evil from its youth," Genesis 8. The Lord himself alleges this reason in Genesis 6: "My spirit shall not remain in man, because he is flesh." And you sent wasps as forerunners of your army, that is, a kind of fly that stings severely; the Gloss says: "The sharpest fears, by which the hearts of the nations were stung." These are the hornets, concerning which Deuteronomy 7: "The Lord your God will send hornets among them, until he destroys and scatters them all"; Exodus 23: "I will send my terror before you"; and afterward: "Sending hornets first, which will put the Hivite to flight" etc. So that those, namely the Canaanites, they might destroy little by little, that is, place or drive them beyond the boundaries of the promised land, or beyond the boundaries of the present life, or beyond the boundaries of the land of the living; whence Baruch 3: "They were driven out and descended to the netherworld," excluded, that is, from the land of the living.

WIS 12:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Verse 9.). Not because you were unable in war to subject the impious to the just, according to that of the Psalm: "You have girded me with strength for war, and you have subdued those who rise against me beneath me"; or by savage beasts, that is, or through cruel beasts, according to that of Jeremiah 5: "The wolf at evening laid them waste and the leopard watching over their cities"; above in chapter 11: "For your almighty hand was not unable" etc. Or by a harsh word, that is, through a severe word, to destroy them all at once, according to that of Jeremiah 23: "Are not my words as fire and as a hammer that breaks rocks?"

WIS 12:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 10.). But by parts etc. Here he shows that he did not do this out of ignorance, namely of their actual or original fault, saying: But by parts etc. I have rightly said that not because he was powerless etc. ; but by parts, "that is, little by little or by portions" and successively, judging, that is, justly punishing; Deuteronomy 7: "He will consume these nations in your sight little by little and by parts, lest perhaps the beasts of the earth multiply against you"; you gave a place of repentance, so that, with some punished, others might be corrected; Job 24: "God gave him a place of repentance, and he abuses it in pride." Not being ignorant, because ignorance does not fall upon God, just as neither do shadows upon light: whence 1 John 1: "God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all." Because their nation is wicked, through the malice of fault, because the children of wicked fathers are wicked: whence above in chapter 4: "All who are born from the wicked are witnesses of their iniquity"; and their malice is natural, that is, similar to what is natural through the practice of evil habit. "For habit is a second nature"; for just as those things which are from nature can with difficulty or never be cast off, so neither can those things which are from habit: whence Jeremiah 13: "If the Ethiopian can change his skin, or the leopard its spots, then you also will be able to do good, when you have learned evil"; Gregory: "He rises with difficulty whom the weight of habit presses down." And their malice is natural: The Gloss: "Abiding, ingrained," namely through the practice of evil habit. And because their thought could not be changed forever, namely on account of the obstinacy of their perverse will: The Gloss: "Hardened by their own wickedness"; Lamentations 1: "He has delivered me into a hand from which I cannot rise." But to the contrary: It is within the freedom of choice to sin and after sin to repent. I respond: It could not, that is, it could scarcely; or it could not by itself alone, but only by God's inspiration. For man is "a spirit that goes forth," namely through fault, "and does not return," namely except through grace.

WIS 12:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 11.). For their seed was cursed from the beginning, that is, in the first parent of their race, namely in Canaan: Genesis 9: "Cursed be Canaan." Or according to the Gloss: From the beginning, "that is, in the foreknowledge of God," or according to the Gloss: From the beginning, because "from the time they existed, a certain depraved quality was in them worthy of a curse." Neither fearing. Here he excludes fear from God by a fourfold reason: first, because no one can examine his judgment; second, because neither can anyone resist him: Or who shall stand; third, because neither can anyone take vengeance: Or who in the sight; fourth, because neither can anyone reprove: Or who to you. (Vers. 11.). He says therefore: Neither fearing anyone did you grant pardon to their sins. Neither fearing anyone, namely, as though someone more powerful than you: Ecclesiasticus 3: "Great is the power of God alone"; Isaiah 51: "Who are you, that you should fear a mortal man"? Likewise Job 22: "Will he, fearing, reprove you"? as if to say: no: indeed even "the pillars of heaven tremble and are terrified at his nod," Job 26: how much more the pillars of the earth?

WIS 12:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 12.). For who will say to you, that is, would dare to say, or could reasonably say: What have you done, namely, by examining the reason for your deed, as if to say: no one: whence Romans 9: "Does the thing formed say to him who formed it: Why have you made me thus"? Isaiah 45: "Does the clay say to the potter: What are you doing"? Or who will stand against your judgment? namely, by resisting your sentence: Job 9: "God, whose wrath no one can resist"; and later: "If the equity of judgment is sought, no one dares to bear witness on my behalf." Or who will come before your sight, that is, will dare to appear, as an avenger indeed of wicked men? that is, wishing to avenge the wicked by punishing you, as though you had done them an injustice by condemning them: as if to say: no one, because Deuteronomy 32: "Vengeance is mine," etc.: likewise in the same place: "See that I alone am, and there is none who can deliver from my hand." Or who will charge you, namely, by convicting you of fault, as if to say: no one: whence John 8: "Which of you will convict me of sin"? Who, I say, will charge you, if the nations which you made have perished? Have perished, through their own fault, which you made, with respect to their nature: the Gloss: "It is not the fault of the Creator if they perish, but the defect of nature"; Job 12: "If he destroys, there is no one who can build up."

WIS 12:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 13.). For neither, etc. Well have I said: who will do any of the aforesaid things against your judgment? For neither is there any other God than you, according to that passage of Isaiah 45: "Am I not the Lord, and there is no further God besides me"? Than you, I say, who have care for all things: above in chapter 6: "You have equal care for all things." But to the contrary: 1 Corinthians 9: "Does God have care for oxen"? It must be said that the care of providence is his for all things, but the care of discipline is for rational creatures alone. So that, namely through this, you might show that you do not judge unjustly the judgment of the punishment of the wicked: in the Psalm: "You are just, O Lord, and your judgment is right."

WIS 12:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 14.). Neither a king etc., as if to say: you judge so rightly that neither a king, who governs his own well and according to justice, nor a tyrant, who namely governs badly and through injustice: will inquire in your sight concerning those whom you have destroyed: Gloss: "Whether you have justly destroyed them," according to that passage in Job 9: "Who can say, why do you act thus?"

WIS 12:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

Since therefore etc. Here he shows the true cause why God showed mercy in the aforesaid manner of punishing, and this first by showing that God exercises justice in all things; second, that he nonetheless shows mercy: And because of this; third, that to unbelievers he sometimes shows power: Your strength etc. (Vers. 15.). Since therefore you are just, namely in your nature, you dispose all things justly, namely in creation, namely "justly punishing a son" in the present, so that in the future you may spare him; Hebrews 12: "He scourges every son whom he receives"; Tobit 3: "You are just, O Lord, and all your judgments are just"; likewise in the Psalm: "The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves." Him also who ought not to be punished, that is, corrected by temporal punishment, you condemn; Gloss: "With eternal punishment, sparing him in the present, so that in the future you may punish": whence Ezekiel 16: "My jealousy shall be taken away from me, and I shall rest and be angry no more." And you esteem as foreign from your strength: Gloss: "That is, alien and unworthy of divine compassion." For the strength of God is compassion, according to that saying of Gregory: "O God, whose property it is always to have mercy and to spare," therefore in the Psalm: "In your strength," that is, in your compassion, "judge me." Or thus: and him who ought not to be punished, namely eternally, you condemn, namely according to the estimation of the reprobate, because you correct him in the present: and you esteem, that is, you cause others to esteem, such a one to be foreign, namely, from your strength, that is, alien and unworthy of your compassion, just as the friends of Job esteemed him unworthy of your compassion, because you punished him so grievously.

WIS 12:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 16.). For your strength, that is, mercy. For the work of justice is said to be foreign to God, Isaiah 28, but the work of mercy is proper to him. And this is because he has mercy on us from his own goodness, but he exercises justice upon us from our own cause, namely on account of our fault. Your strength, I say, that is, mercy, is the beginning of justice, namely ours, that is, of our justification, according to that saying of the Apostle in Titus 3: "Not by works of justice which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us"; likewise Romans 3: "Justified freely by his grace." And because you are Lord of all, namely by power, you make yourself to spare all, by mercy: whence the Gloss: "So that you who preside by power may be gentle by nature": above in chapter 11: "You have mercy on all, because you can do all things."

WIS 12:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Verse 17). For you show your strength, that is, power in punishing, you who are not believed, namely by those who err, to be consummate in power, that is, perfect: Job twenty-two: "They esteemed him as though the Almighty could do nothing." And those who know you not, namely the unfaithful, you convict in boldness, that is, you boldly lead to punishment, and this by the merit of their iniquities, above, chapter four: "Their iniquities shall convict them to their face."

WIS 12:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

Third, the instruction of the people of God in both is shown. But you, ruler, etc. Having shown the punishment of adversaries and the mercy of the judge in punishing, here he shows the instruction of the people of God in both, and first he touches upon the example by which he instructs; second, the mercy concerning which he instructs: You have taught; third, the manner by which he instructs: For if enemies; fourth, the end on account of which he instructs: When therefore to us. (Verse 18). But you, etc. I have rightly said that you show your strength and power to the incorrigible; autem stands for "but": you, master of power, etc. This can be understood intransitively, so that the sense is: you, master of power, that is, powerful; or transitively, thus: master of power, that is, Lord of all powers, namely both angelic and human: in the Psalm: "The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory." You judge with tranquility, that is, without disturbance of intellect or affection; James one: "With whom there is no change"; Isaiah forty-two: "He shall bring forth judgment in truth; he shall not be sad nor troubled." And with great reverence, in effect, that is, with great moderation, you govern us, not like that judge "who neither feared God nor regarded man," Luke eighteen. For power is at hand to you, whenever you will: behold, the cause of tranquility in judging and of reverence in governing or in executing, namely because he is omnipotent: in the Psalm: "Whatsoever he willed, he did." But it is objected that according to the order of understanding, power precedes will, not will power. Therefore it ought to say: willing is at hand to you when you are able, not being able when you will. It must be said that power precedes in being, but will in acting: whence he is able to do many things which he does not do, because he does not will them.

WIS 12:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Verse 19). For you have taught your people: but others are not taught, whence Sirach twenty-one: "He who is not wise in good will not be instructed"; through such works, namely of justice and mercy together. Because it is necessary to be just, because you are just, and humane, that is, gentle, because man is by nature a gentle animal: and this, because you are merciful, not only just; whence in the Psalm: "Mercy and judgment I will sing to you, O Lord"; likewise: "The Lord is merciful and compassionate and just." And if the Lord, therefore also the servant; whence Matthew eighteen: "Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I also had mercy on you?" Ecclesiastes seven: "Do not be excessively just," namely to such a degree that you exclude mercy from your justice: for the Samaritan poured upon the wounded man not only wine, but also oil together. And you have made your children of good hope, that is, concerning the obtaining of pardon, your faithful ones, who are your children: whence John one: "He gave them the power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name." This is the good hope, concerning which in the Psalm: "Hope in him, all you assembly of the people"; likewise: "In God my heart has hoped, and I have been helped"; First Peter one: "Hope in the grace that is offered to you." Because judging, that is, punishing sinners, you give a place of repentance amid sins, that is, to those remaining in sins, namely by waiting for them unto repentance; Isaiah thirty: "Therefore the Lord waits, that he may have mercy on you." The place of repentance is this world: for after departure from this world there remains no place of repentance: on account of which Ecclesiastes eleven: "Wherever the tree falls, whether to the south or to the north, there it shall be." Chrysostom: "Then there will be no place of repentance, nor time for making satisfaction, nor power of restitution"; therefore Ecclesiastes nine: "Whatever your hand is able to do, work at it earnestly, because neither work nor reason nor knowledge nor wisdom will be in the netherworld, to which you hasten."

WIS 12:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 20.). For if the enemies of your servants, as regards sin against neighbor, to which servants, I say, it is said in Luke 10: "He who hears you hears me, and he who despises you despises me"; and those deserving of death, as regards sin against God, who is the life of souls, according to Augustine: deserving, I say, of death, according to that passage in Romans 1: "Not only those who do such things are worthy of death," etc. You tormented with such great deliberation, namely not all at once, but by punishing in parts and successively, as is evident in the plagues of Egypt; and you delivered, namely them from these, namely from temporal torments, because, when Moses prayed, they were delivered from each torment: a similar thing also happened with the Canaanites. Giving time and place, through which they might be changed from malice: time, namely the span of life, and place, namely the exile of this world: concerning time, Apocalypse 2: "I gave her time, that she might do penance"; concerning place, Job 24: "God gave him a place of penance, and he abuses it in pride."

WIS 12:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 21.). With how great diligence you judged your sons etc., as if to say: with great diligence and care, according to what the Psalmist sought, saying: "Rise up and attend to my judgment, my God and my Lord, to my cause." In a figure of this it is read in Genesis 3 that God, about to judge the sin of Adam, was walking about, etc. Your sons, namely the Saints, above in chapter 5: "Behold, how they are counted among the sons of God, and among the Saints is their lot." Or: your sons, that is, your faithful, according to that passage in John 1: "He gave them power to become sons of God, to those who believe in his name." Whose, namely of the sons, parents, that is, the Patriarchs, such as Abraham, Genesis 15 and 22; Isaac, Genesis 26; Jacob, Genesis 28: you gave oaths and covenants, that is, sworn covenants. Note that a covenant is a simple promise, whereas an oath is a promise with the attestation of a sacred thing; Hebrews 6: "That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have the strongest consolation," etc. Of good promises, namely concerning the promised land and concerning the blessing of the seed.

WIS 12:22 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Verse 22). When therefore etc., as if to say: you are so beneficent and merciful to adversaries: when therefore you give us discipline, that is, corrective punishment, which is not to be rejected, according to that passage in Proverbs 3: "The discipline of the Lord, my son, do not reject," because it instructs; whence in the Psalm: "Your discipline has corrected me unto the end," etc. Our enemies, namely those who hate us, although they are loved by us, according to what the Lord admonishes in Matthew 5: "Love your enemies"; in manifold ways you scourge, namely inwardly and outwardly, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Many are the scourges of the sinner"; the Gloss: "There is a great distance between the judgment of the elect and of the reprobate: for the former he corrects, that he may amend them; the latter pay the penalties of pride and faithlessness." That your goodness, namely in the present, we may consider when judging, namely others, whom we see scourged by you: the Gloss: "Happy is the judge who always looks upon the goodness and mercy of his Judge," namely so that, having beheld the mercy of God who judges, he may learn to have mercy when he judges others: in the Psalm: "How good is the God of Israel to those who are upright of heart": Nahum 1: "The Lord is good and strengthening in the day of tribulation and knows those who hope in him." And when we are judged, namely through the sending of present tribulations, we may hope for your mercy, namely in the future, namely the reward of eternal life: James 1: "Count it all joy, brethren, when you fall into various trials," etc.: Romans 5: "Glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience hope," etc.

WIS 12:23 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

Fourth, concerning the condemnation of incorrigible adversaries on account of contempt, six points are touched upon. Whence also to those. Here is touched upon the condemnation of incorrigible adversaries on account of contempt of both, namely of divine justice and mercy: and first is touched upon the scourge by which they ought to have been corrected; second, the fittingness of the scourge: For indeed etc.; third, the incorrigibility of those scourged: But those who etc.; fourth, the manifestation of incorrigibility: For in these things; fifth, the reason on account of which they ought to have been corrected: Through those things which they thought; sixth, the finality of condemnation, because they were not corrected, there: On account of which etc. (Verse 23). Whence etc., as if to say: thus you give discipline to your own; whence, namely by contrast; and, meaning also: to those who in their life lived senselessly and unjustly, with respect to error in faith; or: in their life, that is, in which they lived for themselves, not for God; and unjustly, with respect to error in morals; through those things which they worshipped, namely through brute animals, you gave the greatest, that is, exceedingly great, torments, such as through frogs and flies and locusts and wasps and things of this kind. Through these things etc.; namely in kind and without number or species.

WIS 12:24 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 24.). For indeed they themselves went astray, not for a short time, but for a long while, which aggravates their sin, because, as Gregory says, "sins are so much the worse, the longer they hold the unhappy soul bound." In the pathless way of error, that is, of unbelief, which is called error par excellence. Concerning this way it is said in Proverbs sixteen: "There is a way that seems right to a man, and its end leads to death." Esteeming as gods those things which are superfluous among living creatures, that is, animals artificially carved, not natural ones. Artificial animals are called superfluous, because they are useless; but all natural ones have some usefulness, as Damascene says. Esteeming them as gods, etc.; Romans one: "They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of corruptible man"; likewise in the Psalm: "They changed their glory into the likeness of a calf eating hay." Note that he does not say "into a calf," but into the likeness of a calf, which is less and counts for the worse. Living after the manner of senseless children, as regards sins in morals: First Corinthians fourteen: "Do not become children in understanding"; likewise First Peter two: "As newborn babes, rational," not senseless. In this indeed they lived after the manner of senseless children, because, like children, they made and worshipped images, just as Ishmael is read in Genesis twenty-one to have played with Isaac, compelling him to worship clay images, as the Hebrews say.

WIS 12:25 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 25.). Therefore, as to senseless children, you gave a judgment in derision, that is, a punishment in which they were mocked, because they were afflicted by frogs and flies and such small and contemptible animals, not by greater and nobler ones, such as lions and bears, as is clear from Exodus seven through twelve.

WIS 12:26 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

(Vers. 26.). But those who by mockeries and rebukes, that is, rebukes full of mockery, were not corrected, namely from unbelief and perverse conduct, experienced a worthy judgment of God, namely of condemnation and death. From this he seems to imply that some were corrected amid the scourges; whence also some of the Egyptians went with the Israelites, as is clear from Exodus twelve, and the Gibeonites were confederated with them, as is clear from Joshua nine.

WIS 12:27 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 12

For in these things etc., as if to say: and deservedly; for in these things which they suffered, namely in the divine scourges, they bore it grievously, by carrying them impatiently. For in those things suffering, that is, enduring, so that suffering is said from passion, not from patience: they were indignant, namely by murmuring against God; Sirach thirty-three: "The heart of a fool is like a cart wheel." Through those things which they thought were gods, namely brute animals, in them, that is, through them, when they were destroyed, that is, punished; Baruch three: "They were destroyed and descended to the underworld"; seeing him, that is, God, as if perceiving by sensible experience; for in himself he cannot be seen; First John four: "No one has ever seen God." Whom formerly, namely in prosperity, they denied that they knew, according to that text in Exodus five: "I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go." The true God, to be, supply: they acknowledged, by belief not voluntary, but extorted through punishments; such is the faith of demons; James two: "The demons believe" etc.; Isaiah twenty-six: "Lord, in distress they sought you." "For the eyes which guilt closes, punishment opens," as Gregory says. The text is to be construed thus: Seeing, namely the Egyptians and Canaanites, him whom formerly they denied that they knew, they acknowledged the true God, to be, supply: they acknowledged, I say, through those things which they thought were gods, that is, through brute animals; and this happened when they were destroyed through them. On account of which, namely, because they acknowledged God, yet did not glorify him, according to that text in Romans one: "Who, although they had known God, did not glorify him as God" etc.; and the end of their condemnation, that is, their final condemnation, of which Matthew twenty-five says: "Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire." The beginning of condemnation is in the separation of the soul from the body; the middle, in the torment of the separated soul; but the end, in the resurrection, when one will be tormented in hell with the resumed body; the end, I say, of their condemnation, who in the present life refused to be corrected, shall come etc.; Gregory: "Those whom scourges do not correct in the present, they transmit to future ones"; upon them, because from heaven for their oppression, so that they cannot resist, as though overwhelmed or crushed; in the Psalm: "He shall rain upon sinners snares, fire and brimstone" etc.

WIS 13:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

Second, concerning punishment through graver penalties ordained for condemnation, it is determined in two ways. But vain etc. Above he determined concerning the punishment of adversaries through lighter penalties ordained for correction, but here concerning their punishment through graver penalties ordained for condemnation. And first he determines concerning the desert of their fault, namely up to the sixteenth chapter; second, concerning the torment of their punishment, namely from the sixteenth chapter onward. First, the demerit of fault is determined in three ways. The desert of fault with respect to their condemnatory punishment was idolatry, by which they transferred divine honor to a creature or exhibited it to a creature. And therefore first the manifold error of idolaters is touched upon, namely in this chapter; second, the detestation of idols, namely in the fourteenth chapter; third, the commendation of the true God, namely in the fifteenth chapter. First, the error of idolaters is treated. The error of idolaters is touched upon as twofold: the first, of those worshipping God's creatures; the second, of those worshipping their own fabrications: But unhappy. Their first error. In the first part, there is first touched upon in them the cause of so great an error, namely ignorance of God: second, the effect of the aforesaid cause, namely the worship of creatures: But either fire: third, of both the greater inexcusability: If by their beauty: fourth, in comparison to other idolaters: Yet nevertheless. — In the first part a twofold ignorance is touched upon, namely that they neither acknowledged by faith God nor knew by reason Him: And from those things which are seen. He says therefore: Vain, etc. Thus it has been said that some knew God amid afflictions, but did not worship Him: however, for but: vain are all men, etc.; Ecclesiastes 1: "Vanity of vanities," etc. "For they walked after the vanity of the creature and became vain," as is found in Jeremiah 2: vain, I say, with the vanity of thought: whence Romans 1: "They became vain in their thoughts," etc.: likewise in the Psalm: "The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain." Likewise, with the vanity of speech: whence in the Psalm: "They have spoken vain things every one to his neighbor," etc. Likewise, with the vanity of action: whence Jeremiah 51: "Their works are vain and worthy of derision." In whom there is not the knowledge of God, that is, knowledge of God through faith. Augustine: "Nor do I attribute to this knowledge, namely divine knowledge, whatever can be known by man in human affairs, where there is a great deal of superfluous vanity and harmful curiosity: but only that by which the most salutary faith is begotten, nourished, defended, and strengthened, in which knowledge they do not excel," etc. And from those things which are seen to be good, namely openly: they could not, namely an inability following upon the will, not preceding it: whence the Gloss: "They could not understand, etc., the blindness of sin standing in the way," according to that above in chapter 2: "Their malice blinded them"; in the Psalm: "He would not understand, that he might do well"; understand, that is, know by the intellect: for God cannot be known by the senses: 1 John 4: "No man has seen God at any time"; Him who is, that is, God, for whom being is substantial, not accidental: whence Hilary: "Being is not an accident in God, but subsistent truth." Likewise, for whom being is always present, never past or future. For God, according to Augustine, always is, neither was nor will be, because He does not know, namely through experience, past or future. Likewise, whose being is pure, because whatever is in Him, He Himself is: Augustine: "Whatever is in God is God." Likewise, whose being is not from another, is immutable: whence Jerome to Marcella: "God, who alone has no beginning, held the name of true essence, because in comparison with Him, who truly is, because H…

WIS 13:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

But either fire, namely Vulcan, as the Chaldeans worshipping fire: or spirit, that is, the ether, namely the upper part of the air, which some understood by Jupiter the thunderer; or the swift air, that is, the lower part of the air, which they called Juno: or the circle of the stars, that is, the starry heaven, as those who worshipped the host of heaven, of whom it is said in Deuteronomy 17: "That they go and serve strange gods, and adore them: the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven"; or the great water, which they called Neptune; or the sun, which they called Phoebus or Apollo, which the Babylonians worshipped: or the moon, which they called Diana, or "the queen of heaven," of which in Jeremiah 44. They supposed them to be gods that rule the world, on account of certain of their effects necessary to the world. Note that they ought not to have supposed creatures to be gods, first on account of the corporeality of their nature, because God is a spirit; John 4: "God is a spirit." Likewise on account of position and determination of figure: for God is everywhere wholly present: likewise He is unfigurable according to the Godhead. Likewise on account of the determination and limitation of power to certain effects: for God is omnipotent: above in chapter 11: "You have mercy on all, because You can do all things." Likewise on account of the necessity and inevitability of natural effects; for God is of free will. Likewise on account of local motion: because God is immovable, since He is the principle of all motion; Boethius: Remaining stable, You give all things to be moved. Likewise on account of deficiency of eternity: for God is eternal, but eternity is lacking or wanting to creatures. According to the spiritual sense, the lustful worship fire; the proud, spirit: the wrathful and impetuous, the swift air; the curious in knowledge, the circle of the stars: the voluptuous, the great water; the covetous, the sun which begets these lower things: the slothful and acedious, the moon.

