Questions on Holy Scripture

^A ALIA IX. "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son." Who is that king? God. Who is the son? Christ. Who are the invited? The prophets and apostles. Who are those that refused? The Jews. Who are those that came in? Those from the Gentiles. Who is he that had not on a wedding garment? Judas, and those who, like him, unworthily rush forward into the holy things.

ALIA X. "The Lord said unto Peter: Go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money (stater). That take, and give unto them for me and thee." What is that sea? The world. What is the hook? The word of God. The fish is Christ. The stater is the cross of the Lord, upon which He Himself was to be crucified, and Peter also. ^B

ALIA XI. "A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father: Father, give me." Who is the man? God. The two sons? The just and the sinners. The younger son is he who has an unstable mind. The portion which falls to him represents the oracles of God and His commandments.

ALIA XII. "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom." The man is God; the far country is His advent upon the earth; the kingdom is His second advent. The servants are the prophets, the apostles, and the martyrs. But the pound is the grace which Judas received; and likewise the talent.

ALIA XIII. "A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it." That man is God; the vineyard is the world. The winepress is baptism; the tower is faith; the husbandmen are the Jews; the servants are the prophets, apostles, and martyrs. ^C And He sent them to preach, and they killed them; likewise also [they killed] the only-begotten Son and Word of God. And the kingdom was taken away from them, and given to the Romans, who bring forth its fruits. But they, being evil, were evilly destroyed because of their unbelief and hardness of heart.

ALIA XIV. "A sower went out to sow his seed." The seed is the word of God. That which fell among thorns is Judas; for he went and hanged himself, and the birds of the heaven devoured him. But the seed which fell into the good ground represents the prophets and the apostles. ^D

ALIA XV. "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves." The man is Adam; Jerusalem is paradise; Jericho is the world; the thieves are evil thoughts and transgression; the priest is the prophets; the Levite is the Mosaic law; the Samaritan is Christ; the oil and wine are the precious body and blood, and holy baptism; the inn is the Church; the host is holy Paul; the two pence are the Old and the New Testament.

ALIA XVI. "A certain man went out early to hire laborers." The man is God; the vineyard is the world; the laborers are the apostles. Those who arrive around the eleventh hour are Matthias, who was counted with the eleven apostles. ^A

ALIA XVII. "A certain woman had a drachma, and lost it." Who is the woman? The Church. What is the drachma? Adam.

ALIA XVIII. "The kingdom of heaven is made like to a treasure hidden in a field." Who is that treasure? Christ. Who are those who bought it? Joseph and Nicodemus; or rather, the holy Mother of God.

QUEST. XIX. "The kingdom of heaven is made like to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal." What is the leaven? Faith. The three measures of meal? The three-day resurrection of the Savior. ^B

QUEST. XX. Why does the Baptist call the Jews a brood of vipers? RESP. Because that beast consumes the womb of its mother and thus emerges; which these parricides also did, by becoming slayers of their fathers and greedily consuming their teachers and the prophets. For they stoned Moses, and the prophet Isaiah they divided in two by sawing him with a wooden saw.

QUEST. XXI. For what reason, when John had been handed over, did Jesus withdraw into Galilee? RESP. To teach us that temptations are to be fled, ^C but if we fall into them, we should stand firm and bravely.

QUEST. XXII. What did the fig tree sin, that Christ withered it? And for what purpose did he do it? And in what way? RESP. Since the Lord was about to suffer his passion, lest his disciples think that he possessed weakness and infirmity and for that reason was suffering, he demonstrated his power in this inanimate object, so as to show that he could have struck down all his adversaries with drying up. But since he did not come to judge the world, but rather to save it, as he himself said, he declares his power in the inanimate fig tree, ^D while he exercises his love toward men with immense patience. The fig tree is also called sin, which Jesus Christ our God cursed and struck with dryness. And the reason for this matter is that after the transgression Adam took the leaves of the fig tree, with which he covered the sin of his shame; when he destroyed the sin of the transgression, and nailed and blotted it out on the cross, he withered the covering of sin, as it were the leaves of the fig tree, with which Adam was covered after the disobedience.

QUEST. XXIII. What is meant by what (Christ) says: "You have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband"? RESP. This woman had husbands according to the law of the

dead who already were; afterwards, however, she played the harlot: for no one wished to approach her as a legitimate wife. But she, since she could not restrain her desire, had secretly a man with whom she might commit fornication, and he was neither a manifest nor a legitimate husband: but she kept him as a man with herself secretly.

^A QUEST. XXIV. Who are those true worshipers, who neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit and in truth worship God? RESP. These are they who dwell in deserts and in mountains, who in caves and in caverns of the earth inhabit, who, apart from the ecclesiastical assembly, through good works, illuminated by the Spirit of God, in spirit and in truth worship God and our Father who is in heaven. Those who live blamelessly, and worship God religiously and piously, shine with all piety and honesty of the virtues, and have no need of a church, or a place destined for this purpose, but themselves making themselves temples through good works, in any place and everywhere they please God: finally, they serve Him assiduously and sincerely all the days of their life.

QUEST. XXV. What is that which He says: "If two of you shall agree upon earth, concerning any matter that they shall ask, it shall be done for them"? RESP. This is concerning any matter whatsoever the soul shall agree upon with the body, of a pious and upright business, God will be in their midst, just as He was with Elias on the mount, and ^B in the pit with Daniel, fulfilling their petitions.

QUEST. XXVI. What is that which He says: "Be well-disposed to thy adversary, while thou art in the way with him"? RESP. The adversary of the soul is the body: for these are opposed to each other, as Paul says; for we chastise and bring the body into subjection through fasts, vigils, and other afflictions: and that with a good and benevolent mind, so that it may no longer rise up against the soul through ignominious concupiscences. By the way, He means this vain and deceptive life: for when the soul has been separated from the body, and has departed from this life and way, it can no longer perform good. "Quadrans" (farthing/small coin) is also said to be the very remnant of thought. ^C The conscience is also called an adversary: for it secretly reproves us in our heart, and restrains us from evil, and if we are disobedient, the same finally brings us to the tribunal of God, where we shall give an account both for great sins, and for slight and very small ones.

QUEST. XXVII. What is that: "The kingdom of heaven is likened to a grain of mustard seed"? RESP. On account of His human nature He says this: "For being rich, He humbled Himself even unto death, even the death ^D

^A of the cross." And by the herb great and flourishing with leaves, He refers to the deity. By the birds of the air resting in its branches, He understands the prophets and apostles, and the evangelists themselves.

QUEST. XXVIII. What does that mean: "Ye shall not make a *sisoen* out of the hair of your head"?

RESP. (81) Some have interpreted the *sisoen* differently. I, however, consider that the law forbids the shaving of the hair. For the Greeks were accustomed not to shave the crowns of their infants' heads, but to let the hair grow, and later to dedicate these [locks] to the demons.

QUEST. XXIX. Why did Christ breathe upon His disciples, saying: "Receive ye the Holy Spirit"?

RESP. Just as He made clay for the blind man and anointed his eyes, to show that He is the One who originally fashioned man from clay, ^B in the same manner He breathed upon the disciples, declaring that He is the One who gives breath and life to men, by that original inspiration which He breathed into Adam. And by saying to them, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit," He gave them through that inspiration the power and grace to remit sins. By His advent in the holy Pentecost, He bestowed the power of baptism and of signs. Therefore He says: "Ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and ye shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." For before His passion, the apostles did not heal the sick by the Holy Spirit, but by the power and command handed down to them by Christ. "For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." But after He rose from the dead, He was glorified. ^C When He calls it the Holy Spirit, He does not indicate the hypostasis of the Holy Spirit—for that was, is, and shall be from eternity—but the gift of the Holy Spirit, which after the ascension, on the tenth day, and on the fiftieth day after the resurrection, descended upon the disciples of Christ.

