Harmful Beauty

Quaeris quis ille tam noxius, tamque perniciosus decor? Tuus. Adhuc forte sine intellectu es? Planius audi. Privatus, proprius. Non culpamus donum, sed usum. Denique si advertisti, non in decore, sed in suo decore dictus est ille perdidisse sapientiam. Et, in fallor, unus angeli animaeque decor ipsa est. Quid enim vel haec vel ille absque sapientia, nisi rudis deformisque materia est? Ea ergo ille non modo formatus, sed et formosus fuit. Sed perdidit eam, cum fecit suam: ut non sit aliud in decore suo quam in sua sapientia perdidisse sapientiam. Proprietas in causa est. Quod sibi sapiens fuit, quod non dedit gloriam Deo, quod non retulit gratiam pro gratia, quod non secundum veritatem ambulavit in ea, sed ad suam eam retorsit voluntatem: istud est cur eam perdidit; imo istud est quod eam perdidit. Etenim sic habere, perdere est. Et si Abraham, inquit, ex operibus iustificatus est, habet gloriam, sed non apud Deum. Et ego: non ego in tuto, inquam. Perdidi quidquid habeo non apud Deum. Nam quid tam perditum, quam quod extra Deum exsulat? Quid mors, nisi privatio vitae? Ita nihil perditio, nisi alienatio a Deo est. Vae qui sapientes estis in oculis vestris, et eoram vobismetipsis prudentes! de vobis dicitur: Perdam sapientiam sapientium, et prudentiam prudentium reprobabo. Perdiderunt sapientiam, quia sua sapientia perdidit eos. Quid non perdiderunt, qui et ipsi perditi sunt? An vero non perditi, quos nescit Deus? Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, In Cantica Canticorum, Sermo LXXIV Source: Migne PL 183.1143b-d

Do you wonder what beauty can be harmful and ruinous? Yours. Perhaps you do not understand yet. Let it be made more clear. It is your own. We do not blame the gift, but the use of it. If you consider it, it was by his own beauty that Lucifer ruined his wisdom. Unless I err, the beauty of an angel and of the soul is one, and it is wisdom. For what is anything without wisdom but raw and disordered matter? Therefore Lucifer was not only ordered but beautiful because of it, but he ruined it when he used it. There is not anything else to be found in his beauty but that with his own wisdom he destroyed wisdom. Possession is the cause. Because he was wise in his own eyes, because he did not give glory to God, because he did not return grace for grace, because he did not walk in the truth but he turned to his own will, that is how he ruined it, that is how he destroyed it, such was his way of destroying it. And if Abraham, it says, had been justified by works, he would have had glory, but not before God. 1 And I am not safe. I have destroyed whatever I have that is not in God. What is so ruined as that which exults to be separated from God? What is death but the loss of life? Therefore there is no ruin but separation from God. 'Alas, you who are wise in your own eyes, and prudent for yourselves,' of whom it is said, 'I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise and the prudence of the prudent I shall reprove.' 2 They will destroy wisdom because their own wisdom has destroyed them. What do that not destroy who have destroyed themselves? Are they not utterly destroyed whom God disregards? Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Commentary On The Song of Songs, from Sermon 74 1 Rom 4.2 2 Isaiah 5.21, 1 Cor 1.19

Darkness And Fairness

Nigra sum, sed formosa, filiae Jerusalem, sicut tabernacula Cedar, sicut pelles Salomonis. Merito nigredinem non contemnit in pellibus, decorem qui sub pellibus est advertens. Et ideo quidam illam contempserunt, quia hunc minime cognoverunt: si enim cognovissent, nunquam Dominum gloriae crucifixissent. Non cognovit Herodes, et idcirco despexit; non cognovit Synagoga, quae nigredinem illi passionis et infirmitatis improperans, Alios, ait, salvos fecit, seipsum non potest salvum facere. Christus rex Israel descendat nunc de cruce, et credimus ei. Sed cognovit latro de cruce, licet in cruce, qui et innocentiae puritatem confessus est. Hic autem, inquiens, quid mali fecit? et gloriam regiae maiestatis simul est protestatus: Memento mei, dicens, dum veneris in regnum tuum. Cognovit centurio, qui Filium Dei clamat; cognoscit Ecclesia, quae et aemulatur nigredinem, ut decorem participet. Non confunditur nigra videri, nigra dici, ut dilecto dicat: Opprobria exprobrantium tibi ceciderunt super me. At sane nigra instar pellium Salomonis, foris scilicet, et non intus: neque enim intus nigredinem meus Salomon habet. Denique non ait: Nigra sum sicut Salomon; sed, sicut pelles Salomonis: quod in superficie tantum sit veri nigredo pacifici. Peccati nigredo intus est; et prius interiora culpa commaculat, quam ad oculos prodeat. Denique de corde exeunt cogitationes malae, furta, homicidia, adulteria, blasphemiae: et haec sunt quae coinquinant hominem; sed absit ut Salomonem! Minime prorsus apud verum pacificum istiusmodi inquinamenta reperies. Oportet namque esse sine peccato eum qui tollit peccata mundi, quo ad reconciliandos peccatores inventus idoneus, iure sibi nomen vindicet Salomonis. Sed est nigredo affligentis poenitentiae, cum assumitur lamentatio pro delictis. Hanc fortassis non abhorreat in me Salomon, si sponte tamen induam mihi pro peccatis meis; quia cor contritum et humiliatum Deus non despiciet. Est et afficientis compassionis, si afflicto condoleas; et fraternum te decoloret incommodum. Nec hanc profecto reiiciendam putat noster pacificus, quippe quam et sibi ipse pro nobis dignanter induit, qui peccata nostra tulit in corpore suo super lignum. Est et persecutionis: quae etiam pro summo ornamento habetur, si quidem suscipiatur pro iustitia et veritate. Unde est illud: Ibant gaudentes discipuli a conspectu concilii, quoniam digni habiti sunt pro nomine Iesu contumeliam pati; denique: Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter iustitiam. Hac potissimum gloriari Ecclesiam arbitror, hanc libentius imitari de pellibus sponsi. Denique et habet in promissione: Si me persecuti sunt, et vos persequentur. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, In Cantica Canticorum, Sermo XXIX, De Nigredine et Formositute Sponsi Source: Migne PL 183.926d-927d

I am dark, but fair, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. 1 Rightly she did not scorn the darkness of the curtains, looking to the beauty beneath them. And therefore some were scornful because they did not know the beauty at all. 'For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.' 2 Herod did not know and therefore he despised Him. The Synagogue did not know, which mocked the darkness of the Passion and weakness, saying, 'He saved others, He cannot save himself. Let Christ the king of Israel come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him.' But the thief on the cross knew Him and on the cross he proclaimed the spotlessness of His innocence, saying 'What evil has this man done?' And at the same time he bore witness to His kingly majesty, saying 'Remember me when you come into your kingdom.' The centurion knew Him, calling Him the Son of God. 3 The Church knows Him and strives to imitate His darkness that she may participate in His beauty. She is not ashamed to appear dark, to be called dark, for she can then say to her beloved, 'The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.' 4 But let the darkness be as Solomon's curtains, that is, on the outside and not within, for my Solomon has no darkness within. Here she does not say, 'I am dark like Solomon,' but 'like the curtains of Solomon,' for the darkness of the true Peaceful One is only on the outside. The darkness of sin is within. Sin stains the interior rather than showing itself to the eyes. 'Out of the heart come evil thoughts, theft, murder, adultery, fornication, blasphemy, and these are what defile a man.' 5 But far be it from Solomon! You will not find these sorts of defilements in the true Peaceful One. For He must be without sin who takes away the sins of the world. 6 So that he is found fit to reconcile sinners he must duly vindicate for himself the name of Solomon. But there is a darkness of the endurance of penance, when sorrow is taken up for sins. Solomon will not be repulsed if I willingly adopt it because of my sins, since 'God will not scorn a contrite and humble heart.' 7 And there is a darkness of compassion, when you comfort a brother in his affliction and his trouble makes you gloomy. Nor does our Peaceful One think of rejecting this, since He Himself graciously underwent it for us, 'He who bore our sins in his body on the tree.' 8 And there is a darkness of persecution, which is a the greatest adornment when endured for righteousness and truth. Thus it is said, 'The Apostles went out from the council rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer abuse for the name of Jesus.' And 'Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness.' 9 I think that the Church glories especially in freely imitating this darkness of the curtains of her Bridegroom. She has the promise, 'If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.' 10 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Commentary On The Song of Songs, from Sermon 29, On The Darkness And Fairness of the Bridegroom 1 Song 1.5 2 1 Cor. 2.8 3 Mt 27.42, Lk 23.41-42, Mt 27.54 4 Ps 68.10 5 Mt 15.19-20 6 Jn 1.29 7 Ps 50.19 8 1 Pet 2.24 9 Acts 5.41, Mt 5.10 10 Jn 15.20

