Life And The Flesh

Qui enim in carne sunt, Deo placere non possunt. Qui in carne confidunt, qui concupiscentias suas sequuntur, qui in eis habitant, qui earum voluptatibus oblectantur, qui in earum delectationibus beatam felicemque vitam constituunt, ipsi enim in carne sunt, Deo placere non possunt. Non enim intelligendum est, qui sunt in carne, quasi qui in ista carne vivunt, in qua multi viventes Deo placere meruerunt, qui in carne non fuerunt quamvis in carne vixerint. Portabant carnem, non portabantur a carne. Unde et subditur: Vos autem in carne non estis. Populo Dei dicit, Ecclesiae Dei dicit, Romanis scripsit; sed universae Ecclesiae dixit. Tritico dixit, non paleae; massae latenti, non stipulae apparenti. Unusquisque in corde suo cognoscat si ad eum pertineat. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Expositio In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Liber V, Caput VIII Source: Migne PG 180.629a-b

Those who live in the flesh cannot please God. 1 Those who trust in the flesh, who follow its desires, who dwell in them, who are delighted by its pleasures, who establish the blessed and happy life in its joys, they are in the flesh and cannot please God. It must not be thought that those who are in the flesh are as those who live in this flesh, in which many living have merited to please God, those who lived in the flesh as not in the flesh. They carried the flesh, they were not carried about by it. Whence he writes after this: 'For you are not in the flesh.' 2 He speaks to the people of God, He speaks to the Church of God. He wrote to the Romans, but he spoke to the universal Church. He spoke to wheat, not to chaff; to him hidden in the ear, not to the overt straw. Every man in his heart knows if this refers to him. William of St Thierry, Commentary on Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans, Book 5, Chapter 8 1 Rom 8.8 2 Rom 8.9

Reaping The Harvest

Et cum produxerit ex se fructum statim mittit falcem, quoniam adest messis. Et cum produxerit ex se fructum et sufficientem: et tangit tempus collectionis agricolae seminantis ergo hoc est, hunc fructum in horrea coeli Deo congregat. Qui metit, mercedem accipit, et congregat fructum in vitam aeternam. Sua autem diligentia Praedicator, et Praelatus debent Deo tales fructus congregate: et non sibi lucra quaerere ex ipsis. Triticum congregate in horreum meum. Triticum congregabit ad horreum suum, paleas autem comburet igni inextinguibili. Mittit igitur falcem quia praecidit fructum a laude et lucro hominis, et reponit Deo in horreum. Sic enim fecit Filius incrementa Sancto Patri assignans. Cum tradiderit regnum Deo et Patri, tunc tempore maturi fructus, ut totum Deo attributatur et referuetur: et hoc sit, vel in fine mundi, vel in fine mortis cuiulibet hominis. Mitte falcem tuam et mete, quia venit hora ut metatur, quoniam aruit messis terrae. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput IV Source: Volumen 9, pdf p333

And when the grain is ripe at once he applies the sickle, because the harvest has come. 1 When the grain is ripe and enough, and the time of collection has come, so the farmer who sowed the seed gathers its produce into the heavenly storehouse for God. 'He who reaps, he receives his wage, and he gathers the fruit for eternal life.' 2 For the preacher and the prelate by his own diligence should gather such fruit for God, and not seek profit from it for themselves. 'Gather the wheat into my storehouse.' 3 'He shall gather the wheat into His storehouse, but the chaff He shall burn with unquenchable fire.' 4 So he puts in the sickle because he cuts off the fruit from the praise and profit of man, and he places it in the storehouse for God. So the Son has made increase for the Holy Father. 'When He shall give the kingdom to God and the Father.' 5 Then when the crop is ripe, that all be attributed and referred to God. And this is done at the end of the world, or at the end of any man's life. 'Put in your sickle and reap, because the hour of reaping has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe.' 6 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 4 1 Mk 10.42-45 2 Jn 4.36 3 Mt 13.30 4 Lk 3.17 5 1 Cor 15.24 6 Apoc 14.15

The Labourers

Venite ad me omnes, qui laboratis, et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos. Id est, repausabo. Et vide quomodo dicit, Quia laboratis? Quis est qui laborat? Qui festinat adimplere justitiam, et non praevalet. Qui autem non vult facere justitiam, ille non laborat sub pondere legis. Utputa, si ante te videris aliquem ponderis fascem: siquidem contendisti eum tollere super te, et non potes, laboras: si autem nec tentas, nullum sentis laborem de pondere. Ergo non illos vocabat Christus ad se, qui omnino non concupiscebant facere justitiam, sed qui festinbant, et qui laborabunt, et praevalere non poterant. Adhuc etiam sermonibus istis etiam Christianos peccatorum pondere praegravatos ad requiem poenitentiae vocat. Putas quod peccatores istius mundi non laborant? Vere enim majores labores et sollicitudienes habent, quam servi Dei, dicente propheta: Contritio et infelicitas in viis eorum, et viam pacis non cognoverunt. Item ex persona peccatorum poenitentiam agentium dicit Salomon: Ergo erravimus a via veritas, et lumen justitiae non luxit nobis, et sol non ortus est nobis: lassati sumus in iniquitatis via et perditionis, ambulavimus solitudines desertas, difficiles autem vias Domini ignoravimus. Quid nobis profuit superbia nostra, aut quid divitiarum jactatio contulit nobis? Transierunt omnia illa tamquam umbra. Ergo laborant multum, et conteruntur in saeculo, sed laborem non sentiunt: spiritus enim qui seducit eos, ipse delectat in malo. Sicut enim qui susipiunt jugum Christi, Christus eos delectat in spiritu, ne fatigentur in bonis operibus: sic et qui jugum suscipiunt diaboli, diabolus eos delectat et decipit, ne discedant a malo impii usque ad mortem suam. Ideo dicit Christus: Jugum enim meum sauve est est onus meum leve. Nam etsi corpore non gravantur peccatores, nec laborant, animae tamen eorum gravatae sunt et laborant, dicente propheta de onere peccatorum: Quoniam iniquitates meae superposuerunt caput meum , sicut onus grave gravatae sunt super me. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXVIII Source: Migne PG 56.779-780

Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I shall give you rest. 1 That is, I shall give you peace. And consider how He says it is because you labour. Who is it that labours? He who hurries to fulfill righteousness and does not achieve it. For he who does wish to be righteous, he does not labour under the weight of the Law. As if you saw someone burdened by a bundle and demanded he place it on you and you were not able to bear it, so you would labour. For if you do not try, you do not know the labour of bearing the weight. Therefore Christ does not call them to Himself who have no desire at all to be righteous, but those who hurry to it, and who labour and are not able to attain to it. Yet even with these words he calls Christians to the rest of penance from the grave weight of their sins. Do you think that sinners do not labour in this world? Truly they have greater labours and cares than the servants of God, as the Prophet says: 'Afflicted and unhappy in their ways, they did not know the way of peace.' 2 And in the person of sinners making penance Solomon says: 'So we strayed from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness did not shine on us, and the sun did not rise on us, and we were wearied in the way of our iniquity and ruin; we walked with fruitless cares, and we disregarded the hard ways of the Lord. What has our pride profited us? Or what has the boast of our wealth brought us? All these things pass away like a shadow.' 3 Therefore they labour much, and are crushed down to dust in the world, but they are not aware of their labour, for the spirit who seduces them, he delights in evil. For as those who take up the yoke of Christ, Christ loves in the spirit, that they not weary in good works, so those who take up the yoke of the devil, the devil loves and deceives them, lest before death the impious depart from evil. Therefore Christ says: 'My yoke is easy and my burden light.' 4 For even if sinners are not burdened in their bodies, nor do they labour, yet their souls are weighed down and they labour, with the Prophet saying about the burden of sinners: 'Because my iniquities have been heaped on my head, like a heavy burden weighing down on me.' 5 Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 28 1 Mt 11.28 2 Ps 13.3 3 Wis 5.6-9 4 Mt 11.30 5 Ps 37.5

The Mustard Seed

Audistis hodie, fratres, quemadmodum grano sinapis tota regni coelestis comparata est magnitudo. Et quid est quod potestatem tantam, sic parva, sic minima immo minimorum minima similitudo concludit? Sic enim ait Dominus: Cui simile est regnum Dei? Et cui simile aestimabo illud? Cum dicit: Cui simile, quasi quaerentis indicat et producit affectum. Et ille solus Verbum, scientiae fons, dicendi flumen, qui omnium corda rigat, sensus aperit, ingenium dilatat, in invenienda similitudine nunc laborat? Sed quid invenerit audiamus. Simile est, inquit, regnum coelorum grano sinapis. Quaerens in coelo et in terra, nil invenit nisi granum sinapis, in quo potentiam totam supernae dominationis includat; et illud regnum singularitate potens, aeternitate felix, divinitate fulgens, diffusum toto coelo, tota terra dilatatum, in grani sinapis coarctat et concludit angustias. Simile est regnum coelorum grano sinapis. Spes ista est credentium tota? Exspectatio ista est fidelium summa? Ista est felicitas virginum longis continentiae laboribus comparata? Ista est gloria martyrum totius effusione sanguinis conquisita? Hoc est quod nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit? hoc est quod ineffabili sacramento diligentibus Deum promittit Apostolus esse praeparatum? Fratres, non facile Dominicis moveamur in dictis; nam si infirmum Dei, fortius est hominibus; et stultum Dei sapientius est hominibus, hoc minimum Dei tota magnitudine mundi magnificentius invenitur; si modo hoc granum sinapis nos sic nostris seminemus in mentibus, ut intelligentiae magnam nobis in arborem crescat, et sensus altitudine tota levetur ad coelum, ac totos scientiarum diffundatur in ramos atque ita ora nostra ferventia vivido fructus sui sapore succendat, et ita igne seminis sui toto nobis ardeat, et flammetur in pectore, atque nostrae ignorantiae totum nobis auferat sua degustatione fastidium. Simile est regnum coelorum grano sinapis, quod acceptum homo misit in hortum suum, et crevit, et factum est in arborem magnam, et volucres coeli requieverunt in ramis eius. Grani sinapis, sicut dicit, instar est regnum Dei, quod de supernis affertur verbo, suscipitur auditu, fide seritur, credulitate radicatur, spe crescit, confessione diffunditur, virtute tenditur, et dilatatur in ramos, ad quos vocat aves coeli, id est, spirituales sensus, atque in ipsis eas quieta suscipit mansione. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo XCVIII, De Parabola Grani Sinapis Source: Migne PL 52.474b-475b

You have heard today, brothers, that the whole greatness of the kingdom of heaven has been compared to a mustard seed. And how is it that such power is contained within something so small, so little, indeed is in the likeness of the littlest of little things? For the Lord says: 'To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? To what shall I compare it?' 1 When He says, 'To what shall I liken,' it shows Him as one who is as if seeking and producing an effect. And does that only Word, the fount of knowledge, the river of eloquence, who waters all hearts and opens all minds and expands all intellects, now toil in the finding of a likeness? Let us hear what He finds. 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed,' He says. Seeking in the heavens and the earth He finds nothing but a mustard seed in which the total power of the supernal realm might be encompassed, and that kingdom of singular power, that happiness in eternity, the Divine light, which brightens all the heavens, and stretches out across the whole earth, he narrows and closes up in the constricted space of a mustard seed? 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.' This is the whole hope of believers? This is the consummation of the expectation of faithful? This is to be compared to the happiness of virgins after their long labours of contentince? This has been found to match the whole glory of the martyrs who poured out their blood? This is 'What the eye has not seen, and the ear not heard, nor has it arisen to the heart of a man?' 2 This is that ineffable mystery which is prepared for the lovers of God according to the promise of the Apostle? Brothers, let us not be so easily bewildered by the words of the Lord. 'For if the weakness of God is stronger than men, and the foolishness of God is wiser than men,' 3 this least thing of God is found to be more magnificent than the whole greatness of the world, if in this way we sow in our minds this mustard seed, so that a great tree of understanding grow up in us, and the whole height of the mind rise up to heaven, and in all the branches knowledge be diffused, so that our eager mouth is set alight with the lively taste of its fruit, and the fire of its seed burn all through us and flame up in the heart, and all the weakness of ignorance be driven out by its taste. 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man received and placed in his garden and it grew and it became a great tree and the birds of heaven rested on its branches.' The mustard seed, as He says, is an image of the kingdom of God, which is brought by the Word from the heights, and is received by hearing, and is planted by faith, and is rooted by belief, and it grows by hope, and it spreads by confession, and it stretches forth with virtue, and it expands its branches, to which it calls the birds of heaven, that is, the spiritual senses, which he receives in himself wit his place of peace. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 98, On The Parable Of The Mustard Seed 1 Lk 13.18 2 1 Cor 2.9 3 1 Cor 1.25

