The Ways Of Brothers

Fratres enim sumus... Tribus enim modis in Scriptura sancta fratres vocantur: natura, sicut Jacob et Isaac: cognatione, sicut Abraham et Lot; Lot enim filius fuerat fratris sui Aran: gente, sicut omnes Judaei fratres dicuntur, dicente lege: Si attenuatus frater tuus Hebraeus vendiderit se tibi. Et attendendum quanta cura concordiae sancto viro fuerit propter quam custodiendam optionem dedit Lot, ut aut ipse pergeret illo remanente aut certe, si ipse alibi vellet recedere, ipse ibi maneret. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 131.83b

For we are brothers... 1 Brothers are spoken of in three ways in Sacred Scripture: by nature, as Jacob and Isaac; by relation, as Abraham and Lot, for Lot was the son of his brother Aran; and by people, as all the Jews are brothers, with the law saying: 'If your Hebrew brother falls into poverty and sells himself to you...' 2 And let it be noted how much care there is in this holy man for peace, because of which he gives the choice to Lot, that either he will go and Lot will remain, or if Lot wishes to go elsewhere, he will remain. Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chapter 13 1 Gen 13.8 2 Levit 25.23

The Mountain And The City

Dixitque Lot ad eos : Quaeso, domine mi, quia invenit servus tuus gratiam coram te, et magnificasti misericordiam tuam quam fecisti mecum, ut salvares animam meam, nec possum in monte salvari, ne forte apprehendat me malum, et moriar: est civitas hæc juxta, ad quam possum fugere, parva, et salvabor in ea: numquid non modica est, et vivet anima mea? Est civitas parva. Id est, Segor quae antea Bale dicebatur secundum quod dixit: Est civitas parva, quae vocata est Segor, id est parvula. Mystice mons celsitudinem virtutum, significat ad quem nos angelus cohortatur, dicens: In montem salvum te fac, sicut verbi gratia est contemptus omnium facultum. Ad quem perfectionem Dominus invitat dicens: Si vis perfectus esse, vade, et vende omnia quae habes, et da pauperibus, et veni, sequere me, et habebis thesaurum in caelo. Qui vero se viderit ad hunc montem non posse conscendere, melius est ut in Segor, hoc est, in parvula remaneat, contentus laicali vita et communi conversatione, quam post arreptum virtutis montem ad humilia, id est ad saecularia redeat. Virginitas quoque celsissimus mons est ad quem doctor gentium hortatur, dicens: Bonum est homini, si sic permanserit sicut et ego. Hortatur ergo angelus Lot ut ad hunc montem conscendat, fugiens incendia libidinum. Sed qui se viderit hoc non posse servare descendat ad Segor, hoc est, utatur legitimo conjugio, quia melius mediocri bono uti quam per abrupta libidinum praecipitari. Unde et Dominus apostolis dicentibus: Si sic est causa uxoris, non expedit nubere, respondit: Non omnes capiunt verbum hoc, sed quibus datum est: qui potest capere, capiat. Et Apostolus: Propter fornicationem, inquit, unusquisque suam uxorem habeat. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Caput XIX Source: Migne PL 131.92a-c

And Lot said to them: 'I beg, my Lord, since your servant has found favour before you, and you have magnified your mercy which you showed to me, that you save my soul. I cannot go up the mountain and be saved, lest some evil seize me and I perish, but there is a city close by to which I can flee, a little city, and I shall be saved there. Is it not small, and shall my soul not live?' 1 'A little city.' That is, Segor, which was also called Bale, according to which he said. 'There is a little city which is called Segor,' that is, small. Spiritually the mount is the height of the virtues, signifying that to which the angel exhorts us, saying, 'On the mountain save yourself,' which for the sake of a word is contempt of things here. To which perfection the Lord invites us, saying: 'If you will be perfect, go, and sell what you have, and give it to the poor, and come, follow me, and you shall have treasure in heaven.' 2 But he who sees that he is not able to ascend this mountain, it is better that he should dwell in Segor, that is, in little things, content with the lay life and common intercourse, and so after considering the mountain of virtue he returns to humble things, that is, the world. Virginity is also a heavenly mountain to which the teacher of the Gentiles exhorts us, saying, 'It is good for a man if he shall remain as I am.' 3 Therefore the angel tells Lot to go up the mountain that he might flee the fire of lust. But he who looks on himself as one who cannot do this, he goes down to Segor, that is, he makes use of lawful marriage, because a lesser good is better than to be suddenly cast into lust. Whence when the Apostles said: 'If this is the case with a wife, it does not profit to marry,' the Lord answered: 'Not everyone can receive this word, but to those it is given. He who is able, let him do it.' 4 And the Apostle says: 'Because of fornication let each man have his own wife.' 5 Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chapter 19 1 Genes 19.18-20 2 Mt 19.21 3 1 Cor 7.8 4 Mt 19.10-12 5 1 Cor 7.2

