Gregory the Dialogist

76. Oftentimes in Holy Writ the Lord is represented by the title of the Sun, as it is said by the Prophet, But unto you that fear My Name shall the Sun of righteousness arise. [Mal. 4, 2] And as the ungodly that are cast away in the Judgment, are described in the book of Wisdom, as saying, We have erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the Sun rose not upon us; [Wisd. 5, 6] therefore, ‘before the sun the rush is seen moist,’ in that before God's severity burns hot in the Judgment, every hypocrite shows himself bedewed with the grace of holiness. He is seen as it were flourishing, because he is accounted righteous, he wins the post of honour, he is strong in his high repute for sanctity, reverence is awarded to him by all men, his credit for praise is magnified. Thus this rush is full of moisture in the night, but on the coming of the sun it is dried up, in that the hypocrite is accounted holy by all men in the darkness of the present life, but when the searching Judge cometh, he will appear as wicked as he is. So then let him say, He appears moist before the sun, because now he shows himself flourishing to the eyes of men, but then he shall wither up in the scorching heat of the Divine Judgment. The account goes on;
And his produce I issueth forth in his springing up.
77. For every herb in general is first raised out of the ground by springing up, it is subject to the influences of the air and heat, it is fed by the sun and showers, and then at length it is made to open itself to put forth the produce of its seed. But the rush is produced along with its flower, and so soon as it springs out of the earth, it puts forth its produce of seed with itself. Therefore by the rest of the herbs the Saints in general are well denoted, but the hypocrite by ‘the rush,’ because the righteous, before they spring up [l] in the practice of holy conversation, undergo the winter season of this life, and the heats of bitter persecutions press them hard; and then, when they do what is right, they never look here for the reward of their, righteousness, but when they depart forth from the labours of the present world, on coming to their eternal Country, they enter upon the enjoyment of their looked-for reward. But contrariwise the hypocrite, in that he springs up in good practice at once, goes about to win the glory of the present world. As it were like a rush he springs up with his produce, who in return for this, that he is beginning to live well, aims at the outset to be held in honour by all men. So that the ‘produce in the springing up,’ is a reward at the outset. For often there are those that abandon the paths of overt wickedness, and put on the garb of holiness, and the moment they have touched the bare threshold of good living, forgetting what they were, they will not be henceforth chastened by penance for the iniquities they have committed, but they long to be commended for goodness begun; they are eager to get above the rest, even though better men than themselves. And for the most part whilst present prosperity follows them to their wish, they become infinitely worse than they were by the wearing of sanctity; but being busied with countless concerns, and distracted by that same busying, they not only never bewail the things that they have done, but still fill up more that should be bewailed.
78. For they that quit the world, ought not to be promoted to externa1[i.e. public] offices, unless in humility they be for some long time established in the contempt of that world. For the good soon comes to an end, which is made known to the world before the time. Thus with shrubs too that have been planted, if, before they are fastened with a firm root, the hand touch and shake them, it causes them to wither away, but, if the root be fixed deep, and, being sprinkled with the dews of the earth, be set fast, such as these the hand may even push, and not hurt: these even blasts of wind may buffet and wave, yet not overthrow. Thus, that the life of practice we have entered upon may not be uprooted, the root of the heart must be fixed long and vigorously in the deep of humility, that when from the mouths of men the breath of calumny or of applause blows strong, though it bend it a little either way, it may not root up the mind from its seat, but that after such bending it may return to its own upright standing, if it but hold strong in the root in its own self. What among things in course of growth is stronger than a rising wall? yet if, while it is in the act of erecting, it is pushed, it is at once destroyed without an effort; but if for a space of time it be allowed to dry from its wetness, often it is never a jot moved even by the strokes of the battering rams. In this way, in this self-same way, our goodness on the one hand being unseasonably displayed comes to nought, and on the other hand being longer kept hidden, is fairly secured; in that when the hand of human employment touches the recent life of our conversation, as it were it pushes the fresh brick wall, and easily destroys it, because it has not as yet got rid of the moisture of its own weakness. But when in its long lying at rest, the soul holds itself in, as it were like a dry wall, it grows hard against blows, and every thing that strikes it, now it is solid, bounds off it at once shattered. It is hence that Moses forbade the life of aught that made the beginning to be employed in services for men, saying, Thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep. [Deut. 15, 19] For to ‘do work with the firstling of the bullock’ is to display the beginning of a good conversation in the employment of public business. Moreover ‘to shear the firstlings of sheep,’ is to lay bare of the covering of its concealment the good we have begun before the eyes of men. And so we are forbidden to ‘work with the firstling of the bullock,’ and we are hindered from ‘shearing the firstlings of our sheep,’ in that even if we begin any thing strong, we ought not to be too ready to execute it in public. And when our life commences something simple and harmless, it is meet that it quit not the coverings of its secresy, that it may not bare that thing naked to the eyes of the world, the fleece being as it were withdrawn.
79. So let the firstlings of the bullocks and the sheep avail for the Divine sacrifices alone, that whatsoever we begin strong and harmless, we may sacrifice in honour of the Judge of the interior upon the altar of our hearts. Which same we may be sure is accepted the more gladly by Him, in proportion as being kept concealed from men it is stained by no desire of applause. But it often happens that the beginnings of a new method of life have still a mixture of the carnal life, and therefore they ought not to be too ready to make themselves known, lest while the good that pleases is applauded, the soul being beguiled by the praises of itself have no power to discover in itself the evil that lies concealed. Hence it is rightly said by Moses again, And when ye shall have come into the land that I shall give you, and shall have planted all manner of trees bearing fruit, then ye shall take off their foreskins. The fruits that are put forth shall be unclean, unto you, ye shall not eat of them. [Lev. 19, 23] For ‘the trees bearing fruit’ are works fruitful in virtue, and so we ‘take off the foreskins of the trees,’ when suspecting ourselves of the mere weakness of a beginning in itself, we do not give our approval to the beginnings of our good practices, but the fruits that are put forth, we count unclean, and do not make them answer for good for us, in that when the beginnings of good practice are applauded, it is meet that the mind of the doer should not be fed thereby; lest whilst the praise bestowed is plucked with delight, the fruit of good works be eaten prematurely. He, then, that receives the praise of virtue in its beginning from the mouths of men, as it were eats the fruit of the tree that he has planted before the time,
80. Hence ‘Truth’ saith by the Psalmist, It is vain for you to rise up before the light: rise up after ye have sat. [Ps. 127, 2. Vulg.] For ‘to: rise up before the light’ is to take one's pleasure in the night-time of the present life, before the shining of Eternal Retribution is revealed. So we are to sit first, that we may rise afterwards in a right way. For whoever doth not now humble himself by his own act and deed, the glory to ensue does not exalt such an one. Therefore what it is there to rise before the light, it is here for the hypocrite to put forth the produce in his springing up, for in setting his heart on human applauses, in the self-same place, where he springs up to good works, there he desires directly to obtain the glorying of his recompense. Had not they ‘put forth their produce in their springing up,’ of whom ‘Truth’ said, They love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men Rabbi? [Matt. 23, 6, 7] Therefore seeing that for this reason, viz. because they are beginning to do well, they endeavour to obtain honour of men, as it were, like a rush, ‘in their springing up they rise with their produce.’ These same, whilst they aim to practise right things, first anxiously look about for witnesses of those same works, and canvass with secret calculation, if there be persons to see the things they are about to do, or if those who see them can report them in a proper way. But if it chance to happen that no one witnesses their doings, then, surely, they reckon them to be lost to them, and they account the eyes of the interior Umpire as off them, because they have no mind to receive at His hands the reward of their works hereafter. And whereas when the hypocrite does any thing, he aims to be seen by many eyes, it is yet further added with truth concerning this same ‘rush,’

