Fear And Prayer

Et factum est in diebus Achaz filii Joathan regis Juda,ascendit Rasim rex Syriae et Phacee filius Romeliae rex Isreal ad Jerusalem, expugnare eam, et non potuerant eam debellare. Et annuntiatum est in domo David a dicentibus: Consensit Syria cum Ephraim, et expavit anima ejus, et anima plebis ejus, sicut in sylva arbor, cum a vento commovetur. Et dixit Dominus ad Isaiam: Exi in obviam Achaz, tu, et qui relictus est Jasub filius tuus, ad piscinam superioris viae villae fullonis: et dices ei: Vide ut quiescas, et noli timere, neque anima languescat a duobus titionibus fumigantibus istis. Cum enim ira furoris mei facta fuerit, iterum sanabo: quoniam filius Aram et filius Romeliae, qui cogitaverunt cogitationem pessimam, dicentes: Ascendamus in Judaeam, et colloquentes eis, convertamus eos ad nos, et regem statuemus eis filium Thabeel. Haec dicit Adonai Dominus Sabaoth: Non manebit cogitatio ista, neque sic fiet Forsitan sic confortatus Achaz cum genuiseet filium, vocavit nomen ejus Ezechias. Ezechias autem interpretatur, confortavit Dominus. Vere completa est in Ezechia confortatio Domini, cui animus exstitit sanctus super omnes reges, qui fuerunt ante eum. Nam inter caetera bona, quae merito praestitit ei Deus, cum misisset ad eum Sennacherib, rex Assyriorum, Rapsacem principem militiae suae, et libellum plenum improperiis et blasphemiis contra Deum, sicut exponit Isaias propheta: Ezechias accepit libellum illum, et ingressus in templum apparuit ante Dominum, et oravit, et confestim missus est ad eum Isaias propheta, annuntians ei protectionem Dei, et confortans eum, et exiit ad preces Ezechiae angelus a facie Domini, et percussit in castris Assyriorum centum octoginta quinque millia virorum. Qualia autem fuerint verba Rapsacis, vel qualis oratio Ezechiae, vel qualis confortatio Isaiae, lege in Isaia, et profer causam excitationis in populo. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia I Source: Migne PG 56.626

And in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, came to Jerusalem to fight against it, and they were not able to conquer it. When the house of David was told, 'Syria is allied with Ephraim,' his heart and the heart of his people trembled with fear like a tree of the forest shaken by the wind. And the Lord said to Isaiah: 'Go out and meet with Ahaz, you and Shearjashub your son, at the pool on the road to fuller's house, and say to him, 'Listen and be quiet and do not fear. Do not let your heart grow faint because of these two smouldering stumps. For when the anger of my wrath comes, again I shall heal, because the son of Aram and the son of Remaliah, who have thought the worst thought, saying, 'Let us go up to Jerusalem and speak with them, let us turn them to us and we shall set up the son of Tabal as king for them.' Thus says the Lord God of Hosts, 'This thought shall not prevail, nor will it come to be.' 1 Perhaps it was because Ahaz was so strengthened when he sired his son that he called his name Hezekiah, for the name Hezekiah is translated as 'the Lord has strengthened.' And truly the strengthening of the Lord was fulfilled in Hezekiah, in him who possessed a soul that was holy beyond all the other kings who came before him. For among the other goods with which God rightly gifted him, when Sennacherib the king of Assyria sent forward that man Rapasca, the general of his army, and he had a little book full of insults and blasphemies against God, as Isaiah the prophet tells us, Hezekiah received that book, and went into the temple and stood before the Lord, and he prayed, and immediately the Prophet Isaiah was sent to him, announcing to him the protection of God, and strengthening him, and at the prayers of Hezekiah an angel was sent out from the face of the Lord, and he struck down one hundred and eighty five thousand in the camps of the Assyrians. Such were the words of Rapasca, and such the prayer of Hezekiah, or such was the strength with Isaiah, of the law in Isaiah, and it brought joy to the people. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 1 1 Isaiah 7.1-7 2 Isaiah 36-37

Better Judgements

Non secundum visionem oculorum judicabit, neque secundum auditum aurium arguet: sed judicabit in justitia pauperes, et arguet in aequitate pro mansuetis terrae, et percutiet terram virga oris sui, et spiritu labiorum suorum interficiet impium. Et erit justitia cingulum lumborum ejus, et fides cinctorium renum ejus. Haec nos ad primum adventum referimus Salvatoris: Judaei in fine mundi contendunt futura. Porro LXX transtulerunt: Non secundum gloriam judicabit, neque juxta sermonem arguet: sed judicabit humili judicio, et arguet humiles terrae. Nullius enim personam accipit in judicio: sed Scribis et Pharisaeis ac principibus loquitur: Vae vobis, hypocritae: Et, Auferetur a vobis regnum Dei, et dabitur genti facienti fructus ejus. Nec secundum sermonem et auditum aurium corripuit. Illis enim dicentibus: Magister, scimus quia verax es, et viam Dei in veritate doces, et non ad te pertinet de aliquo: neque enim vides in faciem hominum: sciens malitiam eorum, respondebat: Quid me tentatis, hypocritae? et caetera his similia. Judicabat autem in justitia pauperes spiritu, quorum est regnum Dei: et arguebat in aequitate mansuetos et humiles terrae, dicens ad Apostolos: Adhuc et vos insipientes estis? Et iterum: Necdum scitis neque intelligitis? Et ad Petrum specialiter: Modicae fidei, quare dubitasti? Vel certe pro humilibus atque mansuetis alios arguebat, qui eos opprimere conabantur. Percussit quoque omnia terrena opera virga, sive ut LXX transtulerunt, verbo oris sui, loquens in Evangelio: Nolite putare, quia venerim mittere pacem super terram: non enim veni mittere pacem, sed gladium. Et spiritu labiorum suorum interficiet impium: de quo in nono Psalmo legimus: Increpasti gentes, et periit impius: nomen eorum delesti in saeculum et in saeculum saeculi. Et Paulus Apostolus scribit: Quem Dominus Jesus interficiet spiritu oris sui. Percusso autem impio, accinctus est Dominus justitia et veritate et fide. Ipse enim factus est nobis a Deo sapientia, et justitia, et sanctificatio et redemptio, qui et in Evangelio loquitur: Ego sum lux, et vita, et veritas. Et de Psalmis dicitur: Veritas de terra orta est: et justitia de coelo prospexit. Unde et Apostolus hortatur Ephesios: State ergo succincti lumbos vestros in veritate, et induti lorica justitiae. Quod si pro veritate, fides legitur, illud dicendum, quod cingulum Domini, quo cinctus est Jeremias, fides credentium sit. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Isaiam Prophetam, Lib IV Source Migne PL 24.146a-147a

He shall not judge according to the vision of the eyes, nor shall he determine according to the hearing of the ear, but He shall judge the poor justly and the shall determine fairly for the meek of the earth, and He shall strike the earth with the staff of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt about His waist, and faith the girdle of His loins. 1 We refer this to the first coming of the Saviour, the Jews argue that it is about the end of the world. The Septuagint translation runs: 'He shall not judge according to glory, not shall he determine according to speech, but He shall judge with a humble judgement and determine for the humble of the earth.' For He is no respecter of persons, but He says to the Scribes and Pharisees and elders: 'Woe to you hypocrites.' And: 'The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and it shall be given to a people to produce fruits from it.' 2 He shall not chastise according to the hearing of the ear. For when they said, 'Master, we know you are true, and you teach the way of God in truth, and you are not in awe of any man, nor are you are respecter of persons,' He was aware of their cunning, and answered: 'Why do you test me, hypocrites?' 3 And other things similar to this. But He shall judge justly the poor in spirit, of whom is the kingom of heaven, and he shall determine fairly among the meek and humble of the earth, saying to the Apostles: 'Are you yet so witless?' And again: 'Do you not know nor understand?' And to Peter specifically: 'O man of little faith, why did you doubt?' 4 Or certainly he will dispute with others for the humble and meek, against those who strive to oppress them. He also strikes all worldly works with a rod, or as the Septuagint translation has it: 'With the word of His own mouth,' saying in the Gospel: 'Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth, for I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.' 5 'And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.' Concerning which in the ninth Psalm we read: 'You cried out against the people and the wicked perished, you destroyed their name in the age and forever.' 6 And Paul the Apostle writes: 'Whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His own mouth.' 7 For when the Lord is girded with righteousness and truth and faith, the wicked are struck down. For He was made by God for us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, He who says in the Gospel: 'I am the light and life and truth.' 8 And in the Psalms it is said: 'Truth has arisen from the earth, and justice looks down from the skies.' Whence the Apostle exhorts in Ephesians: 'Therefore stand with your loins bound with truth, and wearing the breastplace of righteousness,' 9 Because if faith is read for truth, it must be said that the girdle of the Lord, with which Jeremiah was bound, is the faith of believers. 10 Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Prophet Isaiah, Book 4 1 Isaiah 11.3-4 2 Mt 23.13, 21.43 3 Mt 22.15-18 4 Mark 8.17 5 Mt 10.34 6 Ps 9.6 7 2 Thes 2.8 8 1 Cor 1.30, Jn 8.6 9 Ps 84.2, Ephes 6.14 10 Jerem 13

