CAPUT XXXIII. Quomodo in cordis custodia vicissim sibi virtutes praedictae cooperentur
The Four Guardians of the Heart's Peace
Dan and Naphtali guard the interior while Gad and Asher defend against external enemies, working together to secure the city of the soul.
And their brothers also stand by them, quick to bring help: Naphtali inside with Dan, securing peace for the citizens; Asher outside with Gad, overcoming the enemies' violence. So Gad and Asher guard against the enemies; Dan and Naphtali care for the citizens. From this side, then, Dan threatens; from that side, Naphtali coaxes. Dan terrifies with threats; Naphtali comforts with promises. The one punishes the wicked; the other rewards the good. One terrifies hearts with the dread of hell; the other soothes spirits with the hope of eternal happiness. So how much do you think this Naphtali helps his brother in such work when he speaks beautiful words—he who, by the sweetness of his speech, almost instantly turns his listeners' minds wherever he wants?1 And Asher, for his part, helps his brother outwardly as well, and both fortify the city against the enemy's assault.
Asher's Battle and Victory Over Carnal Pleasures
Asher, fortified by patience, not only withstands worldly adversities but turns them into triumphs, then joins Gad to rout carnal pleasures, the true enemies of the soul.
One protects one side; the other defends the other. Gad fights on the right; Asher battles on the left. Gad lies in wait for the prosperity of this world; Asher, for his part, pursues worldly adversity.2 But Asher easily outwits his enemy: while he guards his side, he sees it fortified by the high rock of patience, and so from the safe place of his post he mocks and scorns his enemies as they struggle against him—as futilely as from far below. So it happens that his enemies, by their assault, don't so much trouble him as continually give him material for triumph. This is why, having scorned his own attackers—worldly adversities, that is—he throws himself wholly against his brother's persecutors—namely, carnal pleasures—and pursues them with severe punishment. But such a great terror suddenly seizes those who attack Gad when Asher joins him in the struggle of his battle that they all flee without delay, since they don't dare resist even for a moment while the brothers help each other in turn. The true enemies of the soul, without a doubt, are carnal pleasures.
Asher's Blessedness in Persecution
Asher, meaning blessed, is rightly named for his eagerness to suffer for righteousness, echoing the beatitude of Christ.
But what room is left, I ask, for wicked pleasure amid torments that our Asher here is shown not only to bear patiently for God's sake, but even to long for eagerly? Oh, how rightly Asher—that is, blessed—is so called, according to that saying of the Lord: Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness!3
Read the original Latin
Assistunt autem et eis fratres sui, non segnes quidem ad auxilia ferenda, Nephtalim intus cum Dan in civium pace componenda, Aser exterius cum Gad in violentia hostium expugnanda. Gad itaque et Aser vigilant contra hostes; Dan et Nephtalim solliciti sunt circa cives. Hinc ergo Dan minatur; illinc Nephtalim blanditur. Dan terret minis, Nephtalim fovet promissis. Ille punit malos, iste remunerat bonos. Unus gehennae terrore corda perterret, alter spe felicitatis aeternae animos demulcet. Quantum ergo putas Nephtalim iste, dans eloquia pulchritudinis, fratrem suum in tali negotio adjuvat, qui animos auditorum dulcedine eloquii sui, pene absque mora, quo vult inclinat? Adjuvat et Aser exterius nihilominus fratrem suum, muniuntque ambo civitatem contra hostium incursum.
Hic latus unum protegit, ille alterum defendit. Gad certat in dextro, Aser dimicat in sinistro. Gad insidiatur, mundi hujus prosperitas; Aser vero persequitur, mundana adversitas. Sed Aser hosti suo facile illudit, dum partem tuetur, alta patientiae rupe munitam conspicit, et idcirco de tuto stationis loco hostes suos tam inaniter quam ab imo reluctantes deridet ac despicit. Unde fit ut eum hostes sui sua impugnatione non tam vexent quam ei triumphandi assidue materiam ministrent. Hinc est quod, spretis suis impugnatoribus (mundanis videlicet adversitatibus), in fratris sui persecutores (carnales scilicet delectationes) totus effertur, et eos magna animadversione persequitur. Tantus autem terror impugnatores Gad subito invadit, cum ei se Aser in praelii sui certamine adjungit, ut omnes absque mora ad fugam se convertant, cum nec ad horam quidem, vicissim sibi fratribus auxilium ferentibus, resistere audeant. Veri utique animae hostes carnales sunt delectationes.
Sed quis, quaeso, locus pravae delectationi inter tormenta relinquitur, quae iste noster Aser propter Deum non solum patienter ferre, sed etiam ardenter appetere comprobatur? O quam recte Aser, id est beatus, dicitur, secundum illam Domini sententiam: Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter justitiam!
Notes
- 1 ↩"dans eloquia pulchritudinis" echoes the Vulgate blessing of Naphtali (Gen 49:21).
- 2 ↩mundi hujus prosperitas and mundana adversitas stand as nominatives in apposition naming the foes each brother engages; rendered as the objects of Gad's ambush and Asher's pursuit, matching the active deponents insidiatur/persequitur and the surrounding allegory.
- 3 ↩Aser is glossed as beatus from the traditional Hebrew etymology of Asher ('happy/blessed'); the allegory hinges on that name-sense.
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