Beauty And Proximity

Rursus sponsi ad eam sermo dirigitur, et dicit: Ecce speciosa proxima mea, ecce speciosa... Illa sic dicit ad sponsum: Ecce speciosus fratuelis meus; non adjungit, et proximus meus. Hic autem quando loquitur ad eam: Ecce speciosa, adjungit et, proxima mea. Quare autem illa non dicit: Ecce speciosus proximus meus mihi, sed tantum, ecce speciosus? Quare ille non solum, speciosa es, dicit, sed, speciosa es proxima mea? Sponsa si longe fuerit a sponso, non est speciosa; tunc pulchra fit, quando Dei verbo conjungitur. Et merito nunc docetur a sponso, ut proxima sit, et a suo latere non recedat. Ecce speciosa proxima mea, ecce speciosa. Incipis quidem esse speciosa ex eo quod proxima mihi es: postquam autem coeperi esse speciosa, etiam sin additamento proximae, absolute es speciosa. Ecce speciosa proxima mea, ecce speciosa.  Origenes, In Canticum Canticorum Homilia II, Interprete Divo Hieronymo Source: Migne PG 13.50b-c

Again the speech of the bridegroom is directed to her, 'Behold my beautiful one, my near one, behold my beautiful one...' 1 Then she says to the bridegroom, 'Behold my fair brother,' but she does not add, 'my near one.' But when he says to her, 'Behold my beautiful one,' he does add, 'my near one.' Why does she not say 'Behold my beautiful one, my near one,' but only, 'Behold my beautiful one?' Why does he not say just say 'My beautiful one,' but also, 'my near one?' If the bride is far from the bridegroom, she is not beautiful. She becomes beautiful when she is joined to the Word of God. And rightly it is now taught by the bridegroom, so that she might be near and not withdraw from his side. 'Behold my beautiful one, my near one, my beautiful one.' You begin to be beautiful because you are near me, and after you have begun to be beautiful, your nearness increases it to a flawless beauty. 'Behold my beautiful one, my near one, behold my beautiful one.' Origen, Commentary On The Song of Songs, from Homily 2, translated by Saint Jerome 1 Song 1.14

Restoring Beauty

Ἰδοὺ εἶ καλή, ἡ πλησίον μου, ἰδοὺ εἶ καλή· ὀφθαλμοί σου περιστεραί. Παιδεύει δὲ διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων ὁ λόγος ταύτην εἶναι τοῦ κάλλους τὴν ἐπανάληψιν τῷ προσεγγίσαι πάλιν τῷ ἀληθινῷ κάλλει, οὗ ἀπεφοίτησε· φησὶ γὰρ Ἰδοὺ εἶ καλή, ἡ πλησίον μου· ὅπερ ἐστὶν ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο πρότερον οὐκ ἦσθα καλή, διότι τοῦ ἀρχετύπου κάλλους ἀποξενωθεῖσα τῇ πονηρᾷ γειτνιάσει τῆς κακίας πρὸς τὸ εἰδεχθὲς ἠλλοιώθης. Tὸ δὲ λεγόμενον τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· δεκτικὴ τῶν κατὰ γνώμην ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη γέγονε φύσις καὶ πρὸς ὅπερ ἂν ἡ ῥοπὴ τῆς προαιρέσεως αὐτὴν ἄγῃ, κατ’ ἐκεῖνο καὶ ἀλλοιοῦται· τοῦ τε γὰρ θυμοῦ παραδεξαμένη τὸ πάθος θυμώδης γίνεται καὶ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἐπικρατησάσης εἰς ἡδονὴν διαλύεται, πρὸς δειλίαν τε καὶ φόβον καὶ τὰ καθ’ ἕκαστον πάθη τῆς ῥοπῆς γενομένης τὰς ἑκάστου τῶν παθῶν μορφὰς ὑποδύεται, ὥσπερ δὴ καὶ ἐκ | τοῦ ἐναντίου τὸ μακρόθυμον, τὸ καθαρόν, τὸ εἰρηνικόν, τὸ ἀόργητον, τὸ ἄλυπον, τὸ εὐθαρσές, τὸ ἀπτόητον, πάντα ταῦτα ἐν ἑαυτῇ δεξαμένη ἑκάστου τούτων ἐπισημαίνει τὸν χαρακτῆρα τῇ καταστάσει τῆς ψυχῆς ἐν ἀταραξίᾳ γαληνιάζουσα. Συμβαίνει τοίνυν ἀμέσως πρὸς τὴν κακίαν τῆς ἀρετῆς διεστώσης μὴ δύνασθαι κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἀμφότερα τῷ ἑνὶ παραγίνεσθαι· ὁ γὰρ τοῦ σωφρονεῖν ἀποστὰς ἐν τῷ ἀκολάστῳ πάντως γίνεται βίῳ καὶ ὁ τὸν ἀκάθαρτον βδελυξάμενος βίον κατώρθωσεν ἐν τῇ ἀποστροφῇ τοῦ κακοῦ τὸ ἀμόλυντον. Oὕτω καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα· ὁ ταπεινοφρονῶν τῆς ὑπερηφανίας κεχώρισται καὶ ὁ διὰ τοῦ τύφου ἑαυτὸν ἐξογκώσας τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην ἀπώσατο. Kαὶ τί χρὴ τὰ καθ’ ἕκαστον λέγοντα διατρίβειν, πῶς ἐπὶ τῶν ἀντικειμένων τῇ φύσει ἡ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀπουσία θέσις καὶ ὕπαρξις τοῦ ἑτέρου γίνεται; οὕτω τοίνυν ἐχούσης ἡμῶν τῆς προαιρέσεως, ὡς κατ’ ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν ὅπερ ἂν ἐθέλῃ τούτῳ συσχηματίζεσθαι, καλῶς φησι πρὸς τὴν ὡραϊσθεῖσαν ὁ λόγος, ὅτι ἀποστᾶσα μὲν τῆς τοῦ κακοῦ κοινωνίας ἐμοὶ προσήγγισας, πλησιάσασα δὲ τῷ ἀρχετύπῳ κάλλει καὶ αὐτὴ καλὴ γέγονας οἷόν τι κάτοπτρον τῷ ἐμῷ χαρακτῆρι ἐμμορφωθεῖσα· κατόπτρῳ γὰρ ἔοικεν ὡς ἀληθῶς τὸ ἀνθρώπινον κατὰ τὰς τῶν προαιρέσεων ἐμφάσεις μεταμορφούμενον· εἴ τε γὰρ πρὸς χρυσὸν ἴδοι, χρυσὸς φαίνεται καὶ τὰς ταύτης αὐγὰς τῆς ὕλης διὰ τῆς ἐμφάσεως δείκνυσιν, εἴ τέ τι τῶν εἰδεχθῶν ἐμφανείη, καὶ τούτου τὸ αἶσχος δι’ ὁμοιώσεως ἀπομάσσεται βάτραχόν τινα ἢ φρῦνον ἢ σκολόπενδραν ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἀηδῶν θεαμάτων τῷ οἰκείῳ εἴδει ὑποκρινόμενον, ᾧπερ ἂν τούτων εὑρεθῇ ἀντιπρόσωπον. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν κατὰ νώτου τὴν κακίαν ποιησαμένη ἡ κεκαθαρμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου ψυχὴ τὸν ἡλιακὸν ἐν ἑαυτῇ κύκλον ἐδέξατο καὶ τῷ ὀφθέντι ἐν αὐτῇ φωτὶ συνεξέλαμψε, διὰ τοῦτό φησι πρὸς αὐτὴν ὁ λόγος, ὅτι γέγονας ἤδη καλὴ πλησιάσασα τῷ ἐμῷ φωτὶ διὰ τοῦ προσεγγισμοῦ τὴν κοινωνίαν ἐφελκυσαμένη τοῦ κάλλους. Ἰδοὺ εἶ καλή, φησίν, ἡ πλησίον μου. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων,  Ὁμιλία Δ’ Source: Migne PG 44.835c-d

