Book 1 - On Divine Grace, Against Julian
I thought it first necessary to warn the reader, when writing, with the help of divine grace, on the Song of Songs, that he should read the works of Julian of Eclanum, bishop of Campania, which he wrote on the same book, with the utmost caution, lest he should fall into the pit of harmful doctrine through the allure of eloquence. But, as it is commonly said, let him pick the grape, so that he may avoid the thorn; that is, let him scrutinize and choose the sound meanings in his words, so that he avoids the unsound ones; or rather do as Virgil said, You who pick flowers and strawberries growing on the ground, Flee from here, boys, a cold snake lies hidden in the grass; that is, abstain entirely from reading him, since there are those who have expounded the same book with sound meanings and simpler words. For he is a man, as skilled a rhetorician as he may be, yet a most fierce attacker of the grace of God after Pelagius, as his more explicit writings, which he madly penned against the stout defender of that same grace, Augustine, clearly show. In the cause of their duel, he first composed a booklet on Love, under the pretense that he would separate it from deplorable lust, but in truth to confirm his own heresy, by which, to summarize briefly, he teaches that we can do good by our free will, although we can accomplish it more easily with the help of divine grace: just as travelers can indeed make the journey on foot, but with undoubtedly less effort, if they have horses to carry them; forgetful of the apostolic admonition which says: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to do (Philippians 2:12-13). And, what is graver, he is an opponent of him who did not say: Without me you can do little; but, Without me, he said, you can do nothing (John 15:5). He taught that the hidden sacraments of the law could only be seen by those that erudition and piety had made insightful; oblivious of the grace of God, which revealed the mysteries of the Scriptures even to the unlearned and ignorant, as the Evangelist says, Then he opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). The same Evangelist testifies that they were unlearned when he says: Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were astonished (Acts 4:13). He says that holy and noble love, infused in us by nature from the very origin of light and relying solely on the strength of the soul up to the utmost old age, persists without any harm to its initial vigor; indeed, one disbelieving the Lord's statement, since without Him we can do nothing; but also the apostolic speech, "For we all offend in many things" (James 3). And it is amazing where Julian learned that holy and noble love is infused in us by nature from the very origin of light, when the blessed Apostle, born of the patriarchs' lineage, says: "For we too were once by nature children of wrath" (Ephesians 2). But how otherwise by nature, except that when the first man sinned, abandoning holy love, vice grew as nature? It is amazing where Julian found or thought he could find a man, except salvation, in whom holy love, relying solely on the strength of the soul, would persist without any harm to its vigor up to old age, when he who deserved to rest in the bosom of his Creator due to his utmost love could find none among those enjoying his grace; rather, he humbly testified, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1). He says that our love, just as it draws from the body, which is disturbed and swift, so from the soul, which is sublime and continuous, but both are proven contrary to truth. But if our love drew from the body, and not rather from the soul, which is disturbed and swift, the Lord would not say: "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile the man" (Mark 7). And again, if our love, not from the daily grace of God, but from nature, or the strength of the soul, had it as sublime and continuous, the Apostle would not say of his holy labors, surely pursued through sublime and continuous love: "But I labored more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Corinthians 15). And again, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Corinthians 3). But even if not from the Lord, but from himself he had his good works, in which without any contradiction sublime and continuous love holds sway, vainly he gave thanks to the Lord for what He did not give, saying: "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ Jesus" (2 Corinthians 2). He says the same, as long as it desires nothing of the will of paganism, moved as if at the sole discretion of the soul, and has joy in its acts, as free from disturbance, so also rejoicing in freedom. Which is to say openly, that aside from those things which pertain to the impulses of the flesh, it lies within the power of our spirit to determine what love it will submit to or how much; and that same love, governed by the movement of the soul alone, that is, without any act of God's grace, possesses the perfection of good works as free and untroubled by any disturbance, which any prudent person clearly understands how far this is from the truth. For why does such a multitude of the faithful, seeking to love the Creator with all their heart, soul, and strength, and each their neighbor as themselves, not always achieve what they desire, unless because that same love is not moved by the will of the soul, as Julian assumed, but as Paul knew: “The love of God is spread in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5); and therefore it is not equal in all, because we each have different gifts of grace given to us. And why are we often hindered by so many adversities, not only from outside but also from within our own mind, and unable to perfect all the good we desire, unless he is mistaken who says that our love alone, by the will of our mind, takes joy in its actions as free from disturbance as rejoicing in liberty? Truly the Psalmist sings, who says: “The steps of a man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be cast down, for the Lord upholds his hand” (Psal. 37:23-24). Where he openly designates that not even amid the frequent helps of the Lord's protection can we be free from the disturbance of vices, nor should we rejoice in all the steps of our actions in the freedom of nature, but in divine direction. Julian vainly desires to except genital pleasure, saying it alone is not moved by the will of our soul; as if the frenzies of anger, pride, greed, gluttony, vainglory, and other such things are not much more laboriously conquered than the