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Chapter 44SermC.1.44

Sermo 44

The Cluster of Henna and the Beloved's Vineyard

The bride's words from Song of Songs are unfolded: Christ is myrrh in suffering and the grape cluster of resurrection joy, and the soul that passes from the bitterness of repentance to the wine of delight can say with confidence, 'My beloved is mine, and I am his.'

A cluster of henna — my beloved is mine, and I am his, in the vineyards of Engedi.✦ If the beloved is found in myrrh, how much more in the sweetness of a cluster of grapes. So my Lord Jesus was myrrh to me in death, a cluster of grapes in resurrection; he blended himself for me as a most wholesome drink — in tears, in measure.✦ He died for our sins and rose for our justification, so that we, dead to sin, might live for righteousness.✦✦ So you, if you've left your sins, have drunk bitterness; but if you've now drawn breath in the hope of life, in a holier life, the bitterness of myrrh has been changed for you into wine, which gladdens the human heart.✦ And perhaps this is what it meant, that myrrhed wine was offered to the Savior on the cross, and therefore he refused to drink it, because that was what he thirsted for.✦ You, then, after the bitternesses of myrrh — as I said — once you taste the wine of delight, you too will be able to say without presumption: A cluster of henna — my beloved is mine, and I am his, in the vineyards of Engedi.✦ Engedi has a twofold interpretation, and both serve a single understanding.

Engedi: Fountain of Tears and Eye of Temptation

Engedi is interpreted as the baptism of the nations and the eye of temptation, showing that only through grace and the guidance of spiritual teachers can the faithful recognize and escape the snares of the devil.

It is called a fountain of the goat, and the baptism of the nations, and it openly designates the tears of sinners. It is also called the eye of temptation, which pours forth tears equally, and let it look ahead to the temptations that are never absent from the life of man on earth. But the people of the nations, who walked in darkness, were never able by themselves to recognize the snares of temptations, and so could not escape them, until through the grace of the one who enlightens the blind they received the eyes of faith, until they came to the Church, which has the eye of temptation; until they handed themselves over to spiritual men to be instructed, who, enlightened by the spirit of wisdom and taught by their own experience, can truly say that we are not ignorant of the devil's cunning and his designs.

Balsam in the Vineyards and the Spirit of Gentleness

The vineyards of Engedi are the Church, rich in the balsam of the spirit of gentleness, which nurtures the young, consoles the repentant, and anoints those to be baptized, following the Pauline counsel to restore others in humility.

They say that in Engedi small balsam bushes grow, which the local people cultivate as if they were vineyards, and perhaps that is why he called them vineyards.✦ Otherwise, what would a cluster from Cyprus be doing in the vineyards of Engedi?✦ Who ever transferred clusters from one vineyard to another? For wine is customarily brought in from elsewhere where it is lacking, not where it is already present. So the vineyards of Engedi stand for the people of the Church, which has the liquid of balsam — the spirit of gentleness — and with it tenderly cherishes the little ones who are still young in Christ, and consoles the sorrows of those who repent.✦ And if any brother is caught in some offense, an ecclesiastical man who has already received this spirit will take care to instruct such a person soon, in that same spirit of gentleness, considering himself, so that he himself may not also be tempted.✦ In this figure, all who are to be baptized — even physically — the Church has customarily anointed with material oil.

The Good Samaritan's Oil and Wine

The spiritual physician must bring both the oil of gentleness and the wine of burning zeal to heal the wounded sinner, following the Good Samaritan, and seek the wine of Cyprus — the great cluster carried by the spies, with Christ in the middle.

Because the wounds of the man who fell among robbers are carried, on the good Samaritan's beast of burden, to the shelter of the Church — and they are healed not with oil alone, but with both wine and oil together. So the spiritual physician needs, besides the oil of gentleness, the wine of burning zeal as well, which is suited not only to comfort the timid but also to correct the unruly.✦ For if he sees that the wounded person — that is, the one who has sinned — has not been set right by the gentle and kindly encouragements offered to him, but is instead perhaps even abusing his gentleness and patience, becoming more careless and falling more securely asleep in his sin: then, since the sweet oil of admonition has failed, he will need to use sharper remedies and pour in the wine of compunction — dealing harshly with him through rebuke and reproach and, if the case calls for it and the hardness is so great, even striking the contemptuous one with the rod of church discipline.✦ But where does he get this wine? For wine is not found in the vineyards of Engaddi — only oil.✦ Let him seek it then in Cyprus, for that island is rich in wine — and the finest wine at that. Let him take from it a great cluster of grapes, the one the spies of Israel once carried on a pole, portraying in a beautiful image the prophetic choir going before, the apostolic choir following, and Jesus in the middle. Receiving this cluster for himself, let him say: 'The cluster of Cyprus — my beloved is mine, and I am his.'✦✦

