Two Books of Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, On Abraham.

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

Translated into English using ChatGPT.

Table of Contents Book One. Chapter I. Chapter II. Chapter III. Chapter IV. Chapter V. Chapter VI. Chapter VII. Chapter VIII. Chapter IX. Book Two. Chapter I. Chapter II. Chapter III. Chapter IV. Chapter V. Chapter VI. Chapter VII. Chapter VIII. Chapter IX. Chapter X. Chapter XI.

Book One.

Chapter I.

The title of the book and the method of exposition are explained: then what usefulness is to be sought from the examples of Abraham is demonstrated by divine authority, and by comparison with the philosophers.

1. The title of this book is Abraham, because it occurred to me to consider the actions of this patriarch in order. About him, our moral treatise will be first and simple. For although in a deeper discussion a certain process and form of virtue, and a certain kind is expressed; nevertheless, it is a progress of virtue to also consider the traces of his forensic actions. Indeed, if those things which nature has produced for the sustenance of human beings are not of one, but of twofold or even more abundant grace, how much more should those things by which minds are delighted be estimated as not of narrow, but of more abundant and various use, and of numerous kinds of food.


2. However, the task is not mediocre or idle. For when our Lord God has bestowed this rich blessing on us, in order to provoke others by His grace and correct their institution, Moses has also described for us an example to imitate; so that the hearts of men, slipping into vice, may be revived by the sight of this man, as if from a certain earthly grave, it should not be considered superficial if we also diligently follow in the footsteps of the same man. For if the wise men of this world, like Plato himself, the chief of philosophers, proposed to pursue not a true, but a fictitious and shadowy commonwealth, which we read about in his Republic, in order to teach what kind of commonwealth ought to exist: and thus, though he had neither seen nor heard of anything like it in any city, he thought it should be described so that those who hold this office, might be able to learn how to govern a commonwealth; and if Xenophon, the disciple of Plato, wished to give the character of a wise man in those

Chapter II.

How was the devotion of Abraham proven by the words of divine command? What is meant by leaving one's kindred, and how did the promise of God follow the obedience of the same patriarch? Likewise, when he called upon the Lord, he feared for himself on account of his wife's beauty and took precautions. But Pharaoh, being punished on account of his abduction, shows how great a crime adultery is: hence, by the example of Abraham, we are prompted to pursue devotion.


He was indeed a great man, renowned for many virtues and distinguished by remarkable achievements, which Philosophy could not surpass with its own aspirations. In fact, what he achieved is even greater than what she imagined, and his simple faith in truth is greater than the ambitious deceit of eloquence. Therefore, let us consider what kind of devotion existed in this man. For this virtue is the first in order, being the foundation of all others, and deservedly God demanded it first from him when He said: 'Leave your country, your kindred, and your father's house' (Gen. XII, 1). It was enough to say about your land. For there was a need to leave from family, to leave from the paternal home: but for this reason he added each detail, in order to test his affection so that it would not appear that he had begun the task either thoughtlessly or that some deceit was being prepared for the heavenly commands. But just as the precepts had to be piled up so that nothing would be hidden, so also the rewards had to be presented so that there would be no despair. He is tested as brave, incited as faithful, provoked as just, and he left deservedly just as the Lord had spoken to him.


4. And Lot went out with him (Ibid., 4). But Abraham accomplished that which is celebrated as a great saying among the seven sages, ἔπου Θεῷ, that is, follow God, and he surpassed the saying of the sages, and he went out following God from his land. But because there had been another land before him, that is, the region of the Chaldeans from which Terah, the father of Abraham, went out and migrated to Haran; and because he brought his nephew with him, to whom it had been said: Go out from your kindred; let us consider lest perhaps this going out is from his land, that is, from a certain dwelling in our body, from which Paul also went out who said: But our conversation is in heaven (Phil. III, 10); and from the allurements and bodily pleasures which he said are, so to speak, connected to our soul, which it is necessary to endure with the body until it is united with it by the bond of the flesh. Therefore, in order to depart from earthly conversation and secular pleasures and the customs and actions of the higher life, we must change not only our surroundings but also ourselves. If we desire to adhere to Christ, let us abandon corruptible things. Now, the corruptible things within us are the flesh, delight, and the voice subject to bodily passions. By voice, we understand passions. Therefore, since our soul is dual, that is, twofold, having both reason and irrationality, which is divided by the flesh and the allurements of bodily delight, and other bodily passions, the righteous man must separate and distance the reason of his soul from the irrational. For this indeed is to go out from the prison, as it were from certain caves, and burrows, and dens. For to lurk is the part of a guilty conscience. And therefore, following Abraham, let us go out from our hiding places. For if we are the children of Abraham, let us do the works of Abraham; that our works may shine before God, and before men. The just man says, Let his works be ruled: a sinner hides himself, as Adam desired to hide himself, but he could not. Abraham therefore obeyed the command, and it is not read that any delay occurred.

5. Having gone out, he traveled the land as far as Shechem (Gen. XII, 6), which in Latin interpretation is said to mean shoulder or neck, through which we understand the execution of the prescribed work. For we also have written below: He bent his shoulder to work (Gen. XLIX, 15). Hence, by the figure of the places, we observe that Saint Abraham proved his devotion not only through zeal, but also through fruitful efficacy, as he reached as far as the oak tree. In that place, the Lord appeared to him and said, 'To your offspring I will give this land.' (Gen. 12:7) See how, with frequent promises, he instructs and establishes as though still weak and unformed; and let him entrust himself completely to God, claiming nothing for himself. Therefore, he built an altar to God, who appeared to him; and he went from there to the mountain east of Bethel (Ibid.), desiring to see the rising sun of justice. And so, he did not set up his tent in the valleys, but on the mountain, for God is the God of mountains, not valleys.


6. And he called upon the name of the Lord (ibid., 8). Where Bethel is, that is, the house of God, there is also the altar; where the altar is, there is also the invocation of our God. And not without reason did he undergo so many hardships, because he hoped that God would come to his aid. He exercises himself as a champion of God, and is proven through adversity: he goes into the desert, he encounters hunger, he goes down into Egypt. He discovered that in Egypt there was lasciviousness among the young, insatiable desire, and intemperance in pleasure. He warned that among men of this sort, the chastity of his wife would be in danger, and her beauty would be a threat to himself: he advised his wife to pretend to be her sister. This teaches that the beauty of a wife should not be sought after so much, as it usually causes the death of the husband. For it is not so much the beauty of a woman that delights a man, but her virtue and dignity. He who seeks the sweetness of marriage should not seek a woman who surpasses him in wealth, unless marital obligations do not bind him: if not adorned with jewelry, but with character. It often offends a man if his wife knows that she is more noble. These are the closest things to pride. Sara was not richer in wealth, nor more splendid in birth; therefore, she did not consider herself inferior to her husband, therefore she loved him as if he were equal in grace, therefore she was not retained for her possessions, nor for her parents, nor for her relatives, but she followed her own husband wherever he went: she went to foreign lands, she claimed to be his sister, she was willing, if necessary, to risk her modesty rather than her husband's safety. In order to protect her husband, she falsely claimed to be his sister, so that the assailants of her modesty would not kill him as a rival and avenger of his wife. Finally, the Egyptians, as soon as they saw her, were amazed at how beautiful she was, and they brought her to their king, and treated Abraham well, as if he were her brother, pleasing the king, and honoring her.

7. And the Lord afflicted Pharaoh with great and most severe afflictions, and his house on account of Sarah, the wife of Abraham (Gen. XII, 17). A great testimony and proof of the preservation of chastity. Such a place of exhortation, that everyone may present themselves chaste, not seek another's bed, not approach another man's wife in the hope of hiding or impunity, not be provoked by the husband's neglect or foolishness, or by his prolonged absence. The overseer of marriage is a god who knows nothing hidden, lets nothing escape, and allows no one to mock. He watches over the absent husband, keeps guard, and even catches the offender before they can act. He recognizes guilt in the minds of individuals and in the thoughts of all. And if you deceive your spouse in adultery, you do not deceive God; and if you escape your spouse, and if you mock the judge of the forum, you do not escape the judge of the entire world. He avenges more severely the injury of the innocent and the insolence of the unwary husband. For it is a great injury to the author to be disregarded and not considered as the guardian of the inner chamber.

8. Even Pharaoh, though the king of the Egyptians whom the insolence of royal power would make haughty and the lasciviousness and luxury of Egypt would lead astray from the pursuit of chastity, called Abraham and accused him, saying: What have you done to me? Why did you not tell me that she is your wife, but said to me that she is your sister, and I took her for my wife? And now behold, your wife is here before you. (Genesis, 18 and 19). Although by nature savage and barbarous, it signifies that even among foreign and barbarous customs there should be concern for modesty, and that adultery should be regarded as a crime even by themselves. He who pretends ignorance, condemns intemperance. And it is not surprising if a barbarian knows the law of nature: mute animals which are not bound by any laws, yet there are some which not only preserve fidelity to their mates, but also guard the chastity of intercourse with one partner. Thus, the law of nature is greater than the prescription of laws. It is not surprising, therefore, if this Egyptian king feared God who did not fear man, and he paid the penalty for adultery, for which he was not guilty under any laws: and as soon as he learned that the wife was another man's, he not only dismissed the husband, but also gave him prosecutors who would bring him to court; so that no one from the barbarian people would inflict violence on the property of the husband or the honor of the wife.


9. This place is very beautiful for igniting the study of devotion, because the one who follows God is always safe. And therefore, we should prefer God above all, neither the sight of our homeland, nor the gratitude of our parents and children, nor the contemplation of our wife should distract us from carrying out divine commandments; because God bestows all those things upon us, and He is powerful to save what He gives. Therefore, the great example of Abraham's devotion, when he descended into Egypt with his beautiful wife. He indeed had a just concern for marital chastity, but his greater zeal was for the advancement of devotion, lest he appear to have preferred the guardianship of the marriage bed to heavenly commands. Therefore, since he despised everything for the sake of God, he received multiplied blessings from God. But God granted him the first reward of chastity, which he knew would be pleasing to his wife. For because of his desire to fulfill a heavenly oracle, he also exposed his wife to the danger of her modesty, and thus defended the chastity of their marriage.

Chapter III.

About the other virtues of Abraham, namely his prudence in settling disputes, his justice in dividing, where also his imprudence in preferring the pleasant and useful to the unwise Lot, and his punishment; then his uncle's love for him, his piety towards God, his self-control in victory, and the choice of the reward promised by God; and finally, about the promise of a future posterity and the birth of Christ.


10. Therefore, devotion claimed the first parts for itself in the right order. Let us also observe the grace of the other virtues. Holy Abraham was soothed by the presence of his grandson, to whom he showed paternal affection. A dispute arose between the servants of the grandson and the uncle. The wiser of the servants noticed that harmony between masters tends to be broken by their disputes, so he cut off the fiber of discord, lest the contagion spread. For he thought it preferable that the bond be severed rather than that grace be separated. What you should do, if by chance something of this sort occurs, is to remove the seedbed of discord. For you are not stronger than Abraham. He thought it necessary to avoid, not to despise, the quarrels of slaves. And if you are stronger, beware that the other, who provides an ear to the whispers of slaves, is not weaker. Often, undivided servitude sows discord between parents. Rather, divide so that friendship may remain. An undivided household cannot support two. Is it not better to emigrate with grace, than to cohabit with discord?

11. The Patriarch also teaches how such a division should be. Let the stronger divide, let the weaker choose, so that they have nothing to complain about. For they cannot accuse the part of their own choice. The opportunity to back out does not reside with the one given the option to choose, nor is the one dividing burdened. For the wiser one, the more cautious; so that they are not restricted in the division, nor deceived in the choice.

12. Abraham divided, because, he said, the land was not big enough for them to live together (Gen. XIII, 6), because they were too rich. It is a worldly vice that the land does not satisfy the desires of the rich. For there is never enough for the greed of the rich. The more one has, the more eager one is to possess. He desires to extend the boundaries of his land and exclude his neighbor. Was Abraham like this? No, even though he was imperfect at the beginning. For where was perfection before the coming of Christ? He had not yet come who would say, 'If you wish to be perfect, go, sell all your possessions and give to the poor, and come, follow me' (Matt. XIX, 21). However, in order to offer the least amount of greed, he who is just cuts off discord. 'Let there not be,' he says, 'strife between me and you, and between my shepherds and your shepherds, for we are brothers.' Behold, is not the whole earth before you? Separate from me: if you go to the left, I will go to the right; or if you go to the right, I will go to the left' (Gen. XIII, 8 et seq.).


And Lot lifted up his eyes, and chose the well-watered region of the Jordan; for it was all watered, and like the garden of God. Often possessions come by inheritance, some more useful, others more pleasant. Not all are found in the second portion. For the worth of each decreases. But if the more useful parts cannot be obtained, let the more pleasant ones be exchanged for the more useful. People have different preferences: some are pleased by useful things, others by pleasant things. The weaker person chooses the more pleasant things, and despises the more useful things. The steward is sometimes useful, or the actor of the land is compared to the city-dweller. If the fool is the chooser or he selects the cook, or the singer whom he considers of more pleasing grace, he rejects the more useful one. Often even when the advantages are not unequal, the wiser person chooses the more pleasant things. They quickly arouse envy, they quickly excite the mind of the greedy. However, Scripture has said nothing about whether one part is more useful and another more pleasant, lest it should seem that Abraham took the young man's eyes with a desire for what was more useful. He described one pleasant part, but did not add another more useful one. It was necessary for him to divide the whole region into two parts: then he divided it by presence, not absence. One region could not contain both. He offered a choice, which could have been the highest justice.

14. Lot chose a pleasant place, which quickly caught the eyes of the robbers. Hence, war among kings, victory of adversaries, captivity of the inhabitants. Therefore, Lot paid the price of weak decision, deceived not by the barrenness of the land, but by the envy of the beauty, so that he himself would be taken captive; since he had turned away from the fault of servile wickedness, and had chosen a part of the most wicked; for Sodom is full of luxury and debauchery. Therefore, the Latin word 'declinatio' is translated as 'Lot', because it refers to the choosing of vices by those who deviate from virtue and turn away from fairness.

15. Having ascertained, Abram counted his domestic servants; and with three hundred and eighteen men, he obtained victory and rescued his nephew. The affection of division is proven when he loved his nephew so much that he would not turn away from the danger of war for his sake. What is meant by 'he counted'? It means 'he chose'. From this it is not only related to the knowledge of God, but also to the grace of the righteous, as the Lord Jesus said in the Gospel: 'But the very hairs of your head are all numbered' (Luke 12:7). But the Lord knows who are his own: but he does not deign to acknowledge those who are not his own. And he numbered three hundred and eighteen, so that you may know not the quantity of the number, but the express merit of the chosen. For he admitted those whom he judged worthy in number of the faithful, who would believe in the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. For three hundred signifies the Greek letter τ, and eighteen expresses the sum ιή. Therefore, Abraham conquered by the merit of faith, not by a populous army. Finally, he triumphed over those to whom the arms of five kings had surrendered, having gone out with a few native soldiers.

16. But he who conquers should not arrogate victory to himself, but defer it to God. This is what Abraham teaches, who, being made more humble by triumph, is not more proud. Finally, he offered a sacrifice, he tithed; and therefore Melchizedek, who is said in the Latin translation to be the king of justice, the king of peace, blessed him. For he was the priest of the Most High God (Gen. I, 18). Who is the king of justice and the priest of God, except the one to whom it is said: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Ps. CIX, 4), that is, the Son of God, the priest of the Father, who by the sacrifice of his own body reconciled the Father to our sins.


But what about the fact that he did not want anything to come from the spoils of victory, nor to accept what was offered? For the acceptance of the reward diminishes the fruit of triumph, and the taking of the favor erodes gratitude. It matters greatly whether you have fought for money or for glory: the former is considered to be like a hired hand, the latter is deemed worthy of the glory of a savior. By right, it is holy to refuse to take anything from the spoils, lest the one who gave say: 'I made him rich'; he testifies that only this is enough for him, that he has benefited the sustenance of the young warriors. Someone may say (23, q. 5, c. Let someone say): When he himself has conquered, how does he say to the king of the Sodomites, 'I will not take anything from you,' when surely the spoils will be in the power of the conqueror? He teaches military discipline, that all things may be preserved for the king. Indeed, he asserts that those who had accompanied him in assistance, perhaps as allies, should receive a portion of the profits as the reward for their labor.

And so, since he did not seek reward from a man, he received it from God, as we read written; because after these words the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying: Do not fear, Abram, I will protect you, your reward will be very great (Gen. XV, 1). The Lord is not slow to reward, and he quickly promises and bestows many things; so that weak hearts may not think they have despised the present by any delay: and as if with a kind of usurious generosity, he compensates by restoring more to him who has not been captured by offering the present.


19. Let us also consider the reward that the Lord himself demands. He does not seek riches like the greedy, nor long life like the fearful of death, nor power; but he seeks a worthy heir of his labor: What will you give me, he says? But I am dismissed without children. And further: because you have not given me offspring, my own servant will be my heir. Therefore, let people learn not to despise marriage, nor to join themselves with unequal partners; let them not have such children whom they cannot have as heirs; so that, with the contemplation of transferring inheritance, if they are not moved by any sense of shame, they may strive for a worthy marriage.


20. But if the opinion of Abraham is not helpful for correction, take this oracle of God condemning such an inheritance: your heir shall not be this one, but the one who comes out of you, he shall be your heir (Ibid., 4). Whom does he call the other? For indeed, Hagar bore a son to Abraham, but he does not say that son, but he says the holy Isaac. And therefore he adds: who comes out of you. For he truly came out of Abraham, who was begotten through a legitimate marriage. But by Isaac we can understand the legitimate son, the true legitimate Lord Jesus Christ, whom we read as the son of Abraham at the beginning of the Gospel according to Matthew (Matt. I, 1), who acted as the true heir of Abraham, shining forth as the successor of the author, through whom Abraham looked towards heaven and recognized the brilliance of his own posterity, no less illustrious than the brightness of the celestial stars. For just as star differs from star in brightness, so too does the resurrection of the dead. The Apostle says that by bestowing the fellowship of His resurrection, Christ has made those whom death used to hide in the earth participants in the heavenly kingdom.

21. But how did the lineage of Abraham spread, if not through the inheritance of faith, through which we are joined to heaven, confirmed with angels, equated with stars? Therefore, it is said: Your offspring will be like this. And he believed, Abraham believed God would be the heir of his body. For you to know that he believed this, the Lord said: Abraham saw my day and was glad. Therefore, it was counted to him as righteousness because he did not seek understanding but believed with the utmost faith. It is good that faith precedes reason; lest we seem to demand an account not only from man, but also from the Lord our God. For how unworthy it is to believe human testimony about others, but not believe the divine oracles about Himself! Therefore, let us imitate Abraham, so that we may be heirs of the land through the righteousness of faith, by which he became an heir of the world.

Chapter IV.

Abraham is defended from the crime of adultery upon receiving a son with a handmaid: namely, because he was not immune from human frailty, and at that time he had barely abandoned the superstitions of the Chaldeans: furthermore, because he had not sinned against a law that had not yet been enacted: afterwards, because he was motivated not by lust, but by love for his offspring; where many arguments against adultery are discussed: finally, it is defended that that very act was not a sin. Lastly, it is debated whether it was fitting for circumcision to be instituted and then revoked, containing a minimum of perfection within itself.


But perhaps someone may say: How do you propose that we imitate Abraham, who had a child with a maidservant? Or what does this mean, that such a great man was subject to this error, which we admire so much? And so, lest we appear to have deviated from a certain way of thinking, like most people think this place is shallow, it is dear to explain its reasoning. I do not deny that Abraham had a child with a maidservant; so that you may know that Abraham was not of a higher nature and substance, but one among the number and frailty of all men. Finally, he was also called from the region of the Chaldeans, whom we have heard to be more intent on empty superstitions than others; and therefore he found greater favor with God because he renounced previous things, stretched out towards earlier things, to follow God. He was set as an example for you to imitate, so that you also may realize that if you renounce sins, you can earn the mercy of the Lord.

23. However, it can be argued that he was moving some people because he was already speaking with God, and he went in to his servant girl, as it is written: 'For Sarah said to Abraham, "Behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my servant girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her" ' (Gen. XVI, 2; 32, q. 4, c. Dixit Sara). And so it happened. But let us consider, first, that Abraham lived before the law of Moses and before the Gospel: adultery had not yet been prohibited. The punishment of a crime is determined by the time of the law, which prevents the crime: and there is no condemnation before the law; but from the law. Therefore, Abraham did not commit a crime against the law, but anticipated the law. Although God praised marriage in paradise (Gen. I, 28), He did not condemn adultery. For He does not desire the death of the sinner, and therefore, promises a reward instead of punishment. He prefers to provoke the meek rather than to terrify the more savage. And if you have sinned when you were a pagan, you have an excuse: you came to the Church, you heard the law: You shall not commit adultery (Exod. XX, 14), now you have no excuse for your offense. However, since I am speaking to those who have given their name to the grace of baptism, if anyone has committed only this crime, let him know that forgiveness is to be given to him; but let him also know that he must abstain from it for the future, as one who has committed the crime. Finally, the Lord forgave the sins of the adulterous woman brought before Him by the scribes and Pharisees in the Gospel, but He said: Go, and sin no more (John VIII, 11). When he says that to them, he says it to you. Did you commit adultery, you heathen? It is forgiven to you, it is remitted to you through baptism. Go, and after this, see that you do not sin again. You have one defense, that of Abraham.