WIS 13:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

If by their beauty. Here is shown their inexcusability, because they were able to know the Creator either through the beauty of creatures, or through their power: which is shown there: Or if their power etc.; or through both together, which is shown there: From the greatness etc. He says therefore: If delighted by their appearance, that is, by their beauty — Daniel thirteen: "Beauty has deceived you," etc. — they thought them to be gods, supply: that they themselves were gods; they thought, I say, by a false and erroneous opinion, since there is but one God — Deuteronomy six: "Your God is one." Let them know how much the ruler over them, namely their Creator, governor, preserver, and possessor, according to that passage in Judith nine: "God of the heavens, creator of the waters, king of all your creation"; is more beautiful than these, namely he who made such beautiful things; more beautiful, I say, by an infinite distance, because God is beautiful through his essence, but creatures through participation — above in chapter seven: "He is more beautiful than the sun." For the begetter of beauty, of the beauty, namely, of creatures through their production, according to that passage of Boethius: He himself most beautiful, bearing the beautiful world in his mind and forming it in a like image. Or: of beauty, uncreated, that is, of the Son through eternal generation. He established all these things, namely the higher, the middle, and the lower.

WIS 13:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

Or if the power, that is, the greatness of their might, and their works, that is, the effects proceeding from their power, they marveled at, namely so much so that they believed them to be gods, let them understand from these things, that is, from the consideration of them, according to that passage in Job twelve: "Ask the beasts, and they will teach you"; that he who made these things, namely God, is stronger than they, that is, more powerful — whence Ecclesiasticus forty-three: "He himself is almighty above all his works and exceedingly great"; likewise Job nine: "If strength is sought, he is the most mighty."

WIS 13:5 — Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

Since therefore one must first ascend before descending on the ladder of Jacob, let us place the first step of ascent at the bottom, setting this entire sensible world before us as a mirror, through which we may pass over to God, the supreme Artificer, so that we may be true Hebrews passing over from Egypt to the land promised to the Fathers, and also Christians passing over with Christ from this world to the Father, and also lovers of wisdom, who calls and says: Pass over to me, all you who desire me, and be filled from my generations. For from the greatness of the beauty and of the creature, the Creator of these things can be knowably seen. Now the supreme power, wisdom, and benevolence of the Creator shines forth in created things, inasmuch as the bodily sense announces this in a threefold manner to the interior sense. For the bodily sense serves the intellect either rationally investigating, or faithfully believing, or intellectually contemplating. The one contemplating considers the actual existence of things; the one believing, the habitual course of things; the one reasoning, the potential excellence of things. In the first mode, the gaze of the one contemplating, considering things in themselves, sees in them weight, number, and measure: weight with respect to the position toward which they incline, number, by which they are distinguished, and measure, by which they are limited. And thereby it sees in them mode, species, and order, as well as substance, power, and operation. From which one can rise as from a vestige to understanding the immense power, wisdom, and goodness of the Creator. In the second mode, the gaze of the faithful, considering this world, attends to its origin, course, and end. For by faith we believe that the ages were fashioned by the Word of life; by faith we believe that the times of the three laws, namely of nature, of Scripture, and of grace, succeed one another and have run their course in most perfect order; by faith we believe that the world is to be brought to an end through the final judgment: perceiving in the first the power, in the second the providence, and in the third the justice of the supreme Principle. In the third mode, the gaze of one rationally investigating sees that certain things merely exist, certain things however exist and live, and certain things indeed exist, live, and discern: and the first are indeed lesser, the second intermediate, the third better. — It sees again that certain things are only corporeal, certain things partly corporeal, partly spiritual: from which it perceives that some things are purely spiritual as being better and more worthy than both. It sees nonetheless that certain things are mutable and corruptible, as terrestrial things; certain things mutable and incorruptible, as celestial things; from which it perceives that certain things are immutable and incorruptible, as supercelestial things. From these visible things, therefore, one rises to considering the power, wisdom, and goodness of God as being, living, and intelligent, purely spiritual and incorruptible and unchangeable. Now this consideration is expanded according to the sevenfold condition of creatures, which is a sevenfold testimony to the divine power, wisdom, and goodness, if one considers the origin, magnitude, multitude, beauty, fullness, operation, and order of all things. — For the origin of things according to creation, distinction, and adornment, with respect to the works of the six days, proclaims the divine power producing all things from nothing, the wisdom lucidly distinguishing all things, and the goodness lavishly adorning all things. — The magnitude of things, however, according to the mass of their length, breadth, and depth; according to the excellence of a power extending itself far, wide, and deep, as is evident in the diffusion of light; according to the efficacy of an operation that is intimate, continuous, and diffused, as is evident in the operation of fire, man…

WIS 13:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

For from the greatness of the beauty that is, of the loveliness, and of the creature, that is, of the power of creatures, knowably, not sensibly, that is, by the intellectual eye, not the sensible one, the Creator of these things can be seen. Augustine: "All things cry out: God made me"; for the whole world is like a certain book in which the Creator can be known through his power, wisdom, and goodness, shining forth in creatures — whence Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "All these things are the book of life"; Isidore: "The Creator is praised through his creature, and how excellent he is, is shown from the condition of his work."

WIS 13:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

But yet etc. Here he shows the fault of those who worship creatures in comparison to other idolaters; and first they are shown to be in some way excusable in comparison to those others; second, it is shown that nevertheless they are simply inexcusable: But again. But yet etc., as if to say: thus do they err; but yet still in these, namely those who err in this way, the complaint is less, that is, the ground for complaint, than in those who worship graven images, because, as it is said in the last chapter of Baruch, "they will not shine like the sun, nor give light like the moon," namely the graven images themselves. For these also, namely those who worship creatures, perhaps err: "perhaps" is here a mark of free will, not a mark of doubt. Seeking God, namely with a certain curiosity, according to that passage in Acts 17: "He made from one every nation of men to dwell upon the whole face of the earth, etc., to seek God, if perhaps they might grope after him, or find him." And wishing to find him, namely by the intention of the affections: Song of Songs 3: "I will rise and go about the city," that is, the entirety of creatures. For according to Boethius in the Consolation, "there is implanted in the minds of men a desire for the true and the good." But it is objected: because in Luke 11 it is said: "Everyone who seeks, finds": therefore these people find the true God. It must be said that that passage is understood of those who seek piously, not curiously.

WIS 13:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

For when they are occupied with his works, namely by disputing about them as regards the intellect, according to that passage in Ecclesiastes 3: "He delivered the world to their disputation"; and by using them, namely as regards the affections and their effect, because Matthew 5: "He makes his sun to rise upon the good and the evil." They search, namely by reasoning, and they are persuaded, namely by judging: that the things which are seen are good: Genesis 1: "God saw all that he had made, and they were very good." In this these people are better, or less evil, than the Manicheans themselves, who say that these visible things are evil.

WIS 13:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

But again, neither should these be pardoned. For simple ignorance merits pardon; whence 1 Timothy 1: "I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly"; but crass and supine ignorance does not: whence 1 Corinthians 14: "If anyone is ignorant, he shall be ignored."

WIS 13:9 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

"For if they were able to know so much as to make a judgment of the world, how did they not more easily find out the Lord thereof?" Philosophical knowledge is a way to the other sciences: but he who wishes to remain there falls into darkness.

WIS 13:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

For if they were able to know so much as to be able to appraise the world, that is, to know the natures of worldly things: how did they not more easily find the Lord of this, namely of the world? As if to say: they could have known God more easily. But to the contrary: Above, chapter 9: "With difficulty do we judge the things that are on earth; and who shall search out the things that are in the heavens?" It must be said that it does not mean to say that they could more easily know God to be the author of these things absolutely, but rather that he is God, rather than those things which they worshipped.

WIS 13:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

Their second error concerns two things. But unhappy etc. Here is set forth the error of those who worship their own handiwork, first, their own handiwork in metallic material; second, in wooden material: Or if someone. He says therefore: But unhappy are they, namely through the privation of the happiness of the way, concerning which above in chapter three: "He who rejects wisdom and discipline is unhappy." And among the dead, namely by eternal death, is their hope, that is, their expectation: hope however is here taken improperly, because hope properly so called pertains only to what is good. Among the dead, I say, is their hope, through the privation of eternal happiness, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Like the wounded sleeping in the sepulchres, whom you remember no more, and they are cast off from your hand," from the hand, namely, of saving mercy, not from the hand of punishing justice. Or the first refers to the punishment of loss in the future, the second to the punishment of sense. Of those, I say, who have called gods, etc. And he rightly says called: for they are gods by name only, not by nature. The works of the hands of men, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men"; Isaiah chapter two: "They have adored the work of their own hands, which their fingers have made"; gold and silver, that is, made of gold and silver as regards the matter, according to that verse of Hosea chapter two: "I multiplied their silver and gold, which they made unto Baal"; according to that verse of Isaiah chapter two: "The land is filled with gold and silver, and there is no end to its treasures, and its land is filled with idols." An invention of art, that is, some figure devised by art, and this as regards the form. And likenesses of animals, not the animals themselves, but their image or likeness: against which it is said in Deuteronomy chapter four: "You shall not make a likeness of any animals that are on the earth." Or a useless stone, namely as to the usefulness which idolaters believe to be in it, although it is useful as regards natural use, because there is nothing superfluous in the works of God, of which kind are creatures; Deuteronomy chapter thirty-two: "The works of God are perfect," neither superfluous nor diminished. The work of an ancient hand, that is, of the hand of an ancient craftsman, because "in the ancients is wisdom," Job chapter twelve. Against all these things it is said in Acts chapter seventeen: "Being therefore the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divine is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, the graving of art and the device of man."

WIS 13:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

Or if anyone. Here is set forth the error of those who worship their own handiwork in wooden material: and first their error in fashioning or carpentry is touched upon; second, in worshipping: And of the substance. In the first, he first touches upon the matter; second, the form: And through knowledge; third, the placement: And let him make for it, etc.; fourth, the impotence: An image, etc. Or if some craftsman, a worker: worker here is taken broadly for a craftsman in whatever material, whether wooden or other, not only iron: has cut a straight piece of wood from the forest: Isaiah forty-four: "He cuts down cedars, he took the holm oak," etc. And of this, namely the wood, skillfully scrapes off all the bark, namely the outer bark; and employing his skill, diligently fashions a useful vessel: The Gloss: "Very useful," for the conduct of life, namely human life: Second Timothy two: "For in a great house there are vessels of wood and of earthenware," etc.

WIS 13:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

But the remnants of this work, that is, of the aforesaid wood, he uses up for the preparation of food, that is, he uses them, according to that passage of Isaiah forty-four: "He took from them and was warmed, he kindled a fire and baked bread."

WIS 13:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

And the remainder of these, namely of those things which have been put to human uses: which for no use, namely human use, avails, that is, is of any worth; I say that very crooked wood, namely in itself, and with knots, that is, nodes, full, namely on the outside; he carves diligently, namely by removing the knottiness, through his idleness, because however much he labors there, all his labor is reckoned as idleness, since he labors there uselessly. And by the knowledge of his art he shapes it, namely by external delineation, and this with respect to form: and makes it like the image of a man, namely by the representation of the limbs. And note that he does not say makes it like a man, but the image of a man, because this configuration can exist in external features and not in internal ones.

WIS 13:14-16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

Or compares it to some animal, that is, likens it: Romans 1: "Into the likeness of the image of corruptible man and of birds and of four-footed beasts," etc.; likewise in the Psalm: "They exchanged their glory for the likeness of a calf eating hay." Smearing over, that is, on the outside, with red ochre, that is, with a rule or a line drawn in red color, by which a marking is made. For rubrica is said to mean red earth and the color that is made from it, and the rule or line by which it is made, and the dye itself, and the middle syllable must always be lengthened. And making the color of it red with paint: fucus is called an unnatural and, as it were, counterfeit color. Likewise it should be noted that fucus is called an animal similar to a bee, which does not make honey but devours honey; likewise, a certain herb that dyes; likewise, any counterfeit color; likewise, falsehood or fraud and deceit, according to Papias. And smearing over every blemish that is in it, namely in the wood, with earth. — And he makes a worthy dwelling for it: whence Baruch, last chapter: "When they are set up in a house, their eyes are full of dust from the feet of those entering." And setting it in a wall, namely so that it may be more visible, and fastening it with iron, that is, with iron nails, lest perhaps it fall; Isaiah 41: "He fastened it with nails, lest it be moved"; looking out for it, that is, foreseeing and taking precaution; knowing that it cannot help itself, namely by itself: whence in the Psalm: "They have hands, and they shall not handle; they have feet, and they shall not walk," etc. Nor is this a wonder, for it is an image, that is, a likeness of a thing, not the thing itself, and it needs help, namely human help: Baruch, last chapter: "If they fall to the ground, they do not rise up by themselves," as was evident concerning Dagon, 1 Kings 5; likewise Jeremiah 10: "They must be carried and borne, because they cannot walk."

WIS 13:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

And concerning his substance, that is, concerning his outward possession, and concerning his children, that is, concerning the welfare of his children, and concerning marriages, namely those to be contracted, making a vow, namely to it, he inquires, namely from it, so as to seek what is necessary for himself and his children, although one ought not to make vows except to God, according to that word of the Psalm, "Vow and render unto the Lord your God," etc.; likewise Isaiah 19: "They shall vow vows unto the Lord and fulfill them." He is not ashamed to speak, namely he himself having a soul, with that which, namely the false god, is without a soul: Baruch, last chapter: "When they hear that a mute cannot speak, they bring it to Bel"; in the Psalm: "They have a mouth, and they shall not speak."

WIS 13:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

And for health, that is, his own or of his own, he entreats one who is infirm, that is, altogether powerless, indeed, that is, certainly, and for life he asks one who is dead, that is, altogether lacking life, so that dead is understood negatively, not privatively, because, if privatively, then it would be understood that he once had life, but was afterwards deprived of it: which would be false. And he calls upon one useless for help, that is, one unable to help himself or another: whence Baruch, last chapter: "He has a sword in his hand, and does not deliver himself from robbers."

WIS 13:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 13

And for a journey, that is, direction on a journey, he asks of him who cannot walk, according to that of the Psalm: "They have feet, and they shall not walk," etc.; Baruch, last chapter: "Without feet they are carried on shoulders." And concerning acquiring, namely through commerce, and concerning working, namely through the mechanical arts, and concerning the outcome of all things, in general, he asks of him who is useless in all things; Isaiah forty-four: "He fashioned a god and cast a graven image, useful for nothing." But it seems that the same objection could be raised against Christians who adore images. But it must be said that it is not the same: because idolaters adored images as things, thinking that something living was in them; but Christians adore them only as pieces of wood, and insofar as they lead to those realities of which they are signs.

WIS 14:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

Second, it treats of the detestation of idols in a fourfold manner. Again another thinking to sail etc. After he described the manifold errors of idol-worshippers, here he touches upon the detestation of idols, and first, from the uselessness of the idols themselves; second, from the offense to the Creator: But in like manner they are hateful; third, from the novelty and manner of their invention: For they were not etc.; fourth, from the effect of human corruption: And it was not enough to have erred. First, he detests idols on account of their uselessness. He shows the uselessness of idols in the first part by the example of those sailing on the sea, whom the idols, when invoked, cannot help. He shows that this impotence is to be detested, first from the fragility of the idol that has no power; second, from the power of God who saves even without a ship: But thy etc.; third, from the usefulness of the ship itself: But that they might not be; fourth, by the example of Noah's ark preserving the human race: But also from the beginning. He says therefore: Again another etc., as if to say: not only do men uselessly seek help from idols on land, but again, on water, because another, namely a man, thinking to sail, namely by intention, and through fierce waves, that is, dangerous ones: whence in the Psalm: "Wonderful are the surges of the sea"; likewise Sirach forty-three: "They that sail the sea tell of the dangers thereof." Beginning to make a journey, namely by the execution of his intention, calls upon a wood more fragile than the wood that carries him: he calls upon, namely for help, a wood, namely an idol, more fragile than the wood carrying him, that is, the ship.

WIS 14:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

For that, namely the wood of the idol, the desire of acquiring devised: whence in Ephesians five it is said "covetousness is the service of idols." And the craftsman fashioned it by his wisdom: his own, he says, as if to say: not divine, "but earthly, sensual, devilish," James three; Isaiah forty-five: "The makers of errors have gone into confusion"; and Job thirteen: "Showing you to be makers of lies"; the Gloss: "Since the maker is greater than what is made, to adore one's own handiwork is madness."

WIS 14:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

But thy, O Father, as if to say: there they invoke the idol in the governance of their journey: but, meaning however; thy, O Father, by creation; Isaiah sixty-four: "And now, O Lord, thou art our father, and we indeed are clay" etc.; likewise by provision; whence Matthew six: "Our Father etc., our bread" etc. Thou governest, namely all things, by providence, which, according to Damascene, "is the care of God for things"; concerning which Judith nine: "Thou hast placed thy judgments in thy providence." From what has been said, it is clear that nothing in the world happens by chance and fortune, because, as Plato says, "nothing exists whose origin was not preceded by a legitimate cause." That the world is administered by providence, Cicero proves in the Rhetoric thus: "Things done by providence are better administered than those done by chance; but the world is administered in the best way; therefore," etc. For etc., as if to say: this is clear, that you govern all things by providence; for you have given, namely to the children of Israel, a way in the sea, leading them out of Egypt through the midst of the dry sea, as is clear from Exodus fourteen: and among the waves, namely of the river Jordan, a most firm path, Joshua three. Of both it is said in the Psalm: "Your way is in the sea, and your paths in many waters"; the Gloss: "Divine power led the Israelites through the Red Sea with dry footstep and divided the waters of the Jordan."

WIS 14:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

Showing, namely by this, that you are powerful from all things, namely perils and misfortunes, to heal, or better according to another reading, to save, even if without a raft, that is, a ship, someone should go to sea: Isaiah forty-three: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers shall not cover you"; whence "He raised up Peter walking on the waves, lest he be submerged," as is clear from Matthew fourteen: "He freed Paul, shipwrecked for the third time, from the depth of the sea," as is clear from Second Corinthians eleven.

WIS 14:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

But that they might not be empty, but rather necessary for human use, the works of your wisdom, that is, devised through your wisdom; in the Psalm: "You have made all things in wisdom." For this reason also to a small piece of wood, namely a small ship, men entrust their souls, that is, their bodily life: and crossing the sea, in which nevertheless there are innumerable perils, they have been delivered by a raft: the Gloss: "The Creator gave to his creature knowledge by which it might provide for itself in the present and serve his will." Allegorically, the small piece of wood can be called the cross of Christ on account of its abjection and lowliness; First Corinthians one: "We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles foolishness." To this men entrust their souls, namely by believing in Christ crucified and adoring him in whom they have believed. And thus crossing the sea of this world, namely by the power and imitation of the cross, by the raft they are delivered and arrive at the port of eternal salvation. Whence Damascene: "The cross is the resurrection of those who sleep, the staff of the infirm, the rod of pastors, the aid of those being converted, the perfection of those advancing, the salvation of soul and body, the aversion of all evils, the teacher of all good things, the destruction of sin, the tree of resurrection, the wood of eternal life." In these words, however, To a small piece of wood, etc., the humility of the cross is first intimated, when it says: By a small piece of wood; second, its veneration and dignity, when it says: Men trust their souls, rational men, that is, as blessed Andrew said: "Receive me from men"; third, necessity, when it says: And those crossing the sea, namely of this world, concerning which the Psalm says: "This great sea" etc.; fourth, its power and usefulness, when it says: They were delivered by a raft: First Corinthians 1: "We preach Christ" etc.; likewise: "The word of the cross to those who are perishing etc., but to us" etc.

WIS 14:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

But also from the beginning. Here the usefulness of Noah's ark is first shown; second, it is praised, at: For blessed is the wood etc.; third, the idol and its maker are condemned: But by the hands etc. But also from the beginning etc., as if to say: it not only delivers from the peril of the sea, but also from the flood, and this is what it says: But also from the beginning, namely in the beginning of the second age, namely in the time of Noah, Genesis 6. When there perished, namely in the flood, the proud giants, concerning whom it is found in Genesis 6: the hope of the world, namely of the future world: the Gloss says: "The seedbed of the human race," namely the eight persons, concerning whom it is said in First Peter 3: "In which a few souls were saved through water"; fleeing to a raft, that is, an ark made in the manner of a raft, because its length was greater than its width, Genesis 6, bequeathed to the age, namely the future age after the flood, the seed of birth, namely of both men and animals, as is evident in Genesis 6. Which, namely the ark, by your hand: the Gloss says: "By power, or by the Son," according to that verse of the Psalm: "Send forth your hand from on high" etc.; was governed, because it had no helmsman except God or his Angel, since all men existing outside were dead, and those existing within were enclosed.