The Root of Brotherly Love in Human Nature

Fraternal compassion flows from the natural sweetness a person feels toward himself, which grace elevates into the love of neighbor, so that what the soul desires for itself it willingly shares with others by the right of shared humanity.

We've seen the cluster; let's now see how the wine of zeal is pressed from it. And indeed, if a sinner who is a person doesn't meet indignation from another person who is himself a sinner, but instead, as it were, a dew of the sweetest balsam is poured out, sweating a pious feeling of compassion upon him — we know where this comes from, and you've already heard it, though perhaps you haven't noticed it. For it has been said that from considering a person's own self, there comes to each one a reason to be gentle toward all people — while a person, following the most wise counsel of Paul, so as to know how to condescend piously to those caught in sin, considers himself, lest he too be tempted. . Surely from this the love of neighbor draws its root, concerning which it is commanded in the law: You shall love your neighbor as yourself? From the innermost human feelings, fraternal love draws the beginnings of its origin, and from a certain inborn sweetness planted in a person toward himself — as if from earthly moisture — it surely takes both growth and strength, through which, with grace breathing from above, it brings forth the fruits of piety: so that what the soul naturally desires for itself, it shouldn't think to deny to a fellow sharer in nature, that is, to another person, by a certain right of our shared humanity, wherever it's possible and fitting, but should share it willingly and gladly. There is therefore in human nature — if it isn't decayed by sin — a kind of pleasing and excellent liquid, as it were, of sweetness, so that it feels and shows itself more disposed to sympathize with sinners than to be indignant, which would be harsher.

Dying Flies and the Corruption of Desire

Carnal desires are like dying flies that destroy the sweet ointment of natural gentleness, and when each person pursues private pleasure, the common good is lost and the beauty of grace is defiled.

But because, as the Wise One says, dying flies destroy this sweet ointment, and nature has within itself no way to restore what it has once lost, it feels itself falling, through a grievous change, into what Scripture says in a certain passage: 'The mind of man and its thoughts are prone to evil from youth.'✦ It is a poor kind of youth in which the younger son demands that his share of the father's estate be set aside for himself, and begins to want to divide a good that is more sweetly possessed in common; and so to have alone what is not diminished by sharing is lost by dividing it up. In short: 'He has squandered all his goods,' it says, 'by living recklessly with prostitutes.' What are these prostitutes? See that they are not the very ones who destroy the sweet oment — namely, carnal desires — about which Scripture so wholesomely warns you: 'After your desires,' it says, 'do not go.' And the Wise One rightly describes them as dying, because both the world is passing away and its desire with it.✦ Therefore, by these things — while we each want to satisfy our own desires — we deprive ourselves of the social and common good by a private sweetness. These are truly foul and stinging flies, which in us defile the beauty of nature, tear the mind with cares and anxieties, and destroy the sweetness of the grace we share.

The Younger Son and the Loss of Humanity

Fallen nature, like the prodigal son, loses the juice of manly maturity and becomes harsh, dried up, and devoid of affection, looking down on others.

Hence the younger man is called the younger son, because nature, corrupted by a certain slipperiness of senseless youth, has lost all the juice of manly maturity and wisdom; and, turned harsh, with a dried-up spirit he looks down upon everyone beyond himself, having become devoid of affection.✦

Grace Restores What Nature Lost

Since nature corrupted from youth cannot recover its own gentleness, the anointing of the Spirit restores the soul, making it holy and giving it not oil but balsam in the vineyards of Engedi.

