Homilies on Ezekiel (Book One)

Homilies on Ezekiel

Gregory the Great

c. AD 540–604

Gregory preached these twenty-two homilies at Rome about AD 592 and 593, when Lombard armies stood outside the walls, and his friends asked him to write them down. The first book deals with the opening vision of Ezekiel and the second with the vision of the new temple.

Book One

Preface to Book One

To my most beloved brother, Bishop Marianus, Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God. The homilies which were taken down as I spoke them before the people on the blessed prophet Ezekiel, I had left in neglect due to the pressing of many cares. But after eight years, at the request of the brethren, I endeavored to seek out the notes of the secretaries, and running through them with the Lord's favor, I corrected them insofar as the constraints of tribulations permitted. Your dear self had asked that these be sent for you to read, but I thought it quite unsuitable that you should draw up contemptible water when it is well known that you constantly drink deep and clear streams from the torrents of the blessed Fathers Ambrose and Augustine. But then again, when I consider that often amid daily delicacies even coarser foods taste pleasant, I have sent these lesser things to one who reads better things, so that while the coarser food is taken as if out of weariness, one may return more eagerly to the more refined dishes.

Homily 1.1

Intending to speak about the prophet Ezekiel by the inspiration of Almighty God, I must first explain the times and modes of prophecy, so that when its approach is shown, its power may be better understood. The times of prophecy are three, namely past, present, and future. But it should be known that in two of these times prophecy loses its etymology. For since prophecy is so called because it predicts future things, when it speaks of the past or present, it loses the meaning of its name, since it does not reveal what is to come, but either recalls things that have passed, or things that are. Yet we speak more truly of these three times of prophecy if we demonstrate them from the testimonies of Sacred Scripture. Prophecy concerning the future is: "Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son. Prophecy concerning the past: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth. For a man spoke of that time in which there was no man. Prophecy concerning the present is when the Apostle Paul says: "But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believes not, or one unlearned, he is convinced by all, he is judged by all; for the secrets of his heart are made manifest, and so falling down on his face he will worship God, declaring that God is truly in you.

Therefore when it is said, "The secrets of his heart are made manifest," it is clearly shown that through this mode of prophecy the spirit does not predict what is to come, but reveals what is. But in what way is it called the spirit of prophecy, which indicates nothing future, but narrates the present? In this matter it must be noted that it is rightly called prophecy, not because it predicts things to come, but because it reveals hidden things. For just as times withdraw any matter from our eyes in the future, so a cause withdraws it from our eyes in the present. For a future thing is hidden in future time, but a present thought is concealed in the hidden heart. There is also present prophecy when any matter is hidden not by the mind, but by an absent place, which nevertheless is laid bare by the spirit. And there the mind of the one prophesying becomes present where the body is not present. For Gehazi had withdrawn far from the prophet when he was receiving the gifts of Naaman the Syrian, yet the same Prophet said to him: "Was not my heart present when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? It should also be known that the times of prophecy harmonize with one another for the purpose of confirmation, so that sometimes past events are proven from future ones, and sometimes future events are proven from past ones. For Moses had said: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth.

But who would believe that he spoke truly about the past if he had not also said something about the future? For at the end of the very book in whose beginning he had spoken those things about the past, he interspersed something of prophecy through the voice of Jacob concerning things to come, saying: "The scepter shall not be taken away from Judah, nor a ruler from his thigh, until he comes who is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of the nations. He also prophesied through himself about the one who was to be sent to the people whom he was leading, saying: "The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers; you shall listen to him as to me. Moreover, whoever will not listen to that prophet shall be cut off from his people. Why then did he intermingle future events with past ones, unless so that, when those things which he foretold about the future were fulfilled, he might show that he had also spoken truly about the past? Therefore, since we have taught how past things are proved from the prophecy of future things, it now remains for us to show further from the sacred scriptures how in the very spirit of prophecy future things are proved from past things.

Certainly the king of Babylon, when he had seen a dream, sent for the magicians and soothsayers, and summoned all the wise men of Babylon, and sought from them not only the interpretation of the dream, but also the dream itself, so that evidently from the past he might gather whether he could hold anything certain in their answers concerning the future. When they were utterly unable to tell it, Daniel was brought into their midst, who, when asked about both the interpretation of the dream and its narration, not only responded to what he was questioned about, but recounted the very origin of the dream, saying: "You, O king, began to think on your bed what would be hereafter. And a little later: "You, O king, were looking, and behold, as it were one great statue," and so forth. As soon as he told the sequence of this dream, he revealed whatever was to follow from it concerning the future. Let us therefore consider the order of prophecy. From thoughts he came to the dream, from the dream he arrived at future things. He who brought forth, so to speak, the very root of the dream, surely proved from past things how true were the things he would say concerning the future. But prophecy of the present time needs neither the attestation of the past nor of the future, because when a hidden thing is uncovered through the words of prophecy, the very thing which is shown attests to its truth.

Therefore, since we have treated of the times of prophecy, it remains for us to discuss something of its modes and qualities. For the spirit of prophecy does not touch the mind of the prophet always, nor in the same manner. For sometimes the spirit of prophecy touches the mind of the one prophesying from the present, and does not touch at all from the future; sometimes it touches from the future, and does not touch from the present. Sometimes indeed it touches from both the present and the future; but sometimes the mind of the one prophesying is touched equally from the past, and from the present, and from the future. Sometimes the spirit of prophecy touches from the past, and does not touch from the future; but sometimes it touches from the future, and does not touch from the past. Sometimes indeed it touches in part from the present, and in part does not touch; sometimes it touches in part from the future, and in part does not touch. But let us demonstrate these very things, if we can, with testimonies from sacred Scripture in the order in which they have been set forth. The spirit of prophecy touches the mind of the one prophesying from the present, but does not touch it from the future, just as John the Baptist, seeing the Lord coming, said: "Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. But when he was about to die, having sent his disciples, he inquired, saying:

"Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect another? In these words it is shown that he knew indeed that the Redeemer had come to earth, but he doubted whether he would descend by himself to open the gates of hell. For he had been touched from the present through the spirit of prophecy, who seeing the humanity of the Mediator and understanding his divinity, confessed him to be the Lamb who would take away the sins of the world; but he had not been touched from the future, because he did not know of his coming to hell. Sometimes the spirit of prophecy touches the mind of the prophet from the future, yet does not touch it from the present, as the history of the book of Genesis clearly testifies, when Isaac sent his son Esau to hunt, and Rebecca substituted the younger son for blessing, who, clothed in goatskins, feigned his brother's body to his father's touch. Isaac gave the blessing to the younger son as if to the elder, and announced to him things that would happen far in the future; but who it was standing before him, he could not know. Therefore the spirit of prophecy touched the mind of the prophet from the future, yet did not touch it from the present, when the father with dimming eyes both foretold things to come and did not recognize the son present before him.

Sometimes the spirit of prophecy touches the mind of the one prophesying equally from present and future matters, as we are clearly taught from the same book of Genesis. For in it is written that when Jacob was approaching the end of his life, he had the two sons of Joseph stand before him, so that they might obtain blessings for the distant future from his blessing, and Joseph placed the elder at his right hand and the younger at his left. But when Jacob, with eyes dimmed by old age, could by no means discern with human sight which of his grandsons was the firstborn and which was the younger, he crossed his arms and placed his right hand on the younger and his left hand on the elder. When his son wished to correct this, saying: "It is not fitting thus, father, for this one is the firstborn," he heard: "I know, my son, I know: and this one indeed shall become peoples and shall be multiplied, but his younger brother shall be greater than he. Therefore the spirit of prophecy touched the mind of the one prophesying equally from present and future matters, since Jacob both announced things to come and discerned through the spirit those placed before him whom he could not see with bodily eyes.

