Migne Reading Room
PG 13 · cols. 183–198
Origenis in Canticum canticorum liber quartus, interprete Rufino
Editors' preface
LIBER QUARTUS.
BOOK FOUR.
Vers. 10, 11, 12, 13. Surge, veni, proxima mea, speciosa mea, columba mea, quoniam ecce hiems transiit, pluvia abiit et recessit sibi, flores visi sunt in terra, tempus putationis advenit, vox turturis audita est in terra nostra. Arbor fici produxit germina sua, vites florentes dederunt odorem suum. Quid contineat ordo dramatis jam supra descripsimus, nunc vero quid vel sermo Dei ad animam se dignam sibique aptam, vel quid Christus ad Ecclesiam dicere intelligendus sit, advertamus. Sed interim primus sermo Dei loquatur ad hanc speciosam decoramque animam, cui per sensus corporeos, id est per intuitum lectionis, et per auditum doctrinae, quasi per fenestras apparuit, proceritatemque suae magnitudinis demonstravit, ita ut in superioribus ei loqueretur incumbens, atque inde evocans eam, ut procedat foras, et extra sensus jam corporeos effecta desinat esse in carne, ut merito audiat : Vos autem non estis in carne, sed in spiritu. Non enim taliter diceret eam Verbum Dei proximam sibi, nisi conjungeret se ei, et fieret cum eo unus spiritus, nec diceret eam speciosam,
Verses 10, 11, 12, 13. Arise, come, my neighbour, my fair one, my dove, for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone away to itself, the flowers have appeared in the land, the time of pruning is come, the voice of the turtle-dove has been heard in our land. The fig tree has put forth her green figs, the flowering vines have given their scent. What the order of the drama contains we have already described above; but now let us observe what either the word of God is to be understood as saying to the soul worthy of Him and fitted for Him, or what Christ says to the Church. But meanwhile let the word of God speak first to this fair and comely soul, to whom He appeared through the bodily senses, that is, through the gaze of reading and through the hearing of doctrine, as if through windows, and demonstrated the loftiness of His greatness, so that in the things above He spoke to her leaning forward, and calling her forth from thence, that she should proceed outside, and having now come to be beyond the bodily senses should cease to be in the flesh, so that she may deservedly hear: But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit (Rom. 8:9). For the Word of God would not call her near to Himself in such a way unless He joined Himself to her, and became one spirit with her, nor would He call her fair,
Editors' notes and page, col. 183
Footnotes
(33) ‹anchor: Omnes enim peccaverunt› · call in col 183
Rom. III, 23.
Romans 3:23.
(printed under page 97)
(34) ‹anchor: et non peccaverit› · call in col 183
Eccl. VII, 21.
Ecclesiastes 7:21.
(printed under page 97)
(35) ‹anchor: fuerit vita ejus› · call in col 183
Job. XV, 14.
Job 15:14.
(printed under page 97)
(39) ‹anchor: sed in spiritu› · call in col 183
Rom. VIII, 9.
Romans 8:9.
<!-- the call numeral before this note prints damaged (only "3" legible); 39 by sequence and by the call in the text --> (printed under page 97)
Page
- running head: 183 ORIGENIS IN CANTICUM
- marginal letters: A catum, effugere jubetur,; B ipsa prospiceret, et; C Vers. 10, 11, 12, 13.; D perioribus ei loqueretur
- old-edition numerals: 87 after Salvator
- other: Latin only, no Greek printed; begins with fragment catum from col. 182 pec-catum; full-width heading LIBER QUAR[TUS.] across cols. 183-184 above Vers. 10, 11, 12, 13 not set
- other: a full-width band stands across cols 183/184 in mid-page: the 1 paragraph(s) above it in col 184 are set here, after the 1 above it in col 183 (reading order, moved on receipt); the band itself (its title lines) is not set by the volunteer page: set it here, at the move, with full_width
- other: the column opens with the end of the previous work (another unit); not set here: the unit begins at Vers. 10
nisi videret imaginem ejus renovari de die in diem ; et nisi videret eam capacem Spiritus sancti, qui in specie columbae descendit in Jordane super Jesum, non ei diceret : Columba mea. Conceperat enim amorem Verbi Dei, et cupiebat ad ipsum volatu celeri pervenire, dicens : Quis mihi dabit pennas sicut columbae, et volabo, et requiescam? Volabo sensibus, volabo intellectibus spiritalibus, et requiescam cum apprehendero sapientiae et scientiae ejus thesauros. Puto enim quia sicut qui mortem Christi recipiunt, et mortificant membra sua super terram, consortes efficiuntur similitudinis mortis ejus ; ita et hi qui virtutem Spiritus sancti recipiunt, et sanctificantur ex eo, et donis ejus replentur, quia ipse in specie columbae apparuit, etiam ipsi columbae fiant, ut de terrenis et corporeis locis evolent ad coelestia pennis sancti Spiritus sublevati. Quod si autem tempus opportunum quo haec fieri possint, consequenter inseruit : Quia ecce hiems, inquit, transiit, pluvia abiit. Non enim ante anima Verbo Dei jungitur et sociatur, nisi omnis ex ea hiems perturbationum ac vitiorum procella discesserit,
unless He saw her image being renewed from day to day; and unless He saw her capable of the Holy Spirit, Who descended in the form of a dove in the Jordan upon Jesus, He would not say to her: My dove. For she had conceived a love of the Word of God, and desired to reach Him by a swift flight, saying: Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest (Ps. 54:7)? I will fly with the senses, I will fly with spiritual understandings, and I will be at rest when I have laid hold of the treasures of His wisdom and knowledge. For I think that just as those who receive the death of Christ, and mortify their members upon the earth, are made partakers of the likeness of His death; so also those who receive the power of the Holy Spirit, and are sanctified by Him, and filled with His gifts, because He Himself appeared in the form of a dove, themselves also become doves, so that from earthly and bodily places they fly away to heavenly things, uplifted on the wings of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, as to the opportune time when these things can be done, He consequently inserted: For lo, the winter, says He, is past, the rain is over and gone. For the soul is not joined and united to the Word of God before all the winter of perturbations and the storm of vices has departed
Editors' notes and page, col. 184
Footnotes
(36) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call in col 184
Psal. CXXIV, 7.
Psalm 124:7 (Vulgate numbering).
(printed under page 97)
(37) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call in col 184
Ephes. IV, 8.
Ephesians 4:8.
(printed under page 97)
(38) ‹anchor: Dei viventis Hierusalem› · call in col 184
Matth. XXVII, 52, 53.
Matthew 27:52–53.
(printed under page 97)
(40) ‹anchor: et requiescam› · call in col 184
Psal. LV, 6.
Psalm 55:6 (as printed).
(printed under page 97)
Page
- running head: IN CANTICUM CANTIC. 184
- marginal letters: A in similitudine carnis; B sed et eos; C nisi videret imaginem; D columbae fiant, ut
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Latin only, no Greek printed; full-width heading [LIB]ER QUARTUS. across cols. 183-184 above second paragraph not set; ends mid-word disces-
- other: the 1 paragraph(s) of this column above the full-width band are set under col 183 (reading order, moved on receipt)
et ultra jam non fluctuet, et circumferatur omni vento doctrinae. Ubi ergo ex anima haec cuncta discesserint, desideriorumque ab eadem tempestas effugerit, tunc incipient in ea flores vernare virtutum, tunc ejus menti et tempus putationis adveniet, et si quid superfluum et minus utile fuerit in ejus sensibus vel intellectibus resecabitur, et ad gemmas spiritalis intelligentiae revocabitur.
from her, and she no longer fluctuates and is carried about with every wind of doctrine (Eph. 4:14). When therefore all these things have departed from the soul, and the tempest of desires has fled away from her, then the flowers of virtues will begin to bloom in her, then for her mind the time of pruning also will arrive, and if anything superfluous and less useful be in her senses or understandings it will be cut away, and recalled to the buds of spiritual understanding.
Tunc etiam vocem turturis audiet, illius sine dubio sapientiae quam dispensator verbi loquitur inter perfectos, sapientiae Dei altioris quae abscondita est in mysterio. Hoc namque indicat appellatio turturis. Haec namque avis in secretioribus et remotis a multitudine locis vitam transigit, aut deserta montium diligens, aut secreta silvarum, procul semper a multitudine posita, et a turbis aliena. Quid autem est aliud quod opportunitati temporis hujus amoenitatique conveniat? Ficus, inquit, produxit germina sua. Notandum quidem fructus ipsius Spiritus, qui sunt gaudium, charitas, pax, et caetera. Sed jam tamen germina eorum proferre incipit spiritus hominis, qui in ipso est singulariter ficulnea nominatus. Sicut enim generaliter in Ecclesia diversae arbores singulae quaeque animae credentium intelliguntur, de quibus dicitur : Omnis arbor quam non plantavit Pater meus coelestis eradicabitur. Et iterum Paulus, qui se dicit adjutorem Dei esse in agricultura Dei, ait etiam ipse : Ego plantavi, Apollo rigavit. Sed et Dominus in Evangeliis : Aut facite arborem bonam, et fructum ejus bonum ; aut arborem malam, et fructum ejus malum. Sicut ergo generaliter in Ecclesia singuli quique credentium diversae arbores intelliguntur, ita et in unaquaque anima diversae virtutes efficacia ejus diversae arbores intelliguntur. Est ergo et in anima ficus quaedam quae producit germen suum : est et vitis quae floreat, et reddat odorem suum. Cujus vitis palmites purgat Pater coelestis agricola, ut fructum plurimum afferant. Sed haec vitis primo per odoris suavitatem quae ex flore redditur, laetificat odoratum ; secundum eum qui dicebat : Quoniam Christi bonus odor sumus Deo in omni loco. Haec ergo initia virtutum videns sermo Dei in anima, vocat eam ad semetipsum, ut festinet et exeat ; et abjiciens
Then she will also hear the voice of the turtle-dove, without doubt of that wisdom which the steward of the word speaks among the perfect, the higher wisdom of God which is hidden in mystery. For this the designation of the turtle-dove indicates. For this bird spends its life in more secret places and remote from the multitude, loving either the deserts of the mountains or the secret places of the woods, always set far from the multitude, and a stranger to crowds. And what else is there that suits the opportuneness and pleasantness of this season? The fig tree, says He, has put forth her green figs. One must note indeed the fruits of the Spirit Himself, which are joy, charity, peace, and the rest. Yet already the spirit of man, which is in him, uniquely named a fig tree, begins to put forth their buds. For just as generally in the Church each individual soul of the believers is understood as diverse trees, concerning which it is said: Every tree which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up (Matt. 15:13). And again Paul, who says that he is a fellow-helper of God in God's husbandry, himself also says: I have planted, Apollos watered (1 Cor. 3:6). And the Lord also in the Gospels: Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad (Matt. 12:33). Just as therefore generally in the Church each one of the believers is understood as diverse trees, so also in each soul the diverse virtues by its efficacy are understood as diverse trees. There is therefore in the soul also a certain fig tree which puts forth its bud: there is also a vine which flowers and yields its scent. The branches of which vine the heavenly Father, the husbandman, purges, that they may bring forth very much fruit. But this vine first gladdens the sense of smell through the sweetness of the scent which is yielded from the flower; according to him who said: Because we are the good odour of Christ unto God in every place (2 Cor. 2:15). Seeing therefore these beginnings of virtues in the soul, the word of God calls her to Himself, that she may make haste and go out; and casting
Editors' notes and page, col. 185
Footnotes
(41) ‹anchor: omni vento doctrinae› · call in col 185
Ephes. IV, 14.
Ephesians 4:14.
(printed under page 98)
(42) ‹anchor: coelestis eradicabitur› · call in col 185
Matth. XV, 13.
Matthew 15:13.
(printed under page 98)
(43) ‹anchor: Apollo rigavit› · call in col 185
I Cor. III, 6.
1 Corinthians 3:6.
(printed under page 98)
(44) ‹anchor: fructum ejus malum› · call in col 185
Matth. XII, 33.
