Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
He teaches that rain and the fruits of the earth must be sought from God, not from idols, on account of which they were devastated and dragged into captivity. He then promises that He will give the Maccabean heroes, who by their valor, battles, and victories will make Judea illustrious and defend it, so that the Jews and Israelites dispersed throughout Egypt and Assyria will return to it in great numbers; and strengthened and protected by God, they will successfully and bravely overcome all the dangers of sea and land, until they arrive in Judea, where under God's protection they will lead a quiet and secure life. So say the Hebrews, St. Jerome, Theodoret, Albert, and Hugh. Mystically, the strength and success of the Apostles is signified, who will spread and defend the Church of Christ, so that both Jews and Gentiles will flock to it, and will nobly overcome all obstacles of journeys by sea and land, of persecutions, temptations, and enemies. So say St. Jerome, Remigius, Rupert, and Lyra.
Vulgate Text: Zechariah 10:1-12
1. Ask of the Lord rain in the latter season, and the Lord will produce snow, and will give them showers of rain, to each one grass in the field. 2. For the idols have spoken what is useless, and the diviners have seen lies, and the dreamers have spoken vanity: they comforted in vain; therefore they were led away as a flock; they shall be afflicted, because there is no shepherd for them. 3. My wrath is kindled against the shepherds, and I will visit upon the he-goats: for the Lord of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, and has made them as the horse of His glory in battle. 4. Out of him the cornerstone, out of him the tent-peg, out of him the battle bow, out of him every ruler together. 5. And they shall be as mighty men, treading down the mire of the ways in battle: and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders of horses shall be confounded. 6. And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph: and I will bring them back, because I will have mercy on them: and they shall be as they were when I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and I will hear them. 7. And they shall be as the mighty men of Ephraim, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: and their children shall see, and shall rejoice, and their heart shall exult in the Lord. 8. I will whistle for them, and I will gather them together, because I have redeemed them: and I will multiply them as they had been multiplied before. 9. And I will sow them among the peoples, and from afar they shall remember Me: and they shall live with their children, and shall return. 10. And I will bring them back out of the land of Egypt, and will gather them from among the Assyrians, and will bring them to the land of Gilead and Lebanon, and there shall not be room enough found for them: 11. and he shall pass through the strait of the sea, and shall strike the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river shall be confounded, and the pride of Assyria shall be brought low, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart. 12. I will strengthen them in the Lord, and they shall walk in His name, says the Lord.
Verse 1: Ask of the Lord Rain in the Latter
1. ASK OF THE LORD RAIN IN THE LATTER SEASON. — So the Hebrew, the Chaldee, and others. But the Septuagint, by the word "in the season," understand the early rain; whence they translate: Ask of the Lord rain in due season, early and late. The early rain,
the early rain, or timely rain—that is, seasonable rain—is called in Palestine that which falls seasonably and early, that is, at the time of sowing in October, to water the seeds; the latter rain is that which falls late, that is, at the time of the approaching harvest in April, to fatten and ripen the crops, as I discussed at Hosea 6:3. God therefore here commands the Jews to ask for rain that makes the fields fruitful, not from mute and vain idols, but from Himself, as the Creator and Governor of the universe and the Giver of every good thing. So say the Hebrews, Theodoret, Albert, and others. This prophecy seems to have been uttered by Zechariah after the sowing season in winter, because he commands that only the latter rain be sought, not the early rain, as if its season had already passed.
Note here from the physical and agricultural standpoint that for fields and crops, fair weather is beneficial during winter, but in the later spring (which borders closely on summer) rain is necessary for them, by which they may be nourished and grow. Whence Macrobius, Book V of the Saturnalia, chapter 20, cites this ancient popular rustic song:
With winter dust and spring mud, Camillus, you will reap great harvests.
Mystically, by rain is signified doctrine: for this waters and makes fruitful the minds, just as rain does the earth and its shoots, according to Deuteronomy 32:1: "Let my doctrine gather as the rain, let my speech flow as the dew." The early rain was the Law of Moses and the teaching of the Prophets, which first sowed the seeds of faith and virtue among the unlearned Jews; the latter rain is the Law and Gospel of Christ and the Apostles, which teaches perfect faith and virtue. So say St. Cyril, St. Jerome, Remigius, and Rupert.
Moreover, here He admonishes that only the latter rain should be asked from God, because they had already received the early rain, as if to say: You, O Jews, have received from Moses the old Law, as the early rain; now ask from God the Evangelical Law which Christ will bring, as the latter rain, which will lead you to true and perfect justice and happiness.
