Honey And Salt

Nec quidquam fermenti aut mellis adolebitur in sacrificiis; sed in omni sacrificio offeres sal. Mel in sacrificio prohibetur offerri, quai nihil voluptuosum et suave hujus mundi apud Deum placet, nihil quo non habeat aliquid mordacis veritatis. Unde paschalis agnus cum lactucis agrestibus et amaris manducabatur. Sal vero in omni sacrifico offertur, quia sale rationis et discretionis omnia debent condiri. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber IV, Tit XVIII, Sal discretionis, non mel adulationis nec voluptatis, esse sacris adhibendum Source: Migne PL 177.708a

Neither leaven nor honey shall be burnt with the sacrifices, but with every sacrifice you shall offer salt. 1 Honey is forbidden to be offered in sacrifice, because nothing pleasurable and sweet of this world pleases God, nothing that does not have the bite of truth. Whence the Paschal lamb was eaten with wild and bitter herbs. 1 But salt is offered with every sacrifice, because everything should be established with the salt of reason and discretion. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 4, Chapter 18, On the salt of discretion, and that the honey of adulation and pleasure is not to be allowed in sacred things 1 Levit 2.11,13 2 Exod 12.8

Desires Of Earth And Heaven

Ὅπου γὰρ ὁ θυσαυρὸς ὑμῶν, ἐκεὶ καὶ ἡ καρδία ὑμῶν ἔσται... Φυσικῶς γὰρ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος περὶ ὃ σπουδάζει διάκειται, κἀκεῖ πάντα τὸν νοῦν ἔχει ἔνθα κεκτῆσθαι τὴν ὠφέλειαν νενόμικε· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸν λογισμὸν ἐπάγει τοῦ μὴ δεῖν ἐπὶ γῆς θησαυρίζειν. Εἰ μὲν γάρ τις, φησὶν, ἐν τῷ θνητῷ βίῳ τὰς κτήσεις καὶ πᾶσαν ὕπαρξιν συνείληχεν, ἀναρτήσας αὐτοῦ τὴν πᾶσαν ἐλπίδα ἐπὶ τὰ παρόντα τοῦ βίου πράγματα, ἐξ ἀνάγκης οἷα δὴ δεσμοῖς τοσούτοις πεπεδημένος, πάντα τὸν αὐτοῦ λογισμὸν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν διάνοιαν, ἣν δὴ καρδίαν ὠνόμασε, κάτω που πρὸς τῇ γῇ κέκτηται, κἀκεῖ φύρεται καὶ καλινδεῖται, ἔνθα κεκτῆσθαι τὸν αὐτοῦ θησαυρὸν νενόμικεν· εἰ δὲ τοῖς οὐρανίοις μαθήμασιν ἐντραφεὶς πάντα πράττοι, τὸν αὐτοῦ σκοπὸν ἄνω προσαναρτήσας, καὶ τὴν ἐλπίδα ῥίψας ἐπὶ τὰς οὐρανίους ἐπαγγελίας, τοῦ μὲν συνάγειν ἐπὶ γῆς οὐδεμίαν ποιούμενος φροντίδα, τὴν ἄκραν δὲ μετιὼν ἀκτημοσύνην, καὶ ὅλος γινόμενος πρὸς τοῖς κρείττοσιν, ἐν οὐρανῷ τε πάντα συνάγειν, κἀκεῖ τὸν αὐτοῦ πλοῦτον ταμιεύεσθαι, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ὕπαρξιν ἐκεῖ προπέμπειν σπουδάζων· εἰκότως ὁ τοιοῦτος ὄνοιτ' ἂν ἐντεῦθεν τῆς ἀγαθῆς ἐλπίδος, τῷ τὴν διάνοιαν καὶ τὸν λογισμὸν οἰκειοῦν ἑαυτοῦ τοῖς οὐρανίοις· ἔνθα γὰρ ἔχει τὸν θησαυρὸν, ἐκεῖ καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν ἕξει· ὡς δοκεῖν μὲν ἐπὶ γῆς παρεπιδημεῖν, καὶ τῷ σώματι μόνῳ συνεῖναι ἀνθρώποις, τῇ δὲ δυνάμει τὰς οὐρανίους ἤδη διατριβὰς μετιέναι· ὥστε ἄνω βλέπειν δεῖ, καὶ τὰς ἐλπίδας ἔχειν, ὅπου καὶ τὸν θησαυρὸν αὐτοῦ συναγήοχεν. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν Ἐπαγγελιον, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 24.559c-561a

For where is your treasure, there is your heart...1 Every man by nature is set on what he desires and there he has his mind fixed on that which he thinks will be of use to him. Because of this understanding He speaks, lest we should treasure something of the earth. For if, He says, someone should bind his whole existence to the things of this mortal life, and gather up all his hope in the affairs of this present life, it is necessary that he will be weighed down with heavy chains, even all his thoughts and mind, which He calls the heart, being driven down into the earth, and there he will be mixed and wallow, where he thinks to lay hold of his treasure. But he who is greatly nourished on the heavenly teachings, and so lifts up his desire and places his hope in heavenly things, he also sets aside any care for heaps of things on the earth and seeks the height of poverty, and with all his heart he turns himself to better things, desiring all his possessions to be in heaven, and there he establishes all his good fortune, and rightly this one has a wondrous hope by which he is profited, for his mind and thought is attached to heavenly things. For where he has his treasure, there his mind is set, so that even when he seems to turn to worldly things with men, yet he is intently occupied with the things of heaven. Therefore it is necessary that every man should look up, and there have his hope, where he has heaped up his treasure. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary On the Gospel of Saint Luke, Fragment 1 Lk 14.16 2 Mt 22.2-14