So from the very beginning of youth, a person's senses and thoughts — those worst and most wretched things — are prone to evil, and their nature is more ready to be indignant than to suffer with others. As a result, a person, as it were stripped entirely of their humanity, wants to be helped by others when they need it, yet doesn't want to help others when they are in need. But a sinner judges, despises, and mocks people all the more — those who offend — not considering themselves, lest they too be tempted. From this evil nature will never recover on its own, as I've said, nor will it regain the oil of inborn gentleness, which has once for all been destroyed in it. Yet what nature cannot do, grace can. Therefore, anyone on whom the anointing of the Spirit, moved to mercy, will deign to pour out its kindness anew will immediately be restored to their humanity, and will receive from grace something better than what they received from nature. In faith and gentleness it will make them holy, and will give them not oil, but balm in the vineyards of Engaddi.

From Goat to Lamb: Where Sin Abounded, Grace Superabounds

The anointing of mercy transforms sinners from goats into lambs, transferring them to the right side, so that where sin abounded grace may superabound, and the restored soul learns to show pity from its own experience of suffering.

And there's no doubt that better spiritual gifts flow from the source of the goat kid, whose anointing surely turns goat kids into lambs and transfers sinners from the left side to the right — those who were already soaked more abundantly with the anointing of mercy — so that where sins have abounded, grace too may superabound.✦12 Doesn't it truly seem to you that this person has somehow returned to being fully human — someone who, having set aside the world's savagery toward the soul, and having recovered it with the interest of grace, through the human anointing of a gentleness that carnal desires had utterly destroyed within him — takes from the person he carries within him, indeed from the very one he is, both the matter and the form of showing pity to others, so that he shudders at the thought of a savage grin, not only doing to anyone what he himself would not wish to suffer, but also not doing to all people whatever he would wish done for himself?34

The Wine of Zeal and the Cup of Christ's Love

The wine of burning zeal comes from the cluster of Cyprus — the love of Christ that consumes like fire — and the true imitator of the Good Samaritan brings both the oil of brotherly love and the wine of divine love to heal the wounded.

Look — oil from what source? Wine — from what? Surely, from the cluster of Cyprus.✦ Indeed, if you love the Lord Jesus with all your heart, your whole soul, and all your strength — then, if you see the wrongs done to him and his rejection, could you possibly endure it with any peace of mind at all?✦ Not at all. But quickly, caught up in a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning zeal — like someone powerful, drunk on wine, filled with the zeal of Phinehas — you'll say with David: 'My zeal has been wearing me down, because my enemies have forgotten your words'; and with the Lord: 'The zeal for your house consumes me.'✦✦ This wine, then, is a most burning zeal, pressed out from the cluster of Cyprus, and the cup that intoxicates is the love of Christ. In short, our God is a consuming fire, and the prophet used to speak of fire sent from on high into his bones, because he burned with divine love.✦✦ Therefore, bringing oil of gentleness from brotherly love, and wine of zeal from divine love, go confidently to heal the wounds of the one who fell among robbers — the best imitator of the most merciful Samaritan.✦

The Bride Speaks, and the Sinner Surrenders

The bride speaks the cluster of Cyprus in the vineyards of Engedi, and the preacher, acknowledging his weakness and demerit, surrenders himself to the merciful lash of the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ our Lord.

You too, safely, speak up — you as the bride — 'The cluster of Cyprus, my beloved, for me, in the vineyards of Engaddi': that is, the zeal of justice, the love of my beloved for me, in the affections of piety.✦ And that's enough on this point. For my weakness also prompts me to pause, just as it often does, so that I'm generally forced — as you yourselves know — to leave discussions unfinished and to reserve what remains of the chapters for another day. But what? I am ready for the lash, knowing that I still deserve to receive far more than my merits warrant. Let me be lashed indeed — let me be lashed as one working evil — if perhaps the blows may be reckoned as merits; perhaps the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who finds no good in me with which to repay, will yet have mercy on the one he lashes, he who is God blessed forever above all things. Amen.

