0 Verba Christi presente sponsa, scilicet qualiter Christus per rusticum, boni sacerdotes per bonum pastorem, mali sacerdotes per malum pastorem et boni Christiani per uxorem designentur et figurentur. In qua figura multa utilia continentur.
The Parable of the Peasant and the Shepherd
Christ presents an allegory of a humble peasant, his faithful wife, and the corruption of his sheep by unfaithful shepherds.
I am the one who has never told a lie. In this world, I am regarded as a simple peasant whose name is held in contempt. My words are considered foolish, and my house is thought of as a wretched shack. This simple man had a wife who wanted nothing except what aligned with his will; she shared in everything he owned and looked to him as her lord, obeying him in all things as if he were her master. This countryman also had many sheep, and to guard them he hired a shepherd for five gold pieces, and to provide him with the necessities of his life. Because this shepherd was good, he used gold for his own benefit and food for the necessities of life. As time passed, this shepherd was followed by another, even worse, who bought himself a wife with gold. He brought his provisions to her and stayed with her constantly, not caring at all about the sheep, which were being miserably scattered by cruel beasts. Then the rustic, seeing his sheep scattered, cried out, "My shepherd has been unfaithful to me." My sheep are scattered; some have been completely devoured by ferocious beasts, body and fleece alike, while others have died, though their bodies remain uneaten. Then his wife said to the rustic, her husband, "My lord, it's certain that we won't get back the bodies that have been devoured." So let's take home the bodies that remain intact, even though they have no life, and make use of them!1 For if we go without them entirely, it will be unbearable for us." Her husband answered her, "What are we supposed to do then?" Because the animals were poisoned by their teeth, the sheep's meat is also infected with deadly venom, the hide is corrupted, and the wool is matted together. The wife replied, 'If everything is tainted and everything is being taken away, then how are we supposed to live?' The husband answered, "I see sheep living in three places." Some are like dead sheep, which for fear do not dare to breathe. The second group lies in deep mud and can't lift themselves up. The third group stays in hiding and doesn't dare to come forward. So, my bride, come, let’s lift up the sheep that are trying to rise but can’t do it without help, and let’s make use of them.
The Interpretation of the Allegory
The Lord explains the symbolic meaning of the peasant, the shepherds, and the various states of the sheep.
Look, I, the Lord, am that peasant, because people regard me as a donkey, raised in its own stall according to its own ways and habits. My name is the disposition of the holy Church. This is held in contempt because the Sacraments of the Church—namely baptism, confirmation, anointing, penance, and marriage—are received as if in mockery and are given to others out of greed. My words are judged foolish because the parables I spoke with my own mouth are twisted from their spiritual meaning to serve the comfort of the body. My house is seen as contemptible because earthly things are loved more than heavenly ones. By that first shepherd I once had, I mean my friends—the priests I once had in the holy Church—because by the word for one, I mean many. To them I entrusted my sheep, which is to say, my most worthy Body to be sanctified, and the souls of my chosen ones to be guided and defended. To them I also gave five gifts, more precious than all gold: namely, a conscience that understands more than all irrational creatures, so that they might discern between good and evil, and between truth and falsehood. Second, I gave them understanding and wisdom regarding spiritual things; but this is now forgotten, and human wisdom is loved in its place. Third, I gave them chastity; fourth, temperance in all things and abstinence for the sake of bodily moderation; fifth, stability in good character, words, and deeds. After that first shepherd—that is, my friends who were in my Church in ancient times—other wicked shepherds have now crept in, who bought themselves a wife for gold; that is, in place of chastity and those five good things, they have taken to themselves a feminine body, which is to say, incontinence, because of which my spirit has departed from them. For when they have full license to sin and to satisfy their spouse—that is, their own pleasure—at their own whim, then my Spirit is absent from them, because they don't care about the harm done to the sheep, provided they can get what they want. As for the sheep that are completely devoured, these are the ones whose souls are in hell, while their bodies are laid in graves, awaiting the resurrection of eternal damnation.✦ The sheep whose flesh remains but whose spirit has been taken away are those who neither love nor fear me, and who are moved by no devotion or care for me. My spirit is far from them, because their flesh has been poisoned by the venomous teeth of beasts—that is, their soul and their thoughts, which are represented by the flesh and entrails of sheep, are as bitter and abominable to me to take pleasure in as poisoned meat. Their skin—that is, their body—is dried up, devoid of all goodness and all love, and fit for no use in my kingdom; instead, after the judgment, it will be handed over to the everlasting fire of hell. Their wool—that is, their works—is so completely useless that there's nothing in them that would make them worthy to receive my charity and grace.
