Commentary on the Song of Songs, Collected from the works of Saint Ambrose by William, once the abbot of Saint Theoderic, later a monk of Signy

Latin Text from public domain Migne Editors, Patrologiae Cursus Completus.

Translated into English using ChatGPT.

Table of Contents To the Reader Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

To the Reader

Indeed, it was our intention in this volume to present no other works than those pertaining to the exposition of the Old and New Testaments, and those that are known to be written by Ambrose, if you only exclude the other Davidian Apology. However, when considering the number of spurious treatises that we have decided to publish at the end of the following volume, we feared that the same amount of effort would become even greater. Therefore, we thought that some additional supplement should be added to this first one. But since nothing suitable was found in the legitimate works of our Teacher which either adequately corresponded to the argument of the previous volume or was sufficient to be included in both volumes, it seemed most convenient to us to present this commentary. It is indeed of a certain intermediate character between the genuine and spurious works of Blessed Ambrose, neither entirely foreign to him, since it consists of his words and sentences, nor completely his own, since it was put together by someone else. Indeed, it is certain that Ambrose never wrote on the Song of Songs without purpose, but it is evident that he was so delighted with that book that he did not miss any opportunity to explain it in his various writings. This led certain students of Ambrosian works to gather together the scattered and dispersed passages and, sewing them together like patches, to create one body of commentary. Hence it is that in the year of Leuven there appeared an Exposition on the Song of Songs, taken from Reginald Coster's commentary, of which Gillotius, while praising his diligence, nevertheless asserts that he changed everything; he removed many things and added more of his own. A decade later, the same Gillotius published another Exposition on the Song of Songs at the end of the works of St. Ambrose, which is mentioned as being collected into one body from the extracts of Antoine Monchiaceno Demochares, a doctor of the Sorbonne. Nevertheless, it seems much more likely that this collection was only increased and edited by Demochares; since not only is it contained in the Navarricum college manuscript of around 400 years, and in the Vindocinensis monastery code written before 600 years, although it is contained in a shorter form: but it is also found in a copy from at least 800 years, and in a commentary on the Letters of St. by Floro the deacon of Lyon, who lived around the year 855. A citation of Paul's unpublished work is found. However, Peter Franc. Chifletius kept these two codices in his possession while he was alive. Furthermore, we provide a commentary on the same subject matter that has never been published before, although we find it handwritten in many libraries without the author's name, it is clear that it was not compiled by the other person, but by Guillelmus, the former abbot of S. Theodoric and later a monk of Signiacum. Indeed, from this very fact it is possible to understand, while he reviews his own essays in the preface of the treatise on the solitary life addressed to the brothers of the mountain of God, he speaks as follows: For I extracted from the books of St. Ambrose whatever he discussed in them about the Song of Songs, a great and illustrious work. This certainly cannot be understood of Chifflet's commentary, since William lived only around 1142. But the decisive argument is that the autograph manuscript of William himself, inscribed with his own name, exists in Saigny; hence we have a copy of it. P. Casimir Oudin, a Canon Regular of the Premonstratensian Order, born to merit well in all things, wrote this by his own hand. The title of this collection in the mentioned Signiacensis codex is: Excerpts from the books of blessed Ambrose on the Song of Songs.

Prologue

Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth (Song of Solomon 1:1). In this passage, the mysteries of chastity are celebrated, not the incentives of filth. It is a spiritual and affective contemplation of the marriage and union of Christ and the Church, of the uncreated spirit and the created, of flesh and spirit. Therefore, let us circumcise our hearts, let us not seek anything vile or earthly, but let us consider everything earthly as vile. Therefore, let us not speak of anything earthly, carnal, secular, corporeal, light, or mutable in these heavenly matters: for the words of the Lord are pure words, so that the spotless and modest purity of these heavenly mysteries may shine forth in spiritual interpretation. Let us not mix earthly things with divine by any adulterous notion, nor violate that inviolable sacrament of prophetic vision or eternal oracle by the estimation of our nature; for whether it is about kisses or such things, whatever is offered to religion is fitting; let us not be ashamed of any service that contributes to the worship and observance of Christ: just as in that dance of David before the ark; for that dance was not a companion of delights and luxury, but rather because each one should raise their diligent body, nor should they let their limbs lie lazily on the ground, or allow their steps to be slow and sluggish. For we did not discover this teaching ourselves, but received it; thus he establishes the order of the mystical song, the doctrine of the heavens.

2. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your breasts are better than wine, and the scent of your perfumes is above all spices. Your name is as an ointment poured forth (Song of Solomon). This whole place of delights resounds with laughter, applause, and provokes love. Therefore, says the bride, the maidens have loved you and drawn you after them; let us run after the scent of your ointments. The king has brought me into his chamber (Song of Solomon, 3). With kisses he begins, that he may come to the chamber, and she, impatient of her lord's labor and exercised virtue, is driven to open with her hand the shutters, to go out into the field, to abide in the towers; yet in the beginning she runs after the scent of the ointment, when she has come to the chamber, she changes the ointment for the towers. Finally, see where it leads.

3. If there is a wall, let us build silver towers upon it, which she played with kisses, she now erects towers, so that with the precious pinnacles of the saints, she not only frustrates the enemy's attacks, but also builds secure ramparts of merits. Even in these temporal unions, praises are given to the bride before she is commanded; so that harsh commands do not offend before love, nurtured by flatteries, takes root. The heifer, learning the sound of applause, begins to love suffering, so that she does not reject the yoke of the neck; finally, she becomes accustomed to the word of playfulness before the whip of discipline. But once she has submitted to the yoke, and the rein tightens, and the goad urges, and the companions pull, and the bridal invites. Thus our Virgin should first be struck by pious love; marvel at the golden supports of the celestial marriage bed, and see the posts crowned with garlands in the very entrance of the wedding chamber, and drink in the delights of the resounding chorus within; lest she, being afraid of the Lord's yoke, withdraw herself before being called, she should bow down when summoned. For it is necessary that we know certain degrees of progress and order, what should come first, what should follow: for to know what you do, but not the order of doing, is not perfect knowledge, for they mostly offend by doing things in the wrong order. Therefore, because as many people, so many opinions, if anything is lacking in our discourse, let everyone read it: if anything is well-cooked, let the more mature approve it: if anything is modest, let it cling to hearts, paint cheeks: if anything is florid, let the florid age not disapprove. We should awaken love in the bride; for it is written: You shall love the Lord your God (Deut. VI, 5): we should adorn the bride's hair in the wedding with some curls of prayer; for it is written: Clap your hands, and stamp your feet (Ezek. XXI, 14): we should scatter the bridal chamber with everlasting roses.

Chapter 1

Before the pursuit of knowledge comes life; for a good and virtuous life has grace even without knowledge, but knowledge without life lacks integrity. Indeed, wisdom does not enter into a malevolent soul (Wisdom 1:4); thus it is said: 'Evil men seek me, but they shall not find me' (Proverbs 1:28), for the eye of the mind is blinded by wickedness and cannot find deep mysteries in the darkness of its own injustice. Therefore, the first thing to be done is to engage in the battle of life, correcting one's character. When we establish these things for the proper course, so that there may be correction of offenses for the sake of purity, then we may proceed to the pursuit of knowledge in its own order and manner. Therefore, the first things are moral, the second mystical: in the former is life, in the latter is knowledge; so that if you seek perfection, neither life without knowledge, nor knowledge without life, should be lacking, each complementing the other. Solomon, following this arrangement, wrote the book of Proverbs, in which he more fully expressed the moral aspect, the natural aspect in Ecclesiastes, and the mystical aspect in the Song of Songs; although if you carefully examine them, you will find many mystical elements in Proverbs, and sweetness of morals in the Song of Songs. For surely it is mysterious: Wisdom has built her house and set up seven pillars, she has killed her beasts, etc. (Prov. IX, 1). Indeed, in the Song of Songs, this mystical and moral truth shines forth, in which the sweetness of endearment and the affection of a lover are expressed.

2. (Vers. 1, 2.) Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth; for thy breasts are better than wine, smelling sweet of the best ointments. Therefore doth the chaste Virgin, betrothed for a long time, and burning with sincere love, know by the testimony of probable witnesses, having often expanded her desires, now unable to bear delay, whatsoever she hath done that she might deserve her spouse; sometimes obtaining what she wished for, she is troubled with joy at the unexpected coming of her spouse, not seeking the beginning of salutation, not the interchange of words, but forthwith demanding what she hath desired. And so the holy Church, which was betrothed to in the beginning of the world in paradise, prefigured in the flood, proclaimed through the Law, called by the prophets, having long awaited the redemption of mankind, the beauty of the Gospel, eagerly rushes into His embrace, saying: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; and delighted by the kisses, she adds: for your breasts are more delightful than wine.

And to speak more morally, I understand that flesh which had been tainted by the venom of the serpent in Adam, which was marred by the stench of sins, which advanced in the daughters of Zion with a high neck and nodding of the eyes, and dragging along robes with the journey of her feet, and playing with her own feet, with locks of hair and composed countenance and headbands, and with all affected beauty, exposing more shame. However, she was instructed by numerous prophecies that He would come who, after excluding the allurements of the serpent, would infuse the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that all flesh would see the salvation of God, all flesh would come to God, and would wither in desire. But fearing that, as before, she would displease as impatient, as lustful, as luxurious, as complaining, even though she could endure the delay of the Lord's coming longer than she was able, she would be tormented by the expectation of His delayed arrival. Yet she would not murmur or step over the bounds, but would raise pure hands in every place, without anger and dispute, dressed with modesty and sobriety, adorning herself not with twisted hair or gold or pearls or precious garments, but with those things which give grace to chastity and good conduct, and would say in prayer: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth; for your love is better than wine. Now she desired to cling to Christ in the flesh, now she hastened to be joined in marriage, so that there would be one spirit and the flesh of Christ would become what it was before the prostitute. 'Kiss me,' she says, 'Let the Word of God kiss us when the spirit of knowledge enlightens our understanding.'

Therefore, either the Church, for a long time suspended by the promise made to her through the prophets of the Lord's coming in many ages, or the soul, which, having elevated itself from the body, having cast aside luxury and pleasures, and carnal desires, and having also stripped away the cares of worldly vanities, longs for the infusion of divine presence and the grace of the saving Word, laments that He comes late and is afflicted; therefore, as if wounded by love, since it cannot bear His delays, it turns to the Father to beseech Him to send the Son, and declares the cause of its impatience, saying: Let Him kiss me with the kiss of His mouth.


5. He does not seek just one kiss, but many kisses, so that he may fulfill his desire; for the one he loves is not satisfied with the scarcity of one kiss, but demands many, claims more, and thus she is accustomed to commend herself more to her beloved. Finally, the woman in the Gospel is proven thus, For she did not cease, says the Lord, to kiss my feet, and for this reason many sins have been forgiven her, because she loved much (Luke 7:46-47). Therefore, this soul also desires many kisses of the Word, so that it may be illumined by the light of divine knowledge; for this is the kiss of the Word, namely, the light of sacred knowledge. For God the Word kisses us when He illuminates our heart and the principal Spirit of man with the light of divine knowledge; whereby the soul, gifted with the pledge of bridal charity, says with joy and exultation: I opened my mouth and drew in the breath (Ps 118:131). The kiss is indeed the way in which those who love each other adhere to one another, and they possess the sweetness of inner grace. Through this kiss, the soul adheres to the Word of God, which is poured into it by the Spirit of the one who kisses: just as those who kiss each other are not satisfied with a mere touching of lips, but seem to pour their spirits into each other.

6. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. Do you want to be united to Christ? Nothing could be more pleasing. Do you want to please your soul? Nothing could be more delightful. Let him kiss me, he sees that you are cleansed from all sin, because sins come from the earth; therefore, he judges you worthy of heavenly sacraments, and therefore he invites you to the heavenly banquet; so that he may kiss you with the kisses of his mouth. However, because of the following, your soul, whether it be human condition or the Church, has seen that it has been cleansed from all sins, worthy to approach the altar of God. What is the altar but the representation of the body of Christ? He saw wonderful sacraments and said: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; that is, may Christ imprint a kiss on me. Why? Because:

7. Your breasts are better than wine, that is, better senses, your sacraments are better than wine, better than that wine which, although it has sweetness, joy, and grace: yet in that is worldly joy, but in you is spiritual delight. Then already Solomon was leading the marriage either of Christ and the Church, or of spirit and flesh and soul. And as if despising all his joys and delights, desiring to cling to heavenly commands, he says: for the precepts of your testaments are better than any desire of the flesh and the pleasure of the world; for he remembered himself fallen in Eve before, when he preferred the pleasure of the body over heavenly commands. Therefore, showing not only the appearance of the Word and a certain expression, but also loving all His inner things, He adds to the favor of kisses: 'For, your breasts are better than wine and the fragrance of your ointments is above all spices.' She asked for a kiss, and God the Word poured Himself completely into her and uncovered His breasts, that is, His teachings and the disciplines of internal wisdom, and He fragranced them with the sweet scent of His ointments, by which she, captivated, says that the pleasure of divine knowledge is more abundant than the joy of all bodily pleasure.


8. The emptied ointment or poured out oil is your name. This means that the whole world, fetid with the foul impurities of various crimes, now breathes everywhere the sweetness of chastity, the ointment of faith, the flower of integrity. It also breathes in the Word the fragrance of grace and the forgiveness of sins, which, poured out throughout the world, has filled everything as if emptied out with ointment, because the heavy flood of vices has been washed away throughout all, by means of this ointment. This emptied ointment is above the Jews and is gathered to those who act: emptied out in Judea and scented in all the lands. By this ointment Mary was anointed, and the Virgin conceived, the Virgin bore the good scent of the Son of God. By this ointment it was poured out upon the waters, and it sanctified the waters. By this ointment three boys were anointed, and their moisture was tempered by fire; by this ointment Daniel was anointed, and it softened the mouths of the lions, and it soothed their ferocity. This ointment flows daily, and never fails. Take your vessel, virgin, and approach, so that you may be filled with this ointment: take this ointment valued at three hundred denarii, but given freely, not sold, so that all may have it freely. Virgin, anoint yourself; do not be saddened like Judas, because this ointment is poured out, but rather embrace Christ in yourself: indeed, close your vessel, lest the ointment flow away: close it with the key of integrity, with the modesty of speech, with the restraint from boasting; whoever possesses this ointment, receives Christ: The ointment empties your name.

9. (Verse 2) Therefore the young women love you. Who are these young women, if not the souls of each individual who have shed the senility of this body, renewed by the Holy Spirit? Your name is like a poured-out ointment, of which the power of speech can have nothing more excellent. For just as ointment enclosed in a vessel retains its fragrance, which fragrance, as long as it is confined within the narrowness of that vessel, although it cannot reach many people, nonetheless preserves its strength; but when that ointment which was enclosed in the vessel has been poured out, it is said to have been diffused far and wide: so is the name of Christ before his advent in the people of Israel, as if it were enclosed in some vessel of Jewish minds. For God is known in Judah, and his name is great in Israel. (Psalm 75:1) This, therefore, is the name that the vessels of the Jews were contained within their narrowness. Indeed, it was a great name then, when it was confined to the narrowness of the sick and few, but its greatness had not yet spread through the hearts of the nations and to the ends of the whole world. But after it shone upon the whole world with its coming, it certainly extended that divine name of his through every creature, not filled by any addition, for fullness knows no increase; but filling the empty, so that his wonderful name would be in all the earth. Therefore, the pouring out of this name signifies an abundant overflow of grace and heavenly blessings, for whatever is poured out in abundance overflows. Therefore, young girls love you. Bonum, she says, is prudence, but sweet mercy; few attain the former, while the latter reaches all: it is because of this indulgence of yours that renewed souls love you with a renewed spirit.

10. (Verse 3.) Draw us after you, we shall run in the fragrance of your ointments. The holy soul, having already kissed the Word of God, is not satisfied, and it says: You are sweet, O Lord, and in your delight teach me your commandments (Psalm 118:12). The Word of God, having been kissed, desires surpassing beauty, loves surpassing joy, takes pleasure in all aromas, desires to see frequently, intends to listen often, desires to be drawn so that it can follow; Your name is a poured-out ointment, therefore we love you, young women; therefore we strive, but we cannot comprehend. Draw us, so that we can run; so that, with the fragrance of your ointments, we may receive the strength to follow. He also eagerly desires to see the internal mysteries, the very rest of the Word, the very dwelling place of that highest good, and his light and glory in that native bosom and sanctuary; he eagerly desires to hear his words, and when he hears them, he receives them above all sweetness.

11. Let the prophet teach you, who has tasted and said: How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103) For what else does the soul desire, once it has tasted the sweetness of the Word, once it has seen His glory? Moses, standing on the mountain for forty days receiving the Law, did not require bodily food; Elijah, hastening to that place of rest, besought that his soul might be taken from him; Peter, also looking upon the glory of the Lord's resurrection on the mountain, did not want to come down, saying: Lord, it is good for us to be here (Matthew 17:4). Therefore, how great is the glory of the divine substance, how great are the gifts of the Word, which the angels long to behold!

12. Therefore, the soul which sees that, does not require this body, and understands that it must have the least familiarity with it, renounces the world, frees itself from the bonds of the flesh, and strips away all these bonds of pleasures. Finally, Stephen saw Jesus and was not afraid to be stoned; in fact, when he was being stoned, he did not pray for himself but for those who were killing him. Paul, too, whether he was in the body or out of the body, when he was caught up to the third heaven, did not know, whether he was in the body or out of the body, he was caught up, I say, into paradise, and did not feel the use of his own body anymore, and when he heard the words of God, how He descended to the weaknesses of the body, he blushed. Therefore, knowing what he had seen in paradise, or what he had heard, he cried out, saying: Why do you still decide as if living in this world? Do not touch, do not defile, do not taste, all of which lead to corruption through their very use (Colossians 2:20-21). For he wished us to be in the likeness of this world, not in possession and use, so that we may use this world as if not using it, as if passing through, not as residents; walking as if in the image of the age, not in desire, so that through a rapid dispute we may transcend the image of this world itself. Finally, walking by faith, not by appearance, he wandered from the body and was present with God: and while he was on earth, he conversed not in earthly things, but in heavenly things. Therefore, let our soul, which desires to draw near to God, raise itself from the body, always cleave to that highest good, to that good which is divine, which is always, and which was from the beginning, and which was with God (1 John 1), that is, the Word of God: it is that divine Word, In whom we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28).


13. Let us run to the fragrance of your ointments. This fragrance is smelled by the soul which begins to open to Christ, in order to receive the first fragrance of the Lord's burial, and to believe that his flesh did not see corruption, nor wither from any smell of death: but rather, covered in the fragrance of that eternal and evergreen flower, he rose. For how could it decay in the flesh, whose name is an Anointed One emptied out? He emptied himself in order to breathe for you; this ointment was always present, but it was with the Father, it was in the Father, it smelled only to the angels and archangels, as if inside a heavenly vessel. The Father opened his mouth, saying: Behold, I have set you as a testament of my people, as a light to the gentiles; that you may be for salvation even to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6). The Son descended, and all things were filled with the new fragrance of the Word. The heart of the Father brought forth the good Word, the Son made fragrant, the Holy Spirit exhaled, and diffused through the hearts of all: For the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). The Son of God himself contained his own fragrance in his body like in a vessel, waiting for the time as he said: The Lord has given me the tongue of instruction, that I should know when it is necessary to speak. The hour came, he opened his mouth, the ointment came forth, when power was going out from him. And therefore, this [fragrance] hastens towards the Word, and it asks to be drawn, lest perhaps it be left behind; because the Word of God runs, and it is not restrained. Finally, it rejoices like a giant to run on the way (Psalm 18:6). And because I have come out from the highest heaven and his coming extends to his highest point, seeing myself unequal to such speed, he says: Draw us.

14. A good soul who does not pray only for herself, but for everyone: Draw us, I say, for we have the desire to follow, which is inspired by the grace of your ointments; but because we cannot keep pace with your course, Draw us; so that supported by your help, we may be able to walk in your footsteps. For if you draw us, we will run, and we will catch the spiritual breath of speed. For the burden is laid down on those whose hand is your staff, and your oil is poured on the one who was wounded by robbers.


15. But lest it seem impudent to you what he says: Draw us, hear him saying: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you (Matt. XI, 28). You see that he willingly draws us, so that we do not remain following: but whoever wants to be drawn, let him run so as to grasp, and let him run forgetting the things behind, and desiring the things that are before, for thus he will be able to grasp Christ; which is why the Apostle also says: Run in such a way that you may grasp. He wants to attain those things which he desires to understand. Therefore, he wisely asks to be rebuked, because not everyone can follow. Finally, when Peter said, 'Where are you going?' the Word of God responded, 'You cannot follow me now, but you will follow later' (John 13:36; Matthew 14:30). He entrusted to him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and in following him, he considered himself unworthy. However, he did not delay his soul, because he did not presume, but he asked. Denique,

16. (Vers. 3.) He led me into his chamber. Blessed is the soul that enters the innermost secrets of the Word, for when it rises above the body, it becomes more distant from all things; and that which is beyond itself, it investigates and seeks as if it can somehow attain the divine. And when it can comprehend it, having surpassed intelligible things, it is confirmed in that and nourished by it. Such was Paul, who knew that he was caught up into Paradise, but whether outside the body or in the body, he did not know. For his soul had risen from the body, and had withdrawn itself from the bowels and bonds of the flesh, and had been lifted up, and being estranged from itself, held within itself ineffable words which it had heard and could not express in common language, which it perceived could not be spoken to mortal man. Therefore, the good soul despises visible and sensible things, neither abides nor dwells in them, but ascends to those eternal and invisible things, full of miracles, uplifting itself with pure intellect. For indeed, one who strives for perfection, intends only that good of divinity, and thinks nothing else is to be sought, because they hold that it is the highest.

17. The king led me into his chamber. A kiss is simple, but the secret of the chamber is full of activity; for in this place, he testifies that he wants to know the mysteries more fully, so that he may enter the innermost secrets of the celestial mysteries, and the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Christ are revealed to him: which he may be able to do, perhaps he says what is above: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. It signifies the grace of the Holy Spirit that is to come, just as the Angel said to Mary: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you (Luke 1:35). But when the king brought her into his chamber, it signifies the time of suffering, the piercing of the side, the shedding of blood, the anointing of burial, the mystery of the resurrection; so that she may receive a kiss as a bride. But let the Church be brought into the chamber of Christ, not now as only betrothed, but also as wedded: not only entering into the bridal chamber, but also obtaining the keys of legitimate union. Therefore, as if seated in the bridal chamber, she says: A drop of my brother is bound to me, it rests between my breasts (Song of Solomon 8:12).


18. But if we seek a bedroom, He Himself teaches us, saying: But thou, when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret (Matt. VI, 6). The bedroom of the Church is the body of Christ. The king has led her into all the inner mysteries, he has given her the keys to open for herself the treasures of knowledge, to reveal the mysteries shut behind the doors of sacraments, to understand the grace of the sleeping, the sleep of the dead, the power of the risen. In that chamber, the bride of the Lord Jesus finds the justice. What are those justices? Surely the sacraments of Baptism, as we read, because when John said to Jesus coming to be baptized: I ought to be baptized by you, and you come to me; Jesus replied: Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all justice (Matthew 3:15). In that chamber, she learns the justifications of the Lord, she knows the counsel of God, which nothing can be higher; for this is divine, in which the forgiveness of sins takes place.


19. This seeks to learn from the Lord what humans could not teach, unless God had taught it beforehand: what the apostles learned from Christ, the Church says: The king has brought me into his chamber, that is, into that secret place where all the treasures of his knowledge and understanding are found. Therefore, it is said to you: When you pray, enter into your chamber (Matthew 6:6), which signifies the secret of the mind and soul. In this chamber, the bride of justice requested to be brought, when she rushed out after the smell of the ointment, which always flows and never runs out.


20. The king led me into his bedroom, the Greek has his pantry and cellar: where there are good sacrifices, where there are good smells, sweet honey, where there are various fruits, where there are various feasts, so that your lunch is prepared with many feasts. Finally introduced into the secret of that divine bridegroom.

21. Let us rejoice and be glad in you, he says; let us love your breasts more than wine; for he does not rejoice in riches and treasures of gold and silver, nor in the produce of possessions, nor in powers, nor in feasts, but only in God, saying to him: Let us love your breasts more than wine. Nevertheless, he drank in such a way that he was not swallowed up by the wine, but he drew the joy of his heart from the grace of it, not stumbling from the intoxication of his body. Finally, drinking this wine, he opened his eyes and saw the straight path, leaving behind the crooked paths, saying: Righteousness has loved you, that is, your steps are not crookedly following you; but only the path of justice can reach you, for he who loves justice does not turn away from Christ. How, then, does the innocent conscience fear the judge of justice and the rewarder of merits? Nevertheless, the same soul, knowing itself to be united with the body, says to other souls, or to other celestial powers joined with the sacred mystery: Do not look upon me, for I am obscured, for the sun does not gaze upon me.

22. (Verse 4.) I am dark and lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem. Behold the Lord Jesus reclining at the feast, with John resting on his chest, and others amazed that a servant would recline above the Lord, that sinful flesh would recline above the temple of the Word, that a soul bound by the chains of the flesh would search the hall of divine fullness. Therefore, in response to the amazement of others, the soul of John said: I am dark and lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem; dark through sin, lovely through grace. And she says, 'I am dark and beautiful; dark with secular dust collected by striving, beautiful with spiritual sight that washes away the dust and filth of this world. Dark through vice, but beautiful now through the bath that cleanses all sin. I am dark because I have sinned, but beautiful because Christ now loves me; for what he had rejected in Eve, he receives in the Virgin, he assumes from Mary.'

23. The Synagogue also says, whose mysteries seem to be expressed in this place to most; which, when it saw itself rejected because of the impiety of the whole people, still consoled itself, because it saw not only Christ himself but also Peter, John, and James adhering to Christ, because it had entrusted words to itself. And therefore it said: I am dusky and beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem: dusky through unbelief, beautiful through the law: dusky through falling, beautiful because the sun, who is Christ, loved me, and I have become the first assembly of God. Do not reject me because I am dark; I am dark because the sun has left me, who used to illuminate me before. I have lost the color of my face, the sharpness of my eyes which used to see before the sun: I walk in darkness, which I do not know the day of Christ. Yet do not despise me, for he who has left can look back again. He is accustomed to show mercy again, to gather the dispersed, to seek the forsaken, to gather the destitute. All the tribes of Israel, come together, look at me, beautiful before the sins; do not look at me, for I am obscured; this is not the only reason why you should look, because I am obscured; the sun does not shine on me alone, and therefore I am obscured. But the sun shines on the righteous and the unrighteous, on the righteous with grace, on the unrighteous with mercy; giving them the reward of their merits, forgiving them their sins. And it did not shine before the gentiles, now it shines, now it rises for them who used to rise for me; he who forgave them, will also forgive me. Do not think that because I am obscured, the sun has completely abandoned me, and now does not look at me, does not inquire about my illness. It has hidden itself from me because I have not kept its commandments: it will be reconciled when it sees the repentance of my sins. The sun has not seen me because I have not received it coming, I have not opened the windows for the light of life to enter: when I open, it will illuminate my eyes, who came to illuminate the whole world, and let even the blind see.


Or the Church says concerning the nations: Look not upon me, because I am dark, because the sun hath looked upon me; because, as with winter frost and ice the error of the Gentiles hath held me fast, the sun of righteousness, for a long time unworthy, hath thought scorn to look upon the congregation of the Gentiles, whom the shining brightness of His countenance ought to have illuminated. Did it not seem to thee a winter season, when the Lord was known in Judea only? But now the fulness of light of summer is shining, when Christ is all things in all men. Is not the earth the Lord's, and the fullness thereof (Psalm. XXIII, 1)? And truly the world is the Church, for it is not only the Jew or the Greek, not the Barbarian or the Scythian, not the servant or the free: but all are one in Christ (Coloss. III, 11). The sun shines for everyone, the day lightens for everyone. I am black and beautiful. He sent blackness before beauty, so that blackness would increase beauty: He did not say: I am black and beautiful, so that what is black might be considered beautiful: but he says: I am black by reason of previous sin, but beautiful by confession of sin, and by the desire for correction and the love of virtue. Therefore, although the syllable, as grammarians call it, is conjunctive, it still has a distinction by which confusion is distinguished and separated; for if you say that Ambrosius Bassus is inside, he is considered as one person; but if you assert that Ambrosius and Bassus are inside, then two people are certainly understood.

25. Like the tents of Kedar, like the skins of Solomon; for tents are made from the skins of dead animals. Therefore, she who said this was dead to sin, and she lived for God: and so let us die to sin, that we may live for God. Filled with the spirit, with joy and the sweetness of gladness, we shall be spiritual robes, free from bodily weakness, and preserving within us the divine grace infused into us in the fullness of our minds. But it is clear that the tabernacle of Cedar or the skins of Solomon's body are called this from multiple places: yet also understand from there that when Adam and Eve removed the celestial image that they previously carried and put on the image of an earthly man, they were said to be clothed in tunics made of skin; for God had made them bodily from spiritual things because of the sin they committed.

And it is not absurd to understand that she says she became a spouse just as the skins of the sun, burnt by its heat; because even though she was placed in the roughness of tribulations, she still mortified her body so that she could not feel that roughness: just as the skin of the tabernacle does not feel the heat of the sun, because the skin is from a dead animal; so she, dead to sin, could not feel the heat of sin: either because she was not broken by necessities, or because we are the body of affliction, and we must always bear the death of the Lord Jesus in our body.


27. (Verse 5.) The sons of my mother fought against me; that is, the passions of the body attacked me, the allurements of the flesh discolored me. Therefore the sun of righteousness did not shine upon me, because being deprived of protection, I could not keep my devotion and full obedience, that is, I did not guard my vineyard, for I brought thorns instead of grapes, that is, I committed sins instead of bearing fruits. And when he speaks about the Word, shining with the splendor of the Word, he turns to him and says:

28. (Verse 6.) Where do you feed, where do you stay at noon? He rightly says, where do you feed, because the Word of God is royal; where do you stay, because it is moral; at noon, because it is mystical: for at noon Joseph, with his brothers, while sitting in a feast, revealed the mysteries of future times. But David also says: Put your life before the Lord and hope in him, and he will act and bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday. (Psalm 36:5). And Paul himself declared that a light shone around him at midday when he was converted from persecution to grace.

29. Therefore, it is questioned why she is deserted and why the poor is abandoned by the rich; for she was abounding in the gift of grace: but she began to lack when the abundance of divine presence was denied to her. And therefore she demands to be considered as if she were a hired worker, who before claimed the grace of a more precious connection for herself.

They set me as a watchman in the vineyards, but I did not keep my own vineyard (Verse 5). Some think that this is said about those who bind the Synagogue to the commandments of the law, so that it may keep the law and watch over its own vineyard, which it could not keep. In the end, it guarded in order to produce grapes, but it produced thorns. Therefore, David came to testify to us about the vineyard, saying: You have taken the vineyard from Egypt, and you have cast out the nations and planted it (Psalm 80:9). The apostles can also be understood as the sons of their mother, who truly fought against the Synagogue, saying: Behold, we turn to the Gentiles, and began to sow the word of God among the nations. The prophets can also be understood who, by warning and denouncing, did not succeed in keeping their vineyard, the Synagogue, for it produced thorns of wickedness instead of the rich fruits of virtue it should have borne. And for this reason, it confesses that it could not keep its people and, rightly, it seeks to possess late the one whom it lost when it possessed him. It is far different from She who says: I have found him whom my soul loves, I have taken hold of him, and I will not let him go (Song of Solomon 3:4). Finally, she invites her fiance into her garden; when she looks for the one who feeds on these things, she says to him:

31. Announce to me the one whom my soul loves. Why do you say the one whom my soul loved, and not the one whom he loves? Why did you let go of the one you were holding? You loved the faith of the fathers, you lost it through unbelief: you held on to the bonds of charity, you lost them through the long rope of treachery. Therefore, you do not know where he pastures, where he remains; for if you knew, you would not seek. For you say: Where do you pasture, where do you remain at midday? You know that midday is the Church that holds Christ, and you seek him in the night. Tell me, Christ, respond why, because of this, you were dear and beloved to me; therefore, although I lost the privilege of such love, still respond to me. Where do you graze, where do you dwell? You left me, you went away to the nations, you withdrew far from me, and you became closer to those from whom you were far away. But you became close because they believed in your blood. You withdrew from me because I did not accept the cross for the redemption of the world, but for the condemnation of the guilty. But those who receive as the author of salvation are at midday; in them you shine, in them you glow, in them your grace burns like the midday sun. For me, you were the morning, when I still believed, but I did not fully believe, because I was not found at midday, like Joseph with his brothers who held the midday: you became midday for them, who feed on your riches and hope in you. Therefore, as David said: You will lead their righteousness like light, and their judgment like midday (Psalm. XXXVI, 6).


You seek, therefore, what you were as a stranger, what you were as a poor man who became rich: you want to follow what you were leading, and I wish you would even follow those whom you should have led! You desire to be a hired hand whom you used to gather before; therefore, the voice of one saying this is that of a hired hand: Lest I become surrounded by the flocks of your companions. What you used to receive before from the nations as proselytes, now you yourself want to be received among the nations as proselytes, and to be gathered as a stranger. The Word of God answered the longing soul:

33. (Verse 7.) Unless you know yourself to be beautiful among women. Know yourself, O man, it is said to your soul, unless you have recognized yourself to be beautiful in women. Know yourself, soul, for you are not of the earth, not of clay, for God has breathed into you, and made you into a living soul. You are a magnificent work, formed by the inspiration of God: Attend to yourself, as the Law says, that is, to your soul: let worldly and mundane things not detain you, let earthly things not kill you. Hasten to that with your whole intention, on whose inspiration you rely: 'Great', he says, 'is the man, and precious is the merciful man; it is necessary to find a faithful man.' (Prov. XX, 6). Learn, O man, where you are great and precious. Earth shows you as lowly, but virtue makes you glorious, faith makes you rare, an image makes you precious. For what is anything so precious as the image of God? Which at first should instill faith in you, so that a certain likeness of the Creator may shine forth in your heart; lest anyone who questions your mind does not recognize the author. Is there anything so precious as humility; that you may examine the nature of body and soul and subject yourself to one, and recognize yourself in the other. The allure of the flesh urges mercy; for what you give to others, you pay to yourself: whatever proceeds from you, returns to you, and whatever you do, you do for yourself: and whatever benefits you, benefits yourself. Let the vitality of the lively soul, the senses of reason and the receptive intellect and judgment, not lose the prerogative of their nature, so that the worthy house may seem to have such a great inhabitant. Unless you know yourself, you are beautiful among women. Why do you complain that you have been abandoned, unless you know yourself, unless you regret your mistake, unless you approve of your intention of devotion, unless your faith and sincerity are increased, complaining will be of no use. Or thus, unless you know yourself that you are beautiful, unless you preserve the beauty of your nature, and the allurements of the body do not engulf you, nor do obstacles detain you, the nobility of a better creature will be of no assistance to you.


