For indeed the capitals of divine utterances are the bonds of mutual affection. And capitals are covered with network, when sacred utterances, so to speak, are proven to be restored everywhere by the gift of charity. For even in those things which we do not understand in the Scriptures, charity is widely manifested. Moreover, concerning these networks or capitals, it is rightly added: Which were above the tops of the pomegranates. For pomegranates, whose nature is to enclose many seeds within a single outer rind, aptly represent the holy Church, which customarily encloses innumerable groups of the elect within the safeguard of one catholic faith. However, it can also designate the justice and morals of each individual, who, like many seeds encompassed within one rind, takes care to surround with firm custody of faith and humility the many marks of spiritual thoughts and virtues, lest they possibly dissolve. And quite fittingly, the capitals of the columns were surrounded in a circle by pomegranates, because it is necessary for the holy teachers to recall the lives of the faithful predecessors to memory, and to continually fortify their actions and words with their examples in every part, lest they err by living or teaching otherwise than the rule of those forebears holds. Just as therefore the admirable connection of the networks signifies the unity of the faithful, which is in the bond of peace, so also the pomegranates typically announce that same unity, which binds countless peoples throughout the world in one rule of catholic faith. Or indeed the admirable connection of the networks manifestly demonstrates the clear concord of all the faithful; the position of the pomegranates expresses the inward virtues of the soul, which cannot at all be seen by others, namely patience, humility, kindness, modesty, and the like. And as the beautiful outer appearance of the fruits is seen, but the multitude of seeds enclosed within is not visible, so the pious work of the saints is shown openly to all, but the grace of faith, hope, and love, and the other inner spiritual goods cannot be seen. Accordingly, when it was said of the networks that they cover the capitals which were above the tops of the pomegranates, it appears according to the order of that work that the pomegranates were made around the capitals at the lower part, and from the same pomegranates arose the networks, by which the capitals were in some part covered. And the figure of the mystery is clear, because networks were attached above the tops of the pomegranates, which pertain to almost one significance either of persons or of spiritual virtues. For we know that virtues are born from virtues, and that the saints walk from virtue to virtue, until the God of gods appears in Zion. Hence also the Apostle says: Knowing that tribulation produces patience, and patience produces experience, and experience produces hope (Romans 5:3-4). But even in the very universal assembly of the elect, the just persons succeed one another in various ways, and the lesser rejoice to faithfully adhere to the footsteps of the greater and their predecessors, and to their sayings or writings, lest they might possibly fall into error. Therefore, the networks are placed above the tops of the pomegranates, when the concord of charity is added to perfect deeds. And when both gifts of virtue, namely operation and charity, are added, the life of the saints shines forth clearly, as the concatenation of the networks is superadded to the circle of pomegranates in the capitals of the column. And because all the gifts of present virtues look towards the glory of eternal remuneration, which is promised and ministered to us by the Gospel, it is aptly added: But the capitals which were above the heads of the columns were made like the work of lilies in the vestibule, four cubits high. What is signified by lilies, but the brightness of the heavenly country, and the pleasantness of paradise resplendent with the flowers of immortality? What is signified by four cubits, but the evangelical sermon, which promises us the entrance into that eternal beatitude and shows the way by which it is reached? When therefore the holy teachers show us the promised thresholds of the heavenly kingdom in the four books of the holy Gospel, as it were, the heads of the columns display in themselves the work of lilies of four cubits. Where it ought to be noted according to the letter, because when the work of the lily is mentioned in the capitals of four cubits, it did not add whether of width or height, and it was left to the reader's judgment whether it should be understood in height or in width. But it is evident without any doubt, because the column, which a rope of twelve cubits encompassed, had four cubits of girth. For every circle has as much space in diameter as it has three times in circumference. Accordingly, the brazen sea, because it had a diameter of ten cubits, as it is read later, consequently had thirty cubits in circumference. However, because it is said that the work of the lily was four cubits, whether it signifies width or height, nonetheless, the rationale of the figure is clear, because not otherwise than through the Gospel did that most desired voice sound to the world, saying: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2). What follows: And again other capitals on the tops of the columns above, according to the measure of the column, opposite the networks; according to the measure of the column, it says, of such a height as the column was, whose height, however, is not narrated.
These capitals, however they were made and of whatever size they were (for Scripture does not explicitly state their measurements), appear to resemble lilies; from their construction, if we wish to inquire about any mystical meaning, they can not inappropriately signify that sublimity of the perpetual kingdom which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love Him. After the lilies of four cubits, other capitals are set upon them, the height of which is not mentioned, because we read much about heavenly beatitude in the Gospel; such as the pure in heart will see God, they will be equal to the angels of God, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage, they will no longer die, where Christ is, there also His servants will be, He will manifest Himself to them, He will proclaim openly about the Father to them, the joy of His vision will be taken away by no one. But the very nature of these things that we have spoken of, the status and way of life of the heavenly country itself, is known only to those who have deserved to enter it, its citizens. Hence, the construction or height of these capitals above the lilies is fittingly considered incomprehensible by earthly beings, by which the quality of the heavenly habitation is suggested; about which it is least disputed that all there enjoy the common happiness of divine vision, each one more elevated according to the purity of heart's eyes with which they see Him. For He who said: "He blessed all those who fear God, the small with the great", also said: "For You will render to each one according to his works" (Psalm 113). Therefore, the common blessing of all the elect will be there. Nevertheless, according to the distinct quality of works, there are many mansions of the blessed in the one and same eternal house of the Father in heaven: which I think is mystically meant in the construction of these columns, when it is said: "And again there were other capitals on the tops of the columns above, according to the measure of the column, opposite the nets". For the capitals are made above, according to the measure of the column, when the holy teachers, rather all the just, following the footsteps of the same doctors, receive the rewards of heavenly retribution, according to the merits of holy operations. Also, the capitals are made opposite the nets, because according to the measure of the love with which the holy brotherhood is united in this life, they will be united in the fellowship of the heavenly citizens in the presence of their Creator in heaven. However, since the same fellowship of heavenly citizens is granted to the faithful of both peoples, it is fittingly added: "There were two hundred pomegranates in rows around the second capital". We have said that the pomegranates hold the type of the whole holy Church; and the number one hundred, which first reaches the right hand, sometimes is a figure of eternal blessed life. This number of pomegranates is doubled around the second capital, to mystically denote that the people of both testaments are to be united in Christ to be led into the crown of eternal life. This figure corresponds to what is written about the apostles fishing after the Lord's resurrection, when they saw Him standing on the shore: "For they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits, dragging the net full of fish" (John 21). By two hundred cubits, the disciples drag the net full of large fish to the Lord, showing the effect of His resurrection on the shore; when holy preachers commit the word of faith to both Jews and Gentiles, and lead the elect of both peoples, extracted from the waves of the present age, to the glory of future peace and immortality. Therefore, the circumference of the second capital has two hundred rows of pomegranates, when the sublimity of the heavenly kingdom collects the elect of both peoples in one summit of blessedness. And he set up two columns in the porch of the temple. When he set up the right column, he called it by the name Jachin, that is, firmness. Similarly, he set up the second column, and called its name Boaz, that is, in strength. The right column, as we have said above, expresses the figure of the teachers who established the primitive Church in Jerusalem; the second, those who were appointed to preach to the Gentiles. Or certainly, the right column signifies those who prophesied the coming Lord in the flesh; the second, those who testify that He has already come, and redeemed the world by His blood. And aptly, both columns were considered by a similar name, when one was called firmness, the other in strength; that the one strength of faith and work might be shown to be in all teachers, and the inertia of our time might be noted, where some teachers, priests, wish to be seen and called columns of God, though they have nothing at all of firm faith to despise the pomps of the world, and to desire invisible good things, nor strength to correct, nor industry at least to understand the errors of those over whom they have been set.
