Moralia in Job 1438 part 2/2

Yet nevertheless they bind those who are within, because while they foretold the heavenly mysteries to come, after these had been made manifest they rendered them credible to all. Therefore, that the pillars within may stand immovable, without the pins hold the cords; because, that the holy apostles might perfectly believe the mystery of the Lord's incarnation, the preaching of those prevailed who, before it came to pass, were able both to see and to foretell it. Whence rightly also the first of the apostles himself, that great pillar of the true tabernacle, speaks, saying: We have a surer prophetic word, to which you do well to attend, as to a lamp shining in a dark place (2 Pet. 1:19).

By which words he indicates that, although he has risen to higher things from the summit, he yet persists there bound fast in faith. Yet this lamp of the prophetic word does indeed already shine to those who understand, but to those who do not yet understand it remains covered with the obscurities of allegories. Whence also through the Psalmist it is said concerning these same sayings of the prophets: Dark water in the clouds of the air (Ps. 17:12), namely because knowledge in the prophets is hidden. Nor without reason were the pillars made of silver, but the pins of bronze; because what the apostles now preach clearly, this the prophets spoke obscurely under a mystical understanding. Rightly, then, were those signified by the metal of bronze who were not clear in their preachings.

But the holy apostles, because they had the light of preaching concerning the mystery of our Redeemer, were expressed by silver pillars. And it is to be noted that silver both sounds and shines, but bronze sounds and does not shine; because the preachers of the New Testament spoke openly the things which they were also able to show. But the preachers of the Old Testament, because through the shadows of allegories they uttered obscure sayings concerning the heavenly mystery, gave as it were a sound without light. What there was designated by the pins and the pillars, this here is designated by the outer threshold and the inner threshold. But if in this place we take the gate to be Sacred Scripture, it too has two thresholds, an outer and an inner, because it is divided into the letter and the allegory.

For the outer threshold of Sacred Scripture is the letter; but its inner threshold is the allegory. For since through the letter we tend toward the allegory, we come, as it were, from the threshold which is outer to that which is inner. And there are in it very many things which so edify the mind according to the letter, that through what is done outwardly the mind of the hearer is drawn inward. For there we find the commandments of work and the examples of virtue; there it is commanded what we ought to do even bodily; there what is enjoined for doing is shown in the action of holy and strong men, so that after the more open precepts and the examples of the righteous instruct us to good activity, we may then to the inner threshold—

that is, toward the mystical understanding of inmost contemplation—let us bend, if we can, the foot of the mind. Strive, I pray you, most beloved brethren, to meditate on the words of God; do not despise the writings of our Redeemer, which have been sent to us. It is a very great thing that through them the soul is chafed again to warmth, lest it grow numb with the cold of its own iniquity. When we recognize that the righteous who went before acted bravely in those matters, and we ourselves are girded for the fortitude of good activity, the mind of the reader is set aflame by the fire of holy examples. He sees what brave things were done by them, and is greatly indignant with himself, because he does not imitate such deeds. Whence rightly it is said in the Song of Songs by the voice of the bridegroom to the bride:

Your neck is like the tower of David, which is built with its bulwarks; a thousand shields hang upon it, all the armor of valiant men (Cant. 4:4). For in the neck is the throat, and in the throat is the voice. What, then, is designated by the neck of holy Church, unless her sacred eloquence? On which, when a thousand shields are recorded to hang, by this perfect number the whole number is shown, because our entire fortification is contained in the sacred word. For there are the precepts of God, there the examples of the righteous. For if the soul grows base, falling away from the desire of its Maker, let it hear what is said: You shall love the Lord your God with all your mind, and with all your strength (Matt. 22:37). Does it perhaps slip into hatred of a neighbor? Let it hear what is said:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Ibid., 39). Does it covet the goods of others? Let it hear what is written there: You shall not covet the goods of your neighbor (Exod. 20:17). Is the mind kindled to wrath over an injury inflicted by the mouth or deed of a neighbor? Let it hear what is said: You shall not seek revenge, nor be mindful of the injury of your fellow citizens (Lev. 19:18). Is the mind, ill-wounded, kindled to concupiscence of the flesh? Lest the eye follow the mind, let it hear what was said a little above: Whoever has looked upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. 5:28). Does anyone perhaps dispose to relax his mind into hatred against an enemy? Let him hear what is written there: Love—

your enemies, do good to those who hate you (Luke 6:35). But he who does not now seize the goods of others—does he perhaps still keep his own inordinately? Let him hear what is said there: Sell what you possess, and give alms (Ibid. 12:33). Does the soul of one grown weak desire to enjoy at once both God and the world? Let it hear what is written there: No one can serve two masters (Matt. 6:24). Does another retain possessions held not according to need but according to the will of desire? Let him hear what is said there: Whoever does not renounce all that he possesses cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:33).

