Angels Ascending and Descending

Et dormiens vidit scalam subnixam, innitentem coelo, et angelos Dei ascendentes et descendentes. Porro scala Christus est, qui dixit: Ego sum via. Per hanc ascendunt, et descendunt angeli, in quibus significati sunt evangelistae, et praedicatores Christi. Ascendentes utique, cum ad intelligendam ejus supereminentissimam divinitatem excedunt universam creaturam, ut eum inveniant in principio verbum, Deum apud Deum, per quem facta sunt omnia. Descendentes autem, ut eum inveniant factum ex muliere, factum sub lege, ut eos qui sub lege erant redimeret. In illa enim scala a terra usque in coelum, a carne usque ad spiritum, carnales proficiendo, velut ascendendo, spirituales fiunt; ad quos lacte nutriendos etiam ipsi spirituales descendunt quodammodo, cum eis non possunt loqui, quasi spiritualibus, sed quasi carnalibus. Ipse est sursum in capite suo; ipse deorsum in corpore suo, quod est Ecclesia. Ipsum ergo scalam intelligimus, quia ipse dixit: Ego sum via. Ad ipsum ergo ascenditur, ut in excelsis intelligatur. Et ad ipsum descenditur, ut in membris suis parvulus nutriatur. Et per illum se erigunt, ut eum sublimiter spectent. Per ipsum etiam se humiliant, ut eum sublimiter ac temperanter annuntient. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput XXIV Source: Migne PL 83.258a-d

And sleeping he saw a ladder set on the earth, and the top of it touched heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending. 1 The ladder is Christ who said, 'I am the way,' 2 By this angels ascend and descend, in which are signified the evangelists and the preachers of Christ. They ascend when they bring every creature to the understanding of His supereminent Divinity, so that they find Him to be the Word in the Beginning, God with God, through whom all things were made. 3 And they descend so that they find Him born of a woman, under the law, so that He might redeem those who were under the law. 4 For in that ladder stretching from earth to heaven is the advance from the flesh to the spirit, when a carnal people advance on its ascent and becomes spiritual, and the spiritual descent is to those who are nourished on milk, when they cannot be spoken to as spiritual people but only as carnal people. 5 He is above as the head and He is below as the body, which is the Church. 6 We understand Him, then, as the ladder, because He said, 'I am the way.' And therefore to Him there is ascent in the understanding of high things. And in Him there is descent so that in His members the little one is nourished. And through Him they rise so that they look on Him sublimely, and indeed through Him they are lowered so that they preach sublimely and temperately. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chapter 24 1 Gen 28.12 2 Jn 14.16 3 Jn 1.1-3 4 Gal 4.4-5 5 1 Cor 3.2 6 Colos 1.18

Growing And Multiplying

Dixitque ei: Ego Dominus omnipotens: Cresce et multiplicare; gentes et populi nationum erunt ex te; reges de lumbis tuis egredientur; terramque quam dedi Abraham et Isaac, dabo tibi et semini tuo post te; et recessit ab eo. Haec promissio ad spirituale semen Jacob pertinet, sicut de Abraham ante jam dictum est. Omnes enim qui supplantant vitia, et veterem hominem cum acitbus ejus deponunt, mentisque suae oculos ad videndum Deum intentos habent, rite ad Jacob pertinent, cujus fidem et actus imitantur; regesque de lumbis ejus egredientar, hoc est sancti, qui vere reges dicuntur, eo quod veraciter secundum Dei voluntatem semetipsos ac sibi subditos regunt. De ejus semine spirituali, hoc est fidei imitatione in bonis operibus fecundantur. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Genesim, Liber III, Caput XXIII Source: Migne PL 107.616c-d

And He said to Jacob, 'I am the Lord Almighty. Grow and multiply. Nations and peoples of the nations shall come from you. Kings shall come forth from your lions, and the land I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I shall give to you and your seed after you.' And He withdrew from him. 1 This promise pertains to the spiritual seed of Jacob, as it was spoken to Abraham previously. For all who overthrow vices and cast down the old man with his acts, and have the eyes of the soul intent on seeing God, rightly belong to Jacob, and they imitate his faith and deeds. And kings shall come forth from his lions, that is, saints, who rightly are named kings, because more correctly, according to the will of God, they rule themselves and those below them. Concerning his spiritual seed, it is by the imitation of faith they are made fruitful in good works. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Genesis, Book 3, Chapter 23 1 Gen 35.11-12

Gifts And Meekness

Ὁ Ἰακὼβ τῷ Ἰωσὴφ χιτῶνα ποικίλον ἐποίησε, καὶ ὁ Κύριος τῷ πραεῖ γνῶσιν ἀληθείας χαρίζεται, καθὰ γέγραπται, ὅτι Διδἀξει πραεῖς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Source: Migne PG 65.929b

Jacob made a coat of many colours for his son Joseph, and the Lord gives the gift of the knowledge of the truth to the meek, as it is written, 'He shall teach the meek His ways.' 1 Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law. 1 Ps 34.9

The Siring Of The Apostles And The Church

Jacob autem genuit Judam et fratres ejus. Et noster Jacob genuit duodecim apostolos in spiritu, non in carne: verbo, non sanguine. Nam sicut ille cum suis duodecim descendit in Aegyptum, ut multiplicaretur: sic et Christus cum suis duodecim apostolis descendit in mundum, et multiplicatus est per totum mundum, sicut res ipsa testatur. Item sicut ille descendit, ut medullam Aegypti manducaret, id est, acquireret sibi. Medualla enim hujus mundi sunt homines sancti. Sicut medulla quamdiu in arbore fuerit sana, semper floret; cum autem percomesta fuerit, tota paulatim marcescendo siccatur: et sic quamdiu sunt fideles, stat iste mundus. Nam sicut egredientibus Israelitis de Aegypto, exterminata est Aegyptus: sic et sancti cum de isto mundo defecerint, casurus est iste mundus. Judas autem interpretatur confessor, quoniam Christi imago, qui confessor Patris erat futurus, dicens, Confitebor tibi, Pater, Domine caeli et terrae. Quia sicut Judas meretici conjunctus est, et dedit illi virgam et annulum; sic et Christus ecclesiae meretrici ex gentibus se conjunxit, et dedit illi pro mercede conjunctionis virgam crucis, an annulum Spiritus sancti per baptismum, quasi signaculum fidei praecedentis, quem etiam alibi lascivo filio revertenti dari praecepit pater benignus. Et ideo forsitan Thamar, uxor ejus, interpretatur immutata, vel exacerbatio: quia et in ipsa habet intellectum conventientem et in Ecclesia. In ipsa quidem, quia cum esset casta, in meretricem se immutavit, et facta est exacerbatio Judae in ira, sicut Genesis liber testatur. In Ecclesia autem, quia fuerat eccelsia meretrix, et exacerbatio Dei, postmodum autem immutata per fidem Christi facta est casta. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia Prima Source: Migne PG 56.614