34. Therefore, know yourself and the beauty of your nature, and go forth as if freed from the shackles of your feet, and with bare footstep, so that you do not feel the carnal coverings: let the chains of your body not entangle the trace of your mind, so that your foot may appear beautiful. For such are those who are chosen by the Lord to proclaim the kingdom of heaven, of whom it is said: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach peace (Isaiah 52:7). Like Moses to whom it is said: Take off the sandals from your feet (Exodus 3:5); so that, casting off the garments of the flesh, he who would call the people to the kingdom of God would first proceed with a bare spirit and trace of the mind. This is therefore what he says: Go forth in the sandals of the flock, and feed your kids in the tents of the shepherds.


35. By flocks, we understand a kingdom, because it has the power to preside over flocks. And each person presides over themselves with a certain royal power, if they restrain the luxury of the body within themselves, and bring their flesh into servitude. Therefore it is said: The kingdom of God is within you. Hence he well says to the soul: Go forth, that is, go forth from servitude, go forth from the rule and dominion of the flesh, and go forth not in the flesh but in the spirit, go forth to the governance of power. Therefore, He added: Feed your young goats, that is, govern those things which are on your left hand; for if they are not governed, they easily slip away. Restrain the impudence, the lasciviousness of your body, and the irrational indulgence, and subdue the fleeting movements: feed them not in bodily tabernacles, but in the tabernacles of shepherds who know how to govern the flock; for the tabernacles of Israel are lovely, like shade-giving groves over a river, in which the soul, like an army encamped, practices good warfare and scouts out enemy attacks.


36. Unless you know yourself, you are admired among women. What is it to know oneself, except that each person knows that they were made in the image and likeness of God, capable of reason, and that they should cultivate their own land like a good farmer with a certain plow and the sickle of wisdom; so that either the harsh things are cut away, or the luxuriant things are pruned, who should govern the inner part of their soul with authority. Therefore it is also written in the Law: Take care of yourself, lest a hidden word be made in your heart (Deut. XV, 9): take care of yourself, it says, not certainly for your money, not for your possessions, not for the powers of the body, but for your soul and your mind, from which all counsel, actions, and thoughts flow. So pay attention to yourself where you know yourself to be superior. Know yourself, which is attributed to the Gentile men to Apollo Pythius, as if he himself were the author of this statement; since they take what is ours and transfer it to their own, and Moses, who wrote the book of Deuteronomy, was far earlier than the philosophers who invented these things.

37. Therefore, following the divine oracle, Solomon wrote in the Song of Songs: Unless you know yourself, you are beautiful among women; that is, unless you understand yourself as a mortal being endowed with reason, and quickly confess your sins, quickly speak of your iniquities in order to justify yourself, unless you convert and first accuse your own faults, the day of death will come and there will be no remedy for conversion; you will be overtaken while you still contemplate. Ignite your torch before the door of the bridegroom is closed to you, for he does not often wait for the negligent. Unless you know, he said, beautiful among women; and say: I am dark and beautiful: I am dark, because I have sinned, beautiful, because I am loved, because I am of the lineage of Abraham, the chosen lineage, beloved by God; the grace of the fathers will profit you nothing: For God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham (Matthew 3:9). And elsewhere in the Gospel you have read that the daughter of Abraham was bound by the devil of wickedness with his chains, whom the Lord loosed on the Sabbath day. Therefore, if you do not know yourself, it will be of no benefit to you. Even if you say, 'I am the daughter of Abraham', if you do not believe, if you do not correct the error, Abraham indeed is saved, but the nobility of your lineage will not help you unless faith saves you. Do not let the promise given to the fathers deceive you, I do not judge a person based on their lineage, I do not judge based on the prerogative of lineage. Unless I see a moral nobility consistent with the lineage, so that a just election of lineage may be made.

38. But if you know yourself, and know that you are subject to sin, you must leave in the footsteps of the flock. Go forth, therefore, barefoot, and feed your goats in the shepherds' tents. The one who is without sin feeds lambs, feeds sheep: but the one who is subject to sin, let them feed the goats which are on the left; for they cannot be on the right of the good shepherd. Let them instead follow the one who says to Peter: Get behind me, Satan (Mark 8:33). By following Peter, he deserved to be placed on the right hand; and that is why it is said of him: Feed my lambs (John 21:16). But listen to where he goes: He says, 'To the tents of the shepherds, that is, to the Gentiles, to the dispersion.' And that is why it is said: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered (Zechariah 13:7); so that the whole world may be filled with the flock of Christ, signifying that the Synagogue will then be saved when it joins this dispersion itself, which has filled this world; for the tents of the shepherds are the kingdoms of the earth.


39. (Verse 8.) I have compared you, my dear, to the horses in Pharaoh's chariots, my closest one. In this comparison, as the similarity of swift horses to the Church is observed, her wealth is esteemed. Therefore, do not understand her as a single horse of a wealthy king, but rather as the whole cavalry, as we have often said, such as the sheep to their flock. Therefore, Pharaoh, as the most powerful and wealthy king, had powerful horses; hence, the Scripture says, 'Pharaoh's chariots,' as the most powerful type for the use of war and a support for fighting: finally, with these chariots, Pharaoh easily captures the fleeing Hebrews. Just as, therefore, yoked horses easily pull a chariot, and patiently bear the yoke, and carry it with grace, and by the acceptance of that yoke they become gentle: so also the congregation of nations, with untamed customs, used to boast of itself. But when it accepted the yoke of Christ saying: Take my yoke upon you, for it is light; and my burden, for it is sweet (Matth. XI, 29 and 30); and the bride of Christ began to be exalted by the harmony and gentleness of the peoples, and to be carried throughout the whole world, as if a chariot snatched up by swift horses ascended above the world to the bridegroom.


For Christ has horses, of which the prophet says: You have sent your horses into the sea, disturbing many waters (Habakkuk 3); because the apostles, by proclaiming the good news, have stirred up the nations, who are like many waters and are tossed by the waves of water, so that they may rise up from earthly idolatrous ceremonies and believe in Christ. And it also says above: You have ascended on your horses, your chariot is salvation. O wondrous pair of good horses, by whose reins peace is governed, and the bridle is charity: bound together by the bonds of harmony, and subject to the yoke of faith, they carry the mystery of the Gospel on their four wheels to the ends of the whole world, carrying the Word of God, the good charioteer; by the whip of whom secular allurements have been banished, the prince of this world has been exterminated, and the race of the righteous has been completed. Oh, the great contest of rational horses! Oh, the astonishing mystery! A wheel ran within a wheel, and was not impeded. The new Testament was running within the old Testament, through which it was announced. The wheels went in four directions, and did not turn back; for the breath of life was in those who ran in the four parts of the world. And they ran without stumbling, because the life of the horses was good. Therefore, the horses were running, for the one who had mounted the horses did not sleep.


Therefore, Jesus is the charioteer of our souls, who also wants to mount our horses, that is, our bodies, and always be vigilant so that it may not be said of us: They who mounted the horses have fallen asleep (Psalm LXXV, 7). This sea must be crossed swiftly; it is hardly crossed by those who are vigilant. But if anyone falls asleep, they cannot cross, but they are submerged, like the Egyptian whose soul and body perished. For the horse and its rider were cast into the sea (Exod. XV, 1), those who did not follow the law, but followed themselves.


42. I likened you to my horse in the chariots of Pharaoh. The labor of virtue seeks victory, so that it cannot be compared to the horse that belongs to Solomon, swift in running, adept in giving birth; for the fruitfulness of the soul is desired and sought. Therefore, this horse is precious, and the chariots of Pharaoh are fleet. But in this place we have undertaken to speak of the soul, of this horse which is considered similar to this soul, that is, of prophetic or apostolic virtue: which is counted among the flock of those who, by the fruitfulness of their preaching, have filled the whole world with their words. And although they are in a physical body, they have not experienced any loss in their spiritual journey. Therefore, it is praised that, enlightened by the heavenly precept, she is now beautiful and radiant, displaying the virtue of chastity in her appearance and wearing the symbols of patience and humility around her neck. And for this reason, he praised his bride, saying:

43. (Verse 9.) How beautiful are your cheeks like turtledoves, your neck like necklaces. Your countenance is more noble, where there is consciousness of charity; and to bear the yoke of Christ is sweet, if you consider the ornaments of your neck to be, not burdens. Lift up your eyes always to your Lord, and seek God, in order to find. Raise your neck, you wear necklaces not chains: mute animals rejoice in necklaces, and seem to prefer being adorned rather than being tied up. May our cheeks, like those of doves, bear the marks of modesty: Let the ribbons of freedom lift up our confidence; for the yoke of Christ is light, and thus the neck is not pressed down, but lifted up.

44. (Vers. 10, 11.) We will make similes of gold for you from the distinctions of silver, as long as the king is in his decline. For from those who are of the Law and the Prophets, they had moderately believed in the glory of the Lord Jesus, and his inheritance spread among the peoples, which, when examined more frequently, is proven more. Indeed, frequent persecutions of the Church of the righteous have produced to us titles, victories of martyrdom. Therefore, just as gold is good, when the Church uses anger, it does not feel the resulting harm, but rather its brilliance increases, until Christ comes into his kingdom and reclines his head in the faith of the Church. When he came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he had nowhere to recline his head; but now the faith already emits a fragrance, and thus the Church says: My spikenard has given off its fragrance; and it speaks with presumption, awaiting retribution. The fragrance of grace is spread, in which the virgin gave birth, and the Lord Jesus assumed the sacrament of the incarnation.

45. (Verse 12, 13.) The gathering of myrrh, my brother, shall remain with me, in the midst of my breasts, or dwell. Previously, it had been said that myrrh had given its fragrance to the bridegroom; and because it had received the fragrance of its scent through the ointment with which it had been anointed: but now it is said: My brother gives off a drop for me, and this drop is not spread or dispersed as one pleases, but gathered and bound, so that the scent of its sweetness may become denser and more powerful. And here, he says, when he is such, he dwells and remains in the midst of my breasts, and makes his rest and dwelling place in the location of my heart. Colligation, he says, the brother of my cousin, the bunch of Cyprus, will rest between my breasts. For the Lord Jesus, taking on a body, bound himself with the chains of love, and not only united himself with our members and natural passions, but also with the cross; therefore, as a bunch of grapes rests in the faith of the Church, and rests in moral grace.


46. Nardus cypri consobrinus meus in vineis Engaddi. Si locum quaerimus regionis cujusdam quae in Judaea est, locus sic dicitur in quo opobalsamum gignitur: si interpretationem, tentatio Latine significatur.In illis vero vineis lignum est, quod si quis compungat, unguentum emittit, hic fructus est ligni. Si non incidatur lignum, non ita fragrat et redolet, cum autem compunctum fuerit artificis manu, tunc lacrymam distillat. Just as Christ, on that cross of temptation, wept for the people in order to wash away our sins, and from the depths of his mercy poured out the ointment, saying: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing' (Luke 23:34). Then, pierced by the spear while on the cross, blood and water flowed from him, sweeter than any ointment, offering to God a sacrifice which, pouring forth the fragrance of sanctification, spreads throughout the whole world. And just as balsam comes out from a tree, so virtue was coming out from his body, as it is said: 'I feel that virtue has gone out from me' (Luke 8:46). Hence opobalsamum is more expressly called, because balsam comes out through the cavity of the puncture by means of the compunction of the wood.

Therefore, Jesus, with a feeling of remorse, poured out the fragrance of the remission of sins and redemption. For he was bound when the Word became flesh: and he became poor when he was rich; so that we may be enriched by his poverty: he was powerful, yet he presented himself as despised, so that Herod could reject him and mock him: he moved the earth, and clung to the wood: he covered the heavens with darkness, and crucified the world, and was crucified: he bowed his head, and the Word went forth: he was emptied, and he filled all things: God descended, man ascended: the Word became flesh, so that the flesh could claim the throne of the Word on the right hand of God: there was a wound and ointment flowed: the scarab was heard, and God was recognized. And Christ replied.

48. (Verse 14.) Behold, you are good, my neighbor, behold you are good: your eyes are like doves. For the Church knew the mystery and preached the crucified Lord Jesus for the redemption of the whole world, and she deserves to hear: Behold, you are good, who call me good; Behold, you are good, who have seen the glory of my beauty, and you yourself are beautiful and lovely. But what does it mean to say to Christ: You are good, or you are lovely, unless it is that Gospel: Be steadfast, daughter, your sins are forgiven you (Matt. IX, 22)? Therefore, the one whom Christ forgave sins says correctly: 'Reward your servant, that I may live, and keep your commandments' (Psalm 118:146). He does not have anything to despair about in retribution, for the Lord Jesus came to save the world, not to destroy it. Therefore, he forgets the offense and remembers the grace, as it is testified in the prophetic book itself, saying: 'I am, I am the one who wipes out your iniquities, and I will not remember them; but you, remember and let us argue, state your case first, that you may be vindicated' (Isaiah 43:25-26). Therefore, whoever confesses their injustices to God is justified; and whoever is justified does not fear retribution, but seeks it; whoever does not fear retribution, lives.

49. (Vers. 15, 16.) Behold, he says, my handsome cousin, and indeed beautiful. Our darkened incline, the beams of our houses cedar, our ceilings cypress. The Church praises the beauty of the groom, which everyone quietly praises with deep affection, and a faithful interpreter of mysteries proclaims even more by remaining silent. For what secrets it reveals, it diminishes the beauty of Christ; therefore, let no one cast their pearls before swine, lest they trample the precious ornaments. Therefore, not in the shop of the loquacious and garrulous; for in much speaking sin is committed. But in the serious man, who is sparing in speech, neither intemperate in conversation, and avoids the drunkenness of loquacity with the sobriety of words, Christ rests his head.

50. And appropriately it signifies a shady reclining; because the virtue of the Most High overshadows those placed in the Church. David requested to be protected by this shade, so that the sun would not burn him during the day, nor the moon during the night (Psalm 120:6). This shade is provided by spiritual grace, fleeing the scorching heat of this world and the summer of the world. Therefore, the shady reclining of Christ and the Church, for whom that eternal rest of God the Father aspires. In this shade, let us rest, weary from the heat of our sins if our desires have burned anyone, may the cross of the Lord refresh them, on which He reclined in order to accept our debts. If anyone has been wearied by fault, may Jesus receive them into his own embrace and cherish them with tender affection; hence I dare to say that the leaning of Christ's flesh is the Church.

51. The beams of our houses are made of cedar. The glory of the righteous is symbolized by the cedar, the glory of our ancestors who were just. For the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon (Psalm. XCI, 13); just as the cedar does not decay, so the glory of our ancestors is not corrupted by any age.

Our cypress saucers. This type of tree never loses its greenness, it nourishes its hair in both winter and summer, and it does not change color. Only the wind never strips this tree of its own honor, only it is never stripped of its old cover or dressed in new flowers. Similarly, the grace of the apostles never knows weariness, but it flourishes with the passage of time. Therefore, the soul does not know corruption, as it thrives in flourishing limbs, always sustaining the peaks of justice and other virtues with great patience and courage. And for this reason, it does not wither or fade, because there is nothing in it that is porous or weak, nothing that is movable, nothing that can be said to be released from it due to a fault in speech. The Church follows or the faithful soul follows, I say the soul, because nothing is so essential to a person as the soul.

Chapter 2

1. (Verse 1, 2.) I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys, like a lily among thorns; for the faith of the believing people has gone out into all the earth, and Christ has set his feet in a spacious place; and therefore he beautifully says that he is the flower of the field. Paul was also a flower who said: We are the sweet aroma of Christ to God (II Corinthians II, 15). And truly a flower, who could bring forth new and old things from the treasure of his heart. I am the flower of the field. And well the Church is a flower that announces fruit, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it was said to Mary: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb (Luke 1:42).

Moreover, in another sense, I show you a flower to be picked, namely, the one who said: I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valley. Many people consider this comparison more suitable for the nature of the flower and the purpose of the intended germination; because lilies do not require the cultivation of any annual use, nor does the labor of farmers, anxious about the yield of other fruits, return to this flower's generation in a circular manner; for in all drynesses of the fields, everything that is nourished by a certain generative power within itself into a flower, and is animated by the juice of evergreenness within itself; so that even though you see the stem of the leafy foliage wither, the nature of the flower still flourishes; for the greenness is hidden, not lost. But when it has been enticed by the charms of spring, it puts on the attire of the budding season, with the hair of flowers, and resumes the adornment of the lily.

It is also delightful to observe this, that lilies are not generated in the roughness of mountains and in the wildness of forests, but rather in the pleasantness of gardens. For there are certain gardens of various fruitful virtues, according to what is written: A enclosed garden, etc. (Song of Songs 4:12), because where there is integrity, where there is chastity, where there is religion, where there is faithful silence of secrets; there is the radiance of angels, there are the violets of confessors, the lilies of virgins, the roses of martyrs. The lily is Christ, for where there is the blood of martyrs, there is Christ who is a sublime, immaculate, harmless flower, in which the roughness of thorns does not offend, but grace shines around. For there are thorns of roses, which are the torments of martyrs; the unsullied divinity does not have thorns, which did not feel torments.

4. Like a lily among thorns. This is a clear sign that virtue is besieged by the thorns of spiritual wickedness, from which no one can bear fruit unless they approach with caution. Therefore, take wings, O virgin, but wings of the spirit, so that you may soar above vices if you desire to touch Christ, who dwells in the heights and looks upon the lowly. (Psalm 113:5) And his beauty is like the cedar of Lebanon, which spreads its branches to the clouds and roots itself in the earth; for his origin is from heaven, and his final destination is on earth. The fruits he produces are closest to heaven. Search more carefully for such a good flower, lest you find it in the valley of your heart; for it often grows in humble places. It loves to be born in gardens, where, when Susanna was walking, it was found: ready to die rather than be violated.

5. Otherwise, I am a flower of the field, and a lily of the valleys, like a lily among thorns. Behold another place in which the Lord is accustomed to dwell, indeed not in one, but in many: I am, He says, a flower of the field; because He frequents the open simplicity of a pure mind. And a lily of the valleys; for Christ is a flower of humility, not of luxury, not of pleasures and lust, but a flower of simplicity, a flower of humility. The flower preserves its fragrance even when it is cut and gathers strength when it is crushed, neither losing its beauty when torn away; in the same way, the Lord Jesus on that cross neither withered when crushed, nor vanished when torn away, and when pierced by the lance, He became more beautiful with the holy color of the poured out blood, not knowing death Himself, and offering the gift of eternal life to the dead.


6. (Verse 3.) Like a lily among thorns, does not the flower of goodness rise amidst the hardships and trials of the soul, because God is pleased with a contrite heart. This is the desert, daughters, that leads to the kingdom; this is also the desert that blooms like a lily, as it is written: Rejoice, O barren one, who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the desolate woman has more children than she who has a husband. In this desert, daughters, that good fruit-bearing tree, which produces good fruits, begins to spread its branches of actions, to raise the top of divinity, by which the trees of our forest bear fruit; for as the tree of evil is among the trees of the forest, so is my brother among the sons; that seeing this, the Church, and our faith now joyful in its success, may say: In His shadow I desired and sat down, and His fruit was sweet to my taste.


7. (Verse 3, 4.) Note that often in this Song of Solomon book, Solomon clearly expressed that triple wisdom, namely moral, natural, and mystical, just as he had said in Proverbs. He wrote it in a triple manner for those who wanted to hear his wisdom. Therefore, the bride says about the bridegroom in the Song: Behold, you are beautiful, my cousin, behold, you are beautiful and handsome; our leaning is shady, the beams of our houses are cedar, our ceilings are cypress (Song 1:15 and 16). We can take this from moral principles; for where else does Christ and the Church find rest, if not in the works of his people? In fact, where there was impurity, pride, and injustice, there, the Lord Jesus says: The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head (Mat. VIII, 20). But what can we take from natural principles? In his shade, I desired and sat, and his fruit was sweet in my mouth; for whoever surpasses earthly things, and to whom worldly things die (for the world is crucified to him, and he to the world), he rejects and despises all things that are under the sun. He also says about the mystics: 'Lead me into the house of wine, establish charity in me. Just as the vine embraces its vineyard, so does the Lord Jesus embrace his people, like an eternal vine with certain brancharms of charity.'

8. Consider each individually; in moral matters the lily is among thorns, as it says: 'I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys' (Song of Songs, v. 1). In moral matters, therefore, the flower is like the sun of justice in natural matters, which rising and shining illuminates, and setting casts shadows. Beware lest it set for you, for it is written: 'Let not the sun go down upon your anger' (Ephesians 4:26). In mystical matters, charity is present, for Christ is the fulfillment of the law. And therefore the Church, which loves Christ, is wounded by charity.

9. The Church is also said to be a beautiful lily; just as a lily shines, so too the works of the saints shine. It is also beautifully said: Lily of the valley; because grace shines more in the humble. But this lily is in the midst of thorns, that is, among the Jews and heretics, that is, among the anxieties of this world, which sting the mind and soul of man. We can also understand it another way, that just as the lily stands out among thorns, so the Church of God shines above all gatherings.


It is worth considering that this lily is surrounded by splendor, but inside it is red, good, and has its own scent; because the flesh of Christ, surrounded by the splendor of moral divinity, had the celestial protection of grace. Finally, he says in the later part: My brother is both white and red (Song of Solomon 5:10): white in divine brightness, red in the appearance of human flesh, which he assumed in the sacrament of the incarnation. And rightly so, even the red itself smells good, because the flesh of Christ is without sin, which the treacherous ones contaminating, stained their hands; venerating the holy ones, they emitted the aroma of piety.

11. The Lord Jesus received this fragrance of his fragrant Church, and said: Behold my nearest good. And the Church says to Christ: Behold, you are my good brother, behold, you are good, like the evil in the woods. A beautiful comparison! For what can be said more beautiful and fitting, than to compare the bridegroom to the apple tree? For this type of fruit has a pleasing fragrance, surpassing the fragrance of all other fruits. And Christ, nailed to the wood, like the apple hanging on the tree, poured out a good fragrance of worldly redemption, which removed the heavy stench of sin, and poured out the ointment of life-giving drink.


12. Just as, he says, an apple is in the trees of the forest, so my cousin was among the children; because he charmed the inner hearts of men with the sweetness of his words, surpassing the prophets and apostles. But not only is there a sweet scent, but also pleasant food in the apple: therefore Christ is a sweet food.

In his shadow I desired and sat; for he had received the law, he followed it, he ran this way. Therefore, resting in the law, he rested in the shadow of Christ. Good shadow, which defends us from the sun of wickedness! But who doubts that the law of God is the shadow of Christ? What is the law of the feast day, the new moon, the Sabbath, if not the shadow of the future? Which day according to the law of Moses: That I may see six days, and again the seventh day, and thus for all eternity? Who is the month according to the law of Moses, so that knowing the month, I may know the first day of the month, and the truly holy things to be offered on the first day of the month? Who, according to the law of Moses, is the year, consisting of six days as it says: The Hebrew shall serve for six years, and in the seventh year he shall be set free (Deut. XV, 12); so that six years may be found in which someone works the land, and in the seventh year he releases it to strangers, and to the poor, and to the beasts of the land? In the seventh year, when all debts are to be forgiven to the Hebrews.

14. In this shadow rested the faith of the Fathers, the holy devotion of the prophets. Therefore, say, religious congregation or holy soul: In his shadow have I desired and sat. The shadow is the jubilee year: for who can see its mystical meaning, so as to know face to face what must be fulfilled in the year of the five hundredth prescribed by the Law? The shadow is the feast day according to the Law from the first month on the tenth day of the month, until the fourteenth, and from there until the twenty-first of the month. What is that famous shadow between the first and seventh month during that anonymous time? The shadow is the sanctified freedom on the Sabbath. The shadow is the feast day of the seventh month's new moon, and the memorial of the trumpets, the tenth day of the seventh month, the day of atonement. You see that there are singles and tens, two festive days. Also, the fifteenth day, the day of the Tabernacles for eight days: all of these in shadow. The first day is called a shadow, and the eighth day is called a shadow, which is prescribed for the stage-carriers according to the Law.


15. Establish for me some believers from among the circumcised, learned in the Law, diligent in observance, now enlightened by the knowledge of the Gospel, nourished by the spiritual grace, the Church says in these people, who see Christ, who receive the bridegroom, who are nourished by his food: In his shadow have I desired, and sat, and his fruits are sweet in my mouth. What are his sweet fruits, if not the preaching of the Lord's passion? As he himself says, Behold the inheritance of the Lord, the reward, the fruit of the womb (Psalm 126:3). For what sweeter fruit can there be in our mouths than the forgiveness of sins?

And its fruit is sweet to my throat. It is spiritual manna, that is, the rain of spiritual wisdom, which is poured out on the ingenious and those who seek from heaven, and moistens the minds of the devout, and sweetens their throats: therefore, whoever understands the infusion of divine wisdom, is delighted and seeks no other food, and does not live on bread alone, but on every word of God. Those who are more curious seek what is sweeter than honey: the servant of God answers him: This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. Listen to what this bread is: It is the word, he says, that God ordained. Therefore, this ordination of God, this nourishment feeds the soul of the wise, and it illuminates and allures, shining brightly with the splendor of truth, and soothing like a certain honeycomb, with the sweetness of various virtues and the discourse of wisdom. For the words of honeycomb are good, as it is written in Proverbs. Therefore, once he has tasted the fruit of sweetness, he hastens eagerly to more perfect things, saying:

17. (Vers. 4-7.) Bring me into the house of wine, establish love in me, strengthen me with ointments, support me with apples; for I am wounded with love. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and strengths of the field, if you awaken and revive love, until it pleases. He rightly seeks him, he rightly desires him; because our emperor has arranged all things well in this course and journey. First of all, he thought that this tent should be strengthened as the foundation of faith. Then, if there is any rough and dry and rocky dwelling for us, this Emperor still distinguishes troubled places, irrigates the dry ones, and makes the deserted ones fertile. If there is any bitterness, any temptation, any weakness, our leader tempers the bitter things and mitigates the anxious ones; he dissolves the hard things and strengthens the strong ones.

18. Whenever the king of the earth wants to rest his army, he chooses a notable town that doesn't lack provisions, that is not sandy and bare of crops, but a town that is distinguished by buildings, replenished and abundant in resources, or a pleasant field, or green pastures, or a wooded and open area suitable for camping. Therefore, if earthly kings know how to provide for the needs of those who follow them, how much more does God, who is good, know how to arrange things for those who diligently seek Him? First, when an unknown journey is to be undertaken, guides of the roads are chosen who run ahead of the train, but these commanders consider this disrespectful to themselves: but God went before, when the Hebrews made the journey, finally speaking to them in a pillar of cloud. And so that you may know that God went before them, he said, God went before them: by day, indeed, showing them the way in a pillar of cloud; but by night, in a pillar of fire, and the pillar of cloud did not fail by day (Exod. XIII, 21 and 22). Following this preceding column, the Church, so as not to fail herself, was refreshed by its shadow; and therefore it says: In its shadow I desired and sat, and its sweet fruit was in my mouth (Song of Songs, verse 3); because it was nourished by the Lord, and led to a place of pastures and refreshing water.

19. Bring me into the house of wine. Having prepared resources, he seeks to move on to another dwelling, in which he may capture the grace and sweetness of mysteries. Furthermore, promoting the true journey, he says: Organize love in me. Good resting places, where the fullness of charity exists. Charity cannot exist without faith; for there are three guarantees of the Church: hope, faith, and charity. When hope has come first, faith has been established, charity is ordered, and the Church is joined together.


Confirm me, he said, in ointments, support me in difficulties. You have other dwellings, which the Church gladly occupies. These dwellings are the Cross of Christ and His burial, in which the Church was wounded, but with the wound of love; for the wound is what Christ received, but the ointment is what He poured out. It is the fruit that hung, this fruit the Church tasted, and she says: And its fruit is sweet to my mouth. And so that you may know that the apple is the Lord, you read above: Like an apple on the trees of the forest, so is my cousin. We also admit the wound when we preach Christ crucified, but we are a good fragrance to God; for the cross of Christ is a stumbling block to the Jews, foolishness to the Greeks, but to us it is the power and wisdom of God. The Church is wounded by this wound when it preaches the death of its Savior, but this wound is a wound of love. Finally, he who does not believe denies; he who loves confesses. Manichaeus denies, the Christian confesses; and therefore it is written: The wounds of a friend are more desirable than the voluntary kisses of an enemy (Prov. XXVII, 6). Therefore, the Church says beautifully: I am wounded by love.

21. Let us expose our bodies to a good wound, let us expose chosen arrows: this arrow is Christ who says: He has made me as a chosen arrow (Isaiah 49:2); it is good, therefore, to be wounded by this arrow, this procession is not of mediocre dwelling, not everyone can say it, because they are wounded by love. The apostles said it when they were stoned for Christ and preached Christ: Paul said it when he was beaten with rods three times and day and night debated with the Gentiles about worshiping Christ; the martyrs say this, who are wounded for Christ; and because they have deserved to be wounded for his name, they love more. So coming to this dwelling, the Church, to this procession, in order to offer her children for Christ, to receive the wounds of love, she herself tasted the fruits of piety, and began to exhort others, saying: Taste and see that the Lord is sweet. And the Church added, saying:

22. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. And these are the mansions of the Church walking in the royal way; for there are many mansions in my Father's house (John 14:2) . The Lord Jesus testifies: And behold, I come and call you (Ibid.) . The mansion of wisdom is good, whether on his left or on his right, it is a good mansion; for it is the royal way. Therefore, wise messengers say: We will go on the royal way, we will not turn aside to the right or to the left, until we pass through your borders (Numbers 20:17) . These messengers sent by Moses said to the king of Edom, this is earthly; because all earthly things, whether on the right or on the left, are evil. Evil is foolishness, evil is intemperance; and therefore the Hebrew passes through these dwellings: he does not turn aside to them, but passes through; so that he may arrive at the left of wisdom and the right, and may abide in them, where the riches of simplicity, where glory, where length of life are. For length of life is on his right hand, as Solomon says: On his left hand are riches and glory (Prov. 3:16): on the right is life, on the left is rest. I wish to rest upon his left shoulder, and not seek pillows! Alas for those who use pillows, as Ezekiel says (Ezek. XIII, 18). The good leader prepares these abodes for his Church, and through the ways of wisdom directs its journey. Finally, the wise praise his ways: His ways are good ways, and all his paths are peaceful (Prov. III, 17).

23. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. The bride speaks of Christ, and the soul of the Word of God: for Christ is the same as the Word of God and wisdom. Blessed, therefore, is the soul that is embraced by wisdom. Great is the hand of wisdom, great is the right hand, it embraces the whole soul; for the soul is entirely fortified, since it is espoused to the Word of God. For the fullness of wisdom is to fear God: therefore, the soul that fears God is fortified by itself with full protection. Wisdom extends her left hand under her neck, but her right hand is in her embrace. Both of her arms reach out to useful things; however, wisdom's individual hands have their own properties: In the right hand is the length of life, but in the left hand are riches and glory. Truly, both hands are endowed with good gifts; however, they have a variety in their office, as they encompass both present and future times; so that the left hand may be a rewarder of the present, and the right hand may be of the future.


24. We can also learn about this from the prophecy of the holy patriarch of Israel. When he placed his right hand on Ephraim and his left hand on Manasseh and wanted to switch them because of the age of Joseph, he did not want to place his father's right hand on the head of the elder son Manasseh, and he said: I know, my son, he too will become a nation, and he too will be exalted, but the younger brother will be greater than him (Genesis 48:19). In which [is] greater? In him certainly, because he has been elevated by a blessing, with the posterity of Ephraem saying: Let God make you as He made Ephraem and Manassen (Ibid., 20): either because his seed is the multitude of nations, which has chosen labor in this century, believing in the Lord Jesus, so that it may have consolation in the future. But Manassen is the seed of a forgotten people, who, having forgotten their own author, has been exalted for a time in this century, giving heavy punishments for the remainder; because he denied his own God and Lord.


25. We said this in order to prove that those things which are future are better. Finally, the left hand of wisdom is under the head of the bride, but the right hand is above, which embraces the whole bride. Therefore, it is like the support of present rest, on which the soul rests. It has a place to recline its head, because the left hand of wisdom is wealth and glory. During this time, these things soothe and are partly a consolation, and therefore, the Son of Man had no place to rest his head (Matthew VIII, 20); because although he was rich, he became poor (II Corinthians VIII, 9). He did not seek any glory of this world; for he had come not to benefit only a portion but to help the whole human race, saying: 'Do you take offense at me because I made a whole man well on the Sabbath?' (John 7:23). That is, he made him whole not by bestowing wealth, not by conferring honors, not by increasing worldly glory; for these things do not possess the fullness of blessedness and grace. But he made him whole, that is, he encompassed the length of eternal life. For the life that is in the right hand of wisdom is not similar to common life, but it is the length of life, so that the one who receives life from wisdom, obtains not the shortness of life, but the permanence and length of eternity.

26. The eternal reward of life and the bonus attire. Therefore, the bride of evil pomegranates, that is, of diverse and countless fruits, and especially of the fragrances of faith, grace, wisdom, and glory, supported by the riches of eternal life, which are around the left and right hand of the groom, through the holy souls of praising congregations, excites Christ with applause, saying:

27. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and strengths of the field, if you awaken and resurrect love as long as it desires. That field which the Lord has blessed is not this earthly one, or rough with forests, or rugged with torrents, or useless with vines, or barren with rocky sand, or gaping and dry with drought, or soaked with blood, or uncultivated and overgrown with thorns, but that field about which the Lord says: And the beauty of the field is with me (Psalm 49:19). In this field is found that grape which, when pressed, shed its blood and cleansed the world; in this field is that fig tree under which the saints will rest, rejuvenated by the sweetness of spiritual grace; in this field is that fruitful olive tree, flowing with the ointment of the Lord's peace; in this field flourish pomegranates, which hide many fruits under the protection of one shield of faith, and are nourished by the embrace of love.