81. For what do we understand by the name of ‘roots’ save the hidden thoughts, which issue forth out of sight, but rise up in the display of works in open day? as it is also said by the Prophet concerning the seed of the Word, And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. [Is. 37, 31] For to ‘take root downward,’ is to multiply good thoughts in the secret depths, but ‘to bear fruit upward,’ is to show forth by the doing of practice what one has thought that is right. Now by the title of ‘stones’ in Holy Writ men are denoted, as it is said to Holy Church by Isaiah, And I will make thy battlements jasper, and thy gates of carved stones. [Is. 54, 12] And he made it plain what it was that he called those stones, where he added, All thy children taught of the Lord. As it is also expressed by Peter in giving admonition, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house. [1 Pet. 2, 5] Here therefore, whereas they are called ‘stones,’ but are not in any wise called ‘living stones,’ by the bare appellation of stones may be set forth the lost and the Elect mixed together. Therefore this rush, ‘which abideth in the place of stones, wrappeth his roots about the heap of rocks,’ in that every hypocrite multiplies the thoughts of his heart, in seeking out the admiration of men; for in all that hypocrites do, seeing that in their secret thoughts they look out for the applauses of their fellow-creatures, like rushes as it were they ‘send out roots into the heap of the rocks.’ For on the point of acting they imagine their praises, and when applauded, they dwell upon them secretly with themselves in the thoughts of their heart. They rejoice that they have distinguished themselves first and foremost in the esteem of men; and while they are puffed up and swoln in themselves by their applause, they often themselves secretly wonder at what they are. They long to appear day by day higher than themselves, and grow to a height by extraordinary arts in practice. For as habits of virtue enfeeble every thing bad, so presumption strengthens the same. For it forces the mind to grow quick, and to be in high condition at the expense of strength, in that what the prime quality of health withholds, the love of applause enjoins. Whence too, as we said, they look out for witnesses of their deeds; but if, it chance that witnesses of the thing are wanting, they themselves relate what they have done, and when they begin to be elated with applause, they add a little, by lying, to these works of theirs, which they describe themselves to have done. But even when they do give true accounts, by the act of telling them they are making them alien to them, in that when they are rewarded with the desired acknowledgments of esteem, they are dispossessed of their inward recompensing of them.
82. For in this, that they publish their good, they point out to the evil spirits, like enemies plotting against them, what to make spoil of. Whose life, truly, is represented by that sin of Hezekiah, which is well known to everyone, who after that by a single prayer, and in the space of a single night, he had laid low an hundred fourscore and five thousand of his enemies, by an Angel smiting them, after that he had brought back the sun close to its setting into the higher regions of the heavens, after that he had spun out the web of life to longer dimensions, now already narrowed by the end approaching, showed to the welcomed messengers of the king of Babylon all the good treasures that he possessed, but directly heard from the voice of the Prophet, Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house shall be carried away into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. [2 Kings 20, 17] In this way, in this self-same way, do hypocrites, after they are grown to a height by great attainments in virtue, because they are indifferent to guard against the plots of evil spirits, and will not remain hidden in those attainments, by displaying their good things, make them over to the enemy; and by betraying it to view, they lose in a moment whatsoever they perform by taking pains in a long course of time. Hence it is said by the Psalmist, And He delivered their strength into captivity, and their glory into the enemy's hand. [Ps. 78, 61] For the ‘strength’ and ‘glory’ of presumptuous men is ‘given over into the enemy's hand,’ in that every good thing, that is exhibited in the desire of praise, is made over to our secret adversary's right of possession; for he calls his enemies to the spoil, who reveals his treasures to their knowledge; since so long as we are severed from the safety of the Eternal Land, we are walking along a way until robbers lying in wait. He then that dreads to be robbed on the road, must of necessity bide the treasures that he carries. O wretched beings, who by going after the praises of men, waste to themselves all the fruits of their labours, and whilst they aim to show themselves to the eyes of others, blast all that they do. Which same when the evil spirits prompt to boastfulness, taking them for a prey they strip bare their works, as we have said. Whence ‘Truth’ in setting forth by the Prophet the rancour of our old enemies, under the form of a particular people, saith, He hath laid my vineyard waste, and barked my fig-tree: he hath made it clean bare, and despoiled [V. so.] it; the branches thereof are made white. [Joel 1, 7] For by spirits lying in wait the vineyard of God is made a desert, when the soul that is replenished with fruits is wasted with the longing after the praise of men. That people barks the fig-tree of God, in that carrying away the misguided soul in the appetite for applause, in the degree that it draws her on to ostentation, it strips her of the covering of humility, and ‘making it clean bare despoils it,’ in that so long as it is withdrawn from sight in its goodness, it is as it were clothed with the bark of its own covering. But when the mind longs for that it has done to be seen by others, it is as though ‘the fig-tree despoiled’ had lost the bark that covered it. And it is properly added there, The branches thereof are made white; in that his works being displayed to the eyes of men, turn ,white; a name for sanctity is gotten, when right practice is made appear, but whereas upon the bark being removed, the branches of this fig-tree wither, it is to be observed with due discrimination that the deeds of presumptuous men, when they are paraded before human eyes, by the same act whereby they aim to win favour, are rendered dry and sapless. Therefore the mind that is shown to view in boasting is rightly called a fig-tree barked, in that it is at once white, in so far as it is seen, and within a little of withering, in so far as it is denuded of the covering of the bark. The things we do, therefore, are to be kept within, if we expect to receive from the Umpire within the recompense of our work. It is hence that ‘Truth’ saith in the Gospel, But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. [Matt. 6, 3. 4.] It is hence that it is said of the Church of the Elect by the Psalmist, The king's daughter is all glorious within. [Ps. 45, 13] Hence Paul saith, For our glory [V. so.] is this, the testimony of our conscience. [2 Cor. 1, 12] For the king's daughter is the Church, which is begotten in good practice by the preaching of spiritual Princes. But ‘her glory is within,’ in that what she does she holds not for the boasting of outward display. Paul describes his ‘glory’ as ‘the testimony of his conscience,’ in that not aiming at the applause of another's man's lips, he knows no such thing as placing the satisfactions of his life out of himself.
83. Therefore the things that we do must be kept concealed, lest by carrying them negligently on the journey of the present life, we lose them, through the invasion of the spirits that hunt for spoil. And yet ‘Truth’ saith, Let them see your good works, that they may glorify your Father which is in heaven. [Matt. 5, 16] But assuredly it is one thing when in the display of our works the glory of the Giver is our aim, and quite another when our own praise is the thing sought for in the gift of His bounty. And hence again in the Gospel the same ‘Truth’ saith, Take heed that ye do not your works before men, to be seen of them. Therefore when our works are displayed to men, we must first weigh well, in entering into the heart, what is aimed at by the prosecution of such display. For if we make the glory of the Giver our end, even our works that are made public we keep hidden in His sight. But if we desire to win our own applause by them, they are thenceforth cast out of His sight without, even though they be known nothing of by numbers.
84. Now it belongs to those that are exceeding perfect, so to seek the glory of their Maker by the works shown, as not to know what it is to exult in self-congratulation upon the praise bestowed upon them. For then only is a praiseworthy work displayed to men without harm, when the praise awarded is genuinely trodden under in the mind's contempt. Which same as the weak sort do not perfectly get above in contemning it, it remains of necessity that they keep out of sight the good that they do. For often from the very first beginning of the display, they seek their own praise. And often in the displaying of their works, they desire to publish the gloriousness of the Creator, but being received with applause, they are carried off into desire of their own praise. And whilst they neglect to call themselves to account within, being dissipated without, they do not know what they do, and their work ministers to their pride, and they fancy that they are rendering it in the service of the Giver. Thus ‘a rush abideth among the stones,’ in that the hypocrite stands there, where he sets fast the purpose of his mind. For whilst he goes about to get the testimony of numbers, he takes his stand, as it were, in the heap of stones. But the same hypocrite that is represented by the designation of ‘a rush,’ whilst he brings his body under by abstinence, whilst by bestowing in alms all that he possesses, he spends himself in efforts of pity, whilst he gets instruction in the knowledge of the sacred Law, whilst he employs the word of preaching; who that beheld him so filled with bounty, would account him a stranger to the grace of the Giver? And yet the Hand of heavenly Dispensation vouchsafes to him the gifts of works, and withholds the lot of the inheritance. It lavishes endowments for working, yet disowns the life of the worker. For when the gift vouchsafed is applied toward his own praise, in the eye of the interior Light, he is darkened by the shadow of pride.

