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

Ruth And The Church

Videamus nunc et Ruth. Habet enim ista typum Ecclesiae. Primum, quod alienigena est ex populo gentili, quae, relicta patria, et omnibus quae illic erant, vadit in terram Isreal. Et, cum prohiberet eam socrus sua pergere secum, perseverabat, dicens: Quocunque perexeris, pergam; populus tuus, populus meus, et Deus tuus, Deus meus; quae te moriente terra susceperit, in ea moriar. Quae vox sine dubio typum in illa fuisse Ecclesiae manifestat. Sic enim Ecclesia ex gentibus ad Dominum convocata, relicta patria sua, quod est idololatria, et omissa universa conversatione terrena, profitetur Dominum Deum suum esse, in quem sancti crediderunt, et illuc se ituram, ubi caro Christi post passionem ascendit, et ob ejus nomen in hoc saeculo pati usque ad mortem, et cum sanctorum populo, patriarchis scilicet, et prophetis consociandam; de quorum societate, quod sanctis ex stirpe Abrahae venientibus consociaretur, Moyses in Cantico ostendit, dicens: Laetamini, gentes, cum plebe ejus, id est, qui ex gentibu istis credituri, cum illis qui primi electi sunt aeterna laetitia exulstate. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, De Ruth Source:Migne PL 83.390c-391a

Let us now consider Ruth. She is a type of the Church. First, because she is foreign born from the Gentile people, she who, abandoning her homeland, and everything there, goes to the land of Israel, and when her mother in law prohibits her from journeying with her, she perseveres, saying, 'Wherever you shall go, I shall go, and your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my god, and the earth that shall receive you when you die, there I shall die.' 1 Which voice undoubtedly manifests a type of the Church. For so the Church, being gathered to the Lord from the Gentiles, abandoned its homeland, which was idolatry, and setting aside every way of worldly living, confessed the Lord her own God, in whom the holy had believed, and from there set out to where the flesh of Christ ascended after the passion, even to suffer death in this world because of His name, and to be joined with a holy people, that is, the patriarchs and the prophets, concerning which society, that it was to be an association with the holy ones from the seed of Abraham, Moses in his song shows, saying, 'Rejoice, nations, with His people,' 2 that is, that those who from the Gentiles were going to believe, should exult with eternal joy with those who were the first to be chosen Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Ruth 1 Ruth 1.16-17 2 Deut 32.43

Achan And Corruption

Furatur interea de anathemate urbis Jericho Achan pallium, et linguam auream, pro quo, irascente Deo, perierunt quidam manu hostili ex populo. Jericho itaque, ut dictum est, mundi gerit figuram. De anathemate ergo ejus fraudans in tabernaculo suo abscondit, qui saeculares mores in secretis Ecclesiae inserit; qui, sub cultu Dei manens, solemnitates saeculi vel spectacula diligit; qui sortilegos, haruspices et augures inquirit, vel qui caeteros ritus persuadet, qui prius in Jericho, id est, in hoc saeculo habebantur; ipse ergo, quia post fidei indumentum conversationis saecularis cultum inducit, quasi pallium de anathemate tollit. Sed et ille de anathemate Jericho fraudat, qui in Ecclesia haereticorum infert dogmata, vel superstitiosa saecularium litterarum studia. Haec est enim lingua aurea luculento sermone aptate. Hanc furati sunt Arius, Marcion et Basilides. Furati sunt enim isti regulas aureas de Jericho, qui philosophorum sectam conati sunt in Ecclesiam introducere et maculare omnem Ecclesiam Domini, uta ut disperderentur multi per eos; ideoque abjecti sunt per anathema, et quasi acervo lapidum, ita multitudine peccatorum suorum oppressi atque exstincti sunt. Quorum errore perempto, rex Hai, hoc est, diabolus, qui per illorum impietatem fidelium quosdam evicerat, rursum superatus evincitur, atque a populo Dei suspensus, ligni crucis virtute necatur. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Josue, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 83.374d-375b