The Poor In Spirit

Nescio, fratres, si plane intelligitis quid sit pauperem esse spiritu. Apud multos hoc verbum quandoque scrupulum dubitionis induxit. Quidam abundant et in sensu et in spiritu, sicut filii hujus saeculi qui prudentiores sunt filiis lucis in generatione sua. Istos siquidem nec pauperes, nec divites spiritu censere praesumo. Quis ergo erit pauper spiritu? Nunquid ille qui turbatur et concutitur a pusillanimitate spiritus et tempestate? Certe nec istum pauperem spiritu dignum est profiteri. Curramus ad Apostolum. Vir enim circumspectus et multorum expertus est. Non accepimus, dicit Apostolus, spiritum hujus mundi, sed spiritum qui ex Deo est. Est autem spiritus hujus mundi, spiritus qui inflat, spiritus superbiae, de quo idem Apostolus dicit: Ambulastis, inquit, secundum principem potestatis aeris hujus, spiritum qui nunc operatur in filiis diffidentiae. Credo si quis deficeret ab hoc spiritu, pauper esset spiritu. Sed non sufficeret hoc, nisi Spiritus Dei redderet testimonium spiritui ejus. Procedamus ergo ulterius si forte possimus intelligere quid sit esse pauperem spiritu. Credo quia pauper spiritu est, qui deficiens a se ipso, et se totum pro Christo abnegns, nihil habet in cogitatione aut memoria, nihil in delectatione, aut desiderio nisi Christum. Iste potest dicere: Memore fui Dei et delectaus sum, et deficit spiritus meus. Hanc sui abdicationem, hanc paupertatem, et hunc defectum spiritus videbatur habere qui dicebat: Velociter exaudi me, Domine, quia defecit spiritus meus. Et illud: In deficiendo ex me spiritum meum, et tu cognovisti semitas meas. Qui ergo mundo renuntians et se ipsum abdicans sub potenti manu Dei, et sub observantia ordinis se humiliat: hic est pauper et humilis spiritu. De talibus dictum est: Juxta est Dominus his qui tribulato sunt corde, et humiles spiritu salvabit. Isti Spiritu Dei aguntur non alta sapientes, sed humilibus consentientes. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XLII, In Festo Omnium Sanctorum Source: Migne PL 207.690a-c

I do not know, brothers, if you fully understand what it means to be poor in spirit. 1 Among many this phrase has introduced a scruple of doubt. But indeed they abound in sense and spirit, as 'the sons of this age are more prudent than the sons of light in their generation.' 2 I do not presume to reckon the former poor, nor rich in spirit. Who, then, shall be the one who is poor in spirit? It is the one who is troubled and shaken by a weakness of spirit in the storm? Certainly it does not befit that this one is worthy of being poor of spirit. Let us hurry to the Apostle, for he is a wise man and experienced in many things. 'We have not received,' the Apostle says, 'the spirit of this world, but the spirit which is from God.' 3 There is indeed a spirit of the world, a spirit which puffs up, a spirit of pride, concerning which the same Apostle says, 'You have walked according to the the prince of power of this air, a spirit which now works in the sons of rebellion.' 4 I think that if someone is lacking in this spirit that he is poor in spirit. But this will not be enough unless the Spirit of God produces evidence of its own spirit. Let us go further, then, if perhaps it is possible that we might understand what it is to be poor in spirit. I think that the one who is poor in spirit is he who is lacking in himself, and denies himself utterly for Christ, having nothing in his thoughts or memory, nothing in pleasure or desire, but Christ. He can say: 'I was mindful of God and I delighted, and my spirit failed.' 5 This is one who seems to have renounced himself, and been poor, and to lack in spirit, he who said, 'Be swift to hear me, O Lord, because my spirit goes from me.' 6 And again: 'In the going forth of my spirit from me, and you knew my ways.' 7 He, then, who renounces the world and himself under the powerful hand of God, and beneath the observance of His commandments humbles himself, this is the one who is poor and humble in spirit. Concerning such things it is said, 'The Lord is beside those who are troubled in heart, and He saves the humble of spirit.' 8 They who live with the spirit of God do not think of high things, but give their minds to humble things. 9 Peter of Blois, from Sermon 42, On The Feast of All Saints 1 Mt 5.8 2 Lk 16.8 3 1 Cor 2.12 4 Ephes 2.2 5 Ps 76.4 6 Ps 142.7 7 Ps 141.4 8 Ps 33.9 9 Rom 12.16

Foundations

Qui fodit in altum et posuit fundamenta super petram... Fundamenta quando pluraliter in Ecclesiae mysterio ponuntur, doctores significant, de quibus dicitur: Fundamenta ejus in montibus sanctis. Quando vero singulariter fundamentum, ipse doctorum doctor et fundamentum fundamentorum exprimitur Christus: De quo dicitur: Fundamentum enim aliud nemo potest ponere, praeter id quod positum est, quod est Jesus Christus. Haec ergo fundamenta non supra terram, sed supra petram sapiens architectus locavit, quia mentes sublimium virorum, non in terrenis desideriis Christus, sed insuperabili sua fide, spe et charitate constituit. Petra autem erat Christus. Qui fodit in altum, quia praeceptis humiltatis terrena omnia fidelium de cordibus eruit, ne propter aliquid infimum vel commodum temporale Deo serviant. Moraliter autem fundamenta domus ipsae sunt intentiones bonae conversationis, quae perfectus verbi auditor, exhaustis humilitate Christiana supervacuarum fragiliumque cogitationum ruderibus, in adimplendis Christi mandatis firmiter inserit, hoc, videlicet, in seipso Christo cooperante specilaiter agens, quod in universali Ecclesia Christus generaliter agit. Gaudensque cum Psalmista: Quia eduxit me de lacu miseriae, et de luto faecis, et stauit supra petram pedes meos, etc. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber II, Caput VI Source: Migne PL 92.412d-413a