28. Therefore, since wisdom and honorable brightness are so perfect, if they have charity (for charity is the fullness of the law (Rom. XIII, 10)), He desires charity to be aroused and revived, aroused in the old Testament, revived in the new. God is charity, as we read, Christ is charity (I John IV, 8). He is aroused like a lion and the lion's cub, as Judah rises from the seed (Gen. XLIX, 9): He is revived like one sleeping, like one reclining; for He was aroused from the dead not by human, but by His own and the Father's majesty. Where the Scripture says: Who will raise him up? For neither an angel nor a Power could raise up someone else, since he himself raised up others. Therefore, when he says here: If you have raised him up and have restored love, how long will you keep him waiting? he is speaking about those who can appropriately proclaim his resurrection, so that they may ignite the fire of faith and devotion in those who hear: either Christ is raised up in those who first come forward, or he is restored in those who, having come forward later, have fallen asleep. Therefore Christ sleeps for the negligent, but is raised in the holy ones.

29. Therefore, this charity awakens and revives until it receives his voice and summons his presence: for he not only comes when sought, but he also comes as a stranger. But now the bridegroom was present to prove what he still says to us who are speaking: Here I am. He is present because he was awakened by the daughters of Judah, as if revived by the daughters of Jerusalem. The Church hears the sound of his voice and says:

30. (Verse 8.) The voice of my cousin, behold, here he comes leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills. This book is a crowd, having many noble characters, like a triumphant troop, and signifying many actions that we can understand more than express. For as if the bride heard the bridegroom approaching and speaking with some traveling together, the bride says: The voice of my cousin. While she speaks with the daughters of Jerusalem, and asks them to rouse and awaken the bridegroom; suddenly, as if sensing the sound of a voice coming from afar, she says: The voice of my cousin, announcing whom she had sought to be announced to her before. She who desired to be awakened by others, on her own prayer being revived, believing that the Father was coming, said joyfully: 'The voice of my cousin.' She added well, 'my cousin'; so that not others, but only her cousin would claim his arrival for herself.

Look, he says, that person is coming; I am still looking for him, and he has already arrived. I am still taking votes for him to come, and he is already next in line. I desire to stir up love in myself, I consider myself wounded by love, and love itself hastens to me even more. I said, come; he jumps and leaps over. I ask him to come with grace, and he works increases of grace; and while he comes, he brings increases of grace with him, and by coming, he acquires more, because he himself is eager to please his beloved. He leaps upon the heights, that he may ascend to the bride; for the bride's chamber is the tribunal of Christ. He leaps upon Adam, he surpasses the Synagogue; he leaps upon the Gentiles, he surpasses the Jews.

Let us see Salit leaping from heaven into the Virgin, from the womb into the manger, from the Jordan to the cross, from the cross to the tomb, from the tomb to heaven. Show me David leaping, show me running; for you have said: His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends thereof; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof (Psalms 19:6-7). And now he leaps, and now he runs, from the heart of the Father upon his holy ones, from the East unto the West, from the North unto the South. This is the one who ascends above the West, he himself above the skies of the heavens to the East, he himself ascends above the mountains, he himself above the hills.

33. I wish I could say, my poor soul, 'Behold, he comes, and he does not come on earthly things, not on valleys, but he comes: leaping over mountains; for God is the God of mountains, not valleys: therefore, where he leaps, he leaps over mountains. If you are a mountain, he leaps over you, he leaps over Isaiah, he leaps over Jeremiah, he leaps over Peter, John, James. Mountains surround him (Psalm 124:2): if you cannot be a mountain and not prevail, be even a hill, so that Christ may ascend over you; and if he crosses over, may his crossing guard and protect you.'


We have spoken about Christ and the Church; let us speak about the soul and the Word. The soul of the just is the bride of the Word. If she desires, if she longs for, if she prays and prays constantly, if she prays without any doubt, and wholeheartedly focuses on the Word, suddenly she hears the voice of the one she does not see, and in the fear of her senses, she recognizes the scent of His divinity, which those who believe well often experience. Suddenly, the nostrils of the soul are filled with spiritual grace, and she feels the breath of His presence whom she seeks, and she says: Behold, this is the very one I seek, the one I desire.


35. When we think about something from the Scriptures, and we cannot find its explanation; while we doubt, while we seek, suddenly it seems to us as if it ascends over mountains, that is, the highest doctrines. Then, appearing to us as if over hills, it illuminates the mind, so as to infuse into the senses what seemed difficult to find: therefore, the Word becomes present in our hearts as if absent. And again, when something is obscure to us, as if the Word is taken away, and as if we desire the coming of the absent; and again it appears, it shows itself to us as if it is present to us in the things that we seek to understand.


Therefore it leaps frequently in the heart of each individual, it crosses over and goes out and returns: if you follow, if you ask, if you demand to be revived by the Word of God that has gone out and passed by, with the pleasing discussion of faithful and learned men. Just as she who sought and found, who said: My brother has passed by, my soul went out in his word (Song of Songs 5:6). Therefore, even if it leaps over the mountains, follow; even if it leaps over the hills, follow. For there are found in the mountains and in the hills the hunters of the Lord, who seek out those captured for life; for thus God spoke through Jeremiah: Behold, I will send many fishermen and many hunters, and they will hunt them over every mountain and over every hill (Jeremiah 16:16). Therefore, let the people of God be sought and found in the teachings, grace, and discipline of Peter and Paul; so that they are not in the valley of tears, but on the mountains from which Christ enlightens each one. And when we read Peter, Christ enlightens; and when we read Paul, Christ enlightens. Paul cared, Christ illuminated; because by invoking the name of the Lord Jesus, he rose, through the gift of his healing. Peter revived the dead, Christ illuminated; and therefore it is said: You wonderfully enlighten from the eternal mountains (Psalm 75:5).


So we who cannot be mountains, let us stand on mountains or hills; so that when the Lord sends his fishermen and hunters to hunt those who are above every mountain or hill, that is, those who are in the precepts of the law and the prophets; and having knowledge of both the new and the old Testament, let them find us prepared, and like good reapers, let them gather the ripe grains at the opportune time; for if anyone is found outside the mountain or hill, they will not be able to gather them like good grain, but they will be sent to separate the wheat from the chaff, to make a comparison with something else. Therefore, the Lord has diligent ministers of many tasks: they are fishermen, they are also hunters, and reapers. If you were to expect them to reap at harvest time, you would see the Lord Jesus leaping like a young deer or fawn over the mountains of Bethel. For He leaps upon the Church, which is the house of bread, in order to strengthen the hearts of the faithful; which is why the Bride says of Him:

38. (Verse 9.) My cousin is like a young goat or a fawn of the deer, on the mountains of Bethel; for he leaps over the Church, which is the house of God, because he strengthens the hearts of the faithful. He is rightly compared to a young goat, because a goat feeds on high places. He is called Dorcas because of his vision, for the vision of Dorcas is sharper. What could be more fitting for Christ, who has seen the Father whom no one has seen: or if anyone has seen in Christ, he himself has revealed the Son? Just as a fawn of deer, a fawn is like a child, on whom the power of nature has imprinted paternal strength, so that hidden things do not escape him, snakes flee, poisons do not harm him. Finally, the serpent that was brought forth from a man, when it was brought forth from its hiding place, said: Why have you come before the appointed time to torment us (Matthew 8:29)? Therefore, let us watch this leaping fawn, so that we cannot be afraid of the serpent.

And he himself stands behind our wall, looking through the windows, peering through the lattice. Therefore, he comes and is first behind the wall, in order to loosen the enmities of soul and body, removing the wall that seemed to bring an obstacle to concord. Then he looks through the windows: what the windows are, listen to the Prophet saying: The windows are open from heaven (Isaiah 24:18). Therefore, he signifies the prophets, through whom the Lord looked upon the human race before he himself descended into the earth. And today if any soul earnestly seeks Him, it will greatly deserve mercy; because whoever seeks much, much is owed to him. Therefore, if any soul seeks Him more diligently, it hears His voice from far away: and even though it seeks from others, it hears His voice above those from whom it seeks. It sees Him coming towards it, that is, hastening and running over those who cannot receive His virtue with a weak heart: then it sees Him looking through the riddles of the prophets, reading them, and keeping their words; for it sees Him looking, but as if through a window, not yet as if present. He sees something prominent above the nets. What is this? Unless perhaps because those nets are ours, they are not his nets, because that soul is still within the sensible and worldly things, which it is accustomed to envelop and capture the mind of man in its own bosom.

40. And he himself stands behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattice. For the Church, or the soul of the just man, has seen her Beloved leaping like a young colt upon the mountains, and suddenly, when she first looks behind her wall, sees him looking through the windows, appearing above the lattice, she rejoices and is glad, for she herself is also loved by the Bridegroom. And just as he himself is wounded with the beauty of love, when his beloved first departs, he comes when asked to be kissed (for he is asked when it is said, \"Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth\"), and then he does not reject the prayers and entreaties of his bride, who offers her beloved breasts; and he kindly leads her into the inner rooms of his house; then, as if playfully tempting the senses of the lover, because he desires to experience the sensations of love to their full extent, he often goes out in search of the Bride, and often returns to be invited to kisses, standing behind the wall, looking through the windows, appearing above the lattice, so that he is not completely absent, nor as if he were completely entering, but he himself calls his bride to himself, so that their mutual exchanges might become more gracious, and they might nurture their love with mutual conversations.


41. (Verse 10.) Arise, he says, come, my nearest one, my beautiful one, my dove; and if you have a well-founded wall, not the middle one that separates the members of a single house, but built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, so that the structure of it may grow into a temple, and may not separate its internal parts, but fortify them. Therefore, if you have the edification of God within you, and let your windows always open towards the East, the Word comes and stands behind your wall (Song of Solomon 2:9); for the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous (Psalm 34:16); he looks through your windows (Song of Solomon 2:9).


42. What are these windows? We read about windows in which Jeremiah says: Death came in through the windows (Jer. IX, 21), through which greed came in, through which lust came in. Your eye is a window. If you see a woman and desire her, death comes in through your eye: if you see the property of a widow, or the treasures of the poor, and you stir up your desires, death comes in through the window. Just as death comes in through these, so does life come in: if, gazing upon the beauty of a young woman, you honor the Lord Jesus, who in His tender years came to the age of old age, a pure life, and you offer your daughter; so that she may be consecrated with a pious veil: if, looking upon the property of the poor, you do not desire to possess it, but, like an anxious parent, you protect it with religious affection: through these windows Christ looks out, so that He may call the bride.


43. Towering above the nets: towering well; because he alone is not entangled by the nets of sins. We were all inside the nets, in fact we are still inside the nets; because no one is without sin except Jesus alone, who being unaware of sin, the Father made him sin for us, and indeed he delivered him up to snares, he delivered him up to nets: sending him not into the sin in which all men were, but in the likeness of sinful flesh, in order that he might condemn sin in the flesh. The flesh was a sin, according to that saying that it was condemned by a hereditary curse; the sin was a lure and the minister of sin. The Lord Jesus came, and in sin-prone flesh, he exercised the warfare of virtue: our members became no longer weapons of desire, but weapons of virtue; for where there were incentives of desire, there are now dwellings of chastity. Here, therefore, he came to snares, but willingly: he came to nets, but without fear. All things were full of nets, filled with snares. Listen to the speaker saying: 'On this path on which I was walking, the proud have hidden a snare for me' (Psalm 141:4). And in the book of Wisdom, Sirach warns you to know that you are walking amidst snares (Sirach 9:20). As many vices, as many nets; as many sins, as many snares.

44. The hereditary bonds already held you, Jesus came to the snares, to free what was lost. We were all held in nets, no one could free another, since they could not free themselves. Therefore, such a necessary one was needed, whom the bonds of the human generation's sins did not hold, whom greed did not seize, whom deceit did not bind. Only Jesus was such a person, who, even though he surrounded himself with the bonds of this flesh, was not captured, was not bound. But breaking and dissolving them, he called the Church to himself more, Looking through the snares, towering over the nets, so that the Church itself may learn that it is not held by bonds. Finally, He came so close to the chains that He could undergo death for us, but He did not become a slave to death, but a free man among the dead; for He was the one who had the power to release death. Finally, let Him Himself teach you, who said: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19). Let us listen, therefore, to what He says:

45. (Verses 11 - 13) Arise, come to me; that is, rise from the dead, arise from the chains with which you were surrounded. Arise, for I have risen for you; loosen the bonds of wickedness, for I have already loosened them for you. Come, for the nets are already loosened. A virgin has given birth, a child is born of a virgin, he owes nothing to female inheritance, as if he were not bound by the woman's sonship. See the middle wall of the partition that was already broken, which divided the harmony of internal affections and aroused discordance of bodily passions. Come, therefore, without fear. I desire to see your face and hear your voice: come, so that now you may not see me through nets, but that you may possess the beloved countenance face to face.

46. And here let these things be briefly discussed in ethical manner. But if we are able, let us examine the mystical meaning, or gaze upon the ultimate line. The devoted Bride sat within the house of the Lord, within the wall of the Law and the prophets, established by the building up of spiritual stones, which enclosed and fortified the royal house, full of joy and gladness. She marveled at the royal treasures, and looked upon them earnestly, desiring the wisdom that would show her these riches, to acquire it. He was in secret, but he was in need of an interpreter of his own secret. The Lord Jesus came, leaping over mountains. It seemed late to us for him to come, but he hurried. Finally, he leaped and crossed over, in order to cross over the bodily and rocky doctrines of the Jews. He stood behind the wall of the house that was in the Old Testament, looking through the window of the Law, and the caves of the prophets.

The doors of her house were not yet open, the gates of wisdom had not yet been opened, with which the inner workings of the Law were closed; however, looking from above, that is, the spiritual part, she calls the Church, so that, rising high through the Law and the prophets, she may tread fearlessly on the nets of Jewish interpretation and break the knots. Therefore, she is called Proxima, so that she may cling to Christ and not seek the worldly; she is called Formosa, so that she may carry the beautiful feet of those who evangelize; she is called Columba, so that she may seek spiritual things and abandon earthly things.


Behold, he said, winter has passed, the rain has gone, it has parted from itself, flowers have been seen on the earth, the time for harvesting has come. Before the coming of Christ there was winter: Christ came, he made summer. Then everything was destitute of flowers, bare of virtues: Christ suffered, and all things began to be fertilized by the new seeds of grace. The rain of overflowing luxury has gone, and the clouds arising from foul deeds are now being dispersed by the pure serenity of a conscience. Therefore, those who escape during the winter do not do so because they do not follow the passion of the Lord, do not take up their cross, and do not follow Christ.

49. The rain hinders the flowers: but now the flowers are seen on the ground. The good flowers are the apostles, who spread the fragrance of their various writings and works. The time of harvesting has come, when the ripe fruits are stored in the barns; and he who reaps receives his reward. The voice of the turtledove is heard, because it has found its nest; for the Church is the home of chastity. The fig tree that was ordered to be cut down because of its barrenness has now begun to bear fruit. The vineyard, transferred from Egypt, now no longer destroyed by ruins, is assailed by beasts; not by rough brambles, but by sweet-smelling flowers.

50. Arise, he says, come, my nearest one, my beautiful one, my dove, my perfect one; nearest indeed in desire for faith, beautiful in the splendor of virtue, dove by spiritual grace; for the silvered feathers of the dove can signify that eternal power, and the flight of the dove declares the presence of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Christ calls her to himself to come, since she was already endowed with spiritual rewards. For behold, he says, winter has passed, the rain has gone away, the flowers have appeared on the earth. See how the holy Church is invited. Winter, it is said, has departed from itself, so that it may not fear a naked winter, not the season of winter, but the frailty, which deprives the fertile field of the soul of every flower. For it is not the winter of the earthly sun, it is the winter of the mind, when a coldness creeps into the soul, when the steam of the mind vanishes, when the strength of the senses dissolves, when excessive moisture overflows, and weighs down the mind, when the inner sight is clouded. And so the Lord says: See to it that your flight during winter or on the Sabbath day does not happen (Matth. XXIV, 20); for it is good that the day of judgment or death comes when the pleasant temperature of the soul is lively, when the heavenly mystery shines with clear light, when our heart burns within us. For it is then that Christ is present, as testified in the Gospel by Cleopas and Ammaon saying: Was not our heart burning within us while he opened the Scriptures to us (Luc. XXIV, 32). But the soul rejoices when even a flower appears on the earth. Who is this flower of sweet fragrance, if not the one who said: I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valley (above, verse 1): about whom it is also written in Isaiah: A shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit, and a flower will come out from the branch (Isaiah 11:1). The root is certainly the family of the Jews, the branch is Mary, the flower is Christ: when he shines upon our earthly affairs, and his fragrance fills the field of the soul, or blooms in his Church, we cannot fear the cold or dread the rain, but we wait for the day of judgment. And therefore the Church hastened with all diligence to see this flower, as she herself testifies in the following words: 'In my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves' (Song of Songs 3:1).

Ficus protulit grossos suos. Apta Synagogae arboris istius comparatio est, quia sicut arbor ista foliis redundans fluentibus, spem possessoris sui cassa speratorum proventuum exspectatione destituit: ita etiam in Synagoga, dum doctores ejus operibus infecundi, verbis tantum velut foliis redundantibus gloriantur, inanis umbra Legis exsuperat; spes autem falsi exspectata proventus, populi vota credentis illudit.


51. There is also in the nature of a tree a comparison expressed by its likeness to a Synagogue. For if you carefully investigate, you will find a separate custom of this nature from the use of other trees; for other trees bear their flower before the fruit, and apples show the coming of themselves by their flower; this tree alone germinates apples from the beginning instead of flowers; in others the flower is cut off and the fruit is born; in this tree the fruit falls off so that the apples may succeed. Therefore, those empty shells of fruits emerge in place of flowers: thus, by a certain precocious mode of birth, they cannot preserve the benefit of nature since they do not know the order of nature. Indeed, just as a bud commonly thrusts itself out from the bark, so do the smallest fruits of this kind burst forth: about which we read in the Song of Songs: The fig tree brought forth its green figs. Therefore, while the other whitening shoots in early spring, only the fig tree does not know how to become gray with its own flower; perhaps because there is no more mature use in these fruits. For as other shoots, which spring forth resembling a degenerate nature, are rejected, and being weak through want of moisture, renew their strength when moistened by the sap that gives them sustenance, so it happens even here, although the shoots are very few, that some are spared and do not fall, to which, when they have once emerged in the narrow space between the two rods, they take their course, as if to a place of security, and growing up by the nourishment derived from their parent stock, they become fuller and more vigorous. And this takes place when the climate is more favorable, and the seasons are more prolonged, when they have lost their wild and undisciplined state from having parted with their previous superfluous moisture, and when they surpass the rest in beauty and the maturity of their growth.


52. Look now at the manners and souls of the Jews, who, like the first fruits of a barren Synagogue, fell as if in the likeness of a falling tree, so that lasting fruits beyond the age of our race would follow. For indeed the first people of the Synagogue, weak like a root in a withering work, could not draw the abundance of natural wisdom. And therefore the fruit fell as if useless, so that as if from the same key of a fruitful tree, a new people of the Church would arise from the richness of the ancient religion. Therefore, he who was, ceased to exist, so that he who was not could begin: but the first among the Israelites, whom the branch of stronger nature had brought forth, colored with the double juice in the shade of the Law and the cross, surpassed the others in the grace of the most beautiful fruits, to whom it is said: You shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28).

53. The flourishing vines give off their fragrance (Sup., v. 5). The Church is well represented by a vineyard; just as the vine is married to the trees, so too is the body joined to the soul, and the soul to the body. As the vineyard is bound, it is lifted up, and when cut, it is not diminished but increased; likewise, the holy people, when bound, are set free; when humbled, they are exalted; when cut off, they are crowned. Moreover, just as a tender shoot, separated from its old tree, is grafted onto the root of another, so too is this holy people, with their old wounds healed, nourished in the embrace of the new sign of the cross, as if in the womb of a loving parent. And the Holy Spirit, infused into this prison-like body, like water poured into deep wells, washes away all that is foul, and raises up the bearing of our limbs to heavenly discipline.


The diligent farmer used to dig, water, and cultivate this vineyard and, having formed mounds of earth, would work the land of our bodies, now scorching it with the sun, now drenching it with rain, packing the field so that the gem is not harmed by thorns, so that the shade of the leaves does not luxuriously grow, and by overshadowing the virtues with fruitless boasting of words, it does not hinder the maturity of natural ability.

55. (Verse 14.) And come, he says, my dove, into the hiding place of the rock, near the fortification; that is, come near the Gospel: the strongholds of your faith, are the deeds of Christ: the supports of your walls, are the words of the Lord: the passion of the Lord's body, is your strength.

Show me your face and reveal your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is beautiful. Your voice is sweet, for with your mouth comes confession unto salvation; and your face is beautiful, for it does not blush before its author nor does it confound its redeemer. Therefore, it shows its face, bearing the sign of the cross; and it reveals its voice, assuming the authority of preaching. For the covering of the body of Christ, by which he was redeemed from sin, finds the protection of spiritual grace, so that it may both experience and speak of salvation. Oh, how sweet was the voice that spoke in the divine testimonies: how lovely was the face that was not ashamed in the presence of kings.

Arise, He says, come, my closest one; that is, arise from the pleasures of the world, arise from earthly things, and come to Me, who are still laboring and burdened, who are anxious about the things of the world: come above the world, come to Me, for I have conquered the world: come close to Me, now beautiful with the beauty of eternal life, now a dove, that is, gentle and meek, now completely filled with spiritual grace. Therefore, you should no longer fear the nets, since He calls to Himself the soul that could not be captured by the temptations and nets of the world. For when we walk among the snares, we are exposed at the same time to the enticement of food and to noxious nets and snares. He who is placed in the body does not fear the nets, but he rises above them, that is, above the temptations of the world and the passions of the body; indeed, he even causes others to rise above them.

58. Arise, come, my nearest one, do not fear the nets, winter has already passed. Easter is coming, forgiveness is coming, the remission of sins is coming, temptation has ceased, the rain has gone, the storm has gone, and the shaking. Before the advent of Christ there was winter, after the advent of Christ there are flowers, as it says: The flowers have appeared on the earth. Where there were thorns before, there are now flowers; 'The time has come,' he says, 'to cut. Where there was a desert before, there is now a harvest.' The voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land; our prophet has added well, as if marveling, that where there was previously impurity, there is now chastity. The fig tree has brought forth its full fruits. What was commanded to be cut down as if unfruitful, now begins to bear fruit. But why do you hesitate, because it said 'full fruits'? It removes the former ones, so that it may bring forth better ones: just as the fruit of the synagogue is rejected, but the church is renewed.

And although full tranquility exists, and the mysteries have grown, yet again He says: Rise up secure in the covering of the rock, that is, protected by the defense of my passion and the support of faith. For honey has been drawn from the rock and oil from the strong rock. This covering, when put on the souls of the devout, they are no longer naked, and this is their protection. Therefore, He also says to this soul: Come, my dove, in the covering of the rock near the protection: show me your face, and make your voice known. He encourages to confidence, so that he may not be ashamed of the cross of Christ, nor of its emblem. He encourages to confession, wanting all traps to be removed; so that the good odor of faith may breathe, that the day may shine, that the shadow of the opposing night may not harm; for whoever is close to Christ, says: The night has passed, but the day is approaching (Rom. XXIII, 12). There is the shadow of the worldly things that pass, and there is the day of the heavenly Christ, who shines for his holy ones.


60. (Verse 15.) Take for us small foxes that are destroying the vineyards, so that our vineyards may flourish. Scripture says that man is made in the image and likeness of God, but it is accustomed to call the serpent, or a horse neighing at women, or a little fox, or a beast. Regarding one of them, the Lord says: Go, tell that fox (Luke 13:32), meaning Herod. And elsewhere, when he noticed that he was being cunningly questioned, he said: Foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky have nests, where they may rest (Matthew 8:20); because they cunningly dwell in some hiding places of earthly passions.


61. Also, Samson caught two foxes, and tied torches to their tails, and let them loose through the fields of the Philistines (Judges 15): by this action, he signified that wicked and deceitful men, especially heretics, have free rein to bark with their tongues, but their ultimate outcome is hindered or their contentious principles are set on fire by the end of their deceit. Therefore, he also let loose three hundred foxes, because those who desire to commend themselves through the preaching of the deceitful cross are unable to grasp its mystery. Instead, they attempt to burn the fruits of others with their false and simulated preaching. Certainly, the true cross of the Lord does not burn the merits of others, but enriches them.


And rightly it is written: Capture for us little foxes, destroying the vineyards, so that our vineyards may flourish. By this it is shown that either the Lord Jesus or the Church commands the deceitful tricks of fraudsters to be exterminated from their vineyards, so that they may not harm the little vineyards, since they cannot harm the mature vines. For a heretic can attempt to attack the imperfect, but cannot overthrow the perfect.

63. (Verse 16.) My brother for me, and I for him. This voice is of a virgin; for to preserve an immaculate body from the mingling with a man, and to raise the palm of chastity, with mud upon the body even to the conversation of angels, is a private benefit, a public glory. How rare in the world is he who can say this, how alien to vices, how distant from every stain of sin, who has nothing in common with the world, and says: My beloved is for me and I for him, he shall dwell in the midst of my breasts. Certainly, let each one claim nothing of this world for himself, to whom there is no possession of bodily desires, whom desire does not inflame, greed does not stimulate, lust does not effeminate, luxury does not corrupt, ambition does not overthrow, envy does not torment, and no concern for secular affairs troubles him: a true minister of the altar, born to God, not to himself; for Levi, as the interpretation has it, signifies: Taken up for myself; it signifies: And he is mine; and it solely signifies: Taken up; it signifies: And taken up for me.


64. He himself is both for me and for God. How is he both a priest for me and for God? He is both an advocate for me and a supplicant to the Lord: offering sacrifice for me, and offering himself to the Lord. Furthermore, elsewhere Levi is said in interpretation for me; for if Levi is named for me, Levi is for me: if he offers for me, he is for me: if he intercedes for me, he is for me: but if he is called by the Lord, he is called for me: that is to say, he is not subject to anyone else, he does not demand tithes, he is not generous from his own possessions. He himself, that is, as if overflowing with all things for himself. I do not seek tithes from this, nor fruits, nor gifts, nor presents; he himself is my gift, he himself is my tribute. He is not generous to me in his possession, but he himself is my possession, he himself is my fruit, he himself is my sense. Taken by me, or rather taken for me, this cannot be without divine grace. For just as possession cannot be mine unless I purchase it: so it cannot be Levi's unless he is taken by the Lord, for when he is taken, he rightly says, he is mine. Finally, when it was commanded to Moses that he should divide and distribute the dwellings of the Jewish people through each tribe, God exempted the tribe of Levi, saying to the sons of Levi: They shall not have a portion or inheritance among their brethren, for the Lord God is their portion (Deuteronomy 10:9). And elsewhere: I am the Lord, their portion (Numbers 18:20).

The earthly division is denied to those who, while not claiming a worldly portion for themselves, become possessors of the celestial realm. They should know that they possess this alone, that is, the service of faith and devotion, much richer than those who spread out the wide expanses of their possessions. However much they may extend their boundaries, the land fails and the sea encloses insane desires, and they pay greater tribute than the fruit they yield. But this person, possessing nothing, serves only God and is a portion above the earth; he is not limited by the failing earth, nor enclosed by the sea. Whose portion is God, is possessor of the whole nature. Therefore, for the fields, He is sufficient to Himself, having the good fruit, which can never perish. For the houses, He is sufficient to Himself, that it may be the dwelling of the Lord, and the temple of God, than which nothing can be more precious. For what is more precious than God? Or what does this man lack, who can say: Let me not glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians VI, 4)?


66. The prince of this world cannot claim ownership in this fellowship, in which he finds nothing of his own. Therefore the Lord who came to teach, so that God might become our portion, said: 'The prince of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me' (John 14:30). And desiring to have imitators of Himself, He said: 'Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor money' (Matthew 10:9). Thus Peter, showing that his portion is in God, not in the world, said: 'Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk' (Acts 3:6); that is, this is my portion, my portion is Christ: Therefore, in the name of Christ Jesus, rise up and walk' (ibid). This is, in my portion I am rich, in my portion I am powerful. I rightly anticipate such fruits of this portion, like health and life being given; because this is the inheritance of the portion that I have chosen for myself: My beloved is mine, and I am his.

67. Who feeds among the lilies. The lily signifies chastity. Therefore, the good shepherd knows where to feed his flock, which pastures are beneficial for his sheep. What are our pastures, that is, the faithful, if not Christ? In whose pastures the Prophet rejoiced, saying: In a place of pasture, there he placed me (Psalm 22:2); for there he feeds and refreshes us. Good pastures are the divine sacraments. There you gather the new flower, which gave the sweet smell of resurrection: you gather the lily, in which the splendor of eternity dwells: you gather the rose, that is, the blood of the Lord's body. Even the Scriptures are the good pastures in which we are nourished by daily reading, in which we are refreshed and restored; when we taste what is written, or rather, when we frequently chew what has been offered to us with the highest mouth. By these pastures, the flock of the Lord is fattened. Even the Easter of Christ are the mountains of valleys; for Christ also feeds in these, like a gazelle or a young stag of the deer, that is, in the splendors of the saints.

68. (Vers. 17.) Until the day dawns and the shadows fall. Zacchaeus climbs a sycamore tree to see Christ: Jesus also extends his hands to us, to overshadow the whole world. How are we not in the shadow, who are protected by the covering of his cross? How are we not in the shadow, whom the crucified one defends against the malignity of the world and the heat of the body? Do we not know that the Word of God, coming into this world, did not come as a word. What he was in the beginning, what he was with God: but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant (Phil. II, 7). He came in a light cloud, and while he was the power of the Most High, he overshadowed Mary; that he might transform the body of our humility, to be made like the body of his glory. Just as he therefore changed his form when he was born of the Virgin: so also the words of God seem to be transformed to us, when they are read in the Gospel, when their appearance is seen in the Scriptures as if through a mirror; because the whole truth cannot be comprehended here, but when that which is perfect comes, not through discussion, not through appearance as if transformed, but they shine with complete and explicit truth.


69. Therefore, let the soul bend with the yoke of the Word, and let it guide its reins, so that by the will of God it may be led away from vices and may receive the scent of eternal life; for this life is not perfect, but this life is in shadow. Therefore, in order for the man Christ Jesus to be born from the Virgin, the power of the Most High overshadowed his future mother; for he descended into shadow, beginning to work the salvation of mankind from shadow, and he will complete it with the brightness of the eternal sun. Therefore, this life is shadow. Hasten to the sun, so that it may protect you from the cold of this shadow, and bathe you in summer warmth. And therefore it advises us to pray, so that our flight does not happen in winter or on Saturday, not indicating a specific time and day, but preventing us from becoming cold due to our sins, and being empty of good deeds.

Chapter 3

1. (Verse 1.) In my bed, in the night, I sought the one whom my soul loves: I sought him and did not find him. Therefore, I will arise and search for him in the city, in the marketplace, in the streets, the one whom my soul loves. This soul had already received the good pledges of love, but because we must always be solicitous, always intent, and because the Word of God leaps forth like a young goat or like a young hind; let the soul always be watchful and extend itself towards the one it seeks and desires to hold onto. Therefore, like one who has fallen, I deplored myself, saying, 'In my bed, in the nights, I sought the one whom my soul loves. Whoever seeks diligently, let them seek in their bed, let them seek in the nights; let there be no days off, nor nights off: let no time be empty of the duty of piety; even if they do not find at first, let them persist in seeking.' And therefore, he says:

2. (Verse 2.) Therefore, I will rise up and search in the city, in the forum, in the streets. And perhaps for this reason, he has not yet found, because he searched in the forum, where there are lawsuits: in the streets, where there are markets for goods; for Christ is not obtained with money. Holy devotion does not allow any idle time for preaching to pass by. If students of secular knowledge indulge too little in sleep, how much more so those who desire to know God, should they not be hindered by bodily sleep, except as much as is necessary for nature? David would dampen his bed with tears every night, he would even rise in the middle of the night to confess to the Lord: and do you think that the whole night should be devoted to sleep? Then the Lord should be prayed to more, then protection should be sought, sin should be avoided, when it seems that he has a secret. Then especially when darkness surrounds me, and the walls cover me, it should be considered that God sees all hidden things. Therefore, do not say when surrounded by darkness, who sees me? And who do I truly fear surrounded by walls and enclosed? Because the Face of the Lord is upon those who do evil. Finally, if you do not see the judge, do you not see yourself? Are you not afraid of the testimony of your conscience? Do you not know that the darkness of night is not a covering, but an incentive for sin? When the body burns with sleep and food, even the strength of the mind is loosened by sleep, it is dissolved by sleep. Then impure desire for coitus creeps in, then the heart is disturbed by the filthiness of impurity, chastity is not seen, purity is not considered, the glory of modesty is not valued.


It was night when Judas betrayed, when Peter denied. Therefore, especially at that time, the justifications of God must be meditated upon, the exhortations must be reviewed: let not the precepts concerning chastity be absent, so that the mind occupied with these may quench the ardor of lust, extinguish the burning of the flesh. Keep this in mind: I will wash my bed every night (Psalm 6:7). For who, given to debauchery, wrapped in scandals, washes his bed every night? He who commits things to be wept for does not know how to weep; and though he himself be worthy of tears, he has not tears for his punishment. But he who chastens his own body and is solicitous for himself as a pilot, and groaning and lamenting for the offense of a past transgression, seeks how he may wash it away by tears of repentance, he washes his bed with tears every night. Therefore, let us not sleep through the whole night, but let us devote the greater part of them to reading and prayers. Listen to the voice of the Church seeking Christ even in the nights: 'In my bed, I sought Him whom my soul loves.'