AND THE LORD WILL PRODUCE SNOW. — Pagninus, Mariana, Ribera, Sanchez, and others think it should be read as "clouds," not "snow." But the Roman Bible and others everywhere, and indeed St. Jerome in his Commentary, consistently read "snow," not "clouds." In Hebrew the word is חזיז chaziz, that is, vision, appearance, brightness, splendor, lightning, flashing. The Septuagint translate it as phantasias, that is, flashings and lightnings, says Cyril and Theodoret, because they suddenly appear and disappear, like aerial phenomena, and because lightning is seen before thunder is heard, even though the collision of clouds and thunder comes first and is indeed the cause of lightning. The Chaldee translates it as "winds"; Pagninus, "flashings"; the Zurich Bible, "gleamings"; others, "lightnings"; our Vulgate, at Job 28:26, translates it as "storms," because lightning and thunder bring storms and heavy rain. Here it correctly translates it as "snow": for the Hebrew chaziz is derived from חזה chaza, that is, to see; whence chaziz is a visible thing that dazzles the eyes, such as light and flashing, and gleaming brightness. Snow, therefore, because it gleams with its brightness and splendor,
flashes and strikes the eyes and dazzles them; hence it is rightly called chaziz. Heraclitus added that snow is chaziz, that is, a vision and an appearance, because it is not really white but only appears white to us. But this is his paradox. Furthermore, chaziz signifies snow rather than clouds: for properly it signifies something bright and flashing that strikes the sight, such as snow is, not clouds. Chaziz therefore signifies clouds only incidentally, not as clouds, but as flashing and lightning. Whence the Chaldee, at Job 38:25, for what we have: "The way of the resounding thunder," translates the Hebrew chaziz as: The way for the clouds by which they pour down water with thunders and lightnings.
You will say: In the time of the latter rain, that is, in April and spring, there is no snow, but clouds. I answer: the meaning of this verse is, as if to say: After the early rain, that is, after the seed has been sown in autumn, ask God to give rain for the latter season, which will bring it to ears and grain; and God, granting your requests, will surpass your wishes. For He will give snow in winter, which will cover, root, and fertilize your seeds; and then in spring He will give the latter shower, and at the same time will melt and dissolve into water the snows that remain on Lebanon, Carmel, and other mountains of Judea (as they remain in the Alps and on the Apennines all year round), which running down into the valleys and plains of Judea will water and enrich your crops. Whence the Septuagint translate: He will give them winter rain.
Moreover, that snows resting long upon the earth make it fertile and give an abundance of crops is established by experience. Whence the common proverb: "A year of snows is a year of crops." Pliny gives the reason in Book 17, chapter 3: "It is the common wish for trees and crops that snows should settle for a long time. The reason is not only that they enclose and compress the breath of the earth that would vanish by exhalation, and drive it back into the vigor of crops and their roots; but also because they provide moisture gradually, and moreover a pure and very light moisture, since snow is the foam of celestial waters. Therefore the moisture from them does not all rush in flooding and washing away, but distilling as it is thirsted for, as from a breast it nourishes all that it does not inundate; and the earth in this way ferments, and full of sap, not exhausted by its milky seedlings, when the season opens, smiles upon the warm gardens."
So symbolically, a year or day of tribulations is a year or day of merits and virtues. For tribulations cause, first, that a man does not pour himself out upon external things, nor vanish in his own self-esteem. Second, that he turns to his heart and dwells with himself, and in it sets deep roots of patience, humility, charity, and other virtues. Third, it waters them with pious and heavenly thoughts, which either tribulation itself suggests or God sends concerning the vanity and miseries of the world, the happiness of heavenly glory, the fear of judgment, hell, etc., the dignity of the cross, of fortitude, of patience, etc.
Mystically, the Apostles and preachers are chazizim
chazizim, that is, first, snows—both because just as snows water the earth with their moisture, so they filled, fertilized, gladdened, and cooled men from the heat of concupiscence with their doctrine, according to Proverbs 25:13: "As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to him that sent him."
Second, they are chazizim, that is, heavy and flashing clouds, which give an abundant shower of wisdom and spirit, so that the fruits of virtues might sprout and be produced, according to Isaiah 5:6: "I will command the clouds to rain no rain upon it." And Psalm 96:1: "Clouds and darkness are round about Him." See St. Jerome on both passages.
Third, they are chazizim, that is, winds, as the Chaldee translates, because like winds they ran most swiftly throughout the whole world preaching the Gospel, like angels of God, of whom the Psalmist and the Apostle say in Hebrews 1:7: "Who makes His angels spirits (that is, winds) and His ministers a flame of fire."
Fourth, they are chazizim, that is, storms, which shook hard human hearts with terror, and prostrated and crushed them with the weight of threats of God's wrath, judgment, and hell, according to Job 28:26: "When He made a decree for the rain and a way for the resounding storms."
Fifth, they are properly chazizim, that is, thundering lightnings and flashing thunders, because they thundered with their mouths and flashed with their lives (as Nazianzen says of St. Basil), and with divine radiations dazzled, illuminated, and inflamed the minds of men. Thus St. James and St. John were called by Christ Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder, that is, thunderbolts, or thundering and flashing ones (Mark 3:17).
AND WILL GIVE THEM SHOWERS OF RAIN. — Others translate: Rain of rain, or shower of shower, that is, He will give them abundant rain, copious showers. The Septuagint translate: He will give them winter rain; for winter rain is both copious and refreshing. And from this rain He will give each one grass in the field. The Chaldee: That He may give them grain to eat, and grass for the cattle in the field. The Hebrew: He will give them, that is, to each one, grass in the field. There is a change of person; for it passes from the second person to the third. "Them" therefore means "you," that is, to each of you, or to each individually: so Vatablus.
Mystically, as if to say: God will give to all who ask grass, or the shoots of salvation, in their hearts; because He will inspire in them pious thoughts, affections, impulses, desires, etc., which like shoots will produce an abundance of fruits of good and heroic works.
