Archive for the ‘Bible’ Category
‘An Undevout Astronomer is Mad’
Pillars of Creation in Eagle Nebula (Messier 16)
Devotion! daughter of astronomy!
An undevout astronomer is mad.
~ Edward Young (Night Thoughts, Night 9, l.769)
WE previously posted comments by Scottish theologian and astronomer Thomas Dick (1774−1857) on the Religious Benefits of Astronomy from the Introduction he wrote to Elijah Burritt’s Geography of the Heavens. A few decades earlier, Dick treated the same subject in the Introduction to his own book The Solar System (1799). The two introductions are sufficiently different that it seems worthwhile to post the latter here. Here Dick concludes that it is an “imperative duty” of every Christian (and every rational creature) to study the heavens and to contemplate their Creator, “that we may derive more enlarged conceptions of His glorious attributes, and be enabled to render to Him that tribute of adoration and praise which is due to His name.”
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OF all the sciences which are the subject of human study and investigation, Astronomy must be admitted to be the most interesting and sublime. It teaches us the motions, the magnitudes and distances of the heavenly bodies — their diversified phenomena, the laws by which they are directed in their varied movements, and the grand designs they are intended to fulfil in the vast system of the universe.The objects with which this science is conversant are so grand and marvellous — surpassing every thing that could have been imagined in the infancy of science — that they tend to enlarge the field of human contemplation, to expand to an indefinite extent the conceptions of the human intellect, and to arouse the attention and excite the admiration even of the most incurious and uncultivated minds. The vast magnitude of the heavenly bodies, so far surpassing what could be conceived by their appearance to the unassisted eye; their incalculable numbers; the immense velocity of their motions, and the astonishing forces with which they are impelled in their career through the heavens; the attractive influence they exert upon each other, at the distance of hundreds of millions of miles; and the important ends they are destined to accomplish in the universal empire of Jehovah; present to the human imagination a scene, and a subject of contemplation, on which the soul of man might expatiate with increasing wonder and delight, during an indefinite series of ages.
Even to a common observer, the heavens present a sublime and elevating spectacle. He beholds an immense concave hemisphere of unknown dimensions, surrounding the earth in every region, and resting as it were upon the circle of the horizon. From every quarter of this vast expanse — when the shades of night have spread over the earth — he beholds numerous lights displayed, proceeding onward in solemn silence, varying their aspects at different seasons, moving with different degrees of velocity, shining with different degrees of splendour, and all calculated to inspire admiration and awe. Wherever he travels abroad, either on the surface of the land or of the ocean, this celestial vault still appears encompassing this lower world; and, after travelling thousands of miles, it appears still the same, and seems to make no nearer an approach than when the journey commenced. While contemplating this wonderful expanse with the eye of reason and imagination, the mind is naturally led into a boundless train of speculations and inquiries. Where do these mighty heavens begin, and where do they end? Can imagination fathom their depth, or human calculations, or figures, express their extent? Have the highest created beings ever winged their flight across the boundaries of the firmament? Can angels measure the dimensions of those heavens, or explore them throughout all their departments? Is there a boundary to creation beyond which the energies of Omnipotence are unknown, or does it extend throughout the infinity of space? Is the immense fabric of the universe yet completed, or is Almighty Power still operating throughout the boundless dimensions of space, and new creations still starting into existence?
Such views and inquiries have a tendency to lead the mind to sublime and interesting trains of thought and reflection, and to afford scope for the noblest energies and investigations of the human intellect. A serious contemplation of the heavens opens to the mental eye a glimpse of orbs of inconceivable magnitude and grandeur, and arranged in multitudes which no man can number, which have diffused their radiance on our world during hundreds of generations. It opens a vista which carries our views into the regions of infinity, and exhibits a sensible display of the immensity of space, and of the boundless operations of Omnipotence: it demonstrates the existence of an eternal and incomprehensible Divinity, who presides in all the grandeur of his attributes over an unlimited empire. Amidst the silence and the solitude of the midnight scene, it inspires the soul with a solemn awe, and with reverential emotions; it excites astonishment, admiration, and wonder, and has a tendency to enkindle the fire of devotion, and to raise the affections to that ineffable Being who presides in high authority over all the movements of the universe. It teaches us the littleness of man, the folly of pride and ambition, and of all that earthly pomp and splendour with which mortals are so enamoured and that our thoughts and affections ought to soar above all the sinful pursuits, and transitory enjoyments, of this sublunary scene.
Such being the views and the tendencies of this science, it ought to be considered as bearing an intimate relation to religion, and worthy the study of every enlightened Christian. It has been said, and justly, by a celebrated poet, that “An undevout astronomer is mad.” The evidence of a self-existent and eternal Being, whose wisdom is inscrutable, and whose power is uncontrollable, is so palpably manifested in the arrangement and the motions of the celestial orbs, that it cannot but make an indelible impression on every rational and reflecting mind. Though the heavenly bodies have “no speech nor language,” though they move round the earth in silent grandeur, and “their voice is not heard” in articulate sounds, yet “their line is gone throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” — proclaiming to every attentive spectator, that “The hand that made them is Divine.” So that there is scarcely a tribe, or nation, on the face of the earth so inattentive and barbarous as not to have deduced this conclusion from a survey of the movements of the celestial orbs. “Men,” says Plato, ” began to acknowledge a Deity, when they saw the stars maintain so great a harmony, and the days and nights throughout all the year, both in summer and winter, to observe their stated risings and settings.” Another heathen philosopher, Cicero, thus expresses his sentiments on this point: “What can be so plain and clear as, when we behold the heavens, and view the celestial bodies, that we should conclude there is some Deity of a most excellent mind by whom these things are governed a present and Almighty God. Which, he that doubts of, I do not understand why he should not as well doubt whether there be a sun that shines, and enlightens the world.”
The sacred Scriptures, in numerous instances, direct our attention to this subject. “The heavens,” says the psalmist, “declare the glory of God;” that is they manifest his wisdom and power, and beneficence to the inhabitants of the world; — “the firmament showeth forth,” or publicly declareth, “his handiwork.” “Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.” In reference to that department of creation which astronomy explores, it may be said with peculiar propriety, in the language of Scripture “The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.” Throughout the volume of inspiration, our attention is frequently directed to the contemplation of the heavens: “Lift up thine eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things. The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, who fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding. He bringeth out their host by number, and calleth them all by names: by the greatness of his might, for that N. It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.””Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.”
Hence it appears, that it is not to be considered merely as a matter of taste, or as a rational amusement, but as an imperative duty, to contemplate the works of the Most High, and especially the manifestations of his power and Godhead which the heavens display — that we may derive more enlarged conceptions of his glorious attributes, and be enabled to render to him that tribute of adoration and praise which is due to his name. For it is represented as one of the characteristics of the ungodly that, while “the harp, and the viol, and the tabret, and pipe, and wine are in their feasts, they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands;” and consequently “he will destroy them, and not build them up.” It is therefore the incumbent duty of the young; of every professing Christian; and of every rational inquirer, not only to study the facts, doctrines, and duties exhibited in the system of Divine revelation, but also to contemplate the manifestations of the Creator as exhibited in the system of creation. They are both revelations of the same almighty and beneficent Being — emanations from the same adorable Divinity; and the views and instructions they respectively unfold, when studied with reverence and intelligence, are in perfect harmony with each other. The study of both combined, is calculated to make the man of God perfect, and “throughly furnished unto all good works.”
In the following small volume, it shall be our endeavour to direct the general reader in the study of some of those objects which the heavens unfold; and we shall chiefly select those parts of astronomical science which are most level to the comprehension of those who have had little opportunity of engaging in scientific pursuits. In the present volume, it is proposed to confine ourselves chiefly to a description of the Solar System, and the phenomena it exhibits, together with a few instructions as to the best mode of contemplating the apparent motions and the diversified aspects of the firmament. The discoveries which relate to the sidereal heavens — the general arrangement of the fixed stars, their distances and magnitudes-the facts which have been discovered respecting new stars-variable stars-double and triple stars — the milky way-the different orders of the nebula and a variety of other topics connected with such objects, will form materials for another volume similar to the present.
In the mean time we may just remark, that all the wonders we behold, both in the heavens above, and in the earth below, demand our serious attention and devout contemplation. They are all the workmanship of that great and adorable Being in whom “we live and move;” who at first “spake, and it was done;” who gave the command, and the whole of this stately fabric of heaven and earth started into being. It is the same God who created the planets and the host of stars, and that conducts them in all their rapid motions; who is also “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and “the Author of eternal salvation” to all who obey him. All these works display his infinite power, his unerring wisdom, and the riches of his beneficence; and demand from every beholder that tribute of praise, reverence, and adoration which is due to Him “who created all things, and for whose pleasure they are and were created.“
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Bibliography
Dick, Thomas. Advantages of the Study of Astronomy. In: Elijah Hinsdale Burritt, The Geography of the Heavens. 5th ed. New York, 1850 (1st ed, 1833). Dick’s Introduction first appeared in the 3rd edition (1836).