CHAPTER XIX. Concerning the brazen sea. He also made a molten sea, etc. This molten sea was made in the form of the saving laver, in which we are cleansed for the remission of sins. For the priests washed themselves in it, as the words of the days openly testify. Moreover, it is clear that all who are chosen are typically called priests in the Scriptures, because they are members of our Lord Jesus Christ, the high priest. And rightly does Scripture attribute the name of "sea" to this vessel, namely, in memory of the Red Sea, in which a form of baptism first appeared through the destruction of the Egyptians and the liberation of God's people, as the Apostle expounds, saying: "For all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea." The sacrament of baptism, on the other hand, secures for us purity of life in this world and promises us the glory of eternal life in the future (I Cor. X). Both of these are signified in this brazen sea by one statement, as it is said to be ten cubits from lip to lip. For the Lord expressed in the Law all that we should do in the ten commandments. Likewise, He marked the reward of the good works with the number ten, with which He foretold to be given to those laboring in the vineyard. Therefore, the sea was ten cubits from lip to lip; for from the first baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to the last, who is to believe and be baptized at the end of the world, the entire chorus of the faithful ought to enter the one and the same way of truth and hope for the common crown of righteousness from the Lord. It was round in circumference, as the universal globe, in the circle of life, was designated to be cleansed from the stain of sins; concerning which it is well added: Its height was five cubits because indeed whatever we sin by sight, whatever by hearing, whatever by smell, whatever by taste, whatever by touch, all this is remitted to us by the grace of God through the washing of the life-giving fountain. But the remission of past sins is not sufficient unless each one endeavors to persist in good deeds from henceforth; otherwise, the devil, who had departed from the man, if he sees him to be idle from good works, returns more abundantly and makes the latter state of that man worse than the former. Hence it is aptly added: And a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about. By the line, indeed, the discipline of heavenly precepts, by which we are bound from our lusts, can be aptly signified, with Scripture bearing witness, for a threefold cord is not quickly broken, because indeed the observance of God's commandments, which is established in the hearts of the chosen by faith, hope, and love of divine retribution, cannot be broken by any obstacle of temporal things. And the line encompasses the sea when the sacrament of baptism which we have received, we strive to confirm by pious deeds, which line is aptly said to be thirty cubits. For five times six makes thirty. By the number six, in which God made man when he did not exist and when he had perished recreated him, our good action is also rightly figured. And six are multiplied by five to reach thirty when we humbly subject all the senses of our body to divine commands.
We can also mystically accept this marine number of thirty in another way; because three times ten makes thirty. And humanity after the flood filled the breadth of the whole world from the progeny of Noah's three sons. For indeed, the descendants of Shem occupied Asia, the descendants of Ham Africa, and the descendants of Japheth Europe and the islands of the sea. And since the mystery of baptism, along with the performance of good works and the hope of heavenly rewards, was meant to be ministered to all nations, it is fitting that a cord of thirty cubits encircled that sea in which the wave of baptism was symbolized. But it is also to be noted that the Lord, having thirty years of age, came to the Jordan to be baptized by John. Since by His baptism, which the thirty-year span received, He consecrated the water of the saving washing for us, it is fitting that the sea, which symbolized our baptism, was encompassed by a cord of thirty cubits; so that it might be signified that the baptism dedicated to the remission of sins for all of us who believe in Him comes from the gift of Him who underwent baptism without sin. And the sculpture below the brim encircled it, measuring ten cubits around the sea. There were two rows of sculpted oxen. When it was previously mentioned that a cord of thirty cubits circled the sea, and now it is added that a sculpture below the brim measured ten cubits around, it is clear from both accounts that the basin was expanded and spread like a lily, being fitted from a circumference of thirty cubits at the brim to ten cubits. However, a sculpted ox is one that mimics some histories of events. Hence, rightly through the carved oxen that encircled the sea, examples of prior times are designated, which it is necessary for us to diligently observe in order to see by what works the saints pleased God from the beginning, by what obstinacy the wicked persisted in their crimes, and by what great iniquity the reprobates perished for their crimes; how at the beginning of the nascent world Cain was condemned for the malice of envy, Abel was crowned for the merit of righteousness, Lamech cursed for adultery and murder, Enoch brought back to paradise for his grace of piety; how after the flood Ham was detested by his father for impiety, Shem and Japheth, due to reverence, were granted perpetual blessings, Abraham was made the heir of the divine promise due to the merit of faith, the rest of the multitude of nations was left in ancestral infidelity; how, with the Lord coming in the flesh, Judea was repelled for the crime of perfidy, and the gentiles were brought back to salvation through the grace of faith; and such other things which, when diligently and piously considered in both Testaments, greatly benefit any zealous people. And perhaps for this reason, two orders of carved oxen were made in the brazen sea, so that those imbued with the font of baptism might diligently heed the histories of both Testaments. Therefore it was ten cubits around, so that anyone committed in these histories to the divine commands and entirely attentive to heavenly rewards might be seen and imitated. It follows well: And it stood upon twelve oxen, out of which three looked toward the north, and three toward the west, and three toward the south, and three toward the east.
For we understand, from the teaching of the Apostle, that oxen should be understood as the apostles and evangelists, indeed all ministers of the word, as the Apostle explains the commandment of the law which says: You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain. Is God really concerned with oxen (Deut. 25)? Or is it surely said for our sake? It is written for our sake, because whoever plows should plow in hope, and whoever threshes should thresh in expectation of reaping (1 Cor. 9). Thus, the twelve oxen are the twelve apostles and all who have taken up their place in governing the Holy Church; who indeed carry the sea over themselves when the apostles and their successors diligently fulfill the duty of evangelizing that has been imposed on them with prompt devotion. And three looked toward the north, and three toward the west, and three toward the south, and three toward the east, when they preached in all parts of the world the faith of the Holy Trinity. For the apostles were chosen as twelve, that is, four times three, by that mystery, so that they might baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, preaching the faith and confession of the Holy Trinity to the four corners of the world. The words, actions, and passions of these apostles and their successors can be easily discerned in the present by observing or by reading; but what glorious reward awaits them in the future, we are not yet able to see. Hence it is aptly said: Whose hind parts were all hidden within. For indeed, the hind parts of the oxen are all hidden within; because the eternal reward which the holy preachers will receive is already determined in the judgment of the internal arbiter; but for us, who are still outside, it remains altogether hidden. However, this cannot remain hidden to anyone who receives the baptismal washing for salvation, and who must have life, faith, hope, and charity; without these three virtues, no one can operate anything, nor enter into life. Hence it is rightly added: The thickness of the basin was three inches. The thickness of the basin in the sea is the firmness of virtue in baptism. And this thickness is three inches, as it is fortified by the strength of faith, hope, and love during the reception of baptism. It is also shown that it can be profitable to the recipients only if the firm certainty of these virtues strengthens the mind and actions of the recipients. The washing of baptism is received and celebrated in the example of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection from the dead; according to what the Apostle explains: For all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, surely we will also be united in the likeness of his resurrection (Rom. 6). This is also signified in a typological manner by the figure of the bronze sea when it is subsequently added: Its rim was shaped like a cup's rim, resembling the petals of a lily. By the cup's rim, the taste of the Lord's Passion is expressed; by the petals of the crossed lily, the revealed brightness of His Resurrection is conveyed. For indeed, the Lord, about to undergo His Passion, prayed to the Father, saying: Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from me (Luke 22). The lily, with its pleasant fragrance and white color on the outside and golden hue inside, aptly represents the glory of His Resurrection, which manifested both the immortality of His body to His disciples outwardly and the divine luminosity of His soul inwardly. The opened lily can also fittingly represent the Mediator between God and humans crowned with glory and honor after His Passion. Before His Passion, He was as a lily still closed, shining with the miracles He performed as a clear human; after His Resurrection and Ascension, He revealed Himself as an outstretched lily to the citizens of the heavenly homeland, showing in His assumed humanity the power of divine splendor that He had with the Father before the world existed. Therefore, in the Song of Songs, He wished to designate Himself with the term lily, saying: I am a flower of the field and a lily of the valleys (Cant. 2). Thus, the rim of the sea, where the priests washed, was like the rim of a cup and the petals of an opened lily; because the lifesaving washing, by which we become members of the High Priest, sanctifies us in the faith of His holy Passion from all the stain of sins, and purifies us to enter into the vision of His eternal glory: in this washing, indeed, both peoples, that is, of circumcision and of the foreskin, are made one in the Lord through faith, hope, and love, as He Himself attests, who preached circumcision saying among other things: And I have other sheep that are not of this sheepfold, and I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. There shall be one flock and one Shepherd (John 10).