Verse 2: For the Idols (the Word "for" Gives the
2. FOR THE IDOLS (the word "for" gives the reason why rain and the fertility of the earth must be sought from God, not from idols nor from diviners, whom the Jews were accustomed to consult, especially before the Babylonian captivity, says St. Jerome. The reason is), FOR THE IDOLS HAVE SPOKEN WHAT IS USELESS, etc. — That is to say: The idols do not help, but harm; they bring damage, not benefit. For the demons, when consulted about abundance or scarcity of things, give through them useless answers, indeed false ones
and harmful. Whence the Septuagint translate: For those who spoke have spoken labors and sorrows. The Chaldee: For the worshippers of idols speak robbery. For the Hebrew און aven signifies useless, vain, iniquity, robbery. For since the demons burn with envy and the desire to harm men, when consulted they are accustomed to urge robberies and crimes, as if through these men would conciliate their gods to themselves and obtain from them an abundance of crops, or whatever they seek. The same do their ministers and interpreters, namely magicians and diviners. Whence he adds concerning them: "The diviners have seen lies." The Septuagint: False visions. The Chaldee: The diviners prophesy falsehood and console in vain. Experience teaches that those who consult demons through magicians and diviners receive a vain, indeed a most harmful consolation, because for the small good that the demon bestows on them, he soon brings immense disasters and damages, both to the soul and the body of the same, as Delrio teaches with many examples in his work on Magic.
AND THE DREAMERS. — So he calls the diviners who divined from dreams, or peddled their own dreams as oracles. Whence Pagninus and the Zurich Bible translate the Hebrew literally thus: The diviners have seen lies, they have spoken vain dreams. The Septuagint: The diviners spoke false visions and false dreams. The Chaldee: The false prophet in his false prophecy speaks lies.
THEREFORE THEY WERE LED AWAY AS A FLOCK. — So the Roman edition. That is to say: Because the Jews recently put faith in idols, diviners, and dreamers, therefore they were led away captive like a flock of sheep to Babylon.
THEY SHALL BE AFFLICTED, BECAUSE THERE IS NO SHEPHERD FOR THEM, that is: And there they were afflicted and given as prey to wolves, namely the Chaldeans, because they lacked a true shepherd to protect them, and followed these diviners and dreamers, who were false shepherds, fleeing at the sight of the wolf and handing over the sheep to him. Whence the Chaldee translates: Therefore they were scattered as sheep are scattered; they were carried away, because there is no king for them.
Mystically, as if to say: Therefore the Jews were led away into various errors and the worship of demons, because they did not have a true shepherd, namely Christ, but false and lying ones, such as the Scribes and Pharisees were in the time of Christ, against whom Christ thunders in Matthew 23. Wherefore:
Verse 3: My Wrath is Kindled Against the Shepherds (that
3. MY WRATH IS KINDLED AGAINST THE SHEPHERDS (that is: I will punish these false shepherds, who have destroyed the flock of My people). AND UPON THE HE-GOATS I WILL VISIT (Vatablus: against). — He says the same thing with another metaphor: for he calls the false shepherds he-goats, both because of their foul and goatish manners, and because they begot kids like themselves, that is, wicked men, by word and example, and went before them as leaders to every crime, just as he-goats go before the she-goats and kids.
FOR THE LORD OF HOSTS HAS VISITED HIS FLOCK, THE HOUSE OF JUDAH. — The word "visited" is used here in contrary senses. For: "Upon the he-goats I will visit" means the same as: I will punish the he-goats, that is, the leaders and false shepherds; I will extend My avenging hand upon them, and inflict sharp blows upon their backs. But here: "The Lord has visited His flock" means that He will protect it, and from it will appoint leaders to defend it. Whence follows:
AND HE MADE THEM AS THE HORSE OF HIS GLORY, — that is: Because these false leaders and shepherds destroyed My flock, for this reason God will visit it, and from it will establish true princes and shepherds, and worthy of that rank, namely Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, who like the noble war-horses of God may go forth to battle for the people, and rout their enemies, namely Antiochus and his commanders. So say St. Jerome, Theodoret, Remigius, Hugh, and others.
You will say: Judas and the Maccabees were descended from the tribe of Levi, not Judah; for they were priests and high priests, who all descend from Levi, as is clear from 1 Maccabees 2:1. Some answer that they descended on the paternal side from Levi, but on the maternal side from Judah. But I say that Judah here and elsewhere refers to the whole Jewish nation, as distinguished from Israel and the ten tribes that made the schism from Judah. But this nation was a mixture of the tribe of Judah, Levi, Benjamin, and the rest, but was called Judah from the greater part, especially because to Judah the scepter was promised and given until Christ by the patriarch Jacob in Genesis 49:10. The Maccabees, therefore, though descended from Levi, are said to come forth from Judah, that is, from the Jewish nation, but not from the tribe of Judah.
Mystically, our Jews and Maccabees are Christ and the Apostles, who, sprung from Jewish stock, like noble horses entered battle with kings, princes, philosophers, and the whole faithless world, and crushed it and subjected it to themselves and to Christ. So say Remigius, Haymo, and Lyra. Whence the Chaldee also translates: From him his king; from him his Christ; from him the strength of his war; from him shall all his governors be magnified together.