WIS 14:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

For blessed is the wood, namely of Noah's ark, through which justice is wrought, namely the deliverance of the just, while the wicked were drowned, which was just. Concerning this wood, above in chapter 10: "When water destroyed the earth, wisdom healed it again, governing the just man by a contemptible piece of wood." Now this wood allegorically can be called the wood of the cross, of which it is said in First Peter, chapter two: "He bore our sins in His own body upon the tree." Through that wood justice was accomplished, because "to each was rendered what was his own." For through that wood sin was destroyed, according to that which the Church sings: "Death then died, when life died upon the wood"; Hosea, chapter thirteen: "O death, I will be your death," etc. Likewise, through it the devil was conquered, according to that saying of Gregory: "He who conquered through wood would also be conquered through wood." Likewise, through it man was reconciled; Colossians, chapter two: "Blotting out the handwriting of the decree that was against us, nailing it to the cross"; likewise Colossians, chapter one: "Making peace through the blood of the cross." Likewise, hell was despoiled; Colossians, chapter two: "Despoiling principalities and powers," etc. Likewise, heaven was opened: whence it was said to the thief: "Today you shall be with Me in paradise," Luke, chapter twenty-three; Isaiah, chapter twenty-two: "I will give the key of the house of David." Likewise, Christ was exalted: whence Philippians, chapter two: "Wherefore God also exalted Him," etc. This was the scepter of Ahasuerus shown or extended to man as a sign of clemency, Esther, chapter fifteen.

WIS 14:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

And rightly I said that blessed is the wood by which justice is done: now, standing for "but": the idol, which is made by hands, namely of craftsmen, is accursed, both it, namely the idol, and he who made it, namely the craftsman. But the idol, since it is an inanimate thing, how is it accursed? Because this curse is understood either by reason of fault, which does not befall the idol, or by reason of punishment, which is to be inflicted by reason of fault. It must be said that in the idol two things are to be considered, namely the presiding spirit and the figure of the wood. The malign spirit itself is accursed with the curse of fault and punishment; but the wood, with the curse of detestation and infamy, as a kind of punishment — not because it is a subject of fault, by reason of which punishment is to be inflicted, but because it is the matter or occasion of fault. Whence the Gloss: "For the devil will be punished because he usurps divine honor for himself; and man, who honors a creature in place of the Creator." Because he indeed fashioned it, namely the idol, whence he is rightly accursed: Isaiah, chapter forty-four: "Behold, all its partakers shall be confounded." But that thing, namely the idol, since it was fragile, because made of fragile material, was named a god, namely by appellation alone, not by the truth of the thing: on account of which it is rightly accursed.

WIS 14:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

Secondly, he detests idols on account of the offense to the Creator. But likewise etc. Here he touches on the second cause of the detestation of idols, taken from the offense against the Creator: and first he touches on the sign of the offense, namely the idol, and the punishment of the idolater; second, the irremissibility of the punishment: For this reason etc.; third, the cause on the part of the idol: Because creatures; fourth, the cause on the part of the idolater: For the beginning etc. I have rightly said that both are accursed etc.: but, meaning because: likewise hateful to God is the ungodly one, namely the idolater, because he denies the piety of divine worship, and his ungodliness, that is, the matter of his ungodliness, namely the idol, that is, the demon presiding over the idol; Sirach 12: "The Most High hates sinners." And it should be noted that the hatred of God does not denote or signify an affection in Him, but an effect in the one whom He hates.

WIS 14:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

For indeed that which was made, namely the idol, together with him who made it, that is, with the idolatrous craftsman, shall suffer torments. Concerning the idolater this is clear: but concerning the idol, how can it be true, namely that it suffers torment, since it is an inanimate thing? It must be said that he speaks of the idol by reason of the malign spirit presiding in it, not on the part of the figure or matter of the idol itself. But to the contrary: The idolater does not make the malign spirit that presides. It must be said that although he does not make it in itself, he nevertheless causes it to preside in the idol; just as we are said to exalt and magnify God, not in Himself, but in ourselves; in the Psalm: "Magnify the Lord with me" etc. Both therefore shall be punished: Sirach 14: "Every corruptible work shall fail in the end, and he who works it shall go with it"; and 27: "The offense shall be crushed together with the offender."

WIS 14:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

For this reason, namely because they are hateful to God, and, that is also, upon the idols of the nations, that is, upon the demons presiding in the idols of the gentiles, of which it is said in the Psalm: "All the gods of the nations are demons" etc.; there shall be no regard, namely of clemency: which is against Origen, who said that Christ would suffer for the demons in the air at the end, and that thus they would be saved; against which it is said here and in Sirach 39: "There are spirits who were created for vengeance, and in their fury they have confirmed their torments." Because etc.: and deservedly, because creatures of God, that is, made by God, such as gold and silver: whence Hosea 2: "I multiplied silver and gold for them" etc.; were made into an object of hatred, namely of the irascible power, so that men might hate God, like the demons, concerning whom in the Psalm: "The pride of those who hate you ascends always." And into a temptation of the souls of men, that is, of the concupiscible power, so that men might freely subject themselves to whatever powers according to the will or suggestion of their gods. And into a snare, that is, a deception of the rational power, and a mousetrap is called an instrument by which mice are caught: for the feet, namely the interior ones, that is, of the soul, not the exterior ones, namely of the body: of the foolish, that is, of the unbelieving: Job 18: "His snare is hidden in the ground"; likewise Jeremiah 5: "Wicked men are found among my people, lying in wait like fowlers, setting snares and traps to catch men."

WIS 14:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

For the beginning etc. I said well that the creatures of God etc.: for the beginning of fornication, namely spiritual fornication, which consists in withdrawing from God, is etc.; whence the Gloss: "The worst kind of fornication is that by which the soul withdraws from God and fornicates with idols"; whence Jeremiah 3: "She committed adultery with wood and stone." Such are destroyed or ruined by God, according to that word of the Psalm: "You have destroyed all who fornicate from you." For the beginning, I say, of fornication, the aforesaid, is the seeking out of idols. But to the contrary: Ecclesiasticus 10: "The beginning of all sin is pride." I respond: He does not speak here of fornication which consists in any withdrawal whatsoever from God, as occurs in any mortal sin, but of that by which one withdraws from God by a complete withdrawal, namely even to the subversion of faith, which is the foundation of the entire spiritual edifice; Hebrews 11: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for" etc.; likewise 1 Corinthians 3: "No one can lay another foundation" etc. And the devising of them is the corruption of life, namely with respect to morals: Romans 1: "For which reason God delivered them over to the desires of their heart, to uncleanness"; in the Psalm: "Give them according to their works and according to the wickedness of their devices."

WIS 14:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

Third, he detests idols on account of the novelty and manner of their invention. For they were not. Here the third reason for the detestation of those idols is touched upon, namely from the novelty and manner of their devising. He touches upon several causes of this devising and worship: first, the curious idleness of men; second, the affection of parents toward deceased children: For with bitter grief; third, the fear of tyrants: Then etc.; fourth, the reverence and honor toward princes: Those whom; fifth, the diligence and solicitude of artisans: Moreover it advanced etc.; sixth, he sets forth a recapitulation of the principal causes: And this was of life. I have rightly said: The seeking out of idols and the invention etc.; for they were not from the beginning, namely idols, which is evident, because they are not the Creator: whence Jeremiah 10: "The gods who did not make heaven and earth shall perish from the earth"; nor even a creature, because every creature is from God, but idols are not from God, but are a fiction of men: on account of which it is said in 1 Corinthians 8: "An idol is nothing in the world," namely with respect to the divine being which is believed by idolaters to belong to it. Nor shall they exist forever, rather they shall be destroyed, when men are converted to the worship of the one God; Isaiah 19: "The Lord shall ascend upon a light cloud and shall enter Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence."

WIS 14:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

For the vanity, that is, the idleness, of men devised these things etc.: Sirach 33: "Idleness has taught much wickedness," namely to the idle, who were unwilling to labor to seek the one true God and to worship Him worthily; upon the earth, for in heaven no such error ever existed. And therefore, namely because they did not always exist, a swift end for them was found, namely among the wise. For they were quickly abandoned by the children of Israel in the time of Moses and by the Christian people in the time of Christ or of the new law; Jeremiah 10: "Every craftsman is confounded by his graven image: their works are vain and worthy of ridicule; in the time of their visitation they shall perish."

WIS 14:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

For a father, grieving with bitter mourning, namely over the death of his son, as David grieved over the death of Absalom, 2 Kings 18, or over the death of the child whom he first had from Bathsheba, 2 Kings 12, of a son swiftly snatched from him, that is, seized by the violence of death, made an image: The Gloss: "Men fashioned for themselves images of their deceased friends, in the contemplation of which they found some consolation." And him who then, namely recently, had died as a man, whose property it is to be mortal, according to that passage of 2 Kings 14: "We all die" etc.; now, that is, a little later, which is all the more inexcusable, he began to worship as God: The Gloss: "And advancing further, through love of the deceased they began to cultivate their memory." And he established among his servants, who obeyed him out of fear, not reason, sacred rites, namely offerings of incense and praises, and sacrifices, namely the immolation of animals. Moreover, the first to do this, as Isidore says on that passage of Luke 11: "By Beelzebub, the prince of demons" etc., was Ninus, king of the Assyrians, who made an image of his dead father Belus, which he honored with such great veneration that he even spared criminals who fled to it for refuge: on account of which unlearned men began to worship the statue of Belus as God and to multiply statues. Of whom some called that idol Bel, some Baal, some Baalim, some Beelzebub.

WIS 14:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

Then with the passage of time, that is, a delay of time, as the wicked custom grew strong, which ought rather to be uprooted than maintained, because length of time does not diminish sin, but rather increases it: this error, namely, of worshipping idols, as though it were a law, that is, under a precept, was observed: Jeremiah 10: "The laws of the peoples are vain"; likewise Isaiah 10: "Woe to those who enact wicked laws"! And by the command of tyrants, that is, of wicked rulers, figments were worshipped: whence Antiochus compelled the Jews to the worship of the nations, 1 Maccabees 1; and Nebuchadnezzar forced them to adore his statue, Daniel 3.

WIS 14:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

Those whom men could not honor openly, that is, in their presence, on this account, namely, because they were far away, from afar, namely, from a distant place, their likeness having been brought, namely, in a painting, a visible image, namely, a sculpted image, I say, of the king whom they wished to honor, they made, namely, bestowing divine honor upon men. Cicero: "Moreover, the life of men and common custom undertook to raise to the heavens by fame and goodwill men who excelled in benefits." So that him, namely, the king, who was absent, that is, he was away, yet still living, they might worship as though present through their devotion. The Gloss: "On account of the foolishness and depravity of men, who lived a rustic life without any ruler, they exalted the king himself and the whole nation with the highest praises, so that they even called them gods either for their distinguished virtue, or for their benefits, or out of flattery." Those whom etc. The text is to be construed thus: Men made a visible image which they wished to honor, their likeness having been brought from afar: those whom they could not honor openly, that is, in person, on this account, supply, because they were far away: they made, I say, so that him who was absent, etc.

WIS 14:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

Moreover, it advanced to the worship of these, namely, of idols, worship, and, that is, even, those who were ignorant, that is, the ignorant and unlearned, the extraordinary, that is, the greatest, diligence of the craftsman: of the craftsman, I say, diligently and elaborately fashioning the idol and adorning it, according to that passage in Jeremiah 10: "He adorned it with silver and gold"; likewise Isaiah 44: "He made the image of a man, like a beautiful man dwelling in a house."

WIS 14:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

For he, the craftsman, wishing to please him who engaged him, that is, hired him, namely, to make an idol; this is a wicked pleasing, of which it is said in the Psalm: "God has scattered the bones of those who please men"; likewise Galatians 1: "If I were pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ." He labored with his art, so that the likeness, that is, the image, he might fashion more finely, that is, in the best manner he could: Isaiah 44: "The ironsmith has wrought with a file"; Baruch 6: "As for a maiden who loves ornaments, so having received gold they are fashioned."

WIS 14:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

But the multitude of men, namely of the foolish; Ecclesiastes 1: "The number of fools is infinite"; led astray, namely from the truth, by the appearance of the work, that is, by its beauty; Proverbs, last chapter: "Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain"; Daniel 13: "Beauty has deceived you"; him who before a time, supply: a short time, had been honored as a man, namely with the honor of dulia; they now esteemed as a God, honoring him with the honor of latria.

WIS 14:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

And this was the deception of human life, that is, the cause of deception, a cause, I say, that is twofold, as it were a twofold gate of death, namely love and fear, according to the Gloss on that verse of the Psalm: "Set on fire and dug up," etc. For because to their affection, namely their own in the honoring of friends, or to kings, in the veneration of the powerful: the Gloss: "Thus through peoples and regions," namely out of flattery, or out of fear, "various sacred rites were taken up, while men desire to be pleasing to their princes"; serving, that is, devotedly serving, men, against that passage of 1 Corinthians 7: "Do not become slaves of men." The incommunicable name: the Gloss: "of God almighty," because namely the form from which that name God was imposed is incommunicable to creatures, yet communicable to the divine persons: they imposed upon stones and wood, against that precept, Exodus 20: "You shall not take the name of your God in vain." But to the contrary: Exodus 7: "Behold, I have made you a god to Pharaoh"; likewise in the Psalm: "I said: you are gods," etc.: therefore the name of God is communicable to creatures. It must be said that God is spoken of in three ways: by nature, by adoption, by appellation. In the first way it is incommunicable; in the second and third ways it is not. But to the contrary: Because the divine name was communicated to Christ as man: whence Philippians 2: "He gave him the name which is above every name." But it must be said that it was not communicated to one not having it before, but otherwise than before, because this name belongs to the person, not to the nature, namely the human nature, but nevertheless to one having a human nature. To that which is objected: He gave him the name, etc.; it must be said that giving is taken there for manifestation. Or: he gave it to him in the human nature, who previously had it in the divine.

WIS 14:22 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

Fourth, he detests idols on account of the twofold effect of human corruption. And it was not enough. Here is touched upon the last cause for the detestation of idols, taken from the effect of human corruption: and first is touched upon in idolaters the blinding of the mind; second, the corruption of works: For either sons; third, the reasonableness of the blinding and corruption: And all things; fourth, the cause of both: For of unspeakable things. He says therefore: And it was not enough for them to have erred: The Gloss: "With false religion they subjected themselves to all vices"; to have erred, I say, namely concerning the knowledge of God, that is, faith; above in the thirteenth chapter: "Vain are all men in whom there is not the knowledge of God." But living also in a great war of ignorance, that is, of unbelief, war, through which unbelief, namely, they wage war against God: whence Job 24: "They were rebels against the light." So many, namely as to number, and so great, as to intensity, or as to the quantity of duration, evils, as to deformity: so many, I say, and so great evils, in which, namely, they live, they call peace, according to that passage in Job 30: "And they counted it a delight to be under thorns"; Jeremiah 6: "Saying: Peace, peace: and there was no peace"; the Gloss: "Under the reign of the devil, subjected to diverse vices, they could not have true peace."

WIS 14:23 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

For either etc. Here he enumerates the evils by which they were corrupted in deed: first, the evil specially committed against God; second, specially committed against themselves and against the neighbor: Neither life. He says therefore: For either sacrificing their own children, according to that passage of the Psalm: "And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons": Ezekiel 16: "Is your fornication a small thing? You have sacrificed my children and given them up, consecrating them to those," because, as the Gloss says, "in the rites of Saturn, on account of hatred of Jupiter, without regard for piety they sacrificed their little ones." Or performing obscure sacrifices, obscure, that is, nocturnal, as was done, according to the Gloss, "in the rites of Egyptian Isis and Ceres, which rites were celebrated with the brandishing of burning torches." Or keeping vigils full of madness, for in the rites of Bacchus and Cybele, mother of the gods, "after the example of the gods, who being sated at the festival spent the whole night in revelries, they themselves reveled," as the Gloss says. Against this it is said in the Psalm: "Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord, and who has not regarded vanities and false madnesses."

WIS 14:24 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

Neither do they keep life, namely their own life, pure, because "God gave them up to uncleanness," Romans 1. Nor do they any longer keep their marriages pure, against which Hebrews 13: "Marriage is honorable, and the bed undefiled"; any longer do they keep etc.; because, as the Gloss says, "they thought to please their gods through lust and uncleanness," and the more wicked anyone was, the more he thought he pleased his god. But also one kills another through envy, namely in his own person, as Cain killed Abel, Genesis 4; and the Jews killed Christ, Matthew 27. Or the adulterer grieves, namely in the person joined to him: he says grieves, because the violation of the marriage bed is a great cause of sorrow; whence also according to the civil laws the husband was given license to kill the adulterer and adulteress found in the very act of adultery.

WIS 14:25 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

And all things, namely vices, are mixed together: whence Hosea 4: "Cursing and lying and murder and theft and adultery have overflowed." Blood. Here he touches first upon certain spiritual sins; second, upon certain carnal sins: Of souls etc. In the first, first certain evils of deed; second, certain evils of the heart: Corruption; third, certain evils of speech: And perjury. He touches upon four evils of deed, namely wounding, when he says: Blood; slaying, when he says: Murder; theft, when he says: Theft; fraud, when he says: And deceit. Rightly I said: And all things are mixed together, namely blood, by mutual wounding; whence Isaiah 1: "Your hands are full of blood"; likewise Hosea 4: "Blood has touched blood." Murder: whence Micah 7: "A man hunts his brother to death." Theft, Isaiah 1: "Your princes are faithless, companions of thieves"; in the Psalm: "If you saw a thief, you ran with him." And deceit, that is, guile: "For guile is when one thing is done, and another is pretended or feigned." Corruption. Here he touches upon the sins of the heart, namely of the concupiscible power; in the Psalm: "They are corrupt and have become abominable" etc. And unfaithfulness, namely of the rational power; whence Jeremiah 7: "Faith has perished and has been taken from their mouth." Disturbance, namely of the irascible power; whence Isaiah 57: "There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord." These are the three evils of the heart. Then he touches upon three evils of speech, saying: And perjury, namely either assertory, as occurs in false testimonies, or promissory, as in false promises, against which Leviticus 19 says: "You shall not swear falsely." Uproar, namely in contentions and discords; whence Isaiah 3: "The youth shall rise up tumultuously against the elder."

WIS 14:26 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

And forgetfulness of the good things of God, that is, ingratitude, because they do not praise God for his benefits; whence Luke 17: "There was none found who returned to give glory to God" etc.; in the Psalm: "I am forgotten as one dead from the heart." These are the three evils of speech: the first against God and neighbor; the second against the neighbor; the third against God, namely by omission. The defilement of souls etc. Here he touches upon carnal sins, first, sins of interior lust; second, of unnatural intercourse, at: The changing of birth etc.; third, of bigamy: The inconstancy of marriages etc.; fourth, of adultery: The disorder etc.; fifth, of fornication: And immodesty etc. He says therefore: The defilement of souls, namely through interior lust; whence Matthew 5: "He has already committed adultery in his heart"; Jeremiah 4: "Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem" etc.; Titus 1: "Both their mind and conscience are defiled." The changing of birth, that is, of nature or of natural use; Romans 1: "Their women changed the natural use" etc. The inconstancy of marriages, namely taking and repudiating wives at will, when nevertheless they ought to be "two in one flesh," Genesis 2; likewise Matthew 19: "What God has joined together, let not man separate." The disorder of unchastity, that is, of adultery, against the order of matrimony, against which Exodus 20: "You shall not commit adultery." And immodesty, that is, of fornication, against which Romans 13: "Not in debauchery and immodesty."

WIS 14:27 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

Of unspeakable things etc. Here it is shown that idolatry is the cause of this corruption: and first he shows how idolatry is the cause of all evils in idolaters; second, on account of what, namely on account of the hope of impunity: For while they trust etc.; third, he shows that this very thing is for them the cause of punishment: Both etc.; fourth, he shows what that punishment is, namely the fall and headlong rush into other sins: For not etc. Of unspeakable things etc. Thus I have said that idolaters commit so many and such great evils; for of unspeakable idols, that is, of abominable ones, that is, of those unworthy of being named, according to that saying of the Psalm: "Nor will I be mindful of their names upon my lips." Of unspeakable, I say, idols, the worship is the cause of all evil, namely through the blinding of the intellect and the subversion of the will; and the beginning, namely through the inception of the work; and the end, through its completion, just as faith and the worship of God is the cause of all good, as the Apostle proves in Hebrews 11, where he says: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for." But to the contrary: Ecclesiasticus 10: "The beginning of all sin is pride"; likewise 1 Timothy 6: "The root of all evils is covetousness"; therefore it is wrongly said here that the beginning of all evils is infidelity. It must be said that it is not unfitting for there to be many beginnings of evils according to different respects, just as of one thing there are four causes, namely efficient, material, etc., and yet only one in each genus, because on the part of the rational power there is unbelief, on the part of the concupiscible power there is covetousness, on the part of the irascible power there is pride.

WIS 14:28 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

For either while they rejoice, they are mad: The Gloss: "In feasts and games," and this with respect to the evil in affection: they are mad, he says, because irrational joy is madness, like the laughter of the frenzied: Hosea 9: "Madness in the house of his God." Or indeed they prophesy falsehoods, namely by prophesying false things, and this with respect to the evil of thought: 3 Kings, last chapter: "I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all the prophets." Or they live unjustly, and this with respect to the evil of conduct: Ecclesiastes 7: "The impious man lives a long time in his wickedness." Or they commit perjury, or forswear themselves, and this with respect to the sin of speech: quickly, that is, easily, on account of their evil habit: on account of which Ecclesiasticus 23: "Let not your mouth become accustomed to swearing, for there are many falls therein."

