One Book of Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, On Noah and the Ark.

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

Translated into English using ChatGPT.

Table of Contents Chapter I. Chapter II. Chapter III. Chapter IV. Chapter V. Chapter VI. Chapter VII. Chapter VIII. Chapter IX. Chapter X. Chapter XI. Chapter XII. Chapter XIII. Chapter XIV. Chapter XV. Chapter XVI. Chapter XVII. Chapter XVIII. Chapter XIX. Chapter XX. Chapter XXI. Chapter XXII. Chapter XXIII. Chapter XXIV. Chapter XXV. Chapter XXVI. Chapter XXVII. Chapter XXVIII. Chapter XXIX. Chapter XXX. Chapter XXXI. Chapter XXXII. Chapter XXXIII. Chapter XXXIV.

Chapter I.

Noah, a just man who was left to renew the seed of mankind, should be held up as an example for everyone to imitate, so that we may also find rest from all the anxieties of this world and the works of iniquity.

We try to explain the life, character, actions, and even the depth of his mind. For when the prophet himself (Jer. 17:9) says that nothing is more difficult than understanding the interior of a man, how much more difficult is it to know the mind of a just man? Indeed, he whom the Lord God has reserved to renew the seed of men, so that he might be the source of justice; it is fitting that we also describe him for the imitation of all, and rest in him from all the anxieties of this world, which we endure daily through various disturbances. It is shameful to survive for our children, it is wearying when we hear of so many adversities, to seize this light of the most dear ones: to undergo or to accept in our spirit the various waves and storms of the Churches themselves, who is so strong that they can bear it patiently? And therefore, this rest was also something that we must strive for; so that while we consider the holy Noah with greater attention, we may ourselves be refreshed, just as all kinds found rest from their works and sorrows in him.


2. Therefore, Noah is said to mean 'just' or 'rest' in Latin. Moreover, his parents said, 'Because he will make us rest from our work, and from sadness, and from the land that the Lord God cursed' (Gen. V, 29). Surely, if you think about what happened, when the flood occurred under him, it seems not to be rest for mankind, but rather destruction; not a relief from evils, but rather an accumulation of miseries. But if you consider the mindset of a just man, you will observe that justice is born to benefit others rather than oneself; it seeks not what is advantageous to itself, but what is advantageous to all. This is what allows us to find rest from wicked deeds, and it calls us back from sadness. For while we engage in what is just, we have no fear due to the security of a pure conscience, and we do not feel the burden of heavy sorrow. For there is nothing that causes greater pain than the guilt of wrongdoing. Let us also rest from all the cares of earthly life, which constantly harass our body and soul with pains, and wear down our life.

Chapter II.

What the names of Noah's sons signify; and what is the order in which they are mentioned? This is explained by the example of a well-arranged army and the order established by nature itself. Finally, why the order is reversed in declaring their generations is extensively explained.

3. To him were born three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. These names signify good, evil, and indifferent, so that it seems that he had goodness as a gift of nature, and that he was not lacking in the trials of evil, and that he abounded in indifferent things, like the furniture of virtues. And the clear reason why he placed evil in the middle is evident because goodness is inherent in all things of nature: he does not cast them out like shipwrecks into the light, but he supports them with strength; so that they are not oppressed by the trials of evil, nor do they succumb as if weak, but he fortifies and clothes them like some indifferent coverings, which are health, good health, beauty, vigor, wealth, glory, and noble birth; so that fortified with these gifts, they may protect the goodness of nature, and enclose that evil so that it cannot harm or suffocate them.


4. Do we not see, as it were, a certain order of virtues arranged for battle? So that the weaker ones are in the middle, the stronger ones on the right and left like wings, through whom the whole battle line receives strength? Hence also a certain Greek poet says: κακοὺς δ' ἐς μέσσον ἔλασσεν (Homer, Iliad. Δ), that is, he placed the bad ones in the middle. Thus it is that nature, like a good leader under the command of God, which knows how to generate us for the battles of this world, arranges those things which are good in the first order, those that hinder in the second, and those that assist in the third. So that the enemy, enclosed in the middle, may be overwhelmed by double forces wherever he turns; so that none of them may become exhausted by equal battles, and so that it may have the opportunity to escape from natural limitations and to spread out more widely.


5. But because when they are generated, this is the order: where they generate, Japheth is written in the first place, Cham in the third; therefore, lest anyone think that we have said the opposite in the later parts, the reason for this place must also be explained. Indeed, good, which is as it were in a certain nobility of nature, comes first: but evil follows; for there are contrary thoughts of the mind, which certainly arise afterwards. As long as these are, as it were, closed inwardly, and do not sprout like herbs, they are nourished by a certain recess of the good mind, lest they come forth. As long as evil remains in the will and not in complete realization, that is, in action and effect, the goodness of the mind's governor holds back or restrains wickedness from bursting forth, as a charioteer controls or curbs a horse trying to break loose. But when it boils over and breaks out into a sore, so that it cannot spread further and contaminate the surrounding areas, then just providence steps in, so that what is commonly called good, as if in place of evil, may not yield, since it cannot resist the raging evil. Therefore, in order not to spread the harmful virus too widely and infect many by generating corruptions, that first good which is good by nature, while changing its position, changes the order; as if it were providing help to a struggling horn, and taking on the part of the blade that works harder; for the virtue of a warrior is necessary in more difficult places; just as the presence of a good guardian is more frequent where the walls are more fragile. And so that no part is without a defender, while supporting that leaning good, then that indifferent thing takes on the higher position, as if it were assigning to itself the more perfect part of that good; for nothing is more perfect than virtue. However, indifference does not possess the strength of true virtue, but it increases and spreads its favor. Hence, Japheth is called so because it signifies latitude in Latin.

Chapter III.

After the universal flood, the entire human race began to multiply so that we may attribute the increase in children to the goodness granted by divine benevolence, and acknowledge the punishments imposed on us due to our wickedness.

6. Not only did the holy Noah abound in the generation of his sons, but the whole generation poured forth itself as much as possible at that time. This does not seem to be useless. For, considering the coming flood, the grace of fertility should not be regarded as lacking in that generation, which the floods absorbed: so that the abundance of the human race may be attributed to divine grace; what followed the flood may be attributed to our iniquities, by which we turn away the mercy of the Lord due to our sins. And in the following passages, you will find that the fertility of the following years preceded the sterility of Egypt. (Gen. XLI, 26 and 27). For it is the principal of virtue to begin with acts of kindness and to sow the seeds of gratitude. Thus, David said: I will sing of mercy and judgment to you, O Lord. (Ps. c, 1). The grace of kindness precedes, and the sober discipline of correction follows. Therefore, what is good is divine, and what is changing is human.


7. God himself declares this, saying: My spirit shall not remain in men, because they are flesh (Gen. VI, 3). The Holy Spirit is the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of knowledge. Therefore, he has wisdom, he also has discipline, as seen in Bezalel who was commanded by divine oracle to make the sacred tabernacle, as Scripture says: Because he is filled with the spirit of wisdom and discipline (Exod. XXXI, 3). This spirit is given to men, but does not remain. But by what reasoning it does not endure, the cause is evident, because they are fleshly. For the nature of the flesh is contrary to discipline, because it obeys pleasure. Finally, it is written about the Lord Jesus himself: Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, he it is who baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:33). In him indeed it remained, whom no corruptible impediments of the flesh called back, so that he might hold the order of discipline incorrupt and unmixed, whose flesh did not see corruption.

Chapter IV.

The giants who lived in the time of Noah, similar to humans, were devoted to the indulgence of their flesh. They were called the sons of God, and it is said that God became angry or moved: hence, even though the irrational creatures were destroyed because of human sin, Noah found favor with God.

But there were giants in the earth in those days (Gen. VI. 4). The author of divine Scripture does not want those giants to be regarded as the children of the earth in the manner of poets, but asserts that they were generated from angels and women, whom he calls with this name, desiring to express their bodily magnitude. And let us consider, lest perhaps the giants are like humans who devote themselves to the worship of their flesh, but have no care for their souls: just like those who, according to poetic fable, are said to have had contempt for the gods because of the size of their bodies. Those who despise being valued differently, since they consist of both soul and body, and reject the strength of the mind which the soul holds as more precious, and present themselves as imitators of this flesh as heirs of maternal stupidity? Therefore, they labour in vain, arrogantly claiming heaven through their proud desires, and devoting themselves to earthly works, who, by choosing the lower and despising the higher communion, are condemned by a more severe punishment, as if they willingly subject themselves to more serious sins.


Usually the Scriptures call the angels the sons of God; because souls are not generated from any man. Therefore, God has not rejected faithful men from calling them his sons. Just as men who lead a good life are called sons of God (Job 1:6), so we call those whose works are of the flesh sons of the flesh by the authority of the Scriptures (Psalm 81:6). For the Evangelist John says: To those who received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God, to those who believe in His name, who were not born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but were born of God (John 1:12-13). Therefore, afterwards you have this because the Lord is angry, for although He thought, that is, knew, that a man placed in the region of the earth, carrying flesh, cannot be without sin (for the earth is like a certain place of temptations, and the lure of the flesh), nevertheless, even though they had a mind capable of reason and the virtue of the soul infused in the body, they fell into a downfall without any consideration, from which they did not want to be recalled. For God does not think like humans, so that any new opinion might occur to Him; nor does He get angry as one who is changeable: but these things are read in order to express the bitterness of our sins, which merited divine offense; as if the guilt has grown to such an extent that even God, who is naturally not moved by anger, hatred, or any passion, seems to be provoked to anger.


Moreover, there was a reason that humanity should be destroyed: 'I will wipe from the face of the Earth,' He said, 'man, beasts, crawling creatures, and birds of the sky' (Gen. VI, 7). What harm had the irrational creatures done? But because these things had been done for the sake of humanity, once humanity was destroyed, the logical consequence was that these things should also be destroyed, since there was no one to make use of them. However, on a deeper level, this is revealed as the mind of man, which is capable of reason; for man is defined as a living, mortal, rational animal. Therefore, with the principal extinguished, all senses are extinguished as well; because nothing remains for salvation when the foundation of virtue has failed. But it is said that Noah found grace with God for the condemnation of others and for the expression of divine piety. At the same time, it is shown that the offense of others does not overshadow the righteous person, when he himself is preserved as the seed of the whole race, who is praised not for the nobility of birth, but for the merit of righteousness and perfection. For indeed the tested man's kind is of virtue's lineage; because just as the kind of men is men, so the kind of souls is virtues. Indeed, families of men are ennobled by the splendor of their lineage; but the grace of virtue is made glorious by the splendor of souls.

Chapter V.

The earth was corrupted by the iniquity of men; likewise, all time before the Lord is understood in two ways: and finally, the flesh of every human is taken, by the allurements of which our soul is corrupted.

11. But the earth was corrupted before God, and it was filled, it says, with wickedness (Gen. VI, 11). The cause of the earthly corruption is evident, because the wickedness of men corrupted the earth. Therefore, the Lord God says: The time of every man has come before me, because the earth is filled with its wickedness (Ibid., 13). Indeed, the time of all men is in the sight of God and in his will. For it is not, as people commonly say, bound by a fatal decree: but I think this statement is particularly applicable here; because in the Gospel the Lord, who will redeem mankind by the suffering of his body and cleanse them with his blood and the sacrament of baptism, says: Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you (John XVII, 1). Therefore, because in the flood the remnants of the human race were saved through Noah's ark for the future seed of restoration and renewal, He therefore says here: The time of every man has come, because the earth was filled with its own iniquities. This is in a figure; but in truth he says: The remnants were saved through the beloved grace. (Rom. XI, 5). And so the Apostle exclaims saying: Sin abounded, so that grace might also abound. (Rom. V, 20).


12. He corrupted, he says, all flesh in its way. He placed the flesh here for the earthly man, in whom the allurements of the flesh corrupted his way. If he had understood what gift he had received from God, he would not have allowed the flesh to obstruct the virtues of the soul. Therefore, the flesh was the cause of corrupting even the soul, which is like the origin and place of a certain pleasure, from which flow the rivers of evil desires and passions, and they overflow widely. By whom the soul is submerged, with the helmsman driven away, when the mind itself, overcome by certain tempests and storms, yields its place. But beautifully it is said, because man corrupted the path of his nature. For his path was in paradise, in that pathway of beatitudes, in that flower of virtues, and in that incorruptible grace, which he polluted with earthly footprints. Others have: The way of Himself, that is, of God. This is usually declared by the word of the Lord.

Chapter VI.

On the construction of an ark, in which the shape of the human body is described; and how its various parts represent the compartments of the same human body. How those compartments are to be lined with pitch, so that they adhere firmly to each other.

13. But now we must speak about Noah's ark itself, which if anyone is willing to consider more carefully, he will find the shape of the human body described in its construction. For what does God say: 'Make for yourself an ark of square woods' (Gen. VI, 14)? Surely we call this square because it is well composed of all its parts and suits itself. Therefore, both God, the creator of our body, and the builder of nature are portrayed, and it is signified that the work itself is complete in those words. But the square shape of a person's limbs is evident reasoning, if you consider the chest of a person, consider the abdomen with an equal measure of length and width, unless the natural measure is exceeded when the abdomen is distended by pleasures and feasts. Now, who does not notice with their own eyes that the feet, hands, arms, thighs, and legs are divided into four parts? And most of them, even if they are not of the same length or width, still maintain such an analogy that a fitting measure and ratio converge in them: length is longer than width, width is longer than height. And just as the wooden ark has three different dimensions: a length of three hundred cubits, a width of fifty cubits, and a height of thirty cubits, so it is with our body. There is a greatest distance according to length, a medium distance according to width, and a smallest distance according to height. However, the whole body, when put together from individual parts, appears square. For in use it is thus, that we call square those whom we esteem neither enormous in height nor strong in the quality of their body.

14. What also does he mean when he says: 'You will make nests in the ark' (Ibid.), it seems by no means to be ignored. For I consider it to be naturally said, because our whole body is woven together like a nest; so that the vital spirit penetrates all the parts of the viscera, and establishes itself in each of our limbs. Some nests are our eyes, in which sight is inserted. Nests are the hollows of our ears, through which hearing pours itself in, and as if into a deep pit. The nest is the nostrils, which attract the scent to itself. The nest is the fourth largest of all the openings of the mouth, in which it is nourished until the taste develops; and from where the voice emerges. In it lies the tongue, which, like an organ of voice, modulates its sounds with the skill of art; and although it is itself without reason, it expresses a rational voice. The nest is the half of the head. The nest is the membrane that protects the brain and contains it. The nests are the viscera of the lungs and heart. The spirit of our body, that is, the one that we breathe and by which we are nourished in this life, is the lung: but the heart is the nest of blood and spirit. There are two wombs of the heart: one in which it receives and pours out the blood as if in a kind of bosom, and transfers it into the veins: the other in which it is moistened by the higher one and carries it down into the arteries with a continuous flow. The bones also have nests but stronger. For they are hollow inside, in which there is a marrow through openings. In the very depths of the softest parts, there are nests of desire or pain. And if one were to consider further, they would also find many nests in this structure of the human body. Therefore, I believe that the psalmist spoke not only mystically but also naturally: For the sparrow has found a home for itself, and the turtledove a nest where she may lay her young (Ps. 84:3). For indeed, there is already in this body a nest of purity, in which there once was a nest of irrational desire. But where previously desire nourished misshapen births, now the inheritance of graceful chastity grows.