Matthew 12:33.
(printed under page 98)
(45) ‹anchor: in omni loco› · call in col 185
II Cor. II, 15.
2 Corinthians 2:15.
(printed under page 98)
(73) ‹anchor: tempus putationis adveniet› · call in col 185
Procopius ex Origene : Τομῆς καιρὸς ὁ τῆς τῶν περιττῶν ἀποθέσεως.
Procopius, from Origen: "The time of pruning is the time of putting away what is superfluous."
(printed under page 98)
(74) ‹anchor: Tunc etiam vocem› · call in col 185
Tunc etiam vocem, etc. Procopius ex Origene · Φωνὴ τῆς τρυγόνος. Ἢ καὶ τρυγόνος λέγει τῆς ἀποῤῥήτου καὶ ἀγνώστου σοφίας· φιλέρημον γὰρ τὸ ζῶον· ἧς ἡ φωνὴ ἀκούεται τοῖς ἔτι ἐπιγήϊνον σῶμα περικειμένοις. « Vox turturis. » Vel etiam « turturis » dicit, arcanae et ignotae sapientiae : est enim animal solitudinis amans ; cujus vox auditur iis qui adhuc terrenum corpus induti sunt.
"Then also the voice," etc. Procopius, from Origen: "The voice of the turtle-dove. Or else he says 'of the turtle-dove' meaning the secret and unknown wisdom; for the creature loves solitude; and its voice is heard by those who are still clothed with an earthly body." [Latin version:] "The voice of the turtle-dove." Or else he says "of the turtle-dove," meaning secret and unknown wisdom: for it is a creature that loves solitude; and its voice is heard by those who are still clothed in an earthly body.
(printed under page 98)
Page
- running head: 185 LIBER QUARTU
- marginal letters: A serit, et ultra; B deserta montium diligens,; C gavit. Sed et; D initia virtutum videns
- old-edition numerals: 88 after charitas,
cuncta corpora venit ad eum, ut perfectionis ejus particeps fiat. Idcirco igitur quasi adhuc jacenti, et in rebus corporeis incumbenti primo dicit : Exsurge, et quasi quae statim obedierit et obsecuta sit vocanti, collaudatur ab eo et audit : Proxima mea, et columba mea.
away all bodily things she comes to Him, that she may become a partaker of His perfection. On this account, therefore, as to one still lying down and leaning upon bodily things, He first says: Arise; and as one who has immediately obeyed and complied with Him calling, she is praised by Him and hears: My neighbour, and my dove.
Et post haec ne ad tentationum turbines trepidaret, annuntiat ei quod hiems discesserit, et pluvia transierit, et abierit sibi. Bene autem vitiorum et peccatorum naturam uno miro sermone prolato significavit, ut hujusmodi diceret hiemem et pluviam, quae ex vitiorum delicto tempestateque descendat, sibi abiisse indicans, et per hoc nullam esse substantiam peccatorum. Non enim decidentia de homine vitia ad aliquam aliam substantiam peccatorum congregantur, sed sibi abeunt, et in semetipsa resoluta evanescunt, atque in nihilum rediguntur. Et ideo dixit, quia abiit sibi. Fit ergo tranquillitas animae apparente ei Verbo Dei, et cessante peccato ; et ita demum florente vinea incipient virtutes atque arbusta bonorum operum fructum germinare. Sed nunc iterum Christus haec loquitur ad Ecclesiam, et in anni circulum omne praesentis saeculi spatium ponit. Et per hiemem quidem illud indicat tempus, in quo vel Aegyptios grando et turbines ac reliqua decem plagarum verbera flagellabant ; vel cum diversa bella perferebat Israel ; vel etiam cum ipsi Salvatori restitit, et incredulitatis turbine correptus, naufragio fidei submersus est. Ubi ergo illorum delicto salus gentibus facta est, vocat nunc ad se Ecclesiam, dicitque ei : Exsurge, et veni ad me, quia jam hiems quae submersit incredulos, et vos in ignorantia reprimebat, abscessit. Sed et pluvia pertransiit, id est jam non mandabo nubibus, prophetis scilicet, ut pluant pluviam Verbi super terras ; sed ipsa vox turturis, hoc est ipsa Dei sapientia loquetur in terris, et dicet : Ipse qui loquebar adsum. Flores ergo credentium populorum, et orientium Ecclesiarum apparuerunt in terra. Sed et putationis tempus per fidem meae passionis et resurrectionis advenit. Amputantur enim et exsecantur ab hominibus peccata, cum in baptismo donatur remissio peccatorum. Vox quidem turturis, ut diximus, jam non per diversos prophetas, sed per os ipsius sapientiae Dei auditur in terris. Et ficulnea germinat, quae
And after these things, lest she should tremble at the whirlwinds of temptations, He announces to her that the winter has departed, and the rain is over, and has gone away to itself. And well has He signified the nature of vices and sins by uttering one wonderful word, so as to speak in this way of the winter and the rain which comes down from the offence and tempest of vices, indicating that it has gone away to itself, and through this that there is no substance of sins. For vices falling away from a man are not gathered together into some other substance of sins, but go away to themselves, and dissolved into themselves vanish away, and are reduced to nothing. And therefore He said that it has gone away to itself. Tranquillity of soul therefore comes about when the Word of God appears to her, and sin ceases; and so at length, when the vine flowers, virtues and the shoots of good works will begin to bud forth fruit. But now again Christ speaks these things to the Church, and sets the whole span of the present age into the circle of a year. And by the winter indeed He indicates that time in which either hail and whirlwinds and the remaining scourges of the ten plagues lashed the Egyptians; or when Israel endured diverse wars; or even when he resisted the Saviour Himself, and swept away by the whirlwind of unbelief, was sunk in the shipwreck of faith. When therefore by their offence salvation has come to the Gentiles, He now calls the Church to Himself, and says to her: Arise, and come to Me, because already the winter which sunk the unbelieving, and held you down in ignorance, has departed. Moreover, the rain also is over and gone, that is, I will no longer command the clouds, namely the prophets, that they rain the rain of the Word upon the earth; but the very voice of the turtle-dove, that is, the very wisdom of God, shall speak on earth, and shall say: I myself that spoke, behold I am here (Isa. 52:6). The flowers therefore of the believing peoples, and of the rising Churches, have appeared in the land. Moreover, the time of pruning also has arrived through the faith of My passion and resurrection. For sins are cut off and hewn away from men when the remission of sins is granted in baptism. The voice indeed of the turtle-dove, as we have said, is heard on earth no longer through diverse prophets, but through the mouth of the very wisdom of God. And the fig tree buds forth, which
Editors' notes and page, col. 186
Footnotes
(46) ‹anchor: qui loquebar adsum› · call in col 186
Isa. LII, 6.
Isaiah 52:6.
(printed under page 98)
(75) ‹anchor: Sed et putationis tempus› · call in col 186
Sed et putationis tempus, etc. Procopius ex Origene : Οὗτος δέ ἐστιν ὁ τῆς αὐτοῦ παρουσίας, ἐν ᾧ δεῖ τὰ σωματικὰ τοῦ νόμου, καὶ τῆς ἐν τοῖς προφήταις ἱστορίας περιπεφυκότα τοῖς πνευματικοῖς περιτέμνεσθαι, καὶ μεῖναι τὰ κρείττονα. Καιρὸς δὲ πάλιν καὶ τῆς τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἐκκοπῆς καὶ ἀφέσεως διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας. Καὶ μὴ θαυμάσης εἰ ὁ νυμφίος ὡς περὶ ἑτέρου λέγει τοῦ τρυγόνος· πολλαχοῦ γὰρ τοῦτο τῆς Γραφῆς ἔθος ἐστίν. Illud autem est ejus adventus tempus, in quo legis ac historiae quae in prophetis est corporea quae adnata sunt, necesse est circumcidi, et manere meliora. Tempus etiam rursus est exscindendi peccata eorumque remissionis per lavacrum regenerationis. Nec mireris si sponsus velut de alio ac turture loquitur. Sic enim saepius loqui consuevit Scriptura.
"But also the time of pruning," etc. Procopius, from Origen: "This is the time of his coming, in which the bodily things of the law, and of the history in the prophets, that have grown about the spiritual things must be cut away, and the better things remain. It is the time, again, of the cutting off and remission of sins through the washing of regeneration. And do not wonder if the bridegroom speaks of the turtle-dove as of another; for this is the custom of Scripture in many places." [Latin version:] That is the time of his coming, in which the bodily things that have grown onto the law and onto the history that is in the prophets must be cut away, and the better things remain. It is also, again, the time of cutting out sins and of their remission through the washing of regeneration. Nor should you wonder if the bridegroom speaks as though of another, namely the turtle-dove. For Scripture is often accustomed to speak so.
(printed under page 98)
Page
- running head: IBER QUARTUS. 186
- marginal letters: A ciens cuncta corpora; B peccatorum congregantur, sed; C mersus est. Ubi; D per diversos prophetas,
- old-edition numerals: (none)
potest in fructibus sancti Spiritus accipi, qui nunc primum aperiuntur et demonstrantur Ecclesiae : vel etiam in littera legis quae ante adventum Christi clausa erat et constricta, et indumento quodam intelligentiae carnalis obtecta. Ex praesentia vero ejus et adventu prolatum est ex ea germen spiritalis intelligentiae, et sensus viridis et vitalis qui in ea tegebatur apparuit : ut Ecclesia quae tegebatur a Christo in ficulnea, id est in lege, non appareat arida, nec occidentem litteram sequi, sed florentem et vivificantem spiritum.
can be taken in the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which now first are opened and demonstrated to the Church: or even in the letter of the law, which before the coming of Christ was closed and bound up, and covered with a certain garment of carnal understanding. But from His presence and coming the bud of spiritual understanding has been brought forth from it, and the green and vital sense which was covered in it has appeared: so that the Church, which was covered by Christ in the fig tree, that is, in the law, may not appear dry, nor following the killing letter, but the flourishing and life-giving spirit.