For some leave their possessions, but many renounce them even while possessing, because they so keep their possessions for use that they do not succumb to them out of desire. Does anyone crave to grow idle, and shun taking up labor for the Lord even when he prevails to do so? Let him hear what is written there: He who does not gather with me scatters (Ibid. 11:23). In the neck of the Church, therefore—that is, in the preaching of the sacred word, which for its fortification and loftiness is said to be like the tower of David—a thousand shields hang; because as many as are the precepts there, so many also are the defenses of our breast. Do we hasten, even when hurt by a neighbor, to endure in humility for the keeping of innocence? Let Abel come before our eyes (Gen. 4)—

he who is written to have been slain by his brother, and is not read to have resisted. Is purity of mind chosen even in the marriage bond? Enoch ought to be imitated, who both, being placed in wedlock, walked with God, and was not found, because God took him (Ibid. 5:22). Do we hasten to set the precepts of God before our present utility? Let Noah come before our eyes, who, setting aside domestic care, at the command of the almighty Lord lived occupied for a hundred years in the building of the ark (Gen. 6:14). Do we strive to undertake the virtue of obedience? We ought to look to Abraham (Ibid. 12:5), who, leaving house, kindred, and fatherland, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance, and went out not knowing whither he went (Heb. 11:8);

who stood ready that, for the eternal inheritance, he might slay the beloved heir whom he had received. And because he did not delay to offer his only one to the Lord, he received in his seed the whole multitude of the nations (Gen. 22:16,17). Does simplicity of manners please us? Let Isaac come to mind, whom the tranquility of his life adorned in the eyes of Almighty God (Ibid. 24 ff.). Is laborious fortitude sought, that it may be obtained? Let Jacob be brought to memory (Ibid. 29:20; 30:19), who, after he knew how to serve a man valiantly, was brought also to that virtue that he could not be overcome by the wrestling angel (Ibid. 32:25). Do we endeavor to conquer the enticement of the flesh?

Let Joseph return to memory, who, when his mistress tempted him, strove to guard the continence of the flesh even at the peril of his life (Ibid. 39:12,20). Whence it came about that, because he knew well how to rule his own members, he was also set over the ruling of all Egypt. Do we seek to obtain meekness and patience? Let us bring Moses before our eyes (Num. 12:3), who, ruling six hundred thousand armed men, besides little ones and women, is described to have been meek above all men who dwelt upon the face of the earth. Are we kindled with the zeal of rectitude against vices? Let Phinehas be brought before our eyes (Ibid. 25:7,8,11), who, transfixing with the sword those coming together, restored the people to chastity, and, being angry, appeased the wrath of God.

Do we seek to presume upon the hope of Almighty God in doubtful things? Let us recall Joshua to memory (Josh. 3:5,8), who, when he entered doubtful contests with a sure mind, came to victory without doubt. Do we now desire to lay aside enmities of mind and to enlarge the soul in kindness? Let Samuel be brought to consideration (1 Sam. 8:5), who, when he had been cast down from his rule by the people, and the same people asked that he might pour out prayers to the Lord for them, answered saying: Far be this sin from me against the Lord, that I should cease to pray for you (Ibid. 12:23). For the holy man believed that he would commit a fault, if to those whom he had endured as adversaries even to his deposition, he did not render the kindness of grace in prayer.

Who again, when at the Lord's command he was sent to anoint David as king, answered: How shall I go? For Saul will find me, and will kill me (Ibid. 16:2). And yet, because he had known God to be angry with the same Saul, he had afflicted himself with such great grief that the Lord Himself said to him: How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him (Ibid. 16:1)? Let us weigh, then, how great an ardor of charity had kindled his soul, who wept even for him by whom he feared to be killed. But do we wish to beware of him whom we fear? It must be weighed by us with anxious mind, lest, if perchance we find the occasion, we ourselves render evil for evil to the very one whom we had feared.