Moreover, "the horse of glory," that is, glorious, beautiful, handsome, illustrious, as the Syriac translates, and ready and vigorous in battle, as the Arabic translates, is a remarkable hieroglyphic of an apostle and apostolic man, who like a horse carries Christ the Rider everywhere, as a horseman overthrowing unbelief and vices, subjugating kings and princes, boldly, so that he is not wearied by any labors, yields to no dangers, terrors, enemies, or difficulties, but nobly leaps over and subjugates all things, according to what Job says of the war-horse, chapter 39:20: "The glory of his nostrils is terror. He digs the earth with his hoof, he exults boldly, he goes to meet armed men: he despises fear, nor yields to the sword," etc.
Such was Bucephalus of Alexander the Great, which he himself used in battles and with which he conquered. Pliny says of him in Book 8, chapter 41: "To the same Alexander a remarkable horse also came. They called him Bucephalus, either from his fierce appearance, or from the mark of a bull's head branded on his shoulder. They say he was bought for sixteen talents from the herd of Philonicus of Pharsalus. He would receive no one other than Alexander on his back, fitted out in royal trappings, rejecting all others indiscriminately. In battles he is reported to have performed memorable service: wounded at the siege of Thebes, he did not allow Alexander to mount another horse; and much else of the same sort, on account of which the king held a funeral for him when he died, and built a city around his tomb named after him"—namely, which he called Bucephalia after Bucephalus.
Moreover, St. Gregory, in Book 31 of the Morals, chapters 11 and following, explaining the words of Job, says: "The horse is the preacher who has fortitude, because he bears adversities with constancy. He has a neigh, because he calls enticingly to heavenly things. To His horse the Lord gives, with the fortitude of action, the neigh of the voice, and with the neigh of the voice, the fortitude of action. He digs the earth with his hoof, that is, whatever he perceives earthly to be dwelling in his mind, this indeed he breaks with the hard blows of repentance applied upon it." He adds that such a horse of God's glory was St. Paul, and continues: "God's horse exults boldly, and does not fear external torments, because he seeks internal delight. He does not dread the anger of the powers of the world, because he tramples even the desire for the present life by the ecstasy of the mind. He goes to meet armed men. It is pleasing to behold him, spurred on by his Rider's spurs against armed enemies—how great a fervor kindled Paul, when at Ephesus the flame of zeal was carrying him to break through the crowds in the theater (Acts 19), and Acts 21: 'I am ready,' he says, 'not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.' He despises fear, nor yields to the sword." For he says in Romans 8: "Who shall separate us from the love of God? Shall tribulation, or distress, or hunger, or persecution?"
These and more does St. Gregory say. What are we compared to this? Horses, not Trojan, but Sejanian; indeed, not horses at all but sluggish, slow-gaited, and ill-fated donkeys. The Sejanian horse is said to have destroyed his heroes and riders—Sejus, then Dolabella, then Cassius, and finally Antony. So we more often lose the kingdom of Christ than extend it. See what I said about the white horse and his rider Christ at Apocalypse 6:2.
FROM HIM (namely Judah, shall come forth) THE CORNERSTONE. — So
it is to be read with the Hebrew, the Chaldee, and the Roman editions; therefore in some Bibles it is incorrectly read as "angel." Now "cornerstone" is metaphorically applied to a prince, who holds together, binds, watches over, and strengthens the commonwealth, just as a cornerstone holds both walls together in a house. So St. Jerome. See what was said at Isaiah 19:13. Again, "corner" is used metonymically for a tower, which is customarily erected at the corners of walls for the protection of a house, citadel, or city, according to Zephaniah 1:13: "A day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high corners." A tower, moreover, signifies princes, concerning which Song of Songs 4 says: "A thousand shields hang from it." In the literal sense, the "cornerstone" here, that is, the prince coming forth from Judah, was Judas Maccabeus; allegorically, Christ and the Apostles. For Christ is the cornerstone of the house of God, that is, of the Church, who holds together both walls, that is, the Jews and the Gentiles, and upon whom as a foundation the entire structure of the Church rests and is supported, as the Apostle teaches in Ephesians 2, at the end of the chapter.
Verse 4: From him the Tent
4. FROM HIM THE TENT-PEG. — He says the same thing with another metaphor. For a prince in the commonwealth is what a cornerstone is in a building, and what a peg is in a wall, from which weapons and vessels of every kind hang suspended; so from a prince the whole people hangs, is governed, and is sustained. Thus Eliakim is called a peg in Isaiah 22:23. So the Jewish people hung from the Maccabees, and the Christian people from Christ and the Apostles.
FROM HIM THE BATTLE BOW. — This is a third metaphor. For just as he called the prince a cornerstone and a tent-peg a little earlier, so here he calls him the battle bow, who, that is, fights bravely for the people and strikes down their enemies with his own bow and that of his people, as Judas Maccabeus did in the literal sense; mystically, Christ and the Apostles. St. Jerome, however, distinguishes these three thus: "From him the cornerstone," that is, from Judah and the Jews, he says, shall come forth royal power; for they had David, Solomon, and their descendants as kings. "From him the tent-peg," that is, the priesthood. "From him the battle bow," that is, military might, namely strong soldiers and leaders. For these three things—kingship, priesthood, and military service—are the strength, support, honor, and glory of every commonwealth, as well as of the Church.
