Cornelius a Lapide

Song of Songs: Compendium of the Literal Sense

Table of Contents

Compendium or Synopsis of the Literal and Genuine Sense of the Canticle

The literal and adequate sense of the Canticle is to describe the marriage of Christ and the Church through the humanity assumed by Him; the partial sense, of Christ and the holy soul, not any soul, but the perfect one; and the principal sense, of Christ and the Blessed Virgin. First, therefore, it describes the infancy of the Church and the holy soul, from chapter 1 to chapter 2, verse 8; second, its adolescence, from chapter 2, verse 8, to chapter 3, verse 6; third, its mature age, from chapter 3, verse 6, to chapter 5, verse 2; fourth, its old age, from chapter 5, verse 2, to chapter 6, verse 3; fifth, its renewal and glorification, or rather its aspiration toward glory, from chapter 6, verse 3, to the end of the book.

First Part of the Canticle, or First Act of the Drama. In which is described the birth and infancy of the Church up to chapter 2, verse 8: This infancy was from the birth and preaching of Christ to the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Chapter One.

1. LET HIM KISS ME WITH THE KISS OF HIS MOUTH. — The Synagogue seeks the kiss of the Incarnation of the Word, by which the Word would kiss human nature by assuming it, so that by suffering in it, He might reconcile it to God the Father, who hated it on account of sin. The holy soul seeks the kiss of perfection, charity, and union with God. The Blessed Virgin seeks the kiss of the Holy Spirit, that she may become the mother of Christ.

FOR YOUR BREASTS ARE BETTER THAN WINE. — He calls breasts nipples, for men do not have breasts as women do; yet that milk can sometimes be expressed from men's nipples, Galen and Aristotle teach, History of Animals, book I, chapter 12, and book III, chapter 20; the breasts signify the most sweet faculty and power of nursing, for Christ with His teaching and grace nurses the faithful as with two breasts. Note the word "for," for this word gives the reason why the bride seeks the kiss of the bridegroom, as if saying: Because I have tasted the sweetness of Your breasts, that is, of Your teaching, grace, and consolation, hence I aspire to Your kiss, that from its breath I may draw in the spirit and soul, from which all sweetness flows, at the very source of the wine. These breasts are better than the wine of worldly pleasures, as well as than wine, that is, the austerity of the Mosaic law.

2. Fragrant with the best ointments, — namely, with the most excellent charisms of the Holy Spirit. The external breasts of Christ are the apostles and evangelists.

YOUR NAME IS OIL POURED OUT. — Oil here stands for ointment and any fragrant liquid, such as balsam, as if saying: The name Jesus, that is, Savior, proper to You, O Christ, poured out in the Incarnation, Circumcision, and Cross, is fragrant like balsam. The name is taken for the thing named, as if saying: You, O Jesus, pouring out Your blood and life for us out of pure love, give forth the sweetest fragrance: so Origen, Theodoret, St. Gregory, Haymo, and others.

THEREFORE THE MAIDENS (drawn by this fragrance of Your love) HAVE LOVED YOU. — He calls maidens the Churches and souls newly born in the Christian faith and virtue, such as those recently baptized.

* Because the symbolic obscurity of the Canticle, and its continuous enigma, as it were, has compelled me to be more prolix, so that those who are very busy may not have time to read all these things, and others may not wish to, I subjoin a brief summary of what has been said, which may present to the mind the harmony of the entire Canticle, as it were, in the blink of an eye.

3. DRAW ME: WE WILL RUN AFTER YOU IN THE FRAGRANCE OF YOUR OINTMENTS. — Behold, what in verse 2 he called oil, here he calls ointments, as if saying: I pray that by Your grace, O Christ, You may go before me and efficaciously draw me to You, so that thus after You, with my maidens, I may run, and imitate Your most holy and most sweet ways.

THE KING HAS BROUGHT ME INTO HIS STOREROOMS, — that is, into the innermost recesses of His house (for the Hebrews call these cheder), as if saying: Christ has revealed to me His secrets, and especially the mysteries hidden in the prophets and figures of the Old Testament; likewise the holy sacraments, especially the Eucharist.

WE WILL EXULT AND REJOICE IN YOU, MINDFUL OF YOUR BREASTS MORE THAN WINE. — Vatablus renders: we will proclaim your loves more excellent than wine, as if saying: I the bride, with my maidens, drunk with the wine of Your consolation, which we drank in Your storerooms, and with the milk of Your sweetness, which we suckled from the breasts of Your charity, will exult and rejoice in You.

THE RIGHTEOUS LOVE YOU, — as if saying: You, O Christ, are most upright, most just, and most holy, and therefore those who are upright, just, and holy love You: for You rectify and purify their love, so that they love nothing carnal; but only that which is spiritual and divine, such as is everything which they perceive and admire in You, so that they eagerly desire to run after You.

4. I AM BLACK, BUT BEAUTIFUL, O DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM, LIKE THE TENTS OF KEDAR, LIKE THE CURTAINS OF SOLOMON. — Combine these thus, as if saying: I the Church, bride of Christ, "am black, like the tents" (of the Kedarenes and Hagarenes, which, scorched by the sun, are dark); "but beautiful (I equally am) like the curtains of Solomon," because the gloom and darkness of persecutions and afflictions has illuminated me the more, and made me more beautiful because of the splendor of patience, fortitude, charity and zeal, and of the other virtues which I displayed and increased in adversities.

5. DO NOT STARE AT ME BECAUSE I AM DARK, FOR THE SUN HAS DISCOLORED ME, — as if saying: Do not marvel that I have been darkened by tribulations, because the sun has discolored me by these, that is, the heat of persecution; but the same has given me patience and constancy, which far more illuminates me: so Cassiodorus, Bede, and others.

THE SONS OF MY MOTHER FOUGHT AGAINST ME, THEY MADE ME KEEPER OF THE VINEYARDS: MY OWN VINEYARD I HAVE NOT KEPT, — as if saying: The Jews, who are my brothers, being born of the same mother as I, namely the Synagogue, the Jews, I say, fighting for their Moses and Judaism, most bitterly attacked me the Church of Christ, that is, the apostles and first Christians, and therefore compelled them to leave Judea and flee to the Gentiles, and there to establish and tend vineyards, that is, Churches among the foreign nations; and so it happened that my own vineyard, that is, the Church situated in Judea, which was my native and proper one and uniquely entrusted to me by Christ, I was unable to keep: therefore, expelled from it, I was forced to wander through the vineyards of the Gentiles, where, having endured various heats of the sun, that is, the burning of persecution, I was discolored by afflictions, distressed, and darkened.

6. Tell me (You, O bridegroom, who are He) WHOM MY SOUL LOVES, WHERE YOU FEED (Your flock of the faithful), WHERE YOU REST AT NOON, LEST I BEGIN TO WANDER AFTER THE FLOCKS OF YOUR COMPANIONS. — The Church, afflicted and discolored by the heat of persecution from Jews and Gentiles, asks from Christ her bridegroom the place where He feeds His faithful, and where He may take refreshment by resting with them at noon, that is, in the burning heat of tribulation, so that there she may be fed by the bridegroom, encouraged, strengthened, lest otherwise she fall in with the bridegroom's companions, that is, rival heretics, or impious men, by whom she would be fed with the fodder of heresies, errors, and vices.

7. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW, O MOST BEAUTIFUL AMONG WOMEN, GO FORTH AND FOLLOW THE FOOTSTEPS (in Hebrew, the heels) OF YOUR FLOCKS, AND FEED YOUR KIDS BESIDE THE TENTS OF THE SHEPHERDS. — The pronoun "you" is redundant by Hebrew pleonasm, as if saying: If you do not know, O Church, where I, Christ, feed My flock, go forth and follow the footsteps of the flocks, that is, of your faithful: for your flocks are Mine also, and where My flocks are, there I also am, their faithful and inseparable shepherd. "And feed your kids beside the tents of the shepherds," namely the apostles and teachers: for I have set them over you as leaders and appointed them as masters, and I myself dwell and abide in their midst, just as while I lived, Luke chapter 2:46, I was found by My parents in the midst of them in the temple, according to that saying, Matthew 28:20: "Behold, I am with you until the consummation of the world:" therefore through these shepherds I will feed you with true doctrine, and in every heat of the sun, that is, the burning of persecution, I will comfort and protect you: if you follow these, you will not begin to wander, nor fall among My companions, that is, rival and competing heretics, and masters of other errors: so St. Athanasius in his Synopsis, and Justus of Urgel.

8. I HAVE COMPARED YOU, O MY LOVE, TO MY CAVALRY (Septuagint, to my mare) IN PHARAOH'S CHARIOTS, — as if saying: I call you to battle, O Church, that you may subject the whole world to Me and yourself: therefore you shall be likened by Me to My angelic cavalry, which I set against Pharaoh's cavalry and chariots, when, fighting for Moses and the Hebrews, I routed them and plunged them into the Red Sea: for in a similar way, through you I will rout all your unfaithful enemies, but in such a way that from unbelievers I will make believers, from enemies friends, from rebels subjects, from wild beasts men, from the dead the living, from demons angels.

9. YOUR CHEEKS ARE BEAUTIFUL AS A TURTLEDOVE'S. — By these cheeks is signified the modesty and chastity of the Church and the faithful, especially of virgins: for turtledoves are chaste.

YOUR NECK IS LIKE JEWELS. — Properly by the neck, which is subjected to burden and yoke as well as to the head, is signified the subjection and obedience of the Church, which obeys Christ her bridegroom and the laws of God in all things: for this does not so much weigh her down as adorn her like a necklace.

10. WE WILL MAKE YOU CHAINS OF GOLD, STUDDED WITH SILVER, — as if saying: With golden laws and rules of obedience, punctuated with the silver of obedience, as with little chains, that is, golden necklaces variegated with silver, we will adorn you, O Church, O holy and devout soul.

Voice of the Bride.

11. WHILE THE KING WAS AT HIS TABLE, MY SPIKENARD GAVE FORTH ITS FRAGRANCE, — as if saying: While my bridegroom, who is Christ the King, was at His nuptial table, namely in the Incarnation, Passion, and Cross, I the bride the Church, and the holy soul approaching Him, anointed Him with the nard ointment of humility, penance, prayer, and other virtues, by whose fragrance He was wonderfully refreshed. This happens when we devoutly recall, hear, read, and meditate upon the Incarnation and Passion of Christ.

12. A BUNDLE OF MYRRH IS MY BELOVED TO ME, HE SHALL ABIDE BETWEEN MY BREASTS, — as if saying: I the Church, and the devout soul, mindful of the Incarnation, Passion, and Cross, that is, of the love of my bridegroom, by which He willingly endured such bitter things for me, will always remember, will be grateful to Him, will love Him, and in return will not refuse to undergo any bitter things whatsoever for Him, but will desire and seek His bitter and arduous commands, and indeed will willingly accept and embrace His rebukes and sharp words, even scourges and blows.

13. A CLUSTER OF HENNA IS MY BELOVED TO ME IN THE VINEYARDS OF ENGEDI. — "Henna is a tree with leaves like the jujube, seeds like coriander, and a white, fragrant flower," says Pliny: it was excellent in the vineyards of Engedi, from the proximity of the balsam growing there; it denotes therefore the joyful and glorious Resurrection of Christ: Christ therefore was a bundle of myrrh in His Passion, but a cluster of henna in His Resurrection, as if saying: I will constantly remember the Resurrection as well as the Passion of Christ, and through sharing in the Passion I will strive for sharing in the Resurrection of the same: for He Himself by His Resurrection went before me and opened the way to the same.