incentives of lust. These also come to disturb our soul before the time of puberty and, often subdued, continue to attack us even when lust ceases naturally. He says that the assistance of the Holy Spirit is given to our preceding endeavors and merits, and is still given, so that we may love the human race more earnestly. It pleased me to set this forth in his own words. "Therefore," he says, "when the mind of the wise man, who subjects pleasure to the dignity of love, both excites and orders the appetite, it never crosses the boundaries of duty, but advances to such greatness and beauty through efforts and merits, that the grace of the Holy Spirit begins to fan its noble fire; then there is that charity which strives to embrace not only relatives or citizens, but the whole human race in its bosom." In this one sentence, a Catholic reader easily perceives how many and great blasphemies there are. For it is clear what he attributes to the free will of human liberty, and what to spiritual grace, because he testifies that the mind of man becomes wise by itself, possesses the dignity of holy and noble love by itself, can subject carnal pleasure to this love by itself, and can by itself both incite to virtues and order the appetite, to such an extent that it never crosses the boundaries of that duty by which the same love is cultivated. He asserts that the mind advances by its own efforts and merits to such greatness and beauty, that it is worthy of the assistance of the Holy Spirit; that is, the approach of the Spirit does not help the mind in the way a light or torch illuminates a dark house when it is lit; but rather, in the way the wind helps a burning or shining fire to glow more brightly; which indeed could have been kindled and burned without the breath of the wind, and could devour a great forest; yet it blazes more and more with the wind blowing. This is what he signifies by saying that the noble fire of the mind begins to be fanned by the grace of the Holy Spirit. After having presented so many goods of the mind, he says that after all these, the grace of the Holy Spirit begins in them, as if coming to assist, not as the inspiring author and precursor in us of good efforts and merits. Nevertheless, consider what he believes is done in the noble fire of the wise mind by its fanning. "Then," he says, "there is that charity which strives to embrace not only relatives or citizens, but the whole human race in its bosom." You see, therefore, to how much power he attributes to our mind, and what he attributes to the Spirit of grace; which, he says, comes late to assist the mind itself, and then does not infuse that charity by which God is loved, but only that by which the human race is loved; either forgetful or neglectful of the apostolic faith, which says that the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Rom. V).
It is a lengthy task to bring forward all the absurdities which he put in this book and refute them with the testimony of truth. Let these few examples suffice, from which the rest may be inferred how detestable they are.
After these and countless other things in this way, with which he filled the first book by disputing against the grace of God, he defiled the second book with no less a plague of the same heresy. Explaining, then, what was said, that your breasts are better than wine, he most foully philosophized about the nature of milk, and then much more foully tried to transfer the quality of that nature to confirm his error. Because it is both horrid and too lengthy to present the whole, we have judged it sufficient to present a part. Thus, inserting himself into the persons against whom he was fighting under the name of the Manicheans, he said among other things: "For indeed he proclaimed our opinions to be agitated by the surges of errors to such an extent that we turned the slander upon the author himself; and for the sake of alleviating guilt, which sins of the will evidently burned, we subjected the very nature of the body to infamy, swearing that we come into this light incapable of goodness and full of iniquity. Thus, hardly anyone could be brought to justice by reason, what do I say, not even by the institution of the sacred law. For this opinion indeed depreciated the nature of flesh and blood. But after the saving mystery of the mediator between God and men occurred, to give an example of the most perfect virtue, he took on the nature of mortal man and showed that all the crimes were of behavior, not of seeds." Finally, once our desires are turned towards better things, it is possible to fulfill not only the Law but also the commandments of the Gospel. To briefly respond to his words, we do not at all cast blame on the author of our nature when we say that we are conceived in iniquities and born in sins, but we confess that in the first parents of our nature, we were made in His likeness, so that we might live immortal and without sin in the delights of paradise with His grace aiding us. This most blessed purity of primitive life, if those first created had cared to preserve it, and had trusted the creator more than the enemy, then to this day, their progeny, holy and unsullied, would inhabit the delights of paradise, knowing neither death nor sin. But as they consented to sin, not out of any necessity of nature but from the neglect of their wandering mind, they were immediately excluded by the just judgment of the Creator from the place of paradise's pleasure, and sentenced to death for the sin they had rashly contracted, leaving the contagion of this sin to their offspring and race. Thus, it came to be that we, even unwillingly, are bound by the guilt of that sin which they voluntarily committed, so that not even the little ones, who can neither will good nor evil, can escape from this unless by the grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Hence, Julian is proven wrong when he says, "Guilt is imputed to us by the sole crime of the will," and as he later more clearly expressed his view, saying, "All crimes are moral, not seminal. What we inherited from Adam are seminal; the moral crimes, whether of our will, or from weakness and ignorance, we ourselves add." He is proven wrong when he blames those who subject the nature of our body, not the holy and immortal nature created for the first parents, but that which became corrupt after their transgression, to infamy, saying, "I know that no good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh" (Rom. VII). And what the same apostle says, "The flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh" (Gal. V).
