Sermons on the Song of Songs

But if, by the madness of the Manichean, you set bounds to the beneficence of God, so that the food which He has created and given to men to be partaken of with thanksgiving you, as a rash and ungrateful critic, pronounce unclean, and abstain from it as from an evil thing, then, far from praising your abstinence, I hold in execration your blasphemy, I hold you to be yourself impure, in considering that anything is impure in itself. To the pure all things are pure, says an excellent judge of things ; and nothing is impure except to him who regards it as such ; but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving^ he adds, is nothing pure ; but even their mind and conscience is defiled (Titus i. 15). Woe to you who reject food which God has created, judging it impure and unworthy to pass into your bodies ; wherefore the Body of Christ, which is the Church, has rejected you yourselves as defiled and impure. 8. I am not unmindful that they boast that they, and they alone, are the Body of Christ ; but that is not astonishing, since they persuade themselves also that they have the power to consecrate1 daily at their tables the Body and Blood of Christ, to nourish them to become His members and His Body. For they boast that they are successors of the Apostles, and call themselves Apostolicals, though they are not able to show any sign of their apostolate. How long shall the lantern remain under a bushel ? Ye are the light of the world, was said to the Apostles, and therefore are they set upon a candlestick, that they may enlighten the whole world. Let these successors of the Apostles be ashamed to be the light, not of the world, but of a bushel, and to the world to be but darkness. Let us Digitized by say to them, Ye are the darkness of the world, and pass on to other things. They say that they are the Church, but they contradict Him who said, A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid (Matt. v. 14). Do you believe that the stone, which was cut out without hands, and then became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth (Dan. ii. 34, 35), is shut up in your caverns ? Nor ought we to stop even here. Their opinion is content with whispering in private, and avoids being known openly. Christ has, and will always have, His entire inheritance, and the ends of the earth are His possession.

Those who attempt to withdraw from Him this great inheritance rather cease to form a part of it themselves. 9. See now those detractors, those dogs. They make it a cause of ridicule against us that we baptize children, that we pray for the dead, that we entreat the suffrages of the Saints. They hasten to proscribe Christ in people at every age and of either sex ; in children and in adults, in the living and in the dead ; forbidding [the new Birth in Him through Baptism] to infants because of the weakness of their age, and to adults also because of the difficulty of continence.

They deprive the dead of the succour of the living, and the living of the suffrages of the Saints who have died. But God forbid that it should be so. The Lord will not give up His people, who are as the sand of the sea ; nor will He who redeemed ail be contented with a small number, and those, heretics. For His Redemption is not small, but great and abounding. What is the pettiness of their number to the greatness of the price He paid ? Those who attempt to empty it [of its efficacy], deprive themselves of it. Of what importance is it that an infant is not able to speak for himself, while the voice of the Blood of his Brother, and of a Brother so great and prevailing, cries to God from the ground for him ? The Church, which is his Mother, arises and lifts up her voice on his behalf also. And what of the child himself? Does it not seem to you that in his inarticulate infantine cries he opens his mouth, gasping, if I may so speak, for the Saviour's fountains of grace, and crying out to God in his plaints, Lord, I am oppressed ; undertake for me (Is. xxxviii. 14). It demands eagerly the help of grace, because it

suffers violence from nature.1 It cries because it is innocent and unhappy, because it is ignorant and small, because it is weak and doomed to suffer. All these things thus cry out together : the Blood of a Brother, the faithfulness of a Mother, the abandoned condition of the unhappy child, and the misery of it as abandoned ; and these cries rise up to the Father ; and He, because He is the Father, is not able to deny Himself. 10. I,et no one object to me that a child has not faith, for its Mother [that is, the Church] communicates to it her own, wraps it in this faith, so to speak, as in a cloak, in the Sacrament of Baptism, which she bestows upon it ; so that it becomes worthy to receive and to develop that faith in its purity, if not by its own active powers, yet with its passive assent. Is it not a short and narrow cloak which Digitized by Google cannot cover two ? The faith of the Church is great. Surely it is not less than the faith of the Canaanitish woman, which we know was sufficient both for her daughter and herself. Therefore she had the happiness to hear : O woman, great is thy faith ; be it unto

thee even as thou wilt (Matt. xv. 28). Nor is it less than the faith of those who let down the paralytic through the roof before Jesus, and obtained for him the saving both of soul and of body. For we read : Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee ; and a little after : Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house (Matt. ix. 2-6). He who believes these things will be easily persuaded that the Church may presume with good reason, not only of the salvation of those little children who are baptized in her faith, but also of the crown of martyrdom for those infants who were slain for Christ. And as this is the case, those who are regenerate will not suffer prejudice from that which is said in another Scripture, Without faith it is impossible to please God ( Heb. xi. 6) ; since they who have received the grace of Baptism for a testimony of faith are not without faith. Neither will they be hurt by that other declaration: Be that believeth not shall be damned (Mark xvi. 16).

For what is it to believe but to have faith ? Therefore, also, a woman shall be saved in child-bearing, ' if they continue in faith and charity and holiness, with sobriety n (i Tim. ii. 15); and children shall be succoured by the Regeneration of Baptism. Adult persons also, who are not able to contain, redeem themselves by the thirtyfold (Matt. xiii. 8) fruit of marriage. The dead also, who shall have need of the prayers and sacrifices of the living, and shall be worthy of them, shall receive them by the good offices of the Angels ; and from those who have already attained, comforts and consolations shall in no wise be wanting to the living, because of the affection which they have in God, who is everywhere, and the charitable care they feel for those who are absent ; for to this end Christ both died and rose and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living (Rom. xiv. 9). To this end, also, He was born as an Infant, and passed through all degrees of age, till He became a perfect Man, that He might be wanting to no age. death ; but that the soul, when released from the body, passes at once either to rest or to damnation. Let them,

then, ask of Him, who declared of a certain sin that it should not be forgiven, ' neither in this world, nor in the world to come 9 (Matt. xii. 32), why He said this, if there were no forgiveness at all in the world to come. But it is not wonderful that those who do not acknowledge the Church should make light of the Orders of the Church ; that they should not receive her Institutions; that they should despise her Sacraments, fide et diUctione, cum sanctificatiotu ei sobrietate* ; in the Colbertine, % in fide cum sobrietate in that of St Germain, and in the earliest editions, * in fide cum lenifa/e.' (Mabillon prefers the last.) Digitized by Google 406 and refuse to obey her commands. * The successors of the Apostles,' they say, 4 are all sinners, Archbishops, Bishops, and Presbyters, and therefore are not fit either to administer Sacraments or receive them.' Are, then, these two things, to be a Bishop and to be a sinner, so incompatible as that they can never be found in the same person ? That is not the case. Caiaphas was a Bishop ; and how great a sinner was he, who pronounced sentence of death upon the Lord ? If you deny that he was a Bishop, the testimony

of St. John, who declares that he was High Priest for that year, and prophesied (John xi. 51), shall convict you of error. Judas was an Apostle, and even chosen by the Lord ; yet he was covetous, and a man accursed.

Do you hesitate to allow that he had the apostolate whom the Lord Himself chose ? He Himself said : Have I not chosen you ttvelve, and one of you is a devil? (John vi. 70). You hear that the same man was a chosen Apostle, and showed himself a devil ; and do you deny that a man who is a sinner can possibly be a Bishop ? The Scribes and Pharisees sat in Moses* seat ; and those who did not obey them (as obedience is in like manner due to Bishops) were guilty, in fact, of disobedience to the Lord Himself, who gives these commands, and says : Whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do (Matt xxiiL 2, 3). It is clear, then, that although they were Scribes, although they were Pharisees, although they were even the greatest of sinners, yet for the sake of the chair [of authority] of Moses which they occupy that saying, nevertheless, applies to them : He thai hearcth you, heareth Me ; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me (Luke x. 16). urged upon this foolish and undiscerning people by those spirits of evil, who speak lies in hypocrisy ; but it is not needful to make reply to all. For who is acquainted with all these errors ? Besides, the labour of doing so would be unending ; nor is it in the least necessary.

For as for those people, neither are they convinced by reasons, because they do not understand them, nor corrected by the weight of authorities, for they do not receive them ; nor are they influenced by persuasions, because they are entirely perverted. It has been shown by experience that they prefer to die rather than be converted. Of these men the end is destruction ; at the last the fire awaits them. Long ago the type of them was shown forth in the foxes to whose tails Samson applied the fire (Judg. xv. 4, 5). Often the faithful have laid hands on some of them, and brought them into public notice. When they have been questioned upon those points of their belief on which they were suspected, they, according to their custom, refused entirely to give any answer ; and when examined by the judgment of water,1 they have been found liars. But when they have been discovered, and were not able to make denial, nor received the from Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, to Hildegar of Meaux. The method of performing this purgation is described in the Analecta, Bk. i., where it is said to have been instituted by Tope Eugcnius II.

Digitized by Google water at all ; then taking, as the saying is, the bit in their teeth, they were so unhappy as to profess openly their impiety, to maintain it as the true faith, and to declare that they were prepared to suffer death on its behalf. Nor were those who were present less prepared to inflict it. Therefore the people, rushing in upon them, made of them new martyrs to their unbelief. Their zeal we approve, but we do not advise the imitation of their action, because faith is to be produced by persuasion, not imposed by force. Although it would, without doubt, be better that they should be coerced by the sword of him ' who beareth not the sword in vain,' than that they should be allowed to draw away many other persons into their error.1 13. Some persons are astonished that they go to their death, not only patiently, but, as it seems, even with joy ; but such persons do not consider how great is the power of the devil, not only over the bodies, but also over the hearts of those whom, when once permitted, he has taken possession of. Is it not more astonishing still that a man should lay violent hands upon himself than that he should endure violence willingly from

another person ? But we know by experience that the devil has frequently exerted that power, namely, over many whom he has caused to drown or to hang themselves. Thus Judas hanged himself (Matt, xxvii. 5) doubtless by the instigation of the devil. Yet I find it still more strange, and a greater cause for wonder, that he should have been able to put it into the heart of Judas to betray his Lord (John xiii. 2) than that he should have caused him to hang himself. There is nothing resembling the constancy of the martyrs in the obstinacy of these men, because in the former it is piety, in the latter hardness of heart, tliat causes a contempt of death.2 Also the Psalmist has said, perhaps with the voice of a martyr : Their fieart is curdled like milk; but I have meditated on Thy law (Ps. cxix. 70, Douay), to show that although the suffering seemed the same, yet the intention was very different; for whilst the one was hardening his heart against the Lord, the other was meditating on His holy law. 14. This being the case, there is no need, as I have said, to say much against men who are foolish and obstinate in the extreme ; it suffices to take note of them that

they may be avoided. Wherefore, that they may be discovered, they must be obliged either to send away the women, by retaining whom in their houses they give scandal to the Church, or to leave the Church. It is much to be lamented that not only secular princes, but also, as it is said, certain of the c^rgy, and even of the order of Bishops, whose special duty it is to seek them out, support them for the sake of gain, and for the presents LXIV., n. 8, that heretics 'should be taken not by arms, but by arguments'; that is to say, if they remain quiet, and do not attempt to subvert others.

