Homilies on the Song of Songs

As we have learned through Moses that there are things not only holy, but also holy of holies; and others not only sabbaths, but sabbaths of sabbaths; so now we are taught, Solomon writing, that there are things not only Songs, but Songs of Songs. Blessed indeed is he who enters the holy things, but more blessed he who enters the holy of holies. Blessed is he who keeps sabbath, but more blessed he who keeps the sabbath of sabbaths. Blessed likewise is he who understands songs, and sings them. For no one sings except on feast days; but far more blessed is he who sings the Song of Songs.

And just as he who enters into the holy things still needs many more things, that he may be able to enter into the holy of holies; and he who celebrates the sabbath, which was established for the Lord's people, still has many things necessary in order to keep the sabbath of sabbaths: in the same way it is difficult to find one who, having traversed all the songs contained in the Scriptures, is able to ascend to the Song of Songs. You must go out from Egypt, and having gone out from the land of Egypt, cross the Red Sea, that you may be able to sing the first song, saying: Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously glorified. But although you have sung the first song, you are still far from the Song of Songs. Traverse the land of the desert spiritually, until you come to the well which the kings dug, that there you may sing the second song.

After this come to the borders of the Holy Land, that standing upon the bank of the Jordan, you may sing the song of Moses, saying: Give ear, O heaven, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. Again you must, having become a soldier under Jesus, take the Holy Land as your inheritance, and let a bee prophesy to you, and a bee judge you—Deborah is interpreted "bee"—that you may be able to learn also that song which is contained in the book of Judges. Then ascending to the book of Kings, come to the song when David was delivered from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, and said: The Lord is my firmament, and my strength, and my refuge, and my deliverer. You must arrive at Isaiah, that with him you may say: I will sing a song to my beloved of his vineyard.

And when you have passed through all these, ascend to higher things, that you may be able, with the soul made beautiful, to sing with the Bridegroom this Song of Songs also.

Of how many persons it consists I am uncertain. But as you pray, and the Lord revealing it, I seem to myself to have found in these four persons: the Bridegroom and the Bride, with the Bride the maidens, with the Bridegroom the companies of his companions. Some things are said by the Bride, others by the Bridegroom, some by the young maidens, some by the companions of the Bridegroom. For it is fitting that at a wedding there should be a multitude of maidens with the bride, and a crowd of young men with the bridegroom. Do not seek all these things outside: do not seek them outside those who have been saved by the preaching of the Gospel. Understand Christ as the Bridegroom: the Church as the Bride without spot or wrinkle, of whom it is written: That he might present to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing: but that it should be holy and without blemish.

But those who, though faithful, are not yet of such quality as the discourse has described, but seem to have attained salvation in a certain measure: understand that the souls of believers, being also maidens, are with the Bride; but the Angels, and those who have arrived at the perfect man, understand to be the men who are with the Bridegroom. Hence therefore there appear to me four orders, one man and one woman, two choruses singing together, the Bride singing with the young maidens, the Bridegroom singing with his companions. And when you have understood this, hear the Song of Songs, and hasten to understand it, and to say with the Bride the things which the Bride says, that you may hear what the Bride also heard. But if you are not able to say with the Bride what she said, so that you may hear the things which were said to the Bride, hasten at least to become one with the companions of the Bridegroom.

Further, if you are inferior even to these, be with the young maidens who abide in the delights of the Bride. For these are the persons in this book, at once of a drama and of a marriage-song, from which even the Gentiles have claimed for themselves the marriage-song, and a poem of this kind has been adopted. For the Song of Songs is indeed a marriage-song. First the Bride prays, and immediately, in the midst of her prayers, she is heard: she sees the Bridegroom present, she sees the young maidens joined to her company. Then the Bridegroom answers her, and after the Bridegroom's words, while he suffers for her salvation, the companions answer, until the Bridegroom, resting, and rising from his suffering, promises to make certain ornaments for the Bride. But now the very words themselves must be set forth, in which first the voice of the Bride praying is heard.

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. The sense of which is this: How long does my Bridegroom send me kisses through Moses, send me kisses through the prophets? Now I desire to touch his very mouth; let him himself come, let him himself descend. She prays therefore to the Father of the Bridegroom, and says to him: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. And because she is such that there is fulfilled upon her that prophetic word, in which it is said: While you are still speaking I will say, Behold, I am here, the Father of the Bridegroom hears the Bride, and sends his Son. She, seeing him whose coming she was entreating, ceases to pray, and speaks to him near at hand: For your breasts are better than wine, and the odor of your ointments above all spices.

The Bridegroom therefore, Christ, sent by the Father, comes anointed to the Bride, and it is said to him: You have loved justice, and hated iniquity, therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows. If the Bridegroom shall touch me, I too shall be of good odor; I too am anointed with ointments, and his ointments reach even to me, that I may be able to say with the Apostles: We are the good odor of Christ in every place. But we, when we hear these things, still stink with sins and vices, of which the penitent prophet speaks: My scars have festered and are corrupted, because of my foolishness. Sin is of a foul odor: virtue breathes forth ointments, the types of which read again in Exodus. For there too you will find stacte, onycha, galbanum, and the rest. These indeed are for incense. Then for the work of the perfumer various ointments are taken, among which are nard and stacte.

And God, who made heaven and earth, speaks to Moses, saying: I have filled them with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, that they may perform the works of the perfumer's art. And God teaches perfumers.

If these things are not understood spiritually, are they not fables? Unless they contain some secret meaning, are they not unworthy of God? It is necessary, therefore, that he who knows how to hear the Scriptures spiritually, or who indeed does not yet know, but desires to know, should strive with all effort, that he may not conduct himself according to flesh and blood, so that he may become worthy of spiritual secrets, and—that I may say something more daring—worthy through spiritual desire or love. For there is also a spiritual love. And just as there is a certain carnal food, and another spiritual, and one drink of the flesh, another of the spirit: so there is a certain carnal love coming from Satan, and another love of the spirit, having its origin from God. And no one can be possessed by two loves. If you are a lover of the flesh, you do not receive the love of the spirit.

If you have despised all corporeal things—I do not say flesh or blood alone, but even silver and possessions, and the very earth, and heaven itself (for these things shall pass away)—if you have contemned all these things, and your soul is bound to none of them, nor held fast by love of any vice, you can receive spiritual love. Since this occasion has arisen, that we might say something about spiritual love. But it is fitting for us to keep the precept of Solomon, and rather of him who spoke through Solomon concerning Wisdom, saying thus: Love her, and she will keep you; embrace her, and she will exalt you; honor her, that she may embrace you. There is a certain spiritual embrace: and would that it might come to pass that a higher embrace of the Bridegroom should enfold my bride, that I too might be able to say what is written in the same book: His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.

