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Chapter 45SermC.1.45

Sermo 45

The Voice of Love Between Friends

The Bridegroom's praise of the bride reveals how love dissolves hierarchy and opens the soul to intimate, familiar converse with the Word.

Look, you are beautiful, my friend, look, you are beautiful; your eyes are like doves'. Beautifully, excellently, out of love comes the bride's presumption; out of love comes the bridegroom's indignation.1 The outcome of the matter proves this. For reproof followed presumption, amendment followed reproof, and reward followed amendment. The beloved is present, the master is set aside, the king disappears, dignity is stripped away, reverence is laid aside. Haughtiness gives way, you see, where affection grows strong. And just as once Moses spoke as a friend to a friend, and the Lord answered, so now between the Word and the soul a very familiar conversation takes place, as if between two close neighbors.✦ And no wonder.

The Fountain of Mutual Love

From one fountain of love, the Word and the soul exchange sweet words and mutual gazes, each repeating the other's praise and deepening desire.

From a single fountain of love, the impulse to love one another flows into both, and to be cherished together in equal measure. Therefore words fly back and forth sweeter than honey, and the mutual gazes that carry all their sweetness are borne between them, holy signs of love. In the end, he calls that friend beautiful, declares her beautiful, repeats it, receiving the same words from her in turn. And this is no empty repetition—it confirms love, and perhaps hints at something more to be sought.

The Twin Beauty of Humility and Innocence

The soul's true beauty is humility joined to innocence, a rare twin grace exemplified in the blessed Virgin Mary and commended to all who would be truly beautiful.

Let's look for the soul's twin beauty: that, it seems to me, is what he's hinting at.2 The soul's beauty is humility. I'm not saying this on my own authority — the prophet said it earlier: You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed — the lowly herb, cleansing of the breast, signifying humility.✦3 With this, the king and prophet, after a grave fall, trusts himself to be washed, and so to recover a certain snowy brightness of innocence.4 But in the one who has sinned grievously, humility, though worthy of love, is not however worthy of admiration.5 But if anyone retains innocence and nevertheless joins humility, doesn't he seem to you to possess the soul's twin beauty? Holy Mary did not lose her sanctity, and she did not lack humility: and so the King desired her beauty, because she joined humility to innocence; finally: He has looked, she says, on the humility of his servant.✦6 Therefore, blessed are those who keep their garments clean — that is, of simplicity and innocence — if however they also add the beauty of humility to put on.✦7

Longing to Hear 'You Are Beautiful'

The preacher longs to hear Christ call his soul beautiful, yet confesses his loss of innocence and hesitates to claim beloved status without that assurance.

The one who is found in this condition will surely hear: 'See how beautiful you are, my beloved, see how beautiful.'✦ Would that you might say this to my soul even once, Lord Jesus: 'See how beautiful you are.'✦ Would that you might guard humility for me! For I have badly kept the first garment. I am your servant. And yet I don't dare call myself a beloved, when I don't hear the testimony of my beauty repeated. It's enough for me if I might hear it once. But what if even this is in question?

Reverent Wonder and the Bridegroom's Voice

The preacher resolves to revere the bride as a servant, rejoicing in the bridegroom's voice and guarding this sacred conversation from worldly distraction.

I know what I'll do: I'll revere the friend as her servant, this deformed little man will marvel at the beauty heaped up in her; I'll rejoice at the bridegroom's voice — yet still admire such great beauty, wondering at it. Who knows — if from this alone I might find favor in the friend's eyes — whether her grace and I myself might be found among friends? In short, the friend of the bridegroom stands and rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom's voice. Look — the voice of the bridegroom in the ears of the beloved: let us hear and rejoice. They are present to one another and speak together; let us stand united — let no worldly care pull us away from this conversation, let no bodily allurement draw us off.

Praise for the Rare Soul Who Keeps Both

The bride is rightly admired because she kept both holiness and humility, accepting reproof calmly even when innocent, and longing for the Bridegroom's glory.

"See, you are beautiful, my beloved, see, you are beautiful," he says.✦ This is the voice of admiration, the last word of praise. Rightly is she to be admired: the one from whom holiness did not take away humility, but in whom it was preserved, it was welcomed. Rightly is she found beautiful: the one to whom no beauty was lacking. A rare bird on earth: one who did not lose holiness, nor shut out humility through sanctity — and so blessed is the one who kept both. In the end, it has been proved: she is conscious of nothing against herself, and does not refuse correction. When we commit great wrongs, we can barely stand being corrected; yet she hears bitter words spoken against her with a calm mind, though she has done no wrong. For if she longs to see the brightness of the Bridegroom, what harm is there in that?

