Ambrose

XVII. LITTERA PHE.

1. 'Phe' littera septima decima, quae Latine significat 'erraui' siue 'os aperui'. merito ergo lacrimabilis series psalmi subiecta est huic litterae: respice in me et miserere mei et non dominetur mihi omnis iniquitas. faciem tuam inlumina super seruum tuum,¹ ut ei qui erat in umbra mortis populo caelestis misericordiae lumen oriretur, adueniret Christus remissio peccatorum, captiuorum redemptio, subsidium labo-

-rantium. sed quia uenire tardius desiderantibus uidebatur: exitus, inquit, aquarum traxerunt oculi mei.²

2. In Hieremiae quoque Threnis lacrimabilior series sub hac littera est: expandit Sion manus suas, non est qui consoletur eam.³ dignam remunerationem recepit, ut, quae expandentem manus audire neglexit et sub alas eius succedere,⁴ ipsa postea expanderet manus et consolantem inuenire non posset. nam etsi ante aduentum domini Hieremias captiuitatem Iudaeorum inlatam eis a Babyloniis deflere uideatur, tamen prophetico spiritu istam magis captiuitatem praeuidens, qua eos intellegibilis Babylonius in perpetui erroris uincla subiecit et domesticae uirtutis extorres de statu paternae deuotionis eliminans longinquae adfecit peregrinationis exilio, miserabili dolore deplorat. nulla enim patria uerior quam fides, quae eos qui longe erant prope esse fecit et aduenas atque peregrinos ciuitatis supernae iure conexuit, sicut scriptum est: ergo iam non estis aduenae atque peregrini, sed estis ciues sanctorum et domestici dei.⁵

3. Alibi quoque Hieremias dicit sub hac littera: aperuerunt in te os omnes inimici tui, sibilauerunt et fremuerunt dentibus, dixerunt: degluttiuimus eam; tamen haec est dies quam sperabamus, inuenimus eam, uidimus.⁶ et hic sic[ut] Iudaeorum populus os aperuit in Christum, quemadmodum in uicesimo primo psalmo de eius passione legisti, quod aperuerunt os suum⁷ maledicentes. dignae sortem remunerationis agnoscis, ut ipsi ab

inimicis suis talia sustinerent et fremeret in eos dentibus intellegibilis ille peccator diabolus,⁸ sicut leo rugiens et requirens quem deuoret.⁹ isti igitur non dixerunt: benedictus dominus qui non dedit nos in capturam dentibus eorum,¹⁰ quia sperandum de domino non putauerunt. ergo excidium eorum diabolus quod praesumebat inuenit. degluttiuit eos, quoniam deerat pastor offensus qui extraheret de ore leonis crura ouis aut cartillaginem.¹¹

4. Sequi noluerunt, audire noluerunt. ideo decedente pastore uestigia eorum atque aures suis faucibus occupauit, quia faciem sanctorum non receperunt et nobilibus misericordiam non dederunt, ut tertio Hieremias sub hac littera dicit in Threnis.¹² qui erant nobiles nisi qui non obscuram hanc uitam, sed in lumine sanctitatis egerunt? et omnibus quidem misericordia inopibus iure debetur, sed maior quidam, cum ex diuitibus atque nobilibus in ultimum statum atque egestatis necessitatem aliquos aerumna deiecit, miserationis pulsat affectus.

5. Hieremias ergo flebiliter satis, utpote qui perpetuae aculeo mortis deploraret amissos; Dauid uero moderate, quasi qui obreptionem doleret erroris, remedium non desperaret correctionis, ut contristaretur, non absorberetur.¹³

6. Denique confirmatus sobrietate paenitentiae et spe ueniae prouocatus sic coepit: mirabilia testimonia tua. propterea scrutata est ea anima mea.¹⁴ moralis oratio, ut, quoniam eum puderet erroris, deum tamen propriae miserationis testimoniis conueniret. hoc est dicere: 'ego in exordio

sermonis loqui mea peccata non audeo, leuare oculos meos ad te deum uiuum, sed tu, domine, me ad sperandam ueniam tantarum indulgentiarum titulis prouocasti. mirabilia testimonia tua,¹⁵ cum in Abraham non lapsu incuriae iuuenalis offensus es, sed eum permouisti, ut Chaldaeorum errores, patrum cognationem relinqueret,¹⁶ et euocatum uirtutis exercitiis erudisti, cum Hebraeorum populum a paternae studio nobilitatis auersum et uiles escas Aegypti super diuina munera praeferentem¹⁷ non solum solidatis Rubri Maris fluctibus liberasti, uerum etiam triumphis plurimis euexisti ad gloriam et uberis terrae possessione donasti ad quietem. te fotus securitate deseruit, te bellorum acerbitate depressus inuocauit et ut iniurias tuas obliuiscereris emeruit. te Iesus Naue ducem sibi caelestis militiae uenisse cognouit.¹⁸ te populus triumphator, ut Madian sibi dominaretur, offenderat, te, ut Madian uinceretur, orauit. tibi in Saul rege non obtemperauit, ut de eo alienigenae triumpharent.¹⁹ tibi Dauid praeeunte seruiuit, ut de alienigenis uictoriam reportaret. ego quoque pastor malignum feci et confessione peccati ueniam reportaui'.²⁰ pulcherrimus itaque uersiculus ad martyrum cohortationem. denique prophetica anima sic proficit in melius, dum mirabile credit dei testimonium et, quia credidit, diligenti indage quaesiuit. profectum quaeris? agnosce ex his uersiculis qui secuntur.

7. Manifestatio sermonum tuorum inluminat me et intellectum dat paruulis.²¹ in euangelio cum

mitteret discipulos suos Iohannes ad dominum Iesum, dicebat: tu es qui uenturus es, an alium expectamus?²² respondit Iesus caecos uidere, claudos ambulare, audire surdos;²³ hoc enim aduentus sui testimonium fore per Esaiam prophetam significauerat.²⁴ haec ergo quae adnuntiauit per prophetas in euangelio manifestauit et quod ipse locutus est per prophetas in euangelio ipse conpleuit. ipsius ergo sermo erat propheticus sermo, sicut habes scriptum: audi, caelum, et percipe auribus, terra, quoniam dominus locutus est.²⁵

8. Intellectus ergo datus est etiam his qui perfectam sapientiam non haberent, dum muti locuntur, mortui resuscitantur. his enim signis intellectum est ab his qui rudes erant et adhuc quasi in cunabulis fidei constituti, ut erat populus nationum, ipsum uenisse qui expectabatur. inluminat igitur fidei claritatem resurrectionis suae gloria, diuinorum operum potestate, et intellectum dat paruulis.²⁶ quibus utique nisi de quibus in euangelio gratias agit patri in eo quod ipse operabatur filius, quod mysteria sua deus abscondisset a sapientibus et paruulis reuelasset,²⁷ ostendens citius plebem ex gentibus uel status inferioris uiros quam scribas et principes Iudaeorum et diuites huius saeculi credituros? ideo diuites eguerunt et esurierunt, pauper autem clamauit et exauditus est.²⁸

9. Sequitur tertius uersiculus: os meum aperui et duxi spiritum, quoniam praecepta tua concupiscebam.²⁹ habemus in euangelio quod dominus Iesus aperuit os suum, cum benedictiones ediceret.³⁰ sed ille os aperuit, ut daret aliis spiritum, Dauid aperuit, ut acciperet. denique Iesus dicit: accipite spiritum sanctum.³¹ Iesus dicit: dilata os

tuum et adimplebo illud.³² hoc homini dicit; plenitudo enim Christus est: qui implet omnia, implet os tuum.³³ scribe ergo quae dicit in latitudine cordis tui,³⁴ hoc est: os tuum clamet ad dominum.³⁵ clamat os tuum et cum tacet, sicut et Moyses, cum taceret uoce, clamabat spiritu.³⁶ ab hominibus non audiebatur, apud deum personabat; est enim interioris clamor affectus qui auditur e caelo. Anna quoque, cum oraret, tacita clamabat, labia non mouebat et interioris uoce pia mentis excitabat Iesum.³⁷ denique cum effectu rediit quae cum silentio precabatur, quia clamabat in ea spiritus dei, qui etiam tacentibus nobis clamat: abba pater.³⁸