WIS 14:29 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

For while they trust in idols, which are without soul, as regards life: swearing wickedly, namely on the part of the thing by which they swear, because by an idol, and on the part of the thing for which they swear, because it is false, against that saying of Jeremiah 4: "You shall swear: The Lord lives, in truth and in judgment and in justice." They do not expect to be harmed, that is, they do not fear. But how do they not fear, since they believe them to be true gods? It must be said that although they worship them as gods, they nevertheless do not think omnipotence to be in them; or they do not believe that they punish the sins of men. And in truth they cannot harm them, on account of which Jeremiah 10: "Do not fear them," namely the idols, "for they can do neither evil nor good"; but nevertheless they will be punished by God for the sin of perjury.

WIS 14:30 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

Whence follows: Both things therefore will come upon them, namely the evil of guilt, because they are permitted to swear wickedly, and the evil of punishment, because they will be punished for this: they will come upon them, I say, deservedly, namely according to their merits: Apocalypse, last chapter: "He who is filthy, let him be filthy still." Because they thought wrongly of God by attending to idols, that is, by attributing divine worship to idols, while they swear by an idol. And they swore unjustly by an idol, despising justice, namely by swearing what is unlawful or what is false, and thus they err or sin in a twofold way, namely, because they swear by what they ought not, and because they swear that which they ought not: Exodus 23: "You shall not swear by the name of foreign gods."

WIS 14:31 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 14

For not, as if to say: and truly they sin by swearing thus: for not of those who swear, namely in this way, is the virtue, that is, a virtuous or meritorious work; but the punishment of those who sin, that is, the sin itself, which is also the punishment of preceding sins and guilt in itself. It always walks about, namely from bad to worse, in the transgression of the just, that is, of just things, namely of God's commandments; Gregory: "For a sin which is not washed away through penance, by its own weight soon drags one to another": for in the Psalm: "Let their way be darkness and slippery" etc.

WIS 15:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

Third, it treats of the commendation of the true God. But you, our God etc. After he showed the error of idolaters and the detestation of idols, here he adds the commendation of the true God. He shows the true God to be commendable, first from his own goodness: second, from the remuneration of those believing in him: For if we have sinned etc.; third, from the vileness of idols: But also the potter: fourth, from the reproach of idolaters: For all. God is commended first from his own goodness. But you etc., as if to say: such are idols; but, in place of "however"; you, our God: God, I say, by creation, according to that of Genesis 1: "In the beginning God created"; likewise by governance and preservation: according to Damascene, God is called theos apo tou theein, that is, to dispose or to govern. The first effect is of power, the second of wisdom, the third of goodness. Our, namely by appropriation of worship, because only "God is known in Judah," as is said in the Psalm. Sweet, namely to the affections, according to that of the Psalm: "O taste and see, that the Lord is sweet"; above in chapter twelve: "O how good and how sweet is your spirit in us"! sweet, I say: the Gloss: "Of inestimable charity"; Gregory: "O inestimable love of charity, to redeem a servant, you delivered up the Son"! And you are true, namely to the contemplating intellect; the Gloss: "Because he neither deceives nor is deceived"; likewise Romans 3: "But God is truthful, and every man a liar"; both of the aforesaid, however, refer to the good; and patient, namely by overlooking the evils of fault, namely with regard to the wicked: whence the Gloss: "Patient, that is, long enduring sinners"; Joel 2: "Patient and ready to relent concerning malice"; in the Psalm: "God is a just judge, strong and patient." And disposing all things in mercy, with regard to all, namely remitting all evils of punishment: in the Psalm: "His mercies are over all his works"; Matthew 5: "And he makes his sun to rise upon the good and the bad."

WIS 15:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

Second, he is commended from the remuneration of those believing in him. For indeed etc. Here he is shown to be commendable from the remuneration of believers: and first he shows that those sinning are subject to God. Second, that those not sinning are acceptable to God: And if we have not sinned etc. Third, he shows what the reason for this is, namely the knowledge and worship of God: For to know you. Fourth, he shows who are worthy of such a benefit: For not into error. Fifth, who are unworthy: Lovers of evil things. For indeed if etc., as if to say: and truly you are such: for indeed if we have sinned, namely by mortal sin, and especially by the sin of unbelief, which is called sin par excellence: whence John 16: "He will convict the world of sin"; and he speaks specifically of this here. If we have sinned, I say, we are yours, that is, established in your power and governance: Gloss: "We cannot escape, because we are your creature"; whence in the Psalm: "If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I descend into hell, you are present"; likewise Deuteronomy 32: "There is none who can deliver from my hand." Knowing your greatness, greatness, I say, not of mass, but of power, containing all things and able to destroy all things: whence in the Psalm: "Great is God and great is his power." And if we have not sinned, namely by mortal sin, which is sin absolutely speaking, and especially the sin of unbelief, which is sin par excellence. For we cannot be free from venial sin, or if we can, yet not for long: whence 1 John 1: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." If we have not sinned, I say: we know, namely through faith, that we are accounted with you: Gloss: "With whom the number of good works is known or preserved"; in the Psalm: "I shall count them, and they shall be multiplied beyond the sand." And not only numbered, but also inscribed by name: Luke 10: "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Now the good are said to be accounted as beloved and elect: and they can well be counted, because they are few, according to that of Matthew 20: "Many are called, but few are chosen." The wicked, however, are not counted by God, just as no one counts rejected coin: for they themselves are rejected coin, according to that of Jeremiah 6: "Call them rejected silver"; likewise, because they are infinite in number, according to that of Ecclesiastes 1: "The number of fools is infinite." This, however, is not from any inability of God who counts, but rather from their unworthiness. For the sinner is unworthy of the bread he eats, as Augustine says: likewise below in the same book: "His life is viler than mud"; but no one would count mud.

WIS 15:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

For to know etc. I have rightly said: if we have not sinned, and especially with the sin of unbelief, because we are accounted with you: for to know you, namely through formed faith, is consummate justice, that is, the perfection of justice in the present life; and this is to be understood causally, so that the sense is: to know you through faith is consummate justice, that is, the cause of consummate justice: for faith justifies, whence Romans 5: "Being justified therefore by faith" etc.: likewise there, chapter 4: "Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice"; and to know, namely through formed faith, your justice and your power, Warfare, namely of goodness, and power, of might: or: power, that is, Christ, who is "the power and wisdom of God", 1 Corinthians 1; is the root of immortality, that is, the principle and cause of eternal beatitude in the future: whence John 17: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God" etc. The root, that is, of the spiritual tree, that is, of the life of the just person, who is like "a tree planted near running waters" etc.: the root is faith, as is said here. The foot, humility, just as conversely the foot of the ungodly is pride, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Let not the foot of pride come to me". The trunk, rising up on high, is hope: Colossians 3: "Seek the things that are above". The interior moisture and verdure of this tree is the grace of interior devotion: Job 8: "Can the rush be green without moisture"? The directing heat is the virtue of charity: Luke 12: "I have come to cast fire upon the earth" etc. Exterior irrigation, spiritual teaching: whence Wisdom says in Ecclesiasticus 24: "I will water the garden of my plantings". The branches, the multiplication of good works: Ezekiel 36: "Mountains of Israel, spread forth your branches". The flowers, the manners of virtuous conduct: whence Song of Songs 2: "The flowers have appeared in our land". The leaves, the words of discreet speech, according to that passage of the Psalm: "And his leaf shall not fall off". The fruit, the reward of eternal recompense: above, chapter 3: "Glorious is the fruit of good labors".

WIS 15:3 — Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

Concerning the last knowledge, namely concerning glorious knowledge, I shall say one word. It is said of it in the book of Wisdom: "To know you is supreme justice"; it follows: "and is the root of immortality." This knowledge is initiated in those who contemplate, perpetuated in those who sleep, and consummated in those who rise again.

WIS 15:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

Not for etc. I have well said: because we are accounted with you, we, and not others, namely idolaters: not for into error, namely of idolatry, which is the chief error, did lead us, namely as it did others, concerning whom above in the fourteenth chapter: "Moreover, the exquisite diligence of the craftsman promoted even those who were ignorant to the worship of these things"; of men, namely those fabricating idols, etc., the invention of evil art, that is, of art leading to evil through the gods that are fashioned by it. The art itself, however, is good in itself, but the abuse is evil: for every knowledge is of the genus of goods, namely with respect to the habit itself, since it is from God: Ecclesiasticus 1: "All wisdom is from the Lord God." And it should be known that he touches upon two things, inducing, that is, provoking to idolatry, namely the diligence of art, when he says: the invention of evil art, and the beauty of the idol, when he adds: nor the shadow of a painting, that is, not even a painting overshadowing the appearance of wood: Ecclesiasticus 38: "His constant practice varies the painting"; the labor, namely of the craftsman, without fruit, namely of usefulness: above in the third chapter: "Their hope is vain, and their labors without fruit"; an effigy, that is, an image, carved with various colors, distinguishing the parts of the sculpture: above in the thirteenth chapter: "Making its color red with paint."

WIS 15:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

Whose appearance to the senseless one, that is, to the unbeliever, gives desire, namely by occasioning incitement to evil: Ecclesiasticus 34: "Vain hope and falsehood to the senseless man." And he loves the effigy of a dead image without a soul: he loves, I say, the effigy, that is, the figure, worshiping it as God, of a dead image, that is, one lacking the act of life, and this is a lack by way of negation, not of privation; without a soul, that is, lacking the power of giving life. "For the soul is the act of a natural, organic body having the potency of life," as is found in the second book of On the Soul.

WIS 15:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

Of evils etc., and deservedly, he did not lead us, because lovers of evil things, namely of idols and of sins arising from idols, are worthy of death, namely eternal and temporal: Romans 1: "Those who do such things are worthy of death." Who have hope in such things, namely idols, namely by invoking their help: Isaiah 42: "Let those who trust in a graven image be confounded with confusion"; and who make them, namely by fabricating gods of this kind: in the Psalm: "Let those who make them become like them"; and who love them, namely by affection, having devotion to idols: above in the same chapter: "He loves the effigy of a dead image," etc.; and who worship them, by effect, adoring outwardly: in the Psalm: "Let all who adore graven images be confounded"; Deuteronomy 5: "You shall not adore foreign gods nor worship them."

WIS 15:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

Third, God is commended from the vileness of idols in two ways. But also the potter. Here it is shown that the true God is commendable from the vileness of idols: this vileness he shows first from the vileness of the material; second, from the vileness of the craftsman: And with labor. And that, namely the vileness of the craftsman, he shows there, first from the fragility of his condition: second, from the vanity of the motivating intention: But his care is: third, from ignorance of the Creator: For he is ashes: fourth, from the error of his way of life: But they also esteemed: fifth, from a comparison of iniquity: For this one knows etc. But also the potter: thus I have said that lovers of evil things are worthy of death, namely those who worship idols or who make them: but also the potter, that is, the maker of earthen vessels, supply: is of their number: the potter, I say, laboriously pressing soft earth: Ecclesiasticus 38: "The potter sitting at his work and turning the wheel with his feet," who is always set in anxiety on account of his work. He fashions each vessel for our uses: "for in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth," Second Timothy two. And from the same clay he fashions those which are clean for uses, honorable and clean: and likewise those which are contrary to these, as are those which are assigned to unclean uses: whence in the same place: "Some unto honor, some unto dishonor"; Romans nine: "Has not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor"? But what the use of these vessels may be, namely clean or unclean, the potter is the judge, as their superior and maker, not the vessels themselves: in the same place: "Does the clay say to the potter: Why have you made me thus"?

WIS 15:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

And with vain labor, that is, fruitless; Jeremiah 51: "Their works are vain and worthy of derision"; he fashions a god from the same clay: a similar thing is said in Isaiah 44 concerning wooden idols, that part is burned for human uses, and part is worshipped as a god. That potter, namely, who a little before had been made from earth, through earthly birth: Genesis 2: "God formed man from the slime of the earth"; and after a little while, namely, of time: Job 14: "The days of man are short"; likewise: "Living for a brief time"; he returns, by the desert of his sins, namely into death: above, chapter 1: "The ungodly summoned it with hands and words", after death and through death: whence he was taken, that is, into the earth, from which he had been taken as regards the body, according to that passage in Genesis 3: "Until you return to the earth from which you were taken"; Ecclesiastes 3: "All things that were made from the earth shall equally return to the earth". Summoned to repay the debt of the soul, which, namely, the soul, he had, namely, as a debt, something borrowed, so that he might return it with interest: not something given, as that rich man to whom it was said in Luke 12: "Fool, this night they demand your soul from you"; Matthew 18: "Seizing him, he choked him, saying: Pay what you owe", namely, the debt of the soul.

WIS 15:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

But he has a care, although, namely, his labor is vain, not because he is going to labor, and in vain, about which he ought rather to be concerned; he is going to labor even wickedly, according to that passage in Jeremiah 9: "They labored to act wickedly". Nor because his life is short, although all the more he ought to be concerned to spend it usefully; James 4: "What is your life? It is a vapor appearing for a little while". But he strives with goldsmiths and silversmiths, endeavoring to make the beauty and subtlety of his work resemble theirs; and he also imitates the workers in bronze. It should be noted that he calls goldsmiths the artisans who make gods from gold; silversmiths, those from silver; workers in bronze, those from bronze: Isaiah 46: "You bring forth silver from the purse and weigh gold in the balance, hiring an artisan to make a god". And he prefers glory, supply: vain glory, to his labor or to the brevity of life. "Glory is widespread fame with praise"; glory, that is, by glorifying himself in this, in which one ought not to glory. Because superfluous things, that is, useless things, namely, idols, he fashions, namely, he makes them from clay material; Hosea 4: "I will change their glory into shame"; likewise, Philippians 3: "Whose glory is in their confusion, who mind earthly things".

WIS 15:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

For ashes is etc., as if to say: thus he glories: for, in place of "but"; or thus: thus he glories, which nevertheless he ought not to do; for, in place of "because": ashes, that is, a vile thing, is, as it were, ashes is his heart, that is, his thought, because in ash and dust, from which he fashions his god, he sets his heart: Ecclesiasticus 10, "Why does earth and ashes pride itself?" And superfluous earth, that is, useless, is his hope, that is, his desire and affection, because namely he places it in an earthen idol: above, chapter three: "Empty is their hope"; for such an idol is empty earth and nothing, concerning which Jeremiah 4: "I looked upon the earth, and behold, it was empty and nothing." And his life, that is, his conduct, is viler than clay, because namely he occupies his life in making and worshipping a clay idol; in the Psalm: "Like the clay of the streets I shall destroy them." Now the clay of guilt is viler than the clay of nature: whence the Gloss: "His life is more sordid than filth"; 2 Peter 2: "The sow that was washed returns to wallowing in the mire."

WIS 15:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

Because he did not know, namely with that ignorance concerning which 1 Corinthians 14: "He who is ignorant shall be ignored"; him who formed him, that is, God, who made him from the clay of the earth as regards the body: in the Psalm: "He himself knew our formation"; and who breathed into him a soul, according to that passage in Genesis 2: "He breathed into his face the breath of life"; and he loves, namely more than God, the things he works, namely idols. And who breathed into him a vital spirit, one must supply again: he did not know, and he now speaks of the bodily spirit, when he says: vital spirit: Isaiah 57: "The spirit shall go forth from my face, and breaths I shall make"; in the Psalm: "His spirit shall go forth and he shall return to his earth."

WIS 15:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

But they also reckoned: thus I said, that they did not know God, but rather they reckoned, namely the fabricators of idols, our life, namely natural life, to be a game, namely of wantonness, like those concerning whom Exodus 32: "The people sat down to eat and drink"; Job 21: "He holds the timbrel and the harp." To be a game etc., he says this because to make and worship idols seems similar to the play of children, and thus those who make images of clay and adore them. And the conduct of life, namely moral life, ordered, that is, arranged, toward gain, namely of avarice, and not only gain, but unlawful gain, whence he adds: and that one must acquire from everywhere, even from evil, that is, from an unlawful craft or business: against which Ecclesiasticus 5: "Be not anxious for unjust riches. For they shall not profit you in the day of affliction" or of vengeance "and vindication." These are "riches kept to the hurt of their owner."

WIS 15:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

For he etc., as if to say: and truly those who make idols acquire from evil; for he knows that he, above all others, namely the other makers of idols, offends: he, I say, who from earthly material, which is of lesser worth, fashions fragile vessels on the one hand, and graven images, that is, idols, on the other hand from his material. Whence from the comparison of these he better understands, or can understand, the worthlessness of idols. But how can he know this, namely that he offends or sins above all others, when he is ignorant of God, as has been said? It must be said that he knows this or can know it by the habit of the natural law written in his heart. But actually he does not know this, namely because he does not wish to investigate this, although he could; or if he cannot do so fully or easily, this is because he has been blinded by the desert of his unbelief.

WIS 15:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

Fourth, God is commended from the foolishness of idolaters. For all. Here it is shown that the true God is commendable from the foolishness of idolaters, and first, from the foolishness of idolaters who worship inanimate things, namely statues; second, of those who worship animate things: But also animals. In the first part, he first shows and rebukes them as foolish, because idols are the cause of many evils to their worshippers; second, because they are also in themselves useless to man: For all idols; third, because they were made by man: For a man; fourth, because they are inferior to man: For better is. For all etc. I have rightly said that this one, who makes an idol from clay material, knows that he sins beyond all other craftsmen: for all are foolish: Gloss: "Who consider idols to be gods"; for this is great foolishness: Jeremiah 4: "The children are foolish and senseless." Foolish, I say, through a defect of wisdom or faith with respect to the intellect, and unhappy, with respect to the affections; and this on account of the defect of grace, which makes one happy; above, chapter thirteen: "Unhappy are those who called the works of their hands gods." Beyond the measure of their soul, that is, of their nature, they are proud, namely against God, and this by fashioning for themselves idols as gods: Isaiah 16: "We have heard of the pride of Moab, he is exceedingly proud: his pride and his arrogance are greater than his strength." Or: unhappy beyond measure, because with infinite unhappiness, because "their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched," Isaiah, last chapter. Enemies of your people, namely by persecuting those who believe in God; enemies, I say, with respect to affection, and persecuting in deeds: Esther 14: "It is not enough that they oppress us with the harshest servitude; but attributing the strength of their hands to the power of idols, they wish to change your promises"; and reproaching him, namely in words: in the Psalm: "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell upon me"; just as certain ones from Ephraim and Manasseh mocked the messengers of Hezekiah, who wished to call them back to the worship of God, as is clear from 2 Chronicles 30.

WIS 15:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

Because all the idols etc., as if to say: this whole thing is evil, because all etc. Or thus: I have rightly said that foolish and unhappy, proud beyond the measure of their soul etc.: because all the idols of the nations, that is, of the gentiles not reborn through faith, but remaining in the vice of their birth, they esteemed as gods: thus did the Romans, namely by bringing all the idols of the subjugated gentiles to Rome and worshipping and guarding them: which, namely the idols, have neither sight of the eyes for seeing, according to that verse of the Psalm: "They have eyes, and they shall not see"; nor ears for hearing, according to that passage in the same place: "They have ears, and they shall not hear." Nor nostrils for perceiving breath: in the same place: "They have nostrils, and they shall not smell." Nor fingers of hands for handling, that is, for touching anything: whence in the same place: "They have hands, and they shall not feel." But also their feet are sluggish, that is, immovable, for walking, in the same place: "They have feet, and they shall not walk." Therefore it is said in Baruch 6: "The beasts are better than they, which can flee under a roof and be of use to themselves."

WIS 15:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

For a man, whose it is not to give sense and motion, made them, he did not beget them from his own substance, but fashioned them from extrinsic matter; and he who has borrowed a spirit, namely one to be returned to God, whenever it shall please Him; Ecclesiastes, last chapter: "And the spirit shall return to God, who gave it." he fashioned them, that is, he made them from clay. For no one etc., as if to say: and truly they are thus without sense and motion; for no man will be able to fashion a god like himself, like, namely with a likeness of equality, by which a man is like another man, although like with a likeness of some exterior representation.

WIS 15:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

For since he is mortal, having a mortal life, a dead thing, that is, one lacking life, he fashions with wicked hands: in the Psalm: "In whose hands are iniquities." But mortal is better than dead, according to that saying of Ecclesiastes 9: "A living dog is better than a dead lion." And I said well that no one can make something like himself etc.: for he himself is better, namely man, than those whom he worships. But God ought to be the highest good of man, according to Augustine, since He is his beatitude. Because he indeed lived, at some time, namely man, when he was mortal, for what does not live is not mortal: but they never, namely the false gods. But rightly living things are preferred to non-living things, sentient things to non-sentient things, according to Augustine. But an objection is raised: Because above in the same book it is said: "His life is viler than clay." It must be said that above he speaks of the moral life, here of the natural life.

WIS 15:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

But even animals etc. Here is shown the reproof of those who worship animate things: and first they are shown to be miserable in themselves: second, somewhat excusable in comparison to the preceding: Senseless etc.: third, simply inexcusable: But neither in appearance etc. And there they are shown to be inexcusable, first by the fact that they worship irrational creatures: second, because they have fled from the true God: They have fled etc. But even animals: The Gloss: "Not only the likeness of men," but also the image of animals, as the Egyptians worshipped Isis in the form of a cow, the Babylonians a dragon, as is clear from Daniel fourteen: most wretched, they worship; Proverbs fourteen: "Sin makes peoples miserable." They are indeed miserable all the impious and sinners, but more wretched all the unbelievers, but most wretched of all those who worship idols. On account of this I rightly said: But they worship even the most wretched animals; in the Psalm: "They exchanged their glory for the likeness of a calf that eats hay." For senseless things: for, in place of but: senseless things, that is, statues, compared to these, namely animals, are worse than them, because, according to Augustine, that which lives is better than that which does not live, and that which senses is better than that which does not sense; whence the Gloss: "In truth, living things are better than dead things, and sensible things than insensible things, and rational things than irrational things. But it was fitting that those who were ignorant of the Creator should not know the distinction among creatures."