The second reason is that, not inflamed by any wandering passion, not captivated by the beauty of a flirtatious form, she held conjugal relations with a slave in the place of a marriage bed, but sought offspring and the propagation of children out of a desire for procreation. Even after the flood, there was a scarcity of the human race: there was also a scarcity of religion, so that no one seemed to have failed to pay their debt to nature. Finally, Lot's saintly daughters had this reason for seeking offspring, so that the human race would not perish; and for the sake of a public duty, they concealed their private fault. It is not idle when a wife is persuaded to be the author of the act; in order that the husband may be excused, lest he be believed to have been carried away by wandering error: at the same time, that women may learn to love their husbands, and not be tormented by vain suspicion of adultery, or envy stepchildren, if they themselves have not borne children. It was pleasing to a good wife to excuse her own sterility in front of her husband; and in order that there may not be a reason for the husband not having children, she advises him to enter the maidservant. This was done by Leah, and afterward by Rachel. Learn, woman, to put aside jealousy, which often incites women to madness.

25. But I also warn you, men, especially those who strive for the grace of the Lord, not to mix with an adulterous body (for whoever is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her) and not to give this opportunity for divorce to women. Let no one deceive themselves about human laws. (33, q. 4, cap. Nemo) Every act of fornication is adultery, and what is not permissible for a woman is not permissible for a man. A husband owes the same chastity to his wife as a wife owes to her husband. Whatever is committed with a woman who is not a lawful wife is condemned as the crime of adultery. Therefore, you have been warned what you should beware of, that no one present themselves unworthy of the sacraments.

26. Also, take note of this, that such intemperance weakens the bond of matrimony, creates proud maidservants, irritable matrons, discordant spouses, shameless concubines, and disrespectful husbands. As soon as a maidservant conceives a child by her master, she despises her mistress as if she were more worthy because of her pregnancy. The mistress is hurt by this contempt and accuses her husband as the instigator of her mistreatment. In fact, Sara herself had given her husband the power over her maidservant, and later she says to him: I receive injury from you; I gave my maidservant into your bosom; but when she sees that she is pregnant, she says that she has been despised by her. Let God be the judge between me and you. (Gen. XVI, 5). The magnitude of the pain and the severity of the complaint of women is revealed in their reading. It shows an imprudent and light-minded husband who does not know how to be obedient, and it presents the causes of divorce. But Abraham, a moderate and wise man, said: 'Behold, your maid is in your hands, use her as you please' (Ibid., 6). He preferred to keep his wife rather than a servant. Yet this is not a complete remedy. The angry wife takes power and uses it with excessive vengeance permitted. But if Sarah did not show moderation, who will show it? And so it is written: And Sarah afflicted her, and she fled from her presence. (Ibid.) There are two things that the Scripture includes; it expresses the seriousness of the mistress's anger and the arrogance and pride of the servant. That Sarah afflicted her refers to the anger of the one afflicting: that Hagar fled, she could not bear the insult with submissive patience, which claimed the pinnacle of a master's dwelling: she was angered by the injustice, which had taken on insolence. Finally, when the angel was asked where he was going, he replied, 'I am fleeing from the face of my lady Sarah' (Genesis 16:8). And by this excessive swelling, that he first mentioned the name of Sarah and then referred to her as his lady. The insult was added to injure, this was added to express the person. The insolence of the maidservant did not please the angel; and therefore he said to her, 'Return to your mistress' (Genesis 16:9). Surely the angel would not have been unaware, if she had been overcome by the force of punishments, and he would have rebuked more the cruelty of the one who was beating than the departure of the one fleeing; but in order to show that she was fleeing as if proudly, so that she would not be proud of her mistress, he added, 'And humble yourself under her hand' (Genesis 16:9). Therefore, I hope that no one will encounter this vice. But if someone does encounter it, let them learn to humble their servant to their wife, so that they do not, while wanting to avenge their servant, exclude their wife.

Therefore, Abraham was one of the gentiles, and for the sake of posterity he entered into a relationship with a handmaid; because his wife, desiring to overshadow her own barrenness, had persuaded him to do so. And yet, it is not without purpose that God immediately, either to test his other works or to elicit repentance for this act, said to him: I am your God, walk before me and be blameless (Gen. XVII, 1), as if he had not fully walked before God, who, despairing of his wife's barrenness, sought posterity from a handmaid. He said this without complaint; this is, without blame; so that your wife does not complain about you, nor anyone reproach your actions. For a name is changed, with a letter added, so that he would be called Abraham instead of Abram, which means 'father of a multitude', as the Latin interpretation has it, or 'sublime father', 'chosen father'; or so that he would become a father and the father of a son. He was vain when he did not know God; he became chosen after he knew God. He was a father when he had offspring by a slave woman; but he was not the father of a son, because he did not have a son who was conceived in lawful marriage. Sarah gave birth, and he became the father of a son. He is commanded to be circumcised, to receive the inheritance of true seed. Is not clearly circumcision a commandment for chastity, so that one may cut off the desire of the flesh and restrain unruly desires of luxury and lasciviousness? Indeed, by the term circumcision, it is prescribed that the foul odor of all impurity be removed, and the incentive of lust be taken away. We have made use of two defenses.


28. The third authority that the Apostle Paul gives us is this, who says: Those things that Abraham did in taking a son from his servant girl were done as a symbol, and were spoken of using an allegory. An allegory is when one thing is done but another thing is symbolized; as the Apostle himself also teaches, saying: Do you wish to be under the law? Have you not read the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, one from his servant girl and one from the free woman; but indeed, the one who was born from the servant girl was born according to the flesh, and the one from the free woman through the promise: which things are spoken of using allegory. For these are the two covenants: one indeed from Mount Sinai, generating into slavery, which is Hagar (Galatians 4:21 et seq.); showing two peoples to descend from the generation of Abraham: one, the Jews, who serve the law by syllables, as if generated into slavery by a maidservant; the other, the Christians, who have received the freedom of heavenly grace for forgiveness of sins. Therefore, what you think is sin, you are advised is a mystery, by which things that were to come in later times were revealed. Finally, he added: But you, brothers, are children of the promise, like Isaac (Galatians, IV, 28). Therefore, he says, do not seek the works of the law; for a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians II, 16). And so that you may know that he said this to Christians: And we, he says, believe in Christ Jesus; so that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law (Ibid.). Let us therefore understand that these things that happened in a figurative sense were not to their blame: but they will be to ours if we do not want to correct ourselves from them; rather, let us strive to not serve the snares of the law, when Abraham held the free woman, Sara, and cast out the slave woman.


29. In this place (Gen. XVII, 10) I know that many are moved: for if circumcision is good, it should have been observed until today: if useless, it should not have been commanded, especially by a divine oracle. But when the Apostle Paul said (Rom. IV, 11): Because Abraham received the sign of circumcision: surely the sign is not the thing itself, but a sign of another thing, that is, not the truth, but an indication of the truth. Finally, he himself explained and expressed it, saying (Ibid.): Abraham received the sign of circumcision, a seal of righteousness and faith. Hence we rightly understand that bodily circumcision is a sign of spiritual circumcision. Therefore, the sign remained until the truth came. The Lord Jesus came, who said: I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Because he did not circumcise a small part of the body as a sign, but he circumcised the whole person in truth, he removed the sign and brought in the truth. For after what is perfect came, what was only partial was abolished; and therefore, the circumcision of a part ceased, where the circumcision of the whole shone forth. For now, not in part, but the whole man is saved in the body, saved in the soul. For it is written: Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Matthew 16:24). This is the perfection of circumcision; for through the offering of the body, the soul is redeemed, of which the Lord himself says: Whoever loses his life for my sake, will find it (Luke 9:24).

30. Now remains the portion of the question as to whether the part should have been sent before the coming perfection. This is an easy point to clarify if we consider to whom the part was entrusted and by whom the perfection was kept. For the part was entrusted to the people of Judaea, to them with hard necks, to them with weakness, to them who did not know their God. So if they could not bear the part, how could they have kept the perfection? If you want to educate a little boy in letters, you must start from the individual elements of the letters, from the individual strokes to syllables, and from syllables in order to words and sentences. No one can sail the sea fearlessly unless they have first sailed on rivers. Finally, if you want to entrust the boy or the more advanced person with anything, either to accomplish a journey or to lighten a burden, are the burdens to be equalized or the effort to be equalized? So, therefore, you should know that the perfection of circumcision was preserved in those who seemed suitable, having been instituted by Christ; so that the faithful would be tested, whose countless multitude would bear the cross; and would devote their own soul for Christ, and unbelievers could not resist, who believed that salvation was sought in the complete sacrifice of the entire body, and who considered the blood of their small circumcision to be salutary.

However, it should be considered that God called what was placed in the foreskin, and while it remained in the foreskin, the inheritance of the legitimate son was promised, so that you may believe that he is not just the father of the Jews, as they assert, but also the author of all believers through faith. Sarah, too, before the circumcision of the man, is blessed with the addition of one letter, with a considerable reward, so that she would have the leadership of virtue and grace; concerning whom, nations and kings of the gentiles are promised to come forth, so that she would be established as a type not of the Synagogue, but of the Church. But when he heard the promise from his son, Abraham laughed, which was not a sign of disbelief but of joy. In fact, he fell on his face, worshiped, believed, and added: 'If a son is born to me at the age of one hundred, and if Sarah at the age of ninety shall give birth.' And he said: 'May Ishmael live in Your sight' (Gen. XVII, 17 and 18). He is not incredulous in promises, nor greedy in desires. This means, I do not doubt that you will do it, to give a son to a man of a hundred years and to extend the limits of nature for nature itself. Blessed is the one to whom these things are given: but even here Ismael, whom I have from a native land, if he lives in your presence, grace abounds to me. Finally, the Lord both approved his disposition and did not reject his request, and confirmed his own promises.

Chapter V.

Concerning the hospitality of Abraham, the arrival of the guests, and his hastening to meet them. The same virtue is praised, and the empty excuses of some are dismissed. It is explained how diligently the same saint showed himself in this matter, and how he admitted his wife to a share in the merit. What the things offered by both mystically signify is also discussed. Finally, the promise made to Abraham by the ministering angels is explained, just as Sarah's laughter is interpreted.


32. We have spoken about the devotion, faith, prudence, justice, charity, and frugality of Abraham; now let us also speak about hospitality. For it is a virtuous trait of no small importance. Hence the Apostle taught with the authority of a twofold command that it should be present in a bishop: to be ready to receive guests, to go out to meet them, to explore their paths, to be present to those who do not seek, and to snatch up those who pass by. Abraham was sitting before the door, sitting at midday. When others were resting, he would watch for the arrival of guests. It is for good reason that God appeared to him at the oak tree of Mamre, because he greatly valued the fruits of hospitality.

33. And looking up, he saw with his eyes, and behold, three men were standing beside him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them (Gen. XVIII, 2). See first the mystery of faith. God appeared to him, and he saw three. He who sees God, sees the Trinity, he receives the Father with the Son, and confesses the Son with the Holy Spirit. This is explained more fully elsewhere (In lib. de Resurrectione carnis). Now the moral purpose of the place is to be pursued. He who looks from afar does not sit idly, nor is content with having looked, but runs to meet it. He hurried to meet it, because it is not enough to do right, unless you also hasten to do what you do. For the law commands to eat the paschal lamb in haste (Exod. XII, 11). For accelerated devotion has more abundant fruits. Therefore, learn how eager you should be, so that you can surpass the guest; lest someone surpass you and deprive you of the abundance of a good gift.


Hospitality is good, it has its reward, first the gratitude of man, and then, what is greater, the reward of God. We are all guests in this abode; for a time we have a place to stay: we are emigrating soon. Let us beware that if we have been harsh or negligent in receiving guests, even the holy hostels may be denied to us after the course of this life. Hence in the Gospel the Savior says: Make friends for yourselves with unjust wealth, so that they may receive you into eternal dwellings (Luke 16:9). Then also in this body often arises the necessity of wandering. What therefore you have denied to others, you decide for yourself: and what you have granted to others, you will make yourself worthy to seem. If everyone were to follow this opinion of not accepting strangers, where would there be rest for wanderers? Therefore, leaving behind human dwellings, we will seek the retreats of wild animals, the lairs of beasts.

35. But you falsely pretend poverty. The guest does not seek wealth from you, but gratitude; not an adorned feast, but ordinary food. It is better, he says, to offer hospitality with vegetables for friendship and gratitude than to slaughter calves at the mangers with enmity (Prov. XV, 17). These things are pleasing to men and acceptable to God. Hence the Lord Jesus in the Gospel (Matth. X, 42). Whoever gives a drink of cold water to a guest, he asserts, will not be deprived of heavenly rewards. Finally, Jacob watered Rachel's sheep, found favor, and acquired a wife. Then, do you know whether you receive God when you think of a stranger? Abraham, while offering hospitality to travelers, received God and his angels as guests: even though when you receive a stranger, you receive God, as it is written in the Gospel of the law, with the Lord Jesus saying: 'I was a stranger, and you took me in' ... 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me' (Matthew 25:35 and 40). For the hospitality of one hour, that widow who received Elijah and fed him with a small bit of food, found perpetual sustenance for the whole time of famine, and received a remarkable reward, so that never would the jar of flour run out. Elisha, also, with the restoration of the deceased child, paid the rent for the lodging.

36. However, not only the willingness to receive, but also the diligence of the receiver and the affection are sought. Both are taught to you by Abraham. He ran to meet them, and asked beforehand saying: Lord, if I have found favor before you, do not pass by your servant: let water be taken, and wash your feet, and rest under the tree: and let me fetch bread, and you will eat, and after that you may pass on: because you have turned aside to your servant (Gen. XVIII, 3 et seq.). He saw three, and called one Lord, acknowledging himself as his only servant. Then, turning to the other two whom he considered as his ministers, he also desired to show them respect just as he was obligated to do, not by the rightful duty of servitude, but with the gentle name of diligence, and he served them willingly.

37. And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said to her: Hasten and sprinkle three measures of meal, and make cakes baked under the ashes. A good husband does not allow his wife to be without religious offerings, nor does he greedily take the entire gift for himself. Therefore, it is rightly preserved for the sake of both piety and modesty. That which is of piety, he wants to be shared; that which is of modesty, remains intact for Sarah. Before the tent, the man watches for the arrival of the guests; within the tent, Sarah protects the modesty of the woman and safely performs her feminine duties with modesty. Outside the husband invites, inside Sara prepares the feast. Not only does Abraham himself hurry, but he also said to his wife that they must hurry, showing her a partner in devotion, and not lacking in faith.

38. He says, sprinkle three measures of flour, and make it ash-colored. In Greek, they are called ἐγκρύφια, that is, hidden; because every mystery should be hidden and covered with faithful silence, lest it be rashly divulged to profane ears. The divine majesty is nourished by this, and it feasts on this affection, which is sparing in speech and does not bring sacred things into the open. But briefly, the mystery of faith is taught by Sarah, making three measures of one likeness, which has the typology of the Church to which it is said: Rejoice, barren one who does not bear; burst forth and cry out, you who are not in labor (Isaiah 54:1). For it is this which nourishes faith with its innermost spirit, asserting the Trinity of the same divinity, with equal measure and reverence for the Father and the Son, adoring the Holy Spirit, and celebrating the unity of majesty and the distinctiveness of the persons, sprinkle your devotion with this affirmation of faith.

39. Let a woman offer a likeness, that is, the inner spiritual substance of wheat or grain, of which it is said that unless it falls into the ground, it brings forth no fruit. Hence, Mary was the first to see the mystery of the Lord's resurrection, and she hastened not to announce the message of sacred salvation to everyone, but only to Peter and John. Let the man run to the oxen, take the calf, and with eager diligence receive the sacrament of the Lord's passion, not with sluggish laziness. Let him entrust it to the boy who will preserve innocence in his tender age, who knows not deceit, who knows not how to report, who will guard the chastity of an incorrupt body. About which the Lord Jesus says: Unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3). To this child and others like him, even the holy David assigns the duty of divine praise, saying: Praise the Lord, you children (Psalm 112:1).

40. Nor was it useless, when he ran to the cattle, he took a tender and good calf, and placed it with milk. Finally, in Exodus, when Moses was declaring the Passover of the Lord, he said: The lamb without blemish, clean, complete, a yearling, male, shall be taken for you from sheep and goats. You shall take and kill him, said he, the whole assembly of the synagogue at evening (Exod. XII, 5). Hence, this is also described as midday, when Abraham offers hospitality to the Lord. But at the supper a calf is sacrificed, and is eaten with milk; that is, not in blood, but with the purity of faith. A good calf, capable of washing away sins. Tender, because it recognized the gentle yoke of the law, not with a stiff neck, and did not refuse the cross's gibbet. And deservedly tender, from whose head and feet and internal organs nothing was left, and its bones were not broken, but it yielded completely to the food of those feasting. Such a calf was figuratively portrayed for us by the shadow of the Law, such did the truth of the Gospel demonstrate (John 19:36).


They ate, he said, those people: Abraham, however, was standing under a tree (Gen. XVIII, 8). We observe the duty of humility praising humility. Abraham was standing, and you occupy the first place at the table? Finally, that humility found favor, so that a son was promised to him.

He said to him: Where is your wife Sarah? He responded and said: Behold, she is in the tent. Did the Lord not know that she would be there, who announced the coming destruction of Sodom? He knew, but he wanted to teach us how great the modesty of women should be, that they should not attract the gaze of impudent guests upon themselves, but should carry out their ministry with dignity. Abraham also tells you that Sarah dwells in the tent, so that you may learn what you should expect from your wife. By advanced age, Sarah now guards her youthful modesty, therefore the Lord promised her a son. 'She has ceased to have the ability' he says 'to bear children', so that you may not mistakenly think she still had the capability to give birth.

Sara laughed (Gen., 18:10). This is a sign of the future more than of disbelief, I believe. She laughed, even though she still did not know why she was laughing, because she foretold the joy she would bring forth in Isaac. That is why she denied laughing, because she was ignorant; that is why she laughed, because she prophesied.

Chapter VI.

The destruction of Sodom is foretold and divine indulgence is preached in tolerating and examining the sins of the sinners, as well as in forgiving them. The angels come to stay with Lot in the evening. The Sodomites commit an enormous crime and are filled with wickedness. Lot tries to mitigate their fury by offering his daughters, but the angels strike them with blindness. Lot is forbidden to look back and is led away, and how does this also relate to us? Finally, the guilty daughters, along with their relative, are described in the context of incest and the evils of drunkenness.

But when the men arose, they saw the face of Sodom and Gomorrah (Ibid., 16). Just as the visitation of the Lord is shown to those who fear, so too the punishment of sin is given to the wicked. Abraham led the guests, adding kindness to his hospitality. For the Sodomites, on the other hand, in their acts of uncleanliness, increased their wickedness in defiance of their duty of piety.

45. 'I will not hide,' he says, 'what I am going to do with my servant Abraham.' Abraham of course, having reached an old age, as the earlier scriptures attest because he had advanced ninety-nine years, how can he refer to this person as a boy? But when he showed him as one who was not forgetful of his age, indefatigable in his explorations, swift in his running, most patient in his standing, and most eager in his accompanying, does not the name of boy seem to be fitting for his roles? He rightly is called a boy, who did not know the weariness of old age, who showed the innocence and obedience of childhood. Therefore, the grace of blessing is given and the inheritance of posterity.

46. The offense of sins, however, is explained. The cry, he says, of Sodom and Gomorrah is filled (cf. Gen. 18:20). Great is the patience of the Lord, so that He does not immediately punish the sinner, but delays in expectation of correction; nor is He moved to revenge unless the sinner exceeds the measure. Hence, the Lord Jesus also said to the Jews in the Gospel: Fill up the measure of your fathers (cf. Matt. 23:32).

Therefore, I will go down to see if they have done altogether according to the cry coming to me, so that I may know (Genesis 18:21). The Lord did not ignore the sins of the Sodomites, but he spoke these words for the purpose of instructing you, so that you may examine more closely the offenses committed by those whom you consider worthy of punishment. 'I will go down,' he says, 'to see,' that is, you too should go down with care, descend with the eagerness of investigation, so that nothing deceives or escapes you in your absence, and so that you may apprehend the crime with your own eyes. Those placed at a distance can easily be ignorant of many things. But who does the shouting, unless perhaps those whom nothing escapes, seem to cry out, each one's crimes are crying out? Finally, it is said to Cain: 'The blood of your brother cries out to me' (Gen. IV, 10), that is, it does not escape, but it cries out your parricide. Therefore, just as God is aroused by the cries of our transgressions, so that He may avenge at some point, He who willingly pardons.

48. Finally, when Abraham asked him not to destroy the righteous along with the wicked, and he asked, 'If there were fifty righteous people in the city, would you destroy them?' (Gen. XVIII, 24 and 26), he replied: 'I will not destroy the city if there are fifty righteous people in it, and I will save the whole place.' And in this manner, through a series of questions and answers, even if he finds ten righteous people in the city, he promises impunity to the entire people on account of the righteousness of a few. Where do we learn how great a wall is for our country, a virtuous man, how we should not envy holy men, nor disrespect them lightly. For their faith saves us, their justice defends us from destruction. Even Sodom, if it had ten righteous men, could have not perished.

But what does it mean that those men who had come to Abraham together with the Lord sought out Sodom, if not that their crime would be aggravated, if the impious ones attempted to inflict greater sacrilege on those whom the righteous had honored? For the reason why he called them men is clear; because they displayed the appearance of men.

50. They came to Sodom in the evening, at noon to Abraham; because the presence of the angels shines brightly for the just and brings darkness to the impious. However, it can also refer to the time of the Lord's Passion, when they came to him in the evening, who had to be freed from the contamination of the Sodomites and from the destruction of the entire city. It was evening before Christ came; because the whole world was in darkness. It was evening for all those whom the squalor of heinous crimes pressed in darkness. The Lord Jesus came, he redeemed the world with his blood, he brought light. But two angels came to Sodom in the evening (Gen. XIX, 1). Where grace is to be given, Christ is present: where severity is to be exercised, only the ministers are present, Jesus is absent.