10. Intellege ergo quid os sit, utrum cor an interioris hominis habitus. habet os anima quae habet membra. hoc os aperi non solum Christo, sed etiam Christi discipulo, qui os suum Christo inplendum praebuit et ideo dicit: os nostrum patet ad uos, o Corinthii, cor nostrum dilatatum est.³⁹ ideo imitatores nos sui esse debere admonet, sicut ipse Christi est.⁴⁰ qui sanctior est, Christo aperiat os suum, qui inferior, apostolo. prius propheta legatur et apostolus et sic euangelium, in quo uerba lucida, sed ualidiora praecepta. lex dicit: diliges proximum tuum,⁴¹ et euangelium dicit tibi: diliges inimicum tuum.⁴²

11. Dauid ergo quasi perfectus propheta os suum Christo aperuit et ideo in parabolis aperuit os suum.⁴³ aperuit os, duxit spiritum. merito ait: quam dulcia faucibus meis uerba tua,

super mel et fauum ori meo.⁴⁴ sponsa Christi os suum sponso aperuit, percepit omni melle dulciora praecepta et ideo testata est dicens: fauces eius dulcedinis et totus desiderium.⁴⁵ delectata igitur tenuit eum et non dimisit eum.⁴⁶ et introduxi, inquit, eum in domum matris meae et in secretum eius quae me concepit.⁴⁷ fortasse domus est in qua praefulget moralium disciplina, secretum autem illud in quo sunt altiora mysteria. merito ergo concupiscebat praecepta domini, in quibus diuinae gratiae mella redolebant. an non omni melle dulcior peccatorum remissio, non omni flore gratior resurrectio mortuorum?

12. Quartus uersiculus: respice in me et miserere mei secundum iudicium diligentium nomen tuum.⁴⁸ pulchre addidit: respice in me et miserere mei, quia respicit et iratus, ut respexit super castra Aegyptiorum et ligatis axibus curruum omnes eos deiecit in fluctus.⁴⁹ respexit super Sodomam et Gomorram, quarum utraque peccatorum suorum luitura supplicium diuinae pretium soluit offensae.⁵⁰ scriptum est etiam: aspicies super terram et facies eam tremere,⁵¹ et contra: respexit super munera Abel, super Cain autem munera non respexit.⁵² quo exasperatus Cain parricidali crimine cruorem fratris effudit.

13. Quid sit autem respicere deum euidentissime illo testimonio declaratur: quia respexit super filios pauperum et non despexit preces eorum;⁵³ oculus enim domini non aspernatur iustorum munera. denique oculos nostros, cum in

aliquem mouemur, auertimus, quasi indignum eum aspectu iudicemus quem oderimus affectu.

14. Sequitur: gressus meos dirige secundum uerbum tuum, et non dominetur mihi omnis iniquitas.⁵⁴ gressus pro profectibus animae accipiendos frequentibus scripturarum testimoniis admonemur. nam quis tam stolido ingenio est, qui putet Dauid de pedum suorum corporali gressu esse sollicitum et his diuinae directionis auxilium postulare? ille uero ut sanctus uitae suae cursum dirigi gestiebat, sicut et alibi scriptura testatur dicens: a domino diriguntur gressus uiri.⁵⁵ denique ipsius utamur testimonio, qui ait in superioribus: paulo minus effusi sunt gressus mei, quia zelaui in peccatoribus pacem.⁵⁶ animi itaque sui ostendit claudicasse uestigium, dum pacem peccatorum putat esse mirandam. uidentur quidem habere tranquillitatem, uidentur quiete frui, sed non est quies ubi animus inquietus est, non est tranquillitas mentis ubi animus exagitatur obnoxiae stimulis conscientiae. quomodo securitas, ubi diuersarum pugna est passionum, ubi conflictus grauium concitationum? unde dominus definiens quid sit pacem habere ait: pacem relinquo uobis, pacem meam do uobis: non sicut mundus dat ego do uobis,⁵⁷ ostendens pacem quam mundus dat uerae pacis gratiam non habere, ideoque non in homine esse pacem uolens docere addidit: pacem relinquo uobis, et iterum: pacem meam do uobis. denique propheta dicebat: pax pax; et ubi est pax?⁵⁸ manifestum est igitur eum de titubatione suae dixisse sententiae, in qua animi, non corporis titubauerat gressus.

15. Et Moyses ait: transiens uidebo hoc uisum magnum.⁵⁹ etenim ut deum uideret, progressione quadam uirtutis ad altiora processit. pastor erat ouium et dux factus est ciuium. et ad sponsam dicitur in Canticis: speciosi facti sunt gressus tui in calciamentis, filia Aminadab. moduli femorum tuorum similes torquibus opere artificis.⁶⁰ non est dubium gressus hic quoque ecclesiae uel animae profectus significari: quam speciosi sunt pedes euangelizantium pacem, euangelizantium bona!⁶¹ utique speciosos dicit euangelicae praedicationis et disputationis progressus, ut alibi dicitur: transgredere flumina.⁶² hoc est: fluentia et lubrica istius mundi transcurre stabili mentis incessu. quod de animae gressu dici in posterioribus hic ipse Dauid euidenter ostendit, adserens quod torrentem iniquitatum sua anima transisset.⁶³

16. Sed reuertamur ad sponsae gressus. quid sibi uult quod addidit in calciamentis speciosos gressus esse ecclesiae? legimus itaque dictum ad Moysen: solue calciamentum pedum tuorum,⁶⁴ quo uidetur admonitus, ne corporalibus uinculis teneretur adstrictus. ergo speciosam significat in Canticis animae pulchritudinem, quae carne tamquam calciamento utitur et in ipso calciamento inpedimentum non patitur, sed incessus decore praecellit. calciat se ergo carne anima [ecclesiastica gratia], ut cursum uitae huius et transitum cum decore praetereat. quod fit, si calciamentum

suum non inquinet luto corporali nec in uitiorum merset uoraginem, si castiget carnem suam, ne moretur ad cursum et aruinae pinguis pondere degrauetur. bonum calciamentum animae pudicitia est, bonus gressus est in uestigio castitatis. sapientia autem amictus est animae, unde scriptum est: honora eam, et amplectetur te.⁶⁵ utamur igitur corpore tamquam calciamento ad inferioris opera uirtutis, ad ministerium, non ad praeceptum, ad obsequium, non ad delectationem, ad oboedientiam, non ad dissensionem et in uia sapientiae uestigium conlocemus, ne gressus nostros uis torrentis aliqua concludat.

17. Ideo ad Moysen dictum est: solue calciamentum. dictum est et ad Iesum Naue,⁶⁶ ad Christum autem non est dictum, sed magis scriptum est dicente Baptista: post me uenit uir cuius non sum dignus calciamenta portare,⁶⁷ quia illi bene admonentur ut soluant calciamentum suum, qui sine peccato esse non poterant. hic autem non solum calciamentum non soluit, sed etiam calciamenta aliorum absoluit, quia non solum corpus suum peccatis inmune seruauit, sed etiam omnium dedit indulgentiam peccatorum. ergo ecclesia ad imitationem Christi speciosa est et in calciamentis omni abluta delicto.