Toil And Travel

In multitudine viae tuae laborasti, et non dixisti: Quiescam: vitam manus tuae invenisti, propterea non rogasti me. LXX Multis itineribus tuis laborasti, et non dixisti, desinam: confortate fecisti haec: propterea non rogasti me. Qui ambulat in via una et regis, non laborat, de qua per Moysen praecipt Deus, Via regia ambulabis, et non declinabis ad dexteram neque ad sinistram. Una via est veritas, quae dicit in Evangelio: Ego sum via, veritas et vita: et multae mendaciorum viae, per quas nunc ambulasse arguitur Jersusalem quarum viarum Deus sciens differentiam, supra loquitur ad errantes: Non sicut viae meae, viae vestrae, quae dicunt Domino confitentes: Declinare fecisti vias nostras a viis tuis. Cognita igitur una via regia, videamus quae dextrae viae sint et sinistrae, per quas prohibemur incedere. Via regia temperata est, nec plus in se habens nec minus. Verbi gratia, via recta et regia, prudentia est. Declinamus ad dexteram, si plus sapimus quam oportet sapere, et pro prudentia calliditatem diligimus: quia [ Al. qua] serpens prudentior erat omnibus bestiis in paradiso: Et filii tenebrarum prudentiores sunt filiis lucis. Ad sinistramque divertimus, quando stulti sumus, et minus sapimus quam necesse est. De quibus dictum est: Dixit stultus in corde suo, non est Deus. Pietas quoque et vera religio, via regia est. Declinat ad dexteram, qui superstitiosus est, et meretur audire, Ne sis multum justus. Ad sinistram, qui negligit cultum Dei, et inter haedos hircosque numeratur. Liberalitas quoque et dispensatio virtus maxima est, a qua declinat ad dexteram, qui parcus est, et non solum aliis, sed ne sibi quidem tribuit quod necesse est. Ad sinistram, qui comedit substantiam suam cum meretricibus, et dicit cum Israel: Manducemus et bibamus; cras enim moriemur. Fortitudo etiam atque constantia via regia est, a qua declinat ad dexteram, qui temerarius et pertinax est: ad sinistram, qui formidolosus et pavidus. Unde vir sanctus per viam rectam gradi cupiens deprecatur: Deduc me, Domine, in via recta. Et in alio loco: Notam fac mihi, Domine, viam in qua ambulem; quoniam ad te levavi oculos meos. De istiusmodi via et alibi Scriptura commemorat: Quaerite viam bonum, et ambulate in ea, et invenietis purificationem animarum vestrarum. Jerusalem ergo propterea humiliata est usque ad inferos, quia in multis viis laboravit, neque dixit: Emendabo errorem poenitentia; sed e contrario, confortabor incoepto, nec curabo sententiam commonentis: Averte pedem tuum a via aspera, et guttur tuum a siti. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Isaiam Prophetam, Lib XVI, Cap LVII Source Migne PL 24.553b-554b

'In the multitude of your ways you toiled, and you did not say: 'I shall rest.' You found life in your hands, therefore you did not ask me.' The Septuagint reads: 'In many ways you toiled, and you did not say, 'I shall cease,' you were strengthed by these things, therefore you did not ask me.' 1 He who walks in the one royal way, he does not toil, concerning which God commanded through Moses: 'You shall walk in the royal way and you shall not decline to the right nor to the left.' 2 The one way is truth, which He speaks of in the Gospel: 'I am the way, the truth and the life.' 3 And the many ways of liars, through which Jerusalem had now walked, is convicted, concerning which ways, God who knows the difference, spoke to the errant: 'My ways are not as your ways,' 4 which confessing they say to the Lord, 'You made our ways decline from your ways.' 5 Therefore with the one royal way recognised, let us see what are the ways to the right and to the left on which we are prohibited to walk. The royal way is temperate, having in itself neither excess or lack. For example the way that is straight and regal is prudence. We decline to the right when we know more than it is needful to know, and we love cleverness over prudence, because the serpent was more clever than all the animals of the garden, and the sons of darkness are more prudent than the sons of light. 6 We wander to the left when we are foolish, knowing less than necessary, concerning which it has been said, 'The fool says in his heart that there is no God.' 7 Piety and true religion are also the royal way. He declines to the right who is excessively scrupulous and who deserves to hear: 'Do not be overly righteous.' 8 To the left he declines who neglects the worship of God and is reckoned among the kids and goats. Liberality and giving is also a great virtue, which if it declines to the right is parsimony, and then not only does a man not give to others what is needful but he neither does to himself. To the left he declines who squanders his wealth with whores, and he says with Israel: 'Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we shall die.' 9 Fortitude and constancy are also the royal way, from which he declines to the right who is reckless and obstinate, and to the left he who is fearful and timid. Whence the holy man, because he desires to walk on the right way, prays: 'Lead me, Lord, on the right way.' And in another place: 'Make known to me, Lord, the way in which I should walk, because to you I have lifted up my eyes.' 10 Which way the Scriptures mention elsewhere: 'Seek the good way and walk in it, and you shall find cleansing for your soul.' 11 Jersulaem, then, because of its fall, even to hell, because it toiled in many ways, did not say: 'I will amend my error in penitence,' but on the contrary, 'I shall be strengthened because I have begun, and I shall have no care for the word of warning:' 'Take your foot from the bitter way and your throat from thirst.' 12 Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Prophet Isaiah, Book 16, Chap 57 1 Isaiah 57.10 2 Deut 5.32 3 Jn 14.6 4 Isaiah 55.8 5 Ps 43.19 6 Gen 3.1, Lk 16.8 7 Ps 13.1 8 Eccle 7.17 9 Isaiah 22.13 10 Ps 138.24, Ps 142.8 11 Jerem 6.16 Sept 12 Jerem 2.25 Sept

The Seraphims' Teaching

Quod autem duo seraphim in Isaia leguntur, figuraliter veteris, et novi Testamenti significationem ostendunt. Quod vero faciem et pedes Dei operiunt, quia praeterita ante mundum, et futura post mundum scire non possumus, sed media tantum, eorum testimonio contemplamur. Singula senas alas habent, quia de fabrica tantum mundi, quae in sex diebus facta sunt, in praesenti saeculo novimus. Quod clamant ter Sanctus alter ad alterum, Trinitatis in una divinitate demonstrant mysterium. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Etymologiae, Liber VII, Caput V Source: Migne PL 82.274c

The two Seraphim whom we read about in Isaiah 1 figuratively signify the Old and New Testaments. But because they cover the face and feet of God, they signify that we cannot know the past before the world or the future after the world, but we may contemplate only the middle by their witness. Each has six wings because in this present time we know concerning the fabric of this world only those things that were made in the six days. That each cries 'Holy' three times to the other declares the mystery of the Trinity in the one Divinity. Saint Isidore of Seville, The Etymologies Book 7, Chap 5 1 Isaiah 6.2