Thus the spirit of prophecy had touched the mind of the prophet Ahijah from present and future matters, when, with eyes dimmed, he both recognized her who was pretending to be another woman as the wife of Jeroboam, and revealed to her whatever was going to happen to her, saying: "Enter, wife of Jeroboam, why do you pretend to be another? But I have been sent to you as a harsh messenger. Go and say to Jeroboam: Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Because you have done evils above all who were before you, and have made for yourself foreign gods and molten images to provoke me to anger, and have cast me behind your back, therefore I will bring evils upon the house of Jeroboam. For the mind of the one prophesying had been touched equally from present and future matters, who was able both to detect her as she entered and to announce to her things to come. Sometimes, however, the mind of the one prophesying is touched equally by the past, the present, and the future, as when Elizabeth, seeing Mary come to her, recognized that she carried the incarnate Word in her womb, and called her the mother of her Lord, saying: "Whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Concerning whose conception it is also said to Joseph through the angel: "For that which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit. This same Elizabeth said:

"Blessed are you who believed, because those things which were spoken to you by the Lord shall be fulfilled. For by saying: "Blessed are you who believed," she openly indicates that she recognized through the Spirit the words of the angel which had been spoken to Mary; and by adding: "Those things which were spoken to you by the Lord shall be fulfilled," she foresaw what would also follow for her in the future. Therefore she was touched simultaneously by the past, present, and future through the spirit of prophecy, for she both recognized that Mary had believed the promises of the angel, and by calling her mother, understood that she carried the Redeemer of the human race in her womb; and when she predicted that all things would be fulfilled, she also perceived what would follow in the future. Sometimes the spirit of prophecy touches the mind concerning the past, but does not touch it concerning the future, as is clearly shown in the Apostle Paul, who says to his disciples: "I make known to you, brethren, the Gospel which was preached by me, that it is not according to man; for I neither received it from man, nor did I learn it, but through the revelation of Jesus Christ. Hence he also says to other disciples: "According to revelation the mystery was made known to me. Yet when he was going up to Jerusalem to preach this same Gospel which he had known through revelation, he says:

"Behold, I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what things shall happen to me there. For this is the mystery of the Gospel: that the Only-begotten of the Father was incarnate and made perfect man, who was crucified, dead, and buried, and rose again on the third day; and on the fortieth day ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. He who therefore knew the Gospel through revelation was touched by the spirit of prophecy concerning the past; but because he did not know what he would suffer for that same Gospel, he was without doubt not touched concerning the future. For he says thus: "Except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city, saying: Bonds and tribulations await me at Jerusalem," clearly showing that those things which were to happen to him had been revealed to others about him, but not to himself about himself, as it is said of him through Agabus: "The man whose belt this is must be thus bound in Jerusalem. But sometimes the spirit of prophecy touches from the future, yet does not touch from the past; as it is written concerning an act of Elisha, that when one of the sons of the prophets was cutting wood, the iron of his axe fell into the water, and he cried out: "Alas! Alas! My lord, and I had borrowed this very thing. But the man of God said: "Where did it fall? And he showed him the place.

So he cut a piece of wood and threw it there, and the iron floated. In this act of the prophet it is clearly recognized that he who asked where it had fallen knew what he was going to do; but nevertheless, since he asks, it is evident that he did not know where the iron had fallen. The spirit of prophecy, therefore, had touched Elisha's mind from the future, but was not touching from the past, since he was able to know that the iron submerged in the depths would be recalled to the surface; but where it had fallen he did not know at all. Sometimes the spirit of prophecy touches in part for the present and in part does not touch. The history of the apostle Peter testifies to this, when the soldiers sent to him from Cornelius were announced to him through the spirit; for it is written: "And the spirit said to him: Behold, three men seek you. He went down to them, and inquiring said: "What is the reason for which you have come? In these words it is shown that he had not heard through the spirit that same reason which he was asking from the soldiers. Therefore in the present the spirit had touched Peter's mind in part and in part had not touched it, since it both said that soldiers were present and was silent about the reason for which they had come. Sometimes the spirit of prophecy touches the mind partly concerning the future and partly does not touch it;

just as the sons of the prophets say to Elisha concerning the taking away of Elijah: "Do you know that today the Lord will take your master from you? Yet after he was taken away, they scattered themselves through various places and sought him in the rocks and valleys. Therefore the spirit of prophecy had partly touched their minds concerning the future and partly had not touched them, since they sought as not to be found the one whom they knew was to be taken away. And so they were partly touched and partly not touched, because they both knew that he could be taken away and did not know that he could not be found. Likewise Elisha himself was partly touched by the spirit of prophecy concerning the future and partly not touched, when he said to the king of Israel: "Strike the ground with an arrow. And when he had struck three times and stopped, the man of God was angry with him and said: "If you had struck five or six or seven times, you would have struck Syria even to its destruction; but now you will strike it three times.

He who knew that Syria would be struck as many times as he had struck the ground, yet when he said to him, "Strike the ground," did not know how many times he would strike it (since indeed he was indignant that the ground had been struck only three times)—it is certainly clear that he had been partly touched concerning the future and partly not touched, who predicted that Syria would be struck but wanted the ground to be struck more times. So Samuel, when he was being sent by the Lord to anoint David, answered: "How shall I go? For Saul will hear and will kill me. Yet he both anointed David and was not killed by Saul. Therefore the mind of the prophet had been partly touched concerning the future and partly not touched, who both knew that David was to be anointed as king and did not know that he would not be killed by Saul. It should also be known that some prophets indeed are touched from near at hand, and are by no means touched from afar; others truly from afar, and are not touched from near at hand; but others are touched by the spirit of prophecy both from afar and from near at hand. For some are touched from near at hand, and not from afar, just as Samuel knew that the donkeys had been lost, and announced that they had been found, and predicts that Saul would be the future king;

he also announces that David would succeed in his kingdom, but does not predict that he would be the father of the eternal King. But some are touched from afar, and are not touched from near at hand, just as the same David knew that the Only-Begotten of God was to become incarnate, saying concerning Judea: "A man was made in her, and the Most High himself founded her. And he understands that this one would ascend to the heavens and would sit at the right hand of the Father, saying: "The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand. And yet he did not foresee many things that were done nearby. For to speak of a few things out of many, he did not perceive the servant of Mephibosheth lying to him against his own master; and making a promise to Amasa, he says: "May God do this to me, and add this, if you will not be master of the army before me for all time in place of Joab," evidently not knowing what would follow, because that same Amasa would not only not receive the command of the army in place of Joab, but would also end his life through Joab a little later. And when he wanted to build a temple to God, not knowing what would follow close at hand, he sought another prophet. But certain ones are touched both from afar and from nearby, just as Isaiah announces things far in the future, saying:

"Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel. Of whom he again says: "A child is born to us, and a son is given to us; and the government is upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, Mighty, Father of the age to come, Prince of peace. His empire shall be multiplied, and of peace there shall be no end. He also, touched by the spirit of prophecy from nearby concerning King Hezekiah, predicted that he would rise from his illness, and announced how many years he would live after his illness. Sometimes, however, the spirit of prophecy is lacking to the prophets, nor is it always present to their minds, so that when they do not have it, they may recognize that they have it as a gift when they do have it. Hence Elisha, when he forbade his servant Gehazi to push away the weeping Shunammite woman from his feet, said: "Let her alone, for her soul is in bitterness, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not revealed it to me. Likewise, when Jehoshaphat inquired of him about future things, and the spirit of prophecy was lacking to him, he had a psaltery brought, so that the spirit of prophecy might descend upon him through the praise of psalmody and fill his mind concerning things to come.

