Chapter 7
[Song of Solomon 7:1] -- "How beautiful are your steps, etc.!" He rightly began his praise from her steps and concluded in the grace of her mouth. Thus he concluded: "And the fragrance of your breath, like apples; your throat, like the best wine." Whereas above, beginning from the eyes, he seemed to end with the commendation of only the upper members: for this variation both provides beauty to the song and grants a fitting place to the mysteries being sung. For since he saw her not sitting idle in secure rest but proceeding to the conflict of preaching, he rightly first admired the beauty of her steps, that is, the constancy of her works, by which she wished to demonstrate examples of virtues to those she would teach. Concerning these steps, of course, the Psalmist prays to the Lord, saying: "Complete my steps in your paths" (Psalm 16), that is, direct my actions on the narrow path which leads to life. But these steps are in sandals, when our actions, which those who have gone before us in righteousness have secured by their examples, are fortified by the same. For we are shod with the skins of dead animals, when in the works of righteousness, in which we read that the previous saints were also clothed, we also, by imitating them, more confidently and purely enter the way of virtue. Of what kind of footwear the Apostle says, "And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace" (Ephesians VI). For whoever evangelizes peace of truth to others, it is first necessary that he himself adorns and strengthens the steps of his works with the examples of the preceding fathers, so that he does not show any other way of living or teaching to his followers except that which was trodden by the fathers, indeed by the Lord himself, mindful of that apostolic precept: "Be imitators of me, brothers, as I also am of Christ" (I Corinthians XIV). Thus teaching, he ascends to that height and beauty of virtues of which the prophet and apostle have spoken, saying: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace" (Romans X)! Now he calls her the daughter of a prince, indeed of him of whom it is written: "All the glory of her, the king's daughter, is within" (Psalms XLIV). Among other promises of heavenly gifts, he himself speaks to her through the prophet: "You shall call me 'Father,' and will not turn away from following me" (Jeremiah III).--It should be noted that the blessed Jerome, knowledgeable in Hebrew truth, writing against Jovinian about the daughter of the prince, placed in this passage the daughter of Aminadab, where he also explained that this verse could be understood in relation to a virgin dedicated to God, saying: "Your steps have become beautiful in sandals, daughter of Aminadab! which means, of the people offering themselves willingly. For virginity is voluntary; and therefore the steps of the Church are praised in the beauty of chastity." Whence it is evident that those who interpret the chariots of Aminadab as the army of those persecuting the Church, whether of unclean spirits or evil men, err greatly, since it is clear that rather it should be understood about the prince of princes himself and his chosen people.
[Song of Solomon 7:1] -- The joining of your thighs is like a necklace, etc. Scripture often uses the thighs to symbolize the succession of offspring. For it says: All the souls that entered with Jacob into Egypt, and came out from his thigh, apart from the wives of his sons, were sixty-six souls (Gen. XLVI). Thus, in the thighs of the Church, rightly is its offspring taken as the spiritual generation, which is fulfilled through the mystery of the Word and the cleansing of regeneration. But the joining of its thighs is the unity of two peoples. Namely, the Jew and the Gentile, from which, united in one faith, the universal Church is perfected, and is increased and made fruitful with spiritual offspring until the end of the world. This joining is also likened to necklaces because the Catholic faith is declared by the testimony of good works. Moreover, these necklaces are crafted by the hand of a craftsman because the works of virtues, by which the Church is built from two peoples into one, are strengthened by the ineffable generosity of our Creator. For He is that craftsman of whom the Apostle says: And coming, he preached peace to you who were far off; and peace to those who were near, because through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father (Eph. II). And of whose marvelous craftsmanship the Psalmist states: The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the chief cornerstone. This was done by the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes (Ps. CXVII). Of this craftsman’s praise, the Apostle remembers Abraham the patriarch, saying: For he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Heb. II). Properly, then, after the sandaled steps of the bride, the joining of the thighs is praised, because through the ministry of preachers, the unanimous joining of believing peoples is perfected: and aptly, in these places, the joining of the thighs is brought to mind, where Judah, gathered in faith at the end, promised to be united in Christ, is the partner of both peoples. It continues:
