Chapter VIII.
The same soul, fleeing from being praised, says that it descended into the garden of the nut, etc., by which bitternesses and temptations are designated. In these, it does not know itself, but is known and governed by Christ, until it reaches the palm. The leaning of this soul towards the palm signifies three things: instruction, progress, perfection. The following exhortation is to charity.
While being praised by the bridegroom, blushing modestly when praised, and then called back by the love of the bridegroom, she said: 'I went down to the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley' (Cant. VI, 10). For where is the Church, if not where the rod and the grace of the priesthood flourish? There it is often tested, as in bitterness and temptations. By the nut, we understand bitterness; by the torrent, temptations, but nevertheless tolerable, for it is written: 'Our soul has crossed the torrent' (Ps. CXXIII, 5). And so he descended into a place of bitterness, where the vine flourishes, and the various and manifold fruits of evil abound, which are guarded by the unity of the entire body with faith and charity. In that bitterness, the soul did not recognize itself; for the corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly dwelling is quickly inclined. However, it must always recognize itself. But Peter was tempted and did not know himself, and Peter; for if he had known himself, he would not have denied the Author. But Christ recognized him: finally he recognized, who also looked at him (for the Lord knows those who are his) and like a good ruler, he called him back from his fall as if with the reins of his mercy. Therefore, our ruler is Christ.
Therefore, the soul says: Aminadab has placed me in the chariot (Song of Solomon VI, 11). Therefore, the soul is the chariot that sustains a good charioteer. If the chariot is the soul, it has horses, either good or bad. Good horses are the virtues of the soul, while bad horses are the passions of the body (see St. Augustine, Against Julian, Book II, Chapter 5, and Book III, Chapter 14). Therefore, a good charioteer restrains and recalls the bad horses, while inciting the good ones. The good horses are four: prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice. Bad horses have anger, desire, fear, and injustice. Sometimes the horses themselves disagree with each other, and either anger prevails or fear, and they hinder each other and slow down their pace. But good horses fly, and they rise from the ground to higher things, and uplift their soul: especially if they have a pleasant yoke and a light burden, as the one saying: Take my yoke upon you; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew, XI, 29). He himself is the charioteer who knows how to govern his own horses, so that the race is equal for all. If prudence is faster, justice slower, he urges with his own whip the slower one; if temperance is more mild, fortitude harder, he knows how to yoke the discordant ones, lest they may scatter their own chariot. Therefore, it is allowed to see with an intelligible spectacle each soul being lifted up to heaven with the greatest struggle, the hastening horses that they may be the first to reach the reward of Christ, to which the palm may be placed on their necks first. These are horses subjected to the yoke of faith, bound by the bond of charity, restrained by the reins of justice, and held back by the restraints of sobriety. Beautifully, therefore, it says: Aminadab has set me in his chariot, that is, the father of the people: but he himself who is the father of the people, is also the father of Naasson, that is, of serpents. Now recall who, like a serpent, suffered on the cross for the salvation of all, and you will understand that soul to be peaceful, to whom God the Father is a guardian, and Christ is the guide; for it is written, and this name is ours: Father, father, the guide of Israel (2 Kings 2:12).
66. So the charioteer says: Turn, Shulamite, turn (Song of Solomon 6:12). Well, he speaks both as a charioteer and as if to a chariot: Turn, Shulamite, that is, make peace. For a soul that is at peace quickly turns and corrects itself, even if it has sinned before, and Christ ascends to it more fully and deigns to rule it, to which it is said: Mount your horses, your chariot of health (Habakkuk 3:8). And elsewhere: I have sent forth your horses to Tharsis (Ibid., 15). Behold the horses of Christ. Thus, Christ ascends his horses, the Word of God ascends to holy souls.
67. So how do you know that she ascended and brought her to the palm grove, when he says to her, 'How beautiful and sweet you have become, my love, in your delights?' Your stature has become like the palm tree (Song of Solomon 7:6 and following). And she herself says, 'I said, I will climb up the palm tree.' But love itself is also a palm tree; for love is the fullness of victory. Love is indeed the fulfillment of the law. Therefore, let us run in order to grasp it; and let us run in order to conquer. He who prevails, ascends to the palm tree and eats its fruits. He who prevails no longer runs, but sits as it is written: He who prevails, I will give him to sit with me on my throne, as I also prevailed and sit with my Father on his throne (Apoc. III, 21). Hence the philosophers expressed in their books those contests of souls for the curule chair, yet they were unable to reach the palm tree; because they did not know the height of the Word and the greatness of those souls, which this soul knew, in which there was a turning of the Word.