Meanwhile Achan, despite the ban on the city of Jericho, plundered a cloak and a bar of gold, by which,  because of the anger of God, he perished by the hostile hands of the people. 1 Thus Jericho, as has been said, is a figure of the world, and against the ban he hides his deceit in his tent who brings worldly customs into the sanctuary of the Church, he who though he remains within the worship of God, loves the weighty things of the world and its amusements, who enquires of fortune tellers, haruspices, and augers, and persuades others to do such things which were once done in Jericho, that is, in this world. Therefore he who brings in the cult of worldly cares after putting on the clothing of faith is he who takes a cloak against the ban. And he also flouts the ban concerning Jericho who brings heretical teachings into the Church, or the superstitious studies of worldly letters, for this is the golden tongue which fair speech furnishes. Whence Arius and Marcion and Basilides are plunderers, since they are plunderers of the golden bars of Jericho who try to introduce the schools of the philosophers into the Church and sully the whole of the Church of the Lord so that they might ruin many by it, and thus they are cast down by the ban, and with the mass of their sins, as with a heap of stones, they are burdened and perish. And with their fatal error, because of the impiety of those who were faithful, king Ai, that is, the devil, conquered them, but he in turn is conquered, and by the people of God hung up, slain with the power of the wood of the cross. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Joshua, Chapter 8 1 Joshua 7

Dwellings Of The Levites

Quod vero habitacula Levitis a Jesu per omnes tribus decernuntur, significatur ut hi qui in Ecclesia Dei, scientiae operam dantes, doctinae gratiam administrant, rursum omnibus quibus dispensant divina terrena subsidia, quae non habent, recipiant, ut impleatur illud quod Apostolus praecepit, dicens: Si nos vobis spiritualia seminavimus, magnum est ut carnalia vestra metamus? Et merito isti in cunctis tribubus divisi dicuntur, quia dispensatione cunctorum vivunt. Quod autem quadraginta duas urbes accipiunt, indubitanter ipsa praedicatio sanctorum signatur; ipsi enim possident doctrinam, quae legis Decalogo constant, et quadrifido Evangelii numero, quasi quaterdenias urbes habentes. Quibus etiam duae adjiciuntur, quia nimirum cuncta quae praedicant, morali ac mystico sensu annuntiant. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Josue, Caput XVI-XVII Source: Migne PL 83.378c-379a

That the dwellings of the Levites were distributed by Joshua throughout all the tribes, 1 signifies those in the church of God who, attending to the work of knowledge, and administering the grace of teaching, are settled among all those who are given the promised land, so that they who do not have might receive. Thus is fulfilled what the Apostle exhorted, saying, 'If we have sowed spiritual things among you, is it too great a thing that we reap your material things?' 2 And with good reason they are said to be divided among every tribe, so that they might live for the guidance of all. And that they receive forty two cities is undoubtedly a sign of the preaching of the holy, for they indeed possess teaching, which is contained in the ten commandments and the fourfold Gospel, which being multiplied gives forty cities. To which two are then added, for certainly everything which they preach is spoken of in a moral and mystical sense. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Joshua, Chapters 16-17 1 Joshua 21 2. 1 Cor 9.11

Two Cities

Cognovit autem Cain uxorem suam, et concepit, et peperit Henoch, et aedificavit Cain civitatem Quid ergo sibi per figuram vult, quod impiorum progenies civitatem in ipsa mundi origine construxit? Nisi quod noveris impios in hac vita esse fundatos, sanctos vero hospites esse et peregrinos. Unde et Abel tanquam peregrinus in terris, id est, populus Christianus non condidit civitatem. Superna enim est sanctorum civitas, quamvis hic pariat cives, in quibus peregrinatur, donec regni ejus tempus adveniat. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput VI Source: Migne PL 83.227a

Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Henoch, and Cain built a city. 1 What, then, does he wish to convey with this figure, that the offspring of the wicked built a city at the beginning of this world? What but that you understand that the wicked are established in this life and the holy are as guests and passers by. Whence Abel also was a wanderer on the earth, that is, the Christian people have not founded a city here. For the city of the holy is above, 2 although it brings forth citizens here, among whom it wanders about, until the time of its kingdom shall come. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chapter 6 1 Gen 4.17 2 Heb 12.22-24, Apoc 21.2-4