Reproof That Reveals Humility

Though innocent, the bride is reproved to test and reveal her humility, just as Abraham's obedience was tested, and her repentance confirms her beauty.

It is even more a matter of praise. And yet, reproved, she brings forth repentance and says: A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me; he shall lie between my breasts. That is enough for me; I don't wish now to know anything except Jesus, and him crucified.✦ What great humility! In her actions she is innocent, yet she takes on the repentance of a penitent; and she who has no reason to repent still has the grace to repent. Why, you ask, was she reproved if she did nothing wrong? But listen now to the bridegroom's wisdom and prudence. Just as Abraham's obedience was truly tested in the past, so now is the bride's humility. And just as he, his obedience fulfilled, then heard: Now I know that you fear God; so also to her, now, as if under other words, it is said: Now I know that you are humble; for this is what she means when she says: Behold, you are beautiful.✦

Beauty Confirmed by Humility

The bridegroom repeats his praise to mark that the bride is beautiful not only from his love but from her own humility, now commended simply and without comparison.

And so he repeats his praise, so that what is added to the glory of holiness may mark the beauty of humility. See, you are beautiful, my love; see, you are beautiful. Now I know that you are beautiful, not only from my love, but also from your humility.✦ I'm not calling you beautiful among women now, nor beautiful in your cheeks, nor in your neck, as I was saying before; but I confess you are simply beautiful—not beautiful by comparison, not with distinction, not in part.

Dove-Eyes: Humility in Contemplation

The bride's dove-eyes signify her humility in turning from lofty things to rest simply on the suffering Christ, nesting in the wounds of the beloved.

And he adds: Your eyes are doves' eyes.✦ Humility is still openly commended here. This indeed looks back to the point that she, having been reproved for her lofty inquiry, did not hesitate to descend to simpler things right away, so that she could say: A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me.✦ There is truly a great distance between the countenance of glory and the bundle of myrrh, and so it is a great badge of humility to be recalled from there to rest here. Therefore, your eyes are doves' eyes.✦ Now, he says, you no longer walk among great things or wonders beyond yourself; but like the simplest of birds, you are content with simpler things, nesting in the crevices of the rock, lingering at my wounds, and gladly fixing your dove-like eye only on what concerns me as the one incarnate and suffering.✦

Spiritual Sight and the Dove's Gaze

The dove-eyes also signify spiritual sight, purified by faith so that the bride may see Christ in the spirit rather than in bodily images.

Or certainly because the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of this bird, its gaze is commended by the name 'dove' as spiritual rather than simple.✦ And if this pleases you, you should refer the present chapter to what the companions promised a little earlier—to make golden fish-pendants for her—not intending, as I taught then, to adorn the ears of the body, but to form the hearing of the heart (above, serm.8 41, n. 2-4). And so it could happen that, through faith—which comes from hearing—with her heart further purified, she might be made more capable of seeing what she couldn't see before.✦ And since she seemed to have made progress in spiritual understanding because of the sharper sight she gained from receiving the fish-pendants, it pleased the Bridegroom—for whom it is always more pleasing to be seen in the spirit, as far as he is able—and adding this too to her praises, he says: Your eyes are doves.✦ Now, he says, look at me in the spirit, because Christ the Lord is a spirit before your face. And you have the means to do it, because your eyes are doves.✦

Led from Brightness to Brightness

The bride is invited to embrace the abundance of spiritual sight now available to her, even though she cannot yet reach the fullness she once sought.

Before, you didn't have it, and so you deserved to be corrected; but now embrace the abundance of living, because your eyes — that is, they are spiritual — are the eyes of doves. Truly, not the abundance you were seeking — for you can't reach even that yet — but one that, for now, can be enough. Truly, you are being led from brightness into brightness; and so see as much as you can right now, and when you are able for more, you will see more.✦

The Great Vision of the Beloved

The bride enjoys a sublime vision in which she knows Christ not as Lord but as her beloved, beholding him without bodily images in a face-to-face encounter.

I don't think, brothers — I don't think this is a lesser vision, or one shared by everyone, even if it is lower than the one by which he is to be seen in the future. Now pay attention to what follows. For what follows is this: Look at you, how beautiful you are, my love — look at you, how beautiful.✦ See how she stands on high — how she has lifted the Lord of the universe to the very summit of her mind's heights, claiming him for her own with a kind of special possession as her beloved. For notice how he doesn't simply say 'my love,' but 'my love, my own' — marking you out as uniquely his. This is a truly great vision — one that has grown to such confidence and authority that she no longer knows the Lord of all as Lord, but as her beloved. I'm quite sure that at this point no images of flesh or of the cross — or any other bodily likeness of his sufferings — were being brought before her senses. For in these moments, as the prophet says, there was no appearance, no beauty to him.✦

Face to Face with the Beloved

The bride sees God openly, mouth to mouth, and declares him beautiful as beloved rather than as Lord, a vision surpassing even that of Moses because it is rooted in love rather than fear.