[Song of Solomon 7:2] -- Your navel is a rounded goblet, etc. The navel, which is the most fragile member of our body, rightly signifies the frailty of our mortality. And our navel becomes a rounded goblet never lacking in drink, when, reminded of our mortality and frailty, we strive to offer the cup of the word of salvation to our neighbors, so that, as we show mercy, the blessedness of heavenly mercy is repaid to us. There is also nothing to hinder that what is said about the alms of the general cup may be understood, about which the judge himself will say: "I was thirsty, and you gave me drink" (Matthew 25). For a bowl is another, larger, with two handles. About which the poet says, "But when the first rest has come to the feasts and the tables have been removed, And they place great bowls, and crown the wines." And this bowl is rightly said to be turned: for in this way the vessel which is made by turning is filled more quickly than by other crafts, so that namely the speed of bestowing piety, whether to those who need an earthly or a heavenly cup, or even both, may be shown, according to Solomon's statement: "Do not say to your friend, 'Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give,' when you can give at once" (Proverbs 3). But it must also be said that, as we mentioned above, turning is more indescribable than other arts, because surely from itself it produces its own rule, by which it may accomplish the work it does with disciplined roundness, and therefore rightly insinuates the simplicity of a truly pious mind, which makes alms with pure intention. For whoever gives a cup to the thirsty for this reason, that an equal rewarder may lavish abundance of the earthly cup on him, or for this reason offers the cup of the word to those erring, that the Lord may grant him greater abundance of knowledge, in which he may appear marvelous to men; the cup turned with a lathe is not matched by the navel made with other tools, because in doing a work of mercy as commanded, he does not seek from the Lord a direct and indescribable reward for sustaining his own fragility, but a temporal one. The navel of the bride's turned cup can also be understood to mean that the Church, or any holy soul, the more it remembers itself to be fragile, and still far distant from the immortality and incorruption it hopes for in the future, the more diligently it takes care to refresh itself with the continuous cups of the word of God and to become warmed in its love, saying that of the Psalmist: "And your cup overflows; how splendid it is!"
[Song of Solomon 7:2] -- Your belly is like a heap of wheat surrounded by lilies. The belly, like the navel, denotes our mortal condition: for it is the most certain and greatest judge of our weakness, which daily renews our body with nourishment, lest it fail, until that which we hold promised is achieved: Meat for the belly, and the belly for meat, but God shall destroy both it and them (I Corinthians VI). Therefore, our belly is like a heap of wheat, when mindful of our frailty, we prepare for ourselves the fruits of good works in the present life which perpetually nourish us. However, he says "heap of wheat" well, and not merely a store of wheat, to signify the virtues rising high. And since a heap, rising from a wider base, is usually narrower at the top, this figure rightly suits our good actions, which are fewer in number when they are higher in merit. For you may see more who offer alms from their possessions to the needy than those who leave everything they possess; more good spouses than celibates; more who abstain from physical pleasures than those who lay down their lives for truth. And he well asserted that the same heap of wheat is surrounded by lilies, so we may perform all our good deeds for the sake of eternal love's sight, and allow no hostile encroachments into the field of our hearts, as we encircle all our deeds with the prospect of heavenly reward. The works of almsgiving which we do for Christ in the poor can also be understood in the heap of wheat, concerning which He says: I was hungry, and you gave me food (Matthew XXV). And well after the bowl filled with cups, are the members of the bride compared to a heap of wheat, to signify that after drink, also, bread may be given to the poor: which indeed can be taken in both a spiritual and a bodily sense, that is, in those things by which we instruct the mind of an erring neighbor. For spiritual instruction is recognized as having the likeness of a cup in some words, and bread of life in others: for it has the similarity of a cup in open teachings, but of bread in mysteries. He hands the cup with those things which, as soon as they are heard, can be easily understood and do not require another explanation, as is the case with: "You shall not kill, you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness" (Deut. V), and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. XXII). He offers bread when he entrusts to his listeners words that are more difficult to understand, which, like food that reaches our insides through chewing, reach the innermost parts of our senses through interpretation. Such is the entire series of this song, such as the law: “Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it” (Exod. XX), where mystically it is admonished to sanctify the light of spiritual grace, in which alone we have true rest, that is, to keep it always unblemished in our hearts as we receive it on the day of redemption. Thus, these and similar words, to whose understanding we attain with the effort of interpretation, are rightly compared to a heap of wheat, which is brought to the use of our refreshment by no small labor of grinding, sowing, baking, and chewing. But clearer issues that never need the cup are rightly compared to a drink because abundant open commands or promises of God in the Scriptures, like a drink taken without delay or labor, can be understood as soon as they are heard and, when understood, stored in the repository of memory for the growth of our salvation. The immaculate womb of the divine fountain from which we are reborn into a new creature can be most suitably figured in the bride: which, like a heap of wheat hedged with lilies, because it obviously teaches all whom you regenerate in Christ to persist in good works with the sole gaze of heavenly glory. It is like a heap of wheat because it cleanses those whom it washes from all the chaff of sins and makes them conform through second birth to him who said of himself, "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John XII). It is hedged with lilies because, having freed them from the entanglements of sins with which they were carnally born, it also adorns them with the light of heavenly graces and confirms them.