Voice of the Bridegroom.

14. BEHOLD, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, MY LOVE, BEHOLD, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. — The bridegroom, praised by the bride, reflects His praise back upon her, as if saying: From Me who am beautiful, you likewise, O bride, are beautiful, because I have imparted and breathed My beauty into you: therefore you are twice beautiful: first, in the love of God; second, in the love of neighbor. Again first, in action; second, in contemplation. Moreover first, in humility; second, in charity.

YOUR EYES ARE DOVES' EYES. — A friend shines in the eyes. The sense is, as if saying: You have dove-like eyes (and consequently the mind and intention that shines through them), that is, simple, candid, modest, lovable.

Voice of the Bride.

15. BEHOLD, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, MY BELOVED, AND HANDSOME. — The bride contends with the bridegroom in love and honor, and turns back her praises upon Him, as if saying: I confess, O bridegroom, that I am beautiful, but this beauty is not so much mine as Yours, because it was breathed into me by You: for You are most beautiful formally and causally, for You are the source and cause of all grace, beauty, and comeliness that is found in the just and holy.

16. Our bed is verdant: the beams of our house are of CEDAR, OUR PANELS OF CYPRESS. — A beautiful bridegroom and bride deserve a beautiful bed and a beautiful house, namely one with cedar beams and cypress panels: both are here assigned. The bride, sunburned in the vineyards, thence invites the bridegroom into the house, that in it they may quietly and joyfully enjoy mutual companionship and conversation. The bed on which Christ and the Church, as well as the just soul, rest is a pure and holy conscience flourishing with virtues, likewise prayer and the contemplative life. The house of Christ and the Church are literally temples and oratories built of cedar and cypress, such as was the temple of Solomon, to which this alludes. Symbolically the beams, which hold together and sustain the house, denote good prelates, who are like cedar, that is, of upright and lofty life: the panels, which are attached to the beams and hang from them, denote the faithful and saints joined to and subject to their prelates; these are like cypress, that is, they are adorned and crowned with upright and incorrupt morals and the foliage of good works, like a cypress.

Chapter Two. Voice of the Bridegroom.

1. I AM THE FLOWER OF THE FIELD, AND THE LILY OF THE VALLEYS. — Christ was the flower of the field, because just as a flower in a field arises spontaneously without seed, without cultivation, so too Christ was born of a Virgin without the work of a man. Just as therefore a flower has no other father than the sun in heaven, nor any other mother than the plant from which it grows on earth, so Christ in heaven has only God as His Father, who is the uncreated Sun, and on earth only the Virgin as His mother. Christ was also "the lily of the valleys:" a lily, through the brightness and splendor of His life; of the valleys, through humility, both because He Himself was most humble, and because He is Himself the glory and ornament of the humble and chaste souls which He inhabits.

2. AS THE LILY AMONG THORNS, SO IS MY LOVE AMONG THE DAUGHTERS. — As if saying: Just as a lily sprouts and thrives among thorns, so the Church among heretics, persecutors, and the impious, who prick her like thorns, grows all the more, and shines with greater splendor of holiness and fragrance of good repute.

Voice of the Bride.

3. AS THE APPLE TREE AMONG THE TREES OF THE FOREST, SO IS MY BELOVED AMONG THE SONS, — that is to say: Just as a fruit-bearing tree, for example of pomegranates, surpasses the barren trees of the forest in color, fragrance, and taste: so Christ surpasses all the sons of Adam in wisdom, grace, and virtues.

I SAT DOWN UNDER HIS SHADOW, WHOM I HAD DESIRED: AND HIS FRUIT WAS SWEET TO MY PALATE, — as if saying: Christ is to me like an apple tree with His shade, that is, His care and providence protecting me from the heat of temptations, and at the same time feeding and delighting me with His sweet fruits: the fruits of Christ are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the holy sacraments, especially the Eucharist.

4. HE BROUGHT ME INTO THE WINE CELLAR, HE SET IN ORDER (in Hebrew, raised a banner of) CHARITY IN ME. — The wine cellar, into which Christ brought the Church, that is, the apostles and faithful, is the altar, on which we celebrate the sacrifice of the Eucharist, and drink the chalice of the Lord, which inebriates the mind with heavenly sweetness: so Nyssen. Likewise this cellar is the fullness of the Holy Spirit, given to the apostles at Pentecost; whence they seemed to be full of new wine, not of wine, but of zeal, and then they raised the banner of charity openly in Judea, and then throughout the whole world. See St. Augustine, City of God XXII, 22.

5. SUPPORT ME WITH FLOWERS, SURROUND ME WITH APPLES: FOR I AM SICK WITH LOVE. — The apostles and faithful, having received the Holy Spirit, and frequently partaking of the Eucharist, were so inflamed with the love of God that they languished with love, and almost fell into a swoon: whence they courted scourges, crosses, and martyrdoms. They wished therefore to be supported with flowers, that is, the sweetest examples of Christ and the holy prophets, and to be surrounded, that is, encircled and strengthened with apples, that is, the prayers of the same.

6. HIS LEFT HAND IS UNDER MY HEAD, AND HIS RIGHT HAND WILL EMBRACE ME, — as if saying: Let Christ the bridegroom sustain me the bride, languishing and failing with love of Him: therefore let His left hand be under my head, and His right hand embrace me, that is, the rest of my body: the left hand of Christ is His humanity, the right is His divinity. Again, the left is the grace and consolations of the present life, the right is the glory and happiness of the life to come.

Voice of the Bridegroom.

7. I ADJURE YOU, O DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM, BY THE GAZELLES AND DEER OF THE FIELDS, THAT YOU DO NOT STIR UP, NOR AWAKEN THE BELOVED, UNTIL SHE HERSELF WISHES. — This is a hunter's oath: for the bridegroom is here introduced as a shepherd and hunter pursuing deer and gazelles, as if saying: I adjure you, O Jews, by the holy angels, who are most swift and keen-sighted, like deer and gazelles: the angels, I say, guardians of Judea, as well as of My Church being born in Judea, that you do not disturb by your tumult, schism, and persecution the faith, peace, and progress of her who burns and languishes with love of Me. Again, that you do not call her away from holy leisure, prayer, and contemplation to the business of the active life; just as Christ rebuked Martha complaining about Magdalene, saying Luke 10:42: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. But one thing is necessary: Mary has chosen the better part, which shall not be taken from her."

Second Part of the Canticle, or Second Act of the Drama, in which is described the adolescence and growth of the Church, up to chapter 3, verse 6, just as the infancy of the Church was described from chapter 1 to this point. This adolescence of the Church was after Pentecost, when the apostles, having received the Holy Spirit, went forth to the Gentiles and everywhere founded churches.

Voice of the Bride.

8 and 9. THE VOICE OF MY BELOVED, BEHOLD, HE COMES LEAPING UPON THE MOUNTAINS, BOUNDING OVER THE HILLS: MY BELOVED IS LIKE A GAZELLE, AND A YOUNG DEER. — The bride is here introduced languishing with love, as if falling into a dream and a swoon, and therefore carried by the maidens to a bed, as appears in chapter 3, verse 1: lying therefore on the bed and dreaming, she seems to hear the voice of the bridegroom leaping over mountains and hills like a gazelle and a young deer. Christ is signified going forth through the apostles from Judea, and running through the whole world, and preaching the Gospel to all nations, and nobly surmounting and leaping over all the windings of mountains and roads, and all the obstacles to the Gospel, like a gazelle and a young deer.

BEHOLD, HE STANDS BEHIND OUR WALL, LOOKING THROUGH THE WINDOWS, GAZING THROUGH THE LATTICES. — Christ at Pentecost manifested Himself to the apostles through the Holy Spirit sent by Him, namely through the tongues of fire resting on the apostles' heads, as through lattices, through which He Himself clearly beheld the apostles, while the apostles saw Him only obscurely, as happens through lattices; and then the apostles and faithful began to frequent the Eucharist, in which Christ, hidden under the species of bread and wine, through them as through lattices and through an intervening wall, beholds us.

10. BEHOLD, MY BELOVED SPEAKS TO ME: ARISE, MAKE HASTE, MY LOVE, MY DOVE, MY BEAUTIFUL ONE, AND COME. — Christ calls forth the bride the Church, that is, the apostles, so that from Judea they may go through the whole world to preach the Gospel. Come therefore, that is, go and win souls, and bring them to Me. He adds the reason.

11 and 12. NOW THE WINTER IS PAST, THE RAIN IS OVER AND GONE. FLOWERS HAVE APPEARED IN OUR LAND, THE TIME OF PRUNING HAS COME: THE VOICE OF THE TURTLEDOVE HAS BEEN HEARD IN OUR LAND, — as if saying: Now it is the spring of the Gospel; and in spring all things bring forth fruit: bring forth fruit therefore you also, O apostles, because now the winter, and the rain, and the cold of unbelief and sins, as well as of the Mosaic law, have passed. The spring sun, that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit, has now shone forth, preparing all the nations, warming them, and making them desire their salvation and God's friendship, and therefore the flowers of holy desires now appear everywhere. The time of pruning has come, when the vineyards, that is, souls chosen by God, having their vices cut away, are prepared to bring forth grapes of virtues. The voice of the turtledove, that is, the groans of penitent nations desiring to be reconciled to God, is heard everywhere.

13. THE FIG TREE HAS PUT FORTH ITS GREEN FIGS: THE VINES IN FLOWER HAVE GIVEN THEIR FRAGRANCE, — as if saying: When the apostles preached in the spring, namely at Pentecost and afterwards, the fig tree put forth its green figs, that is, many Jews were converted to Christ; and the vines in flower, that is, the nations beginning to believe, gave forth the fragrance of holy life, reputation, and example, and from these the hope of great fruitfulness, namely, the conversion of absolutely all nations. Moreover, just as some green figs ripen, but very many fall off unripe, so few of the Jews were constant in the faith: for very many of them fell away from the faith and relapsed into Judaism.

ARISE, MY LOVE, MY BEAUTIFUL ONE, AND COME. — By this repetition, says Nyssen, the Church and soul are stirred up to progress always in virtue, especially in zeal for souls and the propagation of the Gospel: for properly here it is the progress of the Church that is treated.

14. MY DOVE IN THE CLEFTS OF THE ROCK, IN THE HOLLOW OF THE WALL, SHOW ME YOUR FACE, LET YOUR VOICE SOUND IN MY EARS: FOR YOUR VOICE IS SWEET, AND YOUR FACE IS COMELY. — The apostles, before the coming of the Holy Spirit, fearing the Jews, were hiding in the upper room, just as doves hide in holes and caves; then Christ, having now sent the Holy Spirit, who made them courageous, calls them forth, to come out in public, and there show their face to the people, and give forth the voice of preaching, which is sweet to Him and salutary to their hearers.

15. CATCH US THE LITTLE FOXES THAT DESTROY THE VINEYARDS: FOR OUR VINEYARD HAS BLOSSOMED. — The foxes are heretics, springing up at the beginning of the Church, such as Simon Magus, Menander, Basilides, Carpocrates, the Gnostics: these were slyly undermining the vineyard, that is, the Church and the faith, like foxes. He orders them caught while they are small, lest when grown and multiplied by breeding they cannot be caught and uprooted.