Queries On The Achievements Of Clergy

Quis eorum mori exoptans mundo et vivere Christo luxuriosos gentium convivas laudantes deos suos, id est, sensus, extollentes divitias, ut apostolus et avaritia, inquit, quae est simulacrorum servitus, concussis duabus virtute bracchiorum columnis, quae intelleguntur in voluptatibus nequam animae carnisque, quibus domus humanae omnis nequitiae quodammodo pangitur ac fulcimentatur, tam innumerabiles, ut Sampson, prostravit? Quis orationibus holocaustoque lactantis agni Philistinorum metum depellens insperatas tonitruorum voces nubium imbres concitans absque adulatione regem constituens, eundum Deo non placentem abiciens, uncto pro illo meliore in regno, ut Samuel, valedicturus populo astabit hoc modo dicens: Ecce praesto sum, loquimini coram Domino et christo eius, utrum bovem cuiusquam tulerim an asinum, si quempiam calumniatus sum, si oppressi aliquem, si de manu cuiusquam munus accepi? cui a populo responsum est dicente: non es calumniatus nos neque oppressisti neque tulisti de manu alicuius quippiam. Quis eorum igne caelesti centum superbos exurens, quinquaginta humiles servans et absque adulationis fuco, non Deum per prophetas, sed idolum Accaron consulenti, mortem immimentem iniquo regi annuntians, omnes prophetas simulacri Baal, qui interpretati accipiuntur sensus humani invidiae avaritiae, ut iam diximus, semper intenti, mucrone corusco, hoc est verbo Dei, ut Helias egregius vates, prostravit et zelo Dei commotus, iniquorum terrae imbres adimens aetherales, ac si fortissimo penurii clustello tribus annis sexque mensibus obseratos, fame siti moribundus in deserto conquestus est: Domine, inquiens, prophetas tuos occiderunt et altaria tua suffoderunt et ego relictus sum solus et quaerunt animam meam? Quis eorum carissimum discipulum terrenis extra solitum ponderibus oneratum, quae ante ea a se magnopere licet rogato ut acciperet despecta fuissent, etsi non perpetua lepra, ut Helisaeus, saltim expulsione multavit? Et quis ex illis puero in vitae desperatione aestuanti atque inproviso super bellico hostium apparatu civitatem, in qua erant, obsidentium tremefacto inter nos, ut ille, animae visus, ferventi exoratione ad Deum facta, ita ut intueri poterit auxiiiarium caelestis exercitus, armatorum curruum ceu equitum ignito vultu fulgentium montem plenum, patefecit, et credere quin fortior fortior esset ad salvandum quam inimici ad pugnandum? Et quis eorum corporis tactu mortui scilicet mundo, viventis autem Deo, alii diverso funcre occubanti procul dubio mortuo Deo, vitiis vero viventi quasi supra dictus proficiet, ita ut statim prosiliens Christo grates pro sanitate agat cunctorum paene mortalium ore desperata? Cuius eorum, carbone ignito de altari forcipe Cherubin advecto, ut peccata sua delerentur humilitate confessionis, labia, ut Esaiae, mundata sunt et efficaci oratione sibi adiuncta pii regis Ezechiae, supplantatione centum octoginta quinque milia exercitus Assyriorum nullo apparente vulneris vestigio angeli manu, ut supra dicti, prostrata sunt ? Quis eorum ob praecepta Dei et minas caelitus datas veritatemque vel non audientibus proferendam squalores pedoresque carcerum, ut momentaneas mortes, ut beatus Ieremias excepit ? Et ne multa: quis eorum, ut magister gentium dixit, errare hi montibus et in speluncis, et in cavernis terrae, lapidari secari, totius mortis genere pro nomine Domini attemptari, sicut sancti prophetae, perpessus est? Sanctus Gildas Sapiens, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae Source: Migne PL 69.371c-372d

Who among them, longing to die to the world and live for Christ, has cast down, like Samson, such a wealth of feasters praising their gods and extolling their riches, that is, the senses, for as the Apostle says, 'avarice which is the service of idols,' 1 and with the power of two arms has smashed and brought down the two columns, which are understood as the vile pleasures of the soul and the flesh by which the house of every human wickedness in a certain manner is fixed and established? 2 Who among them by prayers and the burnt offering of a suckling lamb, driving away the fear of the Philistines, has, like Samuel, brought on sudden thunder and rain from the clouds, and without flattery set up a new king, and cast away the same when he did not please God, having anointed a better man for the kingdom, he who then coming to bid farewell to the people, standing before them, did so in this way, saying: 'Behold, here I am; speak before the Lord and His anointed: if I have taken anyone's ox or ass, if I have calumniated anyone, if I have oppressed anyone, if I have taken a bribe from anyone's hand.' To which the people gave reply, saying, 'You have not calumniated us, nor oppressed us, nor have you taken a bribe from any hand.' 3 Who among them, burning a hundred proud men by fire from heaven, and protecting fifty humble ones, like Elijah the prophet, without the pretence of flattery, have announced an imminent death to an unrighteous king when he was taking counsel, not of God through His prophet, but of the idol Accaron? He who overthrew with a gleaming sword, that is, the word of God, all the prophets of the idol Baal, who, being interpreted, are understood to be the human passions, as we have already said, ever intent on envy and avarice. He who moved by zeal for God, deprived the land of the wicked of heaven's rain, as if were shut up in a stronghold of want, for three years and six months, and about to die of hunger and thirst in the waste, made lament, saying: 'Lord, they have slain your prophets and thrown down your altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life.' 4 Who among them punished a beloved disciple, burdened beyond his need by the weight of earthly things which he had previously despised, though earnestly entreated to accept them, not by perpetual leprosy, it is true, yet by dismissal, as Elisha? Who among them, in despair of life, excited and trembling at the sudden warlike preparations of the enemies for a city's besieging, has given vision to the soul of a serving boy, so that he could see the mountain full of the heavenly army of allies, and of armed chariots or horsemen flashing with fiery countenances, and believe that God was stronger to save than enemies to fight? Who among them, like him, when dead to the world and yet living to God, has profited another laying in that different death, which is doubtless death to God but living for vice, by bodily contact, so that he should swiftly leap up and give thanks to Christ for a healing despaired of in the reckoning of almost all men? 5 Whom among them, with a fiery coal carried from the altar in the tongs of Cherubim, so that his sins should be blotted out, by humble confession, as Isaiah, have had lips purified, which with the aid of the efficacious prayer of the pious king Hezekiah, utterly overthrew that one hundred and eighty five thousand of the Assyrian army, like the men mentioned above, with no trace of wound, by the hand of the angel? 6 Who among them, like the blessed Jeremiah, because of the commands of God and threats given from heaven, for the offering of truth to men who heard not, suffered the squalor and filth of prisons, as heavy as death? 7 And lest we go on too long, who among them, as the teacher of the Gentiles said, has endured wandering on mountains, in caves and holes of the earth, stoning, cutting, and trial by every kind of death for the Lord's name, like the holy prophets ? 8 Saint Gildas The Wise, On The Destruction and Ruin of Britain 1 Colos 3.5 2 Judges 16.23-30 3 1 Kings 7.8-11, 9.15-10.1, 15.22-16.13, 12.1-5 4 4 Kings 1.9-17, 3 Kings 17.36-40, 1-2, 3 Kings 19.10 5 3 Kings 5, 4 Kings 6.8-18,4.32-37 6 Isaiah 6.6, 37 7 Jerem 201-2, 37.15, 26.1-15 8 Hebr 9.36-3