51. Lot was sitting at the gate (Ibid.). The holy ones had amended Lot, made him more anxious over the captivity. Thus, by the course of his age, he had learned to imitate his parent. He was sitting at the gate, therefore, so that he might receive the arrivals. Finally, he rose to meet them. He ran forth to meet them more perfectly: that one rose, and prostrated himself on the ground, and said, Behold my lords, turn aside into the house of your servant (Ibid., 1 and 2). And he compelled those to turn aside who said: 'We will stay in the square.' This is praised as true holiness and the grace of angels. They did not want their arrival to appear burdensome to the host: indeed he knew among whom he would be staying; nevertheless, he offered his home to the dangers that he might take away the guests. Certainly, the more slowly they acquiesced, by testing them for a longer time, the more fully they were proven.

But the men of the city of Sodom surrounded the house, from young to old, the whole population alike (ibid., 5). The justice of divine judgment is demonstrated, lest anyone should say: What did the children do, that they should all be involved in the destruction? Thus, there was no righteous person there, no innocent person. Listen to the Scripture testifying that they surrounded the house, from young to old, the whole population alike. No age was immune to guilt, therefore no one was immune to destruction. And he who did not have the possibility of committing the crime had the disposition. The worn-out bodies of the old men, but their minds full of lust. Holy Lot offered the modesty of his daughters. For although that was also a shameful impurity, it was still less against nature to have intercourse than to commit a crime against nature. He preferred the hospitality of his house to the dignity of his modesty, even among barbarous nations inviolable. Finally, there is also unhindered hospitality, where even kinship is not safe enough.

53. However, those angels struck them with blindness, so that they could not find the entrance to the house that they desired to open. Here indeed is declared the wondrous power of the angels, that with blindness poured over them, the doors of the house were not found. But it is also shown that every desire is blind, and does not see before it. Moreover, it is demonstrated by the fact that the holy Lot, called back by the hands of the guests into the house, showed himself forgetful of danger, remembering not to save himself from danger, but to offer.


54. A place of piety is shown, because Lot, a holy man, is instructed through the manifestation of angels, with the total destruction of the whole region, to have his relatives and warn them to flee; lest, by abandoning them or not warning them, he seem to be lacking in piety towards his daughters' husbands: or lest their error be attributed to themselves, who, deprived of their husbands' company, had sought the drunken conceptions of their father. Therefore, the Scripture does not leave the holy man defenseless; since he is shown to have given his daughters in marriage and to have warned his relatives. But it seemed to them that he was joking, and yet Lot still lingered, to persuade his relatives; and he would have almost not escaped, if it were not for the urgent angels holding his hand, he was forced to leave.

55. Therefore, he was not advanced, but brought out: and he received a command not to look back, nor to resist in the whole region, but to ascend the mountain. When this is said to him, it is said to everyone. Therefore, if you want to escape, do not look back, but ahead. Look where Christ is, who says to you: Get behind me, as he said to Peter: Get behind me (Matthew 16:23), so that he may follow Christ, may see Christ. Behind is Sodom full of wickedness, behind is Gomorrah overflowing with vices, a region of crimes. Do not touch, says the Apostle, do not handle, do not taste, all of which are destined for corruption (Colossians 2:21). Therefore, flee Sodom, quickly leave Gomorrah, abandon the elements of this world, lest impending dangers engulf you: do not resist while fleeing, nor linger in the entire region of vices. He who did not look back escaped; she who looked back could not escape.

Excusantur autem filiae sancti Lot, quia putaverunt non vicinae regionis, sed totius orbis fuisse illud excidium, et se solas cum patre superstites ex omnibus populis remansisse. Et ideo ne genus deficerethumanum, paternum petiisse concubitum; ut semen generationis humanae de patre suo resuscitarent. Non ergo libidinis vitium fuit, sed generationis remedium, quod non puto criminis duci loco. Nam et Eva de viro assumpta, supra cujus costam aedificata est mulier, os de ossibus ejus, et caro de carne ejus; tamen propter seriem successionis humanae viro mixta est. Yet the conscience of a just man is affected by this act; for when he was intoxicated with wine, he did not know what he was doing. Hence it is not surprising that the opinion deceived the girls, who believed that the entire population of the world had perished. The excuse of the holy Lot would not be the same, for he had heard from the Angels that only that place, not the whole world, would be destroyed.

57. Surely we learn to avoid drunkenness (15, q. 1, c. Surely we learn), through which we cannot beware of crimes. For those things we avoid when sober, we commit ignorantly through drunkenness. It is not enough that it inflames desire, it ignites bodily desires: it also undermines the mind itself, and captures the soul, wrenching away reason. Those who indulge in excessive wine do not know what they are saying, they lie buried. And so if they have transgressed through wine, they are indeed granted forgiveness by wise judges, but they are marked as frivolous offenders. How great is that very ugliness, that it weakens strength, that the gait wavers?

58. If many consider themselves strong, are they stronger than Lot? Are they more restrained than Noah? Scripture did not expose the vices of the patriarchs, whom we read were defeated by wine, but rather so that you may learn what to avoid. Lot lay naked, succumbing to the error of his daughters. And Noah, a righteous man, was deceived because the power of wine was still unknown to him. But you have been instructed so that you may not remain ignorant. Lot trusted his daughters and, in his old age, drunkenly engaged in incest unknowingly. Drink in moderation, lest you be ensnared. Instruct yourself to the Patriarch not only as a teacher, but also as one who wanders. Therefore, the example of drunkenness is reiterated, so that the authority of caution may be confirmed.

Chapter VII.

The death of Abimelech, due to his attempted violation of Sarah's chastity, demonstrates the gravity of the crime of adultery committed against God. Therefore, why was Pharaoh punished more severely than Abimelech for the same reason? And how did the infertility that plagued Abraham's household demonstrate the fruitful abundance granted to the Church through his prayers? Isaac is born and nursed by his mother. However, Ishmael is driven out by Sarah's urging and divine response: thus, the moral teachings contained in these events.


59. Finally, Sarah's chastity is tested again, in order to be demanded by all. For even Abimelech had taken her as his wife, and God said to him in the night: Behold, you shall die because of the woman. (Gen. XX, 3). We see that adultery is punished by divine judgment with death. Therefore, it is added: But she continues with her husband. Indeed, every intercourse between a man and a woman that is not celebrated by the legitimate bond of marriage has its own fault. Learn, all of you who strive for the grace of baptism, like certain candidates of faith, the discipline of sobriety in continence. No one is allowed to know a woman, except the wife. And so, the right of marriage has been given to you, so that you do not fall into a trap and commit adultery with another woman. You are bound to your wife, do not seek a way out: because it is not allowed for you, while your wife is alive, to take another wife. For seeking another, when you have your own, is a crime of adultery, which is even more serious because you think that you should seek authority for your own sin through the law. It is more tolerable if the fault remains hidden than if the authority is taken over by the fault. Nor is this the only adultery, when one sins with another's spouse, but every act that lacks the power of marriage. Moreover, this place teaches that a more serious crime is committed when the rights of a celebrated marriage are violated and conjugal honor is dissolved. And so when Abimelech claimed that he was unaware that the woman was another man's wife, and that he had said she was his sister, the Lord answered him: And I too know that you have done this with a pure heart, and I have spared you so that you would not sin against me; for this reason I did not allow you to touch her. We understand God to be like a bishop and guardian of marriage, who does not allow another's bed to be defiled; and if someone does so, they sin against God and violate His law, they should pay the penalty. And because they sin against God, they lose the fellowship of the heavenly sacrament.

Perhaps you are curious about the reason why Pharaoh was severely afflicted by God, as we read above, even though he himself did not know that Sarah, whom he had heard was his sister, was actually Abraham's wife (Genesis XII, 17). However, Abimelech suffered no punishment. But you should know that the king of Egypt was known to be a leader of vice, and the more freedom he had, the more evil he committed. On the other hand, Abimelech was considered so faithful to God that he deserved to hear: 'And I know that you have done this with a pure heart, not out of affliction like the Egyptians, but out of fortification,' as the interpretation tells us, referring to the land of Gerar over which he ruled. Therefore, there is no doubt that through his other works, the indignation of the Lord has been revoked, who is truly the inner judge of conscience and the interpreter of the soul and mind. In conclusion, he did not refuse or reject God's command like that Pharaoh, nor did he delay obedience: but immediately he called Abraham, returned his wife to him, punished himself with a price for having seen another's, and paid the dowry of shame.

61. From this it can also be inferred that Abimelech the king deserved to be more merciful because Abraham prayed for him and obtained it. For his wife and his maidservant also gave birth, whom God had previously closed up because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. This also pertains to the household management, that the birth of Sarah, given by the promise of God, would be supported by this testimony; considering that by the offense of God, the fertile become sterile, and again by the will of the Lord the sterile become fertile, as it is written, 'Have I not made the barren one give birth?' says the Lord (Isaiah 66:9). Although this mystery is said to apply to the Synagogue and the Church, because the Synagogue ceased to have offspring, being deprived of posterity, and the assembly of nations, which was barren, began to have eternal offspring, since it was ignorant of God. Hence it is written: Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband (Isaiah 54:1).


But Isaac was born to Abraham when he was one hundred years old (Gen. XXI, 5). And if you are perfect, you will have a posterity of joy, and an inheritance of exultation. And Sarah said: God has made laughter for me: whoever hears will congratulate me (Ibid., 6). This is not understood to be about that generation which is subject to many accidents, so that sometimes it would have been better not to have produced offspring: but about that generation in which each sinner, doing penance, usually exhibits joy to the angels when he is redeemed from death.


And Sarah said: Who will announce to Abraham that Sarah will nurse an infant? Moral lesson. Women are reminded to remember their dignity and to nurse their children. For this is the grace of mothers, this is the honor by which they entrust their children to their own husbands. Lastly, they tend to love their children more, whom they themselves have nourished and nursed at their breasts.

However, Abraham made a great supper on the day when Isaac, his son, was weaned. This was not something ordinary or common. For Abraham did not host a great feast simply because the child was weaned from his nurse, but because Isaac was deemed worthy to partake of a stronger grace as food and nourishment, not yet to be nourished with milk like a Corinthian, but rather strengthening his limbs with more substantial feasts of heavenly commandments.


65. Prosperity quickly follows envy. Sara had borne a son and weaned him: The maidservant saw the son playing with her son Isaac, and she said to Abraham: Cast out the maidservant and her son; for the son of the maidservant shall not be heir with my son Isaac (Genesis, 9 and 10). Abraham found this difficult, to cast out his son, even though he had taken him as his own. And you, do not mix yourself with the maidservant, so that you do not have a son with her, and your wife does not allow him to become a coheir with her son. For you see, the grace of marriage is dissolved here. Certainly, if you have fallen, and you have a son, cast out the slave woman and her son. For it is better for the slave woman to depart than for the wife, and for the son of the slave woman to be cast out than for the legitimate son. But if you hesitate, if you disregard the opinion of your wife and it seems hard to you, God says to you what He said to Abraham; for what He said to him, He says to you, and to everyone: Let it not be hard for you regarding the boy, and regarding the slave woman. Whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your offspring shall be called. Nowhere else did he say, 'Listen to your wife's voice,' except here, that is, you have wronged your wife and have not appeased her affection; you have taken a son by a slave woman, and have not honored the son of your wife. Can your seed be called in the son of a slave woman? Certainly not; for true succession is in the legitimate son. But you fear that because he is your son, he might be cast out and die. Not for his sake will I do it. God sustains all, both the righteous and the unrighteous. He sends rain upon both the just and the unjust. As Abraham did, do likewise. Cast out the maidservant so that she may remain a secure and blameless wife at home. Also cast out the maidservant's son, so that he does not have a share in the inheritance, as he does not possess the privileges of birth.

Chapter VIII.

God puts Abraham to various tests, but most notably by giving him the command to sacrifice his son. Each word of this command is carefully examined, and the perfect obedience of the Patriarch is demonstrated in his journey and in the preparation for the sacrifice. Finally, after the mystery has been revealed through the substitution of a ram offered in place of Isaac, the third aspect presented is the blessing of Abraham.


66. And it came to pass after these things, God tested Abraham (Gen. XXII, 1). The Devil tests in one way, God tests in another. The Devil tests in order to overthrow; God tests in order to crown. In the end, he tests those who have been approved by him. Hence David says: Test me, O God, and try me (Psal. CXXXVIII, 23). And God tested the holy Abraham before, and thus he tested him; lest if he had tested before he had approved, he would burden him: he commanded him to leave Haran after he had approved, and he found him obedient (Gen. XII, XIV, XVII). He proved, relying on the title of faith, he freed his grandson, even though he had touched no booty, he promised a son to an old man, and he was a hundred years old, even though he considered Sarah's genitals dead; nevertheless, he believed, and did not hesitate in faith, which could be hindered by the reason of sterility or old age: he proved himself in the diligence of hospitality (Gen. XVIII, 1 et seq.). Therefore, he thought it necessary to test him, as one who should be tested with greater trials and more difficult commands. And indeed, by this example we are taught that someone is proven by true things, but is tested by things that are fabricated and false. For God did not desire to be sacrificed by the father, nor did he desire this duty to be fulfilled, who offered a sheep to be sacrificed instead of his son. But he tested the affection of the father, to see if he would prioritize God's commandments over his son, and not sway the force of his devotion through consideration of paternal piety.

67. And he said to him: Abraham, Abraham! The repetition of the name awakens the mind to be more prepared. Finally, he responded: Here I am. And he said: Take your beloved son, whom you loved, Isaac, and go to the high mountain, and offer him to me as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will tell you. He does not allow the father's affection to be idle. At first, he stirs it up and pricks it with the stings of piety, and he added the name of the son to the name of kinship and the force of love. He did not think it was enough to say 'son', he adds 'whom you loved, Isaac, the beloved one'. Why does he say 'whom you loved' and not 'whom you love'? We can certainly use the divine custom as a defense of Scripture, because often the past is used for the future or present, as you have in the Gospel: 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased' (Matt. III, 17), even though the Father always is pleased in the Son. And in the Psalm you have: The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand (Ps. 109:1), with the implication that He always sits there. We can, however, understand it for now as the most beloved person, and you can signify whom you loved in order to show that it was not a recent impulse of love, but a long-standing and proven love. For what is increased for a time, is dissolved for a time: but what has pleased for a long time or always, cannot quickly be removed. It can also be seen that it is not absurd, because we love those who are going to die more. This is the one whom you loved before; as if she loves to be sacrificed. Nor did she add the name of the holy Isaac in vain, that is, the one whom you received as a only son from your wife, whom you received in old age, whom you received as the reward of your faith, the recompense of your works, whom you received from the promise of God, not from the fecundity of a spouse, from whom you could hope for another. You will offer me a burnt offering: but first go to the high land. A space is inserted, so that the desire of the father may not seem to be suddenly precipitated, but by that delay the grace of devotion is creeping, the desire of the father. He added: In one of the mountains that I mentioned to you. And here likewise, as you ascend from below, the force is broken, your right hand becomes tired, your intention weakens: while seeking to learn the mountain, you unlearn the preparation.

68. But rising not only on the following day, but also at dawn, so that night seemed to have delayed the eager father: He spread out his donkey, and took with him two boys, and Isaac his son, and he cut the wood for the burnt offering (Gen. XXII, 3). We are taught to bring everything prepared for sacrifice: we also learn to claim for ourselves the preparations for the sacrifice and the office of ministry, not delegating them to others. The old man Abraham, rich in flocks and abundant in servants, did not seek a company of companions: he himself also cut the wood and did not cease his greater duties with his own strength.


But he came to the place which God had told him, on the third day. And he himself, together with two others, set out on the third day, carrying his offering with him, and came to the place of sacrifice on the third day. This number is significant and fitting for sacrifices. Finally, in later times, Moses said to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt: 'We will go a journey of three days and offer sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.' And correctly on the third day the sacrifice of the Trinity is celebrated.

And looking, Abraham saw the place from a distance (Gen. XXII, 4). He carefully examines the one who hastens to fulfill. Although he quickened his step with an old man's eagerness, he thought that this delay preceded his eyes: the duties of each member were flourishing, although the aged limbs could not flourish. The sight of old men tends to grow dull, so that they may not easily see even things close at hand. Here he not only saw the place, but also looked upon it from afar.


And he did not hesitate to see, but he said to his servants: Sit here with the donkey: but I and the boy will pass over to that place; and when we have worshipped, we will return to you (Ibid., 5). The donkey is a fitting symbol, for the truth is in the foal of the donkey. In this animal, the people of the Gentiles, previously subjected to burdens, are figuratively represented, now subjected to Christ. Therefore, Isaac is a type of Christ who will suffer. He came riding on a donkey, representing the people of the nations who would believe. Therefore, when the Lord was coming to undergo suffering for us, He loosed a colt of an ass, which He Himself sat upon, one that was already gentle and tame, even though it was believing in Christ's yoke. But when He says, I and the lad will go further, He shows that neither would the Father, who had entered upon so great an undertaking, fail, nor would the Son give in; either because they would pass through the hardness of so great a deed by the remedy of mercy, or because they would return to you, He prophesied what He did not know (22, q. 2, cap. Si quaelibet, § Prophetavit). He himself alone was arranging to return, after his son was sacrificed: but the Lord spoke through his mouth what he was preparing. However, he spoke deceitfully with the servants, so that, with the matter being unknown, no one would hinder, or obstruct with groaning, or weeping.

72. However, he took the wood of the holocaust and laid it upon Isaac his son. He took also in his hands fire and a sword (Gen. XXII, 6). The victim is consecrated by the holy ministry and entrusted to the future. This victim of piety is carried before the ministry of the pious. Isaac carried the wood for himself, Christ carried the cross of his own execution. Abraham accompanied his son, the Father accompanied Christ. Neither Isaac alone, nor Jesus alone. Lastly, he says: You will leave me alone, yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me (John XVI, 32).


Isaac said to his father Abraham, Father. And he said: Here I am, my son (Gen. 22:7). The fatherly affection is moved by the words of piety, and is beaten by certain waves from here and there. The son calls his father: the father says, Son; so that the father may recognize himself by the very sound of the words: which is impossible for him to strike, whom he would wish to subject himself to the wound. These names of life are accustomed to work grace, not the ministry of death: these words are accustomed to incite to piety, not to death.


Isaac added, saying: Behold the wood, where is the lamb for a burnt offering? (Genesis.) And here he prophesies by speech, not by knowledge. For the lamb was being prepared by the Lord for sacrifice. Finally, Abraham responds in the same way: God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering, my son. (Genesis.) Unwavering from his zeal for devotion, the minister does not hesitate to frequently call his son; thus he is founded on the solidity of his intention: and he thought himself to be a better father, he judged that his son would remain with him forever, if he were to offer him up as a sacrifice to God. Not only did he prophesy, foretelling what would happen immediately, because God provided for himself a sacrifice for Isaac and restored his son to his father; but what is more, that this sacrifice was not of divine disposition, but another sacrifice which God prepared for himself, in order to cleanse the world: this sacrifice was more pleasing to all, because of which many fathers would offer their sons, and would not fear to be separated from their sons in this world. Every day fathers offer their sons, so that they may die in Christ, and be buried in the Lord. How many fathers, after the martyrdom of their sons, returned happier from their tomb!

75. Abraham came to the designated place for sacrifice; And he built an altar there, and placed wood on it. How much effort was made to slaughter, lest his son be suddenly thought to be sacrificed? And having bound his son Isaac's hands and feet, he placed him on the altar on top of the wood. The father binds his son with his own hands; lest, by fleeing, the son, and the sin inflamed by force of fire, incur punishment.

76. And the Angel said, Abraham, Abraham (ibid., 11). The divine voice held his hand in a certain way, and the stroke of the vibrating hand occupied his right hand. It did not call once, lest he either not fully hear or regard it as a chance voice. Thus, it called again, just as it commanded. It repeated the voice, fearing that it would be anticipated by the zeal of devotion, and that one voice could not recall the strike of the one striking. You shall not lay your hand on the boy, nor shall you do anything to him; for now I know that you fear your God, and you have not spared your most beloved son for my sake (ibid., 12; 2-2, q. 2. cap. Si quaelibet, § Non enim): that is to say, I sought your affection, not demanded your action. I tried your patience, if you would not spare even your most beloved son on account of me. I do not take back what I myself gave, nor do I envy the heir, whom I bestowed upon one who had nothing. Nor did he say in vain to him also, his most beloved son, that which he said above, 'Whom you have loved,' so that you would not think that he had already ceased to love.

77. And looking, Abraham saw, and behold, a ram was caught in a bush. In what way a ram? Clearly as excellent compared to the rest of the flock. In what way caught? So that you would notice that that sacrifice was not of the earth. In what cause was it caught by its horns, except that it would raise its flesh by a higher power above the earth? According to what is written: 'On his shoulders is the government' (Isaiah 9:6). Who is signified, if not the one of whom it is written: 'He has exalted the horn of his people' (Psalm 148:14)? Our horn is Christ, who has shown himself to all, as we read, 'You are the most handsome of the sons of men' (Ps. 45:3). He alone is lifted up and exalted from the earth, as he himself teaches us when he says, 'I am not of this world, I am from above' (John 8:23). Abraham saw him in that sacrifice, he beheld his passion. And therefore the Lord himself said of him, 'Abraham saw my day, and he rejoiced' (Ibid., 56).


78. Therefore the Scripture says: Abraham called the name of that place, The LORD will provide; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” (Gen. XXII, 14), that is, what appeared to Abraham, revealing the future passion of his body by which he redeemed the world, also showing the type of passion when he showed the suspended tree. That little bush is the gallows of the cross. And on this wood, the most excellent shepherd of the flock, being exalted, drew all things to himself, that he might be known by all. Where he also says: When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am (John 8:28). From this, Abraham also deserved God.