18. Et fortasse, quando sapientiam inter perfectos loquitur,⁶⁸ speciosa est in superioribus membris; quando autem etiam inferioris status aut doctrinae homines uerbum secuntur, fidei seriem non obliuiscuntur, sacerdotis praecepta custodiunt, speciosa est in calciamentis. plerumque clerus errauit, sacerdos mutauit sententiam,

diuites cum saeculi istius terreno rege senserunt: populus fidem propriam reseruauit. unde etiam de domino Iesu bene possumus dicere, quia et in his quae corporalia sunt speciosos gressus uerbum habeat, cum de moralibus disputatur. et apostoli ideo fortasse nudis mittuntur pedibus,⁶⁹ ne obumbraretur eorum disputatio, sed eluceret. itaque ecclesia, filia Aminadab, hoc est uoluntarii uel beneplaciti, quia uoluntarius eam et beneplacitus congregauit, et in calciamentis speciosa est.

19. Meritoque additum est in Canticis: moduli femorum tuorum similes torquibus opere manuum artificis,⁷⁰ ut posteritatis ecclesiae ornamenta canerentur. per femur enim insigne generationis agnoscimus iuxta illud: accingere gladium tuum circum femur, potentissime,⁷¹ quo significatur, quod filius dei, cum semet ipsum exinanisset,⁷² uerbi accinctus diuinitatem et generationem calciatus humanam prodiret ex uirgine, omnibus daturus salutem. moduli autem dicuntur ornamenta pretiosa quae suspendi matronarum ceruicibus solent. tantus ergo processus ecclesiae significatur, ut ornamentis pretiosissimis conparatus sit et torquibus triumphantium; haec enim ornamenta sunt bellatorum. unde et Symmachus περιτραχήλια dixit, hoc est quae sunt circa collum.⁷³ siue ergo generatio Christi ex uirgine siue ecclesiae propagatio specie quidem tamquam manu artificis torquibus adornatis, uere autem uirtutis insignibus spiritalibus ceruices fidelium coronauit.

20. Denique tota ista descriptio membrorum ecclesiae plena decoris et laudis est. nam et umbilicus eius tamquam crater tornatilis⁷⁴ praedicatur mixto non deficiens, eo quod in omni doctrina tornatus

plenitudine cognitionis et potu non deficiat spiritali et uenter eius non solum aceruo tritici,⁷⁵ id est cibis fortioribus caelestis mysterii saginetur, uerum etiam tamquam liliis quibusdam moralium suauitate repleatur.

21. Unde et ipsa tamquam bene merita regina Christi sanguine coronatur, sicut scriptum est: et ornatus capitis tui sicut purpura.⁷⁶ sanguis Christi purpura est, qui inficit sanctorum animas, non solum colore resplendens, sed etiam potestate, quia reges facit et meliores reges, quibus regnum donet aeternum.

22. Meritoque ad tantum ecclesiae decorem, cui Christi sanguis inrutilat, spiritus sanctus inclamat: quam pulchra et suauis facta es, caritas, in deliciis tuis!⁷⁷ pulchra decore uirtutis, suauis iucunditate gratiae, remissione uitiorum, quam nulla uexat amaritudo peccati, et ipsa iam caritas, quae diligendo dominum ipsius et nomen acceperit, quia deus caritas est.⁷⁸

23. Recte ergo Dauid petit gressus suos dirigi secundum uerbum dei, ut fiant et ipsi speciosi et non dominetur ei iniquitas,⁷⁹ quam iure praecauit. sciebat enim et Abraham gressus suos secundum praecepta domini dirigentem et adpetito speciosae uxoris pudore temptatum,⁸⁰ sed non confusum et in unici immolatione filii postulata patriae mentis pietate luctatum, sed coronatum,⁸¹ se quoque in furore Saul, incestu Amnon,⁸² Abessalon parricidio iniquitatis inprobae feralibus temptationibus adpetitum hoc solo euasisse, quod dirigens gressus suos secundum pietatem domini a paterno non recessit affectu, intra se gemens crimen incesti, a se relegans odia parricidae. filius meus Abessalon, filius meus, inquit, Abessalon, quis dabit mihi mortem pro te?⁸³ memor naturae pietas, offensae inmemor, de quo ante quaesiuit: puerne uiuit?⁸⁴

24. Et fortasse quaerendum sit, qua ratione ante puerum dixit, postea filium nominauit, cur non in utroque aut puerum dixit aut filium. si uiueret, puer erat, quia parricidio petebat patrem; non ergo pietatis nomen accipere debebat, sed infirmitatis, ideoque uir iustus, quod religionis fuit, tacuit, quod infirmitatis, aspersit. ubi uero est mortuus, apud pium patrem personae crimen defecit, naturae nomen remansit.

25. Sequitur: libera me a calumnia hominum, et custodiam mandata tua.⁸⁵ non unum genus est nostrae adflictionis. est et temptatio, est et calumnia, sed temptatio leuior, calumnia grauior, siquidem temptatio potest esse calumnia, calumnia in se et temptationem habet. est et humana temptatio quam ferre possumus,⁸⁶ calumnia autem grauis est. et ideo dominus quae sunt grauiora suscepit et calumniis adpetitus silentium detulit triumphale.⁸⁷ calumnia autem eo grauior est, quia non solum falsa conponit, uerum etiam quae pie gesta sunt decolorat, ut Ioseph non solum adulterii oblatione temptatus est et inuitamento erilis inlecebrae, uerum etiam temptatus calumniis, conposito, quod ipsum adulterium dominae suae inferre uoluisset conprehensusque exuerit uestem, ne fraudis indicium atque insigne criminis teneretur, cum utique amictum ideo fugiens dereliquerit, ut laqueos conferentis et nexus inlecebrosae artis euaderet.⁸⁸ ipse Dauid senserat quod timebat; quibus enim Saul regis calumniis laborauit! perterritis omnibus allophyli impetum lusit et singulari certamine summam belli et totius proelii pondus excepit, uirtute sua solus commune crimen refellens et totius retorquens in hostem plebis obprobrium. et tamen, quia

iuuenculae dixerunt: Saul triumphauit in milibus, Dauid in decem milibus,⁸⁹ gloria in inuidiam uersa odio coepit urgeri. et ut de posterioribus loquamur, Susanna bene sibi conscia erat et apud homines sibi adesse non poterat. duo presbyteri senes falsum testimonium deferebant, numerus sacerdotum atque senectus uocem auferebant puellae, sola conscientia erat apud deum libera: denique hominum damnata iudicio nutu absoluta diuino est.⁹⁰

26. Ideo ait propheta: libera me a calumnia hominum, ut custodiam mandata tua.⁹¹ qui enim obprimitur calumnia, non facile potest custodire mandata diuina, tristitiae necesse est plerumque aut timori cedat et adfligatur uel metu calumniae uel dolore.