The Cherubim And The Blade

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

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

Sacrifices And Abominations

Abominationes, inquiunt, Aegyptiorum immolabimus Domino Deo nostro... Oves quippe Aegyptii edere dedignantur. Sed quod abominantur Aegyptii, hoc Israelitae Deo offerunt, quia simplicitatem conscientiae, quam sapientes hujus saeculi, hoc est, cives Aegypti, quasi fatuitatem deputant: hanc justi Deo in sacrificium immolant, et per id Deo placere procurant, quod saeculo et mundo abjectum et contemptibile esse considerant, secundum Apostolum qui ait: Nam quae stulta sunt mundi, elegit Deus, ut confundat sapientes. Ex quo autem loqui coepit Moyses ad Pharaonem, affligitur populus Dei, id est, ex quo in animam hominis sermo Dei perlatus fuerit, acrius callidus hostis consurgit, et majora vitia quibus vincatur immittit. Prius vero quam veniret sermo qui argueret vitia, in pace durabant; sed ubi sermo Dei facere ceperit uniuscujusque discrimen, tunc conturbatio magna consurgit. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Exodum, Caput XI Source: Migne PL 83.291c-d

For we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God what are abominations to the Egyptians... 1 Certainly the Egyptians scorned to eat sheep. But what offends the Egyptians, this is what the Israelites offer to God, because simplicity of conscience, which is thought to be foolishness to the wise of this world, that is, the Egyptian people, this is what the righteous offer in sacrifice to God, and through it they please God, with that which to the age and the world is considered abject and contemptible, according to the Apostle who said, 'For what is foolish to the world, God chose, that He might confound the wise.' 2 And because of what Moses began to say to Pharaoh, the people of God were afflicted, that is, when the word of God comes into the soul of man, so more bitterly does the cunning of the enemy rise up, and he stirs up the great vices by which he conquers. For before the coming of the word which disputes with the vices, the vices dwell in peace, but when the word of God begins to make a division between each one, then great trouble rises up. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Exodus, Chapter 11 1 Exod 8.26 2 1 Cor 1.27

Crow And Dove

Cumque transissent quadraginta dies, aperiens Noe fenestram arcæ, quam fecerat, dimisit corvum... Quod post dies quadraginta emissus corvus non est reversus, aut aquis utique interceptus, aut aliquo supernatante cadavere illectus, significat homines immunditia cupiditatis teterrimos, et ob hoc ad ea quae foris sunt in hoc mundo ire: aut rebaptizari, quasi aut praeter arcam, id est praeter Ecclesiam, baptismus prosit, ut occidant et seducant, docere et tenere. Quod columba emissa, non inventa requie, reversa est, ostendit per Novum Testamentum requiem sanctis in hoc mundo non esse promissam. Post quadraginta enim dies emissa est; qui numerus vitam quae in hoc mundo agitur significat. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 83.233c-d

When forty days had passed, Noah opened the window on the ark which he had made, and sent forth a crow... 1 When after forty days the crow that was sent out did not return, either it was seized by the waters, or it was allured by some corpse floating on the waters, which signifies men most repulsive because of vile desires, and because of this they go to those things which are outside in this world, and are rebaptized, as if outside the ark, that is, except for the Church, baptism profits, so that they might destroy and seduce and teach and hold. That the dove was sent out and found nowhere to rest and returned, shows through the New Testament that rest is not promised to the holy in this world. 2 For it was sent out after forty days, which number signifies the span of life in this world. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chapter 7 1 Gen 8.6 2 cf Jn 14.27, Mt 8.20

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

The Sixth Day

Post haec sexta die produxit terra animam vivam, quando caro nostra, abstinens ab operibus mortuis, viva virtutum germina parturit, secundum genus scilicet suum, id est, vitam imitando sanctorum, sicut Apostolus ait: Imitatores mei estote. Secundum nostrum quippe genus vivimus, quando in opere bono sanctos viros, quasi proximos, imitamur. Deinde produxit terra bestias, homines in potentia rerum, sive ferocitate superbiae. Similiter et pecora; fideles in simplicitate vitae viventes; serpentes quoque innoxios, sanctos videlicet viros, astutiae vivacitate bonum a malo discernentes, et in quantum fas est, reptando scrutantes terrena, per quae intelligant sempiterna, non illos venenosos qui se in hujus mundi cupiditatibus terrenis collocant. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput I Source: Migne PL 83.211c