79. Lastly, this is the third blessing. For he received three blessings: one after the victory, when he delivered his grandson, when Melchizedek met him, and when the Lord said to him: Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. So shall your offspring be. And Abraham believed in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (Gen. XV, 5 and 6): another when Abraham was commanded to be named (Gen. XVII, 5), and he received the sign of circumcision: the third here, when he did not hesitate to offer his beloved son as a burnt offering to God. This blessing has been given again to the ancestors. For in them, the propagation of the seed of Abraham was promised to come: but in this one it says: And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have listened to my voice (Gen. XXII, 18). And therefore, let us listen to the voice of our God, and let us obey his commandments, if we want to find favor with him.

Chapter IX.

Sara dies and is buried. Abraham provides a wife for his son and binds him with an oath to choose her for himself; and what mystery lies there? In choosing a spouse, especially consider her religion, from which her character depends. How is the nearest, not a foreigner or unwilling, to be sought? In what way is the Church and baptism designated in Rebecca? What gifts should Christian virgins, following the example of Rebecca, desire for themselves; and what do other gifts offered to the same girl signify? What an example of modesty she herself has provided to be imitated, and how well the calling of the Church and the apostolic ministry are expressed in her marriage!


80. The place that follows has the death of a wife, the weeping of a husband, the duty of burial; by these the marital affection is proven. And Abraham rose up from the dead, he said (Gen. XXIII, 3). We are taught not to cling to the dead any longer, but to defer as much as is sufficient for the duty. And he hastened to pay the price for the place of burial, even though it was given for free; so that we do not build tombs for our parents or relatives in foreign places, but rather in our own. For often when the property of others is being sold, which are burial places in the same locations. However, this is why Abraham did it; because there were not yet temples of God like these, in which the remains of the faithful are buried.

Abraham had grown old; therefore, as a good father, he ought to provide a wife for his son. But because of the oracle of God, he could not return to the place from which he had been commanded to depart. However, he was residing in the land of the Canaanites, from whom he was fleeing in order to seek a legitimate heir.

And he called the oldest servant of his household (Gen. XXIV, 2), and said to him to go to Haran, and to seek a wife for his younger master from among his relatives. Learn from this that even servants of older age are called boys by their masters, or by anyone superior. Hence, a certain poet believed that this should be followed: whether in the usage of those who appear to be learned and wise to themselves, he himself found this; whether he himself translated it from our language; or whether he found it already translated.

Feed the oxen like before, boys, and bring the bulls forward. (Virgil, Eclogues I.) We also call boys 'pueros' when we mean little servants, not indicating age, but rather their role.

83. Now consider the virtues of a good paterfamilias, and first think about the duty and to whom he entrusts it; so you should train your slaves in such a way that they show paternal affection to your children and carry out their duties. A senior slave was found for the younger master, who would be chosen to provide a wife and would swear an oath with his hand under his master's thigh. By thigh, we understand generation, and the generation of Abraham is Christ. Where the Apostle says: to Abraham were the promises made, and to his seed. He does not say, and to seeds, as if in many: but as in one, and to your seed, which is Christ (Gal. III, 16); showing through him to us the holy sacrament, through him to be a secure help.

84. However, he commanded him not to take a wife from the Canaanites, whose ancestral line his master had not honored, and therefore he passed on to his descendants the inheritance of a curse. This was done so that we may understand faith and seek a certain inheritance of the author's lineage in those whom we wish to join with us. For with the holy, you will be holy, and with the wicked, you will be wicked. If this is true in other matters, how much more so in marriage, where there is one flesh and one spirit. However, how can love be in harmony if faith differs? And therefore, be cautious, Christian, about giving your daughter to a Gentile or a Jew (28, q. 1, cap. Cave). Be cautious, I say, about marrying a Gentile or Jew, or any foreigner, that is, a heretic, and inviting any woman who is foreign to your faith to be your wife. The first requirement of marriage is faithfulness. If one worships idols that promote adultery, if one denies Christ who is the teacher and rewarder of chastity, how can they love chastity? If she is a Christian, it is not enough unless both of you are initiated in the sacrament of baptism. Together, you must rise for night prayer and beseech God with joined prayers. Another important factor is chastity, if you believe that your marriage is given to you by your God. Hence, Solomon says: 'From God,' he says, 'a wife is prepared for a man' (Prov. XIX, 14). Those who have different beliefs cannot believe in this, that the grace of marriage is bestowed upon them by the one they do not worship. Reason teaches, but examples reinforce. Often the allure of a woman deceives even the strongest husbands, and leads them away from their religious duties (3 Kings 11:4). Therefore, be cautious in matters of love and avoid error. First and foremost, religion is sought in marriage. Therefore, Abraham sought a wife for his son from nearby.

85. And you, seek the nearest. Who is the nearest? He who did mercy, he said. The Lord Jesus said this in the Gospel. And you, seek the nearest of Abraham's seed, and the neighbor near you (Luke 10:37). Christ is the seed of Abraham, he is the nearest of all, who has done mercy above all, taking away the sin of the world. Learn then what is sought in a wife: not gold, not silver did Abraham seek, not possessions, but the grace of good character.


86. Then he was asked if the woman did not want to come, whether he would bring his master's son there. Be careful, he said, not to bring my son back from there. The Lord God of heaven and God of earth took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me and swore, saying: I will give you this land and to your descendants; he himself will send his angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman does not want to come with you to this land, you will be free from this oath (Gen. XXIV, 6 et seq.). Consider this more carefully to what purpose it advances. It is not allowed for you to take a foreigner. Truly, if she becomes Christian, you will have praise from her. Likewise, if she refuses to become Christian, the desire for marriage should not deviate from faith, as the reading instructs. Abraham was admonished to lead the one who follows, not to seek the one who remains, nor to let his son go there. Truly, the lord who had taken him away from the land in which he dwelled would not lack mercy, so that he would go before the persistent petitioner and incline the girl's mind. As if a prophet, he said this in defense of his son, and as a moral teacher, he taught to hope in the Lord, who deems worthy to help those seeking increases in faith.

87. And the servant arose and went to Mesopotamia (Ibid., 10): and according to the way of his vow that the departing servant had made, Rebecca met him, carrying a pitcher on her shoulder, a very beautiful virgin whom the man did not know. And she went down to the well, and filled the pitcher, and gave the servant a drink, and watered all his camels (Ibid., 15 et seq.). And the servant took golden earrings weighing one drachma each, and two bracelets for her hands, weighing ten shekels of gold, and asked her if there was room for him to lodge, and whose daughter she was. Moral simplicity is expressed in the fact that there is no place for ambition in seeking marriage, but the Lord, the bishop of marriage, fulfills the request for marriage. However, it is permitted to consider the mysteries of the Church. Where is the Church found, if not in Mesopotamia? It is sought there, summoned from there, accompanied by two rivers, the bath of grace, and the tears of repentance. For unless you have washed away your own sins, unless you have received the grace of baptism, the faith of the Church and a certain marital union are not acquired for you. She is fortified by the Tigris, which is prudence, and the Euphrates, which is justice, and fruitful enlightenment, separating her from barbarous nations.

88. But the virgin was exceedingly beautiful, whose beauty no age corrupted. Exceedingly beautiful, because he who acquired her was handsome and more beautiful than the sons of men. Whom no man had known; for she had no union with any man, but was owed only to Christ. Carrying a pitcher on her shoulder, with which she washed the acts of men. And because she consists of the congregation of the Gentiles, whom she washed, she descended to the fountain. And she filled the pitcher and ascended (Ibid., 16). That Samaritan woman came to the well, as it is written in the Gospel (John 4:7), but she did not descend; the well seemed to her, nor did she fill the water jar. Finally, she said, 'I do not have a water jar.' She did not have from where to wash her actions. Only she descended, only she recognized the true well, that is, not a well of water, but of eternal life, as David said: 'For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we shall see light' (Psalm 36:10). Therefore, he had what to give to those who were thirsty, because he believed. For what she did not believe, she said to this well that was willing to give her a drink: Where do you have for me to give living water (John 4:11)? But she had that from which to not only water a child, but also to water camels, which not only used to water the righteous, but also to fill the unjust. Therefore, she received golden earrings and bracelets that Abraham sent, as rewards for her merits.

Perhaps, hearing these things, daughters who strive for the favor of the Lord, you may be provoked to have earrings and necklaces, and to say: How do you forbid this, Bishop, that we should have what Rebecca received as a gift, and you encourage us to be like Rebecca? But Rebecca did not have these earrings and necklaces, which often sow discord in the Church and frequently slip away; she had other earrings, which I wish you had, and other necklaces. The earrings of pious Rebecca are symbols of hearing, and the bracelets of Rebecca are adornments of her deeds. She wore these earrings that did not burden the ear, but soothed it; she wore these bracelets that did not weigh down the hand with material gold, but lifted it with spiritual action. Therefore, this adornment pleased both her brother and her parents. And now, take the earrings that Abraham left for you: take the bracelets that he sent. Listen to the words of the Lord your God, as he himself listened; carry out his commands, as he himself hastened to fulfill them.


90. However, the most beautiful place for instructing those to whom something is enjoined, which the boy Isaac had not previously eaten, Abraham's bread was given to him, before he carried out the command of the Lord. Having obtained this, he gave golden and silver vessels and clothing to Rebecca. When the Church was betrothed, she received golden and silver vessels, in which the treasure of faith would be; for these vessels are for honor, and also for dishonor. Listen to what these vessels are: 'But we have this treasure in earthen vessels' (2 Corinthians 4:7). Our bodies are like earthen vessels: our faith is our treasure. And perhaps even our bodies themselves, which possess this treasure, are golden, because they are full of prudence. And the silver vessels are those that seem to shine with heavenly commandments. And parents are also honored with gifts (32, q. 2, c. Honorantur).

91. The girl seeks advice not about betrothal, for she awaits the judgment of her parents, for it is not the place of a virgin’s modesty to choose a husband; but now, having been betrothed to a man, she seeks advice about departure. And she has not brought about delay without justification; indeed, she ought to hurry to her husband. Hence that Euripidean saying, which many wonder about, from where it was translated is clear. For he speaks in the persona of a woman who, however, wanted to leave her husband and was being sought for other marriages.

My father Merimna will take care of my marriage, not me. So keep what even the philosophers have admired, maidens. But also, women, if any young girl, fearing the trap of her own weakness after quickly losing her husband, wishes to marry, let her marry only in the Lord, so that she may defer the choice of a husband to her parents; so that she may not be considered too bold in her desires if she claims the right to choose her own marriage. A thing sought ought to seem more desired by the man than the man himself desiring it. Let her precede modesty before she marries, for modesty itself recommends the bond of marriage more. But words imitate them, they cannot imitate works.

92. It is also evident that a glorious mystery of the Church is present in it, because no one dared to call it the Church before Christ; for this prerogative of being called belonged only to Christ. But once it was called, it did not delay, and therefore it was more acceptable to the Lord; because the Jewish people who were called to the supper were not worthy to come: but when the assembly of the Gentiles saw that it was being summoned, it came forward.

93. Finally, so that you may know, not without mystery, when he was being carried on a camel, he came to the bridegroom; because the people of the nations, horrible with a certain beastly deformity of their merits, who had no beauty in their appearance, were to receive the faith and consent of the Church. Nor is this idle, that when Rebecca came, Isaac saw her walking; and when he asked who she was, knowing that she was the one who was to be his wife, he descended and began to cover his head, teaching that modesty should precede marriage: for this reason also weddings are called so, because for the sake of modesty the girls cover their heads. Learn, therefore, young ladies, how to preserve modesty, and do not go forth in public with your heads uncovered, lest, like Rebecca, who was already betrothed, you may not think it necessary to show the designated husband openly.

94. Who is that servant who provides for these weddings? Surely one of the Apostles, and especially he who says: Men and brothers, you know that from ancient days God chose to hear the nations the word of the Gospel from my mouth (Acts 15:7). Or he who is called the teacher of the Gentiles (1 Timothy 2:7). For when they are read, either John the Evangelist or acquire Christ's soul; so that he may believe what he did not believe before: and they show by their words to those who desire to see Christ. And so Abraham, after celebrating the wedding of his son (Gen. XXV, 8), completed his days in old age and good old age.

Book Two.

Chapter I.

After presenting the moral sense, it transitions to a deeper or allegorical meaning: how the soul is urged to leave its earth and its kinship; it also explains from whom it must depart for a complete purification. Finally, it refers to the promised posterity of Abraham.


Indeed, we have pursued a moral subject to the best of our understanding; so that those who read it can draw lessons in character: but because on both sides the edge of the sword is sharp and ready for battle; similarly, the word of God, which is sharper than any sharp sword, penetrates even to the division of the soul, wherever you turn, you will find it ready and opportune, to penetrate the soul of the reader in order to reveal the enigmas of the prophetic Scriptures. Therefore, I think it is not absurd to refer the meaning to higher things and to explain, through the history of various individuals, a certain progression of virtue; especially since we have already tasted the beginnings of a deeper understanding in Adam (From Paradise, Chapter 2). For we have said that Adam represents the intellect, Eve represents the senses, and we have expressed the delight of the serpent's appearance. But there, through the limitation of the senses and the temptation of pleasure, the flow regresses to sin. However, here we are given the opportunity to contemplate the progress of the mind. For the Lawgiver has provided this, so that just as he demonstrated the fall of the mind, we might avoid those paths of error: so too he indicated the process of the mind and a certain superior return, so that we might understand how the broken mind can reform itself. For the Lord had cleansed the earth by the pouring of the flood, he had washed away the mixture of human frailty: but it was not enough for the progress of virtue, unless man was instructed on how to govern and guide himself, Abraham is introduced in place of the mind. Lastly, the transition of Abraham is said. Therefore, in order for the mind, which had given itself entirely to pleasure and bodily allurements in Adam, to transition into the form and appearance of virtue, a wise man is set before us as an example to imitate. Lastly, according to the Hebrews, Abraham is called father, and according to the Latins, he is called father, because the paternal mind governs the whole man with authority, care, and concern.

2. Therefore, this mind was in Charra, that is, in the caverns, subject to various passions. And therefore it is said to her: 'Leave your land' (Gen. 12:1), that is, your body. He left this land, whose conversation is in heaven. And 'from your kindred,' he says. Our souls are related to the senses of the body. For our soul is divided into two parts: the rational and the irrational. In that which is irrational, there are senses: therefore, the rational part, that is, the mind, is related. And he said, 'And leave from your house.' The word 'house' is a verb of the mind. For just as the head of the household resides in his house, and has the power to govern his own house, so too does the mind reside in our words, and governs our speech, and its power and discipline shine forth in our speech. Just as a good head of the household is assessed from the very entrance of the house, so too is our mind weighed by our words. Lastly, it also knocks and calls with the tones of the voice.


Therefore, whoever wants to achieve perfect purification, must separate themselves from these three things: the body, the bodily senses, and the voice, in which all bodily passions and deceptive sensory limitations reside. None of these three things are good. Not in the flesh, even though the school of Epicurus and many hedonists praise the pleasure of the body; nor in the senses, which are often deceived; nor in the sound of the voice, which often soothes the soul with false songs. These things are corruptible, but what is truly good is incorruptible. But indeed faith remains. For when a man dies, the flesh decays, the senses perish, the voice is lost, but the immortal mind remains, receiving an incorporeal life. Hence it is called to another land full of bliss, where falsehoods are not mistaken for truths, as in this life, but where it sees the living substance of things. For when it is freed from the misty image of the body, the senses, and the voice, it casts off the corruptible darkness and, with unveiled face, gazes upon the grace of blessed life.


I will bless you, he says, and make you a great nation (Gen. XII, 2). He promises immortality when he promises offspring. For the offspring appears to be immortal, while the individuals are mortal, such as humans, horses, bees. About them, someone says:

But that which is far better, he said, is the great nation of the Church, the perpetual posterity, and that supernatural generation, which is truly great, that we may die to sin and be born again to God.

Chapter II.

After the departure of Abraham, God speaks to him as a friend. The same is proposed to us for imitation, so that our mind may be reformed by his example. Therefore, Lot goes out with him; and what the significance of the sixtieth year is. Finally, how a wise person possesses their soul.


Abraham went out just as the Lord had spoken to him (Gen. XII, 4). Hence the Gentiles report the saying of the seven sages: Follow God, as if he were found; although Abraham, not to mention Moses, who was much earlier, was the one through whom the law was given, saying: You shall walk after the Lord your God (Deut. XIII, 4). Therefore Abraham went out, in whom not so much his perfection as his devotion of soul and freedom of mind went out from the bonds of the body, from the traps of pleasure. Finally, you have it: Abraham went out, just as God had spoken to him. Above, you have 'Go,' says God, in which the clear command of the one commanding is expressed: here you have how God spoke to him. The affection of some conversation is included; for he did everything that was ordained. Therefore, before the action, God speaks as if to a subject, after the action, he speaks as if to a friend. For the one who does what is commanded is a friend to God. And in his Gospel, the Lord Jesus says: 'You are my friends, if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants' (John 15:14-15). But, as I said, the process of the wise man is presented to us for imitation, written for the sake of experiment, not perfection. For the mind is still being reformed in Abraham, which has fallen in the first man. And therefore, it gathers itself through stages and progress.

6. And he added: And Lot went out with him (Gen. XII, 4), that is, decline. For the interpretation of the name signifies this; because as travelers, taking an unknown road, are often deceived by certain paths, so that they turn aside from the direct path; and yet if they are prudent, they do not go astray, but, hesitating, they gather the way from the view of the region itself: thus Abraham, though wavering, nevertheless followed the path of truth. He was often led astray by the false appearance of good things, but he was not completely inclined. For it is the mark of the perfect not to deviate, and of the wise not to deviate completely. But that one alone never deviated, of whom it is written: Behold, a virgin shall conceive in her womb, and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel, he shall eat butter and honey, before he knoweth or preferreth evil, let him choose the good; for before the child shall know to prefer the evil or the good, he shall not believe malice, that he may choose what is good (Isaiah 7:14). Abraham could not do this, that he would choose good things before he knew evil things. But he adhered to celestial precepts, so as not to deviate from the truth (Gen. XII, 4). Therefore, he is described as having lived seventy-five years in Charra, because the number seventy signifies perfect remission, it is the feeling that can be influenced. The pleasure of these sensations cause our mind to not always be upright, but sometimes swayed; so that it does not hide within the caves of the body, but within the hiding places of pleasure.


However, even in these warrens, he managed to escape in such a way that he took his wife and grandson and all the souls he possessed in Charra. For those who are wise and self-controlled are possessors of virtue and soul, choosing the beauty of gentle manners. But those who are lovers of the body are ensnared by its pleasures, for in the disposition of the body lie all irrational virtues, while the rational virtues lie in the soul and disciplines. It is written afterwards (Ibid., 5), that he possessed his soul as a free ruler, and subject to no servitude. This, then, is the intention of the doctor; that even in those diversions and deviations, whether of a more recent age, or of a discipline not yet perfect, or in a place open to vice, he resided in such a way that he was not so inclined to fault that he could not depart. Finally, he defended and transferred his mind from that slippery possession.

Chapter III.

Abraham walks as far as Shechem, which word denotes exercise. There he sees the God whom, while he was a Chaldean, he could not see: to whom he indeed builds an altar, but does not sacrifice; and for what reason? Nevertheless, having raised the altar again, he invokes the name of the Lord.


And he journeyed, he said, Abraham, as far as the place Sychem, to the lofty oak tree (Gen. XII, 6). Don't these seem superfluous, unless you seek the reason, since he did not overlook the height of the oak tree? But where there is reason, there is nothing superfluous. For Sychem signifies either the shoulder or the neck, which is an indication of labor and exercise. Hence Jacob, a man skilled in exercise, bestowed it as a special gift upon his son Joseph. Therefore, since exercise itself cannot confer perfection without the dowry of nature, and is deprived of the grace of nature if exercise is lacking (for diligence is the support of talent), that man is introduced for your imitation, to whom you are being formed, with the grace of nature accompanied by exercise, thus becoming more solid and elevated, so as to pass as far as the lofty oak tree. The tree, as tall as it is, is also strong, indicating that the soul of the holy Abraham in this age has not been easily curved by storms, but has remained lofty, in order to elevate itself from earthly inquiries to the height of divine knowledge.

9. Finally, God immediately appeared to him (Gen. XII, 7). Nowhere earlier do you have that God was seen by him. Hence it is clear that this can be referred to him, because as long as he was a Chaldean, that is, not only in the region, but also in the opinion of the Chaldeans, he could not see the God whom he sought within the world. For the Chaldeans call the higher world God, and they claim that earthly things are carried by the house of the constellations and the course of the stars, and are constrained by a certain bond. And they called the stars gods because they believe that they have a certain supernatural dominion, since some stars have compassion for earthly matters. However, they should consider that what has compassion cannot have a commanding or ruling power, like a god, over those for whom it feels compassion; since it is also mortal and corruptible. Moreover, even though the world has been made, it itself is not God, but rather its creator and operator. Therefore, as long as the mind is influenced by Chaldean errors, it does not see God, whom it seeks in the things that are seen, not in the things that are unseen: for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are unseen are eternal. But God is not temporal, therefore He is not seen. Therefore, the mind does not see God when it follows the teachings of the Chaldeans. Hence, neither did Abraham see Him at first. But how could he see Him, whom he thought to be superior to another? But when he migrated to another not only region, but humble religion, for this is what Chanaan signifies, then he began to see God and to know that the God whose invisible power he perceived rules and governs all things. Therefore, the Scripture teaches us that Abraham, leaving behind the observation of the stars, saw God.