WIS 15:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 15

But not even by sight etc. Thus it has been said that idols neither hear nor see anything nor know anything: and not only do they see nothing, but not even by sight can any of these animals discern good things. But not even by sight, as if to say: not only in absence through imagination, but not even in presence through sense: any of these animals, which they worship, can discern good things, that is, know good things by beholding them: and this is to be understood of honorable goods, which are goods simply, such as virtues and the like: not of useful goods, or pleasurable goods, which are goods in a qualified sense. But they have fled etc., as if to say: thus the most wretched worship animals: but, in place of however, they have fled etc. Or: but, that is, certainly by worshipping animals, they have fled from the praise of God and his blessing, as if to say: they neither praised God himself nor blessed him: praise for his goodness in himself, and blessing for his beneficence toward us. Against which two things it is said in the Psalm: "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good," namely in himself, "for his mercy endures forever," that is, because the beneficence of his mercy extends itself to all: and he says they have fled, not only not praising and not blessing inwardly in heart, but not even confessing with the mouth, against which it is said in Romans 10: "With the heart one believes unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

WIS 16:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

On account of these things, namely because most wretched people worshipped idols, or on account of the sins of idolatry, and things similar to these, that is, on account of other sins similar to the aforesaid idolatry, they suffered torments deservedly: Ephesians 5: "On account of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of unbelief"; Deuteronomy 25: "According to the measure of the sin, so also shall be the manner of the stripes." For there ought not to be the disgrace of fault without the beauty of justice or of vengeance, according to Augustine. And by a multitude of beasts, namely devastating their land, such as flies, locusts, and frogs and the like; they were destroyed, that is, grievously afflicted, and perhaps some of them were killed: above, chapter 12: "Through the things they worshipped, you gave them the utmost torments"; Deuteronomy 32: "I will send the teeth of beasts upon them."

WIS 16:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

Instead of which torments, that is, in place of which torments, as if by contrast: you dealt well with your people, namely the Israelite people, who were his "peculiar people," as is found in Deuteronomy 7. To whom, that is, to which people, you gave the desire of their delight, that is, a desirable thing longed for: "for desire, if it is fulfilled, delights the soul," as is found in Proverbs 13. A new flavor, into food of a new flavor, preparing for them quail as food, and that bird, namely the quail, is called ortygometra, as they say from the land of Ortygia, in which it was first seen and from there brought away; or preparing foods etc.: and then according to some the plural is used here for the singular, when it says: preparing foods for them, the quail, that is, the quail, according to that verse of the Psalm: "They asked, and the quail came" etc.: Exodus 16: "It came to pass in the evening, and the quail coming up covered the camp"; likewise Numbers 11: "But a wind going out from the Lord, snatching up quails, brought them across the sea" etc. But it is not necessary that the plural be used for the singular, because it can be glossed thus: foods, that is, in place of foods.

WIS 16:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

So that those indeed, namely the children of Israel, desiring food, namely the meats of Egypt, Exodus 16, on account of those things, namely the quails, which were shown to them, namely to be desired, and sent, namely to be eaten, even from a necessary desire, that is, a very pressing one, might be turned away, that is, so that they would no longer desire the meats of Egypt and a return to Egypt: in the Psalm: "They desired with desire in the desert"; likewise Numbers 11: "The people burned with desire for meats," although it is said in Sirach 18: "Go not after your desires, and turn away from your own will." But these, namely the children of Israel, having been made destitute in a short time, that is, for a little time, because their want lasted but briefly: for God quickly came to their aid, according to that verse of Isaiah 65: "Before they cry out, I will hear them"; destitute, that is, lacking food: had tasted a new food, that is, an unusual food, or of unusual birds.

WIS 16:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

For it was fitting etc., as if to say: and rightly was it so done; for it was fitting, that is, it was opportune, for them, namely the Egyptians, without any excuse indeed, namely of the fault for which they were being punished: Romans 1: "So that they are without excuse"; likewise ibid. 2: "Therefore you are without excuse, O man": that destruction should come upon them, namely the torment of death-dealing punishment from the supreme Judge for their crushing; Job 18: "Let confidence be torn from his tent, and let destruction tread upon him like a king"; likewise Proverbs 29: "For a man who despises the one who corrects him with a stiff neck, sudden destruction shall come upon him." For them, I say the Egyptians, exercising tyranny, that is, cruel dominion over the children of Israel, oppressing them with harsh labors, as is clear from Exodus 1 and 5, and by drowning their boys in the river, as is clear from Exodus 1. But for these, namely the Israelites, only to show, supply: it was fitting: in what manner their enemies would be destroyed, so that thus, having seen their punishment, they might be corrected, according to that passage of Proverbs 19: "When the pestilent man is scourged, the fool will become wiser"; likewise ibid. 21: "When the pestilent man is punished, the little one will become wiser."

WIS 16:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

He says therefore: For indeed, as if to say: I have rightly said: but for these only to show etc.; for indeed, that is, because: when upon them, namely the children of Israel, there came the fierce wrath of beasts, namely from the displeasure of the heavenly Judge, whom they had offended by murmuring against him, as is clear from Numbers 21: "The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people." By the bites of perverse serpents, because they were effective for harming, they were being destroyed, namely some of them: whence 1 Corinthians 10: "Do not murmur, as some of them murmured and perished by serpents."

WIS 16:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

But not forever, that is, without end, such that eternal punishment would be joined to temporal punishment, as in Herod, Acts 12. Your wrath, that is, the effect of your wrath, not the emotion of your mind, according to that saying: "I am the Lord, and I am not angered"; remained, namely in the children of Israel: Habakkuk 3: "When you are angered, you will remember mercy." But for correction, not for condemnation, in a short time, that is, for a brief period, they were troubled, that is, afflicted, namely outwardly, and from that troubled, inwardly: Isaiah 54: "For a brief moment I forsook you, etc., and in a moment of indignation I hid my face briefly from you, and in everlasting mercy I have had compassion on you"; Jeremiah 30: "But I will not make a complete end of you, but I will chastise you in judgment, lest you seem innocent to yourself." Having a sign of salvation; The Gloss: "The bronze serpent set up as a sign, by the sight of which they were healed," as is clear from Numbers 21. For a remembrance of the commandment of your law, namely, to be kept, according to that saying of the Psalm: "And they are mindful of his commandments, to do them," just as a negligent boy is whipped so that he may repeat and fix his lesson.

WIS 16:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

And I rightly said: having a sign, not a cause: for he who turned, namely either inwardly through repentance toward God, or outwardly toward the bronze serpent to look upon it: not through that which was seen, namely by the bodily eye, was healed, that is, not through the bronze serpent; but through you, the Savior of all, signified through the said serpent: John 3: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up"; just as also a dead man could not be raised by the staff of Elisha, which did not obey him in this, but through him personally, as is found in 4 Kings 4.

WIS 16:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

In this moreover, namely in the affliction of the Egyptians and the easy liberation of the Israelites, you showed, that is, you willed to show, although they did not see; whence they cannot complain except about the blindness of their own eyes, just as if the shining sun were shown to someone with bleary eyes and he did not see it, according to Augustine: to our enemies, namely the Egyptians; for the wicked are enemies of the just, namely actively, not passively, because they hate the just, although they are loved by them; you showed, I say, that you are, namely the only one, who delivers from all evil: in the Psalm: "Many are the tribulations of the just, and from all these the Lord will deliver them." On the contrary: Why are many not delivered from evil? It must be said that this is to be understood thus: he delivers all who are delivered, just as that passage in John 1, "He enlightens every man," etc., namely, who is enlightened.

WIS 16:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

For those, namely the Egyptians who did not worship you, the bites of locusts and flies killed: of locusts, Exodus 10, and of flies, Exodus 8: killed, literally some of them, although it is not read there expressly. And no healing was found for their life, namely of the Egyptians, as for the children of Israel from the serpents; in the Psalm: "There is no health in my flesh because of your wrath," etc.; Jeremiah 30: "Your wound is incurable, your affliction is grievous." Because they were worthy, namely as their merits demanded, by such things, namely by vile animals, to be destroyed: whence Augustine on John: "The Lord could have subdued the proud people of Pharaoh with bears and lions, but he sent flies and the vilest creatures, so that their pride might be tamed." For the same reason men are also afflicted by fleas: whence Augustine: "Why do you puff yourself up, human pride? Resist the fleas, so that you may sleep."

WIS 16:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

But your sons, that is, the Israelites; Exodus 4: "Israel is my firstborn" — sons, I say, your sons, by faith, according to that passage in John 1: "He gave them power to become sons of God, to those who believe in his name"; nor did the teeth of venomous serpents overcome them, that is, of fiery serpents; Deuteronomy 8: "Your guide was in the great and terrible wilderness, in which there were serpents burning with their breath, and scorpions, and the dipsas snake." He speaks here of the good, who are sons of God, not of the wicked. I said well: but your sons, that is, the Israelites, the teeth of venomous serpents, that is, the bites of fiery serpents, did not overcome them: for your mercy, that is, the effect of your mercy, coming upon them, healed them: in the Psalm: "If I said: My foot has slipped: your mercy, O Lord, helped me"; Jeremiah 33: "I will close up your scar and give you health"; "for he wounds and he heals," Job 5.

WIS 16:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

For in the remembrance of your words, that is, through the recompense of your commandments, they were being destroyed, some of them, namely, and they were quickly healed, or saved, namely others who were penitent, having seen the death or punishment of others; according to that verse of the Psalm: "When he slew them," that is, some of them, "they sought him," that is, others who were penitent. Or: the same ones were being destroyed, that is, severely punished, and were quickly healed, lest falling into deep, that is, profound, falling, that is, falling inwardly, forgetfulness, namely of despair; namely on account of the delay of help and remedy; they might not be able to make use of your help, that is, of your liberating grace, they, I say, having been made unworthy of your mercy on account of despair; Proverbs 18: "The wicked man, when he has come into the depth of sins, shows contempt"; in the Psalm: "They forgot God, who saved them," etc.

WIS 16:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

And I said rightly: in the remembrance of your words: for indeed, meaning "because"; neither herb, that is, a potion made from herbs, which is taken internally by drinking; nor poultice, that is, a plaster, which is applied externally upon the place of pain; healed them, namely from the bites of serpents. But your word, O Lord, that is, the command concerning the making and gazing upon the bronze serpent, Numbers 21; which, namely the word, heals all things, namely those things which are healed: whence here there is an accommodated distribution: in the Psalm: "He sent his word and healed them." Or: the Word, uncreated, that is, the Son, of whom John 1 says: "In the beginning was the Word"; this Word, according to the Gloss, "heals bodies and saves souls from spiritual beasts"; Matthew 4: "Healing every disease and every infirmity."

WIS 16:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

Again, they did not know the Physician. Since the disease had come from a crime against sovereignty, the punishment had to be very heavy. No one, then, could heal, unless he were God and man: He alone would have the power of satisfaction, in whom there would be no concupiscence, and who would have been born, not through the law of nature, but from the Virgin. That He indeed was the Physician, He demonstrated through examples of virtue, documents of truth, incitements to love, and saving remedies. This Physician heals all things: For indeed, neither herb nor application cured them, but Your all-healing Word, O Lord! the Word who was incarnate and crucified and who suffered, and later sent the Holy Spirit into the depths of our hearts. This, then, is the medicine: the grace of the Holy Spirit. Philosophy is unable to grasp such a Physician and such a grace. Why should you glory, you whose science is unable to know your disease, or its cause, or its Physician, or its remedy?

WIS 16:12 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

There is no salvation except through wisdom. For "indeed, neither herb nor application cured them, but Your all-healing word, O Lord!" But wisdom is neither disclosed nor obtained except through faith.

WIS 16:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

For you are, O Lord. I said rightly that your word heals all things: for you are, O Lord, namely the Creator of all things, who have power over life and death, that is, of giving life and putting to death, according to that passage of 1 Kings 2: "The Lord kills and makes alive," etc.; likewise Ecclesiasticus 11: "Death and life are from God." But to the contrary: Because it is said above in chapter 1: "God did not make death." I respond: it must be said that although God is not the meritorious or efficient cause of death, nevertheless with respect to the privation itself he has power over death, because, although he is not the cause of evils, he nevertheless has power over evils, because from them he knows how to and is able to bring forth good. To that which is objected, that death is not from God: it must be said that in death there is a privation of life, which is nothing, and therefore does not have an efficient cause, but rather a deficient one: likewise, there is therein a penal affliction, which is something and is from God, who justly inflicts it upon sinners by the merit of their sins. And you lead down to the gates of death, that is, to the final extremity of life, and you lead back, namely by healing, as is evident in the case of Hezekiah, Isaiah 38.

WIS 16:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

But man etc., as if to say: thus you can put to death and give life: but, for "however": man can kill himself but not give life, and this is what it says: but man, namely the sinner, called man from the earth: indeed kills, that is, certainly, through the malice of sin, his own soul, on account of which it is said in the Psalm: "He who loves iniquity hates his own soul"; for he is a murderer of himself: for sin is a two-edged sword, for it kills both body and soul: Sirach twenty-one: "All iniquity is like a two-edged broadsword." And when the spirit has departed, namely from the body through death, it will not return, namely to the body in the present age; Job ten: "Before I go, and return not, to the land of darkness" etc.; likewise 2 Kings fourteen: "We all die, and like waters we flow down upon the earth, which do not return." But to the contrary: Because it is said in the Psalm: "His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth." It must be said that this is understood of the return to the earth of one's natural habitation and body by nature: but that Psalm passage [speaks] of the return to one's earth according to the justice of retribution, and this by divine power. Nor will he call back, namely man, the soul, separated from the body, which has been received, in its place, namely in glory or in punishment; Sirach eleven: "Wherever the tree falls, whether to the south or to the north, there it shall be."

WIS 16:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

But your hand, that is, your power, both in the present and in the future, both in life and in death: it is impossible to escape: Job ten: "There is no one who can deliver from your hand"; therefore it is said in the Psalm: "Where shall I go from your spirit, and where shall I flee from your face?" "For the hand of the Lord is not shortened," nay rather it is most far-reaching and contains all things, according to that Psalm: "In your hand, O Lord, are all the ends of the earth."

WIS 16:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

For denying etc. I rightly said: it is impossible to escape your hand: for the ungodly who denied knowing you, that is, the Egyptians, namely Pharaoh with his servants: denying, I say, by word, whence Exodus 5: "I know not the Lord, and I will not let Israel go"; and in deed those of whom it is said in Titus 1: "They profess to know God, but in their deeds they deny him." By the strength of your arm, that is, by your mighty power: Exodus 15: "Who is like you among the mighty, O Lord?" etc.; they were scourged: Exodus 6: "I will bring them out from the prison of the Egyptians with an outstretched arm"; Exodus 15: "Your right hand has struck the enemy"; with strange waters: and, in place of "that is": with hailstones, for hail is like frozen water, and rains, which are like flowing waters, they suffered persecution; Exodus 9: "Pharaoh seeing that the rain and hail had ceased"; and by fire, that is, falling simultaneously, they were consumed: Exodus 9: "Hail and fire mingled together were carried"; likewise in the Psalm: "He turned their rains into hail, burning fire in their land."

WIS 16:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

I rightly said: by fire with hailstones: for what was wonderful: namely, that a contrary was not destroyed by its contrary, although it is written in Sirach 3: "Water extinguishes a burning fire"; whence it follows: In water, which extinguishes all things, namely things set ablaze, fire prevailed the more, that is, it acted more powerfully together with water. For the whole world is an avenger, that is, an instrument of vengeance: an avenger, I say, the whole world of the just, that is, avenging the just: whence above in chapter 5: "The whole world shall fight for him against the senseless." Through the aforesaid text he indicates that the punishment of the Egyptians was carried out not according to the order of nature, but according to the order of divine justice avenging the Israelites against the Egyptians, who had oppressed them, Exodus 1; the Gloss: "It is not surprising that hail and fire are carried mingled together, because all things consent to the will of the Creator."

WIS 16:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

For at a certain time, as if to say: it did not always act uniformly: for, in place of "but": at a certain time the fire was made gentle, namely until the animals of those who feared the words of Moses were called back or brought in from the fields: Exodus nine: "Send and gather your livestock and all that you have in the fields," or field: and afterwards: "He who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and livestock flee into the houses." It was made gentle, I say, lest the animals that had been sent to the ungodly be burned, that is, the livestock divinely given to them. Nor only for this reason, but also, so that they themselves, seeing the aforesaid interruption, might know, namely through it, that by the judgment of God, not by natural occurrence, they suffer persecution. Likewise, according to the Gloss, "that they might recognize that every creature is prepared to avenge the injury done to the Creator"; in the Psalm: "The Lord shall be known executing judgments," who, as Bernard says, is not known when suffering injuries. And it should be noted that the Lord punished the Sodomites by fire, Genesis nineteen, without gentleness, and this because there were no good people among them; but the Egyptians by fire with gentleness, because the children of Israel were in Egypt, who were good.

WIS 16:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

And at a certain time, namely when the animals had been called back, in water beyond its power, its natural power, namely, because by a miracle, the fire blazed forth on every side, namely throughout the whole land of Egypt, so as to destroy the wicked nation of the land, that is, the Egyptians, who were an earthly nation, not a heavenly one; against which, First Corinthians fifteen: "As we have borne the image of the earthly, let us bear the image of the heavenly."

WIS 16:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

Instead of which evils, that is, in place of which evils, contrariwise, with the food of Angels, that is, manna, which was prepared by the Angels, you nourished your people, etc.; whence in the Psalm: "Man ate the bread of Angels"; or because it prefigured the food of Angels, namely "the living bread that came down from heaven," John six. You nourished, I say, your people, namely the children of Israel: for with this food he nourished them "until they reached the borders of the promised land," as is found in Exodus sixteen. And ready bread, that is, refreshment, from heaven, namely descending from the airy heaven, according to that verse of the Psalm: "He rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them the bread of heaven"; you furnished to them without labor. On the contrary: Because it is said in Numbers eleven: "The people went about and, gathering it, ground it in a mill or crushed it in a mortar, cooking it in a pot and making from it cakes as it were of the taste of bread made with oil." I respond: without labor of acquiring through agriculture, but not without labor of preparing. We indeed have labor in acquiring and preparing: Genesis 3: "In the sweat of your face." Having in itself every delight, that is, the effect of every delightful food, producing a similar delight in the one eating: and the sweetness of every taste, that is, every pleasant taste: for it tasted to each person just as he wished, as Gregory says in the sixth book of the Morals. But against this: It is said in Numbers 11 that it had the taste "as of bread made with oil." It must be said that by its own nature it had a determined and most sweet taste, namely like the taste "of fine flour with honey"; but by divine grace it had diverse tastes, namely according to the diversity of desires, as the Gloss touches upon on that passage of 1 Corinthians 10: "They all ate the same spiritual food." But against this: Because if it had the taste desired by anyone, then they would not have desired the meats of Egypt, nor would their soul have been nauseated over the manna as over a most light food, yet the opposite is read in Numbers 21. It must be said, according to the Gloss: The good found the best taste therein, but the wicked were disgusted. Or it must be said that they required in food not only the delight of taste with respect to the palate, but also of color with respect to sight, and of odor with respect to smell. Jerome: Birds are cooked before the rich in their own vapors, so that they may be refreshed by sight and aroma, just as the luxurious are with wine, yet it is said in Proverbs 23: "Do not gaze upon wine when it turns yellow, when it sparkles in the glass," etc.

WIS 16:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

For your substance, that is, your power of sustaining, and your sweetness, that is, your power of delighting, which you have toward your children, namely sustaining them through the substance of the food and delighting them through the taste of the same food, you showed etc.; in the Psalm: "You prepared in your sweetness for the poor, O God"; you showed, I say, by bestowing upon them the aforesaid food that sustains and delights. And serving, namely the aforesaid food or bread, the will of each one, namely of those eating, it was turned to what each one wished, that is, to whatever taste: for it had, as was said, one determined taste by nature, but various tastes by divine grace. Mystically, by the manna Christ was fittingly signified under the Sacrament of the altar, first because he himself is the bread of angels, namely of priests, according to that passage of Malachi 2: "He is the angel of the Lord of hosts." Second, because it is prepared from heaven, that is, because it is confected by heavenly power; John 6: "I am the living bread, who came down from heaven"; in the Psalm: "You prepared their food, for thus is its preparation." Third, because those eating from it according to their desire, that is, their devotion, are refreshed, according to that word of the Psalm: "You have granted him the desire of his soul"; likewise in the Psalm: "He brought them their desire, they were not defrauded of their desire." Fourth, because with it the dew of grace descends and is given, just as dew also descended with the manna, as is found in Numbers eleven. And therefore this bread is called eucharist: eucharist is interpreted as good grace. Fifth, because, just as the manna appeared like "white coriander seed," so also Christ is received under a white cloud: Apocalypse fourteen: "Behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sitting like the Son of Man." Sixth, because it was gathered on six days and not on the Sabbath, so Christ is received under the Sacrament in the present, but in the future Sabbath, of which Isaiah sixty-six says: "There shall be Sabbath after Sabbath," He will be seen openly: First Corinthians thirteen: "But then face to face"; likewise First John three: "We shall see Him as He is." Seventh, because they were nourished by that food in the desert for forty years until the entrance into the promised land, so until the end of the world in the desert of this world the faithful of the Church are nourished, according to that word of Matthew twenty-eight: "Behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the age."

WIS 16:22 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

He says therefore: But snow etc. It has been said that fire prevailed more in water: but snow and ice, that is, hail, sustained the force of fire, that is, heat, which is its quality of active power. And they did not melt, that is, they did not liquefy; whence Exodus nine: "The Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt; and hail and fire were carried mingled together"; so that they might know, namely the Israelites, that the fruits of the enemies, that is, of the Egyptians, burning fire was destroying, namely by heat: flashing in hail and rain, namely by splendor. "The flax and the barley were damaged, because the barley was green and the flax was already putting forth pods," Exodus nine.

WIS 16:23 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

But this again etc. It should be known that the word this can be of the ablative case, so that it is expounded thus: this, for this reason; or of the nominative, so that it is read thus: but this again, supply: was done, so that the just might be nourished, namely the children of Israel. The fire also forgot its own power, namely by not destroying the fruits of the land of the just, as is clear from Exodus nine, where it is read that "only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, the hail did not fall." So also the fire forgot the force of its power when it did not harm the three just youths in the furnace, as is clear from Daniel three.

WIS 16:24 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

For your creature, namely whatsoever creature, serving you its maker, that is, your will, by which you made all things, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Whatsoever he willed, he did": grows fierce, that is, is vehemently moved and stirred up, unto torment, of punishment, against the unjust, that is, your enemies. And is made milder, that is, harmless or innocuous, to do good for those who trust in you, that is, for the just: for creatures obey those who obey God, as is clear in Joshua 10, where it is read how the sun stood still at the command of Joshua, and they rebel against those who rebel: whence above in chapter five: "The whole world shall fight for him against the senseless."