For thus he says: I to my brother, and his desire is towards me (Song of Songs 7:10). He repeats this meaning in a different way three times in the Song of Songs. In the beginning, he says: My brother to me, and I to him, who grazes among the lilies, until the day breathes and the shadows flee away (Song of Songs 2:16-17). Then he says: I to my brother, and my brother to me, who grazes among the lilies (Song of Songs 6:2). In the end, he says: I to my brother, and his desire is towards me. First, as a foundational instruction for the soul, he said: My brother to me. For with him as my teacher, my soul also took on an attachment to God: which follows, according to progress: thirdly, according to perfection. In the first, the soul still sees shadows as in an instruction, not yet moved by the revelation of the approaching Word, but for this reason the days of the Gospel did not yet shine on it: in the second, it gathers the sweet scents without the confusion of shadows: in the third, it now provides perfect rest in itself with the Word; that it may turn over on it, bend its head, and rest, holding the merit which it could not previously find in its search, it invites to its own field, saying:
69. Come, my brother, let us go out into the field, let us rest in the castles (Song of Songs VII, 11). Above to the garden he invited, here to the field having not only the grace of flowers, but also wheat and barley, that is, the firm foundations of virtues, so that one may behold its fruits. Let us rest, he said, in the castles to which Adam, when he was expelled from paradise, had been banished: in them he rested, but he worked the land. By what reason he wants him to go out into the field, the understanding is clear; so that he may feed his flock like a good shepherd, revive the weary, and recall the wanderers. For although this new and old soul has preserved these things for herself, yet they are still like lambs who are in need of the juice of milk for nourishment. Therefore, as if perfect, she intervenes not for herself, but for others, so that she may leave the Father's bosom and go out, as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and run the way to heal the weak, not remaining in that secret throne of the Father, and dwelling in that light where the weak are unable to follow; but rather, so that she may be taken up and led into the house of the bride and into the secret. Let him sit outside for himself, while we sit inside. Let him be in the middle of us, even if he is not visible to us.
70. Therefore he says: Who will give you, brother, to suck the breasts of my mother? Finding you outside, I will kiss you (Cant. VIII, 1). A good soul is outside, so that the Word may be inside: that is, the soul is outside the body, so that the Word may dwell within us.
Assume yourself, he says, and I will lead you in (Ibid., 2). The Word of God is rightly assumed and led in; for it knocks on the soul, that the door may be opened to it. And unless it finds the door open to itself, it does not enter. But if anyone opens the door, it enters and dines. Thus, the bride assumes the Word, so that by assuming it, she may be taught; hence, not undeservedly, she ascends even to higher dwellings, and always receives progress.
72. What virtues do they signify, those that are called or of the soul: What is this that ascends, white and leaning upon her brother? (Ibid., 5) ? Above, they have said: Who is she that looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, elect as the sun? (Song of Solomon 6:9) ? Here, more is added, because she ascends relying on the Word of God. For the more perfect ones recline above Christ, just as John also reclined on Christ's breast. So either she would lean on Christ or recline above him, or certainly, since we are speaking of a wedding, she was already being led into the bridal chamber by the bridegroom, as it were, given over to Christ's right hand.
73. And because now there is a bond of love, the bridegroom caresses her and says: 'Under the apple tree I raised you up; there was your mother in labor; there she gave birth to you.' (Song of Songs 8:5). A good soul rests under a fruitful tree, and especially one of good fragrance. For if Nathanael, who was good and in whom there was no deceit, was seen under the fig tree, surely the good soul that is raised up under the apple tree by her bridegroom. For it is greater to be raised up than to be seen, and even greater to be raised up by one's bridegroom. For although Nathanael seemed to be under a tree, his soul was not the bride who secretly came to Christ, because he feared the Jews. She was not beautiful like the moon, chosen like the sun, which was in shadow, because the bride sleeps during the day, publicly confesses. Therefore, this one under the apple tree, that one under the fig tree; because this one spread the scent of her confession further: that one had the sweetness of purity and innocence, but did not have the passion of the spirit.