Therefore: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. It is the custom of the Scriptures to put the imperative mood for the optative, as there: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, that is, for “would that thy name be hallowed”: and now in the present passage: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for what is meant, “would that he might kiss me.” Then she beholds the bridegroom: he comes anointed with unguents. Nor could he come to the bride otherwise, nor was it fitting for the Father to send the Son otherwise to the wedding. He has anointed him with various unguents, has made him Christ; he comes breathing forth various odors, and she hears, that thy breasts are better than wine. Fittingly the divine speech names one and the same thing by different terms, according to the character of the passages.

When a victim is offered in the Law, and it wishes to show the meaning, it speaks of “the breast of separation.” But when someone reclines with Jesus and enjoys communion with his feelings, it speaks not of the “breast” as above, but of “the bosom.” Moreover, when the bride speaks to the bridegroom—since a nuptial song is being introduced—she does not name “the breast of separation,” as in the sacrifice, nor “the bosom,” as in John the disciple, but names “breasts,” saying: For thy breasts are better than wine. Share, as the bride does, in the feelings of the bridegroom, and you will know that thoughts of this kind inebriate and gladden. For as the cup of the Lord which inebriates is exceedingly good, so the breasts of the bridegroom are better than all wine, For thy breasts are better than wine. In the midst of her prayers she turns her words to the bridegroom: And the odor of thy unguents is above all spices. The bridegroom comes anointed not with one, but with all unguents.

But if he should deign to come also to my soul made his bride, how fair must it be, that it may draw him down from heaven to itself, that it may make him descend to the earth, that he may come to his beloved! With what beauty must it be adorned, with what love must it burn, that he may say to it the things he said to the perfect bride: Because thy neck, because thine eyes, because thy cheeks, because thy hands, because thy belly, because thy shoulders, because thy feet! Concerning which, if the Lord grant it, we shall discuss, how the members of the bride vary, and how diverse praise is given to each part, so that after the discussion we may also labor that the same be said of our own soul. Therefore, thy breasts are better than wine. If you see the bridegroom, then you will understand that what is said is true: For thy breasts are better than wine, and the odor of thy unguents above all spices. Many have had spices.

The queen of the South brought spices to Solomon, and many others possessed spices: but however much anyone has had, they cannot be compared to the odors of Christ, of which the bride now says: The odor of thy unguents is above all spices. I think that Moses too had spices, and Aaron, and each of the prophets. But if I shall see Christ, and perceive the sweetness and odor of his unguents, I shall at once give judgment, saying: The odor of thy unguents is above all spices. Ointment poured out is thy name—this is a prophetic mystery. Only the name of Jesus has come into the world, and it is proclaimed as ointment poured out. In the Gospel too, the woman taking an alabaster box of precious spikenard ointment poured it upon the head and feet of Jesus. Observe carefully what each of the two poured upon the head of the Savior.

For indeed the sinner is shown to have poured it upon his feet, and she who is not called a sinner is shown to have poured it upon his head. Observe, I say, and you will find in the Gospel reading not fables and narratives written by the Evangelists, but mysteries recorded. The house therefore was filled with the odor of the ointment, if what the sinner had is to be referred to the feet, and what she who was not a sinner had, to the head. Nor is it strange that the house was filled with odor, since the world is filled with this. In the same place there is written about Simon the leper and his house. I think that the leper signifies the prince of this world, and that this leper is called Simon, whose house at the coming of Christ was filled with a sweet odor, the sinner performing penance, and the holy woman pouring the odors of ointment upon the head of Jesus.

Ointment poured out is thy name. As ointment, by its pouring out, spreads its odor far and wide, so has the name of Christ been poured out. In the whole earth Christ is named, in the whole world the Lord is proclaimed. For his name is ointment poured out. Now the name of Moses is heard, which before was enclosed within the narrow bounds of Judea alone. For none of the Greeks made mention of him, nor do we find anything written of him or of the others in the literary history of any nation. As soon as Jesus shone forth in the world, he brought forth with him the Law and the Prophets, and truly is fulfilled: Ointment poured out is thy name. Therefore the young maidens have loved thee. Since through the Holy Spirit the love of God has been poured out into our hearts, fittingly the name of pouring-out is introduced: Ointment poured out is thy name. Saying this, the bride beholds the young maidens.

When she was asking the Father of the bridegroom, and speaking directly to the bridegroom himself, the young maidens were not yet present. But in the midst of her prayers the choir of young maidens enters, and is praised in words to the bride: Therefore the young maidens have loved thee, and drawn thee. And the maidens answer: We will run after thee to the odor of thy unguents. How fittingly the handmaids of the bridegroom do not yet have the confidence of the bride! The bride does not follow behind, but walks joined at his side. She takes hold of the right hand of the bridegroom, and his hand is held by the bridegroom's right hand. But the handmaids enter behind him. There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and young maidens without number. One is my dove, my perfect one; she is the only one of her mother, the chosen one of her that bore her. We will run after thee therefore to the odor of thy unguents.

To those walking with all propriety it is said: We will run after thee to the odor of thy unguents, according to that saying: I have finished my course; and that: They that run in a race all run, but one receives the prize. The prize is Christ, and these young maidens, whom we know to stand outside on account of the beginning of love, according to that example: But the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy because of the bridegroom's voice, endure something of this sort. When the bridegroom enters, they remain outside; but the bride, beautiful, perfect, without spot, without wrinkle, having entered into the chamber of the bridegroom, into the royal inner room, returns to the young maidens, and announces to them what she alone had beheld, and says.

The king has brought me into his chamber. She does not say, he has brought us, many, into his chamber. Many remain outside; the bride alone enters into the chamber, that she may see the dark and hidden treasures, and report to the young maidens: The king has brought me into his chamber. Again the young maidens, that is, the very numerous crowd of beginning brides, when the bride has entered the chamber of the bridegroom, and seeing the riches of her husband, while they await his coming, joyfully conclude: We will exult and be glad in thee. They rejoice at the perfection of the bride. There is no rivalry in the virtues. This love is pure, this love is without fault. We will exult and be glad in thee: we will love thy breasts. She who is greater already enjoys the milk of thy breasts, and speaks exulting: Thy breasts are better than wine. But these, who bring exultation and gladness, being indeed young maidens, bring love, and say: We will exult and be glad in thee.