The Leaf And The Word

Et folium ejus non decidet Id est sermo ipsius nullo casu a veritate discedit, sed tanquam in arbore palmae folia manentia sunt, ita et ista infixa veritati certis promissionibus perserverant, sicut in Evangelio legitur: Caelum et terra transibunt, verba autem mea non praeteribunt. Et intuere Domini verba foliis arboris comparata, quia sicut illa fructus tegunt, sic promissiones suas et ista custodiunt. Hae sunt aquae spirituales, haec folia salutaria, de quibus in Apocalypsi beatus Joannes dicit: Et ostendit mihi flumen aquae vivae splendidum, tanquam crystallum, exiens de throne Dei et Agni; in medio plateae ejus, et ex utraque parte fluminis, arborem vitae, quae facti fructum duodecies, singulis mensibus reddens fructum suum, et folia arboris illius sunt ad sanitatem genitum deputata. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus I Source: Migne PG 70.31b-c

And its leaf does not fall... 1 That is, His word does not in any way fall from the truth, but as the leaves of the palm tree remain, so these rooted in the firm promises of truth perservere, as it is said in the Gospel: 'Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.' 2 And see that the words of the Lord are compared to the leaves of a tree, because as they cover the fruit, so even they guard His promises. These are the spiritual waters and these are the leaves of salvation concerning which the blessed John says in the Apocalypse: 'And he showed to me the glittering river of the waters of life, like crystal, coming forth from the throne of God and the lamb, and in the midst of the way, on both sides of the river, the tree of life, bearing its fruit twelvefold, and giving its yield monthly, and the leaves of the tree give health to all the peoples.' 3 Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, Psalm 1 1 Ps 1.5 2 Mt 24.15 3 Apoc 22.1-2

Planting Trees

Feci mihi hortos et pomaria: plantavi in illis lignum omne fructiferum. In domo divitis non solum aurea vasa sunt et argentea, sed et lignea et fictilia. Fiunt igitur et horti propter imbecilliores quosque et infirmos. Nam qui infirmus est, oleribus vescitur. Plantantur arbores, non omnes fructiferae, ut in Latinis codicibus habemus; sed omnes fructus, hoc est, diversarum frugum atque pomorum, quia diversae sunt gratiae in Ecclesia: et alius est oculus, alius manus, alius pes, et, quae verecundiora nosta sunt, bis majorem honorem circumdamus. Inter quas frugiferas arbores aestimo tenere primatum lignum vitae, quod est sapientia. Nisi enim in medio illa plantetur, ligna caetera siccabuntur. Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentarius Ecclesiasten, Cap I Source: Migne PL 23.1026b-c

I made for myself gardens and orchards. I planted in them every tree bearing fruit 1 In the house of the rich man there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but even of wood and earth. 2 Therefore there are gardens for the feeble and for the infirm. For he who is weak feeds on vegetables. 3 And trees are planted there, not all of which are fruitbearing, as the Latin books have it, but there is every fruit, 4 that is, there are different fruits and yields, which are the different graces in the Church; and one is the eye, another the hand, another the foot, and that which are our less honourable parts, we invest with a double honour. 5 Among the trees that bear fruit, I think that first place is held by the tree of life, which is wisdom. For unless that is planted in the midst of them, the other trees wither. 6 Saint Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chap 1 1 Eccles 2.5 2 2 Tim 2.20 3 Rom 14.2 4 Hebrew Reading 5 1 Cor 12.23 6 Gen 2.9

Goods And Marriage

Copulatio itaque maris et feminae generandi causa bonum est naturale nuptiarum. Sed isto bono male utitur, qui bestialiter utitur, ut sit eius intentio in voluptate libidinis, non in voluntate propaginis. Quamquam in nonnullis animalibus rationis expertibus, sicut in plerisque alitibus, et coniugiorum quaedam quasi confoederatio custoditur et socialis nidificandi sollertia vicissimque ovorum dispertita tempora fovendorum et nutriendorum opera alterna pullorum magis eas videri faciunt agere, cum coeunt, negotium substituendi generis quam explendae libidinis. Quorum duorum illud est in pecore simile homnis, hoc in homine simile pecoris. Verum quod dixi ad naturam pertinere nuptiarum, ut mas et femina generandi societate iungantur et ita invicem non fraudent, sicut omnis societas fraudulentum socium naturaliter non vult, hoc tamen evidens bonum cum infideles habent, quia infideliter utuntur, in malum peccatumque convertunt. Eo modo ergo et illam concupiscentiam carnis, qua caro concupiscit adversus spiritum, in usum iustitiae convertunt fidelium nuptiae. Habent quippe intentionem generandi regenerandos, ut qui ex eis saeculi filii nascuntur in Dei filios renascantur. Quapropter qui non hac intentione, hac voluntate, hoc fine generant filios, ut eos ex membris hominis primi in membra transferant Christi, sed infideles parentes de infideli prole gloriantur; etiamsi tanta sint observantia, ut secundum matrimoniales tabulas nonnisi liberorum procreandorum causa concumbant, non est in eis vera pudicitia coniugalis. Cum enim virtus sit pudicitia, cui vitium contrarium est impudicitia, omnesque virtutes etiam quae per corpus operantur in animo habitent, quomodo vera ratione pudicum corpus adseritur, quando a vero Deo ipse animus fornicatur? Quam fornicationem sanctus ille Psalmus accusat, ubi dicit: Ecce enim qui longe se faciunt a te peribunt; perdidisti omnem qui fornicatur abs te, vera igitur pudicitia, sive coniugalis sive vidualis sive virginalis, dicenda non est, nisi quae verae fidei mancipatur. Cum enim recto iudicio praeferatur nuptiis sacrata virginitas, quis non sobria mente christianus etiam non univiras christianas catholicas nuptas, non solum vestalibus, sed etiam haereticis virginibus anteponat? Tantum valet fides, de qua dicit Apostolus: Omne quod non est ex fide peccatum est; et de qua item scriptum est ad Hebraeos: Sine fide impossibile est placere Deo. Sanctus Augustinus Hippoensis, De Nuptiis et Concupisentia, Liber I Source: Migne PL 44.415-416