What was symbolically prefigured in this sea as well; for it follows: It could hold two thousand baths. For the number of a thousand in Scripture is usually set for the signification of perfection; because indeed the number ten squared makes a solid. For ten times ten makes a hundred. This figure is indeed squared but still full. But that it may rise in height and become solid, a hundred multiplied by ten makes a thousand. Surely by this number, stable and insuperable, and as if squared, the conscience of the just is designated. For wherever you turn it, a square stands. Thus the mind of the chosen knows not to be inclined from the state of its rectitude by any occurrence of temptations. But bath is a measure of the Hebrews, which they call bath, having three bushels. It is also ephah, which they call epha. But ephah pertains to the measure of dry fruits, wheat, barley, legumes; while bath is for liquid substances, wine, oil, water. Therefore, baths, which are a measure of a certain norm, signify works of equity and justice, with which those who are baptized for the remission of sins need to be instructed. And the sea held a thousand baths, when the water of baptism cleansing the Jewish people transferred them to the heavenly kingdom. And it also received another thousand, when even crowds of nations, reborn from the same font and confirmed by works of justice, were made partakers of the same perpetual kingdom. It is certainly to be noted in this place that there are those who think it is prohibited by the law of God to carve or paint likenesses of either men, or any animals or things in the church or on a wall or in any other place, because it is said in the Decalogue of the law: You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth (Exodus 20). They would not think this at all, if they recalled Solomon's work to memory, who made palms and cherubim with various carvings inside the temple; on its pillars pomegranates and networks; on this bronze sea twelve oxen and chased figures, and also on the bases of the lavers, as it is read later, he made lions with oxen, palms, axles, and wheels, with cherubim and a variety of painted forms; or certainly if they considered the works of Moses himself, who by the command of the Lord, first made cherubim on the mercy seat, and afterwards a bronze serpent in the desert, by looking at which the people were saved from the venom of fiery serpents. For if it was permitted to exalt a bronze serpent on wood, which the children of Israel looking upon might live, why is it not permitted to portray to the memory of the faithful the exaltation of the Lord Saviour on the cross, by which He conquered death, or other of His miracles and healings, by which He miraculously triumphed over the same author of death, since the sight of these often provides great compunction to those who look upon them, and even to those who are ignorant of letters, as if displaying a living reading of the Lord’s History? For painting is called in Greek ζωγραφία, that is, living writing. If it was allowed to make twelve bronze oxen, which bearing the sea turned towards the four quarters of the world in groups of three, what prevents us from painting the twelve apostles, as they went forth teaching all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; designating as if by living writing before the eyes of all? And if it was not against the law to make chased figures in a circle of ten cubits on the same sea, how will it be thought contrary to the law if we carve or paint in panels the chased figures of saints and martyrs of Christ, who through the keeping of the divine law deserved to attain to the glory of eternal retribution? But if we more diligently attend to the words of the law, it will perhaps appear that it is not forbidden to make images of things and animals, but it is absolutely prohibited to make these for the sake of idolatry. Finally, when the Lord was about to say on the holy mountain: You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any likeness, He preceded it by saying: You shall have no other gods before Me; and then He added: You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth; and He concluded: You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. By these words it is openly declared that those likenesses are prohibited to be made by all, which the impious are accustomed to make in the worship of strange gods, and which the wandering gentility discovered for the purpose of worship and adoration. Otherwise, simply making these has, as I believe, been prohibited by no letter of the divine law; otherwise, even the Lord, when tempted by the Pharisees about paying tribute to Caesar, in which they said the name and image of Caesar were expressed, would not have responded thus: Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's (Matthew 22); but rather correcting their error, He would say: It is not lawful for you to make the image of Caesar by the striking of your gold, because such sculpture is prohibited by the divine law; nor would He have said this, when shown the coin of tribute, if the image of Caesar on it had been deformed for the sake of idolatry, and not more for the judgement of royal power.
CHAPTER XX. On the ten bases and lavers. And he made ten bronze bases, etc. In many and various ways, the same sacraments of our salvation are prefigured. For the same apostles and apostolic men, who are signified by the oxen bearing the sea, are also signified by the bases, which were prepared for bearing the lavers, just as the lavers themselves bear the type of the same spiritual washing, of which the sea also bore the type. For as the words of the days narrate, they washed in them everything that was to be offered in the burnt offering (2 Chronicles 4). Therefore, the burnt offering of the Lord can be generally understood as the whole multitude of the elect, who, according to the voice of the forerunner, were baptized by Him in the Holy Spirit and fire. Therefore, just as the priests who were washed in the sea represent those who are made partakers of the high priesthood through baptism, which is in the Lord Jesus Christ; so also the burnt offerings most openly signify their figure, since they are filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit through the washing of baptism. For the victim is washed in the laver when a believer is sprinkled with water; but it is offered as a burnt offering when, through the imposition of the bishop's hand, he receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. When Philip the evangelist preached in Samaria, what did he do but wash the Lord's sacrifices in the laver of the temple? But because the Holy Spirit had not yet descended on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, it was as if the washed sacrifices had not yet reached the fire of the most sacred altar; but when Peter and John, who had been sent there, laid hands on the baptized, and they received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues, the sacrifices had now reached the altar's fire to become a burnt offering, which in Latin is called "totally consumed," because indeed, the grace of the Holy Spirit filling their conscience made them fervent with divine love. And because ten bases were made to carry the lavers, it could mystically be interpreted that the ministers of the vital washing support those they nurture with their voice by the work of their example to the joys of eternal blessedness, which is often figured by the number ten. But because it is distinctly written about those lavers in the following that five of them were placed on the right side of the temple and five on the left, the mysteries of the number five must be considered more closely in them. For on both sides of the temple are the bases of the lavers, so that the grace of the sacred font might be shown to both peoples of God. And there are five on each side, so that just as in the exposition of the sea, which we have already said to be five cubits high, so also in the five bases of the lavers, it is typically shown that all that the faithful committed through the five senses of the body is to be remitted through the washing of baptism. Therefore, just as in one sea placed upon twelve oxen the unity of baptism is expressed, which was to be preached to the whole world through the apostles, so also through the two orders of the lavers it is mystically shown that the Gentiles and the Jews were to be gathered into one fellowship of faith through the wave of baptism. For even if sacrifices were washed in twin lavers, some on the right side of the court, and some on the left, they were all consumed by one fire of the altar to become a burnt offering; because whether one receives the washing of Christ in the part of the circumcision or in that of the foreskin, all are sanctified by one Spirit to be made sons of God.