QUEST. XXX. Who is that unjust judge, who neither fears God nor regards man?

RESP. God: for He has neither a God whom He should fear, nor a man whom He should regard. "And there was a widow in that city." Who is that widow? It is the soul of every man, which once had the devil as a husband: ^D having repudiated him, it embraces Christ from the heart, and is a widow, and prays night and day, beseeching the judge and mourning and saying: "Avenge me of my adversary."

QUEST. XXXI. Who is the adversary?

RESP. The devil, who "like a roaring lion walks about, seeking whom he may devour."

QUEST. XXXII. What did the judge say: "Even if I fear not God, nor regard man,"

^A rear, vindicabo tamen eam, ne veniens me sugillet." And the Lord adds, saying: "Hear what the judge of iniquity says," that is, God, for he judges and condemns the iniquitous. "For the law is not made for the righteous."

QUEST. XXXIII. How is it to be understood that: "He that has a garment, let him sell it, and buy a sword"?

RESP. This the Lord said, wishing to make known to the apostles his betrayal and the approach of the Jews. He therefore neither withheld it entirely, lest they should be terrified by the sudden advent of the crowd, nor did he explain it completely, lest they should be seized by some trepidation. ^B

QUEST. XXXIV. How is it that "he who loves his life will lose it"?

RESP. He, indeed, who loves his life is he who acts upon his own absurd desires. But he who hates it is he who does not yield to it when it commands harmful things. And he who wishes to lose it is he who desires to escape the imminent dangers, afflictions, and temptations in a manner other than is fitting. Just as, therefore, he called the death incurred on their own account in these dangers "salvation," so he will find it in eternal life.

QUEST. XXXV. What is that: "If your right eye or your hand offends you, cut it off and cast it from you"? ^C

RESP. The Lord did not say this concerning the members of the body, far be it! But concerning friends and relatives, for we are members of one another. If, therefore, he says, you have a friend or relative who is necessary to you as a right eye or a hand, according to that which was said by Job: "I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame," and you see that detriment is being brought to your soul by him, cut him off from you; for there is no communion of light with darkness, especially if they involve themselves in any hypocrisy or fraud.

Chrysostom XXXVI. "A certain man had a fig tree in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none." ^D

RESP. Scripture is accustomed to call a soul obnoxious to sins a fig tree; the vineyard, the Church of the faithful; and the vine-dressers, the angels. Since, therefore, those who lead lives in the Church unworthy of the faith are not called vineyard, but fig tree. Because, having been planted in it from a tender age, as is fitting, through baptism, and having remained unchanged in that manner even to old age, God, however equanimous, justly says to the vine-dresser, or the angel of the Church: "Behold, for three years I come seeking fruit in this fig tree, and yet I do not find it. Cut it down; why does it uselessly occupy the ground?" But he replies: "Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and cast in manure." There are, therefore, three years of men, in which God comes seeking fruit, the three periods of human

^A life, as we are first children, then youths, and lastly old men. For many, even in old age itself, have finally repented; having been dug around by afflictions, and having received manure through temptations, they have brought forth their fruit, which is virtue.

Cyril XXXVII. Why is the Church called "Church," and why is it called "catholic"? Resp. It is called "Church" because all are called out; it is called "catholic" because it is diffused throughout the whole world.

Quest. XXXVIII. Whence is the word "heresy" derived? Resp. From the fact that someone chooses and follows his own private opinion.

Proposition XXXIX. "Pray that your flight may not be in winter, or on the Sabbath." Explication. It must be noted that God did not create winter. For it is written: "Summer and spring, You have formed them." He says "to flee" when the soul is separated from the body. He calls sins "winter," and he calls "Sabbath" negligence; but woe to the soul established in sin, sloth, and negligence.

Another Proposition XL. "The stone which the builders rejected." Explication. That stone is Christ, who was rejected by the scribes, the Pharisees, and the elders of the Jewish people, and became the head of the Church of the nations. ^B It is so called on account of the union and consensus of faith that is among the nations. For since the descendants, both of the Gentiles and also of the Jews, have believed in Christ, Christ bears the likeness of a corner, because He joined their descendants in the faith. But Christ is also called the corner-stone in another way. For when any house is built, the builders place in the corner of the wall a certain top corner-stone, which holds the corner at the summit. Such a stone, set in the highest part of the wall, joins and holds together two walls. In this way, therefore, Christ is also called the supreme corner-stone, because He joins into one these two peoples: namely, the people of the Jews and the people of the Gentiles, and for that reason He is called the corner-stone.

Quest. What is it that Christ said to Peter...? ^C Here something is missing. [...the crowds, and holding Christ in their midst, some began to strike Him secretly from behind, or others questioned Him, testing Him: "Tell us, was it not one of the people who struck You secretly? And if You know, prophesy and speak: show us from the crowd who beat You, and we shall know that You are a prophet."]

Quest. XLI. What is the meaning of: "And bowing His head, He gave up the spirit"? For all who are dying die first, and only then do they bow their heads. ^D

Resp. Since Christ had fulfilled all the Scriptures—the incarnation, the birth, the baptism, the manifestation of signs, the effective preaching of the doctrine, the intimacy with the disciples, and finally all human things: the passion, the cross, the mockeries, the wounds of the nails—having fulfilled these things which He had to suffer, only death remained. And death, fearing Him, dared not approach; therefore, Christ bowed His head and summoned it. For as long as He did not bow His head, it dared not approach Him. On account of this, the evangelist says: "And bowing His head, He gave up the spirit." Quest. XLII. Why did Christ cry out with a loud voice on the cross? Resp. To demonstrate His power, to strike terror into the Jews, and to lead them to faith. For this voice split rocks, tore the veil of the temple, shook the earth, and opened the tombs. And even so, the ungrateful Jews did not understand. ^B Quest. XLIII. How did Mary see the Lord, and in what manner? For she was standing weeping at the tomb before the angels, with a mournful expression and downcast look. How, then, did she see Him walking and coming behind her? Resp. The situation is this: the angels were sitting opposite her and saw Christ coming behind her; she, however, was not looking behind her. But the angels, sitting opposite her, saw Christ coming behind her and immediately rose. Seeing the angels spring up, the woman was struck with fear and immediately turned around to see what the angels were looking at, and she saw Jesus coming. This is the reason why Mary, having turned around, saw the Lord. Quest. XLIV. Why did Christ, after His resurrection, desire to eat with His disciples, and why was no other portion found than a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb? Resp. Some have interpreted "honeycomb" as "salt," but these words are the fables of babblers. For the honeycomb and the piece of broiled fish are just as Scripture says. ^C But the matter has a marvelous interpretation and one that is very profound and highly anagogical. The meaning of the reading is this: the fish is compared to the harsh way of life of the ascetics, who have tamed the flesh with fastings, vigils, and other hardships, and who have crucified themselves to the world and its pleasures, and have renounced the moist foods and luxuries of life, and by physical dryness have tamed themselves, and walk along the ascetic path, just as Christ commanded: "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it" (Matt. XVI, 25)—namely, in fastings, vigils, and other afflictions. But hear now how the fish is ^D compared to asceticism or maceration. Man is like the fish; for just as the fish, while it is still in the sea, possesses all moisture,

and lives with its own blood and all its mire; but when it is taken out of the water, it dies; and being placed upon the fire, it is roasted and dries out, and loses all its impurity; in such a way is man: while he is in the midst of his life's course, he indulges in pleasures ^A and immoderate desires. But when he departs from the world, and lives in asceticism and austerity in the desert, being warmed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, then he is dried out of his passions, and is cleansed from all impurity, and becomes an offering well-pleasing to God through his virtues. Just as the fish becomes fit for food when roasted upon coals, so also man, being cleansed through the warmth of the Holy Spirit, becomes an offering acceptable to the Lord.