He who dug deep and set the foundations on a rock... 1 In the mystery of the Church foundations in the plural signifies teachers, concerning which it is said: 'His foundations in the holy mountains.' 2 But when foundation is in the singular, it speaks about that teacher of teachers and foundation of foundations who is Christ, concerning whom it is said: 'No one is able to lay down another foundation, but the one which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.' 3  These foundations, then, the wise builder did not set on earth but on stone, because Christ does not establish the minds of upright men in worldly desires, but in unbreakable faith and hope and charity. 'For the rock was Christ.' 4 He digs deep because in the commands of humility he digs out all the earth from the heart of the faithful, lest they serve God on account of some base and comforting temporal thing. Morally the foundations of this house are the exertions of the good life, which is a flawless listener to the Word, and with Christian humility it draws out the rubble of all vanity and weakness of thought in the firm implanting of the fulfilling of Christ's commandments, which certainly a man does in himself with the particular aid of Christ, and Christ does generally in the Church. And so he rejoices with the Psalmist: 'Because He led me from the pit of misery, and from the pit of filth, and set my feet on the rock...' 5 Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 2, Chapter 6 1 Lk 9.23 2 Ps 86.1 1 Cor 3.11 4 1 Cor 10.4 5 Ps 39.3

Nothing More

His amplius etc. Hic tertio reprimitur curiositas auditorum, quos alioquitur sub persona filii dicens: His amplius , fili mi, ne requiras, ut semper velis audire nova; sufficit enim scire necessaria; Ecclesiastici tertio: Quae praecepit tibi Deus, illa cogita semper, et in pluribus operibus eius ne fueris curiosus. Et redditur ratio duplex huius admonitionis, quia inquisitio huius curiositatis est interminata et laboriosa. Est interminata; ideo dicit: Faciendi plures libros nullus est finis; quia curiosi nunquam tot habent, quin velint audire plures, quia nunquam volunt audire vetera, sed semper nova; unde Actuum decimo septimo: Athenienses ad nihil aliud vacabant, nisi aut dicere, aut audire aliquid novi. Ideo dicitur Danielis duodecimo: Pertransibunt plurima tempora, et multiplex erit scientia, eo quod scientia semper quodam modo renovatur. Non tantum est interminata, sed etiam laboriosa curiosa inquisitio; ideo subdit: Frequensque meditatio carnis est afflictio; Ecclesiastici trigesimo primo: Vigilia honestatis tabefaciet carnem. Est, inquam, afllictio magna, et e contrario utilitas modica, secundum quod dictum est supra octavo: Est homo, qui diebus et noctibus non capit somnum oculus. Et intellexi, quod operum Dei nullam possit homo invenire rationem eorum quae fiunt sub sole. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Ecclesiasten, Cap XII Source: Here, p 98

Anything more than these... 1 Here he restrains the curiosity of those who hear, speaking to them under the person of a son, saying, 'Anything more than these things, O son, do not seek,' so that you are always wanting to hear something new, for it is enough to know what is needful. 2 In the third chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'What God has commanded you, think on these things always, and do not be curious about His many works.' 3 And there is a twofold reason for this admonition: because the pursuit of such curiosity is both endless and burdensome. That it is interminable, he then says here: 'Of making many books there is no end.' Because the curious shall never have everything, since they wish to hear more, because they will not listen to old things, but must always have new things, whence it is said in the seventeenth chapter of Acts: 'The men of Athens have leisure for nothing but to to say or hear something new.' 4 And it is said in the twelfth chapter of Daniel: 'Much time will pass and knowledge shall be multiplied,' 5 because knowledge is always being renewed in a certain way. Then that this inquisitive curiosity is not only interminable but burdensome, he adds: 'And frequent meditation is a weariness of the flesh.' In the thirty first chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'Watchfulness for wealth wearies the flesh.' 6 And it is a grave affliction, I say, but on the contrary it is moderation that is useful, according to which it was said previously in the eighth chapter: 'There is a man who for days and nights does not allow sleep to come to his eyes. And I understood that no man is able to find the reason for the works of God which are beneath the sun.' 7 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12 1 Eccles 12.12 2 Acts 17.21, Lk 10.42 3 Sirach 3.22 4 Acts 17.21 5 Dan 12.4 6 Sirach 31.1 7 Eccl 8.16-17

Parts Of Speech

Tria sunt in sermone Dei: elementa, exordia et completiones. in elementis expressio vocis sed intelligentia non est: in exordio sermonis intelligentia est, sed perfecta non est; in completione sermonis, perfecta intelligentia est. Figurae Veteris Testamenti elementa fuerunt sermonis Dei. Praecepta Decalogi exordium fuerunt sermonis Dei. Praecepta novi Testamenti completio sunt sermonis Dei. Prohbitio procinae carnis elementum fuit sermonis Dei. Prohibitio moechiae carnalis, exordium; prohibitio spiritulais moechiae, completio. In Veteri Testamento iterum quando dictum est: Carnem cum sanguine non comedetis, elementum fuit; quando dictum est: Non occides, exordium; quando dictum est: Si quis irascitur fratri suo sine causa, reus erit judicio, completio. In Veteri Testamento vox fuit, in Novo intellectus, in vita aeterna, res. In Veteri Testamento via fuit, in Novo veritas, in aeternitate, vita. Unde dicitur: Ego sum via, veritas et vita. Idem enim et ibi via fuit, et hic veritas est, et illic vita erit. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit CLX, De tribus quae sunt in sermone Dei Source: Migne PL 177.484a-c