For the voice of psalmody, when it is performed with intention of heart, through it a way is prepared to the heart for the almighty Lord, so that he may pour into the attentive mind either the mysteries of prophecy or the grace of compunction. Hence it is written: "The sacrifice of praise shall honor me, and there is the way by which I will show him the salvation of God. For what is called "salvation" in Latin is called "Jesus" in Hebrew. Therefore, in the sacrifice of praise a way is made for the showing of Jesus, because while compunction is poured forth through psalmody, a way is made for us in the heart through which we arrive at Jesus in the end, just as he himself speaks of his manifestation, saying: "He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and I will manifest myself to him. Hence also it is written: "Sing to the Lord, sing a psalm to his name, make a way for him who ascends above the setting sun, the Lord is his name. For he ascended above the setting sun, who trampled upon death by rising again. When we sing to him, we make a way, so that he may come to our heart and kindle us with the grace of his love. Moreover, that the spirit of prophecy is not always present to the prophets, the man of God also shows, who, being sent against Samaria, announced the evils that were to come upon it;

who nevertheless, though forbidden by the Lord to eat on the way, was deceived by the persuasion of a false prophet—whom the deceitful word would not have deceived if he had had the spirit of prophecy present with him. It should also be known that sometimes the holy prophets, when they are consulted, from their great habit of prophesying bring forth certain things from their own spirit, and they suppose that they are saying these things from the spirit of prophecy; but because they are holy, being quickly corrected through the Holy Spirit, they hear from Him what things are true, and they rebuke themselves for having spoken false things. For who does not know that Nathan was a holy man and a prophet? He both openly rebuked King David for his sin and announced what things would come upon him because of that same sin; yet when the same David had consulted him because he wished to build a temple to God, he immediately responded: "Go and do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. Concerning which it is immediately added there: "But it happened that same night, and behold, the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying: Go and speak to my servant David. Thus says the Lord God: Will you build me a house to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt until this day. And a little later:

"When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, who will come forth from your womb, and I will establish his kingdom; he will build a house for my name. Behold, Nathan the prophet, who had previously said to the king, "Go and do it," afterward, having been taught through the spirit of prophecy, announcing that this could not be done, contradicted both the king's plans and his own words, because he recognized that what he had spoken from his own spirit had been false. In this matter there is this distinction between true and false prophets: that true prophets, if they ever say anything from their own spirit, being instructed by the Holy Spirit, quickly correct this in the minds of their hearers. But false prophets both announce false things and, being estranged from the Holy Spirit, persist in their falsehood. Having considered, therefore, the times and modes of prophecy, it is fitting to observe how almighty God dispenses the moderations of His wrath for the advancement of humanity. For the Israelite people had sinned against their Creator, and therefore served the king of Babylon in captivity; yet with them the prophet Ezekiel was sent into captivity, whom divine grace had made so pleasing to Himself that through him He might predict future events and deign to console the mind of the afflicted people.

Let us consider, therefore, if we can, how great is the dispensation of heavenly mercy, because the Lord was so angry with His people that nevertheless He was not entirely angry. For if He had not been angry, He would never have delivered the people into captivity; and if He had been entirely angry, He would not have sent His chosen ones into captivity with them. But divine mercy acts in such a way that from one and the same circumstance from which it gives a scourge to the carnal, it provides an increase of virtue to the spiritual. And while it purges those through tribulation, it rouses these through fellowship with the afflicted to merit greater things. And so it is angry with the unjust, yet nevertheless consoles their hearts through the company of the just; lest if it should abandon them entirely, no one would return to pardon after their sins. Therefore, by holding it repels, and by repelling it holds, when it sends into tribulation along with those whom it judges those whom it loves. Who could sufficiently weigh these depths of such great mercy? That the Lord does not leave the sins of the people without punishment, and yet does not utterly reject the sinning people from Himself. So when Moses had sent twelve spies to the promised land, of whom ten afterwards caused the people to despair, that same people, inflamed with angry murmuring, complained that they had been deceived by the Lord so that their corpses might lie in the desert;

to whom almighty God, angered, said that none of them would enter the promised land. Struck with terror at this, they recognized that they had acted wrongly, afflicted themselves in tears, and girded with weapons, immediately began to advance against the enemy, so that they might be able to enter the promised land after their tears. To them the Lord says through Moses: "Tell them: Do not go up, and do not fight; for I am not with you, lest you fall before your enemies. In this matter we must consider: if He was not with them, why did He forbid them to go up lest they fall? But if He was with them, what does it mean when He says: "For I am not with you"? But by a wonderful dispensation of discipline and mercy, He both was with them and was not with them. He was not with them so that they might conquer, but nevertheless He was with them so that they would not perish at the hands of their enemies. O ineffable depths of mercy! He pursues sins, and yet protects the sinners. He indicates that He is angry, and yet defends them from their enemies. So often a mother is angry with her little son when he misbehaves; she rebukes, scolds, and strikes him;

but if she sees him heading toward a precipice where he might rush into mortal danger, she extends her hand and holds him back, and she who had struck him in such anger as if she did not love him, so holds him back in love as if she had not struck him in anger. Speaking these things in the preface alone, we have made an exercise of our voyage as if within the harbor, so that we may then spread our sails toward investigating the mysteries of prophecy, as into the immensity of the sea. Yet we do not presume this in our own strength, but in him who makes the tongues of infants eloquent, because the Spirit of the Lord has filled the world, and that which contains all things has knowledge of speech. For the almighty God is the Word of the almighty Father, and we who desire to speak about him will in no way be mute in him. The almighty Word will give useful words, who incarnate for us lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.

Homily 1.2

The custom of prophetic speech is to first describe the person, time, and place, and afterward begin to speak the mysteries of prophecy, so that in order to demonstrate the truth more solidly, it first fixes the root of the history, and then brings forth the fruits of the spirit through signs and allegories. Ezekiel therefore indicates the time of his age, saying: "And it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month. Also announcing the place, he adds: "When I was in the midst of the captives by the river Chobar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. He also indicates the time, adding: "On the fifth of the month, this is the fifth year of the captivity of King Joachin. And so that he might properly indicate the person, he also relates his lineage, when it is added: "And the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the son of Buzi, the priest. But the first question arises for us: why did he who had said nothing yet begin thus, saying: "And it came to pass in the thirtieth year"? For "and" is a word of conjunction, and we know that a subsequent word is not joined except to a preceding word. Therefore, he who had said nothing—why does he say "And it came to pass," when there is no word to which he might subjoin what he begins?

In this matter it must be observed that just as we perceive corporeal things, so the senses of the prophets perceive spiritual things, and those things are present to them which seem absent to our ignorance. Whence it happens that in the minds of the prophets interior things are so joined to exterior things that they see both at once, and in them there occurs simultaneously both the word which they hear within and that which they speak outwardly. Therefore the reason is clear why he who had said nothing began saying: "And it came to pass in the thirtieth year"—because he joined this word which he brought forth outwardly to that word which he had heard within. Therefore he continued the words which he brought forth to the inner vision, and for this reason he begins saying: "And it came to pass. For he subjoins what he begins to speak outwardly, as if that which he sees within were also outside. Now what is said about his receiving the spirit of prophecy in the thirtieth year indicates something we should consider, namely that according to the use of reason, the word of teaching is not available except at a mature age. Hence the Lord Himself at the twelfth year of His age, sitting in the temple among the teachers, wished to be found not teaching but questioning.

For so that men would not dare to preach at a weak age, He who through His divinity always teaches the angels in heaven deigned to question men on earth in the twelfth year of His age. For since He Himself is the wisdom of God, the angels live by seeing Him, by which they are satisfied with eternal blessedness. Moses also admonishes this under the mystery of allegory, saying: "You shall not plow with the firstborn of an ox. For we understand the firstborn of an ox to be good work in the weak age of our first time. Yet in this we must not plow, because when the times of our adolescence or youth are first, we must still refrain from preaching, so that the plowshare of our tongue does not dare to break up the soil of another's heart. For as long as we are weak, we ought to contain ourselves within ourselves, lest while we show forth tender goods too quickly, we lose them, because even planted saplings, if they have not first been rooted in the earth, wither more quickly when touched by hand; but if they have once fixed their root, the hand touches them, and yet does no harm; winds push against them, yet those pushing do not injure them. And constructed walls, if pushed, collapse, unless they have first been dried of their moisture.