These things oppose each other so much that you do not do what you want. It is shown to be false when it blames those who testify that we come into this light incapable of goodness and full of iniquity. For indeed we profess that all men come into this light full of iniquity from the guilt of the first transgression; but it should far be from us to swear that we are born incapable of goodness. But the heretic, in order to deceitfully mislead the weak, has joined the lie of perfidy with the truth of catholic profession. It is shown to be false when it says that we swear that no one can be led to justice not only by reason, but even by the instruction of the sacred law. On the contrary, we confess that we can be led to justice by both reason and the doctrine of the holy law, with the help of the Lord, but without His grace, we cannot be justified either by the aids of natural reason or by the precepts of the divine law, as the Apostle testifies, because "the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Cor. III), that is, the letter commanding kills if the Spirit is not present to enable the commands of the letter to be fulfilled. And the Spirit gives life by granting that the letter may be accomplished. As for what he said about the Lord, "that He would take on human nature to provide an example of consummate virtue," he has secretly spewed out the poison of his heresy by saying "the Lord coming in the flesh did not bestow gifts upon us, but examples of virtue"; whence he says shortly after, "By His assumption of the flesh, He condemned the sins of our manners; not the nature of flesh itself, but by changing our works, so that the justification of the law might be fulfilled in us under His example." Likewise, in the exposition of the verse, "Your neck is like necklaces": "When a beautiful neck is adorned by nature with ornaments of gems," he undoubtedly increases happiness by industry; and as things worthy of each other befit each other, namely the honor of the necklaces and the beauty of the necks: thus also in you, whose nobility is shaped by doctrine, so that the virtues that nature begins, discipline may complete; for, rather, he should have said, "Grace begins, grace completes, grace crowns." Again, after countless such things, which the devout reader will easily find in his very works, in the explanation of the verse where it is said, "I will seize you and bring you into my mother's house, there you will teach me," he more openly revealed his insane opinions against the faith, saying of the Lord: "Already in infancy, He has shown many things which we should learn: First, that He is the maker of all born from the union of male and female, who fashioned for Himself a body from a virgin without the agency of a man; then, that no sin is innate to man, since He surrounded by the truth of flesh and free from stain; finally, that our origin cannot, unless impiously, be attributed to the works of the devil, which should rather rejoice in the true God as not only the creator but also the indweller." By saying these things, he not only constructs an error, but also acts on it even with the intervening example. For Scripture bears witness that sin is congenitally inherent to man, which says, "A heavy yoke is upon the children of Adam from the day they come out of their mother's womb until the day of their burial, in the mother of all" (Eccles. 40). Indeed, blessed Job testifies this to be concurrent with man from conception, when he prays to the Lord and says, "Who can make the clean from the unclean conceived seed? Is it not you who alone are" (Job 14)? And what consequence can there be, that it is said no sin is congenital to humans born from the union of male and female, because the Son of God, who for Himself without a man's ministry, made a body from a virgin, was surrounded by the truth of flesh, and was immune from stain? What is the rational consequence, that a pure man asserts the innocence of his nativity by the example of the Mediator of God and man born in the flesh, when the archangel said to the virgin mother concerning His nativity, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1)? But to our progenitor after the guilt of transgression, the righteous judge said: "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, and you will be under the power of a man" (Gen. 3). But neither does that which he says, that our origin cannot ungodly be attributed to the works of the devil, which would rejoice in the true God as both creator and indweller, make sense either in Catholic or logical terms: for although the devil introduced sin to the first-formed, he did not deprive them of the natural course of the blessing, which they had heard: "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth" (Gen. 1). Therefore, we are not deceived by that impiety which Julian reproaches us with, to attribute our origin to the works of the devil, which we know was established by the primordial work of God's blessing. However, far be it that we say our origin, after the evil of transgression, rejoiced in God before the remedy of second regeneration, which is made from water and the Holy Spirit, granted by the grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. We have considered it necessary to note these few points from the numerous works of Julian previously mentioned, for the caution of readers, so that, being warned by these examples, they might examine more vigilantly during the remaining reading of his works, which often intermingle harmful statements with salutary ones. For in other small works as well, he does not hesitate to affirm his same heresy, even with much opposition from the most holy and learned Bishop Augustine. Finally, in the book he wrote about the Good of Constancy, he defends with great insistence what he claims to be the good of nature and the freedom of our will against the perfidy of the Manicheans. But as the truth proves, with great stubbornness he endures against the faith of heavenly grace. "For this is," says he, "constancy, which chiefly asserts the power of free will, and its good, and the free motions of human nature and mind, demonstrating that every good of the mind is voluntary and subject to no circumstance. However, not only do apostolic writings, but also my own thoughts teach me that not only the motions of the flesh, but also of the mind are free, which, although I often wish and strive with a fixed mind and indefatigable desire, does not permit me to apply myself to the devotion of prayer. If I had free motions of mind, I would so wish to keep my mind intent on prayers continuously as I easily manage to place the limbs of my body in any posture or location for prayer whenever I desire." And a little later: "For it is this," he says, "that arms and excites the distinguished mind of each person, always reminding them of their freedom, and repelling all fears from them." How much better would he combat the Manichean if he were to say that it is the grace of God that makes the mind of each chosen one excellent and kindles it towards virtuous studies, always reminding them of their weakness and that without it, they can do nothing; and while repelling from them all trust in their own strength, inspiring them to sing to God: My strength, I will guard for you (Psalm 58)!