Now, as concerns the honeycomb, it has the following interpretation. It must be sought, therefore, how it was that there was not honey without the comb. For there is indeed a comb without honey, and sometimes there is honey without a comb; but here both were found together. Now hear in what manner. The honey represents the sweetness of the Holy Spirit, which He was about to pour out upon the apostles and all the faithful; the comb represents ^B the seal which He provides to all the faithful through baptism. For indeed, the more a treasure is enclosed within a comb, the safer it is. In a similar manner, the riches of divine grace are safe in a man who possesses the seal of baptism, the sign of the cross, and, in short, the faith which is in Christ.

Concerning the glory (of Christ).

QUEST. XLV. One must know, however, that our Lord Jesus Christ, after He had taken flesh from the Holy Spirit and from the ever-virgin Mary, and had become incarnate; after He had taken upon Himself all things human except sin and infirmity; after He had performed such great miracles, and had been crucified, and on the third day had risen according to the Scriptures, was afterward taken up, and sat at the right hand of God. But when you hear "the right hand of God," do not circumscribe it to places or shapes of glory. For "right" and "left" belong to circumscribed things; but God is uncreated and infinite, to whom no shape can be ascribed, and who cannot Himself be circumscribed. When you hear of the right hand of God, understand it to be the glory and honor of God. And indeed the ^C Son of God and God, as has been said, after fulfilling the entire dispensation, was finally taken up; but the Holy Spirit, having descended upon the holy apostles at the holy feast of Pentecost, and having been poured out upon all flesh, was not taken up again, but passes from generation to generation into all, and as He finds each of the men, He dwells in him according to the measure of each one's purity, surpassing in the soul the sweetness of honey.

QUEST. XLVI. What is it that Christ says: "If anyone shall have spoken a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but if anyone shall have spoken against the Holy Spirit, it shall not"

be forgiven, neither in this age, nor in the world to come?" Interpretation. Christ said this because, being of twofold essence, God and man, to everyone who shall disavow him by blaspheming against his flesh, the sin shall be forgiven if he repents; but to him who blasphemes against... ^A The rest is missing. ...the third person, similar to a man, most clearly describes his human presence, or advent; the fourth, finally, likened to a flying eagle, declares that gratuitous gift of the Holy Spirit ^B coming down upon the Church. And the Gospels themselves, in which Christ sits enthroned, agree with these. For that which is according to John sets forth to us his royal and glorious birth from the Father, when it says: "In the beginning was the Word." Wherefore John also received the name of an eagle, because, flying over all the highest things, and taught from thence the knowledge of inexplicable things, and searching out the hidden things of divine doctrine, he wrote down the birth of the Son of God, which can be explained by no words and comprehended by no intellect of reason. But that which is according to Luke begins from the priest Zachariah; and that which is according to Matthew expounds his birth as man: "The book of the generation." And that which is according to Mark: "The beginning of the Gospel." ^C For this reason also four universal covenants were given to men: the first indeed after the flood with Noah, by the rainbow; the second with Abraham, under the sign of circumcision; the third through Moses, when he was bringing the laws; the fourth, finally, which is grace and a gift, through the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

INTERPRETATIONS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

did He say it, and then afterwards call them many? For He says: "The water which was under the heaven was gathered together into its congregations 70."

Resp. The nature and congregation of the waters is one. Yet He called them "congregations" in the plural, because the Indian Sea is one thing, the Pontic another, the Atlantic another, the Propontis another, the Aegean another, and the Ionian gulf another again. And outside these again lies the greatest sea, which some call the Ocean. For this reason, He called it "congregation" in that it is gathered together, but "congregations" in that it is divided.

^A Quest. L. Why did light separate day and night before the sun was created? For the sun and the remaining luminaries were made later. "And there was evening and there was morning, a day 71"—how is this to be understood, since there was not yet a sun?

Resp. God said, "Let there be light," and it was so. That, therefore, was what was separating day and night. And God said, "Let there be light, and light was made 72." This is not the sun; but hear what this light is. This is that morning light, which rises at dawn and illuminates the world before the sun rises. And let no one think that it is that radiance of the sun which dawns quickly and illuminates the world before the sun; rather, it is this very thing which the Scripture says: "And God said, Let there be light, and light was made." Since this light was great and very brilliant, God then divided it into those luminaries, the sun and the moon and the rest.

^B Quest. LI. What does it mean, that "they should be for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years 73"?

Resp. He calls them "signs" for the sake of knowing the proper time for sowing, and for harvest, and for vintage, and at what time to plant, and when to cut wood. For every season has its own work. For the year has four seasons, each of which has its own work.

Quest. LII. Why did God create plants before the luminaries, but animals afterwards?

Resp. Because plants are inanimate and have no eyes, and they were created before the luminaries; for they were able to bear the splendor of the light. But animals were created later, after the luminaries; because God divided that great, primary light into the luminaries, and it was dispersed and became lighter. For if it had not been done so, the animals could not have endured the great flash and the brilliance of all that fire. And on account of this, animals were created later, so that they might be able to bear the brilliance of that fire.

^{C D} Quest. LIII. Why, when God had fashioned man from the earth, did He not also fashion Eve, but rather formed her from his rib?

Resp. So that they would not have the opportunity to say that one is...

^A Adam’s clay, and the other Eve’s; and the clay from which He fashioned Adam was more excellent, and from that come good and virtuous men, but from Eve’s come the bad and wicked, and the crooked men. For this reason God fashioned them from one single clay.

Ques. 54. Why, seeing that man is the more excellent and wondrous handiwork of God (for He has made him king upon the earth, and has created him according to His image and likeness), why did God fashion him last of all?

Resp. Just as when a king is about to arrive in some city, they first prepare his equipment, and prepare the gifts they are to bring forth, and his entire retinue and lodging, and only then does the king arrive; this is how it happened in the case of man. God first took thought for his rest, and prepared his dwelling place and all his needs and rest, and after these things He fashioned him.

Ques. 55. What is the meaning of: "Let us make man according to our image, and according to likeness?" What is "according to image," and what is "according to likeness?"

Resp. God is not anthropomorphic, as men are; far from it! But "according to image" means this: just as God reigns in the whole world, and rules, and exercises power over all things that are in heaven and on earth, so also man has been established as ruler and king over all earthly things, and he does what he wills by his own authority, just as God does. This is what is meant by "according to image." But "according to likeness" is goodness and virtue. For just as God is good and merciful, and compassionate, and just, and long-suffering and mild, loving and sympathetic, peaceable and gentle, having mercy upon and nourishing all men, and showing forth goodness to all; in such a way He made and fashioned ^C and wills for man to be, so that he might be adorned with every virtue, and might imitate God, as far as is possible for human strength, in every good work and in honesty.

Ques. 56. To whom did God say: "Let us make man according to our image, and according to likeness?"

Resp. Certain of the ill-famed heretics have rushed to say that this was spoken to the angels and the wicked demons; the fools do not understand that He did not say "according to our images," but "according to our image." For the essence and the image of God and of the angels and of the demons is not the same. But I say that, foreseeing the incarnation and becoming-man of the Only-Begotten, and how He would take this nature from the Virgin, and thus conceiving for Himself one person of God and man, and one single adoration for Him from the creation...

^A offered to Him, He addresses the Word to Himself.

(89) QUESTION 57. Which is the principle and takes precedence, night or day?