Read the original Latin

Botrus Cypri dilectus meus mihi in vineis Engaddi. Si dilectus in myrrha, multo magis in botri suavitate. Ergo Dominus meus Iesus myrrha mihi in morte, botrus in resurrectione, se ipsum mihi saluberrimum temperavit in potum, in lacrymis in mensura. Mortuus est propter peccata nostra, et resurrexit propter iustificationem nostram, ut peccatis mortui iustitiae vivamus. Itaque tu, si peccata luxisti, bibisti amaritudinem; si autem iam respirasti in spem vitae vita sanctiori, mutata est tibi myrrhae amaritudo in vinum, quod laetificat cor hominis. Et fortassis hoc illud significaverit, quod Salvatori oblatum est in cruce myrrhatum, et ideo noluit bibere, quoniam istud sitiebat. Tu ergo post myrrhae, ut dixi, amaritudines, vinum iucunditatis experiens, haud temere et ipse dicere poteris: Botrus Cypri dilectus meus mihi in vineis Engaddi. Engaddi duplicem habet interpretationem, et uni ambae intellectui serviunt.

Dicitur namque fons haedi, et baptisma gentium; lacrymasque peccantium aperte designat. Dicitur et oculus tentationis, qui et lacrymas aeque fundat; et tentationes, quae minime unquam desunt vitae hominis super terram, prospiciat. Sed et populus gentium, qui ambulabat in tenebris, nunquam per se laqueos tentationum agnoscere, ac per hoc nec evadere potuit, donec per gratiam illius qui illuminat caecos, recepit oculos fidei, donec venit ad Ecclesiam, quae habet oculum tentationis; donec se tradidit viris spiritualibus instruendum, qui illuminati spiritu sapientiae, suo et experimento docti, possunt veraciter dicere quia non ignoramus astutias diaboli, et cogitationes eius.

Ferunt in Engaddi arbusculas balsami crescere, quae in modum vinearum ab indigenis excoluntur: et inde forsitan vineas appellavit. Alioquin quid faceret botrus Cypri in vineis Engaddi? quis unquam botros de vineis in vineas transportavit? solet siquidem vinum, ubi deest, aliunde evehi, non ubi adest. Ergo vineas Engaddi dicit plebes Ecclesiae, quae habet balsami liquorem, spiritum mansuetudinis, in quo parvulorum adhuc in Christo teneritudinem blande fovet, et dolores poenitentium consolatur. Sed et si quis frater in aliquo delicto praeoccupatus fuerit, vir ecclesiasticus, qui hunc spiritum iam accepit, curabit huiusmodi mox instruere in eodem spiritu lenitatis, considerans se ipsum, ne et ipse tentetur. In hoc typo quotquot baptizandi sunt, etiam corporaliter Ecclesia oleo materiali ungere consuevit.

Quia vero vulnera illius qui incidit in latrones, et iumento corporis pii Samaritani, Ecclesiae est deportatus in stabulum, non in solo oleo, sed in vino simul et oleo sanitatem recipiunt : necessarium habet spiritualis medicus etiam vinum fervidi zeli cum oleo mansuetudinis, cui sane convenit non modo consolari pusillanimes, sed et corripere inquietos. Si enim viderit illum qui vulneratus est, id est qui peccavit, blandis ac lenibus hortamentis, quae in eum praerogata sunt, minime emendatum, magis autem forte etiam abutentem sua mansuetudine, et patientia negligentiorem fieri, et in peccato suo etiam securius obdormire: frustrato tam suavium oleo monitorum, oportebit sane mordacioribus uti medicamentis, et vinum compunctionis infundere; duris videlicet cum eo increpationibus atque invectionibus agere, et, si causa requirit, et duritia tanta est, etiam censurae ecclesiasticae baculo percellere contemptorem. Sed unde illi hoc vinum? Nec enim in vineis Engaddi vinum invenitur, sed oleum. Quaerat ergo in Cypro: nam illa insula ferax est vini, et vini optimi; tollensque inde sibi ingentem botrum, quem olim exploratores de Israel in vecte ferebant, chorum propheticum praecedentem, et subsequentem apostolicum, medium autem Iesum pulchro schemate figurantes: hunc ergo botrum accipiens sibi dicat: Botrus Cypri dilectus meus mihi.