10. Confirmation of the testimony is added (Gen. XII, 7); for in that place he built an altar to the Lord who appeared to him. This strong impression is imprinted on his soul, and a clear faith in the truth is evident: memory is abundant in a grateful man, oblivion creeps in for an ungrateful one. The former cling to those who assist them, the latter lose everything that is given to them. However, he erected an altar but did not offer sacrifice. It could be understood if you remember the development of this thought process, which is preserved in the series of scriptures. And for this reason, he observed the custom of learning the act of sacrifice from God. For he perceived that the sacrifice of an irrational and dumb animal seemed unworthy of divine worship, as it did not appear to be a fitting offering. At that time, he had not yet understood the typology of Isaac's future passion, nor had Melchizedek bestowed upon him the grace of his blessing, so that he might understand these things.

11. He departed, he says, from there to the mountain, opposite Bethel to the East (ibid., 8). The increase of devotion signifies the height of the mountain, of which the ascent is an indication of a more abundant progress. Opposite the East, therefore, because he prophesied the coming of the sun of justice; for there Wisdom prepared a dwelling for herself, and from there she predetermined her rising through the virgin. Therefore, he wanted to receive the light of already known mysteries. For just as the world will be illuminated by the brightness of the sun, so the whole mind will be illuminated by the splendor of Wisdom. And fittingly he established Bethlehem against the East. For the house of God is called Bethlehem, in which Christ was born. Therefore God says through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people (Micah 5:2). He did not say against Bethlehem, but he called Bethlehem itself the tabernacle. For the Church of the righteous is the tabernacle. Now who does not marvel at the mysteries, that Bethlehem is near the Sea of Galilee from the East. Indeed, either the soul that deserves to be called the temple of God, or the Church, is battered by the waves of worldly cares, but it is not destroyed: it is struck, but it does not falter, it is readily able to suppress and appease the commotions of the waves and the uprisings of bodily affections. It watches the shipwrecks of others, itself immune and devoid of danger, always prepared for Christ to shine upon it, and through His enlightenment, it acquires joy for itself. For just as the eyes are nourished by the light of the first day, so too is our mind nourished by the discoveries of wisdom, and it seems to shine with certain rays of it. For the visible rays of the sun are diffused throughout the earth, but the invisible rays of our heart penetrate its inner recesses.

He built an altar again and invoked in the name of the Lord (Genesis 12:8). The process of faith is signified in the invocation of the Lord. This adds to what was said before.

Chapter IV.

When Abraham had stayed in the desert, where the tranquility of the mind is symbolized, he descended into Egypt, which is a temptation, compelled by hunger. Why did he call her Sarah sister, and not wife? While Pharaoh returns her to her husband with reproof, he marks the mind renouncing continence.


13. And Abraham went forth, and abode in the desert (ibid., 9). Then the mind is tested, when it is in a certain desert, where there is no sensuality of desires, no abundance of money, no extravagance of expenses. Would that I could be in this desert, devoid of all incentives of desires, abandoned by every study of wrongdoing, stripped of boasting and arrogance. But because either God allows us to be tempted, or the tempter attacks, when he deems that the mind is calm in the desert, free from all earthly desires, it is impelled into Egypt, where it can be restrained. For the stimulus of the mind is our flesh, and its passions are our afflictions. It is our Egypt, that is, our flesh, it is our affliction itself. Our mind descends into it when it thinks about carnal things. But it ascends when it desires the invisible. Therefore, Abraham is also said to have descended into Egypt, in order to be afflicted. Our mind suffers this, sometimes separating itself from the body, wanting to act individually, and desiring to strive after and adhere to incorporeal things. Sometimes, because of the connection between the soul and the body, one is inclined towards carnal pleasures, to which the weak are subjected, but the strong are not held captive. Therefore, afflictions are like crowns to a strong man, but weaknesses to a weak one. Hence, he who says, 'For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn - fighting without and fear within' (2 Corinthians 7:5) did not fear the afflictions that served to prove his worthiness.


14. But when there arose a famine in Egypt, hunger forced him to go down (Gen. XII, 10). For a cruel hunger of the mind arises when the desire for this flesh overflows, and long-awaited water is harmful to our well-being. They reduce us to the narrowness of the body when the desire for possessing creeps in, pleasure is to luxury, boasting is to the heart. We are all tempted. Even a sober mind is swayed, it descends into Egypt, that is, into the affliction of the body. However, it descends in such a way that it seems to dwell as a foreigner for a time, not as a citizen to possess. For He Himself has said: I am a stranger on earth (Ps. CXVIII, 19). And elsewhere: Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged (Ps. CXIX, 5).

15. However, when Abraham went down into Egypt (Gen. XII, 11), that is, to a people with wild and barbarous customs, who were ignorant of virtue; in order to avoid harm through envy, he told Sarah to say that she was his sister, not his wife. And from this arises a great mystery of virtue, which is quickly envied. And therefore, in order to suppress envy, one should show oneself to be more humble. One should not claim superiority over all others: one should not arrogate wisdom to oneself alone as if it were exceptional. This is the wife that Solomon acquired for himself. For a wife is owed to only one. Therefore, everyone desires to be seen as worthy of such a union, so that they may grieve over being preferred to someone else. Who alone possesses such beauty? A sister, however, is connected to many either by the bond of blood or by name. And therefore she preserves her true lover entirely from harm.

16. Therefore, the Egyptians, seeing her, who were unable to discern or recognize the form of virtue, estimating by common judgment, led her to the tyrant, that is, to the proud mind that could not bear the weight of wisdom, and thus she was afflicted. For when the wicked word of virtue enters the soul, it rebukes it for guilt and afflicts it with the shame of error, and torments it with the pain of backsliding. For while we are under the desire to sin, the mind is covered with certain clouds of foolishness, and the eyes are dimmed by a certain smoke of wickedness, so that it may not see the deformity of those things which it desires. But when all the mist has passed and the brightness of wisdom has shone forth, severe torments are inflicted upon a certain secretary who is evilly conscious. Therefore, our mind, burdened by the guilt of conscience, becomes a judge and executes judgment of penance. And if it cannot bear and endure the presence of virtue, either due to sickness caused by fault or weakness, it dismisses and banishes it from itself, and does not allow it to revolve within itself and adhere to its thoughts. And just as weak eyes avoid light, so an weak mind cannot bear the brilliance of wisdom. Such were the Gerasenes who asked Jesus to leave their region.

17. Finally, that king of Egypt said to Abraham: What have you done to me? Why did you not tell me that she is your wife? Instead, you said that she is your sister, and I took her as my wife. And now behold, your wife is before you, take her and go away. Let us consider someone who, having observed the grace of chastity, is captivated by its beauty and thinks it should be followed. Then, unaware of the company she is accompanied by, he approaches, accompanied by sobriety, modesty and reverence, moderation in food, fleeing from lasciviousness, insolence, impudence, serious caution, vigilant custody. Suddenly, inflamed by the heat of either drunkenness, or the burning desire of the flesh, or the encounter with a more attractive form, he is unable to hold himself back and does not resist the law of the flesh; does he not say: I thought it would be easier to follow chastity, but it is beyond my shoulders, beyond my strength. Rare are those things that are joined together. Farewell, purity, withdraw, withdraw from the boundaries of my senses. Return quickly to where you came from: I cannot endure your presence, I am afflicted with serious doubts, while I think I must hold you, whom I cannot hold.

18. Then he turned to someone who has made it his business to impress upon him the habit of chastity, arguing that it would not be difficult or impossible but rather joined with many companions, suitable for those who are diligent, and agreeable to those who are willing. 'What have you done to me?' he said. 'Why did you not tell me that she is your wife?' This is a woman who, in a legitimate marriage and not in a perfunctory manner, brings with her a great dowry, who brings with her heavy burdens of marriage and the harsh obligations of conjugal life. But you said she is a sister, bound by no laws, a companion by nature, not proud or powerful due to any legal dowry. So I, unaware, thought that her burdens should be connected and held by me, but I understood that there is weight and burden in her. Behold your wife, that is, behold your persuasion before you, accept it, and retreat. I do not want her to be before me, I do not want her in my thoughts. Take yourself away with your counsels, with your admonition, quickly take yourself away, quickly retreat, I cannot bear your delays, they are afflictions to me: it is enough that I was deceived before. And he sent his students to whom his mind often wanders, turning over thoughts of lust, ambition, greed, and various temptations, that they might eliminate and push far away chastity, lest it return to the boundaries from which it had been expelled; so that, now secure and free from serious judgment, he would not fear being reproached for his sins.

Chapter V.

Abraham departed from Egypt with his wife Sarah and all his possessions, that is, with the true riches of the soul. What does his return to Bethel symbolize? And why is Lot not called rich in gold and silver?


19. Therefore Abraham departed from there, having his wife Sarah with him (Gen. 13:1), that is, the principal one, not a servant. For this reason it is also said to him: Listen, Sarah, your wife (Gen. 21:12). For she who has stripped herself of the servitude of sins has authority, not slavery. Therefore, the stronger mind has the principal virtue with it, that is, the one that commands the senses of the body, not the one that obeys. She brought everything with her from Egypt and did not lose any of her teachings there. Intemperance, insolence, immodesty of depravity is not colored, the garment of careful moderation is not taken off, the clothing of modesty is not stripped off.

20. He was very wealthy (Gen. XIII, 2), as someone to whom nothing good was lacking, who desired nothing that belonged to others, who needed nothing from anyone else, and who wanted what was rightfully his. For this is what it means to be wealthy, to have enough for one's desires. Frugality has its own measure, but wealth does not, as it depends on the discretion of the one seeking it. He was wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold. What does this mean? Secular wealth does not seem to be praised in a righteous person. Where I understand bodily senses in animals, because they themselves are irrational; in silver, speech; in gold, mind. Abraham was richly blessed, because he governed irrational senses. Finally, he conquered and made them meek, so that they became rational. He possessed a speech shining with the color of faith, purified by the grace of spiritual discipline; he possessed a mind full of wisdom. And therefore, a good mind is compared to gold; because just as gold surpasses other metals, so a good mind is superior to the other parts of human substance. Therefore, in these three aspects of a wise person, namely, in perception, speech, and mind, there is a certain order of progression, just as we also read in the Apostle: And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love (I Cor. XIII, 13). And therefore, the mind is greater; because it is the one that grinds the spiritual grain, in order to produce the purification of perceptions and speeches. The persona of a wise man is preserved everywhere.

21. Finally, it is indicated that Abraham returned to that place (Gen. XIII, 3), that is, to Bethel, from which he had descended to Egypt, so that we may understand that even the righteous, who are placed in the house of God and attentively follow the word of God, are indeed tested by worldly afflictions; but they are not estranged from the house of God and the observance of heavenly commands. To be content with their own boundaries, not to be lifted up by the abundance of riches and by things that flow in accordance with sensual pleasure, is the mark of an excellent mind: to always contemplate the beginning and the end, to proceed from there, and to enter from there, is the ultimate good. But wisdom is good. For no one is good, except God alone. From Him we proceed, created by Him: to Him we return, for to be with Christ is much better. And so that you may know that it is good to agree the beginning and the end, Jesus Himself says: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Apoc. I, 8).

Therefore, since our mind is always with him, let it never depart from his temple, from his word. Let it always be in the reading of the Scriptures, in meditations, in prayers, so that his word, who he is, may always work in us, and so that every day as we go to the Church, or as we engage in domestic prayers, we may begin with him and end in him. Therefore, may the whole day of our life and the course of the day take its beginning from him and end in him. For just as it is necessary to believe and be initiated to God from the beginning of life, so perseverance is necessary until the end. And diligence of the best mind is required, so that it may not do anything irrational contrary to the word of God, which would bring about sadness. It should always be conscious of its good actions and keep the joy of a good conscience. For that which is good is without fear and without sadness, full of security and grace. For the possession of the just is pleasing to God, but there is no degree for the foolish. Therefore Isaiah, with good approaching, says: Pain, and sadness, and groaning will flee away (Isa. XXXV, 10). Also, John in the Apocalypse says: And he, God himself, will be with them and will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore (Apoc. XXI, 3 and 4). For in the resurrection of the righteous, there will be eternal joy and grace, when that good begins to exist with his saints, when they rest in the bosom of Abraham, placed in his tabernacle, which is fixed between the house and the word of God and grace: signifying that the faithful act with innocence toward their author, who they do not have reason to regret having been in this world.


Therefore, simple facts explain the foundations of Abraham's great institutions. He is rightly wealthy, who also enriches the discussions of philosophers, who would shape their own precepts about his actions.

24. The Scripture had already expressed his wealth: it remained to know whether Lot, his grandson and as much a part of his succession, was also wealthy. But the Scripture asserts that he was only rich in livestock. In fact, it says: 'Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds, etc.' (Gen. 13:5). He did not have silver, for he was not yet righteous. For silver is the tongue of the righteous. He did not have gold, which he who saw the back parts of Christ had, of whom it is written: 'And his back parts were like gold' (Ps. 68:14). Abraham saw him, as the Lord testified, saying: Abraham saw my day, and he rejoiced (John 8:56). And therefore he deserved and possessed the appearance of gold.

Chapter VI.

The meaning of the text is: And Lot, who was walking with Abram, likewise: the land did not hold them. About the shepherds, and the fight that broke out between them, which Abraham tries to control. When Lot failed to retain them, he dismisses him with goodwill. About Lot's lack of skill and insolence in choosing; and about the sins of the Sodomites.


25. Now that should by no means be passed over, which seems to have even moved the learned; by which reason it is written thus: 'And Lot, who walked with Abram' (Gen. XIII, 5); as if there were another Lot who did not walk with him, according to what we have heard. And many think that the question is not resolved. Therefore, in order to satisfy them and not depart from the rule of Scripture, we say one person, two things, that in one and the same man two things are signified: he is one in number, but his duty is twofold. For Lot is said to decline, as the Latin interpretation has it. But everyone declines either good or evil. Therefore, when Lot declined evil, that is, error, disgrace, crime, he was joined to his uncle; when he declined good, that is, justice, innocence, holiness, religiosity, he associated with disgrace. Therefore, it is well said: And Lot who walked with Abram; because he had not yet chosen Sodom, he did not dwell with the authors of wickedness. Afterwards, he began to dwell in Sodom. And so, as if changed from himself, he is received as another person; not only by the righteous man, but even by himself, turning away.

26. Finally, because he had begun to deviate from his uncle in his studies, the land could not contain them. For no amount of space is sufficient for those who are in conflict; even narrow spaces abound for those who are at peace. And because I said from the beginning (above, in chapter 1 of this book) that the mind is formed here, which was imperfect from the beginning but progresses through increments and certain stages, he says: The land could not contain them. That is, one soul could not naturally contain conflicting movements. However, it can happen that sometimes not everything is perfect in one and the same person; nevertheless, one can cover up some of his own faults or temper his own movements: either if there are more good things that outweigh fewer faults, or if one can redirect sudden turmoil with more mature advice. But if on both sides there are more conflicting and opposing things, the dwelling of discordant virtues and passions in one soul must necessarily dissolve. Therefore, he figuratively called the soul 'earth' according to the philosophers. For Solomon also says: Just like an imprudent farmer (Prov. XXIV); if the field is fruitful with an abundance of crops, it can hide the thorns. But if the thorns gather with the ear of grain, there is no supply for cutting.

27. Therefore, let us consider who these shepherds are (Gen. XIII, 7), and what kind of animals they have, and what quarrel between the shepherds of Abraham and the shepherds of Lot we should examine. Shepherds are the masters of herds, or diligent and sober, not allowing the crops of the fields to be trampled underfoot and burned by thorns: or negligent and lax, who do not call back their flock, so that it may graze on grassy and not fruitful land, but allow it to roam freely among various crops. Therefore, the careful watchfulness of these shepherds is necessary, lest it be attributed to the diligent, that which is overturned by the carelessness of the negligent. But because speech is not about visible things, therefore let us first consider who the shepherds of these flocks are. We can define these shepherds. Shepherds, he says, of livestock (Gen. XIII, 7). But we have learned that livestock signifies the irrational senses of the body. Therefore, who are the shepherds of the senses, if not teachers, and as it were, guides of the flocks, their leaders, or the monitors of a certain discourse, or the thoughts of our mind? Those who are knowledgeable and steadfast in the pastoral discipline do not allow the flock of senses to wander further and adhere to useless or harmful pastures, but they call them back with a careful guide, and they remove the reins of reason and resist those who resist. But wicked teachers, either through useless arguments, allow them to be carried away by their own impetuosity, and to rush into the precipice and danger, and trample on cultivated fields, and graze on fruitful ones; so that if there are any such fruits of virtues in the same soul, they too may be scattered. Hence, there is a discord in our thoughts. When the flesh rebels against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, there is a great battle, as the Apostle himself, a chosen vessel of the Lord, says: I see the law of my flesh rebelling against the law of my mind, and taking me captive in the law of sin, which is in my members (Rom. VII, 23). He himself was unable to quell this battle, and therefore he turned to Christ, saying: Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death (Ibid., 24)? This is so that I don't cling to the pleasures of the flesh. Therefore, who is it that will free me from these chains and lead me to God, and turn my senses more towards the sobriety of the soul than towards the intoxication of the body? But because among humans he could hardly find a guide, he turned to God: 'Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!' (Ibid., 25). If a stronger man did not rely on his own strength to escape the body of death, but sought help from Christ, what should we weaker ones do? Abraham knew this battle to be serious, and therefore he thought caution should be exercised at the beginning. For it is the characteristic of a wise person to seek peace, and of a foolish person to engage in friendly quarrels.

28. He said, 'Let there be no strife between me and you, and between my shepherds and your shepherds; for we are brothers.' (Gen. XIII, 8). We read that Abraham was Lot's uncle, and Lot was his nephew; how then does he call him brother? But note that he employs the causes of concord. Hence, he prefaces, 'We are brothers.' Indeed, all men are born of one nature, within the same womb, and are brought forth and poured out from one uterus. Whereby, by right, we are connected as brothers of a certain kinship, as if born from one father and one mother, like uterine brothers. And because we are the reasonable offspring of nature, we ought to love one another as uterine brothers with mutual affection, not to attack and persecute one another. Moreover, it is much truer to refer to one soul, which has reasonable relatives, as we have said above (Chapter I of this book), than to irrational senses; but what is reasonable has the bond of virtues. Where vices and virtues of a person are united by a certain brotherly necessity, because the former are of the flesh and the latter of the rational soul. However, flesh and soul are joined together as if by a certain law of marriage, from which man is composed. Therefore, man ought to reconcile his parts and bring them into peace. But because there was no one so great who could overcome the flesh, our peace came, who made both one, and by breaking down the middle wall of partition, abolished enmities in his flesh, nullifying the law of commandments with its edicts, so as to create in himself one new man, making peace, reconciling both in one body to God through the cross, putting to death enmities in himself (Ephesians 2:14 et seq.). Therefore, the Apostle correctly called himself an unhappy man (Rom. VII, 24) , who endured such a great war within himself that he could not extinguish it. Finally, when Solomon spoke of one aspect of passions, that is, anger, he said: Better, he says, is a wise man than a strong man: but he who contains anger is better than one who captures a city (Prov. XVI, 32) . Therefore, blessed is he who has escaped this war, not as a stranger and foreigner, but as a citizen of the saints and a member of the household of God, whom earthly things do not shake while he is placed here on earth.


29. Abraham wanted to maintain this disposition. And so, as a peaceful man, he first said: Let there be no quarrel between me and you. He then said: And between my shepherds and your shepherds. He made a third proposition: Behold, he said, all the land is before you, that is, if we cannot agree, I yield it all, take the whole, if there is any disagreement about place or possession. But if it does not fit in with your customs, depart from me. How many things did he say beforehand so that he would not be forced to depart? But this is also a virtue and discipline. For a man who had advanced in the discipline of philosophy before us said that these four things belong to a good man: First, he should make friends with everyone if possible; second, if he cannot make friends, he should at least not make enemies; third, if he cannot even do that, he should withdraw according to his judgment; fourth, if someone pursues him as he retreats, he should defend himself as best he can. But we recognize those three things in Abraham not only in his words, but also in his actions.


But the fourth case is not like this, when it even preserved the affection of the parent who was giving way; so that it not only did not pursue him, but even snatched and set free the captive. Finally, the Apostle, while teaching those three things, solves the fourth, which Philosophy had added. For he says, when he wanted to instruct the peaceful people of God: If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with all men (Rom. XII, 18); and then if this is not possible, certainly not disputes or hostilities. And so he added: Not avenging yourselves, dearest (Ibid., 19), in which also that third thing is excluded, that we should by no means desire to avenge ourselves: But give place to wrath. You have a fourth, to depart more, and to commit revenge to God, which you exact for yourself; although he wanted this said more according to the law. For according to the Gospel you have above: Bless those who persecute you (Matt. 5:44). We have these precepts to Timothy in the second letter: For this reason, he says, I admonish you, that you stir up the grace of God which is in you by the imposition of my hands. For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of sobriety (2 Timothy 1:6-7). And again: But you, dear son, take strength in grace (2 Timothy 2:1). Therefore, you have the first precept of wisdom, that you may show grace towards all. And if you cannot acquire all with your precepts, be careful not to provoke anyone with words, that is, not to make enemies. Hence it says below: I remind you of these things, testifying before God, not to strive with words, which is no utility, except to the subversion of the hearers (ibid., 14). But the servant of the Lord must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone. After a few well-placed remarks, he presented an argument that Philosophy did not see: 'With gentleness,' he said, 'correcting those who oppose, lest God grant them repentance to know the truth' (Ibid., 25). To the third point, that we should separate from those with whom we cannot agree, you have the following added: when he instructed us to speak what is fitting for sound doctrine, then to avoid disputes about the law, that is, first to sow grace, then to turn away from arguments. The third point is that after one warning, he should avoid a heretic; for he is condemned himself, having sinned (Titus 3:10-11). How cunningly he escapes our condemnation with his own judgment, as if unworthy of the retribution that will be brought upon him! But David clearly removes the desire for revenge by saying: If I have rendered evil to those who have rendered evil to me

Therefore, the mind of a wise man strives to correct either the lapses or the irrational movements of the same soul and to unite them to himself. For it is possible that those things which sometimes displease may be amended with grace. If the outflow of wealth is restrained, it has generosity without expense. Sometimes modesty is less strict; if it is confirmed, it has both the grace of modesty and the constancy of purpose. If anger is tempered, it puts aside the horror of indignation and assumes the praise of strength. But if it cannot be corrected, let not intemperance worsen it. He detects the fire of lust, which he restrains by marriage, let alone seeking continence, for unchastity creeps in. And therefore the master of the good things says, 'I say, he says, it is good for them if they remain thus, as I do.' But if they cannot be continent, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn.' (I Cor. VII, 8) There are some women who are left unmarried prematurely by their husbands' death, and they cannot restrain themselves. He wants, she says, young women to marry, to bear children, to be mothers of families, to give no occasion to the adversary (I Tim. V, 14). But if any pleasures delight them, and they want to indulge in luxury in Christ, seeking the glory of widowhood but not preserving virginity, he judges that they should be avoided, as it is written: Avoid young widows (Ibid., 11).