Sed et vites florere dicuntur, et dedisse odorem suum. Possunt quidem et diversae Ecclesiae quae per orbem terrae habentur, vites dici florentes, aut vineae. Vinea enim Domini Sabaoth domus Israel est, et domus Juda dilecta novella. Istae ergo vineae cum primo accedunt ad fidem florere dicuntur ; cum vero per religionem operum suorum suavitate adornantur, odorem suum dedisse dicuntur ; non sine causa puto quod non dixerit, odorem dederunt, sed odorem suum : ut ostenderet inesse unicuique animae vim possibilitatis et arbitrii libertatem, qua possit agere omne quod bonum est. Sed quia hoc naturae bonum praevaricationis occasione decerptum, vel ad ignominiam, vel lasciviam fuerat inflexum, ubi per gratiam reparatur, et per doctrinam Verbi Dei restituitur, odorem reddit sine dubio illum, quem primus conditor Deus indiderat, sed peccati culpa subtraxerat. Possunt autem et vites vel vineae intelligi virtutes coelestes et angelicae, quae hominibus largiuntur odorem suum, id est doctrinae et institutionis bonum, quo instruunt et imbuunt animas, donec ad perfectionem veniant, et incipiant capaces fieri Dei. Sicut et Apostolus ad Hebraeos scribens dicit : Nonne omnes sunt ministeriales spiritus in ministerium missi propter eos, qui haereditatem capiunt salutis? Et ideo dicuntur ab ipsis quasi primum florem et odorem bonorum operum capere homines : ipsos vero fructus vitis ab eo sperare, qui dixit : Non bibam de generatione vitis hujus, donec bibam illud vobiscum novum in regno Patris mei. Illi ergo perfecti flores et fructus ab ipso sperandi sunt : initia vero et, ut ita dicam, proficiendi suavitas potest a coelestibus virtutibus ministrari, vel certe per eos qui dicebant, ut supra diximus, quoniam Christi bonus odor sumus Deo in omni loco. Sed et alio modo possumus adhuc intelligere haec quae habentur in manibus, ut dicamus veluti prophetiam quamdam videri ad Ecclesiam factam, per quam vocetur ad repromissiones futuras, ut quasi post consummationem saeculi cum tempus resurrectionis advenerit dicatur ei : Exsurge. Et quia sermo hic statim opus resurrectionis designat, tanquam ex resurrectione clarior et splendidior effecta, invitatur ad regnum, et dicitur ei : Veni, proxima mea, speciosa mea, columba mea, quia hiems transiit. Hiemem sine dubio
Moreover, the vines also are said to flower, and to have given their scent. Diverse Churches also which are held throughout the world can indeed be called flowering vines, or vineyards. For the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth is the house of Israel, and the house of Judah His beloved new plant (Isa. 5:7). These vineyards, therefore, when they first come to the faith, are said to flower; and when through religion they are adorned with the sweetness of their works, they are said to have given their scent; not without cause, I think, did He not say, they gave a scent, but their scent: that He might show that there is in each soul the power of capability and freedom of choice, whereby it can do all that is good. But because this good of nature, plucked off on the occasion of transgression, had been bent either to ignominy or to wantonness, when it is repaired through grace and restored through the doctrine of the Word of God, it yields without doubt that scent which God the first Creator had implanted, but the guilt of sin had withdrawn. Moreover, the vines or vineyards can also be understood as the heavenly and angelic powers, which bestow upon men their scent, that is, the good of doctrine and instruction, whereby they instruct and imbue souls, until they come to perfection and begin to become capable of God. Just as the Apostle also, writing to the Hebrews, says: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Heb. 1:14)? And therefore men are said to receive from them as it were the first flower and scent of good works: but to hope for the very fruits of the vine from Him Who said: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom (Matt. 26:29). Those perfect flowers and fruits, therefore, are to be hoped for from Him: whereas the beginnings and, so to speak, the sweetness of making progress can be ministered by the heavenly powers, or at least through those who said, as we mentioned above, that we are the good odour of Christ unto God in every place (2 Cor. 2:15). Moreover, in still another way we can understand these things which are in hand, so as to say that it seems to be a kind of prophecy made to the Church, through which she is called to the future promises, so that as it were after the consummation of the age, when the time of the resurrection has arrived, it is said to her: Arise. And because this word immediately designates the work of the resurrection, as having been made clearer and more splendid from the resurrection, she is invited to the kingdom, and it is said to her: Come, my neighbour, my fair one, my dove, because the winter is past. Calling the winter, without doubt,
Editors' notes and page, col. 187
Footnotes
(47) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call not visible in the foot image (col 187 or 188)
Isa. V, 7.
Isaiah 5:7.
(printed under page 99)
(48) ‹anchor: capiunt salutis› · call in col 187
Hebr. I, 14.
Hebrews 1:14.
(printed under page 99)
(49) ‹anchor: regno Patris mei› · call in col 187
Matth. XXVI, 29.
Matthew 26:29.
(printed under page 99)
(50) ‹anchor: in omni loco› · call in col 187
II Cor. II, 15.
2 Corinthians 2:15.
(printed under page 99)
(51) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call not visible in the foot image (col 187 or 188)
I Cor. XIII, 12.
1 Corinthians 13:12.
(printed under page 99)
Page
- running head: 187 ORIGENIS IN CANTICUM
- marginal letters: A potest in fructibus; B est, et domus; C vel vineae intelligi; D tibus ministrari, vel
- old-edition numerals: 89 after peccati
- other: Latin only, no Greek printed
hujus praesentis vitae procellas et turbines nominans, quibus humana vita tentationum procellis agitatur. Transiit ergo hiems ista cum pluviis suis, abiit sibi. Sibi unusquisque egit in hac vita omne quod egit. Principium vero repromissionum futurarum flores. Securim ad radicem arboris positam in consummationem saeculi, ut excidat omnem arborem non facientem fructum bonum, tempus putationis intellige. Vocem vero turturis, quae in litteris repromissionis auditur, quam mansueti in haereditate suscipient, Christi personam facie ad faciem, et non jam per speculum et in aenigmate docentis adverte. Ficulnea vero quae germen suum producit, totius congregationis justorum fructus habeatur. Istae vero et sanctae et beatae angelicae virtutes, quibus electi quique et beati ex resurrectione sociabuntur, qui erunt sicut angeli Dei, ipsae sunt vites et florentes vineae, quae odorem suum unicuique animae, et gratiam quam a Conditore suscepit prius, et nunc iterum perditam recuperavit, impertiunt, suavitateque coelestis odoris fetorem tandem abjectae ab eis mortalitatis corruptionisque depellunt.
the storms and whirlwinds of this present life, by which human life is tossed with the storms of temptations. That winter, therefore, is past with its rains, it has gone away to itself. To himself each one has done in this life all that he has done. And the flowers are the beginning of the future promises. Understand the time of pruning as the axe laid to the root of the tree at the consummation of the age, that it may cut down every tree not bringing forth good fruit. And observe the voice of the turtle-dove, which is heard in the letters of promise, which the meek shall receive in inheritance, as the person of Christ teaching face to face, and no longer through a glass and in a riddle (1 Cor. 13:12). And let the fig tree which puts forth its bud be accounted the fruit of the whole congregation of the righteous. And those holy and blessed angelic powers, with whom all the elect and blessed from the resurrection shall be united, who shall be as the angels of God, they themselves are the vines and flowering vineyards, which impart their scent to each soul, and the grace which it received before from the Creator, and now when lost has recovered again, and by the sweetness of heavenly scent drive away at last the stench of mortality and corruption cast off by them.
Vers. 13, 14. Surge, et veni, proxima mea, columba mea, in velami⟨n⟩ibus petrae juxta promurale. Ostende mihi faciem tuam, et auditam fac mihi vocem tuam, quoniam vox tua suavis est, et facies tua speciosa. Secundum propositi dramatis ordinem sponsus, qui saliens super montes et exsiliens super colles ad sponsam venerat, prospiciens eam, et intuens per fenestras, secundo jam loco dicit ad eam : Surge, veni, proxima mea, speciosa mea, columba mea. Nunc vero addit etiam hoc ut ostenderet ei locum ad quem venire debeat, qui locus sub velamento et tegmine saxi sit positus. Sit autem idem locus non tam juxta murum, quam juxta promurale quoddam. Promurale autem dicitur, cum extra muros qui ambiunt civitatem, alius ducitur murus, et est murus ante murum. Tum deinde quasi si reverentiae causa ipsa sponsa obtecta sit et velata, petit ipse sponsus, ut veniens ad illum locum quem supra ostendit, utpote secretiorem, ibi ei quasi rejecto velamine ostendat faciem suam. Et quia pro multa reverentia taceret sponsa, desiderat sponsus aliquando etiam vocem ejus audire, et delectari in verbis ejus, et dicit, ut auditam sibi faciat vocem suam. Videtur tamen quod non ei penitus incognita sit facies ejus, neque vocis ejus ignarus sit, sed quia intercesserit aliquid, in quo nec faciem ejus viderit, nec vocem audierit. Iste sit propositi dramatis textus. Cui et hoc additur, quod veris tempus agi videatur, cum et flores apparuisse memorantur in terra, et vox turturis personare, et germen arbores produxisse. Propter hoc velut opportuno tempore progredi provocat sponsam, quae sine dubio hiemem totam intra domus claustra resederit. Sed haec nullam mihi videntur (quantum ad historicam narrationem pertinet)
Verses 13, 14. Arise, and come, my neighbour, my dove, in the coverings of the rock beside the outwork. Show me your face, and cause me to hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is comely. According to the order of the drama set forth, the bridegroom, who had come to the bride leaping upon the mountains and skipping over the hills, looking forth upon her and beholding her through the windows, now in the second place says to her: Arise, come, my neighbour, my fair one, my dove. Now however He adds this also, that He might show her the place to which she ought to come, which place is set under the covering and shelter of the rock. Moreover, let the same place be not so much beside the wall, as beside a certain outwork. Now an outwork (promurale) is so called when outside the walls which surround a city another wall is drawn, and it is a wall before the wall. Then next, as if for the sake of reverence the bride herself were covered and veiled, the bridegroom Himself asks that, coming to that place which He showed above, as being more secret, there she should show Him her face as though with the veil cast back. And because out of great reverence the bride kept silent, the bridegroom desires at some time also to hear her voice, and to delight in her words, and says that she should cause Him to hear her voice. Yet it seems that her face is not wholly unknown to Him, nor is He ignorant of her voice, but that something has intervened in which He neither saw her face nor heard her voice. Let this be the thread of the drama set forth. To which this also is added, that the season of spring seems to be going on, since both the flowers are recorded to have appeared in the land, and the voice of the turtle-dove to sound forth, and the trees to have put forth their bud. On account of this, as at an opportune season, He provokes the bride to advance, who without doubt had sat through the whole winter within the enclosures of the house. But these things seem to me (so far as pertains to the historical narrative) to confer no
Editors' notes and page, col. 188
Page
- running head: IN CANTICUM CANTIC. 188
- marginal letters: A hujus praesentis vitae; B gelicae virtutes, quibus; C intuens per fenestras,; D desiderat sponsus aliquando
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Latin only, no Greek printed; damaged type in velami⟨n⟩ibus
utilitatem conferre legentibus, aut aliquam saltem narrationis ipsius servare consequentiam, sicut in caeteris Scripturae historiis invenimus. Unde necesse est cuncta ad spiritalem transferre intelligentiam.
usefulness upon the readers, nor even to preserve any sequence of the narrative itself, such as we find in the remaining histories of Scripture. Whence it is necessary to transfer all things to the spiritual understanding.
Primo ergo intellige mihi animae hiemem, cum adhuc passionum fluctibus jactatur, et vitiorum procellis, ac duris malignorum spirituum flatibus verberatur. In his positam non hortatur eam sermo Dei foras exire, sed intra semetipsam colligi, et uniri undique, atque contegi contra perniciosos malignorum spirituum flatus. Nulli tunc in divinis litteris studiorum flores apud eam, nec profundioris sapientiae secreta, et recondita mysteria quasi per vocem turturis resonant. Sed neque odoratus ejus gratiae aliquid quasi ex vineae floribus recipit, neque visus ejus tanquam in ficulneae germine delectatur, sed sufficit ut in tempestatibus tentationum a lapsu peccati tuta ac munita permaneat. Quod si obtinuerit ut illaesa perduret, hiems ei transit, et venit ei ver. Ver namque ei est, cum quies animo datur, tranquillitas menti. Tunc ad eam venit Verbum Dei, tunc eam vocat ad se et hortatur ut exeat, non solum extra domum, sed extra civitatem : id est non solum extra carnis vitia efficiatur, sed extra omne quidquid corporeum et visibile continetur in mundo. Namque figuraliter in lege civitatem jam in superioribus evidenter ostendimus.
First, therefore, understand for me the winter of the soul, when she is still tossed by the waves of passions, and lashed by the storms of vices, and by the harsh blasts of malignant spirits. Placed among these things, the word of God does not exhort her to go out abroad, but to be gathered within herself, and united on every side, and covered against the pernicious blasts of malignant spirits. There are then no flowers of studies in the divine letters with her, nor do the secrets of deeper wisdom and hidden mysteries resound as if through the voice of the turtle-dove. Nor does her sense of smell receive anything of grace as if from the flowers of the vine, nor does her sight delight as it were in the bud of the fig tree, but it suffices that in the tempests of temptations she remain safe and fortified from the lapse of sin. Which if she obtains, so as to endure unharmed, the winter passes for her, and spring comes to her. For it is spring for her when rest is given to the soul, tranquillity to the mind. Then the Word of God comes to her, then He calls her to Himself and exhorts her to go out, not only outside the house, but outside the city: that is, that she may come to be not only outside the vices of the flesh, but outside everything whatsoever bodily and visible is contained in the world. For we have already clearly shown in the things above that the city in the law is taken figuratively.