Jacob sired Judah and his brothers. Our Jacob sired the twelve Apostles in the spirit, not in the flesh, with the word, not with blood. For as Jacob with his twelve went down into Egypt that they be multiplied, so even Christ with his twelve Apostles descended into the world and they were multiplied through the whole world, as the thing itself bears witness. And similarly as He went down that he eat the marrow of Egypt, that is, that he gain it for himself, so the marrow of this world are holy men. As while the pith in the tree is healthy it flourishes, and when sick, in a short while it dries up in withering, so while the faithful exist, the world stands. For as with the going out of the Israelites from Egypt the Egyptians were exterminated, so when those who are holy diminish in the world, so falls the world. Now Judah is interpreted confessor, because he is an image of Christ, He who was to be the future confessor of the Father, saying 'I confess to you Father, Lord of heaven and earth.' 1 And because Judah was joined to a whore, and he gave to her a staff and a ring, 2 so even Christ is joined to the meretricious Church drawn from the Gentiles, and for payment for the union He gave to her the wood of the cross and the ring of the Holy Spirit through baptism, a ring of surpassing faith, which indeed in another place, a kind father commanded to be given to a lascivious son who returned. 3 And so perhaps Tamar, his wife, is to be interpreted 'changeless' or 'exaberation', because she has a similar meaning as the Church. Tamar, because she was chaste and changed herself into a whore, became an exaberation to Judah to anger, as the book of Genesis says. But the Church because she was whoreish, and an exasperation to God, yet later by the changeless faith of Christ was made chaste. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from The First Homily 1 Lk 10.21 2. Gen 38.18 3 Lk 15.22

Doubting Dreams

Denique in puero adhuc refulsit divina gratia. Siquidem somniavit quod cum alligasset, ut sibi videbatur per visum, manipulos cum fratribus suis, surrexerit manipulus ejus, et steterit erectus: conversi autem fratrum manipuli, adoraverint manipulum summ. In quo utique futura resurrectio Domini Jesu revelata est, quem et Hierosolymis cum vidissent, undecim adoravere discipuli, et omnes sancti cum resurrexerint, adorabunt, fructus bonorum operum praeferentes, sicut scriptum est: Venientes autem venient cum exsultatione, tollentes manipulos suos. Unde fratres, licet somnii fidem per invidiam derogarent, interpretationem tamen ejus propriis sermonibus exprimentes, responderunt ei: Numquid regnando regnaturus es nobis, aut dominando dominaturus es nobis? Regem enim venturum visio illa significabat, quem omnis caro generis humani inflexo adoraret genu.Vidit autem aliud somnium, et narravit illud patri suo et fratribus suis, eo quod sol et luna et undecim stellae adorarent eum. Unde objurgavit illum pater ejus dicens: Quid ergo erit hoc visum quod somniasti? Numquid venientes ego et mater tua et fratres tui adorabimus te super terram? Quis est ille quem parentes et fratres adoraverunt super terram, nisi Christus Jesus, quando eum Joseph et mater cum discipulis adorabant, Deum verum in illo corpore confitentes, de quo solo dictum est: Laudate eum, sol et luna; laudate eum, omnes stellae et lumen? Objurgatio autem partris quid significat, nisi duritiam populi Israel, ex quibus Christus secundum carnem, quem hodieque Deum esse non credunt, nec volunt aodrare quasi Dominum, quia ex se natum cognoscunt? Audiunt itaque responsa ejus, sed non intelligunt: legunt ipsi quod eum sol et luna laudant, et nolunt credere de Christo Jesu dictum esse. Itaque Jacob typo fallitur alieno: sed suo amore non fallitur. Pietas in eo paterna non errat: sed erraturae plebis affectus exprimitur. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Jospeph Partiarcha, Caput II Source: Migne PL 14.643c-644b

Then in boyhood he shone with Divine grace. He had a dream that he was bound, so that it seemed to him in his vision that he was a sheaf with his brothers, and his sheaf rose up, and it stood erect, and the sheaves of his brothers turned to his and they adored his sheaf. 1 In which is the future resurrection of the Lord Jesus revealed, which seeing in Jerusalem the eleven disciples adored, and all the saints shall adore when they have risen, bringing before them the fruit of good works, as it is written, 'Coming in exultation, bearing their sheaves ' 2 Whence the brothers, on account of envy refusing to have faith in the dream, giving their own interpretation of the matter, responded to him, 'Shall you rule over us, and shall you have dominion over us?' 3 For the vision of the coming king signified Him whom all flesh on bended knee shall adore. And he saw another dream, and he told it to his father and his brothers, in which the sun and the moon and the eleven stars adored him. Whence his father rebuked him, saying, 'What, then, is the dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers come and adore you upon the earth? 4Who is this whom parents and brothers shall adore on the earth, unless Jesus Christ, when Joseph and his Mother adored Him along with the disciples, confessing the true God in the flesh, concerning which, to mention one thing alone, it is said, ' Praise him, sun and moon, praise him all you stars and light'? 5 And what does the rebuke of the father signify unless the hardness of the people of Israel, from whom Christ was according to the flesh, and whom even today do not believe Him to be God, nor are willing to adore him as Lord, whom they know as born from them? So they hear his reply, but they do not understand. They read that the sun and the moon praise him and they cannot credit it is spoken about Jesus Christ. Thus Jacob is a deceived by an incorrect type, but his love is not deceived. His paternal piety does not err, but the erring thought of a people is here expressed. Saint Ambrose, On The Patriarch Joseph, Chap 2 1 Gen 37.7 2 Ps 125.6 3 Gen 37.8 4 Gen 37.10 5 Ps 148.3

Two Peoples

In eo quod Dominus respondit Rebeccae: Duae gentes in utero tuo sunt, et duo populi de ventre tuo separabuntur, et populus populum superabit, et major serviet minori, spirituali intelligentia carnales in populo Dei significantur per majorem filium, et spirituales per minorem: quia sicut dicit Apostolus, Non prius quod spirituale, sed quod animale; postea, spirituale. Solet et sic intelligi hoc quod dictum est, ut in Esau figuratus sit major populus Dei, hoc est Israeliticus secundum carnem: per Jacob autem figuratus sit ipse Jacob secundum spiritualem progeniem. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Quaestionum In Heptateuchum, Liber Primus Source: Migne PL 34.567

When the Lord gave answer to Rebecca: 'Two nations are in your womb, and two people will come out from it, and a people shall overcome a people, and the elder will serve the younger,' 1 in the spiritual understanding the carnal folk among the people of God are signified by the elder son, and the spirtual by the younger, as the Apostle says: 'The spiritual was not first, but the animal, after came the spiritual. ' 2 It is customary to understand what was said, that in Esau is the figure of the elder people of God, that is, Israel according to the flesh, and in Jacob is the figure of the spiritual offspring. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Questions on The Heptateuch, Book 1 1 Gen 25.23 2 1 Cor 15.46