ANSWER. From the original creation of the world, that is, from the time of the formation of Adam until the advent of Christ, the day was first, just as the divine Scripture speaks, saying that God said: "Let there be light, and there was light," and that "God called the light day, and the darkness He called night," placing the light first; for indeed for this reason the day was first. Since we began from the light, and were brought down to darkness later. For having wandered from the straight path, we fell into idols and the darkness of deceit. But from the advent of Christ, night again begins and takes precedence over the day. For this reason we begin from the evening ^B to celebrate the following days. Listen to the manner in which this came about. Since we first fell from the light into darkness, for this reason the light has the beginning, and the darkness follows. But from the time that the Sun of justice, Christ our God, rose upon the world, and led us back from the darkness of error to the light of the knowledge of God, for this reason we also begin from the darkness and end at the light. In this way, even if the night takes precedence, it gives us a beginning and sends us forward toward the light. For this present life is called darkness in Scripture, just as the divine Paul says: "Let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light," that is, of the future age. For the future age is called light. And the arms of that light ^C are the virtues. For this reason Christ also said: "While you have the light, walk, that darkness may not overtake you." And He called the virtues light, which a man is able to have while he lives; for after death he cannot find these. But this present age is darkness on account of its dark and impious deeds; as Christ again said: "He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." For to follow Christ is to do those things which are pleasing to Him, and to keep His commandments. For such a one shall not walk in darkness, that is, in the vain ways of this life, but shall dwell and receive the eternal light of the life of the future age, and the interminable joy and exultation ^D that is to be there.

(90) QUESTION 58. Since after the eating they knew that Adam and Eve were naked, did they have this perception even before they had eaten?

ANSWER. Just as infants do not blush even if they are covered by no clothing, until gradually, as the body grows, shame also arrives; so truly must one think concerning Adam and Eve. For when they were first created, just like a newborn infant, they were free from sin...

they were not ashamed to be without clothing; but after the experience of sin, they covered their members with leaves. ^A

Quest. LIX. What is meant by: "Behold, Adam has become as one of us"? Resp. By rebuke, God censures the vain opinion of Adam and says: Has that come to pass which you thought would happen? Have you become God, as that wicked one told you, and deceived you? For in desiring to become higher, he fell into a lower state.

Quest. LX. What is meant by: "His conversion shall be to you, and you shall rule over him"? Resp. Upon the gift being offered, God said to Cain: As for that gift which you offered, let its conversion regard you, and you shall rule over it; do with it as you wish, for I did not accept it. ^B

Quest. LXI. Why, when Adam had sinned, did Abel the just die? Resp. Because God did not wish the foundation of death to be firm; for if Adam had died first, that would certainly have had a strong base, as it would have received the sinner as the first dead. But because it first received him who was unjustly slain, it has a slippery and weak foundation.

Quest. LXII. What is meant by saying: "Anyone who kills Cain shall pay sevenfold vengeances"? Resp. Concerning those things which were perpetrated by Cain: the first sin was envy, on account of the prerogative of Abel; the second was guile, with which he spoke to his brother, saying, "Let us go into the field"; the third was murder, the addition ^C to the earlier evil; the fourth, the increase of sin because he killed his brother; the fifth, that he caused mourning for his parents; the sixth, that he polluted the earth with blood; the seventh, that he lied to God. For when asked, "Where is Abel your brother?" he said, "I do not know." Seven vengeances, therefore, would be paid by him who would kill Cain.

Those seven vengeances are these: First, that he provoked God to anger; second, that he brought grief to his father; third, that he rendered his mother childless; fourth, that he killed his brother; fifth, that he shed blood; sixth, that he committed murder; seventh, that he inaugurated Hades.

Quest. LXIII. What is meant by: "My sin is greater than that it may be forgiven me, to live and not die"? ^D Resp. "My condemnation," he says, "is greater": for through the curse of God, Cain had become such that the terror and trembling of his limbs would not allow him even to be able to put food into his mouth.

Quest. LXIV. What does Lamech mean, when he says: "A man for..."

my wound, and a young man for my bruise"? ^A

Resp. He does not speak of two, as some imagine, nor does he mean Cain, as others have fabulously invented, but one, and this a young man. For that: "A man for my wound, and a young man for my bruise," means: a man of young age. He avoided the punishment through the confession of his sin, and by passing sentence upon himself, he prevented the divine sentence.

(94) Quest. LXV. Whom does Moses call the "sons of God," saying: "And the sons of God, seeing the daughters of men, took them for wives"?

Resp. From Adam, Seth was born; for he was the third after Abel. And from Seth, Enos. He hoped to call upon the Lord God. ^B Whence those born from him were called sons of God, just as we also, from the name of the Lord Christ, are named Christians. For the race of Seth was set apart, and was not mixed with those who were of Cain, because the latter was cursed by the God of the universe. Yet later, seeing the daughters of the lineage of Cain, that they were beautiful, and led astray by their blandishments, they took them for wives to themselves, and thus corrupted their own lineage.

Quest. LXVI. What is the meaning of: "And Abraham looking up, saw: and behold, one ram stuck by his horns in the Sabec plant"? ^C

Resp. The Sabec plant is the venerable cross; but according to the Hebrews, Sabec seems to mean remission and forgiveness. The ram which was stuck by its horns in the Sabec plant, and which was also offered as a holocaust for Isaac, prefigured Christ, who was offered for us as an immaculate sacrifice, and who suffered death on the cross for our sake. "By his stripes we are all healed," says Isaiah, "and he is pained for us, and was wounded for our sins." As, therefore, that ram was offered in place of Isaac, so also Christ was offered for us all.

(95) Quest. LXVII. What does it mean that Isaac says: "Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a full field, which the Lord hath blessed: and God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of corn and wine, and let peoples serve thee," etc.? ^D

Resp. The field is the world; the dew of heaven is the divinity; the fatness of the earth is humanity. Just as, therefore, the dew descends invisibly, and appearing as it settles upon the earth, so in the same way God the Word, who is invisible, was seen on earth through the flesh, and conversed with men. The corn and wine, moreover, are enigmas of the divine sacraments. And all the peoples shall serve Christ.

INTERPRETATIONS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

^A QUEST. LXVIII. What is signified by Jacob taking three rods: one of green storax, one of nut-wood, and one of plane-tree, and peeling them?

RESP. The three rods, symbolically, are the three faculties of the soul—the rational, the appetitive, and the irascible; or the three contemplations—of bodies, of incorporeal things, and of the holy Trinity; or generally, by the nut rod, the active life is signified; by the storax, the contemplative; and by that which was of the plane-tree, this world and its contemplation are indicated.

QUEST. LXIX. Why did Jacob, looking up, see the camp of God pitched, and say: "This is the camp of God"?

RESP. The camp of the angels appears to Jacob for this reason: that he might take heart and not fear his brother Esau. ^B For it was the intention of Esau to kill him; and for this reason he wrestled with an angel, and the angel said to him: "You have conquered me, and do you fear man?" He knew, then, that he had God as his helper.

QUEST. LXX. What is: "A lion's whelp is Judah; from the shoot, my son, you have gone up, reclining you have fallen asleep as a lion," and so forth?

RESP. This is appropriate to Christ. For just as a lion is terrible even when sleeping, so too is the Lord's death terrible to both death and the devil. He called him both a lion and a lion's whelp as king and as the son of a king. ^C But this, "Who shall arouse him?" declares his ineffable power. For he raised himself up according to his own prediction; for he says: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

QUEST. LXXI. What is: "Tying his foal to the vine, and to the vine-branch the foal of his ass"?

RESP. He calls Jerusalem the vine; and the foal he calls the people from the nations, as being untamed. For this is what the Lord also signified, sending the disciples to loose the ass and the foal upon which no man had sat—for no patriarch, no lawgiver, ^D and no prophet had cared for the salvation of the nations; but the apostles, having been commanded, loosed human nature, which had been bound by sins.

QUEST. LXXII. What is it that he says: "He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape," and so forth?