Juliani responsiotu 6k. i. ; and in Lib. de PatienticL, cap. 17. It is following this Father that the Second Council of Orange, in its Can. 17, says : • It is worldly cupidity that produces the constancy of the Gentiles ; but the love of God produces the constancy of Christians.' Digitized by G00gle f 408 which they receive from them. ' How/ say they, ' shall we condemn men who do not confess error, nor are convicted of it ?' That reason, or rather pretext, is frivolous. By this means alone, if there were no other, you will easily discover them ; if, as I have said, you separate the one from the other, obliging the women to live with those of their own sex who have taken the same vow as themselves, and the men to do likewise. In this way you will have consulted both the interest of their vow, and their reputation, in giving them both witnesses and guardians of their good behaviour. If they do not submit to this, they will most justly be expelled from the Church to which they give scandal. Let this suffice, then, for the discovery of the wiles of those foxes that they may be known and guarded against by the Church, which is the beloved and glorious Bride of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is above all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

OF THE WONDERFUL EXPRESSION OF THE LOVE OF THE BRIDE, WHICH IS CALLED FORTH BY THE AFFECTION OF HER BRIDE- ' My Beloved is mine, and I am His.1 — Cant. ii. 16. T T ITHERTO we have had the words of the Bridegroom. May He now be present with us, and aid us worthily to expound the words of His bride, to His glory and to our salvation.

For they are such as cannot be considered and discussed by us in a manner that is worthy of the subject unless He Himself shall be the guide of our words. For as they are sweet in the grace which they contain, so they are fruitful in senses and deep in mysteries. To what shall I liken them ? They are as food which surpasses all other by a threefold excellence ; delicious in taste, solid in nutriment, and efficacious as a remedy. It is thus with each word of the Bride. By the sweetness of its sound it charms the feelings ; by its richness in teaching it nourishes and fertilizes the mind ; and by the depth of the mysteries it contains it exercises and awes the spirit, and at the same time remedies in a wonderful manner the pride and inflation caused by knowledge. For if any one of those who perhaps seem to themselves learned, wishing to penetrate into these things with too curious a scrutiny, finds the powers of his intellect overpowered and baffled, and brought, as it were, into captivity, will he not be humbled and obliged to take these words for his own : Such knmvledge is tor* wonderful for me : it is high, I cannot attain unto it f (Ps. cxxxix. 6). And without going any farther, with what a marvel of Sweetness is the beginning of this sentence filled ! For see what a declaration the Bride makes as a commencement : My Beloved^ she says, is mine, and

Digitized by Google THE WONDERFUL EXPRESSION OF THE LOVE OF THE BRIDE 409 / am His. Simple words they are, but how sweetly they sound ! And this we shall treat of farther in the sequel. 2. She commences by love, and goes on to speak of Her Beloved, showing thus that she knows no other than He. It is clear of whom she speaks; not so clear to whom she is speaking. For it is not permitted to us to suppose that He is present, or that she is conversing with Him. This appears plainly from her calling to Him immediately afterwards, as if He were at a distance, to return to her : Turn, my Beloved. From this we are drawn to believe that, after having brought to a close what He had been saying to her, He had again, according to His custom, absented Himself from her, and that she continues, nevertheless, speaking of Him, who is never absent from her mind. Thus, in fact it is ; and He continues to be upon her lips who did not depart, and never does depart, from her heart. That which is upon her lips comes forth from her heart, for of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh (Luke vi. 45).

Therefore she speaks of her Beloved as one truly loved and truly deserving to be loved, inasmuch as she loves much. We know, then, of whom she speaks, but with whom we know not ; nor can I conjecture, unless it be with her maidens, who cannot be absent from their mother when the Bridegroom has departed. But we shall better suppose, as I think, that she is speaking to herself, not to any other person ; especially as her words seem abrupt and unconnected with what has been spoken before ; plainly insufficient to be intelligible to an auditor, which in a conversation is the object intended. My Beloved^ she says, is mine, and I am His. Nothing more ? Then the discourse hangs suspended ; or, rather, it is not suspended, but falls. Anyone who listens is held in suspense ; he is not instructed, but is waiting to be so. 3. What, then, is the signification of her words : My Beloved is mine, and I am His ? We do not comprehend what she says, because we do not feel what she feels. O holy soul, what is thy Beloved to thee, and what art thou to Him ? What is, I pray thee, that mysterious gift which is reciprocally made each to the other, by

Him and by thee, with so much kindness and familiarity? For thee is He, and for Him thou art. But is He to thee that which thou art to Him, or does He stand in some other relation to thee? If thou speakest for us, and for our understanding, speak forth clearly thy thought. How long dost thou hold our minds in suspense ? Or is thy secret to be, according to the saying of the Prophet, for thyself? (Is. xxiv. 16). It is thus: the affection has spoken, not the understanding, and therefore what is said is scarcely understood. For what end, then, is this spoken ? For no end at all, except it be that the Bride, having been vehemently affected, and filled with extreme joy and delight, by the long desired interview with her Beloved, when it has come to an end she is neither able to refrain altogether from speaking, nor yet, when she speaks, to express her feelings fully. Nor did she speak thus by way of expressing them, but in order not to be Digitized by Google altogether silent Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, but not in proportion to its abundance. The affections have their own language, in which they express themselves, even against their will. For instance, fear

has its timid words, grief its mournful, and love its joyful ones. Are the lamentations of those who are in trouble, the sobs and sighs of mourners, the sudden and ungovernable screams and cries of those who are frightened or stricken, or even the yawns of the satisfied and sleepy, are these either caused by habit, aroused by reason, ordered by reflection, or shaped by premeditation ? It is certain that all such expressions of feeling are not the products of a deliberate purpose, but are caused by sudden and unforeseen impulse. Thus burning and vehement love, especially that towards God, not being able to restrain itself, takes no heed of the order nor connection of the words it employs, nor even of their fewness, provided that it suffers no diminution of its vigour. Sometimes it does not seek for words, not even for articulate language at all, but is content with the wordless aspirations of the spirit alone. Thus it is that the Bride, burning inconceivably with holy love, seeks some relief and solace in the ardour which she endures, and in seeking it takes no heed of how she speaks, but, urged on by her love, bursts forth with the first words which come into her mouth. And what should she speak, except that with which her heart

is so filled ? 4. Recall to your mind the wording of this marriage song, from its beginning to this point, and see if, in the interviews and conversations of the Bridegroom with the Bride, He has ever addressed her with the same indulgent kindness as here, or ever held so many or so cheering discourses with her. What wonder, then, when her wishes have been satisfied to the full, that a burst of joy should come from her, rather than words ? Or if she makes use of words, that they should burst forth without premeditation or studied completeness ?

For the Bride judges it not robbery to apply to herself the words of the Psalmist : My heart hath uttered a good word (Ps. xlv. i), since it is with the same Spirit that she is filled. My Beloved is mine, and I am His. There is no prayer in the saying, and there is no conclusion drawn from it What then ? it is an outburst of feeling. In such an utterance what connection of sentiments, what solemnity of phrases do you seek ? What laws or rules do you impose upon your own ? It does not admit of your control, it does not wait for your careful and exact expression, it does not submit to your time, nor consult your convenience at all. It bursts forth of its own accord from within, without your will and even without your knowledge, forcibly rather than by choice. And it yields sometimes a good odour, sometimes a bad, according to the different qualities of the natures whence it arises. For a good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things ; and an evil man evil things (Matt xii. 35). The Bride of my Lord is a vase of good treasure, and sweet is the odour which comes from her.

Digitized by Google THE WONDERFUL EXPRESSION OF THE LOVE OF THE BRIDE 411 5. I give thanks to Thee, O Lord Jesus, that Thou hast deigned to admit me at least to perceive that odour so sweet. Yea, Lord, so let me be admitted, even as the dogs, though of such small account, are allowed to eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table (Matt. xv. 27). This utterance of the feelings of Thy beloved is to me, I confess it, very agreeable ; and of her fulness I receive, however little it be, with gratitude. The memorial of Thy abounding sweetness arises in me, and I am suffused with I know not what ineffable perfume of Thy love and condescension, so to speak, in those few words of hers : My Beloved is wine, and I am His. Let her, as it is fitting, eat and drink in Thy Presence, and rejoice exceedingly at the sight of Thee ; yea, let her be transported out of herself for Thy sake, that for our sakes she may have full selfpossession. Let her, then, be abundantly satisfied with the good things of Thy house, and let her drink of the river of Thy pleasures ; but let there be for me, Thy poor servant, I entreat, at least a

slight .odour of those good things, breathed forth from the bosom of her fulness. The thought of Moses was uttered to my benefit, and from his words I gather the sweetness and greatness of the idea of creative power: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen. i. i). Isaiah also exhales the most sweet odour of mercy and redemption when he thus speaks : He hath poured out His Soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors ; and He bare the sin of many ; and made intercession for the transgressors (Is. liii. 12), that they should not perish. And what odour equals in sweetness that of mercy? Good also is the utterance from the mouth of Jeremiah; and from that of David, when he said: My heart is inditing a good matter (Ps. xlv. 1). They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and by their utterance replenished all things with His goodness. Do you ask for the utterance of Jeremiah ? I have not forgotten it, I was preparing to give it to you. // is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord (Lam. iii. 26). That is his, I do not mistake; inhale its sweetness, the fragrance it brings of Him

who recompenses righteousness, which excels the most exquisite perfume. He wills me, if I suffer for righteousness* sake, to await a recompense hereafter, and that I should not receive one at present, because the salutary wages of righteousness is from the Lord, not from the world. If it tarry, says the Prophet, wait for it (Hab. ii. 3). Therefore I will do what he exhorts me ; I will wait for the Lord my Saviour. 6. But I am a sinner, and a long road still is before me to traverse, because salvation is far from sinners. Yet I will not murmur, and in the meantime I shall be consoled by the fragrance1 of it. The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord, having tasted and known that of which I perceive the fragrance afar off. That which the righteous has in full view, he who is a sinner expects and waits for, and it is editions.