Evocatur ergo anima extra murum, et usque ad promurale perducitur, cum abjiciens et relinquens ea quae videntur et temporalia sunt, contendit ad ea quae non videntur, et aeterna sunt. Ostenditur ergo ei iter istud sub velamine petrae agendum, non sub aere nudo, neque ut patiatur solis ardores, ne iterum fusca fiat, ne iterum dicat, despexit me sol : propterea sub velamine petrae agit hoc iter. Hoc autem ipsum velamen non vult ex frondibus esse aut linteis, aut pellibus, sed petram vult ei esse velamen, id est firma et solida Christi dogmata. Ipsum namque esse petram Paulus pronuntiat dicens : Petra autem erat Christus. Christi ergo doctrina et fide si obtegatur anima et veletur, tuto potest ad illud pervenire secretum, ubi revelata facie gloriam
The soul therefore is called forth outside the wall, and led right to the outwork, when casting away and leaving behind the things which are seen and are temporal, she presses on to the things which are not seen and are eternal. That journey therefore is shown to her as having to be made under the covering of the rock, not under the naked air, nor so that she should suffer the burning heats of the sun, lest she become dark again, lest she say again, the sun has looked down upon me (Song 1:6): on this account she makes this journey under the covering of the rock. Moreover, He does not wish this covering itself to be of leafy boughs, or linen cloths, or skins, but He wishes the rock to be her covering, that is, the firm and solid doctrines of Christ. For Paul pronounces that He Himself is the rock, saying: And that rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). If therefore the soul be covered and veiled with the doctrine and faith of Christ, she can safely arrive at that secret place, where with unveiled face beholding the glory
Editors' notes and page, col. 189
Footnotes
(52) ‹anchor: despexit me sol› · call in col 189
Cant. I, 6.
Song of Songs 1:6.
(printed under page 100)
(53) ‹anchor: erat Christus› · call in col 189
I Cor. X, 4.
1 Corinthians 10:4.
(printed under page 100)
(54) ‹anchor: vias viri in juventute› · call in col 190
Prov. XXX, 18, 19.
Proverbs 30:18–19.
(printed under page 100)
(55) ‹anchor: direxit gressus meos› · call in col 190
Psal. XXXIX, 3.
Psalm 39:3 (Vulgate numbering).
(printed under page 100)
(76) ‹anchor: Tunc ad eam› · call in col 189
Tunc ad eam, etc. Procopius ex Origene : Βούλεται τὴν ψυχὴν ὑπερβῆναι τὰ αἰσθητά. Ὡς ἐπὶ πόλεως δὲ τεῖχος καὶ προτείχισμα τὸν αἰσθητὸν κόσμον καλεῖ. Δεῖ οὖν τὴν τῷ λόγῳ κοινωνήσουσαν ψυχὴν ἐν σκέπη τῆς πέτρας οὐ μόνον ἔξω τοῦ τείχους τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ προτειχίσματος γενέσθαι· ὡς πλησίον γενομένην ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου κατοπτρίζεσθαι, πειθομένην τῷ λέγοντι· Δεῖξόν μοι τὴν ὄψιν σου. Ἐπιθυμεῖ δὲ καὶ διαλεγομένης ἀκοῦσαι τὴν φωνὴν ὡς ἡδεῖαν θαυμάζων. Προτείχισμα δέ ἐστιν, ὅπερ Ἡσαΐας περίτειχος ὀνομάζει λέγων· Θήσει τεῖχος καὶ περίτειχος. Βούλεται τοίνυν, τῶν σωματικῶν ἐξελθοῦσαν, οὐ μόνον ἐν τῷ τείχει γενέσθαι, ὅπερ εἶναι τὸν περὶ τοῦ νόμου λόγον νομίζω, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐχόμενα τοῦ προτειχίσματος· ὡς λόγος μέν ἐστι τελευταῖος τῶν σωματικῶν, ἀρχὴ δὲ τῶν ἀσωμάτων. Vult sponsam supergredi sensibilia. Ac si autem de civitate loquatur, murum et antemurale mundum sensibilem vocat. Debet itaque anima, quae cum Verbo commercium habitura est in velamine petrae, non solum extra murum civitatis, sed etiam extra antemurale exire, ut propius accedens revelata facie gloriam Domini velut in speculo contueatur, obediens dicenti : Ostende mihi faciem tuam. Cupit vero etiam loquentis vocem audire, quam ob dulcedinem admiratur. Antemurale autem est, quod Isaias circummurale vocat dicens : « Ponet murum et circummurale. » Vult igitur, ut a corporalibus exiens, non solum in muro consistat, quem puto esse legis doctrinam, verum etiam prope antemurale, extremam videlicet corporeorum rationem et incorporeorum initium.
"Then to her," etc. Procopius, from Origen: "He wants the soul to pass beyond the things of sense. And he calls the sensible world, as in the case of a city, a wall and an outwork. The soul, then, that is to have fellowship with the Word in the shelter of the rock must come to be not only outside the wall of the city but outside the outwork too; so that, having drawn near, she may behold the glory of the Lord as in a mirror with unveiled face, obeying Him who says: Show me your face. And He longs also to hear her voice as she speaks, admiring it as sweet. The outwork is what Isaiah calls the surrounding wall, saying: He will set a wall and a surrounding wall. He wants her, then, having come out of bodily things, to be not only at the wall, which I take to be the teaching about the law, but also close by the outwork, as being the last word of bodily things and the beginning of the bodiless." [Latin version:] He wants the bride to pass beyond the things of sense. And as though speaking of a city, he calls the sensible world a wall and an outwork. So the soul that is to have converse with the Word in the covering of the rock ought to go out not only beyond the wall of the city but beyond the outwork too, so that, coming nearer, she may with unveiled face behold the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, obeying Him who says: Show me your face. And He desires also to hear the voice of her speaking, which He admires for its sweetness. The outwork is what Isaiah calls the surrounding wall, saying: "He will set a wall and a surrounding wall." He wants her, then, going out from bodily things, to stand not only at the wall, which I take to be the teaching of the law, but also near the outwork, that is, the furthest account of bodily things and the beginning of the bodiless.
(printed under page 100)
Page
- running head: 189 LIBER QUARTUS
- marginal letters: A utilitatem conferre legentibus,; B ejus gratiae aliquid; C promurale perducitur, cum; D (beside footnote)
- old-edition numerals: 90 after ver.
Domini contempletur. Merito autem velam⟨e⟩n istud petrae tutum creditur, quia et Salomon de ea dicit in Proverbiis, quod vestigia serpentis non possunt deprehendi super petram. Sic enim ait : Tria sunt quae impossibile est mihi intelligere, et quartum quod ignoro, vestigia aquilae volantis, et viam serpentis super petram, et semitas navis in pelago, et vias viri in juventute. Serpentis ergo, id est signa aliqua peccati, in hac petra quae est Christus, inveniri non possunt, quia solus est qui peccatum non fecit. Hujus ergo petrae vero velamine anima tuto pervenit ad promuralem locum, id est ad contemplandum incorporalia et aeterna. De hac eadem petra alia verbi specie David in XXXIX psalmo dicit : Et statuit supra petram pedes meos, et direxit gressus meos. Nec mireris si apud David petra haec quasi fundamentum et crepido est animae per quam pergit ad Deum, et apud Salomonem velamen est animae ad mystica sapientiae secreta tendentis : cum et ipse Christus nunc via dicatur, per quam credentes incedunt, nunc etiam praecursor, sicut ait Paulus : In quod praecursor introivit pro nobis Jesus. Simile est et illud quod per Moysem dicitur a Deo : Ecce posui te in foramine petrae, et videbis posteriora mea. Igitur petra ista quae Christus est, non est ex omni parte clausa, sed habet foramen. Foramen vero est petrae, qui revelat et innotescere facit hominibus Deum. Nemo ergo videt Patrem, nisi Filius ; nemo ergo videt postrema Dei, id est quae in postremis temporibus fiunt, nisi positus in foramine petrae, scilicet cum ea Christo revelante didicerit. Et hic ergo sub velamine petrae animam proximam sibi effectam invitat sermo Dei ad promuralem locum, sicut supra jam diximus, ad contemplanda ea quae non videntur, et aeterna sunt, et ibi dicit ad eam : Ostende mihi faciem tuam : perfecto ut videat, si non aliquid in vultu ejus veteris adhuc velaminis habeat, sed possit intrepidis obtutibus gloriam Domini speculari, ut haec ipsa dicat : Et vidimus gloriam ejus tanquam unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratiae et veritatis. Sed et cum digna fuerit, ut de ipsa dicatur sicut et de Moyse dictum est, quia Moyses loquebatur, et Dominus respondebat ei, tunc completur in ea quod ait.
of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18). Deservedly, moreover, is that covering of the rock believed to be safe, because Solomon also says of it in Proverbs, that the tracks of a serpent cannot be discovered upon a rock. For thus he says: There are three things which are impossible for me to understand, and a fourth which I know not: the tracks of an eagle flying, and the way of a serpent upon a rock, and the paths of a ship in the sea, and the ways of a man in youth (Prov. 30:18–19). The tracks of the serpent, therefore, that is, any signs of sin, cannot be found in this rock which is Christ, because He alone is the One Who did no sin. Under the true covering of this rock, therefore, the soul safely arrives at the place of the outwork, that is, at contemplating incorporeal and eternal things. Concerning this same rock under another form of expression David says in the thirty-ninth Psalm: And He has set my feet upon a rock, and directed my steps (Ps. 39:3). Nor should you wonder if in David this rock is as it were a foundation and base for the soul through which she goes on towards God, and in Solomon it is a covering for the soul tending towards the mystical secrets of wisdom: since Christ Himself also is now called the way, through which believers walk, and now also the forerunner, just as Paul says: Where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus (Heb. 6:20). Similar also is that which is spoken through Moses by God: Behold, I have put you in a cleft of the rock, and you shall see My back parts (Exod. 33:22–23). Therefore that rock which is Christ is not closed on every side, but has a cleft. And the cleft of the rock is He Who reveals and makes God known to men. No one therefore sees the Father, save the Son (John 6:46); no one therefore sees the hindmost things of God, that is, the things which come to pass in the last times, unless placed in the cleft of the rock, namely when he has learned them through Christ revealing them. Here also, therefore, under the covering of the rock, the word of God invites the soul that has been made near to Him to the place of the outwork, just as we have already said above, to contemplate the things which are not seen and are eternal, and there He says to her: Show me your face: assuredly that He may see whether she does not still have something of the old veil on her countenance, but is able with fearless gaze to behold the glory of the Lord, so that she herself may say: And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). And also when she has become worthy that it should be said of her just as it was said of Moses, that Moses spoke, and the Lord answered him, then is fulfilled in her that which He says.
Editors' notes and page, col. 190
Footnotes
(56) ‹anchor: Jesus› · call in col 190
Hebr. VI, 20
Hebrews 6:20.
(printed under page 100)
(57) ‹anchor: posteriora mea› · call in col 190
Exod. XXXIII, 22, 23.
Exodus 33:22–23.
(printed under page 100)
(58) ‹anchor: nisi Filius› · call in col 190
Joan., VI.
John 6.
(printed under page 100)
(59) ‹anchor: gratiae et veritatis› · call in col 190
Joan. I, 14.
John 1:14.