RESP. He speaks concerning the passion of Christ; and he calls the body the robe, but the wine the blood; since the Lord has also called that mystical wine blood. But that which follows, "His eyes are brighter than wine," signifies the joy which followed his passion.

(97) QUES. LXXIII. Who first named God on earth? RESP. The devil, when he said to Eve: "Why is it that God said you should not eat from this tree?"

(98) QUES. LXXIV. What is to become of the elements, the sun, and the moon and the stars, at the second coming? RESP. A place of dwelling will be given to them in one region, but they will not be destroyed in the end.

QUES. LXXV. Why did God curse Cain, saying: "Cursed are you upon the earth," but in speaking to Adam, he imposed the curse upon the earth, saying: "Cursed is the earth in your works"? RESP. Because Cain denied God and hid his sin, and therefore he brought a greater punishment upon himself; but Adam, because he confessed, warded off that great punishment from himself: for whoever confesses his own sins obtains forgiveness.

QUES. LXXVI. What is this: "Why did the nations rage, and the peoples meditate vain things?" RESP. By nations, he means the race of the Romans, that is, the Franks, who crucified Christ. By the people, he means the leadership of the Jews. "The kings of the earth stood round about": Pilate and Herod; and the princes: Annas and Caiaphas.

Psalms for the wine-presses

QUES. LXXVIII. What is: "You who thirst, come to the waters"? RESP. The water signifies holy baptism, or the fount of tears, that is to say, repentance. But this: "Going, buy, and eat and drink without silver," signifies the holy baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^C Similarly that: "The Lord will inhabit the flood," signifies holy baptism, because it inundates all sins.

INTERPRETATION LXXIX. What is: "The voice of the Lord cutting through the flame of fire"?

"? ^A RESP. It signifies the future punishment of fire, which will eventually be divided by the command of Christ. For fire possesses a twofold power: the one, light-giving, which will be granted to the just; the other, consuming, which will be assigned to sinners.

INTERPRETATION LXXX. What is: "The river of God was filled with waters"? RESP. By water, the apostles are denoted, who were filled with all kinds of gifts and divine grace. And any man who is pure and virtuous becomes such by no other means than this: for water and dew, in Scripture, at times signify the gift of God, and at other times the temptations and perturbation of the soul. When, therefore, it says: "He that believeth in me, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly," and "As the dew of Hermon that descendeth upon the mountains of Sion," it indicates the gifts of the Holy Spirit. By mountains of Sion, it means those who live spiritually according to God, men. Again, when it says: "Save me, O God, for waters have come in even unto my soul," and "Perhaps our soul had passed through the water without foundation," it indicates the temptations of the soul.

QUEST. LXXXI. What is the meaning of: "Ascending on high, thou hast led captivity captive"? ^B RESP. It says this: because Christ, upon ascending the cross, despoiled hell and led captivity captive. This is also what is said: "The Lord said: I will return from Basan," that is, from the cross I will return to hell. For Basan is interpreted as "turpitude." For the Jews held the cross as a turpitude, and called it an instrument of a curse. But Christ sanctified it, in that He accomplished the salvation of men upon it.

QUEST. LXXXII. What is the meaning of: "The rich have been impoverished and have hungered"? RESP. In this place, it calls the Jews "rich"; they were impoverished, ^C because they killed the bread of life, and famine came upon them.

QUEST. LXXXIII. What is the meaning of: "In the morning I slew all the sinners of the earth, to destroy out of the city of the Lord all those who work iniquity"? RESP. The meaning of this saying is as follows: just as the morning time is the beginning of the day, so the fraudulent suggestion of the enemy is the beginning of every sin. Therefore He says: "In the morning I slew," that is, I looked to the beginnings of thoughts and I pursued their impulses, ^D and all the sinners, namely the demons who work sin in me, "to destroy out of the city of the Lord all," that is, from the soul. For the soul is the city of the Lord. For I pursued, He says, and I cut off their heads,

^A that is the principalities, so that I might destroy them from the soul, that it might no longer work all iniquity and sin.

QUEST. LXXXIV. What is that which saith: "Lion's whelps roaring to catch and to seek their food from God. The sun arose, and they were gathered together, and they shall lie down in their dens?"

RESP. By the lion's whelps, he means the prophets. They were roaring, crying out and speaking, and prophesying the incarnation of the Son of God. But the sun arose, that is, Christ came, and they became silent. The prophets prophesied until John. This is what the Scripture also says elsewhere: "Dark water in the clouds of the air. At His brightness the clouds passed." He calls the divine Scripture "dark water," because Moses received the law from God in the cloud at Mount Sinai. Furthermore, the prophets themselves also saw and declared the advent of Christ in a way that was somewhat dim, dark, and subtle. For he calls the prophets "clouds," because they preached and poured out as if it were water, and blew like winds the divine word and law upon the earth, which is that "dark water." By the brightness of His glory before Him, or as it were from His coming in the flesh, the clouds—that is to say, the prophets—ceas ^B ed and departed before Him.

QUEST. LXXXV. What is, "This Mount Sion, in which Thou hast dwelt?"

RESP. The divine Scripture interprets the word "mountain" in many ways. And here indeed Mount Sion is the place of Jerusalem, in which our Lord and God Jesus Christ dwelt, having become incarnate upon the earth. Again, it properly calls the most holy Theotokos a mountain, as when it says: "The mountain in which it hath pleased God to dwell in it; for the Lord shall dwell therein unto the end." And elsewhere it is held: "God shall come from Theman, and the Holy One from a shadowy and thick mountain." ^C The holy Theotokos is called a mountain. For just as those who walk in the plain and are scorched by the heat, if they go up into a mountain, are refreshed like those sprinkled with dew by the shade of the trees of the mountain, or appease the burning of the flame with water; in such a way the pure Virgin has also come to be for men, having revived the souls of men scorched by sin with the dew of her pregnancy, and cherished them with the shadow of the wings of her Son. ^D Demons are also called mountains on account of the swelling of pride: "He that toucheth the mountains, and they smoke," that is, he who approaches the demons, and like smoke they are dissolved and vanish. Virtue is also called a mountain, as the holy Gregory says. Indeed, in this mountain God also appears to men, He Himself descending from the watchtower of His own abode, and us raising up from our lowliness here below.

QUEST. LXXXVI. Why is virtue called a mountain?

RESP. Because just as a mountain, even though it is high above...

the cares of life and the materials of this world, is yet lower than the heaven, so he who in his life exercises virtue is indeed higher than the earth, because he surpasses the cares of this life and the concerns of the world; nevertheless, he is still inferior to heaven, for the reason that he still exists in this life and has not yet died, so as to be completely freed from this world. And for this reason he holds a middle position between heaven and earth, like a mountain, as it has been stated. Furthermore, when it says: "The high mountains are for the harts," it denotes by "high mountains" high virtues; and by "harts" it calls the souls of the saints; since in the high practices of the virtues, just as harts behave on a mountain, the souls of the saints occupy themselves. And the rock, the refuge for the hares, is Christ. And He is the refuge for those sitting in the desert. ^B QUEST. LXXXVII. What does the abode of the heron signify? RESP. The heron is a bird, as some say, which places its nest in a desert place on the top of some tree. Now small sparrows come and nest underneath it, all around in the tree. And the abode of the heron leads them and is set above them, and it guards these against the destructive reptiles that wish to harm them. QUEST. LXXXVIII. What does the Prophet mean when he says: "Do not destroy in the end for David"? RESP. The Prophet speaks of the end of his own life. The Prophet therefore prays that the end of his life may not come, and that he may not fall into any harm. For if a man's whole life has been spent badly, but his end is good, it is grace and glory. But if the end is calamitous, this finally is misery. The Prophet therefore prays that the end of his life may be good: for he composed this psalm for this very reason. ^C QUEST. LXXXIX. What is meant by: "The righteous will boast in glory, and they will exult in their beds"? RESP. By righteous he means spiritual and holy men, who will boast after death in their beds. And the beds are the dwellings of the saints, which they find after death, and they exult in the kingdom of heaven. Divine Scripture, teaching and showing the departure from life that comes in the grace of God, has called it sleep, and a bed, and a couch, and death. Sleep, indeed, as when David says: "In peace I will both sleep and take my rest"—that is to say, I shall reach the same: I shall be at leisure for that very living in God, according to the holy Apostle who says: "Now I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." And he calls it a bed, as when he says: "The righteous will boast in glory, and they will exult in their beds." ^D For just as he who lies down in a bed finds rest and sleeps sweetly; so also he who has been perfected in God, and has reached unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, has found rest in God, considering as a bed the perfection in God.