Angels And Fire

Et volavit ad me unus de Seraphim, et in manu eius calculus, quem forcipe tulerat de altari, et tetigit os meum, et dixit: Ecce tetigi hoc labia tua, et auferetur iniquitas tua, et peccatum tuum mundabitur. Volavit, vel missus est unus de Seraphim, qui interpretatur incendens, ut Prophetae labia purgaret immunda, et pruna vel calculo, quem de altari tulerat, excoqueret. Multi autem putant, duos esse Seraphim, quia clamabat alter ad alterum, cum et de pluribus possint singuli clamare ad singulos; et LXX editio magis significet plurimos, qui interpretati sunt, Seraphim stabant in circuitu eius. Quod si de duobus diceretur, non in circuitu, sed ex utraque parte dixissent. Et hoc convenit Angelorum multitudini, quae in Dei ministerium praeparata est. Seraphim autem plurali numero appellantur, et singulari Seraph: sicut Cherubim, et Cherub. Quod autem altare sub quo animae martyrum sunt, videantur in coelo, et Ioannes in Apocalypsi loquitur: et calculus iste qui a solis LXX ἅνθρας, id est, carbunculus est interpretatus potest non carbonem significare, vel prunam, ut plerique existimant, sed ἄνθρακα, id est, carbunculum lapidem, qui ob coloris flammei similitudinem igneus appellatur. Ex quo intelligimus altare Dei plenum esse carbunculis, hoc est, ignitis calculis et prunis, peccata purgantibus. Unde scriptum de Deo legimus: Carbones succensi sunt ab eo. Et de ipso Domino dicitur, quod ignis consumens sit. Et Salvator in Evangelio: Ignem veni mittere super terram: ut baptizaret in Spiritu sancto, et igni. Uniuscuiusque enim opus quale sit, ignis probabit. Et qui salvandus est, sic salvabitur, quasi per ignem transierit. Et hoc notandum, quod ad Ieremiam, cui dictum est: Prius quam te formarem in utero novi te, et in vulva matris tuae sanctificavi te, quia labia non habebat immunda, sed tantum dixerat: nescio loqui, quia iuvenis sum, extendit ipse Dominus manum suam, et tetigit os eius, et dixit: Ecce dedi sermones meos in os tuum. Porro ad Isaiam qui dixerat: Vir pollutus labiis ego sum, et in medio populi polluta labia habentis ego habito, non Dei manus porrigitur, sed Seraphim mittitur a Deo, vel volat propria voluntate, quia huic officio mancipatus est. Et in manu sua tenet calculum, quem iuxta LXX et Theodotionem, forcipe: iuxta Aquilam, et Symmachum, qui Hebraicum sunt secuti, forcipibus apprehendit, id est, MALCAIM, ut tangeret os eius, et pristina delicta purgaret. Manus autem, et a Deo et Seraphim mittitur, ut Propheta sui corporis membrum videns, tactu non terreatur externo. Quidam nostrorum forcipem, quo calculus comprehenditur, duo Testamenta putant, quae inter se Spiritus sancti unione sociantur. Quia vero sedens Dominus introducitur, et sedens in Templo, et domus impleta est fumo, ut Iudaei putant, thymiamatis; consequenter ponuntur et forcipes, quos et in sacerdotali ministerio legimus. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Isaiam Prophetam, Lib III Cap VI Source Migne PL 24.96a-97a

'And one of the Seraphim flew to me and in his hand he had a coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth and said, 'Behold, I have touched your mouth and taken away your iniquity and cleansed you of your sin.' 1 One of the Seraphim flew, or was sent, the name of which is interpreted 'Flaming One', that he purge the unclean lips of the Prophet, and he applied fire with a glowing stone, or coal, which he had taken from the altar. Many think there are two Seraphim, because they called one to the other, 2 and being plural one can call to another one. The Septuagint clearly signifies there are more, the translation of which has: 'the Seraphim stood in a circle'. For if it had spoken of two it would have said that they were in different places, not in a circle. So this befits a multitude of angels which were arranged to give service to God. Seraphim is the plural form, Seraph the singular, just like Cherubim and Cherub. The altar is that beneath which the souls of the martyrs are, which may be seen in heaven, which John spoke of in his Apocalypse. 3 And this coal the Septuagint calls 'anthras' which translated is a small coal, but it is possible that it does not mean a coal, or a stone, as many judge it, but anthraka, that is, the 'carbuncle,' a gem, which because of the likeness of its colour to flame is so called. From which we understand that the altar of God is full of these 'carbuncles', that is fiery stones and coals, for the purging of sin. Whence we read that it has been written of God 'Coals were lit by it.' 4 And concerning the Lord Himself it is written that He is a consuming fire. 5 And the Saviour says in the Gospel: 'I have come to place fire on the earth.' 6 as He was to baptise in the Holy Spirit and in fire. 7 And everyone's work will be tested by fire, and he who can be saved will be saved as one who passes through fire. 8 And it should also be noted that in Jeremiah it is said: 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and in your birth from your mother I sanctified you.' because it was not that he had unclean lips, but he said, 'I do not know what to say, because I am young,' that the Lord stretched out His hand and touched his mouth and said, 'Behold, I give my words into your mouth.' 9 However to Isaiah who said, 'I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people who have unclean lips,' the hand of God did not stretch forth, but one of the Seraphim was sent by God, or he flew by his own will because he was appointed to this office. And in his hand he held a coal, which according to the Septuagint and the translation of Theodotion was taken by the use of pincers, but Aquila and Symmachus who follow the Hebrew understand tongs, that is 'Malcaim', so that he might touch his mouth and purge the old sins. And it is by the hand, from God and the Seraphim who was sent, so that the Prophet, seeing a member of his own body, would not be terrified by the external touch. Now the tongs in which the coal was taken are thought to be the two Testaments which are combined together by the union of the Holy Spirit. However, because the Lord is introduced as seated, and sitting in the Temple, and it is full of smoke, or as the Jews think, incense, so the tongs are found, which we read are for the ministry of the priest. Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Prophet Isaiah, Book 3, Chap 6 1 Isaiah 6.6 2 Isaiah 6.3 3 Apoc 6.9-11 4 Ps 17.9 5 Deut 4.24, Heb 12.29 6 Lk 12.49 7 Mt 3.11 8 1 Cor 3.13-15 9 Jerem 1.5-9

Suffering And Belief

Crucifixus sub Pontio Pilato... Sed dicit aliquis: Nunquid haec de Domino intelligenda sunt? Nunquid Dominus ab hominibus teneri poterat, et ad judicium pertrahi? Et de hoc te idem propheta convincet. Dicit enim his verbis: Ipse Dominus in judicium veniet, cum senioribus et principibus populi. Judicatur ergo Dominus secundum prophetae testimonium, et non solum judicatur, sed etiam flagellis caeditur, et palmis in faciem verberatur, et conspuitur, et omne pro nobis perfert opprobrium indignitatis. Et quia haec stupescenda erant omnibus, cum praedicarentur ab Apostolis: idcirco etiam ex persona ipsorum propheta exclamat et dicit: Domine, quis credidit auditui nostro? Incredibile enim est, ut Deus Dei Filius passus, ista dicatur, et praedicetur: ergo et praedicuntur per prophetas, ne qua credituris dubitatio nasceretur. Ipse ergo ex sua persona Christus Dominus dicit: Dorsum meum dedit ad flagella, et maxillas meas ad palmas, et faciem meam non averti a confusione sputorum. Rufninus Aquileiensis, Commentarius In Symbolum Apostolorum Source: Migne PL 21.359a-b

Crucified under Pontius Pilate... But someone says: 'Must these things be understood of the Lord? Should the Lord be seized by men and dragged off to judgement?' Of this also the same Prophet shall convince you. For he says, 'The Lord Himself shall come into judgment with the elders and princes of the people.' 1 Therefore, according to the Prophet's testimony, the Lord is judged, and not only judged, but scourged, and slapped on the face with the palm, and spat on, and He suffers every insult and indignity for our sake. And because all must be bewildered when these things shall be preached by the Apostles, therefore the Prophet speaking in their person also exclaims, 'Lord, who has believed our report?' 2 For it is incredible that God, the Son of God, should be spoken of and preached about as having suffered these things. For this reason they were foretold by the Prophets, lest any doubt should be found in those who are going to believe. Thus Christ the Lord Himself, in His own person, says, 'I gave my back to scourges and my cheeks to palms, I did not turn my face away from the contempt of spitting.' 3 Rufinus of Aquileia, Commentary On The Apostles' Creed 1 Isaiah 3.14 2 Isaiah 53.1 3 Isaiah 50.6