4. Take it according to the letter, because he sought it in the nights by praying, begging, and even weeping. He sought it in the nights; because he has set darkness as his hiding place (Psalm 17:12), so that we may seek him more eagerly. Therefore, the Church, gathered from the Gentiles, sought it in the prophets, and therefore believed. Finally, the coming of the Lord is supported by the testimonies of the prophets, the Evangelists, and Paul, from which it is written: For night reveals knowledge to night (Psalm 19:3). He sought in the nights, in persecutions and adversities, in troubles and harsh pains. Night is for all those who do not have perfect security; hence the Lord says: The night will come when no one can work. While I am in this world, I am the light of this world (John 9: 4). Therefore, let us not work in darkness; for if our works shine, we are not working in darkness, but in light.

5. It is the days on which Christ is present, it is the nights on which he denies himself. It is not great for you if you give thanks to the Lord then, when you are in prosperity and success: but if then you adhere to Christ, when the persecutor harasses you, when some storm disturbs you. Have you lost a son? In that sorrow, in that night, in that destitution, remember the Lord your God; lest, as if not heard, you be ungrateful, and in your distress you transgress. Have you been driven into exile? Remember the Lord your God, lest you prefer the love of your homeland forbidden by God. Have you, overwhelmed by the power of some rich person, lost your own resources and are in need of support? Remember the Lord your God, lest the night of poverty take you away from the affection of devotion. For this is the commandment of the Law, that you seek more diligently in the night, when you are more likely to be heard by the Lord, and that you may be able to say: In my distress I called upon the Lord, and the Lord heard me and set me in a broad place (Psalm 118:5).


6. But to seek superficially does not suffice for favor, but to insist and be diligent in the task. Finally, either the Church or the soul, which sought in the bed, sought in the nights, did not find at first; because perhaps it sought in the bed. But after it arose and went into the city (see that he did not send the disciples to that city where the Lord was to celebrate the Passover, saying (Matthew 26:18): Go into the city to a certain person), afterwards, as I said, it sought in the marketplace, where oil is sold, which they are accustomed to buy while awaiting the Bridegroom; where there is justice, where there are laws. For if the law is spiritual, and the forum is certainly spiritual, where those skilled in eternal law debate. This forum is not tumultuous with lawsuits, but glorious with Christ's tribunals. Where did he seek, you ask? In the forum, and afterwards he sought in the streets, from which those who were invited to the feast of the Evangelical fathers were gathered: and they did not think it necessary to excuse themselves from such banquets. After he sought in the forum, I say, and in the streets, he came across those who wander the city, and only then was he able to find what he was seeking; perhaps he will find more grace in tribulation and fear. Finally, he says later:

7. (Verse 3.) They found me who go around the city, they took my cloak from me. Therefore, there was a struggle: but by what means they did not take this cloak from him, I am stuck trying to discover; unless perhaps because he said there that he asked: Have you seen the one whom my soul loves? She who was speaking about Christ took off her cloak and found the one she was seeking. Learn how Christ is to be sought: certainly by those who seek not superficially, but who violently retain, as it says: I held him and will not let him go, he found with faith, he constrained with meditation.


8. If we receive good custodians, then surely they are angels. But he who transcended angels. He found the word; therefore there was not much distance when he crossed over from them and found Jesus. So how then did they carry the cloak below, unless perhaps because in the process of offense to faith, the Church, while being stripped, is loved more by the Lord, stripping off the old self in order to put on the new, which is not covered by sins but rather clarifies the secrets of the mind, or because she has cast off the garment of secular wisdom in order to come to Christ? And he did not take off the cloak, even after he began to be more perfect.

9. Therefore, let us be mindful of heavenly justifications; so that while we sing them in the secret voice of our mind, we may be mindful in the night of the name of the Lord, and say as it is written: 'This has come to me, because I have sought your justifications' (Psalm 118:56); that is, this memory has come to me, so that I may remember you in the night, not being overcome by drunkenness, not being dissolved in feasts into sleep, not being occupied with worldly cares, so that forgetfulness of your worship does not creep upon me: but by daily meditation, chastising the faculties and exercising the intention of the mind; so that by assiduity, this solemn course may be made for us, so that we may worship the Lord Jesus even in the nights with complete devotion.


10. In my room, in the night, I sought him whom my soul loves. We can understand it thus: he seeks Christ in his room, who seeks him with tranquility, with peace. He seeks in the night, because he spoke in parables; For he has set darkness as his hiding place, and the night reveals knowledge (Psalm XVII, 12). Then, what we say in our hearts should pierce us in our rooms.

11. However, he did not find it in that way, and therefore he says: I will arise, that is, I will raise up and lift up my intention, so that I may search diligently, search earnestly: I will enter into the city. There is also a soul that says: I am a fortified city, I am a besieged city (Isaiah 27:3). Christ is the fortified city, that city is Jerusalem in heaven, in which there are abundant interpreters of divine law and experts in disciplines, through whom the Word of God is sought. He said, 'I shall seek in the forum of that city, in that forum where legal experts discuss laws, where oil is sold, which the virgins of the Gospel buy, so that their lamps always shine, and the smoke of wickedness does not extinguish them. I shall seek in the streets where water overflows from those fountains, from which Solomon says we must drink.'

12. They found me, he says, the guards who go around the city. So while he is searching for Christ, he finds the guards who are in the ministry; he asks them: Have you seen the one whom my soul loves? But the soul that seeks God also passes by the guards. For there are mysteries that even the angels desire to see, as Peter says: They have been announced to you, he says, through those who preached the Gospel to you, with the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, into which the angels desire to look (1 Peter 1:12).


13. (Verse 4.) How little when I passed by them, I found Him, I held Him, and I did not let Him go. Therefore, he who passes by the guards finds the Word. John passed by, who found the Word with the Father. There are also many others who seek Christ in leisure, and do not find Him; and they seek Him in persecutions, and find Him. And thus, as if after temptations, because He is present in the dangers of His faithful: How little, He says, when I passed by them, I found Him, I held Him, and I did not let Him go. For everyone who seeks, finds; and whoever finds, must adhere so as not to lose.

14. And since through the Gospel we see heavenly mysteries foreshadowed on earth, let us come to Mary Magdalene, let us come to the other Mary. Let us consider how they sought Christ in the tomb of his body, where he lay dead, in the nights, when an angel said to them: You seek Jesus who was crucified: he is not here, for he has risen: why do you seek the living among the dead? (Matthew 28:5 et seq.) What do you seek in the tomb of the one who is already in heaven? What do you seek in the bonds of burial, the one who loosens the bonds of all? This is not a place of burial, but of heaven; therefore, one of them said: I sought him, and I did not find him (Song of Songs 3:1). However, while they were going to report to the apostles, Jesus, having compassion on those who were seeking, met them and said: Hail. But they approached, and held his feet, and worshiped him.

15. Therefore Jesus is obliged, and delights in being held thus, because he is held by faith. Finally, that woman who touched him and was cured of a flow of blood also delighted him, of whom he said: Someone touched me; for I perceive virtue to have gone out from me (Luke VIII, 46). Therefore touch him, and hold him by faith, and faithfully bind his feet; so that virtue may go out from him, and heal your soul. And if he says: Do not touch me; you hold him. For I have not yet ascended to my Father, he said (John XX, 17). Once he said: Do not touch me, when he rose again: or perhaps he said to her, what she thought was taken by theft, and not raised by his own power. Finally, in another book you have, because to those who held his feet and worshiped, he said: Do not be afraid (Matt. XXVIII, 10).

So hold on, soul, just as Mary held on and say: I have held him and will not let him go: to whom they both said, we hold you. Go to the Father, but do not leave me, lest I fall again; and with Mary not wandering but holding onto the tree of life, take with you the one who clings to your feet. I will ascend with you, do not let me go, lest the serpent again spew forth its venom, lest it again be able to bite the woman's heel, so as to overthrow Adam. Therefore, let your soul say: I hold you, and I will lead you into the house of my mother, and into her secret place who conceived me (Song of Solomon 3:4); that I may know your mysteries, that I may draw from your sacraments.

17. I held him and will not let him go until I bring him into the house of my mother and into the chamber of her who conceived me. What is the house of my mother and her chamber, if not the innermost and secret nature of your being? Preserve this house, cleanse the innermost parts of this house, so that when the house is unblemished and not tainted by the filth of any adulterous conscience, the spiritual house may rise up in a holy priesthood, built together with the corner stone, and the Holy Spirit may dwell in it. What seeks Christ in this way, what beseeches Christ in this way, is not abandoned by Him: indeed, it is even frequently revisited.

18. Or perhaps the house of the mother is a strong house, in which the discipline of morals shines forth: but that is the secret, in which there are higher mysteries, in which the honey of divine grace is fragrant. Is not the forgiveness of sins sweeter than all honey? Is not the resurrection of the dead more fragrant than every flower? Receive, therefore, Eve, no longer covered by fig leaves, but clothed with the holy Spirit, and with new grace glorious; because now she is not hidden as if stripped, but appears as if surrounded by the splendor of shining garments, because grace clothes her: nor was Adam naked at first when innocence clothed him. Therefore, seeing her clinging to Christ, the Daughters of Jerusalem say (for he graciously often encounters and condescends to those who seek him, in order to uplift them):

19. (Verse 6.) Who is this that comes up from the wilderness? Be like that soul, which stirs up the charity of Christ within itself, which the virtues of heaven marvel at as it ascends; may it ascend without offense and may it depart from this world with joy and delight, like a vine branch, and may it raise itself up to the heights like smoke, emitting the fragrance of a pious resurrection and the sweetness of faith, as it is written: Who is this that comes up from the wilderness, like a vine branch, perfumed with the smoke of incense, myrrh and frankincense from all the powders of the ointment. He expressed its beauty beautifully, with a comparison to dust and a mention of ointment; because in Exodus we read about the fine, compounded incense, which is the prophetic prayer of the saints, that it may be directed before the Lord, as David also says: Let my prayer be directed as incense before your face (Psalm 140:2).

20. Who is this that rises from the desert? This place is a deserted and uncultivated land, covered with the thorns and thistles of our sins. They marvel, of course, how the soul that was left behind in hell may cling to the Word of God and rise up like a vine branch, lifting itself to higher things, like smoke born from fire, and seeking the heights, while also emitting fragrant odors of good works. That odor, however, is the sweetness of devout prayer, which is directed like incense in the presence of the Lord (Ps. 140:2). And in the Apocalypse we read that the smoke of the incense ascended from the prayers of the saints (Rev. 8:4). These incenses are symbolized by the prayers of the angels, namely at that golden altar which is before the throne of God. And like the fragrance of a sweet-smelling prayer, the ointment exudes; because it is composed not of requests for temporal and visible things, but for eternal and invisible things: especially, however, it smells of myrrh and frankincense, because it has died to sin and lives for God. And in the following: 'I shall go,' he says, 'to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.' It follows:

21. (Verse 7.) Behold, sixty strong men in the vicinity of his offspring, armed with drawn swords, and skilled in the discipline of warfare. Who are these strong and skilled in the discipline of warfare, take notice. It is the duty of strong and spiritual men not to conceal when something is impending, but to pretend and as if to explore from a certain lookout of the mind, and to anticipate with prudent thought things that will be advantageous in the future; lest perhaps they may afterwards say: Therefore I fell into these things, because I did not think they could happen. Finally, unless the obstacles are explored, they quickly occupy. In war, an unexpected enemy is hardly sustained, and if it finds them unprepared, easily overwhelms them: thus, unknown evils break the spirit more. Therefore, in these two things is the excellence of the spirit, that first your mind, exercised with good thoughts, sees what is true and honorable: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God also: and let it judge only what is honorable as good. Then let him not be disturbed by any occupations, let him not be swayed by any desires.

And indeed, no one accomplishes this easily: for what is so difficult as to discern, as from a lofty citadel of wisdom, the true worth of riches and all the other things that to many seem great and high? Moreover, how can you firmly establish your judgement, and despise as utterly valueless whatever you have judged to be trifling? Furthermore, if anything unfortunate should happen, and it is regarded as serious and distressing, bear it in such a way that you think nothing has happened besides what is in accordance with nature, when you read: 'Naked I was born, naked I shall depart. What the Lord has given, the Lord has taken away' (Job 1:21); and indeed, he had lost both his children and his possessions: and in all things maintain the role of a wise and just person, just as he did who said: 'As it pleased the Lord, so has it happened. May the name of the Lord be blessed' (Ibid.). And further, as you have spoken like one of the foolish women: if we have received good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not also endure evil things? (Ibid., 2)

23. Therefore, the courage of the mind that wages war with virtues is neither moderate nor separate from others; but rather it alone defends the ornaments of all virtues, and guards judgments, and with an inescapable battle fights against all vices, invincible in labor, strong in danger, more rigid against pleasures, harsh against allurements, to which it is ignorant to yield its ear, and does not say 'welcome,' neglects money, flees avarice as a certain stain that effeminates virtue; for there is nothing so contrary to courage as to be conquered by gain. Having frequently repulsed the enemy, and with the line of the adversaries inclined to flight, while he was engaged in taking the spoils of the fallen opponents, he died a pitiable death, cut down among those he had slain; and the legions, who were in the midst of rejoicing over their victories and busy spoiling the enemy, were brought back to face the foe who had fled.

Therefore, let fortitude repel and crush such a monstrous plague, neither being tempted by desires nor broken by fear; because virtue consists in pursuing all vices aggressively, as if they were poisons of virtue. Let it push away anger with weapons, which takes away reason, and let it avoid sadness as well. Let it also beware the desire for glory, which frequently harms when excessively sought, though always desired. For to be softened by flattery does not seem to be a lack of fortitude alone, but also of cowardice. Seeing these strong camps, Jacob said in spirit, 'These are the camps of God.' (Gen. XXXII, 2).

25. But what are the sixty? We know the week of the old, and the octoechos of the new Testament, namely when Christ rose again, and the day of the new salvation dawned for all: on which day the brilliance of complete and perfect circumcision poured into human hearts. But seven and eight make fifteen. Therefore, these are seven and eight, that is, fifteen, by which Hosea led the prostitute to be hired, whom the Lord had commanded him to hire. Therefore, the week and the octave signify the culmination of the two Testaments and the fullness of faith. However, the number fifteen, which is derived four times, which is sixty, signifies the perfection of the Gospel.

26. What is, then, the plant around which these powerful beings are? 'Naphthali,' he says, 'is a vine let loose, stretching forth its beauty in growth. Another shoot of the vine is cut, which seems useless, so that the vine does not become luxuriant with the exuberance of its shoots, and another is pruned and allowed to remain for a little while, in order to bear fruit, whose splendor is extended in generation; for while it raises itself to the heights, it embraces the vine, and ascending to the summit, it clothes the constant neck of the vine's precious branches with a certain necklace.' He is also beautiful in his generation, because he abounds in full clusters and produces many fruits. This is beautiful, but that is even more beautiful, which signifies the fruitful palm that clings to the spiritual vine, of which we are the branches, and we can bear fruit if we remain in the vine; but if not, we are cut off. The holy patriarch Naphtali was an abundant vine, from which Moses says: Naphtali is satisfied with favor, and full with the blessing of the Lord; he shall possess the sea and the south (Deut. 33:23); explaining what Jacob had said, what it means to be a relaxed vine, that is, freed from the bonds of death by the grace of faith: in which it is signified that the people of God, called to the freedom of faith and the abundance of grace, are spread throughout the entire world, who by good fruit may clothe themselves with the yoke of Christ, and embrace the true branches of that vine, that is, the mysteries of the Lord's Cross, and may not fear the danger of confessing it; but rather, even in persecutions, may glory in the name of Christ.


27. However, these strong ones hold swords in their hands, which they do not refute for the name of Christ, or by which they distinguish the corporal from the spiritual, the shadow from the truth. For the word of God is living and efficacious, and more penetrating than any two-edged sword, and reaching to the division of the soul and spirit, of joints also and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart: and there is no creature invisible in his sight, but all things are naked and open to his eyes (Hebrews 4:12-13). For the word of God is a two-edged sword. And there are two other swords in the Church, of which it is said: Lord, behold here are two swords, namely of ecclesiastical and worldly power, with which falsehood resists mercy.

28. There is just mercy: but there is also unjust mercy. Finally, in the Law it is written about someone: You shall show no mercy to him (Deut. XIX, 13). And in the books of the Kings of the Law, it is stated that Saul incurred guilt because he had mercy on Agag, the king of the enemy, whom divine judgment had commanded to be destroyed (I Sam. XV, 9). So if someone, moved by the pleas of his children and swayed by the tears of his wife, were to think that he should be released, even though he still has the desire to commit robbery, would he not deliver the innocent to destruction, he who sets free a person who contemplates the destruction of many? Certainly, if he restrains his sword, he dissolves the chains, loosens the exile; but he does not take away the opportunity of robbery by a more merciful way, he who could not extort the will. Then, between the two, that is, the accuser and the defendant, deciding with equal danger of the death penalty, if he does not prove one, if the other is not convicted by the accuser, the judge does not follow what is just; but while he pities the defendant, he condemns the one proving; or while he favors the accuser who cannot prove, he rejects the innocent. Therefore, this cannot be called just mercy.

29. In the Church itself, where it is most fitting to show mercy, the form of justice should be held as strongly as possible, so that no one who abstains from communion is quickly coerced into it with a few tears, temporarily prepared, or even with more abundant weeping, demanding communion in many instances more than necessary, and thus forcing the priest to yield. For when one grants indulgence to the unworthy, it causes many to be provoked to the contagion of falling away. For the ease of forgiveness gives incentive to sinning. This is said so that we may know that mercy is to be dispensed to debtors according to the word of God and according to reason, otherwise the sword will carry out what is its own.

30. (Verses 9, 10.) Solomon the king made for himself a bed of Lebanon wood, its columns were made of silver, its canopy was made of gold, its steps were purple, and its back was adorned with gems. Who is this bed, if not a representation of our body? For in gems, the appearance of the air is seen, in gold, fire, in silver, water, in wood, earth; from these four elements the human body is made, in which our soul rests, so that it may not exist rough from the mountains, deprived of rest from the dry ground; but may rest elevated, supported by the wood, free from vices. Wherefore David also saith: The Lord bringeth help to him upon his bed of sorrow (cf. Psalms, 40:4); for what can be the bed of sorrow but he who cannot feel pain, who has no sense? But the body of sorrow, like the body of death: Unhappy man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death (Romans, 7:24)?

And since we have introduced a verse in which we made mention of the body of the Lord, lest anyone reading this should be disturbed by the fact that the Lord took on a body of pain, let him remember that he mourned and wept for the death of Lazarus, and in his passion he was wounded, and from his wound blood and water flowed, and he breathed out his spirit (John 11:35). Water for cleansing, blood for drinking, and spirit for resurrection. For Christ is to us hope, faith, and love: hope in the resurrection, faith in baptism, and love in the sacrament. However, just as the body took on pain, so also it underwent suffering in weakness; for it turned weakness into the advantage of human flesh: for weakness is loosed by suffering, and death by resurrection. And yet, you should mourn for the world, you should rejoice in the Lord: the sad should turn to penitence, the cheerful to grace, though it is necessary to weep with those who weep, and to rejoice with those who rejoice, as the Teacher of the nations of salvation has prescribed by his salvific teaching (Rom. XII, 15).


32. He built Media with love, on behalf of the daughters of Jerusalem. Who are these daughters? It should not be hidden that the superior ones appear before the general, the weaker ones afterwards. For they are compared to the birth of this world in the womb of a woman; for those who are born in the strength of youth are stronger, those who are born in old age are weaker. For this age has diminished in number like the vulva of a woman giving birth, and like an aging creature, it lays down the strength of its youth, as if a withering flower sheds the vigor of its powers. Therefore, these are the daughters of Jerusalem, that is, the more delicate and weaker souls: to them she shows herself so that her image may shine forth in their confession, shine forth in their love, shine forth in their actions; and if possible, let her whole appearance be expressed in them.

33. Therefore seeing the daughters of Jerusalem, the bride ascending, and not resisting, and being delighted with the odors of her merits, and also recognizing her to be the peaceful bride of that Solomon, they diligently pursue her even to the bed of Solomon: because true rest is owed to her in Christ. For the bed of the saints is Christ, in whom the hearts weary from worldly battles find rest. In this bed Isaac rested, and blessed his younger son, saying: The older shall serve the younger. On this bed lying down, Jacob blessed the twelve patriarchs. On this bed lying down, the daughter of the archsynagogue rose from the dead. On this bed lying down, the only son of a widowed woman, who had died, called back by the voice of Christ, broke the bonds of death. Therefore, leading the bride all the way to the rest of the bridegroom, they sing a wedding song, saying to the daughters of Jerusalem:

34. (Verse 11.) Go forth and see the crown with which his mother crowned King Solomon on the day of his wedding. They sing the wedding song and summon the other powers of heaven or the souls, so that they may see the love that Christ has for the daughters of Jerusalem. Hence, he deserved to be crowned by his mother as a son of love, as Paul shows when he says: Because God has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). Therefore the Son of Charity is himself Charity: not having charity by accident, but having it in his own substance, as the kingdom of which he says: I was born for this.

And therefore he says, Go forth, that is, depart from the worries and thoughts of the world: depart from bodily difficulties: depart from the vanities of the world, and see how the peaceful king has love on the day of his wedding: how glorious he is, because he has given resurrection to the bodies, and has united souls to himself. This is the great crown of the struggle, this is the splendid gift of Christ's wedding, his blood and passion. For who could give more, who did not even spare himself, and laid down his life for us in death?

36. But what is the crown of glory if not the Church, which crowns its head Christ? What is the joy of the whole earth, if not the house of the Christian people, the court of the saints, of whom it is written: 'Their sound has gone out into all the earth' (Psalm 19:4)? Therefore, because the Church is the crown of glory, it is said: 'Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his espousals, and on the day of the gladness of his heart.'


37. It is said to the souls that they should depart from bodily constraints and enclosures, that they should go beyond corporeal thoughts, that they should depart from desires, and from worries, and from the other passions of this flesh and slippery affection: that they should rise above the world, that they should depart from this world, that they should meet Christ, that they should be prepared with shining burning torches, as if angels of Christ are speaking these words: 'You cannot see His splendor, His glory, unless you depart from the cares of human frailty, O daughters of Jerusalem.' As if to say: Why do you seek the living among the dead? (Luke 24:5) Christ is not sought within this world, but above the world, where he wanted his disciples to be.

38. What is the crown with which Christ is crowned, if not the crown of glory? Joseph had the crown of chastity, Paul of justice, Peter of faith. The crowns of each virtue are. Only Christ has the crown of glory, with which the Church has crowned him. In this crown all crowns are; because glory is not the portion of one crown, but the reward of all crowns.

Chapter 4

1. (Verse 1.) Now the Bridegroom, turned towards the praise of the bride, says: How beautiful you are, my friend, how beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves, beyond silence. Beautiful in preaching, beautiful in conversation. He also says, her eyes are like doves. The eyes are the man's, that is, they are adorned with spiritual senses, which are sharp for seeing mysteries, and prepared for penetrating the secret divine Scriptures, shining with reasonable milk, in which there is no confused stain of deceit, but the pure and immaculate simplicity of sincere affection. Therefore, after being washed in the abundance of water, she remembered these doves in milk.

Moreover, we understand that the teeth and cheeks, like a scarlet net, symbolize the virtues of the soul and the diverse dispositions of teachers: who either diligently provide spiritual nourishment through careful administration, or bind the listener with the preaching of the Lord's cross, like a certain line of the Word; or with true modesty and the pleasantness of youth. Although they may be withdrawn by the sense of shame, nevertheless the fragrance of Christ may emanate from them: and just as the ointment descends onto the cheeks as if from a priestly head, so may the beauty of doctrine shine forth from them.


Your eyes are like doves outside your silence; so that you may see and know both spiritually the time to be silent and the time to speak; so that in the time of speaking you may bring forth words and not be able to incur the sin of speaking with importunity.

Your eyes, like doves. Here the dove, that is, the simplicity and grace of the Church is revealed. So see the simplicity of the eyes, for he who sees the just and rejoices himself desires to be just: for it is beautiful that he delights in others in what he himself wishes to preserve, if he can: for it is inherent to the good that the chaste love the modest, the wise the affections of the pious, the merciful the liberal, and love their own virtues in others. For most people, even the sight of righteous conduct is a reminder of correction, but for the more perfect it is a source of joy. For if there is such power in natural things that the sight of an animal benefits those suffering from jaundice, so much so that it is said that even the dead body of that animal can be beneficial to them if it has been shown to those who have experienced such a condition, can we doubt that the sight of righteous conduct, whose eyes are like doves, simple and modest, can heal? Therefore, does this lowly irrational animal have such great virtue that it can heal a person in a brief moment of being seen: a righteous person, if indeed they are seen with faith by someone who desires to derive benefit from them, will they contribute nothing? How beautiful, therefore, you appear and excel!

5. Therefore, a just man is good. Finally, the Apostle Paul went up to Jerusalem to see the just ones: and he stayed with Peter for fifteen days, in order to benefit from his companionship (Gal. 1:18). Therefore, both Paul and Barnabas entered Jerusalem and were warmly welcomed by the Church, the apostles, and the elders. But when they wanted to leave, they were begged not to depart, and as we read later about Paul, he was led away with tears. Do not the rays of his own eyes seem to infuse a certain power into those who desire to see him faithfully?

But just as the righteous person brings joy to the heart of the innocent, it seems that the wicked are tormented by their knowledge of the righteous, because they are accused by the silent virtues of the saints. Chastity torments the impure, generosity torments greed, and faith torments impiety. Let us also take a similar example from a lowly creature. For just as we said that a mute animal seems to benefit, so we perceive that a wolf is harmful if it anticipates someone by seeing them; for they are said to lose their voice, those whom the wolf has seen first. The basilisk, also known as the harmful serpent, is said to kill whatever animal it sees first. It is said that anyone who is able to foresee such a serpent will be immediately killed. The serpent itself is said to die if it is prevented from being seen by a human. Therefore, if there is such power either in the eyes of the serpent or in the eyes of a human that if one sees the other first, it can kill, then there is no power in the eyes of the just person who is filled with the grace of virtue, especially since faith alone works so much. For even the woman who touched the fringe of the Lord's garment was healed, and the one on whom the Lord Jesus looked immediately drew the grace of healing from His eyes.


7. But he who sees the just must know what he sees. He does not see him in the body, nor in clothing, nor in wealth, nor in appearance: but he sees him within. No, I say, he does not see him unless he sees his mind, unless he understands his speech, unless he can comprehend his meaning, unless he is able to derive wisdom from his discourse. Therefore, he will rejoice when he has perceived these things, when he has come to know them. So let us also, whenever we hear of a just person, hasten to see him, like that woman who heard that the Lord Jesus was reclining in the house of the Pharisee, and she entered and anointed his feet with ointment (Luke VII, 37 and 38). Let us be imitators of him, for who would doubt that the Church is represented in that woman? Therefore, wherever the righteous man sits, wherever he reclines, let us hasten to see him. It is precious to see a righteous man, to see him according to the image of God. What is external is of no use: what is internal heals. Truly, even in the one who is external, we frequently see the one who is internal: so that if we see a poor person, let us honor him in the poor person, in whom he has been made similar, of whom he says: 'You gave me food to eat, for whatever you gave to one of the least of these, you gave to me.' (Matthew 25:35 and 40).


8. Your hair is like a flock of goats that have been revealed from Mount Gilead. Why hair? Because the power of all the senses is in the head: For the eyes of the wise are in his head (Eccl. II). Therefore, the deep wisdom of the learned can reveal those things that are hidden and unlock the depths of understanding.

9. (Verse 2.) Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep, which came up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and none is barren among them. What is said in appearance about goats is to be understood mystically about the flock of the Church. Do not let these animals seem worthless to you; you see that this flock grazes in the heights, bold on the mountain. Therefore, where there are cliffs for others, there is no danger for the goats; where there is danger for others, there is nourishment for that flock, there is sweeter food, there is more excellent fruit. They watch over their sheep, hanging from the bushy rock where the attacks of wolves cannot reach, and there they supply the whole fruit of fertile trees. It is possible to see them stretched out, distended with abundant milk, solicitous for their tender offspring with motherly affection. Therefore, the Holy Spirit has chosen them, in order to prepare the venerable Church for union.

10. And so that you may hear mystically, the hair of the Word is height, and a certain eminence of righteous souls; because the sense of the wise is in their head. For it is certain that there is wisdom in the height of human thought. And just as goats are shorn to remove the excess: so also the flock of shorn souls, that is, the holy Church, has the virtues of many souls, in which flock you can find nothing insensitive, nothing excessive; for faith has made the wise, and spiritual grace has cleansed from every excessive stain.


11. Therefore, rightly are the souls of the just revealed, and revealed from the mountain of Gilead, that is, from the transmigration of testimony, because the heavenly testimony migrated from the Synagogue to the Church. On this mountain, therefore, frankincense, resin, and other fragrances are born, which those merchants, the Ishmaelites, as you have in the first book of the Old Testament, used to bring (Gen. XXXVII, 25). Therefore, just as goats, nourished with good food and flourishing in the warmth of the sun, are washed in a river and, rejoicing, emerge clean from the river, so the souls of the just ascend from the spiritual bath.


12. These are truly the ones who create twins, in whom there is no infertility of any virtues, no barrenness of merits. They create twins well, because they multiply their senses; hence you have it written in Proverbs: 'And you write these things to yourself threefold, in counsel, and in knowledge' (Prov. XXII, 20). He prefaced a triple writing, and added two, counsel and knowledge. But knowledge is twofold, one of incorporeal things, the other of corporeal things; hence you also have in the following: 'Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, which feed among the lilies, until the day breathes and the shadows flee away' (Vers. 5).


13. We spoke of fertility, let us now speak of teeth. For many, both sailors and those traveling on land, when they see a beautiful place, they stop for the sake of pleasure, delighting their eyes and lifting their spirits. It is not considered a delay in their journey, but rather a gratification. In the same way, it is dear to us to consider the most beautiful teeth of righteous souls; for the Scripture teaches that the teeth of the righteous are beautiful, speaking literally of the patriarch Judah and spiritually of Christ: 'His eyes will be sparkling with wine, and his teeth as white as milk' (Genesis 49:12). In which he preached not the duties of human flesh, but the gifts of divine grace. Therefore, it teaches the example, that the teeth should not be overlooked when we talk about the eyes.

14. Who then are the dentists of righteous souls, if not those who receive rough and hard food, often cold or excessively hot, sometimes breaking it down, sometimes nourishing it, sometimes moderating it, depending on the quality of the nourishment? They break down the hard parts, lest the harshness of the letter in the Old Testament and the rigid understanding of the world suffocate the very life of the sacred books, closing off the vital supplies, and the throat of the soul, with an incurious, gluttonous consumption. Therefore, it is necessary that you first separate, if the food that is consumed seems solid to you, and distinguish it; and that you transfer it softened, without any harm to the soul, into all the members of its body through natural division; so that every part of its body may be nourished by the vital juice, and that you may not take anything putrid or dead into your mouth, so that it may not be said: The throat of those is an open sepulcher (Psalm 13:3). But you should drink in the living word, so that it may be able to operate in the depths of your mind. Teeth brighter than milk; for the teeth of the righteous.

Finally, when all our fathers were baptized in the cloud and in the sea with Moses, it is not without reason that it is written: 'For all of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual drink' (1 Corinthians 10:3-4), so that a greater light might shine upon those holy teeth of theirs, whom we will know to have been purified after crossing the Red Sea, tempered by the bitterness of the fountain of myrrh through the grace of the wood (Exodus 15:25); then by the drink of twelve fountains, and finally by the spiritual water from the flowing rock; for the rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:3-4). Therefore they ate manna (Num. XX, 11), so that they might eat bread as many times as they were washed, as it is written, of angels (Psalm. LXXVII, 25). Now also in the mysteries of the Gospel, you recognize those who have been baptized, although they are washed with their whole body, afterwards they are cleansed by spiritual food and drink; for that is the true brightness of the teeth, where the melodious confession of a well-conscious mind resounds. That is the clean eye, which no beam of heavy sins can depress, which no light speck of impurities can disturb.


16. Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them is barren. This is no mean praise, first fittingly compared to a flock of sheep; for we know that goats can safely graze on high places and take food without danger on precipices, but when they are shorn, they are relieved of their superfluous burdens. The Church is compared to this flock, having in herself many virtues of souls which through the washing cast off superfluous sins, which bestow the mystical faith and moral grace upon Christ, which speak of the Lord Jesus' cross. In her is the beauty of the Church, wherein God the Word says to her: Behold thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thine eyes are as doves. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee; because the stain of sin is washed away. Come from Lebanon, my spouse, come from Lebanon, and thou shalt pass from the beginning of faith; for she, renouncing the world, hath passed over the ages, and hath come to Christ.

17. (Verse 3.) Your lips are like a scarlet thread. For scarlet is the appearance of fire, and the blood of the Lord's cross is mingled with it. The scarlet lips of the Lord spoke of His own passion. Indeed, in Exodus, scarlet was placed in the fire (Exod. 25:4). For the world is not without scarlet, but consists of four elements. But in scarlet, the figure of fire is expressed, the vapor of which, if it did not penetrate the heavens and the air, the seas and the lands, would cause everything to fall apart as if its strength had been exhausted. Therefore, we recognize the thread of persuasion through the network, either through the crimson color of desire that sparkles in the minds of the audience, or through an indication of passion.

18. (Verse 4.) As the tower of David, your neck is built in Thalphioth, a thousand shields hang upon it, all the spears of the mighty. For your neck is raised up to God, and is ready for the yoke of Christ, which will not bend in the deceitful ways of the world. Just like the royal tower of Christ, to which Nebuchadnezzar cannot impose his yoke. For that tower was built by the strong hand of David, and was built high above the walls, so that it may serve both as a defense and as a decoration. As a defense, because it foresees and repels the enemy; as a decoration, because it not only surpasses what is low, but also what is high. However, it is also helpful or decorous if it contains within itself the teachings of the word, like certain ornaments or necklaces: if it also has the javelins of powerful prophets, which are directed against every exalting of oneself, guided by the arms of faith.