^A It speaks also of the virtues as the feet of the couch. And he calls it a bed, when Solomon says: “Sixty valiant ones encompass it.” For when a righteous man has reached perfection, valiant ones circle and surround him, that is, the angels, according to the one who said: “I foresaw the Lord before me always, for he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.” It is, indeed, a familiar usage of Holy Scripture to call an angel “Lord,” as happened in the case of Manoah: “We have seen God,” he says, when he was in a vision of God. Finally, David also called that departure death, when he said: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Do you see how Divine Scripture has shown that it is sleep, and a couch, and a bed, and death? It called it death because he who is dead has been justified from sin. For just as he who is dead cannot return again to life and sin further, so also he who has been held worthy of this honor before God cannot turn back, but says with David: “The Lord is my light and my savior; whom shall I fear?” And with Paul: “For whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.” And again: “I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me. And that I now live in the flesh, I live in faith.” Having been perfected in this, the saints have despised the world, and did not consider the pleasure of this world a pleasure. ^B And the holy martyrs despised tortures.

PROPOSITION XC. “The exaltations of God are in their throat, and two-edged swords in their hands.”

INTERPRETATION: The exaltations of God are the doctrines of the Law and the spiritual statutes. For just as the spiritual teachers have from the Holy Spirit the gifts of grace in their throat, that is, in their mouth and in their tongue, and they teach the people; so the two-edged swords are the two Testaments, the Old Law and the New. For as a soldier, wielding a two-edged sword, ^C slays the enemies and protects the people, so also the spiritual teachers possess two-edged swords, the doctrines of the Old and New Testaments, through which they take vengeance upon the nations and cast them into punishment, sending upon them the wrath of God through their own supplications to God. In the same way, they also rebuke the common people of the faithful and instruct them in what is good. But when they do not listen to them, but oppose what is good and despise them, then they also send upon them punishment through their prayer for the sake of reformation, ^D so that, once chastised, they may learn not to be disobedient to God and to the ministers of God. For he who listens to spiritual men listens to God, as Christ himself said. For those spiritual men do not bring about chastisement for the destruction, but for the benefit of these people, for the correction of good and for the glory of God, as those who are lovers and avengers of God, and haters of evil.

FROM THE EPISTLES OF PAUL.

^A Q. XCI. “Glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law.”

Interpretation. He praises all who work the good. By “Greek” he does not mean the idolater, but the one who worships God, yet does not believe in Christ, nor does he hold to the old law; rather, he exists without law. Yet he names and worships God, and also observes virtue. Such a person, even if he slips, is destined to be punished more lightly than the Jew, because the Jew transgresses the law and has a greater accusation. For when you hear the words: “As many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law,” count it as a lighter punishment; but as for “as many as have sinned in the law,” they will undergo a more severe penalty and punishment.

Proposition XCII. “For if we have been united with [complantati] the likeness of his death, we shall be also with the likeness of his resurrection.” ^B

Resp. We have been united, that is, made partakers; just as the body of the Lord, having been buried in the earth, brought forth salvation for the world; so too our body, having been buried in baptism, brought forth righteousness for us ourselves. The likeness holds in this way: just as Christ died and on the third day rose again, so too we, dying in baptism, rise again. For the act of submerging the child in the font three times and bringing him up, this signifies the death and the three-day resurrection of Christ.

Q. XCIII. What is: “For what was impossible by the law, in that it was weak through the flesh, God,” and what follows?

Resp. It was weak, he says—the law, that is—at justifying a man. For man was not able to withstand the tyranny and the burning of the flesh. Therefore God sent his only begotten Son, that through his own flesh he might condemn sin. But the phrase, “in the likeness of sinful flesh”—he did not say, “in sinful flesh,” but “in the likeness.” For the human flesh of Christ ^C was made in all respects like human flesh, by which reason he was a perfect man. But his flesh was not subject to sins, as ours is: “For he committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth.”

Q. XCIV. What is meant by: “Give place to wrath”?

Resp. To the one who has grieved you and afflicted you or treated you unjustly, grant forgiveness, and leave the matters of vengeance to God, and he will manage what is necessary. And the phrase, “Blessed is he who does not judge himself in what he approves,” signifies this: when you do something by way of dispensation ^D for the sake of salvation

^A of your brother, and all blame you, if your own conscience does not condemn you, you are blessed.

QUEST. XCV. What means the passage: “For both the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified”?

RESP. If we say to a Jew, “Believe,” he replies, “Raise the dead, heal the mad.” If we say the same to a Greek, he demands of us rhetorical adornment in our words. But we preach Christ crucified, who is the power of signs and the sea of wisdom. Yet they are offended and consider the preaching foolish when they hear of a crucified God. And this is not a wonder, for those who have weak eyes cannot see the sun clearly; so it is with them. As for the phrase, “The foolishness of God is wiser than men,” it speaks of the Cross. For the wise and ^B philosophers, even the more eminent ones, labored in vain and were occupied, yet accomplished nothing of good. But the Cross, which they accounted foolishness, saved the world; and for this reason it is wiser than all, because it has wrought such great goods.

QUEST. XCVI. And how does he say: “The weakness of God is stronger than men”?

RESP. He calls the mind of the apostles "the weakness of God," because they, being unlearned and illiterate men, in a short time ensnared the whole world as if with a net, and overcame kings, and princes, and wise men, and potentates.

QUEST. XCVII. What is the meaning of: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom”?

RESP. You see how he himself names that wisdom which he had previously called foolishness. For by "mystery" he first signifies "dispensation," because no angel nor any other created power knew this mystery and this dispensation, that God was to assume flesh upon the earth. But after it had happened, it became known to all, just as the Apostle says: "To the intent that now may be made known… unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places." Elsewhere, moreover, he calls "mystery" ^C those exceptional works of God, namely, the birth, the manger, the baptism, the cross, the death, the resurrection, and the ascension; just as also the holy Gregory the Theologian calls festivals "mysteries" in his sermon *On the Lights*: “Again my Jesus, and again a mystery.” And he says this on account of the feast of the baptism; and likewise in the rest.

QUEST. XCVIII. What means the passage: “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire”?

RESP. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer the loss of the kingdom of heaven: but he himself shall be saved as ^D through fire. In what way will he be saved? That is to say,

he shall remain whole and unimpaired in the fire, and shall not see death, but his work alone shall be burned and brought to confusion. Yet he himself shall remain whole for an age of ages, suffering punishment, and he shall not be dissolved.

Q. XCIX. What is it that it says: "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump"?

Resp. He says this on account of evil and crooked men. For just as old leaven is small in size, but leavens a great deal of flour, in the same way the evildoer, nurturing wickedness within himself, imparts it to others, and becomes an occasion of stumbling, and harms many. On this account he says again: "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump," that is: cast out the evil and crooked person from among you, or flee from him, since all wickedness defiles a man. On this account also ^B David, fleeing the wicked, said: "I have not sat with the council of vanity, and with transgressors I will not go in. I have hated the church of those who do evil." And why did he act in this way? Because he says again elsewhere: "With the holy thou shalt be holy, and with the elect thou shalt be elect, and with the perverse thou shalt be perverse." For indeed, whatever kind of person he is with whom you associate, he will make you such a person.