Jacob And Esau

Τῆς πτέρνης Ἠσαῦ ὁ Ἰακὼβ ἐπείληπτο ἐν τῷ τίκτεσθαι, τοῦτο σημαίνων διὰ τοῦ σχήματος, ὅτι ὁ νοῦς ὁ βλέπων Θεὸν καθαρότητι, τοῦτο φὰρ Ἰσραὴλ ἑρμηνεύεται, πτερνίζει τὰ πάθη τὰ γαστρίμαργα· ὅπερ ἐπ' αὐτῶν ἐκείνων τετέλεστο, ἡνίκα τὴν ἀκαρτέρητον λύτταν ὁ Ἐδὼμ ἐπεδείξατο, καὶ τῆς πρεσβυγενείας τὴν τιμὴν οἰκέτιν ἐποίσε βρώσεως. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή Ρϟβ' Λαμπετιῳ Source:  Migne PG 78.306b-c

Jacob held on to the heel of Esau at their birth, 1 which figure signifies the mind which in purity discerns God, for that is what Israel means translated, supplanting the appetite of the stomach. Which image was then fulfilled, being displayed in the unbridled hunger of Edom and the honour of the first born made a slave for food. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 192, to Lampetius 1  Gen 25.25

The Merit Of Temperance

Passionum autem velut duces naturales delectatio et dolor, quas sequuntur caeterae. Illae enim complectuntur universas, quarum utraque non solum corporis, sed etiam secundum animam passiones sunt. Et quia diximus subesse his alias passiones, ante delectationem concupiscentia, post delectationem gratulatio est: ante dolorem autem est timor, post dolorem tristita. Commotio autem animi communis passio, et delectationis et doloris est. Transcurram alias, id est, superbiam, avaritiam, ambitionem, contentionem, invidiam, quae sunt secundum animam passiones: transcurram etiam inexplebilem vorandi libidinem, effusionemque luxuriae atque lasciviae, quae vitia nexa sunt corpori, et secundum illud operantur. Meritoque temperantia quam maxime istarum passionum restinguit ardorem, quae primum sobrietate atque moderamine animum temperat, mentem informat, deinde etiam deliciarum abstinentia restringit habenas corporalis ferocitatis. Ideo lex recidit ciborum licentiam, epularum copias, non solum ut resecaret luxuriam, verum tractationi rationis aperiret, quae irritamenta gulae caeterasque recideret cupiditates, corporeas passiones motusque cohiberet. Temperantia est igitur correctionis praevia, disciplinae magistra. Ab hac profectus Jacob sanctus, primatus a fratre quos non habebat, accepit, ejusque praelatus assensu docuit in reliquum in temperantes proprio sibi viles esse judicio. Ab hac profectus Joseph, et calorem juventutis edomuit, et tentatum adulterinis animum illecebris rectae rationis inductione firmavit. Denique quamvis fortis esset et validus, tamen tractatu rationis fulcire se maluit, dicens uxori domini sui: Si dominus meus non scit praeter me aliquid in domo sua, et omnia quaecunque habet, dedit in manus meas, neque subtractum est a me quidquam praeter te quae uxor illius es: et quomodo faciam verbum hoc malum, et peccabo coram Deo. Haec est igitur rectae rationis tractatio quam Graeci λογισμὸν nuncupant, qua mens sapientiae intenta solidatur. Pulchra enim ratio, quod nec beneficiis domini esse deberet ingratus, nec occultum posset esse peccatum, quod, Deo teste, commmitteret, quem latere non posset. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Jacob et Vita Beata, Lib I Source:  Migne PL 14 630-31

Pleasure and pain are the natural leaders of the passions, which the rest follow. For they indeed embrace everything, both of them not only the passions of the body, but also of the soul. And indeed we have said that there are other passions attendant to these, before pleasure desire, after pleasure happiness, before pain fear, after pain sorrow. A common commotion, then, of the soul is a passion, and it is of pleasure or pain. I shall pass over other things, that is, pride and avarice and ambition, contention, envy, which are passions according to the soul; I shall even pass over devouring insatiable lust, and the flood of luxury and lascivity, which are vices bound to the body and which work according to it. With merit temperance greatly extinguishes the fire of these passions, first soothing the soul with sobriety and moderation, then shaping the mind, and then with abstinence it binds back the corporeal wildness from such pleasures. Thus the law curtails licence in foodstuffs, 1 excess in feasting, not only that it bind back lust, but that it open up the practice of reason, which the distractions of gluttony and the rest of the desires occlude, and it represses the disturbances of corporeal passions. Temperance is therefore the beginning of correction, a teacher of discipline. By this the holy Jacob profited, receiving the birthright which he did not have from his brother, whose assent to the exchange teaches how vile the judgement is when there is a lack of temperance. 2 And by this Joseph profited, taming the heat of youth and strengthening the soul to right reason in the snare of adultery. Then, although he was robust and healthy, he preferred to support himself by the counsel of reason, saying to the wife of his master, 'If my master does not know without me the things of his house and everything which he has, if he has given it into my hands and nothing is withheld from me, apart from you who are his wife; how then might I agree to this evil proposal and sin before God?' 3 This, then, is that management of reason which the Greeks name 'logismos', which fortifies the mind with wisdom. Reason is beautiful, that it can neither be ungrateful for the goods of the Lord, nor is it able to hide what is at fault, which, with God as witness, should it commit, it would not able to conceal. Saint Ambrose, from On Jacob and the Good Life, Book 1 1.Levit 11.4,23 2 Gen 25.35 3 Gen 39.7-9

Names And Stephen

Sicut dominum praediorum limitibus affixi tituli proloquuntur, ita nomina ipse saepe sanctorum merita indicant, testantur insignia. Ita Abraham, quod fide credidit, nominis adjectione monstravit, quando ex Abram Abraham divinitus nuncupatur: ut dilatandus genere, nomine ante dilataretur, dicente Domino: Et non vocabitur amplius nomen tuum Abram, sed Abraham erit nomen tuum, quia patrem multarum gentium posui te. Sic conjux sancta ejus cum de sterili fit fecunda, ex Sarai vocitate est Sarah, ut et ipsa ante crescat nomine quam crescat pignore; et quia permittente Domino risum edidit si verula conciperet exarata jam rugis, si praeret desperata jam fecunditas, si sterilitas jam penes senectutis extrema praegnans fieret, risum mox quod genuit, nuncupavit; et hoc aptavit in nomine, quod sensu passa est cum rideret: Et vocavit nomen ejus Isaac, quod interpretatur risus. Sic Jacob, qui in utero coepit ante luctari quam vivere, ante viribus superare quam membris, etiam inter viscera materna ipsa supplantatori est vocabulum consecutus, eo quod antequam nasceretur noscitur divinitus reprobatum supplantasse germanum. Et quia longum est ire per singula, sicut Petrus a petra nomen adeptus est, quia primus meruit Ecclesiam fidei firmitate fundare; ita Stephanus vocatus est a corona, quia primus meruit pro Christi nomine subire conflictum, primus meruit sanguine militium Christi martyrium dedicare. Petrus apostolici chori vetustum teneat principatum, aperiat intrantibus regnum coelorum, reos potestate vinciat, poenitentes clementer absolvat; Stephanus est martyrum primus, Stephanus purpuratum ducat exercitum, qui pro Domini sui adhuc calente sanguine sanguinem suum avidus bellator effundit. Et quia cruore proprio tinctam sibi ipse purpuram conquisivit, meruit a rege suo consecutus est post corona: vere quem praescivit et praedestinavit, ipsum nunc martyrii primum vocavit ad gloriam. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CLIV, In Divum Stephanum protomartyrem Source: Migne PL 52.608a-609a