We will love—not, we love—but we will love thy breasts more than wine. Then they speak to the bride: Uprightness has loved thee. They praise the bride, giving her the name of uprightness from her own virtues: Uprightness has loved thee. Again the bride answers the young maidens: I am black, and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Do not look upon me, because I am blackened, because the sun has looked down upon me. She is indeed beautiful, and I can find how the bride is beautiful. But we ask, how is she beautiful though black and without brightness. She has done penance for her sins; conversion has given her beauty, and therefore she is called beautiful. But because she has not yet been cleansed of every stain of sin, has not yet been washed in salvation, she is called black; but she does not remain in that dark color.

For she becomes white, when she rises to greater things, and begins from humble beginnings to ascend to the heights, and it is said of her: Who is this that ascends made white? And to describe more manifestly the mystery of the perfect one, it does not say, as is read in many manuscripts: Leaning upon her cousin, that is, ἐπιστηριζομένη; but ἐπιστηθιζομένη, that is, reclining upon his breast. And significantly it is said of the soul of the bride and of the word, reclining upon his breast: because there the principal seat of our heart is. Whence, withdrawing from carnal things, we ought to perceive spiritual things, and understand that it is much better so to love, than to cease from loving. She ascends therefore reclining upon the breast of her cousin, and she who now at the beginning of the Song is set down as black, at the end of the marriage song is sung of thus: Who is this that ascends made white? We understand how the bride is both black and beautiful.

But if you also have not done penance, beware lest your soul be called black, and foul, and be disfigured with a double ugliness: black on account of past sins, foul because you persevere in the same vices. But if you have done penance, your soul will be black on account of former sins, yet on account of penance it will have something, so to speak, of Ethiopian beauty. And since I have once named the Ethiopian, I wish to summon Scripture as witness upon this saying. Aaron and Mary murmur because Moses has taken an Ethiopian wife. And now Moses takes an Ethiopian wife. For indeed his law has migrated to this our Ethiopian woman. Let Aaron murmur, the priesthood of the Jews; let Mary also murmur, their Synagogue: Moses cares not for the murmuring; he loves his Ethiopian woman, of whom also elsewhere it is said through the Prophet: From the uttermost parts of the rivers of Ethiopia they shall bring offerings; and again: Ethiopia shall come with hands outstretched to God.

Beautifully, “shall come before.” For as in the Gospel that woman who had an issue of blood came before the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue in her healing: so Ethiopia, while Israel was sick, was healed. By their offense, salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to emulation. I am black, and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem. And you too, O ecclesiastical soul, turn your speech to the daughters of Jerusalem, and say: The bridegroom loves me more, he loves me more than you, who are many daughters of Israel. You stand outside, and see the bride entering the chamber. Let no one doubt that she who is called black is beautiful in her blackness. Who are we, that we should know God, that we should proclaim the Song of Songs, that we should come from the borders of Ethiopia, from the ends of the earth, to hear the wisdom of the true Solomon?

And when the voice of the Savior is heard thundering: The queen of the South shall come in judgment, and shall condemn the men of this generation, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here: hear the mystical things that are said. The Queen of the South comes from the ends of the earth, the Church: and she condemns the men of this generation, that is, the Jews given over to flesh and blood. She comes from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, not of him who is proclaimed in the Old Testament, but of him who in the Gospel is greater than Solomon. I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem: black like the tents of Cedar; beautiful, like the curtains of Solomon. For she answers to both: I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the curtains of Solomon. The very names too agree with the beauty of the bride.

The Hebrews say that Cedar is interpreted “darkness.” I am black, then, as the tents of Cedar, as the Ethiopians; beautiful, as the curtains of Solomon, which at that time he set up as ornament of the tabernacle, when he built the temple with the utmost zeal and labor. For Solomon was rich, and in all his wisdom none surpassed him. As one of these, I am black, and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Do not look upon me, because I am blackened. She has given account of her blackness, and, turned by penance to better things, announces to the daughters of Jerusalem that she is indeed black, but beautiful, according to what we have explained above, and says: do not look upon me, because I am blackened. Do not, she says, marvel that I am of a dark color: the sun has looked down upon me, for indeed with the full ray of its light its brightness has shone upon me, and I am darkened by its heat.

For I did not receive its light in myself as was fitting, as the dignity of the sun required. By their offense salvation has come to the Gentiles, and again by the unbelief of the Gentiles, the knowledge of Israel. You have both in the Apostle.

The sons of my mother have fought against me. It must be considered how the bride says: The sons of my mother have fought against me. And when did the fight of the brothers arise against her? Behold Paul, the persecutor of the Church: and you will understand how a son of her mother fought against her. The persecutors of the Church did penance, and her adversaries, turning back again to their sister’s standards, preached the faith which before they were destroying. Singing now in this prophetic spirit, the bride says: They fought against me, they set me as keeper in the vineyards: my own vineyard I have not kept. I, the Church, I, the bride, I, without stain, am set as keeper of very many vineyards by the sons of my mother, who once fought against me. And I, occupied with anxious care, while I keep many vineyards, have not kept my own vineyard.

Understand this of Paul and of any other of the saints who is anxious for the salvation of all: and you will see how, while not keeping his own vineyard, he keeps the vineyards of others. How also, that he might gain others, he himself in some things sustained loss. And though he was free from all, he made himself a servant, that he might gain all: Made weak to the weak, a Jew to the Jews: to those who were under the Law, as under the Law, and so forth; and he says, my own vineyard I have not kept. Then she beholds the bridegroom, who, being beheld, withdrew. And this she does frequently throughout the whole song, which no one can understand unless he himself has experienced it. Often, God is witness, I have seen the bridegroom drawing near, and have had him with me for a very long time: and when he suddenly withdrew, I could not find what I was seeking.

Again therefore I desire his coming, and sometimes he comes again; and when he has appeared and been seized by my hands, again he slips away; and when he has slipped away, again he is sought by me: and this I do repeatedly, until I truly hold him, and ascend leaning upon my cousin.