Hence indeed the Apostle says, "But you received the Spirit of adoption of sons, in whom we cry: Abba Father." "You received," he says, "one Spirit, in whom all sons of adoption are made; in whom indeed we cry, Abba Father; evidently Abba for those of us who came to the faith from the Hebrews; Father, for those of us from among the gentiles, invoking one and the same Father God in various tongues due to the diversity of nations, on account of the one Spirit's gift. But it is easy to understand that the bases were each four cubits in length, four cubits in width, and three cubits in height. For the length pertains to the patience of long-suffering, the width to the expansion of love, and the height refers to the hope of heavenly reward. Moreover, there are four principal virtues on which the whole structure of the virtues depends: namely prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice. Therefore, the bases' length and width were of four cubits, because the holy preachers, whether enduring worldly adversities and the length of exile and present labors without, or enlarging their heart in the eternal exultation of their Creator's love and that of their neighbors, always care to devote themselves to the virtues, prudently discerning between good and evil, courageously enduring adversities, tempering the heart from the desire for pleasures, holding to justice in action. The height of the bases, indeed, is of three cubits when through the exercise of virtues, which they practice with patience of evils and love of good things, they strive with continuous intention to reach the vision of the Holy Trinity. The work of the bases itself was pierced, and with sculptures between the joinings. The joinings seem to refer to those by which the plates of the laver itself were joined together to one another, so that from four or five plates one base would be made. It is revealed what kinds of sculptures these bases had between these joinings, that is, on their sides, front and back, on the right and left, and above too, by the addition which says: Between wreaths and garlands, lions, oxen, and cherubim, and similar joinings above. Therefore, those surfaces of the bases were not flat but carved all around with mystical figures; because the minds of the saints, indeed their entire conduct, displays virtue's grace in all things, and no hour passes for them without being filled with pious works, words, or surely meditations. They have indeed sculpted wreaths when they pant with unfailing desire for the entrance of eternal life. And they have garlands when, amid the desires for life that is above, they never dissolve the bonds of brotherly fellowship that is near. They have lions between the wreaths and garlands when they thus raise their mind to hope for celestial things and their heart to love their neighbors so that they delay not to show the fervor of severe rebuke to sinners entrusted to them. They have oxen with the lions when they exhibit that same rebuke of correction with the spirit of meekness; when in the fervor of correcting they never cease to revolve the discernment of right action for speech, never ceasing to ruminate on the words of divine reading in their mouths. Indeed, blessed Stephen, evidently the excellent base of the Lord's temple, appeared to show the fierce teeth and claws of the lion when he said to his persecutors, "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" (Acts VII), and so on. However, while he spoke this, he showed how much tenderness and, so to speak, bovine meekness he carried in his heart when, kneeling, he prayed for those same persecutors raging up to his death, saying: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." But because neither the hope of eternal things in heaven, nor the love of neighbors on earth, nor the fervor of biting zeal, nor the kindness of compassionate moderation can be had without the knowledge of the holy Scriptures, it is fittingly remembered that cherubim are sculpted between the wreaths and garlands, the lions and oxen. For it is known that cherubim hold the type of sacred Scripture, whether because the two cherubim on the mercy seat of the ark, in the figure of the two Testaments harmoniously singing of Christ, or because their very name signifies the multitude of knowledge. The more earnestly anyone applies himself to the reading of the pages of divine words, the more necessary it is that he fears the judgment of the internal witness or judge in everything he does or judges, lest in judging the sinners he does too much justly, or again by pardoning without the restraint of just discretion, incurs the wrath of the just Judge.
For he who adds knowledge, also adds labor (Eccle. I). Hence, here too, besides the sculptures of cherubim, it is fittingly joined: And on the lions and oxen, as if there were reins hanging made of bronze. For reins hang upon the lions and oxen, when holy teachers, both in the severity of strictness by which they judge sinners, and in the mildness of gentleness by which they forgive the penitent, fear the judgment of their Author, lest they themselves, by unjustly binding, may justly deserve to be bound by Him whose judgment cannot err. And there were four wheels on each pedestal, and bronze axles, and to the four parts were there little shoulders cast underneath the laver, looking towards each other. The four wheels are the four books of the Gospels, which are most aptly compared to wheels, because just as the rolling of a wheel runs swiftly wherever it is driven, so the evangelical word, with the help of the Lord, quickly filled the whole world through the apostles. Just as a wheel lifts the chariot placed upon it from the earth, and carries it where the charioteer directs, so evangelical preaching suspends the minds of the elect from earthly desires to heavenly aspirations, and, raised thus up, it leads them to the growth of good works or to the ministry of preaching, wherever the helping grace of the Spirit wills. For it says further on: For such were the wheels as are accustomed to be made on a chariot. And we read concerning the saints: The chariots of God are tens of thousands, thousands of rejoicing ones (Psal. XLVII). What therefore does it mean that the wheels of the bases are likened to chariot wheels, except that one and the same Gospel word makes some of them whom it instructs into the chariots of God, and others into bases? Whoever among the doctors used to be sent far and wide into the world to evangelize the word were indeed the chariots of God, and very swift ones, because running through all, they led God to the hearts of the believers. But those who, remaining in one place, announce the word of salvation to their neighbors and drive them to the bath of life, which is celebrated either in baptism or in the contrition of tears, are like the bases of the temple, which carry the lavers for washing the offerings. For they so bestow the ministry of salvation on the faithful whom they oversee, that they do not undergo the labor of running far to acquire new peoples. Therefore, the wheels of the bases are similar to the wheels of the chariots, because the same books of the Gospels send these teachers forth to preach the faith of truth, and command those others, already initiated into the heavenly sacraments, to remain with the doctors to further confirm the faith. The four wheels supported the base of the laver when the Gospels ordered James, the brother of the Lord, to stay in Jerusalem to strengthen the Church. The wheels placed under them were prepared to run when the same Gospels willed that Paul and Barnabas should travel everywhere to preach to the Gentiles. The wheels set under the base lifted the laver of the temple from the earth, when in our recent times blessed Pope Gregory, fortified with the evangelical words, ruled the Roman Church. The same wheels, attached to the chariot of God, stood far apart when the most reverend Fathers Augustine, Paulinus, and their other companions, confirmed by the same evangelical oracles, came to Britain at his command and entrusted the word of God to peoples long unbelieving. If, therefore, the bases of the lavers are the holy teachers who minister to us the bath of life, and the four wheels of the bases are the four books of the Gospels, what are the axles of the wheels that bear the bases, but the hearts of the same teachers who, intent diligently on the precepts of the Gospel, lift themselves from the desire of lowly things, just as axles attached to the wheels lift the base higher from the ground? But the little shoulders placed before the wheels, lest they might slip from the axles, are the proclamations of the prophets, by which the evangelical and apostolic Scripture is confirmed, lest it might perhaps come into doubt for any of the readers. Hence the Apostle Peter, speaking about the Lord, says: And we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention (II Petr. I). All the evangelists and apostles also used to make mention of the Law and the Prophets in what they wrote. Thus, Mark says: The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet; and Matthew: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet (Marc. I), and similar things. It is well said that the little shoulders, which were placed in four parts under the laver, were looking towards each other, because indeed all prophetic Scripture is in agreement with itself, as it is composed by one Spirit. There were four little shoulders per base, namely according to the number of wheels, not because there are only four prophetic books, but because in all that the prophets and Moses spoke, they bore testimony to the words of the four evangelists, so that from the agreement of both, one faith and love of Christ might confirm the hearts of all of us. Moreover, the mouth of the laver inside was at the top of the head, and what appeared outwardly was of one cubit, it was all round, and had one and a half cubits in length.