(printed under page 100)
Page
- running head: IBER QUARTUS. 190
- marginal letters: A Domini contempletur. Merito; B gressus meos. Nec; C est quae in; D (beside footnote)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
Auditam fac mihi vocem tuam. Ingens vero laus ejus ostenditur in eo quod dicitur : Vox tua suavis. Sic enim sapientissimus propheta David dicebat : Suavis sit ei disputatio mea. Suavis est vox animae cum verbum Dei quod loquitur, cum fide et dogmatibus veritatis exponit, cum dispensationes Dei et judicia ejus explanat. Si vero aut stultiloquium, aut scurrilitas, aut vanitas de ore ejus procedunt, aut verbum otiosum, de quo reddenda sit ratio in die judicii, insuavis et injucunda vox ista est. Ab hac voce Christus avertit auditum suum. Et ideo quaeque perfecta anima ponit ori suo custodiam, et ostium circumstantiae labiis suis, ut talem semper sermonem proferat qui sale conditus det gratiam audientibus, et dicat de ea Verbum Dei, quia vox tua suavis. Sed et facies tua, inquit, speciosa. Si intelligas illam faciem de qua Paulus dicit : Nos autem omnes revelata facie ; et item cum dicit : Tunc autem facie ad faciem ; tunc videbis quae sit animae facies quae laudetur a Verbo Dei et speciosa esse dicatur. Illa sine dubio quae quotidie renovatur ad imaginem ejus qui creavit eam, quae non habet in se maculam, aut rugam, aut aliquid hujusmodi, sed est sancta et immaculata ; qualem et ipse sibi exhibuit Christus Ecclesiam, animas scilicet quae ad perfectionem venerunt, quae omnes simul efficiunt corpus Ecclesiae. Quod corpus utique pulchrum videbitur et decorum, si animae ex quibus corpus illud efficitur in omni perfectionis decore permanserint. Sicut enim cum anima in iracundia est, turbatum et ferum reddit corporis vultum ; cum vero in mansuetudine et tranquillitate persistit, placidum mitemque reddit aspectum : ita Ecclesiae facies pro virtutibus et moribus credentium, aut decora pronuntiatur, aut turpis, secundum quod et scriptum legimus : Vestigium cordis in bonis, vultus hilaris. Et item alibi : Cordis laeti facies florida, in tristitiis autem positi moestus est vultus. Cor ergo laetum est, cum habet in se spiritum Dei : cujus primus fructus charitas est, secundus gaudium est. Ex his puto quosdam sapientes saeculi assumpsisse illam sententiam quae dicit, quia solus sapiens speciosus est, omnis autem nequam turpis est. Superest nobis ut aliquid apertius etiam de nomine promuralis dicamus. Quod, sicut supra diximus, indicat murum esse ante murum, quod etiam in Isaia hoc modo dicitur : Pone murum et circa murum. Murus munimentum civitatis est. Alius vero murus ante murum, vel circa murum, majora et validiora munimenta designat. Per quod ostenditur, quia evocans sermo Dei animam et educens eam a corporalibus negotiis et corporeis sensibus, docere eam de futuri saeculi mysteriis cupit, et inde ei munimenta conquirere, ut spe futurorum munita et circumdata in nullo possit vel illecebris vinci, vel tribulationibus fatigari.
Cause me to hear your voice. Great praise of her indeed is shown in that which is said: Your voice is sweet. For so the wisest prophet David said: Let my meditation be sweet unto Him (Ps. 103:34). Sweet is the voice of the soul when she utters the word of God which she speaks, when she expounds it with faith and the doctrines of truth, when she explains the dispensations of God and His judgements. But if either foolish talking, or buffoonery, or vanity proceeds from her mouth, or an idle word, concerning which an account must be rendered in the day of judgement, that voice is unsweet and unpleasant. From this voice Christ turns away His hearing. And therefore every perfect soul sets a watch before her mouth, and a door of enclosure round about her lips, that she may always utter such speech as, seasoned with salt, may give grace to the hearers, and the Word of God may say of her, that your voice is sweet. Moreover, your face also, says He, is comely. If you understand that face of which Paul says: But we all with unveiled face (2 Cor. 3:18); and likewise when he says: But then face to face (1 Cor. 13:12); then you will see what is the face of the soul which is praised by the Word of God and said to be comely. That face without doubt which is renewed daily according to the image of Him Who created her, which has not in itself spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but is holy and unblemished; such as Christ Himself also presented the Church to Himself, namely the souls which have come to perfection, which all together make up the body of the Church. Which body assuredly will appear beautiful and comely, if the souls out of which that body is made up remain in all the comeliness of perfection. For just as when the soul is in anger, it renders the countenance of the body troubled and fierce; but when it persists in meekness and tranquillity, it renders the aspect calm and gentle: so the face of the Church, according to the virtues and morals of the believers, is pronounced either comely or foul, according as we also read written: The token of a heart in good things is a cheerful countenance (Ecclus. 13:32). And likewise elsewhere: Of a glad heart the face is blooming, but of one set in sorrows the countenance is sad (Prov. 15:13). The heart therefore is glad when it has in itself the Spirit of God: Whose first fruit is charity, the second is joy. From these things I think certain wise men of the world took up that maxim which says that only the wise man is comely, whereas every wicked man is foul. It remains for us to say something more openly also concerning the word outwork (promurale). Which, just as we said above, indicates that there is a wall before a wall, which also in Isaiah is spoken in this manner: Set a wall and a rampart round about the wall (Isa. 26:1). A wall is the bulwark of a city. And another wall before the wall, or round about the wall, designates greater and stronger bulwarks. Through which it is shown that the word of God, calling the soul forth and leading her out from bodily affairs and bodily senses, desires to teach her concerning the mysteries of the future age, and from thence to win bulwarks for her, so that fortified and surrounded by the hope of future things she can in nothing either be overcome by allurements or wearied by tribulations.
Editors' notes and page, col. 191
Footnotes
(60) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call not visible in the foot image (col 191 or 192)
Psal. CIV, 34.
Psalm 104:34 (Vulgate numbering; as printed).
<!-- the verse numeral reads 34 in the scan; Ps. CIV has 45 verses, so it may stand as printed or be a misprint for 4 --> (printed under page 101)
(61) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call not visible in the foot image (col 191 or 192)
II Cor. III, 18.
2 Corinthians 3:18.
(printed under page 101)
(62) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call not visible in the foot image (col 191 or 192)
I Cor. XIII, 12.
1 Corinthians 13:12.
(printed under page 101)
(63) ‹anchor: vultus hilaris› · call in col 191
Eccli. XIII, 32.
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 13:32.
(printed under page 101)
(64) ‹anchor: maestus est vultus› · call in col 191
Prov. XV, 13.
Proverbs 15:13.
(printed under page 101)
(65) ‹anchor: et circa murum› · call in col 191
Isa. XXVI, 1.
Isaiah 26:1.
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(66) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call not visible in the foot image (col 191 or 192)
Rom. XI, 25, 26.
Romans 11:25–26.
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(67) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call not visible in the foot image (col 191 or 192)
Psal. LXVIII, 13.
Psalm 68:13 (Vulgate numbering).
(printed under page 101)
Page
- running head: 191 ORIGENIS IN CANTICU
- marginal letters: A Auditam fac mihi; B bum Dei, quia; C omni perfectionis decore; D ut aliquid apertius
- old-edition numerals: 91 before creavit
- other: Latin only, no Greek printed
Nunc etiam videamus quomodo haec a Christo ad Ecclesiam dicatur, quae est proxima ei et speciosa. Speciosa autem nulli alii nisi soli ipsi. Hoc enim significat cum dicit, speciosa mea. Hanc ergo exsuscitat Christus, et ipsi Evangelium resurrectionis annuntiat, et ideo dicit : Exsurge, veni, proxima mea, speciosa mea. Quia autem dedit et ei pennas columbae, posteaquam dormivit in medio sortium : media autem inter duas vocationes Israelis Ecclesia vocata est, quia primo Israel vocatus est, post haec ubi ipse offendit et cecidit, vocata est Ecclesia gentium ; cum autem plenitudo gentium introierit, tum iterum omnis Israel vocatus salvabitur ; in medio ergo harum duarum sortium dormit Ecclesia. Et propter hoc dedit ei pennas columbae deargentatas, quod significat rationabiles pennas in sancti Spiritus donis. Et posteriora dorsi ejus, vel in viriditate auri, ut quidam legunt, vel, ut alii scriptum habent, in pallore auri. Quod ostendere potest, quia posterior illa vocatio quam ex Israel futuram dicit Apostolus, non erit in observantia legis, sed in pretiositate fidei. Auri namque viriditatis gerit speciem, fides virtutibus florens. Potest autem dici in medio earum sortium dormire, vel quiescere Ecclesia, in medio duorum testamentorum ; et pennae ejus deargentatae ex sensibus legis. Aurum in posterioribus dorsi ejus, intelligi evangelici muneris donum potest. Ad hanc ergo Ecclesiam dicit Christus : Veni, tu columba mea, et veni, in operimento petrae ; docens eam ut operta veniat, ne quid patiatur ab incursantibus eam tentationibus, sed sub umbra petrae incedat obtecta dicens : Spiritus vultus nostri Christus Dominus, cui diximus : In umbra ejus vivemus in gentibus. Obtecta autem incedit et adoperta, quia debet potestatem habere super caput, propter angelos. Cum autem venerit ad promuralem locum, id est ad futuri saeculi statum, ibi ad eam dicit : Ostende mihi faciem tuam, et auditam fac mihi vocem tuam, quia vox tua suavis est. Auditam vult fieri vocem Ecclesiae suae, quia qui eum confessus fuerit coram hominibus, et ipse confitebitur eum coram Patre suo qui in coelis est. Quia vox tua suavis est. Et quis non fatetur suavem vocem Ecclesiae catholicae fidem veram confitentis, insuavem vero et injucundam esse haereticorum vocem, qui non dogmata veritatis, sed blasphemias in Deum, et iniquitatem in excelsum loquuntur? Sic et facies Ecclesiae speciosa est : haereticorum vero turpis et foeda ; si quis est tamen qui bene noverit pulchritudinem vultus probare, id est si quis spiritalis est qui scit examinare omnia. Nam apud imperitos et animales homines pulchriora videntur mendacii sophismata quam dogmata veritatis. Possumus autem adhuc de loco promurali etiam hoc addere, quod promurale sinus sit Patris, in quo positus unigenitus Filius enarrat omnia et enuntiat Ecclesiae suae quaecunque in secretis
Now let us also see how these things are spoken by Christ to the Church, which is near to Him and fair. And fair to no other save to Him alone. For this He signifies when He says, my fair one. Her therefore Christ awakens, and announces to her the Gospel of the resurrection, and therefore says: Arise, come, my neighbour, my fair one. And because He gave her also the wings of a dove, after she slept in the midst of the lots: for the Church was called in the midst between the two callings of Israel, because first Israel was called, and after these things, when he stumbled and fell, the Church of the Gentiles was called; and when the fulness of the Gentiles shall have come in, then again all Israel being called shall be saved (Rom. 11:25–26); in the midst therefore of these two lots the Church sleeps. And on account of this He gave her the wings of a dove covered with silver, which signifies rational wings in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And the hinder parts of her back, either in the greenness of gold (Ps. 67:14), as some read, or, as others have it written, in the paleness of gold. Which can show that that latter calling which the Apostle says shall be from Israel will not be in the observance of the law, but in the preciousness of faith. For faith flourishing with virtues bears the appearance of the greenness of gold. Moreover, the Church can be said to sleep, or rest, in the midst of those lots, in the midst of the two testaments; and her wings are covered with silver from the senses of the law. The gold on the hinder parts of her back can be understood as the gift of the evangelical grace. To this Church, therefore, Christ says: Come, you my dove, and come, in the covert of the rock; teaching her to come covered, lest she suffer anything from the temptations assaulting her, but walk covered under the shadow of the rock, saying: The Spirit of our countenance, Christ the Lord, of Whom we said: Under His shadow we shall live among the Gentiles (Lam. 4:20). Moreover, she walks covered and veiled, because she ought to have power over her head, because of the angels. And when she has come to the place of the outwork, that is, to the state of the future age, there He says to her: Show me your face, and cause me to hear your voice, for your voice is sweet. He wishes the voice of His Church to be heard, because whosoever shall confess Him before men, him will He Himself also confess before His Father Who is in heaven. For your voice is sweet. And who does not confess that the voice of the Catholic Church confessing the true faith is sweet, whereas the voice of heretics is unsweet and unpleasant, who speak not the doctrines of truth, but blasphemies against God, and iniquity against the Most High? So also the face of the Church is comely: whereas that of heretics is foul and ugly; if at least there is anyone who knows well how to test the beauty of a countenance, that is, if anyone is spiritual who knows how to examine all things. For among unskilful and sensual men the sophistries of falsehood seem fairer than the doctrines of truth. Moreover, concerning the place of the outwork we can still add this also, that the outwork is the bosom of the Father, placed in which the only-begotten Son declares all things and announces to His Church whatsoever things in the secret
Editors' notes and page, col. 192
Footnotes
(66) ‹anchor: vocatus salvabitur› · call in col 192
Rom. XI, 25, 26.