A Call to Compassionate Labor
Christ calls his faithful followers to join him in the work of rescuing the lost and suffering sheep.
What then shall we do now, O my bride—that is, the good Christians whom I understand by the bride? I see sheep living in three places. Some are like dead sheep, which for fear do not dare to breathe. These are the Gentiles who would gladly have the true faith, if only they knew how. But they don't dare to breathe—that is, out of fear, they don't dare to let go of the faith they have, nor do they dare to accept the true one.2 The second group are sheep who stay in hiding and don't dare to come forward. These are the Jews, who stand as if under a veil. They would gladly come forward if they knew for certain that I was born. They hide themselves as if under a veil, because they hope for salvation in the figures and signs that signified me in the Law and were truly fulfilled in me; and because of that vain hope, they are afraid to move forward to the true faith. The third group of sheep, those standing in the mud, are Christians who are stuck in mortal sin. While they would gladly rise up out of fear of punishment, they can't, because of their grave sins and because they have no charity. So, my bride—that is, you good Christians—help me! For just as a husband and wife are held to be one flesh and one body, so a Christian is a member of me, and I am a member of them, because I am in them and they are in me.✦ Therefore, O bride—that is, you good Christians—run with me to the sheep that still have life in them, and let’s lift them up and refresh them! Have compassion on me, because I bought these sheep at a great price! Take them with me, and I will take them with you; you carry them on your back, and I will carry them on my head! I gladly hold them in my hands. I once carried them all on my back, when it was completely wounded and nailed to the cross.3 My friends, I love these sheep so tenderly that if it were possible to die again for each one of them with the same specific death I once suffered for all on the cross, I would choose to redeem them rather than be without them. So, I call out to my friends with all my heart: don't spare any labor for me, and don't spare your goods; and if I wasn't spared from words of reproach while I was in the world, then don't let them spare themselves from speaking the truth about me. I didn't blush at that shameful death for their sake. Just as I was born, I stood naked before the eyes of my enemies. I was struck in the teeth with a fist, dragged by my hair with their fingers, whipped with their lashes, fastened to the wood with their tools, and I hung on the cross with thieves and robbers. Therefore, my friends, do not spare yourselves from working for me, who endured such things out of love for you! Work courageously and bring help to the sheep who are in need! I swear by my humanity, which is in the Father, and the Father in me, and by the divinity, which is in my Spirit, and the Spirit in it, and the same Spirit in me, and I in him, and these three are one God in three persons: that whoever labors and carries my sheep with me, I will meet them halfway to help them, and I will give them the most precious reward—myself—for their eternal joy.
Read the original Latin
"Ego sum, qui numquam dixi falsum. Ego reputor in mundo quasi rusticus, cuius nomen videtur contemptibile. Verba mea reputantur fatua et domus mea reputatur tugurium vile.
Iste rusticus habuit uxorem, que nichil voluit nisi iuxta voluntatem eius, que possidebat omnia cum viro et habuit eum pro domino suo, obediens ei in omnibus quasi domino suo.
Iste rusticus habuit eciam multas oues, ad quarum custodiam conduxit sibi pastorem pro quinque aureis et ut ministraret ei necessaria vite sue.
Iste pastor, quia bonus erat, auro utebatur ad utilitatem suam, victualibus ad necessitatem vite.
Post istum pastorem transeunte tempore aliquo venit alius deterior, qui cum auro emit sibi uxorem, ad quam detulit cibaria sua, continue requiescens cum illa, non curans de ouibus, que miserabiliter a bestiis crudelibus dispergebantur.