The basin's lip measured one cubit, symbolizing the unity of confession and faith by which all are baptized in the confession of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle says: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all." And this lip was at the top of the head (Ephesians IV), to teach us that through baptism, the path to the heavenly kingdom has been opened. The basin itself had the width of one and a half cubits, signifying the perfection of the work and the beginning of contemplation. For the whole cubit in the basin represents the perfection of good action, undoubtedly possessed by Job, of whom the Lord said to the ancient tempter: "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is no one like him on the earth, a simple and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil" (Job I)? The other cubit stands for divine vision, which in some part is granted to the faithful in this life, as to Job, who, after overcoming the adversary, said while speaking with the Lord: "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You" (Job XLII); as the Lord appeared face to face to Moses; as He was seen by Isaiah seated on the throne of the kingdom surrounded by heavenly citizens with due praise; as He often appeared to other prophets; as to blessed Stephen at the moment of his martyrdom, when the heavens were opened and the glory of God was revealed; as to Paul, who was shown the mysteries of the entrance into paradise and the third heaven. But all these are in a very small part, compared to the glory to be revealed in the future. Therefore, after the cubit of good action which can be perfected in this life by the saints, begins the cubit of heavenly contemplation, which in the future life will certainly be completed in all the chosen. This measure of one and a half cubits was found not only in the basins but also in the wheels and their bases. For it is written in the following: "One wheel had a height of a cubit and a half." And a little later: "And on the top of the base, there was some roundness of one and a half cubits, so made that a basin could be placed on top." The measure of the basin was indeed one cubit and a half because we are washed in the font of life by that faith, so that through works of righteousness we may deserve to enter eternal life, although we cannot be without sin while we live here. Indeed, we can taste the sweetness of the heavenly life partly, and love it in this interim life, but we cannot fully see it in any way. The wheels also measure one and a half cubits, because the study of the evangelical reading shows how those who want to be perfect should live; it demonstrates hope for eternal reward in the present, and promises that the quality of that reward will be revealed and granted to us in the future. The bases also measure one cubit and a half in width at the top, where the basins would be placed, because the eminent teachers and ministers of the saving bath shone perfectly in this life through their works, but they enjoyed the light of contemplation in part, thus they say: "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." In this way, he made ten bases, from a single mold and measure, with similar carvings. He also made ten bronze basins (I Cor. XIII). Why the bases were made, and an equal number of basins placed on them, has already been said. As to the fact that there was one mold, one measure, and similar carvings for all the bases and basins, this was not done to signify the equality of all the merits of the teachers; rather, it was done because there is one faith of the Gospel by which they are instructed, one sacrament of baptism by which they are washed, and one and the same Spirit by whom all the elect are consecrated, although they have different gifts in that Spirit, who distributes to everyone as He wills. Each basin held forty baths. The number forty regularly holds the type of great perfection, because four times ten makes forty. Ten are the commandments in which all our actions set forth in divine law are included; four are the books of the Gospels, through which the entrance to the heavenly homeland is opened to us by the dispensation of the Lord’s incarnation. And because all who belong to the mystery of sacred baptism must show the fruit of right action with faith and the sacraments of the Gospel, each basin, in which the holocausts were washed, appropriately held forty baths. As for what follows: "And it was four cubits either in height or in width," the meaning of the mystery lies clearly herein. For one basin was four cubits either because of the holy books of the Gospel, in which the form of baptism is set forth, or because of the four cardinal virtues, with which every faithful person, if they are not a faithful person in vain, should be instructed; or certainly because of the four regions of the world to which the bath of salvation is administered, as the Psalmist says: "Whom He redeemed from the hand of the enemy, He gathered from the regions, from the rising and setting of the sun, from the north and the sea" (Psalm LXXVII). As was said above: "And it was one and a half cubits;" and whether it signified height or width was not specified, it seems that it is meant to be understood as the breadth of the basin.
From the measurement (if I am not mistaken) of the base on which it was placed, each laver is most easily inferred, which is thus described: At the summit of the base was a certain roundness of one and a half cubits, so fashioned that the laver could be placed on top. The width of the base of the lavers was one and a half cubits, and the capacity of the lavers themselves held four cubits. But whether it is in height, or in length, or in both, let him say who knows. And he established ten bases, five on the right side of the temple, five on the left. The right side of the temple and the left are not within the temple itself, but before the temple to the east, namely in the inner court, which was properly called that of the priests. Five were placed on the right side of the temple for the Jews, who from ancient times used the Sun of righteousness for the teaching of the law; and five on the left for us, who for a long time with a blind heart adhered to the servitude of him who said: "I will set my throne on the north": which is plainly to say: I desire to rest in those hearts which I consider to be alien from the light of truth and the flame of divine charity. And the sea was placed on the right side of the temple, toward the East, to the South. And this too was placed in the same court toward the East. But when he says: On the right side of the temple, this is what he repeats by saying Toward the South. For those entering the court from the East, turning was first to the South, where the sea in the very corner stood, prepared for the priests to wash; then as they progressed inward, the lavers for washing the sacrifices were encountered, placed on both sides; within these was a bronze base five cubits in length; and five cubits in width, and three cubits in height, on which Solomon stood dedicating the temple; then going further, the altar of burnt offering faced the south of the court; then the portico of the temple or the vestibule, in which were bronze columns around the door of the temple. Therefore, placing the sea on the right side of the temple signifies that we through the washing of baptism ought to attain the heavenly kingdom, which is rightly figured by the term "right." For he who believes and is baptized shall be saved. For where both the right and the left are taken in a good sense, either Judea and the Gentile world, as we said above in the interpretation of the bases; or the present life of the Church and the future, or the joy of the saints and sorrow, or something of this kind; but where absolutely the right is placed in a good sense, it often indicates eternal joys. But placing the sea toward the east has almost the same significance, namely that through the washing of the sacred font the splendor of internal clarity is opened to us. That it is toward the southern side of the court signifies that the faithful through the reception of the Holy Spirit are accustomed to be kindled to the fervor of true charity. For the fervor of the southern sun is accustomed in the Scriptures to signify the ardor of love and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, through whom the same love is diffused in the hearts of the elect.