Vidimus botrum; videamus qualiter zeli vinum exprimatur ex eo. Etenim si peccanti homini homo peccator minime indignatur, sed magis quasi quemdam ei suavissimi balsami rorem sudans pium exhibet compassionis affectum; hoc scimus unde venit, et iam audistis, sed non advertistis forsitan. Dictum namque est, quod ex consideratione sui ipsius cuique veniat mansuetum esse ad omnes, dum homo consilio sapientissimi Pauli, ut pie condescendere sciat praeoccupatis in peccato, considerat se ipsum, ne et ipse tentetur? . An non hinc denique amor proximi radicem trahit, de quo in lege mandatur: Diliges proximum tuum sicut te ipsum? Ex intimis sane humanis affectibus primordia ducit sui ortus fraterna dilectio, et de insita homini ad se ipsum naturali quadam dulcedine, tanquam de humore terreno, sumit procul dubio vegetationem et vim, per quam, spirante quidem gratia desuper, fructus parturit pietatis: ut quod sibi anima naturaliter appetit, naturae consorti, id est alteri homini, iure quodam humanitatis, ubi poterit et oportuerit, non existimet denegandum, sed sponte ac libens impertiat. Inest ergo naturae, si peccato non obsolescat, istiusmodi gratae et egregiae quasi suavitatis liquor, ut molliorem magis ad compatiendum peccantibus, quam ad indignandum asperiorem sese sentiat et exhibeat.

Verum quia, iuxta Sapientis sententiam, muscae moriturae exterminant hoc suavitatis unguentum, et minime habet in se natura unde id reparet sibi semel amissum, sentit se dolenda mutatione corruere in illud, quod vercaiter ait Scriptura: Proni sunt sensus hominis et cogitationes in malum ab adolescentia. Non bona adolescentia, in qua filius iunior portionem sibi paternae substantiae postulat sequestrari, et bonum incipit velle dividere, quod in commune dulcius possidetur; et habere solus, quod participatione non minuitur, partitione amittitur. Denique: Omnia, inquit, bona sua dissipavit vivendo luxuriose cum meretricibus. Quaenam hae meretrices? Vide ne ipsae sint quae exterminant suavitatis unguentum, carnales videlicet concupiscentiae, de quibus saluberrime Scriptura te admonens: Post concupiscentias, inquit, tuas non eas. Et merito morituras describit Sapiens; quoniam et mundus transit, et concupiscentia eius. His ergo, dum satisfacere singulariter volumus, boni nos socialis atque communis singulari suavitate privamus. Hae prorsus muscae sordidae et pungentes, quae in nobis decorem naturae foedant, mentem curis et sollicitudinibus lacerant, socialis gratiae suavitatem exterminant.

Hinc homo iunior filius appellatur, quod natura, quodam insensatae lubrico adolescentiae depravata, omnem virilis maturitatis ac sapientiae succum amiserit; et, versus in asperum, arente animo praeter se universos despiciat, factus sine affectione.

Igitur ab ineunte adolescentia ista pessima atque miserrima proni sunt sensus hominis et cogitationes in malum, et natura ad indignandum quam ad compatiendum paratior. Inde homo tanquam omnino exutus hominem, in quo vult sibi, cum opus habet, ab hominibus subveniri, non vult ipse hominibus opus habentibus subvenire. Magis autem iudicat, spernit, irridet homo homines, delinquentes peccator, non considerans se ipsum, ne et ipse tentetur. A quo malo minime per se, ut dixi, natura resurget, neque recuperabit oleum ingenitae mansuetudinis, quod semel est exterminatum in ea. Verumtamen quod non potest natura, potest gratia. Quem ergo hominum unctio spiritus miserata, perfundere denuo sua benignitate dignabitur, is continuo revertetur in hominem, insuper et aliquid melius a gratia quam a natura recipiet. In fide et lenitate sanctum faciet illum, et dabit illi non oleum, sed balsamum in vineis Engaddi.

Nec enim dubium ex fonte haedi profluere charismata meliora, cuius utique unctio haedos verti in agnos, et de sinistra transfert in dexteram peccatores, abundantius quidem ante perfusos unctione misericordiae, ut, ubi abundaverunt delicta, superabundet et gratia. An non vere videtur tibi redisse quodammodo is homo in hominem, qui animae saecularis feritate deposita, et recuperata, etiam cum fenore gratiae, humanae unctione mansuetudinis, quam in ipso muscae carnalium cupiditatum penitus exterminarant; de suo quem gestat homine, imo qui ipse est, et materiam sumit, et formant miserendi hominibus aliis, ita ut tanquam feralem quemdam rictum exhorreat, non solum cuiquam facere hominum quod pati ipse nolit, sed etiam non facere omnia omnibus quaecunque sibi fieri velit?