There are three parts of the speech of God, elements, beginnings, perfections. In the elements is the expression of speech but there is no understanding. In the beginning is the understanding of speech but there is no perfection of it. In the completion of speech understanding is perfected. The figures of the Old Testament are the elements of the speech of God. The commandments of the Decalogue are the beginning of the speech of God. The teachings of the New Testament are the perfection of the word of God. The prohibition of pig flesh was the element of the word of God, the prohibition of carnal adultery the beginning, the prohibition of spiritual adultery the perfection. Again in the Old Testament when it was said 'You shall not eat flesh with blood,' 1 this was the element, when it was said: 'You shall not kill' 2 this was the beginning, when it was said, 'If someone is angry with a brother without reason, he shall be guilty of judgement,' 3 this is the perfection. In the Old Testament was the voice, in the New Testament is the understanding, in eternal life shall be the thing itself. In the Old Testament was the way, in the New the truth, in eternity, the life. Whence it is said: 'I am the way and the truth and the life.' 4 For there He was the way and here He is the truth and there He shall be the life. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chapter 160, One the three parts of the speech of God 1 Genes 9.4 2 Exod 20.13 3 Mt 5.22 4 Jn 14.6

Difficulties Of Understanding

Arduum enim et difficillimum homini est, per se ipsum vel per saeculi doctores rationem praeceptorum coelestium consequi: nec naturae nostrae recipit infirmitas, divinis institutis, nisi per ejus gratiam qui haec ipsa dederit, erudiri. Namque qui simpliciter ea quae inter manus sibi inciderint legunt, existimant nihil differentiae in verbis, nihil in nominibus, nihil in rebus existere. Sed si istud communis colloquii sermo non patitur, ut sub diversis rerum nuncupationibus non diversa significata esse intelligantur; numquid Dei eloquia tam imperita, tam confusa esse credimus, ut? aut inopia verborum quibus uterentur laboraverint, aut distinctionum genera nescierint? Plures enim cum audient legem, justificationem, praecepta, testimonia, judicia, quae omnia Moyses sub diversa uniuscujusque generis virtute disposuit, unum atque isdem esse existimant: ignorantes aliud legem, aliud justificationem, aliud praeceptum, aliud testimonium, aliud esse judicium: quae multum a se differre et discrepare, testis nobis octavus decimus psalmus, quo continetur proprietas uniuscujusque et nuncupationis et generis. Lex, enim, Domini immaculata, convertens animas. Testimonium Domini fidele, erudiens parvulos. Justitiae Domini rectae, laetificatnes corda. Praeceptum Domini lucidum, illuminans oculos. Timor Domini sanctus, permanens in saeculum saeculi. Judicia Domini vera, justificata in ipsum. Sunt ergo distantiae in singulis quibusque rebus: et prudentis atque intelligentis viri est, in his quae scripta sunt discernere, ubi lex, ubi praeceptum, ubi testimonium, ubi justificationes, ubi judicia constituta sint: ne illa quae sermo propheticus mirabili uniuscujusque rei proprietate distinxit, ea ignorantiae nostrae infirmitas indocata imperitiae opinione confundat. Itaque per litteras singulas haec omnia maximus et ultra caerteros copiosissimus psalmus iste discrevit: ut per haec verborum elementa, credenti et vivendi et erudiendi in Dominum doctrinae ratio et distinctio doceretur Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum XVIII Source: Migne PL 9.501c-502b

It is arduous and most difficult for a man to grasp the understanding of the heavenly commandments by himself or by the use of secular teachers, for the weakness of our nature is not receptive to the Divine institutes, unless through the grace of Him who gave them to be learnt. For they who simply read these things which fall into their hands, they judge there to be no difference in words, nothing in names, nothing in things. But if common speech allows that in different ways of speaking different meanings can be understood, shall we think that the words of God are so very inept and confused, that either they were labouring in the employment of a poverty of words, or they did not know types of distinction? But many when they hear a law, a justification, a precept, a testimony, a judgement, all which Moses arranged skillfully under different and specific classes, they judge them to be one and the same, ignorant that a law is one thing, a justification another, a precept another, a testimony another, and a judgement another. Which great difference and separation the eighteenth Psalm gives witness to, in which is contained each one's special character, pronouncement and class. It says: 'The Law of the Lord is flawless, converting souls. The testimony of the Lord is faithful educating little ones. The justifications of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The teaching of the Lord enlightens, illuminating the eye. The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring forever. The judgements of the Lord are true, justified in Him. ' 1 Therefore each one differs in its function, and it is for the prudent and sensible man to discern in what is written what is set down as a law, a precept, a testimony, a justification, a judgement, lest the wondrous prophetic word which has distinguished each one with its own special character is confounded by the weakness of our ignorance in the uneducated opinion of inexperience. Thus with each letter, this Psalm most rich even beyond the others, has distinguished all of these, and through the elements of the words, the reason and distinction of the teaching of the Lord is was taught for believing and living and learning. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 18 1 Ps 18.8-10