Digitized by G00gle S 4I2 that expectation which I call the fragrance of it For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God (Rom. viii. 19). To behold, is to taste and see how sweet the Lord is. Or is it rather the righteous who expects this, and the blessed who possesses it ? For the hope of the righteous shall be gladness (Prov. x. 28). But the sinner has nothing to hope for. And, therefore, the sinner, not only because he is attached to the good things of the present time, but also because he is content with them, hopes for nothing from the future, and is deaf to that precept of the Lord : Expect Me in the day of My Resurrection that is to come (Zeph. iii. 8, Douay). Simeon was righteous because he waited for and already presaged Christ in the spirit, when as yet he did not as yet adore Him in the flesh. And in his expectation he was blessed, because through the odour of expectation he attained to taste, that is, to the beholding Him. For he says : Mine eyes have beheld Thy salvation ( Luke ii. 25). Righteous also was Abraham, who desired and expected to see the day of the Lord ; nor

was he confounded in this hope, for he saw it, and was glad (John viii. 56). The Apostles, too, were righteous, for to them it was said : Ye yourselves [are] like unto men that wait for their Lord (Luke xii. 36). 7. Was not David righteous also when he said : I waited patiently for the Lord ? (Ps. xl. 1). He is the fourth of those of whom I have said that they had longed for the Lord with all their heart (Ps. cxix. 131), whom I had almost passed over; but it is not advisable so to do. He opened his mouth and panted ; then, when filled [with the consolations of the Lord], he not only poured out his heart in thankfulness, but sang for joy. O good Lord Jesus, how great is the fragrance and the sweetness which he has caused me to feel and experience in those utterances and songs, filled with that oil of gladness with which God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee above Thy fellows, from that myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces wherewith Thy garments are fragrant, because the daughters of kings have perfumed them in Thy honour and for Thy delight ! (Ps. xlv. 8-10). O that Thou wouldest honour me so far as that I

might meet that great prophet, Thy friend, in that day of solemn gladness, when he shall come forth from Thy chamber, singing his sacred marriagehymn with the psaltery and joyful harp, overwhelmed with delights, steeped in perfumes of a sweetness beyond words, and diffusing them on every side! In that day, I have said, but rather in that hour; and perhaps it is not even an hour, but in that half-hour, according to that saying of the Scripture : There was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour (Rev. viii. 1) ; therefore in that hour my mouth will be filled with gladness and my tongue with joy, when I shall feel the fragrance, I do not say of each Psalm, but of each verse of every Psalm, a fragrance far exceeding that of the most precious perfumes.

What can be more fragrant than the utterances of St. John, who brings to me the solemn sweetness of the Eternal Generation and Divinity of the Word ? What can I say of those of St. Paul, which Digitized by Google THE WONDERFUL EXPRESSION OF THE LOVE OF THE BRIDE 413 have filled the world with the odour of their great sweetness ? In truth, the sweet savour of the knowledge of Christ was made manifest by them in every place (2 Cor. ii. 14, 15). And although the unspeakable words which he had heard he does not offer for me to listen to, he offers them for me to desire ; and it is permitted to discern their fragrance, though to utter them is not lawful (2 Cor. xii. 4).

I know not how it is, that those which are the most deeply hidden have the greatest charm, and that we sigh most eagerly for those which are denied to us. But now notice a similar fact with regard to the Bride, namely, how in the passage before us she, like St. Paul, does not wholly reveal her secret, and yet does not pass it over wholly unmentioned, as if she wishes to gratify us with somewhat of the fragrance of that treasure which she judges it not advisable as yet to lay open to our touch and taste, whether on account of our unworthiness or on account of our incapacity. 8. My Beloved is mine, and I am His. There can be no doubt that in this passage is apparent the flame of an ardent and reciprocal love of two persons, one for the other ; while in this love appears also the supreme felicity of the one and the marvellous condescension of the other. For it is not an attachment and union between two persons who are of equal condition. Now, who could venture to lay claim to the full knowledge of what [the Church] glories in having received in this prerogative of love, and in having repaid it in turn by an affection so great, if not

she, who by her eminent purity and holiness of body and of mind, has been found worthy to have experience in her own self of a fortune so exalted ? It is in the sphere of the affections that this takes place, nor is it attained to by the reason, but by conformity of spirit. But how few there are who aie enabled to say : We all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into t/ie same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. iii. 18). 9. But that what we read here may be brought in some degree under the grasp of the intellect I leave to the Bride her unique secret, to which it is not permitted to us to draw near, especially while we are so imperfect ; and I propose to you something at once more easily understood, and of a more ordinary character, so that those who are as children in understanding may be able to grasp the sense and the relation of the words used by the Bride. To me, then, it seems that it will suffice for our dense and, as it were, popular apprehension if in saying My Beloved is mine we understand 'gives His

thought and attention,' so that the sense will be : ' My Beloved gives His thought and attention to me, and I to Him.' Nor am I the first or the only one to suggest this sense, for the Psalmist has said before me : / waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me and heard my cry (Ps. xl. 1). You see here that the Lord gave attention to the Psalmist ; you see also the patient waiting of the Psalmist for the Lord. For he who waits gives attention to him for whom he waits. The sense, then, of the Psalmist's words is the same Digitized by 414 as of those of the Bride, nor are the words far different, only in the former they are used in another order ; for he sets first that which she sets last, and conversely. 10. But in this the Bride has spoken more accurately, inasmuch as she does not put forward any merit of her own, but begins with the benefit she has received, and thus acknowledges that she has been prevented by the grace of her Beloved. She has well done in expressing herself thus. For who hath first given to Him and it shall be recompensed unto him again ? (Rom. xi. 35). Hear also what

St. John thought on this subject Herein is love, he says in his Epistle, not that we loved God, but that He loved us (1 John iv. 10).

Though the Psalmist has not spoken of preventing grace, he has not denied, or been silent upon, following grace. But listen to his declaration upon that point in plainer terms in another place : Thy mercy (he was speaking to the Lord) will follow me all the days of my life (Ps. xxiii. 6, Douay). Hear also his declaration as to preventing grace ; it is no less plain and unmistakable : My God, His mercy shall prevent me (Ps. lix. 10, Douay) ; and again to the Lord : Let Thy tender mercies speedily prevent us, for we are brought very low (Ps. lxxix. 8). It is with much beauty that the Bride a little farther on (if I do not mistake) uses again the same words, but not placing them in the same order; for she follows the order of the Psalmist, and speaks thus : / am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine (Cant vi. 3). Why does she express herself thus ? It is to show that she is more full of graces when she attributes all to grace, and ascribes to the Lord the beginning and the end of them all. Otherwise, how could she be full of grace if there were in her anything which was not of grace ?

There is no room for grace to enter where merit has already taken its place.1 That full acknowledgment, then, of grace is itself a mark of the fulness of grace in her who makes it. For if there were in her anything which came from the soul as from itself, to whatever extent that existed, it must of necessity take the place of grace. Whatsoever you impute to merit you take away from grace. I will not have merit, because it excludes grace. I shrink from all that is of me that I may be my own : unless, perhaps, that is especially mine which makes me to be my own. Grace restores me to myself freely justified, and thus delivered from the slavery of sin. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Cor. iii. 17). 11. O Synagogue, Bride insensate, which, despising the righteousness of God — that is, the grace of thy Bridegroom— and desiring to set up a righteousness of thy own, hast not submitted thyself to the righteousness of God ! For this reason that unhappy one was repudiated, and is now no longer the Bride ; which title belongs to the Church, to whom it is said : / will betroth thee unto Ate in takes place above it and excludes it. Compare Sermon LXVIIL, jr. 6, and in S. Augustine, Ep. 105 ; ' Of Grace and Free Will,' cc. 6-8 ; 4 Confessions,' Bk. ix., c. 13 ; Enchiridion, c. 107, etc.

Digitized by Google THE WONDERFUL EXPRESSION OF THE LOVE OF THE BRIDE 415 righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindncss, and in mercies ; I will even betroth thee unto Me in faithfulness (Hos. ii. 19, 20). Nor hast thou chosen Me, but I have chosen thee ; nor have I found merits in thee for the reason of My choice, but have foreseen thy merits. It is, then, in faith that I have betrothed thee, not in the works of the Law ; in faith, and in the righteousness which is by faith, not by the law. It remains that thou shouldest form a right judgment between Me and thee, the judgment in which I have betrothed thee ; and recognise that I have done this, not because of thy merits, but purely of My goodness. This, then, is the judgment, that thou shouldest not extol thy own merits, nor prefer the works of the Law, nor boast that thou hast borne the burden and heat of the day ; knowing that thou hast been betrothed in faith and the righteousness which is of faith : in mercies and in lovingkindness. 12. She, then, who is truly the Bride recognises these things, and confesses that she has received each kind of grace ; that which is first, and is preventing grace ; and that also which comes afterwards, to follow and to render perfect. Therefore she says now, My Beloved is mine, and I am His, attributing the beginning of the work of grace to her Beloved. But afterwards she says also : / am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine ; and thus attributes to Him the ending and consummation of it also.

Let us now see, then, what is the meaning of those words she speaks, My Beloved is mine. If we are to understand with them • gives attention to,1 as I have already suggested, and as the Psalmist says, / waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me, I find that the words contain somewhat of no small interest and importance. But it is a subject worthy of our closest attention, and not to be entered upon to wearied ears and minds. If you please, it shall be deferred for a little while, and the sermon of to-morrow shall be commenced with it. Only let me ask you to pray, in the meantime, that I may be preserved from the encroachments of pressing cares, by the grace and mercy of Him who is the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is above all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

HOW CHRIST THE BRIDEGROOM INCLINES UNTO AND GIVES ATTENTION TO HIS BRIDE, WHICH IS THE CHURCH ; AND HOW SHE LIKEWISE INCLINES UNTO HIM. OF THE CARE WHICH GOD HAS FOR HIS CHURCH. HEAR now what I reserved from yesterday to say to you ; hear the great joy which I have felt. And this joy is yours ; hear it, therefore, and rejoice. I have felt it in one word of the Bride, and, after having been, as it were, perfumed with it, I Digitized by 416 have laid it by with care to share it with you to-day ; and that so much the more gladly as the time seems appropriate for so doing. The Bride, then, has spoken, and has said that the Bridegroom inclines unto her. Who, then, is the Bride, and who is the Bridegroom ?