En unde oleum. Vinum unde? Profecto ex botro Cypri. Etenim, si amas Dominum Iesum toto corde, tota anima, tota virtute tua; nunquid si videris eius iniurias, contemptumque, ferre ullatenus aequo animo poteris? Minime: sed mox arreptus spiritu iudicii et spiritu ardoris, et tanquam potens crapulatus a vino, repletus zelo Phinees, dices cum David: Tabescere me fecit zelus meus, quia obliti sunt verba tua inimici mei; et cum Domino: Zelus domus tuae comedit me . Vinum est ergo fervidissimus zelus iste, expressum de botro Cypri, et calix inebrians Christi amor. Denique Deus noster ignis consumens est, et propheta ignem dicebat de excelso missum in ossibus suis, eo quod divino amore flagraret. Hebens itaque ex fraterno oleum mansuetudinis, et ex divino amore vinum aemulationis, securus accede ad sananda vulnera illius qui incidit in latrones, piissimi Samaritani optimus imitator.

Secure quoque dicito et tu cum sponsa, Botrus Cypri dilectus meus mihi in vineis Engaddi: hoc est, Zelus iustitiae, amor dilecti mei mihi in affectibus pietatis. Et de hoc satis. Nam et infirmitas mea pausandum indicit, sicut et saepe facit; ita ut plerumque cogar imperfectas, ut ipsi scitis, relinquere disputationes, residuaque capitulorum in diem alterum reservare. Sed quid? Ego in flagella paratus sum, sciens me adhuc recipere longe imparia meritis. Vapulem sane, vapulem ut male operans, si forte verbera in merita reputentur: fortassis miserebitur flagellato, qui bonum in me non invenit quod remuneret, sponsus Ecclesiae Iesus Christus Dominus noster, qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula. Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Song.1.14 — My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.
  2. ↩Ps.80.6 — You have fed them the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.
  3. ↩Rom.4.25 — who was handed over because of our trespasses and was raised because of our justification.
  4. ↩Rom.6.11 — So also you, consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
  5. ↩Ps.104.15 — and wine that gladdens the human heart, to make the face shine brighter than oil, and bread that sustains the human heart.
  6. ↩Matt.27.34;Mark.15.23 — They gave him wine to drink mixed with gall; and when he tasted it, he was not willing to drink. Mark.15.23 — They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.
  7. ↩Song.1.14 — My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.
  8. ↩Song.1.13 — A sachet of myrrh is my beloved to me; between my breasts he will lie.
  9. ↩Song.1.13 — A sachet of myrrh is my beloved to me; between my breasts he will lie.
  10. ↩Song.1.13 — A sachet of myrrh is my beloved to me; between my breasts he will lie.
  11. ↩Gal.6.1 — Brothers and sisters, even if someone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual should restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness, watching yourself, lest you too be tempted.
  12. ↩Luke.10.30-Luke.10.35 — Jesus replied, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and went away, leaving him half dead." Luke.10.31 — Now by coincidence a certain priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Luke.10.32 — In the same way also a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. Luke.10.33 — But a certain Samaritan, traveling that way, came upon him, and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. Luke.10.34 — and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. Luke.10.35 — And on the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
  13. ↩Luke.10.30-Luke.10.35 — Jesus replied, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and went away, leaving him half dead." Luke.10.31 — Now by coincidence a certain priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Luke.10.32 — In the same way also a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. Luke.10.33 — But a certain Samaritan, traveling that way, came upon him, and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. Luke.10.34 — and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. Luke.10.35 — And on the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
  14. ↩Song.1.14 — My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.
  15. ↩Num.13.23-Num.13.25 — They came to the Valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them, and also some of the pomegranates and some of the figs. Num.13.24 — That place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes that the sons of Israel cut from there. Num.13.25 — And they returned from exploring the land at the end of forty days.
  16. ↩Song.2.16 — My beloved is mine, and I am his — the one who grazes among the lilies.
  17. ↩Gen.8.21 — The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, and the LORD said in his heart, 'I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the inclination of the heart of man is evil from his youth; nor will I ever again strike down every living thing as I have done.'
  18. ↩1John.2.17 — And the world is passing away, and its desire; but the one who does the will of God remains forever.
