SERMON 1: On the Title of the Book,
“The Song of Songs”

SERMO I. De ipso titulo libri: «Cantica canticorum Salomonis.»
PL 183.1266-1267

YOU, my brothers, require instruction different from that which would suit people living in the world, at least in matter if not in manner,. For one who would teach following the Apostle [Paul’ advice] , would give them “milk to drink, not meat.” (1Cor 3:1-2; Heb 5:12-14) While more solid food is to be set before spiritual persons, as [t]he [Apostle] teaches by his example: “ We speak,” he says, “not in the learned words of human wisdom, but in the doctrine of the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” And, “We speak wisdom among the perfect “(1 Cor 2:13). Such I believe you to be, unless, it is to no purpose that you have so long engaged in the study of heavenly things, in mortifying your senses, and in meditating day and night on the law of God. (1 Cor 2:6. 4. Ps 1:2) So now open your mouths to receive not milk, but bread. It is the bread of Solomon, and is exceedingly good and palatable: the Book entitled the Song of Songs is the bread I speak of: let us then bring it forth if you please, and break it.

^[0785A] 1. Vobis, fratres, alia quam aliis de saeculo, aut certe aliter dicenda sunt. Illis siquidem lac potum dat, et non escam (I Cor. III, 2), qui Apostoli formam tenet in docendo. Nam spiritualibus solidiora apponenda esse, itidem ipse suo docet exemplo, Loquimur, inquiens, non in doctis humanae sapientiae verbis, sed in doctrina spiritus, spiritualibus spiritualia comparantes; item, Sapientiam loquimur inter perfectos (I Cor. II, 13, 6), quales vos nimirum esse confido; nisi frustra forte jam ex longo studiis estis coelestibus occupati, exercitati sensibus, et in lege Dei meditati die ac nocte. Itaque parate fauces, non ^[0785B] lacti, sed pani. Est panis apud Salomonem, isque admodum splendidus sapidusque; librum dico, qui Cantica canticorum inscribitur: proferatur, si placet, et frangatur.

Ecclesiastes: the way of purgation - praktike

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2. BY the words of Ecclesiastes, unless I am mistaken, you have, through the grace of God, already been sufficiently enlightened to understand and despise the vanity of this world.

2. Nam de verbis Ecclesiastes satis, ni fallor, per Dei gratiam instructi estis mundi hujus cognoscere et contemnere vanitatem.

Proverbs: the Way of Illumination –
ethike- theoria physike

WHAT need to mention the Book of Proverbs ? Is not your whole life and conduct regulated and reformed in perfect accordance with the doctrines contained therein?

Quid et Parabolas? An non vita et mores vestri juxta eam quae in ipsis invenitur doctrinam sufficienter emendati sunt et informati?

Thus having first tasted both these loaves borrowed, [as it were] from the Friend’s cupboard you are now invited to try this third bread,which, you may well find stronger.

Proinde illis ambobus praelibatis, quos nihilominus de amici arca praestitos accepistis, accedite et ad tertium hunc panem, ut probetis forsitan potiora

The respective goals of purgation and illumination

JUST as there are two evils that solely or particularly wage war against the soul,a vain love of the world and excessive love of self,;so against these two infections we are given the two Books [of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs] as antidotes.

Cum enim duo sint mala, quae vel sola, vel maxime militant adversus animam, vanus scilicet amor mundi et superfluus sui, pesti utrique ^[0785C] duo illi libri obviare noscuntur;

Of these the former, using the hoe of discipline, grubs out whatever is corrupt in our morals, and whatever is superfluous in the indulgence of the flesh ; whilst the latter, by the light of reason, prudently discovers the smoke of vanity in all worldly glory, and distinguishes it faithfully from the solidity of truth, putting the fear of God and the observance of His commandments before all human interests and earthly desires.

alter sarculo disciplinae prava quaeque in moribus, et carnis superflua resecans; alter luce rationis in omni gloria mundi ^[0786A] fucum vanitatis sagaciter deprehendens, veraciterque distinguens a solido veritatis. Denique universis humanis studiis, ac mundanis desideriis praetulit Deum timere, ejusque observare mandata. Merito quidem.

This is well. Such fear is the beginning of true wisdom, as such observance is its consummation -assuming you agree with me that the only true and  perfect wisdom consists in avoiding evil and doing good. For without the fear of God it is impossible to avoid evil perfectly, and there is no good work possible without the observance of the commandments.

Verae etenim sapientiae primum illud, initium; secundum, consummatio est: si tamen constat vobis non aliud veram et consummatam esse sapientiam, quam declinare a malo, et facere bonum; itemque recedere a malo neminem posse perfecte absque timore Dei, nec bonum opus omnino esse praeter observantiam mandatorum.

The respective goals of purgation and illumination

3. NOW , then, after ridding ourselves of these two evils by the study of those two books, we may confidently take in hand this third discourse on holy contemplation, which, being the fruit of the preceding, should only be entrusted to sober minds and chastened ears.

3. Depulsis ergo duobus malis duorum lectione librorum, competenter jam acceditur ad hunc sacrum theoricumque sermonem: qui cum sit amborum fructus, nonnisi sobriis mentibus et auribus omnino ^[0786B] credendus est

For it would be criminal presumption on the part of imperfect souls to occupy themselves with such a sacred subject before the flesh has been tamed by discipline and subdued to the spirit, and the vanity and cares of the world despised and abjured. Just as the eye that is blind or closed cannot profit by the light poured upon it, “so the animal man perceiveth not those things which are of the Spirit of God.” The reason is, because the “ Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful,” that is, from a man of ill-regulated life, neither will He ever have part with the vanity of the world, inasmuch as He is the Spirit of truth. For what society hath the wisdom which is from above with that of the world, which is foolishness in the sight of God, or with that of the flesh, which is the enemy of God ?

. Alioquin ante carnem disciplinae studiis edomitam et mancipatam spiritui, ante spretam et abjectam saeculi pompam et sarcinam, indigne ab impuris lectio sancta praesumitur. Quomodo nempe lux incassum circumfundit oculos caecos vel clausos, ita animalis homo non percipit ea quae sunt Spiritus Dei (ibid., 14). Quippe Spiritus sanctus disciplinae effugiet fictum (Sap. I, 5), quod est vita incontinens; sed nec erit ei unquam pars cum mundi vanitate, cum veritatis sit Spiritus (Joan. XIV, 17). Quae enim societas ei quae desursum est sapientiae, et sapientiae mundi, quae 1268 stultitia est apud Deum (I Cor. III, 19); aut sapientiae carnis, quae et ipsa inimica est Deo? (Rom. VIII, 7.)

Anyhow, I suppose the “ friend, who cometh to us off his journey,” will have no reason to complain of us when he has helped himself to this third loaf of bread.

Puto autem quod jam non habebit unde adversum nos murmuret ^[0786C] is, qui nobis de via venit amicus, cum et tertium istum insumpserit panem.

But who shall break it to us? Lo ! we have here the Father of the family Himself, as it is written, you shall “ know the Lord in the breaking of the bread.” Who else but He is capable ? As for me, I am not rash enough to undertake such a task. You must, therefore, my brethren, so look upon me as to look  for nothing from me. For I also am one of those who hope, a beggar, like yourselves, for the food of my soul, for a spiritual alms. Poor and needy, I appeal to Him “ Who openeth and no man shutteth,” begging Him to reveal to us the deep mysteries contained in this Book. “ The eyes of all hope in Thee, 0 Lord.” “The little ones have asked for bread and there is no one to break it unto them.” For this we look to Thy gracious mercy. Therefore, O most Lovingkind ! break Thy bread to the hungry, by my hands, if it so please Thee, but by Thine own power.