Struck By Blindness

Percusserunt caecitate... Quoddam genus caecitatis est quod Graece aorasia dicitur, id est, avidentia, qua quaedam videntur, quaedam non videntur. Sodomitae ergo alia videbant, sed ostium Lot videre non poterant. Moraliter Lot justos significat. Sodomitae invidos et detractores designant, qui quoddamodo ostium quaerunt per quod ad Lot irrumpant, quando homines bona facta reprehendere volunt, sed non possunt invenire aditum reprehendendi, quia illo virtutis claustro munito corruptores mentium nihil habent quod reprehendant. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Cap XIX Source: Migne PL 131.91c

They struck them with blindness... 1 There is a certain type of blindness which in Greek is named aorasia, that is, inobservance, in which certain things do appear, but others do not. Therefore to the Sodomites some things appeared, but they were not able to find the door to Lot. Morally Lot signifies the righteous man and the Sodomites designate envious men and detractors, who seek the door that they may burst in on Lot, when they wish to denounce a man for good deeds, but they are not able to find way to reprehend because with him concealed by the guard of virtue the corrupt of mind have nothing to denounce. Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chap 19 1 Gen 18.11

Lot And The Sodomites

Quod ait Sodomitis Loth, Sunt mihi duae filiae quae nondum noverunt viros, producam illas ad vos, utimini ilis quomodo placuerit vobis, tantum in viros istos ne faciatis iniquum; quoniam prostituere volebat filias suas hac compensatione, ut viri hospites ejus nihil a Sodomitis tale paterentur: utrum admittenda sit compensatio flagitiorum vel quorumque peccatorum, ut nos faciamus mali aliquid, ne alius gravius malum faciat; an potius peturbationi Loth, non consilio tribuendum sit quia hoc dixerit, merito quaeritur. Et nimirum periculosissime admittitur haec compensation: si autem pertrubationi humanae tribuitur, et menti tanto malo permotae, nullo modo imitanda est. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Quaestionum In Heptateuchum, Liber Primus Source: Migne PL 34.559

Lot said to the Sodomites: 'I have two daughters who have not yet known men, I shall give them to you and you may do to them what pleases you, only do no wickedness to these men,'  1 because he wished to prostitute his daughters in exchange for his guests suffering such a thing from the Sodomites, it is reasonably asked whether it should be admitted there may be a exchange of crimes, or any sin, so that we do some evil, lest we do a worse evil, or rather if what Lot said was because of his distress and must be attributed to his loss of reason. Certainly most perilous it is to admit the exchange, but even if we attribute it to human distress and a mind being overthrown by such evil, it is in no way to be imitated. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Questions on The Heptateuch, Book 1 1 Gen 19.8

Abraham's Victory

Deinde a quinque regibus, qui Sodomis irruerant, captum Lot liberat, habens secum in praelio trecentos decem et octo vernula. Sed quid haec victoria Abrahae de quinque regibus indicabat, quos ille fidei pater mysterio superavit, nisi quod fides nostra, si confirmata sit in spiritu principali, totidem corporis nostri sensus verbo Dei subigat? Nam sicut ille de proximo in regibus victor, ita et fides nostra per animam victrix de exeriore homine triumphat. Quod vero ille non multitudine, nec virtute legionum, sed tantum trecentis decem et octo comitantibus, adversarios principes debellavit, jam tunc in sacramento crucis, cujus figura per Tau litteram Graecem numero trecentorum exprimitur, imaginatbatur, quod nos Christi passio liberaret a dominatu quinque carnalium sensuum, qui nos antea variis vitiis captivantes exsuperaverant. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput XI Source: Migne PL 83.239b-c