Therefore, Abraham rightly and with good permission wanted to dismiss his nephew, whom he could not keep from straying away. In the same way, a good mind separates and sets itself apart from a steep and downward slide into irrationality. 'If you go to the left,' he said, 'I will go to the right; or if you go to the right, I will go to the left' (Genesis 13:9). That is, what is on your right is on my left, and what is on your left is on my right. For in the right hand of the foolish man are those things which pertain to the body: he prefers and sets them in a better place, and he even sets riches and honors before them. But indeed, he holds the grace of obtaining immortality in his left hand, which is on the left side for the wise man. For the length of life is in his right hand. And the foolish man throws all the virtues of the soul into the left side, but the wise man places them on the right side for himself; and those things which pertain to the body, he places on the left side.


33. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the region of Jordan. The further away from the truth, the more boasting there is. Finally, just as Abraham offered his choice more humbly, so Lot arrogantly usurped his choice. Virtue humbles itself, but wickedness exalts itself. He should have entrusted himself to the wiser, in order to be safer. Finally, he did not know how to choose. For at first he lifted up his eyes and beheld the region, that is, that thing which was not first in order, but third, that is, last. First are the goods of the soul: second, those of the body, that is, health, virtue, beauty, grace of form: third are the things that happen, that is, wealth, power, country, friends, glory. Therefore, the region is placed in the third place; it is indeed the property of dwelling.

34. Therefore, He saw the region that was irrigated before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the Garden of God and the land of Egypt, as far as Zoi-pa. (Ibid.) If you do not pay careful attention to this, can you not say that he made a mistake when he chose the vicinity of the Jordan and those regions that were irrigated, like the Garden of God? Not according to the literal interpretation. But when the descent into the Jordan is mentioned, it means descending from the fellowship of virtue, and choosing appearance over truth. The beauty of the perfect blessedness is like a paradise, or the foundation of a fruitful soul, in which are the plants of wisdom, justice, and other virtues. However, the earth of Egypt signifies physical matter, whose plants are the senses and bodily passions. Just as the greenery of virtue have Christ as their source and the spiritual abundance of grace by which they flourish, so too intemperance is a certain source of bodily passions, by which excesses are nourished.


But Scripture says beautifully (Gen. XIII, 11): he chose for himself Lot, that is, a turning aside; because God has put before us good and evil, so that each one may choose what he wishes. Therefore, let us not choose what seems more pleasant in appearance, but what prevails in truth; lest, when the better things are offered to us as a tribute, we raise our eyes diverted by the false charm of delight: but let us obscure the truth of nature, as if our gaze were diverted.


Moreover, the fact that the people in Sodom were cruel (Genesis 13) and sinners in the sight of the Lord, indicates a severe judgment, so that you may observe that God, being kind, is moved by the severity of sins to avenge them. And it is not unreasonable that Abraham could not obtain forgiveness for the people of Sodom, because they were exceedingly wicked. There are many who are not only wicked but also crafty, who elude the scrutiny of men, and conduct themselves without an arbiter, or the righteous are deceived by false testimony. Yet the righteous person remains before God, even if condemned by humans; for God does not judge the outcome of trials, nor does He concern himself with the tangled webs of wickedness, but rather looks at the raw nature of the matter. In the examination of men, false opinions often obscure the power of truth. Susanna, chaste in heart, remained before God, even when condemned of adultery; for God did not examine the faith through the assertions of false witnesses, but rather questioned the intimate conscience of the mind.

Chapter VII.

From the words of the Lord to Abraham, philosophers have derived their doctrine: That all things are of wisdom, and have been drawn from it, and that in it is contained the possession which was promised to Abraham by divine providence. The five kings, namely the senses of the body, are held captive by the four, that is, by bodily allurements. But the same patriarch, fighting in the name of Christ, recalls the cavalry of the people of Sodom, in order to control vices and errors.


37. The place follows where we are clearly taught how much the mind is greatly improved by the removal of the superfluous part of an irrational number, and how much faults, when connected with faults, bring about evil. For Scripture does not state in vain: And God said to Abraham, after Lot had departed from him: Look with your eyes and see from the place where you are now, towards Africa, and the North, and the East, and the sea; because I will give you all the land that you see, to you and to your descendants forever (Gen. XIII, 14 and 15). Hence, the Stoic philosophers drew their doctrine as if from a source, saying that all things belong to the wise (Diogenes Laertius, Book VII, Life of Zeno). For the East and the West, the North and the South are parts of the universe. The whole world is enclosed in them. When God promised Abraham that He would give him these things, what else does He declare but that He will provide everything to the wise and faithful, leaving nothing lacking? Thus, Solomon also says in Proverbs: the whole world of riches belongs to the faithful (Prov. XVII, 6). How much greater is Solomon than Zeno, the master and founder of the Stoic sect! How much greater than Plato, the father of philosophy, or Pythagoras, the inventor of his name! But who is faithful, if not wise? For the fool is like the moon, always changing, but the wise person remains steadfast in their faith.

But perhaps you will say: How is the whole world the possession of a wise person? Because nature itself gives them the lot of everything, even if they themselves possess nothing. Wisdom is indeed the mistress and possessor of all things, which considers the gifts of nature to be its own; because they are given for the use of humans, and it needs nothing, even if the necessities of life are lacking. For just as a musician has musical instruments, or a doctor has medicines, or a sailor has the necessary equipment for a ship, even if they may not have them at all times; they still have them in a way that they can use them, even if the need for their use does not arise at the moment. How much more does a wise person consider everything that is of nature to be their own, who lives according to nature! For he does not lose his right who remembers that he was made in the image of God and that it was said to man by the Lord God, 'Increase and multiply, and fill the Earth, and have dominion over it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the sky, and all the living things that move on the Earth' (Gen. I, 28). And he knows that wisdom is the mother of all things, and she possesses the world. Finally, Solomon, who sought wisdom and received it from our Lord God, said, 'He has given me true knowledge of the things that exist, so that I may know the arrangement of the Earth, the power of the elements, the beginning and end and middle of all things, the divisions of time, the course of the years, the arrangements of the stars, the natures of animals and the tempers of beasts, the force of the winds, the thoughts of men, the differences of plants, the powers of roots, and whatever is hidden and unexpected' (Sap. VII. 17 et seq). But these things are only available to the perfect.

39. Finally, as long as Lot clung to him, that is, a deviation in morals, he did not receive these fortunes. But when he had completely freed himself from this uncertain and winding deviation, he began to follow the straight paths of virtue with steady steps of his soul, and he was sent as the possessor into all the land, and it was said to him: Arise, and walk through the land in its length and width; for I will give it to you, and to your descendants forever (Gen. XIII, 17). Therefore, whoever has earned wisdom and is not the son of a slave, not a servant of sin, not subject to the succession of the flesh; but free, that is, not a servant but a ruler, of good lineage, of good nature, will acquire the inheritance of perfect virtue. Therefore, it is said to Abraham: Arise. It does not signify a bodily resurrection, but a spiritual one, that is, Arise, you who sleep (Ephesians 5:14), rise from earthly things, rise from physical things, leave behind earthly things, behold heaven; and rise from the dead, that is, from vain opinions and Chaldean disquisitions. Behold the world, behold also him who can give the whole world. 'I will give you the world in possession,' he says, 'whom you believed to be God before.'

40. Walk the earth in its length and breadth. Certainly within a moment this earth, enclosed by the Persian empire, could not be walked from the shores of India to the columns of Hercules, as they say, or to the farthest borders of Britain. And one could seem almost irreverent, who did not obey the celestial oracle, if he had received the command to travel through this land: but since his devotion has been proven; because he had only transferred his tent to the oak of Mamre (Genesis, 18), we can certainly understand the perfect power of the land, which would give good fruits and fruitful inventions, the first harvest of thoughts and the harvest of merits, and would fill the inner house with wheat, wine, and oil, the land of resurrection which He promised to our fathers, flowing with milk and honey (Exodus, 3), the sweetness of life, the grace of joy, the splendor of glory, of which the firstborn from the dead, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became the heir. And therefore he did not say 'seeds' but 'seed' (Gal. III, 16), in order to declare him who would be the first to acquire this inheritance for the human race.

We have known the progress of a good mind, which, rising up from the vice of slippery deviation, immediately sought the reward of wisdom, the inheritance of justice. However, the harm that vices attached to levity can cause is taught by the series of following readings. For those four kings who triumphed over the five kings and brought the entire cavalry of the people of Sodom, also took Lot, the son of Abraham's brother, and departed. The five kings (Gen. XIV, 1 et seq.) are the five senses of our body: sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. The four kings are bodily and worldly allurements; for both the flesh of man and the world consist of four elements. Kings are rightly called so because they have dominion over their subjects and possess a great kingdom. Hence, the Apostle says: 'Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body' (Rom. VI, 12). Our senses easily give way to bodily pleasures and worldly desires, and are captivated by their power. But these bodily pleasures and allurements of this world do not conquer unless the mind is spiritual, adhering to God and separating itself completely from earthly things. Every deflection is captured by these. Hence, John says: Woe to the inhabitants of the earth. (Apoc. VIII, 13). Of course, it does not include all people who then complete the course of this life (for there are also those on earth whose conversation is in heaven), but rather those whom the desires of earthly conversation and the grace of this age have overcome. Therefore, we are not inhabitants, but sojourners of this earth. For a sojourner carries the hope of a temporary inn, but a inhabitant seems to place all hope and use of his substance there, where he thinks he should dwell. Therefore, whoever is a dweller of the earth, is a inhabitant of heaven; but whoever is an inhabitant of the earth, is a possessor of death.

Abram counted three hundred and eighteen of his household servants, and he struck them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is to the right of Damascus (Gen. XIV, 14 and 15). And the number is significant. For in it is life, if we believe in suffering in the name of the Lord Jesus. For this is the interpretation of the name of Hobah, which we said is life (Book I of Abraham, c. 2). It is said to be beautiful to the right of Damascus. For indeed Agni to the right, kids to the left. The trained mind knows whom to employ for accomplishing the battle, with what weapons to equip them, with what banners to lead. It does not prefer the images of eagles, nor of dragons: but it advances under the cross of Christ, and in the name of Jesus, to the battle, strong in this sign, faithful in this banner. Therefore, the trained mind, which has received the true wisdom of a just man, deserves praise. But justice is also skillful in reproof, and by accusing, it calls back sinners, and restrains the impulses of passions.


Therefore Scripture says that it recalled all the cavalry of the Sodomites, that is, it held the reins, imposed the bridle of reason, recalled the fault, and overthrew the error. For a horse does not know how to stand still, it is swift to attack, raising its neck, neighing with lust. What is so similar to sin? For at first the fault boils with impetuosity and precludes every thought of the right, and with hasty movement it springs forth, so that reason finds it difficult to recall it. He plunges headlong and throws off his yoke of correction, refusing with a swollen neck to bear his burden. There is a particular form of lust that changes the voice of a man, corrupts the words of a lover, and reveals itself in its own words. Finally, the Lord God says to Judah through Jeremiah: Now your disgrace, your adultery, your neighing, and the alienation of your fornication will be seen upon the hills (Jeremiah 13:25-26). The righteous one called back the cavalry, he also converted the declining customs and called them to himself, so that they would become imitators of him, who had wandered off; because our senses return to the discipline of the mind.

44. It also received substance. It certainly does not signify inheritance, but the vital substance of the soul, in which there is precious wealth, not straw, not hay; in which there is the splendor of faithful conversation, in which our census of hope subsists. For this is our true substance, which is rich in the abundance of wisdom, this is the immortal substance: the daily use of the body or of accidents, rather than lasting use. Hence, some rightly do not consider inheritance to be substance. For we do not depend on it, since even for those who lack money, substance of life does not fail.

Chapter VIII.

Our mind learns in Melchizedek devotion towards the worship of God, in the king of Sodom temptation even after it has been conquered, still to be feared, in Abraham the avoidance of the contamination of intemperance. Therefore, why is such a great reward promised to him only after the victory; and why does he take care of posterity? Finally, to the same Abraham, defended from the superstitions of divination, a manifold interpretation is added to the sacrifice offered by him.


45. In the moral treatise on Melchizedek, we have fully discussed (Book I on Abraham, ch. 3) the mystery which is by no means overlooked or neglected. In this place, however, it is sufficient to mention only this: that a mind full of prudence and justice is more devoted to the worship of God, and according to higher prudence, it offers tithes of the fruits produced by the earth, so that it may dedicate the perfection of all its senses and works to God, and not claim anything for itself, which it cannot govern unless it is supported by divine favor. Finally, when he thinks he has conquered himself, he is tested and attacked. This lesson expresses and teaches that our body should always act as a guard against passions. For what does it say: The king of Sodom went out to meet Abram and said: Give me the people, but you can keep the horses (Genesis 14:21); unless it is because after victories over these luxuries, a certain force of lustful desire can sneak into the reasonable mind, to infuse irrational passions into it?


46. However, it is the mark of a perfect mind not to take anything from earthly or bodily pleasures, to abstain from earthly things. Therefore, Abraham says: I will not take anything from all that is yours (Gen., 23). It is as if he avoids the contagion of intemperance, as if he shuns the defilement of bodily senses, rejects the pleasures of the world, seeking what is above the world, that is, stretching out his hands towards the Lord. The active hand is the virtue of the soul. He extends this hand not towards the fruit of a terrestrial tree, but towards the Lord, who created, he says, the heaven and the earth (Gen.), that is, the intelligible and visible substance. For intelligible substance is the heavens: visible or sensible substance is the earth. Therefore, it signifies that the power of the soul extends to higher things; so that from that intelligible substance it may assume the elevation of theoretical life, looking not at those things which are seen, but at those which are not seen, that is, not earthly, not corporeal, not present, but incorporeal, eternal, celestial: from this visible substance it may also take up the grace of operative and civic disciplines.


47. The oracle of the Lord spoke to him, saying: Do not fear, Abram, I will protect you, your reward will be very great (Gen. XV, 1). I wonder why after the outcome of the war? The place of receiving the reward was now. For it would make it less admirable if he had followed the promise of God and attacked the enemy. He had proceeded to triumph with confidence in victory, more invited than ready for glory, or prepared to avenge the pain of piety. The purpose of a devout mind does not seek reward, but holds the consciousness of a good deed and the intention of a just work as the reward. Narrow minds are invited by promises, they are lifted up by hoped-for rewards: a good mind that, without the heavenly contract of a reply, undertakes the contest acquires for itself the double fruit of praise; so that it may place both the grace of the most confident bravery and the fullest devotion. This is fitting to be esteemed of holy Abraham; because he considered that divine favor should not be despised by the just in their sorrows, and he struck down the enemy with contempt in the face of danger, because he thought it glorious to undergo it for the purpose of avenging piety. God's justice is also preached in this, that He gives a reward to pious souls not out of necessity of His promise, but out of the consideration of His own fairness, judging it worthy that those who serve without any earthly compensation should have their reward deposited in His goodness, to which they have deemed their souls worthy of dedication. At the same time, because a reward is prepared either by the use of military victories themselves or for the sake of human favor; but the reward for piety, frugality, purity, and other virtues, as if they were private, is paid by God. What is clear to humans, they reward themselves. But not everything is clear, some things are clear, some uncertain, and most hidden in the heart. Therefore, he also says: You have shown me the unclear and hidden things of the heart (Ps. 50:8), of which God is the observer and examiner. Therefore, God would not have promised a great reward to Abraham unless he had judged his soul as pure from all contamination of sins.

48. However, the care of a holy and prophetic mind for future generations is of greater value. For the offspring of wisdom and faith longs for inheritance. Therefore, it says: What will you give me? But I am departing without children (Gen. 15:2). He desired offspring for the Church, seeking a succession that would not be servile but free: not according to the flesh, but according to grace. Therefore, this divine response emerged, in which he was taught and heard: Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them. And he said, 'So shall your seed be.' And Abram believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Gen. XV, 6). What did he believe? It is this: not only the multitude of peoples who believe in Christ, but also the splendor of heavenly grace and the resurrection of immortal life to be bestowed upon the offspring of the Church. But what does it mean when it says, 'He brought him outside' (Ibid.)? It is as if the prophet is led outside, so that he may depart from the prison of the body and the narrowness of the flesh that covers it, and see the infusion of the Holy Spirit, and as it were, a certain descent. We must also go out from the narrow confines of our inn, cleanse the place of our soul from all pollution, cast off the filth of malevolence, if we wish to receive the spirit of wisdom; for wisdom will not enter into an evil soul. However, Abraham believed, not being enticed by gold or silver as a witness, but because he believed in his heart for righteousness. In this, his merit was proven, and in this, the reward was fulfilled.


49. Finally, immediately the Lord gave testimony to his faith, saying: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of the Chaldeans, to give you this land as your inheritance (Gen. XV, 7). And because Abraham had abandoned the practices of the Chaldeans, he now asks: How, he says, will I understand that I am his heir (Ibid., 8)? That is, I have already rejected the divinations of the magicians, teach me how I can know that I will become the heir of this land. Whoever seeks to know how, does not doubt that, with God as the guide, they can come to know themselves: but they desire to understand the method of acquiring this knowledge. For example, in the Gospel, when Mary heard from the angel that she would give birth as a virgin, she responded: How can this be since I do not know a man (Luke 1:34)? And she responded rightly, saying: When that which is according to nature is lacking, because it is not customary for what has not been joined to a man to give birth, I ask how I, as a virgin, can give birth contrary to the laws of nature?


But the Lord God said to him: Take me a heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years, and a ram of three years, a turtle also, and a pigeon (Gen. 15:9). I would pass over this interpretation of the sacrifice, if I did not observe that there seems to be some scruple arising from the solemnity of divination; because after the immolation the animals were divided, and the halves laid opposite to each other, and Abraham sat down between them. But if we consider the force of the preceding question and the response to be made, we shall be able to discern that the discipline of this sacrifice is in conformity with our hope and faith. For the calf is a beast of burden, dedicated to earthly labor. The goat is symbolized by the likeness of water through riddles, because it derives its name from the Greek αἴξ, meaning to rush, because it moves with impetuosity. Thus, it runs like water. We can estimate the sound and flow of rivers or the violent waves of the sea. And the ram is compared to air, because this animal is found to be more useful to the human race than any other creature; for it provides us with clothing, just as the air supplies us with the vital substance of this spirit. And I believe that this order was made so that he would first say: Take for me a calf and a goat, and in the third place he would say a ram; because those first ones, that is, the calf and the goat, are compared to the material elements of the earth and the sea, and because they are said to be feminine: but indeed the ram is a certain male animal, with a strong nature, and with violent horns. Similarly, the vital spirit of this air is like a male author and cause of beings that are born, moving the genitals of the earth, and, as it were, mixing itself like a certain copulation. Therefore, something else is mystically represented by these three types of living beings: one to the earth, another to the sea, and another to the vital air.

This is a natural tradition: but the moral also agrees and assists. For in all men there is flesh, sensation, and speech. Our flesh is a calf: it labors, in order to sow; it labors, in order to gather; it labors, in order to give birth; it is exhausted by countless labors. Hence the Greeks called the calf 'δάμαν' from being tamed itself; because it is subjected to injuries. The labor of male oxen consists in plowing and serving under the yoke, it represents the births of females with a large udder. Our flesh is also subject to the necessities of this life, shaken by frequent pains, and bent senescent by the travail of many afflictions. Now who is ignorant of the fact that the strength of the soul is more vehement, to which, as if married, bodily substance clings in the course of this life? But our senses, like the leaps of a goat, leap out, and feed on more precipitous things, by their own impetus exciting the disturbances of the soul and shaking it. I am always ready for any occasion, whether it be the encounter with female beauty or the scent of some sweetness. They are moved quickly both by hearing and by action, which even bend the constancy of souls and, as it were, alienate it from its nature. Hence, many consider it to be called ἀφορμή, because ὁρμή is called an impulse; because it arises from a certain impulse of the senses, causing our bending and alienation. However, the female sex has a certain appearance, so much so that our senses are called αἰσθήσεις in Greek, which is a feminine word. Animals quickly empty themselves of their desires, once they have produced their offspring and satisfied their pleasures, and then, when their desires are aroused again, they bring forth new impulses.