She looked at him, and now declares him beautiful and comely, signifying that he appeared to her in a better vision. For she speaks mouth to mouth with the bride, just as once with holy Moses, and she sees God openly, not through enigmas and figures.✦9 In the end, she declares with her mouth the same one she perceives with her mind, in a clearly sublime and sweet vision. Her eyes saw a king in his beauty, yet not as a king, but as a beloved.✦10 Let anyone who wishes look at him above a lofty and elevated throne, and let another also testify that he appeared to him face to face; yet it seems to me that the excellence in this passage lies with the bride, because there the one seen is read as 'Lord,' here as 'beloved.'✦11 For so you have it: 'I saw the Lord sitting upon a lofty and elevated throne,' and likewise, 'I saw the Lord face to face, and my soul was saved.'✦12 But if I am the Lord, he says, where is my fear?✦13 If a revelation was made to them with fear—because where the Lord is, there is fear—I indeed, if the choice were given, would embrace the vision of the bride all the more willingly and all the more dearly, by how much I observe it was made in a better affection, which is love.14

Love Casts Out Fear

The bride's words resound with love, not fear, for perfect love casts out fear, and Christ appears beautiful to those who behold him in splendor rather than terror.

Fear has its punishment, but perfect love drives fear out. It makes a great difference whether you appear terrible in your dealings with people, or appear beautiful in your splendor before them.15 See, you are beautiful, my beloved, and comely. These words clearly resound with love, not with fear.

How the Word and the Soul Speak

The preacher addresses the question of how the Word and the soul can converse, explaining that both are spirit and communicate not through bodily words but through interior spiritual presence.

But perhaps thoughts rise up in your heart, and you ask yourself, uncertain, saying: By what reasoning are the words of the Word made and referred to the soul, and again the soul to the Word, so that she might hear the voice of the one speaking to her, and testifying that she is beautiful, and in turn soon render the same praise to her own praiser? How can these things be done? For we speak by a word, the Word does not speak. Likewise, the soul has no way to speak unless the mouth of the body has formed words for itself to speak with. You ask well, but notice that the spirit is speaking, and that what is said must be understood spiritually. As often, then, as you hear or read that the Word and the soul converse together and behold each other, do not imagine to yourself that bodily voices pass between them, just as bodily images of those conversing do not appear. Hear rather what you should think about in this kind of matter. The Word is spirit, and the soul is spirit, and they have their own tongues by which they speak to each other and make themselves present to one another.

The Tongues of Grace and Devotion

The Word's tongue is the favor of condescension; the soul's tongue is the fervor of devotion, and the living word of God pierces the soul so that it cannot fail to perceive the Word's speech.

The Word's tongue is the favor of its condescension; the soul's tongue is the fervor of its devotion. The soul is speechless and infant-like: it has no tongue of its own, and no power of speech in any way toward the Word. So when the Word stirs the tongue it has, willing to speak to the soul, the soul can't fail to perceive it. For the word of God is living and effective, and more piercing than any two-edged sword, reaching all the way to the division of soul and spirit.✦ And again, when the soul stirs its own tongue, the Word will be far less able to hide — not only because it is present everywhere, but even more because, unless the Word itself incites it, the tongue of devotion is least of all moved to speech.

Grace, Wonder, and the Soul's Response

When the Word calls the soul beloved, it pours in grace to love and be loved; the soul responds with wonder and thanksgiving, loving all the more because it feels anticipated by grace.

So when the Word speaks to the soul — saying 'You are beautiful' and calling her 'beloved' — it is pouring into her the grace both to love and to dare to believe herself loved. And the Word, for its part, in turn calls the soul 'beloved' and confesses it is beautiful — ascribing to it, without pretense or deceit, the beauty of what it loves and is loved, and marveling at the condescension and astonished at the grace. Indeed, that one's beauty is his love for her; and it is greater precisely because it goes before. And so from the inmost marrow of the heart and the deepest voices of the affections, all the more fervently and ardently the soul cries out to be loved, to the degree that it first felt itself loving rather than loved. Therefore the Word's speech is the outpouring of a gift; the soul's response, together with thanksgiving, is wonder. And for this reason the soul loves all the more, because it feels itself overcome in the very act of loving; and for this reason it marvels all the more, because it recognizes that it was anticipated. So the soul is not content to say 'beautiful' just once; it must repeat it — 'beautiful' and 'comely' — marking by that repetition the surpassing splendor of beauty itself.