Dragged Off To Hell

Verutamen ad infernum detraheris in profundum laci. LXX: Nunc autem in infernum descendes, et ad fundamenta terrae. Non ad infernum sponte descendes, hoc enim Domini Salvatoris est, ut vinctos de inferis liberet, sed ad infernum detraheris invitus, ut qui per virtutes poteras ad excelsa conscendere, per vitia detraharis ad poenas. Sancti pennas habent aquilae, et pennas columbae, et possunt dicere: Volabo et requiescam. Impii autem et Aegyptiorum similes, dermersi sunt quasi plumbum in aquis vehementissimis, et demersi sunt in profundum sicut lapis. Unde et iniquitas, sive ut melius habetur in Hebraeo, impietas super talentum plumbi sedere conspicitur. Ergo illud quod alibi legimus: Omnis qui se exltat, humiliabitur, etiam rex confusionis passus est, ut detraheretur in fundamenta terrae, sive ut verius in Hebraeo habetur, in profundum laci. De fundamentis terrae in Deuteronomio scribitur: Ignus succensus est in furore meo, ardebit usque ad infernum novissimum. Devorabit terram, et fundamenta ejus, eos videlict qui terreni sunt. De lacu quoque, quod per eum profunda significentur inferni, illa sunt testimonis: Assimlatus sum cum descendentibus in lacum. Et Posuerunt me in lacum novissimum. Sicut enim lacus aquas ad se descendentes, ita infernus animas suscipit: ad quem lacum descendit Banaias tempore nivis et frigoris et interfecti in eo leonem. Unde et haeretici relinquunt fontem aquae viventis Dominum, et fodiunt sibi lacus contritos qui aquam non valeant continere. De his lacis, qui fervorem non habent Spiritus sancti; nec Jeremiae prophetae similes sunt, qui juxta Septuaginta interpretes loquebatur: Inveni aquam calidam in deserto; sed refrigescente charitate, calorem Sancti Spiritus perdiderunt: ille est lacus, de quo idem Jeremias loquitur: Sicut refrigerat lacus aquam, sic refrigerat malitia habentes se. Qui utinam, juxta Apocalypsim Joannis, aut calidi essent, aut frigidi, id est, aut crederent, aut omnino non crederent, ne per teporem, et simulationem fidei a Domino rejicerentur. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Isaiam Prophetam, Lib VI, Cap XIV Source Migne PL 24.221b-222a

'But you are dragged off to hell, into the depths of the pit.' The Septuagint reads: 'But now you have fallen into hell, and to the foundations of the earth.' 1 Not willingly do you descend to hell, as indeed did the Lord our Saviour, so that He liberate those captive from hell, but you have been dragged off unwillingly, you who by virtue were able to climb to the heights, so by vice are dragged off to punishment. The holy have the wings of the eagle, and the wings of the dove, and they are able to say, 'I shall fly away and rest.' 2 But the impious are like the Egyptians: they have sunk down utterly like lead in the waters. 3 Whence iniquity, or better, as it in the Hebrew, impiety, is seen to sit upon the talent of lead. 4 Therefore, that which elsewhere we read: 'All who exalt themselves shall be humbled,' even a king suffering confusion as he is dragged away to the foundations of the earth, or more accurately, as it reads in the Hebrew: 'into the depths of the pit.' Concerning the foundations of the earth it is written in Deuteronomy: 'Fire has been kindled in my fury, it burns even to the furthest reaches of hell. It shall devour the earth and its foundations,' 5 that is, those who are worldly. And concerning the pit, by which the depths of hell are signified, there are these testimonies: 'I am made one with those who have fallen into the pit.' And: 'They placed me in the furthest reaches of the pit.' 6 As a pit receives the waters falling into it, so hell receives souls, to which pit Banaiah descended in a time of snow and cold, and in it he killed a lion. 7 Whence even the heretics who abandon the Lord, the fount of living waters, dig for themselves ragged pits which are not able to hold water. Like these pits are those who do not have the fervour of the Holy Spirit, who are not like those of the prophet Jeremiah, who according to the translation of the Septuagint, said: 'I found cold water in the desert,' 8 but they are cold in love, having lost the heat of the Holy Spirit, which is that pit of which Jeremiah says: 'As a pit keeps water fresh, so in them evil is kept fresh.' 9 They who should be, according to the Apocalypse of John, either warm or cold, that is, they should either believe or not, lest because of tepidity and a pretence of faith they are cast out by the Lord. 10 Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Prophet Isaiah, Book 6, Chapter 14 1 Isai 14.15 2 Ps 54.6 3 Exod 15.5 4 Zach 5.8 5 Deut 32.22 6 Ps 87.5,7 7 2 Kings 33.20, 1 Par 11.22 8 Jerem 2.6 9 Jerem 6.7 10 Apoc 3.15-16, Mt 7.21-23

Drawing Near To God

Εἶπε πάλιν· Ὅσον ἐγγιζει ἄνθρωπος τῷ Θεῷ, τοσοῦτον ἁμαρτωλὸν ἑαυτὸν βλέπει. Ἡσαῗας γὰρ ὁ προφήτης ἰδὼν τὸν Θεὸν, τάλαν καὶ ἀκάθαρτον ἔλεγεν ἑαυτόν. Ἀποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65.289c

Again Father Matoes said: 'The more a man draws near to God, the more he sees himself to be a sinner. Isiaah the Prophet beholding God, names himself a wretch and defiled.' 1 Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia 1 Isaiah 6.5

Words And Deeds

Ὁ χείλεσι μόνον ὁμολογῶν τὸν Χριστὸν, ἀρνησάμενος δὲ τοῖς ἔργοις, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ , οὐδε ἔχει αὐτὸν ἐν ἑαυτοῦ· μόνον καὶ παντὸς μετόχου τυγχάνοντος τοῦ εν αὐτῷ πάντα ποιοῦντος . Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς τον Προφήτην Ησαΐαν Source:  Migne PG 95.1169c

He who with lips alone confesses Christ, denying Him in works, 1 He is not in him, nor does he have Him in himself; 2 indeed the only one who participates fully in Him is he who does everything in Him. Didymus the Blind, On Isaiah, quoted in the Sacred Parallels of Saint John of Damascus 1 cf Isaiah 29.13, Mt 15.8 2 cf Jn 14.20-21

The Title Of Child

Τὸν Κύριον αὐτὸν ὀνομάζει παιδίον, τοῦτο διὰ Ἡσαΐου θεσπίζον, τὸ πνεῦμα· ἰδοὺ παιδίον ἐγεννήθη ἡμῖν, υἱὸς καὶ ἐδόθη ἡμῖν, οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὤμου αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκλήθη τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος. Τί οὖν τὸ παιδίον τὸ νήπιον, οὗ κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμεῖς οἱ νήπιοι; ∆ιὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ προφήτου διηγεῖται τὸ μέγεθος αὐτοῦ· θαυμαστὸς σύμβουλος, θεὸς δυνάστης, πατὴρ αἰώνιος, ἄρχων εἰρήνης τῷ πληθύνειν τὴν παιδείαν· καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστι πέρας. Ὢ τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ, ὢ τοῦ τελείου παιδίου· Υἱὸς ἐν Πατρί, καὶ Πατὴρ ἐν Υἱῷ· καὶ πῶς οὐ τέλειος ἡ παιδεία τοῦ παιδίου ἐκείνου, ἣ ἐπὶ πάντας διήκει τοὺς παῖδας ἡμᾶς παιδαγωγοῦσα τοὺς νηπίους αὐτοῦ; Οὗτος εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐξεπέτασε τὰς χεῖρας τὰς ἐναργῶς πεπιστευμένας. Τούτῳ προσμαρτυρεῖ τῷ παιδίῳ καὶ Ἰωάννης ὁ μείζων ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν προφήτης· ἰδοὺ ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. Ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἄρνας ὀνομάζει ἡ γραφὴ τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς νηπίους, τὸν Θεὸν τὸν λόγον τὸν δι' ἡμᾶς ἄνθρωπον γενόμενον, κατὰ πάντα ἡμῖν ἀπεικάζεσθαι βουλόμενον, ἀμνὸν κέκληκεν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὸν νήπιον τοῦ Πατρός. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Ὁ Παιδαγωγός, Λογὸς Α' Καεφαλ Ε' Source: Migne PG 8.277c-280a

The Spirit calls the Lord Himself a child, prophesying by Isaiah: 'Behold, a child has been born to us, and a son has been given to us, on whose own shoulder is the rule; and His name has been called the Angel of great Counsel.' 1 Who, then, is this infant child? He according to whose image we are made little children. 2 By the same Prophet is declared His greatness: 'Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace; that He might fulfil His discipline: and of His peace there shall be no end.' 1 O the great God! O the perfect child! The Son in the Father, and the Father in the Son. 3 And how shall not the discipline of this child be perfect, which reaches to all, leading as a schoolmaster the children who are his little ones? This one has stretched forth to us those hands of His that are distinctly worthy of trust. To this child additional witness is given by John, 'the greatest Prophet among those born of women:' 4 Behold the Lamb of God! 5 For since Scripture calls the infant children lambs, God the Word, who became man for us, and who wished in all parts to be made like to us, it has called 'the Lamb of God', the Son of God, the child of the Father. Clement of Alexandria, from The Instructor, Book 1, Chap 5 1 Isaiah 9.6 LXX 2 Mt 18.3 3 Jn 14.10-11 4 Luke 7.28 5 Jn 1.29