FROM HIM SHALL COME FORTH EVERY RULER. — The Septuagint: "driver"; the Chaldee: "governor"; Pagninus: "prefect"—who, namely, exacts both taxes and the rights and duties owed by subjects or conquered enemies to the prince of the commonwealth or to God, such as religion, worship of God, and observance of the laws. Such were the Maccabees, but especially Christ and the Apostles. For an "exactor" properly is a victor, and thence a prince, who imposes laws, burdens, and tributes upon the conquered and subjected—which properly belongs to Judas Maccabeus, and even more to Christ.
Morally, let princes, magistrates, and prelates learn here that they must render in the commonwealth, college, or congregation over which they preside, first, what a cornerstone renders in a house—namely, to support it, bind it, unite it; second, what a peg renders in a wall—to be firm and unmoved like it, and to strengthen and sustain others, so that those above, in the middle, and below may depend on them; third, what a bow renders in battle—so that, just as it drives away and strikes down enemies, they may defend and protect the commonwealth, and ward off and drive away from it all enemies; fourth, what a tax-collector renders at the customs house or in collecting a debt—namely, to insist constantly on discipline and the observance of laws, both divine and human, and if these have collapsed, to restore and renew them, even if the hatred of many must be endured and the fickleness of the crowd must often be resisted. Thus will be fulfilled in them that word of Isaiah 58:12: "And the desolations of ages shall be built up in you, you shall raise up the foundations of generation after generation, and you shall be called the repairer of the breach, turning the paths into rest."
Wisely does Cicero say in Book 1 of On Duties: "In general, let those who govern the state keep two precepts of Plato: one, that they so guard the welfare of citizens that whatever they do, they refer it to that end, forgetful of their own advantages; the other, that they care for the whole body of the commonwealth, lest while they protect some one part, they abandon the rest. For as guardianship, so the administration of the state must be conducted for the benefit of those who are entrusted, not of those to whom it is entrusted." And with some words intervening: "It is the proper duty of a magistrate to understand that he bears the person of the state, and that he ought to uphold its dignity and honor, preserve the laws, define rights, and remember those things committed to his trust." The same author, in Book 3 of On the Laws: "The magistrate is the law speaking," just as conversely the law is the magistrate silent and mute. "As the whole state is accustomed to be infected by the desires and vices of its princes, so it is corrected and amended by their self-restraint."
Thucydides in Book 6: "The magistrate," he says, "is the physician of the state." With whatever skill, care, sincerity, and fortitude, then, a physician cures a patient—for example, one who is delirious and unwilling—with the same the magistrate should cure the state. Agesilaus, according to Plutarch in his Laconic Sayings, said the duty of a magistrate was "to use boldness toward rebels, and kindness toward subjects." Just as Virgil in Æneid 6 said the role of a prince was:
To spare the vanquished, and war down the proud.
Agathon used to say that a magistrate should remember three things: first, that he rules over men; second, that he rules according to laws; third, that he will not always rule. So says Stobæus, sermon 43.
Plato, in Book 4 of the Laws, holds that magistracy should be conferred not on those who excel in wealth, strength, beauty,
nobility, but on those who most obey the laws, and in this surpass the rest in the city. Cato, seeking the censorship, when he saw his competitors supplicating the people and canvassing them in the usual way, cried out that the people needed a stern physician with powerful remedies, and therefore should choose not the most flattering candidate, but the most inflexible; and saying this, he was elected censor before all others.
The people recognized their disease; and accordingly Cato prevailed more by reproving than others did by flattering, says Plutarch in his Roman Apophthegms. For as our bodies cannot hold together without a mind, so a state cannot hold together without laws. Solon, asked how a state could be well governed, replied: If the prince and the leading men have lived according to the law, says Valerius, Book 3, chapter 9. Again, if the citizens obey the magistrate, and the magistrate obeys the laws, as Stobæus reports, sermon 41. Heraclitus said that "citizens ought to fight for their laws no less than for their walls"; because without laws a state can in no way be safe, though it may be without walls. So Laertius, Book 9, chapter 1. Hence that line of Virgil:
He will establish laws for men, and build walls.
Pittacus, when Croesus asked what is the greatest power, replied: Where laws rule. For where the authority of the laws is supreme, there is the least tyranny. So Laertius, Book 1, chapter 5. Demosthenes used to say that laws are the soul of a state: for as a body falls when deprived of a soul, so a state governed by no laws collapses of its own accord. So Maximus, sermon 68. Cleon used to say that the condition of a state which uses firm laws, even if inferior ones, is much better than that of one which has good but ineffective laws. So Thucydides, Book 3. Archidamus, when asked who were the rulers of the city of Sparta, replied: The laws and lawful magistrates—meaning that in a well-constituted republic the supreme authority should be given to the laws, the secondary to the magistrates; and therefore they should be guardians and defenders of the laws, not their masters nor their dispensers, that is, dissipators. Louis XII, King of France, condemned the sub-prefect of Orleans, whom he had formerly used familiarly and had often freed when accused of injustice, once he became king, saying: "I strove as a private citizen for a friend; but now that I have obtained the kingdom, I must defend the laws." So the French Annals.