Q. C. What is it that it says: "Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them"?

Resp. By "belly" he means gluttony, not the stomach itself. For meats, he says, have a friendship with gluttony, and gluttony with meats; and one who is given to gluttony ^C cannot serve God, but serves his own belly, as he is given over to excess and gluttony. Therefore, He abolished it, saying: "God shall destroy both it and them," that is, the meats and the gluttony. For He did not abolish the stomach; God forbid! For hear what he himself says: "But the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord." So he did not abolish the stomach, but gluttony; nor the measure of food that is appropriate, but the lack of moderation, since it is from these that fornication is born. For this reason he says that the body was not given to be brought under the power of gluttony, that it might fall into fornication, but that it might serve the Lord; as he says again elsewhere, further back, that "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." This is what he means: that all the meats which God created for the nourishment of man are good, and it is fitting for me to eat and be nourished from all things; but I will not become a slave to meats, nor shall gluttony have power over me. It is not expedient for me, for it does not build up any good ^D in me. Therefore, being content only with necessary things, we reject what is superfluous as not useful, nay, as even harmful and standing against me, begetting absurd desires in those who possess them.

Q. CI. What is it that it says: "And all were baptized unto Moses"?

"?

RESP. The sign of baptism was the fact that the Israelite people passed through the Red Sea. For just as those who passed through escaped the ambush of their enemies and were nourished with manna in the desert, so too are those who are baptized delivered from the spiritual Pharaoh and the Egyptian demons, and are nourished with the heavenly bread of the Holy Spirit. And since the discourse is about baptism, let us speak more clearly concerning it.

On Holy Baptism

The first baptism was the flood of the deluge for the cutting off of sin; the second was that of Moses, when he passed through the Red Sea—for it was a type; for just as the sea was there, so is water in baptism; and just as the cloud was there, so is the Holy Spirit here. And as to what that cloud was, listen: When the Hebrews went out of Egypt with Moses, He sent a cloud like a pillar of fire, and it gave them light by night, so that they could walk even at night, lest the Egyptians should reach them. And the cloud followed behind them, and covered them, so that the Egyptians could not see them. And this is the second baptism. The third was the legal one which the Hebrews observed. For everyone who was unclean would wash with water, wash his garments, and thus enter the camp. The fourth baptism was that of John. It was indeed introductory, yet not entirely spiritual, but only for repentance. The fifth is that through our Lord Jesus Christ, into which He Himself was also baptized. And this is entirely spiritual; into this we ourselves are baptized. The sixth consists of tears, and is truly laborious and hard. As he who washes his bed every night, who is led by repentance and mourns over the sins he has committed. The seventh baptism is that through martyrdom and blood, into which Christ Himself was also baptized, and it is far more venerable than the others, inasmuch as it is not stained again by secondary filth. The eighth and last is not saving, but burning, and it punishes sinners eternally and without end.

Q. CII. What is it that it says: "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God"?

RESP. That whoever nourishes his own flesh to satiety cannot attain the kingdom of God.

Q. CIII. What is it that it says: "If any man does not love our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, Maran atha"?

RESP. This means: Separate him from the Church and the faithful, and let him who does not believe be separated from the people. For the Lord has come; for that is what Maran atha signifies.

Q. CIV. What is that: "If any one in Christ is a new creature, he is renewed"?

RESP. This means: If any one has believed in Christ, he has passed into another life; for he is born from above through the Spirit, and lives not the life that is in sins, but the life that is in the Spirit.

^A QUES. CV. « Ter naufragium feci. » RESP. Mystically innuendo, he says this: that human nature has suffered three shipwrecks. First, through transgression. Second, in the flood in the times of Noah. Third, after receiving the law, the people fell into idolatry, until Christ, the pilot of souls, came, and having raised the sail of the cross, built for us a stormless voyage to heaven.

QUES. CVI. « A night and a day I have spent in the deep? » RESP. By "a night" he means the time spent before the coming of Christ in dark error; by "day," he means the life lived after the presence of Christ in the luminous baptism.

ALIA. Some say that he sailed in the middle of the sea; others, that he was swimming and treading water, where he could see neither land nor mountain.

PROPOSITION CVII. « There was given to me a sting of the flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me. » INTERPRETATION. Satan is called the adversary. By "angel of Satan," therefore, he means Alexander the coppersmith, and Hymenaeus and Philetus, who tempted him and resisted him, saying that the resurrection had already taken place; and they seized him, cast him into prison, and inflicted many evils upon him.

PROP. CVIII. « My grace is sufficient for thee. » RESP. This is: My grace is sufficient for thee, in that you raise the dead, give sight to the blind, and perform other signs. Moreover, being driven and persecuted, overcome those who persecute you. ^B

QUES. CIX. What is it that he says: « The world is crucified to me, and I to the world? » RESP. To depart from this life and its cares, and to become dead to the passions and to the desires, and to fast, and to keep vigil, and to suffer hardship in asceticism, as he says elsewhere: « And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the passions and desires. »

QUES. CX. What is it that he says: « Having broken down the middle wall of the partition? » RESP. That is to say, the enmity which we men had towards God because of our sins. The Lord and God, therefore, having become incarnate and died, destroyed the sin that separated us from God; and thus he brought all things into peace, and made us sons of God, having torn up the handwriting that was against us on the cross. And what the handwriting was, ^C hear: when Adam transgressed the commandment and took from the tree with his hand, and ate, the sin was written by his hand, and the devil held that document. But when Christ came to the wood—that is, to the cross—and his hands were wounded with nails, then he nailed that writing to the cross and blotted it out. For the devil himself, who held the handwriting of the transgression...

he rent, since he was bound by Christ upon the cross. ^A

Q. CXI. What is the meaning of: "Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you"? A. By the one who sleeps, he means the one who lies in sins; for he who lives in sins is said to be dead. And just as a dead man is motionless, so too he who is dead in sins remains unmoved toward the good.

PROPOSITION CXII. "Put on the armor of God." A. By the whole armor of God, he means the Holy Spirit. For he who is not a participant of the Spirit is not capable against the opposing powers. "For our struggle," he says, "is not against flesh and blood"—that is, the war is not waged against men—"but against the principalities." ^B By principalities, he means the demons, because they rule in this world, but only over the works of darkness. And the phrase "in the heavenly places"—this is because it is not for a trivial matter that the demons attack us, but for heavenly goods. For because we strive for the kingdom in heaven, they attack us fiercely. For this reason, it is fitting always to be watchful and to overcome them by the power and grace of Christ. By the "shield of faith," he means a sincere and fervent faith.

Q. CXIII. What is the meaning of: "Having put off the old man, and having put on the new man, which is being renewed"? A. By the old man, he means the first man, born after the fall of Adam, or the wickedness and malice which proceeds from him. By the new man, he understands the Christian conduct—that is, a pious and good life. ^C

Q. CXIV. What is the meaning of: "That you may not grieve, as others do who have no hope"? A. It is fitting for those who have no hope of the resurrection to grieve. But note how he spoke regarding Christ, that he died and rose again. But concerning the common people, he said "those who have fallen asleep," so that he might show that those who sleep shall rise again.

Q. CXV. What is the meaning of: "He did not consider it robbery to be equal to God"? A. What the Apostle says is of this sort: That the Son of God, and God, wishing to descend to earth and to be incarnate, did not fear to descend from his dignity. ^D For he did not possess his divinity by robbery, just as if someone possesses something by robbery and fears to lose it. Christ was not such a one—far be it! But being perfect God, he also willed to become man.