27. Sequitur septimus uersus: uultum tuum inlumina super seruum tuum et doce me iustificationes tuas.⁹² inluminat dominus sanctos suos et lucet in corde iustorum. itaque cum sapientem uideris, cognosce quia descendit super eum dei gloria, inluminauit eius mentem scientiae fulgore cognitionisque diuinae. inluminauit autem etiam corporaliter faciem Moysi et transfigurata est gloria uultus eius, quam uidentes Iudaei trepidauerunt; et ideo factum est, ut Moyses uelamen poneret super faciem suam, ne in eam filii Israel intenderent et superturbarentur.⁹³ simul declarabatur mysterium, quod illud uelamen, quod in facie Moysi corporaliter ponebatur, in cordibus Iudaeorum mystice poneretur, eo quod ueram legis claritatem uidere non possent. uultus enim Moysi fulgor est legis, fulgor autem legis non in littera, sed in intellectu est spiritali.⁹⁴ itaque quamdiu uixit Moyses et adloquebatur Iudaeorum populum, uelamen habebat in facie sua, mortuo autem Moyse Iesus Naue

iam non per uelamen, sed facie reuelata et presbyteros adloquebatur et populum et nemo trepidabat, cum utique et ipsi dixerit deus, quod cum ipso ita esset futurus ut fuit cum Moyse et eum similiter inluminaret gestorum utique, non uultus gloria,⁹⁵ hoc significante spiritu sancto, quod uenturus esset Iesus uerus, ad quem si quis conuerteretur et eum uellet audire, de corde suo uelamen auferretur et reuelata facie uerum saluatorem uideret.⁹⁶

28. Ergo deus omnipotens pater, qui in Moysi facie excaecauit populum Iudaeorum non duritia, sed praescientia nec malitia, sed aequitate atque iustitia — ipsi enim sibi posuere uelamen qui legem intellegere noluerunt;⁹⁷ lex enim spiritalis est, sicut dixit Hebraeus⁹⁸ —, is utique secundum illud quod dat unicuique nostrum, in quo non tribuentis, sed diligentis est culpa, iste, inquam, dominus inluminauit cor populi nationum in facie Christi Iesu per eius aduentum, quod euidenter apostolico declaratur exemplo, sicut scriptum habemus: quoniam deus, qui dixit de tenebris lumen splendescere, inluxit in cordibus nostris ad inluminationem scientiae claritatis dei in facie Christi Iesu.⁹⁹

29. Ideo ergo dicit Dauid ad dominum Iesum: uultum tuum inlumina super seruum tuum.¹⁰⁰ faciem Christi uidere cupiebat, ut mens eius inluminari posset. et secundum incarnationem potest accipi; multi enim prophetae et iusti uidere uoluerunt, ut ipse dominus declarauit.¹⁰¹ quod autem negatum Moysi fuerat,¹⁰² non quaerebat, ut corporaliter dei uultum incorporei uideret, si tamen et Moyses tam sapiens et eruditus hoc potuerit simpliciter magis quam in mysterio postulare. humanum tamen est desideria supra nos extendere, nec inmerito faciem

eius aduenientis ex uirgine quaerebat uidere, ut inluminaretur in corde, sicut inluminabantur etiam illi qui dicebant: nonne cor nostrum ardebat in nobis, cum aperiret nobis scripturas?¹⁰³ quod si quis ad deum patrem dictum uult uideri, potest accipi uultus patris filius; qui enim uidet filium, uidet et patrem.¹⁰⁴

30. Inluminat tamen uultus dei secundum quod oculi eius super iustos habentur.¹⁰⁵ quod cum spiritaliter sit probandum, tamen, quia incidit inluminationis uultus Moysi historia, ne quis non putet corporaliter id fieri potuisse, cognoscat. etenim usu solis multis etiam pallore confectis totius corporis figura mutatur et ignis uapore calefactis species uultus rutilantis offunditur; oriente die rubent terrae croceo colore perfusae, imaginem de beneficio mutuatae; gemmarum quoque monilia coruscantia transfundunt finitimis quod ipsa radiauerint: et miraris, si Moysi uultus diuinae infectus est claritate praesentiae, miraris, si refulgente dei gratia iusti uaporetur ingenium? non dubitauit propheta, qui poposcit inluminari prius, ut iustitias domini posset addiscere.¹⁰⁶

31. Decursus aquarum descenderunt oculi mei, quia non custodiui legem tuam.¹⁰⁷ granditer affectum paenitentiam gerentis expressit, dicens quod aquarum decursus oculi sui descenderint, siue quia per eos tamquam meatus undantium fluentorum ita exuberantium lacrimarum se quidam ductus effuderit et fletus inrigui continuum quoddam et iuge profluuium, siue quod ipsi descenderint oculi. habet enim hoc uis summi doloris, ut cum lacrimis oculi quodammodo ipsi uideantur descendere, eo quod tanta uis lacrimarum sit, ut putentur oculi in fletus resolui et in lacrimas effundi.

32. Oculi ergo ipsi tamquam in decursus descendunt aquarum. quo uerbo impetus deplorantium uehemens expressius declaratur secundum illud quod in Canticis scriptum est: fons hortorum, puteus aquae uiuae et impetus descendens a Libano.¹⁰⁸ hic impetus ecclesiam deduxit a Libano,¹⁰⁹ hoc impetu diluuntur peccata, hoc impetu puri fontis spiritus sancti adfuit a Libano sponsa et a principio fidei transiuit saeculum et pertransiuit ad regnum. aliis fons est, aliis puteus pro captu nostro gratia spiritalis, aliis hortus clausus, fons signatus,¹¹⁰ aliis hortorum fons qui in ecclesiae dote numeratur, aliis impetus descendens a Libano et magnus impetus, qui numquam deficit, non enim deficiunt de petra ubera neque nix a Libano neque aqua quae fertur ualido uento uirginis Hierusalem.¹¹¹ descendit impetus a Libano,¹¹² quando collectis in unum apostolis et plurimis credentibus factus est subito de caelo sonus, tamquam ui magna spiritus ferretur, et repleti sunt omnes spiritu sancto diuersitates donante linguarum.¹¹³ bonus impetus qui laedere nesciat, norit inplere.

33. Si quis igitur hunc impetum superuenientis e caelo gratiae uult mereri, descendat etiam ipse oculis in decursus aquarum. qui hunc primum impetum fuderit, illum merebitur. descendit oculis suis in hos ductus aquarum, quae lacrimis inrigauit in euangelio domini pedes,¹¹⁴ et ideo fidei suae pretio emit animae suae et corporis sanitatem iam non sanguinis proflua, sed gratiae spiritalis.¹¹⁵

34. Descendit ergo Dauid propheta; ideo de peccato gratiam rettulit. descendit in aquarum ductus, hoc est: repleuit eos et decurrentium

aquarum lacrimis suis fluenta cumulauit aut inanes et uacuos ductus solis repleuit fletibus. an, quod elocutionis moralis quidam sensus ostendit, descendit in aquarum ductus, transiuit eos? et possemus dicere: 'transcendit eos et supergressus est', sed minuitur uis eloquii, quo uis maior afluentiae descendentis quam ascendentis exprimitur. uide, rogo, quid de usu uerba habeant, ut impetum suum sermo propheticus non amittat, licet usus ipse scriptorum sensui seruire maiore decore consueuerit. diuerse hoc et saepe significauit et propemodum incrementa semper adsumpsit. dixit enim primo: lauabo per singulas noctes lectum meum, in lacrimis stratum meum rigabo.¹¹⁶ dixit iterum: fuerunt mihi lacrimae meae panis.¹¹⁷ dixit etiam: et potum meum cum fletu miscebam.¹¹⁸ hic addidit dicens: decursus aquarum descenderunt oculi mei.¹¹⁹

35. Hoc secutus in Threnis Hieremias affectum doloris expressit, uim oculi descendentis imitatus; sic enim habes: defecerunt in lacrimas oculi mei; oculi mei caligauerunt.¹²⁰ tamquam descendunt oculi qui deficiunt in lacrimis. et alibi: oculus meus absortus est.¹²¹ sed plus est aquam lacrimis uincere quam oculos absorberi fletibus. et alibi idem Hieremias: exclamauit cor eorum ad dominum: muri filiae Sion deducant torrentes, fluant lacrimas die ac nocte; noli dare tibi requiem, non sileat pupilla oculi tui.¹²² oculi igitur, qui torrentes deducunt lacrimis

suis, ipsi ductus aquarum descendunt, hoc est cumulant, ut faciant eos suis augentes fletibus impetu exundare torrentium.