Divinely does St. Bernard, in Book 4 of On Consideration, chapter 4, to Pope Eugenius, teach him what kind of prelates he should create or form: "Those who are," he says, "upright in judgment, prudent in counsel, discreet in commanding, diligent in arranging, vigorous in acting, etc.; who do not regard their commission as a source of gain, nor seek the gift but the fruit. Who present John to kings, Moses to the Egyptians, Phinehas to fornicators, Elijah to idolaters, Elisha to the avaricious, Peter to liars, Christ to merchants. Who do not despise the common people but teach them; who do not flatter the rich but awe them; who do not burden the poor but cherish them; who do not fear the threats of princes but despise them; who do not enter with a crowd, nor leave with anger; who do not plunder churches but reform them. Who do not drain purses but restore hearts and correct crimes; who look after their own reputation and do not envy that of others. Who bear a zeal for prayer and practice it, and in every matter trust more in prayer than in their own industry or labor. Whose entrance is peaceful, whose departure is not troublesome. Whose speech is edification, whose life is justice, whose presence is grace, whose memory is in blessing. Who show themselves lovable not in word but in deed; who display themselves as worthy of reverence by their actions, not their haughtiness. Who are humble with the humble and innocent with the innocent; who sternly reprove the obstinate, restrain the malicious, and render retribution to the proud. Who do not hasten to enrich themselves or their own from the dowry of the widow and the patrimony of the Crucified, freely giving what they have freely received, freely executing judgment for those who suffer injustice, vengeance among the nations, rebukes among the peoples."
And in chapter 7, he concludes the book thus: "Where power is joined to malice, you must presume something above the human level. Let your face be set against those who do evil. Let him who does not reverence man and does not fear the sword, fear the spirit of your wrath. Let him who has scorned admonition fear prayer. Let him against whom you are angry think that God, not man, is angry with him. Let him who has not heard you know that he will hear God, and let him tremble before himself." And a little before this, he paints the ideal of the perfect Pontiff thus: "Consider that you ought to be a model of justice, a mirror of holiness, an exemplar of piety, an asserter of truth, a defender of the faith, a teacher of nations, a leader of Christians, a friend of the Bridegroom, the paranymph of the Bride, the organizer of the clergy, the shepherd of the people, the teacher of the foolish, the refuge of the oppressed, the advocate of the poor, the hope of the wretched, the guardian of orphans, the judge of widows, the eye of the blind, the tongue of the mute, the staff of the aged, the avenger of crimes, the terror of the wicked, the glory of the good, the rod of the mighty, the hammer of tyrants, the father of kings, the moderator of laws, the dispenser of canons, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, the priest of the Most High, the Vicar of Christ, the Anointed of the Lord, and finally the God of Pharaoh."
Verse 5: And They Shall Be as Mighty Men, Treading
5. AND THEY SHALL BE AS MIGHTY MEN, TREADING DOWN THE MIRE (that is, the enemies like mire) OF THE WAYS IN BATTLE. (For "mighty men," in Hebrew it is גבורים gibborim, that is, most powerful, most mighty, heroes, giants, Gabriels. In the literal sense this refers to the Maccabees, who by their might trampled the enemies of Israel like mire.) BECAUSE THE LORD IS WITH THEM. — So in the Books of Maccabees we read that Judas Maccabeus never entered battle (except the last one, in which it is not recorded that he prayed, and therefore he also fell) without first invoking the help of God, which God also provided; whence He sent to him Jeremiah the Prophet from limbo, who gave him a sword and said: "Receive this holy sword, a gift
from God, with which you shall overthrow the adversaries of My people Israel" (2 Maccabees 15:13). Hence also Judas was called Maccabeus, from the initial letters of verse 11 of Exodus chapter 15: מי כמוך mi camocha baelim Jehova, that is, "Who is like You among the mighty, O Lord?" This he bore as a war-cry and an omen of victory on his standards and banners, as I discussed at Exodus 15; whence follows:
AND THE RIDERS OF HORSES SHALL BE CONFOUNDED — namely, the commanders and soldiers of Antiochus, who were powerful and boasted in their cavalry, while the Maccabees fought on foot, as did David also, and the other pious kings of the Jews, according to the law of Deuteronomy 17:16, as I discussed there. Whence the more inferior their lot and condition was, in that foot-soldiers fought against cavalry, the nobler was the victory they won over them by the help of God, and the more glorious the triumph. Hence the Chaldee translates: And the mighty of the house of Israel shall crush the slain of the peoples, like the mire of the ways in battle, and they shall wage wars; because the word of the Lord shall be for their help. Mystically, these things are truer in the spiritual battle by which Christ and the Apostles conquered the world and hell.
AND I WILL STRENGTHEN THE HOUSE OF JUDAH, AND I WILL SAVE THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH. — The house of Judah is the two tribes; the house of Joseph is the ten remaining, of which the head was the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph, and from it was descended Jeroboam, as well as the other kings of Israel. Moreover, many from the ten tribes partly had already joined themselves to the Jews before, partly afterward, when they saw or heard of the victories and trophies of the Maccabees, they attached themselves to them, so that under their leadership and protection they might live safe and happy. So St. Jerome.