Dick, Thomas. Celestial Scenery, or, The Wonders of the Planetary System Displayed; Illustrating the Perfections of Deity and a Plurality of Worlds. Collected Works of Thomas Dick, Vol. VII. Philadelphia, 1845.
Dick, Thomas. The Solar System. Collected Works of Thomas Dick, Vol. X. Philadelphia, 1853 (1st ed. 1799).
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Richard of St. Victor’s Psychological Interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
Ernest Wallcousins, Nebuchadnezzar in the Hanging Gardens (1915)
AS previously noted, Richard of St. Victor (1110−1173) is a master of psychological-allegorical interpretation of the Old Testament. His important exegetical works include Benjamin Minor, Benjamin Major and On the Extermination of Bad and the Promotion of Good.
Another superb example is his On the Education of the Interior Man (De eruditione hominis interiori). This considers an important practical matter in contemplative life: after one attains a state of divine contemplation, inevitably, whether through inattention or fatigue, one will eventually (sometimes rapidly) lapse into an inferior mental state. Returning to a higher state can be difficult. Hence the contemplative has a threefold problem: (1) how to avoid lapsing from divine states of mind; and, if one does fall (2) how to return quickly and (3) how to avoid falling to an even lower state.
Note that Plato considers the same problem of falling from contemplative states in his Chariot Allegory, and there are parallels between his discussion and Richard’s.
Richard addresses the topic by an exegesis of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the composite statue in Daniel 2. Like Philo of Alexandria, Richard’s Old Testament interpretations are insightful, relevant and compelling. Also like Philo, Richard applies a form of personification which sees each Old Testament figure as symbolizing some feature, component or disposition of the individual psyche.
Briefly, his interpretation is as follows. Nebuchadnezzar represents the ego operating in its proper and higher capacity: as the king of ones soul. His dream is an example of divine revelation — that is, the ego experiences through contemplation or attainment of spiritual mindedness some special knowledge. His forgetting the dream and not understanding the meaning symbolizes the once-enlightened ego in its lapsed state.
The king, frustrated and unhappy at having fallen and lost divine vision, calls his wise men to describe and interpret his forgotten dream. For Richard, the wise men are higher intellectual abilities and activities — including reading Scripture, study, meditation and orderly speculation, which assist us in rising to contemplation.
As the wise men are unable to help, Nebuchadnezzar becomes furious and vows to kill them. Analogously, when the ‘studious’ actions which aid our mental elevation cannot return us to a contemplative state, we — already distraught that we have lost contemplation’s sweetness and delights — become further agitated. In this condition we are prone to reject studies as not only burdensome (which, in a sense, they always are), but fruitless, and to instead dissipate ourselves in worldly affairs, vanities, or concupiscence.
The true remedy, Richard teaches, lay in the entrance of Daniel, who symbolizes devotion. Our first (and only truly effective) response to falling must be devotion and prayer. We should not only pray for the grace to return to contemplation (and, Richard emphasizes, contemplation is a grace), but pray for the grace of such prayer.
Daniels companions, Ananias, Mishael, and Azariah, symbolize three supporting cognitive activities which help us reach a devout state of mind: circumspection, discretion, and deliberation. Richard associates these with attentive consideration of the past, present and future, respectively. Circumspection examines past sins, admitting faults and learning from mistakes. Discretion mindfully considers present choices, exercising discrimination to determine what is bad and what is good. Deliberation applies sound judgment to choose actions that will minimize cause for future regret and unhappiness.
Richard treats these functions many times throughout his works, and their meanings are not always consistent. All three are forms, we might say, of practical wisdom or prudence. So, speaking more generally, Richard’s point is that while devotion per se is a grace, we should not simply wait passively for it. Rather we are called to labor with self-examination and active steps to organize our mental and physical life. Richard is emphatic on about this: we must at all costs avoid the temptation to cease our studies and disciplines in times of desolation, when the grace of contemplation is withheld. However he is even more emphatic that our attitude must remain one of devotion and humility. All studies and disciplines must be performed with utmost recognition of the constant need for God’s guidance and assistance.
As to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream itself, that too symbolize the progressive lapse of the soul. The statue is of a man, composed of (in descending order) gold, silver, brass, iron and clay — i.e., from precious to base metals, and finally (describing complete fall into sensuality), mud. All of these are common mythological tropes. Gold, for example, is a usual symbol for higher consciousness, and mud sensuality. The dream is very close in details and meaning to Hesiod’s Ages of Man myth, which similarly mentions phases of Gold, Silver, Bronze, Iron and complete degradation.
Without loss of meaning we may easily substitute for “contemplative states” mindfulness and mental integrity, and for “fallen condition” various forms of negative thinking and intrusive thoughts. Hence Richard’s discussion also interests us at the level of the psychology of healthy-mindedness and optimal functioning (or, conversely, handling the psychopathology of everyday thought.)
Richard outlines the above in just the first 12 chapters of the three-book work. Doubtless there is much more of interest. The Latin text from Migne’s Patrologia Latina (1855) is available online (see Bibliography below). Unfortunately there is no critical edition or published English translation of the work. However I’ve placed online an automated English translation.
Victorine ascetico-mystical cognitive psychology deserves far more attention than it receives. Hugh, Richard and the others of the St. Victor school occupy an important position between patristic writers and the soon-to-arrive era of scholasticism. Drawing on writers like Cassian, Augustine, and Gregory, they begin to develop a complex set of psychological terms, and attempt to identify functional relationship among various intellectual and moral virtues. Yet, unlike later scholastics, systematization and organization is not done for its own sake. They are not writing for university students. Rather, their concern always remains practical and pastoral.
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Bibliography
Palmén, Ritva. Richard of St. Victor’s Theory of Imagination. Brill, 2014.
Richard of St. Victor, De eruditione hominis interioris (On the Education of the Inner Man), J. P. Migne, Patrologia Latina vol. 196 1229D−1366A. Paris, 1855. [Latin text]
Uebersax, John. Myths of the Fall. Christian Platonism website. 2021.
Zinn, Grover A. (tr.). Richard of St. Victor: The Twelve Patriarchs (Benjamin Minor), The Mystical Ark (Benjamin Major) and Book Three of The Trinity. Paulist Press, 1979.
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Psychological Interpretation of the Book of Zechariah
Gustve Dore, Zecharia 6:5
IT MAKES sense to consider interpreting the visions in the Book of Zechariah at a psychological-allegorical level. By ‘psychological’ I don’t mean in terms of modern materialist/reductionist psychology, but more along the lines of Platonic and ascetical psychology. As previously discussed, Philo of Alexandria employed this level of interpretation with great success, and his work strongly influenced Patristic and medieval allegorical commentary of Scripture. So there’s nothing radical or unorthodox about my proposal.
Still, despite believing this is a sound level of analysis, I’m hesitant to proceed for two reasons. The first is that I don’t perceive much ambient interest in this topic: it rather amazes me that more people today aren’t interested in Philonic interpretation as a way to better understand and apply the truths of Scripture. Second, maybe allegories don’t need to be interpreted — but, rather, the whole purpose of visionary and apocalyptic literature is to communicate directly with the unconscious or subconscious mind using symbols.
Therefore let me take the middle path: to outline only some leading ideas — enough to suggest the lines along which a fuller interpretation might proceed.
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Introduction
The Book of Zechariah contains 14 chapters. It was written by at least two different people. Chapters 9−14 are distinct from the others, and Chapters 7−8 are potentially distinct from Chapters 1−6. Chapters 1−8 were potentially written in the 6th century during the period of exile, and the rest in the 5th century in the post-exilic period. Alternatively, at least Chapters 9−14 may date from the Hellenistic period.
Our guiding hermeneutic premises are:
• All persons referred to symbolize elements of the individual soul. That is, a special case of the literary device of personification is employed.
• All Scripture refers to the salvation of the soul. At one level, salvation involves a re-integration and re-harmonization of the soul, restoring it from its fragmented condition brought about by sin and fall from God.
• Israelites symbolize the holy and virtuous dispositions of the soul.
• The enemies of Israel symbolize our sinful, vicious and refractory dispositions. (It is to these Psalms 2:1 refers when it asks, Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?)
• Salvation involves, among other things (1) a renewed commitment of our inner Israelites to love and seek God and (2) punishment, ‘scattering’ and even destruction of our base elements. This is somewhat complicated, of course, because, in a real sense, both the inner Israelites and the inner enemies *are* us.
