Chapter XXII.
For this reason, Noah built an altar to God, not to the Lord, without being commanded; and he offered burnt offerings from clean animals and birds; and what does the Lord mean when he says, 'I will not curse the ground, etc.'
78. And Noah built, he said, an altar to God (Gen. VIII, 20). By what reason did the Lord above admonish what to do, and Noah did all: but this, what he did not admonished, perhaps there may be required. But certainly the Lord ought not to demand a reward of gratitude like a greedy person, and the righteous understood that true gratitude is an action which is not commanded, but offered. Therefore, he did not tolerate delay. For certainly, the virtuous feeling of gratitude excludes the passion of doubt: but a person who expects that gratitude be demanded of him is ungrateful. But what he built, he said, was for God, and not for the Lord, but for God; according to the interpretation of the name, this action does not seem forced, as if giving thanks to the Lord, but rather it seems the virtue of a just person being modest and grateful, as if to God. What is imperial, he set apart; what he named as a benefit.
79. And he took from the clean animals and from the clean birds, and offered, he says, burnt offerings (Ibid.). The plain meaning is clear that we should offer those things that are undefiled, in which the emotions of the offerer may shine forth. However, a deeper interpretation is that the clean animals seem to represent the senses of a wise person; and the clean birds represent the intellect, which is much more subtle and lighter.
Now let us consider more carefully what He says: And the Lord God said: Considering, I will not add to curse the earth on account of the works of men; because the heart of man remains diligently upon evil from his youth (Genesis, 21). Therefore, He would not strike the whole earth again, as He did, all the days of the earth. Although He had sought revenge on the human race, yet He knew that the revenge of the law profits for fear, and the knowledge of doctrine, more than for a change in nature, which can be corrected in some, but cannot be changed in all. Therefore, the Lord took vengeance so that we might fear; He spared us so that we might be saved. And He took vengeance once as an example of fear, but spared us for the rest so that the bitterness of sin may not always rule over us, and also because if anyone desires to avenge sins more frequently, they are considered harsher rather than more lenient. Therefore, the Lord says: I will no longer add to curse the earth because of the works of men, that is, because He wanted to declare His mercy towards all mankind, and yet He should not have brought a certain security and negligence to human minds; He takes vengeance on a few, but reserves more. Then when He says, 'I will not add,' He shows that He alleviates the hardships of men more than He burdens them, knowing that the sins of men cannot be completely taken away. Like in the proverb: If someone desires to draw water with a fine net, so too does He who strives to remove malice from the hearts of men.
81. 'I will not add,' he says, 'to speak ill of the earth because of the sins of men; for the understanding of man diligently remains on evil from his youth. See how carefully God indicates that we are prone to sin, by saying that the understanding of man diligently remains on evil: by this statement he seems to indicate that the heart of man inclines diligently towards sin, and that the main cause of our slipping into sin is within us, and what is worse, our inclination towards it does not lack earnestness.' Therefore, he says, let us be diligent, as if we were anxious, so that immunity from fault cannot creep upon us. Then he did not speak of just one evil, but of many evils. And, from youth, he added; for from that age wickedness grows, although elsewhere we have read that even an infant is not without sin for even a single day (Job 14:5). But even if infancy is not without sin due to the weakness of the body, the diligence and desire to sin begins from youth; so that a child sins as if weak, a young person as if wicked, who eagerly desires to commit sins, and boasts in their crimes. For many people, innocence is considered laziness, and fault is considered praise. Thus, young people have become accustomed to boast in luxury, pleasures, and adulterous desires. Therefore, fault grows with age. Therefore, it declares that every kind of human is no longer worthy of consumption, when it says: I will not add any more to strike all flesh: but vengeance is kept to a certain part.