Therefore, do not let your soul be drawn into the dust of death, to which the Lord has also given natural height and strength, by which it may raise itself up and ascend. Hence, it is well said of this conjunction of soul and body, because in the natural mystery of our life, the soul, joined to the body, crawls upon the ground like a reptile and clings to the earth, partly because of this earthly dwelling, partly because this body is from the earth. And so, both the region of our body and the material itself of our body agree with this opinion. Therefore, the Apostle desires to be freed beautifully from the death of this body, because we are enclosed in a certain prison and we are enveloped in the craving darkness of sins.

Therefore, let us walk according to the will of God, so that we may be called to adhere to God. For he who lives according to the desires of the body is flesh, but he who lives according to the precepts of God is spirit. Therefore, may our soul not become flesh, that is, may we not be called flesh, just as those who perished in the flood, of whom it is said: "For they are flesh" (Genesis VI, 3). Rather, let our flesh be obedient to the governance of the soul, and may the soul become flesh, and may it deserve to be called by that name, just as the family of the patriarch Jacob and his holy posterity were called; for thus it is written: These are the descendants of Bala, whom Rachel, his daughter, gave birth to; she bore for Jacob seven souls. And there: But all the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, that came out of his thigh, besides the wives of his sons, sixty-six (Gen. XLVI, 25 and 26). And at the beginning of Exodus we read: Now all the souls that came out of Jacob were seventy-five (Exod. I, 5).

Therefore, those who lived with Joseph and came out of Egypt are souls; but those who were with the angels of God, that is, imitating the grace of angelic life (for those who do not marry or take wives will be like the angels of God in heaven, as it is written: 'For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven' (Matthew XXII, 30)), those who appeared with the angels were captivated by feminine beauty, they are of flesh, as the Lord God said: 'My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh' (Genesis VI, 3). And rightfully so, they are compared to angels, for they are not of the flesh, because they are not in the flesh, but in the spirit: such were those who followed the teaching of the Apostle, to whom he said: But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Rom. VIII, 9). But those who are captivated by the lust for women are of the flesh: and would that they were only of the flesh, and not also like neighing horses! For it is said: They neighed after their neighbor's wife (Jerem. V, 8).


22. (Verse 7.) You are entirely beautiful, my love, and there is no flaw in you. Indeed, who can estimate the greatness of her beauty, who is loved by the king, approved by the judge, dedicated to the Lord, consecrated to God? Always a bride, always a virgin; so that love has no end, and modesty no loss. Truly, this is the true beauty, to which nothing is lacking, which alone deserves to hear from the Lord: You are entirely beautiful, my love, and there is no flaw in you.


23. (Verse 8.) Come here from Lebanon, come here from Lebanon: you will pass through and go over from the beginning of faith, from the head of Sanir and Hermon, from the hiding places of lions, from the mountains of leopards. By these signs, the perfect and blameless beauty of the virgin soul consecrated to divine altars is shown, not bent towards mortal things, but focused on the mysteries of God, worthy to have deserved the beloved, whose breasts are full of joy; For wine gladdens the heart of man.


24. And the smell, he says, of your garments, like the smell of Lebanon. Come from Lebanon, O bride, come from Lebanon: you shall pass over and pass through from the beginning of faith: you shall pass through the world contending, you shall pass through to Christ triumphing over the world. You have heard that he separated you from the lions and leopards, that is, the attacks of spiritual wickedness: you have heard that the beauty of your virtues pleases Him.

Come here from Lebanon, my bride, come here from Lebanon: you will cross over and pass through from the beginning of faith, from the head of Sanir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards; that is, come out of the body, and leave all of yourself outside. You cannot be present to me unless you first journey away from the body; for those who are in the flesh journey away from the kingdom of God. Come, he says, come. He repeats it well, because whether present or absent, you must be present and pleasing to the Lord your God: be present when present, be present when absent, even though you are still in the body; for all of those whose faith is with me are present to me. There is one who came forth from the world for me: there is one who thinks of me, looks upon me, hopes in me, of whom I am a part: there is one who has been absent to himself: he is with me, who is not within himself; for he who is in the flesh is not in the spirit: he is with me, who goes forth from himself; he is near me, who has been outside himself: he is whole to me, who has lost his own soul for my sake; and therefore, come, come, oh bride; you will pass over and pass through from the beginning of faith. He travels through and surpasses all that reaches Christ: he travels through the merit of faith, and the brightness of works, which shines like Sanir and Hermon, that is, the way of the lantern: he travels through the conquered temptations of the world, and the defeated spiritual wickedness, seeking the legitimate crown of the contest.

You have wounded my heart, my sister, my bride, you have wounded my heart with one of your eyes, with one strand of your hair. For these eyes are the eyes of the mind, namely of the inner man, not those eyes that carry out the ministry of sight. For there is an eye of the mind and of the flesh, but that blind eye is the one that does not see the things that are divine, which is inflated in vain by the mind of the flesh. There is also another eye, the sense of Christ, by which the Church sees Christ, as He Himself says to His Bride: You have taken us with your heart, from one of your eyes. Christ deserves to be seen with one eye, because he is not seen with the carnal eye, or because having two eyes, the Church sees Christ more with the eye of faith; for the mystical eye is sharper, the moral eye sweeter.

27. And perhaps these are the eyes with which Paul saw the eternal things, where he began to no longer see temporal things. Finally, he who did not see Christ before losing his sight, saw Him after losing the sight of his eyes; for he saw Him who said, 'Who are you, Lord?' (Acts 9:5). Certainly, he saw Christ, whom he also acknowledged as Lord. And below, he said, 'Lord, what do you want me to do?' Therefore, did he not see Him whose command he awaited? Therefore, with what eyes did Paul begin to see more clearly, except those that he himself showed us, saying: I will pray with the spirit, I will pray also with the mind (I Cor. XIV, 15)? Indeed, so that you may know that he saw by praying: It happened, he said, as I returned to Jerusalem, when I was praying in the temple, I had a sense of dread, I saw him saying to me: Hurry, leave Jerusalem quickly; for they will not accept your testimony about me (Act. XXII, 17 and 18).

28. Therefore, these eyes fail in the word of God, and say: When will you comfort me? These eyes were called the eyes of the prophets, because through revelation they saw things that were hidden with their minds. But because the eye of the mind and the eye of the flesh are one eye, and then man is comforted when the flesh and the mind do not desire different things, but desire and seek one thing; therefore, they are attentive to him who says: I and the Father are one (John 10:30). These eyes also confess that they are one; because they perform the same desire and function.

29. (Verse 10.) Your breasts are more beautiful than wine, and the scent of your ointments is above all aromas. And below: The smell of your garments is like that of Lebanon. See what progress you give us, virgin! For your first scent surpasses all aromas that have been sent by the Savior's tomb, and it brings the sweet smell of the dead body's movement and the decay of the limbs. Your second scent, like the scent of Lebanon, exhales the integrity of the Lord's body, the flower of virgin purity. May they therefore construct a beehive of honey by means of your work. The odor of garments is also the odor of our actions. Therefore, bring your hands to your nostrils and explore the odor of your actions with tireless and alert enthusiasm of the mind. The fragrance of your right hand will soothe you, and the limbs of your resurrection will exude a burning scent; the myrrh of your finger will sweat, that is, the grace of true faith will burn with spiritual works. Therefore, virgin, you capture pleasure from within your body, and you yourself are sweet to yourself, you yourself are pleasing to yourself (which often happens to sinners), you do not begin to displease yourself.


30. (Verse 11.) The dripping honeycomb, your lips, my bride. Therefore let your works compose the honeycomb; for virginity is worthy to be compared to bees, so laborious, so chaste, so continent: the bee feeds on dew, knows no union, composes honey. Dew is also the divine word to the virgin; because as the dew, the words of God descend. Modesty of the virgin is an untarnished nature, the offspring of the virgin is the fruit of the lips, devoid of bitterness, fertile in sweetness: a shared labor, a shared fruit. How I wish, daughter, that you would imitate this little bee, whose food is the flower, whose offspring is read by the mouth, whose offspring is composed by the mouth. Imitate her, daughter; let your words have no veil of deceit, let them have no cloak of fraud, so that they may be both pure and full of gravity. Let the eternal posterity of your merits be born from your mouth, not only for yourself, but also for many others, for who knows when your soul will be demanded of you; lest, leaving behind the storehouses filled with gathered grain, you are carried away by that which cannot carry your treasure. Therefore, give to the wealthy, but also to the poor, so that they may be participants of your nature and also participants of your abilities.

31. Honeycomb dripping from your lips, O bride. Tell us, Solomon, what is this honeycomb? For you have said: Good words are like a honeycomb (Prov. XVI, 24). And truly, a good honeycomb is the one that the Church consumes, filled with the spiritual abundance of many prophets, emitting the fragrance of honey. This is the honey that it is said: I have eaten my bread with honey (Cant. V, 1). The lips of the preacher drip with honey, when the broken parts of the fallen soul are revived amidst harsh trials and ruins. Your lips drip honey, O bride; honey and milk are under your tongue; the mouth of the righteous distills wisdom. From the mouth of the righteous comes forth sweetness and mercy; in the mouth of the righteous there is no deceit, no falsehood, no bitterness of sin. The Church hears the words of the righteous, the people of God hear the words of the wise; they delight in the sweetness of conversation, they are soothed by the delight of moral discussion, saying: How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Because honey of bees pleases for an hour, but its taste quickly disappears, and usually the viscera are harmed: however, even though the honey of moral words sting, they do not harm.

32. However, find out to whom those things are believed; for it is written: Do not say anything in the ear of a fool, lest he ridicule your wise words (Prov. XXIII, 9). He will vomit and reject your speech, the fool who cannot perceive its sweetness. How can the words of God be sweet in your mouth, in which there is bitterness of wickedness? How can honey and milk be under your tongue, when your tongue produces deceit; so that you conceive one thing in your heart, and present another thing in your public speech, in order to deceive the unwary? When the apostle Peter tells you to put away all wickedness and deceitful behavior, saying: 'As newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.' (1 Peter 2:2). For he shows us what it means to have honey and milk under the tongue, teaching us not to curse those who curse us, but rather to return a blessing. Let us not hate except the way of wickedness, so that we may avoid doing what we detest, resisting it with all our might.


33. (Verse 12.) My sister, my bride, is a closed garden, a closed garden, a sealed fountain. Your shoots, etc. Because in gardens of this kind the image of God, impressed with seals, shines forth like a pure spring, and the flowing streams of spiritual beasts do not disturb it with scattered filth. Hence, that modesty enclosed by a wall of the Spirit is shut in, so as not to be exposed to plunder. Therefore, just as a garden inaccessible to thieves smells of vines, burns with the fragrance of olives, and shines with roses, so may the religion of the vine, peace of the olive, and modesty of sacred virginity grow in the rose. This is the scent which the patriarch Jacob smelled, when he deserved to hear: Behold, the scent of my son is as the scent of a field full (Genesis 27:27). For although the field of the holy patriarch was full of almost all fruits, he nonetheless generated the fruits with greater virtue and labor, while this one produced flowers. Therefore, prepare yourself, virgin, and if you desire such a garden to breathe upon you, enclose it with prophetic precepts: Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips (Psalm 141:3).


34. My sister, my bride, a closed garden, a sealed fountain. Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with choice fruits, henna with nard plants. The Bride is praised because she is a garden, full of the fragrance of that field, of which Isaac says: 'The fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field that the Lord has blessed' (Genesis 27:27). Therefore, a good soul burns with the fragrance of justice. And perhaps the field is the patriarch, the garden is the soul of someone lower, like a portion of the field. And the closed garden is not to be invaded by beasts, and the sealed fountain, by the integrity of the seal and the perseverance of faith, washes away their own sins. For the one who receives from the Church has something to refer to the grace of virginity because in the paradise of delight he receives spiritual fruits without labor, so that the souls of the patriarchs may confer their fruits to him through a certain labor of his own soul, by which he may be able to partake of perpetual sweetness: which is rightly called a sealed fountain, because the image of the invisible God is expressed in it.

35. My sister, my bride, is a closed garden, a sealed fountain. All the doctors agree on paradise, and the rooted tree of life and the tree of knowledge, by which one discerns good and evil: and the other trees, full of strength, full of life-giving power, and breathing and rational. From this it is gathered that paradise itself can be seen as earthly, not in any one place, but in our principal one, where the soul is animated and enlivened by virtues and the infusion of the Holy Spirit. Finally, Solomon clearly declared that paradise is in man's spirit. And because he expresses the mysteries of either the soul and the Word, or Christ and the Church; therefore he says about the virgin soul or the Church, which he wanted to assign as a chaste virgin to Christ: A closed paradise, my sister bride, a closed paradise, a sealed fountain. Paradise is called 'hortus' in Greek and 'garden' in Latin. Finally, Susanna was in paradise, and it is thus read in Latin: and Adam was in paradise, and we read it as such. Therefore, do not be surprised that some Latin texts have 'hortus' (garden) and others have 'paradisus' (paradise). In the garden, there is a chaste wife, and also a virgin. The virgin may have her own enclosure and seals, but both are in paradise; so that they may be cooled by the shade of virtues against the heat of the body and the burning desire of the flesh.

36. Therefore, paradise is in our principal, flourishing with the plantations of many opinions, in which God primarily establishes the tree of life, that is, the root of devotion. For it is the substance of our life, if we render proper worship to the Lord our God. It also establishes the seedbed of knowledge of good and evil; for man alone, among other earthly creatures, has knowledge of good and evil. There are also other diverse plants there, whose fruits are virtues. But because the capacity of man's knowledge was known by God to be affected, so that he would be inclined more quickly to cunning than to the highest prudence; and since the quality of his work could not escape the judgment of the one who established certain limits in our soul, he wished to eliminate cunning from paradise, as a provident author of our salvation, and to infuse into us the desire for the study and discipline of piety. Therefore, he commanded man to taste from every tree in paradise, but not to taste from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But because every creature is subject to passion, pleasure has slipped into human affections like a serpentine movement.

Therefore, it is not without reason that the holy Moses depicted the delight of the serpent by means of a likeness; for it is prone on its belly like a serpent, not walking on feet or raised with any limbs, but smooth with the sinuous movement of its entire body. Just as for the serpent, the earth is its food, because it is ignorant of heavenly sustenance; for it is nourished by bodily things and is transformed into various forms of desires, and it twists and bends with tortuous windings. It has poison in its teeth, by which each luxurious person disembowels themselves, a glutton annihilates, a prodigal destroys. How many wines it has broken, drunkenness dissolves, indigestion extends! Now I understand the reason why the Lord God breathed into the face of man; for there are all the senses, there are the seats and enticements of pleasure, in the eyes, ears, nostrils, and in the mouth; so that he might make our senses stronger against pleasure. Therefore, the serpent has infused cunning into us; for it is not pleasure, but toil and prolonged meditation with the grace of God that gives perfect prudence. However, because the inheritance of the human race is entangled in the deceit of the serpent, let us follow the cunning of the serpent, so that we do not expose our head to dangers, but rather safeguard it above all else; and our head is Christ. Let this remain inviolate, so that the poisons of the serpent cannot harm us: for wisdom is good with inheritance, that is, with faith; because the inheritance of believers is in the Lord.


38. But if the first man, who spoke with God and was placed in paradise, was able to fall so easily, having been created from the earth, while the virgin, who was formed and created at the recent dawn of the word of God, had not yet been stained by that parricidal and others' concrete blood, not yet polluted by crimes and disgrace, not yet condemned by our flesh to the curse of an obnoxious inheritance: how much more easily afterwards, along the slippery path to sin, did he bring a greater precipice to the human race, when the worse succeeded the tolerable in succession of generations! For indeed, if a magnet, a stone, has such a great force of nature that it attracts and transfuses iron into its own likeness, and if, when many people who wish to experiment have brought several iron rings near that stone, it holds all of them in the same way: then if you bring another ring near that stone to which the stone has adhered, and then in order replace each one; although the force of nature from that stone permeates into all of them in order, it binds together the previous ones with a stronger connection and the later ones with a weaker connection: to that extent the condition and nature of the human race, having fallen from a purer state into a worse one, has reached a weaker state! For if through these (senses) the nature is diminished, which are not capable of fault: by how much more the virtue of that (nature) is dulled through polluted minds and limbs (affected) by sins! Therefore, because malice triumphed, innocence was abolished, there was no one who could do goodness, there was not even one. And so the Lord came, who would reform the grace of nature, indeed increase it; so that where sin abounded, grace would superabound.

Therefore it is clear that God is the author of humankind, and that there is only one God, not many gods, but one who created the world, and one world, not many worlds as the philosophers say. First, he created the world, then the inhabitant of the world, to whom the whole world would be his homeland: for if a wise person were to go anywhere today, they would be a citizen everywhere, they would understand everything as their own, they would never consider themselves a stranger or a guest. How much more so was that first man, he was a resident of the whole world, and as the Greeks say, a citizen of the universe, a recent interlocutor of God, a constant citizen of the holy ones! Complantatus virtutibus, praepositus omnibus terrenis animantibus, marinis, volatilibus, totum mundum suam possessionem putabat, quem Dominus tuebatur ut opus suum, neque ut bonus parens atque auctor deserebat. Denique eousque creatum fovit, ut abdicatum redimeret, eliminatum reciperet, mortuum passione filii sui unigeniti resuscitaret. Est ergo hominis auctor Deus, et diligit opus suum operator bonus, nec derelinquit bonus pater, quem etiam sicut dives paterfamilias censu propriae haereditatis redemit.


40. Let us therefore be cautious lest that man, namely the mind, that woman, namely the passion of our senses, by pleasure and herself deceived and deluded, weaken and draw us away into her own laws and opinion. Let us flee pleasure like a serpent, it has many tricks and especially in man. For other animals are caught by the desire for food; but when man has more senses, namely of the eyes and ears, the dangers are even greater. Therefore, be careful that the strength of your mind is not softened by a certain indulgence of bodily pleasure, and dissolved in all its embraces, and that its fountain is opened, which should be closed and sealed by the study of intention and the consideration of reason: for the garden is closed, the fountain is sealed. For when the sense of the mind is loosened, harmful bodily pleasures flow out excessively, and they flow into a desire full of serious danger; which, if it had remained under the vigilant protection of the lively mind, it would have restrained.


41. (Vers. 3, 4.) Your emissions, he says, are a paradise of evil of pomegranates with the fruit of apples, of Cyprus with spikenard, of nard and saffron, of pipe and cinnamon with all the woods of Lebanon, of myrrh and aloes with all the first ointments. The gifts of the soul that are sent by the Bridegroom are praised, with which she, when endowed, came (but to God, pious souls are good odors), myrrh, aloes, saffron, and other things, with which the grace of gardens breathes, and the stench of sins is blotted out. And so, free from worry, the south wind seeks to dispel the heavy north wind, so as not to scatter the flowers: the south wind breathes, that is, as if passing by winter, and brings a milder breath of spring. The Bridegroom is invited into His garden, the Bridegroom descends, and delighted by the variety of its fruits, rejoices that He has found a stronger food, and has also found a sweeter one. For He is like a certain bread of the Word and honey, another more vehement, another more persuasive speech. And there is another faith, more fervent like wine; another, clearer like the juice of milk. Christ feasts on this food in us, drinks from this cup, and His drinking intoxicates us, so that we might surpass lower things and strive for what is better and best.

The soul, hearing these things, drinks in the intoxication of celestial mysteries, and, as if lulled to sleep by wine, and placed in a state of ecstasy or stupor, says: I sleep, and my heart is awake (Song of Songs 5:2). Then, struck by the light of the present Word, it is awakened by the Word. This is the fourth process of the soul. For at first, impatient of love and unable to bear the delays of the Word, it asked to be kissed, and deserved to see its desire. After being introduced into the king's chamber for the second time and engaging in mutual conversation, she rested in his shadow and suddenly the Word departed from her midst. However, it did not remain far away for long, but came leaping over the mountains and skipping over the hills. Not long after, like a young deer or a fawn, while addressing his beloved, it leapt up and left. For the third time, when it could not be found in the bedroom and during the nights, in the city and in the marketplace, it called back the one seeking it with its prayers, so much so that it was even called closer by its betrothed. While she herself is already asleep, she is awakened by Him, although she was watchful in her heart; so that she immediately hears the voice of the one knocking: but after enduring a delay while He rises (because she could not comprehend the speed of the Word), while He opens the door, the Word passes through, and she herself goes out in His Word: and through wounds searched for, but wounds of love, she finally finds and holds, so that she would not lose afterwards. In summary, I have explained these things in a concise manner, now let us discuss each individual one.


43. (Verse 15.) The fountain of gardens, the well of living waters, which flow impetuously from Lebanon. You have these in Solomon, because his Proverbs are moral, Ecclesiastes is natural, in which he despises the vanities of this world: his Songs of Songs are mystical. You also have them in the prophet: Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of life, enlighten yourselves with the light of knowledge (Hosea 10:12); for this is the light of knowledge, to have the perfection of charity. Therefore it is said: Fear not (John 12:15); for charity casts out fear.

44. However, in order that we may understand that Solomon so interpreted these three wells, which Jacob dug, as to apply them to moral doctrine and natural and mystical [doctrine], he placed these wells in each of his books, which he wrote about moral, natural, or mystical matters. For even in Proverbs, when he discussed the need to avoid the appearance of secular pleasures, he said: 'Drink water from your own vessels, and from the fountains of your wells, and let your waters flow forth from your own fountain' (Prov. 5:15). And below: May the fountain of your water be your own, and rejoice with the wife who is from your youth (Ibid., 18); because true wisdom is a remedy against the temptations of the world. Moral doctrine also washes away the image of worldly pleasure, which is tainted with certain harlotry, with its flowing fountain and cleanses it.

45. In Ecclesiastes, you also have this about natural things: I made for myself pools of water in order to irrigate a grove shooting up through these (Eccl. 2:6). Do not be surprised that he called the pools a well, since even Moses referred to a well as wide; because the person who transcends this world with a devout mind is set free from all narrowness and anxiety. Therefore, the Preacher rightly has pools, since he saw that there is no abundance under the sun; but if anyone wants to abound, let them abound in Christ.


46. We have left the topic of mysteries and move on to the well, which we also find mentioned in the Song of Songs, as Scripture says: 'A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and flowing streams from Lebanon.' If you seek the depth of mysteries, the well appears to you as if mystical wisdom is situated in the deep: but if you wish to draw from the abundance of charity, which is greater and more plentiful than faith and hope, then the fountain is for you. For charity overflows, so that you can both drink it in up close, and water your garden with its abundant fruits overflowing with spiritual blessings. And since he himself is a well of breadth, whoever possesses charity; therefore he said, where there is charity, there the great impulse descends from Lebanon.

47. But let nothing move you, that he called both the well and the fountain the same thing; let the Gospel also instruct you, in which it is written: “Now Jesus came to a city of Samaria, which is called Sichar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph” (John 4:5-6). Now there was Jacob’s well there. And tired, he said, he was sitting thus on the well. Hence, we also know that this well is referred to the mystical doctrine, because there Samaritan woman, that is, the guardian (but guardian of heavenly precepts) drew divine mysteries from that well, knowing that God is spirit, and is not to be worshipped in a place, but in spirit: and that the Messiah has come, who is Christ. Having heard these things, that woman who bears the appearance of the Church, recognized and believed the sacraments of the Law.

48. The fountain of gardens, the well of living waters, and the descending impetus from Lebanon. With these impetuses the Church was led from Lebanon, with this impetus sins are washed away, with this impetus the pure fountain of the Holy Spirit came from Lebanon to the Bride, and from the beginning of faith it passed through the ages, and it passed into the kingdom. To some, it is a fountain, to others a well according to our spiritual capacity: to some a closed garden, a sealed fountain, to others a fountain of gardens, which is reckoned in the Church's endowment: to others, the impetus descending from Lebanon, and the great impetus that never fails. For neither do the breasts fail from the rock, nor the snow from Lebanon, nor the water which is carried by a strong wind to the virgin of Jerusalem.

The impulse descended from Lebanon when the apostles and many believers were gathered together, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty wind, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, who gave them the gift of speaking in different languages (Acts 2:1, 3). A good impulse is one that knows not how to harm, but how to fill. Therefore, if anyone desires to earn this impulse of grace that comes from heaven, let them also descend with their eyes into the courses of the waters. Whoever launches this first attack will deserve it. He lowered his eyes to these water channels, which he watered the Lord's feet with tears in the Gospel (Luke 7:38), and therefore he bought the health of his soul and body with the price of his faith, no longer flowing with blood, but with spiritual grace.

50. Therefore, the prophet David descended, and thus brought grace from sin. He descended into the channels of water, that is, he filled them, and he filled the flowing streams of tears with his own tears, or he filled the empty channels of the sun with weeping. Or it shows certain moral meanings of speech, he descended into the channels of water, he passed through them. And we could say, he surpassed them, and he exceeded them: but the power of speech is diminished, by which the greater force of descending abundance is expressed than that of ascending. See, I ask, what benefit words may have, that their prophetic discourse may not lose its momentum, although the very usage of writers has been accustomed to serve the meaning with greater elegance.

51. The well of living waters; for if you draw nothing from a well, it easily corrupts with idle inactivity and degenerate state; but when exercised, it shines with beauty and becomes sweet for drinking. Thus a heap of riches, though sandy in its accumulation, is beautiful in its use, but useless in idleness. So, derive something from this well: for water quenches a burning fire, and almsgiving resists sins (Sirach 3:33). But stagnant water quickly breeds worms: let not your treasure stay stagnant, lest your fire stay stagnant. It will stand against you unless you turn it away by the works of your mercy.

52. (Verse 16.) Arise, north wind, and come, south wind, blow upon my garden, and let its spices flow out. You have heard, O bride of Christ, that the beauty of your virtues pleases him; you have heard that the fragrance of your garments, that is, the good odor of integrity, surpasses all other odors. You have heard that you are a enclosed garden, filled with the fruits of the apple tree. Therefore, seek that the Holy Spirit may blow upon you, may blow above your bed, and may gather the fragrance of a pious mind and spiritual grace. Raise the Holy Spirit, saying: Arise, north wind, and come, south wind; breathe upon my garden, and let its spices flow forth. May my brother come down into his garden, and eat the fruit of his apple tree. The garden of the Word is moved by the affections of a soul in springtime, and in its fruitful trees is the fruit of virtue. Therefore, come, and whether you eat or drink, if you invoke Christ, He is present and says: Come, eat my bread, and drink my wine (Prov. 9:5).


Arise, he says, north wind, and come, south wind; blow upon my garden, and let its spices flow out. From all parts of the world the fragrance of holy religion has spread, by which the limbs of the beloved virgin have become fragrant. Therefore, the Church, keeping the height of heavenly mysteries, rejects the heavier storms of winds and invites the sweetness of blossoming grace; and knowing that its rising cannot displease Christ, it calls upon its Bridegroom: Arise, he says, north wind, and come, south wind. Most people understand this in such a way, as if the north wind is cast away, and the south wind is invited. If they understand it this way, the icy harshness of infidelity is driven out from the Church, so that our flight in winter or on the Sabbath may not happen, and the gentle warmth of spring is invited.

54. Certainly: Arise, O north wind, that is, rise up, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead (Ephes. V, 14). O people of the nations, who have long slept, awake at last, and Christ shall shine upon thee. Lastly, all are invited to the Church, both the people of the Synagogue and the Gentiles: but first the Synagogue, because the first believed from the Jews, and through them afterwards the people of the nations were gathered together. Therefore, behold our sun coming from the south, afterwards turning to the north. Jerusalem, Jerusalem: she came, indeed, to the city which she was even deemed worthy to be called; but this Jerusalem is the earthly one, which killed the prophets, that is, the synagogue of the Jews: How often, he says, have I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks, and you were not willing? Behold, your house will be left vacant (Matt. XXIII, 37 and 38). Therefore, it turned to the Gentiles: and while turning in circles, the Spirit of God turned, and he turned back to his circles, so that God could be all in all.

Chapter 5

1. (Verse 1.) Let my beloved come into my garden, and eat the fruit of his apples. On this account, Plato created for himself that garden, which he called the garden of Jupiter in one place, and the garden of the mind in another place; for he called Jupiter both God and mind. He composed this from the book of Canticles; because the soul, adhering to God, entered into the garden of the mind, in which there was an abundance of various virtues and a profusion of words. Who, however, is ignorant that the abundance of virtues which we think should be transferred from that very Paradise which we read of in Genesis, where it is said that there was also a tree of life and a tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and other trees, should be planted in the garden of the mind?

In the Song of Songs, the garden represents the soul or the soul itself; for it is written: A closed garden, my sister, my bride, a closed garden, a sealed fountain. And further, the soul says: Arise, north wind, and come, south wind; blow upon my garden, let its fragrance be wafted abroad. Let my beloved come to his garden (Song 4:12-13). How beautiful it is that the soul, adorned with the flowers of virtues, is a garden; or that it contains a budding paradise, into which the Word of God invites to come down; so that the soul, watered by the heavenly rain of that Word and irrigated by its abundance, may bear fruit! But the Word of God feeds on the virtues of the soul, whenever it finds a soul obedient to itself and rich: and it enjoys its fruits, and is delighted by them. But when the Word of God descends into it, the healing ointments of words flow from it, emitting far and wide the fragrances of various graces. Hence the Bridegroom says (for the Bridegroom of the soul is the Word of God, to whom the soul is joined by a kind of lawful marriage covenant):

3. (Verse 2.) I entered my garden, my sister, my bride; I harvested my myrrh with my ointments, I ate my bread with my honey, I drank my wine with my milk. Eat, my neighbors, and drink and become drunk, my brothers. I sleep, but my heart is awake. Let us know what fruits or foods God feasts on, or with what he takes delight. He takes delight in it, if anyone mortifies their sin, erases their guilt, buries and abolishes their iniquities; for myrrh is the burial of the dead, and dead are the sins that cannot have the sweetness of life. But they are completed with the ointments of divine discourse, and some wounds of sins are healed with a stronger nourishment of the word, as if with bread, and with a sweeter discourse, as if with honey. Solomon also teaches elsewhere that words are nourishment, saying: Pleasant words are like a honeycomb (Prov. 16:24). Therefore, in that garden there are good words; one that restrains fault, another that rebukes iniquity, another that causes insolence to die and buries it, when someone who is corrected renounces their errors.


There is also a stronger word which strengthens the heart of man with the heavenly nourishment of Scripture. I have eaten honeycomb with my honey, I have drunk my wine with my milk. For this word is sweet like honey, yet it pierces the sinner's conscience with its own sweetness. There is also a word of fervent spirit, which intoxicates like wine and gladdens the heart of man. And finally, there is a milky word, pure and candid. The Bridegroom says to his close ones to feast on these sweet and beneficial words: Eat, my close ones, and drink, and be intoxicated, my brothers. But those who follow him closely and take part in his wedding feast are nearby. They satisfy their souls with food and drink (for each person drinks water from their own vessels and from the wells of their own cisterns) and sleep, awakened to God. And so, just as the later teachings instruct, God requested that the door of his Word be opened to him, so that he might fill it with his own entrance.

Hence those Platonist feasters, hence that nectar made from wine and honey which they called prophetic, hence that sleep was transported, hence that perpetual life which they said their gods enjoyed, for Christ is life. Therefore, his soul was filled with the seeds of such discourse, and itself went forth in the Word: but that soul which comes out of such servitude and is raised above the body follows the Word. Otherwise, let us repeat what was said above (suptcp., chap. 4): My sister, my bride, is a closed garden, a sealed fountain. In this it signifies that the mystery must remain sealed within you, so that it may not be defiled by the works of wicked life and the adulteration of chastity: so that it may not be divulged to those with whom it is not fitting, so that it may not be scattered among the treacherous by garrulous loquacity.

6. Therefore, it is necessary for the good to be the guardian of your faith, so that the integrity of a blameless life and silence may persevere. Thus, the Church, preserving the height of celestial mysteries, rejects more violent storms from itself and invites the sweetness of springtime grace. And knowing that its garden cannot displease Christ, it calls upon the Bridegroom Himself, saying: Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind: blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out (Song of Solomon 4:16); let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the fruit of his pleasant fruits (Song of Solomon 5:1); for it has good and fruitful trees, and its root that has been dipped in the irrigating water of the sacred font and has sprouted into the good fruits of new fertility. So that now they may not be cut down by the prophetic axe, but may be made fruitful by the abundance of the Gospel. Finally, the Lord, pleased with their fertility, responds:

7. I entered into my garden, my sister, my bride: I harvested my myrrh with my perfumes, I ate my bread with my honey: I drank my drink with my milk. Why I speak of bread and wine, the faithful understand. But it is not doubtful that he himself eats and drinks with us, as you have read in us, because he said he was in prison (Matthew XXV, 36). Therefore the Church, seeing so great a grace, encourages her children, encourages her neighbors, to come together for the sacraments, saying: Eat, my neighbors, and drink, and be intoxicated, my brothers. What we should eat, what we should drink, elsewhere the Holy Spirit expressed to you through the prophet, saying: Taste and see that the Lord is sweet; blessed is the man who hopes in Him (Psalm. XXXIII, 9). In that sacrament is Christ, for it is the body of Christ: therefore, it is not a bodily food, but a spiritual one. Hence the Apostle also says about its type: For our fathers ate the spiritual food and drank the spiritual drink (I Cor. X, 3). For the body of God is a spiritual body, and the body of Christ is the body of the divine spirit; for Christ is a spirit, as we read: The Lord Christ, the spirit, is before our face (Lamentations 4:20). And in the epistle of Peter we have: Christ died for us (1 Peter 2:21). Finally, this food strengthens our heart, and this drink delights the heart of man, as the prophet has mentioned (Psalm 103:25).

8. My sister, my bride, is a closed garden, a closed garden, a sealed fountain. May she not easily open her mouth, nor reveal herself in common conversation; for it is not fitting to speak about divine matters unless prompted by the word of God. What concern is it of yours with others? Speak to Christ alone, converse with Christ alone. For if it is written that women should remain silent in the Church (I Cor. XIV, 34), how much more improper is it for the gate of a virgin to be open, or for the doors of a widow to be open! The tempter quickly attacks modesty, quickly captures a word that you desire to retract. If the door of Eve had been closed, neither would Adam have been deceived, nor would he have responded when questioned by the serpent. Death entered through the window, that is, through Eve's door. Death enters through your door if you speak falsely, if you speak obscenely, if you speak rashly, and finally, if you speak where it is not fitting. Therefore, let the doors of your lips be closed, and let the entrance of your voice remain sealed, perhaps to be opened when you hear the voice of God, when you hear the word of God. Then myrrh will sweat for you, then the grace of baptism will breathe on you, so that you may die with Christ from the elements of the world, and rise again with Christ. What more, he says, do you still judge as if living, concerning this world? Do not touch, do not defile, do not taste the things that bring corruption through their very use (Colossians 2:20 and following).