And again, after many things in which he proclaims the freedom of our will, he says: "For indeed, as it has been excellently argued by the most learned and orthodox, no one can truly be harmed by anyone but himself; and there is absolutely nothing by which anyone is made miserable against his will. What then shall virtue fear, except its own failure, by which man is eternally harmed?" This opinion can stand nowhere except among heretics, because it is clear and evident that Adam's sin harms all men, not by themselves, but by him who, with his first crime, damned the entire human race, unless freed by the grace of Christ, perpetually. The malice of heretics harms those who, desiring to know and hold the Catholic faith, drag those unaware and unwilling into destruction. However, Julian, fearing that if in such a large work you attributed everything by which we live rightly to the freedom of our will, he would be detested and anathematized as an open enemy of God's grace by everyone, he made mention of it even in this place; and he did so so subtly that he did not say it imparts virtues, but only aids and strengthens constancy among us. "For it is of divine grace," he says, "to love and strengthen constancy, which can preserve other virtues; and defend virtue against all things that resist it." Where he used a very cautious word, not to say that it grants constancy, as if we did not already possess it, but rather helps and strengthens it, as if it had already arisen from us, like the wind aids the flame of a fire, which it does not ignite itself but, having been lit from elsewhere, it helps it burn more brightly; and to prevent it from being extinguished, it strengthens it by blowing. As we have shown in the same book concerning Love, we have explained his meaning more fully. But near the end of this booklet, Julian himself openly reveals with what intention he worked through all these statements in all the works he considers. "It is a scandal," he says, "to the Manichean, because it is fabricated," that is, we confess, denying our Lord, who is true. He offends because we assert a good nature, because we assert the free will of man. But even in the book he wrote to Demetrias the Virgin of Christ, concerning the Institution of the Virgin, he reveals in the same manner his thoughts about the power of free will. A certain book, which some of our people read eagerly, they rashly presume to be the work of the holy and catholic doctor Jerome, not at all perceiving that the sweetness of soothing eloquence and the perversion of seductive heresy clearly prove that this little work is not his. Rather, he himself, with divine words, attacked and crushed the faith—or rather the perfidy—of this same heresy in the Dialogue of Atticus and Critobulus, which he published while Pelagius was still alive, when Julian, still a young boy, like a little king cobra in a snake's den, was being nurtured by him. In this book, therefore, Julian and in other little works declares that he confirms this same heresy of his, writing thus: "As often as I have to speak about the formation of morals and the conduct of holy life, I am used first to demonstrate the strength and quality of human nature, and to show what it can accomplish." And a little later: "Therefore, the order of exhortation which I have followed in other little works, I think must be especially observed here, where the good of nature ought to be declared more fully, the more perfect the life is to be formed." Again, in the progress of the same book: "For how many philosophers," he says, "have we both heard and read about, and we ourselves have seen chaste, patient, modest, generous, abstinent, kind, spurning both worldly honors and pleasures, and lovers of justice no less than of wisdom? Whence, I ask, do those who are strangers to God obtain these qualities that please God? Whence these good things in them, except from the good of nature? And since all these things which I have mentioned, whether one person has them all at once, or individual people have individual qualities, and since the nature of all is one, they show by their example that all things can be in all, which we find individually in each. But if even without God, people show what they were made by God to be, see what Christians can do, whose nature has been renewed in Christ for the better, and who are helped by the support of divine grace." And after many such remarks, speaking about blessed Job, he says, "Oh man, evangelical before the Gospels, and a disciple before the apostolic precepts! Who, revealing the hidden riches of nature, and bringing them forth publicly from himself, shows what we all could do." Likewise, a little later, he says, "Nor do we so defend the good of nature, as to say that it cannot do evil, which we indeed profess to be capable of both good and evil; but we vindicate it from this injury alone, that we are not seen to be driven to evil by its fault, since we do neither good nor evil without will, and we are free to always do one, since we can always do both. For why are some going to be judges, others judged, unless because the will is different in the same nature? And because, although we all can do the same, we do different things?" And a little later, mentioning that