The First And Second Fear

Ὅταν δι' ὑπομονῆς καὶ εὐχῆς λάβωμεν τὴν ἄνωθεν δωρεὰν, τότε διῶξαι δυνάμεθα τοὺς ἀοράτους βαρβάρους, καὶ ποσιῦνται τρόμῳ ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας ἡμῶν. Φησὶ γὰρ καί τις προφήτης, ὅτι Οὕσπερ τὸ πρῶτον ἐφοβεῖσθε, φοβηθήσονται ὑμᾶς. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΠΖ ' Γιγαντιῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 79 153b

When by endurance and prayer we receive gifts from above, then we are able to put to flight the unseen barbarians, and they fall in fear before our feet. For a certain prophet says: 'As you first feared, they will fear you.' 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 187, to Gigantios The Deacon 1 Isaiah 33.7

Stars And Angels

Et paulo post: Cum me laudarent simul astra matutina, et jubilarent omnes filii Dei; astra videlicet matutina eosdem angelos, quos et filios Dei nuncupans, ad distinctionem nimirum hominum sanctorum, qui postmodum creandi, ac velut astra vesperina post confessionem divinae laudationis per mortem erant carnis occasuri. E quibus videlicet astris matuinis, unum ob despectum sociae Dei laudationis audire meruit: Quomodo cecidisti de caelo, Lucifer, qui mane oriebaris? Corruisiti in terram qui vulnerabas gentes, qui dicebas in corde tuo: In coelum ascendam, super sidera coeli exaltabo solium meum. In cujus expostionine sententiae sanctus Hieronymus meminit etiam superioris coeli, ita scribens, Vel antequam de coelo corruerat ista dicebat; vel postquam de coelo corruit. Si adhuc in coleo positus, quomodo dicit, Ascendam in coelum? Sed quia legimus, Caelum caeli Domino, cum esset in coelo, id est, firmamento, in coelum ubi solium Domini est cupiebat ascendere, non in humilitate, sed superbia. Sin autem postquam corruit de caelo ista loquitur, verba arrogantiae debemus intelligere, qui nec praecipitatus quiescat, sed adhuc sibi grandia repromittit, non ut inter astra, sed super astra Dei sit. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Genesim Libri Quatour, Liber I, Caput I Source:  Migne PL 107.445 b-d

And a little after: 'When the stars of morning praised me together and all the sons of God rejoiced.' 1 The morning stars are certainly those angels who are named sons of God, doubtless to distinguish them from holy men, who after creation, are as the evening stars, coming to the confession of Divine praise through death's sunset of the flesh. And among those morning stars, one disdaining association with the praise of God, was found worthy to hear: 'How have you fallen from heaven, Lucifer, who in the morning arose? You have fallen to earth where you have wounded the peoples, you who say in your heart: I shall ascend into the sky, and over the heavens I shall exalt my throne.' 2 In the exposition of which passage Saint Jerome recalls the higher heaven, writing: 'Either before he fell from heaven he said this, or after he had fallen. If he was yet in heaven, how does he say, I shall ascend to heaven? But because we read: 'The heaven of heaven is the Lord's,' 3 when he was in heaven, that is, the firmament, he desired to ascend into the heaven where is the throne of God, not in humility but by pride. Or if he said this after he fell from heaven, we should understand these as words of arrogance, of one who will not be silent when cast down, but he promises himself great things: not to be among the stars but above the stars.' 4 Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Genesis, Book I, Chapter I 1 Job 38.7 2 Isai 14.12-13 3 Psal 113.24 4 Jerom Com Isai 6.14 col220b-c

Counsel On Clothing

Rex Ninive purpura indutus propriae civitatis excidium meruit; coopertus sacco divini furoris motum contriti cordis humilitate placavit. Ezechias quoque cultu regio decoratus, terribiles regis Assyriorum minas tremefactus audivit; sed mox ut ipse cilicio tegitur, cilicioque contectos ad prophetam mittere nuntios non erubuit, propinquae divinae victoriae, et optatae prosperitatis oraculum reportavit. Quae nimirum promissio, Scriptura teste, celerem pervenit ad exitum. Nam ecce angelus Domini centum octoginta quinque millia Assyriorum una nocte percussit, deinde ipsum Sennacherib regem uterque filius parricidali quidem, sed digno gladio trucidavit. Vides igitur apud Deum quantum vestis fluxa distet ab aspera. Perpendis, quia quem iratum experiri delicta meruerat, vilis et abjecta vestis judicem placat; et quem plectibilem illa reddiderat, venia dignum ista commendat. Cujus autem momenti apud Deum vestium sit ornatus, egregius ille prophetarum Isaias evidenter ostendit, qui nimirum ad divinae jussionis imperium vestimenta deposuit, et per trium annorum spatium nudus, et discalceatus incessit. Erubescat igitur humana superbia, confundatur mens misera vanae gloriae peste corrupta, dum ille videlicet organum Dei, templum Spiritus sancti, divinae justitiae propalator, non dubitavit publice nudus in cenere. Et infelix homo, qui ne ullum quidem meruit divinae familiaritatis indicium, superstitiosum laciniosae vestis affectat ornatum; et dum male coloratae vestis fucos induitur, lubricus aspici a semetipso, superni Speculatoris oculos non veretur averti. Ita sane dum indumentum illud arrogantiae sub divina aestimatione despicitur, is etiam qui induitur, consequenter abominabilis judicatur. Sanctus Peter Damianus, De Contemptu Saeculi, Caput XVI Source: Migne PL 145.268c-269a

The King of Nineveh bedecked in purple imperiled his own city to ruin; covered in sackcloth, by the motion of a contrite and humble heart, he placated the Divine anger. 1 Hezekiah also, when adorned in the regal raiment heard the fearsome threats of the terrible Assyrian king, but soon, placing on himself a hairshirt, and sending to the Prophet messengers also covered with hairshirts, he was not disgraced, but the oracle announced that the Divine victory was near and the prosperity that was longed for. Indeed Scripture gives witness how quickly from the promise comes the ruin. For behold, an angel of the Lord in one night struck down one hundred and eighty five thousand Assyrians, and then Sennacherib himself by his sons was slain by the worthy sword. 2 See, therefore, how greatly garments may distance oneself from the bitter flood. Consider that he who has merited anger on account of evil done may propitiate judgement with vile and abject clothing, and him on whom punishment should have been brought, commends himself as one worthy of forgiveness. And of what importance to God may be the covering of vestments, Isaiah above all the prophets most openly shows, who by Divine command put off his vestments and for three years was naked and walked about shoeless. 3 Therefore let human pride blush, let the wretched mind infected with vainglory be confounded when he who was an organ of God, a temple of the Holy Spirit, a dispenser of Divine righteousness, did not hesitate to go about naked in public. Wretched is the man who has not deserved to give any token of familiarity with the Divine, but has the hems of his garments set with superstitious decorations, and while wickedly bedecked with coloured vestments, fears not to be seen as a deceiver, as if the eyes of heaven were averted from him. But indeed while he is wrapped in his vestments of arrogance the Divine judgement does look down on him, and certainly he who is clothed so will consequently be judged as one abominable. Saint Peter Damian, from On Contempt For The World, Chapter 16 1 Jonah 3 2 4 kings 18.28-19.37 3 Isaiah 20.1-3