The Bridegroom is our God; and, if I venture to say so, it is we who are the Bride, with the rest of that multitude of captives whom He knows. Let us rejoice, for this is our glory1 ; we are among those to whom God gives attention. Yet how great is the disparity between Him and us ! What are the children of men, the earth-born, before Him ? According to the Prophet, All nations before Him are as nothing ; and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and vanity (Is. xl. t 7). What object, then, can there be in a comparison between persons so unequal ? Either the one glorifies herself without measure, or the other loves without measure. Is it not a wonderful thing that she should thus claim as her own the attention and interest of her Bridegroom, and say, My Beloved is mine ? Nor is she content even with this ; she goes on to glorify herself still farther ; she replies to Him as equal to equal, and gives assurance to Him in her turn. For she goes on to say, And I am His. An unexampled speech indeed : / am His. Nor is the other assertion less unexampled : My Belated is mine. But the association of the two is still more wonderful than either of them separately. 2. What does not a pure heart, a good conscience, and a faith unfeigned, venture ? ' To me/ she says, ' He gives attention.' Is it possible that a Majesty so great, upon which rests the government and administration of the universe, deigns to give attention to her, and that the Eternal God occupies Himself with the affairs, or, rather, the repose, of the affection and the aspirations of the Bride alone ? It is evidently so. For she is the Church of the elect, of whom the Apostle says : 1 endure all things for the elect 's sakes (2 Tim. ii. 10 ; see also 1 Cor. iii. 21). And who can doubt that 'the grace and mercy of God is with His Saints, and that He hath respect unto His chosen ' (W^isd. iv. 15) ? We do not, then, deny the providence of God over His other creatures ; but the Bride claims for herself His especial care and regard. Doth God take care for oxen t (1 Cor. ix. 9).

And there is no doubt that the same question may be asked with respect to horses, and to camels, to elephants, and to all the beasts of the earth ; and similarly to the fishes of the sea, and the winged denizens of the air : in short, to everything that is upon the earth, with the sole exception of those beings about whom that declaration was made : Casting all your care upon Him, for He caret h for y&u (1 Pet. v. 10). Does it not seem to you that this is as if the Apostle had said : ' Give attention unto Him, for He attends to you, and has an interest in you ' ? And notice that the Apostle Peter (for it is he who speaks) observes in his words the same order as does the Bride. For he does not say, Casting all your care upon Him, * in order that which do not harmonize with the rest of the passage.

Digitized by Google HOW CHRIST THE BRIDEGROOM INCLINES UNTO HIS BRIDE 417 He may care for you/ but * because He careth for you and thereby he plainly shows that the Church of the Saints is not only beloved by God, but was beloved by Him before it had any love for Him at all. 3. It is quite evident that what the Apostle has said with regard to oxen has no reference whatever to the Church, since He who loved her, and gave Himself for her, cannot be said to be without care for her. Is not she that lost sheep in the parable, of which the care took precedence of even that for His flock in heaven ? For the Pastor left those other sheep in the wilderness, and came down to earth to care for her ; he sought for her diligently, nor when she was found did he even lead her back, but bore her back upon His shoulders ; then there was instituted in Heaven a new festival of rejoicings with her and for her, and the peoples of the Angels were invited to the solemnity (Luke xv. 4-7, 10). What then? shall it be said that He has no care for her whom He deigned to carry back upon His own shoulders ? She is not, then, deceived when she says : The Lord thinketh upon me (Ps. xl. 17) ; nor does she mistake when she says also : The Lord will repay for me (Ps. cxxxviii. 8, Douay), and makes any other assertion which marks the care which the Lord has for her.

It is for that reason that she calls the Lord of Sabaoth her Beloved, and boasts that He who judges all things with tranquillity (VVisd. xii. 18, Vulg.) gives attention to her. Why should she not boast of this, since she has heard Him saying unto her : Can a woman forget for sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget \ yet will I not forget thee (Is. xlix. 15).

Again, the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous (Ps. xxxiv. 15) ; and what is the Bride, but the assembly of the righteous ? What is she, but the generation of them that seek the Lord, who desire to behold the Face of the Bridegroom ? For He does not give attention unto her without her rendering, in her turn, attention and devotion unto Him. Wherefore she expresses each of these truths, when she says : My Beloved is mine, and I am His. He is mine, because He is good and merciful ; / am His, because I am not ungrateful. He bestows upon me grace from grace, and I render unto Him thanks {gratiam) for His grace ; He has care for my deliverance, and I for His honour ; He for my salvation, and I for obedience to His will.

He has care for me and for no other, because I am His one dove, His undefiled, and I have care for Him and for no other ; nor do I give ear to the voice of strangers, nor listen to those who say : Lo, here is Christ ; or, lo, He is there (Mark xiii. 21). It is the Church that speaks thus. 4. But what shall we say of each of us individually ? Are we to think that there is anyone among us to whom what is said by the Bride is capable of being applied ? Anyone, do I say, among us ?

I should think that there is no one at all among the faithful members of the Church with respect to whom it may not justly be inquired whether the Bride's mystical saying is not realized in some degree in .him. But between a single soul and the mass of souls there is a 27 Digitized by Google 4i8 difference of method. It was not on account of one soul alone that God [the Son] has done and suffered so many things when He performed and accomplished upon the earth the work of our salvation, but on account of a great number of souls which He would unite into one Church, and which would form one only Bride. Each to the other is the dearest of all ; she clings to no other Spouse, nor does He give Himself to any other Bride. What may she not expect from a lover who took upon Him an enterprise so great ? What may she not hope for from Him who descended from heaven to seek her? Nor has He only sought her, but has found and made her His own with a great price, that is to say, the Blood of the purchaser.

Besides, she relies so much the more upon the favour shown to her, inasmuch as, looking onward to the future, she is not ignorant that the Lord hath need of her. To what end do you inquire ? It is, says the Psalmist, ' to see the good of His chosen, to rejoice in the gladness of His nation, to glory with His inheritance' (Ps. cvi 5).

You will not think that this is a matter of small importance ; nay, I say to you that all His works will remain imperfect, if this fail of being attained. Does not the end of all things depend on the state and consummation of the Church ? If you take away this, it is in vain that the lower creation awaits the manifestation of the sons of God. If you take away this neither the Patriarchs nor the Prophets will reach their state of perfection, since St. Paul asserts that God has so provided for us that they without us should not be made perfect (Heb. xi. 40). If you take away this, the glory of even the holy Angels will be imperfect by the incompleteness of their number, nor will the City of God rejoice in the integrity of all its parts. 5. Whence, then, shall the design of God be fulfilled, and that great mystery of His mercy be accomplished? Whence shall be given to me those babes and sucklings, out of whose mouth God's praise is perfected? (Ps. viii. 2). Not Heaven, but the Church, has those babes in Christ, to whom the Apostle says, I have fed you with milky and not with meat (1 Cor. iii. 2). And these are invited by the Psalmist to fill up, as it were, the praises of the Lord, saying.

Praise the Lordy ye children (Ps. cxiii. 1, Douay). Do you think that our God will receive all the praise which is due to His glory, until the coming of those who shall sing on their own behalf in the presence of the Angels, We have rejoiced for the days in which Them hast humbled us, for the years in which we have seen evils (Ps. xc 1 5, Douay) ? This kind of rejoicing the heavens have not known, except through the children of the Church. No one who has never known what it is not to rejoice ever rejoices after this fashion. Great is joy when it succeeds to sorrow, welcome is quiet after labour, the safe harbour after the shipwreck. Security is pleasing to everyone, but most of all to him who has been in fear of danger. Light is agreeable to all, but of especial sweetness to him who is escaping from the power of darkness. To have passed from death unto life doubles the charm of life. This it is that shall be the peculiar zest to me in.

Digitized by Google HOW CHRIST THE BRIDEGROOM INCLINES UNTO HIS BRIDE 419 the banquet of heaven, and it will be distinct from that of the heavenly spirits themselves. I venture to assert that the blessed life of heaven itself is without this special blessedness which is mine, unless those whose is that blessed life deign to say that they enjoy it by their charity in me and through me. It seems, in truth, that something is added to the perfection of their joy from me, nor is this addition a small one ; for the Angels rejoice at the repentance of a sinner. And if my tears of penitence are to the Angels a source of joy, what must my perfect happiness be to them ? Every work of theirs has for its object the praise of God ; but there is something wanting to His praise, if there is no one to say, We went through fire and through water, but Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place (Ps. lxvi. 12). 6. The whole state of the Church, then, is happy and blessed, and the thanksgiving and glory which she renders to God is altogether below that which she owes to Him, not only for those benefits which she has already received from His goodness, but for those

also which she has still to receive from it. For why should she be anxious with respect to her merits, to whom a stronger and more secure reason for glorying is supplied, in the purpose of God respecting her? God cannot deny Himself, nor does He undo that which He has done ; as it is written, Who declares . . . from ancient times the things that are not yet done (Is. xlvi. 10). He will do them, without doubt ; He will do them, nor will He be wanting to His purpose. Thus you ought not now to inquire on what merits we rest the hope of good things, especially when you bear in mind the words of the Prophet : Thus saith t/ie Lord God, I do not this for your sakes . . . but for Mine Holy Names sake (Ezek. xxxvi. 22). For merit, it suffices to know that our merits are not sufficient ; but as it is enough for merit not to presume on merits of one's own, so it is enough for condemnation to be whblly without merits. Even infants, when regenerated in Baptism, are not wholly wanting in merits, but have the merits of Christ, of which, nevertheless, they render, themselves unworthy, if, not through inability, but through neglect, they join

to them no merits of their own ; and this is, indeed, the peril of those who have reached the age of discretion. Make it, then, your care to have merits, but, having them, know that they have been given to you ; hope for the fruit of them from the mercy of God, and you will escape every danger, whether of poverty, of ingratitude, or of presumption.

A total want of merits is an injurious poverty, but a mistaken belief in one's wealth of merits is spiritual presumption. And therefore a wise man saith : Give me neither poverty nor riches (Prov. xxx. 8). Happy is the Church to whom neither merits are wanting without presuming, nor presumption without merits. She has ground for presumption, but not upon her merits ; and she has merits, but for deserving, not for presuming ; and, indeed, not to presume upon anything in herself, is not that very thing to deserve to presume upon her faith? Therefore she presumes the more securely [upon the Digitized by 420 merits of Christ] that she does not presume [upon her own] ; and she has no cause to fear being confounded in that on which she glories, since she has so much ground for glorying ; for the mercies of the Lord are many, and His truth endureth for ever. 7. Why should not [the Church] securely glory, since mercy and truth are met together (Ps. lxxxv. 1 1 ) for a testimony of her glory ?