9. Let my brother descend into his garden, in order to eat the fruit of his fruit-bearing trees. What are these fruit-bearing trees? You were made a dry tree in Adam, but now by the grace of Christ you have become a fruit-bearing tree. Lord Jesus willingly accepted and with heavenly favor responded to his Church: I descended, he said, into my garden, I harvested myrrh with my ointments, I ate my bread with my honey, and I drank my wine with my milk.


10. Edit, he said, my brothers, and get drunk: I have harvested myrrh with my ointments (Psalm. LXXIX, 9). What is this harvest? Know the vineyard, and you will recognize the harvest. The vineyard, he said, you have transferred from Egypt, that is, the people of God. You are the vineyard, you are the harvest: as if a vineyard planted, as if a harvest you have given fruit. I have harvested myrrh with my ointments, that is, for the fragrance that you have received.


11. I have eaten my bread with my honey. You see that in this bread there is no bitterness, but all sweetness. I have drunk my wine with my milk, you see what kind of joy it is, which is not polluted by any stain of sin? For whenever you drink, you receive the forgiveness of sins and are intoxicated with the spirit. Therefore, the Apostle says: Do not be intoxicated with wine . . . but be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). For the one who is intoxicated with wine staggers and stumbles, but the one who is intoxicated with the spirit is rooted in Christ, and thus this excellent intoxication works sobriety of mind.


12. 'Come on,' he says, 'my friends, eat and drink and get drunk. Good drunkenness makes someone's mind overflow to better and more pleasant things, so that our mind, forgetful of worries, may be cheered by the delight of wine. The spiritual drunkenness of the table is good; in conclusion, how excellent is the intoxicating cup! (Psalm 22:5) And elsewhere: 'You have saturated its streams, multiply its generations.' (Psalm 64:11) because when the drunkenness of the earth has been infused with heavenly rain, it is accustomed to awaken seeds and multiply fruits. So when the Word, which descends from heaven like rain, has inebriated the veins of our earth, that is, our souls and minds, with divine preaching, the studies of various virtues are aroused, and the fruits of faith and pure devotion grow, and rightly it is said to Him: You have visited the earth and have inebriated it (Psalm 64:10). For He visited by receiving the body, in order to heal the sick; He inebriated with spiritual grace, in order to soothe the anxious with joy.


13. I sleep, and my heart keeps watch. The sleep of the saints is also a worker, as it is written: I sleep, and my heart keeps watch. And as the holy Jacob, sleeping, saw the mysteries which he had not seen when awake; he saw the air, stretching from heaven to earth, filled with the saints, looking towards the Lord and promising them the possession of the land. Therefore, sleeping a brief sleep, he obtained what he later acquired with great labor, for the inheritance of the saints is sleep, exempt from all bodily pleasures. from every disturbance of the mind, bringing tranquility to the soul, calmness to the spirit; so that, as if freed from the bondage of the body, it may cleave to Christ. This is the sleep of the saints.

14. The voice of my beloved knocking, open to me, my sister. And if you are sleeping, and if now Christ knows the devotion of your soul, he comes and knocks at its door, and says: Open to me, my sister. Good sister, for the spiritual marriage is of the Word and the soul; for souls do not know the obligations of marriage, nor the physical union, but they are like the angels of God in heaven. Open, he says, to me, but close to strangers. Close to the world, close to the earthly. Neither do you go outside to those material things, nor leave your own light, seeking what is foreign; for material light casts a dark shadow, so that the light of true glory is not seen. Therefore, open to me, do not be confined, but expand yourself, and I will fill you. And because I have found more troubles and stumbling blocks after traveling around the world, and I did not easily find a place to rest; therefore, you open up, so that the Son of Man may rest his head in you, for he finds no rest except upon the humble and meek.


15. Open to me, my sister, rise, my dearest, my dove, my perfect one. Near in love, dove in simplicity, perfect in virtue. For my head is full of dew; just as the dew of heaven removes the dryness of the night, so the dew of our Lord Jesus Christ has dripped moisture onto the nocturnal and worldly darkness of eternal life. This is the head that the heat of the world did not know how to dry up, wherefore it says: For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will they do when it is dry? (Luke 23:31) Therefore, this head drips on others, it abounds in itself. And the head of Christ also abounds well; for Christ is your head, who is always full, and is not depleted by his own generosity, nor does he lack in lasting abundance. Into this head does not enter iron, which is a tool of war, a symbol of discord. Now observe, and see what kind of dew it is, namely not of ordinary moisture.

16. However, my darling, do not accept the curls of bodily hair: they are not ornaments, but rather sins: the enticements of beauty, not the teachings of virtue. Nazaraeus has other curls, in which iron does not enter, and which no one cuts: they are not arranged with curling irons or artfully styled, but rather shine forth with the grace of multiple virtues. Learn from history what kind of curls Nazaraeus has, which as long as Samson had them intact, he could never be defeated. He lost his hairs and the reward of his virtue.

17. (Verse 3.) Therefore, having heard the voice of the Word, which you have stripped of your tunic during the night, do not inquire how you will put it on again; for it is shown and frequently offered through spiritual wickedness how, I say, you will put it on, not remembering and not knowing; as if the Lord were already present, rise up without the bonds of the flesh being an obstacle, and with disturbed mind prepare your inner self through prayers, while you rise up; so that from humble things you may strive for heavenly things, and strive to open the doors of your heart. While you reach out your hands to Christ, your faithful deeds will emit a sweet scent.

18. Open to me, my sister. When you desire to meet someone of noble birth, first approach his house, then seek to be informed and instructed, so that you may know the mind of the head of the household. Then, enter his house, plead that no one may reject or exclude you. Therefore, knock on that heavenly palace, knock not with the hand of the body, but with the power of your prayer. The hand of the body alone does not knock, the voice also knocks; for it is written: The voice of my brother knocks at the door. We knock with a finger. Finally, even Thomas deserved to open the door of the resurrection with a finger: and Jesus says to you: Put your finger here and put it in my hands and my side, and do not be unbelieving, but faithful (John 20:27). Therefore, knock with a finger, if you cannot with the whole hand, knock the door. Christ is the door who says: If anyone enters through me, he will be saved (John 10:9).

19. When you have knocked on this door, see how you enter; lest, having entered, you be out of sight of the king. Many enter palaces and do not immediately see that king of the land, but often they observe so that they may deserve to see him. They do not presume to have the opportunity to see, but they are presented by command and offer a prayer, so that they may be received with kindness, avoiding stumbling at the first entrance of their speech; may they stumble upon nothing, may they offend nothing: how much more must God be asked, so that our prayer may enter the door of his mercy!


The voice of my brother knocks at the door. Learn also to guard your door, O bride of Christ, during the night hours, lest anyone easily find it open. The bridegroom himself desires it to be closed when he knocks. Our door is our mouth, it should be opened almost exclusively for Christ, and should not be opened unless the Word of God has knocked first. The voice of my brother knocks at the door. Listen to the one knocking, listen to the one desiring to enter.

21. (Verse 2.) Open to me, my sister, my bride, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. Consider when God the Word knocks most eagerly at your door, when his head is filled with the nightly dew. He is pleased to visit those who are in distress and temptation, lest anyone be overcome by afflictions. Therefore, his head is filled with dew or drops, when his body is in labor. Therefore, you must be watchful, so that when the Bridegroom comes, he does not depart excluded. For if you sleep and your heart does not keep watch, he departs before knocking; but if your heart keeps watch, he knocks and asks for the door to be opened to him.

Therefore, we have the gate of our souls, and we also have gates of which it is said: Lift up your gates, O princes, and be lifted up, O eternal gates, and the King of glory will enter (Psalm 24:7). So there is also heaven in those in which there are eternal gates. If you want to lift up these gates of your faith, the King of glory will enter to you, carrying the triumph of his own passion. For righteousness also has gates, for we also read about them, with the Lord Jesus speaking through his prophet: Open to me the gates of righteousness (Psalm 118:19). And below, the prophet David says: Praise, O Jerusalem, the Lord; praise your God, O Zion; for he has strengthened the bars of your gates.

23. Therefore, there is a soul that has a door, there is that which has gates. To this door comes Christ, and knocks: he knocks even at the gates. Open therefore to him, he wants to enter, he wants to find the vigilant Bride. Do not make delays for this good lover, he quickly departs: and you seem to have shut out the one knocking while in the sleep of your body. For you shut him out when you are lazy, when you are sluggish, when you are drowsy. With these barriers, Christ is shut out: if you are chaste and sober, be careful not to be neglectful. He does a great injustice to Christ who repels him as he comes.

Open to me, my sister, my nearest one: knock at the door even when you are sleeping: yet if either awakened, you stay awake, or if called, you open the door of your breast, he will enter. But if you flee from the prophetic reading, if you do not read at home, if you are unwilling to hear in the Church, will you not close your eyes like that person who, with averted glance, closes them so as not to see what he can see, to whom the power of seeing belongs: or like most people who, in anger, place their hands over their eyes; so also will you turn away at first from the winking one, more with dissimulation than with a broken refusal. For when you come to the Church and assert that you are a Christian, you seem to be sane, you open the eyes with which you can see: but while you pretend not to hear what is read, you close your eyes so that you may not see for yourself, and so that you may seem to see to others. You also bring the hands of perfidy and intemperance to the eyes of your soul, and you willingly bring blindness to your heart (which is worse); so that, even though you see, you do not see, and even though you hear, you do not hear.

25. Do you think that you are the only one who engages in prostitution and does not remember that the eyes of the Lord see the whole world? Do you not hear the one who says: Behold, the hour is coming when you will be scattered, each to his own, and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me (John 16:32). Therefore, the Father is present, the Son of God is present, the ministers are present, the Cherubim and Seraphim are present, who say: Holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is full of your glory (Isaiah 6). For the world is full of virtues, because it is full of vices: the earth is full of remedies, because it is full of snares.

26. (Verse 3.) I have taken off my tunic, how shall I put it on again? Indeed, in this night of the world, the clothing of physical life must first be taken off for you; for the Lord has taken off his flesh, that he may triumph for you over the dominions and powers of this world. How shall I put it on again? See, devoted soul of God, what it says. Thus, he has taken off the actions of the body and earthly customs, so that he may not know how, even if he wishes, to put them on again. How shall I put it on again? What is this but shame, but modesty, but finally memory? For the custom of goodness has lost the practice of ancient corruption.

27. Hearing this, the soul, having a head full of dew, that is, troubled suddenly by secular temptations and as if about to rise, which it was commanded to rise, says while smelling aloes and remarkable myrrh of the burial: 'Shall I take off my tunic, how will I put it on again? I have washed my feet, how will I defile them? For she fears lest she rise again into temptations, return again into fault and sin, and start to defile her goings-out and the progress of her virtues with earthly footprints.'


Certainly in this way it also indicates the perfection of his virtue, which has deserved such great charity from Christ; that he may come to it, and knock on his door, and come with the Father, and dine with the same soul, and she with him, as John the Apostle said in the Apocalypse (Rev. III, 20). For when he heard in the previous passages: Come here from Lebanon; and when he realized that he could not be present to Christ in the flesh, but that he would be present if he were present in spirit, conforming himself to his will, so that she would also be similar to the image of Christ; she no longer feels the skins of the flesh, now as if a spirit shedding itself of the conjunction of the body, now as if forgotten, and she cannot remember the union if she wishes to, she said: I have taken off my garment, how will I put it on again? For they had on that tunic of skin, which Adam and Eve received after their sin, the tunic of corruption, the tunic of passions; How shall I put it on? It does not require to put it on: but it signifies being cast off, so that it could no longer be itself a garment.

29. (Verse 3.) I washed my feet, how shall I defile them? That is, I washed my footsteps, as I left and raised myself from the company of the body, from that connection and familiarity of carnal embrace: how shall I defile them, so that I return to the closed prison of the body and its dark cell of passions? Thus we bury the passions, if we do not dissolve the cross of this body; if we do not rewrite the cancelled handwriting of sin on the cross of Christ, if we do not put on the garment of the old man that we have taken off. For it is written in the Song of Songs: 'I have taken off my tunic, how shall I put it on again? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?' Therefore, the members of the body are mortified, why do its vices sprout? Therefore, the law did not prevail, because it did not mortify the flesh: therefore, it passed by like a shadow, because it did not change its color: and therefore, it overshadowed us from the sun of justice, because it heaped up sins.

30. Sometimes being naked is a sign of virtue, as it is written: 'I have taken off my tunic, how shall I put it on again? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?' Therefore, if we can find in the Scriptures how one should take off a tunic and not find how to put it on again, let us reveal it. For there is a certain bodily tunic, and there are certain coverings woven with desires; and therefore, sometimes it is better to be naked in body than veiled in heart. Thus, even Paul admonishes us to strip off and discards the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge, according to the image of Him who created him. Therefore, the one who has been stripped and has washed feet does not know how they cannot be contaminated; for they forget, through grace, what they had acquired through nature.

31. I washed my feet, how will I defile them? You have learned in the Gospel that washing feet is a symbol of the mystery of faith and a sign of humility, as it is written: 'If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet' (John 13:14)! But this pertains to humility. However, as for the mystery, it is necessary for one to wash their own feet if they desire to share in Christ: 'If I do not wash you, you have no part in me' (Ibid. 8). When this is said to Peter, what is thought of us? Therefore, whoever has washed their feet does not need to wash them again; and therefore, they should be careful not to dirty them.

32. And the holy Church rightly says: I have washed my feet; it does not say: how shall I again wash them, but how shall I again defile them? As if forgetting the old stain, forgetting the contagion, it remind us how we should wash away the trace of our actions in bodily ministry in a spiritual way. Therefore, when you have once washed your feet in the waters of the eternal fountain, and have been cleansed by the sacrament of the mystery, beware of again polluting them with the filth of carnal desires, lest your muddy actions be defiled by earthly impurities. These are the feet that David bathed in the Spirit, which teach you how you cannot defile them, saying: Our feet were standing in your courts, O Jerusalem (Psalm 122:2). Surely, understand here not the feet of the body, but of the soul; for how could an earthly man have feet of the body in heaven? O Jerusalem, as Paul has taught you, is in heaven; and he has also taught you how you can stand in heaven, when he says: But our conversation is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Conversation of morals, conversation of actions, conversation of faith.

33. I have done judgment and justice, do not deliver me to those who calumniate me. Where there is justice, there is mercy. Mercy frees from sin. Therefore, how am I delivered to sinners? It is similar to that in the Song of Songs: I have put off my tunic, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them? I have put off the tunic of the sinner, the covering of the earthly; why am I judged as if I were a sinner and earthly? I have washed my feet, so that no lot of sin could adhere to the footprints; why do you give power to the transgressors over me?


Jeremiah says in his Lamentations: Your iniquity has failed, O daughter of Zion, you will not be expelled anymore; he has visited your iniquities, O daughter of Edom, he has revealed your sins (Lam. IV, 21). Recognize that iniquity cannot fail without the visitation of God, nor can correction be complete without the grace of the Lord and Savior. But how does iniquity fail? Listen to the Church saying: I have taken off my tunic, how will I put it on again? I wash my feet, how shall I defile them? Therefore, the old man's garment woven with the vices of error, deposited in the regeneration of the bath, does not know how it can be put on; for in the striving for correction, it has fostered forgetfulness of sins. Such is the power of complete amendment, that it returns to a certain spiritual childhood, which is ignorant of the ways of error; even if it desires crime, it cannot commit it; for it has become unaccustomed to knowing how to sin.


35. (Verse 4.) My brother reached out his hand from the window, and my stomach was troubled for him. I arose to open to my brother. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers were full of myrrh. Therefore, as if from a window, he reaches out his hand first, when God is judged by his works, where it says: If you do not believe me, believe the works (John 10:38). Then love increases, and the conception grows within the innermost parts. Hence, our soul desires to draw in the fullness of the Word, who inhabits the intelligible womb, in which is the receptacle of the Word, with His seeds infused. For the womb of women is not troubled, unless they are heavy with child. Therefore, the soul rises up in order to open to the Word of God, but while it expands and opens itself, it mortifies the works of this world by receiving that Word, just as he who says: We bear about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus (II Cor. IV, 19). Therefore, while she is opening, the Bridegroom passes by; for he always wants to be sought, more often found. And if he finds a closed door, he knocks; and if he is excluded for a delay, he departs; but he quickly returns, he knocks again, so that he may find his prepared Bride thereafter.

Indeed, it can be understood in this way: My brother has passed away, just as we read that he penetrated the innermost depths of his beloved, as it was said to Mary: 'And a sword will pierce through your own soul also.' (Luke 2:35). Finally, the Bride added that her soul departed in his word, which happens when the soul journeys without the body and is present with God. Hearing this, the Bridegroom sent his operation, the Word, as if through a cave, not yet face to face: he sent it as a hand, and said, 'My bowels were troubled upon him.' Whoever lives like this can say:

37. My brother reached out his hand through the window, and my stomach was disturbed by him. I got up to open for my brother. It is good that at the Lord's coming our inner selves are disturbed. If Mary was troubled at the angel's coming, how much more are we troubled at the coming of Christ! Indeed, with the divine influence flowing in, our earthly affections wander, and that outer use of man fades away. So you, be troubled, be quick. Those who are quick are commanded to eat the lamb. Rise, open, Christ is at the door, knocking at the door of your house: If you open, He will enter, and He will enter with the Father. Not only when He enters does He leave a reward: but even before He enters, He sends a reward. Still the soul is disturbed, still it feels the walls of its house, still it searches for the door where Christ is, still it loosens the bond of flesh and the prison of the body, still Christ knocks outside.

38. What is our window, if not through which we see the works of Christ, namely the eye of the soul and mind? And therefore, virgin, let Christ enter through your window, let Christ extend His hand: let the Word of God come to you through the window, not the love of the body. Therefore, if the Word of God extends His hand through your window, see how you should prepare your windows, see how you should cleanse them from all the dust of sins. Let the windows of the virgin have nothing filthy, nothing adulterated. Far away is the lead and other affected trappings of beauty, far away are the allurements of adulterated love. It is like the closing of ears, with which burdens are not to be suspended, wounds are not to be inflicted, but it is one adornment, to hear what is profitable.

39. (Verse 6.) I opened, he says, to my brother; my brother passed through. How he passed through, that is, he penetrated the innermost part of the mind, as it was said to Mary: And a sword will pierce through your own soul also. For the living Word of God, like a sharp sword, penetrating the barriers of bodily thoughts, probes the innermost thoughts of the heart. Therefore, in your bed and at the appointed time of night, always contemplate Christ, and await his coming at every moment. If you think it is late, arise. It seems late when you sleep for a long time; it seems late when you are idle from prayer; it seems late when you do not rouse your voice with psalms. Offer the first fruits of your vigils to Christ; sacrifice the first fruits of your actions to Christ.

40. (Vers. 5.) I arose to open to my brother; my hands dripped with myrrh, and my fingers with liquid myrrh, upon the handles of the bolt. Let us consider what this signifies. First, it seems that God, as I have said, comes to his works as if through a cave, not fully and perfectly: then love increases and conception grows, and from the seeds that the soul, received as it were into a certain intelligible womb, has conceived, it desires to see the whole fullness of his divinity dwelling in him bodily, as we read. He rose in order to see the Word of God more closely, and in this very act, his resurrection is signified, for he rose with strength and power; for the presence of the Word drew strength from his soul, just as the presence of Mary, when she was pregnant, enlightened John who was formed in the womb: so that he leaped in the womb and rejoiced, recognizing the presence of the Lord.

41. The wild boar arose to open, and his works and deeds were mortified to the world. For such ought to be the soul, which is to receive the Word, that it may die to the world, and be buried in Christ; for thus Christ is found, and seeks such a dwelling for Himself. Then the very ministries of operations, that is, the hands and fingers, by which Christ is apprehended, are mortified: these fingers we can estimate as the prominence of our deeds. Therefore, just as he extended his intelligible hands and fingers to grasp the Word, he says that the Word passed through him, but not yet through the devout soul. And this process occurs when the Word of God passes through and beyond the soul, for it is written: And a sword will pierce through your own soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Luke 2:35). Thus, it is still being passed through, not yet pierced through, as it were, in Mary it might have been pierced through in her posterior parts, where the Lord Jesus is placed as a seal in her midst.


42. Finally, immediately another one departed, the soul having left in the Word; that is, his Word having followed, went out of the body, lifting itself up from its dwelling, and making itself a stranger to it, so as to be present with God, and to be a citizen of the saints. For at the same time we cannot be both servants of the flesh and of God. Therefore, in this place, the soul is said to go out, as I said, when it withdraws itself from the pleasures of the body. Finally, it is written: Go out of Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans (Isaiah 48:20). Not so much that the Hebrew flees from the regions of Babylon, but the customs, as is admonished by the prophetic discourse: since there may be Hebrews who are in Babylon, and who teach that they have left Babylon's customs. For those about whom the prophet speaks, that they were sitting by the rivers of Babylon (Ps. CXXXVI, 1), they were indeed sitting in the region of Babylon, but they were not partaking in its vices and confusion. For how could they be in that confusion of vices, those who were weeping and repenting for having fallen away from the ark of devotion and faith, and the merits of paternal virtue? But what the soul seeks in the word, it requires the Word; hence, while it sought those things, it fell into the guardians who patrol the city.

43. The guards who surround the city found me, they struck me, and wounded me, and took my cloak from me, the guards of the walls. Indeed, like a bride coming with a cloak, with which she would cover her head when the bridegroom approached; just as Rebecca, who, knowing that Isaac was coming to meet her, descended from the camel and covered herself with a cloak: so also this soul, sent ahead the insignia of the wedding garment, lest it be rejected as if it did not have a wedding garment; or to veil her head because of the angels. But they struck her, so that she might be tested further; for souls are exercised by temptations. They took her cloak, seeking whether she brought the true beauty of naked virtue, or because no one should enter that celestial city without clothing, carrying with them no covering of hypocrisies. There are also those who ask that no soul should bring with it the remains of carnal allurements and bodily desires. She is stripped of her cloak, when her conscience is revealed. But it is she who is well stripped, who can imitate him saying: For the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me (John 14:30); for certainly in him alone does he find nothing, who has not committed sin.

44. Blessed is she in whom she does not find burdens or many things, but finds in her the garment of faith and the discipline of wisdom. Therefore, without any loss to herself (for even if someone wants to, they cannot take away true wisdom), even if the adversary objects; where, however, the integrity of true harmless conversation shines forth, she passes by the guardians, and being mingled with the daughters of that heavenly city, she seeks the Word; and by seeking him within herself, she stirs up love, and where she seeks the Word, she recognizes. It is not only a harm to not find whom you seek, but often it is a wound to search where it is not appropriate: to search in the houses of men who falsely assume the title of learned, to search with more audacity than modesty. Therefore, let us beware of the example of that person, lest we find ourselves being the guards who roam around the city.

45. They found, he says, the guards who go around the city: they struck and wounded me, and the guards of the walls took my cloak from me. Not in herself, daughter, but in us is the Church wounded. Let us therefore beware that our fall does not become a wound to the Church, lest anyone take the cloak from us, that is, the garment of prudence, the badge of patience, by which the ambition of the softer ones is cast off: For those who are clothed in softer garments are in the homes of kings (Matthew 11:8). But to us, Christ gave a cloak, with which he clothed his apostles and his own body, which he finally commands you to give, if someone asks you for a tunic, that you may give it to him and the cloak as well (Matthew 5:40); that is, you should hand over the symbol of your philosophy and, as if with the clothing of your wisdom, clothe him who was previously naked.

Therefore, daughters, let us seek Christ where the Church seeks Him, among the mountains of sweet fragrance, which, with their lofty height, exhale the sweet scent of life from the peaks of merits. That which seeks Christ should not be common, should not be in the marketplace, not in the streets, with a complaining voice, a slippery step, easily accessible, and cheap in appearance. The Apostle denies you earthly companionship and teaches you to fly towards heaven with spiritual wings, almost beyond the limits of nature. He says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). But because this was impossible for those confined in the prison of the body, and because when bodies have died, the soul is carried away to fly to the higher things, bound as long as we live by a certain law of our nature, therefore He added: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Ibid., 3). If it is hidden with Christ in God, it does not appear to the world, for Christ has died to the world and lives for God. Now see how Christ, whom I desire, does not desire conversations. That virgin opened her doors to the Word of God: but he passed by, she said, and my soul went out in his word (Verse 6). He went out from the world, he went out from the age, he remained in Christ. I sought him, she said, and I did not find him. For Christ loves to be sought for a long time.

They found that city without guardians of the walls. Perhaps there are other guardians that we should understand better. For it is a city that does not have closed gates of the walls, of which it is said: 'And its gates shall not be closed by day' (Apoc. 21:25); for there shall be no more night in it. The nations shall bring their glory and honor into it. Therefore, that city is Jerusalem, which is in heaven, within which you are now being kept, as though already perfect and immaculate; for not all common people enter into it. Common chastity is not, common modesty is not, which is written in the book of life.

48. Therefore, if we find a city, let us enter into it, let us see its light, let us see its walls, let us see its wall foundations, let us even see the guardians of the walls. But how shall we enter into it? In this city is life, and there is only one way that leads to life. Therefore, the way is Christ, so let us follow Christ. But the city itself is in heaven; so how then shall we ascend to heaven? The Evangelist teaches us, who says: And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven (Rev. 21:10). Let us ascend therefore by the Spirit, because the flesh cannot ascend to it. Let us meanwhile ascend to heaven, so that afterwards she may descend to us from heaven, in which there is a light like that of a precious stone, which has a great and high wall, like that of jasper and crystal.

You have learned the light, you have learned the wall; learn the gates, learn the guards. It has, he says, twelve gates, and in the gates are twelve angels, on which the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel are written (Ibid., 12). In the gates are the names of the patriarchs, in the wall the names of the apostles; for the foundations of the city, the apostles, and the cornerstone is Christ, on which the whole structure arises. God is outside, God is inside, God is everywhere: For the city has the majesty of God (Ibid., 11). Therefore, you holy virgins and all who are righteous and bear the immaculate chastity of the soul, you are citizens of the saints and household of God. But then you will possess this nobility of the homeland, if you seek Christ within the walls of this city, entering through faith and precious deeds, enlightened by the brilliance of the patriarchs, founded upon the apostles, living among the angels.

50. How, then, are these watchful angels who remove the cloak from chaste souls? The cloak of virgins is different from that of young women in the marketplace. She who seeks Christ in the marketplace has also lost the cloak that she had. For prudence is possessed not in the marketplace, not in the streets, but in the Church. And perhaps so that we may also find favor with them, and teach that God is merciful to all; because even they will sometimes find Christ, if they continually seek, and this cloak is the covering of the body. Therefore, whoever seeks Christ in bed, if indeed he seeks Him thus, just as He who said: 'Thus I have remembered you on my bed' (Ps. 62:7); if he seeks Him in the nights, according to what is written: 'In the nights, lift up your hands to the holy place' (Ps. 132:2); if he seeks Him in the city, in the forum and in the streets, in the city of our God: perhaps in the forum, where that judge of divine law sits, in the streets from where those who gathered for the Lord's Supper were collected; it is possible for him to encounter the angels guarding the city of God, when he seeks for a long time. Moreover, from the celestial nature of the guardians, we can understand the celestial city, the celestial forum of eternal justice, not the ordinary streets, but perhaps those where that abundant fountain is accustomed to overflow, of which it is written: Let your springs overflow with water, and let your water be dispersed in your streets (Prov. 5:16). Therefore, whoever seeks Christ in this way, arrives at the angels.

51. But if one reaches the angels through good merits, why is one wounded when one has reached them? There is also a good sword, whose good lies in its ability to wound. It wounds the word of God, but does not cause ulcers. There is a wound of good love, there are wounds of charity; therefore it is said: I am wounded with love (Song of Songs 2:5). She who is perfect is wounded with charity. Therefore, the wounds of the Word are good, the wounds of the lover are good: For the wounds of a friend are more beneficial than the voluntary kisses of an enemy (Proverbs 27:6). Rebecca, wounded in love, left her parents and migrated to her betrothed. Rachel, wounded in love, who was jealous of her sister, loved her husband; for her sister, who had many children, she herself, still childless, envied, because she symbolized the Church, to which it is said: Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in labor! (Isaiah 54:1).

52. So the guards found her and wounded her, and took her cloak, that is, they removed the physical covering, so that the naked simplicity of her mind might seek Christ; for no one can see Christ dressed in the clothing of philosophy, that is, in the habit of worldly wisdom. And it is rightly removed from her, the clothing of philosophy, so that no one may plunder her through philosophy. It is rightly removed from her, the cloak, which approaches Christ, in order to see God, may walk with a pure heart in the world: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). Finally, when the heart is cleansed, it finds the Word, it beholds God. Therefore, seek Him, virgin, indeed let us all seek Him; for the soul has no gender. But perhaps it has received a feminine name because a more violent surge of the body affects her: yet she soothes the force of her flesh and her own love with a gentle and tender reason. Therefore, we must invite God with prayers and entreaties, so that He may deign to breathe upon us like a gentle breeze. And may the breath of the heavenly Word aspire to us: may it be accustomed to shake fruitful trees not with a heavy wind but with a soft and gentle breath.


53. They took away my cloak. A good garment is the everlasting life, and this cloak the keepers of the walls wanted to take away from the Bride, with which the first man was stripped; but the soul, devoted to God, sought it for a long time, holding it and not letting go of it, and clothed itself with the precious garment of divine love. Blessed, therefore, are those who are clothed with such a cloak, and have deserved to be clothed with such a garment by observing the law; for they have not forgotten the law, but have fulfilled what the law required.


54. (Verse 8.) I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, tell him that I am lovesick. But what is this languishing of the soul? The moral of the ancient story reminds us that we must remember the story of the holy Moses, who begged God to show Himself to him and to see Him face to face. The holy prophet of the Lord knew, of course, that he could not see the invisible God face to face. But holy devotion surpasses measure, and he believed that this, too, was possible for God, to make the incorporeal be comprehended by bodily eyes. This error is not blameworthy, but rather a delightful and insatiable desire to hold his Lord as if by hand, and to see him with the gaze of his eyes. For he knew that man was made in the image and likeness of God; for when he was chosen by the Lord God to deliver his people, he was filled with the spirit of wisdom, he saw that angel, and his face in glory, and, finally, he was awestruck by the shining of his light, and he saw the burning bush and it not being consumed. He began to see a brightness, which, amazed, he approached; provoked by desire and grace, so that he might more diligently consider that brightness in the bush. Therefore, if he received so much ardor, he underwent so much desire, when he saw an angel in the flame of fire from the bush, so that although seized by fear, he did not dare to consider, nevertheless, he wanted to consider: how much more did he desire to physically see the face of the Lord, saying within himself: that face full of light, full of grace, full of virtue, full of divinity, what shall I say it is? I cannot say or feel more about God; for when man has finished, then he begins; and when he has ended, then he will be perplexed, as it is written, because the eternal majesty of God is incomprehensible (Eccles. 18:6).

Indeed, the effect of the request was in vain, but the likely emotion of the servant; because beyond his nature he estimated the devotion of the Lord's angels, as much as he desired more from the face of the Lord, so that he could fulfill his desire. He knew in himself another glory that would come after death, another brightness: Just as one star differs from another in brightness, so does the resurrection of the dead; and even if it is sown in corruption, it will rise in incorruption, it will rise in glory, it will rise in power, it will rise as a spiritual body (I Cor. XV, 41-44). Therefore, whoever could know these things, presumed rightly that he desired to see the face of the Lord, since he was going to see it after the death of the body. He had certainly taken on such a form, and the Lord had already approved of it, so that he did not differ from the ministering angels and the executor of the oracle of heaven. And therefore, since he knew that the angels of little ones daily see the face of the Father who is in heaven (Matt. XVIII, 10), he thought that he could and should now see it, as if he had forgotten his body and put aside his flesh; just like the one who, while still in the body, when he was caught up to paradise, said that he did not know whether he was caught up in the body or outside of the body to the third heaven (II Cor. XII, 3). For even though the saints bear a body, they are not in the flesh, but in the spirit; because those who are in lust and carnal behavior cannot please God. But the saints are not in the flesh by their behavior, but in heaven.

56. Therefore, let us grasp the condition of the weak bride from these things. To see the face of God as though innocent, as if by a certain face of consciousness, desired to open the face of the inner mind and wanted to be known more fully. Impatient love, knocking at the doors of harlots day and night, if the desires of possession are delayed for a long time, it fails in its expectation while hoping: in which, truly, there is not an end to love but an increase. And whatever is desirable, if it does not happen to the one desiring it, it fails in that thing and, as it were, gives up the very soul that desires it; if, however, a closer hope arises, it gives strength to the next hope; but if the beloved is absent, by the very fact that she desires the absent one, she suffers the defection of her own soul that she desired. Therefore, the further away the desired thing is, the more the person who desires it lacks. Thus, it is a lack to migrate with one's whole effort towards one thing that one loves; one thinks about it, clings to it, and keeps it in mind; that which one has received as something to love, is poured into the soul in a certain defection. Just as a mother expects the presence of her son, as Tobias' wife expected her son on his journey; lacking in desire, she was placed in distress, and seemed to be dissolved. For what else do his words signify if not a certain lack? But the more the emotion tires, the more love grows; and the longer the one who desires is absent, the desires of the one waiting ignite with a greater force of love. The flesh diminishes, but desire is nurtured and increased.

Therefore, the holy soul knows no other desire than the Bridegroom, who is Christ Jesus: she desires Him, she longs for Him, she directs all her strength towards Him, she cherishes Him in the depths of her mind, she opens herself up to Him and pours herself out, and her only fear is that she might lose Him. Therefore, the more the soul is aroused by a greater desire to cling to her saving God, the more she weakens. Thus, this weakening indeed operates a decrease in frailty, but an increase in virtue. He longed, he desired, he was growing weak, he was completely overcome with affection, so that he became wholly the one he desired, as David himself also says: I pour out my prayer in his presence, and before him I declare my trouble, when my spirit grows faint within me (Ps. CXLI, 3 and 4). For his spirit failed; rather, the spirit failed in him, who denies himself in order to cleave to Christ. Therefore, like one impatient with love, he ran around and sought the Word of God everywhere, because wounded, because naked; and he sought the support of someone by whom Christ might be asked to come. See the one who is boiling, see the one who is longing: I adjure, he says, you, daughters of Jerusalem, etc.; then, mingled with the daughters of that heavenly city, he seeks the Word, and by seeking and contemplating his appearance, he arouses love for him within himself.

