Chapter VI.
On the construction of an ark, in which the shape of the human body is described; and how its various parts represent the compartments of the same human body. How those compartments are to be lined with pitch, so that they adhere firmly to each other.
13. But now we must speak about Noah's ark itself, which if anyone is willing to consider more carefully, he will find the shape of the human body described in its construction. For what does God say: 'Make for yourself an ark of square woods' (Gen. VI, 14)? Surely we call this square because it is well composed of all its parts and suits itself. Therefore, both God, the creator of our body, and the builder of nature are portrayed, and it is signified that the work itself is complete in those words. But the square shape of a person's limbs is evident reasoning, if you consider the chest of a person, consider the abdomen with an equal measure of length and width, unless the natural measure is exceeded when the abdomen is distended by pleasures and feasts. Now, who does not notice with their own eyes that the feet, hands, arms, thighs, and legs are divided into four parts? And most of them, even if they are not of the same length or width, still maintain such an analogy that a fitting measure and ratio converge in them: length is longer than width, width is longer than height. And just as the wooden ark has three different dimensions: a length of three hundred cubits, a width of fifty cubits, and a height of thirty cubits, so it is with our body. There is a greatest distance according to length, a medium distance according to width, and a smallest distance according to height. However, the whole body, when put together from individual parts, appears square. For in use it is thus, that we call square those whom we esteem neither enormous in height nor strong in the quality of their body.
14. What also does he mean when he says: 'You will make nests in the ark' (Ibid.), it seems by no means to be ignored. For I consider it to be naturally said, because our whole body is woven together like a nest; so that the vital spirit penetrates all the parts of the viscera, and establishes itself in each of our limbs. Some nests are our eyes, in which sight is inserted. Nests are the hollows of our ears, through which hearing pours itself in, and as if into a deep pit. The nest is the nostrils, which attract the scent to itself. The nest is the fourth largest of all the openings of the mouth, in which it is nourished until the taste develops; and from where the voice emerges. In it lies the tongue, which, like an organ of voice, modulates its sounds with the skill of art; and although it is itself without reason, it expresses a rational voice. The nest is the half of the head. The nest is the membrane that protects the brain and contains it. The nests are the viscera of the lungs and heart. The spirit of our body, that is, the one that we breathe and by which we are nourished in this life, is the lung: but the heart is the nest of blood and spirit. There are two wombs of the heart: one in which it receives and pours out the blood as if in a kind of bosom, and transfers it into the veins: the other in which it is moistened by the higher one and carries it down into the arteries with a continuous flow. The bones also have nests but stronger. For they are hollow inside, in which there is a marrow through openings. In the very depths of the softest parts, there are nests of desire or pain. And if one were to consider further, they would also find many nests in this structure of the human body. Therefore, I believe that the psalmist spoke not only mystically but also naturally: For the sparrow has found a home for itself, and the turtledove a nest where she may lay her young (Ps. 84:3). For indeed, there is already in this body a nest of purity, in which there once was a nest of irrational desire. But where previously desire nourished misshapen births, now the inheritance of graceful chastity grows.
15. He says that the ark is made of pitch (Gen. VI, 14). The human body is composed of many bones, nerves, and other parts. It is connected to itself both externally and internally by a suitable structure, and it is held together by its proper structure, which the Greeks call ἀφὴν. Just as a spirit enclosed within does not escape, or a spiritual substance which operates within is restrained by double bonds, but is restrained by a fitting and containing unity, and by a strong connection. Therefore, the ark is commanded to be bound with bitumen; for bitumen is powerful for binding in nature. Hence, it is called 'ἄσφαλτος' (asphalt) in Greek, derived from 'συνάπτω' (to join), because it connects things that are separated and binds them with an indissoluble bond, so that you believe they have come together by their natural unity. For this reason, the ark is bound both inside and outside with bitumen, so that the connection may not easily break.