As titles proclaim the limits appointed to the lordship of estates, so names often indicate the merits of the holy, bearing witness to their achievement. This was shown with Abraham, who believed and thus received an addition to his name, when he was renamed Abraham from Abram, and with expansion of the family, the name was likewise expanded, with the Lord saying, 'And no longer shall you be called Abram, but Abraham shall be your name because I have appointed you to be the father of many nations.' 1 So his holy wife, when she was made fertile from sterility, was renamed Sarah from Sarai, her name growing before grew the pledge, and because the Lord permitted her to laugh saying that a shoot would be conceived in her already furrowed with lines, that in the presence of despair there was now fecundity, that in the fruitless end of old age she would became pregnant, that she laughing would soon give birth, He made it fitting by the name, which sense was passed on when she laughed, and she called the name of the child Isaac, which translated means laughter. So Jacob, who in the womb before his birth began to struggle, who before having strength of limbs would overcome even within his mother, by which the name of supplantor followed, whence before he was born it is known by Divine influence he had supplanted a rejected twin. And because it would take far too long to go through each name, as Peter was given his name from a rock, because first he merited with firmness of faith to establish the Church, so let it be said that Stephen is named from a crown, because he first merited to undergo struggle for the name of Christ, he first merited to be a martyr soldier of Christ with blood. Peter holds the elder and principle seat of the Apostolic choir, he opened the kingdom of heaven to those who would enter, he conquered the guilty with power, absolved the penitent with mercy. Stephen is the first martyr, Stephen in purple leads the army, a zealous soldier who for the blood of His Lord pours out his own hot blood. And because he has sought the purple hue for himself with his own blood thus he earns from his king the crown that follows after, truly him whom He knew and predestined, who now, the first of martyrs, He calls to glory. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 154, On Saint Stephen The Protomartyr 1 Gen 17.5

Righteousness And Possessions

Nunc consideremus qualis vir justus esse debeat, si invidia fuerit exorta. Primum ut declinet eam, melius est enim sine lite abire, quam residere cum jurgio. Deinde ut talia possideat, quae secum aufferre possit: ut in nullo teneri ab adversario possit obnoxius, sed dicat: Cognosce si quid tuum est apud me Et quaesivit Laban, et nihil suum invenit apud Jacob. Magnus vir, et vere beatus, qui nihil potuit suum amittere, nihil alienum habere, hoc est, nihil minus habere, nihil superfluum. Itaque ille perfectus est, cui nihil deest: justus, cui nihil superest. Hoc enim est jusitiiae tenere mensuram. Quanta virtus cujus societas lucrum dabat, non irrogabat dispendium? Hoc est perfectum esse, adhaerentibus sibi commodi plurimum dare, nihil afferre incommodi. Denique is qui nocere cupiebat, inanem eum non potuit dimittere. Sapiens enim nunquam inanis est, semper in se habens amictum prudentie, qui potest dicere: Justitiam induebam, et vestiebam judicium, sicut dixit Job. Namque haec mentis sunt interna velamina, quae nemo alius possit auferre, nisi cum aliquem sua culpa despoliat. Denqiue sic despoliatus Adam, nudus inventus est: at vero Joseph etiam vestimento exteriore rejecto, nudus non erat, qui salva habebat indumenta virtutis. Nunquam ergo inanis sapiens. Nam quomodo inanis, qui de plenitudine Christi accipit, et servat acceptum? Quomodo inanis, cujus repletaest anima, quae  acceptae gratiae vestimenta custodit? Illud metuendum est, ne quis innocentiae velamen amittat, ne impii sacrilegae persecutionis impressione terminos justitiae supergressi, vestimentum animae ac mentis eripiant. Quod non facile accidit, nisi prius aliquem vox suae iniquitatis exuerit. Unde et David dicit: Si est iniquitas in manibus meis...decidam merito ab inimicis meis inanis: persequatur inimicus animam meam comprehendat. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Jacob et Vita Beata, Lib II, Caput V Source: Migne PL 14 622B-623A

Now let us consider what sort of man the righteous one should be if envy has risen up. First he seeks to be gone from it, for better it is to leave without strife than to stay for quarrels. And he goes with such things as he possesses, which he is able to take with him, that in nothing his adversary be able to hold him indebted, but he may say, 'Know that what yours is mine.' 1 And so Laban searched but found nothing of his own with Jacob. 2 Great the man and truly blessed who could lose nothing which is his and nothing of another possess, that is, he has nothing less than he should have and nothing superfluous. He is perfect who lacks nothing, righteous to whom nothing is wanting, for this is to hold to the measure of righteousness. How much shall the presence of his virtue profit when he gives it, and not given be loss? This it is to be perfect, to allow only that which befits to adhere to one, and to carry off nothing that does not befit. Then the one who desired to harm was not able to send him away empty. But the wise man is never empty, always in himself he has the garment of prudence, he who is able to say, 'I put on righteousness, and vested myself in judgement,' 3 as Job said. For this internal covering of the mind no one is able to take away, unless by one's own fault it is stolen away. Thus Adam was robbed and found naked, but Joseph even when he lost his exterior garment was not naked, he who had the saving covering of virtue. 4 No one therefore who is wise is empty. For how can he be empty who has received the plenitude of Christ and guards what he has received? How can he be empty whose soul is full and who guards the vestment of grace received? This alone must be feared, the loss of the vestment of innocence, the overstepping of the bounds of righteousness unto impious sacrifice when persecution presses, and they tear away the vestment of soul and mind. Which easily happens, unless previously some counsel has stripped off one's own iniquity. Whence David says, 'If there is iniquity in my hands ... rightly I shall be cut off by my enemies empty; then let the enemy pursue my soul and seize it.' 5 Saint Ambrose, from On Jacob and the Good Life, Book 2, Chap 5 1 Gen 31.43 2 Gen 31.3 3 Job 29.14 4 Gen 39 7-23 5 Ps 7.4-5

Jacob And The Monks

Τὸ λέγειν τὸν Ἰακώβ· Ἐὰν δῷ μοι Κύριος ἄρτον φαγεῖν, καὶ ἱμάτιον περιβαλέσθαι, τὴν τῶν μοναχῶν διαγορεύει ζωήν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΟΘ'  Λιμενιῳ Μονακῳ Source: Migne PG 79 152