Adam was cast out from Paradise, and Enoch was taken up from the world, he added: "For indeed, neither would that one have deserved to be punished, nor this one to be chosen by the just God, unless each could have done both. This is to be understood about the brothers Cain and Abel, and also about the twins Esau and Jacob; and it must be known that the cause is solely of the will, when merits are different in the same nature." And again, a little later: "Nor indeed," he says, "is there any other cause that makes it difficult for us to live well, than the long habit of vices, which, when it infects us from childhood, gradually corrupts us through many years, and later holds us bound and attached to itself, so that it seems to have a certain power of nature." Likewise, after many things, where he excellently instructs a virgin dedicated to God, and would indeed complete a very useful and wholesome work, if he were teaching her to implore divine grace's support in all things, and not to trust in her own freedom and strength; just as in that book which we said was written by him about the Good of Constancy, he would greatly benefit those devoted to virtues, if he did not intermingle the virulent vices of errors. But if a little leaven, as the Apostle testifies, corrupts the whole lump (I Cor. V), how much more so the greatest poison? "We attribute," he says, "iniquity to the just, cruelty to the pious, when we complain that he has commanded something impossible in the first place. Consequently, we think man ought to be condemned by him for not avoiding those things which he could not avoid." And a little later, he says, "He who is just could not command something impossible: nor is he who is pious going to condemn man for the things he could not avoid." In these statements, which I have excerpted from one of his pamphlets, it is evident to any learned person how many errors there are. I have brought together many such statements to show by numerous instances of errors that this book, which some claim was written by the Catholic blessed Jerome, is not, and to make readers more cautious since they would learn that it is heretical. I also found it convenient to briefly respond to these statements individually, as they evidently are more glaring in their impiety than light itself. Therefore, concerning his assertion: "Many philosophers possess patience, chastity, modesty, and other virtues from the goodness of nature"; it is agreed that whoever among the philosophers did not know Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, could have no true virtue nor any true wisdom. To the extent that they may have had any semblance of wisdom or virtue, they received all of it from above; not only by the gift of their initial condition but also through his daily grace, who, not abandoning his own creation, bestows his gifts upon men as he deems fit, giving great things to the great and little things to the small. Therefore, when he says, "All things can exist in all men, as individual things are found in individuals"; he contradicts Scripture, which says, Not everything can be in everyone, for the Son of Man is not immortal; where it is manifestly hinted that when this mortal person puts on immortality, only then can all good virtues be found in all; and even then, not from the goodness of nature, but by the grace of him of whom it is written, So that God may be all in all. But our daily experiences of fragility also prove that not all things can be present in all people, where so many are found who, striving with utmost zeal, are by no means able to attain those virtues which they see others possess. To say that men without God show what kind they were made by God is so far from the truth that even men close to God cannot, in this present life, show what kind they were made by God in the beginning. For who can be greater in wisdom or life than he who, before paying the debt of the flesh, was caught up to paradise or the third heaven, beheld the converse of the heavenly citizens, and heard their discourses? Yet he says, “I delight in the law of God according to the inward man, but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind” (Rom. 7). Which the parents of the human race, as long as they kept the goodness of nature unblemished, certainly could not say. To say that the nature of Christians has been better restored by Christ and that they are aided by divine grace, if it is meant only of those things given to us in the remission of sins through baptism, is heretical; but if it is also said of his daily grace, by which he continues to restore and help us in mind and body, it is Catholic. To say that blessed Job revealed in his exceptional virtues the hidden wealth of nature, and showed in himself what we all could achieve, would be better said as he revealed the ineffable riches of divine grace, and in himself showed that this could be given to all who will. To say that we are not driven to evil by nature’s vice, who neither do good without will nor evil, contradicts the Apostle who says, “I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. For the will to do good is with me, but the ability to carry it out is not. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want, this I do” (Ibid.).