Then from the five kings, who overcame Sodom, Abraham liberated the captive Lot, having with him in battle three hundred and eighteen servants. 1 And what does this victory of Abraham over the five kings indicate, those that father of faith overcome mystically, but that our faith, if it is fortified with the great spirit, every day subjugates the senses of our body with the Word of God? For as he for his neighbour was victor against kings, so even our faith triumphing over the exterior man is a victor for the soul. And that he conquered hostile princes not with a multitude, nor with the strength of legions, but with only three hundred and eighteen companions, gives an image of the mystery of the cross, by the figure of the Greek letter Tau τ, which expresses the number three hundred, because the passion of Christ liberated us from the domination of the five carnal senses, who had before held us captive to various vices. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chap 11 1 Gen 14.1-16

Sodom And The Mountains

Ardentem quippe Sodomam fugere est illicita carnis incendia, vel mundi desideria declinare. Altitudo vero montium speculatio est perfectorum; sed quia multi sunt justi, qui mundi quidem illecebras fugiunt, sed tamen in actione positi, contemplationis apicem subire nequeunt, hoc est, quod exiit quidem Lot de Sodomis, sed tamen ad montana non pervenit, quia licet jam damnabilis vita relinquitur, sed adhuc celesitudo speculationis subtilier non tenetur. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput XV Source: Migne PL 83.246a-b

Certainly the flight from blazing Sodom 1 is as from the lawless fires of the flesh, or the spurning of worldly desires. However the height of the mountains is the contemplation of those perfect; but because there are many who are just, who certainly flee the snares of the world, but are fixed in deeds, they are not able to come to the peak of contemplation. That is, Lot certainly went out from the Sodomites but he did not come to the mountains, because though he forsook the damned life, yet did not yet achieve the rarefied contemplation of heaven. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chap 15 1 Gen 19.1-29

Avoiding Discord

Dixit ergo Abram ad Lot: Ne, quaeso, sit  jurgium inter me et te, et inter pastores meos et pastores tuos, fratres enim sumus. Ecce universa terra coram te est; recede a me, obsecro. Si ad sinistram ieris, ego dexteram tenebo; si tu dexteram elegeris, ego ad sinistram pergam.   Typice autem beatus Abram discordiam pastorum suorum ac pastorum Lot vitare cupiens, et ob hoc secessum abinvincem eligens, nos ad admonet ut nihil charitati et concordiae praeponamus, sed semper parati simus, sive per prospera, quod dextra significat, sive per adversa, quae per sinistram exprimuntur, in pace et dilectione perseverare. Rabanus Maurus, In Genesim Libri Quatour, Liber II, Cap XIV Source: Migne PL 107.536b

Therefore Abram said to Lot: Let there not be strife between me and you and between my shepherds and your shepherds, for we are brothers. Behold all the world is before you, withdraw from me, I beg. If you go to the left, I shall hold to the right; if you chose the right, I shall take the left.' 1   Figuratively the blessed Abram desiring to avoid discord between his shepherds and the shepherds of Lot, and the choosing of separation between them, admonishes us not to prefer anything before love and harmony, that we should always be prepared, whether for prosperity, which the right hand signifies, or for adversity, which the left expresses, to persevere in peace and love. Rabanus Maurus, from the Commentary On Genesis, Book 2, Chap 14 1 Gen 13.8-9

Lot's Flight

Καὶ κατέστρεφεν τὰς πόλεωις ταύτας, καὶ πασαν τὴν περίχωρον, καὶ πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι... Καὶ ἀπέβλεψεν ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰ ὁπίσω, καὶ ἑγένετο στήλη ἁλός... Ὁ Κύριος οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς ἀπόλλυσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς τροφὰς αὐτῶν οὔσας Σοδομιτικὰς, καὶ ἐπιβλαβεῖς· ἐν αἷς ἐστι καὶ ἄμπελος Σοδόμων ἡ ἄμπελος αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ κληματὶς αὐτῶν ἐκ Γομόῥῥας. Ἂμα τε εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπεσώθη, καὶ τὸ πῦρ ἐπεφέρετο ταῖς πόλεσι, σημεῖον τῆς μελλούσης συντελείας. Στήλη οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐγένετο, ἀλλὰ μάλιστα στήλη ἁλὸς, διὰ τό· Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς. Ἔφαρμόσῃ δὲ τῇ στήλῃ τοῦ ἁλὸς τό· Ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῇ; Οὐκ ἀθρόως ἀναβαίνει εἰς τὸ ὄρος κατὰ τὰ εἰρημένα αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ πρῶτον εἰς Σηγὼρ γίνεται, καίτοιγε μὴ θαῥῥήσας ἑαυτῷ περὶ τοῦ ἀναβῆναι εἰς τὸ ὄρος. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Την Γενεσιν Source: Migne PG 12.13c-d

