Alcuin of York

QUESTION: Nor hath there entered into it anything defiled. ANSWER: He is describing the Church of that time when, after the wicked have been excluded from among them, the good alone will reign with Christ. But already now, every unclean person and liar is not in the Church, nor does the one who hates the city of God see its light, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes. [1 John 2:11] It is not here, but there that there will be the true healing of the nations, full redemption, and everlasting happiness. Finally, after having at last finished so great and so perilous a work, I beg with insistence, that if any people should deem this little work of mine worth reading, they should also remember to commend the author of the work to the Lord. I have actually quoted a good number of things from the teaching of the masters or from what I remembered from my readings — for we also have as a commandment that we should give back to our lord the talents we received, with the interests. Concerning the knowledge of numbers [...] also a few things [...] different number [...] Bede says [...] is divided into seven sections; and in the fifth rule mentioned in his preface, he says that the trope works with regular numbers, in the trope called synecdoche, where either the whole is meant by a part or a part by the whole. This figure of speech even gives us the solution to that famous question of Christ's resurrection: for unless the last part of the day on which he suffered his Passion is taken as a whole day, that is, including also the previous night; and unless the night in the last part of which he was resurrected is taken as a whole day, that is, including also the then-dawning Dominical day, there cannot be three days and three nights, the time during which he said he would be in the heart of the earth. [Matt. 12:40] He calls “regular numbers” those the holy Scripture commends more notably, like seven, ten, or twelve. By these is usually represented either totality of time or perfection of a certain thing, as for example, as already said, Seven times a day I have given praise to thee [Ps. 118:164] means nothing else but His praise shall be always in my mouth. [Ps. 33:2] What is the number seven taken to mean but the sum of perfection? So the number seven is called perfect because it is made up of the first even number and the first odd number: the first that can be divided and the first that cannot be divided. This is actually why twelve apostles were chosen to be filled with the perfection of the sevenfold grace, for there is a rising from the number seven to the number twelve: when the number seven undergoes a multiplication of its parts by each other, it stretches to the number twelve: for whether four is multiplied by three or three by four, they turn seven into twelve. Therefore, since the holy apostles were being sent to preach the Trinity in the four parts of the world, twelve apostles were chosen, so that they might show by their number also the perfection they preached with their lives and voices. Here you are; you have both, the fulfillment of your request and of your wish. As far as time and place have allowed me to, with God's favor, I have complied willingly, instructed by the apostle, who tells us to be ready to satisfy everyone that asks. [1 Pet. 3:15] I know him who says, Open thy mouth, and I will fill it. [Ps. 80:11] Let us hasten to walk while it is light; the night will come, when no one can walk. [Cf. John 9:4] Let us imitate him about whom it is written, fearing God, and avoiding evil. [Job 1:1]