Therefore, pay attention. Because they are called “rocks” but are not in any wise called “living stones,” the lost and the elect may be mixed together by the bare appellation of “stones.” Therefore this plant, “which lives among stones, wraps its roots around the heap of rocks,” in that every hypocrite multiplies the thoughts of his heart in seeking out human admiration. For in all that hypocrites do, seeing that in their secret thoughts they look out for the applauses of their fellow-creatures, like rushes, as it were, they “send out roots into the heap of the rocks.” For when they are about to act, they imagine the praises of others, and when applauded, they dwell upon these praises secretly within themselves in the thoughts of their heart. They rejoice that they have distinguished themselves first and foremost in the esteem of people; while they are puffed up and swollen in themselves by human applause, they often secretly wonder what they are. They long to appear day by day higher than they really are and grow to a height by practicing their extraordinary arts. As habits of virtue weaken everything bad, so presumption strengthens evil.… The hypocrite is “destroyed from his place” when death intervenes and he is separated from the applause of the present life.… When justly condemning the life of the pretender, “Truth” does not know him or recognize the good works he has done, for the pretender never acted with a right purpose in mind. Thus, when Christ comes to judge, he will say to the foolish virgins, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” While he perceives a corrupt mind, he condemns even the corruption of the flesh. But would that hypocrites’ own ruin alone were enough for them and that their wicked pains did not vehemently urge others to a life of duplicity.… Hence according to the hypocrites’ perspective, every degree of simplicity of character is criminal. For they sit in judgment on people whose character is transparent. Purity of heart they term stupidity … and believe they have enlightened those persons whom they have forced to surrender the fortress of wisdom, purity of heart.

85. The hypocrite is ‘destroyed from his place,’ when he is parted from the applause of the present life, by death intervening. But the interior Witness ‘denieth’ him, thus destroyed, and asserts that He knows him not, in that in justly condemning the life of the pretender, ‘Truth’ knows him not, nor recognises the good works he has done, in that he never put them forth in a right purpose of mind. And hence when He cometh to Judgment, He will say to the foolish virgins, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. [Matt. 25, 12] In which same whilst He sees corruptness of mind, He condemns even incorruptness in the flesh. But would that their own ruin alone were enough for hypocrites, and that their wicked pains did not vehemently urge others to a life [al. ‘a way’] of duplicity. For it is the way with everyone, to wish that, such as he is himself, others of a like sort should be joined with him, and to avoid difference in life, and to inculcate as a pattern for imitation the thing that he loves. Whence also according to the view of hypocrites every degree of simplicity of character is criminal. For they sit in judgment on open characters, and purity of heart they term stupidity; and all whom they desire to be attached to themselves, they turn out of the path of simplicity, and then, as though their folly were cast out, they reckon that they have enlightened those persons, in whom they force to a surrender that fortress of wisdom, purity of heart. But forasmuch as the hypocrite is condemned not for his own frowardness alone, but for the added ruin of his followers also, after that he is said not to be known by the Judge.

Therefore, when all the elect are replenished with the delight of clear vision, they internally spring forth into the joy of laughter. We call it shouting when we conceive such joy in the heart as we cannot express through the force of words. Yet the heart’s triumph expresses itself with a voice that external words cannot express. Now the mouth is correctly said to be filled with laughter, the lips with shouting, since in that eternal land, when the mind of the righteous is borne away in transport, the tongue is lifted up in the song of praise. And they, because they see so many inexpressible things, shout in laughter, for without understanding it, they resound with all the love that they feel.… “Confusion clothes” the enemies of the good in the final judgment, for when they see in the mind’s eye their past misdeeds flooding their banks, their own guilt covers them on every side, weighing them down. For they then bear the memory of their actions in punishment, who now, as though strangers to the faculty of reason, sin with hearts full of joy. There they see how greatly they should have eschewed all that they loved. There they see how woeful that was which they now embrace in their sin.

87. In that assuredly when the Strict One appeareth in the Judgment, He will at once lift up the despisedness of the simple by glorifying them, and break in pieces the greatness of the evil-minded [malignorum] by condemning them. For hypocrites are called evil-minded, who do good acts but not well, and practise every thing right only in eagerness after praise. Now anyone, to whom we stretch out our hand, we plainly lift up from below. Thus God does not stretch out His hand to the evil-minded, in that all that seek earthly glory He leaves below, and how right soever the things that they do may seem to be, He doth not advance them to the joys above. Or, as may well be, hypocrites are for this reason called evil-minded, because they make a show of being wellminded toward their neighbours, and cover over the arts of their wicked designs. For in all that they either do or say, they show simplicity externally, but they are inwardly conceiving in the subtleties of double-mindedness; they counterfeit purity on the outside, but they conceal an evil heart at all times under the semblance of purity. In respect of whom it is well spoken by Moses, Thou shalt not wear a garment woven of woollen and linen together. [Deut. 22, 11] For by ‘woollen’ is denoted simplicity, by ‘linen’ subtlety. And it is the fact that a garment made of ‘wool and linen’ hides the linen within and shows the wool on the outside. And so he ‘puts on a garment of woollen and linen together,’ who in the mode of speech or behaviour that he adopts conceals within the artfulness of an evil purpose, and exhibits without the simplicity of an innocent mind. For whereas it is impossible to detect craftiness under the semblance of purity, it is as if linen were hidden under the thickness of wool. But after the condemnation of the double-minded, the recompensing of the righteous is duly exhibited.