That it is said we are free to always do one thing when we are always able to do both contradicts the prophet who speaks to God, saying, "I know, O Lord, that a man's way is not his own, nor is it for a man to walk and direct his steps" (Jer.). But it also places itself above the Apostle, who said, "Therefore I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin" (Rom. 7). That it is said judgments are not made by anything else, nor judged, except because, in the same nature, there is a different will, and because when we all can do the same, we do different things, contradicts the Catholic faith, which also professes that even infants are to be judged, those who, placed in the same nature, before they were able to do or wish anything good or evil, or at least to know it, were taken without baptism. That Esau and Jacob and others like them are said to be distinguished solely by the cause of the will, so that they would have different merits in the same nature, contradicts the Apostle, who spoke about them, saying, "For though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, so that God's purpose of election might stand, not because of works but because of him who calls, it was said to her, 'The elder shall serve the younger.' As it is written, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated'" (Rom. 9). That it is said no other cause brings us the difficulty of living well than the long habit of vices contradicts Scripture, which says, "A grievous yoke is upon the children of Adam from the day they come forth from their mother's womb" (Ecclus. 40). That it is said the Lord has not commanded anything impossible, being just, is indeed true if it looks to His help, to whom the Catholic voice prays, "Lead me in the path of your commandments" (Ps. 119). But if it trusts in the powers of its own soul, it is refuted by the truthful statement of the same just Creator, who says, "Without Me, you can do nothing" (John 15). What he says, that a pious man would not condemn a person for something he could not avoid, contradicts the same opinion of the pious Redeemer and just judge, which He even said about infants, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John III). However, as Saint Augustine says, "the punishment or damnation will be very mild for all who, apart from the sin they inherited, did not add any other sins." Yet, such people cannot be wholly immune from damnation, since the Apostle clearly says that death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who did not sin (Romans V). And as if to ask why it reigned over all who did not sin, he immediately provides the reason, adding, "In the likeness of Adam's transgression" (Ibid.), meaning not because of their own sins, but because Adam the transgressor begot them as his likeness. Therefore, concerning this part of the question, we must say what we have heard the same apostle Paul say, who, disputing about Esau and Jacob being born of one act of intercourse but with different fates, says, "What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For Moses said, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Therefore it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy" (Romans XI), and so on, until much wearied by this question, he thus concluded: "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Ibid.). We thought it fitting to preface these excerpts from the works of Julian to the cautious reader. Let us hence turn our style to the exposition of the Song of Songs, and, in this most difficult book to understand, diligently following the footsteps of the Fathers, devote whatever we can of our saving study, with the help of the grace of God which we defend. In this work, I warn the reader not to judge me superfluous if I wish to explain in greater detail about the nature of the trees or aromatic herbs, which are numerous in this volume, according to what I have learned from the books of the ancients. For I did this not out of a desire for arrogance, but to address my own and my fellows' ignorance, who, born and raised far beyond the world, that is, on an island of the Ocean sea, can only know what happens in the principal parts of the world—Arabia, India, Judea, and Egypt—through the writings of those who were present.
Headings in the Song of Songs
I. The synagogue desires the Lord to come in the flesh, and upon His coming, it meets Him with devoted love.
II. The early Church, darkened by the persecution of unbelieving Jews, laments and invokes trembling help from her beloved Redeemer.
III. The Lord, rebuking the Church, admonishes her, though fearful, of the grace given to her against all the snares of the enemies.
IV. Strengthened by the words of God, the Church recalls to memory His conduct in the flesh, His passion, and resurrection.
V. The Lord praises her, who has been strengthened, and in return desires to rejoice with her in the slight peace of the present life.
VI. The Lord, recalling the joy of the virgin mother, also embraces with praise the virtue of chastity in His bride.
VII. Introduced into the understanding of heavenly sacraments, the Church desires to be refreshed and to rest under the protection of her Redeemer.
VIII. He adjures the believers not to disturb the peace of the Church.
IX. The Lord, appearing in the flesh, excites the Church to preach, because the long winter of infidelity which had oppressed the world has passed, and He commands to detect and refute the foul deceptions of heretics.
X. The Church, favoring the commands of the Lord, prays often that He may come to her to help through the inspiration of secret grace.
XI. The Church explains how the Gentiles attained the faith of Christ in order; and He rejoicing in her vows, commands the faithful not to disturb her rest.
XII. The synagogue marvels at the faith inspired in the Church, devoted through the mortification of the flesh and the power of prayer.
XIII. She responds that she has come to the bed and the couch of the peaceful King, that is, to the rest and internal refreshment of souls, and she excites those who admired her to behold the beauty of the King.
XIV. Delighted with the faith of the Church, the Lord specifically commends all her members, that is, each and every faithful person, with praise; and foretells that the rage of persecutors will be inclined to her reverence, for whose love He Himself bore the wounds of the cross.
XV. He describes the sweetness of the doctrine of her preachers, the fruits of their works, and the fragrance of the most delightful repute.
XVI. He commits her to be tested by the winds of tribulations, so that her constancy may be proved the more.
XVII. Conscious of her devotion, she prays that He would come to inspire her.
XVIII. The Lord, testifying that He has already come to her and has been delighted by her pious works, commands the heavenly citizens to also rejoice in her good deeds.
XIX. Resting from the tumults of the world, the Church is roused by the voice of the Lord to correct some in whom her hope and love had begun to grow cold; she, excusing herself by the love of rest, begins to be kindled to act by His secret remorse, but the effect does not immediately follow her beginnings; wherefore, seeing the virtues of great doctors, she casts away whatever of worldly desires clung to her.
XX. In these faithful ones, she beseeches the more perfect that in times of her remorse or prayer, they also commend her to the Lord.
XXI. They, in turn, ask to be told something of her virtues, that inflamed by their sweetness, they may be more fired up in her love.
XXII. She acts on the request, and chanting with appropriate praise the virtues and power of his might, again asks in what minds his footsteps are usually found.