Q. CXVI. "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord."

^A Resp. The word of the Lord which he spoke means this: that they shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live. "This," he says, "we also say, that we who live and remain unto the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep." Those who are found then at the resurrection are the living. For there will be people found on that day who will not see death, yet they will not precede those who have fallen asleep before them. For the dead will rise first, and after this the living will be changed and will be caught up in an instant to meet the Lord in the air.

Now, hear how this catching up will happen. Just as the Lord [will come] with a command—that is, by an order—and the angels will cry out, "Arise, for the Bridegroom has come," then he will descend from heaven. ^B And first the dead will rise; after this, those who are living will be changed and will become incorruptible. And after this, all the saints and worthy ones will be caught up by clouds and will receive our Lord coming from the heavens, as it says: "And we will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." For this is the glory and the crown of the righteous. But sinners will wait for him until he descends.

This happens just as it does with a king going into a city: the first and most honorable of the city go out to meet him, but the poor and lowly wait until he reaches the city. Think of Christ in this way: that when he descends from heaven, all the righteous and good will be caught up into the heavens to meet our Lord Jesus as he descends, but sinners will stand on the earth waiting.

PROPOSITION CXVII.

PROPOSITION CXVIII.

PROPOSITION CXIX.

^A Another likewise on the same: Whoever wishes to labor at the work of God, and to teach and benefit others, it is fitting for that teacher first to practice the virtues, in order that he may receive from God the gifts of grace, and acquire the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and the treasures of the knowledge of the good things of God; and then he will be able to impart those gifts to others as well. For indeed, if anyone wishes to anoint someone with oil with his own hands, if he does not have it, how can he impart to others what he himself does not possess? In the same way, one must think regarding the teacher, as has been said.

Q. CXX. « Understand what I say. » A. Because he had written everything to him in parables, for this reason he says: « Pay attention. » « And they did not obey the command of Moses. Moses gave a command, and they killed three thousand [people]. » And this is what the Scripture says: « Whose members fell in the desert. »

PROP. CXXI. « Every transgression and disobedience received a just retribution of reward. » INTERP. All those who transgressed and were disobedient in the old law, were afflicted with a fitting punishment. For both Adam, having transgressed, was condemned; and Cain, having sinned, became accursed; and those in the time of Noah who were doing evil were drowned; and the Sodomites, who were living shamefully, were horribly drowned; and the Jews, who often rose up against the prophets, received blows and scourges and punishments from God. Now, therefore, he says this: that, since in the Old [Testament] all ^B those who despised the command of the Lord, and disobeyed the things spoken through the angels and prophets, received their punishment justly and drew upon themselves the wrath of God, how shall we escape if we have neglected such a salvation, which was not spoken to us through angels nor through prophets, but through Christ and God himself? For indeed, in the Old [Testament], Moses was a minister of the law, but in the New, it is Christ. By much, therefore, is this better than the old legislation, because there the law was administered by a servant, but here [it is] the Master, Christ. And we ought to perform the things that have been commanded without doubting, so that we may not render an account more severe than the ancients.

PROP. CXXII. « For he did not subject to angels the coming world, of which we speak. » INTERP. He calls the « world » the judgment of his second coming, when he will render to each according to his works. But what he says, « Of which we speak, » signifies that [salvation] for which we struggle, desiring to obtain it. On that day, the Apostle says, God did not give authority to the angels to judge the world, but has given all judgment to his Son. ^C And since the Son of God, who is also God himself, has all authority to judge the world, what are they going to suffer who have disobeyed his commands? For if those who were disobedient to the old law, which was [given] through the angels—

^A they suffered so much, even though the angels were not the judges of the world, what shall those suffer who have disobeyed the Master?

PROP. CXXIII. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”

INTERP. He calls Christ man and son of man, as he is in all things consubstantial with the Father, as perfect God and perfect man.

PROP. CXXIV. “Thou didst make him a little lower than the angels.”

INTERP. He says [he was] for a little while lower, because Christ was in Hades for three days and three nights.

PROP. CXXV. “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor.”

INTERP. For the glory and honor of Christ is the cross; because innumerable good things came to pass through the cross: for death has been trampled underfoot, and the curse has been banished, Hades has been plundered, sin has been abolished, ^B transgression has been annulled, the nature of men has been freed from the slavery of the passions, the devil has been bound, salvation has been planted, the resurrection has been made known, malice has been driven away, life has sprung forth as a fountain, idolatry has been dissolved; and what is more wonderful, the ancient and old prophets were also baptized, from the blood and water that flowed from the side of Christ. And how, listen. Since the human body consists of four elements, after death it is again resolved into them. So indeed did it happen also in the case of Christ; for the blood and the water, which flowed from his holy side, were resolved into that into which the blood of the prophets was also resolved, namely into the elements, ^C which [the blood and water] finding there, baptized. But if anyone says that it also baptized the bodies of the unbelievers, we reply: No. For as water flowing along, whatever green plants it finds, it irrigates and waters, but whatever it finds dry, it does not benefit; so also think of this in this case.

QUEST. CXXVI. “But now we do not yet see all things subject to him”—inasmuch as the preaching had not yet spread to the inhabited world?

INTERP. It was fitting for him, it is clear that for God and the Father, through whom all things were made and subsist, that the leader of life, namely Christ, should bring many sons to the glory and kingdom ^D of the heavens; and he calls the spiritual and holy men sons. It was fitting, he says, for him, God and the Father, to make the leader of our salvation, namely Christ, perfect and glorious through sufferings.

QUEST. CXXVII. What does he mean by: “And of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man”?

RESP. He calls the heaven a tabernacle, which man did not build, as they are accustomed to do with the temples of the churches on earth. It is not made by hands, as being constructed by the word of God.

^A PROP. CXXVIII. "Sancti omnes per fidem expugnaverunt regnum." INTERP. Abraham, Moses, Jesus son of Nave: "wrought righteousness," Abraham, Phinees, and David; "obtained promises," likewise Jesus son of Nave and Chaleb; "stopped the mouths of lions," Daniel in the lions' den; "quenched the violence of fire," those three youths in the fiery furnace; "escaped the edge of the sword," Elias and David; "out of weakness were made strong," as Ezechias; "waxed valiant in fight," as Samson, who with the jawbone of an ass routed a thousand Philistines; "women received their dead raised to life again," the Shunammite and the woman of Sarephta; "and others were tortured," he means James the brother of the Lord, and the others whose heads were cut off; for torture here means beheading; ^B "and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings," Isaias, Jeremias, and Micheas; "they were stoned," Stephen and Nabuthe; "they were sawn asunder," Isaias, whom the Jews sawed with a wooden saw; "they were tempted," as Job; "they were slain with the sword," James, Zacharias, and the others. "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise." That is to say, all these saints, having received the testimony that they pleased God, do not yet enjoy the kingdom of heaven and the goods promised to the just, but they await the second advent, so that all may be crowned together in a single moment of time. For this is what the Apostle says: "God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." For without all the saints, one half of them does not receive the promised goods. They have indeed the hope and the earnest, and they are separated from the sinners; but they have not yet attained the perfection itself, which is more excellent, namely, that all might enter into the kingdom at one and the same time, and all the saints equally become partakers of the goods of God.

^C PROP. CXXIX. "Seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses." INTERP. He called them a cloud of witnesses because they bedew us who are held fast in sins and scorched, and they cover us under the shade of their intercessions.

PROP. CXXX. "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us." INTERP. By "weight" he means the multitude. He says, therefore: Since we have so great a multitude of holy witnesses, like a cloud bedewing us, let us, trusting in the intercession of their prayers, imitate their virtues; and having cast off the whole weight of sins and abandoned the sin that doth so easily beset us, let us run with patience and long-suffering the race of virtue. But by the sin that doth so easily beset us...