15. He says that the ark is made of pitch (Gen. VI, 14). The human body is composed of many bones, nerves, and other parts. It is connected to itself both externally and internally by a suitable structure, and it is held together by its proper structure, which the Greeks call ἀφὴν. Just as a spirit enclosed within does not escape, or a spiritual substance which operates within is restrained by double bonds, but is restrained by a fitting and containing unity, and by a strong connection. Therefore, the ark is commanded to be bound with bitumen; for bitumen is powerful for binding in nature. Hence, it is called 'ἄσφαλτος' (asphalt) in Greek, derived from 'συνάπτω' (to join), because it connects things that are separated and binds them with an indissoluble bond, so that you believe they have come together by their natural unity. For this reason, the ark is bound both inside and outside with bitumen, so that the connection may not easily break.

Chapter VII.

The ark of Noah is compared to the ark of the covenant, by which it is shown that each part of the human body is composed for some use and beauty.

16. But, moreover, in Exodus the ark, which is a visible imitation of the world of intelligible purity, is also gilded both inside and outside (Exod. XXV, 11). For just as gold is made more precious by pitch, so is the ark, which is within the Holy of Holies, more excellent than this. For here he simply mentions wood; but there he includes wood that does not decay, signifying the merits of the saints. He also adds that there the supports are immovable, indicating that the station of the saints is stable and firm, since they followed the sure path of virtue, avoiding the fellowship of corruption. But this ark, as it were in the flood, was being impelled here and there with uncertain movement; because the state of sinners is unstable, and the lives of those who abound in various passions are subject to corruption by the flood of error and are carried about with inconstant wandering.

17. Nor should we overlook the fact that when God said, 'You shall make an ark three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high' (Gen. 6:15), He added, 'You shall make it with a roof finished to a cubit from the top,' so that it would have a shape suitable for the body of a man, pleasing in its attractiveness, and with a royal ornament attached to the ark, since all the senses would be transferred from the other parts of the body to the head. Above all, the eyes, like attentive and constant guards assigned by Providence, would look down from above upon the entire state of our world. And the mind itself, placed there according to the opinion of many, and especially of Solomon, who says: The eyes of the wise are in their head (Eccles. II, 14): as if it should gather to itself a council of virtues in the imperial court, with which it is crowded and fortified, and as if it should exercise the government of the whole body from some lofty place, and should give forth answers, by which we may not only look back upon ourselves, nor only see what is before our feet, but also behold with deep insight the secrets of the heavens themselves, of wisdom. There, therefore, is the highest of our salvation, there is grace. From there comes protection, and also beauty is acquired for the whole body, which first blooms in the face. It is indeed fitting for a royal court to have a more excellent brightness, in which, just as the sight is greater, so is the splendor.

For if you consider each individual thing that seems to have been composed in the human form for some use, such as the eyes for seeing, the ears for hearing, the nose for smelling, the mouth for speaking, they serve their purpose in order to provide beauty. How deformed are the faces of the blind! And why is it surprising if the face of a man without eyes is deformed, when the sky itself does not have its beauty without the sun? We lead sad days without the sun, nights without the moon are not pleasing; for they themselves are the eyes of the world. Remove the light of the stars, and there is a certain deformity of blindness in the very sky itself. The very hairs themselves form a covering over the globe of the eyes, and they seem to extend a certain sharpness, lest the pupil be injured by any dirt or dust cloud; and they themselves catch anything that might be brought in to harm the eye. If they should have a defect in their hue, how unbecoming! If the eyelid is too contracted, if the eyebrows are shaved, which shine with the appearance of precious necklaces, as if woven with gems!


19. Gold, too, has both a necessary use and a beautiful appearance: if someone cuts it, they bring deformity to the entire face. In gold, nature has worked in such a way that the curves of caves, with wonderful foresight, bring a great deal of utility so that the sound does not suddenly strike the secret of the head. Finally, we often see many people startled by a sudden clash and being terrified by the sound of someone's voice or the noise of a commotion. The very filth that is produced among them binds the hearing as if with a certain glue. At the same time, if the pulse of a sound has been more intense, it is broken and delayed, so that it soothes rather than suddenly shakes the internal [ear]. Even tiny worms, if they attempt to penetrate the ear, are held in place by a certain sticky substance of filth.

20. The nostrils of a monkey seem to be against nature: now, if they were cut, how can life continue, with the removal of the breath process; in what way is the face of a beast esteemed more, than the countenance of a man?

21. The hair of the head is clothed with a pleasing covering, like certain attendants of a royal court; lest the breeze harm the brain, or the rain strike it, or the sun scorch it. They are thus given by nature, so that, depending on their sex, they may either please by being longer or cut short; and depending on their age, mostly depending on the quality of the time and the year. In old men, gray hair is pleasing, in boys, it is remarkable: it is delightful to be shorn more closely in the summer, more indulgently in the winter: for women, the hair is an ornament, for men, it is a disgrace. Finally, the Apostle expressed this more explicitly, saying: For nature itself teaches you that indeed if a man nourishes long hair, it is a disgrace to him; but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory (1 Corinthians XI, 14,15).

22. What about the palace itself, from which courtly conversations arise, as certain indicators of our minds and messengers of our souls? What about the very order of the teeth, which not only provide strength to the whole body with their work, but also serve as modulators of its voice? If any of them fall, the voice falters.

23. We have spoken at length about the head, because it was necessary for all the senses to be located in the highest place, from which all the other parts would be divided. To the back of our head is the neck, and on the right and left are the arms, which protect the imperial citadel like faithful guards. Ultimately, those things in us that are closer to the head are stronger, and those that are closer are superior. The chest is also like a sacred shrine of wisdom, and the stomach is like a witness, as doctors say, and the conscious partner of the secrets of the head, and a sharer in compassion, to which it pours out all its own things, either beneficial or adverse. The sides, buttocks, thighs, and shins themselves indicate the width of the measure; and the strides of the feet, although they appear to be smaller, actually become wider as we walk.

Chapter VIII.

Through a side door, placed diagonally in a chest, the less noble part of the body is decently expressed; to this part we give a more abundant honor according to the Apostle. This applies to both the members of the Church and to the Church itself and the Synagogue.

Moreover, he beautifully added: 'You shall make a door on the side' (Gen. VI, 16), indicating the part of the body through which we are accustomed to expel food; so that he would surround with greater honor those parts of the body which we consider less noble. Scripture expressed this much more graciously than Socrates is said to have said in Plato's book. For whether Socrates himself or Plato, who was in Egypt, could have read or learned it from others who had read it in Moses' writings; moved by a fitting inspiration, he thought that a door had been opened to him, so that he might proclaim the plan of our Maker: praising that which was most fittingly agreeable, that he diverted certain ducts or exits of our tunnels from behind; so that our digestive system would not be offended by the sight of its own purgation. But the Apostle says: Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary. And he goes beyond the simple description of philosophy with one word; and we honor those parts of the body that we think are less honorable with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty (1 Corinthians 12:22-23). For the sign of our self-restraint and temperance is especially known there. For often people are either stretched to the point of danger due to an excess of crudeness, or they are generally dissolved with their emptied organs.

25. Moreover, the Apostle beautifully related to the members of the Church (Ibid., 27 et seq). For what is dishonorable and superfluous, if not lust, if not excessive indulgence? If someone, entangled in youth, comes to baptism when they have reached a more mature age, renouncing their former ways, shedding their previous habits, casting off sins, and being buried with the Lord Jesus Christ, crucifying the world, and the world itself; is not that person endowed with the forgiveness of sins and esteemed to possess a greater honesty than that catechumen, whose life is considered more innocent? And let us follow the example of the Apostle himself: he was a Jew, he was a persecutor, but called to the grace of Christ, he began to be an Apostle. And because more was forgiven to him, he began to love more, to work more abundantly than the other apostles, becoming a chosen vessel and a teacher of the Gentiles. Did he not also attain a more abundant and honorable glory than the other apostles themselves, who was previously dishonorable and inglorious when he persecuted the Church of God? That poor person, weak in the Church, redeemed you by his own vows.

26. And to open up greater mysteries, what could be more ignoble than the Gentile people? Poor, as one who had no command of God's words, disabled and lame in both feet, who had not believed in either the law or the Gospel, yet when called, believed in him, was baptized, and received grace. Therefore, because more was forgiven to him, he loves more. The Jewish people remained, though lame in one foot: even in the law itself they stumble. Therefore, he who was once considered most glorious has lost everything, the wonderful counselor, the wise architect, and the wise listener. This one, who was ignoble, obtained all the titles of faith, the trophy of martyrs, and boasts of the company of angels. Therefore Plato, as much as he could, used the beauty of speech: but the Apostle, who had the spirit of God, revealed the mystery. Enough has been said about the gate; for those who were behind have become first.

Chapter IX.

In the lower part of the abdomen we are taught that the receptacles of food should be made small; and on this occasion, the conformation and use of the intestines are discussed. The origin of a flood arising from intemperance, and the remedy to be applied to it, are shown.

Now let us inquire what the Lord means when He says: You shall make the lower compartments of the ark two and three contraries (Gen. VI, 16). By saying 'lower,' He wishes us to understand that the receptacles for food are to be properly regarded as lower vessels, that is, those organs which digest the food that has been consumed. For food is perishable, and what is perishable should be compared not with things that are higher but with things that are lower. Moreover, since food descends, only a small portion of it nourishes the body and provides sustenance, while the rest is cleansed through the intestines, for they are the organs through which the excess of food descends.


Thus our Creator has designed our organs, so that they are not extended from the stomach to the bottom, but curved and bent; in order to prolong the use of our lives. For if the intestines of a human were to be extended, which receive and process food, it would immediately pass through without delay; and it would be necessary for us to constantly be hungry, constantly feast, or quickly run out of nourishment. But now, in that bending and curving of the intestines, food adheres and gradually provides nourishment by descending, it imparts juices to the body, maintains satiety, and delays the craving to eat: it is neither a sudden outpouring, nor a sudden evacuation, nor an insatiable craving, nor an insatiable desire to feast. First therefore there is need and hunger: then from these would follow the continuation of eating without interruption. But what is more ugly than always tending to the stomach, which when it is filled, must be emptied; when it is emptied, must be refilled? What surpasses the third, except death mixed among the very foods and banquets? For how could they continue life any longer, while eating and hungry, and drinking and thirsty, and emptying everything they had taken before they were filled, and immediately hungry again? But now, as the food gradually descends, the natural providence moderates hunger and the natural craving. For first, in the stomach, which most people call the upper belly, the food is digested; then it is cooked in the liver, and there it is digested by heat. Its juice is divided into certain portions of the viscera, from which the whole body gains strength. This testifies to the growth of the youth, and the perseverance of the old. The remaining food flows into the belly. Whom we all call the belly without addition, many people say the lower belly; from which it is necessary for someone who had already descended full of corruption to be discharged through that sideways door.

29. When these things, composed by nature's skillful arrangement, appear to be designed for the instruction of God; nevertheless, if the manner of eating and acting is not observed by us, like a flood generated by excessive passions, and a certain corruption of the whole body occurs. For intemperance kindles desire, generates crudeness, creates corruption. Therefore, either the internal hardness is strained and shaken by pains, or a certain covering of the intestines is rubbed by the moisture of uncooked food and the roughness of indigestion; because, like a folded sheet, a twofold covering of them is asserted: one exterior, which the learned call continuous, or those who have examined it more diligently, directed from top to bottom; another interior, as if woven on the sides; hence they say it is not completely dissolved when it is rubbed. For if its interior were continuous, its rupture would be incurable, there the remains of food adhere through the delay of adjunctions. And if these adjunctions are dissolved, half-digested food and flowing drinks pass, which is the deluge of the human body.

30. Therefore, it seems to me that God wanted to teach us through the story of this ark how we may be safe from this particular flood. For the corruption caused by the flood is the reason: once it creeps in, the waters burst forth, and all the fountains of desires bubble up, so that the whole body may be submerged in such a great and deep flood of vices. For there is nothing that subjects a person to such wretched servitude as lust and such desires that weigh down the wretched conscience with a heavy yoke of crimes, to the extent that it cannot raise itself up, since it has lost the freedom of innocence. Therefore, the maximum remedy in this flood is to prioritize righteousness and choose it as the executor of divine command. Who is righteous within us, if not the intellectual power which includes all species of living beings above the earth within this ark? Restrain your rage and subdue all your irrational passions, subject all your senses to the mind, and accustom yourself to the commands of the soul. Do not allow your desires to escape and indulge in the common vices; and through rational thinking, you will be able to free even your irrational tendencies and impure sins from all danger of the flood.

Chapter X.

Of the three reasons why inanimate things are subjected to punishment through a flood, and how our senses die because of sin; and how God established his covenant with the righteous.


31. Whatever, he says, is on the earth, will die (Gen. VI, 17). Why indeed did dumb animals sin? For what reason are they subject to punishment when they do not have the sense of sinning? But just as in war when the general is killed by the enemy, his army dies, and all military strength is destroyed: so it seemed fitting with justice, when a man in whom the Lord God had given a certain royal power over all kinds of living beings, so that he would have imperial authority over all birds, wild animals, and beasts, that even domestic animals and all irrational animals would die. Finally, if ever there is a pestilence, with the region of the sky being corrupted, it first infects those things that are irrational, most especially dogs, horses, and cattle; and it contaminates also those things that seem to associate with humans: thus the force of diseases involves the human species as well. Therefore, this is, as I believe, the first cause of a just assertion.

The second reason is that no one blames nature for why the other parts of our body die when only the head is removed, since we see many survive with their hands and feet amputated. But the other members do not have the same prerogative as the head; therefore, when it is cut off from where our senses come forth into the rest of the body, all the members also die: neither is the providence of the operator abandoned in this, nor is the fragility of the human substance reproved. Similarly, therefore, no one can now argue that man is the head and principal of all other animals, so it should not be surprising if other animals die when he dies.

The third reason is that animals, being devoid of reason, were created for the sake of man; for they exist for the benefit of man's condition through their subjection. Finally, the Prophet attributes to the grace of man, saying: Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, moreover also the beasts of the fields, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea (Ps. VIII, 8); for all those things exist for man: some for usefulness, some for the sake of delight, others for pleasure. Therefore, it followed that when man was erased from the face of the earth, on account of whom everything was made, even the very things themselves would be erased by a similar downfall. This is according to a simple explanation of the reading.