Behold, you are beautiful, my close one, behold, you are beautiful: your eyes are doves. 1 By these expressions the Word teaches that the restoration of the soul's beauty consists in it once again drawing near to the true Beauty from which it departed. For he says, 'Behold, you are beautiful, my close one,' as if to declare, 'The reason why you were not beautiful before is that you had been estranged from the archetypal Beauty and had become ugly because of wrongful association with evil,' meaning that human nature which comes into being as something capable of becoming whatever it determines upon, and to what ever goal the drive of its choice leads it, undergoes alteration in accord with what it seeks. When it takes into itself the passion of anger, it becomes angry. When desire reigns, it is dissolved into pleasure. When impulse runs in the direction of cowardice and fear, it assumes the shape of the passions proper to each of these, just as, on the contrary, when it receives into itself greatness of spirit, purity, peacefulness, calmness of temper, harmlessness, courage, high-spiritedness, all of these, it shows the mark of each of them with the soul being established in peace and inner tranquility. Since virtue, then, is different from vice and there is no mean between them, virtue and vice cannot characterize one subject in the same respect at the same time. One who departs from temperance comes to live a thoroughly unbridled life, while one who abominates the impure life, in turning from evil, achieves a life that is undefiled. And so it is in all the other cases. He who possesses a humble mind is separated from arrogance, and he who is puffed up with affectation has driven out humility. And why should we waste time by mentioning each individual case, how, where naturally contrary qualities are concerned, the absence of the one must mean the establishment and presence of the other? Since, then, our choice is so constituted that we are disposed to take on the shape of whatever we want, the Word rightly says to the Bride in her new glory, 'You have drawn near to me since you have rejected the fellowship of evil, and in drawing near to the archetypal Beauty you too have become beautiful, informed like a mirror by my appearance.' For in that it is transformed in accordance with the reflections of its choices, the human person is rightly likened to a mirror. If it looks upon gold, it appears gold, and by way of reflection it gives off the beams of that substance; and if it has the look of some unseemly thing, it is imitating that ugliness with a likeness, playing, in its own appearance, the part of a frog or a toad or a millipede or some other unpleasant sight, whichever of them it reflects. Having, then, put evil behind it, the soul purified by the Word has taken the sun’s orb within itself and has been shining with the light that appears within it, because of which the Word says to her: 'You have already become beautiful by coming close to my light, since by your own drawing near you make yourself participate in the beautiful.' 'Behold,' he says, 'you are beautiful, my close one.' Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 4 1 Song 1.14

Error And Recovery

Κάλλιστον μὲν τὸ μὴ ἁμαρτεῖν, καὶ πρὸς Θεὸν ἔχον ἐγγύτητα· καλὸν δὲ καὶ τὸν ἁμαρτόντα γνωσιμαχῆσαι, καὶ ταχέως ἐξαναστῆναι τοῦ πτώματος. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τοῦ προτέρου, ὡς ἀδυνάτου πάντως διήμαρτες, τοῦ δευτέρου, ὡς δυνατοῦ καὶ ῥᾳδίου ἐπιμελήθητι, μήποτέ σε ἡ τύραννος αἰχμαλωτεύσῃ ἀπόγνωσις. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΤΠΑ’ Μαρτινιανῳ Source: Migne PG 78.397b

Most beautiful it is not to sin and to cleave closely to God, and it is also beautiful to recognise that one has sinned and quickly rise up from one's fall. Since, then, you formerly went far beyond your strength, now have care for what your strength may actually accomplish, and never despair in the tyrant's captivity. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 381, to Martinianus

The Golden Ring

Quomodo intelligendum est quod ait Circulus aureus in naribus suis, mulier pulchra et fatua? Hoc est, si circulum aureum in naribus porci infixeris, ille dum pergit terram vertere ac fodere naso, immergit circulum aureum in volutabrum luti, et tunc perdit circulis aureus decorem quem habuit. Similiter ergo mulier fatua, si habet pulchritudinem vultus, vel si accipiat ornamenta inaurium, monilium simul et vestimentorim, sordidat pulchritudinem vultus, et amittit decorem, si se coeno libidinis coinquinare diligit, et adulteriis corrumpit. Spiritualiter autem quomodo intelligenda est haec sententia? Quicunque sacras Scripturas intente meditatur, et jugiter perscrutatur divina eloquia, accipit ornamentum scientiae; quod si male vivendo corrumpit, et destruit quod intelligit, circumulum aureum habet in naribus, sed more suis terram fodiendo coinquinat et luto immergit, quia ornatum per quem notitiam Scripturarum accepit, immunda actione sordidavit. Talis anima, pulchra mulier et fatua est; pulchra quidem per scientiam; sed dedita carnalibus delectationibus, fatua est per actionem. Honorius Augustodunensis, Quaestiones Et Ad Easdem Responsiones In Duos Salomonis Libros, In Proverbia, Caput XI Source: Migne PL 172.318a-b

How should it be understood when it is said, 'A golden ring in the nose is a woman who is beautiful and foolish.' 1 That is, if you attach a golden ring to the snout of a pig, when he goes off to turn up the earth and dig in it with his snout, he covers the golden ring with the filth of the mud, and so he ruins the beauty of the golden ring which he has. Similar, therefore, is a foolish woman, if she has a beautiful appearance, or if she receives gilded ornaments, and likewise necklaces and clothes, and she defiles the beauty of her appearance and casts down the charm of them, delighting to foul herself in feasts of lust and to corrupt it with adulteries. But spiritually how should this be understood? Whoever meditates intently on the Scriptures and with it studies the divine words, he receives the ornament of knowledge, which if he corrupts with bad living, so he ruins what he understands. He has the golden ring in the nose, but his conduct befouls it with his digging in the earth and covering it in mud, whence the ornament which he received by his knowledge of the Scriptures is spoiled by unclean action. Such a soul is a beautiful and foolish woman, certainly beautiful by knowledge, but given over to carnal delights it is made foolish by action. Honorius of Autun, Questions and Answers on Two Books of Solomon, On Proverbs, Chapter 11 1 Prov 11.22

Rising Up

Ἀποκρίνεται ὁ ἀδελφιδοῦς μου, καὶ λέγει μοι· Ἀνάστα, ἐλθέ ἡ πλησίον μου καλή μου περιστερά μου. Μαρτυρεῖ τῷ κάλλει τῆς νύμφης ὁ νυμφίος· καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς αὐτὴν καλὴν, ἀλλὰ καλήν μου, καλεῖ διδάσκων ὅτι λίαν αὐτῷ τὸ κάλλος αὐτῆς ἀρέσκει. Προσαγορεύει δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ περιστερὰν, τὴν πνευματικὴν χάριν διὰ τούτου τοῦ ὀνόματος αἰνιττόμενος· ἐν εἴδει γὰρ περιστερᾶς ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἐφοίτησε τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. Τοὺς δὲ τελείους πνευματικοὺς οἶδεν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος καλεῖν. ∆ιὸ τοῖς ἀτελέσιν ἔτι γράφων φησίν· Κἀγὼ, ἀδελφοὶ, οὐκ ἠδυνήθην ὑμῖν λαλῆσαι ὡς πνευματικοῖς, ἀλλ' ὡς σαρκικοῖς, ὡς νηπίοις ἐν Χριστῷ. Τοῖς δὲ τελείοις γράφει· Ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐν σαρκὶ οὐκ ἐστὲ, ἀλλ' ἐν πνεύματι, εἴπερ Πνεῦμα Θεοῦ οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν. Εἰκότως τοίνυν τὴν ἐν ἀρετῇ τετελειωμένην ψυχὴν ὁ νυμφίος περιστερὰν ὀνομάζει· τουτέστι πνευματικὴν, καὶ Πνεύματος ἁγίου πεπληρωμένην. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ προφήτης Ἡσαΐας πόῤῥωθεν ταῦτα προορῶν, καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους ἀποστόλους οἷόν τινας ὑποπτέρους πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην περιϊπταμένους θεώμενος, καὶ τοὺς ἐκείνων φοιτητὰς καὶ ἀκροατὰς, ὥσπερ τινὰς νεοττοὺς, ἑπομένους αὐτοῖς, βοᾷ καὶ λέγει· Τίνες οἵδε ὡσεὶ νεφέλαι πέτανται, καὶ ὡσεὶ περιστεραὶ σὺν νεοσσοῖς αὐτῶν; Οὕτω καὶ ὁ νυμφίος ἐνταῦθα τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν αὐτοῦ κάμνουσαν ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς ψυχαγωγῶν καὶ παραμυθούμενος, καὶ ἐκ τῶν θυρίδων παρακύπτων, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δικτύων ἐκκύπτων, παρακαλεῖ αὐτὴν ἀναστῆναι, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀναπτῆ ναι. Ἔδωκε γὰρ αὐτῇ τῆς περιστερᾶς ἐκείνης τὰ πτερὰ, περὶ ἧς ὁ μακάριος ∆αβὶδ λέγει· Ἐὰν κοιμηθῆτε ἀναμέσον τῶν κλήρων, ἐκεῖ πτέρυγες περιστερᾶς περιηργυρωμέναι, καὶ τὰ μετάφρενα αὐτῆς ἐν χλωρότητι χρυσίου· κλήρους τὰς δύο ∆ιαθήκας ὀνομάζων, περιστερὰν δὲ τὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριν, πτερὰ ἔχουσαν περιηργυρωμένα, τὴν τοῦ λόγου λαμπρότητα· μετάφρενα δὲ ἐν χλωρότητι χρυσίου, τῶν κεκρυμμένων μυστηρίων τὸ περίβλεπτον· Ἐὰν γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐν μέσῳ τῶν δύο ∆ιαθηκῶν διαναπαύσησθε, καὶ ἑκατέρωθεν τὴν ὠφέλειαν ἑλκύσητε, εὑρήσετε ἐκεῖ τὰ ποικίλα τοῦ Πνεύματος δῶρα. Ἡ νύμφη τοιγαροῦν τὴν πνευματικὴν δεξαμένη παραίνεσιν, καὶ κοιμηθεῖσα ἀναμέσον τῶν κλήρων, εὗρε τὰς περιηργυρωμένας πτέρυγας, δι' ὧν πρὸς τὸν νυμ φίον ἀναπτῆναι παρακελεύεται. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Το Ἀσμα Των Ασμάτων, Λόγος Δεύτερος Source: Migne PG 81.101d-104c