4. Sed quis franget? Adest paterfamilias; cognoscite ^[0787A] Dominum in fractione panis. Quis enim alter idoneus? Non equidem ego mihi istud temere arrogaverim. Sic spectetis ad me, ut ex me non exspectetis. Nam et ego unus sum de exspectantibus, mendicans et ipse vobiscum cibum animae meae, alimoniam spiritus. Revera pauper et inops pulso ad eum, qui aperit et nemo claudit, super sermonis hujus profundissimo sacramento. Oculi omnium in te sperant, Domine. Parvuli petierunt panem; non est qui frangat eis; speratur id a benignitate tua. O piissime, frange esurientibus panem tuum, meis quidem, si dignaris, manibus, sed tuis viribus.

And, first of all, tell us, I beseech Thee, by whom, of whom, and to whom is it said, “ Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth “ ? And what means this abruptness, this sudden beginning in the middle of the discourse ? For the words are so uttered as it there had been a previous speaker to whom this other is represented as if replying, whoever she is that solicits the kiss. Again, if she requests or demands to be kissed by someone, why ask expressly and explicitly that this be done with the mouth and with his own mouth, as if it were customary to give such an embrace otherwise, or by proxy ? Yet she is not content with saying, “let him kiss me with his mouth,” but uses the still more unusual expression, “ with the kiss of his mouth.” A pleasant discourse this, surely, which begins with a kiss. In truth, the smiling face, so to speak, of this part of Scripture entices and allures us to read, so that it is a delight to investigate, even with labour, its hidden meanings ; for the difficulty of inquiry never wearies when we are charmed by the sweetness of the discourse. Yet who can help having his attention aroused by this beginning without a beginning, and this novelty of language in an ancient book ? Here we have proof that this work is no product of human genius, but composed by the art of the Holy Spirit, in the fact that despite its being so difficult to understand, it is at the same time such a pleasure to study. 

But are we to pass over the title ? No, my brethren, we must not omit a single iota, since we are commanded to gather up the smallest fragments, lest they be lost. The title runs, “ The Beginning of Solomon’s Canticle of Canticles.” Observe, in the first place, how fitly the name Solomon, Which, in the Hebrew, signifies the “ Peaceful One,” stands at the head of a book which takes its beginning from the token of peace, that is, from a kiss. Notice, also, that such a beginning invites to the understanding of this Canticle only peaceful souls, those, namely, who have succeeded in freeing themselves from the tumult of the passions and the distractions of temporal cares.

6. Sed quid? titulum praeterimus? Non oportet ne unum quidem iota (Matth. V, 18), quando et minutias jubemur colligere fragmentorum, ne pereant (Joan. VI, 12). Titulus talis est: Incipiunt Cantica canticorum Salomonis. Observa in primis Pacifici nomen, quod est Salomon, convenire principio libri, qui incipit a signo pacis, id est ab osculo; simulque ^[0787D] adverte hujuscemodi principiis solas ad hanc intelligendam scripturam mentes invitari pacificas, quae sese jam a vitiorum vindicare perturbationibus et curarum tumultibus praevalent.

Nor should the fact that the Book is not called a canticle, but the Canticle of Canticles, be regarded as insignificant. I have, indeed, read many canticles in Sacred Scripture, but none other, as far as I can remember, bearing such a title. Israel sang a hymn to the Lord, after escaping the sword and the yoke of Pharaoh, what time the sea rendered them the double service of delivering them from danger and wreaking vengeance on their enemies. Yet that hymn was not called the Canticle of Canticles. Holy Scripture simply says, if my memory serves me aright, that “ Israel sang this song to the Lord.” Debbora, too, sang a canticle, as did also Judith, and the mother of Samuel, and several of the prophets. But we do not read that any of these canticles were called the Canticle of Canticles. You will find, I think, that all  those persons sang their songs on account of some benefit bestowed upon themselves or their nation, as for a victory gained, or a danger avoided, or the acquisition of some coveted object. Such singers, therefore, had special motives for their canticles, and sang to show their gratitude for the divine favours, as it is written, “ He will confess to Thee when Thou shalt benefit him.” But King Solomon, excelling in wisdom, exalted in glory, and secure in peace, is known to have stood in need of no earthly object the acquisition of which would stimulate him to sing this canticle of his. Nor do his own writings anywhere give occasion for such a surmise.

7. Dehinc ne hoc quoque otiosum putes, quod non simpliciter Cantica, sed Cantica canticorum habet inscriptio. Multa quippe legi cantica in Scripturis, et nullum illorum memini taliter appellari. Cecinit Israel carmen Domino, quod gladium pariter et jugum 1269 evaserit Pharaonis, gemino maris mirabiliter liberatus simul et vindicatus obsequio. Non tamen quod cecinit, dictum est Canticum canticorum; ^[0788A] sed, si bene recolo: Cecinit, ait Scriptura, Israel carmen hoc Domino (Exod. XV, 1). Cecinit etiam Debbora (Judic. V, 1), cecinit et Judith (Judith XVI, 1), cecinit et mater Samuelis (I Reg. II, 1); prophetae quoque aliqui cecinerunt, et nemo eorum legitur appellasse canticum suum Cantica canticorum. Sane omnes, ni fallor, cecinisse reperies pro quocunque suo, suorumve percepto commodo: verbi gratia, pro obtentu victoriae, pro evasione periculi, aut pro concupitae rei qualiscunque adepto beneficio. Ita ergo plerique cecinerunt, singuli pro singulis causis, ne ingrati divinis beneficiis invenirentur, juxta illud: Confitebitur tibi, cum benefeceris ei (Psal. XLVIII, 19). At vero rex iste Salomon, sapientia singularis, sublimis gloria, rebus affluens, pace ^[0788B] securus, nullius talium eguisse cognoscitur, pro quo accepto ista decantare libuerit. Sed nec Scriptura ipsa sui uspiam tale aliquid significare videtur.

We must therefore suppose that, under divine inspiration, he celebrates the praises of Christ and His Church, the grace of heavenly love, and the mysteries of the eternal marriage. He also gives expression to the desires of the holy soul, and exulting in spirit, composed this nuptial song in sweet but figurative language. For, like Moses, he veils his countenance, here, peihaps, not less dazzlingly bright than the Lawgiver’s on Mount Sinai, because at that time very few, if any, could endure to gaze upon the glory of his naked face. In my opinion, therefore, this marriage hymn owes its title to its excellence, and with good reason is singularly called the Canticle of Canticles in the same way as He to Whom it is sung is singularly named “ King of kings and Lord of lords.”

8. Itaque divinitus inspiratus, Christi et Ecclesiae laudes, et sacri amoris gratiam, et aeterni connubii cecinit sacramenta; simulque expressit sanctae desiderium animae, et epithalamii carmen, exsultans in spiritu, jucundo composuit eulogio, figurato tamen. Nimirum velabat et ipse instar Moysi faciem suam (Exod. III, 6), non minus forsitan in hac parte fulgentem, eo quod illo adhuc in tempore nemo, aut rarus erat, qui revelata facie gloriam istam speculari sufficeret. Igitur pro sui excellentia reor nuptiale hoc carmen hujusmodi titulo praesignitum [alias ^[0788C] praesignatum], ut merito Cantica canticorum singulariter appelletur, sicut is quoque cui canitur, singulariter est dictus: Rex regum, et Dominus dominantium (I Tim. VI, 15).

I think, my brethren, you already recognise in your own experience those canticles, which in the Psalter are not called the Canticle of Canticles, but the “ Canticles of the Steps.” For at every advance you make towards perfection, according to the “ ascents “ which each has “ disposed in his heart,” a particular canticle has to be sung to the praise and glory of Him Who advances you. I do not see how otherwise can be fulfilled the verse, “ A voice of exultation and salvation in the tabernacle of the just.” Still less that most beautiful and salutary exhortation of the Apostle, “ In psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.”