After this, on the sixth day, the earth produced the living soul, which is when our flesh, withdrawing from the works of death, bears the living seed of the virtues, according to its type, 1 that is, life in imitation of the saints, as the Apostle said: 'Be imitators of me.' 2 Certainly we live according to our type when we imitate holy men by good works, like neighbours. Then the earth produced beasts, men powerful in the world, or wild with pride. Likewise cattle, who are the faithful living a simple life. Also serpents that are not venomous, who are holy men, who, possessing acute minds, are able to discern between good and evil, and in much as it is right, crawl around looking about at the things of the earth, through which eternal things are understood, and not as those venomous ones who amid the desires of this world gather to themselves the things of the world. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chapter 1 1 Gen 1.24 2 1 Cor 11.1

An Altar Of Earth

Quod autem additur ibi a Domino: Non facietis vobis deos argenteos et aureos, altare de terra facietis mihi. Altare enim de terra Deo facere est incarnationem Mediatoris sperare; tunc quippe a Deo nostrum munus accipitur, quando in hoc altari nostra humilitas, id est, super dominicae incarnationis fidem posuerit quidquid boni operatur; in altari ergo de terra oblationum munus offerimus, si actus nostros dominicae incarnationis fide solidamus. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Exodum, Cap XXXII Source: Migne PL 83.304a-b

And there it is added by the Lord: 'You shall not make for yourselves gods of silver and gold, but an altar of earth you shall make for me.' 1 For the altar of earth for God is hope in the incarnation of the Mediator. Then certainly we have our gift from God, when our humility on this altar, that is, on the faith of the Lord's incarnation, shall place whatever good may be done. Therefore on this altar of earth, we offer our gifts of oblation, if we fortify our deeds in the faith of the Lord's incarnation. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Exodus, Chap 32 1 Exodus 20.23-24

Names Of The Son

Emmanuel ex Hebraeo in Latinum significat nobiscum Deus, scilicet quia per Virginem natus Deus hominibus in carne apparuit, ut terrenis viam salutis ad coelum aperiret. Ad divinitatis substantiam quae pertinent ista sunt, Deus, Dominus. Deus autem dictus, propter unicam cum patre substantiam. Dominus, propter servientem creaturem. Deus autem et homo, quia verbum et caro. Unde, et bis genitus, dicitur, sive quia Pater eum genuit sine Matre in aeternitate, sive quia Mater sine Patre in tempore. Unigenitus autem vocatur secundum divinitatis excellentiam, quia sine fratribus; Primogentis secundum susceptionem hominis, in qua per adoptionem gratiae fratres habere dignatus est, quibus esset primogenitus. Homousios Patri ab unitate substantiae appellatur. Substantia einm vel essentia Graece οὐσία dicitur, ὅμος unum. Utrumque igitur conjunctum sonat una substantia. Hoc enim vocatur homousion, quod est: Ego et Pater unum sumus, hoc est, ejusdem cum Patre substantiae Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Etymologiae, Liber VII, Caput II Source: Migne PL 82.263d-264a

Emmanuel is from the Hebrew which in Latin means 'God is with us,' certainly because God was born of the Virgin and appeared to men in the flesh, that on earth He open the way of salvation to Heaven. The names of Christ which pertain to the substance of Divinity are: 'God' and 'Lord'. 'God' because of the unity of His substance with the Father, and 'Lord' because of the subservience of created things to Him. And He is God and He is man because He is Word and He is flesh. Whence he is called the 'Doubly Begotten', because the Father begot him without a mother in eternity, and because a mother begot him without a father in time. He is called the 'Only Begotten' according to the excellence of His Divinity, for He is without brothers, and He is called the 'First Begotten' with regard to His assuming human nature by which He deigned to have brothers through the grace of adoption, among whom He was the 'First Begotten'. He is called 'Homousios' because of the unity of substance with the Father. For in Greek substance or essence is called 'ousia' and 'homos' means one. Thus the two joined together mean one substance. So He is called called Homousion, that is, 'I and the Father are one,' 1 that is, He is of the same substance of the Father. Saint Isidore of Seville, The Etymologies Book 7, Chap 2 1 Jn 10.30