16 and 17. MY BELOVED IS MINE, AND I AM HIS, WHO FEEDS AMONG THE LILIES: UNTIL THE DAY BREAKS, AND THE SHADOWS DECLINE, — as if saying: Because Christ first loved me the Church and the faithful soul as a bride, hence I in turn love Him as a bridegroom, and devote myself entirely to Him, as He devotes Himself to me. Depart therefore, evil foxes, who try to tear me from the bridegroom Christ. Christ, like a pure bee, feeds among the lilies, that is, He delights in souls that are white and pure, "until the day" of clear and blessed eternity "breaks, and the shadows" of dark and miserable mortality "decline," when He will transfer them into His eternal light and heavenly glory.

RETURN: BE LIKE, MY BELOVED, A GAZELLE AND A YOUNG DEER UPON THE MOUNTAINS OF BETHER. — The mountains of Bether, or Bethel, are those upon which Jacob saw a ladder stretched from earth to heaven, and God leaning on the ladder, and from this he called the place Bethel, that is, the House of God, Genesis 28:12: they are also called the mountains of Bether, that is, of division, because they are divided and spread over various hills, through intervening valleys. The mountains of Bether are therefore the particular Churches spread throughout the whole world, and separated from one another; that Christ may visit these with His grace, the universal Church here prays. Gazelles, fawns, and deer love mountains, and are swift and keen of sight; they denote therefore the swiftness and watchful providence of Christ, by which He keenly attends to and assists each individual Church.

Chapter Three.

1, 2, 3, and 4. IN MY BED AT NIGHT I SOUGHT HIM WHOM MY SOUL LOVES: I SOUGHT HIM, AND FOUND HIM NOT. I WILL RISE AND GO ABOUT THE CITY: THROUGH THE STREETS AND THE SQUARES I WILL SEEK HIM WHOM MY SOUL LOVES: I SOUGHT HIM, AND FOUND HIM NOT. THE WATCHMEN WHO GUARD THE CITY FOUND ME: HAVE YOU SEEN HIM WHOM MY SOUL LOVES? WHEN I HAD A LITTLE PASSED BEYOND THEM, I FOUND HIM WHOM MY SOUL LOVES: I HELD HIM: AND I WILL NOT LET HIM GO, UNTIL I BRING HIM INTO THE HOUSE OF MY MOTHER, AND INTO THE CHAMBER OF HER WHO BORE ME. — The sense is, as if saying: I the Church, sweetly resting in Zion and Judea, and there devoted to prayer, the Word of God, frequent communion, holiness, and every Christian virtue and perfection, as is clear from Acts 2:48 ff.; there I sought Christ, but did not find Him, because most of the Jews, clinging to the Mosaic law, rejected the faith of Christ. But Christ resides and is found in the Church, that is, in the multitude and universality of believers throughout the whole world.

For the bride notes that Christ through faith dwells in the hearts of the faithful, as St. Bernard observes: She said: I will rise and go about the city of Jerusalem and the rest of Judea subject to it, evangelizing through the streets and squares, I will seek Him whom my soul loves, namely Christ and the faith and worship of Christ. I sought Him, and did not find Him, because the Jews resisted Christ in the Gospel. The watchmen who guard the city found me, namely the pontiffs, chief priests, scribes, Herod Agrippa, and the other rulers of Judea. I questioned them: Have you seen Him whom my soul loves? Do you recognize the Messiah promised to your fathers? Do you believe in Jesus Christ crucified? But they fell silent, and by their silence testified that they did not know Christ.

Therefore, when I had a little passed beyond them, I found Him whom my soul loves, when, namely, shortly after the persecution of the pontiffs and the death of St. Stephen, that is, in the second year after the Passion of Christ, Christ converted St. Paul, and authorized him as teacher of the Gentiles saying, Acts 9:15: "This man is to Me a vessel of election, to carry My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel;" and soon He directed St. Peter to Cornelius, and the other apostles to convert diverse nations throughout the whole world. There therefore, in the faith of the Gentiles, the apostles found Christ, as residing and reigning in the universal Church. Then therefore the Church said: I held Him, nor will I let Him go: because I will found Churches everywhere among the nations, and thus by priests, bishops, sacraments, teachers, preachers, miracles, etc., I will establish them in the faith of Christ, so that they will never cast it off, but either simultaneously, or alternately and successively hold it fast, so that always a great part of the world worships and adores Christ.

Until I bring Him into the house of my mother, and into the chamber of her who bore me, that is, the Synagogue: for the old Synagogue of the Jews was the womb and mother of the Church of Christians: for the first Christians, namely the apostles, were descended from the Jews. The sense therefore is, as if saying: I will transfer Christ, and the faith and worship of Christ from the Jews to the Gentiles, and there I will establish and make Him firm, until at the end of the world through Elijah and Enoch I convert the Jews: for thus "I will bring" Christ and the faith of Christ "into the house of my mother," that is, into the Synagogue of the Jews, so that all Israel may be saved, and from Jews and Gentiles there may be one fold and one shepherd.

Voice of the Bridegroom.

5. I ADJURE YOU, DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM, BY THE GAZELLES AND DEER OF THE FIELDS, THAT YOU DO NOT STIR UP, NOR AWAKEN THE BELOVED, UNTIL SHE HERSELF WISHES. — These words are repeated here, for we have already heard them in chapter 2, verse 7: therefore it appears the bride has again fallen into a sleep and ecstasy: for she first fell into it in chapter 2, verse 5, saying: "Support me with flowers, surround me with apples, for I am sick with love." Parabolically, this sleep signifies that the primitive Church, that is, the apostles, after the labor and distraction of several years which they spent in converting Judea, withdrew for some time to the rest of prayer and the leisure of contemplation, to restore the powers of the mind, and prepare themselves more ardently for new and greater labors, namely, for the conversion of all the nations: for this great work required an immense spirit, which it was proper to arouse by praying and to seek from God; whence Christ forbids them to be roused from this sleep and such pious rest.

Third Part of the Canticle, or Third Act of the Drama, in which is described the mature age and perfection of the Church up to chapter 5, verse 2. This mature age of the Church was perfected in the time of Constantine the Great.

Voice of the Synagogue, first converted, concerning the Church of the Gentiles.

6. WHO IS SHE THAT COMES UP THROUGH THE DESERT LIKE A COLUMN OF SMOKE FROM SPICES OF MYRRH, AND FRANKINCENSE, AND EVERY POWDER OF THE PERFUMER? — that is, of the apothecary? The primitive Church gathered from the Jews in Zion and Jerusalem, hearing of the conversion of St. Cornelius through St. Peter, and of the Gentiles through St. Paul and Barnabas, exclaims in admiration: Who is this new and beautiful Church, ascending thinly and slenderly from the desert of paganism, like a column of smoke? but by the continuous ascent of smoke massing itself upward, it grows into great amplitude, and breathes forth the sweetest fragrance of virtues: for it breathes forth frankincense, that is, it offers sacrifices and divine honors, and the myrrh of the humanity and Passion of Christ: for it believes that Christ God assumed human nature for us, and in it suffered, was crucified, died, and was buried, and breathes forth and diffuses in every direction all the powder of the perfumer, that is, the remaining doctrine of evangelical preaching.

7 and 8. BEHOLD, THE BED OF SOLOMON: SIXTY MIGHTY MEN SURROUND IT, OF THE MIGHTIEST OF ISRAEL: ALL HOLDING SWORDS, AND MOST EXPERT IN WAR: EACH ONE'S SWORD UPON HIS THIGH AGAINST THE FEARS OF THE NIGHT. — The bed on which Christ rests is the chair of St. Peter, namely the Church of Antioch, then of Rome; this is surrounded by sixty, that is, very many most mighty pontiffs, cardinals, priests, and faithful who fought most bravely for the faith of Christ against Nero and the other tyrants for 300 years, and sealed its truth with their blood. Their sword was the word of God, Ephesians 6:13, with which they were girded and dispersed the nocturnal fears which heretics and wicked Christians stirred up in the night, that is, in the darkness of unbelief, ignorance, and impiety.

9 and 10. KING SOLOMON MADE HIMSELF A LITTER OF THE WOOD OF LEBANON: ITS PILLARS HE MADE OF SILVER, ITS RECLINING PLACE OF GOLD, ITS SEAT OF PURPLE: THE MIDDLE HE PAVED WITH CHARITY. — The litter, or palanquin, is a royal chair in which Solomon was carried as in a royal and triumphal chariot in procession: this litter designates the magnificence of the Roman Church, which after the persecutions, through Constantine, now shines magnificently throughout the whole world, in which the Supreme Pontiff presides, and like Solomon commands the entire Christian world. In it are very many magnificent basilicas, like royal litters of Christ and the holy martyrs, built from the most excellent woods, most similar to the woods of Lebanon. Its pillars are the cardinals and prelates, who support and adorn it like hinges. The golden reclining place, namely for the back and elbows, is the faithful and pious Roman people, distinguished for their golden piety and religion, in which Christ sweetly rests and, as it were, reclines. The ascent, that is, the purple seat, is the innumerable multitude of martyrs who at Rome for 300 years most bravely contended for the faith unto death, in whom Christ trusts. The middle, Septuagint reads, the middle with charity, that is, He paved it with garnets, flames, or a similar hieroglyph of charity, with work as if of mosaic.

FOR THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM, — to offer Himself for their viewing, and to attract them to His veneration. The sense is, as if saying: Christ endowed the Roman Church with so many graces and benefits, and distinguished its faithful with such great charity and works of spiritual as well as corporal mercy, that He seems to have paved its middle and innermost part with charity, and this to the end that He might attract the daughters of Jerusalem, that is, the faithful scattered throughout the whole world, to her love, honor, and worship.

11. GO FORTH AND SEE, DAUGHTERS OF ZION, KING SOLOMON IN THE DIADEM WITH WHICH HIS MOTHER CROWNED HIM ON THE DAY OF HIS ESPOUSALS, AND ON THE DAY OF THE JOY OF HIS HEART. — The Roman Church above all others celebrates, displays, and proclaims to all the faithful the fivefold diadem of Christ: the first is the robe of humanity, with which His divinity was clothed and crowned in the Incarnation through the Mother of God, when He espoused and united our flesh and His Church to Himself with supreme joy. The second was the crown of thorns, with which He was crowned in the Passion and on the Cross. The third was the crown of glory, with which He was clothed in the Resurrection. The fourth was that of dominion and kingdom, with which He was crowned at Pentecost, when, having sent the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, through them He converted many thousands first of Jews, then of Gentiles, and subjected them to Himself. It is mainly of this that the text here treats; for here the mature age of the Church is described. The fifth diadem, both nuptial and triumphal, will come to Christ on the day of judgment, when He will lead the Church of the elect with Him in triumph into heaven, and will be united to her forever, and will be crowned with her as with a crown of glory.

Chapter Four. Voice of the Bridegroom.

1. HOW BEAUTIFUL YOU ARE, MY LOVE, HOW BEAUTIFUL YOU ARE! YOUR EYES ARE DOVES' EYES, BESIDES WHAT IS HIDDEN WITHIN. — The bridegroom Christ, admiring the beauty of the bride the Church, describes her part by part, and begins with the eyes, which He praises as dove-like, that is, clear, innocent, sincere, gentle, lovable, yet in such a way that the interior beauty of the soul, which shines through the eyes, is far more praised by Him. The eyes denote the bishops and prelates of the Church, and their vigilance and solicitude.