10. Arbitror vos in vobis ipsis illa jam recognoscere, quae in psalterio, non Cantica canticorum, sed ^[0789B] Cantica Graduum appellantur, eo quod ad singulos profectus vestros, juxta ascensiones quas quisque in corde suo disposuit, singula sint cantica depromenda ad laudem et gloriam promoventis. Quonam modo impleatur aliter ille versiculus non video: Vox exsultationis et salutis in tabernaculis justorum (Psal. CXVII, 15); aut certe Apostoli iila pulcherrima saluberrimaque exhortatio: In psalmis, hymnis, 1270 et canticis spiritualibus cantantes, et psallentes in cordibus vestris Domino (Ephes. V, 19).

The Song of the Bride and the Bridegroom

But there is [also] that song which, through its singular dignity and sweetness, surpasses all those I have mentioned as well as any any others there may be. And this I rightly proclaim to be the Song of Songs, for it is the fruit of all the others. Only [the] annointing [of the Spirit] can teach it, only experience can teach it[‘s meaning].

11. Sed est canticum, quod sui singulari dignitate et suavitate cunctis merito quae memoravimus, et si qua sunt alia, antecellit: et jure hoc appellaverim Canticum canticorum, quia caeterorum omnium ipsum est fructus. Istiusmodi canticum sola unctio ^[0789C] docet, sola addiscit experientia.

Let experts call this again to mind; and let beginners burn with desire, not only to know but to experience it. For this [Song] is not a vocal utterance but a jubilation of the heart: not a cry from the lips but an [internal] movement of rejoicing; a symphony not of voices but of  wills.

Experti recognoscant, inexperti inardescant desiderio, non tam cognoscendi, quam experiendi. Non est enim strepitus oris, sed jubilus cordis; non sonus labiorum, sed motus gaudiorum; voluntatum, non vocum consonantia.

It is not heard externally, for it does not resound in public. Only the singer can hear it, and the One to Whom it is sung, namely, the Bride and the Bridegroom.

Non auditur foris, nec enim in publico personat: sola quae cantat audit, et cui cantatur, id est sponsa et sponsus.

For it is a wedding song, celebrating the chaste and joyous embraces of loving souls, the concord of their way of life, and the love arising from reciprocal affection

Est quippe nuptiale carmen, exprimens castos jucundosque complexus animorum, morum concordiam, affectuumque consentaneam ad alterutrum charitatem.

Yet this [song] can neither be sung nor heard by souls that are young. or neophytes, or recently converted from the world; but only by those who have made progress through dedicated study in their innermost soul [mens]. For these have made such great progress by God’s grace, that they have now come to maturity and are, as it were, of marriageable age - measuring time, that is, by merits rather than years. They are prepared for the mystical nuptials of the Heavenly Bridegroom, as will be more fully explained in its proper place..

12. Caeterum non est illud cantare seu audire animae puerilis et neophytae adhuc, et recens conversae de saeculo, sed provectae jam et eruditae mentis; quae suis nimirum profectibus. Deo promovente, ^[0789D] in tantum jam creverit, quatenus ad perfectam aetatem, et ad nubiles quodam modo pervenerit annos, annos dico meritorum, non temporum; facta nuptiis coelestis sponsi idonea, qualis denique suo loco plenius describetur.

Now, it is the hour at which both our poverty and our Rule require us to go forth to manual labour. Tomorrow I will resume, in the name of the Lord, my discourse on the mystical kiss, having in today’s sermon sufficiently expounded the meaning of the title

Sed praeterit hora, qua nos exire urget ad opera manuum et paupertas et institutio regularis. Cras in nomine Domini quod coeperamus prosequemur de osculo, quia de titulo hodiernus sermo nos expedivit.

 SERMON 27: On the Vesture of the Bride and How A Holy Soul May be Called “Heaven”

PL 183 1360: SERMO XXVII. De ornatu sponsae, et qualiter anima sancta in coelum dicatur.
PL 183.912-921

Our friend has gone back to his homeland, my brothers; we have paid the full tribute of human affection to his memory, so I take up again the instruction which I then discontinued. As he is now in the state of happiness it is improper to prolong our mourning for him, it is out of place to appear in tears before a man enjoying a banquet. Even though we do shed tears in our troubles, our grief should not be excessive, or it will seem to express our regret for the service we have lost rather than our love for him. To think that the one we love is in a state of bliss must ease the pain of our bereavement; to realize that he is with God must make his absence from us more bearable. And so, trusting in the aid of your prayers, I shall attempt to throw light on the secret hidden by those curtains that portray the beauty of the bride. We touched on this, as you recall, but did not delve into it, though we had discussed and discovered how she is black like the tents of Kedar. But in what way can she be beautiful like the curtains of Solomon, as if Solomon in all his glory could even remotely resemble the beauty of the bride, or possessed anything to match the splendor of her adornment? Even if I were to say that these mysterious curtains refer to the quality of blackness as well as to the tents of Kedar, I should perhaps be correct; there are arguments to support this, as I shall show later. But if we suppose that the beauty of any sort of curtains is to be compared to the glory of the bride, then we need the help for which you have been praying,  if we are to be worthy to unveil this mystery. For must not outward loveliness, no matter how radiant, seem to an enlightened mind to be cheap and ugly, when compared with the inward beauty of a holy soul? What qualities can we find within the framework of this passing world that can equal the radiance of a soul that has shed its decrepit, earthly body, and been clothed in heaven's loveliness, graced with the jewels of consummate virtue, clearer than mountain air because of its transcendence, more brilliant than the sun? So do not look back to the earthly Solomon when you wish to investigate the ownership of those curtains whose beauty delights the bride because so like her own.

1. Quia debitis humanitatis officiis amicum revertentem in patriam prosecuti sumus, redeo, fratres, ad propositum aedificandi quod intermiseram. Incongruum namque est diu flere laetantem; et sedenti ad epulas lacrymas multas ingerere, importunum. ^[912D] Sed et si nostras defleamus aerumnas, ne id quidem oportet nimis, ne non tam amasse illum, quam nostra quaesisse de illo commoda videamur. Temperet sane dilecti gaudium moestitiam desolatorum; et tolerabilius fiat nobis quod nobiscum non est, quia cum Deo est. Fretus ergo orationibus vestris, volo in lucem, si possum, prodere quidquid illud est, quod opertum illis pellibus sentio, quae in exemplum ^[913A] decoris sponsae productae sunt. Hoc, si recolitis [alias, sicut recolitis], tactum fuit, sed indiscussum remansit: porro discussum et declaratum, quomodo nigra sit sicut tabernacula Cedar. Quomodo ergo sicut pelles Salomonis formosa (Cant. I, 4), quasi vero Salomon in omni gloria sua quidquam habuerit condignum decore sponsae, et gloria ornatus ejus? Et quidem si non ad decorem sponsae, sed ad nigredinem potius nescio quas pelles istas, sicut et tabernacula Cedar respicere diceremus, fortassis competeret, nec deesset unde id congruere monstraremus, sicut et monstrabimus. At vero si sponsae claritati quarumcunque decorem pellium comparandum putamus, hic prorsus opus nobis est ejus ad quem pulsastis auxilio, quatenus mysterium hoc digne aperire ^[913B] possimus. Quid namque eorum quae in facie lucent, si internae cujuspiam sanctae animae pulchritudini comparetur, non vile ac foedum recto appareat aestimatori? Quid, inquam, tale in se ostendit ea quae praeterit figura hujus mundi, quod aequare speciem animae possit illius, quae exuta terreni hominis vetustatem, ejus qui de coelo est, decorem induit, ornata optimis moribus pro monilibus, ipso purior sicut et excelsior aethere, sole splendidior? Noli ergo respicere ad istum Salomonem, cum indagare cupis cujusmodi se pellibus similem in decore sponsa glorietur.