Tell me, whom my soul has loved, where you feed, where you lie down at noon. I do not ask about other times—when at evening, when at dawn, when at the setting of the sun you feed: I ask about that time when, in the flowering of day, when in full light, you dwell in the splendor of your majesty. Observe diligently wherever you read of noon. With Joseph, the brothers hold a meal at noon. The angels are received in hospitality by Abraham at noon, and other such instances. Search, and you will find that divine Scripture uses no word in vain or by chance. Who, do you think, among us is worthy to arrive even at noon, and see where the bridegroom feeds, where he lies down? For unless you tell me, I begin to be tossed about, wandering; and while I seek you, I run into the flocks of others; and because I am ashamed before others, I begin to cover my face and mouth.

For I am indeed a beautiful bride, and I do not show my bare face to others, but to you alone, whom I have long since kissed. Tell me, whom my soul has loved, where you feed, where you lie down at noon; lest I become as one covered, wandering among the flocks of your companions. That I may not suffer this, that I may not become covered, that I may not cover my face, and, reaching even to others, perhaps begin to love those whom I do not know: therefore tell me where I may seek you and find you at noon, lest perhaps I become as one covered among the flocks of your companions. After these words the bridegroom warns her, and says: Either you know yourself, that you are the queen’s bride, and beautiful, and made beautiful by me: since I have presented to myself a glorious Church, not having spot nor wrinkle; or else know, that if you do not know yourself, and know your own dignity, you will suffer the things that follow.

What are these? If you do not know yourself, O beautiful one among women, go forth in the footsteps of the flocks, and feed—not the flocks of sheep, not of lambs—but your own kids. For he will set the sheep on the right hand, and the kids on the left.

If you do not know yourself, O beautiful one among women, go forth in the footsteps of the flocks, and feed your kids in the tents of the shepherds. In the footsteps, he says, of the shepherds you shall become last; not among the sheep, but among your kids, dwelling with whom you will not be able to be with me, that is, with the good shepherd. I have compared you, my love, to my company of horsemen in Pharaoh’s chariots. If you wish to understand, O bride, how you ought to know yourself, learn to whom I have compared you, and now you will see that you are such that you ought not to be shamed, when you have known your own beauty. What then is it? I have compared you to my company of horsemen in Pharaoh’s chariots. I know the bridegroom as a rider, the prophet saying: And his riding is salvation. You have been compared, then, to my company of horsemen in Pharaoh’s chariots.

As much as my company of horsemen—I who am the Lord, and drown Pharaoh in the waves, and his crested warriors, and his riders, and his horses, and his chariots—as much, I say, as my company of horsemen differs from the horses of Pharaoh, by so much are you better than all the daughters, you the bride, you the churchly soul, better than all souls that are not of the Church. Therefore if you are a churchly soul, you are better than all souls; if you are not better, you are not churchly. I have compared you to my company of horsemen in Pharaoh’s chariots, my companion. Then he describes the beauty of the bride with spiritual love.

Your cheeks are as the turtledove’s. He praises her face, and is kindled by the redness of her cheeks. For the beauty of women is said to consist very much in the cheeks. So let us also understand the beauty of the soul in the cheeks. But her lips and tongue let us proclaim as understanding. Your neck is like an ornament. Like the ornament which is wont to hang from the neck of virgins, and is called ὁρμίσκος (a small necklace), so, without this adornment, your very neck itself is an ornament.

After this the bridegroom lies down to rest; he rested as a lion, as a lion’s whelp he fell asleep, so that afterward it may be said: Who shall rouse him up? While he sleeps meanwhile, the companions of the bridegroom, the angels, appear to the bride, and console her with these words. We cannot make golden ornaments for you: for we are not so rich as your bridegroom, who might bestow on you a golden necklace. We will make likenesses of gold; for we have no gold. And in this too there is cause for rejoicing, if we make likenesses of gold, if we make studs of silver. We will make you likenesses of gold, with studs of silver. But not for all time; only until your bridegroom rises from his resting-place.

For when he has risen, he himself will make you gold, he himself will make silver, he himself will adorn your mind and understanding, and you will be truly rich in the bridegroom’s house, a beautiful bride; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

All the motions of the soul, God the creator of the universe made for good; but through our misuse it often happens that things which are good by nature, while we abuse them wrongly, lead us into sins. One of the motions of the soul is love, which we use well for loving, if we love wisdom and truth. But when our love has fallen into worse things, we love flesh and blood. You, then, as a spiritual person, hear the words of love sung spiritually, and learn to transfer the motion of your soul and the fire of natural love to better things, according to this: Love her, and she will keep you; embrace her, and she will exalt you.

Husbands, love your wives, says the apostle; but he did not stop at what he had said: Husbands, love your wives: rather, knowing that the love of husbands, even for their own wives, could be dishonorable, knowing what pleases God, he taught how husbands ought to love their wives, adding: Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church. And these things we have said in the preface of what is to be discussed afterward.

Since the friends of the bridegroom, while the king is at his resting-place (for resting he fell asleep as a lion, and as a lion’s whelp), had promised the bride that, until he arose, they would make likenesses of gold and silver, not having gold as the bridegroom has; and since in a certain way the passion of the bridegroom was foretold in other words, the bride not unreasonably responds to these things, and herself, understanding a certain dispensation of the passion, in answer to what she had heard—We will make you likenesses of gold with studs of silver, while the king is at his resting-place—says: My nard gave forth its odor. A bundle of myrrh, that is, my cousin, is to me; he shall lodge between my breasts. How then shall we fit to what precedes—While the king is at his resting-place—what follows: My nard gave forth its odor?

The Gospel speaks, that a woman came having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, precious; not that sinful woman, but a holy one, of whom I now speak. For I know that Luke speaks of the sinful woman: but Matthew and John and Mark did not speak of the sinful woman. There came, then, not that sinful woman, but a holy one, whose name John also inserted; for it was Mary who had an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, precious, and poured it upon the head of Jesus. Then, when not all the disciples but Judas alone was indignant at this, saying: This might have been sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor, the Master and Savior answered: The poor you have always with you; but me you have not always. For in pouring this upon my body she has done it beforehand for my burial. Therefore, wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached, it shall be told also what she has done, in memory of her.

In the figure, then, of her who now speaks—My nard gave forth its odor—that woman poured ointment upon the head of the Lord; you too, therefore, take up nard, so that after you have poured a sweet odor upon the head of Jesus, you may boldly say: My nard gave forth its odor, and hear from Jesus the answering word: That wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, it shall be told also what she has done, in memory of her. Your deed too shall be proclaimed among all nations. But when will you do this? If you become like the apostle, and say: We are the good odor of Christ to God in every place, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: your good works are nard. But if you sin, your sins will give off a foul odor. For the penitent says: My sores have festered and become corrupt, because of my foolishness.