XXIII. He responds that He is delighted by the desires of the pious saints and fruitful works, and He gathers all the perfected in the virtues of chastity to eternal joys.
XXIV. Hearing this, the Lord praises the devotion and actions of the Church; yet He also teaches that He is not greatly desired in this life.
XXV. He says the perfection of the whole Church should be preferred to many through the world, many assemblies of false brothers, many choirs of the innocent.
XXVI. Hearing the Church being praised by the Lord, the synagogue also is incited to admire her, especially since she is terrible to all her enemies by the invincible struggle of virtues, which the Apostle teaches will happen at the end of the world.
XXVII. The Church responds and declares, through her doctors, what has been the cause of her military preparation, namely, the care of all churches from which one Catholic Church is constituted.
XXVIII. And the synagogue confesses that she was troubled with sudden astonishment at the preaching of the Gospel; rejoicing in her salutary efforts, the Church asks that she may return to the recognition of her Redeemer.
XXIX. But the Redeemer Himself, agreeing to her entreaties, testifies that nothing in her should be seen more than the diligence in virtues.
XXX. Again, describing the praises of His beloved as was customary, He first notes in the joining of her thighs the unity of both peoples believing in and loving Him.
XXXI. She, caught up by His praise, seizes the word from His mouth, heaps up praise, and prays for His coming, so that, with His cooperation, she may undertake the pious labors of action or preaching.
XXXII. Beginning anew from the origin of the Church, she desires the Lord to be incarnate, so that by the support of human assumption, she may strengthen her arm to be able to rise to the contemplation of divine glory
XXXIII. She, rejoicing in His desires, adjures believers from the Jews not to disturb the faith of the Gentiles.—XXXIV. They, obeying His commands, marvel at her sudden conversion with a suspicious mind.
XXXV. He also admonishes the Church of the love by which He redeemed her through the tree of the cross, and commands her to bear always the memory of Him in heart and work.
XXXVI. He also speaks to the synagogue about what should be done with the primitive Church from the Gentiles, which still lacks those who can be ordained as doctors.
XXXVII. And He adds that if anyone among them is exalted in life and word, he should be instructed in divine scriptures, so that he may be promoted to a degree; and if anyone is of simpler nature, the examples of the saints should be proposed to strengthen him more in faith.
XXXVIII. She responds that she has been exalted by His gift and is capable in the rank of a doctor in perfect men.
XXXIX. And the Church, being called in the peace of her Creator, declares that she has many peoples, marking that the nations of the Gentiles belong to her.
XL. The Lord, favoring these things, testifies that He cares for the whole Church and commands those who bless to also undertake the ministry of preaching.
XLI. The Church, obeying His commands, beseeches Him to be often present in the hearts of the faithful to assist in her spiritual endeavors.
The Song of Songs Reads Literally as Follows
Chapter 1. The Voice of the Church: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, for your breasts are better than wine, fragrant with the best ointments. Your name is oil poured out; therefore, the maidens loved you. Draw me after you, we will run to the fragrance of your ointments. The king has brought me into his chambers; we will exult and rejoice in you. Remembering your breasts more than wine, the righteous love you. Again the Voice of the Church: I am black but beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not consider me, because I am dark, because the sun has discolored me. The sons of my mother fought against me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept. Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture, where you lie down at noon, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of your companions. If you do not know, O most beautiful among women, go out, and follow the tracks of the sheep, and feed your kids beside the shepherds' tents. I have compared you, my love, to my cavalry in Pharaoh's chariots. Your cheeks are beautiful like a turtle dove's. Your neck is like a string of jewels. We will make you golden earrings studded with silver. While the king was at his table, my spikenard gave forth its fragrance. My beloved is to me a bundle of myrrh that will lie between my breasts. My beloved is to me a cluster of henna in the vineyards of En-Gedi. Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves. Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful. Our bed is green. The beams of our house are cedars. Our rafters are cypresses.
Chapter 2. I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters. As the apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons. I sit under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. The king brought me into his wine cellars, and he ordered love in me. Sustain me with flowers, comfort me with apples, for I am sick of love. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand will embrace me. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and by the hinds of the field, that you do not stir up nor awake my love until he pleases. The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart. Behold, he stands behind our wall, he looks forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice. My beloved speaks and says to me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see your countenance, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely. Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. My beloved is mine, and I am his, he feeds among the lilies until the day breaks and the shadows flee away. Turn, my beloved, and be like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bethel.
Chapter 3. On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not. I will rise now and go about the city; in the streets and in the squares I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not. The watchmen found me, those who go about the city. Have you seen him whom my soul loves? Scarcely had I passed them, when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. Who is that coming up from the wilderness, like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of the merchant? Behold, the litter of Solomon! Around it are sixty mighty men of the mighty men of Israel, all of them wearing swords and expert in war, each with his sword at his thigh, against the terrors of the night. King Solomon made for himself a carriage from the wood of Lebanon. He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, its seat of purple; its interior was inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and look upon King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, on the day of the gladness of his heart.