34. However, a deeper and more profound interpretation attaches to this, that when the soul is weighed down by the burden of passions and engulfed in the turmoil of diverse desires, all earthly thoughts and desires rush headlong into abyss; for each sinner becomes more insolent the more grievous crimes he commits. For wickedness is increased by practice and exercise, and audacity is nourished by impunity. Therefore, it withdraws from all regard for honor, and in it all earthly things perish in the bitterness of deadly sin, which truly and perpetually destroys the sinner. For no one dies more painfully than he who lives in sin. In him every passion dies: the sight dies when it proclaims sin, when it deceives a woman, when it is captivated by the beauty of another's face, when it is ensnared by the eyes of a harlot, when it is enticed by the appearance of a prostitute. Does it not seem to die, he who aims the weapon of lust at himself, who willingly falls into the pit of death? The hearing also dies when it recounts crimes, when it proclaims the words of a tempting adulterer, when it inserts into the minds the words of a seductive harlot, who deceives a youth with much flattery of speech; and he is bound by the snares of her lips. The voice dies in silence if it does not confess to God. It dies with excessive speech, for it is written: From excessive speech you will not escape sin (Prov. X, 19). It dies through anger, when it exceeds the measure of vengeance. Indeed, every sense ultimately dies if it serves iniquity.

And therefore, since all earthly things perish in the flood, but the just alone remains forever, it is said to him: I will establish my covenant with thee (Gen. VI, 18); for he is the heir of divine grace, he is the heavenly possessor of the inheritance, the sharer in the most blessed goods. And indeed, when men die, they usually transfer their patrimony by will; nor does the inheritance pass until the testator is alive: but God, since He is eternal, pours out to the just the inheritance of divine substance; and He, being in need of nothing, bestows His own without any expense of donation, which does not burden the sharers in His goods, and enjoys more what we use. Finally, the Lord Jesus became poor, even though He was rich, so that we might be enriched by His poverty. He sealed both Testaments with His own blood, making us heirs of His life and heirs of His death, so that we may share in His life and receive the benefits of His death. He gave much to the righteous, saying: 'I will establish my covenant with you'; because He is a reasonable and faithful man, the covenant of God. For He Himself is the inheritance, He Himself is the possession, in whom the power of the divine covenant resides, in whom the fruit of judgment is found, in whom the inheritance of promise resides, of whom David says: 'Behold, the inheritance of the Lord.' The children are a reward, the fruit of the womb (Ps. 126:3). But now, with the salvation of a deeper mystery, let us proceed to the rest.

Chapter XI.

To be a just man is to be for the benefit of oneself and one's own salvation; although sometimes the desire to relax can lead to error. It is not always enough to be just in the eyes of God if one is not just in the eyes of men. Ultimately, the mind must fulfill its duty, like the head of a household, amidst passions.

36. 'Go in,' he says, 'you and all your household, into the ark; for I have seen you righteous before me in this generation' (Gen. VI, 18). Clearly, the truth of the prophetic statement is also confirmed in this instance, that a fool is a fool to himself alone, but a wise man benefits himself and many others (Prov. IX, 12). Therefore, Noah, being righteous, deservedly also saved his household in the flood. Similarly, those sailing on the sea and those in the army, if they do not lack the skill of a helmsman, or the foresight of a commander, they are safe from danger with the help of others. But because a good emperor has a good army, we understand that praise of a just man is not overlooked even in it, who established his household in such a way that it shone with the company of virtue, and deservedly found safety in kinship. Nor does it contradict the fact that later either his son or his wife offended. The just man was sleeping when his son erred (Gen. 9:22ff). Also, a woman, being of a weaker sex, troubled by the burden of danger, who believed that the whole world was about to perish in divine fire, why are you surprised if she could not follow the man, when the just man himself, warned by angels, scarcely escaped? But what is surprising if an error overcomes a person, or if attention is relaxed? Argue therefore that even a just person becomes intoxicated. But I think these things should be reserved for their proper place (Below, ch. 29).

Now let us consider what remains. For he rightly said: 'Because I have seen you righteous before me in this generation.' Many people appear righteous to men, but few to God: differently to men, differently to God. To men according to the appearance of life; to God according to the purity of the soul, the truth of virtue; men approve what is external: God examines what is internal. However, he wisely added: 'In this generation'; so that he would not condemn the previous ones, nor exclude the later ones, and rightly attribute the flood to the destruction of that generation which had no share in equity. This according to the letter.

38. However, a higher understanding leads us to think that the strength of the mind is in the soul, and the soul is in the body, just as the head of the household is in his own home. For what the mind is in the soul, that is the soul in the body. If the mind is safe, the house is safe, the soul is safe; if the soul is unharmed, the flesh is unharmed. For the sober mind controls all passions, governs the senses, and regulates speech. Therefore, the Lord rightly says: 'Enter within yourself,' that is, enter into your own mind, into the ruler of your soul; there is salvation, there is guidance; outside is the flood, outside is danger. But if you are virtuous within, you are also safe outside; for where the mind is its own master, there are good thoughts, good actions. For if no vice clouds the mind, there are sincere thoughts. If there is chastity in one's pursuits, let temperance be in one's heart, and no flame of desire will ignite, no wounds of sorrow will emerge. For sobriety of the mind is the medicine of the body.

Chapter XII.

Seven clean animals of both sexes and two unclean animals are to be brought into the ark, because the number seven is sacred and complete, whereas the second is not. In us, there is a certain feminine sevenfold nature, but it is elevated to a masculine condition by an educated man. Finally, human nature is said to be capable of both opposites.


Now let us consider by what means Noah commanded the clean animals to enter the ark, seven and seven, male and female (Gen. VII, 2): but of the unclean animals, two and two, so that the seed may be nourished in all the earth. And as I think, he asserts that the clean week begins; because the world and the sacred seventh number are clean. For it is not mixed with any other, nor is it generated from another. Therefore it is called virgin, because it does not generate anything from itself; and rightly it is without maternal and immune birth, and although it may be called by a feminine name, it has the grace of masculine sanctification: For every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord (Exod. XXXIV, 19). And in the prophet you have: She has poured out and given birth to a male (Isaiah 66:7), that is, holy. But the second number is not complete, because it is divided. And that which is not complete is considered empty. But the seventh number is complete, because it is a week, like ten; and it is similar to the first, because it is made in the likeness of the One who is eternal, from whom all virtues flow and all things in every kind are moved. These are natural things.

Regarding morals, it is without a doubt that the irrational part of our soul is divided into five senses, including hearing and smell, which seem to be feminine by nature; because our senses are quickly drawn to material and worldly things. Hence, it is clear that they have a more delicate substance. However, for a learned and industrious man, everything is clean; because wisdom and virtue, through their masculine judgment, serve as a foundation. Therefore, the qualities of a weaker sex are transferred into a stronger substance by a wise and purposeful ruler. For the judgment of a wise person is strong and fixed; not mutable, like that of foolish and ignorant individuals who waver with uncertain counsel, or like that of wicked people who do not choose what is true and just, but rather what is convenient for themselves, breaking away from what is true and separating from what is just. Justice is indeed a unique good, and is valued highly for its own sake. But iniquity, like a divisive force, brings forth both hatred and greed, and confuses those things which should be divided. For the fool, like the moon, changes and, being variable, stains his soul with the ugly contagion of a leprous body, often mixing healthy thoughts with harmful ones.

But perhaps because you see that clean and unclean animals are commanded to be brought into the ark, it may rightly move you that I said that they should not be mixed with honest debates. Nor do I deny that there are indeed seeds and, as it were, principles of irrational movements, in our soul and in those who are not of this world. For the nature of man is capable of opposing things, so that both the power of evil and the entrance of virtue may be in it; and deservedly at the beginning of this book, which is Genesis, you read through the image of the tree in the middle of paradise the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. II, 9). Regarding the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it was commanded not to be tasted because our mind, in which there is knowledge and discipline, receives the concept of good and evil. Therefore, just as the creator of nature reserved the propagation and also the preservation of the genus of animals, so that the entire earth would be filled with the seed of living creatures, he also did not consider empty earthly substance of our bodies to be abandoned to such impure animals, which, with pleasures and luxury, are swallowed up like a flood, and fluctuate with the aforementioned passions. But when each person has rid themselves of the flood of passions through sobriety and self-control, and has woven a certain dryness of the soul, they begin to give life to their own body, and wisdom is the guiding principle of the purity of the soul.

Chapter XIII.

Why did Noah enter the ark? Was it after seven days the flood happened? Also, why did Moses say that it lasted forty days and forty nights; and how did it endure for forty days? In what way does divine mercy shine forth in the very threat of punishment? After that, Noah's generous obedience is considered.


42. It is also a matter of inquiry why, after Noah entered the ark and brought in the animals, the flood occurred seven days later. For it does not seem idle that the number of days that passed was neither more nor fewer, but exactly the same number that there were in the creation of the world. For the world was made in six days (Gen. II, 2), and on the seventh day God rested from His works. By this He declared Himself to be the author of the world and of the flood. God created the world because of its goodness, and He brought about the flood as a punishment for our sins. Therefore, people were reminded, even from the beginning of the creation of the world, that they should reconcile with their Creator not only with tears and prayers, but also with a correction of their behavior. So the Lord gave them time for repentance, being more willing to forgive than to punish; by the fear of the impending flood, He forced them to seek forgiveness, and while they trembled at the danger of future death, they turned away from impiety and injustice. It is also proper that we gather from here the boundless mercy and compassion of the Lord, because the offense of many years since the creation of the world, until the end, contracted in a few days, if they had repented, He was willing to forgive. For God is forgetful of sin, and a rewarder of virtue, as He Himself says in the prophet: I am, I am He who blots out your iniquities, and I will not be mindful: but you be mindful. And let us be judged: declare your iniquities, that you may be justified (Isaiah 43:25). For when he observes that true virtue is rejected by the soul, he bestows upon it so much honor that not only does he pardon the sins of the guilty, but he also bestows grace and justification. Therefore, he waited until the seventh day, the day on which he rested from his work, so that if forgiveness were sought, correction would follow, and wrath would be appeased.

It was also a concern not to omit this, because it said that the flood lasted forty days and added forty nights (Gen. VII, 12). For we know that the day is called the time when the sun illuminates the earth; the night is the time when darkness surrounds us and separates us from the light. And often we use the term 'day' to mean only the time of daylight, and sometimes we include the night. For when we mention a month of thirty days, we are also indicating the nights. It is asked why, when Moses had already said that the flood lasted forty days, he added, ‘and forty nights’. And some, who came before us, have understood it in this way: as if the destruction caused by the flood was demonstrated by both men and women being destroyed; the day refers to the man, who is referred to as purer, like light, the night refers to the woman, who is created while the man is asleep (Gen. 2:21): at the same time, because the man is mentioned first, as the author who moves the power of the woman and arouses it for giving birth, the man is brighter in action and in public; the woman is darker, as if confined within the walls of the home and closer to night, born in second place, and given her form from the rib of man, she owes thanks to the man she was created from, and is subject to the privilege of the superior, and is to be compared with material things in the use of giving birth. However, danger exists in both consonance, because sins also exist in consonance. And deservedly, the spaces of time do not differ, because the merits of offenses do not differ.

44. Moreover, many people also inquire diligently by what means the deluge continued for forty days. And we can say that this number was assigned to the sadder events, that is, the destruction of creation, while seven days were assigned to the constitution of the entire world, that is, happier events. But perhaps it is worth considering that the law was also given for forty days (Exod. XXIV, 18), and Moses observed these days on Mount Sinai, spending time receiving the precepts of the Law. Therefore, the precepts of the same number of sins to be confessed are attributed, by which the penalty of guilt is paid; so that we may know that praise should be compared to the same time of life, by which a punishable fault can be committed. Hence, now the days of forty are no longer prescribed for punishment, but for life; so that with this number of fasts and more frequent prayers, we may alleviate the punishments of our sins, and, being attentive to the precepts of the law, may correct our error with devotion and faith. Therefore, through the resurrection of the Lord, the fortieth day is no longer considered the last, but the first; and from there life is counted, where before the number of death was counted towards the end of the world and the destruction of the human race.

45. And the Lord says, I will destroy all the resurrection of the flesh from the face of the earth. O beauty of celestial words, if anyone examines themselves with a devout mind! God is indignant at our sins, but does not forget his mercy. He threatens punishment, but does not allow destruction. He moderates vengeance, recalls severity. He says that he will blot out all flesh not from the earth, but from the face of the earth. He cuts off the flower, but keeps the root: he allows the power of human nature to remain in the depth of substance, which labors on the surface, persevering impassible within, and untouched by harm, reserved for the substitution of those who are not guilty, and immune to their punishment. But beautifully I have set forth, I will destroy, like the tips of letters which are erased without deceit of books, and without diminution of tablets. Ink is erased, but the wood remains. Elements are erased, so that usually better ones may be written. Ink is removed, substance is not exterminated. I will destroy, he says, the corruption of the flesh, so that I may write incorruption. I will destroy the resurrection of the flesh from the face of the earth, so that I may write about those rising in heaven. I will erase from the book of the earth, so that I may write in the book of life. Let them be erased, my Lord, let them be quickly erased, the elements of iron, so that the elements of Christ may be written. May the earthly resurrection be abolished, so that heavenly grace may abound. Come, Moses, prepare your lap, receive the law, take the tablets that divine mercy no longer erases. Receive the tablets that the Lord may establish forever. I wish you yourself do not break them. And my own fault would have taken them away from me, if the Lord had not restored them. Indeed, Moses was indignant that they were not granted divine privileges unless they offered obedience. But I believe that you have not broken them for me, but for the Jews. You broke them for the Jews and deceived me. The former ones were broken so that the latter ones could remain. You broke them in the hearts of the Jews. For what use was it for them to possess the tablets whose teachings they could not keep? Behold, they claim to possess the second tablets, but they do not hold them. They claim to read the divine elements, but they do not read them (Deut. IX, 10). Moses says that the finger of God has written the tablets: they do not read the finger of God, but they read iron. They see ink, but they do not see the spirit of God. But the Church does not know ink, it knows the spirit. Therefore, Paul knows how to write not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God (2 Cor. III, 2-3). Oh sacrilegious and foolish people of the Jews! A man writes with the spirit of God, and a man who is nourished by the law believes that God has written with ink, not with the spirit.


46. Therefore, to return to the previous topic, God deleted the resurrection of the flesh, like the erasure of bees: whereby it is declared that he wiped out the excessive birth of humans due to their impiety, in a semblance of letters; but he preserved the substance and nature of the human race, like the perpetuity of tablets, so that from it the remaining seed would sprout. This statement also seems to agree with what he says: I will destroy, he says, every resurrection of the flesh. But purification seems to be contrary to the common use of nature in resurrection; because by purification one falls back and suppresses the luxury of resurrection. However, everything that is purified loses its appearance, preserves its substance, and improves it. Therefore, the Lord restrained by purification the bodily use, and conversation of generation, which had degenerated from the beauty of nature and the gift received. This is according to the letter. But as for what pertains to a deeper meaning, the sight of the flood is a type of the purging of our soul. Therefore, when our mind cleanses itself from the earthly allurements by which it was previously delighted, it will also wipe away the filth of old desires with good thoughts, just as it absorbs the bitterness of the turbulent waters with purer waters first.