Romans 11:25–26.
(printed under page 101)
(67) ‹anchor: in viriditate auri› · call in col 192
Psal. LXVIII, 13.
Psalm 68:13.
(printed under page 101)
(68) ‹anchor: vivemus in gentibus› · call in col 192
Thren. IV, 20.
Lamentations 4:20.
(printed under page 101)
Page
- running head: S IN CANTICUM CANTIC. 192
- marginal letters: A Nunc etiam videamus; B gentatas, quod significat; C veni, in operimento; D veram confitentis, insuavem
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Latin only, no Greek printed; ends mid-word se-
et in absconditis Patris sinibus continentur. Unde et quidam ab eo edoctus dicebat : Deum nemo vidit unquam. Unigenitus Dei Filius, qui est in sinu Patris, ipse enarravit. Illuc ergo evocat sponsam suam Christus, et ut de omnibus eam quae apud Patrem habentur, edoceat et dicat : Quia omnia vobis nota feci quae audivi a Patre meo ; et ut iterum dicat : Pater, volo ut ubi ego sum, illic sit et minister meus.
and hidden bosom of the Father are contained. Whence also a certain one taught by Him said: No man has seen God at any time. The only-begotten Son of God, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him (John 1:18). Thither therefore Christ calls His bride forth, both that He may teach her thoroughly concerning all the things that are held with the Father, and may say: For all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you (John 15:15); and that He may say again: Father, I will that where I am, there shall also My servant be (John 17:24; 12:26).
Vers. 15. Capite nobis vulpes pusillas exterminantes vineas, et vineae nostrae florebunt. Secundum dramatis ordinem mutata est persona, non enim jam ad sponsam, sed ad sodales loquitur sponsus, et ipsis dicit, ut capiant vulpes pusillas quae insidiantur vineis, ubi primum germen ostenderint, nec sinunt eas pervenire ad florem. Capi ergo eas praecepit, saluti et utilitati consulens vinearum. Sed haec, ut coepimus, spiritali expositione discutienda sunt. Et puto quod si de anima haec quae se Verbo Dei conjungit, advertas, vulpes contrariae potestates et nequitiae daemonum intelligi debeant, per cogitationes pravas et intelligentiam perversam exterminantes in anima virtutum florem et fructum fidei perimentes. Provisio igitur Verbi Dei qui est Dominus virtutum, mandat angelis suis qui ad ministerium missi sunt, propter eos qui haereditatem capiunt salutis, ut capiant ex unaquaque anima hujusmodi cogitationes a daemonibus immissas, ut abjectis eis possint florem virtutis afferre. Capiant autem cogitationes malas in eo, cum suggerunt menti non esse eas a Deo, sed esse a maligno spiritu, et dant animae discretionem spirituum, ut intelligat quae sit cogitatio secundum Deum, et quae sit ex diabolo. Ut autem scias esse cogitationes quas immittit diabolus in cor hominum, vide in Evangelio quod scriptum est : Cum autem immisisset, inquit, diabolus in cor Judae Iscariotis ut traderet eum. Sunt ergo hujusmodi cogitationes quae a daemonibus injiciuntur in cordibus hominum. Sed quia non deest divina Providentia, ne forte per hujusmodi importunitatem turbaretur libertas arbitrii, et non esset justa causa judicii, idcirco benignis angelis et amicis potestatibus hominum
Verse 15. Take us the little foxes that destroy the vines, and our vines shall flower. According to the order of the drama the speaker is changed, for the bridegroom no longer speaks to the bride, but to His companions, and says to them that they should catch the little foxes which lie in wait for the vines when they first show their bud, and do not allow them to reach the flower. He commanded them to be caught, therefore, consulting the safety and benefit of the vines. But these things, as we have begun, must be examined by a spiritual exposition. And I think that if you apply these things to the soul which joins itself to the Word of God, the foxes ought to be understood as the opposing powers and wickedness of demons, which through depraved thoughts and perverse understanding destroy the flower of virtues in the soul and kill the fruit of faith. The providence therefore of the Word of God, Who is the Lord of hosts, commands His angels who are sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation, that they catch out of each soul thoughts of this sort sent in by demons, so that when these have been cast out they may be able to bring forth the flower of virtue. And they are to catch evil thoughts in this way, when they suggest to the mind that they are not from God, but are from a malignant spirit, and give to the soul the discerning of spirits, that she may understand what thought is according to God, and what is from the devil. And that you may know that there are thoughts which the devil puts into the heart of men, see in the Gospel what is written: And when the devil, it says, had put into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray Him (John 13:2). There are therefore thoughts of this sort which are cast by demons into the hearts of men. But because divine Providence is not wanting, lest perchance through importunity of this sort the freedom of choice should be disturbed, and there should not be a just cause of judgement, on this account to kindly angels and friendly powers the care of men is
Editors' notes and page, col. 193
Footnotes
(69) ‹anchor: ipse enarravit› · call in col 193
Joan. I, 18.
John 1:18.
(printed under page 102)
(70) ‹anchor: a Patre meo› · call in col 193
Joan. XV, 15.
John 15:15.
(printed under page 102)
(71) ‹anchor: minister meus› · call in col 193
Joan. XVII, 24, et XII, 26.
John 17:24, and 12:26.
(printed under page 102)
(72) ‹anchor: ut traderet eum› · call in col 193
Joan. XIII, 2.
John 13:2.
(printed under page 102)
(77) ‹anchor: ad sodales› · call in col 193
Sed ad sodales, etc. Procopius ex Origene : Ταῦτα τοῖς φίλοις ὁ νυμφίος ἤτοι ἀγγέλοις, ἢ ἀνδράσιν ἁγίοις, ὅσοι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας διδάσκαλοι. Ὑπὲρ σωτηρίας δὲ τῶν ἀμπελώνων ἡ προτροπή, ἵνα, τῶν πανούργων συλλαμβανομένων δυνάμεων, αἳ διαφθείρουσι τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ἐκφύσεως τοῦ καρποῦ, δυνηθῶσιν αἱ ἄμπελοι προκόψαι ἀπὸ τοῦ κυπρίζειν μέχρι τῆς τοῦ καρποῦ τελειώσεως, ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ γεωργούμεναι· διὰ δὲ τὸ αὐτεξούσιον δυνάμεναι ἐνέγκαι καρπόν τε, καὶ μή. Ἢ τάχα καὶ ἄνθρωποι ἀλώπεκές τινες, δι' ἑτεροδόξου δριμύτητος ἐμποδίζοντες τοῖς ἀρξαμένοις τρέχειν καλῶς· οὓς ἔτι μικροὺς ὄντας βούλεται συλληφθῆναι, πρὶν ἐπὶ πλέον ἀσεβείας προκόπτωσι. Μέγας γὰρ ἀλώπηξ γενόμενος, ἐκείνοις μὲν ἀνάλωτος· ὑπὸ μόνου δὲ τοῦ νυμφίου θηρεύεται. Ἀρχόμενοι γὰρ ἐνεργεῖν τὰ χείρονα, καὶ τοῖς φίλοις ἀνάλωτοι. Λέγει δ' ἂν καὶ μικροὺς ἀμπελῶνας· οὐ δύνανται γὰρ κατὰ τῶν μεγάλων ἀλώπεκες. Haec sponsus amicis loquitur, sive angelis, sive viris sanctis, quotquot sunt Ecclesiae magistri. Quod autem ita praecipit, pro vinearum est incolumitate, ut vafris comprehensis potestatibus, quae initium exortus fructuum emoliuntur, vites a floribus ad fructus consummationem Deo cultore proficere possint, ac propter arbitrii libertatem fructum ferre queant, vel non ferre. Vel forte etiam homines vulpes quaedam sunt, qui haeretica astutia iis impedimento sunt qui recte currere incipiunt. Vult autem vulpes capi adhuc pusillas, antequam majorem in modum impietate profecerint. Vulpes enim ubi grandior evaserit, ab eis capi non potest; sed solus sponsus venatu capere eum possit. Dum enim deteriora facere incipiunt, etiam ab amicis possunt capi. Dicit vero etiam pusillas vineas. Adversus enim eas, quae majores sunt, nihil vulpes moliri possunt.
"But to the companions," etc. Procopius, from Origen: "The bridegroom says this to his friends, whether angels or holy men, all who are teachers of the Church. The exhortation is for the safety of the vineyards: that, the crafty powers being caught that destroy the beginning of the fruit's budding, the vines, tended by God, may advance from blossoming to the fruit's ripeness, being able by their free will to bear fruit, or not. Or perhaps some men too are foxes, hindering by the sharpness of their heterodoxy those who have begun to run well; and he wants them caught while they are still small, before they advance further in impiety. For once grown into a great fox, he cannot be caught by those men, and is hunted by the bridegroom alone. For when they are only beginning to work the worse things, they are not to be caught [as printed; the Latin reads 'can be caught'] even by the friends. And he may also speak of small vineyards, because foxes have no power against the great ones." [Latin version:] The bridegroom says these things to his friends, whether angels or holy men, all who are masters of the Church. That he gives this command is for the safety of the vineyards: so that, the cunning powers that work against the first rising of the fruit being caught, the vines, with God as their husbandman, may advance from flowers to the full ripeness of fruit, and, by reason of the freedom of the will, may be able to bear fruit, or not to bear it. Or perhaps there are also men who are foxes of a sort, who by heretical cunning are a hindrance to those beginning to run rightly. He wants the foxes caught while still small, before they have advanced further in impiety. For when a fox has grown bigger it cannot be caught by them; only the bridegroom can take it in the hunt. For while they are beginning to do the worse things, they can be caught even by the friends. He speaks also of small vineyards; for against those that are larger the foxes can attempt nothing.
(printed under page 102)
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- running head: 193 LIBER QUARTUS
- marginal letters: A cretis et in; B derint, nec sinunt; C Capiant autem cogitationes; D (beside footnote)
- old-edition numerals: 92 before loquitur
cura mandatur, ut cum deceptores quasi vulpes incursare coeperint hominem, dexteris eum auxiliis sublevent. Et ideo dicitur : Capite nobis vulpes pusillas. Competenter sane cum adhuc pusillae sunt, capi eas mandat et comprehendi. Dum enim cogitatio mala in initiis est, facile potest abjici a corde. Nam si frequenter iteretur, et diu permaneat, adducit animam sine dubio ad consensum ; et post consensum intra cor suum confirmatum, certum est quia ad peccati tendat affectum. Dum ergo in initiis est, et pusilla est, capi debet et abjici, ne si adulta fuerit et inveterata, jam non possit expelli. Denique et Judas initium mali habuit in amore pecuniae, et haec fuit illi vulpes pusilla. Sed et ab hac cum videret Dominus Judae animam quasi florentem vineam laedi, capere eam volens, et abjicere ex eo, commisit ei pecuniae loculos, ut possidens quod amabat, a cupiditate cessaret. Sed ille utpote habens sui arbitrii libertatem, non est amplexus medici sapientiam, sed indulsit semetipsum illi magis consilio quo exterminabatur anima sua, quam quo sanabatur.
committed, so that when deceivers begin to assault a man like foxes, they may support him with seasonable aids. And therefore it is said: Take us the little foxes. Fittingly indeed, while they are still little, He commands them to be caught and seized. For while an evil thought is in its beginnings, it can easily be cast out from the heart. For if it be frequently repeated, and remain a long time, it leads the soul without doubt to consent; and after consent has been confirmed within its heart, it is certain that it tends towards the disposition of sin. While therefore it is in its beginnings, and is little, it ought to be caught and cast out, lest if it become full-grown and deep-rooted, it can no longer be driven out. Finally, Judas also had the beginning of evil in the love of money, and this was for him a little fox. And when the Lord saw the soul of Judas, like a flowering vine, being harmed by this, wishing to catch it and cast it out from him, He entrusted to him the money-bag, so that possessing what he loved, he might cease from covetousness. But he, as having the freedom of his own choice, did not embrace the wisdom of the Physician, but indulged himself rather in that counsel whereby his soul was destroyed, than in that whereby it was healed.