Therefore the mind, as long as it has not been perfectly dried from the moisture of its depravity, ought not to be touched by the hand of another's tongue, lest before it fully perceives, it lose its solidity, lest when pushed it fall, lest like a sapling without roots, while it is shaken more than it can bear, it wither. Therefore only those things that are firm should be shown as an example. For the mind must first grow strong, and afterward be displayed for the benefit of neighbors, when now it neither falls down when lifted up by praise, nor wastes away when struck by blame. For even though it is said to Timothy: "Command these things and teach; let no one despise your youth," it should be known that in sacred speech sometimes adolescence is called youth. Hence it is written: "Rejoice, young man, in your youth. Therefore the prophet, to show of what authority he is in preaching, is described as being of a mature age, so that life and spirit and all things that are fitting for preaching may be seen to accord with him. Neither should anyone be troubled against these things by the fact that Jeremiah and Daniel received the spirit of prophecy as boys, since miracles are not to be taken as examples for regular practice. For the Almighty God both makes the tongues of infants eloquent and perfects praise from the mouths of infants and nursing children.

But it is one thing what we learn from the use and discipline of teaching, another what we know from a miracle. Now indeed if it is asked whether something mystical might be indicated in the very expression of that age itself, it is not absurd that the prophet should show the Lord, whom he announces in words, also by the very time of his own age. In the thirtieth year of the prophet Ezekiel the heavens were opened, and he saw visions of the Lord beside the river Chebar, because in approximately the thirtieth year of His age the Lord came to the river Jordan. There therefore the heavens were opened, because the Spirit descended in a dove; a voice also sounded from heaven, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. But the Hebrew words themselves are also very useful to us for interpreting the mystery. For Chobar is interpreted as heaviness or weight; Ezekiel as the strength of God; Buzi as despised or contempt; the Chaldeans as those who capture or as demons. Therefore Ezekiel came to the river Chobar; for since Chobar is called heaviness or weight, what is fittingly designated by the river Chobar except the human race? Which flows from birth to death, and is heavy to itself from the sins which it both commits and carries, because, as it is written: Iniquity sits upon a talent of lead. For every sin is heavy, because it does not permit the soul to be lifted up to heavenly things.

Hence it is also said through the Psalmist: Sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart? But it is written of the Lord that he himself is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Therefore Ezekiel came to the river Chobar, because the strength of God through the mystery of his incarnation deigned to draw near to the human race bearing the burdens of its sins, which from its birth daily flows toward death, as it is said of him through the Psalmist: And he shall be like a tree which is planted by the streams of waters. Indeed, he was planted by the streams of waters, because he was incarnate near the falls of the flowing peoples. Now we said that Ezekiel is interpreted as the strength of God, but Buzi as despised. But Ezekiel is the son of Buzi, because the only-begotten of God deigned to be incarnate from that people whom the Lord despised on account of the fault of their unfaithfulness. Therefore the strength of God is born from contempt or being despised, because our Redeemer deigned to assume humanity from a faithless and despised people. But he came into the land of the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans, as we said, are interpreted as those who capture or as demons. For the wicked, because they both commit iniquities themselves and by persuading draw others to iniquity, are certainly those who capture.

They are also rightly interpreted as demons, because those who by persuading draw others to iniquity take upon themselves in their own persons the ministry of demons toward iniquity, although they are not demons by nature. Therefore the strength of God came into the land of the Chaldeans, because the Only-begotten of the Father appeared among those who had flowed toward sin in themselves and were drawing others captive to sins. But let the discourse of exposition now return to the person of the prophet. And the hand of the Lord was upon him there. The hand or arm of the Lord is called the Son, because through Him all things were made. Of whom the Psalmist also says: "Let Your hand be upon me to save me. For the hand of God, which through divinity was not made but begotten, was made through humanity, so that it might heal the wounds of the human race. Therefore the prophet recognized the incarnation of the Only-begotten there, where he saw the hand of the Lord made upon him. But as for what is added here: "And I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came from the North. We must consider what order of expression there is in the words of the prophet. For he who had said above concerning himself, "The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God," afterward adds as if narrating about another: "And the hand of the Lord was upon him there. And then he returns as it were to himself and says:

"And I saw, and behold a whirlwind came from the North. What is this, that now Ezekiel speaks, now about Ezekiel? If he had spoken about himself throughout, there would be no question. If he had spoken throughout as if about another, there would likewise have been no question. What then is this, that the prophetic discourse is so varied that now the Prophet speaks about himself, but now another seems to speak about him? But we must know that those who are filled with the spirit of prophecy, by the fact that they sometimes speak openly about themselves, and sometimes utter words about themselves as if about others, indicate that it is not the prophet but the Holy Spirit who speaks through the prophet. For inasmuch as the word is made through them, they themselves speak about themselves; and inasmuch as they speak by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit speaks through them about them, as the Truth attests who says: "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Hence Moses also says: "Moses was the meekest man above all men who dwelt on the earth. For he who does not say "I was" but "he was" plainly indicates that he who was speaking through him about him was another. Hence John says: "He saw that disciple whom Jesus loved. Whence Paul also, to show that it was not he who was speaking, said: "Do you seek proof of Christ who speaks in me?

Therefore, since in prophetic speech one is he who presides, another he who serves, when the prophet speaks about himself it is the person of the one serving, but when the Holy Spirit speaks through the prophet about the prophet, the sublimity of the one presiding is shown. Rightly therefore it is said as if about another: "And the hand of the Lord was upon him there"; and about himself he immediately adds: "And I saw, and behold a whirlwind came from the North. Now therefore we must discuss what it means when he says: "And behold a whirlwind came from the North, and a great cloud. Because the north wind constrains with cold, the torpor of the malignant spirit is not unfittingly designated by the name of the north wind. The prophet Isaiah also testifies to this, who declares that the devil said: "I will sit upon the mountain of the testament, in the sides of the north. For the malignant spirit held the mountain of the testament, because he subjugated the Jewish people, who had received the law, to himself in faithlessness. For when he holds the hearts of teachers, the devil presides over the mountain of the testament. He also sits in the sides of the north, because he possesses the cold minds of men. Whence also it is said in the voice of the bridegroom in the Song of Songs: "Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind, blow through my garden, and let its spices flow forth.

For when, at the Lord's command, the cold spirit withdraws, the warm spirit occupies the mind of the faithful; which blows through God's garden, that is, the holy Church, so that the fragrances of its virtues may flow forth to the knowledge of many like spices. For when the north wind withdraws, that is, the malignant spirit, the Holy Spirit fills the mind like the south wind. When He blows by warming, immediately the spices of virtues flow from the hearts of the faithful. Therefore the prophet, seeing what things were to come at the end, saw a wind of whirlwind coming from the north, because at the end of the age the malignant spirit will more grievously occupy the minds of men with the cold of his torpor. Whence it is written: "Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has descended to you having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time. For the ancient adversary has more grievously intensified the efforts of his treacheries in human minds. Against his growing pride, the humility of the incarnate God was made manifest: and so that He might heal the human race from its weakness, then the great power of the physician appeared, when the sickness of the patient increased. Well, the sending forth of a malign spirit is called a whirlwind. For a whirlwind shatters a building it touches by shaking it. And every temptation of the ancient enemy, which is carried out in the mind, is a whirlwind;

because by shaking it through desires, it tears it from the state of its uprightness. But let us pass over in silence these things that will come upon the human race from the cunning enemy at the end, and turn our words to Judaea alone, from which the Prophet came, and whose destruction he beholds in prophesying. She endured a whirlwind from the north all the more grievously when the Lord was incarnate, inasmuch as she fell shaken from her uprightness and remained in cold perfidy through the torpor of the mind. Therefore a whirlwind came from the north when the malign spirit shook the life of the Jewish people in temptation. Where it is also rightly added: And a great cloud. For the more anyone burned with cruelty, the more he deserved to be blinded in the darkness of his ignorance. Indeed, they denied the Redeemer of the human race whom they had awaited while understanding him in the law and the prophets, yet denied him when they saw him. Hence it came about that their mind was covered by a great cloud of their ignorance, so that they would not recognize him when seeking him afterward—him whom they had been able to proclaim before, yet refused to love. For when they beheld now his powers and miracles, but now his sufferings, a great cloud had come from the North into the hearts of the unbelievers, because from the cold of their sin, on account of the weakness of his passion, they were blind even amid the signs.