The Beauty of Christ in Nature and Grace

The bride's repeated praise marks the beauty of Christ in both his divine nature and his grace, celebrated from eternity through incarnation, resurrection, and exaltation.

Or rather, in both substances of Christ it has expressed a beauty worthy of all admiration—in the one of nature, in the other of grace.16 How beautiful you are to your angels, Lord Jesus, in the form of God, in the day of your eternity, in the splendors of the saints—begotten before the morning star, the splendor and figure of the Father's substance, and indeed the perpetual and unfeigned brightness of eternal life!✦✦17 How beautiful you are to me!✦ My Lord, in this very manifestation of your beauty!18 For where you emptied yourself, where you stripped off the unfailing light from your natural rays—there devotion shone forth more brightly, there love blazed more powerfully, there grace radiated more fully.✦ How bright you rise for me, Star from Jacob, how radiant you come forth, Flower from the root of Jesse, how pleasant the light with which you visited me in the darkness, O Dawn from on high!✦✦✦ How wondrous and astonishing even to the heavenly Virtues—in conception by the Spirit, in birth from the Virgin, in the innocence of your life, in the outpouring of your teaching, in the flashes of your miracles, in the revelations of the sacraments!19 How radiant, finally, after your setting, you rise again, Sun of justice, from the heart of the earth!✦

The Bones Cry Out in Praise

The preacher exults in Christ's kingly beauty and cries out with all his bones: 'Lord, who is like you?'

How beautiful you are in your robe at last, King of glory, as you are received into the highest heavens! How could all my bones not say, in return for all these things: Lord, who is like you?

The Bride's Wedding Song Begins

The bride, beholding the beloved's surpassing beauty, breaks into a wedding song of love, and the preacher invites the community to rest and rejoice in the bridegroom's glory.

So think about these things and others like them: that the bride, looking at the beloved, took notice when she said, 'See, you are beautiful, my love, and handsome.' And not only these things, but beyond them, something far beyond doubt: the beauty of a higher nature altogether surpasses our gaze and escapes our experience. So the repetition of each has marked out the beauty of the substance. Next, hear how she dances at the sight and address of the beloved, and before him, with a wedding song, she sings joyfully the things that belong to love. For what follows is: 'Our couch is flowering, the beams of our houses are cedar, our paneling is cypress.' But let us hold to the more recent beginning of the bride's song, so that we too, made more eager by rest, may exult more freely and rejoice in it, to the praise and glory of the bridegroom himself, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God above all, blessed forever. Amen.

Read the original Latin

Ecce tu pulchra es, amica mea, ecce tu pulchra; oculi tui columbarum. Pulchre, optime, ex amore, sponsae praesumptio; ex amore, indignatio sponsi. Hoc rei exitus probat. Etenim praesumptionem correptio, correptionem emendatio, emendationem remuneratio secuta est. Adest dilectus, amovetur magister, rex disparet, dignitas exuitur, reverentia ponitur. Cedit quippe fastus, ubi invalescit affectus. Et sicut quondam quasi amicus ad amicum Moyses loquebatur, et Dominus respondebat: ita et nunc inter Verbum et animam, ac si inter duos vicinos, familiaris admodum celebratur confabulatio. Nec mirum.

Ex uno amoris fonte utrique influit diligere invicem, confoveri pariter. Ergo dulciora melle volant hinc inde verba, mutui in se totius suavitatis feruntur aspectus, sancti indices amoris. Denique is iilam amicam nuncupat, pulchram pronuntiat, pulchram iterat, eadem ab illa vicissim recipiens. Nec otiosa iteratio, quae amoris confirmatio est, et fortassis aliquid innuit requirendum.

Quaeramus geminam animae pulchritudinem: hoc enim mihi videtur innuere. Decor animae humilitas est. Non a me ipso hoc dico, cum propheta prior dixerit: Asperges me hyssopo, et mundabor; humili herba et pectoris purgativa humilitatem significans. Hac se post gravem lapsum rex et propheta lavari confidit, et sic niveum quemdam innocentiae recuperare candorem. Verum in eo qui graviter peccavit, etsi amanda, non tamen admiranda humilitas. At si quis innocentiam retinet, et nihilominus humilitatem iungit, nonne is tibi videtur geminum animae possidere decorem? Sancta Maria sanctimoniam non amisit, et humilitate non caruit: et ideo concupivit Rex decorem eius, quia humilitatem innocentiae sociavit; denique: Respexit, inquit, humilitatem ancillae suae. Ergo beati qui custodiunt vestimenta sua munda, videlicet simplicitatis et innocentiae, si tamen et decorem induere humilitatis adiiciant.

