Gaining Security

Intra, inquit, tu et omnis domus tua in arcam; quia te vidi justum coram me in generatione ista. Manifeste fides propheticae sententiae etiam hoc astruitur loco, quia stultus sibi soli stultus est, sapiens autem sibi et plurimis sapit. Itaque Noe justi merito etiam domus ejus in diluvio servatur. Sic in mari navigantes, et in bello exercitus, si illis non desit gubernatoris peritia, istis imperatoris prudentia, a periculo tuti sunt aliena ope. Sed quia boni imperatoris bonus exercitus est; ideo etiam in eo laudem justi intelligimus non praeteriri, qui talem instituit domum suam, ut virtutis fulgeret consortio; meritoque invenit salutem cognatio. Nec repugnat, quia postea aut filius, aut uxor offendit. Dormiebat justus, cum erraret filius. Femina quoque utpote sexus fragilioris mole periculi turbata, quae totum orbem divino incendio perire crederet, quid miraris si virum non potuit sequi, cum ipse justus ab angelis monitus vix evaserit? Quid autem mirum si homini obrepit error, aut se relaxat intentio? Argue ergo quia et justus inebriatus est. Sed haec loco suo reservanda arbitror.Nunc quod superest consideremus. Pulchre enim dixit: Quia vidi te justum coram me in generatione ista. Multi hominibus justi videntur, pauci Deo: aliter hominibus, aliter Deo. Hominibus secundum vitae speciem; Deo secundum puritatem animi, virtutis veritatem; homines quae foris sunt probant: Deus quae intus examinat. Perpense autem addidit: In generatione ista; ut neque superiores condemnaret, neque posteriores excluderet, recteque diluvium factum astrueret interitu generationis ejus quae non haberet consortium aequitatis. Haec secundum litteram. Altior autem sensus provocat nos, ut hoc putemus vigorem mentis in anima esse, et animam in corpore, quod est paterfamilias in domo sua. Quod enim in anima mens, hoc anima in corpore. Si mens tuta est, tuta est domus, tuta anima: si anima incolumis, incolumis caro. Mens enim sobria passiones omnes cohibet, sensus gubernat, sermonem regit. Ideoque bene dicit Dominus justo, intra tu, hoc est, in teipsum intra, in tuam mentem, in tuae animae principale; ibi salus est, ibi gubernaculum; foris diluvium, foris periculum. Si autem intus fueris, et foris tutus es; quia ubi mens sui arbitra est, bonae sunt cogitationes, bonae sunt exsecutiones. Si enim nihil vitii mentem obumbret, sincerae cogitationes sunt. Si studio sit castitas, cordi sit temperantia, nulla inardescit flamma libidinis, nulla ulcera proserpunt aegritudinis. Sobrietas enim mentis, medicina est corporis. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Noe et Arca, Caput XI Source: Migne PL 14.376d-d

'Go within', He says, 'you and all your house into the ark, for I have found you a righteous man before me in this generation.'1 Manifestly the worthiness of this prophetic statement here is increased, because the fool is a fool to himself, but the wise man is wise for himself and many others. 2 Therefore Noah by being righteous protects his house from the flood. As on the sea sailing, so as an army at battle, if the ability of the one who directs is not lacking, they are protected from exterior danger. And because the army of a good general is good, therefore we understand that praise for this for the righteous man is not to be omitted, he who stands so in his own house so that his virtue shines on his family, and with merit they also find salvation. Nor does it trouble that afterward a son or a wife gave offence. The righteous man was sleeping when his son erred. 3 Also a woman as the weaker sex by grave peril is overthrown. Why wonder that she who thought the whole world has perished in Divine fire was not able to follow her man, when that righteous one who was warned by angels scarcely escaped? Is it so astonishing that error creeps up on a man, or that his resolves slips? Accuse, then, because the righteous fellow was drunk. But I think I should reserve this for its proper place. Now let us consider what remains. Well it is said: 'For I have found you righteous before me in this generation.' 1 Many seem just to men, few to God. As it is with men, it is otherwise with God. Men judge according to the appearances of life, God according to the purity of soul, according to the truth of virtue. Men take note of things which are exterior, God what is within. Consider how it is added: 'In this generation,' that He neither condemns those who come before, nor does He exclude those who will came after, and rightly he imposed the flood to ruin on his generation which had no association with fairness. So it is according to the letter. But a higher meaning calls to us, that we consider the strength of the mind is in the soul, and the soul in the body, as a father of a family in his own house. And as the mind in the soul, so the soul in the body. If the mind is guarded, so is the house, and so is the soul. If the soul is secure, so is the flesh. The mind curbs all the passions to sobriety, guides the senses, rules speech. And therefore well does the Lord say to the righteous man, 'Go within you', that is, within yourself, in your mind, in the ruling part of your soul, for there is salvation, there the guide. For outside is the flood, outside is danger. If you were within, you would be protected from that which is without, because where the mind is its own master, there are good thoughts and from them good deeds follow. For if no vice benights the mind, thoughts are upright. If there is zeal for chastity, if the heart is temperate, no flame of lust burns, no sores of sickess creep in. The sober mind is the medicine of the body. Saint Ambrose, Noah and the Ark, Chapter 11 1 Gen 7.1 2 cf Prov 9.12 3 Gen 9.22