Heaven And The Church

Coelum spiritualiter Ecclesia est, quae in hujus vitae nocte sanctorum virtutibus, quasi claritate siderum, fulget. Pluraliter autem colei nomine sancti omnes, vel angelis intelligeuntur. Siquidem per coelos etiam prophetas et apostolos accipere debemus. De quibus scriptum est: Coeli enarrent gloriam Dei; utique quod ipsi adventum et mortem, ipsi quoque resurrectione Christi et gloriam mundo annuntiaverunt. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, De Natura Rerum, Caput XII Source: Migne PL 83.981b-983a

Spiritually heaven is the Church, which in the night of this life shines with the virtues of the saints as with the brightness of the stars. But in the plural all the saints and angels are understood by the name of heaven, and likewise we should take the heavens as the Prophets and Apostles, of whom it is written, 'The heavens tell of the glory of God,' 1 since these announced to the world the coming and the death and the resurrection and the glory of Christ. Saint Isidore of Seville, On The Nature Of Things, Chap 12 1 Ps 18.2

Figures And Knowledge

Nam et facies Dei in Scripturis sanctis non caro, sed divino cognitio intelligitur eadem ratione qua per faciem conspectam quisuqe cognoscitur. Hoc enim in oratione dicitur Deo: Ostende nobis faciem tuam, ac si dicitur: Da nobis cognitionem tuam. Sic et vestigia Dei dicuntur, quia nunc Deus per speculum agnoscitur; ad perfectum vero Omnipotens reperitetur, dum in futurum facie ad faciem quibusque electis praesentabitur, ut ipsam speciem contemplentur, cujus nunc vestigia comprehendere conantur, hoc est, quem videre per speculum dicuntur. Nam, et situs, et habitus, et locus, et tempus in Deum non proprie, sed per similitudinem translate dicuntur, quippe sedere super cherubim, dicitur, quod est ad situm; et abyssus, tanquam vestimentum, amictus ejus, quod est ad habitum; et, Anni tui non deficient, quod ad tempus pertinet; et , Si ascendero in coelum, tu ibi es, quod as locum. Nam et in propheta, plaustri portantis fenum species ad Deum dicitur. Et haec omnia figuram Deus, quia nihil est horim ad proprietatem substantiae ejus. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Etymologiae, Liber VII, Caput I Source: Migne PL 82.263d-264a

Likewise the face of God in Holy Scripture is not understood as flesh, but as Divine knowledge, in the same way in which someone is known when his face is revealed. For this is said in a prayer to God, 'Show us your face,' 1 as if to say, 'Grant us knowledge of you.' Thus the traces of God are spoken of, because now God is known through a mirror, 2 but He shall be recognized as the Almighty at the culmination, when in the future He is present face to face to each one of the elect, so that they may contemplate His appearance, whose traces they now try to understand, that is, Him whom it is said they see through a mirror. For in relation to God, position and garb and place and time are not spoken of properly, but as a likeness, so, 'To sit on the Cherubim' 3 refers to position, and 'The deep, like a garment, is His cloak,' 4 refers to clothing; and 'Your years shall not fail,' 5 refers to time; and 'If I ascend to heaven, you are there,' 6 refers to place. And then in the Prophet, 'As a wain laden with hay,' 7 is spoken as an image of God. All these refer to God figuratively, because nothing of these things refers properly to His true being. Saint Isidore of Seville, The Etymologies Book 7, Chap 1 1 Ps 79.4 2 1 Cor 13.12 3 Ps 98.1 4 Ps 103.6 5 Ps 101.28 6 Ps 138.8 7 Amos 2.13

The Seraphim

Seraphim quoque similiter multitudo est angelorum, qui ex Hebraeo in Latinum ardentes vel incendentes interpretantur. Qui idcirco ardentes vocantur, quia inter eos et Deum nulli angeli consistunt; et ideo quanto vicinius coram eo consistunt, tanto magis luminis claritate divini inflammantur. Vnde et ipsi velant faciem et pedes sedentis in throno Dei; et idcirco cetera angelorum turba videre Dei essentiam plene non valent, quoniam Cherubin eam tegit. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Etymologiae, Liber VII, Caput V Source: Migne PL 82.273d-274a