CHAPTER XXI. That the vessels of the house of the Lord were made in the region of the Jordan. All the vessels... were of brass, etc. Appropriately, the vessels of the house of the Lord were cast in the region of the Jordan, in which river our Lord deemed to be baptized, and by being dipped in its waters converted the element of water for us into the washing away of sins, because all the baptism of the faithful, by which they are consecrated to the Lord, is celebrated by the example of that baptism by which He sanctified the waters. Rightly, therefore, the vessels of the house of the Lord were made in the region of the Jordan. For we cannot otherwise become vessels of election and mercy unless, looking to His baptism which He underwent in that river, we also strive to be washed in the life-giving stream. It should be noted, however, that the same vessels are said to have been made not only in the region of the Jordan but also in its plain region; signifying the multiplication of the faithful, which was to be throughout the breadth of all nations, fulfilling the prophecy which says: "The fields shall rejoice, and all that is in them" (Ps. 95). Similar to this is what the same Psalmist says of the mystery of the Lord's Incarnation, from which many came to the faith: "Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah, we found it in the fields of the wood." For we hear in Ephrathah, that is, in Bethlehem, the mysteries of the Lord, revealed through the prophets about the Virgin, who was from the same city, from the fruit of her womb, Christ was to come in the flesh. We found them in the fields of the wood because they were revealed throughout the breadth of the nations across the world, we ourselves have known them, we have seen them, we have become participants in them. Therefore, the king cast the vessels of the house of the Lord in the plain region of the Jordan because the Lord filled the baptism of salvation, through which He made vessels of mercy, throughout the breadth of the world.
Clayey earth, from which were made molds for casting the vessels of the house of the Lord, can better than sacred Scripture, from which we receive the rule of good living, be understood? For just as clay hardened by fire exhibits the form of the vessels of the Lord, showing how great and what kind they ought to be made, so the Scripture presents us with the rule of righteousness to follow, and the examples of the saints, who endured invincibly in the fire of tribulations, as a model for us to follow in all things. If we aspire to be chosen and precious vessels in the house of the Lord, just as molten bronze enters the molds of clay so that the vessel may become fit for heavenly services, so also we, being healthily humbled and softened by the flame of divine love or even human adversity, enter the way of the fathers by doing good, that we may gain the rewards of the fathers by running well. For it is not always necessary for us to be fitted to the rules of good actions, but when the good action is completed, the palm of blessed recompense is to be hoped for, because the vessels were not always kept enclosed in clay molds; rather, when they had reached perfection, they were brought to light, the bonds of the molds broken, and placed in the temple of the Lord each in their own place. We say this, not because the works of the saints are ever to perish, but because once they have received the crown of righteousness, which they have earned by doing well, all the tasks of laborious action cease. For who in that life would suffer martyrdom for the faith of Christ, where, with the adversaries expelled, all the elect rejoice in the presence of Christ (Rev. 7)? Who there would bury the dead, where the land consists only of the living? Who would console the mourner, where God wipes every tear from the eyes of the saints? Who there would open a home to a wanderer and a guest, where all the elect together have a dwelling from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens? Who would bring bread to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, where the Lord will feed me, and nothing will be lacking to me? Therefore, with the necessary molds of the vessels once broken, the vessels themselves now shine brightly in the house of the Lord, because, at the end of the world, with not only the persecutions, which they endure for righteousness' sake, but also the laborious works of righteousness, which they willingly toil for eternal blessedness, ceased, they will rejoice in the precepts of immortality in the vision of their Creator.
CHAPTER XXII. On Both Altars. And Solomon made all the vessels in the house of the Lord, etc. The golden altar signifies the hearts of perfect righteous people, shining with the light of internal clarity and chastity, the loftiness of which even the location of the same altar appropriately signifies. For it stood before the door of the Holy of Holies, as we clearly read in the making of the tabernacle. On this altar, neither the blood of sacrifices nor libations, but only incense was burned, the smoke of which, rising to the higher regions, covered the ark and filled the oracle with the sweetness of its scent. In this it expressed a figure of the saints, who, neglecting temporal desires, seek heavenly things with full intention, as if they were placed close to the oracle inside, and are not far from the veil which separates the temple from the Holy of Holies. They inhabit the earth only in body, but according to the inner person, their whole conversation is in the heavens. And from this altar of such kind, the smoke of the incenses ascended within the Holy of Holies, where the ark is hidden, when the prayers of the saints, kindled by the flame of charity, reach as far as heaven, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. For on this altar, the blood of sacrifices was not offered, but only incenses were burned, because such men do not have works of the flesh and blood which they sacrifice on the altar of their heart to the Lord, but they only offer vows of tears and prayers to Him for the desire of the heavenly kingdom. Yet, because no one immediately becomes perfect, but ascends to the desire of the heavenly through the anxious offering of carnal pleasures, Scripture did not omit to place in the mystical construction of the house of the Lord the figure of those who still struggle to burn the carnal desires within themselves that war against the soul with the flame of divine labor, so that having eradicated these from their heart or body, they may subsequently ascend to greater things and offer to God the spiritual incense of prayers and contrition. For indeed another altar was made to offer victims, much larger indeed, but as much as it excelled in size, so much was it inferior in the situation of its location and the appearance of its metal. For it was made of bronze and placed before the doors of the temple. On which surely those are figuratively expressed who serve the Lord with such devotion, that their flesh still lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh (Rom. VII), and who are accustomed to say: For with the mind we serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Those who strive to overcome the impulses of the flesh, to restrain the fleeting pleasures of luxury, by frequent fasting and prayers, vigils, and alms, and other fruits of the Spirit, worthily to approach the tranquility of chastity to God, what do they offer except the sacrifice of their devotion to Him, fulfilling that of the Apostle, who beseeches us through the mercy of God, to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (Rom. XII)? Since they burn with the fervor of spiritual love, but have not yet achieved triumph over the conquest of carnal desire, the altar of burnt offering has indeed holy fire from heaven, but it presents the appearance of bronze, not of gold. But because there are more carnal than spiritual people in the holy Church, more who restrain themselves by curbing the enticements of vices than those who, having overcome and subdued the struggle with vices, rejoice in the obtained security of virtues, rightly the altar of burnt offering was asserted to be much larger than the altar of incense. For it is written about it in the book of Chronicles: "And he made the bronze altar twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and ten cubits in height" (II Chron IV). And indeed, Moses made the altar of incense in the wilderness, having one cubit in length, and another in width, and two cubits in height. However, Scripture does not say how great in size Solomon made this, but only that it is said to be a golden altar. However, it is clear that he could not make it as large as the burnt offering altar, because if it was made twenty cubits in length, it would fill the entire width of the temple. Therefore, as much as the altar of burnt offering was placed further than the altar of incense, and as much as it was lowlier in the kind of offering and the baseness of the metal, it surpassed in the measure of quantity and the frequency of victims, since, surely, there are many more to whom it is said: "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments," than those who delight in hearing: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor" (Matt. XIX). Nevertheless, the measure of this altar is not without mystical reason and number. For it has twenty cubits in length, and as many cubits in width, and ten cubits in height, of which number, indeed, we have spoken in the exposition of the temple and its vestibule. But now also it must briefly be said that the altar of burnt offering holds the type of the chosen ones in the Church, who seek to consecrate their body and soul to God by the fire of that love; the perseverance of these in good work is figured by the length of the altar, the breadth of the love of God and neighbor by the width, and hope in the expectation of the divine vision by the height. Furthermore, that the length and width of the altar were each twenty cubits denotes a great perfection of the same unwearied long-suffering and sincere love, which is granted to us by the observance of both Testaments. For four times five make up the number twenty. The five books of the Mosaic law and the four of the evangelical liberty add up to twenty. And when we reach the understanding and spiritual keeping of the law through the illuminating grace of the Gospel, we indeed fulfill the number twenty. Hence, the same number twenty is in the length and width of the altar when the hearts of the chosen, taught by both Testaments and aided by the one Author of both Testaments, maintain the perseverance of good work even in persecutions and exhibit the joy of love towards those who persecute. And by the number ten, hope of heavenly rewards is customarily designated, as the Lord affirms when He testifies that those working in the vineyard of the great householder shall be rewarded with a denarius (Matt. XX). And fittingly, by this number, the eternal reward is figured, in which our nature is eternally joined to the divine vision, because in that number both the divine and human nature are mystically designated simultaneously. For God is indeed a trinity. Man, on the other hand, is comprehended by the number seven; in four-fold, because of the body which consists of the four elements; and by three-fold, because of the triple difference of the inner man which the holy Scripture shows to us when it commands us to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength. Hence, in the Decalogue of the law, there are three commandments that stir us to the worship of divine love, and seven that commend the love of our neighbor.