Whether, therefore, she says, My Belomd is mine ; or, / waited patiently /or the Lord, and Be inclined unto me; or, The Lord thinketh upon me (Ps. xl. 1, 17); or uses other words of a similar kind which appear to express a degree of affection and singular favour with which she is regarded by God, she is enabled to claim all this without fear, since it is the Lord Himself who has given to her the ground for her confident assurance, especially as she sees no other Bride, no other Church, in whom those [prophecies], which must necessarily be fulfilled, can find their fulfilment It is, then, clear that the Church need have no fear to appropriate to herself all these promises. But it is inquired whether it be permissible, also, for an individual soul, however holy and spiritual it be, to venture to attribute them in the same way to itself ; for one single soul, however eminent in sanctity it may be, cannot be thought competent to attribute to itself all the prerogatives of that great multitude, faithful and Catholic, on whose account they were instituted. And therefore it would be the more difficult, as I consider, to find a soul (if, indeed, one such could be found) to whom this could be permitted. We will, however, essay this task, but in another discourse ; because we do not wish to enter upon the paths of a discussion so intricate, and of which the issue is at present doubtful to us, before we have, in order to obtain the knowledge of that hidden word, lifted up our heart in prayer to Him who 'openeth and no man shutteth' (Rev. iii. 7), to Him who is the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesls •Christ our Lord, who is above all, God blessed for ever. A men.

ALL THAT LIFTS ITSELF UP AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE AND SERVICE OF GOD IS TO BE ABASED. IN WHAT WAY THE FATHER AND THEIR ABODE IN IT ; AND OF THE CLOSE RELATION THAT I> ' My Beloved is Mine, and I am His.' — Cant. ii. 16. IN the preceding sermon these words were said to be an utter ance of the Church universal, occasioned by the promises made to her by God, as well for the life which now is as for thai which is to come. The question proposed is whether a single soul can appropriate to itself, in a certain manner, those promises which Digitized by Google are made to the whole community of souls. If it may not do so, then it behoves us to refer these words to the Church in such a way that they may not apply to the individual ; and not these only, but all utterances of a similar kind in which great truths are expressed ; as, for example, / waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me (Ps. xl. i), and any others touched upon in the former sermon.

If, on the contrary, anyone thinks that the individual soul is permitted to claim these promises, I do not contest that opinion ; but it is needful to ascertain to whom that claim is permitted, for it is manifestly not open to all indiscriminately to do so. The Church of God has, without doubt, her spiritual men who serve God within her pale, not only faithfully, but also with confidence, who speak with God as with a friend, and whose conscience renders to them an approving testimony. But who are these ? That is known only to God. Do you, nevertheless, hear what manner of men you ought to be if you wish to be of that number. Though I say this, I do so not as having had experience of this, but as one who desires to have it.

Give me a soul which loves God, and Him only, and which deserves to be loved for His sake, to which to live is Christ, and not only so, but with which this has long been the case ; which, whether in action or in repose, has God always before its eyes, and desires, with anxious care, to walk with Him at all times, to be of one mind with Him, and which is enabled so to be ; give me, I say, a soul like this, and I do not deny that it is worthy of the care of the Bridegroom, of the regard of His Majesty, of the favour of the Sovereign, of the attention of the Ruler of all the earth, and if it desires to glorify itself it can do so without folly, provided it is mindful that 4 whosoever glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.' In this manner one individual soul may venture to appropriate that which belongs only to many, but for a distinct reason. 2. For the causes which we have enumerated above give confidence to a holy and believing multitude, but there are two principal ones which give it to a holy soul separately. In the first place, the I )ivinity of the Bridegroom, being by nature wholly simple, is able to regard many persons as one, and one person as if many, without being divided by their diversity in the one case, or restricted by the singularity in the other ; it is neither agitated by cares, nor troubled by disquietudes. Thus, though it be wholly occupied by one object, it is not absorbed by that object ; nor, if occupied by many, is it spread over them. Secondly, which it is as sweet as it is remarkable to have experience of, so great is the condescension of the Word, so great is the benevolence of the Father and of the Word towards the soul well affected and well regulated (which is indeed the gift of the Father and the work of the Son) that they deign to honour it with their presence, and in such a measure that they not only come to it, but make their abode with it (John xiv. 23). For it is not enough that they come to it, unless they also bestow upon it their fulness.

What is it for the Word to come to the soul? It is to instruct it in Digitized by 422 wisdom. And what for the Father to come ? It is to touch it with the love of wisdom, so that it may be able to say : I was a lover of her beauty (Wisd. viii. 2). To love is of the Father, and therefore the coming of the Father is declared by the infusion of love. What would be the effect of knowledge without love ? It would produce pride. And what of love without knowledge? It would be the cause of error. In fact, they were in error of whom St. Paul said : / bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge (Rom. x. 2). It is not becoming for the Bride of the Word to be ignorant, and, on the other hand, the Father does not suffer her to be proud. For the Father loves the Son, and is always swift to cast down and destroy that which exalts itself against the knowledge of the Word, whether by moderating or by sharpening zeal, whereof the one is the effect of mercy, the other of justice. May He cast down, or, rather, destroy and reduce to nothingness, every rising

of pride in me ; and may He do this not by the fire of His anger, but by the gentie flowing of His love ! May I be enabled to learn not to indulge in pride, yet to learn this not by the lessons of vengeance, but by the unction of grace ! O Lord, rebuke me not in Thine anger, as [Thou didst rebuke] the Angel who exalted himself in Heaven, neither chasten me in Thy hot displeasure (Ps. vi. 1) as Thou didst man who offended in Paradise. Both of these meditated iniquity in seeking to exalt themselves, the one by power, the other by knowledge. For the woman foolishly believed the voice of the tempter when he promised : Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Gen. iii. 5). He had at an earlier period seduced himself, when he had persuaded himself that he should become like unto the Most High. For he who thinks himself to be something when he is nothing deceives himself (Gal. vi. 3). 3. But both one and the other of these eminences was cast down ; but more gently in the case of man, according to the just judgment of Him who doeth all things in weight and in measure. For it was in fierce anger that the

Angels were punished, or, rather, were condemned ; but it was only a milder degree of displeasure that was felt by man. For in the midst of His wrath God remembered mercy.

Wherefore the children of men are called to this day 'children of wrath/ but not 'of fierce anger.' If I were not born in the former state, I should not need a New Birth through Baptism ; but if I were born in the latter state, either a New Birth would be unattainable to me or would profit me nothing if attained. Would you behold a child of fierce anger? If you have seen 'Satan as lightning fall from heaven,' that is to say, precipitated thence by the vehemence of the fierce anger of God, then you have learned what that anger is.

Then He is not mindful of His mercy, for in His wrath He will indeed remember mercy ; but it is not so when His fierce wrath burns as fire. Woe to the children of unbelief ! to those, I mean, who, being descendants of Adam, have been born children of wrath, and have changed that wrath into fierce anger against themselves by Digitized by Google their diabolic obstinacy ; the rod into a club, yea, rather into the hammer of destruction. For they treasure up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath (Rom. ii. 5). Wrath treasured up, what is it but fierce anger ? They have committed the sin of the devil, and are stricken with the same judgment as he. Woe also, though in a less terrible degree, to those who, having been born children of wrath, have not awaited the obtaining of the New Birth by grace. For having died in the same state in which they were born, children of wrath they shall remain. I say 'of wrath/ not 'of fierce anger,' because it is most piously believed, and the hopes and sympathies of humanity lead us to expect, that their penalties are of a far milder kind, since the infection of nature in them comes wholly from others.1 4. Therefore the devil has been judged in the fierce anger of God, because his iniquity was found hateful ; while that of man has been judged but in anger, and in anger is corrected. Thus every kind of exaltation is repressed, as is also that which makes proud and leads to a headlong fall ; for the Father is animated by zeal on behalf of the Son. For in both the one case and the other there is an injury to the Son, or rather there is [either] a usurpation of power against the Might of God, which is Himself, or a presumption of knowledge against the Wisdom of God, which also is no other than God Himself.

O Lord, who is like unto Thee ; who, except the Brightness of Thy Essential Being, the express Image of Thy Person ? He alone is in Thy Likeness ; He alone being Son of the Most High, and Himself Most High, thought it not robbery to be equal unto Thee (Phil. ii. 6). How can He be otherwise than equal to Thee, since Thou and He are one ? His seat is on Thy Right Hand, not under Thy Feet. How can anyone be found so daring and so rash as to attempt to usurp the place of Thy Only Begotten Son ? Let him be cast down.

He sets a seat for himself on high ; let the noxious chair of evil be overturned. Who is it that teacheth man knowledge? Is it not Thou, O Key of David, who openest and shuttest to whom Thou wilt ? How, then, could the attempt be made without the Key to enter, or rather to gain access by violence to the treasures of wisdom and knowledge ? For he who entereth not by the door, the same is a thief and a robber (John x. i). Peter, then, will enter, who has received the keys ; nor will he enter alone, for he shall admit me if he will ; and if he will, shall shut out some other person, according to the knowledge and the power which has been conferred upon him. 5. And what are these keys ? They signify the power of opening and shutting, and of distinguishing between those who should be admitted and those who should be excluded. These treasures are not in the serpent, but in Christ. And therefore the serpent was not able without baptism shall be in a state of condemnation which is the mildest of all. ' — De Peccaiorum Mentis > c. 16; also in Contra Julianum, Bk. v., c. 12 ; also Fulgentius de Veritate Prtedestinationis, Bk. i.,

c 14; and De Incaniatione, c 3a Digitized by 424 to bestow the knowledge which he did not possess, but He who did possess it bestowed it. Nor could he have a power which he had not received, but he had it who had received it. Jesus Christ bestowed it (Matt. xvi. 19) ; Peter received it He was not rendered proud by his knowledge, nor is he therefore to be cast down from the power he has received. Wherefore ? Because he in neither of these ways exalted himself against the knowledge of God, who laid claim to none of these powers beyond the knowledge of God, as did he who flattered himself in his own sight until his iniquity was found to be hateful (Ps. xxxvi. 2). How, indeed, should he have desired anything beyond the knowledge of God, who described himself as an Apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father? (1 Peter i. 1, 2). And these things were said in respect of the zeal of God directed against the evil-doers, whether angel or man (for in both he finds perverseness), insomuch that He has destroyed in His wrath and fierce anger everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. 6. It is now needful to return to the zeal of

mercy, that is, the zeal which is not inflamed against us, but is sent forth towards us ; for the flame of zeal is, as we have already said, that of judgment, and has given us sufficient cause for fear in the examples which have been adduced of those so terribly punished. It is for that reason that I shall retire to a place of refuge from the face of the fierce anger of the Lord, namely, to that zeal of kindness which burns with sweet and efficacious expiation. Does not charity atone for sins ? It does, and with power. I have read that it covers the multitude of sim (1 Peter iv. 8). But I ask : Is it not suitable also and sufficient to cast down and humble every exaltation of the eyes and of the heart ?