YOUR HAIR IS LIKE FLOCKS OF GOATS THAT HAVE COME UP FROM MOUNT GILEAD. — The hair of the Church are the common faithful, for they adorn and cover the Church just as hair covers the head, and as flocks of goats cover Mount Gilead, and this first, by their multitude and density; second, by their luster, evenness, connectedness, and order; third, by their color, because through faith, hope, and charity they are golden and tawny, that is, of a fiery and golden color and beauty. Again, the hair denotes religious: for in ancient times the Nazirites, who were the religious of the old law, grew their hair, Numbers 6:18.

2. YOUR TEETH ARE LIKE FLOCKS OF SHORN SHEEP THAT HAVE COME UP FROM WASHING, ALL WITH TWIN LAMBS, AND NONE AMONG THEM IS BARREN. — The teeth are the teachers of the Church, who like teeth break and chew the bread, that is, the doctrine of faith, and are like "flocks of shorn sheep that have come up from washing" of baptism and frequent penance, washed clean from the stains of sins and radiant. They have twin lambs, because they instill in their disciples the love of God and of neighbor. Mystically, the teeth of the soul are consideration, meditation, and deliberation, which first chew and ruminate the matter to be done.

3. YOUR LIPS ARE LIKE A SCARLET RIBBON: AND YOUR SPEECH IS SWEET. — This denotes preachers, whose speech should be like a ribbon, that is, plain, connected, concise, elegant; scarlet so that it may blush and burn with charity, and thus will be sweet and delightful.

LIKE A PIECE OF POMEGRANATE ARE YOUR CHEEKS, BESIDES WHAT IS HIDDEN WITHIN. — The cheeks of the Church are the virgins, representing through the blush of their cheeks the modesty and purity, and the holiness hidden in the mind.

4. YOUR NECK IS LIKE THE TOWER OF DAVID, BUILT WITH BATTLEMENTS: A THOUSAND SHIELDS HANG FROM IT, ALL THE ARMOR OF THE MIGHTY, — as if saying: You are of upright and erect stature: for by the neck he signifies the erect and lofty bearing of the whole body, by synecdoche. The neck denotes the lofty spirit and unconquered strength of the Church, which subjects tyrants, heretics, and the impious to herself. Again, by the neck and tower are denoted the prelates and pontiffs, and especially the Roman Pontiff, who like a neck resisted Arius, Nestorius, Diocletian, and the other heretics and tyrants. "A thousand (that is, very many) shields hang from it:" these shields are Sacred Scripture, apostolic traditions, decrees of Councils, testimonies and examples of the Fathers, the consensus of all ages, purity of doctrine, holiness of life, etc. The mystical neck of the soul is prayer, through which from the head, Christ, we draw spirit and grace, which we transmit to the other members of the soul and body.

5 and 6. YOUR TWO BREASTS ARE LIKE TWO FAWNS, TWINS OF A GAZELLE, THAT FEED AMONG THE LILIES. UNTIL THE DAY BREAKS AND THE SHADOWS DECLINE. — The breasts of the Church are the priests and deacons, who nurse the faithful with spiritual and temporal goods: these are like fawns that feed among the lilies, because, flourishing in age and virtue, they excel in purity and chastity, and dwell among virgins and saints, fed by their virtues and examples, until the day of blessed eternity breaks and the shadows of wretched mortality decline.

I WILL GO TO THE MOUNTAIN OF MYRRH, AND TO THE HILL OF FRANKINCENSE. — The bridegroom praised the bride for the fruitfulness of her breasts, that is, for her zeal for souls; now lest she attend so much to that as to neglect herself, He calls her back to Himself, to go with Him to the mountain of myrrh, that is, to the practice of mortification, and to the hill of frankincense, that is, to the practice of prayer, so that through both she may draw a greater spirit, which she may then pour out upon others with greater fruit. Again, the mountain of myrrh is Mount Calvary, where Christ was crucified and fed with myrrh. The hill of frankincense is the same mountain on which He rose on the third day, and the Mount of Olives from which He ascended into heaven on the fortieth day: for through the Resurrection and Ascension, the divinity of Christ, to whom frankincense is offered, became known to the world. Both mysteries are to be frequently ruminated and imitated by the pious soul.

7. YOU ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL, MY LOVE, AND THERE IS NO BLEMISH IN YOU. — From the beauty of the individual members already reviewed, He concludes the beauty of the whole body. The Church is wholly beautiful in the just and holy, who are the more important and worthier portion of the Church. In these there is no blemish, that is, of graver and mortal sin, for to be free from all venial sins is impossible.

8. COME FROM LEBANON, MY BRIDE, COME FROM LEBANON, COME: YOU SHALL BE CROWNED FROM THE TOP OF AMANA, FROM THE PEAK OF SENIR AND HERMON, FROM THE DENS OF LIONS, FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF LEOPARDS, — as if saying: You, O primitive Church, who through the apostles and their companions and followers labor in Lebanon, Amana, Senir, and Hermon, that is, in converting the pagans to Christ, come from there with great sheaves of nations converted by you, to bring them into Zion, that is, to the Church of Christ: and if you do this, "you shall be crowned from the top of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards," that is, you shall triumph over the nations converted by you, and lead them as in a triumph, and be crowned with a triumphal crown.

9. YOU HAVE WOUNDED MY HEART, MY SISTER, MY BRIDE, YOU HAVE WOUNDED MY HEART WITH ONE OF YOUR EYES, AND WITH ONE HAIR OF YOUR NECK. — For "wounded," in Hebrew it is "you have taken away my heart," that is, you have stolen my heart, with one hair; in Hebrew, with one necklace (for twisted hairs make a necklace of hair) of your neck, because indeed with one whole eye (for you modestly cover the other with a veil), and that a dove-like eye, that is, modest, humble, and simple, you look at Me, and strive to please Me alone. Moreover, the one hair, or hairy necklace of the neck, is obedience, by which you willingly subject your neck to My law.

10. HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE YOUR BREASTS, MY SISTER, MY BRIDE! YOUR BREASTS ARE MORE BEAUTIFUL (in Hebrew, better) THAN WINE, AND THE FRAGRANCE OF YOUR OINTMENTS SURPASSES ALL SPICES. — The breasts denote the nursing power of the Church, by which through her preachers she nurses the faithful, and feeds them with word and example, doctrine and sacraments, spiritual and corporal almsgiving: therefore the fragrance of your ointments surpasses all spices, that is, the good reputation which you gain from your charity, mercy, and zeal for souls, and spread far and wide, is better than all fragrant virtues before God, who, as I said, prefers mercy to sacrifice.

11. YOUR LIPS DISTIL HONEY, MY BRIDE: HONEY AND MILK ARE UNDER YOUR TONGUE: AND THE FRAGRANCE OF YOUR GARMENTS IS LIKE THE FRAGRANCE OF FRANKINCENSE, — as if saying: Your speech is milky, honeyed, and most sweet, by which you feed the faithful with the word of God. The garments of the Church are the ornaments of good works; these have the fragrance of frankincense, that is, of prayer, because they are directed to God and to the glory of God: for frankincense is burned for God.

12. AN ENCLOSED GARDEN IS MY SISTER, MY BRIDE, AN ENCLOSED GARDEN, A SEALED FOUNTAIN. — The Church is like a garden, or paradise, flourishing with all graces and virtues like heavenly plants, well-arranged in its flower beds, and skillfully laid out with topiary art, and therefore enclosed, lest any heresy, impiety, or other vice or harm should either violently burst into it or fraudulently creep in, but may be kept whole and intact for Christ alone, and produce for Him the flowers and fruits of all virtues, with which to delight and feed Him. He repeats "enclosed" twice, to signify its double enclosure and lock: the first is the guard of angels and teachers; the second is the protection of God Himself and Christ, according to that saying, Zechariah 2:6: "And I will be to it, says the Lord, a wall of fire round about:" so Cassiodorus, Bede, and others. Again, the Church is like a spring of clear, most limpid, and most wholesome water, and therefore sealed, lest the crystalline liquor of its truth and doctrine be polluted by the mud of errors or vices.

13 and 14. YOUR SHOOTS ARE A PARADISE OF POMEGRANATES WITH THE FRUITS OF FRUIT TREES. HENNA WITH SPIKENARD: SPIKENARD AND SAFFRON, CALAMUS AND CINNAMON WITH ALL THE TREES OF LEBANON, MYRRH AND ALOES WITH ALL THE FINEST OINTMENTS. — He calls shoots the offshoots and suckers of plants and trees, which seem to be sent forth, as it were, from the bosom of the earth and the plant. For "fruits of fruit trees," in Hebrew it is "with the fruit of delights," that is, with every delicate fruit. The shoots therefore are the particular Churches erected and founded by Christ and the apostles, and especially by apostolic men sent by St. Peter and the Roman Pontiff, in which are pomegranates and the fruits of fruit trees, that is, the harmony of all virtues both sublime and ordinary, says St. Jerome: henna, because it is small, denotes faith; spikenard, because its root is buried deep in the earth, denotes hope; saffron, because it is golden in color and glows red with three threads, denotes charity toward the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the more it is trampled, the more it rises and grows, as saffron also does. The remaining four spices denote the four cardinal virtues, namely: calamus, because it is straight and like a royal scepter, denotes justice; cinnamon, because it is pungent, hot, and flavorful, denotes wisdom and prudence; myrrh, because by its bitterness it resists corruption, denotes fortitude; aloes, because it purges harmful humors, denotes temperance. Hence symbolically, henna represents the patriarchs, in whom faith excelled; spikenard the prophets, in whom hope; saffron the apostles, in whom charity; calamus the bishops and princes, in whom justice; cinnamon the teachers, in whom wisdom; myrrh the martyrs, in whom fortitude; aloes the virgins and continent, in whom temperance.

15. A FOUNTAIN OF GARDENS: A WELL OF LIVING WATERS, WHICH FLOW WITH FORCE FROM LEBANON. — The Church is a fountain irrigating gardens, that is, particular Churches and congregations of the faithful, and a well of living waters, that is, a perennial spring of the purest wisdom, sacred doctrine and grace, as well as of baptism, the Eucharist, and the other sacraments, which flow with force from Lebanon, that is, from Christ, lofty and bright, abounding with the aforesaid waters.

16. ARISE, NORTH WIND, AND COME, SOUTH WIND, BLOW THROUGH MY GARDEN, AND LET ITS SPICES FLOW. — As if saying: Arise, that is, quickly depart, O north wind, that is, O devil, who desire to sit in the north, and have brought the north wind, that is, the cold of unbelief and the torpor of virtues, upon men, in the time of the Mosaic and natural law. Therefore, when Christ comes, let the south wind come with Him, that is, the Holy Spirit, who by the warmth and fervor of His grace may cause the Church and the faithful to breathe forth the sweetest fragrance of all virtues through their holy works.

Chapter Five. Voice of the Bride.

1. LET MY BELOVED COME INTO HIS GARDEN, AND EAT THE FRUIT OF HIS FRUIT TREES. — The Church invites Christ to visit her as His garden, and to feed and delight Himself with the virtues and graces of the faithful, as with the fruit of His fruit trees.

Voice of the Bridegroom.

I HAVE COME INTO MY GARDEN, MY SISTER, MY BRIDE, I HAVE GATHERED MY MYRRH WITH MY SPICES. — Christ accepts the invitation of the Church, indeed He anticipates it: for He says He has already come into His garden of the Church, and has harvested, that is, gathered His myrrh, that is, the penance of the baptized, the mortification and martyrdoms of the faithful, together with the other spices, that is, heroic virtues.