Thus the union of male and female for the purpose of procreation is the natural good of marriage. But he uses this good badly who uses it bestially, so that his intention is in the pleasure of lust, not in the wish for offspring. Nevertheless in not a few animals without reason, as in most birds, there is both maintained a certain confederation of pairs and a social combination of skill in nest building, and their sharing between one another of the time for cherishing their eggs and in the work of feeding their young give them the appearance of acting, when they come together, for the purpose of the continuance of their kind rather than satisfying lust. Of these two, the one is the likeness of man in a beast, the other the likeness of the beast in man. The truth which I ascribed to the nature of marriage, that the male and the female are bound together as associates for procreation, and thus do not deceive other, as all society has a natural dislike of a deceitful associate, although even faithless men possess this evident good of nature, yet, since they use it without faith, they only turn it to evil and sin. In like manner, therefore, that carnal concupiscence by which 'the flesh lusts against the Spirit.' 1 is converted to the use of righteousness by the marriages of the faithful. For they hold to the intention of generating to be regenerated, that those who are born of them as children of the world may be reborn as sons of God. Whence those who do not beget children with this intention, this will, this end, that they be transferred from being members of the first man into members of Christ, but glory as unbelieving parents over unbelieving children, even if they observe such things as the matrimonial tablets set forth, not laying together but the purpose of the procreation of children, there is no true conjugal chastity in them. For as much as chastity is a virtue, whose opposing vice is unchastity, and as all the virtues, even those which operate through the body, have their place in the soul, how can the body be in any true sense be claimed to be chaste, when the soul itself fornicates apart from the true God? Which fornication the holy Psalmist denounces when he says: 'Behold, they who place themselves far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all who fornicate apart from you.' 2 Therefore it must not be said that there is no true chastity, whether conjugal, or of a widow, or of a virgin, unless it is given to the true faith. For though consecrated virginity is rightly preferred to marriage, yet what Christian in his sober mind would not prefer catholic Christian women who have been even more than once married, to not only vestals, but also to heretical virgins? So great is the benefit of faith, concerning which the Apostle says, 'Whatever is not of faith is sin;' 3 and concerning which it is written to the Hebrews, 'Without faith it is impossible to please God.' 4 Saint Augustine of Hippo, On Marriage and Concupiscence, Book 1 1 Galat 5.17 2 Ps 72.27 3 Rom 14.23 4 Heb 11.6

The Shoot And The Flower

Virga quoque a radice virginitas est, sic enim scriptum est: Exiet virga a radice Jesse, et flos a radice ejus ascendet. Non cavata est haec virga, sed solida. Nemo ergo adurat virgam tuam, ut florem tuum custodias. Virga es, O virgo, non curveris, non inflectaris in terram, ut in te flos paternae radicis ascendat. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Institutione Virginis Et Sanctae Mariae Virginitate Perpetua, Cap IX Source: Migne PL 16.321a

Virginity is from the word 'shoot' (virga), so it is written: 'A shoot will come out from the root of Jesse, and from the root a flower will arise.' 1 This shoot is not hollow but firm. Therefore let no one dry up your shoot, that you guard your flower. You are a shoot, O virgin, may you not be bent down, may you not incline to the earth, that the paternal flower rise up in you. Saint Ambrose, on The State of The Virgin And The Perpetual Virgnity of Saint Mary, Chapter 9 1 Isaiah 11.1

Doves And Serpents

Estote ergo prudentes sicut serpentes, ad intelligandas fraudes. Estote simplices sicut columbae, ad ignoscendas injurias. Nolo vos esse semper quasi columbas, ne propter simplicitatem nimiam per seductionem laqueum incurratis. Nolo vos esse semper sicut serpentes, ne ex corde contra aliquem venena fundatis, sed secundum tempus et personas mutetis et mores. Estote serpentes, ne comprehendamini. Si enim comprehensi fueritis, estote columbae, ut ne mordeatis. Quamdiu enim homo gentilis est, serpens in illo est: quoniam indignatio illius secundum similitudinem est illius serpentis, qui in paradiso hominem a Deo separavit: cum vero converitur ad fidem, recedente serpente, ingreditur in illum Spiritus, qui in specie columbae descendit de caleo et fit columba. Ergo contra infideles estote serpentes, quia serpens serpenti non nocet: cum fidelibus autem estote columbae, ut quasi columbae columbis caritatis oscula porrigatis. Et ut breviter dicam, estote prudentes sicut serpentes, ut malum intelligatis et caveatis. Et estote simplices sicut columbae, ut non faciatis ullum malum. Quia intelligere malum, laudabile est: facere autem vituperabile. Nec qui intelligit malum, ipse facit malum, sed qui facit malum. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXIV Source: Migne PG 56.758

Be, therefore, as wise as serpents, for the understanding of deceit. Be as simple as doves, for the forgiveness of injuries. 1 I do not want you to be always like doves, lest because of your utter simplicty you fall into snares by seduction. I do not want to be always like serpents, lest you pour out on someone venom from your heart. According  to times and persons adapt your behaviour. While a man is faithless the serpent is in him, and his hostility is like that of the serpent who in paradise separated man from God; when, however, he turns to the faith, the serpent withdraws and the Spirit enters into him, He who in the form of a dove comes down from heaven, and He makes a dove. Therefore, against the faithless be serpents, because a serpent does not harm a serpent. With  the faithful, however, be doves, that as a dove to a dove you offer the kisses of charity. And if I may speak briefly, be as wise as serpents, so that you have understanding of evil and are wary of it. And be simple as doves, so that you do no evil. Because to understand evil is praiseworthy, to do it worthy of reproof. It is not he who understands evil who is the evildoer, but he who does it. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 24 1 Mt 10.16