Assuredly, for it vaunteth not itself, and is not puffed up. If, then, the Lord Jesus deigns to come to me, or rather in me, not in the zeal of His fierce anger, nor even in wrath, but in love and in a spirit of gentle kindness, striving with me with a godly jealousy : since what is there that is so emphatically of God as charity ? For that is indeed God. If, I say, He comes thus, then I know by that sign that He is not alone, but that with Him has come His Father also. For what is so Fatherly as this ? And it is for this very reason that He is called, not only the Father of the Word, but also the Father of mercies (2 Cor. i. 3), because to Him it belongeth always to have pity and to spare. If I have ever felt that He has opened my understanding that I might understand the Scriptures (Luke xxiv. 45), either that 1 might be able to pour forth in preaching, as it were, from my inmost heart the wisdom which is from above, or that a deeper insight into Divine mysteries might be given me through an influx of light from heaven, or that the heavens themselves seemed to be spread over my soul and to let fall upon it the fruitful showers of meditation, then at such times it is not doubtful to me that the Bridegroom is present with me. For these rich gifts come to us from the Word, and of His fulness do we all receive these precious things. If, again, I am perDigitized by Google vaded by a feeling of devotion humble and devout, but zealous and inspiring, if love of the truth, penetrating to my inmost being, produces in me a scorn and hatred of vanity, so that neither the increase of knowledge renders me proud nor the frequency of [the Divine] visitations exalts me, then I straightway feel that this is the effect of Paternal tenderness, and I do not doubt that the Father is with me.

But if I shall have continued to persevere, as far as in me is, in sentiments and actions worthy of so great a Divine condescension, and the grace of God which was in me was not in vain, then I am assured that the Father and the Word have taken up their abode in me ; the One to nourish my soul, the Other to instruct it. 7. What a close and intimate relation this grace produces between the Divine Word and the soul, and what confidence follows from that intimacy, you may well imagine. I believe that a soul in such a condition may say without fear : My Beloved is mine; inasmuch as it is conscious that it loves God with a true and even a vehement affection, and therefore concludes that it is beloved in no less a degree by Him ; and by the singular devotion, the care, the labour, the diligence, the earnestness wherewith it is animated in the incessant and ardent effort to find means to please God, which it readily, and without question, recognises in itself, it recalls the Lord's promise : With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again (Matt vii. 2).

It is true that the Bride is prudent, and prefers to take for her part a deep thankfulness for grace bestowed, because she knows that her Beloved has prevented her in the bestowal of affection. It is for that she sets His Name first : My Beloved is mine, and f am His, From the attributes, then, which belong to God, she justly and confidently infers that by Him whom she loves, she is herself beloved. This is, in fact, the case. The love of God for the soul produces the love of the soul for God ; the direction of the Divine thought upon a soul causes that soul to direct itself towards God, and His care and solicitude for it produces a similar care and solicitude in it towards Him.

For, I know not by what affinity of nature it takes place, that when a soul has once attained to behold, with unveiled face, the glory of the Lord, it is speedily, as if by a necessary law, conformed to it, and transformed into the same image. God will then appear towards you, such as you shall have appeared towards Him. With an upright man (says the Psalmist) He will show Himself upright ; with the pure He will show Himself pure (Ps. xviii. 25, 26). Why not, then, also loving with one who loves Him, attentive with the attentive, careful with the careful, and at leisure with the leisurely ? 8. Lastly, He says : / love them that love Me ; and tfwse that seek Me early shall find Me (Prov. viii. 17). You see how He assures you, not only of His love, if you love Him, but also of the care and thought which He employs on your behalf, if He feels that you are careful in that which relates to Him. Are you keeping vigil? He will keep vigil too. Though you arise in the night itself, before the beginning of the morning watches, though you hasten as much as you are able Digitized by Google 426 to ' prevent the night watches/ you will find Him there ; you will not anticipate Him. You will act rashly if, in such a matter as this, you attribute any precedence in time, or any greater degree, to yourself rather than to Him ; for His love is greater than yours, and it is before yours. If a soul is deeply assured of these glorious truths, can you wonder that it takes pride and pleasure, even for the very reason that it is assured of them, in the thought that this Majesty which is so great gives attention to it alone, as if He had no care for the rest of His creatures ; nay, seems to set all other cares aside, and to guard it with an undivided devotion ?

It is time that I should bring this sermon to an end. I will add only one thing, which seems marvellous, but is true, and is specially addressed to those spiritually minded who are among you : that a soul which beholds God beholds Him no otherwise than as if it alone were beheld by Him. It is, then, in this confidence that it declares that He gives attention to it, and that it gives attention to Him, and that it beholds nothing else but itself and Him. How good art Thou, O Lord, to the soul that seeks Thee ! Thou comest to it ; Thou dost embrace it ; Thou showest Thyself to be its Bridegroom, its Spouse ; Thou who art its Lord, yea, who art above all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

WHY THE BRIDEGROOM IS CALLED BELOVED; AND OF THE TRUTH, THE GENTLENESS, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND THE OTHER VIRTUES, WHICH ARE CALLED LILIES, AND AMONG WHICH HE IS SAID TO FEED. * My Beloved is mine, and I am His : He feedeth among the lilies? — Cant. iL 16.

T T J HO can now impute to the Bride presumption or insolence, \/V/ because she declares that she has been admitted into * * fellowship with Him who feedeth among the lilies ? Even if it were said, * He feedeth among the stars,' I know not whether in consideration of that phrase, * He feedeth/ it would seem to be a great thing thus to have with Him friendship or familiarity. For the phrase seems to have in it somewhat humble and unrefined. And when she says that He feedeth among the lilies, she seems by this note of humiliation to repel and remove from herself any charge of temerity. For what are lilies ? According to the Word of the Lord they are the grass of the field which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven (Matt. vi. 28-30). What, then, is He who feedeth upon the grass, as a lamb or a calf ? Evidently a lamb or a fatted calf. But you have, perhaps, carefully noticed that the lilies are referred to here, not as food, but as the place of His sojourn ; nor is it said that He Digitized by Google 427 feedeth on the lilies, but among the lilies. So let it be. He does not feed on the grass as an ox ; but what greatness can there be in one who is found among the grass, and lies down upon it to rest, like one of the crowd which surrounds Him ; and what glory can there be to the Bride in having for her Beloved, one who acts thus ? According to the literal sense, then, the modesty of the Bride, and the discretion with which she speaks, are sufficiently apparent, and it is clear that she rules her speech with judgment, and expresses her high fortunes in unassuming words. 2. But, nevertheless, she is not unmindful that He who feedeth is the same as He who giveth food to others ; that He, though He abides among the lilies, yet reigns above the stars. But she makes mention the more willingly of the humble actions of her Beloved, because, as I have said, of His humility ; but also because He began to be her Beloved from the time when He began to feed among the lilies. Nor was it only from that time that He did so, but from that fact. For He who in the heights is the Lord, in the depths is the Beloved ; above the stars He reigns ; among the lilies He loves.

Yet even above the stars He loved, because at no time and in no place, being Himself the Essential Love, could He cease to love ; but until He descended to be among the lilies, and was found to feed among them, He was not the object of love, nor did He become the Beloved. What ! you reply ; was He not loved by the Patriarchs and by the Prophets ? Assuredly ; but not before He was seen by them also, feeding among the lilies. They cannot be said not to have seen Him whom they foresaw, unless anyone is so entirely without discernment as to suppose that a person who sees in the spirit really sees nothing. Whence, then, were they Seers, for so the Prophets were called (1 Sam. ix. 9) aforetime, if they saw nothing? It was because they desired to see Him whom as yet they saw not. And they would not have been able to form the desire to see Him in the body if they had not seen Him in the spirit. But, 1 say, were they all prophets? Either they all wished to see, or faith was granted to all. As to all those who had the gift of spiritual vision, either they were Prophets, or they were acquiescent and in

alliance with the Prophets. While as to those who had faith, to have believed, is to have seen. For it seems to me not a mistake to say that it is possible to behold a thing in spirit and by faith, and not only by the spirit of prophecy. 3. He, therefore, who giveth food to all flesh, in deigning thus to come down and to feed among the lilies, made Himself loved, because He could not be loved before He was known. Accordingly, when the Bride makes mention of her Beloved, she appropriately refers to this fact as the cause of His being known and loved. This feeding among the lilies is to be spiritually understood ; to take it in a literal sense would be ridiculous. We will show, as far as we are able, what these spiritual lilies are. I think that it will behove us first to examine on what the Beloved ' feedeth among the lilies ' ; whether upon the Digitized by Google 428 lilies themselves, or upon other plants and flowers hidden among them. That which appears to me the more difficult is that He is not said to give food to others, but Himself to feed. For that He gives food to others is not doubtful, nor is it unworthy of Him

; but to say that He Himself feeds has a sound of indigence, and seems not capable of being attributed to Him, even spiritually, without doing some injury to His sovereign Majesty. I do not remember to have remarked in any part of this Canticle that He is said to feed ; while you will remember with me that in one place He is said to make His flocks to feed. For the Bride there asks Him to show to her where He makes His flocks to feed and to rest at noon (i. 6). And now she says that He Himself * feedeth,' which she has not asserted before ; nor does she ask to have the place where He is pointed out to her, but herself names it expressly, ' among the lilies? The one fact she knew, the other she did not know ; because it is not possible for her to be equally well acquainted with that which is lofty and in the heaven, and that which is lowly and on the earth. Lofty is the task, lofty also is the place ; nor has access to it been granted as yet even to the Bride herself. 4. And therefore it was that He who giveth food to all men, and is their Pastor, emptied Himself

of His glory even to the point of receiving food. He was found among the lilies ; He was beheld in His state of poverty by the Church, which was poor, and was beloved for the very reason of their similarity in this respect. Nor was it for this cause alone, but also because of His truth, His gentleness, and His righteousness ; because promises were fulfilled through Him ; because iniquities were forgiven ; because the demons and their chief were judged and condemned in their pride. Such, then, was He when He appeared, that He was deserving of being loved ; for, while by His own Nature He was the purest Truth, to men He was gentle and kind, and on their behalf He was righteous. O Bridegroom truly to be loved, and to be embraced with every fibre of the heart's affection ! Why should the Church hesitate or delay to commit herself with an entire devotion to one so faithful to His promises, so kind to forgive, and so strong and righteous to protect ? The Psalmist had foretold of Him long before : In Thy glory and Thy majesty ride prosperously.