47. And he did, he said, everything that the Lord God commanded him. Noah received the commandments, a servant received the orders. The one who does whatever tasks he has undertaken is considered a friend: the one who hesitates in his obedience is burdened with the duty of servitude. Lastly, even the Lord Jesus says in the Gospel: You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I will not call you servants anymore. Therefore, it is commanded as to a friend, it is commanded to him who, with strong love and wise counsel, carries out those things which are commanded. The judgment of the Lord did not fail, the righteous fulfilled all things, not part, but all things that were commanded to him; and therefore he received testimony from the divine Scriptures. And do not think it is superfluous because he has placed both Lord and God at the same time; for God is in the Lord, and the Lord is in God: but understand it as a common commandment of the Father and the Son. However, some have interpreted it before us, because by saying Lord and God in this place, he expressed both the power to avenge and the power to forgive: and he who avenges here speaks first to sinners, therefore he spoke before the Lord; but because afterwards, in order to spread the seed of the righteous, he indulged, he mentioned God afterwards. Finally, it is said that God, about to create the world, said: In the beginning, God created heaven and earth. And God said, let there be light.

Chapter XIV.

It happened during the spring time that the Flood occurred, so that people were more tormented by it; and in the six hundredth year of Noah, in order to coincide with the creation of humanity, the destruction of humanity occurred. Likewise, the Flood signifies the disruption of the mind and body through the bursting forth of the fountains of the deep and the cataracts of the sky.


48. There is also that thorough consideration, that in the six hundredth year of Noah, in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the flood occurs. It is not doubted that this time is in the second month of spring, when births increase, the fields give birth, and the offspring of both the earth and animals pour forth. Therefore, the flood happened when the pain of those who were being punished in their abundance was greater, then vengeance was more terrible, as if speaking the words of God: Behold, all things have been generated richly according to the grace of divine providence, everything has germinated on the earth more fertile for the use of humans, crops are seen, the fields are filled with wheat and barley, the branches of trees are adorned with future fruits through flowers: the earth does not lack in its duties, the animals do not lack in their gifts, which are paid regularly in births, so that nothing is lacking for humans. Only humans lack in their duties, they do not know their creator from whom all things are provided for them, they neglect their maker. The man despises his reward, when God has not despised his work. Let all things perish with man, on account of whom all things were born. Let the man be consumed in his own riches, when he dies with his wealth. The earth had committed no crime before man, it erred in no fruits: it recognizes in man alone that it has degenerated, bearing thorns and thistles instead of fruits. The only admirable gift, the chief of the mind has perished. Therefore, why are all those things preserved? Therefore, water is not poured over the gathered crops, so that the land does not feel more of a benefit than a flood. Finally, in the springtime among the Egyptians, but in a different month, the Nile overflows so that the earth may soften for sowing seeds, and the seeds that are cast may be received in a gentler lap, in a more gracious embrace. But the fact that the flood occurs in the six hundredth year of Noah seems to show that Adam was created on the sixth day. The same number, that is, the one that is called 'pair', is maintained both in the creator and in the restorer, because the source of the sixtieth and the six hundredth is the number of the sixth. However, it is said that it is both the first and the seventh month. But we must pay more attention to the first; because after the flood, in the springtime, the care of cultivating the fields is restored, and the fertility of the peaceful and fertile soil begins to progress. By this it is signified that God would never have brought destruction upon mankind in that number or time in which He made the beginning, unless He had been offended by monstrous crimes. At the same time, the reason for the forgiveness of time and number is promised; because, even when He is angry, He is reminded by the preceding causes of His benefits, not to completely destroy the substance of those whom He Himself has given.


49. And all the fountains of the deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened (Gen. VII, 11). The force of the deluge is appropriately expressed in the Scriptures, which say that both the sky and the earth were moved, from which elements this world's entire beginning consists. Therefore, the human race, enclosed on all sides by the rushing masses of water, is overwhelmed. This is according to the literal sense. But as for the deeper meaning, the symbol of the sky represents the human mind, and the designation of the earth represents the body and senses. Great therefore are the shipwrecks, when the whirlwind and storm of both the mind and the body and all the senses are mixed together. Let us carefully consider what has been said. The deceit of the mind and its cunning often exercise their own poison, but nevertheless the sobriety of the body and self-control overshadow the wickedness of the mind. Often the slippery mind is uncertain of its faith and opinion, but nevertheless the flesh is free from delights and luxury, so that frugality may excuse the error of the mind, just as there are many heretics who claim to have the self-control of the body in order to acquire the testimony of their sober flesh for the faith of their assertion: although they are slippery in perception, they are considered somewhat more excusable insofar as they are less shameful. But when the poisons of the mind and the corrupting contagions of bodily obscenity confuse every sense and power, and the soul, slippery with uncertain motion, reeks with the foul ink of malice, inflamed with the fury of cruelty, it is also incited to bodily vices. Even the greedy longing for wealth, impatient of moderate means, is precipitated into the desire for the destruction of another's well-being; then there is a great flood of passions overflowing all alike. Then folly, injustice, recklessness, depravity, and treachery seem to pour forth from the higher part of the mind like a cascade. From there burst forth from the earthly source of the body desire, drunkenness, lust, and finally the downfall of various crimes, which thoroughly weaken both the strength of the body and the vigor of the mind.

Chapter XV.

Through the closed and floating ark, the body of a man covered in leather and moved by various motions: through fifteen cubits of water by which the mountains were surpassed, human senses: finally, through death of all flesh, the destruction of souls corrupted by passions is foreshadowed: but especially the proud are to be destroyed, while the just remains as if incorporeal in the body, with wicked affections extinguished in the meantime.


And the Lord closed the ark from outside (Gen. VII, 16). The meaning is clear according to the literal interpretation. The ark had to be closed and securely covered so that the wandering streams of the flood would not penetrate. A higher sense can also be interpreted without inconsistency, if we consider that the human body, to which this ark that is described is compared, is enclosed in skin in order to be protected from cold and heat, which the divine craftsman clothed with natural coverings for the protection of all the limbs, and covered with a covering that was spread over it, so that it neither freezes from the cold nor dissolves from the summer heat.


51. So the water overflowed and lifted up the ark, and it was carried on top of the waters. It is not without reason that the water overflowed, when the floodgates of heaven were opened and the fountains of the deep were broken, and the rivers. This has been said with great emphasis. For where there is an eruption, there must necessarily be an irreversible outpouring; it is not easy to contain the immense overflow of flowing waters. Therefore, it is evident what has been written. But if you think it should be examined more deeply, our flesh is moved in various ways and is tossed about by passions, by which it is tossed here and there, like on the waves of its own troubles, now with hunger, now with thirst, now with desire, now with joy, now with sorrow.


Furthermore, I believe that this should not be overlooked, because Scripture did not overlook it, how many cubits the water was above the earth; for it said that the water was fifteen cubits above the high mountains. Therefore, the simple understanding is clear. However, the allegory encompasses five senses, which are like high mountains in our body, which overshadow this flesh of passions, and are often attacked by beasts, and are agitated by their dense and opaque nature. And so the Lord, coming through the faith of the believing nations, came to His Church, coming from Lebanon as the prophet Habakkuk says: The Lord will come from Lebanon, from the shady and dark mountain (Hab. III, 3). The Church also comes from Lebanon, as the Song of Songs has: Come from Lebanon, my bride, come from Lebanon. You will pass through and cross over from the beginning of faith, from the dens of lions, and the mountains of leopards (Song of Songs IV, 8), where the pagan peoples, who suffered heavy attacks of bestial passions, now rise with the height of faith and the loftiness of devotion. Therefore, through these mountains Christ came, combating with the fierce movements of this body in Gospel disputations, and destroying that elevation of the heart and the self-exalting pride by obedience and humility, and they began to bear the deserved fruits of gentleness, which were previously overthrown by the heavy floods of passions. But some have estimated the number of cubits in this way, that the five senses have a triple collection; because sight sees the visible, and hearing hears the audible, and smelling smells the odoriferous, and taste tastes the tasteful, and touch touches the substance subject to be touched. Therefore, the five senses are valued in three ways, according to the saying: Write it in three ways (Prov. 22:20). However, I think it is more beneficial to consider the senses of the earthly, animal, and spiritual man, which have surpassed those flowing floods of the deluge.

53. Justly dead is every flesh that was moved. This is clear both according to the letter, and specifically and naturally expresses the corruption of the flesh by the evidence of a violent disturbance. For a corrupt disturbance only occurs through the corruption of the affections. Flesh moves by pleasures, and it is itself moved by pleasures. Such a disturbance creates corruption. Therefore, the cause of corruption is the disturbance of this world, through which the soul of each degenerates. For when corrupt passions move the mind, corruption is generated; when they excite the pursuit of virtues, progress is made in discipline. Therefore, everyone who was in the dry land is dead: for those whom the wave of such a great flood had submerged could not but die. This is according to the order and series of words in the scripture. But if you seek an allegory, there is no doubt that just as a fire consumes a drier piece of wood that it begins to lick, so the soul, unless it is moistened by the dew of various virtues, watered by a certain cup of wisdom, and by the fountain of justice, and by the irrigating stream of chastity, will burn up, with its vital root dried out, in the fire of desires, or be washed away, being weakened by the flood of the flesh. Therefore, the soul should always feast on the thoughts of good deeds, so that the mind, intoxicated with the juice of prudence, may thrive; thereby it will not easily succumb to the bodily deluge of harm and perish in the arid state of negligence. Therefore, the Lord reminds us not to depart from the fountain of wisdom, but to drink from the cups of virtue; lest anyone wither under the scorching heat of injustice and be unable to withstand the storm of persecution (Baruch 3:20 et seq.). For it is written: 'If they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?' (Luke 23:31)

54. God destroyed, he says, everything that was above the face of the earth (Gen. VII, 23). The clear explanation of the text. However, the allegory reveals to us the pride that exalts itself in this earthly and fragile substance, and forgetful of divine things, despises human things, deforming the appearance and gait of an arrogant man: such as Isaiah describes the daughters of Judea, shining their eyes with glances and boasting with their head held high (Isa. III, 16). For there are those who raise their eyebrows, with an inflated heart, a lifted chest, and a backward-leaning neck: who indeed only strike the ground with the soles of their feet, but freely suspend their whole body, and hang down in an empty examination: they proceed in their steps to what is in front of them, but lean the crown of their head towards what is behind them: they look at the sky, but despise the earth, as if they were attached by the pain of their neck, so that they cannot incline it. Therefore, God has erased these from the book of life, saying: Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled (Luke 14:11): and he does not allow them to adhere to heavenly rewards through the merits of the saints.


55. Therefore, all those who were outside the ark, having been killed, Noah was left alone in the ark with those who were with him (Gen. VII, 23). The speech does not need interpretation; it is simpler. The understanding coincides with the letter. However, a deeper and inner meaning indicates the just man, a lover of wisdom, like a fruitful tree, having the branches of those things that used to devour its food cut off, overshadowing its hair, constraining the processes of the branches, as if only the ground of irrational passions remained with his own. But the debates of the mind, which adhere to virtue, are its own. And he added well that he remained in the ark, as if it were hardly believable that, with bodily passions cut off, he was still seen to be dwelling in the body: although he was now free from earthly contagions, he still preserved the substance of the body that was incorruptible: and as if incorporeal in the body, he was carried through the flood, not swallowed up; indeed, he carried the body as if placed in the ark within, but he, impassable by bodily passions, as if incorporeal, governed in the midst of such great movements.

Chapter XVI.

Why was it said: 'No mention was made of Noah's wife and his sons'? Why were the animals named before the livestock, and what kind of spirit was brought upon the earth to make the waters recede?

56. The Lord remembered Noah, and the beasts, and the cattle (Gen. VIII, 1). Many are moved by the fact that the Author did not say the reason, that the Lord also remembered Noah's wife and sons, when he remembered the beasts and cattle. But when he said that Noah was remembered, he includes in the author and head of the household his other relationships. At the same time, a certain consensus of the remaining relationships seems to be expressed. Indeed, when they all love each other, they are one household: but when they disagree, they are separated and split into multiple households. Where charity is, there the name of the elder by whom the others hang signifies the whole house: just as if someone were to mention a tree, they also include the branches; if someone were to name a branch, they also encompass the fruits that are on it, in the same way and in the same discourse.

And it is not without purpose that he first mentioned that the Lord remembered Noah, then the beasts, then the cattle; that is, why he did not name those animals that are milder after man, but rather the more ferocious. In this, it seems that the reason is that those animals which were more ferocious would be tamed by the proximity of both sides. This also seems to be declared in that poetic verse: κακοὺς δ᾽ ἐς μέσσον ἔλασσεν (Homer, Iliad Δ). For from this, the poet also used it to arrange the disposition of the fighting army; to place the weaker ones in the middle, so that they would be supported more from both sides by the stronger ones, and they would engage in battle with both sides. In his writings it is evident. However, in a deeper sense, it is certain that the just person has his thoughts in the middle, not in a part of his mind: and as long as he lives this life, it is necessary for him to have them in his body, like heavy beasts in that ark. For there is no mind, no soul, that does not receive even the rough movements of evil thoughts. Therefore, the soul of a fool sharpens wild movements and inhales the poisons of serpents; but the strength of a wise person moderates and restrains them.


And the Lord brought a spirit upon the earth, and the water ceased (Genesis VIII, 1). I do not think this is said in such a way that we should understand the spirit as the name for wind. For the wind could not have dried up the flood. Otherwise, since the sea is stirred up daily by winds, it would certainly be emptied. For how could the sea, which had spread out over the whole earth in the flood, not be emptied by the force of the winds, if it had receded even to the pillars of Hercules, as they say, and the Great Sea was boiling up against the roofs of high mountains? Therefore, it is not doubtful that by the power of the invisible divine spirit, that flood was repressed, not by a gust of wind, but by celestial operation. Hence it is written: All wait for you to give them food in due season. When you open your hand, all things will be filled with goodness. You take away their breath, and they die, and return to their dust. You send forth your spirit, and they are created, and you renew the face of the earth (Psalm 104:27 and following). Therefore, the Spirit whose operations everything seems to follow, in whom is the power of the heavens themselves, as it is written: By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the breath of his mouth all their power (Ps. 32:6); this Spirit is the creator of all things, as Job also says: The divine Spirit who made me (Job 33:4).

Chapter XVII.

To point to the closed sources of water and the causes of the waterfall as the reasons for the error, they must be cut off for the health of the soul: the enumeration of the time in which the ark settled, at the beginning of the year, that is, in the spring season it began and stopped the flood; and it grew and decreased in the same numbers: the opening of the ark, by contemplating through the senses of nature, to reach the knowledge of God; finally, the release of the raven, the expulsion of guilt from the soul to which it does not return after passions have been extinguished.


Now let us consider what the divine Scripture says: 'The fountains of the deep were also stopped, and the windows of heaven were stopped' (Gen. VIII, 2). I do not think it is obscure. For by these causes the flood was diminished, by which it had increased. The fountains of the deep had burst forth, the windows of heaven had been opened, so that the earth might be inundated with water flowing in from all sides. Those from which the origin of the flood had flowed should have been closed, so that its increase might begin to cease. This is the meaning of the letter. However, a more subtle interpretation expresses that a flood of the soul had entered through the vice of the mind and the luxury of the body, so that malice mingled with passion, and passion with malice: when the divine word, the Doctor of the soul that was suffering from long-lasting illness, came to visitation, the causes of the illness needed to be removed first due to the wickedness of debates and the bitterness of passions. For the beginning of medicine is to identify the causes of the illness; so that those things which harm may not be further supplied for the increase of the illness. The law also teaches us (Leviticus 13:5-6); for when leprosy has stopped spreading, it declares the leper's dwelling to be clean. Whatever moves contrary to nature is unclean. Therefore, this is the health of the soul, this is the soundness of the mind: that the flow of error ceases, that guilt is stopped before it creeps in. With the stimulus of guilt and wrongdoing gone, safety is assured, and the unharmed strength of the soul is restored.


60. And he said, 'The ark sat in the seventh month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month' (Gen. VIII, 4). Unless you carefully consider it, even according to the literal interpretation, the understanding of this passage is difficult. And first of all, we must be cautious, so that the repetition of the seventh month does not cause confusion. For it is written that in the six hundredth year, according to Hebrew truth, on the first month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the flood began: there were one hundred and fifty days of water infusion, the ark sat on the mountain in the seventh month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month: afterwards, the waters began to recede by the mercy of God, and for one hundred and fifty days the waters diminished, and then the tops of the mountains appeared: then after forty days, Noah opened the holy door of the ark, he sent out the raven and it did not return, he sent out the dove and it returned empty, then after seven days he sent out the dove again and it returned with an olive branch, and then after another seven days he sent out the dove again and it did not return, and that was when Noah realized that all the water had receded.' Thus, the year is shown to be the 601st year of Noah, in the 27th month of the second year. Therefore, to explain clearly, in the same month and on the same day, the earth's equilibrium is restored after the flood, which had been corrupted by the beginning of the floodwaters. For during the time of spring, every field turns green, and the earth produces fruits. Then, the trees begin to bud, and the fruits to sprout. Therefore, the Lord restored and returned the richness and quality. Therefore, in the second month, that is April (for the first month is March, in which the birthday of Justice is celebrated, when the equinox of day and night is considered, that is, on the eighth day, as the Romans believe, or as others, on the fifth day before the kalends of April); in the second month, I say, that is April, on the twenty-seventh day, the flood began. Therefore, the beginning of the year is estimated not according to the use of time, but according to the prerogative of nature; so that because then the hope of the year begins, and the fruits begin to show themselves, then it seems to be the beginning of the year. However, the seventh month according to the number, which is called September, is calculated; because although the year seems to begin from the month of September, as the use of the present Indictions shows (for then the casting of seeds takes place), truly, however, from which the fuller grace begins to show itself, from that the origin of the year is subtracted; and therefore, the one who is thought to be first by another reason is considered the seventh by a different estimation. Therefore, the ark rested in the seventh month, that is, in September, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. From that time the flood began to decrease. At the same time, consider that the same numbers by which things begin are also resolved; so the flood began in the second month of the year, on the twenty-seventh day of the month: the flood lasted for 150 days, and then receded for another 150 days: for forty days excessive rain and the eruption of fountains from the heavens flooded the earth, and for another forty days after the mountain tops were visible, on the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Noah sent forth a raven: thus it is clear that the flood was diminished by the same number by which it was increased. The Scripture teaches us that order must be observed.

61. But as for the door of the ark that the righteous man opened, it has been explained according to the sense of the body. However, according to a higher interpretation, it seems to be said that the senses of the body are like doors. Through them, as it were, a certain comprehension of sensible things enters into our mind. Therefore, our mind seems to perceive through these senses, especially through vision, which is considered superior to all the senses of the body; for it is the light of our dwelling, and through it, as we look at the sky, the earth, the seas, the sun, the moon, and the stars with which the axis is adorned, we understand that God is the maker and ruler of the world, and we believe that these things could not have been made or could not subsist without God, the author, and the creator of so great works.


62. Therefore, through this window the just man releases the raven first. The reason must be sought, and yet it is not hidden as far as the letter is concerned; because most people consider the raven as a harbinger of the future and they observe its voices and investigate its flight. However, a deeper meaning signifies that when the mind of the just man begins to cleanse itself, it first repels those things which are dark, unclean, and reckless. For indeed, all impudence and guilt are dark and feed on the dead, like the raven; but near the light is the virtue which shines through the purity and simplicity of the mind. And so, guilt is released and expelled, and separated from innocence, so that nothing dark remains in the mind of the righteous man. Finally, the raven does not return to the just; because fleeing all guilt is contrary to fairness, nor does it seem to fit with honesty and justice. Finally, the unjust believes that he has escaped from his chains, when the just has separated himself from his company, from a certain flood and familiar corruption, like the raven who, when he could find no dry land anywhere, did not return, but remained.


63. It should also be considered why the crow did not return until the water had dried up from the earth (Gen. 8:7), as if it had indeed returned afterwards. But this is a familiar expression in divine Scripture. For you also have it written in the Gospel about Saint Mary, that Joseph did not know her until she gave birth to a son, and certainly did not know her afterwards (Matt. 1:25). Furthermore, what is the meaning of this expression, that it says, until the water had dried up from the earth, not the earth from the water? And indeed, the use of speech has also been accustomed to have this: but some before us have esteemed it, because it seems that an immoderate force of passions is expressed by this way of speaking; because the soul is perfected by turbulent and stormy passions, but it regains virtue when they diminish and as it were dry up. Therefore, the appearance of blame does not return to the soul of the righteous, as if leaving it dry and dead, and unable to harm it anymore.

Chapter XVIII.

Just as the raven represents wickedness, so the dove expresses virtue. Noah shows himself always ready to receive it; and by keeping the dove for seven other days, he teaches the patience necessary for correction.

64. Nor is that empty space, which afterwards is sent forth by the dove. For simplicity resolves malice, and virtue dissolves guilt. Therefore, malice loves the flood, and shuns the company of a just mind, and, as if deserted and without any abode, it remains, having no communion with virtue. But virtue returns, loving the company of the just, and, more familiar with usefulness to be bestowed, cautions against things hurtful, instructs in things salutary, just as the dove, being sent forth, when it saw that the water had ceased, returned as if full of righteousness, that it might notify to Him by whom it had been sent, what it should yet beware of, and, by expecting a better fruit, afterwards might possess it. But when the dove does not find its rest, it returns to him, clearly indicating through such birds how great a difference there is between malice and virtue. For when the raven was released, it seemed to be overflowing the flood for some time, but then it was seen to have found a place to settle. And certainly, this raven is not like other birds that are accustomed to dwelling in water. Therefore, when the raven appears to have found where to stay, but the dove has not found it, it is evident that a higher interpretation is being signified, because malice is accustomed to mixing itself with restless passions and desires by which the soul is corrupted, and it delights in them as if they were relatives and household members, and it places its residence there. But virtue, on the other hand, immediately upon being offended by the appearance of the vision, hastened to retreat to the mind and soul of the just, because there is located the safest lodging for it; since, like the dove, it cannot find such a safe station elsewhere. For simplicity often finds refuge late among the cunning of this world, and the waves of worldly desires.

Therefore, just as justice, for the sake of seeing, advances a little while, it hastens to return to the best state of mind and does not depart far from what is right; so too, the just person who is eager for virtue, when they realize that virtue is approaching, opens the embrace of their mind. For what does it mean when a man, desiring virtue, extends his hand and receives it, and brings it into himself? Although this seems clear according to the literal meaning, you will not easily grasp it unless you are familiar with the customary practice of a wise person, who uses wisdom as if it were a lookout and seems to entrust to it the prerogative of investigating and carrying out tasks. Therefore, virtue applies itself to natures in such a way that if it perceives any of them to have potential, it can join with them. For there is a certain common goodness of wisdom, which is both generous and abundant in usefulness; so that it associates itself with those it deems obedient. But when it sees some resist its purpose, it quickly returns to its familiar abode as if to a hospitable home, which the wise and industrious person hastens to embrace as if with a hand of the mind, opening their heart completely to it even when it is absent. For a wise person can never be devoid of their own virtue.

What else does he want for himself who kept a dove for seven days and then let it go, unless it is in order to show that the wise person's greatest desire and purpose is always to associate with others, to correct the wandering, to correct the straying? If he sees someone at the beginning making a mistake, he should not despair of being able to change and correct him. Just as a good doctor, even if it is not the time for medicine, still sends ahead the lookout of a visit; then he does not neglect the watch of rightful expectation, and yielding for a little while to the passions, he waits for the opportunity to heal, which, when it presents itself, he does not neglect his duty: so therefore the wise person, with words and arguments, desires to cure contrary passions, like a doctor wishes to cure diseases. And because in all things the remedy of divine favor must be used; therefore, he waited for seven days in which the whole world is described as finished (Gen. II, 2), and the rest was ministered to the worker; so that from that author the discipline of human operation could be taken.

Chapter XIX.

Why is it said that the dove returned in the evening with an olive branch in its beak? Also, how did Noah know that the waters had subsided? Finally, why did the same dove, when released on the seventh day, not return?

67. Therefore, the dove returned in the evening, holding a leaf of olive, and a branch in her mouth (Gen. VIII, 11). It is not without purpose that it mentions the evening, the return, the holding of the olive leaf, and the branch in her mouth, so that you may not think that she set out on a future journey without any power if she could acquire any; nor again, that you may understand her to have been hidden in some darkness, but rather that she waited shining in the light of day until the setting of the sun, and thus returned to Him with whom she could not even have darkness in the evening. He also brought with him a small leaf, although it may seem insignificant to have brought that leaf, it still indicated some hope for those whose mistake he regretted, albeit not great. For a leaf cannot exist without its stem. Therefore, like a sign of growing correction, although not a great one, he carried a distinguishing feature and a leaf of an olive tree, in which the olive is produced, from which oil is made, by which this light is supported, and the darkness is driven away. But what is more familiar to virtue than light? Therefore, a leaf and a branch are emblematic of correction; and correction, like its root, has repentance as its counterpart, which repentance cannot germinate in turbulent souls, but in those who have already received the spiritual word. Also, a branch of an olive tree seems to be brought in vain to the mouth, because virtue and wisdom have their brightness in their words, and the light of them immediately shines forth, especially when speaking peacefully; for those seeking peace have been accustomed to prefer this branch as well. He took a branch, because simplicity infuses into our ears certain seeds of usefulness with purity and sincerity: and it both incites to the practice of good doctrine and urges toward the reward of good discipline, or imposes the desire to engage in repentance and pursue a virtuous life on the sinner.

68. Therefore, it seems worthy of consideration how the holy Noah could have known, as it is written, that water would be lacking from the earth. First of all, according to the literal sense, he could have understood whether a dry or wet leaf were brought. Then, because a dove is not of such a nature as to be able to extract hidden fruits from underwater. However, whether that leaf sprouted before the flood or during the flood is for you to consider. If, before the flood, a righteous man rejoiced in the fruit of an ancient seed preserved, and from it gathered a remarkable sign of divine mercy, which the flood had already removed, showing that it could not harm the fruit. If, during the time of the flood, a leaf was born, the righteous man surely observed that new seeds of heavenly mercy had borne fruit, so that the roots of the trees would live, and the offspring would bear their old forms, and return to their usual births, as indicated by the preceding leaves.


69. But this he gathered from a deeper interpretation, because our Lord God, although offended by the bitter errors of our wickedness, nevertheless preserved for us some small seed of our ancient lineage and the virtue of our homeland, so that his work and creation would not be completely destroyed around the human race. Therefore, Isaiah also says: 'Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some seed, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah' (Isaiah 1:9), expressing the sign of blindness in the name of one city and the barrenness of another. For in the native language of the Chaldeans, they called Sodom and Gomorrah, signifying blindness and sterility. And rightly so, the Lord cut off in the form of these cities, not judging them as men to be punished, but as human vices to be removed.

70. On the third day the dove is released, and it does not return. Therefore, let us consider that what we have said above may not be found to be contrary. If indeed in word the dove, but in deed virtue does not return to the just one; therefore, is the just one abandoned and deprived of his gift? By no means. For such a man is never separated from virtue, nor does he, when he breathes out justice from his mouth, introduce a discussion of another virtue, strip himself of virtue, and strip others of equality to be imitated; but, instead, he illuminates others with the light of his own radiance. Fire indeed warms those who approach it, so that it possesses the heat of its own nature. Does the light of day fail, when it illuminates the whole world with its brightness? It has its harmless course, and its untouched nature. Thus also in the species of a dove, the virtue, while the flood still raged, turned back to justice according to the bird, according to the virtue of inhuman passions; because virtue could not cling in the hearts of the unjust, it was unable to find them. And therefore, returning to that second inn, he lingers and rests. But when the floods of passions have subsided, and many have been eager to become companions of the heard word and the established teaching, the discipline of virtue begins to be not the inheritance of one person, but the common good, and it is drunk like a cup of wisdom by many who before did not wish to drink as though thirsty, just as now the floods burn in the hearts of the Jews; and when the water of heavenly teaching overflows, and the drink flows abundantly, they do not think it is something to drink. The Gospel is read, power comes forth from the heavenly word, the Priest discusses in the Church. But lest perhaps, shut up within the ark, he alone may not be able to be heard, sometimes he goes outside the Church, where a Jew may encounter him, he warns, he offers an example from the heavenly Scriptures. They close their ears, lest an unwilling person may be washed away by the fountain, and lest the rough liquid of the Lord's word may sprinkle. But if anyone believes, they run to the fountain, they seek out teaching, they desire to have the Gospel insinuated to themselves, and they are not satisfied with the constant drinking. They eagerly desire to be filled with the source of wisdom, which they were previously trying to escape. Which source? Listen to the one who says: 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture says, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' (John 7:37-38).

Chapter XX.

To indicate that Noah was the first in two generations to be righteous, it is mentioned that on one day the water receded and on another the earth dried up. The uncovering of the ark represents the renunciation of physical pleasure. This is why the first or second month of the spring season is called the 'day of spring'. Finally, the difficulty of finding a leaf is resolved.

In the 601st year of Noah's life, on the first day of the month, it is said that the water began to decrease on the earth; but in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, it is recorded that the earth was completely dry. What does this addition of the decrease in water signify, when the previous calculation seems to have concluded the year, which begins in the second month and continues until the second month of the following year? Unless, of course, we wish to understand the stated form literally; that the first year was the year in which the flood began, after six hundred years, namely the first year; the first year again and the first month after six hundred years, when the water was decreased from the face of the earth. This is because Noah was righteous in the generation of sinners which was destroyed because of their sins, and he was the first in the second generation, which began after the flood, and he surpassed all others in order, because he was the first of the second generation and the first in merit. For indeed much honor is given to him who was both the first of the first generation and the beginning of the later one; who deserved to both escape from that and to be propagated to this field. For when others had perished, he alone, by the merit of an outstanding life and the prerogative of virtue, did not experience the corruption of wickedness, through whom it was made so that the whole body of the human race would not seem to be either abolished on earth or left behind by God's grace.


72. And he uncovered, he said, the roof of the ark (Gen. VIII, 13). When we interpreted the ark as mentioned above (above, c. VI), we understood it as the appearance of the body, so what does it mean for the body to be uncovered according to a higher sense? However, it is clear how the ark could be opened literally. So, what is the roof of the human body that was closed in the flood, unless we perhaps take it as pleasure, which covered this body of ours and, as it were, covered it through the error of Adam? And it is rightly considered to be most like a roof; because all the senses are in the head, from there all pleasure was subject to the body. But when the mind of a just man, sober and untouched by the corruption of the flood, desired to spring forth and fly to the higher things, inflamed by the desire of divine knowledge, it uncovered all that was hindering it, and it thoroughly uncovered and opened again the appearance of pleasure, which was covering the other parts of the body like a veil; so that it would not only free the body from the servitude of a base mistress, but also comprehend those things which were incorporeal; for those things which are not seen are eternal. And therefore the just man, who did not see the Lord, sought after Him, incorruptible and desiring eternity.

73. Moreover, what he says about the first or second month, and that it is the day of springtime, you have also said elsewhere: This month will be the first for you in the days of the year (Exod. XII, 2). For he who, first in grace after peril, rightly received the prerogative of the first month.

74. And let it not bother you that we said above that a leaf found on a branch could have been generated after the flood (Above, Chapter XIX): although grasses usually sprout under water, so that any doubt can be removed completely, what is the big deal if, by God's command, on the day when the waters were diminished, the earth immediately sprouted, since He is both the restorer and the creator of fruits, and did not forget the use of His work? Finally, you also have in Genesis immediately what He commanded, that the earth would sprout grass for pasture, and a fruit-bearing tree with its fruit, and immediately the earth produced grass for pasture, having seed according to its kind, and a fruit-bearing tree; and that day was one on which God commanded or did these things (Gen. I, 11). Therefore, God, not forgetful of His own kindness, yet forgetful of our iniquity, restored His work with the same measure of time as when He began.

Chapter XXI.

Why did Noah wait for the command to come out of the ark? How is the order in which he entered and exited with his family described, indicating abstinence from procreation and the use of the same? Finally, what does that order teach us in terms of spiritual understanding?


And the Lord God said to Noah: Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons (Gen. VIII, 16). So when the water receded and the earth dried, Noah was able to leave the ark. But the righteous does not arrogate anything to himself, but entrusts himself entirely to divine command. And especially one who has received the heavenly oracle should have awaited a heavenly response to go out. For modesty is truly just; for immodest wickedness unjustly seizes what is not due and does not respect its author.


76. Now let us inquire by what order they entered into the ark, how long they remained there, and in what order they went out; how in the first instance Noah entered, and after him his sons; then his wife, and the wives of his sons; and when they went out, in what order they went forth. For it is written: 'Noah went forth, and his wife, and his sons, and the wives of his sons' (Genesis 8:18). And the letter indeed signifies, in the entrance, the abstinence from generation, and in the going out, the use of generation. For at that time the father entered first with his sons, and the sons with their parent, and afterwards his wife, and the wives of his sons; that is, the sexes were not mixed in entering, but were mixed in leaving. Therefore, as if in the very order of entering, he emits a certain voice, declaring that that time is not for intercourse or pleasures, which would bring destruction upon all. Moreover, in the Gospel, the Lord says (Luke 17:26-27), reproving that in the times of Noah they ate and drank, married wives, and they gave in marriage their daughters; and because of their intemperance, the flood came upon them. Therefore, that time was of mourning, not of joy. And hence, the righteous did not take delight in the companionship of their wife, nor did righteous sons desire the bond of marriage. For how indecent it would be for those who were about to die in the same time as those who were about to be born! But later, the proper practice and care for marriage followed after the flood subsided. So it was not men with men, but women with men who came forth; so that the mixing of masculine with masculine was forbidden, but the lawful union of masculine and feminine seemed permitted.


77. However, this higher sense has the characteristic that, when there is danger, certain masculine and stronger arguments cling to the mind, and the mind protects itself like a guardian of its offspring, so that in storms and more serious passions there is a certain masculine keenness. But once the danger is past, it is not a disadvantage if softer thoughts are connected with stronger ones; not so that the stronger are weakened by the softer, but so that the softer senses are fortified, as it were, by certain masculine qualities, since all our plans are directed towards virtue, justice, integrity, and fortitude, and stronger plans can be created and nurtured by a certain use and training ground of virtues. Therefore, it is not useful, when there is any confusion of vices that occupies the mind, to sow any thoughts, and to generate and give birth to the mind. But when the desires have been restrained, and the mind has rested, then, receiving a certain seedbed of discussion, virtues can sprout and good deeds can be done.

Chapter XXII.

For this reason, Noah built an altar to God, not to the Lord, without being commanded; and he offered burnt offerings from clean animals and birds; and what does the Lord mean when he says, 'I will not curse the ground, etc.'


78. And Noah built, he said, an altar to God (Gen. VIII, 20). By what reason did the Lord above admonish what to do, and Noah did all: but this, what he did not admonished, perhaps there may be required. But certainly the Lord ought not to demand a reward of gratitude like a greedy person, and the righteous understood that true gratitude is an action which is not commanded, but offered. Therefore, he did not tolerate delay. For certainly, the virtuous feeling of gratitude excludes the passion of doubt: but a person who expects that gratitude be demanded of him is ungrateful. But what he built, he said, was for God, and not for the Lord, but for God; according to the interpretation of the name, this action does not seem forced, as if giving thanks to the Lord, but rather it seems the virtue of a just person being modest and grateful, as if to God. What is imperial, he set apart; what he named as a benefit.

79. And he took from the clean animals and from the clean birds, and offered, he says, burnt offerings (Ibid.). The plain meaning is clear that we should offer those things that are undefiled, in which the emotions of the offerer may shine forth. However, a deeper interpretation is that the clean animals seem to represent the senses of a wise person; and the clean birds represent the intellect, which is much more subtle and lighter.

Now let us consider more carefully what He says: And the Lord God said: Considering, I will not add to curse the earth on account of the works of men; because the heart of man remains diligently upon evil from his youth (Genesis, 21). Therefore, He would not strike the whole earth again, as He did, all the days of the earth. Although He had sought revenge on the human race, yet He knew that the revenge of the law profits for fear, and the knowledge of doctrine, more than for a change in nature, which can be corrected in some, but cannot be changed in all. Therefore, the Lord took vengeance so that we might fear; He spared us so that we might be saved. And He took vengeance once as an example of fear, but spared us for the rest so that the bitterness of sin may not always rule over us, and also because if anyone desires to avenge sins more frequently, they are considered harsher rather than more lenient. Therefore, the Lord says: I will no longer add to curse the earth because of the works of men, that is, because He wanted to declare His mercy towards all mankind, and yet He should not have brought a certain security and negligence to human minds; He takes vengeance on a few, but reserves more. Then when He says, 'I will not add,' He shows that He alleviates the hardships of men more than He burdens them, knowing that the sins of men cannot be completely taken away. Like in the proverb: If someone desires to draw water with a fine net, so too does He who strives to remove malice from the hearts of men.

81. 'I will not add,' he says, 'to speak ill of the earth because of the sins of men; for the understanding of man diligently remains on evil from his youth. See how carefully God indicates that we are prone to sin, by saying that the understanding of man diligently remains on evil: by this statement he seems to indicate that the heart of man inclines diligently towards sin, and that the main cause of our slipping into sin is within us, and what is worse, our inclination towards it does not lack earnestness.' Therefore, he says, let us be diligent, as if we were anxious, so that immunity from fault cannot creep upon us. Then he did not speak of just one evil, but of many evils. And, from youth, he added; for from that age wickedness grows, although elsewhere we have read that even an infant is not without sin for even a single day (Job 14:5). But even if infancy is not without sin due to the weakness of the body, the diligence and desire to sin begins from youth; so that a child sins as if weak, a young person as if wicked, who eagerly desires to commit sins, and boasts in their crimes. For many people, innocence is considered laziness, and fault is considered praise. Thus, young people have become accustomed to boast in luxury, pleasures, and adulterous desires. Therefore, fault grows with age. Therefore, it declares that every kind of human is no longer worthy of consumption, when it says: I will not add any more to strike all flesh: but vengeance is kept to a certain part.

Chapter XXIII.

What the Lord says: Seed and harvest, cold and heat will not cease, literally and morally explained.

82. Moreover, he says: Seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not rest (Gen. VIII, 22). According to the literal meaning, it signifies that for those who remain according to the institution of the Lord, animals or all things in the woods will remain in their state without corruption in future times. For when times are corrupted, those things also which are produced in their times are corrupted. But if there is confusion of times, how can those things which are being produced also remain with confusion made? Therefore, there are times that either corrupt or preserve, depending on the quality they themselves have. And so, the year is led by opposites, spring, autumn, summer, winter, just as harmony of a song seems to consist of a mix of grave and acute tones. Likewise, this world is also composed of opposites, air and earth, fire and water. Our bodies also follow a certain order of nature, with cold and heat, moisture and dryness. For if the natural order and measure are confused, then destruction must necessarily follow. Therefore, the Lord promises a certain order of times for the perseverance of the world, once the confusion of the flood is removed.

83. However, this higher sense is such that by seed we understand the beginning, by harvest we understand the end. In both, the cause of salvation is present. One is incomplete without the other; for where there is a beginning, the end is sought, and there cannot be a beginning without the end, and the end returns to the beginning. Therefore, the human race always remembers, as long as it is in this world, that it will come back to the same thing: when the year begins, it ends; when it ends, it begins, so that the world is not dissolved in the middle of time. And so the mind, when it sees something begin, should strive to continue until the end, and seek the completion of its work. When a work is finished, it should not be satisfied as if the work is complete: but should turn to another work, and always exercise the growth of virtue; for the mind sees that the earth always returns to its fruits, which are born in different seasons, either in spring and summer, as in the Eastern parts, or in summer and autumn, as in the Western parts.


At another time, the lands produce their offspring: at another time, we gather the fruits of the trees. Therefore, the fruits can be divided into necessary and pleasurable: the necessary ones come from the seeds of the land; but truly the pleasurable ones come from the fruits of the trees. Thus, our body is nourished by air, which is truly, that is, in Latin terms, called 'aer', and by natural food. However, the Scriptures took the example from the parts of the East, especially from Egypt, which the Hebrews passed through, or from the parts of Phoenicia. However, the soul is nourished by the fruits of pleasures, which are the fruits of wisdom. But just as cold and heat are opposed to our bodies, so too fear and anger seem contrary. But because it is in the body, it is necessary for it to have anger and fear, and it cannot exist without this bodily necessity. And therefore, the mind of the wise person dispenses just moderation; not mixing anger and fear, and not causing a kind of confusion and flood in their soul.


85. Also, by day you understand the illuminating power, by night you recognize the dark foolishness, as he says. Therefore, even in fear, virtue can be illuminating, just as temperance can restrain anger. So that some may not completely dissolve in fear, but instead direct fear towards virtuous actions. For example, if a persecutor insists that you fear God more and that eternal punishments are more to be avoided than present ones, while you fear these things, you are kindled to glory, angry at betrayal and wickedness. Again, being inflamed by anger, you shall moderate the divine disturbance with fear.

Chapter XXIV.

The prerogative of power over other animals, through the blessing with which Noah and his family were endowed, has been divinely bestowed upon mankind. And concerning the understanding of the Lord having given all reptiles as food to these same humans, even though some of them are hunted.


86. And the Lord blessed Noah and his sons, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and let the fear and dread of you be upon all the beasts of the earth, and upon all the fowls of the air, and all that move upon the earth. And upon all the fishes of the sea. But in that place where it is said that God made man, it is said: He made them male and female, and blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth (Gen. I, 28). I have mentioned this so that you understand the twofold generation of man: one according to the image of God, the other according to the likeness made from the clay of the earth. Finally, the creation of man from the clay of the earth seems to have been made after the world, after God rested from his works. In a way, the formation of the earthly statue is late. There was no rain on the earth, nor did man work the earth. Then God fashioned man from the clay of the earth and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul (Gen. II, 5 and 7). But on the sixth day, as the perfect number by which all of God's works were concluded, man was made according to the image of God, and he is also compared to the righteous one who was found in the flood. And therefore God created him above all earthly things, just as He made him in the image of God, because both were tempered from earthly vices. That one who was generated in such a way that he owed nothing to earthly contamination: this one, who had also been tested in dangers, and examined in sufferings, and found not to have been subject to confusion in suffering.

87. But the higher sense is that justice is increased by the magnitude and multitude of virtue, and by learning; and it fills the earth, like a heart in which there is a receptacle of intelligible things. Thus, wisdom allows no void, which foolishness can invade. Therefore, having conquered not only all earthly passions, but also bodily senses, it subjects even beasts to itself with a certain terror and fear, in which the appearance of malice and ferocity seems to reside. For all wickedness is cruel and savage, and swells with a certain swelling. Nor is it obscure that certain reptiles have a kind of lethal species of passions, from which a certain venom seems to be infused into the mind. Therefore, the righteous man commands these things to whom he does not mix: but he restrains them, if his mind is not led by pleasure, not by desire, not broken by sadness and fear; nor does he even take the slippery and fleeting course of this life in luxury and delights, but wisdom drives away from itself such passions through self-control and moderation.


88. But since he immediately added, 'All reptiles that are alive shall be food for you' (Gen. IX, 3); lest it may disturb you because we previously spoke about venomous reptiles, know that there are other reptiles that are venomous, and others that are gentle. Therefore, take from the gentle reptiles, which although they do not crawl on their belly and chest like snakes, they have such small feet that they seem to crawl rather than walk. Therefore, receive the unclean passions similar to venomous reptiles in the body, but the clean ones from the gentle ones. For every emotion that is beyond the allure of ugly pleasure is indeed a passion, but a good passion. Desire, anger, and fear, these are harmful passions of the soul; but harmless emotions are good passions. And through these, a certain usefulness and cause is provided for us to live: we use them as food for the grace of life, we delight in their banquets.

Chapter XXV.

The Lord commanded us to eat from vegetables rather than from horns; and Moses fortified us against the opinions of philosophers about the soul, whose various beliefs are reported: likewise, in what manner the rational and sensitive parts of the soul must be distinguished; and what is meant by the term 'blood' in reference to the soul.

89. What is also that which he says, 'I have given you all herbs that are for food' (Gen. 9:3)? In this matter, even those who understand simply, so as not to weigh the examination of words, do not appear to us to be opposed. For there are those who think that herbs seem to be attributed to us for food by the will of God, so that we should use them more than carnal feasts: but I would gladly acquiesce in this, so that the use of herbs would grow in the human race, more for frugality and moderation; unless I saw that it can be objected to me by those who do not willingly accept it, because not all herbs are found suitable for the food of humans. Then because not every kind of men is led by the love of wisdom and self-restraint, so that it can follow self-restraint. And therefore, because it is a general precept, we cannot derive it to the portion of a few men, for this precept is given to all men.