Tunc rusticus, videns dispersionem ouium suarum, clamabat dicens: 'Pastor meus est michi infidelis. Oues mee disperse sunt et a bestiis ferocissimis alique deuorate penitus cum corpore et vellere, alique mortue sunt, sed corpora incomesta.'
Tunc dixit rustico, viro suo, uxor: 'Domine mi, corpora, que deuorata sunt, certum est, quod non rehabebimus. Ergo corpora illa, que remanent intacta, quamuis sine spiritu sint, deferamus domum et utamur eis! Si enim ex toto caruerimus, intolerabile erit nobis.'
Respondit ei maritus: 'Quid ergo faciemus? Quia animalia venenata erant dentibus, caro ouium similiter infecta est veneno mortifero, pellis corrupta est, lana conglobata in unum.'
Respondit uxor: 'Si omnia maculata sunt et omnia auferuntur, unde tunc viuemus?'
Respondit maritus: 'Ego video in tribus locis viuentes oues. Quedam sunt similes mortuis ouibus, que pre timore non audent respirare. Secunde iacent in luto profundo nec sufficiunt eleuare se. Tercie stant in latebris nec audent procedere.
Ergo, uxor mea, veni et erigamus oues, que conantur surgere et sine auxilio non sufficiunt, et utamur eis!'
Ecce ego Dominus sum ille rusticus, quia ab hominibus reputor quasi asinus nutritus in cubili suo iuxta modum et mores suos. Nomen meum est sancte Ecclesie disposicio.
Hec reputatur contemptibilis, quia sacramenta Ecclesie, scilicet baptismus, crisma, unccio, penitencia et coniugium, recipiuntur quasi pro derisione et dantur aliis pro cupiditate.
Verba mea iudicantur fatua, quia verba, que proprio ore loquebar cum similitudinibus, vertuntur de spirituali intelligencia ad corporis alleuiacionem.
Domus mea videtur contemptibilis, quia terrena diliguntur pro celestibus.
Per pastorem istum primum, quem habui, intelligo amicos meos, scilicet sacerdotes, quos olim in sancta Ecclesia habui, quia per unius vocabulum intelligo plures. Hiis commisi oues meas, idest corpus meum dignissimum sanctificandum et animas electorum meorum gubernandas et defendendas.
Quibus eciam dedi quinque bona, preciosiora omni auro, scilicet conscienciam intelligentem super omnia irracionabilia, ut discernerent inter bonum et malum, inter verum et falsum.
Secundo dedi eis spiritualium rerum intelligenciam et sapienciam; que nunc oblita est et diligitur pro ea humana sapiencia.
Tercio dedi eis castitatem, quarto temperanciam omnium rerum et abstinenciam ad corporis moderacionem, quinto stabilitatem in bonis moribus, verbis et operibus.
Post istum primum pastorem, idest amicos meos, qui antiquitus erant in Ecclesia mea, subintrauerunt nunc alii pastores iniqui, qui pro auro emerunt sibi uxorem, idest pro castitate et illis quinque bonis assumpserunt sibi femineum corpus, idest incontinenciam, propter quam spiritus meus discessit ab eis.
Quando enim voluntatem completam habent peccandi et saciandi coniugem suam, idest voluptatem suam ad libitum suum, tunc spiritus meus abest ab eis, quia non curant de ouium dampno, si possint voluntatem suam perficere.
Oues autem, que ex toto sunt deuorate, illi sunt, quorum anime in inferno sunt et corpora condita in sepulchris expectancia resurreccionem dampnacionis eterne.
Oues vero, quarum carnes remanent et spiritus ablatus est, sunt illi, qui nec diligunt nec timent me nec aliqua deuocione et cura afficiuntur circa me.
Ab illis enim longe est spiritus meus, quia caro eorum ex venenatis bestiarum dentibus venenata est, idest anima eorum et cogitaciones, que designantur in carne ouium et intestinis, sic amara sunt michi et abhominabilia ad delectandum in eis quemadmodum caro venenata.