88. For the ‘mouth’ of the righteous will then be ‘filled with laughing’ when the tears of their pilgrimage being done, their hearts shall be filled to the full with exulting in eternal joy. Concerning this laughing ‘Truth’ saith to His disciples, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. [John 16, 20] And again, But I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. [ver. 23] Concerning this laughing of Holy Church, Solomon saith, And she shall laugh in the last day. [Prov. 31, 25] Of this it is said again, Whoso feareth the Lord, it shall go well with him at the last. [Ecclus. 1, 3] Not that there shall be laughter of the body, but laughter of the heart. For now from rioting in dissipation there springs a laughter of the body, but then from joy in security there will arise a laughter of the heart. Therefore when all the Elect are replenished with the delight of open vision, they spring forth into the joyousness of laughter in the mouth of the interior. But we call it shouting [jubilum], when we conceive such joy in the heart, as we cannot give vent to by the force of words, and yet the triumph of the heart vents with the voice what it cannot give forth by speech. Now the mouth is rightly said to be filled with laughter, the lips with shouting, since in that eternal land, when the mind of the righteous is borne away in transport, the tongue is lifted up in the song of praise. And they, because they see so much as they are unable to express, shout in laughter, because without compassing it they resound all the love that they feel.
89. Now it is said ‘till,’ not that Almighty God so long forbears to raise up the evil until he take to Him His Elect to the joys of their jubilee, as if afterwards He saved from the punishment those whom first leaving in sin He sentences to damnation, but that He never does it even before the Judgment, when it may seem doubtful to men, whether it is to be done. For that after the jubilee of His Eject people He does not stretch out His hand to the evil-minded, is already plain from the mere severity of the final reckoning by itself. As the Psalmist also spake in this manner, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool. [Ps. 110, 1] Not that the Lord never sat on the Lord's right hand, after that by smiting His enemies He made them subject to His power, but that He is set over all things in eternal blessedness, even before He treads under His feet the hearts of those that rebel against Him. Wherein it is made plain that His enemies being brought under, He still rules without end even afterwards. Thus it is said in the Gospel of the espoused of Mary, And knew her not, till she had brought forth her first-born Son. [Matt. 1, 25] Not that he did know her after the birth of the Lord, but that he never touched her even when he did not know her to be the Mother of his Creator. For because it was impossible that he could have touched her after he knew that the Mystery of our Redemption was transacted from her womb, plainly it was necessary that the Evangelist should bear witness of that time, of which there might be misgivings entertained by reason of Joseph's ignorance. And so it is expressed here in like manner, Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will He stretch out His hand to the evil-minded; till He fill thy mouth with laughter, and thy lips with shouting. As if it were expressed in plain speech; ‘Not even before the Judgment does He abandon the life of the faithful, nor even before He appears does He forbear from smiting the minds of the evil-disposed by abandoning them.’ For that the sons of perdition He torments without end, and that after that He shall have appeared His Elect reign for evermore, assuredly there is no doubt.

90. ‘Confusion clothes’ the enemies of the good in the final Judgment; for when they see before the eyes of their mind their past misdeeds running over in excess to them, their own guilt clothes them on every side, weighing them down. For they then bear the memory of their doings in punishment, who now, as though strangers to the faculty of reason, sin with hearts full of joy. There they see how greatly they should have eschewed all that they loved. There they see how woful that was, which they now hug themselves for in their sin. Then guilt spreads a cloud over the mind, and conscience pierces itself with the darts of its remembrances. Who then can adequately estimate how exceeding great will be the confusion of the wicked Then, when both the Judge Eternal is discerned without, and sin is set in review before the eyes within? who are on this account brought to such a pass, because they loved transient things alone. And hence it is rightly added upon that;
And the tents of the wicked shall not abide.
91. For a tent is put together that the body may be preserved from heat and cold. What then is here set forth by the name of a dwelling-place, save the building of earthly prosperity, whereby the wicked are multiplying above their heads things to fall, that they may shelter themselves from the exigencies of the present life as from heat and rain. Thus they go about to rise in honours, lest they should appear contemptible. They pile up the good things of earth, and heap them high, lest they ever come to pine with the cold of want. They scorn to take thought of what is to come, and busy themselves with all their heart, that nought may be lacking in the present scene of things. They aim to spread their name, that they may not live unknown, and if every thing is forthcoming to their hearts’ content, they regard themselves as proof in all things, and blessed in their condition. Thus in the place where they rear a dwelling-place of the interior, there surely they have their tents fixed. They bear crosses with impatience, they rejoice in prosperity without restraint. They mind alone the things that are before them, nor do they draw their breath by the yearning after their heavenly home in the remembrance thereof. They are glad that the good things are theirs, which their heart is bent on having; and there, where they rest in the body, they bury the soul too, making it a thing extinct, in that being slain with the instrument of worldly solicitude, that pile of earthly things, which they heap together hunting for them without, they are always carrying on them within in thought.
92. But contrariwise the good neither take the blessings offered them here below as any thing great, nor very much dread the ills brought upon them. But both whilst they use present advantages, they forecast inconveniences to come, and when they lament for present evils, they are comforted in the love of the good things to follow. And they are cheered by temporal support, just as a wayfarer enjoys a bed in a stable; he stops and hurries to be off; he rests still in the body, but is going forward to something else in imagination. But sometimes they even long to meet with afflictions, they shrink from finding all go well in transient things, lest by the delightfulness of the journey, they be hindered in arriving at their home; lest they arrest the step of the heart on the pathway of their pilgrimage, and one day come in view of the heavenly land without a recompense. They delight to be little accounted of, nor do they grieve to be in affliction and necessity. Thus they that never fortify themselves against the adversities of the present time, as it were will not have a tent against the heat and rain. And hence Peter is justly rebuked, because when he was not yet confirmed in perfectness of heart, upon the brightness of ‘Truth’ being made known, he goes about to set up a tent upon earth. [Matt. 17, 4] And thus the righteous are indifferent to build themselves up here below, where they know themselves to be but pilgrims and strangers. For because they desire to have joy in their own, they refuse to be happy in what belongs to another. But the unrighteous, the further they are removed from the inheritance of the eternal Country, fix the foundations of the heart so much the deeper in the earth. It is hence that in the very beginning of man's creation Enoch is born seventh in the elect family. It is hence that Cain calls his firstborn son Enoch, and names the city that he built after him. [Gen. 4, 17] For ‘Enoch’ is rendered ‘Dedication.’ And so the wicked dedicate themselves in the beginning. For in this life, which is first, they plant the root of the heart, that they may flourish here to their content, and wither root and branch to the Country that follows after. But to the righteous, Enoch is born the seventh, in that the festal dedication of their lives is kept for the end. It is hence, as Paul testifies, Abraham dwells in tents [so Vulg.], for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. [Heb. 11, 9] It is hence that Jacob goes humbly [Vulg. like E.V. paullatim] following the flocks of sheep, and Esau coming to meet him lords it with a throng of numerous attendants, in that here both the Elect are without pride, and the lost swell with satisfaction in the good things of the flesh. Hence the Lord saith to Israel, If thou shalt choose one from the people of the land and set him for a king over thee, he shall not multiply horses and horsemen to himself. [Deut. 17, 15. 16.] And yet the first king ‘chosen from among his brethren,’ so soon as he had attained the height of power, chose for himself three thousand horsemen; he immediately launched into pride, burst forth in the building up of the height he had attained, in that without he could not keep under on a level of equality all that made his spirit within rise high above the level of others. That rich man had as it were erected for himself a fenced dwelling place, who said, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years: take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. [Luke 12, 19] But because that dwelling is not bottomed upon the foundation of Truth, he heard at the same moment, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall these things be, which thou hast prepared? [ver. 20] Therefore it is well said, And the dwelling-place of the wicked shall come to nought. In that the lovers of this fleeting life, whilst they diligently build themselves up in present things, are suddenly hurried into eternity.