Pelican, Night Raven And Sparrow

Similis factus pelicano solitudinis: factus sum sicut nycticorax in domicilio Per haec nomina volucrum, ut arbitror, diversa nobis poenitentium genera declarantur. Pelicanus enim avis Aegyptia est, ciconiis corporis granditate consimilis, quae naturali macie semper affecta est, quoniam, sicut physiologi volunt, tenso intestino per viscera quidquid escarum accipit, sine aliqua decoctione transmittit. Hinc fit ut adipe proprio minime farciatur, quia parvissimo ciborum succo reficitur; quae non gregatim ut caeterae aves volant, sed delectatione se solitaria consolatur. Eorum unum genus dicitur esse quod stagnis inhabitat, aliud, sicut dictum est, quod in desertis locis secretisque versatur. Per hoc igitur avium genus pulcherrime significantur eremitae, qui hominum consortio derelicto, timore Domini remota se afflictione discruciant. Sequitur, factus sum sicut nycticorax in domicilio. Aliud genus introducitur poenitentis. Nycticorax Graeco vocabulo dicitur noctis corvus, quem quidam bubonem, quidam noctuam esse dixerunt: alii magis corvo magnitudine et colore consimilem, quem specialiter in Asiae partibus inveniri posse testantur. Istem sicut diei fulgor abscondit, ita adventus noctis producit: et contra consuetudinis avium, tunc magis vigilare et escas quaerere incipit, quando se in soporem animantia cuncta componunt. Ita et poenitens iste nocturno tempore escas animae sollicita curiositate perquirit: modo psalmodiae operam dando, modo eleemosynas faciendo, modo carceres occulte visitando, solum Deum vult habere testem, cui caligo noctium non tollit aspectum. Et nota quia sicut pelicanus designat eremitam atque solitarium, ita nycticorax illum declarat qui se domicilio suo retinens a publica visione remotus est. Vigilavi et factus sum sicut passer unicus in aedificio. Venit ad tertium genus, quod idem similitudine passeris iudicatur; ut qui mundi crimina lugebat, per omnium satisfactionum modos discurrere videretur. Passer est avis parva, sed nimia sagacitate sollicita, quae nec facile laqueis irretitur, nec per ingluviem ventris escarum ambitione decipitur. Haec propter infirmitatem suam, ne aut ipsa a praedatore capiatur, aut fetus ejus sepentinis devorentur insidiis, inter aves unica cautione munita, ad domerum fastigia celsa concurrit, ut a susceptis casibus reddatur aliena, quae multis periculis probatur obnoxia. Huic merita comparatur, qui diaboli insidiosa formidans, specialiter ad Ecclesiae septa se conferens, in ejus fastigio vigilans tutissime perseverat. Unicum, dixit, propter charitatem quae ex multis unum facit. In aedificio, propter altitudinem fidei et fortitudinem mentis. Considerandum est etiam quemadmodum iste supplicans a majoribus avibus pelicano et nycticorace coepit, et pervenit usque ad passeris minutissimam parvitatem: quoniam gradatim poenitduo descendens, primo loco grandis, secundo mediocris, tertio consuetudine ipsa omnino tolerabilis. Hae autem aves per figuram parabolen hominibus comparantur, genere discrepantes, sed consuetudinum qualitate consimilies. Quod argumentum comparationis dicitur ex majore ad minus; multo enim major est homo quam passer. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CI Source: Migne PG 70.709c-710c

I am made like a pelican in the wilderness, like a night raven in the house 1 By the names of these birds, so I judge, different kinds of penitence are declared to us. The pelican is a bird of Egypt, similar in the size of its body to storks, but it is always naturally slender because, as the physiologists have it, whatever food it swallows passes out through the bowels without any digestion. Thus it does not bloat with its own fat because it is refreshed by the juice of very little food. They do not fly in large numbers like other birds but have consolation in the pleasure of solitude. It is said that one species dwells in marshes, and another, so it is said, lives in isolated desert places. Therefore by this kind of bird hermits are most beautifully indicated, those who forsake association with men and by the fear of the Lord discipline themselves with solitary privation. It follows: 'I am like a night raven in the house.' Another type of penitent is introduced here. The word 'Nycticorax' is Greek for the night raven, which some have said is a horned owl and some a little owl; yet others say that in size and colour it is more like a raven, attesting that it can be found especially in parts of Asia. As the brightness of day drives it into hiding, so the coming of night brings it out. In contrast to the habit of birds it begins to stir and seek food when other animals are settling down to sleep. Thus the penitent with anxious care in the night seeks sustenance for the soul, now taking to psalmody, now to alms giving, now to the visiting of prisons unseen, wishing to have God alone as witness, whose sight is not obscured by the darkness of the night. Note that just as the pelican indicates the hermit and the solitary, so the night raven indicates the one who stays within his house, removed from the public gaze. I watched, and I was made like a sparrow alone on a house. 2 He comes to the third type of penitent, which is given by the likeness of the sparrow, one who grieving for his worldly sins might seem to hurry through the ways of all satisfaction. The sparrow is a small bird but most prudently cautious, by which it is not easily caught in snares, nor led astray by the gluttony of the belly with its desire for food. Because of its weakness, so that it may not be seized by a predator, or have its offspring devoured by the ambush of the snake, it is protected by a wariness unique among birds, flying to the high rooftops of houses that it escape suspected calamities, since it is exposed to many dangers. Rightly compared to this is he who fears the devil's plots, especially one who takes himself to the enclosure of the Church and on its height remains watchful in most complete safety. 'Alone' he describes it on account of the charity which makes the penitent one from many. He is on the house because of the height of his faith and the strength of his soul. One must also consider how this suppliant began as a greater bird, a pelican or night raven, and then advanced to the tiny littleness of the sparrow. For the penitent descends step by step, being large at first, secondly middling , and thirdly habituated to be wholly acceptable. These birds are compared with men by the figure of parabole, differing in species but similar in the types of their habits. This manner of comparison is called 'from greater to lesser' for man is much greater than a sparrow. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, Psalm 101 1 Ps 101.7 2 Ps 101.8