  19. ↩Luke.15.11-Luke.15.32 — And he said, "A certain man had two sons." Luke.15.12 — And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.' And he divided his livelihood between them. Luke.15.13 — And not many days later, the younger son, having gathered everything together, departed to a distant country, and there he squandered his property by living recklessly. Luke.15.14 — And after he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that region, and he began to be in want. Luke.15.15 — And he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him to his fields to feed pigs. Luke.15.16 — He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, and no one gave him anything. Luke.15.17 — But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired workers have bread enough to spare, and here I am perishing of hunger!' Luke.15.18 — I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.' Luke.15.19 — I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants. Luke.15.20 — And he got up and went to his own father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. Luke.15.21 — And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' Luke.15.22 — But the father said to his servants, 'Quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.' Luke.15.23 — And bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. Luke.15.24 — because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and has been found. And they began to celebrate. Luke.15.25 — Now his older son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. Luke.15.26 — And he called one of the servants and asked him what these things might be. Luke.15.27 — But he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' Luke.15.28 — But he was angry and refused to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. Luke.15.29 — But he answered his father, 'Look, all these years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me even a young goat so that I could celebrate with my friends.' Luke.15.30 — but when this son of yours who has devoured your livelihood with prostitutes came, you killed the fattened calf for him Luke.15.31 — And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.' Luke.15.32 — But we had to celebrate and be glad, for this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.
  20. ↩Rom.5.20 — The law came in alongside so that the trespass might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.
  21. ↩Song.1.14 — My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.
  22. ↩Deut.6.5;Matt.22.37 — And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Matt.22.37 — And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
  23. ↩Ps.68.10;John.2.17 — A rain of generosity you will shower down, O God; your inheritance, though it had grown weary, you have restored. John.2.17 — His disciples remembered that it is written, 'The zeal of your house will consume me.'
  24. ↩Num.25.11;Ps.106.30-Ps.106.31 — Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest has turned my wrath away from the Israelites, by being zealous with my zeal among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in my zeal. Ps.106.30 — Then Phinehas stood up and interceded, and the plague was stopped. Ps.106.31 — And it was counted to him as righteousness, from generation to generation forever.
  25. ↩Deut.4.24;Heb.12.29 — For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Heb.12.29 — For our God is a consuming fire.
  26. ↩Jer.20.9 — And I said, 'I will not mention him, nor will I speak in his name anymore.' But it was in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones, and I was weary of holding it in, and I could not.
  27. ↩Luke.10.30-Luke.10.37 — Jesus replied, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and went away, leaving him half dead." Luke.10.31 — Now by coincidence a certain priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Luke.10.32 — In the same way also a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. Luke.10.33 — But a certain Samaritan, traveling that way, came upon him, and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. Luke.10.34 — and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. Luke.10.35 — And on the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Luke.10.36 — Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the one who fell among the robbers? Luke.10.37 — He said, 'The one who showed him mercy.' And Jesus said to him, 'Go and do likewise.'
  28. ↩Song.1.14 — My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The 'source of the goat kid' (ex fonte haedi) continues the chapter's allegory contrasting wild, self-interested harshness (goat kids / left side) with grace-transformed gentleness (lambs / right side). 'Haedi' is likely genitive with 'dubium' despite surface ambiguity.
  2. 2 ↩The closing clause 'ut, ubi abundaverunt delicta, superabundet et gratia' closely echoes Romans 5:20. Final resolution deferred to scripture-allusion stage.
  3. 3 ↩The sentence is a single extended rhetorical question whose syntax is deliberately tangled. The main clause is 'An non vere videtur tibi redisse quodammodo is homo in hominem' with a long relative clause ('qui...') describing the transformed person. 'De suo quem gestat homine, imo qui ipse est' is rendered as 'from the person he carries within him, indeed from the very one he is' to preserve the layered self-reference.
  4. 4 ↩'Formant miserendi' is rendered 'the form of showing pity' — the unusual coinage (formare + miserendi) suggests the person becomes both the material source and the active shaper of compassion toward others.

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