52. However, in the ram there is a similarity to our word and speech, that it is powerful, just as our speech is effective in action, and for the sake of our adornment and covering. The ram, by the use of clothing, leads a flock in a certain order, just as a certain order of life and our use is explained by the word. But I believe that we should understand that word more, which is the Word of God, with whom this ram seems to have a significant connection. The Word truly clothed us with the covering of His fleece and led us into the house of eternal salvation. He offered Himself to be sacrificed for us, who was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and like a ram before the shearer, He did not open His mouth (Isaiah 53:7). From this, we have a certain order of substance and sacred redemption, because through Him we were created and redeemed. Therefore, there are two causes through the Word: the natural cause by which He created, and the moral cause by which He redeemed. Philosophy also establishes two aspects of itself in word, natural and moral. For both are rational portions. The natural aspect according to the creation of the world, which it assigns to word: the moral aspect according to justice and equality of living, whose life and reason come from word.

53. For this reason, when forty days had been completed after the birth of Mary the Virgin, they brought our Lord Jesus to Jerusalem to offer him to the Lord according to the law, and to give a sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons (Luke 2:22 and following); because in the dove there is spiritual grace, in the turtledove the nature of an incorruptible generation, or the chastity of an immaculate body. Therefore, rightly after the ram, the turtledove and the dove are commanded to be taken for the sacrifice, so that you may understand by the word the incorruptible chastity and the spiritual grace. And by this very thing that the birds are placed, we can understand the flights of celestial merits. For there are birds of the sky that come and dwell in the branches of the tree that has sprung from the mustard seed, which is compared to the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 13:32). And Ezekiel says that the heavens were opened to him, and he saw among other things a wheel connected to the earth with four living creatures (Ezek. 1:15). And further: 'I heard,' he says, 'the sound of their wings, like the sound of many waters, and the voice of the Most High; and as they went, the sound of the word, like the sound of armies' (ibid., 24).


54. Hence some have derived the books of philosophy, because the sky itself is similar to a bird. In fact, Plato said that the sky is a flying chariot, based on the prophet's words: 'When the animals went, the wheels went with them; and when the animals lifted themselves from the earth, the wheels also lifted' (Ibid., 21). But the prophet did not say that the sky itself is a bird, but rather that there are birds in the sky. In fact, David also said: 'The heavens declare the glory of God' (Psalm XIX, 1), that is, the heavenly powers; just as when a beautiful creation is observed, the creator is praised. But the prophet describes the soul, whose movements are like four horses, the rational, the spirited, the desiring, the perceptive. These four animals are the human rational, the lion spirited, the calf desiring, and the eagle perceptive. Therefore reason is mentioned first, so that the rest may follow reason. Therefore when the human is moved on the right side, the lion, that is, reason, is moved on the right side. And when these animals are lifted up, the wheels are also lifted up. But life is like a wheel on earth, on which we live. If the movements of our souls are elevated, our life is also elevated. Therefore, it is added: For the spirit of life, he says, was in the wheels (Ezech. I, 20). Therefore, the soul is more like a chariot, which says in the Song of Songs: You have made me a chariot of Amminadab (Cant. VI, 11), that is, of our Lord. Therefore, the description of philosophy does not coincide with the prophetic tradition. Finally, the prophet says that he heard the sound of wings. These are the virtues which, with the greatest and twofold applause, produce the delightful charm of prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice, the sweet melody of life. However, Plato borrowed certain sweet sounds from the celestial sphere generated by the revolution of the stars, following fame and pomp rather than truth. For although our own Origen, devoted to the ecclesiastical office, asserts that there is an indescribable harmony of motion in the planets and stars, producing that most pleasant celestial sound, many of his writings also testify to his great indulgence in the tradition of philosophers. I have written this in order to distinguish the interpretation of this sacrifice from both divination and the tradition of philosophy. Some may want to prove their teaching, but I, following the Apostle, prefer to be timid rather than seem learned, who says: See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ (Colossians 2:8).

55. But when he says: Abraham divided the bodies and sat down beside them (Gen. XV, 11), I do not deny that these words may be auspicious; for this is what I hear: but while the reading implies a division of the bodies of quadrupeds, it does not imply a division of the bodies of birds, unless their inspection had also been made, so that an inspection might be made. What if this is in agreement with our faith? Therefore, let us seek from tradition what the meaning of the word is above and beyond auspiciousness. We have said above that in the calf we receive the earth, in the goat water, in the ram air, which is gathered by its very name, and which they command to be taken for sacrifice in threes; because the earth itself is divided into three species; either a continent, or an island, or a peninsula: water itself into three, because it is either the sea, or rivers, or lakes; for springs, or wells, are private matters unworthy of general and public division; wells are hidden, springs provide others with their source. The air also has divisions of seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter; and this division is worldly. What does this achieve? So that we may know that God is the creator and ruler of all of these, who has given order to all things and has distinguished them by this division, so that you may infer that God can grant you the things you ask for with piety, and fulfill what he promises.

Therefore, Abraham, because he had responded to the Lord who promised him the inheritance of the land, 'How will I know that I will be the heir of this land?' (Gen. XV, 8), is instructed through those forms of sacrifices so that he may believe that God is above the world, who has divided all things that belong to the world with wise distinction. But those things that are divided will be dissolved afterwards, but those things that are not divided (for example, birds, that is, the turtledove and the pigeon, are not divided) will never be dissolved; for faith remains intact, which is raised aloft like a dove, surveying the heavens and flying around the sky with the spiritual strokes of its wings. Also, that same mind is compared to a turtle-dove, which is nourished by the use of that secret, seeking the intelligible and indivisible substance of the Trinity, fleeing from a certain crowd of creatures and not mixing itself with the bodily congregation, and separating itself from every stain of passions. This sacrifice is demanded of you. Whoever offers such sacrifices, recognizes himself as the heir of that blessed land: faith and chastity of the mind, grace of simplicity, affection of charity and peace. Just as the Lord also declared explicitly in the Gospel, saying: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall possess the land (Matthew 5:4).


57. Take another division. Our flesh itself, by the order of God, has all its members divided. There are two eyes, two ears, two cheeks, divided nostrils, a double order of teeth, breasts, shoulders, hands, sides, thighs, knees, shins, feet; are not all these things in pairs, so that they seem to perform all our duties relying on double supports? The soul also undergoes a division of its parts. For the discerning, that is, the higher parts, like certain opposing eyes, are both rational and irrational. The rational part of the soul is divided into mind and speech. The sensitive part of the soul pertains to hearing and sight, through which the grace of this life is enhanced. For the sense of smell and taste seem to offer necessary support to the functions of life. The nostrils, through their constant inhalation, nourish the vital essence by receiving the breath, while at the same time providing sustenance to the substance of man through the consumption of food. The sense of taste, on the other hand, is generated by drink and food. The fifth sense, that is, touch, is seemingly mixed with the other four senses. Smell and taste are certain foods that nourish the body, on which the army of this flesh subsists. Sight and hearing, on the other hand, support the mind. These are the divisions that are divided according to our flesh and soul from the highest operator.

58. Hence we must gather that even this world is, as it were, spread out through certain twin members, and distributed like representatives: the earth into mountains and into fields; just as some parts of our body are more elevated, others flatter. The shoulder blades and the upper parts of the feet or hands are prominent: whereas the sides and the lower parts of the neck are like worn and hollowness valleys. This can also be understood about the palm of the hand. For who would doubt that while the heel of the foot protrudes, the middle part is curved? Water in the salty sea, sweet in the river, or in the springs. The air is cold in winter, temperate in the months of spring, and hot in summer. Therefore, the operator divided these things. However, our mind, which is now carried by the oars of different virtues and its own strength, flies above the sky, not divided; because it adheres to the Trinity that divides everything, to the one that is indivisible. Hence, the philosophers assert that the substance of the higher world, which they call ether, does not consist of a mixture of the other elements: but they affirm that it is splendid and shines with much light, which does not receive anything dirty from the earth, anything wet from the water, anything cloudy from the air, anything glowing from the fire itself. They assert that it is of a certain fifth essence and that the mind of this world is swifter and purer than the other parts. But others are composed and mixed together. However, we believe that nothing is immune or foreign to material composition, except for the sole substance of the venerable Trinity, which is truly pure and simple of an unmixed nature: although some may think that the light from that fifth οὐσίᾳ is brighter, of which David said that God is surrounded by light as a garment (Psalm 104:2). And the Apostle wrote about the Almighty God himself, that He alone possesses immortality, and dwells in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16).


But by what reasoning he has said that the birds descended upon the divided bodies of a calf, a goat, and a ram (Gen. XV, 11), I do not easily find, unless it be that all earthly, maritime, and even aerial things are full of traps and disturbances. For those birds seem to have descended upon the bodies for the sake of food. Naturally, the more violent and powerful ones attack the weaker ones, and they press down upon them as if they were dead bodies, frequently rushing upon them unexpectedly, or, which I believe to be truer, because the prince of this world and the birds of the sky, with the evil spirits which are in the heavens, incessantly agitate and tear apart with their rough teeth those who are divided by worldly anxieties and cares, as if they were corpses. For it is said about these things: 'Let the dead bury their own dead' (Luke 9:60); because they belong to the kingdom of the devil, who is divided against himself. But those who belong to the kingdom of God, to whom Jesus says, 'The kingdom of God is within you' (Luke 17:21), they are not divided, because they adhere to God; for he who is joined to a harlot is one body: 'For two,' he says, 'shall be in one flesh.' But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit (1 Corinthians 6:16-17). So these are not dead bodies, for the birds of the sky do not eat them, but they are spirits; for God makes His angels spirits. Moreover, they did not descend upon the dove and the turtle dove, because those birds were not divided. For the righteous are not divided, as it is said, 'Be simple as doves' (Matt. X, 16). Therefore, David says, 'Even the sparrow has found a home for herself, and the turtle dove a nest for herself where she may lay her young' (Ps. LXXXIII, 4). Abraham was observing these things, he was contemplating them with deep and spiritual insight.

Therefore it is written: Abram sat down with them (Gen. XV, 12), not as if he were an aruspex, but as if he were an interpreter of heavenly revelation, exploring the signs of divine operation. For the mind, directed towards the grace of Christ, saw that this world was full of iniquity, which flew like a bird from the highest heaven and oppressed the weak of the earth; however, it also saw that chastity, faith, and sincerity were not subject to any passions. But avarice and the anxieties of the world, with which those who enjoy the pleasures of wealth are suffocated, were torn apart and divided. And so riches are called the cares and thoughts of this world (Matt. XIII, 22); which divide the mind and tear it apart, and drag it in different directions, and do not allow it to remain uncorrupted and whole. Therefore, a man of peaceful mind sat and considered how close he could come to preventing those evils that come upon men; for the mind of a wise and just man strives to heal human circumstances, and to prevent and cut off the travail of our souls.

Chapter IX.

Why the excess and fear fell upon Abraham; or what the oracle about his descendants' journey and servitude in Egypt, about his own death, and about the liberation of his descendants signifies? Finally, to what does the vision of the flame and the furnace pertain?


61. Finally, the following things show with what spiritual and prophetic affection Abraham did this. For he fell into a trance at the setting of the sun; and behold, a great and dark terror came upon him. Exodus usually happens to prophets, as you have the Prophet saying: I said in my trance, every man is a liar. For my prophet surpasses certain limits of human prudence when he is filled with God. And before it empties itself of the thoughts and debates of this world, so that it may present itself pure and emptied to the coming spiritual grace, the Holy Spirit comes upon it with great force, so that the mind of man is suddenly disturbed. Finally, the Angel came to Mary, and he came with diligence and grace; and yet Mary was moved at his coming. Therefore, the Angel said to her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God: and behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bear a son (Luke 1:30-31). Therefore we know that when the grace of God comes upon the prophetic mind, it suddenly rushes in and we read that the Holy Spirit has descended upon and overshadowed the prophets, because it suffers an excess and is troubled, and fears, and is cast into some darkness of ignorance and imprudence. Just as we read in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 9:4) that a light from heaven shone around Saul and he fell down and was troubled in his mind with horror, and he heard a voice from heaven saying: 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' For he ceases to see worldly things who begins to hear divine things. Hence, you should not wonder at the fear of Abraham and the darkness, as if they happened to him beyond his power or merit, when you consider that they are in accordance with the custom of the prophets, who are joined, so that they may know the future.

62. But immediately you have this said to him: Knowing, you shall know that your seed will be a stranger in a land not its own, and they will oppress them and harm them, and they will humble them for four hundred years (Gen. XV, 13). Accordingly, a dark and great horror has been made; because great oracles were being carried, when a command was being given concerning the people of the ages. How could the human mind so easily grasp this, especially one that was being admonished to journey in this foreign land? For it was not so much the future that was declared as what was prescribed for us to do: 'Your seed shall be a stranger,' he says, 'either because all men should be strangers in this land, for Abraham is indeed the father of all; or because the true seed of Abraham will wander in this world. For that is the true seed of which it is said: 'In Isaac shall your seed be' (Gen. XXI, 12).' Lastly, he who acknowledged himself as the heir of Abraham said: 'I am a stranger and a pilgrim in this land, like all my fathers' (Ps. XXXVIII, 13).' For whoever has been a foreigner here, is a citizen in heaven; but whoever in this land has thought that his entire substance of soul must be established and has exulted in acquiring the inheritance of this land, will be excluded from the kingdom of God. Therefore, the Apostle says to faithful men and citizens of that Jerusalem which is in heaven, and to the sons of the Church: So now you are not strangers and foreigners, but you are citizens of the saints and members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19). Therefore, this earth is not ours, from which the prince of this world can say, showing all the kingdoms of the world: I will give you this power if you fall down and worship me (Matt. IV, 8): all that they claim as their own and oppress the people of God; to harm His servants and to humiliate the saints of God. Finally, the Son of God Himself thought that He should not claim anything for Himself from this world, which is why He said: The prince of this world is coming, and he will find nothing in me (John XIV, 30). Therefore, various lords want to hold us in servitude; the devil incessantly attacks, his angels infest; passions and movements of the body, like domestic and internal enemies, disturb. There are battles outside, fears inside: battles outside, desires inside. For the substance of the internal body is foreign to the purity of the heart; and therefore it fights against or at least resists it. Therefore, the war is daily, and within the same camp, a serious battle, until God, in His mercy, judges the devil and his ministers, extinguishes passions, and subjects them to the diligent mind, seeks our souls from all offenses and the authors of our danger, who says: I will require the blood of your souls from the hands of all beasts (Gen. IX, 5). And John saw and said: 'Because death and hell have been thrown into the lake of fire' (Rev. 20:15).

Therefore the righteous will go forth, so that they leave nothing of their own in this land; lest their spoils remain with the inhabitants and possessors of this land. They will also depart from the land of Egypt in such a way that the vessels they took from the Egyptians, whether gold or silver, which they used temporarily, they will take with them and plunder the Egyptians. These vessels they have taken with the will of the Lord, and they take them with them, because they are children of the resurrection, of whom it is said: 'Not a hair of your head shall perish.' The Egyptians gave these vessels, which were taken from the afflicted land. And there are some golden, others silver, because every creature of God is good, and especially excellent in humans on earth, whom God honored by breathing the spirit of life into his face, and appointed him as the ruler of all living beings. These are the vessels of which the Apostle says: We have a treasure in earthen vessels (I Cor. IV, 7). This is the clothing of the Egyptians with which our soul is clothed, so that it may depart from here richer and be freed from what it was greatly laboring for here. For not only does every creature groan and travail, but we ourselves also, until the redemption of our body takes place. The Lord takes care of His own work; nature is prompt in most cases to reason and benevolence. For we do not suffer the trees, from which the first fruits break forth around us, to be cut down and destroyed in our later age, if the wind shakes them, or the sun burns them, or the substance fails to provide and supply the necessary strength against droughts. Rather, we await the examination by better judges. And therefore our Lord God, the rewarder of good will, also having the consideration of the first offspring and nature, allows all the inheritance of our soul to be gathered and reserved, to be tested by the time of future coming.

64. Therefore, he admonished of his duty, which he willed to be immortal, but if serious fault had not arisen, which caused humans to not live long, says to Abraham: But you shall go to your parents in peace, nurtured in good old age (Gen. XV, 15). It allows us to depart from this world, so that the soul's separation causes this body to dissolve into its own earth, and brings an end to sin: then through resurrection, it may be transformed by the grace of divine generosity. And so He says to Abraham: You shall go to your fathers. Some thought that the fathers were the elements from which our flesh is made while we live, and into which we are dissolved. But we who remember that Jerusalem is our mother, which is above, which is free, which is the mother of us all, as the Apostle says (Galatians IV, 26), assert that those are the fathers who preceded us in life by merit and order. There was Abel, a pious victim; there was the pious and holy Enoch; there was Noah; to them Abraham is promised as a passage. For the one who departs from this life and migrates to another, he lives the life of a wise and just man who was nurtured in peace. As for the fool, he is nourished in war and discord; but the just man lives a good life in old age. It is not said 'long' but 'good', for the just man ages well; however, no one of the unjust, even if he lives a longer life than lively stags, lives a good life. For to live long is common for both the wise and the foolish, but to live well is special to the wise man, whose old age is venerable and whose old age is a blameless life: not long-lasting, as he says, nor calculated by the number of years, nor by the gray hair on his head, but by his senses. He, therefore, ages well who has sensed well.

65. But in the fourth generation they shall return (Gen. XV, 16). This story seems to apply to the Jews who crossed over into Egypt and then left Egypt. For four hundred and thirty years they were subject to the Egyptians, but not all of them lived one hundred and thirty years, like Moses or Joshua; in order for the time of the fourth generation to be fulfilled. Therefore, let us seek something more mystical, since the number four is fitting for all numbers, and is a certain root of the decimal system and foundation of the week as well. The ninety-third psalm is written on the fourth Sabbath; because this number is in the middle of the preceding and following numbers. Three come before it, the first, second, third; and three follow it, the fifth, sixth, seventh. Whoever sings this psalm, like fitting numbers, passes through the life of this world, as a square, and stable, and perfect. In four books, the Gospel is full and perfect. There are four mystical animals. Also, the parts of this world are four, from which the sons of the Church, gathered together, spread the most sacred kingdom of Christ, coming from the East and the West, the North and the South. Therefore, the holy Church arose from the four-fold side. Also, a group of ten arises from this number. For if you connect from one to four, in this way you make ten. Calculate one, add two to it, there are three: add three to three, there are six: and add four to six, there are ten. Therefore, ten is composed of four and six, the number ten encompasses all numbers. There are also four stages of a person's life: childhood, adolescence, youth, maturity. It gradually rises and establishes itself. Therefore, the highest wisdom comes with the fourth order of stages. And rightfully so, if anyone existed before under the rule of Egypt, still with more mature counsel, he departs from his power and acknowledges the law to be followed. Then, the sea of this life becomes navigable to him. The process is similar to those things that are born from the soil. When the seed has been scattered, it is dissolved in the earth. First, it breaks out into a root, then it sprouts, the fruit is formed, and afterwards it ripens. Trees themselves also first bear fruit, then the fruit itself grows, changing color with the passing of time, it is perfected in the fourth order, that is, finally. So let us also flee to form bricks in this land of affliction: but let us provoke the mercy of the Lord with tears and groaning; so that He may send us Moses and Aaron, that is, the law and the priest: but the true Priest and prince of priests, who though he lived among men, was called: 'Behold, the Spirit of the Lord Christ is before our face' (Lamentations 4:20); and may He free us from the land of Egypt, so that we may celebrate the Lord's Passover. Let us bear the fruit of faith even from childhood, let us increase it in adolescence, let us cultivate it in youth, let us fulfill it in old age. For now the axe is placed at the root of the tree; so that he who does it, may bear fruit. Let our harvester also find our crop mature and ripe; so that he may store mature fruits in the storehouses, lest winter catches them unripe, lest the wind shakes them, lest the rain spoils them.

However, I believe that it signifies more the time between the first coming of the Lord and the second coming, which will be the day of judgment. For at the setting of the sun, such a great fear came upon this man, because with the world already setting, the future sacrifice was being declared, by which the world would be redeemed, the faith would be the offering, which would not be separated from the sons of Abraham. For those who separate it are not the sons of Abraham. Faith is compared to the kingdom of heaven: For the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed. And: The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. (Matthew 13:31) And: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Ibid., 45-46) The kingdom of heaven is indivisible; for the kingdom of the Trinity is one. Therefore, it is perpetual and eternal, being indivisible; for every divided kingdom will easily be destroyed. The offering dedicated to the Trinity would be chastity, after that sacrifice, the victim of toil would be the calf, for it is a priestly victim; for sins, the goat would be the sacrifice; for the whole world and for the very rams or heavenly ones themselves, not only for men, nor only for lambs, but also for the goats that it may eradicate the stench of the sinful generation. The oracle testifies that the future sons of Abraham are still in the land of affliction, so that they may prove themselves in the midst of many and severe struggles: and thus, with much spoil of golden and silver vessels, they may go forth and return with their souls enriched, possessing precious bodies of diverse virtues, and especially with the treasure of chastity as their possession, even being rewarded by the judgment of Christ against the devil, his ministers, and all those who wished to harm them. Then there will be great fear even among the righteous. For no one is without sin. Everyone will have something to fear; for sins will be fulfilled. And where sin increases, grace will abound as well.

67. Again, when the sun was already setting, a flame appeared: and behold, a smoking furnace and torches of fire passing between those divided pieces. (Gen. XV, 17) Even if there was doubt about the previous things, the following things would confirm it; when we read about the flame made towards the setting, which would illuminate the evening times of the world, and would shine in darkness, and would reveal hidden things. Finally, the smoking furnace was immediately seen. The likeness of human life seems to be entangled in the injustices of this age, lacking the brightness of true clarity and the radiance of sincere light. Within, it boils like a furnace with various desires, and longs for the fires of certain longings. Without, it is covered as if with smoke, so that it may not see the face of truth. Therefore, the eyes of the soul are overshadowed and obscured by a certain darkness; so that the gaze of the mind, like a globe of smoking clouds, is confounded; it cannot gaze upon pure matters until the Lord Jesus, that is, the brightness of His glory, directs celestial lamps. When, he said, they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun; for the Lord himself will be the light for all (Rev. 22:5), and He will illuminate all things of this world, the division of which is known above, now manifested in light, not through a mirror in an enigma, nor in part, but face to face in the solidity of truth, and that which is perfect may be seen.