WIS 16:25 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

For this reason, namely because the creature serves the Creator, and then, namely when the children of Israel were fed with manna in the desert, into all things, that is, into the flavor of all desired things, was transfigured, namely that creature itself, namely the manna: your grace, the nurse of all, that is, your gratuitous good will, so that it is understood of uncreated grace: Baruch 4: "You have saddened your nurse, Jerusalem"; they served, that is, they obeyed: The Gloss: "Let sinners be confounded here, because while all other creatures serve their Maker, they themselves resist. Whence they are scourged by the concord of all creatures." They served, I say, according to the will, to be fulfilled, namely, of those who were desired by you, namely, beloved with a special love, as the children of Israel: Deuteronomy 7: "The Lord your God has chosen you, that you might be his peculiar people from among all the peoples that are upon the earth."

WIS 16:26 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

That your sons might know, namely the Israelites, according to that passage of Exodus 4: "Israel is my firstborn"; Isaiah 1: "I have nourished sons"; whom you loved, O Lord, namely with eternal and temporal love: Malachi 1: "I have loved you, says the Lord." Might know, I say, that it is not the fruits of birth, that is, not natural fruits, born from the earth, according to that passage of Genesis 1: "Let the earth bring forth," etc., that nourish men, namely insofar as they are men, that is, according to that by which they differ from beasts, namely according to the rational power or part of the soul. But your word, that is, the created word, that is, your commandment: Matthew 4: "Man does not live by bread alone," etc. Or: the Word, uncreated, that is, the Son, of whom John 17 says: "Your word is truth"; ibid. 14: "I am the way and the truth and the life"; preserves those who have believed in you: Deuteronomy 8: "The Lord gave you manna as food, which neither you nor your fathers knew, to show you that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

WIS 16:27 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

For that which could not be destroyed by fire, namely the manna, because it hardened at fire, so that small cakes were made from it, as is clear from Numbers 11; when warmed by even a faint ray of the sun, immediately melted away, that is, it liquefied, as is clear from Exodus 16. Hence it was necessary that it be gathered in the morning.

WIS 16:28 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

That it might be known to all, namely through this sign, that one must rise before the sun, that is, before the rising of the sun, for your blessing, supply: to be obtained, that is, to receive and gather the manna, lest after the rising of the sun it be liquefied by the heat of the sun: thus, to obtain the blessing of grace, one must rise before the sun by keeping vigil in the morning, according to that passage of Proverbs 8: "Those who watch for me in the morning will find me"; in the Psalm: "In the morning I will stand before you and I will see," etc. And at the rising of the light, that is, as soon as the light rises, or toward the east, where the light rises, to adore you, namely for the reception of the manna itself: toward the east, I say, because, as Damascene says, everything that is better must be attributed to God; whence, because the east is the nobler part of the sky, therefore one must worship toward the east, according to that passage of the Psalm: "He who ascends above the heaven of heavens toward the east." It should be noted, moreover, that in the fact that the manna melted at the rising of the sun, it was signified, according to the Gloss, that at the rising of Christ the old sacrament would cease, because "Christ is the end of the Law," Romans 10.

WIS 16:29 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 16

For the hope of the ungrateful etc. Thus I said that it wasted away by the heat of the sun, and this as a sign of this, because the hope of the ungrateful will waste away etc. Or thus: I rightly said that it is necessary to worship at the rising of the light etc. for the reception of the aforesaid benefit, and this to avoid ingratitude, which is greatly harmful. For the hope of the ungrateful, namely of any impious person, or specifically "of the Jewish people," according to the Gloss, like winter ice: The Gloss: "Constricted by the cold of unbelief," according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus forty-three: "The cold north wind has blown, and ice has frozen from the water"; will waste away, that is, will be liquefied, that is, will be dissolved by the heat of the sun of justice on the day of judgment, whether particular or universal: in the Psalm: "As wax melts before the face of fire, so let sinners perish before the face of God." It will waste away, I say, as regards the punishment of loss, namely by losing all goods, whatsoever he had or hoped for, namely the goods of grace and glory; and will perish utterly, that is, will perish in a twofold manner, that is, will suffer torment in body and soul, and this as regards the punishment of sense. It will perish utterly, I say, like superfluous water, that is, useless water, which is poured out or cast upon the ground: so also the ungrateful one, as useless, will be cast into hell, according to that passage of Matthew twenty-five: "Cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness." The hope of the ungrateful therefore will waste away and perish utterly etc.; whence above in chapter five: "The hope of the impious is like down which is carried away by the wind"; likewise Bernard: "Ingratitude is a scorching wind, drying up the fountain of piety, the dew of mercy, the streams of grace."

WIS 17:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

Second, on the punishment of loss. For great are etc. After he treated the punishment of sense, here he treats the punishment of loss, that is, the withdrawal of light: and first is touched upon the equity of the punishment of the Egyptians, namely because they were punished according to their merits: second, the irremediability, namely because without interruption: For neither that which contained: third, the universality, because all, there: But those who the powerless: fourth, the singularity, because they alone, namely the Egyptians: For every. The equity, moreover, is shown from the meritorious cause of their sins, first of sin against God: second, against neighbor: For while persuaded: third, against themselves: And while they think. For great are etc. Well have I said that the Egyptians were punished, but the Israelites consoled: for great are your judgments, O Lord: Gloss: "By which you govern all creation"; in the Psalm: "Your judgments are a great deep." And your words are unspeakable, namely by which you instruct the rational creature; unspeakable, I say, in full: Romans 11: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom of God" etc. On account of this: Gloss: "Because they refused to believe and understand their Creator," undisciplined souls, that is, incorrigible regarding their sins: Sirach 20: "And a procession into evil for an undisciplined man"; likewise Jeremiah 5: "You have struck them, and they have not grieved; you have crushed them, and they have refused to receive discipline"; in the Psalm: "But you have hated discipline"; they went astray, from the way of truth: above in chapter five: "Therefore we have strayed from the way of truth," concerning which John 14: "I am the way and the truth and the life": the way in example, the truth in promise, the life in reward.

WIS 17:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

For when etc. I have rightly said that they erred; for when the wicked, namely the Egyptians, called wicked on account of the wicked oppression of the Israelites and the drowning of their infants, Exodus chapter one: were persuaded, that is, believed, that they could dominate the holy nation, that is, the children of Israel, who are called a holy nation, because they were children of the Saints, according to that saying in Tobit chapter two: "We are the children of the Saints"; likewise, because they were sanctified through circumcision, concerning which sanctification is found in Genesis chapter seventeen; thirdly, because they were to be sanctified through their manner of life, according to that saying in Leviticus chapter eleven: "Be holy, because I am holy." Bound in the chains of darkness, namely palpable darkness, which occurred in Egypt, Exodus chapter ten, and of a long night, that is, of a dark period, as if it were night: which time was long, because for three days no one saw his neighbor, as is evident in the same place: fettered, namely by a likeness of effect, because they could not move, as if they were fettered: whence in the same place: "For three days no one moved from the place where he was"; shut up under their roofs, namely of their houses, not daring to go out: fugitives from eternal providence, namely as far as it was in their power, because they thought to impede the liberation of the Israelites foreseen by God. Or: fugitives etc., that is, wishing to escape the providence of God: which could not be, since it is said above in chapter sixteen: "It is impossible to escape your hand." They lay hidden, that is, they thought themselves hidden, according to that saying in Proverbs chapter fourteen: "The wicked shall lie prostrate before the good"; or they were pleased, namely in punishment, who were displeasing in guilt, because through punishment the reordering is accomplished of those who had been disordered through guilt.

WIS 17:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

And while they thought themselves hidden, namely from God the punisher, although "all things are naked and open to his eyes," Hebrews chapter four. Hidden, I say, in obscure sins, that is, enormous sins, which are chiefly committed in darkness: Ephesians chapter five: "For it is shameful even to speak of what is done by them in secret," because "he who does evil hates the light," John chapter three: on account of this, sins are called "works of darkness," Romans chapter thirteen. By the dark veil of forgetfulness, that is, the gloom of darkness veiling them and casting forgetfulness upon others, while they could not help themselves: they were scattered, namely one from another, fearfully terrified, that is, with horrible fear, namely on account of the darkness. And disturbed with exceeding wonder, namely on account of the unaccustomed novelty of the thing: above, chapter five: "Seeing this, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed" etc.; Job chapter eighteen: "On his day the last shall be astonished, and horror shall seize the first."

WIS 17:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

For neither did the cave that held them etc. Here is shown the irremediability of the punishment, first from the place; second from the contrary: And fire; third from artifice: And the magical arts etc. For neither etc. I have rightly said: trembling horribly etc.: for neither did the cave, which contained them, those namely who had fled there on account of the hail and rain and fire. And note that he uses the singular for the plural, when he says cave, because they had not fled to one cave only, but to many, and they thought to hide in diverse places: was guarding them without fear: The Gloss: "Because horror always accompanies darkness, and the less one discerns what things are around him, the more he fears." Since a sound descending, namely into that pit, a sound, I say, either of heavenly thunders or of diabolical illusions, was disturbing, that is, was thoroughly disturbing, them; Job 15: "The sound of terror is always in his ears." And sorrowful figures appearing to them. But how did they appear in such great darkness? It can be said that they did not appear to the sense, but to the imagination. Were furnishing them with dread, because, as the Gloss says, "it could be that demons thrust upon them certain terrible phantasms, which would terrify them unto an increase of their punishments," according to that passage in Job 7: "You will terrify me through dreams, and through visions You will shake me with horror."

WIS 17:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

And indeed fire etc. Here is shown the irremediability of the punishment, and this from the side of the contrary, namely fire: first, because it did not furnish aid: second, because it rather furnished harm: But it appeared to them. He says therefore: And indeed no power of fire could furnish them light: whence illumination was failing them from the lower part: and he says: no power, because there are three species of fire, according to the Philosopher, namely light, flame, and ember. Nor of the heavenly bodies, that is, of the stars, the bright flames, that is, the emitted rays, could illuminate that horrendous night: whence it is evident that light was failing them from the upper part, although the stars are placed above to illuminate the night, Genesis 1. And deservedly was light lacking to them, because namely they were rebels against spiritual light: Job 24: "They themselves were rebels against the light," and therefore the sun of justice did not rise for them: whence above in chapter 5: "The sun of understanding did not rise for us, and the light of justice did not shine for us."

WIS 17:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

But there appeared to them, namely the Egyptians, a sudden fire, namely of heavenly flashes, full of fear, namely on account of the aspect of terrible visions, namely of lightnings: "for the graver the pains, the greater the terrors that are feared." And struck with fear, on account of the vision of imagined evils, of that face which was not seen, that is, of a phantasm not seen outwardly but imagined inwardly, which the devil sent in to terrify them further: they judged the things that were seen to be worse, supply: than they were according to the truth of the matter; Job 18: "Terrors shall frighten him on every side and shall entangle his feet."

WIS 17:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

And of the magical etc. Here is shown the irremediability from the craft, namely of the magical art; and first is shown the confusion of the magicians: second, the matter of the confusion, namely fear: For those; third, the cause outwardly producing fear: For even if nothing: fourth, the disposition inwardly increasing fear: Frequently etc. And there three things that increase fear are touched upon, of which the first is the remorse of conscience; the second is the disturbance following upon remorse: For always: the third is the distrust of help following upon both: For fear is nothing etc. And of the magical art, that is, of the magicians themselves, were set forth, namely against the aforesaid evils, derisions, in this, namely, that they attempted to expel these evils and could not; whence they themselves also feared vehemently; Exodus 8: "This is the finger of God." And the glory of wisdom, that is, the glory of the magicians concerning their own wisdom, a rebuke with disgrace, supply: was, that is, the cause of disgraceful correction; Proverbs 11: "Where pride has been, there shall be disgrace"; Jeremiah 9: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom."

WIS 17:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

And rightly did I say that their rebuke was with disgrace to themselves; for those, namely the magicians, who promised, fears, namely interior ones, and disturbances, namely exterior ones, to expel, namely by their magical art, from the languishing soul, namely on account of fear and disturbance: these with derision, inflicted by others, full of fear, in themselves, were languishing. Whence to any one of them could be said that word of Luke 4: "Physician, heal thyself"; Proverbs 25: "Clouds and wind and rains that do not follow, a boastful man who does not fulfill his promises."

WIS 17:9-10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

For even if nothing from the portents, that is, from appearing phantasms, or from the miracles of Moses, disturbed them, because, namely, they were accustomed to portents, just as Balaam did not fear the speech of the ass, as is clear from Numbers twenty-two. Yet by the passing of animals, namely sudden and violent, namely of bears and lions and the like, and by the hissing of serpents or of serpents, which, namely, they could not see, shaken, namely inwardly, trembling, namely outwardly, they were perishing, namely failing on account of the aforesaid things; Deuteronomy twenty-eight: "The Lord shall give you a trembling heart and failing eyes and a soul consumed with sorrow, and you shall fear night and day." And, that is, even, the air, which no one could by any means escape, namely on account of the necessity of breathing in and breathing out, denying that they could see, on account of the palpable darkness.

WIS 17:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

For frequently they anticipate, namely by thinking and expecting before the event, the worst things, namely punishments to be inflicted for sins: the worst he says, because there are evil things in life, worse things in death, and the worst things after death; or: evils that are inborn, worse evils inflicted by man, but the worst evils inflicted by God; on account of which, Hebrews ten: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." With conscience reproving them, according to that passage of Jeremiah two: "Your own wickedness shall reprove you." For since wickedness is timid, that is, having fear attached to it, because the evil of guilt is always followed by or accompanied by the evil of punishment; whence, just as "perfect love casts out fear," as is said in First John four, so iniquity causes or induces it; in the Psalm: "They trembled with fear where there was no fear"; likewise Leviticus twenty-six: "The sound of a flying leaf shall terrify them"; it gives testimony of condemnation, namely against its own agent; whence, Romans two: "Their conscience bearing witness"; testimony, I say, of condemnation, namely of its agent, that is, it testifies that he is worthy of condemnation; whence, above, chapter five: "We fools," etc.; likewise Genesis forty-two: "We deservedly suffer these things, because we sinned against our brother." Others have: it is given for the condemnation of all. For it always presumes, that is, before they come to pass, it suspects, cruel things, that is, harsh things to befall it, a troubled conscience, namely troubled by sin or by the remorse of sin; whence Cain says, Genesis four: "Everyone who finds me shall kill me."

WIS 17:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

For it is nothing. Note that here a causal predication, not an essential one, is had: for fear is not presumption, but is caused by presumption, that is, by a presumed suspicion of future evil. Whence he describes fear here in two ways: first, by its cause, which is the presumption of future evil; second, by its effect, which is the betrayal or manifestation of the thought of failing help. For fear is nothing but a help of presumption, that is, a presumption or suspicion of future or coming evil aiding toward fearing, and a betrayal of the thought of helps, namely of failing ones, that is, a thought betraying the lack of help both to the one fearing himself and to others, namely those who perceive by his fear that help is failing him. Whence such fear makes one cry out seeking help, as is clear in Peter, who, when he had begun to sink, cried out and said: "Lord, save me," Matthew fourteen.

WIS 17:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

And while from within, namely in the mind, the expectation is less, that is, hope or confidence, because it lacks justice, which makes the just confident and secure, according to that passage of Proverbs twenty-eight: "The just man, confident as a lion, shall be without terror." He thinks the power greater, that is, they reckon the force for harming greater, of its cause, namely the terrible thing, from which the torment presses, that is, it threatens him, because the lack of greater hope and confidence increases the fear that makes one suspect the evil that threatens is greater than it actually is. Otherwise it seems it can be expounded according to the Gloss from that passage: For it always presumes savage things etc.; as if to say: deservedly wickedness gives testimony of condemnation: for it always presumes savage things, that is, it presumptuously exalts itself to inflict savage things on others: a disturbed conscience, that is, an angered conscience, not a tranquil one; for, in place of "but." For fear is nothing but a help of presumption, that is, a remedy, namely by repressing the movement of this presumption, and a betrayal, that is, a manifestation, of the thought of helps, that is, of a weak thought, which previously exalted itself by presuming that it did not need help. And while from within the expectation is less, that is, less is expected the power of harming of the thing by which one is punished, namely from without: he thinks the power greater, that is, the force for harming him, than it is according to truth.

WIS 17:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

But those etc. Here is shown the generality of punishment, first on the part of time; second, on the part of afflicted persons: Then, if anyone; third, on the part of causes: Or a hissing spirit. As if to say: thus the magicians were terrified; but those, namely the Egyptians, who the overpowering truly night, that is, a powerful one, because very dark and long and unable to be illuminated by any remedy; and from the lowest depths, namely by the rising of vapors and gross fumes darkening the air; and from the highest places, namely by the failure of the irradiation of the celestial bodies, coming upon them, that is, coming over them, the same sleep, that is, a common one, sleeping, because as one slept, so did another, no better.

WIS 17:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

Sometimes they were driven by fear of monsters, that is, of monstrous phantasms appearing to them in dreams; Job 7: "You will terrify me through dreams and shake me with horror through visions." Sometimes their souls failed from the passage, that is, as if the departure from the body were imminent, and this while waking, when they had already been roused: because, as the Gloss says, "neither waking nor sleeping could they rest, because they were surrounded by horrifying monsters and visions and excessive terror." For sudden, that is, unexpected, and unhoped for, that is, unforeseen, because quickly and without warning, fear had come upon them, that is, from above, from the divine judgment: Isaiah 47: "Misery shall come upon you suddenly, which you shall not know."

WIS 17:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

Then, namely besides the aforementioned evils, if anyone of them, namely of the Egyptians, had fallen, namely into a pit or something of this kind, he was kept in a prison, that is, in the place where he had fallen, unable to get out from there, shut in without iron, that is, without iron chains, because all were shackled by the bond of darkness, as is evident above in the same book.

WIS 17:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

For if anyone was a countryman, that is, a cultivator of the field, or a shepherd, of animals, or a laborer of the works of the field, such as a reaper or a vintager, were overtaken, namely by those darknesses outside his house: he endured an inescapable necessity, namely want and affliction, because no one moved himself for three days from the place where he was, as is evident from Exodus 10. For by one, that is, a common, chain of darkness, namely of exterior darknesses, all were bound together, that is, bound at once. And not only by the chain of exterior darknesses, but of interior ones, namely of unbelief and sins: whence Proverbs 5: "Each one is bound by the cords of his own sins"; likewise in the Psalm: "The cords of sinners have encompassed me."

WIS 17:18-19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

Whether indeed a spirit etc. I have rightly said that they endured necessity, for whether indeed a spirit to itself whistling, that is, "the whistling of a gentle breeze," 3 Kings 19: or among the thick branches of trees the sound of birds, that is, the song, sweet, insofar as it was of itself suited to delight rather than to terrify: or the force of water running down exceedingly, that is, rushing impetuously, as the waters of torrents run. Or the mighty sound of stones rushing down, that is, falling impetuously from high places, or the unseen course of playing animals, namely, on account of the density of the darkness, animals, namely, gentle ones, such as beasts of burden; or the mighty voice of roaring beasts, that is, of wild animals, or bears, or lions, or the like; or the echo resounding from the highest mountains, that is, the reproduction of the voice of animals due to the reverberation from mountains or rocks; made them faint with fear, namely, all the things mentioned above; whence the Gloss: "On every side the wretches were tormented; for whatever they perceived with their ears, or eyes, or any sense whatsoever, they dreaded as dangerous." Now it should be noted that the aforesaid chain, morally speaking, signifies the progression and connection of sins, concerning which Isaiah 58: "If you take away the chain from your midst." The hissing spirit signifies the hidden suggestion of the devil; Revelation 16: "I saw coming from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet three unclean spirits in the form of frogs." The sweet sound of birds, the delight of thoughts; Zephaniah 2: "The voice of one singing in the window." Running water, consent to the perpetration of sin, against which Sirach 25: "Do not give your water any outlet, not even a small one." The sound of falling stones, the outward operation of sin; Job 14: "A mountain falling crumbles away, and a rock is removed from its place." The course of playing animals, depraved habit; Job 40: "All the beasts of the field play there." The mighty voice of roaring beasts, open boasting about sin committed; against which in the Psalm: "Why do you glory in malice?" The resounding echo, the delightful remembrance of sin; Numbers 11: "We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt."

WIS 17:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

For all etc. Here is touched upon the singularity of the punishment; and because "opposites placed next to each other shine forth more clearly," first is touched upon the illumination of others; second, the darkening of the Egyptians: But to them alone etc.; third, the merit of the darkening: They therefore. I have rightly said: the Egyptians were fettered with the bonds of darkness and not others: for the whole world, namely, with the exception of the region of Egypt, with clear "that is, bright," was illuminated with light, namely, of the sun and the heavenly luminaries, although elsewhere there were many sinners in the world; Matthew 5: "He makes His sun to rise upon the good and the bad." And was maintained unhindered, that is, was preserved, with works unimpeded, of the luminaries by the density of darkness; or in another way: with works unimpeded, of other men apart from the Egyptians on account of the lack of light, since elsewhere there was the brightness of light which is required for working; whence John 9: "Work while it is day; for the night comes, when no one can work."

WIS 17:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 17

But upon them alone, namely the Egyptians, there was laid, namely by God, a heavy night, because darker than usual and longer: Job thirty-seven: "For we are wrapped in darkness." A night, I say, being an image, that is, an express representation, of the darkness, namely eternal; which namely image of darkness, that is, the prefigured darkness, was going to come upon them, namely in hell: whence Matthew twenty-five: "Cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness"; likewise Job ten: "A land of misery and darkness," etc. And because they were suffering such heavy darkness, and not undeservedly: they themselves therefore were to themselves heavier darkness, that is, the cause of heavier darkness, supply: than what they were suffering, that is, of that which was going to come upon them in hell: whence Job thirty-four: "He knows their works, and therefore He will bring night, and they shall be crushed." Or: they themselves were heavier darkness, that is, more dangerous through the blinding of the heart: "for their malice blinded them," above, chapter two; Ephesians five: "You were once darkness"; some books have: heavier than the darkness, namely the exterior darkness, on account of the remorse of conscience.