Likewise the Seraphim are a multitude of angels whose name translated from Hebrew is 'The Flaming Ones'. They are called 'The Flaming Ones' because there are no angels set between them and God, and therefore as they are much more closely stationed to His presence, so they are much more inflamed by the brightness of the Divine light. Whence they veil the feet of the one who sits on the throne of God, 1 and therefore the other groups of angels are not able to see fully the essence of God, because the Seraphim cover it. Saint Isidore of Seville, The Etymologies Book 7, Chap 5 1 Isaiah 6.2

Ways Of Preaching

Septem sunt modi praedicationis, id est, docendo, persuadendo, increpando, arguendo, terrendo, mulcendo et promittendo: hoc est, docendo discipulos, persuadendo personis, increpando superbos, arguendo contrarios, terrendo trepidos, mulcendo iracundos, promittendo pravis et bonis, pravis tormenta, bonis vitam aeternam. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, De Veteri et Novo Testamento Quaestiones, Quaestio XXXVIII Source: Migne PL 83.206c

There are seven ways of preaching, that is, teaching, persuasion, reproving, disputing, terrifying, conciliating, and promising. This is to teach pupils, to persuade persons, to reprove the proud, to dispute with opponents, to terrify the uncertain, to conciliate the angry, and to give promises to the wicked and the good, torments for the wicked, and eternal life for the good. Saint Isidore of Seville, Questions on the Old and New Testaments, from Question 38

Going Out Of Egypt

Post haec intrant ad Pharaonem Moyses et Aaron petentes viam trium dierum profiscisci in deserto populum Israel, et ibi sacrificare Domino Deo. Quae est via trium dierum, quae nobis incedenda est, ut exeuntes de Aegypto pervenire possimus ad locum in quo immolare debeamus? Via est Christus est, qui dixit: Ego sum via, veritas, et vita. Quae via triduo nobis incedenda est. Qui enim confessus fuerit Dominum Jesum in ore suo, et crediderit in corde suo quod Deus suscitavit eum a mortuis tertia die, salvus erit. Haec est ergo tridui via, per quam pervenitur ad locum in qui Domino immoletur et reddatur sacrificium laudis. Abominationes, inquiunt, Aegyptiorum immolabimus Domino Deo nostro. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Exodum, Caput XI Source: Migne PL 83.292d-293b

After this Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh seeking that the people of Israel go out three days into the desert and there sacrifice to the Lord God. 1 What is this way of the three days which we must advance along, so that going out from Egypt we are able to come to the place in which we should sacrifice? This way is Christ, He who said: 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.' 2 This is the way of three days we must walk. For he who shall have confessed the Lord Jesus in his mouth, and believed in his heart that God took Him up from the dead on the third day, he shall be saved. This is the way of three days, by which he comes to the place in which he shall sacrifice and give a sacrifice of praise. 'Abominations to the Egyptians,' they say, 'we sacrifice to the Lord our God.' 3 Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Exodus, Chap 11 1 Exodus 3.18 2 Jn 14.6 3 Exodus 8.26

Firmament And Scripture

Deinde secunda die disponit Deus firmamentum, id est, solidamentum sanctarum Scriptuarum; firmamentum enim in Eccleisa Scripturae divinae intelliguntur, sicut scriptum est: Coelum plicabitur, sicut liber. Discrevit super hoc firmamentum aquas, id est, coelestes populos angelorum, qui non opus habent hoc suspicere firmamentum, ut legentes audiant verbum Dei. Vident enim eum semper, et diligunt, sed superposuit ipsum firmamentum legis suae super infirmitatem inferiorum populorum, ut ibi suspicientes cognoscant qualiter discernant inter carnalia et spiritualia, quasi inter aquas superiores et inferiores. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput I Source: Migne PL 83.210a-b

Next, on the second day, God established the firmament, 1 that is, the solid vault of the sacred Scriptures, for in the Church the Scriptures are understood as the firmament, as it is written: 'And He shall roll up the sky like a scroll.' 2 And He spread waters over this firmament, that is the heavenly people of the angels, who have no labour to look at this firmament, so that reading they hear the word of God. For they look on Him always 3 and love Him. But this same firmament of His law is placed over the weakness of lesser peoples, that looking there they know how to discern between things carnal and spiritual, as between higher and lower waters. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chap 1 1 Gen 1.6 2 Isaiah 34.4 3 cf Mt 18.10