And my bridegroom answers and says to me: 'Rise up, come, my dear, my beauty, my dove... 1 The groom bears witness to the beauty of the bride, and he does not say 'beauty' only, but 'my beauty' teaching how greatly this beauty of hers pleases. And then he addresses her as dove, intimating by this name spiritual grace, for with the image of a dove the Holy Spirit came down upon Him. And the blessed Paul knew what it was to call the spiritual perfect, for certainly to the yet imperfect he writes, 'And I, brothers, am not able to speak to you as spiritual creatures, but as carnal ones, as infants in Christ,' but to the perfect he writes, 'You are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the spirit of God dwells in you.' 2 It seems, then, that for the perfection of the soul the groom used the name 'dove', that is, spiritual and full of the Holy Spirit. For the Prophet Isaiah, seeing these things long before, contemplated the holy Apostles as being winged and flying through the whole orb of the earth, and their disciples and hearers were as fledglings following them, and with great voice he cried out, 'Who are these who fly like the clouds and like doves with their young ones?' 3 In the same manner the groom refreshes and consoles His Church while it labours in trials, and, looking in at the windows, and looking through the lattice, 4 he exhorts her to rise and fly. For he gives to her the wings of the dove, concerning which the blessed David says: 'If you sleep in the midst of lots, you shall be covered with silver like the wings of the dove, and like the hind parts of its back with a pallor of gold.' 5 The lots are the two Testaments, the dove is the grace of the Holy Spirit, the wing covered with silver is the splendour of the word. But by the hind parts of the back with their pallor of gold he speaks of the enlightenment of hidden mysteries. As if he said, 'If in the midst of the two Testaments you repose, and from both you grasp some usefulness, you shall find there various gifts of the Holy Spirit.' Thus the bride, receiving a spiritual exhortation while she rests in the midst of the lots, finds wings covered with silver, by which she is exhorted to fly to the groom. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Song of Songs, Book 2 1 Song 2.10 2 Rom 8.9 3 Isaiah 60.8 4 Song 2.9 5 Ps 67.14

The Beauty Within

Μέλαινά εἰμι καὶ καλή, θυγατέρες Ἰερουσαλήμ... Τῆς ἱερᾶς τοῦ μαρτυρίου σκηνῆς οὐχ ὁμότιμον ἦν τῷ ἔνδοθεν κεκρυμμένῳ κάλλει τὸ ἐκτὸς προφαινόμενον· αὐλαῖαι μὲν γὰρ ἐκ λινῶν ὑφασμάτων καὶ αἱ διὰ τῶν τριχῶν τῶν αἰγῶν δέρρεις καὶ αἱ τῶν ἐρυθρῶν δερμάτων περιβολαὶ τὸν ἔξωθεν τῆς σκηνῆς κόσμον ἐπλήρουν καὶ οὐδὲν ἦν μέγα καὶ τίμιον τοῖς τὰ ἐκτὸς ὁρῶσι παρὰ ταῦτα φαινόμενον, ἔσωθεν δὲ χρυσῷ καὶ ἀργύρῳ καὶ τοῖς τιμίοις τῶν λίθων πᾶσα ἡ τοῦ μαρτυρίου σκηνὴ κατελάμπετο· οἱ στῦλοι, αἱ βάσεις, αἱ κεφαλίδες, τὸ θυμιατήριον, τὸ θυσιαστήριον, ἡ κιβωτός, ἡ λυχνία, τὸ ἱλαστήριον, οἱ λουτῆρες, τὰ τῶν εἰσόδων καταπετάσματα, οἷς τὸ κάλλος ἐκ παντὸς εἴδους τῆς εὐχροούσης βαφῆς συνεκίρνατο, νῆμα χρύσεον ὑακίνθῳ καὶ πορφύρᾳ καὶ βύσσῳ καὶ κόκκῳ διά τινος τεχνικῆς λεπτουργίας εὐκόσμως συνυφαινόμενον, σύγκρατον ἐκ πάντων, καθάπερ ἐν ἴριδος αὐγαῖς ἀποστίλβειν ἐποίει τὴν αὐγὴν τοῦ ὑφάσματος. Πρὸς ὅ τι δὲ βλέπων ἐντεῦθεν προοιμιάζομαι, πρόδηλον ὑμῖν πάντως ἐκ τῶν ῥηθησομένων γενήσεται. Πάλιν πρόκειται ἡμῖν τὸ Ἆισμα τῶν Ἀισμάτων εἰς πᾶσαν φιλοσοφίας τε καὶ θεογνωσίας ὑφήγησιν. Aὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀληθινὴ τοῦ μαρτυρίου σκηνή, ἧς προκαλύμματα μὲν καὶ δέρρεις καὶ ἡ τῆς αὐλαίας περιβολὴ ἐρωτικοί τινες γίνονται λόγοι καὶ ῥήματα τὴν πρὸς τὸ ποθούμενον σχέσιν ἐμφαίνοντα καὶ κάλλους ὑπογραφὴ καὶ μνήμη σωματικῶν μελῶν, τῶν τε προφαινομένων ἐν τῷ προσώπῳ καὶ τῶν ὑποκεκρυμμένων τῇ τῆς ἐσθῆτος περιβολῇ. Tὰ δὲ ἐντὸς πολύφωτός τίς ἐστιν ὡς ἀληθῶς λυχνία καὶ κιβωτὸς μυστηρίων πλήρης. Kαὶ τὸ τῆς εὐωδίας θυμιατήριον καὶ τὸ καθάρσιον τῆς ἁμαρτίας, τὸ πάγχρυσον ἐκεῖνο τῆς εὐσεβείας θυσιαστήριον, τό τε τῶν καταπετασμάτων κάλλος, τὸ διὰ τῆς τῶν ἀρετῶν εὐχροίας εὐσχημόνως ἐξυφαινόμενον, καὶ οἱ ἀκλινεῖς τῶν λογισμῶν στῦλοι καὶ αἱ ἀμετάθετοι τῶν δογμάτων βάσεις, τό τε τῶν κεφαλίδων κάλλος, δι' ὧν ἡ περὶ τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν τῆς ψυχῆς ἑρμηνεύεται χάρις καὶ οἱ τῶν ψυχῶν λουτῆρες καὶ πάντα ὅσα πρὸς τὴν οὐρανίαν τε καὶ ἀσώματον πολιτείαν βλέπει, ἃ δι' αἰνιγμάτων ὁ νόμος διακελεύεται, ἐν τοῖς ὑποκεκρυμμένοις τῇ λέξει νοήμασιν ἔστιν εὑρεῖν, εἰ μόνον ἐπιτηδείους πρὸς τὴν εἰς τὰ ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων εἴσοδον ἑαυτοὺς δι' ἐπιμελείας ποιήσαιμεν τῷ λουτῆρι τοῦ λόγου πάντα ῥύπον αἰσχρᾶς ἐννοίας ἀποκλυσάμενοι, μήποτε θιγόντες παρὰ τὸ παράγγελμα τοῦ νόμου θνησιμαίου νοήματος ἤ τινος τῶν ἀκαθάρτων ἐνθυμίων ἁψάμενοι ἀθέατοι τῶν ἐντὸς τῆς σκηνῆς θαυμάτων ἀποκλεισθῶμεν. Oὐ γὰρ παραδέχεται τῶν τοιούτων τὴν εἴσοδον ὁ τοῦ πνεύματος νόμος, ἐὰν μή τις πλύνῃ τὸ τῆς συνειδήσεως ἑαυτοῦ ἱμάτιον κατὰ τὸ Μωϋσέως παράγγελμα ὁ νεκρᾶς τινος καὶ βδελυκτῆς ἐννοίας ἁψάμενος. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων Ὁμιλία β' Source: Migne PG 44.787b-789a