1. BAD minds, if they have once broken out into the eagerness of opposition, whether what they hear from those that withstand them be right or wrong, assail it with contradictory replies; for whereas the speaker is unwelcome from being in opposition, not even what is right is welcome when he utters it. But, on the other hand, the hearts of the good, whose dislike rises not at the speaker but at the offence, in such sort pass sentence on what is amiss, as to adopt still any right things that are said. For they sit the most even umpires in deciding the sense of their opponents’ words, and they so reject what is put forth amiss, that notwithstanding they set the seal upon what they recognise to be delivered in truth. For among a wilderness of thorns the ear [spica] is generally to be found growing up from seed good for fruit. Therefore it must be managed with care by the hand of the tiller, that, whilst the thorn [spina] is removed, the ear be cherished, so that he, who is eager to root up what pricks, may have sense to preserve what gives nourishment. Hence in that Bildad the Shuhite had said well in enquiry, Doth God pervert judgment, or doth the Almighty pervert justice? in that he had delivered true and forcible sentiments against hypocrites, blessed Job, seeing that they were delivered against the wicked in general, admirably treads under foot the prosecution of his own defence.

3. In Holy Scripture, the number a thousand is wont to be taken for totality. Hence the Psalmist saith, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations; when it is sufficiently plain that from the very beginning of the world up to the coming of our Lord no more than seventy-seven generations are reckoned up by the Evangelist. What then is represented in the number a thousand, save, until the bringing forth of the new offspring, the complete whole of the race foreseen. Hence it is said by John, And shall reign with Him a thousand years [Rev. 20, 6]; for that the reign of Holy Church is made complete by being perfected in entireness. Now forasmuch as a unit being multiplied is brought to ten, and ten being taken into itself is expanded to one hundred, which again being multiplied by ten is extended to a thousand, since we set out with one to get to one thousand, what is here denoted by the designation of ‘one’ but the commencement of good living? what by the fulness of the number ‘a thousand,’ but the perfection of that good life? Now to contend with God is not to ascribe to Him but to take to one's self the glory of one's goodness. But let the holy man consider that the man who has already received even the chiefest gifts, if he is lifted up for what has been vouchsafed him, parts with all that he had received, and let him say, If he will contend with Him, he cannot answer Him one of a thousand. For he, that ‘contends’ with his Maker, is unable to ‘answer Him one of a thousand,’ in that the man that sets himself up on the score of perfection, proves that be lacks the very beginning of good living. For we cannot ‘answer Him one of a thousand,’ since when we are lifted up for perfection of good life, we show that we have not so much as begun this. Now we are then more really moved by our weakness, when by reflection, we are led to form an estimate how infinite is the power of the Judge.

4. What wonder is it, if we call the Maker of the wise, ‘wise,’ Whom we know to be Wisdom itself? and what wonder is it that he describes Him to be ‘mighty,’ Whom there is none that doth not know to be this very Mightiness itself? But the holy man, by the two words set forth in praise of the Creator, conveys a meaning to us, whereby to recall us in trembling to the knowledge of ourselves. For God is called ‘wise,’ in that He exactly knows our secret hearts, and it is added that He is ‘mighty,’ in that He smites them forcibly, so known. And so He can neither be deceived by us, because He is wise, nor be escaped, because He is strong. Now, as wise, He beholds all things, Himself unseen, then, as strong, without let or hindrance, He punishes those whom He condemns. Who ordains this likewise here with mightiness of wisdom, that when the human mind exalts itself against the Creator, it should confound itself by that very self-exaltation. And hence it is added,
Who hath resisted Him, and had peace?
5. For He that creates all things marvellously, Himself regulates them, that after having been created, they should agree with themselves; and thus whereinsoever there is resistance made to the Creator, that agreement in peace is broken up, in that those things can never be well regulated, which lose the management of regulation above. For whatsoever things if subjected to God might have continued at peace, being left to themselves by their own act work their own confusion, in that they do not find in themselves that peace, which coming from above they contend against in the Creator. Thus that highest Angelical Spirit, who being in subjection to God might have stood at the height, being banished, has to bear the burthen of himself, in that he roams abroad in disquietude in his own nature. Thus the first parent of the human race, in that he went against the precept of his Creator, was thereupon exposed to the insolence of the flesh, and because he would not be subject to His Maker in obedience, being laid low beneath himself, even the peace of the body was forthwith lost to him. Thus it is well said, Who hath resisted Him, and had peace? In that by the same act, whereby the froward mind lifts itself against its Maker, it works its own confusion in itself. Now we are said to resist God, when we try to oppose His dispensations. Not that our frailty does resist His unchangeable decree, but what it has not the power to accomplish, it yet attempts. For often human weakness knows in secret the power of His dispensation, and yet aims, if it might be able, to reverse it. It sets to work to resist, but shivers itself to pieces by the very sword of its opposition. It struggles against the interior disposition of things, but, being overcome by its own efforts, is bound fast. Therefore to have peace whilst resisting can never be; for whereas confusion follows after pride, that which is foolishly done in sin is marvellously disposed to the punishment of the doer; but the holy Man, being filled with the influence of the Spirit of prophecy, while he regards in general the confounding of human pride, thereupon directs the eye of the mind to the special fate of the Jewish people, and shows by the ruin of a single people the punishment that awaits all that are lifted up.

6. Oftentimes in Holy Writ by the title of ‘mountains,’ the loftiness of Preachers is set forth. Of whom it is said by the Psalmist, The mountains shall receive peace for Thy people. [Ps. 72, 3] For the Elect Preachers of the eternal Land are not unjustly called ‘mountains,’ in that by the loftiness of their lives they leave the low bottoms of earthly regions, and are brought near to heaven. Now ‘Truth’ ‘removed the mountains’ when He withdrew the holy Preachers from the stubbornness of Judaea. Whence too it is rightly said by the Psalmist, The mountains shall be carried into the heart of the sea. [Ps. 46, 2] For ‘the mountains were removed into the heart of the sea,’ when the Apostles in their preaching, thrust off by the faithlessness of Judaea, came to the understanding of the Gentiles. Hence they themselves say in their Acts, It was necessary that the word should first have been spoken to you but seeing ye put it from you and Judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. [Acts 13, 46] Now this same ‘removing of the mountains’ they themselves ‘knew nothing of, who were overthrown in the wrath of the Lord;’ for when the Hebrew people drove the Apostles from their coasts, they supposed that they had made gain, in that they had parted with the light of preaching, since as their deserts demanded, being struck with a just visitation, they were blinded by so great a delusion of the understanding, that their losing the light they accounted to be joy; but upon the rejection of the Apostles, Judaea is at once brought to destruction by the hands of the Roman Emperor Titus, and she is dispersed and scattered abroad among all nations.