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

The Sparrows

Nonne duo passeres asse veneunt, et unus ex illis non cadit in terram sine voluntate Patris vestri. Non est, ut puto, criminis agere aucupium; neque venditio passerum habet culpam. Et quod ait, Unus ex illis non cadit super terra, sine voluntate Patris vestris, contra apostolicum dictum facere videtur quod ait: Non est pecudum Deo cura. Et auctoritati ejus multum derogabitur, si sensisse aliter, quam in evangeliis traditum est, repereietur. Nec enim apostolis multum dignitatis tribuitur, si passeribus ante stabunt. Locus hic ex sensu superiore proficiscitur. Iniquitates enim eorum exaggerantur, qui tradituri sunt, qui insectaturi, qui in fugam coacturi, quibus propter nomen Domini esse odio nos oportet, qui omne jus summ in solis corporibus exerceant, potatestem in animam non habentes Hi igitur passeres duos asse veneunt. Et quidem quae sub peccato vendita sunt, redemit ex lege Christus: ergo quod venditur, corpus atque anima est, et cui venditur, peccatum est: quia Christus et de peccato redemit, et animae ac corporis est redemptor. Qui igitur duos passeres asse veneunt se ipsos peccato minimo veneunt, natos ad volandum, et ad coelum pennis spiritalibus efferendos. Sed capti pretiis praesentium voluptatum, et ad luxum saeculi venales, totos se talibus actionibus nundinantur. Sed quaerendum est, quomodo unum ex illis est, quod sine voluntate Dei non cadet. Dei voluntas est, ut unum ex illis magis evolet, sed lex ex constitutione Dei profecta decernit unum ex eis potius decidere. Quemadmodum autem si evolarent, unum essent, id est, corpus in naturam animae transisset, et gravitas illa terrenae materiae in profectum et substantiam anime aboleretur, fieretque corpus potius spiritale: ita peccatorum pretio venditis, in naturam corporum animae subtilitas ingravescit, et terrenam contrahit ex vitiorum sorde materiem, fitque unum ex illis quod tradatur in terram. Plurimis autem eos ante stare passeribus cum dicit, ostendit multitudini infidelium electionem fidelium praeesse: quia his casus in terram, illis volatus in coelum. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap X Source: Migne PL 9.973a-974b

Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin, and not one of them falls to the earth without the will of your Father? 1 It is not, I think, that bird hunting is a crime, nor selling sparrows worthy of reproof. And that He said: 'Not one of them falls to earth without the will of your Father,' seems to be set against the Apostolic speech which says: 'God has no care for oxen.' 2 His authority shall be much diminished if one finds in it a different meaning apart from that which is given by the Gospels. Nor is much dignity accorded to the Apostles if they are worth more than sparrows. 3 But the meaning of this passage comes from what has been said before. For their iniquities are heaped up who will hand over, who will persecute, who will drive into flight, for whom, on account of the name of the Lord, it is necessary they hate us, who exert themselves in their every law only in their bodies, having no strength of soul. These are the ones who sell two sparrows for a copper coin. And certainly that which has been sold beneath sin Christ redeems from the Law. Therefore what is sold is the body and the soul, and to sell to another is sin, because it is Christ who redeems from sin, He is the redeemer of the body and the soul. They, then, who sell two sparrows for a copper coin are those who sell themselves into sin for a meagre price, they who were born to fly and to be raised up to the heaven on spiritual wings. But snared by the reward of present pleasures, and purchaseable by the luxury of the world, with such deeds they sell themselves in the market. But it must be asked how it is that not one of them falls without the will of the God. The will of God is that by which one them may fly higher, but the law by God established judges which one of them falls. As if had they flown they would be one, that is with the body passing into the nature of the soul, and that heavy terestial matter disappearing into the substance of the soul with their ascent, the body becoming spiritual, so being sold for the price of sins, the delicate soul grows heavy in the nature of the body and by the filth of vices it packs together terrestial matter and is one of those given over to the earth. So when He says that they are worth much more than sparrows, He shows that the election of the faithful exceeds the multitude of the faithless, because for the latter is the fall to earth, for the former the flight to heaven. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 10 1 Mt 10.29 2 1 Cor 9.9 3 Mt 10.31

The Sound Of Wings

Et audiebam sonum alarum, quasi sonum aquarum multarum. Solent in sacro eloquio per aquas, populi designari. Unde per Joannem dicitur: Aquae vero sunt populi. Idcirco autem aquis populus designatur, quia et in vita sonum habet ex tumultu carnis, et quotidie defluit ex decursu mortalitatis. Ut autem saepe jam diximus, alae sunt animalium, virtutes sanctorum. Quid est ergo quod propheta alarum sonum audit quas sonum aquarum multarum, nisi quod omnipotentis Dei pietate illae alae virtutum, quae in paucis prius sanctis sonabant, etiam nunc praedicatione diffusa, in multarum populorum conversatione resonant? Incarnato enim, passo, ac resurgente Domino, pauca pennata animalia fuerunt, quia rari valde exstiterunt, qui coelestia desiderarent, et virtutum pennis se in alta suspenderent. Sed postquam divinitatis ejus praedicatio in mundo diffusa est, quanti jam parvuli, quanti graviores, quanti fortes juvenes, quanti imbecilles, quantae conversae peccatrices, quantae anus virgines per fidem, per spem, per amorem ad coelestia evolant, quis dicere, quis aestimare sufficiat? Ecce alarum sonitus, qui prius in paucis animalibus fuit, jam nunc in populis resonat, jam nunc mundi multitudinem ad coeleste desiderium pennae virtutum levant. Bene ergo dicitur: Et audiebam sonum alarum, quasi sonum aquarum multarum, quia, sicut praefati sumus, ille virtutum sonus qui in aurem Dei prius ex paucis sanctis factus est, postmodum ex aquis multis id est ex innumerabilibus est populis multiplicatus. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia VIII Source: Migne PL 76.853c-854b

And I heard a sound of wings, like the sound of many waters. 1 It is the custom of Sacred Scripture to designate the peoples by waters. Whence John says: 'The waters are the people.' 2 So the people are designated by the waters, because in life it has the sound of the tumult of the flesh, and every day it pours down the downward slope of mortality. And, as we have already said, the wings of the animals are the virtues of the saints. Why is it, then, that the Prophet hears the sound of wings as the sound of many waters, unless that by the piety of almighty God the wings of virtue, which before were heard only in few holy ones, now, by the spread of preaching, resound in the lives of many people? For until the Incarnation and the Passion and the Resurrection of the Lord, few were winged animals, because rarely were they found who desired heavenly things and with wings of virtue held themselves in the heights. But after the preaching of His Divinity was spread across the whole world, who is able to say or guess how many who were few became great, how many became strong youths who were weak, how many who were sinful women became old virgins, and by faith, by hope, and by love flew to the heavenly things? Behold, the sound of wings, which once was found in few animals, now resounds among the people, like the sound of many waters; for now the wings of the virtues lift up a multitude of the world with heavenly longings. Well, then, it is said, 'And I heard the sound of wings, like the sound of many waters,' because, as we have mentioned, that sound of virtue in the ear of God once was made by few holy folk and after is like the many waters, that is, it is multiplied by innumerable people. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 8 1 Ezekiel 1.24 2 Apoc 17.15