WIS 18:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

But to your holy ones etc. Thus the Egyptians were in darkness; but, in the sense of however; to your holy ones: namely the Israelites, according to that passage of Leviticus 11: "Be holy"; there was the greatest light, because there was exterior bodily light; whence Exodus 10: "Wherever the children of Israel dwelt, there was light"; likewise interior spiritual light; whence the Gloss: "To your holy ones, that is the Israelites, whom faith and purity of conscience illumined"; 1 Thessalonians 5: "You are all children of light"; likewise superior heavenly light; John 1: "There was the true light, which enlightens every man" etc.; likewise Malachi 4: "To you who fear my name, the sun of justice shall arise." And indeed of these, namely the holy ones, the enemies heard the voice, whether of human conversation or of divine praise, namely the Egyptians; but they did not see their form, namely on account of the hindering darkness. But to the contrary: Because one who is in darkness can see him who is in the light, and not conversely. It must be said that this is true, unless there be an impediment in his eye, or in the medium itself. But there the impediment was in the eye of those seeing, because they had been struck with a kind of blindness, and in the medium, because the darkness there was dense and palpable. And because not also, that is even, they themselves, namely the holy ones, had suffered through the same things, "that is, the same plagues," according to the Gloss, they magnified you, namely by praising; Luke 1: "My soul magnifies the Lord"; Ecclesiasticus 43: "Who shall magnify him, as he is from the beginning"?

WIS 18:1 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 4

With the Egyptians was the densest darkness, but with Your saints was the greatest light. All those who properly followed the Law of Nature, the patriarchs, the prophets, and the philosophers, were the sons of light.

WIS 18:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

And those who before had been harmed, namely by Pharaoh oppressing and scourging them, as is clear from Exodus 1. Because they were not harmed, namely by the plagues inflicted by God, they gave thanks to you: Isaiah 51: "Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of praise." And that there might be a distinction, namely between themselves and the Egyptians; they sought you, O God, or: they prayed to you, O God, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from an unholy nation," just as Abraham also asked that the just man not be destroyed like the impious: Genesis 18. Or: distinction, namely distance: this was granted to the Israelites when "the Angel, lifting himself up, stood between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel," as is clear from Exodus 14.

WIS 18:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

On account of which, namely because they were grateful for the benefit bestowed, praying by offering thanks: they had a burning column of fire, namely by night, as is clear from Exodus 13; as a guide on an unknown way, namely through the desert, and a sun without harm, along the way; a sun, I say, of good lodging, supply: a guide to the end of the journey; you provided; without harm, I say, by day, and this because the column of cloud tempered the heat of the sun, as is clear from the same place and above in chapter 10: "It was for them a covering by day and a light of stars by night," so that they came to a place where they could suitably find lodging and pitch their tents: Isaiah 4: "The Lord will create over every place of Mount Zion, and where he has been invoked, a cloud by day"; and afterward: "and it shall be a shade by day from the heat."

WIS 18:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

Worthy indeed were those, namely the Egyptians, supply: to lack light, with regard to the privation of sense, and to suffer the prison of darkness, with regard to the privation of movement: who kept them enclosed etc., not permitting them to go out from the land of Egypt; Exodus 5: "I know not the Lord, and I will not let Israel go." Your holy sons, namely the Israelites believing in you: John 1: "He gave them power to become sons of God, to those who believe in his name"; through whom was beginning, namely through the preparation of that people and the reception of the Law, because it had not yet been given: the incorrupt light of the law to be given to the world. It should be noted that the law is sometimes called a light, because it illuminates the intellect: Proverbs 6: "The commandment is a lamp, and the law is a light"; incorrupt, because it purifies or preserves the affections from corruption, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The word of the Lord, tested by fire, proven to the earth, purified seven times."

WIS 18:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

When they thought, namely the Egyptians, of the just, that is, of the Hebrews, to kill the infants, not only by simple thought, but also progressively toward the deed, as is clear from Exodus 1. And one son, namely Moses, being exposed, namely by his mother, and delivered, namely by the daughter of Pharaoh, as is clear from Exodus 2. For the reproof of them, that is, the punishment of the Egyptians, or: for the leading forth of them, that is, of the Hebrews, that is, so that he might lead them out of Egypt through Moses who had been delivered. You took away a multitude of children, that is, the totality of the firstborn, Exodus 12. And at the same time, that is, simultaneously, them, namely the Egyptian parents of those children, you destroyed in a mighty water, namely by drowning them in the Red Sea, Exodus 14: "Not even one of them survived," and chapter 15: "They sank like lead in the mighty waters."

WIS 18:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

For that: for, stands for but: night, namely the night on which the firstborn were slain, was known beforehand by our fathers, namely Abraham and others: whence Genesis 15: "Know assuredly that your seed shall be a stranger in a land not its own" etc.; or by the Israelites themselves in Egypt, with Moses foretelling it to them, as is clear from Exodus 12. So that truly, that is, with certainty, knowing in what oaths they trusted, that is, how firm were God's promises; Genesis 22: "By myself I have sworn, says the Lord"; likewise Hebrews 6: "That by two immutable things" etc.; they might be of better courage, namely in awaiting the fulfillment of the oath.

WIS 18:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

But there was received etc., namely on that night, or according to the Gloss: "the law of the Passover," on that night, as if for a great benefit, by your people, namely the Israelite people, as is clear from Exodus 12, where it is said: "And they did" etc.; the salvation indeed of the just, for by it the Israelites were saved from the destroying Angel, as is clear from Exodus 12; but of the unjust, namely the Egyptians, destruction, that is, slaying by the destroying Angel, in the same place.

WIS 18:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

For as you struck our adversaries, namely by slaying them on account of their sins, so also urging us on, supply: to better things, namely to faith and the reception of the Law; Deuteronomy 32: "As an eagle stirring up to fly" etc., you magnified us, namely by magnificently delivering us from that destruction.

WIS 18:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

For in secret, namely on account of fear of the Egyptians, according to the Gloss; they sacrificed, namely by immolating the Passover, as is clear from Exodus 12. The just children, namely the sons, of the good, namely of the Israelites, together with their fathers themselves, on account of which they merited to be freed, the firstborn of the Egyptians having been slain. And the law of justice, namely the one given, in the same place, concerning the immolation of the Passover, which was just, because it signified the justification to be accomplished through the death of Christ; likewise it was called a law, because it bound to its observance for its own time. They disposed in concord, that is, they harmoniously received it and proposed to fulfill it and did fulfill it: whence in the Psalm: "Gather to him his Saints, who order his covenant upon sacrifices." Likewise, that is, with equanimity, good and evil, that is, prosperity and adversity, the just about to receive, namely themselves: repeat: they disposed, whatever God might wish to inflict: Job 2: "If we have received good things from the hand of the Lord, why then should we not endure evil things?" Likewise Luke 16: "You received good things in your life, and Lazarus likewise evil things." Ancestral praises, that is, established and celebrated by the fathers, singing forth, that is, devoutly singing, namely praising God both for evils, namely of punishment, and for goods, namely of grace, or of fortune, or of nature; in the Psalm: "His praise is always in my mouth"; always, that is, not only in prosperity, but also in adversity.

WIS 18:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

Thus I said, that ancestral praises were being sung forth; but there resounded, namely loudly throughout the whole land of Egypt, the discordant voice of the enemies, that is, the voice of the Egyptians, horrible to hear: Exodus 12: "There arose a great cry in Egypt"; and there was heard a lamentable wailing, that is, weeping with lamentation: for there was a cry of the voice and weeping of the eyes and wailing of the hands: a lamentable, I say, wailing of those mourning children, that is, concerning the children or for the children, whom they were mourning, according to that of Jeremiah 6: "Make for yourself the mourning of an only child, a bitter lamentation."

WIS 18:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

But with a similar punishment, that is, by the loss of his firstborn, the servant was afflicted together with the master, in one house: and the common man suffered similar things to the king, namely in the whole kingdom of Egypt, Exodus 12: "He struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, even to the firstborn of the captive woman, who was in the prison"; Isaiah 24: "As the people, so also the priest: and as the servant, so his master."

WIS 18:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

Similarly therefore all, that is, the greater and the lesser and the middling, namely King Pharaoh and the other lords and their servants: had innumerable dead, all the firstborn, dead, I say, by one manner of death, namely by one kind, because it was a divine plague. And he well says: all, because "there was no house in which there did not lie one dead," as is found in Exodus twelve. For neither etc. And I well said: innumerable: for neither for burying, namely the dead, did the living suffice: Jeremiah sixteen: "The small and the great shall die, and they shall not be buried" etc. Since in one moment, namely in one hour of the night, that which was the more noble offspring of theirs, that is, the whole body of the firstborn, who surpass the remaining sons in dignity: was destroyed, that is, slain by the destroying Angel, as is clear from Exodus twelve.

WIS 18:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

For concerning all, as if to say: and rightly were the firstborn thus slain: for concerning all, that is, on account of all the plagues previously inflicted, not believing, namely the Egyptians, on account of the benefits, namely those done to them in the relaxation of each of the plagues, as is clear from Exodus seven, eight, nine, ten, and twelve. Then when first there was the destruction of the firstborn, namely in the last plague, they pledged that they were the people of God, that is, they promised to carry out God's command, which was concerning the release of the children of Israel: for then they released them, as is clear from Exodus twelve. Or: they pledged etc., that is, they promised to believe in the God of the Hebrews, if they were delivered: Isaiah twenty-six: "Lord, in distress they sought you"; in the Psalm: "When he slew them, they sought him."

WIS 18:14-16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

Allegorically however, the coming of Christ in the flesh is described here, who is called the almighty word of God through eternal generation, according to that passage in John 1: "In the beginning was the Word"; but is said to have come from heaven, from the royal thrones, through the temporal assumption of flesh: in the Psalm: "His going forth is from the highest heaven"; in the silence of midnight, on account of the opportuneness of the time: Galatians 4: "But when the fullness of time came," etc. The first silence was under the law of nature, and this on account of ignorance of infirmity; the second, under the law of Moses, and this on account of despair of healing; the third, under the law of grace, and this on account of the attainment of salvation. As a fierce warrior etc., namely on account of the vanquishing of demons; Luke 11: "When a strong man armed guards his court, all things that he possesses are in peace; but if a stronger one than he comes upon him," etc. Into the midst of the land of destruction, that is, into the midst of the world, on account of the position of the land in which he was born: in the Psalm: "He has worked salvation in the midst of the earth." He carried the dominion of God with him, on account of his Divinity co-omnipotent with the Father: John 1: "And the Word was God," namely, of whom he afterwards adds: "And the Word was made flesh"; likewise the last chapter of Matthew: "All power is given to me," etc. He filled all things with death, on account of the consummation of all things in his death, according to that passage in John 19: "It is consummated." Standing on earth, he touched heaven, because his soul in the state of a wayfarer had continual enjoyment of God; John 3: "No one has ascended into heaven, except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven."

WIS 18:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

I well said: Then when first there was the destruction: for, in the sense of because: when quiet silence held all things: silence, namely of the night, which was given for resting, just as the day for working: whence First Thessalonians five: "Those who sleep, sleep at night." And the night in its course had reached its midpoint, that is, when it was the middle of the night: whence Exodus twelve: "And it came to pass in the middle of the night"; and this on account of their lack of foresight.

WIS 18:14 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

The day of the repose of sabbath, the time of the intermediate repose, and the time of final repose: The time of the intermediate repose occurred when the prophets ceased to write. "For when peaceful stillness compassed everything and the night in its swift course was half spent, Your all-powerful word from heaven's royal throne bounded," etc. Then there was the silence of the prophets, intermediate between the first and the last. There was also repose, for at that time the whole world was in complete peace: for then, and twelve years hence, the Temple of Peace in Rome was closed until the coming of Christ. That temple was always open in times of war and closed in times of peace. The doors even became rusted. Then also the Emperor commanded that a census be taken of the whole world, and God placed this very thought in the heart of a pagan, in order that the Virgin would travel to Bethlehem, and once there, that she would give birth in the inn. And very often he insisted that such things and others of the same kind were not placed in Scriptures as a result of chance or fortune, but for a very high reason and as a very high mystery, and that anyone who failed to consider them understood nothing. There was also "night in its swift course," for that was the high point of idolatry.

WIS 18:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

Your almighty word, O Lord, that is, your ordinance and command: whence Hebrews 4: "The word of God is living and effective," namely because of the impossibility of resisting, leaping from heaven, leaping he says because of the swiftness, from heaven, that is, in the destroying Angel, from the royal thrones, namely yours, that is, from the company of Angels, among whom you reign and sit enthroned: in the Psalm: "You who sit upon the Cherubim." Or: leaping from heaven, namely sent by you, who sit enthroned in heaven: "For they are all ministering spirits sent forth for service on behalf of those who shall inherit salvation," Hebrews 1: came harsh, that is, implacable, a warrior, namely against the Egyptians because of their obstinacy; into the midst of the land of destruction, that is, into the land of Egypt to be destroyed by the death of the firstborn; he leaped forth, namely suddenly.

WIS 18:15 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16

WIS 18:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

A sharp sword, that is, about to fulfill the office of a sharp sword through the slaying of the firstborn: Hebrews 4: "The word of God is living and effective and more piercing than any two-edged sword"; likewise Ephesians 6: "The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." A sword, therefore, sharp, because of the ready facility for harming, bearing your unfeigned command, that is, not a fictitious but a true command and power of yours, because "there is no power except from God," Romans 13. Unfeigned therefore command is said because of the divine authority, and standing, because of the immovability of the sentence. He filled all things with death, that is, the whole land of Egypt with dead firstborn. "For there was no house in which there did not lie one dead," as is clear from Exodus 12. He says therefore: He filled all things etc., because of the universality of this plague. But an objection is raised, because in Exodus 12 it is said: "I will pass through the land of Egypt that night and I will strike every firstborn" etc.; therefore he was not standing: therefore it is poorly said here: And standing etc. But it must be said that this standing, of which he speaks here, is opposed to departure from the land of Egypt, not to movement through the land itself. Whence he means to say that the Angel, executing the word or command given concerning the slaying of the firstborn, stood in the land of Egypt, so that outside Egypt no one was slain: but he does not mean to say that he did not pass through Egypt from house to house. And he reached even to heaven while standing on earth, that is, he seemed to reach, namely because of the inevitability, namely lest anyone should escape; in the Psalm: "If I ascend into heaven, you are there." Or: even to heaven etc., he says this because that Angel was contemplating in heaven while ministering on earth, according to that saying of Bede: "They run within God, wherever they are sent"; likewise Matthew 18: "Their Angels," namely the ministers, "in heaven always behold," through contemplation, "the face of my Father" etc.

WIS 18:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

Then immediately, namely at the very hour of the slaying, visions of evil dreams, that is, of terrible ones, disturbed them, namely those sleeping: the Gloss: "So that neither to those awake nor to those sleeping was rest given." And unforeseen fears, that is, sudden ones, came upon them, namely upon them: Job 7: "You will terrify me through dreams, and shake me with horror through visions"; Job 4: "In the horror of a nocturnal vision, when deep sleep is wont to seize men, dread took hold of me."

WIS 18:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

And one here, another there, namely than the other, cast down half-dead, that is, at the extremity of his life; he showed the cause of death on account of which he was dying, namely by indicating to others, as he was able, namely on account of the hardness of heart rebelling against the God of the Hebrews and against Moses, his servant: Romans 2: "According to your hardness and impenitent heart."

WIS 18:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

The visions indeed, of dreams, namely, which disturbed them, forewarned these things, namely the cause of their death. Lest they perish unknowing why they suffered evils, and thus be excused on account of ignorance from impenitence: Isaiah 28: "Vexation will give understanding to the hearing"; Gregory: "The eyes which guilt closes, punishment opens."

WIS 18:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

But it touched etc. Thus the Egyptians were punished, and not only they: but, for "however": it touched then: then, is taken broadly, so that the sense is: Then, namely at that time when, having gone out of Egypt, they were journeying through the desert, it touched even the just, namely the children of Israel. It touched, he says, because it did not long remain nor was it in all, a trial of death, that is, leading to death. And a commotion of the multitude was made in the desert, namely against Moses and Aaron, so that they fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, as is clear from Numbers 16. But your wrath did not long remain: Habakkuk: "When you are angry, you will remember mercies."

WIS 18:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

He says therefore: For hastening etc. I have rightly said that your wrath did not long remain: for hastening, a man without reproach, namely Aaron: whence Numbers 16: "When Aaron had heard this and had run into the midst of the multitude, which the conflagration was already devastating" etc.; hastening, in this is intimated the fervor of heart; without reproach, the holiness of conduct; to entreat for the peoples etc. For God hears such a one and not sinners: whence John 9: "God does not hear sinners"; Gregory: "When one who is displeasing is sent to intercede, the mind of the one angered is provoked to worse things"; to entreat for the peoples: entreaty properly concerns the removal of evils, while prayer concerns the obtaining of goods, but commonly one is put for the other. Bringing forth the shield of his service, prayer etc. Prayer is called a shield by reason of protection: Ezekiel 20: "I sought among them a man who would set up a hedge and stand opposed against me." Of his service is said because he was bound to this service by reason of the pontifical office; whence Hebrews 5: "For every high priest, taken from among men, is appointed for men"; and afterward follows: "He ought, just as for the people, so also for himself to offer for sins." It should be noted that the shield can spiritually be called faith: whence Ephesians 6: "In all things taking up the shield of faith." Likewise, the word of God: whence Proverbs 30: "Every word" of the Lord, or "of God, is a fiery shield to those who hope in him." Likewise, prayer: whence here: Bringing forth the shield of his service, prayer. Likewise, equity; whence above in chapter 5: "He will take up the impregnable shield, equity." Likewise, almsgiving: whence Ecclesiasticus 29: "Above the shield of the mighty and above the lance, it will fight against your enemy." Likewise, patience: 2 Kings 1: "There the shield of the mighty was cast away," etc. Likewise, obedience, concerning which, 1 Maccabees 14: "This is the golden shield of Simon, of a thousand minas." And through incense, that is, the offering of incense, presenting a supplication, that is, bringing forward by way of plea: Numbers 16: "He offered incense and standing between the dead and the living, he made supplication for the people." And it should be noted that prayer is set down for the remission of sin, supplication for the removal of the scourge, incense for the reconciliation of the offended judge. Hastening, I say, the man, etc., he withstood the wrath, that is, the divine chastisement. And he put an end to the distress, that is, to the inevitable human affliction. Showing, namely by deed, not only by word, that he is your servant, according to that passage in John 10: "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep"; Ecclesiasticus 45: "He chose him from among all the living to offer sacrifice to God, incense," etc. On the contrary, the Lord complains about wicked prelates in Ezekiel 13: "You have not gone up against the enemy, nor have you set up a wall for the house of Israel."

WIS 18:22 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

But he overcame the throngs, that is, the troubled people, by dividing and penetrating through them, not by the strength of the body, as Samson overcame the Philistines, Judges 15; nor by the armor of power, namely powerful and strong armor, as David overcame Goliath, 1 Kings 17: 1 Maccabees 3: "Not in the multitude of the army is the victory of war." But by the word, namely of devout prayer, he subdued him who was tormenting him, namely the Angel destroying the people, which he reckoned as his own torment, according to that passage: "Who is weak, and I am not weak?" etc., 2 Corinthians 11. The oaths of the Fathers and the covenant, that is, the promise made to the Fathers concerning giving them the land of promise as an inheritance; Genesis 12: "To your seed I will give this land"; recalling them, namely in his prayer.

WIS 18:23 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

For when etc., as if to say: rightly did I say that he overcame the multitudes etc.: for when the dead had already fallen in heaps upon one another, that is, when the dead lay in heaps one upon another: he stood between, that is, he stood between the living and the dead: whence Numbers sixteen: "He stood between the dead and the living." And he cut off the assault, namely of the fire consuming them; Hebrews eleven: "They quenched the violence of fire"; and he divided the way that led to the living, namely by placing himself against the fire in the middle of the way, lest the fire should pass from the dead to the living.

WIS 18:24 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

In the adornment of the High Priest, there were four rows of stones. "For on his full-length robe was the whole world, and the glories of the fathers were carved in four rows upon the stones." And in these are the fourfold orders of the mysteries: and it is in this order that the Scriptures are planted.

WIS 18:24 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

For in the robe etc., as if to say: therefore he was able to do the aforesaid things: for in the robe reaching to the feet, that is, the ankle-length hyacinth-colored tunic, "on the hem of which were bells and pomegranates," Exodus twenty-eight. Or according to Josephus, the whole pontifical vestment, both interior and exterior, is the poderis, a linen garment descending to the feet, whence it is named from podos in Greek, which means foot in Latin, whence poderis as if clinging to the feet. In the robe reaching to the feet is understood, which seems truer from what follows. In the robe, I say, reaching to the feet, which he wore, namely Aaron, the whole world was depicted, namely in symbol, because, as the Gloss says, "the Hebrews assign fine linen to the earth, because it is produced from the earth: purple to the sea, because it is dyed from its shellfish: hyacinth to the air on account of the likeness of color: scarlet to fire and the ether, namely so that the High Priest might pray for the whole world; since the world consists of earth, water, fire, and air." But according as it is expounded of the hyacinth-colored tunic alone, the question arises: how was the whole world depicted in it? For since it was entirely of hyacinth, no part of the world seems to be depicted in it except the air alone. But it must be said that, although the body of the tunic was of hyacinth, nevertheless at its borders there were some things of purple and fine linen and hyacinth and scarlet, such as pomegranates and the like. The belt represented the ocean, because it encircles the whole earth. The ephod and the two stones, which were above covering each shoulder, represented the two hemispheres, or the sun and the moon. The pomegranates and bells placed below represented lightning and thunder: the twelve stones of the breastplate represented the twelve months, or the twelve parts of the zodiac. The breastplate represented divine providence and disposition. The miter with its hyacinth-colored ribbon represented the heavens. The plate on the forehead of the High Priest and the name of God written thereon represented that all things which exist are governed by the will of God. And the great deeds of the fathers, that is, names of great authority, were engraved in four rows of stones: for on the breastplate there were four rows of precious stones: on each were inscribed the individual names of the twelve Patriarchs, as is clear from Exodus twenty-eight, just as also in the foundations of Jerusalem are said to be inscribed the names of the twelve Apostles, Apocalypse twenty-one. And your magnificence was engraved on the diadem of his head, that is, the magnificent name of God, the tetragrammaton, that is, of four letters, which are: Yod, He, Vau, He, which signify the principle of the life and passion of Christ.

WIS 18:25 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 18

To these, however, namely the sacred vestments, the one who was destroying yielded, namely the Angel or the fire, yielding not on account of those vestments themselves, but on account of what they signified, namely on account of the future adornment, that is, the sacrifice of the supreme Pontiff, namely Christ, according to what the Gloss touches upon. And he feared these things, that is, he acted as if he feared, namely by withdrawing; and well did I say: To these he yielded, etc.; for it was only a trial of wrath, that is, a beginning, not a consummation, sufficient namely for the correction of the people, namely with the intercession of the Priest.