Mystically, this was truer in the conversion of both Israelites and Jews to Christ, which was begun by the Apostles but will be completed by Elijah and Enoch at the end of the world: for then all Israel shall be saved. So say Remigius, Lyra, and Arias. For "I will strengthen," in Hebrew it is גברתי ghibbarti, that is, I will make them manly, strong, robust, and as it were Gabriels. For from גבר gabar, that is, he was a strong man, is derived the name Gabriel, that is, the strong one or the strength of God.
AND I WILL BRING THEM BACK — so that from the places where they were scattered by captivity, they may return to their ancestral homes in Judea. Whence the Septuagint translate: And I will cause them to dwell. The Chaldee: I will gather their captivity. More fully the Zurich Bible: And I will settle the returned. And Vatablus: And I will cause the converted to dwell. For the Hebrew הושבתים hoscebotim is of a mixed conjugation, as if formed from השיב hescib, that is, he caused to return or turn back; and from הושיב hoscib, that is, he caused to dwell, he settled.
THEY SHALL BE AS THEY WERE WHEN I HAD NOT CAST THEM OFF — that is: They shall be as they were before the captivity, both the Babylonian and the Assyrian. Hence it is clear that the Prophet speaks in the literal sense about the Jews, the Israelites, and the Maccabees. The same is clear from the names: house of Judah, house of Joseph, Ephraim, etc.
Verse 7: They Shall Be as the Mighty Men
7. THEY SHALL BE AS THE MIGHTY MEN (in Hebrew gibborim, of which I spoke at verse 5) OF EPHRAIM, that is: They shall be like the heroes of Ephraim, fighting bravely the battles of the Lord. For the tribe of Ephraim was the strongest among the ten tribes; whence it also gave continuous kings to the rest of the tribes. Hence Psalm 77:9: "The sons of Ephraim, bending and shooting the bow, turned back in the day of battle."
THEIR HEART SHALL REJOICE AS THROUGH WINE — that is: From their continual victories they will exult as those exult who grow merry from drinking strong wine; or, as if to say: In battles they will be bold, fearless, and like lions breathing fire, as if they were aflame from being filled with generous wine. Just as now the Cossacks, the Irish, the Dutch, and other nations fill themselves with distilled spirits before battle, so that burning with the hottest spirits they may be bold and rush fearlessly upon swords and blades.
AND THEIR CHILDREN — that is: Their children, grandchildren, and descendants will see and hear of the trophies of their fathers and grandfathers, and from this will exult in the Lord, and will be inspired to pursue the same heroic deeds. So by the trophies of Miltiades, Themistocles was inspired; by those of Achilles, Alexander the Great; by those of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar; by those of Cyrus, Scipio—each was roused to pursue the same through heroic deeds, as Plutarch narrates in their Lives.
Verse 8: I Will Whistle for them and Will Gather
8. I WILL WHISTLE FOR THEM AND WILL GATHER THEM TOGETHER. — As if by a whistle I will gather and summon them, like sheep to Jerusalem, as into a Synagogue; and in the time of Christ, into the Church, in which the whistle will be the preaching of the Gospel, says Vatablus. It is a catachresis: for "whistle" is used for "summons," because this is done by a shepherd to his sheep with a whistle. It is a hendiadys, for one thing is said through two: "I will whistle and gather," that is, by whistling I will gather. In a similar way Isaiah says at chapter 7:18: "The Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria." See what was said there.
Verse 9: From Afar They Shall Remember me
9. FROM AFAR THEY SHALL REMEMBER ME — that is: The Jews and Israelites dwelling in remote places, when they hear that the law of God, the worship, and the Synagogue have been restored in Judea by the Maccabees, will remember Me, so that they may invoke and worship Me in the manner of their fathers; and therefore, healthy and rejoicing with their children, they will return to Jerusalem.
Verse 10: And I Will Bring them Back from the
10. AND I WILL BRING THEM BACK FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT AND FROM THE ASSYRIANS. — He alludes to the Assyrian and Babylonian captivity, from which many among Israel, fleeing, took refuge as usual in Egypt, as is clear from Jeremiah 44; as if to say: I will release them from all their captivity, exile, and dispersion, and I will cause them to be safe and
free to their homeland, and may return to Me and to My temple and Church. So say St. Jerome, Albert, and Hugh. To this pertains what Josephus writes in Book 11 of the Antiquities, chapter 2, that Ptolemy Philadelphus, who succeeded Alexander the Great in the kingdom of Egypt after Ptolemy Lagus, sent back to Judea 120,000 Jews from Egypt with their freedom granted, and by this beneficence obtained from Eleazar the high priest the 72 Interpreters, who translated the Holy Scripture from Hebrew into the Greek language.
I WILL BRING THEM TO THE LAND OF GILEAD AND LEBANON — namely, to Judea, whose boundaries are Lebanon and Gilead. Mystically, to the Church of Christ, which is fertile, beautiful, and pleasant, like Gilead, Lebanon, and all the land once promised to the Jews. Whence follows: "And there shall not be room enough found for them," that is, sufficient room. As if to say: The multitude of the faithful will be very great, both of the Jews under the Maccabees and even more of the Christians under Christ and the Apostles, so much so that the temples and churches will not be able to contain them. Second, Sanchez says: "there shall not be found for them a place," that is, they themselves will not be found in their former place, namely in Egypt and Assyria, because they will return to Jerusalem. Whence the Septuagint translate: Not one of them shall be left behind—so that it is a hypallage. Anagogically, as if to say: The place of the faithful after death and after the day of judgment will no longer be found on earth, because they will be transferred from earth to heaven.