58. (Verse 10.) My brother, he says, is fair and ruddy, chosen from among thousands. For it is fitting, maiden, that you fully know whom you love, and that in him you recognize the mystery both of his innate divinity and of his assumed incarnation. He is fair, therefore, deservedly, because he is the splendor of the Father; ruddy, because he is the offspring of the Virgin. The color shines and glows in him of both natures. Yet remember the more ancient marks of divinity in him, rather than the sacraments of the body; for he did not begin from the Virgin, but he who existed came into the Virgin.


My brother is fair and reddish. Fair with eternal brightness, reddish in appearance like human flesh, which he assumed by the sacrament of the incarnation. And rightly, even what is reddish smells good; because the flesh of Christ is without sin, which the perfidious, by touching it, have defiled their hands: those who venerate the holy, burn with the scent of piety.

60. Chosen from among thousands. Ten thousand, says Jacob, Ephraem and the thousands of Manasseh; that is, both of the Jews and of the Gentiles shall dominate, and acquire for itself the fullness of the Church from both peoples. And therefore holy Jacob placed his right hand upon Ephraem; because the Church says in the Song of Songs: My brother is white and ruddy, chosen from among ten thousand. Finally, even David in his Psalms praised the author of the maiden Mary, from whose lineage Christ was born through the Virgin's birth, in ten thousand: but Saul in thousands, although they should have given greater grace of reverence to the king.


61. (Verse 11.) Its head is as gold, Cephas. Which signifies stable and eminent wisdom. The body of Christ is the Church, and its head is as gold because the wisdom of the saints is precious, that is, righteous and prudent men.

Her hair is like fir trees, black like a raven. Regarding this, elsewhere it is said, Your hair is like a flock of goats. Hair is mentioned here because the power of all the senses is in the head: The eyes of a wise man are in his head (Ecclesiastes 2:14). Therefore, the deep wisdom of scholars is able to reveal things that are obscure and open up the depths of understanding. And such debaters are the hair of the Church, like the young ravens to whom the Lord gives food: as He gave it to holy Jacob and nourished him from his youth. The Lord feeds these others with profound richness of doctrine through heavenly sacraments.

63. (Verse 12.) Her eyes also are like doves. The eyes of the man are adorned, of course, with spiritual senses, which are keen to see mysteries, and prepared to penetrate the secret divine Scriptures, shining with rational milk, in which there is no confusing stain of deceit, but rather the unsullied sincerity of simple affection. Therefore, after mentioning the doves that are washed in the abundance of waters, he says:

64. His eyes are like doves above the abundance of water, washed in milk, sitting on fullness. The Lord baptizes in milk, that is, in sincerity. And these are the ones who are truly baptized in milk, who believe without deceit and offer pure faith, so that they may receive immaculate grace. Therefore, the pure Bride ascends to Christ because she was baptized in milk. Therefore, the virtues marvel at her, saying: Who is this who ascends white (Cant. VIII, 7)? A little while ago she was saying, 'I am black' (Canticles 1); now she is seen as white, and she ascends to heaven, supported by the Word of God, she now reaches the heights.

65. Not without reason is there an abundance of water there, where Christ is, from whom the human mind desires to be filled. The deer thirsts for these waters, and when it drinks them, it cannot thirst anymore. The Prophet thirsted for these waters when he said: As the deer longs for streams of water (Psalm 42:1). Therefore, Christ sits upon the abundance of waters and upon their fullness, and for this reason, the one who baptizes in water says: And from his fullness we have all received (John 1:16). Hence, the eye of punishment is not absent from the Church, for although John was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, where there was an abundance of water, and twelve springs, and seventy palm trees. The Church has these sources, namely, in the Old Testament the twelve patriarchs, and in the New Testament the twelve apostles; and therefore it is said: Bless the Lord God in the churches, from the fountains of Israel (Psalm 67:27). Whoever attains the most holy mysteries is sprinkled with these fountains, for these fountains, flowing from the eternal source, have spread throughout the whole world. Where these fountains are, there is the ascension of souls. Finally, Salim is interpreted as the one ascending; for he truly ascends who casts off his own sins. Therefore, the use of this word expresses the purification of sanctification.

66. (Verse 13.) Her cheeks are like vials of perfume, overflowing with fragrance. Now we understand that the cheeks and other virtues of the soul are the various qualities of teachers: those who diligently provide spiritual nourishment to the mind through careful instruction, or bind the listener with the preaching of the Lord's cross as if with a certain line of the Word, or are most pleasing in their modesty and the bloom of youth. Although they may be withdrawn from physical contact out of modesty, nevertheless the fragrance of Christ should emanate from them: and just as the anointing descends from the priestly head onto the cheeks, so should the beauty of doctrine shine forth in them.


Her lips, dripping with full myrrh, symbolize the ointment of passion and the grace of resurrection. This ointment, which gives off the fragrance of new life, is poured into the hearts of the dead. Therefore, may the gates of your lips be closed, and may the entrance to your voice remain sealed, until perhaps it should be opened when you hear the Word of God. Then, myrrh will flow to you, then the grace of baptism will breathe upon you, so that you may die to the elements of the world and rise with Christ.


Her lips dripping with full myrrh. But we consider ourselves idle if we only appear to study in word: and we value those who work more than those who exercise the pursuit of knowledge of truth; for many say: Behold the man and his works: as if one who studies in word does not work; when that work should be valued more than the rest. For if justice is a work, if temperance is a work, if fortitude is a work: surely wisdom is also a work; for these four principal virtues are considered. For if Christ works according to what is right, certainly He works according to what the Word is. And He worked when He was in the beginning with the Father. Indeed, through Him all things were made, so that you may know that He is the operator of all things, and our work is Christ Jesus. Truly, according to what the Word is, the Word is a great work for those who seek it. Therefore, when Martha was busy with her ministry, while Mary was listening to the Word of the Lord, she deserved to be esteemed higher than the one who was serving her; for Martha said to Him: Lord, is it not of concern to You that my sister has left me alone to serve? Therefore, tell her to help me; And Jesus answering, said to her: Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and art troubled about many things: But one thing is necessary. Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:40-42). Thus, it is defined by divine authority that knowing the Word is a greater work than serving.

69. But perhaps someone might say that it is said by the Apostle: The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power (I Cor. IV, 20). I do not deny that it is written, but in what word I recognize it; namely, the word which the inspired one has poured forth, which cannot benefit those who hear it unless it is demonstrated, and which is without display of spirit and power. Paul does not deign to acknowledge this word; for he wants rather to commend the power of the word. Finally, the Apostle wanted his word to be such that it would come in weakness, so as to make others stronger: in fear and trembling, so that those who fear would fear nothing except the Lord Jesus; trembling, that they would preserve his peace and tranquility. Listen to what kind of speech the Apostle had: And he says, my speech and my preaching were not in the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and power (2 Corinthians 2:4); for faith is not confirmed by eloquent words of wisdom, but by the demonstration of the Spirit, but by the power of God.

Therefore, in the speech of the saints, there is power, but in that forensic and philosophical speech, there is the vanity of the world. However, let this prophet teach you that there is virtue in the speech of the saints, who says: 'The Lord will give the word to those who preach the Gospel with great power' (Psalm 68:11); that is, so that they may preach the Gospel with great power. Therefore, it is proven that there is power in the preaching of the Gospel, and the preaching of the Gospel is the speech of the saints; thus, there is no doubt that there is virtue in holy speech. And this myrrh, dripping from the lips of the Bridegroom, namely through which vices are mortified.

71. (Verse 14.) Her hands are skillful, golden, adorned with hyacinths. See what hands have made man, and what man they have made! Certainly, the one whom we put on according to Christ, stripping off the old man with his actions, and putting on the new one who is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created him: where there is neither slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:9-11). Therefore, we put on Christ, as it is also said elsewhere: You have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). We have received the Holy Spirit, who not only forgives our sins but also makes us priests to forgive the sins of others. Therefore, the Prophet says: You formed me and placed your hand upon me (Psalm 138:5): formed from clay, placed your hand by means of spiritual grace; although many interpret this psalm as spoken by the Savior. Listen, because the hand of the Lord is also called the spirit, Job proclaims: The divine spirit that made me (Job 33:4). These are therefore the hands that created man, Christ and the Spirit.

Therefore, the Lord Jesus is the author of our body, who first made man in His image; and later fashioned him from clay, and desired to save what He had made, to save what He had molded, in order to make the whole man safe. These are the skillful hands of God, that is, perfect: golden because of the wisdom that is Christ, full of hyacinths because of the Holy Spirit, and the fullness of His gifts.

73. (Verse 14.) His belly is like ivory, adorned with sapphires. The Apostle says, 'And though he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives by the power of God' (2 Corinthians 13:4); behold the belly, that is, the weakness of the flesh. But he still lives by the power of God; behold the adornment of sapphires. For sapphire, because it bears the appearance of a serene sky, signifies the works of divinity. But onyx, because of its purity, brightness, and eternity, signifies that flesh of the Savior about which the same Apostle says, 'So we have known Christ according to the flesh, but now henceforth we know him no more' (2 Corinthians 5:16).


74. (Verse 15.) The legs of that marble column, founded upon golden bases. They signify the columns of the Church, who were founded in holy fear. For just as Peter, James, John, and Barnabas seemed to be columns of the Church, so whoever overcomes this age becomes a column of God, which is confirmed by the one who says: I have confirmed its columns (Psalm 74:4). So too, the golden base is full of fear and discipline, because it is the beginning of wisdom. Therefore, in the fear of the wise, the apostolic preaching is firmly established as a golden column of Christ. Therefore, the fear of the just is both the judgment and the golden foundation full of prudence: but the good image, like the likeness of truth, is the discourse of the saints.

75. And see how the fear of the saints is like a golden foundation. Read Isaiah: see how much fear he has subjected, to make it blameless and good fear: The Spirit, he says, of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and piety, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2); how much fear he has subjected, so that it may have something to follow! It is informed by wisdom, instructed by understanding, guided by counsel, strengthened by power, governed by knowledge, adorned by piety. Take away these fears of the Lord, for this fear is irrational and foolish, one of those: Outside are battles, inside are fears (II Cor. VII, 5); with which Paul would have been afflicted if he had not had the comforting Lord.

76. (Verse 15.) Its appearance is like that of the Cedar of Lebanon, chosen as the Cedars. It dwells in high places and looks upon lowly things, for its appearance is like the Cedar of Lebanon, which extends its hair to the clouds and its roots to the earth; its beginning is from heaven, and its latter fruits have come forth from the earth. This type of tree never loses its greenness, it feeds its hair both in winter and in summer, and it does not change color with the seasons; only the wind never strips this tree of its honor: only it is never deprived of its old garment or clothed in a new flower. Thus also the apostolic grace does not know decay, and it flourishes with perpetual beauty. Therefore, the soul does not know corruption, which thrives in flourishing limbs, always supporting the heights of justice and the other virtues with patient magnanimity; and thus it does not flow away or fail, because nothing in it is ruinous or lax, nothing is movable, nothing is slippery, nothing that could be poured out from it by the fault of speech.

77. (Verse 16.) His throat is most sweet, and his whole being is desirable. The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves, more desirable than gold and a great deal of precious stone (Psalm 18:10-11). What is severe in others is sweet in Christ, sweet in Christ; because He Himself is sweet: Finally, taste and see that the Lord is sweet (Psalm 23:9). Sweet are the judgments to the one confessing, because He Himself says: I am, I am the one who destroys your iniquities, and I will not remember: but you, remember, and let us be judged. Declare your iniquities, that you may be justified (Isaiah XLIII, 25 and 26). Sweet are the judgments for those who repent, for he himself said: There will be joy over one sinner doing penance, more than over ninety-nine just who do not need penance (Luke XV, 7). Therefore, if the judgments of the Lord are sweet, let us strive to receive the fruit of sweetness. Do you want to know how sweet are the judgments of the Lord? Whoever believes in him is not judged (John III, 18). Therefore sweet judgments await those who believe: but those who do not believe, are condemned by the judgment of Christ, who came not to judge the world, but to save and redeem; but the judgment of their impiousness falls upon those who refuse to believe in the remission of sins. For they cannot partake of his goodness, whom they have refused to acknowledge. Therefore, those who do not believe in him, are seen as unworthy of his judgment. For recognize what his judgment is, as he himself says: But this judgment is, by which the light came into this world (John 19). Therefore, what is sweet is light, and what precedes mercy is sweet judgment; for it is written, I will sing of mercy and judgment to you, O Lord (Psalm 101:1). The throat is also sweet and most pleasant, from which mercy precedes and this judgment.

78. (Verse 16.) And wholly desirable. Beautiful in form among the sons of men (Psalm 44:3). For indeed He was a man according to the flesh, but beyond man according to divine operation. For when He touched the leper, He appeared as a man, but beyond man when He cleansed. And when He wept for Lazarus dead, He wept as a man, but He was above man when He commanded the dead man, bound with fetters, to come forth. He appeared as a man when He hung on the cross, but He was above man when He opened the tombs and raised the dead. Nor do the Apollinarian heretics deceive themselves, because it is thus read: 'And being found in fashion as a man' (Philip. II, 7); for Jesus is not denied to be man, since elsewhere Paul himself says of Him: 'The Mediator of God and man, the man Christ Jesus' (I Tim. II, 5); but He is confirmed. For this is the way and custom of Scripture to signify thus, as we also read in the Gospel: 'And we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father' (John I). Just as therefore he is called the only-begotten, and the only-begotten Son of God is not denied; so also he is called man, and it is not denied that the perfection of man was in him.

79. When, therefore, he was in the form of a servant, he was humbled even unto death, yet he was in the glory of God. What then hindered him from being a servant? It is recorded that he became a servant because he is read to have been made of a Virgin, and created in the flesh; for every creature serves, as the prophet says: For all creatures serve thee. This is the glory of Christ, that he took on servitude in his body, that he might restore liberty to all: he carried our sins, that he might remove the sin of the world: he, a servant, became sin, became a curse, that you might cease to be a servant of sin, and be freed from the curse of divine judgment. Therefore, he received your curse: For cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree; he became cursed on the cross, so that you may be blessed in the kingdom of God. He was dishonored and despised, not valued at all. He said, 'I have labored in vain'; by whom Paul deserved to say, 'I have not labored in vain' (Philippians 2:16); so that he may bestow the fruit of good works and the glory of preaching the Gospel upon his servants, through whom the burden of labor may be completed for all.


80. (Verse 17.) Such is my beloved and my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. Thus the Church or the holy soul, mingled with the daughters of that heavenly city, seeks the Word by searching, and by searching excites love for Him in herself. But to those who seek and say, 'Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you?'

Chapter 6

1. (Verse 1.) My beloved, he says, descended into his garden to the bed of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. Where he may seek the Word, he recognizes: what he may abide among the prayers of the saints, and what may cleave to them, he knows, and what he may feed his Church or the souls of his righteous among the lilies, he understands. This mystery he demonstrated to you in the Gospel, when on the Sabbath he led his disciples through the cornfields. Moses led the people of the Jews through the desert, Christ leads through the sown fields, Christ leads through the lilies; for through his passion the desert blooms like a lily. Let us therefore follow, so that on that great Sabbath day, on which there is great rest, we may gather fruit. Do not fear that the Pharisees will accuse us of gathering what has been sown: even if they accuse, Christ pardons, and He makes those souls similar whom He wants to follow Him, like David, who ate the bread of proposition above the Law, already conceiving the prophetic sacraments of the new grace in his mind at that time.


(Verse 2.) I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine, who grazes among the lilies. The voice appears easy and common, but it is of a few. For it is rare enough for someone to be able to say: I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine. What does it mean to say: I am yours? For it is he who speaks who is joined to God with all his senses, who cannot think of anything else, he who uses this voice who can say to the Lord: Show us the Father, and it is enough for us. (John 14:8). Does he use this voice eagerly for money, honor, power? For many people, knowing God is not enough, and indeed for many more. So many populations, so many nations, so many rich people think that poverty serves the Lord; and He who is above all is small and narrow to them: the Son of God is not enough for them, in whom all things are. Finally, that rich man in the Gospel to whom it was said: If you wish to be perfect, sell all that you have, and give to the poor (Matthew 19:21); he judged that God was not enough for himself. Finally, he was saddened, as if he were ordered to leave what was worth more and choose what was worth less. Therefore, he says: I am yours, who can say: Behold, we have left everything and followed you (Ibid., 27).

This is the voice of the apostles, but not of all the apostles; for even Judas was an apostle and reclined at the table with Christ. He himself also said: I am yours; but with his voice, not his heart. Then Satan came and entered into him, and began to say: He is not yours, Jesus, but mine. Finally, he thinks about what is mine, he turns over in his heart what is mine: he feasts with you and eats with me: he receives bread from you, money from me: he drinks with you, and sells your blood to me: he is your apostle, and my hireling. The secular person cannot say: I am yours; for he has many masters. Lust comes and says: You are mine; for you desire those things which pertain to my body: you have sold yourself to me for the love of that young woman: I have counted the price of your concubinage with that prostitute as yours. Greed comes and says: The silver and gold which you have is the price of your servitude: the possession which you hold is the purchase of your right, the sale of your freedom. Luxury comes and says: You are mine; a banquet of one day is the price of your life: that expense of feasting, the bidding of your head, is the sum of your contract. And what is worse, you have been bought at a price for flesh, you are cheaper than your food: your table of one day is more precious than your whole life: I have redeemed you among the cups, I have acquired you among the feasts. Ambition comes and says to you: You are completely mine. Do you not know that I made you rule over others so that you would serve me? Do you not know that for this reason I have given you power, that I might subject you to my power? Do you not know that it is written in the gospel of the Lord and Savior himself, by the prince of this world, when he showed him all the kingdoms of the world: All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me (Matt. 4:9)? Therefore, he who wants to have others subjected to him is himself subjected. All vices come and each one says: 'You are mine.' How great they seem, how worthless they are! Therefore, how can you, who are of such a kind, say to Christ: I am yours? He will answer you: Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21): not everyone who says to me, I am yours, is mine.

4. My plan is, if conscience does not reproach me, if my mind or actions do not refute your words. I do not deny that he is mine who does not deny himself, or certainly if he denies himself for my sake. I do not want to have a slave serving many masters. For how can he be mine if he says to me in word: I am yours; and denies it in deeds, and condemns himself to the devil and binds himself? He is not mine whom lust inflames, because chastity is mine: he is not mine whom the desire to plunder the weak drives, because generosity is mine: he is not mine whom the fickleness of the wind troubles, because tranquility is mine. I am not a slave to the intoxication of wine, impure in the filth of ambition, desirous of worldly glory, drunk into danger, who cannot keep the trace of sober moderation. I am peace, I do not know how to argue: why should I care what the devil may say about him. He is mine; for he has bent his neck to me, I find more in him: he claims your name for himself, and my gift. Therefore, he is not of Christ, unless he is free from crime: he is not of Christ, unless he can always show himself to be a servant of Christ.


5. I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine, who pastures among the lilies. It seems that among the beloved, the beloved says: My secret is mine, my secret is mine. For she had understood certain mysteries of her hidden faith in the ecstasy of her love, which she believed should not be revealed even to the daughters of Jerusalem themselves. The mystery of the king is to keep it hidden; for it is a sin against God for anyone to think that entrusted mysteries should be made known to unworthy individuals. Therefore, there is not only the danger of speaking falsehoods, but also of speaking truths, if someone insinuates them to those who ought not to know. What vice is fourfold, either flattery or greed or boasting or careless talk; because when someone wants to flatter, they reveal a secret to the person they are speaking to: some also, driven by the desire for gain, follow the payment of betrayal, so that they may sell what should be hidden by speaking in silence; others, in order to seem to know more and boast of their knowledge, reveal what they should conceal; most, when they speak without judgment, utter a word that they cannot take back. Therefore, the man is praised for being diligent and not idle. He was a man who carefully chose his words, like the apostle Paul, who knew what to say to each person and when to speak.

6. (Verse 3.) You are pleasing, my sister, beautiful like Jerusalem, admirable like an army arrayed for battle. The truth of love is proven by its perpetuity. Therefore, the Bride is praised by the Bridegroom because she has sought him so well and steadfastly. And now she is not only called sister, but also named pleasing, as if she has pleased him; because she pleased the Father: and, beautiful like Jerusalem, admirable like an army arrayed for battle; because she holds all the mysteries of the eternal city: and she is a wonder to all who see her; because she is filled with equity, and is perfect: and she shines with the light borrowed from the Word, while always striving for it, and is also terrible in a certain order, advanced to the highest level of virtue.


You are beautiful, my friend, sweet and lovely, etc. And truly beautiful, which is said of Him: ‘Thou art fairer than the children of men.’ (Psalm 44:3). Therefore, let us direct our minds as much as we can towards Him and be in Him. Let us hold firmly in our minds that which is beautiful, lovely, and good, so that our souls may become beautiful through His illumination and shine brightly. For if our eyes are clouded by darkness, they are nourished by the greenness of fields, and the beauty of a forest or shady hill repels every imperfection from our dwindling gaze, and the pupils themselves and the iris seem to take on a healthy color: how much more does this eye of our mind, when it beholds and dwells upon that Supreme Good, and feeds on it, become resplendent and radiant. Beautiful as Jerusalem. This beauty of the body is not perishable, either by disease or old age, but is not subject to any troubles, and will never die in the estimation of good deeds; for it is worthy to be compared not to human beings, but to heavenly ones, whose life it lives on earth. Therefore, the Bridegroom, as if to a bride already perfected, says:

Turn your eyes away from me, for they have caused me to fly away. Do not direct too much devotion and faith towards me. You have exceeded the possibility of your nature and condition, for it is difficult to behold an inaccessible light from a distance. 'Turn your eyes away from me,' he says, 'because you cannot endure the fullness of his divinity and the radiance of true light.'

However, we can also understand it this way: Turn your eyes away from me; although you are perfect, there are still other souls that need to be redeemed by me, and others that need to be supported. For you lift me up by seeing me, but I have descended in order to lift up all. Although I have risen and have the seat of the Father, I will not forsake you as orphans deprived of paternal protection, but I will strengthen you with my presence. In the Gospel it is written: Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:20). Turn your eyes away from me, for you lift me up. For as much as anyone directs their intentions towards the Lord, they elevate the Lord even more, and they themselves are elevated. Therefore, he says: I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have lifted me up (Psalm 29:1). The holy person exalts the Lord, while the sinner humbles themselves. Therefore, they want to turn their eyes away from her, so that by not considering her, she may be elevated to higher things and not abandon other souls. That is why in the Gospel, he revealed his glory not to all the disciples, but to the more perfect ones (Matthew 17:1). Now, establish someone as a teacher who is willing to explain obscure matters to his listeners, even though he himself may be skilled in speech and knowledge. However, he should lower himself to the ignorance of those who do not understand and use a simple, clearer, and more familiar speech so that he can be understood. If there is anyone among the listeners who is more lively in understanding and can easily follow, he is raised and promoted. Seeing this, the teacher calls him back to allow the more knowledgeable to dwell among the humble and straightforward, so that others can follow.


10. (Verse 5-7.) The Bride is praised because she is faithful, powerful in word, fruitful in various fruits, and one dove, having the unity of the spirit, in which there is peace, which makes both one: and which is not composed of diverse elements of conflicting and separate nature. For what is so different than fire and water, air and earth, from which the creation of our body consists? But every blessed soul is simple, which imitates the one who says: That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us (John 17:21); for this is the consummation and perfection, from which he added: That they may be one, as we also are one: I in them, and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one (Ibid., 23). This is therefore a dove and perfect, which is simple and spiritual, not troubled by the passions of this body, in which there are outward battles, inward fears. Finally, Scripture teaches us that this word signifies unity and peace, saying: 'The multitude of believers had one heart and one soul, and there was no separation among them.' (Acts 4:32)

11. The soul is praised for its fruitful nature, not only because it is fruitful in virtues, but also because it has no evil within itself; for that which is beautiful and lovely is that in which there is no evil. For what is beautiful is good; but what is ugly is evil. Fruitfulness is the beauty of good works, therefore sterility is the opposite of beauty; because one who lacks beauty or charm, in them is all evil: for what is evil is barren and unfruitful. What greater evidence is there of something than the earth? For the earth that is good is fertile and productive; but the earth that is bad is barren and sterile; and the earth that is fertile is both beautiful and adorned. For what is more beautiful than a field full of crops, with the crops waving in the breeze, the fruit ripening, and the vines bearing garlands, or the olive trees bending under the weight of their fruit, or the low hills covered in lush green grass?

For God is the author of all good things, and what belongs to Him is certainly all good, and there is no evil in Him; and if our mind remains in Him, it does not know evil. Therefore, the soul that does not remain in God itself is the author of evils, and thus sins. But the soul that sins itself will die; for, freed from the golden chains of virtues, it is inclined towards a precipice and falls to lower things. However, the blessed soul is the one that is not conquered by any adversities of the body. This soul, like a sparrow, escapes from the broken snare. For bodily pleasures are the bait: whoever indulges in them, ensnares their soul. But whoever refrains from those pleasures and departs from darkness, their soul shines like the dawn, of which it is said:

13. (Verse 9.) Who is this looking forth like the dawn, beautiful as the moon? She looks forth like one set free from her home, and does not say: Darkness covers me, and walls surround me, and who knows if the Most High sees me? But she herself seeks the light more, as if in the higher parts of her own home, that is, her body: and placed above the world, she looks upon the divine and elevates herself to the eternal, to be with God; now the light of her works, like the moon, carries her orbit throughout the whole world.


14. (Verse 10.) I went down into the walnut grove, to see the birth of the torrent, and to see if the vine had flowered, and if the pomegranate trees had borne fruit. Finally, the Word of God is invited into the walnut grove, where the fruit of prophetic reading and the grace of priesthood are found, which is bitter in temptations, hard in labors, and fruitful in interior virtues. Hence, even the staff of Aaron bloomed with walnuts, not by its own nature, but by a hidden power. Therefore, let him descend into the garden, in order to find faith, to pluck fragrances, to discover heavenly sustenance, to feast on the sweetness of our honey.

15. For while she is praised by the Bridegroom, she modestly shies away from being praised; then, called back by the love of the Bridegroom, she says: I went down into the garden of the walnut tree to see in the birth of the torrent. For where is the Church, if not where the rod and grace of the priesthood flourish? There it is often tested in bitternesses and temptations. By the walnut tree we understand bitternesses, by the torrent temptations, but nevertheless tolerable, for it is written: Our soul has passed through the torrent (Psalm 123:5). And so he descends into a place of bitterness, where diverse and manifold fruits flourish, resembling a covering that protects the whole body with faith and charity.

16. Therefore, in that bitterness, the soul did not recognize itself. For the corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly dwelling is quickly inclined. However, one must always know oneself. But Peter was tempted, and did not know himself and Peter; for if he had known himself, he would not have denied his creator. But Christ knew him. Finally, he knew, because he also looked back; for the Lord knows those who are his, and like a good ruler with the reins of his mercy, he called him back from his fall: therefore, Christ is our ruler. Unde et sequitur:

17. (Verse 11.) Aminadab set me as a chariot: because the soul is joined to the body, and like one of those raging chariots, seeks its driver. For Aminadab was the father of Naason, as we read in Numbers (Num. I, 7), who was the chief of the people of Judah, whose figure is related to Christ, who, as the true prince of the people, ascends the soul of the righteous as a charioteer, guiding it with the reins of the Word, so that it is not carried away by the madness of violent horses into precipices and ravines. For there are as it were four horses of the soul: anger, desire, pleasure, and fear. When these are raging and acting, she does not at all know herself. For the corruptible body burdens the soul and, like the chariot of irrational animals, drags her unwillingly, while personal cares roll on like a kind of violent impulse, until the passions of the mentioned body are calmed by the power of the Word.

18. This is the providence of the Word, like that of a good driver, so that the soul, which is not subject to death in itself, may not make the action of the body, which is subject to death, difficult. Therefore, first, it tames the swift motions of the body and restrains them with the bond of reason. Then, it takes care that they do not entangle themselves in movements that are not in harmony, like a horse; so that the good may not be stained by the evil, or the slow may impede, or the turbulent may disturb. For the horse rages with malice, and by tossing itself, it damages the chariot, and it burdens the yoke. This good charioteer soothes and sends into the field of truth, avoiding the twists and turns of deceit. Safe is the course to higher things, dangerous is the descent to lower things. From there, as if well-deserved, those who carried the yoke of the Word are led to the Lord's manger, in which there is not hay as food, but bread that comes down from heaven. These are the wheels of this chariot, of which the Prophet said: 'And the spirit of life was in the wheels' (Ezek. I, 20); because the chariot of the soul spins, smooth and round, without any obstruction.


19. Aminadab put me on a chariot. Therefore, the chariot is the soul, which supports a good charioteer. If the chariot is the soul, it has horses, either good or bad. Good horses are the virtues of the soul: bad horses are the passions of the body. Therefore, a good charioteer restrains and controls the bad horses, and incites the good ones. There are four good horses: prudence, temperance, courage, and justice; and four bad horses: anger, desire, fear, and injustice. Sometimes the horses themselves disagree with each other, and either anger or fear extends itself; and they hinder each other and slow down the course. But truly, good horses fly and raise themselves from the earth to the upper regions, and elevate the soul; especially if they have a sweet yoke and a light burden, saying: Take my yoke upon you; for my yoke is sweet and my burden is light (Matthew 11:29).

He himself is the charioteer, who knows how to guide his own horses, so that the course of all is equal: prudence slows down the swiftest, justice admonishes the slower with its own whip; temperance makes them gentler, fortitude makes them harder. He knows how to unite the discordant ones, lest they should scatter his chariot. Therefore, it is allowed to see, in a visible spectacle, each soul being snatched up to heaven with the utmost effort, the horses hastening so that the first may reach the reward of Christ, and on their necks the palm is first placed. These are the horses subject to the yoke of faith, bound by the bond of charity, restrained by the reins of justice, held by the reins of sobriety.

21. Therefore, he beautifully said: Aminadab, which means, the father of the people, has placed me in the chariot. And he himself who is the father of the people, is also the father of Naason, which means, of serpents. Now you recall who, like a serpent, suffered on the cross for the salvation of all, and understand that soul to be the peaceful one, whose leader is God the Father, and Christ is the guide; for it is written, and this name is in our language: Father, father, guide of Israel (2 Kings 11:12). Therefore, this guide says:

22. (Verse 12.) Turn back, Shunammite, turn back. He speaks well, and as if he were a charioteer, he says: Turn back, Shunammite, that is, be at peace; for a peaceful soul quickly turns and corrects itself, even if it sinned before. And Christ ascends more to rule and govern it, to whom it is said: Mount your horses, and your chariot is healing. And elsewhere: You sent your horses to Tharsis (Habakkuk 3:8). Hi sunt equi Christi. Ascendit ergo equos suos Christus: ascendit Verbum Dei animas pias. Cum fuerit anima nostra pacifica, ut dicatur ei: Convertere; convertere Sunamitis, quod pacificam significat: tunc accipiet in se sicut signaculum Christum, hoc est, imaginem Dei, ut sit ad imaginem; quoniam Qualis coelestis, tales et coelestes, et oportet nos portare imaginem coelestis (I Cor. XV, 48), id est, pacem. And so that we may know it to be true, you have in the same Canticles, in the last part of the perfectly developed soul, what the Lord Jesus also says to me: Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm (Song of Solomon 8:6); so that peace may shine in my heart, and in my works Christ may be formed, wisdom, righteousness, and redemption may be formed in me.

Chapter 7

1. (Verse 1.) How beautiful are your footsteps in your sandals, daughter of Aminadab! The shape of your thighs is like twisted cords, the work of a craftsman. There is no doubt that these footsteps also signify the progress of the Church, or the progress of the soul. How beautiful are the feet of those who preach peace, who bring good news (Isaiah 52:7)! Indeed, the progress of the preaching and discussion of the Gospel is said to be beautiful, as it is said elsewhere: Cross over the rivers (Isaiah 47:2), that is, pass through the flowing and slippery currents of this world with a firm and steady step. David clearly shows what is said about the departure of the soul, asserting that his soul would pass through a torrent of iniquities (Ps. 212:5).

But what does it mean when he says that the Church has beautiful footsteps in her shoes? We read in the Book of Exodus: 'Take off your sandals from your feet' (Exodus 3:5), from which it seems that he is being reminded not to be bound by earthly attachments. Therefore, in the Song of Songs, 'beautiful' signifies the beauty of the soul, which uses the body as a shoe but is not hindered by it, rather excelling in its graceful steps. Therefore, let the soul put on ecclesiastical grace, so that it may pass through the course of this life and its transition with beauty. This happens if it does not soil its footwear with bodily dirt, if it does not sink into the abyss of vices: if it restrains its flesh, so that it does not delay on the journey, and is not burdened by the weight of rich crops. Modesty is a good footwear for the soul, a good step is in the footprint of chastity. However, wisdom is the attire of the soul, as it is written: Honor her, and she will embrace you (Prov. IV, 8). Therefore, let us make use of the body as a tool for the works of virtue: for service, not command; for obedience, not dissent; and let us place our footsteps on the path of wisdom, so that the force of any current does not hinder our progress.

Therefore it was said to Moses: 'Take off your sandals' (Exodus III, 5). And it was also said to Joshua, son of Nun (Josue V, 16). But nothing was said about Christ, rather it is written, with John the Baptist saying: 'After me will come a man whose sandals I am not worthy to carry' (Matthew III, 11); for they were well advised to take off their sandals, who could not be without sin. But he not only did not take off his sandals, he also forgave the sins of others; for he not only kept his own body free from sin, but also granted forgiveness for the sins of all.