2. What does she mean then by saying: “I am beautiful like the curtains of Solomon”? I feel that here we have a great and wonderful mystery, provided that we apply the words, not to the Solomon of this Song, but to him who said of himself: “What is here is greater than Solomon.” This Solomon to whom I refer is so great a Solomon that he is called not only Peaceful -- which is the meaning of the word Solomon -- but Peace itself; for Paul proclaims that “He is our Peace.” I am certain that in this Solomon we can discover something that we may unhesitatingly compare with the beauty of the bride. Note especially what the Psalm says of his curtains: “You have spread out the heavens like a curtain.” The first Solomon, though sufficiently wise and powerful, did not spread out the heavens like a curtain; it was he, rather who is not merely wise but Wisdom itself, who both created them and spread them out. It was he, and not the former Solomon, who spoke these words of God his Father: “When he set the heavens in their place, I was there.” His power and his wisdom were undoubtedly present at the establishing of the heavens. And do not imagine that he stood by idle, as merely a spectator, because he said “I was there,” and not “I was cooperating.” Search further on in this text and you will find that he clearly states he was with him arranging all things. Therefore he said: “Whatever the Father does, the Son does too.” He it was who spread out the heavens like a curtain, a curtain of superlative beauty that covers the whole face of the earth like a huge tent, and charms our human eyes with the variegated spectacle of sun and moon and stars. Is there anything more lovely than this curtain? Anything more bejewelled than the heavens? Yet even this can in no way be compared to the splendor and comeliness of the bride. It fails because it is a physical thing, the object of our physical senses; its form will pass away. “For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

2. Quid est ergo quod dicit: Formosa sum sicut pelles Salomonis? Magnum et mirabile quiddam, ut ^[913C] ego aestimo: si tamen non hunc, sed illum hic attendamus, de quo dicitur: Ecce plus quam Salomon hic (Matth. XII, 42). Nam usque adeo is meus Salomon est, ut non modo pacificus (quod quidem Salomon interpretatur), sed et pax ipsa vocetur, Paulo perhibente quia ipse est pax nostra (Ephes. II, 14). Apud istum Salomonem non dubito posse inveniri quod decori sponsae omnino comparare non dubitem. Et praesertim de pellibus ejus adverte in Psalmo: Extendens, ait, coelum sicut pellem (Psal. CIII, 2). Non ille profecto Salomon, etsi multum sapiens, multumque potens, extendit coelum sicut pellem; sed is potius qui non tam sapiens quam ipsa Sapientia est, ipse prorsus extendit et condidit. Istius siquidem, et non illius illa vox est: Quando praeparabat ^[913D] coelos, haud dubium quin Deus Pater, ego aderam. Aderat sine dubio praeparanti coelos sua virtus, suaque sapientia. Nec putes astitisse otiosam, et quasi ad spectandum solummodo, quia dixit, aderam, non etiam, praeparabam. Respice paulisper inferius, et invenies aperte subjungentem, quia eram cum eo componens omnia (Prov. VIII, 27-30). Denique ait: Quaecunque enim Pater facit, haec et Filius similiter facit (Joan. V, 19). Et ipse itaque extendit coelum sicut pellem. Pulcherrima pellis, quae in modum magni cujusdam tentorii universam operiens faciem terrae, solis, lunae atque stellarum varietate tam ^[914A] spectabili humanos oblectat aspectus. Quid hac pello formosius? quid 1361 ornatius coelo? Minime tamen vel ipsum ullatenus conferendum gloriae et decori sponsae, eo ipso succumbens, quod praeterit et haec figura ipsius, utpote corporea, et corporeis subjacens sensibus. Quae enim videntur, temporalia sunt; quae autem non videntur, aeterna (II Cor. IV, 18).

II. 3. The bride's form must be understood in a spiritual sense, her beauty as something that is grasped by the intellect; it is eternal because it is an image of eternity. Her gracefulness consists of love, and you have read that “love never ends.” It consist of justice, for “her justice endures forever.” It consists of patience, and Scripture tells you “the patience of the poor shall not perish forever.” What shall I say of voluntary poverty? Of humility? To the former an eternal kingdom is promised, to the latter an eternal exaltation. To these must be added the holy fear of the Lord that endures for ever and ever; prudence too, and temperance and fortitude and all other virtues; what are they but pearls in the jeweled raiment of the bride, shining with unceasing radiance? I say unceasing, because they are the basis, the very foundation of immortality. For there is no place for immortal and blissful life in the soul except by means and mediation of the virtues. Hence the Prophet, speaking to God who is eternal happiness, says: “Justice and judgment are the foundation of your throne.” And the Apostle says that Christ dwells in our hearts, not in any and every way, but particularly by faith. When Christ, too, was about to ride on the ass, the disciples spread their cloaks underneath him, to signify that our Savior, or his salvation, will not rest in the naked soul until it is clothed with the teaching and discipline of the apostles. Therefore the Church, possessing the promise of happiness to come, now prepares for it by adorning herself in cloth of gold, girding herself with a variety of graces and virtues, in order to be found worthy and capable of the fulness of grace.

3. Sed est rationalis quaedam sponsae species, et spiritualis effigies; ipsaque aeterna, quia imago aeternitatis. Decor ejus, verbi gratia, charitas est, et charitas, sicut legitis, nunquam excidit (I Cor. XIII, 8). Est certe et justitia: Et justitia ejus, inquit, manet in saeculum saeculi (Psal. CXI, 3). Est etiam patientia; et legitis nihilominus quia patientia pauperum ^[914B] non peribit in finem (Psal. IX, 19). Quid voluntaria paupertas? quid humilitas? Nonne altera regnum aeternum (Matth. V, 3), altera aeque exaltationem promeretur aeternam? (Luc. XIV, 11.) Eo quoque spectat et timor Domini sanctus, permanens in saeculum saeculi (Psal. XVIII, 10). Sic prudentia, sic temperantia, sic fortitudo, et si quae sunt virtutes aliae, quid nisi margaritae sunt quaedam in sponsae ornatu, splendore perpetuo coruscantes? Perpetuo, inquam, quia sedes et fundamentum perpetuitatis. Nec enim perpetuae beataeque vitae omnino locus in anima est, nisi mediis quidem interjectisque virtutibus. Unde Propheta Deo, qui utique vita beata est: Justitia, inquit, et judicium praeparatio sedis tuae (Psal. LXXXVIII, 15). Et Apostolus dicit: Christum ^[914C] habitare, non omni modo quidem, sed signanter per fidem in cordibus nostris (Ephes. III, 17). Domino quoque sessuro super asellum, vestes suas discipuli substraverunt (Matth. XXI, 7, 8); significantes Salvatorem seu salutem nequaquam insidere nudae animae, quam non videlicet vestitam invenerit doctrina et moribus apostolorum. Et ideo Ecclesia promissionem habens futurae felicitatis, curat interim praeparare et praeornare se in vestitu deaurato, circumdata varietate (Psal. XLIV, 10) gratiarum atque virtutum , quo digna et capax plenitudinis gratiae inveniatur.

4. Though this visible, material heaven, with its great variety of stars is unsurpassingly beautiful within the bounds of the material creation, I should not dare to compare its beauty with the spiritual and varied loveliness she received with her first robe when being arrayed in the garments of holiness. But there is a heaven of heavens to which the Prophet refers. “Sing to the Lord who mounts above the heaven of heavens, to the east.” This heaven is in the world of the intellect and the spirit; and he who made the heavens by his wisdom, created it to be his eternal dwelling-place. You must not suppose that the bride's affections can find rest outside of this heaven, where she knows her Beloved dwells: for where her treasure is, there her heart is too. She so yearns for him that she is jealous of those who live in his presence; and since she may not yet participate in the vision that is theirs, she strives to resemble them in the way she lives. By deeds rather than words she proclaims: “Lord, I love the beauty of your house, the place where your glory dwells.”

4. Caeterum spirituali huic tam pulchrae varietati, quam de prima interim stola in quadam veste suae ^[914D] sanctificationis accepit, nullo pacto ego comparaverim in decore coelum hoc visibile atque corporeum, quamvis in suo genere quidem siderea varietate pulcherrimum. Sed est coelum coeli, de quo Propheta: Psallite, inquit, Domino, qui ascendit super coelum coeli ad orientem (Psal. LXVII, 33, 34). Et hoc coelum intellectuale ac spirituale: et qui fecit coelos in intellectu (Psal. CXXXV, 5), creavit illud et statuit in sempiternum, ipsumque inhabitat. Ne vero putes sponsae devotionem citra illud remanere coelum, in quo scit habitare dilectum: ubi enim thesaurus ejus, ibi et cor ejus (Matth. VI, 21). Aemulatur ^[915A] sane assistentes vultui ad quem suspirat, et quibus se interim non valet videndo associare, studet conformare vivendo, moribus magis, quam vocibus clamans: Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuae, et locum habitationis gloriae tuae (Psal. XXV, 8).

III. 5. She has no objection whatever to being compared to this heaven, made glorious by the marvelous and manifold works of the Creator, that reaches out like a curtain, not over mighty spaces but over the hearts of men. Any distinctions that exist there do not consist of colors but of degrees of bliss. Among its inhabitants we find Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Dominations, Principalities, Powers, Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim. These are that heaven's sparkling stars, these are that curtain's shining glories. We are dealing with only one of the curtains of my Solomon, but the one that surpasses all in the radiance of its multiform glory. This immense curtain contains within itself many other curtains of Solomon, for every blessed and saint who dwells there is indeed a curtain of Solomon. They overflow with kindness, their love reaches out till it comes down even to us. Far from begrudging us the glory they enjoy, they want us to share it, and hence find it no burden to accompany us for that purpose, sedulously watching over us and our concerns. They are all spirits whose work is service, sent to help those who will be the heirs of salvation. Therefore, since the multitude of the blessed, taken as a unit, is called the heaven of heavens, so, when taken individually, they are called the heavens of heavens, because each is a heaven, and we may apply to each the words: “You have spread out heaven like a curtain.” You now see, I hope, what these curtains are to which the bride so assuredly compares herself, and to which Solomon they belong.

5. Prorsus de hoc coelo minime sibi indignum ducit ducere similitudinem. Hoc extentum sicut pellis, non spatiis tamen locorum, sed affectibus animorum; hoc miris variisque artificis distinctum operibus. Divisiones autem sunt, non colorum , sed beatitudinum. Nam alios quidem posuit angelos; alios autem, archangelos; alios vero, virtutes; alios, dominationes; alios, principatus; alios, potestates; alios, thronos; alios cherubin, atque alios seraphin. Sic stellatum coelum hoc; sic depicta haec pellis. ^[915B] Haec una de pellibus mei Salomonis, et haec praecipua in omni ornatu multiformis gloriae ejus. Habet autem grandis ista pellis quamplurimas in se aeque Salomonis pelles, quoniam unusquisque beatus et sanctus, qui ibi est, pellis est utique Salomonis. Benigni siquidem sunt atque extenti in charitate, pertingentes usque ad nos, quibus gloriam, quam habent, 1362 non invident, sed optant; ita ut ex ipsis hujus rei gratia demorari apud nos non graventur, seduli circa nos, et curam gerentes nostri, omnes administratorii spiritus, missi in ministerium propter eos qui haereditatem capiunt salutis (Hebr. 1, 14). Quamobrem sicut coelum coeli singulariter dicitur universa illa multitudo collecta beatorum; sic et coeli coelorum propter singulos, qui utique ^[915C] coeli sunt, nominantur, et ad singulos spectat quod dicitur: Extendens coelum sicut pellem (Psal. CIII, 2). Viderie, credo, quaenam illae pelles, et cujus sint Salomonis, de quarum sponsa similitudine gloriatur.

IV. 6. Contemplate what a glory is hers who compares herself to heaven, even to that heaven who is so much more glorious as he is divine. This is no rashness, taking her comparison from whence her origin comes. For if she compares herself to the tents of Kedar because of her body drawn from the earth, why should she not glory in her likeness to heaven because of the heavenly origin of her soul, especially since her life bears witness to her origin and to the dignity of her nature and her homeland? She adores and worships one God, just like the angels; she loves Christ above all things, just like the angels; she is chaste, just like the angels, and that in the flesh of a fallen race, in a frail body that the angels do not have. But she seeks and savors the things that they enjoy, not the things that are on the earth. What can be a clearer sign of her heavenly origin than that she retains a natural likeness to it in the land of unlikeness, than that as an exile on earth she enjoys the glory of the celibate life, than that she lives like an angel in an animal body? These gifts reveal a power that is more of heaven than of earth. They clearly indicate that a soul thus endowed is truly from heaven. But Scripture is clearer still: “I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice from the throne saying: `Behold the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell among them.' “ But why? In order to win a bride for himself from among men. How wonderful this? He came to seek a bride, but did not come without one. He sought a bride, but she was with him. Had he then two brides? Certainly not. “My dove is only one,” he says. Just as he wished to form one flock of the scattered flocks of sheep, that there might be one flock and one shepherd, so, although from the beginning he had for bride the multitude of angels, it pleased him to summon the Church from among men and unite it with the one from heaven, that there might be but the one bride and one Bridegroom. The one from heaven perfects the earthly one; it does not make two. Hence he says: “My perfect one is only one.” Their likeness makes them one, one now in their similar purpose, one hereafter in the same glory.

6. Nunc jam intueamini ejus gloriam, quae et coelo se comparat, et illi coelo, quod tanto est gloriosius, quanto divinius. Nec immerito usurpat inde similitudinem, unde originem ducit . Nam si propter corpus, quod de terra habet, tabernaculis Cedar se assimilat, cur non et propter animam, quae de coelo est, coelo aeque similem se esse glorietur, praesertim cum vita testetur originem, testetur naturae dignitatem et patriae? Unum Deum adorat et colit, quo ^[915D] modo angeli, Christum super omnia amat, quo modo ^[916A] angeli, casta est, quo modo angeli, idque in carne peccati et fragili corpore, quod non angeli, quaerit postremo, et sapit quae apud illos sunt, non quae super terram. Quod evidentius coelestis insigne originis, quam ingenitam, et in regione dissimilitudinis, retinere similitudinem, gloriam vitae caelibis in terra, et ab exsule, usurpari, in corpore denique pene bestiali vivere angelum? Coelestis sunt ista potentiae, non terrenae, et quod vere de coelo sit anima quae haec potest, aperte indicant. Audi tamen apertius: Vidi, inquit, civitatem sanctam Jerusalem novam, descendentem de coelo, a Deo paratam, tanquam sponsam ornatam viro suo; et addidit: Et audivi vocem magnam de throno dicentem: Ecce tubernaculum Dei cum hominibus, et habitabit cum eis (Apoc. ^[916B] XXI, 2, 3). Ad quid? Credo ut sibi acquirat sponsam de hominibus. Mira res! Ad sponsam veniebat, et absque sponsa non veniebat. Quaerebat sponsam, et sponsa cum ipso erat. An duae erant? Absit! Una est enim, ait, columba mea. Sed sicut de diversis ovium gregibus unum facere voluit, ut sit unum ovile, et unus pastor (Joan. X, 16), ita cum haberet sponsam inhaerentem sibi a principio multitudinem angelorum, placuit ei et de hominibus convocare Ecclesiam, atque unire illi quae de coelo est, ut sit una sponsa, et sponsus unus. Ergo ex adjecta ista, perfecta est illa, non duplicata, et agnoscit de se dictum: Una est perfecta mea (Cant. VI, 8). Porro unam conformitas facit, nunc quidem in simili devotione, postea vero et in pari gloria.

7. These two then have their origin in heaven -- Jesus the Bridegroom and Jerusalem the bride. He, in order to be seen by men, “emptied himself taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” But the bride -- in what form or exterior loveliness, in what guise did St John see her coming down? Was it perhaps in the company of the angels whom he saw ascending and descending upon the Son of Man? It is more accurate to say that he saw the bride when he looked on the Word made flesh, and acknowledged two natures in the one flesh. For when that holy Emmanuel introduced to earth the curriculum of heavenly teaching, when we came to know the visible image and radiant comeliness of that supernal Jerusalem, our mother, revealed to us in Christ and by his means, what did we behold if not the bride in the Bridegroom? What did we admire but that same person who is the Lord of glory, the Bridegroom decked with a garland, the bride adorned with her jewels? So “He who descended is he also who ascended,” since “no one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven,” the one and same Lord who as head of the Church is the Bridegroom, as body is the bride. This heaven-formed man did not appear on earth in vain, since he endowed a multitude of earthly followers with his own heavenly image. As Scripture says: “the heavenly Man is the pattern of all the heavenly.” From that time the lives of many on earth have been like the lives of heaven's citizens, as when, after the example of that exalted and blessed bride, she who came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, embraced the heavenly Bridegroom with a chaste love. Though, unlike the blessed bride, not yet united to him by vision, she is still espoused to him by faith, as God promised through the Prophet's words: “I will betroth you to me in steadfast love and mercy, I will betroth you to me in faithfulness.” Hence she strives more and more to resemble her who came from heaven, learning from her to be modest and prudent, learning to be chaste and holy, to be patient and compassionate, and ultimately to be meek and humble of heart. By these virtues she endeavors, even while absent, to be pleasing to him on whom the angels long to look. With a love angelic in its fervor she shows herself to be a fellow-citizen with the saints and a domestic of God, she shows that she is beloved, that she is a bride.

^[916C] 7. Habes itaque utrumque de coelo, et sponsum, scilicet Jesum, et sponsam, Jerusalem. Et ille quidem ut videretur, semetipsum exinanivit formam servi accipiens, in similitudinem hominum factus, et habitu inventus ut homo (Philipp. II, 7). At illam in quanam, putamus, forma seu specie, aut in quo habitu videlicet descendentem vidit ille qui vidit? An forte in frequentia angelorum, quos vidit descendentes et ascendentes super Filium hominis? (Joan. I, 51.) Sed melius dicimus quod sponsam tunc viderit, cum Verbum in carne vidit, agnoscens duos in carne una. Dum enim sanctus ille Emmanuel terris intulit magisterium disciplinae coelestis, dum supernae illius Jerusalem, quae est mater nostra, visibilis ^[916D] quaedam imago et species decoris ejus per ipsum ^[917A] nobis et in ipso expressa innotuit: quid nisi in sponso sponsam perspeximus, unum eumdemque Dominum gloriae admirantes, et sponsum decoratum corona, et sponsam ornatam monilibus suis? Ipse igitur qui descendit, ipse est et qui ascendit, ut nemo ascendat in coelum, nisi qui de coelo descendit, unus idemque Dominus, et sponsus in capite, 1363 et sponsa in corpore. Nec frustra in terris visus est homo coelestis, cum de terrenis coelestes quamplurimos fecerit sibi similes, ut sit quod legitur: Qualis coelestis, tales et coelestes (I Cor. XV, 48). Extunc igitur in terra vivitur more coelestium, dum instar supernae illius beataeque creaturae, haec quoque, quae a finibus terrae venit audire sapientiam Salomonis, coelesti viro nihilominus casto inhaeret amore, etsi necdum ^[917B] quomodo illa juncta per speciem, tamen sponsata per fidem, juxta promissum Dei dicentis per prophetam: Sponsabo te mihi in misericordia et miserationibus, et sponsabo te mihi in fide (Ose. II, 19). Unde magis magisque conformari satagit formae, quae de coelo venit, discens ab ea verecunda esse et sobria, discens pudica et sancta, discens patiens atque compatiens, postremo discens mitis et humilis corde. Et ideo moribus hujuscemodi contendit et absens placere ei, in quem angeli prospicere concupiscunt, ut dum desiderio fervet angelico, probet se proinde civem sanctorum, et domesticam Dei, probet dilectam, probet sponsam.

V. 8. I believe that all persons such as I have described are not only heavenly because of their origin but that each so resembles heaven as to merit being so named. Their heavenly origin is most evident since their life is centered in heaven. The holy person whose gift of faith is like a moon and whose virtues are like stars, is truly a heaven. We could mean by the sun zeal for justice and fervent love and by the moon continence. Without the sun there is no brightness in the moon, and without justice and love there is no merit in continence. Hence that saying of Wisdom: “How beautiful is the chaste generation with its love.” And to call the stars virtues gives me no qualms, the aptness of the metaphor is so obvious. For just as the stars that shine by night are hidden by day, so true virtue that passes unnoticed in prosperity, becomes conspicuous in adversity. What prudence conceals, necessity forces into the open. So, if virtue be a star, the virtuous man is a heaven. But we are not to suppose that when God, speaking through his Prophet, said “heaven is my throne, he was referring to the wheeling heavens we see above us; no, in another text of Scripture we find what he meant more clearly expressed: “The soul of the just is the seat of wisdom.” If you recall the Savior's teaching that God is a spirit, to be adored in spirit, you must realize that God's throne is a spiritual entity. This truth I confidently affirm, in the case of a just man no less than of an angel.

8. Ego puto omnem animam talem non modo coelestem ^[917C] esse propter originem, sed et coelum ipsum posse non immerito appellari propter imitationem. Et tunc liquido ostendit quia vere origo ipsius de coelis est, cum conversatio ejus in coelis est. Est ergo coelum sancta aliqua anima, habens solem intellectum, lunam fidem, astra virtutes. Vel certo sol, justitiae zelus aut fervens charitas; et luna continentia. Quomodo enim claritas, ut aiunt, lunae nonnisi a sole est, sic absque charitate seu justitia continentiae meritum nullum est. Hinc denique Sapiens: O quam pulchra est, inquit, casta generatio cum charitate! (Sap. IV, 1.) Porro stellas dixisse virtutes non me poenitet, considerantem congruentiam similitudinis. Quo modo nempe stellae in nocte lucent, in die latent, sic vera virtus, quae saepe in prosperis ^[917D] non apparet, eminet in adversis. Illud sane cautelae ^[918A] est, hoc necessitatis. Ergo virtus est sidus, et homo virtutum, coelum. Nisi quis forte cum Deum, per prophetam dixisse legit: Coelum mihi sedes est (Isa. LXVI, 1); coelum hoc volubile visibileque intelligendum existimet, et non potius illud, de quo alibi apertius Scriptura commemorat: Anima, inquiens, justi sedes est sapientiae . Qui autem ex doctrina Salvatoris sapit spiritum esse Deum, atque in spiritu adorandum (Joan. IV, 24); etiam sedem ei non ambigit assignare spiritualem. Ego vero fidenter id fecerim, non minus in hominis justi, quam in angelico spiritu.

On the Widened Heart

9. No need to be surprised that the Lord Jesus should be pleased to dwell in this heaven, which he not only called into being by his word like the other creatures, but fought to acquire and died to redeem. And when his passion was over the longing of his heart found echo in the words: “This is my resting-place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.” Happy therefore is the one to whom he says: “Come my chosen one, and I shall set up my throne within you.” Why are you sad now, my soul, why do you trouble me? Do you not think you will find within you a place for the Lord? Which of us indeed is suited for so much glory, qualified to welcome so majestic a being? Would that I were worthy to worship at his footstool! Who will grant me at least to walk in the footsteps of some holy soul whom he has chosen as his heritage? Would that he anointed my soul with the oil of his mercy, to extend it like a curtain of skin that expands when anointed, and I should be able to say: “I have run the way of your commandments, when you enlarged my heart.” Then perhaps I should find within me not so much a great dining-hall where he might recline with his discipline, as a place where he might lay his head. From afar off I gaze toward the truly blessed ones, of whom is said: “I will live in them and move among them.”

9. Nec mirum, si libenter inhabitat coelum hoc Dominus Jesus, quod utique, non quomodo caeteros, dixit tantum ut fieret, sed pugnavit ut acquireret, occubuit ut redimeret. Ideo et post laborem voto potitus, ait: Haec requies mea in saeculum saeculi; hic habitabo, quoniam elegi eam (Psal. CXXXI, 14). Et beata cui dicitur: Veni, electa mea, et ponam in te thronum meum. Quid tu tristis es nunc, o anima mea, et quare conturbas me? Putasne et tu penes te invenias locum Domino? Et quis nobis locus in nobis huic idoneus gloriae, sufficiens majestati? Utinam ^[918C] vel merear adorare in loco ubi steterunt pedes ejus. Quis dabit mihi saltem vestigiis adhaerere sanctae cujuspiam animae, quam elegit in habitationem sibi? Tamen, si dignetur infundere et meam animam unctione misericordiae suae, atque ita extendere sicut pellem, quae utique cum ungitur dilatatur, quatenus et ego dicere valeam: Viam 1364 mandatorum tuorum cucurri, cum dilatasti cor meum (Psal. CXVIII, 32); potero etiam ipse fortassis ostendere in me ipso, etsi non coenaculum grande stratum, ubi possit recumbere cum discipulis suis; attamen ubi saltem reclinet caput. A longe suspicio illos certe beatos, de quibus dicitur: Et inhabitabo in eis, et deambulabo in illis (II Cor. VI, 16).

VI. 10. What a capacity this soul has, how privileged its merits, that it is found worthy not only to receive the divine presence, but to be able to make sufficient room! What can I say of her who can provide avenues spacious enough for the God of majesty to walk in! She certainly cannot afford to be entangled in law-suits nor by worldly cares; she cannot be enslaved by gluttony and sensual pleasures, by the lust of the eyes, the ambition to rule, or by pride in the possession of power. If she is to become heaven, the dwelling-place of God, it is first of all essential that she be empty of all these defects. Otherwise how could she be still enough to know that he is God? Nor may she yield in the least to hatred or envy or bitterness, “because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul.” The soul must grow and expand, that it may be roomy enough for God. Its width is its love, if we accept what the Apostle says: “Widen your hearts in love.” The soul, being a spirit, does not admit of material expansion, but grace confers gifts on it that nature is not equipped to bestow. Its growth and expansion must be understood in a spiritual sense; it is its virtue that increases, not its substance. Even its glory is increased. And finally it grows and advances toward “mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Eventually it becomes “a holy temple in the Lord.” The capacity of any man's soul is judged by the amount of love he possesses; hence he who loves much is great, he who loves a little is small, he who has no love is nothing, as Paul said: “If I have not love, I am nothing.” But if he begins to acquire some love however, if he tries at least to love those who love him, and salutes the brethren and others who salute him, I may no longer describe him as nothing because some love must be present in the give and take of social life. In the words of the Lord, however, what more is he doing than others. When I discover a love as mediocre as this, I cannot call such a man noble or great: he is obviously narrow- minded and mean.

^[918D] 10. O quanta illi animae latitudo, quanta et meritorum ^[919A] praerogativa, quae divinam in se praesentiam, et digna invenitur suscipere, et sufficiens capere! Quid illa, cui et spatiosa [alias, spatia] suppetunt deambulatoria, ad opus quidem majestatis? Non est profecto intricata forensibus causis curisve saecularibus, nec certe ventri et luxuriae dedita; sed nec curiosa spectandi, seu cupida omnino dominandi, vel etiam tumida dominatu. Oportet namque primo quidem his omnibus vacuam esse animam, ut coelum fiat atque habitatio Dei. Alioquin quomodo poterit vacare, et videre quoniam ipse est Deus? Sed et odio sive invidiae aut rancori minime prorsus indulgendum, quoniam in malevolam animam non introibit sapientia (Sap. I, 4). Deinde necesse est eam crescere ac dilatari, ut sit capax Dei. Porro latitudo ^[919B] ejus, dilectio ejus, sicut dicit Apostolus: Dilatamini in charitate (II Cor. VI, 13). Nam etsi anima minime, cum sit spiritus, quantitatem corpoream recipit; tamen confert illi gratia quod negatum est a natura. Crescit quidem et extenditur, sed spiritualiter; crescit non in substantia, sed in virtute; crescit et in gloria; crescit etiam in templum sanctum in Domino; crescit denique et proficit in virum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi (Ephes. IV, 13). Ergo quantitas cujusque animae aestimetur de mensura charitatis quam habet, ut verbi gratia, quae multum habet charitatis, magna sit; quae parum, parva; quae vero nihil, nihil, dicente Paulo; Si charitatem non habuero, nihil sum (I Cor. XIII, 3). Quod si quantulamcunque habere coeperit, ut saltem diligentes ^[919C] se diligere curet, ac salutare vel fratres suos, et eos qui se salutant; jam nonnihil quidem illam animam dixerim, quae in ratione dati et accepti socialem saltem retinet charitatem. Verumtamen juxta sermonem Domini, quid amplius facit? (Matth. V, 47.) Nec amplam proinde, nec magnam, sed plane angustam modicamque censuerim animam, quam adeo modicae charitatis esse cognoverim.

11. But if his love expands and continues to advance till it outgrows these narrow, servile confines, and finds itself in the open ranges where love is freely given in full liberty of spirit; when from the generous bounty of his goodwill he strives to reach out to all his neighbors, loving each of them as himself, surely one may no longer query, “What more are you doing than others? Indeed he has made himself vast. His heart is filled with a love that embraces everybody, even those to whom it is not tied by the inseparable bonds of family relationship; a love that is not allured by any hope of personal gain, that possesses nothing it is obliged to restore, that bears no burden of debt whatever, apart from that one of which it is said: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” Progressing further still, you may endeavor to take the kingdom of love by force, until by this holy warfare you succeed in possessing it even to its farthest bounds. Instead of shutting off your affections from your enemies, you will do good to those who hate you, you will pray for those who persecute and slander you, you will strive to be peaceful even with those who hate peace. Then the width, height and beauty of your soul will be the width, height and beauty of heaven itself, and you will realize how true it is that he has “stretched out the heavens like a curtain.'' In this heaven whose width, height and beauty compel our admiration, he who is supreme and immense and glorious is not only pleased to dwell, but to wander far and wide on its pathways.

11. At si grandescat et proficiat, ita ut transiens limitem angusti obnoxiique amoris hujus, latos fines bonitatis gratuitae tota libertate spiritus apprehendat, quatenus largo quodam gremio bonae voluntatis ad omnem seipsam curet extendere proximum, diligendo unumquemque tanquam seipsam; nunquid ^[919D] jam illi recte dicetur: Quid amplius facis? quippe quae seipsam tam amplam facit. Amplum, inquam, gerit charitatis sinum, quae complectitur universos, etiam quibus nulla se novit carnis necessitudine junctam, nulla spe percipiendi commodi cujusquam illectam, nulla percepti redhibitione obnoxiam, nullo denique omnino astrictam debito, nisi illo sane, de quo dicitur: Nemini quidquam debeatis, nisi ut invicem diligatis (Rom. XIII, 8). Verum si adjicias etiam usquequaque vim facere regno charitatis, ut usque ad ultimos ejus terminos occupare illud pius invasor praevaleas, dum ne inimicis quidem claudenda viscera pietatis existimes; benefacias his quoque qui te oderunt, ores et pro persequentibus ac calumniantibus te, nec non et cum his qui oderunt pacem ^[920A] esse pacificus studeas: tunc prorsus latitudo coeli, latitudo tuae animae; et altitudo non dispar, sed nec dissimilis pulchritudo; impleturque tunc demum in ea quod dicitur: Extendens coelum sicut pellem (Psal. CIII, 2): in quo jam mirae latitudinis, altitudinis, ac pulchritudinis coelo summus et immensus atque gloriosus, non modo dignanter habitat, sed et spatiose deambulat.

VII. 12. Do you not now see what heavens the Church possesses within her, and that she herself, in her universality, is an immense heaven, stretching out “from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.” Consider therefore, to what you may compare her in this respect, provided you do not forget what I mentioned a short while ago concerning the heaven of heaven and heavens of heavens. Just like our mother above, this one, though still a pilgrim, has her own heaven: spiritual men outstanding in their lives and reputations, men of genuine faith, unshaken hope, generous love, men raised to the heights of contemplation. These men rain down God's saving work like showers, reprove with a voice of thunder, shine with a splendor of miracles. They proclaim the glory of God, and stretched out like curtains over all the earth, make known the law of life and knowledge written by God's finger into their own lives, “to give knowledge of salvation to his people.” They show forth the gospel of peace, because they are the curtain of Solomon.

1365 12. Videsne quales in se habeat Ecclesia coelos, cum sit nihilominus ipsa, in sua quidem universitate, ingens quoddam coelum, extentum a mari usque ad mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos orbis terrarum? Vide etiam consequenter, cui et in hoc ipso assimiles eam, si tamen non tibi excidit illud quod paulo ante memoratum est hujus rei ^[920B] exemplar, de coelo videlicet coeli, et coelis coelorum (Supra num. 9). Ergo exemplo illius quae sursum est mater nostra, haec quoque quae adhuc peregrinatur, habet coelos suos, homines spirituales, vita et opinione conspicuos, fide puros, spe firmos, latos charitate, contemplatione suspensos. Et hi pluentes pluviam verbi salutarem, tonant increpationibus, coruscant miraculis. Hi enarrant gloriam Dei, hi extenti sicut pelles super omnem terram, legem vitae et disciplinae digito quidem Dei scriptam in semetipsis ostendunt, ad dandam scientiam salutis plebi ejus: ostendunt et Evangelium pacis, quoniam Salomonis sunt pelles.

13. In these curtains then we must discern the likeness of those heavenly figures whom we have just described as part of the Bridegroom's adornment. We must recognize too the queen standing at his right hand, decked with ornaments similar, though not equal, to his. For although she is endowed with no small share of glory and beauty even where she sojourns as a pilgrim,”° as well as in the day of her strength amid the splendors of the saints, yet the fullness and perfection of the glory of the blessed crowns her Bridegroom in a way that is different. If I do refer to the bride as perfect and blessed, she is not wholly so. In part she resembles the tents of Kedar; but she is also beautiful, both in that part of her which already reigns in heaven, and in those illustrious men whose wisdom and virtues grace her journey through the night, like a heaven spangled with stars. Hence the Prophet's words: “The wise leaders shall shine like the bright vault of heaven, and those who have guided the people in the true path shall be like stars for ever and ever.”

13. Agnosce jam in his pellibus supernarum illarum imaginem, quae in sponsi ornatu non longe ^[920C] superius describebantur (Supra num. 3). Agnosce similiter et reginam astantem a dextris ejus, circumamictam similibus ornamentis, non tamen paribus (Psal. XLIV, 10). Nam etsi huic etiam in loco peregrinationis suae, et in die virtutis suae, in splendoribus sanctorum, non minima claritatis atque decoris est portio; differenter tamen illum coronat integritas et consummatio gloriae beatorum. Quanquam et sponsam dixerim perfectam atque beatam, sed ex parte. Nam ex parte tabernaculum Cedar; formosa tamen, sive in illa portione sui, quae jam beata regnat; sive etiam in illustribus viris, quorum, etiam in hac nocte, sua sapientia atque virtutibus, tanquam coelum suis sideribus, adornatur. ^[920D] Unde propheta: Qui docti, inquit, fuerint, fulgebunt quasi splendor firmamenti; et qui ad justitiam erudiunt multos, quasi stellae in perpetuas aeternitates (Dan. XII, 3).

14. How lowly! Yet how sublime! At the same time tent of Kedar and sanctuary of God; an earthly tent and a heavenly palace; a mud hut and a royal apartment; a body doomed to death and a temple bright with light; an object of contempt to the proud, yet the bride of Christ. She is black but beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem: for though the hardship and sorrow of prolonged exile darkens her complexion, a heavenly loveliness shines through it, the curtains of Solomon enhance it. If the swarthy skin repels you, you must still admire the beauty; if you scorn what seems lowly, you must look up with esteem to what is sublime. Indeed you must note the prudence, the great wisdom, the amount of discretion and sense of fittingness generated in the bride by that controlled interplay of lowliness and exaltation according as occasion demands, so that amid the ups and downs of this world her sublime gifts sustain her lowliness lest she succumb to adversity; while her lowliness curbs her exaltation or good fortune will bring it toppling down. These poles of her life act so harmoniously. Though of their nature opposites they will work with equal effectiveness for the good of the bride. They subserve her spiritual welfare.

14. O humilitas! o sublimitas! Et tabernaculum Cedar, et sanctuarium Dei; et terrenum habitaculum, et coeleste palatium; et domus lutea, et aula regia; et corpus mortis, et templum lucis; et despectio denique superbis, et sponsa Christi. Nigra est, sed formosa, filiae Jerusalem: quam etsi labor et dolor longi exsilii decolorat, species tamen coelestis exornat, exornant pelles Salomonis. Si horretis nigram, miremini et formosam; si despicitis humilem, sublimem suspicite. Hoc ipsum quam cautum, quam plenum consilii, plenum discretionis et [0921A] congruentiae est, quod in sponsa dejectio ista, et ista celsitudo, secundum tempus quidem, eo moderamine sibi pariter contemperantur, ut inter mundi hujus varietates et sublimitas erigat humilem, ne deficiat in adversis; et sublimem humilitas reprimat, ne evanescat in prosperis? Pulchre omnino ambae res, cum ad invicem contrariae sint, sponsae tamen pariter cooperantur in bonum, subserviunt in salutem.

15. So much for the likeness which the bride seems to postulate between her beauty and the curtains of Solomon. With regard to this same text however, we still have to explain that meaning to which I referred at the beginning of this discourse and for which I have given my promise: the extent to which the whole similitude may be applied to her blackness only. You shall not be cheated out of that promise. But it must be postponed till the next sermon, both because the length of this one demands that we do so, and in order that the customary prayers may precede all that we hope to say for the praise and glory of the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God blessed for ever. Amen.

15. Et haec pro eo quod sponsa videtur de pellibus Salomonis inducere similitudinem. Restat tamen aperiendus ille super eodem capitulo sensus, quem in principio commemoravi et promisi, qualiter videlicet tota ad solam nigredinem similitudo referatur: qua quidem non estis promissione fraudandi. ^[921B] Caeterum id differendum in aliud sermonis principium; tum quia hoc jam hujus flagitat longitudo; tum etiam ut praeveniat ex more oratio ea, quae in laudem et gloriam sunt referenda sponsi Ecclesiae Jesu Christi Domini nostri, qui est Deus benedictus in saecula saeculorum. Amen.