36. Sunt tamen codices qui habeant: διεξόδους ὑδάτων κατεβίβασαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου, hoc est: ductus aquarum deuexerunt oculi mei. sed ego in Graeco codice meo κατέβησαν legi, hoc est: descenderunt.¹²³ in quo potest fieri, ut in utramlibet partem duarum adiectione aut deminutione litterarum scriptor errauerit.

37. Et habuit quidem multa quae fleret, uel incestum filiae uel interitum filiorum, sed hic non hoc fleuisse se dicit, sed quia non custodiuit legem domini.¹²⁴ a sancto uiro plus culpa quam aerumna defletur. fleuit itaque, quando Nathan ei de Uriae morte indignationem domini nuntiauit, et peccatum suum de praeuaricatione legis agnouit.¹²⁵ denique filio in aegritudine constituto neque cibum sumpsit neque regium thronum aut cubile conscendit, sed stratus in terra ieiuna ora lacrimis diluebat, non tam filii mortem quam peccati poenam in illo lauare desiderans.¹²⁶ fleuit, quando numerato populo repente corde percussus est. denique: peccaui, inquit, grauiter, peccaui stulte.¹²⁷ fleuit igitur primo, quia elatus regia potestate quaerendo numerum plebis mensuram egressus est condicionis humanae, deinde quia sui erroris pretio uindicabatur in plebem. sed a domino haec proposita poena fuerat, non a rege est postulata. domini tamen se committendo misericordiae electionis causam probauit, simul, quia propter eum populus laborabat, ipse se offerendo pro populo elationis soluit iniuriam, pietatis probauit affectum. quo uidetur admonitus, ne corporalibus uinculis teneretur adstrictus. ergo speciosam significat in Canticis animae pulchritudinem, quae carne tamquam calciamento utitur et in ipso calciamento inpedimentum non patitur, sed incessus decore praecellit. calciat se ergo carne anima [ecclesiastica gratia], ut cursum uitae huius et transitum cum decore praetereat. quod fit, si calciamentum

1. Phe is the seventeenth letter, which in Latin signifies I have erred or I have opened my mouth. With good reason, then, the tearful sequence of the psalm is set under this letter: Look upon me and have mercy upon me, and let no iniquity have dominion over me. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant¹ — that to him who was in the shadow of death, the people, the light of heavenly mercy might rise; that Christ might come, the remission of sins, the redemption of captives, the support of those who labor —

— but because he seemed to come too tardily for those who longed for him: My eyes, he says, have sent forth streams of waters.²

2. In Jeremiah's Lamentations too, the more tearful sequence stands under this same letter: Sion hath spread forth her hands, there is none to comfort her.³ She received a fitting recompense: she who refused to hear him as he stretched out his hands and refused to come under his wings⁴, herself afterward stretched out her hands and could not find one to comfort her. For though, before the Lord's coming, Jeremiah may seem to bewail the Babylonian captivity inflicted upon the Jews, yet by his prophetic spirit, foreseeing rather this captivity in which the intelligible Babylonian has subjected them to the bonds of perpetual error, and has driven them out, exiles from their domestic virtue, away from the standing of their paternal devotion and into the exile of a long pilgrimage — he weeps with pitiable grief. For there is no truer fatherland than faith, which has made those who were far off to be near, and by right has joined the sojourners and pilgrims to the city above, as it is written: Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow-citizens with the saints, and the domestics of God.⁵

3. Elsewhere also Jeremiah says under this same letter: All thy enemies have opened their mouth against thee; they have hissed and gnashed with their teeth, and said, We have swallowed her up; verily this is the day we looked for; we have found, we have seen.⁶ Here too, in this fashion the people of the Jews opened its mouth against Christ, just as you have read concerning his Passion in the twenty-first psalm, where they opened their mouth⁷ cursing him. You recognize the lot of fitting recompense, that they themselves should suffer such things at the hands of their own enemies, and that intelligible sinner the devil should gnash his teeth at them⁸, as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.⁹

These therefore did not say: Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us to be a prey to their teeth¹⁰, because they did not think that anything was to be hoped from the Lord. So the devil found the destruction of them which he was already presuming. He swallowed them up, since the offended shepherd was wanting who would draw out from the lion's mouth the legs of the sheep, or a piece of cartilage.¹¹

4. They would not follow, they would not hear. Therefore, with their shepherd departing, the lion seized their tracks and ears in his jaws, because they did not respect the persons of the holy and they did not pity the noble, as Jeremiah says for the third time under this letter in the Lamentations.¹² Who were the noble, but those who lived this life not in obscurity but in the light of holiness? And mercy is owed by right to all the needy; but a yet greater mercy stirs up the affection of pity when calamity has cast some, from being rich and noble, into the lowest condition and the necessity of want.

5. Jeremiah, then, weeps very mournfully, as one who lamented those lost by the goad of perpetual death; David, however, more moderately, as one who grieved at the encroachment of his error, yet did not despair of the remedy of correction, that he might be made sorrowful, but not absorbed.¹³

6. Confirmed, therefore, by the sobriety of penitence and stirred up by the hope of pardon, he begins thus: Wonderful are thy testimonies; therefore my soul hath sought them.¹⁴ A moral prayer, that, since he was ashamed of his error, he might nevertheless approach God with the testimonies of his own mercy. This is to say: 'I in the opening

of my discourse dare not speak of my own sins, dare not lift up my eyes to thee, the living God; but thou, O Lord, hast moved me to hope for pardon by the tokens of such great indulgences. Wonderful are thy testimonies¹⁵, when in Abraham thou wert not offended at the lapse of youthful carelessness, but moved him so that he should leave the errors of the Chaldeans, the kindred of his fathers,¹⁶ and, having called him out, didst train him in the exercises of virtue; when the Hebrew people, turned away from the zeal of paternal nobility and preferring the vile foods of Egypt above divine gifts¹⁷, thou didst not only deliver, with the waves of the Red Sea made solid for them, but also didst raise up by many triumphs to glory and didst give the possession of a fertile land for their rest. Cherished by security he forsook thee; pressed by the bitterness of wars he called upon thee, and earned that thou shouldst forget the wrongs done to thee. Thee Joshua knew as having come to be his leader of the heavenly army.¹⁸ Thee the triumphant people had offended, that the Midianites should rule over them; thee they prayed, that the Midianites might be conquered. They did not obey thee in king Saul, that the foreigners might triumph over him.¹⁹ They served thee with David going before, that he might bring back victory over the foreigners. I too, like a shepherd, did wickedly, and by the confession of my sin I have brought back pardon'.²⁰ A most beautiful little verse, then, for the exhortation of martyrs. So the prophetic soul advances thus into better things, while it believes the wonderful testimony of God and, because it has believed, has sought it out by diligent search. Do you ask for advancement? Recognize it from the verses that follow.