What kind of flower has glory and beauty ? The lily, I think ; there is nothing more beautiful than that. So the Bridegroom is fairer than all. What, then, are these lilies from which He draws a beauty so rare ? Ride prosperously, continues the Psalmist, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness (Ps. xlv. 3, 4). These are the lilies ; the lilies, I say, growing out of the earth, and blooming brightly upon it ; surpassing other flowers in beauty, and fragrant above all perfumes. Among these lilies is the Bridegroom, and from them is He surpassingly fair and beautiful. For otherwise, and regarding only the infirmity of the flesh, in Him there is no form nor comeliness (Is. liii. 2). 5. An exquisite lily, most fair in hue and marvellous in fragrance.

Digitized by Google is Truth ; for its brightness is that of the Eternal Light, the unspotted mirror of the Power of God, and the image of His goodness (Wisd. vii. 26). It is assuredly a lily which our earth has produced by a new benediction, and prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to lighten the Gentiles (Luke ii. 31, 32). As long as the earth was under a curse it brought forth thorns and thistles. But now, by the blessing of the Lord, Truth hath sprung out of the earth (Ps. Ixxxv. 11), the beautiful Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the valleys. Recognise it as a lily by the whiteness and brilliancy wherewith it shone by night upon the eyes of the shepherds, as soon as it had begun to flower ; for the Gospel declares that the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them (Luke ii. 9). Jt is well said, the glory of the Lord, for it was not the brightness of an Angel, but of this Lily, which surrounded those who were at Bethlehem.

Recognise it as a Lily from the fragrance also, which reached even the Magi, who were at so great a distance. A Star indeed appeared to them, but those Wise Men would not have followed it had they not been inwardly drawn by the persuasive fragrance of this Lily.

Assuredly Truth is a lily, of which the perfume animates faith and the brightness enlightens the understanding. Lift up now your eyes to the Person of the Lord Himself, who, speaking in the Gospel, says, / am the Truth (John xiv. 6). And see with how much reason Truth is compared to a lily. Notice, if you have never done so, how from the midst of this flower come forth five little rods of gold, beautifully arranged in the form of a crown, and surrounded by the white petals of the flower ; and recognise in this a figure of the golden crown of Divinity in Christ, with the inviolable purity of His Human Nature ; that is to say, Christ bearing the diadem wherewith His mother crowned Him (Cant. iii. n). For that which His Father set upon His Head abides in the region of Light unapproachable, nor are you able, as yet, to behold Him wearing that. But of this we will speak at another time. 6. Truth, then, is a lily ; so also is Gentleness ; it has the whiteness of innocence, the fragrance of hope. 4 Remnants there are/ it is said, 1 for the peaceable man' (Ps. xxxvii. 37, Douay). The gentle and kindly is a man of good hope [for the future life],

nor is he in the present life less an example of clemency and friendship. Does not the lily, which shines with the duties of charity, diffuse also the fragrance of hope? Add to this that just as truth has sprung out of the earth, so also has gentleness. Unless anyone doubts that the Lamb, the Ruler of the earth (Is. xvi. 1), that Lamb who was led to the slaughter, and opened not His Mouth (Is. liii. 7), was sprung from the earth. Not only Gentleness and Truth have sprung out of the earth, but also Righteousness ; as says the Prophet : Drop down, ye Heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness : let the earth open, and let l/iem bring forth sanation, and let /Righteousness spring up together (Is. xlv. 8). That Righteousness is a lily, the Scripture teaches us, saying that the righteous shall graiv as the Digitized by Google 43Q lily, and shall flourish for ever before the Lord (Hos. xiv. 5).* It is not, then, the case with this lily, that to-day it is, and to-morrow it is cast into the oven, since it shall flourish for ever ; and that before the Lord, for the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance, and shall not be afraid of evil tidings (Ps. cxii.

6, 7); that is to say, he shall not fear to have to listen to that terrible sentence by which sinners are bidden to go away into everlasting fire. To whom is the brightness of this lily not visible, except the person to whom it is unpleasing ? It is a sun ; but not that sun which rises upon the evil and upon the good. For those who shall say : 4 The Sun of Righteousness hath not risen upon us' (Wisd. v. 6) have never even beheld His light Far otherwise is it with them to whom it has been said : Unto you that fear My Name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings (Mai. iv. 2). The whiteness of this lily, then, is among the just ; its fragrance, indeed, extends even unto sinners, although in them it is not for good. For we have heard the voice of the righteous saying : We are unto God a sweet savour of Christy in them that are saved, and in them that perish : to the one 7ce are the savour of death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life (2 Cor. ii. 15, 16). Who, though he be the most abandoned of men, does not approve of

the sentiments of a righteous man, although he does not love his actions ? Happy is he who does not condemn himself in that which he approves. For it is a self-condemnation to approve that which is good, and yet not to love it ; so that a person is not happy, but miserable, who is thus condemned by his own judgment. What can be more miserable than the condition of a person to whom the savour of life is a messenger, not of life, but of death ? Or, rather, I should call it, not a messenger of death, but a deathstroke. 7. There are still many other lilies besides these which the Prophet has indicated to us in the character of the Bridegroom ; I mean besides truth, and gentleness, and righteousness; nor will it be difficult for each of us to find for himself similar ones in the garden, so full of delights, of the Bridegroom. It abounds and superabounds in such ; who can enumerate them ? since there are as many lilies as virtues ; and of virtues in the Lord of virtues there is no end. For in Christ there is the fulness of virtues, and, therefore, also the abundance of lilies. Therefore, perhaps, it is that He is Himself spoken of as the

Lily, because He is wholly surrounded with lilies, and all events in His Life are, so to speak, lilies : His conception, His Birth, His manner of life, the words He spake, the miracles He did ; His Sacraments, His Passion, His Death, His Resurrection, His Ascension. Which of all these events is there that has not a pure splendour and a sweet fragrance ? Thus, for instance, in His Conception is apparent the brightness of heavenly Lebanon'; and the other versions agree in this. The quotation was probably made from memory. — Ed.

Digitized by Google light, from the abundance of the overshadowing Spirit ; so that not even the holy Virgin would have been able to endure it, if it had not been tempered to her by the power of the Most High. His Birth was rendered full of light and beauty by the pure virginity of His Mother ; His Life, by the sinlessness of His character ; His words, by their truth unsullied ; His miracles, by the purity of His Heart ; His Sacraments, by the hidden power of His goodness and kindness ; His Passion, by His willingness to suffer ; His Death, by the freedom that He had not to die ; His Resurrection, by the fortitude with which it has inspired His Martyrs ; His Ascension, by the accomplishment in it of His promises. How exquisite also is the fragrance of faith in each of these mysteries, of the faith, I mean, which is ours, and fills our hearts and minds, though we have not beheld the brightness of that glory ! For blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed (John xx. 29). May my part in these lilies be the odour of life which proceeds from them. It is faith which fills with that fragrance the nostrils (so to speak) of my soul, and fills it with so much greater abundance, because the multitude of the lilies is so great. It is that heavenly fragrance which softens the rigour of my exile, and renews in my heart without ceasing a desire and longing for my true country above. 8. Some of the companions of the Bridegroom also have their lilies, but not in great number. For though all have received the Holy Spirit, it is by measure, and by measure also have they received gifts and graces. It is He alone who possesses them without measure (John iii. 34), because He possesses all. It is one thing to have some lilies, and another thing to have lilies only. Whom can you show me, from among the sons of the captivity, who is so holy and entirely without guile, as to be able to cover all the land that is his with flowers like these ? Not the infant of a day old is pure upon the earth (Job xiv. 4, 5, according to the LXX.). Great and successful is he who is able to train up in the plot of ground committed to him even three or four of these lilies, in the midst of such a thicket of thorns and thistles, which are the inveterate seeds of the ancient curse.

As for me, who am poor, I shall think myself happy if I am enabled by diligent weeding to clear my little plot of land from that evil crop of iniquities and vices, and by careful cultivation to ensure the growth of even one lily, so that He who feedeth among the lilies may deign sometimes to find His place for so doing in my soul. 9. I have said 'even one lily,' but this is too little, and it was out of the poverty of my heart that my mouth spake. For one will not suffice ; at least two are absolutely necessary. I refer to continence and to innocence, whereof the one without the other will not save.

It will be in vain that I invite the Bridegroom to come to either one of these, for He is represented, not as feeding upon a lily, but among the lilies. My care, then, shall be to have lilies, so that He who feedeth among the lilies may not, because I have only a single one, turn away from His servant in displeasure. I set, therefore, innoDigitized by Google cence first of all, and if I am able to join continence to it, I shall think myself rich in the possession of lilies. I am even, as it were, a king, if I am able to add to these, as a third lily, patience. And, indeed, the two former would suffice ; but because they may be found wanting in the time of temptations, and the life of man upon the earth is marked by temptation (Job vii. i), there is much need on that account of patience, which is, so to speak, the protector1 and guardian of both. I think that if He who is the lover of lilies shall come, and shall find us in that condition, He will not, then, disdain with us to feed, with us to eat the Passover, since He will find great sweetness in the two former virtues, and great security shall be in the third. We shall see later on how He, who feeds and gives nourishment to all flesh, is here said Himself to feed. But now one thing is clear : that the Bridegroom not only appears among the lilies, but is to be found only among them, since every part of His character is a lily, that is, a virtue ; and He Himself is the Lily, the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our lx)rd, who is above all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

OF SPIRITUAL LILIES, THAT IS, GOOD WORKS, OF WHICH THE FRAGRANCE IS A RIGHT INTENTION, AND THE COLOUR A GOOD OF GOD THE FATHER WITH THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SOUL THE conclusion of the last sermon shall form the commencement of this. The Bridegroom, then, is a Lily, but not a lily among thorns, because He did not commit sin, and thorns signify sin. It is the Bride of whom He has borne His testimony that she is a lily among thorns (Cant. ii. 2), and therefore if she should say that she had no thorns, she would deceive herself, and the truth would not be in her. As for Him, He has declared that He is the Rose, indeed, and the Lily, yet not among thorns. Instead of this, He says : / am the Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the valleys.