74. There, he says, your mother gave birth to you; there, she who gave birth to you gave birth to you; for it is there we are born, where we are reborn. For they give birth in whom the image of Christ is formed. Hence he also says: My little children, for whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you (Galatians 4:19). For he gives birth who receives the spirit of salvation in the womb and pours it out on others.
75. Therefore, since Christ was already formed in this [Church], He says, 'Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm' (Song of Songs 8:6). Christ is a seal on the forehead, a seal on the heart. On the forehead, so that we may always confess [our faith]; on the heart, so that we may always love; a seal on the arm, so that we may always work. Therefore, let His image shine forth in our confession, shine forth in our love, shine forth in our deeds and actions; so that, if possible, His whole appearance may be expressed in us. He himself is our head, because the head of man is Christ: he himself is our eye, so that through him we may see the Father: he himself is our voice, through whom we speak to the Father: he himself is our right hand, through whom we offer our sacrifice to God the Father: he himself is also our seal, which is a sign of perfection and charity, because the loving Father has sealed the Son, as we read: Whom the Father has sealed, God (John VI, 27). Therefore, Christ is our charity. Good love, when it offered itself for our sins: good love, which forgave sins.
And therefore let our soul put on charity, and such charity as may be strong as death; for as death is the end of sins, so is charity the end also. For he that loveth the Lord, ceaseth from sin; for charity thinketh no evil, nor rejoiceth in iniquity, but beareth all things. For he that seeketh not the things that are his own, how shall he seek the things that are another's? And there is a mortal sin, which is washed away by baptism, by which all sin is buried, and the guilt is taken away. Such was the charity which that Gospel woman displayed, of whom the Lord said: Her many sins are forgiven her, because she loved much (Luke 7:47). And such is that powerful death of the holy martyrs, which wipes away previous guilt; and therefore powerful, since it is matched by a charity which equals the martyr's sufferings, so as to remove the guilt of transgressions.
77. Zelus quoque ut inferi (Cant. VIII, 6) ; quoniam qui zelum Dei habet, pro Christo nec suis parcit. Itaque et mortem habet charitas, et zelum habet charitas, et alas ignis habet charitas. Denique Christus diligens Moysen, insigne ei apparuit. Et Hieremias habens in se donum divinae charitatis, dicebat: Et erat ignis inflammans in ossibus meis: et dissolutus sum undique, et ferre non possum (Jer. XX, 9). Therefore, good charity having the wings of a burning fire, which flies through the chests and hearts of the saints, and consumes whatever is material and earthly: it tests whatever is sincere, and improves whatever it touches with its fire. This fire the Lord Jesus sent upon the earth, and faith shone forth, devotion was kindled, charity was illuminated, justice shone brightly. With this fire, he inflamed the hearts of his apostles, as Cleophas testifies, saying: Was not our heart burning within us, while he opened the Scriptures (Luke 24:32)? Therefore, the flames of the scriptures are divine. Indeed, the Scriptures were opening up, and the fire was coming forth, and it was penetrating the hearts of the listeners. And truly, they were the wings of fire; for the words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined by fire. When Paul was also assumed by Christ, he saw a light shining around him and around those who were with him, he fell from fear, and he rose again as a more righteous man. Finally, he became an apostle, though he had come as a persecutor. The Holy Spirit also descended and filled the whole house where they were sitting, and tongues as of fire appeared to them, distributed and resting on each one. Good wings of charity, true wings that flew through the mouths of the apostles, and wings of fire that spoke in a purified speech. With these wings, Enoch flew up to heaven when he was taken up. With these wings, Elijah flew up in a chariot of fire, drawn by fiery horses, to the heights above. With these wings, the Lord God led the people of the Fathers through a pillar of fire. Seraphim had wings, when he took a coal from the altar and touched the prophet's mouth, and took away his iniquities, and cleansed his sins. By the fire of these wings the sons of Levi were cleansed, and the peoples of the nations are baptized, as John testifies, saying of the Lord Jesus: He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. III, 11). Therefore David wanted to burn his reins and his heart, because he knew that the fiery wings of charity are not to be feared. The Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace did not feel the burning flames; because the flame of charity cooled them. And so that we may know more fully that perfect charity had wings, you heard the Lord say: How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings (Matthew 23:37)!