Spiritual Knowledge

Sed ad expostionem scientiae de qua sumptum est sermonis exordium revertamur. Itaque, sicut superius diximus, practice erga multas professiones ac studia derivatur. Theoretice vero in duas dividitur partes, id est, in historicam interpretationem, et intelligentiam spiritalem. Unde etiam Salomon cum Ecclesiae multiformem gratiam enumerasset adjecit: Omnes enim qui apud eam sunt, vestiti sunt dupliciter. Spiritalis autem scientiae genera sunt, tropologia, allegoria, anagoge; de quibus in Proverbiis ita dicitur, Tu autem describe tibi ea tripliciter, super latitudinem cordis tui. Itaque historica praeteritarum ac visibilium agnitionem complecitur rerum quae ita ab Apostolo replicatur: Scriptum est enim quai Abraham duos filios habuit, unum de ancilla, et alium de libera; sed qui de ancilla, secundum carnem natus est; qui autem de libera, per repromissionem. Ad allegoriam autem pertinent quae sequuntur, quia ea quae in veritate gesta sunt, alterius sacramenti formam praefigurasse dicuntur: Haec enim, inquit, sunt duo testamenta: unum quidem de monte Sina, in servitutem generans, quod est Agar: Sina enim mons est in Arabia, quis comparatur huic, quae nunc est Jersusalem, et servit cum filiis suis. Anagoge vero de spiritalibus mysteriis ad sublimiora quaedam et sacratiora coelorum secreta conscendens, ab Apostolo ita subjicitur: Quae autem sursum est Jerusalem libera est, quae est mater nostra. Scriptum est enim: Laetare sterilis, quae non paris; erumpe et clama, quae non parturis; quia multi filii desertae magis quam ejus quae habet virum. Tropologia est moralis explanatio, ad emendationem vitae et instructionem pertinens actualem, velut si haec eadem duo Testamenta intelligamus practicem et theoreticem disciplinam; vel certe si Jerusalem aut Sion animam hominis velimus accipere, secundum, Lauda, Jerusalem, Dominum; lauda Deum tuum, Sion. Igitur praedictae quatuor figurae in unum ita si volumus confluunt, ut una atque eadem Jerusalem quadrifairm possit intelligi: secundum historiam civitas Judaeorum, secundum allegoriam Ecclesia Christi, secundum anagogen civitas Dei illa coelestis quae est mater omnium nostrum; secundum tropologiam anima hominis, quae frequenter hoc nomine aut increpatur, aud aludatur a Domino. De his quator interpretationum generibus Apostlus ita dicit: Nunc autem, fratres, si venero ad vos linguis loquens, quid vobis prodero, nisi vobis loquar, aut in revelatione, aut in scientia, aut in prophetia, aut in doctrine? Revelatio namque ad allegoriam pertinet, per quam ea quae tegit historica narratio spirituali sensu et expositione reserantur, ut, verbi gratia, si illud aperire tentemus, quemadmodum, patres nostri omnes sub nube fuerint, et omnes in Mose baptizati sint in nube et in mari, et quaemadmodum omnes eadem escam spiritalem manducaverint, et eumdem spiritalem de consequenti petra biberint potum; petra autem erat Christus; quae expositio praefigurationi corporis et sanguinis Christi, quem quotidie summus, comparata, allegoriae continet rationem. Scientia vero quae similiter ab Apostolo memoratur, tropologia est, qua universa quae ad discretionem pertinent actualem, utrum utilia vel honesta sint, prudenti examinatione discernimus, ut est illud: Cum apud nosmetipsos judicare praecipimur, utrum deceat mulierem non velato capite orare Deum. Quae ratio, ut dictum est, moralem continet intellectum. Item prophetia, quam tertio Apostolis intulit loco, anagogen sonat, per quam ad invisibilia ac futura sermo transfertur, ut est illud: Nolumus autem vos ignorate, fratres, de dormientibus, ut non contristemini, sicut et caeteri qui spem non habent. Si enim credimus quod Christus mortuus est et resurrexit, ita et Deus eos qui dormierunt, per Jesum adducet cum eo. Hoc enim vobis dicimus in verbo Domini, quia nos qui vivimus, qui residui sumus, in adventu Domini non praeveniemus, eos qui dormierunt quoniam ipse Dominus in jussu et in voce archangeli, et in tuba Dei descendet de caelo; et mortui qui in Christo sunt, resurgent primi. Qua exhortationis specie anagoges figura praefertur. Doctrina vero simplicem historiae expostionis ordinem pandit, in qua nullus occultior intellectus, nisi qui verbis resonat, continetur, sicut est illud: Tradidi enim vobis in primis quod et accepi, quoniam Christus mortuus est pro peccatis nostris, secundum Scripturas, et quia sepultus est, et quia resurrexit tertia die, et quia visus est Cephae. Et Misit Deus Filium suum factum ex muliere, factum sub lege, ut eos qui sub lege erant redimeret. Sive illud: Audi, Israel, Dominus tuus, Deus unus est. Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, Collatio XIV, Caput VIII, De Spiritali Scientia Source: Migne PL 49.962b-965b