Verse 11: And he Shall Pass Through the Strait of
11. AND HE SHALL PASS THROUGH THE STRAIT OF THE SEA. — Various authors explain this in various ways. First, the Jews expect these things literally, as if they were prodigies to be performed by their Messiah in the future, as they were done by Moses at the Red Sea. But since in the literal sense this chapter deals with the Maccabees and their prodigious victories, hence, second, more fitting for this passage is what the ancient Hebrews relate, according to St. Jerome and Remigius and Hugh—namely, that the Jews who had formerly fled to Greece, in the time of the Maccabees, crossed through the narrow strait of the Propontis, which separates Chalcedon from Constantinople, in order to return to Judea. But nowhere do we read that this strait was struck and dried up by God so that the Jews could cross on dry foot.
Third, others think that Alexander the Great is referred to here, who crossed the sea of Pamphylia on dry foot with his army, marching against Darius and the Persians, according to Josephus, Book 2 of the Antiquities, last chapter. But this seems fabulous to learned men; and Josephus, although he reports it from others, does not approve it. Moreover, what has this to do with the Jews and the Maccabees?
I say therefore that there is here a continuous metaphor or allegory, in which under the image of the miraculous crossing of the Hebrews through the Red Sea under the leadership of Moses, and through the Jordan under the leadership of Joshua into the promised land, he describes a similar crossing—not miraculous but wonderful—of the Jews scattered throughout the whole world, through seas and nations, and their happy return to Judea, when they heard of its prosperity and the victories won by the Maccabees. As if to say: I will cause all roads, seas, and rivers to be passable for the Jews returning to Jerusalem; I will remove all barriers and obstacles, and if need be, I will dry up the sea and rivers, as I dried them up under Moses, when he struck the Red Sea with his rod, and under Joshua, when I confounded, divided, and dried up the depths of the river Jordan. Moreover, I will humble the pride and power of the Assyrians, Egyptians, and other hostile nations, and I will cause them to be unable to retain My people or delay them from their return to Judea. He names the Egyptians and Assyrians above others because these had formerly afflicted the Israelites frequently and vehemently, and had held them in captivity. So says Theodoret.
Mystically, this is truer of the Apostles and their followers, for whom God opened a way through lands, seas, and rivers, so that they might reach all nations and gather them into the Church, according to Isaiah 11:15: "And the Lord shall lay waste the tongue of the Sea of Egypt, and shall lift up His hand over the river in the might of His spirit; and He shall strike it in seven streams, so that they may cross through it with shoes on"—just as happened to Augustus Caesar when he was invading Egypt, and opening the way through his empire to Egypt and to all nations for the Apostles, as I said there. So say St. Jerome, Cyril, Clarius, Arias, Vatablus, and others. Note here: In the Scriptures the enemies of the Church of God are called Egyptians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, because these were the enemies of Israel and the Synagogue, which was the dawn and parent of the Church.
ALL THE DEPTHS OF THE RIVER SHALL BE CONFOUNDED. — "Of the river," that is, of rivers; but he says "of the river" because he alludes to the Jordan dried up by Joshua. You will say: What does "confounded" mean? Some answer that "confounded" means mixed together, just as the waters of the Jordan, divided by Joshua, were pressed back and forced together into one place, swelling, confused, that is,
mingled and rolled together. But the Hebrew בוש bos does not mean to mingle, but to confound, that is, to put to shame. I say therefore that rivers are said metaphorically to be confounded and put to shame when they are deprived of their channel—as if of their right and inheritance—against their nature, and are forcibly expelled from it. For if they had sense and blood, they would surely be ashamed and blush on account of this violence and, as it were, ignominy that they undergo unwillingly—that they must violently leave their place and yield it to men, namely the Hebrews. So an angry man is confounded when he cannot vent his anger, because it is suppressed and broken by someone more powerful. To be confounded, therefore, when said of the depths of the river, is the same as to be dried up. Whence for "shall be confounded," Pagninus and the Zurich Bible translate "shall be dried up," and so it is literally now in the Hebrew. For הובישו hobiscu is properly derived from יבש iabese, that is, to dry; our Vulgate derived it
from בוש bos, that is, to be confounded, put to shame; therefore he seems to have read with different vowel-pointing הובישו hebiscu. Although the forms of imperfect verbs in Hebrew are often confused, and "lamed-vav" verbs borrow their tenses from "pe-yod" verbs—for example, bos from iabas—and so hobiscu is put for hebiscu. In a similar way Joel said at chapter 1:10: "The wine is confounded," and verse 12: "The vine is confounded," that is, it is dried up, it has withered, it has vanished. See what was said there. The meaning of this passage is what I assigned in the preceding paragraph.
Verse 12: I Will Strengthen them in the Lord (in
12. I WILL STRENGTHEN THEM IN THE LORD (in Me, who am the Lord. It is an enallage, for God speaks of Himself in the third person) AND IN HIS NAME (that is, in His virtue, power, and invocation) THEY SHALL WALK — and the Jews shall proceed vigorously and eagerly to Jerusalem, the faithful to the Church militant on earth, and from it to the Church triumphant in heaven.