Si vero haec de Christo et Ecclesia intelligamus, sermo videbitur ad Ecclesiae doctores dirigi, et mandari eis de captione vulpium exterminantium vineas. Vulpes autem perversos doctores haereticorum dogmatum possumus intelligere, qui per argumentorum calliditatem seducunt corda innocentium, et vineam Domini exterminant ne floreat in fide recta. Datur ergo praeceptum doctoribus catholicis, ut dum adhuc pusillae sunt istae vulpes, et nondum plures animas deceperunt, sed initium habet prava doctrina, arguere hos et refrenare festinent, et verbo veritatis contradicentes revincere, et capere hos assertionibus veris. Si enim permanserint in principiis, et indulserint, sermo eorum sicut cancer serpit, et fiet insanabilis ; ut multi inveniantur qui decepti ab eis pugnare jam pro ipsis incipiant, et defendere suscepti erroris auctores. Sic ergo pusillas dignum est vulpes capere, et dolosa haereticorum sophismata in ipsis statim initiis veris assertionibus confutare. Ut autem utriusque expositionis nostrae evidentior clarescat
But if we understand these things of Christ and the Church, the word will seem to be directed to the teachers of the Church, and a command to be given to them concerning the catching of the foxes that destroy the vines. Now by the foxes we can understand the perverse teachers of heretical doctrines, who through the craftiness of arguments seduce the hearts of the innocent, and destroy the vineyard of the Lord lest it flower in right faith. A precept therefore is given to Catholic teachers, that while those foxes are still little, and have not yet deceived many souls, but the depraved doctrine has its beginning, they should make haste to reprove and restrain them, and to convict those who contradict with the word of truth, and catch them by true assertions. For if they remain in the beginnings, and indulge them, their word creeps like a canker, and will become incurable; so that many are found who, deceived by them, now begin to fight for them, and to defend the authors of the adopted error. Thus therefore it is worthy to catch the little foxes, and to confute the deceitful sophistries of heretics right in their very beginnings by true assertions. Moreover, that the assertion of both our expositions may shine forth more clearly,
Editors' notes and page, col. 194
Page
- running head: IBER QUARTUS. 194
- marginal letters: A minum cura mandatur,; B animam quasi florentem; C fide recta. Datur; D (beside footnote)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Latin only, no Greek printed; begins with fragment minum from col. 193 ho-minum
assertio, congregemus ex divinis voluminibus sicubi animalis hujus mentio facta est. Invenimus ergo in sexagesimo secundo psalmo de impiis ita dici : Ipsi vero in vanum quaesierunt animam meam, introibunt in inferiora terrae, tradentur in manus gladii, partes vulpium erunt. Sed et in Evangelio secundum Matthaeum Salvator ad Scribam qui dicebat ei : Magister, sequar te quocunque ieris, respondit : Vulpes foveas habent et volucres coeli nidos ubi requiescant, Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput suum reclinet. Similiter autem et in Evangelio secundum Lucam ad eos qui dixerunt Domino : Exi, et vade hinc, quia Herodes vult te occidere, respondit Jesus : Euntes dicite vulpi huic : Ecce ego ejicio daemonia et sanitates perficio hodie et crastina, et in die tertia consummabor. In libro quoque Judicum, Samson cum uxor quae erat ex genere Philistinorum ei fuisset ablata, ait ad patrem ejus : Innocens sum ego hac vice ab Allophylis, quia faciam vobiscum mala. Et abiit Samson, et accepit trecentas vulpes, et accepit lampades, et ligavit caudam ad caudam, et posuit lampadem unam inter duas caudas vulpium, et accendit ignem in lampadibus, et emisit eas per messes Allophylorum, et incendit omnes messes eorum et stipulas eorum, et vineas eorum, et oliveta eorum. Adhuc autem in secundo libro Esdrae, ubi Tobias Ammonites impedivit aedificationem eorum qui de captivitate redierant, ut aedificarent templum et murum, ait ad Allophylos : Nunquid isti sacrificabunt aut comedunt immolata in hoc loco? Nonne ascendunt vulpes, et destruent murum ipsorum quem ex lapidibus aedificant?
let us gather from the divine volumes wherever mention has been made of this animal. We find therefore in the sixty-second Psalm that it is spoken thus concerning the ungodly: But they have sought my soul in vain, they shall go into the lower parts of the earth, they shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall be the portions of foxes (Ps. 62:10–11). And in the Gospel according to Matthew also, to the Scribe who said to Him: Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest, the Saviour answered: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests where they may rest, but the Son of man has not where to lay His head (Matt. 8:19–20). Similarly also in the Gospel according to Luke, to those who said to the Lord: Get Thee out, and depart hence, for Herod will kill Thee, Jesus answered: Go and tell that fox: Behold, I cast out devils and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected (Luke 13:31–32). In the book of Judges also, when Samson's wife, who was of the race of the Philistines, had been taken away from him, he said to her father: Now shall I be blameless this time concerning the Philistines, for I will do you displeasure. And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and tied tail to tail, and put one torch in the midst between two tails of the foxes, and kindled fire in the torches, and let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up all their standing corn and their shocks, and their vineyards (Judg. 15:3–5), and their oliveyards. Moreover, in the second book of Esdras also, when Tobiah the Ammonite hindered the building of those who had returned from the captivity to build the temple and the wall, he said to the Philistines: Will these men sacrifice, or do they eat sacrifices in this place? Do not foxes go up, and will they not break down their wall which they build of stones (Neh. 4:3)?
Haec sunt interim quae ad praesens nobis ex Scripturis divinis occurrere potuerunt, in quibus animalis hujus memoria facta est, ut ex his sapiens quisque lector prudenter possit conjicere, si apta usi sumus expositione in his quae proposita sunt nobis, ad explanandum id quod ait : Capite nobis vulpes pusillas. Et quamvis operosum sit singula quae exempli causa assumpsimus explanare, tamen quae poterimus, breviter contingemus. Et primo de sexagesimo secundo psalmo videamus, ubi cum justi animam persequerentur impii, ille psallebat dicens : Ipsi autem in vanum quaesierunt animam meam, introibunt in inferiora terrae, tradentur in manus gladii, partes vulpium erunt. In quo utique ostenditur quod vanis et inanibus verbis pravi doctores decipere volentes animam justi, introire dicuntur in inferiora terrae, terram utpote sapientes, et de terra loquentes, atque in inferiora ejus, id est in profundum stultitiae descendentes. Puto enim quod hi qui carnaliter vivunt, quia sibi ipsis tantummodo nocent, terra esse et in terra habitare dicuntur. Hi vero qui terrenis et carnalibus sensibus Scripturas intelligunt, et alios ita docendo decipiunt, pro eo ipso quod argutias quasdam et
These meanwhile are the passages from the divine Scriptures which have been able to occur to us for the present, in which mention has been made of this animal, so that from them every wise reader may prudently conjecture whether we have used a fitting exposition in the things set before us, for explaining that which He says: Take us the little foxes. And although it would be laborious to explain each of the passages which we have taken up by way of example, nevertheless we will touch briefly upon what we can. And first let us see concerning the sixty-second Psalm, where, when the ungodly persecuted the soul of the righteous man, he sang, saying: But they have sought my soul in vain, they shall go into the lower parts of the earth, they shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall be the portions of foxes (Ps. 62:10–11). In which assuredly it is shown that depraved teachers, wishing to deceive the soul of the righteous man with vain and empty words, are said to go into the lower parts of the earth, as minding the earth, and speaking of the earth, and descending into its lower parts, that is, into the depth of folly. For I think that those who live carnally, because they harm only themselves, are said to be earth and to dwell on the earth. Whereas those who understand the Scriptures with earthly and carnal senses, and deceive others by teaching thus, for that very reason, that they devise certain subtleties and
Editors' notes and page, col. 195
Footnotes
(73) ‹anchor: partes vulpium erunt (first)› · call in col 195
Psal. LXII, 10, 11.
Psalm 62:10–11 (Vulgate numbering).
(printed under page 103)
(74) ‹anchor: caput suum reclinet› · call in col 195
Matth. VIII, 19, 20.
Matthew 8:19–20.
(printed under page 103)
(75) ‹anchor: in die tertia consummabor› · call in col 195
Luc. XIII, 31, 32.
Luke 13:31–32.
(printed under page 103)
(76) ‹anchor: et vineas eorum› · call in col 195
Judic. XV, 3, 4, 5.
Judges 15:3–5.
(printed under page 103)
(77) ‹anchor: lapidibus aedificant› · call in col 195
II Esdr. IV, 3.
2 Esdras (Nehemiah) 4:3.
(printed under page 103)
(78) ‹anchor: partes vulpium erunt› · call in col 195
Psal. LXII, 10, 11.
Psalm 62:10–11 (Vulgate numbering).
(printed under page 103)
(79) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call not visible in the foot image (col 195 or 196)
Deut. XXXII, 8, 9.
Deuteronomy 32:8–9.
(printed under page 103)
Page
- running head: 195 ORIGENES IN CANTICUM
- marginal letters: A assertio, congregemus ex; B et crastina, et; C in hoc loco?; D meam, introibunt in
- old-edition numerals: 93 before caudas
- other: Latin only, no Greek printed
argumenta carnalis et terrenae sapientiae confingant, in inferiora terrae dicuntur ingredi : vel certe quia gravius delinquunt, qui terrena docent, quam qui ita vivunt, eis futura poena etiam gravior imminet : iidemque ipsi in manus gladii tradendi prophetantur, illius fortassis flammei et versatilis.
arguments of carnal and earthly wisdom, are said to enter into the lower parts of the earth: or at least because they sin more grievously who teach earthly things than those who live thus, a heavier future punishment also awaits them: and the same men are prophesied as to be delivered into the hands of the sword, perhaps of that flaming and turning sword.