• Amongst the virtuous elements or dispositions of our soul are certain leading ones — which help organize or guide the others. For Philo, Moses symbolizes one such leading element. In Zechariah, a new figure is presented: Joshua, a High Priest, who helps effect salvation. Traditionally this Joshua is interpreted as a symbol for Jesus Christ. At a psychological level, we might understand him as symboizing an inner ‘image’ of Jesus Christ, a new addition to the personality, who helps lead the psyche to salvation. Again, to speak of an inner image of Jesus Christ we are saying nothing that isn’t found in traditional Church writings.
Chapter 1
Characters: Zechariah, the word of the LORD, the LORD of hosts (possibly the same as the ‘word’); an angel amidst the myrtle trees riding a red horse.
Verse by verse commentary:
In the first vision, the angel is accompanied by red, white and speckled horses. “What are these?” Zechariah asks. The angel replies, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. (1.8). The horses say to the angel, “We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.” (1.11).
So the horses function in a way reminiscent of Conscience: they roam the psyche, assessing its moral condition. A similar trope is found in Hesiod’s Works and Days, in the Ages of Man Myth, concerning the first golden race:
But after the earth had covered this generation — they are called pure spirits (daimones hagnoi; δαίμονες ἁγνοὶ = holy spirits) dwelling on the earth, and are kindly, delivering from harm, and guardians of mortal men; for they roam everywhere over the earth, clothed in mist and keep watch on judgements and cruel deeds, givers of wealth. (WD 109–126).
This idea of roving monitors or ‘eyes of God’ is repeated later in the Book of Zechariah.
The favorable report of the horses suggests that Israel has now expiated its former sins, and is in a condition to merit restoration.
Psychological interpretation: at some point during the process of moral and spiritual reformation, Conscience gives a favorable report. There is no longer need for punishment and chastisement. However, what remains is to subdue or eliminate the last vestiges of power amongst impious dispositions.
In the next vision Zechariah sees four horns (1:18). These symbolize the Gentile nations that have scattered Israel. Along with these Zechariah sees four carpenters (1:20). These come to destroy and cast out the four horns. At a psychological level, the Gentiles, as we have already said, would symbolize base, sinful and refractory dispositions of the soul. The four carpenters would then symbolize new dispositions which effect the elimination of remaining resistance and oppression.
Chapter 2
Characters: Zechariah, the first angel, a second angel.
Zechariah has a vision of a man with a measuring line. The man is marking the dimensions of the new, restored Jerusalem. The angels, announce the message of the LORD of hosts: Jerusalem is to be restored and rebuilt, and many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee. (2:11)
Psychological interpretation: A new, redeemed, prosperous kingdom of the soul is imminent. God will dwell within such a soul, and will protect it.
Chapter 3
New characters: Joshua, Satan.
The angel reveals Joshua the high priest to Zechariah. Joshua’s filthy garments are replaced with clean ones, and a fair mitre is placed on his head. Joshua is appointed to judge and ‘hold court’ in the restored Jerusalem. A stone with seven eyes is placed before Joshua.
Psychological interpretation: As we suggested in the Introduction, it is natural to see Joshua as a new ruling personality element. If Joshua is a symbol for Jesus, the redeemed personality, then, is poised to become remade, reconfigured and reconstructed on the pattern of Jesus Christ. Compare this with St. Paul, who, when he says, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. [Gal 2:20b]
Chapter 4
Next Zechariah has a vision of a golden candlstick with seven lamps. The lamps are fed by oil flowing from two olive trees, one on the right and one on the left. The angels says the lamps are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth (4:10), and the trees, are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth. [4:14]
Psychological interpretation: The seven eyes which roam the earth remind us of the horses in Chapter 1. Perhaps they too are symbolically connected with Conscience. The details being so brief, any attempt to explain the meaning of the olive trees would be too speculative to pursue with any assurance of correctness.
Chapter 5
There are two visions. The first is of a flying roll or scroll. This is a “curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth” (5:1), that serves to “cut off” sinners. In the second vision is of an ephah (a bushel basket). Inside the ephah is a woman called wickedness. The ephah is sealed with lead. Two winged women carry the ephah to the land of Shinar.
Psychological interpretation: The flying scroll may relate again to the theme of Conscience. Sinful elements of the soul are somehow divided or sequestered from the virtuous elements. The meaning of the ephah is enigmatic. Wickedness is being shut up in such a way that it poses no immediate threat to inner Jerusalem.
Chapter 6
Again, two visions. The first is of four chariots that emerge from two mountains of brass. The chariots are drawn by red, black, white, and grizzled and bay horses. “What are these?” Zechariah asks. The angel answers, “These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.” (6:5)
In the second vision Zechariah sees Joshua again. The word of the LORD commands that Joshua be given crowns of silver and gold, and says, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. (6:12)
Psychological interpretations: The first vision reminds us of the horses in Chapter 1 and the seven eyes in Chapter 4, and again may have something to do with Conscience. In all of these cases, it’s interesting that these figures are all plural. Conscience (if that’s what they symbolize) is not represented by a single figure, but by multiple ones. Could it be that such is how human conscience operates? Are there multiple, autonomous ‘conscience complexes’ that operate in the mind? (Cf. Marvin Minsky, 1986, who takes a cybernetic/systems theory to propose an ‘agent’ theory of the human mind.)
Chapter 7
Two years later the word of LORD comes to Zechariah. He is instructed to tell the people that they have, hitherto, suffered scattering and desolation of the land because they did not heed the message of the prophets, and their penitential fasts were insincere.
Psychological interpretation: scattering, disorganization and barrenness is the condition of the fallen psyche.
Chapter 8
The word of the LORD returns, now giving good news. If God was harsh with Israel before, it was only because He loved her so much.
Now the promise of restoration is made. So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. (8:15) But the people must be reminded: These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD. (8:16−17). Other nations will come to join Israel.
Psychological interpretation: The message is clearly one of hope. Despite the suffering experienced in the fallen condition, God will heal and restore the genuinely repentant soul. The joining of other nations suggest a possible threefold division among personality elements: (1) holy and virtuous ones (inner Israelites), (2) enemies of Israel (vicious dispositions which must be eliminated or somehow separated; and (3) a class of personality elements that are not inner Israelites, but which may be allied with them. Perhaps (2) correspond to outright sinful dispositions, and (3) to interests in natural or sensible things that are not innately bad, but which must be properly ordered.
To be continued …
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Much said in this post doubtless will seem incomplete and open to many questions. However, the task is not an easy one. All that has been attempted is to supply a first pass at the question. It’s almost certainly not completely correct, even in what it does say. We might put the question thus, “If Philo were to interpret the Book of Zechariah, what would he say?” He didn’t, of course, so we are left to conjecture.
However at least we have arguably accoplished one small thing: to establish that it is *possible* to meaningfully interpret the Book of Zechariah at a psychological-allegorical level. That possibility supplies an alternative to (1) strict literal interpretation, and (2) a ‘typological’ interpretation (i.e., that merely sees Joshua as a prophecy of Jesus Christ coming in history). If Zechariah is only a historical prophecy, it would have little practical relevance for us today, as the event it would be prophesying has already occurred. The more pious and devout — or at least more spiritual — approach is to search each Book of the Bible for what it says about ones own salvation.
Lest we give the wrong impression, it is to be emphasized that this form of interpretation should not be approached as an exercise in rationalistic, academic scholarship. It can be done in connection with the traditional lectio divina steps of reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation. In that context it properly belongs to the meditation stage. Among other things, it helps one focus attention on the details of a passage of Scripture. The approach should not be so much “it must mean this” as “could it mean this?” Absolutely essential to interpreting scripture in any case is prayer. Contemplation goes beyond intellectual analysis by tapping supraconscious wells of inspiration. Allow God to supply understanding at levels that cannot be expressed in words.
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Bibliography
Minsky, Marvin. The Society of Mind. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986.
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Richard of St. Victor — Philo Redivivus
RICHARD OF ST. VICTOR‘s (1110−1173) psychological-allegorical interpretations are exceptional — arguably as good as those of Philo of Alexandria. The two best known examples are his works Benjamin Minor and Benjamin Major. The first interprets the 12 sons of Jacob allegorically, each son symbolizing a particular virtue — leading up to the youngest sons, Benjamin and Joseph, who symbolize contemplation and discretion, respectively. Benjamin Major builds on this in a long discussion of contemplation. Here the framework is a detailed interpretation of the details of the Ark of the Covenant. In both these works Richard uses allegorical interpretation to great effect. One never feels he is forcing interpretations or imposing foreign meanings. Rather — as with Philo — one has the sense that he has, in an inspired way, tapped genuine, deeper spiritual meanings of Scripture.