I HAVE EATEN MY HONEYCOMB WITH MY HONEY, I HAVE DRUNK MY WINE WITH MY MILK. — By all these He denotes the Eucharist, which is most sweet, like milk and honey; and pungent and fervent, like wine: for it makes the zealous, the ardent, and martyrs. This Christ eats in His faithful and saints.

EAT, FRIENDS, AND DRINK, AND BE INEBRIATED, DEAREST ONES. — Just as a friend full of joy and as it were intoxicated, pours out his overflowing joy, as it were, into the bosom of his friend, so the bridegroom here, as if intoxicated with the delights of honey and wine, invites his friends to the same. Be inebriated, that is, be satisfied and made joyful, but within the limits of temperance, short of the mental derangement caused by inebriation properly so called.

Fourth Part of the Canticle, or Fourth Act of the Drama. Up to this point it described the mature age and perfection of the Church: but here it describes its old age and decline up to chapter 6, verse 5.

Voice of the Bride.

2. I SLEEP, AND MY HEART WATCHES. — The Church was sleeping, that is, she was enjoying perfect peace in the time of Constantine; but her heart was watching, that is, she was intent on prayer, love, and contemplation, dealing with God in the faithful, prelates, wise and holy: but in the foolish and carnal she was sleeping, because she was indulging in idleness, laziness, gluttony, luxury, etc.; but her heart was watching, because conscience, threatening them with God's vengeance, struck them with fear and stimulated them to amendment. The Blessed Virgin slept at night in body, but was watching in mind, and continuously loved God.

THE VOICE OF MY BELOVED KNOCKING: OPEN TO ME, MY SISTER, MY LOVE, MY DOVE, MY IMMACULATE ONE. — Christ knocks at the door of the Church's heart, to call her away from the leisure of contemplation to the business of preaching, namely, that in the peace given to her by Constantine she may open with the key of preaching the hearts of unbelievers, heretics, and the impious that were closed by faithlessness. Christ knocks at the heart of the sinner's soul, that he may repent; at the saint's, that he may sanctify himself more, and also promote the sanctification of others.

FOR MY HEAD IS FULL OF DEW, AND MY LOCKS WITH THE DROPS OF THE NIGHT. — The head of Christ is His divinity; the locks are His humanity, likewise His saints; the dew and drops of the night are the blasphemies and impieties, likewise the persecutions, with which heretics and the impious assail the divinity of Christ, or His humanity, or His saints: so that the bride, namely the preachers of the Church, may remove these, the bridegroom rouses them with this voice from the leisure of contemplation to the business of preaching, so that by converting the impious they may avert and repel these insults from Himself and His saints.

3. I HAVE TAKEN OFF MY GARMENT, HOW SHALL I PUT IT ON? I HAVE WASHED MY FEET, HOW SHALL I SOIL THEM? — The Church, that is, certain prelates of the Church in the peace given them by Constantine gave themselves to leisure, rest, study, and contemplation, and therefore, refusing the labor of preaching, disputing, and feeding the flock of the Lord, they excused themselves from it on the pretext that they had taken off their tunic, that is, temporal occupations, and could not or did not wish to resume them; and that they had washed their feet, that is, their affections, and did not wish to soil them again by association with sinners. But this was the pretext of sloth, that is, of laziness. Therefore

4. MY BELOVED PUT HIS HAND THROUGH THE OPENING (of the door, and removed the bolt, and opened the door), AND MY BELLY TREMBLED AT HIS TOUCH. — Christ removed the bolt, that is, the obstacle to laboring for the salvation of souls, when He took away from the prelates the fear of defiling themselves, and so brought it about that monks, such as were Saints Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, Chrysostom, Augustine, Gregory, etc., who formerly fled from bishoprics, now called by God, should take them up, and labor strenuously in the vineyard: hence their belly trembled, because the bowels of their mind were moved by shame and compassion, that they had not sooner opened the door of their heart to Christ calling them to the care of souls: for they pitied the loss of so many souls together with so many offenses and injuries against God.

5 and 6. I ROSE UP TO OPEN TO MY BELOVED: MY HANDS DRIPPED WITH MYRRH, AND MY FINGERS WERE FULL OF THE CHOICEST MYRRH. I OPENED THE BOLT OF MY DOOR TO MY BELOVED: BUT HE HAD TURNED ASIDE AND PASSED ON. — The prelates of the Church, roused by Christ to preach, opened their heart to Him by consent, but soon myrrh, that is, the bitterness of persecutions and tribulations arising from heretics and the impious, seized their hands and fingers, in which Christ, as if turning aside and passing on to another place, left them for a longer time so that He might punish and chastise the slowness and negligence of preaching by the slowness and duration of the persecution. Again, the myrrh is penance, mortification, and chastisement for past tardiness.

MY SOUL MELTED (with love, as wax melts with heat) WHEN (my beloved) SPOKE: I SOUGHT HIM, AND DID NOT FIND HIM: I CALLED, AND HE DID NOT ANSWER ME. — He says the same thing in other and clearer words.

7. THE WATCHMEN WHO GO ABOUT THE CITY FOUND ME: THEY STRUCK ME, AND WOUNDED ME: THE KEEPERS OF THE WALLS TOOK AWAY MY MANTLE FROM ME. — The watchmen are heretical princes or prelates, such as Valens, Huneric, Dioscorus, Nestorius, Pelagius, who tore the Church apart by schism, and took away its mantle, that is, the glory of its integrity and purity.

8. I ADJURE YOU, DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM, IF YOU FIND MY BELOVED, THAT YOU TELL HIM THAT I AM SICK WITH LOVE. — The Church, afflicted in persecutions, invokes the daughters of Jerusalem, that is, all the saints, both angels and men, citizens of Jerusalem, that is, of the Church, both militant on earth, and rather triumphant in heaven, that they may beseech Christ in heaven to heal her languishing, namely, by sending apostolic men who may convert heretics, unbelievers, and wicked Christians: for this languishing is zeal for souls. Anagogically, the soul, burning with love, languishes with the desire of enjoying Christ in heaven: such above all was the Blessed Virgin, who died from this languishing and flew to Christ.

Voice of the Daughters of Jerusalem.

9. WHAT MANNER OF BELOVED IS YOUR BELOVED, O MOST BEAUTIFUL AMONG WOMEN? WHAT MANNER OF BELOVED IS YOUR BELOVED, THAT YOU HAVE SO ADJURED US? — The holy souls of angels and men, whose aid the bride implores to announce her languishing to the beloved, ask who and what manner of person her beloved is, not because they are ignorant of this, but to sharpen her desire for Him, and to provide her with the occasion of praising Him most lavishly, and she immediately does this very thing: for this was the only remedy for her languishing: for the languishing of the one who loves is healed, indeed nourished, by the love and praise of the beloved.

Voice of the Bride.

10. MY BELOVED IS WHITE AND RUDDY, CHOSEN FROM AMONG THOUSANDS, — in Hebrew, bannered, that is, standing out like a banner above ten thousand. Christ was white and ruddy, that is, literally of a rosy complexion, and so He appeared to St. Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, as his Life records. Symbolically He was white because of His most pure and most splendid divinity, or rather because of the most pure innocence and holiness of the humanity He assumed; ruddy because of the flesh which He assumed with red blood from the Virgin, or rather which He purpled on the Cross by the shedding of His blood; and, as St. Jerome says, Against Jovinian, book I: "Christ is white in virginity, ruddy in His Passion." Chosen, in Hebrew, bannered from among thousands, because Christ as a leader bore the banner of innocence and chastity, as well as of patience and martyrdom, before all martyrs, virgins, and Christians, who likewise are white through innocence, ruddy through patience; whence from the Hebrew you may translate: standard-bearer and leader of myriads.

11. HIS HEAD IS THE FINEST GOLD, — as if saying: The head of Christ was brilliant and beautiful like the finest gold, or was encircled with a golden crown. The head of Christ is His divinity. "It is called gold, because His humanity and divinity by their brightness hold preeminence over you," says St. Gregory: for just as gold excels all other metals, so His divinity far surpasses and excels all creatures. This touches on the Arians, Eutychians, and Nestorians, who denied the divinity of Christ.

THE LOCKS (of His head) ARE LIKE BRANCHES OF PALMS, BLACK AS A RAVEN. — The branches are the fronds and fruits of palm trees, which cover and adorn their tops like hair: so Christ had golden hair, as dates are golden, but darkening. These locks denote the divine counsels, loves, and affections of Christ, which flow from His divinity into His humanity, just as hair flows from the head: for the head of Christ is God. They are also black, because they are strong, manly, and heroic, and as if scorched and darkened by charity. Mystically, the hair of Christ are religious and apostolic men, for they surround, crown, and adorn Christ like hair.

12. HIS EYES ARE LIKE DOVES BESIDE STREAMS OF WATER, WASHED WITH MILK, AND SITTING BESIDE ABUNDANT STREAMS, — as if saying: Just as doves sit beside the water, so the eyes of the bridegroom float in their sockets, and are of a watery and sea-like color, and therefore blue-gray, that is, prudent and wise. The milk denotes the whiteness of the eyes, and the sincerity of the soul shining through the eyes. Finally, the eyes of Christ are compared to doves, because they are calm, gentle, easy, kind, and merciful.

13. HIS CHEEKS ARE LIKE BEDS OF SPICES PLANTED BY PERFUMERS. — The rosy and fragrant cheeks of Christ, like beds of spices, were a sign, first, of flourishing youth; second, of honesty; third, of cheerfulness; fourth, of candor; fifth, of gravity and majesty joined with gentleness and piety. Parabolically, the two cheeks of Christ are mercy and justice, by which He looks upon and governs the Church. Tropologically, the cheeks of Christ are virgins and martyrs; for the rosy cheeks of the former blush with modesty, the latter with blood.

HIS LIPS ARE LILIES DRIPPING WITH CHOICE MYRRH, — as if saying: The words of Christ are chaste, and inflaming toward lily-like purity, and preaching myrrh, that is, the mortification of desires.

14. HIS HANDS ARE TURNED (Septuagint, turned, that is, elaborately crafted) OF GOLD, FULL OF HYACINTHS, — as if saying: The works of Christ, first, were so perfect, as if they had been crafted on a lathe, so that nothing could be added to them, nothing taken away; second, the hands of Christ were turned, that is, versatile and agile for every good and every beneficence. They are called golden, because adorned with charity, full of hyacinths, because the works of Christ were heavenly and divine, and arousing hope and love of heavenly things: for the hyacinth is of heavenly color.

HIS BELLY IS OF IVORY, ADORNED WITH SAPPHIRES. — As if saying: All the interior passions and affections of Christ were pure and strong like ivory, and heavenly like sapphire. Symbolically, the belly of Christ represents married people, who bear and nourish children for Him, pure as ivory, heavenly as sapphires.

15. HIS LEGS ARE PILLARS OF MARBLE, SET UPON BASES OF GOLD. —

The legs of Christ are white, straight, thick, and strong like pillars of marble, "upon golden bases," that is, upon feet adorned with golden sandals, such as Solomon had. These legs denote that the journeys of Christ, by which He Himself traversed Judea, and through the apostles and apostolic men traversed the whole world evangelizing, were pure, straight, strong, and powerful, so that no one could halt them, or resist them, without Christ subjecting all nations to Himself "upon golden bases," namely, both of the divinity of Christ and of charity: for charity supported these feet and made them invincible. Symbolically, the legs of Christ are apostolic men, who propagate the faith of Christ in India and other places.