But what followed from that darkness of the great cloud is added, when it immediately says: "And fire enveloping. For by the name of fire, when it is spoken through signification, sometimes the Holy Spirit is designated, and sometimes the malice of the mind. For concerning good fire it is written: "I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and what do I desire, except that it be kindled? For fire is cast upon the earth when the earthly mind, breathed upon by the ardor of the Holy Spirit, is consumed away from its carnal desires. But concerning evil fire it is said: "And now fire shall consume the adversaries," because the most wicked heart wastes away from its own malice. Moreover, just as the fire of love raises up the mind, so the fire of malice envelops it, because the Holy Spirit elevates the heart which it fills, and the ardor of malice always bends it toward lower things. Therefore Judea, blinded by the cloud of her ignorance, because she soon burst forth into the wickedness of persecution, was enveloped by her own fire, she who entangled herself in the bond of wickedness through that very cruelty with which she burned. "And a wind of whirlwind was coming from the North, and a great cloud, and fire enveloping," because having been led from the coldness of her torpor into the darkness of ignorance, she burst forth even unto the malice of persecution. Whence it is also said to another prophet: "What do you see? Who immediately responded:

"I see a boiling pot, and its face is from the face of the North. For the mind of the Jews, raging in persecution and rolling waves of thoughts in the cruelty of malice, what else was it but a boiling pot? Its face is said to be from the face of the North, because if she had not subjected herself to the adversary spirit through torpor of mind, she would not have burned against good people in such great malice. Therefore fire enveloping follows the cloud, because in them the cruelty of persecution followed the blindness of mind. For if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. But this fire burned in one place and shone in another. For it is added: "And splendor was round about it. For while persecution was being carried out in Judea, the holy preaching of the apostles was scattered throughout the whole world, as they themselves say: "The word of God had been sent to you, but since you have judged yourselves unworthy, behold, we go to the Gentiles. Therefore from the cruelty of malice, which burned up the mind of Judea, almighty God spread light to the Gentiles, because through the fact that she persecuted her Redeemer and his members, with the holy apostles scattered in various directions, we who were situated in the region around Judea in darkness saw the splendor of the true light by the gift of heavenly grace. Whence it is written:

"To those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, a light has risen for them. And so this fire of malice which burned from the hearts of the Jews in persecution, before it would afflict the holy apostles by raging against them, exercised itself upon the very author and redeemer of the human race. Whence it is also added: "And from its midst as it were the appearance of electrum," that is, from the midst of the fire. What is designated by the appearance of electrum, except Christ Jesus, the Mediator of God and men? For electrum is made from gold and silver. In electrum, when gold and silver are mixed, the silver increases in brightness, while the gold grows pale from its own brilliance. The one advances toward brightness, the other is tempered from brightness. Therefore, since in the only-begotten Son of God our nature was united to the nature of divinity, in which union humanity grew into the glory of majesty, while divinity tempered itself from the power of its brilliance to human eyes—through the fact that human nature was made brighter, as it were the silver increased through the gold. And because divinity was tempered from its brilliance to our sight, as it were the gold grew pale to us through the silver. For that immutable nature, which remaining in itself renews all things, if it had wished to appear to us as it is, would have burned us with its brilliance rather than renewed us.

But God tempered the brightness of his greatness to our eyes, so that while his brightness is tempered for us, even our weakness might become bright in his light through likeness to him, and through grace received might change, so to speak, the color of its condition. Therefore, like electrum in fire is God made man in persecution. There follows: And in the midst of it the likeness of four living creatures. What is said to be in the midst of it, whether of electrum or of fire, nothing prevents us from understanding, because these four living creatures, namely the holy evangelists, were both strengthened in the virtue of faith from the incarnation of the same Lord, and afflicted with many tribulations in the fire of persecution. But if anyone wishes to understand these things which we have said about the Lord's first coming also concerning His second coming, he is to be followed with swift agreement, because often the spirit of prophecy in one thing it speaks beholds many things at once. For the whirlwind comes from the North, because indeed the cause of sins demands that the shaking of strict judgment disturb all the elements together. For the terror of the final disturbance is said to come from where it is generated. For since the judgment of final disturbance is carried out to strike the cold minds of sinners, rightly the whirlwind is said to come from the North.

This shaking is aptly called a whirlwind, because on that day the hearts of all who shall then be found in mortal flesh will be moved with excessive fear. For when what is written begins to be fulfilled: "The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken," what mind of man will there be that does not dread the sentence of the eternal Judge? For there then all sins at once return before the eyes, there all things which were done with delight are recalled to memory with fear, there is the darkness of miserable thought from the punishment of approaching damnation. Whence it is also added: "And a great cloud. For then from the memory of sins the darkness of blindness weighs down the perception of the mind, when the reprobate are not permitted to behold the only-begotten Son of God in the form of divinity. For "they shall look upon Him whom they pierced. And, "Let the ungodly be taken away, lest he see the glory of God. Where it is also openly added: "And fire enfolding itself. Because indeed that fire of judgment, which will burn up the aerial heaven and the earth, will no longer permit sinners to be raised up in their pride, but will enfold them, whom without doubt it will crush in the punishment of their damnation. And there was splendor all around it.

For just as lightning goes out from the East and appears even to the West, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Where no one is then permitted to hide in his mind from the judgment, because he is penetrated by the very brilliance of the Judge. Concerning this it is soon added: And in its midst was something like the appearance of electrum, that is, from the midst of the fire. For He Himself, our Redeemer, presiding over angels and archangels and all the powers, who as in the likeness of electrum remained one from both and in both natures, both God with the Father, and for our redemption was made mortal with men, will then be seen in His terror, and the fire of judgment will serve Him in vengeance upon the reprobate. For thus it is written: The day of the Lord will make clear because it will be revealed in fire. Thus the Psalmist says: God will come manifestly, our God, and He will not be silent; fire will burn in His sight, and around Him will be a mighty storm. Thus the apostle Peter says: The day of the Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with great violence, and the elements will be dissolved by the heat of fire. And because then all the saints who perfectly abandoned the world come as judges, it is fittingly soon added: And in the midst of it was the likeness of four living creatures.

For what is signified by the four living creatures except the four evangelists? And not without reason is the number of all the perfect expressed through the four evangelists, because all who are now perfect in the Church have learned the rectitude of their perfection through their Gospel. For in the midst of it was the likeness of four living creatures, because those who have now followed perfect works according to the Gospel precepts will then be seen united to his body, joined to his majesty, and made judges together with him. For this is why it is said to the holy apostles themselves: You who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his majesty, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Hence Isaiah says: The Lord will come to judgment with the elders of his people. Hence Solomon speaks of the Church, saying: Her husband is noble in the gates, when he sits with the senators of the land. Therefore, having briefly passed over these things, pursuing the order of the first coming as we began, let us return in our exposition to the persons of the Evangelists. It follows: And this was their appearance: there was the likeness of a man in them.