Those, therefore, who keep the Decalogue in the love of God and neighbor, rightly receive the reward of this observance in the vision of God and neighbor together. And those who in this life love both the neighbor whom they see, and God whom they do not see, these in the future life will see both God the king in His beauty, and the neighbor glorified and adorned. And therefore the altar, which was made in the figure of the elect, to signify their perpetual life, was ten cubits high. But when it was said that Solomon made the golden altar, it was immediately added: And the table on which the showbread was placed, golden. The golden table, however, is the sacred Scripture, fruitful in the clarity of spiritual understanding; of which the Psalmist says to the Lord: Thou hast prepared a table before me in the presence of mine enemies (Psalm 22). For our Creator has prepared a table of heavenly knowledge for us, so that we may be strengthened in the faith of truth and not led into error by tribulating adversaries. The showbread are indeed the holy teachers, whose works or words of salvation, proposed as examples of life, whoever seeks well always finds in the divine pages. Hence, appropriately, the same bread was commanded to be twelve in number in Exodus, namely on account of the twelve apostles, through whose ministry both the Scripture of the New Testament was established and the mysteries of the Old Instrument were revealed, by the gift of the Lord (Exodus 25). By this number indeed, not only the same apostles but also all those are designated who minister the word as the food of life to the faithful by preaching, because they all certainly follow the same form of doctrine which the apostles received from the Lord. We read, moreover, about these breads in Exodus, that every Sabbath they should be changed and new ones placed on the Lord's table instead of the old, and always prepared with the same measure and like form commanded. From all these, the mystical sense of internal refreshment shines forth clearer than light. For old bread is taken away and new is restored, when, some of the faithful teachers having been taken from this life, the holy Church ordains others in their place. And this not except on the Sabbath day, because whoever has fought the good fight, finished the race, kept the faith, at the time of his dissolution will enter the blessed rest of eternity. One measure, and not different, always similar bread was made, because indeed there is one and the same form of truth and faith, which at first the apostles showed to their listeners, and afterwards their successors, and all the pious teachers in the churches of Christ throughout the world do not cease to preach.
CHAPTER XXIII. On the ten golden tables. What we read in the words of the days, that Solomon made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left, and also one hundred golden basins, it is believable that they were made not so much for the bread of the proposition as for the vessels of the Lord; namely the basins which the Scripture reports were made in like manner; censers, incense burners, and other things which are read in the following. For, a little later in the same volume of words, it is interjected: And he made all the vessels of the house of the Lord, and the bronze altar, and the tables, and upon them the bread of the proposition. Either he put the plural for the singular, the most usual custom in Scriptures; as in the Book of Joshua: But the children of Israel have transgressed the covenant, and have taken of the accursed thing (Joshua VII), since Achan alone, and not several of the children of Israel, did this; or certainly because the bread of the proposition used to be baked before the sabbath so that it might immediately be placed on the table of proposition on the sabbath; it might have happened that newly baked bread was immediately placed on those tables, and there kept covered that night until the old was removed in the early morning, to be placed warm on the table of proposition. However, these ten tables do not differ in form from the figure of the one table of proposition. For just as the table, laden with twelve loaves, represents the unanimous harmony of all Scripture fortified by apostolic authority, so not without reason do the ten golden tables figuratively represent the words of divine law and the prophets, which offer us, as the bread of the proposition, the nourishment of the word of God, or propose to us the examples of the faithful, as it were the vessels set upon them, the clarity and miracles of the Lord. And rightly there are five tables on each side, not only because the legislator wrote five volumes, but also because the entire series of the Old Testament embraces five ages of the world. Moreover, the number of tables is doubled, and five are placed on the right and five on the left when, after the Lord's Incarnation, the same Scripture is entrusted either to both peoples of God, namely the Jewish and the Gentile, or revealed full of evangelical figures, which formerly was thought to be understood solely according to the letter by the ancient people of God. For when we read in the holy Scripture, for example, that Abel was crowned with martyrdom, Enoch was translated from the world, Noah was wondrously saved while the world perished, Lot was eminently rewarded with hospitality while the impious were exterminated, Abraham was made the father of all nations by merit of obedience, Joseph after being sold, by the merit of chastity and innocence, is taken as an example of virtue; what are the five golden tables or the vessels of the Lord, or yet the bread of proposition on the left side of the temple, if not that the divine letters, according to the historical sense, open to us the door to living rightly and hoping for eternal rewards from the Lord? But when we understand the same more deeply or see them to sound forth the dispensation of the Lord's Incarnation or any other sacraments of the holy Church, we find as it were another five tables bearing the vessels of election and the nourishment of spiritual life on the right side of the temple; because we recognize that these very words of sacred history reveal to us a wholly new light of heavenly wisdom, opening new senses from the old; and indeed in this figure five lampstands are made in the temple. For when the Scripture said that King Solomon made the table upon which the bread of proposition might be placed, golden, it subsequently added and said:
CHAPTER XXXIV. On the ten candlesticks. And five golden candlesticks, etc. Indeed, these tables are rightly placed as representations of Holy Scripture, because they provide bread of the word for those who hunger for righteousness, and they carry the vessels of heavenly ministry, that is, they propose the actions of the just as examples to us; thus the same divine words are very aptly represented by candlesticks, evidently because they bring forth the light of wisdom for those who stray. Hence the Psalmist says: "Your word is a lamp to my feet" (Psalm 118), etc. Hence Solomon says: "For the commandment is a lamp and the law is light" (Proverbs 6). But why there are five candlesticks on the right and five on the left side, is easily understood from what we discussed about the tables. And when he said: Five on the right and five on the left, it is fittingly added: In front of the oracle. For the oracle, where the ark was, as often said, designates the entrance to the heavenly homeland, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, undoubtedly aware of the secrets of the Father. Or the golden candlesticks of the temple are placed in front of the oracle because the divine words always look toward the dwelling place of the heavenly city, to infuse the recognition and desire of it into our hearts, and to kindle those who have their origin in the flesh from the earth to desire and obtain a seat of perpetual abode in the heavens. However, there are those who think that what is said about the candlesticks, five on the right and five on the left, should be understood that five were on the right of that candlestick which Moses made in the desert, and five on the left, both nevertheless on the southern side, where the one candlestick that Moses made was commanded to stand. They understand the same order for the ten tables, which were all placed on the northern side, but five to the right and five to the left of that Mosaic table. But if you consider the words of sacred Scripture, which say: And five golden candlesticks on the right and five on the left, in front of the oracle, it is clear, I believe, that they were equally placed lengthwise on both sides of the temple. For if all the candlesticks were placed lengthwise on the southern side of the temple, it would not be said to be placed in front of the oracle, but rather in front of the north, or in front of the tables, or even among the tables where they stood; which is spoken of in Exodus, concerning that one candlestick in the tabernacle of testimony, opposite the table, on the southern side (Exodus 25); likewise in the book of Numbers: When you set up the seven lamps, they shall give light in front of the lampstand (Numbers 8). Candlesticks were on both sides of the temple, and tables were on both sides, because divine Scripture was established for the illumination and refreshment of both peoples of God, which is accustomed to refresh us in both prosperous and adverse situations, in sad and joyful events, so that we do not falter, and to illuminate us so that we do not remain blind. The vessels of mercy placed upon it, that is, the writings of the just deeds, propose examples to both of us, through which we may be strengthened in the practice of justice.