HIS APPEARANCE IS LIKE LEBANON, CHOICE AS THE CEDARS. — As if saying: Christ, like Lebanon and the cedar, was tall, fragrant, incorruptible, and beautiful both in body and more so in mind.

16. HIS THROAT IS MOST SWEET, AND HE IS ALTOGETHER DESIRABLE. — As if saying: The breath of Christ, as well as the voice proceeding from His throat, was most sweet, because He breathed forth and uttered nothing but divine affections and loves: therefore He was altogether lovable and desirable.

SUCH IS MY BELOVED (as I have described Him thus far), AND HE IS MY FRIEND, O DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM.

Voice of the Daughters of Jerusalem.

17. WHERE HAS YOUR BELOVED GONE, O MOST BEAUTIFUL AMONG WOMEN? WHERE HAS YOUR BELOVED TURNED ASIDE? AND WE WILL SEEK HIM WITH YOU. — The daughters of Jerusalem, adjured by the bride in chapter 5, verse 8, to seek the bridegroom who had withdrawn, hearing His marks and signs by which they may recognize Him, here ask by which way He withdrew, so that, taking that way, they may find Him. Christ, because of the heresy of Arius and depraved morals, transferred Himself, that is, His faith and Church, from the Eastern Church to the West after the Emperor Constantine: therefore the daughters of Jerusalem, that is, the faithful, ask from the Church, that is, the prelates of the Church, where Christ has gone, so that they may bring Him back to the East. Refer here to what I said at verse 9.

Chapter Six.

1. MY BELOVED HAS GONE DOWN INTO HIS GARDEN, TO THE BED OF SPICES, TO FEED IN THE GARDENS, AND TO GATHER LILIES. — The bride answers the daughters of Jerusalem that the bridegroom has gone to his garden, that is, to the Western Church, that is, to the assembly of the faithful devoted to prayer, mortification, and other virtues, with which, as with spices, Christ is fed and delighted, but especially with lilies, that is, the chastity of virgins: therefore the reformers of the Eastern Church were to be called from the Western Church, especially Romans, just as St. Eusebius Bishop of Vercelli, Lucifer of Cagliari, and others were sent from the same into the East for this reason by the Roman Pontiff. Again, the garden of Christ is the religious life and the monastery.

2. I AM MY BELOVED'S, AND MY BELOVED IS MINE, WHO FEEDS AMONG THE LILIES. — I explained this verse at chapter 2, verse 16: for the bride, being full of love for the bridegroom, hence repeats and insists upon it again and again: for lovers are never satisfied with the love and praise of their beloved, but repeat it constantly even to the point of wearying their listeners.

Fifth Part of the Canticle, or Last Act of the Drama. In which is described the renewal of the aging Church, its consummation, and its yearning for heaven.

Voice of the Bridegroom.

3. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, MY LOVE, SWEET AND COMELY AS JERUSALEM: TERRIBLE AS AN ARMY SET IN ARRAY. — For "sweet," in Hebrew it is "like Tirzah," which was a beautiful city, and therefore was made by Jeroboam the capital of the kingdom of Israel. The bride with her companions, seeking the bridegroom in the garden, found Him there, and told Him how much she suffered in seeking Him, and by what marks and praises she described Him to the maidens: therefore the bridegroom consoles her, and confirms and augments the praises assigned to her in chapter 4. The sense therefore is, as if saying: The Church has been made beautiful, as well as strong and terrible like an army set in array, when she uprooted the errors and vices introduced by the Arians and other impious and unfaithful people through zealous emperors and princes, pontiffs and bishops in the Councils of Nicaea, Ephesus, Chalcedon, the Lateran, Florence, Trent, and other councils both ecumenical and provincial, and restored the Church, whether universal or provincial, to its former splendor of faith and virtues. Especially

at the end of the world, Elijah and Enoch with their followers will accomplish the same. Under the Emperor Constantine, and soon fighting and routing the Arians, Nestorians, and the other heretics, and reforming abuses, the Church was like an army set in battle array, and will be so especially at the end of the world, contending against the Antichrist and his followers.

4. TURN AWAY YOUR EYES FROM ME, FOR THEY HAVE MADE ME FLY AWAY. — In Hebrew, because they have prevailed over me, seizing me into love of themselves: here Christ praises the bride for the beauty and allurement of her eyes, by which is signified the pure intention and love of the Church toward Christ, as I said at chapter 4, verse 1. Christ therefore signifies here that He is conquered by the charity of the Church, so that He wonderfully loves in return one who so loves Him, and that through love of her He determines to complete the course and time of the world, so that the remnant of Israel may be saved; for He treats of these in what follows, so that with this done, the Church may be united to Christ her bridegroom forever, and most happily enjoy Him in heavenly glory, where the consummation of the nuptials of both will take place.

YOUR HAIR IS LIKE FLOCKS OF GOATS THAT HAVE APPEARED FROM GILEAD. — This maxim and the two following ones are repeated here in praise of the bride from chapter 4, verse 1 ff., where I explained them.

7. THERE ARE SIXTY QUEENS, AND EIGHTY CONCUBINES, AND OF MAIDENS THERE IS NO NUMBER. ONE IS MY DOVE, MY PERFECT ONE, ONE IS HER MOTHER'S (Septuagint, to her mother), THE CHOSEN OF HER WHO BORE HER. — The only one of her mother, that is, only-begotten, or uniquely loved by her mother above all other daughters. The queens, that is, the patriarchal, primatial, and metropolitan Churches are sixty, that is, many. The concubines, that is, the episcopal Churches are eighty, that is, more. Of the maidens, that is, the parochial and other Churches there is no number: for they are very many, and almost innumerable; but above all these the Chair of St. Peter stands out, namely the Roman Church: therefore this is the one dove, that is, the one bride of Christ uniquely loved by Him, perfect in faith and religion, the only one of her mother, and the chosen of her who bore her, that is, equally uniquely loved by the primitive Church of Jerusalem, says St. Anselm, because she governs the other Churches, and, if they stray from the true faith or piety, corrects and reforms them. Therefore

THE DAUGHTERS SAW HER, AND DECLARED HER MOST BLESSED: THE QUEENS AND CONCUBINES, AND THEY PRAISED HER — saying: "Who is this," etc., as follows.

Voice of the Maidens.

8. WHO IS SHE THAT COMES FORTH LIKE THE RISING DAWN, BEAUTIFUL AS THE MOON, CHOSEN AS THE SUN, TERRIBLE AS AN ARMY SET IN ARRAY? — This is the voice of the maidens, concubines, and queens praising the bride for her origin, progress, and perfection: for the Church, rising in Judea under the apostles, shone with a small light like the dawn; soon it grew, and shone like the moon with pale light through the terrors and persecutions of the ten emperors; finally it shone resplendently throughout the whole world with golden light like the sun, under the Emperor Constantine, and soon fighting and routing the Arians, Nestorians, and the other heretics, and reforming abuses, it was like an army set in battle array, and will be so especially at the end of the world contending against the Antichrist and his followers.

Voice of the Bride.

9. I WENT DOWN INTO THE GARDEN OF NUTS, TO SEE THE FRUITS OF THE VALLEYS, AND TO INSPECT WHETHER THE VINE HAD FLOURISHED, AND THE POMEGRANATES HAD BUDDED. — Christ went down into the garden of nuts, that is, to the Synagogue of the stubborn Jews, to convert them, partly through others, but especially at the end of the world through Elijah and Enoch, when they will produce the fruits of the valleys, that is, fruits and acts of humility and penance, and the wines of devotion, and the pomegranates of charity.

Voice of the Synagogue of the Jews to be converted at the end of the world.

10. I DID NOT KNOW: MY SOUL TROUBLED ME ON ACCOUNT OF THE CHARIOTS OF AMINADAB. — As if saying: I the Synagogue of the Jews did not hitherto know that Christ crucified by my fathers was the Messiah, and therefore I did not worship Him, because the chariots of Aminadab troubled me, that is, the willing people, namely the Christians, who from paganism voluntarily and willingly, having heard the preaching of the apostles, believed in Christ. The chariots are the four Gospels, which most swiftly ran through the whole world: on account of these, that is, because the Gospels abrogated Judaism and the law of Moses, I the Synagogue of the Jews did not hitherto believe in Christ; but now converted through Elijah, I believe in Him, and willingly submit myself to the same chariot, indeed I enter and place myself upon it. Some understand the chariots of Aminadab as the Saracens and Turks; others as the emperors attacking the Church; others as the antipopes and schismatics.

Voice of the Bride, the old concerning the new, that is, the Church concerning the Synagogue.

11. RETURN, RETURN, O SHULAMITE: RETURN, RETURN, THAT WE MAY GAZE UPON YOU. — The Church congratulates the Synagogue on its conversion to Christ: for the Synagogue is called the Shulamite, that is, the Jerusalemite or the Solomonite. For just as from Paul his bride is called Paula, so from Solomon his bride is called the Shulamite, that is, Salome or Solomonia. The sense is, as if saying: O Shulamite, that is, O Synagogue of the Jews now converted to Christ, return to the fellowship and companionship of the Church gathered from the Gentiles, so that the nations, beholding your beauty, which you received through baptism, may exult, and congratulate you, and give thanks to God.

Chapter Seven. This chapter is parallel to chapter four: for the praises of individual members which in chapter 4 the bridegroom Christ assigned to the bride the Church of the Gentiles, the same He here assigns to the Synagogue of the Jews to be converted to His faith at the end of the world.

Voice of the Bridegroom. Concerning the new bride, that is, concerning the Synagogue.

1. WHAT WILL YOU SEE IN THE SHULAMITE BUT THE DANCES OF THE CAMPS? — These are the words of Christ the bridegroom, exulting over the conversion of the Jews to Himself at the end of the world through Elijah, as if saying: What will you see, O Church of the Gentiles, in the Shulamite, that is, in the Synagogue of the Jews now converted to their Messiah and the true faith, but dances of joy for so great a conversion, of those singing and leaping: but the dances of the camps, who so exult that they simultaneously fight bravely against the antichristians, and all other unbelievers and impious people? "For they are the camps of those who fight," says St. Gregory. Some understand the dances of the camps as the foundations of universities, and the institutions of religious orders both military, such as the Teutonic Knights, the Knights of Malta, the Knights of Jerusalem, and others, such as the Bernardines, Camaldolese, Dominicans, Franciscans, etc.

HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE YOUR STEPS IN YOUR SANDALS, O DAUGHTER OF THE PRINCE! — As if saying: How beautiful, O Synagogue, are your steps, by which you came to Me and the Church! With what swift readiness you ran to the faith! And not only to the faith, but also to the preaching of the faith: for immediately, once you became a believer, you began to be a preacher of the Gospel, like your fellow tribesman St. Paul.

THE JOINTS OF YOUR THIGHS ARE LIKE JEWELS, CRAFTED BY THE HAND OF A MASTER ARTISAN. — The joints of the thighs are truth and charity, by which the converted Synagogue will cling to the Church, likewise its chastity: for this adorns the thighs like the most beautiful and precious jewel made by the hand of the supreme artisan God. Religious embrace this, and the Jews will embrace it at the end of the world, so that they may more efficaciously preach Christ by word and example; whence St. John saw 144 thousand virgins, who at the end of the world will follow the Lamb in virginity, Apocalypse chapter 14, verse 3.