Wisdom Without Number

Καὶ τῆς συνέσεως αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός... Μὴ ζήτει τοίνυν πῶς καὶ τίνι τρόπῳ· καὶ γὰρ ἡ μεγαλωσύνη αὐτοῦ ἄπειρος. Διὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγε. Τῆς μεγαλωσύνης αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστι πέρας. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἡ μεγαλωσύνη ἄπειρος, οὕτω καὶ ἡ σύνεσις. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ εἰπὼν, Μέγας ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν, ἐπήγαγε· Καὶ τῆς συνέσεως αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός. Καὶ ἡ γνῶσις δὲ αὐτοῦ θαυμαστή· διὸ καὶ ἔλεγεν· Ἐθαυμαστώθη ἡ γνῶσίς σου ἐξ ἐμοῦ· ἐκραταιώθη, οὐ μὴ δύνωμαι πρὸς αὐτήν. Καὶ τὰ κρίματα δὲ αὐτοῦ πάλιν ἁνεξερεύνητα· διὸ καὶ ἔλεγε· Τὰ κρίματά σου ἄβυσσος πολλὴ. Ὅταν τοίνυν καὶ μέγας καὶ δυνατὸς ᾗ καὶ συνετὸς, μὴ περιεργάζου, πῶς ταῦτα ἔσται. Ἀμαλαμβάνων πραεῖς ὁ Κύριος, ταπεινῶν δὲ ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἕως γῆς. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ λέγωσί τινες τῶν ἀνοήτων. Τί πρὸς ἡμᾶς, ὅτι τὰ ἄστα οἴδε μετὰ ἀκριβείας; λέγει καὶ τὴν ἐπ' ἀνθρώπων κηδεμονίαν οὕτω γενομένην· καὶ οὐκ εἶπε, βοηθῶν πραέσιν ὁ Κύριος, ἀλλ' ὅ πολλῷ μεῖζων, Ἀναλαμβάνων· ὠς περὶ πατρὸς φιλοστόρψου διαλεγόμενος. Τί δέ ἐστιν, Ἀναλαμβάνων; Ἀνακτώμενος, φέρων, διαβαστάζων. Εἶδες πάλιν ἐφ' ἐκάτερα τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ ἀπηρτισμένην, ἐπὶ τε τὸ αἵρειν τοὺς ταπεινοὺς, καὶ ταπεινοῦν τοὺς ἀπονενοημένους; Οὐχ ἀπλῶς δὲ ταπεινοῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ὑπερβολῆς· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ, Ἕως γῆς. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος Εἰς Τον ΡΜϚ´ Ψαλμον Source: Migne PG 55.476-477

And His wisdom is without number.... 1 Do not seek then how and in what way, for His greatness is without end. So it is said, 'His greatness has no end' 2 And as His greatness is without end, so even His wisdom, and therefore when he says, 'Great is our Lord,' he adds, 'and His wisdom is without number.' And His knowledge is indeed wonderous, therefore he said: 'Your knowledge is too wonderful for me, I am overcome, I cannot grasp it.' 3 And again His judgements are inscrutable, and therefore he has said: 'Your judgments are a great abyss.' 4 When, then, He is great and powerful and wise, do not meddle with how it could be. 'The Lord lifts up the meek, and He crushes down sinners into the earth.' 5 And this lest some say, 'What is it to us that he has flawless knowledge of all the stars?' 6 For he says that He has care for men. And he does not say 'The Lord brings aid to the meek,' but what is much greater,' He lifts them up,' as if he were speaking of a loving father. What is it 'To lift up?' To restore, to bear, to carry. You see again how His power is perfect in both ways? Certainly He lifts up the humble, but He also crushes down those who are mindless. Not only does He crush them down, but he does so utterly, which is expressed by: 'Into the earth.' Saint John Chrysostom, On The Psalms, from Psalm 146 1 Ps 146.5 2 Ps 144.3 3 Ps 138.6 4 Ps 35.7 5 Ps 146.6 6 Ps 146.4

Understanding And Teaching

Quid est quod ait: Appone cor ad doctrinam meam.? Et paulo post subjungit: Ecce descripsi eam tripliciter, in cogitationibus et scientia ut ostenderem tibi firmitatem et eloquia veritatis? Quomodo descripsit tripliciter doctrinam et scientiam? Aut quid est cor apponere ad doctrinam? Cor apponere est intelligere doctrinam sanctam et justam. Tripliciter vero descripsit suam doctrinam, quia unicuique praecepit ut eam studeat implere cogitatione, locutione, et opere. De quibus terminis dicit: Ne transgrediaris terminos antiquos, quos posuerunt patres tui? Terminos antiquos dicit terminos veritatis et fidei, quos habuerunt ab initio catholici doctores. Hoc ergo praecipit, ut sacrae fidei veritatem et evangelicae doctinae nemo aliter suscipiat, quam a sanctis Patribus est tradita, sive hoc praecipit, ut eloquia sacrarum Scipturarum nemo aliter interpretetur, nisi juxta uniuscujusque scribentis vel docentis sancti Spiritus veritatem et intentionem. Honorius Augustodunensis, Quaestiones Et Ad Easdem Responsiones In Duos Salomonis Libros, In Proverbia, Caput XXII Source: Migne PL 172.324a-b

Why does he say. 'Apply your heart to my teaching.' ? And a little after, 'Behold, I have described it in three ways, in thought and in knowledge, that I might show to you the firmness and elegance of truth.' ? 1 How has he described teaching and knowledge in three ways? Or what is it to apply the heart to teaching? To apply the heart is to understand holy and righteous teaching. But he describes his teaching in three ways, because he commands each one of us to strive to fulfill it in thought and speech and deed. Of what boundaries does he speak of with: 'Do not pass beyond the ancient boundaries that your fathers have established.' 2 He calls the ancient boundaries the boundaries of truth and faith that the catholic teachers had from the beginning. This, therefore, he commands, that no one should take up the truth of the holy faith and the teaching of the Gospel in any other way than according to the tradition of the Holy Fathers, or that no one should interpret the words of Holy Scripture in any other way but writing and teaching according to the truth and intention of the Holy Spirit. Honorius of Autun, Questions and Answers on Two Books of Solomon, On Proverbs, Chapter 22 1 Prov 22.17, 20-21 2 Prov 22.28

Knowing The Way

Notam fac mihi viam in qua ambulem, quia ad te, Domine, levavi animam meam. Cum a Deo petit notam sibi fieri vitae viam, ostendit quoniam haec via hominibus habetur incognita. Illius enim lucerna hoc iter ostendit, illius lumen semitas istas aperit qui illuminat ominum hominem venientem in hunc mundum; sicut in trigesimo primo psalmo jam dictum est poenitenti: Intellectum tibi dabo, et instruam te in via hac qua gradieris. Quapropter merito rogat propheta ut ei Dominus viam salutis ostendat, et sic semper notam habeat, ne de eius corde aliquando discedat. Subiungitur quoque solemnis illa confessio: quoniam illud nos postulata mereri facit, si animam nostram non carnali gravamine inclinemus ad mundum, sed spirituali iuvamine levemus semper ad Dominum. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CXLII Source: Migne PL 70.1012d-1013a