Profecto audiet quae huiusmodi invenitur: Ecce tu pulchra es, amica mea, ecce tu pulchra. Utinam vel semel dicas animae meae, Domine Iesu: Ecce tu pulchra es. Utinam mihi humilitatem custodias! nam primam vestem ego male servavi. Servus tuus sum ego. Nec enim audeo profiteri amicum, qui testimonium decoris mei cum repetitione non audio. Sufficit mihi si semel audiam. Sed quid, si et hoc in quaestione sit?

Scio quid faciam: venerabor amicam servus, cumulatum in ea decorem deformis homunculus admirabor; gaudebo ad vocem sponsi, tantam nihilominus pulchritudinem admirantis. Quis scit, si saltem ex hoc inventurus sim gratiam in oculis amicae, ut gratia ipsius et ipse inveniar inter amicos? Denique amicus sponsi stat, et gaudio gaudet propter vocem sponsi. En vox eius in auribus dilectae: audiamus et gaudeamus. Adsunt sibi, loquuntur pariter; stemus simul: nulla nos huic subducat colloquio saeculi cura, nulla illecebra corporis.

Ecce, inquit, tu pulchra es, amica mea, ecce tu pulchra. Ecce admirationis vox est, reliquum laudis. Merito admiranda, cui sanctitas amissa humilitatem non attulit, sed servata admisit. Merito pulchra reperitur, cui neutra defuit pulchritudo. Rara avis in terris, aut sanctitatem non perdere, aut humilitatem sanctimonia non excludi: et ideo beata quae utramque retinuit. Denique probatum est: nihil sibi conscia est, et correptionem non abnuit. Nos et cum magna delinquimus, vix ferimus reprehendi; haec autem aequo animo audit contra se amaritudines nihil peccans. Nam, si desiderat videre claritatem sponsi, quid mali est?

magis et laudis est. Et tamen increpata poenitentiam agit, et dicit: Fasciculus myrrhae dilectus meus mihi, inter ubera mea commo rabitur : hoc est: Sufficit mihi, nolo iam scire nisi Iesum, et hunc crucifixum. Magna humilitas! Actu innocens suscipit poenitentis affectum; et quae non habet unde poeniteat, habet tamen ut poeniteat. Cur ergo, inquis, increpata est, si nihil mali fecit? Sed enim audi nunc dispensationem et prudentiam sponsi. Sicut Abrahae olim obedientia sane tentata est, ita et nunc humilitas sponsae. Et quomodo ille impleta obedientia tunc audivit: Nunc cognovi quod timeas Deum : sic et huic modo quasi sub aliis verbis dicitur: Nunc cognovi quod humilis sis; hoc enim est quod ait: Ecce tu pulchra es.

Et ideo praeconium iterat, ut gloriae sanctitatis additum signet humilitatis decorem. Ecce tu pulchra es, amica mea, ecce tu pulchra. Nunc cognovi quod pulchra sis, non solum ex meo amore, sed etiam ex tua humilitate. Non dico nunc pulchram inter mulieres, nec pulchram in genis, nec in collo, sicut ante dicebam: sed pulchram simpliciter fateor, non utique pulchram ex comparatione, non cum distinctione, non ex parte.

Et addit: Oculi tui columbarum. Aperte adhuc commendatur humilitas. Ad hoc siquidem respicit, quod illa reprehensa de alta inquisitione sua, continuo non cunctata est ad simpliciora descendere, ita ut diceret: Fasciculus myrrhae dilectus meus mihi. Multum profecto distat inter vultum gloriae, et fasciculum myrrhae: et ideo magnum humilitatis insigne, inde huc acquiescere revocari. Ergo oculi tui columbarum. Iam, inquit, non ambulas in magnis, neque in mirabilibus super te: sed instar simplicissimae volucris contenta es simplicioribus, nidificans in foraminibus petrae, meis vulneribus immorans, et libenter ea quae sunt de me duntaxat incarnato et passo, oculo intuens columbino.

Aut certe quia in specie avis huius Spiritus sanctus apparuit, spiritualis magis quam simplex in ea intuitus columbae nomine commendatur. Et si hoc placeat, oportet referas capitulum praesens ad id quod paulo ante sodales muraenulas ei facere aureas promiserunt, non intendentes, ut tunc docui, ornare aures corporis, sed informare auditum cordis (supra, serm. 41, n. 2-4). Potuit itaque fieri, ut fide, quae est ex auditu, corde amplius mundato, ad videndum quod ante non poterat, instructior redderetur. Et quoniam de acceptis muraenulis in visu acutiori ad intelligentiam spiritualem visa est profecisse; placuit sponso, cui semper, quod in se est, placet magis videri in spiritu; et annumerans id quoque eius laudibus, ait: Oculi tui columbarum. Iam me, inquit, intuere in spiritu, quia spiritus ante faciem tuam Christus Dominus. Et habes unde id possis, quia oculi tui columbarum.