Benjamin Minor and Benjamin Major are not the only works where Richard displays his remarkable skill in allegoresis. Another example is the little known work, De exterminatione male et promotione boni (On the Extermination of Bad and the Promotion of Good).* In a broad sense, the theme it treats is the advancement of the soul through the three ascetical-mystical stages of purification, illumination and unification. For this, he refers to the two water crossings of the Israelites: first the crossing of the Red Sea as they enter the wilderness, and second, their crossing of the Jordan into the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering.
* Draft English translation is here. Latin version is here.
Like Philo, Richard sees Egypt as bondage to the flesh. Hence the first crossing symbolizes the soul that attains contempt of the world. In turning from the world, the soul turns inward. Over time, as it comes to know itself, it realizes its own innate proneness to folly, pride and sin — the root cause of which is love of self. Symbolically, crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land occurs when the soul reverses the course of its affective energies (just as, in Joshua 3, the Jordan reverses course, enabling the Israelites to cross) from cupidity to charity.
The actual crossing, for Richard, symbolizes contemplation. The twelve stones that Joshua gathers after the crossing and uses to build a memorial, symbolize twelve supporting virtues. The spies that Joshua first sends into the Promised Land represent ‘pre-meditation’ upon the things that contemplation actually experiences. Here Richard shows his practical insight into the contemplative life. To reach high degrees of contemplation — e.g., the intoxication of divine ecstasy — we must yearn for them. And to stimulate the affections to this yearning, first we must begin by meditating on and considering divine things.
In Joshua 3, first the priests carry the Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan. Then the Jews follow at a distance of 2000 cubits. As Richard discussed in Benjamin Major, the Ark of the Covenant is a symbol for contemplation. The Jews that follow symbolize our other dispositions — including those that connect us with the material world. These reach the Promised Land in a transformed condition, once the soul’s affections have been properly reoriented to charity through virtue, meditation and contemplation. So Richard sees in all this not a dour, world-denying asceticism, but an integral psychology, in which our entire self — body, mind, soul and spirit — is transformed and renewed.
Also like Philo, Richard has remarkable attention to detail; no word in Scripture is seen as superfluous. And also like Philo, his allegorical interpretations avoid excess by staying focused on a single psychological theme. This is unlike St. Augustine and Origen, who often shift levels of interpretation — say, from psychological, to typological (i.e., interpretation based on the premise that figures and events in the Old Testament prefigure those of the New Testament), to ecclesial (seeing the Old Testament as symbolizing the Church and its sacraments).
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Bibliography
Richard of St. Victor, De exterminatione mali et promotione boni (On the Extermination of Bad the Promotion of Good), J. P. Migne, Patrologia Latina vol. 196 1073C−1116C. Paris, 1855. [Latin text]
Zinn, Grover A. (tr.). Richard of St. Victor: The Twelve Patriarchs (Benjamin Minor), The Mystical Ark (Benjamin Major) and Book Three of The Trinity. Paulist Press, 1979.
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Short Commentary on Psalm 56
British Library Arundel MS 157 f.53v
PSALMS is one of the Widom Books of the Old Testament. It’s important to understand its psychological and sapiential meanings. Here, as we’ve already done with a few other Psalms, we interpret Psalm 56 (using the King James Version numbering).
[1] Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.
Man here means the Old Man within onself, the fleshy man, the Old Adam, the carnal, worldly mind.
[2] Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High.
The carnal mind creates thoughts that swallow up our divine, spiritual consciousness.
[3] What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
Our main response must be to trust God. If we *worry* about carnal thoughts, we feed the carnal mind. In a sense, the carnal mind is the same as egoistic thinking, which characteristically overvalues it’s own imnportance and ability.
We can’t defeat egoistic thinking by egoistic thinking. Our recourse must be to God. That isn’t to say there are no steps we can take ourselves. But the heavy lifting here must be done by God. We must pray for grace, assistance and guidance.
[4] In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
Returning to the condition of praising God is our aim. This is our highest joy.
[5] Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.
[6] They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.
There are many tactics by which the carnal mind seeks to maintain power. At a biological level, it manifests itself as complexes. These can both join together and hide themselves.
[7] Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.
[8] Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
The wandering mind. The effect of carnal mindedness is to temporarily alienate our consciousness from God. This painful separation, for one who has tasted of communion with God, is cause for tears.
[9] When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.
[10] In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word.
[11] In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
[12] Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.
Call on God’s help. Praise God. Give thanks. Upon returning to a condition of thanksgiving, the carnal mind is subdued.
[13] For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
The swallowing up of spiritual mindedness by carnal mindedness is truly a kind of death. It is disconnected from reality, from truth. Spiritual mindedness is life.
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Origen – Allegorical Meaning of the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins
John Melhuish Strudwick, The Ten Virgins (c.1884)
AS an earlier post on the allegorical meaning of Moses defending Jethro’s seven daughters at the well is one of the most-often visited here, I though I’d follow up with another on the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, which, as I mentioned before, seems similar. We’re guided here by several patristic commentaries on the parables, but of course need not restrict ourselves to the meanings they find.
The parable would have a simple and straightforward interpretation if it concerned only one wise and one foolish virgin. It would then affirm the ethical principle of ‘keeping ones lamp lit’ by remaining constantly vigilant and attentive to God. The specific reference to five (and not merely several), however, suggests to several commentators a reference to the senses.
We can parse the parable (shown below) into its main structural elements and their general meanings as follows:
Virgins. The patristic consensus is that these refer collectively a wise or foolish soul. However, since all are virgins (including the foolish ones), there is a also tendency to see them more specifically as souls of those who are at least make the effort to follow a religious life.
Bridegroom. The obvious Christian meaning here is Jesus Christ.
Marriage. Spiritual marriage with Jesus, also understood (as implied by verse 1) as attainment of the kingdom of heaven. Some commentators (e.g., Augustine) take the kingdom here in the most literal sense of attaining heaven in the afterlife, but that opposes meaning implied by Luke 17:21, the kingdom of God is within you. More likely then, the marriage symbolizes the soul’s union with God, a state of being constantly attuned and receptive to God’s Word as it directs and guides our minds.
Lamps. Conscious attention; vigilance.
Oil. That which keeps the lamps lit. Oil suggests grace or Spirit received from God. However the whole point of the parable is to suggest that effort on our part is required to obtain the oil. What distinguishes the wise from the foolish virgins, according to several patristic commentators, is that the former pursue good works (which might be broadly defined to include not only acts of charity, but prayer, reading of Scripture, meditation, etc.). Origen mentions sound doctrine as another form of oil that keeps the lamps lit.
Origen in his commentary on Matthew 1:1ff. understands the virgins as symbolizing “powers of perception,” which include for him both the physical senses and spiritual senses. (Origen is considered the father of the doctrine of spiritual senses.) Right use of sensation requires it being directed by the WORD of God. As with Augustine (Sermon 43 = Ben. 73), good works are needed to maintain this connection, i.e., to keep the lamps lit.
In the earlier post on Moses and Jethro’s daughters, I suggested that the story could be interpreted as either (1) describing a state of spiritualized physical perception — such that, quickened by grace and spirit, our physical senses may perceive material objects in a unitive, holy, and transfigured way, or (2) referring to purely spiritual senses, i.e., those which perceive immaterial things. Origen’s commentary of the parable of the virgins — which, it must be admitted, raises more questions than it answers — nevertheless does not seem inconsistent with either interpretation.
Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theological aesthetics (von Balthasar, 1982; McInroy, 2014) appears to affirm a link between Origen, spiritual senses, the virgins parable and transfigured physical perception. (McInroy, p. 159: “Balthasar calls for perception of a form that contains both sensory and ‘supersensory’ aspects (i.e. a material component and a ‘spiritual’ dimension).”
We add at the end a passage from Pseudo-Macarius’ Homily 4, which refers to the parable. He briefly connects the virgins with the physical senses within a more general discussion of how the mind in its entirely must remain fixed on God and spiritual things, and not lapse into worldly concerns.
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MATTHEW 25:1–13 (KJV)
[1] Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
[2] And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
[3] They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
[4] But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
[5] While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
[6] And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
[7] Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
[8] And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
[9] But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
[10] And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
[11] Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
[12] But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
[13] Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Origen, Commentary on Matthew 25:1ff. (Latin translation = Klostermann Commentariorum Series 63−64)
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom and the bride. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise” (Mt 25:1−2)….
Not without reason do we say that the powers of perception of all who have come to know divine things, no matter how they have received the WORD of God, “whether by chance or by truth” (cf. Phil 2:18), are “virgins” — made virgins by the WORD of God in which they have believed or wish to believe. For such is the WORD of God that it shares of its purity with all who through its teaching have withdrawn from the service of idols or from the service of the elements of God’s creation (cf. 1 Cor 10:14; Gal 4:3), and have come to the service of God through Jesus Christ even if they have not carried out good works nor prepared themselves for beatitude. But just as, according to the WORD of truth, the individual virtues — which are, in substance, Christ — go together, so that whoever has one has all (for Christ cannot be separated from himself), so too do all the powers of perception go together; and wherever one of these senses has too little of the right teaching of the WORD, there will all the other senses be deceived, as it were, and turned into fools. By powers of perception or senses I mean both those ordinarily understood as such: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and those which the Book of Proverbs calls divine with the words: “You will find the knowledge of God” (cf. Prov 2:5). But again, the WORD of God is the cause of the right use of the senses, and it is not possible that, . . . someone use certain activities of the senses and neglect others. Thus if the Word has made one of the senses wise, so as to constitute it a virgin, it is necessary for it to pour out its wisdom into the other senses as well. Thus it is not possible that, of the five senses one has, some should be foolish and others prudent; they must rather all be prudent or all wise.
All these senses now take their “lamps” . . . when they accept that the Word of God and the Son of God is the bridegroom of the church; “they go out” from the world and from the errors of many gods and come to meet the Savior who is always ready to come to these virgins so that, with the worthy among them, he might go in to his blessed bride, the church. And after the reception of the WORD, as long as the light of the faithful “shines before men, that they may see their good works and give glory to their Father who is in heaven” (Mt 5:16), they are prudent [maidens], the kind who take along the oil which nourishes the light which is always poured forth in good works, i.e., the WORD of doctrine. They fill the vessels of their souls from this WORD, buying it from the teachers and keepers of the tradition who sell it, as much as is needed, even if their end is late and the WORD coming to their fulfillment is delayed; for they hasten to him to be fulfilled and to be set outside the world. But those who, after becoming Christian, were concerned to receive only enough teaching to last them to the end, … these are “foolish.” They accepted their lamps, which of course were lit at first, but they did not take oil along for such a long journey to go meet the spouse.
“As the bridegroom was delayed, all the maidens slumbered and slept” (Mt 25:5). When the bridegroom delays this way and the WORD does not come quickly to make perfect their life, the senses suffer somewhat while they remain and sleep, so to speak, in the night of the world. For they sleep in that they lose something of their alert vigilance; but those prudent maidens did not lose their lamps nor give up hope of saving their oil. . . .
“But at midnight,” that is, at the high point of that remissness, and at the midpoint between the spent light of evening and the still-awaited light of day, “there was a cry” (Mt 25:6), the cry of angels, I think, wishing to awaken all the slumbering senses and call them to go to meet the bridegroom. Inside the senses of those sleeping they cry out: “Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” (Mt 25:6). . . . All indeed heard and got up, but not all dressed their lamps in the proper way … and at an inopportune time “the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil’” (Mt 25:8). For although they were foolish, they still understood that they needed to go meet the bridegroom with light, with all the lamps of their senses illuminated. And since this parable was spoken for everyone to hear, Christ added for his disciples the words: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Mt 25:13).
Source: von Balthasar, p. 190f.
Pseudo-Macarius, Homilies 4.6f.
6. Take, for example, the five prudent and vigilant virgins (Mt 25:1 ff.). They enthusiastically had taken in the vessels of their heart the oil of the supernatural grace of the Spirit — a thing not conformable to their nature. For this reason they were able to enter together with the Bridegroom into the heavenly bridal chamber. The other foolish ones, however, content with their own nature, did not watch nor did they betake themselves to receive “the oil of gladness” (Ps 45:7) in their vessels. But still in the flesh, they fell into a deep sleep through negligence, inattentiveness, laziness, and ignorance or even through considering themselves justified. Because of this they were excluded from the bridal chamber of the kingdom because they were unable to please the heavenly Bridegroom. Bound by ties of the world and by earthly love, they did not offer all their love and devotion to the heavenly Spouse nor did they carry with them the oil. But the souls who seek the sanctification of the Spirit, which is a thing that lies beyond natural power, are completely bound with their whole love to the Lord. There they walk; there they pray; there they focus their thoughts, ignoring all other things. For this reason they are considered worthy to receive the oil of divine grace and without any failure they succeed in passing to life for they have been accepted by and found greatly pleasing to the spiritual Bridegroom. But other souls, who remain on the level of their own nature, crawl along the ground with their earthly thoughts. They think only in a human way. Their mind lives only on the earthly level. And still they are convinced in their own thought that they look to the Bridegroom and that they are adorned with the perfections of a carnal justification. But in reality they have not been born of the Spirit from above (Jn 3:3) and have not accepted the oil of gladness.
7. The five rational senses of the soul, if they have received grace from above and the sanctification of the Spirit, truly are the prudent virgins. They have received from above the wisdom of grace. But if they continue depending solely on their own nature, they class themselves with the foolish virgins and show themselves to be children of this world.
Just as the souls who have completely given themselves totally to the Lord have their thoughts there, their prayers directed there, walk there, and are bound there by the desire of the love of God, so, on the contrary, the souls who have given themselves to the love of the world and wish to live completely on this earth walk there, have their thoughts there, and it is there where their minds live (Lk 12:34).
For this reason they are unable to turn themselves over to the kind, prudential guidance of the Spirit. Something that is foreign to our basic nature, I mean, heavenly grace, necessarily demands being joined and drawn into our nature in order that we can enter into the heavenly hridal chamber of the kingdom and obtain eternal salvation.
Source: Maloney, p. 52f.
First draft: 9 Oct 2022
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Bibliography
von Balthasar, Hans Urs. Origen, Spirit and Fire: A Thematic Anthology of His Writings. Tr. Robert J. Daly. CUA Press, 2001.
von Balthasar, Hans Urs. Glory of the Lord Vol. 1: Seeing The Form. Tr. Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis. T&T Clark, 1982.
Gavrilyuk, Paul L.; Coakley, Sarah. The Spiritual Senses: Perceiving God in Western Christianity. Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Klostermann, Erich. Origenes Werke: Bd. Origenes Matthäuserklärung, II. Die lateinische Übersetzung der Commentariorum series. J. C. Hinrichs, 1933.
MacMullen, R. G. St. Augustine: Sermon 43. In: Ed. Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 6., Buffalo, NY, Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1888. Online (New Advent) version by Kevin Knight.
Maloney, George A. Pseudo-Macarius: The Fifty Spiritual Homilies and the Great Letter. Classics of Western Spirituality. Paulist Press, 1992.
McInroy, Mark. Balthasar on the Spiritual Senses: Perceiving Splendour. OUP, 2014. [dissertation]
Rahner, Karl. The doctrine of the ‘spiritual senses’ in Origen, Theological Investigations 16.81−103; originally published as Le début d’une doctrine des cinq sens spirituels chez Origene, Revue d’ascétique et de mystique 13, 1932, 113−45.
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St. Bernard – Love is the Soul’s Greatness
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Church of St. Louis, Buffalo, NY
PART of St. Bernard’s commentary on Canticle 1:5, I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Here the bride (the soul) says that it is “black” — that is sinful. Yet beneath sin is the beautiful image of God, so that the soul may also claim to be comely. An essential theme of the Song of Songs is the soul’s realization that God finds it beautiful and loves it beyond all measure.
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SERMON 27
The Beauty of the Bride Compared to the Curtains of Solomon, Why She is Called a Heaven
“As the curtains of Solomon.” [Cant 1:5]
“for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them” [2 Cor 6:16].
IN what way can she be beautiful like the curtains of Solomon, as if Solomon in all his glory could even remotely resemble the beauty of the bride, or possessed anything to match the splendor of her adornment? Even if I were to say that these mysterious curtains refer to the quality of blackness as well as to the tents of Kedar, I should perhaps be correct; there are arguments to support this, as I shall show later. But if we suppose that the beauty of any sort of curtains is to be compared to the glory of the bride, then we need the help for which you have been praying, if we are to be worthy to unveil this mystery. For must not outward loveliness, no matter how radiant, seem to an enlightened mind to be cheap and ugly, when compared with the inward beauty of a holy soul? What qualities can we find within the framework of this passing world that can equal the radiance of a soul that has shed its decrepit, earthly body, and been clothed in heaven’s loveliness, graced with the jewels of consummate virtue, clearer than mountain air because of its transcendence, more brilliant than the sun? So do not look back to the earthly Solomon when you wish to investigate the ownership of those curtains whose beauty delights the bride because so like her own.
2. What does she mean then by saying: “I am beautiful like the curtains of Solomon”? I feel that here we have a great and wonderful mystery, provided that we apply the words, not to the Solomon of this Song, but to him who said of himself: “What is here is greater than Solomon.” [Mat 12:42] This Solomon to whom I refer is so great a Solomon that he is called not only Peaceful — which is the meaning of the word Solomon — but Peace itself; for Paul proclaims that “He is our Peace.” [Eph 2:14] I am certain that in this Solomon we can discover something that we may unhesitatingly compare with the beauty of the bride. Note especially what the Psalm says of his curtains: “You have spread out the heavens like a curtain.” [Ps. 104:2; cf. Isa 40:22] The first Solomon, though sufficiently wise and powerful, did not spread out the heavens like a curtain; it was he, rather who is not merely wise but Wisdom itself, who both created them and spread them out. It was he, and not the former Solomon, who spoke these words of God his Father: “When he set the heavens in their place, I was there.” [Pro 8:27] His power and his wisdom were undoubtedly present at the establishing of the heavens. And do not imagine that he stood by idle, as merely a spectator, because he said “I was there,” and not “I was cooperating.” Search further on in this text and you will find that he clearly states he was with him arranging all things. Therefore he said: “Whatever the Father does, the Son does too.” [Joh 5:19] He it was who spread out the heavens like a curtain, a curtain of superlative beauty that covers the whole face of the earth like a huge tent, and charms our human eyes with the variegated spectacle of sun and moon and stars. Is there anything more lovely than this curtain? Anything more bejeweled than the heavens? Yet even this can in no way be compared to the splendor and comeliness of the bride. It fails because it is a physical thing, the object of our physical senses; its form will pass away. “For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” [2 Cor 4:18]
3. The bride’s form must be understood in a spiritual sense, her beauty as something that is grasped by the intellect; it is eternal because it is an image of eternity. Her gracefulness consists of love, and you have read that “love never ends.” [1 Cor 13:8] It consist of justice, for “her justice endures forever.” It consists of patience, and Scripture tells you “the patience of the poor shall not perish forever.”[ Ps. 9:18] What shall I say of voluntary poverty? Of humility? To the former an eternal kingdom is promised, to the latter an eternal exaltation. To these must be added the holy fear of the Lord that endures for ever and ever; prudence too, and temperance and fortitude and all other virtues; what are they but pearls in the jeweled raiment of the bride, shining with unceasing radiance? I say unceasing, because they are the basis, the very foundation of immortality. For there is no place for immortal and blissful life in the soul except by means and mediation of the virtues. …
4. Though this visible, material heaven, with its great variety of stars is unsurpassingly beautiful within the bounds of the material creation, I should not dare to compare its beauty with the spiritual and varied loveliness she received with her first robe when being arrayed in the garments of holiness. But there is a heaven of heavens to which the Prophet refers. “Sing to the Lord who mounts above the heaven of heavens, to the east.” [Ps. 68:33] This heaven is in the world of the intellect and the spirit; and he who made the heavens by his wisdom, created it to be his eternal dwelling-place. You must not suppose that the bride’s affections can find rest outside of this heaven, where she knows her Beloved dwells: for where her treasure is, there her heart is too. She so yearns for him that she is jealous of those who live in his presence; and since she may not yet participate in the vision that is theirs, she strives to resemble them in the way she lives. By deeds rather than words she proclaims: “Lord, I love the beauty of your house, the place where your glory dwells.” [Ps. 26:8] …
IV. 6. Contemplate what a glory is hers who compares herself to heaven, even to that heaven who is so much more glorious as he is divine. This is no rashness, taking her comparison from whence her origin comes. For if she compares herself to the tents of Kedar because of her body drawn from the earth, why should she not glory in her likeness to heaven because of the heavenly origin of her soul, especially since her life bears witness to her origin and to the dignity of her nature and her homeland? She adores and worships one God, just like the angels; she loves Christ above all things, just like the angels; she is chaste, just like the angels, and that in the flesh of a fallen race, in a frail body that the angels do not have. But she seeks and savors the things that they enjoy, not the things that are on the earth. What can be a clearer sign of her heavenly origin than that she retains a natural likeness to it in the land of unlikeness, than that as an exile on earth she enjoys the glory of the celibate life, than that she lives like an angel in an animal body? These gifts reveal a power that is more of heaven than of earth. They clearly indicate that a soul thus endowed is truly from heaven. …
10. WHAT a capacity this soul has, how privileged its merits, that it is found worthy not only to receive the divine presence, but to be able to make sufficient room! What can I say of her who can provide avenues spacious enough for the God of majesty to walk in! She certainly cannot afford to be entangled in law-suits nor by worldly cares; she cannot be enslaved by gluttony and sensual pleasures, by the lust of the eyes, the ambition to rule, or by pride in the possession of power. If she is to become heaven, the dwelling-place of God, it is first of all essential that she be empty of all these defects. Otherwise how could she be still enough to know that he is God? Nor may she yield in the least to hatred or envy or bitterness, “because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul.” [Wis 1:4] The soul must grow and expand, that it may be roomy enough for God. Its width is its love, if we accept what the Apostle says: “Widen your hearts in love.” [2 Cor 6:13] The soul, being a spirit, does not admit of material expansion, but grace confers gifts on it that nature is not equipped to bestow. Its growth and expansion must be understood in a spiritual sense; it is its virtue that increases, not its substance. Even its glory is increased. And finally it grows and advances toward “mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” [Eph 4:13] Eventually it becomes “a holy temple in the Lord.” [Eph 2:21] The capacity of any man’s soul is judged by the amount of love he possesses; hence he who loves much is great, he who loves a little is small, he who has no love is nothing, as Paul said: “If I have not love, I am nothing.” [1 Cor 13:3] But if he begins to acquire some love however, if he tries at least to love those who love him, and salutes the brethren and others who salute him, I may no longer describe him as nothing because some love must be present in the give and take of social life. In the words of the Lord, however, what more is he doing than others. When I discover a love as mediocre as this, I cannot call such a man noble or great: he is obviously narrow-minded and mean.
11. But if his love expands and continues to advance till it outgrows these narrow, servile confines, and finds itself in the open ranges where love is freely given in full liberty of spirit; when from the generous bounty of his goodwill he strives to reach out to all his neighbors, loving each of them as himself, surely one may no longer query, “What more are you doing than others?” Indeed he has made himself vast. His heart is filled with a love that embraces everybody…
VII. 12. Do you not now see what heavens the Church possesses within her, and that she herself, in her universality, is an immense heaven, stretching out “from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.” [Ps. 72:8[ Consider therefore, to what you may compare her in this respect, provided you do not forget what I mentioned a short while ago concerning the heaven of heaven and heavens of heavens. Just like our mother above, this one, though still a pilgrim, has her own heaven: spiritual men outstanding in their lives and reputations, men of genuine faith, unshaken hope, generous love, men raised to the heights of contemplation. These men rain down God’s saving work like showers, reprove with a voice of thunder, shine with a splendor of miracles. They proclaim the glory of God, and stretched out like curtains over all the earth, make known the law of life and knowledge written by God’s finger into their own lives, “to give knowledge of salvation to his people.” [Luk 1:77] They show forth the gospel of peace, because they are the curtain of Solomon.
Source: Walsh, Killian; Edmonds, Irene (trs.). Bernard of Clairvaux: Sermons on the Song of Songs. Vol. 1. Cistercian Publications, 1971.
Latin: Sermones in Cantica canticorum, Migne Patrologia Latina 183 785A−1198A, Paris, 1854.
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Bibliography
A priest of Mount Melleray. St Bernard’s Sermons on the Canticle of Canticles, 3 vols, Dublin, 1920. (Volume 1, Volume 2).
Eales, Samuel J. Saint Bernard: Cantica Canticorum, Eighty-six Sermons. London, 1895.
Leclercq, J.; Talbot, C. H., Rochais, H. M. (eds.). Sermones super Cantica canticorum, in Bernardi opera, volumes 1−2. Ed. Cistercienses, Rome, 1957−58. Latin critical edition.
Walsh, Killian; Edmonds, Irene (trs.). Bernard of Clairvaux: Sermons on the Song of Songs. 4 vols. CF (Cistercian Fathers Series) vols. 4, 7, 31, and 40. Spencer, MA: Cistercian Publications, 1971−80.
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St. Bernard on the Mystical Sense of Windows and Lattices in the Canticle
MORE from St. Bernard’s sermons on the Song of Songs. He associates the lattices and windows of verse 2.9 with, respectively, two forms of ‘confession’: a confession of our sins, and a confession of praise and thanksgiving. Through these openings — the former the lesser and the latter the greater — God, as Bernard puts it, may “regard thee with a gracious glance.”