Make known to me the way in which I shall walk, because to you, Lord, I lift up my soul... 1 When he seeks from God the knowledge of the way of life for himself, he shows that this way is unknown to men. For His lamp reveals the way, His light opens the way, 'He who enlightens all men coming into the world.' 2  So it has already been said to the penitent man in the thirty first Psalm: 'I shall give you understanding and I shall instruct you on this way which you are to walk.' 3 Whence with merit the prophet asks that the Lord show him the way of salvation, that he might always have knowledge of it, lest at some time his heart fall away. Then a solemn confession is added, because what has been asked makes us worthy of it, that we not incline our soul to the world with carnal weight, but with spiritual lightness always be raised up to the Lord. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 142 1 Ps 142.9 2 Jn 1.9 3 Ps 31.8

Seeking And Finding

Quidam Christum quaesierunt , et non invenerunt. Quidam quaesierunt, et invenerunt, sed non retinuerunt, quia non quaesiverunt ut haberent, sed ut venderent. Quidam Christum quaesiverunt et invenerunt, et retinuerunt, quia non quaesiverunt ut venderent, sed ut possiderent. Primis dixit: Quo ego vado vos non potestis venire. Quaeretis me, et non invenietis, sed in peccatis vestris moriemini. Secundis dixit: Ego sum, si me quaeritis, sinite eos abire. Et injecerunt manus et tenuerunt eum. Tertiis dixite: Avete. Et accesserunt et tenuerunt pedes ejus. Primi quaesiverunt, et non invenerunt. Secundi vivum invenerunt, et inventum occiderunt. Tertii mortuum quaesiverunt, et vivum invenerunt. Sic multi sapientiam quaerunt, et non inveniunt, quia inutiles judicantur et abjiciuuntur. Alii sapientiam quaerunt et inveniunt, sed non diligunt, quia ad lucrum et laudem humanam adipiscendam eam exponunt, et prostituunt. Isti Christum vivum inveniunt, sed occidunt, quia ex hoc in eis sapientia moritur quod ejus dulcedine nullo amoris sensu perfruuntur. Alii mortuam quaerunt, et vivam inveniunt, quia dum eam ad hujus vitae usum non appetunt, verius intus ad illius dulcedinem et suavitatem pertingunt. Hi assumuntur ut eleventur et glorificentur Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit XII Quod Christus et sapientia a diversis variis quaeruntur modis Source: Migne PL 177.484a-c

Some have sought Christ and not found Him. Some have sought and found but they did not retain because they did not seek that they might have but that they might sell. Some have sought Christ and found and retained, and that because they did not seek so that they might sell but that they might possess.To the first sort He says: 'Where I am going you are not able to come. You will seek me and not find me, but you will die in your sin.' 1 To the second He says 'I am. If you seek me, let them go. And they put their hands on Him and seized Him.' 2 To the third sort He says: 'Hail. And they approached and held His feet.' 3 The first have sought and have not found. The second have sought the living one and finding Him they slew Him. The third sought the dead one and found the living one. So it is that many seek wisdom and they do not find, because they are judged unworthy and cast off. Others seek wisdom and find it but they do not love it, because they use it only for material gain and human praise, and so they prostitute it. These sort find the living Christ and slay Him, because wisdom dies in them when with no sweetness of love they enjoy it in the mind. These shall be summoned to a heavy judgement and cast down. The others seek what is dead and find that which is living, because while they did not desire to put it to use for this life, then indeed within they touch on its sweetness and joyfulness. These are taken up, so that they might be lifted up and glorified. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chapter 12, That Christ and wisdom are sought in different ways 1 Jn 7.33-34, 8.21 2 Jn 18.8 3 Mt 28.9

Jars And Water And Wine

Et die tertio nuptiae factae sunt in Cana Galilaeae... Moraliter Nuptiae istae sunt Dei et Animae ipsa reconciliatone animae ad Deum. Oseae secundo: Sponsabo te mihi in fide, et scies, quia ego Dominus. Ad has nuptias faciendas venit Dominus Jesus, sed invitatus. Apocal tertio: Ecce ego sto ad ostium, et pulso, si quis audierit vocem meam, et aperuerit mihi januam, introibo ad illum, et coenabo cum illo. Vinum in his nuptiis defecit. Hoc vinum est interna devotio, de quo in Psal Vinum laetificat cor hominis. Et Matth nono: Nemo mittit vinum novum in utres veteres. Istud vinum deficit, cum homo efficitur aridus et indevotus, sicut dicit anima sancta in Psal Anima mea, sicut terra sine aqua, tibi. Sed ad preces Virginis, quae compatitur miseris, Dominus implet hydrias aqua compunctionis, quae convertitur in dulcedinem devotionis. Unde Exodo quinto decimo dicitur, quod aquae Marath in dulcedinem conversae sunt. Nota igitur, quod hyrdria, in qua hauritur aqua, est consideratio. Hydria vacua est consideratio defectus, et vacuitatis, quam incurrit homo per peccatum. Ista hydria impletur aqua, cum homo ex consideratione tali lacrymis perfunditur. Est igitur hydria prima consideratio defectus cognitionis; Tob quinto: Quale gaudium mihi erit, qui in tenebris sedeo, etc Secunda hydria consideratio defectus circumspectus circa hostem, secundae ad Cor. undecimo: Timeo autem, ne sicut serpens seduxit Hevam asturia sua, ita corrumpantur sensus vestri, et excidant a simplicitate, quae est in Christo. Tertia est consideratio defectus internae consolationis. Jer secundo: Vide quia malum, et amarum est, te reliquisse Dominum Deum tuum. Quarta est consideratio defectus virtutis ad resistendum; Psal Dereliquit me virtus mea, et lumen oculorum, et ipsum non est mecum. Quinta est consideratio defectus stabilitatis; Gen octavo: Sensus et cogitatio humani cordis in malum prona sunt ab adolescentia sua. Sexta est consideratio defectus securitatis ad proemium expectandum; Ecclesiastici nono: Nescit homo, utrum amore, an odio dignus fit. Tunc implentur istae hydriae aqua usque ad summum, quando anima poenitens lavat per singulas noctes ex his considerationibus, lectum suum. Et ex aqua vinum fit optimum devotionis, de quo Zach nono: Quid bonum ejus, et quid pulchrum ejus, nisi frumentum electorum, et vinum germinans virgines? In hoc converitur aqua compunctionis, unde sancta anima in Psal Convertisti planctum meum in gaudium mihi. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput II Source: Here, p507