Chapter X.

When it is said, 'To your seed I will give this land,' the true beatitude is promised to Abraham, but it is more prefigured in the Church, whose type is expressed in the barren Sarah, as the Synagogue and heresies are in Hagar the handmaid. What the vigilance of the wise should be, and what God promises to Abraham in those words, 'I will greatly multiply you,' etc.


68. After this, there followed the oracle of God saying: 'To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates' (Gen. XV, 18). He who had shown future glory should also promise the merits of virtue to be conferred. For He is both the helper of those who labor and the rewarder of the innocent. Egypt here is not the name of a region, but of a river. For so the ancients called the Nile, either because it had given the name to the region or because it had received the name from the region. Finally, even a Greek poet testifies to its existence, saying:

And I built new ships by the river in Egypt. (Homer, Odyssey, Ξ) But it is narrow and insignificant, as if it has compared earthly things to celestial signs. Therefore, let us consider lest he may have promised the perfect happiness and completion of good deeds. For perfect happiness seems to consist of three things, the body, the soul, and the good qualities, which the Greeks called 'ενόντα'; let there be chastity, patience, or temperance of the body, let there be prudence and justice of the soul. Therefore, Egypt seems to represent the physical body. Hence, the river itself is called Geon (Gen. II, 13), because man is formed from the earth. But the Euphrates represents the soul, for it is the source of justice and the other virtues that enlighten other virtues. Indeed, prudence without justice is harmful, and strength without temperance by justice is insufferable insolence, closer to madness than reason, and closer to domination than freedom. Sobriety and moderation are private goods, and of no use unless you observe them with proper reverence towards God and faithfully practice piety. Justice alone is the virtue that encompasses and commends all virtues. Business, trade, and agriculture are also incidental matters, pertaining to the earning of income from rural work. There are also incidental attributes of the body, such as health and the convenience of well-being, honor, and strength, which occur unexpectedly and change with age.


69. Do not think of this triple grace as insignificant. For you have perfect perfection in the Gospel. For when the Lord Jesus says to the expert in the law: 'You shall love the Lord your God' (Matthew 22:37), He commands the righteousness of the soul to be held. Even though it is right to honor parents, how much more honor should be given to the parent of all? Likewise, when He says: 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness' (Matthew 19:18), He admonishes to keep the virtues of the body. But in the following, saying: There is no one who leaves home, or parents, or wife, or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God, and does not receive sevenfold now in this time, and in the age to come eternal life (Luke XVIII, 29 and 30); does he not promise the increase of good things along with the reward for the soul and body?

70. These things which the sacred Scripture expresses in simple words, Aristotle (in Book I of his Ethics, chapter 8) and the Peripatetics proclaim and extol with a certain grandeur. They also testify that it is a Pythagorean doctrine. But who among them can compare to Abraham in time? Who with authority and wisdom can equal the Lord, whose oracle Abraham recognizes as the source of this triple grace?

However, foreign nations are given to him as if in discipline, so that the most observant mind may reject vices and correct errors. However, the mystery of the Church is more clearly revealed, because it is believed that the Church is to be gathered by the peoples of the nations through his apostles, who are Israelites, whose fathers, and from whom the fathers, Christ according to the flesh was made under the law. He did not signify them with the number ten in vain, but to show that those who were previously faithless, when they fulfilled the measure of piety, would certainly obtain the crown of faith.


72. Finally, it follows that Sarah, the wife of Abraham, was barren (Gen. XXVI, 1): she had a Egyptian servant named Hagar, which we have taught pertains to the Church in that exposition which we have written concerning moral matters, by apostolic examples (Book I on Abraham, ch. 4). For the Church appears barren in this age; because she does not give birth to worldly things, nor present things, but to future things, that is, things that are not seen. This servant is the Synagogue, or all heresies, which create slaves, not free people. Therefore, Agar is called a dwelling place. For she cherishes the hope of a temporal, not everlasting, possession. Therefore, in order that she may not become insolent with bodily childbirth and claim the rights of the Church for herself, it is said there: Cast out the bondwoman and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with my son Isaac (Gen. XXI, 10).

73. But even in each of them Sara is, and in each of them Agar. Sara is true virtue, true wisdom: but Agar is cunning, like a handmaid of higher virtue. For there is one spiritual wisdom, and there is another wisdom of this world. Therefore even Egypt is mentioned; because philosophical learning abounded in Egypt. Moreover Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, but he rejected it, preferring the reproach of Christ's name to the treasures of Egypt. For if he had judged wisdom to be of any importance, he would not have said: I pray, Lord, I am not worthy before yesterday and the day before yesterday, nor since you began to speak to your servant; for with a weak tongue and a slow speech I am.

74. But the most excellent mystery was that the law was not fully complete; to persuade the people, and to call the nations, or because it was closed until the coming of Christ, who, explaining to us the prophetic oracles, and bringing forth testimonies of the Old Testament, as it were, opened a certain mouth of the law; so that the cry of faith might reach to the whole world. Whence also Sara mystically says: The Lord has closed me that I may not bear; go in therefore to my handmaid, and she shall bear a son for me. So that you may recognize that the Church of God has always been predestined, and the fertility of faith has been prepared when the Lord commanded it to break forth, but it has been definitely reserved for a certain time by the will of the Lord. Finally, it is written: 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you' (Isaiah 49:8). Therefore, we observe that the faith of the Church was hastening, but its fertility was closed. By this word, it is shown that it was waiting for the time of its delivery; for what is closed usually opens. The Apostle teaches you by what reasoning it has been concluded, saying: 'For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all' (Rom. 11:32). So that grace may not be by the will of man nor of the runner, but of God who shows mercy (Rom. 9:16), in order that you may not justify yourself, but attribute all to God who has called you. Therefore, let no one be lazy and make excuses for their laziness, delaying to believe, for it is written that it is not of the one who wills or runs. Consider, therefore, what has been added, but the compassion of God, who says: 'Present yourself, therefore, with good zeal and ready faith, so that God may have mercy on you and call you as he called the Church, saying: 'I have appeared openly to those who do not seek me, I have shown myself to those who do not ask about me' (Isaiah 65:1).'

75. And rightly, the inferior things were mentioned first, so that better things would follow. The maid gave birth to servants so that the Church could make them free, and enable nations to be called from servitude to freedom, from guilt to innocence, from offense to grace. If you consider the order of each individual, not all began with the perfect, nor is the first [place] among all, but older virtue is deservedly the more perfect. Therefore, it is the mark of a prudent mind to consider how long the soul is imperfect, to ponder on what it deliberates with itself, so that it may exercise itself in the disciplines of virtues, even in later things, until it becomes strong through the use of exercise. But when it has emerged from the coils of error, and has unraveled itself from every offense, presenting the accomplishment of its own purification, then it strives to produce great results in its own order.

Moreover, it is said of Abraham: 'Be blameless' (Gen. XVII, 1); to whom the Holy Spirit of wisdom was given, whole, well-moving, immaculate. Therefore, it is necessary for the soul of a wise man to always extend itself in constant exercise, like a lookout, day and night, never indulging in sleep, intent on God for the apprehension of those things which are, and for the knowledge of individual causes. But wisdom is also an interpreter of the future, it knows the past, and estimates about the future. He knows the cleverness of words and the solutions to arguments. He knows signs and wonders before they happen, as well as the outcomes of times and ages. Therefore, one who has acquired this cannot be anything but good and perfect, because he possesses all virtue and is an image of goodness. Hence, the sophists of this age have derived the definition of such a person, that a wise man is one who is skilled in speaking.

77. Let us now return to the gift of God, than which there is nothing fuller. For what is better than wisdom? What is worse than vanity? What is more detestable than superstition? And therefore, as if to one to whom he had promised the fullness of perfection, he says: I will greatly increase you and make nations of you, and kings shall come from you (Gen. 17:6): for to him who is faithful, the whole world is a treasury of riches, and it is increased, not diminished, like a fool. Abraham is placed among the nations, that is, his faith is transferred to the nations, and the kings of the world who have believed subject themselves to the Lord Jesus to whom it is said: Kings shall offer gifts to you (Ps. 68:30). And it is not absurd that from the lineage of Abraham there will not only be kings in rank, but also those kings who do not serve sin, nor does wickedness overcome them, over whom death does not hold dominion. We also know that there are kings and princes of good mind, whom, like Abraham, do not have a mediocre offspring of their lineage, but abound in royal qualities. To whom the earth has been given as possession: to rule over the body, and not to be captive to carnal pleasures, but to serve the flesh as if in dutiful humility to the mind. According to the person of Abraham, the evident mystery of the Church, which has possessed the whole world as its inheritance of faith, he is rightly called the father of election, father of faith, father of pious confession.

Chapter XI.

The command of circumcision given to Abraham, what does it signify; and why is it that on the eighth day the uncircumcised infants are in danger? A single letter is added to Sarah's name. Abraham falls on his face and laughs. Did he have the same doubt? The Lord grants it to him as he prays for Ishmael, and promises him a son from Sarah.

78. And because it is called to perfection, it receives the oracle of perfection. "Circumcise," he says, "every male among you, and circumcise your flesh" (Gen. XVII, 10 and 11): but spiritual circumcision is perfect. Finally, the reading itself teaches this when it says: "Circumcise the hardness of your heart" (Deut. X, 16). And here many understand it in such a way that it means: "Circumcise every male among you," that is, your mind; for nothing is stronger than the mind. Then because the male is also called holy: Every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord (Exod. XIII, 12). But what is holier in the mind, which gives the seeds of good thoughts, by which it opens the womb of the soul closed by barrenness of giving birth; so that it may bring forth those invisible generations in that spiritual womb, of which Isaiah says: In the womb we received and brought forth the spirit of salvation (Isa. XVI, 18)? The circumcision of the mind is understood, the circumcision of the flesh is also commanded. The former is in truth, the latter is a sign. Therefore, there is a twofold circumcision; because both the restraint of the mind and the body are sought after. Finally, the Egyptians circumcise males in the fourteenth year, and females are said to be circumcised in the same year; this is because the passion of man begins to burn in that year, and women start to have the beginnings of their menstrual cycles. However, the legislator of the eternal seal of carnal circumcision demands it only for males, because the sexual desire of a man toward a woman is stronger; and so he wanted to hinder that desire with the seal of circumcision. Or because men believe it is permissible for them to stray, as long as they abstain from adultery alone, while they consider it sufficient to comply with the law of nature to engage in sexual relations with prostitutes; whereas, besides marriage, it is not lawful for a man to have sexual relations with any other woman, nor for a woman with any other man. However, a deeper interpretation reveals that if the mind is cleansed and sharpened, stripped of excessive pleasures and thoughts, it restrains the soul to chastity of itself, and makes it a generator of good offspring infused with pure senses.

On the eighth day, however, the law commands the child to be circumcised, with a mystical obligation, because he is the day of resurrection; for the Lord Jesus rose on the Lord's day. Therefore, if the day of resurrection finds us circumcised and stripped of superfluous sins, washed clean from all filth, freed from bodily vices, if you go out from here clean, you will rise again clean. Therefore, circumcise yourself not with flesh, but with carnal vice. And circumcise not only your servant, but also the one bought with a price. If we consider things individually, natural motions are acquired by purchase, reason, and learning. Both the unlearned and the learned need pruning and cutting off, like shrubs, so that they do not run wild like barren branches and overshadow the fruitful ones. Just as a tree that is burdened with many defects labors in vain, so we must be careful that our mind, burdened with many things, not only produces good offspring but also degenerates into useless ones; at the same time, it is to be preserved as a vine that, though pruned, does not easily grow wild but is reserved for future generations. For the gifted often produce many things that need to be trimmed away, and those who have attained knowledge by diligence should recognize their own ignorance. However, the nature of the mystery is clear. For the Gentiles were bought at a price by the blood of Christ, because the Church was redeemed at a price. Therefore, both the Jew and the Greek, and whoever believes, must know that they must be circumcised from sins in order to be saved. Both the native and the foreigner, the righteous and the sinner, must be circumcised through the forgiveness of sins, so that sin may no longer have power over them, for no one enters the kingdom of heaven except through the sacrament of baptism. Superior justice of time will be of no benefit if justice is abandoned at the end of life. Therefore Paul says: You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. For they are contrary; for slavery is contracted by sin, and sin is forgiven by a price.

Therefore, we believe that this exposition is rich in simplicity and understanding. And so, we do not concern ourselves with the cubes of Geometry, or the square numbers of Philosophy, or the Pythagorean theorem, as they call it, or the perpetual virgins, as they are called, or the numbers of the week, or the empty care of examining the world with a compass, or seeking the sky in dust, or confining the universe within narrow abaci. Instead, we reveal true mysteries, that the only salvation is Christ's resurrection. Let us complain therefore to the likeness of his death, that we may merit the fellowship of resurrection. And let our old man be crucified together with him, that the body of sin may be destroyed.

81. Moreover, it is mandated by law that males, even those who are born into the family, are to be circumcised primarily through crying as infants. Just as sin begins in infancy, so does circumcision. There should be no moment in time void of protection, for there is no moment void of guilt. And the child must be called back from sin so as not to be tainted by idolatry and so as not to become accustomed to worshiping idols and kissing images, violating the nest of their parent, and injuring piety. Simultaneously, no one should be puffed up and consider themselves righteous, for Abraham is commanded to be circumcised as he progresses into a more mature age. Therefore, neither an elderly proselyte nor a native-born infant is excluded; because every age is liable to sin, and therefore every age is suitable for the sacrament.

And it shall be, says he, my testament in your flesh (Gen. XVII, 13). Perhaps it may be referred to this place, how you speak of a spiritual circumcision, when the oracle says: My covenant of circumcision shall be in your flesh. As if indeed temperance were required for the soul alone, and not for the passions of the body. For even the chastity of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and speech is sought; because even a more wanton gaze has its sin, and therefore it is written: Apply not thy heart to a deceitful woman, and be not caught with the dainties of the eyes. (Prov. V, 2). And in hearing itself there is a crime if a prostitute seduces you, and with much flattery of speech and the snares of her lips binds you. And in touch itself there is a crime, therefore it is said to you: Do not be too familiar with another woman, nor engage in embraces that are not your own. And in speech there is fault. For the strongest snare is a man's own lips, and he is led away by the lips of his own mouth. And do not consume too much honey, lest you vomit. Therefore, moderation must be sharp in all senses; lest either passion lead to vice, or excess harm, or delay lead to offense.


83. However, it does not seem to be useless or superfluous for many to be moved by what follows in this place. Did the Lord perhaps say this: 'For any uncircumcised male who does not circumcise the foreskin of his flesh on the eighth day, that soul shall be cut off from his people; because he has broken My covenant' (Gen. XVII, 14)? For it is considered a grave matter that the negligence of parents would result in harm to an infant on the eighth day, to the point that his soul would perish; since the law itself has prescribed cities of refuge even for a manslayer (who, however, has not committed the voluntary act of killing a man), where he may deserve impunity for shedding blood (Josh. XX, 2 and 3). Therefore, how is chance murder dealt with? Or is there no reckoning for infancy, in which there can be no crime of deceit or willfulness; unless perhaps some think that parents are punished more severely in the death of a child? But it is considered unjust that the punishment of the guilty should be inflicted on the innocent, or that the innocent should be punished in place of the guilty, or that an equal share of punishment should be made for one who deserves it less. Hence, some think that when it is said that a parent is exterminated, it means that their soul, not the soul of the little one, is destroyed. But it is highly ambiguous; it is allowed to support this assertion, which says that it interrupts my will. Therefore, this seems to refer more to the intelligent person rather than the infant. Others think that the Lord God threatens the parents with more serious consequences, either through silence or when the child is spared.

84. But to me it is quite clear what has been said about the mind of each individual. For we have said that the mind is signified by the masculine name, which is the strong vigor of the mind, and it attracts the soul to itself, and is more vehement as if it were stronger in gender and manly strength. Therefore, this is the reason why every mind that has not been circumcised from superfluous corporeal things and purified by the solemn duty, in order to strip itself of passions and vices, will perish. Flesh, he says, will not perish, nor man: but that soul will perish, because it could have been saved, if it had purification. However, that soul, weak in the nakedness of support and the pollution of an uncircumcised heart, could not preserve the salvation of its kind. Yet every kind appears immortal, as is the human kind, as is any species. Man is always spoken of, any is not always, indeed not a certain one fails. The one who lacks faith fails, the person of one fails, the condition or name of men does not fail. Therefore, the sinner who should attribute to his own mind the fault of being incautious and intemperate, or who has not acquired the forgiveness of sins, is led into that which is both temporary and harmful from a long and harmless state. For unless someone is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, they cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). Surely, it makes no exception for anyone, neither an infant nor someone hindered by any necessity. However, they may have that hidden immunity from punishment, although I do not know if they have the honor of the kingdom.


85. Also, one letter is added to Sarah, that is, R, so that she would be called Sarra (Gen. XVII, 15). And this is certainly fitting, as in the previous instances, the addition of one letter is not taken lightly. For it is not the gift of God that is a single letter, but the power of the letter that expresses the grace of the divine gift. Sarah is indeed called ἀρχὴ ἐμὴ, that is, my authority, or the beginning of my rule, or the queen. In Greek, Sarah is called ἄρχουσα, meaning she who rules in Latin. That which is mortal, that which is immortal; that which is special, that which is general. For indeed, in me there is prudence, in me there is chastity, in me there is virtue, in me there is justice, they alone govern me, and they dominate me, and they are mortal. For with my death, they too dissolve and perish. But those things which are generally called prudence, which are called chastity, which are called fortitude, and the other principal virtues, but generally principal, and certain immortal queens, in them is power, that immortal principal, just as the Church, which rules not only me, but all. Therefore, we see a transformation of form into genus, of part into universality, of corruptibility into incorruptibility: all of which is certain to be applicable to the Church. For this is not a special, but a general principle, not the salvation of a part, but of the whole. And therefore, following these preceding things, when prudence has led each individual to this principal and diffused salvation, in which is the source of wisdom and justice, generation is required, and that joyful offspring, whose name is Isaac. For there is no greater pleasure than the satisfaction of a corrected conscience. Hence the Epicureans believed that the highest good is pleasure, but they valued it more in the pollution of the body than in the sobriety of the mind.

86. What, then, does it mean when it says: And Abraham fell on his face and laughed (Gen. XVII, 17)? Here reverence is signified, that he feared to offend God with a free laugh, even though his laughter showed the joy of a righteous man who was rejoicing in such great promises. For this was not the laughter of doubt, but of belief. At the same time, because all things fall before God, and are changed and pass away, only that unchangeable substance always remains. Perhaps Abraham prophesied about the Lord Jesus in this mystery, that through the reception of the Lord's body and the resurrection, the fulfillment of such a great oracle would be accomplished by the grace of God. Therefore, he worships not the earthly element of which it is said: Worship His footstool, for it is holy (Ps. 98:5). For where the body is, there also the eagles who worship it are present.

87. And he said, in his heart: If a son be born to a man that is a hundred years old, and if Sara that is ninety years old bear a child? The Greek puts it, "in his mind," that we may be able to estimate that he said to himself as if debating: If a son will be born to a man who is a hundred years old, and if a woman who is ninety years old will bear a child? This is past the age of childbearing, but with God all things are possible; and therefore it is easy for him to restore the years of youth to the old, to restore strength, and to grant fertility to the barren.


88. And that should not be overlooked, that Abraham, in response to the promise of legitimate offspring, said to God: Let Ishmael live in your sight (Gen. XVII, 18). It is just for the righteous to intercede for sinners; and therefore, even the Jews should believe this, because he intercedes for them too, if they believe. For this is to live in the sight of God, to carry out worthy deeds according to the Word of God; for the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous.

89. And the Lord said: Yes, behold, Sarah your wife will bear a son for you . . . . But I have also heard you concerning Ishmael (Genesis 17:19-20). Even when He speaks, He confirms His promises; for it is a confirming word. And therefore, He first confirms the future generation of the Church, so that the Prophet may know that what God said about Ishmael, he had indeed heard, foreseeing that blindness would partially happen to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles came in, and then all Israel would be saved. And so, just as the wills of men first designate an heir, and then express legacies, with better things going to the heir and lesser things to the legatees, so in the testament of the Lord, from whom we also have received this custom, the heir is written as a good natured, noble person, created by a legitimate marriage; the inferior is granted as a legacy.

90. However, the generation is promised for the following year (Ibid., 21), so that you may understand what generation the Lord promises, that is, not the physical offspring of Sarah, but the offspring of the Church that was to come. Finally, he also says below: I will surely return to you in due season, and Sarah shall have a son (Gen. XVIII, 10). In both of these we can understand the covenant of the Church and the resurrection of the faithful.

91. In the thirteenth year, when Ishmael is circumcised, there is a clear reason: because he who begins to enjoy the knowledge of a woman must first cut off the ardor of lust within himself, so that he may abstain from excessive mixtures and reserve himself only for legitimate union.

92. It is also fitting for the mind of a wise person to be hospitable, so that they may impart their kindness to others and share the fruits of their wisdom with others as well, and thus they may feast on the nourishing food of knowledge and provide a banquet for those who desire it.

93. Then, moreover, let him not know anything except to live according to nature, in whose plan and order is the law of God. Let him not mix himself with perverted desires, but rather choose the companionship of wisdom alone. Let him not know how to prefer the glory of this world's mandates and a certain inheritance of present praise; and just as he sacrifices his own interests to the altars of the Lord, let him not receive or fear the fire of judgment, but rather strive to rescue others.