When Jacob says, 'If the Lord give to me bread for the eating and a garment to wear,' 1 he clearly declares the life of monks. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 179 to Limenius the Monk 1 Gen 28.20

Jacob And Esau

Isaac autem genuit Esau et Jacob, in figura duorum saeculorum. Esau a capite usque ad pedes totus pilosus, saeculum primum hoc significat, quod ab initio usque ad finem totum quasi asperrimis pilis iniquitatum repletum est. Jacob autem totus speciosus et nitidus, futurum saeculum significat, quod totum pietatis decore fulgebit, et non invenietur in illo aliqua asperitas aut nigredo peccati. Et quemadmodum cum de utero matris suae exiret Esau, tenuit plantam ejus Jacob: unde Hebraice Jacob appelatus est, id est, supplantator: mox enim ut illius pedes egressi sunt, istius caput apparuit: sic et in fine saeculi istius statim illius saeculi principium apparebit. Et quemadmodum Esau persequebatur Jacob, sic filii saeculi hujus persequuntur filios saeculi illius: et sicut ipse, ita et filii ejus non resistendo sed fugiendo superant malos. Nam quamadmodum mater adivit Jacob, dicens ei: Fili, audi me et fuge in Mesopotamiam, donec quiescat ira fratris tui: sic et Ecclesia filios suos quotidie docet, cum persequutionem patiuntur, dicens: Si vos persequuti fuerint in civitate ista, fugite, in alteram; et Date locum irae. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia Prima Migne PG 56.614

Isaac fathered Esau and Jacob, which is a figure of the two ages. Esau being covered in hair from his head to his feet signifies the first age, which from its beginning to its end is full of the most unsightly hairs of iniquity; Jacob all fair and shining signifies the future age, which shall shine with all the beauty of piety, and in it shall not be found any roughness or darkness of sin. And as when Esau came from the womb of his mother Jacob held his heel, from which he is named in Hebrew 'Jacob' that is 'supplanter', for as soon as the feet of the first came out, the head of the other appeared, so with the end of this age instantly will appear the beginning of the greater one. And as Esau persecuted Jacob, so the sons of this age persecute the sons of the next, and like Jacob, so even its sons do not resist but flee that they surpass evil men. For as the mother of Jacob said to him, 'Son, listen to me, fly into Mesopotamia, until the anger of your brother subsides,' 1 so even the Church teaches her sons, when they suffer persecution, saying, 'If they persecute you in one city, flee into another,' 2 and 'Give a space to anger.' 3 Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from The First Homily 1 Gen 27. 43-44 2 Mt 10.23 3 Rom 12.19

The Wives Of Jesus

Ipse autem est qui praefigurabatur in Jacob Dominus Jesus, duorum vir conjugiorum, hoc est, consors quidam legis et gratiae, qui virginem Rachel ante dilexit, et praedestinatam sibi in conjugium pio amabat affectu. Sed quoniam Lia tanquam lex subintravit, et oculis infirmior obrepsit tanquam Synogoga, quae mentis caecitate Christum videre non potuit, superabundavit gratia sanctae Rachel, quae supra primum illud est expetita conjugium, quae Ecclesiae principatum futurum jam tunc nominis sui in interpretatione signabat. Beata Rachel, quae astulit opprobrium suo partu: beata Rachel, quae abscondit cultus, erroresque gentilium, quae simulacra eorum plena esse immunditiae declaravit. Nemo credat paternae pietatis laesam esse reverentiam, quod stante patre sedit; quoniam scriptum est: Qui plus fecerit patrem aut matrem, quam me, non est me dignus. Ubi causa agebatur religionis, fides debuit sedem habere judicii, et quasi rea stare perfidia. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Jacob et Vita Beata, Lib II, Caput V Migne PL 14 624

In Jacob is prefigured the Lord Jesus, a man of two wives, that is, the consort of the law and grace, who first loved the virgin Rachel, and, being predestined for her in marriage, he loved with pious affection. But Leah as the law was first introduced, and had weaker eyes like the Synagogue, which blindness of mind was not able to recognise Christ, while Rachel abounded with grace of sanctity, 1 she who above the first was the desired marriage, she who the preeminent future of the Church already then signified by her name interpreted. Blessed Rachel, who took away shame with her birthing, blessed Rachel, who took away the religion and the errors of the Gentiles, who declared their idols to be unclean. No one thinks that paternal piety is honourable when it does harm, and so with the father standing she sat; for it is written 'He who cares for father or mother rather than me is not worthy of me.' 2 When the court of religion is held, faith should sit in the seat of judgement, and the guilty traitor stands. 3   Saint Ambrose, On Jacob and the Good Life, Book 2, Chap 5 1.Gen 29.17,30 2 Mt 10.37 3 Gen 31

Taking A Wife

Post longam igitur servitutem, quam Jacob apud socerum suum pro uxoribus, velut mercede, sustinuit, praecepit ei Dominus ut reverteretur in patriam suam. Tunc, ignorante socero, eum uxoribus et comitatu properavit. Laban autem consecutus est eum in montem Galad cum furore, atque idola quae Rachel furata erat apud eum requisivit, nec reperit. Quid igitur sibi hoc ipsum figuraliter velit, inspiciendum est. Dum Laban superius aliam gerat personam, nunc tamen diaboli typum figurat. Laban quippe interpretatur dealbatio. Dealbatio autem diabolus non inconvenienter accipitur, qui cum sit ex merito tenebrosus, transfigurat se in angelum lucis. Huic servivit Jacob, id est, ex parte reproborum Judaicus populus, ex cujus carne incarnatus Dominus venit. Potest etiam per Laban mundus hic experimi, qui cum furore Jacob persequitur, quia electos quosque, qui Redemptoris nostri membra sunt, persequendo opprimere conatur. Hujus filiam, id est, seu mundi, seu diaboli, Jacob abstulit, cum sibi Christus Ecclesiam ex gentilitate conjunxit, quam et de domo partis abstrahit, quia ei per prophetam dicit 'Obliviscere populum tuum, et domum patris tui' Quid vero in idolis, nisi avaritia designatur? Unde et per Paulum dicitur: Et avaritia, quae est idolorum servitus. Laban ergo veniens apud Jacob, idola non invenit, quia, ostensis mundi thesauris, diabolus in Redemptore nostro vestigia concupiscentiae terrenae non reperit. Sed quae Jacob non habuit, ea Rachel sedendo cooperuit. Per Rachel quippe, quae ovis dicitur, Ecclesia figuratur. Sedere autem est humilitatem poenitentiae appetere, sicut scriptum est: Surgite, postquam sederitis. Rachel ergo sedendo idola cooperuit, quia sancta Eccleisa Christum sequens, vitia terrenae concupiscentiae per humilitatem poenitetniae cooperuit. De hac coopertione vitiorum per Prophetam dicitur: Beati quorum remissa sunt iniquitates, et quorum tecta sunt peccata. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Quaestiones in Vetus Testamentum, Caput XXVI