Therefore, the Church is beautiful in imitation of Christ, and washed clean of all sin in its sandals. And perhaps when it speaks of wisdom among the perfect, it is beautiful in its higher members. But when even those of lower rank or learning follow the Word, they do not forget the series of faith, they keep the precepts of the priest, it is beautiful in its sandals. Often, the clergy has erred, the priest has changed his opinion, the rich have felt with the earthly king of this age, and the people have reserved their own faith.


5. And so we can also speak well of the Lord Jesus, because even in those things that are physical, the Word has beautiful steps when discussing moral matters. Perhaps the apostles are sent barefoot so that their discussion is not overshadowed, but shines forth. Therefore the Church, the daughter of Aminadab, that is, of voluntary or pleasing will; because a volunteer or pleasing one gathered her, and she is beautiful in her sandals. And rightfully it is added:

6. The ornaments of your thighs are like necklaces, the work of a craftsman's hands, so that they might be celebrated as the adornments of the Church of future generations. For by the thigh we recognize the emblem of generation, according to that saying: Gird your sword upon your thigh, O most mighty one (Psalm 44:4), by which it is signified that when the Son of God emptied himself, having taken on the divinity of the Word and having been clothed with human generation, he would come forth from the Virgin to grant salvation to all. However, they are called precious ornaments, which are accustomed to be hung on the necks of matrons. Such great processions of the Church are signified, that it is compared to the most precious ornaments and to the necklaces of conquerors; for these ornaments are of warriors. Hence also Symmachus said Epitrachelia, that is, those things which are around the neck. Therefore, whether it be the generation of Christ from the Virgin, or the propagation of the Church, indeed in appearance adorned like the handiwork of an artist with necklaces, but truly adorned with the eminent virtue of spiritual necks of the faithful. Finally, this entire description of the members of the Church is full of beauty and praise. For also:

(Verse 2.) His navel is described as a round bowl that never lacks mixed wine, because in all knowledge it is rounded, not lacking in spiritual drink. And his belly is not only nourished by a heap of wheat, that is, by more powerful nourishment of the celestial mystery, but also filled with the sweetness of certain lilies of moral virtue. Hence, she herself is crowned with the blood of Christ as a well-deserving queen, as it is written: And the ornament of her head is as purple. The blood of Christ is a purple dye, which stains the souls of the saints, not only with color but also with power; for it makes kings, and better kings to whom it grants eternal kingdom.

8. Your navel is like a rounded goblet never lacking mixed wine. The navel is the seat of one's soul and the subtle belly of her who ascends to Christ; and therefore it is praised by the voice of the Bridegroom saying: Your navel is like a rounded goblet, never lacking mixed wine; your belly is a heap of wheat encircled with lilies. It is indeed turned in all doctrine, and a spiritual drink never lacking in fullness, and knowledge of heavenly mysteries. The stomach is also a mysterious soul, like a navel, from which the stomach not only takes in strong food by which hearts are strengthened, but also a sweet and flowering one by which they are delighted.

9. (Verse 4.) Your eyes are like pools in Heshbon, by the gates of many daughters. Your nostrils are like the tower of Lebanon. Pools in Heshbon signify the abundance of rational thoughts in the gates of the Church, to which the multitude of teachings is rightly attributed. For the daughter of many is the succession and consequence of many teachings, and its nostrils are the fragrance of sacrifices, surpassing all flowers.

10. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon: exceedingly high, and therefore it overlooks the face of Damascus, the noble people, I say, smelling their scent, and the faith of those whose grace would wipe away the stench of their sins. Therefore, the faith of Damascus is the faith of the nations, not overshadowed by any shade, not covered by any garment, naked and free, more inclined towards heaven than towards earth. The nostrils of the Church observe and gaze upon this, collecting the sweet fragrance of aspiration and grace from it.


11. And indeed, his nostrils are like the tower of Lebanon; for in sacrifices the sweet smell is the odour of the Church, in which the offering of good smell is the remission of sins. Therefore, take these nostrils, O man, that you may separate the fragrant from the malodorous, and then the Lord will give you life. For when He perceives what you seek from Him, to turn the eyes of your mind away from vanity, He cooperates with your soul, that if it is captivated by any appearance, it is not swayed by either hardness or weakness, but let it be swayed by the yoke of the Word, and let it be guided by its reins, so that it may be led away from vices by the will of God, and may take the fragrance of eternal life.


12. (Verse 8.) I will go up into the palm tree, and will take hold of its branches. From this, know that it also ascends and leads it to the place of the palm tree, when it says to it: How beautiful and sweet you have become, my love, in your delights! Your stature has become like a palm tree (Song of Solomon 7:6). And it itself says: I said, I will go up into the palm tree. But even it itself is love, for love is the fullness of victory; for the fullness of the Law is love. Let us run therefore, that we may apprehend, let us run that we may conquer: he that conquerth, ascendeth into the palm, and eateth the fruits thereof: he that conquerth, now ceaseth to run, but sitteth, as it is written: He that shall overcome, I will make him sit with me in my throne, as I also have overcome and am set down with my Father in his throne (Apoc. III, 21). Hence the philosophers have described those chariot races of souls in their books, but were not able to attain to the palm; because they knew not the sweetness of the Word, nor the height of their own souls. I will ascend," he said, "to victory in this world; that I may grasp the height of the Word, which this soul has known, in which the conversion of the Word was; for thus he says:

13. (Verse 10.) I am my brother's, and his affection is upon me. This meaning is repeated three times in the Song of Songs. In the beginning, it says: My brother is mine, and I am his; he feeds among lilies until the day breathes and the shadows incline (Song of Songs 2:16). Then it says: I am my brother's, and my brother is mine; he feeds among the lilies (Song of Songs 6:2). Finally, it says: I am my brother's, and his affection is upon me. First, towards the instruction of the soul; therefore, he also mentioned: 'My brother to me'; for by his demonstration, he also took on the desire to cling to God. What follows is the second stage of progress: the third stage is according to perfection? In the first, as if in an initial instruction, the soul still sees shadows, not yet moved by the revelation of the approaching Word; and therefore, the days of the Gospel did not yet shine upon it: in the second, it gathers the pious fragrances without the confusion of shadows: in the third, it already ministers perfect rest in itself to the Word, so that the Word may turn towards it, lay its head upon it, and find rest; and it invites saying: 'Come to my field.'

14. (Verse 11.) Come, my brother, let us go out into the field, let us rest in the castles. Above, he was inviting to the garden; here, to the field having not only the grace of flowers, but also wheat and barley, that is, the strong foundation of virtues, so that he might see the fruits of it. Let us rest, he says, in the castles, to which Adam, when he was expelled from paradise, had been banished: in these he would rest, but he would work the land.

But the reason why he would want to go out into the field is clear; so that, like a good shepherd, he may feed his flock, comfort the tired, and call back the straying ones. For even if this new soul has saved both the old and the new, they are still like lambs that need to be nourished with milk. Therefore, in a manner of speaking, he intervenes not for himself but for others, so that he may come out of his father's bosom, so that he may come forth like a bridegroom from his chamber; he runs out on the path, so that he may help the weak; not to stay in that secret throne of his father, and not to dwell in that light in which the weak horses cannot climb; but so that he may be taken and led into the house of the Bride and the secret place. Let the soul be outside, so that the Word may be inside: it is outside the body, so that the Word may dwell in us.

16. 'Assumam te, inquit, et inducam te' (Ibid., 2). It is rightly assumed, and the Word of God is induced, because it knocks on the soul to open the door to itself. And unless it finds the door open to itself, it does not enter. But if anyone opens the door, it enters and dines. Thus the Bride assumes the Word, in order to be taught by assuming. Therefore, she rightly ascends to this, to the higher mansions, and always receives the progress of virtue.

17. Come, my brother, let us go out into the field, rest in the castles, rise early in the vineyards, and see if the vine has blossomed. Many fields have fruit, but that one is better which abounds both in fruit and flowers. Therefore, the field of the Church is fruitful with various riches. Here you may see the shoots of virginity blooming like flowers in spring; there, as in open fields, you may see the strength of widowhood; elsewhere, like the abundant produce of the Church, you may see the granaries of the world filled with the harvest of marriage, and as if the vineyard of the married, overflowing with the excesses of the Lord Jesus, in which the faithful fruit of marriage abounds.


18. The bride, having obtained the fulfillment of her desire, speaks to the Bridegroom: Come, my brother, let us go out into the field, let us rest in the castles, let us rise early to the vineyards. You see how the Bride invites the Word of God to come into the earth and remove the sins of the world. This field was previously deserted, disfigured by the thorns of our sins, covered in hideous brambles. The castle was where Adam, bound, perpetually afflicted his heirs with exile. Therefore, the Church leads Christ, to free Adam. Then, with the exiles liberated, the field of this world began to have suitable cultivators: and he who was formerly barren, became fruitful through the planting of the eternal vine. Yet, it does not wander far from the joyful spiritual branches, but calls Christ to these vineyards, where singing and praying are present, where the blameless fruit perseveres day and night.

19. (Verse 12.) There, he said, I will give my breasts, there the mandrakes have given forth their fragrance. Many distinguish between the sexes of the mandrakes; they believe that there are both males and females, but the females have a strong odor. Therefore, it signifies the nations that were previously barren, when they were weaker due to a certain weakness of unfaithfulness, they began to bear the good fruit of a pleasing odor after they believed in the coming of the Lord. We also read that the holy Rachel received mandrakes from her sister Leah, so that she could sleep with the holy Jacob that night. Ruben, the firstborn of Mandragoras, brought his mother Lia a figure of the Synagogue with its eyes closed, because she could not see the grace of Christ, her weak mind dulled. This signifies that the fruits that she had received before the Synagogue, from the firstborn Son of God, were given to the Church. But because she conceived and gave birth to the heir of her posterity through a requested union on that night, the mystery was fulfilled. For by believing apostles, the remnant of the Jews were saved through the election of grace, as the Church says:

20. (Verse 13.) I have kept both the new and the old, my brother, for you. Who will give you a breastfeeding brother from my mother's breasts? Finding you outside, I will kiss you, and indeed they will not reject me. I will take you and bring you into my mother's house, and into her secret place where she conceived me, there you will teach me. Therefore, having knowledge of the new and old Scriptures, and not feeling themselves to be despicable, the Word holds on to prayers in the secret of the heart, and also kisses it with the voices of the singing choir, as if with certain kisses of gratitude.


21. I have preserved for you, my brother, the new and the old; that is to say, I hold on to all the commandments of the new and the old Testament. Only the Church can say this: no other congregation says it, nor does the Synagogue, nor does it hold on to the new according to the literal meaning; nor does it hold on to the old according to the spirit. The heresy of Manichaeus does not say it, 'I have preserved for you the Old,' which does not accept the prophets. It is rightly called white, which shines with the grace of both Testaments.


22. I have adjured you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you may awaken and revive love as long as it pleases. Still, he seeks one who will awaken it, and he requests to be awakened by the daughters of Jerusalem, whose favor, that is, the souls of the faithful, he desires to be provoked to a more abundant love. Therefore, those virtues who guard the gates of heaven say.

Chapter 8

1. (Verse 5.) Who is she who ascends white, leaning on her brother? How is it that she, who placed her head on the left hand of wisdom, opened her hands to help the poor; sharing or abandoning her own possessions, and not seizing and plundering riches for her own use? She, who eagerly sought glory through good works, did not aim for empty worldly boasting of dignity, for this is her head, and she established a certain principle of senses above the hand of wisdom. She, I say, her soul ascends to the shining rewards, from this deserted life as many have, to that flourishing place of eternal delight.

These are the virtues that are also mentioned in the book of Isaiah: Who is this that comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this one who is beautiful in his robe (Isa. LXIII, 1)? These, I say, are the ones who marvel that from this rugged and rocky desert it is possible for a soul to ascend without the stain of great vices; and therefore they rejoice that one has been found who has not defiled the garments of natural innocence with the ink of worldly folly, but rather cleansed them with the brightness of spiritual wisdom and grace. The daughters of Jerusalem admire the holy souls of the patriarchs and prophets, and of the old righteous, or celestial powers, saying: Who is this that ascends, leaning on her brother, beautifully adorned? This, indeed, is the Church that shines in such solemnities, and which was before dark during the day, now shines in the night and glows. The Lord Himself, delighted by such a gift of those who sing, also says:

3. (Verse 6.) Put me like a seal upon your heart, like a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. For the church has seen such devotion and considers the people suitable who can bear His seal in our hearts and on our arms. For God the Father Himself has sealed it, and those who have received His testimony have been sealed because God is true. Therefore, those who work for food that endures to eternal life have been sealed in the image and likeness of Christ, who is the image of the invisible God. So, just as God is true, you also must show the truth in your thoughts and actions. Let your mouth not speak falsehood, and let your hands not engage in the deceitful works of this world. Instead, let them perform deeds that are pleasing to God: giving to the poor, helping the weak, and honoring the dead with proper burial. It is through these acts of charity that we seek the union with Christ, where no one can separate us from Him, even in the face of death. Tribulation, or distress, or persecution (Rom. VIII, 35)? And further: For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels (Ibid.).

4. In this form, zealousness is also a hard form of charity, and its wings are wings of fire. It has wings like a dove, for its feathers are silvered like the feathers of a dove, by which the one who loves takes flight, saying: Behold, I have fled far away, and have stayed in the wilderness (Psalm 54:8). But the wings of charity are wings of fire, by which the ardor of love is inflamed. By this vapor, the Lord made his angels fervent spirits, and his ministers burning fire, but not consuming fire. We read that he also brought Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, above which the devil, tempting Him, made Him ascend (Matt. IV, 3). Therefore, there are heights of piety, there are summits of charity, which are accustomed to kindle the vapor of grace in human hearts, so that much water may not be able to extinguish or exclude charity, and rivers of secular storms may not confine it. We have said that charity excludes fear, but we have not said that it excludes all disturbance; for, indeed, the one who loves God, there is a profound tranquility of a confirmed mind.


5. (Verse 7.) Many waters, he says, cannot extinguish charity, and rivers cannot drown it. There is much water of different passions, and rivers driven by secular desires with bodily motions, which, however, cannot undermine the wall of charity. Therefore, being founded on charity, he says: Our soul has passed through a torrent (Psalm 123:5). Could the water of the sea exclude the charity of Moses? And so, in accordance with the literal interpretation, the sequence of the psalms supports you, namely, he believed that a safe journey through the seas is to diligently trust in God: but those who did not love God, they were submerged in the waves and suffered a worthy end of their sacrilege.

6. (Verse 5.) Who is this who comes up leaning on her beloved? Above, they said, What is this who looks forth like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun? Here, more was found to be added, because she had ascended leaning on the Word of God; for the more perfect rest above Christ, just as John was resting on Christ’s chest. Thus, either she was reclining upon Christ or reclining above him; or certainly, since we are speaking about a wedding, she was already being led by the Bridegroom into the bridal chamber, as if delivered into Christ’s right hand. And because now there is a bond of love, the groom flatters her, and says:

7. Under the evil tree I lifted you up, there your mother gave birth to you, there the one who bore you gave birth to you. A good soul rests under the fruitful tree, and most of all a soul of good fragrance. For if Nathanael was good, in whom there was no deceit, he was seen under the fig tree; surely a good soul, which was lifted up under her spouse. For it is greater to be lifted up than to be seen: even greater to be lifted up by one's spouse. For although Nathanael seemed to be under the tree, his soul was not a bride; because he secretly came to Christ, because he feared the Jews. She was not as beautiful as the moon, nor as chosen as the sun, which was in shadow; because the bride who marries during the day openly confesses. Therefore, this one is under the apple tree, that one under the fig tree; because this one spread the scent of her confession further, that one had the sweetness of purity and did not have the ardor of the spirit.

8. There, he says, your mother gave birth to you, there she gave birth to you who gave birth to you; for there we are born, there we are reborn. But those in whom the image of Christ is formed give birth, hence Paul also says: Little children, whom I am in labor until Christ is formed in you (Galatians IV, 19). Indeed, he who receives the spirit of salvation in the womb gives birth, and pours it into others. Therefore, since Christ was already formed in this, he says:

9. (Verse 6.) Place me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm. The seal of Christ is upon the forehead, a seal upon the heart: on the forehead, to confess always; on the heart, to love always: a seal upon the arm, to work always. Therefore, let his image shine in our confession, shine in our reading, shine in our actions and deeds; so that, if possible, his whole likeness may be expressed in us. He is our head, for the head of man is Christ: he is our eye, through which we see the Father: he is our voice, through which we speak to the Father: he is our right hand, through which we offer our sacrifice to God the Father. He himself is also our seal, which is the sign of charity and perfection; because the loving Father sealed the Son, as we read: Whom the Father sealed, God (John 6:27). Therefore, our charity is Christ. Good charity, when he offered himself to death for his beloved; good charity which forgave sin.

And therefore let our soul put on charity, and such charity that is strong like death; for as death is the end of sins, so is charity; because he who loves the Lord, ceases from sinning: For charity does not think evil, nor does it rejoice over wickedness, but sustains all things (1 Corinthians 13:5). For he who does not seek his own possessions, how will he seek those of others? And that death is also strong through the washing, through which all sin is buried and guilt is forgiven. Such was the charity which that Gospel woman showed, of whom the Lord said: Her many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much (Luke 7:47). And so that death of the holy martyrs is mighty, which wipes away previous guilt; and therefore it is mighty, whose charity is not unequal to the passion of the martyrs, so as to take away the reward of sins.

11. Zeal, moreover, is like the infernal [beings], for the one who has zeal for God does not spare even themselves for Christ. Therefore, love has both death and zeal, and love has the wings of fire. Finally, [we see that] Christ, loving Moses, appeared to him in fire. And Jeremiah, having within him the gift of divine love, said: 'There was a fire burning in my bones, and I am consumed on all sides, and I cannot bear it' (Jer. XX, 9). Therefore, love with the wings of burning fire is good, which flutters through the hearts and minds of the saints, and consumes whatever is material and earthly; it tests whatever is genuine, and improves whatever it touches with its own fire.


12. The Lord Jesus sent this fire on the earth, and faith shone forth, devotion was kindled, charity was illuminated, justice shone. With this fire, He inflamed the hearts of His apostles, as Cleophas testifies, saying: 'Did not our hearts burn within us while He opened the Scriptures?' (Luke 24:32) Therefore, the wings of fire are the divine Scriptures. Finally, He opened the Scriptures, and the fire went forth, and it penetrated the hearts of those who heard. And true wings of fire, because: The words of the Lord are chaste words, silver tried by fire (Psalm 11:7). When Paul also was taken up by Christ, he saw a light shine around him and those who were with him, he fell from fear, and he rose up stronger. Finally, he became an apostle, who had come as a persecutor. The Holy Spirit also descended and filled the whole house where they were sitting, and tongues as of fire were seen divided. Good wings, wings of charity, truly wings that flew through the mouths of the apostles: and wings of fire, because they spoke a purified word.

13. Enoch flew away with wings and was taken up to heaven; Elijah flew away with wings of fire and horses of fire and was carried up to the heights. The Lord God led the people of the fathers through the desert with wings of fire. The Seraphim had these wings when he took coals of fire from the altar, touched the mouth of the prophet, took away his sins, and purified his transgressions. The sons of Levi were cleansed by the fire of these wings, and the peoples of the nations were baptized, as John bears witness, saying of the Lord Jesus: He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. III, 11). Deservedly, he wanted to burn his kidneys and his heart like David because he knew that the fiery wings of love should not be feared. Deservedly, the Hebrew boys did not feel the fires of the burning furnace because the flame of their charity cooled them. And so that we may know more fully that perfect charity has wings, you have heard him say: 'How often have I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings' (Matthew 23:37).


14. Let us therefore take these wings, which, like flames, rise upward. Let each one strip off their soul with dirty clothing and, like gold, prove it cleansed by fire from the filth. For thus the soul is purified, like the best gold. But the true beauty of the soul is virtue and beauty, a truer knowledge of heavenly things; so that it may see that good from which all things depend, itself, however, depending on nothing. Therefore, it lives and receives understanding. For the source of life is that highest good, the desire for which is kindled within us, the pleasure of approaching and mingling with which is the ultimate delight: those who do not see it long for it, and those who see it possess life; therefore it despises all other things, and is gratified by this alone. This is what supplies all substance: while remaining in itself, it gives to others; but it receives nothing from others, concerning which the Prophet says: I said to the Lord: You are my God; for you have no need of my goods (Psalms XV, 2).


15. His wings, the wings of fire. It is necessary for all those who desire to return to paradise to be tested by fire; for it is not written in vain that, after Adam and Eve were ejected from the seat of paradise, God placed a flaming sword at the exit of paradise. It is necessary for all to pass through the flames, whether it be that John the Evangelist, whom the Lord loved so much that he said to Peter about him: If I will that he remain, what is that to you? You follow me (John 21:22). Some doubted his death, we cannot doubt his passing through fire; because he is in paradise, and is not separated from Christ. Whether he be Peter, who received the keys of the kingdom of heaven, who walked upon the sea, he must say: We have passed through fire and water, and thou hast brought us out into a refreshment (Psalm 65:12). But to John, the fiery sword will quickly turn; because no injustice is found in him, whom justice loved. If there was any fault of human weakness in him, divine charity purged it: For his wings are like the wings of fire. Whoever has the fire of charity here, cannot fear the fire of the sword there. To Peter himself, who so often offered his own death for Christ, He says: Pass over, recline. But he said: He has tested us with fire, just as he tested silver.

16. His wings, wings of fire. Therefore, since we have been given the opportunity to fly, let each one awaken gratitude to God within themselves, forgetting what is behind and striving towards what is ahead, towards the goal. Far from the honors of worldly affairs, far from the heat of the world; lest, as the fables tell, the heat of the sun melts the wax and the wax wings, causing them to fall from the sky. For though the weight of words may hinder, they still wanted to declare with poetic wit that flights through the heavens are safe for the maturity of the wise; but the youthful lightness, prone to worldly desires, with wings flowing back, and loosened by the bonds of forgetfulness of truth and the bonds of merits, descends to the earth with greater destruction.


17. The flight is not easy for everyone, it is even difficult for animals on earth with different ways of life. But if the order of our actions suits you, you will see in us that prophet's wheel on the ground, connected to four animals. And you will see Ezekiel once again, for he still sees and is full of life and will continue to be so (Ezek. I, 15 and 16): I say, you will see the wheel within the wheel, gliding smoothly on the ground without stumbling. For the wheel upon the earth, life is fitted to the virtue of the soul, and formed by a precept in cohesion with the gospel. And the wheel within the midst of the wheel, as life within life, so that the life of the saints is not discordant; but as it was in the previous age, so let it be in the following: or let this usage of the eternal life revolve in this life of the body. When these things are in agreement, then the divine voice will resound, then upon the likeness of the throne a similarity like the appearance of a man will be seen. Here is the man who is the Word, because the Word became flesh (John 1:14): this man is the driver of our animals, the ruler of our morals, who for the sake of our merits, often ascends a chariot, a mountain, or a ship.

18. Place me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for you have preserved for me what is new and what is old. You are my seal, created in my image and likeness. In you shines the image of justice, the image of wisdom, the image of virtue. And since the image of God is in your heart, may it also be in your actions: may the likeness of the Gospel be present in your deeds, so that you may keep my commandments in your conduct. The likeness of the Gospel will be in you if, when someone strikes your cheek, you offer the other one; if you love your enemy; if you take up your cross and follow me. Therefore, I carried the cross for you, so that you would not hesitate to carry it for me. The daughters of Jerusalem heard this, that the Lord God was joining the Church to himself: and because they were considering the greatness of the Word, they considered themselves unworthy of such a marriage; lest they be unable to bear the weight of such a bond, they made excuses, saying:

19. (Vers. 8.) Our little sister, she does not have breasts. For those who want to postpone marriage have customarily made excuses, pretending to have the weakness of a young age and claiming that they do not have breasts, which signify the time of marriageable age. This is usually a common symbol for all virgin brides; when their breasts start to develop, they are considered ready for marriage. Therefore, disturbed that the Bridegroom is urging them to marry out of love, they say:

20. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she speaks within her, or as Symmachus, when he speaks to her? This is the colloquy that usually takes place during the celebration of the betrothal and the confirmation of the marriage. What, then, shall we do, they ask, because the spiritual union presses upon us? They cannot excuse themselves from such a great wedding; no one is so foolish as to consider the union of soul and spirit, or of Christ and the Church, as not blessed. But because the fullness of the Word or the Holy Spirit quivers and shines, and there is nothing that can be equal to them; therefore, they desire to delay, so that by that delay either the soul or the Church may become more perfect. Dicunt ergo:

21. (Verse 9.) If it is a wall, let us build silver receptacles upon it: and if it is a gate, let us carve cedar tablets upon it. The wall is the soul of the holy one. And the Church also has its walls, which it declares to be more perfect: I am a fortified city (Isaiah 27:3). This is the wall that has twelve apostolic gates, through which the entrance into the Church is open to the people of all nations. But although the wall may encompass the entire city, it is still more fortified when it has prepared receptacles in which the defenders of the city can have a safe place to watch and defend. But because this city is rational, and all its hope is in the Word of God, it requires not iron but silver ramparts to repel hostile attacks accustomed to be repulsed by heavenly eloquence rather than bodily pleasures.

22. Supported by this protection, shining with this splendor, one is considered more capable of uniting with Christ. And because Christ is the door, who says: If anyone enters through me, he will be saved (John 10:9); and the church is called a door, because through it the entrance to salvation is open to the people. But so that it is not corrupted by the worms or pests of heretics, the daughters of Jerusalem, or the angels, or the souls of the righteous say: Let us build on it cedar boards, that is, the good fragrance of sublime faith. For the scent of this material is pleasant, which neither worm nor moth can corrupt. Therefore, the use of this material is chosen for the elevation of roofs and the formation of letter elements, with which the young age is imbued with the study of liberal education. Thus, this material is sublime for beauty, light for burden, pleasant for smell, useful for the instrument of knowledge, and suitable for the service of eternal cognition. But just as Christ lovingly urged His bride to the solemnity of spiritual union, so too did the Church, captivated by the splendor of the Word, hasten to the wedding. Therefore, impatient of delay and procrastination, which the daughters of Jerusalem were eager to interweave, he says:

23. (Verse 10.) I am a wall, and my breasts are towers. That is, do not doubt whether I am a wall; for they had said: If he is a wall; I am a wall, she says, and I have not small breasts, but my breasts are like towers. How do you say, then, that I do not have breasts? I understand that my breasts are like towers of wisdom, in which there is abundance, as it is written: And abundance in your towers (Psalm 122:7). With these breasts, that is, with these senses, she considered herself fit for such a marriage. But the daughters of Jerusalem still could not understand, because they could not see the abundance of her blessings. And he added:

24. (Verse 11.) I was in his eyes as one who finds peace; that is, having deliberated on my senses, when I found the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, and guards hearts and senses in Christ Jesus. Such, he says, was I in the eyes of the bridegroom, like one who possesses peace; for it is written: Those who seek peace will rejoice.

25. (Verse 12.) I, he said, am a fortified city, I am a besieged city (Isaiah 27:3). It is fortified by these walls, it is defended by being besieged. And truly the walls are the soul, which is extended in the camp. Hence she herself says in the Song of Songs: I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers (Verse 10). A good wall which the Lord painted, as he himself says: I have painted your walls in my hands, and you are always in my sight (Isaiah 49:16). A good soul which has God as its watchman, and is in his hands; like the prophetic soul, which is entrusted to the hands of God as a spirit (Psalm 31:6), and which is in the sight of God: For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous; as he himself also says: I was in his eyes like one who finds peace. It has good towers, which have both the word of intelligibles and the discipline of morals. Therefore, to those who are in a hurry, the spiritual union is celebrated, desired with mutual consent. And so, like a wedding song, the Spirit rejoiced in the prophet, saying:

26. (Verse 11.) A vineyard was made for Solomon in Baal-hamon, he gave his vineyard to those who keep it. Therefore the Spirit cries out, A congregation of peoples is planted, but the vine, rooted in the eternal, has subjected gentle hearts under the yoke of the Word. However, it is planted among the multitude of nations. For Beel-hamon, Symmachus, Aquila, and other translations have taught that this should be understood in the Greek language. The old covenant which could not bear fruit has been rejected, a vineyard has been given to new and faithful cultivators who can not only bear fruit but also guard it. Therefore, one sheep has gone astray, but in being called back it has filled the spaces of the entire world. The error of one sheep had led it astray, but by the grace of the Lord it has gathered a multitude of peoples. Man has erred, but in the Church there is now a strong wall. Adam erred, but David is the wall who did not forget the commands of God. Therefore, this vineyard, guarded and protected by spiritual means, produces a thousand fruits for Christ, and two hundred fruits for the guardians. And so the Church says:

27. (Verse 12.) My vineyard is in front of me like a thousand of Solomon, and two hundred fruit-bearing servants. The perfection and fullness of Christ is the portion of little ones. You have this mystery in Genesis, where Joseph gives Benjamin, his younger brother, five portions while giving one portion to each of his other brothers (Gen. 43:34). Therefore, the Lord is bestowed with the portion and prerogative of the five senses, which He surely gives to the one whom He loves, just as He loved Paul and gave him the primacy of wisdom for the calling of the gentiles. Let the fear of these sacred virgins cease, to whom the Church has given such great protection, which, solicitous for the success of its tender offspring, like a wall grows with abundant towers: until, the hostile attack of the besiegement being loosened, it acquires peace through the strength of maternal protection to the powerful youth. Hence, the Prophet says: Let peace be in your strength, and abundance in your towers (Psalm 122:7).

28. (Verse 13.) You who sit in the gardens, friends attending to your voice, intimate your voice to me. Therefore, this soul having the grace of her abundant breasts, enters into the gardens, and finding there the Bridegroom sitting and conversing with friends, says: You who sit in the gardens, intimate your voice to me: to me, she says, not to friends.

29. You who sit in the gardens, while your friends listen to your voice, whisper your voice to me. For they were delighted that Christ was sitting in the gardens, and his friends who were placed in the gardens were attentive to his voice. But because those friends were from the heavens, Archangels or Dominions and Thrones (for humans were expelled from paradise because of their disobedience to heavenly commandments, and therefore the Church still could not hear his voice, which it desired to hear), therefore he says: Whisper your voice to me. And so, if we want Him to dwell in us, let us be closed and fortified gardens, let us bear the flowers of virtues, the sweetness of graces, so that we may be able to hear the Lord Jesus speaking with the angels while He is disputing. But because it was going to happen that when the Church had reached its fullness, it would be tried by various persecutions; therefore, when he was delighted with the grace of the Word, he suddenly perceives the snares of the persecutors: and what he feared more for the Bridegroom than for himself, or because Christ is more desired by persecutors in us, therefore he says:

30. (Verse 14.) Flee, my brother, and be like a young deer or a young stag on the mountains of spices. For the weak flee, those who could not bear heavier trials. Therefore it is written, that we should flee from cities to cities: and if we are persecuted in this city, let us flee to another. Therefore, let the weak flee from those who pursue them, or let them flee from the lowest places and go to the mountains of spices, where they can bring the fragrance of blessed resurrection through martyrdom. The mountains of spices are holy. Christ takes refuge in them; because his foundations are on holy mountains (Psalm 86:1). Therefore he takes refuge in those who are his stable foundations. He flees in us, he stands firm in them. Therefore, Paul is a mountain of spices, who can say: We are the good odor of Christ to God (2 Corinthians 2:15). The mountain of spices is David, whose prayer's scent rose up to the Lord, and therefore he said: Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight (Psalm 140:2).


However, Symmachus and Aquila have interpreted it as Christ saying to the Church: 'You who sit in gardens, that is, you now sit in gardens, worthy of the heavenly paradise; and therefore, whisper your voice to me, to whom friends are attentive: I also desire to hear it. The Church began to be in the gardens after Christ was captured in the gardens.'

32. Flee, my brother, and become like a deer or the fawn of a deer, in the mountains of spices. For you are hated by serpents that crawl on the ground, and you flee from dogs, and are threatened by crawling serpents. You can only dwell in the heights of virtues, and only stay with such daughters of the Church who can say: For we are the good smell of Christ to God (2 Corinthians 2:15). But to some, we are the smell of death leading to death, and to others, we are the smell of life leading to life, especially to those who hope in the smell of the Lord's resurrection with a lively faith. These are the mountains of spices, which received the body of the Lord Jesus and bound it in linen with spices. For whoever believed that Jesus died, and was buried, and rose again, they raised the highest peak of true faith with the heights of virtues. So where is Christ sought, namely in the heart of a wise priest?

33. Flee, my brother. He urges that the Bridegroom should flee, for she will now be able to follow the one fleeing from earth herself. He says that she should be like the damsel who escapes from the nets; for she wants to flee herself and fly above the world. Therefore, let us flee to our true homeland. There our country is, and the Father from whom we are created, where is the city of Jerusalem, which is the mother of all. But what is fleeing? It is not certainly the fleeing of feet, which are of the body; for wherever they run, they run on earth, and they pass from one ground to another. Let us not flee from ships or chariots, or horses that are bound and fall; but let us flee in mind and eyes, or let us accustom our inner feet to see the things that are clear and bright, to gaze upon the countenance of self-control and moderation, and all virtues; in which there is nothing rough, nothing obscure and twisted: and let someone look at himself and his conscience, let him cleanse that eye; lest he have anything filthy. For what is seen should not be inconsistent with the one who sees; since God wanted us to be conformed to the image of His Son.

Therefore, that good thing is known to us, and it is not far from each one of us: for in Him we live, and move, and exist; as some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ Being, then, the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” - Acts 17:28-31 Let us be similar to this good, and let us work according to what is good. This is the good that surpasses all work, surpasses all mind and understanding, it is what always remains, giving life and being to all; because Christ is the source of all life, of whom the prophet says: In his shadow we will live. Now our life is hidden in Christ: but when Christ, our life, appears, then we will also appear with him in glory.


So let us not fear death; for it is the rest of the body, but freedom or absolution for the soul. And let us not truly fear him who can kill the flesh, but cannot kill the soul; for we do not fear him who can take away our clothing, but we do not fear him who can steal from us, but he cannot. Therefore, let us be souls, if we wish to be Hebrews, the companions of Jacob, that is, his imitators. Let us be souls, but our limbs are clothing: indeed, clothing must be preserved so that it does not tear or grow old, but he who uses them should above all preserve and guard himself.