Let David, then, return to memory, who both found the king who persecuted him so that he could have killed him, and yet, being set in the very power of striking, chose the good which he himself ought to do, rather than the evil which the other deserved to suffer, saying: Far be it from me that I should put forth my hand against the anointed of the Lord (Ibid. 24:7; 26:11). And when the same Saul was afterward slain by his enemies, he wept for him slain—him whom, while he lived, he had endured as a persecutor (2 Sam. 1:17). Do we resolve to speak freely to the erring powerful ones of this world? Let the authority of John be brought back to mind, who, rebuking the wickedness of Herod, did not fear to be killed for the rectitude of the word (Mark 6:18,27).

And because Christ is the truth, he therefore laid down his life for Christ in that he laid it down for the truth. Do we hasten to lay down our flesh in death for God? Let Peter come to mind (Acts 5:41), who rejoices amid scourgings, who, being beaten, resists the rulers, who despises his own life for the sake of life. Do we, with the appetite for death, dispose to despise adversities? Let us bring Paul before our eyes, who, ready not only to be bound but also to die for Christ, does not make his soul more precious than himself (Acts 20:22,24). Do we seek to have our heart kindled with the fire of charity? Let us weigh the words of John, all of whose speech is made to steam with the fire of charity (1 John 1 ff.).

Because, then, in the voice of the sacred word we find the defense of whatever virtue we seek, a thousand shields hang upon it, all the armor of valiant men (Cant. 4:4). For if we wish to fight against the spiritual wickednesses, let us seek in the neck of the Church—which has been raised up for us like the tower of David, that is, in the divine word—the arms of protection, that from the discernment of the precept the strength of aid may be taken against the vices. For behold, do we hasten to prove strong against the fierce powers? In this tower we find the armor of our mind, that from thence we may take the precepts of the Maker, from thence the examples of those who went before, by which we may be armed unconquerably against our adversaries.

For while you desire to undertake any virtue whatever, and see it there already fulfilled by the fathers, you find there your armor, by which you may be fortified against spiritual battles. For there hang upon it a thousand shields: if anyone desires to fight, let him take one, and fortify his breast with that virtue, and hurl the javelins of words. And it is to be noted that it is said to be built with its bulwarks. For the bulwarks do the same as the shields, because both fortify the one who fights. But between the two there is this difference, that we move the shield wherever we will for our defense; but by the bulwark we can defend ourselves, yet we cannot move it. The shield is in the hand, but the bulwark is not held.

What, then, is the difference between the bulwarks and the shields, unless that in the sacred word we are covered by the miracles of the fathers who went before, and hear of the virtue of good works? For there we recognize that one was able to divide the sea, another to stay the sun, another to raise the dead, another to lift up a paralytic by a word, another to cure the sick by his shadow, another to ward off fevers by his handkerchiefs (Acts 19). Yet all of these were meek with the long-suffering of patience, and fervent with the zeal of rectitude; rich in the preaching of the word, and at the same time in the largess of mercy. These, therefore, how true the things they said concerning God are attested by their miracles, since they would not do such things through Him unless they were narrating true things concerning Him.

And how pious, how humble, how kind they existed, their works bear witness. If, therefore, we are tempted concerning the faith which we conceived from their preaching, let us behold the miracles of those who spoke, and we are confirmed in the faith which we received from them. What, then, are their miracles, unless our bulwarks? Because we can both be fortified by them, and yet we do not hold these in the hand of our own will, for we are not able to do such things. But the shield is in the hand, and defends; because the virtue of patience, the virtue of mercy, with grace going before us, is both in the power of the will, and protects from the peril of adversity.

Our tower, therefore, dear to us, is built with its bulwarks, on which a thousand shields hang; because in Sacred Scripture we are both hidden from the darts of adversity under the miracles of the fathers, and hold the defenses of holy conversation even in the hand of work. But it is to be noted that the threshold of the gate is measured by one reed. And the reed extends to six cubits and a palm; namely, because in Sacred Scripture there is found both the beginning of perfect activity and the beginning of the supernal contemplation. But if in this place each preacher is taken to be the gate, then the outer threshold in the gate is the active life, but the inner threshold the contemplative life. For through the former one walks in faith, but through the latter one hastens toward the vision.

The former leads outward, that each one ought to live well; the latter leads inward, that from a good life he may attain to eternal joys. Let it suffice to have treated of these things today. For because, passing on to other matters, we have long spoken by way of digression, let us reserve for another reading those two things which have been subjoined, being refreshed through silence, hoping in the Word, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.