Christ And The Mountain

Et dimisit me super montem excelsum nimis. Quem ergo significat mons excelsus nisi Mediatorem Dei et hominum hominem Christum Jesum? Qui de terra quidem, sed ultra terram est, quia caro ejusdem Redemptoris nostri de imis habet materiam, sed in summis praeeminet ex potestate. Quem minus erat ut excelsum diceret, nisi adderet nimis, quia non solum homo, sed ex ejusdem humanitatis conceptione quae ab eo assumpta est Deus homo, non solum homo ultra homines, sed homo etiam super angelos factus. Hinc enim de illo per Isaiam dicitur: In die illa erit fructus terrae sublimis . Creator etenim noster, quia pro nobis incarnatus est, fructus terrae factus est nobis. Sed jam fructus terrae sublimis est, quia homo natus in terra super angelos regnat in coelo, quia juxta David et Pauli vocem, Omnia subjecit sub pedibus ejus. In eo enim quod ei subjecit omnia, nihil demisit non subjectum ei. Mons ergo iste est et excelsus, et nimis, quia etsi de terra est per substantiam humanitatis, incomprehensibilis tamen est ex altitudine divinitatis. Hinc est enim quod eumdem Dominum cum Isaias propheta prospiceret in carne esse venturum, per prophetiae spiritum sublevatus, ait: Et erit in novissimis diebus praeparatus mons domus Domini in vertice montium. Domus enim Domini Israeliticus populus fuit. Mons itaque domus Domini ille appellatus est, qui ex Israelitico populo incarnari dignatus est. Fuerunt autem in eodem populo sancti viri qui montes jure vocarentur, quia per vitae meritum ad coelestia propinquaverunt. Sed incarnatus unigenitus istis montibus aequalis non fuit, quia naturam, vitam, merita omnium ex sua divinitate transcendit. Unde et recte mons super verticem montium dicitur, quia excelsus ex divinitate sua inventus est, etiam super cacumina sanctorum, ut hi qui multum in Deo profecerant, ejus vestigia vix potuissent tangere ex vertice cogitationis. Qui ergo illic mons super verticem montium dicitur, ipse hic mons excelsus nimis esse perhibetur. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia I Source: Migne PL 76 937-938

And He set me on an extremely high mountain. 1 Whom does this lofty mountain signify but the Mediator of God and Men, the man Jesus Christ. He who is indeed from the earth, yet beyond the earth He is, because the flesh of our Redeemer has matter from its depths but it rises up into the heights on account of power. That which was less so that it might be named high He added to excessively, that not only a man, but from human conception by which God took up man, not only a man beyond men, but a man even above the angels He was made. Whence concerning this it is said by Isaiah, 'In that day shall be the finest fruit of the earth.' 2 Indeed our Creator because He became incarnate for us is made the fruit of the earth for us. And the fruit of the earth is the finest because a man is born on earth who rules over the angels in heaven, so that according to the speech of David and Paul, 'All things are beneath His feet.' 3 And since everything is beneath there is nothing that is not beneath. Therefore this mountain is the highest, and extremely so, because even if He is from the earth on account of the substance of his humanity, yet He is incomprehensible because of the height of His Divinity. This is the same Lord whom Isaiah foresaw coming in the flesh, when uplifted by the prophetic spirit, he said, 'And it shall be in those last days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be over the peaks of the mountains.' 4 For the house of the Lord was the people of Israel. Thus He is named the mountain of the house of the Lord, who from the people of Israel deemed it worthy to be incarnated. There were even among this same people holy men who rightly could be called mountains, because they merited by their lives to be near the heavens. But the Only Begotten incarnate was not a mountain like these since on account of His Divinity He transcended their nature, their lives, and all their merits. Whence it is correctly said 'a mountain over the peaks of the mountains,' because He is found to be highest by His Divinity, even over the heights of the holy, that even those who had advanced much in God were scarcely able to grasp His way in the heights of their thoughts. Therefore He who was there said to be a mountain over the peaks of the mountains, here is given to be a mountain that is excessively high. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 1 1 Ezek 40.2 2 Isai 4.2 3 Ps 8.8, Heb 2.8 4 Isai 2.2

Belief And Judgement

Dicit enim Scriptura per Esaiam: Omnis qui credit in illum, non confundetur. Dum enim examen coeperit fieri omnium rerum in die judicii, et omnia falsa commenta vel dogmata in confusionem deduci; tunc in Christum credentes tripudiabunt, videntes omnibus manifestari quia quod crediderunt, verum est: et prudens, quod stulum putabatur. Aspicient enim inter caeteros se solos gloriosos et prudentes, qui aestimati fuerant contemptibiles et stulti. Illic est enim vera approbatio, ubi remuneratio et condemnatio. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Caput X Source: Migne PL 17 144a-b

For Scripture says by Isaiah: 'All who believe in Him, shall not be confounded.' 1 For when the examination of all things has begun on the day of judgement, and all false works and false teaching have been led off in confusion, then those who believe in Christ shall rejoice, when all things are made clear they will see that what they believed is true, and that he is wise who was thought foolish. For they shall see among the others with them only the glorious and wise, they who were once judged to be contemptible and stupid. For there is true approval, where there is reward and damnation. Ambrosiaster, from the Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 10 1 Isaiah 18.26, Rom 10.11

Giving Gifts

Φησὶν ὁ θεσπέσιος Ἡσαϊας· Ἵνα εἴπωσιν· Οὐκ ἔστιν ὡς τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο, περὶ οὖ οὐκ ἔστι δοῦναι δῶρα. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀντάξιον εὑρεθήσεται τῆς τοῦ Δεσποτικοῦ ὀνόματος ὁμολογίας, καὶ τῆς παρασχεθείσης ἡμῖν μακαρίας, καὶ ἁγίας γνώσεως. Διόπερ ἐπὶ τούτῳ δίκαιον λέγειν τὸ Δαυϊτικὸν λόγιον· Τί ἀνταποδώσω τῷ Κυρίῳ περὶ πάντων ὦν ἀντεπέδωκέ μοι; πίστιν λαβὼν, καὶ ἀνταποδοὺς γνῶσιν ἐπουράνιον. Ἡ γὰρ ἁγία γνῶσις μυρίων ἀγαθῶν ἐστι περιεκτική. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ Θ', Πτολεμαιῳ Source: Migne PG 79 85c

The blessed Isaiah says, 'That they say: There is not for this word, a gift to give.' 1 For nothing will be found to be of equal worth than the confession of the the Domincial name, for the bringing to us of blessedness  and sacred knowledge. Whence because of this it is right to speak the words of David, 'What shall I give to the Lord for all the things he has given to me? 2 Faith receiving, He returns heavenly knowledge. For sacred knowledge in itself contains innumerable goods. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 9, To Ptolemaius 1 Is 8. 20 LXX 2 Ps 115.3