Therefore after long service which Jacob undertook for his uncle for wives, as reward, the Lord commanded that he should return to his fatherland. Then, without the knowledge of his uncle, he hurried away with his wives and company. Laban however pursued him to mount Galaad in anger, and seeking the idols which Rachel hid, he did not find them. 1 What this means figuratively we must investigate. While Laban before bore another persona, now however he is a type of the devil. And the name of Laban is interpreted as whitewashing. And whitewashing is not inconveniently applied to the devil who though he is by his nature darkness may transform himself into an angel of light. Jacob served this one, that is, from a part of the reprobate Hebrew people the Lord came incarnate in the flesh. And by Laban the world is expressed, who with fury pursued Jacob, because those chosen, who are members of the Redeemer, he tried to suppress with persecution. His daughter, that is,a thing of the world, or of the devil, Jacob took away, as Christ joined himself to the Church drawn from the Gentiles, which he drew forth even from the house of her father, and concerning this it is said by the Prophet, 'Forget your people, and the house of your father.' 2 And what is signified by the idols but avarice? Whence by Paul it is said: 'And avarice which is the service of idols.' 3 Laban, then, coming to Jacob did not find the idols, because regarding the ostentatious wealth of the world, the devil does not in our Redeemer find trace of worldly desires. Yet that which Jacob did not have, Rachel sitting covered. And by Rachel, who is named sheep, the Church is signified. To sit is take to the humility of penance, as it is written, 'You rise after sitting.'  4 Rachel therefore sitting covers the idols, and the Church following Christ with the humility of penance covers the vices of worldly desires. Concerning which covering of faults the Prophet says, 'Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.' 5 Saint Isidore of Seville, Questions on the Old Testament, Chapter 26 1 Gen 29-31 2 Ps 44.11 3 Col 3.5 4 Ps 126.2 5 Ps 31.1

Innocence of Heart

Διεπορευόμην ἐν ἀκακίᾳ καρδίας μου.   Τί ἐστι τὸ Ἐν ἀκακιᾳ καρδίας μου; Ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἀπονήρως καὶ ἀφιλοπραγμόνως, οὐ θορύβους ἀγαπῶν πραγμάτων κοσμικῶν καὶ περισπασμῶν εἰκαίων ἔχων δὲ μᾶλλον ἐν ἑμαυτῷ τὸν νοῦν εὐσταθῆ καὶ ἠρεμοῦντα, κατ' ἐκεῖνόν που πάντως τὸν ἀρχαῖον Ἰακὼβ, περὶ οὖ γέγραπται· Καὶ ἦν Ἰακὼβ ἄπλαστος ἀνὴρ οἰκῶν οἰκίαν. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμός Ρ'

'I was walking in the innocence of my heart.' 1  Why is it said, 'In the innocence of my heart?' That is, apart from wickedness, apart from worldly interests, not loving the tumults of secular affairs and mindless distraction, but rather having in oneself a stable and tranquil mind, just like Jacob of old, of whom it is written, 'And Jacob was a simple man keeping his dwelling.' 2 Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 100 1 Ps 100.2 2 Gen 25.27

Care and Nourishment

Sed inter ista inimici jacula imperterritus manet, nobisque portum securitatis fidum tutumque demonstrat. Sequitur enim, 'Jacta in Dominum cogitationem tuam, et ipse te enutriet: non dabit in aeternum fluctionem justo. Ademit nobis etiam in Evangelis Dominus sollicitudinis necessitatem, dicens: Nolite solliciti esse de crastino; sufficit enim diei malitia sua. Quaerite primum regnum Dei et justitiam ejus et omnia praestabuntur vobis: omnem scilicet curam in promerendo Dei regno et justitia collocandam. Jactanda ergo super eum cura est: ipse enim enutriet, secundum illud: Super aquam refectionis enutruvit me. Enutriens autem non relinquet in fluctibus istius saeculi, sicuti enutritus Jacob omnem tempestatem et odiorum et durae servitutis evasit dicens: Deus qui enutrivit me a juventute mea. Ipse enim vitae auctor est, ipse cibi largitor, non terreni tantum, sed etiam spiritalis. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum  LIV

But among these attacks of the enemy he remains fearless, showing to us that complete faith is a secure port. For it follows, 'Cast your thoughts on the Lord and He shall nourish you; He shall not give the righteous into eternal flux.' 1 And in the Gospel the Lord takes away from us the necessity of worry, saying. 'Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for the day's evil suffices for itself. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things shall be given to you.' 2 For every care should be for the gaining of God's kingdom and the gathering of righteousness. Cast, then, all your care on Him, for He shall nourish you according to which, 'Over refreshing waters He led me'. 3 And nourishing He does not abandon one to the waves of this world, just as the nourished Jacob escaped every storm and hate and hard servitude, saying, 'God has nourished me from my youth.' 4 He is the author of life, He is the giver of bread, not only of the earth, but even of the spirit. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 54 1 Ps 54.23 2 Mt 6 34,33 3 Ps 22.2 4 Gen 48.15

The Struggles of the Contemplative

Est autem in contemplativa vita magna mentis contentio, cum sese ad coelestia erigit, cum in rebus spiritalibus animum tendit, cum transgredi nititur omne quod corporaliter videtur, cum sese angustat ut dilatetur. Et aliquando quidem vincit, et reluctantes tenebras suae caecitatis exsuperat, ut de incircumscripto lumine quiddam furtim et tenuiter attingat; sed tamen ad semetipsam protinus reverberata revertitur, atque ab ea luce, ad quam respirando transiit, ad suae caecitatis tenebras suspirando rediit. Quod bene sacra historia designat, quae beatum Jacob cum angelo luctatum narrat. Cum enim ad parentes proprios rediret, in via angelum invenit, cum quo in luctamine magnum certamen habuit. Is enim qui certat in luctamine, aliquando superiorem se, aliquando vero eum cum quo contenderit inferiorem invenit. Designat ergo angelus Dominum, et Jacob qui cum angelo contendit uniuscujusque perfecti viri et in contemplatione positi animam exprimit. Quae videlicet anima cum contemplari Deum nititur, velut in quodam certamine posita, modo quasi exsuperat, quia intelligendo et sentiendo de incircumscripto lumine aliquid degustat; modo vero succumbit, quia et degustando iterum deficit. Quasi ergo vincitur angelus, quando intellectu intimo apprehenditur Deus. Sed notandum quod idem victus angelus nervum femoris Jacob tetigit, eumque marcescere statim fecit, atque ab eo tempore Jacob uno claudicavit pede, quia scilicet omnipotens Deus cum jam per desiderium et intellectum cognoscitur, omnem in nobis voluptatem carnis arefacit. Et qui prius quasi duobus pedibus innitentes, et Deum videbamur quaerere, et saeculum tenere, post agnitionem suavitatis Dei unus in nobis pes sanus remanet, atque alius claudicat, quia necesse est ut, debilitato amore saeculi, solus convalescat in nobis amor Dei. Si ergo tenemus angelum, uno claudicamus pede, quia dum crescit in nobis fortitudo amoris intimi, infirmatur procul dubio fortitudo carnis. Omnis quippe qui uno pede claudicat soli illi pedi innititur quem sanum habet, quia cui desiderium terrenum jam arefactum fuerit, in solo pede amoris Dei tota virtute se sustinet. Et in ipso stat, quia pedem amoris saeculi quem ponere in terra consueverat, jam a terra suspensum portat. Et nos ergo si ad parentes proprios, id est ad spiritales patres redimus, teneamus in via angelum, ut suavitate intima apprehendamus Deum. Contemplativae etenim vitae amabilis valde dulcedo est, quae super semetipsam animam rapit, coelestia aperit, terrena autem debere esse contemptui ostendit, et spiritalia mentis oculis patefecit, corporalia abscondit. Unde bene Ecclesia in Canticis canticorum dicit: Ego dormio, et cor meum vigilat. Vigilanti etenim corde dormit, quia per hoc quod interius contemplando proficit, ab inquieto foris opere quiescit. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia II