2. YOUR NAVEL IS LIKE A ROUND GOBLET, NEVER LACKING DRINK. — The navel, that is, the middle and as it were center of Judea was Jerusalem: this, to be converted to Christ at the end of the world through Elijah, will be like a round goblet, because like a goblet it will abound in drink, that is, in beverage, namely the wine of wisdom and Christian doctrine, which it will pour out upon the Jews dwelling round about: whence in Jerusalem Elijah will be killed by the Antichrist, and on the third day will rise gloriously, Apocalypse chapter 11, verses 8 and 11.

YOUR BELLY IS LIKE A HEAP OF WHEAT, SURROUNDED BY LILIES. — He says the same by another simile of the belly, as if saying: Jerusalem, to be converted to Christ through Elijah, will be like a heap of wheat, because it will be full of priests and preachers, who will feed the faithful with the word of God and the Eucharist as with mystical wheat, not unto luxury, but unto chastity, and therefore it is surrounded by lilies, because it breathes forth both the brightness of purity and the fragrance of sweetness.

3. YOUR TWO BREASTS ARE LIKE TWO TWIN FAWNS OF A GAZELLE. — He repeats concerning the Synagogue of the Jews what He said of the Church of the Gentiles, chapter 4, verse 5: see the comments there.

4. YOUR NECK IS LIKE A TOWER OF IVORY. — The towering neck signifies the unconquered strength of the Synagogue, by which it will nobly raise itself like a tower against all the temptations and persecutions of the Antichrist; likewise the pontiffs, doctors, and prelates, who will heroically resist him. Ivory denotes the chastity, purity, and cleanliness of the elephant (for the elephant is most chaste), with which the Jews will excel at the end of the world, Apocalypse 14:1, especially the doctors and leaders: for ivory is white, polished, gleaming, smooth, even, and firm.

YOUR EYES ARE LIKE THE POOLS IN HESHBON, WHICH ARE IN THE GATE OF THE DAUGHTER OF THE MULTITUDE, — that is, in the gate facing the region where there was a great multitude of people, as if saying: Your eyes, that is, your doctors and pastors, O Synagogue, will be like twin most limpid and most pure fountains of wisdom, who will abundantly instruct the daughter of the multitude, that is, the congregation of the Jewish people, in the Christian faith and piety, and will give them the water of wisdom to drink.

YOUR NOSE IS LIKE THE TOWER OF LEBANON, WHICH LOOKS TOWARD DAMASCUS, — as if saying: The nose of the Synagogue, that is, its discernment, foresight, and watchfulness will be enormous like a tower, which will from afar detect and foresee all the ambushes and efforts of Damascus (that is, of the devil and the Antichrist who thirsts for the blood of souls: for Damascus means the same as a sack, or prey of blood), and will elude and overcome them with an immense spirit of fortitude and magnanimity: for a large nose draws in a great spirit, and therefore is a sign of magnanimity.

5. YOUR HEAD IS LIKE CARMEL, — as if saying: Your head and leader will be Elijah, once an inhabitant of Carmel, and like Carmel, lofty and fruitful in spirit: and THE LOCKS OF YOUR HEAD ARE LIKE ROYAL PURPLE BOUND IN CHANNELS. — These locks denote the disciples and followers of Elijah, who will surround him as their head, defend, and champion him; and therefore they will be killed by the Antichrist, and purpled with the martyrdom of blood.

Voice of the Church, the new, that is, the Synagogue. To the Synagogue now converted to Christ.

6. HOW BEAUTIFUL YOU ARE, AND HOW LOVELY, DEAREST, IN YOUR DELIGHTS! — In Hebrew, O how beautiful you have become, and how sweet you have become, O love in delights! Of the bridegroom, namely Christ the Lord, delighting Him with your faith and fervor: the Syriac and Aquila read, daughter of delights. These are the words of the Church of the Gentiles exulting and congratulating the Synagogue on so sudden and perfect a conversion of the Jews to Christ, as if saying: How beautiful and lovely you are, O Synagogue my sister! who are so lovable that you are the charity of delights and the delight of charity, and the daughter of delights, and can truly be so called, because you devote yourself entirely to charity and the delights of the bridegroom.

7. YOUR STATURE IS LIKE A PALM TREE, AND YOUR BREASTS LIKE CLUSTERS. — The palm-like stature of the Synagogue and the holy soul is magnanimity and loftiness of spirit, which despises all earthly things and reaches for the eternal, and says with St. Paul, Philippians 3:20: "Our conversation is in heaven;" and therefore, like a palm, the more it is pressed down, the more strongly and loftily it rises. The breasts of the Synagogue are its beneficence and doctrine, with which, as with milk, it will nurse and nourish the less educated Jews: just as a palm, although it grows high, nevertheless bends down with its clusters, that is, dates, and nourishes passersby.

Voice of the Chorus of Maidens.

8. I SAID: I WILL CLIMB THE PALM TREE, AND TAKE HOLD OF ITS FRUIT: AND YOUR BREASTS SHALL BE LIKE CLUSTERS OF THE VINE: AND THE FRAGRANCE OF YOUR MOUTH LIKE APPLES. — These are the words of the chorus of maidens, that is, of imperfect souls, each of whom says to the Synagogue, lofty in the faith and love of Christ, and fervent even unto martyrdom: I desire to ascend to your sublimity, which you obtained through the Cross of Christ, so that I may reach your breasts, and from them suck milk, indeed the wine of burning doctrine, faith, and charity, and at the same time draw from your mouth the sweetest breath of piety and holiness: the palm therefore here literally signifies the sublimity of the Synagogue, but symbolically the Cross of Christ.

9. YOUR PALATE IS LIKE THE BEST WINE, WORTHY OF MY BELOVED FOR DRINKING, AND FOR HIS LIPS AND TEETH TO RUMINATE. — As if saying: From your throat you breathe forth the wine of doctrine and burning charity, by which you not only inebriate the Jews, O Synagogue, but also give drink to and so delight my beloved Christ, that He Himself continually revolves and ruminates that same thing in His mind.

Voice of the New Church, that is, of the Synagogue.

10. I AM MY BELOVED'S AND HIS TURNING IS TOWARD ME. — This is the voice of the new bride, namely the Synagogue, who responds both to the praises which Christ reviewed and to the encomiums which the maidens added, reflecting these praises back upon the bridegroom Christ, as if saying: I, however great I am, am entirely my beloved Christ's, because He has deigned to turn His eyes toward me, and to illuminate me with His faith and endow me with His grace, indeed to take me as His beloved bride.

11. COME, MY BELOVED, LET US GO FORTH INTO THE FIELD, LET US ABIDE IN THE VILLAGES, — so that there, the more remotely from the noise of the city, the more familiarly and privately we may converse and speak together, and so that we may preach the Gospel to country folk and those living in rural areas.

Voice of the Bride, both old and new, that is, of the Church and the Synagogue.

12. LET US RISE EARLY (to go) TO THE VINEYARDS: LET US SEE IF THE VINE HAS FLOWERED, IF THE BLOSSOMS BRING FORTH FRUIT, IF THE POMEGRANATES HAVE BLOOMED: THERE I WILL GIVE YOU MY BREASTS. — Pagninus and Vatablus render: my loves. This is the voice of the Church of the Gentiles congratulating the new bride, namely the Synagogue of the Jews, and together with her beseeching Christ to go with them, that is, to cooperate with them in the preaching of the Gospel, and in the conversion of Jews as well as Gentiles at the end of the world, so that they may bear the fruits of good works, and the pomegranates of charity and martyrdom. She calls Jerusalem and Judea a vineyard: for this was the first vineyard of Christ. There the Synagogue gives her breasts to Christ, that is, she shows her love for Him. Again, she gives her breasts to Christ, that is, to the faithful of Christ, namely Jews and Gentiles, whom she nurses and nourishes in faith and piety with her doctrine through the love of Christ.

13. THE MANDRAKES HAVE GIVEN THEIR FRAGRANCE. AT OUR GATES ARE ALL FRUITS: NEW AND OLD, MY BELOVED, I HAVE KEPT FOR YOU. — Mandrakes, being cold, induce slowness, torpor, and sleep; whence they signify the Jews and Gentiles numbed and drowsy through ignorance of God and the cold of faithlessness, through the Antichrist; but these, when he is dead and slain, will come alive again in faith and grace through the preaching of the companions of Elijah, and will breathe forth the sweet fragrance of virtue: these therefore, like new fruits together with the old, that is, the ancient Christians, the Church offers to Christ at the gates, that is, at the very entrance and threshold of the Church, namely in baptism, through which they have entered into the Church and Christianity. Some refer "new" to the conversion of the New World, that is, of America, that is, of the Peruvians and Mexicans.

Chapter Eight. Voice of the bride, that is, of the universal Church gathered from Jews and Gentiles, at the end of the world, with the number of the elect now complete, aspiring to heaven.

1. WHO WILL GIVE YOU TO ME AS MY BROTHER, NURSING AT MY MOTHER'S BREAST, THAT I MAY FIND YOU OUTSIDE, AND KISS YOU, AND NOW NO ONE MAY DESPISE ME? — As if saying: Would that I might enjoy You, O Christ, in heaven, just as a brother enjoys his little brother who still nurses at his mother's breast, and kisses him, so that just as once, having become man, You deigned to become my brother through the flesh, and to nurse at the breast of my mother, both of the Blessed Virgin (for she is the mother of the Church, because she is the mother of Christ, and consequently of all Christians), and of the Synagogue: so likewise outside, that is, in heaven, may You become my brother and companion in the glory of blessedness, and there together with You may I suck the breasts of our common mother, namely the heavenly Jerusalem, which pours forth the milk, indeed the nectar of happiness, and may I kiss You, and delight and sweetly enjoy myself with You forever, and therefore may no one now despise me, but may all glorify and bless me.

2. I WILL TAKE HOLD OF YOU, AND BRING YOU INTO THE HOUSE OF MY MOTHER: THERE YOU WILL TEACH ME, AND I WILL GIVE YOU A CUP OF SPICED WINE, AND THE MUST OF MY POMEGRANATES. — This is the voice of the Church to Christ, as if saying: Would that I could take hold of You and bring You into the heavenly Jerusalem, which is our mother, so that there You would teach me the secrets of divinity, where I in turn would offer You the spiced wine of praise and thanksgiving, and the must of pomegranates of burning love, and the jubilation of eternal happiness!

3. HIS LEFT HAND IS UNDER MY HEAD, AND HIS RIGHT HAND WILL EMBRACE ME. — The bride, from the vehement love and desire of enjoying Christ in heaven, falls into languor, sleep, and ecstasy, and collapsing invokes the help of the bridegroom, that He may support and embrace her as she falls with His left and right hand, both now languishing on earth, and rather soon rejoicing and triumphing in heaven. See chapter 2, verse 6.

Voice of the Bridegroom.

4. I ADJURE YOU, DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM, THAT YOU DO NOT STIR UP, NOR AWAKEN THE BELOVED, UNTIL SHE HERSELF WISHES. — The bridegroom forbids the bride to be awakened from this sleep and ecstasy of love, as being most pleasing to Him and most sweet to the bride. See the comments at chapter 2, verse 7.

Voice of the People Meeting Them.