Names And Deeds And Gifts

Provoca nunc, ut soles, ad hanc Esaiae comparationem Christi, contendens illam in nullo convenire. Primo enim, inquis, Christus Esaiae Emmanuel vocari habebit, debinc virtutem sumere Damasci et spolia Samariae adversus regem Assyriorum. Porro iste, qui venit, neque sub eiusmodi nomine est editus neque ulla re bellica functus est.  At ego te admonebo, uti cohaerentia quoque utriusque capituli recognoscas. Subiuncta est enim et interpretatio Emmanuelis, Nobiscum Deus; uti non solum sonum nominis spectes, sed et sensum. Sonus enim Hebraicus, quod est Emmanuel, suae gentis est; sensus autem eius, quod est Deus nobiscum, ex interpretatione communis est. Quaere ergo an ista vox, Nobiscum deus, quod est Emmanuel, exinde quo Christus illuxit, agitetur in Christo. Et puto, non negabis, utpote qui et ipse dicas, Deus nobiscum dicitur, id est Emmanuel. Aut si tam vanus es, ut quia penes te Nobiscum deus dicitur, non Emmanuel, idcirco nolis venisse illum cuius proprium sit vocari Emmanuel, quasi non hoc sit et Deus nobiscum, invenies apud Hebraeos Christianos, immo et Marcionitas, Emmanuelem nominare, cum volunt dicere Nobiscum deus; sicut et omnis gens, quoquo sono dixerit Nobiscum deus, Emmanuelem pronuntiavit in sensu sonum expungens. Quodsi Emmanuel Nobiscum deus est, deus autem nobiscum Christus est, qui etiam in nobis est, quotquot enim in Christum tincti estis, Christum induistis, tam proprius est Christus in significatione nominis, quod est Nobiscum deus, quam in sono nominis, quod est Emmanuel. Atque ita constat venisse iam illum qui praedicabatur Emmanuel, quia quod significat Emmanuel venit, id est Nobiscum deus. Aeque et sono nominum duceris, cum virtutem Damasci et spolia Samariae et regem Assyriorum sic accipis quasi bellatorem portendant Christum creatoris, non animadvertens quid scriptura praemittat, quoniam priusquam cognoscat vocare patrem et matrem, accipiet virtutem Damasci et spolia Samariae adversus regem Assyriorum. Ante est enim inspicias aetatis demonstrationem, an hominem iam Christum exhibere possit, nedum imperatorem. Scilicet vagitu ad arma esset convocaturus infans, et signa belli non tuba sed crepitacillo daturus, nec ex equo vel de curru vel de muro, sed de nutricis aut gerulae suae collo sive dorso hostem destinaturus, atque ita Damascum et Samariam pro mammillis subacturus?  Aliud est si penes Ponticos barbariae gentis infantes in proelium erumpunt, credo ad solem uncti prius, dehinc pannis armati et butyro stipendiati, qui ante norint lanceare quam lancinare. Enimvero si nusquam hoc natura concedit, ante militare quam vivere, ante virtutem Damasci sumere quam patris et matris vocabulum nosse, sequitur ut figurata pronuntiatio videatur. Sed et virginem, inquit, parere natura non patitur, et tamen creditur prophetae. Et merito. Praestruxit enim fidem incredibili rei, rationem edendo, quod in signo esset futura. Propterea, inquit, dabit vobis dominus signum: Ecce virgo concipiet in utero et pariet filium. Signum autem a Deo, nisi novitas aliqua monstruosa, iam signum non fuisset. Denique et Iudaei, si quando ad nos deiciendos mentiri audent, quasi non virginem sed iuvenculam concepturam et parituram scriptura contineat, hinc revincuntur quod nihil signi videri possit res cotidiana, iuvenculae scilicet praegnatus et partus. In signum ergo disposita virgo et mater merito creditur, infans vero bellator non aeque. Non enim et hic signi ratio versatur. Sed signo nativitatis novae adscripto exinde post signum alius ordo iam infantis edicitur, mel et butyrum manducaturi.  Nec hoc utique in signum est, malitiae non assentaturi, et hoc enim infantiae est, sed accepturi virtutem Damasci et spolia Samariae adversus regem Assyriorum. Serva modum aetatis et quaere sensum praedicationis, immo redde evangelio veritatis quae posterior detraxisti, et tam intellegitur prophetia quam renuntiatur expuncta. Maneant autem orientales illi Magi in infantia Christum recentem auro et ture munerantes, et acceperit infans virtutem Damasci sine proelio et armis. Nam praeter quod omnibus notum est, orientis virtutem, id est vim et vires, auro et odoribus pollere solitam, certe est creatori virtutem ceterarum quoque gentium aurum constituere, sicut per Zachariam, Et Iudas praetendet apud Hierusalem et congregabit omnem valentiam populorum per circuitum, aurum et argentum. De illo autem tunc auri munere etiam David, Et dabitur illi ex auro Arabiae; et rursus, Reges Arabum et Saba munera offerent illi. Nam et Magos reges habuit fere oriens, et Damascus Arabiae retro deputabatur, antequam transcripta esset in Syrophoenicen ex distinctione Syriarum, cuius tunc virtutem Christus accepit, accipiendo insignia eius, aurum scilicet et odores; spolia autem Samariae ipsos Magos, qui cum illum cognovissent et muneribus honorassent et genu posito adorassent quasi Deum et regem sub testimonio indicis et ducis stellae. Tertullianus, Adversus Marcionem, Liber III, Caput XII  Migne PL 2 336-337

And you challenge us now, as is your custom, with Isaiah's description of Christ, contending that it is in no way suitable. For firstly you say that Isaiah's Christ will have to be called Emmanuel, 1 and then that He must take way the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria against the king of Assyria. 2 And yet the one who has come was neither born under this name, nor engaged in any warfare. But I admonish you that you should look into the meanings of both passages. For there is added the interpretation of Emmanuel, 'God with us;' so that you should not merely attend to the sound of the name, but also the sense. The speech is Hebrew, of his own people, that is, 'Emmanuel,' but the sense of it, 'God with us,' is by translation made common to all. Seek, then, whether this name, 'God with us,' which is 'Emmanuel,' since Christ enlightened, be not used for Christ. And I think you will not deny it, since you say He is called 'God with us,' that is, Emmanuel. Else if you are so vain, that, because with you He is called 'God with us', not Emmanuel, you therefore are unwilling to allow that He has come whose right it is to be called Emmanuel, as if this were not God with us, you will find among the Hebrew Christians, and even the Marcionites, that they name Him Emmanuel when they mean God with us, just indeed as every nation, by whatever sound they would use to say 'God with us', has called Him Emmanuel, with the meaning erasing the word. Now since Emmanuel is 'God with us', and 'God with us' is Christ, who is even in us, for 'as many of you as are baptized into Christ, have put on Christ' 3, so Christ is in the meaning of the name, which is 'God with us', as He is in the pronunciation of the name, which is Emmanuel. And thus it holds that He has already come who was foretold as Emmanuel, because that which Emmanuel signifies has come, that is to say, 'God with us'. And you are equally led away by the sound of names, when you so understand the power of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria, and the king of Assyria, as if they portended that the Creator's Christ would be a warrior, not attending to the prediction contained in the passage, 'For before the Child shall have knowledge to say father and mother, He shall take away the power of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria against the king of Assyria.' 2 You should first look to the description of age, whether it is able to show Christ as a man, much less a general. Although certainly by his cry the infant might be about to call to arms, he might be about to sound the alarm, not with a trumpet but with a little rattle, he might be about to seek the enemy, not on horseback, nor in chariot, nor from the wall, but from nurse's neck or maid's back, and so subjugate Damascus and Samaria from His mother's breasts. It is different, of course, when the babies of barbarian Pontus spring forth to battle. I believe they are anointed first in sunshine and then armed and rationed with bread and butter. 4 Now if it is allowed that nature nowhere grants that warfare be learned before life, to take the power of Damascus before he knows his father and mother's name, it follows that this is figurative speech. But, he may say, nature does not allow 'a virgin to conceive,' and yet the Prophet is believed. And with merit, for he has prepared beforehand trust in  the incredible thing, giving a reason for it, that it was to be a sign for the future. 'Therefore,' he says, 'the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son.' 5 Now a sign from God, unless it were something novel and notable, would not have been a sign. And then some Jews, attempting to disconcert us with falsehoods, say that Scripture does not read that a virgin is to conceive and give birth but only a young woman, but they are refuted because nothing can be a sign that is a daily occurrence, that is, a young woman being pregnant and giving birth. As a sign, then, a virgin and mother is rightly adjudged, but a warlike infant is not like this, for in this the sense of the sign is not grasped. But after the sign of the strange and novel birth, afterwards is declared as another sign the course of the Infant, who was to eat butter and honey. Not that this indeed is as a sign, nor is His 'refusing the evil,' for this, too, is of infancy, but His taking of the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria against the king of Assyria is indeed a sign. Attend to the statement of the age, and seek the sense of the prophecy, and do give back to the truth of the Gospel what you later took from it, and so, renouncing its omissions, the prophecy is understood. Let those eastern Magi wait on the new born Christ, offering to Him in His infancy, their gifts of gold and frankincense, and surely an Infant shall receive the might of Damascus without a battle and unarmed. For besides what is known to all, that the might of the East, that is, its strength and resources, usually consist of gold and spices, it is certainly true of the Creator, that He makes gold the riches of the other nations also, as He says by Zechariah: 'And Judah shall also fight at Jerusalem and shall gather together all the wealth of the nations round about, gold and silver.' 6 And then concerning that gift of gold, David also says: 'And there shall be given to Him of the gold of Arabia,' 7 and again: 'The kings of Arabia and Saba shall offer to Him gifts.'  8 For the East generally regarded the Magi as kings, and Damascus in the past was deemed to belong to Arabia, before it was transferred to Syrophœnicia in the division of the Syria, which riches Christ then received, accepting its tokens, gold and spices, while the spoils of Samaria were the Magi themselves, who when they found Him and honoured Him with their gifts, on bended knee adored Him as God and King, by the witness of the star which led their way and guided them. Tertullian, from Against Marcion, Book 3, Chap 12 1 Is 7.14   2 Is 8.4 3Gal 3.27  4 Marcion was from Pontus 5 Is 7:14   6 Zech 14.14  7 Ps 71.15  8 Ps 71.10