Ante non habebas, et ideo reprimenda fuisti: sed nunc copiam habeto vivendi, quia oculi tui columbarum, id est spirituales. Non sane copiam quam petebas: nec enim vel modo adhuc ad illam potes, sed quae tamen interim sufficere possit. Sane ducenda es de claritate in claritatem: et propterea vide, ut potes, modo; et cum plus poteris, plus videbis.

Non puto, fratres, non puto mediocrem hanc, neque communem esse omnibus visionem, etsi sit inferior illa, qua videndus est in futuro. Denique ex his quae sequuntur advertite. Sequitur enim: Ecce tu pulcher es, dilecte mi, ecce tu pulcher. Vides quam in excelso stat, et in sublime mentis verticem extulit, quae universitatis Dominum quadam sibi proprietate vindicet in dilectum. Attende enim quomodo non simpliciter, Dilecte; sed, dilecte mi, inquit, ut proprium designaret. Magna visio prorsus, de qua ista in id fiduciae et auctoritatis excrevit, ut omnium Dominum, dominum nesciat, sed dilectum. Existimo enim nequaquam hac vice eius sensibus importatas imagines carnis, aut crucis, aut alias quascunque corporearum similitudines infirmitatum. In his namque, iuxta prophetam, non erat ei species neque decor.

Haec autem eum intuita, nunc pulchrum decorumque pronuntiat, in visione meliori illum sibi apparuisse significans. Ore enim ad os, sicut quondam cum sancto Moyse, loquitur cum sponsa; et palam, non per aenigmata et figuras, Deum videt. Talem denique ore pronuntiat, qualem et mente conspicatur, visione plane sublimi et suavi. Regem in decore suo viderunt oculi eius, non tamen ut regem, sed ut dilectum. Viderit sane eum quis super solium excelsum et elevatum; et alius quoque facie ad faciem sibi apparuisse testatus sit: mihi tamen videtur eminentia in hac parte esse apud sponsam, quod ibi visus legitur Dominus, hic dilectus. Sic enim habes: Vidi Dominum sedentem super solium excelsum, et elevatum; et item: Vidi Dominum facie ad faciem, et salva facta est anima mea. Sed si ego Dominus, inquit, ubi est timor meus? Quod si illis facta est revelatio cum timore; quia ubi Dominus, ibi timor: ego profecto, si optio daretur, tanto libentius, tantoque charius sponsae amplecterer visionem, quanto in meliori affectione, quae est amor, factam adverto.

Nam timor poenam habet, perfecta autem charitas foras mittit timorem. Multum sane interest apparere terribilem in consiliis super filios hominum, et apparere speciosum forma prae filiis hominum. Ecce tu pulcher es, dilecte mi, et decorus. Verba ista plane amorem resonant, non timorem.

Sed forte ascendunt cogitationes in corde tuo, et quaeris dubius apud te, dicens: Qua ratione verba Verbi facta ad animam referuntur, et rursum animae ad Verbum, ut illa audierit vocem loquentis sibi, et perhibentis quod pulchra sit, vicissimque idem praeconium suo mox reddiderit laudatori? Quomodo possunt haec fieri? Nam verbo loquimur, non verbum loquitur. Itemque anima non habet unde loquatur, nisi os corporis sibi verba formaverit ad loquendum. Bene quaeris: sed attende spiritum loqui, et spiritualiter oportere intelligi quae dicuntur. Quoties proinde audis vel legis, Verbum atque animam pariter colloqui, et se invicem intueri; noli tibi imaginari quasi corporeas intercurrere voces, sicut nec corporeas colloquentium apparere imagines. Audi potius quid tibi sit in huiusmodi cogitandum. Spiritus est Verbum, spiritusque anima, et habent linguas suas, quibus se alterutrum alloquantur, praesentesque indicent.

Et Verbi quidem lingua favor dignationis eius: animae vero, devotionis fervor. Elinguis est anima atque infans quae hanc non habet, et non potest ipsi ullatenus sermocinatio esse cum Verbo. Ergo huiuscemodi linguam suam cum Verbum movet, volens ad animam loqui, non potest anima non sentire. Vivus est enim sermo Dei et efficax, et penetrabilior omni gladio ancipiti, pertingens usque ad divisionem animae et spiritus. Et rursum cum suam anima movet, Verbum latere multo minus poterit; non solum quia ubique est praesens, sed propter hoc magis, quod, nisi ipso stimulante, devotionis lingua minime ad loquendum movetur.