But let us return to the explanation of the knowledge from which our discussion began. Thus, as we said earlier, practical knowledge is distributed among many disciplines and interests, but the theoretical is divided into two parts, that is, the historical interpretation and the spiritual understanding. Whence Solomon, when he had enumerated the manifold grace of the Church, added: 'For all who are with her are clothed with double garments.' 1 But of spiritual knowledge there are different kinds: tropological, allegorical, and anagogical, concerning which it is said in Proverbs: 'But describe these things to yourself in three ways, according to the largeness of your heart.' 2 Thus the historical embraces the knowledge of things past and visible, which is repeated by the Apostle: 'For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave, the other by a free woman, but he who was of the slave was born according to the flesh, he who was of the free woman by the promise.' 3 But to allegory belongs what follows this, for those things which actually happened are said to have prefigured the form of some mystery: 'For these,' he says, 'are the two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, which births to bondage, which is Agar; for Sinai is a mountain in Arabia, which is compared to Jerusalem which now is, and she is in servitude with her children.' Then the anagogical, rising up amid the spiritual mysteries to the still more sublime and sacred secrets of heaven, is given after by the Apostle as: 'But the Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother. For it is written, Rejoice, barren one who has not born, break forth and cry out, you that travail not, for many more are the children of her desolate than of her that has a husband.' 4 The tropological is the moral explanation concerning the improvement of life and practical instruction, as if we were to understand by these two covenants practical and theoretical instruction, or certainly if we were to wish to take Jerusalem or Sion as the soul of man according to: 'Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Sion.' 5 Therefore these four mentioned figures coalesce, if we wish, in one subject, so that one and the same Jerusalem can be understood in four senses: according to the historical, as the city of the Jews; according to the allegorical as the Church of Christ, according to the anagogical as the heavenly city of God 'which is the mother of us all,' and according to the tropological as the soul of man, which under this name is frequently subject to praise or censure from the Lord. Concerning these four kinds of interpretation the Apostle says: 'But now, brothers, if I were to come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation or by knowledge or by prophecy or by doctrine?' 6 For revelation belongs to allegory, by which what is concealed by the historical is revealed in its spiritual sense and interpretation, as, for example, if we tried to explain how 'all our fathers were under the cloud and were all baptized in Moses in the cloud and in the sea,' and how they 'all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink from the rock that followed them; which rock was Christ.' 7 Which explanation in the prefiguration of the body and blood of Christ, which we receive daily, contains the allegorical sense. But the knowledge, which is in the same way recalled by the Apostle, is tropological, by which, with diligent study, we see all things that have to do with practical discernment, whether they are useful and good, as when we are told to judge for our own selves 'whether it is fitting for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered.' 8 Which understanding, as has been said, contains the moral meaning. That prophecy which the Apostle puts in the third place indicates the anagogical sense, by which the words are applied to things unseen and of the future, as it is said: 'But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who sleep: that you not grieve as those who have no hope. For if we believe that Christ died and rose again, even so those who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say to you by the word of God, that we who are alive, we who remain at the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who sleep, because the Lord Himself will command in the voice of an archangel and with the trump of God He shall descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.' 9 In which kind of exhortation the figure of anagoge is brought forward. But doctrine offers the simple course of historical exposition, under which no hidden meaning is contained but just what is declared by the words, as with: 'For I delivered to you first of all what I also received, how Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day, and that he was seen by Cephas.' 10 And: 'God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem those under the Law.' 11 Or: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord the God is one Lord.' 12 Saint John Cassian, The Conferences, Conference 14, Chapter 8, On Spiritual Knowledge 1 Prov 31.21 Versio Antiqua 2 Prov 22.20 Versio Antiqua 3 Galat 4.23 4 Galatians 4.22-27 5 Ps 147.1 6 1 Cor 14.6 7 1 Cor10.1-4 8 1 Cor 11.13 9 1 Thess 4.12-15 10 1 Cor 15.3-5 11 Galat 4.4-5 12 Deut 6.4

Explaining Parables

Sensus autem sanus, et qui sine periculo est, et religiosus, et amans verum, quae quidem dedit in hominum potestatem Deus, et subdidit, nostrae scientia, haec prompte meditatbitur, et in ipsis proficiet, diuturno studio facilem scientiam eorum efficiens. Sunt autem haec, quae ante oculos nostros occurrunt, et quaecunque aperte et sine ambiguo ipsis dictionibus postia sunt in Scripturis. Et ideo parabolae debent non ambiguis adaptari, sic enim et qui absolvit, sine periculo absolvit, et parabolae ab omnibus similitier absolutionem accipient; et a veritate corpus integrum, et simili aptatione membrorum, et sine concussione perseverat. Sed quae non aperte dicta sunt, neque ante oculos posita, copulare absolutionibus parabolarum, quas unusquisque prout vult adinvenit. Sic enim apud nullum erit regula veritatis; sed quanti fuerint, qui absolvent parabolas, tantae videbuntur veritates pugnantes semet invicem, et contraria sibimet dogmata statuentes, sicut et gentilium philosophorum quaestiones. Itaque secundum hanc rationem, homo quidem semper inquiret, nunquam autem inveniet, eo quod ipsam inventionis abjecerit disciplinam. Et cum venerit sponsus, is qui imparatam habet lampadem, nulla manifesti luminis claritate fulgentem, recurrit ad eos qui absolutiones parabolarum in tenebris distrahunt, relinquens eum qui per, manifestam praedicationem gratis donat ad eum ingressum, et exluditur a thalamo ejus. Sanctus Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Liber II, Caput XXVII Source: Migne PG 7.802b-803a

A sound mind, which is far from peril, being pious and a lover of truth, will eagerly meditate upon those things which God has given to be within the ability of man and has subjected to our knowledge, and he will advance in them, and by daily study he will render the knowledge of them easy. They are such things which come before our eyes, and are set forth openly and without ambiguity in the words of Scripture. And therefore the parables should not be shaped to ambiguous expressions, so that he who explains them will do so without danger, and the parables will receive a similar explanation by all, and the body of truth will remain entire, with a common adaptation of its members, and without any harm. But to join obscure speech and things which are not evident to explanations of the parables, leads to every man finding what he likes. Whence no one will possess the rule of truth, but as many as they are who explain the parables, so will appear many 'truths' fighting against one another, and setting forth contrary teachings to one another, as even with the disputes of the pagan philosophers. According to such a system a man will ever be enquiring and never finding because he has rejected the very order of finding. And when the bridegroom comes, he who has not prepared his lamp and has it not burning with the brightness of a clear light, he shall run back to those who explained the parables by dragging them about in obscurities, thus abandoning him who by plain declarations freely gives to him who comes to him, and he shall be shut out of the marriage chamber. 1 Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 2, Chapter 27 1 Mt 25.1-12