But if you ask what the typical difference is between candlesticks and lamps, we can rightly understand that the lamps are holy men, who, having been infused with the oil of the Holy Spirit, also burn with the fire of love in their hearts, and bring the light of knowledge to their neighbors through speech. The candlesticks that elevate these lamps so that they can be seen far and wide in the Church are the Holy Scriptures, which show us the virtues and teachings of the saints through their reading; the interpretation of which is affirmed by the word of the Lord, where it is said of John: He was a burning and shining lamp (John V). We can also very fittingly say that the lamps are the divine words, according to that of the Psalmist, which we have also quoted above: Your word is a lamp to my feet (Psalm CXVIII). The candlesticks of these lamps are all the saints, who, with humble intent, always subject their hearts and bodies to bearing the commands of the Lord. For whoever cares in no way to follow his own will, but attends to all that the Holy Scripture says, and strives to subject himself to its commands, to listen to its promises, bears the golden lamps of God's house like a golden candlestick, because he strives to submit the pure thoughts of his mind and the pure members of his body to doing what God commands. And this with such a fixed intention as a candlestick, firmly erected toward the heights, must keep the lamps placed upon it not only without falling but also without any change in its stance. When he said: And five golden candlesticks on the right hand and five on the left in front of the oracle, made of pure gold, and added: And like the flowers of lilies, and golden lamps above, it seems according to the letter that the upper part of the candlesticks is shaped in the form of an open lily, which we read was made in the candlestick of the tabernacle, whose middle stem and branches proceeding from it, with cups and knobs, are described as having many lilies. The flowers of the lily, as often said, represent the beauty of the ever-green land of the living. About which blessed Peter says, we are regenerated by the Lord to a living hope to an incorruptible, and undefiled, and unfading inheritance, reserved in heaven. And well the golden lily flowers are made in the candlestick of the house of the Lord, because the divine Scripture, having despised temporal joys, usually encourages us to seek the good of the heavenly homeland. And just as the candlestick erected in height has lily flowers and golden lamps at its head, so all the elect contained in the same sacred Scripture, with their minds raised to the heights, are proven to have sought and received heavenly goods from the Lord. We have said more fully of the table, the candlestick, and both altars, and the base of the house of the Lord, in the books which we have written about the making of the tabernacle and the priestly vestments. Therefore, if anyone wishes to know about these things, according to the capacity of our sense, as born from the tradition of the fathers, let him seek it in that work. It follows:
CHAPTER XXV. On the hinges of the doors and the perfection of the work of the house of the Lord. And the hinges of the doors of the house of the Lord, etc. If the doors of the inner house, the holy of holies, are the angelic mysteries, which, when we depart from the body, reveal to us the entrance to heavenly life, and the doors of the temple house are the holy teachers and priests, who, by instructing, baptizing, and communicating the mysteries of the Lord's body and blood, unfold for us the first lights of the present church, what are the hinges of both sets of doors if not the minds and hearts of the same angels or saints, which immovably adhere to the contemplation and love of their Creator, so that they may rightly fulfill the ministry divinely assigned to them, as they never turn their eyes away from the will of Him whom they serve. Therefore, the doors are opened and closed at the appropriate time, but they never leave their hinges at any time, because both angels and holy men, whether in this life of faith or in that of the vision, always hold their minds fixed in the root of internal love, whether they welcome the faithful and elect. Hence, rightly, these same hinges are said to be made of gold, on account of the merit of their own brightness.
And he completed all the work, etc. Solomon completes the work that he was doing in the house of the Lord when our peaceful king glorifies all the elect with the immortality of the resurrection on the last day. Otherwise, as long as the condition of this age is ongoing, Solomon indeed does the work of the house of the Lord, but he does not yet complete it, because the Lord inspires and helps the hearts of the elect to perform good works; however, He grants that none dwelling merely in this life is without sin, for He reserves this gift for the happiness of the future life. He completes all the work of His temple and makes it fit for dedication when He leads the elect, translated from this life, to the eternal kingdom. This is well signified even in that the temple was built in seven years, but was completed and dedicated in the eighth. For during the seven days all this time is turned. The eighth is the day of judgment and the future resurrection, about which the sixth and eleventh Psalms are titled; to this indeed it properly pertains what follows:
And he brought in what his father David had sacrificed, etc. The silver, indeed, to shine forth eloquence; the gold to radiate wisdom; vessels in general pertain to the rational creature. And David, the father of Solomon, sanctified the silver when God the Father strengthened the eloquent with the grace of the Holy Spirit to speak the word of the Gospel; he sanctified the gold when, filling those endowed with natural talent with His Spirit, He enlightened them to consider the wonders of His law; and he also sanctified the vessels when, granting to all generally the children of the Church the grace of the same Spirit, He inflamed them to love and seek the gifts of eternal salvation. But this silver, this gold, these sanctified vessels Solomon brings into the temple, when our Lord, having completed universal judgment, introduces all the elect, namely the teachers and the assembly of other faithful into the joy of the heavenly kingdom: and he places the vessels of various kinds, whether silver or gold, in the treasures of the house of the Lord, when He hides those who have deserved to enjoy His abundance of sweetness in the secret of His presence from the disturbance of men. And rightly, there are many treasures in which the vessels of election are stored, but one house of the Lord in which the same are made treasures because there is also one Church in which all the elect are contained, however much they may differ in merits: and that one is the same and not another heavenly homeland, which is promised to all the elect, although, as one star differs from another in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead. Both of these the judge Himself and the distributor of rewards, the Lord, demonstrated in one sentence, when He said: In my Father's house, there are many mansions. Therefore, Solomon made one house of the Lord, but prepared many treasures in it to receive vessels of different kinds, all sanctified by one blessing; indeed, this house of the Father is however not made by hands, eternal in the heavens, but many mansions are within it to receive all who fear and love Him, whom the Lord has blessed, the small with the great. Amen.