Quomodo autem et partes vulpium fiant, videamus. Omnis anima aut pars est Dei, aut pars est cujuscunque qui accepit potestatem super homines. Nam cum divideret Altissimus gentes, et dispergeret filios Adam, statuit fines gentium secundum numerum angelorum Dei, et facta est portio Domini Jacob. Cum ergo constet unamquamque animam aut in parte Dei, aut in parte esse alterius cujuslibet, quoniam quidem per arbitrii libertatem possibile est unumquemque ex parte alterius transire, vel ad partem Dei si melius ipso juvante elegerit, vel si nequius ad daemonum portionem, hinc horum mentio habetur in psalmo : Qui in vanum quaesierunt animam justi, partes erunt vulpium, veluti si diceret et pessimorum et nequissimorum daemonum partes erunt : ut unaquaeque maligna virtus et dolosa, per quam deceptiones et fraudes falsae scientiae introductae sunt, figuraliter vulpes appellentur ; et hi qui in hunc errorem deducuntur, et nolunt acquiescere sanis sermonibus Domini nostri Jesu Christi, et doctrinae quae secundum pietatem est, sed decipi se patiuntur a talibus, isti talium partes vulpium fient, et introibunt cum eis in inferiora terrae. Ipsi sunt et illi in quibus secundum Evangelium vulpes istae quas supra memoravimus, foveas habere dicuntur, in quibus Filius hominis non habet ubi caput suum reclinet. Herodem quoque vulpem nominatum pro fallaci calliditate credendum est. Nam de Samson qui trecentas vulpes cepisse, et colligasse per caudas, atque interjecisse lampades ardentes in medio caudarum, atque immisisse per messes Allophylorum, et incendisse eas cum stipulis et olivetis vineisque memoratur, valde mihi difficilis formae hujus vel figurae videtur explanatio. Tentemus tamen aliqua ex his pulsare pro viribus, et ponamus, sicut expositio nostra in superioribus continet, vulpes esse fallaces perversosque doctores. Hos Samson qui veri et fidelis imaginem tenet doctoris, capiens verbo veritatis, caudam ad caudam colliget, id est adversantes sibi, et diversa a se invicem sentientes docentesque confutet, atque ex ipsorum verbis propositiones collectionesque accipiens, in Allophylorum segetem ignem conclusionis emittat, et ex propriis eorum argumentis omnes eorum fructus atque vineas et oliveta pessimae generationis incendat. Sed et ipse numerus trecentarum vulpium quae a semetipsis diversae et dissonantes erant, triplicem formam indicant peccatorum. Omne enim peccatum
Let us see, moreover, how they also become the portions of foxes. Every soul is either the portion of God, or the portion of someone who has received power over men. For when the Most High divided the nations, and dispersed the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God, and Jacob became the portion of the Lord (Deut. 32:8–9). Since therefore it is established that every soul is either in the portion of God, or in the portion of someone else, seeing that through freedom of choice it is possible for each one to pass over from the portion of another, either to the portion of God if with His help he has chosen the better part, or if more wickedly to the portion of demons, hence mention is made of these in the Psalm: They who have sought the soul of the righteous man in vain shall be the portions of foxes, as if he said they shall be the portions of the worst and most wicked demons: so that every malignant and deceitful power, through which the deceptions and frauds of false knowledge have been introduced, is figuratively called foxes; and those who are led down into this error, and refuse to consent to the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, but suffer themselves to be deceived by such, they shall become the portions of such foxes, and shall go in with them into the lower parts of the earth. They themselves are also those in whom, according to the Gospel, those foxes which we mentioned above are said to have holes, in whom the Son of man has not where to lay His head. Herod also must be believed to have been named a fox for his deceitful craftiness. For concerning Samson, who is recorded to have caught three hundred foxes, and tied them by the tails, and put burning torches in the midst between the tails, and let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt it up with the shocks and oliveyards and vineyards, the explanation of this form or figure seems to me very difficult. Nevertheless, let us attempt to touch upon some of these things according to our strength, and let us lay down, just as our exposition in the things above contains, that the foxes are deceitful and perverse teachers. Samson, who holds the image of a true and faithful teacher, catching these with the word of truth, ties them tail to tail, that is, confutes them opposing one another and thinking and teaching diverse things from one another, and taking propositions and inferences from their own words, sends forth the fire of his conclusion into the standing corn of the Philistines, and from their own arguments burns up all their fruits and the vineyards and oliveyards of the wicked generation. Moreover, the very number of the three hundred foxes, which were diverse and discordant from one another, indicates the threefold form of sins. For every sin is
Editors' notes and page, col. 196
Page
- running head: IN CANTICUM CANTIC. 196
- marginal letters: A argumenta carnalis et; B bet, quoniam quidem; C talium partes vulpium; D ces perversosque doctores.
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Latin only, no Greek printed; ends mid-word pecca-
aut in facto, aut in verbo, aut in consensu mentis admittitur. Verum ne illud quidem quod in secundo libro Esdrae scriptum diximus, penitus omittendum est : ubi cum aedificarentur Sancta sanctorum, id est cum fides Christi et sanctorum ejus mysteria conderentur, inimici veritatis, fideique contrarii, qui sunt sapientes hujus saeculi, videntes absque arte grammatica et peritia philosophica, consurgere muros Evangelii, velut cum irrisione quadam dicunt perfacile hoc posse destrui calliditate sermonum per astutas fallacias et argumenta dialectica. Haec interim quantum brevitas potuit pati de assumptis exemplis dicta sufficiant. Nunc jam ad propositum revertamur.
committed either in deed, or in word, or in the consent of the mind. Yet not even that which we said was written in the second book of Esdras is to be wholly omitted: where, when the Holy of Holies was being built, that is, when the faith of Christ and the mysteries of His saints were being founded, the enemies of the truth, and adversaries of the faith, who are the wise men of this world, seeing the walls of the Gospel rising up without grammatical art and philosophical skill, say as it were with a certain derision that this can very easily be destroyed by craftiness of speech through cunning fallacies and dialectical arguments. Meanwhile let these things said concerning the assumed examples suffice, so far as brevity could allow. Now let us return to our subject.
Videtur ergo in Cantico canticorum praeceptum dari ab sponso amicis sibi virtutibus, ut capiant et arguant contrarias potestates, quae insidiantur animabus hominum, ne exterminent eorum initia fidei, floremque virtutum sub specie secretae alicujus et occultae sapientiae, quae quasi vulpes in foveis, ita in his hominibus qui semetipsos ad haec sectanda praebuerint, delitescunt. Et quo facilius confutari possint et argui, dum parvae sint vulpes ipsae, et initia habent pessimae persuasionis, capi jubentur. Nam si forte creverint, et majores fuerint vulpes effectae, jam nequeant ab inimicis sponsi, sed ab ipso fortassis sponso solo capi poterunt. Sed et sancti quique doctores et magistri Ecclesiae, sicut acceperunt potestatem calcandi super serpentes et scorpiones, ita accipiunt potestatem etiam capiendi vulpes. Sic enim data est potestas eis super omnem virtutem inimici. Una sine dubio ex
A precept therefore seems in the Song of Songs to be given by the bridegroom to the powers friendly to Him, that they catch and reprove the opposing powers which lie in wait for the souls of men, lest they destroy their beginnings of faith and the flower of virtues under the guise of some secret and hidden wisdom, which, like foxes in holes, lurk in those men who have given themselves up to follow these things. And that they may more easily be confuted and reproved, while the foxes themselves are small, and hold the beginnings of the worst persuasion, they are bidden to be caught. For if perchance they grow, and become larger foxes, they can no longer be caught by the friends of the bridegroom, but perhaps will be able to be caught by the bridegroom Himself alone. Moreover, all the holy teachers and masters of the Church, just as they have received power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, so receive power also to catch foxes. For thus power has been given to them over all the power of the enemy. One without doubt among
caeteris inimicis virtutibus est vulpes, quae exterminat vineas florentes, quaeque cum adhuc parva est, capi jubetur, sicut et in centesimo trigesimo septimo psalmo beatus dicitur, qui tenet et allidit parvulos Babylonis ad petram, nec permittit sensum Babylonium crescere in semetipso et augeri, sed cum est in initiis allidit eum, et tenet ad petram : tunc enim facile perimitur. Sic ergo ordo explanationis percurrat : Capite vulpes nobis pusillas, quae vulpes exterminant vineas florentes. Quod autem dicit nobis, hoc est, mihi sponso et sponsae : vel certe mihi et vobis qui estis sodales mei. Potest autem et ita accipi : Capite nobis vulpes : et post distinctionem dici, pusillas exterminantes vineas, ut pusillas non tam ad vulpes quam ad vineas referamus ; ut videantur pusillae quidem vineae exterminari posse : id est parvae quaeque animae, et initia habentes, non firmae et robustae laedi posse a contrariis potestatibus. Sicut in Evangelio dicitur : Si quis scandalizaverit unum de pusillis istis. In quo ostenditur, quia scandalizari non potest grandis et perfecta, sed pusilla et rudis anima, sicut in psalmo dicitur : Pax multa diligentibus nomen tuum, et non est illis scandalum. Simili ergo exemplo potest videri, quod pusilla quaeque vinea, incipiens videlicet anima, possit a vulpibus, id est malignis cogitationibus, vel pravis doctoribus laedi, perfecta vero et valida non possit. Sed si capiantur a bonis doctoribus vulpes istae, et abjiciantur ex anima, tunc proficiet in virtutibus, et florebit in fide. Amen.
the rest of the hostile powers is the fox, which destroys the flowering vines, and which while it is still small is bidden to be caught, just as in the one hundred and thirty-sixth Psalm also he is called blessed who holds and dashes the little ones of Babylon against the rock (Ps. 136:9), and does not permit the Babylonian sense to grow and increase in himself, but while it is in its beginnings dashes it, and holds it against the rock: for then it is easily destroyed. Let the order of the explanation therefore run thus: Take us the little foxes, which foxes destroy the flowering vines. And as for what He says, us, that is, for Me the bridegroom and for the bride: or at least for Me and for you who are My companions. Moreover, it can also be taken thus: Take us the foxes: and after a pause be said, that destroy the little vines, so that we refer little not so much to the foxes as to the vines; so that the little vines indeed seem able to be destroyed: that is, that every small soul, and having only beginnings, not firm and robust, can be harmed by the opposing powers. Just as in the Gospel it is said: Whoso shall offend one of these little ones (Matt. 18:6). In which it is shown that a great and perfect soul cannot be offended, but a little and uninstructed soul, just as in the Psalm it is said: Great peace have they which love Thy name, and nothing shall offend them (Ps. 118:165). By a similar example, therefore, it can be seen that every little vine, namely a beginning soul, can be harmed by the foxes, that is, by malignant thoughts or depraved teachers, whereas a perfect and strong soul cannot. But if those foxes be caught by good teachers, and cast out from the soul, then she will make progress in virtues, and will flower in faith. Amen.
Editors' notes and page, col. 197
Footnotes
(80) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call not visible in the foot image (col 197 or 198)
Psal. CXXXVII, 9.
Psalm 137:9 (Vulgate numbering).
(printed under page 104)
(81) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call not visible in the foot image (col 197 or 198)
Matth. XVIII, 6.
Matthew 18:6.
(printed under page 104)
(82) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call not visible in the foot image (col 197 or 198)
Psal. CXIX, 165.
Psalm 119:165 (as printed; in Vulgate numbering this verse is Ps. CXVIII, 165).
(printed under page 104)
Page
- running head: 197 EXCERPTA PROCOPIA
- marginal letters: A tum aut in; B dari ab sponso; C capiendi vulpes. Sic; D Ἀδελφιδός μου ἐμοὶ,
- old-edition numerals: 94 after secretae
- other: upper part (A-C) is Latin only, no Greek printed (begins with fragment tum from col. 196 pecca-tum; continues at top of col. 198); full-width title SERIES PROCOPIANORUM EXCERPT[ORUM EX ORIGENE] IN CANTICUM CA[NTICORUM.] across cols. 197-198 not set; lower part (D) is Greek, ending mid-word Ἀπόστρε-
- other: a full-width band stands across cols 197/198 in mid-page: the 1 paragraph(s) above it in col 198 are set here, after the 2 above it in col 197 (reading order, moved on receipt); the band itself (its title lines) is not set by the volunteer page: set it here, at the move, with full_width
- other: the column continues with ΚΕΦ. Βʹ. Ἀδελφιδός μου ἐμοὶ (another unit); not set here
Editors' notes and page, col. 198
Page
- running head: PTA PROCOPIANA. 198
- marginal letters: A caeteris inimicis virtutibus; B mus ; ut videantur; C tunc proficiet in; D Vers. 16. Fraternus
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: upper part (A-C) is Latin only, no Greek printed (completing Rufinus's version from col. 197); full-width title SERIES [PROCOPIANORUM E]XCERPTORUM EX ORIGENE [IN CANTIC]UM CANTICORUM. across cols. 197-198 not set; lower part (D, CAP. II. Vers. 16-17, Fraternus meus mihi ... dicens : Re-) is the facing Latin version of the Greek in col. 197, not set
- other: the 1 paragraph(s) of this column above the full-width band are set under col 197 (reading order, moved on receipt)
- other (QA Q1): footnote calls 80 (after "ad petram"), 81 (after "de pusillis istis") and 82 (after "non est illis scandalum") stand in this column's upper paragraph; the notes themselves are carried in n197 with anchors marked not visible; set the anchors there
- other (QA Q1): in the moved paragraph (now in c197_a.md) the English renders "centesimo trigesimo septimo psalmo" as the one hundred and thirty-sixth Psalm; the Latin says the 137th; correct it there