Verbo igitur dicere animae, pulchra es, et appellare amicam, infundere est unde et amet, et se praesumat amari. Ipsi vero Verbum vicissim nominare dilectum, et fateri pulchrum; quod amat et quod amatur, sine fictione et fraude adscribere illi, et mirari dignationem, et stupere ad gratiam. Siquidem pulchritudo illius dilectio eius; et ideo maior, quia praeveniens. Medullis proinde cordis et intimarum vocibus affectionum tanto amplius atque ardentius clamitat sibi diligendum, quanto id prius sensit diligens quam dilectum. Itaque locutio Verbi infusio doni, responsio animae cum gratiarum actione admiratio. Et idcirco plus diligit, quod se sentit in diligendo victam: et ideo plus miratur, quod praeventam agnoscit. Unde non contenta est semel dicere pulchrum, nisi repetat et decorum, eminentiam decoris illa repetitione designans.

Aut certe in utraque Christi substantia dignum expressit omni admiratione decorem, in altera naturae, in altera gratiae. Quam pulcher es angelis tuis, Domine Iesu, in forma Dei, in die aeternitatis tuae, in splendoribus sanctorum ante luciferum genitus, splendor et figura substantiae Patris, et quidem perpetuus minimeque fucatus candor vitae aeternae! Quam mihi decorus es! Domine mi, in ipsa tui huius positione decoris! Etenim ubi te exinanivisti, ubi naturalibus radiis lumen indeficiens exuisti; ibi pietas magis emicuit, ibi charitas plus effulsit, ibi amplius gratia radiavit. Quam clara mihi oriris Stella ex Iacob, quam lucidus Flos de radice Iesse egrederis, quam iucundum lumen in tenebris visitasti me, Oriens ex alto! Quam spectabilis et stupendus etiam Virtutibus supernis in conceptu de Spiritu, in ortu de Virgine, in vitae innocentia, in doctrinae fluentis, in coruscationibus miraculorum, in revelationibus sacramentorum! Quam denique rutilans post occasum, Sol iustitiae, de corde terrae resurgis!

quam formosus in stola tua demum, Rex gloriae, in alta coelorum te recipis! Quomodo non pro his omnibus omnia ossa mea dicent: Domine, quis similis tui.