Since a little later these holy living creatures are described as distinct in their individual forms, so that one is said to be like a man, another like a lion, another like a calf, and another like an eagle, what does it mean that in this place it is said of all of them together, "The likeness of a man was in them"? But who is described as a man in this place, if not he of whom it is written: "Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and found in appearance as a man"? Therefore these living creatures, that they may be able to rise to the virtue of holiness, strive toward the likeness of this man. For they would not be holy if they did not have the likeness of this man, because whatever is in them of tender compassion, whatever of gentleness of spirit, whatever of zeal for righteousness, whatever of the keeping of humility, whatever of the fervor of charity—all this they drew from the very fountain of mercy, from the very root of gentleness, from the very power of justice, that is, from the Mediator between God and men, God the Lord. The outstanding preacher shows that he has the likeness of this man, saying: "Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ. He urges us to rise to his likeness when he says:

"The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man is from heaven, heavenly. As we have borne the image of the earthly, let us also bear the image of him who descended from heaven. For each holy person is led to the likeness of this man to the extent that he imitates the life of his Redeemer. For to be at variance with his commandments and works, what else is it but to depart far from his likeness? Holy preachers weep over the life of sinners; but of our very Head it is written that he wept over Jerusalem. They rejoice over the good deeds of their subjects, and they love those who act rightly; but of our Redeemer it is written that when a certain young man said, "All these things I have kept from my youth," he loved him more. Holy preachers bear insults inflicted upon them and return no insult in turn; but when it was said to our Redeemer, "You have a demon," he did not return injury but responded gently, saying: "I do not have a demon. Holy preachers burn with zeal for righteousness; but the Redeemer of all, having made a whip of cords, drove out those selling and buying from the temple, overturned the seats of those selling doves, and poured out the money of the money-changers. In all that they do with strength, they guard humility with their whole intention; but through our Redeemer it is said: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.

Holy preachers also love their persecutors; but he himself, the author and redeemer of all, placed in his passion, interceded for his persecutors, saying: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. They lay down their bodies in suffering for their brothers; but the author of life gave himself up even to death for the life of the elect. Let it therefore be said of the holy living creatures that the likeness of a man is in them, because that they are holy, that they are wonderful—this is in them from the appearance of likeness, that is, from the power of imitation. For our Redeemer is the head of us all. And through Solomon it is said: "The eyes of the wise man are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. For we have our eyes in the head when we contemplate the life of our Redeemer in silent meditation, when our whole intention raises itself to the imitation of him, lest if the eye of the mind neglects to look upon the ways of light, it immediately falls closed into the darkness of error. The Prophet was hastening to rise to the likeness of this man when he said: "I will exercise myself in your commandments and consider your ways. For he who silently considers the ways of the Lord in his mind, and hastens to exercise himself in his commandments, what else does he reform in himself but the image of the new man?

Because this is done unceasingly in the hearts of the saints, it is rightly now said of the living creatures: "The likeness of a man was in them. After this likeness which is now maintained in moral conduct, we eventually arrive at the likeness of glory. For John says of this: "Now we are children of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him. He soon adds how this can come about, saying: "Because we shall see him as he is. For God's being is to remain eternal and unchangeable. For everything that changes ceases to be what it was and begins to be what it was not; but God's being is never to be in a dissimilar state. Hence it is said to Moses: "I am who I am. And you shall say to the children of Israel: He who is sent me to you. James also says: "With whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration. And so it is said through John: "We shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is," because through the fact that we behold the essence of his nature, freed from our mutability, we are fixed in eternity. For we shall be transformed in him whom we shall see, because we shall lack death by seeing life; we shall transcend our mutability by seeing the immutable. We shall be held by no corruption by seeing the incorruptible.

Moreover, there will be a likeness of the man even in our bodies at that time. For it is said through Paul: "Our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our lowliness, conformed to the body of his glory. Therefore the bodies of the elect will then be conformed to the glory of the Lord's body, which even if they do not have equality with his glory by nature, they will nevertheless have a likeness of his configuration by grace. Since therefore a likeness of his life is now drawn out in the conduct of the elect, and in the resurrection there follows a likeness of eternity in the mind, because we shall see him as he is; and since our bodies also will receive a likeness of him in configuration, let it rightly be said of the holy living creatures: "A likeness of a man was in them. Let it suffice that we have touched upon these things in advance at the beginning of our exposition, so that the power of speech, refreshed by silence, may arise more robust for investigating the mysteries that follow. For we are certain that we have as our helper him of whom we speak, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.

Homily 1.3

The four holy living creatures, which are foreseen through the spirit of prophecy, are described with subtle narration when it is said: "Four faces to each one, and four wings to each one. What is expressed by the face except knowledge, and what by the wings except flight? For indeed each one is recognized by the face, while by wings the bodies of birds are lifted up on high. The face therefore pertains to faith, the wing to contemplation. For through faith we are known by almighty God, just as He Himself says of His sheep: "I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and mine know me. Who says again: "I know whom I have chosen. But through contemplation, because we are raised above ourselves, we are as it were lifted into the air. Therefore four faces belong to each one, because if you should ask what Matthew thinks concerning the incarnation of the Lord, he undoubtedly thinks what Mark, Luke, and John think. If you should ask what John thinks, it is without doubt what Luke, Mark, and Matthew think. If you should ask what Mark thinks, it is what Matthew, John, and Luke think. If you should ask what Luke thinks, it is what John, Matthew, and Mark think. Therefore four faces belong to each one, because the knowledge of faith, by which they are known by God, is the same in one as it is simultaneously in all four.

For whatever you find in one, you rightly recognize this same thing in all four together. And four wings to each one, because they all together harmoniously preach the Son of God Almighty, our Lord Jesus Christ, and lifting the eyes of the mind to His divinity, they fly with the wing of contemplation. Therefore the faces of the Evangelists pertain to the humanity of the Lord, the wing to His divinity, because in Him whom they behold as corporeal, they gaze as it were with their faces. But when they proclaim that He is uncircumscribed and incorporeal in His divinity, they are lifted as it were into the air by the wing of contemplation. Therefore, since there is one faith in His incarnation in all of them, and an equal contemplation of His divinity in each one, it is rightly said now: Four faces to each one, and four wings to each one. But what virtue would there be if the preachers having faith and contemplation of the Lord did not have holy works? It follows: And their feet were straight feet. What is designated by feet if not the steps of actions? Therefore the feet of the four living creatures are described as being straight, because the works of the holy evangelists and of all the perfect are not twisted to follow iniquity. But those do not have straight feet who are bent back to the evils of the world which they had abandoned. Of whom it is written:

"The dog returned to his own vomit, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. The distinguished teacher grieved over certain ones because they had twisted the straightness of their feet backward, to whom he said by way of rebuke: "How do you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, which you desire to serve again? You observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. I fear for you, lest perhaps I have labored among you in vain. He who admonishes others, saying: "Therefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the weakened knees, and make straight steps with your feet. But in order that gravity of life, fortitude, and discretion might be shown in these same holy preachers, it is rightly added: "The sole of their foot was like the sole of a calf's foot. For the holy preachers are designated by the name of oxen, as Paul the Apostle teaches, explaining the testimony of the law: "You shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the grain. In the holy preachers, therefore, the sole of the foot is that of a calf, namely proceeding with maturity, and strong, and divided, because each preacher has both reverence in maturity, and strength in work, and division of the hoof in discernment. For his preaching is not easily received if he appears to be frivolous in his conduct. And there will be no display of maturity if strength of work is not present against all adversities.

Moreover, the strength of work itself loses the merit of virtue if it is not discerning in understanding. For behold, we read Sacred Scripture: if we understand everything according to the letter, we have lost the virtue of discernment; if we lead everything toward spiritual allegory, we are similarly bound by the folly of indiscretion. For the holy preachers read the sacred words, and sometimes they accept the letter in its historical sense, sometimes indeed they seek the spirit through the meaning of the letter. And at times they imitate the good deeds of the preceding fathers just as they find them according to the letter; at times they understand spiritually certain things that are not to be imitated according to history, and they strive toward advancement. What else, therefore, do the holy preachers do in their work but divide the hoof in their foot? Concerning whom it is still fittingly added: "And sparks like the appearance of glowing bronze. Bronze is a very resonant metal. And rightly are the voices of preachers compared to bronze, because their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Moreover, bronze is fittingly called glowing, because the life of preachers both resounds and burns. For it burns with desire and resounds with the word. Glowing bronze, therefore, is preaching set on fire. But sparks come forth from glowing bronze, because from their exhortations flaming words proceed to the ears of the hearers.