7. For ‘the earth was shaken out of her place,’ when the Israelitish people, rooted out of the borders of Judaea, submitted the neck to the Gentiles, because she would not be subjected to the Creator. Which same earth had pillars, in that the erection of her stubborness, which was to be destroyed, rose upon the Priests and Rulers, the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees. For in these she held in her the edifice of the letter, and in her season of peace, carried the burthen of carnal sacrifices like a fabric overlaid. But when ‘the mountains were removed,’ the ‘pillars were shaken,’ in that when the Apostles were withdrawn from Judaea, they were no more themselves allowed to live therein, who drove out from thence the proclaimers of life. For it was meet that they being brought into subjection should lose that earthly country, for the love of which they had not been afraid to assail the soldiers of the heavenly country. But upon the holy Teachers being drawn out, Judaea waxed altogether gross, and by the righteous inquest of Him That judgeth, she shut the eyes of the mind in the darkness of her delusion.

8. Now sometimes in Holy Writ by the title of ‘sun,’ we have the brightness of the Preachers represented, as it is said by John, And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair. [Rev. 6, 12] For at the end of time the sun is exhibited ‘like sackcloth of hair,’ in that the shining life of them that preach is set forth before the eyes of the lost as hard and contemptible. And they are represented by the brightness of stars also, in that whilst they preach right doctrines to sinners, they enlighten the darkness of our night. And hence upon the removal of the Preachers it is said by the Prophet, The stars [a] of the rain are withholden. Now whereas the sun shines in the day time, the stars illumine the shades of night. And very often in Holy Writ by the designation of day is denoted the eternal Country, and by the name of night, the present life. Holy preachers become like the sun to our eyes, inasmuch as they open to us the view of the true light; and they shine like stars in the dark, when for the purpose of helping our necessities they manage earthly things in an active life. They, as it were, shine as the sun in the day, whilst they raise the eye of our mind to contemplate the land of interior brightness, and they glitter like stars in the night, in that even whilst they are engaged in earthly action, they guide the foot of our practice, every moment on the point of stumbling, by the example of their own uprightness. But because when the Preachers were driven out, there was none who might either show the brightness of contemplation, or disclose the light of an active life to the Jewish people continuing in the night of their unbelief, (for the Truth, which being cast off abandoned them, when the light of preaching was removed, blinded them in reward of their wickedness,) it is rightly said, Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not, and shutteth up the stars as under a seal. For He would not let the sun rise to that people, from whom He turned away the heart of the Preachers, and He ‘shut up the stars as under a seal,’ in that while He kept His Preachers to themselves in silence, He hid the heavenly light from the darkened perceptions of the wicked.
9. But it is to be considered, that we shut up any thing under seal with this view, that when the time suits, we may bring it out to the light. And we have learnt by the testimony of Holy Writ, that Judaea, which is now left desolate, shall be gathered into the bosom of the Faith at the end. Hence it is declared by Isaiah, For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall be saved. [Is. 10, 22] Hence Paul saith, Until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in, and so all Israel should be saved. [Rom. 11, 25. 26.] Therefore He That removes His Preachers now from the eyes of Judaea, and afterwards exhibits them, has as it were ‘shut up the stars under a seal,’ that the rays of the spiritual stars being first hidden and afterwards beaming forth, she both being now cast off may not see the night of her misbelief, and then by being enlightened may find it out. It is hence that those two illustrious Preachers were removed, but their death delayed, that they might be brought back in the end for the purpose of preaching; of whom it is said by John, These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the Lord of the earth. [Rev. 11, 4] One of whom ‘Truth’ by His own lips gives promise of in the Gospel, saying, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. [b] [Matt. 17, 11] They then are as if the ‘stars’ were ‘shut up under a seal,’ who both at this present are concealed that they appear not, and hereafter shall appear that they may stand Him in good stead. Yet the Israelitish people, which shall be gathered in full measure in the end, in the immediate infancy of Holy Church is pitilessly hardened. For it rejected the Preachers of the Truth, it spurned the message of succour. Yet this is effected by the marvellous contrivance of the Creator with this view, that the glory of the persons preaching, which if received might have lain hid in one people, being rejected might be spread abroad among all the nations.

10. For what is denoted by the name of ‘the heavens,’ but this very heavenly life of the persons preaching, of whom it is said by the Psalmist, The heavens declare the glory of God. Thus the same persons are recorded to be the heavens, and the same to be the sun; the heavens indeed, in that by interposing [intercedendo] they shield; the sun, in that by preaching they display the power of light. And so, upon the ‘earth being shaken’ ‘the heavens were spread out,’ in that when Judaea ravened in the violence of persecution, the Lord spread wide the life of the Apostles, for all the Gentiles to acquaint themselves withal. And whilst she in judgment being made captive is scattered over the world, they by grace are every where amplified in honour. For ‘the heavens’ were of small compass, so long as one people contained so many mighty preachers. For to which of the Gentiles would Peter have been known, if he had continued in the preaching to the Jewish people alone? Who would have known of Paul’s virtues, unless Judaea by persecuting him had transmitted him to our knowledge? See how already they, that were thrust off with scourges and with insults by the Israelitish people, are held in honour throughout the length and breadth of the world. The Lord alone then ‘has spread out the heavens,’ Who, by the wondrous ordering of His secret counsel, from the very cause, that He let His Preachers be persecuted in one people, caused them to spread out even to the comers of the world. But yet neither did this Gentile folk itself, which was devoted to the present world, when the tongues of the Apostles rebuked its iniquities, gladly welcome the words of life. For it forthwith swelled up in the pride of opposition, and roused itself to the cruelty of persecution. But she that sets herself to gainsay the words of preaching, is speedily subdued in wonderment at miraculous signs. Hence too the words are fitly added in praise of the Creator,
And treadeth upon the wave of the sea.
11. For what is denoted by the title of ‘the sea,’ but this world's bitterness raging in the destruction of the righteous? Concerning which it is said by the Psalmist too, He gathereth the waters of the sea together as in a skin. [Ps. 33, 7. Vulg.] For the Lord ‘gathereth the waters of the sea together as in a skin,’ when, disposing all things with a wonderful governance, He restrains the threats of the carnal pent up in their hearts. Thus ‘the Lord treadeth upon the waves of the sea.’ For when the storms of persecution lift up themselves, they are dashed in pieces in astonishment at His miracles. Since He that brings down the swellings of man's madness, as it were treads the waters standing up in a heap. Thus when the Gentile world saw that her form and fashion was undone through the preaching of the Apostles, when the rich sons of this world beheld poor men's deeds arrayed against their arrogance, when the wise men of this generation marked that the words of unlettered men were set in opposition to them, they swelled thereupon in a storm of persecution. Yet they who, being moved by the opposition of words, burst out in storms of persecution, are calmed, as we have said, by wonder at the miraculous signs. So the Lord set as many steps upon these waves, as He exhibited miracles to the persecutors in their pride. Whence it is well said again by the Psalmist, Marvellously the floods lift up their waves; marvellous is the Lord on high. [Ps. 93, 3. 4.] For against the life of the Elect the world has lifted itself wonderfully in waves of persecution, but the Creator of things above has still more marvellously put these down in the exaltation of the Preachers’ power; for He showed that His ministers prevailed more in miracles above all that the powers of the earth had swelled unto in anger. Which the Lord moreover well delivered by the lips of Jeremiah, while relating outward things, telling of inward ones; I have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree that it cannot pass it; and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail: though they roar, yet can they not pass over it. [Jer. 5, 22] For ‘the Lord has placed the sand for the bound of the sea;’ in that He has made choice of the despised and poor to dash in pieces the glory of the world. ‘The waves of which same sea toss themselves,’ when the powers of the world leap forth in the uproar of persecution. Yet they cannot pass over the sand, in that they are broken in pieces by the miracles and the humility of the despised and scorned. But whilst the sea rages, while it is lifted up in the waves of its madness, yet whereas it is trodden upon by the manifestation of interior Power, Holy Church makes way, and by the accessions of time she rises to the station of her own rank [or ‘the establishing of her own order’]