[Song of Solomon 7:3] -- Two breasts, etc. We have spoken abundantly about this verse above; but now it should be briefly recalled that rightly after the belly of the bride, her breasts are commended, because indeed the holy Church offers milk to her little ones, whom she generates in Christ from the sacrosanct womb of the saving water, from the nourishment of the neophytes, with gentler doctrine, until she gradually instructs them to receive the bread of higher wisdom. Therefore, the breasts of the Church are those who instruct her little ones, that is, those recently reborn in faith: and it is well that they are mentioned as being two, because from two peoples, namely, the Jews and the Gentiles, the saving font which cleanses them and brings them forth by the heavenly mystery, gathers them. They are well compared to the two young fawns of a gazelle, because the true teachers take from the teachings of both Testaments what they preach. It is also fitting that these fawns are said to be twins, because the Testaments themselves are given by the same author, from the one of whom Ecclesiastes says: The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed, given by one shepherd through the counsel of masters (Ecclesiastes XII). Therefore, there are two breasts of the bride, like two twin fawns of a gazelle, because the teachers of the neophytes do not preach their own but speak as from God, before God in Christ; He is the one shepherd, who from two flocks of sheep makes one fold; whose burning desire the bride above cries out: Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you rest at noon. He is the one teacher of the teachers, for he commanded his disciples, who are our teachers, saying: Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you (Matthew XXVIII). Rightly also is the name gazelle assigned to him, for it is a clean animal, noteworthy for its sight and speed, splitting the hoof and chewing the cud, and like all clean quadrupeds, armed with horns. If indeed saints of such nature are apt, because they have a split hoof in the discernment of good and evil, and customarily speak sweetly and as if chew the cud on things they discern are good from evil, who have learned to direct the eye of their heart far off, that is, to contemplate heavenly goods from earth; who eagerly desire to penetrate with a swift course the path of virtues; who rejoice that they have received from the grace of their Creator the cleanliness of mind and body, who, with the confidence of faith, raised against the strength of this world, are accustomed to say to God: Through you we shall push down our enemies with the horn (Psalm XLIII), how much more this nature of the animal suits the meaning of the one who possesses all these gifts of virtues in himself and grants them to others according to the measure of his own gift.
[Song of Solomon 7:4] -- Your neck is like an ivory tower. Because through the neck, both voice and speech proceed, and food, through which all the members of the body are nourished, usually enters; rightly through the neck, as we have previously admonished, the form of teachers is designated, who strengthen the whole body of the Church both with the voice of exhortation and refresh it with the sustenance of life. This neck, indeed, is like an ivory tower, because teachers provide both adornment and strength and the beauty of their lives to the holy city of God, that is, the Church. Because they are proven to be already dead to this world, they show themselves like ivory to all who see; and they defend the city of God, as a tower elevated and impregnable, from the assault of all enemies. For when they say that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the destruction of fortresses, destroying counsels and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (II Cor. X), they prove that they are positioned as a tower for the fortification of the holy city; and when the same Paul, describing his and his co-workers' lives, says: For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God, I am crucified with Christ (Galat. II), he signifies that the quality of ivory, that is, of a bone indeed dead but marked by exceptional beauty, belongs to him.