Even in the contemplative life there is a great struggle of the mind, when it reaches to heaven, when the soul tends to spiritual things, when it exerts itself to pass beyond things corporeal, when it groans as it stretches forth. And certainly sometimes it triumphs, and the clinging darkness of its own blindness it overcomes, secretly and tenuously touching the surrounding light, yet to itself swiftly rebounding it returns, and from the light, to which it gasped to come, it returns sighing to the darkness of its own blindness. And this the sacred history indicates well when it tells of blessed Jacob's struggle with the angel. When he was returning to his own parents, in the way he came upon an angel with whom he had a great struggle of wrestling 1. For to  this man with whom he struggled in wrestling sometimes he was superior, and sometimes he found himself inferior to the one with whom he contended. The angel therefore indicates the Lord, and in Jacob, who with the angel contended, is expressed anyone of the perfect whose soul is engaged in contemplation. Certainly the soul when it struggles to contemplate God, is as if placed in a contest, and sometimes it overcomes because in its understanding and sense it has some  taste of the surrounding light, and sometimes it succumbs because again it loses the taste. The angel, then, is conquered when with in depths of the intellect God is grasped. But it must be noted that the same conquered angel touched the thigh sinew of Jacob and instantly he made it wither, 2 and from that time Jacob walked with a limp, because obviously the omnipotent God as soon as he is known by desire and intellect dries up in us carnal pleasures  And he who before with two feet stood, we seemed to be when seeking God and holding to the world, but after the knowledge of the sweetness of God, one our feet remains healthy and the other is lame, because it is necessary that with love of the world withering that in us only the love of God remains healthy. If then we hold the angel, in one foot was are lame, because while there grows in us the strength of deep love, without doubt it weakens love of the flesh. Thus everyone who has one lame foot has only one healthy foot to use because in him the desire of the world has dried up and only in one foot does he sustain in love of God all his strength. And on it he stands, because the foot of the love of the world which he was accustomed to place on the earth now he carries suspended apart from the earth. And we, therefore, if we go to our own parents, that is, if we return to our spiritual parents, we shall grapple with the angel in the way, that we might grasp the deep sweetness of God. The sweetness of the contemplative life is indeed lovable, which seizes the soul beyond itself, and the heavens open, and it shows there should be contempt for worldly things, and it reveals spiritual things to the eye of the heart, and corporeal things it obscures. Whence the Church in the Song of Songs says well, 'I sleep and my heart watches.' 3 With vigilant heart she sleeps, because through this she profits by interior contemplation, giving rest to all troubling exterior works. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 2 1 Gen 32.24 2 Gen 32.25 3 Song 5.2

Hell and Advent

Ποιῆσαι ἔλεος μετὰ τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν καὶ μνησθῆναι διαθήκης ἁγίας αὐτοῦ Ὡς οἶμαι καὶ οἱ πατέρες ἡμων Ἀβραὰμ, καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ καὶ ὅλος ὁ χορὸς τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ προφητῶν καὶ δικαίων, ἀπήλαυσσαν τῆς παρουσίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Εἰ γὰρ εἰρηνοποίησε διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτοῦ τά τε ἐν γῇ καὶ τὰ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ κατὰ τὸν θεϊον Ἀποστολον τί ὀκνεῖς παραδέξασθαι, ὅτι καὶ πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἡ επισκοπὴ, καὶ τοῦτο ἡ εἰς τὸν ᾄδην αὐτοῦ ἄφιξις ἑπραγματεύσατο διὰ τὸ ἀνεξιχνίαστον αὐτοῦ ἔλεος; Τοῦτο δὲ, εἰ καὶ νῦν γέγονεν, ἀλλ' ἔκπαλαι προανεφωνήθη· καὶ ἀδύνατον ἧν μὴ ἐκβῆναι αὐτοὺς λόγους εἰς ἔργον. Ὄρκῳ γὰρ ἐβεβαίωσε τὰς ἐπαγγελίας διὰ τὸ ἀπαράνατον, ὅτι πάντως ἔσται. Καὶ νῦν οἱ πιστοὶ ἀφόβως ἐκ χειρὸς τῶν νοητῶν ἐχθρῶν ῥύονται. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Το Κατα Λουκαν Εὐαγγελιον, Κεφ Α'

So He would be merciful to our fathers and remember His holy covenant. 1 I think that even our fathers Abraham and Issac and Jacob and all the host of holy Prophets and righteous men profited by the advent of Christ. For if ' He brought peace through the blood of His cross  to things in earth and heaven, 2 as the holy Apostle says, why delay to admit that by our fathers he was seen, and that He had His coming to hell, on account of His incomprehensible mercy? And this, if now it has happened, from of old was proclaimed, and that it was impossible does not harmonise with the intent of these words. He swore his promise, and it is unalterable, and certainly it shall come to pass. 3 And now the faithful, without fear, from the hand of the spiritual enemies are freed. 4 Origen, Commentary On Luke, Chap 1, Fragment 1 Lk 1.72 2 Col 1.20 3 cf Heb 6. 16, 17 4 Lk 1.74