The Camel And The Rich Man

Dic mihi, quid est hoc quod dixit Dominus in Evangelio: Facilius est camelum per foramen acus transire, quam divitem in regnum Dei introire? Respondit: Quid per camelum, nisi gentiles homines significat? Quia antequam Christus veniret, tortuosi, et gembrosi erant, idola adorando, vel colendo. Quid per illud foramen, nisi incarnato Christi in utero sanctae Mariae describitur? Quid per illum divitem, nisi Judaei, qui de legis littera se divites sperabant? Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, De Veteri et Novo Testamento Quaestiones, Quaestio XXXVI Source: Migne PL 83.206a-b

Tell me, what is this which the Lord said in the Gospel: 'Easier it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven?' 1 Answer: Why a camel, unless it signifies the Gentiles? Because before Christ came they were twisted and deformed, adoring and worshipping idols. And why through that 'eye' unless it is the incarnation of Christ in the womb of Mary that is described? And why that rich man, unless the Jews, who by the letter of the law hoped to make themselves wealthy? Saint Isidore of Seville, Questions on the Old and New Testaments, from Question 36 1 Mt 19.24, Mk 10.25, Lk 18.25

The Gnats

Post haec cyniphes producuntur. Hoc animal quidem pennis suspenditur per aera volitans; sed ita subtile est, et minutum, ut oculi visum, nisi acute cernentis, effugiat. Corpus autem cui insederit acerbissimo terebrat stimulo, ita ut quem volantem quis videre non valet, sentiat statim stimulantem. Hoc ergo animalis genus subtilitati haereticae comparatur: quae subtilibus verborum animas terebat, tantaque calliditate circumvenit, ut deceptus quisque nec videat, nec intelligat, unde decipiatur. Quod vero in tertio signo magi cessaverunt dicentes: Hic digitus est Dei; magi illi typum haereticorum atque animositatem habuerunt. Declarat hoc Apostolus, dicens: Sicut Jannes, et Mambres restiterunt Moysi, sic et hi resistunt veritati; homines mente corrupti, et reprobi circa fidem, sed ultra non proficient. Dementia eorum manisfesta erit omnibus, sicut et illorum fuit. Hi autem, qui per ipsam corruptionem mentis inquietissimi fuerunt, in signo tertio defecerunt, fatentes sibi adversum esse Spiritum sanctum, qui erat in Moyse. Terto enim loco ponitur Spiritus sanctus, qui est digitus Dei. Unde et illi deficientes in tertio signo, dixerunt: Digitus Dei est hic. Sicut autem conciliatus et placatus Spiritus sanctus praestat requiem mitibus et humilibus corde, ita contrarius adversus immites ac superbos inquietudinem exagitat, quam inquietudinem muscae illae brevissimae significaverunt, sub quibus magi Pharaonis defecerunt, dicentes: Digitus Dei est hic. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Exodum, Caput XIV Source: Migne PL 83.292d-293b

After that plague come the gnats. 1 This animal flies through the air suspended by wings, but it is so delicate and so small that it escapes the vision of the eye unless it has acute sight. But the body of the one it lands on it pierces with a most bitter sting, so that that which is not seen in its flight is immediately felt by its bite. Thus this type of animal may be compared to the subtility of the heretic who pierces souls with the fineness of his words, and with such cleverness he whirls around that anyone who is deceived does not see, nor does he understand from whence he is deceived. And with this third sign the magicians were wanting in their arts, saying, 'This is the finger of God,' the magicians who were a type of heretics and hostility. And the Apostle declares this, saying: 'As Jannes and Mambres resisted Moses, so even these resist the truth, men with corrupt minds, and reprobate concerning the things of faith, but they will not advance very far. Their madness shall be manifest to all, as was theirs.' 2 These who through the same corruption of mind were disturbed, failed in their arts at the third sign, and confessed themselves opponents of the Holy Spirit who was in Moses. Indeed the third sign reveals the Holy Spirit, who is the finger of God. 3 Whence those failing in the third sign said: 'This is the finger of God.' As the wise and peaceful Spirit gives rest to the meek and humble in heart, so on the contrary He stirs up distress among the merciless and the proud, which distress these most small flying things have signified, under which the magicians of the Pharaoh were found wanting, saying, 'This is the finger of God.' Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Exodus, Chap 14 1 Exod 8.16-19 2 2 Tim 3.8 3 Lk 11.20