I am dark but beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem... 1 The holy tabernacle of witness was not beautiful because of its outward appearance, but because of what was hidden within. Certainly there were curtains made from linen, and with the leathery pelts of goats and rough hides all these made up the outer covering of the tabernacle, but it was not great and precious in appearance because of these things which were able to be seen externally. For it was the interior of the tabernacle of witness that glittered all around with silver and gold and precious stones. There were the columns, the pedestals, the thurible, the altar, the ark, the lamp-stand, the mercy seat, the washing basins, and the veils and curtains of the entrance whose beauty was a mix of many tinctures of colours, and threads of gold, and of blue, and of purple and of scarlet, all woven and threaded together, and by this weaving its splendour was made equal to the glory of the rainbow. 2 With which vision I begin, so that those things which I will say here may be plainly manifest to us. Again the Song of songs sets before us an exposition of the universal philosophy, and the knowledge of God. This is the true tabernacle of witness. Certainly the exterior coverings, the curtains and drapes on the outside, are the desiring thoughts and words that reveal an inclination for what is wished, but a description of beauty, making mention of bodily members, touches on both what is openly seen and what is hidden beneath the covering of clothes. For the things that are within are a person of many lights, as the true lamp-stand, and the ark, full of mysteries. And then the thurible with its sweet odour purifies from sin, and also the golden and pious mercy seat, and the beauty of the veils is woven elegantly with the pleasing complexion of the virtues, and the firm and immobile columns are reason, and the pedestals are dogmas which are not able to be shifted, and by the beauty of the capitals is understood the grace of the soul's governing part, and the basins are for the washing of souls. Indeed here, wherever one looks, is the heavenly and incorporeal maintenance of life, which the law commands in mystery , and which can be found in the meanings which are hidden in these words, if only we have care to prepare ourselves to enter into the holy of holies, by the washing off in the cleansing waters of reason all the filth of shameful thoughts, lest if, because of the touching of some moribund idea or vile thought prohibited by the command of the law, we are excluded, and as blind men are rendered unable to contemplate the wonders which are within the tabernacle. The spiritual law does not permit entrance to anyone who touches a dead or vile thought, unless, as Moses commands, he has washed clean the vestment of his conscience. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 2 1 Song 1.5 2 Exodus 25-

Cheeks And Turtle Doves

Τί ὡραιώθησαν σιαγόνες σου ὡς τρυγόνος... Ἀλλὰ καὶ μέλη Χριστοῦ Ἐκκλησίαν νύμφης ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· ἧς οἱονεὶ πρόσωπον, οἱ τῷ κάλλει τῶν λοιπῶν διαφέροντες, αἰσχρὸν οὐδὲν ἐννοοῦντες· τὴν δὲ τῆς σωφροσύνης αὐτῇ καρποφοροῦντες αἰδῶ, οἱ πρότερον ἴσως οὐκ ὄντες καλοὶ, τοσοῦτον μετέβαλον ὡς εἰρῆσθαι τῇ νύμφῃ· Τί ὡραιώθησαν σιαγόνες σου, μὴ ἔχοντες σπῖλον ἢ ῥυτίδα; τάχα δὲ καὶ τῷ τὸν ἕνα μόνον γινώσκειν Θεόν· καὶ ἡ τρυγὼν γὰρ ἑνὶ μόνῳ συνέρχεται. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τo Ἀσμα Των Ἀσμάτων, Κεφάλαιον Α´ Source: Migne PG 17.257c

Your cheeks are as fair as turtle doves... 1 For indeed Paul calls bridal church members of Christ, 2 and thinking of the face, these by beauty are more excellent than the others, and contemplating nothing vile, they bear the fruit of wisdom in modesty, who perhaps before were not fair, but have so changed that it is said to the bride: 'How fair your cheeks, as turtle doves having neither wrinkle nor spot.' 3 And perhaps this may even refer to the knowledge of the one true God, for the turtledove is bound only to one. Origen, Commentary On The Song Of Songs, Chapter 1 1 Song 2.10-13 2 Ephes 5.28-30 3 cf Ephes 5.27

Fairness And Beauty

Τῇ ὡραῖον τοῦ κάλλους διαφέρει· ὅτι τὸ μὲν ὡραῖον λέγεται τὸ συμπεπληρωμένον εἰς τὸν ἐπιτήδειον καιρὸν πρὸς τὴν οἰκείαν ἀκμήν· ὡς ὡραῖος ὁ σῖτος, ὁ ὥριμος ἤδη πρὸς θερισμον· καὶ ὡραῖος ὁ καρπὸς τῆς ἀμπέλου, ὁ τὴν οἱκείαν πέψιν εἰς τελείωσιν ἑαυτοῦ διὰ τῆς τοῦ ἕτους ὥρας ἀπολαβὼν καὶ ἐπιτὴδειος εἰς ἀπόλαυσιν· κάλλος δὲ ἐστι τὸ ἐν τῇ συνθέσει τῶν μελῶν εὐάρμοστον ἐπανθοῠσαν αὐτῷ τὴν χάριν ἔχον. Τῇ ὡραιότητί σου, τουτέστιν, ἐν τῷ πληρώματι τῶν καιρῶν· καὶ τῷ κάλλει σου, τῇ θεωρητῇ καὶ νοητῇ θεότητι. Ἐκεῖνο γὰρ τὸ ὄντως καλὸν, τὸ κατάληψιν πᾶσαν ἀνθρωπίνην καὶ δύναμιν ὑπερβαῖνον, καὶ διανοίᾳ μόνῃ θεωρητόν. Καὶ ἐγνώριζον αὐτοῦ τὸ κάλλος οἱ μαθηταὶ, οἶς ἐπέλυε τὰς παραβολὰς κατ' ἰδίαν, Εἰδον δὲ αὐτοῦ τὸ κάλλος Πέτρος καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ τῆς βροντῆς ἐν τῷ ὅρει, ὑπερλάμπον τὴν τοῦ ἡλίου λαμπρότητα, καὶ τὰ προοίμια τῆς ἐνδόξου αὐτοῦ παρουσίας ὀφθαλμοῖς λαβεῖν κατηξιώθησαν. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον Ψαλμον ΜΔ´ Source: Migne PG 29.400b-d

Fairness and beauty differ, For that is called fair, which has come to completeness in some span of time to its own proper maturity. For example, wheat is called fair when it has grown to harvest, and the fruit of the wine is called fair which has come to its ripeness through the hours of the year and is now appropriate for use. Beauty, however, is an ordering of things, which is made by the arrangement of members, so that it has grace shining forth from itself. 'Your fairness,' that is, in the fulness of time, 'and your beauty,' 1 that is, the Divinity which is able to be apprehended by contemplation and reason. And that is true beauty, that which exceeds all human understanding and ability, which with the mind alone one is able to contemplate. For the disciples knew His beauty, He who explained the parables to them in secret. 2 And Peter and the Sons of Thunder 3 saw His beauty on the mountain, 4 His brightness surpassing the splendour of the sun, and with their eyes they were worthy to see the foretaste of His coming in glory. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 44 1 Ps 44.5 2 Mt 13.11, 36-43 3 Mk 3.17 4 Mt 17.1-2

Image And Archetype

Τὸ δὲ θεῖον κάλλος οὐ σχήματί τινι, καὶ μορφῆς εὐμοιρίᾳ, διά τινος εὐχροίας ἀγλαΐζεται, ἀλλ' ἐν ἀφράστῳ μακαριότητι κατ' ἀρετὴν θεωρεῖται. Ὥσπερ τοίνυν τὰς ἀνθρωπίνας μορφὰς διὰ χρωμάτων τινῶν ἐπὶ τοὺς πίνακας οἱ γραφεῖς μεταφέρουσι, τὰς οἰ κείας τε καὶ καταλλήλους βαφὰς ἀπαλείφοντες τῷ μιμήματι, ὡς ἂν δι' ἀκριβείας τὸ ἀρχέτυπον κάλλος μετενεχθείη πρὸς τὸ ὁμοίωμα· οὕτω μοι νόει καὶ τὸν ἡμέτερον πλάστην, οἷόν τισι βαφαῖς τῇ τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐπιβολῇ πρὸς τὸ ἴδιον κάλλος τὴν εἰκόνα περιανθίσαντα, ἐν ἡμῖν δεῖξαι τὴν ἰδίαν ἀρχήν. Πολυειδῆ δὲ καὶ ποικίλα τὰ οἱονεὶ χρώματα τῆς εἰκόνος, δι' ὧν ἡ ἀληθινὴ ἀναζωγραφεῖται μορφὴ, οὐκ ἐρύθρημα καὶ λαμπρότης, καὶ ἡ ποιὰ τούτων πρὸς ἄλληλα μίξις, οὐδέ τινος μέλανος ὑπογραφὴ ὀφρύν τε καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑπαλεί φουσα, καὶ κατά τινα κρᾶσιν τὰ κοῖλα τοῦ χαρακτῆρος ὑποσκιάζουσα, καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα ζωγράφων χεῖρες ἐπετεχνήσαντο· ἀλλ' ἀντὶ τούτων καθαρότης, ἀπάθεια, μακαριότης, κακοῦ παντὸς ἀλλοτρίωσις, καὶ ὅσα τοῦ τοιούτου γένους ἐστὶ, δι' ὧν μορφοῦται τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἡ πρὸς τὸ Θεῖον ὁμοίωσις. Τοιούτοις ἄνθεσιν ὁ δημιουργὸς τῆς ἰδίας εἰκόνος τὴν ἡμετέραν δι εχάραξε φύσιν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα συνεξετάζοις, δι' ὧν τὸ θεῖον κάλλος χαρακτηρίζεται· εὑρήσεις καὶ πρὸς ἐκεῖνα δι' ἀκριβείας σωζομένην ἐν τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς εἰκόνι τὴν ὁμοιότητα. Νοῦς καὶ λόγος ἡ θειότης ἐστίν· ἐν ἀρχῇ τε γὰρ ἦν ὁ Λόγος. Καὶ οἱ προφῆται κατὰ Παῦλον νοῦν Χριστοῦ ἔχουσι, τὸν ἐν αὐτοῖς λαλοῦντα. Οὐ πόῤῥω τούτων καὶ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον. Ὁρᾷς ἐν σεαυτῷ καὶ τὸν λόγον, καὶ διάνοιαν, μίμημα τοῦ ὄντως νοῦ τε καὶ λόγου. Ἀγάπη πάλιν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ἀγάπης πηγή. Τοῦτο γάρ φησιν Ἰωάννης ὁ μέγας, ὅτι Ἀγάπη ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ, Ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστί· τοῦτο καὶ ἡμέτερον πεποίηται πρόσωπον ὁ τῆς φύσεως πλάστης. Ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ, φησὶ, γνώσονται πάντες, ὅτι μαθηταί μου ἐστὲ, ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους. Οὐκοῦν μὴ παρούσης ταύτης, ἅπας ὁ χαρακτὴρ τῆς εἰκόνος μεταπεποίηται. Πάντα ἐπιβλέπει, καὶ πάντα ἐπακούει τὸ Θεῖον, καὶ πάντα διερευνᾶται. Ἔχεις καὶ σὺ τὴν δι' ὄψεως καὶ ἀκοῆς τῶν ὄντων ἀντίληψιν, καὶ τὴν ζητητικήν τε καὶ διερευνητικὴν τῶν ὄντων διάνοιαν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Περὶ Kατασκεῦης Ανθρώπoῦ, Κεφ Ε' Source: Migne PG 44.137a-c

The Divine beauty is not adorned with any fortunate shape or of form by some fairness of colours, but is contemplated as excellence in unspeakable blessedness. As then painters transfer human forms to their pictures by the means of certain colours, laying on their copy the appropiate and corresponding tints so that the beauty of the archetype is accurately carried over to the likeness, so I would have you understand that our Maker, by the addition of virtues, as it were with colors, paints the image to resemble His own beauty, showing in us His own sovereignty. And see that the tints by which the true form is portrayed are manifold and varied, not just red, or white , or some blending of these, nor a touch of black that paints eyebrow and eye, and shades, by some mixing, the depressions in the figure, and all such things which the hands of painters contrive, but in place of of these, purity, freedom from passion, blessedness, estrangement from all evil, and all such types of things which fashion men into the likeness of God. With such hues did the Maker of His own image mark our nature. And if you were to examine the other things by which the Divine beauty is expressed, you will find that in them also the likeness in our image is accurately preserved. The Godhead is mind and word, for 'In the beginning was the Word' 1 and the followers of Paul 'have the mind of Christ' which speaks in them. 2 Nor is humanity far removed from these. You see in yourself word and understanding, an imitation of the Mind and of the Word. Again, God is love, and the fount of love. For this the great John declares, that 'love is of God,' and 'God is love'. 3 And the Maker of our nature has made this to be our feature too, for He says: 'By this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.' 4 Thus, if this not be present, the whole character of the likeness is changed. The Deity sees all things and hears all things, and examines all things. You also have the apprehension of things by sight and hearing, and the understanding that inquires into things and searches them out. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Making of Man, Chap 5 1 Jn 1.1 2 Phil 2.5 3 1 Jn 4.7-8 4 Jn 13.35

Vain Adornment

Cum vestieris te coccino, et cum ornata fueris monili aureo, et pinxeris stibio oculos tuos, frustra componeris: contempserunt te amatores tui: animam tuam quaerent. Sub figura mulieris adulterae loquitur: cum semel offenderis Deum, et quasi virum tuum reliqueris Creatorem, frustra ornamenta perquiris. Contempserunt te daemones amatores tui, et nequaquam stupri immunditiam, sed animae tuae quaerent interitum. Hoc idem intelligendum spiritualiter contra eos, qui conjugales affectus et verae fidei pudicitiam perdiderunt. Si te, inquit, vestieris coccino, id est, sanguinis Christi assumpseris fidem: si monili ornaveris aureo, id est, meditationem habueris sensus et intelligentiae spiritualis: et pinxeris oculos tuos stibio, id est, habueris studium mysteriorum et Dei secreta noscendi, frustra componeris. Haec enim etiam tuis amatoribus praepararas; et idcirco lectus angustus utrumque capere non potest, nec recipit ornamenta Deus, quibus amatoribus tuis ante placuisti. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Jeremiam Prophetam, Liber IV Caput XXX Source Migne PL 24.740a-b

When you dressed yourself in scarlet and you adorned yourself with a gold necklace and you painted your eyes with kohl, vainly you beautified yourself. Your lovers despise you, they seek your soul.1 By the figure of an adulterous woman it says: when you have offended God, and, as if He were your husband, you have abandoned your Creator, it is in vain for you to seek ornamentation. Your demon lovers despise you, they do not seek the filth of your shame but the ruin of your soul. This should also be understood spiritually as against those who have ruined the marital affection and the chastity of pure faith. He says: 'If you dress in scarlet, that is, you have accepted the faith of the blood of Christ, if you adorn yourself with a necklace of gold, that is, you have contemplated the spiritual sense and understanding, and if you enlarge your eyes with kohl, that is, you have a zeal for the mysteries and for the secrets of God, yet vainly you beautify yourself. For you have also prepared these things for your lovers and your narrow bed is not able to hold both them and God, and God will not accept your ornaments with which you previously pleased your lovers. Saint Jerome, from the Commentary on Jeremiah, Book 4, Chapter 30 1 Jerem 4.30

Beauty And Wisdom

Ψευδεῖς ἀρέσκειαι καὶ μάταιον κάλλος γυναικός γυνὴ γὰρ συνετὴ εὐλογεῖται φόβον δὲ Κυρίου αὕτη αἰνείτω  Ψευδεῖς ἀρέσκειαι καὶ μάταιον κάλλος. Ἡ ἀφρονεστάτη ψυχὴ οὐ μόνον ἐννοεῖ καὶ φαντάζεται τὸ αὑτῇ ἀρεστὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔργῳ ἐγχειρεῖ πληρῶσαι τὴν θεωρίαν· εἰ δὲ ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος Κυρίου, δικαίως ἡ τυχοῦσα σοφίας ψυχὴ αῑνεῖ τὸν φόβον τοῦ Κυρίου, ὅς γέγονεν αὐτῇ τῆς τοιαύτης γνώσεως. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Παροιμίας Source: Migne PG 17.251b-c

Her graces a lie and vain the beauty of a woman; it is the woman of understanding who blesses the fear of the Lord that will achieve praise. 1   Her graces a lie and vain the beauty. Most foolish is she who does not think on and picture her soul, when she is at her ease, for even when she goes to her occupation she adds to it her meditation. If the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, 2 rightly the soul of her who is wise commends the reverence of the Lord, who counsels such wisdom. 2 Origen, On Proverbs, Fragment 1 Prov 31.30 2 Prov 1.7

Towers Of Ivory

Ὁ τράχηλός σου ὡς πύργος ἐλεφάντινος. Πύργοι δὲ ἐκλήθησαν, οἱ τὰ ἀρεστὰ τῷ νυμφίῳ ποιοῦντες, σκοπευτήριον ἔχοντες τὴν θεωρητικὴν ψυχὴν, ἐκ μετεώρου σκοπεύουσαν ἅπαντα· ἐλεφάντινον δὲ, διὰ τὸ λαμπρὸν καὶ λεῖον· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ κακίας τραχὺ ἐν τῷ τῆς νύμφης τραχήλῳ· οὐκέτι δὲ περὶ τῶν νεκρῶν εἶπεν, οἱ νεμόμενοι ἐν κρίνοις· ὑπεράνω γὰρ ἐγεγόνεισαν κρίνων τῶν ἐν μέσῳ ἀκανθῶν· βούλεται δὲ ἡμᾶς καὶ φιλομαθεῖς ὄντας πολλῶν ἔχειν τὴν ψυχὴν θυγατέρα σοφῶν καὶ ἐν εἰσαγωγαῖς γενέσθαι μαθημάτων πολλῶν, ἃς ἐκάλεσε πύλας· τοσοῦτον, φησὶν, γνώσεως τοῖς ἐν σοὶ διδασκάλοις περίεστι χάρις, ὡς μὴ μόνον τοὺς παρὰ σοὶ ἀπολαύειν αὐτῶν τῆς παιδεύσεως, ἀλλ' ἤδη καὶ τῆς ἔξωθεν καὶ πόῤῥωθεν τῆς αὐτῶν ἀπολαύειν ὠφελείας. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τo Ἀσμα Των Ἀσμάτων, Κεφάλαιον Ζ' Source: Migne PG 17.281c

Your neck is like a tower of ivory. 1 They are called towers who offer their thanks to the groom by having the contemplative soul as a mirror, from on high observing all things. And of ivory on account of splendor and joy, for nothing on account of evil is rough in the neck of the bride. He speaks not about the dead, who are pastured among the lilies, for higher these are than the lilies in the midst of thorns. He wishes us to be studious in many things, to have the daughter's soul of wisdom, and to be versed in the rudiments of many disciplines, which he names the gates. For by being such towers, he says, in you shall be your thanks to your teachers of knowledge, not only benefiting those near you with the teaching, but even profiting those apart and remote. Origen, Commentary On The Song Of Songs, Chapter 7 1 Song 7.4

A Woman Adorns Herself

Quid est quod Judith post peractam orationem exuit se vestibus lugubribus, et induit se vestimentis jucunditatis, nisi quod sancta Eccleisa, licet aliquando pro peccatis suis poenitentiae gerat affectum, tamen spe remissionis et futuri praemii anxium satis exhilarat animum. Lavat corpus suum, cum actus corporis sui poenitentiae lacrymis mundat. Unxit se myrrho optimo, cum in propriae mortificatione carnis, charitatis ac caeterarum virtutum se replet odore. Discriminat crinem capitis sui, cum solerti discretione singulas cogitationes distinguit cordis. Imponit mitram capiti, cum galeam salutis circumdat menti. Induit pedes suos sandaliis, cum gressus operum suorum evangelicis munit doctrinis. Assumit dextraliola et lilia, et inaures et annulos. In dextraliolis spes futurorum bonorum exprimitur, quae in dextra Dei sanctis in futuro dantur. In liliis castitas, in inauribus obedinetiae devotio, et in annulo signaculum fidei designatur. His ergo omnibus ornamentis se sancta Ecclesia ornat, quia omnium virtutum decore se illustrare certat. Cui etiam Dominus contulit splendorem gratiae suae, quoniam omnis ista composito non ex libidine praesentis vitae, sed ex virtute pendebat futura. Et ideo Dominus hanc in illa pulchritudinem ampliavit, ut incomparabili decore omnium oculis appareret. Quia valde justum est, ut qui dilectionis perfectae Dei fevet amore, omnium dignus habeatur honore. Rabanus Maurus, Expositio in Librum Judith, Caput X Source: Migne PL 109.565a-d

Why is it that after prayer Judith takes off her garments of mourning and puts on her joyful garments, 1 unless because the holy Church permits that when for sins the grief of penance has been borne for a time the hope of forgiveness and future reward shall lift up the anxious soul. She washes her body when she cleans with the tears of penance the deeds of the body. She anoints herself with myrrh when in her mortification of the flesh she is redolent of charity and the other virtues. She combs the hair of her head, when with acute discrimination she distinguishes every thought of the heart. She places a covering on her head, when she binds the helm of salvation around the mind. She places shoes on her feet when the step of her good works beautify the evangelical doctrine. She puts on bracelets and lilies and earrings and rings. In the bracelets is the hope of future goods expressed, which in the right hand of God is given to the saints in the future, and by the ring is signified the seal of faith. By these ornaments, then, the holy Church adorns herself, because she strives to adorn herself with the beauty of every virtue. And the Lord brings to it the splendour of His grace because all this adornment is not on account of lust for this present life, but for future virtue. And therefore the Lord increases her beauty, that it appears as an incomparable fairness to every eye. Because most certainly it is just that the one who burns with the perfect love of God shall be worthy of every honour. Rabanus Maurus, from the Commentary On Judith, Chap 10 1 Judith 10.1-4

The Beautiful Soul

Sed puellam de populo, ne contaminet semen suum. Pulchra namque a Deo creata est anima, et satis decora, quae imaginem habet, et similitudinem Dei. Dehinc sequitur: De genere suo ducat uxorem, animam scilicet, quae ei fide conjungitur. Nec contaminabit semen suum, id est, verbum Dei, quod in Ecclesia praedicatur, sicut in Evangelio scriptum est: Ne dederitis sanctum canibus, neque mittatis margaritas ante porcos, ne conculcent eas pedibus suis. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Leviticum, Caput XII Source: Migne PL 83.331

But a maiden from the people, lest his seed be debased. 1 For the soul created by God is beautiful, and it is fully adorned, having the image and likeness of God. Whence it follows that from his own people he will lead a wife, that is, the soul, which is bound to him in faith. Nor should his seed be contaminated, that is, the word of God, which is preached in the Church, as it is written in the Gospel: 'Do not give a holy thing to dogs, nor cast pearls before swine, lest they trample on them with their feet.' 2 Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Leviticus, Chap 12 1 Lev 21.14-15 2 Mt 7.6 3 Lk 12.49

Knowledge And Beauty

Ην ἄρα, ὡς ἔοικεν, πάντων μέγιστον μαθημάτων τὸ γνῶναι αὑτόν· ἑαυτὸν γάρ τις ἐὰν γνῷ, Θεὸν εἴσεται, Θεὸν δὲ εἰδὼς ἐξομοιωθήσεται Θεῷ, οὐ χρυσοφορῶν οὐδὲ ποδηροφορῶν, ἀλλὰ ἀγαθοεργῶν καὶ ὅτι μάλιστα ὀλιγίστων δεόμενος· ἀνενδεὴς δὲ μόνος ὁ Θεὸς καὶ χαίρει μάλιστα μὲν καθαρεύοντας ἡμᾶς ὁρῶν τῷ τῆς διανοίας κόσμῳ, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τῷ τοῦ σώματος, ἁγνὴν στολήν, σωφροσύνην, περιβεβλημένους. Τριγενοῦς οὖν ὑπαρχούσης τῆς ψυχῆς, τὸ νοερόν, ὅ δὴ λογιστικὸν καλεῖται, ὁ ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν ὁ ἔνδον, ὁ τοῦ φαινομένου τοῦδε ἄρχων ἀνθρώπου, αὐτὸν δὲ ἐκεῖνον ἄλλος ἄγει, Θεός· τὸ δὲ θυμικόν, θηριῶδες ὄν, πλησίον μανίας οἰκεῖ· πολύμορφον δὲ τὸ ἐπιθυμητικὸν καὶ τρίτον, ὑπὲρ τὸν Πρωτέα τὸν θαλάττιον δαίμονα ποικίλον, ἄλλοτε ἄλλως μετασχηματιζόμενον, εἰς μοιχείας καὶ λαγνείας καὶ εἰς φθορὰς ἐξαρεσκευόμενον· ἤτοι μὲν πρώτιστα λέων γένετ᾿ ἠυγένειος, ἔτι φέρων τὸν καλλωπισμόν· ἄνδρα δείκνυσιν ἡ τοῦ γενείου κόμη· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα δράκων ἢ πάρδαλις ἠδὲ μέγας σῦς· κατώλισθεν εἰς τὴν ἀσέλγειαν ἡ φιλοκοσμία. Οὐκέτι καρτερῷ θηρίῳ ἄνθρωπος φαίνεται, γίνετο δ᾿ ὑγρὸν ὕδωρ καὶ δένδρεον ὑψιπέτηλον, ἐκχεῖται τὰ πάθη, ἐκβλύζονται αἱ ἡδοναί, μαραίνεται τὸ κάλλος, καὶ θᾶττον ἀποπίπτει τοῦ πετάλου χαμαί, ὅταν αὐτοῦ καταπνεύσωσιν αἱ ἐρωτικαὶ τῆς ὕβρεως λαίλαπες, καὶ πρὶν ἢ τὸ μετόπωρον ἐλθεῖν μαραίνεται τῇ φθορᾷ· πάντα γὰρ ἡ ἐπιθυμία γίνεταί τε καὶ πλάττεται καὶ φενακίζειν βούλεται, ἵνα κατακρύψῃ τὸν ἄνθρωπον. ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος, ᾧ σύνοικος ὁ λόγος, οὐ ποικίλλεται, οὐ πλάττεται, μορφὴν ἔχει τὴν τοῦ λόγου, ἐξομοιοῦται τῷ Θεῷ, καλός ἐστιν, οὐ καλλωπίζεται· κάλλος ἐστὶ τὸ ἀληθινόν, καὶ γὰρ ὁ Θεός ἐστιν· Θεὸς δὲ ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἄνθρωπος γίνεται, ὅτι βούλεται ὃ Θεός. ὀρθῶς ἄρα εἶπεν Ἡράκλειτος· ἄνθρωποι θεοί, θεοὶ ἄνθρωποι. Λόγος γὰρ αὐτός μυστήριον ἐμφανές· Θεὸς ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος θεός, καὶ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρὸς ὁ μεσίτης ἐκτελεῖ· μεσίτης γὰρ ὁ λόγος ὁ κοινὸς ἀμφοῖν, Θεοῦ μὲν υἱός, σωτὴρ δὲ ἀνθρώπων, καὶ τοῦ μὲν διάκονος, ἡμῶν δὲ παιδαγωγός. Δούλης δὲ οὔσης τῆς σαρκός, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Παῦλος μαρτυρεῖ, πῶς ἄν τις εἰκότως τὴν θεράπαιναν κοσμοίη προαγωγοῦ δίκην; ὅτι γὰρ δούλου μορφὴ τὸ σαρκικόν, ἐπὶ τοῦ Κυρίου φησὶν ὁ ἀπόστολος· ὅτι ἐκένωσεν ἑαυτὸν μορφὴν δούλου λαβών, τὸν ἐκτὸς ἄνθρωπον δοῦλον προσειπὼν πρὶν ἢ δουλεῦσαι καὶ σαρκοφορῆσαι τὸν Κύριον. ὁ δὲ συμπαθὴς θεὸς αὐτὸς ἠλευθέρωσεν τὴν σάρκα τῆς φθορᾶς καὶ δουλείας τῆς θανατηφόρου καὶ πικρᾶς ἀπαλλάξας τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν περιέθηκεν αὐτῇ, ἅγιον τοῦτο τῇ σαρκὶ καὶ ἀιδιότητος καλλώπισμα περιθείς, τὴν ἀθανασίαν. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Ὁ Παιδαγωγός, Λογὸς Τρίτος, Κεφ. Α Source: Migne PG 8 556a-557b

It is then, as appears, the greatest of all lessons to know one's self, for if a man knows himself, he will know God, and knowing he will be made like God, not by wearing gold or long robes, but by good works, and by needing very little. God alone needs nothing, and rejoices most when He sees us bright with the adornment of intelligence, and also in him who wears the sacred robe of prudence on his body. Since then the soul consists of three divisions; the intellect, which is called the reasoning faculty and is the inner man which is  ruler of this man that is seen, and that another guides. But the passionate part, being wild, dwells near to insanity, and the third part, appetite, is many-shaped far beyond the sea demon Proteus, who changed himself for one thing to another, and it allures to adulteries, to lust, and to ruin.     'At first he was a lion with ample beard.' 1 While he yet retained the ornament, the hair of the chin showed him to be a man.     'But after that a serpent, a leopard, or a big sow.' Love of ornament has fallen to wantonness. No longer does a man appear as a powerful beast,     'But he became moist water, and a tree with lofty branches.' Passions pour forth, pleasures overflow, beauty fades, and falls quicker than a leaf to the ground, when the amorous storms of lust blow on it before the coming of autumn, and it withers into ruin. For appetite becomes and feigns all things, and wishes to deceive, so as to conceal the man. But that man in whom the Word dwells does not embellish himself, he does not feign; he has the form of the Word; he is made like to God, he is beautiful; he does not add ornaments to himself: his is the true beauty, for it is God; and that man becomes God because God wishes it. Heraclitus, then, rightly said, 'Men are gods, and gods are men.' For the Word Himself is manifest mystery: God in man, and the man God. And the Mediator performs the Father's will, for the Mediator is the Word who is common to both the Son of God, the Saviour of men; His Servant, our Teacher. And the flesh being a slave, as Paul bears witness, how does it seem right that one should adorn the handmaid like a pimp? For that which is of the flesh has the form of a servant, and speaking of the Lord, the Apostle says, 'Because He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant,' 2 calling the outer man a servant previous to the Lord becoming a servant and wearing flesh. But the compassionate God Himself liberated the flesh from ruin and from the servitude of death and from bitter bondage and endowed it with incorruptibility, arraying the flesh in this, the holy adornment of eternity, immortality. Clement of Alexandria, from The Teacher, Book 3, Ch 1 1 Odyssey 4. 457 2 Philippians 2.7

Beauty And The Field

Ἔγνωκα πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὡραιότης ἀγροῦ μετ' ἐμοῦ ἐστιν Ἡ δεξαμένη ἀγαθὴ γῆ, τουτέστιν καρδία ὀρθὴ, τὸν ὑπὸ Ἰησοῦ βαλλόμενον σπόρον, καὶ καρποφορήσασα ἐκατὸν, ἐξήκοντα, τριάκοντα, τὸν πλήρη καὶ ὤριμον καρπὸν ἔχουσα, ὠραιότης ἐστὶν ἀγροῦ, οὐ μακράν οὖσα τοῦ σπορέως. Αὐτὸς γάρ φησιν, Ὠραιότης ἀγροῦ μετ' ἐμου ἐστιν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΜΘ' Migne PG 39.1392

I know all the birds of heaven and the beauty of the field is mine. 1 The good field is the upright heart that is receptive to being sowed with the seed of Christ, and it gives fruit a hundredfold and sixtyfold and thirtyfold, 2 and it is full of ripe fruits, which is the beauty of the field, which from the sower is not far, and so He says,'The beauty of the field is mine.' Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 49 1 Ps 49.11 2 Mt 13.8, Mk 4.8

Passing The Walls

Ἀνάστα ἐλθέ ἡ πλησίον μου καλή μου περιστερά μου καὶ ἐλθὲ σύ περιστερά μου ἐν σκέπῃ τῆς πέτρας ἐχόμενα τοῦ προτειχίσματος· δεῖξόν μοι τὴν ὄψιν σου καὶ ἀκούτισόν με τὴν φωνήν σου ὅτι ἡ φωνή σου ἡδεῖα καὶ ἡ ὄψις σου ὡραία Βούλεται τὴν ψυχὴν ὑπερβῆναι τὰ αἰσθητά· ὡς ἐπὶ πόλεως δὲ τεῖχος καὶ προτείχισμα, τὸν αἰσθητὸν κόσμον κελαῖ· δεῖ οὖν τὴν τῷ λόγῳ κοινωνοῦσαν ψυχὴν ἐν σκέπῃ τῆς πέτρας, οὐ μόνον ἔξω τοῦ τείχους τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ προτειχίσματος γενέσθαι· ὡς πλησίον γενομένην ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόξαν τοῦ Κυρίου κατοπτρίζεσθαι· πειθομένην τῷ λέγονται Δειξόν μου τὴν ὅψιν σου· ἐπιθυμεῖ δὲ καὶ ιαλεγομενῆς ἀκοῦσαι, τὴν φωνὴν ὡς ἡδεῖαν θαυμάζων· προετείχισμα δέ ἐστιν, ὅπερ Ἠσαῖας περίτειχον ὀνομάζει, λέγων· θήσει τεῖχος, ἤ περίτειχος· βούλεται τοίνυν τῶν σωματικῶν ἐξελθοῦσαν, οὐ μόνον ἐν τῷ τείχει γενέσθαι, ὅπερ εἴναι τὸν περὶ τοῦ κσμοῦ λόγον νομίζω, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐχόμενα τοῦ προτειχίσματος· ὅς λόγος μέν ἐστι τελευταῖος τῶν σωματικῶν, ἀρχὴ δὲ τῶν ἀσωμάτων. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τo Ἀσμα Των Ἀσμάτων, Κεφάλαιον Β' Source: Migne PG 17 264d-266a

Rise up, my dear one, my beauty, and come, my dove, in the clefts of the stone, in the hollows of outwork. Show me your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet as your face is fair. 1 He wishes that his soul pass beyond sensible things, and speaks of the material world being a wall of a city and an outwork. The soul, then, should, participating in reason, in the cleft of the rock, not only go outside the city walls, but also be beyond the outwork, that being nearer to the face uncovered, it look on the glory of the Lord, and having being persuaded in the speech, 'Show me your face,' he yet also desires to hear the one speaking, amazed at the sweetness of the voice. The outwork is the same which Isaiah named the exterior wall, saying, 'He has placed a wall,' or an outwork. 2 He wishes then to be released from corporeal things, not only not to be within the wall, that is, so I think, in the world, but even in the hollows of the outwork, which is the limits of the corporeal, which signifies the beginning of the incorporeal. Origen, from the Commentary On The Song Of Songs, Chapter 2 1 Song 2.13-14 2 Isa 26.1

Penance And Prayer

Ἡ καλλίστη μετάγνωσις, καὶ σύντονος δέησις καὶ παράκλησις εὐδιάζει τὸν σεσηπότα ταῖς πράξεσιν ἄνθρωπον· δέχεται γὰρ καὶ δέησιν ῥυπαρὰν ὁ φιλανθρωπότατς Δεσπότης Χριστὸς ἐκ στόματος ῥυπαροῦ ἐν ταπεινώσει προσφερομένην πολλῇ. Καὶ πειθέτω σε ὁ φράζων λῃστής· Μνήσθητί μου, Κύριε Ἰησοῦ, ὅταν ἔλθῃς ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου, παραυτίκα ἀκούσας· Σήμερον μετ' ἐμου ἔσῃ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡϟΖ' Τρυφωνι Ἀρχιτεκτονι Source: Migne PG 79 155-157

Most beautiful is penance and continual prayer and invocation, offering up a fair odour from the rotten works of men. For the most loving Lord Christ receives even soiled prayers from sordid mouths, if in great humility they are offered. May the thief crying out persuade you: 'Remember me, Lord Jesus, when you come into your kingdom.' He who immediately heard, 'Today you will be with me in paradise.' 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 199, To Trypho the Architect 1 Lk 23.42-43