He makes no mention of thorns, because He alone among men has no need to say : / am turned in my anguish, while the thorn is fastened (Ps. xxxii. 4, Douay). Therefore He is never without lilies, because He is always without faults, because He is wholly and always white and glistering, fairer than the children of men (Ps. xlv. 3). Do you, then, who listen to, or who read these words, take heed that you have in your soul, and in your life, lilies that grow and flourish, if you wish to have Him who dwelleth among the lilies dwelling in you. Let Digitized by Google 433 the blameless whiteness of your character and actions, let the fragrance they exhale, bear testimony that all your occupations, all your impulses, all your desires, are lilies. For characters have, as it were, their colour and their odour; nor are colour and odour the same thing in spirit any more than in bodies. Colour has regard to the right intention, fragrance to the good reputation of actions. Ye Jmve made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants (Exod. v. 21), said the Israelites, speaking of opinion.

The intention of the heart, and the judgment of the conscience of the doer, give to an action its colour. Vices are black, and virtue white, and the conscience when consulted distinguishes between the one and the other. The Lord's declaration respecting the single eye and the eye that is evil (Matt. vi. 22, 23) holds good, because there are certain lines of division between whiteness and blackness, as between light and darkness. That which comes forth from a pure heart and a good conscience is therefore white, and is virtue ; and if, furthermore, good reputation follows it, it is a lily, since neither whiteness nor fragrance is wanting to it. 2. And although good reputation does not render virtue more great, it, nevertheless, renders it fairer and more illustrious. If there be any spot upon the intention, it will not fail to appear also upon that which that intention has produced ; for the fault of the root reappears in the branches. And on this account, whatsoever it be that a corrupted root shall produce from itself, not without communication of its own corruption, for example, discourses, actions, or prayers, even though they seem to enjoy public esteem, it is not entitled to be called a lily, because, though it has an appearance of fragrant odour, it is wanting in colour. For how can that be a lily which has upon it a spot of discoloration ? Nor will reputation avail to make that a virtue which the consciousness of bad intention convicts of being a vice. Virtue, indeed, will be content with a good conscience, where good report cannot possibly follow ; but the fragrance of reputation will not suffice to excuse the fault of a conscience that is stained. Yet a man of virtue will, as far as he is able, provide things honourable, not only before God, but also in the sight of men (Rom. xii. 17), that he may truly be a lily. 3. But there is a whiteness of the soul which comes of the forgiving mercy of God, as He declares Himself by the mouth of the Prophet : Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Is. i. 18).

There is still another kind of whiteness with which a person clothes himself, who showeth mercy with cheerfulness. And if you consider the man charitable and gracious, who is described by the Psalmist, who showeth favour and lendeth (Ps. cxii. 5), will it not seem to you that this joy is, as it were, a whiteness and glory of kindness with which he is clad, and which appears as well upon his countenance as upon his work? On the contrary, when anyone gives with sadness and, as it were, by necessity, his brow and his 28 Digitized by 434 harids are so far from being white, that they gather blackness from the feelings of his heart. And therefore God loveth a cheerful giver (2 Cor. ix. 7). Does He love one who gives reluctantly and sadly?

He who looked favourably upon Abel because of the willing heart which was expressed by the brightness of his countenance turned His Face from Cain, whose countenance fell, doubtless with sadness and jealousy (Gen. iv. 4, 5). Consider, then, of what a nature must be the colour of sadness and jealousy for God to turn away His Face from it. A poet has expressed aptly and elegantly that white brilliance of gladness which colours a deed of kindness, when he says in its praise : . . . 4 Super omnia vultus Accessere bonV . . Nor is it only the cheerful giver, but he also who giveth with simplicity (Rom. xii. 8), who is loved by God ; for simplicity shows the whiteness of the soul. This I prove from the consideration of the contrary, for duplicity is a spot; nay, it is a stain. For what is duplicity but deceit and fraud ? And he who acts deceitfully in the sight of God, his iniquity is found to be hateful (Ps. xxxvi. 2).

Therefore it is that the man is called blessed unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile (Ps. xxxii. 2). The Lord has well expressed in few words these two spots upon the soul, a feigned sadness, and deceit : Be not as the hypocrites 1 of a sad countenance (Matt. vi. 16). The Bridegroom, being virtue, takes pleasure in virtues; being a lily, He abides willingly among the lilies ; and being Himself of a pure whiteness, delights in those whose souls are white and pure. 4. Perhaps, also, this is the signification of ' feedeth among the lilies/ namely, that He delighteth in the whiteness and fragrance of virtues. Formerly, when He was in the Body, He was nourished with food in the house of Martha and Mary ; he reclined, even in the body, among the lilies (I speak of them, for they were lilies), and at the same time was refreshed in spirit by the devotion and virtues of women. If, then, in that hour a Prophet, or an Angel, or some spiritual man, who was not unaware of the greatness of Him who there reclined, had entered, would he not have been lost in wonder at the condescension and familiar kindness shown by Him to those beings of

pure mind and of modest, though earthly, body and of the weaker sex? and would he not have been able to bear true testimony, ' I have seen Him not only abiding, but also feeding, among the lilies ?' It is thus that the Bridegroom is found to feed among the lilies in a twofold manner, namely, in flesh and in spirit I think, also, that He fed them in turn, but that was in spirit But how did He nourish them spiritually by whom He was physically nourished? Did He not strengthen the timidity of those pious women, cheer their humility, enrich and render fruitful their devotion? But if you have seen that to Him to be nourished is to Digitized by Google 435 nourish, now notice also that, conversely, to nourish others is to be nourished Himself. What did the holy Patriarch, Jacob, say : God, which fed me all my life long unto this day 9 (Gen. xlviii. 15). He is a good master of a household who takes care for those of his house, and more especially in troublous days, who gives food to their hunger, yea, feeds them with the bread of knowledge and of life, and thus nourishes them for life eternal. But thus feeding others, He is, as I think, Himself nourished, and

that with the food which is most agreeable to Him, I mean, with our progress in goodness ; for it is a joy to the Lord to see us strong and courageous in good. 5. Thus, then, it is that, when He feeds others, He is Himself fed ; and when He is fed He feeds others ; at once refreshing us with His spiritual joy, and being Himself rejoiced with our spiritual advancement.

To Him my penitence, my salvation, indeed, I myself, are, as it were, nourishment. Does He not, according to the phrase of the Psalmist, eat ashes as it were bread ? (Ps. cii. 9). I am that ashes, for I am a sinner, and He, spiritually speaking, feeds upon me ; He feeds upon me when He reproves and convicts me of my sin ; I am swallowed when I am taught and trained ; I am cooked when changed, and digested when transformed ; finally, I am made one with Him when I am conformed unto His likeness. Do not wonder at this : it is that we may be more closely united to Him that He both feeds on us and is our food. Otherwise, our union with Him would not be perfect ; for if I feed upon Him, but He not upon me, it will appear that, though He is in me, I am not yet in Him. If, on the contrary, He feeds upon me, but I do not upon Him, it will appear that, though I am in Him, yet He is not also in me; and in either of the two cases there is not a perfect union between us. But if He so feeds upon me that I may be in Him, and I in turn upon Him that He may be in me, how complete and strong is the bond1 between us, since I am in Him, and He will, nevertheless, be in me. 6. Shall I make clearer what has been said by a comparison?

Lift your eyes, then, to a truth of the highest order, which has much similarity, nevertheless, to that before us. If the Bridegroom Himself were in the Father in such wise that the Father were not in Him, or if the Father were so in Him that He was not in the Father, I venture to say that the union between them, if union it were, would stop short of being perfect. But now, as He is in the Father and the Father in Him, there is no defect in their union, but He and the Father are truly and Perfectly One. So, also, the soul, for which it is good to adhere to God (Ps. lxxiii. 28), does not regard itself as perfectly united to Him, until both He abides in it, and it in Him. Not that even then it may be said to be one with God, in the same manner as the Father and the Son are one, although lie that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit (\ Cor. vi. 1 7). This I have read, but that I ptrinde firma connexio et complexio ititegra.

Digitized by 43* have not read. I do not speak of myself, I who am a person of very small importance (nihil), but assuredly there is no one in his senses, no one, I say, on earth or in heaven, who would arrogate to himself that saying of the Only Begotten Son of God : / and the Father art One (John x. 30). And yet I, though I am but dust and ashes, do not hesitate to say, in reliance upon the authority of Scripture, that I am one spirit with God, if, that is to say, I have ever been convinced by certain experience, that I am joined to the Lord, after the likeness of one of those who abide in charity, and by this abide in God, and God in them, feeding upon God,1 and He upon them.

For it is of such a union that, as I think, the words are said : He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. What then ? The Son says: I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: and We are One (John x. 30, 38), while, as for the man, he says : 4 1 am in God, and God in me, and we are one spirit.' 7. But is it the case that as the Father and the Son, that They may be the One in the Other, and so be One, reciprocally feed upon each other, so God and man mutually penetrate each other by a kind of reciprocal manducation, and thus exist, if not as one being, yet as one spirit ? By no means. For in the one case and in the other the indwelling is not after the same manner, and the unity of each is different. [[In fact,2 the difference of unity, and the nature of that difference is indicated by the two words, unus and unum (that is, * one ' and 4 the same substance '). For the former does not apply to the union between the Father and the Son, nor the latter to that between God and man. You, if you are already instructed in this mystery, will, if you make use of this opportunity, become so still more fully ; and you should remark prudently, that by unum is denoted the unity of Substance or of Nature, while by * unus 1 is indeed denoted a unity, but one of a kind very different, because the Essence and Nature of God is far other than that of man, while it is evident that the Essence of the Father and of the Son is One. You see that this union between God and man is not in the fullest sense a unity, at least, not if it be compared with that other unique and sovereign Unity. For how can there be complete unity where there is plurality of nature and difference of substance ?

And yet a soul that is joined unto the Lord is said to be one spirit with Him, and is so in fact ; nor is the plurality of substances any bar to this unity, since it is brought about, not by a confusion of natures, but by an agreement of wills. It is in this sense that many and, indeed, in the earliest editions. St. Germain, and of Jumieges ; but it is found in others, and in the earliest editions. As for the second and much longer one, which follows a little later on, and extends from the middle of n. 8 to the middle of if. 10, it is, on the contrary, wanting in those earlier MSS. but is found in the later ones. Both the one and the other are superfluous. This diversity is caused by St. Bernard having retouched the passage, so that the first parenthesis of the former edition seems to be the second of the later one. We leave the reader to judge.