7. The declaration of thy words giveth light, and giveth understanding to little ones.²¹ In the gospel, when John sent his disciples to the Lord Jesus, he said: Art thou he that art to come, or look we for another?²² Jesus answered

that the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear²³; for he had signified through Esaias the prophet that this would be the testimony of his coming.²⁴ These things therefore which he had announced through the prophets, he made manifest in the gospel; and what he himself had spoken through the prophets, he himself fulfilled in the gospel. His word, therefore, was the prophetic word, as you have it written: Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken.²⁵

8. Understanding therefore was given even to those who had not perfect wisdom, while the dumb speak and the dead are raised up. For by these signs it was understood by those who were untaught and as yet placed, as it were, in the cradles of faith — as was the people of the nations — that he himself had come who was awaited. The glory of his resurrection, therefore, with the power of his divine works, illuminates the brightness of faith, and giveth understanding to little ones²⁶. To which little ones, surely, but those of whom in the gospel he gives thanks to the Father — concerning that which the Son himself was working — that God had hidden his mysteries from the wise and revealed them to little ones²⁷, showing that the people from the gentiles, or men of inferior rank, would believe sooner than the scribes and rulers of the Jews and the rich of this world? Therefore the rich have wanted and have suffered hunger, but the poor man cried, and was heard.²⁸

9. There follows the third verse: I opened my mouth and drew breath, because I longed for thy commandments.²⁹ We have it in the gospel that the Lord Jesus opened his mouth when he uttered the beatitudes.³⁰ But he opened his mouth that he might give the Spirit to others; David opened his that he might receive. So Jesus says: Receive ye the Holy Spirit.³¹ Jesus says: Open thy mouth

wide, and I will fill it.³² He says this to a man; for Christ is the fullness: he who fills all things³³ fills your mouth. Write therefore what he says in the breadth of thy heart³⁴, that is: let your mouth cry out to the Lord.³⁵ Your mouth cries out even when it is silent, just as Moses too, when he was silent in voice, was crying out in the spirit.³⁶ He was not heard by men, but his voice resounded with God; for there is an inward cry of feeling that is heard from heaven. Anna also, when she was praying, was crying out silently, did not move her lips, and with the voice of her inner pious mind was rousing Jesus.³⁷ So she returned with effect, who was praying with silence, because the Spirit of God was crying within her, who even when we are silent cries: Abba, Father.³⁸

10. Understand, therefore, what the mouth is — whether the heart, or the disposition of the inner man. The soul which has members has also a mouth. Open this mouth not only to Christ but also to Christ's disciple, who offered his mouth for Christ to fill, and so says: Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians; our heart is enlarged.³⁹ So he warns us that we ought to be his imitators, as he himself is of Christ.⁴⁰ Whoever is more holy, let him open his mouth to Christ; whoever is lower, to the apostle. Let the prophet first be read, and the apostle, and so the gospel, in which the words are clear, but the precepts are stronger. The Law says: Thou shalt love thy neighbor⁴¹; and the gospel says to thee: Thou shalt love thy enemy.⁴²

11. David, therefore, as a perfect prophet, opened his mouth to Christ, and so opened his mouth in parables.⁴³ He opened his mouth, drew breath. With reason he says: How sweet are thy words to my mouth,

above honey and the honeycomb to my mouth!⁴⁴ The bride of Christ opened her mouth to the bridegroom, received commandments sweeter than every honey, and so testified, saying: His throat most sweet, and he is altogether desirable.⁴⁵ Delighted, therefore, she held him and would not let him go.⁴⁶ And I have brought him, she says, into my mother's house and into the secret chamber of her that conceived me.⁴⁷ Perhaps that is the house in which the discipline of moral things shines forth, but that secret chamber is one in which are the loftier mysteries. Rightly therefore did he long for the precepts of the Lord, in which the honeys of divine grace breathed fragrant. Or is not the remission of sins sweeter than every honey; the resurrection of the dead more pleasing than every flower?

12. The fourth verse: Look upon me and have mercy on me, according to the judgment of those that love thy name.⁴⁸ Beautifully has he added, Look upon me and have mercy on me: for he looks even when he is angry, as he looked upon the camp of the Egyptians and, having bound the axles of their chariots, cast them all into the waves.⁴⁹ He looked upon Sodom and Gomorra, both of which paid the price of divine offense, suffering the punishment of their sins.⁵⁰ It is written also: Thou shalt look upon the earth and shalt make it tremble⁵¹, and on the contrary: He looked upon Abel's gifts, but upon Cain's gifts he did not look.⁵² Whereat Cain, exasperated, by his parricidal crime poured out his brother's blood.

13. What it is, however, for God to look, is most clearly declared by that testimony: because he hath had regard to the prayer of the humble, and he hath not despised their petition⁵³; for the eye of the Lord does not spurn the offerings of the just. So we, when in any matter we are stirred against someone,

avert our eyes, judging him as it were unworthy of our gaze, whom in our affection we have hated.

14. There follows: Direct my steps according to thy word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me.⁵⁴ We are admonished by frequent testimonies of the scriptures that steps are to be taken for the advancements of the soul. For who is so dull of mind as to think that David was anxious about the bodily step of his feet, and that he asked for the help of divine direction in these? But he, as a saint, longed that the course of his life should be directed, just as scripture elsewhere bears witness, saying: The steps of a man are directed by the Lord.⁵⁵ So let us use his own testimony, who says above: My steps had well-nigh been poured out, because I was zealous against sinners, seeing the peace of sinners.⁵⁶ He shows therefore that the footstep of his soul had stumbled, while he supposed that the peace of sinners was something to be admired. They seem indeed to have tranquillity, they seem to enjoy quiet; but there is no quiet where the mind is unquiet, no tranquillity of mind where the mind is harassed by the goads of a guilty conscience. How can there be security where there is the fight of diverse passions, where there is the conflict of grave agitations? Whence the Lord, defining what it is to have peace, says: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you⁵⁷, showing that the peace which the world gives has not the grace of true peace, and so, wishing to teach that peace is not in man, he added: Peace I leave with you, and again: My peace I give unto you. So the prophet was saying: Peace, peace; and where is peace?⁵⁸ It is manifest, therefore, that he was speaking of the wavering of his own opinion, in which the step of his mind, not of his body, had wavered.

15. And Moses says: I will go and see this great vision.⁵⁹ For that he might see God, by a certain progression of virtue he advanced to higher things. He was a shepherd of sheep, and he became leader of citizens. And to the bride it is said in the Canticles: How beautiful are thy steps in shoes, O daughter of Aminadab! The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hand of a craftsman.⁶⁰ There is no doubt that here too the steps signify the advancements of the church or the soul: How beautiful are the feet of them that preach peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things!⁶¹ Surely he calls beautiful the advances of evangelical preaching and disputation, as is said elsewhere: Pass over the rivers.⁶² That is: pass through the flowing and slippery things of this world with steady step of mind. That this is said of the step of the soul in his later words, here David himself plainly shows, asserting that his soul had passed over the torrent of iniquities.⁶³

16. But let us return to the bride's steps. What does it mean, that he added that the church's steps are beautiful in shoes? We read also that it was said to Moses: Loose the shoe from off thy feet⁶⁴, by which he seems to have been admonished not to be held bound by bodily fetters. Therefore in the Canticles he signifies the soul's beauty as something seemly, which uses the flesh as a shoe and in that very shoe suffers no impediment, but excels in the grace of its gait. Therefore the soul shoes itself with flesh, that the course of this life and its passage it may pass through with grace. Which happens if it does not stain its shoe

with bodily mire, nor sink into the gulf of vices; if it chastises its flesh, lest it tarry on the course and be weighed down by the burden of fat suet. The good shoe of the soul is chastity; the good step is in the footprint of purity. Wisdom, however, is the soul's mantle, whence it is written: Honor her, and she shall embrace thee.⁶⁵ Let us therefore use the body as a shoe for the works of the lower virtue, for ministry, not for command; for compliance, not for delight; for obedience, not for dissension; and let us set our footstep in the way of wisdom, lest some force of the torrent close in our steps.

17. Therefore it was said to Moses: Loose thy shoe. It was said also to Joshua;⁶⁶ but it was not said to Christ — rather it is written that the Baptist said: After me cometh a man whose shoes I am not worthy to bear⁶⁷ — because those are well admonished to loose their shoes who could not be without sin. But he not only did not loose his own shoe, but also unloosed the shoes of others, because he not only kept his own body free from sins, but also gave indulgence for the sins of all. Therefore the Church, in imitation of Christ, is comely, and in shoes washed clean of every defilement.