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SERMON LVI
On the Mystical Sense of the Wall, the Windows, and the Lattices.
“Behold He standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattices.” [Cant 2:9]
THERE is another matter which thou shouldst attend to with all possible vigilance. Thou must see to it that the Beloved shall always find wide open the windows and the lattices of thy confessions, if I may so speak, so that through these openings He may regard thee within with a gracious glance. For His regard is thy progress. Lattices (cancelli) are narrow windows, which persons who make a business of writing cause to be opened in the wall, in order to obtain light for their work. Hence, as I believe, the name “chancellors” is given to those who have the office of drawing up charters and other formal instruments. Now there are two species of confession, the one consisting in a sorrowful declaration of our sins, the other in a gladsome acknowledgment of the divine benefits. Whenever, therefore, I make that confession which is always accompanied with anguish (angustia) of heart — I mean the confession of sin — it appears to me that I have opened the lattice, that is to say, the narrow window (angustiorem fenestram). Nor can there be any doubt that He who stands behind the wall as a loving Observer, will gladly avail Himself of this aperture and look in upon me, because “a contrite and humbled heart God will not despise.” [Ps. 51:17] He Himself has told me to open my lattice for Him, saying by His Prophet, “Do thou first confess thy iniquities, that thou mayst be justified.” [Isa 43:26]
But if occasionally my heart dilates under the influence of charity and, thinking of the divine condescension and compassion, I feel moved to let my soul expand in the confession of praise and thanksgiving, at such times I may be truly said to open, not now the lattice, but the widest of my windows, for the sake of the Bridegroom Who stands behind the wall. And I think He will look in through this ampler opening the more willingly in proportion as the “sacrifice of praise glorifieth” [Ps. 50:23] Him more.
Source: St. Bernard, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 52. Translation: A priest of Mount Melleray. St Bernard’s Sermons on the Canticle of Canticles, 3 vols, Dublin, 1920; vol. 2, pp. 141−142.
Latin: Sermones in Cantica canticorum, Migne Patrologia Latina 183 785A−1198A, Paris, 1854.
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Bibliography
A priest of Mount Melleray. St Bernard’s Sermons on the Canticle of Canticles, 3 vols, Dublin, 1920. (Volume 1, Volume 2).
Eales, Samuel J. Saint Bernard: Cantica Canticorum, Eighty-six Sermons. London, 1895.
Leclercq, J.; Talbot, C. H., Rochais, H. M. (eds.). Sermones super Cantica canticorum, in Bernardi opera, volumes 1−2. Ed. Cistercienses, Rome, 1957−58. Latin critical edition.
Walsh, Killian; Edmonds, Irene (trs.). Bernard of Clairvaux: Sermons on the Song of Songs. 4 vols. CF (Cistercian Fathers Series) vols. 4, 7, 31, and 40. Spencer, MA: Cistercian Publications, 1971−80.
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St. Bernard on Mystical Ecstasy
St. Bruno, Correrie Grand Chartreuse
ST. BERNARD wrote eighty-six sermons commenting on the Song of Songs. A major theme of the commentary is that the Song is an allegory for union or marriage of the individual soul to God brought about, in part, through contemplation. This sermon, which, discusses the ‘sleep of the soul’ or ecstasy, potentially influenced later Christian mystics like St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.
An interesting feature is St. Bernard’s distinction between two kinds of ecstasy. The greater kind is the experience of losing awareness of sensations entirely during contemplation. The lesser kind (“to live on earth unfettered by earthly desires”), although the precise meaning is unclear, suggests a kind of waking ecstasy, in which one may conduct the usual activities of life, but detached from earthly concerns.
St. Bernard’s sermons on the Song are surprisingly little studied today.
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SERMON LII
On the Mystical Sleep of the Spouse, and the two kinds of ecstasy.
“I adjure you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the harts of the fields, that you stir not up nor make the beloved to wake till she please.” (Cant. 2:7)
This adjuration, my brethren, is addressed to the young maidens. For they are the “daughters of Jerusalem,” so called because although delicate and tender, and still weak and girlish in their actions and affections, nevertheless they cling close to the Spouse, in the hope of advancing towards and ultimately reaching the heavenly Jerusalem. These therefore the Bridegroom charges not to intrude upon His beloved whilst she is taking her repose, and on no account to presume to awaken her until it is her pleasure. For the reason why He places His Hand under her head, like a most affectionate husband (according to what has been said already), is in order that He may make her rest and slumber on His Bosom. And now the Holy Scripture further tells us that He most lovingly and condescendingly watches over her while she sleeps, lest the young maidens, with their frequent little troubles, should disturb her quiet and compel her to interrupt her repose. Such appears to be the literal connexion of our present text with the preceding. Yet as regards that solemn adjuration “by the roes and the harts of the fields,” if we take the words literally they seem to bear no relevant sense, so entirely are they appropriated to the spiritual signification. But however this may be, at all events, “it is good for us to be here” (Matt 17:4), and to spend a little time contemplating the goodness, the sweetness, the gracious condescension of the heavenly Bridegroom. What tenderness, O man, hast thou ever found in any human affection to be compared with that which is revealed to us here from the Heart of the Most High? And the revelation is made by the Holy Ghost Who “searcheth the deep things of God” (1Cor 2:10), Who cannot be ignorant of anything contained in the Heart of Him Whose own Spirit He is, and, as being the Spirit of truth, cannot speak anything other than what He finds therein recorded.
Nor is there wanting of our own race one who has been so happy as to merit the joy of being made the object of this divine tenderness, and of experiencing in herself this delightful secrets of heavenly love. To question this would be to doubt the truth of the inspired passage which I am now discussing. For the celestial Bridegroom is clearly represented here as most anxiously concerned for the repose of a human Spouse very dear to Him, whom with affectionate solicitude He holds in His arms whilst she slumbers, fearful lest a sleep so pleasant should be disturbed by any annoyance or agitation. My brethren, I cannot contain myself for joy, when I think of how that infinite Majesty disdains not to stoop so low as to engage thus in sweet and familiar intercourse with our poor nature, when I think of how the Most High God vouchsafes to contract a marriage alliance with the soul even during the time of her exile, and to manifest towards her all the tender affection which the most loving of bridegrooms could show to his bride. I have no doubt that what we read of on earth is perfectly accomplished in the case of every soul in heaven. I believe that we shall fully experience there what we here find described in the holy Book; except that no language can give a true idea of the capacity for love which the soul shall have in the next life, nor even of that with which she is at present endowed. What, think you, is the happiness awaiting her in heaven, when even on earth she is treated so affectionately that she feels herself embraced with the arms of God, fostered on the Bosom of God, guarded by the watchfulness and jealousy of God, lest anything should disturb her slumber and cause her to awake before it is her pleasure?
But now, my brethren, let me explain, if I can, what is this sleep which the Bridegroom wants His Spouse to enjoy, and will not allow her to be awakened out of it except at her own desire. An explanation is necessary, because otherwise, when some one happens to read in the Apostle, “It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep” (Rom 13:11); or, in the psalms, that verse where David says to God, “Enlighten my eyes that I may never sleep in death” (Ps. 13:3), he may easily be puzzled by the ambiguity of the term sleep, and be quite unable to discover any worthy interpretation for the slumber of the Spouse, of which there is question here. Nor has this sleep anything in common with that whereof Christ spoke in the Gospel, when He said, “Lazarus our friend sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep” (John 11:11). For the sleep He meant was the sleep of bodily death, although the disciples understood His words as referring to ordinary slumber. The sleep of the Spouse has nothing to do with the body. It is as distinct from that gentle sleep which for a time sweetly seals up the material senses, as it is from the more terrible which finally extinguishes the life of the flesh. Still less is it identified with the sleep of spiritual death which paralyses the soul whilst she obstinately perseveres in a state of sin. For instead of bringing darkness and torpor, the sleep of the Spouse is wakeful and life-giving; it illuminates the mind, expels the death of sin, and bestows immortality. Nevertheless, it is a true sleep, which transports rather than stupefies the faculties. It is also a true death. This I affirm without the least hesitation, since the Apostle says, in commendation of some who were still living in the flesh, “You are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Col 3:3).