For what does the name “the heavens” denote but this deeply heavenly life of those who preach, of whom the psalmist speaks, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” Thus the same persons are recorded to be the heavens, and the same to be the sun. Indeed they are the heavens, because they protect by praying for all; they are the sun, because they show the power of light by preaching. And so, as the “earth was shaken,” “the heavens were spread out.” For when Judea fed greedily on the violence of persecution, the Lord spread about the life of the apostles, so that all the Gentiles might acquaint themselves with them.… For what is denoted by the title of “the sea” but this world’s bitterness raging in the destruction of the righteous? The psalmist also speaks concerning this: “He gathers the waters of the sea together as in a skin.” For the Lord “gathers the water of the sea together as in a skin” as he disposes all things with wonderful governance. He restrains the carnal threats pent up in their hearts. Thus “the Lord treads upon the waves of the sea.” When the storms of persecution lift up themselves, they are dashed to pieces in astonishment at his miracles. Since he that brings down the swellings of humanity’s madness, as it were, treads the waters as they stand in a heap.

12. The word of Truth never follows the vain fables of Hesiod, Aratus, or Callimachus, that in naming Arcturus it should take the last of the seven stars for the tail of the bear, or as if Orion were holding a sword as a mad lover; for these names of the stars were invented by the votaries of carnal wisdom, but Holy Scripture for this reason makes use of these words, that the things which it aims to convey instruction about, may be represented by the customariness of their usual designation. For if he had spoken of any stars he might wish by names unknown to us, man, for whom this very Scripture was made, would assuredly have known nothing what he heard. Thus in Holy Writ the wise ones of God derive their speech from the wise ones of the world, in like sort as therein God the very Creator of man, for man's benefit, takes in Himself the tones of human passion, i.e. so as to say, It repenteth Me that I have made man upon the earth [Gen. 6, 6. 7.]; whereas it is plain and undoubted that He, Who beholds all things before they come, after He has done any thing, never repents by feeling regret. What wonder is it, then, if spiritual men use the words of carnal men, when the Ineffable Spirit Himself, Which is the Creator of all things, in order to draw the flesh to the understanding of Him, in His own case frames His speech of the flesh? Thus in Holy Writ, when we hear the familiar names of the stars, we learn what stars the discourse runs on. And after we have well weighed what stars are described, it remains that from their motions we be led to raise ourselves to the mysteries of the spiritual meaning. For not even after the letter is there any thing strange, in that it is said that God created Arcturus, and the Orions, and the Hyades, concerning Whom it is an acknowledged truth, that there is nothing of any sort in the world but He Himself made it. But the holy man declares that the Lord made these, by which he means properly to denote things that are done in a spiritual way.
13. For what is represented by the name of Arcturus, which being set in the polar region of the heavens shines bright with the rays of seven stars, except the Church universal, which is represented in the Apocalypse of John by the seven Churches and the seven candlesticks? Which same, while She contains in Herself the gifts of seven-fold grace, beaming with the brightness of highest virtue, as it were gives light from the polar region of Truth. And it is furthermore to be considered, that Arcturus is ever turned about, and never sunk from sight, in that Holy Church ever undergoes the persecutions of the wicked without ceasing, and yet endures without failing ‘even unto the end of the world.’ For oftentimes because the sons of perdition have persecuted her even to the death, they have been persuaded that they had as it were utterly extinguished her, but she returned with manifold increase to the rearing of her full growth, in proportion as she travailed in dying amidst the hands of Her persecutors. Thus while Arcturus is turned about, he is set on high, for Holy Church is then more strongly reinvigorated in the Truth, when she spends herself more fervently for the Truth.
14. Hence too after Arcturus he immediately subjoins the ‘Oriones’ with propriety. For they arise in the very heaviest of the winter season, and they stir up storms by their rising, and put sea and land in commotion. What then is denoted by ‘the Oriones,’ after ‘Arcturus,’ saving the Martyrs? who, while Holy Church is set on high to take her stand of preaching, destined to undergo the weight of the persecutors and harassing treatment, came into the face of heaven, as it were, in the winter season. For when they were born, the sea and the land were troubled, in that when the Gentile world grieved that its method of life was undone, on their courage appearing, it set up for their destruction not only the fiery and turbulent, but the mild among men also. And thus the winter lowered in ‘the Oriones,’ in that when the constancy of the Saints shone out, the frozen soul of the unbelievers lashed itself into a tempest of persecution. And so ‘the heavens’ gave forth the Oriones, when Holy Church sent out her Martyrs, who whilst they had boldness to speak what is right to the uninstructed, brought upon themselves every thing most heavy from the adverse bitterness of cold.
15. Now he justly subjoins the Hyades directly, which, when the springtide is waxing, go forth into the face of heaven, and, when the sun is now putting out the power of his heat, are given to sight. For they are attached to the beginnings of that sign, which the wise of this world call ‘the Bull,’ at which the sun begins to increase, and arises with more fervent heat, to lengthen out the periods of the day. Who, then, after ‘the Oriones,’ are denoted by the title of ‘the Hyades,’ saving the Doctors of Holy Church, who; when the Martyrs were taken away, came at that period to the world's knowledge, when faith now shines forth the brighter, and the winter of infidelity being forced back, the sun of truth flows deeper through the hearts of the faithful. These, when the storm of persecution was overpast, and the nights of long infidelity consummated, then arose to Holy Church, when the year now opens brighter in the vernal season of belief. Nor are the holy Doctors improperly denoted by the designation of ‘Hyades,’ for in the Greek tongue rain is called ‘Hyetus;’ and the ‘Hyades’ have received their name from the rains, surely because at their rising they bring showers. Thus they are well represented by the title of ‘the Hyades,’ who, brought out in the settled frame of Holy Church, as it were into the face of heaven, upon the parched earth of the human heart poured down the showers of holy preaching. For if the word of preaching were not rain, Moses would never have said, Let my doctrine be waited for as the rain. [Deut. 32, 2] ‘Truth’ would never have said by the lips of Isaiah, I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it; [Is. 5, 6] and that which we brought forward a little above, Therefore the stars [d] of the showers are withholden. [Jer. 3, 3] Thus while the Hyades come bringing showers, the sun is led on to the higher regions of heaven; in that, when the knowledge of the Doctors appears, while our minds drink in the showers of preaching, the heat of faith increases. And the earth being irrigated is rendered productive in fruit, when the light of the sky is fired; in that we yield the fruit of good works the more plentifully, the brighter we burn within our breasts through the flame of sacred instruction. And while heavenly lore is displayed to view by them more and more day by day, it