Rightly, moreover, are the words of preachers called sparks, because they set on fire those whom they touch in the heart. It should also be considered that sparks are very fine and thin, because when holy preachers speak of the heavenly fatherland, they are not able to reveal as much by their word as they can burn with desire. From their tongue, therefore, certain sparks as it were come to us, because from the heavenly fatherland scarcely something faint is known through their voice, which nevertheless is not faintly loved by them. For they are neither able to see the heavenly glory as great as it is, nor able to speak as much as they see. Glowing bronze, therefore, casts forth sparks when the preacher is scarcely able to speak faintly of that by which he himself is powerfully set on fire. But by divine mercy it is brought about that from these very faint sparks the soul of the hearer is inflamed, because there are some who, when they hear small things, are filled with greater desire; and from that source they burn perfectly in the love of God, from which they have received only the faintest sparks of words. The word of preaching is indeed a seed in the heart of the hearer. And the good hearer afterwards brings forth from it a great harvest of knowledge, from which he had previously received only a small seed of speech.

To this matter the miracle performed by the prophet Elisha for the widow fittingly corresponds, who, lest she lose her two sons when the creditor took them away, obeyed the prophet's words, and from the little oil she had, she poured it out through empty vessels, which were all afterwards filled to the brim, and from their filling the woman was freed from her debt to her creditor. What else does this woman signify but the holy Church, mother of two peoples, that is, the Jewish and the Gentile, as if of two sons? She had previously received from the creditor, as it were, a certain coin of sin through the persuasion of the cunning spirit by perverse work, and she feared to lose the two sons whom she had begotten in faith. But obeying the prophet's words, that is, the precepts of Sacred Scripture, she poured from the little oil she had into empty vessels, because when the empty minds of many hear something small about the love of the Divinity from the mouth of one teacher, with grace abounding, they are filled to the brim with the ointment of divine love. And now many hearts, which were previously empty little vessels, are full of the ointment of the Spirit, which seemed to have been poured only from a small quantity of oil. While this is given to some and to others, and faith is received by the hearers, the woman of Zarephath, namely the holy Church, is no longer held under debt to her creditor. There follows:

"And the hand of a man under their wings on four sides. The four parts can be understood in this place as the four regions of the world, namely East, West, South, and North, because the preaching of the saints has gone forth by God's authority into all parts of the world. We can also understand by the four principal parts the four virtues from which the remaining virtues arise, namely prudence, fortitude, justice, and temperance. We truly receive these virtues when we maintain their order. For prudence is first, fortitude second, justice third, and temperance fourth. For what good can prudence do if fortitude is lacking? For to know what one cannot do is more a torment than a virtue. But he who prudently understands what he should do, and bravely does what he has understood, is without doubt already just; yet temperance ought to follow his justice, because justice very often falls into cruelty if it lacks moderation. Therefore that justice is truly justice which governs itself with the restraint of temperance, so that in the zeal with which one burns, he may also be temperate; lest if he burns too intensely, he lose the justice whose limits he does not know how to maintain. There are two lives of holy preachers, namely active and contemplative; but the active is prior in time to the contemplative, because through good work one strives toward contemplation.

The contemplative, however, is greater in merit than the active, because the latter labors in the practice of present work, while the former already tastes the coming rest with an inner savor. What therefore is signified by hands if not the active life, and what by wings if not the contemplative life? The hand of a man is therefore under their wings, that is, the power of work is under the flight of contemplation. This is well represented in the Gospel by those two women, namely Martha and Mary. For Martha was busy about frequent service; but Mary sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his words. Therefore one was intent on work, the other on contemplation. One served the active life through external ministry, the other the contemplative through the suspension of her heart upon the word. And although the active life is good, the contemplative is nevertheless better, because the former fails with mortal life, while the latter grows more fully in immortal life. Hence it is said: Mary has chosen the best part, which shall not be taken from her. Since therefore the active is lesser in merit than the contemplative, it is rightly now said: The hand of a man under their wings. For even if through the active life we do something good, yet through the contemplative we fly toward heavenly desire. Hence also in Moses the active is called servitude, but the contemplative freedom.

And since both lives are from the gift of grace, nevertheless as long as we live among our neighbors, one is for us a matter of necessity, the other of will. For who, knowing God, enters into His kingdom unless he first does good works? Therefore, without the contemplative life those can enter the heavenly homeland who do not neglect the good works they are able to perform; but without the active life they cannot enter if they neglect to do the good works they can. The former, therefore, is a matter of necessity, the latter of will. The former is in servitude, the latter in freedom. Hence it is said to Moses: If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve you for six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free without payment. With whatever garment he entered, with such let him go out. If he has a wife, let his wife also go out with him. But if his master has given him a wife, and she has borne sons and daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to his master, but he himself shall go out with his clothing. But if the servant says, I love my master and my wife and children, I will not go out free, his master shall bring him to the gods, and he shall be brought to the door and the posts, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall be his servant forever.

We have given this testimony at somewhat greater length in order to show the distinction between servitude and freedom in both lives. But it should not be burdensome if we pursue this in exposition, so that we may confirm those very things which we have said. For "Hebrew" is interpreted as "one who crosses over. And a Hebrew servant is purchased when anyone who now crosses over from this world in mind is subjected to the service of the Almighty Lord. For he desires to serve the true God who has learned to cross over from this world in mind. Thus Moses crossed over, that he might see the vision. Thus David, when he saw the wicked exalted and lifted up above the cedars of Lebanon, crossed over, and behold, he was not. Because we perhaps believe the powers of the wicked to be something great, unless we cross over in mind to the enduring age. But the Hebrew servant who has been purchased is commanded to serve for six years, so that in the seventh he may go out free without payment. For what is designated by the number six except the perfection of the active life? What is expressed by the number seven except the contemplative life? Therefore he serves for six years, and in the seventh goes out free, because he who through the active life which he has perfectly fulfilled passes over to the freedom of the contemplative life.

And it should be noted that he goes out free without payment, because those who after they have done everything say they are unprofitable servants, for them without doubt, just as the active life itself was from a gift, so also the contemplative will be from grace. With whatever garment he entered, with such let him go out, because it is altogether necessary that each one of us persevere in that which he begins, and continue until the end of the work in the intention with which he began. For he crosses over well to the contemplative life who in the active life has not changed the garment of his intention for the worse. And there are some who before they are joined to the service of Almighty God in holy conduct already love to do good works. But there are others who learn good works after they have come to the service of Almighty God. Therefore he who strove to have good works even before he came to God's service, is a Hebrew servant purchased with a wife. And generally he who is such can pass over to the contemplative life, and yet not abandon the active life. Hence it is also added there: "If he has a wife, and the wife goes out together with him. For the wife goes out with him to freedom when he who has attained contemplation does not abandon outwardly the action of good work by which he can benefit others.

But if the Lord has given him a wife, and she has borne sons and daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to his master, but he himself shall go out with his clothing. The master gives a wife to the purchased servant when any preacher joins to good action him whom he has bound to the authority of almighty God. For preachers are also called masters, as it is said to Elisha the prophet concerning his preacher: "Do you know that your master will be taken from you? And the wife of the purchased servant bears sons and daughters when good action produces strong or tender fruits. But the woman who was given by the master remains with the same master along with her children, while the servant himself goes out with his clothing, because good action, or the fruits of that same good action, are reckoned to the reward of the preacher. But he himself, persevering in the intention of his desire, goes out free to contemplation through heavenly grace. "But if the servant says, 'I love my master, and my wife and children; I will not go out free.'" The servant loves his master when he guards the words of the preacher with a careful mind.