78. Let us therefore take these wings, which, like flames, direct us towards higher things. Let each one divest their soul from filthy coverings, and as if by fire, test it, cleansed from the mire. For thus the soul is purified, like the finest gold. But the true beauty of the soul is pure virtue, and the honor is a truer knowledge of heavenly things; so that it may see that good from which all things depend, and which depends on nothing. Therefore, it lives and receives understanding. For the fountain of life is that highest good, whose love and desire are enkindled in us, to which it is a pleasure to draw near and be mingled: what one does not see, is desired by him, and what one sees, is present in him; and therefore he despises all other things, he is soothed and delighted with this one alone. This is what supplies substance to all things: but remaining in itself, it gives to others, and receives nothing from others. Concerning which the Prophet says: I have said to the Lord: Thou art my God, because thou dost not need my good things (Ps. XV, 2). This is the only thing he desired, as he himself says elsewhere: One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, and behold the delight of the Lord, and contemplate his temple (Psalm 26:4). Therefore, if anyone deserves to see that pure and incorporeal highest thing, what else does he have to desire? Indeed, Peter saw the glory of the resurrection of Christ on the mountain, and did not want to come down, saying: Lord, it is good for us to be here (Matthew 17:4). And how incomparable is that glory of divinity, and that inaccessible light, which if anyone sees, what else would they desire? Not kingdoms, not riches, honors, glory, powers. For there is no happiness in using them, but in using this there is happiness; so that despising those things, the person remains turned toward this. Therefore, seeing this beautiful image, let the person enter inside, leaving behind the appearance of the body. For the one who contemplates bodies should not contemplate inwardly; lest they be drawn and swallowed up by the manner of someone being pulled into a whirlpool and nowhere appear as if submerged in the depth. Therefore, let us flee to our true homeland. There our homeland is, and there is the Father from whom we are created, where Jerusalem is, the city which is the mother of all.
But what is flight? Not of course of the feet, which are part of the body. For those who run, they run on the ground, and they move from one place to another. Let us not flee by ships, chariots, or horses that are bound and fall, but let us flee with our mind, our eyes, or our inner feet. Let us accustom our eyes to see what is clear and bright, let us look upon the face of self-control and temperance, and all the virtues in which there is nothing rough, nothing obscure and twisted. And let each person look at himself and his conscience: let him cleanse that eye, so that it does not have any filth. For what seems to be, should not be discordant with the one who sees, since God wanted us to be in conformity with the image of His Son. Therefore, that good is known to us, and it is not far from each one of us: For in Him we live and move and have our being. For we are also His offspring, as the Apostle has taught the Gentiles to understand. It is the good that we seek, and the only good. For no one is good, except God alone. This is the eye that beholds that great and true beauty. An unhealthy or weak eye cannot see the sun; nor can it see that which is good unless the soul is good. Therefore, let the one who desires to see the Lord and what is good become good. Let us be like this goodness, and let us perform deeds that are good according to it. This is the good that surpasses all action, surpasses all thought and understanding: it is what always remains, everything turns toward it, in which the fullness of divinity dwells, and through it, all things are reconciled to it. And to define more fully what good is: Life is good, because it always remains, giving life and existence to all; because Christ is the source of all life, about whom the prophet says: In his shadow we shall live (Lamentations 4:20). Now our life is hidden in Christ; but when Christ, our life, appears, then we too will appear with him in glory. Therefore, let us not fear death; for it is the rest of the body, and either freedom or release for the soul. Let us not fear him who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul, for we do not fear him who can take away our clothing, nor do we fear him who can steal our possessions, but we are not able to. Therefore, we are souls, if we want to be Hebrews, the companions of Jacob, that is, his imitators. We are souls, but our bodies are clothing: clothing must certainly be preserved, so that they are not torn or worn out, but he who uses them should be more concerned to preserve and guard himself.