18. And perhaps, when she speaks wisdom among the perfect⁶⁸, she is comely in her higher members; but when men also of lower rank or of lower learning follow the Word, they do not forget the order of faith, they keep the precepts of the priest, and she is comely in shoes. Often the clergy has erred, often the priest has changed his judgment,

the rich have sided with the earthly king of this world: yet the people has kept its own faith. Hence even of the Lord Jesus we may rightly say that, even in things which are corporeal, the Word has comely steps when he discourses of moral matters. And the apostles for that reason perhaps are sent with bare feet⁶⁹, lest their disputation be overshadowed, but might shine forth. So the Church, the daughter of Aminadab — that is, of the willing or of the well-pleased, since the willing and well-pleased one gathered her — is also comely in shoes.

19. And rightly is it added in the Canticles: The joints of thy thighs are like collars, the work of the hands of a craftsman⁷⁰, that the ornaments of the Church's posterity might be sung. For by the thigh we recognize the badge of generation, according to that: Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty⁷¹, by which is signified that the Son of God, when he had emptied himself⁷², girt with the divinity of the Word and shod with human generation, came forth from a virgin, about to give salvation to all. By joints are meant the precious ornaments which are wont to be hung from the necks of matrons. So great therefore is the progress of the Church signified, that it is compared to the most precious ornaments and to the collars of those who triumph; for these are the ornaments of warriors. Whence also Symmachus said περιτραχήλια, that is, the things which are around the neck.⁷³ Therefore whether the generation of Christ from a virgin or the propagation of the Church, in appearance indeed it has crowned the necks of the faithful as if with collars adorned by the hand of a craftsman, but truly with the spiritual badges of virtue.

20. Indeed this whole description of the Church's members is full of comeliness and praise. For also her navel is as a turned bowl⁷⁴, and is proclaimed not wanting cups, for that, in every doctrine she is turned

with the fullness of knowledge and is not wanting in spiritual drink; and her belly is fattened not only with a heap of wheat⁷⁵, that is, with the stronger foods of the heavenly mystery, but is also filled, as it were with certain lilies, with the sweetness of moral things.

21. Whence she also, as a queen well deserving, is crowned with the blood of Christ, as it is written: And the ornament of thy head is as purple.⁷⁶ The blood of Christ is the purple, which dyes the souls of the saints, glittering not only in color but also in power, since it makes them kings, and better kings, to whom he gives an eternal kingdom.

22. With reason, therefore, to such great comeliness of the Church, on whom the blood of Christ glows red, the Holy Spirit cries out: How beautiful and how sweet hast thou become, O charity, in thy delights!⁷⁷ Beautiful with the comeliness of virtue, sweet with the pleasantness of grace, with the remission of vices, whom no bitterness of sin vexes; and now even charity itself, which by loving the Lord has received his very name, since God is charity.⁷⁸

23. Rightly therefore David asks that his steps be directed according to the word of God, that they themselves also may become comely, and that no iniquity may have dominion over him⁷⁹, which he rightly took precaution against. For he knew that even Abraham, directing his steps according to the precepts of the Lord, was tempted by the modesty of his beautiful wife being desired⁸⁰, yet not put to confusion; and was tried in the immolation of his only-begotten son, by the patriarchal piety of mind being demanded, but he was crowned⁸¹; and he himself, in the fury of Saul, the incest of Amnon⁸², the parricide of Absalom — beset by the deadly temptations of unjust iniquity — had escaped this only by the fact that, directing his steps according to the piety of the Lord, he did not depart from paternal affection, groaning within himself at the crime of incest, dismissing from himself the hatreds of a parricide. My son Absalom, my son, he says, Absalom, who shall give me death for thee?⁸³ Mindful of nature is piety, forgetful of offense — concerning whom before he had asked: Is the boy alive?⁸⁴

24. And perhaps it should be asked, on what reason he first called him boy, and afterward named him son — why not in both cases either boy or son. If he had been alive, he was a boy, because he sought his father by parricide; therefore he ought not to have received the name of piety, but of weakness, and so the just man kept silent on what was a matter of religion, but sprinkled in what was a matter of weakness. But where he was dead, with the pious father the crime of his person ceased; the name of nature remained.

25. There follows: Deliver me from the calumnies of men, that I may keep thy commandments.⁸⁵ Our affliction is not of one kind only. There is temptation, and there is also calumny; but temptation is lighter, calumny graver, since temptation may be a calumny, and calumny has temptation in itself. There is also human temptation, which we can bear⁸⁶; calumny, however, is grave. And therefore the Lord undertook the heavier things, and, attacked by calumnies, gave a triumphant silence.⁸⁷ Calumny moreover is the heavier in that it not only fabricates false things, but also blackens what has been piously done — as Joseph not only was tempted by the offer of adultery and the enticement of his mistress's allurement, but also was tempted by calumnies, with the fabrication that he himself had wished to commit that adultery upon his mistress, and being apprehended he stripped off his garment, lest the indication of the fraud and the badge of the crime should be retained — when in fact he had let go his cloak as he fled, that he might escape the snares of her who was bringing them and the meshes of seductive art.⁸⁸ David himself had felt what he feared; for what calumnies of King Saul did he labor under! When all were in panic, he checked the assault of the Philistines and, in single combat, took up the chief weight of the battle and of all the conflict, by his own valor alone refuting the common reproach and turning the disgrace of the whole people back upon the enemy. And yet, because

the maidens said: Saul triumphed in his thousands, David in his ten thousands⁸⁹, his glory was turned into envy and he began to be hard pressed by hatred. And — to speak of later events — Susanna was well conscious of her own innocence, and could not stand by herself before men. Two presbyters, old men, were bringing forward false testimony; the number of priests and their old age took the maiden's voice from her; only her conscience was free with God: condemned at last by the judgment of men, she was acquitted by a divine nod.⁹⁰

26. Therefore the prophet says: Deliver me from the calumnies of men, that I may keep thy commandments.⁹¹ For he who is oppressed by calumny cannot easily keep the divine commandments — it is necessary that for the most part he yield either to sadness or to fear, and be afflicted either by the dread of the calumny or by its grief.

27. There follows the seventh verse: Make thy face to shine upon thy servant, and teach me thy justifications.⁹² The Lord enlightens his saints, and shines in the heart of the just. So when you see a wise man, recognize that the glory of God has descended upon him, has illumined his mind with the splendor of knowledge and of divine recognition. He illumined also corporeally the face of Moses, and the glory of his countenance was transfigured, which the Jews seeing trembled; and so it came about that Moses placed a veil over his face, lest the children of Israel should gaze on it and be greatly disturbed.⁹³ At the same time the mystery was being declared: that this veil, which was placed corporeally on the face of Moses, was being placed mystically upon the hearts of the Jews, in that they could not see the true brightness of the Law. For the countenance of Moses is the splendor of the Law; the splendor of the Law, however, is not in the letter, but in the spiritual understanding.⁹⁴ Thus, as long as Moses lived and addressed the people of the Jews, he had a veil upon his face; but with Moses dead, Joshua

now no longer through a veil, but with revealed face addressed both the elders and the people, and no one trembled — although God said even to him that he would be with him as he had been with Moses, and would likewise illumine him, with the glory of his deeds, certainly, not of his countenance⁹⁵, the Holy Spirit signifying by this that the true Jesus would come, and if anyone should turn to him and would hear him, the veil would be taken away from his heart, and with revealed face he would behold the true Saviour.⁹⁶