On the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee... 1 Morally these nuptials are of God and the soul, in the reconciliation of the soul to God. In the second chapter of Hosea: 'I shall espouse you to me in faith, and you shall know I am the Lord.' 2 For the performance of these nuptials comes the Lord Jesus, even uninvited. In the third chapter of the Apocalypse: 'Behold I stand and the door and I knock, if someone hears my voice and opens the door to me, I shall enter and feast with him.' 3 The wine at the wedding ran out. This wine is internal devotion, concerning which in the Psalm: 'Wine which delights the heart of a man,' 4 and in the ninth chapter of Matthew: 'No one puts new wine in old wineskins.' 5 This wine runs out when a man is made arid and undevout, as the holy soul says in the Psalm, 'As a land without water to you,' 6 but to the prayers of the Virgin, who has compassion on your misery, the Lord fills the jars with the water of compunction, which are then turned into the sweetness of devotion. Whence in the fifteenth chapter of Exodus it is said that the waters of Mara turned sweet. 7 Therefore note that the jars from which the water is drawn is consideration. An empty jar is defective consideration and it holds nothing, and because of it a man hurries to sin. But this jar is filled with water when a man in such consideration is drenched with tears. Thus the first jar is consideration of defective knowledge. In the fifth chapter of Tobit, 'What joy shall there be for me who sit in darkness?' 8 The consideration of the second jar concerns the defect of wariness regarding the enemy. In the eleventh chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians: 'But I fear lest as the serpent seduced Eve with its cleverness, so your minds are corrupted and you are cut off from the simplicity which is in Christ.' 9 The third jar is the consideration of the defect of internal consolation. In the second chapter of Jeremiah: 'See that it is wicked and bitter that you have forsaken the Lord your God.' 10 The fourth consideration is the defect of virtue for resisting. In the Psalm: 'My virtue has gone from me, and the light of my eyes is not with me.' 11 The fifth consideration is of the defect of stability. In the eighth chapter of Genesis: 'The mind and thought of the human heart is inclined to wickedness from its youth.' 12 The sixth consideration is a defect in hope for the expected reward. In the ninth chapter of Ecclesiastes: 'A man does not know if he is worthy of love or hate.' 13 And then the jars are filled even to the brim when the penitent soul washes itself with these considerations each night on its own bed. And from this water is made the best wine of devotion, concerning which it is said in the ninth chapter of Zachariah: 'What is His good, and what is His beauty, unless the wheat of the elect and wine bringing forth virgins?' 14 One is changed into this by the water of compunction, whence the holy soul says in the Psalm: 'You turned my weeping into joy.' 5 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 2 1 Jn 2.1 2 Hosea 2.19 3 Apoc 3.10 4 Ps 103.15 5 Mt 9.17 6Ps 142.6 7 Exod 15.23 8 Tob 5.12 9 2 Cor 11.3 10 Jerem 2.19 11 Ps 37.11 12 Gen 8.21 13 Eccl 9.1 14 Zach 9.17 15 Ps 29.12

The Lost Sheep

Erravi sicut ovis quae periit; quaere servum tuum, Domine, quia mandata tua non sum oblitus. Una ovis, est congregatio sanctorum et fidelium; et unus est Pastor Dominus Christus eorum. Et respice quam infimae rei comparati sunt homnes, quando Christi gratiam deserunt: ovi videlicet erranti, quae pericula patitur luporum; et bene dictum est, quae perierat, ut cognosceres misericordia Domini fuisse repertam. Alcuinus, Expositio In Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 100.620a

I wandered like a sheep that was lost; seek your servant, O Lord, because I have not forgotten your commandments. 1 One is the sheep, and it is the congregation of the saints and the faithful, and one is the shepherd, Christ their Lord. And see how men are compared to such a lowly thing when they lack the grace of Christ, certainly a wandering sheep exposed to the peril of the wolves. And well it is said that he was lost, that you might know he was found by the mercy of the Lord. Alcuin of York, from the Commentary on Psalm 118 1. Ps 118.176