WIS 19:1 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

On the punishment of the Egyptians through their own death. But to the impious even to the end. After he has treated the punishment of the Egyptians through the death of the firstborn, here he treats their punishment through their own death, namely when they were drowned in the Red Sea. And first is touched upon the drowning of the Egyptians; second, the liberation of the Hebrews: For every creature; third, the giving of thanks for both: Seeing your; fourth, the obedience of creatures in both: For the elements in themselves. First, the drowning of the Egyptians. In the first part, first is touched upon the gravity of the punishment; second, the reason on the part of the one punishing: He foreknew; third, the desert on the part of the punished: For still; fourth, the fittingness of the penalty: For he led. (Vers. 1.). But to the impious etc., as if to say: thus the Israelites were freed from the fire: but, standing for "however": to the impious, namely the Egyptians, lacking the piety of religion toward God and of compassion toward neighbor, because they both despised God and oppressed his people: even to the end, that is, finally: Proverbs 5: "Her end is bitter as wormwood"; wrath came upon them without mercy. Without mercy, namely not relenting, but delivering without mercy, and this because they were impious and without mercy: James 2: "Judgment without mercy to him who has not shown mercy." Wrath, that is, the vengeance of sin, which is a sign of anger; came upon them, that is, by the heavenly judgment of God it came to their destruction: Job 21: "The lamp of the wicked shall be extinguished, and a flood shall come upon them"; Proverbs 1: "When tribulation and distress shall come upon you." And deservedly it came upon them etc.; for he foreknew, namely God, and, that is also, their future deeds, namely their sins, before they came to be: Hebrews 4: "All things are naked and open to his eyes"; likewise in the Psalm: "You have understood my thoughts from afar"; likewise Ecclesiasticus 23: "To the Lord our God, before all things were created, they are known" etc.

WIS 19:2 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 2.). For when they themselves, namely the Egyptians, had returned, namely to their heart, according to what Isaiah admonishes, saying: "Return to your heart, you transgressors," Isaiah forty-six. Had returned, I say, to their heart, outside of which they had been on account of fear: in the Psalm: "My heart has forsaken me." And had permitted, namely previously, that they should lead them away, that is, that the children of Israel should lead them apart from their land; whence Exodus eleven: "Go forth, you and all the people who are subject to you." And with great solicitude, that is, urgency, had sent them forth, namely by compelling them to go out; whence Exodus twelve: "The Egyptians urged the people to go out of the land quickly." There followed upon them, namely the Egyptians, when they had done this, the driving of repentance, that is, grief over their departure—grief, I say, in the heart, and confession on the lips, and the manifestation of both in the work of pursuit: Exodus fourteen: "The heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed regarding the people, and they said: What did we intend to do, that we should let Israel go?"

WIS 19:3 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 3.). And I rightly said that there followed etc. For while still having mourning in their hands, that is, the matter of mourning, namely the dead firstborn, or: mourning, that is, the signs of mourning; and bewailing, that is, weeping greatly, or weeping from the heart, or: bewailing, that is, weeping over the death of the firstborn. Rightly there follows: At the tombs of the dead, namely of the firstborn, they took up another thought, etc. Rightly he says: They took up, etc., because an evil thought is from man, but a good one from God; Second Corinthians three: "Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves," etc. A thought, I say, of ignorance, that is, of foolishness. For every evildoer errs: Proverbs fourteen: "They err who work evil." The prior thought had been foolish, by which they had thought to detain them by force; the other also was foolish, by which they had thought to recall or bring them back by force. And those whom, entreating, they had cast out, namely by compelling the children of Israel to go out, as is clear from Exodus twelve; these, as though fugitives, that is, as though departing without their permission, which was false, they pursued, as is clear from Exodus fourteen.

WIS 19:4 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 4.). There led etc., as if to say: and fittingly, for a worthy necessity led them to this end, namely of obstinacy and drowning, a worthy necessity, not of fortune or fate, but of divine justice. But to the contrary: Because they tended toward this voluntarily, therefore not by necessity. It must be said that it was not a necessity of coercion, but of immutability. But to the contrary: Because they could have repented and thus avoided that punishment. It must be said that they could have, but they did not will to. Whence that necessity was consequent upon the will, not antecedent to it. Or: they could not do so fully of themselves, nor did they will to seek the help of God. And of those things which had happened, namely the many plagues inflicted for the retention of the children of Israel, Exodus seven, eight, nine, ten, and twelve, they lost the remembrance, that is, they were losing it, if not in disposition, nevertheless in act; or in deed, if not in heart: Hosea thirteen: "They lifted up their heart and forgot me." So that what was lacking to the torments, namely the preceding ones, for they had not yet been sufficiently punished, the punishment might supply, namely the following one, and the word so that is placed consecutively, not causally.

WIS 19:5 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 5.). And indeed your people, namely the Israelite people, might pass through wondrously, namely through the Red Sea with dry footstep: whence Exodus fifteen: "The children of Israel walked through the dry land in the midst of it." But those, namely the Egyptians, might find a new death, namely a new manner of dying, namely through miraculous drowning: in the same place: "The horseman, that is the cavalry, entered"—"of Pharaoh," in the genitive case—"with chariots and horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them."

WIS 19:6 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

Second, the liberation of the Hebrews. For every etc. Here is touched upon the liberation of the Hebrews, and first in general; second, in particular: For the cloud. (Vers. 6.). For every etc., as if to say thus: The Egyptians were drowned, and the Israelites were freed: for every creature, that is, all the elements, to its own kind from the beginning, namely the disposition it had, was being refashioned, that is, was again made like what it was, in this namely, that it did not harm the good, just as neither did it in the state of innocence; whence Isidore: "If man had not sinned, water would not drown, fire would not burn, nor would the pricks of thorns wound." The creature itself, I say, serving your commands, that is, your ordinance and will; in the Psalm: "He established them forever and for ages of ages; he set a decree, and it shall not pass away"; likewise Jeremiah five: "Who placed the sand as the boundary of the sea, an everlasting decree, which it shall not pass beyond." So that your children, namely the Hebrews subject to you: Isaiah eight: "Behold, I and my children"; might be kept unharmed; Proverbs two: "He will guard the salvation of the righteous and protect those who walk in simplicity."

WIS 19:7 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 7.). For the cloud, namely given by God through the ministry of an Angel, their camp, namely of the Hebrews, overshadowed, "standing between their camp and the camp of the Egyptians, so that throughout the whole night they were unable to approach them," as is clear from Exodus fourteen. And from water, that is, after the water, just as when it is said: from morning comes midday, that is, after. From water, I say, which was there before, in the place through which they crossed, dry land appeared, namely dried by the blast of the wind, as is clear from Exodus fourteen. And in the Red Sea, namely divided, as is clear there; likewise in the Psalm: "Who divided the Red Sea into divisions"; a way namely appeared, without impediment, namely of water or mud, according to that word of the Psalm: "In the sea is your way," etc.; Habakkuk three: "You made a way in the sea for your horses"; likewise Isaiah fifty-one: (You made the depth of the sea a way, that the redeemed might cross over). And a sprouting field, that is, a level and delightful way, as through a sprouting field, from the exceeding deep, that is, after the exceeding depth of water previously existing there.

WIS 19:8 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 8.). Through which, namely the field, the whole nation, namely of the Hebrews, crossed over, or might cross over, with the Egyptians pursuing. Which was covered, that is, protected, by your hand, that is, by your power: Isaiah forty-nine: "In the shadow of his hand he protected me," or by your Son, as in the Psalm: "Send forth your hand from on high," etc. Third, the thanksgiving. Seeing, etc. Here is subjoined the thanksgiving, first for the liberation of the Hebrews; second, for the punishment of the Egyptians or their drowning: And the vexations. In the first part is touched upon the leading of the Hebrews out of Egypt; second, the wonders done for them in Egypt: For remembering; third, their refreshment in the desert: But at last. Seeing your things, as if to say: not only hearing but also seeing; First John one: "What we have seen, what we have heard," etc. Your wonders and portents: wonders, namely lesser ones, and portents, namely greater ones; or: wonders, in their liberation, portents, in the overthrow of the Egyptians. For a portent is called not only something wondrous but also something terrible.

WIS 19:9 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 9.). Seeing, I say etc: for, that is certainly, they fed upon food, namely in the overthrow or destruction of their adversaries. Or he says this inasmuch as they delighted in the destruction of those, just as horses when they eat or feed upon food. Like horses, upon which namely the Lord was riding, according to that passage in Habakkuk 3: "You made a way in the sea for your horses." Like horses, namely neighing at the overcoming of their enemies, according to that passage in Isaiah 24: "These shall lift up their voice and shall praise. When the Lord shall be glorified, they shall neigh from the sea." And like lambs, namely simple and meek: in the Psalm: "The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like lambs of the flock," that is, both the greater and the lesser among them: they exulted, not only inwardly in heart, but also outwardly in rejoicing. Magnifying you, O Lord, that is, proclaiming you as great or praising you magnificently: Exodus 15: "Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been gloriously magnified." Who delivered them, namely by leading them through the sea; Isaiah 63: "Who led them out through the depths, like a horse in the desert that does not stumble, and like an animal in the field"; and rightly they magnified you.

WIS 19:10 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 10.). For they were still mindful of those things, namely the signs, which had been done during their sojourning, that is, when they were still inhabitants of Egypt. Just as in place of the generation of animals, that is, instead of the production of natural animals, the earth brought forth flies, and this miraculously, as is clear from Exodus 8; likewise in the Psalm: "He spoke, and the dog-fly came, and gnats," etc. And in place of fish, that is, instead of fish, the river poured forth, namely the Nile, a multitude of frogs; for frogs ascended from the aforesaid river, as is found in Exodus 8. Nor is this contrary to what is said in the Psalm: "Their land brought forth frogs," etc., because in the Psalm the container is put for the contained, namely the channel of the earth for the water of the river.

WIS 19:11 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 11.). But lastly, that is, after the aforesaid things: new indeed, or first, had been the striking of Egypt; newer still the leading out of the Hebrews from Egypt; but newest of all, their refreshment in the desert. They saw, namely with their own eyes, a new creature of birds, namely quails, Exodus 16 and Numbers 11. But to the contrary: Because in Genesis 2 it is said: "God completed on the seventh day his work which he had made, and he rested from all the work which he had done," that is, from creating new genera or species of creatures, according to Augustine; likewise Ecclesiastes 1: "Nothing is new under the sun": therefore it says wrongly here: They saw a new creature. It must be said that it was not simply new, but new to them, because previously unseen by them; likewise, new in that place, namely in the desert; and new in so great a multitude, which birds are not accustomed to approach, but rather to flee from. When led away, that is, led far from God, by concupiscence: James 1: "Each one is tempted by his own concupiscence, drawn away and enticed." Concerning the concupiscence of these people it is said in the Psalm: "They desired a concupiscence in the desert"; whence "that place was called the burial-place of concupiscence," Numbers 11. They demanded, namely from Moses, foods of feasting, that is, delicate and superfluous foods, not of necessity or sustenance.

WIS 19:12 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 12.). For in the speaking of desires, that is, in consolation and mitigation, there came up for them, namely the Hebrews, from the sea. Or thus: For in the speaking of desire, or of desires, while on account of their desire for meat they were speaking, namely words of murmuring: there came up for them from the sea, he does not say this because they drew their origin from the sea, but because they were brought from beyond the sea or from some island of the sea, according to that passage in Numbers 11: "A wind going forth from the Lord carried quails snatched from across the sea and dropped them into the camp," or released them, the ortygometra, that is, the quail. Now it is called ortygometra from orthos, which means "straight," and gogos, which means "leading," and metros, which means "measure," as if food rightly brought to them in measure; or, as was said above in chapter sixteen, ortygometra is named from the island of Ortygia, on which such birds are thought to have first existed, according to Isidore. "It should be noted that, as the Gloss says, for the enemies of God the earth produces flies and the river frogs; but for the worshippers of God the earth gives fruit and the sea the nourishment of flesh."

WIS 19:13 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

And the vexations. Here is touched upon the thanksgiving for the vexation of the Egyptians, or their punishment; and first their punishment is touched upon; second, the justice of the punishment: For justly; third, the blindness of those punished: They were struck. The justice of the punishment is evident from this, that they behaved badly toward the strangers dwelling with them, or wishing to dwell with them, namely toward the children of Israel, and this either by in no way receiving them, or by reducing those received into servitude: But others etc.; or by receiving them unwillingly: And not only: or, those receiving them with joy, by grievously afflicting them: But those who etc. And vexations etc., as if to say: not only were the aforementioned good things done for the Hebrews, but also vexations, that is, afflictions of body and soul, came upon sinners etc., according to that verse of the Psalm: "Many are the scourges of the sinner." Upon sinners, I say, that is, the Egyptians, who are here called sinners by antonomasia, and this on account of the sin of idolatry, which flourished there more than elsewhere, so much so that Cicero said that Egypt was the temple of the entire world. They came upon them, I say, that is, they came in addition to those things which they had suffered in Egypt; whence it follows: Not without those things, indeed with those things and beyond them; which before had been done with proofs, that is, with signs manifesting the divine power and their hardness of heart, according to that passage in Ephesians 5: "All that is reproved is made manifest by the light." Which, I say, had been done, that is, in Egypt, by the force of rivers, namely when they were turned into blood, and when the frogs ascended from the river. Or thus: they came upon them, I say, by the force of rivers, that is, by the rush of the waters gathered in the Red Sea, returning upon them and drowning them: Exodus 15: "They sank like lead in the mighty waters." And deservedly: for they justly suffered this, namely because it was according to the merits of their sins; whence he adds: According to their wickedness, that is, the merits of their wickedness; Deuteronomy 25: "According to the measure of the sin shall be the manner of the stripes."

WIS 19:14 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 13.). For indeed, meaning because, a more detestable, namely than others, they established, that is, they maintained as though it were an established practice, inhospitality, against that passage in Hebrews 13: "Do not forget hospitality"; likewise 1 Peter 4: "Be hospitable to one another without murmuring." So hold Rabanus and Augustine. But some read indetestable or in more detestable, that is, exceedingly detestable, so that the prefix denotes augmentation or intensification: and he says: Inhospitality, either because they did not receive guests, or because they received them badly. Some indeed, namely among them, did not receive unknown strangers, against which Job acted, chapter 31: "The stranger did not remain outside." Similar to these were those of Gibeah of Benjamin, who refused to receive the Levite with his wife into their lodging, Judges 19. Others, however, having received good guests, reduced them to servitude, or received them, as they did the children of Israel, oppressing them with the servitude "of clay and brick," Exodus 1.

WIS 19:15 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 14.). And not only these things, supply: did they do, but there was also another regard of theirs, that is, their intention was perverse, since they received strangers unwillingly, although they ought to have been entreated, by the example of Abraham saying: "Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes, do not pass by your servant," Genesis eighteen. Nor only ought they to have been entreated, but even compelled, by the example of the two disciples, of whom Luke last chapter: "And they compelled him"; upon which Gregory says: "That strangers are not only to be invited to lodging, but even to be drawn in."

WIS 19:16 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 15.). But those who with gladness received those who had practiced the same customs, afflicted them with the most savage pains: the text is to be construed thus: I have said that some received strangers, but unwillingly: but, standing for "however": who had practiced the same customs, of detestable inhospitality, as also the preceding ones: afflicted them with the most savage pains, he says "most savage," because savage is the pain from evil inflicted upon an extrinsic possession; more savage in a connected person, namely in a wife; most savage in one's own person. They afflicted those whom they had received with gladness, namely guests, as the Sodomites themselves wished to afflict Lot, as is clear from Genesis nineteen, and the Benjaminites that old man, of whom Judges nineteen.

WIS 19:17 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 16.). But they were struck, namely the Egyptians, with blindness, namely corporeal, through the plague of darkness, of which Exodus ten; and spiritual, through the blinding of the mind, so that amid the scourges they became worse: Exodus seven: "The heart of Pharaoh was hardened," etc. As those, namely the unspeakable Sodomites, on account of their unspeakable sin, which they themselves committed: Romans one: "God delivered them over to shameful passions." At the doors of the just man, namely Lot, of whom Second Peter two: "In sight and hearing he was just." They, I say, when they were covered with sudden darkness, namely aorasia, or non-seeing, struck by the Angel, each one, namely of them, the passage of his door, namely Lot's, sought, and could not find it: whence Genesis nineteen: "Those who were outside they struck with blindness, from the least to the greatest, so that they could not find the door."

WIS 19:18 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

The obedience of creatures. For the elements in themselves. Here, after the punishment of the Egyptians and the consolation of the Hebrews and the giving of thanks for both, he shows the obedience of creatures in the aforementioned matters, and first he sets forth the commendation of this obedience; second, its manifestation through examples: As in an instrument; third, the exaltation of God's people through this: In all things. He sets forth examples first in the lower elements; second, in the higher element, namely in fire, there: Fire in water etc.; third, in composite bodies: Flames on the contrary. (Vers. 17.). For in themselves. Thus I have said that through the lower creatures the Egyptians were afflicted and the Hebrews consoled: while the elements are changed, that is, pass over, one into the force and power or office and mode of another, and this miraculously: the sound of quality, that is, the quality of sound, is altered, namely in act, that is, the natural consonance in its effects is changed for a time according to the will and command of God who moves. As in an organ, that is, as in any musical instrument, which is what is understood here by organ, the quality of sound is changed in act according to the will of the one moving it; sometimes, however, organ is taken for a specific instrument, as in the Psalm: "Praise Him with strings and organ." And all things, that is, the individual elements and things composed of elements, their own sound, that is, their natural harmony and order, preserve, in habit: similarly, the individual strings in an organ preserve their own sound, and yet the sound of the organ is changed according to the will of the one moving it: whence the Gloss: "Just as in an organ diverse sounds agree by tempering to the concord of melody, so the discordant elements, with the law of nature preserved, are bent to the will of the Creator. For He did not establish a creature contrary to Himself, but in all things consonant with His will." Whence that is, from which thing, it can be judged, that is, known, from the very certain sight, namely by beholding the metaphor of the organ and the truth of the thing done among the people of God,

WIS 19:19 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 18.). For land creatures, namely animals, were changed into aquatic ones, that is, into the mode of aquatic ones, namely when "men and beasts, as the Gloss says, crossed the depths of the Red Sea with dry footstep." And whatever things were swimming, such as frogs, passed over to land, namely by walking about on the land, Exodus 8: "The frogs came up," namely from the river, "and covered the land of Egypt."

WIS 19:20 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 19.). Fire prevailed in water, that is, it acted powerfully, beyond its own, namely natural, power, which is such that it is extinguished in water, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus 3: "Water extinguishes a burning fire." And water forgot its extinguishing nature, namely of extinguishing fire, because "hail and fire mingled together were carried along," as is found in Exodus 9; likewise above in chapter sixteen: "In water, which extinguishes all things, fire prevailed the more."

WIS 19:21 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 20.). The flames, namely those that were in the pillar of fire, on the contrary, supply: than their nature would require, did not torment the flesh, namely by burning: the flesh, I say, of corruptible living beings, namely of men and beasts, walking together with the flames themselves. He says this because when the pillar of fire accompanied the Hebrews by night, they were not afflicted nor burned, as is evident from Exodus thirteen. Nor did it dissolve, namely those flames, that good food, which was easily dissolved, namely by the heat of the sun: like ice, namely is dissolved by the heat of the sun, above in chapter sixteen: "For what could not be destroyed by fire" etc. Good food he calls manna, because it represented the goodness of any foods whatsoever: in the same place: "Serving the will of each one."

WIS 19:22 — Commentary on Wisdom, Chapter 19

(Vers. 21.). For in all things, namely the aforementioned miracles, you magnified your people, O Lord, namely the Israelite people, by casting down their adversaries. And you honored them, by exalting them with many benefits; John twelve: "If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him" etc.; likewise First Kings two: "If anyone honors me, I will honor him." And you did not despise them, namely by abandoning them in their tribulations: in the Psalm: "Many are the tribulations of the just, and the Lord delivered them from all of these"; Ecclesiasticus two: "Who called upon him, and he despised him?" as if to say: no one. At all times, namely of prosperity and adversity: Matthew last chapter: "Behold, I am with you all days"; and therefore at all times he is to be blessed, according to that word of the Psalm: "I will bless the Lord at all times"; and in every place, namely both safe and dangerous: standing by them, as though ready to help: Isaiah forty-three: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you." It should be noted, moreover, that the Lord magnifies his Saints in manifold ways: in the first way, by conferring his grace, according to that word of Romans eight: "Those whom he justified, he also magnified." Second, by making them illustrious through miracles, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus forty-eight: "Thus was Elijah magnified in his wonders"; likewise Exodus eleven: "Moses was a very great man in the land of Egypt before the servants of Pharaoh and all the people." Third, by elevating them to ecclesiastical dignities: whence the Church sings: "Behold, the great Priest"; Third Kings ten: "King Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom." Fourth, by leading them to the glory of the heavenly kingdom, according to what the Church sings: "He magnified him in the sight of kings," namely of the Angels, "and gave him a crown of glory"; in the Psalm: "Great is his glory in your salvation" etc. So great is the magnitude of this glory that the least of that kingdom is greater than the greatest of this world; whence Matthew eleven: "There has not risen among those born of women one greater than John the Baptist. Yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." May Jesus Christ our Lord lead us to this greatness, who is blessed forever and ever. Amen.

Zechariah 3:9 — Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

These are the "seven eyes" of the Lamb, and the "seven facets" of the stone mentioned by Zachary, and the seven days that followed upon the first light. These Centers are the "seven golden lamp-stands," and Christ "in the midst of the seven lamp-stands," which are the seven illuminations of wisdom, that is, the metaphysical, the natural, the mathematical, the logical, the ethical, the political, and the theological.

Zechariah 9:11 — Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7

Zechariah 13:5 — Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2

Again, in Zechariah thirteen it is said: I am a husbandman, for Adam has been my example from my youth; Gloss: "That I may eat my bread in the sweat of my face, while he showed himself born for this, that in the sweat of his face he might eat bread"; but this most befits one who needs bread and can bear labor and sweat; and such is the able-bodied poor person: therefore he is bound to labor bodily.