It is not concerning ordinary nard that the Holy Spirit is now proposing to speak, nor of that ointment which we behold with our eyes that the Evangelist writes; but of spiritual nard, of the nard which gave forth its odor.

A bundle of stacte, that is, of myrrh, or of a drop, is my cousin to me. We read in Exodus of a drop of ointment, of cassia, of galbanum, compounded by the Lord’s command into incense, that is, into the priestly chrism. If, then, you see my Savior descending to earthly or lowly things, you will see how, out of great virtue and divine majesty, a certain small drop has flowed down to us. Of this drop the Prophet also sang, saying: And it shall come to pass, from the drop of this people Jacob shall be gathered together and shall be gathered.

And just as, according to another sense, the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands—our Savior’s coming in the flesh: for it was not the whole mountain that came down to earth, nor could human frailty contain the greatness of the whole mountain: but a stone from the mountain, a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, came down into the world—so, according to another understanding, it is called a drop. For it was fitting, since all the nations are reckoned as a drop of a bucket, that he who was made all things for the salvation of all should also become a drop, to set them free. For what has he not become, for our salvation? We were emptied out: and he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.

We are a foolish and unwise people; and he became the foolishness of preaching, that the foolishness of God might be made wiser than men. We are weak: the weakness of God has been made stronger than men. Since therefore all the nations were reckoned as a drop of a bucket, and as the tilt of a balance; therefore he became a drop, that through him the odor of a drop might go forth from our garments, according to that saying: Myrrh, and stacte, and cassia from thy garments, out of the ivory houses, from which the daughters of kings have made thee glad in thy honor, which are spoken in the forty-fourth psalm to the bride. A bundle of stacte is my cousin to me. Let us consider what the Church wishes to signify by the name of cousin, she who says this concerning the cousin; we are those gathered from the Gentiles. Our Savior is the son of her sister, that is, of the Synagogue.

For there are two sisters, the Church and the Synagogue; the Savior, therefore, as we have said, being the son of the sister Synagogue, the husband of the Church, the bridegroom of the Church, is the cousin of his own bride: A bundle of stacte is my cousin to me, he shall lie between my breasts. Who is so blessed as to have as a guest, in the ruling part ἡγεμονικῷ of the heart, in the midst of the breasts, in his own bosom, the Word of God? For such is that which is sung: He shall lie between my breasts. If thy breasts have not been broken, the divine word will dwell between them. It was fitting in the nuptial song that breasts rather than the chest should be named. And it is clear why, for the exposition of that which she says: He shall lie between my breasts, this is taken up: if thy breasts have not been broken, the divine word will dwell between thy breasts. Whence did I say, if thy breasts have not been broken?

From Ezekiel. For in that place, where Jerusalem is rebuked by the voice of the Lord, among other things it is said to her: In Egypt thy breasts were broken. The breasts of the chaste are not broken: but the breasts of harlots are wrinkled with loose skin. The breasts of the modest are upright, and swelling with virginal firmness. They receive the word of the bridegroom, and say: He shall lie between my breasts.

A cluster of cypress is my cousin to me. This is the beginning of discourse in the word, and the beginning of Cyprus, that is, of flowering in the bud, whence he says: A cluster of Cyprus, that is, of flowering, is my cousin to me. Not to all is he a cluster of Cyprus: but to those who are worthy of its flower. To others the grape is variegated: to this one alone, which is black and beautiful, it presents itself in the beauty of a flower. A cluster of Cyprus is my cousin to me. He does not say simply, A cluster of Cyprus is my cousin: but with the addition, to me, that he might teach that he is not to all a cluster of Cyprus. Let us see, moreover, Christ: who, because he assumed a body from Adam, who before had clung to the devil through vices, was born of the Virgin, that he might separate man from the mountain, that is, from the devil.

In what regions this cluster of the bride is. In the vineyards of Engaddi, which is interpreted, the eye of temptation. In the vineyards, therefore, of the eye of temptation, A cluster of Cyprus is my cousin to me. The eye of temptation is in the present. For indeed we abide in temptation in this world: and the life of man upon earth is a temptation. While we are engaged in this light, we are in the vineyards of Engaddi. But if we shall have deserved afterward to be transplanted, we shall be transferred by our own husbandman. Do not doubt that you can be transferred from the vineyards of Engaddi to better places. Our husbandman has already, by frequent practice, become skilled at transferring the vine. For thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt, thou hast cast out the nations, and planted it. Its shadow covered the mountains, and its boughs the cedars of God.

And these things, indeed, which we have expounded, the bride spoke concerning the bridegroom, signifying her love, and the lodging of the bridegroom when he comes, how, between her breasts, and in the secret place of her heart, the bridegroom, when he comes, may dwell. Again the bridegroom's discourse is directed to her, and he says: Behold thou art fair, my love, behold thou art fair, thy eyes are doves' eyes. She thus says to the bridegroom: Behold my cousin is fair, she does not add, and my love. But he, when he speaks to her: Behold thou art fair, adds, and my love. Why then does she not say: Behold he is fair, my love: but only, behold he is fair? Why does he not say only, thou art fair: but, thou art fair, my love? The bride, if she be far from the bridegroom, is not fair: then she becomes beautiful, when she is joined to the Word of God.

And rightly is she now taught by the bridegroom, that she be near, and not depart from his side. Behold thou art fair, my love, behold thou art fair. Thou dost indeed begin to be fair, from the fact that thou art near to me. But after thou hast begun to be fair, even without the addition of "near," thou art fair absolutely. Let us see also another praise of the fair one, that we too may strive to become the bride's. Thy eyes are doves' eyes. Whoever has looked upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart: he does not have the eyes of a dove. But if anyone does not have the eyes of a dove, he enters unhappily into his brother's house, not keeping that which is commanded in Proverbs: Enter not unhappily into thy brother's house. But whoever has the eyes of a dove sees right things, and merits mercy. For one seeing right things shall obtain mercy.

But who sees right things, except one who beholds with a chaste and pure gaze? Do not understand what has been said only of these eyes of flesh, though it is not unprofitable to have understood it of these also: but entering into the interior of your heart, and seeking with the mind other eyes, which are also illuminated by the commandment of God: For the commandment of God is a light enlightening the eyes: strive for this, labor, contend, that you may understand holily all things that have been said, and hear things like them from the Spirit, who descended in the form of a dove, because thy eyes are doves' eyes. If you understand the Law spiritually, your eyes are doves' eyes.