And he overthrew these cities and all the land around and all the inhabitants of the cities... And his wife looked behind and became a pillar of salt... 1 The Lord does not only destroy the impious but even their sustenance, which is Sodomitical and noxious, even the vine, concerning which it is said, 'Theirs is the vine of the vine of Sodom, and theirs the branch from Gomorrah.' 2 And then he made his way to safety into a city, even as fire fell on the cities, a sign of the future judgement. And it is not written simply 'a tower' but 'a tower of salt', concerning which: 'You are the salt of the earth.' 3 And certainly a tower of salt befits, 'If the salt has lost its flavour,' He does not make haste to go to the mountains as he was bidden but first he goes to Segor, for he does not yet feel confident concerning the ascent of the mountain. Origen, On Genesis, Fragment 1 Gen 19.25-26 2 Deut 32.32 3 Mt 5.13

Comparing Paradise And Earth

Elevatis itaque Lot oculis, vidit omnem circa regionem Jordanis, quæ universa irrigabatur antequam subverteret Dominus Sodomam et Gomorrham, sicut paradisus Domini, et sicut Ægyptus venientibus in Segor. Quod terra Sodomorum et Gomorrhae, antequam deleretur, comparatur paradiso Dei, eo quod erat irrigua, et terrae Aegypti quam Nilus irrigat; satis, ut opinor, ostenditur quomodo intellegi debeat ille paradisus quem plantavit Deus, ubi constituit Adam. Quis enim alius intellegatur paradisus Dei, non video. Et utique si arbores fructiferae in paradiso virtutes animi accipiendae essent, sicut nonnulli exsistimant, nullo corporali in terra paradiso veris lignorum generibus instituto, non diceretur de ista terra: sicut paradisus Dei. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Quaestionum in Heptateuchum, Liber I, Cap XXVII Migne PL 34 555

So Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the region of the Jordan, which was well watered everywhere before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha, like the paradise of God, and like Egypt approached by Segor. 1 Thus the land of Sodom and Gomorrha, before it was destroyed, is compared to the paradise of God, which was watered even as the Nile irrigates the country of Egypt, which is enough, I think, to show how that paradise which God planted should be understood when he created Adam. And how else someone else may understand 'the paradise of God' I do not know. And thus if the fruit bearing trees in paradise should be understood as the virtues of the soul, which not a few judge, there being nothing corporeal established in paradise with its varieties of green trees, it would not have been said concerning this earth: 'like the paradise of God.' Saint Augustine of Hippo, Questions on the Heptateuch, Book 1, Chap 27 1 Gen 13.10

Welcoming Brothers

Ὁ αὐτος εἶπεν περι τῆς ὑποδοχῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν, ὅτι δεῖ ἐρχομενος τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς προσκυνεῐν· οὐ γὰρ αὐτοὺς, ἀλλὰ τὸν Θεὸν προσκυνοῦμεν. Εἰδες γὰρ, φησὶ, τὸν ἀδελφόν σου, εἰδες Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου· καὶ τοῦτο, φησὶ, παρὰ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ παρειλήφαμεν. Καὶ ὅτε δέχεσθε, πρὸς ἀνάπαυσιν παραβιάζεσθε· καὶ τοῦτο γὰρ παρὰ τοῦ Λὼτ μεμαθήκαμεν παραβιασαμένου τούς ἀγγέλους.  ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

Father Apollo spoke about the reception of brothers, that it was necessary to prostrate oneself before the brothers who came, for it is not before them but before God that one prostrates oneself. ' For seeing your brother,' he said, 'You see the Lord your God, and this we receive from Abraham. And when you have received them drive them into seclusion, for this we have learned from the angels prevailing over Lot.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia