Book Four - That the Scriptures are Inspired

this earth, the law was a certain schoolmaster for those who were to be led by it to Christ, being educated and instructed by it so that they might more easily be able, after the instruction of the law, to receive those more perfect institutions of Christ; so also, another earth, receiving all the saints, may first imbue and inform them with the institutions of the true and eternal law, so that they might more easily also obtain the institutions of heaven, when they are perfected and to which nothing more can now be added; in which will truly be that which is called the eternal Gospel, and the Testament that is ever new, which will never grow old.

9. In this way, therefore, at the consummation of all things, it is to be thought that, gradually progressing and ascending in mode and order, they arrive first at that land, and at the instruction which is therein, in which they are prepared for better things, and for those institutions to which nothing more can now be added. For after the agents and procurators, Christ the Lord, who is King of all, ^A will receive the kingdom; that is, after the instruction of the holy virtues, He himself shall instruct those who are able to receive Him according as He is wisdom, reigning in them so long as until He may also subject them to the Father who hath subjected all things to Himself, that is, that when they have become capable of the things of God, God may be all things in all. (63) Therefore, consequently, even the nature of the body, that supreme being, to which nothing more can now be added, will receive its condition. Thus far we have discussed the reason of the corporeal or spiritual nature, and we leave it, at the choice of the reader, to choose from both which he shall have judged to be better (64). We, however, reach the end of our third book here. ^B

That the Scriptures are divinely inspired.

1. Truly, because in such great and such matters it does not suffice to commit the sum of the thing to human senses and common understanding and, if I may so say, to pronounce visibly concerning invisible things, we must assume as testimony for the confirmation of these things which we say, the testimonies of the divine Scriptures. Which testimonies, that they may provide certain and indubitable faith—whether in those things which are to be said by us, or those which have already been said—it seems necessary first to show that the Scriptures themselves are divine, that is, inspired by the Spirit of God (67). Therefore, as briefly as we can, let us also— ^C

NEW INTERPRETATION. Scripture Divinely Inspired: How this is to be read and understood. What is the reason for the obscurity in it. Why some things in it are according to the letter impossible or alien to reason.

1. Since, in the investigation of such great matters, we are not content with common notions and the evidence of those things which fall under the eyes, we assume testimonies—both from that which is called the Old, and from that which is called the New Testament—from the Scriptures which we believe to be divine, in order to prove those things which we say, and then we strive to confirm our own faith by reason; but not yet have we discussed the Scriptures as divine: come, let us also dispute briefly and summarily concerning these matters, proposing those things which move us to [believe] those things for the divine letters ^D

And first of all, it must be determined regarding those things which are made clear from the scriptures themselves and the things indicated within them, ^A concerning Moses and Jesus Christ, the legislator of the Hebrews and the initiator of the saving dogmas according to Christianity. For although there have been very many legislators among the Greeks and barbarians, and teachers proclaiming dogmas while promising [to reveal] the truth, we have not heard of any legislator who was able to inspire a zeal in other nations to accept his teachings. ^B Indeed, although those who profess to philosophize about truth have brought forth much preparation, along with a seemingly logical demonstration, none has been able to instill the truth considered to be his own into different nations, or even into significant multitudes of a single nation. And yet those legislators would have wished, if it were possible, to establish the laws that appeared to them to be good among the entire human race; and the teachers would have wished for the truth which they imagined to be disseminated everywhere throughout the inhabited world. But as those who were unable to invite people from different languages and many nations to the observance of their laws and the acceptance of their doctrines, they did not even attempt to do this from the beginning, not unadvisedly considering that it was impossible for them to achieve such a result. ^C But all Greece and the barbarian world throughout our inhabited earth have myriad zealots who have abandoned their ancestral laws and the gods they once considered such, for the observance of the laws of Moses and the discipleship of the words of Jesus Christ; and this, despite being hated by those who worship idols—both those who attach themselves to the law of Moses, and even risking the penalty of death, in addition to being hated, are those who have received the word of Jesus Christ.

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^A And if we consider how, in very few years, the word has been able to be preached throughout the whole inhabited world—even though the teachers are not numerous—among those who are plotting against Christianity, and among those who are being put to death for this reason, and others who are losing their possessions, so that Greeks and barbarians, wise and foolish, have attached themselves to the piety toward God through Jesus; we do not hesitate to say that this matter is greater than human. For Jesus Himself taught with all authority and persuasiveness that His word would not be overcome; so that one might reasonably consider His pronouncements as oracles, such as that: "You will be brought before kings and governors for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the nations." And: "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not eat in Your name, and drink in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons?' And I will say to them, 'Depart from Me, you who work iniquity; I never knew you.'" For indeed, if He had said these things in vain, so that they would not come to pass as true, it might perhaps have been probable; but since what was spoken with such authority has come to pass, it manifests that God truly became man and delivered saving doctrines to men. ^B

What must we also say regarding the fact that it was prophesied ^D that Christ would then cause the princes and leaders from the seed of Judah to fail, when He to whom it pertains—that is, the kingdom—shall come, and the expectation of the nations shall arrive? For it is clearly evident from history, and from what is seen today, that from the times of Jesus there have no longer been kings of the Jews. All those Jewish matters in which they prided themselves—I mean those concerning the temple, and the altar, and the worship performed, and the vestments of the high priest—these have been abolished.

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3. As for what concerns the prophecy that Christ would be [the end of the line], that is, that the princes from the seed of Judah would cease, when He to whom it belongs—that is, the kingdom—had come, and the expectation of the nations had appeared.

For the prophecy has been fulfilled which said, ^A “For many days the children of Israel shall sit, there being no king, nor ruler, nor sacrifice, nor altar, nor priesthood, nor manifestations.” We use these scriptural testimonies against those who appear to assert regarding those things spoken by Jacob in Genesis to Judah, that they were said of Judah; and they say that a prince from the lineage of Judah still remains, namely this person who is the prince of their nation, whom they call the patriarch, and that those from his seed cannot fail, who remain until the advent of that Christ whom they themselves describe. But if it is true, as the prophet says, that “for many days the children of Israel shall sit, there being no king, nor prince, nor sacrifice, nor altar, nor priesthood,” and certainly since the temple was overthrown, no sacrifices are brought forth, nor is any altar found, nor does a priesthood exist, it is most certain that the princes from Judah have failed, just as it is written, “and a leader from his loins, until He comes ^B to whom it is reserved.” It is certain, therefore, that He has come to whom it is reserved, in whom is the expectation of the nations. Which is manifestly seen to be fulfilled by the multitude of those who, through Christ, have believed in God from diverse nations.

4. And in the canticle of Deuteronomy, it is prophetically declared regarding the sins of the former people that there would be a future election of an unwise nation, which occurred through no other than Jesus; for thus it says: “They have provoked me with their idols, and I will provoke them with a nation that is not a nation, and with an unwise nation I will provoke them.” It is therefore possible to recognize quite evidently in what way the Hebrews, who are said to have provoked God ^C in those things which are not gods, and to have irritated Him with their idols, have themselves been provoked to jealousy by [alt-version omitted]

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^A For this people, which God chose by the advent of Jesus Christ and his disciples. For thus the Apostle says: “For consider your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many powerful, not many noble, but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame the wise; and the base things and the despised things that existed previously, that he might bring to nothing; ^B and that carnal Israel might not glory,” being called “flesh” by the Apostle, “in the sight of God.”

What must we say also about the prophecies in the Psalms concerning Christ, of a certain ode inscribed “for the beloved,” whose tongue is said to be “the pen of a ready writer; beautiful in appearance beyond the sons of men, because grace has been poured out upon his lips”? For the proof of the grace poured out upon his lips is this, that although the time of his teaching had passed in a short duration—for he taught for about a year and a few months—nevertheless the whole habitable world has been filled with his teaching and the piety through him. For “righteousness and a multitude of peace have sprung up in his days,” ^C remaining until the completion, which is called “the taking away of the moon,” and he remains ruling “from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth.” And “a sign is given to the house of David: for the virgin conceived, and had in her womb, and brought forth a son, and his name is Emmanuel, which is translated, God with us.” It is fulfilled, as the same prophet says: “God with us; know, O nations, and be vanquished; O mighty ones, be vanquished.” For we have been vanquished and have been conquered, we who are from the nations, having been captured by the grace of ^D his word. But also the place of his birth was foretold in the prophet Micah: “And you,” he says, “Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the governors of Judah; for from you shall come forth a leader who will shepherd my people Israel.” And the seventy weeks were fulfilled until Christ as the prophet Daniel had foretold. There is present, nevertheless, and

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^A And he came, according to the book of Job, to consume the great whale, and has given power to his own genuine disciples to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy, being harmed by them in nothing. But let anyone also observe the sojourn in every place of the apostles sent by Jesus to herald the Gospel, and he shall see that both their daring was not human and the command was divine. And if we examine how men, hearing new teachings and strange words, accepted the men—being overcome, in their desire to plot against them, by a certain divine power watching over them—we shall not disbelieve that they also performed wonders, God bearing witness to their words, and through signs and wonders and various powers.

Proving, therefore, as in an epitome, concerning the divinity of Jesus, and using the prophetic words concerning him, we demonstrate at once that the Scriptures prophesying about him are divinely inspired, and the writings and teaching that proclaim his sojourn were spoken with all power and authority; and for this reason they have prevailed in the choosing of the nations. And it must be said that the divine nature of the prophetic words and the spiritual nature of the law of Moses shone forth when Jesus arrived. For clear examples that the ancient Scriptures were divinely inspired before the sojourn of Christ were not entirely possible to present; but the sojourn of Jesus…

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6. Having briefly demonstrated the divinity of Jesus, and that the Scriptures which foretell him are divinely inspired, and that those which announce his advent and doctrine are letters standing in all power and authority, we show that it is for this reason that the election of the nations has followed. Add to this the divinity of the prophetic sermons and that the spirit of the Mosaic law shone forth with the advent of Jesus: for before Christ's advent it could not be shown by manifest arguments that the ancient Scriptures had been divinely inspired; but the advent of Christ clearly declared to those who could suspect that the law and the prophets were not divine, that they were written by heavenly grace. But he who will have busied himself diligently and attentively in the reading of the prophets shall feel the trace of divine inspiration, and thence will have the most certain persuasion that the discourses which we hold as divine are not of men. Therefore, the light inherent in the law of Moses, which was veiled, shone out upon the arrival of Jesus Christ, the veil being removed, and the goods of which the letter had the shadow gradually coming into knowledge.

^A It would be a great task now to gather together the most ancient prophecies regarding every future event, so that through them, whoever doubts might be struck by the fact that they are divinely inspired, and laying aside every wavering and distraction, might give themselves completely to the words of God. And if the meaning appearing in the letters does not seem to the unlearned to be above human capacity in every detail, there is no wonder. For even in the works of that providence which touches the whole world, some things appear most clearly as acts of providence, while others are so hidden that they seem to provide room for disbelief regarding the God who governs all things with ineffable art and power. For the artful reason of one who provides is not as clear in the things upon the earth as it is in the sun, moon, and stars; nor is it as manifest in human casualties as it is in the souls and bodies of animals—in which the "to what end" and "for what purpose" are found by those who study their impulses, their imaginations, the natures of the animals, and the construction of their bodies. But just as providence is not bankrupt because of those things that are not understood by those who have once rightly accepted it, so too the divinity of Scripture extending to al^Bl its parts...

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^C It would now be a great task to recount the most ancient predictions of individual future events, that he who doubts, being struck by them as divine, might lay aside all doubt and wavering of mind, and give himself with his whole soul to the words of God. If the meanings in individual passages do not seem to the unlearned to be greater than human grasp, there is no wonder; for in the works of that providence which embraces the whole universe, some of His works are clear, while others are so abstruse and hidden that they seem to provide an opening for doubting whether God administers all things with ineffable art and power. For the artful reason of a providing God is not as manifest in the things above the earth as it is in the sun, moon, and stars; nor is it as clear in human events and accidents as in the soul and body of living creatures—since those who apply diligence to investigating these things have clearly discovered why and for what cause these impulses exist, these species in the mind, these natures of living creatures, and this fabric of bodies. But just as providence, among those who have rightly perceived it, suffers no loss of credibility from those things which are not understood; so neither is anything detracted from the divinity of Scripture, which is perceived through the whole, because the weakness of our intellect in every single diction is by no means able to arrive at the secret splendor of the meanings hidden within the humble and abject locution: "For we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the sublimity of the power of God may shine, and not be thought to be of us men." For if the paths of demonstration common among men had brought our books to convert the human race, one might rightly have suspected that our faith was placed in human wisdom, and not in the power of God. Now, however, to anyone lifting up his eyes, it is clear that the power of the discourse and the preaching unto the multitude,

^A has not resided in persuasive words of wisdom, but in a demonstration of spirit and power. Wherefore, since a heavenly or even super-heavenly power strikes us so that we may worship Him alone who created us, let us endeavor, having left behind the word of the beginning of Christ, that is, the elementary teaching, to be borne on toward perfection, so that the wisdom which is spoken among the perfect may be spoken also to us. For he who possesses this wisdom promises that he speaks it among the perfect—a wisdom other than the wisdom of this age, and the wisdom of the rulers of this age which is being brought to nothing. But this wisdom shall be clearly imprinted upon us, and will effect an ^B unveiling of the mystery which had been kept secret for eternal ages, but which has now been revealed through the prophetic Scriptures and the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for all the ages. Amen.

After having spoken as it were in passing about the fact that the divine Scriptures are divinely inspired, it is necessary to proceed to the manner of reading and understanding them; for very many errors have arisen because the way to approach the holy readings has not been found by the many, lest they be discovered to be alien to the beauty of the doctrines hidden in simple and despicable language ^A—for "we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the exceeding greatness of the power of God may shine forth, and not be thought to be from us as men." For if the trodden paths of the proofs current among men had prevailed over men in the books, our faith would reasonably have been supposed to be in the wisdom of men, and not in the power of God. But as it is, to one who has lifted up his eyes, it is clear that the discourse and the preaching among the many has not availed through persuasive words of wisdom, but in a demonstration of spirit and power. Wherefore, since a heavenly or even super-heavenly power strikes us to the worship of Him who alone created us ^B, let us endeavor, having left behind the word of the beginning of Christ, that is, of the elementary teaching, to be borne on to perfection, so that the wisdom which is spoken to the perfect may be spoken also to us; for he promises that he who has attained this wisdom speaks it among the perfect, being distinct from the wisdom of this age and the wisdom of the rulers of this age which is being brought to nothing. And this wisdom shall be clearly imprinted in us, and will cause the unveiling of the mystery which had been kept silent for eternal ages, but which has now been manifested through the prophetic Scriptures and the epiphany of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for all the ages. Amen.

Because many, not understanding the Scriptures spiritually and ^C understanding them incorrectly, have declined into heresies.

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8. After we have proven that the divine Scriptures are divinely inspired, it is necessary that we examine the method of reading and understanding them; since many errors and lapses have occurred from this.

^A For the hard-hearted and the unlearned from the circumcision have not believed in our Savior, thinking that they must follow the literal sense of the prophecies concerning Him, and not seeing that He visibly proclaimed release to the captives, nor that He built the city which they truly conceive to be the city of God, nor that He destroyed the chariots from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, nor that He ate butter and honey, and that before He knew or chose the evil, He chose the good. Furthermore, believing that the four-footed animal, the wolf, was prophesied to graze with the lamb, and the leopard to rest with the kid, and that the calf, the bull, and the lion would be fed together, led by a little child, and that the ox and the bear would pasture together, their young being reared ^B with one another, and that the lion would eat straw like the ox; because they saw none of these things happen literally during the sojourn of the Christ in whom we have believed, they did not receive our Lord Jesus; but because He proclaimed Himself Christ contrary to what they thought right, they crucified Him.

And those from the heresies, reading what is written: “Fire is kindled from my anger,” and: “I am a jealous God, repaying the sins of fathers upon children unto the third and fourth generation,” and: “I regret having anointed Saul as king,” and: “I am the Lord who makes peace and creates evils,” and in other places: “There is no evil in the city which the Lord has not made,” and also: “Evils have come down from the Lord upon the gates of Jerusalem,” and: “An evil spirit from ^C God was choking Saul,” and countless other things similar to these, have indeed not dared to disbelieve that they are Scriptures of God, but, believing them to be of the Creator whom the Jews worship, they have thought that the Creator is imperfect and not good, and that the Savior who came announced a more perfect God; whom they say is not the Creator—tossed about in various ways concerning this, and having once departed from the Creator, who is the only unborn God, they have given themselves over to fictions.

^A And, inventing hypotheses for themselves, they imagine that some things are visible, and other things invisible, which their soul has fashioned into idols. Moreover, even the simpler folk among those who claim to belong to the Church have held that there is none greater than the Creator—acting soundly in this—yet they entertain such notions about Him as ought not to be imagined even of the most cruel and unjust man.

9. The cause of all the aforementioned false beliefs and impieties ^B—or of those unlearned discourses about God—clearly appears to be nothing else than that the Scripture is not understood according to the spiritual sense, but is taken according to the naked letter. For this reason, to those who are convinced that the sacred books are not the writings of men, but that they were recorded by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, by the will of the Father of all through Jesus Christ, and have come down to us, we must point out the paths that appear to us, keeping to the rule of the heavenly Church of Jesus Christ—received through the succession ^C of the apostles. And that there are certain mystical dispensations declared through the divine Scriptures, all, even the simplest of the believers, have believed; but what these are, the prudent and humble confess that they do not know. If, then, anyone should raise a question ^D concerning the incest of Lot and his daughters, and the two wives of Abraham, and of two sisters being married to Jacob, and the two maidservants who bore children to him, they will say nothing else but that these are mysteries which are not understood by us. And even when the construction of the tabernacle is read, being convinced that the things written are types, they seek what they can apply to each of the things spoken about the tabernacle; as far as trusting...

in there being a type, they are not wrong, but as far as applying the expression ^A of which the tabernacle is a type to some specific thing in a manner worthy of Scripture, they sometimes fail. And they declare that all narratives commonly supposed to recount marriages, or the procreation of children, or wars, or any other histories whatsoever that might be told among the masses, are types; but as to of what things they are types—sometimes because their habit of mind is not very well-disciplined, and sometimes through rashness; or even if one should happen to be well-disciplined and capable, ^B because of the exceedingly difficult discovery of these matters for human beings—the discourse concerning each of these is not very clearly explained. And what need is there to speak of the prophecies, which we all know are filled with riddles and dark sayings? And if we should also reach the Gospels, even there the accurate sense, being the sense of Christ, requires the grace granted to him who said: ^C "But we have the mind of Christ, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God; which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit." And who, upon reading the things revealed to John, would not be struck with amazement at the concealment of the ineffable mysteries, and the things that appear ^D to one who does not understand what is written? Or to whom among those skilled in examining discourses would the Epistles of the apostles seem to be clear and easily understood, since they, too, furnish no small occasion for a multitude of great and manifold doctrines, as if through a crack? Wherefore, as these things...

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being misunderstood, are not without danger to interpret lightly, especially regarding those matters that require the key of knowledge ^A which the Savior says is with the lawyers? And let those who are unwilling to admit that the truth existed among those who lived before the coming of Christ declare how the key of knowledge is said by our Lord Jesus Christ to be in the possession of those who, as they themselves say, did not have books containing the secrets of knowledge and the complete mysteries; for the passage goes thus: "Woe to you lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering."

^B The path, therefore, that seems to us to be the right one for studying the Scriptures and grasping their meaning is to be sought out from the oracles themselves. We find among Solomon, in the Proverbs, such a command given concerning the written divine dogmas: "And do you describe these things for yourself in threefold counsel and knowledge, so that you may answer words of truth to those who propose them to you." Therefore, one must describe the meanings of the holy Scriptures in one's own soul in a threefold way: so that the simpler person may be edified by the, so to speak, body of the Scripture, by which name we designate the straightforward interpretation; he who has ascended a little way, by its soul; and he who is perfect and like those of whom the Apostle speaks: "We speak wisdom among those who are mature (perfect), yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are being brought to nothing, ^C but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory," by the spiritual law.

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...so as to afford, as if through an aperture, a vast and abundant subject matter for understanding? Since these things are so, and nearly countless numbers stumble, it would not be without danger for anyone to declare that he understands by reading those things which require the key of intelligence that the Savior says is with the lawyers. Indeed, let those who do not wish to admit that the truth existed among those who preceded the coming of Christ declare how the key of knowledge is said by our Lord Jesus Christ to be with those who, as they themselves say, lacked books containing the arcana of knowledge and mysteries of every kind. For the words are these: "Woe to you lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and those who were entering you hindered."

11. The path, therefore, which we insist upon for reading and understanding the Scriptures is of this kind, sought out from the very oracles of the Scriptures themselves. Among Solomon, in the Proverbs, such a command is given regarding the divine sentences consigned to writing: "But do you describe these things for yourself in counsel and knowledge, that you may answer words of truth to those who propose them to you." It is necessary, therefore, for the sentences of the holy letters to be described in the mind in a threefold way: so that the simpler one, indeed, is edified by the very flesh, as it were, of the Scripture, by which name we call its obvious meaning; he who has ascended somewhat, by its soul, as it were; but the perfect one, similar to those of whom the Apostle speaks: "We speak wisdom among the perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world who are destroyed, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery which is hidden, which God foreordained before the ages for our glory," be edified by the spiritual law which has a shadow of future good things. For just as a man consists of body, soul, and spirit, so also does the Scripture which was given by divine dispensation for the salvation of men. Hence, what is said in the book which...

is despised by some, the ^A *Shepherd*, regarding the command for Hermas to write two books and after that to announce to the presbyters of the Church what he had learned from the Spirit, we explain in this way. For the expression is this: "You shall write two books, and you shall give one to Clement and one to Grapte. And Grapte will admonish the widows and the orphans, but Clement will send to the cities abroad; you, however, shall announce to the presbyters of the Church." For Grapte, who admonishes the widows and the orphans, is the bare letter itself, instructing those who are children in soul, and who are not yet able to claim God as their Father, and are for this reason called orphans. It also admonishes those who no longer consort with the unlawful spouse but live as widows, because ^B they are not yet worthy to have been joined to the true Spouse. But Clement, who is already transitioning away from the letter, is said to send these things to the cities abroad; as if we were to say [he sends them] to souls that are outside of bodily things and lower thoughts. But no longer through letters, but through living words, the disciple of the Spirit himself is commanded to announce to the presbyters of the whole Church of God, who have been whitened by wisdom.

But since there are some Scriptures that do not possess the bodily element at all, as we shall show in the following, one must seek the soul and spirit of the Scripture. And perhaps it is for this reason that the water-pots, which are said to be placed for the purification of the Jews, as we have read in the Gospel according to John, hold two or three measures; ^C hinting at...

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^A I say, the soul and the spirit are contained, and sometimes three, when the reading can also preserve the bodily understanding—which is history—for edification. Six water-pots are consequently mentioned for those who inhabit the world and are being purified; for we read that this world and all things in it were completed in six days, which is a perfect number. Now, of the first interpretation, which is useful in this respect in that it can be believed, the multitude of those who have believed sincerely and more simply bears witness; and it requires no great argument, because it is manifest to all. ^B But of that understanding which we said above is as the soul of Scripture, the apostle Paul has given us very many examples, as in his first Epistle to the Corinthians. For it is written, says he: "You shall not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn." Then, explaining how this law ought to be understood, he adds, saying: "Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that plows should plow in hope, and he that threshes should thresh in hope of partaking." And very many other interpretations of this kind, which are circulated among the multitudes and edify those who are unable to hear higher things, have in some way the same character.

But the spiritual interpretation is for him who can demonstrate of what heavenly things those ^C who are Jews according to the flesh served as a pattern and shadow, and of what future good things the law has a shadow. And simply, in all cases, according to the apostolic promise, one must seek for the wisdom hidden in a mystery, "which God ordained before the world unto our glory; which none of the princes of this world knew." The same Apostle speaks somewhere, using certain passages from Exodus and Numbers, that "these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." And he provides us with the occasion to notice of what things those were patterns, saying, ^D "For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." And also the things concerning the tabernacle, describing them in another Epistle, he used...

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By this covering it is signified that those who are Jews in secret, according to the Apostle, are purified by the Scriptures; sometimes receiving two measures, that is, if I may so say, soul and spirit; sometimes three, when, besides the aforementioned, they also have the body, which can edify. And the six water-pots are rightly for those who are purified in the world, which was created in six days, a perfect number. That the first exposition is also useful in itself, the multitude of those who have believed honestly and simply testifies; but of that which may be referred to the soul, an example is that which is held by Paul in his first Epistle to the Corinthians. "For it is written," he says, "You shall not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treads out the corn." Then, explaining this law, he adds: "Does God care for oxen? Or does He say this altogether for our sakes? For it was written for our sakes, that he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes, in hope of participating." Then many interpretations that are circulated, adapted for the multitude, and edifying those who cannot understand higher things, are of almost the same form and character.

15. But the spiritual exposition of that is proper to demonstrate of what heavenly things the shadow and type served those who were Jews according to the flesh, and of what future good things the law has a shadow. And, to speak summarily, in all things, according to the Apostle's precept, wisdom must be sought in the my-

- ^A stery hidden [from ages], "which God predestined before the worlds unto the glory of the just, which none of the princes of this world knew."

And elsewhere the same Apostle says, using certain words from Exodus and Numbers, because "these things happened to them in a figure, and they were written for us, upon whom the ends of the worlds have come." And he provides an occasion for understanding of whom those things were a figure, saying: "They drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ."

And concerning the tabernacle, he makes mention in another Epistle of that which had been commanded to Moses: "You shall make," he says, "all things according to the form which was shown to you on the mount." But also, in writing to the Galatians, and as if reproaching certain ones who seem to themselves to read the law, but yet do not understand it, on the ground that they are ignorant ^B that there are allegories in those things which have been written, he says to them with a certain rebuke: "Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman, and one by the free. But he who was born of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh; but he who was born of the free woman was born through the promise: which are said by allegory. For these are the two testaments," and what follows.

For it is to be noted in each of the things spoken by him, that he says, "those who desire to be under the law," not "those who are under the law"; and, "do you not hear the law?" where "to hear" is judged as equivalent to "to perceive and know."

And in the Epistle to the Colossians, also, briefly compressing the meaning of the whole law, he says: "Let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink, or in respect of a festival day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come."

And furthermore, writing also to the Hebrews, and discoursing about those who are of the circumcision, he writes: "Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things."

But perhaps, on account of these things, it will not seem to be a matter of doubt, by those who once receive the writings of the Apostle as if spoken divinely, regarding the five books inscribed to Moses. But if they wish to learn about the rest of the history, whether that also happened typically, it is to be noted from the Epistle to the Romans, that the ^C passage, "I have left to myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal," which is contained in the third book of Kings, was taken by Paul to signify the Israelites who are according to election, because not only have the Gentiles received fruit from the advent of Christ, but some also who were born of divine lineage.

^A

14. Since these things are so, we must sketch out how divine Scripture ought to be understood by us, by way of example and paradigm, as far as we have been able to encounter them, first repeating and demonstrating that 172 the Holy Spirit, by the providence and will of God, through the power of his only-begotten Word, who was in the beginning with God, God, illuminated the ministers of truth, the prophets and apostles, for the knowing of the mysteries of those things or causes which are transacted among or concerning men. By "men," however, I now mean souls placed in bodies, which, having those mysteries known and revealed to them through Christ, described them figuratively, narrating them as though they were certain human deeds or certain legal observances and ordinances; so that those who wished might not have these things laid out before them as if to be trampled underfoot, but that he who had devoted himself to such studies with all chastity and sobriety and vigils might, through these things, be able to investigate the sense of the Spirit of God which perhaps lies hidden in the deep, and by a context 51 looking again to another narrative of the discourse, might become a fellow-participant in the science of the Spirit and partaker of the divine counsel; for the soul cannot otherwise come to the perfection of science unless it has been inspired by the truth of divine wisdom. Therefore, what is primarily designated by these men who were filled with the divine Spirit is concerning God, that is, concerning the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; then indeed concerning the sacraments of the Son of God, how the Word was made flesh, and for what cause ^B even unto the form of human flesh 53 he descended, and assumed man entirely; what also his operation 54 is; and to whom, and when it is accomplished. And it was necessary, as concerning kin and other rational beings—both those more divine and those who have fallen from blessedness, and the causes 55 of their fall—that this should be included in the discourses of divine teaching; likewise concerning the difference of souls, and whence these differences have come; what ^C the world is, and why it subsisted. Furthermore, that it is necessary for us to learn whence evil is so great and of such a kind upon the earth, and whether it is not only upon the earth, but also elsewhere.

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BOOK FOUR. That the Scriptures are divinely inspired.

^A With these and similar subjects set before the Spirit who illuminates the souls of the holy ministers of the truth, the second purpose was, for the sake of those who are unable to bear the toil of searching out things of such great magnitude, to hide the doctrine concerning the aforementioned matters in expressions that contain a narrative and account of the sensible creations, the forming of man, and the generations that followed in succession from the first men down to the many who came after. And [it was hidden] in other histories that declare the deeds of righteous men, as well as the sins which they themselves sometimes committed as men, and the wickedness, intemperance, and greed of the lawless and ungodly. And, most paradoxically, through the history of wars, of victors and the vanquished, certain unspeakable things are clarified for those who are able to examine them. And what is even more wonderful, the laws of truth are protected through written legislation, with all these things recorded in a sequence consistent with wisdom that is truly worthy of God. ^B For it was also proposed to make the clothing of the spiritual truths—I mean the bodily [aspect] of the Scriptures—not unhelpful in many respects, and capable of improving the many, as far as they are able to receive it.

15. But since, if the usefulness of the legislation were clearly apparent in every part, and the sequence of the history were consistent and elegant, we would suspect that there could be nothing else in the Scriptures beyond what is readily perceived; for this reason, the Word of God has arranged that certain stumbling blocks, obstacles, and impossibilities be inserted into the middle of the law and the history. This is so that we might not, by being drawn entirely by the letter—which has a continuous flow of its own—either learn nothing worthy of God and fall away completely from the doctrines, or—by not moving at all from the letter—learn nothing more divine.

It is necessary to know, moreover, that the laws of truth are contained in the written law, with all these things described in a precise order and series, with the authority that truly befits divine wisdom. For it was the intention that even the spiritual clothing itself, that is, what is corporeal in the Scriptures, should not be useless in many cases, but should be able to make many people better, insofar as they are capable.

15. But since, if in all parts of this clothing—that is, the history of the law—the coherence and order had been preserved, we would have had a continuous course of understanding and would certainly not have believed that there was anything else contained inwardly in the holy Scriptures beyond what was indicated at first glance; for this reason, divine wisdom saw to it that certain stumbling blocks, or interruptions to the historical understanding, should be created, by inserting certain impossible and inconvenient things into the midst. This was so that the very interruption of the narrative might, like certain barriers, stand in the way of the reader, so that by these [obstacles] this common way of understanding might... ^C

be denied and shut out, and it might call us back to the start of another path, so that it might open up the immense breadth of divine knowledge through the entrance of a narrow path ^A of a certain higher and more eminent way. We should also know, however, that since the principal concern of the Holy Spirit is to maintain the sequence of spiritual understanding, both in those things which ought to be done and in those which have already transpired, wherever He finds occurrences that happened according to history which can be adapted to this spiritual understanding, He has woven together the text of both orders [(63)] into a single narrative, always hiding a deeper secret meaning. But where the history of things done could not accord with the spiritual sequence, He has sometimes intermixed certain things, either that were less than fully accomplished, or that could not have been done at all, and sometimes even things that could indeed have been done, yet nevertheless were not done. And sometimes He does this with a few words which, according to the literal understanding, do not appear able to preserve the truth, and sometimes by inserting many. This is found to be particularly frequent in legislation, where there are many things which are manifest to be useful in the literal precepts themselves, yet there are some in which no reason for utility is shown at all; and sometimes indeed even impossible things are ordained. All of these things, as we have said, the Holy Spirit has provided so that, since the things that appear on the surface cannot be true or useful, we might be called back from them to a deeper search for truth, and might seek out a sense worthy of God in the Scriptures, which we believe to be inspired by God.

16. Moreover, the Holy Spirit has provided not only for those things that were written up to the advent of Christ, but because He is one and the same Spirit proceeding from one God, He has done the like also in the case of the Gospels and the Apostles. For He did not compose those narratives which He inspired through them without creating such artifice of wisdom as we have explained above. Hence, even in them, He has mingled not a few things by which the historical order of the narrative is interpolated or interrupted by impossibility, ^B

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[I] provide the same for the one and the same Spirit of God, [who] has done the same in the Gospels and the writings of the apostles; for they do not hold a history entirely naked according to the literal sense of those things that are woven together, inasmuch as they were not done; nor do they have laws and precepts in every case consistent with reason. Who then of sound mind would think that the first, second, and third day, and the evening and the morning, were without sun, moon, and stars, and that day which was as it were the first, had been a day without heaven? Who is so foolish as to think that God followed the manner of a hu-

human husbandman in planting a paradise in Eden towards the dawn, and in placing within it a tree of life, visible and palpable, so that he who tasted of the fruit with his bodily teeth might receive life, and again, by participating in ^A the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, might acquire something else from that which was taken from such a tree? And if God is said to walk in the paradise at the time of the evening, and Adam to hide himself under the tree, I do not think that anyone doubts that these things are indicated figuratively through what appears to be a history, and not as having taken place in a bodily sense, to signify certain mysteries. But even Cain’s going out from the presence of God is clearly seen by those who have given it attention to move the one who encounters it to inquire what the face of God is, and what it means for someone to depart ^B from it. And what need is there to say more, for those who are not altogether dull, who are able to collect countless such things that are written as having occurred, but have not occurred according to the letter? But even the Gospels are filled with the same kind of accounts, such as the devil taking Jesus up into an exceeding high mountain, that from thence he might show Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. For who, among those who do not read such things cursorily, would not condemn those who suppose that with the eye of the flesh, which requires height in order to be able to discern the things below and spread out beneath it, there could be ^C seen the kingdom of the Persians, and of the Scythians, and of the Indians, and of the Parthians, and how those who reign are glorified among men? Similar to these, there are countless other things in the Gospels which the one who examines accurately may observe, so as to agree that things that did not occur are interwoven with the histories that are related according to the letter.

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^A If we come to the legislation of Moses, many of the laws, as far as their literal fulfillment is concerned, appear irrational, and others impossible. That which is irrational—that the eating of vultures is forbidden, although in the greatest famines no one has ever been forced by need to resort to this animal; and that eight-day-old children, if uncircumcised, are ordered to be cut off from their people—is indeed irrational; for if anything at all needed to be legislated about these matters according to the letter, it should rather have been ordered that their parents or those by whom they are being raised should be put to death. Yet the Scripture says: "Every male who is uncircumcised, who will not be circumcised on the eighth day, shall be cut off from his people." And if you wish to see impossible things being commanded as law, let us consider that the tragelaph (goat-stag) is an animal that cannot exist at all, yet Moses orders us to offer it as a clean animal ^B. And the gryphon is not recorded as having ever been taken by man, yet the lawgiver forbids it to be eaten. And even the famous Sabbath, to one who examines it strictly—"Sit every one of you in your houses; let no one sally forth from his place on the seventh day"—is impossible to be kept according to the letter; for no living creature can sit for the whole day and remain immobile from that sitting. Wherefore some, who are of the circumcision and who wish for nothing more to be understood in the holy Scriptures than what is indicated by the letter, do not even bother to inquire about the tragelaph, the gryphon, and the vulture, but invent certain empty and foolish fables, bringing forward from I know not what traditions concerning the Sabbath, saying that each person’s place is reckoned at two thousand cubits. ^C Others, among whom is Dositheus the Samaritan, condemning such an exposition, think that in whatever habit, in whatever place, and in whatever position one is found on the Sabbath day, he must remain until evening. But also, what is said—that it is not permitted to lift a burden on the Sabbath day—is impossible. Hence the teachers of the Jews have arrived at infinite fables, saying that a burden is this shoe, but not that one; likewise, sandals spiked with nails, but not those without nails; thus, that what is carried on one shoulder is to be considered a burden, but not that which is carried on both. ^D

^A If, then, we come to the Gospel and raise similar questions, what could be more absurd than that which is said: "Salute no man by the way"? For the simpler sort think that our Saviour commanded this to the apostles. But also the command to be struck on the right cheek is most unlikely, for every man who strikes, unless he has some physical deformity, strikes the left cheek with his right hand. Moreover, it is impossible from the Gospel to take a right eye that causes scandal. For if we grant that someone can be scandalized by seeing, how, when both eyes are seeing, is the cause to be attributed to the right one alone? And who, having condemned himself for desiring a woman upon seeing her, attributing the cause to the right eye alone, would reasonably cast it away? But the Apostle also gives a ruling, saying: "Is any one called being circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised." First, anyone who wishes can declare that he says these things apart from the discourse before him. For how, when he is giving a ruling concerning marriage and chastity, would these not seem to have been inserted ^B heedlessly? Second, who would say that he who, if it were possible, gives himself over to being uncircumcised because of the indecency thought by many to attend circumcision, is doing wrong? All these things have been said by us to show that the goal of the divine power which has bestowed the Holy Scriptures upon us is not to have us accept only what is indicated by the letter—since sometimes these things, as far as the literal sense is concerned, are not only untrue, but also irrational and impossible—and to show that there are some things intertwined [with the historical narrative, and with those laws] which, according to the letter, provide useful instructions.

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18. But let us come to the Gospel and inquire about similar things: what is more alien to reason than "Salute no one by the way," which the simpler sort think the Saviour commanded to the apostles? And when it is said that one is struck on the right cheek, it is a thing entirely abhorrent to probability, since everyone who strikes, unless he is maimed by nature, strikes the left cheek with his right hand. Nor can it be gathered from the Gospel how the right eye can be an offense. ^C For even if we concede that someone can be scandalized by seeing, why, when two eyes see, is the crime transferred to the right one? And who, angry with himself because he saw a woman and desired her, would attribute the cause to his one right eye, and deservedly tear it out? Furthermore, the Apostle commands, saying: "Is any one called being circumcised? Let him not draw forth the foreskin." In the first place, anyone will see that the Apostle is saying these things beside the point and outside his purpose. For how, when he is prescribing concerning marriage and chastity, does it not appear that he has inserted these things at random? Then, who would say that he sins who, for the sake of avoiding the indecency which the common people believe is inherent in circumcision, attempts to recall the foreskin, if it be possible? All these things have been said by us to demonstrate that it was not the intention of the divine power that gave us the Holy Scriptures to explain only those things which the letter exhibits; for they are sometimes ^D not at all true according to the letter, but are even absurd and impossible; then, that some things are interwoven with the history of events and with those laws which, according to the letter, instruct us in useful things.

19. But lest anyone should suspect that we say these things in such a way as to suggest that no history in Scripture ever happened, because we suspect that some of these things did not occur; or that no precepts of the Law should be kept according to the letter, because we say that some things cannot be observed according to the letter, in which neither reason marks them as possible nor the nature of the matter admits it; or that we do not believe that what is written regarding the Savior was also fulfilled in a sensible way; or that his precepts should not be followed according to the letter: we must respond by stating clearly that it is evident to us that in most cases the truth of the history can and ought to be observed. For who can deny that Abraham was buried in the double cave at Hebron, as were Isaac and Jacob, and each of their wives? Or who doubts that Shechem was given to Joseph as his portion? Or that Jerusalem is the metropolis of Judea, in which the temple of God was built by Solomon? And [there are] ^A innumerable other such things. For there are far more things that stand firm according to history than there are those which contain a naked spiritual sense. Then again, who would not affirm that this commandment which enjoins, "Honor your father and your mother, that it may be well with you," is useful and necessary to be observed by those who follow it, even without any spiritual interpretation, especially since the Apostle Paul himself, repeating the same words, confirmed this commandment? What, indeed, must be said of that which is written: "You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness," and other things of this kind? Moreover, regarding the commands that are written in the Gospel, there can be no doubt that many ought to be observed according to the letter, as when He says: "But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother," and the following; and, "But I say to you, do not swear at all." And that command of the Apostle must also be observed: "Admonish the unruly, comfort the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all men." And even if those who examine matters more deeply can reconcile the height of God's wisdom with the literal sense of the commandments, those who read more attentively [are] ^B—

NEW INTERPRETATION 19. But lest anyone suspect that we say in regard to all of them that no history occurred, because some things prescribe according to the letter either things that are absurd or impossible; or that things written about the Savior are not true according to the literal sense; or that no law or commandment of His ought to be kept: we say that it is manifest that in some cases the truth of history appears to us, for example, that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were each buried with their one wife in the double cave at Hebron; that Shechem was attributed to Joseph as his portion; that Jerusalem is the metropolis of Judea, in which the temple of God was built by Solomon, and six hundred other things. For there are many more things that are true according to history than are those purely spiritual ones interwoven with them. Again, who would deny that this commandment: "Honor your father and your mother, that it may be well with you," is useful and to be observed even without a deeper understanding, especially since Paul commended it using the same words? What need is there to speak of the rest: "You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, ^C you shall not bear false witness"? Again, there are certain commands written in the Gospel regarding which it is not asked whether they should be observed according to the letter or not. Of such a kind is that which says: "I say to you, whoever shall have been angry with his brother," and what follows. And: "I say to you, do not swear at all." And that of the Apostle is to be kept: "Admonish the unruly, comfort the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all men"; even if those who scrutinize things more deeply can combine the height of the wisdom of God with the literal sense of the commandments. Nevertheless, those who read them more attentively—

^A and when He says: "But whoever looks at a woman to lust for her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart," and the things that are prescribed by the apostle Paul: "Warn the unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, be patient toward all," and very many other things. Yet if anyone reads more attentively, I do not doubt that in very many cases he will be in doubt as to whether this or that history should be thought true according to the letter, or less true; and whether this or that commandment should be observed according to the letter or not. Because of this, it is necessary that with all reverence each of the readers should understand that he is handling divine, not human, words which are inserted into the holy books.

20. We therefore consider it to be of this kind, which we see ought to be observed worthily and consequently in Holy Scripture. They proclaim that a certain nation on earth has been elected by God, ^B which they have called by very many names: for sometimes this whole nation is called Israel, sometimes Jacob; and especially after this nation itself was divided by Jeroboam the son of Nabat into two parts, the ten tribes which were brought under him were called Israel; the other two, however, with which was also the Levitical tribe and that which descended from the royal line of David, were named Judah; and all the locations which that nation held, which it had received from God, were called Judea, in which Jerusalem was the metropolis: metropolis, however, is called, as it were, a certain mother of very many cities. The names of which cities you will find frequently mentioned one by one in other divine books; ^C but they are contained all joined together in the book of Joshua.

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...bears, one might hesitate and not be able to declare without much examination whether this which is thought to be history happened according to the letter or not, and whether the words of this law should be observed or otherwise. Wherefore it is necessary that an accurate reader, having observed this precept of the Savior, "Search the Scriptures," should diligently investigate when that which the letter sounds is true, and when it is impossible, and by a comparison of similar words, should search out with his powers the sense of that which is impossible according to the letter, diffused everywhere through the Scriptures.

20. Since it is manifest to those who read that the series according to the letter is impossible, but indeed the series and principal connection is true, the whole sense of Scripture must be earnestly investigated, so that whatever is stated as impossible according to the letter may be connected with things which are not only not impossible, but are true according to history, and which, along with those things which did not take place according to the letter, cover an interior sense and are said through allegory. For thus we determine concerning the whole of Scripture that a spiritual sense is everywhere held, but not everywhere a corporeal one. For often that which is corporeal is convinced to be impossible. Wherefore it is necessary that he who has religiously read the sacred books as divine letters, whose form of understanding seems to us to be such, should apply very much attention. They proclaim that a certain nation on earth has been elected by God, which they do not call by one name. For that whole nation is called Israel, and is also called Jacob. But when in the times of Jeroboam the son of Nabat it was divided, the ten tribes that obeyed him were called Israel; the remaining two and the Levitical, over which kings of the line of David presided, were named Judah. But the whole space of territory which that nation occupied, ceded to it by God, is called Judea, whose metropolis is Jerusalem, the mother, clearly, of many cities, whose names are frequently found repeated, dispersed in other books of Scripture, but they are collected into one in the book of Jesus the son of Nave.

^A 21. Since, then, these things are so, the holy Apostle, wishing to raise our intelligence from earthly things, says in a certain place: "Behold Israel after the flesh" (1 Cor. x, 18). By this he signifies that there is another Israel—one that is according to the spirit. And again, in another place, he says: "For they are not all Israel that are of Israel" (Rom. ix, 6). And further: "Neither is he a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter" (Rom. ii, 28-29). For if the judgment of the Jew is taken from that which is hidden, it must be understood that just as there is a corporeal race of Jews, so there is a certain nation of those who are Jews in the hidden sense, the soul possessing this nobility by ^B some secret reasons. But also, many prophecies are uttered concerning Israel and Judah, relating what is to happen to them. And surely, such promises written for them—insofar as they are humble in the letter, and present no great dignity or majesty of a divine promise—do they not require a mystical and more sublime intelligence? But if spiritual promises are announced through things subject to the senses, those to whom the promises are made are also not corporeal. And that we may not dwell too long on the discourse concerning the Jew in the hidden sense, and the inner man who is an Israelite—as these things are sufficient for those who are not ^C sluggish—let us return to the matter at hand and say that Jacob is the father of the twelve patriarchs, these are [the fathers] of the princes of the people, and those [in turn] of the following Israelites. Are we to say, then, that the corporeal Israelites have their origin traced back to the princes, and the princes to the patriarchs, and the patriarchs to Jacob and those even higher? But the intelligible Israelites, of whom the corporeal were a type, are not from "peoples." For the peoples have come from tribes, and the tribes from one individual who has a lineage—not one that is corporeal, but a better one—born of that Isaac who descended from that Abraham, all being referred back to ^D Adam, in whom the Apostle says Christ is? For every origin of clans, insofar as it relates to the God of all, began below [the level of God] from Christ, who is, next to the God and Father of all, the father of every soul just as Adam is the father of all men. And if the Apostle has happily referred Eve to the Church, it is not wonderful if Cain, who was born of Eve, and thereafter all who are referred to Eve, should be figures of the Church, since all have been born from the Church in a primary sense.

22. But if the things said by us concerning Israel and his tribes and his peoples are striking, if the Savior says: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." We do not accept this as the Ebionites, who are destitute of mind and take their name from this poverty of mind (for "Ebion" in Hebrew means "poor"), do, so as to think that [it refers] to carnal...

Israelites that Christ primarily came. "For not the children of the flesh, these are the children of God." Again, the Apostle teaches certain things about Jerusalem, that ^B "the Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother." And in another Epistle: "But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, [and to] the festive gathering, [and to the] Church of the firstborn who are enrolled in the heavens." If, therefore, Israel is in the class of souls, and there is a certain city, Jerusalem, in heaven, it follows that the cities of Israel use that Jerusalem in the heavens as their metropolis, in accordance with the earthly Judaea. ^C Whatever, therefore, is prophesied about Jerusalem, and is said concerning it, if we hear it as from God and as speaking of wisdom, we must understand the Scriptures to be announcing [these things] about the heavenly city and the whole place that encompasses the cities of the holy land. For perhaps the Savior, leading us up to those cities, gives to those who have excelled in managing the minas well, the charge of five or ten cities. If, therefore, the prophecies about Judaea and about Jerusalem and Israel and Judah and Jacob, when we do not understand them carnally, reveal certain mysteries of this kind, it would be consistent that the prophecies ^D about Egypt and the Egyptians, and Babylon and the Babylonians, and Tyre and the Tyrians, and Sidon and the Sidonians, or the rest of the nations, should be understood not only concerning those physical Egyptians and Babylonians and Tyrians and Sidonians, but about spiritual ones. For if the Israelites are spiritual, it follows that the Egyptians and Babylonians are also spiritual. For in no way does it befit those things which are spoken in Ezekiel concerning Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to be said of some man who has ruled or is to rule over Egypt, as will be clear to those who observe; thus, those things written about the prince of Tyre cannot be understood of some man who has held the principality of Tyre. Nor can the things that are said about Nebuchadnezzar in many places, especially in Isaiah, be taken of that man. For he neither fell from heaven, nor was he Lucifer, nor did he rise in the morning over the earth as a man, Nebuchadnezzar. But not even what is held in Ezekiel concerning Egypt—that it is to be reduced to solitude for forty years so that not even a trace of a man is found there, and to be so devastated by war that blood should flow through the whole of it up to the knees of a man—could anyone of sound mind understand of that Egypt which lies near the Ethiopians, scorched and blackened by heat.

^A But we must keep in mind, in our desire to be stirred toward a higher understanding, to promise those who have faithfully dispensed the money entrusted to them by their Lord that they will have authority over ten cities or over five. If, therefore, ^B the prophecies concerning Judea and Jerusalem, and concerning Judah and Israel and Jacob, are not, when interpreted carnally by us, to be understood merely as they stand, but signify certain divine mysteries, it follows by all means that those prophecies also which are uttered concerning Egypt or the Egyptians, or Babylonia or the Babylonians, or Sidon and the Sidonians, are not to be understood as referring to that Egypt which is situated upon the earth, or to Babylon, or to Tyre, or to Sidon. ^C For neither can those things which the prophet Ezekiel prophesied concerning Pharaoh, king of Egypt, apply to any man who appears to have reigned in Egypt, as the text of the reading itself makes manifest. Similarly, those things which are said concerning the prince of Tyre cannot be understood as spoken of any man as king of Tyre; and as for the things said in many places, and especially in Isaiah, concerning Nabuchodonosor, how is it possible for us to accept them as spoken of a mere man? For he neither fell from heaven, nor was he the morning star, nor did he rise in the morning on the earth, this man Nabuchodonosor. Nor, again, could anyone of sound mind understand what is said in Ezekiel concerning Egypt—that it should be desolate for forty years, so that the foot of man should not be found therein, and that it should be fought over to such an extent that blood should flow through the whole of it up to the knees—as referring to that Egypt which lies near the Ethiopians, whose bodies are blackened by the sun.

^B And after other things: Perhaps, just as those who die here according to the common death are disposed according to the things they have done here, if they are judged worthy of the so-called place of Hades, obtaining different localities according to the proportion of their sins; so also those who die there, if I may so say, descend into this hell, being judged worthy to dwell in different domiciles of the whole terrestrial region, whether better or worse, and to be born from these or those fathers; so that it may happen that an Israelite may sometimes fall among the Scythians, and an Egyptian may slip into Judea.

^D

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^A Nevertheless, the Savior came to gather the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ^B And since many of Israel did not yield to his teaching, those from the nations (Gentiles) are called.

Unde consequens videbitur—it will seem consequently that the prophecies which are put forth concerning individual nations are to be referred rather to souls, and to their diverse celestial mansions. But also with regard to the histories of past events, which are said to have happened either to the nation of Israel, or to Jerusalem, or to Judea, when these or those nations were warring against them, it must be pondered and sought, since in very many cases these things do not stand firm as physically having occurred, how much more properly they would befit those nations [25*] of souls which dwell in this heaven, which is said to be passed through, or are even now thought to dwell there. If, however, anyone should demand from us evident and sufficiently manifest assertions of these things from the Holy Scriptures, our answer is that it was the counsel of the Holy Spirit to hide these things rather, in the things which appear to be histories of past events, and to cover them at a deeper level—events in which some are said to descend into Egypt, or to be carried captive into Babylon, or within these very regions some to be humiliated excessively and made subservient to masters, while others, in the very places of their captivity, were held as renowned and magnificent, so that they held powers and principalities, and presided over the governing of peoples 26.

Κέκρυπται δὲ, ὡς ἡγούμεθα, ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις ταῦτα. ^C Καὶ γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ὁμοία ἐστὶ θησαυρῷ κεκρυμμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, ὃν εὑρὼν ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψε, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει, καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἔχει πωλεῖ καὶ ἀγοράζει τὸν ἀγρὸν ἐκεῖνον. — For the kingdom of the heavens is like treasure hidden in a field, which when a man has found it, he hides it, and for joy thereof he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. Let us consider, therefore, whether the visible aspect of the Scripture and the ^D

VERSION OF ST. JEROME

And because we have compared the souls going from this world to the infernal regions 27 with those souls which, coming from the upper heaven to our habitations, are in a way dead, it must be examined with prudent investigation whether we can say this same thing also in the case of the birth of individuals; so that, just as those souls born in this earth of ours are either receiving better things from the infernal regions and coming to the higher places, and assuming a human body, or are descending to us from better places; so also, as regards those places which are above in the firmament, other souls possess them, which are progressing from our seats to better things; while others, which have fallen down as far as the firmament from celestial things, have not committed so much sin that they should be thrust down to the places we inhabit. All which things, as we have said, are hidden and concealed in the histories of Holy Scripture, because

the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid, and for joy thereof goes, and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

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Nevertheless, the Savior came for the gathered sheep which had perished from the house of Israel. And when many from Israel did not receive his doctrine, those who are from the Gentiles are called. These things seem to us to lie hidden in the histories; "for it is like the kingdom of heaven to a treasure hidden in..."

^A a field, which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes, and sells all that he has, and buys that field. Let us consider, therefore, whether that which is obvious—which is discerned by the eyes in Scripture and which is, as it were, its surface—is not the whole field, full of plants of every kind; but that those things which are recondite and not visible to all, but, as it were, buried beneath those plants that are seen, are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden away, which the Spirit through Isaiah calls dark, invisible, and hidden treasures; for which, that they may be found, there is need of the help of God, who alone can break the brazen gates that enclose them and break in pieces the iron bars placed upon the gates, so that all those things may be found which are written and veiled in Genesis concerning the diverse genera of souls and concerning those seeds and generations that pertain either to the nearness of Israel or to those that are segregated further from his progeny. And also what that descent of seventy souls into Egypt is, which seventy souls become in Egypt like the stars of the heaven in multitude. But because not all who were of them are the light of this world—"for not all who are of Israel, these are Israelites"—from those seventy souls some become even as the sand which is at the seashore, innumerable.

24. This descent of the holy fathers into Egypt can be seen as having been granted by the providence of God to this world for the illumination of others and the instruction of the human race, that by them other souls might be illuminated and helped. For to them first were the oracles of God granted, since this alone is the race which is said to see God; for this is what the name Israel means when interpreted. Now, it follows that, in accordance with these, that which is written—how Egypt is struck with ten plagues that it might allow the people of God to depart, or those things which are done in the desert with the people, or that the tabernacle is constructed from the contribution of the whole people, or the priestly garment is woven, or whatever is said concerning the vessels of ministry—should be adapted and interpreted, because they truly, as it is written, contain in themselves the shadow and form of heavenly things. For Paul clearly says of them, that "they serve the shadow and example of heavenly things." In this same law, there is also contained ^B by what laws and by what comminations those who have transgressed the law are placed, and also those who were in need of purification, diverse kinds of purifications, such as those who were to be defiled more frequently, are handed down, so that through these they might at length come to that one purification, after which it is not permitted to be defiled any further. And the people themselves are led to a number, though not all; for childish souls do not yet have the time to be counted according to the divine precept; nor even those souls which cannot become the head of another, but are themselves subject to others as to a head; whom he called women, who certainly are not brought ^C into that number which is commanded by God; but those only are counted who are called men, so that it might be shown that they cannot be counted extrinsically, but are included in those who are called men. Yet, especially, those who are prepared to proceed to Israelite wars come to the holy number, those who are able to fight against those enemies and adversaries who ^D [are seated]...

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^A The Father subjects to the Son at his right hand, so that He may destroy every principality and power; so that through these numbers of His soldiers, who, serving God, do not entangle themselves in worldly affairs, He may subvert the kingdoms of the adversaries; from whom the shields of faith are carried about, and the darts of wisdom are vibrated, even those in whom the helmet of hope [(31)] and salvation shines, and the breastplate of clarity [(51*)] fortifies the breast filled with God. Those who in the divine books are commanded by God’s precept to be numbered seem to me to be indicated as such soldiers, and prepared for such wars as these. But of these, those whose very hairs of the head are said to be numbered are designated as much brighter and more perfect. Truly, those who have been punished for their sins, whose bodies have fallen in the desert, seem to have a likeness to those who had indeed progressed not a little, but were unable in any way to arrive at the end of perfection for various reasons—because they are said to have murmured, or to have worshipped idols, or to have committed fornication, or some such thing as it would not be right even to conceive in one’s mind. But I do not deem it devoid of sacramental meaning that some, who had many flocks and many animals, anticipate and seize the place apt for pastures [(32)] and the nourishment of the flocks, which the right hand of the Israelite army had first defended. Seeking this place 188 from Moses, they are separated beyond the currents of the Jordan and are cut off from the possession of the holy land. Which Jordan can be seen, according to the pattern of heavenly things, to irrigate and inundate thirsty souls and the senses adjacent to them. Where not even this is seen to be idle, ^C that Moses indeed hears from God those things which are described in the law of Leviticus, but the people in Deuteronomy become hearers of Moses, and learn from him those things which they could not hear from God [(33)]. For this reason, Deuteronomy is called the second law, because to some it will seem to signify this very thing: that with the cessation of the first law, which was given through Moses, it appears that a second legislation is formed, which is specially handed down by Moses to Jesus, his successor—who is indeed believed to keep the form of our Savior, by whose second law, that is, by evangelical precepts, all things are brought to perfection.

^A 25. But it must be seen lest perhaps that should appear more significant, which is declared more evidently and clearly in the legislation of Deuteronomy than in those things which were written first [(34)]; so also from that advent of the Savior which He completed in humility, when He took the form of a servant, is that second and more glorious advent in the glory of the Father indicated, and in it the form of Deuteronomy is completed, when in the kingdom of heaven all the saints shall live by the laws [(35)] of that eternal Gospel, and just as the one now coming fulfilled the law which has a shadow of future good things, so also through that glorious advent [(36)] will the shadow of this advent be fulfilled and brought to perfection. For thus said the prophet concerning Him: "The Spirit of our countenance, Christ the Lord," to whom we said that we live in His shadow among the nations [*], since He shall transfer all the saints more worthily from the temporal Gospel to the eternal Gospel, according to what John marked out in the Apocalypse concerning the eternal Gospel [**].

^D

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VERSION OF HIERONYMUS

Verily, if anyone should inquire even unto the passion, it will certainly seem more bold to inquire about it in heavenly places. But if in the heavenly places there are "spiritual wickednesses," just as certainly we are not ashamed here to confess the Crucified One to destroy them, which He destroyed by suffering, so also there we shall not fear to concede that something similar happens in the following, all the way to the consummation of the whole age.

^A

26. But in all these matters, it is sufficient for us to adapt our perception to the rule of piety, and so to think of the words of the Holy Spirit, that the discourse is not composed to shine according to the manner of human frailty, but as it is written, "All the glory of the king is from within," and the treasure of divine meanings is contained enclosed within the fragile vessel of vile parchment. Furthermore, if anyone who is curious seeks an explanation of individual points, let him come and listen with us together to how the apostle Paul, through the Holy Spirit who searches even the deep things of God, searching the height of divine wisdom and knowledge, yet not being able to arrive at the end, and, if I may so speak, to an intimate knowledge, cries out in desperation of the matter and in astonishment, saying: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" And that he proclaimed this out of despair of perfect comprehension, hear him saying himself: "How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!" For he did not say it is difficult to be able to examine the judgments of God, but that it is entirely impossible; nor did he say that it is difficult to be able to investigate His ways, but that they cannot be investigated. For however much one may advance in searching and may profit with more intent study, being also aided by the grace of God and enlightened in his mind, he will not be able to reach the perfect end of the things that are required, ^B nor does any mind that is created have the ability to comprehend in any way, but as it has found some of the things that are sought, it again sees other things that must be sought. And even if it arrives at those, it will again perceive many more from among them which must be required. On account of which also the most wise Solomon, observing the nature of things through wisdom, says: "I said, I will be wise, and wisdom itself is made far from me, far more than it was, and who shall find the deep height?" But Isaiah also, knowing that the beginnings of things cannot be found by mortal nature, nor even by those natures which, although they are more divine than the human, are nevertheless made and themselves created; knowing therefore that from none of these—nor ^C is there any end to be found—he says: "Tell the things that are to come, and we know that ye are gods; or do the latest things that are announced, and then we shall see that ye are gods." For even the Hebrew doctor taught thus: for the reason that the beginning or end of all things cannot be comprehended by anyone, except solely by the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, he said that Isaiah had declared by the figure of the vision that two seraphim alone are they who with two wings cover the face of God, and with two they cover his feet, and with two they fly, crying to one another and saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, the whole earth is full of Thy glory." That therefore the seraphim alone have both their wings upon the face of God and upon his feet, it must be ventured to declare that neither the army of the holy angels, nor the holy seats, nor the dominations, nor the principalities, nor the powers can fully know the beginning of all things and the ends of the universe. But it is to be understood that these holy ones whom the Spirit enumerated are indeed the closest to the beginnings themselves, and attain as much as the rest are not able to achieve: nevertheless, whatever that may be which these powers have learned by the revelation of the Son of God and the Holy Spirit, while they will be able to attain to a great deal, and those who are prior to reach much more than the inferior ones, it is nevertheless impossible for them to comprehend all things, because it is written: "Very many of the works of God are in secret." Whence it is also desirable that each one, according to his strength, should always extend himself to those things which are before, forgetting those that are behind, both to better works and also to a purer sense and understanding through Jesus Christ our Savior, to whom is glory for ever.

27. Therefore, let everyone who has a care for the truth care little about names and words, because among individual nations there are different customs of speaking; and let him intend rather what is signified, than by what words it is signified; especially in matters so great and so difficult; as when it is asked, for example, if there is some substance in which neither color nor shape nor touch nor magnitude is to be understood, perceivable by the mind alone, which as one wishes, so he names; for the Greeks called it *asōmaton*, that is, incorporeal, while the divine Scriptures declare it to be invisible: for Paul says that Christ is the image of the invisible God. But also, again, he said that all things visible and invisible were created through Christ. By which it is declared that ^D

^A even in creatures there are certain substances invisible according to their own property. But although these are not themselves corporeal, they nevertheless use bodies, even if they themselves are better than corporeal substance. That substance of the Trinity, however, which is the principle and cause of all things, from whom are all things, and through whom are all things, and in whom are all things, is to be believed to be neither a body nor in a body, but is altogether incorporeal. But this is said through a certain excess, yet for the sake of showing the thing itself, that there are certain things whose signification can by no means be explained by the words of any human tongue, but are understood more by a simpler perception than by any properties of words. To which rule the understanding of the divine Scriptures must also be held, so that, namely, these things which are said may be valued not for the lowliness of the speech, but for the divinity of the Holy Spirit who inspired them to be written. ^B

Recapitulation concerning the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and other things which were said above.

It is time now, these things having been run through as we have been able, which were mentioned above, for the sake of caution to recapitulate each point, and first of all to repeat concerning the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. ^C God the Father, since He is invisible and inseparable from the Son, the Son was not begotten by Him through "prolation," as some think. For if it is a prolation, and the Son is from Him as are the fruits of animals, the one who brings forth and the one who is brought forth must necessarily be a body [(45)].

For we do not say, as heretics think, that some part of God’s substance was turned into the Son, or that the Son was created by the Father from nothing, that is, outside of His own substance, so that there was a time when He was not; but, excluding every corporeal sense, we say that the Word and Wisdom were begotten from the invisible and incorporeal Father without any corporeal passion, just as if will were to proceed from the mind. Nor will it seem absurd, when the Son is called charity, if He is thought of in this way also as will. But also John indicates that "God is light," and Paul designates that

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It is time that we repeat some things concerning the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and pursue a few things which we then omitted; concerning the Father, who, although He cannot be divided into any parts, yet becomes the Father of the Son, not "emitting" Him, as some think. For if the Son is a prolation of the Father who begets Him from Himself in the manner in which animals beget from themselves, it is necessary that he who emits and he who is emitted are a body. ^D [28.] Now it is time, having recapitulated, to examine a few of those things which were then left out concerning the Father, how He becomes the Father of the Son, being indivisible and unparted, not "projecting" Him, as some think. For if the Son is a projection from Him, just as things are... necessitated by the body of the one projecting and the one projected. ...not having been previously said by another, to dare to declare in the Church that the Son of God was made from things that do not exist, and that there was a time when He was not. If He is the image of the invisible God, He is an invisible image; and I would dare to add that, being a likeness of the Father, it is not the case that there was a time when He was not. For when did God, who according to John is called light (for God is light), not have the radiance of His own glory, so that anyone should dare to assign a beginning to the Son as having not previously existed? And when was the Word, the character and image of the ineffable and unnameable and unspeakable substance of the Father, the Word who knows the Father, not in existence? For let him who dares to say "There was a time when the Son was not" consider that he will also say that Wisdom was not, and the Word was not, and Life was not. Nor is it free from danger, because of our weakness, as far as it lies with us, to deprive God of the only-begotten Word who is always with Him, being the Wisdom in which He delighted; for in this way it will not even be understood that He was always delighting.

^A

The Son is the splendor of eternal light. Just as light could never exist without splendor, so the Son cannot be understood without the Father, who is also called the express image of His substance, the Word, and the Wisdom. How, then, can it be said that there was a time when the Son was not? To say this is nothing other than saying that there was a time when truth was not, when wisdom was not, when life was not, since in all these the substance of God the Father is perfectly reckoned. For these cannot be taken away from Him, nor ever separated from His substance. Although these are said to be many in thought, in reality and substance they are one, in which is the fullness of divinity. But this very thing which we say—that there was never a time when He was not—must be heard with indulgence. For these very names carry the meaning of temporal vocabulary, that is, "when" or "never"; but those things which are spoken concerning the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit must be understood as being above all time, and above all ages, and above all eternity. For this is the only Trinity which surpasses all sense of understanding, not only temporal but even eternal. But other things which are outside the Trinity must be measured in ages and in times. Therefore, no one, consequently, will think that this Son of God, according to that which is the Word—which was in the beginning with God—is contained in any place, nor according to that which is wisdom, nor according to that which is truth, nor according to that which is life, or justice, or sanctification, or redemption. For all these things do not need a place in order to be able to do or effect anything, but these individual things are to be understood for those who participate in His virtue and operation.

29. But if anyone says regarding those who are participants in the Word of God, or His wisdom, or truth, or life, that the Word and Wisdom Himself is seen to be in a place; it must be answered to him that there is no doubt that Christ, according to what He is the Word and Wisdom or all other things, was in Paul, for which reason he said: "Do you seek a proof of Christ, who speaks in me?" 56 And again: "But I now live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me." 57 Therefore, when He was in Paul, who will doubt that He was similarly in Peter, and in John, and in each of the saints, and not only in those who are on earth, but also in those who are in heaven? For it is absurd to say that in Peter ^A Christ was, but in Michael the archangel He was not, and in Gabriel He was not. From which it is clearly perceived that the divinity of the Son of God was not confined to any place; otherwise He would have been in it alone, and would not have been in another; but because He is not confined by any place according to the majesty of His incorporeal nature, it is understood that He is not absent from anything, in turn. But that unique difference is to be understood, that even if He is in different ones, as we have said, in Peter, or Paul, or Michael, or Gabriel, He is not, however, in all in the same way. For He is more fully and more clearly, and, so to speak, more openly in the archangels than in other 47 holy men. Which is manifest from this: that when all the saints reach the highest perfection, they are said to be made like or equal to the angels, ^B according to the evangelical declaration. 58 Whence it is evident that Christ is made in each individual only as much as the measure of merits shall have permitted.

30. Having briefly repeated this regarding the nature of the Trinity, it is also necessary to briefly admonish that through the Son all things are said to be created which are in heaven and which are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and in Him, and He is before all, and all things consist in Him, who is the head. 59 Consistent with this, John also says in the Gospel that "all things were made by Him, and without Him was made nothing." 60 David, indeed, signifying the mystery of the whole Trinity in the creation of the universe, 48 says: "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens established, and all the power of them by the spirit of His mouth." 61 After this, we shall suitably ^C admonish 49 regarding the bodily arrival and incarnation of the only-begotten Son of God: in which it is not to be thought that all the majesty of His divinity was shut up within the confines of a most brief body, so that the whole Word of God and His wisdom and substantial truth and life was either divided from the Father, or coerced and written within the brevity of His body, ^D and not thought to have worked anywhere else; but between both there should be a cautious confession of piety, that neither is any part of the divinity thought to have been wanting in Christ, nor is there thought to be any division at all from the paternal substance, which is everywhere. For John the Baptist indicates something of this kind also, when, with Jesus bodily absent, he said to the crowds: "There stands in your midst one whom you do not know, who comes after me, the thong of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose."

mentum. This is something which certainly could not be said of him who was absent, in so far as bodily presence is concerned, because the Son of God stood in the midst of those among whom he was not corporeally present.

31. Yet, do not let anyone suppose that I am affirming by this that some part of the deity of the Son of God was in Christ, while the remaining part was elsewhere or everywhere: this is something that can only be felt by those who are ignorant of the nature of an incorporeal and invisible substance. For it is impossible for a part to be spoken of concerning an incorporeal being, or for any division to take place; rather, he is in all things, through all things, and above all things, in the way we have explained above—that is to say, as wisdom, or the Word, or life, or truth is understood; by which understanding every local limitation is without doubt excluded. ^B Desiring, therefore, for the salvation of the human race, to appear to men and to converse among men, the Son of God took on not only a human body, as some think, but also a soul—one similar to our own souls in nature, but in purpose and virtue similar to himself, and such a one as could indeclinably fulfill all the wills and dispensations of the Word and Wisdom. That he possessed a soul is most clearly designated in the Gospels by the Savior himself, saying: "No one takes my soul from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay down my soul, and again I have the power to take it up." And again: "My soul is sorrowful even unto death." And again: "Now is my soul troubled." For the soul that is sorrowful and troubled is not to be understood as the Word of God, who says by the authority of his divinity: "I have the power to lay down my soul." Nor yet do we say that the Son of God was in this soul just as he was in the soul of Paul, or Peter, and the rest of the saints, in whom Christ is believed to speak in the same way as he does in Paul. But concerning all those, one must hold what Scripture says, that "no one is clean from filth, not even if his life on earth has lasted but a single day." But this soul, which was in Jesus, before it knew evil, chose the good: and because it loved righteousness and hated iniquity, for that reason God anointed it with the oil of gladness ^C above its fellows. It is anointed, therefore, with the oil of gladness, when it is joined to the Word of God in an immaculate union, and through this it alone of all souls was incapable of sin, because it was well and fully capable of the Son of God; and therefore it is one with him, and is called by his ^D names, and is named Jesus Christ, through whom all things are said to have been made. Regarding this soul, since it had received into itself the whole wisdom of God and the truth and the life, I also believe the Apostle spoke, who says that "our life is hid with Christ in God; but when Christ shall appear, who is our life, then shall you also appear with him [together in glory]." For who else is to be understood here as Christ, who is said to be hidden in God and afterward to appear, if it be not he who is said to be anointed with the oil of gladness—that is, substantially filled with God, in whom he is now said to be hidden? For Christ is also set as an example to all believers, because just as he always, even before he knew evil at all, chose the good and loved righteousness and hated iniquity, and for that reason God anointed him with the oil of gladness; so too let everyone, after a fall or after a mistake, cleanse himself from stains, and with the proposed example, and having the guide of the journey, walk the arduous path of virtue; that so perhaps, through this, insofar as it is possible by the imitation of him, we may be made partakers of the divine nature, just as it is written that "he who says he believes in Christ, ought to walk just as he walked." This Word, therefore, and this wisdom, by the imitation of whom we are called either wise or rational, becomes all things to all men, that he might gain all; and he becomes weak to the weak, that he might gain the weak; and because he is made weak, for this reason it is said of him: "Even if he was crucified out of weakness, yet he lives by the power of God." Finally, to the Corinthians who were weak, Paul declares he knows "nothing but Christ Jesus, and him crucified."

32. But there are some who wish this to be understood as regarding the soul itself, when first it assumed a body from Mary, even that which the Apostle says: "Who, when he was in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant"; since beyond doubt he was restoring it into the form of God with better examples and instructions, and recalling it into that fullness from which it had emptied itself. Just as by participation in the Son of God one is adopted into the status of a son, and by participation in wisdom one is made wise in God, so also by participation in the Holy Spirit one is made holy and spiritual. For it is one and the same thing to receive the participation of the Holy Spirit, which is the participation of the Father and of the Son.

^C For the nature of the Trinity is one and incorporeal. Verily, what we have said concerning the participation of the soul is to be understood in a similar way concerning souls, as well as concerning angels and the heavenly virtues; since every rational creature has need of participation in the Trinity. But as regards the reason for this visible world—since this is the very question that is most frequently raised concerning these matters, and how it stands, as we have been able, we have spoken in the preceding pages for those who seek to provide a rationale for believing within our faith, and for those who stir up heretical contentions against us, and who are accustomed to ventilate the name of "matter" more frequently, of which even they themselves have not yet been able to understand what kind of thing it is: it is necessary, I think, to give a brief reminder of this even now.

33. And first of all it must be known that we nowhere find the name of "matter" itself, as it is used for that substance which is said to underlie bodies, in the canonical Scriptures up to the present. For that which Isaiah says: "And he shall eat like hay" (which signifies matter), he said of those who were placed in punishments, using "matter" for sins. But even if in some other place the name of matter happens to be written, nowhere, I think, will it be found to signify that which we are now seeking, unless perhaps in the Wisdom which is called Solomon's, which book, however, is not held in authority by all. Yet we find it written there in this way: "For," he says, "the omnipotent hand did not fail to send upon them a multitude of bears or fierce lions." Many indeed think the very matter of things is signified in that which is written by Moses at the beginning of Genesis: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth; but the earth was invisible and unformed." For Moses seemed to them to point to nothing other than inform matter by the invisible and unformed earth. But if this is truly matter, it is evident from this that the beginnings of bodies are not unchangeable. For those who have posited atoms, or those things which cannot come into parts, or those things which come into equal parts, or some one element as the principles of corporeal things, could not establish the name of matter—that is, that which primarily signifies matter—among their principles. For neither when they posit matter as underlying every body as a substance convertible in every way, or mutable, or divisible, do they posit it outside of qualities according to its property. To which we also acquiesce, who deny in every way ^D that matter ought to be called unbegotten or uncreated, according to these things which we have shown in the previous pages, when we taught that even from water, earth, air, or heat, different fruits are produced through different kinds of trees; or when we taught that fire, air, water, and earth change into one another and are resolved, one into another element, by a certain mutual kinship; but also when we proved that the substance of flesh exists from foods, whether of humans or animals, or that the humor of natural seed is converted into solid flesh and bones. All of which are proof that corporeal substance is mutable, and passes from every quality into every quality.

34. However, it must be known that there is no substance that subsists without quality, but that it is by the intellect alone that we discern that which underlies bodies and is capable of quality as being matter. Certain people, therefore, wishing to inquire more deeply into these things, have dared to say that the corporeal nature is nothing other than qualities. For if hardness and softness, hot and cold, moist and dry, are quality, and if, once these or others of this kind are removed, nothing else is understood to underlie them, they will seem to be all qualities. Whence those who assert these things have tried to maintain that, since all who call matter uncreated confess that qualities are made by God, it might be found by this that, according to them, neither is matter uncreated: since qualities are everything, which in any case are pronounced by all to be made by God without contradiction. But those who wish to show that qualities are added extrinsically to a certain underlying matter use examples of this kind, for instance: Paul is undoubtedly either silent or speaking, sitting or standing, or sleeping, or certainly exists in some bodily habit; for he either sits, stands, or lies down. For these are accidents to humans, without which they are almost never found. Yet our sense does not clearly define anything of this from him, but we understand or consider him through these things in such a way that we do not fully comprehend the rationale of his status, either in the fact that he is awake or in the fact that he is asleep, or in that he is speaking or silent, and whatever other things of necessity happen to humans. Therefore, if anyone were to consider Paul without all these things that can occur to him, just so could one understand that which underlies [all things] without qualities. When, therefore, our sense has removed every quality from its intellect, it [seeks] the point, so to speak, of the underlying nature alone...

and it will seem to look upon matter stripped of all these qualities.

35. But perhaps someone will require whether we can also receive any occasion for this understanding from the Scriptures. It seems to me that something of this kind is signified in the Psalms, when it is said by the Prophet: "Thine eyes saw my ^A imperfect substance" (Ps. cxxxviii, 16). In this, the mind of the Prophet seems to be scrutinizing the beginnings of things with a sharper gaze, and dividing matter by sense alone and by reason from its qualities, to have perceived the imperfectum of God, which is indeed understood to be perfected when qualities are added. But also in his book, Enoch says thus: "I walked even unto the imperfect," which I think can be understood in a similar way, namely, that the mind of the prophet has walked, examining and discussing each of the individual things of the visible world ^B until it has arrived at that beginning in which it thoroughly discerned the imperfect matter without qualities: for it is written in the same book, with Enoch saying: "I beheld all the matters." Which is indeed felt in such a way as if [I said], "I beheld all the divisions of matter, which were broken up from the one into each and every species, that is, of men, or of animals, or of the heaven, or of the sun, or of all things which are in this world." After these, I have already shown, as we were able in the preceding, that all things which exist were made by God, and that there is nothing that was not made outside the nature of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: and that God, who is by nature good, willed to have those to whom he might do good, and who might rejoice, having attained his benefits, he had made worthy creatures—that is, those who could worthily receive him, whom he also says he has fathered as sons. Moreover, he made all things in number and measure. For nothing to God is either without end or without measure. For by his virtue he comprehends all things, and he himself is comprehended by the sense of no creature. For that nature is known to itself alone. For only the Father knows the Son, and only the Son knows the Father, and only the Holy Spirit searches even the deep things of God. ^C

VERSION OF HIERONYMUS

Every creature, therefore, is distinguished within a certain number and measure, that is, either the number of the rational [beings], or the measure of corporeal matter: so that, since it was necessary for the intellectual nature to use bodies—which is also found to be mutable and convertible by that very condition by which it was made (for that which was not, and began to be, is also designated by this very thing as of a mutable nature)—therefore it has neither substantial virtue nor malice, but as an accident. Since, therefore, as we have said, the rational nature was mutable and convertible, so that according to its merits it might also use a different garment of the body—of this or that quality—it was necessary that, just as God foresaw the future diversities of souls or of spiritual virtues, so also he should make a corporeal nature, which might be changed by the permutation of qualities into all things which the judgment of the Creator might require. How long is it necessary for it to remain? As long as those things remain which are in need of its garment. But there will always be rational natures which are in need of a corporeal garment: therefore there will always be a corporeal nature whose garment it is necessary for rational creatures to use; unless someone thinks he can show by any assertions

^A that the rational nature can live without any body. But how difficult this is, and how almost impossible it is for our intellect, we have shown in the preceding discussions; it is certain that bodies do not subsist primarily, but stand forth at intervals and because of the various motions of rational creatures, so that those who need them may be clothed; and again, when those creatures have corrected their depravity and fall, they are dissolved into nothingness and are always changed in this succession.

36. I truly believe that it does not seem contrary to this work of ours even if we briefly repeat what we can concerning the immortality of rational natures. Everyone who participates in anything together with one who participates in the same thing, is without doubt of one substance and of one nature (67). For instance, all eyes participate in light, and therefore all eyes which participate in light are of one nature. But although every eye participates in light, yet since one sees more acutely and another more obtusely, not every eye participates in light equally. And again: every ear receives a voice or sound, and therefore every ear is of one nature. But according to the quality of a pure and sincere hearing, each one hears more quickly or more slowly. Let us, therefore, pass from these sensible examples to intellectual contemplation.

Every mind which participates in intellectual light, along with every mind which in a similar way participates in intellectual light, is without doubt of one nature.

VERSION OF JEROME

^B Furthermore, not only this, but since the very nature of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit—of which alone every creature draws its participation in intellectual light—is incorruptible and eternal, it is very consequent and necessary that every substance that draws its participation from that eternal nature should also endure always, and be incorruptible and eternal, so that the eternity of the divine goodness may also be understood in it, since those who follow His benefits are also eternal. But just as the diversity of perceiving light is preserved in examples, when either a duller or a keener gaze of the one looking is designated: so also regarding the participation of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the diversity must be observed according to the intention ^C of the sense or the capacity of the mind. Otherwise, let us consider if it does not even seem impious that a mind which is capable of God should receive a substantial destruction: as if this very thing, that it can understand and perceive God, were not sufficient for it for perpetuity, especially when, even if through negligence the mind falls so that it does not purely and integrally receive God, it nevertheless always has within itself as it were the seeds of restoring and renewing a better intellect, since the interior man, who is also called rational, is renewed to the image and likeness of God who created him. On account of which the prophet also says: ‹All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship in his sight (Ps. XXII, 27).›

37. But if anyone dares to claim substantial corruption for him who has been made according to the image and likeness of God, as I think, he extends the cause of impiety even to the Son of God Himself. For the image of God (71) is also called such in the Scriptures. Or at any rate, let him who wishes these things to be so accuse the authority of Scripture which says that man was made to the image of God: in which even manifest signs of the divine image are known, not through the likeness of the body which is corrupted, but through the prudence of the mind, through justice, through moderation, through virtue, through wisdom, through discipline, and finally through the whole choir of virtues, which, though they exist in God by substance, can exist in man through industry and through imitation of God, just as the Lord designates in the Gospel, saying: ‹Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful (Luc. VI, 36).› And, ‹Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect (Matth. V, 48).› Whence it is evidently shown that while these virtues always exist in God, and can ^D never approach or recede...