If you understand the Gospel, as the Gospel wishes itself to be understood and preached: you see Jesus, having healed every sickness and infirmity, not only at that time when these things were done in the flesh: but healing today too; and not only having descended to men then: but descending today too, and being present; For behold, he says, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world: thy eyes are doves' eyes: Behold thou art fair, my love, behold thou art fair: thy eyes are doves' eyes. Hearing these praises of herself, the bride returns the like in praises to the bridegroom: not that she bestows upon him by her own proclamation what he does not have: but understanding and beholding his beauty, she says: Behold my cousin is fair. Indeed handsome. Our bed is shaded. I seek the bed, in which the bridegroom rests with the bride, and, if I am not mistaken, it is the human body.

For that paralytic in the Gospel who lay on a bed: and was bidden by the voice of the Savior to go into his house, his pallet having been taken up, before he was healed, lay upon the feeble body of his own members, which afterward was made solid by the power of God. So then I understand it: Take up thy pallet, and go into thy house. For the Son of God had not descended from the heavens to earth for this, that he might give commands concerning beds, and not allow one rising from his sickness to depart without his bed. Take up, he says, thy pallet, and go into thy house. You too, therefore, healed by the Savior, take up your pallet, and go into your house, so that when the bridegroom comes to you the bride, and has reclined with you in it, you may say: Behold my cousin is fair: indeed handsome. Our reclining place is shaded. Behold my cousin is fair, he himself is both fair and shady.

For by day the sun shall not burn thee, nor the moon by night. The beams of our houses are of cedar. These are the words of a multitude. It seems to me that these are the words of the men who are with the bridegroom, of whom mention was made above, of houses woven together with cedar beams, and paneled with cypress. For instead of the styrax the cypress grows up, and instead of the fleabane the myrtle grows up. Seeking, therefore, of what nature these woods are, and finding the cedar incorruptible, and the cypress of the best fragrance, labor you too to panel your house in such a way, that of you too it may be said: The beams of our houses are cedar, and our panelings are cypress. After these things the bridegroom speaks.

I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys. For my sake, who was in the valley, he descended into the valley, and coming into the valley, becomes a lily. In place of the tree of life, which was planted in the paradise of God, he has become the flower of the whole field, that is, of the whole world and of all the earth. For what can so be the flower of the world, as the name of Christ? Ointment poured out is his name. Otherwise: By him it is said: I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys. And these things indeed he says of himself. Then, praising the bride, he says: As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the lily cannot be compared to the thorns, among which it always arises: in the same way my love, above all the daughters, is a lily in the midst of thorns.

Hearing these things, the bride returns the like to the bridegroom, and perceiving also his sweetness, breaks out into a voice of praise. For the odor of ointments, although it breathes sweetly, and soothes the sense with its fragrance: is nevertheless not of such a kind as to be sweet for eating. But there is something which is of the best both of taste and of odor, that is, which both delights the palate with sweetness, and soothes the spirit with fragrance. Such is the apple, of such a nature as to possess both in itself. Therefore, wishing to praise not only the kindness of his speech, but also its sweetness, the bride says: As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my cousin among the sons. All the trees, all the woods, in comparison to the Word of God, are considered barren forests. Whatever you say is but a forest compared to Christ: and all things are unfruitful. For what can be said to be fruitful, compared to him?

Even the trees which seemed to be bent down with fruits, are shown, at the comparison of his coming, to be unfruitful. Therefore, as the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my cousin among the sons. I sat down under his shadow, whom I desired. How beautifully she does not say, in his shadow I desire, but, in his shadow I desired: and not, I sit, but, I sat. For in the beginning we cannot hold direct converse with him: but in the beginning, so to speak, we enjoy a certain shadow of his majesty. Whence also it is read in the Prophets: The Spirit before our face is Christ the Lord, to whom we have said: Under his shadow we shall live among the nations; and we pass over from shadow to another shadow. For to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, light has arisen. And we pass over from the shadow of death to the shadow of life.

Such are always the stages of progress, that at the outset one might desire at least to abide in the shadow of the virtues. I think that for this reason the birth of Jesus also began from a shadow, and was completed not in shadow, but in truth. The Holy Spirit, it says, shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. The birth of Christ took its beginning from a shadow. But not only in Mary did the birth from his shadow begin, but in you too, if you shall have been worthy, the Word of God is born. Do, therefore, so that you may be able to receive his shadow, and when you have been made worthy of the shadow, may his body come to you, so to speak, from which the shadow is born. For he who is faithful in a small matter, will be faithful also in greater ones.

You see, that she did not always stand in the shadow, but passed from there to better things, saying: And his fruit was sweet to my throat. I, she says, desired to rest in his shadow; but after his shadow had protected me, I was also filled with his fruit, and I say: And his fruit is sweet to my throat.

Bring me into the house of wine. The bridegroom stood outside, and was received by the bride: for in the midst of her breasts he rested. The neighboring young maidens are not of such a kind that they should deserve to have the bridegroom as their guest. To the multitude outside he speaks in parables. How I fear lest perhaps we ourselves be many of those young maidens. Why do I remain so long outside? Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens to me, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Bring me in. And now the divine word says the same thing: Behold Christ speaks, bring me in. To you also, catechumens, he speaks, bring me in, not simply into the house, but into the house of wine. Let your soul be filled with the wine of gladness, with the wine of the Holy Spirit. And thus bring into your house the bridegroom, the Word, the Wisdom, the Truth.

But it can also be said to those who are not yet perfect: Bring me into the house of wine. Order charity in me. He spoke elegantly, order. For the charity of most is disordered: what they ought to love in the first place, they love in the second; what they ought to love in the second, they love in the first; and what ought to be loved in the fourth place, they love in the third; and again the third in the fourth, and in very many the order of charity is perverse. But the charity of the saints is ordered. I wish, in order to understand what has been said, order charity in me, to review some examples. The divine word wishes you to love father, son, daughter; the divine word wishes you to love Christ. Nor does it say to you, do not love your children, do not be joined to your parents by charity. But what does it say?