[Song of Solomon 7:4] -- Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon, etc. The same holy preachers, who were compared to the bride's neck for the nourishment of the word, are also designated in the eyes; this means the inspection of the mysteries, which they learn in secret so that they can openly proclaim them, and through those things which they perceived in secret meditation, they minister the manifest nourishment of the holy Church by teaching. These eyes are rightly compared to the pools built in the gate of the city of Heshbon. He also calls this city, because of the abundance of inhabitants, the daughter of the multitude, because just as those same pools, with the citizens flocking to them, used to provide a continuous abundance of water, so the preachers do not cease to provide streams of doctrine to their listeners; with these streams, they themselves are always filled inwardly, just as the pools are full of living springs of water. These pools resonate with that once-famous probatical pool in Jerusalem, in which the water used to be stirred by an angel at certain times, and the first of the sick to descend was healed, because undoubtedly there is one God, one faith, one baptism; which, when the Holy Spirit descends into the font of life, washes one people of believers with the grace of second regeneration, which is aptly called the probatical pool, that is, for sacrificial use, indicating literally that sacrifices used to be washed in it by the priest; and typically expressing that it is proper for those who are to be brought to the holy altar and offered as a sacrifice to God to be washed in the waters of regeneration. Heshbon is rightly set forth as a type of the Church, either because of its name, which is interpreted as girdle of sorrow, or because it once belonged to Sihon, king of the Amorites, and after he was killed it was seized by the children of Israel. For it is certainly known that the Church was once enslaved to the rule of the devil, the king of all iniquities, but after he was expelled and renounced, it became the city of its Redeemer. And now it has taken the name of Church, which was formerly called Gentiles, since, instead of the wanton and fleeting joy of this world, it has girded itself with the most salutary girdle of sorrow: namely, the girdle to restrain the loins of its mind from all uncleanness; and the girdle of sorrow, that being utterly detached and alienated from temporal joys, fixed confidently in the heavens, it might hope to receive joys. This city, that is, the Church, which is also called the daughter of the multitude because of the abundance of people flocking to the faith, has pools in its gate, to which the eyes of the bride are compared, because no one can enter her who has not first been sprinkled with the water of the salutary doctrine, who has not been cleansed by the washing of the water of regeneration, who has not been consecrated by the drinking of the living fountain. This was most clearly and beautifully prefigured in the tabernacle or the temple of Solomon, at whose entrance a basin or brazen sea was placed, where the priests who were about to enter would wash their hands and feet; doubtlessly for a certain mystery’s sake, because the Lord would provide us with the washing of heavenly teaching, with the font of regeneration; by which we, initiated, might be able to enter either the fellowship of the present Church or the dwelling of its eternal home, which is in heaven.
[Song of Solomon 7:4] -- Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, etc. Because by the nose odors and stench are usually distinguished, the dispensers of the word of God, who had previously been designated for certain reasons to the neck and eyes of the Church; now also for the cause of very beneficial discretion, which is proven by the fathers to be the mother of virtues, is designated in the nose, because certainly by the function of smelling, they are able to discern more than others, in which acts or words the good odor of Christ flourishes, and which exhale the lethal stench of depravity: for indeed the teacher, or any faithful person, has much need of discretion, lest perhaps vices disguise themselves under the guise of virtues, lest they carry something wolf-like under the sheep's clothing, lest cunning be mistaken for prudence, tenacity for frugality, the desire for revenge for justice, harshness for fortitude, the semblance of constancy for the stubbornness of fools. Hence rightly teachers, rightly the chosen ones, who have received this grace from the Lord, that they may be able to separate the odors of virtues from the stench of vices, are said to be like the tower of Lebanon, which looks towards Damascus, because they hold an eminent place in the holy Church, and always with the most cautious eye of the mind watch against the snares of the old enemy. For it has often been said that Mount Lebanon signifies the Lord the Savior and His Church. Conversely, however, Damascus, because it signifies the city of the devil, that is, the crowd of reprobate angels or men, is as clear as light: for it was the metropolis of the whole of Syria, having the most impious and strong kings, who, as rightly carrying the emblem of the devil, inflicted frequent wars and captivities on the people of God, which clearly symbolize the temptations and snares of the devil, with which he continually attacks the Church. But also the fact that Damascus is called the drink of blood or the eye of blood corresponds to their signification, who delight in the allurements of the flesh and of blood, in whom even the very shedding of blood, which is inflicted on the innocent, is counted. It also corresponds to the most perverse intention of the demons, who labor to spiritually slaughter us, and take away from us the eternal life, which we have in Christ. Against both of them the Psalmist prays to the Lord, saying: Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation (Ps. 51:14). For whoever is firmly established in Christ, watches with diligent caution over himself and his own, lest he be overcome by such wars, which are either openly inflicted by men, or secretly by the devil; such a one can rightly be called the nose of the bride of Christ, and be like the tower which is constructed on Mount Lebanon to look towards Damascus, because skilled in discernment and living a sublime life, he provides continuous vigilance lest the Church be disturbed by sudden incursions of evils.