Therefore, let us consider what he has said: 'Just as I have given you all vegetables for food, I have not given you all vegetables for eating.' So let those who consume meat use it as they would vegetables, not for the purpose of gluttony or to satisfy the desires of the flesh. However, just as not all vegetables are suitable for consumption, not every living creature is fit for the enjoyment of feasting. Indeed, we must abstain from all poisonous substances, even though luxury has also extended to this point, seeking more to please than to protect against danger, and in many cases, after removing what is naturally poisonous, claiming the remaining part for food. Although it is not entirely dangerous, it is still close to danger, and some corruption is bound to seep into the essence of the whole meat. Many people also hunt deer and such swift animals with poisoned arrows, and afterward, having cut off a certain part of the limbs, they use the remaining body for food.

But as for what pertains to the higher sense, that is, why it is more fitting that irrational passions should be subject to the mind of the wise, like vegetables to a farmer; and that we should use these thoughts like reptiles, as a farmer uses vegetables, which, although they cannot do harm, still do not have the value of stronger food. For the general and common precept does not prescribe higher kinds of virtues, which are certainly the virtues of only a few. But even if someone cannot exhibit stronger feasts of virtues for themselves, let them have passions of this sort that do not harm, but delight.

Therefore, in the beginning, holy Moses informed and instructed us about the inspiration of the soul, so that we would not fall into the various opinions of philosophers, who cannot agree with themselves. For many have held different views, such as Critias and his disciples, who say that blood is the soul, referring to that soul by which we live, which is sensible, not that soul which is considered rational and intelligible within man. Although Hippocrates did not disapprove of Critias' abilities, nor did he refute his arguments; nevertheless, he did not agree with his opinions. Aristotle, in Book I of De Anima, chapters 29 and 30, spoke of actuality (ἐντελεχείαν). Others wanted it to be fire. Therefore, let us maintain this kind of distinction; let us separate what is rational of the soul, whose substance is divine spirit, as Scripture says: 'For he breathed into his face the breath of life' (Gen. II, 7). However, in it there is a certain vital nourishment by which this body is animated, and it is also delightful. Therefore, the substance of these souls, both vital and delightful, is called blood by some; although Scripture also says: The life of the flesh is in the blood (Lev. XVII, 11 et seq.). Therefore, He properly called blood the life of the flesh. For in the flesh there is pleasure and passion, not the mind and reasoning. However, if you pay close attention, this passage explains it. For when he says that the soul is blood in this place, he surely indicated that the soul is something else, distinct from blood, so that it is the vital spirit of the soul. But the vital spirit itself not only brings the ability to live by itself and without blood, but also mixes with the blood; for there are what are called arteries, like receptacles of spirit, which not only embrace pure air, but also blood, albeit a much smaller portion of blood. For although blood vessels are twins, one is the vein which is called φλὲψ in Greek, and the other is the artery. The vein has more blood than spirit, that is, φλὲψ; the artery has less blood, but much more spirit. Now, the temperament varies according to the nature of each individual.

However, a higher sense should delight you, which signifies blood and soul, thus called because blood is warm and fiery, just like virtue. Therefore, whoever is inflamed with the pursuit of virtue and has taken on the vapor of praise, excludes all the pleasures of the belly. Therefore, you will reject those thoughts which are carnal and earthly, as being unfit for spiritual nourishment, placed in the ardor of virtue, as if they were incapable of spiritual food. For He did not eat flesh, that is, He did not think of anything earthly, who said, My food is to do the will of My Father who is in Heaven (John. 4:34), inspiring the pursuits of virtue in men and infusing the desire for divine contemplation. Therefore, earthly thoughts and weak ones, like castrated and bloodless, are considered useless. And that person is called castrated, who has lost the most blood, for he grows cold with the loss of blood. Therefore, whoever is diligent in virtues, rejects and casts aside bodily pleasures, except as much as is necessary for nature. But whoever is more negligent, as if following the slippery and watery course of this life, falls into the womb and the belly, as if losing his tracks. Therefore, it desires earthly things that are foreign to heavenly food. And he who cannot say: Our conversation is in heaven (Philippians 3: 20). Therefore, in order to provoke to secrecy, he also said: Do not touch, do not handle, do not taste what is for corruption in its very use, according to the precepts and doctrines of men that have the appearance of wisdom, in the observance of religion and humility of heart, not in indulgence of the body, not in any honor for the sake of satiety and the indulgence of the flesh (Colossians 2: 21 et seq.).

Chapter XXVI.

It is worse to be one who kills his brother, that is, a companion of the same nature as oneself; however, a greater danger must be feared from one's own brothers who are born of the same parents, and the name of brotherhood should not be abolished for them, so that their impiety might be more burdened. Hence the moral doctrine, which warns each person to be cautious of their own thoughts and words. Like a threat to the author of spilled blood: the one who said about man, 'He made him in the image of God,' teaches us the reason for added retribution.


Finally, they approve this sense to be later; for thus it says: Indeed, I will require your blood, and the blood of your souls from all beasts, and from the hand of man (Gen. IX, 5). He compared it to bestial malice, or rather even accumulated the wickedness of man beyond the ferocity of beasts, by saying: From the hand of the brother of man. Indeed, beasts have nothing in common with us in nature, and they are not bound by any brotherly right. If they harm humans, they harm them as strangers. They do not violate the laws of nature; they do not forget the bond of kinship. Therefore, a person sins more gravely if they plot against their brother. And the Lord promised that He would seek the blood of a man from the hand of his brother, saying: 'I will require the blood of a man from the hand of his brother.' Is not a brother someone whom a rational nature has brought forth from a certain womb, and the same mother's generation has joined us together? For the same nature is the mother of all humans, and therefore we are all brothers, generated from the same mother, and bound by the same right of kinship.


Therefore the Lord also called him brother, and called him brother from whom the brother's blood is sought, signifying that danger should be more feared from those who are bound to one another by brotherly right. For from this, indeed, ambushes and more frequent dangers are compared to men, and to specify, because hatred often grows more among brothers in the division of inheritance. Then if more has been bestowed upon one brother by the parents, the other brothers are more indignant, and they attempt to take away the favor conferred by the parents by means of parricide. These wars are more suspicious, wars not only of the citizens, but of individual houses. Therefore, the Lord seizes those whom He has known to be more inclined to plot against Him, for the judgment of vengeance.

96. The third point is that he called him a brother, not that he is worthy of the name of parricide: but so that he may be burdened more heavily by the title of piety, and from there the increase of crime may occur, by which the punishment of the wicked may be even more just. Therefore, our Lord God promises revenge, so that even if he may be broken by fear, who has forgotten piety, and he may know that even if he may escape from men as a murderer, he cannot escape the judgment of God, but is reserved for greater and eternal punishment.


97. But by a higher sense we understand not only being on guard against the plots of strangers, but also against our own, that is, domestic thoughts. Furthermore, we must be careful not only of the wickedness of our mind, but also of our very words. And so it is said: You cannot escape sin by much speaking (Prov. 10:19). Therefore, it seems that this signifies that we must give an account to the Lord not only of our actions but also of our more intimate conversations. And for this reason, we must carefully consider, so that we do not provoke offense either in speech or in action; for just as confession is made with the mouth for salvation, so too is a slip made with the mouth for death.

98. Whoever sheds the blood of a man, by man shall his blood be shed (Gen. IX, 6). The statement is not a mistake, but an emphasis, that is, an exaggeration of words made, because whoever sheds the blood of a man, his own blood shall be shed as if to take away from him the hope of posterity; for just as spilled blood is scattered here and there on the ground, so may the soul of the wicked be released from the body's frailty like a dissolution (Job. XXXIII, 28); because it is also said of the soul that its death is corruption, because it is deprived of the gift of heavenly grace, and as if crushed by the rocks of wickedness, it diminishes its own healthiness.


99. It also moves most people what He said: God made man in His own image (Gen. IX, 6): and He did not say: In My own image, since He Himself is God. But understand that He is both Father and Son. And although through the Son all things were made, nevertheless we read that the Father made all things, and made them through the Son, as it is written: In wisdom You have made all things (Ps. CIII, 24). Therefore, whether the Father says, He made man in the image of the Word: or the Son says, He made man in the image of God the Father. And for this reason, it demonstrates that the nature of humans is familiar and domestic to God, that is, rational beings created in the image of God; and for that reason, it is not in vain before God that He sees cruel and impious acts committed against domestic animals.

100. Therefore, the added reason for vengeance is that we first exclude the opinions of certain philosophers who deny that God has care over humans: then, knowing that the prerogative of our vengeance remains with God, we do not commit what should be avenged by divine judgment to others; nor do we fear death itself more vehemently, when we know that the death of an innocent man is not despised by God.

Chapter XXVII.

It is promised that a flood of that kind will never happen again, one that corrupts the entire Earth; and this is understood as referring to the emotions of the mind. In the rainbow, which is said to be placed in the clouds, it is not merely a sign of an incomprehensible rainbow, but of the intensity and relaxation of divine power.

101. 'There will not be," he says, "a flood to destroy all the earth' (Gen. IX, 11). It seems doubtful whether it should be understood that there will not be a flood to destroy the earth; for floods are accustomed to do this. Or rather, whether there will not be such a flood by which the whole earth may be destroyed, which is implied by the subsequent words, 'all the earth shall not be destroyed.' For it is clear that there will indeed be floods, but not such as to be able to destroy the whole earth.'


However, this sense has a deeper meaning, namely that the future is already seen by the providence of the Lord, so that the flood of bodily passions is not so great that every soul perishes. And indeed, I dare not say that the Lord has decreed that no soul can completely perish. What do we say about the murderer? What about the murderer? What about the adulterer? What about the prevaricator? For what parts of the soul do we reserve forgiveness for him? Hence, I think that it is more likely that the Lord God provokes, so that even if someone has other lesser passions, they do not completely despair of divine grace, nor do they doubt in every way that they will live. But even if someone is luxurious and cannot avoid the pursuit of luxury, let them strive to restrain themselves from adultery; let there be enjoyment of feasting, but not of debauchery. Even if someone is known to be greedy, who plundered the belongings of others, ill-treated orphans, and exploited widows, let them repent and restore what they have taken. In the end, Zacchaeus deserved forgiveness because he not only promised to restore what he took, but also to give four times as much to those from whom he had taken something, and to donate half of his estate to the poor.


103. Let us also consider more carefully what he says: I will set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the everlasting covenant between me and the earth: and when I shall cover the sky with clouds, my bow shall appear in the cloud, and I will remember my covenant (Gen. IX, 13 et seq.). For it is not, as many think, the bow which they say is made by men, by which certain signs of rain are declared, in which different colors are represented, shining with the brightness of the sun's rays, sometimes glowing red, sometimes shining with a brighter light: hence the future rain is signified, because a certain inconstancy of clearness is shown by a variegated appearance. Some people call this a rainbow: but far be it from us to say that this rainbow is of God. For this rainbow, which is called the iris, is usually seen during the day and does not appear at night. Even during the day itself, if the air is covered with dark clouds, it is not seen, unless perhaps when the heavier clouds begin to dissipate.

104. Therefore, let us see that the fact that the bow with which the arrows are shot is sometimes drawn tight and sometimes relaxed, signifies a certain extension and relaxation, by which the whole is not completely broken by excessive extension; but there is a certain measure and a certain test of divine power. Therefore, the invisible power of God, which moderates the appearance of extending and relaxing this bow according to divine will, mercy, and power, does not allow everything to be confused by excessive loosening or to be broken by excessive bursting. Therefore, He says that He places the bow in the clouds, because Divine Providence's assistance is most necessary when the clouds gather into storms and tempests. And thus He says, 'I will set My bow in the clouds, I will not set the arrow.' For the bow is the instrument of shooting the arrow. Therefore, it is not the bow itself that wounds, but the arrow. And for this reason, the Lord places the bow in the cloud rather than the arrow, that is, not something that wounds, but something that signifies terror and is not accustomed to have the effect of a wound.

Chapter XXVIII.

Having enumerated the three sons of Noah, he mentions the generation of Ham first so that his sin may be amplified, and also to demonstrate that the impious generation originated from him. This should be understood morally as the wicked source of a wicked passion.

However, how is it that when he counted the three sons of Noah above, Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Gen. IX, 18), he included here the generation of only one middle son? This is what he says: But Ham was the father of Canaan: these three were the sons of Noah (Ibid., 19). And especially since those two were righteous, while this middle one was unjust. Therefore, the generation of the unjust comes before that of the righteous. For we cannot deny what is written: but to heap up his guilt, his generation was added; because although he had a son and was a father, he alone did not acknowledge his father, whom he should have known better. And therefore the son deserved to be considered wicked, because he had been wicked to his father. It also signifies that from him the Canaanites arose, who after many generations were subdued by the righteous people and gave up their possession to them. Therefore, it is clear that Canaan was the originator of the Canaanites, and he was the son of this Ham, who was impious towards his father.

106. Moreover, a deeper meaning is signified by the interpretation of the names. For Cham is heat, Chanaan is their disturbance. For he who is hot is continuously moved and disturbed; and thus it is most clearly shown that he was not so much the father of men, but rather the generator of a wicked passion, which was foreign to the character of the father, that is, foreign to the practice of virtue.

Chapter XXIX.

How was Noah made a farmer; and what is the difference between a farmer and a tiller of the land: and how one tills the earth and the other works? Why did Noah plant a vineyard first, that is, something unnecessary, when there are springs sufficient for drinking: why also is it written of him, And he drank of the wine: where the double intoxication is discussed; and finally the double exposure of the soul.

107. And Noah began to be a farmer of the land (Gen. IX, 20). Indeed, at first glance, Noah, the just man, seems to be compared to Adam, who was made from the earth, because it is also written about Adam that he began to work the land after being expelled from paradise (Gen. III, 23): the same can be said of Noah, who became a farmer after exiting the ark. And in both cases, there was a certain form of the flood that preceded, since Noah lived after the flood, just as Adam lived after the formation of the world according to the bodily representation. For just as the world was being formed, the water was gathered into one gathering, so that the earth could be seen, which could not be seen before due to the confusion of the waters. Therefore, just as that first master seemed to have worked on the earth, so also, the one who came out of Noah's ark became the author of sowing and cultivation. These things are thought to be similar: but if you consider the words that now express the force of a deeper meaning, it is one thing to be the operator of the earth, and another to be the farmer. For one person functions like a hired worker, and another like the head of a household. In fact, Cain, who killed his brother, was a worker of the land. And so that you may know that working the land is more servile than free, his fratricidal act is included in the curse of his labor. Indeed, it is written: Because you will work the land, and it will not give its strength to you: you will be groaning and trembling upon the earth (Gen. IV, 12).

But our flesh is like the earth that the wicked man tills, but the good man cultivates. The former seeks reward from the earth; the latter seeks to gather good fruit and the grace of discipline, so that he may make his field more fruitful and may be able to respond to the cultivation of the Lord, and may show the indulgence of the cultivator. But the wicked man seeks nothing else but food for his body alone, being more concerned with the use of his belly, and content to explain only what can be beneficial to him for sustenance. Another person is nourished by the benefit of fruits. You recognize what fruits the righteous have. The fruits, however, are the spirit, charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness. Therefore, a good farmer has self-control, chastity, so that if any trees bend quickly to the ground and grow more abundantly, he may cut them as if with the sickle of his temperance, so that they may cast off what is weak and grow what is beautiful.