Pellis eorum, idest corpus eorum, aridum est ab omni bono et ab omni caritate et nulli usui aptum in regno meo sed tradetur igni perpetuo in inferno post iudicium.
Lana eorum, idest opera eorum, sic ex toto inutilia sunt, ut nichil inueniatur in eis, pro quibus caritatem meam et graciam digni sint habere.
Quid ergo nunc, o uxor mea, idest boni Christiani, quos in uxore intelligo, faciemus? Ego video in tribus locis viuentes oues. Quedam sunt similes mortuis ouibus, que pre timore non audent respirare.
Hii sunt gentiles, qui libenter vellent habere fidem rectam, si scirent quomodo. Sed ipsi non audent respirare, idest non audent pre timore dimittere fidem, quam habent, nec audent recipere rectam.
Secunde oues sunt, que stant in latebris nec audent procedere. Hee sunt Iudei, qui stant quasi sub velamine. Qui libenter procederent, si scirent pro certo me natum.
Occultant autem se quasi sub velamento, quia in figuris et in signis, que me in lege significabant et in me veraciter completa sunt, sperant salutem et ex illa vana spe timent ad fidem rectam procedere.
Tercie oues, que in luto stant, sunt Christiani, in mortalibus peccatis constituti. Ipsi enim propter timorem supplicii libenter surgerent, sed non possunt propter peccata grauia et quia nullam habent caritatem.
Ergo uxor mea, idest Christiani boni, iuuate me! Nam sicut uxor et vir una caro et unum membrum esse tenentur, sic Christianus membrum meum est et ego suum, quia ego in eo et ipse in me.
Ideo, o uxor, idest boni Christiani, currite mecum ad oues, que adhuc habent spiritum, et erigamus eas et refoueamus! Compatimini michi, quia multum care emi oues! Recipe mecum et ego tecum, tu in dorsum et ego in caput!
Gaudenter duco eas inter manus meas. Ego portaui eas omnes semel in dorso meo, quando erat totum sauciatum et stipiti affixum.
O amici mei, sic tenere diligo oues istas, quod, si possibile esset adhuc mori propter quamlibet ouem speciali morte, qualem in cruce semel pro omnibus passus sum, magis redimerem quam eis carerem.
Ergo clamo ad amicos meos toto corde, non parcant labori pro me, non bonis, et si michi de verbis improperii non parcebatur, dum eram in mundo, non parcant ipsi veritatem loqui de me.
Ego non erubui illam contemptibilem mortem pro eis. Ego, sicut natus fui, nudus stabam ante oculos inimicorum meorum. Ego fui percussus cum pugno in dentes, ego tractus in crinibus cum digitis eorum, ego flagellatus flagellis eorum, ego affixus ligno cum instrumentis eorum et pendebam cum furibus et latronibus in cruce.
Propterea, amici mei, non parcatis laborare pro me, qui talia sustinui ex caritate propter vos! Laborate viriliter et ferte ouibus indigentibus auxilium!
Ego iuro in humanitate mea, que est in Patre, et Pater in me, et per deitatem, que est in Spiritu meo, et Spiritus in ea et idem Spiritus in me et ego in eo et hii tres unus Deus in tribus personis, quod quicumque laborauerint et portauerint oues meas mecum, occurram eis in media via ad succurrendum et dabo eis stipendium preciosissimum, idest me ipsum, in gaudium sempiternum."
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.5.29 — and they will come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.
- ↩John.14.20;Eph.5.30-Eph.5.32 — On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Eph.5.30 — because we are members of his body. Eph.5.31 — For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Eph.5.32 — This mystery is profound—and I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'sine spiritu' is rendered as 'without life' to capture the sense of the body lacking its animating principle, while maintaining the distinction from the theological 'Spirit'.
- 2 ↩The Latin 'respirare' here is glossed as a metaphor for the freedom to act or change one's state, rather than literal breathing.
- 3 ↩The Latin 'stipiti' refers to the wooden stake or cross-beam; 'affixum' denotes being fastened or nailed to it.
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