5. WHO IS SHE THAT COMES UP FROM THE DESERT, ABOUNDING IN DELIGHTS, LEANING UPON HER BELOVED? — The bride, awakening from sleep, from the delights of her languor and love, leaning with her arms on the shoulders of the bridegroom, was ascending with Him from the field and garden toward Jerusalem, that is, from earth to heaven. The crowds of people passing by meet her, that is, the angels and the blessed, and admiring her beauty, love, and freedom, they exclaim: Who is this bride so glorious, who so delightfully, freely, and lovingly leaning upon Christ the Lord, ascends so magnificently from earth to heaven?

Voice of the Bridegroom.

UNDER THE APPLE TREE I RAISED YOU UP: THERE YOUR MOTHER WAS CORRUPTED, THERE SHE WHO BORE YOU WAS VIOLATED. — Christ reminds the Church, ascending gloriously with Him into heaven, of His Cross endured for her, so that He may make her mindful and grateful for so great a benefit, as if saying: Know, O Church, that this glory of yours cost Me dearly, for I purchased it with many sorrows on the wood of the Cross, because your mother Eve, eating from the forbidden tree in paradise, corrupted and ruined both herself and you, that is, all her posterity, by sin. For the justice and wisdom of God had decreed that on the wood satisfaction should be made for the guilt committed on the wood; that the devil, "who conquered on the wood, should also be conquered on the wood;" and: "Whence death arose, thence life should rise again."

6. SET ME AS A SEAL UPON YOUR HEART, AS A SEAL UPON YOUR ARM, — as if saying: Constantly and firmly, as with a seal, impress upon yourself the memory of My Cross, and the love which I showed you upon it, so that it may always be fixed in your heart by contemplation, and from there may pass to your arm for right action, so that My love may be your guide, directing all your thoughts and actions toward heaven, where it will be indelibly and deeply engraved upon your heart and arm, to endure forever.

FOR LOVE IS STRONG AS DEATH, JEALOUSY IS HARD AS HELL, — as if saying: The cause that impelled Me to raise you up on the Cross through so many sorrows and My death from sin, death, and hell, to which you were consigned, was the love and affection by which I supremely loved you as a bride: for this is stronger than every sorrow, death, and hell, and like death and hell, it subjects all adversities and sorrows to itself: therefore I demand from you, O bride, a similar, that is, a strong love, that "you may set Me as a seal upon your heart," so that by regard for Me and love of Me you may overcome and transcend death and hell, and like death and hell yield to no enemy, temptation, sorrow, or adversity, but conquer all things and subject them to yourself.

ITS LAMPS (of love and jealousy, or zeal) ARE LAMPS OF FIRE AND FLAMES. — Lamps, that is, torches, as if saying: The torches of the charity and zeal of Christ are like the most burning fires and flames, and the same He rightly demands from the bride, that is, from the Church and the holy soul.

7. MANY WATERS CANNOT QUENCH LOVE, NOR WILL FLOODS OVERWHELM IT. IF A MAN SHOULD GIVE ALL THE SUBSTANCE OF HIS HOUSE FOR LOVE, HE WILL DESPISE IT AS NOTHING. — "It," not the love, but the substance, as if saying: No persecutions, calumnies, scourges, pains, nails, thorns, etc., which like torrents rushed upon Christ in great abundance and force, were able, or ever will be able, to overwhelm or extinguish His charity; indeed rather as these grew, the love and ardor of Christ grew, just as by antiperistasis fire surrounded by freezing waters intensifies and burns more. The same Christ the bridegroom rightly demands from the bride the Church and the pious soul: the reason is that charity is a most precious, supernatural, and divine thing, which surpasses all price, all wealth, all substance, and in comparison with which all crosses and sorrows are as nothing, and not to be esteemed.

Voice of the Mature Bride concerning the younger, that is, of the Church concerning the Synagogue.

VERSE 8. OUR SISTER IS LITTLE, AND HAS NO BREASTS: WHAT SHALL WE DO FOR OUR SISTER IN THE DAY WHEN SHE IS TO BE SPOKEN TO? — The Church, hearing Christ the bridegroom show such excellent charity toward her and require the same from her, tacitly assents and pledges it, as will appear in verses 10 ff.; but she is concerned about her sister the Synagogue, that is, about the uneducated people of the Jews to be converted at the end of the world, since they are still small in number, and recent in faith and tender in charity, so that they do not have the breasts of doctrine with which to nurse others, but rather still suck them themselves; she says to the companions of the bridegroom, namely the disciples of Elijah and the preachers of Christ: What shall we do for our sister the Synagogue, that she may grow in faith and mature in charity, so that on the day of judgment, when she is to be addressed by Christ the bridegroom, as a bride to be led into the heavenly bridal chamber, she may be found worthy of His heavenly nuptials, and may appear such to Him, and please Him, and be united to Him.

Voice of the Companions of the Bridegroom, that is, of the disciples and followers of Elijah.

VERSE 9. IF SHE IS A WALL, LET US BUILD UPON HER SILVER BATTLEMENTS: IF SHE IS A DOOR, LET US FASTEN IT WITH BOARDS OF CEDAR, — as if saying: Part of the Synagogue, that is, of the Jewish people, has a firm and constant heart like a wall: therefore let us instruct them with the words of Sacred Scripture, so that, once instructed, they may be able to preach, propagate, and defend the faith of Christ: for these words are to the wall what silver battlements are, and what breasts are to the chest; for like battlements, they defend; like breasts, they nurse. The other part of the Jews has a heart like a door, slight, weak, mobile, and changeable: therefore let us fasten and strengthen it with the holy examples of Christians, like boards of cedar, that is, incorruptible ones, so that the Jews, strengthened in the faith and charity of Christ, if not as brides, at least as the maiden companions of the bride, may merit to be admitted with her to the heavenly nuptials of Christ now at hand.

Voice of the Younger Bride, namely the Synagogue.

VERSE 10. I AM A WALL: AND MY BREASTS ARE LIKE A TOWER, SINCE I WAS MADE IN HIS PRESENCE AS ONE FINDING PEACE, — as if saying: There is no reason for you to worry about me, for converted to Christ, I cling to Him so constantly and fervently that I seem to be an impregnable wall; moreover, just as towers rest upon a wall, so upon my firm chest, like a wall, rest the breasts of doctrine and of teachers, so powerful that they can lay low the antichristians, the Jews, and any enemies whatsoever; and so rich in milk that they can nurse all my little ones in the faith; and this I have not from myself, but from the grace of my bridegroom Christ: for from the moment He, as the true Solomon, deigned to reconcile me to Himself, indeed to make me the Shulamite, that is, His bride, whose name means the peaceful one, I immediately grew into this strength and this loftiness, so that I seem, if not His equal, certainly near His equal.

Voice of the Mature Bride, namely the Church.

VERSES 11 and 12. THE PEACEFUL ONE HAD A VINEYARD IN THAT PLACE WHICH HAS PEOPLES. HE GAVE IT TO KEEPERS, A MAN BRINGS FOR ITS FRUIT A THOUSAND PIECES OF SILVER. MY VINEYARD IS BEFORE ME. THE THOUSAND ARE FOR YOU, O PEACEFUL ONE, AND TWO HUNDRED FOR THOSE WHO KEEP ITS FRUIT. — The Peaceful One is Solomon, as the Hebrew, Septuagint, and Syriac have; but Solomon here is Christ. It seems that Solomon concludes the Canticle, begun with such ardor of love, with a cold ending about peace; but the Hebrews by peace signify all salvation, all beauty, all pleasure, all joy, and every good; for wine pressed from the vine of the vineyard, bringing this peace, vivifies man, makes him joyful, and inebriates him with its pleasure: "for wine cheers God and men," Judges 9:43.

The Church, taking up again the words of the Synagogue, which said: "Since I was in His presence as one finding peace," confirms this, and responds saying: Truly you have said this, O my sister Synagogue, because just as Solomon the peaceful king had a famous vineyard in Baal-hamon, that is, in a city so named from the throng of people; moreover he had a mystical vineyard, namely the Synagogue, both of which yielded excellent fruits that were valued at a thousand pieces of silver, that is, at the highest price: so likewise the true Solomon, that is, Christ the peaceful king, will make you His vineyard at the end of the world, which will abound both in the number and virtue of faithful Jews, and therefore its fruit will be reckoned as worth a thousand pieces of silver, that is, as being of the highest value.

In equal manner, "my vineyard is before me," that is, I the Church have a vineyard similar to yours, O Synagogue, which is always before my eyes and my greatest care; your vineyard is Judea, my vineyard is the whole world, namely all the nations, which I diligently cultivate in Christian faith and piety through my prelates and pastors, and therefore in equal manner I gather from it a thousand pieces of silver, that is, the greatest fruit and value, and offer it to my Christ; "therefore the thousand are yours, O peaceful one," in Hebrew, the thousand are yours, O Solomon, that is, these thousand silver pieces owed to You, as being won and produced by Your grace; "and two hundred for those who keep its fruit," as if saying: To the prelates who cultivated this vineyard, there is owed and will be given a double reward, namely the glory of soul and body, for the observance of the ten commandments of the Decalogue in heart and deed both in themselves and in their subjects, multiplied a hundredfold, that is, in every way complete and perfect: for a hundred doubled makes two hundred.

Voice of the Bridegroom.

VERSE 13. YOU WHO DWELL IN THE GARDENS, FRIENDS LISTEN: MAKE ME HEAR YOUR VOICE. — In a pastoral mode, Christ the bridegroom is here introduced as a shepherd, whose bride, devoted to chastity and meditation, dwells in gardens and vineyards like a rural nymph, and cultivates them. The sense is, as if Christ were saying: I have heard, O My bride the Church, your sighs as you yearn for heaven, but they were hidden and indistinct, and therefore I would wish you to utter them clearly: for My friends and yours, that is, the angels, eagerly desire to hear them; therefore I will grant your wishes: ask, and you shall obtain: speak, and you shall be heard: sigh for heaven, and I will lead you there, for now the end of the world is imminent, and the day of judgment and of the blessed resurrection.

Voice of the Bride.

VERSE 14. FLEE, MY BELOVED, AND BE LIKE A GAZELLE AND A YOUNG DEER UPON THE MOUNTAINS OF SPICES, — which in chapter 2, verse 17, are called the mountains of Bether, or Bethel, that is, the house of God, namely heaven, as if saying: Flee, that is, most swiftly like fleeing gazelles and young deer from this putrid and foul earth, O Christ, hasten to the sweet-smelling mountains of spices, that is, to heaven, and I pray, carry me with You, so that there we may mutually enjoy each other in blessed eternity: just as gazelles and young deer, when they flee from hunters, carry their young with them, nor do they undertake their flight to the mountains of spices without them, such as are in Judea, Lebanon, Syria, and the East. Whence the word "flee" can be taken as "make me flee," by a Hebraism in which the Qal is used for the Hiphil.

"Flee, be silent, be at rest" (St. Arsenius). "Flee to the mountains of spices, to the hills of blessed ETERNITY. How happy, how blessed is ETERNITY!" "We shall exchange one night (of cold) for an everlasting age," St. Basil, Homily on the 40 Martyrs. "Eternity blesses the angels, time blesses men, His own eternity blesses God." The Angelic Doctor, I, Question 10: "O truly blessed kingdom, lacking death, free from end, upon which no times succeed through the ages, where continuous day without night knows no passage of time; where the victorious soldier, joined to those hymn-singing choirs of angels, sings to God without ceasing the Song of songs of Zion, with a noble crown perpetually embracing his head!" says St. Augustine in his Meditations, chapter 22.