Do not have disordered charity, lest you love father or mother first, and then me: lest you be held by greater charity for son and daughter than for me. He who loves father or mother above me, is not worthy of me: he who loves son or daughter above me, is not worthy of me. Search your conscience concerning your affection for father, mother, or brother, and consider what kind of charity you have regarding the word of God and Jesus: you will at once discover that you love your son and daughter more than the Word, that you love your parents more than Christ. Who among us, do you think, so advances that he holds the chief and first charity among all things for the words of God, who yet places his children in the second place? In this same manner, love your wife. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but loves it as flesh. And they shall be, it says, two in one flesh, and not in one spirit.

Love God also; but love him not as flesh and blood, but as spirit. For he who cleaves to God is one spirit. Therefore charity is ordered in the perfect. But that after God an order also be established among ourselves, the first commandment is that we love our parents; the second, our children; the third, our household. But if the son is bad and the servant good, let the servant be placed in the love of a son. And so it will come to pass that the charity of the saints is ordered. Our Master and Lord also, in the Gospel, establishing precepts concerning charity, added something proper to the love owed to each, and gave understanding of the order to those who are able to hear the Scripture saying: Order charity in me. You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole mind, and with your whole soul, and with your whole strength.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself: not your neighbor with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, and your whole mind. Again, it says: Love your enemies: and it did not add, with your whole heart. The divine word is not disordered, nor does it command impossible things, nor does it say: love your enemies as yourselves; but only, love your enemies; it is enough for them that we love them and do not hold them in hatred. But your neighbor, as yourself. And further, God with your whole heart, and your whole soul, and your whole mind, and your whole strength. If you have understood these things, and having understood have fulfilled them, you have done what is commanded by the word of the bridegroom: Bring me into the house of wine, order charity in me. Who among us, do you think, has ordered charity? Confirm me with ointments. One of the Interpreters rendered oinanthōn.

Now this is the bride who speaks: Prop me up with apples. Among what apples? As the apple among the trees of the wood, so is my cousin among the sons. Therefore prop me up with his apples: because I am one wounded by love. How beautiful, how comely it is to receive a wound from charity! Another has received the dart of carnal love, another has been wounded by earthly desire: you, bare your limbs, and offer yourself to the chosen dart, the beautiful dart: since indeed God is an archer. Hear the Scripture speaking of this same dart; nay, that you may marvel even more, hear the dart itself speak. He has made me as a chosen arrow, and in his quiver he has kept me, and he said to me: It is a great thing for you, to be called my servant. Understand what the arrow says, and how it was chosen by God. How blessed it is to be wounded by this dart!

By this arrow those were wounded who were conferring with one another, saying: Was not our heart burning within us on the way, while he opened the Scriptures to us? If anyone is wounded by our discourse, if anyone by the teaching of divine Scripture, and can say, because I am one wounded by love: perhaps this also follows for him. Why do I say perhaps? I bring forth a clear statement: His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me. The word of God has wisdom both in the left hand and in the right, which, though it is manifold according to the variety of understanding, is one in its underlying reality. Solomon himself taught concerning the left hand and the right hand of wisdom, saying: For length of days and years of life are in her right hand: but in her left hand are riches and glory.

Therefore his left hand is under my head, that he may make me rest, and let the bridegroom's arm become my pillow, let the ruling faculty (hēgemonikon) of the soul recline upon the word of God. His left hand is under my head. It is not expedient for you to have pillows, which lamentation follows. It is written in Ezekiel: Woe to those who sew pillows under every elbow of the hand. Do not sew pillows, do not seek rest for your head from elsewhere: you have the left hand of the bridegroom; let it be under your head, and say: His left hand is under my head; and when you have this, all things that are in the left hand are granted to you. For you say, in her left hand are riches and glory, and his right hand shall embrace me. Let the right hand of the bridegroom embrace you wholly.

For length of days and years of life are in his right hand: and for this reason you shall be of long life, and of many days upon the good land, which the Lord your God gives you. I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the strengths of the field. Why does the bride adjure the daughters of Jerusalem? If you shall raise up and awaken love. As long as love sleeps in you, O daughters of Jerusalem, O young maidens, which does not sleep in me, because I am wounded with love? But in you, who are the more numerous, both young maidens and daughters of Jerusalem, the love of the bridegroom sleeps. I adjure you therefore, daughters of Jerusalem, if you shall raise up, and not only raise up, but also awaken, the love that is in you. The Creator of the universe, when he formed you, implanted in your hearts the seeds of love.

But now, as it is said elsewhere: Justice has slept in her, so love slumbers in you: according to what is also said elsewhere, The bridegroom has rested like a lion, and like a lion's cub. Still, in unbelievers and in those who are of doubtful heart, the divine word slumbers: it is awake in the saints. It slumbers in those who are tossed by storms; but it is roused by the voices of those who desire, while the bridegroom watches, to be saved. At once, while he is awake, there is calm; at once the masses of the waves grow quiet, the contrary winds are rebuked, the rage of the waves falls silent. While he sleeps, there is tempest, death, and despair. Therefore I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the strengths of the field. Of what field? Surely of that one, whose scent is the scent of a full field, which the Lord has blessed.

If you have raised up and stirred up love: until the voice of my cousin shall wish. Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains. The Church still speaks this, exhorting the young maidens, that they may be prepared for the coming of the bridegroom: if indeed he shall be willing to come, and to grant them his converse. While she is still speaking thus, the bridegroom comes, whom she points out with her finger, and says: Behold, he comes here leaping upon the mountains. Understand the bride to be the blessed and perfect soul, which the more quickly sees, the more quickly contemplates the coming of the word, which perceives that wisdom, that love, has come to her, and says to those who do not see: Behold, he comes here. Pray that I also may be able to say: Behold, he comes here. For if I shall be able to expound the word of God, in some manner I too say: Behold, he comes here. Where? Certainly not where the valley is, not where the low places are.

Where does he come? Leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills. If you shall be a mountain, the word of God leaps in you. If you shall not be able to be a mountain, but shall be a hill second to a mountain, he will bound over you. How beautiful and fitting are the words to the realities. He leaps upon the mountains, because they are greater; he bounds over the hills, because they are lesser. He does not bound over mountains, he does not leap over hills. Behold, he comes here leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills. My cousin is like a roe, or a fawn of the stags, upon the mountains of Bethel. These two animals are more frequently named in the Scriptures, and—that you may wonder the more—they are often placed joined together. And these, it says, are what you shall eat, bringing in a little afterward the roe and the stag. In the present book also the stag and the roe are named together.