Also loving his wife and children, he refuses to go out free when, loving the active life and its fruits, he does not wish to pass over to the contemplative life, because considering that he has good works in the service of his ministry, he refuses to withdraw to the quiet of freedom. But let his master offer him to the gods, and let him be brought to the door and the posts, and let him pierce his ear with an awl, that he may be his servant forever. For he who has resolved to remain in the active life is offered by his master to the gods when he is instructed by his preacher in the sayings of the ancient fathers, who were priests for us in the way of the almighty Lord. And he is led to the door and posts of the tabernacle so that he may hear something more profound about the entrance to the heavenly dwelling, and may subtly recognize the day of the fearful judgment, lest through the good works which he does he seek to please men. And so his ear is pierced with an awl when his mind is struck by the subtlety of the fear of God, so that, transfixed by the sharpness of the word, through everything he does he may know to always attend to the entrance of the kingdom, and as it were to carry an ear pierced from the door and post of the tabernacle.

He will be a servant in this age, so that he may be able to be free after this age. For he is a servant in this age who has resolved through the active life to serve men, so that after the present age he may be able to attain true freedom. Concerning this it is said through Paul: "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For then there will be true freedom in us, when our adoption shall have attained to the glory of the children of God. But now not only is the active life in servitude, but even contemplation itself, by which we are caught up above ourselves, does not yet perfectly obtain freedom of mind, but imitates it, because that inward rest is seen in a mirror dimly. Yet however great may be the limitation of contemplation, it is already far broader and more sublime than the active life, since it passes over to a certain freedom of mind, thinking not on temporal things but on eternal. Since therefore the contemplative life flies up to higher things and far surpasses the active life by a certain, so to speak, dignity of its security, it is fittingly said now: "And the hand of a man was under their wings.

But if in this place our Redeemer is understood as the man, the hand of the man is under their wings, because unless God had become man, who raised the minds of the preachers to heavenly things, those living creatures that appear would not fly. Nor is it unfittingly said that the hand of the man is under the wings, because of this same Redeemer of ours it is written: "Who being the brightness of glory and the figure of His substance, and upholding all things. His hand therefore carries our hearts, His hand raises us up in contemplation. For unless, as has been said, the almighty Word had become man for the sake of men, human hearts would not fly to contemplate the excellence of the Word. Therefore the minds of men have been made lofty from the same source whence the humble God appeared among men. Let it therefore be said of the holy living creatures, let it be said: "And the hand of a man under their wings. Concerning which it is further added: "And they had faces and wings on four sides, and their wings were joined one to another. They have faces and wings in four directions, because in preaching throughout all regions of the world they demonstrate whatever they perceive concerning the humanity and whatever concerning the divinity of our Redeemer. For when they preach the incarnate God everywhere, they display their face in the four parts of the world.

And when they announce that He is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, they fly everywhere with the wing of contemplation. Their wings are joined one to another, because all their virtue and all their wisdom, by which they transcend other men through the flight of their contemplation, is mutually joined together in peace and unanimity. Hence it is written: The wisdom that is from above is first indeed pure, then peaceable. Hence also Truth says to these same preachers of His: Have salt in yourselves, and have peace among you. Therefore the wing of the living creatures is joined one to another, because the virtue and wisdom of the holy preachers is mutually united together in the peace of charity and concord. But the wing of one would be divided from another if, in that by which each one soars into wisdom, he refused to have peace with another. There follows: They did not turn back when they went, but each one walked straight before its face. The feathered creatures, namely the holy preachers, when they advance, by no means turn back, because they pass from earthly actions to spiritual things in such a way that they are in no way turned back again to those things which they left behind. For to advance is, as it were, for them to go along a certain path, always moving in mind toward better things. On the contrary, it is said of the reprobate that they turned back in heart to Egypt. And Truth says through Himself:

No one putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. For to put one's hand to the plow is, as it were, to open up the soil of one's heart through a certain plowshare of compunction for bringing forth fruit. But he looks back after the plow who, after the beginnings of good work, returns to the evils which he left behind. Because this by no means happens to God's elect, it is rightly now said through the prophet: They did not turn back when they advanced. He indicates why they do not turn back when he adds: "Each one was going before its own face. For eternal things are before us, temporal things behind us, because we find those as we advance, and we leave these behind us as if behind our back as we depart. Hence that great winged creature who had flown to the secrets of the third heaven said: "But one thing, forgetting what lies behind and stretching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the prize of the heavenly calling. For stretched forward to the things ahead, he had forgotten the things behind, because, despising temporal things, he was seeking only those which are eternal. Therefore the holy living creatures go before their own face, because they no longer look back with any desire upon the things they have left behind, and in the eternal things they seek, they place the foot of good work under the eyes of their contemplation.

Whoever, therefore, has already decided to walk before his own face must consider with great deliberation that looking back occurs in one way through deed and in another way through thought. For there are some who deliberate on great things, and, conscious of their sins, they carefully consider distributing much of what they possess to the needy, so that they may redeem their faults before God's eyes through the bowels of mercy. And they begin to do these works, but often as they are doing them, fear of poverty strikes their mind, and fearing that they may become needy themselves, they become tight-fisted toward the needy and suspend themselves from the good work they had begun. These indeed have turned back while walking, because they refused to walk before their own face. Against these it is rightly said through Solomon: "Because of the cold, the sluggard refused to plow; therefore he will beg in summer, and it will not be given to him. For he who now neglects to do good works because of fear and torpor of mind, when the sun of justice shines forth in judgment as if in summer, will beg for life but will not receive it, because he scorned to do good works for its sake. Another, having despised the desires of the flesh, carefully considers leaving all things and subjecting himself to the service of almighty God, and deliberates on restraining himself under the bridle of continence and chastity;

but when he sees that others have fallen even after chastity, he fears to do that very thing he had deliberated upon. And so it happens that he returns backward through thought, who, looking toward what lies ahead, was already advancing to higher things with the steps of his mind. Of such a one it is well said through Solomon: "He who observes the wind will not sow; and he who considers the clouds will never reap. Indeed, by the name of wind is meant the malign spirit, who drives the mind with temptations; and by the designation of cloud is expressed the sinner, who is moved by the impulse of temptation. He who watches the wind, therefore, does not sow, and he who considers the clouds never reaps, because he who fears the temptations of the malign spirit and observes the falls of the wicked despairs of himself, and is neither exercised now in the good seed of work, nor will he afterward be refreshed by the gift of just retribution. There are, moreover, some who indeed do the good works they know, and while doing these, deliberate on better things; but reconsidering the better things they had deliberated upon, they change their minds; and indeed they do the good things they had begun, but they succumb from the better things they had deliberated upon. These indeed appear to stand in their work before human judgments, but before the eyes of almighty God they have fallen in their deliberation.

Hence it often happens that even their good work pleases God less, because when the foot of the mind is inconstantly placed on the better step of deliberation, this very inconstancy of thought accuses it. But because all who are perfect observe themselves with great subtlety of discretion, lest they ever slip back to worse things either in deed or in thought, they ceaselessly consider how much they progress daily; rightly it is said of them: "They did not turn back when they walked, but each one walked before its own face. Among these things, therefore, it is pleasing for us to consider who we are that undertake to expound these matters, and whence we have come, and to what mysteries of sacred eloquence we are raised up to search out. Certainly in our ancient ancestors we were worshippers of idols, but behold, through the Spirit of grace we now explore heavenly words. Whence comes this to us? But the Redeemer of the human race has fulfilled what He said through the prophet: "And strangers shall eat the deserts turned into fruitfulness. For these sayings of the prophets were deserts among the Jews, because they were unwilling to cultivate them by seeking their mystical meaning. But for us they have been turned into fruitfulness, because according to the history of the vision, by God's bounty, these words taste spiritually to our mind, and now we strangers eat what the citizens of the Law were unwilling to consume.

Let there be thanks to the Only-begotten, let there be praise to eternal Wisdom, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.