109. What is it that the righteous person first plants, and not either wheat or barley? And from where does the vine come after the flood and corruption of the earth? But we have already spoken about this (Chapters 19 and 20); for in the springtime even the roots of corrupt things can sprout. Hence, I think that this should be resolved with greater concern, because the righteous person seeks first those things that are for pleasure rather than those that are necessary. For the fruits of wheat and barley are necessary, without which we cannot live; but wine is for pleasure, given for the sake of enjoyment. Because it is just, therefore it claimed for itself more what was secondary than what was first. For it offered to God the necessary sustenance for life, which was second. But wine is unnecessary for humans, and not necessary.

110. But perhaps you may say that it is not possible for humans to live without drink, just as it is without food. Drink is necessary, therefore, just like food: I do not deny. Drink is certainly necessary, established by the Lord: I do not refuse. And so it is fitting to derive necessary drink from springs and rivers, which were not made by the hand of man, but flowed by the command and operation of our Lord God. But do not twist what we have said about the operation of the Lord to refer to what Cain's operation seems to have had curses; consider that it is not the operation that receives the name of the cursed, but rather what is written, to till the land. For the one who works the land is a hired man. But He is not a hired man, but the Lord, who said: My Father is working until now, and I am working (John 5:17). What does this worker do? Listen: My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work (John 4:34).

111. And he drank, he says, from the wine, and he became intoxicated (Gen. IX, 21). He did not say, he drinks wine; nor does the just man excessively drink wine; but from the wine, that is, he tasted its portion. It is the habit of the drunken to consume all the wine and to empty what he has taken like an intemperate person; but self-control should be used in a proper measure. Therefore, there are two kinds of drunkenness: one that brings staggering to the body and causes it to stumble, and disturbs the senses; the other that inflames the mind with the grace of virtue and seems to ward off all weakness. Where the Apostle says: Use a little wine for the sake of your frequent infirmities (I Tim. V, 23). For, just as with that moderate use of drinking, wine is not for weakness but for health, and it alleviates all bodily infirmity, so also that intoxication excludes all infirmity of the flesh, about which it is written: And how glorious is the cup that intoxicates (Ps. XXII, 5)! What is this intoxication? Be intoxicated, he says, not with wine in which is luxury, but be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephes. V, 18), as the Apostle said. Therefore, according to the literal sense, it is caution, and according to the higher sense of wise people, it is praise. The cautious person is one who, even though undressed, is undressed in their own home, where there is no lack of coverings, and certain disguises of drunkenness, so that they can hide their vices.

112. Therefore, the physical body covers the naked body, like walls and roofs: but let us see what the coverings of the soul are. But then we find coverings, if we dispel its nudity. Indeed, the nudity of the sage is twofold. Therefore, our mind is clothed in a twofold garment, if it has committed a foolish sin; for this is the nudity of a drunken mind, so that it does not know that it is sinning, like someone who, led astray by a certain intoxication of ignorance, slips into vice: or, on the other hand, buried in the sleep of negligence and ignorance, it does not know its own error. And when we stumble, or rather when we stumble upon many sins even with knowledge (for there is a certain natural drunkenness of our weakness, so that we are carried away by the force of pleasure into vice, just as many are inflamed by the heat of youth, or are ignited by lust and pleasure, or are snatched away by the desire for greed), certainly in all these cases a remedy should be sought, so that someone may cover up their weakness of this kind, first with a certain modesty and shame; so that even if they are still in a precarious situation of wrongdoing, they may nevertheless give a sign of change for the better. For it makes a great difference whether one desires to boast about their sins. In one case, there is shameful impudence, while in the other, there is tolerable modesty which shows hope for future correction.

113. Another stripping is that of the soul, because it casts off and removes, as it were, a certain burden of the body, as if fleeing from a kind of tomb of flesh. For the throat of such people is an open tomb, in which the soul, burdened with the pleasures and desires of various passions, is as if heaped up in a tomb. It therefore removes itself from earthly congestion, and, like a certain enclosing net, it escapes and flees from whatever snare of passions it has stripped itself of and turns away from all that unsightly appearance of earthly filth, so that it may see the light of eternal beauty.

Chapter XXX.

Why was Cham then called the father of Canaan, when he had not yet been born; and in what way should we understand that all wicked men, if it happens that good men fall into fault, rejoice in the person of Cham deriding their father.

I now ask why did he not simply say: 'He saw the nakedness of his father,' but rather 'He saw the nakedness of his father, and told his brothers' (Gen. 9:22)? Surely Canaan was not born yet, so why did he add the name of the son, unless the inheritance of the author was marred by the fault of the heir, and the wickedness of the son burdened the reputation of the father? Thus, both the father in the son, and the son in the father are rebuked, having a common participation in foolishness, wickedness, and impiety. It could not happen that he would produce a good son, who himself was wicked towards his good father, and the son would degenerate from both his nature and his upbringing. This is according to the letter.

Moreover, when it comes to higher meaning, all the worst morals are delighted by the errors of others; not only by errors, but also by things that seem bad to them, even if they are not. For Noah did not feel himself naked, who was clothed with wisdom. Indeed, Adam, placed in paradise, did not consider himself naked until he committed the error of transgression. And when he was covered again with the clothing of wisdom and justice, being stripped by the transgression of heavenly commands, he saw himself naked and thought he should be covered with leaves. Therefore, Cham laughs at his naked father. For every wicked person, since he himself is deviant from discipline, not only takes pleasure in the mistakes of others as a consolation for his own error, because he has found companions in guilt, but he also rejoices with a wicked emotion, as if he himself had corrected his own faults. Therefore, an evil mind rejoices when something happens contrary to its intention; even if a physical mistake is considered, it should not be a fault, unless the mind is also inclined to guilt. Finally, judgments should be made about such errors, not pursued with hatred, not made a mockery. But the wicked mind, as I said, when it believes that a wise man has erred, thinks it appropriate to insult him whose character it considers to be contrary to its own, because its own sin is argued against by a kind of silent testimony of the wise; and it takes pleasure in this, that neither the wisdom of the wise man has benefitted him, nor has justice supported him, nor have the things that are according to the body had prosperous outcomes. For these things, indeed, are valued among the wicked as the highest goods, placed in wealth or honor, which nevertheless confer no benefit to the praise of virtue. Therefore, they seem to be defenders of folly, who consider the lover of virtue to be deprived of the reward of prosperity, and who think that every good should be valued more for temporal rather than eternal things.

Chapter XXXI.

The piety of Shem and Japheth is commended, and an explanation is given for why they are said to have walked backwards. Then it is explained how Noah became sober. Finally, it is questioned why the Scripture, after initially placing Ham in the middle, now calls him the youngest.

116. What is it that Shem and Japheth put a garment on their shoulders and went backwards, and covered their naked father, and did not see his nakedness (Gen. IX, 23)? The letter expressed the evident affection of piety, that the good sons took care not to see their father naked, lest the reverence for the father be diminished by the sight itself. Indeed, even with a silent expression, piety is often offended. Hence it is also said to have been an old custom in Rome, that children, especially those of age, would not enter the bathhouse with their parents.


117. However, the higher sense has this, that the foolish person only sees what is present in front of their eyes, and does not consider the future or think of the past. But the wise person both remembers the past and considers the future. Therefore, every wise mind walks backward, that is, it looks at the past; nor is it hindered by a certain use of nature: it allows nothing to be empty, nothing to be naked of its own actions. It covers what has been done differently with a certain garment and the grace either of present work or of the future, so that nothing indecent passes by, nothing unfinished is left behind. And so the Apostle forgot the higher things and sought the lower things; but he forgot in order to hide the errors of persecution, to cover up previous sins, and to overshadow them with good deeds. Blessed are those also whose sins are covered (Psalm 32:1); that is, if they are covered by good deeds and concealed by the disciplines of following virtues.

And Noah, he said, became sober from wine (Gen. IX, 24). It is evident from drunkenness that men become sober through sleep. However, the mind is sober when it knows both the past and the future. Therefore, the mind of the righteous was sober even when it was thought to be drunk. For it is a remarkable cup that sobers the righteous. But he was truly drunk who laughed at his father. For he did not consider the past grace of his birth, the present reverence for his father, or the future punishment for his father's injury. He was truly drunk; and what he thought he saw, he did not see. There was in him a deep blindness, who was not able to see his father. For if he had seen his father, he would not have certainly laughed. For the father is not to be laughed at, but to be revered. Moreover, the mind of the just fool could not see much more. For how could he see, who believed in the error of drunkenness in himself, where there was the perfect vapor of wisdom and other virtues? As it is written: For the vapor of the power of God is wisdom (Wisdom 7:25). For when the mind is more sober, then it considers the nature of all things, of present and future times, such that no temporal stumbling of drunkenness appears in it.

119. I also inquire by what reasoning, after previously stating it was in the middle among the sons of Ham, he now designates him as the youngest. For it is written thus: Noah knew all that his youngest son had done (Gen. IX, 24). Surely, the Scripture did not err in the order of generations beforehand. Not at all. So what then? Are the writings now contradictory? I do not think so. Therefore, how is it resolved, unless you understand 'youngest' not in terms of age or time, but as someone who is inexperienced in understanding and placed in a certain infancy of intellect, who has not acquired the knowledge of older age or discerned the wisdom of the elderly? For dogs have certain human senses. And therefore it says: 'When you go to the council of the elders, close your mouth' (Sirach 32:13). And elsewhere it has the saying: 'You must learn before you speak' (Ibid., 18, 19). Therefore, have your ears ready, so that you may obtain something from the advice of the wise. The tongue must be restrained, the hearing must be prepared.

Chapter XXXII.

Why was it said in the blessing of Shem: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; and why is not the curse of slavery assigned to Ham who sinned, but to his son? Finally, the blessing of Japheth is explained.

120. Blessing his son Sem, Noah said: Blessed be the Lord God of Sem; and Chanaan shall be his servant. And he called him both Lord and God, specifically the God of his son whose name is Sem; because God is the God of the righteous, that is, the God of the mountains, not valleys, who grants grace to those who possess great virtue. Then, why did he subject not the son himself but his son's son to servitude when his son Cham sinned? And perhaps this is because a father is more affected by the wrongdoings of his own son, especially when he himself is guilty and the instigator, and he is deeply saddened by the damnation of his own sin, which is paid for by his son, who would be punished not so much for his own sake, but for the sake of the father's merit. Then, because the son was a student of his father's teachings and an imitator of the worst thoughts, they both used the same body and mind, and the same wickedness. Therefore, the son pays the price indiscriminately for either his father's or his own wickedness, since it is a common partnership in wrongdoing. So, whatever he pays for his father's wickedness, without a doubt he also pays for his own, being guilty of his own faults. Or certainly, the punishment is prolonged for a longer time, since it extends even to the son and extends the affliction of the successor into many times. According to the letter.

Moreover, here it is not so much individuals that are understood, but rather their customs, of which in both there is one nature. For Cham is heat, Canaan agitation and restlessness: but he who is hot is certainly restless and more agitated. Therefore, in both there was one passion and one affect. So when one is condemned, both are condemned.

122. When therefore the holy Noah, blessing his son Japheth, said: May the Lord enlarge Japheth, may he dwell in the tents of Sem, and let Chanaan be his servant (Ibid., 27); we have said above that Japheth is used to signify a kind of indifference to good (Sup., chap. 2). However, this indifference has a breadth, which is found in health, strength, beauty, courage, wealth, grace, nobility, friends, power, and other things. But although these indifferent things may be good, they have harmed many who have possessed them without wisdom and justice. For wealth has made many men drunk, nobility and power have made them arrogant, beauty has made them luxurious, and by its influence they have corrupted the chastity of others. Therefore, for those who are affected by these things that we have mentioned, they are indifferent, whose use is either governed by virtues, or certainly, without the guidance of virtues, they begin to be harmful, which can be beneficial.

Chapter XXXIII.

About the 350 years that are reported to have been lived by Noah after the flood; then about the descendants of Japheth both literally and morally.

123. Now, since it is said that after the flood Noah lived for three hundred and fifty years, we consider it not to be passed over lightly. For in three hundred is certainly signified the cross of Christ, by whose type the righteous man was delivered from the flood. And in fifty is the number of Jubilee, by which the Holy Spirit was sent from heaven, pouring forth grace into human hearts. Therefore, having completed the number of remission and grace, the righteous man fulfilled the course of his life.


124. Concerning the descendants of Japheth, it is said: 'From these the maritime nations spread out into their respective territories, each with their own language' (Gen. X, 5). It is not without reason that it is called 'broadness', for the generation of Japheth extended not only on land, as nature had ordained for the use of humans, but also went beyond to the sea and reached the islands. This is in accordance with the literal meaning.


125. According to a higher sense, things that are external and are called goods, riches, powers, honors, are spread widely; and not only are the rich content with those things that are in their hands and in their sight, but they spread their desires far and wide, either seeking profit from beyond, or seeking more honor, or seeking broader power, or seeking desire.

Chapter XXXIV.

What kind of man Cham, that wicked son, was: and about the son of Chus, the giant and hunter, whose name is explained, and from whom the kingdom of Babylon is said to have begun.

Now I ask by what means did the Scriptura mention the son of Cham, that wicked man, being older? There are two kinds of earth, one sandy and dusty, or rather, powder-like: the other kind of earth is fruitful and fertile, that is, firmer and deeper earth. Therefore, what does the wicked man generate if not dust, from which generation cannot arise? And so the Prophet compared the wicked to dust, saying: Not so the wicked, not so, but like the dust which the wind drives away from the face of the earth (Psalm 1, 4). For this reason, even according to a higher sense, the barren soul of the wicked is unfruitful and cannot produce useful fruits.

127. By what means, then, did Cush also beget Nimrod, who was a hunter before God? Hence it is said: Even as Nimrod, the giant hunter before God (Gen. X, 9). What else, therefore, could dust and sand generate but an earthly man, since the wicked prefer earthly things to heavenly ones? For fables introduce the giants as having desired to fight against heaven, and they thought that by climbing up earthly heights, they could reach the heavens.

128. However, a higher meaning is signified by this, that those who love earthly pleasures, follow them, and think that by them they can attain the grace of God, and that the heavenly kingdom should be conferred upon such errors, he fights against heavenly things with a stubborn affection. Therefore, there is also a proverb about one who has sinned: Like the giant hunter Nembroth before God. Nembroth, however, is said to mean Aethiops in interpretation. The color of Aethiops signifies the darkness and filth of the soul, which is opposed to light, devoid of brightness, enveloped in darkness, more similar to night than to day. The hunter also has use in the forests, his conversation among wild animals and beasts. Therefore, the irrational is mixed with irrational passions; and the hunter is accustomed to exploring things that are of rustic and fierce malice, and to possess and delight in them. In the end, Nimrod is the beginning of this kingdom of Babylon, that is, confusion; because malice and power are not in simplicity and purity, not in the distinction of virtue, but in the confusion of vices.