For in a certain way these animals are akin and neighboring to one another. The roe, that is, the dorcas, sees most keenly. The stag is a killer of serpents. Who, do you think, among us is worthy, who according to the dignity of the place and the mystery, may be able to unfold the full account? Let us pray the Lord that he may grant us understanding to open the Scriptures, and that we may be able to say: How did Jesus open the Scriptures to us? What then do we say: that the dorcas, that is, the roe, according to the natural science of those who discourse on the natures of all animals, received its name from a power innate to it? For from the fact that it sees more sharply, that is, ὀξυδερκέστερον, it is called dorcas. But the stag is the enemy and vanquisher of serpents, so that by the breath of its nostrils it draws them out of their caves, and, having overcome the deadliness of their venom, delights in feeding on them.

Perhaps my Savior becomes a roe according to θεωρία (contemplation): a stag according to works. What are these works? He himself kills serpents, when he slays the hostile powers. Therefore I will say to him: You have crushed the heads of the dragons upon the water. My cousin is like a roe or a fawn of the stags upon the mountains of the house of God. For Bethel is interpreted, house of God. Not all mountains are the house of God: but those which are the mountains of the Church. For there are found also other mountains, raised up and rising against the knowledge of God, the mountains of the Egyptians, and of the Allophyli. Do you wish to know that my cousin is like a roe, or a fawn of the stags upon the mountains of Bethel? Be a mountain of the Church, a mountain of the house of God: and the bridegroom will come to you, like a roe or a fawn of the stags, upon the mountains of Bethel.

She perceives that the bridegroom has drawn nearer, he who before was upon the mountains and hills: she likens him, bounding and leaping, and after this, recognizing that he has come to her, and to the other maidens, she says: Behold, he is here behind our wall. If you shall build a wall, and make an edifice of God, he will come behind your wall, looking through the windows. One window is one sense: through this the bridegroom looks. Another window is another sense: and through this the bridegroom gazes attentively. For through what senses does the word of God not look? But what it is to look through windows, and how the bridegroom looks through them, the following example will teach. Where the bridegroom does not look, there death is found ascending, as we read in Jeremiah. Behold, death has ascended through your windows. When you see a woman so as to lust after her, already death ascends through your windows. Standing forth through the nets.

Understand that you walk in the midst of snares, and pass beneath overhanging devices. All things are full of nets: the devil has filled everything with snares. But if the word of God shall come to you, and shall begin to stand forth from the nets, saying: Our soul as a sparrow has been snatched from the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are set free. Blessed are we by the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The bridegroom therefore stands forth through the nets, making a way for you. Jesus descended to the earth, subjected himself to the nets of the world. Seeing the great flock of men entangled in nets, and that it could not be torn apart by any other but himself, he came to the nets, taking up a human body, which was held by the snares of the hostile powers; he tore them apart for you, and you say: Behold, he is here behind our wall, looking through the windows, standing forth through the nets.

When he has stood forth, he says to you: My cousin answers and says: Rise up, come, my neighbor: I have made a way for you, I have torn apart the nets: thus he comes to me, my neighbor: Rise up, come, my neighbor, my beautiful one, my dove. Why does he say, Rise up? Why hasten? I have endured for you the fury of the storms; I have received the waves which were due to you. My soul has become sorrowful even unto death because of you. I have risen from the dead, the stings of death broken, and the chains of hell loosed, and therefore I say to you: Rise up, come, my neighbor, my beautiful one, my dove: for behold, the winter has passed, the rain has gone away, flowers have appeared on the earth. I, rising from the dead, the storm having subsided, restored tranquility.

And because according to the dispensation of the flesh, from the Virgin, and by the will of the Father, I grew, and advanced in wisdom and age, flowers have appeared on the earth, the time of pruning is at hand. Pruning is the remission of sins. For every branch, it says, abiding in me and bearing fruit, my Father cleanses, that it may bear more fruit. Have fruits, and the former things which are fruitless in you shall be taken away. For the time of pruning is at hand. The voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. Not without reason is a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons, taken up in sacrifices: for they are of equal worth, and it is never said separately, only a pair of pigeons; but a pair of turtledoves, and two young pigeons. The dove is the Holy Spirit.

But the Holy Spirit, when speaking of great and more hidden mysteries, and those which many cannot grasp, is signified under the name of the turtledove—that is, of that bird which always dwells on the ridges of mountains and the tops of trees; but in the valleys, and among those things which reach even unto men, the dove is taken up. Finally, the Savior, because he deigned to take up man, and came to the earth, and there were then many sinners around the Jordan: therefore the Holy Spirit is not turned into a turtledove, but becomes a dove. Among us, because of the multitude of men, the gentler bird dwells. But the turtledove seems, for example, to signify Moses and each of the prophets withdrawing into the mountains and deserts, and there receiving the words of God. Therefore the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree has put forth its green figs. Learn a parable from the fig tree.

When its branch has become tender, and has put forth leaves, know that summer is near. The word of God wishes to announce to us that, after winter, after storms, the harvest of souls has drawn near, and says: The fig tree has put forth its green figs, the vines are in blossom, they have given forth fragrance. If the vines are already bursting into blossom, the time will come, and there will be grapes. Rise up, come, my neighbor, my beautiful one, my dove. These things which we have expounded above, the bridegroom speaks, not with the maidens listening, but with the bride alone listening. But we wish now also to hear his own speech, as he speaks to the bride. Rise up, come, my neighbor, my dove, and come, my dove, under the covering of the rock. And Moses too is set under the covering of the rock, that he might see the hinder parts of God in the covering of the outer wall.

First come to that which is before the wall, and afterward you will be able to enter where the wall of the rock is. Show me your face. Up to the present day such things are said to the bride. For she did not yet have the confidence to behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled face. But because she is now adorned and composed, it is said to her: Show me your face. For her voice was not yet so sweet that she deserved to be told: Let me hear your voice. When then did she learn to speak? Be silent, then, and hear, O Israel: and you shall know what the Lord speaks. And her voice became sweet to the bridegroom, according to that prophetic word: Let my petition become sweet to him. Then the bridegroom says to her: And let me hear your voice: for your voice is sweet. If you shall open your mouth to the Word of God, the bridegroom will say to you: Your voice is sweet, your countenance is beautiful.

Wherefore, rising up, let us entreat the Lord, that we may be made worthy of the bridegroom's word, by the wisdom of Christ Jesus, to whom is glory and dominion for ages of ages. Amen.