28. Therefore the omnipotent God the Father, who in the face of Moses blinded the Jewish people, not by harshness but by foreknowledge, nor by malice but by equity and justice — for they themselves placed the veil upon themselves, who refused to understand the law⁹⁷; for the law is spiritual, as the Hebrew said⁹⁸ — he, surely, according to that which he gives to each of us — in which there is no fault of the giver, but of the lover — he, I say, the Lord, illumined the heart of the people of the nations in the face of Christ Jesus through his coming, which is plainly declared by the apostolic example, as we have it written: For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus.⁹⁹

29. Therefore David says to the Lord Jesus: Make thy countenance to shine upon thy servant.¹⁰⁰ He longed to see the face of Christ, that his mind might be enlightened. And it can be received according to the incarnation; for many prophets and just men have desired to see, as the Lord himself declared.¹⁰¹ But what had been denied to Moses¹⁰² he was not asking for: that he should see the face of God incorporeally with bodily eyes — though indeed even Moses, so wise and learned, may have asked this rather simply than mystically. It is human, however, to extend desires beyond ourselves; nor without reason did he seek to see the face

of him who was to come from a virgin, that he might be enlightened in heart, just as those also were enlightened who said: Did not our heart burn within us, while he opened to us the scriptures?¹⁰³ But if anyone will have it referred to God the Father, the face of the Father may be taken to be the Son; for he that seeth the Son seeth the Father also.¹⁰⁴

30. Yet the face of God enlightens, in the same way that his eyes are upon the just.¹⁰⁵ And though this should be proved spiritually, yet, since the history of the illumination of Moses' face has come up, lest anyone suppose that this could not have happened corporeally, let him take note. For by the heat of the sun even men exhausted by pallor have the figure of their whole body changed, and to those warmed by the breath of fire the appearance of a glowing countenance is poured around; at the rising of day the lands grow ruddy, suffused with a saffron color, borrowing an image from a benefit; the gleaming necklaces of jewels also pour upon things near them what they themselves have radiated: and do you wonder if Moses' countenance was tinged with the brightness of the divine presence — do you wonder if, with the grace of God shining forth, the just man's mind is suffused with vapor? The prophet did not doubt, who first asked to be enlightened, that he might be able to learn the justices of the Lord.¹⁰⁶

31. Mine eyes have descended to the running courses of waters, because they have not kept thy law.¹⁰⁷ He has expressed greatly the affection of one bearing penance, saying that the running courses of waters have descended through his eyes — either because, as through the channels of overflowing streams, so a certain channel of overflowing tears has poured itself out through them, and a continuous and perpetual flow of weeping waters; or because the eyes themselves descended. For this is the force of the highest grief, that with tears the eyes themselves seem somehow to descend, in that there is so great a force of tears that the eyes are thought to be dissolved into weeping and poured out into tears.

32. The eyes themselves, then, descend, as it were into running courses of waters. By which expression the vehement onset of those who weep is more pointedly declared, according to that which is written in the Canticles: the fountain of gardens, the well of living water, and the rushing torrent that descends from Lebanon.¹⁰⁸ This rushing torrent has led the Church from Lebanon¹⁰⁹; by this rushing torrent sins are washed away; with this rushing torrent of the pure font the Holy Spirit was present from Lebanon to the bride, and from the beginning of faith she has crossed over the world and passed on to the kingdom. To some he is a fountain, to others a well, according to our capacity, the spiritual grace; to others a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed¹¹⁰; to others the fountain of gardens which is reckoned among the dowry of the Church; to others the rushing torrent that descends from Lebanon — and a great rushing torrent which never fails, for the breasts shall not fail from the rock, nor snow from Lebanon, nor the water that is borne by a strong wind of the virgin of Jerusalem.¹¹¹ The rushing torrent descended from Lebanon¹¹² when, with the apostles gathered together in one and many believing, suddenly there was a sound from heaven as it were of a mighty rushing of the spirit, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, who gave them diversities of tongues.¹¹³ A good rushing-onset which knows not how to harm, but knows how to fill.

33. If therefore anyone wishes to deserve this onset of the grace coming over him from heaven, let him too descend with his eyes into the running courses of waters. He who shall first pour out this onset will deserve that other one. With his eyes she descended into these conduits of waters who in the gospel watered the Lord's feet with her tears¹¹⁴, and so by the price of her faith bought for herself the soundness of soul and body, no longer with the issue of blood, but of spiritual grace.¹¹⁵

34. David the prophet, then, descended; therefore from sin he brought back grace. He descended into the conduits of waters, that is: he filled them, and with the running

waters he heaped up the streams with his tears, or filled the empty and idle channels of the sun with his weepings only. Or — as a certain sense of moral diction shows — did he descend into the conduits of waters, cross over them? And we might say: 'he transcended them and went beyond'; but the force of the expression is lessened, by which a greater force of descending abundance is expressed than of ascending. See, I beg, what concerning use the words contain, that the prophetic word may not lose its onset, although the very use of writers has been wont, with greater seemliness, to serve the sense. He has signified this diversely and often, and has almost always assumed increases. For he said first: I will wash my bed every night, with my tears I will water my couch.¹¹⁶ He said again: My tears have been my bread.¹¹⁷ He said also: And I mingled my drink with weeping.¹¹⁸ Here he has added, saying: Mine eyes have descended to the running courses of waters.¹¹⁹

35. Following this, in the Lamentations Jeremiah expressed the affection of grief, imitating the force of the descending eye; for thus you have it: Mine eyes failed in tears; my eyes were dim.¹²⁰ As it were they descend, eyes that fail in tears. And elsewhere: My eye is swallowed up.¹²¹ But it is more, to overcome water with tears than for the eyes to be swallowed up by weepings. And again the same Jeremiah: Their heart cried out unto the Lord: Walls of the daughter of Sion, let down torrents, let your tears flow day and night; give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thy eye cease.¹²² The eyes therefore which let down torrents with their tears

themselves descend as conduits of waters, that is, they heap them up, so that, by their swellings, they make them overflow with the onset of torrents.

36. There are, however, codices which read: διεξόδους ὑδάτων κατεβίβασαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου, that is: the conduits of waters my eyes have brought down. But I in my own Greek codex have read κατέβησαν, that is: they descended.¹²³ Wherein it can be that, by the addition or removal of either of the two letters, the scribe has erred to one side or the other.

37. And he had indeed many things to weep over, whether the incest of his daughter or the death of his sons; but here he says he wept not these things, but that he had not kept the law of the Lord.¹²⁴ By the holy man, fault is bewailed more than calamity. He wept, accordingly, when Nathan announced to him the indignation of the Lord concerning the death of Uriah, and he acknowledged his sin of the violation of the law.¹²⁵ So when his son was placed in sickness he took no food, mounted neither royal throne nor couch, but, lying upon the earth, he was bathing his fasting face with tears, longing not so much to wash away the death of his son as the punishment of sin in him.¹²⁶ He wept when, the people having been numbered, he was suddenly stricken at heart. So: I have sinned, he says, grievously; I have sinned foolishly.¹²⁷ He wept therefore first, because, lifted up by royal power, in seeking the number of the people he had gone beyond the measure of the human condition; and then because by the price of his own error vengeance was being taken on the people. But this punishment had been proposed by the Lord, not asked for by the king. By committing himself, however, to the mercy of the Lord, he proved the cause of his election; at the same time, since for his sake the people was suffering, by offering himself for the people he loosed the wrong of his pride and proved the affection of piety. Whereby he seems to have been admonished not to be held bound by bodily fetters. Therefore in the Canticles he signifies the soul's beauty as something seemly, which uses the flesh as a shoe and in that very shoe suffers no impediment, but excels in the grace of its gait. Therefore the soul shoes itself with flesh, that the course of this life and its passage it may pass through with grace. Which happens, if