Turning And Turning

Καὶ σὺ, Κύριε, ἕως πότε; Ἐπίστρεψον, Κύριε, ῥῦσαι τὴν ψυχήν μου· σῶσον με ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἐλέους σου. Ὡς ἀποστραφέντος δὲ αὐτὸν ἐν οἷς ἡμάρτανε τοῦ Θεοῦ· διὸ πάντα τὰ κατ' οἶκον γέγονεν αὐτῷ δυσχερῆ, καὶ ἡ τοῦ παιδὸς ἐπανάστασις. Ἐπίστρεψον, φησὶ, Κύριε, γενόμενος λοιπὸν εὐμενὴς, καὶ τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάσωσον ἐκ τῆς ἀσθενείας ψυχὴν, διὰ τὴν σὴν μόνην φιλανθρωπὶαν. Τὸ ̓Επίστρεψον διττῶς νοεῖται. δηλοῦται γὰρ ὁτὲ μὲν νόησις τοιαύτη· ἐπεὶ ἀπέστρεψας τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἐπ' ἐμοῦ, διὰ τί μοι χρήσιμον παρακαλῶ, ὅπως ἐπιστρέψῃς καὶ ἐπιφάνῃς μοι αὐτό. ὁτὲ δὲ παρίσταται θεωρία τοιαύτη· ἐπεὶ ἡ ψυχή μου ἁμαρτάνουσα ἀπεστράφησεν ἐπὶ κακῷ τῷ ἑαυτῆς, ἐπιστρέψας αὐτὴν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἀνακαλούμενος κατὰ τὸ ̓Επιστράφητε, υἱοὶ ἀφεστηκότες, λυτρῶσαι αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τῶν μακρυνάντων ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ τῶν ἐνεργουσῶν αὐτὰ πονηρῶν δυνάμεων. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος Ϛ´ Source: Migne PG 39.1177a-b

And you, O Lord, how long? Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul, save me for your mercy's sake. 1 With the Lord turning away from him because of those things in which he sinned, so it was the cause of every domestic calamity to him, even to the rebellion of his son. Turn, he says, O Lord, and so after be benevolent, and guard my soul from weakness on account of your singular kindness. 'Turn' can be understood in two ways. Sometimes the meaning is: 'Since you have turned your face from me, therefore I plead for what is beneficial to me, even that your face shine upon me.' At other times the sense is: 'Since by sinning my soul has turned to my own evil, may it be that you turn it back and recall it to you.' According to which it is said: 'Turn, you sons, who have stood far off,' 2 which is the deliverance of the soul from its long course of sin and from the wicked causes of its works Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 6 1 Ps 6.4-5 2 Jerem 3.14,22

Plots And Aid

Ne tradas me, Domine a desiderio meo peccatori: cogitaverunt adversum me, ne derelinquas me, ne unquam exaltentur. A desiderio suo traditur peccatori, quisque per concupiscentias carnis diabolo relinquitur possidendus. De quibus dicit Apostolus: Propterea tradidit illos Deus in desideria cordis eorum, in immunditiam. Sed ne hoc fiat, sequitur res omnino probabilis, ut sicut inimici consilium faciunt in malum, ita virtus divina praestare dignetur auxilium. Ad postremum dicitur causa justissima, ne revera exaltentur perditione justorum, qui de fidelis populi subversione gloriantur. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CXXXIX Source: Migne PL 70.997a-b

O Lord, do not hand me over from my desire to the sinner. They have plotted against me, do not abandon me, lest at any time they be exalted. 1 From his desire he is handed over to the sinner, who through the desire of the flesh is forsaken to become a possession of the devil. Concerning which the Apostle says: 'On account of which God gave them over to the desires of their hearts, to uncleanliness.' 2 But that this not be, what is certainly possible follows, that as the enemy plots his evils, so Divine virtue may condescend to offer help. Finally a most righteous reason is declared, that they may not be exalted in the ruin of the righteous who glory in the fall of faithful people. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 139 1 Ps 139.9 2 Rom 1.24

Conquering The World

Confidite, quia ego vici mundum Nota, quod Dominus dicit, se fecisse tria in mundo, scilicet reliquisse mundum, loannis decimo sexto: Relinquo mundum et vado ad Patrem; vicisse mundum; unde hic Ioannis decimo sexto: Confidite, quia vici mundum; reprehendisse mundum; loannis septimo: Me odit mundus, quia testimonium perhibeo de eo, quia opera eius mala sunt; per hoc ostendens fidelibus suis, quod relinquendae sunt mundanae prosperitates , sustinendae sive superandae mundanae adversitales , arguendae perversitates mundanae. Sic mundum conversatione reliquit, passione superavit, praedicatione reprehendit. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XVII, Collatio LXI Source: Here, p610

Be confident, because I have conquered the world. 1 Note that the Lord says He has done three things in the world, that is, He has left it, in the sixteenth chapter of John, 'I leave the world and go to the Father,' 2 He has conquered it, whence it says here, 'Be confident, because I have conquered the world.' And He has reproved it in the seventh chapter of John, 'The world hates me because I give testimony of it, that its works are wicked.' 3 By this He shows His faithful ones that one must leave worldly riches, and endure, and overcome worldly adversities. So He left the world's way of living, and He overcame in suffering, and He reproved the world in preaching. Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 17 1 Jn 16.33 2 Jn 16.28 3 Jn 7.7

The Cherubim And The Blade

Et collacavit ante paradisum voluptatis cherubim, et flammeum gladium, atque versatilem, ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae Cherubim namque plenitudo scientiae interpretatur. Framea vero versailis, posita ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae, temporales poenae intelliguntur. Nemo enim potest pervenire ad arborem vitae, nisi per has duas res, tolerantiam scilicet molestiarum et scientie plenitudinem, id est, per charitatem Dei et proximi. Plenitudo enim legis charitas est. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput III Source: Migne PL 83.222c-223a

And He set the Cherubim before the garden of delight, with a sword of fire, that turned this way and that for the guarding of the way to the tree of life. 1 The name of Cherubim is interpreted as 'fullness of knowledge.' But the turning blade that is placed for the guarding of the way to the tree of life is understood to be temporal suffering. For no one is able to come to the tree of life, unless through these two things, obviously endurance of troubles and the fullness of knowledge, that is, through the love of God and neighbour, for the fullness of the Law is love. 2 Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chapter 3 1 Gen 3.24 2 Rom 13.10