Haec ergo similiaque puta in dilecto intuentem sponsam advertisse, cum diceret: Ecce tu pulcher es, dilecte mi, et decorus. Neque haec sola, sed insuper aliquid procul dubio de naturae decore superioris, quod nostrum omnino praetervolat intuitum, et effugit experimentum. Ergo iteratio utriusque decorem substantiae designavit. Audi deinde quomodo tripudiat ad aspectum affatumque dilecti, et coram ipso nuptiali carmine quae amoris sunt gratulabunda decantat. Sequitur enim: Lectulus noster floridus, tigna domorum nostrarum cedrina, laquearia nostra cypressina. Sed servemus recentiori principio sponsae cantilenam, ut et nos de quiete facti alacriores, liberius exsultemus et laetemur in ea ad laudem et gloriam sponsi ipsius Iesu Christi Domini nostri, qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula. Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Exod.33.11 — Thus the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his assistant Joshua son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
  2. ↩Ps.50.7 — Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.
  3. ↩Luke.1.48 — For he has looked upon the lowliness of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
  4. ↩Matt.22.11-Matt.22.12 — But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding garment. Matt.22.12 — "And he says to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.
  5. ↩Song.4.1 — Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats that have descended from Mount Gilead.
  6. ↩Song.4.1 — Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats that have descended from Mount Gilead.
  7. ↩Song.4.1 — Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats that have descended from Mount Gilead.
  8. ↩Song.1.13 — A sachet of myrrh is my beloved to me; between my breasts he will lie.
  9. ↩Gen.22.12 — He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy, and do not do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, and you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me."
  10. ↩Gen.22.12 — He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy, and do not do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, and you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me."
  11. ↩Song.1.15;Song.4.1 — Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves. Song.4.1 — Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats that have descended from Mount Gilead.
  12. ↩Song.1.13 — A sachet of myrrh is my beloved to me; between my breasts he will lie.
  13. ↩Song.1.15;Song.4.1 — Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves. Song.4.1 — Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats that have descended from Mount Gilead.
  14. ↩Song.2.14 — O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding place of the steep path, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
  15. ↩Matt.3.16 — And when Jesus had been baptized, he immediately went up from the water. And behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him.
  16. ↩Rom.10.17 — So then, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
  17. ↩Song.1.15 — Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves.
  18. ↩Song.1.15 — Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves.
  19. ↩2Cor.3.18 — And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
  20. ↩Song.4.1 — Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats that have descended from Mount Gilead.
  21. ↩Isa.53.2 — He grew up before him like a young plant, like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty to draw our eyes, and no beauty that we should desire him.
  22. ↩Num.12.8 — Mouth to mouth I speak with him, plainly and not in riddles; the form of the LORD he beholds. So why were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
  23. ↩Song.1.4;Isa.33.17 — Draw me after you—let us run together! The king has brought me into his chambers. We will rejoice and be glad in you; we will remember your love more than wine. The upright love you. Isa.33.17 — Your eyes will see the king in his beauty; they will behold a land of far distances.
  24. ↩Exod.33.11 — Thus the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his assistant Joshua son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
  25. ↩Isa.6.1 — In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
  26. ↩Mal.1.6 — A son honors his father, and a servant honors his master. If, then, I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of Hosts to you, O priests who despise my name. And you say, 'How have we despised your name?'
  27. ↩Heb.4.12 — For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
  28. ↩Ps.110.3 — Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy splendor; from the womb of the dawn the dew of your youth will be yours.
  29. ↩Heb.1.3 — He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's own being, and he upholds all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
  30. ↩Song.1.15 — Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves.
  31. ↩Phil.2.7 — but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and appearing as a human being.
  32. ↩Num.24.17 — I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob, a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab and destroy all the sons of Sheth.
  33. ↩Isa.11.1 — A shoot will come forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
  34. ↩Luke.1.78 — because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from on high
  35. ↩Matt.12.40 — For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Bernard plays on the double meaning of 'pulchre' (beautifully) from the preceding scriptural verse, applying it to the moral quality of the bride's presumption and the bridegroom's jealous anger.
  2. 2 ↩The Latin animae pulchritudinem is genitive; the gloss 'of the soul' is supplied from the preceding clause's animae, yielding 'the soul's twin beauty'.
  3. 3 ↩Quotation from Psalm 50:7 (Vulgate 50:9). The clause humili herba et pectoris purgativa humilitatem significans is taken as an appositive gloss on hyssop: the humble herb that cleanses the breast and signifies humility.
  4. 4 ↩Rex et propheta is taken as a joint subject (David as both king and prophet) trusting in the cleansing power of humility after his serious fall.
  5. 5 ↩The contrast amanda vs. admiranda plays on the root of amare/admirari; rendered 'worthy of love' vs. 'worthy of admiration' to preserve the wordplay's sense.
  6. 6 ↩Quotation from Luke 1:48 (Vulgate). Rex is Christ the Bridegroom-King. Sanctimoniam refers to Mary's holiness/sanctity.
  7. 7 ↩Vestimenta munda alludes to the wedding garment (Matt 22:11-12) and/or Rev 7:14. The conditional si tamen adds humility as the adornment over the clean garment of innocence.
  8. 8 ↩The sentence is interrupted by a cross-reference in the source text, completed in the following refs.
  9. 9 ↩Likely alludes to Numbers 12:8 (Moses speaking with God mouth to mouth); final resolution deferred.
  10. 10 ↩Echoes Song of Songs 1:4 / Isaiah 33:17 ('a king in his beauty'); final resolution deferred.
  11. 11 ↩Face-to-face appearance echoes Exodus 33:11 and related theophanic texts; final resolution deferred.
  12. 12 ↩Quoted spans echo Isaiah 6:1 ('I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne') and related face-to-face salvation language; final resolution deferred.
  13. 13 ↩Echoes Malachi 1:6 ('if I am a father / Lord, where is my honor/fear'); final resolution deferred.
  14. 14 ↩affectione rendered as 'affection' in the sense of interior disposition; the term is elevated to 'love' in the same clause.
  15. 15 ↩'Multum sane interest' rendered idiomatically as 'it makes a great difference' rather than the stilted 'it matters much,' preserving the weight of 'sane' while reading naturally.
  16. 16 ↩Aut certe functions here as an emphatic alternative ('Or rather' / 'Or certainly') rather than a simple disjunction, underscoring the twofold beauty in Christ.
  17. 17 ↩minimeque fucatus literally means 'and least dyed/painted'; rendered as 'unfeigned' to capture the sense of genuine, unpretended divine brightness.
  18. 18 ↩positione decoris is rare; rendered as 'manifestation of your beauty' to convey the sense of the beauty's placement or display.
  19. 19 ↩doctrinae fluentis is rare and uncertain; rendered as 'outpouring of your teaching' to capture the sense of flowing, fluent communication of doctrine.

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