is as if the springtide of interior light were opened upon us, that the new Sun may glow brightly in our souls, and being by their words made known to us, may daily surpass itself in brilliancy. For the end of the world being close at hand, the knowledge from above advances, and waxes bigger with the progress of time. For hence it is said by Daniel, Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. [Dan. 12, 4] Hence the Angel saith to John in the former part of the Revelation, Seal up those things, which the seven thunders uttered; [Rev. 10, 4] and yet at the end of that Revelation he bids him, saying, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book. [Ib. 22, 10] For the first part of the Revelation is commanded to be sealed, but the end not to be sealed; for whatever was hidden in the beginnings of Holy Church, the end clears up day by day. But some imagine that ‘the Hyades’ are named from the Greek letter which is rendered by ‘y;’ which, if it be so, is not opposed to the sense which we have given: the Doctors are not unsuitably represented by those stars which have their name from letters; but, though ‘the Hyades’ are not unlike the look of that letter, yet it is a fact that a shower is called ‘Hyetus,’ and that those at their rising bring with them rain.
16. Therefore let the holy man, viewing the order of our redemption, feel wonder, and wondering let him cry out, in the words, Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. Which maketh Arcturus, the Oriones, and Hyades. For, when the heavens were spread out, the Lord made ‘Arcturus,’ in that, when the Apostles were brought to honour, He stablished the Church in heavenly conversation, and when Arcturus was made, He framed ‘the Oriones,’ in that the faith of the Church Universal being established, He launched forth the Martyrs against the storms of the world. And when ‘the Oriones’ were launched in heaven, He set forth ‘the Hyades,’ in that when the Martyrs proved strong against adversities, He vouchsafed the teaching of Masters, to water the drought of human hearts. These then are the ranks of the spiritual stars, which while they stand out conspicuous by the highest virtues, are ever shining from above.
17. But what remains after these things, saving that Holy Church, receiving the fruit of her toils, should attain to behold the inner depths of the Country above? And hence, whereas he had said, Which maketh Arcturus, the Oriones, and the Hyades; he rightly added directly, and the chambers of the South. For what is here denoted by the name of ‘the South,’ saving the fervour of the Holy Spirit? with which he that is replenished, kindles to the love of the spiritual Country. And hence it is said by the voice of the Spouse in the Song of Solomon, Arise, O north wind, and come thou south, blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. For upon the ‘south wind’ coming, the ‘north wind’ arising departs, when our old enemy, who had bound up our soul in inactivity, being expelled by the coming of the Holy Spirit, takes himself away. And ‘the south wind blows upon the garden’ of the Spouse, that ‘the spices thereof may flow down;’ in that, whensoever the Spirit of Truth has filled Holy Church with the excellences of His gifts, He scatters far and wide from her the odours of good works. And thus ‘the chambers of the South’ are those unseen orders of the Angels, and those unfathomed depths of the heavenly Country, which are filled with the heat of the Holy Spirit. For thither are brought the souls of the Saints, both at this present time divested of the body, and hereafter restored to the same anew, and like stars they are concealed in hidden depths. There all the day, as at midday, the fire of the sun burns with a brighter lustre, in that the brightness of our Creator, which is now overlaid with the mists of our mortal state, is rendered more clearly visible; and the beam of the orb seems to raise itself to higher regions, in that ‘Truth’ from Its own Self enlightens us more completely through and through. There the light of interior contemplation is seen without the intervening shadow of mutability; there is the heat of supreme Light without any dimness from the body; there the unseen bands of Angels glitter like stars in hidden realms, which cannot now be seen by men, in proportion as they are deeper bathed in the flame of the true Light. Thus it is altogether marvellous that, in the sending of the Apostles, the Lord stretched out the Heavens; that, in moderating the swellings of persecution He trode the waves of the sea, and kept them down; that in the stablishing of the Church, He set ‘Arcturus’ in his place; that in making the Martyrs proof against afflictions, He sent forth ‘the Oriones;’ that in the Doctors being replenished in peace, He gave forth ‘the Hyades;’ but after these it is beyond all comparison marvellous, that He should have provided for us the haven of the heavenly Land, as ‘the chambers of the South.'
18. All this is beautiful, that is seen as it were in the face of heaven of God's ordering; but infinitely and incomparably more beautiful is that, to which we are brought without its being able to be seen. Hence the Spouse justly repeats a second time in the commendation of His Bride; Behold thou art fair, my love; behold thou art fair: thou hast doves’ eyes, besides that which lieth hidden within. [Cant. 4, 1] He describes her ‘fair,’ and says again ‘fair,’ in that there is one sort of beauty of life and conduct, wherein she is now seen, and another beauty of rewards, wherein she will then be lifted up in the likeness of her Creator; and because her members, which are all the Elect, go about all things with simplicity, her eyes are called ‘doves’ eyes;’ which shine with extraordinary light, for that they glitter even with the signs of miraculous power. But how great is all this marvel, which is able to be seen! That marvel relating to things of the interior is more wonderful, which is not now able to be seen, concerning which it is fitly added in that place, Besides that which lieth hidden within. For the glory of the visible world is great, but the glory of the secret recompensing far beyond comparison. That, then, which is denoted by the name of ‘stars’ by blessed Job, is in the words of Solomon represented by the title of ‘eyes;’ and what is described by Solomon, Besides that which lieth within, blessed Job conveys to us, when he extols ‘the chambers of the South.’ But see; the holy man in admiring things without, and contemplating those of the interior, telling of things manifest, and diving into things secret, aims to describe all that is done both within and without; but when shall the tongue of flesh unfold the works of the Supreme Greatness? And hence with just propriety directly afterwards, by giving up the attempt, he measures the compass of these same works the more effectually.

19. For then we more thoroughly compass the deeds of Divine Might, when we acknowledge that we can never compass them; we then speak with greater eloquence, when we are silent on these, being struck dumb with astonishment. Since for the describing of God's works our insufficiency finds in itself how it may put forth its tongue sufficiently, that what it cannot suitably understand, it may suitably extol by being dumb. Whence it is well said by the Psalmist, Praise Him in His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness. [Ps. 150, 2] For He ‘praises God according to His excellent greatness,’ who sees that he breaks down in the fulfilling of His praise. Therefore let him say, Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number: viz. ‘great,’ in power, ‘past finding out,’ in reason, ‘without number,’ in multitude. Therefore the works of God which he could not compass by speaking, he more eloquently defined by proving deficient. But in the review of things, why are we carried so far without ourselves, considering that we know nothing of the very thing that is done to our own selves?