The Promised Land and Creation

τί λέγει ὁ ἄλλος προφήτης Μωϋσῆς αὐτοῖς; Ἰδού, τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός· Ἐισέλθατε εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθήν, ἣν ὤμοσεν κύριος τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακώβ, καὶ κατακληρονομήσατε αὐτήν, γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι.  τί δὲ λέγει ἡ γνῶσις; μάθετε. ἐλπίσατε, φησίν, ἐπὶ τὸν ἐν σαρκὶ μέλλοντα φανεροῦσθαι ὑμῖν Ἰησοῦν. ἄνθρωπος γὰρ γῆς ἐστιν πάσχοῦσα· ἀπὸ προσώπου γὰρ τῆς γ͂ς ἡ πλάσις τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἐγένετο. τί οὖν λέγει Εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθήν, γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι; εὐλογητὸς ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν, ἀδελφοί, ὁ σοφίαν καὶ νοῦν θέμενος ἐν ἡμῖν τῶν κρυφίων αὐτοῦ· λέγει γὰρ ὁ προφήτης παραβολὴν κυρίου· τίς νοήσει, εἰ μὴ σοφὸς καὶ ἐπιστήμων καὶ ἀγαπῶν τὸν κύριον αὐτοῦ; ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀνακαινίσας ἡμᾶς ἄλλον τύπον, ὡς παιδίων ἔχειν τὴν ψυχήν, ὡς ἂν δὴ ἀναπλάσσοντος αὐτοῦ ἡμᾶς. λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφὴ περί ἡμῶν, ὡς λέγει τῷ υἱῷ· Ποιήσωμεν κατ’ εἰκόνα καὶ καθ’ ὁμοίσιν ἡμῶν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἀρχέτωσαν τῶν θηρίων τῆς γῆς καὶ τῶν πετεινῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῶν ἰχθύων τῆς θαλάσσης. καὶ εἶπεν κύριος, ἰδὼν τὸ καλὸν πλάσμα ἡμῶν· Αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθυνέσθε καὶ πληρώσατε τὴν γῆν. ταῦτα πρὸς τὸν υἱόν. πάλιν σοι ἐπιδειξω, πῶς πρὸς ἡμᾶς λέγει. δευτέραν πλάσιν ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων ἐποίησεν. λέγει δὲ κύριος· Ἰδού, ποιῶ τὰ ἔσχατα ὡς τὰ πρῶτα. εἰς τοῦτο οὖν ἐκήρυξεν ὁ προφήτης· Εἰσέλθατε εἰς γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι καὶ κατακυριεύσατε αὐτῆς. ἴδε οὖν, ἡμεῖς ἀναπεπλάσμεθα, καθὼς πάλιν ἐν ἑτέρῳ προφήτῃ λέγει· Ἰδού, λέγει κύριος, ἐξελῶ τούτων, τουτέστιν ὧν προέβλεπεν τὸ πνεῦμα κυρίου, τὰς λιθίνας καρδίας καὶ ἐμβαλῶ σαρκίνας· ὅτι αὐτὸς ἐν σαρκὶ ἔμελλεν φανεροῦσθαι καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν κατοικεῖν. ναὸς γὰρ ἅγιος, ἀδελφοί μου, τῷ κυρίῳ τὸ κατοικητήριον ἡμῶν τῆς καρδίας. βαρναβα Ἐπιστολή

What does the other prophet Moses say to them? 'Behold, this is what the Lord God says, Enter into the good land, which the Lord vowed to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and take your inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.' And what does knowledge say? Learn. Put your hope, it says, in the Jesus who shall be shown to you in the flesh. For the suffering man is the land, Adam being shaped from the face of the earth. What then is the good land, the land flowing with milk and honey? Blessed be our Lord, brothers, for granting us wisdom and mind for hidden things. For the prophet speaks a parable of the Lord, but who would know it unless he were a wise and learned lover of his Lord? He renewed us, turning us into a different type, as ones having the souls of children as if we were refashioned. He says in Scripture, as he says to his Son, 'Let us make man in our own image and likeness and let him rule over the beasts of the earth and the birds of heaven and the fish of the sea.' And the Lord says, seeing the beauty of our fashioning, 'Increase and multiply and fill the earth.' These things he says to his Son and again I shall show you how he speaks it to us. A second creation he has made in these last times. The Lord says, 'Behold, I make the last things as the first.' About this then the prophet was speaking when he said, 'Enter a land flowing with milk and honey and take your inheritance.' See, then, that you have been refashioned, as again he says in another prophet: ' Behold, says the Lord, I will take from them,' that is those foreseen by the Spirit, 'hearts of stone and put in them hearts of flesh'. For he was to appear in the flesh and dwell among us. For it is now a holy temple, my brothers, these lowly dwelling places of our hearts. The Letter of Barnabas

The Inheritance Of The Wise

Itaque sicut iis quae in quodam censu imprudentiae atque intemperantiae sunt, abdicat se prudentia, abdicat continentia: ita eorum exsors omnis insipiens est atque incontinens, quae in bonis atque in haerediatet sapientis viri sunt et continentis. Denique santae illae tali conjugio Lia et Rachel, una laboriosa, altera aspirato fortis, refugientes non generis necessitudinem, sed morum discrepantiam; cum viri exerciti Jacob sermone edocatae essent, quod vellet discedere, ut Laban et filiorum ejus invidiam declinaret atque ignaviam, responderunt: Numquid est nobis portio aut haereditas in domo patris nostri? Nonne sicut alienae aestimamur ei? Vendidit enim nos, et devoravit pretium nostrum. Ecce primum, quia ignavus et invidus laboriosam et disciplinae tenacem alienart a se ac defugit, seseque cupit separare; quoniam eas oneri esse cernit sibi, putat se lucrum fecisse, quod alienavit eas, et hoc esse suum pretium judicat, eumque fructum voluptatis. Nunc audiamus quomodo quae habet virtus, non habeat ignavia; aiunt enim: Omnes divitiae et gloria, quam tulit Deus petri nostro, nobis erit, et filiis nostris. Merito, Deo arbitro, dicunt esse sublata, quia ipse est auctor bonorum, cujus gratia ignavi exuuntur; quia decorem haereditatis divinae capere improbi atque infirmi non queunt: succedit autem intentus, et spiritum in se fortis habens. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Epistola XXVII, Ad Irenaeum Source: Migne PL 16.1047b-1048a

Thus as wisdom and continence are removed from those who are found in the register of imprudence and intemperance, so the foolish and incontinent man is without a share in the inheritance of the wise and continent. Again, those women sanctified by their marriage, Leah and Rachel, the one name meaning laborious, the other strong breath, not shrinking from family ties but averse to a difference of manners, when taught by the much tried Jacob that he wished to depart that he avoid the envy and sloth of Laban and his sons, answered, 'Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? Are we not judged to be strangers by him? He has sold us and devoured our money.' 1 Behold first that the slothful and envious man alienates himself from strict discipline and flies from it, desiring to separate himself from it, because he sees that it will be a burden to him, and he judges he has profited to do so, and it is the fruit of his pleasure. Now let us hear how virtue has what sloth has not: they say, 'All the riches which God has taken from our father, shall be ours, and our children's.' 2 Rightly do they say that they were removed by God's judgement, for He is the creator of the good, for the sake of which slothful men are deprived; for immoral and weak men do not seek to grasp the beauty of the Divine inheritance; it is the resolute man who succeeds, he who has in himself a strong spirit. Saint Ambrose, from Letter 27, To Ireneaus. 1 Gen 31.14-15 2 Gen 31.26