Chapter 4. How beautiful you are, my friend, how beautiful you are! Your eyes are doves, except for what lies inside. Your hair is like flocks of goats that have ascended from Mount Gilead. Your teeth are like flocks of shorn sheep that have come up from the washing. All of them bear twins, and none among them is barren. Like a scarlet thread are your lips, and your words are sweet. Like a slice of pomegranate, so are your cheeks except for what lies inside. Your neck is like the tower of David, built with turrets. A thousand shields hang upon it, all the armor of the mighty. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that feed among the lilies until the day breathes and the shadows flee. I will go to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of incense. You are wholly beautiful, my friend, and there is no blemish in you. 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. You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride, you have ravished my heart with one of your eyes and with one chain of your neck. How beautiful are your breasts, my sister, my bride! Your breasts are more beautiful than wine, and the fragrance of your ointments above all spices. Your lips, my bride, drip honey, honey and milk are under your tongue; and the scent of your garments is like the scent of incense. You are a garden enclosed, my sister, my bride, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed. Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with all choicest fruits; henna with nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices. A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, which flow vigorously from Lebanon. Awake, north wind, and come, south wind; blow upon my garden, and let its spices flow.
Chapter 5. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the fruit of his trees; come into my garden, my sister, my spouse. I have gathered my myrrh with my spices; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink deeply, O beloved. I sleep, but my heart is awake. The voice of my beloved knocking: Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is wet with dew, my locks with the drops of the night. I have put off my coat, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them? My beloved put his hand through the latch-opening, and my heart was moved for him. I rose to open to my beloved; my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, upon the handles of the bolt. I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had turned away and was gone. My soul failed me when he spoke; I sought him, but did not find him; I called him, but he gave no answer. The watchmen found me as they went about the city; they struck me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him I am sick with love. What is your beloved more than another beloved, O fairest among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you thus adjure us? My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven. His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, fitly set. His cheeks are like beds of spices, yielding perfume. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh. His arms are rounded gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory bedecked with sapphires. His legs are alabaster columns, set upon bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. Where has your beloved gone, O fairest among women? Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you?
Chapter 6. My beloved has descended into his garden to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine, he who feeds among the lilies. You are beautiful, my friend, sweet and comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army set in array. Turn your eyes away from me, because they have made me flee. Your hair is like a flock of goats, which have appeared from Gilead. Your teeth are like flocks of sheep, which have come up from the washing. All bearing twins, and none barren among them. Like a slice of pomegranate, so are your cheeks, without your eyes. Sixty are queens, and eighty concubines, and maidens without number. One is my dove, my perfect one, she is the only one of her mother, the chosen one of her who bore her. The daughters saw her and called her blessed, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.--Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, beautiful as the moon, selected as the sun, terrible as an army set in array? I went down to the nut garden, to see the fruits of the valley; to see if the vine flowered, and the pomegranates budded. I did not know, my soul troubled me, because of the chariots of Amminadib. Return, return, O Shulammite, return, return, that we may look upon you.
Chapter 7. What will you see in the Shulammite, except the dance of the camps? How beautiful are your steps in sandals, daughter of a prince! The curves of your thighs are like ornaments, crafted by an artist's hand. Your navel is a rounded bowl, never lacking mixed wine. Your belly is a heap of wheat, surrounded by lilies. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon, near the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, which looks towards Damascus. Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, and the flowing locks of your head are like royal purple bound in streams. How beautiful you are, and how lovely, dearest in delights! Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like clusters of fruit. I said, I will climb the palm tree, I will take hold of its fruit, and your breasts will be like clusters of grapes, and the scent of your breath like apples. Your mouth is like the best wine, worthy for my beloved to drink, moving smoothly for my lips and teeth to taste. I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field, let us lodge in the villages, let us go early to the vineyards, let us see if the vine has budded, if the blossoms have opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom; there I will give you my love. The mandrakes give off their fragrance, and at our gates are all choice fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for you, my beloved.
Chapter 8. Who will give you to me as my brother, nursed at the breasts of my mother, so that I may find you outside, and kiss you; and now no one will despise me. I will take hold of you and bring you into the house of my mother, and into the chamber of her who bore me; there you will teach me, and I will give you a cup of spiced wine and the juice of my pomegranates. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, that you do not stir up nor awaken my love until she pleases. Who is this that comes up from the wilderness, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple tree I awakened you; there your mother was corrupted, there she who bore you was violated. Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave. Its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would be utterly despised. Our little sister has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she is a wall, we will build upon her a battlement of silver. If she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar. I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers, since I have become in his eyes as one finding peace. Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard to keepers; everyone for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver. My vineyard, which is mine, is before me. You, Solomon, may have the thousand, and those that keep its fruit, two hundred. You who dwell in the gardens, the companions listen for your voice; let me hear it. Flee, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of spices.