Therefore I also can be guilty of no absurdity when I describe the ecstasy of the Spouse as a kind of death, not the death which terminates life, but that which delivers her true life from danger, so that she may say with the Psalmist, “Our soul hath been delivered as a sparrow out of the snare of the fowlers” (Ps. 124:7) . For in the present life the soul is always surrounded by the snares of temptation, which, however, have no power to frighten her as often as she is transported out of herself by some holy and irresistible attraction, if yet the mental exaltation and ravishment be so great as to lift her above the common and usual modes of thinking and feeling. So we read in Proverbs, “A net is spread in vain before the eyes of them that have wings” (Prov 1:17), Douay). For what has such a soul to fear from sensuality, since she has lost even the faculty of sensation? No longer conscious of material impressions, though remaining still the principle of life to the body, she is necessarily inaccessible to temptations from the senses. “Who will give me the wings of a dove and I will fly and be at rest?” (Ps. 55:6) Would to God that I could often endure a death of this kind and thus escape the snares of a more terrible death! So should I be insensible to the fatal allurements of luxury; so should I be unconscious of the stings of the flesh, of the suggestions of avarice, of the swellings of anger and impatience, of the torments of anxiety and the miseries of care. “Let my soul die the death of the just” (Num 23:10), so that deception may no longer have power to ensnare me nor sin to seduce! Happy death which destroys not life, but changes it to better! Happy death which lifts the soul to heaven without laying the body low!
Yet this manner of dying is peculiar to men. Therefore, “Let my soul die the death of the angels” also (if I may use the expression), so that escaping from the memory of all present things, she may strip herself, not alone of the desires, but even of the images of inferior and corporeal objects, and may converse spiritually with them whom she resembles in spirituality! The name contemplation, as it seems to me, belongs either solely or principally to such a mental ecstasy. It is the part of human virtue to live on earth unfettered by earthly desires; but to be able to contemplate truth without the help of material or sensible images is the characteristic of angelic purity. Yet each of these two is the gift of God. Each is a true ecstasy. In each the soul rises above herself, but in the second far higher than in the first. Blessed is the soul which can say in this sense, “Lo, I have gone far off, flying away; and I abode in the wilderness“! (Ps. 55:7) It is not enough for her that she is transported out of herself, unless she can fly far away and be at rest. Thou hast obtained such a victory over the temptations of the flesh that thou dost no longer gratify its concupiscence nor yield assent to its enticements. This certainly is progress. Thou hast truly gone forth from thyself. But thou hast not yet flown afar, unless, by the purity of thy mind, thou art able to rise above the images of sensible objects, which are constantly rushing in upon thee from every side. Until thou hast attained to this, do not promise thyself any rest. Thou art in error if thou thinkest that the place of repose, the quiet of solitude, the perfection of light, and the dwelling of peace can be found any nearer. But show me the man who has arrived at this point, and I shall unhesitatingly pronounce him to be at rest and qualified to say, “Turn, O my soul, into thy rest; for the Lord hath been bountiful to thee” (Ps. 116:7). Here truly is a home in solitude, and a dwelling in the light, and, according to the Prophet Isaias, “a tabernacle for a shade in the day-time from the heat, and a security and covert from the whirlwind and from the rain” (Is. 4:6). It is of the same the Psalmist sings, “For He hath hidden me in His tabernacle; in the day of evils He hath protected me in the secret place of His tabernacle” (Ps. 27:5).
It appears to me, therefore, that it is into this solitude the Spouse has retired, and there, overpowered by the beauty of the place, has sweetly fallen asleep in the arms of her Beloved. In other words, she has been visited by the slumber of spiritual rapture, and this is the sleep out of which the young maidens are forbidden to awaken her, until she herself pleases. … [JU: the remaining section considers the allegorical meaning of “the roes and the harts.”]
Source: St. Bernard, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 52. Translation: A priest of Mount Melleray. St Bernard’s Sermons on the Canticle of Canticles, 3 vols, Dublin, 1920; vol. 2, pp. 91−100.
Latin: Sermones in Cantica canticorum, Migne Patrologia Latina 183 785A−1198A, Paris, 1854.
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Bibliography
A priest of Mount Melleray. St Bernard’s Sermons on the Canticle of Canticles, 3 vols, Dublin, 1920. (Volume 1, Volume 2).
Eales, Samuel J. Saint Bernard: Cantica Canticorum, Eighty-six Sermons. London, 1895.
Leclercq, J.; Talbot, C. H., Rochais, H. M. (eds.). Sermones super Cantica canticorum, in Bernardi opera, volumes 1−2. Ed. Cistercienses, Rome, 1957−58. Latin critical edition.
Walsh, Killian; Edmonds, Irene (trs.). Bernard of Clairvaux: Sermons on the Song of Songs. 4 vols. CF (Cistercian Fathers Series) vols. 4, 7, 31, and 40. Spencer, MA: Cistercian Publications, 1971−80.
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St. Augustine: On Desire to See God
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St. Augustine of Hippo (stained glass; location unknown)
1John 3
[1] Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
[2] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
[3] And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
St. Augustine of Hippo, Homilies on the First Epistle of John 4.5−6
5. For us then, what are we? Already we are begotten of Him; but because we are such in hope, he says, Beloved, now are we sons of God. Now already? Then what is it we look for, if already we are sons of God? And not yet, says he, is it manifested what we shall be. But what else shall we be than sons of God? Hear what follows: We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. Understand, my beloved. It is a great matter: We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. In the first place mark, what is called Is. You know what it is that is so called. That which is called Is, [c.f. Exod 3:14] and not only is called but is so, is unchangeable: It ever remains, It cannot be changed, It is in no part corruptible: It has neither proficiency, for It is perfect; nor has deficiency, for It is eternal. … and the Lord Himself says, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matt 5:8) Therefore, we are to see a certain vision, my brethren, which neither eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor has entered into the heart of man: (1 Cor 2:9) a certain vision, a vision surpassing all earthly beauty, of gold, of silver, of groves and fields; the beauty of sea and air, the beauty of sun and moon, the beauty of the stars, the beauty of angels: surpassing all things: because from it are all things beautiful.
6. What then shall we be, when we shall see this? What is promised to us? We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. The tongue has done what it could, has sounded the words: let the rest be thought by the heart.
For what has even John himself said in comparison of That which Is, or what can be said by us men, who are so far from being equal to his merits? Return we therefore to that anointing of Him, return we to that anointing which inwardly teaches that which we cannot speak: and because ye cannot at present see, let your office be in desire.
The whole life of a good Christian is a holy desire. [Tota vita christiani boni, sanctum desiderium est.] Now what you long for, you do not yet see: howbeit by longing, you are made capable, so that when that has come which you may see, you shall be filled.
For just as, if you would fill a bag, and know how great the thing is that shall be given, you stretch the opening of the sack or the skin, or whatever else it be; you know how much you would put in, and see that the bag is narrow; by stretching you make it capable of holding more: so God, by deferring our hope, stretches our desire; by the desiring, stretches the mind; by stretching, makes it more capacious.
Let us desire therefore, my brethren, for we shall be filled. See Paul widening, as it were, his bosom, that it may be able to receive that which is to come. He says, namely, Not that I have already received, or am already perfect: brethren, I deem not myself to have apprehended. (Phil 3:12−13)
Then what are you doing in this life, if you have not yet apprehended? But this one thing [I do]; forgetting the things that are behind, reaching forth to the things that are before, upon the strain I follow on unto the prize of the high calling. (Phil 3:13-14) He says he reaches forth, or stretches himself, and says that he follows upon the strain. He felt himself too little to take in that which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man. (1 Cor 2:9)
This is our life, that by desiring we should be exercised. But holy longing exercises us just so much as we prune off our longings from the love of the world. We have already said, Empty out that which is to be filled. With good you are to be filled: pour out the bad. Suppose that God would fill you with honey: if you are full of vinegar, where will you put the honey? That which the vessel bore in it must be poured out: the vessel itself must be cleansed; must be cleansed, albeit with labor, albeit with hard rubbing, that it may become fit for that thing, whatever it be.
Let us say honey, say gold, say wine; whatever we say it is, being that which cannot be said, whatever we would fain say, It is called — God. And when we say God, what have we said? Is that one syllable the whole of that we look for? So then, whatever we have had power to say is beneath Him: let us stretch ourselves unto Him, that when He shall come, He may fill us. For we shall be like Him; because we shall see Him as He is. [Source: Browne (slightly edited)]
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Bibliography
Browne, Henry. (tr.). St. Augustine: Homilies on the First Epistle of John. In: Philip Schaff (ed.), Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 7, Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1888; online version: ed. Kevin Knight.
Ramsey, Boniface (tr.). St. Augustine: Homilies on the First Epistle of John. New City, 2008.
Roman Catholic Office of Readings. From a treatise by St Augustine on the first epistle of John. Our heart longs for God.
Latin: In Epistolam Joannis ad Parthos tractatus X. J. P. Migne, Patrologia Latina vol. 35 1977−2062. Paris, 1841.
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Written by John Uebersax
February 18, 2023 at 4:53 pm
Posted in ascetical psychology, Augustine, Beauty, Bible, Commentary, Contemplation, Mysticism, New Testament, Theosis
Tagged with seeing God, vision of God